After a couple of really, really long posts, here's one for the members of Red Bull addled, short attention span generation. Plus I've been listening to lots of new stuff recently and thought I'd share my favorites in one column. And they're off.......
1. Donald Fagen - "Sunken Condos": The blogmaster general, much to his wife's deep chagrin, is a full on Steely Dan freak and the release of anything new (even solo stuff) is an event. Lead singer Fagen's latest release is laid back, loose, and more intimate sounding than the stuff he does on his day job.
2. Frosting - "Frosting II": The latest from my cousin Timmy's newest band. A very fresh mix of pop tunes and some slower paced rockers.
3. Balmorhea - "Stranger": A recommendation from a Facebook friend, Balmorhea is an Austin based instrumental band whose sound reminds me of everyone from minimalist composer Steve Reich to 80's era King Crimson to Sigur Ros. "Masollan" and "Fake Fealty" are among the standout tracks on this album.
4. The Joy Formidable - "This Ladder is Ours": My favorite new power-pop band is back less than two years after their most excellent debut "The Big Roar". While still adhering to the blast accelerated pop sound mastered last year, the band has shown some pretty serious growth and refinement as songwriters on this first single from their upcoming album
5. Neurosis - "We All Rage In Gold": The second track released in advance of their newest work "Honor Found In Decay", the founding fathers of doom metal or post metal or just metal show no sign of relenting even though they've been going at it for three decades. As with their first single "At The Well", "Rage" features all of the trademark heaviness that Neurosis is legendary but the sound features some nuances, particularly from keyboardist Noah Landis generally not heard before on prior releases. This is going to be an awesome record.
6. Enslaved - "Thoughts Like Hammers": I'm generally not the biggest fan of the whole Black Metal thing but something about the opening track from legendary Norwegian act Enslaved's new album that has a different feel than many of the other albums from this genre. While it does feature the obligatory blast beats and inaudible cookie monster style vocals that are trademarks of black metal, it also very seamlessly mixes in a very melodic, progressive element into the equation. A kind of yang to the loud, nasty yin that most Black Metal bands are better known for.
7. Animal Collective - "Centipede Hz" : Yes, Animal Collective managed to piss off many of their fans who were hoping for a repeat of their chill-out pop classic "Merriweather Post Pavillion"but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Moving in a different direction this time around, they still have lots of pop hooks to spare it's just backed by a more experimental sounding backdrop. "Today's Supernatural", "Applesauce", and "Amanita" are among my favorite tracks.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Green Day, Jack White, and Baroness play the maturity game - who won??
I get it - when you give up a conventional existence to join a band, spending the next several decades on the road occasionally knowing what city you're in, the likelihood developing a slightly distorted sense of reality is pretty much an even bet. Even with this completely altered sense of reality, you would hope that occasionally, some inkling of perspective would remain. Apparently, a couple of long established acts with some serious underground cred opted not to read that memo. Conversely, a young, very promising act, just starting a tour behind a powerful new record, is involved in a horrific accident that could easily detour many careers yet they come out of it grateful to be alive and legitimately thankful to be able to continue on.
Case # 1 - Green Day: You would think that a band even though many years removed from their punk upbringing in the legendary Gilman Street scene in Berkeley would still get it. Even after they became huge with "Dookie", Billy Joe, Tre, and Mike still seemed to have their s**t in order. However, something strange happened after the mega-success of "American Idiot". Even though they had been hugely successful for years, they suddenly became Rock Stars, playing giant shows with all the pomp and circumstance of a Kiss concert. This evolution (or de-evolution) came to a head a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas when lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong, after being informed that they would have to cut their set short, had a meltdown for the ages. Armstrong proceeded to go off on other acts (including Justin Bieber who wasn't there), the fact the festival (which I'm guessing they were paid handsomely for) was a total joke, and that Green Day's stature as a long running act on the scene afforded them the extra time.
Case # 2 - Jack White: While not coming up from the same type of scene as Green Day, Jack White cut his teeth in the underground until hitting it big with the White Stripes' 2001 album "White Blood Cells". White, while being a somewhat quirky character, was always known for very intense concerts and generally not known as being much of a malcontent. After the White Stripes went their separate ways, White went on to form the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather creating some really compelling music with both bands. Hell, he even made a movie with the Edge and Jimmy Page neither of whom, despite being rock legends, have ever been known going rogue on stage. Suddenly while playing the first of two sold out shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall in support of solo debut, Mr. White goes diva. According to reports, White seemed to be consistently annoyed with something or possibly everything about the crowd. As the show progressed, he began to go off on the crowd either likening them to an NPR convention for being too quiet during some songs and then being too loud on others. After about 45 minutes, White simply walked off stage, no explanation, no nothing. His big mistake - the obvious notwithstanding - was pulling this stunt in NYC, nearly causing a riot .
Case # 3 - Baroness: Over the past decade, a legion of new heavy metal bands came from very untraditional places. These bands decided to not adhere to the traditional rules of metal and made names for themselves quickly. One of the prime scenes of this new wave of American Metal was Savannah, Georgia. - as in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". This scene sprouted a number of amazing new bands including Kylesa, Black Tusk, and Baroness. Embracing traditional metal but also infusing harmony, indie rock and even a bit of progressive rock into their music, Baroness released a stream of excellent records. In August, while just starting to tour behind their amazing new album, "Yellow and Green", the band was in a horrific tour bus crash in England. Eerily similar to the accident that killed Metallica's Cliff Burton over 25 years ago, no one was killed but two members of the band suffered broken vertebra and lead singer John Balzley suffered a broken leg and a crushed right arm that required massive surgery.
Surprisingly, not even 6 weeks removed form the accident and obviously in the early, early stages of recovery, Balzley posted a lengthy, very emotional open letter on Baroness' website. The first part of the letter recounts exactly what happened on that fateful day in England sparing no detail and giving the reader a pretty good idea of what hell is probably like. However, once the facts are covered, Balzley does not follow the predictable route of feeling sorry for himself and starting up a pity party. Instead it become motivational, not focusing on what happened but what can happen in the future. Pretty awe inspiring reading. To prevent this from becoming yet another dissertation length blog, I'll only post the link to the letter at the end.
It would be easy to sit here and rant about the childish antics of Messrs White and Armstrong and complain that they've lost touch with, shall we say, everything but I think their actions speak loud enough. Instead, I'm going to close with the final paragraph from Balzley's letter and how he found a sense of joy in a moment of pure chaos.
Till the wheels fall off . . .
John Baizley & Baroness"
http://baronessmusic.com/update-from-baroness/#more-501
Case # 1 - Green Day: You would think that a band even though many years removed from their punk upbringing in the legendary Gilman Street scene in Berkeley would still get it. Even after they became huge with "Dookie", Billy Joe, Tre, and Mike still seemed to have their s**t in order. However, something strange happened after the mega-success of "American Idiot". Even though they had been hugely successful for years, they suddenly became Rock Stars, playing giant shows with all the pomp and circumstance of a Kiss concert. This evolution (or de-evolution) came to a head a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas when lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong, after being informed that they would have to cut their set short, had a meltdown for the ages. Armstrong proceeded to go off on other acts (including Justin Bieber who wasn't there), the fact the festival (which I'm guessing they were paid handsomely for) was a total joke, and that Green Day's stature as a long running act on the scene afforded them the extra time.
Case # 2 - Jack White: While not coming up from the same type of scene as Green Day, Jack White cut his teeth in the underground until hitting it big with the White Stripes' 2001 album "White Blood Cells". White, while being a somewhat quirky character, was always known for very intense concerts and generally not known as being much of a malcontent. After the White Stripes went their separate ways, White went on to form the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather creating some really compelling music with both bands. Hell, he even made a movie with the Edge and Jimmy Page neither of whom, despite being rock legends, have ever been known going rogue on stage. Suddenly while playing the first of two sold out shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall in support of solo debut, Mr. White goes diva. According to reports, White seemed to be consistently annoyed with something or possibly everything about the crowd. As the show progressed, he began to go off on the crowd either likening them to an NPR convention for being too quiet during some songs and then being too loud on others. After about 45 minutes, White simply walked off stage, no explanation, no nothing. His big mistake - the obvious notwithstanding - was pulling this stunt in NYC, nearly causing a riot .
Case # 3 - Baroness: Over the past decade, a legion of new heavy metal bands came from very untraditional places. These bands decided to not adhere to the traditional rules of metal and made names for themselves quickly. One of the prime scenes of this new wave of American Metal was Savannah, Georgia. - as in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". This scene sprouted a number of amazing new bands including Kylesa, Black Tusk, and Baroness. Embracing traditional metal but also infusing harmony, indie rock and even a bit of progressive rock into their music, Baroness released a stream of excellent records. In August, while just starting to tour behind their amazing new album, "Yellow and Green", the band was in a horrific tour bus crash in England. Eerily similar to the accident that killed Metallica's Cliff Burton over 25 years ago, no one was killed but two members of the band suffered broken vertebra and lead singer John Balzley suffered a broken leg and a crushed right arm that required massive surgery.
Surprisingly, not even 6 weeks removed form the accident and obviously in the early, early stages of recovery, Balzley posted a lengthy, very emotional open letter on Baroness' website. The first part of the letter recounts exactly what happened on that fateful day in England sparing no detail and giving the reader a pretty good idea of what hell is probably like. However, once the facts are covered, Balzley does not follow the predictable route of feeling sorry for himself and starting up a pity party. Instead it become motivational, not focusing on what happened but what can happen in the future. Pretty awe inspiring reading. To prevent this from becoming yet another dissertation length blog, I'll only post the link to the letter at the end.
It would be easy to sit here and rant about the childish antics of Messrs White and Armstrong and complain that they've lost touch with, shall we say, everything but I think their actions speak loud enough. Instead, I'm going to close with the final paragraph from Balzley's letter and how he found a sense of joy in a moment of pure chaos.
"There was one moment in the crash that cut me deeply. For one heartbeat and one tiny sliver of time, I became disconnected entirely. It was, specifically, the moment I impacted with the glass. In that barest heartbeat of a moment, I came face to face with the infinite. I didn’t see a light, or the tunnel or hear any music. Nor did I get a “best-of” montage of my life. Instead, I felt the tip of my nose brush up against the very same fate I had accepted moments before. I looked into a cold, unreflective mirror. It was the dark, silent, dispassionate logic of the end. I realized in that moment that life can be seen as a light switch: “on” or “off”. When the moment passed and I heard the screaming, felt the pain, and tasted my own blood, I was overcome with joy. I was ecstatic to be back amidst all that chaos and horror because it was alive and real. I finally glimpsed the relative importance of all things. The support of our fans, our friends and our families has real meaning to me now. I say that now honestly, without false humility. Thank you. Everyone.
http://baronessmusic.com/update-from-baroness/#more-501
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)