its always interesting when bands deconstruct the live experience and provide critiques of all the PERFORMATIVE CLICHES associated with the band/audience ritual.  my favorite example was how RUSH in their later years would put up popcorn machines, washing machines (complete with laundry) and even rotisserie ovens (complete with chicken) in lieu of a wall of amplifiers.  it was beyond dorky and silly but undeniably cool.  LE TIGRE does the same, being deliberately aloof with clunky dance moves, gaudy homemade outfits and amateurish choreography designed to lighten people up and shake them from trying to act cool at shows and actually, you know, have fun.  forget what the person next to you is doing or wearing.  forget pretense.  just enjoy life a little.

the documentary WHO TOOK THE BOMP? LE TIGRE ON TOUR (FIX FILMS, 2010) follows the POST PUNK-inspired NYC ELECTROCLASH outfit LE TIGRE (made up of JOHANNA FATEMAN, JD SAMSON and KATHLEEN HANNA) around the globe and finds them going through all the mundane realities of touring life.  its pretty eye-opening and quite discouraging to witness how REDUCTIVE and MORONIC the interview questions (not to mention NIRVANA-centric) routinely are and the level tokenism they have to deal with.  its frustrating, cringe-inducing and just plain exhausting to witness the band's value be determined by hacks in the marketplace with superficial notions regarding GENDER and HANNA's past associations with a long-dead male musician.  youd think the enormous cultural shadow of BIKINI KILL would color their perception, but no, its an all-male band she wasnt even in! there's a moment in the film when the band is doing radio promos for a show in JAPAN and they wanted to add in the words "feminism" and "lesbian" into the advertisement, but word got back that "feminism" was alright but a no-go on "lesbian."  that struggle between one's internal politics and those of the marketplace is super interesting.  how do you maintain a sense of purity in broader profit-motivated economic construct with its own regressive agenda to maintain a conservative status quo.  i dont have an answer but its a beyond compelling dilemma.

at least stateside, it is quite insane to think how male-centric the live experience itself has become over the years.  the band talks about the experience of dealing with SEXIST venue owners, promoters, sound guys, bouncers, etc.  why is that?  is it just an outgrowth of CORPORATE MARKETING and HETERONORMATIVE CONSUMERIST AGENDAS that underlies it or is that just WESTERN CULTURE in a nutshell.  is the lowest common denominator of AMERICAN culture all these seeming hordes of uneducated, beer-consuming heterosexual WHITE MIDWESTERN cavemen with high school educations?  are we doomed to that stage of affairs ad infinitum?  feels like it.  not much has changed since 2010.  in fact, it feels worse.  it feels like we've regressed as a society.

obviously how one is perceived is beyond one's control.  what i appreciate about the band is their conscious effort throughout the film to promote a sense of INCLUSIVITY, which is probably routed in the underground fanzine culture they all came out of.  HANNA is of course famous for her participation in the RIOT GRRRL scene with her band BIKINI KILL which challenged PATRIARCHY and aggressively promoted female artistic and political participation at their legendary shows and beyond.  LE TIGRE feels like an extension of that same same ethos but with a goofy, danceable vibe that is much less caustic yet still  confrontational, while still promoting the need for a safe community for expression among women and those dominated by male-defined spaces.  like ROCK N ROLL.

as a WHITE HETEROSEXUAL dude, i know that this documentary is not necessarily aimed at my demographic per se, but id argue it has relevance and value to my cohort more than a decade after release.  its always a good idea to be aware of the lived experiences of others and i feel like the work of LE TIGRE was a great vehicle for such needed communication.  just makes it apparent of all the work that still needs to be done.

definitely a documentary worthy of investigation.

i recently sought out this book in the aftermath of recent major internal changes at SHELL, CHEVRON and EXXON-MOBIL.  in many ways BLOWOUT: CORRUPTED DEMOCRACY, ROGUE STATE RUSSIA AND THE RICHEST, MOST DESTRUCTIVE INDUSTRY ON EARTH(CROWN, 2019) by RACHEL MADDOW is a bit of a primer to understanding the current geopolitical climate surrounding the pernicious global effect of the oil and gas industry.  in essence, the industry represents the worst aspects of capitalism run amuck, where the only true loyalty is not to country or set of common governing ethics, but the search for PROFIT and VALUE to shareholders.  worse than that, there is an implicit economic incentive structure for major players to seek out countries with weak political structures and exploit them for their natural resources.  this perpetuates dictatorships and weakens struggling democracies on a global scale.

in essence the petroleum industry is a corrosive and corrupting force both domestically and internationally.  case studies presented of exemplars this adverse influence included that of EQUATORIAL GUINEA, OKLAHOMA and RUSSIA.  in essence they all suffer from what is referred to as THE RESOURCE CURSE, by which a country or territory is economically dependent on a single resource that is subject to the greater whims of a global market, leaving them highly vulnerable should such bottom-out.  inhabitants of these regions are often worse off economically with fewer legal rights and a lower quality of life.  what MADDOW exposes is the multiple layers of corrupting influence in which major petroleum corporations through quasi-legal pay-outs, lobbying efforts and lawyering around sanctions seek to maximize profit to the detriment of ordinary citizens worldwide.  in OKLAHOMA there were local natural gas operations in the fracking industry that fought tooth-and-nail for longterm tax breaks that essentially pilfered the state's largesse and strangled its ability to provide basic services like education  for their constituency.  it really begs the question of whose interests are they serving, because it obviously is not their community.  in essence that is the point of this book: that the petroleum industry as currently defined culturally and legally is not bound by a set of common ethics or loyalty to country that interferes with its singular focus on producing profit and longterm value for its shareholders.

and that is a problem.  a big one.

​as an oil brat i grew up in this world and saw firsthand its pernicious influence of enabling foreign dictators and corrupt draconian regimes.  it was perfectly obvious when witnessed in person yet conflictingly it is also true that our whole economy as AMERICANS is powered by this racket.  this EXPLOITATION.  forget about the CLIMATE CRISIS, i want widespread renewable energy just to enable some checks on these petroleum companies and the dirty work they do on our behalf and the fledging democratic governments they corrupt in our name.

this is a deeply moving book that i am not doing justice but will no doubt reference in the future.  definitely worth reading and investigating if interested in the coercive effects of unfettered AMERICAN CAPITALISM on POLITICAL CORRUPTION both home and abroad.

parodies by nacrowe

check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO focused on the BROOKLYN-based independent label FOOL'S GOLD RECORDS!

​​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!

during my 1990s childhood in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, there were two songs i remember hearing on the ALTERNATIVE ROCK station 106.7 KROQ and having absolutely no clue who sang them.  in those days there was no SHAZAM app or internet and the only way to learn was if the DJ felt like mentioning it.  the first song i learned years later was NIRVANA's haunting "SAPPY."  the other was STONE TEMPLE PILOT's laid-back, harrowing cover of LED ZEPPELIN's "DANCING DAYS" on the ENCOMIUM: A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPELIN (ATLANTIC, 1995) tribute compilation.

that cover in particular is probably one of SCOTT WEILAND's great performances and showcases a charisma and preternatural ability to shine when the focus very much is on him and his voice.  he comes off both assured and insular and transforms a celebratory anthem into something entirely different, something excruciatingly introspective.  i should also mention that guitarist DEAN DELEO has some righteous slide work on the track which only heightens that haunting, reflective vibe.

when revisiting this compilation recently, i was struck by the quality of other vocal performances by the likes of LINDA PERRY (4 NON BLONDES), SHANNON HOON (BLIND MELON) HENRY ROLLINS (ROLLINS BAND) and DAVID YOW (THE JESUS LIZARD here collaborating with HELMET), which all point to the dynamic and versatile quality of the songwriting and the poetic lyricism of JIMMY PAGE and ROBERT PLANT.  just the fact that this material can be interpreted convincingly by such disparate artists is pretty remarkable.  that is not to say that there arent some forgettable, less-than-stellar duds from the likes of HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH, SHERYL CROW, CRACKER and DURAN DURAN, remember this was put out by ATLANTIC RECORDS with largely its then-current roster of artists.  maybe this was a calculated effort to draw attention to LED ZEPPELIN's back catalogue as PAGE & PLANT where reestablishing their recording and touring career at the time as a duo.  could be that this compilation was a marketing ploy, but with the solid aforementioned contributions, i dont believe it was a fruitless exercise in the least.

ENCOMIUM is definitely worth checking out if you are a LED ZEPPELIN aficionado or even a fan of SCOTT WEILAND or SHANNON HOON.  definitely two captivating performances by the two at a point in their creative careers when they were firing on all cylinders.  REST IN PEACE to both.

years ago i was in and out of the orbit of my cousin's former BROOKLYN recording studio called [the end] since i was living and working overseas.  during that period i was made aware of various experimental INDIE ROCK artists that recorded there including UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA, YEASAYER and NEW ZEALAND singer-songwriter LIAM FINN.

i was not around when these artists were recording and heard there music out of context in disparate places like VENEZUELA, JAPAN, ALBANIA and MYANMAR.  so when i first heard his THE NIHILIST (YEP ROC, 2014) album i was initially taken by the cinematic scale of its sonic textures and addictive catchiness of his melodies.  as a listening experience it worked especially well in foreign territories where i felt like an outsider by definition.  this can be seen in songs like "HELENA BONHAM CARTER," "SNUG AS FUCK" and "BURN UP THE ROAD" off of THE NIHILIST where there is a palpable world-weariness and deep antipathy for the hollow and facile nature of the entertainment industry.  i can only imagine how jarring and disorientating being a musician can be, with the self-reflection and soul-searching involved before presenting a public face.  and he would know about that struggle for an identity.  it is obligatory at this point  to mention that his father is NEIL FINN of CROWDED HOUSE fame, which is relevant in that it provides another layer to his songwriting as that family connection provides a sense of preordained identity that provides some creative friction.  not that dissimilar to other gifted progeny of famous musicians like SEAN LENNON, NATALIE COLE, ARLO GUTHRIE, NORAH JONES or RUFUS WAINWRIGHT.  its an interesting dynamic.  

i've long held that this FINN is a criminally underrated songwriter and recommend his discography wholeheartedly to anyone interested in thoughtful, sophisticated ROCK music with a cinematic flair for big memorable sonic moments.  definitely worth checking out.

parodies by nacrowe

check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the artistic multi-media madness of ROB ZOMBIE and his former band WHITE ZOMBIE!

​​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!

the self-titled ALICE IN CHAINS (COLUMBIA, 1995) record was a big deal to me when it came out.  i was in NEW JERSEY staying with relatives during the summer of 1996 and i distinctly remember getting the new DOWN ON THE UPSIDE (A&M, 1996) record by SOUNDGARDEN as well as EVIL EMPIRE (EPIC, 1996) by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.  i also hauled away the entire METALLICA back catalogue (as LOAD had recently been released as well).  back then it was all about acquiring CDs to take back home to NIGERIA where my family was living and that was a remarkably great summer in that regard.

looking back, what always struck me about the self-titled ALICE IN CHAINS album was how experimental it was.  maybe this was partly the result of LAYNE STALEY's addiction (alluded to at with the album cover art of a dog missing a limb) and thus the lesser concern of having to tour the material.  this more surreal sonic vibe can be experienced on songs like "BRUSH AWAY," "NOTHIN' SONG," "GOD AM," "HEAD CREEPS," "FROGS" and "SO CLOSE."  a big part of that sound is the trademark layered vocals of STALEY and guitarist JERRY CANTRELL which feels even more pronounced on this record than in the past.  this unique production technique would carry over into the WILLIAM DUVALL era and interestingly maintain a sonic cohesion to the discography overall.

lyrically this record seems very much stream-of-consciousness with themes regarding guilt, shame and death carrying throughout in songs like "OVER NOW," "HEAVEN BESIDE YOU," "BRUSH AWAY" and "SHAME IN YOU."  much like with listening to albums by NIRVANA, JOY DIVISION and even LINKIN PARK, it is difficult to divorce this record from the untimely death of the singer and primary lyricist.  when i listen to the ALICE IN CHAINS album (and i am definitely projecting here), it makes me get a feel for what the headspace of someone struggling with a profound sense of diminished identity when their agency is compromised.  and all the guilt, shame and ideations of death that come with such.  i just cant imagine but i attempt to empathize every time i hear this record.  it really is quite the gift STALEY left behind with his ALICE IN CHAINS output. 

rest in peace LAYNE.

sadly in recent years there has been a series of documentaries chronicling the demise of the recording studio, most notably the DAVE GROHL-directed SOUND CITY (review linked HERE).  inevitably the repeated narrative is about what has been lost with the advent and rise of powerful (and mobile) digital recording technology (i.e. PROTOOLS), such being the spontaneity, feeling and magic that happens when musicians make it happen in close proximity to one another.

ROCKFIELD: THE STUDIO ON THE FARM (IE IE PRODUCTIONS, 2020) follows the story of the notable WELSH residential recording studio, ROCKFIELD STUDIOS, that has been utilized by the likes of everyone from BLACK SABBATH, QUEEN, IGGY POP, DAVID BOWIE, ADAM ANT, JUDAS PRIEST, ROBERT PLANT and HAWKWIND to THE STONE ROSES, CHRISTIAN DEATH, OASIS, BAUHAUS, MANIC STREET PREACHERS, ROYAL BLOOD and even COLDPLAY among countless others.  what is interesting about the studio is its isolation.  when it was created in the 1960s by two brothers, it was completely unique in that all other studios of its caliber were owned by record labels and located in LONDON.  atmosphere-wise many of them were effectively sonic laboratories and had the vibe of a dental office.  ROCKFIELD was located far removed in the WELSH countryside on what was effectively a pig and dairy farm.  artists could rehearse and record with little to no distractions and effectively no volume restrictions.  this was the setting that bands like BLACK SABBATH and HAWKWIND perfected their decibel rattling sound. 

this isolation and lack of distractions also means that there is an intimacy to the experience of recording at all hours for an extended period of time.  recording at ROCKFIELD came with cooked meals by the family that ran the studio and sleeping on the premises that they also maintained.  apparently THE STONE ROSES famously stayed for 14 months straight during their peak creative and prolific period.  it went the other way as well since some of the participants spoke of it as a prison, especially if your band was not clicking.

given that DEER GOD ran a recording studio for a period that was deliberately removed from the hustle and bustle of NEW YORK CITY (we were located in a late 19th century victorian mansion in southern STATEN ISLAND), its always interesting for me to listen to the shared experience of working with artists.  in all these films it seems that one gig leads to the next.  with SOUND CITY there was a long dry spell in the 1980s until NIRVANA came which begot RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, TOOL, KYUSS, MASTERS OF REALITY, SLAYER and so on.  same with ROCKFIELD STUDIOS with a similar trajectory in the 1980s followed by THE STONE ROSES who begot OASIS, THE CHARLATANS, THE BOO RADLEYS and several members of BRITPOP royalty.

the recording studio as a destination is now an outmoded anachronism.  which is sad.  im glad documentaries such as ROCKFIELD: THE STUDIO ON THE FARM exist since it allows us to take stock in the moment of a period of transition as music and art "progress" forward with the advent of ever more powerful recording technology.

its interesting to consider what lays ahead and how music production will shift and evolve moving forward.  whether or not the human element in music will survive.  its an endlessly captivating topic.​

i read the classic education memoir TEACHER MAN (SCRIBNER, 2005) by FRANK MCCOURT back when i was student teaching at BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL as part of my masters program at COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.   MCCOURT is of course the renowned PULITZER PRIZE winning author of ANGELA'S ASHES (SCRIBNER, 1996), a memoir of his childhood in IRELAND, but what most people don't know is that he was an educator.  he taught for years at STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL in MANHATTAN, a public specialized magnet secondary institution considered by most the crown jewel of the NEW YORK public school system and has a pretty incredible list of NOBEL PRIZE laureates (more than most universities).

enough of all that though.  what spoke out to me about TEACHER MAN at the time was that he went into detail about what an abject failure of an educator he started out as.  how unprepared he was.  how clueless he was about basic procedures and ideas regarding pedagogy.

at COLUMBIA there was just this constant barrage of information being thrown my way of at times competing ideologies regarding how a classroom should be modeled and what an effective assessment consists of.  it was only later that i realized that they did this so that we are aware of our options as professionals and to choose such wisely based on our situation and the needs of our students.  at the time i was at BROOKLYN TECH this overload of information wasn't helpful, but TEACHER MAN was.  it gave me the idea the confidence that i would get better, that this was all part of the process and that i just needed to be open and self-aware of my options as my experience increased.  i needed to make mistakes.  for me that message was the real gift of this book.  it gave me confidence.  

i should also mention that MCCOURT was from LIMERICK.  my ancestral hometown is in LIMERICK, specifically a nearby village called CAPPAWHITE.   like my relatives he is a born storyteller.  perfect for an english teacher.

funny enough after BROOKLYN TECH (and a brief tenure at my alma mater in KUWAIT) i found myself teaching at STUYVESANT.  even at a hallowed institution like there where experienced teachers are let go having not been able to pass muster, my attitude never shifted.  i gave myself permission to fail.  in fact that permission followed me to ALBANIA, VENEZUELA, JAPAN and MYANMAR during my career and informed my ability to self-assess in the moment and make changes without fear.  i found myself in fluid situations in unfamiliar cultures with shifting institutional parameters and it was always a challenge to find ways of pushing my students and addressing their needs.  i attribute that confidence and self-awareness to reading MCCOURT's sober assessments of his own short-fallings as an educator and how he used such to fuel his passion for education.  it was incredibly self-empowering.

and to be given the opportunity to work in the same department that MCCOURT once did was a true gift and honor that i still appreciate to this day.

anyway, great book.  worth your time.

join us TONIGHT at 8PM EST for an all new episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC with a playlist celebrating the infectious and entrancing experimental sounds of BRITISH TRIP HOP icons MASSIVE ATTACK!
​
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, make sure and download the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience!

join us TONIGHT at 10PM EST for an all new episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC with a playlist celebrating the incredibly influential career of HARDCORE / ALTERNATIVE ROCK veteran DAVE GROHL!
​
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, make sure and download the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience!

photo & text by nacrowe

as a child HELP! (PARLOPHONE, 1965) was probably my favorite BEATLES album.  it reminds my of my first visit to NEW YORK CITY as a child when during my kindergarten year my father and i flew out from CALIFORNIA to visit my grandmother in BROOKLYN.  standout tracks like "TICKET TO RIDE," "IT'S ONLY LOVE," "YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY," "I NEED YOU," "THE NIGHT BEFORE" and of course "HELP!" all have soaring memorable vocal melodies that remind me of walks in CENTRAL PARK and the general sense of overwhelming wonder that came with being in the big city for the first time.  it still sounds to me like a soundtrack to the idea of possibility.

historically HELP! marks the end of an early period of songwriting for the group focused on sappy, overly saccharine love ballads.  this record would be followed up in quick succession by the lyrically and sonically more adventurous RUBBER SOUL (PARLOPHONE, 1965) that would essentially mark the beginning of their mature period.  its understandable why JOHN LENNON and PAUL MCCARTNEY decided to expand their lyrical themes and take more compositional risks thereafter, as writing song after song about puppy love is rather restrictive.  and in a sense that sense of restriction, both thematically and in terms of production, is part of the charm of that early run of records.  in the modern era you have bands like THE BLACK KEYS, DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 or THE WHITE STRIPES that take delight in scaling back their instrumentation to two instruments in order to showcase their musical dexterity and supposed aesthetic sophistication.  with THE BEATLES you have to realize that 1) their whole discography was over an 8 year period (which is insane!) and 2) that they took advantage of every technological innovation in music production which still pales in comparison to basic software today.

like with most early BEATLES songs, there is a bit of MISOGYNY creeping throughout the lyrics, most notably "ANOTHER GIRL"  and "YOU'RE GONNA LOSE THAT GIRL" which both have warned statements about the repercussions that come with not pleasing the narrator.  it showcases a sense of uneven POWER DYNAMICS in which the narrator (assumed to be male) has other options available that may be exercised if the love interest doesnt get with the program.  one of them even speaks about taking another's girl just to prove a point that he can, because the other doesn't treat her right.  how romantic.  its always interesting reading these early lyrics because this sense of assumed MACHISMO and outright MALE CHAUVINISM is abandoned after HELP! with few exceptions.

HELP! is required listening, much like everything else in THE BEATLES catalogue.  definitely worth investigation and a revisit for anyone interested in the BRITISH INVASION or just WESTERN MUSIC in general.  oh yeah, and there is a film.  its terrible.  that you can avoid.

losing a singer mid-career is one of the most difficult and treacherous obstacles a band can face.  fans are beyond fickle.  there are only a handful of bands i can think of that have navigated those waters successfully; for every success in AC/DC and ALICE IN CHAINS there is an INXS or QUEEN that has never quite recovered or returned their music to the same standard as before the passing of their singer.

longtime METALCORE band WE CAME AS ROMANS doesn't need any introduction or promotion on the part of this website, but i just wanted to say impressed i am with how coherent and absolutely crushing their music has been since the unfortunate passing of KYLE PAVONE in 2018.  DAVE STEPHENS in particular has stepped up big-time and its just beyond commendable.

just wanted to do my part and say that their new stuff (as well as their past catalogue) is definitely worth checking out.​

i came across this three-part series THE ART OF PUNK which examines the contributions of visual artists RAYMOND PETTIBON, WINSTON SMITH and the duo of DAVE KING/GENE VAUCHER and their iconic graphic work with HARDCORE PUNK bands BLACK FLAG, DEAD KENNEDYS and CRASS respectively.  this online series was produced almost a decade ago for an installation at MOCA (MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LOS ANGELES).

i think the art associated with the AMERICAN and BRITISH HARDCORE scenes that sprung up in the 1980s after the initial wave of PUNK ROCK had subsided really took the DIY ethic to heart and ran with it.  this was reflected in the raw intensity of the music, but also the iconic graphic work went into its presentation.  obviously the brazenly political collage work of WINSTON SMITH was something that became part of the lexicon of flyers and fanzines alike.  the fact that his work maintains a cohesive yet caustic edge this many years later really is a testament to its quality.  the simple yet effective "DK" logo he created for DEAD KENNEDYS is likewise an iconic piece of graphic design that has been drawn on innumerable toilet stalls at venues over the years.  too many for me to count.  

likewise the ink drawings of RAYMOND PETTIBON are absolutely unflinching and brutal.  with an economy of movement, he is able to inflict maximum impact on his targets, which are often figures of power and corruption, both in public and on the domestic front.  the logo he devised for his brother's band, BLACK FLAG, is now effectively AMERICAN folk art, given the repetition with which it has now been tattooed on HARDCORE fans throughout the intervening decades.  what his interview shows is the depth of the humor in his work, which is sorely overlooked to date.

in DAVE KING and GEE VAUCHER you are presented with a symbol that is rooted in the branding lexicon of tribal identification and corporate power.  CRASS is such a complex, high-concept outfit with profoundly radical political leanings that make its adoption of the visual vocabulary a subversion in and of itself.  with the CRASS symbol you are shown a sense of art steeped in intention and symbolism, which is the mark of any great art.

anyway, THE ART OF PUNK is well worth your time whether or not you have any interest in PUNK ROCK per se.  it is a series rooted in the deep power of images, a concept that thoroughly transcends any musical affiliation or tradition.​  if anything the work these artists produce make you think and by extension complicate the consumption of the music, which is something i find endlessly fascinating.

when my family moved to NIGERIA in the mid 1990s we would spend a few weeks each summer staying with a relative in ENGLAND in a suburb north of LONDON.  its an era i really look back at fondly and, as it turns out, the timeframe coincided with can argued were the peak years of the BRITPOP movement.  undoubtedly the biggest record of the period was (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? (CREATION, 1995) by legendary MANCHESTER band OASIS.  tracks like "DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER," "CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA," "SOME MIGHT SAY" and of course "WONDERWALL" are celebrated milestones of an era that marker a distinct generational realignment in BRITISH culture and even politics. 

there are so many touch points with this record. 

culturally (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? marked a shift away from the decidedly introspective and self-reflective SHOEGAZE movement of a few years prior and provided a more aggressive stance in the wake of NIRVANA and the stateside ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement.  this was a record and a band that were unabashedly, uncompromisingly and unapologetically BRITISH.  it was also a record that didnt hide behind characters and sophisticated literary ambitions which was the case with BLUR and their equally impactful and era-defining PARKLIFE (FOOD, 1994) album.  lyrically what it did have were non-sensical, free-association, stream-of-consciousness lyrics a la THE BEATLES' "I AM THE WALRUS" by songwriter and guitarist NOEL GALLAGHER.  the opaque and inscrutable nature of the lyrics counterintuitively for the listener put more emphasis on the performances of singer LIAM GALLAGHER and the melody within the music itself.  its an interesting switch and bait.

fairly or unfairly, OASIS politically was effectively the living embodiment of the working class in ENGLAND.  this was in contrast to BLUR, who were portrayed as upper-class art school sophisticates.  the rivalry was manufactured and kinda bullshit, much like THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES before them, but its an image that survives to this day.  LIAM himself was the poster child of LAD CULTURE, which celebrated womanizing, excessive alcohol consumption and soccer hooliganism.  so its interesting that TONY BLAIR tapped into BRITPOP and specifically OASIS in order to reach that desired younger and decidedly urban demographic.  it worked and the LABOR PARTY regained control of government in 1997 in a landslide.  the sight of NOEL at 10 DOWNING STREET in the aftermath is also seen as the jump the shark moment of the BRITPOP movement in general.  when what was a youth movement now became BRITISH CULTURE writ large.  their is no real analogue to the political significance of this record in an AMERICAN context.  not ELVIS PRESLEY, not BOB DYLAN and not BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.  its still an interesting topic.

like most people who are OASIS obsessives, what i love about this record are the melodies and song-craft of NOEL and the brash over-confidence and demonic chutzpah of LIAM.  its not even up for discussion how powerful this combination of distinct forces found in THE GALLAGHER BROTHERS was during this period.  lightning in a bottle.  my favorite song on (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? has long been "MORNING GLORY" with its whirling, siren-like guitar intro to its opening couplet of "all your dreams are made when you're chained to the mirror and the razor blade."  when that first chorus crashes in i am never in a bad mood.  its empowering and intoxicating to take in.  just like it was when i first heard it when i was eleven.

is most definitely worth revisiting and checking out again.  and for god's sake THE GALLAGHER BROTHERS need to just make up and regroup already.  have COLDPLAY as your backing band, i dont care.  the world needs to hear "ROCK 'N' ROLL STAR" in a stadium again!

the lasting impact of cultural maven DANNY FIELDS is interesting to contemplate.  not a musician, producer or a record executive, FIELDS instead worked at times as a press agent, record scout, manager and general facilitator.  known for his time as part of the ANDY WARHOL FACTORY crowd as well as his work with legendary artists like THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE DOORS, MC5, THE STOOGES and THE RAMONES, where FIELDS excelled was in his vision of seeing and appreciating what others couldnt.  at least not yet.

born in BROOKLYN, FIELDS was an excellent student who entered the UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA at 15 and attended HARVARD LAW SCHOOL thereafter.  maybe due to his exceeding intelligence and/or his membership in two minority groups being a JEW and a HOMOSEXUAL, FIELDS developed a sense of empathy as well as aesthetic interest in avant-garde, outsider art.  this led him to GREENWICH VILLAGE and the WARHOL scene, and later to counterculture musicians once the 1960s hit.  he worked as an artists liaison with ELEKTRA RECORDS and was of use to the machine in that he was a tastemaker of sorts, able to witness an emerging artist in their infancy and communicate their greatness to a wider public.  in a sense the man had taste and was willing to stake his reputation on such, even facilitating countless meetings between artists (BOWIE and IGGY POP, PATTI SMITH and her band, etc.) that paid fruit down the line even after his personal involvement had ceased.

it is this role as a facilitator (and sometimes agitator) that i ultimately found made the recent documentary DANNY SAYS (MAGNOLIA PICTURES, 2015) so compelling.  here is a guy that gave underground artists an opportunity yet he is largely and unknown, with his worth celebrated internally within the industry by key executives and artists alike.  his name isnt highlighted in liner notes or mentioned in interviews, yet his influence is unmistakeable.  the bands he directly worked with set the foundation for all modern rock music whereby intention trumps virtuosity.  to be a musician didnt mean one had to be a master at their instrument, instead it meant communicating a feeling in the most direct and efficient manner possible.  those were the bands he facilitated, managed and garnered press attention for.  and we are all the better for it.

makes you consider how many other unknown key industry players there are out there who invisible hand we have all been touched by in our musical tastes and cultural obsessions.  the closest thing to this film i have witnessed is the RODNEY BINGENHEIMER documentary (review linked HERE) entitled MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP (2003) about the influential AMERICAN DJ or any number of BBC television documentaries over the years celebrating the ENGLISH DJ JOHN PEEL. whats interesting about the BINGENHEIMER documentary as it relates to DANNY SAYS is how both showcase a life servicing others and getting lost in the shuffle.  the idea of making deep connections with talented friends who you help push to artistic and cultural peaks of achievement.  but such heights are ultimately not your own and you are left contemplating your own needs and desires.  both documentaries showcase two seemingly exceedingly lonely people.  both are figures that are very interesting to contemplate.

i feel DANNY SAYS is a must-watch for anyone interesting in modern music history or the nature of the music business, especially as it relates to marketing and the influential yet opaque machinations that take place behind closed doors. 

i have a funny history with this classic of RUSSIAN literature.  CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (RUSSKIY VESTNIK, 1867) by FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY was the first book i taught as an ENGLISH teacher and it was not by choice.  but first i have to back up a bit.

in 2008 i graduated from TEACHERS COLLEGE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY with a masters in the ENGLISH EDUCATION (and yes, i am aware my blog entries are often suspect in terms of grammar and syntax).  at that point there was a hiring freeze across NYC and pretty much nationwide as old teaches were not retiring due to the downturn in the economy.  effectively i was not able to find work despite having an IVY LEAGUE degree (not bragging, just stating the obvious) and administrative and peer recommendations from BROOKYLN TECH, a specialized "magnet" high school i student taught at as part of my degree.  needless to say it was beyond frustrating and effectively was a good primer for my (brief) teaching degree in general.  out of the blue i ended up taking a position at my alma mater in KUWAIT of all places.  it didn't go well.  maybe at some point i'll write about that experience, but effectively i returned stateside let down and pretty demoralized.  

i had interviewed with dozens of NYC schools before taking the KUWAIT gig out of desperation.  this included STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL, which is essentially the premier public secondary institution in the country.  look up their alumni list, its more impressive than most colleges.  they called and asked if i was available to cover for a teacher soon to be on maternity leave.  of course i was.  i came in a few weeks in advance just to meet the other teachers and get a lay of the landscape, when the unthinkable happened.  the teacher i was going to cover for had her water break on site.  she was on her way to the hospital when i learned i was starting that day.  period.

the head of the english department walked me into his office where the class sets of books were to see what was available.  i was handed the classic existentialist noveL CRIME AND PUNISHMENT to teach to my SOPHOMORES.  easily one of the scariest moments of my life.  i read the novel in college and was somewhat familiar with it, but i was walking into a lion's den not fully prepared by definition.  teachers have been replaced because they couldn't handle the pressure of teaching to the brightest kids in the city.  i will fully admit, some of those kids at 15 had me intellectually at 27.  all i could do to compete was be better prepared.

the other teachers told me this was the worst set of circumstances they had ever seen a new teacher come in under with the exception of one teacher.  upon hearing this, that teacher interjected saying "nope, CROWE has it worse."  her first day of teaching at STUYVESANT?  SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.  the school is a black from ground zero.

so that is my history with the book.  i do enjoy it because in essence it is a morality play the intensely religious DOSTOYEVSKY constructed as a way of reassuring himself that religious ideals like purity and devotion could still be viable in a rapidly changing cultural and economic RUSSIAN landscape.  he utilizes quite a few inversions whereby characters that should hold a certain level of respect and grace fall way short while those at the bottom of the social ladder are almost saintlike.

probably my biggest takeaway from the novel was its question about the NATURE OF PUNISHMENT, whether being judged by the community via a legal system was worse than how we judge ourselves individually.  the legal system in essence stands in for the kingdom of heaven and our own potential absolution from fear, guilt and punishment.  to what extent is that absolution a matter of personal choice or circumstance?

because of the deep, introspective nature of this line of questioning which seemingly questioned religious authority by seeking a more personal relationship with the almighty (as opposed to just passive participation in religious ritual), DOSTOYEVSKY and this novel in particular get labeled as early examples of proto-EXISTENTIALISM.  but he wasn't rejecting GOD.  he was searching for a deeper connection and the questioning of the RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH was implicit in that search.

funny how they like him now that his ideas along with other 19th century writers like TOLSTOY, GOGOL, and PUSHKIN have lifted RUSSIAN LITERATURE to global recognition.  at the time of its inception this novel was effectively heresy.

you don't need me to tell you to check out this novel, but you should.  deep down you knew that already.

parodies by nacrowe

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i always felt that there was a deep spiritual quality to the music of BLIND MELON.  a big part of that was due to the free-spirited, ethereal nature of frontman SHANNON HOON and his preternatural ability to give off a feeling of unadulterated joy and wonder about life in his lyrics and in his voice.

the classic self-titled debut BLIND MELON (CAPITOL, 1992) record is a case in point, with tracks like "TONES OF HOME," "CHANGE" and of course "NO RAIN" showing off his emotional range.  for what is largely pegged as an ALTERNATIVE ROCK outfit, their music itself feels more aligned to "jam bands" of the period like BLUES TRAVELER, PHISH and even DAVE MATHEWS BAND.  the big difference is HOON, who is arguably one of the most charismatic frontman of the period.  up there with LAYNE STALEY, CHRIS CORNELL, MIKE PATTON, EDDIE VEDDER, COURTNEY LOVE, SCOTT WEILAND and KURT COBAIN yet entirely a unique entity and feel unto himself.  whereas those other "jam bands" in my opinion came off a bit too listless and technical for my taste, with HOON that meandering aural backdrop took on a more searching, INCORPOREAL quality that made it singularly TRANSCENDENT.  when i think of him, its almost more along the lines of a shaman than a frontman.  his passing has left a void that has yet to be filled to date.

like many kids of the period, my introduction to the band was "NO RAIN" and its genius music video which celebrated individualism and the need for INCLUSIVENESS and EMPATHY to one another.  not exactly standard rock fair at the time.  it also set the stage for the even more experimental and emotionally wrenching follow-up record SOUP (CAPITOL, 1995) which i hope to review someday after locating a cassette tape.  both of those records are unquestionably required listening to get an idea of the full spectrum of flavors of ALTERNATIVE ROCK in the 1990s.  it was great time for music.

RIP SHANNON.  you are still remembered and dearly missed.

i love it when you find artists that take real chances.  especially with their visual identity.  CANADIAN-COLOMBIAN recording artist LIDO PIMIENTA utilizes the multi-ethnic iconography of her home country's heritage to visually express her music which is likewise a POP-centric hybrid of various styles grounded LATIN rhythms and modern HIP HOP-influenced production.

the result is compelling and definitely worth checking out.