photo & text by nacrowe
in the lead-up to the GLOBAL CULTURAL EXPLOSION that was BRITPOP in the mid 1990s, there were a few INFLUENTIAL preceding scenes that would later coalesce into that DIVERSE and POTENT MUSICAL MOVEMENT. among them were the CONCURRENT SHOEGAZE and ACID HOUSE scenes of the late 1980s, both of which introduced NOVEL RHYTHMS and SONIC TEXTURES to the more TRADITIONAL INDIE ROCK SOUND of yesteryear. post-SMITHS and pre-OASIS there was another INNOVATIVE and absolutely SEMINAL likewise MANCUNIAN band that very much bridged that point of connection in this much ESTEEMED lineage, THE STONE ROSES.
all the ELEMENTS were there. a CHARISMATIC SHAMAN-like singer/poet in IAN BROWN whose URBAN SWAGGER and INDELIBLE, LAID-BACK, MANSPREAD POSTURING presaged LIAM GALLAGHER and evoked the LYRICAL OSCAR WILDE-isms of MORRISSEY. a SINGULAR SOUND that very much incorporated the CYCLICAL RHYTHMS of the homespun MADCHESTER SOUND with a decidedly INTERIOR sense of SCALE and a tinge of PSYCHEDELIA that emotively and sonically marked the SHOEGAZE MOVEMENT. their eponymous debut THE STONE ROSES (RCA, 1989) very much split the TRADITIONALIST POP SENSIBILITIES and POETIC lyricism of THE SMITHS with the more EXPANSIVE SONIC AESTHETICS and NONSENSICAL, somewhat SURREALIST, LYRICAL LEANINGS of OASIS. key tracks include "I WANNA BE ADORED," "SHE BANGS THE DRUMS," "I AM THE RESURECTION," "WATERFALL," "FOOL'S GOLD" and "ELEPHANT STONE." unfortunately due to internal conflict, THE STONE ROSES IMPLODED and never reached their full POTENTIAL. in retrospect many see their potential career trajectory in that of the later OASIS, who even consciously mimicked their achievements in matters such as a holding a likewise MASSIVE outdoor concert at KNEBWORTH. for me the NEAREST CULTURAL ANALOGUE to THE STONE ROSES is the likewise LEGENDARY and massively INFLUENTIAL BAY AREA SKA PUNK band OPERATION IVY who likewise IMPLODED after one national stateside tour despite their UNMITIGATED CREATIVE BRILLIANCE. their example is one of never capitalizing on or living up to the POTENTIAL of their one single full-length, ENERGY (LOOKOUT, 1989). sure, other bands came along and evolved their SOUND, but it was a TRANSFORMED MOMENTUM that forever rendered them a footnote in someone else's narrative (i.e. RANCID. JAWBREAKER, GREEN DAY, DANCEHALL CRASHERS, SUBLIME and NO DOUBT). the debut THE STONE ROSES album is a SEMINAL release by a much BELOVED and REVERED band that pointed the way to the future, even if they did not live on as a unit to take advantage of their CULTURAL ANALOGUE and the decade of music and culture that thrived on it. most definitely worth checking out.
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photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
recently i was introduced to the INVENTIVE POP SONG-CRAFT of one CECILIA DELLA PERUTI, a.k.a. GOTHIC TROPIC. her take on SONGWRITING has a CONFESSIONAL yet HYPER-MODERN, GENRE-DEFYING AESTHETIC that makes sense once you are aware that she formerly toured as a MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST for BECK and CHARLI XCX respectively. her ability to craft MEMORABLE MELODY LINES out of seemingly DISCORDANT ELEMENTS also makes sense given her pedigree as the daughter of an OPERA SINGER and a JAZZ COMPOSER. as a listener, i am just impressed when someone is able to make something STRUCTURALLY and SONICALLY CLEVER sound IMMEDIATE and EARWORM-Y. anyone can imitate CAPTAIN BEEFHEART or THROBBING GRISTLE, but few can make truly EXPERIMENTAL music sound PALATABLE and INTOXICATING a la BJORK, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, GARY NUMAN, MIKE OLDFIELD, CHELSEA WOLFE, DAVID BYRNE or MIKE PATTON.
GOTHIC TROPIC is detinitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
its INTERESTING to look back at the debut BLUR album LEISURE (FOOD, 1991) given the incredibly DIVERSE and ACCOMPLISHED discography of not only frontman DAMON ALBARN, but also guitarist GRAHAM COXON. undoubtedly the band is a PIVOTAL and wildly INFLUENTIAL BRITISH CULTURAL SONGWRITING institution well beyond their BRITPOP association not unlike THE KINKS, T.REX, THE JAM, ELVIS COSTELLO, THE SMITHS, DAVID BOWIE, THE WHO, XTC, THE CLASH and THE BEATLES transcended GENRE before them.
but this is not the album to start with. to my ears LEISURE is the sound of a young ENTHUSIASTIC band getting acquainted with the RECORDING PROCESS and finding their bearings while sounding rather DERIVATIVE. all the hallmarks are there, a little MADCHESTER-esque ACID HOUSE beat here on "THERE'S NO OTHER WAY" (apparently a favorite of KURT COBAIN) that wouldnt sound out of place on a HAPPY MONDAYS, PRIMAL SCREAM or THE STONE ROSES track and a bit of ARTFUL SHOEGAZE DISSONANCE there on "SHE'S SO HIGH" a la LUSH, RIDE or SLOWDIVE. what shines through on those two singles is the QUALITY songwriting, the MEMORABLE guitar lines of COXON and the GENERATIONAL CHARISMA of ALBARN. compared to subsequent releases this album does not hold up beyond those two singles, with ALBARN even stating (probably overzealously) that it was one of the two BAD albums he ever made, the other being THE GREAT ESCAPE (FOOD, 1995). i think that assessment is a bit HARSH, but relative to their peers in OASIS, SUPERGRASS, ELASTICA and SUEDE, all of whom had CLASSIC debut albums, LEISURE is undoubtedly somewhat of a slow start of out the gate. but the growth both MUSICALLY and CONCEPTUALLY in-between this and their sophomore album MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH (FOOD, 1993) is TREMENDOUS and showcases a considered and THOUGHTFUL PERSPECTIVE of BRITISH CULTURE brought on by the TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE of EXTENSIVE INTERNATIONAL TOURING that put their sense of SELF-IDENTITY in context. such would be CREATIVE fodder for several records, if not the whole career of the band and numerous outside ALBARN and COXON projects. i would not state that LEISURE is an essential BLUR release, but it has two great singles and gives a UNIQUE look at a SEMINAL band during its brief NAIVE phase before a long STORIED, CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT TRAJECTORY. photo & text by nacrowe
i felt a bit LET DOWN after reading author DAVE THOMPSON's biography PERRY FARRELL: THE SAGA OF A HYPESTER (ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN, 1995) about the SEMINAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK ICON PERRY FARRELL of JANE'S ADDICTION, PORNO FOR PYROS and LOLLAPALOOZA fame. i should note that the book, which was published in the mid-1990s (no doubt as a cash-grab) begins and concludes with FARRELL's performance with PORNO FOR PYROS at WOODSTOCK 94, which was in support of their self-titled PORNO FOR PYROS (WARNER BROS, 1993) album. it was also before the reunion of JANE'S ADDICTION at the conclusion of the millennium and the two albums since so if anything this narrative and conclusions therein presented are understandably PREMATURE in nature.
all the same, it is more than DISAPPOINTING that THOMPSON's thesis is one which dismisses FARRELL's success as the result of him being a MASTER MANIPULATOR OF THE PRESSER and the seller of UNSUBSTANTIATED HYPE. NOTHING'S SHOCKING (WARNER BROS, 1988) and RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL (WARNER BROS, 1990) decades later stand FIRM and largely UNPARALLELED as COLOSSAL, era-defining ARTISTIC and CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS of the first order and set the table for what has transpired over the next few decades (including FAITH NO MORE, NIRVANA and the like). my hope was that this book would share some insight into the origins of some of these INDELIBLE TRACKS or the relationships between band members, their management and/or their producer. to that extent, major players like DAVE NAVARRO, ERIC AVERY, STEPHEN PERKINS and DAVE JERDEN are barely mentioned, as if they are bit players in this story. unfortunately THE SAGA OF A HYPESTER is mostly concerned with the PROMOTIONAL GAMBITS of FARRELL and the published criticisms of his projects over time, which i have to say is the LEAST INTERESTING aspect of his life narrative. the fact that local rock critics nationwide did not understand his ART on vinyl or in a live setting makes total sense, the DUDE is one of one. even back in the mid-1990s when this was written those opinions and contexts are largely DULL and IRRELEVANT. in essence THE SAGA OF A HYPESTER is more than a LETDOWN, its a MISSED OPPORTUNITY. i feel like i gained little knowledge by way of his process or the meaning behind his ART, which i assume is why most people would even bother with this book. the fact that he spearheaded LOLLAPALOOZA and innovated the CONCERT-GOING EXPERIENCE is likewise in THOMPSON's MYOPIC view without CULTURAL MERIT and full of what amounts to SHAMELESS HYPE. in retrospect i can at least take solace that his thesis was proven INCORRECT, that FARRELL is a universally RESPECTED ALTERNATIVE ROCK VETERAN and SUPPORTIVE ELDER STATESMAN on par with NEIL YOUNG, BOB DYLAN, IGGY POP, DAVID BOWIE and LOU REED. his continued engagement with the youth in terms of locating and promoting EMERGING bands with LOLLAPALOOZA even among his peers puts him in SINGULAR regard as he repeatedly puts that CREATIVE ENERGY back into the CULTURE, back into the musical and artistic communities, back into the very wellspring of creativity like an eternal resource. this book degrades his PERSONA as well as his achievements, even as far as they stood back in the mid 1990s. this book is NOT DEFINITIVE, ESSENTIAL or even worthy of further mention. best proceed and read the much better WHORES: AN ORAL BIOGRAPHY OF PERRY FARRELL AND JANE'S ADDICTION (DA CAPO, 2006) for a more THOUGHTFUL, EXTENSIVE and FAIR take on this ALTERNATIVE ROCK icon. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
just gonna start with the OBVIOUS here.
CHINO MORENO is a singularly TRANSCENDENT FRONTMAN who basically positioned himself as the ESSENTIAL link in the CULTURAL CHAIN, along with his much REVERED IDOL and direct antecedent MIKE PATTON (FAITH NO MORE, MR. BUNGLE), connecting EMOTIVE POST-PUNK SINGERS like MORRISSEY (THE SMITHS), IAN MCCULLOCH (ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN), PETERY MURPHY (BAUHAUS), ROBERT SMITH (THE CURE) and IAN CURTIS (JOY DIVISION) to MODERN highly EXPERIMENTAL POST-HARDCORE SINGERS such as DARYL PALUMBO (GLASSJAW), ANTHONY GREEN (CIRCA SURVIVE, SAOSIN) and CEDRIC BIXLER-ZAVALA (AT THE DRIVE-IN, MARS VOLTA). MORENO of course is RENOWNED for his work with the ICONIC SACRAMENTO ALTERNATIVE ROCK outfit DEFTONES, but in recent years has sought out side-projects that have extended his SONIC PALETTE, including the POST METAL band PALMS (with BRYANT CLIFFORD MEYER, AARON HARRIS and JEFF CAXIDE of ISIS), the SHOEGAZE / TRIP HOP outfit TEAM SLEEP and the decidedly INDUSTRIAL / DARK WAVE ELECTRONIC duo ††† (CROSSES). the beauty of a GENERATIONAL TALENT such as MORENO, (again, like PATTON) is that he can excel in any genre situation he finds himself in, and his listening habits reflect a wide breadth of such GENUINE APPRECIATION. at first glance CROSSES may come across as a CURIOUS creative decision but fans of MORENO are well aware of his ADMIRATION for early SYNTH POP bands like DEPECHE MODE and later DREAM POP acts like the COCTEAU TWINS. both of these INFLUENTIAL bands utilized the EXPANDED palette of ELECTRONIC TEXTURES to create AMBIENT and MELANCHOLIC soundscapes that seemed to evoke a heightened EMOTIVE plane. such seems to be the ARTISTIC ETHOS of CROSSES, if any. now MORENO is a known entity, but his LOCAL SACRAMENTO BANDMATE SHAUN LOPEZ of INFLUENTIAL POST-HARDCORE outfit FAR is a bit of a HIDDEN GEM. dude is the main COMPOSER and MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST that on three EPs and two full-lengths has created an IMMERSIVE world of sound that is as MOROSE and DESOLATE as it is SEXY and INVITING. it is basically the seemingly PERFECT sonic counterpoint for the most commercially VISIBLE non-DEFTONES project his FAMOUS BANDMATE has been identified with. has LEGENDARY and universally REVERED as MORENO's main gig is, CROSSES lives up more than favorably to the EXPECTED and INEVITABLE comparisons. if anything, this venture for over a decade is more SLEEK and consciously MODERN in its APPROACH as well as PRESENTATION, and undoubtedly much of this is due to the OVERFLOWING CREATIVITY of LOPEZ in this context. definitely worth checking out. no doubt. this band is absolutely SICK. photo & text by nacrowe
in the immediate wake of the CULTURAL TSUNAMI that was NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) release, a slew of UNDERGROUND bands from DINOSAUR JR (SIRE), MUDHONEY (REPRISE), THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS (CAPITOL), DANIEL JOHNSTON (REPRISE), HELMET (INTERSCOPE), BAD RELIGION (ATLANTIC), DRIVE LIKE JEHU (INTERSCOPE), JESUS LIZARD (CAPITOL), TAD (WARNER BROS), ROYAL TRUX (VIRGIN), BOREDOMS (REPRISE), WEEN (INTERSCOPE), THE AFGHAN WHIGS (ELEKTRA & COLUMBIA) and MELVINS (ATLANTIC) were absurdly signed to major labels in short order who no doubt had ELEVATED ambitions of FINANCIALLY cashing-in on this UNIQUE GENERATIONAL PHENOMENON. in retrospect it is a testament to the POP CULTURE influence of KURT COBAIN at the time that bands as EXPERIMENTAL and seemingly UNCONVENTIONAL as these would even get a foot in the door, much less a record deal with INTERNATIONAL distribution.
such is the case with MELVINS and their major label debut HOUDINI (ATLANTIC, 1993), which is now considered a SLUDGE METAL classic. COBAIN, a former MELVINS ROADIE and SUPER-FAN, himself was listed as a co-PRODUCER on six tracks but GUITARIST and SINGER-SONGWRITER BUZZ OSBORNE has attested in recent years that such was a formality as the CELEBRATED NIRVANA frontman was sadly high on narcotics for most of the sessions leaving RECORDING ENGINEER GGGARTH to effectively take over the proceedings. that being said, HOUDINI's association with COBAIN garnered it some cache back in the day when everyone was waiting on the follow-up to NEVERMIND. it is the DIZZYING height of irony that COBAIN, who learned and lived the stridently INDEPENDENT DIY ETHOS of the PUNK ROCK lifestyle via his involvement with ABERDEEN hometown heroes in the MELVINS, was the EFFECTIVE reason they were afforded the opportunity to branch out into the MAINSTREAM via ATLANTIC RECORDS. regardless, the UNRELENTING SONIC BRUTALITY of absolutely PUMMELING tracks like "NIGHT GOAT," "HOOCH" and "HONEY BUCKET" is just SIGNATURE MELVINS. along with OZMA (BONER, 1989) and STONER WITCH (ATLANTIC, 1994), its effectively the sound that spawned HIGH ON FIRE, MASTODON, BORIS, TORCHE, SUNN O))), KYLESA and COUNTLESS SLUDGE, STONER and DOOM METAL bands galore. such a legacy is CURIOUS given their close association with SEATTLE and the ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement of that era, especially local LIKE-MINDED fellow "DEEP SIX" bands in SOUNDGARDEN, GREEN RIVER, THE U-MEN, SKIN YARD and MALFUNKSHUN. in essence MELVINS are an SINGULAR group in the HISTORY and LINEAGE of that scene. so effectively the MELVINS have an artfully AGGRESSIVE SONIC AESTHETIC that has long straddled MULTIPLE GENRES and influenced many SUBSEQUENT ACTS. but i think the one thing that hasnt been replicated is their LYRICAL EMBRACE of the ABSURD, mocking the countervailing "HONESTY" and "AUTHENTICITY" posturing that ALTERNATIVE ROCK FIGUREHEADS so readily and unironically embraced as a means of countering their PUNK ROCK guilt for jumping into bed with a major. for OSBORNE and drummer DALE CROVER they had nothing to be ashamed of and thus took it all in stride, lyrically creating almost WEEN-esque DADA FREE-ASSOCIATION experiments with no real COHERENT message. the music was the point. the MELVINS only lasted two more albums on ATLANTIC before being dropped and permanently going back to INDEPENDENT labels, but they milked the situation for all it was worth and were one of the few BANDS BUSINESS SAVVY-enough to not be defined artistically or commercially by their fleeting dalliance with the majors. they went into the relationship expecting it to end and planned accordingly. and they have remained successfully SELF-SUSTAINING to date. for me HOUDINI is an ESSENTIAL release from the 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK era despite its RELATIVE OBSCURITY with no big hits or singles to speak of. but like THE STOOGES or THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, its importance lays in the next generation of MUSICIANS that were exposed to it and initiated their own bands accordingly. most definitely worth checking out, especially as a decent introduction to this ICONIC GROUP. photo & text by nacrowe
FAILURE was one of the truly INCREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands of the 1990s that i am sad to say i didnt learn about until way after the fact. and my excuse isnt even that during much of the mid-to-late 1990s my family was overseas living in NIGERIA during an effectively PRE-INTERNET era where obtaining physical RECORDINGS, especially newer acts, were difficult to say the least to come by. somehow during that era through classmates my extended network of friends id been educated on most of the WEIRD, INNOVATIVE and POPULAR bands of the era, but FAILURE was not one of them.
which still baffles me. because FAILURE's second album MAGNIFIED (SLASH, 1994), as well as their third effort FANTASTIC PLANET (SLASH, 1996), are absolutely REMARKABLE examples of PRODUCTION and SONG-CRAFT even in comparison to the FRUITFUL period in ROCK AND ROLL history especially loaded with such by the likes of seminal acts like SMASHING PUMPKINS, NINE INCH NAILS, TOOL, NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, WEEZER, SOUNDGARDEN, RADIOHEAD, GARBAGE and ALICE IN CHAINS. i dont want to say that they practiced a CLASSIC PROG ROCK aesthetic to their overall SOUND but a key component to such was an adroit use and manipulation of SPACE, starting with the KEN ANDREWS-produced MAGNIFIED. specifically their guitars, bass and drums always sounded absolutely MASSIVE with not overly complicated COMPOSITIONS that very much highlighted that HEIGHTENED sense of VOLUME and WEIGHT, especially on tracks like "FROGS," "UNDONE," "MOTH," "LET IT DRIP," and "MAGNIFIED." during a time when bands were sonically associating AUTHENTICITY with a severely STRIPPED-BACK approach to RECORDING, FAILURE seemingly took the opposite tack and created a AURAL world on MAGNIFIED that was LUSH, CLEAR and absolutely CRUSHING. my introduction to the band itself happened during undergrad in the early 2000s when i learned of the track FANTASTIC PLANET track "THE NURSE WHO LOVED ME" via its CELEBRATED cover on the second THIRTEENTH STEP (VIRGIN, 2003) album by A PERFECT CIRCLE, which is fronted by TOOL singer MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN. incidentally TOOL toured extensively with FAILURE during their initial run as a unit before breaking up and splintering into several bands and a production/mixing career for ANDREWS with the likes of BECK, NINE INCH NAILS, CHRIS CORNELL, BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, PARAMORE and TENACIOUS D among many others. upon hearing MAGNIFIED and FANTASTIC PLANET i was literally stunned and even ashamed that something this HIGH QUALITY had slipped my attention the previous decade. it made me reconsider what other gems i had glossed over and very much put me on an ongoing path for discovering more music of varying genres. what struck me was how lyrically ANDREW's yearnings and misgivings about MODERN life were so seamlessly juxtaposed with such an EXPANDED SONIC TEMPLATE. acutely intimate and internally-defined struggles became fodder for PINK FLOYD-esque SOUNDSCAPES and MASSIVE SONIC SHIFTS of TECTONIC proportions. to me FAILURE reintroduced that notion of SCALE that had been discarded for the most part during the ALTERNATIVE ROCK generation of the 90s in favor of INTIMACY via SIMPLICITY. neither is wrong, but it was INTRIGUING to be provided the yin to the era's yang. i consider MAGNIFIED an ESSENTIAL release and believe strongly that it is well worth checking out for anyone interested in the TRANSCENDENTAL POWER of truly EXPERIMENTAL ROCK AND ROLL, from CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, SCOTT WALKER and KRAFTWERK to IGGY POP, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, DAVID BOWIE and JANE's ADDICTION. i view FAILURE in that lineage. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
its always a TREAT to inadvertently discover KILLER local BANDS. such was the case spending large portions of my life in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS and the JERSEY SHORE and discovering the likes of AGENT ORANGE (PLACENTIA), THE VANDALS (HUNTINGTON BEACH), SOCIAL DISTORTION (FULLERTON), DINOSAUR JR (AMHERST), KILLSWITCH ENGAGE (WESTFIELD), SEBADOH (NORTHAMPTON), THE BOUNCING SOULS (NEW BRUNSWICK) and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN (MORRIS PLAINS).
Such was also the case with my recent NORTH JERSEY find in the decidedly massive ORCHESTRAL ALTERNATIVE/INDIE ROCK SOUND of WOODBRIDGE's own OWEL. made up of a COLLECTIVE of friends and peers from nearby NYC's INSTITUTE OF AUDIO RESEARCH, the GROUP is one that plays a remarkably HANDS-ON role in the COMPOSITION and PRODUCTION of its UPLIFTING and EXPANSIVE SOUND. equally both DELICATE and PROPULSIVE in its ANGULAR SONG-CRAFT, OWEL to my ears comes off as reminiscent of PACIFIC NORTHWEST BANDS as DISPARATE as MINUS THE BEAR and DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE. definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
back in 1997 when JANE'S ADDICTION REFORMED, or rather "RELAPSED" for what would become the first of many such REVIVALS over the years with VARIOUS LINE-UPS, the BAND decided on releasing the KETTLE WHISTLE (WARNER BROS, 1997) COMPILATION ALBUM as a COMPANION PRODUCT to their planned TOUR.
the SONG SELECTIONS were reportedly done by DRUMMER STEPHEN PERKINS, who was somewhat of an IN-HOUSE BAND archivist, and included LIVE TRACKS as well as some choice RARITIES and DEMOS as well as STUDIO OUTTAKES mostly culled from their late 1980s heyday. this LINE-UP of JANE'S ADDICTION included FLEA on BASS rather than FOUNDING member ERIC AVERY, who opted out, and so the two TRACKS "SO WHAT!" and "KETTLE WHISTLE" are the only recorded tracks from this era (however it should be noted that FLEA played TRUMPET on their NOTHING'S SHOCKING major label DEBUT). this connection was timely as GUITARIST DAVE NAVARRO had just previously played with FLEA and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS on their ONE HOT MINUTE (WARNER BROS, 1995) release after taking over GUITAR DUTIES for JOHN FRUSCIANTE. technically during this period he was still an ACTIVE MEMBER of both GROUPS. that being said, "SO WHAT!" is a completely NEW TRACK while "KETTLE WHISTLE" was an UNRECORDED song from the late 1980s, both recorded by this period's LINE-UP. i can distinctly remember the moment i acquired KETTLE WHISTLE. i was at a wildlife reserve in BOTSWANA that was along the NAMIBIA border with my family on vacation back in 1998. it was a trip that saw us visit SOUTH AFRICA, ZIMBABWE, ZAMBIA as well as BOTSWANA. at the time my family lived in NIGERIA and my father had ordered COMPACT DISC COPIES of NOTHING'S SHOCKING (WARNER BROS, 1988), RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL (WARNER BROS, 1990) and KETTLE WHISTLE for me as a gift. this was PRE-INTERNET and it took weeks for things from EUROPE or the UNITED STATES to make its way over and through customs due to CRAZY corruption in LAGOS. anyway, i can remember first hearing all three albums in totality while sitting outside my room's door surrounded by warthogs. for me the crux of KETTLE WHISTLE are the three HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM live recordings of "AIN'T NO RIGHT," "UP THE BEACH" and "THREE DAYS." listening to those SONGS clicked in my head how POWERFUL the BAND was as a LIVE ACT. intriguingly i heard those LIVE TRACKS at the same time i became familiar with the STUDIO VERSIONS, both FIERCE in their own respective light. i wouldnt actually see the BAND live for another decade as part of the NIN/JA co-headlining 2009 TOUR with NINE INCH NAILS, the first reunion with AVERY in tow. JANE'S ADDICTION only has a handful of RELEASES and the two that are absolutely ESSENTIAL are NOTHING'S SHOCKING and RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL. for a new listener interested in the BAND i'd point them in that direction rather than KETTLE WHISTLE as an introduction. KETTLE WHISTLE is more ENJOYABLE as an extension of those two RELEASES. it was meant as a SAMPLER to get their fanbase reacquainted with the GROUP, to get their appetites whetted in anticipation for the UPCOMING TOUR. it served its purpose as a CURIOSITY but in recent years there are other LIVE RELEASES that are much more COHESIVE and AUTHORITATIVE that are worth pursuing. recommended but not ESSENTIAL listening.
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
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 & 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 & text by nacrowe
seemingly every popular CULTURAL MOVEMENT has their TRANSCENDENT, FRONT-OF-MIND acts that capture the collective imagination of the public such as with THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES and THE WHO with the BRITISH INVASION during the early 1960s and arguably outshine similarly STELLAR acts like THE ANIMALS, THE YARDBIRDS and THE KINKS. alright, maybe THE KINKS should be in the former category and not the latter but you get the idea, the strength and depth of a CULTURAL MOVEMENT is likely the quality of those ALSO-RAN acts as much as the frontrunners. in the 1990s you had the BRITPOP scene that REVITALIZED BRITISH ROCK AND ROLL and undoubtedly was dominated by OASIS and BLUR, and to a lesser extent SUEDE, PULP and ELASTICA. below even that was a tier of bands that id argue were similarly UBER-TALENTED including SLEEPER, SUPERGRASS and THE VERVE.
in the public imagination, THE VERVE was in essence a public front for the gifted SONGWRITER RICHARD ASHCROFT and their third album URBAN HYMNS (HUT, 1997) is his MAGNUM OPUS. the band was primarily known for EARNEST SONGS about COMMON WORKING CLASS life, often delicately strummed on an acoustic with MINIMAL INSTRUMENTATION that put the aural focus on ASHCROFT's voice a la SONGS like "SONNET," "THE DRUGS DON'T WORK" and especially "LULLABY." there are also more SPACEY numbers like "THIS TIME" and "THE ROLLING PEOPLE" but those are less successful than his STRIPPED-BACK fair. with one quite NOTABLE exception. "BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY" is arguably one of the BIGGEST singles from the entire BRITPOP movement, being outshined in comparison to "WONDERWALL" or "DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER" by OASIS, "PARKLIFE" or "SONG 2" by BLUR or "COMMON PEOPLE" by PULP. maybe. whereas those other bands had other NOTEWORTHY singles, "BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY" represents THE VERVE's lone SHINING moment and it was definitely BITTERSWEET, give that its use of a orchestral sample off a ROLLING STONES SONG was not cleared by the COPYRIGHT holder, LEGENDARY manager ALLEN KLEIN, and subsequently the band lost all of its revenue from the single. their BIGGEST HIT was their BIGGEST DEBACLE and is an INFAMOUS CAUTIONARY TALE to date about the risk of not properly clearing all SAMPLES before publication. in 2019, ten years after KLEIN's passing, the bequeathed COPYRIGHT holders passed on the COPYRIGHT to ASHCROFT. but the DAMAGE was done. the SONG itself, with its LILTING STRING SECTION, is an UPLIFTING paean to living one's life to its fullest given the brief time we all have here in this physical realm. the SONG has been included on various greatest-songs-of-all-time lists and seemingly perfectly captured a deeply felt sense of unbridled OPTIMISM that took place during the BRITPOP era and the REVITALIZATION of BRITISH MUSIC and POLITICAL CULTURE during this period. that this career peak became a career low is a testament to the BRUTALITY of the MUSIC INDUSTRY and the need to have a skilled and loyal support team at the ready. URBAN HYMNS is definitely worth checking out, albeit i consider it a lesser album than those put out at the time by their BRITPOP peers in OASIS, BLUR, PULP, ELASTICA and SUEDE. photo & text by nacrowe
the way i view PEARL JAM, their fifth album YIELD (EPIC, 1998) serves as kind of a CAPSTONE ARTISTIC STATEMENT that encapsulates their early cycle of releases that in essence represents the first phase of their long career. many saw it at the time as a RETURN-TO-FORM given their more STREAMLINED SOUND with RECOGNIZABLE commercial SINGLES as well as use of TRADITIONAL promotional methods (i.e. televised interviews and music videos) and EXTENSIVE TOURING. famously during their VITALOGY (EPIC, 1994) touring cycle they took on TICKETMASTER (and lost) and with the follow-up NO CODE (EPIC, 1996) there was a concerted effort to be lyrically OBLIQUE and quite CONTRARIAN with a sonically DISSONANT and aggressively ANTI-COMMERCIAL track-listing. it is arguable that from here on out their CREATIVE OUTPUT has been steady but more INSULAR and SELF-REFERENTIAL in nature. gone are the BIG SWINGS that marked several of the releases during this early cycle, but with that lessening of expectations surrounding NEW MATERIAL the band has transformed into a steady NOSTALGIC TOURING JUGGERNAUT with a cult following rivaling that of THE GRATEFUL DEAD, PHISH or RADIOHEAD.
in terms of the actual album, the STANDOUT YIELD tracks include the singles "DO THE EVOLUTION" and "GIVEN TO FLY" as well as the HARD-CHARGING "BRAIN OF J" and the PLAINTIVE "WISHLIST." its honestly a perfectly SERVICEABLE effort that fits seamlessly into a BACK CATALOGUE of similarly paced MATERIAL. from my recollection, the only reason it stood out at the time was the fact that the previous NO CODE effort was such an ODD aberration of a record seemingly designed to alienate and divide a devoted fanbase a la NIRVANA's IN UTERO (DGC, 1993). YIELD in comparison was more of the same FEEL-GOOD, EARNEST song-craft the band was previously known for as if nothing had ever happened. unfortunately i think their time had passed as by this point the CULTURE had moved past ALTERNATIVE ROCK and was entering a new phase dominated by overly AGGRESSIVE and EXAGGERATED MACHISMO (and quite frankly quite MISOGYNISTIC) typified by HYBRID METAL / HIP HOP acts like LIMP BIZKIT, KORN, DISTURBED, MUDVAYNE, SLIPKNOT, PAPA ROACH and EMINEM as well as more THOUGHTFUL, EXPERIMENTAL and ARTFUL fair like DEFTONES, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, INCUBUS and SYSTEM OF A DOWN. to me YIELD just feels like the last hurrah of a great band entering out of the peak years of their career and the beginning of their much longer run, much like their peers in the FOO FIGHTERS, as a VETERAN LIVE ACT in the spirit of ELTON JOHN, THE ROLLING STONES, TOM PETTY, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and especially NEIL YOUNG. and there is nothing wrong with that. YIELD is definitely worth checking out but i would strongly suggest starting off with either TEN (EPIC, 1991), VS (EPIC, 1993) or VITALOGY to begin with as a primer. those are the absolutely ESSENTIAL PEARL JAM releases. photo & text by nacrowe
i remember when the RELOAD (ELEKTRA, 1997) album by METALLICA was released. i was in 8th grade at the time, living abroad in NIGERIA when a fellow classmate brought a copy to school that a relative had mailed in from EUROPE. at first i thought it was FAKE, or at best a PARODY, with the similar (i would later learn ANDRES SERRANO) ARTWORK, TYPOGRAPHY and all. being overseas, especially during a pre-internet era, meant that you were understandably always a bit out-of-the-loop and delayed with information regarding cultural matters back home like movies, books, records and such. quite honestly i thought RELOAD upon first sight was a JOKE or that i was being duped into believing this release could be real since the previous year's LOAD (ELEKTRA, 1996) release was famously very CONTROVERSIAL and DIVISIVE amongst their long-term fanbase for its DRASTIC STYLISTIC SHIFT away from THRASH METAL and embrace of ALTERNATIVE ROCK and more BLUES-based RIFFAGE, SOFT/LOUD DYNAMICS and TRADITIONAL SONG STRUCTURES. i could not believe they would double-down and release a companion album of the same ilk.
but they did. there was a half decade gap between the release and commercial success of the self-titled METALLICA (ELEKTRA, 1991) album [i.e. THE BLACK ALBUM] and that of LOAD. most of those intervening years were spent touring but crucially that period was also spent restructuring their contract with ELEKTRA RECORDS. the new agreement gave them more points on album sales as well as the future return of their entire catalogue in 2013. all this and other FAVORABLE business considerations for extending the life of their contract. LEVERAGE-wise the band was at their absolute PEAK during this period and created a wealth of material that severely challenged their previous SOUND, with lead guitarist KIRK HAMMETT and bassist JASON NEWSTED being more involved in the SONGWRITING PROCESS and outside SOUTHERN ROCK and even COUNTRY ELEMENTS coming into the MIX. the sound of LOAD / RELOAD in retrospect is the sound of a band not being told "no" by their REPRESENTATIVES, HANDLERS, MANAGEMENT, PRODUCERS, etc. they just had too much POWER and CONTROL and these releases are what they wanted to make given no limitations in terms of budget or STUDIO TIME, which is beyond INTRIGUING to consider. arguably the STRONGEST songs from both records could have created a COMPELLING single album, but instead manifested in the creation of two MEDIOCRE and unasked for ALTERNATIVE ROCK-esque METALLICA records. highlights of RELOAD include the THUMPING "DEVIL'S DANCE" and the decidedly MOODY "WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE" and "FIXXXER," but unfortunately most of the songs are pretty CRINGE-INDUCING like the REDUCTIVE and by-the-numbers "FUEL," "CARPE DIEM BABY," "THE MEMORY REMAINS," "BAD SEED" and "BETTER THAN YOU" tracks. and dont even get me started on "THE UNFORGIVEN II" which is still even in retrospect beyond LAME. personally i preferred LOAD, but RELOAD is arguably an UNEVEN but not entirely DISCARDABLE release. it suffers like LOAD from being compared to the absolute EXCELLENCE of the CELEBRATED band's THRASH METAL releases from throughout the 1980s which are ICONIC and among some of the most ORIGINAL, WELL-CONCEIVED and EXECUTED releases from the METAL genre writ-large. in that unbearable shadow these two releases are SUBPAR and artistic catastrophes. relative to their ALTERNATIVE ROCK peers in the 1990s, both albums pair FAVORABLE as interesting curiosities. so its basically all RELATIVE. definitely check out RELOAD, but only after first taking in the band's LEGENDARY first four releases. that is the context and particular lens i see this release through. photo & text by nacrowe
when mercurial co-VOCALIST / GUITARIST TOM DELONGE abruptly left BLINK-182 for the second time after the touring cycle in support of NEIGHBORHOODS (DGC, 2011), BASSIST MARK HOPPUS and DRUMMER TRAVIS BARKER were again left to pick up the pieces. the first go around they started the spin-off group +44 and released the EXPANSIVE and quite STELLAR WHEN YOUR HEART STOPS BEATING (INTERSCOPE, 2006) record to a decidedly disappointing commercial reception of the project. for all intents and purposes, that record was the artistic successor to the self-titled BLINK-182 (GEFFEN, 2003) album that found the group very much come into their own as MATURE PRODUCERS and SONGWRITERS. in retrospect, it is obvious that the record-buying public wanted a BLINK-182 record and not a new project.
lesson learned. when history repeated itself again and the two found themselves likewise stranded, they moved ahead and recruited the much CELEBRATED ALKALINE TRIO VOCALIST and main SONGWRITER MATT SKIBA to join BLINK-182 in DELONGE's absence. the show must go on. for the HARDCORE fans this was seen as a lateral move as SKIBA was a much HERALDED MUSICIAN in his own right and a WORTHY COLLABORATOR and DELONGE replacement. NINE (COLUMBIA, 2019) is the follow-up to the SKIBA debut CALIFORNIA (BMG, 2016), and like its predecessor is a COHESIVE and surprisingly SUCCESSFUL effort that marries the POP melodicism of CLASSIC BLINK-182 with the decidedly SARDONIC and downright GLOOMY lyrical persona that is SKIBA. STANDOUT tracks include the singles "DARKSIDE," "I REALLY WISH I HATED YOU," "BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH," "HAPPY DAYS" and "GENERATIONAL DIVIDE." all successful bands have a UNIQUE internal creative chemistry that is organically determined and often UNSPOKEN in nature but mysteriously relied upon nonetheless. what is INTERESTING is when lineups get shuffled around and the quality of their output wavers. at those times you get a sense of how IMPORTANT and almost ALCHEMICAL those DELICATE relationships actually are. such is the case with JANE'S ADDICTION and their myriad of projects featuring various core members (i.e. PORNO FOR PYROS, POLAR BEAR, THE PANIC CHANNEL, SATELLITE PARTY, PSI COM and so on). such is also the same of BLINK-182 and their reshuffled outside projects (i.e. BOX CAR RACER, ANGELS & AIRWAVES and the aforementioned +44). when SKIBA joined the band it was unclear if BLINK-182 could survive this permutation, but in actual fact they were creatively thriving along the similar historic lines of AC/DC, FAITH NO MORE, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, BLACK SABBATH and ALICE IN CHAINS before them. it was probably INEVITABLE but DELONGE later rejoined the band. again. so the legacy of NINE is a FRUITFUL trajectory of an ALTERNATE version of the group that prematurely ended. at least until DELONGE gets bored again and decides to leave and spearhead another LAME project with his publishing company. in my mind its a bit of a letdown that HOPPUS and BARKER let DELONGE back in but, you know, that is their prerogative. i just remember looking forward to the next SKIBA / HOPPUS / BARKER collaboration that seemingly will never come to pass. regardless NINE is well worth checking out and one of the STRONGER later period BLINK-182 releases that did nothing but further cement their legacy as a POP PUNK powerhouse. photo & text by nacrowe
growing up with an IRISH last name, you get a fair dose of INHERITED information about the struggles of distant relatives long-since deceased who emigrated out of IRELAND to both the UNITED KINGDOM and the UNITED STATES in search of a better life. its one of those things about IRISH IMMIGRANTS and their antecedents that i have a hard time understanding, the fact that a people whose IDENTITY is centered around COMMUNITY, SELF-SUFFICIENCY and RESILIENCE, who had such a rough go internationally at making a living on AMERICAN and BRITISH shores turn around and make it that much harder on the next influx of IMMIGRANTS.
IDENTITY and NATIONALISM is a FUNNY thing, especially with regard to IMMIGRANTS. the IRISH are not alone in this PREOCCUPATION. sometimes a band shows up that spurs ideas of NATIONHOOD and NATIONAL IDENTITY. for me when i think of IRELAND i think of the country that not only brought us U2 (via DUBLIN) and STIFF LITTLE FINGERS (via BELFAST), but also ENGLISH bands like THE POGUES (via LONDON), OASIS and THE SMITHS made up of the children of IRISH IMMIGRANTS. for me, being IRISH is almost as much about being away from IRELAND as it is about the place itself. its INTERESTING. my family derives from LIMERICK, which intriguingly enough is also the home of 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK band THE CRANBERRIES who put out one hell of a major-label debut album in NO NEED TO ARGUE (ISLAND, 1994). the most STRIKING feature of their music is the INTENSE vocals of singer DOLORES O'RIORDAN, who somehow seemed to ooze the PAIN, DESPERATION and VULNERABILITY of the FRACTURED IRISH psyche during THE TROUBLES that lasted from the late 60s well into the late 1990s. this is most PROMINENT in the PUNISHING brutality of "ZOMBIE," a eulogy of sorts to the WANTON PHYSICAL and PSYCHIC DESTRUCTION of the NEVER-ENDING CONFLICT. when i consider the lyrics of SHANE MCGOWAN and THE POGUES i think of a very CATHOLIC thread of ROMANTICISM in maintaining a sense of IDENTITY and COMMUNITY abroad while dealing with ISOLATION and DISTANCE. to me that longing is deeply IRISH. U2 and VAN MORRISON likewise trade on a POETIC LYRICISM that is the TRADITION of IRISH FOLK MUSIC. with THE CRANBERRIES they came across as unapologetically CURRENT and DIRECT in their approach. sometimes with ALTERNATIVE ROCK, the PAIN being emoted is of an OPAQUE nature. it almost seems to be more a form of general DISSATISFACTION at the state of the world rather than actual PHYSICAL or PSYCHIC DAMAGE. in the case of several NOTABLE SEATTLE bands (ALICE IN CHAINS, NIRVANA, SCREAMING TREES), the SUFFERING expressed almost seems related to SELF-INFLICTED drug dependencies run amok. in contrast, THE CRANBERRIES came across as AUTHENTIC and the AGONY expressed was of an EXISTENTIAL nature framed by their country's seemingly ENDLESS tolerance for churning out its young in a UNCEASING CONFLICT that only succeeded in producing mutual DEATH and MISERY. even by the standards of the time, their music stood out to me. and the connection to LIMERICK only deepened that bond. cant recommend NO NEED TO ARGUE any more forcefully. it is a beast of a record well worth reinvestigation, even if you aren't IRISH. their message is a UNIVERSAL one that finds its home in countless STRUGGLING NEIGHBORHOODS and COMMUNITIES, from the past sectarian ethnic TRAUMA of SARAJEVO to the current DEPLORABLE political and economic state of CARACAS. its arguably more RELEVANT now than ever before. RIP DOLORES O'RIORDAN photo & text by nacrowe
throughout the SMASHING PUMPKINS' extensive catalogue it is more than apparent that the generationally TALENTED songwriter BILLY CORGAN had been influenced by and seemingly fully internalized various MODERN genres of ROCK N ROLL, everything from POST PUNK, PSYCHEDELIA, THRASH METAL, POWER POP and SHOEGAZE to PROG ROCK, GLAM ROCK, INDIE ROCK, FOLK MUSIC and PUNK ROCK among others. arguably more than any other peer band of the era, this UNIQUE and largely SEAMLESS INTEGRATION of DISPARATE ELEMENTS is what makes ALTERNATIVE ROCK truly ALTERNATIVE.
the debut SMASHING PUMPKINS' album GISH (CAROLINE, 1991) stands out in their stacked discography for being sonically and stylistically more in line with the more aggressively DISSONANT and FUZZED-OUT SHOEGAZE and PSYCHEDELIA end of their influences than the later more REFINED and paired back offerings of later releases. this can probably be owed to the pronounced influence of SEMINAL LOS ANGELES ART ROCK band JANE'S ADDICTION and their likewise POWERFUL sound that played with the SUBLIME UNPREDICTABILITY of PSYCHEDELIA, the PRECISE TECHNICALITY of METAL and the OFF-KILTER, ANGULAR RHYTHMIC lull of POST PUNK. all through the IDIOSYNCRATIC PERSPECTIVE of PERRY FARRELL, arguably the originator of the what came to be the 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement a few years preceding GISH on their second album NOTHING'S SHOCKING (WARNER BROS, 1988). GISH and NOTHING'S SHOCKING to my ears are like sister releases, since there is obviously connective tissue there, not that the former is an artistic approximation of the later. big statement GISH tracks like "SIVA," "I AM ONE," "BURY ME" and "TRISTESSA" just sound COLOSSAL with big DRUM PARTS and MASSIVE swells of DISTORTION that shoot off into space. its almost like the PRODUCTION on a QUEEN album in that respect. speaking of which, this album marks the first CORGAN collaboration with BUTCH VIG, who would follow this a record with NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) before following-up with the SMASHING PUMPKINS again on SIAMESE DREAM (VIRGIN, 1993). the EXPERIMENTAL SONICS and PUNCHY nature of the more sonically AGGRESSIVE SOUNDS on GISH is very much a credit to VIG at this stage in his career and what he could achieve on a modest budget. the STANDOUT track to me on GISH is undoubtedly the more SUBTLE and NUANCED "RHINOCEROS," with its slow build-up and AFFECTIVE crescendo. it is the first in a long line of hauntingly BEAUTIFUL yet TENDER and HEARTFELT CORGAN songs that would come on subsequent releases like "LUNA," "MAYONAISE" and "DISARM" off SIAMESE DREAM, "PORCELINA OF THE VAST OCEANS," "1979," "CUPID DE LOCKE" and "THIRTY-THREE" off MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS (VIRGIN, 1995) , "PUG," "APPELS + ORANJES" and "PERFECT" off ADORE (VIRGIN, 1998) as well as "AGE OF INNOCENCE," "STAND INSIDE YOUR LOVE," "I OF THE MOURNING," "RAINDROPS + SUNSHOWERS" and "TRY, TRY, TRY" off MACHINA: THE MACHINES OF GOD (VIRGIN, 2000) among others. in my estimation, that lineage of tracks that kicks off with "RHINOCEROS" is the very reason the SMASHING PUMPKINS are an ESSENTIAL band of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK era. it is where they differentiated themselves from their peer groups in terms of both IMAGINATION and DEDICATION to an elevated nod to TRADITIONAL SONG-CRAFT. those AFFECTING tracks and the VULNERABILITY they represent are also the basis for the INTENSE disappointment i felt regarding CORGAN when he made his UNFORTUNATE heel turn in the 2010s with his alignment with the CONSPIRATORIAL and PREDATORY ALEX JONES / DONALD TRUMP crowd. but that is a topic for another time, probably when i get around to making an episode regarding the band for my radio show. until then, GISH is well worth checking out again and rediscovering. it is an INCREDIBLE debut effort from a TRAILBLAZING band. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
after reading guitarist GRAHAM COXON's recent ENGROSSING VERSE, CHORUS, MONSTER! (linked HERE) memoir i sought out the relatively OBSCURE BLUR tour documentary STARSHAPED (PARLOPHONE, 1993) from the earlier 1990s. the band at the time were rather GREEN and touring in support of their early releases LEISURE (FOOD, 1993) and MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH (FOOD, 1993) while participating in music festivals such as READING and GLASTONBURY for the first time. aside from the performances, most of the FLY-ON-THE-WALL road footage showcases the band in some stage of INEBRIATION. im sure when this film was haphazardly recorded by their friends there was some hope of this footage being ENTERTAINING, but what comes across most prominently is the inanity and BOREDOM of being a TOURING MUSICIAN. ALCOHOL seemingly dulled social and performance ANXIETY while also bringing out a more EXTREME (and frankly EMBARRASSING) version of each of the bandmates. such was being YOUNG.
interestingly, this early 1990s era also predates MODERN widespread internet-enabled TELECOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY by at least a decade, so you get the PALPABLE feeling that these YOUNG MUSICIANS felt like they were out to sea on an adventure with nothing to document such but the film itself. my family moved to AFRICA in late 1995 and calling friends stateside was an EXPENSIVE and incredibly TRICKY thing. this was all well before EMAILING, TEXTING, FACETIMING, POSTING, DM-ING, SKYPING, ZOOMING and all that. it felt initially like i was deserted on an island. i can only imagine what being an INTERNATIONAL TOURING MUSICIAN for the first time must have felt like during that period. everything is NOVEL, EXHILARATING and UNKNOWN. touring now is different since SOCIAL MEDIA makes everyone OMNIPRESENT and APPROACHABLE everywhere, all the time. obviously, the ALCOHOL backfired further down the line as the COXON / DAMON ALBARN creative relationship was ultimately STRAINED for a number of years because of the dual accumulated toll of MISCOMMUNICATION and INSECURITY that was masked through DRINKING. COXON himself describes how the bottle was able to numb his DEEP ANXIETY and drowning sense of DEPRESSION, which gave excuse for the EVER-CURIOUS ALBARN to seek other artistic collaborations and projects (i.e. GORILLAZ, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE QUEEN, ROCKET JUICE & THE MOON, etc). what is COMPELLING about STARSHAPED is the ability to watch those dynamics organically metastasize seemingly in REAL-TIME. STARSHAPED is not the most ENGROSSING or WELL-EDITED documentary, but that is also its charm. it was obviously a product meant to cash-in on the ascending popularity of both BLUR and the emerging BRITPOP movement writ large. you very much get to witness a band coming into their own and arguably project themselves for the last time with MINIMAL ARTIFICE. that would soon change as the band grew in popularity and the downside of FAME and its pressure caught up.
parody by nacrowe
there is a whole litany of SUCCESSFUL second acts in MODERN MUSIC HISTORY, especially of the SOLO ACT variety coming off a massively INFLUENTIAL and commercially LUCRATIVE group project, but i am hard pressed to think of another ROCK N ROLL example other than NOEL GALLAGHER who has been able to match (if not succeed) the quality of output of his former band, i.e. OASIS. JOHN LENNON's post-BEATLES output was rather SPOTTY, albeit with some spellbindingly TRANSCENDENT highlights. dont get me started on the embarrassment that is PAUL MCCARTNEY. the caliber of company i can come up with are SEMINAL SOLO ARTISTS like MORRISSEY (THE SMITHS), IGGY POP (THE STOOGES), OZZY OSBOURNE (BLACK SABBATH), NEIL YOUNG (BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, CSN & Y) and LOU REED (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND).
what is INTRIGUING about that list is that arguably those ARTISTS were the stars of their former groups. yes they all had FORMIDABLE and LEGENDARY COLLABORATORS and CO-SONGWRITERS with the likes of JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS), JAMES WILLIAMSON and the ASHTON BROTHERS (THE STOOGES), TONY IOMMI (BLACK SABBATH), STEPHEN STILLS (BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, CSN & Y) and JOHN CALE (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND), but in contrast the case of NOEL found him to not be the star, but the sole SONGWRITER and LYRICIST [for the majority of OASIS' career] in CREATIVE and ARTISTIC support of his VOCALIST younger brother, LIAM. so in a very REAL sense, OASIS was NOEL and NOEL was OASIS. cant say that about MORRISSEY, POP, OSBOURNE, YOUNG or REED. or even LENNON or MCCARTNEY. or for that matter STING (THE POLICE), BRYAN FERRY (ROXY MUSIC), RAY DAVIES (THE KINKS) or ROBBIE ROBERTSON (THE BAND). so when he went solo in 2009, NOEL effectively took the CREATIVE BRAINTRUST of OASIS with him, and the intervening years have seen that eye for QUALITY SONG-CRAFT expand into new SONIC TERRAIN with songs that juxtapose his penchant for MEMORABLE MELODIES with AMBIENT and ELECTRONIC TEXTURES as well as DANCE rhythms. such excursions into DANCE CULTURE might seem on the face of it COUNTERINTUITIVE and in stark contrast to the traditional ROCK N ROLL ethos that OASIS represented to many an ALTERNATIVE ROCK and BRITPOP enthusiast, but you have to consider that his FORMATIVE years were spent at the HACIENDA in MANCHESTER during the peak years of the ACID HOUSE explosion of the late 1980s. OASIS and NOEL were children of the MADCHESTER scene so such later EXPERIMENTATION with such is not really that odd when viewed in context. what is COMPELLING is that those SONIC EXPERIMENTS lead to some QUALITY tracks such as "BLACK STAR DANCING," "BLUE MOON RISING," "THIS IS THE PLACE" and "SHE TAUGHT ME HOW TO FLY" that rank up with his best work. and in essence that UNIQUE capacity to INNOVATE and continually EVOLVE his sound in a manner that builds on his FORMIDABLE strengths as a SONGWRITER is what makes NOEL so FASCINATING a CULTURAL FIGURE. he is not dredging up the past or attempting to be something he was back in his 20s. if anything, he is in the moment. THIS MOMENT. and i am forever looking forward to checking out his new material. ​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the solo work of the ICONIC BRITISH songwriter NOEL GALLAGHER. enjoy! |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
April 2024
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