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.
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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! photo & text by nacrowe
arguably the defining moment of my life (so far) was when my family moved to NIGERIA from SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in the mid-1990s. shortly after arriving during this pre-internet era a classmate introduced me to 311 via their breakout self-titled 311 (CAPRICORN, 1995) album and from there i sought out on subsequent overseas trips their previous MUSIC (CAPRICORN, 1993) and GRASSROOTS (CAPRICORN, 1994) albums. needless to say, these three records as well as the subsequent TRANSISTOR (CAPRICORN, 1997) release was an INTEGRAL part of my soundtrack to the TRANSFORMATIONAL experience of living and exploring WEST AFRICA as a teenager.
and for me that UNIQUE interplay between my memories growing up in a foreign culture and the music itself is what makes 311 such an emotionally loaded topic for me, as i am sure it is for all people and the CONSEQUENTIAL ART, LITERATURE, FILM and MUSIC they consumed at a PIVOTAL stage in their life. but i will try. it is evident with even a CURSORY listen of GRASSROOTS tracks like "TAIYED," "LOSE," "GRASSROOTS" and especially "8:16 A.M." that co-vocalist / rhythm guitarist and main songwriter NICK HEXUM seemingly knows his way around EVOCATIVE and SOOTHING JAZZ-based PROGRESSIONS. the sonic juxtaposition of MEMORABLE SINGLE-NOTE FUNK-based GUITAR RIFFS with HIP HOP production and vocal cadence, as well as REGGAE-indebted RHYTHMS and a layering of those SOPHISTICATED JAZZ CHORD INVERSIONS immediately differentiates the MUSICAL STYLINGS of 311 from that of likewise artistically FORMIDABLE, HYBRID ALTERNATIVE ROCK peer groups at the time like the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and later INCUBUS. drummer CHAD SEXTON likewise adroitly fuels this CONTAGIOUS kinetic energy and RHYTHMIC FORWARD MOMENTUM with patterns that are often HARD-DRIVING SHUFFLES, which makes sense given the SOPHISTICATION of the MELODIES and underpinning CHORD PROGRESSIONS at play, especially on COMPLEX showcase tracks such as "SIX," "NUTSYMPTOM," "LUCKY" and "APPLIED SCIENCE". worth mentioning also are the indelibly LYRICAL SOLOS of lead guitarist TIM MAHONEY that are reminiscent of THE GRATEFUL DEAD's JERRY GARCIA's lead work, especially with his IDIOSYNCRATIC penchant for the AUTO-WAH GUITAR EFFECT. STANDOUT moments include the MAHONEY leads on "LOSE" and "TAIYED." for me the highlight of the album (and arguably 311's catalogue) is the BROODING and emotively CHURNING buildup of the last track "1, 2, 3." the way the song EBBS and FLOWS and seemingly FLOATS along a MYSTERIOUS ethereal plane until it CRESCENDOS into a satisfying RESOLVE that gets me every time. its just musically SOPHISTICATED in a way that doesnt necessarily show-off that capacity, but leaves you as a listener SATISFIED and CONTENT. almost like a great PSYCHEDELIC BEACH BOYS or FLAMING LIPS track that takes you along on a LUSH AURAL JOURNEY. its an experience. lyrically the songs seems to be dealing with how to deal with REGRET for the past and the PSYCHIC PAIN and CONFUSION that comes with FORGIVING ONESELF and MOVING FORWARD. letting the past be in the past. life in NIGERIA could be quite BRUTAL at the time, dealing with all that comes with being a foreign child of PRIVILEGE amidst a military dictatorship. WANTON DEATH, POVERTY, INEQUALITY and HUMAN SUFFERING was something i witnessed at an INTIMATE distance as a teenager. it was easy to feel HELPLESS and completely IMPOTENT to effect change in that environment, never mind the social awkwardness of going through puberty. "1, 2, 3" was a song in particular during that period that i relied on to CALM ME DOWN and get me through some truly TERRIBLE days and for that i still feel decades later a SPECIAL affinity for 311 and their music. to me GRASSROOTS is their greatest moment in a career full of highlights, but that is probably more of an assessment based on my personal narrative then theirs. either way, GRASSROOTS is well worth checking out. much like the RICH and ECLECTIC 311 catalogue in general. enjoy.
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the AUSTRALIAN PUNK ROCK / ALTERNATIVE ROCK singer-songwriter BRODY DALLE!
​ ​​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!
parodies by nacrowe
i am continually fascinated by the EXPERIMENTAL and highly IDIOSYNCRATIC MUSICIANSHIP of SONGWRITER / GUITARIST WES BORLAND (LIMP BIZKIT, BLACK LIGHT BURNS, BIG DUMB FACE). yes his SIGNATURE double-handed tapping TECHNIQUE is VINTAGE LES CLAYPOOL (PRIMUS) to an extent, but his SYNTHESIS and mastery of various APPROACHES and STYLES into an UNPREDICTABLE sound is pretty INCREDIBLE and the reason i pay attention to each new LIMP BIZKIT release despite my less than enthusiastic toleration of vocalist FRED DURST.
what is UNIQUE about his APPROACH to composing MEMORABLE GUITAR RIFFS is that it is a similar CREATIVE PROCESS to that of how he conceives his PAINTINGS. as a VISUAL ARTIST he will juxtapose FORMS and COLORS until something emerges that is pleasing to him. at that point he may go further or even strip the COMPOSITION back to an earlier SIMPLER FORM, all in the subconscious act of creation with NO DISCERNIBLE OBJECTIVE in sight. such is also his modus operandi as a COMPOSER, whereby through the addition and subtraction of elements he comes across a piece of music that was not premeditated or articulated with a PURPOSE in mind. its just SPONTANEOUS creation through being an OPEN CHANNEL for one's NON-COGNITIVE CREATIVITY to flow through. this process is highly ECCENTRIC and is rooted in INSTINCT and FEEL, which is why BORLAND is responsible for some of the most DISTINCTIVE and absolutely SAVAGE riffs of the past few decades. its a CREATIVE PROCESS that reminds me of how JAZZ musicians often describe being in a state of FLOW where they are reacting to the music as it envelopes and presents itself, their hours upon hours of PRACTICE and DISCIPLINED TECHNIQUE becomes almost an UNCONSCIOUS reflex, an extension of their subconscious. when i listen to some of the more PERSONAL end of BORLAND's material, especially that of his EXPLORATORY ALTERNATIVE METAL band BLACK LIGHT BURNS, i both admire the singularly inventive nature of the guitar-playing involved, but also the decidedly UNSTRUCTURED, somewhat FREE-ASSOCIATIVE PROCESS that birthed it and sparked his CREATIVITY. i am not on that level in any aspect or pursuit in my life, but it is still very much an avenue to consider. ​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the music of ARTISTIC SOUNDSCAPES of WES BORLAND. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
in the intervening three year-span that separated the IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE (COLUMBIA, 1997) release from its aptly-titled predecessor SMASH (EPITAPH, 1994), seemingly everything for THE OFFSPRING had completely shifted. no longer were they a JUNIOR PUNK ROCK band (to peer groups like PENNYWISE, NOFX and RANCID) turned 6X platinum SURPRISE CULTURAL PHENOMENON on an INDEPENDENT label, but instead now a significant asset to big CORPORATE players on a STORIED major label. their CAREER NARRATIVE in essence mirrors that of the INTERNAL DYNAMICS of the PUNK ROCK genre in the 1990s, which was in the midst of an UNFORESEEN IDENTITY CRISIS navigating those MURKY waters between SUBCULTURE and MAINSTREAM, DIY operations and LARGE-SCALE DISTRIBUTION, PUNK ROCK elitism and mainstream acceptance. all of these concerns, of course, are now complete anachronisms of a long bygone pre-internet age when gatekeeping of PHYSICAL PRODUCT and GLOBAL PUBLICITY and DISTRIBUTION avenues were a real thing. it all sounds quite SILLY and QUAINT in retrospect.
i moved from SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA to NIGERIA in the fall of 1995 and SMASH was the VERITABLE soundtrack to my previous elementary school years in ORANGE COUNTY, having come out when i was in 4th grade. by the time IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE was released i was now in 7th grade and on another continent and at the time my interest in PUNK ROCK had largely shifted to METAL (i.e. SEPULTURA, TOOL and METALLICA) and ALTERNATIVE ROCK (ALICE IN CHAINS, FAITH NO MORE, SMASHING PUMPKINS and JANE'S ADDICTION). it would be a few years later that i would learn about all the great CALIFORNIA HARDCORE bands from the 1980s (DESCENDENTS, BLACK FLAG, THE VANDALS, DEAD KENNEDYS, T.S.O.L., CIRCLE JERKS) and their later in and out-of-state acolytes in the 1990s (NOFX, RANCID, PENNYWISE, LAGWAGON, PROPAGANDHI) and dive back into the genre permanently. what i remember about my exposure to IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE was that it was very similar to SMASH with tracks that were HIGH ENERGY, MEMORABLE and full of SOCIAL CRITIQUES about STONERS and SLACKER STEREOTYPES. STANDOUT songs include "COOL TO HATE," "MOTA," "I CHOOSE," "ALL I WANT," "THE MEANING OF LIFE" and the decidedly more subdued "GONE AWAY," which anecdotally they played at a BRITISH classmate of mine's memorial service in LAGOS after passing away after sustaining injuries from being hit by a car while on break in LONDON. i hear that song now and i snap right back to the complete shock of that moment, especially at such a tender age. i dont think i was even a teenager yet. such was life in NIGERIA. in retrospect this album represents the last in a lineage of recordings for THE OFFSPRING that goes back to their self-titled NEMESIS debut. singer and main songwriter DEXTER HOLLAND being a gifted student (much later earning a PHD in MOLECULAR BIOLOGY from USC) was always concerned with critiquing SOCIAL, POLITICAL and CULTURAL matters in a distinctly SOPHISTICATED and indirect manner through personal observation and the construction of composite characters in his lyrics. the tone of which was always based on the sonic template of the 80s HARDCORE PUNK he grew up on. somehow after IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE on the follow-up AMERICANA (COLUMBIA, 1998), those same instincts found a new home in consciously TRADITIONAL pop songs in the KNOWING and IRONIC style of "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC. which was UNFORTUNATE at the time and continues to be a reason THE OFFSPRING have diminished their REPUTATION in the years since. yes SMASH is the most commercially SUCCESSFUL independent release of all-time [11 million copies sold to date], but their peers in GREEN DAY and RANCID would never put out LAME POP drivel with SLICK music videos and no edge. it didnt have to be that way and IXNAY ON THE HOMBRE represents to me that last hoorah of a ONCE-PROMISING band that permanently later lost their way. i hear it now and i just think of what could have been. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i was introduced to DINOSAUR JR through my dad who had their WITHOUT A SOUND (SIRE, 1994) album largely on the strength of the single "FEEL THE PAIN" that was on the local ALTERNATIVE ROCK radio station KROQ 106.7FM in LOS ANGELES. in fact, there are photos of me in elementary school wearing a DINOSAUR JR shirt from that period. much later on i attended a boarding school in WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS in a small town just north of AMHERST, where the band hailed from. i took comfort in that for some reason. that even though i was surrounded by STRANGE MASSHOLES all the time, at least i knew some of them in theory were on the level.
FREAKSCENE: THE STORY OF DINOSAUR JR (VIRUS FILMS, 2021) is a particularly INTIMATE portrayal of the INFLUENTIAL INDIE ROCK band and its DEFINITIVE lineup of guitarist J MASCIS, bassist LOU BARLOW and drummer MURPH. famously OBLIQUE and INDECIPHERABLE in interviews, i was stunned to learn recently that a film on the band even exists, but in fact the documentary is directed by MASCIS' brother-in-law. which makes sense, because FREAKSCENE very much attempts to understand the INTRIGUING and COMBUSTIBLE mix of CREATIVE ENERY, EGO and CONFLICTING PERSONALITIES that made the band so internally VOLATILE while maintaining such an ELEVATED ARTISTIC STREAK throughout the 1980s and early 90s. its just amazing that three even agreed to discuss such for public consumption, but such is the state of their career and INTERNAL RESPECT for one another that seemingly all of it is water under the bridge. basically DINOSAUR JR is MASCIS. he started the band with fellow DEEP WOUND bandmate BARLOW after transitioning away from HARDCORE and the drums to guitar. over several album cycles BARLOW grew into his own as a songwriter and felt confined by his role in DINOSAUR JR and started to allocate material for his SEBADOH side project (itself another SEMINAL and much BELOVED INDIE ROCK band). feeling he wasnt fully committed to the band, MASCIS fired him. MURPH lasted another album cycle. by the time i heard the band via WITHOUT A SOUND, MASCIS was the only remaining founding member. its and absolutely INTRIGUING dynamic that a band with such a DISTINCTIVE and UNSPOKEN, ON-STAGE CHEMISTRY had such a difficult time with INTER-BAND COMMUNICATION and basic HUMAN INTERACTION. MUSICAL RELATIONSHIPS can be WEIRD like that, but that IDIOSYNCRATIC core relationship is the crux of the film. how they lost such and regained it later as adults. and you can tell no one is more POSITIVE about the re-emergence of DINOSAUR JR as a VIABLE CULTURAL ENTITY as that of his IMMEDIATE peer group. the interview participants for this film is quite DEEP and INCREDIBLE with PUNK ROCK and INDIE ROCK luminaries such KIM GORDON (SONIC YOUTH, BODY/HEAD), BOB MOULD (HUSKER DU, SUGAR), KEVIN SHIELDS (MY BLOODY VALENTINE), HENRY ROLLINS (BLACK FLAG, ROLLINS BAND), THURSTON MOORE (SONIC YOUTH), FRANK BLACK (PIXIES), SONIC BOOM (SPACEMEN 3) and KURT VILE attesting to their continued GREATNESS. FREAKSCENE is ESSENTIAL viewing for anyone interested in the evolution of UNDERGROUND ROCK AND ROLL from the 1980s onward. most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
the LEGENDARY BRITPOP group BLUR came on my radar the year before i became a teenager when my family visited a BRITISH great-uncle in HERTFORDSHIRE (an HISTORIC suburb just north of LONDON), each summer from 1996 through 1998. at the time my family was stationed in NIGERIA of all places and doing our yearly shipment from ENGLAND made more sense then the UNITED STATES where im from. this great-uncle was pretty cool as he assisted GEOFFREY DE HAVILLAND in developing fighter aircraft during WORLD WAR II as an aeronautics engineer and test pilot in HATFIELD where the aerodrome was located. when i first went there in 1996 BRITPOP was likely past its peak, but BLUR still had enough cultural cache that when my father asked another BRITISH relative's college-aged son what albums students liked at the time, PARKLIFE (FOOD, 1994) and THE GREAT ESCAPE (FOOD, 1995) were the IMMEDIATE answers. so there you go.
from the outside BLUR guitarist GRAHAM COXON always seemed a bit of a RELUCTANT (and more than a tad bit CONTRARIAN) public figure. the few interviews i saw of him at the time always managed to find him seeming UNCOMFORTABLE and unable to drum up the amount of necessary enthusiasm youd expect from a SUCCESSFUL musician, notwithstanding being the guitarist in one of the premier BRITISH ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands of the decade. it was a similar push-pull dynamic witnessed beforehand in KURT COBAIN whereby one is presented with this PHENOMENAL, GENERATIONALLY-TALENTED ENGLISH musician, whose work spoke for itself, yet he would come off MERCURIAL and rather INSCRUTABLE in interviews and media events. no doubt having such CHARISMATIC and ATTENTION-SEEKING willing participants as BLUR frontman DAMON ALBARN and bassist ALEX JAMES helped shield him for years in REDUCTIVE BRITPOP related press articles, but for me COXON was always an INTRIGUING yet entirely UNKNOWABLE creative entity. enter his recent INCREDIBLE recent memoir VERSE, CHORUS, MONSTER! (FABER & FABER, 2023) which details not only the trajectory of his career, but more COMPELLINGLY the parallel arc of his PERSONAL NARRATIVE and his ongoing battle with ALCOHOLISM and the related ANXIETY and DEPRESSION which was enabled and brought on by years of EMOTIONAL NEGLECT. for me, as much as i adore his music, it was this second thread that was the most POWERFUL aspect of his book. i was very moved by the COURAGE it took to be so honest about such a TABOO subject as NEGLECT and how such affects one's SELF-IMAGE and insidiously hinders one's ability to establish LOVING, NURTURING relationships in later life as an adult. it always seems that this subject of NEGLECT and the associated ANXIETY and DEPRESSION that comes with it too often gets DISCARDED in favor of some PERVERSELY IDEALIZED and OUTMODED conception of MASCULINITY. especially in BRITISH CULTURE with its stiff upper lip and culturally INGRAINED "just get on with it" MENTALITY. to be so OPEN and FRANK about an INTERNAL BATTLE with his own sense of SELF-WORTH and admittedly WARPED PERCEPTION of inter-personal dynamics was INSIGHTFUL, HELPFUL and quite effectively written. i should not be surprised that the book was so WELL-CONCEIVED and EXECUTED, given the thought and sense of INTENSE INTERIORITY that marks not only his musical compositions and lyrical content throughout the decades, but also his deeply felt PERSONAL artwork (some of which is included in the book). oftentimes his scribblings are QUICK, HASTILY-DEPICTED MONSTERS that border on the ABSURD but are seemingly EPHEMERAL manifestations of his EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE. no doubt they were a COPING MECHANISM throughout his career and PERSONAL LIFE. its INTERESTING that these MONSTERS lose their edge at the close of the book as he enters a new phase of life with a new partner and a more DISTANCED and NUANCED PERCEPTIVE on his PUBLIC PERSONA and INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY shaped through experience. i dont mean to glean over the INTRIGUING aspects of his UPBRINGING abroad and in the ESSEX town of COLCHESTER, attending GOLDSMITHS COLLEGE or the rise of BLUR and his associated solo career with all its INTERESTING explorations of GARAGE and TRADITIONAL BRITISH FOLK MUSIC. there are NOTEWORTHY tidbits galore, including the following: it is INTERESTING that there has always been mention by BLUR in various media profiles, including their 2010 reunion documentary THERE IS NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN (review linked HERE), that bassist ALEX JAMES played his instrument specifically as if he wanted to be in DURAN DURAN. its just ODD and FUNNY that unexpectedly it would be COXON that would actually be in DURAN DURAN as he wrote and played with the group for their recent FUTURE PAST (BMG, 2021) cycle in the wake of guitarist ANDY TAYLOR's leave of absence due to a late-stage prostate cancer diagnosis. and there is plenty more of that, but it is just that in the context of this book those types of details are unimportant. in fact they are rather secondary or maybe even tertiary in prominence relative to the deep PERSONAL TOLL GRAHAM experienced and the EMOTIONAL / PSYCHOLOGICAL dynamics that triggered by his raised PUBLIC PROFILE, which undoubtedly served as an accelerant that exacerbated his DIMINISHED feelings of SELF-WORTH throughout his career. and thus the SELF-MEDICATION through alcohol. the fact that he was able to navigate those UNSTEADY waters intact is REMARKABLE because, needless to say, there have been lives lost and psyches irreparably WARPED by the ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY throughout the years. maybe his RELUCTANCE to fully participate and buy-in to the FALSE REALITY that is the MUSIC PRESS, as mentioned before, served him well in the end. it is hard to say. VERSE, CHORUS, MONSTER! is a THOUGHTFUL and INTIMATE look at the INTERNAL DYNAMICS of one of the most creative musicians recent memory. definitely worth checking out even if BRITPOP, ALTERNATIVE ROCK or INDIE ROCK is not your cup of tea. photo & text by nacrowe
it feels sometimes when navigating through MUSIC WEBSITES or the comments sections of YOUTUBE videos, MUSIC BLOGS or posts on SOCIAL MEDIA that the online world is just TOXIC. there seems to be a fixation with being AGGRESSIVE and CONFRONTATIONAL with one's opinion rather than THOUGHTFUL, CONSIDERED or COMPASSIONATE. with WEBSITES there sometimes seems to be an embedded incentive to come off ELITIST and EXCLUSIONARY because of their access and role as a gatekeeper to the opinions and thoughts of ARTISTS and MUSICIANS.
what i love about the WIKIPEDIA: FACT OR FICTION web series by ONLINE MUSIC MAGAZINE LOUDWIRE is not the fact that it confronts MODERN METAL, ALTERNATIVE ROCK and PUNK ROCK royalty from the likes of SLAYER, PANTERA, INCUBUS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, LAMB OF GOD, BAD RELIGION, WHITE ZOMBIE, KISS, METALLICA, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, SLIPKNOT and CANNIBAL CORPSE with their (more-than-often INCORRECT) group-sourced online WIKIPEDIA biographies, it is the fact that host GRAHAM HARTMANN is so EVEN-KEELED about the whole endeavor. too often an INTERVIEW SHOW like this will have a host that is attempting to make the whole thing about them and how KNOWLEDGABLE or COOL they are projecting themselves in the effective afterglow of the TALENT (for which the audience is tuning in for), which is more than a little GRATING and PATRONIZING as a viewer. it is easy to identify with HARTMANN as he is treating the talent like REGULAR people and thus humanizes them in the process. its refreshing how little of that actually goes on in the MUSIC PRESS, which seems keen on building up or tearing down the public profiles of prominent MUSICIANS and their work. that or being part of a TRANSPARENT PROMOTIONAL APPARATUS to the DETRIMENT of the FANBASE. i enjoy watching and rewatching these past episodes because of HARTMANN and his ability to not act as an industry cog, instead being an AWARE MUSIC JOURNALIST / EVERYDAY FAN that most MUSIC ENTHUSIASTS can see in themselves. at least i can. WIKIPEDIA: FACT OR FICTION has expanded in recent years into the worlds of PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING and ACTORS, along with MUSICIANS, but at the center of it all is still HARTMANN and his ability to make this promotional vehicle seem less showbiz and a bit more DOWN-TO-EARTH and FUN. most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
the untimely passing of ANDREW WOOD, the much BELOVED and CELEBRATED MOTHER LOVE BONE / MALFUNKSHUN singer, from a heroin overdose in 1990 was an absolute CULTURAL EARTHQUAKE that rippled throughout the NASCENT ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene in SEATTLE. WOOD was a larger-than-life character whose CHARISMATIC personality and sheer force-of-will was a highlight and point of UNITY in a particularly INTIMATE COMMUNITY of musicians and artists during this pre-fame era. it is TRAGIC and more than a little IRONIC that such a TRANSCENDENT creative figure with naked ARENA ROCK ambitions did not live to see his band, or the scene itself in peer bands like SOUNDGARDEN, TAD, MUDHONEY, ALICE IN CHAINS, SCREAMING TREES, NIRVANA and the post-MOTHER LOVE BONE outfit PEARL JAM, rise to GLOBAL CULTURAL DOMINANCE and POPULARITY.
the TEMPLE OF THE DOG project was meant as a PROPER CELEBRATION and SEND-OFF to WOOD by close friend and fellow singer-songwriter CHRIS CORNELL (SOUNDGARDEN) and surviving MOTHER LOVE BONE guitarist STONE GOSSARD and bassist JEFF AMENT. drummer MATT CAMERON (SOUNDGARDEN), lead guitarist MIKE MCREADY (PEARL JAM) and most crucially EDDIE VEDDER (PEARL JAM) rounded out the group. mind you, this album was recorded months before PEARL JAM entered the studio to begin on their debut TEN (EPIC, 1991), so the TEMPLE OF THE DOG (A&M, 1991) album was the introduction to the world of VEDDER as a vocalist. i believe it is one of the great acts of ROCK N ROLL GENEROSITY that CORNELL chose to duet with VEDDER on "HUNGER STRIKE," effectively warmly embracing and presenting the SAN DIEGAN anew to the SEATTLE COMMUNITY and the listening public. CORNELL is a SINGULAR artist with one of the great ROCK AND ROLL voices of all-time and it should be stated that one that track VEDDER very much held his own. for most people "HUNGER STRIKE" is the obvious STANDOUT moment. "SAY HELLO 2 HEAVEN" likewise is another highlight in that it is a GUT-WRENCHING CORNELL track about saying goodbye to his late friend. CORNELL by definition was an INSULAR, deeply COMPASSIONATE and TALENTED dude, but it was the BRASH and FEARLESS (and sadly RECKLESS) WOOD that brought him out of his shell. that particular song can almost be viewed as a public testimonial to the PROFOUND effect of WOOD had one him and how gaping the hole in his heart was at the time by the loss of such a DEAR friend and CLOSE peer. in a sense, that CORNELL / WOOD relationship is an apt metaphor for the SEATTLE scene itself and how SELF-CONTAINED and mutually SUPPORTIVE it was before it went overground and became a GLOBAL PHENOMENON. in retrospect it feels like CORNELL is as much saying goodbye to his deceased friend as he is to that naive sense of artistic and creative PURITY before the careerist business ambitions inevitably took root in the COMMUNITY. that transformation, which was relatively sudden, changed how these peers viewed themselves, and brought about much CONSTERNATION and GUILT at home relating to the efforts of outsiders to sully pure intents and creative pursuits. it all feels sadly INEVITABLE. TEMPLE OF THE DOG is an ESSENTIAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK album and a UNIQUE look into the underlying of the ETHOS and CAMARADERIE of the SEATTLE scene pre-fame. decades later it is still beyond INTRIGUING to revisit and consider, especially in the wake of the untimely passing of CORNELL himself and PEARL JAM (along with MUDHONEY), being the last band (with original core members) standing. photo & text by nacrowe
MECHANICAL ANIMALS (INTERSCOPE, 1998), the much ANTICIPATED MICHAEL BEINHORN [SOUNDGARDEN, HOLE, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS] produced follow-up to the TRANSGRESSIVE cultural phenomena that was the INDUSTRIAL-tinged, MIDDLE AMERICA-baiting ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR (INTERSCOPE, 1996) was a DRAMATIC stylistic about-face that saw MARILYN MANSON channel his sense of ISOLATION and DETACHMENT from AMERICAN SOCIETY through the prism of 1970s GLAM ROCK and specifically ZIGGY STARDUST / ALADDIN SANE-era DAVID BOWIE. in the scope of his discography, this album very much stands out as an outlier, both in terms of SONICS and PRESENTATION, and represents MANSON at both his most CONTEMPLATIVE and most POTENT as an artist. it is also my FAVORITE record of his bar none.
this album came out my freshman year of high school. i was at a PRESTIGIOUS boarding school in NEW ENGLAND while the rest of my family stayed behind in NIGERIA. i dont want to say being that far from family was a TRAUMATIC event at such a young, barely in my teens, but it was a TRANSFORMATIVE experience that resonated down through the ensuing decades no doubt. in a sense i had to become my own support system as the place was rather BRUTAL with BARBARIC HAZING RITUALS involving underclassmen the staff turned a blind eye towards. to say i felt frustrated, targeted and alone is an understatement. i was the perfect receptor for such a message being transmitted by this JADED, SEXLESS, HUMANOID alien character that MANSON was now inhabiting. for him the prison he was attempting to escape with INTERSTELLAR ambitions was that of a pre-internet tabloid culture and UNREALISTIC press / audience expectations to out-SATAN ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR. for me that prison was quite LITERAL. it was the prison of going through puberty and your most physically AWKWARD phase while being a part of an UNHEALTHY community that i found particularly hazardous to my physical and emotional well-being. in my defense this posture and mindset was well warranted, as that same school year another freshman was assaulted at nearby dormitory and had an ANTI-GAY SLUR carved into his back by a post-graduate student who went on to serve an extended sentence for an assortment of ASSAULT and BATTERY CHARGES. i feel lucky to have survived such an experience with my self-will and self-worth intact, and MECHANICAL ANIMALS was very much the soundtrack to such. and that harsh sense of SELF-LOATHING and DETACHMENT is all over. especially tracks such as "THE SPEED OF PAIN," "COMA WHITE," "MECHANICAL ANIMALS," "DISASSOCIATIVE" and "GREAT BIG WHITE WORLD." for me those particular tracks serve as the EMOTIONAL heart of the record, exposing a PROFOUND sense of PSYCHIC WITHDRAWAL from life itself. that need to just turn off the blinds, shut the door and block out the world. the more UPTEMPO songs like "POSTHUMAN," "ROCK IS DEAD," "NEW MODEL NO. 15" and the single "THE DOPE SHOW" all seem designed to potentially gain airplay while delivering a DEVIOUS message both celebrating and disparaging CELEBRITY CULTURE and the state of ROCK N ROLL writ large. as much as i love the TWIGGY RAMIREZ-conceived SLINKY BASS LINES and ADROIT SONIC EXPERIMENTATIONS with vintage synthesizers, those more HARD-CHARGING tracks are weaker in my opinion. same with the embarrassingly INANE "I DON'T LIKE THE DRUGS BUT THE DRUGS LIKE ME" single which is the lone mistake on the album. for me, those more NUANCED, SOMBER moments are what make this record special, much like "CRYPTORCHID," "MAN THAT YOU FEAR" and "KINDERFELD" did on ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR. post-MECHANICAL ANIMALS, MANSON largely retreated to the more EXPECTED, SAFE GOTH confines of INDUSTRIAL METAL with a slew of records to date that largely retread on the ideas crystallized in ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR. which in my opinion was an artistic mistake, but i am sure it gave him more career longevity. that is more future OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE, SLAYER, ALICE COOPER co-headlining package tour opportunities that are subject to satiating and drawing out his audience en masse over time. such PRACTICAL, CALCULATING decisions make him subject to not being at the same artistic level as a DAVID BOWIE, BJORK, SUN RA, DAMON ALBARN or a GEORGE CLINTON, all of whom charged ahead with IDIOSYNCRATIC personas that assisted in unlocking a new sound and/or inhabit a new consciousness. the rest of MANSON's DISAPPOINTING career is just one of a series of expected artistic choices with ever PREDICTABLE diminishing returns. but MECHANICAL ANIMALS is a definite highlight of the 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK era that is well worth revisiting and checking out again and again. photo & text by nacrowe
i always felt like BERNARD BUTLER belonged to this REVERED but strangely UNDER-APPRECIATED and UNDERVALUED lineage of BRITISH GUITARISTS and SONGWRITERS that includes everyone from fellow BRITPOP peers in GRAHAM COXON (BLUR), RUSSELL SENIOR (PULP) and GAZ COOMBES (SUPERGRASS) to past BRITISH INVASION heroes in DAVE DAVIES (THE KINKS) and BRIAN JONES (THE ROLLING STONES) not to mention other SEMINAL ENGLISH figures in ED O'BRIEN (RADIOHEAD), MICK RONSON (DAVID BOWIE), BOZ BOORER (MORRISSEY, THE POLECATS), GLEN MATLOCK (THE SEX PISTOLS), HANK MARVIN (THE SHADOWS), KEITH LEVENE (PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED), VINI REILLY (THE DURUTTI COLUMN), ANDY GILL (GANG OF FOUR) and even JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS). all of these MUSICIANS were part of artistically SUCCESSFUL acts from different eras and were CELEBRATED for their SINGULAR contributions, yet somehow still managed to have PUBLIC PERSONAS that remained firmly in the background.
BUTLER of course came to CULTURAL PROMINENCE in the 1990s as a member of the BRITPOP band SUEDE where he added SUBTLE yet INTRICATE guitar textures that saw people compare him often to the likes of JOHNNY MARR, his childhood hero. in the years since he left the band he has amassed quite the REMARKABLE catalogue of ARTISTS he's either produced or collaborated with including the likes of DUFFY, PET SHOP BOYS, AIMEE MANN, BERT JANSCH, TRICKY, NENEH CHERRY and THE LIBERTINES. at this point he is a revered BRITISH ALTERNATIVE ROCK ELDER STATESMEN whose creative work, both past and current, is very much worth checking out. especially his solo work. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
March 2024
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