Archive for June, 2002

I saw The Polyphonic Spree and The Danielson Famile at the Knitting Factory last night. It was a great show - The Danielson Famile were in good form, with a slightly different instrumental line-up than when I last saw them. They played a fun, improvised set focusing on their singalongs for a very enthusiastic audience. The set included a lot of my favorites, such as "Deeper Than The Gov't", "Coolest Lil' Dragon", "Don't You Be The Judge", "Good News For The Pus Pickers", "Rallying The Dominoes", "We Don't Say Shut Up", and "Body English" - I'm forgetting one or two from their first LP.

Before the Danielson Famile hit the stage, a new band called Ursa Minor played a brief set of music from the Fiona/Tori/Sarah McLachlan/Aimee Mann school of unthreatening 'mature songwriting', augmented by a Huey Lewis-style horn section. They weren't that bad, but were very bland and forgettable. I couldn't help but think that Glenn McDonald would have really liked this band.

Since I had to catch the last train out of the city, I could only stay for the first half hour of The Polyphonic Spree's set; but lucky enough for me, the four songs that I wanted to hear the most were among the first five songs played. Though I did technically get what I came to see, I really wish I could have seen the rest of their set. They are a sight to behold - 23 highly enthusiastic people (including the most rocking french horn player of all time) playing, singing, physically emoting joyous pop music on a small, cramped stage. As much as I like the record, I don't think that the recording does this band justice.

I picked up the new issue of Stay Free! and Found Magazine, the latter thanks to a tip off from Margin Walker on Barbelith. I'm really loving Found...I'm just sort of puzzled why the magazine version relies on filler like a crap interview with Lynda Barry, and illegal excerpts from the New York Times, The Onion, and a John Steinbeck novel. I would hope that in the future, the magazine dedicates itself entirely to found items and lets the concept of the magazine/website speak for itself. The newest issue of Stay Free is probably my favorite thus far, it is a theme issue about conspiracy theories, and examines the topic from a number of interesting perspectives - I'll talk about this issue more here or on Barbelith at a later time.

On the way home, I finally got around to listening to The Breeder's Title TK in its entirety and in its intended sequence (well, actually I listened to "London Song" twice over, so maybe not). I can understand why some Breeders fans are let down by this record, but I like it. Having never been anything more than a casual fan of Kim Deal, I don't have any great expectations for her or her bands. As of this writing, I'm fairly convinced that Title TK is the most consistent non-Pixies record she's ever been involved in creating. Don't get me wrong - I really love a lot of older Breeders/Amps songs, it's just that the records have always struck me as terribly uneven. I think that it would be easy for someone to get an impression of unevenness from a casual listen to this new album (I know I did at first), but when listening to the record last night, completely exhausted, it seemed to make a lot more sense.

Every song on the record sounds like it is in a drunken/stoned stupor, some songs having a better composure than others. "London Song" is definitely my favorite song on this album, I can't help but love how wobbly and dizzy the song feels with it's awkward stops and starts, it's sweet melodic refrains, and its confused, incoherant lyrics. "I'm leaking pure white noise." "There's something to believe." "I thought I'd know better." "Misery's fun, I'm kissing everyone. I've got to hold my tongue." Most of the lyrics on this album come off as quietly mumbled nonsequitors, the half-formed ideas of someone who is stumbling around after partying way too hard, Andrew WK-style. Like I said, the whole album feels this way, like it's either sloppy-lampshade-on-head-screaming-"wooooo!" drunk ("Huffer", "London Song", "Little Fury" "Full On Idle"), or about to pass out ("Off You", "Forced To Drive", "Put On A Side"). It's not hard to imagine that this is what it feels like to be a Deal sister given their respective biographies. All in all, it's a good, weird little record; and certainly a lot more interesting than most people are giving it credit for being.

Delayed Reaction

Last week the United States Copyright Office announced new performance royalties for all US webcasters, a move which will price out nearly every noncorporate webcasting concern in the country save for a few exceptions, such as WFMU, who will be financially damaged but not ruined by these new laws.

This is a major blow to those who love diversity and autonomy in broadcasting, and a major victory for corporate interests who seek to control and wipe out all competition in internet broadcasting, something which most logically belongs in the hands of the people. For more information, go here and here. For a real audio archive of WFMU program director Ken Freedman's on-air discussion of this topic, its history, and its ramifications, click here.

Hello John this is John this is John John this is John...

Speaking of WFMU, their new program Aircheck recently broadcasted an abridged recording of John Lennon acting as a guest DJ on a SoCal radio station called KKHJ in 1974. It's a pretty interesting thing to hear - Lennon comes off alternately as a likable gentleman, and an irritating Robin Williams-esque spazz. The most amusing parts for me are the bits in which he does live on-air advertisements for the station's sponsors, including a pre-chain Tower Records, zit cream, and some clock store offering up Big Ben replicas.

Aircheck also recently aired a grim 1998 on-air conversation with Hank Earl Carr (aka Joseph Lee Bennett), a man who was on the run for what he claims was the accidental death of his son, and his subsequent murder of three police officers. It's very unsettling when Bennett calmly states that he is going to kill himself because he does not want to be executed or sent to jail - it gives me the chills. For more about Carr, go here, here, and here.

Also in that real audio archive is the airing of a tape of an unidentified DJ in the 70s who sounds as though he is losing his mind on the air as he psyches his listeners up for the weekend.

A Little In The Baggy, A Little In The Purse

In case some of you weren't aware, there are some new Jay-Z recording floating around on various file sharing services right now, they are from a special advance promo of this fall's The Blueprint 2. The songs are "South Philly Niggaz", "Show You", "Calling My Name" and "Early in the Morning".

I'm not sure how I feel about them just yet - I really love "Calling My Name", which has this thumping one-note bass line and a piano sample that sounds extremely familiar but I can't place it. It sounds a lot like late 70s Elton John or something. It's really smooth and sweet, it isn't entirely unlike a mellow "Takeover" with a little dash of "Hard Knock Life". This song, like the other three just don't sound finished yet - I hope they aren't. All four are promising, but seem to be missing something, they lack the 'oomph' of other recent Jay-Z music.

Measured up against the best songs off of The Blueprint, this stuff is neither here nor there. I hope Hov's saving the best for the actual release and is just trying to throw us all off with this promo.

The Same Band You've Always Known?

For the past few weeks, Steven McDonald from the band Redd Kross has been recording his own version of the White Stripes' White Blood Cells LP with his bass playing transposed over the band's music. He's been putting up MP3s of each completed song on Redd Kross' official website, and now has the blessing of the White Stripes themselves.

Here are some excerpts of what McDonald has to say about this project:

I hope that anybody involved with the White Stripes will see this as the tribute I have intended it to be. I am in no way trying to suggest that their music is not complete or unfinished, in fact I'm sure that some could use my interpretations as the perfect argument against the use of bass guitar in their music. If that is it's true validity, then so be it...

That is what this performance is for me, an opportunity to be a part of someone else's group identity, in this case family even. It's beyond fan ... I'm joining the band! This is still very much the White Stripes ... same band just a new take on their latest record ... rather my take on their latest record...

It's a pretty interesting and bold project, and I think that this is sort of the next logical progression from the bootleg phenomenon - I think things like this will become increasingly common as it becomes more clear to people that audio recordings don't ever have to be considered finished, that the audience can now 'improve' and alter the songs to meet their specifications.

Anyway, if you want to jump in on this, now is the time. Starting on Monday, McDonald will be reposting one song per day to catch people up to where he is on the record. So Monday, it's "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", Tuesday it's "Hotel Yorba", and so on.

My verdict on what I've heard thus far - the two songs currently online, "The Union Forever" and "The Same Boy You've Always Known" are improved by the addition of bass/keyboards in my mind, but "Little Room" (which was posted last week) was fucking DESTROYED by the bassline that McDonald added. He should give that one another shot, maybe...

That's the way the Jell-O judicates, folks.

Clinic are not meant for large outdoor free concerts. This is something that I learned last night - this is music that is meant to be paid full attention to, and is diminished by having loads of people chatting amongst themselves while they play "Porno" and "The Second Line". Clinic is music meant for small rooms, and it's meant for people who have something more than a casual interest in their music.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Clinic's actual performance, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I especially loved last night's cool, mellow "Mr. Moonlight", which was suited very well to being played on a pier in the twilight. I was happy to see a slightly different set from the last time I saw the band too - they traded "Come Into Our Room" for a new song, and "Magic Boots" for "Monkey On Your Back". I was excited to hear them play different songs, even if it was at the expense of two of my personal favorites. Still, them not playing "Come Into Our Room" was a slight let-down. The last time I saw them perform that song, it seemed like a perverse, jittery encantation; it was a perfect song for them to open up a show. "Candle lights and all things bright, come into our room." Also, it was sort of strange that they skipped that song since it is their newest single...hmm.

The two opening acts were very, very lame. Radio 4 played bland Gang Of 4-meets-INXS 80s bass heavy rock, striking me as nothing more than a bunch of unimaginative bores cashing in on the popularity of their Brooklyn home. The program said that their lyrics were about "living in the city of New York". Eek.

Firewater were just embarassing. This is a band that spent nearly an hour offering up every 'alt-rock' musical cliche known to man, seeming as though their prime musical ambition was to have their music appear in advertisements and on tv shows. Terrible, mind-numbing Corporate Rock.

On the way home, I was thumbing through a copy of Tuesday's New York Post that was on the seat next to me on the train. I found Dan Acquilante's review of Sonic Youth's Murray Street album. It was a positive review, but one error jumped out at me - Acquilante says something to the effect of "the album starts off strong with "Rain On A Tin Roof"". Do the New York Post employ fact checkers anymore? Is Dan Acquilante so lazy or under such severe deadline pressure that he could not bother to look at the cd packaging to note that the opening track is called "The Empty Page", and that the third song is titled simply "Rain On Tin"? It's such a simple error, but it ruins the authority of the review and the reviewer in one fell swoop. I know the Post is the last paper to expect integrity and facts from, but this is just ridiculous.

Some links of interest:

I highly recommend Acoustica's MP3 mixing program. It's certainly been one of the leadings factors as to why I haven't been posting any new content here for the past several days. The program is extremely easy to use, and I've mostly been using it to create cd-long DJ-style mixes and 'radio edit' versions of long songs that occupy too much mix cd space. Example: "Karen Revisited" by Sonic Youth, which I've faded out around the 4 minute mark, excising a little over 7 minutes of instrumental noise at the end of the song proper. Don't get me wrong - I love that bit of the song, but not at the expense of packing as many Sonic Youth songs onto a mix cd-r as I can.

Sequential Tart is probably no secret to the majority of people reading this blog, but I still want to give a big thumbs up to their monthly Bizarre Breasts column, which skewers poorly drawn female comic characters, mostly focusing on the Image Comics crowd. It's an easy target, sure, but the quality is there. For real.

Henry Raddick fans should rejoice - The man himself breaks his silence in an interview with The Register. What does Mr. Raddick have to say to other 400 lb men with low self esteem? "Enjoy the battle," says Raddick. "It's you against the entire world."

I have no idea who these people are, but they have me linked, they're funny, and they are from NYC, so I return the favor. Welcome aboard, 'Universal Donor' and 'Pussy Willow'.

People in the NYC area who are planning to see the free Clinic show tomorrow at Pier 54 should take note: The Village Voice is wrong, the show starts at 7 PM, and Clinic won't be going on til around 9 PM. The Voice even lists the wrong number for the venue. The proper number for Hudson River Park is 212 791 2530, you can call them to double check if you like.

To be perfectly frank, all of the current alternatives to Audiogalaxy aren't very good. I hate the way that Kazaa, Limewire, Morpheus, and QTrax function - I can think of nothing positive to say about any of those programs. Filetopia is alright, but has a fairly weak selection. SoulSeek is the best I've found thus far, but that's probably just because it's being overrun with Audiogalaxy refugees, and is building up AG's shared library a bit better than the others.

I've been running the same tests on all of them. First, I check to see what comes up when I put in seaches for popular artists that I know very well - Pavement, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, and The Neptunes. Invariably, the results are a fucking mess, there's no rhyme or reason to the order of results. I hate that.

Second, I've been putting through searches for the more obscure interests that I have, and 90% of the time, there are no results. The databases on these services are of no help to me, not for the things that I most valued Audiogalaxy for.

Until someone makes something that functions in the clean, organized way that AG ran, or at very least the harddrives that made up that database are reunited, it looks like I'm limited to only downloading the very music that the RIAA set out to block me and people like me from accessing.

More about the RIAA and the demise of Audiogalaxy

I think the fundamental difference in opinion in this matter comes from how a person views music. If you view music as a commodity, as something that intrinsically involves dollar signs, then you take the RIAA's side in this matter. If you think of music as being important cultural information, something from which knowledge is gained, then you will agree that having valuable online libraries of this shared information is in the best interests of the people. This isn't even an argument against people selling records, or artists making money from their work. It is an argument in favor of libraries.

Only the hacks will stop making music if there's no money in it, or more accurately, less money than they would have in the old distribution model. Thousands of people make music without making much (or any) money from it. A lack of compensation has NEVER stopped people before, and it won't stop people in the future. File sharing does not hurt the overwhelming majority of musicians, and it can be debated whether or not Audiogalaxy et al have had all that much to do with the marginal decline in overall record sales. The industry seems to want to blame everyone but themselves, and meanwhile they are the ones who are constantly boosting cd prices which are already marked up far beyond their production costs in the midst of a recession. It's not hard to figure out why people are buying less albums - as Videodrome says on Barbelith:

Oh, and by the way, Hilary [Rosen]? That whole slumping sales thing? You probably haven't noticed, but the US is in a fucking RECESSION. That $18 Mudvayne disc at Sam Goody doesn't look so good compared to food.

It is shameful that the RIAA is blaming the record industry's steady loss of sales on the file sharing of a relative minority of people rather than on the fact that the industry is pricing records out of the hands of ordinary people. Even those who have a lot of money to burn will buy fewer records if the price is too high - it's just simple logic! If records were priced reasonably (somewhere in the $6-11 range), sales would inevitably increase, and file sharing would be viewed no differently than the public libraries that they are.

The industry is trying to stop the future - a future in which information and culture can spread freely, a future in which people can potentially have access to music as easily as they have access to the contents of their public library - easier even, since they would not have to deal with waiting for what they want to access to be in stock. Ultimately, I side with the people in this matter - I strongly believe that people should have a right to access to information and culture regardless of their income.

The analogy of what the record industry is about to become - that is, the book business - in New York Magazine is accurate. People still buy books, and people will still buy records. People are conditioned in our culture to like owning objects. This isn't going to change. There's no sense in fighting file sharing, and the RIAA will be made to look foolish when future generations look back on what they tried to do. Hilary Rosen will look just like Joe McCarthy and Fredric Wertham...

Boycott the RIAA.

The RIAA have officially murdered Audiogalaxy. It's a bit like having the major book publishers of the world get together to burn down public libraries, really. I hate living in a world where money is valued over knowledge, I really do.

The new Sleater-Kinney album One Beat has a very strange feeling to it, it's a lot more harsh than the last three records, but they throw in these little pop touches to the songs that seem weird when they are contrasted with the more severe elements of the songs. Corin's voice is back to being quite shrill after toning it down a bit on All Hands On The Bad One and The Hot Rock, which I think suits the songs pretty well, but I miss the naunces of songs like the ones on The Hot Rock. Most of the songs seem to claim "Combat Rock" as a genre description, many of them have this very martial sounding beat to them. It's a bit like "Sleater-Kinney Goes To War". I like it, but I don't love it just yet.

You know what I do love?

Douglas Wolk's Rules For Touring Bands.

I think Yo La Tengo's The Sounds of the Sounds of Science might be one of the most relaxing records I've ever heard. The music was written and recorded to be a soundtrack for avant-garde deep sea documentaries by Jean Painleve, and sounds very appropriate for the subject matter. The recordings are very short on mid-range sounds, it's all deep bass and high treble. I normally don't get excited about music meant for soundtrack or background-music purposes, but every track on this record is involving and unique. I especially love "How Some Jellyfish Are Born" and "Hyas and Stenorhynchus", which are quite soothing, particularly on this dark and muggy day.

Yo La Tengo will be playing a free show in Prospect Park at 9 pm on July 12th, by the way. It's nice that so many bands that I like are playing for free in New York this summer...Clinic will be at Pier 54 on June 26th, Neko Case will be at Castle Clinton on August 1st, Sonic Youth will be in Central Park on August 11th, and Sleater-Kinney will be playing the Siren Festival, as noted in a previous entry.

I really enjoyed reading New X-Men #127. I think it's Grant Morrison's best issue so far.

There's something so poetic and lovely about Xorn, in the way that he speaks and acts, and in the concept of what he is. I really like how it is explained that he does not see or hear the way that humans do, but senses and understands wavelengths and vibrations. I love thinking about what that must feel like, and how that could be quite liberating. I'm no science guy, but is my little brother correct when he says that Xorn perceives things in 6D? That's so beautiful.

I like how good Xorn is, how he is unselfish, how only wishes to help others, that all he wants is peace. I like how he has trouble understanding why other people do not feel this way, and I like how Professor Xavier tries to explain it to him. There's so many lovely quotable bits in this issue, many of them in the scene with Xavier and Xorn - a quiet discussion between two philosophical visionaries.

I think the artwork in this issue is perfect, and I don't think anyone else who may have had the opportunity to draw the issue would have captured the feeling of the story as well. I like the way that Leon and Sienkiewicz render the scenes in Manhattan - they really do look and feel a lot like Chinatown - and the scenes with Xorn on the subway and in the tenement building just look so right. Leon has a lot of talent for drawing very natural body language, and articulating a feeling of quiet sadness in the drawings.

The basic plot with Xorn trying to save the "monster" child is sort of irrelevant, it's obviously just there to give the story context and show Xorn doing something. This story is about letting the reader to get to know Xorn, and I think it did that wonderfully. I think that at least for the moment, Xorn is my favorite character in superhero fiction. He's certainly the most refreshing one, anyway.

Oh, and my favorite line, among the tight competition:

...so I have tried to capture my feelings for you, in the form of symbols here on this book of paper leaves. But these lines and curves are not much like thoughts or feelings at all.


I also read the first issue of Morrison's The Filth series yesterday. I think the new issue of New X-Men was a lot better. The differences are quite stark - the NXM comic was quiet and intimate, simplistic and character driven. It was all about thoughts and emotions. The Filth was more like The Invisibles, kind of cold and distant - it felt a bit like a put-on, something that was trying to get me excited or even shock me. It's far too early for me to say much about this series, but I sure hope Grant makes at least one of the characters likeable, because I just can't get into any of these characters.

Reading the issue, I got the feeling that it was like a bunch of leftover ideas for the Invisibles (or things Grant thought of afterwards and was upset that they came too late) just thrown together. The Filth certainly has that "here's a big idea! here's another one! here's something sort of crazy! here's some people acting sort of badass!" thing that the Invisibles had, but I've never really been into that much. I'd much rather have characters, thank you. Still, I'm being really unfair since this is only the first issue out of a series of thirteen. Or perhaps I'm being more fair to Grant than he deserves - if someone else wrote this, I'd be thinking "geez. another dystopian future. and the characters are a bit like the ones in The Matrix. oh brother, here we go again."

I quite liked that a lot of the scenes played out without dialogue and intentionally moved slowly...I think Weston shows off a lot of his storytelling chops, and just from this issue I already have a greater appreciation of his talents.

Jack Fear has some interesting ideas about the first issue, and I think they improved my second reading of the issue, though I'm still not feeling it.