Sunday, December 28, 2008
Everything is Not Going To be Alright.
Album: Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright
Artist: Ashes Divide
Genre: Alternative Rock
Year: 2008
Label: Island
I expected better from Billy Howerdel. First, a history lesson: Billy Howerdel was a guitar tech for TooL before he started collaborating with Maynard James Keenan to form A Perfect Circle. As the primary composer of that band, Howerdel backed Keenan’s unearthly vocals with equally celestial instrumentation. It seemed that the two of them created a perfect balance. Keenan’s performance is probably what drew most people to APC, but they stayed for Howerdel’s compositions. It seemed like he could do no wrong, creating everything from driving hard rockers to mournful symphonies of strings and guitars. Howerdel had a gift for the guitar, there is no question. The sound he made with an ax was like a bell tolling and its chords are what propelled me through my early high school years. After APC dissolved, I wondered what Howerdel would do next. Would he go back to guitar teching? Or would he form a new band? As it turns out, he did the latter, as Howerdel has returned to the music scene with his new band: Ashes Divide. While I knew that this new project wouldn’t be APC, I thought it had plenty of potential, and it saddens me to say that a lot of that potential is wasted.
Here’s the problem: the music feels recycled. With APC, Howerdel created some truly haunting soundscapes that would send shivers up your spine. A perfect example is “The Noose” from the APC album Thirteenth Step. The song builds slowly, beginning with just Howerdel’s chiming guitars. Then Maynards voice comes in and the atmosphere is set. It’s at one time one of the most beautiful and eeriest pieces Howerdel’s ever composed. With this new band, however, the normally haunting atmosphere sounds… too familiar. “A Wish” might have been a good song if it didn’t sound like I’d heard it before and better. The whole album has the feel of APC b-sides which Howerdel shelved for later use and never got around to until now. This kind of music, while great for APC-and me at the time I was listening to it-feels stale now, like a box of crackers you forgot to close properly. Another problem is Howerdel’s voice and lyrics. It would have behooved the man to get a better vocalist then himself for this new band, like he did with APC. Instead, we are subjected to Howerdel poorly trying to emulate Maynard James Keenan. Keenan was APC’s vocalist for a reason: he’s fucking amazing. Howerdel, it seems, understood this and tries to sing as much like him as possible, hoping for the same effect, but it falls flat.
What’s more, Howerdel is simply not the wordsmith that Keenan is. Keenan’s words are poetry, stories that draw you in and immerse you in a world dark yet fantastic. Howerdel by contrast sounds like a bored goth, spinning the same old woes of alienation, heartache and despair. In this area too, he’s trying to emulate Keenan and it’s just not working. I still like Howerdel and think that he has untapped potential to be more than he is now, musically speaking. Still, this album is boring, no bones about it. It’s not exactly bad, but it doesn’t live up to the expectations set forth by Howerdel’s previous music. Maybe next time.
Did You Kill Amanda Palmer?
Album: Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
Artist: Amanda Palmer
Genre: Dark Cabaret
Year: 2008
Label: Roadrunner
I’m completely brain-fried and trying to write coherently at some obscene hour of the night. Because when the itch gets a hold of you, you gotta follow it through to the end. Amanda Palmer is one half of the Dark Cabaret Punk duo The Dresden Dolls and responsible for some fairly iconoclastic music. Her voice, both musically and literally speaking, is unique. Her most recent release is her debut “solo” album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer? which is something of a departure from the Dolls, but what kind is hard to pin down.
The obvious question for artists with established bands doing solo projects is this: does it sound different from their usual work? In this case the answer is yes, this does not sound like a Dresden Dolls album, but it’s a subtle distinction. At first it might not be obvious, it’s still Amanda Palmer and there are still drums and piano, the only instruments of the Dolls, but when you listen closer, you realize that this album has much more orchestration then anything the Dolls have released. The Dresden Dolls are almost minimalist in sound compared to this album, which swoops and sings with string arrangements, augmenting the already powerful force of Palmer’s piano playing. It’s not just strings though. The sound is considerably bigger then the Dolls albums as you have much larger ensembles playing on any given track. East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedys plays on “Guitar Hero” and the Born Again Horny Men of Edinburgh provide a great brass band backing on the song “Leeds United.” There are other guests, ZoĆ« Keating (who provides many of the aforementioned strings), Ben Folds (who co-produced the album with Palmer) and August Strindberg (who stops in to talk about sulfur and iron). And there is something about the rhythm of the album that makes it sound different than that of a Dolls album. Maybe it’s because Brian Viglione (Palmers partner and drummer in the Dresden Dolls) isn’t on here or maybe it’s because Palmer has more (or on some tracks, less) to work with then just the drums, but this album feels slower in many places. Even the faster tracks have a different feel to them. It’s a really subtle, but important difference.
But despite the large orchestration, the guests and bigger sound, this album often feels lonelier than a Dresden Dolls album. This is probably the most difficult thing to explain. Maybe it’s the goal of the solo album, to feel bigger yet lonelier or maybe it’s just because Palmer’s without Viglione for the first time in while, whatever it is, it works to differentiate the album further. Some things remain the same though. Palmer’s voice is not your typical polished perfect pop star voice; it’s rough around the edges but also very beautiful. And that’s a good thing. It gives her a distinct presence in the world of music, which has enough pop princesses to begin with. So in the end will we ever truly know Who Killed Amanda Palmer? Probably not, but that’s ok, the world needs more mysteries.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The Industrial Revolution Part 2
Album: Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell
Artist: Killing Joke
Genre: Industrial Metal
Year: 2006
Label: Cooking Vinyl
While we’re still on an Industrial kick, let’s talk a little about Killing Joke. Killing Joke have proven to be one of the most influential bands on the planet, helping shape the sounds of everyone from Metallica to Nirvana. Their greatest influence, however, is felt in the worlds of Industrial Rock and Metal. The Joke began life as a bizarre Post-Punk outfit that got heavier and heavier and heavier. They got weirder too: Jaz Coleman (the singer) periodically disappeared to await the end of the world on some tiny island in the northern Atlantic. When the end of the world consecutively failed to arrive, he went back to rejoin the band, possibly to see if he could help Armageddon along though music. At the time of this recording, The Joke was a four piece, consisting of Coleman on synth and vocals (of course), guitar player Geordie Walker, bass player Paul Raven and drummer Ben Calvert.
Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell is an undoubtedly heavy record, taking Industrial Metal to its apocalyptic conclusions. The band’s practice sessions turned into recordings in a small, dark basement somewhere in Prague and the sound is deeply affected by the venue. Coleman’s beastial vocals, normally at the forefront of the music, are submerged in the mix, making him shout even louder than normal to get his point across. His subject matter, as always, is dark, surreal and apocalyptic. The music is crushingly heavy, perhaps the heaviest that they’ve ever been. The record is certainly more thunderous then their previous effort, their second self-titled album that came out in 2003. That record is very good and well produced, but lacks the raw, crackling energy that is brought by the band to this work. However, this record is not without its flaws. None of them are particularly crippling, but they still show up, like chinks in plate of armor.
The music can get a little repetitive. Killing Joke has always liked to groove and on this album they do so a lot. The song starts, they lay down their plan and very rarely deviate from it. This is where their strength lies, it’s true, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t wearing. The worst example of this comes in the form of the nine minute-plus “The Lightbringer” which manages to repeat its same groove for an unnecessary length of time. It does have variations, but even those manage to repeat themselves, making the song feel very self-indulgent. My favorite takes on the album are the ones with the most variation, lyrically and musically. These are tracks like the monstrous “Judas Goat” and the sludgy closer, “Gratitude”, the first of which has at least three major variations and the second of which has the best groove of any take on the record.
It is impressive that they did this album with mostly live takes and minor over dubs, yes, but I have the niggling feeling that they could have done even better. I’ve heard the Damage Manual, so I know that Geordie can do more wild things with a guitar then picking a couple of chords and repeating them over and over again. Of course, in the case of Industrial Metal, repetitive grooves may be just what you’re looking for. It certainly doesn’t detract enough from the album to make me not like it. This is an excellent album with problems, but that’s how a lot of them are. The whole band sounds like the soundtrack to the end of days and Coleman like a demon, heralding the birth of the Anti-Christ and the collapse of civilization as we know it. Really, from Killing Joke, what more could you want?
Post-Script: Paul Raven passed away October of 2007. He left behind a legacy of music that will make you shake in your boots. This was his final album with Killing Joke and it was a fine one at that.
The Industrial Revolution Part 1
Album: Devils In My Details
Artist: ohGr
Genre: Industrial
Year: 2008
Label: Synthetic Symphony
Once upon a time, I was an Industrial freak. It was my favorite genre, all my favorite musicians practiced it, it was a way of life. I fully acknowledge I know way too much about the genre, its roots, history and the people that populate it. In my mind, Industrial could be anything, the fault line between everything from Techno to Metal to Goth to Punk. It was Industrial that started my interest in musical collaboration. I used the Industrial super group Pigface (which has had over hundred different members) as a jumping off point into dozens of other bands. I’ve since branched out and listen to things from all over the musical universe, but Industrial will always have a place close to my heart. And so will some of the artists involved, Skinny Puppy being one of them. For the well adjusted, a little history: Skinny Puppy is a dark blend of electronic programming and gothic vocals that began life in the mid 80’s as the brainchild of cEvin Key and Nivek Ogre. The group collapsed in the 90’s due to internal strife and the death of third Puppy Dwayne Goettel but bounced back a few years ago, releasing some of their most bizarre work to date.
In the interim, Ogre began a new project titled ohGr (a highly original name) with producer Mark Walk (another Industrial freak) as his right hand man. The project was intended to take him in a bit of a different direction than Skinny Puppy, allowing for more Trip-Hop and IDM (that’s Intelligent Dance Music) influences. It’s not a huge step he’s taken away from Puppy, but it’s certainly there and informs ohGr with an often lighter sound than that of Skinny Puppy. I’m not saying its easy listening, it’s not Muzak Puppy, it’s just a bit less dark… or it was until now. This latest release from ohGr, Devils in my Details, successfully takes us back into the darkness that an Industrial godfather like Ogre should be capable of. Sunnypsyop, ohGr's previous album, was gloomy, but lent itself far more to the Electro side of things than the Industrial, giving it a slightly up lifting feel. That feeling is gone from Devils, leaving us with (dare I say?) a Synthetic Symphony of gothic darkness that out does ohGr’s previous release and measures up extremely well when compared to Mythmaker, Skinny Puppy’s most recent album.
Ogre’s warped vocals are the central focus of this carnival of horrors, acting as the sort of demented conductor of this dark and alien music. It’s no surprise that the sound of Skinny Puppy and ohGr have gotten closer together as they share two members in the form of Ogre and Walk, but the sound on Devils is far more Industrial proper than the more electrified sounds of Mythmaker, on which cEvin Key’s influence is more strongly felt. Without him, Ogre and Walk run wild, bringing in actor Bill Moseley to share in the fun. Moseley’s contributions to the album come in the form of outrageous spoken word pieces that pop up at the beginning and end of various tracks. Coming from a horror actor like Moseley, these pieces are both absurd and chilling. Devils is not a Skinny Puppy album, but it manages to be darker and more claustrophobic than Mythmaker which proves that Ogre doesn’t need Key to make great music. Standout tracks include the drum frenzy of the opener “Shhh”, the walls of blackened guitars that compose “Psychoreal” and horror of Bill Moseley’s rant on the big tent bouncer “Feelin’ Chicken”. For the well adjusted, this is a perfect place to get into industrial and in touch with your inner Goth.
Monday, December 15, 2008
This Sandwich is Wicked!!!
Album: They Mean Us
Artist: The Ladies
Genre: Indie/Math Rock
Year: 2006
Label: Temporary Residence
I love musicians who collaborate. An artist who is prolific is great, but an artist that leads you to a dozen other great artists is better. This happened with Mike Patton. I started with Faith No More and the man took my hand and led me all around the room to Secret Chiefs 3, Tomahawk, The Dub Trio and The Handsome Boy Modeling School to name just a few. Now, the same thing is happening with Zach Hill and Rob Crow. Both men are prolific and love to collaborate. Hill is the drummer for Hella, Goon Moon, The Holy Smokes and Team Sleep to name just a few. The man is a human dynamo of drum insanity, combining speed and precision in powerful fashion. Crow, on the other hand, is one-half of Pinback, a member of Thingy, The Other Men and Goblin Cock, again, to name just a few. All of his work contains his trademarked vocals, a cool, almost dreamy delivery that would calm the soul of anyone within the sound of it. Both of these men are talented, complicated and funny. So learning that the two of them had done an album together? To quote Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox “It’s like God’s on my side and he’s answered my Christmas list!”
Many people have described this album as sounding like Pinback meets Hella, which made me skeptical at first. But The Ladies do indeed sound like the drums of Hella mixed with the guitars of Pinback. Beautifully too. You’d think that the rattling drums of Hella would go poorly with the more laid back sound of Pinback, but they fit together so well it’s like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the hands of Indie Rock wizards. Which, of course, it is. The Ladies debut album, They Mean Us, is likely to be the only thing we’ll hear from this particular duo for a long time to come, so you have to make it last. Unfortunately, this album is only 33 minutes in length. I have single tracks that are longer. But it’s a strong 33 minutes. If you find Pinback too lulling or Hella too crazy, this is where you’ll find a perfect middle ground. You won’t fall asleep because the drums are keeping you awake, and the guitar doesn’t go off in to some hitherto unheard of direction at random intervals. It’s almost a perfect compromise, except its too damn short (damn it). Like this review. Oh well.
Giving The Horizon a Good Kick to the Ribs.
Album: Suicide Season
Artist: Bring Me the Horizon
Genre: Fauxcore
Year: 2008
Label: Visible Noise
The cover of Bring Me the Horizon’s latest release, Suicide Season, has a photo of a girl whose guts are spilling out of her stomach. The wound looks pretty bad, and I see some serious intestine in that mess. It’s a genuinely disgusting image to look at, especially when coupled with the girl’s blank expression. The feelings of revulsion I felt upon seeing the cover accompanied me into the album and refuse to abate. Bring Me the Horizon are one of the numerous Fauxcore bands that populate our zeitgeist and they are making a serious attempt for worst album of all time. I have never before heard such completely unlistenable music in my life. Just the thought of it is painful. My animosity towards Bring Me The Horizon goes beyond mere dislike and into full fledged hate. Make no mistake, I’m going to destroy this band and nothing and no one can stop me.
Where do I start? The obvious place I suppose: The vocals. Bring Me the Horizon is fronted by Oliver Skyes, a misogynistic bastard that no one in their right minds should let near a microphone. Hearing him scream is physically painful not just to the ears but to the throat as well as you can imagine his vocal chords tearing apart under the strain. He’s trying nothing short of decapitating his audience and it feels like it’s working. I just checked my ears, half expecting them to be dripping blood. The music doesn’t make the situation any better as it falls under typical Fauxcore styling of hard edged guitars over pummeling blast beats. It sounds like a bunch of skater kids hopped up on PCP, taking chainsaws to the heads of innocent bystanders. Furthermore, the songs are unintelligible from one another and in turn are unintelligible from other Fauxcore bands. It’s not Metal, it’s not Hardcore, it’s more like rusted blades carving up your eardrums. This music is garbage, total trash. If you thought Slipknot was bad then you have never experienced Bring Me The Horizon. Why on earth would a human being willingly expose themselves to this shit? I didn’t think it was possible but this band has made me look back fondly on my hour with Dragonforce. Sure they’re the Kenny G’s of Metal but at least they’re funny and fun to make fun of. Listening to and writing about Bring Me the Horizon, all I feel is sickness.
There was a time where it meant something to be Hardcore. In the days of Black Flag and Minor Threat when you made fast, dirty music on your own record label because everyone else hated you, you could hold your head high and say that you were Hardcore with pride. These days, Fauxcore kids around the world have stolen and bastardized the word for their own sick purposes. It means nothing to be Hardcore anymore if that means you associate yourself with such bands as Bring Me the Horizon. If you see copies of this album, break them. If you see this band live, throw food at them.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
All Hope is Indeed Gone
Artist: Slipknot
Genre: Nu-Metal
Year: 2008
Label: Roadrunner/Nuclear Blast
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to this. After all, if there’s one thing in this world I derive pleasure from, it’s breaking crap records and throwing them on the fire to cook. And this record, All Hope is Gone by Slipknot, is going to be roasted like the pig on a spit that it is. Slipknot is the last gasp of the Nu-Metal era. Poor, brutish and short, the Nu-Metal era was a blight upon the musical landscape that allowed the world to know the horrors of bands such as Korn, Mudvayne, Disturbed and worst of all… Limp Bizkt. The reign was marked by travesty, controversy and misery. We are all lucky to have survived it intact. But though we struggle to move on with our lives, some people refuse to let it go. These people remember this time of grief, agony and debauchery and see their kingdom. These people would seek to resurrect the false gods of Rage Rock and restore their power, plunging the world into a second era of bleak wretchedness. If I have anything to say about it, this will not happen.
Slipknot hails from
Is there anything, at this point, that I can say in Slipknot’s favor? Shockingly, yes. They’ve got a pretty good drummer. Some have called him the fastest drummer in the world which he’s not by any means, but he’s pretty damn speedy and while speed does not equal skill, there is some actual talent behind his ferocious battering of his kit. If the rest of the band was this good, there might have been some real power here but sadly, all the musicians manage to fall short of the mark. Slipknot are a bunch of speed-freaks who haven’t quite realized their time is over. We don’t need them, never did in the first place. If you haven’t yet caught on, they’re, stick a fork in it, done. And so is this review.
The Dub Trio: Let Your Heavies Out
Opening acts: Witchburn, Middle Class Rut, Black Cobra
Venue: El Corazon
Date: December 1, 2008
Let me start by saying that I don’t think I have ever attended a heavier show in my life. The Dub Trio play a masterful combination of Dub Reggae and Heavy Metal and both these genres together make for some extremely low-tone music. This was also one of the weirdest concerts I have ever attended because there was nobody there. You know that feeling that you get at some shows where it feels like you’re the only person in the audience? Well, at this show, you really were the only person in the audience. There were only about fifteen people at the show and being at El Corazon, the place was far from packed, which was actually pretty cool. The crowd was extremely chill and there were no psychos or super-fans to distract from the band. There was one guy who was clearly hopped up on something but he mostly kept to himself and didn’t bother the rest of us.
It was also cool to be as close as I was to the band. I’ve been in front of concerts before but never at El Corazon which allowed me a totally unobstructed view of the band’s performance. The Dub Trio knows how to throw down, being, again, probably the heaviest band I’ve ever seen. All three of them are skilled musicians, but it’s their drummer who really caught my ear. I don’t know why, probably because the drums were my first love, I’ve always paid close attention to drummers and this guy was a piece of metal. It pays to be patient when playing Dub and the drummer was both patient and powerful, putting his share of the weight into the mix. This band is a trio, though, and no member really takes center stage. There are no solo wankers, just team players and their cohesiveness was amazing to witness. Dub is difficult to do live as evidenced by the sea of effect pedals laid out before the guitar player. I can’t even begin to guess what they did or if he even used them all-but a lot of what I saw was him looping his guitar. It was cool. He did have some trouble: one of his toys-a magnet used to stimulate the guitar strings-didn’t seem to work that night, but he had plenty of other tools to warp his guitar into new and unusual sounds.
While I enjoyed the Dub a lot, I really liked their Metal. These guys are heavier then a granite slab and make bands like Metallica look downright kittenish. Speaking of Metallica, my friends and I speculated on the lack of crowd density and realized, after the show was over, that both Metallica and the Wu-Tang Clan had been in town that night as well. What’s more, it was Monday night and the Dub Trio don’t exactly fit into the Metal or Dub worlds perfectly, so they’re without the built-in fan base that doing just one of those things might allow for. It’s a real shame because they’re much better then Metallica and deserve to be known by more people. All these factors make it even more impressive that the Trio gave the show their all even with so few people in the crowd. After it was over, the drummer came out and thanked us all for coming and for not going to the Metallica show. No problem my friend, no problem. The best tracks they played include Bay Vs Leonard, Not For Nothing and No Flag.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Into the Estradasphere!
Album: Palace of Mirrors
Artist: Estradasphere
Genre: Avant-Garde/Genre Blender
Year: 2006
Label: The End
Estradasphere is a band that wants to do it all, and more impressively, can do it all. Originally hailing from Santa Cruz, California, Estradasphere is an ensemble of multi-instrumentalists who play music that trains you to expect the unexpected. Like their forefathers Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere loves to do crazy things with genres. What sets them apart from being a poorer version of Secret Chiefs 3 or Mr. Bungle is this: While Mr. Bungle would jump through a dozen genres in a single song and Secret Chiefs 3 keeps their hopping to a minimum and mostly between songs, Estradasphere takes on the difficult challenge of warping and combining genres, while still jumping around a lot. This is most evident on tracks like Smuggled Mutation, which begins as a Gypsy fiddle dance but quickly evolves into a Black Metal crunch while leaving the fiddle spinning wildly out of control, and The Terrible Beauty Power of Meow, which at first appears to be a mournful string symphony before transforming into a surf rock stretch that would make the Beach Boys proud.
This latest album, Palace of Mirrors, is perhaps Estradasphere’s most consistent release to date. The only other album I’ve heard by them is Buck Fever, which, while also excellent, doesn’t hold together in quite the same way that Palace does. This is because Palace of Mirrors manages to maintain the Estradasphere sound, each track sounding like it all came from the same band rather then a bunch of individual groups. As with all Estradasphere releases, despite the lack of words, there is a definite narrative here. Estradasphere’s work is often very cinematic, on Palace of Mirrors more so then ever before. Excellent examples of this come from the spy thriller romp of Colossal Risk or the credits roller and title track, Palace of Mirrors. There is something very sinister in Estradasphere’s music. This isn’t always evident, but it does come out from time to time. Buck Fever was more overtly sinister then Palace is but it’s still there, hiding, waiting to reveal itself. We get tastes of it throughout the album, but it is never more present then on the Palace of Mirrors Reprise, which amps up the suspense and terror to levels only imagined before in nightmares.
With all of this musical strength, is there anything wrong with Estradasphere? Not really. Some people may have trouble tracking the genre changes or may become annoyed when they blend together things like Gypsy Folk and Black Metal, but if you’re open minded you won’t be bothered by that. It’d be a shame, but Estradasphere could probably make it as a band that just played Death Metal, or just played Surf Rock or even Gypsy Folk. So it’s even more impressive when you hear them doing all of these things, sometimes in the space of a single song.
I Like Intimacy (and Let’s Face it, Who Doesn’t?)
Album: Intimacy
Artist: Bloc Party
Genre: Indie Rock/Dance Punk
Year: 2008
Label: Witchita/Vice
I’ll be honest, I was not sure what to expect from Bloc Party. An English Indie Rock band, Bloc Party has met with resounding popularity both in their native land and over seas. Popularity means jack-squat to me and is, these days, often a sign of over-hype rather than actual talent. This being said, I like Bloc Party. I think they’re a quartet of talented fellows who share my appreciation for the Post-Punk scene circa Entertainment!-era Gang of Four. In some ways I find that Gang of Four could be the original dance-punk band (though credit is due elsewhere) and the gyrating spirit that they brought to their music is similar in style to what Bloc Party does today.
Previous to Intimacy, the only Bloc Party track I’d heard was “Hunting for Witches”, off of their 2007 album, A Weekend in the City. “Hunting for Witches” is a bad ass combination of dance rhythm funk and snaking guitars which had me moving for weeks. The overall effect of Intimacy is to get you to move and it does its job extremely well. Almost all of the tracks are infectious, almost feverishly danceable, notable exceptions being the slower paced “Biko” and the epic “Zepherus”, which sounds like Bloc Party hired a church choir. Good drumming is paramount and Bloc Party’s drummer is a beat machine, banging out hyper fast rhythms for the rest of the band to rock over. The guitars often sound like they’re being fed through a distorter, giving them an even more electrified feel than they would have normally. The problem with Intimacy (besides it’s obvious complicating effects) is that none of the tracks make me want to move in the same way that “Hunting for Witches” did. Maybe that’s a fluke, maybe I’d hate the rest of A Weekend in the City, but the fact is that none of the tracks are quite as infectious as that one song. But this album does have both “Trojan Horse” and “One Month Off”, both of which contain that fever pitch rhythm I want to hear from Bloc Party. One Month Off does come extremely close to “Hunting For” Witches and is probably the best track on the album as a result.
Maybe I’m not being fair though. Maybe I shouldn’t be comparing a whole album to the one track I’d heard before. But it’s my only frame of reference and I have to go with what I’m given. I could have gone and listened to A Weekend in the City as well, but I only have so much money. Regardless, comparisons aside, Intimacy is still a great, dancey album and it will make you move like a motherfucker.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Guns N’ Roses: Rusted and Wilted
Album: Chinese Democracy
Artist: Guns N’ Roses
Genre: Butt-Rock
Year: 2008
Label: Geffen
This was never supposed to happen. Guns N’ Roses was never supposed to release Chinese Democracy. I was never supposed to hear it. You were never supposed to hear it. Slash was never supposed to leave the original G N’ R. Axl Rose was never supposed to form a new band and call it G N’ R. Buckethead and Bumblefoot were never supposed to join. Dr. Pepper was never supposed to give everyone a free can if the album came out. Hell was never supposed to freeze over. But now it has, and now we have to live with the consequences.
On November 23rd, 2008 Chinese Democracy was released to the world after fifteen years of false starts, do-overs and anticipation. Fans and critics alike descended upon the album like a rabid hoard of Red Soxs fans that had waited years to see their team win. I was incredulous. As I said, this was never supposed to happen. Chinese Democracy is the first album of new original material that G N’ R has released since 1991’s simultaneous release of Use Your Illusion I & II. I was born in 1991 folks; it’s taken Axl Rose my entire lifetime to get around to this.
After fifteen years, numerous questions have arisen about the album. The main and most important one being this: Is it any good? If you like Butt-Rock, it will always be good. If you’re a G N’ R fan from way back, it might be good. If you love Axl Rose and still wear that shirt that he signed for you in 1987 at that one show in Seattle, you will adore this album like a nymphomaniac adores sex. You will put this album on and be transported to a world of guitar rock bliss that you haven’t felt since Appetite for Destruction was released in 1987. This album will be like a shot of heroin directly into your brain. For seventy-one minutes you will feel a high you didn’t think possible. After the album ends you will feel cold and shaky, everything will hurt and all you will be able to think about is your next fix. However, if you’re like me, then this album won’t make you happy, it won’t make you ill; it’ll make you blink and wonder what the point was.
Axl Rose is, and always has been, an absurd human being. He destroyed the original Guns N’ Roses and has been coasting on the profits reaped from Appetite for Destruction his entire career. He made his name synonymous with ridiculousness and now is asking us to take him seriously for the first time in over a decade. I just can’t do that. To call this album a Guns N’ Roses album is ludicrous as Guns N’ Roses have been disbanded for a long time now. This new band, Axl Rose N’ Friends, have released their debut album and are asking us to regard it in the same light as Appetite for Destruction. This is pure silliness and kind of insulting. Yes, Buckethead, Robin Fink and Bumblefoot are great guitarists but really, this isn’t a showcase for anyone but Rose and watching him run around felating his ego is the last thing I want to do. If you do decide to get this album, please consider that you are simply pandering to a man who has taken excess to new levels in a country where we are now in the greatest economic crisis since The Great Depression. If you must get this album, steal it.
Feelin' Dandy?
Album: …Earth to the Dandy Warhols…
Artist: The Dandy Warhols
Genre: Psychedelic Garage Rock
Year: 2008
Label: Beat The World
I don’t know what the Dandy Warhols sound like. Well, maybe that’s not true… I guess ultimately they sound like themselves, but coming up with some fancy metaphor for their sound is currently escaping me. A Psychedelic Garage Rock band, The Dandy Warhols have been recording and touring since the 90’s and have amassed a large fan base. They’ve been all over, toured with big names like David Bowie and the Rolling Stones but before this album I’d never heard them. Oh, I’d heard OF them, and people have told me before how much I’d like them, but I’d never managed to actually hear them till tonight. Weird. I guess they just weren’t on my radar. I don’t know why this is, as I quite like this album …Earth to the Dandy Warhols. It manages to scratch that itch I sometimes get for spaced out Psychedelic music. Actually, considering that modern spaced out Psychedelic music can often be turgid and uninteresting, the Warhols get a plus for managing to hold my attention through some of their more jam heavy moments.
These usually aren’t nice, tight little songs; there’s room for weirdness and freak outs. A notable exception is the first single off the album, the two minute long “Mission Control”, which is sort of an odd choice, considering that it doesn’t accurately represent the rest of the album. It’s a short little Garage rocker, and they are a Garage rock band, but it doesn’t quite show off the Psychedelic feel that most of the album conveys. I notice bands doing this a lot. Of all the songs on the album, they choose the one that most mis-represents them and use it as their first single. Beck did this with Modern Guilt, but with him it’s excusable because, really, no Beck songs sound alike. But I’m getting off topic.
Courtney Taylor Taylor, the Warhols’ front man, has a deep, slurred voice which causes me to picture him staggering drunkenly around the recording studio. It’s a very appropriate voice for the music as it gives the already warped songs an even more twisted atmosphere. He also usually sings through some kind of filter, which gives his voice a distant sound, taking the weirdness levels from X-Files to Doctor Who in short order. What this album failed to do is wow me, which is OK; I don’t expect everything to be Return to
Monday, November 24, 2008
Andrew goes on an Inhuman Rampage and Delivers an Ultra Beatdown on Dragonforce.
Album: Inhuman Rampage
Artist: Dragonforce
Genre: Quest Metal
Year: 2006
Label: Roadrunner/Noise
Early morning. The dew still sparkles on the leaves; the sun is just creeping over the horizon. And then, BOOM! A drum beats, then another and another, in triple time no less. Guitars sound, two of them, moving at lightning speed across the grassy plains toward you. You try to run but they move so fast, they’re inescapable. And then the voice-shrill, whiny, a higher pitch then anything you thought possible-coming from a male voice. But you’re too busy trying to fend off the guitars, which have you in their grasp. As they continue to play, they seem to get faster, each one trying to get ahead of the other. The sound they create is incredible, because to credit it with anything would be heresy. As the guitars take flight, your sense of self worth is torn from your body like a dragon would tear out your vital organs. You think “surely I can still be taken seriously in the musical sense of the word; surely this is not the end of my credibility.” But it is. Because the Dragonforce has got you.
Dragonforce is a sextet of Quest Metal-heads from somewhere deep in Middle Earth… I mean, England. I’ll get the good out of the way now. Dragonforce is obviously a highly technical group of musicians because to play that fast you have to have some skill. What’s unfortunate about Dragonforce is what they do with that skill. I have never heard more wanktastic solos in my life then the ones on the song Through the Fire and The Flames. All forty of them. The music they create is ridiculously self-indulgent as evidenced by songs with dozens of masturbatory solos, each one minutes in length. What’s worse is that all of their songs sound exactly the same, because Dragonforce suffers from what I refer to as “Nickelback Syndrome”. One of the things that could save Dragonforce is a decent vocalist, but frankly, they haven’t got one. ZP Threat looks like Kenny G and sings like his balls are in a vice that is being slowly tightened over the course of the song. The lyrics don’t help the situation as they sound like they were torn from the Lord of the Rings and early Dungeons & Dragons. I like Lord of the Rings, but when set to metal the whole thing becomes an absurd self-parody the likes of which I should not have to hear. Also, the band features some of the fakest percussion you will ever hear on a rock record. I can’t stand blast beats and they’re used (like everything else) with reckless abandon on this album, giving the whole thing a really false, pretentious atmosphere.
The single thing that prevents Dragonforce from being completely lost to the fires of hell is this: They don’t take themselves seriously. This is shown by their utterly silly music videos, in one of which the band is featured as playable characters in a Guitar Hero-like video game. But does this save them from my ire? Hell no. They still create the absolute worst kind of pretentious self-absorbed guitar circle jerking, and all their songs still sound exactly the same. I barely even sat through the whole album once and have no intention of ever doing so again. I gotta unclench my jaw now, excuse me.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Dark Art: The Madness of Zach Hill
Album: Astrological Straits
Artist: Zach Hill
Genre: Schizodelic/Experimental Rock
Year: 2008
Label: Ipecac/Anticon
Necromancy is an art form that has fallen out of favor in recent years. Most people frown on bringing the dead back to life as it’s unsanitary, frightening and generally just gross. But Zach Hill is bringing Necromancy back in style. According to the Dresden Files, to summon the dead, one needs a pulse, usually provided by drums. Zach Hill is a drummer extraordinaire and while pulse isn’t the correct word to describe his schizophrenic staccato beats, the kind of invocation it provides will certainly suffice.
For those of you who don’t know, Hill is the drummer for the possibly defunct Hella, a math rock duo that in recent years expanded its line-up and went “Mars Volta light” according to some fans. But to say that would completely write off the fact that Hill’s drumming makes The Mars Volta look like the White Stripes. I first heard about him as a member of Chino Moreno’s band Team Sleep. When I saw Team Sleep live, one of the major highlights was Hill’s performance. Watching the man is like watching a whirlwind with a thousand arms. It seems impossible that anyone could move that fast, that deftly and manage to make every blow count. There are no excessive hits with Hill, everything is ultra precise.
On Astrological Straits, Hill’s first solo album, a two disc set, he’s in top flight mode, banging, beating and otherwise smashing his merry way through an hour and thirty-three minutes of percussive madness. The drums are the leading instrument and main area of focus, but not the only presence. Hill, on many tracks, also sings and plays all the other instruments. God bless multi-tracking. And the album is not without structure; most of the tracks have very strong song structure, with the exception of tracks like “Street People” and “Uhuru” which are both drum solos, and even those are tightly composed. And there are guests: Chino Moreno, Les Claypool and the guys from No Age are just a few of the names on the album. The good thing is that, while these artists are all big names, they don’t steal the show from Hill. I didn’t even recognize Moreno’s vocals as he sings them through a voice distorter on his song. The album is not a showcase for anyone but Hill and he uses his time very well.
The second disc is even more ambitious than the first as it takes Hill’s foray into the dark arts even further then before, with his Necromancer composition. At thirty-three minutes long, composed for Drums and Piano, the piece is a marvel to hear. You think, “He has to take a break eventually, doesn’t he?” But no, he just keeps going. Hill is touring a solo show now, expressly to perform his Necromancer piece. Everywhere he goes the dead are rising from the grave, flocking to the venue of his performance and moshing. How Hill manages to keep this up night after night is beyond me, but I’m sure it’s spectacular.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Black Earth, Red Lights and a Saxophone
Album: Black Earth
Artist: Bohren and Der Club of Gore
Genre: Noir Jazz/Dark Ambient
Year: 2002
Label: Ipecac/Wonder
I’ve always had a fondness for David Lynch movies. The atmosphere, the cinematography and the bizarre and often deranged characters are all things I’ve deeply enjoyed. I especially enjoy the soundtracks. The music Lynch and his frequent collaborator Angelo Badalamenti compose for the films are always spot on in its mood, tone and overall sound. It’s probably for this reason that I like Bohren and Der Club of Gore so much. Listening is like being transported into a Lynch film, a dark and highly surreal experience. Bohren and Der Club of Gore sounds like Lynch’s dream Jazz band as it is ambient, filled with tension and gloomy beyond reason. It like staring into a dark void, an empty vista of nothing stretching out before you, then, from out of the void comes the sound, familiar, yet alien. The sound is the Noir Jazz that Bohren and his Club specialize in. It’s haunting and beautiful and unlike anything you’ve heard before. The tracks are long, many reaching and exceeding the 8 minute mark. But these are long pieces that need time to develop fully. The drums and bass are played by the most patient men in the world, their minimal sounds providing a foundation for the other sounds to build on.
Another piece of this foundation is the Dark Ambient samples that the band performs over. It is the combination of these Jazz and Dark Ambient that gives the music its unique sound. The most distinctive elements though, are the keyboards and saxophone. Jazzy, yet lilting, familiar, yet strange and dark, very, very dark. These men are not musicians but rather dark warlocks who work their arts through musical instruments rather then spell books. It is a sparse sound but a deep one none the less. As there are no words, the stories conveyed in the music are in the titles. These titles included pieces like “Midnight Black Earth,” Vigilante Crusade” and “Constant Fear.” This is music to be listened to late at night, with the curtains drawn and all the lights (except the red ones) out. The clubs this band plays in must be spooky places to be in. Though, I cannot think of anything more Lynchian then a club haunted by the sounds of Bohren and Der Club of Gore. This is for anyone who enjoys David Lynch’s films or music, Lustmord or Noir Jazz. Be afraid; be very afraid of the dark.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Obtain This!
Album: Obtainium
Artist: Skeleton Key
Genre: Experimental Rock
Year: 2002
Label: Ipecac
Eric Sanko, former bass player for the Lounge Lizards, leads the bizarre and eccentric Skeleton Key. Equal parts Primus, Tom Waits and Einsturzende Neubauten, Skeleton Key sounds like a junk yard crew would if they formed a band. The appeal of the group is its unique sound, which they achieve by way of ancient microphones, old guitars and junky percussion. The sound is actually fairly funky, all things considered. Sanko has been doing the music thing for a long time and knows how to play his instrument. The whole band is skilled and you’d have to be to follow Sanko’s eccentricities to the letter. The guitar sounds like it comes from archaic speakers and during some of the more blistering solos has a tendency to cut in and out, but it works to add to the atmosphere of the music.
The percussion is the real draw though. The drum set sounded like it was cobbled together from scrap metal and it probably was. Junky and cacophonous, it batters its way around the stage, knocking into absolutely everything. To see the band live must be something. Individual standouts are tracks like “Barker of The Dupes” which is probably the bands most junkyard driven track. Scratch that, this is the sound of the junkyard coming to life and attacking the nearest town within the vicinity. Sanko’s lyrics are also fun, especially on the Track “One Way, My Way” where he describes a man with a voice like a sheet of lead and tongue out of which grows a fist.
More standouts include “Kerosene” and “Roost in Peace” as they both demonstrate the bands junk sound to great effect. There is some weakness to the album, though. I would have liked to see more trash percussion here and there, and the tracks “King Know It All” and “That Tongue” could have been skipped all together. Another problem is that there hasn’t been a new Skeleton Key album in roughly six years now. Eric Sanko created something great and could still make something greater. But where is he? Who knows? Maybe King Know It All knows…
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Modern Boredom and Pop Tatari
Album: Pop Tatari
Artist: Boredoms
Year: 1992
Genre: Psychedelic Noise Rock.
Label: Warner Music Japan/Reprise/Very Friendly
With the Boredoms, certain questions arise. Are three drummers really necessary? Does Yamataka Eye’s throat ever hurt? Do you really like this band or you just trying to be cool? That last one is probably the most important. Speaking for myself, I like the Boredoms. I think that they are completely fucking mad and would love to see them live. Legends say that their live shows are unlike anything you’ll witness, in this world or the next, and that watching them is similar to an out of body experience. These days the Boredoms are know as V∞redoms and have stripped down their ensemble to a trio of drummers and Eye, who conducts them from a synth or the guitar-neck-wall-thing. But we’re here to discuss the Boredoms of yore and that means noise.
I originally learned of the Boredoms from listening to John Zorn’s Naked City, a Thrash Jazz group that would make even hardened metal heads wet themselves. Yamataka Eye, leader of the Boredoms and all around mad man, provided vocals for the Naked City’s self titled album. Screams, gurgles, yowls, howls and babbles, anything but actual words. Eye’s voice is an alien and frightening thing that, in the hands of evil, could level civilization as we know it.
I was curious to see where this man had come from and ventured out to find an album by the Boredoms. I returned home with their album “Pop Tatari” and have been in love with it ever since. Noisy? Yes. Psychedelic? Very. Avant-Garde? Maddeningly so. This is the sound of the world being sucked into a black hole and then re-emerging as something completely different. It is destruction and creation, Shiva the Destroyer repackaged for the apocalypse fixated generation of the 90’s and it still sounds fresh today. Actually, it sounds like a thousand sheep dying in the heat of a great red sun, but considering that you’ll never hear that anywhere else, I’d say fresh is fair.
Very little music makes me want to dance, and this isn’t dance music, but “Bo Go”, the 4th track on the album, makes me throw myself across the room like an epileptic having a fit. Most people wouldn’t call this dancing, but when I hear that song, I just have to move. Eye is surrounded by an enclave of extremely bizarre and talented musicians, but I couldn’t begin to tell you who played what on this album. If I had to guess, it was a larger ensemble than the current V∞redoms set up, and it sounds more like a rock band then the modern tribal percussion group that they’re now. I’m not saying one is better or worse, I’m just contrasting the difference in sound.
Drums have always been an important part of Boredoms music, it’s just these days that it’s the central focus. Eye once cited Sonic Youth and Funkadelic as primary influences, but I can’t say that just because you like one of those you’ll like this. That would be greatly misleading. This is music for people who are curious about where to start with the Boredoms, or those with a taste for the Avant-Garde. Every Boredoms album is different though, so this listen won’t tell you the whole story, only part of it. Only for the open minded.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Dig Yourself!: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Live
Opening Act: Earth
Venue: Showbox Sodo
On a tired and cold Tuesday night, my friend Murren and I made our way to the Showbox Sodo to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Nick Cave is, of course, the greatest poet of our modern age and veteran Australian rock legend. He and his motley crew have been touring in support of their latest album “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” Their show, though not without flaws, rocked my socks off and delighted a hoard of tipsy Seattleites.
I really hate waiting and the hours before a band hits the stage for me have always been an excruciating exercise in patience and anticipation. This time around, those feelings were exacerbated by being cold, tired and subjected to Earth. No, not the planet, the band. Earth was added to the bill fairly late in the game and was not the best choice to open for The Bad Seeds. This is why: Earth is the original drone rock band. They play slow, repetitive songs that go on for ever and ever, into tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. They were, in fact, so slow that I avoided looking at my watch out of fear that I would see it counting backwards. They played for a good forty-five minutes, during which I left to use the bathroom, something I never do when a band is playing. But here’s the catch: They’re not a bad band; actually, under different circumstances, I could have enjoyed them a lot. But tonight, they were getting in the way of me and The Bad Seeds.
After Earth finished playing, the Bad Seeds waltzed out on stage and launched into “Night of the Lotus Eater.” Nick Cave himself entered and uttered the first words I’d ever heard him say in person: “Get Ready to Shield Yourself” and I braced myself against the waves. The Bad Seeds is a large band at seven members and they know how to rock out.
I was prepared for the two drummers; I was not prepared for how crazy Warren Ellis is. Ellis is the band’s Violin player but mainly played an electric mandolin. It made a noise like a car being shredded and blew me out of my shoes. He was so crazy he almost stole the show from Nick, and in fact did during “We Call upon the Author” when I looked over and saw him on the floor, ripping away at his instrument like an amphetamine-fueled wolverine. Cave’s singing and antics were at the heart of the show, of course. The man is incredibly energetic for being 50–something, and I hope I look that good when I’m his age. He danced and gyrated and threw himself all around the stage, frequently involving the audience in his music, even going so far as to change the lyrics of his songs to reference them. And let us not forget the lyrics; “Well, most of all nothing much ever really happens, And God rides high up in the ordinary sky, Until we find ourselves at out most distracted, And the miracle that was promised creeps quietly by.” Like I said, the man is genius with words.
They played the best of their catalog and most of their new album. “The Mercy Seat” is a song I never once thought I would hear live in my life, but there was the band playing away, and Nick Cave singing about how he’s not afraid to die. At one point Nick cried “Are you ready to get ready?” and the band blasted into “Get Ready for Love,” a favorite from Abattoir Blues. There were so many high points from this evening, I can’t just pick one, there was Warren Ellis and “The Mercy Seat” but there was also “Moonland and “Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry.”
There were problems, like smelly drunk people and overenthusiastic super fans but they certainly didn’t ruin the show for me. Considering how quickly the show sold out, I count myself lucky to have acquired tickets at all. The two days of sore exhaustion that followed were well worth it.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Pusicfer: Not as Deep as the Luray Caverns
Album: V is for Vagina
Artist: Puscifer
Genre: Industrial/Trip-Hop
Year: 2007
Label: Sony BMG/Puscifer Entertainment
I’m in a bad mood. I misplaced my iPod device at my place of schooling and so I’ve been without my perpetual sidekick for the past thirty-six hours or so. This meant that I had to go digging around in the stacks of CDs that line my walls to find this fucking disc so I could review it. I’m not sure what inspired me to pull this particular album out and review it, considering that it’s about a year old now. But time has never stopped me before, and this album could use a little critiquing.
Puscifer is the project of Maynard James Keenan, the front man of TooL and A Perfect Circle. Deciding to take some of his unused ideas and make a multi-media circus, Puscifer entertainment is responsible for the making and sale of everything from shirts and hats to women’s… err… “Hygiene” kits. But it’s the music that I’m concerned with. The Puscifer album “V is for Vagina” is far different from Keenan’s usual Metal leanings. Indeed few Metal bands have followings like TooL, but Puscifer is not TooL and probably turned a few (pot) heads when it was released. Far more Industrial and Trip-Hop esqe then TooL, Puscifer is an electronic based project. More than that, the project originated with the idea of centering the music on Keenan’s impressive voice and going from there. TooL already is centered on Keenan’s voice so another group to do that is a little redundant, but then again, Keenan’s voice has never sounded like this before. For those familiar with his singing, Keenan has a beautiful voice. Whether you like metal or not, you can’t deny the power and range there. But with Puscifer, Keenan sounds like his voice is being processed and manipulated, which he claims isn’t the case, but it still sounds deeper and more… no, I’m not going to say, demonic, that would be dumb.
Anyways, another thing about this project is that it’s collaborative, with musicians like Lustmord, Tim Alexander and Jonny Polonsky all contributing their own parts to help Keenan build his ship. So with all this, the new sound, the warped vocals and the contributions from excellent musicians, this project should be a five star success, right? WRONG. The problem is this: the music is interesting, yes, but it lacks the energy that is inherent in Keenan’s other works. Some of the tracks are down right boring where TooL and A Perfect Circle rarely are. Also, one of Keenan’s major talents is his gift for lyricism. Puscifer’s lyrics just aren’t that inspired, and in fact can be fairly tedious. Keenan just doesn’t seem to be taking this project as seriously as he has other ones. Which is a shame considering the potential this album had, being self-released and produced. The potential was all here, but the execution was sorely lacking. This is not to say I hate it, it’s just not as good as it should have been.
Of course, I could be wrong about this entirely. The lack of seeming imagination could all be a colossal joke on you and me; the consumer public. Keenan is a known jokester and this whole album could be an extension of that humor… But wait just a second; a joke that’s intentionally not funny can still not be funny. The humor of this album, if it exists, fails, and therefore so does the irony of it not really being funny. OK, you’re probably scratching your heads now, let me make this concise: It’s a good album, not a great one. It SHOULD have been great but wasn’t. All the ingredients were there, it just fell short of the target put in place by the early singles. Maybe the Remix album will be better.
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Sound of Your Brain Unscrewing
Album: The Way of Animal Powers
Artist: Zu
Genre: Jazz/Punk
Year: 2005
Having never reviewed a Jazz album, The Way of Animal Powers is something of an odd place to start considering it’s by Zu. Let’s elaborate on that: Zu is a Punk Jazz trio from
If drums and bass are the glue that holds the band together, Zu has quickly become unglued. This is not to say that the sound splatters, it doesn’t, and everything is very tight. It’s clear that this band is playing like this because they want to, not because they’re incompetent. Which is why it’s funny that track 2 “Anatomy of a Lost Battle” features a sample of a psycho-therapist explaining all the reasons that a saxophone player is mentally incompetent. He’s not referring to Zu’s player, but someone else. Regardless, it’s funny and the band plays one of their best and wonkiest tunes over the man’s ramblings.
The album is not an easy listen, but it’s a rewarding one. Its most accessible factor is that it’s only 25 minutes long and no track is longer than 4 minutes. At the risk of sounding hypocritical, this is a really good album. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Being something of an amateur sax player, I like finding recordings with unique or bizarre playing styles and Zu fit the bill quite nicely. So if you’re feeling adventurous (or insane) pick this album up and give it a spin.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Andrew (Almost) Withers to Death at the Sound of Dir En Grey
Album: Withering to Death
Artist: Dir En Grey
Genre: Screamo
Year: 2005
Label: Free-Will/Sony Music Entertainment Japan/Gan-Shin/Warcon
In this age of Panic! At The Disco and Death Cab for Cutie, finding music to review positively is becoming more and more difficult. Like searching for a gold star buried under a mound of fecal matter, if you want it you have to work for it. It is for this reason that I enjoy Japanese music as much as I do. My standards are higher than the
Seeing as how their vocalist sings in Japanese, I can’t actually understand the words he’s saying, but the intention is there. The pho-death metal grunts, the screamy whining, it’s all there and the only reason more people don’t recognize it is because it’s in another language. I’m fairly sure that if you read the translation of the lyrics you would be regaled with teenage sob stories the like of which would make you vomit yesterday’s lunch. The band sells themselves as being very dark with song titles like “Merciless Cult,” “Machiavellism” and “The Final”. But really, it’s not that dark at all, more of a beige grey. I hate the voice, I hate the music, I hate the live antics, but most of all…I hate the fans. Anime Fan Girls were obnoxious before they started showing up at concerts, but the knowledge that I could go to a show by a Japanese band and be swarmed by twittering airheads swooning over the band like dogs in heat is almost too much to bear. The reason I know this is because Dir En Grey opened for Deftones last year and I had to share the mosh pit with these people. It was like an Anime convention, but worse because they wouldn’t stop screaming in my ear. All I can do at this point is ask you to avoid this band like the plague. If you must see them live, take food to throw at them. If you like them, there is truly no hope for you. I’m sorry, you’re lost. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more Boris worshiping to do (Rama Rama.)
Friday, September 5, 2008
A Giant Umbrella: Bumbershoot Music N Arts Festival 2008
-Bumbershoot takes place at the
This Bumbershoot (
I saw several bands on Saturday, but none paralleled the brilliance of Saul Williams. For those of you who don’t know, Saul Williams is a Slam Poet turned Hip-Hop artist who recently teamed up with Industrial Music’s Bruce Springsteen (Trent Reznor) to release his most recent album online, in the style of Radiohead. His performance blew me away. The man is thoroughly captivating in voice and movement. I’m not sure how to describe his music though. Industrial World? Underground Hip-Hopket Ball? Whatever it was, it rumbled and shook my spine in the best way possible. His backing band was stellar, a guitarist, synth player and keyboardist all in top form. The best moments though, came from Williams’s Spoken Word. A friend of mine has described seeing him speak as “being like seeing Barack Obama.” A high compliment that Williams is certainly worthy of. He is a poet of exceptional intelligence and I could not be happier for having seen him.
For complicated reasons, I was in an extremely foul mood during most of the first day of Bumbershoot. Fortunately, none of my friends indulged my moping anger and instead I hoped for a serious mosh pit. I didn’t get any such mosh pit until !!!’s (pronounced, Chk Chk Chk) performance the evening of the first night. I’m not a big fan of Dance Punk (kind of a ridiculous term.) But I’ll say this; their show was high energy and full of rambunctious people who gave me my serious mosh pit. Maybe it was a dance pit but there was enough smashing about to take my mind off my problems. So thank you !!!, for taking my mind off of my problems if only for an hour.
Skipping ahead to the next evening, in much better spirits, I accompanied my friend Sasha to Final Fantasy, a contender for the worst name in musical history. Actually, that honor goes to Anal Cunt, but this a close second. “This better be good” I thought as I stood out in the cold, patiently waiting for the performance to begin. Final Fantasy is a one man band who performs symphonic music with the aide of a violin, a keyboard and some extremely elaborate loops. What he does is play one part of the song on his violin, record it and loop it back as he plays the other parts. More and more layers are added and eventually it sounded like a full on orchestra. I was very pleased to discover that, in this case, you really can’t judge a book by its cover. Final Fantasy is a very talented and captivating artist, even if a little silly at times (his debut albums title is “He Poos Clouds.”) It looks simple but keeping track of all those loops has got to be difficult. My hats off to him.
Monday, the third and final day, was possibly the strangest day yet. It started out with Vince Mira, who, at fifteen, sings just like Johnny Cash. It’s spooky actually, because when he sings he really seems to channel Cash. It was actually funny that when he wasn’t singing, he was kind of awkward, didn’t look at the crowed and seemed very nervous, which I suppose he was. Whatever, it was cool show; I give Vince Mira thumbs up.
After that, our little group trucked over to the exhibition hall to see Monotonix, an Israeli Garage Rock Trio of known pyromaniacs. Famous for lighting everything they can get their hands on aflame, I was excited to see them, and disappointed when I couldn’t. It’s not that I couldn’t get in or anything, it’s just that they performed on the floor of the exhibition hall and therefore were obscured by the crowd. I couldn’t see but I could hear and what I heard rocked my socks off. At one point their front man, a man called Gat, climbed onto the stage and mooned the crowd. Aside from that, the most of the show I saw was when occasionally a leg or guitar neck would surface from the crowd, thrash about for a moment and then re-submerge. And then, fifteen minutes in, the show abruptly ended, leaving me going “Huh?” Considering that I couldn’t see, I have no idea why the show ended so suddenly. My theory is that security shut Monotonix down after one of their members tried to light something on fire but that’s only a theory. All I know is that the lights went on and the promoter said “that’s all folks.” Weird.
Hours later, I stood in front of the
All in all, this was a good Bumbershoot. I saw lots of good acts and had two elephant ears. I hope I can go again next year.
Friday, August 22, 2008
No Surprises. Radiohead Live.
Opening Act: Liars
Venue: Whiteriver Amphitheater
The WhiteRiver Amphitheater is a long way from my house, roughly an hour. With heavy rain and traffic, that time extends another half an hour. I didn’t know until the day of the show whether the venue was open to the sky or covered and was relieved to discover that my seat was covered. This is because the weather that day can only be described as schizophrenic. One minute, it was pouring down torrential rains and the next, it was bright and sunny. My first congratulations go to all the people seated on the grass because half way through the show the rains started coming down hard again. But that demonstrates the depth of Radiohead fan’s commitment. Because to sit through that kind of rain is to suffer and these people were very willing to suffer for Thom Yorke and Co.
I got to the show early enough to see the opening band, Liars. I like Liars, I don’t love them but I like them well enough. Their blend of tribal drumming, noise music leanings and chanted vocals are all things I enjoy and their set wasn’t very long so I got on with them very well. Plus, they played my favorite song of theirs “Plaster Casts of Everything.” Their frontman was clearly very enthusiastic to be opening for Radiohead and constantly referred to this as the greatest night of our lives. At this point, the seated area was less than half full, something I found interesting. I’m actually uncertain how many Radiohead fans have heard of Liars and, of that group, how many of them actually like them. Regardless, I think they were an inspired choice of an opening band. Props to Liars for scoring this opening spot as they are definitely a band worthy of this prestigious position.
After they left the stage, the venue filled up. There must have been 25, 000 people there, all of them just to see five guys and their instruments. Such is the power of music to bring people together, I suppose. Radiohead is like Nine Inch Nails for me in a number of regards. They used to be my favorite band and I know all of their songs really well. But, even though they are no longer my favorite band, I still really enjoyed the show. Actually, it reminded me how much I like them and that I should listen to them more often. It was a great show, despite the cold, despite the drive, despite being tired, it was a great show. And one of the biggest I’ve been to in a while. They played a killer set of old and new stuff including my all time favorite song of theirs; “Climbing Up the Walls” from OK Computer. Thom Yorke is a great, if bizarre frontman. A friend of mine once said that he looks like he should be dead. If that’s true, then the man is one of the liveliest corpses I have ever seen. He danced a lot, especially during songs like Idioteque and 15 Step, a weird gyrating dance of a man possessed. It kind of (chillingly) reminded me of Ian Curtis. He didn’t speak much but did say a few things about how his favorite thing about
Mostly Complete Out of Order Set List:
-Pyramid Song
-You and who’s Army?
-Dollars and Cents
-Street Sprit (Fade Out)
-The Gloaming
-There There
-15 Step
-Bodysnatchers (Maybe)
-Nude
-Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
-All I Need
-Videotape
-Faust Arp
-Reckoner
-Jigsaw Falling Into Place (Maybe)
-Everything in its
-The National Anthem
-How to Disappear Completely
-Optimistic
-In Limbo
-Idioteque
-Lucky
-Climbing Up the Walls
-No Surprises