Your New Influences #1

In recent months, I’ve been complaining a lot about this seemingly infinite wave of faceless, deeply unimaginative indie bands and their tired, worn-out influences. Thankfully it seems as though we’ve mostly cycled through the whole Joy Division/”punk-funk” thing and that the “we’re playing cheap Casios, lolz 80s!” aesthetic is on the wane, but we’ve still got a glut of limp psychedelic folk, faux-Animal Collective bullshitting, and lame-ass attempts at mimicking the Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. I’m sure you can think of some other sounds that you’ve heard too much of in the past eight years.

In particular, the nu shoe-gaze stuff has got to stop — it’s dull, lazy, transparently dumb, and aside from Deerhunter, virtually everyone doing it does not seem to grasp the ambiguous sexuality that made My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless an interesting record in the first place. It’s a classic example of hacks latching on to an easily aped stylistic element — in this case, foregrounded rhythm guitar and buried vocals — and tossing out every bit of thoughtfulness, character, and subtlety that made that style work in the first place. I’m not necessarily opposed to the shoegazer sound, but I am very depressed that so many people have opted to beat a simple idea into the ground instead of following My Bloody Valentine’s example and finding their own distinct ways of expressing non-traditional eroticism in music.

This is the problem we’re facing: We’re stuck with a generation of young indie musicians who are more interested in fitting into pre-existing genres and aesthetic communities rather than developing their own concepts, sounds, and styles. Yes, there are definitely still some maverick artists doing their own thing, but they tend to be non-American and/or in their late 20s/early 30s, and they are increasingly marginalized by indie culture in favor of safe, predictable acts whose work will never challenge their audience’s taste or intellect.

We need change. We need to get away from the anti-intellectualism of this horrible era. We need to acknowledge and then subsequently reject the insidious, often unremarked-upon sexism that dominates 00s indie rock culture. We need to move on from recycling the work of the same old “safe” artists, and abandon the comfort of familiarity, and get back to embracing novelty and innovation. We need new artists with new influences.

So what do I want to hear? It’s hard to say, really. I want something new, I want to be surprised. I want artists with strong personalities that don’t conform to traditional expectations of rock/pop/hip hop stars. That said, I can offer some tips, and point in the direction of artists whose work ought to be reconsidered, and records and songs that may be worth mining for musical ideas. In the coming months, I’ll be offering up New Influences on this site, and who knows, maybe someone out there will find themselves inspired. The artists and songs I plan to spotlight are generally well-known, and many will have something of a legacy, though usually restricted to their particular genre. I don’t ask that people clone these songs, but instead give thought to what makes them tick, and apply that to their own work.

Here’s my first suggestion.

Janet Jackson “Miss You Much” – I’m recommending three things here: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ collaborations with Janet Jackson in general, Rhythm Nation 1814 in particular, and this song in specific. There’s quite a lot to take away from Rhythm Nation 1814, but of its seven brilliant singles, “Miss You Much” is the one that epitomizes the distinct aesthetic of the album, balancing out the harshness of its title track and “Black Cat” with the giddy, girlish hooks of “Escapade” and “Love Will Never Do (Without You).”

Like most every song on Rhythm Nation 1814, “Miss You Much” is built around a huge, dominating beat. In fact, if you just casually listen to the song, it’s unlikely that you’d come away from it thinking of anything aside from its rhythm and Jackson’s lead vocal. Aside from her singing, melodic and non-rhythmic elements in the arrangement have a somewhat subliminal effect on the listener, guiding and emphasizing dynamic shifts without distracting attention from its primal hooks. As the song approaches its climax, it gradually adds more textural elements without crowding out its abundant negative space and emphasis on percussion. (As far as I can tell, there is no guitar in the song whatsoever until its final minute.) Jam and Lewis’ track is a masterpiece; a virtuoso performance that achieves an immediate, forceful physical effect via subtlety and nuance.

I suggest that musicians focus their attention on the arrangement of “Miss You Much” rather than Jackson’s vocal performance or persona, but I would be remiss not to mention that her presence is essential to the success of the piece. Her voice effortlessly transitions from a rhythmic toughness to soulful emoting to a flirty softness without overselling any aspect of her performance, lending the song a continuum of emotions and attitudes that add up to the impression that we’re listening to the expression of a fully-formed human being with contradictions and complexities. (Click here to buy it from Amazon)

Addendum: More thoughts and clarifications of intent are on the tumblr. Also, I hope that you do understand that the title “Your New Influences” is a bit tongue-in-cheek.