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jmdbjk · 3 years ago

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Hi, I noticed that Jimin hasn't been caring about his idol image/fashion lately. He's wearing clothes that he wore many times before and even repeat those outfits in the same week. He used to be a fashionista. His airport fashion was always the talk of town. What do you think happened ?

Hey, Anon!

I suppose if you are accustomed to seeing wealthy music artists and celebs flaunt their money by never wearing the same very expensive thing twice, Jimin WILL disappoint you. And I have to mostly disagree with your assessment of his fashion choices lately.

[Chanel 31 rue cambon sweater, available for resell $6,000, August 2020, Posted by Jimin on Twitter]

I am going to address your ask in several parts.

"Jimin hasn't been caring about his idol image/fashion lately."

I would not say that Jimin doesn't care about his idol image. I think he very much does care about it only because there are aspects of it that are just part of his personality. He is naturally polite. He is well-mannered and courteous to those he meets. He acknowledges Army whenever he sees them in public. He also is very private which is an aspect of his idol image. He knows that everything he does and says and every time he farts it is scrutinized. But I know you were speaking about his appearance and not what he had for lunch.

[Hobi’s JITB listening party, July 2022, W Magazine Korea]

"He's wearing clothes that he wore many times before and even repeat those outfits in the same week."

In my opinion, Jimin has never been very extravagant in his day-to-day clothing choices and is something he just isn't interested in dwelling on. He's never given me that impression. He always keeps it simple, typically t-shirt/jeans or black pants. He has his favorite pieces/brands and he sticks with them. I have heard it mentioned that he is somewhat "frugal" so in the context of multimillionaire frugal, Jimin wears his $300-$600 (or more) t-shirts multiple times. Nothing wrong with that. We have seen him repeat several of his very nice and very expensive pieces such as that Chanel sweater above. There is another blue and white Chanel sweater he’s worn repeatedly as well. I heard he went shopping at Chanel while in Los Angeles this past week so we'll see if we get a new Chanel sweater reveal in the near future.

[Jimin’s Raf Simons Smiley face t-shirt, $350, Las Vegas in April 2022, V Live]

[Los Angeles in August 2022, @j.m on Instagram]

[YSL To the Moon and Back t-shirt, $450, Incheon Airport, May 2018]

[Same t-shirt but looks like it has had a distressed effect applied, Los Angeles, August 2022, @tbhits on Instagram]

"He used to be a fashionista. His airport fashion was always the talk of town."

His airport fashion is still on point. He has just settled into a very understated, sublime monochromatic fashion aesthetic when it comes to his airport fashion. Have you ever been on a plane for 12-17 hours (or more) straight? It's not the most fun thing. Comfortable clothing is a must. He’s choosing comfort and practicality over flashy. He did used to wear some bold colors and some very avant garde looks just to get on a plane and sleep for 8 hours.

I am pretty sure airport fashion is something the groups' stylists assist with. There are brands that they have contracts with and so they wear those brands in public as part of their contractual obligations. We only saw mostly Louis Vuitton on the members for the length of time that contract was in effect. Jimin obviously chooses soft, comfortable pieces to wear on the plane.

[Louis Vuitton, beanie, $560; sweater, $1,265; bag, $5,500; shoes, $990, Incheon Airport, April 2022]

[Chanel Gabrielle bag, $5,000; Fendi sunglasses, $350; MAISON MARGIELA pendant necklace, $415; Patek Phillippe watch, $68,000 (not a typo), Incheon Airport, July 2022]

Again, in my opinion, day-to-day fashion is not something Jimin is obsessed with. However, when it comes to the image/vibe/look he wants to present for a certain performance, photoshoot or music video, I think he is all over that and controls that as much as he can. We've heard him tell the stylist "he wants bold makeup today" and we've seen him choose to have temporary tattoos, one for a photoshoot and even written across the palms of his hands for a recorded performance.

More recently we've seen the very provocative images in his Weverse magazine article where he shows a lot more skin and wearing some very sensual garments. He chose that. He definitely has a fashion vibe and knows what he wants to present as his idol image.

[Saint Laurent Kimono sleeve jacket, $3,500; long wrap necklace, $21,000 (not a typo); link earrings, $3,600; Tiffany ring, $2,800, Jimin interview, June 17, 2022, Weverse Magazine]

So that brings us back to your first statement about Jimin not caring about his idol image/fashion lately. Yes. He does care and always has cared about that.

If it's any consolation, Jimin does seem to own some extremely expensive wristwatches that he routinely wears while traveling and he rotates amongst his collection. So there’s that.

“What do you think happened?”

I think as he’s gotten older his tastes in fashion has changed. I think his priorities have changed, interests have changed and it’s no longer “look at me” but more of a “feel my vibe” which is becoming more laid back as time goes on. I think in the early years, the glamour and fashion was probably really fun and he embraced it. But now I think he is letting his idol persona be the flamboyant fashionista so his “at home I’m Park Jimin” self can be less so and more comfortable.

To the other Anon who asked if Jimin cut his hair again: I am not posting that photo because I don’t know where it came from. Also, Jimin’s head is blocked by a railing and it’s not clear what kind of hat (if any) that he’s wearing. But the length of his hair down the back of his neck, which is basically all I can really see, is not that much shorter at all than what it has been recently.

#park jimin #jimin #jimins airport fashion #bts chapter 2 #one of those watches could buy a really nice car

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db-reviews · 2 years ago

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#146 - Smiley Smile - The Beach Boys (1967)

I wouldn’t call myself a Beach Boys fan. Sometimes, once in a blue moon, I’ll check out an album of theirs, but I feel like, especially in the psych rock era of the 60s, they never really stuck out as well for me unlike their contemporaries. I cannot deny, though, their bright and cheery sunshine pop mixed with rock, baroque, folk, and psychedelic influences do create a very infectious feeling in my soul. They are a very feel-good band. Obviously, most people when they think of The Beach Boys are Pet Sounds and how Brian Wilson managed to make the studio his own personal instrument to pluck away at. While those thoughts are common for me too, I also think about the more weirder bits and pieces the band experiment with, especially in Smiley Smile.

This album was created after a failed project of Smile, which, through The Smile Sessions release, garnered much praise from across the water. Brian Wilson scrapped the album through hardships and legal issues, and such could only really give out a more downscaled attempt than what Brian Wilson tried to pull with the original Smile and Pet Sounds. As a result, we get one of the more odder releases from Brian Wilson’s merry band of misfits.

Through this more downscaled approach, the album is a lot more lo-fi sounding than what most of The Beach Boys is quite known for. I kinda like this, since you get a bit more of a raw and untangled idea of what the band wants to achieve with their music. Not to say though that all the songs are stripped down to the core. In fact, many of the album’s prominent singles like Heroes and Villains exhibit the more elaborate sound conditions the band would put themselves at the time after Pet Sounds, and thus making them some of the best songs off this album.

Speaking of singles, I cannot deny that Good Vibrations is probably the best song the band has ever created. How it bends and shapes through a mix of surf rock, doo-wop, and even proto-space rock makes this one of the best songs they would create, especially this early in their career. I love how it perfectly captures that mid summer fun that wasn’t just beach and surfing exclusive. It captures the essence and beauty of those sunny days during our childhood. My only critique for the song is more of a nitpick, and that is I find the lyrics makes this song, more or less, a slightly generic love song, but even then, the elaborate elements and the advent of slightly more early Pink Floydian instrumental does 100% make up for the slightly generic sounding lyricism. This is one of the best early examples of space rock in the 60s, and one that I really do love with my heart.

Besides that, though, I feel like this album is quite a mess. Let it be known, this was made during when Brian Wilson was taking more drugs than he could count on his fingers, and thus many songs on this album are extremely weird experiments that I don’t think fit on this album. I love it when a band decides to experiment with their sound, but I think Mr. Wilson’s attempts at Avant Garde and more weirder styles of music never worked out in his favor. I am gonna be honest, there aren’t really any songs, besides the singles, that strike me as really good classics in The Beach Boys discography, besides maybe Vegetables, but only because that song is so silly that you cannot really NOT think about it. Brian Wilson’s drug tripped up songs of experimental proportions never reach the same highs as any other song released from the band, and I think I agree with critics who say this is one of the more lackluster performances the boys from California have attempted.

While I definitely do love some of the songs here, Good Vibrations especially, a good 80% of the album is mostly Avant Garde filler, weird experiments that never really fit, and a deranged sense of identity. This album is not one of their strongest, and not by a long shot. I would’ve really liked this album if they tried to make these songs a lot more grounded, and definitely a lot more befitting with the direction they wanted to go with in Smile. Not the worst album I heard, but there are definitely apparent issues in the album’s seams.

2.5/5

#music review #album review #psychedelic rock #rock #pop #folk

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supere1113 · 6 years ago

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The Artist In Me - Track 11: Advancement

If you’ve been reading since track 1, Out of the Cobalt Blue and you’ve made it this far, let be take second to say I can’t hope to thank you enough for your interest in the details of these songs and the inner workings of this album. If your eyes are tired, just know this is the last one. But seriously, thank you for reading this! It literally means the world to me.

Success. It means different things to different people. Some people think it’s based in monetary value. Others think of it as a more occupation-based... thing. Other people still think of it as a metric of spiritual wealth or simply their own happiness. To some it means something different altogether.

The concept of success has kind of evolved over time for me. It means something different now than it did when I was 11. But the closest answer I can give about my definition of success is that it is measured by multiple metrics, some on the spiritual side, others on the more concrete side of things. What we’ll be talking about here is what success meant for me at age 13.

Ever since its conception, Advancement has been poised to be an epic piece of art. The simple, dramatic title, the nature of the subject matter and consequently, the instrumental. I created it sometime in 2016, and I knew quite early on that I wanted this song to be the ending of The Artist In Me. (I even did an instagram post where I allude to this song. I archived it, but I may put it back up just for this) I wanted a good benchmark to conclude the album, but one that could also be built upon in the future if desired.

Advancement is about success (you probably knew that by now). Particularly, the success of advancing in academia in my case (I say “in my case” because I want to keep these and all of my songs open to interpretation, open to you guys putting your own meanings into the art that I put out. I made it for me, I shared it mostly for you. This album is yours now. Do what you want with it. That’s what it’s for). I was 13. Leaving my first school and going to another, completely different one for jr. high. Getting the academic accommodations I needed in order to have my grades reflect my level of intellect. And a year later, I would be making my biggest advancement yet: going to high school. And not just any high school, a career high school (Shoutout to anybody from Dubiski reading this! I love y’all to death!) with different options on what you could study, and lo and behold, Architecture was one of them (Architecture is a huge focus on this song as it pertains to my future. In the single artwork above, I am standing in a crowd in downtown Dallas, Texas in 2010 or 2011 pointing to Dallas City Hall behind me. It is the COOLEST city hall in the world (you can’t @ me, so there’s no use in trying) and it was designed by famous architect I. M. Pei. From the west side, the building actually looks like a postmodern abstraction of the state of Texas. I love that building). After putting my head down, doing the best I could to deal with my own inner doubts and concerns, I was finally emerging fully as the academic powerhouse I always had the potential to be. In addition to that, I was getting to where I was doing a pretty good job at being a young adult. Sidenote: in jr high, I also picked up bass and took a trumpet class (I kinda hated it, though. I thought it was just confined to jazz music back, so I wasn’t as enthused about playing it. Plus, thanks to YouTube, the rest of the internet and a new desktop computer my parents bought for my sister and I, I had access to virtually all the music in the world, and was exploring other genres like Rock and Metal, and Alternative, and Christian Rock by this point. Gene Simmons of KISS had a bass guitar as did John Cooper of Skillet, so I got a bass guitar). Then, at a science fair in 8th grade after making a 3rd rate science project in 7th, I bought a bunch of lamp pieces and created a Whimshurst machine, a type of static electricity generator for my science fair project (that’s where the lines in the song “You built a generator from a lamp/You showed the world with your guitar amp” came from). I named him Zeus. He’s still alive to this DAY! (I can hear how you read that if you’re reading this in 2018 or 2019 and have seen recent memes) I got second place to my friend, William, who built a solar-powered phone charger. 8th grade was wild.

The issue here was that not being able to effectively address my doubts, issues and concerns led to another issue...

I was experiencing a young adult renaissance, going to the high school of my dreams (I was 14 at this point) and held some of the best grades in my class. But all the while, I found that I... couldn’t really enjoy it as much as I knew I would’ve had the following dynamic not been at play: I still was dealing all the things I mentioned over the past 5 tracks, and I still had pretty much no solution. Like the space shuttle ejecting its parachute after reentry to slow down, all this unresolved.. stuff, kept me from being able to enjoy all these good things in my life as much as I wanted to and could have otherwise. You ever find yourself at a ceremony or party celebrating something cool that you did, but all the while, you can’t help but feel that something’s off? Maybe even a feeling like you don’t deserve all the good stuff that’s come or is coming to you? That’s exactly how I felt.

This song is about being celebratory, but it feels empty because something you can’t seem to fix is bothering you. Don’t know if I explained that well enough.

Like I said before, this song is a good benchmark in my life to end the album on (”graduating” middle school and going to high school), but it also leaves enough of a cliffhanger to build upon where it leaves off in the future. I like that about Advancement.

The musical composition of Advancement is interesting, and different from that of all the other tracks. Because I was listening to more alternative music, I drew from that genre and atmospheric music all from 2010 as well as music from Linkin Park and Marina and the Diamonds. The song is longer than any other on TAIM at 5 minutes, 22 seconds to signify a glorious, epic ending to a very polished and hopefully timeless project (also, it’s not uncommon for songs by alternative artists to far exceed radio-length, This signified that as well). The relative grittiness of the instrumental signifies a shift from mainstream music and “old school” stuff I grew up on, to modern, more avant-garde than mainstream, underground music that I was discovering on YouTube and from the MTV sister channels that still play music like Hits, Jams and MTVU, that college music. There’s a certain musical element, a wispy wind blowing sound that plays near the end of the song (and consequently, the album) and it falls out of sync with the snare drums as time goes on. This signifies a growing imbalance and that the “engine” for the album if you will, is breaking down, leaving room for the next chapter. Finally, this cataclysmic epoch of a song concludes with a very unsettling, yet exhilarating crescendo composed of a bunch of weird, trippy, atmospheric sounds I found on my computer. The song suddenly cuts off as they all come to a head, and it like I said, it leaves room for whatever I’m going to do for the next album. clean-cut, but still quite abrupt, very much like in the Sopranos where every time an episode ends, they go to black in mid-sent-

Advancement is somewhat somber of an ending. While I was writing it, I realized all the things I was feeling back then, but could never explain in those moments. I wrote about a third of the lyrics for TAIM during a really depressing time in my life, so there is a little bit of cynicism found in some of these songs.

Thank you again for reading this and sticking with it. I bear my soul in my art, and I appreciate your engaging with this piece of my autistic, artistic world. If you just got here and are starting from the top, scroll down if you want more information on all the other songs on the album. ♥

What does success mean to you?

You can listen to Advancement here if you want. This link will take you to wherever you listen to music. YouTube included. ❤

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sinceileftyoublog · 4 years ago

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Rob Mazurek Interview: Galaxial & Celestial

Photo by Britt Mazurek

BY JORDAN MAINZER

At a time when we can’t physically feed off of each other’s energy, Rob Mazurek has provided an album that allows even the most metaphysically skeptical feel a connection. Dimensional Stardust is his latest with the Exploding Star Orchestra, the avant-garde collective he’s fronted since a 2005 co-commission from the Chicago Cultural Center and the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and its levels of long-distance expression are seemingly infinite. The record’s creation story itself, pre-pandemic, is evidence enough of the power of art even when collaborators are technically alone. Mazurek wrote the material after JazzFest Berlin curator Nadin Deventer invited him to present a Berlin-meets-Chicago iteration of ESO in Germany; when Mazurek returned to Chicago, venerable jazz label International Anthem in turn invited their roster and friends to record his new music. Each player tracked their performances separately over MIDI scores of Mazurek’s compositions, and his editorial and curatorial stamp took the record to the finish line.

Mazurek doesn’t play much on the record, offering his trademark cornet but mostly arranging the music for the twelve other musicians, who play in tandem referencing a swath of genres and aesthetics. Ohmme’s Macie Stewart’s violin and Tomeka Reid’s cello intertwine with Damon Locks’ spoken word (which appears throughout the album), minimal techno beats, and Coltrane-inspired piano on highlight “Galaxy 1000″. With its opening fluttering flutes and string plucks, “Parable of Inclusion” sways along like a sea shanty. Closer “Autumn Pleiades” juxtaposes solemn orchestral swells with percussive, electroacoustic blips. And only a couple songs feature prominent solos, but they’re mammoths: opener “Sun Core Tet”, buoyed by Nicole Mitchell’s flute among clattering percussion and muted horns, and “The Careening Prism Within (Parable 43)”, featuring Tortoise’s Jeff Parker ripping a guitar solo over Reed’s cello. Combine the music with videos from featured percussionist Mikel Patrick Avery and a cover sporting a flowy Mazurek painting, Dimensional Stardust is a multi-disciplinary achievement that rises above ours--and perhaps even Mazurek’s--preconceived notions of concert and harmony.

I was able to ask a few questions to Mazurek over email about his creative approach on Dimensional Stardust, some individual songs and moments, and what’s next for the prolific creator. Read his responses below.

Since I Left You: In your description of "A Wrinkle in Time Sets Concentric Circles Reeling," you talk about, "break through the galaxial ceiling of what we think we know and treat each other...with respect and dignity." Is this idea of abandoning preconceived notions implicit in your approach to collaboration, in general and on this album? Did it have anything to do with your tendency to step back and let others lead the instrumentation on this album?

Rob Mazurek: The music on this record is almost completely composed, so there was no stepping back to let others lead in respect to the written music, but of course there is natural human expression that happens, and these subtleties certainly make the music more exciting and beautiful. The music is about transformation, and letting the overall arc of the sound take you to places less travelled. When I speak of this “galaxial ceiling,” I am putting forth the idea that anything is possible, and all is acceptable within the realm of ESO.

SILY: Though I wouldn't call Dimensional Stardust "dance music," there are certainly very groovy moments, like when the beat first drops on "Sun Core Tet" and the almost minimal techno of "Galaxy 1000". When composing and playing this music, did you at all think about the prospect of people dancing to it? In general, how do you (or do you) imagine people listening to it?

RM: I make music to give myself and listeners energy and light. I make music with the notion that anything is possible and acceptable. I make music with melody, rhythm, intervals, harmonic shapes, noise, repetition, chromatics, modal, etc.…anything is danceable. I certainly danced quite a bit while making this music.

SILY: At what point in time and why did you ultimately decide to have Mikel Patrick Avery do the videos? How involved were you in the process of making them?

RM: I love Mikel’s aesthetic…I wanted someone to make the films that had an intimate relationship to the music. Since Mikel plays on the record, I thought it would be excellent for him to do it. We spoke a bit about the tendency for Exploding Star Orchestra music to be quite celestial in nature. From that idea, Mikel came up with the idea of “the First Kid in Space” and ran with it.

SILY: "The Careening Prism Within" certainly recalls Jeff Parker's work with Tortoise but also sounds like it could have come from his Suite For Max Brown from earlier this year, the other first of two collaborative releases between Nonesuch and International Anthem, which you also played on. This may be coincidental, but I thought I'd ask: How aware are you of the other music your collaborators are working on and releasing, and does it ever make its way into your compositions and playing?

RM: I am influenced by many things, and one of them is my friends' music. Jeff’s record Suite for Max Brown is probably my favorite record of the decade! I love what Tortoise has done. This music was composed almost 3 years ago. Upon recording it, there were some slight changes, but [it] stayed pretty much intact. I write music very intuitively mostly based on my own developing vocabulary these last 30 or so years. Sometimes, against my own will, something will happen…a crazy example is a composition for ESO I made some years ago which just by chance borrowed a whole section from a composition of Jeff’s! I didn't even know that until Jeff brought it up at a rehearsal! Hahaha, that was pretty stunning. Yes, influences are certainly there, but a lot of influence is insular to my own path to making sound.

SILY: The fleeting nature of time is a big theme on this record, yet you take the approach of finding beauty in the minutiae of moments and endless possibilities rather than playing "what if" games and obsessing over the butterfly effect. Have you always held this mindset, and how do you continue to hold it these days?

RM: There are a million suns in one melody, there are galaxies hidden in feedback and noise, one note = one breath = new universes. Spirals create energy, energy creates light, light moves quickly, and all is possible in the realm of love.

SILY: What's the story behind the cover art of this record?

RM: It is a painting I made titled ''Some Other Time.” The painting was basically started at the beginning of the Dimensional Stardust composition process and finished about the same time we recorded the record. It seemed a perfect complement to the sound, so we used it for the recording. My painting/art practice has been happening for 20 years or so. I have been developing the idea of sound and vision being ultimately the same thing. When a painting emits energy and light and sound to me, then it is finished, and when I can see the colors and forms and shapes from listening to a composition, then it is done. I am desperately trying to find a way where these 2 mediums coexist in the most intimate and powerful way possible.

SILY: What's next for you?

RM: I have hours and hours of modular synth constructions I am working on. I just finished some interesting work with the architects from Paris at AWP, where we worked on transforming image through sound into video into architecture. There is a new release coming at the beginning of the year with David Grubbs and Mats Gustafsson under the name “The Underflow” on Blue Chopsticks records. A new suite of material I am working on for Ballroom Marfa with Damon Locks, Lisa Harris, and Mauricio Takara. Finishing a suite of large scale paintings and conceiving the next sculpture exhibition that will happen in Italy at some point when the pandemic gets under control.

SILY: What have you been listening to, watching, and reading lately?

RM: Mauricio Takara dropped some really interesting music on Bandcamp that is quite nice, the new Autechre records are pretty great, Sam Prekop’s Comma is very nice. I have been watching the King Hu film A Touch of Zen over and over again, and I am re-reading Samuel R. Delany’s masterpiece Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand.

youtube

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quarantinemusiccalendar · 5 years ago

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Day 01: Tim Buckley - Goodbye And Hello

I first heard the uniquely beautiful voice of Tim Buckley several years ago in a film. I don’t remember the name of the film anymore. It was one of those evenings when I felt tired and didn’t feel like doing anything productive so l wasn’t picky about what I was going to watch. Just something I could watch and switch off. But the soundtrack was definitely better then the film itself.

The song Song to the Siren caught my attention and I simply had to find out, who it was. I found the name ‘Buckley‘ and was slightly confused. I knew Jeff Buckley. The voice was similar. But Jeff Buckley died in the 90s and being 30 at that point the sound of this newly discovered song didn’t match that. And knowing a bit of his work, apart from the exquisite vocals, his sound was different. Not like this song that sounded like it was recorded in the 70s. Did I mix up two names? Was it the same person? I googled a picture of Tim Buckley. Well that one looked a lot like the Buckley I knew. But it was taken in late 60s or in the 70s. And then I looked him up on Wikipedia and read something along the lines of ‘father of Jeff Buckley .... died in 1975 from an overdose.‘ Oh, ok. That made sense ... So there were really 2 Buckleys. Father and son. And both were brilliant musicians. But the similarities went unfortunately further behind just music. That’s enough for the discovery story. Go read up on them on Wiki. It’s quite tragic, but worth knowing.

I think most people have heard at least one song by Tim Buckley at some point. Even if you’re not into oldies and you are not a music nerd, chances are you have probably heard either the Song to the Siren or the Buzzin Fly. Both are wonderful and fairly often used in soundtracks. If you haven’t and you really have no idea who is he and how does he sound, he is labelled under the genres of folk rock, experimental rock and with some jazz and psychedelic rock occasionally thrown in. Tim Buckley was a brilliant singer-songwriter with a distinctly beautiful voice and an amazing vocal register. As a songwriter, he started writing folk rock and avant-garde songs, then stretched and developed his style into more psychedelic and electronic, occasionally leaning into funk. All of that while staying very distinctively ‘Buckleyesque’. You can truly recognize a Tim Buckley song within seconds. The only artist you can probably mistake him for is his son Jeff. I prefer his earlier albums from about 1967 - 1969. Maybe it’s because they are more acoustic and less electronic, less psychedelic. Very melodic, simpler then his later work. Having said that, the psychedelic Get On Top from his 1972 album Greetings from L.A. is totally a masterpiece worth listening to. But his earlier work is somehow more beautiful, calming, purer. Not cluttered, mostly acoustic. I also feel it’s more balanced then his later work. From about 1970 he was struglling. While his music never sold that well, starting with the album Blue Afternoon (1969) his releases were criticized. His 4th album was described as boring and then his new style he developed on Lorca had alienated his folk base. He was essentially making music for himself at that point. The problem was finding enough people to listen to it. And so Buckley turned to alcohol and drugs.

Interesting fact to point out... He tended to write songs about love and suffering a lot, which is not uncommon at all. It’s probably the most common topic in music. He also wrote a great deal about loneliness, wandering and some kind of a wandering character (traveller, hobo, vagabond) makes several appearances in his lyrics.

My personal favourite is his album Goodbye And Hello (1967). Six of my top 9 “Buckley songs“ are from this album. The 1969 album Happy Sad with Buzzin’ Fly and the above mentioned Song to Siren would be my #2.

Happy Wednesday, relax and enjoy.

Album highlights: - Morning Glory - Pleasant Street - Phantasmagoria in Two - Once I Was

Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3bB5lH7

Links and References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Buckley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Buckley http://www.timbuckley.com/tim-buckley-the-high-flyer

#TimBuckley lockdown quarantine

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jackthephotograph · 7 years ago

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john rankin vs terry richardson

For this essay, I will be researching and comparing two photographers and their style of studio photography, the first one of these are:

John Rankin Waddell is a British portrait and fashion photographer based in London, UK. He has been doing photography for over 20 years and has released numerous book and shot various music videos for artists such as Iggy Azalea, Rita Ora and Miley Cyrus.

During that time, he met Jefferson Hack, with whom he developed a working relationship and after graduating in 1992 they started a seminal monthly fashion magazine together called ‘Dazed and Confused’, which is now known as just ‘Dazed’.

Rankin has created landmark editorial and advertising campaigns. And his work features some of the most celebrated publications and biggest brands, including Nike, Pantene and Dove. He has also worked for several high-end magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Rolling Stone and Harpers Baazar. In late 2000, he founded an experimental anti-fashion magazine ‘Rank’ which celebrates the unconventional. He has intimate approach and playful sense of humor, which led him to being well known for his portraits of celebrities, politicians and supermodels. Having photographed people like the Queen and David Bowie, he is often seen as a celebrity photographer. However, he has worked on large-scale charity projects as well as innovative advertising campaigns.

The second artist I will be talking about:

Terry Richardson is an American fashion and portrait photographer from New York City. As a teen Richardson had wanted to be a punk rock musician, having been part of a band for years, and when he got his first camera in 1982 which was given to his by his mother he used it to shoot his life and the punk rock scene. In 1992 Richardson quit music and moved to part of New York City that is known for its nightclubs and he began going out and taking photos of the night life and the people entering and leaving the clubs. It was here where he had his first break into the fashion world when some of his images were featured in the magazine ‘Vibe’ in 1994. He then moved to London where he worked with i-D, The Face and Arena magazine. Throughout his career he has worked with various brands and magazines such as Marc Jacobs, Vogue, Aldo, Rolling Stone, GQ, Vanity Fair.

Just like Rankin he has also shot music videos for artists such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Anitta. Since 2001 there was been complaints and allegations made against Richardson, being accused of using his influence to sexually exploit the models during fashion shoots. In 2017, due to the many sexual misconduct allegations by several models, brands and magazines have decided to stop using him for photoshoots, including Vogue, Valentino, and Vanity Fair.

Comparisons:

When putting the two artists’ work next to each other I notice that for a start the colors are different, a lot of Rankin’s work is in a high contrast black and white color, and when his image in color is very high key and overdosed to the point were the only colors that stand out are the paint or the makeup that are on the model’s face. Terry Richardson’s photographs are also high key but they are mostly in color, and his color theme seems to focus more on bright reds, blues, and blacks. Apart from the colors, another thing that stands out are the different types of photography, although both of them are portrait and fashion photographers Rankin seems to prefer the serious high-fashion editorial pictures, that have an avant-garde feel and a few images are highly edited too in post-production. A lot of his work is very creative and fun but also serious, and a lot of thought goes into the image before the actual shoot. Whereas Terry Richardson’s image seem to be more relaxed and have a more casual feel, and they are a lot more sexualized and playful than Rankin’s images. To get this feel he tends to photograph on an instant camera, and also poses in his own photographs a lot, and mainly just uses a white background although he has expanded recently to colored ones.

When looking at both of these artists side to side I personally prefer Rankin’s work, as I think it is more creative and technically correct than Richardson. For me Rankin’s images are more visually appealing and I like the way he incorporates different lighting techniques and the digital world into his photography, as opposed to Terry who mostly uses the same white background, the same lighting and the same equipment. I think it would be good to see Richardson step away from what he usually does and go for a more creative way to take the type of images he wants. As far as lighting goes Richardson shoots with a fairly simple flash that is mounted on the camera and gives it an intense flash that is close to the lens, so when he takes the photo the look is associated with a low fi camera. Whereas Rankin shoots a more slow process with lots of lights and equipment which makes the image look more “professional”.

Conclusions:

After researching both of these fashion photographers, I have learnt quite a bit about their pretty similar careers, they both have become well known for their portrait and fashion photography and began working with various magazines and well-known brands and becoming very successful photographers. Both of them also worked on numerous music videos both shooting and directing. When looking at their shooting style, Rankin proved to have a more high-fashion, serious and creative shooting style than Richardson who is known for his same lighting, same white background and same sexualized nature of his fashion photos. Because of this I much prefer Rankin’s work as it is more the type of photography I like and enjoy.

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intergalacticwifi · 8 years ago

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Tumblrvision Staging Concepts

I’m not very active on tumblr europal contests (or tumblr at all actually, at least lately), but I do take part in a roleplay in the format of a song contest, in which you come up with staging for the song you’re sending, among others. Someone suggested I do that with Tumblrvision entries, so I guess I’ll do them all in this post. Whatever I come up with will not necessarily reflect my personal opinion of these songs.

01 Germany: Regular band setup. I feel like it’d help better if I knew what the song talked about… typically other people I roleplay with who send these kinds of songs put pictures on the background screen relating to whatever the lyrics are about, I feel like something like that (maybe with graphics/animations instead) would work.

02 Egypt: Traditional dancers. Elaborate costumes, maybe a dress change or two. Camera angles would have to be dynamic and shot up close.

03 Moldova: Okay so she’s wearing a minidress, maybe in silver, and alone on stage at first. When the song starts the camera is on her face a la Bulgaria 2016 but it slowly zooms out eventually turning into a wide shot of the whole stage. The stage lights and graphics are predominantly blue. When the chorus breaks out dancers come on stage, probably male, dressed in white, but the singer stands still. Rain falls from above (on the background screen). When the bridge comes on, the stage lights dim and lighting is focused on the singer, but then everything returns to normal as it ends.

04 Belarus: I really don’t know what to do with this uhh… I’d say a band setup, with the singer mostly standing still but the lights flashing and camera giving dynamic angles that the performance still seems full of action. As the end nears… the graphics become more colourful, I guess.

05 Finland: Singer would be wearing something white, rather avant-garde. Background graphics, if any, would be in white and black (maybe occasional silver and the like), basically a very modern, “Apple” vibe. I’m thinking backing dancers but I’m not sure if it would suit the song… oh there’s a rap. He’d be wearing a white veil too, probably.

06 Albania: This one starts off with her alone on stage, also wearing a massive veiled cloak which covers her entire body and even the stage floor. Dancers come as the song begins to intensify, dress reveal. The choreography here is very… sudden, not necessarily intense, but fits the intense, vigorous atmosphere of the song.

07 Jordan: Dancers, and everyone on stage is wearing colourful summer outfits straight out of H&M. Choreography fits the fun, summer-y vibe of the song. Wide shots, maybe except during the more quieter parts of the song, where it’d be a close of up the singer and the singer alone.

08 Czechia: I can imagine there be furniture on stage, maybe a fancy couch. Band setup surrounding that couch. Just like the music video, people on stage are wearing a mix of leather and fur with streetwear. Singer starts out singing from the couch (either sitting or laying down) but ends the performance standing on the front of the stage.

09 Russia: Dancers on stage, of course. Maybe mixed, maybe all-male. They’re either all looking dapper in suits or wearing streetwear. Colorful but dimmed lights, emulating a nightclub. I guess the choreography would be fast-paced like in the music video.

10 Israel: The stage could look barren, or it could have a folk/country band playing. Either way, the lead singer is there in hipster-looking clothing, as well as the guy playing the tambourine, probably sitting away from the center of attention, and most of the time just appearing in the background. Speaking of background, the LED screen displays a field. Clouds or stars? Either work, or perhaps it alternates. The UFO from the music video would also make a nice touch to that sky. Also possible is 2 ballroom dancers tucked away on a satellite stage if any, or in an empty corner of the stage.

11 Montenegro: Tbh I’m not even sure if this is physically possible but on stage there is a long platform made of flammable material shaped like a bridge. You know what’s going to happen. The singer does start out standing on this bridge, but she struts down the path very stylishly as the first verse progresses, and towards the end lights that match and tosses it just as she steps off the platform. It doesn’t really get any more exciting from here, unless perhaps parts of the ‘bridge’ could be engineered to collapse at certain moments to sync with the song. By the end of the song it’s supposed to have collapsed entirely. Well then, cue a quick interval segment before the next postcard as the crew clear the stage…

12 Andorra: The music video is simple enough that the performance could just be an enactment of it. If not, simply the singer with whatever musical instrument he plays could work. Either way, there’s a band behind him. Maybe put on something a bit traditional/classy or whatever fashion style that works with the song.

13 Lithuania: Okay I didn’t really catch much of the lyrics but from what I heard perhaps a pilot theme could work? Again another band set up (of course a quite different band from the previous), perhaps there could be 2 dancers putting on a visual story but if the band and singer have themed costumes then we could go without dancers.

14 Portugal: If the singer were to just bring his guitar on stage and sing in front of the mic alone on stage that could work. If a similar staging concept could beat the fan favourite at the second chance round of a certain ESC national final, then it can definitely work here.

15 Tunisia: I suppose there would have to be some sort of contrast between the two. One could be dressed in more traditional garb while the other puts on something a bit more modern? Also maybe have some traditional dancers on stage, with slightly different sets of choreography when one or the other sings.

16 Bulgaria: A sunset color scheme with dancers could work. Of course Poli would have to join in with them on the choreography. They’re all wearing something summer-y. Streetwear again, I guess.

17 Iceland: Mostly black is used in this performance, maybe with a splash of another dark colour like purple. Greta would be wearing a dress with really big sleeves, it might look a bit medieval. Hood optional. She takes it off and reveals another skinnier, but still black outfit beneath just in time for what appears to be the bridge, and then takes off the mic from the mic stand and takes a few steps toward the front of the stage. This whole time, however, the backing singers are at the back of the stage, not really moving much.

18 Monaco: The song’s beginning already sets the tone here and it is intimate. The singer could be wearing a colorful spring dress (maybe one with flowers), and pretty much keeps to herself during the whole performance, just standing there in front of the mic. But the real star here is the titular “Woman in the blue skin”, which means there will be one dancer whose skin was painted blue for this performance. The choreography will be something a bit more artistic, then.

19 Armenia: An extravagant intro a la Wild Dances. Full of dancing, perhaps Sirusho does a number along with men dressed as traditional warriors. Potential choreographies: the dancers lifting Sirusho into the air, spinning/other circular movements, wrapping arms around each other’s shoulders and forming a line. Also expect pyrotechnics - this entire performance is just going to scream high energy.

20 Denmark: The performance begins with the singer standing alone on stage, which might be covered in smoke/fog. Everything would be dark, the LED screens off or at least showing only the color black. The singer is wearing a glittery white pantsuit similar to Norway 2013 except with pants of the same design. The song may be slow, but eventually there could be backing dancers with fast-paced choreography. Wide shots are used, creating the feel that they are dancing at the edge of an endless void, or something like that. It just… feels empty.

21 Algeria: 2 potential stagings: the first, the singer stands there in front of the stage in front of a band setup. the second, her being alone on stage though potentially there are holographs or similar graphic effects. Either way, the background shows a magnificent night sky, with a moon.

22 Slovakia: The choreography in the music video could be easily adapted for the live performance. The singer and dancers are wearing the kind of fashion you’d typically see in high-end nightclubs.

Thus ends the first instalment, tune in for the next batch!

#tmblrvision #tmblrvision2017 #tmblrvision 2017 #tmblrvision song contest #tmblrvisionsongcontest #u can tell i wanted them all in one post but couldn't get it done in time for results lol sorry #staging #op #europalcontests

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hxmmerhexd · 8 years ago

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the sorting hat || wdpa challenge 001

Personal Questions

What is your real, birth name? When and where were you born? Andrew Timothy Anchorage. April 8th, 1995. I was born in London.

What is your Myers-Briggs Personality Type? (If you don’t know go here, this question is optional.)

Do you have a nickname? What is it, and where did you get it? I’m mostly called Drew. I’ve heard Hammerhead as well. I think Hammerhead is a reference to how much I’m in the water.

What do you look like? (Include height, weight, hair, eyes, skin, apparent age, and distinguishing features) I’m 5′8″, about 150 pounds. I’ve got black hair and brown eyes, a very lanky, slender body and a few tattoos. I think my most distinguishing feature has got to be my hair. It’s quite curly.

How do you dress most of the time? Do you wear any jewelry? Honestly a lot of my clothes are women’s clothes. They fit better. I wear a lot of black and blue, chambray shirts, torn jeans, the occasional suit. I don’t really wear jewelry. I think I’d like to get my ears pieced, up in the cartilage.

What don’t you like about yourself? What kind of things embarrass you? Why? I’m pretty good with my appearance. I’m only embarrassed when I mess up while performing.

In your opinion, what is your best feature? Hm... perhaps my tattoos? they’re all really cool.

Where do you live? Describe it: Is it messy, neat, avant-garde, sparse, etc.? I live with Emily in a flat near campus. It’s minimalist, but efficient. We each have our own workplace, although hers is much neater than mine. I love the hardwood floors and the huge, low rising bed in our room. Allen likes it too, but only when Em isn’t home.

What is your most prized mundane possession? Why do you value it so much? My electric guitar is my third arm. I couldn’t go a day without playing it.

What one word best describes you? Overcomer.

Familial Questions

What is/was your family structure like? (i.e. are you adopted, how many siblings, pets, etc.) When I was little it was me, mum, and dad. The three musketeers. As I got older they started drifting apart, especially after my brother Louis came along. Now we don’t talk to mum much, it’s just us boys now. I like it that way.

Who was your father, and what was he like? Who was your mother, and what was she like? What was your parents marriage like? Were they married? Did they remain married? Tim is my best friend. He’s a welder turned sitcom star who taught me everything I know, from drugs, to surfing, to music. My mum, Denise, isn’t really in my life anymore. She struggled a lot, with drugs and alcohol and depression. I think she’s better off not really having to worry about us, but I’m sure she still does anyways. I still love her, despite all the shit we went through. My parents were divorced when I was 17 and Lou was 10. That’s the best thing that could have happened to us, although I didn’t see it at the time. Lou took it even harder than I did. I think he’s still sad about it.

What are/were your siblings names? What are/were they like? (If you have siblings) I have a little brother named Louis, he’s 16. He’s just like me, even though we grew up in very different situations. He’s also a sick bassist. I might recruit him to play for me one of these days. I love him a lot.

What’s the worst thing one of your siblings ever did to you? What’s the worst thing you’ve done to one of your siblings? (If you have siblings) One time when Lou was probably, eh, five or six, he found some scissors and cut my hair while I was asleep. Twelve year old Drew did not find that very funny. I guess the worst thing would be allowing him to see me and his parents fight. When we used to fight it could get physical. I’m sure that scared him.

When’s the last time you saw any member of your family? Where are they now? I saw my brother over Spring Break, he cam and hung out with me and Em while my dad was shooting in LA. We had dinner with my dad, too.

Who is your closest friend(s)? Describe them and how you relate to them. Caleb Stirling is my best friend, and Bruce is a close second. Caleb really gets me. We have a lot in common, especially shit that has happened to us. We both love to surf, too. I would also count Emily as my best friend, even though she’s my girlfriend. She’s great to talk to and knows me really well.

Childhood Questions

What is your first memory? Christmas, my third Christmas. My aunts got me a little toy keyboard and I played it all day until the batteries died. Well, I thought the batteries died. My dad told me later that he took them out because I was shit at keyboard as a three year old. Can’t blame him, I guess.

What was your favorite toy? That keyboard.

What was your favorite game? Sharks and minnows.

Who was your best friend when you were growing up? George is my best friend from back home. He plays drums. He’s kind of like my other brother, we’ve known each other so long. When I’m home I’ll stay at his house sometimes.

What is your fondest childhood memory? Getting my guitar. I was eleven.

What is your worst childhood memory? The night my parents told me they were seperating.

Adolescent Questions

It is common for one’s view of authority to develop in their adolescent years. What is your view of authority, and what event most affected it? I’m kind of indifferent to authority. When I was younger, I was definitely a rebel. Now I don’t really care.

What “clique” did/do you best fit in with? (Royals, Dark Royals, Wallflowers, Bookworms, Punks, Hipsters, Rejects, etc.) I would guess I’m a Wildcard? Maybe a Wallflower.

What were/are your high school goals? What were/are your uni goals? In high school my goal was to stay alive. That’s how crazy my life was. Now, I’d like to graduate early and get going with my life. Maybe I’ll marry Em. We’ll see.

What is/was your favorite memory from adolescence? What is/was your worst memory from adolescence? My favorite memory is when m brother learned to play bass and we used to play together. The look on my parents’ faces was so cool. They loved it. My worst memory was the night I saw my gang beat the shit out of some guy, and then I proceeded to beat the shit out of them. That’s when I knew I had to get out.

Do you own a car? Describe it. If not, describe your dream car. I guess my car is a classic? It was my dad’s friend’s. It’s a white 1973 MGB GT.

Occupational Questions

Do you have a job? What is it? Do you like it? If no job, where does your money come from? Yeah, I have gigs at the Teacup every Tuesday. I work as a server there when I’m not playing. My dad kind of bankroll me, though. He pays the rent for my flat.

What is your boss or employer like? (Or publisher, or agent, or whatever.) You know, bosses are bosses. I’ve had worse. At least I get to perform.

What are your co-workers like? Do you get along with them? Any in particular? Which ones don’t you get along with? I get along with all my coworkers. I don’t see a reason not to.

What is something you had to learn that you hated? Spilled coffee on you is literally the worst thing ever.

Do you tend to save or spend your money? Why? I’m very frugal. The only real impulse buys I have are that dog and gifts for Emily.

Likes & Dislikes Questions

What hobbies do you have? Mostly I’m a musician. I play, I write, I help others out when I can. I guess I’m a big reader, too. My favorite hobby is napping.

What bands/artists do you like? What song is “your song?” Why? I’m into indie/alt rock. I don’t really have a song. I can’t pick just one! Here are a few of my favorites.

When it comes to politics, do you care? If so, which way do you tend to vote? If not, why don’t you care? I'm not actually a U.S. citizen, so I’m not registered to vote here. My dad sends me stuff from the U.K. for me to look at. Honestly, I just want everyone to love each other, and I don’t like leaders who base policy on their religious beliefs.

What time of day is your favorite? What kind of weather is your favorite? I’m a morning person. I function the best on a good night’s sleep and a big cup of coffee.

What is your favorite food? What is your least favorite food? Ooh, probably pineapple. I don’t like steak, or any meat for that matter.

What is your favorite drink? (Coffee, Coke, Juice, Beer, Wine, etc.) Coffee. Usually black.

What’s your favorite animal? Why? Sharks! They’re so big and they rule the ocean.

Do you have any pets? Do you want any pets? What kind? My dog is called Allen. He’s brown. Emily says he’s “my dog” and not “her dog”, especially when he chews stuff in the flat.

What do you find most relaxing? (Not as in stress relief, but as something that actually calms you down.) Surfing, mostly.

What’s a pet peeve of yours? People hurting the ones I love.

Sex & Intimacy Questions

Would you consider yourself straight, gay, bi, pan, or something else? Why? I don’t really have a preference. I just love everyone.

Who was the first person you had sex with? When did it happen? What was it like? How well did it go? (If your character is sexually active, if not, skip this question) Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. I was probably high as hell. I seriously can’t remember, but I know it had to be around age 16.

Do you currently have a lover/crush? What is their name, and what is your relationship like? What are they like? Why are you attracted to them? I LOVE EMILY CADAVRE. She’s so intelligent, and funny, and beautiful. We’er the two cheesiest cheeses to ever cheese. Although we argue a lot, we see eye to eye on much more. She’s hardworking, she’s an artist, she’s amazing. I couldn’t ask for more.

Describe the perfect romantic partner for you and describe your perfect date with them. My perfect date with Em would be a concert.

Do you ever want to get married and have children? When do you see this happening? I don’t know if I’ll be a parent, honestly. I think Emily is the one, but I’m not sure how dead girls have children, if they do. Besides, I’ll be very busy touring and writing, I don’t know if me having a kid is a good idea.

What is more important – sex or intimacy? Why? I used to think it was sex, no ties, you know? Now I’m sure it’s intimacy.

What was your most recent relationship like? Who was it with? (Does not need to be sexual, merely romantic.) Before Emily I had a lot of flings. I’d never really had a proper girlfriend until her.

What’s the worst thing you’ve done to someone you loved? I almost cheated on Em.

Drug & Alcohol Questions (if your character’s a drinker/does drugs, if not, skip to numbers 5 & 6)

How old were you when you first got drunk? What was the experience like? I was thirteen. It was at an awards show after party my dad held at our house. Me and George stole a bottle of vodka and snuck onto the roof. We split the whole thing between us.

Did anything good come out of it? Did anything bad come out of it? I wouldn’t say anything good came out of it. It was the start of my downfall, I think. Man was I sick the next day.

Do you drink on any kind of regular basis? Not anymore, I’ve been sober for a year or so.

What kind of alcohol do you prefer? None.

Have you ever tried any other kind of “mood altering” substance? Which one(s)? What did you think of each? Yeah, I did lots of drugs before I came here. I wouldn’t be able to name all of them. Everything from weed to LSD to coke.

What do you think of drugs and alcohol? Are there any people should not do? Why or why not? I’m clean now, and I’m thankful for it. I don’t think anyone should do either, but it’s not really my place to tell them that. Doesn’t mean I don’t try.

Post-Powers Awareness Questions (For those who have powers)

When did you go through when you gained your powers? What was it like (in your opinion)?

What do you think now of being magical? Is it cool, or have you been screwed?

Do you have a mentor? Who are they? How did you become their student?

Do you have any magical items? Where did you get them?

Think of a major event that happened during your training/initiation. What was it?

What is something you had to learn during your training that you hated? Why did you hate it?

Thoughtful Questions

What about you is heroic? I’d say my ability to turn my life around.

What about you is social? What do you like about people? I’m not really a people person. I like to admire from afar. People are so interesting.

If a magical being, describe the color of what magic you use, is it of a light color, bold and bright, pastel and sparkly, etc.

Are you a better leader or follower? Why do you think that? If you think the whole leader-follower archetype is a crock of shit, say so, and explain why? I like to think I’m a leader, but I couldn’t tell you.

#wdpa challenge #wdpa challenge 1 #hc #sorting hat challenge #tw alchoholism #tw drugs #tw violence #tw divorce

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usstatesofsong · 8 years ago

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Countdown to #Eurovision - Yearly Reviews - 1987

We’re a little under two months away from the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, and while we’re counting down the days toward ESC 2017, we’re going to revisit Eurovision song contests from the past and rank our favorites in each contest. (At least, through 1989... all the songs are out now!)

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Breaking the barrier, for a moment, between the Eurovision bubble and non-virtual reality. During the 1980s, and more recently, Belgium has been one of my favorite Eurovision countries, mostly because they don’t follow the middle path of typical pop music entries. They follow trends, or they go a bit avant-garde; they send flops, or they send gold. Their sole win in ESC history came in 1986, and thus, the European world tuned into Brussels in 1987 to watch the second-most 80’s-tastic contest the decade had to offer. The challenge was knowing who would “host” since Belgium alternates between the Walloon (French) and Flemish broadcasters for song entries. RTBF (the broadcaster of the winning artist, Sandra Kim), hosted the grand event, while BRT got to choose the singer.

First off, take a look at that logo. After viewing it a few times I finally realized it spells “87.” I’d love to meet the person who designed that logo… they chose the most 80’s-tastic colors. Even the hostess was in special 80’s form, and Brussels has my douze points for the most 80’s-tastic stage of the decade. It just kind of disappears into a dark abyss, which makes for some interesting antics during the performances. Speaking of the hostess, she was a statuesque woman by name of Viktor Lazlo. Sounds like a man’s name? That’s because her real name is Sonia. She’s my second-most favorite host of the decade, for many reasons! But I digress… the contest itself is memorable for bringing forth the real look of the decade, and not shying away from some 80’s-tastic tunes, as well. Some of my favorite entries of all time come from this contest - for better, or for worse. And all 22 (usual) countries participated! No excuses, no holiday boycotting, no mistakenly reentered songs - we have a full contest to swim through.

Another Eurovision blogger that I admire really detests the ‘87 contest, for reasons that I don’t completely agree with, but am willing to accept. There are some doozies, after all, that will make you question your true sexuality. Also, “Deeeeeee melodie!”

Alright, I’ve buffered this blog with all that I can muster. Let’s get to it, shall we?

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1. NORWAY - Kate Gulbrandsen - Mitt liv (9th, 65 pts)

Well, she’s definitely on a mission! And not with just the hair… or the clothes… or the boots. You know what I’d really like to see? Someone taking on that combination in 2017. They’d earn a gold medal for braveness, because I think that style was dead by 1988. The song has a power to it, a developing force, trudging through tough times and overcoming the challenges of the world. It wouldn’t be out of place as the theme song of a movie. Although the song is titled “my life,” I imagine the way she describes her life in Norwegian is supposed to be relative. There’s just a bit of an empty feeling to this song, and the stage. All in all, not a bad start to the contest.

2. ISRAEL - Datner & Kushnir - Shir Habatlanim (8th, 73 pts.)

Lulz. So many lulz. What else do I need to say here? Lulz!!!! Israel, you loving bunch. Europe loves you right back. The fame of this song, and the legacy it holds because the Israeli Prime Minister of Culture or something like that wanted to resign if this song was sent… really?? Get the stick out of your butt. If anything, people love Israel more for songs like this. So, if you compare the ESC version of the song to the national final, this really comes alive and can be… somewhat understood as a legitimate entry. The orchestration sounds great in that big stage, and the little dances are so damn entertaining. There’s a 1950s vibe to the composition, but the singing is so unlike anything. It’s pure theatrics. Props to RTBF for cutting to the next shot as Avi’s in mid-air jump! WE NEVER KNOW IF HE COMES BACK DOWN!!! :D :D Such happy! Also, featuring the first song/performance to feature a handstand. And sunglasses (maybe). And hand-shimmies. And an abandoning of the microphone only to turn right back around on the last bar and jump and shout “Hah!” The Dutch broadcaster described it as “Blue Brothers”... and that sounds about right.

3. AUSTRIA - Gary Lux - Nur noch Gefühl (20th, 8 pts.)

I don’t remember this song making much of an impression on me during my first listen of the program. Years later, there’s more of an understanding of the sentiment and the feeling associated with the composition. Gary was a seasoned veteran of Eurovision by this point, so the performance was flawless… until the almost-end, when his voice cracked. Sigh… I wonder if that moment haunted him for many years after, because we wouldn’t see him again for nearly five years. Or maybe someone finally told him he needed to give it up, as it were. Who knows. All I know is that the song itself is lovely. It fits the mold of the decade of music I love nicely (as does his jacket - I hope it stayed there.) And while it probably was never going to win the contest, I have to wonder if it could have got more points.

4. ICELAND - Halla Margret - Hægt og hljótt (16th, 28 pts.)

It’s the end of a long night in downtown and it’s time to head on home… the bar is closing, the last drink has been drunk, and once again you’re alone. Nobody except the piano man, slowly and lightly playing away. That’s what this song makes me think about, and songs that make me think rank highly in my final points chart. This is one of my annual favorites, as it again could not have happened in any other decade than the 80’s, and because Halla is one hella good lookin’ nordic woman. Actually, it’s more that “anus in the, anus in the air” lyric that the English language cannot put to death. This is such an odd composition, as it never was going to go places with the juries. But it’s sweetness, kindness, lightness and brightness shine through. The most you could say about it is “boring,” but eff you. :P

5. BELGIUM - Liliane Saint-Pierre - Soldiers of Love (11th, 56 pts)

Wait a second, did you see the way Liliane looked in that postcard?? And also, how about the host country’s conductor not being Jo Carlier, but rather the other broadcaster’s conductor… conducting for the other broadcaster’s host entry... Okay, whatever. I’m fully aware of the confusion Belgium causes (I made a map about it in college). We desperately needed some kind of upbeat pop or rock number in this contest, and the host country delivered nicely. There’s a bit of an older vibe that I get from Liliane, but her dress is beyond epic, and so are the militaristic dance moves. I have to wonder if those gun-shaped guitars would be allowed on an airplane flight in today’s world. Definitely in the upper half of entries from 1987.

6. SWEDEN - Lotta Engberg - Boogaloo (12th, 50 pts.)

And now for something completely different! I have to give credit to Sweden for ditching the schlager route, as was common practice for the Scandinavian countries, and risking … tropical calypso? The bright colors of the outfits and the happy, upbeat, sunshiney atmosphere the song creates really helps you forget, if just momentarily, how dark and expansive that stage is. I’m not sure this is something I would want to listen to outside of the contest itself, but I appreciate the song for what it is, and Sweden has certainly sent worse. At the end, the “guitarist” throws his guitar in the air, and I’d have to wonder what kind of world we would be living in now if he failed to catch it and the guitar broke.

7. ITALY - Raf & Umberto Tozzi - Genti di mare (3rd, 103 pts.)

Welcome back (again), Italy, the perennial skippers of Eurovision, as it suits them. They would remain for quite a few years, possibly because this was one of their more successful streaks in the contest itself. To celebrate their return, the Italians sent arguably their two biggest male stars, which would never happen these days! This one had a big impact on me the first time I listened to the contest, having ranked it at my top until I had heard “Mr. Eurovision” sing later on - we will get to that. There’s a uniqueness to this composition, the beginning lyrics almost sounding like waves washing on the shores, for the “genti di mare,” and as it builds into a proper song (I wouldn’t quite call it a ballad), the anthemic quality of it all is awesome. Umberto is definitively one of the strongest singers of the contest, and carries this song into ‘contender’ territory for the title.

8. PORTUGAL - Nevada - Neste barco à vela (18th, 15 pts.)

I really like the beginning of this one, with the way the violins and guitars (?) play, but I’m sorry, it’s ruined the moment he starts singing. It’s just… I’ve never felt as though a baritone voice can carry a song to victory in Eurovision. Also, nice librarians that you hired as backup singers there. I suppose this is okay, but I’ve been spoilt with such thematic songs up to this point that fit the mold of the decade, and this song does not. But hey, they beat Spain in ‘87! Small victories.

9. SPAIN - Patricia Kraus - No estás solo (19th, 10 pts)

Oh. Goodness. Certainly, she’s had a bit of coffee before walking out to that stage! One wonders what it’s like to be squeezed to death at the waist while literally shouting some of the lyrics. Or that she smeared some lipstick on her cheeks and decided to leave it there. Terry Wogan calls her “challenging,” and that’s an adequate summation. Admittedly, this is another one where I’d say it starts out good, but Patricia ruins it with the way she sings. I get the feeling like this is supposed to be a song of declaration, a pronouncement, and she tries to oversell it, thus ruining herself in the process. Also, “Oh yay!” appears about twenty times too many during the song. Finally, she destroys any opportunity of redemption on that last note. It’s too bad; I think this really could have been a good song!

10. TURKEY - Seyyal Taner & Lokomotif - Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne (22nd, 0 pts.)

This one, on the other hand, makes Spain look like a masterpiece. I could go on for hours about this. When I watched a recap of worst performances during the most recent Norwegian hosting of ESC, this was the first highlight, as it were, and I became infatuated with the songs featured in that recap. It’s baaaaad, folks. But it ventures into the “so bad it’s good” territory, thankfully. What particularly is bad is hard to say, since everything about it is so over-the-top - from the constant movement, to the white clothes, to the male singer’s solo fail, to the “Deeeeeeeeee melodi” theme, or perhaps even those clunky cowbell keyboard sounds. This has not aged well, and I think this song’s existence was 20 years too early. The fandom has certainly come around to this one, but this must have been looked down on back in the day, since it received nul points. Turkey always gets treated like poop, but thankfully everyone enjoys their poop these days. Mercy me.

11. GREECE - Bang - Stop (10th, 64 pts)

And now, the Greek George Michael. They certainly knew what they were doing, those Greeks… anyways, this has an old-fashioned charm to it that most sounds like Wham!’s single, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” but perhaps without the soaring vocals. However, Thanos’ vocals didn’t really need to be soaring for this number, and I like the bopping energy of this one. Greece wasn’t usually known for sending dance numbers, so this was a breath of fresh air. What I really want to know, though - which of those backup singers is Mariana! I can’t tell!

12. NETHERLANDS - Marcha - Rechtop in de wind (t-5th, 83 pts)

It kinda sounds like two songs combined into one! Marcha couldn’t decide whether she wanted to sing a ballad or a pop hit at Eurovision, so she took both. It’s not all that bad; she looks knock-dead gorgeous (I mean, not just by 80’s standards), and this has a very contemporary feel to it. The only problem, I would say, is that I have very little else to say about it. For being such a contemporary song with a strong beat and jamming melody, there’s nothing to latch onto. She comes on the stage and she does her thing; she owns it. The juries love that stuff, yo, thus why the Dutch scored a rare Top 5 with it.

13. LUXEMBOURG - Plastic Bertrand - Amour, amour (21st, 4 pts)

It’s all good and well in these types of reviews until you’re introduced to something from the left-most edge of the left field. What do you think audiences back then thought about this song? Because I can tell you plenty about what people think about it thirty years later. M. Bertrand is an… unique, engaging fellow. And if there was any one person who worked the stage that night in Brussels, it was him. He’s wearing a godddamn pink suitjacket, for heaven’s sakes! But guys, sexuality aside, unless you absolutely love new wave music, you’re probably not going to like this one. My fondness of this song stems from the style of music combined with the over-the-top appeal, but even then, I can’t award it too highly. And they destroyed some of the original quality when it transferred over to the orchestra. All that aside, though, this is a Eurovision classic; a must-watch.

14. UNITED KINGDOM - Rikki - Only the Light (13th, 47 pts.)

This was the poop-bird of Britain’s hot streak; perhaps a strong representation that you can’t always win just because you sing in English. And it started from (almost) the first note, with Rikki’s vocals as he shouts “Woahhhh!!!” above everything else going on. I’d almost think that the composition itself backfired upon the band, because there’s so much energy in the performance and in the dance moves, and when Rikki isn’t trying to smooth-move sooth you there’s an element of strength to the song.

15. FRANCE - Christine Minier - Les mots d'amour n'ont pas de dimanche (14th, 44 pts.)

The words of love are not some Sunday? Well, okay. Sure. Okay, past that point. This just comes off as a really average-sounding pageant song. Like the kind of thing you’d sing in Miss Universe. I give credit to actually using the orchestra for the song, which most of the other acts didn’t do that night. But that’s as far as I can go with this - she’s not even that vocally strong of a singer. Next.

16. GERMANY - Wind - Lass die Sonne in dein Herz (2nd, 141 pts.)

A couple things here - how sad for this group to have come 2nd place twice!?! Just so that Johnny Logan could win twice… Also, freakin’ half of Milli Vanilli! Why is he there?? Like, this must be pre-MV fame, and he was a “fake” singer, so … what is he doing there? Was he just like, the poster-boy for German pop music? What would have Wind done if they had won? Would we still have had Milli Vanilli, or would he have become an honorary member of Wind and gone on to great Eurovision success? Was it about the image? A Caribbean look, which admittedly is what this song tries to provide? I do have to say I like this more than their 1985 attempt, because the vocals are spot-on! But it also has a somewhat empty feeling to it, just like the UK did. I can award some points to Germany for this breath of fresh air, but it’s not the true winner of the evening.

17. CYPRUS - Alexia - Aspro mavro (7th, 80 pts)

Say it isn’t so! Cyprus went the schlager route in 1987, as if it wasn’t bad enough that some Scandinavian countries couldn’t get their heads out of the sand to send something outside the genre around this time. Appropriately she’s wearing black and white, and she’s go the sweet little side-step dances to go with it. Delaying for time and for critique, because this is not really my cup of tea and I find Alexia’s voice a bit grating at times; a bit nasal. Like, the song does get stuck in my head ever so slightly, but my reimagining of her voice in my head is less than complimentary. We’ll see where this lands at the end.

18. FINLAND - Vicky Rosti & Boulevard - Sata salamaa (15th, 32 pts.)

I think the only real crime to this is that it finished with less points than France. But if you’re going to do anything with schlager, this is one route you can go where you don’t immediately lose all credibility with me. It also helps if you’re a redhead (I have a thing for redheads…) Vicky combines the glam rock from that decade with a pop-infused schlager tune, and while it’s not my favorite thing of the night, I don’t forget the song so quickly, either. And that’s a good thing for this contest, all things considered! I also like the way she rolls her ‘r’s. I wish I could do that...

19. DENMARK - Anne-Cathrine Herdorf & Bandjo - En lille melodi (t-5th, 83 pts.)

This is basically the ‘87 version of Spain ‘84, or Germany-87-lite. It’s called “A little melody” because there’s only a little bit of melody to this, otherwise it again sounds so empty and lost during the chorus parts. It picks up a little bit on the start of the second chorus, but that’s literally just me trying to latch onto something. But, of course, this is something that the juries would fall for back in those days. Sigh...

20. IRELAND - Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now (1st, 172 pts)

Really the only deserved winner of the evening. Everything just comes together really well, from the orchestrated composition (I swear Ireland is the only nation that uses the french horn appropriately), to the lyrics, to the vocals, and to the contemporary feeling of the single. This comes alive so much more than the demo version, which tries too desperately to fit in the era of 80’s ballads. And Johnny always knows how to finish on a fantastic note. I can’t really criticize this if I tried. So, three cheers for the orange, green, and white. With St. Patrick’s Day upcoming, I award you with the only true score deserved for this piece of Eurovision history - nobody else has ever won twice.

21. YUGOSLAVIA - Novi Fosili - Ja sam za ples (4th, 92 pts)

It’s weird how most of the schlager of ‘87 got all sandwiched towards the end of the presentation! But this is another one I can tolerate, as it is more of a throwback to the 50’s and 60’s era of pop dance, rather than just big-band poppity trash waste. And the lead singer really sells it, too, with her constant moving and … umm, hiccups? I don’t know how else to describe those sounds. This group is so Slavic, and yet, it all comes together. It’s a precursor to 1989, that’s for sure, and the country earned another Top 5 finish for the boys and girls back home.

22. SWITZERLAND - Carol Rich - Moitié, moitié (17th, 26 pts)

Gosh, she’s a little fireball of energy, isn’t she? Apparently the Swiss didn’t even need a conductor, as hostess Lazlo awkwardly cuts to Rich running from off-stage right to demand a tap of the foot or two. I’d love to know what the thought-process was for the outfitting of her (American stars on top, Australian stars on bottom?) and the group, with headbands and guitar accessories, who are alarmingly reminding me of Sweden’s profession to mediocrity from the year before. In all honesty this is too streamline for my tastes, and apparently I wasn’t alone in that deduction as the juries didn’t buy into it either.

As I said previously, Logan won for the second time. And it was against a field of random hullabaloo, just like in 1980. I’m reminded how this song elevates in comparison to “What’s Another Year,” and in comparison to everything else sent that year. Yeah, I suppose this wasn’t the grandest of editions musically, but there’s still a lot here that I adore, and I think when there’s a grander variety of music, the joyful feelings illuminate the memory and make the contest so much more interesting. I award the actual winner the 12 points, and I drop a big fat zero on the senorita who got lost in her own world. Greece was the only country to award her points, after all - otherwise she would have finished with nul points, just like the musical travesty that was Turkey! Anywho, there was a serious upgrade in sophistication, technology, and harmony in 1987; what would we get out of the Irish in ‘88?

My votes:

12 – Ireland 10 – Iceland 8 – Italy 7 – Austria 6 – Israel 5 – Yugoslavia (Croatia) 4 – Germany 3 – Belgium 2 – Finland 1 – Luxembourg

The “Big Fat 0” award: Spain Honorable Mention: Sweden, Greece Worst Dressed: Switzerland

And here is the overall count of points since beginning these reviews with the ‘80 contest. It’s a best-of-best race, as Germany is now within one point. Israel and Ireland gain some ground, and it will be pretty interesting who we finish out with on top by the end of the decade. How would your rankings look?

1st - 45 – Belgium (1986) 2nd - 44 – Germany (1982, 1983) 3rd - 36 – Israel 4th - 35 – Ireland (1980, 1987) 5th - 31 – Austria 27 – Turkey 24 – Norway (1985) 21 – Portugal 20 – Italy (1984) 20 – Luxembourg 20 – Sweden 18 – Finland 18 – Greece (1981) 17 – France 16 – Spain 14 – United Kingdom 12 – Netherlands 11 – Denmark 11 - Iceland 9 – Croatia 9 – Cyprus 6 – Switzerland

-50SS

#eurovision #esc 1987 #eurovision 1987 #eurovision song contest #hold me now #ireland eurovision #1987

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offelixfilicis · 7 years ago

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GET TO KNOW THE CHARACTER:

LAYER ONE: THE OUTSIDE

Name: Felix Finnigan

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Style/Color: Black, short .. ah.. it doesn't have a style?

Height: 5'11

Clothing Style: I don't think I really have a style? I just... wear whatever is around or whatever they give me really...

Best Physical Feature: I don't think I have a best feature, or a good feature... I kind of like my hair.....

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE

Fears: My father, losing my seal skin forever, needles, hunters, brutal masters

Bad Habits: Fidgeting, rambling, biting my nails

Ambition for the Future: I'd rather like to be free someday, to go back to Ireland with my seal skin and find my herd, or atleast //a// herd... I want to live as a selkie again and not just a human, I'd also like to have a family

Biggest regret: Convincing my mum to let me see the human world, it's what got her killed and me captured...

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS

First Thoughts Waking Up: "Another day, one down ... God knows how many to go..."

What I Think About the Most: Daydreaming about being free, back in the water

What I Think About Before Bed: I try to visualize that dream, hoping I'll dream about it when I sleep too

What I Think My Best Quality Is: I don't know if I really have any good qualities, I mean, I'm a good swimmer but... most aquatic folk are....

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER?

Single or Group Dates: Single

To be Loved or Respected: To be loved, obviously

Beauty or Brains: Brains

Dogs or Cats: Dogs, nothing against cats but... yeah dogs

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU?

Lie: I try not to, sometimes I have to

Have scars/birthmarks: No birthmarks, I have a few scars from my father that my healing just wasn't good enough for... gotta love those human genes....

Believe in Yourself: Not really, no

Believe in Love: Absolutely

Want Someone: Specifically? No, in general... yeah, I do

LAYER SIX: EVER?

Been on Stage: No, never done anything to warrant it mate

Done Drugs: Never

Changed Who You Were to Fit In: No, I've done everything I can to hold onto myself, no matter what

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Music: I rather like folk and traditional Irish music

Favorite Animal: Seals, unsurprisingly

Favorite Drink: I rather like hot drinks, like hot chocolate

Favorite Food: Fish and chips

Favorite Place: The sea

Favorite Sport: Does swimming count?

Favorite Season: Winter, I love the cold weather

Favorite Holiday: Christmas

LAYER EIGHT: AGE

Day Your Next Birthday Will Be: Febuarary 20th, it's on a Tuesday this time

Age You Lost Your Virginity: 17

Does Age Matter?: I suppose that depends on the context, but if you're a consenting adult I'd say you can do whatever you please

LAYER NINE: IN A PARTNER

Best Personality: Ah.... I'll just go with one quality: Kindness

Best Eye Color: I really don't care to be honesty

Best Hair Color: Again, I like any color really

Best thing to do With a Partner: Talk, I've always wanted someone to talk to

LAYER TEN: FINISH THE SENTENCE

I love: The sea

I hate: Being without my skin

I feel: Somber

I hide: My fears

I miss: My mum, the ocean, my skin...

I wish: I was free

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE MUSE:

What do you look like? (Include body type, frame, hair, eyes, skin, age, and distinguishing features): I'm a normal height, I suppose, thin I guess, black hair, blue eyes, caucasion, I have some facial hair, no distinguishing features honestly

How do you dress most of the time?: In whatever they give me, usually loose clothes

How do you “dress up”?: You mean for something fancy? I've never done that before, I'd like to try a suit someday

How do you “dress down”?: Sweat pants and an old t-shirt

What do you wear when you go to sleep?: They don't really give us different clothes to sleep in so... whatever I'm wearing at the time, I used to really like pajamas

Do you wear any jewelry?: We aren't allowed to have jewlry, but I'd really, really like to, rings, earrings, bracelets, cuffs, necklaces, even anklets

In your opinion, what is your best feature?: I really don't think I have one mate

How many siblings do you have?: None

What is your father like?: Cruel, cold, abusive, neglectfull, controlling, a generally terrible human being, a murderer...

What is your mother like?: Kind, gentle, sweet, loving, warm, adventurous, talented, funny, freindly

Where do you live? Describe it: Is it messy, neat, avant-garde, sparse, etc.?: In a cage, not too much to describe

Are you emotional, depressed, ect?: I can be, I can be quite emotional and get depressed easily

Would you consider yourself straight, gay, bi, or something else? Why?: Bisexual, I like both women and men

How ticklish are you? Where are you ticklish?: I'm a bit ticklish yes, mostly around my torso or .. really anywhere when in my seal skin

What do you do when you are bored?: Swim, sleep, or find someone to talk to, if I can

What do you envy most?: Freedom

#about #krovscastletask

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rocknutsvibe · 8 years ago

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2016: On The Cusp Of A Rock Awakening

OK, so we lost a lot of great musicians in 2016, and world events were unsettling to say the least. But all things considered, it was a pretty good year for music, with some older artists hitting late-inning home runs and some newer acts seemingly approaching greatness. I really get the sense that Rock is in an exciting period of transition, with so many artists both young and old willing to take risks in the search for new sounds and new approaches. I honestly believe that we are on the cusp of a new Rock awakening. Here are my selections for Top 10 Albums of 2016.

10. The Claypool Lennon Delirium – Monolith Of Phobos

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People sometimes forget that Sean Lennon inherited artistic genes from his mother too, one of the most famous avant-garde musicians who ever lived. With this in mind his musical partnership with mad genius Les Claypool seems like such a perfect fit. This album won’t be everyone’s cup of tea — it’s way out there sometimes — but to me it felt fresh and wild and unique. Lennon and Claypool seem to bring out the very best in each other’s oddly twisted personalities, flavoring their distinctly original take on classic proggy sounds with wit and whimsy. Claypool’s jaw-dropping virtuosity on the bass was no surprise, but Lennon’s lambent talents on guitar and vocals certainly were, and I really hope these guys keep making music together.

9. Rolling Stones – Blue And Lonesome

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This is like one of those albums that NASA would put into a Voyager satellite to introduce extraterrestrial civilizations to human culture, except in this case it landed back on Earth in 2016. The album captures — for a new generation on this planet — the electrifying intensity of those early-sixties blues and R&B recordings, recorded live and hot and off the floor. But this ain’t the 1964 Stones cheekily imitating the old bluesmen, this is a band with the chops and the savvy to actually be the old bluesmen. Sometimes Jagger sounds like an old man and sometimes he sounds like he’s 25, but either way he and his mates are as authentic as it gets, and god knows there’s a hunger for authenticity out there.

8. case / lang / veirs – case / lang / veirs

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Take three fiercely independent singer-songwriters who don’t know each other very well, put them in a room and tell them to write songs together, and you’ve got a prescription not only for bruised egos but quite possibly broken bones as well. Unless of course the singer-songwriters are women, in which case you’ve got a much better chance of co-operation and a successful collaboration. k.d. lang admired the work of Neko Case and Laura Veirs and suggested the three get together and create some new songs, not as a three-point harmony trio but more like a real band where each member’s individual strengths are given a chance to shine. The end result is one of the finest collections of songs released this year, where even the production and arrangements are well-conceived and beautifully implemented. See what a little co-operation can accomplish?

7. Bon Iver – 22, A Million

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Up to this point Bon Iver was widely considered a balladeer, a singer-songwriter of deeply personal, atmospheric songs who used electronica mostly as a way to process his distinctive falsetto vocals. Folk electronica, if you will. But on this, his third album, Bon Iver takes folk electronica to new horizons with beats and kinetic energy, a huge and I think welcome departure from his drony balladeer thing. The album contains some beautiful acoustic guitar, piano and horns, but it also includes tracks like “10 (Deathbreast)” which has him spitting out spoken lyrics over a driving cascade of electronic beats, sounding more like Kanye West than a folk artist. In fact, West had sought out Bon Iver’s recording expertise for one of the rapper’s earlier albums, so I guess what goes around comes around. Rock happens when different musical genres come together, and this album sounds like something new being born.

6. The Last Shadow Puppets – Everything You’ve Come To Expect

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Alex Turner has talent, charisma, and a willingness to take artistic chances, a great combination for any musician. As swaggering front man for the Arctic Monkeys, Turner gained fame for his wickedly clever power pop, but as a partner in The Last Shadow Puppets he takes that wicked cleverness on a completely different tack. The Rock elements are still there, but the defining sound on this album is a standout orchestra section arranged by the brilliant Canadian violinist and producer Owen Pallett. It gives the album a very Euro feel as the band pays discreet homage to the various pop styles that make use of strings – ‘50s doo-wop, ‘60s soul, ‘70s disco, ‘80s spy movies – as well as some really original arrangements that can easily stand on their own. I don’t understand why this album wasn’t a huge hit.

5. The Tragically Hip – Man Machine Poem

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With this album The Hip completes their transformation from literate, edgy roadhouse Rockers to literate, mature Rock gurus, comfortable in their wisdom yet searching for truth more rigorously than ever. After 30 years together the Hip keeps growing as a band, boldly adding new textures and instrumentation and themes and emotions to their kit bag, while at the same time keeping their kick-ass edge as sharp as it ever was. If, as seems likely, this is to be the band’s last album due to Gord Downie’s serious health issues, then by god what a way to go, and what an inspiring lesson in personal and artistic growth for the rest of us.

4. Warpaint – Heads Up

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There are some pretty sophisticated Rock sensibilities at work here on the L.A. quartet’s third album. Originally an atmospheric/chill type outfit, Warpaint displays a subtle but still striking versatility on this album, skillfully and seamlessly weaving analog and electronic instrumentation together as well as anybody has ever done it. One minute bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg and drummer Stella Mozgawa are laying down big fat beats, the next minute guitarist Theresa Wayman is serving up soaring or spiky licks over an electronic bed. Emily Kokal’s plaintive lead vocals may not be the strongest, but the band’s three-point harmonies are outstanding and lay at the heart of Warpaint’s sonic signature. This is definitely a band to watch.

3. Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression

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So the story goes that Iggy Pop finally had enough of the rat race and wanted to drop out after recording one last album. Ever the showman, Iggy decides that if he’s going out, he’s going out in style, so he turns to Josh Homme for help. How could this not be a recipe for a great album? These are two Rock giants coming together. Homme, one of a handful of artists destined to carry the torch for Rock & Roll deep into the new century, brought his unique gifts of edgy songcraft together with Iggy’s brutally frank street truths, sprinkled it with a little anti-materialist populism, and helped create a bold and original statement, not just for Iggy, but I really think for the ages. Homme deserves a co-credit on the album, but he’s too generous a soul to want it. Meanwhile Iggy keeps dreaming “about getting away to a new life / where there’s not so much fucking knowledge”, and I have to admit that does sound appealing.

2. Esperanza Spalding – Emily’s D+Evolution

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I’ve always subscribed to the theory that the greatest artists are the ones that push the envelope so far until they discover new territory. Well Esperanza Spalding is one brilliant artist and with this album she has found musical ground where nobody has stood before, and that is saying something. Sure, the lithe vocals, explosive bass lines and complicated jazz time signatures are all still there, but this time around she brings thundering and soaring guitars into the mix, making the album sound at times more like prog than jazz. Think Joni Mitchell meets Frank Zappa and Shuggie Otis, or maybe St. Vincent with the angular corners rounded out. On top of all this, Emily’s D+Evolution is a concept album where Spalding’s alter ego wrestles wordily with powerful thoughts on love, gender, race and class in the 21st Century. This is a dense, rich album that delivers increasing rewards with every listen.

1. David Bowie – Blackstar

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There will never be another album like this one, just as sure as there will never be another David Bowie. It’s an album about Bowie’s life and about his death, and it is loaded with riches. I was never all that big on droning medieval melodies, but I now love the five minutes of it on the title track because “at the center of it all” lies the shimmering beauty of the middle section. Kudos to my colleague Jordan for pointing out the “whore” of the raucous second track is quite likely Bowie’s cancer. “Lazarus” still makes me weep sometimes because I can’t get the haunting video out of my head, but it has sure given me some insights into death that were never quite available to me before. “Sue” is cinema verite in modern jazz wrapping, while “Dollar Days” and “I Can’t Give Everything Away” are as beautiful as anything Bowie has ever made. How long will it be before this album starts showing up on greatest of all-time lists?

Honorable Mentions

Paul Simon – Stranger To Stranger Wilco – Schmilco Charles Bradley – Changes Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate Andrew Bird – Are You Serious Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Denial Anderson Paak – Malibu

Photo- Esperanza Spalding; credit: By JBreeschoten (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://ift.tt/HKkdTz)], via Wikimedia Commons

from Rocknuts http://ift.tt/2hP4HcQ via IFTTT

#Rocknuts #rock #music

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totalrockfiend · 7 years ago

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Vivid, Living Colour’s Game-Changing Debut Album, Turns 30...

Everyone has those bands and artist that have reached out through a pair of stereo speakers and stabbed them through the heart. Killing off their former selves. Thereby minting a broader-minded, further-reaching rendition -- a brand new you.

And that’s my relationship to the band serving as the subject of this anniversary classic album review.

The date doesn’t really matter...

But the event proved such a momentous occasion, the details are indelibly embossed onto my psyche.

It was a Friday night, decades ago. April 21, 1989, to be exact. My 14-year-old-self, a freshman in high school, and an acquaintance, a fellow 14-year-old on the path to becoming my first definitive “best friend,” and I attended our first legit rock show.

A Life-Changing Event...

And even at the risk of sounding grossly cliched, the experience changed my life. Forever. And very much for the better.

The architects of this transformation? The gurus taking center stage at the Michigan Theater, the 1,700 seat venue nestled in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan?

Four black gents hailing from the mean streets of NYC, collectively known as... Living Colour. An outfit that, thanks to witnessing this show, became my first Stated Favorite Band.

The band was riding hit on the wave of success generated by their chart-topping debut album, Vivid, which was released on this date -- May 3, 1989 -- some 30 years ago.

Vivid would go on to reach #6 on the Billboard album chart, selling over 3 million records internationally. While the band’s bona fide hit single and best known tune, Cult of Personality, would ultimately peak at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Band’s Sound...

Tough to pin down -- a synthesis of metal, thrash, punk, hardcore, and, wait for, hair metal, underpinned by a foundation of Funk, R&B, and hip-hop roots -- was instrumental in kicking off the Funk Metal revolution. Fueled by bands like Faith No More, Primus, Ice-T’s Body Count, and Suicidal Tenancies’ alter-ego, Infectious Grooves, Living Colour was at the forefront of this burgeoning sound, a shift that was likely the first nail in hair metal’s coffin, the blow struck as the Sunset Strip set was beginning to collapse under the weight of far too many cubic tons of Aquanet hairspray.

And this revolution was launched on the back of LC’s stunning debut, Vivid.

Vivid | Track-By-Track

Cult of Personality

The lead-off track, the hit single, Cult of Personality, was borne from an impromptu jam session that resulted in the tune’s titanic riff, which hA come to be known as vintage Vernon Reid. The guitarist’s “sound,” an amalgam of Reid’s formal jazz training (he was once a member of Decoding Society, helmed by esoteric jazz-fusioner Ronald Shannon Jackson’s ) and avant garde tone worships occupies a unique space on the musical spectrum. It lands somewhere between fleet-fingered technical brilliance and Greg Ginn (guitarist of Black Flag fame) inflected baseless and un-grounded noise histrionics.

As a writer for the UK music mag, Rock Candy, once noted...

“Just when you think Reid’s noise noodling is going to collapse under its own weight, he slams it back into the riff, returning order to the aural chaos.”

And this describes Cult’s tongue-twisting riff and stunning guitar acrobatics to perfection.

Meanwhile, the song’s indictment of celebrity culture, and it’s viral infection of world-leadership circles, turning politics into another more of entertainment-based "reality" competition, is as poignant today, amid the “Trump Era,” as ever before.

I Want to Know

The follow-up track, I Want to Know trends closer to glam metal territory, while at the same time, pushing vocalist Corey Glover’s soaring R&B soaked voice to the forefront.

Middle Man

Middle Man, up third, is based on a suicide note, penned by Glover. As a younger, depressed version of himself, Glover struggles to find his place in the apathetic world surrounding him. The song also features a monstrous riff from the incomparable Reid. Along with the rhythmic talents of jazz-school drummer, Will Calhoun, whose pounding beat gives the tune an unshakable foundation.

Desperate People

Next up is the thrilling Desperate People, sneakily one of the album best (and most underrated) tracks. Now, to my ear, the tune rings of Led Zeppelin's the Ocean. And this brings forward a once prominent comparison, which had many a critic dubbing Living Colour “ the black Led Zeppelin.” Apt or not, the parallel between Reid and Page’s incessant riffing, Glover and Plant’s powerhouse vocals, and Calhoun and Bonham’s rhythmic prowess are impossible to deny, particularly on this resounding track.

Open Letter to a Landlord

At the records midway point, Open Letter to a Landlord, digs deep into the blues-inflected soul, reeking of Curtis Mayfield-toned ‘70s R&B. And yet again, the song’s sentiment, chronicling wealthy, “profit above all else” driven slumlords, is as relevant today as it was upon the album’s 1988 release.

Funny Vibe

Funny Vibe gives the band an opportunity to flex their considerable chops on speedy, funk-fueled workout.

Memories Can’t Wait

Memories Can’t Wait, a Talking Heads cover, sees Reid indulging his avant garde tastes, while paying tribute to one of New York’s most influential “experimental bands.” And in the process, the band manages to turn in a totally rockin’ redefinition that towers above the original.

Broken Hearts

The Mick Jagger produced Broken Hearts is classic blues ballad, telling the timeless tale of love lost, replete with Harmonica breakdown, blown by Jagger himself.

Glamour Boys

Glamour Boys dives back into glam drenched metal, deriding a world overrun by dreaded “posers,” to the backdrop of an infectiously funky beat.

What’s Your Favorite Colour? (Theme Song)

Reid takes his guitar genius off the leash on the mostly instrumental What’s Your Favorite Colour. The band stretches out here too, rocking hard in an undeniably funky space. Meanwhile Glover does his best James Brown, channeling the R&B kingpins 10-story swagger.

Which Way to America

On the heavy rockin’ closing, Which Way to America, the band laments our long and still divided country. Additionally, Glover steps onto hip-hop turf, issue some able rap vocals on the powerful poignant tune.

And 30 Years Later...

What’s most striking about Vivid in 2018? If it was released today, it would burst forth from your speakers as fresh, current, powerful, and poignant as it did 30 years ago.

Reid’s distinctive riffs have never been matched, let alone surpassed. The band’s sound is present tense in every sense of the phrase. And the album’s production is utterly timeless.

Vivid's most familiar element, however, are its sentiments. How much of the album’s commentary is completely relevant today? In short, 100%.

Sadly, Vivid is living proof that each step our society takes forward is followed by two steps back.

The Good News...

Vivid RAWKS harder than ever. So hard, in fact, it’s guaranteed to stretch a full-faced grin across even the most enormous mug. I’m talkin’ ear-to-ear, friends!

Thus, if you haven’t heard the record in a while, or God forbid, have never heard it, I strongly encourage you to give Vivid a spin. You’ll most definitely be glad you did!

#totalrockfiend livingcolour vivid

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topmixtrends · 7 years ago

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LOU REED’S INITIAL STATEMENT of what was possible in more-or-less popular music — the 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico — still resonates as loudly as anything released by the Beatles or Jimi Hendrix. Reed, the VU’s main singer and songwriter, put out a handful of influential albums with the group before leaving just three years later. Those LPs, along with his widely varied solo work, made him a key figure — maybe the key figure — for punk rock, post-punk, and the entire alternative and indie rock cosmos. Bands from Television to R.E.M., from Luna to Yo La Tengo are inconceivable without him.

Anthony DeCurtis, a longtime writer for Rolling Stone, recently published the long-awaited Lou Reed: A Life. DeCurtis holds a doctorate in American literature, and the musician’s literary influences and reference points are central to his narrative; at one point, he describes Reed as “a speed-addled, leather-clad Virgil,” guiding friends through the underworld of Lower Manhattan sex bars.

I spoke to DeCurtis by phone, for a posthumous installment of “All the Poets,” the title of which comes from one of VU’s best-known songs.

SCOTT TIMBERG: Let’s start, Anthony, by talking about the heft of Lou Reed’s achievement and influence. What kind of things did he make possible within the rock tradition?

ANTHONY DECURTIS: In terms of influence alone, Lou Reed ranks up there with Bob Dylan and Lennon and McCartney and James Brown. I don’t know if there’s anybody else in that particular pantheon. I mean, I think the whole heritage of alternative rock, from punk rock to post-punk, grunge, and whatever forms it exists in today, is rooted in Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.

Yeah, I was having one of these sort of adolescent discussions with someone, I think it was Jonathan Lethem, about the key compass points: what are the key elements of rock and roll? And it came down to the Beatles, Dylan, Chuck Berry, and the Velvets: if you removed one of those four elements, you would have lost whole lineages.

Yeah, that’s fair enough. The Velvets, obviously, are different from the other ones, because they never had any hits. But that was part of their contribution: that you didn’t need to have hits … A rock band could appeal to posterity in the way that poets and playwrights and novelists and filmmakers did. There dared to be a strand of popular music that did that.

That’s a good point. I wrote a piece about ’90s indie rock the other day, and a number of Boomer friends were pointing out how insular that period was, with bands like Pavement making cryptic stuff — a generation talking to itself, or mumbling. It crossed my mind that VU might be responsible for that sensibility: that we don’t need to do anything except make music that we like.

That was the point that John Cale made, specifically, when the Velvet Underground was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — that you don’t need to think commercially all the time, that the Velvet Underground was being honored simply because of the value of their work, you know?

Lou died in 2013. When did you start working on the book?

Well, shortly after that. I was being interviewed a fair amount about Lou. It was just people doing stories … And I was on a radio show in New York on WNYC — which is the local NPR station here — it’s hosted by a guy named John Schaefer and it’s called Soundcheck. And an editor heard it and got in touch with my agent, asking about the idea of my doing a Lou Reed book.

It was very soon after Lou died. I wouldn’t have done the book while he was alive — it just would have been too much trouble. He wouldn’t have wanted it done and it would have been a fight, and I valued my relationship with him too much. But, after his death, it seemed to me like a worthy project. We signed the deal in January 2014.

You had been a music journalist for Rolling Stone and others places, based in New York for decades. How much contact, over the years, had you had with Lou?

Well, quite a bit. You know, I interviewed him half a dozen times, and I ran into him constantly. I mean, it was quite remarkable. And we got along well. I think Lou did some things with me that weren’t common. I mean, I did public interviews with him on three occasions, and that wasn’t something that he was ever especially in a hurry to do.

He came down to the University of Pennsylvania where I teach, and we did a couple of things, but we did one thing at the 92nd Street Y here, and we did another thing when the film version of Berlin came out, and then I interviewed him for some print stories. We’d always have a conversation whenever we saw each other, and I think Lou liked the way I represented him, not to put too fine a point on it. Lou thought I viewed him the way he wanted to see himself, and that was, I think, primarily as a kind of literary figure.

You know, Lou cared a lot about music, obviously, cared a lot about sound, but his deepest impulses, I think, were literary, and that’s probably true of me as well, in terms of my background, and I think he recognized that.

One of the key influences on Reed was the poet Delmore Schwartz. Give us a little sense of who Schwartz was and why he was important to Lou.

Well, Lou was a student at Syracuse University and Delmore kind of landed there — it was one of his last stops. Delmore launched his career in a very dramatic way. He was a poet and fiction writer and essayist praised by people like T. S. Eliot, but he had psychological problems and drank a lot, and went into a serious descent.

His friends, including people like Saul Bellow and Robert Lowell, worked hard to get him a position like the one at Syracuse, to save his life. Nonetheless, he was still a storied figure, and in many ways he was Lou’s first glimpse of a larger world. Lou’s upbringing in Long Island was pretty constricted. You know, obviously, Syracuse University is a good school, but it’s in the middle of New York state, also a little isolated. But here’s Delmore, a figure playing on a very big stage. And Lou studied with Delmore and they hit it off and drank together. Delmore became a vision of a possible future for Lou.

Delmore was also, like Lou, Jewish, and born in Brooklyn. There were a lot of similarities, and Delmore recognized that. Delmore recognized Lou’s talent, also. So I think this was Lou’s first sense that you can play on a big stage. Delmore was a famous raconteur. He would entertain students, including Lou, at this place called the Orange Bar in Syracuse, and I think Lou liked that performative aspect as well.

It’s interesting to read about how early Lou was writing songs, including some that later became famous VU songs. He does a fair bit of stuff before the Beatles had even released Help!, I think. Give us a sense of the influences and ambitions that are coming together in the mid-’60s, around the time the VU were taking shape — doo-wop, experimental music?

Lou was listening to and reading a lot of different things, and I think both of those came together in what was going to become the Velvet Underground. He had a radio show at Syracuse that was mostly avant-garde jazz, which was not necessarily music that was associated with him, but you can certainly hear that stuff in the first couple of Velvet records.

Of course, Lou loved classic R&B and doo-wop, that was the kind of music that really reached him, and maybe, in a sense, was his truest love his whole life. He also, around that time — this is not widely known or widely discussed — had a fair amount of interest in blues and folk music. According to his girlfriend around that time, Lou would sit around and strum a guitar, and do, sort of like, Dylan songs, really.

And some of those numbers on their first album are tricked-out folk rock songs, that have the Dylan-ish quality.

Absolutely, and even a later song like “Kill Your Sons” started out as a kind of Vietnam protest song. There’s an early song, I think it was called “Prominent Men,” which is also a kind of protest song. I think there’s also a harmonica on it. Lou would never talk about that, and would speak dismissively about blues and folk, but he was listening to it, and liked it, when he was a college student, as were many college students back then.

And Tin Pan Alley, too.

Well, there was an inevitability to that. It was the popular music of the day. Regardless of what you thought of it, it was hard to avoid.

I think the crucial thing early on for Lou was a formulation that he would repeat often — so often that people have stopped paying attention to it. Delmore Schwartz, who was encouraging Lou as a writer, really hated rock and roll lyrics, and this put a thought in Lou’s mind: “Well, suppose you had rock and roll, which I love musically, and you had lyrics that someone like Delmore Schwartz could respect.” And that was the key that turned the ignition — that became Lou’s project, really, for his whole life, but certainly for the Velvet Underground.

There’s one other element. The Beatles and Bob Dylan made it possible for smart people to like rock and roll. I mean, smart people liked rock and roll before that — but, now, if you were an English major, you suddenly didn’t have to hide your rock and roll preference.

Smart people and grown-ups, too.

Grown-ups, absolutely. That put another texture into that cultural moment, which Lou could perceive.

Part of what you’re saying, maybe, is that the Beatles and Dylan may have cleared some room for VU even though VU was not in any way Beatle-esque, and it doesn’t sound like Blonde on Blonde.

The simple fact of the matter is that Lou Reed would be inconceivable without Dylan. Lou had a complicated relationship with Dylan throughout his life, but there’s no question that — just as a singer, even — before Dylan, it would have been inconceivable for someone like Lou Reed to make pop records.

That’s a good point: that flat singing voice would have sounded off without the example of Dylan. VU also had a fraught and perhaps antagonistic relationship with California in general and Los Angeles in particular — the audiences, the bands, some of the music writers, and the larger West Coast sensibility, associated with Hippiedom and psychedelia. How did that play itself out in the VU period?

Well, there was a whole lot of animosity. On a famous trip that the Velvet Underground made to California, in 1966, they were supposed to do an extended residency at The Trip in Los Angeles that got shut down after two or three shows. They outraged the local media, and many local performers. The famous quote belonged to Cher: “They will replace nothing, except maybe suicide.” And Andy Warhol took that quote straight to the bank; it’s used in promotion of the Velvet Underground.

But then they went to San Francisco, and that was an even more fraught experience. They played at the Fillmore, and they aggravated Bill Graham, and they condescended to everybody, and Graham said they’d never have them back. And Ralph Gleason, who was the music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and soon to be co-founder of Rolling Stone, described them as “Greenwich Village Sick,” which is a kind of funny thing for a critic in San Francisco to say.

Right, you’re saying that it’s homophobic …

Right, even in San Francisco, which was then the gay capital.

But despite this animosity, they ended up recording their third self-titled record, which sounds nothing like Pet Sounds, out here in North Hollywood.

And The Matrix in San Francisco became one of their regular stops, and some of the live stuff that came out of there is just prime VU.

Look, these things are complicated. Their run-ins with the official culture didn’t mean there weren’t cool people around who really responded to what they were doing. And, you know, I think around the time they recorded their third album, the Velvets, and particularly Lou, were interested in being more than a “New York band.” I think they had felt a little typecast by the Andy Warhol thing. Recording in California was a way to broaden their own perspective, and broaden the perception of the band. Those last two albums, The Velvet Underground and Loaded, are efforts to reach a larger audience, to one degree or another. I mean, they failed — spectacular failures — but nonetheless, there was a definite desire to be more than a cult band.

Right, to get out of the Factory.

Yeah, I think that was Lou’s motivation, in part, for getting rid of Andy Warhol, and getting rid of John Cale, and really trying to make the Velvets, in the best sense of the term, a kind of conventional rock and roll band, one you might actually hear on the radio.

Well, we’ve talked a lot about the Velvets, partly because I, like many members of my generation, consider them the godfathers of the alternative and indie rock movements. But there are still many decades left to Lou, and several hundred pages of your book. How does his solo output compare to that of the band, and what seem to be the high points for you, either tours or LPs?

For those of us who were living contemporaneously with Lou, there were obviously frustrations with the ups and downs and twists and turns of his solo career. I think, for younger artists, that has come to seem like … I won’t say exactly a model, but a kind of example of how you can be free as an artist and do what you want to do. If you want to just talk about high points, I would pull out Transformer, and of course Berlin.

Right, which was not considered a smashing success at the time.

A commercial disaster, but a record that’s held up extremely well. Coney Island Baby, Street Hassle, The Blue Mask with Robert Quine …

New Sensations.

New York, Magic and Loss, and Songs for Drella, which was a collaboration with John Cale. And Ecstasy, I would say.

Those records have a lot of high points, in different styles; it’s not like he’s just doing one thing over and over.

And I’m ignoring something like Metal Machine Music, which sparked outrage at the time, but has come to be taken seriously by the avant-classical world. And you have a Velvet Underground Reunion in there. That live record is not a masterpiece, but it’s certainly worth owning for anyone who cares about that band. Lou’s willingness to do what he wanted to do …

To paraphrase a song of his …

Yeah, doin’ the things that we want to, that’s exactly right, I think that’s how he saw it. And I think that’s how younger musicians have experienced him. When they think about him, they don’t think about whether or not he had hits, or one particular album, they think of someone who represented a certain attitude and approach to his own music that existed independent of commerce, you know? It didn’t disown commerce, but it wasn’t governed by commerce. In our world now, it’s very difficult to find anything that isn’t governed by commerce.

It’s interesting to read how he responded to reviews and sales, and how the various labels and managers took it. He makes records that really do try to be commercial, and then he does something that’s a total fuck-you to the people who would have jumped on the bandwagon after the last record.

Not to be governed by expectations, you know? That’s what it is, I think. Whether the expectations are that you have to avoid hit-making completely, or that you have to have only hits. I think he just traveled his own path, and there’s a real texture to the solo career. We could argue about these records, obviously — they’re not all masterpieces, and I think when you’re living contemporaneously with an artist, it’s easy to get frustrated. You’re waiting two or three years for a record and he makes one that’s not a great one, and you’re pissed off. But I think when you look at the overall arc of his career, it’s impressive.

Reed was sort of a famously difficult, ornery guy, who also seemed to have had real relationships, both friendships and marriages that, at least some of the time, worked and were loving. You have a great anecdote at the beginning of the book where he comes to speak at your university. But maybe the best scene in the book — which feels like it describes the complexity of the guy — is when he goes to Czechoslovakia, to interview Václav Havel, who was a huge VU fan. That VU-loving subculture was in some ways responsbile for the liberation of Czechoslovakia.

The Velvet Revolution.

Exactly, so tell us how weird and ambiguous that encounter was.

Well, I think it was very difficult, even after Lou got clean — maybe even more difficult — for him to give up control of situations. And so, he was going to interview Václav Havel for Rolling Stone, and I think it was hard for him to understand the momentousness of the occasion. Here is this prominent literary figure, who essentially led a revolution that freed his country, and that was in many ways inspired by the Velvet Underground. And Lou was treating it like a gig, you know. Havel is asking, “Gee, would you be able to perform in a club here?” And he’s like, “Oh, I don’t usually play clubs. I can play some songs for you.” And Havel has to say, “Gee, you know, there are a lot of people here who would like to see you, and if you just played songs for me, they wouldn’t be able to.” And finally Lou does it, and it’s a very important moment for him, and a very moving moment for Havel.

But Lou just fought it every step of the way. There’s an insecurity in him that was manifest there, a kind of rigidity, a desire for control … You know, “I can’t go on stage without a week of rehearsals,” or whatever, rather than just thinking this isn’t about the perfect musical moment, it’s about an important statement of support for this leader and for this country that was recently liberated.

The whole story you tell is quite complicated and fascinating, in part because, in the end, Lou ends up being moved by the experience, and has a human response that we don’t always get from him, an empathetic connection that didn’t come naturally to him, it seems.

I think there was always an expectation on his part that somehow he was going to be exploited in some way, or that the quality of his work was not going to be respected. And in a situation like that, it was just mind-boggling, it really was completely incredible. That was a very frustrating section to write … You’re trying to empathize, but you’re also going, “Jesus Christ, just do it.”

You close the book with his death, and the huge amount of warmth and appreciation, and, in some cases, forgiveness that greeted it. As somebody who’s listened to his music for a long time, knew him socially and professionally, and spent several years thinking about him and talking about him, do you feel he was misunderstood? Do you find yourself a little repulsed by his hostility? How do you close the page on him?

I think I try to see him in three-dimensional terms. I did know him, and we were always friendly. But I never, even in those moments, lost my regard for him as an artist. I hold him in the highest esteem. There are also some very grisly stories, and he did some mean and even despicable things, but, you know, he lived a long life. There was a kind of urge for redemption in him, for all of the terrible things that were part of his life.

“Despite all the amputations,” right?

Yeah, I think there was a desire to rise above them. And, you know, I think he did. It doesn’t excuse a lot of the bad stuff, but I think he tried to answer to the best elements in himself and create the best work that he could.

And look, this guy altered the course of popular music, there’s no question about it. His impact and his influence still seems very potent, and it’s likely to remain that way.

Scott Timberg is the editor of The Misread City: New Literary Los Angeles and author of Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class.

The post All the Poets (Musicians on Writing): Anthony DeCurtis on Lou Reed appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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joementa · 8 years ago

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Week of February 20, 2017. Happy Birthday JR.

As I type this, I am currently listening to Johnny Cash With His Hot and Blue Guitar, the first LP ever released on Sun Records. I have this spinning to celebrate JR’s birthday. JR is one of my most favorite musicians. Yes, the songs and voice are great. But what always amazes me most is the amount of genres that are in JR’s music. You can hear all types of influences, including country, gospel, blues, folk, and r ‘n b.

I like JR’s music because that’s what it is. It’s just music. That makes me think of “Recycled Rhythms: A Night of RAIR Inspired Music”, held at the Moore Gallery in Philly on Thursday night. I had the privilege of attending this unique and inspiring event, consisting of local musicians and artists using recycled items to make music. Some of them even invented their own instruments. Needless to say that I, someone who listens to a lot of music but does not really create it, was completely out of my league compared to the real musicians that were in this room. And that’s just how I like it.

The first performers were Billy Dufala and Martha McDonald – a duo who played mostly folk/Appalachian music using their own interpretations. They also had creative transitions between the songs, and sometimes within the songs themselves. I think it’s always interesting to hear musicians create their own interpretations to well-known songs. In a way, they create new songs and can have the same song mean different things, depending on how it’s performed. It reminded me of the different versions of “All You Had To Do Was Stay”, one by Taylor Swift, and the other by Ryan Adams. Their versions lead to completely opposite interpretations.

The next performer was Jim Strong, who played music using an instrument that he actually invented. I know people who build guitars and other instruments, but I don’t know anyone who has invented an instrument. Like I said, I was out of my league here. I can’t put into words what Jim Strong’s music sounded like, but if I had to, I would call it ambient/avant-garde. This performance made me think of how someone like Bon Iver probably approaches music – just be creative. Try new things. Approach it differently. Any sound is music, and most of them are beautiful if there’s inspiration behind it. The sound the ocean makes when waves are crashing is just as musical as Ryan Adams’ incredible new album Prisoner. Does the sound make you feel? Does it make you inspired? Jim Strong’s performance did that to me. So it must be music.

The third performer was Ben Bennett, an absurdly talented percussionist. I think he makes Carter Beauford seem human. He created sounds using a variety of items including drums and plastic cans, and played at a speed that is still difficult to comprehend. It was beautiful to see someone create sounds using actual objects. This made me think of how musicians can get creative to develop a sound. He kept switching instruments but never lost the sound and feel during the transition. I was thinking of how someone like George Martin developed some of the techniques he used in all of those great Beatles songs. Feel the music, and be open to new ideas. You don’t always have to take a straightforward approach, and sometimes the straightforward approach doesn’t sound as good (look up the story about how George Martin created the solo in “In My Life”).

The last performer was Schuyler Thum, who used a variety of instruments and lopped them through a handful of radios. This performance had some beautiful melodies in it, and I love when musicians play solo but also use loops to get a full band sound. It’s something that Ed Sheeran does so brilliantly. It reminded me of the great Sufjan Stevens album Age Of Adz. A lot of loops and beat but there is also an approach using traditional song structures that is embedded in the music as well.

I was so happy to be invited to this event – I would love to go to more things like this because they always verify my feeling that I just love music. Yes, there is music that I tend to listen to frequently (Prince, DRA, rock ‘n roll, BRUCE), but I am open to try anything and I usually appreciate any music that I feel is done honestly, because that will inspire me. Sounds inspire me – birds in the morning. Hendrix. Wind rustling through the trees. Motown. Someone making sounds using an instrument he INVENTED. It’s all music, and all of it will inspire you in some fashion if you are open to it.

On Saturday, I went to my first rock ‘n roll show in months, and it did not let me down. I saw Dave Hause in New Jersey, supporting his great new album Bury Me In Philly. This was one of those shows where you walk out afterwards feeling, “this show is the proof about WHY I do this.” The show rocked, of course. I’ve seen Dave Hause a few times before, and he does not disappoint. He is a master of working the crowd and always gives it his all. The set list was great – a ton of songs from Bury Me In Philly, plus most of the fan favorites from Devour and Resolutions. All 3 of these albums need to be in your record collection.

The crowd was into it just as much as Dave Hause was. Those are the best rock ‘n roll shows. Dave Hause loves getting right to the edge of the stage and singing the lyrics to the crowd. He doesn’t just do this on the “woahs” either – he does this on full lines. You can tell that he knows how important crowd participation is. I had so much fun at the show – singing, dancing, clapping, and fist pumping. It was great to see the crowd having such a good time too. You can learn about people when you watch them at a show. You can tell just by how they act if a certain song has saved them. And that’s our connection. We need the music. And I needed this show – a Saturday night of rock ‘n roll in New Jersey with some of my best friends.

Here is a list of Dave Hause’s tour dates if you’d like to experience a similar night of great rock ‘n roll.

Here is a list of some of the music I’ve been listening to the past week. Format: musician – album title, or musician – “song title” (album title).

Ryan Adams – Prisoner

Lana Del Rey – “Love”

Dave Hause – Bury Me In Philly

The Menzingers – After The Party

The Pretenders – Pretenders II

The Pretenders – Extended Play

Adele – 25

Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free

Andrea Bocelli – Romanza

Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams

Goo Goo Dolls – Boxes

The Beatles – Help!

Wilco – Schmilco

Neil Young – Peace Trail

Johnny Cash – Johnny Cash With His Hot and Blue Guitar

Johnny Cash – The Johnny Cash Show

Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings – Heroes

Hopefully everyone has started getting tickets for some of the great tours that are coming up later this year. I had a really exciting week with the onsales for some of my must-see shows this year. I pulled FRONT ROW tickets and third row tickets to see Ryan Adams at two different shows later this year, and then was lucky to pull GA pit tickets to see Bon Iver in a few months. I cannot wait for those shows. Hopefully you are just as lucky with the onsales for your shows.

Now I just put The Johnny Cash Show on the turntable, recorded live at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. To quote the man himself (although he didn’t write it) – “thank you for the chance to make the music, the songs are the only thing I know”. Exactly. Happy birthday JR. Thank you, and everyone else, for all of the types of music that you make.

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