Saturday, May 31, 2014
Just a few Photos
So, I saw Jawbox last night. Ok, not really- I saw BELLS≥ and Channels- which meant that J Robbins, and Zach Barocas were on the same stage, which is about as close as you'll get. It was great. Here's photos:
The Austerity Program- Beyond Calculation
Let me get this out of the way- Yes, I can hear the Steve Albini influence. I hear more Big Black than Shellac, though, so, let's say it's true- let's say that the Austerity Program is totally copping Steve Albini's sound. So? Steve isn't doing Big Black sounds these days. No one is. No one has the sheer bloody-minded perfectionist attitude about being obnoxious that he had. So, if they wanted to be a Big Black cover band, I'd say "Bravo!". I can think of few more worthwhile subjects of a tribute.
But, the truth is that they are far, far more than that.
Let me also get another thing clear- this is the finest slab of noise rock I've heard all year, and as a friend put it- this record "kills". Get it, as soon as you are able. If you like noise rock, you will have a new favorite.
So, now, let me talk about The Austerity Program. They do incredibly precise noise rock with a heavy Steve Albini influence, but I also hear everything from Minnesota's Arcwelder to some Duane Denison guitar to even some John Carpenter . In other words, they are big on precision, repetition, formula, theme and variation, and loudness. They, thankfully, have dispensed with song titles, and yes, I say thankfully. If you've been in a band, you know that songs rarely are organized around the title. In rehearsal they are " That fast one" or "That one that switches tempo on the second verse" or better still " That one you were playing yesterday". After that, on the setlist taped to the stage, they'll get a one word descriptor that may or may not include the "official title"- like for my band's cover of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" which we ended on a coda to incorporate a bit of Suicide's "Ghost Rider" we just put "Ghost" on the setlist. I don't know that we ever said the actual name of anything. A song called " Burnt to a Crisp" just got called "Crispy", etc, etc. So it's so much more honest and clear to me to just use numbers- and if I ever am in a band, again, I will cop this, most certainly. It's that efficiency in practice that makes something as messy as "noise" palatable. ( Ever notice that? No matter how random the visual is, a sound is more enveloping, with nothing to really fix it in place. So, discipline, formula, and theory is much more necessary to organize sound and put it to use, artistic or otherwise)
Justin also clearly plays guitar like a painter uses a brush or knife- he's applying blocks of sound towards an idea, not trying to cop a lick, while Thad plays bass like a combination of a Punk and a Metalhead- it's got the treble cranked for note definition, but it's overdriven right up to the point of fuzz, sometimes going into fuzz bass territory, but usually staying just this side of that kind of distortion. The resulting sounds are like a tank's tread- massive and crushing, but with a cutting precision that makes it "fit" into patterns that organize the sound to have propulsion, and heft. It's noise, but not chaos. Sure, there's a drum machine, but we're well past that: it's manipulated, and structured more like samples than some kind of conveyor belt robo-rhythm. No, it's a cool-headed intention that keeps the beast on track.
They have that mix of "cool" and "hot" down pat, mind you. You'll have a distorted instrument ( read "hot") playing a five note figure in a minor key ( read "cool") with lyrics that are alternately shouted ( read "hot") and sung ( read "cool") and spoken ( read cold- nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)
Since I've mentioned the lyrics-they do the "observational" lyrical thing, of describing the screwed up situations people get into, but there's a moral center of things here. I can't quite put my finger on where that moral center is, but it's definitely not the nihilist thing this kind of music so often gets into.
Yes, I know that they're from New York. I bet if they had better offers for day jobs in the midwest they'd fit in better there. The sound is somewhere midway between Chicago and Minneapolis, though. If they up and moved to Madison, or La Crosse, I would think that made sense. Musically, they belong halfway between Touch and Go and AmRep. If that's not an endorsement, I don't think you're reading the right blog, please go back to Pitchfork, and leave me alone.
So far, this probably reads pretty dry, right? That's the thing, right there- that "dryness" is exactly what gives enough structure to the noise that it rocks. Giant reverberating walls of feedback might seem like a lark, but they don't rock. Noise demands structure.
So, there's the other part- the noise part- as I type this, I'm wearing a "Noisemaker Effects" T shirt - that's definitely part of the credo, as well- use delays set on short repeats to make it metallic, redonkulously overamped, in the red guitars, even a pitchshifter set on "squeal"- the instruments are pushed so hard that melody is sometimes only implied, and other times, abandoned. I cannot play this music quietly. It needs to be loud enough to cause structural damage- and there's austerity for you- structures and strictures that are destructive.
This rocks so very, very hard. It's like magnets, bitch. It's a dronestrike of rock that might just violate the UN Charters. Ted Nugent fears this much firepower. This is like a diamond- structurally so sound, comprised of such a tightly compacted group of already hard elements that it's the definition of rock.
But, the truth is that they are far, far more than that.
Let me also get another thing clear- this is the finest slab of noise rock I've heard all year, and as a friend put it- this record "kills". Get it, as soon as you are able. If you like noise rock, you will have a new favorite.
So, now, let me talk about The Austerity Program. They do incredibly precise noise rock with a heavy Steve Albini influence, but I also hear everything from Minnesota's Arcwelder to some Duane Denison guitar to even some John Carpenter . In other words, they are big on precision, repetition, formula, theme and variation, and loudness. They, thankfully, have dispensed with song titles, and yes, I say thankfully. If you've been in a band, you know that songs rarely are organized around the title. In rehearsal they are " That fast one" or "That one that switches tempo on the second verse" or better still " That one you were playing yesterday". After that, on the setlist taped to the stage, they'll get a one word descriptor that may or may not include the "official title"- like for my band's cover of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" which we ended on a coda to incorporate a bit of Suicide's "Ghost Rider" we just put "Ghost" on the setlist. I don't know that we ever said the actual name of anything. A song called " Burnt to a Crisp" just got called "Crispy", etc, etc. So it's so much more honest and clear to me to just use numbers- and if I ever am in a band, again, I will cop this, most certainly. It's that efficiency in practice that makes something as messy as "noise" palatable. ( Ever notice that? No matter how random the visual is, a sound is more enveloping, with nothing to really fix it in place. So, discipline, formula, and theory is much more necessary to organize sound and put it to use, artistic or otherwise)
Justin also clearly plays guitar like a painter uses a brush or knife- he's applying blocks of sound towards an idea, not trying to cop a lick, while Thad plays bass like a combination of a Punk and a Metalhead- it's got the treble cranked for note definition, but it's overdriven right up to the point of fuzz, sometimes going into fuzz bass territory, but usually staying just this side of that kind of distortion. The resulting sounds are like a tank's tread- massive and crushing, but with a cutting precision that makes it "fit" into patterns that organize the sound to have propulsion, and heft. It's noise, but not chaos. Sure, there's a drum machine, but we're well past that: it's manipulated, and structured more like samples than some kind of conveyor belt robo-rhythm. No, it's a cool-headed intention that keeps the beast on track.
They have that mix of "cool" and "hot" down pat, mind you. You'll have a distorted instrument ( read "hot") playing a five note figure in a minor key ( read "cool") with lyrics that are alternately shouted ( read "hot") and sung ( read "cool") and spoken ( read cold- nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)
Since I've mentioned the lyrics-they do the "observational" lyrical thing, of describing the screwed up situations people get into, but there's a moral center of things here. I can't quite put my finger on where that moral center is, but it's definitely not the nihilist thing this kind of music so often gets into.
Yes, I know that they're from New York. I bet if they had better offers for day jobs in the midwest they'd fit in better there. The sound is somewhere midway between Chicago and Minneapolis, though. If they up and moved to Madison, or La Crosse, I would think that made sense. Musically, they belong halfway between Touch and Go and AmRep. If that's not an endorsement, I don't think you're reading the right blog, please go back to Pitchfork, and leave me alone.
So far, this probably reads pretty dry, right? That's the thing, right there- that "dryness" is exactly what gives enough structure to the noise that it rocks. Giant reverberating walls of feedback might seem like a lark, but they don't rock. Noise demands structure.
So, there's the other part- the noise part- as I type this, I'm wearing a "Noisemaker Effects" T shirt - that's definitely part of the credo, as well- use delays set on short repeats to make it metallic, redonkulously overamped, in the red guitars, even a pitchshifter set on "squeal"- the instruments are pushed so hard that melody is sometimes only implied, and other times, abandoned. I cannot play this music quietly. It needs to be loud enough to cause structural damage- and there's austerity for you- structures and strictures that are destructive.
This rocks so very, very hard. It's like magnets, bitch. It's a dronestrike of rock that might just violate the UN Charters. Ted Nugent fears this much firepower. This is like a diamond- structurally so sound, comprised of such a tightly compacted group of already hard elements that it's the definition of rock.
Stressed out over the Bounty
Holy Cow, I've got a lot to talk about. I'm going to try to give each one their own post, though. That means skipping some stuff, and glossing over some of the finer details. I don't think there's enough of a readership that any of this matters, but I carry at least that much respect that I'll say it when I'm not doing full justice.
So, because it's most easily skipped: I've been listening to the Helms Alee/ Young Widows split. Simultaneously Sludgey and twangy I can think of no better pairing than these two. If not for vocal differences, I'd think it was an only very slightly shuffled version of the same band. That's not to dismiss either band's talent, mind you. For post-hardcore sludge rock ( as opposed to sludge metal) there's few even close. Helms Alee starts things off with a fuzzy retro blast that reminds me of Jehu, then goes into a complex bit of deconstructionist rock, all arpeggios and suspended chords, then goes into Calexio/ shoegaze territory with an echoey twangfest that soothes me until it explodes in Melvins styled pure rock fury.
Which leads us into the monstrous math sludge of Young Widows. Now, I do dig them, a lot, but I never write about them because I feel stymied. Their thing is so tightly constructed so as to be near impenetrable. Imagine if Low had shredder credentials, but also a Jawbox fixation, then, decided they wanted to do post rock minus the world music pretensions. Starting to see what I mean? How the hell am I supposed to untangle that? For example, the second track they have here sounds like early Misfits, meets Savory-era Jawbox, until it goes off on a Tom Verlaine styled solo, and the delay pedals kick in, giving an almost surfy sheen, then, you can start to pick out the spanish guitar inspired riff underpinning the main melodic line. What am I supposed to do with that? Transcribe the sound of my jaw hitting the floor? Bar none, some of the most sublime music you'll ever hear.
So, because it's most easily skipped: I've been listening to the Helms Alee/ Young Widows split. Simultaneously Sludgey and twangy I can think of no better pairing than these two. If not for vocal differences, I'd think it was an only very slightly shuffled version of the same band. That's not to dismiss either band's talent, mind you. For post-hardcore sludge rock ( as opposed to sludge metal) there's few even close. Helms Alee starts things off with a fuzzy retro blast that reminds me of Jehu, then goes into a complex bit of deconstructionist rock, all arpeggios and suspended chords, then goes into Calexio/ shoegaze territory with an echoey twangfest that soothes me until it explodes in Melvins styled pure rock fury.
Which leads us into the monstrous math sludge of Young Widows. Now, I do dig them, a lot, but I never write about them because I feel stymied. Their thing is so tightly constructed so as to be near impenetrable. Imagine if Low had shredder credentials, but also a Jawbox fixation, then, decided they wanted to do post rock minus the world music pretensions. Starting to see what I mean? How the hell am I supposed to untangle that? For example, the second track they have here sounds like early Misfits, meets Savory-era Jawbox, until it goes off on a Tom Verlaine styled solo, and the delay pedals kick in, giving an almost surfy sheen, then, you can start to pick out the spanish guitar inspired riff underpinning the main melodic line. What am I supposed to do with that? Transcribe the sound of my jaw hitting the floor? Bar none, some of the most sublime music you'll ever hear.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Elementary
So, evidently, everyone must love Sherlock Holmes. I've seen all of the BBC's Sherlock series, and just completed season 2 of CBS' Elementary. Now, on the whole, Sherlock is a far superior series. The leads are about evenly matched, but going for entirely different aims. I prefer the BBC's "modern translation" attempt much more than CBS' "reimagination', and I think the aesthetic of Sherlock is much more stylish, and engaging. Plot-wise Sherlock hangs together extremely well, and tells a coherent story, whereas Elementary is just a mess. But, one thing Elementary has is a sly sense of humor, and I wonder how much of that is in the lead- Jonny Lee Miller. I really suspect he is playing Sherlock Holmes partially for laughs. Just as an entry point- consider how much his Sherlock resembles Rik Mayall's "Rik" character from the Young Ones- short messy spiky hair, dark sport coats with buttoned up oxford shirts, and dark jeans- all of which is a bit too tight. The abrupt gestures, the arch, almost camp London accent, the tendency to stutter when flustered- if Jonny didn't model him on Rik, someone most certainly did. Armed with that, tell me that Rhys ifans isn't doing at least a little bit of Neil. Well, more precisely, he's doing Filthy Ralph , Nigel Planer's character opposite Rik Mayall in Filthy Rich and Catflap which really was just a continuation of the Young Ones mixed with Neil. Now, I could get snarky and talk about certain other actors on the show who should never be taken seriously, ever, but you know what would be great? If they did an episode revealing the Holmes father, and it was this guy.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Powerman 5000- Builders of the Future
In a way, you have to pity Spider One, Michael Cummings. His brother is definitely a genius. Michael is slightly more questionable as a genius, but his reach is further- Rock star, TV director, recording mogul, TV Host, graphic design- he's ambitious. But, he hasn't had half the success of his brother, Rob. On top of that, what he does do is easily misunderstood. He's not meaning to be a science fiction equivalent of his brother's horror theme. He means to be grounded in the here and now, and his over-arching metaphor is more about pop culture than imagined outcomes- if it reads as science fiction, it's because his actual targets are obsessed with science fiction metaphors- he's talking about the Americans trying to be Otaku . The music is meant to be a hybrid between EDM and Hard Rock, but can come across as Nu Metal Rap Rock because of his vocal style.
These problems are mostly of his own design, so I don't pity him. Instead, I look at it as an interesting proposal- he would be a social critic and rebel, instead he acts as a voice in a mob. He's got a brain, and he's creative, but, as his career has advanced he's had to modify his vision to maintain an audience. You dance with the Devil-Bros and sooner or later, they'll call the tune. His problem boils down to appealing to the wrong crowd.
So, those are a lot of caveats- but I still find enjoyment in this. It's football chants and frat boy songs, with a slightly subversive undercurrent. It's like the movie Fight Club- not a single idea was new, and virtually everything was dumbed down- but it made the intellectual and philosophical points more fun, and more palatable for the lumpen proles. So, much like Powerman 5000, it rightfully is a favorite with those who should know better.
There's no point in analyzing the songs- like I said, they're football chants- but some work better than others- I like "Invade Destroy Repeat" "How to be Human" and "I can't F***ing Hear You" but that's probably just me.
These problems are mostly of his own design, so I don't pity him. Instead, I look at it as an interesting proposal- he would be a social critic and rebel, instead he acts as a voice in a mob. He's got a brain, and he's creative, but, as his career has advanced he's had to modify his vision to maintain an audience. You dance with the Devil-Bros and sooner or later, they'll call the tune. His problem boils down to appealing to the wrong crowd.
So, those are a lot of caveats- but I still find enjoyment in this. It's football chants and frat boy songs, with a slightly subversive undercurrent. It's like the movie Fight Club- not a single idea was new, and virtually everything was dumbed down- but it made the intellectual and philosophical points more fun, and more palatable for the lumpen proles. So, much like Powerman 5000, it rightfully is a favorite with those who should know better.
There's no point in analyzing the songs- like I said, they're football chants- but some work better than others- I like "Invade Destroy Repeat" "How to be Human" and "I can't F***ing Hear You" but that's probably just me.
Friday, May 23, 2014
7 Seconds- Leave a Light On
I have long maintained that hardcore punk rock is essentially an exercise in formalism. I don't usually phrase it that way, but the thought is there- the tag "hardcore" implies a rigid adherence to something, right? As you might recall, part of the appeal of punk rock, in general, is in a deconstruction of pop song formats- the idea that anybody can play three chords. Now, the absolute best of hardcore defied that expectation, to be sure, bands like Articles of Faith, Die Kreuzen, and The Refused would be hard to pin down to any formula, but there is an exemplary in "playing to the rules", and I can think of none finer than 7 Seconds. Even when they tried to experiment, they experimented by playing yet more pop rock. This might seem like some kind of ironic slam on them, but I assure you, this is sincere praise. From Youth Brigade to Bullet Treatment, super tightly structured hardcore punk rock is one of my favorite things in life. It even informs my tastes in more "avant" musical genres- for example, I can't stand Noise rock that doesn't have precise structure at its core- I'm not a big fan of free form improvisation, nor do I like "ambient" music types- I do believe that music should at least partially be about imposing will, intellect and yes, structure over expression.
So, bringing it back to 7 Seconds, a difficulty in imposing strict formalism to relatively simple formats, like pop music ( or Punk rock, if you are offended by the term "pop") is that the discipline required to keep coming up with variations that sound fresh goes up exponentially upon each completed song.How do you keep from turning into a joke I heard about Kiss, then AC/DC then the Ramones ; "One great riff, seven great Albums"? I really think this degree of difficulty killed off many truly great bands- how often do you hear bands say "Well, we felt we'd said all we had to say"? What I hear in that statement is "We just ran out of ways to approach the problem of sticking to our self-imposed format"- and there's no shame in that. But, here's the phenomena of 7 Seconds- they're still going, sticking to that 120 BPM, guitar, drum, bass, voice, big chorus, short fast song format, and still coming up with new wrinkles. That degree of discipline, and creativity needs to celebrated. I cannot think of anyone else who proves so consistently the sturdiness of the Punk Rock Formula. On top of that, they add the additional rigor of keeping a positive lyrical stance- no blues allowed. Every song on here is honest, open, positive, and affirming. If you don't see the achievement in this, I would challenge you to re-examine your criteria. I know I couldn't do it. No way! I would have repeated myself, or gone cynical and bitter, or gone off the formula a long, long time ago. On top of that, I don't think Kevin has ever been in better voice. Seriously, even Peter Murphy is starting to lose his voice, but Kevin has an even purer, more sweet tenor going that when 7 Seconds started. Yes, they have slowed on a few tracks, but I don't count anything on here as below 120 BPM, which still places all these songs as "fast" in my book. Again, for guys in their 50's, that's incredible. I mean, Kevin and I bonded a few years back over mutual gallbladder problems- think about that- what could be more middle aged than that- yet, here 7 Seconds are, fresh as ever, playing loud, fast hardcore, like the 1990's and 2000's haven't come and gone- "Young until I Die" wasn't an idle boast. So, am I somehow ashamed, or ironic, or apologetic about still loving Hardcore Punk Rock, as played by 7 Seconds? Absolutely not. I'm here to tell you not to sleep on this, because we will not likely see their ilk again. I'm telling you, these guys should have a monument....
So, bringing it back to 7 Seconds, a difficulty in imposing strict formalism to relatively simple formats, like pop music ( or Punk rock, if you are offended by the term "pop") is that the discipline required to keep coming up with variations that sound fresh goes up exponentially upon each completed song.How do you keep from turning into a joke I heard about Kiss, then AC/DC then the Ramones ; "One great riff, seven great Albums"? I really think this degree of difficulty killed off many truly great bands- how often do you hear bands say "Well, we felt we'd said all we had to say"? What I hear in that statement is "We just ran out of ways to approach the problem of sticking to our self-imposed format"- and there's no shame in that. But, here's the phenomena of 7 Seconds- they're still going, sticking to that 120 BPM, guitar, drum, bass, voice, big chorus, short fast song format, and still coming up with new wrinkles. That degree of discipline, and creativity needs to celebrated. I cannot think of anyone else who proves so consistently the sturdiness of the Punk Rock Formula. On top of that, they add the additional rigor of keeping a positive lyrical stance- no blues allowed. Every song on here is honest, open, positive, and affirming. If you don't see the achievement in this, I would challenge you to re-examine your criteria. I know I couldn't do it. No way! I would have repeated myself, or gone cynical and bitter, or gone off the formula a long, long time ago. On top of that, I don't think Kevin has ever been in better voice. Seriously, even Peter Murphy is starting to lose his voice, but Kevin has an even purer, more sweet tenor going that when 7 Seconds started. Yes, they have slowed on a few tracks, but I don't count anything on here as below 120 BPM, which still places all these songs as "fast" in my book. Again, for guys in their 50's, that's incredible. I mean, Kevin and I bonded a few years back over mutual gallbladder problems- think about that- what could be more middle aged than that- yet, here 7 Seconds are, fresh as ever, playing loud, fast hardcore, like the 1990's and 2000's haven't come and gone- "Young until I Die" wasn't an idle boast. So, am I somehow ashamed, or ironic, or apologetic about still loving Hardcore Punk Rock, as played by 7 Seconds? Absolutely not. I'm here to tell you not to sleep on this, because we will not likely see their ilk again. I'm telling you, these guys should have a monument....
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Peter Murphy Lion
Well, apart from drug busts, and nostalgia trips, what exactly is our man Peter Murphy good for, these days?
Well, for one, I use his name for comedy routines- I substitute "Peter Murphy" for "Charlie Murphy" and "Nick Cave" for "Rick James" to do riffs based upon Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood stories. But, that's not to say that I have no respect for him as an Artist, I just think his image is a bit too puffed up and melodramatic. So, believe it or not, his new LP is a fairly potent set of synth-infused post punk more in line with Killing Joke, than his somewhat fey mid 1990's solo work. The opening single, Hang Up, is minus only Geordie's apocalyptic guitar for being some kind of out-take from Killing Joke's Pandaemonium LP. Then, again, that makes sense, as Youth produced it. Yes, Murphy's voice has aged away from his baritone croon, but, much like Jaz, the weathering helps to convey passion. From there Tracks like "Eliza" and "I am my own Name" rock out in a Bowie-esque fashion, with tastes of fiery goth ( Sisters of Mercy style, with hints of industrial noise) and spooky experimentations (ghosts of the Walker Brothers and Roxy Music) float through more than one moment on the LP, as on "Loctaine", "Compression" and "The Ghost of Shokan Lake" . How's this- "Low Tar Stars" is a thumping EDM-esque song that wouldn't have been out of place on Bowie's "Earthling". Only "Rose" and "Lion" really give in to sub Bowie histrionics. For Peter Murphy, that's not bad. So, yes, it's actually a fairly vital LP.
Well, for one, I use his name for comedy routines- I substitute "Peter Murphy" for "Charlie Murphy" and "Nick Cave" for "Rick James" to do riffs based upon Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood stories. But, that's not to say that I have no respect for him as an Artist, I just think his image is a bit too puffed up and melodramatic. So, believe it or not, his new LP is a fairly potent set of synth-infused post punk more in line with Killing Joke, than his somewhat fey mid 1990's solo work. The opening single, Hang Up, is minus only Geordie's apocalyptic guitar for being some kind of out-take from Killing Joke's Pandaemonium LP. Then, again, that makes sense, as Youth produced it. Yes, Murphy's voice has aged away from his baritone croon, but, much like Jaz, the weathering helps to convey passion. From there Tracks like "Eliza" and "I am my own Name" rock out in a Bowie-esque fashion, with tastes of fiery goth ( Sisters of Mercy style, with hints of industrial noise) and spooky experimentations (ghosts of the Walker Brothers and Roxy Music) float through more than one moment on the LP, as on "Loctaine", "Compression" and "The Ghost of Shokan Lake" . How's this- "Low Tar Stars" is a thumping EDM-esque song that wouldn't have been out of place on Bowie's "Earthling". Only "Rose" and "Lion" really give in to sub Bowie histrionics. For Peter Murphy, that's not bad. So, yes, it's actually a fairly vital LP.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
So, I saw "The Punk Singer"
I am just fine with being the bad guy. I have dealt with that for forever, so don't think I'm saying this for effect, but I don't really care for Bikini Kill. I think Kathleen Hanna has flashes of brilliance, but mostly her ignorance, and ego get in the way of her actually being brilliant. So, why I am watching a movie about her? Well, mostly for ancillary reasons- I like people who like her, and I dig a bunch of the aesthetics that people around her use. Is there a small amount of hate-watching? I suppose, but it's more a wish- I wish she'd confront herself, the way she confronts everything around her. I know so many people like her, and that's my frustration with them as well. I wish I could say that this movie fully does that- and the last third goes a long way towards that. It's something most of us learn much earlier on- that we can be wrong, that we can lie to ourselves, that our certainty can be misplaced. That she allowed the cameras to roll was brave, and probably more honest than she ever was in her bands. But, then, it all gets taken away- she goes off on a rant about how her truth gets taken away because she's a woman. So, we're right back to her selling that most American of commodities: Confidence. I wonder if she'll ever understand that she never had an idea that wasn't expressed better by someone else before her? Yeah, I know, but it's true- 90% of her thing was done by Alice Bag, and the other 10% by the Slits.. Before you say I'm sexist- consider that I said that all the way back in 1996, alongside the remark that Fugazi had done nothing that Gang of Four, the Pop Group, The Clash, and Killing Joke hadn't done already. But, see, ever since Ronald Reagan, that's what Americans seem to do, intellectually, and politically- recycle ideas, but dress them up in a bit more flash, and a whole lot more confidence. It sometimes frustrates me so much that I want to tell people " shut up and look pretty, because that's what you're best at". Of course, I respect folks more than that might imply, and there are people out there who trade in better ideas, and more realized Art, but I get so frustrated when an Ian Mackaye gets the kudos that really belong to Andy Gill, or Kathleen Hanna gets the praise that belongs to Alice Bag, or people tell me how Bad Religion invented pop punk, or how "revolutionary" Wilco was- when so much of this stuff is just recycled, with a layer of pretty shine.
So, is it a good documentary? Nope, it's a puff piece, that's little better than a People magazine article. Is it worth seeing? Maybe, if you turn the sound off, because most of these folks have great style- they all look totally cool- but if you really listen to what they have to say, you'll feel more stupid on the other end of it, for having listened.
So, is it a good documentary? Nope, it's a puff piece, that's little better than a People magazine article. Is it worth seeing? Maybe, if you turn the sound off, because most of these folks have great style- they all look totally cool- but if you really listen to what they have to say, you'll feel more stupid on the other end of it, for having listened.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
A small rant and some random observations
So, I like music. Heck, for about a third of my working life, I made music my main source of income. That's about as good as your average Rock star, so I feel pretty solid on this. My problem is with the state of music journalism, and what it says about music fans: while I agree that there's been a shift from music criticism to lifestyle reporting, I fear there's been a yet bigger change. I have been looking through music mags, and noticed it's increasingly rare to find photos of actual musical instruments. Heck, you don't even see microphones, unless you're talking about game shows. Then, you read the interviews and it's like they're talking to marketers: you'll see discussions of the business of touring, and how their love life is going, and their houses, as well as really vague talk of "direction" or "connections"- but there's no actual talk about what they do, except for talk about the lyrics. The only exception to this are in dedicated instrument magazines, like "Premiere Guitar" or " Keyboard Magazine". Now, add to this that the business of touring to play live music has changed. It's all about festivals, now- and I don't blame the bands, but when you're playing 10 gigs a year, instead of 50, and each of those 10 gigs is on a bill of 20-50 bands, to 75000 supposed fans, I really question how much of it is about bonding with an audience over the power of melody and beat, versus simple mob mechanics. Again, I understand, the bands have got financial needs, so I don't blame them for wanting more than beer money for their living, but I really start to wonder how much is about music, when you're playing so very little, with so much technology in between you and the audience. But, how can you deny 50,000 bucks over against 500 bucks? Yes, that really is the difference. So, one last time, I don't blame a band, like say, The Arctic Monkeys, for only doing festivals, and signing agreements to not do club gigs- but then, how can I view them as the same occupation as the guys in say, Torche, where they're not doing photo shoots, they're playing endless gigs? It is all connected- if they play music about 30 days out of the year, and do interviews that are much more about what it's like to be a celebrity, and you see so few photos of them with instruments that it's hard to tell who plays what- how exactly am I to call them musicians? How can I be a fan, except in the most general sense? So, my suggestion is this- we acknowledge the truth- on that level- it's not music, it's show business.
So, on to other topics-
Books- I've been reading a couple of books- "Left of the Dial"-by David Ensminger. I don't know how fair it is for me to talk about it- When David ran his magazine of the same name, I worked with him on it. Some of the interviews in this book arose from that work. I do not want to claim credit for what David has done, but I'm still too close to the work to review it. Also, I've been reading "Electrified" by Robert Shaw which is a collection about new, innovative luthiers . I find it inspiring but that's a subject best left to my other blog.
TV- I've been at the mercy of my wife's tastes, so I've seen all of The Mindy Project and I've seen about 5 episodes of Orphan Black. But, I have been watching Legit, Fargo, Mad Men and @Midnight as well. They're all really good.
As for music, unfortunately, I wasted too much time trying to find something reasonable in the new Black Keys, and failing. So, I went back to some favorites- The Dream Syndicate and Thin White Rope. So, nothing to report there.
So, on to other topics-
Books- I've been reading a couple of books- "Left of the Dial"-by David Ensminger. I don't know how fair it is for me to talk about it- When David ran his magazine of the same name, I worked with him on it. Some of the interviews in this book arose from that work. I do not want to claim credit for what David has done, but I'm still too close to the work to review it. Also, I've been reading "Electrified" by Robert Shaw which is a collection about new, innovative luthiers . I find it inspiring but that's a subject best left to my other blog.
TV- I've been at the mercy of my wife's tastes, so I've seen all of The Mindy Project and I've seen about 5 episodes of Orphan Black. But, I have been watching Legit, Fargo, Mad Men and @Midnight as well. They're all really good.
As for music, unfortunately, I wasted too much time trying to find something reasonable in the new Black Keys, and failing. So, I went back to some favorites- The Dream Syndicate and Thin White Rope. So, nothing to report there.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Ok Jack White is allowed to live, now.
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