I was talking about music today with my dad in the car and had an epiphany.
Do you know the reason that the popular songs these days, made by those of my generation, don't stick? Why they will never be timeless classics that last decades instead being buried with the other trash of a certain year?
Music today, and those writing the music, are, clearly, NOT ROOTED IN THE BLUES, and that is a direct link to why we have created some of the most frivolous music in America, and the world's, history.
More on this later.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Greg Weaver Critical Choice Awards 2007
I'll be posting some both legit and obscure musical awards at the end of the year to recognize artists that deserve (or don't deserve) to have their musical talents highlighted. Of course, this isn't totally fair since I don't work for a magazine, nor do I go out and buy billions of dollars worth of CDs every year to critically listen to. Topics will include, but are not limited to: artists in separate instrumentation categories, best live show, best hidden jewel discovered thanks to the internet, and also the biggest "fuck you" award. Look forward to it.
Also, I'll have a blog highlighting my experiences from April to August as I will be studying abroad at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Throughout my travels I will be documenting my musical observations, focusing specifically on how jazz is received there compared to how it is in the United States. To heighten my research I also plan to find student groups to play with while I'm there and have recordings available. This is the one element that I'm looking forward to the most--even more than my "paid" purpose, which is to have intensive Japanese study.
I may even start early research on record sales and whatnot before I even leave, so check back every so often for updates.
... not to mention more CD reviews after Christmas. Woohoo!
Also, I'll have a blog highlighting my experiences from April to August as I will be studying abroad at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Throughout my travels I will be documenting my musical observations, focusing specifically on how jazz is received there compared to how it is in the United States. To heighten my research I also plan to find student groups to play with while I'm there and have recordings available. This is the one element that I'm looking forward to the most--even more than my "paid" purpose, which is to have intensive Japanese study.
I may even start early research on record sales and whatnot before I even leave, so check back every so often for updates.
... not to mention more CD reviews after Christmas. Woohoo!
Friday, September 21, 2007
CD Review: Chris Potter Underground - Follow the Red Line (Live at the Village Vanguard)
REVIEW
Chris Potter - Follow the Red Line (Live at the Village Vanguard)
First Impression
On the same day, multi-reed instrumentalist Chris Potter released two albums with two absolutely different faces. This one, his second live release at the Village Vanguard, is with his Underground band with whom he recorded last year's stellar release, less Wayne Krantz on the guitar. Follow the Red Line expands upon this group's repertory and showcases why Potter has again decided to release an album at the legendary club after only three years.
The first track, "Train", kicks the album off by really defining the group and what each member has to offer. Listening to just the beginning of the song, it sounds like something that's not totally something inherent of the band's energy if you haven't heard them play some of their other songs live before, but it still has that familiar sound and feel to it, particularly with the rhythm section's distinct sound. Shortly after a minute though, it starts to really sound like Underground band that listeners will know from the last album: Nate Smith locks in a heavy groove and Potter comes in with a simple, but heavy melodic overlay.
The solos on the first track are everything that we expect and don't expect from these players at the same time. Potter shows off his amazing virtuosity at critical moments in his solo, but there's something that this track really brings out in his playing as well: his ability to play beautiful, melodic phrases that really bring out the mood of the tune. The groove isn't all fast horn playing, but rather is a solo that is constructed with carefully chosen note choices, rhythmic patterns, and, especially, silence that fits like a new suit. The rhythm section is backing him with amazing clarity of idea and serve what is really needed in a tight jazz group.
Adam Rogers' solo on "Train" brings out his versatile quality as a guitar player, as his solo is rather odd in a casual sense, but as he keeps the theme of it even over the groove that sneaks in the background, it makes more and more sense. The "rock" quality in his playing as many know from listening to him in recordings from different groups (Lost Tribe, for example) is interestingly effective and adds a whole different mood to the piece that would have been recognized in any other way. One won't easily miss the haunting quality of his bends over Craig Taborn's sound. The other members of the rhythm section fuel the new mood that is set by these sounds, especially on points like 9:26 and 10:03, where they fool the listener into thinking that they're about to go back into the groove, but instead hold their ground.
Beware, though: there are many points in the recording that will make the casual listener cringe. In solo like Potter's on "Arjuna", one must intently listen to the entire solo to know where he's going. His virtuosity can be too intense for some, but as long as one doesn't lose track of where he started and how he develops, they will be able to easily appreciate his approach to the song.
Speaking of casual listening, sometimes the album makes it hard to intently listen, and that's really a good thing. For example, I have tried to really listen to Taborn's Fender solo on "Arjuna", but I always find it extremely difficult to get past grooving with the band. Starting with Smith's infectious playing, the band starts to layer on top of the drumming piece by piece and produce an amazing track. The groove that continues behind the solo switches up a little bit as the solo continues but retains a very hard sound that the listener cannot help but get ingrained.
One does not have to listen to much to know intuitively that this band his been playing together for a while and knows how to compliment each other and the music that they are playing. And, what's amazing about that is, they really haven't been playing that long together as a whole. Adam Rogers has been playing with Potter on and off since his impossible-to-find first release for Concord, Concentric Circles, in 1994, and Nate Smith has been with Potter for four years now since he replaced Billy Kilson in the Dave Holland Quintet, but the Underground band really is a completely different animal in terms of musical selection.
Chris Potter - Follow the Red Line (Live at the Village Vanguard)
First Impression
On the same day, multi-reed instrumentalist Chris Potter released two albums with two absolutely different faces. This one, his second live release at the Village Vanguard, is with his Underground band with whom he recorded last year's stellar release, less Wayne Krantz on the guitar. Follow the Red Line expands upon this group's repertory and showcases why Potter has again decided to release an album at the legendary club after only three years.
The first track, "Train", kicks the album off by really defining the group and what each member has to offer. Listening to just the beginning of the song, it sounds like something that's not totally something inherent of the band's energy if you haven't heard them play some of their other songs live before, but it still has that familiar sound and feel to it, particularly with the rhythm section's distinct sound. Shortly after a minute though, it starts to really sound like Underground band that listeners will know from the last album: Nate Smith locks in a heavy groove and Potter comes in with a simple, but heavy melodic overlay.
The solos on the first track are everything that we expect and don't expect from these players at the same time. Potter shows off his amazing virtuosity at critical moments in his solo, but there's something that this track really brings out in his playing as well: his ability to play beautiful, melodic phrases that really bring out the mood of the tune. The groove isn't all fast horn playing, but rather is a solo that is constructed with carefully chosen note choices, rhythmic patterns, and, especially, silence that fits like a new suit. The rhythm section is backing him with amazing clarity of idea and serve what is really needed in a tight jazz group.
Adam Rogers' solo on "Train" brings out his versatile quality as a guitar player, as his solo is rather odd in a casual sense, but as he keeps the theme of it even over the groove that sneaks in the background, it makes more and more sense. The "rock" quality in his playing as many know from listening to him in recordings from different groups (Lost Tribe, for example) is interestingly effective and adds a whole different mood to the piece that would have been recognized in any other way. One won't easily miss the haunting quality of his bends over Craig Taborn's sound. The other members of the rhythm section fuel the new mood that is set by these sounds, especially on points like 9:26 and 10:03, where they fool the listener into thinking that they're about to go back into the groove, but instead hold their ground.
Beware, though: there are many points in the recording that will make the casual listener cringe. In solo like Potter's on "Arjuna", one must intently listen to the entire solo to know where he's going. His virtuosity can be too intense for some, but as long as one doesn't lose track of where he started and how he develops, they will be able to easily appreciate his approach to the song.
Speaking of casual listening, sometimes the album makes it hard to intently listen, and that's really a good thing. For example, I have tried to really listen to Taborn's Fender solo on "Arjuna", but I always find it extremely difficult to get past grooving with the band. Starting with Smith's infectious playing, the band starts to layer on top of the drumming piece by piece and produce an amazing track. The groove that continues behind the solo switches up a little bit as the solo continues but retains a very hard sound that the listener cannot help but get ingrained.
One does not have to listen to much to know intuitively that this band his been playing together for a while and knows how to compliment each other and the music that they are playing. And, what's amazing about that is, they really haven't been playing that long together as a whole. Adam Rogers has been playing with Potter on and off since his impossible-to-find first release for Concord, Concentric Circles, in 1994, and Nate Smith has been with Potter for four years now since he replaced Billy Kilson in the Dave Holland Quintet, but the Underground band really is a completely different animal in terms of musical selection.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
CD Review: Eldar - Re-Imagination
REVIEW
Eldar - Re-Imagination
First Impression
So here it is, child-prodigy Eldar's latest release. Eldar has been criticized by many in the past for his "robotic" sound on the piano because his almost unimaginable technique on the piano enticed him, noted in his first release, to play some songs at really fast tempos that very few could play as cleanly. Though this is true and his technique seemed flawless, many found flaw in his playing, saying that his approach was the direct opposite of the Miles Davis-like, "less is more" type playing. Now, two albums later, how does the new Eldar stack up?
Ultimately, I wasn't too impressed with his work, and would rather listen to a blindingly fast "Sweet Georgia Brown" to marvel at his speeds than listen to any of the tracks on this record. While they may not all be bad, I can't praise any one of them very much. The main reason behind this lack of praise to them is the fact that there seem to be three types of songs on this record, and all of the songs that fall under each type could almost be baked into a single pie together.
The first type is the one denoted by the very first track. Maybe this is Eldar's re-imagination of the keyboard, adding electronic noises (reminded me of some of the effect that Kenny Werner put in his latest album, though overused, I think, in this one) and using names like DJ Logic to turn the tables on a couple tracks. Okay, so it was a good effort, but there were still many flaws. The first thing that came through my mind when listening to the first track was, 'Wow, this sounds a lot like the kind of stuff that Lyle Mays and Pat Metheny write together, though the role of great technique is on the piano player and the role of a more lyrical approach comes from the guitar in this CD'. I do like a lot of that music, but there was something about this that was different, and not in a good way. There were many times that I felt ideas were starting to get good, and then we were thrown in another direction that ended up being not so good... and this happened on all of the tracks that sounded like this. There was a lot of energy coming from Ali Jackson on the drums that helped keep interest, but with lackluster solos and strange mood changes within the songs, I ended up being turned off by this type of song. And I repeat, it happened with them all, especially because they sounded quite alike. There's a distinct pop influence in them all, like in Mays' work, and Eldar, to me, puts too much pop in it. Interest was lost midway through the tracks.
The second type of song is the ballad-esque type. All in all, these tracks bore me to tears. I usually lost interest in the head. "Out of Nowhere" as a ballad is a good idea, but it was absolutely flat from beginning to end. His attempt at being lyrical rather than technical doesn't seem to be working out very well when there it's all boredom and no energy to his lyricism. It's like he's trying really hard to hold back his fingers, so there's a sort of "fakeness" in the space that he leaves. Many of these songs sound like they belong in a movie soundtrack simply because there are a couple highlights and then there's a lot of filler where the actors are supposed to be focused on in the movie rather than the music. It's like listening to the full Attack of the Clones orchestration by John Williams that spans through every single scene in the movie, except the really great parts are just not here in Eldar's recording. Another comparison would be to Christmas CDs like the A Winter's Solstice collection. It's pretty, but aside from a few moments, it's background. Both works compared to know to work it a lot better because this method is deliberate, where in Eldar's works it isn't.
Finally, there's the return to the type of thing that he did in his first CD with really fast playing over standards. This I enjoyed quite a bit more than the other types. Eldar's playing over the Oscar Peterson tune was a lot more true, I felt, and the ideas were more coherent and intuitive. This is the kind of work that I like hearing, and though I'm that he's being taught to add the lyricism, I wish that he wouldn't record such songs until he learns to use it wisely. Otherwise, this type is just fine if someone forces his into the studio.
In the end it turned out to just be an uninteresting piece of work. Eldar's use of DJ Logic and the electronics didn't add much to the songs, the repetitive nature of his songs made me wish that he cut the number of tracks in half, and the lyrical approach that he's attempting to do just isn't working out. I can see a lot of aspiring, young pianists looking up to Eldar now and in the future and all of the people Eldar's age and older just scoffing at him because either he's being robotic or because he can't be as original as other players. Technique like that is to be marveled at, but because he has excellent technique does not mean that he is skilled in other areas of playing. I look forward to hearing his other attempts, but time will tell whether or not I listen more than twice to any of those recordings.
Eldar - Re-Imagination
First Impression
So here it is, child-prodigy Eldar's latest release. Eldar has been criticized by many in the past for his "robotic" sound on the piano because his almost unimaginable technique on the piano enticed him, noted in his first release, to play some songs at really fast tempos that very few could play as cleanly. Though this is true and his technique seemed flawless, many found flaw in his playing, saying that his approach was the direct opposite of the Miles Davis-like, "less is more" type playing. Now, two albums later, how does the new Eldar stack up?
Ultimately, I wasn't too impressed with his work, and would rather listen to a blindingly fast "Sweet Georgia Brown" to marvel at his speeds than listen to any of the tracks on this record. While they may not all be bad, I can't praise any one of them very much. The main reason behind this lack of praise to them is the fact that there seem to be three types of songs on this record, and all of the songs that fall under each type could almost be baked into a single pie together.
The first type is the one denoted by the very first track. Maybe this is Eldar's re-imagination of the keyboard, adding electronic noises (reminded me of some of the effect that Kenny Werner put in his latest album, though overused, I think, in this one) and using names like DJ Logic to turn the tables on a couple tracks. Okay, so it was a good effort, but there were still many flaws. The first thing that came through my mind when listening to the first track was, 'Wow, this sounds a lot like the kind of stuff that Lyle Mays and Pat Metheny write together, though the role of great technique is on the piano player and the role of a more lyrical approach comes from the guitar in this CD'. I do like a lot of that music, but there was something about this that was different, and not in a good way. There were many times that I felt ideas were starting to get good, and then we were thrown in another direction that ended up being not so good... and this happened on all of the tracks that sounded like this. There was a lot of energy coming from Ali Jackson on the drums that helped keep interest, but with lackluster solos and strange mood changes within the songs, I ended up being turned off by this type of song. And I repeat, it happened with them all, especially because they sounded quite alike. There's a distinct pop influence in them all, like in Mays' work, and Eldar, to me, puts too much pop in it. Interest was lost midway through the tracks.
The second type of song is the ballad-esque type. All in all, these tracks bore me to tears. I usually lost interest in the head. "Out of Nowhere" as a ballad is a good idea, but it was absolutely flat from beginning to end. His attempt at being lyrical rather than technical doesn't seem to be working out very well when there it's all boredom and no energy to his lyricism. It's like he's trying really hard to hold back his fingers, so there's a sort of "fakeness" in the space that he leaves. Many of these songs sound like they belong in a movie soundtrack simply because there are a couple highlights and then there's a lot of filler where the actors are supposed to be focused on in the movie rather than the music. It's like listening to the full Attack of the Clones orchestration by John Williams that spans through every single scene in the movie, except the really great parts are just not here in Eldar's recording. Another comparison would be to Christmas CDs like the A Winter's Solstice collection. It's pretty, but aside from a few moments, it's background. Both works compared to know to work it a lot better because this method is deliberate, where in Eldar's works it isn't.
Finally, there's the return to the type of thing that he did in his first CD with really fast playing over standards. This I enjoyed quite a bit more than the other types. Eldar's playing over the Oscar Peterson tune was a lot more true, I felt, and the ideas were more coherent and intuitive. This is the kind of work that I like hearing, and though I'm that he's being taught to add the lyricism, I wish that he wouldn't record such songs until he learns to use it wisely. Otherwise, this type is just fine if someone forces his into the studio.
In the end it turned out to just be an uninteresting piece of work. Eldar's use of DJ Logic and the electronics didn't add much to the songs, the repetitive nature of his songs made me wish that he cut the number of tracks in half, and the lyrical approach that he's attempting to do just isn't working out. I can see a lot of aspiring, young pianists looking up to Eldar now and in the future and all of the people Eldar's age and older just scoffing at him because either he's being robotic or because he can't be as original as other players. Technique like that is to be marveled at, but because he has excellent technique does not mean that he is skilled in other areas of playing. I look forward to hearing his other attempts, but time will tell whether or not I listen more than twice to any of those recordings.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Brad Mehldau on Jazz
I just read an excellent essay on this period of modern jazz being referred to as a sort of "Renaissance" that Brad Mehldau wrote and included in his liner notes to his excellent album "Art of the Trio Volume 4". Read it here.
The whole essay is wonderfully written and contains some interesting food-for-thought. Scholarly approaches to music are interesting and also very important for fully grasping what it is we are listening to, I think. My favorite quote from the essay happens to be the closing thought:
"To close I offer a scenario: If all the written music in the world suddenly burned up in a flash, who could do a gig the same night, regardless?" - Brad Mehldau, 1999
The whole essay is wonderfully written and contains some interesting food-for-thought. Scholarly approaches to music are interesting and also very important for fully grasping what it is we are listening to, I think. My favorite quote from the essay happens to be the closing thought:
"To close I offer a scenario: If all the written music in the world suddenly burned up in a flash, who could do a gig the same night, regardless?" - Brad Mehldau, 1999
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Concert Review: Warped Tour 2007
After my experience at the Reel Big Fish/Less Than Jake show, I wasn't too excited about going to Warped Tour this year, though it never failed to be a blast in the past (the rhyme was not intended). In fact, I almost didn't go. The day before the show I was looking at the lineup online and noticed that many of the bands that I wanted to go see weren't even going to come to Virginia Beach. The ones left were Bad Religion, Pennywise, and Coheed and Cambria, and that didn't seem like enough to get my $30 worth. But, I recalled the great times had, and figured that with all the free CDs and Monster energy drinks I'd be drinking, I'd be getting my money's worth.
Thus, I went, and I must say, this show was nothing like the one I went to a little over a week before. The first band that I saw was Tiger Army, and since my eye was caught by the old guy playing punk on an upright bass, and since I had a desire to go ahead and start the day, I went into the pit on the last song. It was really lame. At first I thought it would be good because I saw the people in it moving around in a circle. This was the uniformity, I thought, that the other show was lacking, and it reminded me of my times at previous shows. Going in I realized that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be because it turned out that everyone was just running in a circle. This didn't really discourage me, though, because I figured that the fans were just not that into the moshing, which happened with Reggie and the Full Effect a few years ago (that was actually the worst sight that I had seen at a punk show, seeing that there was a HUGE hole and NO ONE was moshing... poor Reggie).
After that, my friends and I did the walk around and got the normal Warped Tour free merchandise: condoms, Monster, and free CDs. Usually I buy a shirt while I'm there, but since no one had any that were excellent, I settled on going to the Harley Davidson tent and doing a "Strong Man" contest with a hammer and bell, and ended up winning a shirt. To my surprise, it was a Bad Religion shirt with a small Harley logo on the back and no X-ed out crosses! Woohoo! In the end, I bought a couple buttons from a bad called "Angry Penguin" because I was looking for buttons, these were some of the only buttons around, and their logo was excellent:
To make a long review short, I went to Pennywise and Bad Religion and had a genuinely great time. I could mosh and crowd surf to my heart's desire without the guilt. These pits were the ones I had been looking for at the other show with uniform moshing instead of uniform skanking (seeing as these were punk bands, not ska). The participants were running and pushing each other without throwing themselves across the pit slamming into people, which was the case at the other show that really pissed me off. These bands sounded like what you'd expect them to, too without a loss of quality (with, you know, as much quality as you get out of punk music). I remember my friend Tony saying that he didn't expect the singer from Bad Religion to sound very good live, but after the show he recognized that he actually sounded really good, like he was supposed to.
And so we come to the real question and intent of this post: what was it that made these pits so much better than ones at the other concer Was it the fact that the concerts were different in genre? Was it the venue and the allowances by it? Or, was it the age groups involved in the pit? Quickly I'd overrule the first due to the fact that similar moshing techniques are supposed to be used for both genres. The second does have to do a little with it, since we are left to our own thing in the Amphitheatre, unlike the NorVA, which prohibited crowd surfing and anything but minute skanking. The real reason, I believe, that this these bands were successful, though, was that the age groups meshed well. Bad Religion and Pennywise have been around since the 80s, attracting fans from three different decades into their moshpit. This lets the experienced ones from the 80s and 90s lead the way, and then this decade's group has no choice but to follow, or else some big 40-year old bald guy will kick their ass. More people my age and older were in this pit while the high schoolers and pre-teens were off to the side listening, waiting for the tracks off of Guitar Hero to come on. In the end, though, to the ones that did participate, I hope you all learned something about moshing, from technique to manners. I was knocked down once at Pennywise and had my elbow all torn up on the concrete, got helped up immediately, and kept on going until I realized that I was bleeding on people, so I went to get patched up before Bad Religion, and kept on going when they started. That's how it works at these shows. If it were the other one that I started bleeding at, I would have stopped because it wouldn't have been worth it (in fact, I stopped really early during RBF then).
Warped Tour was overall a big success in revitalizing my hopes for the "art" of the punk show. I'm excited to go see more shows with older bands so that more of the veterans will show up with me and again teach the younger crowd how to properly mosh. As for the newer bands and the ones that are getting modern attention, I'm going to think twice about seeing them again. But as for Warped Tour? I'll be back next year.
Thus, I went, and I must say, this show was nothing like the one I went to a little over a week before. The first band that I saw was Tiger Army, and since my eye was caught by the old guy playing punk on an upright bass, and since I had a desire to go ahead and start the day, I went into the pit on the last song. It was really lame. At first I thought it would be good because I saw the people in it moving around in a circle. This was the uniformity, I thought, that the other show was lacking, and it reminded me of my times at previous shows. Going in I realized that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be because it turned out that everyone was just running in a circle. This didn't really discourage me, though, because I figured that the fans were just not that into the moshing, which happened with Reggie and the Full Effect a few years ago (that was actually the worst sight that I had seen at a punk show, seeing that there was a HUGE hole and NO ONE was moshing... poor Reggie).
After that, my friends and I did the walk around and got the normal Warped Tour free merchandise: condoms, Monster, and free CDs. Usually I buy a shirt while I'm there, but since no one had any that were excellent, I settled on going to the Harley Davidson tent and doing a "Strong Man" contest with a hammer and bell, and ended up winning a shirt. To my surprise, it was a Bad Religion shirt with a small Harley logo on the back and no X-ed out crosses! Woohoo! In the end, I bought a couple buttons from a bad called "Angry Penguin" because I was looking for buttons, these were some of the only buttons around, and their logo was excellent:
To make a long review short, I went to Pennywise and Bad Religion and had a genuinely great time. I could mosh and crowd surf to my heart's desire without the guilt. These pits were the ones I had been looking for at the other show with uniform moshing instead of uniform skanking (seeing as these were punk bands, not ska). The participants were running and pushing each other without throwing themselves across the pit slamming into people, which was the case at the other show that really pissed me off. These bands sounded like what you'd expect them to, too without a loss of quality (with, you know, as much quality as you get out of punk music). I remember my friend Tony saying that he didn't expect the singer from Bad Religion to sound very good live, but after the show he recognized that he actually sounded really good, like he was supposed to.
And so we come to the real question and intent of this post: what was it that made these pits so much better than ones at the other concer Was it the fact that the concerts were different in genre? Was it the venue and the allowances by it? Or, was it the age groups involved in the pit? Quickly I'd overrule the first due to the fact that similar moshing techniques are supposed to be used for both genres. The second does have to do a little with it, since we are left to our own thing in the Amphitheatre, unlike the NorVA, which prohibited crowd surfing and anything but minute skanking. The real reason, I believe, that this these bands were successful, though, was that the age groups meshed well. Bad Religion and Pennywise have been around since the 80s, attracting fans from three different decades into their moshpit. This lets the experienced ones from the 80s and 90s lead the way, and then this decade's group has no choice but to follow, or else some big 40-year old bald guy will kick their ass. More people my age and older were in this pit while the high schoolers and pre-teens were off to the side listening, waiting for the tracks off of Guitar Hero to come on. In the end, though, to the ones that did participate, I hope you all learned something about moshing, from technique to manners. I was knocked down once at Pennywise and had my elbow all torn up on the concrete, got helped up immediately, and kept on going until I realized that I was bleeding on people, so I went to get patched up before Bad Religion, and kept on going when they started. That's how it works at these shows. If it were the other one that I started bleeding at, I would have stopped because it wouldn't have been worth it (in fact, I stopped really early during RBF then).
Warped Tour was overall a big success in revitalizing my hopes for the "art" of the punk show. I'm excited to go see more shows with older bands so that more of the veterans will show up with me and again teach the younger crowd how to properly mosh. As for the newer bands and the ones that are getting modern attention, I'm going to think twice about seeing them again. But as for Warped Tour? I'll be back next year.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Concert Review: Reel Big Fish/Less Than Jake
This is off from a normal review, as I am reviewing a punk/ska show and assessing how the scene has changed from when I used to go to shows every few months in high school. But, as it is a music that I enjoyed to listen to for the majority of my first three years in high school, and is still getting attention from nostalgists and 14-year olds alike, it seems like a relevant thing to talk about.
First off, allow me to review the two headliners' performances. I had seen Less Than Jake once at Warped Tour last year, and I've seen Reel Big Fish probably four or five times now. Less Than Jake put on an actual show, which is to say that they were unconventional in their performance by adding some showmanship. Through audience participation they played a version of "The Price is Right" to determine what songs they would play. This is good for both the band and audience alike because their shows aren't so monotonous and they actually show a sort of connection with the audience by asking questions pertaining to the state in which they are playing and allowing audience members to participate in their game. As for their performance, they sounded live like they did on their records. No innovation, but who cares about musical innovation when you go to a punk show? Oh, and they disregarded their terrible latest album, which is awesome for old fans.
Reel Big Fish was a huge let down for me this year. In the past they entertained through jokes both inside and aside from music. This year, they did the same thing. The exact same thing. They played "Enter Sandman" in a ska style and played "S.R." in a slew of different musical styles. While it was fun to hear them do that the first time, and while they may have tacked on one or two new styles to play "S.R." in, they just rehashed their show from last year. This, unlike Less Than Jake and bands like Suburban Legends (who actually put on a show by doing acrobatics and, terrifyingly, throwing around their instruments), gives off the inclination that they just don't give a shit. Also, Reel Big Fish played pretty much the exact same set list as last year, replacing a few of their better older songs with a few blah new ones, including a cover of Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise" that was terribly mediocre in entertainment.
As for the state of the show itself, I was sorely dissatisfied. The main reason I go to punk shows is not to see the band play, because although I like seeing people spin a big ass wheel via "Price" in real life, I'm not shelling out twenty bucks just for that. I go for the "dancing", the running into people, the crowd surfing. It's like violence without intentionally hurting people. Or, at least, that's what it should be. Back five years ago I would have just said that the main problems were the assholes who came in the mosh pit with either a., bald with no shirt and huge muscles, or b., decked out in spikes and studs, and swung all around with no regard to anyone else, thus punching them in the face and causing injury. Now-a-days there are these kids that think that they know what to do at these shows running around and running into everyone.
Allow me to point out something that's important to understand before continuing. There's a different between punk and ska mosh pits. Ska is more about the skanking--the dancing that is done by kicking out your feet and leaning forward with your arms swinging like you're running; Punk is more about pushing people and running into them. Less Than Jake, which has songs that emulate both ska and punk, can be understood to have a crowd that likes both kinds of moshing. That's what I accepted it to be at first, but then during Reel Big Fish I realized it really didn't go that way. People did not want to leave the skank circles alone, thus really pissing the participants off. You used to be able to skank with a bunch of people in a circle with an occasional person jumping in the middle going crazy. This is no more, and instead is just a bunch of people trying to break up any uniformity of goings-on. And, not only that, but notice I said "running into" and not "pushing". People are using their whole bodies now, which is more painful and more disorienting than a good push. At least, that's how I feel.
I blame it on the new 14-17 year old age group who just haven't been to anything but emo and hardcore shows. There's always a time to learn, but a lot of these kids really think they know what they're doing because they're part of some sort of "scene". Well, fuck the scene. I know everyone says that, including scene kids. But whatever. They're ruining the shows for the people who enjoy it the most: the ones old enough to be nostalgic but not old enough to not mosh.
Oh, and authority figures trying to prevent skanking and totally not allowing crowd surfing? Give me a break. Later this week: review of Van's Warped Tour 2007.
First off, allow me to review the two headliners' performances. I had seen Less Than Jake once at Warped Tour last year, and I've seen Reel Big Fish probably four or five times now. Less Than Jake put on an actual show, which is to say that they were unconventional in their performance by adding some showmanship. Through audience participation they played a version of "The Price is Right" to determine what songs they would play. This is good for both the band and audience alike because their shows aren't so monotonous and they actually show a sort of connection with the audience by asking questions pertaining to the state in which they are playing and allowing audience members to participate in their game. As for their performance, they sounded live like they did on their records. No innovation, but who cares about musical innovation when you go to a punk show? Oh, and they disregarded their terrible latest album, which is awesome for old fans.
Reel Big Fish was a huge let down for me this year. In the past they entertained through jokes both inside and aside from music. This year, they did the same thing. The exact same thing. They played "Enter Sandman" in a ska style and played "S.R." in a slew of different musical styles. While it was fun to hear them do that the first time, and while they may have tacked on one or two new styles to play "S.R." in, they just rehashed their show from last year. This, unlike Less Than Jake and bands like Suburban Legends (who actually put on a show by doing acrobatics and, terrifyingly, throwing around their instruments), gives off the inclination that they just don't give a shit. Also, Reel Big Fish played pretty much the exact same set list as last year, replacing a few of their better older songs with a few blah new ones, including a cover of Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise" that was terribly mediocre in entertainment.
As for the state of the show itself, I was sorely dissatisfied. The main reason I go to punk shows is not to see the band play, because although I like seeing people spin a big ass wheel via "Price" in real life, I'm not shelling out twenty bucks just for that. I go for the "dancing", the running into people, the crowd surfing. It's like violence without intentionally hurting people. Or, at least, that's what it should be. Back five years ago I would have just said that the main problems were the assholes who came in the mosh pit with either a., bald with no shirt and huge muscles, or b., decked out in spikes and studs, and swung all around with no regard to anyone else, thus punching them in the face and causing injury. Now-a-days there are these kids that think that they know what to do at these shows running around and running into everyone.
Allow me to point out something that's important to understand before continuing. There's a different between punk and ska mosh pits. Ska is more about the skanking--the dancing that is done by kicking out your feet and leaning forward with your arms swinging like you're running; Punk is more about pushing people and running into them. Less Than Jake, which has songs that emulate both ska and punk, can be understood to have a crowd that likes both kinds of moshing. That's what I accepted it to be at first, but then during Reel Big Fish I realized it really didn't go that way. People did not want to leave the skank circles alone, thus really pissing the participants off. You used to be able to skank with a bunch of people in a circle with an occasional person jumping in the middle going crazy. This is no more, and instead is just a bunch of people trying to break up any uniformity of goings-on. And, not only that, but notice I said "running into" and not "pushing". People are using their whole bodies now, which is more painful and more disorienting than a good push. At least, that's how I feel.
I blame it on the new 14-17 year old age group who just haven't been to anything but emo and hardcore shows. There's always a time to learn, but a lot of these kids really think they know what they're doing because they're part of some sort of "scene". Well, fuck the scene. I know everyone says that, including scene kids. But whatever. They're ruining the shows for the people who enjoy it the most: the ones old enough to be nostalgic but not old enough to not mosh.
Oh, and authority figures trying to prevent skanking and totally not allowing crowd surfing? Give me a break. Later this week: review of Van's Warped Tour 2007.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Review: They Might Be Giants - The Else
REVIEW
They Might Be Giants - The Else
Believe it or not, after seeing them live, I wasn't too thrilled about hearing this album. But, luckily, their production skills are so good that it's not fair to judge them or their songs by their live performances, especially when they have to lower their expansive arsenal of instruments and sounds to a mere quintet setting. After the sorely mediocre Mink Car, the better The Spine, and finally the mostly sour Venue Songs, The Else has proven to be their best album in years.
A lot of people are going to be critical upon this album upon first listen, especially if it's a casual one. Songs like "Upside-Down Frown" even has a title that will make most cringe, "Bee of the Bird of the Moth" has a beginning that can easily make someone quickly disinterested, and "Take Out the Trash" can come across as disgustingly too poppy. Never fear, though! They Might Be Giants has proven in the past to take terrible pop ideas and transform them into great works of art; it's just that of the past few albums have made fans like me very cautious about listening to their new material.
"Upside-Down Frown" is a song that's lyrics are lame, but TMBG has been known in the past to make songs like this with excellent parts in it to make it catchy and end up good. Remember "Sleeping in the Flowers"? Potentially very lame, but in the end turns out to be very likable. Listen to the lyrics around the chorus and the musicality of the instrumentation and you'll find the song to be like others with choruses that are meant to be more satirical than serious. That's an element that TMBG has used in the past, but as noted before, fans don't trust their ability to do it and make the rest of the song good anymore.
In terms of "Take Out the Trash", yes, it's poppy, but I'd be damned if it weren't a song that outlines the reason that music connoisseurs can stand to still listen to some pop music. It's catchy, and the lyrics aren't all that bad. It may be lame to say "Girl!/Why not take out the trash?" because it's a ridiculously un-clever and obvious metaphor, but they make it work, especially when they add the oddly creative, indirect TMBG touch to it with lyrics like "I'm not saying all the boys are the same/But, some boys are the same and it's Thursday now".
Finally, "Bird of the Bee of the Moth" needs to be listened to all the way through. It ends up sounding like an old song of their due to what they do with the instruments that they have.
Getting through the mislabeled-as-"bad" songs, allow me to praise some of the best on the album. One review I read called "The Mesopotamians" gimmicky. HELLO. This song is what this band is really all about: creative, lyrical song writing. Are songs like "Why Does the Sun Shine?" and "James K. Polk" terrible because it deals with factual information and turns that information into a creative song? "The Mesopotamians" is awesome because it returns to that style of TMBG writing and makes great use of it. And, whoever says that song is solely about a traveling band needs to go back to high school and take a World History class.
"Feign Amnesia" is another song that returns to TMBG writing that long-time fans have loved. It's funny and a creative way to talk about situations that normal pop songs expire easily with writing of the opposite quality. "The Cap'm" is my personal favorite due to an initial hook and the hilarity of the lyrics themselves. Yes, John, I do agree: that hat looks damn good on you.
In the end, The Else can be called a return to form for They Might Be Giants. With songwriting that has been repaired and carefully crafted to the genius that we know them for, it turns out to be an album that is worthy of a spot next to "John Henry" and even "Factory Showroom".
They Might Be Giants - The Else
Believe it or not, after seeing them live, I wasn't too thrilled about hearing this album. But, luckily, their production skills are so good that it's not fair to judge them or their songs by their live performances, especially when they have to lower their expansive arsenal of instruments and sounds to a mere quintet setting. After the sorely mediocre Mink Car, the better The Spine, and finally the mostly sour Venue Songs, The Else has proven to be their best album in years.
A lot of people are going to be critical upon this album upon first listen, especially if it's a casual one. Songs like "Upside-Down Frown" even has a title that will make most cringe, "Bee of the Bird of the Moth" has a beginning that can easily make someone quickly disinterested, and "Take Out the Trash" can come across as disgustingly too poppy. Never fear, though! They Might Be Giants has proven in the past to take terrible pop ideas and transform them into great works of art; it's just that of the past few albums have made fans like me very cautious about listening to their new material.
"Upside-Down Frown" is a song that's lyrics are lame, but TMBG has been known in the past to make songs like this with excellent parts in it to make it catchy and end up good. Remember "Sleeping in the Flowers"? Potentially very lame, but in the end turns out to be very likable. Listen to the lyrics around the chorus and the musicality of the instrumentation and you'll find the song to be like others with choruses that are meant to be more satirical than serious. That's an element that TMBG has used in the past, but as noted before, fans don't trust their ability to do it and make the rest of the song good anymore.
In terms of "Take Out the Trash", yes, it's poppy, but I'd be damned if it weren't a song that outlines the reason that music connoisseurs can stand to still listen to some pop music. It's catchy, and the lyrics aren't all that bad. It may be lame to say "Girl!/Why not take out the trash?" because it's a ridiculously un-clever and obvious metaphor, but they make it work, especially when they add the oddly creative, indirect TMBG touch to it with lyrics like "I'm not saying all the boys are the same/But, some boys are the same and it's Thursday now".
Finally, "Bird of the Bee of the Moth" needs to be listened to all the way through. It ends up sounding like an old song of their due to what they do with the instruments that they have.
Getting through the mislabeled-as-"bad" songs, allow me to praise some of the best on the album. One review I read called "The Mesopotamians" gimmicky. HELLO. This song is what this band is really all about: creative, lyrical song writing. Are songs like "Why Does the Sun Shine?" and "James K. Polk" terrible because it deals with factual information and turns that information into a creative song? "The Mesopotamians" is awesome because it returns to that style of TMBG writing and makes great use of it. And, whoever says that song is solely about a traveling band needs to go back to high school and take a World History class.
"Feign Amnesia" is another song that returns to TMBG writing that long-time fans have loved. It's funny and a creative way to talk about situations that normal pop songs expire easily with writing of the opposite quality. "The Cap'm" is my personal favorite due to an initial hook and the hilarity of the lyrics themselves. Yes, John, I do agree: that hat looks damn good on you.
In the end, The Else can be called a return to form for They Might Be Giants. With songwriting that has been repaired and carefully crafted to the genius that we know them for, it turns out to be an album that is worthy of a spot next to "John Henry" and even "Factory Showroom".
Monday, July 9, 2007
Short Introduction
Welcome to my new blog. Basically I plan this to serve as a stream-of-consciousness-type blog dealing with issues and questions in music from the standpoint of a lowly, but opinionated, Virginia-based saxophone player. I will not hesitate to post my feelings on any subject matter at a given time, but I, as should you, do recognize that as I grow and develop as a player and as a human being in general, my opinions are subject to change or alter based on learning new things and reading new opinions. Thus, if you read this blog, I encourage you to post your thoughts on my own.
So, let's all have fun and rip the shit out of each other and issues in the music scene today. In the end, some of us may lose our dignity and a couple of limbs, but DAMN will we have had a good discussion!
So, let's all have fun and rip the shit out of each other and issues in the music scene today. In the end, some of us may lose our dignity and a couple of limbs, but DAMN will we have had a good discussion!
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