When I was fifteen years old back in the early 80s, I played drums in a goofy rock band called White Raven. We sucked (and I stood out as the suckiest of the bunch) and performed mostly tired covers of familiar rock FM radio tunes (“Living after Midnight” / Judas Priest, “Rock and Roll” / Led Zeppelin, and of course “Paranoid” / Black Sabbath), and some pretty lame original songs. We played several shows at a greasy venue on State Street in Salt Lake called R. Comforts (I remember opening a few times for probably the best heavy metal band in Utah at the time called Truce). Anyway, the only thing that saved us from getting booed off the stage night after night was our lead singer – a gorgeous, twenty one year blond bombshell, thanks to whom people actually paid attention during our sets and even clapped between songs.

Those were the days of uncountable pop metal outfits (or what we simply called back then “metal” bands – a sound and look recently and regrettably reconstructed as “hair metal”), and some of my favorites were groups like Don Dokken, Ron Keel, Fastway, Ratt, Michael Schenker, Accept, Yngwie Malmsteen, Krokus, and Alcatraz. These were artists who supplied plenty of repetitive riffs and catchy hooks satisfying the appetite for hard rock of any twelve year old dime store stoner.

Having a fit of nostalgia for such musical stylings, I ventured into Clifton Park, New York several weeks ago to catch a few bands who carry the characteristics of many of the early 80s metal bands (easy hooks and endless riffs). Such bands seem to be a dime a dozen these days including the likes of Seether, Daughtry, Adelitas Way, and Rev Theory. The headliner of the evening was Halestorm, featuring the babelicious Lizzy Hale on lead vocal, leaving me to wonder if the show was worth it for the music or just to see Lizzy prance around stage in tight leather pants. My first priority, however, was to quench my sentimental thirst for some cheap and cheesy tunes – and with Halestorm’s song titles including “Love Bites (So Do I),” “Daughters of Darkness,” and  “You Call Me a Bitch Like it’s a Bad Thing” how could I lose?

New Medicine

The first opener was New Medicine who right out of the gates effectively fulfilled my expectations for the evening through their execution of several crowd pleasing sing-a-longs and power ballads. The most memorable/humorous moment for me came during the seventh song with the performance of the band’s newest single “Rich Kids” (a lament, according to singer Jake Scherer, directed at those darned “rich kids” from high school) thanks to the following lyric:

“I coulda went to college like rich kids do, Buy some weed with the money that your mom sent you, But I don’t give a damn bout no higher degree, Cause you know in rock and roll, I got a PhD…” – (a brilliant anthem that will no doubt raise the ambitions of today’s youth)

New Medicine has apparently been touring for some time with Halestorm, and the two bands’ palsey-walseyness was displayed when the drummer for Halestorm, Arejay Hale, emerged onto the stage to accompany Scherer with some backing vocals during the set’s final number, and most aggressive rocker – “Race You to the Bottom.”

Cavo

The second act of the night, Cavo, delivered a much more interesting set (but less crowd-pleasing somehow), which I seemed to enjoy more than anyone else in the venue. Cavo is a rock band from St. Louis, and features a couple of guys who adeptly know their way around guitars – a lights out bassist (Brian Smith – who cranked out a really cool solo in the opener “Ready to Go”)  and a riffilific craftsman of a guitarist (Chris Hobbs), whose art was especially on display during the set closer “Champagne.” Since Cavo offers such musical talent (at least on bass and guitar – drums, eh), their song lyrics only had to be slightly passable to avoid me ranking them between the cheeze whiz and marshmallows (which is where New Medicine ended up). Singer Casey Walker did occasionally veer into the valley of silly lyricdom (the title song from their new album Think as Thieves the most explicit culprit), but for the most part a solid, interesting set – enough to prod me into checking out their new cd.

Here is a clip of a great acoustic performance of my favorite Cavo tune entitled “Circles (check out Smith playing the stand-up bass)

Halestorm

Halestorm is a tight, talented rock band with an enthusiastic fan base (thanks to Lizzy, much of which consists of thirteen year old boys). In fact, watching Ms. Hale perform brought back memories of the crush I had on Lita Ford in middle school. The good news is that aside from the aesthetic pleasures of watching Halestorm perform, they did provide a musically provocative show.

I found that the strength of the performance arose from Halestorm’s ability to utilize the variety of their catalogue to keep the set balanced and stimulating. The show was structured into three parts, beginning with several tunes from their latest album, The Strange Case of… such as “Love Bites (So Do I),” “Mz. Hyde,” and “American Boys.” The centerpiece consisted of Lizzy’s brother Arejay performing a solid drum solo – one of the more interesting I’ve seen in this intimate of a setting. A few numbers later, Lizzy added two ballads, one accompanied only by herself on piano, and the other with support from the band. Halestorm predictably finished the set with their radio hits “I Miss the Misery,”  “I Get Off,” and “Here’s to Us.

So what if “You Call Me a Bitch Like It’s a Bad Thing,” possibly represents the lamest song title since Madame X’s “We Reserve the Right to Rock” from 1984, Halestorm serves up an energetic, diverse, and nicely executed show that successfully directed my attention away from the non-musical distractions offered by their lead singer.

Madam X

In case anyone is interested. I’ve posted some video from the show – the encore (big radio hit) “Here’s to Us” and the piano ballad “Requiem.”

I would argue most music arising from the genres often characterized as alternative and indie rock and metal (as well as their various sub-genres) sounds the way it does because of the musical styles and influences of two 1970s super groups – Black Sabbath and Roxy Music. In fact, I would say that most rock music I take seriously – from metal to punk, to synth pop to grunge – owes a huge debt to both bands. I credit Roxy Music / Brian Ferry / Brian Eno for introducing an experimental sound with a pop sensibility, and a distractingly colorful image (call it “glam” or whatever) to mainstream rock music, which was at the time trapped in the realm of spacey, guitar-based music, now identified as progressive rock. Ask any aficionado of 80s synth pop, new wave, or late 70s British Punk how Ferry and Eno affected those genres, or check with contemporary electronic pop,  and rock artists who have covered  or even adopted some of Roxy’s stylings wholesale (see the most recent Destroyer album as a rehash of the epic late Roxy album Avalon).

By the same token, I don’t think hard rock and metal could ever let go of the Sabbath influences (and they shouldn’t), but I love seeing the characteristics of their music creep into the compositions of less heavy acts. I could take or leave Ozzy Osborne (or even Ronny James Dio), but there is something about the rhythm section of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward that never fails to fascinate, and whenever I encounter anything close to the deepest darkest black hole base lines and extraordinarily creative and unpredictable beats (and don’t forget Tony Iommi’s brilliant riffs) that characterized early Sabbath tunes like “Wheels of Confusion,” “Hand of Doom,” and “N.I.B.” I am entranced. In any case, this excessive (and maybe even misguided) diatribe about my take on musical influences is a direct result of my attending the Silversun Pickups show last Saturday night – where I spent nearly the entire event thinking about Butler and Ward and believing that the Pickups and their supporting acts might just represent the perfect culmination of how Roxy Music and Black Sabbath have influenced rock.

I certainly wouldn’t have made such a connection about Silversun Pickups before attending the show – being a casual fan of the band, I perceived them more as a synth driven alt rock act with some catchy hook-sporting singles. However, the strong bass work and guitar riffs on display by all the bands during the show in the midst of radio-friendly singles such as “Panic Switch” and “The Pit” prompted me to consider if what I was experiencing was an amalgamation of the Roxy-influenced electronic-based radio pop and an indirect take on the classic Sabbath sound.

There is nothing much to report critically about the evening. As expected, all of the bands on the bill killed it. I was really looking forward to the show – In addition to Silversun Pickups, I find Cloud Nothings new album Attack on Memory one of the best of the year so far, and although I was only familiar with one song, the single, “Trojans,” by Atlas Genius, I was curious to hear them live. Cloud Nothings performance, positioned in the middle of the bill functioned as an abrupt diversion from the combination of bass heaviness and synthy keyboards of Atlas Genius (and the later Silversun Pickups set), as their sound and excessive energy is much more reminiscent of relentless metal and punk bands (which somehow fails to express itself with equal force in the band’s recording efforts).

Cloud Nothings

From the outset, Cloud Nothings pummeled the audience with tireless, guitar-heavy, 8 + minute epic tunes like “Fall In” and “No Future, No Past” (the first and last numbers of the set). My favorite Cloud Nothings moment, however, arrived in the middle of the set with “Wasted Days” that by its midpoint merged into a nearly 12-minute jam initiated by a single screeching bass riff soon complemented by the band’s dual guitar attack. It was definitely a brutal (in the best way) 45 minutes and left those unfamiliar with the live intensity of Cloud Nothings (including me) with a bit of shellshock.

Atlas Genius began the show and absolutely killed it. The band played several tunes from their forthcoming album, songs from new EP Through the Glass, and of course the radio hit “Trojans” (or as lead singer Keith Jeffrey identified it “a song about a horse”). I was mostly impressed with how this band fully develops its musical ideas. Songs like “On a Day Like This” and “Symptoms” were especially notable and after the initial hooks and riffs of these tunes, the band members aired them out with great bass lines, crafty drumming, and interesting guitar solos. The set reflected the musical talent and imaginativeness of this tight band, and I look forward to the release of their full-length.

Silversun Pickups’ lineup has been affected on tour with the maternity of bassist and backup vocalist Nikki Monninger. Her touring replacement is bassist Sarah Negahdari from the band The Happy Hollows (she is the lead guitarist and singer for that band).  I’ve always felt that Monniger’s bass and cutsey harmonizing vocals establish what I’ve liked most about Silversun Pickups music, but Negahdari is without doubt an awesome bassist (judging by a few Happy Hollows YouTube clips, she also appears to be a solid guitarist), and as I have suggested the hard rock riffs offered by Brian Aubert combined with Negahdari’s deep bass lines provided a live sound totally born of Iommi and Butler (tempered with the peppiness of more explicitly Sabbath-influenced alt rock bands like The Smashing Pumpkins).

The performance of their radio hits was certainly nice, but the show was most enjoyable when Aubert and Negahdari let it rip during some of the side-two selections from Neck of the Woods like “Simmer,” and “Gun-Shy Sunshine.” The show hit its energetic peak with the performances of “Panic Room” – a favorite of mine anyway – and “Lazy Eye.” The intensity and resounding crescendos brought to these tunes with the booming bass and durable guitar riffs nearly bounced me and everyone else off the ceiling – the higher tempo moments of “Lazy Eye” particularly shined in a way the studio recording hasn’t for me. This was my first foray into a Silversun Pickups show, so I don’t know if the live lineup with Monniger is any more or less provocative than with Negahdari on board.

After all of these comparisons I’ve made between the bands of the evening and the bands of ancient history, I’m reminded of Geezer Butler’s comment directly after the cover art of Sabbath’s Born Again album was revealed to him – “It’s shit. But it’s fucking great!” Throw that image into a pot with the sophisticated swarthiness of Brian Ferry crooning like a vampire while wearing a white tux and black tie, and what emerges is an image of how I feel about this show. I love that contemporary rock music with all of its freshness (at least at times it’s fresh) can be nostalgic enough to unearth moments that remind me of the diverse, disjointed, and fragmented sounds that brought me into the fold in the first place and has kept me there ever since.

I know it’s a tired medium, but I love writing these “best of” lists because they force me to intensively focus on some of the music I have admired over the stretch of a few months.I listened to a boatload of awesome tunes this past summer that grabbed my attention, but most of my music choices were influenced by the year I spent working in Brooklyn and hanging out in some pretty cool live music venues there and in Manhattan. The last time I ventured into “best of” territory was last Spring, and much of the music that landed on the list expressed a passion for all things nostalgic (a good deal of it was either the latest incarnation of 80s-influenced synth pop or travelers riding the latest popular wave of indie folk).

In defense of past posts, I would argue that my frequent fits of nostalgia for 70s and 80s music is perfectly reasonable – I can’t remember a period when contemporary popular music has been this heavily influenced by multiple musical genres from the past. A few years ago I watched an interview with Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow fame (another infatuation of  my youth) who credited the heavy emergence of past musical styles to the wide availability of music through the internet and mp3 players, which allow listeners to experience music from several periods and genres in a matter of seconds through their enormous storage capacities and the random playlists and instant variability such devices offer.

Anyway, this time around I’ve attempted to look forward, addressing artists and styles that are potentially harbingers of alt/indie sounds to come, therefore many of my musical choices over the summer veered into the realm of contemporary electronica, garage post-punk, dream pop, and some downright musical experimentation (although heavily biased by my NYC experience). Okay, I can’t resist a couple nostalgia picks, but I have at least made a retreat from the heavy amount of folk rock that pegged me for a devotee of the dreadful Mumford and Sons and the bright-eyed-bushy-tailed frivolity of the Lumineers. A few of the picks won me over during amazing live sets I saw in New York. Others just wowed me because of their straight up coolness. Most of these, on account of their sheer eclectic nature, will probably fail to win any places on many top ten lists at the end of the year. What some of these pics represent to me, however, is the potential state of the musical changes affecting the indie sound in the next few years – especially as some influential critics claim momentous changes are crucially necessary.

For example, Jon Caramanica, a New York Times music critic, suggested in a piece last year that rock music has maintained a steady downward trajectory to its contemporary state of zombification (his term not mine) since the demise of Nirvana in the 90s and the fading of guitar-based bands like the White Stripes and the Strokes in the early 2000s. Given the notion that Cobain and other grunge artists saved popular rock from the musical doldrums created in the late 80s by such acts as Winger, Poison, and Salty Dog, thinking about the possible future of alternative rock music for me is an exercise in considering how the genre will continue to maintain itself as fresh and relevant. Although I have neither the intention nor capability of providing any real direction (after all, I’m an anthropologist not a music critic) my list intends to at least entertain the concern regarding who or what will emerge out of Brooklyn, or Seattle, or maybe even Montreal to save rock.

10. The Hundred in the Hands – Red Night. Right off the bat I begin with a nostalgia pick (and certainly not a pick that will save rock), but I’m a sucker for Siouxsie and the Banshees, and this sophomore effort by the Brooklyn-based duo recalls their mid to late-80s sound. The sweeping orchestral arrangements and synths on Red Night combined with Eleanore Everdell’s subdued, gothic vocal suggest kinship to Banshee tunes like “Dazzle” or the sublime “Overground.” The Hundred in the Hands’ percussiveness thanks to Jason Friedman’s acoustic and synthetic beats also recalls Budgie’s awesome tribal drums that always made the Banshees’ tunes so distinctive. Red Night plays like a contemporary update to that sound though with all the bells and whistles employed by the duo’s collection of dreamy synths and percussion machines. Top picks for me on this record, however, are the subtle tunes “Keep it Low” and “Let the Light In” thanks to their mixed electronic/acoustic percussion and Everdell’s overlapping vocal work. Unfortunately Everdell and Friedman pull a Sleighbells during their live show with only a guitar and an analog synthesizer on hand (and plenty of pre-recorded music), which somehow doesn’t distract me from enjoying this record.

9. DIIV – Oshin. I discovered DIIV (pronounced “dive”) before I ventured off to the Best Coast show last July (DIIV was the first act on the bill). Due to circumstances beyond my control, I reached the show late and only caught the last song in their set. I apparently enjoyed what I heard, and since the band has been fairly popular in the Brooklyn scene, I gave their debut disc a few additional spins. Thanks to the great instrumental work clothed in dream/indie pop peppered with moments of fleeting, shadowy lyrics, Oshin reminds me of an old Meat Puppets album (Up on the Sun) I owned on cassette and played incessantly until it died of overuse. This album does not represent a lapse into teenaged nostalgia for me, however, but marks a foray into something that Isis had mastered by Celestial – the use of voice as a contribution to the whole rather than a featured piece of a composition. That in combination with some stellar instrumental craftsmanship earns Oshin a spot on my list and invites pangs of guilt whenever I’m reminded that I missed these shoe gazers from Brooklyn warm up the crowd for the surf rockers from SoCal.

8. Laurel Halo – Quarantine. I first discovered this one-woman electronic act from Brooklyn as an opener at the Chairlift show (Ice Choir was also on the bill and their new album Afar is a pretty intriguing disc as well). While not really coming across as pop music, the Laurel Halo experience is unique and never fails to conjure in my imagination a reworking of movie soundtracks for gritty, noirish science fiction flicks like Blade Runner and Escape form New York. Halo incorporates a good deal of sampling in her tunes, but positions them to feel more like organic pieces of the music – see “Thaw” and “Wow” – rather than added elements. Compositions such as “Years” also invite interesting disjunctures where synths and samples unevenly give way to eerily syncopated vocals similar but smaller in scope than fuller-sounding work from Dirty Projectors and Ava Luna. Also, with its depiction of the geographically harmonious, sword wielding Japanese school girls bathed in blood, Quarantine gets my vote for the weirdest album cover of the year.

7. Blanche Blanche Blanche – Wink With Both Eyes. This album nearly receives a spot here due to the band’s hilarious name. Its two members (Zach Phillips and Sarah Smith) are also more or less my neighbors as they live just a few miles down the road in Brattleboro – one of the hippest towns in Vermont. I had never heard of them though until they played a show at a club in Brooklyn, and I soon thereafter looked them up. Blanche Blanche Blanche is yet another act dependent upon synthesized sounds in addition to some occasional guitars. Of the synth-based albums on my list, this is perhaps the most interesting thanks to its odd low-fi sounds that echo compositions found in 1970s dish detergent adds – for a taste of this see “Appetite” and “The River.” Although this disc comes across as a low budget affair, the crackling static, off kilter beats, and hollow vocals heighten the overall quirky intrigue of the recording. In the midst of all this musical peculiarity, Phillips and Smith manage to work in a few catchy hooks and periods of synth sublimity. The greatest thing about this record is that it often appears to be mimicking other genres and styles (as diverse as disco, top 40, and Asian Karaoke) in a totally laughable cheapskate way, but throws in a cool hook or an appealing musical foray forcing the goofiness to give way to stimulating musical ideas (the album’s opening track, “Results” and later “She’s Adopted,” accomplishes this effect nicely and sets the tone for what to expect). I’m dying to catch Blanche Blanche Blanche live and pray they don’t decide to change their name.

6. The Men – Open Your Heart. The Men are another group from Brooklyn and are simply straight up cool. This album is in stiff competition with the new Cloud Nothings disc as the best in “heavy indie,” but Open Your Heart earns the nod because I think it’s comparable in the energy it brings as a recording to what Cloud Nothings delivers in a live set (but their new album doesn’t quite pull off). The record also functions as a veritable smorgasbord of genres sweetly assembled around a heavy confusion of growling lyrics and heavy rock riffs. From alt-countryesque tunes like “Candy” and “Country Song” to something resembling post-punk found in “Cube” and “Turn is Around,” the disc offers a seriously diverse collection of influences. Yet, through the aggressive nature of these songs the band manages to synthesize the hodgepodge into something uniquely cohesive and fresh. Also, just by dropping my familiarity with The Men in conversations with people who know Brooklyn music, I raise my coolness rating a few notches (which still doesn’t make me as cool as the slicker than silk bearded gentleman Frank Nooch).

5. Gold Motel – Gold Motel. Packed full of great hooks and easy pop guitar riffs, Gold Motel’s second, self-titled disc worked nicely as a summer album. I rank Gold Motel as the best of the bands with California sunny-beach sensibilities with chick lead singers like Tennis, Best Coast, and the Dum Dum Girls. For me, Gold Motel surpasses other acts of their ilk though as they often venture beyond catchy pop songs and into more interesting musical territories featuring the full force of a well-equipped rhythm section (I find Atlas Genius to be a band also achieving such heights), nicely exemplified on the pop rockers and standouts on the disc “Cold Shoulders” and “Leave You in Love.” Lead singer and keyboard player Greta Morgan is certainly a cute, peppy singer (a mainstay for these kinds of bands), however, guitarist Dan Duszynski joins her on several tunes providing some nice harmonizing vocal moments such as on the steamy lounginess of “Slow Emergency.” Since Gold Motel is from Chicago, their tunes also avoid the “This Is The Place!” pretentiousness of a certain band from southern California.

4. Tanlines – Mixed Emotions. Tanlines is yet another synth-pop duo from Brooklyn, but their broader pop sensibilities distinguish this record from those of the other, more eclectic, synth-based bands on this list. Of course I loved the perky single “All of Me” when it came out last spring, but this band seems to be more than just a poppy singles machine, as both members, Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm, are pretty talented instrumentalists. Cohen is apparently a trained percussionist, which shows in the complexity of the both the programmed and live beats found on this album, and Emm is a solid guitarist. I think their attention to musical details creates moments causing this album to rise a little further to the top than other synth-driven albums I liked this year. Such moments occur, for example, with the crisp, tinny hand drums played during the chorus of “All of Me,” or the crunchy guitar riff (al la Jesus and Mary Chain) giving way to an acoustic passage in “Green Grass” (my favorite moment on the album). Mixed Emotions has been criticized elsewhere for being uneven, but even beyond the catchy singles, most of its tunes harbor super cool musical ideas making it a great (not good) album.

3. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan. I’ve been a hard core admirer of Dirty Projectors since I listened to Swing Lo Magellan several months ago, but became even more devout while watching a live performance of “About to Die” the other night on Letterman. Later the same night, I caught Electric Guest performing “This Head I Hold” on Jimmy Fallon. The difference between a fully formed musical project that knows how to play live and an inexperienced alt pop singles band was striking. Thanks to the internet skills of Senor Franko Noocho, I have listened to the entirety of Dirty Projectors rather vast discography, and although I like much of what is there, Swing Lo Magellan is by far the best of the bunch. The reason for this is that although the new disc maintains Dave Longstreth’s distinctive inclination for dissonance and off-tempo beats, it is much more accessible and poppy than anything arising before it from this band. One need go no further than lead single “Gun Has No Trigger” as the female chorus backs Longstreth’s powerful lyric to take notice, and this disc has a slew of other notable semi-pop, delightfully accessible tunes. The handclaps and hooks of “Dance for You,” the Simon and Garfunkel harmony of “Impregnable Question,” and the playful banter critiquing Longstreth’s eccentric lyrics during the crescendo-packed “Unto Caesar” transform these pieces into brilliant pop songs. I think Swing Lo Magellan is a good representation of the current moment in the Brooklyn indie music scene at its absolute creative height. Take a look at the performance from Letterman to see them in action.

2. Sophia Knapp – Into the Waves. Now that I’ve seen her live performance twice and listened to her debut Into the Waves about a million times, I’ve fallen hard for Sophia Knapp. I have no idea if she is trying to impersonate Olivia Newton John, but Knapp’s employment of space loungy (and at times discoey) arrangements and her vocal similarities with the princess of Grease Lightening suggest a strong resemblance. Knapp’s excellent live sets demonstrate her keen sense for assembling some talented musicians around her adorable vocals. Alas, since the best song on the disc, “Weeping Willow,” is a duet with Bill Callahan, I haven’t seen her perform it. I think my attraction to this disc arises though because it reminds me so much of the contemporary spin on earlier lounge music that made acid jazz so interesting to me in the late 90s (bands like Omar and Jamiroquai especially). Knapp is no acid jazz act though as her compositions are firmly entrenched within some great instrumental performances (Knapp plays the guitar both live and on this recording). I especially like her acoustic guitar preluding the easy listening pop of “Close to Me.” As good as that song and “Weeping Willow” are, however, this is one of those albums about which I can say “it’s all good.”

1. Twin Shadow – Confess. Twin Shadow (aka George Lewis Jr.) snuck up on me in the middle of the summer (I’d never heard of the band or Lewis before), but beautifully hit the mark in terms of providing the perfect summer sound. Twin Shadow is yet another project from Brooklyn unashamedly dedicated to co-opting 80s pop aesthetics for contemporary musical purposes (especially the likes of Prince and Bruce Springsteen). I must say at this juncture that I hated Springsteen in the 80s, but love a great deal of the bands he has influenced such as Gaslight Anthem. Anyway, this album has some ambitious production creating an aggressive sonic boom complete with big synths and drum machines (thankfully accompanying live drums) on several of the songs (like “Beg for the Night”), but manages to miss the dated cheesiness of later post-80s albums that likewise attempted to capture the sound (most notably Adam Ant’s comeback flop Manners & Physique). I also like the narrative urban grittiness of Twin Shadow’s music videos recalling the cinematic masterpiece that is The Warriors demonstrated quite nicely on this clip of “Five Seconds.” Given that Confess marks a progression from 80s synth-pop of Twin Shadow’s debut album Forget to mid-decade pop rock, I’m really interested to see where Lewis goes with his next recording.

Thanks to my days living in Philly during the 90s when acid jazz took off (anyone from Philly remember DJ King Brit and Josh Wink?), I became firmly transfixed with 1970s African American funk music, especially with the heavily rock influenced tunes coming from groups like Cymande, the Ohio Players, Gil Scott-Heron, and especially Donald Byrd. I spent nearly all of last September working through the discography of the Ohio Players and realized that although African Americans created rock n’ roll back in the 50s with the likes of Chuck Berry (and without the blues steaming out of the Mississippi Delta forget Sabbath and Zeppelin), the last time people of African descent have seriously contributed to rock music in large numbers (Michael Jackson and Prince not withstanding) ended sometime in the late1970s as jazz-based rock music (aka funk) firmly gave way to soul, rhythm and blues, and of course hip hop. African American influences and performers crept into 90s rock hybrids, particularly in the UK, with acid jazz and trip hop, but the lowest common denominator for most acts was hip hop, and of course both genres suffered a quick death. Other than those blips, the long absence of a significant African American influence on rock has, I would argue, left a creative void that dudes from Scandinavia  just can’t fill (sorry Mew).

This notion was further reinforced to me while watching an old clip of the Ohio Players performing “Love Rollercoaster” during a Midnight Special episode. This clip deserves a peek just to check out the pure coolness of 1970s pop culture (check out Wolfman Jack’s intro and don’t miss the funky dancin’ dudes at the 2:22 mark). Even more impressive here though is the Players ability to rock. I would like to think that with the several African Americans writing and performing indie/alt rock these days – especially to my liking are TV on the Radio, Santigold, Cold Specks (for whom I traveled all the way to Montreal to see live) and the above mentioned Twin Shadow – we may very well be experiencing a resurgence of African American attention to rock music.The annual Afro-Punk festival in Brooklyn that attracts black artists such as Alexis Brown with Straight Line Stitch, Angela Best with Body Language, and Bad Rabbits (check out this band covering Deftones’ Sextape) is another hopeful sign. Ironically, some of the major black indie artists like Santigold and Twin Shadow have gone back to the mainstream rock music of the 80s (the period when African Americans departed from the business of playing rock) for influences.

I’m not sure I agree with Joe Caramanica’s assessment that the current state of rock music is mired in a static lack of creativity. As my “best of list” above suggests, with each year’s wave of new rock albums, I always find a huge amount of attractive and exciting music. I do, however, firmly believe that the introduction of more African American artists to the various genres of rock will make future new music even more exciting.

From fans to performers, metal has been primarily a masculine genre with little space for women to assert themselves or be taken seriously. Although I confess I took acts such as Lita Ford, Madame X, and Vixen seriously as a teenager in the 80s, but not necessarily due to their prowess as musicians. My friends and I regarded all metal and hard rock bands featuring even one female member as mere novelty acts with highly provocative music videos and not the genuine stuff we listened to passionately like Metallica, Accept, early Queensrÿche, and Iron Maiden. Even today female “metal’ bands from a couple of decades ago fit more into the genre contemptuously referred to as “but metal,” “hair metal,” or what we simply called “metal for dime store stoneys” back then (although there are plenty of dude-only bands that fit into these categories as well). I would argue that in the 1980s female artists playing heavy music were exploited by those who produced it as a ploy to generate interest among their imagined market and its tastes (namely oversexed teenaged boys who wanted to see some T&A with their music). The fallout of all this was that more emphasis was placed on sexualizing female artists interested in heavy music than giving them spaces to cultivate their abilities and sounds, and as a result the quality of music produced by the likes of Madame X was pretty low.

I have been attempting as of late to reclaim my musical roots and listen to more metal, especially the kind of Sabbath-influenced, sludgy, doom stuff.  So last Friday night in a cool little dive bar in the Mission District of San Francisco, I attended the first metal show that I’ve seen in years, and the first “doom metal” concert since I guess the Born Again tour when I was 13.

The big attraction for me was the headliner Witch Mountain – a band that has been around for about fifteen years now, but underwent some significant changes in the last couple of years (to the extent that they should have probably changed their name). The major addition took place back in 2009 when Uta Plotkin took over as the singer (the band also added bassist Neal Munson this year rounding out the lineup of original members Nate Carson on drums and guitarist Rob Wrong). Plotkin’s pipes makes this act distinctive with her clean vocals (with some occasional grunts and growls) that really draw the band into an intriguing brand of blues infused metal.

I had never heard of the other two bands, Castle and Serpent Crown, both are local San Francisco acts (Witch Mountain is from Portland, Oregon), and trios; but I was surprised to learn that the two opening bands on the bill featured young women as singers and instrumentalists. Castle’s Elizabeth Backwell offers up clean lyrics and plays bass, and Dara Senthai from Serpent Crown growls, screams, and serves as the band’s guitarist. These women, however, are far from showpieces as they displayed legitimate ability to crank out some great doom metal. Serpent Crown took the stage first and was the most interesting as they featured two guys, Dave Dinsmore (bass) and Will Carroll (drums), who looked even older and less healthy than me (a definite bad sign for purveyors of doom metal). In spite of the grey hair and pot bellies, however, these dudes rocked – Dinsmore laid down what I perceived to be the best bass performance of the evening.

As much as I enjoyed the performances of the opening bands, Witch Mountain flat out killed this show. I have given Witch Mountain’s highly regarded new album Cauldron of the Wild a few listens on Youtube, but what I’ve gotten so far from this disc was a little less engaging somehow than their live set. In addition to Plotkin, the primary strength of Witch Mountain is the chugging guitar riffs laid down by Wrong. The band played mostly from the new album featuring the tunes “Beekeeper,” “Shelter,” and “Veil of the Forgotten.” The highlight in the set (and the night) came at about the halfway point with the performance of “Shelter.” This is a great song, but the live combination of Wrong’s heavy blues riffs, Plotkin’s energetic vocal, and the astounding time changes erupting after nearly four minutes of sludge resoundingly brought home doom metal’s kinship with music ascending from the Mississippi Delta about a century ago. The band was coaxed into playing an encore by the enthusiastic crowd which finished the set with two songs from their recent EP Witch Mountain “Bloundhound” and “A Power Greater.”

I left the show pleased to see women sans miniskirts, heavy makeup, and tight spandex pants making some serious, aesthetically challenging contributions to heavy musical genre. A perusal of some of the new metal records out this year (in addition to Witch Mountain, my favorites so far are from the band Herodias and Katherine Katz’s contributions on the new Pig Destroyer album Book Burner) suggests that women’s contributions to serious, less commercial heavy music are a phenomenon on the rise – and I hope they’re here to stay.

The performance of “Shelter” I include here comes from a show at the Scion Rock Festival in Tampa, Florida.

Dragons of Zynth

I recently read about an interview with David Sitek from TV on the Radio, who griped that a lot of indie bands come to Brooklyn simply to attract media attention and obtain recording contracts rather than cultivate a musical aesthetic relative to the influences present in the scene. There are certainly several bands that have relocated to Brooklyn from across the country and Europe (such as Deluca from Birmingham, England and New Politics from Denmark) with a fully-formed style hoping to cash in on the available venues, audiences, and media outlets to promote them. In the face of such pessimism, however, I would like to think that some musicians are attracted to the area for the rich artistic community thriving in and around Williamsburg ranging from old timers like Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Animal Collective to impressive, younger acts like Sharon Van Etten and my personal fanboy crush of the year, Chairlift. Dragons of Zynth (or DoZ) are probably my favorite out-of-towners to entrench themselves in the artistic influences that abound in Brooklyn and develop a fresh take on its sound.

David Sitek

DoZ have an unusual résumé. The twin brothers from Cleveland – Aku and Akwetey Orraca-Tetteh – front the band that emerged from the Brooklyn indie scene in 2007 with their first release Coronation Thieves, which attracted a lot of attention thanks to the support of some of the members of TV on the Radio (Sitek produced the album). Collaborations with TV on the Radio in combination with their intriguing take on the Brooklyn sound and the fact that Aku, Akwety, and their drummer J. Bernard are African American, often nets them comparisons to the afore-mentioned Brooklyn indie powerhouse. Alas, soon after the release of Coronation Thieves and its subsequent tour, the guys lost their momentum by taking an indefinite hiatus until this year when the band began recording a new album. Aku and Akwety suggested that the reason for DoZ’s abrupt departure from the scene stemmed from their distaste for the corporate side of the industry after being exposed to it with their initial success (in one interview, Aku called the indie rock industry “an ocean of sharks”). I was glad to see their reemergence though when the band announced earlier this year that they had begun the process of recording new material and a planned new disc due out sometime in 2013.

Glasslands Gallery

This show featuring DoZ as the headlining band at Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg began strong and ended strong. Glasslands, which doubles as an art gallery, offers an intimate performance space with more of a community-based feel than most venues around town. On this evening, the environment seemed to be about supporting a group of artists rather than a forum for simply entertaining an audience. As is customary at such small concert spaces operating outside of Bowery Presents (the corporate entity that runs some the bigger venues in town), band members joined the audience to catch the sets of their bill mates and to rub shoulders a little with the crowd.

Kyp Malone

Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio was present and hangin’ with everyone else in the audience, probably to support DoZ whose members are often identified as protégés of him and Sitek. The artists who performed on the bill are generally linked to some combination of the terms “soul” and “indie” to produce peculiar categorizations such as “indie soul,” “psyche soul,” and my personal favorite “avant-garde indie,” all of which function as shorthand to express the unique “music meets noise” ambiance pouring out of Williamsburg’s various performance spaces.

I love it when super talented acoustic musicians apply their abilities into synthetic media (synthesizers, drum machines, and computers) with Radio Head and Ok Computer representing the high mark of such adventures in relatively contemporary music.

The Mast

The Brooklyn duo known as The Mast (Haale Gafori and Matt Kilmer) took the stage at Glasslands first and showcased their riff on translating musical ideas into sounds made by machines. Gafori and Kilmer are both extremely capable musicians – Kilmer is a percussionist and Gafori is just about everything else – so their foray into IDM-influenced electronic blips, bleeps, and beats over which washes Gafori’s melancholic vocal maintains a definite artistic integrity. Their set was engaging – the tunes were interesting, and Kilmer’s percussion including an electric African hand drum added some vigor to the entirely electronic performance. Haale’s voice was fine, and often subject to some interesting electronic manipulation as her voice was syncopated and waved into and out of songs. The band came across as a more percussive xx, but I would be interested to see if the duo falls back into some acoustic musicianship with a longer set. If so, the intriguing combination of both faces of this band could propel The Mast into yet another exciting project emerging from the streets of Brooklyn.

Somebody at the show took some video, demonstrating the super cool electric hand drum Kilmer uses.

Ava Luna at Glasslands

I’m a big fan of Ava Luna, and they really brought everything with them to this performance. I saw this band live last spring at the Knitting Factory where they opened for Magic Wands. I thought then that Ava Luna put on a fine show in front of a pretty sparse crowd. This time the audience was at least three times larger than that of the previous show, which perhaps added some energy to band’s performance. I also think that Ava Luna has polished its live act in the subsequent months as its members have become gradually more comfortable with the complex material from their 2012 album Ice Level – in fact I doubt they could sound any better than they did tonight with the material.

Felicia Douglass is cool!

Songs I’ve been listening to for months since I BOUGHT their album last spring, such as “Ice Level” and “Wrenning Day”sounded new and fresh somehow with their most recent live interpretations. Anyway, anyone interested in indie rock living anywhere in the proximity of New York City must see this band live.

During DoZ’s set, it occurred to me that the evening was the next piece in a process for a band preparing for something big in 2013. I assume with the coming album DoZ will tour incessantly for a few months, and their performance this evening came across as a band looking to synchronize its live performance around some new material. It was certainly a fun set, as it provided a sneak peak at the new album (I think), which I’m anxious to hear, and a view at all of the energy that DoZ notoriously bring live. The outlandishness for which they’re known was tempered somewhat this evening, however, probably to give the band a chance to adjust itself to a slightly new lineup (bassist Fon Lin has regrettably left the band) and freshly recorded material.

DOZ live at Glasslands

The band balanced the set with ten pieces – five songs from Coronation Thieves, one tune (“Harlot Blues”) from an older EP, and four others assumedly from the new album. The set was bookended with some outstanding performances of older tunes, especially “Get Off” (the third song) and “Who Rize Above” (the second to last). Both songs are funky rockers with heavy bass and drums sounding great live. I was impressed with Aku and Akwetey, who made up for the loss of Fon Lin by trading bass and electric guitars with each other a few times during the show. The only setback came in the middle of the set with the performance of new instrumental “We Won’t Land.” Although not a bad song (with a sound similar to the sludgy “Funky Genius” from Coronation Thieves), the tune plodded along way past five minutes managing to release some of the energy in the room. Aside from that, my highlight was “Poisonous,” which offers a 70s funk fest (and heavy bass) leaving me with the impression that I’m gonna love the direction of the new album.

Although I wasn’t as excited as the hipster loudly screaming “what an awesome set” when the show ended and lights went on, but I certainly left with an impressive peek at Dragons of Zynth “Mach II.” I hope they stay around little longer this time. The video below of “Get Off” was taken from a show in Greenwich Village last year when Fon Lin was still performing with the band.

Troy, New York – the birthplace of Uncle Sam and the historical center of Dutch, New Netherlands. I had never been on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy before, but the place is hotbed for collegiate ice hockey (apparently RPI has a top-notch program). I had also never seen a concert in a hockey arena (for which the Fieldhouse was built). In fact, my last concert at a college campus was the band Boston at BYU’s Marriot Center back in the mid-80s. I usually dislike attending arena concerts because they seem to be more spectacle than musical event, and they lose most of the intimacy one feels with the music and performers at smaller venues and bars. This show in Troy, however, was too close to home (about 30 minutes from Vermont) to miss, and I figured that the booming falsetto soundscapes of the headliner’s vocals and the band’s spaced-out synths would work quite well in a large, airy venue.

They gushy synth-poppers Matt and Kim took the stage before Passion Pit. I’m admittedly not a fan of Matt and Kim – I like sugary synth-based pop as much as any brainy Asian physics student, but with her high top sneakers and sailor tattoos Kim frankly scares me, and Matt’s whiny vocal and pretty boy look strikes me as a New England version of Kenneth from 30 Rock. Given that most of the percussion work on Matt and Kim’s recording efforts sounds electronically produced with a drum machine, I have never quite understood Kim’s function in the band (other than to intimidate me). I was nonetheless interested to see what their live performance was all about. The band quickly travelled through all of the singles in their repertoire in the 45 minute set such as “Daylight,” “Let’s Go,” “Lessons Learned,” greatly pleasing the mostly college-aged crowd. Even more exciting was Kim’s physical performance (she split her time during the set between standing on her drum kit and actually playing it).

The duo was prone to sexually provocative and slightly creepy stage banter. At one point in the show, referring to the covered ice rink located below the stage, Kim commented that her vagina could melt some ice (certainly not an image I wanted in my head Kim). Later, after Matt bent down from his keyboard to say something to Kim during a song break, he explained to the audience that he was telling Kim her breasts looked nice (didn’t want that one either Matt). At least for their live performance the drum machine was silenced and Kim worked hard to add some vigor to Matt’s keyboards, synths, and syrupy vocals. However, once one gets past the hooks, stage antics, and self-sexualization (which plays huge on a college campus), the formulaic melodies and simplistic, repetitive beats sound hollow live and recorded.

Although both bands on the bill are dedicated to electronically produced music, Passion Pit, behind singer Michael Angelakos’ songwriting, comes across as much more thoughtful and somber than the beer-soaked giddiness of Matt and Kim’s lyrics and sound. The match-up thus seemed particularly awkward from the start, but at least Matt and Kim’s performance served as a crowd pleasing warm-up for the main attraction.

I generally listen to music more for the drums, bass, and guitars rather than the lyrics and vocals, however, the poetic brilliance of Passion Pit’s latest album Gossamer’s otherwise mundane lead single, “Take a Walk,” ultimately won me over for its gut-wrenchingly engagement with the poverty and desperation associated with the Obama-age. Ultimately, I’m attracted to Passion Pit through its aesthetic association to a similar band, Naked and Famous, and their style of aired out synths and echoey high-pitched vocals. I’ve seen the two bands live now, and they possess some big similarities – both are packed with versatile musicians who jump to different instruments between songs (their bassists and guitarists go from keys to guitars throughout their live sets). Both bands also have the knack of creating some catchy, hook-filled, but serious pop tunes.

I thought Passion Pit’s set was impressive, and was amazed with the extent to which the live translations of their tunes express a greater intensity than the studio recordings. I noticed after the show some reviewers’ observations that Passion Pit sounds much better in a small venue (like the Upstate Concert Hall in New York, which they played last year), but I disagree – their cascading synths and Angelakos’ explosive falsetto vocal is well suited to large venues.

I enjoyed the radio hits performed at the outset, beginning with “I’ll Be Allright,” followed by “The Reeling,” and “Carried Away.” Yet, the set didn’t really take off for me until the seventh song, “American Blood.” The recorded version of this tune characterizes it as a more or less timid pop tune, but the live performance accentuates an irresistibly aggressive bass line, especially during the final chorus. From the end of “American Blood” forward, the show rocked through the stunning transition from ballad to rocker on “To Kingdom Come” to the Boz Scaggs-ish slowburner “Constant Conversations.” My favorite moment hit near the encore with the performance of “Make Light” – the lead off track on 2010’s Manners album. This was the one number where Angelakos took over the keyboards to free up guitarist Ian Hultquist. The result was a full-throttle shockwave, to which the size and acoustic breadth of the Fieldhouse made a fine contribution. The only real weakness I could detect of the show was the lightweight brevity of the encore (and first ever single for the band) “Sleepyhead.”

With their sonic-boom sound, I think Passion Pit and Naked and Famous have carved out an airy, but dark, synth pop sub-genre for themselves in alternative rock, and I look forward to what comes next from these bands. Below is a live clip of “Make Light” performed live in Boston a couple of years ago – awesome.

Albany!!

Disclaimer: this post represents a shameless promo for some cool bands local to my current residence, so please don’t expect the kind of hard biting criticism that customarily adorns the pages of this prestigious and serious blog.

Having lived in close proximity to the capital of the great state of New York for almost three years now, I have finally found something to love about Albany – actually two things – the bands Wild Adriatic and Mirk (aka Mirk and the New Familiars). These bands both wear their regional identities (Albany/Saratoga Springs) on their sleeves – not only suggesting the redeemability of the Albany area, but that there might also be a lively local rock scene here. Certainly nothing close to what’s going on in Brooklyn, Boston, and Montreal, but nonetheless there is some talented performers producing intriguing music that is definitely unique to upstate New York.

In addition to Wild Adriatic and Mirk, there are several other interesting bands from the area. I wrote a post about a year ago on my favorite jam band Twiddle from southern Vermont. I also wrote about another act from the nearby Catskills, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, who relocated to Brooklyn a few years ago. Rock musicians in and around Albany are building a distinctive sound rooted in the jam rock bands so popular in Vermont and Upstate New York who make their way through the mountain ski resort rock festivals in the summertime (groups like Twiddle, Sister Sparrow, and another local favorite Conehead Buddha certainly reflect the jam band influences in region). An additional source of local musical inspiration is the urban multicultural nature of Albany, firmly rooting a taste for hip hop, soul and R&B music into the area. I think all of these influences neatly coalesced on Pearl Street in Albany this evening with some energetic performances, as both bands accentuated the current artistic zenith in the Albany rock scene.

After a notable opening performance by Philly band Cheers Elephant, Mirk took the stage. “Mirk” is actually the stage name of the band’s lead singer and rapper, Joshua Mirsky, who is joined by a handful of talented performers composing a 5-piece band (bass, guitar, drums, keys, and sax) and an additional soulfullicious singer, the beauteous Tara Merritt. Mirk’s diverse look and sound simply oozes style. Their tunes blend hip hop, soul, jazz, and rock – and their eclectic appearance matches the sound perfectly. Joshua Mirsky successfully works the urban hipster look, bassist Kate Sgroi seems to have some kind of Angus Young school boy uniform thang going (chick bass players rule anyway), and I think Merrit is probably smokin’ in whatever she’s wearing. Even better than the appearance of the band though is their tunes.

Mirsky describes his band’s vibe as resisting categories and more reliant upon a blending of musical genres such as the hip hop and classic soul he loved growing up in Albany. Add those influences to the straight-up rock n’ roll entrenched inclinations of his band mates, and Mirk’s sound resembles a supercharged soundtrack for a 70s blaxploitation flick with rap lyrics. Mirk has two albums and an EP under its belt already (the last album, Grind, came out last summer), and the live set provided some highlights from the two albums and a couple of covers (“Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Give Me One Reason”) to showcase Merrit’s powerful vocal and the jam out capacity of the band. Other than listening to Merrit pound out some soulful standards, the greatest moments of the set came from Chris Russell’s dope sax solo during “Marathon” and Mirsky’s rapped out praise of Albany wrapped around a harmonious signing performance in “My City” (my personal favorite in the band’s catalog).

Mirk is without a doubt a spectacular act to see live, but the band has also produced some super cool music videos. Check out these vids of “Marathon” and “Sunshine.”

Although certainly bluesy and soulful, Wild Adriatic’s music is much more workmanlike than Mirk, as its members seem to reap their influences from classic rock acts (they do a few covers of 70s tunes). Similar to Mirk, the guys sport an idiosyncratic look – drummer Mateo Vosganian possesses the inside lead for the honorary beaded gentleman award, and bassist Rich Derbyshire should never lose his Juan Epstein look-alike afro.

Wild Adriatic’s live set this evening was supported by a hyped up hometown audience, which had already been set ablaze by Mirk’s incredible set. Throughout the show, singer Travis Gray’s vocals backed up by guitarist Shane Gilman’s hard riffs and solos maintained the energy with a sound that continually reminded me of something Foreigner could have composed on their first two albums (songs like “New Sun Rising” and “Trouble” occurring about halfway through the set especially exemplified the style). When the band played “The Spark” later in the set, they demonstrated their bluesy roadhouse side with a provocative Iron Maiden-like riff arising at the mid-point of the song. In addition to tunes from the band’s latest EP (Lock & Key), the guys played a couple of covers (“Helter Skelter” and the Bill Withers classic “Use Me”), and some new, unrecorded tunes (Coopstown and Trouble). The guys closed out their set with “Letter” (my pick for best Wild Adriatic song) and the bluesy “Make Like a Ghost.”

The show ended with an audience imposed encore of the band performing Joe Cocker’s standard “With a Little Help from My Friends,” aided by half of the female population of the audience and the members of Mirk who all climbed on stage to belt out the all too familiar lyrics and execute some group love.

Check out this video of Wild Adriatic’s song “Letter” featuring a hilarious romp through downtown Albany.

Anyway, I think this night’s performances provide conclusive evidence there is something going on in Albany other than political sex scandals and brawls at the Subway Sandwiches on Pearl Street among overzealously hungry public servants. I would even go so far to say that Barak Obama was absolutely correct on a visit to the Empire State capital a few years ago when he quipped, “And that’s what you guys are doing here in Albany. You‘re not going backwards. You‘re going forward.”

The Mast

The Mast represents one of the more exiting young bands working the Brooklyn indie scene these days with their unique brand of moody, percussive, electronic pop reminiscent yet distinct from acts like School of Seven Bells, Nite Jewel, and A Hundred in the Hands. I have seen the Mast live a couple of times in the last few months, and their sound seems to be quickly evolving as they become ever more popular with New York City area audiences. Musical evolution appears to be a consistent strategy for the Mast, as singer Haale and percussionist Matt Kilmer have transformed their sound from world music influenced rock tunes (under the name Haale), to percussion and guitar-based pop, to a fully electronic dance-oriented sound within which they are currently working. The duo is now spending a great deal of time recording as they prepare to release a second album, but they were kind enough to take some time to meet with me after their show a few weeks ago at Union Pool in Brooklyn. Amidst all of this rapid and dramatic change, I asked the two artists to discuss their current direction and what they envision for the future of the Mast over margaritas and chicken wings at a Cajun restaurant (just joking – we talked outside in the cold for about twenty minutes). Their responses raised some provocative questions about the nature of indie rock performance compared to other musical genres and how alternative performance styles, particularly those emphasizing the physical, might be successfully incorporated.

Thinking of electronic-based bands that have added to their lineup for live shows, such as Chairlift, I asked Haale and Kilmer if they have considered expanding into a larger ensemble of performers – especially given the rigorous work during their live set necessary to achieve the heavily layered electronic sounds they produce. Haale’s reply surprised me – “Yeah, I would like to include some live dancers.” This unexpected response left me wondering about the propriety of the physical in indie rock. I love live music, however, my motivation for consuming it rarely relies on the actual physical appearance of the artists (except for maybe the Dum Dum Girls show I saw last year, and that had more to do with skirt length) and I have little interest in the sort of pop music heavily dependent upon representations of sexuality as a sales strategy (R&B dance artists like Beyoncé Knowles and squeaky clean-boy teen pop bands One Direction, for instance). Incorporating dance or other physical tropes into indie musical performance is an idea I probably would never have considered were it not for Haale’s comment. In any case, it would seem that incorporating something like dance successfully in indie rock without completely alienating its hipster, cooler-than-cats audience is first and foremost a question of properly proportioning the physical and the musical within the performance.

Not too long ago, for a couple of years, I lived in a Central Asian country called Kazakhstan (don’t ask why). One of the more fascinating events I experienced there (on several occasions) was to watch the performance of traditional Chechen dancing. The dances were so engaging largely because of how they implied gender relations through the movements of the performers (who were usually teenagers). The young men danced erratically, always seeming to act with spontaneity and conveying a coarse, masculine tone. Simultaneously, young women fluttered on the balls of their feet circularly around male partners – never wavering from their companions, but also maintaining distance from the brutish physicality expressed by the young men. Traditional Chechen music also routinely accompanied these dances, aggressively performed with a stringed instrument called a balalaika, perfectly supporting the actions and mood of the male dancers. Certainly the union of dance and music in this cultural context seems natural, even though the physical remains at the forefront of the performance, it relies heavily on the musical element as accompaniment. Conversely, acts like Beyoncé and One Direction provide eye-candy visuals, yet their members are principally singers with their physical performances taking a back seat to music and lyrics. Indie rock as a genre usually emphasizes the artists’ music over their physical appearances or movements – how then might the explicitly physical be most appropriately proportioned as an integral element of indie rock performance?

Haale’s comment was well-timed for such considerations, as I spent some of the evening before our discussion watching the singer for opening act, TheSwimmingPools, transform his set into an entirely physical performance. TheSwimmingPools – composed of Christophe Doloire and Daniel Smith – lay out some bass heavy, electronic tunes, which are completely overwhelmed by Smith’s stage and floor show. Through massive contortions, prancing to and fro on stage, and jumping onto the floor to engage the audience with some in your face gyrating, the guys from TheSwimmingPools certainly managed to send a charge through the crowd. Smith has suggested that he and Doloire are interested in pushing gay sexuality in a very physical way to their audiences, however (in spite of the ambitious and brazen nature of TheSwimmingPools show), as an indie rock consumer, music quality resoundingly trumps showmanship. So what concerns me the most with employing the explicitly physical as an element of indie rock performance is the extent to which it transforms musical performance into a spectacle of bodies where the actual music receives much less of an emphasis (certainly one of the primary limitations to girl or boy dance bands that rely overwhelmingly on good looks and dance moves rather than the production of high-quality music).

Here is a live clip from a TheSwimmingPools show from several years ago. As Smith was dressed the night I saw the band perform, I assume they have toned the revealingly physical nature of their show down a tad.

Yet there are instances when the physical blends harmoniously with the musical – transforming the performance from entertaining spectacle to something deeply inspirational. While watching Justin Timberlake on Jimmy Fallon the other night, I found a perfect balance struck as Timberlake employed an orchestra-sized band and several back-up singers, who were accompanied by four dancers about halfway through the 6 minute plus, ambient R&B tune “Strawberry Bubblegum.” Timberlake joined in the dancing as well, resolutely staging a clinic on how to turn boy-band stardom into a real job. Successful takes on the physical are not even completely without precedent in indie musical performance. For example, Caroline Polachek’s sultry, seductive moves during the Chairlift show I saw last spring sent me floating from Webster Hall all the way to the F Train. Polachek also employs some pretty crafty dancing in Chairlift’s video for “Amanaemonesia,” which she has subsequently performed at some live performances last year.

Check out Polachek’s live dance performance of the song from the Boiler Room.

Regarding how the Mast might pull off physical performance in their live show, I doubt that Haale and Kilmer plan to dress up a gaggle of short skirted Korean girls and parade them on stage for some high kicking dance moves. I suspect what Haale has in mind is the kind of physical aesthetics on display in the music video she directed for the Mast song “UpUpUp”, which features dancer Pandora Marie employing a smashup of Bollywood style grace and stiff robotic pops while covered in white powder.

Haale also indicated that performances employing dancers (potentially including a larger musical ensemble with strings) would be reserved for venues such as performance halls and art centers rather than Brooklyn indie rock hang outs like Union Pool and Glasslands. In fact, the night after I spoke with them, the Mast performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a cellist, a violinist, and the “UpUpUp” video projected above them. With or without dancers, playing in larger venues is indeed a major goal for the Mast, as Kilmer believes their music is best suited for settings that can reach out to large audiences – settings with which they have had some experience under the name Haale when they played several summer festivals and even Carnegie Hall with David Byrne.

The Mast’s drive to incorporate such varied media into their performances (Haale has also considered adding spoken poetry live) perhaps stems from Haale and Kilmer’s relatively diverse artistic and professional experiences. Haale, for example, has forayed extensively into several disciplines, including biology (BS from Stanford), poetry (MFA from City College), and dance, but she describes her musical training as more or less self-taught. Haale is Iranian-American, and it would seem that such a rich cultural identity might have a significant impact on her artistic production. When I asked about the extent to which her Iranian background has influenced her professional life, she responded that it wasn’t so much growing up in a Persian household that had a formative effect on her artistic creativity, but rather her parents’ sense of cultural inclusiveness that incorporated a wide range of influences in their home, from Iranian poets and singers such as Rumi and Shahram Nazeri, to modern western writers like Alan Ginsberg and James Joyce.

Kilmer, on the other hand, is a professionally trained drummer, but along the way studied with Jamey Haddad (a frequent percussionist for Paul Simon), who subsequently influenced his switch to percussion instruments, particularly South Asian and Middle Eastern hand drums and rhythms (in Haale’s words “Matt’s a badass percussionist”). Kilmer and Haale describe their pairing as somewhat coincidental. Haale was originally a solo act, but she hooked up with Kilmer at a gig in San Francisco for which she needed a percussionist to fill in during her set. A friend of Haale’s suggested Kilmer, and they have been making music together ever since. After touring for a few years under the name Haale with a guitarist (she played guitar as well), bass player, and occasionally strings, they eventually began writing and performing exclusively as a duo. They dropped the name Haale and became the Mast – a name they feel nicely reflects their partnership. Here is a nice sampling of their work together as Haale.

I was curious about the imagery by which Haale and Kilmer have chosen to represent their band – a mast. When I think of a mast I imagine a sail attached to a pole, but for the band a mast conjures multiple meanings and images. Haale schooled me in just about all of the various meanings of the term mast in both English and Farsi (who knew?). The sailing mast suggests a journey, but a mast can also be the fruit of a tree, and a mast cell in biology releases substances responding to bodily injury (Haale associates this with healing). In Farsi, the term mast (pronounced exactly the same as its English counterpart) refers to a state of intoxication, euphoria, and wonder. Melding together the English meanings of mast – the fruit (or product) of a healing journey – provides a “road map” to the Farsi term. The product or destination of a healing journey is potentially euphoric, intoxicating, and joyful. For Haale and Kilmer, the music they perform represents a journey whose outcome they hope facilitates these feelings and emotions with their audiences. As Kilmer explained to me, “we want to reach out to as large an audience as possible and just make people feel good and uplifted.” As eggheadedly philosophical as such sentiments may seem, they also suggest the focal point of the band’s transformation from contemporary world music influenced rock to their current style of complex electronic dance pop.

The switch to electronic-based music has been gradual for the Mast and to an extent coincidental. Kilmer and Haale had been experimenting with small bits of synthesized music to use in one particular composition, but were so taken with the effect that they steadily began incorporating electronic sounds into their tunes. From Kilmer’s electronic hand drums to Haale’s electronically manipulated syncopated vocal, the result has been a complete stylistic transformation of the music they write together. I have seen the Mast perform twice now at two intimate spaces in Brooklyn (Union Pool and Glasslands Gallery), which I find to be well-suited to the Mast’s music and performance style. This evening’s 45-minute set offered a stark contrast to the shorter set I saw at Glasslands. In the latter show, the Mast demonstrated their percussive electronic sound well enough, but this evening’s performance showcased several new songs (some of which were played for the first time live), and featured a pronounced change in direction from the previous version of their electronica sound. Songs such as “Nuclear Dragon” and “Emerald” (the second song in the set) come across more dance-oriented than the subdued mood in previous songs. This is definitely not an unwelcome change of course, and the duo plans to completely unveil it as soon as they finish their current recording stint and release a second album.

Returning to the subject of physical performance in indie music, I think that what the Mast has in mind is less the kind of spectacle TheSwimmingPools exemplify, than what Twin Shadow (George Lewis Jr.) has accomplished with his brilliant album Confess last year and the representations that accompanied it. Lewis not only concocted a sound that fit a certain style (shamefully 80’s), but his physical appearance, album cover, serialized music videos, and even his lyrics, venture way beyond musicianship to incorporate an assortment of media communicating a narrative, a style, and a sound – but most importantly, a feeling or mood. I think that Haale and Kilmer are also looking to transform their performance into something more holistic, far greater than simply their spin on indie electronic music – I certainly look forward to what they come up with in the coming months and years.

http://TheMastMusic.com

I’ve been listening to the entire Yo La Tengo discography, and while working through their mid-80s records like Ride the Tiger and New Wave Hot Dogs, I got to thinking about the shift I made in musical tastes during that decade. Right about 1986, my listening inclinations began to change amidst the full onslaught of bands ascending to become what are now known as “glam metal,” or “hair metal” acts like Poison (Look at What the Cat Dragged In – 1996), Cinderella (Night Songs – 1986), Autograph (Sign in Please – 1984), and Europe (The Final Countdown – 1986), as well as the cheese-core about face some of my favorite bands made after the earlier part of the decade (Judas Priest’s horrid Turbo from 1986 and Whitesnake’s substituting drifters for hobos in their 1987 self-titled album are the most shameful examples).

Disenchanted with what mainstream metal/hard rock was becoming, I looked to the music enjoyed by the weirdo goth geeks hanging around the halls at school, and discovered stuff that now recalls the origins of alternative music – most striking and memorable were the Smiths (the immortal Queen is Dead came out in 1986), Hüsker Dü (Zen Arcade – 1984), and my personal favorite, the Meat Puppets and their life-changing disc Up on the Sun (1985). I cite this memory not to express any disillusionment with the state of indie rock, but to emphasize the benefit of searching for fresh, provocative, and challenging music – especially given the current popular, and perhaps misleading, persona of alternative and independent rock as a bastion for overhyped pop indie folk bands like Mumford and Sons or one-dimensional anthem machines such as Matt and Kim.

I caught a show a few weeks ago at the coolest music venue in Vermont – Higher Ground in Burlington – that I think exemplifies some of the freshest sounds in contemporary independent rock. From guitar rock to lo-fi synth pop, to all out experimentation, the bands involved in the show were impressive, but also cover a wide spectrum of what’s pushing the boundaries in the realm of independent rock n’ roll.

With their odd choral arrangements, ill-timed guitar riffs, and darkly syncopated percussion rhythms, the current manifestation of Dirty Projectors is one of my favorite bands right now. David Longstreth has constructed a haunting trio of a female chorus around his unusual guitar riffing and solos, and now that he has finally arrived into the realm of slightly more mainstream song structures, the band has produced music that not only provides some interesting listens (his music always did), but is also fun to listen to. I was blown away the first time I heard Swing Lo Magellan last year, and like Up on the Sun and the Queen is Dead, I will probably count that experience as one of those turning point moments in the development of my musical tastes. I’ve long considered Longstreth’s Dirty Projectors the standard bearer of the Brooklyn sound, but with the last two albums the band has endeavored to produce something both typically experimental and satisfyingly consumable for the masses (or at least the masses of indie rock fans who venture beyond the trappings of easy hooks and feel good string bands stomping on bass drum pedals). I’ve missed seeing Dirty Projectors live several times around NYC last year, but after a long drive through the Green Mountains finally caught up to them in Burlington.

In addition to Dirty Projectors, the show also featured the guitar-based rock band Delicate Steve and the synthy stylings of Burlington musician Ryan Power. Power brought a fantastic backing band and a cool concept, reminding me of Nite Jewel, and fellow Vermont indie rockers Blanche Blanche Blanche. Like those bands, Power offers a low-fi sound relying heavily on keys, synths, and a skilled drummer who employs electronic pads but crashes and rides real cymbals. I found the strength of Power’s performance to arise mainly through the outstanding rhythm section as the bassist played seriously funky grooves, particularly when the band slowed itself down with a song in the middle of the set. Power has been around a while and is preparing to release his sixth album this June – check out this review of his work and the link to a new song “The Prize” on Sterogum. http://stereogum.com/1341612/ryan-power-the-prize-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

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Departing from the thoughtful electronic sound of Power, Delicate Steve lit up the venue with incredibly intricate guitar rock. Delicate Steve is the creation of guitarist Steven Marion and his nicely composed touring band. Along with his own guitar work, the band leader employs an additional guitarist Christian Peslak – who together trade riffs and solos through almost entirely instrumental songs with varying rock styles from hard to folk to progressive. From the initial riff of the first song in the set “Flyin’ High” to the slide guitar of “Don’t Get Stuck (Proud Elephants)” to the country rock of “Wally Wilder,” the performance unforgettably rocked. The most interesting moment of this portion of the evening was the finale, “Butterfly,” that offered a provocative use of a drum machine and a guitar solo progressing into something symphonically akin to the sound of fireworks over Red Square in Moscow accompanied by a rock version of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

The Dirty Projectors played it honest and easy (don’t ask me what that means) – almost all of the set except for two songs satisfyingly came from Swing Lo Magellan and Bitte Orca (the most notable exception being one of my Dirty Projector’s favorites, “Rise Above”). The execution of the songs was top notch and crowd pleasing, but the most attractive aspect of the performance was Longstreth’s looseness and playfulness exhibited during songs such as “No Intention” as he employed starts and stops on his guitar while shooting sly glances over to his muse and guitarist Amber Coffman.

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Speaking of Coffman, I would credit her emergence in the band as the creative force responsible for Longstreth’s turn to a more accessible palate of tunes. Coffman’s sugary sweet vocal has been a welcome addition to the Dirty Projectors sound, however, her role as a guitarist has progressed over the years, and she demonstrated her capable handling of the instrument through renditions of “Dance for You” and “About to Die.” And then there is of course the Dirty Projectors signature syncopated chorus, most effectively exemplified during the performances of “Beautiful Mother,” and “Stillness is the Move.”

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Is it possible that we might look back at the current onslaught of pop indie folkers like Mumford and Sons, and Lumineers as the 2010s cheese ball equivalents of Guns n’ Roses and Twisted Sister? Are Matt and Kim or the Killers this generation’s versions of Poison and Motley Crue? In 2035, will we be shaking our heads at the the silly simplistic lyrics of “Hey Ho” (or is it Ho Hey?) and the hipster disguised as hillbilly fashion sense of its creators?

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I certainly hope so as payback for this generation’s ridiculous use of the sub-rock category “hair metal” as a way to flippantly dismiss an entire decade of hit-and-miss heavy rock music. Whatever the future reputation of what passes as indie rock might be, I don’t foresee David Longstreth and Amber Coffman penning lyrics about “Parental Guidance” and “Turbo Lovers” any time soon.

While taking in a quick lunch of a Mediterranean omelet at the venerable Ukrainian diner Veselka on the Lower East Side with members of the UK alt rock band Foals a few weeks ago before their show in upstate New York, I …suddenly realized I left my illegally obtained 69 ounce soda on the subway and dashed to 4^th Street to talk to the dude in the ticket booth about suing the city of New York for revoking my library card. Okay so I wasn’t eating Italian breakfast food for lunch at a Ukrainian restaurant with Foals (nor did I manage to sneak a 69 ounce soda through the Holland Tunnel), but I did see them live a million weeks ago and loved the show – in fact, when I total up all the shows I’ve seen in 2013, the performance by Foals might rank as the best (it’s the best so far at least).

Foals were joined by a couple of young bands I diffidently admire and with whom they are currently touring the US – Blondfire and Surfer Blood. I love/worship Foals and the performances of their bill mates made for nice warm-ups, albeit in unequal measures. Thanks to lead singer Erica Driscoll’s syrupy-sweet voice and appearance, Blondfire comes across as a poppy and cute alt rock act, and the band strived to accentuate that image by performing a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, which, with a full-length LP and several EPs under their belt, didn’t seem necessary. Nonetheless, the band’s much scrappier radio hit “Where the Kids Are” is a cool tune, and Blondfire performed it nicely as the finale of their brief set. They also snuck in their new single “Waves,” which sounds suspiciously close to the Olivia Newton John vibe that Sophia Knapp co-opted in last year’s splendid album coincidently titled Into the Waves. Blondfire is looking to release their second full length ASAP (hopefully this summer), and I look forward to checking it out and seeing their fuller set minus the easy covers. Check out the brand spankin’ new video for “Waves.”

In spite of their name, Surfer Blood is absolutely not a California punk/pop surf rock band – rather they are a Florida punk/pop surf rock band that recently moved to California. I admittedly haven’t listened much to Surfer Blood, so I was keen to pick out some of the bands who seem to be obvious influences as their set proceeded. To my ears, Surfer Blood sounds like a smash up of the breezy themes and rhythms of Best Coast/Beach Boys, but incorporating a guitar driven touch of the heaviness meets harmony punk-outs of Social Distortion and Rise Against.

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During their set, Surfer Blood’s lead singer, John Paul Pitts engaged in some fun-lovin’ sassiness by jumping into the crowd for energetic yet clumsy high-fives (a la Jack Black’s failures in School of Rock) and had guitarist Tom Fekete draw cat whiskers on his face with a sharpie. Fekete, also got caught up in the goofy high jinx as he proceeded to play “Catholic Pagans” with his teeth for a few seconds – oh those crazy surfer guys. The members of Surfer Blood more closely resemble the dudes from Big Bang Theory than pop stars. But who cares, they rock, especially on the guitars. Surfer Blood’s rhythm section comes across a tad lackluster (bad sign for a surf rock band), but Pitts and Fekete absolutely shred their guitars, especially on the tunes they performed from their 2010 album Astro Coast like “Floating Vibes” and “Take it Easy.” They closed with the very pleasant “Swim,” that offered a nice riff and some slick percussive changes near the middle of the tune. I certainly liked Surfer Blood’s set, but its energy, style, and look seemed ill-matched with what Foals was about to bring.

Foals’ performance was awesome – the band began by stealthily sneaking onto stage in the dark (wearing black t-shirts), finally breaking the long pause between sets to rip through the “Prelude” and first song on their new album Holy Fire (my favorite radio single of the year “Inhaler”). The audience was alive with intensity as the band fed off its energy tearing through tunes like “Milk and Black Spiders” and “Late Night” … whoops, I’m veering into the realm of concert review clichés (anyway, I’m not really sure how much energy the crowd actually provided, and the total amount of energy the guys from Foals consumed). My failed attempt to express the transcendental communion between the audience and band notwithstanding, I still must express how smitten I was with this show.

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As I have alluded to in past concert reviews (uh, not that anyone ever reads them), I believe the core of any strong live performance is a band’s rhythm section – if the bass and drums are on, even if the artists are the Ray Coniff Singers, then most of the time the show is solid (unless the singer is a friggin’ jerk like Jack White or Mac DeMarco). Similar to bands such as Appleseed Cast and Maps & Atlases, the members of Foals have serious technical command over their instruments (although with their parts pop/parts progressive stylings Foals’ sound doesn’t necessarily come off as math rock). Bassist Walter Gervers and drummer Jack Bevan were totally on during this performance allowing numbers such as “Electric Bloom” and “Spanish Sahara” to develop organically through intensely driving bass lines and precision drumming leading to the characteristic spaced out, exquisitely timed, heavy releases from the guitar and keys that so often occurs within Foals’ repertoire. And like my clichéd quip above, the members of Foals offer a tremendous amount of physical energy to their performance – as exemplified by guitarist Jimmy Smith’s rugged gyrations throughout the entire set while delivering his amazing spaced out riffs and solos.

I sense Foals isn’t greatly disappointed over their missed meal of trendy hipster food with me (or some dorky music journalist from the New York Times), and although I have failed to adequately gauge the precise amount of energy expressed and consumed during their set in Clifton Park a million weeks ago, I must declare that Foals puts on a darn fine show. This exact bill is currently rolling through the West, and I suggest that those who can check it out do so. Here is a clip of the performance of Spanish Sahara from the evening.

After reading nearly a million top ten/top fifty/best of 2013 album lists on various music blogs, I figure the last thing the world needs is another “best of’ list. Yet, I decided during a long drive from St. George to Monticello, Utah last Saturday (while listening to an Indie Rock “best of 2013” countdown on Sirius XMU) that as a tribute to a long year of listening and re-listening to a crazy number of rock albums during the course of 2013, I would have to compose and publish a list of my own. A further impetus for composing a “best of” list is a year of gnashing my teeth over reading countless Pitchfork album reviews. Reading Pitchfork is somewhat of a guilty pleasure – I love some of the staff writers’ work (especially Ian Cohen, who is an absolute lights-out writer). However, I often sense that the writers play to the expectations of the editorial staff leaving little space for them to take chances with their opinions. Strong evidence for this assertion may be found in the Pitchfork’s staff top ten best album lists the website posted in December.

A casual perusal of the Pitchfork lists compels me to imagine the majority of its writers belonging to a herd of livestock, driven by the growls of the editorial sheepdogs. Several staff top ten lists are derivative of the top 50 list Pitchfork put out and appear to be more-or-less jumbled versions of that list featuring Vampire Weekend, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Disclosure, Haim, My Bloody Valentine, and Drake. Sure, I admired all of those albums to various degrees (with the exception of Drake), but gee whiz, after decades of critical and popular bashing of disco music, how did Random Access Memory suddenly make Giorgio Moroder cool again? Modern Vampires of the City is a fine listen (although can someone explain the appeal of “Diane Young” to me?), and has some great songs, and demonstrates a major creative step forward of an awesome band, and blah blah blah, but does it really deserve the universal critical acclaim as the outright zenith in indie rock? I certainly didn’t think so. It seems to me that critical acclaim or distaste for music undergoes cascades, so that once an album garners praise or disapproval from the most influential outlets and writers, the majority jump on the bandwagon, leaving very little space for dissent and risk-taking.

In any case, what I present here is a list, not of the ten best albums of the year (since I apparently lack the musical acumen to recognize the immensity of Vampire Weekend, Kanye, and Daft Punk in any “best of” list), but rather the top ten rock albums of 2013 to which I simply loved listening and did often through my hours and hours and hours of traveling along the lonely roads of the Navajo Nation for work.

10. Yuck – Glow & Behold

Back in 2011 when Yuck released their first album, I was so enamored with the single “Get Away” (which features one of the best riffs of contemporary indie rock), that I was aghast when neon pink wearin’ Hello Kitty lovin’ Frank Nooch declared it one of the most overrated albums of the year. I subsequently dismissed Nooch as an idiot (especially since he also poo-pooed the amazing Fleet Foxes album Helplessness Blues, and described Foo Fighters Wasted Light as “soft rock for soccer moms”). Nooch was spot on with the Yuck debut though, which in retrospect, except for two songs (the fore-mentioned “Get Away” and “Suicide Policeman”), is a bore. Since the release of Yuck, its founding member, guitarist and lead singer Daniel Bloomberg, decided to call it quits. What seemed to be the final blow for Yuck (the first being Nooch’s nasty attitude) might have been the best thing that happened to the band since their new album is loaded with some great songs. And of course Yuck still boasts one of my top five Brainy Asian Chicks on bass, Mariko Doi, and the heavy lover with the afro from Jersey on drums, Jonny Rogoff. The single, “Middle Sea,” is my favorite and also has a hilarious video featuring Rogoff, with disappointingly shorter hair, acing some stodgy old dude in tennis.

9. Yo La Tengo – Fade

I missed out on Yo La Tengo’s glory years in the 90′s, however, after hearing and loving Fade last January, I set out on a meticulous listen of every Yo La Tengo LP. Fade is obviously one of those late-career albums (which are not usually ideal exemplars of a great band’s work), but in my mind the playfully eclectic nature of this album serves as a microcosm of Yo La Tengo’s entire discography. The first track, “Ohm,” could have been culled directly from the Moody Blues’ On the Threshold of a Dream, and the subtle intensity (plus the outstanding brass arrangements) of tunes like “Cornelia and Jane” and “Before We Run” leave me wanting to listen to them over and over (since I’m a sucka for brass arrangements). In addition, the how-to-make-tortilla soup demonstration for the acoustic folk tune, “I’ll Be Around” deals perhaps one of the best music videos ever.

8. Small Black – Limits of Desire

I recently heard this synth pop band characterized as “chill wave,” which I guess is supposed to be something like synth-based, R&B influenced pop tunes. While I’m not sure music expressing such influences needs to find itself in a new, hip-sounding category manufactured by know-it-all bloggers (or if the artists even want their music associated with the category), I guess I’ll go with it. The smooth tunes on this album certainly make me feel pretty chill, especially the first single and album opener, the luscious “Free at Dawn.” Lead singer Josh Kolenick has the kind of smooth romantic voice that would make Bryan Ferry blush. And, similar to some of my favorite 80′s Ferry albums like Avalon and Boys & Girls, the enjoyable, mellow vibe maintains itself throughout the entire album, with just enough hooks and interesting arrangements to make it an intriguing listen, even if the listener isn’t “chill.”

7. Foals – Holy Fire

Foals was the last concert I attended before departing from the East Coast last summer for the bowels of southeastern Utah where the only live music around comes from the yelps of various coyote packs and a good ol’ boy string band from Blanding called the Elk Ridge Boys (I like the coyotes better). Fortunately, the excellent Foals’ set sent me out of musical civilization with a bang. I love Foals’ distinctive song structures which build through mathematical precision, but with Holy Fire, the band deviates from its typical game plan by adding heaps of emotional intensity, relieved by dramatic implosions leading to more cool, contemplative tones. Holy Fire is full of such moments from my favorite Foals’ tunes ever, “Inhaler,” when singer Yannis Philippakis brusquely proclaims “and I can’t get enough, SPAAAACE…” (“Milk and Black Spiders” is a song of similar ilk). Even with all of the intelligence and musicianship Foals offers, the band has also established a pop concept with pretty catchy numbers full of hooks like “My Number” and “Bad Habit.” In spite of their youthful appearance (their drummer even looks like Opie from Mayberry), these guys are musical precisionists, which has been evident on their past “math rocky” outputs. Now they are placing their talents within a greater pop vibe, Foals have made their music much more interesting and accessible.

6. Naked and Famous – In Rolling Waves

This is one of those albums that has taken it on the chin from critics, with most lamenting that the album is a big letdown and “less fun” (in the band members’ words “darker”) from their debut smash Passive Me Aggressive You. I got my hands on In Rolling Waves a few weeks before it dropped last September and devoured it – darkness and all. I haven’t looked back since and have probably given it more listens than any other album this year. I guess the tunes are dark for alternative rock music, yet there are some cuts in this material I find absolutely addictive, especially the title track and “The Mess.” I love the collection so much that if I had any guts I would put it at the top of the list. But alas some of its offerings are shaken by pretty corny (yet, in my mind endearing) lyrics. I also think the band made mistakes with the singles they released (“Hearts Like Ours” and “I Kill Giants”), which fall to the lower strata on my hierarchy of the albums best tunes. In Rolling Waves also differs significantly from Passive Me Aggressive You in that the arrangements are much richer, especially with the vocal interplay between singers Alisa Xayalith (#1 Brainy Asian Chick) and Thom Powers. Anyway, I think this is a pretty sweet follow up to the debut (but I’m biased).

5. Chelsea Wolfe – Pain is Beauty

Speaking of dark…..Listening to Chelsea Wolfe’s blacker than black folk tunes invaded my conscious and unconscious life in December, and I am hoping the experience won’t affect my ability to think positive thoughts. Wolf’s work is certainly dreary, but the musical complexity of her compositions makes the extreme bummer definitely worth the listen. At the same time, Wolfe’s repertoire is so fresh, the genre/genres within which she is working on any of her albums are hard to pin down or classify. It is pretty clear that artists are breaking some musical boundaries when bloggers can find no better category than “ethereal wave” to place them in, which is even cheesier-sounding than chill wave. Wolfe has managed to chart some interesting musical territory, at times using just a guitar, such as in her recent acoustic album, Unknown Rooms. However, I think she could make interesting music if left with just a washboard and a fog horn. No matter what sort of musical accoutrements Wolfe employs, her lovely yet somber vocal and the cool electronic arrangements she creates in Pain is Beauty consistently result in some engaging, provocative tunes (meaning the entire album is good). I could not put this album down in December, and my mind may never be the same again.

4. Kvelertak – Meir

There were some great metal albums released in 2013 (and also one of the worst metal albums of all time with Ghost B.C.’s hideous effort), in addition to Kvelertak, my favorites came from Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Russian Circles, and Blood Ceremony. Kvelertak is a Norwegian band that I dismissed back in 2010 when I viewed the disturbingly violent video for their single “Mjod.” After hearing Meir for the first time last spring, I felt sorry I missed listening to their debut back then, because it’s awesome. Meir is, in my mind, even better, because it reminds me of some of the harder metal acts from the early 80′s, especially Balls to the Wall/Metal Heart era Accept, while maintain a contemporary freshness. The sounds on Meir playfully flirt with death and doomy metal, goofy vocal melodies that dangerously resemble pop rock, and throwback guitar power ballads. The description seems as if the collection of tunes should come off as one big inconsistent hot mess, but it’s the sheer eclecticism on this album that keeps it interesting throughout – even with frontman Hjelvik singing the entirety of the lyrics in Norwegian. This is not a bad thing in my mind, as it reminds me of the indistinguishable screams of Udo Dirkschneider in the power metal tunes like “Fast as a Shark.” I would say that Kvelertak and several doom metal acts that have released stellar albums in the last couple of years (loved Pallbearer’s 2012 debut) is bringing me back to a genre I gave up for dead in the 90′s.

3. San Fermin – San Fermin

The marching-band mania functioning as the lead single to this band’s debut, “Sonsick”, was hands down the best song of 2013. Aside from that killer single, however, the album is carried by a handful of amazing, harmonious tunes sometimes resembling the quirky, off-kilter machinations found on Dirty Projectors last two LPs. According to San Fermin’s founder, Ellis Ludwig-Leone (who, like David Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors, also graduated from Yale), the band falls into the category of “musical project,” making it seem as if its members are a bunch of hired guns assembled  to do an album and then immediately part ways. The recording of the album, for example, featured singers Jesse Wolfe and Holly Laessig from the band Lucius. Yet, San Fermin is currently on tour (Salt Lake City on 2/26/14 baby!), and Ludwig-Leone has brought in the awesome-sounding-live Rae Cassidy to sing the lead female parts full time, so I have my fingers crossed that San Fermin will officially break out of the project phase and become a real band. All of the songs on the record are lusciously arranged with all kinds of brass instrument bellowing and strings, as well as a choir with the female vocalists exchanging lines with the Allen Tate’s rich crooning baritone. I have seen several live performances on YouTube and fully anticipate the San Fermin live experience to be even more powerful than listening to their tunes on my cell phone.

2. Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe

This Scottish synth pop band’s heavily anticipated debut album hit like a ton of bricks in September meeting all expectations and proving probably the most consistently enjoyable LP of the year, so much so that it made it into nearly every indie music critic’s top twenty. Same as everyone else, I can’t find any missteps with the collection of songs, with literally every tune a potential hit single (Chvrches released 5 of the 12 songs on the album as singles). Among this great collection the absolute “gotta-turn-up-the-volume-for-this” songs are the lyrically intriguing “The Mother We Share,” “We Sink,” and “Gun” (the first three songs on the album), all perfectly exemplifying Lauren Mayberry’s awesome hook-filled choruses accompanying brilliantly arranged synths, loops, samples, and percussion. From that point the tunes become a little less poppy and more challenging, but nonetheless satisfying (I especially love the rapid fire synth passage at the end of “Tether” that could have emerged from one of the Pet Shop Boys’ more emotive moments). Unlike the unbelievably overhyped Haim debut, The Bones of What You Believe is THE album in 2013 to deserve all the critical revere it received.

1. Blood Orange – Cupid Deluxe

Blood Orange is the future of my music. I love this Brooklyn-based R&B, indie rock crossover thing that is going on that contributes a little 70′s era funk, a little 80′s era Prince, and a whole lotta awesomeness with acts like Blood Orange, Janelle Monáe, and the amazing (and viciously underrated) Solange Knowles. As the cool British dude who is the force behind Blood Orange, Dev Hymes has also produced some of Solange’s music (like the insanely cool EP True from 2012 – too bad Hymes and Solange got into a spiteful tete-e-tete via Twitter last fall over who contributed the most to the EP). When I first heard Cupid Deluxe back in November I was stunned for days, similar to how Destroyer’s Kaputt affected me three years ago. Subsequent listens have only driven me further into a deep fascination with this album, but what I like bestest are the album’s deep and groovy rock tunes that mingle funky horns, sweet bass grooves, and the exquisite vocals of Hymes’ girlfriend Samantha Urbani. I’m dreaming that albums like Cupid Deluxe quickly usher in a new wave of African-American influenced rock music missing since the demise of 70′s funk bands like the Ohio Players and Lionel Richie-era Commodores.

Anyway, here are 20 other albums I LOVED, but am too lazy to rank or write anything about (since I should be working on my dissertation RIGHT NOW instead of writing something no one will read).

Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork

Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull

Janelle Monáe – The Electric Lady

Yamataka//Sonic Titan – Uzu

Local Natives – Humming Bird

Frankie Rose – Herein Wild

Russian Circles – Memorial

Widowspeak – Almanac

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – Mind Control

Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse

Cults – Static

Washed Out – Paracosm

Foret – Foret

Capital Cities – In a Tidal Wave of Mystery

Laurel Halo – Chance of Rain

Shout Out Louds – Optica

The Strokes – Comedown Machine

Au Revoir Simone – Move in Spectrums

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Specter at the Feast

Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob

The post Deadpool’s Top 10 Albums of 2013 appeared first on Bearded Gentlemen Music.

In his seminal work, Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault describes the panopticon – a tower pierced with windows on top that opens out onto the inner side of a space where observation is necessary, such as a prison, asylum, school or hospital. Foucault explains that 19^th century social reformer Jeremy Bentham designed the panopticon to arrange “spatial unities that make it possible to see constantly and recognize immediately.” In this way, any individual within the given space can be seen from the panopticon, but does not see his observers. The power that emanates from the panopticon is therefore both visible and unverifiable – visible in that the inmate, patient, or student can always see it and imagine the observation taking place from its heights, yet unverifiable because the subject will never know whether or not he is really being observed.

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In 2004, the groundbreaking metal band ISIS co-opted Foucault’s interpretation of the objectifying power of Bentham’s invention and the fiction of perpetual surveillance that such technology asserts as the thematic of their album Panopticon. Ten years later, ISIS has re-issued a re-mastered addition of Panopticon complete with some new packaging (including an updated cover), and a 12-page booklet created by ISIS’ bandleader, singer, and guitarist, Aaron Turner.

My purpose for taking on the lofty task of discussing this particular album amounts to pure nerdy-fan tribute to the highly significant role that both ISIS and Panopticon have played in the development of my musical tastes over the past ten years. I discovered the album (and ISIS) at about the same time as I was forced to read Foucault as a graduate student in New York City. By the early 1990s, I had pretty much given up on heavy music since the demise of bands like Metallica with their sudden dedication to pop music accolades, the distasteful hyper-masculinity of heavy music front runners Pantera (although in retrospect much of their music was excellent), and the inorganic tendencies of the nu-metal crossover artists.

After living out the 90s in Philadelphia immersed in the city-influenced sounds of acid jazz (later re-dubbed “nu-funk”), King Brit and Josh Wink spinning funk and hip-hop mash-ups around town, and the poetic sounds of urban performers like Ursula Rucker, my return to heavy music didn’t occur until being exposed to something that travelled way beyond the cheesy lyrics, tough guy posturing, and creative decay that metal had become in my mind. Having given ISIS albums like Celestial and Oceanic a few spins (as well as Red Sparrows and Mogwai) in the early aughts – thanks to music geek JonRobertson – I sensed a sea change had occurred within some genres of heavy rock and metal, but it wasn’t until traveling on the A Train late one evening listening to the gradual rhythm section buildup followed by explosive riff-laden release and complex time changes of Panopticon’s second track, “Backlit,” that I realized I was back. Equally appealing to me was also the provocative thematic present in Panopticon expressed through its title, lyrics, artwork, and actual music.

In 2004, Turner conceived the concept of Panopticon as an expression of resistance against the loss of privacy and deterioration of personal freedom rooted in the political and technological environment present in America’s early aughts. Turner fundamentally describes Panopticon’s theme as exemplifying the plight of the objectified – the targets of surveillance and disciplinary observation – the unwary victims of the loss of privacy that the new age of technical surveillance ultimately spawns. In spite of how Turner describes his intent, the spaced-out riffs and musical forays present on this album speak much more to observation and discovery than paranoia and loss of freedom. There is certainly tension on the album brought upon by the mellow build-ups powered by Jeff Caxide and Aaron Harris’ rhythm section at the outset of songs like “Backlit” “In Fiction,” and “Syndic Calls” that ultimately release themselves with thundering guitar riffs and Turner’s unintelligible vocal. This build-up and release structure satisfyingly maintains itself throughout the album, with a respite from the pattern only occurring precisely in the middle with the steadier “Wills Dissolve” (until of course the song’s final minute or so), as well as the heavy kickoff of opening tune “So Did We.”

The lyrics from tunes such “Backlit” and “In Fiction” most directly address the experience of objectification that the power of the panopticon imposes. With lyrics culled directly from sections of Foucault’s Discipline and Punish,” Backlit’s” message describes the experience of the individual as “always object, never subject…[the] gaze never ceases, the light is upon you ‘til life in you ceases.” The song “In Fiction” likewise proclaims that “under the mortal sun, we cannot hide ourselves.”

 

Yet a strong contradiction arises through these verses – although an unnerving tension exists throughout the albums compositional structure, I have always viewed the collection’s thematic as an expression of the observer’s perspective, the panopticon’s source of power, and not the objectified observed. The overall airiness of the songs contained in those moments where tension gives way to commanding riffs suggest power, liberation, and freedom rather than the subjection that Turner/Foucault’s lyrics express.

Turner himself has stated that the thematic does not fit the musical tone by describing the album as possessing an “optimistic” vibe. The original cover of this album even suggests such a perspective through the view of landscape from a significant distance above the earth, signaling that the tones of the album provide a wide reach for perspective, exploration, and discovery. The cover of the reissue, on the contrary, grounds the thematic into what Turner had always described the subject matter of the album to be, which suggests the loss-of-privacy and paranoia with which Turner was concerned during the creation of Panopticon.

Ten years later, there is at least no doubt that the music of Panopticon and ISIS is relevant to the progression of metal and hard rock, especially considering the aggregate of acts that have turned gazey and introspective in their approach. Yet the messages pertaining to privacy and freedom which Turner addressed lyrically in 2004 present a stark irony if one considers the extent to which individuals now strive to objectify themselves by making their subjectivity constantly available to the public through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It seems that society has both embraced and become the panopticon.

Panopticon re-issue info.

The post Adopt This Album: Isis – Panopticon (Reissue) appeared first on Bearded Gentlemen Music.

In this year’s Chicago Council of Global Affairs annual survey rating how Americans feel about other countries, most respondents rated Canada as their favorite foreign nation (wow, I didn’t know that most Americans even knew there was another country in North America!). Amidst this warm gesture of neighborliness by us Americans (or, I guess I should say “citizens of the United States”), I have chosen to discuss what I think is totally awesome about Canada. Of course, who doesn’t love Dudley Do-Right, the Canadian Mounted Police, Maple Syrup, John Candy, people who identify themselves as “kanuks,” real hockey, natural gas, French-speaking women, Canada Geese, and frozen tundra? Goofy stereotypes aside (except French-speaking women), I am constantly amazed by the mass of talent that emerges from our friendly neighbors to the north. From musical artists to actors, comedians, as well as settings for various Sci-Fi channel TV shows, Canada produces an incredibly significant amount of our popular culture – pretty shocking for a population of 35 million (just a few million under the total number of people living in California). I also love travelling to Canada. In fact some of my favorite places in the world reside up there (Banff, Montreal, Prince Edward Island). In addition to all this, some of the best tunes in 2014 shot out of Canada, so in celebration of all things Canadian, and in recognition of the some of the great music that emerged from my second favorite country (right after Kazakhstan), I thought I would compile a Best of Canadian Rock Music 2014 list – complete with some of my “best of” picks for other cool stuff that is absolutely Canadian.

Best of Canada 2014

10. Tokyo Police Club – Forcefield

I begin my list with a pop album that I just straight-up loved listening to. Similar to some other albums in 2014 that were infectiously syrupy, well-crafted, and fun to listen to such as Manchester Orchestra’s Cope, Young the Giant’s Mind Over Matter, and Foster the People’s Supermodel, Forcefield became a disk I reached for when in desperate need of a natural stimulant. Forcefield also represents Tokyo Police Club’s foray into more complex song structures with its opening track, the nearly 9-minute triptych “Argentina I, II, III.” “Argentina” ranks as probably the most interesting song on the collection (and takes up nearly one-third of the entire album). Yet in spite of the opus’ run time, which on the surface might appear as a flirtation with prog rock, “Argentina’s” catchy hooks signal the commencement of a cool alt-rock dance album confirmed once such high tempo tunes like “Hot Tonight,” “Miserable,” and “Tunnel Vision” make their way through the album’s playlist. Forcefield received unfortunately little to no attention this year, but I listened to it until the mp3s nearly wore out on my phone (is that even possible??) and definitely ranks as one of my favorite pop albums of the year.

Doug and Bob McKenzie and SCTV

From cheesy (but brilliant) alternative pop to cheesy (but brilliant) Canadian comedians. When I was a kid in the early 80s, I was an avid watcher of the iconic SCTV Show when it aired late nights on NBC (I remember being especially intrigued with the image of TVs being thrown out the windows of an apartment building in the shows introductory spot). SCTV gave me my first exposure to classic comedic actors like John Candy, Eugene Levy (talk about cheesy), Rick Moranis, and Catherine O’Hara. The best of SCTV, however, was the conclusion of each show featuring “The Great White North” with Doug and Bob McKenzie. Rick Moranis played Bob and Dave Thomas was his brother Doug, who spent the two minute spots discussing such topics as novel ways to open beer bottles, the Canadian “delicacy” back bacon, and the inappropriate number of parking spaces at doughnut shops, all while completing each sentence with “eh” and frequently calling each other “hosers.” All of the crazy skits and topics addressed in “The Great White North” culminated in the classic film featuring the McKenzie’s called Strange Brew, which I watched at least a hundred times on HBO in 1984. The film depicted the brothers pursing the dream of free beer while landing jobs at a brewery, being convicted of murder, and sent to an insane asylum, and consuming all of the beer in a brewery tank (I will never forget the line at the end of that scene; “I need to take a leak, eh”). The movie sounds stupid (and it is), but it also hilariously funny and firmly ensconced the McKenzie brothers and their wacky portrayal of Canadian stereotypes as some of the best comedy of the 80s.

9. Cold Specks – Neuroplasticity

My intro to Al Spx, aka Cold Specks, occurred in a crowded little bar in Montreal. At a certain point during the show, the sheer force of her voice completely shut down the clatter at the bar (no mean task in a room of drunk French Canadians) to the point where the only background noise was the horns of taxi cabs traveling down St. Laurent Boulevard. This young, bantam-sized black lady from Ontario belts out folk-based rock tunes like a troubadour, but has established a tone and style that is all her own. The songs she writes widely transcend contemporarily popular folk rock and soul aesthetics to create something that Spx herself described with the weird description “doom soul.” Such identifications aside, Spx and her raspy, soulful voice seemingly belong in a rocking chair on a porch somewhere in the Deep South with a guitar belting out some gospel-based soul. Cold Specks latest album, Neuroplasticity, spotlights her band more aggressively than that expressed in Spx’s much more folkish and shadowy 2012 effort, I Predict a Graceful Expulsion. This emphasis on Cold Specks as a band rather than Spx as a solo artist occurring on Neuroplasticity nicely arises on songs like album standout “Absisto” with an orchestral tension broken with an unexpected pause then a crash of aggressive drumming and synths, and “Bodies at Bay” which is as much of a straight-up rock tune that Spx has ever produced. Another swell instrumental touch on the album involves Ambrose Akinmusire’s spooky trumpet that weaves through songs in a way one might expect at a New Orleans funeral march, like the opener, “A Broken Memory” and “Old Knives.” In any case, Neuroplasticity represents a startling and satisfying step forward into a new take on indie rock for this intriguing artist. Here is a link to my review of the Cold Specks show I saw in Montreal back in 2012.

Orphan Black and Tatiana Maslany

Cold Specks’ often dark and atmospheric vibe on Neuroplasticity could serve as the sound track of the just as excellent dark and atmospheric Canadian television show, Orphan Black – my favorite series on TV right now (Canadian or otherwise) featuring one of the best actresses on the small screen, Tatiana Maslany (hailing from Regina, Saskatchewan – a city whose name I love to pronounce correctly). In a nutshell, Orphan Black is about a set of women who were born as “sister clones” in 1984 to various women through in vitro fertilization – all of whom are played with extraordinary diversity by Maslany – but were not aware of their cloned identity until becoming adults. The series focuses primarily on one of the clones, Sarah Manning, who gradually becomes aware of her state as a clone after randomly witnessing the suicide of one her “sisters” in a Toronto subway station. The underlying premise of the show revolves around the activities of a spooky scientific evolutionary movement and a contending organization known as the Prometheans who compete using the clones as pawns to control the creation of human life. In addition to the troubled and complex character Sarah, other series standouts include her flaming gay, prostitute foster brother Felix (played with hilarious aplomb by Jordan Gavaris) and soccer mom with an attitude sister clone Allison Hendrix (played of course by Maslany). The series is suspenseful, dark, side-splittingly funny, thoughtful, and sci-fi-ish in a slick way. If you haven’t seen it, get some Netflix discs (or an Amazon Prime account), watch the first two seasons, and brace yourself for season three on BBC America in April 2015.

8. Hey Rosetta! – Second Sight

Who knew such bright and infectious indie pop could emerge from such a dark place (at least in the winter time) as far northern Atlantic Canada. With their fourth album Second Sight, the band from St. John’s Newfoundland unveil an album polarized between moody folk tunes and poppy alt-rock. Ascending out of just about the furthermost northern mark of North America, one would expect Hey Rosetta!’s sound to come across as something super morose akin to the Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver’s alpine stylistic identity. Second Sight, however, manages to diverge a bit from its preceding albums (which fell more on the sugary side) to simultaneously create both a thickly atmospheric vibe in tunes like “Promise,” “Cathedral Bells,” and “Alcatraz” and something a bit more pop-oriented evident in the lead single “Kintsukuroi,” the percussive album opener “Soft Offering (for the Oft Suffering),” and the enthusiastic “oh-ho-oh-hos” laden throughout “Dream.” Differences aside, there are some absolutely killer tunes on this disc that I rank as some of the best of the year. The slow-burner with a crescendo “Promise” and the Bob Seger-ish roadhouse rocker “Harriet” haven’t left my playlist since I acquired Second Sight. Certainly, this album presents two contrasting poles, but I think both extremes offer some satisfying tunes to remind one that the sun both rises and falls in the Canadian northlands.

Atlantic Canada/Maritime Provinces

The members of Hey Rosetta! are from St. Johns in Newfoundland and Labrador, a part of Canada’s remote and gorgeous Atlantic Region. I don’t quite understand why Newfoundland isn’t classified as a Maritime (which means simply “of the sea”) along with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, but since its super close (I have never been to Newfoundland or Labrador by the way), I will rhapsodize over the Maritimes (mind-numbing Anne of Green Gables’ stories notwithstanding), which I have visited and love. I absolutely hate suburban sprawl with all its tedious traffic, strip malls, and pollution, and having lived in Vermont for several years, I gained a definite appreciation for pastoral and lush unpopulated regions, and the Maritimes are full of them. Provinces such as Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia offer some awesome coastal sights, like the red sandstone cliffs found on PEI’s coastline and small fishing villages such as Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the swimming is bit warmer on the nearly desolate beaches of maritime Canada than down in the northern New England beaches of Maine and New Hampshire. Eastern Canada, much more so than the Atlantic cities of the US, has maintained some of the old world, European feel in its cities, which is explicitly true of Quebec’s two major towns (more on that below). With the lack of hardcore commercial encroachment, towns like Halifax and Charlottetown offer a vibe that is reminiscent of small British coastal ports. Both towns are also packed with college students, which makes for a cool alternative vibe, and some awesome music venues and bands. One of my favorite Halifax bands is the very Canadian-looking Wintersleep. Check out their Letterman performance from 2012 of “Weighty Ghost.”

7. Motel Raphaël – Cable TV

Welcome to Candy Land folks. The debut album from this highly photogenic bunch from Montreal is about as bubbly as my eight year old daughter’s bath time. Normally I don’t fall for such sky-high levels of sweetness, but the three chicks who front the band (Clara Legault, Emily Skahan, and Maya Malkin) are just sooooooo adorable, I can’t resist. Besides, throw any concoction of cutie pie lyrics utilizing three-part harmonies backed up by a solid rhythm section (including a stand up bass), trumpet (love the horns baby), and the constant presence of a xylophone is beyond doubt a recipe for my veneration. Amidst all of the sugariness, however, Cable TV unveils some interesting moments demonstrating a few unexpected musical influences, such as the nod to Jimmy Page during the opening sequence of “Walk Back to Me” and how about that salute to June Carter Cash in “Jameson.” Motel Raphaël and its bustling big-indie band aesthetic has been compared to fellow Montreal darlings, Arcade Fire. Don’t buy the comparison for a second, though – for starters, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne are not as cute and the tunes on Cable TV come across much more subtle compared to Arcade Fire’s colossal compositions. Their monster single “Ghosts” has netted Motel Raphaël some Canadian awards, and I’ve listened to it so many times that I sing it in my sleep. Unfortunately I can’t manage the awesome French-language version of the song (“Fantômes”), so here it is for all of those nerds (like myself) who love to hear women speak (or at least sing) French.

Montreal

The Francophone Province of Quebec features one of my favorite cities in the world, alongside Venice, Brooklyn, Moscow, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and Lübeck, Germany. In addition to having one of the best indie rock scenes in world, Montreal is the apotheosis of cool – the town offers a mix of Old World European flair and North American modernism as well as a fantastic restaurant scene. I think what I love best about Montreal though is the idea that just a few hours north of Albany, New York exists a place where one can hear fluent French (as least French Canadian French) and enjoy a city reminiscent of a few medium-sized European towns like Dublin, Ireland and Basel, Switzerland. I also like a city with excellent public transportation (Montreal has a clean, comfortable subway system) historic streets that are fun to stroll (Old Montreal), an underground city (the largest underground complex in the world), a strong youth culture (Montreal has two major universities including the “Harvard of Canada,” McGill University), and a network of cool clubs where one might discover the next Arcade Fire. Montreal is a unique place in North America and one of the few places in the world where one can order poutine (and listen to women speaking French while eating it). What the heck is poutine? See below.

6. Stars – No One is Lost

I should just move to Canada – with awesome bands like Stars and New Pornographers around up there featuring middle-aged members, I could finally go to live shows and not feel like such an old creep amongst all the 20-something hipsters. I’m not sure what to make of Stars – they characterize themselves as an indie pop band, which suits their sound well enough I suppose, however, their current efforts seem to rely heavily on a dance/disco orientation. Perhaps the spirits saturating the closed down gay disco in Montreal located one floor below the studio where No One is Lost was recorded influenced the general vibe of the disc. Yet, even in the midst of the dance aesthetic present on several of the tunes (most evident in the amazing title track and opener “From the Night”), No One is Lost manages a considerable amount of genre bending from its flirtations with an 80s Roxy Music sound (check out the saxophone on “Trap Door”), to country pop (“Look Away”), and even echoes of hip hop (via the interesting choice of a triplet bass sound cascading through the Morrissey meets Outkast implosion in “The Stranger”). With all the jumps through various genres, what gets lost in the album is the strength of its musicianship nicely backing all the stylistic swagger. Critics have panned the lyrics of No One is Lost as bubblegum masquerading as pessimism, but I find the seeming glumness of lyrics such as “put your hands up ‘cause everybody dies” a mature and thoughtful examination of the communal nature of human weakness and fallibility. The notion that we’re all a bunch of scared, grave-bound losers, including all twenty-something hipsters hanging out at music venues, certainly provides welcome comfort to this old creep.

Poutine

What the heck is poutine? After writing about another great Montreal-based band, I take this opportunity to gush about a Quebec-based fast food delicacy – poutine! Poutine is a dish consisting of french fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds (ummm, who doesn’t love cheese curds?). Poutine is wildly popular in Quebec and around other places in Canada, so much so that one can get this stuff at just about any diner in Montreal, and even in some McDonalds and Burger Kings there. I’m a huge fan of cheese curds generally (especially when they squeak while chewing them), and I’m also a casual fan of gravy and french fries (when I was a teenager I used to order a dish at Dees Family Restaurant consisting of french fries and gravy), so discovering poutine one day at a french fry stand (cabanes à patates) near McGill University made my year, and overcame the Philly Cheese Steak for my all-time regional junk food favorite. Who would have known the French could have come up with something so schlocky (attribute this to French Canadian culinary radicals).

5. Death from Above 1979 – The Physical World

What a totally awesome comeback album for these two Toronto dudes who dropped off the map following their first album, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine in 2004. Whatever the reasons for their early demise and recent comeback, Death from Above 1979 deliver a consistently solid 11-track set on the The Physical World. I love the aesthetic of this band – a two piece featuring my two favorite instruments, bass and drums – with songs packed with awesomely hard riffing off a bass guitar and some relentless drumming. Of course the major standout of the album is the first single “Trainwreck 1979,” kicked off with the breathy “who-ha” dwelling amidst the song’s addictive riff, (I love those “who-has” that nostalgically recall the “hahh-hahh-hahh…” employed in AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”). As catchy as “Trainwreck 1979” is, the massive appeal of this album for me lies in the work of bassist Jesse F. Keeler. The intermediate bass solo in “Right On, Frankenstein” and the riffy bridge in “Virgins” are some highlights among a cadre of really cool ideas that Keeler explores in The Physical World. More than any other album I listened to this year, The Physical World is one to “sit back and enjoy the magic or rock!!!!”

Parti Québécois and the Quebec secessionist movement

The Physical World provides a good point from which to discuss my favorite Canadian political movement – the Parti Québécois (PQ) and its platform to split from the rest of Canada. After all, Death from Above 1979’s drummer Sebastien Grainger was born in 1979 (and hence the band name), which is the same year the PQ proposed a referendum in Quebec to pursue secession from the rest of Canada (which was defeated by a 59.56 percent to 40.44 percent margin in the 1980 referendum). At this juncture, most Canadians (especially those over 40) will dismiss me as an idiot. However, in the midst of the fall of Jimmy Carter and the rise of Ronald Regan, René Lévesque, and his leadership over the PQ provided the most interesting political movement going on in North America in the early 1980s. I remember attending a lecture given by former Prime Minister Joe Clark, who suggested that if Quebec were to leave Canada and become a sovereign nation, it was conceivable that the western Provinces would apply for U.S. statehood. Likely a terrifying proposition for many Canadians living from Manitoba to British Columbia, but entertaining nonetheless.

4. White Lung – Deep Fantasy

With the release of the excellent Deep Fantasy, White Lung has been heralded as the best feminist punk band on the planet. I guess I support that assertion, but what I like the most about the album is the stuff that doesn’t really sound very punk. My favorite songs on the disc, for example, “Face Down” and “Wrong Star” with their clever interplay between Mish Way’s vocals and Kenneth William’s super tight guitar come across as tidy and dense hard rock tunes. When Way harmonizes in these instances on the album, she also has the remarkable look and feel of Debbie Harry circa tunes like “X-Offender.” The straight-up punk songs on the record are pretty good too though – I especially like the powerful opener “Drown the Monster” and Way’s infectious vocal delivery in “Lucky One.” Deep Fantasy is a special record, and definitely the most challenging lyrically and musically among all of the albums on this list. The lyrics on tunes such as “I Believe You,” which addresses rape, are sobering and thoughtful, and although the band is dubbed “feminist,” nothing they express is overtly militant. Rather, White Lung seems more interested in simply conveying honest, albeit angry-sounding, observations about gender inequalities and their implications.

Bizarre and Super Dave Osbourne

As White Lung is a band that is intent on addressing the injustices of gender inequalities, I will take a moment to criticize probably my favorite Canadian cable sitcom from the 1980s – Bizarre. The show, hosted by Canadian comedian John Byner, was a half-hour skit comedy that single handedly introduced me to women’s breasts when I was 12. Every show had at least one segment with a women tricked into revealing herself to the host. From my pre-teen perspective, Bizarre was heaven, yet looking back at Bizarre, the skits of women taking off their tops seem nearly shocking and potentially provided the inspiration for Howard Stern’s approach to female sexual objectification (although not as explicit). Teenage fantasies notwithstanding, I will say that the most brilliant aspect of the Bizarre show was the segments that featured Super Dave Osborne. Played by Bizarre regular Bob Einstein, Super Dave would perform a stunt during his segment which would go catastrophically wrong, reducing his anatomy to pretzel-like proportions and causing him to go off on a litany of profanity usually directed toward broadcaster Mike Walden and his assistant Fuji Hokiyito. Check out this classic Super Dave skit where he gets all smashed up in a playground.

3. Caribou – Our Love

The tunes on Our Love remind me a lot of the techno music I discovered in German clubs when living there in the early 90s. Without really aspiring to be one, the album also stands as my favorite chillout album of the year. Dan Snaith, the dude behind Caribou, manages to keep the album cohesive-sounding despite of all the influences he incorporates from the last few decades of electronic music, making the disc without question the most fun (can’t I just say funnest?) electronic album I listened to all year (in your face Aphex Twin!!). The tracks on Our Love range from sounds that call back to early 90s European techno (“Our Love”), 80s synth pop (“Back Home”), chillout electronica (“Dive”), to even something reminiscent of excellent Japanese video game soundtracks (“Mars” could have totally fit on one of Nobuo Uematsu’s Final Fantasy soundtracks). And of course Our Love contains one of the best songs of the year, the dancefloor dandy “Can’t Do Without You.”

The Inuit

The cultural group, often referred to as “Eskimos” but gradually becoming known as the more politically correct term “Inuit” (meaning “human being” in most Inuit dialects) from the far Canadian north are without question my favorite Canadian First Peoples. Historically, the Inuit’s primary source of protein is Caribou meat (for those unaware, Caribou is the western hemisphere’s version of the reindeer), which they acquire through nearly year-round hunting. Tens of thousands of Inuit live throughout the Canadian Northwest Territories and Nunavut and have historically adhered to a nomadic foraging lifestyle (meaning they lived in igloos during the winter and ventured throughout the Canadian tundra during the other seasons to hunt Caribou and fish for salmon). As an anthropology teacher, I have read several books and seen a handful of movies depicting the lives of this interesting people. I have included a clip from my favorite Inuit movie (which is surprisingly mystical, violent, and sexual) called Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. If you ever wanted to know what a naked Eskimo looks like running across a frozen lake while being pursued by would-be murderers, now’s your chance. Here is a great set of clips from a great movie about a great people.

2. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Mended with Gold

I have admittedly never taken this three-piece from Toronto seriously – mostly because of its silly name – until I took my first spin through Mended with Gold … and hooked! Looking through Rural Alberta Advantage’s history it is clear that the difference between Mended with Gold and the band’s past efforts is the work of drummer Paul Banwatt, which is the absolute highlight of the disc. The eclectic combination of RAA’s tight and simple pop arrangements with Banwatt’s hyperactive drum kit is rather striking and adds a razor sharp edge to what would otherwise resemble the “hey ho-ness” of bands like the Lumineers. Although I usually dismiss anything that Ian Cohen from Pitchfork writes as useless schlock, he was spot-on when he wrote the following about Banwatt’s performance on Mended with Gold; “Regardless of your tastes, if you care about drums at all, Mended With Gold is a must-listen.” Never a truer statement has emerged from your keyboard Mr. Cohen. Anyway, those amazing beats, coupled with some pretty catchy pop tunes, decent lyrics (Nils Edenloff comes off as Colin Meloy before the Decemberists started making Jethro Tull albums), and cute back-up vocals from Amy Cole made this album my go-to for long trips along the lonely roads of the Navajo Nation. This performance of “Our Love” makes my hair stand on end every time I listen to it.

Rush

While recognizing an amazing percussive performance, it seems fitting to commemorate another three-piece Canadian act that happens to be one my favorite bands of all time featuring one my favorite drummers of all time – RUSH!!!!! There were periods in my teenage life when I listened to Rush and Rush only for months on end. I not only sequestered myself to the singles from Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves that made it onto rock radio, but also religiously listened to the stuff none of my friends cared about like Caress of Steel and the self-titled debut, and had a particular devotion to the post-Signals electronic-influenced music like Grace Under Pressure and Hold Your Fire. Rush certainly has had its share of critics (largely due to Geddy Lee’s often awkward-sounding voice), chicks hated them, and the dudes from Rush were obviously nerds, but the imagination that went into their work from the arrangements to the lyrics I find to be nothing less than astounding. I recently re-watched the documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, which features a hilarious quote from Gene Simmons (Rush and Kiss were early tour buddies) that nicely expresses the identity of the members of the band, and probably why I find them and their goofy image and style so endearing. Simmons said “every night on tour the girls would line up and even an ugly bastard like me could get laid, but the Rush guys would never do it …they couldn’t be gay, but what the f**k did they do when they went back to their hotel room?” It turns out that they were sitting around reading books and watching black and white science fiction flicks on TV (evidently the origin for such far out lyrics in songs like “Xanadu” and “The Trees”). The members of Rush are always extremely precise in their live performance so their shows sound nearly like their recorded music (see the classic live albums Exit Stage Left and All the World’s a Stage). Check out this live performance of my all-time favorite Rush song that I fell in love with while listening to Exit Stage Left, “Red Barchetta.”

1. The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers

Having been a huge fan of Dan Bejar and Destroyer for the last few years as well as a casual admirer of Neko Case and A.C. Newman, I was primed to fall in love with the latest effort by the Canadian super-groupers, the New Pornographers. Brill Bruisers is the very definition of “indie pop” if it were actually a legitimized musical genre. The album’s greatness stems from A.C. Newman (as the default bandleader) who brilliantly manages the eccentric nature of New Pornographers’ guest star-esque lineup with a consistent sound and feel as though it were the sole musical project of each of its members. For example, even as wacky and distinct as the lyrics and Bejar’s unique crooning are on “War on the East Coast,” the tune doesn’t sound out of place coupled with the powerful opener and title track “Brill Bruisers,” or the super swan song closer, “You Tell Me Where.” However, the success of Brill Bruisers occurs for the most part within the unapologetic pop-fun of its delicious hooks found in just about every song on the disc.

Dan Bejar

Dan Bejar is a Canadian national treasure. Of course he can be jerk as evidenced by his hanging back stage during his non-singing parts at New Pornographers shows and his tendency to sit or kneel on stage during Destroyer gigs when he is not singing. Nonetheless, if people can applaud the efforts of the absolute asshole, biggest jerk in rock who is Jack White, I can worship Dan Bejar. In terms of his stylistic choices, Bejar also comes across as fearless. The move to a Roxy Music via Avalon sound in 2011’s hands down best albums of the year Kaputt followed such deviations as the largely MIDI composed sound in 2004s Your Blues, to a full band sound in 2006s Destroyer’s Rubies, to largely synths and strings as backers in 2008s Trouble in Dreams. A.C. Newman said a few months ago that Bejar was swinging his dick around when he released last year’s Spanish-language EP, Five Spanish Songs (a record filled with covers of songs originally recorded by Spanish band Sr. Chinarro). Maybe so, but regardless of the language, the songs on that  EP are just as thoughtful and awesome as anything else in his cannon of work (especially if you speak Spanish). Bejar is indeed everything that everyone thinks Mac DeMarco is – namely a smart alecy slacker who can crank out some amazing jams while offering up richly descriptive and unusual lyrics. As evidence for this assertion, check out Bejar’s sizeable discography that includes early burners such as the David Bowie-influenced “Destroyer’s the Temple” in 2000s Thief and the sublime “The Bad Arts” from 2001s Streehawk: A Seduction, to later achievements including the saccharine riff-driven “Dark Leaves from a Thread” from Trouble in Dreams and just about every song on Kaputt. Through all of the seeming slackerism that Bejar portrays in his performance and even lyrical output, connecting the dots of his work reveals a definite earnestness invested in his distinctive aesthetic – take some notes DeMarco.

I obviously love Canada, but honestly, having only visited about a half dozen times, I’m sure I’ve left a lot of cool stuff out, so “très grandes excuses” (don’t laugh at my French). Anyway, I look forward to some awesome sounds coming from the hinterlands in 2015 (including highly anticipated albums by Dan Mangan, Purity Ring, and of course Grimes!!), and also a visit to the western Provinces (hmmm, maybe Vancouver finally?). Oh, Canada!

http://www.canada.ca/en/

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How awesome is it to be hanging out in a little southern Californian bar in early spring checking out a big band that you love? The ultimate irony of the Hey Rosetta! set at the Soda Bar in San Diego last Tuesday night was that no one was more happier to be there than the members of the band themselves (accept this reviewer of course). Even lead singer Tim Baker remarked that Hey Rosetta! had spent the previous month touring around cold Canada, and getting to amazing-weather San Diego to take in 70 degree walks of the beach was pure bliss. After all, the Canadian band from St. John’s, Newfoundland found itself performing in a location whose distance from the members’ hometown is as far as any two substantial urban centers in all of North America (except for perhaps Miami and Anchorage, Alaska). In spite of taking place before a relatively sparse (albeit enthusiastic) Tuesday night bar crowd, the band members’ exuberance for their present locale expressed itself with an incredibly animated performance.

I was curious to see how all of the members of Hey Rosetta’s seven-piece ensemble would actually fit on the Soda Bar’s small stage (but alas, in spite of tremendous crowding made it work), and their wall-of-sound, big band vibe would play in the cramped venue. Suffice it to say, even though cellist Romesh Thavanathan had to sit on Phil Maloney’s tom tom and guitarist Adam Hogan was forced to stand off the stage, Hey Rosetta! delivered some swell renditions of eleven of the best tunes from their past three albums.

The set began with the first two songs on the new album, Second Sight (rated by yours truly as one of the top ten best Canadian albums of 2014), making for the perfect show opener since the single “Soft Offering (For the Oft Suffering)” works as an infectious pop groove leading off the excellent Second Sight. As great as the performances were of Hey Rosetta’s up-tempo tunes like “Gold Teeth,” “Red Heart,” and especially “Harriet” (whose honky-tonk, roadhouse sound is my favorite song on Second Sight), the set’s greatest moments arose during the more restrained tunes. The slow burner “What Arrows” and the latter half of “Neon Beyond” featuring melodious backup vocals from Kinley Dowling and Mara Pellerin fashioned a mood that brought the otherwise noisy Soda Bar to a hush.

Second Sight was only officially released in the States just a little more than a month ago (even though it came out last October in Canada), so if you haven’t given it a spin yet do yourself a favor. And if you find Hey Rosetta! stopping by your town on their tour, check them out. They night not be as excited to be in Des Moines, Dover, or Indianapolis as they were to be in San Diego, but hopefully they’ll book some venues in those towns where their lead guitarist can find a spot on the stage.

Hey Rosetta!’s Facebook Page

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Remember when Sleigh Bells’ Treats hit back in 2010? I loved it – it was fresh and packed with unexpected musical references (metal riffs, hip-hop beats, and European techno) making the sound feel completely original. Amidst all of the euphoria that first Sleigh Bells album inspired, I wondered how much further the project could progress over the course of subsequent albums. Alas, the lackluster following two albums from Sleigh Bells demonstrated that when a musical project arrives fully-fashioned there is very little the artist can do to sound fresh and progress. Music critics and audiences also don’t seem to take kindly to second or third albums that do little to raise the ante on the original vibe regardless of their quality (take the relatively recent sophomore albums from Temper Trap and Naked and Famous for instance, which were both really good, but drastically dipped in sales, radio play, and general public attention).

With Twin Shadow’s third album, Eclipse, George Lewis, Jr. resoundingly accomplishes what the aforementioned bands did on their first try – deliver a fully formed version of an artist’s aesthetic vision. Twins Shadow’s debut, Forget, delivered some intriguing tunes, such as “I Can’t Wait” and “Shooting Holes” and some rather complex synth arrangements and at times disturbing, overtly macho lyrics. However, Forget’s rather slim production, quite similar in sound and style to the debuts from Chairlift and Nite Jewel, diverted considerably from Lewis Jr.’s seemingly entrenched-in-the-80s influences, underscored with a Morrisey-esque vocal delivery and synth arrangements reminiscent of Black Celebration-era Depeche Mode.

Confess, Twin Shadow’s sophomore release, certainly improved upon Forget with a grossly larger production effort. I personally loved the album, particularly due to its sly references to heavy hitters such as Prince and Springsteen without tumbling completely into the realm of 80s period pop. Yet, with all of Forget’s upsides, there is a sense of Lewis, Jr. holding back, just a smidge. Opportunities to let choruses transcend into power hooks in songs like “Patient” and “Be Mine Tonight” give way to restraint and subtlety. As brilliant as Confess is I often find myself holding my breath over subsequent listens for never occurring sonic breakouts.

 

For Twin Shadow’s third album, Eclipse nearly all eleven songs on remedy the shortcomings on Confess. As present in his first two albums, the technical sophistication of the album is top-notch with every note, beat, and riff precisely placed. Yet, the single-ready tunes littered throughout Eclipse like “To the Top,” “I’m Ready,” and “When the Lights Turn Out” with arrangements packed with tension and release and some catchy lyrical hooks (“…but I stick around for, jealousy, ecstasy slowly taking over me.”) traverse down the pathways through which great pop songs should sojourn.

I caught the first performance of Twin Shadow’s eclipse tour last week at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, California, in which Lewis, Jr. was obviously prepping for the national stage for South By Southwest. The disappointingly short 11-song set was composed mostly of the tunes from the new album (seven of the eleven songs were from Eclipse). Barring the somewhat abbreviated version of “To the Top,” the new tunes sounded perfect live and overshadowed the performances of past-album crowd favorites like “Five Seconds” and “Run My Heart.” The standout moment of the show occurred during the performance of what I consider to be the crown jewel of Eclipse – the album’s title track.

Located square in the middle of the album’s playlist, “Eclipse” offers a more delicate vibe than the disc’s other tracks, yet simultaneously represents its heart and soul. The tune’s text and pace anchor the album in both its thematic and technical elements. The lyrics that engage Lewis, Jr.’s subject matter like “embrace, then drift, relax then shift, you eclipse me, release, resist, hold back, then kiss, to eclipse me,” place into relief the cycle of tension and release, tension and release, forming the primary stylistic foundation and most satisfactory features of the album.

Even more striking on Eclipse, however, compared to Twin Shadow’s past efforts is the sense that the band is, …well a band, rather than just a solo effort. Lewis, Jr. has suggested that bandmate and keyboardist Wynn Bennett has evolved into a major studio contributor to Twin Shadow, and the album’s rich sound testifies to a more collaborative effort. Songs like “Old Love – New Love,” “When the Lights Turn Out,” and especially “To the Top,” evoke an overproduced (a good thing in this instance), epic vocal ensemble quality recalling pop artists like Bonnie Tyler and Fire Inc. (from the Streets of Fire movie soundtrack). If one compares Lewis, Jr.’s musical power pop-based progenitors (he has commented on hating references of his work with 80s acts, but hey it’s there – especially implied when covering a Smith’s song last summer to promo Eclipse), to his new album, Eclipse stands, at least artistically, as a peer.

All of my nerdy praise and gushing for Eclipse notwithstanding, I fear that Twin Shadow has hit the zenith of its artistic expression. With the band’s move from indie label 4AD to the big leagues with Warner Brothers and the increased public attention the act will receive from an enhanced marketing effort the major label can afford, I fear subsequent recording efforts will be mired within the expectation to replicate prior perfection and suffer the shame of wide scale public and critical disappointment. At least for now I’ll continue to enjoy Twin Shadow’s new tunes, and pray I won’t have to listen to another Sleigh Bells album.

Rating: 5/5

Twin Shadow’s Website

The post Album Review: Twin Shadow – Eclipse appeared first on Bearded Gentlemen Music.

Nana: The American Cut here and The Music of Nana: The Musical here.

Nana: The Musical

For years, I have fantasized about writing screenplays for a trilogy of musical films. These films wouldn’t be musicals in the traditional sense (or even the contemporary sense as in the despicably pretentious Glee) featuring various characters spontaneously breaking into unchoreographed song and dance with support from an invisible and anonymous full orchestra. Rather, these movies would be about making music, and each would feature full performances of some really cool rock tunes. Don’t get me wrong (full disclosure time), I love musical films – from Showboat to Oklahoma to an American in Paris. I grew up on this stuff, and still take a nostalgic pause upon hearing any rendition of “Tonight” from West Side Story. My favorite musical film (in fact my favorite film of all time), however, is a relatively unknown movie from the 1980s, which everyone who sees it absolutely hates but me. The film, entitled Streets of Fire, was a mid-eighties flop directed by Walter Hill (of the immortal 70s New York City gangland masterpiece Warriors) and staring the barely adult Diane Lane, Michael Paré, Willem Dafoe, and Rick Moranis of Doug and Bob Mckenize fame and later Honey I Shrunk the Kids. I actually saw this movie when I was about fourteen at the old Crossroads Cinemas in Salt Lake City. Although proclaimed a stinker by critics and audiences alike, this film was different from any other musical I had ever seen. Streets of Fire, among other themes, was about the music (it dubbed itself “A Rock n’ Roll Fairy Tale”) by employing complete performances of some amazing songs in a concert setting, rather than just bits of tunes included to establish a particular mood in a scene. The two videos I post here nicely portray the musical tone of the film.

Walter Hill’s groundbreaking approach to the musical film is exactly that convention I would utilize in my fantasy films (and has already been successfully employed in films like the emotionally realistic Once).

The first film of the trilogy would be a quasi-fictional recreation of the making of Rick Astley’s music video for the mega-hit bubblegum pop tune “Never Gonna Give You Up” from 1987 (does anybody remember “Rick Roll?”). Check out this version of the video accompanied by various “fun facts” about its making (these infectious pieces of trivia would form the base themes/occurrences of the film’s plot).

Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up by Pierrot68

The second film would deal with a young and incredibly handsome anthropologist with an amazing singing voice and talent for musical arrangements (sound familiar? I didn’t think so…) who takes a sabbatical from his ethnographic research in Siberia to participate in a televised musical competition ál la American Idol, but cooler somehow. The third film in my trilogy would be an English-language film version of the Japanese manga series (you know, comic books featuring little girls with big eyes wearing impossibly proportioned short skirts?) called Nana. Writing to this subject represents the primary purpose of this primarily purposeless article.

Nana

Nana the manga series and the Japanese live action movie based on the manga is for me some of the best bits of pop culture to ever emerge from the land of the rising sun (which is a bold statement, considering some of the amazing anime and horror flicks produced in Japan). Nana the manga is the work of the brilliant illustrator and storyteller, Ai Yazawa. Since my eyes first glazed over the illustrations in Nana, I was in love with the images depicting Japanese youth culture and fashion, but once I dug into the books, the emotionally charged story of these young, unevenly paired Japanese chicks unrelentingly captured my interest.

The story of Nana in essence is this. Two young women (both are twenty years old and coincidentally named Nana) living in different provincial towns in Japan decide to change the course of their lives and move to Tokyo. Yazawa portrays one of the Nanas (Nana Komatsu) as naïve, easily led, girly, susceptible to love at first sight, unsure of her ambitions, and highly dependent on others. She moves to Tokyo to rekindle a romantic relationship with a young man, Shoji, from her home town who left a year prior to enroll in a prestigious art school. The other Nana (Nana Osaki) is a bad ass, goth girl, singer in a rock band called Blast (short for “The Black Stones”). This Nana’s boyfriend, Ren (who was Blast’s bassist), left town to become the lead guitarist of a popular Tokyo rock group called Trapnest. Although she still harbors romantic feelings for Ren, goth Nana wants to move to Tokyo to continue her career as a musician in a livelier music scene. While travelling to Tokyo to begin their new lives, the two Nanas happen to be sitting in the same row of a bullet train. Because of a harsh snow storm, the train is delayed several hours forcing the Nanas to become acquainted (much to naïve Nana’s delight and goth Nana’s chagrin, the former Nana spends the entire time talking about her boyfriend in Tokyo). A few days after their journey together the two Nana’s inadvertently meet again, this time to view a prospective apartment in a low-rent side of town. Both Nana’s want the apartment, but can’t afford the rent alone, so naïve Nana proposes that they share it and become roommates, and goth Nana begrudgingly agrees.

I’ve posted a music video from the Japanese film version of this story. I love the film and its music (all of which were big influences on this post), and I think the two actresses, Mika Nakashima and Aoi Miyazaki, successfully capture Yazawa’s manga Nanas. Mika Nakashima, who portrays goth Nana in the film, is a big time pop star in Japan, so she performed all of the songs that goth Nana sings in the movie.

Trailer nana le film by psycho_pom

Anyway, to make an extraordinarily long story short, the Nanas become very close (the naïve Nana becomes sucked into goth Nana’s rock n’ roll lifestyle and social circle and subsequently becomes Blast’s biggest fan).The turning point in the girls’ relationship comes when naïve Nana catches Shoji cheating on her with a young women (Sachiko) from his art class. When naïve Nana makes this discovery, goth Nana is with her (they are hanging out in front of the restaurant where Shoji works). When the Nanas realize that Shoji is two-timing her, naïve Nana crumbles into an emotional heap of Japanese cuteness. Goth Nana, however, goes crazy, screaming at Shoji and his clandestine lover, but eventually turns back to comfort her emotionally distraught friend. This occurrence marks an important juncture in the plot, because the moment signals a transformation in the girls’ relationship. Before this point, the emotionally stronger, even boyish, goth Nana merely tolerates naïve Nana, often treating her like a pet kitten (she even nicknames her “hachi,” which in Japanese is a reference for pets). Her reaction to Nana’s discovery of betrayal begins a much stronger attachment, even an emotional dependency that evolves over time between these two unlikely companions. The rest of the story revolves around goth Nana and Blast’s ascension into the Tokyo music scene and her eventual reconciliation with Ren.

 The strength of cultural difference in cinema and American popular culture

On its surface, the scene I describe emits a sappy, emotionally excessive indulgence that only an admirer of chick flicks could appreciate. In my defense (although I like chick flicks), I think there exists a powerful subtext within the Nana story germane to some of the social tensions inherent in the cultural and economic diversity found in our society (meaning North America). Certainly the relative cultural homogeneity of Japan places a limit on what the differences between the two Nanas might socially exemplify. The manga, film, and subsequent anime television series depict the women as fundamentally different based on their economic levels, interests, intellectual capacities, fashion sense and personal style, and perhaps other characteristics which I lack the cultural familiarity to ascertain. In spite of these, the dominant figure of the two (goth Nana) manages to develop a deep fondness for the other (and vice versa) that goes beyond sympathy or perhaps even sexuality (the stories at times subtly suggest some homosexual undertones). The fact that the two Nanas maintain extremely different behaviors, outlooks, and appearances makes their attachment all the more appealing. I think the emotional connection between these seemingly mismatched young women might make a much stronger statement if portrayed in a more socially and culturally diverse society.

The success of the racially charged Sidney Poitier movies from the 1950s and 60s, such as the In the Heat of the Night and The Defiant Ones illustrates the strength of that appeal in a context closer to home, even in the midst of a social environment that was far less tolerant of cultural difference than the present. Poitier’s character Virgil Tibbs from In the Heat of the Night inverts the power relationship transforming the black character into the authority figure over the white law enforcement officers in a small southern town. The film is so compelling precisely because it sells the racial power inversion to a primarily white audience with a strongly sympathetic but authoritative main character who is black. At the same time, the film exonerates the prejudice of the white sheriff (played by Rod Steiger) whose initial inclination is to mistreat his black counterpart (Poitier as Tibbs) but gradually comes to accept his authority regardless of the social meaning of his appearance and demeanor. For both black and white audiences, Tibbs is an attractive character. As a well-educated, highly proficient law enforcement officer he transcended the popular racial stereotypes among the white public of the period as a figure with whom many whites felt they could relate. Nonetheless, he was an African American male having to deal with racist attitudes generally (a reality that all people of African descent must regularly deal with in this country) and specifically in the setting of a small 1960s southern town.

Certainly this device has been utilized in popular film numerous times since the groundbreaking Sidney Poitier films (for example, the aforementioned Walter Hill successfully played with these themes in his 48 Hours action comedies in the 80s starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte, or Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington being a more contemporary example). I think the reason that this approach (pairing fictional characters symbolic of social, cultural, and economic difference) to discussing cultural diversity is attractive stems from the opportunity it offers to reconsider the social discourses (usually racist in nature) that bolster the differences. It also provides some relief to audiences (both black and white) from the tensions that the economic inequalities and cultural differences between people of African and European descent have levied on our society.

In any case, I think there is room in this intriguing narrative about embracing cultural differences for a discussion about how to find common ground and considerate attitudes between groups and individuals who historically have maintained significant, even unbridgeable cultural (code for ethnic), racial, and economic differences. In essence, therefore, I love the Nana stories because they play upon the theme of how pronounced cultural differences might be mutually supportive in a context of tremendous social diversity, rather than sources of tension and sites wherein inequalities might be constructed and perpetuated. This highly significant social thematic should also be effectively accentuated with music. Although Nana as a manga is fundamentally a literary text, the lyrical nature of the texts and images emits an imagined soundtrack – rock music literally pours from its pages, and the live action film successfully fills the silent gaps of the literature (which is something the anime series fails to do).

Nana: The American Cut here and The Music of Nana: The Musical here.

The post Nana: The Musical (Part 1) appeared first on Bearded Gentlemen Music.

Nana: The Musical (Part 1) here. The Music of Nana: The Musical here.

Nana: The American Cut

As I suggest in Nana: The Musical (Part 1), my Nana film would use social issues as a back drop, but would primarily be about the music (where Streets of Fire was dubbed “A Rock n’ Roll Fable,” Nana would be “An Indie Rock n’ Roll Fable”). The story is set primarily in Brooklyn’s indie rock scene, which is where the Nanas live and work. Both Nanas are from Pennsylvania and are nicknamed “Nana” – goth Nana (Nanesha Jones) is from south Philadelphia while naive Nana (Nanette Kennedy) is from the Philly burbs. Nanesha is African American and is also a rock star working the various Philly area rock clubs with her band Blast for several years until her boyfriend/band bassist Wren is offered a spot with an up and coming Brooklyn indie rock band called Trapnest. A year later, with her career stagnating in Philly, Nanesha decides to move to Brooklyn as an attempt to jumpstart it.

Meanwhile, Nanette is several years out of high school, and has failed out of Bucks County Community College where she was studying art. Nanette is white, blonde, and comes from a middle class family. Her boyfriend, Shawn, whom she met at the college, transferred to the New School in New York and has moved to Brooklyn. After a year of saving up by working at a movie theater, Nana prepares to join him in Brooklyn. The Nanas coincidently take the last New Jersey Transit train of the evening from Philly to Trenton to catch a train from Trenton to Penn Station in NYC. Unfortunately, the train to Penn Station breaks down at the station, so both Nanas have to stay the night in the station’s waiting area. While wandering around the crowded lounge looking for a seat, Nanette trips over Nanesha’s guitar case and hits the floor. Nanesha helps her up, and Nanette asks her if she can take the seat on which Nanesha’s guitar case was leaning. While engaging in some small talk, the Nanas discover they share the same nickname and destination. Emboldened with a feeling of kinship, Nanette proceeds to inundate Nanesha with her plans to live with her boyfriend in New York. When they finally reach the City the next morning, Shawn is waiting for Nanette at the station and Nanesha quickly disappears into the crowd.

After about a week of living with each other, Nanette and Shawn decide it would be better for her to move out and find a job, so she begins looking for apartments in Brooklyn. Nanette and Nanesha coincidentally arrive at the same time to view a spacious and affordable apartment in Bay Ridge (sorry, fictional indulgence) and argue with the landlord about which of them was there first. Nanette proposes they share the apartment, and persuades a reluctant Nanesha to become her roommate. The film goes on to portray Nanette and Nanesha as they find jobs (Nanette stumbles through a string of jobs from a telemarketing company to a second-hand clothing store), and negotiate their sometimes rocky relationship. Former band mates from Nanesha’s band in Philly turn up, and they befriend Nanette. The members of Nanesha’s band decide to reform and begin playing venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Nanaesha is haunted by feelings for Wren as images of his success in the various clubs where she plays constantly remind her of him. The Nana’s developing relationship and her music career distract Nanesha from the pain she feels over the broken relationship.

One of my favorite scenes in the Japanese Nana movie takes place in a music club similar to the various clubs and bars in Williamsburg that host rock performances. Unless a band is super popular, there are usually just a few dozen people at the most hanging around to see a show or snooker up to the bar. Naïve Nana and her best friend from home are positioned directly in front of the stage waiting to see Blast’s first set in Tokyo while everyone else in the venue is hanging out at the bar. When goth Nana steps up to the mic and says “Good evening, we’re the Black Stones,” over the buzz of the bar patrons no one but the two friends are paying attention. The band begins its set with the film’s signature song “Glamorous Sky” (apparently a huge hit in Japan) and midway through the song the kids at the bar take notice and approach the stage. Having never seen goth Nana sing before an audience, naïve Nana is so captivated by her friend’s performance that she fails to sense the gathering crowd until she is violently pushed forward by the force of the bodies rushing to get closer to the band.

This scene would also find itself in Nana: The American Cut, taking place in a Williamsburg club, with Blast opening up for a couple of other indie bands in front of, initially, a pretty sparse crowd. Once Blast starts to heat up and play some tunes, everyone leaves the bar and hits the stage to check out the band. I once had an experience at a Dragons of Zynth show at the recently deceased Glasslands Gallery (RIP) where several artists from various Brooklyn bands showed up to check out and support the band, the most prolific being Kip Malone from TV on the Radio. I want dudes like Malone hanging out at Blast’s debut Brooklyn performance as well and take notice when they play some tunes.

Meanwhile, Shawn has been working at a restaurant in Williamsburg, where Nanette often visits him and eats. A young Russian woman named Sasha (short for Alexandra in Russian) from one of his art courses gets a job at the restaurant as a server and they begin a friendly relationship, eventually taking the subway together to work from school (their shift ends when the restaurant closes at midnight). Shawn often walks Sasha to her bus stop to catch a cross-Borough bus to Sunnyside in Queens. One evening in the pouring rain, Sasha just misses the bus, and rather than having her stand in the rain for the next one (which probably won’t be along for another 45 minutes), Shawn offers to let her crash at his place in Williamsburg. After that night (most likely of fornicating), the two begin an affair, about which Shawn keeps secret from his friends and Nanette.

One evening, Nanette decides she will meet Shawn at work when the restaurant closes. Nanette is concerned that it’s too late to be out alone, so she begs Nanesha to take the subway with her up to Williamsburg. Nanesha goes along begrudgingly only after Nanette promises to clean the apartment every day for the next month. When the Nanas arrive at the restaurant, they decide to hang out in front of the place for a few minutes while Nanesha has a smoke. After a few minutes, Shawn and Sasha walk out of the place holding hands as he is in the middle of explaining that he plans to break up with Nanette. In shock, Nanette freezes and then runs off down the street, while Nanesha screams at the boyfriend for his deceptive nature. She then takes off after Nanette and finds her shriveled up in a ball inside the Metropolitan Avenue subway station. Nanesha picks her up and gives her a long comforting hug, and then takes Nanette by the hand leading her to the G Train platform to make the return trip down to Bay Ridge.

Monica Martin of Phox

These episodes gradually mark a turning point in the Nanas’ relationship from adoration (on Nanette’s side) and bouts of amusement and annoyance (on Nanesha’s side) to one of true affection between both of the young women. This is also a highly significant moment for the cultural and economic context which I discussed above. As individuals of African and European descent, these two women function as symbols of the cultural and economic split present in contemporary America. As a rock musician, Nanesha and some of the film’s other characters embody the crossing of the aesthetic divide that some black artists have already undertaken. Examples of black musicians firmly planted in the stereotypically white indie music genre are TV on the Radio, Santigold, Cold Specks, Dev Hines, Twin Shadow, Solange Knowles, Noelle Scaggs from Fitz and the Tantrums, and super recently Monica Martin from the indie buzz band Phox. I think white audiences of indie and alternative rock music (myself included) enthusiastically approve of this phenomenon. Aesthetics aside, the relationship also requires Nanesha to overcome any issues she might have hangin’ with a rich white girl from the burbs. Although Wren is also white, he was an urban kid, he rocked, and their back story is that he got her into performing music in the first place. Hence, Nanesha assigns a higher value to him than she might other whites.

While Nanette is clearly the weaker, and needier, figure of the two Nanas, the existence of that power differential alongside their racial and other cultural differences seems hardly notable in our contemporary social climate (at least not in the sensational fashion in which Tibbs maintained superiority over Steiger’s sheriff was in the 1960s). The racial and other cultural issues that her differences with Nanesha exemplify are not much of a concern for Nanette. And they shouldn’t be – after all, we are in the middle of the Obama-age when most of white America can comfortably consider people of African descent as equals so long as they have the educational and/or economic credentials to justify such consideration. What this phenomenon masks, however, is just how inherent racial inequality still is in our society. Just as Potier and Steiger discredited racial stereotypes in 1960s, I want my Nana-narrative, similar to films such as Precious, to examine (albeit briefly) the economic nature of racial inequalities that are often hidden from the public, especially in the context of the seeming in-existence of such inequalities during a historic period with a black president.

Nana: The American Cut will do this through flashbacks to the time period when she began performing with Blast exemplifying the economic circumstances to which many people of color in Philadelphia and other similar urban centers in America are exposed. Both the original manga and subsequent film utilize flashbacks to demonstrate goth Nana’s challenges during this time. She was orphaned as a little girl and raised by her grandmother who died shortly before the story begins. Several scenes depict goth Nana as a high school dropout befriended by former schoolmate Nobu, who subsequently introduces her to Ren. Ren takes a liking to Nana and they begin dating. He teaches her how to play guitar and recognizes that she has some vocal talent. Ultimately, they form a band called the Black Stones (or the better-sounding abbreviated Blast), which includes Nobu on guitar. At one point during the flashbacks, Nana remarks that Ren’s intervention gave her a reason to live after the death of her grandmother.

In similar fashion, Nanesha is recovering from a heroin addiction and the pain of losing her mother who died of cancer and raised Nanesha as a single parent in South Philly’s Grey’s Ferry projects. Nana spends most of her time hanging around South Street when she meets Robert who later takes her to a concert where Wren is playing guitar for a punk band. After the show, Robert introduces Nanesha to Wren and they eventually begin dating and move in together. Wren helps Nanesha overcome her drug habit, teaches her to play guitar, and encourages her to develop her singing voice. They eventually form a band together with Wren on bass, Robert on guitar, and a super cool dude named Yaz on drums. After playing about a year’s worth of successful gigs in the Philly and south Jersey area, Wren is contacted by old friends from a rising indie rock band in Brooklyn band called Trapnest, which needs a bass player for an upcoming nationwide tour.

Yaz – A Super Cool Dude

The other thread in this story (which develops through the second half of the film) is Nanesha’s unresolved feelings for Wren. By the midpoint of the film, he has no idea that she has moved to Brooklyn (she has purposely avoided him). She also hasn’t told Nanette that she used to date him (Trapnest has become quite popular in New York, and Nanette has a huge crush on the band’s guitarist, Ted). One evening Nanette asks Nanesha to take a trip home with her to see Trapnest at the Union Transfer in Philly (Nanette is unaware of the history between Nanesha and Wren and just wants to see her current favorite band in her home town), and Nanesha reluctantly agrees. During the Trapnest’s performance, Wren notices Nanesha and before the band goes out for the encore, Wren calls Yaz to ask him why she is there. Yaz explains that Nanesha has been living in Brooklyn and her roommate Nanette brought her to the show.

At this point, I should mention one of the key, yet heretofore ignored, characters – Yasu. In the Nana manga, Yasu is Blast’s drummer (I’ve changed his name from Yasu to Yaz – somehow the “z” sounds cooler). He’s a slick dude with a shaved head and a suave demeanor. Drumming is mostly a recreational activity for Yaz as he recently graduated from law school and is working for a Philadelphia law firm. Several months after Nanesha has departed for Brooklyn, Yaz ascertains that she is emotionally needy while living so close to Wren – she also needs a drummer to recreate Blast. One night he shows up at the Nana’s apartment and announces he’s moving to the Big Apple to rejoin the band. When asked about his position at the Philly law firm, Yaz announces he has left it, and there are plenty of firms looking for young lawyers in the City. In the Manga, goth Nana is relieved with the notion that Yasu will be close to her and she immediately embraces him.

Like Nanette, Yaz is African American, tall, and dark-skinned. My image of him is a young Laurence Fishburne from Apocalypse Now. I imagine him as the emotional glue that holds the characters together (as he is in the manga). Everyone loves and respects Yaz, because he is cool, smart, and expresses a caring attitude towards those around him. An additional intriguing aspect of Yaz’s character is that he used to be romantically involved with the lead singer of Trapnest, Reira, before she became a big time pop star. There are also some ambiguous hints in the manga story of romantic attraction between goth Nana and Yasu. For example, when Ren calls Yasu to find out what Nana was doing at the show, Yasu ends their conversation by remarking that if Ren doesn’t go after Nana, then he will. My film version of the story will definitely emphasize these relationships revolving around Yaz.

The Conclusion

The dramatic tension at the end of the Nana: The American Cut revolves around the rekindling relationship between Wren and Nanesha. I hate to feel bounded by the traditional melodramatic devices that enslave the multitude of American movies (especially chick flicks), employing conflict created through some kind of misunderstanding between the protagonists or a misdeed that one or both has committed and their subsequent reconciliation. I really like the Japanese film ending for its sheer simplicity – there is a little strain brought upon by Ren and goth Nana’s reconciliation, but the film winds down to a cute completion. This works because of the compelling nature of the characters and the “to be continued…” feeling of a film based on very long series of graphic books. In the Japanese film, “the dramatic tension” begins even before the main events of the film, communicated through flashbacks of Ren bailing out on his relationship with Nana to move to Tokyo and join Trapnest. The film employs the notion that goth Nana still loves Ren, but is too stubborn to reach out to him so naïve Nana and Yasu conspire to get them back together.

In Nana: The American Cut (similar to the Japanese film and manga), the Nanas travel to Philadelphia and attend the concert where Wren sees Nanesha in the audience. This segment of the film provides some gushy, sentimental moments. Nanette takes Nanesha to her palatial home somewhere on the Mainline in the Philly burbs. Nanesha is apprehensive about the visit because she is not sure she wants to see Wren and is also afraid Nanette’s parents will feel uncomfortable hosting an African American young woman with an alternative appearance. Instead of treating her with judgmental disdain, (much to Nanesha’s disbelief) Nanette’s family embraces and gushes all over Nanesha for befriending and taking care of Nanette in Brooklyn.

Later in the evening, the Nanas attend the concert, and when Trapnest leaves the stage before the encore, Wren calls Yaz to find out why Nanesha is there. Yaz gives Wren Nannette’s cell number (Nanesha doesn’t have one because she is too poor) and tells him to call Nanesha. Wren sends a text to Nanette’s phone to see if Nanesha wants to meet – Nanette posing as Nanesha agrees. Yaz gets a hold of Wren’s hotel key and gives it to Nanesha explaining that she should go see him. Nanesha initially intends to deliver Wren’s key and give him the big FU for leaving her for New York, but in the course of an argument between them regarding who did what, they fall back into each other’s arms.

With the issue of Wren and Nana’s romance settled, the Japanese film ends on a comedic note while the members of Blast and Trapnest (accept for Reira) sit around in the Nanas’ apartment (naïve Nana is absent). As a gift to naïve Nana for helping her hook back up with Wren, goth Nana arranges for the Trapnest’s guitarist, Takumi (on whom naïve Nana has an epic crush) to answer the door when she gets home from work. Once the door opens and she discovers her pop idol crush, naïve Nana begins to cry and collapses. A befuddled Takumi turns back to his friends in the apartment and reports, “she’s crying” to the laughter of the group. As Nana enters the apartment with tears smiling with the films ends.

 That’s certainly adorable, but my conclusion intends to reemphasize some of the themes of race, social, class and cultural reconciliation that I discuss above. The primary tension in both my film and the Yazawa comic revolves around the progression Nanesha makes to embrace her relationship with Nanette, which is wrought with reluctance brought on by the girls’ social differences. Nanesha’s resolution regarding her friendship with Nanette facilitates the dramatic conclusion of my Nana film.

 After Nanesha and Wren’s reconciliation, the girls return to their lives in Brooklyn. Nanette gets fired from her office job for goofing around and making stupid mistakes and returns that evening to find members of both bands (Trapnest and Blast) hanging out at their apartment. Nanette is visibly upset about being fired and irritated that people are hanging out in her apartment. Before she can storm to her room, however, Nanesha grabs Nanette, quickly explains that she needs to pay her back for getting her back together with Wren, and gives her a big, wet French kiss.

Although this is not how the Japanese film ends, it is culled from a great moment in Yazawa’s comic. Rather than trying to depict some sort of homoerotism between the two friends, Yazawa attempts to portray here how the relationship between the two has solidified. In this moment, goth Nana’s normal cool and impersonal demeanor breaks for a moment to demonstrate a moment of playfulness and intimacy, but it also represents an expression of gratitude to naïve Nana and demonstrates that the bond between the two Nanas is strong, mutual, and lasting. I would replicate this moment in my film at the conclusion, because I think it powerfully demonstrates the extent to which these girls have overcome conflicts with each other connected to cultural and economic differences between them. Although Nanesha clearly maintains the power in the duo’s relationship, she concedes a deep affection for Nanette and the willingness to maintain their friendship.

I love the idea of the movie ending at a Brooklyn club as all of the characters leave the Nanas’ apartment to head to Williamsburg to catch some awesome band like TV on the Radio at the Williamsburg Theatre (as if there would be tickets available). I also envision the end of the film slightly mimicking the conclusion of Streets of Fire with some of the characters performing two songs in a concert setting. As Kip Malone from TV on the Radio had caught Blast perform their first set, Malone notices Nanesha and the other members of Blast in the audience and invites her on stage to perform a song, which plays while the film credits role.

Nana: The Musical (Part 1) here. The Music of Nana: The Musical here.

The post Nana: The Musical (Part 2) appeared first on Bearded Gentlemen Music.

Nana: The Musical (Part 1) here and Nana: The American Cut here.

The Music of Nana: The Musical

I’ve thought a lot about the specific music that would be played in the film. I figure there could be at least six songs performed in the film (Streets of Fire managed to squeeze in five and a half songs, so why not Nana: The American Cut). I want the tone of the film to echo two distinct vibes. Firstly, I want the sound to tribute the super-chick punk sound of early Siouxsie and the Banshees. I feel like the general look of the original Manga characters possesses the look and feel of Siouxsie Sioux (although in terms of the musical quality of the Japanese film, the music falls much more in the realm of J-Pop). So I want the whole package, an African American punk chick playing punk music.

I would also want to showcase the sounds and style of the Brooklyn independent music scene. Therefore some of the music employed would offer a mix of indie rock and pop, with a spattering of the new Brooklyn indie soul that Solange, Janelle Monáe, and Blood Orange have made cool and popular. In addition to the basic soundtrack tunes, the film would incorporate several live performances in various Brooklyn clubs (my favorites are the Williamsburg Theatre, Brooklyn Bowl, and Union Pool) and Union Transfer in Philadelphia.

Track list

• Nanette playing with Blast in the opening scene of the film at the Legendary Dobbs on South Street in Philadelphia (before Wren takes off to join Trapnest in Brooklyn). As a necessary tribute to Siouxsie and the Banshees (to whom my ideas owe much), Blast opens the flick performing an old Banshees’ tune from their second album Join Hands called “Icon.” This tune is simple, it rocks, and is meant to depict the early development of an up-and-coming rock band (which is exactly the stage at which the Banshees were when they recorded “Icon”). The tune also features irresistibly weird lyrics like “Can I stick skewers in my skin….”

• The British chic group Savages were a major buzz band in 2013 (singer Jehnny Beth is an obvious artistic descendent of Siouxsie Sioux), and I for one bought into the critical hype. My favorite tune from Savages’ debut album Silence Yourself was “She Will” that lovingly employs a riff culled directly from the Banshee hit “Christine.” A performance of “She Will” would occur as the first song of Blast’s first set ever in New York City (in some Williamsburg club as I described above).

• The Trapnest set at Union Transfer in Philadelphia will include the Chairlift song “Bruises.” I love the song – it’s totally poppy and fun. However, when I saw Chairlift live several years ago at Webster Hall in New York, they performed a version of the tune incorporating lyrics from the Modern English classic “I Melt for You.” I would love to see Charlift’s singer, Caroline Polachek, to play Trapnest lead singer Reira and replicate that exact version during their Philly set in the film.

• TV on the Radio had a big year in 2014 with their amazing album Seeds (one of my top 10 albums from 2014). The killer first single from the disc, “Happy Idiot” or “Careful You” would be a great tunes for the band to play during the final scene of the film as the scene with all of the gang when they are hanging out watching the TV on the Radio performance.

• As described above, TV on the Radio will pull Nanesha on stage for the final song of the film. Instead of the punk songs that she performs throughout the film with Blast, I would like to see Nanesha play something infectiously poppy. I have a serious crush on Solange, and in spite of her age I can totally see her playing goth Nana. I would love to see Nanesha play something by Solange or perhaps Janelle Monáe, like the Del Hines produced “Losing You,” or Monáe’s“ Dance Apocalyptic.”

 


So yeah, this is all a big time fantasy, but one that is fun to think about. I feel like writing this and making it public (although I have no pretensions that anyone will have read this far) I can finally let it go and move on to bigger and better things, like writing some plot points for my Rick Astley film!

Nana: The Musical (Part 1) here and Nana: The American Cut here.

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Jackson Phillips, aka Day Wave, has been the subject of great deal of buzz from various indie rock bloggers. Within the last handful of months, Phillips, formerly trained as a jazz percussionist, recorded a solid EP by himself basically in his bedroom (which released in July), put together a touring band, and hit the road. Due to the tremendous amount of aforementioned buzz Day Wave has received among Brooklyn indie/alt rock circles, the band induced a rather raucous, sold out crowd for its early set on Wednesday evening at one of my all-time favorite music venues in New York, the immortal Mercury Lounge.

Day Wave’s EP released last month (entitled Headcase) is a solid initial effort for the project and evokes a cheery California surfer vibe wrapped around some straight up demoralizing lyrics (just refer to “Nothing at All” and the catchy Sirius XMU single “Drag” to inject a big fat shot of gloominess to your life).

To capitalize on all of the energy emanating from a sold out crowd in a small venue, Phillips and his band started Day Wave’s New York premier shrewdly playing the first two, rather high-tempo and poppy tracks from the EP (“Nothing at All” and “Total Zombie”). The band that Phillips has assembled around his bedroom tunes was impressive and tight (and ultimately inspired me to write this review). The touring version of Day Wave is made up of some young, excellent musicians (bass, lead and rhythm guitar, keys, and drums) who masterly elevated the energy and feel of the EP’s five songs. The most notable change from the record tracks to their live interpretations was the vocal chorus that the bassist, lead guitarist, and keyboardist added to the mix pumping a little juice into the sometimes subdued vibes of the songs’ recorded versions.

Given that Day Wave has only five recorded songs to date, I was curious to see how Phillips planned to fill out an entire headlining set. Alas, it was evident when the band reverted to its B and C lists as not quite fully-formed songs with some rather repetitive choruses reared their heads in the middle of the set. Yet the band was so tight with its live execution (kudos go out to the rhythm section – but everyone was excellent) that I hardly minded, especially when the tunes transcended into DIIV-esque jams.

After experiencing Day Wave live, I’m happy to confirm that the project is definitely worthy of all the indie-buzz it has attracted and look forward to a full-length recording, hopefully coming sooner than later.

Day Wave Links:

Facebook, Twitter, Souncloud, Tumblr, Instagram

Nathan Jones

The post Day Wave – 8.19.2015 – Mercury Lounge, NYC appeared first on Bearded Gentlemen Music.

I spent the latter half of my college years in the mid-90s obsessed with all things industrial music, so anything contemporary that evokes even the slightest trace of the industrial vibe from about the mid-80s to the early 90s gets my heart racing. Last year when the Soft Moon’s new disc arose, Deeper, I was immediately turned on to the relatively subtle underpinnings of Trent Reznor’s vocal delivery on tunes like “Black” and “Being,” the urgency of “Far,” and the melancholic Depeche Mode mimicry of “Wasting” (my favorite song on Deeper, and one my favorite songs of 2015).

The Soft Moon is a unique unit in terms of its make-up, musicianship, and performance chops. The band is basically the possession of Luis Vasquez, who conceived of the Soft Moon as a musical project geared to casting out some personal demons. After releasing a couple of singles in 2010, Vasquez signed with the Captured Tracks label, recorded a self-titled LP and several years later released a dark, gloomy, industrial, electro pop album – the brilliant Deeper.

Suffice it to say, the Soft Moon’s live performance is solid and demonstrates an even darker, moodier, and harder side to the band than is evidenced in their studio recordings. Over the year I have been listening to Deeper, I considered the album akin to Nitzer Ebb’s subtle industrial sound, as well as Depeche Mode’s darker moments, like in Black Celebration.

As the set began, a crowd member asked Vazquez how he was feeling. The band leader replied “better this time!” A reference to the Soft Moon’s last stop in Denver a year ago when the entire band had the flu. Given that experience, it was evident the guys seemed determined to throw all of their energy into this show. The primary strength of the Soft Moon’s live set is the group’s total reinterpretation of their recorded tunes into something more fitting for a concert setting. Vasquez has gone through a couple of live lineups, but I love the current composition of the band. Vasquez plays guitar and is joined by two other musicians, a drummer and bassist (who occasionally contributes to percussion). The Soft Moon began the set with the first tune on Deeper, “Black,” featuring pre-recorded synths working as a backdrop to both the drummer and bassist pounding out drum beats colliding against Vazquez’s whispery vocal delivery.

The live set was not simply a vehicle to promote Deeper, as the band dug into the Soft Moon’s earlier albums. Interlaced with the live interpretations of newer tunes were songs from the self-titled disc like “Circles” and “Dead Love.” Many of Vazquez’s earlier compositions are instrumentals, the interpretations of which fit the vibey mood of the show. At a couple of points, such as when the band performed “Wrong,” Vazquez pulled out an old garbage can and wailed away on it to reproduce the great percussive groove on Deeper. My only regret is that the Vazquez refrained from performing my album favorite “Wasting” during the encore, out of either sheer exhaustion (understandable as all of the band members really threw their energies into the performance), or perhaps because the more subdued tune didn’t really fit the tone of the show. In any event, the Soft Moon delivered a great live overview of their intriguing catalogue of songs.

Soft Moon Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Nathan Jones

Music is cool, and I write about it sometimes.

The post The Soft Moon @ Marquis Theater, Denver, Colorado – February 6th, 2016 appeared first on Bearded Gentlemen Music.