parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the LEGENDARY IRISH ROCK N ROLL band U2!
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!
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photo & text by nacrowe
honestly this RECORD is quite TERRIBLE. no need to not address that immediately. even taking into consideration its relatively early placement in the overall history of HIP HOP, AS NASTY AS THEY WANNA BE (ATLANTIC, 1989) by SOUTH FLORIDA's 2 LIVE CREW is UNTETHERED in its CRASS depictions of SEXUAL EXPLOITS that crosses well into UNBRIDLED, MISOGYNISTIC territory. more than that, such CLASSLESS OBSCENITY seemed to be the entire point of the project for LUTHER CAMPBELL and company. its a UNIQUE RECORDING in that i most always attempt to find even the glint of ARTISTIC EXPRESSION in EXTREME cases of PROVOCATIVE ART, some GREAT and some not so GREAT, ranging from MAYHEM's THE DAWN OF THE BLACK HEARTS (WARMASTER, 1995), SLAYER's REIGN IN BLOOD (DEF JAM, 1986), DEAD KENNEDYS' FRANKENCHRIST (ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES, 1985) to KANYE WEST's MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY (ROC-A-FELLA, 2010), THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's ELECTRIC LADYLAND (REPRISE, 1968), N.W.A.'s STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (RUTHLESS, 1988) and NOFX's HEAVY PETTING ZOO (EPITAPH, 1996), but in this situation i am practically at a loss. in my mind all the OBSCENITY trials (this is the RECORD to be legally deemed OBSCENE) related AS NASTY AS THEY WANNA BE to are probably somewhat WELL-FOUNDED.
and that is kind of what makes this album so INTRIGUING as a CULTURAL ARTIFACT. i personally find it DEMEANING and devoid of much ARTISTIC merit since there is little in the way of MISPLACED HUMOR or OUTSIDE CONTEXT to even approach the OVERWHELMING SEXISM it represents. but historically this RECORD was the breaking point that led to the DORMANT bi-partisan PMRC (PARENTS MUSIC RESEARCH CENTER) finding its POLITICAL bearings in WASHINGTON DC that altered the MUSIC INDUSTRY with "PARENTAL ADVISORY" labels that effectively blackballed certain FUTURE releases from being sold UNCENSORED in big box stores (like WALMART) nationwide. in this sense, is AS NASTY AS THEY WANNA BE arguably one of the most CONSEQUENTIAL RECORDS of all-time. in the age of digital media it all seems to be a QUAINT discussion, but much like books a generation before like HUBERT SELBY JR's THE LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN (GROVE PRESS, 1964) or HENRY MILLER's TROPIC OF CANCER (OBELISK PRESS, 1934), the whole notion of art so CRASS and TASTELESS that it is undeserving of being marketed or sold in a capitalist system is a beyond INTERESTING situation. do i find AS NASTY AS THEY WANNA BE to be a RECORD worth checking out for anyone, ever, under any circumstances. not really, it is that TERRIBLE. do i think it deserves being blackballed from RECORD STORES and removed from circulation in the economy at large? absolutely not. that whole line of thinking feels more in line with a LESS ENLIGHTENED country that cannot handle CONTRARIAN INFORMATION or ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES, however crass and UNSEEMLY they may be. by making a grand gesture and putting the thumb of government intervention on what is in essence an individual's ARTISTIC STATEMENT, you are only further ensuring the propagation of said ART. better to just let it lay and die like the CATALOGUES of R KELLY, LOSTPROPHETS, CHRIS BROWN, JOHN PHILIPS and so on. whats more, in the decades since you can find remnants of the TASTELESS OVER-SEXUALIZATION of WOMEN in HIP HOP in the likes of FEMALE MCs like NIKKI MINAJ, CARDI B, ICE SPICE, MEGAN THEE STALLION and so on that seem to trade just as much on their appearance as their MUSIC. its an INTRIGUING inversion that WOMEN took those lessons to heart and decided to self-exploit in glaringly BORDERLINE PORNOGRAPHIC fashion. but all the government overreach and associated over-litigation related to AS NASTY AS THEY WANNA BE has ensured that it remains a de facto short-hand term for ARTISTIC FREEDOM. which again is IRONIC because it is such a CRUDE, INSIPID RECORD that doesnt match up favorably against HIP HOP from its era or any before or thereafter. entirely FORGETTABLE TRASH. such being the case, i would not recommend it to anyone outside of those wanting to experience it for purely HISTORICAL and CULTURAL reasons related to the OBSCENITY trials and PMRC efforts. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
more or less a vehicle for GUITARIST, VOCALIST and SINGER-SONGWRITER CLEMENTINE CREEVY, the LOS ANGELES-based INDIE ROCK band CHERRY GLAZER is an INTRIGUING mix of GARAGE, PUNK and LO-FI ROCK N ROLL stylings that has evolved over the years as the lineups have likewise shifted. when first hearing this band as part of investigating their record label SECRETLY CANADIAN for a FUTURE DEER GOD RADIO episode, i was struck by how RAW and UNPOLISHED their SOUND was, but in a truly AUTHENTIC and ENGAGING way. i hate to say it, but sometimes with YOUNG FEMALE SINGER-SONGWRITERS there is an UNFAIR and UNREALISTIC AUDIENCE EXPECTATION of playing into a perceived STEREOTYPICAL, PASSIVE aspect of their FEMININITY.
not the case in the least with CREEVY and CHERRY GLAZER. i think they are a band to continue to pay attention to moving forward as undoubtedly they will evolve their SOUND. definitely worth checking out.
parodies & text by nacrowe
one of the aspects ive always appreciated about JAZZ is how it always seemed to be on a trajectory of INNOVATION and EVOLUTION, with NEW CONCEPTS both refining and expanding on PREVIOUS TEMPLATES of the FORM. JAZZ emerged out of what came before it (i.e. RAGTIME, VAUDEVILLE, BLUES, SPIRITUALS, GOSPEL HYMNALS and the like) and became this ELASTIC ENTITY that was capable of near limitless COMPOSITIONAL and IMPROVISATIONAL possibilities. ENSEMBLES were big in the 1920s and 30s with big bands and their EXTENSIVE PRODUCTION and VISUAL PRESENCE making something of an AURAL and VISUAL SPECTACLE of the COMPOSITIONS, INTERPRETATIONS and LEADERSHIP STYLINGS of ICONIC BAND LEADERS like GLENN MILLER, BENNY GOODMAN, COUNT BASIE and especially DUKE ELLINGTON. this was also the period of SINGULAR JAZZ SINGERS fronting these ORCHESTRAS with the likes of SARAH VAUGHAN and ELLA FITZGERALD taking center stage.
whats INTRIGUING to me is the next step in the ladder, which was BEBOP. to me this VARIATION of the FORM is the DE FACTO VERSION of JAZZ moving forward, with its focus on INDIVIDUAL IMPROVISATION (rather than COLLECTIVE PERFORMANCE of PRE-WRITTEN COMPOSITIONS) and SMALL attuned ENSEMBLES allowing for a CREATIVE VEHICLE to exploring hitherto UNKNOWN REACHES and ASPECTS of the INSTRUMENTS themselves. VIRTUOSOS ranging from DIZZZY GILLESPIE, THELONIOUS MONK, CHARLIE PARKER, JOHN COLTRANE, MAX ROACH, CHARLES MINGUS, DEXTER GORDON, MILES DAVIS, HORACE SILVER, CLIFFORD BROWN, ART BLAKEY, LEE MORGAN, BUD POWELL and SONNY ROLLINS could reign free unencumbered by MASSIVE ORCHESTRAS drowning out their INGENIOUS and often SUBTLE INTERPRETATIONS of both CLASSIC SONGBOOK STANDARDS and NEW COMPOSITIONS alike. BEBOP in this sense very much set the table for further EXPERIMENTATION later on with FREE JAZZ and the SEAMLESS INCORPORATION of OUTSIDE GENRES in the LATIN FUSION that came long after. it is counterintuitively both a PAIRED-DOWN and MORE-COMPLICATED version of JAZZ than the BIG BAND era given that within that more LIMITED ENSEMBLE SETUP there was more VARIATION and IMPROVISATION in the mix, where each PARTICIPANT would be given the bandwidth to really stretch out and explore their INSTRUMENT that a BIG PRODUCTION would not allow as such would render absolute CHAOS. i almos think of BEBOP as a PUNK-like EXPRESSION. in its simplicity there is more POSSIBILITY for the MUSICIAN. of course MUSICIANS like GILLESPIE, PARKER, MONK and COLTRANE were all PAINTERS that actively deconstructed JAZZ to its constituent parts and reassembled such at will, being able to play anything in NOVEL, UNCONVENTIONAL JUXTAPOSITIONS that have dazzled LISTENERS for generations. in some sense with PUNK, going straight back to CHUCK BERRY-isms is a CONSCIOUS ACT of seeking a BACK-TO-BASICS, YEAR ZERO approach that was intentioned to likewise spur INNOVATION and EXPRESSION minus the SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT, MEANINGLESS WANKERY of PROGRESSIVE ROCK. STEVE JONES and JOHNNY RAMONE are no MILES DAVIS or DEXTER GORDON, but i think the INTENTIONALITY may have been SIMILAR in that both initiated FORMS that welcomed seemingly LIMITLESS EXPRESSION. just a thought. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating BEBOP. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
the SEATTLE-based ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion of early 1990s was a COMPELLING CULTURAL PHENOMENON for so many reasons, none the least of which was how it rendered what was once considered UNDERGROUND, PROVINCIAL and OPAQUE to the frontlines of MAINSTREAM CONSCIOUSNESS. it must have been an UNPRECEDENTED and UNNERVING situation for the OLD GUARD, LEGACY PUNK bands like THE RAMONES, BAD RELIGION and CIRCLE JERKS to watch these UPSTART bands storm the gates, many of whom were inspired by and were VOCAL ACOLYTES of theirs.
the CULTURAL CONTEXT of SOCIAL DISTORTION's fifth release WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT, WHITE TRASH (EPIC, 1996) is one of a CONSCIOUS effort to reset the table with regards to what PUNK ROCK actually entails. in the mind of FRONTMAN and main SINGER-SONGWRITER MIKE NESS, much of the MOVEMENT had been WATERED-DOWN, COMMERCIALIZED and REPACKAGED with no PALPABLE sense of PASSION or PERSONAL ANGST in the mix. from his PERSPECTIVE, much of what he saw was AFFECT, POSTURING and PERFORMATIVE PANTOMIME cloaking itself in a CULTURAL MOVEMENT he literally bled and fought for with the establishment of HARDCORE throughout the 1980s. that being said, i feel like the SHORTCOMING of WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT, WHITE TRASH is ironically its EARNESTNESS. on tracks like "DOWN ON THE WORLD AGAIN" "I WAS WRONG," "DON'T DRAG ME DOWN," "DEAR LOVER" and "WHEN THE ANGELS SING," NESS absolutely comes across as IMPASSIONED, HONEST and COMMITTED but at the expense of being a bit OVERBEARING and HEAVY-HANDED in the process. SOCIAL DISTORTION has long maintained a WELL-CRAFTED and seemingly CONSCIOUS balance between the EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY of its LYRICAL CONTENT and its somewhat DOMINEERING MACHISMO PRESENTATION of such. when i listen back to this record it just comes off a bit too much in the latter parading as the former (if that makes any sense). this would change with what i firmly contend is the STRONGEST SOCIAL DISTORTION album to date SEX, LOVE AND ROCK 'N' ROLL (TIME BOMB, 2004), which was recorded years after in the wake of the untimely passing of CO-FOUNDING GUITARIST DENNIS DANNELL from an UNEXPECTED CEREBRAL ANEURYSM. THEMES surrounding the FRAILTY OF LIFE and LOVE OF FAMILY and celebrating one's COMMUNITY. with that record the INTERNAL POLITICS of ROCK N ROLL and the MUSIC INDUSTRY seem as INCONSEQUENTIAL as they in fact are. on that record NESS got back to WRITING about he is best at, REAL LIFE LIVED HARD. for me WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT, WHITE TRASH is evident of its period in ROCK N ROLL HISTORY when things were shaken up a bit and PUNK VETERANS were a little GUN SHY on what their next best move should be. my opinion is that this record suffered a bit from trying too hard to be a massively SUCCESSFUL ROCK N ROLL record (i.e. BIG THEMES, BIG CHORUSES, BIG GUTAR LEADS). NESS is undoubtedly at his best when he is in a corner and fighting his way out of a situation with music. whether the enemy is ADDICTION, SOCIETY or HIMSELF, the VULNERABILITY his SONGS display as he is in the midst of surviving is his calling card as an ICONIC MUSICIAN. i grew up in ORANGE COUNTY in a town neighboring FULLERTON (where SOCIAL DISTORTION originated) called BREA, and i take pride that is NESS is from my area. i dont want to come off HARSH with this piece as i love the band and especially the HONEST SONGWRITING of NESS, i just dont feel this particular album was his CREATIVE ZENITH (and personally i dont think theyd argue to the contrary). but man did he rebound with a VENGEANCE on his next effort with SOCIAL DISTORTION and hasnt looked back since. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i remember my cousin (an EXPERIENCED AUDIO ENGINEER) and i were recording this superbly TALENTED BRONX RAPPER, whose name i wont mention, when i became aware of TEKASHI 69, this BROOKLYN-born hispanic RAPPER who had recently blown up with the help of his POPULAR "GUMMO" music video. i remember being really CONFUSED about it all since our dude was pretty LOW-KEY, DISCRETE and UNASSUMING about his GANG AFFILIATIONS and even the PRISON TIME he served, instead being all about the current business at hand of WRITING the most CLEVER shit possible and performing it flawlessly during sessions. i'm talking SOPHISTICATED INTERNAL RHYME SCHEMES, OBSCURE CULINARY REFERENCES and GENERAL bending-of-the-english-language-to-his-will in the PROUD TRADITION of RAKIM, NAS, LIL WAYNE, early JAY-Z and the like. in my mind, TEKASHI 69 was the ANTI-POLAR opposite. his LYRICS were TRASH, his FLOW was LAUGHABLE, he looked like a COMPLETE CLOWN (literally) and seemingly had NO CHARISMA. the piece i was missing regarding his MASSIVE success was his PRETERNATURAL ability as a MARKETER, INFLUENCER and INTERNET TROLL via SOCIAL MEDIA, where being OUTRAGEOUS and CONTROVERSIAL is more IMPORTANT to gaining a following than being REMARKABLE or particularly GIFTED.
and those CULTURAL RAMIFICATIONS and REAL-LIFE CONSEQUENCES of that DETERMINED SOCIAL MEDIA-enabled CLOUT-CHASING PURSUIT DANIEL HERNANDEZ spearheaded with his TEKASHI 69 PERSONA is the focus of the recent 69: THE SAGA OF DANNY HERNANDEZ (HULU, 2020) documentary. in essence, he lost himself in the quite literal ALL-OUT PURSUIT of FAME and NOTORIETY. people forget that SOCIAL MEDIA is a fairly recent CULTURAL PHENOMENON and that SOCIAL SCIENTISTS and ACADEMICS are still in the early stages of understanding the LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES of such. already we know that there is a systemwide bias towards what is known as ENRAGEMENT ENGAGEMENT, which is that CONTENT that is CONFRONTATIONAL, IMMORAL or MEAN-SPIRITED travels faster through the ecosystem than POSITIVE, SUPPORTIVE or WELL-INTENTIONED MATERIAL. the CHARACTER of TEKASHI 69 and its ASSOCIATED VIOLENCE, MISOGYNY, OUTRAGEOUS PRESENTATION (face tats and rainbow hair), GANG-LIFE promotion and general EXTREME trolling behavior is almost consciously designed to increase the likelihood of cultivating ATTENTION and thus going VIRAL. and it worked. the documentarian himself, VIKRAM GANDHI, even at certain point considers and questions his own MOTIVATIONS and CULPABILITY in the making of this very film and whether in the end he is just further perpetuating this NEEDLESS cycle of ATTENTION that HERNANDEZ absolutely seeks out. i feel the same just writing about TEKASHI 69. and the lengths he goes through for said ATTENTION from the jump was EXTREME. wearing PROVOCATIVE, SELF-DESIGNED clothing with words like "HIV," "PUSSY EATER" and so on. making UNDERGROUND music videos in which he is constantly engaged in ORAL SEX (eventually he gets caught up in SCANDAL for when a PARTICIPANT of such comes out as UNDERAGE and he pleads no contest). after a collaboration with LIKE-MINDED RAPPER TRIPPIE RED results in a record deal, this court case comes back to bite him in the ass as most of his SUPPORTERS in the MUSIC INDUSTRY abandon and openly mock him. this is the moment he begins to associate himself with a REAL-LIFE GANGE in BROOKLYN, who see him as a POTENTIAL CASH COW and tolerate his presence. that AFFILIATION supercharges his CAREER but the POWER went to his head and he became involved in ACTUAL CRIMES, resulting in a federal case in which he immediately worked with the feds and successfully got nine FELLOW GANG MEMBERS behind bars. now the dude continues his CAREER with heavy security and is no doubt a WALKING PARIAH in the CULTURE and you wonder if it was all worth it. at the end you see him as a SOLITARY FIGURE with no REAL FRIENDS or ALLIES, as he used them all on his way to the top, including his FORMER GIRLFRIEND whom he routinely beat for perceived slights out of what can only be described as MANIC PARANOIA and by extension maintains no MEANINGFUL relationship with his own DAUGHTER. and yet it all feels so PREDICTABLE. you can BLAME the fact that he had no FATHER FIGURE and was raised dirt POOR with few REALISTIC OCCUPATIONAL PROSPECTS or EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES to better himself, but in the end this FIENDISH PURSUIT of CLOUT and ATTENTION at any cost was entirely his own decision. the DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM existed with all its FLAWS and he figured out the CHEAT CODE to gaining an ONLINE FOLLOWING, but to pursue such with the GUSTO that he did was again his own making. i dont feel any SYMPATHY for him. i dont think even HERNANDEZ considers himself a CAUTIONARY TALE. it is a PATHETIC NARRATIVE that is still very much being playing out as we speak. the only thing i take from his example is that it showed the path of least resistance to a whole NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS who no doubt are now aware of the RISKS and PITFALLS of being EXTREME and OUTRAGEOUS in the SHEER PURSUIT of CLOUT and NOTORIETY. but is it worth it? photo & text by nacrowe
with the OMNIPRESENCE of SOCIAL MEDIA in our lives and COLLECTIVE ATTENTION SPACE, it is DIFFICULT to not be deceived into comparing and potentially judging one's own life and career trajectory to that of others. if not entirely IMPOSSIBLE. massively POWERFUL corporations quite literally base their stock VALUE on their ability to garner your attention and the BEST, QUICKEST route is through cultivating NEGATIVE EMOTIONS. some call it ENRAGEMENT ENGAGEMENT. but it is a starkly RELEVANT and very TOPICAL CULTURAL DYNAMIC that is playing out quite literally in this GENERATION of GUINEA PIGS, i mean USERS.
in his graphic novel SELF-ESTEEM AND THE END OF THE WORLD (DRAWN & QUARTERLY, 2024), IRISH CARTOONIST LUKE HEALY through his NAMESAKE character explores the consequences of internalizing the QUALITY and MEANING of one's life through the VALIDATION, or lack thereof, of others. it follows a character who falls into a DEEP spiral of DESPAIR, SELF-DOUBT and DEPRESSION when his TWIN BROTHER does not ask him to be his best man at his wedding. for two that share so much, HEALY finds himself SOCIALLY, SPIRITUALLY and PSYCHICALLY DISCONNECTED from his FAMILY. his ISOLATION finds him UNPRODUCTIVE both at work and in life, where he seems to be more of an OBSERVER than that of an ACTIVE PARTICIPANT. ROMANTIC and CAREER OPPORTUNITIES present themselves in life over the years, but nothing effectuates meaning or growth in his BEHAVIOR or MINDSET, which seems STAGNANT and hopelessly SELF-INVOLVED. at times he even conflates supposed AWARENESS for pressing GLOBAL concerns (CLIMATE CHANGE, INTERNATIONAL TRADE WARS, etc.) with that of his own problems. this latent NARCISSISM again seems to be a result of how our SELF-PERCEPTIONS have been rewired in the age of readily available, instantaneously globally published information via the INTERNET. it is seemingly INEVITABLE that one will project themselves onto that which garners so much of their TIME and ENERGY (this blog included). SELF-ESTEEM AND THE END OF THE WORLD never really provides any ADEQUATE answer to this conundrum, outside of HEALY's RELATIONSHIP with his MOTHER, who both pokes and confounds him, knowing him all too well. it is the type of relationship that is UNCOMFORTABLE yet somehow REASSURING, the idea that she knows him and accepts him for who he really is WARTS-AND-ALL. maybe finding CONNECTION in one another OFFLINE is what is going to get us through this rough patch where MANIPULATIVE ONLINE ALGORITHMS and UNFETTERED (and rather UNHELPFUL) access to one another's PRESENTED lives has ISOLATED us as a SOCIETY. maybe just walking outside, breathing the air and just taking it all in with a big sigh will help us relax and find peace and respite. i doubt it. this BRUTAL online HELLSCAPE is here to stay. so glad i was fortunate enough to grow up in a PRE-INTERNET age.
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the SCOTTISH INDIE ROCK band BELLE & SEBASTIAN!
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
the latter half of the 1990s was such an WEIRD period in MODERN MUSIC HISTORY. with the ALTERNATIVE ROCK MOVEMENT waning and the more AGGRESSIVE, and albeit emotionally and intellectually STILTED, NU METAL on the ascent there was a whole slew of POST-GRUNGE bands that came out while the CULTURAL TIDE was turning, NEWPORT BEACH's SUGAR RAY included. on their debut LEMONADE AND BROWNIES (ATLANTIC, 1995) they made a play for the BURGEONING FUNK METAL of the period a la superiorly GIFTED bands with much BETTER songs like 311, INCUBUS, DEFTONES and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. although not a TERRIBLE album, it didnt differentiate itself in an ever-more CROWDED field of KORN-SOUNDALIKE NU METAL clones and thus their follow-up sophomore release FLOORED (ATLANTIC, 1997) in turn is a CONSCIOUS shift towards a more STRAIGHT-AHEAD POP AESTHETIC.
in time, SUGAR RAY and their DELIBERATE play to the middle became something of a gateway drug, much like later SOUNDALIKE bands in CRAZY TOWN, LIT and SMASH MOUTH, into those more sonically and lyrically AGGRESSIVE scenes. its hard not to look at their change in direction retrospectively as a CYNICAL maneuver to stay RELEVANT. front and center to that effort was SINGER MARK MCGRATH, whose MEDIOCRE VOCAL TALENTS but ABOVE-AVERAGE PHYSICAL PRESENTATION has manifested in a post-musical career gig as a HOLLYWOOD gossip TELEVISION ANCHOR along with the likes of MARIO LOPEZ (of SAVED BY THE BELL fame). with tracks like "FLY" that play up his CHARISMA and BRAVADO in more SING-SONGY raps, rather than his THIN, REEDY and quite NASALLY roar, SUGAR RAY effectively play to their strengths. which in this case were MCGRATH's LOOKS. again, purely as a SINGER he was quite MEDIOCRE, and not in the way that endears him as an everyman to the audience. more like a PRIVILEGED MALE MODEL in search of adding another hyphen to their resume. the band themselves are SERVICEABLE but UNREMARKABLE, with no hidden VIRTUOSO TALENT like GREG CAMP from SMASH MOUTH secretly making their hits worthy of a second or third listen. its not that i hate this record. i do. i did then and i still do. what interests me is how it became such a massively SUCCESSFUL album despite being so LACKLUSTER and PEDESTRIAN. for all of the DEEP-SEATED ANGER, RESENTMENT and SELF-LOATHING that seemingly defied the LYRICAL PERSPECTIVE of many a previous generation of ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands, SUGAR RAY was almost a throwback to something akin to the THROWAWAY fodder of SUNNY 1960s LIGHTWEIGHT bands like THE TURTLES, HERMIN'S HERMITS or THE MONKEES. these bands put an obliviously HAPPY face on the COUNTERCULTURE as a REAL SOCIETAL SEA CHANGE was brewing beneath the surface. thats kind of how i see SUGAR RAY functioning in the culture of the 1990s, as a TEMPORARY placeholder made of CULTURAL LIGHTWEIGHTS that have no real reason to breathing the same oxygen as a contemporaries like FAITH NO MORE, NINE INCH NAILS, RADIOHEAD, ALICE IN CHAINS and the like. much like LIMP BIZKIT, they also suffer from having a generationally BAD FRONTMAN in MCGRATH, who like FRED DURST, played off aspects of his MACHISMO to cover a lack of MUSICAL TALENT or ORIGINAL LYRICAL CONCEITS. so yeah, bottom line: skip FLOORED. nothing to see here. even the requisite cover of ADAM AND THE ANTS' NEW WAVE classic "STAND AND DELIVER" is ATROCIOUS. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i was made aware of the INDEPENDENT and highly ECLECTIC OHIO-based TROPIDELIC and their HYBRID SOUND due to their 2022 COLLABORATIVE single "FALLING DOWN" with NICK HEXUM of 311. mixing FUNK with a healthy dose of REGGAE, PUNK ROCK and HIP HOP, TROPIDELIC have a similar SUNNY AESTHETIC and HIGH ENERGY SOUND to that of LIKE-MINDED bands in PEPPER, THE URGE, SUBLIME, IRATION, DIRTY HEADS and, yes, 311. originally formed at KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, what differentiates the band in my mind from the pack are the SMOOTH, MELODIC VOCALS of frontman MATTHEW ROADS. at least that was what stuck out to me upon first listen.
although the band has been around since the MYSPACE era, i love the fact that their hard work has seemingly paid off with a recent uptick in VISIBILITY. i always figure that when i know of a band, such means they have long been out of the UNDERGROUND. which only bears well for the prospects of TROPIDELIC. definitely worth checking out, especially where i am on the EAST COAST during this UPCOMING HEAT DOME of beyond OPPRESSIVE sunlight. maybe their GOOD VIBES will translate to such being a little less BRUTAL. maybe.
parody & text by nacrowe
not to get all ANTHONY FONTANO on everyone, but PERFECT ALBUMS have always been in short supply. it sometimes feels like when a band hits their CREATIVE PEAK that they dont normally cash-in on said ARTISTIC SUCCESS commercially until subsequent RELEASES that inevitably dont live up to the HYPE. i can think of countless UNDERGROUND PUNK ROCK and INDIE ROCK examples but such are the machinations of the MUSIC INDUSTRY which necessitate a convergence of outside forces to be ALIGNED and SYNCHRONOUS for such RECOGNITION and BENEFITS to materialize.
in my estimation, the debut self-titled ELASTICA (GEFFEN, 1995) ALBUM is such a case study. i'd argue that song-for-song it is the STRONGEST, most CREATIVE release of the BRITPOP era, topping efforts by more FAMOUS and NOTORIOUS acts like OASIS, BLUR, SUEDE and PULP. ELASTICA songwriter JUSTINE FRISCHMAN's CHARISMA, VOCAL DELIVERY and CLEVER TURNS OF PHRASE over ANGULAR, OFF-KILTER, HOOK-LADEN SONG STRUCTURES is pure MAGIC. i can vividly remember hearing "CONNECTION" in my parent's compact two-door HONDA ACCORD on my may way to and from soccer practice in elementary school on the LOCAL radio station 106.7 KROQ out of nearby LOS ANGELES. it sounded like nothing else on the radio and just had this PALPABLE sense of DRIVE and UNDENIABLE COOLNESS. the only other BRITPOP song i can recall from my childhood in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA is OASIS' "LIVE FOREVER," but my AWARENESS of the CULTURAL MOVEMENT didnt really coalesce until a year later when my family stayed in ENGLAND with a relative for a month during the summer. in 2001 shortly after being shipped off to live with a distant relative in SUBURBAN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA from KUWAIT in the aftermath of 9/11, i dove into BRITPOP in earnest along with RELATED GENRES like SHOEGAZE and POST-PUNK. discovering bands like WIRE and GANG OF FOUR around that time put ELASTICA in context, especially their SONIC AESTHETIC of fashioning an INTRICATE MELODY out of INTERWEAVING GUITAR LINES that sync in and out of SYNCOPATION with the RHYTHM SECTION. it provided me CONTEXT and a better APPRECIATION for songs like "2:1," "ANNIE," "NEVER HERE," "LINE UP," "CONNECTION" and "WAKING UP." in my estimation, ELASTICA hasnt aged one iota in the nearly three decades since its release. to me it still sounds RELEVANT and absolutely CONTEMPORARY. a prime example of what a ROCK N ROLL RECORDS should feel and sound like to go hand in hand with anything ever produced by the universally CELEBRATED likes of THE STOOGES, BLACK SABBATH, RAMONES, THE DOORS, QUEEN, LOU REED, RADIOHEAD, THE CLASH, NIRVANA, THE BEACH BOYS, VAN HALEN or THE BEATLES. id put it in that company. unfortunately due to reasons outside their control, i dont believe ELASTICA or its STELLAR FOLLOW-UP THE MENACE (ATLANTIC, 2000) ever got their proper comeuppance. such is the MUSIC INDUSTRY. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the ICONIC BRITPOP band ELASTICA. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
the CULTURAL PHENOMENA that was DAVID BOWIE in the 1970s was centered around his ADROIT MANIPULATION of his PUBLIC IMMAGE to coalesce around the ARTISTIC AMBITIONS of his music. the sound and the image were co-aligned to draw listeners into an ALTERNATIVE universe in which BOWIE himself served as yoru guide through UNCERTAIN SONIC TERRAIN. album cycles in this sense represented opportunities to shape-shift and reinvent everything in order to showcase a NEW PERSPECTIVE or MUSICAL IDENTITY. after GLAM ROCK petered out post THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (RCA, 1972) with subsequent albums like ALADDIN SANE (RCA, 1973) and DIAMOND DOGS (RCA, 1974), BOWIE found his next muse in the heavily SYNTHESIZED and distinctly DEHUMANIZED sounds of the CONCURRENT KRAUTROCK movement by GERMAN bands like CAN, NEU!, TANGERINE DREAM, FAUST, HARMONIA and KRAFTWERK. this would inspire the next three BRIAN ENO and TONY VISCONTI-produced releases known collectively as THE BERLIN TRILOGY, of which LOW (RCA, 1977) was the first released.
worth mentioning for CONTEXT is that prior to LOW, BOWIE had starred in the INNOVATIVE NICOLAS ROEG SCI-FI film THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (BRITISH LION, 1976) about an extra-terrestrial that leverages ALIEN TECHNOLOGY to become financially WEALTHY and secure water-rights for his family back home on a DISTANT planet dying of dehydration. the character falls into the trappings of CAPITALISM and our CONSUMER CULTURE and ultimately his ambitions are thwarted. thus there is an intense EXISTENTIAL dread building up throughout the film that is matched by BOWIE's character's SENSE of ALIENATION and VIOLENT SELF-DISINTEGRATION. this sense of dissolving of one's identity seems to be a THEME off of LOW, which in my mind is the more EVOLVED EXPRESSION of the early AVANT GARDE ELECTRONIC MUSIC experiments on his prior STATION TO STATION (RCA, 1976) release. and for me that is the joy of listening to ICONIC LOW tracks like "SOUND AND VISION," "WARSZAWA," "BE MY WIFE," "SUBTERRANEANS" and "SPEED OF LIFE" is that sense of AMBIENT ATMOSPHERE and more IMPRESSIONISTIC SCHOOL OF SONGWRITING that was a complete departure from the more BLUES and ROCK N ROLL-based tradition BOWIE was previously RENOWNED for. some of these tracks almost feel like an extended emotion with no need for lyrics or a RECURRING THEME of any sort. in retrospect it makes perfect sense why LOW in particular was such an INFLUENTIAL record on the later PUNK, POST PUNK and INDUSTRIAL movements, including PROMINENT bands and artists ranging from JOY DIVISION, THE CURE and NINE INCH NAILS to DEPECHE MODE, GARY NUMAN and BAUHAUS. later with HEROES (RCA, 1977) he would fuse these RECORDED EXPERIMENTS with UNORTHODOX SONIC TEXTURES and UNUSUAL COMPOSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS with more APPROACHABLE POP MELODIES, creating one of the most TRANSCENDENT records of his career (in my opinion the best thing he ever did). my experience with BOWIE is that i discovered him through a childhood friend in high school, who basically adored the expected earlier FOLK and GLAM ROCK titles like THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD (MERCURY, 1970), ALADDIN SANE and HUNKY DORY (RCA, 1971). i remembered another friend later suggesting LOW and HEROES and was just completely gobsmacked by how different they sounded and how CREATIVE they were. being exposed to THE BERLIN TRILOGY records is essentially what converted me to that of a LIFELONG BOWIE disciple and admitted apologist. i even went to BERLIN with my brother a number of years ago, partly to get a sense of where HANSA STUDIOS is located in the KREUZBERG district. im sure it was the same with U2, R.E.M., DEPECHE MODE and other NOTABLE recording artists over the years. regardless, LOW is an ESSENTIAL BOWIE record well worth checking out and listening to again and again down the line. it is a SINGULAR SONIC ACHIEVEMENT that never fails to COMPLICATE, FASCINATE and OVERWHELM my senses. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
there is a REAL risk and even tendency in looking back at CULTURAL EVENTS, especially in PUBLISHED MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, HISTORIES and DOCUMENTARIES to view the past with a WISTFUL air of nostalgia as if such was some HALCYON bygone era. that being said, i very much appreciate the fact that the FAMILY-sanctioned CHUCK BERRY: THE ORIGINAL KING OF ROCK 'N' ROLL (EMPEROR MEDIA, 2018) DOCUMENTARY about the LEGENDARY MUSICIAN and AMERICAN CULTURAL ICON for the ages did not shy away from addressing directly in a SOBER fashion the societal failures CHUCK BERRY had to deal with in a pre-CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT 1950s AMERICA and the INESTIMABLE POLITICAL, SOCIAL and CULTURAL RAMIFICATIONS of his gift to world. such makes this RETROSPECTIVE FILM quite an INFORMATIVE and highly AFFECTING achievement.
most ARTICLES about BERRY focus on his GUITAR-PLAYING INNOVATIONS, which is UNDERSTANDABLE given that he was the VERITABLE bridge from the BLUES tradition to ROCK N ROLL. but such is praise in LIMITING, since BERRY was a GENIUS SONGWRITER, STORYTELLER and an expert at a POETIC turn of phrase. in fact, the FILM makes the ADROIT observation that his music took advantage of the POST-WAR CULTURAL PHENOMENON of teenagers as an ECONOMIC force through writing about CAR CULTURE, SUBURBAN romances and the IMAGINED experiences of WHITE people. remember, during the age of RADIO most listeners had no way of knowing BERRY was BLACK. with the advent of TELEVISION and LIVE PERFORMANCES his very being caused GENERATIONAL friction in the 1950s, especially in his ADOPTED state of MISSOURI where he was fined and even imprisoned on TRUMPED-UP charges at various points during his life. not that he was a JUVENILE DELINQUENT in his youth, as he was CONVICTED and served three years in prison for GRAND THEFT AUTO and BURGLARY by the time he was 21. with his IMMENSE SONGWRITING and LYRICAL TALENTS as well as the troubles he battled through along the way, some SELF-INFLICTED, he was able to channel such energy into his TRANSCENDENT MUSIC and LIVE SHOW. the FILM also focuses on the business and how it affected the way in which BERRY operated. having been taken advantage of before by UNSCRUPULOUS CONCERT PROMOTERS, BERRY legendarily took money only in cash pre-show or else he didnt walk on-stage for his entire career. that narrative thread of being screwed-over repeatedly is a COMMON motif in the FILM. even the advent of the BRITISH INVASION, in which two PROMINENT bands (THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES) each made their name live with BERRY COMPOSITIONS, was essentially AMERICA being resold its own CULTURE. this time with WHITE faces. look no further than ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE FOUNDER JANN WENNER's recent RACIST admittance that there were no BLACK MUSICIANS who thought or worked on his supposed INTELLECTUAL plane about CULTURAL MATTERS. for most of his career, BERRY felt that he was under-appreciated and disregarded by his own COUNTRY who preferred the more familiar (i.e. caucasian), but drastically LESS TALENTED confines of ELVIS PRESLEY. and its hard not to agree with him regarding such. yes in his late years he won every industry award IMAGINABLE and was credited as the CONSENSUS ORIGINATOR of ROCK N ROLL, but such doesnt make up for all the PERSONAL TURMOIL he endured during his salad days when he dealt with DISCRIMINATION and INSTITUTIONAL RACISM on a level still barely understood by a majority of the NATION that prefers to COLLECTIVELY shrug and look the other way. the FILM likewise focuses on BERRY from the PERSPECTIVE of his FAMILY, including interviews with his SURVIVING WIFE (of 68 years) THEMETTA SUGGS and their ADULT CHILDREN. you learn that his PUBLIC PERSONA didnt make it in past the front door and that he was singularly dedicated to his FAMILY, irrespective of whatever ILLICIT hanky-panky he participated in on the road. the FILM doesnt avoid mention of his flings on the road but puts them into CONTEXT, that being that such never effected his ability to provide for his FAMILY and meet their EMOTIONAL and FINANCIAL needs. his DEATH was a SIGNIFICANT loss for WORLD CULTURE writ large, but an expected yet no less DEVASTATING blow to his TIGHT-KNIT FAMILY. his MUSIC brought people together through the generations and almost provided a second SURROGATE FAMILY in that of his COUNTLESS FANS and ADMIRERS, some of whom participated in EXTENSIVE interviews for this DOCUMENTARY such as PROMINENT MUSICIANS ranging from NILE RODGERS (CHIC), STEVE VAN ZANDT (E STREET BAND), GARY CLARK JR, JOE PERRY (AEROSMITH), GENE SIMMONS (KISS), ALICE COOPER, STEVE JONES (THE SEX PISTOLS), NILS LOFGREN (E STREET BAND, CRAZY HORSE), WAYNE KRAMER (MC5), GEORGE THOROGOOD, JOE BONAMASSA and CONTEMPORARY PEER JOHNNY RIVERS as well as CHESS RECORDS SCION and NOTED RECORD PRODUCER MARSHAL CHESS. CHUCK BERRY: THE ORIGINAL KING OF ROCK 'N' ROLL is one of those few MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES that is worth checking out. it absolutely does not fall into PANDERING HAGIOGRAPHY territory nor into overly judging and dissecting its subject's INEVITABLE HUMAN FLAWS. instead it really provides a service by introducing a PERENNIAL AMERICAN icon to a new generation with HISTORICAL accuracy, CULTURAL CONTEXT and a message of LOVE. a LOVE and COMPASSION that through MUSIC and his example our deeply FRAGMENTED and DIVIDED NATION can at least begin to heal and begin to see the COMMON HUMANITY in each other. photo & text by nacrowe
the much REVERED SWISS PSYCHOLOGIST CARL JUNG once theorized at length about the NATURE of our sense of INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY, or PERSONALITY, and argued that such was made up of two COMPONENTS, those being the PERSONA and the SHADOW. in essence our PERSONA is the mask we wear in social situations whereas the SHADOW encapsulates all of the HIDDEN aspects we unconsciously choose to REPRESS. the SHADOW is the VOLATILE, highly EMOTIONAL aspect of our IDENTITY built on POWERFUL emotions like FEAR, GUILT, REMORSE and DISGUST, and is accordingly REPRESSED from our CONSCIOUSNESS due to the fact that we consciously deem such impulses to be HARMFUL to others, EVIL, DETRIMENTAL to our own health and socially UNACCEPTABLE. according to JUNG, when we witness ASPECTS of others we find REPULSIVE or DESPICABLE, such are aspects of our own PERSONALITY that we REPRESS and wish to avoid confronting. such is PROJECTION, which is a POWERFUL PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA.
of course JUNG was just a small child when NOTED IRISH PLAYWRIGHT OSCAR WILDE wrote his INFAMOUS, and now much CELEBRATED, GOTHIC NOVEL THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (WARD, LOCK AND COMPANY, 1891), but it functions on a shared sense of the DUALITY of our INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY, that which we present and REPRESS to society at large. the plot of the NOVEL revolves around in an aristocrat who agrees to a FAUSTIAN BARGAIN in which he is granted eternal youth and beauty in exchange for his SOUL, the kicker being that a painted self-portrait of his will record and showcase the TRUE NATURE of his sins. GOTHIC NOVELS are focused on the SUBLIME and SUPERNATURAL aspects of NATURE as a METAPHOR for our INTERNAL MORAL UNIVERSE and THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY is no different. the NOVEL was considered CONTROVERSIAL at the time of publication due to its portrayal of a libertine engaging in HEDONISM without remorse in a decidedly DEBAUCHED manner given the CONSERVATIVE VICTORIAN mores of the era. although the characters are HETEROSEXUAL in the novel, there is an understanding that the way they are depicted is informed with HOMOEROTIC STYLE and SENSIBILITY. WILDE being famously jailed for trumped up "GROSS INDECENCY" charges related to his own HOMOSEXUALITY that ultimately led to his DOWNFALL, was more than familiar with leading a double existence. one in which you presented to POLITE society and the other you REPRESS unless among SUPPORTIVE company. in this manner it is difficult to not read THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY as a biting critique for the ages of the INHERENT HYPOCRISY at the heart of VICTORIAN ENGLAND. it also acts as a PERENNIAL MARKER of how we collectively relate to our own SHADOW's needs and desires that we unknowingly REPRESS as a CULTURE. for years such was related to aspects of RACE, CLASS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, CREED and/or GENDER IDENTITY (note: for some conservatives in MODERN AMERICA such REPRESSED feelings still remains unquestionably intact), but i wonder what such will be moving forward. since such is part of our HUMAN NATURE, it is a POWERFUL PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA after all. we will always project unto each other that which we dont wish to identify in ourselves, irregardless of its AUTHENTICITY. for me that engagement with the SHADOW is the joint power and CULTURAL LEGACY of JUNGIAN THEORY and THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
not gonna lie, i was worried with this one.
i remember as a kid in elementary school watching the ORIGINAL X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (FOX, 1992-1997) back in the early 90s. when i learned that DISNEY was "reviving" that particular show with X-MEN '97 (DISNEY+, 2024) i was a bit concerned, knowing full well that they were consciously, some may even say cynically, going after the COLLECTIVE heartstrings of that older MILLENNIAL DEMOGRAPHIC that i am a part of with this much BELOVED CHILDREN'S TELEVISION PROGRAM of yesteryear. i should not have been. from its inception, the X-MEN was always constructed as an ALLEGORICAL META-NARRATIVE surrounding how AMERICAN SOCIETY treats OUTSIDERS, especially IMMIGRANT and historically MINORITY POPULATIONS that challenge the status quo. in place of SPECIFIC ETHNIC and RELIGIOUS groups, X-MEN utilizes the stand-in of MUTANTS with SPECIAL evolved powers to showcase the "OTHER." the COMPLEX SOCIAL DYNAMICS at play are the same and X-MEN is a valuable teaching tool for children to understand why fear of the UNKNOWN inevitably leads to the OSTRACIZATION and PERSECUTION of those who dont LOOK, SPEAK or PRAY like the DOMINANT CULTURE. my fear was that DISNEY would whitewash, as theyve been known to do, this deliberately POLITICAL subtext in the MISGUIDED name of CULTURAL EVEN-HANDEDNESS. i am glad to be completely mistaken as this iteration of that CLASSIC series very much maintains that PERVASIVE SUBTEXT of promoting HUMANISTIC VALUES of INCLUSIVITY, ALTRUISM and EMPATHY very much in the mix. such a decision is no doubt a POLITICAL one, especially in today's HYPER-PARTISAN ENVIRONMENT where seemingly every facet of AMERICAN LIFE is viewed through a right-left prism. kudos to DISNEY for keeping the ORIGINAL intent of the SOURCED STAN LEE / JACK KIRBY COMIC BOOK series alive for another generation to appreciate. photo & text by nacrowe
my recollection of EVERCLEAR's third full-length release SO MUCH FOR THE AFTERGLOW (CAPITOL, 1997) is a bit delayed since i returned stateside from NIGERIA a year after its release to attend boarding school in NEW ENGLAND in late 1998. by then it was an absolute staple of ALTERNATIVE ROCK radio alongside other LIKE-MINDED and decidedly POLISHED POST GRUNGE acts like THIRD EYE BLIND, EVE 6, FOO FIGHTERS and MARCY PLAYGROUND. and to tell you the truth i was a bit stunned by the change in PRODUCTION from their previous album SPARKLE AND FADE (CAPITOL, 1995), which i knew via former middle school classmates' compact disc collections back in AFRICA. for all of its LYRICAL EARNESTNESS to the point of being GRATING, SPARKLE AND FADE sonically had a PUNK ROCK SIMPLIFIED DIRECTNESS and AUTHENTICITY that cut to the chase RAMONES-style. to me that SONGWRITING SENSIBILITY was their saving grace of sorts.
on SO MUCH FOR THE AFTERGLOW that whole PUNK ROCK-informed AURAL AESTHETIC was largely abandoned with an overtly ORCHESTRATED POP SENSIBILITY installed in its place. at boarding school i can distinctly remember hearing tracks like "EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE," "FATHER OF MINE," and "I WILL BUY YOU A NEW LIFE" for the first time over the radio in the cafeteria and thinking "wait, that is EVERCLEAR?!" and not necessarily in a good way. main SONGWRITER ART ALEXAKIS lyrically on these tracks double-down on CONSUMERIST themes related to the pitfalls of SUCCESS and the travails of growing up dirt poor and being an OUTSIDER. i feel like he has every right to sing his TRUTH, but the sonic juxtaposition of such LYRICAL CONTENT with often LUSH and SACCHARINE MELODIES is not doubt intended to be IRONIC, but comes off a bit HEAVY-HANDED and PEDANTIC even. that new SONIC SENSIBILITY also just destroyed any sense of URGENCY or FORWARD MOMENTUM in their sound like past singles in "HEROIN GIRL" and "SANTA MONICA." but that added polish was no doubt a legacy of that POST GRUNGE era when bands felt that they could move past the BASIC PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES of the more INDIE ROCK and HARDCORE informed acts of the earlier ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement. it was like a reverse NIRVANA, whose major debut NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) was a relatively POLISHED affair, while its follow-up IN UTERO (DGC, 1993) was a consciously DISCORDANT and aggressively DISSONANT SONIC STATEMENT in comparison. being in and around a RECORDING STUDIO with my TRAINED and EXPERIENCED AUDIO ENGINEER cousin for a two year period, i wonder how much the pull of new DIGITAL RECORDING TECHNOLOGIES during this era influenced this shift towards "perfect" SOUNDING PERFORMANCES. the ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands of the early 1990s were the last generation that had no access to seemingly LIMITLESS TAKES and STEMS available, never mind POST-PRODUCTION TRICKERY that could further streamline a PERFORMANCE. what they played was what was recorded for the most part, but by the mid-90s programs like PROTOOLS was more of a thing. i wonder if those POST GRUNGE bands were the first to dip their feet into that, because to me there is a DISTINCT AURAL SIGNATURE there only a few years removed from their predecessors. just food for thought. my strong preference is towards SPARKLE AND FADE, but SO MUCH FOR THE AFTERGLOW is a SOLID EFFORT by EVERCLEAR that garnered them much ATTENTION and COMMERCIAL SUCCESS. if anything, the rest of their catalogue and career has been spent chasing the SOUND of this record, to varying DIMINISHING degrees of success. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
BLACK PUMAS is an INTRIGUING band with a SOULFUL, PSYCHEDELIC meets CLASSIC R&B HYBRID SOUND that brings together comparisons to THE BLACK KEYS and ALABAMA SHAKES to my ears. at the center of the party is AUSTIN-by-way-of-LOS ANGELES SINGER-SONGWRITER ERIC BURTON (not to be confused with THE ANIMALS' similarly named ERIC BURDON), who definitely has a SINGULAR VOICE and PRESENCE that reminds me of AL GREEN and CURTIS MAYFIELD. there is a RASPY AFFECTATION and AUTHORITY in his singing that is INTOXICATING and feels NOSTALGIC in the best way possible, like this SOULFUL QUALITY should never have been discarded to be later rediscovered in the first place.
you begin to wonder why more SINGERS of this ILK and LINEAGE havent been sought after in the last two decades, the last of which i can remember being MAXWELL and D'ANGELO. regardless, ERIC BURTON is a talent and his vehicle BLACK PUMAS with AUSTIN-based PRODUCER ADRIAN QUESADA is absolutely well worth checking out.
parodies by nacrowe
maybe its THE DANDY WARHOLS' fault.
i remember discovering their track "COOL AS KIM DEAL" off their ...THE DANDY WARHOLS COME DOWN (CAPITOL, 1997) record back in college when i had a radio show on RUTGERS UNIVERSITY's 90.3FM THE CORE. at that point i had long been FAMILIAR with SINGER-SONGWRITER KIM DEAL and her two FAMOUS INDIE ROCK bands, THE PIXIES and THE BREEDERS, but i had never put the concept together that she was an ARBITER of COOLNESS in MODERN CULTURE. i dont believe COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR was being facetious or ironic when he wrote that song, i take the dude completely at his word. what i do know is that there is a certain EARTHY, ORGANIC and UNADORNED AUTHENTICITY to KIM DEAL that is similar to how i perceive other GREAT FEMALE SINGER-SONGWRITERS from PJ HARVEY, CHRISSIE HYNDE and COURTNEY LOVE to KIM GORDON, POLY STYRENE and PATTI SMITH. and i absolutely detest that tired trope of lumping FEMALE MUSICIANS with FEMALE MUSICIANS, but it feels INEVITABLE given the dearth of truly TRANSCENDENT ROCK AND ROLL MUSICIANS who buck the trend of providing a PRESENTATION of WOMANHOOD that conforms to the MALE GAZE whims of the MUSIC INDUSTRY. its just a fact and it is beyond DEPRESSING. like those aforementioned WOMEN, i feel that DEAL just walks into those meetings, laughs and tells her superiors to fuck off at the mere mention of that sort of bullshit. or maybe they just dont even bring it up. the ANGULAR, CONCISE and highly IDIOSYNCRATIC COMPOSITIONS of THE BREEDERS was something i immediately took to upon DISCOVERY in early high school. for most intents and purposes, i saw that band and DEAL in particular as being quintessentially INDIE ROCK, in other words a QUIRKY, SELF-MADE, bordering on LO-FI, WARTS-AND-ALL PRESENTATION with an UNDENIABLE DIY ETHOS and a DEFIANT if not somewhat GUARDED LYRICAL PERSPECTIVE. i felt like DEAL was performing this CLOAK-AND-DAGGER routine where she was wrapping GENUINE emotion in a haze of determinably OBTUSE LYRICAL CONTENT. i may not intellectually know what her songs were about, but emotionally i felt i did, which was way more IMPACTFUL and ENDURING. in high school i moved around a bit, and not between COUNTIES or even STATE LINES, but time MULTIPLE TIME ZONES and HEMISPHERES. sometimes i was on my own and sometimes i was with family and yet still other times i was on my own with family. hearing POD (4AD, 1990) and LAST SPLASH (4AD, 1993) in that context really helped me calm down and center myself, just take in that AURAL CONTENT as it washed over me and made me realize that all things must pass. every moment is a TRANSITORY EXPERIENCE that will come to an eventual end. and so did my time in SACRAMENTO my senior year and i thank DEAL and ROBERT SMITH and PERRY FARRELL and SIOUXSIE SIOUX and HENRY ROLLINS and DANIEL ASH and JUSTIN FRISCHMAN and MARTIN GORE for getting me through it. to me that is the real company she keeps, at least in my PSYCHE and particular EXPERIENCE of late adolescence. and ill always thank her for that sense of SOLACE and bewildered AMUSEMENT at how STRANGE and WONDERFUL life can be. because that is how i describe her MUSIC and the way it makes me feel. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the INDIE ROCK icon KIM DEAL. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
part of what makes CINEMA so IMMERSIVE and MAGICAL is the ability to set a MOOD through FILM SCORING and the use of CURATED SOUNDTRACKS. over time the DIRECTOR DAVID LYNCH and his small cadre of CLOSE COLLABORATORS including NOTED COMPOSER ANGELO BADALAMENTI have produced some of the most unbearably INTENSE scenes of PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE and INNER TORMENT with a PRETERNATURAL ability to adroitly utilize SOUND as a tool. in my opinion only QUENTIN TARANTINO (PULP FICTION, KILL BILL), BERNARD HERRMAN (TAXI DRIVER, CITIZEN KANE), DANNY ELFMAN (MILK, GOODWILL HUNTING, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS), ENNIO MERRICONE (THE GOOD THE BAND AND THE UGLY) and JOHN WILLIAMS (STAR WARS) are arguably on EQUAL footing with that of LYNCH & BADALAMENTI (BLUE VELVET, TWIN PEAKS, MULHOLLAND DRIVE).
that being said, the LOST HIGHWAY SOUNDTRACK is a bit of an ANOMALY in that LYNCH branched out from BADALAMENTI by including the IMMEASURABLE COMPOSITIONAL and PRODUCTION TALENTS of one TRENT REZNOR, the MASTERMIND behind INDUSTRIAL ICONS NINE INCH NAILS. besides producing the album, REZNOR contributed two scores for specific scenes and a new NINE INCH NAILS track, "THE PERFECT DRUG." this was during the arguable peak of cultural cache during the IMMEDIATE post-THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (INTERSCOPE, 1994) period where REZNOR dabbled in FILM with contributions for FEATURE DIRECTORS such as the aforementioned LYNCH as well as MARK ROMANEK, SHINYA TSUKAMOTO and OLIVER STONE, ultimately finding a LONG-TERM COLLABORATOR with DAVID FINCHER to which he received (along with COLLABORATOR ATTICUS ROSS) an OSCAR for BEST ORIGINAL SCORE for their work on THE SOCIAL NETWORK (COLUMBIA, 2010). but on LOST HIGHWAY he essentially established a FOREBODING, NOCTURNAL MOOD where anything DEVIOUS and UNSAVORY may happen to BILL PULLMAN's protagonist character. REZNOR adroitly assembled a series of EERY RECORDINGS by the decidedly THEATRICAL likes of RAMMSTEIN, MARILYN MANSON, DAVID BOWIE, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS and LOU REED to help amplify and buttress that CREEPY CINEMATIC TONE. of these CONTRIBUTIONS it is LOU REED's PLAINTIVE and downright SINISTER RENDITION of "THIS MAGIC MOMENT" made FAMOUS by the NEW YORK CITY DOO-WOP group THE DRIFTERS that truly shines in comparison. MARILYN MANSON's COVER of SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS IMMORTAL "I PUT A SPELL ON YOU" similarly is EFFECTIVE at establishing a MORBID and DEBAUCHED MIND-STATE that the LOST HIGHWAY FILM is perpetually in the midst of. as a CULTURAL ARTIFACT, the LOST HIGHWAY SOUNDTRACK is an INTRIGUING collection given where it stands in the STORIED careers of both LYNCH and REZNOR. is it the STRONGEST AURAL EXPRESSION produced by each PARTICIPANT for FILM? no. but that doesnt make it any less COMPELLING and worthy of investigation. at the very least it is very much worth checking out, especially within the OBSERVATIONAL CONTEXT of the ACTUAL FILM. there the interplay and ALCHEMICAL results between SOUND and VISION showcase the REAL magic of CINEMA and the FILM SCORE. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
that whole PANDEMIC era was such a CONFUSING time. all that ISOLATION. all that time spent in your own head thinking about what you would do, could do, did do before COVID-19 rendered you as a PRISONER effectively in your own head. for most people it was a CHALLENGING time, but the recent documentary CHARLI XCX: ALONE TOGETHER (GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT, 2021) provides a COMPELLING case study: what happens when a SELF-IDENTIFIED COHORT of individuals who are partially construed of OSTRACIZED members of society lose the physical ability to be in each other's SUPPORTIVE presence?
for many of the LGBTQIA+ FANS (and their ALLIES) of BRITISH SINGER-SONGWRITER CHARLI XCX, her music and the INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY she built around such is a GLOBAL NETWORK that functions as a de facto EMOTIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and SPIRITUAL SUPPORT SYSTEM for these fans. she may be speaking her truth in song form, but the fans of CHARLI XCX take such AUTHENTIC and EMPATHETIC sentiments to heart and allow others to be heard and show REAL STRENGTH in numbers through being VULNERABLE. what is INTRIGUING is that during the PANDEMIC, there was a bit of an inversion of that dynamic involved, with the singer herself relying on that same ONLINE NETWORK for assistance as she dealt with CRIPPLING feelings of INADEQUACY and SELF-HATRED through the forty-day WRITING and RECORDING PROCESS of her PANDEMIC album HOW I'M FEELING NOW (ATLANTIC, 2020), which was written at times in collaboration with her FANBASE as well as recorded in ISOLATION at her LOS ANGELES residence. in essence, CHARLI XCX through inviting her fanbase to directly participate in her CREATIVE PROCESS, allowed for a COMMON EXPERIENCE as everyone came to terms with living in this new WEIRD reality of MANDATED SELF-ISOLATION. something to be PROUD of. something to look forward to. and it wasnt from a place of MARKETING RESEARCH or GROUP TESTING, but an ORGANIC outgrowth of a mutually felt CONNECTION between ARTIST and AUDIENCE. its all quite INSPIRING. and it really gets at the heart of the MEANING and PURPOSE of ART writ large. CREATIVE EXPRESSION, POSITIVE or NEGATIVE, is a SOCIAL ACT by the very token that such will be on display for others to judge and engage with. by blurring the lines just a bit, CHARLI XCX has provided a vehicle of SELF-EMPOWERMENT and COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT during a period where such an offering was in DESPERATE need. the songs themselves thematically revolved around her deep reservoir of FEELING for her long-time BOYFRIEND, whom she was able to see for the first time for an EXTENDED period in years due to the obvious break in her HECTIC schedule, an experience that led her to feel intimately LOVED, SUPPORTED and APPRECIATED apart from her PERSONA as a POP STAR. she was in need of the situation just as much as her FANS it can be concluded. an INCREDIBLE film that gets at the heart of the relationship between ARTIST and FAN. CHARLI XCX: ALONE TOGETHER is definitely well worth checking out. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
November 2024
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