Heck, everyone else is writing about the Strokes, so I figured I would too. First, we need to get something straight: THERE IS NOTHING ORIGINAL ABOUT THE STROKES, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT ALL.
Well, that's out of the way, so let me add that "Is This It?" is loads of fun, filled with catchy hooks and peppy swagger. Sure, the never-ending trail of one-stringed guitar lines and solos are pure Buzzcocks, but they were a good band too. And there's undeniably nothing shocking or unique about a NYC 'tude, I compared a picture of the Strokes with a picture of Blondie on the back cover of their debut album, and they were nearly identical. Yeah, the Strokes are cuter and younger, but the rugged, ratty clothing, the "I don't give a flying f***" scowls -- indistinguishable. Actually, pictures of the Strokes remind me more of early Suede than anything else. Whereas the Ramones, Blondie, Television et al appeared as if they couldn't be arsed to pose for a picture, the Strokes convey more than a hint of "Who us? Don't hate us cuz we're beautiful"-esque glamour that Brett Anderson was pouting throughout all of 1992.
But hey, fine tunes, strong debut album, catch them while they're hot.
Tuesday, October 02, 2001
In the last two weeks, both Elastica and Catatonia have split.
Both splits were not too surprising. Both bands were once mega-successes but have suffered career lulls due to disappointing receptions of their most recent albums. Both bands demises were aided by "extra-musical circumstances", but of completely different natures.
I will be clear about this: I do not mourn Elastica one single bit. They were easily the most overrated band of the Britpop era. They had a couple of catchy singles, loads of tuneless filler, and a singer who, thanks to her famous acquaintances (ex-Suede, ex-Damon), was branded with a stardom that vastly outstripped her talent, resulting in her big head for believing she was 1000 times sexier than she really was. Praise was thrust upon them for their very inception, thanks to the timely release of their debut single "Stutter" with the ascent of Suede, who were the hottest property in British rock at the time, and the first Great English Hope of the post-grunge era. They spent forever making their debut, got loads of airplay on both sides of the ocean, and sold bucketloads of records. Then they fell victim to the Stone Roses Syndrome. Infighting, members leaving and being replaced, five years between albums, but most of all, a belief that fame would just happen, with the pieces randomly falling back into place despite the time spent away. In the interim, particularly the last three spectacular years of music fandom, fans were so spoilt for choice that it was easy to find other bands to love, and Elastica's return was smoothly lost in the shuffle.
On the other hand, Catatonia's fall is particularly tragic, because they were on top of the world less than three years ago. They are the 90's version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood -- meteoric rise to prominence after springing forth from near-obscurity, then slipping from biggest band in the UK to gonesville in only a couple of years. People are bound to think that Cerys state of mind fell into psychological turmoil because "she couldn't take the fame" or "the price of stardom is high", but I've never believed that. Stardom doesn't destroy people, people destroy people. Like Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, and a million others, she had a choice. If she didn't want to be in a pop band, if she needed to distance herself from whatever she was becoming, she could have gone home and done something else. She could have quit the music business, taken a few years off, whatever, she didn't have to go out night after night and drink herself into oblivion while hobnobbing at celebrity gatherings. I wouldn't do her the indignity of pretending to understand what she's going through, but it's undeniable that her problems led directly to the demise of Catatonia. They had always consisted of Cerys + nameless blokes in the eyes of most who had heard of them, meaning it was undeniably impossible for them to exist in any fashion with a healthy, vibrant Cerys. For that, and many other things, I really feel for her.
Both splits were not too surprising. Both bands were once mega-successes but have suffered career lulls due to disappointing receptions of their most recent albums. Both bands demises were aided by "extra-musical circumstances", but of completely different natures.
I will be clear about this: I do not mourn Elastica one single bit. They were easily the most overrated band of the Britpop era. They had a couple of catchy singles, loads of tuneless filler, and a singer who, thanks to her famous acquaintances (ex-Suede, ex-Damon), was branded with a stardom that vastly outstripped her talent, resulting in her big head for believing she was 1000 times sexier than she really was. Praise was thrust upon them for their very inception, thanks to the timely release of their debut single "Stutter" with the ascent of Suede, who were the hottest property in British rock at the time, and the first Great English Hope of the post-grunge era. They spent forever making their debut, got loads of airplay on both sides of the ocean, and sold bucketloads of records. Then they fell victim to the Stone Roses Syndrome. Infighting, members leaving and being replaced, five years between albums, but most of all, a belief that fame would just happen, with the pieces randomly falling back into place despite the time spent away. In the interim, particularly the last three spectacular years of music fandom, fans were so spoilt for choice that it was easy to find other bands to love, and Elastica's return was smoothly lost in the shuffle.
On the other hand, Catatonia's fall is particularly tragic, because they were on top of the world less than three years ago. They are the 90's version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood -- meteoric rise to prominence after springing forth from near-obscurity, then slipping from biggest band in the UK to gonesville in only a couple of years. People are bound to think that Cerys state of mind fell into psychological turmoil because "she couldn't take the fame" or "the price of stardom is high", but I've never believed that. Stardom doesn't destroy people, people destroy people. Like Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, and a million others, she had a choice. If she didn't want to be in a pop band, if she needed to distance herself from whatever she was becoming, she could have gone home and done something else. She could have quit the music business, taken a few years off, whatever, she didn't have to go out night after night and drink herself into oblivion while hobnobbing at celebrity gatherings. I wouldn't do her the indignity of pretending to understand what she's going through, but it's undeniable that her problems led directly to the demise of Catatonia. They had always consisted of Cerys + nameless blokes in the eyes of most who had heard of them, meaning it was undeniably impossible for them to exist in any fashion with a healthy, vibrant Cerys. For that, and many other things, I really feel for her.
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
As the only table in my apartment continues to fill up with piles of CD's, I've been taking the time to stop and reflect on this years' amazing releases. It's no surprise that I should do this, because that's "normality" for me, and therefore it provides the perfect escape from the events of last week. What I wrote on September 10 now seems rather eerie, but those words don't disturb me as much as they probably should.
It's somewhat disturbing that Drugstore have this habit of putting the best songs at the end of their albums. "Accelerate" -- maybe the best song of the 1990's, and a B-side to boot! "Everything a Girl Should Have" recalls the delicate moments of their debut, and comes as a welcome bit of stripped down tranquility after the frequent overproductions which slightly marred the tunes that transpired before it. "More Than Friends" is a fragile, quivering lullaby, it's hardly even there, much like the Beatles' "Julia". It was probably written in ten minutes and recorded in a half-assed fashion on one take, how do they do it? How can they succeed like this when the rest of us would kill for five seconds of such genius? Fear them.
The Super Furries "Rings Around the World" has been come under criticism as being an overproduced mess due to the scores of Sony money that were on hand to record it. Do not believe these people. SFA didn't tone down their chaotic tendencies to make room for major label gloss. Their new record sounds just like 1999's "Guerrilla", which is part of the problem, because they've tried write a by-the-numbers sequel to that album, much like Blur did when they followed up "Parklife" with "The Great Escape". They've succeeded in writing some brilliant songs but there's really no progression from the breakneck pacings and unpredictablility of "Guerrilla". On the other hand, "Juxtapozed With U" is the best single they've ever done, and if it's not given strong consideration for the Single of the Year then we'll have to give it the full Donna Summer disco remix treatment and then try again next year.
What's more, two of the best groups of the 90's, Pulp and Spiritualized, will be releasing their first albums in a combined 7.5 years within a few weeks of each other. I need to keep reminding myself to not get too caught up with the old guard.
It's somewhat disturbing that Drugstore have this habit of putting the best songs at the end of their albums. "Accelerate" -- maybe the best song of the 1990's, and a B-side to boot! "Everything a Girl Should Have" recalls the delicate moments of their debut, and comes as a welcome bit of stripped down tranquility after the frequent overproductions which slightly marred the tunes that transpired before it. "More Than Friends" is a fragile, quivering lullaby, it's hardly even there, much like the Beatles' "Julia". It was probably written in ten minutes and recorded in a half-assed fashion on one take, how do they do it? How can they succeed like this when the rest of us would kill for five seconds of such genius? Fear them.
The Super Furries "Rings Around the World" has been come under criticism as being an overproduced mess due to the scores of Sony money that were on hand to record it. Do not believe these people. SFA didn't tone down their chaotic tendencies to make room for major label gloss. Their new record sounds just like 1999's "Guerrilla", which is part of the problem, because they've tried write a by-the-numbers sequel to that album, much like Blur did when they followed up "Parklife" with "The Great Escape". They've succeeded in writing some brilliant songs but there's really no progression from the breakneck pacings and unpredictablility of "Guerrilla". On the other hand, "Juxtapozed With U" is the best single they've ever done, and if it's not given strong consideration for the Single of the Year then we'll have to give it the full Donna Summer disco remix treatment and then try again next year.
What's more, two of the best groups of the 90's, Pulp and Spiritualized, will be releasing their first albums in a combined 7.5 years within a few weeks of each other. I need to keep reminding myself to not get too caught up with the old guard.
Monday, September 10, 2001
A couple of weeks ago, a famous R&B star died in a plan crash along with eight other people. You may have heard of her, she was Tricky's first choice to sing lead on his "Broken Homes" single, but she wasn't able to do it so he had to get PJ Harvey instead. Hopefully, enough time has passed to allow people to return to thinking rationally about her career and the manner of her death. With regard to the former, she is experiencing a post-mortem canonization similar to the case of Jeff Buckley. As with Buckley, she was certainly a considerable talent but hardly a top level star. She was nowhere near the level of popularity of Mary J. Blige or Toni Braxton, nowhere near as beautiful as Destiny's Child, and nowhere near as outragious as Li'l Kim, although she seems to have become all of those things since she died.
And her death was not a tragedy. I've been waiting to write this piece for two weeks, waiting to hear facts from the crash investigation. Now that I have, I can declare it to be a preposterously dumb error in judgement by arrogant music industry people. We've learned that the plane had been booked for five passengers, because that was the maximum number it could safely transport. Eight people showed up for boarding. Thus, the plane became "substantially overloaded". Otherwise, it was in perfect mechanical condition before takeoff. Except that the plane itself was not registered to operate commercial charter flights in the Bahamas.
If these findings hold true, then the decision to board the plane was equally stupid and asinine as eight teenagers packing into a stolen five person car and joyriding down the highway. The deaths are sad, very very sad, but people who die as a result of their own piss-poor judgement are not worthy of the word "tragedy" to describe their actions. For example, JFK Jr.'s death was not a tragedy either, no matter how many tribute issues are devoted to it by People magazine. John John was a spoiled arrogant playboy who had absolutely no business flying that plane under those conditions, with a foot injury and with his limited flying experience. His passengers are less to blame, but no more so than people who willingly get into a car with an obviously drunk driver. Tragedies should describe instances in which people die through absolutely no fault of their own, just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Eight people dying and hundreds more sick in Walkerton, Ontario as the result of E.coli poisoning because the local officials didn't even know what bacteria were -- that's a tragedy. Fourteen people getting blown up in downtown Jerusalem because they dared to have pizza for lunch -- that's a tragedy. A bunch of music industry types piling themselves and their hordes of luggage into a tiny unregistered plane is not a tragedy, it's just a dumb mistake on the part of many, many people. Let's not candy coat it, let's say what really happened. People educate their children to recognize dangerous situations. Such education is always simple and direct: don't use drugs, don't carry guns, don't drink and drive, and if you know somebody who is, stop and tell somebody about it. Unfortunately, people still die by these methods, but if there is a positive side, sometimes it takes a persons' death to make people realise how wrong they were when they died. But only if they truly understand why that person died in the first place. RIP.
And her death was not a tragedy. I've been waiting to write this piece for two weeks, waiting to hear facts from the crash investigation. Now that I have, I can declare it to be a preposterously dumb error in judgement by arrogant music industry people. We've learned that the plane had been booked for five passengers, because that was the maximum number it could safely transport. Eight people showed up for boarding. Thus, the plane became "substantially overloaded". Otherwise, it was in perfect mechanical condition before takeoff. Except that the plane itself was not registered to operate commercial charter flights in the Bahamas.
If these findings hold true, then the decision to board the plane was equally stupid and asinine as eight teenagers packing into a stolen five person car and joyriding down the highway. The deaths are sad, very very sad, but people who die as a result of their own piss-poor judgement are not worthy of the word "tragedy" to describe their actions. For example, JFK Jr.'s death was not a tragedy either, no matter how many tribute issues are devoted to it by People magazine. John John was a spoiled arrogant playboy who had absolutely no business flying that plane under those conditions, with a foot injury and with his limited flying experience. His passengers are less to blame, but no more so than people who willingly get into a car with an obviously drunk driver. Tragedies should describe instances in which people die through absolutely no fault of their own, just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Eight people dying and hundreds more sick in Walkerton, Ontario as the result of E.coli poisoning because the local officials didn't even know what bacteria were -- that's a tragedy. Fourteen people getting blown up in downtown Jerusalem because they dared to have pizza for lunch -- that's a tragedy. A bunch of music industry types piling themselves and their hordes of luggage into a tiny unregistered plane is not a tragedy, it's just a dumb mistake on the part of many, many people. Let's not candy coat it, let's say what really happened. People educate their children to recognize dangerous situations. Such education is always simple and direct: don't use drugs, don't carry guns, don't drink and drive, and if you know somebody who is, stop and tell somebody about it. Unfortunately, people still die by these methods, but if there is a positive side, sometimes it takes a persons' death to make people realise how wrong they were when they died. But only if they truly understand why that person died in the first place. RIP.
Friday, September 07, 2001
Thoughts on the MTV Music Awards (from what I saw):
Michael Jackson must be a genius after all because appearing onstage with NSYNC was the single greatest career move he could have possibly made. To anyone under 20 who doesn't remember the '80's, MJ is a plastic-faced freak who sleeps with animals and little boys (actually, it's the same for everyone over 20, but at least the over 20's will still remember "Thriller" as well). He hasn't released an album in six years, the guy is forgotten, he has NO cred. All of a sudden, you've got the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" in the same sightlines at the present-day Kings of "Pop", and even a two-year old could see that connection, and it smacks positive of a bona fide musical "event". Even I marked out for it, and I hate all of them.
What's with all the obvious screw-ups? The power outage right before U2's performance, Jamie Fox introducing Jay-Z instead of Moby and Gwen Stefani. Should we be expecting these proceedural unpredictabilities instead of the increasingly predictable unpredictablility of the show as a whole? Then again, the most predictable thing was the steady stream of presenters who were using their air time as a vehicle for pimping their upcoming albums, boosting the shows' running time from "too long" to "insanely f***ing long" in the process.
Britney wore next to nothing and put on a performance that inspired descriptions such as "alluring" to "unrationally extravegant prog-pop". Come on -- snakes? dry ice? jungle and wild animal motif? Maybe ELO should have asked her to tour with them this fall, THAT would have rescued the tour for sure and they could have split on the production costs. Incidentally, there have now been two ELO reunion tours cancelled due to embarrassingly low ticket sales. One, maybe, but TWO -- is that some sort of record? I actually feel a bit sorry for them, but then again, ELO kinda suck, so the feeling is fleeting.
Finally, allow me to re-stir the Britney vs Christina pot. You just KNOW that Christina had to be FUMING throughout the show because Britney had the prestigious final performing slot of the evening, along with the incessant hyping of said performance that comes with such an "honour", not to mention how she was on camera every ten seconds because of the 392 awards won by NSYNC. Christina had to feel like the #1 Queen Bitch when she got to on stage at the bitter end for winning Video of the Year. Oh, and then she got to act like it because she thanked Patti Labelle for letting them cover "Lady Marmalade", when in fact she should have thanked All Saints, who gave Christina + friends the template for that success by covering the same song in the exact same manner only three years ago. Luckily, her fans have short memories, which of course bodes ironic for the future longevity of her career.
Michael Jackson must be a genius after all because appearing onstage with NSYNC was the single greatest career move he could have possibly made. To anyone under 20 who doesn't remember the '80's, MJ is a plastic-faced freak who sleeps with animals and little boys (actually, it's the same for everyone over 20, but at least the over 20's will still remember "Thriller" as well). He hasn't released an album in six years, the guy is forgotten, he has NO cred. All of a sudden, you've got the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" in the same sightlines at the present-day Kings of "Pop", and even a two-year old could see that connection, and it smacks positive of a bona fide musical "event". Even I marked out for it, and I hate all of them.
What's with all the obvious screw-ups? The power outage right before U2's performance, Jamie Fox introducing Jay-Z instead of Moby and Gwen Stefani. Should we be expecting these proceedural unpredictabilities instead of the increasingly predictable unpredictablility of the show as a whole? Then again, the most predictable thing was the steady stream of presenters who were using their air time as a vehicle for pimping their upcoming albums, boosting the shows' running time from "too long" to "insanely f***ing long" in the process.
Britney wore next to nothing and put on a performance that inspired descriptions such as "alluring" to "unrationally extravegant prog-pop". Come on -- snakes? dry ice? jungle and wild animal motif? Maybe ELO should have asked her to tour with them this fall, THAT would have rescued the tour for sure and they could have split on the production costs. Incidentally, there have now been two ELO reunion tours cancelled due to embarrassingly low ticket sales. One, maybe, but TWO -- is that some sort of record? I actually feel a bit sorry for them, but then again, ELO kinda suck, so the feeling is fleeting.
Finally, allow me to re-stir the Britney vs Christina pot. You just KNOW that Christina had to be FUMING throughout the show because Britney had the prestigious final performing slot of the evening, along with the incessant hyping of said performance that comes with such an "honour", not to mention how she was on camera every ten seconds because of the 392 awards won by NSYNC. Christina had to feel like the #1 Queen Bitch when she got to on stage at the bitter end for winning Video of the Year. Oh, and then she got to act like it because she thanked Patti Labelle for letting them cover "Lady Marmalade", when in fact she should have thanked All Saints, who gave Christina + friends the template for that success by covering the same song in the exact same manner only three years ago. Luckily, her fans have short memories, which of course bodes ironic for the future longevity of her career.
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
Congratulations on receiving one of Barry's mix tapes. This tape contains 90 minutes of music but with proper storage, care and handling, will provide a lifetime of listening enjoyment.
Instructions: insert tape into any standard tape player. Play tape. Enjoy.
Caution: this tape may have been intended for use in specific conditions. It may be best enjoyed at night, in a car, with headphones, or played very loudly. Such information would appear with the liner notes. For maximum listening effect, reading the liner notes before playing the tape is strongly suggested.
Warning: the songs on the tape are non-negotiable. Exchanges are impossible. Requests will not be honoured. There was a plan involved in making this tape. Therefore, changes in the playlist and/or song order are not feasible without completely altering the mood and pacing of the tape.
Background: Barry has extensive experience in the art of mix tape recording, taping from a variety of formats and sources for over a dozen years. Therefore, he has spent nearly half of his life in this business! Each tape is personally compiled and manufactured by Barry himself. However, the music industry has evolved over the years, and Barry's style has evolved with it. He honed his craft by making tapes for himself, hour after hour in his bedroom. These tapes compiled the newest alternative and cutting-edge dance hits of the day, interspersed with classic songs for added variety and historical weight. In the early to mid 1990's, he shifted his focus toward producing tapes for others. Early mix tapes featured a minimum of artists, often with large sections of their albums. As Barry's music collections grew rapidly, there was a pressing need to feature more and more artists. Eventually, each artist was limited to one or two songs per tape, with very few exceptions. In order to fit in so many differing styles of music, the tracklistings were meticulously planned in advance. With only 45 minutes per side to work with, this ensured that songs were not cut off and more importantly, the songs flowed readily into each other. This was Barry's preferred method of working for many years, and many feel that his best work was done during that time period.
However, the era of detailed planning ended around 1998. Perhaps as a reaction to the rigidity of those working conditions, Barry shifted to a freer, more improvisational style. This shift occurred over many months. From this time onward, Barry's tapes were recorded with almost no premeditation. He would begin with a rudimentary idea, i.e. decide on the first song and the last, but nothing else; or start soft and build to something loud; and let instinct and emotion fill in the details. Like with a virtuoso who grows to understand his instrument better after years and years of performing, Barry had developed a prodigious familiarity with his prestigious music collection which no longer required his fatherly grooming as part of the mixing process. In the last year, he has taken this idea even further by experimenting with continuous mixes of ambient and techno music, although these are still in the development stage. Which brings us to the present: therefore, the tape which you hold in your hands was born out of one, improvised take. There are no overdubs. It is truly one of a kind.
Motivations: since you are in possession of this mix tape, you must be a very special person indeed. Each tape is personalized and made "ready to order". In other words, it was made specifically for YOU. Some examples include, but are not limited to, the following. You may be someone who adores and appreciates music similar to Barry's tastes, and the tape is designed to introduce you to music that you ordinarily would not get the chance to hear, or music that you would get the chance to hear but have not yet had the opportunity to do so. You may be a music lover with tastes different from Barry, and this tape will introduce you to music which is unfamiliar, so that Barry can communicate a little bit of what his musical tastes are all about. If you are female, there is a chance that you and Barry are romantically involved, if this is the case, the tape is likely a token of Barry's affection (a gift similar to the flowers or chocolates you may be accustomed to receiving from normal guys) and should be rewarded with a hug and a kiss at the very least. But in all cases, the tape will contain no music that you currently have, except for the rare case in which a particular song is needed to fulfill an exact purpose.
Suggestions: as previously mentioned, this tape is best heard under the recommended conditions. For example, if the liner notes recommend that the tape should be heard at high volume, it is strongly suggested that you do so. Low volume will still be pleasing to the ear, but like substituting margarine for butter, it will be missing an easily detectable nuance. In such a case, if high volume listening conditions are not available, you may want to hold off listening to the tape until such conditions do become available.
Enjoy your tape, and have a wonderful day (unless the tape is meant to be sad, in which case, have a miserable day. If you are unsure as to the proper course of action, consult the liner notes, or Barry himself). Again, enjoy! (-: (or not!) )-:
Instructions: insert tape into any standard tape player. Play tape. Enjoy.
Caution: this tape may have been intended for use in specific conditions. It may be best enjoyed at night, in a car, with headphones, or played very loudly. Such information would appear with the liner notes. For maximum listening effect, reading the liner notes before playing the tape is strongly suggested.
Warning: the songs on the tape are non-negotiable. Exchanges are impossible. Requests will not be honoured. There was a plan involved in making this tape. Therefore, changes in the playlist and/or song order are not feasible without completely altering the mood and pacing of the tape.
Background: Barry has extensive experience in the art of mix tape recording, taping from a variety of formats and sources for over a dozen years. Therefore, he has spent nearly half of his life in this business! Each tape is personally compiled and manufactured by Barry himself. However, the music industry has evolved over the years, and Barry's style has evolved with it. He honed his craft by making tapes for himself, hour after hour in his bedroom. These tapes compiled the newest alternative and cutting-edge dance hits of the day, interspersed with classic songs for added variety and historical weight. In the early to mid 1990's, he shifted his focus toward producing tapes for others. Early mix tapes featured a minimum of artists, often with large sections of their albums. As Barry's music collections grew rapidly, there was a pressing need to feature more and more artists. Eventually, each artist was limited to one or two songs per tape, with very few exceptions. In order to fit in so many differing styles of music, the tracklistings were meticulously planned in advance. With only 45 minutes per side to work with, this ensured that songs were not cut off and more importantly, the songs flowed readily into each other. This was Barry's preferred method of working for many years, and many feel that his best work was done during that time period.
However, the era of detailed planning ended around 1998. Perhaps as a reaction to the rigidity of those working conditions, Barry shifted to a freer, more improvisational style. This shift occurred over many months. From this time onward, Barry's tapes were recorded with almost no premeditation. He would begin with a rudimentary idea, i.e. decide on the first song and the last, but nothing else; or start soft and build to something loud; and let instinct and emotion fill in the details. Like with a virtuoso who grows to understand his instrument better after years and years of performing, Barry had developed a prodigious familiarity with his prestigious music collection which no longer required his fatherly grooming as part of the mixing process. In the last year, he has taken this idea even further by experimenting with continuous mixes of ambient and techno music, although these are still in the development stage. Which brings us to the present: therefore, the tape which you hold in your hands was born out of one, improvised take. There are no overdubs. It is truly one of a kind.
Motivations: since you are in possession of this mix tape, you must be a very special person indeed. Each tape is personalized and made "ready to order". In other words, it was made specifically for YOU. Some examples include, but are not limited to, the following. You may be someone who adores and appreciates music similar to Barry's tastes, and the tape is designed to introduce you to music that you ordinarily would not get the chance to hear, or music that you would get the chance to hear but have not yet had the opportunity to do so. You may be a music lover with tastes different from Barry, and this tape will introduce you to music which is unfamiliar, so that Barry can communicate a little bit of what his musical tastes are all about. If you are female, there is a chance that you and Barry are romantically involved, if this is the case, the tape is likely a token of Barry's affection (a gift similar to the flowers or chocolates you may be accustomed to receiving from normal guys) and should be rewarded with a hug and a kiss at the very least. But in all cases, the tape will contain no music that you currently have, except for the rare case in which a particular song is needed to fulfill an exact purpose.
Suggestions: as previously mentioned, this tape is best heard under the recommended conditions. For example, if the liner notes recommend that the tape should be heard at high volume, it is strongly suggested that you do so. Low volume will still be pleasing to the ear, but like substituting margarine for butter, it will be missing an easily detectable nuance. In such a case, if high volume listening conditions are not available, you may want to hold off listening to the tape until such conditions do become available.
Enjoy your tape, and have a wonderful day (unless the tape is meant to be sad, in which case, have a miserable day. If you are unsure as to the proper course of action, consult the liner notes, or Barry himself). Again, enjoy! (-: (or not!) )-:
Tuesday, August 14, 2001
I'm reading a book about psychedelic music called "Kaleidescope Eyes" by Jim DeRogatis (who also wrote "Let it Blurt", an excellent biography of critic Lester Bangs). I've seen a couple of other books about psychedelia which focus on it's 1965-1969 heyday. DeRogatis takes a far more ambitious approach and covers it from the 60's right through to the '90's, from the Beatles and Stones through pretentious 70's prog like Yes and ELP, right up to shoegazing and ambient in the '90's. Even though conventional music history states that psychedelia died with the '60's, DeRogatis knows better. It didn't die, a scene, a culture can't just die, it morphs into something else and continues to evolve. After enough time has passed, the music has changed so much that its roots are not easily visible, but they are there. DeRogatis attempts to follow these roots, which is a difficult job to be sure, but this is the most accurate way to follow a "scene". That is the strongest point he can make: we shouldn't stand for books that cover a short period of musical history and make that period out as the "be all and end all", without adressing the manner in which the story continued. This is more of a problem than many people realise. Take disco, for instance. Most people think that disco was hot for a few years in the '70's and then it died abruptly, as DJ's stopped playing it, records ceased to be pressed, and Solid Gold was on TV one week and off the next, all because of Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey park or some other ridiculous reason. Disco didn't die, it slipped quietly from the mainstream, while wimp-rock balladry and English New Romanticism pushed up to the forefront. But you can't listen to early Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet and claim that there isn't a disco influence. Disco itself went underground, into the clubs in Europe, New York and Chicago, and re-emerged most famously as house, and without house there'd be no Eiffel 65 or remixes of Jennifer Lopez' latest single on your radio.
Punk suffered from the same malady, as people assumed it vanished from the face of the earth once the Sex Pistols broke up or between the Clash's "London Calling" and "Combat Rock". Once grunge hit big, there was a mass wake-up call to grunge's punk roots, as the world at large became aware of the existence of Sonic Youth and Husker Du. And thus, punk's story has been more truthfully told. But to suggest that psychedelia died, vanished in '69, or disco in '79 (or Britpop in '96, or Rave in '92, or shoegazing in '93, or ....) is pure myth, is misleading, and it is factually wrong.
Punk suffered from the same malady, as people assumed it vanished from the face of the earth once the Sex Pistols broke up or between the Clash's "London Calling" and "Combat Rock". Once grunge hit big, there was a mass wake-up call to grunge's punk roots, as the world at large became aware of the existence of Sonic Youth and Husker Du. And thus, punk's story has been more truthfully told. But to suggest that psychedelia died, vanished in '69, or disco in '79 (or Britpop in '96, or Rave in '92, or shoegazing in '93, or ....) is pure myth, is misleading, and it is factually wrong.
Monday, August 06, 2001
To hell with mood-altering medications. Prozac -- whatever. The new in-drug is : Senor Coconut. Today, my own crappy mood was lifted by the good Senor and his Kraftwerk covers. It wasn't immediate, however. Moods can't be lifted at the snapping of one's fingers, just like you can't expect a frown to turn upside down at the sight of a clown and a sock puppet. Especially with me, because I consider myself almost immune to anything too outwardly happy or cheesy. So I almost turned off the CD when "Showroom Dummies" started up, for I assumed myself to be in no mood for any novelties. But there I was, thirty minutes later, grooving around the room to "Tour de France". Even now, I can barely believe that I fell for this. It's like hearing the punchline to a joke you've heard a dozen times, but being surprised at the end and laughing anyway. Senor Coconut vastly improved my day. Be happy!!
Monday, July 09, 2001
Last Friday, I went to hear Derrick May spin at the Mockingbird. Many others, it seemed, went to SEE Derrick May spin at the Mockingbird. Last time I went to hear May spin, it was Fukhouse (RIP) at Industry (RIP) and the place was packed to the tits and everyone was dancing like a maniac. This time, there were maybe 100 in attendance at any one point, everyone was constantly wandering between the main room and the lounge, and one might have thought that May was the Mona Lisa from the way that people were staring, gawking and generally thrilled to be in his presence. I can't fault the idol worship, because after all, it's DERRICK F'N MAY. And I can't fault people for not consistently packing the dancefloor, because everyone is free to enjoy music in whatever fashion they prefer, it's not written anywhere that when the DJ plays, the masses are obligated to dance like pill popping teenage girls. Also, May played a challenging set, filled with everything from beatless Philippe Cam to old school L'il Louis to slamming hard techno-funk. As an aside, the biggest rise from the crowd seemed to come from the cheery house tracks he dropped early on which instilled a momentary fear in me that the only way he'd get a rise out of the tiny crowd would be to stoke the Richard Simmons at Gay Pride Day reflex, but that fear quickly passed once the music got rougher and faster and the dancefloor cleared. But I got the feeling that coming to the Mockingbird that night was treated like a spectator sport, with the music he spun being second nature to the man himself. It was an evening in a never-been-there netherzone between the stereotypical faceless DJ while ravers get off their heads, and a fan-club admiration society in which the star DJ shows up, pops their summer mix tape into the stereo, does the obligatory meet and greet, and heads for the waiting limo nary an hour later.
Tuesday, July 03, 2001
I sauntered over to HMV and found myself at a listening booth breezing through Travis' new "The Invisible Band". There was a promotional poster above the listening booth which referred to the albums' "unique instrumentation and genius production", which caused me to have a good laugh (to myself) coupled with a sudden urge to run home and listen to MBV's "Loveless", which is the first name in albums that actually deserve such an accolade. I'm assuming that since the above phrase was followed by "(Nigel Godrich of Radiohead and Beck fame)" then one was meant to follow a misguided reasoning along the lines of $Radiohead, Beck = musical gods = genius production$. That still wouldn't excuse the claim that two guitars, bass and drums is any more unique than the latest release from the Popstars TV show in your favourite country. Which reminds me, I saw a promo which referred to the new release by Canada's Sugar Jones as "R&B flavoured pop stylings", or perhaps it was "pop flavoured R&B stylings" but in fact it really doesn't make a damn difference what it said because if you even have to ASK or mull for ONE SINGLE SECOND over what it's going to sound like, then please do emerge from the cave that you've been in since grunge died its painful death and turn on "(Today's) (Pop) Hit (s)(z) (__) FM" (it doesn't matter which one, because they're all the same) and listen semi-intently for about 30 minutes, and it doesn't matter what time of day you tune in, because it'll all sound the same no matter what. Jesus! British rock is turning into manufactured pop -- it all sounds the same! No surprises!
Now I like Travis, "The Man Who" is a fine piece of mellow guitar pop songcraft. Same goes for "The Invisible Band", but not quite as catchy as its predecessor (hey, that's pretty much what EVERY review has said, which I guess is what happens when your new record isn't inventive and sounds just like your last record -- everyone's heard it all before, and everyone hears it in the same way). But you or me or anyone who can be shown how to push a button on a mixing desk could have produced "The Invisible Band". You just have to fiddle with the controls until the instruments sound identical to "The Man Who" and you're done. There are NO creative decisions to be made, no wondering if the guitars should sound more trebly, or distorted, or more like a trumpet, just a simple sonic photocopy (auralcopy?) of "The Man Who". Sort of like when a band walks into a studio and their name is "(one or more monosyllabic words) (a number)" -- all you need to do is get your hands on Green Day's "Dookie", and PRESTO, merely twiddle the knobs until you hear the same thing, no decisions necessary, no mess, no fuss.
Now I like Travis, "The Man Who" is a fine piece of mellow guitar pop songcraft. Same goes for "The Invisible Band", but not quite as catchy as its predecessor (hey, that's pretty much what EVERY review has said, which I guess is what happens when your new record isn't inventive and sounds just like your last record -- everyone's heard it all before, and everyone hears it in the same way). But you or me or anyone who can be shown how to push a button on a mixing desk could have produced "The Invisible Band". You just have to fiddle with the controls until the instruments sound identical to "The Man Who" and you're done. There are NO creative decisions to be made, no wondering if the guitars should sound more trebly, or distorted, or more like a trumpet, just a simple sonic photocopy (auralcopy?) of "The Man Who". Sort of like when a band walks into a studio and their name is "(one or more monosyllabic words) (a number)" -- all you need to do is get your hands on Green Day's "Dookie", and PRESTO, merely twiddle the knobs until you hear the same thing, no decisions necessary, no mess, no fuss.
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