photo & text by nacrowe
thinking about a pre-TRAVIS BARKER line-up of BLINK-182 is always INTERESTING because the chemistry that lifted them above the POP PUNK fray to become veritable icons of the genre itself was due to that very specific MUSICAL ALCHEMY that came to fruition immediately after DUDE RANCH (MCA, 1997), their second album and major label debut. not that this recording effort is without GOOD SONGWRITING, as is the case with tracks like "DICK LIPS," "WAGGY," "PATHETIC," "APPLE SHAMPOO," and of course their breakout singles "JOSIE" and "DAMMIT." but rhythmically and stylistically, this album is pretty REPETITIVE and MYOPIC in terms of its SONGWRITING. in essence it is a band coming into its own both in terms of PRODUCTION and navigating the expectations that come with being on a major label.
when i first heard DUDE RANCH it was in the immediate aftermath of its more commercially and artistically SUCCESSFUL follow-up ENEMA OF THE STATE (MCA, 1999) that had both BARKER and LEGENDARY producer JERRY FINN added to the mix. BARKER being the MULTI-TALENTED drummer that he was, could elevate and transcend basic POP PUNK CHORD PROGRESSIONS with both an eye for SONG DYNAMICS and COMPOSITION as well as sheer TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY. listening to ENEMA OF THE STATE you can hear grooves that are based in both JAZZ and LATIN traditions that bring a sense of SWING and BOUNCE to several tracks. its entirely unfair to compare him to original drummer SCOTT RAYNOR who on DUDE RANCH and its predecessor CHESHIRE CAT (CARGO, 1995) provides a perfectly COMPETENT, if DERIVATIVE, sense of drive to his DRUMMING in the style of MELODIC HARDCORE bands like BAD RELIGION, NOFX and PENNYWISE. lyrically DUDE RANCH continues along the same lines of its predecessor by splitting the difference between SOPHOMORIC toilet humor and heartfelt odes to past relationships and teenage youth a la MILO AUKERMAN and the legendary 80s SOUTH BAY PUNK ROCK band DESCENDENTS. this lyrical perspective would continue on subsequent releases but seemed strategically aimed at both presenting the band as willing to laugh at their PUBLIC IMAGE and provided a critical distraction for genuine efforts at tracks that stretched their SONGWRITING ABILITIES and made them VULNERABLE. all the basic elements are their on DUDE RANCH, as well as CHESHIRE CAT, but the right mixture of TRADITIONAL and PROGRESSIVE MUSICAL ELEMENTS are not quite their yet. for me DUDE RANCH is all about my high school experience and hearing it makes me strangely NOSTALGIC for a time i would not in retrospect under any circumstances ever want to revisit again. what makes it an INTRIGUING listen years later is how foretells what was to come as well as provides a key look at an ICONIC band minus a VITAL ELEMENT in BARKER (or maybe two if you also count FINN, which you probably should). as much as i love this record, ENEMA OF THE STATE is the OBVIOUS starting point for anyone getting into BLINK-182 or POP PUNK in general. maybe after consuming GREEN DAY's DOOKIE (REPRISE, 1994), DESCENDENTS' MILO GOES TO COLLEGE (NEW ALLIANCE, 1982), MXPX's LIFE IN GENERAL (TOOTH & NAIL, 1996), FALL OUT BOY's TAKE THIS TO YOUR GRAVE (FUELED BY RAMEN, 2003) and NEW FOUND GLORY's STICKS AND STONES (DRIVE-THRU, 2002), you should revisit DUDE RANCH for comparison and context. NOT ESSENTIAL but definitely worth checking out.
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photo & text by nacrowe
arguably the most CELEBRATED release from the much-REVERED GEORGIA INDIE ROCK institution that is R.E.M., AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE (WARNER BROS, 1992) is very much the culmination of the ELEVATED SONGWRITING and LYRICISM explored throughout the entire previous decade. never did the band sound more COGENT and AUTHORITATIVE then on this record.
on the preceding album OUT OF TIME (WARNER BROS, 1991), guitarist PETER BUCK was largely disenchanted with the guitar as a viable means of EXPRESSION, which is not hard to understand given the EMPTY, MASTURBATORY EDDIE VAN HALEN-inspired WANKERY of the 1980s. BUCK was always more of a TEXTURAL player who philosophically employed his instrument not unlike that of JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS), DANIEL ASH (BAUHAUS, LOVE AND ROCKETS, TONES ON TAIL) or ROBERT SMITH (THE CURE) in that the emotional evocation of the part superseded the TECHNICAL PROWESS or DEXTERITY utilized to achieve such. in short, the part served the song and not the other way around. on OUT OF TIME BUCK famously put down his guitar and picked up a mandolin in its place, writing some of their most FAMOUS songs, especially "LOSING MY RELIGION." when i listen to AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE i am confronted with a guitarist that has fallen in love with his instrument again. the SOARING pre-chorus LEAD EMBELLISHMENTS on the aptly titled "DRIVE" or the more SUBTLE FOLK-inspired DELICATE PLUCKED LINES of "MONTY GOT A RAW DEAL" and the WISTFUL, SOFT-FOCUS STRUMMING of "MAN ON THE MOON." the album to my ears just sounds like a master class in the EMOTIVE potential of the guitar as a sonic vehicle. in terms of EARNEST POETIC LYRICISM, the always INTUITIVE and REFLECTIVE vocalist MICHAEL STIPE on previous releases always had an INVENTIVE and rather OPAQUE way with WORDS and TURNS-OF-PHRASE that emotively translated where his PSYCHIC and AFFECTIVE headspace was at during the point of creation. AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE in that sense is a slight bit of a departure in that the themes and subjects are bit more TRANSPARENT, but such are seemingly the vehicle for translating deeply-felt EMOTIONAL CONTENT. a track like "EVERYBODY HURTS" is so SOLEMN on the face of it that it could very easily fall prey to UNINTENTIONAL SELF-PARODY or MOCKERY. what sells that line is the SERIOUS-MINDED conviction of STIPE's voice as if he is still in the process of dealing with the consequences of said experience in real-time. it is quite the PERFORMANCE and quite the achievement. "NIGHTSWIMMING" is a NOSTALGIC, PIANO-DRIVEN RUMINATION on lake skinny-dipping at night as a youth and that PROFOUND sense of UNIMPEDED FREEDOM that is as EPHEMERAL and JOYFUL as it is BITTERSWEET. not unlike the FLEETING experience of youth itself and growing older. "MAN ON THE MOON" is an ODE to ANDY KAUFMAN as if the late comedian where still alive, ready to pounce and eviscerate our collective cultural expectations once again with one last gag to end all gags. although the track celebrates his COMEDIC AESTHETIC, there is a MELANCHOLIC vibe that seemingly counteracts the words and insinuates the DISCONNECTION and ISOLATION of a comedian from their audience. its as if KAUFMAN is lost at sea and this song is a siren call to lure him back to shore. my personal FAVORITE track is "DRIVE." it is a COMPELLING MEDITATION over the complexities of being LYRICAL and EMPATHETIC in such a PUBLIC MEDIUM. the video really relates this ODD DYNAMIC visually quite astutely and strikingly with band members individually crowd surfing, literally connecting physically with their audience while being above and separate from such. i continue to find both the song and accompanying promotional video quite POWERFUL. unfortunately it is assumed that KURT COBAIN (NIRVANA) tragically committed suicide to this song, which obviously only further fuses that song with its strong theme of ISOLATION in the public imagination one step further. not unlike U2 post-THE JOSHUA TREE (ISLAND, 1987), R.E.M. post-AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE finds the group more interested in VEILED EXPRESSIONS through ALTERNATE PERSONAS and EXPANDED PRODUCTION with SONIC JUXTAPOSITIONS that hitherto were not previously part of the band's LEXICON OF SOUNDS. i feel like such was an INEVITABLE step away from the EARNESTNESS that was this album in particular, as if STIPE and company did not wish to be so EXPOSED and TRANSPARENT for public consumption again. at least that is my interpretation. i can't say i blame them. AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE is ESSENTIAL and absolutely required listening. most definitely worth checking out to the uninitiated. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
im just gonna get them both out of the way right at the jump. yes, the 1990s ALABAMA ALTERNATIVE ROCK band's sole hit, of sorts, was "SAVE ME" which became the SOARING theme song to the 2000s WB SUPERMAN teen-drama SMALLVILLE. yes, the singer and main songwriter CINJUN TATE was formerly married to actress ALYSSA MILANO. for me those are distinctively the least INTERESTING aspects of the former band REMY ZERO.
i believe i became aware of the band in high school during my sophomore year through the school's radio station. VILLA ELAINE (GEFFEN, 1998) was floating around somewhere in their, whether it was a station copy or another DJ i dont remember but i was just taken with TATE's ability to lift a chorus into the stratosphere and then bring things DOWN-TO-EARTH with almost CLAUSTROPHOBIC INTIMACY in the verses. much like other more traditionally-aligned POP inspired ALTERNATIVE ROCK songwriters from around that period like STEPHAN JENKINS (THIRD EYE BLIND), MAX COLLINS (EVE 6), JIM ADKINS (JIMMY EAT WORLD) or ART ALEXAKIS (EVERCLEAR), i felt TATE was a unique songwriter with a firm grasp over the EMOTIONAL dynamics of a track. its almost akin to RELIGIOUS music aimed at sonically mimicking an experience of the SUBLIME sans the christianity. if you are unfamiliar with the group, definitely check out VILLA ELAINE or their likewise EXCELLENT final album, THE GOLDEN HUM (ELEKTRA, 2001). photo & text by nacrowe
i heard PEARL JAM's early catalogue haphazardly and completely and out of order. it makes sense because i was very young when those first few releases came out and wasn't conscious of music or CULTURE in general at the time. in fact, i was seven when their debut TEN (EPIC, 1991) came out, although i didnt obtain that album until late 1995. i received PEARL JAM's third album VITALOGY (EPIC, 1994) as a gift from my parents, along with SOUNDGARDEN's SUPERUNKNOWN (A&M, 1994), for either christmas or my birthday in late 1994 or early 1995. both of those two records were the first i ever owned and are still PRECIOUS to me. it wasnt until i moved to NIGERIA in and learned in early 1996 from an AMERICAN classmate that there was, in fact, another in-between album called VS. (EPIC, 1993) that i should check out. so my order went VITALOGY, TEN, and the VS. with PEARL JAM.
irrespective of my own IDIOSYNCRATIC exposure to their material, VITALOGY was a pivotal record in their discography as it marked the effective CREATIVE takeover of the band by vocalist EDDIE VEDDER. in comparison, on TEN the outlines of songs were mostly written by the time of his arrival, so his input was purely lyrical. on VS. the band was still very much effectively helmed by guitarist STONE GOSSARD and bassist JEFF AMENT, who started PEARL JAM in the wake the dissolution of MOTHER LOVE BONE due to the TRAGIC passing of frontman ANDEW WOOD from a heroin overdose. what transpired and altered between VS. and VITALOGY was a massive wave of unmitigated commercial success. surreally, VEDDER in october 1993 was even put on the cover of TIME magazine as the poster boy of sorts for his GENERATION, getting the BOB DYLAN / BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN treatment. by the time of production for VITALOGY there was a power shift where VEDDER asserted his songwriting and AESTHETIC INFLUENCES on the product, figuring that if he was going to be selling his likeness to the public he should at least not be PASSIVE in creating the product itself. VITALOGY is sonically and thematically EXPANSIVE and an ARTISTIC departure from the previous two releases. VITALOGY is OBSCURE, SELF-EFFACING and even HUMOROUS whereas the first two albums are more EARNEST, TRANSPARENT and somewhat DOWN-THE-MIDDLE ROCK AND ROLL. there is a through-line though with songs like "CORDUROY" and "BETTER MAN" off of VITALOGY seeming to come from a similar sonic and lyrical place as "DAUGHTER" and "ELDERLY WOMAN BEHIND THE COUNTER IN A SMALL TOWN" off VS. or "BLACK" and "OCEANS" off of TEN. this is all incredibly long prologue to bring up how CONTROVERSIAL PEARL JAM's fourth album NO CODE (EPIC, 1996) was upon release. the record came in the wake of a DISASTROUS tour in support of VITALOGY in which the band boycotted TICKETMASTER for financially exploiting its FANBASE. at this point also the band had long since stop making promotional music videos in the wake of "JEREMY" off of TEN. my impression of it was that it was meant as a palette cleanser a la NIRVANA's IN UTERO (DGC, 1993) or more drastically LOU REED's METAL MACHINE MUSIC (RCA VICTOR, 1975). it felt like a NONCOMMERCIAL album that was purposely OPAQUE to try to wean off the more FICKLE elements of its rabid FANBASE and create something more INSULAR, ARTFUL and entirely SELF-AWARE. its almost as if they made a CHALLENGING album for another fictional band that didnt have this OVERWHELMING corporate apparatus on its back chomping at the bit for more product to satisfy their INSATIABLE shareholders. i remember the only tracks i really took to were the UPTEMPO, HARD-CHARGING "HAIL, HAIL" and the decidedly SUBDUED "THERE HE GOES" both of which were SOLID songs but not ICONIC singles like those from the first three records. my opinion now is that this type of relative retreat from the spotlight was INEVITABLE given the PERSONALITY and ETHOS of VEDDER and his bandmates. there was also this palpable sense with the passing of KURT COBAIN years before that having control over your product and putting out into the public something that is AUTHENTIC is really all that matters. COBAIN years earlier commented on their early work being DERIVATIVE of CLASSIC ROCK cliches, which was somewhat ACCURATE and completely BITING. PEARL JAM took such to heart and their career trajectory since has been a conscious attempt at staying true to themselves and their COMMUNITY come what may. this even means reversing course, as PEARL JAM did with the CELEBRATED follow-up to NO CODE, titled YIELD (EPIC, 1998) which was heralded as largely a return to form (even complete with an AWARD-WINNING TODD MCFARLANE-directed animated music video). but NO CODE lived up to its title, its not really meant to be understood. its an INTERESTING curiosity in their catalogue, but NOT ESSENTIAL in my opinion. i would recommend first-time listeners check any of their first three records with a slight preference to VITALOGY, which is undoubtedly one of my FAVORITE albums from my childhood.
parody by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the EXPERIMENTAL NEW YORK CITY-based, NO WAVE-influenced INDIE ROCK institution that was SONIC YOUTH!
​ ​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! photo & text by nacrowe
in the public imagination, ALTERNATIVE ROCK pioneers JANE'S ADDICTION are universally revered for their two TRANSCENDENT releases NOTHING'S SHOCKING (WARNER BROS, 1988) and RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL (WARNER BROS, 1990) before their first implosion after the LEGENDARY inaugural LOLLAPALOOZA in 1991. but the record that initiated it all was their self-titled first album JANES ADDICTION (TRIPLE X, 1987), which was in essence a live recording from a showcase 1987 gig at the ROXY THEATRE in LOS ANGELES with overdubs and crowd noise added later. the record itself is somewhat of a CURIOSITY, as it was OBSCURE upon release (much like vocalist PERRY FARRELL's previous band, PSI COM) coming from a small INDEPENDENT LABEL during what was the heyday of HAIR METAL at the time. JANES ADDICTION is NOTABLE for having the AFFECTING track "I WOULD FOR YOU," the HARD-CHARGING "WHORES" and "TRIP AWAY" as well as the first released iterations of NOTHING'S SHOCKING tracks "PIGS IN ZEN" and "JANE SAYS." if anything, the album proves what a formidable live band JANE'S ADDICTION was, even at this nascent stage in their ascent.
intriguingly, the strategy of having an initial release through that of an INDEPENDENT LABEL quickly became common INDUSTRY PRACTICE, especially prevalent during the subsequent ALTERNATIVE ROCK era when PUNK ROCK bona fides was deemed especially IMPORTANT. you can see this trajectory pursued by peer bands like SOUNDGARDEN (SST to SUB POP to A&M) and the MELVINS (BONER to ATLANTIC and then back down to IPECAC) as well as later acts like THE SMASHING PUMPKINS (CAROLINE to VIRGIN) and NIRVANA (SUB POP to DGC) among countless other examples. with internet-enabled instant global digital distribution available today, this whole notion of physical GATEKEEPING by RECORD LABELS and the implied PURITY of INTENTION identified with independent releases is an ABSOLUTE CULTURAL ANACHRONISM in today's marketplace. but not back then in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. that PERRY FARRELL recognized this PHENOMENA and had his ear to the underground is REMARKABLE. he's something of SHAMAN in that respect, leading the masses out fo the CULTURAL WILDERNESS. this whole ALTERNATIVE movement was set to boil over with the help of FARRELL and JANE'S ADDICTION as well as that of INNOVATIVE peer bands in FISHBONE, THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS, FAITH MO MORE, LOVE AND ROCKETS, THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, R.E.M. and the then OBSCURE but BURGEONING SEATTLE scene at the time. as a CULTURAL ARTIFACT that is not by any stretch a DEFINITIVE artistic statement by an ICONIC and historically IMPORTANT band, what i take from it is how ahead of the game they were and how they pointed the way for others to follow and basically take over the industry for the better part of a decade. definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
at the tale end of the 1990s NU METAL was very much in full swing. led by the likes of genre innovators like DEFTONES, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, KORN, INCUBUS and yes, LIMP BIZKIT, the lasting cultural impact was of an AGGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVE METAL DISSONANCE decorated with HIP HOP-derived production embellishments. this SOUND found its zenith with the more sonically SOPHISTICATED, structurally COHESIVE and seamlessly INTEGRATED SONGWRITING and PRODUCTION of LINKIN PARK's debut HYBRID THEORY (WARNER BROS, 2000) record, but when ZEBRAHEAD and their second record, and major label debut, WASTE OF MIND (COLUMBIA, 1998) arrived that was still a few years away.
this all to say that ZEBRAHEAD was very much a band of its time in terms of the sonic elements it was playing with, but it came from a distinctly different place. whereas those aforementioned bands (with the exception of INCUBUS) traded on ANGER and FRUSTRATION, ZEBRAHEAD had an AESTHETIC that incorporated the OPTIMISM and light HUMOR more associated with POP PUNK bands like THE VANDALS, LAGWAGON or BLINK-182. listening to WASTE OF MIND and their subsequent albums with original singer JUSTIN MAURIELLO, its apt to describe their SOUND as a cross between NU METAL and POP PUNK which were the culturally dominant rock genres of the period. i should also mention my bias at this point since ZEBRAHEAD is from LA HABRA which was literally the next town over from mine growing up in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. in fact, my father worked in LA HABRA and i spent much time there, so like other notable ORANGE COUNTY acts such as ATREYU, THE VANDALS, SOMETHING CORPORATE, ADOLESCENTS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, NO DOUBT, THE AQUABATS, SUBLIME and AGENT ORANGE, i always hold out a fondness for acts hailing from my childhood region. glad i got that out of the way. unfortunately, more then two decades on ZEBRAHEAD comes off as a bit of a CULTURAL ANACHRONISM. i contend that this is partly due to the rapping of ALI TABATABAEE, which often sounds FORCED, STILTED and a bit AWKWARD. this isnt helped at all by references that didnt age well, notably a boasting allusion to DONALD TRUMP which is beyond CRINGE-INDUCING in retrospect. what saves the album time and time again is the INVENTIVE GUITAR WORK a la GREG BERGDORF and MAURIELLO as well as the catchy chorus melodies sung by MAURIELLO, especially on tracks such as "MOVE ON," "GET BACK," "JAG OFF," "TIME," "CHECK" and "WASTE OF MIND." as a guitar tandem, BERGDORF and MAURIELLO very much created OFF-KILTER RIFFS and SONIC TEXTURES that seemed distinctly rooted in the CELEBRATED TOM MORELLO / WES BORLAND school of IDIOSYNCRATIC guitar heroics. and that dynamic of INSPIRED GUITAR TEXTURES with catchy choruses (and terrible rapping) very much continued on subsequent releases PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR (COLUMBIA, 2000) and MFZB (COLUMBIA, 2003) before MAURIELLO's departure and later efforts with DARLING THIEVES and his solo career. after that departure the band continued on to diminishing returns as the SONIC HOOKS and MEMORABLE MELODIES left with him. WASTE OF MIND is an INTRIGUING album as a cultural marker of the evolution and cross-pollination of NU METAL and POP PUNK at the dawn of the new millennium, but was quickly overshadowed by more HARDCORE purveyors of each separate genre, by everyone from SYSTEM OF A DOWN to NEW FOUND GLORY. i wouldnt recommend WASTE OF MIND, but the next album PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR is definitely worth checking out, despite its CRINGEY PLAYBOY co-branding. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
recently i came across the SHOEGAZE band NOTHING out of PHILADELPHIA. they've been around for more than a decade and have a slew of releases out on the nearby RELAPSE RECORDS, which is generally known for their roster and back catalogue of EXTREME METAL acts. its an INTERESTING dichotomy given that SHOEGAZE is more of a sonically HAZY and AMORPHOUS genre that is less AGGRESSIVE than it is INTROSPECTIVE. NOTHING has a sound that seems to split the difference between THE CATHERINE WHEEL and the more EXPANSIVE moments of the DEFTONES. it really is an INTOXICATING sound that seems to blend a knack for ARTFUL AMBIGUITY and traditional song composition. plus their videos are pretty visually BRUTAL a la label-mates PIG DESTROYER or FULL OF HELL.
definitely a band worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
out of all the POST-GRUNGE bands that were signed and foisted on the public by major labels in the halcyon gold rush era that were those immediate post-NEVERMIND years in the early 1990s, one of the best undoubtedly was the ALTERNATIVE ROCK band SPONGE. to my ears they had a decidedly STRIPPED-BACK classic GLAM ROCK (think T. REX, THE NEW YORK DOLLS, etc) aesthetic that differentiated them from their more EARNEST and flannel-clad peers at the time. that being said, i associate the band with their MEMORABLE, HARD-CHARGING, MELODIC single "PLOWED" off of their debut ROTTING PIÑATA (WORK GROUP, 1994) which was as much of a staple on 106.7 KROQ FM in LOS ANGELES during my childhood as anything produced by NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN, ALICE IN CHAINS, PEARL JAM or STONE TEMPLE PILOTS ever was. just the sound of vocalist VINNIE DOMBROSKI's EXPANSIVE voice on that track brings back playground images of pickup basketball and weekend excursions to nearby DISNEYLAND during my elementary school years.
and the UBIQUITY of that track is probably the root of their SECOND-TIER STATUS at the time. unlike the FOO FIGHTERS, BUSH, CANDLEBOX and SILVERCHAIR who were all similar-sounding SUCCESSFUL bands that emerged in the immediate wake of the SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion of the early 1990s, SPONGE only had one massive hit single with an accompanying album that was otherwise largely forgettable. i know people will point to the track "MOLLY (SIXTEEN CANDLES)" but until i reacquainted myself with SPONGE in the early 2000s id never heard it before and had zero recollection of such on the radio when it was a new song. those POST-GRUNGE bands notoriously get little respect as they are the go-between stepping stools between the waning ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene and the emerging BELLIGERENT, AGGRESSIVE and decidedly MISOGYNISTIC NU METAL that followed. they occupied a temporary NICHE in the market that was already looking past them upon arrival. a CULTURAL ANACHRONISM of sorts before they had a chance. that all may sound HARSH, but in terms of singles, "PLOWED" is still an UNDENIABLE track that stands up with the best of that period. i wouldnt necessarily recommend ROTTING PIÑATA in totality as it is a bit of a TOP-HEAVY album. check out the more COHESIVE and similarly GLAM ROCK-influenced TINY MUSIC... SONGS FROM THE VATICAN GIFT SHOP (ATLANTIC, 1996) by STONE TEMPLE PILOTS released just two years later instead. photo & text by nacrowe
its one of those weird things about the 90s that arguably the RAWEST and most CUTTING, SELF-PUNISHING record of the decade was a CHAMBER POP album by a DIMINUTIVE and seemingly ANGELIC-presenting chanteuse, who was still in her teens, in singer-songwriter FIONA APPLE. her debut album TIDAL (COLUMBIA, 1996) found her lyrically shedding all socially and culturally constructed aspects of her FEMININITY to reveal a POWERFUL VOICE oozing with confidence while paradoxically wallowing in her own INSECURITIES, MISGIVINGS and CONTRADICTIONS. all this while the sound-bed layer of music is decidedly DELICATE with swells of LUSH, EXOTIC INSTRUMENTATION courtesy of JON BRION. it makes for one of the most DYNAMIC debut albums of that or any other decade.
i wasnt in the UNITED STATES back in 1996 as my family moved to NIGERIA that year and wasnt exposed to APPLE until i was well into college almost a decade later. by that point i was familiar with most of the major ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands of the period, both successful and those less so, but discovering APPLE was a bit of a revelation as i couldnt believe someone this singularly COURAGEOUS and SELF-OBLITERATING ran askew of my radar beforehand. in tracks such as "SHADOWBOXER," "SLEEP TO DREAM," "NEVER IS A PROMISE" and especially "CRIMINAL" you found a SELF-AWARE VOICE coming to terms with how society perceives her through the lens of GENDER and SEXUALITY while attempting to numb and shed those expectations. the fact that such BRUTAL self-observations, some related to SEXUAL ABUSE incurred as a minor, are conducted with such AIRY, LILTING MELODIES and matching DELICATE, UNOBTRUSIVE and decidedly SOPHISTICATED INSTRUMENTATION only augments the power of such. it was like a cross between the more SONICALLY LUSH and INTRICATE moments of peak BEACH BOYS circa PET SOUNDS (CAPITOL, 1966) with the OBSERVATIONAL SELF-ANNIHILATING acumen of a PATTI SMITH, MICHAEL STIPE, PJ HARVEY or LOU REED. its a COMPELLING dichotomy that i was not prepared for on first listen and instantly made me a long-term fan that has followed her IDIOSYNCRATIC career ever since. and i think the OBVIOUS should be stated outright that WOMEN undoubtedly get it harder than men in the MUSIC INDUSTRY and society at large. they are judged against each other by their YOUTH and apparent BEAUTY, which is ultimately a DIMINISHING CULTURAL ASSET over time. men dont have to deal with this SEX OBJECT BULLSHIT at all, being perceived as amassing WISDOM and STATURE over time. across the ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY it is that rare actress or singer that can maintain an audience over time. for every MERYL STREEP and DOLLY PARTON there is a GEENA DAVIS and DEBBIE HARRY that has had to struggle to maintain visibility despite abundant TALENT and PAST ACCOLADES and PEER RECOGNITION. i feel strongly that right out of the gate APPLE was attempting to present a VOICE that transcended the UNFAIR societal and culturally imposed LIMITATIONS on her GENDER and competed with the boys at their own titled game. much like BJORK, L7, KATE BUSH, LORETTA LYNN, SINEAD O'CONNOR, CAT POWER, MARIANNE FAITHFUL, COURTNEY BARNETT, SLEATER-KINNEY, JONI MITCHELL, ELASTICA, CHELSEA WOLFE, LAURA NYRO, WANDA JACKSON, BETH ORTON, PATSY CLINE, COURTNEY LOVE, AMY WINEHOUSE and AIMEE MANN did before and after her, she is part of a long UNBROKEN lineage of FEMALE ARTISTS attempting to dismantle PATRIARCHAL estimations of their value as artists and buck the INDUSTRY in the process. i know its REDUCTIVE to speak about her GENDER in this manner, but this conversation feels INEVITABLE given the era and her impact on successive generations of musicians and songwriters (of all GENDER and GENDER EXPRESSIONS) such as SHARON VAN ETTEN, LORDE, TEGAN & SARA, KING PRINCESS, FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, VANESSA CARLTON, PERFUME GENIUS, KINGS OF CONVENIENCE, LILY ALLEN, FEIST, SOCCER MOMMY, MITSKI, REGINA SPEKTOR, BAT FOR LASHES, KATE NASH, ST. VINCENT AND LADY GAGA among many others. TIDAL is absolutely required listening in my opinion. her work is INTEGRAL to a complete understanding of music in the 1990s. in fact, i'd take it a step further and state that APPLE's entire catalogue is absolutely worth checking out. enjoy. photo & text by nacrowe
it is not hyperbole to state matter-of-factly that LINKIN PARK's debut album HYBRID THEORY (WARNER BROS, 2000) is one of the more culturally CONSEQUENTIAL releases of the new millennium. and that judgement is separate from the album having gone 27 times platinum worldwide since its unveiling more than two decades ago, making it the most SUCCESSFUL debut release of the 21st century. the album itself represents the COHERENT and SEAMLESS integration of HIP HOP PRODUCTION and SONIC AESTHETICS with the INTESITY and AGGRESSION and TRADITIONAL SONGWRITING STRUCTURES of ALTERNATIVE ROCK / METAL.
what is interesting is that LINKIN PARK was not the first out of the gate with this HYBRID sound, arguably KORN, INCUBUS, LIMP BIZKIT, DEFTONES, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and several other acts of the period associated (FAIRLY or UNFAIRLY) with the NU METAL tag predated them at times by several years. but whereas those bands to a certain extent experimented with CHOPPED BEATS, RAPPED VOCALS and SCRATCHED VINYL TEXTURING as a means of expanding their SOUND, such dalliances didnt necessarily constitute a SOUND centered around such. in LINKIN PARK and especially on HYBRID THEORY, said SCRATCHED TEXTURES, BEAT-MAKING and RAPPED VOCALS inverted such AURAL EXPECTATIONS. those ELEMENTS were the main focus of their SONGWRITING, with METAL tropes like DETUNED, DISSONANT guitars and THUNDEROUS drumming a more secondary compositional element. LINKIN PARK very clearly represented a clean break from the pack and 2.0 version of the NU METAL genre to the music-buying public, which was trending towards becoming GENRE-LESS. id go so far as to say that the current DIGITAL MUSICAL ENVIRONMENT, where TRIBALISM has wained significantly as the new generation (POST MALONE, LIL UZI VERT, MACHINE GUN KELLY) makes music that is DIVERSE, IMAGINATIVE and ICONOCLASTIC as they defy staid genre prescriptions of the past. along with BECK, WEEN, MIKE PATTON and countless other artists, this new musical reality is a world that LINKIN PARK introduced the greater world community to with such a COHESIVE statement as HYBRID THEORY. which is FUNNY, because people at the time thought LINKIN PARK were an INDUSTRY PLANT. literally every song on that album could have been marketed as a single. it was such a STRONG release that TASTEMAKERS and some IRRESPONSIBLE MUSIC CRITICS were immediately convinced that there was no possible way this band wrote their own material. the truth was the band (formerly XERO) had been struggling and turned down by literally every major label (some multiple times) repeatedly for years, some multiple times. they ended up on the ARTIST-FRIENDLY WARNER BROS label due to a previous relationship with their new A&R director at the time, otherwise theyd probably still be looking. the core of the SONGWRITING PARTNERSHIP was rapper MIKE SHINODA and vocalist CHESTER BENNINGTON, the former often providing FORM and CONTEXT to riffs and ideas provided by the rest of the group. producer DON GILMORE (GOOD CHARLOTTE, EVE6, DURAN DURAN, LIT) was an INDISPENSIBLE resource assisting SHINODA with SONG ARRANGEMENTS and navigating him through the process of manipulating the studio to your creative will. this instuction would reap substantial benefits on subsequent releases as SHINODA took on more PRODUCTION duties for the group. this is all to say that the band quite literally was a SELF-CONTAINED PRODUCTION entity in and of themselves, far more AUTONOMOUS then their ALTERNATIVE ROCK / METAL peer group and far more in keeping structurally and organizationally with HIP HOP PRODUCTION teams of the period (i.e. TIMBALAND, THE NEPTUNES and ORGANIZED NOIZE). i first heard LINKIN PARK during my junior year of high school. my family had moved to KUWAIT and i learned of HYBRID THEORY through an AMERICAN classmate there. i just remember being taken away by how strong the SONGWRITING and PRODUCTION was, which is not necessarily something you associated with an ALTERNATIVE ROCK / METAL album. if anything, bands like PANTERA, TOOL, SLIPKNOT and SYSTEM OF A DOWN traded not on their POLISH, but on how RAW and BRUTAL the music was while still maintaining a recognizable STRUCTURE. like a caged rat or something. HYBRID THEORY was more like a PRISTINE, highly STYLIZED art piece were everything was seamlessly INTEGRATED and thoroughly CONCEIVED and thought out compositionally for MAXIMUM AURAL IMPACT. it was a departure from what i expected yet fit in with SONIC EXPECTATIONS of MODERN POP and HIP HOP PRODUCTIONS of the period. i also remember the apparent VAGUENESS of the LYRICAL CONTENT, with BENNINGTON repeatedly opining and referencing how he wanted to remain himself and be less effected by another NAMELESS third entity. there was a lot of SECOND-PERSON PERSPECTIVE being thrown around which was a SONGWRITING quirk that was addressed on subsequent releases. there was also a STRIKING lack of CURSING, which seemed ODD at the time yet UNREMARKABLE in retrospect. in that regard they were much like 311 with such being a CONSCIOUS DECISION. the effect at the time was that BENNINGTON came off as slightly INAUTHENTIC. his vocals were so POWERFUL and strangely PROFESSIONAL that not CURSING while emoting ANGER seemed oddly RESTRAINED, especially when compared to his immediate peer group in MAX CAVALERA, JONATHAN DAVIS or even (sadly, yes) FRED DURST, he came off as a bit of a lightweight. a METAL singer for the POP audience. his untimely TRAGIC passing brought to bear in a very public way how deeply TROUBLED, TRAUMATIZED and emotionally affected he had been throughout his adult existence by lingering consequences of surviving SEXUAL ABUSE and severe BULLYING throughout his childhood. i'll speak for myself, but i hear his lyrics very differently now in light of such then i did as a seventeen year-old when HYBRID THEORY was released. i now am of the opinion that BENNINGTON was such a COURAGEOUS dude, bearing his heart in hopes of allowing others to suffer less. i just hate the fact that it took his death for people, including myself, to open up and pay attention to his message. HYBRID THEORY still holds up. again, literally ever song could have been a single, but to me the STANDOUT tracks include "IN THE END," "WITH YOU," "A PLACE FOR MY HEAD," "ONE STEP CLOSER," "POINTS OF AUTHORITY," and my FAVORITE song, "PAPERCUT." more than any other record from this era, i hear the reverberations of the massive CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT that was HYBRID THEORY down the line in HIP HOP and ALTERNATIVE ROCK / METAL music from the past two decades. like NIRVANA before them, what came in their wake were lots of TERRIBLE copycats (i.e. EVANESCENCE, BREAKING BENJAMIN, CRAZY TOWN) as well as some very INSPIRED and CONSEQUENTIAL adherents (i.e. A DAY TO REMEMBER and BRING ME THE HORIZON), but throughout such the ORIGINALITY and CONSISTENCY of HYBRID THEORY and the LINKIN PARK SOUND remains. definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
this is something i recently came across that i thought was PRETTY COOL. ROLLING LIVE STUDIOS is a HOLLYWOOD RECORDING STUDIO and EVENT SPACE that specializes in PODCASTS, LIVESTREAM EVENTS and all things DIGITAL in a ONE-STOP-SHOP platform. they even have an APP! back in 2020 during the pandemic they did a charity fundraiser for SAVE THE CHILDREN by celebrating what would have been DAVID BOWIE's 75th birthday with an all-star pay-er-view LIVESTREAM EVENT that included the likes of LIVING COLOUR, COREY TAYLOR (SLIPKNOT), DAVE NAVARRO (JANE'S ADDICTION), TAYLOR HAWKINS (FOO FIGHTERS), YUNGBLOOD, DURAN DURAN, NOEL GALLAGHER (OASIS), MACY GRAY, GLEN MATLOCK (THE SEX PISTOLS) and BILLY CORGAN (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS) and ALICE COOPER among many others.
LEGENDARY COLUMBIA RECORDS A&R man, RUTGERS ALUMNUS (my alma mater), MTV VJ and 120 MINUTES host, as well as LONG-TIME MUSIC FAN and TIRELESS PROMOTER of all things ALTERNATIVE ROCK, MATT PINFIELD sat down with several of these artists for SHORT-FORM interviews about their ADORATION of all things BOWIE for a promotional segment called ROLLING LIVE WITH MATT PINFIELD. definitely worth checking out as well as his ONGOING PODCAST series IN A LONELY PLACE WITH MATT PINFIELD. i know the dude had some health issues in recent years so just sending out all my LOVE and GOOD WILL from one former RUTGERS radio DJ to another. photo & text by nacrowe
as has been reported, commented, opined and discussed ad nauseam for more than three decades now, in the wake of NIRVANA's release of NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991), everything basically changed. seemingly overnight, SEATTLE became the most UNLIKELY of cultural MECCAs with ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene peers in groups like SOUNDGARDEN, MELVINS, ALICE IN CHAINS, PEARL JAM, TAD, MUDHONEY and THE SCREAMING TREES all leading the charge to varying degrees of COMMERCIAL SUCCESS, CULTURAL INFLUENCE and CRITICAL PRAISE throughout the decade and beyond. so far and vast was the cultural pull of this scene that bands from the era that were far beyond the PACIFIC NORTHWEST geographic vicinity were huddled together into the movement, such as THE SMASHING PUMPKINS (CHICAGO), STONE TEMPLE PILOTS (SAN DIEGO via OHIO and NEW JERSEY) and BLIND MELON (LOS ANGELES via INDIANA, PENNSYLVANIA and MISSISSIPPI). its super INTERESTING because the SEATTLE so-called GRUNGE bands took inspiration from some variety or amalgam of PUNK ROCK, CLASSIC ROCK and METAL whereas THE SMASHING PUMPKINS incorporated SHOEGAZE, POWER POP and GLAM ROCK with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and even FOLK MUSIC with BLIND MELON. in retrospect its all a bit RIDICULOUS that these bands with DISPARATE influences got lumped together under the GRUNGE tag. but so it was.
but what is interest is the reaction to the SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion, where bands moved to the area in the hopes of getting signed. FORGOTTEN INDIE ROCK bands, some local some from out of town, like BEST KISSERS IN THE WORLD (MCA), POND (SONY), TRULY (CAPITOL), FLOP (SONY 550) and HAMMERBOX (A&M) all were signed to majors in the wake of the MASSIVE GRUNGE wave and fizzled out shortly thereafter. CANDLEBOX is an INTRIGUING case. they area a local SEATTLE band that came to prominence after the peak of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion. their sound was adjacent enough to those aforementioned bands that they were signed by MADONNA's major-label WARNER BROS. imprint MAVERICK (which over its CELEBRATED lifespan would have a DIVERSE roster including DEFTONES, ALANIS MORISSETTE and MUSE among others) and released a surprisingly COMPETENT debut self-titled album CANDLEBOX (MAVERICK, 1993). tracks like singles "FAR BEHIND," "YOU" and "COVER ME" had singer KEVIN MARTIN's EARNEST and EMOTIVE singing as their center-point and more than held their weight against the OGs of the scene. unfortunately they were tagged as POST-GRUNGE, which had a DISMISSIVE ring to it and critically lumped them for posterity with less COMPELLING acts like BUSH, COLLECTIVE SOUL, SILVERCHAIR and LIVE and later DERIDED and DERIVATIVE acts like DAYS OF THE NEW, SEETHER, NICKELBACK, CREED, MATCHBOX TWENTY and STAIND. i find CANDLEBOX to be interesting in retrospect because they were a SOLID band that had a distinct sound that was an INVITING variation on a theme from the period. they sounded like themselves unlike their POST-GRUNGE peers who largely seem to be aping ALICE IN CHAINS in particular. timing really is everything and PERCEPTION IS REALITY, which did not benefit CANDLEBOX in the least. in spite of all that, the CANDLEBOX record is definitely worth checking out, especially for those familiar with and fans of the more prominent SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK acts of the period. i still argue and maintain it holds up more than favorably.
parodies & text by nacrowe
SOUNDGARDEN was a truly MASSIVE band for me during my childhood. as ive written about repeatedly and extensively before, the first two albums i ever owned were SUPERUNKNOWN (A&M, 1994) by SOUNDGARDEN and VITALOGY (EPIC, 1994) by PEARL JAM. both were gifts from my parents back when i was ten years old. interestingly, the first records i ever bought with allowance money were all by LIVING COLOUR, specifically their VIVID (EPIC, 1988) and BISCUITS (EPIC, 1990) albums as well as their TIME'S UP (EPIC, 1991) EP, all of which i acquired shortly after obtaining the aforementioned SOUNDGARDEN and PEARL JAM records. all told, it was a great starting haul to a lifelong PASSION.
looking back, SOUNDGARDEN is such a UNIQUE band. obviously CHRIS CORNELL is a songwriter and frontman of the first order, gifted the preternatural CHARISMA, LOOKS and VOICE of an UNDENIABLE ROCK GOD. ROCK AND ROLL very much feels like may have been invented in order to describe and give context to his PRESENCE and ENERGY. dude was an adonis and to me as a child, CORNELL very much was ROCK AND ROLL. end stop. all that being said, his artistic work was THOUGHTFUL, MELODIC and subtly POETIC, often displaying an underlying DARK VULNERABILITY in the midst of POWERFUL anthemic peons a life well lived. his untimely passing a half decade ago is still SHOCKING and TRAGIC and a deeply felt LOSS to the world. with all due respect to CORNELL, what drew me in as a kid was guitarist KIM THAYIL. the OFF-KILTER RHYTHMS and ODD, EXOTIC-sounding SONIC TEXTURES provided an EXPANDED PALETTE of what a guitarist could produce with the instrument. in other words, dude was a GUITAR WIZARD. i still hold him in high regard and only much later in my musical journey learning about EXPERIMENTAL POST PUNK bands could i see his work in context. for me THAYIL's EXPANSIVE SOUND that was SLUDGY yet kinetically and rhythmically ANGULAR and UNPREDICTABLE like an INDIAN-AMERICAN half TONY IOMMI (BLACK SABBATH), half ANDY GILL (GANG OF FOUR) hybrid. yet his guitar playing never felt forced or strained in the mix, instead providing a push and pull counterpoint with CORNELL and his ETHEREAL PRESENCE and OTHER-WORDLY VOICE. arguably part of what made their songs so SPECIAL was this INTRIGUING dynamic were CORNELL anchored these EVOCATIVE AURAL LANDSCAPES with a MELODIC SENSIBILITY that was equal parts BRAVADO of MELANCHOLY. its a sound that whose ALCHEMY has not been replicated since. i was in junior high when SOUNDGARDEN broke up in 1997, arguably at the peak of their powers post DOWN ON THE UPSIDE (A&M, 1996). despite being bummed about it, i respected them immensely for calling it a day before they felt they were phoning it in and not in control of their own narrative. its hard not to since that is the ULTIMATE PUNK ROCK move. they refused to become a NOSTALGIA act, they refused to become AEROSMITH. i similarly respected their decision to return two decades later and KING ANIMAL (UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC, 2012) basically started artistically where they left off, which is a PHENOMENAL achievement. a minor miracle in fact. that ALCHEMY stayed intact. for me there is a certain MAGIC to SOUNDGARDEN that is as much a part of my wildly IMAGINATIVE childhood projections as it is about the quality of their catalogue. i am obviously biased given my formative experiences, but i find myself still intrigued by their records. the last demoed songs recorded before CORNELL untimely passing are rumored to be in the works as the final artistic statement from the LEGENDARY ALTERNATIVE ROCK band. i have no apprehension that if released, such will be great. and i look forward to hearing them eventually. embedded below is an early DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the ICONIC SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK band SOUNDGARDEN. enjoy!
parodies by nacrowe
sometimes you come across bands that are too clever by half.
classic case for that is PROGRESSIVE ROCK where VIRTUOSO musicians (cough, cough, DREAM THEATER) are liable to loose the plot and go down CONVOLUTED MODAL and SCALE rabbit-holes with no sense of ARTISTIC INTENT, PASSION or ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the wellbeing of a listener who potentially has to listen to this CHAOTIC, PATRONIZING mess. of course, there are notable exceptions like TOOL, RUSH and KING CRIMSON that use this EXPANDED color-box of TECHNIQUES and MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE sans SELF-INDULGENCE with SPECTACULAR results. in the 90s there was an explosion of genre-blending at hand where PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES related to HIP HOP and ROCK AND ROLL found new JUXTAPOSITIONS and EXPRESSION. some took that PASTICHE idea and really went for it with ADVENTUROUS expansions into LOUNGE, FOLK, JAZZ, LATIN MUSIC, COUNTRY, PSYCHEDELIA, FOUND SOUND, CHAMBER MUSIC, COMMERCIALS, BLUES, TROPICALIA, AFROBEAT, MUZAK and so on like the BEASTIE BOYS, BJORK and BECK arguably most famously. but i think that STEREOLAB may have done the whole EXPANDED PALETTE thing the most cohesively as their ECLECTIC SOUND and AESTHETIC decades later still sounds MODERN and cutting edge. part of that is the EXTRAORDINARY quality of the songs themselves and the UNIQUE, SOOTHING SINGING TONE of FRENCH vocalist LÆTITIA SADIER. whatever the SOUND-BED in the background, her VOCALS put you immediately at ease and envision a nice BRISK walk on a BREEZY, MAJESTIC summer afternoon. the MUSIC itself clears away from HARSH JUXTAPOSITIONS a la BECK and the BEASTIE BOYS that consciously drawn attention to themselves in favor of an ALTERNATE aesthetic whereby you are aware of the UNIQUENESS of the PRODUCTION and SONIC TEXTURES at play, but they are blended so adroitly that you arent consciously sussing them apart like a puzzle. instead you just let it all wash over you. i find the music of STEREOLAB relaxing, which is insane because musically they are particularly TECHNICALLY ADVANCED relative to their peer-base at the time and somehow manufactured a STARTLING achievement of making wildly DISPARATE SONIC ELEMENTS sound COHESIVE and even NATIVE and AUTHENTIC in relation to one another. i know INDIE ROCK snobs love this band, and ive met my share, but this is a band worthy of exploration in spite of such. like MASSIVE ATTACK, DEPECHE MODE or APHEX TWIN, they exceed their own hype. embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the intensely ECLECTIC and FUN music of STEREOLAB. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
the title kind of says it all. when the ALTERNATIVE ROCK band GARBAGE came out with their second album VERSION 2.0 (ALMO, 1998), it very much felt like the more STREAMLINED, UPGRADED version of their SEMINAL debut nearly three years earlier. the band is less a group a musicians and more a VERITABLE BRAINTRUST. drummer BUTCH VIG and bassist STEVE MARKER were the cofounders of SMART STUDIOS in WISCONSIN with a list of clients that included L7, NIRVANA, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS and KILLDOZER among many others. VIG and guitarist DOUG ERIKSON were former bandmates in the NEW WAVE band SPOONER, respectively. effectively VIG, MARKER, ERIKSON and singer SHIRLEY MANSON (ANGELFISH) were all TALENTED and ACCOMPLISHED SONGWRITERS to boot, so VERSION 2.0 is essentially the band at their most COHESIVE and commercially POTENT point in their career. arguably.
the band's SOUND was always a mix of ALTERNATIVE ROCK with seamlessly integrated SAMPLED ELEMENTS most famously associated with HIP HOP PRODUCTION. in fact, after the release of NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991), VIG was asked to make single REMIXES for upcoming releases by major artists, and brought along his friends MARKER and ERIKSON in for these sonic experiments, which effectively laid the foundation of GARBAGE. in addition to ALTERNATIVE ROCK, their UNIQUE futuristic sound recounts the best aspects of TRIP HOP, SHOEGAZE, NEW WAVE, DANCE MUSIC and DREAM POP. UPTEMPO tracks like "WHEN I GROW UP," "I THINK I'M PARANOID," "SPECIAL," "TEMPTATION WAITS" and especially "PUSH IT" sounded like nothing on the radio at the time and really had no antecedent in the ROCK N ROLL genre. years later LINKIN PARK would likewise take similar elements, albeit with a NARROWER and more HARD ROCK PRESENTATION, to absolute global domination. i'd credit both GARBAGE and LINKIN PARK for the current growing trend towards a GENRE-LESS variant of POP MUSIC in the entertainment industry. i'd argue it started with MANSON and company. more DELICATE, ETHEREAL and DOWNTEMPO tracks like "THE TRICK IS TO KEEP BREATHING," and "YOU LOOK SO FINE" were written in the tradition of previous tracks like "MILK" off of GARBAGE (ALMO, 1995). when i hear these tracks what shines through is the VERSATILITY and FORCE OF PERSONALITY that is SHIRLEY MANSON. as much as the band is the summation of its parts with its INCREDIBLE PRODUCTION and SONGWRITING prowess, in MANSON you have effectively a FORCE MULTIPLIER of generational proportions. ive said this before in a previous write-up about their STELLAR debut (review linked HERE), i believe she is one of the most UNDERRATED SINGERS of her era. on paper the band's SOUND and PRESENTATION appears CONTRIVED, TECHNICAL and something only NAVEL-GAZING musos might be interested in, but MANSON brings it all back down to street level. her PERSONALITY and PRESENTATION confronts the listener and gives the band an edge. and for me, that is the real MAGIC of the band. and never is that more apparent then on VERSION 2.0. required listening in my opinion. definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i have to come out and admit it. initially i thought audio engineer AARON RASH's NIRVANA-focsed TONE-CHASING YOUTUBE CHANNEL was more than a bit on a clickbait tip. its NOT UNCOMMON on social media to see people acquiring KURT COBAIN-inspired gear in the hope and pursuit of chasing views and clout while exploiting the generations of 90s ALTERNATIVE ROCK fans still out there, me included.
this first impression was thankfully ABSOLUTELY WRONG. while RASH is focused on the NIRVANA catalogue, what makes his pursuit INTRIGUING is not necessarily the subject per se (although i am a huge COBAIN fan since childhood), but the manner in which he actively DECONSTRUCTS the mechanics of how sound is PRODUCED and RECORDED. my cousin is an audio engineer and listening to RASH wade through CLOSE EXAMINATIONS and COUNTLESS off-camera SONIC EXPERIMENTS regarding SPEAKERS, PICKUPS, MICROPHONES and the more technical aspects of PHASE CANCELLATIONS, POLARITY, WAVE TRANSIENTS and the like and their effect on tone takes me right back to being in my cousin's presence listening to mixes he was tinkering on for UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA and YEASAYER. if anything, the end result is the CONSEQUENCE of a long chain of DECISION-MAKING, some INTENTIONAL and some not. knowing what GUITAR made from the CORRECT MATERIAL with the CORRECT PICKUPS, going through the CORRECT AMPLIFIER with the CORRECT SPEAKERS and so on is a maddening proposition. but RASH pursues such tones off of BLEACH (SUB POP, 1989), NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) and IN UTERO (DGC, 1993) with a PASSION and an almost ACADEMIC, SINGULAR focus that comes off as both CREATIVE and IMAGINATIVE. it really makes you consider the PRODUCTION CHOICES behind MEMORABLE guitar tones. now if only RASH decided on tackling FAITH NO MORE'S ANGEL DUST (REPRISE, 1992) or JANE'S ADDICTION's RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL (WARNER BROS, 1990) id truly be in guitar dork heaven. wink, wink. photo & text by nacrowe
in the mid-to-late 1990s there seemed to be a whole cadre of POP-ORIENTED, RETRO-THEMED NEW WAVE-adjacent bands coming out of CALIFORNIA that included everyone from LIT, SUGAR RAY, GOLDFINGER, ZEBRAHEAD and SMASH MOUTH. this wave of artists was obviously a direct consequence of the recent success of fellow POP-FRIENDLY local artists like NO DOUBT, GREEN DAY and THE OFFSPRING in the wake of the untimely demise of NIRVANA and that more somber strain of ALTERNATIVE ROCK that dominated the beginning of the decade.
when i listen back at SMASH MOUTH's debut, FUSH YU MANG (INTERSCOPE, 1997), the title itself a cultural reference to AL PACINO's slurred "fuck you, man" line in SCARFACE (UNIVERSAL, 1983), i hear a TOP-HEAVY album that is indicative of the period in which singles pushed OVERPRICED albums. as singles go, "WALKING ON THE SUN" is a BANGER. singer STEVE HARTWELL never sounded more RELAXED and CHARISMATIC. like DEXTER HOLLAND (THE OFFSPRING) before him, he would go on to construct formulaic and trite lyrics meant for mass consumption on film soundtracks or worse, doing away with originality altogether and just covering cheesy 60s pop drivel. on this song however he serves the song and does it extraordinarily well, which is why i remember being INTRIGUED by the band when seeing them perform this song on MADTV way back in the day. the SECRET WEAPON of SMASH MOUTH is the UBER-TALENTED main songwriter and multi-instrumentalist GREG CAMP. the dude is very CLEVER with how he utilizes vintage sounds out of HAMMOND organs, reverb-drenched FENDER JAZZMASTERS and SWINGIN' LOUNGE drum beats to create an aural landscape that oozes HIPNESS and NOSTALGIC intimations of 1950s-era bowling alleys, drive-thrus and roadside diners while sounding thoroughly MODERN. in fact, all through his initial discography with the band, i.e. ASTRO LOUNGE (INTERSCOPE, 1999) and SMASH MOUTH (INTERSCOPE, 2001) i felt that the band was a waste of his gifted abilities as a songwriter, composer and arranger. i almost look at him like a modern JEFF LYNNE (ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA). the risk of looking back at the superficial cultural elements of the past, especially the pre-CIVIL RIGHTS era 1950s, is that it whitewashes the SEEDIER elements into a bygone utopia that is historically INACURATE and intrinsically MISGUIDED. some of these bands unfortunately fall into that category, but with CAMP's deft vision he re-contextualizes such for something that felt FRESH and of the 90s, not a rehash of something four decades its predecessor. is FUSH YU MANG worth checking out. i dont know. "WALKING ON THE SUN" definitely is. for me this album would not exist if not in the pre-file sharing / pre-SPOTIFY era, because the other songs on the album are meh. back then an album had a better return on investment then a single, so that was the music industry scam that came to a close at the turn of the millennium rendering this nostalgic album somewhat of a modern day anachronism of a past business model that thankfully became OUTMODED. on a side note, im just glad CAMP is out there again these days with his new project, THE DEFIANT, featuring members of THE OFFSPRING and THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES. that band looks promising by evidence of what theyve put out recently. now check that out instead! photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
sometimes you put your ear out into the ether of the internet and it pays dividends. such was the case in discovering the NUMBER GIRL, the disbanded JAPANESE INDIE ROCK band from FUKUOKA on the southern island of KYUSHU. my immediate impression was that their sound had the CHAOTIC, DISSONANT and often ATONAL flair of SONIC YOUTH while maintaining CONVENTIONAL POP STRUCTURES a la HUSKER DU, THE REPLACEMENTS or THE PIXIES. this former group definitely walked the line between EXPERIMENTAL NOISE ROCK and TRADITIONAL AMERICAN INDIE ROCK.
which is fine by me because i am fan of that sound and NUMBER GIRL mined such in the late 1990s and early 2000s before their breakup. since then they have reunited on occasion for JAPANESE festival gigs, but insofar have pursued outside projects. here is hoping for new music from the group, who are definitely worth checking out.
parody by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the solo work of the generationally GIFTED BRITISH singer-songwriter and former OASIS guitarist NOEL GALLAGHER!
​ ​​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! |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
May 2024
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