Pointless Man

I think I'm going to try to revive my online writing habits, outside of Facebook. And what have I been thinking or feeling in the interim, across the last couple years or so? Well, I'm glad you asked. In part, this .

I mean it this time. For years now, I have intended to purchase something to protect my ears, my precious, precious ears, from noise--particularly loud concerts I am likely to attend with my friend, Noizetrauma. Once again, I have neglected this duty, exposing my hearing apparatus's to a four show set at Seattle's Neumos featuring noise-rock, industrial metal, drum and bass, and ambient drone. Clearly, this was a mistake, as I am now suffering tinnitus a full day later. However, I do not regret going. The opening set (by La Fin Absolute du Monde, an appealing duo composed of one talented, handsome, black, male guitarist, and one Asian, mood-setting, beautiful, and less talented female keyboardist/computerist/singer) started off laughably bad, but was short, and finished very strongly with a distortion-laden peon to breaking up. With some packaging (including better production and some voice training), this group could put on a good show. The second set (by the second of wha...

I have been a sometimes-fan of Prince since I first sat down and listened to an LP of Purple Rain back in the early '90s.  That 1984 record is probably the best rock album of its decade. Still, in all that time, I've never been able to bring myself to watch the movie in its entirety until this last Wednesday. I'm not sure I've seen a better representation of mid-80s goofiness, self indulgence, or childish faux-sexuality in a single movie. It was fantastic--almost as good as the record, though, of course, for completely different reasons. I'm not sure if I can't recommend it, or can't recommend it enough.

Chris Ware's comics are playful, well honed, much honoured, and have been highly influential over the last decade.  However, their appeal eludes me.  His drawings, design, and layouts are cold.  So, too, his bone dry humour.  Frankly, I find his work boring, in form and function.   Intellectually and as entertainment, it offers me nothing. I feel (somewhat) similarly disconnected to the music of Charles Mingus. Still, when people tell me Charlie is a genius, a fantastic band leader, and quite possibly the greatest jazz bassist ever, said persons almost always know more about jazz than I do.  I believe, in this case case I may be missing something others key into.  I believe it because it is an oft held view among people who understand the medium and its history better than I do. I don't think that's what's going on when someone tells me Chris Ware is a genius .  More often, it's like people who hardly know anything about art praising 'the Mona...

Nevermind his stage name messing with my attempts to talk about Jeff Beck from time to time. I can live with that. But I cannot stand Guero or 'Loser', and can only tolerate Odelay due to distance of time. On the other hand, I like Modern Guilt , and think Midnight Vultures , Sea Change , and Mutations are brilliant. Beck is, therefore, one of my favourite and least favourite musicians. He presents a problem when filling out lists for sites like this or Facebook. Should I just list his albums I dig? And if I do that, should I do so for other artists? I know I'm overthinking this, but there is no way to happily solve this matter, as far as I'm concerned.

Listening to Sage Francis's 2005 album, A Healthy Distrust . The opening track, 'The Buzz Kill' , is, among other things, about an American denial of supposedly quintessential American values via our rhetorical offensive on the French. 'Freedom fries' are referenced, but never mentioned. These are juxtaposed with '50s-sounding clips about 'the Sage', a supercomputer protecting America from the nuclear threat of the Soviet empire. This is (sadly) complex enough to render its meaning obtuse to many. But how will future generations of those smart enough to unravel the song interpret it? If America gets the break it so clearly desires from the general feel or effects of the Bush era (perhaps as was afforded those of my generation with the fall of the USSR and its walls), how will a girl who's ten now understand Sage's lyrics when she's twenty and getting into hip-hop? Back, then, to the titular question. Those of us who were paying attention at t...

The original release (less the CD 'bonus' tracks) is the best rock album of all time. 'Baba O'Riley' opening notes always make my eyes crinkle in a smile. After many listens, my whole body anticipates the moments the drums kick in from that first bit of synth. When you hit the fiddle at the end of that opening track, you're reached the plateau. No flagging moments on this record; just a rush right through to 'Won't Get Fooled Again'. Who's Next may not offer the forward thinking production of late Beatles material, or the towering rock of Led Zepplin, but, in exchange, the Who offer superior commentary and vision (both satiric and earnest), as well as better played piano, bass, and drums, in a tight little package whose coherence as a single piece is rarely challenged in classic rock. Now, to tie this in to recent events, many is the revolution people have cheered. How many have brought the 'change we need'? Here's hoping this boss ...

Even though I wasn't alive at the time, I miss the days when I could trust Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground to tell me what women were saying. No more will Lou supply us with creatively entitled songs such as, 'Lisa Says', 'Stephanie Says', or 'Candy Says'. Why has no one picked up the slack? Does no one speak to women anymore?

In response to something somewhere else: I consider 'taste' as personal, but 'good' as intersubjective. What appeals to any one person is largely dependent on their circumstances and exposure, and may not be readily changed by reasoning. But it is not necessary to base one's idea of 'good' wholly upon one's tastes. After all, one can be told how and why slices of sharp cheddar and tart apple complement eachother, and thus recognize this as a good combination worthy of recommendation to others, yet still not enjoy it (much, if at all) personally. One can recognize a good banjo player without especially enjoying the sound a banjo makes. And so on. Of course, not everybody is capable of or interested in being able to appreciate or understand things which do not particularly appeal to or please them. It is something of an acquired taste, and bias can get in its way. Everybody has their limits. I still cannot quite hear why Charles Mingus is so revered in jaz...

but Blockhead's Uncle Tony's Coloring Book is awesome. Can you listen to it and not love life? I suppose it's possible, if you hate good music. More later?

My love of early '80s synth rock cannot easily be overstated. I am also a big fan of certain folk acts. Coincidence? I think not. The connection is simple. Watch this performance by The Kingston Trio , and then this video from Van Halen . You can't tell me those guys aren't all dorks.

A little over a year ago, I said the Kooks were alright . That was indeed true of their first album, Inside In/Inside Out . Their second LP, Konk , is not strong. While my last post on the band held there to be nothing wrong with good pop-rock, this new release isn't good. Focusing on the pop, they lose a bit of the rock, and seem to throw away that (post) Brit-pop thing they had going on. Not one track stands out as anything but inane background music for some primetime drama. It's a shame, and a loss to fans of accessible rock. Here's hoping their next effort takes them back to their roots.

Citizens, hear me out. This could happen to you: Trying to come up with a title for this post, I was looking up the lyrics for the Kingston Trio's rendition of 'Zombie Jamboree' (from which this post's title was culled). The first link Google came up with said it had what I needed, so I clicked on it, and started reading. Sure enough, the page itself said it offered the lyrics for the relevant song, as follows. "Cause he gets up in the morning, / And he goes to work at nine, / And he comes back home at five-thirty, / Gets the same train every time. / 'Cause his world is built 'round punctuality, / It never fails." As I read, I had the growing fear that someone had confused a Kinks song about a young bourgeois Brit for an American ditty about a zombie dance-party . By the end of the stanza, I was convinced. I understand the Davies brothers can seem be creepy, but really. Ah, the Internet age, an era with misinformation ever at your fingertips. To make...

Listening to When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint that Shit Gold . Not only is the title stupid, the raps are tired, and the production is incredibly poppy for a supposedly underground hip hop act. Boring. Slug, Atmosphere's MC, has been done for some time now, and it seems rumours of his resurrection have been greatly exaggerated.

If you regularly refer to the year, are you, as an MC, condemning your raps to being all but hopelessly dated in 12 months or less? And if so, what motivates you to constantly remind people what year it is, dog?

When feeling down, there's little so perfect for the mood as the music produced by Japanese rock group, LUNA SEA. Unlike, say, Leonard Cohen or Ryan Adams, they will not drive you to suicide. And, as opposed to, say, Hootie and the Blowfish, their music won't conflict with your state of mind to the point that you want to kill the lead singer--that would be Darius Rucker, who, to this day, probably runs into people who think his name is Hootie. With just enough angst, high pitched post-post-punk guitars, driving basslines, and thrashing drums, every LUNA SEA song is a paroxysm of pent up youthful desire and ambition. Declarations such as, "I want love. I want to love," and, "I choose my final way. I am the trigger," reinforce what you already knew just listening to the music. If you can empathize in any fashion, LUNA SEA will place you on the edge of hope. Follow this with some of the more upbeat material from Siam Shade or L'Arc en Ciel, and you have my ...

Damn you and your well intentioned cover of 'China Girl'. I want to like the original version you worked on with Iggy Pop. It is, uncontestably, awesome. But you, with your poppy remake, recorded to help Iggy straighten out his finances... you just make it impossible. I can't listen to the original without hearing the later version in my head. This is all your fault!

Really. I find, when I download or burn new music to my computer, or when I'm discussing it, I want to be able to pin it down, if only a bit. In conversation, I don't mind imprecision, because there's room for it, and it can be explained. But when it comes to MP3 labels or the like, where they want a single entry, damnit. That is so frustrating. How the hell am I supposed to label Joy Division (who straddles punk, post-punk, new wave, and proto-goth) , Television (with similar and even wider conflicts), or the vast swath of R&B/Jump-blues/Rock-&-roll artists? Bah. It gets worse dealing with small scene stuff, with all the crazy sub and cross genre work. And the silly thing is I don't even think genre classification matters all that much. I think arguments about whether electronic music should be called 'house', 'techno', 'drumb and bass' (all genres or sub-genres unto themselves, as well as blanket terms in certain communities), 'EDM...

Mad different from their live, band-backed show, but still tight. It's nice to have my hands on it a month before it comes out nationally. Hopefully, when it drops, its publisher, Rawkus, will help it get the recognition it deserves. This shit could be a crossover hit if it just gets enough exposure. If the Seattle hip-hop scene is going to break nationally, this is the level its albums will have to be at. Though it's pop friendly, Bayani stands as an artistic move forward for Geo and Sabzi, both of whom show growth in their trade on this disc. More importantly, the two have exhibited greater synergy with each new release. Their latest record has an expanded sound; each track sets its own tone while remaining consistent with the whole of the album. As has been pointed out in local reviews, it doesn't entirely abandon the boom-bap sound or leftist principles that made the Scholars local heroes. There are a few party tracks that could be bumped by some frat boys without muc...

Caught the show on Saturday, the second of two sold out gigs at the Showbox in downtown Seattle. It's been a while since I saw the duo live. In fact, the last time I caught them, it was the release party for their first edition of their debut disc back in '04. That was at a little club in the International District, and might have had about 100 people in attendance, most of them friends of the groups playing. This was a little different. The all ages show was packed with teenagers who fucking love the Blue Scholars. I knew they had become popular, but this still surprised me. It was crazy. As fans filed in, a lackluster DJ played a laid back, informal set. It was nice to have something other than a pretaped playlist running, as most shows tend to have, but this guy needs to work on his transitions, nevermind his scratching. Dude played for about fourty-five minutes before we were treated to a much more impressive performance from Kidz in the Hall . I guarantee you 90% of the cr...