Events

So, I've been to another Torche show this week. Torche stomped a new one out, literally- they played both sides of their unreleased next 7 inch, and if you thought the bomb string was dead, you're in for a shock- they crushed the low end with a pummeling glee like demented dwarves forging axes made of bass. It was a strange show as an event, though. Three local bands and Torche on a wednesday night? yup. And furthermore , it was an odd mix of a power metal and retro-thrash metal type of band playing, and did I mention no one was the traditional "Metal God" long hair Thor lookin' type of dude. Very odd...
So, then, tomorrow, I've got the Finnish Bazaar.   That's always a different experience. A Fully Scandinavian bake sale. Then, I see Anthony Bourdain . So, yes, I really am the mutant that I say I am- because name me one other person who will have done all three events by the end of the week. You can't. There were less than 100 of us at Torche, and of the 10,000 folks who will go to Finnspark, I bet none were amoung those 100. Even if there was one, besides me, they wouldn't also be going to see a TV travel guy.  So, there you go. As has been often declared- we are what we do, not what we say.

Too Popular

So, I've got a few things to write about, at long last. Hope you weren't waiting around.
So, I've been listening to the Deftones' Koi No Yokan ( which I'm led to believe translates as "Love at First Sight") and I think it's the best thing they've done since "White Pony" . I don't fully understand why Deftones don't get their due- they pretty much have invented their own sound, which is this mix of Goth, metal, hip hop, and shoegazer elements that seems like a much more harrowing version of what The Walker Brothers were doing. You've got the same billowing clouds of sound, with strangely dispassionate vocals, crooned in a way to emphasize the strain in the voice, and oblique lyrics about minute events. So, why aren't they critics' darlings?
So, this one is less rythmic, more reflective- like the self titled LP a few years ago, but with an emphasis on melody that was absent on that record. The lush atmospherics are there, like on a Neurosis or Mogwai LP, but more dynamic than that might suggest. Overall, it's the most brutal post metal you'll hear, the most "indie rock" that metal gets, and the least "pop" melody gets. So, again, I question why folks aren't all over this... The only explanation I can give is the taint of "nu metal" that they carry- and the reason why that is a taint is that it got too popular with the wrong people- as bad as that sounds, it's a very real complaint- who wants to brave an audience filled with meat heads, even if the songs are great?
That's the reason why you won't catch me going to Crafty Bastards, again, after this past weekend. Last years was not an anomoly . The hordes of MTV influenced hipsters  have taken over and crushed the life out of it, to the point that I feel bad for suggesting that people go to it. It was horrible. Parking was inadequate, to the point that I got into a "fender bender" accident- and I've not been in an accident in over 20 years! I was around so many humans that it aggravated my cold into a bad case of the flu- again, something that hasn't happened in years. Food and drink was impossible- hour long lines , limited selection, shortages. Add that it was taking place in a parking lot in an industrial wasteland part of town, and it felt like going to a third world market, that had been invaded by impossibly hip yuppies from San Francisco.
It took away my one solid reason for going- to see and talk with some of my favorite crafty people. There was no talking in a crowd 50,000+ , only yelling and people shoving. So, my wife and I bought some stuff from Jon Wye, Tina Seamonster, Berkley Illustration  and Alternate Histories and got the hell out, to go kill time at a less crowded shopping Mall ( yes, the freakin' Mall was preferable)  until we met up with an out-of-town friend for a late dinner.
So, yes, there is more to hating when things get too popular with the wrong crowd than simple hipster elitism.
As I've been typing, MTV 2 has been playing indie rock- of the  Two Door Cinema Club Grizzly Bear, Circa Survive and Silversun Pickups variety. That might be because it's not yet 0700 AM, but it still means that the mainstream is coming for them, so forget the kind of venues that suit their kind of intimate rock. Likewise, I have to forget about seeing my friends at Crafty Bastards, and the critics will never give Deftones their due.

I was going to write a post...

But Bruce LaBruce, of all people, said it first, and better. Boing Boing, for all their "White Hat" reputation, are clearly floundering on this topic, while Vice are, for all that they have contributed to the problem, at least striving to do better. Here's the one thing I can still add- I'm not smart  nor am I savvy enough to fully understand, but it seems to me that with the internet, as with real life, it isn't as simple as white hat/black hat. Sometimes, the sarcastic trolls at Vice are right and good, and sometimes the people's advocates at Slate are wrong, and cynical. Sometimes, Anonymous are destructive, and sometimes constructive, and sometimes the harder you try to be constructive, the more destructive you become. The internet is just a network of people. Technology is just another way of saying tools. People are a force, people are good and bad, and people progress and regress- don't get it twisted.

How much longer?

Ya wanna know why I'm not real excited by a lot of the upcoming releases? Watch this. Break down what Trent is saying, and it becomes this: he wants to be a big rock STAR again. Whether you're talking about Trent Reznor, or Amanda Palmer, I'm seeing that thing emerge again. I hate it. It's a disease, and I know this as much as I know that cars need fuel, cats hate bananas, and my wife loves me. I hate it so much that I hated the whole "kill rock stars" thing because it made my hatred  "cutesy". No, I'm rabid on this topic, so all caps like an internet crazy troll: THE DESIRE FOR FAME IS A DISEASE LIKE AN ADDICTION. You can play with fire a bit- just like you can have a few drinks or tokes, and you'll probably be ok, but only stupid bastards go all in. Part of how I came to this is Trent Reznor, himself. A quick story- it's 1991. The first big American "Alternative" Festival. It really won't take much for you to guess. Of the several bands playing that day, I like the music of most, but hate the band members of most as well. I'd done sound for most of them for club dates, and I hadn't fully formed my philosophy, yet. But I knew that there was a difference between them and the other, equally well-selling bands. None more different than Nine Inch Nails.  They brought their own sound crew, and, well, have you seen Spinal Tap? Where the lead singer brings in his girlfriend to manage the band? Same thing, only Trent brought in his own sound crew. These jackasses had no background, and no business doing professional sound. Fletch and I both tried to warn them that they were wiring everything wrong, but Trent, himself, shooed us away. We were trying to literally save his life, and Fletch did, a little while later. Because during the set opener, with the dry ice pumping, and the moist stage literally crackling with shorting wires, Trent goes in for his big dramatic rock star move on the keyboard, which could just as well have been a prop because everything was loops and sequences, and you could see the arc of electricity at least 30 metres away. If we didn't cut the power right then and there, that would've been the end of Trent right there. Should he have been grateful? I'll let you decide, but He, his sound crew, and some other jackass are immediately pissed off that we cut the power, even though trent had just been sent into the drum riser, so powerful was the jolt. Eventually, we relented, and they played about another song and a half before the mains started popping out. The promoter went on stage, ended their set with an angry tirade about how NIN were not going to be paid, or were kicked off the Tour, or whatever.
But, in that story, you have the perfect metaphor for the kind of fame addiction that Trent, and others have- even when it's clearly demonstrated that what they want will kill them, they still want it, and they want it in precisely the way they envisioned it, and will fight to get it. The only other thing I've seen like that is hardcore drug addiction. Add to that things like the Butthole Surfers and their 15 grand guarantee , or Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro literally trying to kill each other for the spotlight mid-gig and, in retrospect, I don't see how i could have missed it, but that really was a turning point- that desire to see your section at the record store, the desire to recruit fans like you're building brand loyalty to a kind of tissue paper, to have your gig advertised to the exclusion of other bands? Yeah, that is precisely the symptoms of a disease that I want to see gone.

Classics from an Alternative Universe

The break up of USOT kinda bums me out. Sure, there are new projects, and if the band is untenable, it's better for them to pursue their best course, but I really did want to see them live, just once. So, I listened to my favorite record of theirs, this week: When the Revolution Comes, Everything will be Beautiful . I still think they didn't get their due for that record.

So, that, in combination with some posts on facebook by some friends got me thinking about some other great records that I liked, but few others, or at least too few others, noticed. So, I've been listening to them, too.

First, Arcwelder's Entropy. Amazing band that sounded like Shellac meets Archers of Loaf with Bob Mould singing They Might Be Giants songs. Yes, post-hardcore, indie rock, but something a bit more than the sum of the parts. They distilled a certain post punk awareness of certain midwestern hardcore types: the whole Reflex/Ruthless/Touch And Go/Homestead B-list type thing- as in the kind of band that would have been written about in Your Flesh magazine, but forgotten soon thereafter. While I might be an all-day sucker for that whole thing, certain of these deserved A list status, and Steve Albini including Arcwelder in his ATP line up says that I have this one right. (BTW, If I had a spare 3 large, I'd go. Jeebus, lookit that line up!)

So, Arcwelder playing ATP got me thinking about my big regret this year- not seeing the Quicksand reunion. Sure, I like Gorilla Biscuits and Rival Schools and so on, but Slip by Quicksand, that's a stone classic, and I genuinely pity you if you don't think so, as well. It's the punky reggae party of the Clash and the Ruts brought headlong into the post-hardcore 1990's, with Killing Joke and Helmet styled metal-isms thrown in to shine it up. Furthermore, I dare you to be excited by the second half of Fugazi's discography after hearing Slip. Quicksand dominated that sound so thoroughly that I really don't know why anyone took up that sound until The Refused came along. 

That leads me to The Rise. I've mentioned them before but I talked more about their second LP. The first one,  Signal to Noise is amazing as well. Yes, it clearly owes a debt to The Refused, but it carries that torch a bit further into electronic music territory than the Refused did. And, well, The Refused did break up, and the members did other, very worthwhile projects, but they weren't exploring that post hardcore meets Techno meets Jazz meets folk sound. The Rise kept most of that, though they lowered the folk elements, and really brought up the Techno, making it a different thing from The Refused. That the Metalcore folks bought in was surprising, and I think if people were a bit more candid, they'd probably admit that Signal to Noise was the gateway that brought them to The Refused- meaning that the influence The Refused had on The Rise paid back dividends in the proper way, much like Metallica championing the Misfits properly brought focus onto Glenn Danzig and company. On top of that, much like The Refused, The Rise were made up of very creative individuals, involved in everything from great rock bands- Aeges, Juliette and The licks,  and ...And You Will Know Us by The Trail of Dead, to magazines and design- Law of Inertia magazine, multiple albums and of course, production and engineering. So, much like USOT, the fact that there will be no more records by The Rise is a bummer, but not a catastrophe, and there's some classic documentation left behind.

More Specs, the ongoing optical odd-I-see

So, yes, I've been spending money on Specs. Apart from my generic specs that I bought on my insurance policy, I've purchased 3 pairs of specs this year, so far, and I got one pair for free. Remember this post? Well, yes, I got the Parkers at Lookmatic, , and I bought a pair of the Tippis for my wife.  I also won a pair of the Uncleonards ( they have many contests, just scour the net) and now, I've got a pair of the Hoppers  from Mezzmer.
Here's what I've learned- Lookmatic is definitely going for the Women's Sunglasses market. They getting designers involved, they are getting celebrities to wear them, and  they're advertising them heavily.Still, they put out a lot of very high quality specs and while they are not the cheapest, I'd say they have some great deals because the quality level is very high. Mezzmer produces some very high quality specs as well, and they have excellent customer service. If there were no Lookmatic, I'd probably shop at Mezzmer an awful lot. Truthfully though, Lookmatic has insanely high levels of customer service- they'll even answer random questions I email them at 1130 at night- within a half hour! In comparison, Mezzmer takes between 12 and 24 hours. However, they will ship up to 5 pairs of glasses for you to try on for a dollar, and they pay shipping. Like I said- excellent, excellent customer service. Lookmatic practically become family members, and I actually know at least two of them on a first name basis- but Mezzmer still kicks most brick and mortars to the curb. I won't name the names of other places I've tried, but I'll just say that some of the more "hip" options have fairly lousy customer service, so I'd still give Mezzmer a very strong recommendation- and I don't want to give the impression that I think you should choose Lookmatic over Mezzmer, because they're just as good, I just like Lookmatic more.
There are other considerations, of course- I'd say the quality is top notch for both. The Lookmatics have a slightly higher quality frame, while I have to admit the Mezzmer lenses are higher quality than even the Lookmatics . Still both are very high quality- easily better than most brick-and-mortar options. If either one gets into the business of making progressive bifocals, I'll take the insurance hit, and never buy from a brick and mortar, again.
Then, there's style. I, personally, think they both put out some very stylish frames, but I'm a big fan of "retro" designs ( I think Men's fashion peaked in 1963) but with modern twists- and that's exactly what both of them specialize in doing. Very "Mad Men" styles- and if that's not your thing, you may not find them as stylish as I do. Still- I think that kind of style seems to be fairly universal, so I expect I'm not alone.
Finally, there are some ethics involved- while none of these keep up with certain companies' charitable giving, or ecologically sound business practices, both are more green than 90% of  the other options out there- and Mezzmer has a 6% charitable giving policy- which is still nicer than going to Walmart, right?
Overall, I'd call my online spec purchases a success- and, if I have my way, I will continue to purchase a few more- and if you think me a gluttonous consumer, I'd like to point out- I cannot wear contact lenses, and if I'd just gone with the brick and mortar my insurance favors, I would have bought two pair- glasses and sunglasses, and would have spent roughly 1/5th more than what I've spent, in total. So, if I buy two more pair, at the prices I'm paying, I'd be at the same place as if I'd bought two higher end pairs at a brick and mortar- in other words, had I been able to buy all my glasses at these two places, I could buy at a rate of 3 to 1. So, I don't feel too bad about it at all.

a Programme note

Hey, I'm not certain how many posts I'll be doing for next few months. Several things: I'm not excited by a lot of what I see on the horizon. There are few things, but not a lot. Also, I'm saving my pennies for a few things- I'm not done buying glasses, I've got birthdays and holidays to buy for, and I'm hoping to purchase a few larger items ( new car, a couple of appliances, possibly a new computer or tablet computer). Also, I'm a bit involved in a few non-pop culture things that are eating my time. If that's not enough rationale for you, I'm not saying there will be no posts- just that they might be fewer, and more... creative. But, hey, who knows? I'm might get enamored with a buncha crap....

Buying Good(s)

Ideologically, I'm not exactly a big supporter of the "buy green", "buy handmade" or "buy local" thing. The way I see it, there are two words in there: and the one that's the same in both cases is "buy". I really don't think we can buy our way into anything good. I spent way too long in too many economics courses, and worked for too long as a banker and accountant to think that we can buy our way into peace, a better environment, love, or justice. However, you can buy happiness, and prosperity- but it's not the most efficient route to either one.
However, buying crap is the secret underbelly of a lot of what I do support, so I'm willing to overlook some truths in order to get to better ones. For example, I believe in supporting creators of culture- and the way we do that, in this time and place, is buying stuff.  We buy Mp3 downloads, CDs, T shirts, Bumper Stickers, Wall Art, Sculpture, Jewelry,  Books, eBooks, Movie Tickets, Concert Tickets, Restaurant Food, DVD's Licensed Streams, Blu Rays, and Hotel Rooms, and we're essentially "voting" which way culture goes. So, buying a lot of things goes part and parcel with adding my voice to those stating they want the world to be a different place. So, since I want the world to be greener, and since I like doing things myself, and since I like my friends, I do buy a lot more green options, a lot more handmade things, and I  do shop locally, as appropriate. However, I also think that I do more to create a greener world, and a more just world when I vote with a ballot, and when I work towards different laws, and when I don't buy, you know?
What all that means is that, ultimately, if you buy something, you should buy it because it is the best of whatever it is.  How did William Morris put it? If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful . So, I buy local craft beers when they are tastier, not when they are more ideologically sound. I buy  handcrafts when they are handsome, and well-made by people I know to be talented. I buy CDs when the band sounds good, and I like them and know them to be talented.. I patronise places that serve me well- in the quality of the goods, the aesthetics, and the relationship. I see bands and movies that I like, not that fit some self-created profile. I think we, as modern people, have a glut of stuff, and I think that glut does not serve us, but instead serves people we may not like. I see no need to add to that glut in service of some misguided notion that by doing so we are somehow making ourselves better- that smacks of a smug  self-satisfied rationalisation . I might rationalise, but I'm never smug, nor self-satisfied!
So, with that overly intricate preamble, I'm starting to assist in the promotion for the Crafty Bastards craft fair, in Washington DC.  Yes, I said "assist" in "promotion" for what is, essentially a marketplace. Furthermore, this year, it even carries an admission price., and will be held inside a literal market. If I said that none of that made me uncomfortable, I'd be a liar, and I truly believe that most people can tell when you're lying. So I think an explanation is in order, and part of that explanation was in my preamble. Some of the event organizers are my friends, and yes, I've bought stuff at previous Crafty Bastards. I don't want to sound like I'm being too precious with my "brand" here- but if I'm to stand for anything, more than socialism, more than aesthetics, more than I would stand for anything else, I stand for simple human relationships.  No, that's not the same as love- what I mean is that I am convinced that the "I-You" relationship is the building block of anything good in humanity. Now, of course, my friends are not the same as Crafty Bastards. It's still drenched in capitalism, and therefore still is in the "I-it" relationship, so, I'm not necessarily endorsing Crafty Bastards as a concept. But, the opportunity is there for me to experience the "I-You" relationship. Because that opportunity exists within that space, I can endorse Crafty Bastards in practice. Get it, or have I gone too high concept for you? 
What I'm saying is that buying at a craft fair is still buying things. That's a dead relationship. A simple transaction, dressed up in "Alternative" rhetoric, but ultimately just that- buying stuff, and the person at the till could just as well be an application. However, because of the scale of the venue, because it's possible to actually accept the humanity and the validity of that humanity at this venue, I can endorse that opportunity to shake off the transaction, and interact. Put this way- if I buy a T shirt at Amazon, that's all there is. I bought a T shirt from a collection of machines, literally. If I buy a T shirt from a friend, the T shirt and the transaction of buying that T shirt is secondary to the relationship with my friend. I can get behind any arena or venue that emphasizes the friendship more than the transaction. If we can spread that notion- that making and having friends is better than making and having things, that really is a way of doing good. 

United Sons of Toil- Forces of Production

I'm a big fan of USOT, but not a big fan of remixes. Truthfully, I fully respect the notion of remix culture, and I understand the cultural forces at work, but I usually just don't care for the results. Even the most expert remixes end up sounding basically like gimmicks to me. Yes, that goes for the Bloody Beetrroots re-imagining of the Refused's "New Noise" that were performed with Dennis. So, much like that, this is a kind of collaboration, as well, in that USOT put the word out "Remix us and we'll assemble it into a release", and that removes one element that I don't like about remixes- that they become a method of putting one kind of Art into another type- sort of replacing the author with another. Also, I'm not hearing another of my pet peeves about remixes- either the out-and-out insertion of a synth that was not part of the original, or manipulating the sound so far that it is the same as if a new synth like was introduced. So, there are some serious counter-arguments to calling this a "remix album". Also, another pitfall is avoided- these songs sound playable. Don't get me wrong- I can get behind fully synthetic songs, and samples ala the Beastie Boys, but ultimately I like music that sounds like humans played it- and this still sounds like humans played it. Some of the vocals, maybe not, but the music sounds like it may be difficult, and might need some augmentation, but could be played by a live band. That's a huge plus for me.
Ultimately, it reminds me of dubs, more than remixes, if that makes any sense.
So, should you get it? That's up to you, of course. I'm not trying to tell you to sell or prevent the sale of records, here- I will say that it appeals to a slightly different aesthetic than most USOT records- you know how Broadrick went all kinds of strange in the mid to late 1990's? Ice, The Sidewinder, Youpho, Krackhead, Techno Animal, Love and Hate in Dub, Us and Them? All that stuff? If you got into that, like I did, I cannot see how you will fail to enjoy this. However, if I'm speaking a foreign language to you, right now, let me explain- this isn't exactly dance remixes. This more like ambient music- you crank it up, and you live with it around you. It makes for a great soundtrack to whatever it is that you're doing at the time. Me? I say you plot a revolution with this as the backdrop, but your results may vary on that.

Joe 4 Njegov Sin

It's been a few months, and a partial change of language for Joe 4. On their last EP, the gutteral grunts and hoarse exhortations were nominally in English, now it appears they're doing the same in their native tongue. That's a good thing. Seriously. I don't speak a lick of Croatian, so I couldn't even tell you if that's what the language is, but you can tell when someone is expressing themselves in a language they understand or not. Nothing is more unintentionally funny, nor more maddening than the horrible turns of phrase when the author isn't using the language their heart speaks- like teenage poetry, it might make sense to the author, but it ends there. Meanwhile, I can read the intent here- these are exhortations, grunts, and yelps- the impression is of alienation and passion in equal degrees.

So, how's the music? Remember how I said they were driving a beat into the ground, last time? They still go in for repetition, and drone, and heavy beats, but there's a lot more dynamics, now. The effect is not unlike an organic version of Big Black, or any other expression of Steve Albini's singular muse in that direction-The songs pound and pummel, while the guitars seek to play a counter to the machinery of the bass and drums- not a counter melody, necessarily ( though there are some pretty bits, like the first minute of "Houlihan") but a counter nonetheless. Yes, Albini recorded this, and Weston mastered it, like in the days of yore, but it doesn't entirely have the characteristic Albini dryness- there's a little bit more old school reverb and compression- you know who it sounds like recording-wise? Iain Burgess. That might not seem like much to you, but for old Chicago Hardcore veterans like me, that name carries serious weight. This seriously could be an early to mid 1980's Chicago or Minneapolis post-punk record- and here's where I get obscure, but bear with me- I could see them on a bill with Rifle Sport, Breaking Circus, and Big Black. Now, getting less obscure- they sound like the beta version of what became the AmRep sound. I know people will simply hear this as a variation of that fabled AmRep/Touch and Go/ "Pigfuck" sound, but quite frankly, it's the sound that came before that. 

So, here's my statement- they've improved greatly, and they were good before. If this were the golden days of Indie recording, I'd say somebody sign them, right now. However, as we're now in the digital era, I'm saying hie thee unto Bandcamp, get this, and start demanding your local greasy dive book them ASAP. Yes, now.