I prefer to use this blog to promote, in my small way, the pop culture I'd like to comprise the culture. I'm not by nature a negative person. Angry? possibly. Outraged? at times. Cynical? Of a lot of things, but not everything. I've managed to make it into my forties, still a socialist, so I can't be really all that negative, can I? A socialist has to believe that there is a wisdom and a strength in people.
So I watched the MTV Movie awards, and this one good thing in the whole she-bang, consistently, was Russell Brand. He took the piss on the whole thing repeatedly. Charlie Sheen even was uselessly sucking up to the Viacom Teat. References to the illusion of democracy in western culture? Laying bare the oppression inherent in Twilight, Hunger Games, and Teen Mom, in three sentences in the opening monologue? That's not a terrible use of the broadcast medium, now is it? I'm looking forward to Brand X.
Apart from Russell, it was lousy, beginning to end. We start with fun. Not really, just the band. God, has there ever been such a lousy excuse for Indie rock? Of course there has- the world is suffused with them, but since when has that been an excuse? " Oh, we're only as terrible as the rest of the worst"
We also had Wiz Khalifa- a copy of a bad xeroxed copy of a mimeograph of a discarded version of Outkast and Kanye. Lyrics cribbed from a workplace motivational poster, and vocoder melodies do nothing for me. I liked his T shirt, at least, so, that would be the one thing that put him above fun.
The Dimmer Twins out to bury Johnny Depp? I suppose that like the rest of their Career, Keef can't be everywhere, can he?
Ok, I can't rip on Johnny Depp and the Black Keys. It was a superior version of Gold on the Ceiling. Some decent Rocknroll in a sea of crap, but then Johnny had to speak, and kissed every arse he could find, I would've preferred to just really hear the version of Lonely Boy that they talked all over. Way to ruin an oasis of decency in a sea of opiated zombie hell.
As for the Movie stars, most don't deserve a mention, at all. I'll just mention that Josh Hutcherson has the same hat as me, Kristen Stewart IS Avril Lavigne, I don't have high hopes for Andy Sanburg without SNL, Fasbender's Beard is Wierd, as is his facial hair, Posh Spice, in her guise as Kate Beckinsale was a prejudice given human form, McConnaughey still thinks he's in Dazed and Confused, and as for Gary Oldman, Christian Bale and Jason Gordon Levitt- I have a question: if talent is amassed just to sell Crap to the most lumpen of proles, do you still call it talent, or is propaganda a better word? ( Also, Nolan inadvertently gave me a great joke in his swallowing of the words "Dark knight"- The Doughnut rises. It needs to happen, now.)
I could give less than a deuce about the awards. Seriously, I don't care, and don't think anyone with even Arctic room temperature IQ cares, either. Least of all the audience.
It was just insulting, but I know why it existed in the first place. So, really- how long must we tolerate mass culture?
Monday, June 4, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
I just want this on record
Cousin Iggy playing the Black Keys' Lonely Boy is horrible. Just dreadful. I love Iggy, and not just because he's a medium distance relative (he's my Mum's cousin) and Lonely Boy is the second best song from the Akron Duo ( Everlasting Light is their best. No discussion.) but this is just wretched.
Some small thoughts on the new dEUS
dEUS are a band that, in some ways, just can't win. They're from continental Europe, which means that they're invisible to mainstream ( read "American") pop culture. They don't make really esoteric music, so hipsters can't use them as some sort of totem to designate hos sophisticated they are. In fact, it's kind of charming how some UK fans try to "hip them up"- I even have seen, more than once, Drowned in Sound refer to them as "Europe's Sonic Youth", and they're nothing of the sort. They had a mid-career shake up, going from playing Zappa and Beefheart influenced Alt Rock to a much more straightforward Alt pop sound, which split the fans up, further. So, despite playing more ear pleasing music than 99% of either the pop charts or the Indie blogger favorites on Twitter, they're a cult act.
Here's how they win, anyway- they play better music. I can only relate them to the top echelons of pop and rock music, even though they don't really sound like any of them. They aren't really a "RIYL" type band. Instead, I hear little bits of everything from Beefheartian skronk, to Brel and Bacharach pop to Afghan Whigs styled soul punk, to doomy bits of Sabbathian blues metal, but all blended nicely into a very fine grained lager. So, if you're discerning, but have a broad palette, dEUS is for you, even if they don't sound like your other favorite acts.
So, they're shaking things up, again. They're getting a bit more spontaneous, which is a return to the methodology of dEUS mk1, but they're keeping the aesthetics of Mk2- this is still fantastic. See, I wasn't a fan until mk 2, because the mk 1 improvisations seemed unfinished, rough, and awkward. Mk 2, even when they're a bit looser, as this release is, still hew closely to an aesthetic- no abrupt changes, no awkward bridges, no crowding, all of which marred mk1. Instead, this reminds me of beatnik jazz, only in a rock format. Superlative players taking a familiar form and trying to move that form into an idiosyncratic direction. They're not like a bad jam band choogling along while one player at a time plays scales in E- instead it's a real coherent group following the melody to where it leads, with a half drunken poet reacting in real time. If that doesn't interest you, I think it should.
So, song by song, but quickly, you haven't got all day-
Quatre Mains- The Edge of Seventeen meets Bauhaus playing french bop- the title references two people playing the same instrument- you can guess what the lyrics are about from there.
Sirens- a more Cowboy reading of 'Ghosts' with a lonesome echo.
Hidden Wounds- early 1980's dub post punk as a soundtrack to war stories. Striking, in every sense.
Girls Keep Drinking- Skeletal No Wave Funk meets Captain Beefheart spinning Minneapolis R and B and grinning on an inside joke
Nothings- A R Kane sings a mash note in zero G
The Soft Fall- "Security'( yes, the American title) era Peter Gabriel plays a summer pop song, and drinks wine coolers- as happy as can be.
Crazy about You- Envelope Filter Funk meets Hootie folk pop with a tequila twist.
The Give Up Gene- Stark Beefheart realizations meets Morse code Bill Laswell cocktail hour.
Fire Up the Google Beast Algorithm- Stream of consciousness gets absolutely dangerous
One Thing about Waves- Greg Dulli forcing Pelican to play soulful doom rock.
That's as close as I can explain. Hope I didn't use more obscure references than Dennis Miller on an University of Alexandria research bender....
Here's how they win, anyway- they play better music. I can only relate them to the top echelons of pop and rock music, even though they don't really sound like any of them. They aren't really a "RIYL" type band. Instead, I hear little bits of everything from Beefheartian skronk, to Brel and Bacharach pop to Afghan Whigs styled soul punk, to doomy bits of Sabbathian blues metal, but all blended nicely into a very fine grained lager. So, if you're discerning, but have a broad palette, dEUS is for you, even if they don't sound like your other favorite acts.
So, they're shaking things up, again. They're getting a bit more spontaneous, which is a return to the methodology of dEUS mk1, but they're keeping the aesthetics of Mk2- this is still fantastic. See, I wasn't a fan until mk 2, because the mk 1 improvisations seemed unfinished, rough, and awkward. Mk 2, even when they're a bit looser, as this release is, still hew closely to an aesthetic- no abrupt changes, no awkward bridges, no crowding, all of which marred mk1. Instead, this reminds me of beatnik jazz, only in a rock format. Superlative players taking a familiar form and trying to move that form into an idiosyncratic direction. They're not like a bad jam band choogling along while one player at a time plays scales in E- instead it's a real coherent group following the melody to where it leads, with a half drunken poet reacting in real time. If that doesn't interest you, I think it should.
So, song by song, but quickly, you haven't got all day-
Quatre Mains- The Edge of Seventeen meets Bauhaus playing french bop- the title references two people playing the same instrument- you can guess what the lyrics are about from there.
Sirens- a more Cowboy reading of 'Ghosts' with a lonesome echo.
Hidden Wounds- early 1980's dub post punk as a soundtrack to war stories. Striking, in every sense.
Girls Keep Drinking- Skeletal No Wave Funk meets Captain Beefheart spinning Minneapolis R and B and grinning on an inside joke
Nothings- A R Kane sings a mash note in zero G
The Soft Fall- "Security'( yes, the American title) era Peter Gabriel plays a summer pop song, and drinks wine coolers- as happy as can be.
Crazy about You- Envelope Filter Funk meets Hootie folk pop with a tequila twist.
The Give Up Gene- Stark Beefheart realizations meets Morse code Bill Laswell cocktail hour.
Fire Up the Google Beast Algorithm- Stream of consciousness gets absolutely dangerous
One Thing about Waves- Greg Dulli forcing Pelican to play soulful doom rock.
That's as close as I can explain. Hope I didn't use more obscure references than Dennis Miller on an University of Alexandria research bender....
Friday, June 1, 2012
Surprise!
So, a couple of surprises, today: I was going to get the new Workers CD- Both Hands, but, unexpectedly, couldn't. I have it on good (Label) authority that the release has been pushed back, and that it will come out this summer. Well, cool, I guess, and welcome to the world of indie labels, but I was still bummed. However, I've heard from Pim, and the new Silence is Sexy is still a go, but the digital release may come a few days or weeks after the CD comes out on the sixth. Still- very cool to hear there will be a digital release, because even though I will want the CD, my mail service sucks, and it'll take over a month for the CD to reach me, so I was bummed about that, but this is where it turns around, completely out of the blue, dEUS just released a new album- they announced it, released it on Itunes, and put up a stream of it, all today. Nobody knew. So, I swallowed some pride, and opened up an Itunes account on an older laptop ( I wouldn't put Itunes on a decent computer, that shit is malware, of the highest order) downloaded it, and DRM be damned, managed to burn a CD. I just finished listening to it- yes, it's awesome. It's simpler, more streamlined than "Keep You Close', and it reads like dispatches from a war correspondent, so it has a sense of immediacy, and urgency, which fits the "Damn the Torpedos" surprise of the release. I can't say that I love it, yet- I've only just met these songs, and they're not like strippers, where it's all reveal, with no aftermath- these are real songs- you get to know them like friends. But, I will say that I like them. and clearly I'm nuts for dEUS. So, stream it, and get to know for yourself.
In any event- way for them to prove that there is a way to co-exist with the internet, when everybody else seems to hate it. See, David Lowery's completely awful music aside ( yes, I hate Camper Van Beethoven, and always did.) he's a damn derivatives trader, so he's evil. Done and done. Q Magazine, well, I respect them, a little bit, but you'll note they lack the bollocks to put the article online, and the register is Crap. So, the chickenshit response is to say- online piracy is an awful theft, so we'll just put our Art in a commercial cage, and surround it with DRM landmines. No, I don't pirate music, but I do think that there should be ways of hearing music for free, and I can name you three bands, right off the bat that hooked me by giving away some downloads- The Comas, Silence is Sexy, and Pandora.s Box. I've purchased things from all three, and plan to do so in the future ( that is, if the Comas re-form) . It works. So, dEUS stream the whole record, release it on Itunes at the same time, don't sell it to the godawful music press first, and then, they'll release the physical product. and how much you want to bet they'll make money at it? Hell, they've got me hawking it, for free- think about that Mr Cracker. ( Seriously, the dude is a walking reason to steal from these supposed Artists- if it'll put him out of business, it's done a good thing)
So, what a nice surprise from a bunch of guys who really do deserve your extra cash- go stream it, and tell me you don't want a track or two....
In any event- way for them to prove that there is a way to co-exist with the internet, when everybody else seems to hate it. See, David Lowery's completely awful music aside ( yes, I hate Camper Van Beethoven, and always did.) he's a damn derivatives trader, so he's evil. Done and done. Q Magazine, well, I respect them, a little bit, but you'll note they lack the bollocks to put the article online, and the register is Crap. So, the chickenshit response is to say- online piracy is an awful theft, so we'll just put our Art in a commercial cage, and surround it with DRM landmines. No, I don't pirate music, but I do think that there should be ways of hearing music for free, and I can name you three bands, right off the bat that hooked me by giving away some downloads- The Comas, Silence is Sexy, and Pandora.s Box. I've purchased things from all three, and plan to do so in the future ( that is, if the Comas re-form) . It works. So, dEUS stream the whole record, release it on Itunes at the same time, don't sell it to the godawful music press first, and then, they'll release the physical product. and how much you want to bet they'll make money at it? Hell, they've got me hawking it, for free- think about that Mr Cracker. ( Seriously, the dude is a walking reason to steal from these supposed Artists- if it'll put him out of business, it's done a good thing)
So, what a nice surprise from a bunch of guys who really do deserve your extra cash- go stream it, and tell me you don't want a track or two....
Monday, May 28, 2012
Missed one
It happens about once a year or so- I miss mentioning a really good release from a really great set of Artists. Last time it was Wire's Red Barked Tree- Which, honestly, has not worn a path to my heart over time. It's still Wire, and so very clever, with some fascinating twists and turns, but not quite what I need.
So, here we are with the Office of Future Plans. It came out in November, I think. I got it back in December, I know that. I didn't mention it for a couple of reasons, I think: of course, if you ask me, I'll say that it slipped my mind, but there's something more.
J Robbins , musically, can do very little wrong. He's got a fantastic crooner's voice- seriously, put the guy up against Harry Connick or Michael Buble, and I think he wins. Also, he writes such deliciously sour pop songs.
But, he can do stuff that doesn't quite connect with me. Usually, it's 3 songs or less per LP. This one, it's about half the LP. I like the idea on paper- Cello-based post hardcore: but a bunch of them, the energy is just sapped right out, and it's like listening to Yes, or ELP to me- I respect the Art, but I don't enjoy it.
Still, the "hits" are freaking awesome- I don't think you can do a bad arrangement of "Loyal Opposition", and the one here is a rival to Report Suspicious Activity, album opener "Salamander" makes like Jawbox and crunches nicely," The Beautiful Barricades " roars and grooves like mid 1990's Killing Joke, mixed with Siouxsie's Creatures project,
"Fema Coffins" is pop punk and proudly so, slowly deconstructing into a Buzzcocks ballad. Likewise, "Dumb it Down" is a grunge stomp taken apart and put back together as a power ballad.
But Five tracks out of Twelve? That's why I'm not mentioning it until now. Granted, it's still better than nearly everything being released, but, if I'm honest, it just doesn't excite me enough.
So, here we are with the Office of Future Plans. It came out in November, I think. I got it back in December, I know that. I didn't mention it for a couple of reasons, I think: of course, if you ask me, I'll say that it slipped my mind, but there's something more.
J Robbins , musically, can do very little wrong. He's got a fantastic crooner's voice- seriously, put the guy up against Harry Connick or Michael Buble, and I think he wins. Also, he writes such deliciously sour pop songs.
But, he can do stuff that doesn't quite connect with me. Usually, it's 3 songs or less per LP. This one, it's about half the LP. I like the idea on paper- Cello-based post hardcore: but a bunch of them, the energy is just sapped right out, and it's like listening to Yes, or ELP to me- I respect the Art, but I don't enjoy it.
Still, the "hits" are freaking awesome- I don't think you can do a bad arrangement of "Loyal Opposition", and the one here is a rival to Report Suspicious Activity, album opener "Salamander" makes like Jawbox and crunches nicely," The Beautiful Barricades " roars and grooves like mid 1990's Killing Joke, mixed with Siouxsie's Creatures project,
"Fema Coffins" is pop punk and proudly so, slowly deconstructing into a Buzzcocks ballad. Likewise, "Dumb it Down" is a grunge stomp taken apart and put back together as a power ballad.
But Five tracks out of Twelve? That's why I'm not mentioning it until now. Granted, it's still better than nearly everything being released, but, if I'm honest, it just doesn't excite me enough.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
OK, no retractions
I still haven't purchased the EPs, exactly. But I felt so bad after posting the last post that I dug out a credit card, and purchased the Articles of Faith and Dead Ending releases as Mp3's from Amazon. Please note this is definitely NOT my preference. I would rather purchase the actual EP's from Alternative tentacles, and if you have the means, I suggest that you do so. I suppose I should say why I never do it this way- 1. I don't like Credit Cards. They put you in debt to some of the most twisted and evil institutions in the world, and I really do blame the big guys- Visa, Mastercard, American Express for the economic mess we're in, worldwide. To explain would involve details that would be far too involved for 99.99% of you, and the .001% would already know those details. So, the short and nasty version- The derivatives market is based upon markets made possible only because of the securitization of debt that the major credit cards made. The speculation on derivatives puts so many zeros into portfolios that otherwise solid markets get drawn in, and the result is inevitably the destruction of that market, as the vast sums are fraud, by nature
. 2. While I don't think of Mp3's as evil, they're a definite downgrade from physical objects- even the most compressed and poorly mastered CD sounds better than most Mp3s
3. I'd prefer to put money in my friends' bank accounts than in a faceless corporation like Amazon
4. I really don't like to spend money on stuff that only I will enjoy, when I could spend it on stuff my friends and family could enjoy as well.
So, yeah, I'm neurotic, and guilt struck, but that was outweighed by being completely depressed by my current situation. I won't go into great detail, but I will say that I had to go under the knife, but it did not involve full sedation. If my insurance were as good as it once was possible to get in this country, it only would've cost me a couple hundred dollars, instead of the four figure range this cost me. No, there really isn't anything happy about having a procedure that you need, in order to maintain your health, cost you more than a vacation would've cost. So, hell yes, I'm bummed out.
So, I've listened to both, and, sure enough, this is the state of the Art for Hardcore Punk Rock.
I fully recognize that Vic Bondi's voice, even in the limited genre of Hardcore, is a limiting factor- which is a nice way of saying- most folks hate his voice. I'm good with his voice. But what you cannot assail is his songwriting. I mean, imagine that- hardcore thrash, with no metal diversions, or apologies, that has all the songwriting care of classic rock- John Fogerty, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen figure most prominently.
The melodies are more abstract than most of punk rock. It's not quite the angular, atonal math stuff, but there's a lot of half steps, and dissonance. That's what midwestern Hardcore does, though- think about it- from Die Kreuzen, to Killdozer to Big Black to USOT, The midwest doesn't do standard pop punk. I fully believe that the whole Fugazi DC thing came to be because of the midwest. J Robbins was obsessed with the midwest, especially Naked Raygun, The Effigies, Helmet and Big Black, and in between Minor Threat and Fugazi, Ian did the pailhead project with Jourgensen of Ministry- so again, if you want Angular hardcore punk Rock, you go to the midwest, first. No one has ever done it better, in a thrash context, than Articles of Faith. If you can listen to In this life and Give Thanks, and still think that a band like Fucked Up is taking Hardcore into a new, and exciting place, you're just objectively wrong.
However, this new, re-united version isn't doing the stuff they did in the 1980's. I can hear the influence from Tom Morello, and the aforementioned J Robbins. But, still, amazing, boundary pushing and defining hardcore, made by adults, for real, and heartfelt reasons.
As for Dead Ending- the combination of Jeff Dean ( The Bomb, Noise By Numbers) and Vic Bondi is something really special. There's something in the chemistry- Jeff Pezzati, Vic Bondi, J Robbins, Jeff Dean, Dan Vapid, etc of these older guys that produces the exact formula for punk and hardcore that I like. A combination of noise, drive, melody and aggression that sounds perfect to me. If you like the "retro" hardcore of Bullet Treatment and AC4, this is perfect, as well. If you're a kid who somehow stumbled on to my blog, and you somehow are interested in speedy old school hardcore, it's a great place to start.
. 2. While I don't think of Mp3's as evil, they're a definite downgrade from physical objects- even the most compressed and poorly mastered CD sounds better than most Mp3s
3. I'd prefer to put money in my friends' bank accounts than in a faceless corporation like Amazon
4. I really don't like to spend money on stuff that only I will enjoy, when I could spend it on stuff my friends and family could enjoy as well.
So, yeah, I'm neurotic, and guilt struck, but that was outweighed by being completely depressed by my current situation. I won't go into great detail, but I will say that I had to go under the knife, but it did not involve full sedation. If my insurance were as good as it once was possible to get in this country, it only would've cost me a couple hundred dollars, instead of the four figure range this cost me. No, there really isn't anything happy about having a procedure that you need, in order to maintain your health, cost you more than a vacation would've cost. So, hell yes, I'm bummed out.
So, I've listened to both, and, sure enough, this is the state of the Art for Hardcore Punk Rock.
I fully recognize that Vic Bondi's voice, even in the limited genre of Hardcore, is a limiting factor- which is a nice way of saying- most folks hate his voice. I'm good with his voice. But what you cannot assail is his songwriting. I mean, imagine that- hardcore thrash, with no metal diversions, or apologies, that has all the songwriting care of classic rock- John Fogerty, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen figure most prominently.
The melodies are more abstract than most of punk rock. It's not quite the angular, atonal math stuff, but there's a lot of half steps, and dissonance. That's what midwestern Hardcore does, though- think about it- from Die Kreuzen, to Killdozer to Big Black to USOT, The midwest doesn't do standard pop punk. I fully believe that the whole Fugazi DC thing came to be because of the midwest. J Robbins was obsessed with the midwest, especially Naked Raygun, The Effigies, Helmet and Big Black, and in between Minor Threat and Fugazi, Ian did the pailhead project with Jourgensen of Ministry- so again, if you want Angular hardcore punk Rock, you go to the midwest, first. No one has ever done it better, in a thrash context, than Articles of Faith. If you can listen to In this life and Give Thanks, and still think that a band like Fucked Up is taking Hardcore into a new, and exciting place, you're just objectively wrong.
However, this new, re-united version isn't doing the stuff they did in the 1980's. I can hear the influence from Tom Morello, and the aforementioned J Robbins. But, still, amazing, boundary pushing and defining hardcore, made by adults, for real, and heartfelt reasons.
As for Dead Ending- the combination of Jeff Dean ( The Bomb, Noise By Numbers) and Vic Bondi is something really special. There's something in the chemistry- Jeff Pezzati, Vic Bondi, J Robbins, Jeff Dean, Dan Vapid, etc of these older guys that produces the exact formula for punk and hardcore that I like. A combination of noise, drive, melody and aggression that sounds perfect to me. If you like the "retro" hardcore of Bullet Treatment and AC4, this is perfect, as well. If you're a kid who somehow stumbled on to my blog, and you somehow are interested in speedy old school hardcore, it's a great place to start.
Regrets
I've got several right now, and they're all related. I wish I could go see Black God tonight at the Black Cat. I wish I could get both the new Dead Ending EP and the newish Articles of Faith Ep and I wish the new Workers CD was available for sale nearby. However, I can't do any of that due to a medical emergency last weekend. Basically, besides the health problems, the medical emergency drained me of cash. So, All that will have to be put aside. So, it's not so much that I've got nothing to blog about, it's that I'm frustrated, right now.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Saw The Artic Monkeys and Black Keys
So, last night we (my wife and I) saw the aforementioned bands at Merriweather Post Pavillion . I have start with how great the venue was. Picture a great, natural park; Giant Trees, a babbling brook or two, nice shady grass bits, you get the idea. Now, put an Amphitheatre in the middle. Ring the place with homespun looking installation Art and Carnival style Food and vendor booths. Yeah, that's a nice place for some Rocknroll, huh? I thought so.
A lot of people were there, and not my usual crowd, to be sure, The Black Keys seem to draw a lot of Baby Boomers, Meatheads and Neo-Hippies. However, there were also a fair number of indie hipsters, and a few Punkers, who, while not my usual crowd, either ( I'm more of an Aging Slacker type) made it feel a little less alien. Still, Rocknroll, good site, and my wife, it's all good.
I will say that The Arctic Monkeys finally make sense to me. The live sound was turbo charged retrorock. They're not so very different from some bands I've liked in the past, at least in intent. They're fueled by the bands that obsess them, and trying to cram in all the magic from that into their lives. It's not like being in a tribute band- it's being fully charged by incredible rock music, and trying to convey what that gives to you, filtered through who you are. So, ultimately what you're sharing isn't a tribute to the bands, but your perspective.
The Black Keys on the other hand, while a great band, are trying to actually be the bands and music they love. I don't have anything against that, but that doesn't affect me as much, either. Of course, the best of all possibilities is when the band is trying to bring something entirely new into the world, and I'm sure all bands think they are, but all fail, most of the time. Why I like the Arctic Monkeys more than the Black Keys is how much closer they get to doing something really new. It's subtle, I know, and what's not so subtle is the difference in fashion and tempo, so I can see why people in the audience seemed to prefer the Black Keys- the comfort of the familiar trumps the thrill of exploration- and the equation for the Black Keys leans heavier on the familiar, whereas even the familiar elements of the Arctic Monkeys are familiar to a much smaller, much stranger group of people, and I'm one of them
A lot of people were there, and not my usual crowd, to be sure, The Black Keys seem to draw a lot of Baby Boomers, Meatheads and Neo-Hippies. However, there were also a fair number of indie hipsters, and a few Punkers, who, while not my usual crowd, either ( I'm more of an Aging Slacker type) made it feel a little less alien. Still, Rocknroll, good site, and my wife, it's all good.
I will say that The Arctic Monkeys finally make sense to me. The live sound was turbo charged retrorock. They're not so very different from some bands I've liked in the past, at least in intent. They're fueled by the bands that obsess them, and trying to cram in all the magic from that into their lives. It's not like being in a tribute band- it's being fully charged by incredible rock music, and trying to convey what that gives to you, filtered through who you are. So, ultimately what you're sharing isn't a tribute to the bands, but your perspective.
The Black Keys on the other hand, while a great band, are trying to actually be the bands and music they love. I don't have anything against that, but that doesn't affect me as much, either. Of course, the best of all possibilities is when the band is trying to bring something entirely new into the world, and I'm sure all bands think they are, but all fail, most of the time. Why I like the Arctic Monkeys more than the Black Keys is how much closer they get to doing something really new. It's subtle, I know, and what's not so subtle is the difference in fashion and tempo, so I can see why people in the audience seemed to prefer the Black Keys- the comfort of the familiar trumps the thrill of exploration- and the equation for the Black Keys leans heavier on the familiar, whereas even the familiar elements of the Arctic Monkeys are familiar to a much smaller, much stranger group of people, and I'm one of them
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The Cribs -In the belly of the Brazen Bull
I hear about all kinds of stuff that is supposedly in some sort of 1990's "revival', and usually, it just sounds reminiscent of 1 or 2 bands, or of 1 microgenre. This new CD by the Cribs really does sound like the 1990's- I hear echoes of everything from The Pixies, Pavement, Guided By Voices, You Am I, Teenage Fanclub, Shellac, and Nirvana to The Vines, and Dinosaur. Add all that up, and try to stick with 1 or 2 years in the 1990's, I dares ya!
Of course none of that would mean much if they didn't have killer songs, but they really do- I can totally see what both Johnny Marr and Lee Ranaldo saw in these kids.
It's poppy loud alt rock, and I like it. Look, if you like about half the bands I listed above, listen to it. If you like more than half, buy it. I don't see any point is deconstructing it, it's just a really good, really smart, really catchy rock record with a slightly skewed perspective. It's wonderful.
Of course none of that would mean much if they didn't have killer songs, but they really do- I can totally see what both Johnny Marr and Lee Ranaldo saw in these kids.
It's poppy loud alt rock, and I like it. Look, if you like about half the bands I listed above, listen to it. If you like more than half, buy it. I don't see any point is deconstructing it, it's just a really good, really smart, really catchy rock record with a slightly skewed perspective. It's wonderful.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
The Whole Tom Gabel Thing
I don't really have much of a comment. If he's serious, and he wants to be a she, for sincere and honest reasons, well, then, don't let any of us stop you, go forth as you will. I still have my doubts that this is the case. Beardly Folk-punks gone pop punk married with small children don't exactly fit the demographic of the Trans folks I've known, but it's a big world, I could be wrong. I've also never known a trans who didn't "experiment" first, then make the transition quietly. Considering there are no photos I've seen where Tom is showing any feminine traits, nor is there a known history of sexual experimentation, and there's this big announcement, out of the blue, with only 1 verse in 1 song as a "sign", I really do have my doubts about the reality of this.
So, if this is some kind of stunt- maybe even well-intentioned- I'm not the biggest fan of Against Me!, so I can't say I'd care all that much. But, it would pretty much rule out your Career, as an earnest "authentic' musician.
That having said, I'm posting this more or less because of the massive reaction this announcement has created.
Everything from really extreme antipathy, to dogmatic expression of faith. What I haven't seen in all that is anything like my reaction. So I'm adding it.
I'm totally comfortable being a dude. I don't think I'm exactly a Manly man, nor am I a boy, nor am I a guy or a bro, I'm what gets called a Dude, and I'm good with that. I'm married, with a grown son, and all that, and I also know what it's like to kiss a man, and to wear a dress. I also have many family members and friends who lives totally different lives from me- and yes, that includes transgendered people. Mostly, for those who choose different paths from me, I understand at least a little bit about why they would choose differently from me. As for being judgemental, well, that's more about the individual than whatever group they might be identifying. ( This is reason #486 why I hate the whole "identity politics" thing. Just because you're a "Queer Afro-Asian Person of Colour" doesn't mean a thing about how smart, or right, or nice you are, all of which is far more important than what gender, orientation, or race you happen to be labelled) . But, the path I understand the least is the "transformer"- I don't just mean transgendered, or coming out of the closet as gay later in life, although they're part of this- I mean anyone who follows first one life then, abruptly, exchanges it for another. I'm not saying that I am judging such changes, because I've made a few changes myself, I'm saying I am mystified by them. To this day, I couldn't tell you why I gave up running a radio station, and leaving the west coast for life in the rural east. I don't fully understand it, myself. I can point to a couple of specific things, and I can give you an over generalization, like I just didn't feel like it was the life for me, but I cannot claim to understand. So much the more then, that I cannot understand why someone who's a husband and a father would want to change their gender. I just don't understand it. I could understand with someone like, say- ok, here's a scenario- Kurt Cobain. Let's say he, instead of shooting himself, came out as transgendered, at that time in his life. It would make some sense to me- the self-loathing, the identification with -ahem- "strong" women like Courtney, the obvious dissatisfaction with his own body- all of it would click into place. But, with this guy, by all accounts, he appears to be in a good place. There's no suicidal impulses, no self-destruction, and so on. This would seem like a sudden turn, and that I don't understand.
You can call me every name in the book, but that won't make me understand. So this is the comment that I'd like to see addressed in our media- Why?
So, if this is some kind of stunt- maybe even well-intentioned- I'm not the biggest fan of Against Me!, so I can't say I'd care all that much. But, it would pretty much rule out your Career, as an earnest "authentic' musician.
That having said, I'm posting this more or less because of the massive reaction this announcement has created.
Everything from really extreme antipathy, to dogmatic expression of faith. What I haven't seen in all that is anything like my reaction. So I'm adding it.
I'm totally comfortable being a dude. I don't think I'm exactly a Manly man, nor am I a boy, nor am I a guy or a bro, I'm what gets called a Dude, and I'm good with that. I'm married, with a grown son, and all that, and I also know what it's like to kiss a man, and to wear a dress. I also have many family members and friends who lives totally different lives from me- and yes, that includes transgendered people. Mostly, for those who choose different paths from me, I understand at least a little bit about why they would choose differently from me. As for being judgemental, well, that's more about the individual than whatever group they might be identifying. ( This is reason #486 why I hate the whole "identity politics" thing. Just because you're a "Queer Afro-Asian Person of Colour" doesn't mean a thing about how smart, or right, or nice you are, all of which is far more important than what gender, orientation, or race you happen to be labelled) . But, the path I understand the least is the "transformer"- I don't just mean transgendered, or coming out of the closet as gay later in life, although they're part of this- I mean anyone who follows first one life then, abruptly, exchanges it for another. I'm not saying that I am judging such changes, because I've made a few changes myself, I'm saying I am mystified by them. To this day, I couldn't tell you why I gave up running a radio station, and leaving the west coast for life in the rural east. I don't fully understand it, myself. I can point to a couple of specific things, and I can give you an over generalization, like I just didn't feel like it was the life for me, but I cannot claim to understand. So much the more then, that I cannot understand why someone who's a husband and a father would want to change their gender. I just don't understand it. I could understand with someone like, say- ok, here's a scenario- Kurt Cobain. Let's say he, instead of shooting himself, came out as transgendered, at that time in his life. It would make some sense to me- the self-loathing, the identification with -ahem- "strong" women like Courtney, the obvious dissatisfaction with his own body- all of it would click into place. But, with this guy, by all accounts, he appears to be in a good place. There's no suicidal impulses, no self-destruction, and so on. This would seem like a sudden turn, and that I don't understand.
You can call me every name in the book, but that won't make me understand. So this is the comment that I'd like to see addressed in our media- Why?
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