10 posts tagged “music”
So, this might seem a bit too insular for a blog post, but bear with me.
This book is an "Oral Biography" of the punk rock singer Darby Crash, who died at 22, in the early 1980's. I happen to know some of the same people as Darby did, and met Jan Paul Beahm (the real person behind the persona) a few times. That's why I read this book. Just to see what some people i knew had to say.
First universal truth: EVERYONE has an agenda. Even if they don't know it. We all have some angle, some desire to see'our way' triumph, and because of this:
second universal truth: We all have faulty memories. We'll remember slights against us as more important than they are, and we'll remember our triumphs as bigger than they were.
So, i wasn't looking for accuracy. But, I got insight, and it was unexpected.
See, I said I knew these people, I didn't say they were friends to me. No, many of the people I knew that appear in these pages out-and-out hated me, and I can't say I was too fond of them. But the insight came from facts: almost universally, these people were fresh out of the ISP program at University High in Beverly Hills, California. At that program, in that school, the majority of the curriculum was based upon Scientology and E.S.T. I never bought into either of those, and think both are shams. Now that's just what I think, so don't get all offended if you really, really believe in that stuff. But, the reason why I don't like either one is that they seem to me to be a system of control. Brainwashing, perhaps, though I don't truly believe in such a thing. But, hearing that these kids were upper middle class kids raised in these philosophies goes a long way towards explaining why they and I never got along.
Another insight is how above the rest of us these people still hold themselves to be. See, that was their beef with people like me, and with me: they viewed us as lumpen proles. In their eyes we're capable oflittle more than animal functions. More than once they describe us as subhumans whostink and cannot be reasoned with, and ruin things for no better reason than it's "our nature'. It's all because of which neighborhood we were raised in, and our fashion choices. So, here's a little insight in return: if you view yourself as oh-so-above other people, and you mock them, don't be surprised when they rise up and strike back! If you say "Oh, I hate all redheads because they're stupid and violent", don't be too shocked when a redhead backhands you, and laughs. You want to know why your precious little club got torn down? It's because you built too many walls, and not enough doors.
Some of these people even espoused fascism, and still do! That included Darby Crash.But, here's the problem with that: just like the rabble strung Mussolini up, just like Ceauşescu had his followers turn rabid on him, in the end they'll turn on you. It's one of the things i like about humanity: eventually we'll turn on any cultof personality. Eventually the mob will have its way. Now, Darby committed suicide, but that was just a final attempt to assert control. That was him saying that he could still define his own life. He didn't realize what the rest of us rabble knew all along: either you find a place, or one will be assigned to you.
So, while this started as just some personal research, it did end up relaying another universal truth: Like it or not, we're ALL just another one of us.
Here you go. An excellent new (ish) CD from a classic Chicago band. The Effigies always made smart, aggressive rock music, but always different from what you might expect. They're not exactly punk, they're not exactly metal, they're not exactly New Wave, but you can hear bits of all of that. They're not liberal, they're not typically conservative, but they clearly have a worldview, equally informed by tradition and progress.
I just got this one, so I don't know it inside out.For those not familiar, Mark Lanegan is the former singer for the Screaming Trees, and a part-time member of the Josh Homme posse.
He's got a voice that could melt butter, though. Imagine something about half way between Tom Waits and Michael Buble. Like crushed diamonds, it's very pretty but could slice you up.
This is probably his least "folksy" record. Much like the aforementioned Tom Waits, Mark likes a ramshackle sound, even on this, his most 'rock" record.
The thing is, this is a blues record. Not blues in that neutered Baby-boomer kinda way, where some watered down drek accompanies some skinny white guy who listens to more James Taylor than John Lee Hooker. No, this is a collection about when it all goes wrong, crooned by a guy who really has screwed up more times than most people get chances. Keep in mind, this is the guy who taught Kurt Cobain about both drugs and Leadbelly. This guy knows some serious hard times, and he doesn't seem particularly ashamed. Like the best in real blues, it's his talent that overcomes his own songs.
See, if I hear one more supposed "blues" record made by some little guy who looks like he'd be more comfortable at a seminar discussing the "folkways" of canadian stamp collectors, I might just see if I can't get Mark Lanegan to show up and inject them between the eyes with a syringe full of mexican black tar and lethal bacteria colonies. Like Johnny Cash, like John Lee Hooker, and like Miles Davis, this is tradition-based music that is anything but safe.
I think Barack Obama played the whole Rev. Wright thing slightly wrong. I don't think he should have disowned him. No, he should have gone hard in the other direction. Maybe it's just me, but I think black folks should be mad at white folks in this country.
Now, bear in mind, I have been friends with 5%ers (Who, it must be said, I still think are a little loco)at the same time as a racist was my governor. Bear in mind I've been a minority, first in east Los Angeles, and then, in the Middle East. Bear in mind, I still think Public Enemy were one of the greatest Rock bands of the past quarter century (Yes, I said "Rock". Certainly, they were Hip Hop, but 4/4 time, plus screaming guitars, plus passion equals rock in my mind). So, maybe I'm not thinking entirely correctly, but whatever my race happens to be, if I had the same history as many black men have in this country? I'd be fairly angry with White men. Maybe, if America thinks it's ready for a Black President, then, it's also ready to redress righteous black Anger, as well.
Well, I was going to post about newer music I've been listening to, but then I got sidetracked.Then again, this record is a classic. Certainly, the music owes a debt to Led Zepplin, but really this was a new thing being created, right here. A mix of the aforementioned 70's hard rock, New Wave (echo boxes set to Psychedelic Furs level, with the bass as melodic lead instrument several times, a la New Order, and so on) tribal underpinnings (some real voodoo in the drums) and a charismatic, yet enigmatic lead singer. This was the real beginning of what got called "Alternative" in the early 1990's. Heck, Perry, the aforementioned lead singer came up with Lollapalooza!
They had bigger hits later, but for my money, this is the record to own. From the opening "Up The Beach" to the live favorite "Pigs in Zen" this was something new under the sun, coming down the mountain. The show stopper was "Ted, just admit it' which was directed against Ted Bundy, the serial killer, who had, shortly before, said in an interview that an addiction to pornography is what led him to kill. What was Ted supposed to admit? That it was violence, not sex that was his real addiction. Musically, the song manages to go from a calypso lilt with reggae bass lines to a zulu war drum passage, with heavy metal, and jazz in between. Meanwhile, how can you not fall in love with the gentle rollick of "Summertime Rolls"?
really, I know, nobody reads my blog for music criticism, let alone buying advice, but if they did, I'd say go buy this one.
Oh, and the title of this post? Back when this record was so new that my room-mates asked "What is that?" The next thing that room-mate Shawn said was "It sounds like purple explosions" and, no, he wasn't in an altered state. I always thought that was as good a descriptor as anything for what Jane's Addiction sounded like.
This article. I agree, mostly because it says what I suspect. I could be wrong, but they seem smarter than me.
My wife was already a fan, and I rather liked her story: Maya is a Tamil who was raised in various countries because her father was one of the Tamil Tigers and her mother raised her as a refugee. She first tried visual arts, reinterpreting terrorist propaganda, then, fashion design. Finally, she settled on Hip hop as a career. I just like how patternless that story is: from politics to citizenship, to Arts, to crafts, to commerce it doesn't really fit into a neat category.
But how's the music? Well, that's why this record, and not her first. This one is more interesting musically. It references early 1980's New Wave (New Order and the Clash, most prominently) and Zulu drumming, and Bollywood productions, and so on. Truly world music. The lyrics aren't always that smart, but there is some cleverness. Overall, it's more intriguing than beautiful. Call it a "B". I'm still not the biggest fan of Hip Hop aesthetics, but, I have to admit Paper Planes is a catchy song. (This is still better.)
Television: Self titled
I kinda doubt you've ever even heard of this record. If you've heard of television, the band, not the electronic gizmo, you're probably a pretty deep music fan to begin with. But, their 1992 'comeback' record? Yeah, you probably have no idea about it, which is a huge shame, because it's truly excellent. Supposedly this band literally built the stage at CBGB's, and are credited with inventing Punk rock in New York. I don't think that's necessarily so. I think Richard Hell, who was a member of the band, invented much of what we regard as "Punk Rock" but the band existed far more without him, than with him. Don't get me wrong the off-key nearly screamed lyrics, wild stage antics, ripped and customized clothes, simple song structure, speedy delivery, well, that's all Richard Hell. Television is much more about Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd re-inventing guitar music. They did away with the conventional rock and roll 'lead" and "rhythm". Instead, they played interlocking melodic structures of great complexity. The results sound like a combination of a surf instrumental, Spy movie theme, psychedelic jam, Country Western hootenanny, and experimental composition, all grounded in a rocknroll 4/4 backbeat. Only Tom Verlaine's spoken/sung lyrics betray a connection to what you'd consider "punk" in that his nasal sneer sounds similar to Lou Reed, in his Velvet Underground days. Really, I have it on good authority that several of these singers; Reed, Verlaine, and later, Steve Wynn (of the Dream Syndicate) were really just lousy singers who loved Bob Dylan, and figured that if Bob could be a singer, so could they. But, all of them are accomplished musicians, nonetheless. (Don't believe me? Score a copy of the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On" and try to duplicate Lou Reed's heroic rhythmic work on that song [I'll give you a hint: the song is in 4/4, but he manages to squeeze in playing that varies from 4/2 to 3/8, along with keeping a 4/4 motif.] Then, try to play along with 'Marquee Moon' by television. Finally, top it off with trying to play "Tell Me When It's Over' by the Dream Syndicate on their "Live at Raji's" version, where they've taken a snaky psychedelic garage number, and transformed it into a triple time Honky Tonk that verges on bluegrass)
Anyway, back to this CD. So, when Television went away, it was to much more artistic success for many of the members, making the return in the early 1990's seemingly absurd. The album was ignored by a music press that wanted to lock Television into their "Godfathers of Punk Rock' ghetto, and they never had enough sales to generate a huge word-of- mouth sales campaign. To this day, it's not even a collector's item. It's more of a curiosity. Except, if you hear it, it'll blow you away if you play guitar. Songs like "1880 or so" evoke Ennio Morricone arranging the Ventures with Dick Dale and Jerry Garcia trading riffs, while songs like "Call Mr. Lee" sound like Spy music played by Arthur Smith and Don Reno (the guys who originally wrote "dueling banjos") while "Rocket' sounds like Duane Eddy fused with Phillip Glass, trying his/their best to play a Jazz version of Link Wray's "Rumble". It's stunning, really.
There are pretenders to Television's mantle of greatness. Modest Mouse, and Built To Spill, and even Chris Isaak owe them a debt. But, there's nothing quite like the real deal: musicians playing something new, but natural.
Daydream Nation is, quite simply a classic. Up there with The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, and so on. Sonic Youth re-invented guitars, and on Daydream Nation, re-invented themselves to become rocknroll. It's noisy, and sprawling, and experimental, and pretty, and strange and unique and has a really nice personality. It might not be for all, but it is for some. I love this album more with each passing year.
Scanners on the other hand are a flash-in-the-pan. I honestly don't expect so much as a follow up record. They traffic in pseudo New Wave, and some horror/shock imagery. Oh-so-very Hip this year. But, they have a couple of really nice, tuneful songs. One is called "Bombs" and it's about being paranoid about whether your next door neighbor is a terrorist, or not. But, it's got a nice T Rexish backbeat that sounds like a snake, with a simple guitar riff that reminds me of the Stones. The other is a bit of self-congratulatory snark called "Raw (to the bone)". It's very, very catchy. The video for it is reprehensible, as it glorifies domestic violence (I think they meant it just as shock value, the lyrics have nothing to do with it) but the song is at a mid-point between "Blue Monday" by New Order and "Shut up and Drive" by Rihanna. Meaning it's a spritely New Wave dance song written in a minor key. I have to admit, i like those two songs, a lot.
But, I don't do the Mp3 thing, and I don't think they make singles anymore (at least, if they do, they're impossible to find) so I just skip a lot of tracks on that record.
Oh, and speaking of the Mp3 thing: Look, I love the EFF, and I think the RIAA are going to ruin the recording industry, but color me scared after reading this. There's just no way I'm going to download anything! About 9000 bucks a song?!? No, thank you.
It's been awhile since I talked about music, and I got a copy of this older release, this week.
You Am I are friggin' HUGE in Australia, and virtually unknown in the US. I think that's because we have no taste, but what would I know?
Anyway, You Am I is a uniquely Australian band. You take 2 parts mod, like the Who, and The Animals, add another 2 parts Replacements styled swagger and stumble, add another part Stones-y country soul, and crank the whole thing up to 11, and you've got what You Am I do. With this purchase, I now have all of their recordings. I think I love all of their records for different reasons, but i imagine the two easiest to digest for people not familiar would be "#4 record" and "Hi Fi Way" . Both give an overview on their sound, but stay well on the "pop" side of "pop/rock".
This one is more on the Replacements and Stones end of things. Still head and shoulders over the stuff we listen to in America, and still better than the Australian imports you know (AC/DC are Ok, but a one trick pony. Midnight Oil had half a trick. Men At Work just made you feel tricked. And Jet? Are Cheap Trick, only taken a little too literally).
Definitely worth your time. If nothing else, follow this link to Tim Rogers (the singer) doing a great solo version of a song from "#4 Record" that's sure to make you think twice.
