|
|
|
photo & text by nacrowe
i read REPUBLIC OF IMAGES: A HISTORY OF FRENCH FILMMAKING (HARVARD, 1992) by ALAN WILLIAMS as part of introductory class taught by the author while in undergrad. at the time i was somewhat familiar with the FRENCH NEW WAVE movement and notable, influential directors like JEAN-LUC GODARD and FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT, but i lack context about the full context of what FRANCE contributed to cinema culture from its inception.
FRENCH filmmakers have long acted as a lens through AMERICAN film culture is acknowledged, refined and innovated upon. this long-distance unofficial dialogue of sorts has been around since the inception of cinema and for this reason studying FRENCH films in general is a compelling commentary on the ever changing tastes and innovations of the stateside movie industry. despite having differing ECONOMIC and POLITICAL constraints (not to mention audience expectations), there is a common cultural and artistic bond that ties the two industries together. there are any number of directors i could reference and go into here, some favorites covered at length in REPUBLIC OF IMAGES include GEORGES MELIES, JEAN RENOIR, ALAIN RESNAIS, CLAUDE CHABROL, JEAN COCTEAU, AGNES VARDA, JACQUES BECKER, CLAIRE DENIS, GEORGES FRANJU and ROBERT BRESSON among many others. i wish to focus on two: MARCEL CARNE and HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT. in the 1920s, due to the growing clout of the film industry and fear of regulation, the AMERICAN film industry imposed a series of self-censorship guidelines known as the PRODUCTION CODE. circumventing studio censors became an unfortunate reality for any filmmaker attempting to progress and push the medium forward. the PRODUCTION CODE was in effect until the late 1960s when the studio system largely collapsed. its interesting in that there was no direct industry analogue in the FRENCH system. the FRENCH NEW WAVE in essence was a critical reevaluation and elevation of classic studio directors (like ALFRED HITCHCOCK, BILLY WILDER, HOWARD HAWKS, ORSON WELLES, SAMUEL FULLER, JOHN FORD, etc.) that battled this system and its attendant code as AUTEURS and sparked a domestic cultural movement of creativity and risk-taking that was embraced by the FRENCH general public and later world audiences. i said there was no direct industry analogue to the PRODUCTION CODE, but during WWII there was a political one: VICHY FRANCE. when the NAZIs overtook FRANCE they also commandeered its film industry. VICHY FRANCE were parts of the FRENCH government and political structure that chose to collaborate with the new occupiers and serve as a PUPPET STATE. for this they were granted some varying levels of relative autonomy. CARNE and CLOUZOT both made films during this period in VICHY FRANCE which were essentially financed by a NAZI-backed industry. for me it was the films of these two directors that served as the most interesting part of REPUBLIC OF IMAGES as well as the class that semester. CLOUZOT directed LE COURBEAU (CONTINENTAL, 1943) and CARNE directed LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS (PATHE, 1945), both films that deal with CODED LANGUAGE and EMOTIONAL SUBTERFUGE. understanding and analyzing them is admittedly a byproduct of what perspective you bring in to the discussion. are these FRENCH patriots that swindled the occupiers into creating are that undermined their message and authority or were they the most debased example of traitors collaborating and profiting from a foreign occupying force that sought to annihilate FRENCH culture. to this day its a very interesting topic. definitely seek both films out if you are unfamiliar with them. WILLIAMS even provides the written introduction to LE COURBEAU in the CRITERION release. for me the very concept of the myriad modes of interpretation within art is an endlessly fascinating topic and REPUBLIC OF IMAGES has long been a renewable source of inspiration regarding the rich history of FRENCH filmmaking, which i did not justice in this write up. the book is exhaustively researched and lovingly written and is well worth seeking out if you have any interest in global film culture. 
0 Comments
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
GIBSON GUITARS really did a faceplant up back in 2019 with their aborted "play authentic" campaign.
which was really a pity because i had been watching their DIRECTOR OF BRAND EXPERIENCE MARK AGNESI since he was GENERAL MANAGER at NORM'S RARE GUITARS and hosted their GUITAR OF THE DAY YOUTUBE videos in which he would deep dive into their backroom archive of vintage guitars and elaborate in exquisite detail about their production, history and playability. the dude knew his stuff and his appreciation and passion for guitars was palpable. i was practically rooting for the dude when moved on to GIBSON. which is why i think its a great move that GIBSON has him doing these long-form videos where he similarly guides us through the collections of famous musicians from RICK NIELSEN (CHEAP TRICK), MIKE CAMPBELL (TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS) and DWEEZIL ZAPPA (ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA) to KIETH NELSON (BUCKCHERRY) and DAVE AMATO (REO SPEEDEWAGON). its basically the same thing he did at NORM'S, even with the same batch of characters. in other words: its a match made in guitar nerd heaven. once i learned of this series i have basically been mainlining them, irrespective of the artist being interviewed. bar none the coolest guitar shown was producer JOHN SHANKS' GIBSON ES-355 previously owned by JOHNNY MARR. 'nough said there. obviously the vast majority of the products involved are GIBSON-related, but its also fun to see when they veer off into other manufacturers. this gives me hope that GIBSON is getting off their high horse and acknowledging the fact that they are part of a greater community. hopefully they take on their role as elder statesmen and give back to the guitar-playing community, because it looked bleak there for a while. real bleak. this series at least smells like they have their act together and were humbled by their atrocious marketing mistakes over the last decade. 
photo & text by nacrowe
i believe it is fair to say that WARNING (REPRISE, 2000) is the forgotten GREEN DAY album. some critics over the years have disparaging claimed it to be a product of frontman BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG's self-indulgent "fat ELVIS" period. no doubt it has the misfortune of being the lead-in record to what many consider their best record, AMERICAN IDIOT (although some claim DOOKIE), and the overall renaissance of their cultural status as POP PUNK icons.
i dont see it that way. when i listen back to tracks off WARNING like "MINORITY," "WAITING," "MACY'S DAY PARADE," "MISERY" and "WARNING," what some hear as a lack of energy and bombast i hear as a detour into the song-craft and subtle thoughtfully crafted sonic dynamics at play with BRITISH INVASION bands like THE KINKS and THE WHO. there is a storytelling quality and a solid penchant for CHARACTER STUDIES that come into play on this record that would bear fruit with the follow-up and its multi-song NARRATIVE ARC. such a detour into essentially creating modern FOLK NARRATIVES puts ARMSTRONG in keeping with a decidedly BRITISH tradition exemplified by the likes RAY DAVIES and PETE TOWNSEND. i think ARMSTRONG's fascination with the earlier work of those two songwriters helps make the connection between WARNING and AMERICAN IDIOT, as the later record is definitely in keeping with THE KINKS PRESENT A SOAP OPERA (RCA, 1975) or TOMMY (DECCA, 1969). basically i see the two as a pair, in essence two efforts at translating disparate elements like POWER POP and BRITISH INVASION-era song-craft into a modern POP PUNK format. and to an extent it worked. it is just in comparison to the explosive bombast of AMERICAN IDIOT and its astute political conceit at a time when bands, PUNK or not, were largely cowering in the age of GEORGE W BUSH and the paranoia of a post-9/11 AMERICA. WARNING is very much a product of a band searching for a means of maturing into ADULTHOOD, and represents one attempt at such. ultimately they double-down on the more anthemic elements of their sound, but this more laid-back, self-assessing, INTROSPECTIVE record should not be discounted. its definitely worth revisiting and checking out agin. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
PITTSBURGH's CODE ORANGE has been killing it recently. easily the most explosive and aggressive emerging METAL band to gain prominence in recent years since POWER TRIP in my estimation. since working with producer (and CONVERGE guitarist) KURT BALOU on their second album I AM KING (DEATHWISH, 2014) their sound has calcified into a potent hybrid of METALCORE with seamlessly integrated INDUSTRIAL flourishes. justifiably their guitarist REBA MEYERS has grown to prominence with that nastiest riffage this side of DIMEBAG DARRELL.
i could not recommend this band anymore forcefully. definitely worth checking out. 
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the iconic NEW WAVE band THE CARS!
​ ​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience!​ 
photo & text by nacrowe
it hard to overstate the cultural impact of NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS (WARNER BROS, 1977) by the legendary ENGLISH PUNK ROCK band the SEX PISTOLS. the record more than lives up to the decades of adoration and hype surrounding it.
no it wasnt the first PUNK ROCK record by any stretch of the imagination (that went to THE RAMONES followed by THE DAMNED), nor were the SEX PISTOLS the first PUNK ROCK band (NEW YORK DOLLS, THE DICTATORS or even THE STOOGES may take claim for that). but in terms of sheer cultural and artistic impact NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS is a singular achievement with few peers in the 20th century. it was their ferocious example in a criminally short period of time in the late 1970s that inspired the later POST PUNK scenes in ENGLAND (think JOY DIVISION, BAUHAUS and THE SMITHS) and basically every iteration PUNK ROCK has evolved into (HARDCORE, LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK, POP PUNK, NYHC, ALTERNATIVE ROCK, etc) over the last four decades and counting. and that legacy is funny because the band started out as a marketing gimmick for a LONDON shop that sold bondage gear by entrepreneur MALCOLM MCLAREN and his designer wife VIVIENNE WESTWOOD. the initially was supported and curated in very much the same fashion as a 1990s ORLANDO boy band. to me the whole DIY ETHIC that marks the later AMERICAN HARDCORE and INDIE ROCK scenes that traces its roots to the original PUNK ROCK scene is hilarious given this fact, but make no mistake it was the SEX PISTOLS as managed by MCLAREN (and his knack for publicity stunts) that got the ball rolling on a movement that brought along THE CLASH and THE DAMNED among others to the mainstream. but back to the actual record. i remember being a teenager and being gifted NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS and just being annihilated by the opening track "HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN." just the bile in JOHNNY ROTTEN's voice. and that machine gun descending STEVE JONES riff. i was hooked and felt a sense of kinship on the spot. no CLASH record ever spoke to me on that level, ever. other legendary standout tracks include "PRETTY VACANT," "ANARCHY IN THE UK," "BODIES" and "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN." this is the type of record that just ceases to release you from its grasp, only other classic records like SLAYER's REIGN IN BLOOD (DEF JAM, 1986) and NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) had a similar impact on me as a teenager. there is so much to mention about this record, from the fact the dismissed original bassist GLEN MATLOCK essentially wrote it to its complicated birth of being dropped by two major labels (EMI, A&M) before being finally released domestically in ENGLAND by VIRGIN (and WARNER BROS stateside). there is also that whole fracas surrounding the queen's silver jubilee celebration and the deteriorating BRITISH political and economic situation at the time under the weight of THATCHERISM and a staunchly conservative government. ultimately it is a great album with minimalist yet punchy, transcendent songs, which i could not recommend more highly. there is also the fact that most of my favorite bands of later periods were either directly or indirectly influenced by the SEX PISTOLS' example, and for that i am truly thankful for their resolute intransigence and vulgar authenticity in shaking up ROCK N ROLL. feels like we need that now more than ever several decades later. THATCHERISM has given birth to TRUMPISM and shit looks mighty bleak. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
my introduction to SPARKS was through an early 2000s message board where someone posted that JIMMY EURINGER of MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE had the falsetto voice somewhere between SPARKS and TINY TIM. i remember thinking "who the hell is SPARKS" and then proceeding to dip my toes into their impressively vast multi-genre catalogue.
getting into SPARKS is sort of like navigating through the avant-garde THE RESIDENTS discography in that their music is CONCEPTUALLY COMPLEX, almost to the point of being OPAQUE. its apparent none of their work is done at face value and requires intellectual effort on behalf of the listener, which is probably why they are very much a cult band 50 years after their debut. its pretty remarkable that they are still a continuing relevant entity some half century later. the documentary THE SPARKS BROTHERS (FOCUS FEATURES, 2020) is long overdue and gets at the heart of the relationship and ever-developing and deepening artistic collaboration between brothers RUSSELL and RON MAEL. the film includes notable interviews with producers GIORGIO MORODER, TODD RUNDGREN and TONY VISCONTI, former members of their various lineups and peers/admirers like STEVE JONES (SEX PISTOLS), ANDY BELL & VINCE CLARKE (ERASURE), BECK, STEPHEN MORRIS & GILLIAN GILBERT (NEW ORDER/JOY DIVISION), THURSTON MOORE (SONIC YOUTH), NICK RHODES & JOHN TAYLOR (DURAN DURAN), "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC, and FLEA (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) among many others. the film clocks at more than 2 hours and attempts to get at the sheer size of their prolific catalogue and make sense of the genre-defying EXPERIMENTATION that comes to define their career. what comes across is that despite any commercial peaks and valleys in their career, the focus was always on the music and what was coming next. an example is in the late 1970s when PUNK exploded, their reaction was to collaborate with GIORGIO MORODER and make a pop record with sequencers and synthesizers. this obviously predated what followed subsequently in the 1980s. and then when that ran its course they moved on in a more BAROQUE, orchestrated direction. i am having a hard time thinking of a band that went through as many seamless variations with such sudden disparity while maintaining such a quality product. its pretty astounding. it also makes sense that such jarring right turns limited their commercial prospects as it takes a fairly SOPHISTICATED and NICHE audience to welcome such progression and sharp right turns. thus it makes sense why they have a dedicated audience in EUROPE, so much so that before this documentary i am ashamed to say that i thought they were EUROPEAN. they arent. they are from SANTA MONICA, literraly less than an hour from my childhood in home in SOUTHERN CALIIFORNIA. its a fact i find pretty humorous. but it goes to show how much their music speaks for itself in that it transports its listeners to an alternate aural reality where anything is possible. and that is also why its interesting to see where they go next. 50 years in and people are still looking forward to what they have to offer. if that isnt a testament to SPARKS, then i dont know what is. definitely cant say that about PAUL MCCARTNEY or any other legacy artist. ok, maybe NEIL YOUNG. maybe. 
photo & text by nacrowe
the graphic novel HERE (PANTHEON, 2014) by RICHARD MCGUIRE presents the narrative of a living room. it sis a unique narrative in that it is told visually from a fixed viewpoint over TIME. overlapping panels from varying points in TIME, from the prehistoric and precambrian through the future rising tides brought on by CLIMATE CHANGE to a future technologically advanced society.
what is created is an experiential PALIMPSEST. a PALIMPSEST is a painting in which an artist creates on top of an existing object or previous incarnation of the painting itself. what results are layers of meaning and interesting juxtapositions that require the viewer to make sense of these new connections. in HERE, MCGUIRE is essentially playing with concepts of IDENTITY and MEMORY as told through TIME. dinosaurs, sharks, native americans, modern families and the like have all LIVED, FOUGHT, LOVED, DIED and experienced full lives in this PHYSICAL SPACE. what shines through in this graphic novel is the concept of IMPERMANENCE and how our MORTALITY repeatedly inculcates in us a sense of stewardship over our surroundings. or at least it should. in BUDDHISM there is a mindset that everything and anything is in a constant state of TRANSFORMATION, of BECOMING. as humans we are only temporarily utilizing the molecules and atoms that make up our physical being and long after we pass on, much like the stars that created this matter, there will be further physical objects and manifestations utilizing said atoms ad infinitum. its a humbling concept and put the blip that is your lifespan and lived experience in proper PERSPECTIVE, against what your mind and body tell you otherwise. it also makes you consider the true implications of your individual CHOICES and how such will impact future generations. HERE is a deeply affecting graphic novel that has a MINIMALIST AESTHETIC with a deep impact. it effectively translates how our collective experiences over TIME unite us all and bind us. i found this book to be a deep meditation on the physical world and our place within it. HERE is definitely worth seeking out. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i thought that i understood what it meant to be a passionate fan of something. like MUSIC, FILM, SPORTS or ART. and then i moved to SOUTH AMERICA and realized i didnt know even the half of it.
when i relocated to VENEZUELA in the summer of 2013 i was confronted with new peers and friends that shared my love of THRASH METAL and CLASSIC ROCK, except that for them the music was their gateway to learning ENGLISH and thus a valuable skill that led them to working at a school alongside me. their passion for music quite literally altered their lives. it was powerful then and still is in retrospect, given that they all now live and work outside of VENEZUELA (which is in a dire state at the moment) in other LATIN countries such as ARGENTINA and CHILE. which brings me to the YOUTUBE channel of current MEGADETH lead guitarist KIKO LOUREIRO. his channel, which began long before his current tenure with the THRASH METAL veterans, is part guitar tutorial and part behind the scenes look at the daily life of a WORKING MUSICIAN. what shines through is his PASSION for the instrument and sharing said passion with fans as well as the cast of characters that revolve around it (road crew, guitar techs, security, catering, other musicians). for some reason this instinct to lift that fourth wall and give his fans a look behind the curtain is pretty remarkable, even more so because it includes at times the reclusive and very private DAVE MUSTAINE. you get the sense that their is a high level of trust and mutual respect between the two. that instinct to share and connect also feels very much steeped in LATIN culture. it is almost as if he is telling his community in his native BRAZIL that this level of success is attainable through hard work, perseverance and a bit of luck. i always love the fact that BRAZILIAN musicians (MAX CAVALERA, JORGE BEN, CAETANO VELOSO, etc.) that make a mark stateside are outspoken and passionate about their native homeland, which has a distinct, multi-faceted musical tradition that rivals such of any other. its funny because when i think of MEGADETH, i think of unparalleled musicianship (notably past guitarists MARTY FRIEDMAN and CHRIS POLAND) as well as the regressive and recalcitrant politics of MUSTAINE. with LOUREIRO in the mix a new word comes to mind: JOY. check out his YOUTUBE channel. it provides an interesting perspective on the journey through the recording, rehearsing and touring life of a talented, modern WORKING MUSICIAN. 
photo & text by nacrowe
throughout the LAYNE STALEY era of ALICE IN CHAINS's career there was a cycle of releases whereby after a studio album there would be a stopgap EP before the next major release. this was initiated by SAP (COLUMBIA, 1992) before the release of DIRT (COLUMBIA, 1992) and was mirrored by JAR OF FLIES (COLUMBIA, 1994) before the release of ALICE IN CHAINS (COLUMBIA, 1995).
SAP is often overlooked in the stunning catalogue of ALICE IN CHAINS releases during both phases of the band, but its importance cannot be overlooked. it basically established their ability to have CREATIVE FREEDOM, which when looking at the work of their peers during this period you soon realize that not everyone was successful transforming or evolving their sound (like METALLICA). with this DOWNCAST and DOWN-TEMPO EP release full of acoustic dirges that had little to do with the energetic punchiness of their debut, ALICE IN CHAINS made their fans aware of their range and their FEARLESNESS in pursuing whatever sounds caught their ear. SAP effectively established the parameters of what the band could pull on record. the title came from a dream that drummer SEAN KINNEY had during recording, which took place during a session for the song "WOULD?" for an upcoming soundtrack to the CAMERON CROWE film SINGLES (WARNER BROS, 1992). the band essentially having the studio fit the bill for several extra songs being demoed during that same session. standout tracks include "GOT ME WRONG" and "BROTHER" but as is the case with their entire discography, there is no bad track that can be found. guest vocals throughout are provided by fellow SEATTLE luminaries CHRIS CORNELL (SOUNDGARDEN), MARK ARM (MUDHONEY) and ANN WILSON (HEART). my favorite song off the EP has long been "AM I INSIDE" which is beyond haunting and really showcases the EMOTIONAL RESONANCE and POWER of STALEY's voice, as well as his own sense of DESPERATE ISOLATION. the songs still affects me every time i hear it. if you are unfamiliar with the SAP EP, it is well worth discovering and checking out. just dont expect walls of distortion a la FACELIFT, DIRT or ALICE IN CHAINS. it is its own animal. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
sometimes you watch and listen to music from other cultures and quickly realize you dont know the half of it. such is the case with CHILE's MON LAFERTE whose music has deft pop sensibilities infused with subtle textures and rhythms from traditional LATIN fare like CUMBIA, SALSA and BOLERO.
but such seems to be a smokescreen for her fierce REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS and bold personal stances, famously culminating in her going topless at the 2019 LATIN GRAMMYS with the message "en Chile torturan violan y matan" written across her chest. this translates to "in Chile, they torture, rape and kill." holy shit indeed. this was an anti-government message in support of protests against SOCIAL INEQUALITY and in support of minimum/LIVING WAGE guarantees. these protests were controversial at the time since they resulted in the burning of subway stations. again, you listen to music by an artist, especially one from another culture, and you learn that you in fact no very little about the original context. at the very least MON LAFERTE is an artist worthy of further investigation and you should definitely check out her music. 
parodies by nacrowe
yes i went there.
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the music of controversial HIP HOP rapper / producer / entrepreneur / contrarian KANYE WEST! ​​ ​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
photo & text by nacrowe
i have this distinct memory of hearing the FOO FIGHTERS's track "THIS IS A CALL" coming from my parents bedroom alarm clock during the summer of 1995. i was 11 and we were still living in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA at the time. there was a kinetic energy and a contagious passion to that song that caught my ear and made an immediate impact. it just sounded like fun. at the time i had no idea that this band was fronted by the drummer from all those NIRVANA records i adored. so in a sense i heard the FOO FIGHTERS eponymous debut album FOO FIGHTERS (ROSWELL, 1995) from a fairly innocent standpoint. so naive was i that for several months i thought that the name of the band was FOOD FIGHTERS.
and for the record: i still think FOOD FIGHTERS is a great name. just saying. famously the FOO FIGHTERS began as a quick studio project for DAVE GROHL to keep his my mind on something productive months after the shocking and tragic demise of bandmate KURT COBAIN and the end of NIRVANA. there was no plan, just a quick week of recording sessions with his friend BARRETT JONES at a local SEATTLE recording studio (ROBERT LANG STUDIOS) a block away from his house with songs written before and after GROHL's time in NIRVANA. even the name of the project was made plural to disguise the fact that this wasnt a group, but in fact GROHL on every instrument. the project only became a focus after GROHL declined an offer to join TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS, and made a small series of FOO FIGHTERS tapes that he passed around to close friends and industry colleagues. this led to a major label distribution agreement which laid the foundation for the ongoing ALTERNATIVE ROCK juggernaut that is the modern-day FOO FIGHTERS. actually the project, unlike NIRVANA, had a steady build up to where they are now over a nearly 30 year career playing mostly straight-ahead ROCK N ROLL. probably the most astute move GROHL ever made was starting ROSWELL RECORDS and owning his own recordings. he is part of a short list of notable recording artists (METALLICA, U2, RIHANNA, JACK WHITE, JAY-Z, etc.) that own their own material. it has allowed him the freedom to make his art minus the industry bullshit most have to consider when recording an album. its interesting to think of whether or not those pressures would have served COBAIN well if he had equal control over his catalogue. obviously like much concerning him, it is impossible to say. standout tracks on FOO FIGHTERS include the aforementioned "THIS IS A CALL" as well as "ALONE + EASY TARGET," "BIG ME," "I'LL STICK AROUND," "FLOATY" and my personal favorite, "FOR ALL THE COWS." sonically and compositionally, these songs are all anthemic and radiate a light-hearted optimism that is pretty much indistinguishable from the public persona of GROHL. needless to say, this tone is in sharp contrast to that of NIRVANA, which always seemed psychologically and emotionally complex and heavy. this debut is indebted to bands like THE MELVINS and BIG BLACK in terms of its sonic palette, but in essence these songs serve as a popular bridge to a deeper catalogue of 1980s INDIE ROCK. that was my experience at least. getting into NIRVANA and later FOO FIGHTERS begot interest in PIXIES, HUSKER DU, THE REPLACEMENTS, DINOSAUR JR, SONIC YOUTH and so on. this is not the best FOO FIGHTERS record, the follow-up THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE (ROSWELL, 1997) is in my opinion, but it is a great transitional record by an iconic musician at a consequential crossroads in his career. it is pretty incredible what GROHL was able to accomplish the and since. definitely worth checking out. 
photo manipulation by nacrowe
the mythical figure of LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY for me was always this seemingly inscrutable, opaque persona where in interviews he would constantly speak in terms of PROPHECY and claims of DIVINE PROVIDENCE that got in the way of me deciphering a route of connection and understanding to a producer that created some of the most compelling music of the 20th century.
as the documentary THE UPSETTER: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF LEE SCRATCH PERRY (PERMANENT MARKS, 2008) illustrates, he is largely responsible for the transition of SKA into REGGAE and was instrumental in the careers of many of JAMAICA's most famous cultural exports, including BOB MARLEY. to some extent he took a back seat in terms of his public persona, preferring to be a behind-the-scenes figure who controlled the boards and the contracts. in the documentary he speaks of MARLEY as "the king" and himself as "the prophet," which is as apt an analogue to the relationship between artist and producer that ive ever come across. what i found particularly interesting was how his relationship with REGGAE and the community around it broke down. essentially he was being harassed by the police and the local community on a daily occurrence for money at the legendary home studio, the BLACK ARK, that he worked out of. being of generous heart, his home was largely open to the public given his optimistic outlook on people's motives given his RASTAFARIAN beliefs. this was a mistake and he lost everything, his studio, his wife and his connection to a community. the unhinged and impenetrable public persona he carried with him largely until his passing was his guard against intimacy in a sense. if people thought of him as a madman and left him alone, then that is what he wished to be. its a pretty sad story given that one of the celebrated touchstone talents the elevated JAMAICAN music to a worldwide audience saw such notoriety and fame as something to be feared within the context of his local community. at the time before he burned the BLACK ARK and was being extorted by the police, he had to hire soldiers to provide him security. he was a literal prisoner. there is a moment in this documentary when an unnamed off-camera interviewer in the early 1980s asks him he felt about the passing of his former collaborator MARLEY and his response was that now he was free. he was free from being extorted by his entourage and his fame. he was free from the community that sprang up around his music and depended on him for sustenance and work. its a pretty heart-wrenching sad state of affairs that fame equals being a target for extortion by both familial and power structures in JAMAICA, but such is the case. it makes total sense to me how FELA KUTI in NIGERIA built a literal armed compound (KALAKUTA REPUBLIC) in LAGOS to guard against outsiders and the police while he was working in his home recording studio inside. same sad state of affairs. watching this film definitely helped me better understand the history of an enigmatic cultural figure whose music ive long cherished. i dont think it is essential to understand one's biography to appreciate their music, but with the case of LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY and his idiosyncratic public persona i think it doesnt hurt. it was seemingly a deliberate smokescreen to ensure his personal safety and to push away those that sought to exploit him. THE UPSETTER: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF LEE SCRATCH PERRY is worth investigating for anyone interested in REGGAE and the history of JAMAICAN music. highly recommended. 
photo & text by nacrowe
there is so much to be impressed by with the life and career trajectory of legendary screenwriter / director BILLY WILDER whose singular filmography includes the likes of SOME LIKE IT HOT (UNITED ARTISTS, 1959), DOUBLE INDEMNITY (PARAMOUNT, 1944), THE APARTMENT (UNITED ARTISTS, 1960), STALAG 17 (PARAMOUNT, 1953), SABRINA (PARAMOUNT, 1954), ACE IN THE HOLE (PARAMOUNT, 1951), THE LOST WEEKEND (PARAMOUNT, 1945), THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (20TH CENTURY FOX, 1955) and SUNSET BOULEVARD (PARAMOUNT, 1950). towering of his achievements in my opinion was his preternatural capacity as an GERMAN-speaking AUSTRIAN emigre to pick up on the cultural nuances and subtle inflections of the AMERICAN DIALECT and seamlessly spit them back out at us, all within a decade of arriving on stateside shores in the early 1930s.
in his definitive biography ON SUNSET BOULEVARD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BILLY WILDER (HYPERION, 1998), film scholar ED SIKOV very much digs into the creative and linguistic marvel that was WILDER, especially with his early run of hard-nosed films that take together made a sober, unblinking assessment of AMERICAN culture and society in the post-WWII period. it really is quite the achievement considering he was essentially passing judgement on his new home when he was still very much an OUTSIDER. and it is that unique mix of unmatched talent (of which he put to use beforehand when collaborating with the likes of GERMAN directors ERNST LUBITSCH and ROBERT WIENE) which allowed him write and direct with authority, as well as his status as an IMMIGRANT that makes his films so unique. he is in essence able to assess our culture so accurately in part because of his OUTSIDER status. i read ON SUNSET BOULEVARD and several other books on WILDER (and FILM NOIR in general) back in my undergraduate years as part of a senior thesis on his early cycle of noir films which included DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE LOST WEEKEND, SUNSET BOULEVARD and ACE IN THE HOLE. in my opinion, ACE IN THE HOLE is his masterpiece as it caustically and unflinchingly calls out a then-nascent media culture that sought to exploit human suffering by creating media events that would garner media exposure and thus profits. it is a prescient film that is beyond relevant to today and has not lost its edge in the last 70s years. it was also a commercial flop and the last film he made with any sort of imbedded conceit or claim about AMERICAN culture and society writ large. it was the last film he made that had any real stakes. as someone who after completing this undergrad project went on to teach overseas for several years, experiencing cultures as an outsider, it was the example of WILDER that i largely took to heart. i believe that when AMERICANS move overseas they feel an understandable need to impart judgement on their new unfamiliar surroundings. my thought was always to gather as much information as possible and engage with the local community. only after gaining their trust and understanding would i ever voice an opinion on states of affairs. i choose to believe that WILDER did not assimilate like he did without a genuine sense of innate curiosity and wonder about his new home. its very much an expanding of one's consciousness as anything else. the example of WILDER showed that such a seamless ASSIMILATION could be done and at the very least, my experience as a newcomer is valid and gives me a unique PERSPECTIVE. not the only perspective, but a unique one. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i honestly couldnt tell you why i watch the LIFE UNCONTAINED channel on YOUTUBE, but it has been a consistent ritual of mine watching their weekly uploads for the past year or so. and its funny, because i honestly dont remember how i came upon this channel, and i am certainly not a fan of cable television home design/decor/remodeling shows in the slightest or the OFF-GRID LIVING movement that has become fashionable with millennials (much like VAN LIFE) over the past decade seeking a debt-free existence.
that being said, i think what LIFE UNCONTAINED offers at its core is less about the nuts and bolts of building a home from scratch, and more about the art of LISTENING and SELF-REFLECTION. the channel follows a FLORIDA young married couple moving to TEXAS and building a home (and a family) on a plot of land with two shipping containers and what strikes me is not their gumption and RESOURCEFULNESS (which is impressive), but their ability to COMMUNICATE with each other through obstacles and (most importantly) LAUGH at themselves and their mistakes. i cannot stress how endearing it is that they feel that level of comfort with themselves (and by extension their audience) to put themselves out their like that when they mis-measure a wall panel installation or realize they need to reinstall a toilet for the up-teenth time. there is so much out there in our culture at the moment that finds us nipping at each other and striking one another down. i just find it interesting that an online channel, albeit extremely well-edited, about SELF-RELIANCE and COMMUNITY feels so REFRESHING and even novel. makes me think that there is potential in all of us to listen and learn a little bit more before judging one another. or at least laugh at our own shortfalls and misgivings beforehand. again, LIFE UNCONTAINED is an unexpected pleasure and i wish them nothing but the best as MACKENZIE and SPENCER continue to grow their family. 
photo & text by nacrowe
i know it is beyond lazy and cliche to view everything STONE TEMPLE PILOTS-related through the prism of SCOTT WEILAND and his addictions, but in retrospect it is nearly impossible not to see their debut album CORE (ATLANTIC, 1992) as a testament to what the band was capable of with their wildly gifted frontman at his most determined and sober. before that tour with THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS that led to WEILAND's downfall. oh and what a debut it was.
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS always had great singles, but their real knack was for fusing together disparate elements of CLASSIC ROCK, PYSCHEDELIA, METAL and POWER POP into a potent mix that arguably none of their ALTERNATIVE ROCK contemporaries could pull, nor wished to. while singles like "PLUSH," "SEX TYPE THING" and "CREEP" where fixtures of my SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA youth listening to KROQ 106.7 FM our of LOS ANGELES, the songs that stuck with me where the more experimental and dirge-y numbers like "WICKED GARDEN," "WHERE THE RIVER GOES," "PIECE OF PIE" and especially "SIN." in my estimation, there is no weak moment on this debut. i think with later records the band branched out a bit with their songwriting chops by conceiving of songs with ever more disparate textures, tempos and song structures, but that is no knock on the debut. its kind of like knocking the early BEATLES albums for being more derivative than than THE WHITE ALBUM (APPLE, 1968). my memories of this album are related to a trip my family took in the mid 1990s to SPAIN where i was able to get a copy of this record an EL CORTE INGLES. so my teenage impressions of this record are filled with backseat visions of the SPANISH countryside through towns like AVILA, SEGOVIA, CORDOBA and SALAMANCA. in era of great ALTERNATIVE ROCK frontman like LAYNE STALEY, CHRIS CORNELL, EDDIE VEDDER and KURT COBAIN, i'd put SCOTT WEILAND right up there. like all those aforementioned frontman (aside from VEDDER), its still tragic that their collective output was hampered by personal issues related to ADDICTION and MENTAL ILLNESS. i think empathy is in order and i for one am grateful for the gifts they gave the world. rest in peace SCOTT. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
METAL by its vary nature is a conservative musical genre with a limited palette of sounds and textures regarded as kosher by a staunchly obdurate and increasingly niche audience. id argue there is actually a disincentive for innovation in the genre, which makes the concept and sound of SWITZERLAND's ZEAL & ARDOR that much more remarkable. they are in essence an unlikely blend of AFRICAN DIASPORA SPIRITUAL and call-and-response GOSPEL traditions with BLACK METAL.
and yet somehow it works beautifully. there is a depth of SOUL and authentic pain being channeled that dwarfs the childish operatics, lame fantasy narratives and masturbatory virtuosic stylings that have long plagued METAL for much of its history. ZEAL & ARDOR is a revolutionary band that sound like none i have come across before. cant wait for their new record next month. needless to say, they are most definitely worth checking out. 
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the music of BRITISH singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist PJ HARVEY!
​ ​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
photo & text by nacrowe
PUBLIC ENEMY is the ultimate HIP HOP group in my opinion. the only group that comes close is probably the WU-TANG CLAN. what makes them so innovative and revolutionary is the extent to which they are a self-drive, self-determining, self-contained unit.
at the core is the towering figure of CHUCK D, arguably the most polemical figure in HIP HOP history. i almost see him outside of the context of music and in the vein of great political writers like THOMAS PAINE, JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU, FREDERICK DOUGLASS, THOMAS JEFFERSON, HENRY DAVID THOREAU, BERTRAND RUSSELL, JOHN LOCKE, or ABRAHAM LINCOLN. he is the very blueprint for all conscious HIP HOP that followed including Q-TIP, TALIB KWELI, ICE CUBE, BLACK THOUGHT, COMMON and so forth. his gift is his ability to both methodically and viscerally convey an effective unadulterated viewpoint concerning the BLACK EXPERIENCE in AMERICA. the dude holds no punches on tracks like "911 IS A JOKE," "ANTI-NIGGER MACHINE," "WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME" and most famously "FIGHT THE POWER" off their epochal release FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET (DEF JAM, 1990). the man is righteous and has done immeasurable good in galvanizing his fans to think for themselves and question the authority of AMERICAN political, cultural, economic and policing systems that are innately corrupt. he also has helped educate WHITE, suburban kids like myself without watering down the message. in my eyes he is a leader and a prophet, as the vision of AMERICA painted here feels more alive now than ever before 30 years after the release of FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET. part of the reason CHUCK D is so effective is the in-house production team THE BOMB SQUAD, which created a sonic palette of jaggedly juxtaposed samples, synths and beats that dont careen and soothe, but rather rip and slash their way through your senses. its an abrasive and infectious sonic aesthetic that synchronized with the political intent of the lyrical content perfectly. years later RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE would appear and take this sense of dynamics and translate it into a ROCK context to similarly great affect to antagonize and uplift listeners with a matching SOCIAL JUSTICE lyrical bent. the importance of THE BOMB SQUAD cannot be understated in the effectiveness of PUBLIC ENEMY's cultural standing. they effective laid the aural groundwork for CHUCK D to push his audience to new levels of consciousness. which brings me to FLAVOR FLAV. since PUBLIC ENEMY is so intense and so politcally charged, it would be very easy for them to come off as joyless nad stubbornly monotonous in tone. what FLAV brought to the table was a sense of comic relief without diluting the intent and message itself. it is a fine line he walks as some have even singled him out as an example of modern-day minstrelsy. i disagree categorically. his gift to the group is a sense of emotional levity, allowing for their to be a moment of contrast before the listener dives right back into the thick of causticly righteous rhymes about society's ills and the corporate structures that serve to undermine us as individuals. without him, the message would not be as effective. he is not a distraction in this sense, he is the glue that keeps the music engaging and effective in its ability to jolt us from our waking sleep. FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET is an iconic record by an iconic group that hasnt aged or become irrelevant in the least. in fact it is a testament and a siren to today's ascending technocratic hellscape run by corporate structures that aid and abet WHITE NATIONALIST agendas. dont believe me? watch the news. welcome to the terrordome, indeed. 
|
July 2022
All
|
