photo & text by nacrowe
ever since the ICONIC debut self-titled VAN HALEN (WARNER BROS, 1978) record, VAN HALEN essentially never left the road. viewed as a CASH COW by their management and record company, the band rarely got time off only a few weeks at a time to WRITE and RECORD new material before the machine started up again and the cycle continued UNABATED. these intervening FORMULAIC RECORDED EFFORTS at best were RUSH JOBS with songs haphazardly written in the studio and inexplicably included and amongst the track-listing were at least one or two DUBIOUS DAVID LEE ROTH numbers/covers that showcased his BIZARRE, SCHMALTZY and more than a bit rather CORNY VAUDEVILLE-inspired PERSONA.
that is, until their sixth studio release with the 1984 (WARNER BROS, 1984) record. this was the first time since the debut when EDDIE VAN HALEN basically took control of the RECORDING itself and the PROCESS around it. thus it has the distinction of being a LANDMARK album, along with the debut, and as the last recorded effort (during their PRIME) with ROTH's involvement. the behind-the-scenes turmoil that brought about this POWER PLAY is best captured by the late FORMER VAN HALEN manager NOEL E. MONK in his biography RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL (linked HERE), but the basics of it was that EDDIE after years of subservience, learned of his leverage and basically forced all parties to capitulate. the new material showcased this EXPANDED SONIC APPROACH that included a PRONOUNCED SYNTHESIZER SOUND on tracks like the opener "1984" and "JUMP." arguably the highlights of the record are the INTRICATE and HARD-DRIVING "PANAMA" and "HOT FOR TEACHER" tracks which are as HIGH-ENERGY and PROPULSIVE as anything in the VAN HALEN catalogue. the thing that stands out to me about 1984 is the VERSATILITY of EDDIE's COMPOSITION chops as well as TECHNICAL MUSICIANSHIP. by this point in his career, EDDIE had long been CELEBRATED as a VIRTUOSO GUITAR PLAYER of the first order, a place even posthumously decades later he still very much holds with the likes of JIMI HENDRIX, STEVIE RAY VAUGHN, JIMMY PAGE, CHUCK BERRY, JEFF BECK and PRINCE in the PANTHEON of GUITAR GREATS. but as a COMPOSER he was severely UNDERRATED and UNDER-APPRECIATED due to his GUITAR INNOVATIONS. the fact that EDDIE was as GIFTED a PIANIST as he was a GUITARIST is something that is on OBVIOUS display in 1984 and was something of an ARTISTIC risk to employ since his fanbase were UNINTERESTED in such relative to his GUITAR PLAYING. its INTERESTING to consider that some bands (ALICE IN CHAINS, INCUBUS, WEEN, DEFTONES) make DRASTIC sonic decisions early in their career that allow them ARTISTIC latitude with their fanbase thereafter while others make mid-career adjustments (METALLICA, GREEN DAY) to differing responses. i think 1984 was a shock to fans because of their previous recorded output and how it never implied the new trajectory 1984 implied. as great as VAN HALEN was, it makes you consider the heights they would have climbed if EDDIE had wrestled control sooner and pushed forward with his VISION instead of being effectively stymied by the business forces around. one can only wonder. otherwise VAN HALEN's 1984 is an absolutely ESSENTIAL record. definitely worth checking out.
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photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
there have been so many GREAT bands historically with siblings in their lineups from OASIS, VAN HALEN, NO DOUBT, THE KINKS, SPARKS, DEVO, RADIOHEAD, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, PANTERA and AC/DC to more recent INDIE acts like THE CRIBS, FIRST AID KIT and EISLEY. but only since i recently became aware of the STELLAR ENGLISH ALTERNATIVE ROCK band MARMOZETS did i ever know of a band with two sets of siblings (at least in their original lineup).
what i like about MARMOZETS is that their RHYTHM section has an especially AGGRESSIVE and ANGULAR feel for METER and SPACE, which is almost GANG OF FOUR-esque, that is being grounded by singer BECCA MACINTYRE and her CONFRONTATIONAL persona. she is just out front and IN-YOUR-FACE a la all the great PUNK and POST PUNK vocalists of yesteryear from POLY STYRENE, ALICE BAG and SIOUXSIE SIOUX to KIM GORDON, JOAN JETT and KATHLEEN HANNA. im always amazed at the resonant power of a STELLAR lead singer in transforming a band to another level. such is the case with MARMOZETS, whatever the current iteration. definitely worth checking out.
parodies by nacrowe
what i appreciate about the BRITISH singer-songwriter PJ HARVEY is how with each successive release she challenges herself and by extension her audience in seeking out NEW SONIC TERRITORY through EXPERIMENTING and incorporating DISPARATE TEXTURES, UNIQUE INSTRUMENTATION and OBSCURE GENRE ELEMENTS into her EVER-EVOLVING SOUND. much like her musical contemporaries in BJORK, MIKE PATTON, BECK, KATE BUSH, JOSH HOMME, DAVID BOWIE and NICK CAVE, each album is its own AURAL EXPERIENTIAL JOURNEY. in her case she has run the artistic gamut in terms of GENRES from DISSONANT NOISE ROCK, DELICATE ENGLISH FOLK MUSIC, CEREBRAL ART ROCK and DOWN-AND-NASTY PUNK BLUES.
my introduction to her work was through her MUSCULAR SONGS FROM THE CITY, SONGS FROM THE SEA (ISLAND, 2000) album that found her PAEAN to all things NEW YORK CITY firmly rooted in the AMERICAN ALTERNATIVE ROCK tradition of recent years. i was living in KUWAIT at the time and was going through my father's record collection when i found this and several other of her albums. this one hit the hardest given the EMOTIONAL POWER of her expressed ROMANTIC longing and INTERNAL CONFUSION on MASSIVE tracks like "BIG EXIT," "KAMIKAZE," "A PLACE CALLED HOME," "THIS IS LOVE" and "GOOD FORTUNE." to me that album is the very soundtrack to own my personal EXPERIENTIAL UNDERSTANDING of the HECTIC ENERGY and CONFUSED BEAUTY of living in the big city. just that one opening line itself off of "THIS IS LOVE" in which HARVEY opines that she "can't believe life is so complex / when i just want to sit here and watch you undress" really hits home at that OPPORTUNISTIC sense of VOYEURISTIC INTIMACY that comes with finding CONNECTION in an ENVIRONMENT so seemingly DISORDERED, FRANTIC and RANDOM. that ENERGY cant help but creep into your very PSYCHE, as if you are watching yourself play out and access aspects of yourself that could never happen in a smaller setting where everyone knows you. my FORMATIVE years were spent running around between literal hemispheres were dramatically DIFFERENT and NOVEL CULTURAL, SOCIAL and GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXTS and PERSPECTIVES were being thrown my way with seeming clockwork regularity. im still recovering form such an EXPERIENCE and gathering my bearings about who i am now, here, in this MOMENT. to me the CREATIVE WORK of HARVEY is the musical accompaniment to what has to be a very PERSONAL JOURNEY to understand aspects of herself and her gift. as a listener i feel PRIVILEGED to be able to glean off of her CRAFT and the hardship that went into its creation. in that sense she is like a beaming lighthouse to those of us perilously drifting off at sea. her CRAFT is a gift that i deeply cherish and very much look forward to each new release. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the catalogue of the SINGULAR ENGLISH SONGWRITER PJ HARVEY. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
RUBBER SOUL (PARLOPHONE, 1965) is often attributed as being the specific release where THE BEATLES took a critical step forward in terms of their SONGWRITING and sonic production that very much cleared the way for later ARTISTIC and CONCEPTUAL INNOVATIONS, most famously on much CELEBRATED subsequent releases such as REVOLVER (PARLOPHONE, 1966) and SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (PARLOPHONE, 1967). done were SONGS dealing with the BOY-MEETS-GIRL THEMATIC cul-de-sac that marked the first era of the band and in its stead were more lyrically SOPHISTICATED and OPAQUE (no doubt influenced by FOLK singer-songwriter BOB DYLAN) takes on LIFE, LOVE and the nature of EXISTENCE.
far and away my FAVORITE track, both as a child and as an adult, is "NOWHERE MAN" and its EXISTENTIAL EXPLORATION of feeling ISOLATED and SEPARATE from SOCIETY and HUMANITY writ large. i can only imagine what JOHN LENNON was going through when composing and conceiving those LYRICS, having been bombarded with CELEBRITY CULTURE and loss of ANONYMITY for years at this point. its so lyrically MOURNFUL yet strangely MELODIC and UPLIFTING that you wonder if it is a PERSONAL FANTASY to go back to being a relative unknown. "NORWEGIAN WOOD," "GIRL," "YOU WON'T SEE ME" and "IF I NEEDED SOMEONE" are all intimate and decidedly MATURE LOVE SONGS that deal with the maintaining of said AFFECTION and CONNECTION past the initial MUTUAL INFATUATION phase. for years the band relied on SONGS that were essentially lyrically seducing their AUDIENCE, but this go around you get the sense that they actually wanted to write AUTHENTIC and HONEST MATERIAL of the more ARDUOUS and therefore REWARDING aspects of RELATIONSHIPS and how they naturally develop over time, with all the HOPE, OPTIMISM, INTIMACY and RISK involved. "DRIVE MY CAR" is another CHILDHOOD favorite of mine, since i was always game for a GREAT SONG about cars, going back to my UNAVOIDABLE CULTURAL EXPOSURE in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA to the BEACH BOYS catalogue. its just a CLASSIC PAUL MCCARTNEY-penned POP song with TERRIFIC HARMONIES and a PROPULSIVE GROOVE that makes it a case study in QUALITY BEATLES SONG-CRAFT. for some admirers and critics the highlight of this collection of SONGS was "IN MY LIFE" and its BITTERSWEET retrospective LENNON-penned LYRICS about years and EXPERIENCES long gone by from some FUTURE PERSPECTIVE. i have always been a big fan of LENNON's VOICE, especially when he is reaching slightly outside of his HIGH BARITONE range, which is on full display on this emotively AFFECTING track. even knowing full well that he never was allowed the opportunity to live long enough into his golden years to inhabit this PERSPECTIVE, the SONG is a master stroke in IMAGINATIVE PROJECTION and his ability to reduce COMPLICATED feelings into perfect SIMPLIFIED POP MELODIES. about that, apparently this is one of the few SONGS that both LENNON and MCCARTNEY contested that they authored the MELODY. we will never know, but in a sense it doesnt matter. we all benefit from its very EXISTENCE and manifested influence over the WORLD and the rest of their CATALOGUE. it goes without saying that RUBBER SOUL is an ESSENTIAL landmark release by a SEMINAL band who have no peer. definitely recommended and absolutely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
the conversation surrounding the ETHICS involved in APPROPRIATIVE ART is a CONTENTIOUS and CONTROVERSIAL subject. look no further than that APOCHRYPHAL PABLO PICASSO line "good artists borrow, great artists steal" that gets at the heart of the matter, which is that when it comes to ART, like LOVE and WAR, there are essentially no rules. to the contrary, the amalgamation and interweaving of IDEAS into new FORMS and CONTEXTS is arguably how the CULTURE propels itself forward.
no doubt that was the ETHOS of CELEBRATED POP ARTIST ROY LICHTENSTEIN when he appropriated the CREATIVE WORK of largely UNKNOWN mid-century COMIC BOOK ILLUSTRATORS into has large-scale canvases. like ANDY WARHOL, he was involved in the process of identification and selection forwarded by DADA artist MARCEL DUCHAMP in which something COMMON, TRIVIAL and usually UTILITARIAN in value gets plucked from effective OBSCURITY to be transformed into high ART. WARHOL chose CAMPBELL soup cans and BRILLO pad boxes as EMBLEMATIC of a NEW VISIAL LANGUAGE and AESTHETIC surrounding CONSUMERIST concepts like manufactured desirability. in the post-war period, this IDEA of taking a DUCHAMPIAN eye for TRANSFORMATIVE selection unto MASS MARKETED PRODUCTS and ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGNS was NOVEL and REVOLUTIONARY. likewise, LICHTENSTEIN was transforming these DISCARDABLE COMIC BOOK panels, the argument goes, into something else entirely. that ART of DUCHAMPIAN selection placed them in an entirely NEW CONTEXT and in front of an DIFFERENT AUDIENCE for a DIFFERENT PURPOSE. this CONCEPT is lost in the recent WHAAM! BLAM! ROY LICHTENSTEIN AND THE ART OF APPROPRIATION (VIRGIL FILMS, 2023) documentary, which has a more common REDUCTIVE view of the situation in which exploited COMIC BOOK ARTISTS like HY EISMAN and RUSS HEATH had some of their CREATIVE WORK repurposed with no attribution, acknowledgement or payment as the OBSCURE source of said PAINTINGS. legally no payment is due to them since they dont own the rights to their WORK, as it is understood that the firm they worked for held the copyrights and thus the standing to sue LICHTENSTEIN back in the day. which they didnt since the potential earnings from said litigation was NOMINAL at best in the 1960s. that these LIMITED PAINTINGS are now highly SOUGHT-AFTER by global billionaire class and now go for hundreds of millions of dollars each at auction is IMMATERIAL. but it all does ring more than a bit UNFAIR. at least to EISMAN and HEATH who are on limited fixed incomes late in life and in some cases use CHARITABLE services to get by from an INDUSTRY that saw them as common CRAFTMEN and not ARTISTS in their own right. its a different story these days regarding common practices in publishing with many ILLUSTRATORS retaining control of their WORK and licensing it to for a limited period to publishing houses. you most definitely feel for EISMAN and HEATH and the manner in which they were essentially rendered MUTE and INVISIBLE by both the COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY and the legal system at large, but in a WEIRD sense this film, based on the scholarly work of DAVID BARSALOU of the DECONSTRUCTING LICHTENSTEIN website (linked HERE), is a PERMANENT testament to their contributions to the work of LICHTENSTEIN. this film is that awaited credit and attribution, not by the ARTIST himself (who passed in 1997), but by the COMMUNITY itself. at least that counts for something in this CAUTIONARY tale. photo & text by nacrowe
you always got the feeling with COMEDIC LEGEND DON RICKLES that his ABRASIVE shtick wasnt entirely MEAN-SPIRITED, but rather counterintuitively WHOLESOME and done with some semblance of LOVE and EMPATHY. it was as if poking fun at a CELEBRITY or a NO-NAME paying customer was an act of intimacy as if to suggest that we are all stronger than we give often ourselves credit for. that our INDIVIDUAL INSECURITIES and INTERNAL SELF-DOUBTS can be transcended, even when provoked upon in a public setting. at least that was the just i got from reading his consciously unimaginatively titled memoir RICKLES' BOOK (SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2007).
i say this because the whole book is a testament to his LOVE of FAMILY and FRIENDS. first and foremost, as the only son of two WORKING-CLASS LITHUANIAN JEWISH immigrants, RICKLES pays tributes to his PARENTS MAX and ETTA and the childhood he had in JACKSON HEIGHTS. his FATHER PASSED AWAY PRE-FAME and his MOTHER was the driving force of his career, tirelessly networking and advocating on his behalf and her support knew no limits. then there is his WIFE BARBARA and the FAMILY they created. probably the most INTRIGUING RELATIONSHIPS presented here to fans of RICKLES would be those of FRANK SINATRA, BOB NEWHART, JOHNNY CARSON, ED SULLIVAN, BOB HOPE and DEAN MARTIN. its a UNIQUE perspective on a generation of COMEDY that is pretty removed from today's ELEVATED sense of CULTURAL BOUNDARIES and QUOTE UNQUOTE GOOD TASTE. two generations ago during the postwar period when LAS VEGAS was in full swing and the country had yet to become divided by RELEVANT and LONG-POSTPONED debates over RACIAL and GENDER EQUALITY, this cohort of COMEDIANS reigned UNOBSTRUCTED with the world as their oyster. and they seemingly did it with a sense of CLASS and TASTE that makes their COMEDY somewhat EVERGREEN in nature. i cant say that such is the same for the INSULT COMEDY that came in the wake of RICKLES in the likes of later generations of COMEDIANS in ANDREW DICE CLAY, SAM KINISON, ANTHONY JESELNIK, GREG GERALDO, BILL BURR, JIM NORTON, COLIN QUINN and ROBERT SMIGEL (i.e. TRIUMPH THE INSULT COMIC DOG) who seemed more concerned with TRANSGRESSIVE SHOCK tactics than projecting any PALPABLE sense of empathy and COMMUNITY. to me that is the SINGULAR GENIUS and UNIQUE SPIRIT of the COMEDY of RICKLES, that through shared LAUGHTER at our own individual expense came a more familiar feeling of COMMUNITY. his INSULT COMEDY was INCLUSIVE rather than the more BRASH and ABRASIVE variant we see to day which feels more DIVISIVE and AGGRESSIVE, as if peeling off this layer of one's PERSONA would reveal a more SINISTER, SUBTERRANEAN agenda. almost like a form of WAR or CHARACTER ASSASSINATION. you look at those two cohorts of COMEDIC GENERATIONS and you can see where we have traversed as a CULTURE. not to say that such is NEGATIVE, since one may be more HONEST and AUTHENTIC than the other, but it is INTRIGUING nonetheless to consider. RICKLES' BOOK is pretty plainly written for a MASS AUDIENCE and does its job of position RICKLES in terms he appreciates relative to his FRIENDS and FAMILY, but i am interested in the book that really dives into his backstory and how his personal narrative intertwined with the changing tides of AMERICAN COMEDY and POPULAR CULTURE throughout his long career. especially during the 1960s. understandably such was effectively glossed over here since such was not the purpose of this book. but that is the narrative i hope to read someday. this book is perfectly SERVICEABLE but not recommended unless you are a true HARDCORE RICKLES fanatic.
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the LEGENDARY TEXAN ROCK N ROLL institution that is ZZ TOP!
​ ​​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
lets get this out right from the jump. CREED is a JOKE.
they likely will go down in musical history, fairly or unfairly, as the poster children for why the term POST-GRUNGE is very much permanently a PEJORATIVE. they are critically viewed at best as DERIVATIVE of other way more TALENTED bands (ALICE IN CHAINS, PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN, etc.) and at worst CAREER OPPORTUNISTS with unmistakeable EVANGELICAL overtones that opened the door for a flood of unimaginably SHITTY bands in the late 90s and early 2000s with REDUCTIVE DEEP-VOICED, BARREL-CHESTED, AGGRESSIVELY MASCULINE singers from FUEL, HINDER, BUCKCHERRY, SALIVA, TRAPT, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, GODSMACK, PUDDLE OF MUDD and, of course, NICKELBACK. the legacy of CREED is that for a period they muddied the waters enough in the music industry that those TERRIBLE bands and their ilk passed as ACCEPTABLE to mainstream rock radio. so there you go, i got all of that out of the way. my introduction to the FLORIDIAN ALTERNATIVE ROCK band CREED was back in high school when i entered a boarding school in NEW ENGLAND in the fall of 1998. it was my freshman year and part of the deal was that every student was provided a personal laptop. at some point during the first semester this kid down the hall who was tech savvy clued everyone into this file called an 'MP3' that allowed you to download and save music on your computer. this was years before the first IPOD was released. i distinctly remember this classmate taking me to a fan website for some emerging band called CREED, where you could play their recent debut album MY OWN PRISON (WIND-UP, 1997) just by clicking one of these MP3 files after downloading some software called QUICKTIME. its all laughably PRIMITIVE now in this modern age of streaming, but back then this was REVOLUTIONARY. and i'll never forget that CREED was the first band i heard in this new manner. at the time i felt like the band was not TERRIBLE. their guitarist, id later learn to be MARK TREMONTI, obviously knew his way around a MEMORABLE arpeggiated ALTERNATIVE ROCK RIFF and the songs themselves were PLEASANT enough with a sense of STRUCTURED DYNAMICS, especially on tracks such "TORN," "ONE," "WHAT'S THIS LIFE FOR" and the title track "MY OWN PRISON." even in retrospect i think those songs compositionally are more SOPHISTICATED than fellow POST-GRUNGE peers in the like-wise CRITICALLY-DERIDED SEETHER, SWITCHFOOT, BREAKING BENJAMIN, CHEVELLE and STAIND. only when the much SUPERIOR ALTER BRIDGE (made up in part with CREED's rhythm section) came about years later with the UBER-GIFTED WASHINGTON STATE-based frontman / singer-songwriter MILES KENNEDY, would people recognize TREMONTI as a LEGITIMATE CREATIVE FORCE. much like LIMP BIZKIT, MEGADETH or MOTLEY CRUE before them, CREED's weak point was undoubtedly their lead singer SCOTT STAPP. on MY OWN PRISON the LAME CHRISTIAN IMAGERY and blatant RELIGIOSITY is somewhat held in check relative to later releases, but in terms of TONE and PRESENTATION, he seems to be comically aping that of fellow FLORIDIAN JIM MORRISON. even at the time i kept thinking that this dude is a total jock POSEUR with no real perspective or sense of IDENTITY outside of cliched and pathetically GENERIC CHRISTIAN-influenced ideated fantasies surrounding a simplistically BINARY good-versus-evil WORLDVIEW. its obvious his deep EDDIE VEDDER-esque VOICE, which sadly passed for TALENT (and unfortunately set the standard in the market), and not his LYRICAL IDEAS were his selling point. lyrically the GREAT ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands seemed to be dancing in this psychic zone where morality is complicated and truth is relative. that was what made listening to ALICE IN CHAINS, NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN and SCREAMING TREES on a LYRICAL level so COMPELLING since you very much got the sense that you were riding shotgun to a deep exploration of LAYNE STALEY / KURT COBAIN / CHRIS CORNELL / MARK LANEGAN's innermost FEARS, ADDICTIONS, FRAILITIES and PERSONAL FAILURES. with STAPP you are denied that and instead is this FACSIMILE in TONE but TOTAL COP-OUT in terms of CONTENT. this proclivity for VAPID and knuckle-draggingly HORRENDOUS CHRISTIAN-themed lyrics would only grow WORSE on successive releases which sadly became very popular. but the first album is relatively not that bad. it is also not that great either. its just meh and sadly that was the peak of my initial interest in the band. in short order they quickly became a JOKE. i wouldnt recommend MY OWN PRISON or any of their records, but would point for someone interested in POST GRUNGE to skip that genre and just search out REAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands like ALICE IN CHAINS, MELVINS, SCREAMING TREES, NIRVANA, MUDHONEY, SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM and even STONE TEMPLE PILOTS for actual context. after that they can pursue the LACKLUSTER IMITATORS and CHARLATANS that came directly after to their hearts delight. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
where i work there is always this LAME MUZAK being played nonstop for hours on end in a loop that is more than a bit AGGRAVATING, DEHUMANIZING and just plain DEMORALIZING in retrospect. thats why i try to be in the back of the place with some of the workers from places like COLOMBIA and the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC who blast out CUMBIA, SON and SALSA MUSIC, and basically just party while getting work done. its that UPLIFTING and INFECTIOUS RHYTHMIC FLOW that made me thing about the ONGOING ONDATROPICA project by MARIO GALEANO (of FRENTE CUMBIERO) and LONDON DJ WILL HOLLAND (of QUANTIC) that essentially celebrates COLOMBIAN MUSIC with over 35 MUSICIANS participating.
both of their albums ONDATROPICA (SOUNDWAY, 2012) and BAILE BUCANERO (SOUNDWAY, 2016) are the types of records you just put on and float away down the line with a pop in your step. ive been LUCKY enough to have visited COLOMBIA twice and experienced some of their MUSIC in person, and it is essentially just FUN exemplified. ONDATROPICA is an introduction into that RICH MUSICAL and CULTURAL TRADITION and is most definitely worth checking out.
parodies by nacrowe
even in the MODERN pantheon of TRANSCENDENT SONGWRITERS, that undoubtedly includes the likes of JOHN LENNON / PAUL MACCARTNEY, TRENT REZNOR, MARVIN GAYE, COLE PORTER, NEIL YOUNG, DOLLY PARTON, STEVIE WONDER, MORRISSEY / JOHNNY MARR, Q-TIP, DAVID BOWIE, JOHNNY CASH, RAY CHARLES, CAROL KING, SAM COOKE, PRINCE and BOB DYLAN, in my opinion LOU REED still very much remains unquestionably atop such PROMINENT company. its one thing to be technically PROFICIENT or ever VIRTUOSIC on an instrument, with the required PHYSICAL DEXTERITY and coordination to pull off COMPLICATED sequences. it is another entirely to have the EMOTIONAL CAPACITY and IMAGINATIVE ABILITY to translate musical ideas, BASIC or ADVANCED, into FORMS that touch and heal the soul. for some reason people confuse the two and it is MADDENING.
in my mind, the SONGWRITING of REED is more of a PERSPECTIVE or an EXPERIENCE rather than a catalogue of songs, very much like great ART, CINEMA or LITERATURE transcends its MEDIUM into that of a HIGHER realm of CONCEPTS, MOODS and FEELINGS. undoubtedly part of that urge to create is about the need to ESCAPE, and all of those aforementioned SONGWRITERS did such to one degree or another, but with REED it very much feels he used ESCAPISM as a TOOL to cut deeper and expose in HARSH, COLD, BRUTAL detail the UNSPOKEN, HARROWING aspects of the HUMAN CONDITION. the CRUELTY, the LONELINESS, the very ABSURDITY of life. when i think of REED i think of that. that and NEW YORK CITY. never has a SONGWRITER been so singularly identified with a specific location and representative of the both the SEEDY and CELEBRATED aspects of society therein, from IMPATIENT FIENDS waiting for their heroin connect on a corner in SPANISH HARLEM, to UNDERGROUND ARTISTS and their SYCOPHANTIC underlings in the MEAT PACKING DISTRICT to ASPIRATIONAL TRANSVESTITE ACTRESSES in the LOWER EAST SIDE. it goes on and his eye for detail and EMPATHY is what shines through, even when the subject is coarse and unflinchingly REAL. its that INTEGRITY and AUTHENTICITY of his VOICE and his words that transcend his songs, similarly to DYLAN, from ROCK N ROLL lyrics to VERITABLE POETRY. to my taste DYLAN was more interested in the finer aspects of AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC traditions and his WORLDVIEW is emblematic of such, whereas REED is more about juxtaposing EXPERIMENTAL sounds (of the STRAIGHTFORWARD, DISSONANT, COMPLEX and/or INCOHERENT varieties) with the EMOTIONAL STRUGGLE, SPIRITUAL PLIGHT and EXISTENTIAL DREAD of MODERN URBAN LIFE. i hear aspects of REED in all sorts of HIP HOP, especially with regards to that PALPABLE sense of the STRUGGLE to become something GREATER. the music itself is a collection of found parts that in concert create something more emotionally RESONANT. it is the very MUSICAL EXPRESSION of the LYRICAL CONTENT, which is striving to REINTERPRET, REPURPOSE and RE-CONTEXTUALIZE a DEGRADED, DIMINISHED and societally DISMISSED LIVED EXPERIENCE into that of an ELEVATED CONSCIOUSNESS to help uplift communities. i believe REED was on that tip with his HONESTY and ability to EFFECTIVELY communicate REALITY. he wasnt attempting to inspire through falsehoods, but UNVARNISHED, close-up looks into the mirror of our collective improprieties. REST IN PEACE LOU REED. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the catalogue of the LEGENDARY NEW YORK SONGWRITER LOU REED. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
FEVER IN FEVER OUT (GRAND ROYAL, 1996) was such a MASSIVE album and i can personally attest that the single "NAKED EYE" was absolutely INESCAPABLE at the time. in fact it was practically the soundtrack to my freshman year of high school and the WONDERFUL memories of being bullied mercilessly at an ELITE NEW ENGLAND boarding school. i can only imagine the whirlwind of attention and expectation that followed suit for the band, who previously enjoyed a more stable UNDERGROUND reputation as a THOUGHTFUL and musically SOPHISTICATED, UPBEAT NEW YORK CITY ALTERNATIVE ROCK band with an URBAN, infectiously DANCEABLE SOUND and AESTHETIC and personal ties to the BEASTIE BOYS (KATE SHELLENBACH was their original DRUMMER). by the time the follow-up ELECTRIC HONEY (GRAND ROYAL, 1999) came around three years later, the four-piece became a three-piece with the AMICABLE departure of founding KEYBOARDIST VIVIAN TRIMBLE, who grew weary of life on the road and understandably wanted to stay more attuned to life back in NEW YORK CITY.
although ELECTRIC HONEY in comparison a bit more sonically STRIPPED-BACK with less of an emphasis on outright GROOVE, what takes its place of prominence in the mix is the GORGEOUS interplay of sung VOCAL HARMONIES, especially during CHORUSES, between JILL CUNNIFF and GABBY GLASER. it seems obvious that the line-up shift influenced this new emphasis on a hidden aspect of their SOUND that was their all along, but on songs like "CHRISTINE" and "LADYFINGERS" really make that point all too apparent. that is not to say they abandoned their SOUND as CONTAGIOUS, almost neo-DISCO numbers like "SUMMER DAZE" and "NERVOUS BREAKTHROUGH" as well as more SHOEGAZE-y, hypnotically HAZY tracks like "ALIEN LOVER" and "SEXY HYPNOTIST" will attest. while there is no single with the UNFORESEEN widespread appeal of "NAKED EYE" hidden in its midst of ELECTRIC HONEY, i'd argue its track-listing is more sonically VARIED than past releases. so many STRONG songs. until their reunion a decade and a half later, this would be the final recorded effort of their initial run. the BEASTIE BOYS' owned GRAND ROYAL label that released their three major releases followed suit two years later. it was the end of an era. to me LUSCIOUS JACKSON is one of those singularly ECLECTIC bands that could only come from a DIVERSE place like NEW YORK CITY. their music just inherently had that UNIQUE PULSE and SENSIBILITY that comes with walking down a crowded street in the city and cacophony of OVERLAPPING MUSICAL STYLES being thrown your way from apartments, stores, cell phones and subway ghetto-blasters. two decades later that GENRE-LESS MINDSET is arguably adopted by most MODERN MUSICIANS that grew up on STREAMING MUSIC and instant access to everything at the touch of a button. i feel like LUSCIOUS JACKSON in that respect were well ahead of their time and ELECTRIC HONEY, much as its immediate predecessor FEVER IN FEVER OUT, are ESSENTIAL listening. most definitely worth checking out. RIP VIVIAN TRIMBLE photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
as a film minor in college, i came to learn and explore EXPLOITATION FILMS via DIRECTORS from the 1960s and 70s like RUSS MEYER (FASER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!), JOHN WATERS (PINK FLAMINGOS, FEMALE TROUBLE) and JACK HILL (COFFY, FOXY BROWN, SPIDER BABY) among others. i paid particular attention to most every genre with the exception of one: HORROR. which is probably why i was a late bloomer to the FOUNDATIONAL cinematic work of WILLIAM CASTLE and his REVOLUTIONARY MARKETING and GIMMICK-LADEN PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS in support of such throughout the 1950s and 60s. more MASTER PROMOTIONAL MANIPULATOR and CARNIVAL-BARKING SALESMAN than FILM AUTEUR, the life of CASTLE is lovingly recounted and contextualized by his peers, coworkers, followers and family in the recent documentary SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY (AUTOMAT, 2007).
for those that are UNFAMILIAR with the term, EXPLOITATION FILMS were B-MOVIE MOTION PICTURES brazenly devised in order to take advantage of an ongoing trend or current event with often SENSATIONALIZED PLOTS and absolutely SHAMELESS use of GIMMICKRY. back in the day films were often showcased as DOUBLE FEATURES, with the FEATURE FILM being the big-actor, WELL-PRODUCED MARQUEE FILM and the B-MOVIE a more EXPLOITATIVE, CHEAPER, often LESS SOPHISTICATED film shown as an opener. there are so many sub-genres of such that have arisen since the 1950s that include everything form SEXPLOITATION, BLAXPLOITATION, SURFER FILMS, BIKER MOVIES, THRILLERS, WOMEN-PRISON-FILMS and so on. although not widely considered as such these days due to their perennial popularity, HORROR FILMS is itself an EXPLOITATION sub-genre. their HOOK or GIMMICK is that they are going after a demographic that specifically seeks the experience of being FRIGHTENED. and CASTLE, much like ALFRED HITCHCOCK (whose FILMS are often tagged with the more ESTEEMED title of SUSPENSE), recognized such early on in the game. it should be noted that the EXPLOITATION tag is not a DEROGATORY epithet by an stretch of the imagination, as JOHN WATERS even explains in the FILM, as all FILMS are in essence EXPLOITATIVE in some regard. CASTLE was born in NEW YORK CITY but became an OPHAN during his adolescence, which undoubtedly affected his sense of IDENTITY for the rest of his life, especially with regards to the DEVASTATING potential for loss with regards to success and family. his need for attention, validation and glamour found him interested in THEATER and he fought and crawled his way into working on BROADWAY as a STAGE MANAGER where he became a peer of ORSON WELLES. through the WELLES connection he was given a venue outside of the city where he put on a play he devised for a recently arrived GERMAN actress. this actress was called back to GERMANY shortly before WWII and CASTLE manipulated the PRESS twice to PROMOTE his production. the first was that he told them (falsely) that he wrote a letter to ADOLF HITLER stating that he would not allow his star to return home and the second was that he told the PRESS that he would not stop production in the face of recent NAZI graffiti plastered all over the front of the THEATER (apparently done by CASTLE himself). the PROPAGANDANDIZED PUBLICITY drew ENORMOUS crowds to the largely LACKLUSTER production. this ability to manipulate the PRESS was CASTLE's ace in the hole as a PRODUCER and served him well throughout his later FILM CAREER and is a major part of his continued LEGACY. upon arrival in LOS ANGELES, CASTLE worked under the wing of the universally REVILED, FEARED and RESPECTED head of COLUMBIA PICTURES, HARRY COHN. he worked his way up to B-MOVIE DIRECTOR where he specialized in making ON-BUDGET, ON-SCHEDULE FILMS of DUBIOUS quality that made MONEY. such a BANKABLE reputation as an EFFICIENT OPERATOR is not a negative in the least, but is what you want in a B-MOVIE DIRECTORS from the studio's perspective. under the STUDIO SYSTEM, proven DIRECTORS that could flourish given LIMITED BUDGETS worked their way up to making FEATURES. CASTLE was so good at it that he basically stayed at that level. during this period he found and bought the rights to a PROPERTY he thought would help him transition to FEATURES, a MYSTERY PULP novel by RAYMOND SHERWOOD KING entitled IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE (ACE BOOKS, 1938). unfortunately COHN optioned it from CASTLE and made it the next RITA HAYWORTH-fronted WELLES project THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (COLUMBIA, 1947), now very much considered a FILM NOIR classic. eventually he left the studio and went INDEPENDENT and made a two LEGENDARY HORROR FILMS, MACABRE (WILLIAM CASTLE PRODUCTIONS, 1958) and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (WILLIAM CASTLE PRODUCTIONS, 1959) that garnered him fame and FINANCIAL SUCCESS before COLUMBIA PICTURES came back and backed his work thereafter. the reason this COLLABORATIVE arrangement with COLUMBIA PICTURES worked was that as PRODUCER, SCREENWRITER and DIRECTOR of his own FILMS, CASTLE controlled his productions and made everything on a SHOESTRING BUDGET and devised a series of GIMMICKY promotional campaigns aimed at kids that reaped in a FINANCIAL WINDFALL. these GIMMICKS included buzzers on seats (THE TINGLER), INSURANCE POLICIES collectible upon DEATH by next of kin from FRIGHT in THEATER (MACABRE), INFLATABLE SKELETONS flying in on wires across MOVIE SCREENS (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL), MONEY-BACK GUARANTEES and so on. it was a DIFFERENT era in the 1950s that basically ended with the collective loss of national innocence when JFK was ASSASSINATED in 1963. shit got real then and CASTLE did other things to DIMINISHING RETURNS throughout the 60s. in the late 1960s he found another PROPERTY that he bought the rights to that he hoped to utilize as a potential VEHICLE for another attempt to transition to FEATURES as a DIRECTOR but was again conned by PARAMOUNT PICTURES this time into relinquishing ROSEMARY'S BABY (PARAMOUNT, 1968) to ROMAN POLANSKI where he stayed on as a PRODUCER. this was basically his last hurrah as the 1970s found SLASHER B-MOVIES come into fashion that were more EXPLICIT and BRUTAL in nature to his decidedly OUTMODED HORROR FILMS of the 1950s and early 1960s. his CINEMATIC LEGACY is one of innovation in terms of bridging the fourth wall with his audience and providing a SHOWMAN's GOOD-NATURED human touch to his productions. both JOHN WATERS and ROGER CORMAN participated in this documentary and attest to the power of such PROMOTIONAL TACTICS in their own work. the TRAGEDY of it all is that CASTLE had a deep need to prove himself worthy of LOVE and AFFECTION and those GIMMICKS were utilized long after his name became recognized on the MARQUEE and were unneeded. the potential for the loss of such ADORATION by his audience and his family alike was the REAL FEAR that drove and defined his life. the documentary is a testament that such worry was UNWARRANTED given the ENDURING APPEAL and influence of his FILMS on a whole swath of FILM IRECTORS raised on EXPLOITATION FILMS from throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s of which his name is undoubtedly at the vanguard of. that CASTLE DIED not knowing such LOVE and AFFECTION existed on his behalf is much SCARIER than any haunted house or VOLATILE axe-wielding psychopath. photo & text by nacrowe
sometimes with art there is no pretext or subtext, there is just the TEXT. and i can safely attest that all five of the zines brought together in this PIZZA PUNKS COLLECTION (CONUNDRUM PRESS, 2021) by CANADIAN artist COLE PAULS is just that: a celebration of all things PUNK ROCK and PIZZA. originally just an excuse for SELF-EXPRESSION and EXPERIMENTALISM with the graphic novel format and later a dedicated art school project, this collection does not bother much with BASIC aspects of LITERARY ELEMENTS like CONFLICT, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT or even PLOT per se, instead reveals a series of ABRUPT visual VIGNETTES into the PUNK ROCK underground and how such is fueled by, you guessed it, PIZZA.
for me the FUN of experiencing this collection is obviously not the more FORMAL elements of STORY CONSTUCTION, but the LOVE and CARE that PAULS obviously put into his STARK black-and-white IMAGERY and the minutiae of details related to the scene from the PINS, STUDS and PATCHES on participants jean jackets to the BEARDS and SHAVED HEADS that demarcate SUBCULTURES from the GNARLY HESHERS to the TIGHTLY-WOUND STRAIGHT-EDGERS. its all lovingly depicted in these PANELS and seemingly PIZZA is again the thing that unites them all. only in CANADA, eh? my personal FAVORITE part of this collection were the PUNK ROCK and HARDCORE album sleeve PARODIES that showcased ICONIC records with PIZZA-infused IMAGERY such as THE RAMONES' ROCKET TO PIZZA, THE CRAMPS' BAD PIZZA FOR BAD PEOPLE, SONIC YOUTH's GOOEY, BLACK FLAG's PIZZA WAR, THE CLASH's PIZZA CALLING, FUGAZI's A STEADY DIET OF PIZZA and THE CIRCLE JERKS' GOLDEN SHOWER OF PIZZA as particular highlights. its all so RIDICULOUS that its hard to not find UNIRONIC JOY in the ABSURDITY. PERFECT for a satirizing a scene that notoriously has no HUMOR and takes itself way-too-seriously. the PIZZA PUNKS COLLECTION is definitely something that you have to take for what it is, and that is a celebration of the good things in life (i.e. PUNK ROCK and PIZZA). can't argue or find any fault with that. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
sometimes you come across something so WONDERFUL that it makes you temporarily forget about what a TOXIC CESSPOOL the internet actually is. such is the ACE VANE YOUTUBE channel which showcases wildly OVERDUBBED takes on CLASSIC saturday morning CARTOONS from yesteryear such as the SUPER FRIENDS (ABC, 1973-85) and the SHORT-LIVED THE ALL-NEW SUPERFRIENDS HOUR (ABC, 1978) and CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER FRIENDS (ABC, 1978) among many others. instead of talking about JUSTICE LEAGUE stuff related to saving the world and promoting HUMANISTIC VALUES, ACE VANE turns such into EXTANDED ADULT SWIM-inspired VULGAR RANTS on CRUDE DESCRIPTIONS of SEXUAL ACTS, WANTON VIOLENCE, PETTY insular RIVALRIES and his favorite topic: INSUFFERABLE INANITY.
i learned about ACE VANE this week after he put out an ANIMATION that made the rounds clowning FORMER THE SOURCE owner and ALLEGED rapper BENZINO and his recent BOTCHED interview on the DRINK CHAMPS YOUTUBE channel in which he drunkenly cried over his NEVER-ENDING decades-long beef with LEGENDARY rapper EMINEM. going further into his catalogue i found a COMEDIC goldmine that i am still very much making my way through. i dont know how this dude doesnt have a show already on cable because this stuff made me LAUGH so hard my stomach hurt. its all so CLEVERLY WRITTEN and just so incredibly MEAN-SPIRITED. definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
the 1990s were an INTRIGUING adventure for the IRISH ROCK N ROLL band U2. they effectively shed their EARNEST, DO-GOODER image by taking on PERSONAS and CHARACTERS (i.e. THE FLY, THE MIRRORBALL MAN, MR. MACPHISTO) and playing overtly with concepts such as IRONY, SATIRE and PASTICHE common in both the 20th century DADA and POP ART movements. in essence the whole decade with its three albums, ACHTUNG BABY (ISLAND, 1991), ZOOROPA (ISLAND, 1991) and POP (ISLAND, 1991) were an exercise in the artistic freedom of not being yourself on record in the vein of DAVID BOWIE, THE BEATLES and LOU REED. arguably this approach started off incredibly with arguably the greatest record of their career to date, but came with diminishing returns soon after.
it appeared by the close of the decade that the band was CUTTING OFF THEIR PROVERBIAL NOSE TO SPITE THEIR FACE in the sense that singer-songwriter BONO was their major asset and differentiating factor in the marketplace, and it made little sense to diminish such on further releases. ACHTUNG BABY worked because it was such a CONCEPTUAL, VISUAL and SONIC departure in both STYLE and SUBSTANCE from their catalogue and really gave the band room to breathe and not be imprisoned by their own COLLECTIVE SINCERITY and AUTHENTIC, GOOD-WILLED nature. a one-off is nice, but a series of releases is a new trajectory and by the time of ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND (ISLAND, 2000) was released at the turn of the new millennium, it represented a new BACK-TO-BASICS, RETURN-TO-FORM era that harkened back to their IMPASSIONED and RIGHTEOUS 1980s heyday on albums like WAR (ISLAND, 1983), THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE (ISLAND, 1984) and especially THE JOSHUA TREE (ISLAND, 1987). the band has been on that tip ever since. CELEBRATED tracks include the ANTHEMIC, HIGH-ENERGY and unironically OPTIMISTIC singles "BEAUTIFUL DAY" and "ELEVATION." taken together they represent an almost QUASI-RELIGIOUS testimonial to the power and glory of being live and feeling connected to the world. i can only imagine the feeling of writing those songs with those LYRICS in a TINY, STERILE recording setting and then the rush of having the world reciprocate that SENTIMENT directly back at you throughout global soccer and football arenas filled to capacity. but for me the tracks that standout are the more INTIMATE "NEW YORK," "KITE," and "WHEN I LOOK AT THE WORLD" which both take advantage of STRUCTURED DYNAMICS in which MASSIVE build-up CRESCENDOS take root from SOFTLY-SUNG, LILTED MELODIES. guitarist THE EDGE really outdoes himself on the LEAD SECTIONS which are highly EMOTIVE and expertly and efficiently composed and executed. you cant tell that it took all that UNBRIDLED EXPERIMENTALISM from the past decade to achieve those MINIMALIST GUITAR MELODIES that are that emotionally RAW. my recollection of this album is completely SKEWED by what came after it, namely the passing of JOEY RAMONE in the spring of 2001 and of course, 9/11. there was a certain NATIONAL CATHARSIS that happened in the UNITED STATES when U2 played the SUPER BOWL that year and paid tribute to the VICTIMS. i remember living with a relative in SACRAMENTO, half a world away from my family in KUWAIT (where i was on 9/11), and seeing the name i knew on that projected list while the band played. U2 is the type of band that has that sort of relationship with its audience where that fourth wall of pretense and bullshit can sometimes be temporarily dismissed and real SENTIMENT and reciprocated EMPATHY can traverse back and forth in a loop. in fact, i am having a DIFFICULT time thinking of another band that has that sort of effect. COLDPLAY aspires to such and the FOO FIGHTERS or GREEN DAY may have similarities in that regard but U2 undoubtedly has such in spades. 9/11 was such a MOMENT when the band definitely comforted and supported the UNITED STATES deal with the gravity of such an UNFORESEEN and severe CALAMITY. a few months early, in fact the spring of my junior year of high school when i was in KUWAIT, RAMONE famously was listening to "IN A LITTLE WHILE" when he passed away from LYMPHOMA. since childhood, RAMONE was a hero to both my brother and i. it felt like a part of our identity left with him, especially being in such a foreign environment. that U2 brought him SOLACE at the time of his passing also seems very much indicative of their PALPABLE trademark aura of EMPATHY, COMPASSION and GOOD-WILL. do i think this is their STRONGEST record? no. people will argue between THE JOSHUA TREE and ACHTUNG BABY forever (for the record: im firmly on the ACHTUNG BABY side), but ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND is nowhere near that level. but although i dont find it to be an ESSENTIAL U2 release, i do feel that it was an important TRANSITIONAL effort that laid the groundwork for MEMORABLE and QUALITY subsequent releases. seems ODD and eve WRONG to say this, but also it was released at an opportune time when the UNITED STATES arguably needed them the most after 9/11. to me this record speaks to that will to look ahead, create, move forward and look optimistically towards the future even in the face of wanton DESTRUCTION, DEATH and UNADULTERATED EVIL. im not a christian, but ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND feels very CATHOLIC to me. in the best way possible. less POPE BENEDICT IX and more ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. definitely recommended. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
not that ISIS.
the EXPERIMENTAL BOSTON POST METAL pioneers ISIS were one of the most INNOVATIVE and REVERED bands of the early 2000s right up until their dissolution in 2010. they had this singular sonic aesthetic that seemed to split the difference between SLUDGE METAL and WEST AFRICAN POLYRHYTHMS and treated VOCALS as another INSTRUMENT rather than a primary focus that contextualizes the SONG. same thing compositionally since the band did not adhere to TRADITIONAL verse-chorus-verse STRUCTURES, instead almost providing an EXPERIENTIAL and CINEMATIC aural narrative with a seeming beginning, middle and end. first time i heard ISIS was in a live setting with my brother when they were the opening band for TOOL on a leg of their tour supporting LATERALUS (VOLCANO, 2001) and were just absolutely floored and entranced by their RAW, EMOTIONAL INTENSITY. i dont think the band gets the due they deserve outside their enduring RABID POST METAL cult following. definitely one of the great UNSUNG bands of the last quarter century and absolutely well worth checking out.
parodies by nacrowe
ever since i spent some extended time firsthand observing my RECORDING ENGINEER cousin and the ARTISTRY and seemingly LIMITLESS production capacities currently available via MODERN DIGITAL RECORDING and PRODUCTION SOFTWARE ranging from PROTOOLS to LOGIC to ABLETON to even FL STUDIO and beyond, it just all got me thinking back to the MENTALITY of making records half a century before when there was much more LIMITED TECHNOLOGY. in the 1950s, 60s and 70s with a FIXED amount of TRACKS available, one had to commit to a PERFORMANCE and a COMPOSITION, production 'mistakes' be damned. it also meant MUSICIANSHIP and CHEMISTRY was at a PREMIUM since the quicker the turnaround was, the less the final bill was for EXPENSIVE professional RECORDING STUDIO time.
such was where a TALENTED specialized new breed of STUDIO MUSICIAN appeared that could quickly surmise and internalize a PRODUCER's COMPOSITION and play such flawlessly under INTENSE pressure and short notice. MUSCLE SHOALS in ALABAMA, the FUNK BROTHERS in DETROIT (who worked exclusively with MOTOWN RECORDS) and most famously THE WRECKING CREW in LOS ANGELES are all examples of loose collectives of STUDIO MUSICIANS that had CHEMISTRY with one another and recorded various NOTEWORTHY TRACKS for TOP-END ARTISTS. when BRIAN WILSON did not want to tour anymore and instead hunker down at home and compose the new album, no problem. such was the case famously with PET SOUNDS (CAPITOL, 1966) which was recorded with THE WRECKING CREW and for which the other BEACH BOYS merely sang on for the most part. the whole topic of SESSION/STUDIO MUSICIANS i perennially find INTRIGUING. just the idea that they as part of their NORMAL course of business will learn what they are being asked to play upon arrival. the MUSICAL RANGE and TECHNICAL VIRTUOSITY required to do such and the DEFT CRAFTSMANSHIP to work and collaborate seamlessly with an UNKNOWN collective just sounds daunting beyond belief. this sort of thing still exists today, but it is often coordinated through direct relationships with PRODUCERS who call in help for specific punch-ins when budgets and timelines are tight. GUITARIST JOHN 5 (MARILYN MANSON, ROB ZOMBIE, MOTLEY CRUE, DAVID LEE ROTH) and DRUMMER JOSH FREESE (A PERFECT CIRCLE, NINE INCH NAILS, DEVO, THE VANDALS, FOO FIGHTERS) are prominent examples of MODERN STUDIO and LIVE TOURING MUSICIANS of the first-order that were so IN-DEMAND that they were offered full-time gigs by multiple ACTS. these days VERSATILITY and AVAILABILITY are key, as well as the ability to vibe well with an ARTIST or PRODUCER. in that way it feels a bit DIFFERENT than past examples like JIMMY PAGE (LED ZEPPELIN, THE YARDBIRDS) and JAMES BURTON (ELVIS PRESLEY, RICKY NELSON, THE EVERLY BROTHERS) did a generation or two ago. today a successful studio musician has to wear several hats and be ready to immediately strike should an opportunity present itself, even at the top of the industry. listening back at the songs performed on record by THE WRECKING CREW presents an NOSTALGIC EXPERIENCE of studio budgets and the luxury of having time to build a UNIQUE CHEMISTRY between PLAYERS over COUNTLESS SESSIONS. that ALCHEMY of CREATIVITY seems to have been squeezed out of RECORDING or at least transmuted to the HIRED GUN game with need for QUALITY PLAYERS for live performances. which is UNFORTUNATE but such is PROGRESS when virtually anyone can produce something DECENT even on the most BASIC of RECORDING SOFTWARE. even GARAGEBAND. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the MAJOR culturally SIGNIFICANT songs recorded by the extended collective of LOS ANGELES STUDIO MUSICIANS now as THE WRECKING CREW. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
i mean this is it.
when you consider 1980s HARDCORE PUNK ROCK there are arguably a few immediate bands that come to mind: BAD BRAINS, DEAD KENNEDYS, CIRCLE JERKS, MINOR THREAT, D.O.A., THE MISFITS and BLACK FLAG. and THE FIRST FOUR YEARS (SST, 1983) compilation is in essence a re-release of all the ICONIC pre-HENRY ROLLINS INDEPENDENT EPS such as NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (SST, 1979), JEALOUS AGAIN (SST, 1980) and SIX PACK (SST, 1981) when the band was fronted by a succession of VOCALISTS from KEITH MORRIS to RON REYES to DEZ CADENA. it doesnt get more ground zero than these AGGRESSIVE and extremely RAW PERFORMANCES of "NERVOUS BREAKDOWN", "NO VALUES," "WASTED," "CLOCKED IN," "WHITE MINORITY" and "FIX ME" in the history of HARDCORE or INDEPENDENT music writ large in the UNITED STATES. by the time ROLLINS joined in 1981 BLACK FLAG was well on their way to carving out an INDEPENDENT circuit of small veteran affair halls, elks lodges, backyards, bowling alleys and NONTRADITIONAL concert venues that would later be utilized and exploited in the 1990s by ALTERNATIVE ROCK and INDIE ROCK bands alike. these SONGS were the core of the gospel they spread and BLACK FLAG were nothing if not CULTURAL PIONEERS in that sense, along with fellow travelers in THE CRAMPS, VANCOUVER HARDCORE act D.O.A. and COLLEGE ROCK acts like R.E.M. and THE REPLACEMENTS it should be noted during the same period. i was aware of the band going back to elementary school years through reading KURT COBAIN interviews where he mentioned them along with the likes of FLIPPER and THE RAINCOATS, but it wasnt until high school that i was clued into them via a childhood friend i was visiting at the turn of the millennium in SOUTHER CALIFORNIA. through this friend i gained an APPRECIATION and context for what previously i experienced as DISCORDANT NOISE and SLOPPY MUSICIANSHIP. after that education getting to sear FEAR on that trip it dawned on me the UNRELENTING ENERGY and UNBRIDLED FURY that the MUSIC unleashed in a crowd. something clicked. it was as if BLACK FLAG was a soundtrack to that VIOLENT release of pent-up AGGRESSION and FRUSTRATION that comes with living in this country. that feel of SUBLIMATION rooted in being poked at by superiors at work, in the media, at the bank and at school to conform and acquiesce to the man. it was TRANSFORMATIVE and the music to me seemed more aligned with another COUNTERCULTURE HERO whose MUSIC i had come to know intimately when my family lived in NIGERIA a few years earlier: FELA KUTI. GREG GINN's furiously PRIMITIVE GUITAR WORK and these various VOCALISTS screeching their EXPLOSIVE DISSATISFACTION with society all came to be the same COHESIVE EXPRESSION in my understanding and i thank my friend for opening that door for me. also, the RAYMOND PETTIBON ARTWORK on those early EPs are SINGULAR in their absolute DEVASTATING DEPICTIONS of SOCIETAL COERCION and the physical BRUTALITY of VOILENCE. as someone that was repeatedly hazed in high school, discovering PETTIBON took me unflinchingly right back to the moment of ABUSE. the PERFECT primer for the proper MINDSET for listening to BLACK FLAG no doubt. THE FIRST FOUR YEARS is an ESSENTIAL release by an absolutely ICONIC band. it is a release well worth checking out and returning to again and again. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
its mind-boggling to consider all of the effectively ANONYMOUS ARTISTS and MUSICIANS that have meaningfully and actively participated in the creation of ICONIC WORKS in the ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, from CINEMATOGRAPHERS, SCRIPTWRITERS and EDITORS in FILM to PRODUCERS and RECORDING ENGINEERS in MUSIC. these UNSUNG PROFESSIONALS provide an absolutely INSTRUMENTAL service in the development and production of ART with little if not ZERO fanfare or POPULAR RECOGNITION by the wider public.
such an ASYMETRICAL DYNAMIC is also the case with SUPPORTING MUSICIANS, or SIDEMEN. the SIDEMEN: LONG ROAD TO GLORY (RED HAWK, 2016) documentary in particular focuses on this PHENOMENA with a close look at the life and careers of three LEGENDARY BLUES SIDEMEN in PIANIST PINETOP PERKINS and DRUMMER WILLIE "BIG EYES" SMITH (both of MUDDY WATERS fame) and the much CELEBRATED and singularly INFLUENTIAL GUITARIST HUBERT SUMLIN (of HOWLIN' WOLF fame). all three where close friends and BLUES survivors into their senior years before dying months apart from one another in 2011. post-RECONSTRUCTION, JIM CROW laws throughout the AMERICAN SOUTH effectively perpetuated the SEPARATE and very UNEQUAL TREATMENT of AFRICAN AMERICANS, which led to a MASSIVE MOVEMENT at the beginning of the 20th century to northern cities like PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK CITY and CHICAGO for BETTER jobs and working conditions in what is known as THE GREAT MIGRATION. part of what was transported up to CHICAGO in particular was the DELTA BLUES, which became electrified in the hands of MUDDY WATERS and HOWLIN' WOLF in a NEW VARIATION promoted by CHESS RECORDS known as the CHICAGO BLUES. along with LABEL-MATE CHUCK BERRY, these three ARTISTS were an early triumvirate that INNOVATED and POINTED THE WAY to what would shortly thereafter become ROCK N ROLL. in fact, it is not hyperbole in the least to state that they effectively INVENTED ROCK N ROLL. the INCREDIBLE stakes of their CONTRIBUTIONS to the overall trajectory 20th century MUSIC HISTORY and AMERICAN CULTURE writ large is what makes the CRIMINAL OVERLOOKING of PERKINS, SMITH and SUMLIN outside dedicated MUSICIANS' circles so DEVASTATING. SUMLIN and his EMOTIVE, LYRICAL and ATMOSPHERIC GUITAR LICKS for HOWLIN' WOLF in particular was a DIRECT INFLUENCE on later GUITARISTS ranging from JIMI HENDRIX (who repeatedly stated such), JIMMY PAGE, ROBBIE ROBERSTON, ERIC CLAPTON and a generation of BRITISH INVASION GUITARISTS and SONGWRITERS. to date SUMLIN is still not in the ROCK N ROLL HALL OF FAME which is indicative of his CONFOUNDING STATUS being entirely OVERLOOKED despite IMMEASURABLE INFLUENCE on MODERN MUSIC. this documentary is an effort to change that narrative. the roster of ARTISTS participating in the interviews regarding these three SIDEMEN are full of cultural heavyweights from BONNIE RAITT, JOHNNY WINTER, GREGG ALLMAN (THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND), ROBBY KRIEGER (THE DOORS), KEITH RICHARDS (THE ROLLING STONES), JOE PERRY & BRAD WHITFORD (AEROSMITH) and ELVIN BISHOP (PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND) to more modern players like ERIC GALES, DERICK TRUCKS, WARREN HAYNES (GOV'T MULE, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND), SHEMEKIA COPELAND, JOE BONAMASSA, WALTER TROUT, GUY DAVIS, BOBBY RUSH and KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD among others. seems more than fitting that these well-known CONTEMPORARY MUSICIANS pooled their CLOUT and collective light to shine on these three UNSUNG fellow ARTISTS for the sake of correcting the record for POSTERITY. the SIDEMEN: LONG ROAD TO GLORY film is ESSENTIAL viewing in my opinion. definitely worth checking out irrespective of your INTEREST in the BLUES. photo & text by nacrowe
ARCHITECTURE is one of those constants in our lives that absolutely goes UNNOTICED and UNHERALDED, yet is responsible for the efficiency and quality of our lives relative to our predecessors. its also the type of thing you become aware of when in a developing country with more NASCENT SYSTEMS (such as PLUMBING, ELECTRICITY, WATER, etc.) that make basic tasks that much more difficult. BUILT: THE HIDDEN STORIES BEHIND OUR STRUCTURES (BLOOMSBURY, 2018) is an absolutely ENGROSSING book that serves as a primer to all things STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING for the uninitiated. it explains not only the SCIENCE and PHYSICS at play behind STRUCTURES and how they work, but also the people and the history behind how such knowledge and PROCESSES were innovated and acquired over time. this includes everyone from ARCHIMEDES, FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI, FAZLUR KHAN and HENRY BESSEMER to EMILY ROEBLING, ISAMBARD BRUNEL and ELISHA OTIS among many others.
author ROMA AGRAWAL, herself a STRUCTURAL ENGINEER that worked on the modern LONDON ARCHITECTURAL ICON THE SHARD, displays a deep passion for communicating this core subject in a manner that is both INFORMATIVE and ENGAGING. at no point was i left wondering why i was reading at length about the HISTORY of SEWER CONSTRUCTION since such was related to innovation regarding MATERIALS and the PHYSICS of ARCHES discussed in previous chapters. each chapter, much like the foundation of a STRUCTURE, laid the BASE UNDERSTANDING for subsequently more COMPLEX CONCEPTS that further complicated and built upon such. i left this book with a more NUANCED UNDERSTANDING of the multitude of CONSIDERATIONS that go into conceiving and CONSTRUCTING a BUILDING, with all of its UNDERLYING REQUIREMENTS and VITAL SYSTEMS, than i certainly did before. having lived overseas in several developing countries such as NIGERIA, ALBANIA and MYANMAR, i was always keenly aware of the hardship that comes with a breakdown in BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE and how DISRUPTIVE such can be for the lives of regular people. much of BUILT speaks to the technological marvels of MODERN SKYSCRAPERS and ICONIC BRIDGES, but the heart of the conversation for me is how BASIC FUNCTIONS are going to be addressed globally given the future swelling of the human population and LIMITED RESOURCES. for me those EXISTENTIAL CONCERNS are what will be the true future test of ENGINEERING moving forward and not the CONSTRUCTION of the next BURJ KHALIFA or AKASHI KAIKO BRIDGE. when reading about SEWER SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION and the need for WELL-CONSIDERED WATER PURIFICATION/DISTRIBUTIVE SYSTEMS i could not help but viscerally remember moments abroad where i had no access to either and that is the status quo for a majority of the world's population. i just wonder how much incentive there is out there to utilize this vast TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE to uplift said underserved populations instead of showcase STRUCTURES meant to further cement economic hegemony on a global stage. BUILT is an INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENT that should read by everyone. i found this to be an ESSENTIAL book that very much assisted in adding value to my appreciation for ARCHITECTURE and the SCIENCE and HISTORY behind it. it is most definitely worth checking out. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
May 2024
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