10/31/2008
Diminishing Returns: The Current State of Music
Whenever discussing one of our favorite topics—which are currently politics, baseball, music; in that order—we find ourselves lamenting the lower standards in all of these. But what is at the root of this situation? Are politicians less challenging and ambitious or are people simply more narcissistic? (i.e. voting not necessarily for resume or intellect but for someone that resembles them and/or with whom they’d like to have a beer with); has the expansion of the American pastime, with now 30 teams in Major League Baseball, diluted the pool of available talent and as such compromised the quality of the sport? Are people more susceptible to crappy artists and their disposable music more than before?
(For the record, politics: the latter; baseball: yes; music: yes.)
Regarding the third category, when we refer to sub par music we’re not talking about the stuff within the parameters of the Britneysphere. That junk has always been around and always will be; the packaging gets changed every few years and presto! No, we’re alluding to the fresh-faced upstarts that everyone seems to be bringing up in conversation lately, of which we have very little or no interest in.
Since we write about music and pop culture here, we felt we’d be remiss if we didn’t put in the time to check out these artists that the likes of Pitchfork, Stereogum and the rest of the hipper than thou blogosphere are always going on about. Boring exercise in futility it turned out to be, for the most part. Why? Well, it doesn’t help that we’re not won over by any of these amateurish upstarts. (And before you get off on a ‘hey, they don’t all have to be musos’ rant, can we state that The Ramones were amateurish but had lotsa heart? And tunes, too.) This latest batch of newcomers seem to approach making music as something to do while they figure out where to go for an MBA; a 'first job out of college' experience, if you will. Zzzz.
But, here’s the more important and determining issue: in the end, none of these bands will be around 5 years from now—oh, XL Records: so much to answer for—either by design or as a result of the fickle nature of their increasingly pliable fanbases, which are either bored or—depending on the speed and level of notoriety gained by the artist in question—consumed by the spirit of backlash 6 months into the artists’ arrival on the scene. Despite a band’s ardent desire to make a realistic go of it, no one with that kind of following can aspire to any sort of longevity. Of course, we suspect that these artists have no intent to do so, and their fans, cut from the same cloth of ADD, know this and react accordingly.
So, tell us again why we should give a damn.
(For the record, politics: the latter; baseball: yes; music: yes.)
Regarding the third category, when we refer to sub par music we’re not talking about the stuff within the parameters of the Britneysphere. That junk has always been around and always will be; the packaging gets changed every few years and presto! No, we’re alluding to the fresh-faced upstarts that everyone seems to be bringing up in conversation lately, of which we have very little or no interest in.
Since we write about music and pop culture here, we felt we’d be remiss if we didn’t put in the time to check out these artists that the likes of Pitchfork, Stereogum and the rest of the hipper than thou blogosphere are always going on about. Boring exercise in futility it turned out to be, for the most part. Why? Well, it doesn’t help that we’re not won over by any of these amateurish upstarts. (And before you get off on a ‘hey, they don’t all have to be musos’ rant, can we state that The Ramones were amateurish but had lotsa heart? And tunes, too.) This latest batch of newcomers seem to approach making music as something to do while they figure out where to go for an MBA; a 'first job out of college' experience, if you will. Zzzz.
But, here’s the more important and determining issue: in the end, none of these bands will be around 5 years from now—oh, XL Records: so much to answer for—either by design or as a result of the fickle nature of their increasingly pliable fanbases, which are either bored or—depending on the speed and level of notoriety gained by the artist in question—consumed by the spirit of backlash 6 months into the artists’ arrival on the scene. Despite a band’s ardent desire to make a realistic go of it, no one with that kind of following can aspire to any sort of longevity. Of course, we suspect that these artists have no intent to do so, and their fans, cut from the same cloth of ADD, know this and react accordingly.
So, tell us again why we should give a damn.
The Double Album, RIP?
Frankly, with so many artists barely able to put out one album's worth of halfway decent music this one's a no-brainer. But, you know, hope springs eternal, and all that.
Inspired by The Cure's recent double album nixing by their label, The Guardian weighs in on the subject.
Inspired by The Cure's recent double album nixing by their label, The Guardian weighs in on the subject.
Zep's New Singer?
Myles Kennedy formerly of The Mayfield Four and Alterbridge--aka Creed 2.0, heh heh--is rumored to be at the top of the list of candidates to front Led Zeppelin for an upcoming tour.
While original frontman Robert Plant has told the press he'd be taking 2 years off from any touring commitments, solo and otherwise, sources inform us that at the heart of Plant's decision not to tour with Zeppelin is his inability to properly sing many of the band's classic tunes, and thus, to not shortchange the band's fans. Quite noble, indeed.
Meanwhile, we have a question: how is it that the 1980 death of drummer John Bonham precluded the remaining members from continuing but now they have no problem cashing in without their iconic lead singer as well?
(PS: If Alterbridge is inactive during that Zep reunion could it mean the return of Creed??!!)
While original frontman Robert Plant has told the press he'd be taking 2 years off from any touring commitments, solo and otherwise, sources inform us that at the heart of Plant's decision not to tour with Zeppelin is his inability to properly sing many of the band's classic tunes, and thus, to not shortchange the band's fans. Quite noble, indeed.
Meanwhile, we have a question: how is it that the 1980 death of drummer John Bonham precluded the remaining members from continuing but now they have no problem cashing in without their iconic lead singer as well?
(PS: If Alterbridge is inactive during that Zep reunion could it mean the return of Creed??!!)
Happy Halloween!
Don't ruin yours and everyone else's by picking lame subjects to dress up as.
Like these 3 dudes doing "Flight of the Conchords" whose concept is as lame as FoC is unfunny:
The 3 chicks version is no better:
Yikes!
[photos courtesy of Pop Candy]
10/30/2008
Magical Mystery Game
The Beatles will join video gaming culture with their own upcoming venture into that market. But instead of simply licensing their music to one of the existing music-related video games out there—Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc—a brand new game will be designed for Fab Four, with its music content supervised by Giles Martin, who oversaw the Love album and is the son of famed Beatles producer George Martin. None of the music tracks included will be remixed or remastered versions. The game is due to be released for the 2009 holiday season.
Joaquin Phoenix Quits Hollywood
The 34 year old actor has tired of movie-making and is said to be concentrating on music from here on in. According to Charlatans UK frontman Tim Burgess, who is collaborating with Phoenix on an upcoming album, “Once he learnt guitar he found that he had quite a lot of demons inside himself that he wanted to expel through music.” Phoenix played the legendary Johnny Cash on the big screen in 2005’s Walk the Line.
Hey, if this turns out to be interesting, maybe Greg Dulli can play him in the movie.
Hey, if this turns out to be interesting, maybe Greg Dulli can play him in the movie.
What We're Listening To
THE BEATLES self-titled [aka The White Album] (Parlophone)
THE PRETENDERS self-titled (Sire)
RADIOHEAD OK Computer (Parlophone)
STEELY DAN A Decade of… (MCA)
MIKE STERN Upside Downside (Atlantic)
What are YOU listening to?
THE PRETENDERS self-titled (Sire)
RADIOHEAD OK Computer (Parlophone)
STEELY DAN A Decade of… (MCA)
MIKE STERN Upside Downside (Atlantic)
What are YOU listening to?
We Are Soooo in the Wrong Business
Those overflowing with cash are paying anywhere from $50 to $250/hr for audio stylists to program different playlists for their homes, depending on the room, mood and/or time of day. “I love that I don’t have to think about what to put on. It’s already done for me,” says one happy homeowner. “Does This Song Match My Sofa?” indeed.
RIP
Painter, jazz vocalist and actress Esthelle Reiner—wife of Carl, mother of Rob—best known for her iconic scene in When Harry Met Sally (“I'll have what she’s having”) passed away at her Beverly Hills home on October 25th. She was 94.
First Yes, Now Zep?
Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, to the BBC about the increasing possibility of hitting the road sans lead singer Robert Plant:
"We want to do it. It's sounding great and we want to get and get out there. It's got to be right. There's no point in just finding another Robert."
We're speechless.
10/29/2008
Seen Your Videos
MTV has set up MTVmusic.com (what genius came up with that one?) where they now have some 16,000 videos available for viewing, from David Bowie's "Space Oddity" to Britney Spears' "Womanizer". More clips are being added daily.
Here's an old fave that pays tribute to our neck of the woods:
Here's an old fave that pays tribute to our neck of the woods:
By Any Other Name
In an effort to make Seattle a music mecca, a new initiative geared towards having the city considered “a home to music business, musicians and live music" will include a $13,000 yearly grant by the Sub Pop label to help new, developing artists “get their music business ideas off the ground”.
Um, isn’t that called a record deal?
Um, isn’t that called a record deal?
Happy Birthday
Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon hit the big 5-0 on Oct. 27th; actress Winona Ryder (37) on Oct. 29th.
10/28/2008
Runnin' Away
Behind the Scenes at a Sly Stone show
by Gabe Meline
The insane circumstances surrounding Sly Stone's bizarre appearance in Santa Rosa on Friday, Oct 18, were told to me by several people involved with the show. Crazy doesn't begin to describe it. Here's how it went down.
The morning of the show, Sly Stone is in Los Angeles. He fires his business manager. Sly tells the promoter that he's his own boss now,that he's the one who's going to get paid at the show and that he needs $3000 wired to the bank account of an Iranian BMW saleswoman before he'll even get on the plane to San Francisco.
And about that plane: it was supposed to arrive from Los Angeles at 11:30am. no Sly. The limo waits at the airport. Sly's next flight becomes 1:30pm, then 2:30pm, 3:30pm and 5:30pm. No one can get a hold of him at all. The promoter drives to the airport in the slim hope that Sly might walk through one of the gates.
Finally, at 7:30 pm, with his young Japanese girlfriend in tow, the 65-year-old Sly shows up at the airport. He's an hour and a half away from the show - which starts in a half hour - and he demands to go to the hotel. The young girlfriend finally talks him out of it, and he agrees to go to the show, but he's still talking about getting paid. He sleeps all the way to Santa Rosa.
Sly doesn't hit the stage at the Wells Fargo Center until 10:30pm, during the fifth song of the set. He walks off the stage 25 minutes later in the middle of "I Wanna Take You Higher,"telling the crowd, "I gotta go take a piss, I'll be right back." But Sly never comes back. The band continues on without him, killing time for 30 minutes. During the last song, a man appears on the stage, whispering into band members' ears.
Meanwhile, backstage, Sly is demanding to be paid.
The show is still going on, and the promoters are telling his handlers to get him back out to perform more. But his handlers know the drill. It’s been this way for years. What can they do? Before the show is over, Sly is out in the parking lot, still in his white suit, trying to get into the promoter’s car. All the doors are plainly locked, but he keeps trying.
Finally, a woman drives by, picks him and his Japanese girlfriend up, and they whiz away. Word of his departure gets inside. It’s not too hard to figure out what the man on stage was whispering to the band. How about: Sly’s making a getaway? How about: Sly’s driving off right now? How about: You’d better chase after him if you want to get paid?
And after quickly finishing the song and exiting the stage, that’s exactly what they do. The band members pile into their cars and find Sly precisely where they thought he’d be: The Fountaingrove Hilton. Except he’s not in his room. All the rooms are reserved under the business manager’s name, whom Sly fired that morning. So Sly’s there, fuming about not being able to get into his room, when the rest of his band suddenly pulls up. “Get me out of here,” he’s heard telling his driver, and they peel out.
It’s not an uncommon sight to see cars racing down Mendocino Avenue one a Friday night. But it’s a different story altogether when the lead car giving chase contains an absolute funk music legend, pursued by five more cars driven by band members , some of whom have played with him for 40 years and are actual family members. Six cars race down the street, weaving in and out of lanes. Finally, past midnight, Sly’s car is cornered at a gas station. A long stand-off ensues between him and the band while the young Japanese girl cries hysterically in the car. A gas station on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. That’s where it all falls apart. At press time, no one can get a hold of Sly Stone - not his management, not his band mates, not his family. The last anyone sees of him, he’s headed south on Highway 101. Everyone’s got a pretty good idea how he’s spending the money, but no one knows where he is.
And no one ever wants to play with him again.
[Thanks to regular contributor Greg Casseus for the heads up.]
by Gabe Meline
The insane circumstances surrounding Sly Stone's bizarre appearance in Santa Rosa on Friday, Oct 18, were told to me by several people involved with the show. Crazy doesn't begin to describe it. Here's how it went down.
The morning of the show, Sly Stone is in Los Angeles. He fires his business manager. Sly tells the promoter that he's his own boss now,that he's the one who's going to get paid at the show and that he needs $3000 wired to the bank account of an Iranian BMW saleswoman before he'll even get on the plane to San Francisco.
And about that plane: it was supposed to arrive from Los Angeles at 11:30am. no Sly. The limo waits at the airport. Sly's next flight becomes 1:30pm, then 2:30pm, 3:30pm and 5:30pm. No one can get a hold of him at all. The promoter drives to the airport in the slim hope that Sly might walk through one of the gates.
Finally, at 7:30 pm, with his young Japanese girlfriend in tow, the 65-year-old Sly shows up at the airport. He's an hour and a half away from the show - which starts in a half hour - and he demands to go to the hotel. The young girlfriend finally talks him out of it, and he agrees to go to the show, but he's still talking about getting paid. He sleeps all the way to Santa Rosa.
Sly doesn't hit the stage at the Wells Fargo Center until 10:30pm, during the fifth song of the set. He walks off the stage 25 minutes later in the middle of "I Wanna Take You Higher,"telling the crowd, "I gotta go take a piss, I'll be right back." But Sly never comes back. The band continues on without him, killing time for 30 minutes. During the last song, a man appears on the stage, whispering into band members' ears.
Meanwhile, backstage, Sly is demanding to be paid.
The show is still going on, and the promoters are telling his handlers to get him back out to perform more. But his handlers know the drill. It’s been this way for years. What can they do? Before the show is over, Sly is out in the parking lot, still in his white suit, trying to get into the promoter’s car. All the doors are plainly locked, but he keeps trying.
Finally, a woman drives by, picks him and his Japanese girlfriend up, and they whiz away. Word of his departure gets inside. It’s not too hard to figure out what the man on stage was whispering to the band. How about: Sly’s making a getaway? How about: Sly’s driving off right now? How about: You’d better chase after him if you want to get paid?
And after quickly finishing the song and exiting the stage, that’s exactly what they do. The band members pile into their cars and find Sly precisely where they thought he’d be: The Fountaingrove Hilton. Except he’s not in his room. All the rooms are reserved under the business manager’s name, whom Sly fired that morning. So Sly’s there, fuming about not being able to get into his room, when the rest of his band suddenly pulls up. “Get me out of here,” he’s heard telling his driver, and they peel out.
It’s not an uncommon sight to see cars racing down Mendocino Avenue one a Friday night. But it’s a different story altogether when the lead car giving chase contains an absolute funk music legend, pursued by five more cars driven by band members , some of whom have played with him for 40 years and are actual family members. Six cars race down the street, weaving in and out of lanes. Finally, past midnight, Sly’s car is cornered at a gas station. A long stand-off ensues between him and the band while the young Japanese girl cries hysterically in the car. A gas station on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. That’s where it all falls apart. At press time, no one can get a hold of Sly Stone - not his management, not his band mates, not his family. The last anyone sees of him, he’s headed south on Highway 101. Everyone’s got a pretty good idea how he’s spending the money, but no one knows where he is.
And no one ever wants to play with him again.
[Thanks to regular contributor Greg Casseus for the heads up.]
New Releases
Debuting this week are:
RYAN ADAMS and the CARDINALS Cardinology (Lost Highway)
BLOC PARTY Intimacy (Atlantic)
RY COODER The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed (Rhino)
THE CURE 4:13 Dream (Geffen)
LIVING COLOUR CBGB-Omfug Masters (CBGB)
RYAN ADAMS and the CARDINALS Cardinology (Lost Highway)
BLOC PARTY Intimacy (Atlantic)
RY COODER The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed (Rhino)
THE CURE 4:13 Dream (Geffen)
LIVING COLOUR CBGB-Omfug Masters (CBGB)
10/24/2008
O Say Can You Rock and Roll
Texas power trio Los Lonely Boys (of #1 hit "Heaven" fame) did a great job performing the US national anthem a cappella at Game 2 of the World Series at the Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Park and overshadowed the previous night's Nick Carter, who accompanied by 3 of his former Backstreet Boys offered up a cheesy rendition of the same. (The Rays won the second game 4-2 after losing 3-2 on opening night.)
The Backstreet Boys performance was reminiscent of The Simpsons' "New Kids on the Blecch" episode when Bart, Milhouse, Nelson and Ralph joined boy band the Party Posse and sang the song "Drop Da Bomb" with its suspicios "Yvan Eht Nioj" lyric. Except Bart and co. were better and funny on purpose.
The Backstreet Boys performance was reminiscent of The Simpsons' "New Kids on the Blecch" episode when Bart, Milhouse, Nelson and Ralph joined boy band the Party Posse and sang the song "Drop Da Bomb" with its suspicios "Yvan Eht Nioj" lyric. Except Bart and co. were better and funny on purpose.
10/23/2008
In Doug We Trust
DOUG GILLARD
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY - 10/22/08
When it comes to the music business, October in NYC means only one thing: the College Music Journal’s annual conference and showcase, for which, in one of yesterday’s posts, we showed our mildly restrained, long-held contempt. Not gonna take it back, but we’ll acknowledge CMJ sometimes does come through for the greater good.
Taking the Southpaw stage close to midnight after performing at an earlier CMJ-related gig in Manhattan, the former Guided By Voices guitarist clearly demonstrated why he’s such a respected figure amongst fellow musicians and diehards: a gifted six-stringer with killer chops who always defers to the song and its arrangement, but despite possessing a keen sense of the classic Who and Kinks canons, is talented enough to be his own man within those tight margins. No wonder Bob Pollard worked with him for so long.
Gillard was ably-accompanied by a solid 3-piece band, performing a top-notch 45 min set for an enthusiastic audience that took much pleasure in the healthy helping of tunes from his upcoming release, as well as his stellar solo debut album Salamander. (“Valpolicella” and “Me & the Wind”, from the latter, were among the evening’s most memorable moments.) Gillard brought the evening to an end with his best-known composition to date: a rousing rendition of the GbV classic “I Am a Tree”, which reminded us how much we miss Uncle Bob’s bunch of loveable misfits, but also how lucky we are to have a musician and songwriter with Gillard’s ample gifts to keep looking forward to.
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY - 10/22/08
When it comes to the music business, October in NYC means only one thing: the College Music Journal’s annual conference and showcase, for which, in one of yesterday’s posts, we showed our mildly restrained, long-held contempt. Not gonna take it back, but we’ll acknowledge CMJ sometimes does come through for the greater good.
Taking the Southpaw stage close to midnight after performing at an earlier CMJ-related gig in Manhattan, the former Guided By Voices guitarist clearly demonstrated why he’s such a respected figure amongst fellow musicians and diehards: a gifted six-stringer with killer chops who always defers to the song and its arrangement, but despite possessing a keen sense of the classic Who and Kinks canons, is talented enough to be his own man within those tight margins. No wonder Bob Pollard worked with him for so long.
Gillard was ably-accompanied by a solid 3-piece band, performing a top-notch 45 min set for an enthusiastic audience that took much pleasure in the healthy helping of tunes from his upcoming release, as well as his stellar solo debut album Salamander. (“Valpolicella” and “Me & the Wind”, from the latter, were among the evening’s most memorable moments.) Gillard brought the evening to an end with his best-known composition to date: a rousing rendition of the GbV classic “I Am a Tree”, which reminded us how much we miss Uncle Bob’s bunch of loveable misfits, but also how lucky we are to have a musician and songwriter with Gillard’s ample gifts to keep looking forward to.
Rock and Roll Glossary: Power Pop
Term coined by The Who’s Pete Townshend in 1967 to describe his band’s musical output at the time. Many consider the tracks "I Can't Explain", "The Kids Are Alright", and "Substitute", from 1965-1966, to be the first true examples of the subgenre, which would explain why subsequent power pop acts—especially those who lean equally on both sides of this musical equation—may have noticeable elements of The Who’s sound in their music. (Special mention must be made of the influence of early Kinks on future power poppers, as well. The Who, in turn were influenced by The Beatles and American R&B. )
Power pop’s main characteristics are highly melodic, (mostly) guitar-driven songs with a penchant for prominent vocal harmony married to classic pop sensibility. Among those associated with this style of music are Big Star (‘70s cult figures whose influence cast a large shadow over subsequent practioners of power pop), Fountains of Wayne, Jellyfish, The Posies, The Raspberries, Todd Rundgren, Squeeze, Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, XTC.
Classic examples of power pop include:
Badfinger - "No Matter What" [1970]
The Raspberries - "Go All The Way" [1972]
Big Star - "September Gurls" [1974]
The Cars - "Just What I Needed" [1978]
The Records - "Starry Eyes" [1979]
The Knack - "My Sharona" [1979]
Cheap Trick - "I Want You To Want Me" [live -1979]
Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl" [1981]
Tommy Tutone - "867-5309 (Jenny)" [1982]
Weezer - "Buddy Holly" [1994]
Power pop’s main characteristics are highly melodic, (mostly) guitar-driven songs with a penchant for prominent vocal harmony married to classic pop sensibility. Among those associated with this style of music are Big Star (‘70s cult figures whose influence cast a large shadow over subsequent practioners of power pop), Fountains of Wayne, Jellyfish, The Posies, The Raspberries, Todd Rundgren, Squeeze, Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, XTC.
Classic examples of power pop include:
Badfinger - "No Matter What" [1970]
The Raspberries - "Go All The Way" [1972]
Big Star - "September Gurls" [1974]
The Cars - "Just What I Needed" [1978]
The Records - "Starry Eyes" [1979]
The Knack - "My Sharona" [1979]
Cheap Trick - "I Want You To Want Me" [live -1979]
Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl" [1981]
Tommy Tutone - "867-5309 (Jenny)" [1982]
Weezer - "Buddy Holly" [1994]
10/22/2008
The Death of the Devil Horns Salute
We still flash it—sans irony, of course—but our metal-inclined buddies (among them Woody High from hard-rockin' mofos Mighty High) have been sounding the deathknell of the iconic hand gesture for some time now. Finally, there's tangible proof:
New Guns 'n' Roses Single Hits Airwaves
And here it is: the title track from the upcoming—for real this time—Chinese Democracy.