Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Minneapolis Music Review: Mark Mallman
If you live in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area, there's a handful of names you-you-you outta know, even if you aren't involved with the local music scene. Mark Mallman is one of them.
Imagine you are at a great show, and the band reaches the crescendo at the end of the night; the penultimate build-up to the penultimate climax, and you swear the energy being conjured is so intense that even the walls of First Avenue couldn't possibly contain it...
...That's how Mark Mallman starts the show, and the energy goes up from there.
Make sure to check out his Wikipedia entry. to find out about the Marathon 26.2 Hour and 52.4 Hour SONGS he did. And if you ask me, he was robbed for not getting into the Guinness Book of World Records for the "Longest Pop Song". Trust me though, Mark is able to take that 52.4 hours of energy and squish it all into a half hour show.
The shows are part musical live performance and part...something else. Ever seen someone ride their keyboard like a horse, twirling a microphone cord over his head like a lasso? Ever seen an enactment of a keyboardist approaching his keyboard in the wild, using a chair to fend off it's attacks while he plugs it in? Ever see a keyboardist hold his keyboard out to the bass player so she can kick it to make some improv musical effects?
If you haven't, then you haven't seen Mark Mallman live. And you-you-you really outta.
Musically, Mark Mallman mixes Pop Rocks with Orange Fanta and shakes the hell out of it. In other words, a sweet, sticky colorful mess that will haunt you for days. But check it out yourself: you can hear his latest work "Between the Devil and Middle C" on his website http://www.mallman.com/, (check out his blog while you're there...) and you can buy it directly from the (Mall)man himself: http://www.tradebit.com/download.php/826791.
And finally, this message from the Man of Mall himself:
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
0 Comments
Permalink
Imagine you are at a great show, and the band reaches the crescendo at the end of the night; the penultimate build-up to the penultimate climax, and you swear the energy being conjured is so intense that even the walls of First Avenue couldn't possibly contain it...
...That's how Mark Mallman starts the show, and the energy goes up from there.
Make sure to check out his Wikipedia entry. to find out about the Marathon 26.2 Hour and 52.4 Hour SONGS he did. And if you ask me, he was robbed for not getting into the Guinness Book of World Records for the "Longest Pop Song". Trust me though, Mark is able to take that 52.4 hours of energy and squish it all into a half hour show.
The shows are part musical live performance and part...something else. Ever seen someone ride their keyboard like a horse, twirling a microphone cord over his head like a lasso? Ever seen an enactment of a keyboardist approaching his keyboard in the wild, using a chair to fend off it's attacks while he plugs it in? Ever see a keyboardist hold his keyboard out to the bass player so she can kick it to make some improv musical effects?
If you haven't, then you haven't seen Mark Mallman live. And you-you-you really outta.
Musically, Mark Mallman mixes Pop Rocks with Orange Fanta and shakes the hell out of it. In other words, a sweet, sticky colorful mess that will haunt you for days. But check it out yourself: you can hear his latest work "Between the Devil and Middle C" on his website http://www.mallman.com/, (check out his blog while you're there...) and you can buy it directly from the (Mall)man himself: http://www.tradebit.com/download.php/826791.
And finally, this message from the Man of Mall himself:
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: music reviews, Praise
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Review of the 2008 Flight of the Valkyries show
An impossibly amazing set of performances by the female-fronted bands attending the second Flight of the Valkyries show at Station-4.
It seems that every time there's an event at Station 4, I get to the event late. The only exception was the Jagged Spiral show a couple months ago, which is a good thing, because I was in it. Here, I thought the event started at 6PM, but it actually started at 3PM, and so I managed to miss Aria Sharp, Something to Fear, Earthen and Dendura. My loss.
However, I did get to meet Nathan Block, also known as 'The SwordLord' and the promoter of much of the harder edged music that comes to town. It was an honor to meet him and shake his hand. There was enough free stuff handed out by the bands that the $20 cover was well worth the price. I only wish I had gotten there sooner. Station 4 is a great venue for gigs like this, the only thing better would have been an outdoor show with awesome weather! Maybe next year???
Here are the bands from FotV I did get to experience:
Visideon - Visideon played the First FotV in 2007, and were invited back for this year's show. They're a great band, definitely worth hearing, I especially liked the vocals. Many metal bands (especially female-fronted ones) push vocals down into dog-barking obscurity or up into piercingly high-pitched screams, both of these techniques are spices to me, best used sparingly, and Visideon understand that. They call their music, "Classical Chording meets Heavy Guitar", add in some Angelic singing and synth-playing and you've got Visideon. Keep an eye on this band, and get out to see them while you can, they might not remain local for long!
Benedictum - The highlight of the evening, Benedictum (San Diego, CA) really stole the show for me. Their power and energy were set to 'Uber' and their lead singer, Victoria Freeman channelled and focused all of it. She really pulled the audience into the show, running into the crowd, even taking her wireless mic to the other side of Station 4 to make people watching from the "safe seats" feel like they were in the front row! And any band that can pull off a cover of Accept's 'Balls to the Wall'? Wow, these guys are really amazing!
Shadowside - South American Female Fronted Power Metal? Hell yeah! Shadowside was astonishing and beautiful onstage. Check out their myspace page to hear a band that pushes all the power, energy, and intensity of Iron Maiden into their music.
Unexpect - This year's headliner was Unexpect, a seven-piece band from Montreal. Now lots of bands use the term 'progressive' in their band descriptions, and I've pretty much crossed that word out of my dictionary, since it's been misused into meaninglessness. Everybody who writes a song with a bridge or a time-change in it calls themselves 'progressive'. But I might have to pull that word back out, because Unexpect is really, truly avant-garde. The SwordLord had this to say about them: "Think Cirque de Soleil goes black metal amidst an acid-trip version of The Dark Crystal", and I can't think of a better description. The nine-string bass guitar was a trip! I have to admit, their music was a bit over the top for me, chaotic and hard to get ahold of, the same way I feel about 'System of a Down'. Each member of the band is hyper-talented, but I think they are trying too hard to be different. For me, it was like listening to three bands at the same time, but check out their myspace and hear for yourself.
All in all a great festival, Minnesota is lucky to have an event like this here, and The SwordLord enjoys pointing out that it is the ONLY festival of this kind in the United States! Hopefully he will bring it back again, and it will grow in popularity.
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
1 Comments
Permalink
It seems that every time there's an event at Station 4, I get to the event late. The only exception was the Jagged Spiral show a couple months ago, which is a good thing, because I was in it. Here, I thought the event started at 6PM, but it actually started at 3PM, and so I managed to miss Aria Sharp, Something to Fear, Earthen and Dendura. My loss.
However, I did get to meet Nathan Block, also known as 'The SwordLord' and the promoter of much of the harder edged music that comes to town. It was an honor to meet him and shake his hand. There was enough free stuff handed out by the bands that the $20 cover was well worth the price. I only wish I had gotten there sooner. Station 4 is a great venue for gigs like this, the only thing better would have been an outdoor show with awesome weather! Maybe next year???
Here are the bands from FotV I did get to experience:
Visideon - Visideon played the First FotV in 2007, and were invited back for this year's show. They're a great band, definitely worth hearing, I especially liked the vocals. Many metal bands (especially female-fronted ones) push vocals down into dog-barking obscurity or up into piercingly high-pitched screams, both of these techniques are spices to me, best used sparingly, and Visideon understand that. They call their music, "Classical Chording meets Heavy Guitar", add in some Angelic singing and synth-playing and you've got Visideon. Keep an eye on this band, and get out to see them while you can, they might not remain local for long!
Benedictum - The highlight of the evening, Benedictum (San Diego, CA) really stole the show for me. Their power and energy were set to 'Uber' and their lead singer, Victoria Freeman channelled and focused all of it. She really pulled the audience into the show, running into the crowd, even taking her wireless mic to the other side of Station 4 to make people watching from the "safe seats" feel like they were in the front row! And any band that can pull off a cover of Accept's 'Balls to the Wall'? Wow, these guys are really amazing!
Shadowside - South American Female Fronted Power Metal? Hell yeah! Shadowside was astonishing and beautiful onstage. Check out their myspace page to hear a band that pushes all the power, energy, and intensity of Iron Maiden into their music.
Unexpect - This year's headliner was Unexpect, a seven-piece band from Montreal. Now lots of bands use the term 'progressive' in their band descriptions, and I've pretty much crossed that word out of my dictionary, since it's been misused into meaninglessness. Everybody who writes a song with a bridge or a time-change in it calls themselves 'progressive'. But I might have to pull that word back out, because Unexpect is really, truly avant-garde. The SwordLord had this to say about them: "Think Cirque de Soleil goes black metal amidst an acid-trip version of The Dark Crystal", and I can't think of a better description. The nine-string bass guitar was a trip! I have to admit, their music was a bit over the top for me, chaotic and hard to get ahold of, the same way I feel about 'System of a Down'. Each member of the band is hyper-talented, but I think they are trying too hard to be different. For me, it was like listening to three bands at the same time, but check out their myspace and hear for yourself.
All in all a great festival, Minnesota is lucky to have an event like this here, and The SwordLord enjoys pointing out that it is the ONLY festival of this kind in the United States! Hopefully he will bring it back again, and it will grow in popularity.
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: Concert, Minneapolis Event, music, music reviews, Ubercool
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Concert Review: Stuart Davis - Lost Beneath the Din
Once upon a time, there was a young man named Stuart Davis. He played acoustic folk music at coffee shops in Minneapolis and St. Paul. And once upon a time, I stumbled across his first recording, "My Baby Is A Snake".
Once upon a time, I was hooked.
I loved the music he made. It was intelligent AND catchy, style AND substance, ying AND yang. I became his biggest fan. Rarely missed a show, and snapped up every new release: "Big Energy Dream", "Self Untitled", "Nomen Est Numen"...
What inspired me most was that he did it all himself. He had occasional guest musicians join him onstage, but it was just spice, he certainly didn't need them. He was able to write great songs with just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Stuart Davis was one of the people who inspired me to become a singer/songwriter. I had lunch with him on two separate occasions, once at Fabulous Ferns and once at Sgt Preston's, each time trying to tap into the secret of what he was doing.
Once upon a time, Stuart Davis moved to California and shaved his head.
These things happen, and I didn't feel bad about it. We weren't friends, and there were other local heroes waiting to be discovered. I did feel bad for Stuart, thinking that there was no place in Hollywood for a Bald-Coffeeshop-Folk-Singer-Songwriter, and I doubted I would ever hear from him again, but he would surprise me with the occasional "Anti-Christmas" show at the Fine Line.
When I saw the show listing for a Stuart Davis CD Release "Something Simple" at the Varsity Theatre, I was surprised. Turns out one of his songs was used in the soundtrack for the new "Drillbit Taylor" movie. When I saw him perform live, I was even more surprised.
There he was, the Stuart Davis I knew from years ago (sans hair) wielding his acoustic guitar with as much energy as he ever did before, and full of his trademark witty banter between songs. Only now he was accompanied by a drummer, bassist, and lead guitarist. A full-on, overcompressed band.
While his songs still had all the hook and energy of his early days, the band steamrolled over any intricate nuances in his work. Saddest of all was the song "Universe Communion" which might be Stuart's best song, involving some amazing guitar work lost beneath the din; a glittering jewel packed in mud. People were surprised when I Booed after the song was finished. They'd obviously never heard the original. It was like eating a Wolfgang Puck Frozen Pizza; after having the real thing. I suddenly sympathized with the people who booed Bob Dylan offstage for using an electric guitar.
So did Stuart 'sell out'? Or did his music evolve into this?
I'm happy for Stuart, seems he finally got his big break. The room was packed, and I can't say his songs sucked. I'd like to think the full-backing-band was his own idea. But I'm sad for the people who will hear Stuart Davis for the first time, and write him off as a lite version of "Foo Fighters", because he is so much better than that.
Interested parties can read about Stuart's sordid past on his blog: http://www.stuartdavis.com/blog?page=1
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
1 Comments
Permalink
Once upon a time, I was hooked.
I loved the music he made. It was intelligent AND catchy, style AND substance, ying AND yang. I became his biggest fan. Rarely missed a show, and snapped up every new release: "Big Energy Dream", "Self Untitled", "Nomen Est Numen"...
What inspired me most was that he did it all himself. He had occasional guest musicians join him onstage, but it was just spice, he certainly didn't need them. He was able to write great songs with just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Stuart Davis was one of the people who inspired me to become a singer/songwriter. I had lunch with him on two separate occasions, once at Fabulous Ferns and once at Sgt Preston's, each time trying to tap into the secret of what he was doing.
Once upon a time, Stuart Davis moved to California and shaved his head.
These things happen, and I didn't feel bad about it. We weren't friends, and there were other local heroes waiting to be discovered. I did feel bad for Stuart, thinking that there was no place in Hollywood for a Bald-Coffeeshop-Folk-Singer-Songwriter, and I doubted I would ever hear from him again, but he would surprise me with the occasional "Anti-Christmas" show at the Fine Line.
When I saw the show listing for a Stuart Davis CD Release "Something Simple" at the Varsity Theatre, I was surprised. Turns out one of his songs was used in the soundtrack for the new "Drillbit Taylor" movie. When I saw him perform live, I was even more surprised.
There he was, the Stuart Davis I knew from years ago (sans hair) wielding his acoustic guitar with as much energy as he ever did before, and full of his trademark witty banter between songs. Only now he was accompanied by a drummer, bassist, and lead guitarist. A full-on, overcompressed band.
While his songs still had all the hook and energy of his early days, the band steamrolled over any intricate nuances in his work. Saddest of all was the song "Universe Communion" which might be Stuart's best song, involving some amazing guitar work lost beneath the din; a glittering jewel packed in mud. People were surprised when I Booed after the song was finished. They'd obviously never heard the original. It was like eating a Wolfgang Puck Frozen Pizza; after having the real thing. I suddenly sympathized with the people who booed Bob Dylan offstage for using an electric guitar.
So did Stuart 'sell out'? Or did his music evolve into this?
I'm happy for Stuart, seems he finally got his big break. The room was packed, and I can't say his songs sucked. I'd like to think the full-backing-band was his own idea. But I'm sad for the people who will hear Stuart Davis for the first time, and write him off as a lite version of "Foo Fighters", because he is so much better than that.
Interested parties can read about Stuart's sordid past on his blog: http://www.stuartdavis.com/blog?page=1
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: Concert, music reviews, new release
Monday, January 07, 2008
Music Review: Dir En Grey
Listening to Dir En Grey. Not bad, I suppose. I have to wonder, is it just me, or does "Clever Sleazoid" sound like "Scooby-Doo does Death Metal"?
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
0 Comments
Permalink
Art Is Resistance
-Zero
Labels: music, music reviews
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Music Review: Battle of the Bands Round One at Club 3 Degrees
Just to prove that I actually DO attend some of the events I blog about, I swung out to Club 3 Degrees on Friday night and checked out the first night of their band competition. Several bands played just over a half-hour set each, and were judged by several industry/media pros. As the series of contest concerts progresses, bands accrue points during their performance, and the bands with lowest points bands will be eliminated. The series of concerts goes until next spring.
Since Club 3 Degrees is an Outreach (taking the church to where the kids are) that is a factor in all the bands and their music. Some bands were 'preachier' than others, some you wouldn't even know it. I don't let their motivations weigh in my music reviews, everyone has their own reasons for making music, and it doesn't have any bearing (to me, anyways) on whether I like the music or not. Choirs of Demons can sound every bit as good as Choirs of Angels to me.
Unfortunately, I missed out on the first band, so I can't tell you anything about them.
9-Ball - I'll be the first to tell you that I think Emo music sucks ass, and while 9-Ball's music didn't make me puke, it did make me nauseous. 9-Ball is from Kentucky, but don't hold that against them. They have asymmetrical haircuts and an overabundance of energy, so hold *that* against them instead. They looked like animals at the zoo just before feeding time. The lead singer/guitar player and the bass and second guitar all had wireless units and raced around the stage like maniacs. [Warning: Lots of Posing.] I like to know that the musicians are actually ALIVE when I go to see them play LIVE, so the exaggerated animation was refreshing, but they overdid it to the point where people were laughing. GREAT Bass tone, BTW.
Red Dress White - More Emo, although not as gut-wrenching as 9-Ball, but the same setup, (Bass, Singer/Gtr, second gtr and drums). Their songs were good (for Emo...), but their stage presence was far worse. They fretted with settings, cables and the lead singer's monologue was forced/nervous/clumsy. He would also forget to jump around, then suddenly flail like a madman (or he has severe mood swings). Anyway, this band's studio work is better, but their live show will improve with practice. They just aren't quite concert calibre yet. Their songwriting skills are better than 9-ball, and the acoustic song they performed was possibly the best song of the night. The bass player is about ten years old. I don't know if/why that is important.
Searching For North: This band was intense and professional, with intro score before they came onstage, and loud, tight, well-practiced music that is borderline Epic Metal. Lots of talent here, but their attitude onstage and in the crowd after the show makes me think are quite full of themselves, and they should have checked their egos at the door. The music was really punchy and powerful and smacks of Tool (whom they list as a reference), but the lead vocalist is thin, and doesn't cut through the mix.
Claret: Claret won the judges high score for the night. I think they had a good balance of being active onstage without looking like idiots. They seemed comfortable without being overconfident, good level of energy without looking like they were trying too hard. I like that their music is 'emotional' without embracing the puking whine of contemporary 'Emo' music. Their songwriting is very adult, and makes good use of dynamic range (check out their demo of Hold Fast on their myspace page for an example.) Their closing song, "Picket Fences" was a hit, and made clever use of the audience sing-along, but the repeated ending dragged on for too long.
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Since Club 3 Degrees is an Outreach (taking the church to where the kids are) that is a factor in all the bands and their music. Some bands were 'preachier' than others, some you wouldn't even know it. I don't let their motivations weigh in my music reviews, everyone has their own reasons for making music, and it doesn't have any bearing (to me, anyways) on whether I like the music or not. Choirs of Demons can sound every bit as good as Choirs of Angels to me.
Unfortunately, I missed out on the first band, so I can't tell you anything about them.
9-Ball - I'll be the first to tell you that I think Emo music sucks ass, and while 9-Ball's music didn't make me puke, it did make me nauseous. 9-Ball is from Kentucky, but don't hold that against them. They have asymmetrical haircuts and an overabundance of energy, so hold *that* against them instead. They looked like animals at the zoo just before feeding time. The lead singer/guitar player and the bass and second guitar all had wireless units and raced around the stage like maniacs. [Warning: Lots of Posing.] I like to know that the musicians are actually ALIVE when I go to see them play LIVE, so the exaggerated animation was refreshing, but they overdid it to the point where people were laughing. GREAT Bass tone, BTW.
Red Dress White - More Emo, although not as gut-wrenching as 9-Ball, but the same setup, (Bass, Singer/Gtr, second gtr and drums). Their songs were good (for Emo...), but their stage presence was far worse. They fretted with settings, cables and the lead singer's monologue was forced/nervous/clumsy. He would also forget to jump around, then suddenly flail like a madman (or he has severe mood swings). Anyway, this band's studio work is better, but their live show will improve with practice. They just aren't quite concert calibre yet. Their songwriting skills are better than 9-ball, and the acoustic song they performed was possibly the best song of the night. The bass player is about ten years old. I don't know if/why that is important.
Searching For North: This band was intense and professional, with intro score before they came onstage, and loud, tight, well-practiced music that is borderline Epic Metal. Lots of talent here, but their attitude onstage and in the crowd after the show makes me think are quite full of themselves, and they should have checked their egos at the door. The music was really punchy and powerful and smacks of Tool (whom they list as a reference), but the lead vocalist is thin, and doesn't cut through the mix.
Claret: Claret won the judges high score for the night. I think they had a good balance of being active onstage without looking like idiots. They seemed comfortable without being overconfident, good level of energy without looking like they were trying too hard. I like that their music is 'emotional' without embracing the puking whine of contemporary 'Emo' music. Their songwriting is very adult, and makes good use of dynamic range (check out their demo of Hold Fast on their myspace page for an example.) Their closing song, "Picket Fences" was a hit, and made clever use of the audience sing-along, but the repeated ending dragged on for too long.
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Event, Minneapolis Event, music, music reviews
Friday, July 20, 2007
Reveille Magazine
Can't quite tell you how excited I am to see the birth of Reveille, a new local Minnesota music magazine .
My love for the City Pages as a local music reference has waned ever since the day the Twin Cities Reader gave up the ghost, and C.P. slowly declined to where it is today.
Part of the problem is that City Pages doesn't always focus on local, and it rarely focuses on music. It's ventured so far from its 'Sweet Potato' roots, that it seems to have forgotten where it came from, and worse, doesn't seem to care. And why should it? The advertising $$$ keep rolling in, the XXX ads in the back never change, and deciding ??? to do this weekend is Your problem, not the City Pages.
Sure it works fine to cover the garage floor when you were touching up the paint on that ugly ceramic animal you made back in grade school. What the hell was that thing? A chicken? A fish with a long neck? No telling anymore, maybe you could paint it and sell it at the Maple Grove Art Fair???.... [Author's Note: Um, where was I? Oh yes, the advertisements. I remember now.]
For me, the usefulness of City Pages is reduced to the advertisements for all the local clubs, whick are in one relatively convenient section. For many weekends it was my treasure map for discovering new local music. But I had always wished for something more.
So did others. That's why the Rake, Pulse, Siren, Rift, howwastheshow.com morecowbell.net and minneapolisfuckingrocks.com and about a thousand more online sources came into being. There is SO MUCH art being made in the Minneapolis area, people want someone who can collect it all to one convenient place, and give you an idea of who's who and what's what in the local music scene. Local art by local artists. Put ads in there if you want, and put all the personal ads in the back too, I don't care. But keep it free, keep it local, and keep it away from the sensational-pseudo-journalism. If I want to know about local sports or politics I have better sources for that. I wanna know who is playing, where, when, and why the hell I should go see them! As great as the 'alternatives to the alternative' are, they don't have the distribution and stamina that City Pages has. Siren went under some time ago, the Pulse is gone and Rift is floundering due to production costs, threatening to become web-only.
So I was pleased as punch to see vita.mn emerge. Although it's run by the Star Tribune, but don't judge it too harshly, they have their heart in the right place, and I suspect their distribution will rival the City Pages. Vita.mn pulls everything I liked about City Pages out and puts in in one place. On paper. And their website is fabulously useful, clean, informational and intuitive.
But I'm even more excited about Reveille. If nothing else this line from their mission statement makes me all tingly:
When mainstream media can't afford to cover the depth of music on offer in the Twin Cities and beyond, we're here to go deeper. When the internet seems like nothing but a glut of news tidbits and buzz, we're here to actually write about music. Original, insightful, informative, inspiring: This is what we seek to be.
At the very least, Reveille will provide real competition that was so sorely lacking before. Check out the full mission statement, and the cast of characters here.
http://www.reveillemag.com/about/
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Part of the problem is that City Pages doesn't always focus on local, and it rarely focuses on music. It's ventured so far from its 'Sweet Potato' roots, that it seems to have forgotten where it came from, and worse, doesn't seem to care. And why should it? The advertising $$$ keep rolling in, the XXX ads in the back never change, and deciding ??? to do this weekend is Your problem, not the City Pages.
Sure it works fine to cover the garage floor when you were touching up the paint on that ugly ceramic animal you made back in grade school. What the hell was that thing? A chicken? A fish with a long neck? No telling anymore, maybe you could paint it and sell it at the Maple Grove Art Fair???.... [Author's Note: Um, where was I? Oh yes, the advertisements. I remember now.]
For me, the usefulness of City Pages is reduced to the advertisements for all the local clubs, whick are in one relatively convenient section. For many weekends it was my treasure map for discovering new local music. But I had always wished for something more.
So did others. That's why the Rake, Pulse, Siren, Rift, howwastheshow.com morecowbell.net and minneapolisfuckingrocks.com and about a thousand more online sources came into being. There is SO MUCH art being made in the Minneapolis area, people want someone who can collect it all to one convenient place, and give you an idea of who's who and what's what in the local music scene. Local art by local artists. Put ads in there if you want, and put all the personal ads in the back too, I don't care. But keep it free, keep it local, and keep it away from the sensational-pseudo-journalism. If I want to know about local sports or politics I have better sources for that. I wanna know who is playing, where, when, and why the hell I should go see them! As great as the 'alternatives to the alternative' are, they don't have the distribution and stamina that City Pages has. Siren went under some time ago, the Pulse is gone and Rift is floundering due to production costs, threatening to become web-only.
So I was pleased as punch to see vita.mn emerge. Although it's run by the Star Tribune, but don't judge it too harshly, they have their heart in the right place, and I suspect their distribution will rival the City Pages. Vita.mn pulls everything I liked about City Pages out and puts in in one place. On paper. And their website is fabulously useful, clean, informational and intuitive.
But I'm even more excited about Reveille. If nothing else this line from their mission statement makes me all tingly:
When mainstream media can't afford to cover the depth of music on offer in the Twin Cities and beyond, we're here to go deeper. When the internet seems like nothing but a glut of news tidbits and buzz, we're here to actually write about music. Original, insightful, informative, inspiring: This is what we seek to be.
At the very least, Reveille will provide real competition that was so sorely lacking before. Check out the full mission statement, and the cast of characters here.
http://www.reveillemag.com/about/
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Product, Cool Website, Minneapolis Event, music, music reviews
The Peppermint Creeps
Someone needs to do some research on California. Is it a magnet that draws freakshows like The Peppermint Creeps out of the rest of the country? Or is there something wrong with the water there that warps people's minds?
In all fairness, I know some very nice people who are from California, and moreover, they knowingly moved there. That's their conscious choice, and I won't hold it against them. I have visited California myself and without a doubt, the climate is wonderful.
But if you go to the bank or Taco Bell you would end up standing in line nest to this. Is that what you want? I mean, listen to their song "F_Off And Die". (You might have to turn off the second song playing further down the page, and thank myspace for the clever design which allows bands to automatically start two songs when the page loads...)
If I was in High School, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE the Peppermint Creeps. Not because it's any good at all, but because my parents would HATE HATE HATE it, and wonder if I needed counseling. The Peppermint Creeps are the NEW Motley Crue, the NEW Twisted Sister.
I'm thinking of starting a fund to help the San Andreas Fault Line out, and plop the Peppermint Creeps straight into the Pacific Ocean.
Gotta go, I'm going to be sick...
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
1 Comments
Permalink
In all fairness, I know some very nice people who are from California, and moreover, they knowingly moved there. That's their conscious choice, and I won't hold it against them. I have visited California myself and without a doubt, the climate is wonderful.
But if you go to the bank or Taco Bell you would end up standing in line nest to this. Is that what you want? I mean, listen to their song "F_Off And Die". (You might have to turn off the second song playing further down the page, and thank myspace for the clever design which allows bands to automatically start two songs when the page loads...)
If I was in High School, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE the Peppermint Creeps. Not because it's any good at all, but because my parents would HATE HATE HATE it, and wonder if I needed counseling. The Peppermint Creeps are the NEW Motley Crue, the NEW Twisted Sister.
I'm thinking of starting a fund to help the San Andreas Fault Line out, and plop the Peppermint Creeps straight into the Pacific Ocean.
Gotta go, I'm going to be sick...
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Labels: anti, music reviews
IPOD, Izzard, Claret, and Elbow
Last night I got to catch up with the Ice Princess of Darkness (Also known as IPOD and fairly famous too, just Google "IPOD" once and see for yourself.)
Anyway, it was good to catch up with her and have some laughs. It made me miss "the old days" even though we used to fight a lot. Every time we met, if I remember correctly.
IPOD knows of a Ghost who turned me on to Eddie Izzard. Probably the funniest male active transvestite comedian I've ever seen. I was going to drop some youtube links in here, I've been watching them for about an hour now. There's so many you should just go to youtube and look up Eddie Izzard for yourself. Great stuff.
While you are trolling the interweb, check out Ghost's band: Claret. They have some shows booked in the coming weeks, and don't let the fact that they label themselves "Christian" dissuade you, they aren't preachy. I might hit one of their shows; incognito, of course, I wouldn't want to get any shine on my perfectly tarnished image.
Ghost also set me up with some music by one of his influences, a UK band called Elbow. I know, poor name choice, but Knee was taken, AND they suck, so Elbow was probably a good second choice as far as ligament joints were concerned. Anyway, Elbow definitely does Not suck, they are in fact, quite refreshing, reminding me of Pink Floyd's Echoes album, or early Marillion (not too early, Hogarth not Fish).
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Anyway, it was good to catch up with her and have some laughs. It made me miss "the old days" even though we used to fight a lot. Every time we met, if I remember correctly.
IPOD knows of a Ghost who turned me on to Eddie Izzard. Probably the funniest male active transvestite comedian I've ever seen. I was going to drop some youtube links in here, I've been watching them for about an hour now. There's so many you should just go to youtube and look up Eddie Izzard for yourself. Great stuff.
While you are trolling the interweb, check out Ghost's band: Claret. They have some shows booked in the coming weeks, and don't let the fact that they label themselves "Christian" dissuade you, they aren't preachy. I might hit one of their shows; incognito, of course, I wouldn't want to get any shine on my perfectly tarnished image.
Ghost also set me up with some music by one of his influences, a UK band called Elbow. I know, poor name choice, but Knee was taken, AND they suck, so Elbow was probably a good second choice as far as ligament joints were concerned. Anyway, Elbow definitely does Not suck, they are in fact, quite refreshing, reminding me of Pink Floyd's Echoes album, or early Marillion (not too early, Hogarth not Fish).
KTHXBYE,
-CZ
Labels: Cool Event, Cool Website, music reviews, Videos
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
My review of Lindsey Thomas' review of Year Zero
The latest City Pages contains Lindsey Thomas' review of Year Zero. Strangely, instead of calling attention to the amazing marketing campaign and phenomena behind Year Zero, she completely Dismisses it:
"...not a single original thought to be found..."
"..If Year Zero reveals anything, it's that his music does little for people with a working knowledge of current events and a desire for sonic evolution.
Her review saddens me more than I can say. I thought that Year Zero was a strong album, with some great hits like "Capitol G" and "The Beginning of the End". The song, "In This Twilight" is a phenomenal piece of music.
Overlooking the music, the message in Year Zero is a timely one. The great, dumbing down of society. People sick of the way things are being run, finally rising up and rebelling, joining the underground Open Source Resistance...
Even if one were to ignore the music and the message (a horrific thing for a *music critic* to do,) Year Zero is still a remarkable album in the method it was marketed. Finally, there's an artist who has figured out how the new music system works, and he is showing the world by DOING. Trent Reznor is creating an image and an event which extends WAY beyond the music. He is inviting everyone to be part of the phenomenon; social puzzles, secret codes, intentionally leaked songs, interactive websites, secret concerts, freaking phone messages fer crissakes! He isn't sitting around trying to look kewl and sound "indie" while releasing shit-rock like all the pitchfork.com darlings, he's actually DOING SOMETHING NO ONE HAS DONE BEFORE!
...and Lindsey Thomas comes along like some old person who has never heard of the internet, and dismisses the entire astonishing thing by saying he hasn't got a single original thought.
Wow.
I suppose that if the White Stripes did the same thing, she would be praising their idealism and creativity the way she praised Arcade Fire for their insight and suggested that they have 'plumbed new depths of social commentary', but she doesn't even give a passing nod to the artist who is starting an underground revolution.
When that revolution marches down the street in front of her house, she will wish she had spent more time researching that review.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
"...not a single original thought to be found..."
"..If Year Zero reveals anything, it's that his music does little for people with a working knowledge of current events and a desire for sonic evolution.
Her review saddens me more than I can say. I thought that Year Zero was a strong album, with some great hits like "Capitol G" and "The Beginning of the End". The song, "In This Twilight" is a phenomenal piece of music.
Overlooking the music, the message in Year Zero is a timely one. The great, dumbing down of society. People sick of the way things are being run, finally rising up and rebelling, joining the underground Open Source Resistance...
Even if one were to ignore the music and the message (a horrific thing for a *music critic* to do,) Year Zero is still a remarkable album in the method it was marketed. Finally, there's an artist who has figured out how the new music system works, and he is showing the world by DOING. Trent Reznor is creating an image and an event which extends WAY beyond the music. He is inviting everyone to be part of the phenomenon; social puzzles, secret codes, intentionally leaked songs, interactive websites, secret concerts, freaking phone messages fer crissakes! He isn't sitting around trying to look kewl and sound "indie" while releasing shit-rock like all the pitchfork.com darlings, he's actually DOING SOMETHING NO ONE HAS DONE BEFORE!
...and Lindsey Thomas comes along like some old person who has never heard of the internet, and dismisses the entire astonishing thing by saying he hasn't got a single original thought.
Wow.
I suppose that if the White Stripes did the same thing, she would be praising their idealism and creativity the way she praised Arcade Fire for their insight and suggested that they have 'plumbed new depths of social commentary', but she doesn't even give a passing nod to the artist who is starting an underground revolution.
When that revolution marches down the street in front of her house, she will wish she had spent more time researching that review.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: anti, music reviews, NIN
Year Zero Update
Year Zero from Nine Inch Nails is not an album, it's an event. That means that what you read in this review are only the facts *to date*. Keep your eyes and ears open for more.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: music reviews, NIN
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Chop off the Long Tail
All right, Everybody out of the fucking Internet Pool, it's time for a talk.
No more using the phrase 'long tail'
I fucking mean it. You, you, you Internet People (and You know of whom I speak) need to dial it back. I've never read so many people going out of their way, I mean WAY out of their way to use a useless phrase before.
And Bruce? Yes you, Mr. Springsteen. I see you are still trying to be the Voice of America. I told you to knock that shit off back when you tried to cash in on the 9-11 tragedy. Let's not have me tell you again, shall we? Your punishment is to go here and click on The Trooper, and listen to some Real music.
And while yer at it, write Rolling Stone some hate mail too. They proclaimed Stadium Arcadium as the second best album of 2006. I know 2006 was a shit year for music, but it wasn't That bad.
Sorry to laden you with homework, but you also should check this out.
Thanks to Jeff for the linkage...
Blog on,
-CZ
2 Comments
Permalink
No more using the phrase 'long tail'
I fucking mean it. You, you, you Internet People (and You know of whom I speak) need to dial it back. I've never read so many people going out of their way, I mean WAY out of their way to use a useless phrase before.
And Bruce? Yes you, Mr. Springsteen. I see you are still trying to be the Voice of America. I told you to knock that shit off back when you tried to cash in on the 9-11 tragedy. Let's not have me tell you again, shall we? Your punishment is to go here and click on The Trooper, and listen to some Real music.
And while yer at it, write Rolling Stone some hate mail too. They proclaimed Stadium Arcadium as the second best album of 2006. I know 2006 was a shit year for music, but it wasn't That bad.
Sorry to laden you with homework, but you also should check this out.
Thanks to Jeff for the linkage...
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: anti, music, music reviews
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Best New Bands of 2006
Last night, I attended the "Best New Bands of 2006" at First Ave.
My thoughts:
First Ave is not the same without the smoke. Perhaps they could have a fog machine and some cigarette-flavored-incense? Is that too much to ask? Pissing in a trough always makes me feel like I'm at Renn Fest. Where else can you strike up a conversation with a girl using the men's room trough while peeing through a fake penis? You might have to pay to see that in San Francisco, but here in Minneapolis, it's included in the cover.
First Communion Afterparty - I missed all but the end of this band, so I can't give an accurate opinion. I liked what I heard, it was like used motor oil with lots of cream and sugar.
Jeremy Messersmith - With a voice Exactly Precisely like John Mayer from 'Your Body Is A Wonderland', Jeremy creates his own percussion and backup singing sections by doing live looping on stage - he records a short section of percussion and vocals which loop over and over while he plays and sings the song. A clever gimmick which turns a coffee-shop folk singer into a one man band, and certainly deserving of 'Best of 2006' status. Unfortunately, that talent is only appreciatable in live venues, and will probably be lost on CD/MP3/Radio..
Maria Isa - You probably saw Maria grace the cover of CityPages not too long ago. I missed the article because the City Pages is crap now, but Maria Isa? Stop the fucking press. Wow. Best way to describe this is Sade (remember Sade?) got some fucking balls and had a can of Rock Star Energy Drink. Or two. Think a female Matisyahu without the Jewdaism. This girl took the stage by the horns, rode it hard, and put it away wet. The ONLY act of the night with meaningful lyrics. Best of the Best of.
One for the Team - Unapologetic polished pop. I zoned out into a bizarre discussion (another blog post by itself) and missed most of this act.
The Alarmists - Of all acts this one sounded the most 'polished' and while I usually mean that in a bad way, this time I don't. The keyboard player needs to calm down though, or go play with the next band...
White Light Riot - Were clearly the crowd darlings of the event. WLR have a great sound and are well-practiced. Strangely, I didn't like their songs and found their hyper-spastic stage energy distracting.
Vampire Hands - Surprise, surprise! A truly experimental band gets billed as Best Of! I bought a CD before they even finished playing.
The whole 'Best of' left a kind of mixed feeling for me. On the good side, there were no 'Emo' bands or Dashboard Confessional wannabees, and Thank The Gods that shit is dead or I would probably give up on music forever. There was also a hint of experimentation with Jeremy Messersmith's looping and a WHOLE LOT of experimentation with Vampire Hands.
On the down side, there might have been a teensy-weensy too many short-haired-white-boy-lead-singers-with-keys-hanging-off-their-belt-loop-from-a-carabiner. I would have expected a little more diversity, maybe some colored hair or a mohawk. Where was the punk? Although Vampire Hands clearly has elements of punk, there were no real screamers. (Whatever happened to The Blue Up?? God I miss them.) Where was the metal? Not even something like progressive metal. No Grrrl bands like the Soviettes. I thought Radio K sponsored the show?
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
My thoughts:
First Ave is not the same without the smoke. Perhaps they could have a fog machine and some cigarette-flavored-incense? Is that too much to ask? Pissing in a trough always makes me feel like I'm at Renn Fest. Where else can you strike up a conversation with a girl using the men's room trough while peeing through a fake penis? You might have to pay to see that in San Francisco, but here in Minneapolis, it's included in the cover.
First Communion Afterparty - I missed all but the end of this band, so I can't give an accurate opinion. I liked what I heard, it was like used motor oil with lots of cream and sugar.
Jeremy Messersmith - With a voice Exactly Precisely like John Mayer from 'Your Body Is A Wonderland', Jeremy creates his own percussion and backup singing sections by doing live looping on stage - he records a short section of percussion and vocals which loop over and over while he plays and sings the song. A clever gimmick which turns a coffee-shop folk singer into a one man band, and certainly deserving of 'Best of 2006' status. Unfortunately, that talent is only appreciatable in live venues, and will probably be lost on CD/MP3/Radio..
Maria Isa - You probably saw Maria grace the cover of CityPages not too long ago. I missed the article because the City Pages is crap now, but Maria Isa? Stop the fucking press. Wow. Best way to describe this is Sade (remember Sade?) got some fucking balls and had a can of Rock Star Energy Drink. Or two. Think a female Matisyahu without the Jewdaism. This girl took the stage by the horns, rode it hard, and put it away wet. The ONLY act of the night with meaningful lyrics. Best of the Best of.
One for the Team - Unapologetic polished pop. I zoned out into a bizarre discussion (another blog post by itself) and missed most of this act.
The Alarmists - Of all acts this one sounded the most 'polished' and while I usually mean that in a bad way, this time I don't. The keyboard player needs to calm down though, or go play with the next band...
White Light Riot - Were clearly the crowd darlings of the event. WLR have a great sound and are well-practiced. Strangely, I didn't like their songs and found their hyper-spastic stage energy distracting.
Vampire Hands - Surprise, surprise! A truly experimental band gets billed as Best Of! I bought a CD before they even finished playing.
The whole 'Best of' left a kind of mixed feeling for me. On the good side, there were no 'Emo' bands or Dashboard Confessional wannabees, and Thank The Gods that shit is dead or I would probably give up on music forever. There was also a hint of experimentation with Jeremy Messersmith's looping and a WHOLE LOT of experimentation with Vampire Hands.
On the down side, there might have been a teensy-weensy too many short-haired-white-boy-lead-singers-with-keys-hanging-off-their-belt-loop-from-a-carabiner. I would have expected a little more diversity, maybe some colored hair or a mohawk. Where was the punk? Although Vampire Hands clearly has elements of punk, there were no real screamers. (Whatever happened to The Blue Up?? God I miss them.) Where was the metal? Not even something like progressive metal. No Grrrl bands like the Soviettes. I thought Radio K sponsored the show?
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Concert, Minneapolis Event, music, music reviews
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Chris Carrabba, Please Die Now, You Putz. Love, Conrad
Had you cut out just the quotes from this interview with the front "man" from the "band" Dashboard Confessional, I probably couldn't have guessed who it was; just another self-important putz with nothing of interest to say. (Then again, who wouldn't feel important, being interviewed by Rolling Stone?)
But with the knowledge that it was THE Chris Carrabba, every word he says just puts my glaven in a twist.
Just to make sure I wasn't just being subjective about the whole thing and just blogging my bloody opinions (I mean, like, who would read that?) I wrote a quick music analyzer program and ran Dashboard Confessional's latest work through it.
***********************************
****OBJECTIVE MUSIC ANALYZER*******
********** Ver 0.01 ***************
*
*SCAN TYPE
* [Full]
*
*BAND NAME
* [Dashboard Confessional]
*
*TALENT / ABILITY
* [None]
*
*TALENT / ABILITY RECHECK
* [None Whatsoever]
*
*ORIGINALITY
* [Borderline Genius] Who knew that
* whiny, talentless music was a genre?
* Who would have thought that you could
* continually rhyme the words "I", "Me",
* and "My" over and over and over again?
* While we all knew that every word rhymes
* with itself, no one before had dreamed
* of using that feature to write songs.
* You have definitely pushed the envelope.
*
*ATTITUDE
* [Strong / Narcissistic] It is clear you
* believe yourself to be important, as you are the subject of
* every one of your own songs. Good use of first
* person personal pronouns. Good ability to
* take your boring everday occurances and hurt
* your listeners with them, almost on the same
* level as Bruce Springsteen.
*
*PERFORMANCE
* [Unable to Compute] You have trancended the
* barriers of what people percieve as "good" or "bad"
* You know that things like pitch,
* tempo, rhythm, meter, harmony, key, and melody
* are only limitations imposed by others who
* don't know better, and impediments to your songcraft.
*
*OVERALL
* [Your "Rock" Sucks Rocks] Your music is a fetid
* dogturd stuck to the heel of the music industry.
* It could be used to sanitize bathrooms, or cure cancer,
* since every living thing exposed to it dies a slow
* painful death from the inside out. Probably violates
* the Geneva Convention.
*
***********END OF REPORT************
************************************
There you have it. Objective proof.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
But with the knowledge that it was THE Chris Carrabba, every word he says just puts my glaven in a twist.
Just to make sure I wasn't just being subjective about the whole thing and just blogging my bloody opinions (I mean, like, who would read that?) I wrote a quick music analyzer program and ran Dashboard Confessional's latest work through it.
***********************************
****OBJECTIVE MUSIC ANALYZER*******
********** Ver 0.01 ***************
*
*SCAN TYPE
* [Full]
*
*BAND NAME
* [Dashboard Confessional]
*
*TALENT / ABILITY
* [None]
*
*TALENT / ABILITY RECHECK
* [None Whatsoever]
*
*ORIGINALITY
* [Borderline Genius] Who knew that
* whiny, talentless music was a genre?
* Who would have thought that you could
* continually rhyme the words "I", "Me",
* and "My" over and over and over again?
* While we all knew that every word rhymes
* with itself, no one before had dreamed
* of using that feature to write songs.
* You have definitely pushed the envelope.
*
*ATTITUDE
* [Strong / Narcissistic] It is clear you
* believe yourself to be important, as you are the subject of
* every one of your own songs. Good use of first
* person personal pronouns. Good ability to
* take your boring everday occurances and hurt
* your listeners with them, almost on the same
* level as Bruce Springsteen.
*
*PERFORMANCE
* [Unable to Compute] You have trancended the
* barriers of what people percieve as "good" or "bad"
* You know that things like pitch,
* tempo, rhythm, meter, harmony, key, and melody
* are only limitations imposed by others who
* don't know better, and impediments to your songcraft.
*
*OVERALL
* [Your "Rock" Sucks Rocks] Your music is a fetid
* dogturd stuck to the heel of the music industry.
* It could be used to sanitize bathrooms, or cure cancer,
* since every living thing exposed to it dies a slow
* painful death from the inside out. Probably violates
* the Geneva Convention.
*
***********END OF REPORT************
************************************
There you have it. Objective proof.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: anti, Dashboard Confessional Sucks, Emo Sucks, music reviews
Monday, July 10, 2006
Christian Black Metal
J-man celebrated his 25th birthday last weekend, and I met him and Sarah to bang heads to some serious, hardcore, Christian Black Metal at the Star Central. I shit you not. Ordinarily, I prefer my Black Metal with a little cream and sugar, and this stuff was the full-on-espresso, but I enjoy it in moderation.
Not sure why the genre is 'Christian Black Metal' it makes sense that they would not want to call it Death Metal, but why not Life Metal, or White Metal (mmm...on second thought, maybe not)
For those who are interested, I saw Jesus Christ at the show, he was the front man for one of the Christian Black Metal Bands. Although Jesus Christ is not his stage name, it was not difficult to figure out who he was, and it wasn't the long hair and goatee that tipped me off. It was the fact that he was there on a Sunday, preaching to those who need it in a way they would understand. Did you really think he would come back wearing khaki shorts, sandals and a hemp necklace, cruising around Lake Nokomis, in a Ford Hybrid? Please.
The real tipoff was when he said that if anyone left the show before the headlining band (Crimson Moonlight) took the stage, that he would hunt them down, kill them, and drag their corpse back to the bar, and let the Christian Black Metal Music bring them back to life...
For those who are wondering, No, I did not ask Jesus for his autograph, and Yes, this does count as Church-Going, so I am covered for this year.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Not sure why the genre is 'Christian Black Metal' it makes sense that they would not want to call it Death Metal, but why not Life Metal, or White Metal (mmm...on second thought, maybe not)
For those who are interested, I saw Jesus Christ at the show, he was the front man for one of the Christian Black Metal Bands. Although Jesus Christ is not his stage name, it was not difficult to figure out who he was, and it wasn't the long hair and goatee that tipped me off. It was the fact that he was there on a Sunday, preaching to those who need it in a way they would understand. Did you really think he would come back wearing khaki shorts, sandals and a hemp necklace, cruising around Lake Nokomis, in a Ford Hybrid? Please.
The real tipoff was when he said that if anyone left the show before the headlining band (Crimson Moonlight) took the stage, that he would hunt them down, kill them, and drag their corpse back to the bar, and let the Christian Black Metal Music bring them back to life...
For those who are wondering, No, I did not ask Jesus for his autograph, and Yes, this does count as Church-Going, so I am covered for this year.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: Minneapolis Event, music reviews
Sunday, June 25, 2006
The Red Hot Chili Peppers...
...are the physical embodiment of everything I don't like about California.
I've heard more about this annoying band than I have actually heard of their music, and that would be a lot, and certainly not of my choosing.
The only human being who has tried harder to be cool was James Woods in the movie Vampires.
The mixture of narcissistic-cool and overzealous-gregariousness reminds me of a dog that keeps trying to hump your leg, determined that you might enjoy it if you just give in. More like a dog that tries to hump it's own leg, because it thinks it is so cool, and it thinks you should watch.
This is overlooking the obvious fact that their music sucks. All shallow hooks with no substance. I guess if I liked their music, I would find their pretentiousness amusing instead of annoying. Not to say that they aren't talented, but there are many talented musicians who can't write a good song to save their egos - in this case, four of them.
No doubt the RHCP were the Village People of the 90's, but now-a-days, you have to be more glaringly über-overzealously-gregarious to steal the spotlight.
Case in point: Meet the Village People of the 2000s.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
I've heard more about this annoying band than I have actually heard of their music, and that would be a lot, and certainly not of my choosing.
The only human being who has tried harder to be cool was James Woods in the movie Vampires.
The mixture of narcissistic-cool and overzealous-gregariousness reminds me of a dog that keeps trying to hump your leg, determined that you might enjoy it if you just give in. More like a dog that tries to hump it's own leg, because it thinks it is so cool, and it thinks you should watch.
This is overlooking the obvious fact that their music sucks. All shallow hooks with no substance. I guess if I liked their music, I would find their pretentiousness amusing instead of annoying. Not to say that they aren't talented, but there are many talented musicians who can't write a good song to save their egos - in this case, four of them.
No doubt the RHCP were the Village People of the 90's, but now-a-days, you have to be more glaringly über-overzealously-gregarious to steal the spotlight.
Case in point: Meet the Village People of the 2000s.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: anti, music reviews
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Neil Young: Demigod
Fine, so Neil Young might not be a God, but I won't let anyone strip the title 'Demigod' from the man, he has covered more ground and released more respectable works of art than almost any other artist I know: folk to rock to grunge to electronica to...well check here for the details.
Needless to say, I like Neil Young a lot. He's the Johnny Depp of the music industry - consistently odd, and not afraid to drop all of the world's expectations and redefine himself by doing something different. I also understand if people don't like him, the same way that people understand that I think Bruce Springsteen is a talentless hack.
It's all personal opinion, right?
Subjectivity. Right. Check.
So yesterday, Xtina and I are painting the stairway, and listening to Neil Young's Greatest Hits (Which strangely, is a single CD containing 16 songs. This from a man who releases an album per year on average?) And in my head, I am singing along with Neil on 'After The Gold Rush' a song which you either love...
"How can anyone stand this crap?"
...or hate.
"Um, how's that, Buttercup?"
"Neil Young! I mean, he sucks, so why is he so popular?"
Exactly. if you dropped in from another planet and the first thing you heard on the radio was 'After the Gold Rush' you would take off and napalm this blue-green sphere into this Galaxy's Sun#2. So why does Neil Young with his nasal droning grunging broody melodic-ing rate among my top ten artists of all time?
Simple. Because Neil Young is a demigod.
It isn't subjective after all - Neil Young writes objectively insanely fucking cool songs. Songs so good, in fact, that many of them are beyond his own talent to perform! Sure, Yngveyekay Malmsteen might be a more technically proficient guitar player, but he can't write a decent song. Ditto to Soulless Eric Clapton, and double ditto to the man whose initials are B.S. Neil Young has a spirit and creativity that shows through in his music despite the imperfect voice, and the slightly-off-time, slightly-off-key, and just-slightly-off-altogether guitar playing.
I do think that for a Canadian, he is awfully outspoken about American politics...oh well, there has to be a fault somewhere, otherwise, he wouldn't be a *demi*god.
Of course, you are free to disagree...but you would be wrong.
Blog on,
-CZ
0 Comments
Permalink
Needless to say, I like Neil Young a lot. He's the Johnny Depp of the music industry - consistently odd, and not afraid to drop all of the world's expectations and redefine himself by doing something different. I also understand if people don't like him, the same way that people understand that I think Bruce Springsteen is a talentless hack.
It's all personal opinion, right?
Subjectivity. Right. Check.
So yesterday, Xtina and I are painting the stairway, and listening to Neil Young's Greatest Hits (Which strangely, is a single CD containing 16 songs. This from a man who releases an album per year on average?) And in my head, I am singing along with Neil on 'After The Gold Rush' a song which you either love...
"How can anyone stand this crap?"
...or hate.
"Um, how's that, Buttercup?"
"Neil Young! I mean, he sucks, so why is he so popular?"
Exactly. if you dropped in from another planet and the first thing you heard on the radio was 'After the Gold Rush' you would take off and napalm this blue-green sphere into this Galaxy's Sun#2. So why does Neil Young with his nasal droning grunging broody melodic-ing rate among my top ten artists of all time?
Simple. Because Neil Young is a demigod.
It isn't subjective after all - Neil Young writes objectively insanely fucking cool songs. Songs so good, in fact, that many of them are beyond his own talent to perform! Sure, Yngveyekay Malmsteen might be a more technically proficient guitar player, but he can't write a decent song. Ditto to Soulless Eric Clapton, and double ditto to the man whose initials are B.S. Neil Young has a spirit and creativity that shows through in his music despite the imperfect voice, and the slightly-off-time, slightly-off-key, and just-slightly-off-altogether guitar playing.
I do think that for a Canadian, he is awfully outspoken about American politics...oh well, there has to be a fault somewhere, otherwise, he wouldn't be a *demi*god.
Of course, you are free to disagree...but you would be wrong.
Blog on,
-CZ
Labels: music reviews
Blog Feeds
Subscribe to this Blog by E-Mail
Zero Links
Jagged Links
Search
Blog Archives
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- March 2008
- April 2008
- May 2008
- June 2008
- July 2008
- August 2008
- September 2008
- October 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- January 2009
