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.
0 Comments
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! photo & text by nacrowe
in spite of all the SURPRISING career achievements and accolades of the SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement of the early 1990s, the recent MUD RIDE: A MESSY TRIP THROUGH THE GRUNGE EXPLOSION (CHRONICLE PRISM, 2023) memoir by founding MUDHONEY guitarist STEVE TURNER attests to how SMALL, INSULAR and INCESTUOUS the beginnings of that ISOLATED regional scene actually was. at the center of it all was a generation of 1980s HARDCORE kids that were trying to figure out what followed up on that INFLUENTIAL national underground scene.
because of their relatively long distance from other MAJOR MARKETS, these kids effectively entertained themselves and established an INTIMATE music and arts scene that was as SUPPORTIVE as it was ECLECTIC. some bands emerged with more of a PLODDING and DOWN-TEMPO riff heavy BLACK SABBATH / late era BLACK FLAG vibe (MELVINS), while others a more PSYCHEDELIC, HEAVY BLUES LED ZEPPELIN type of thing (SOUNDGARDEN), while still others where inspired by the more FLAMBOYANT CLASSIC ROCK elements of KISS, QUEEN and AEROSMITH (MOTHER LOVE BONE). the book goes through many of these EMERGING bands and how their personnel changes reflected competing influences, ambitions and philosophies on how a band should be presented and sound like. for me that was the crux of the memoir and its most INTRIGUING aspect, especially how it distilled the early scene band GREEN RIVER, made up of MARK ARM and STEVE TURNER of what would later become MUDHONEY and STONE GOSSARD and JEFF AMENT of MOTHER LOVE BONE and PEARL JAM. long story short, the band basically bifurcated due to the competing SONIC and BUSINESS SENSIBILITIES of those two camps, which manifested itself in the LONGSTANDING 30+ year careers of both MUDHONEY and PEARL JAM. for me MUDHONEY (as well as the MELVINS) is the perfect band to speak reflectively about the GRUNGE movement, partly due to their early involvement and influence on the scene as well as their ability to survive and thrive longterm and make EVEN-HANDED BUSINESS DECISIONS. MUDHONEY never got anywhere close to the INCREDIBLE COMMERCIAL and FINANCIAL SUCCESS of scene peers in NIRVANA, PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS. their career trajectory was respectable, but more muted probably due to the more chaotic and noisier aesthetic of their sound which was heavily indebted more to proto-PUNK bands like THE STOOGES and MC5 and GARAGE ROCK in general than 70s METAL or CLASSIC ROCK. those other bands found a way to manifest and crystalize a new AGGRESSIVE sound that translated well to MAINSTREAM RADIO, whereas MUDHONEY and similar bands like the MELVINS and the U-MEN never figured such out. watching these peers navigate the waters of the major label scene allowed MUDHONEY the perspective of how to make SHREWD BUSINESS DECISIONS when ultimately given the opportunity to sign with REPRISE RECORDS in the mid-1990s. much like with the experience of the MELVINS and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAN MELODIC HARDCORE band BAD RELIGION, both of whom were signed to ATLANTIC RECORDS around the same period, once the the ride was over after a handful of albums, all three bands seamlessly returned back to independent labels (SUB POP, EPITAPH and AMPHETAMINE REPTILE respectively) the better for temporarily utilizing the DISTRIBUTION and BOOKING acumen of their former CORPORATE OVERLORDS. all three learned from the mistakes of others and were left relatively unscathed from the experience, which was not the norm. MUD RIDE is pretty SOBER accounting of an UNEXPECTED, UNFORESEEN and UNLIKELY musical career. it is also the narrative of a collection of musicians that viewed the cultural landscape and the opportunities available with PERSPECTIVE and didnt let AMBITION cloud their judgement. how the HARDCORE scene prepared them for that DIY ETHIC to go out and reach for success on a modest scale is something to be admired. that INFORMED ethic also allowed a band like PEARL JAM, who were that rare band to reach the upper echelons of the MUSIC INDUSTRY, to maintain a level of PERSPECTIVE as well in the process. it allowed them the ability to call shots and treat their team well and not get gobbled up by CORPORATE INTERESTS that sought to exploit, confuse and dismantle them like their peers in NIRVANA. the SEATTLE GRUNGE / ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion is an endlessly FASCINATING topic and MUD RIDE provides a UNIQUE perspective on the last INDEPENDENT music scene to marinate in relative ISOLATION arguable ever (due to the advent and proliferation of the internet and social networking). definitely a book worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
im an ABSOLUTE sucker for these LIVE PERFORMANCE series distributed on YOUTUBE and sponsored by everyone from INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURERS, TELEVISION PROGRAMS, RECORD LABELS, CONCERT VENUES to even LOCAL RADIO STATIONS. in the mold of SEATTLE's KEXP 90.3FM i recently came across CENTRAL OHIO's CD 102.5FM (now apparently 92.9FM) out of COLUMBUS and their ongoing LIVE FROM THE BIG ROOM series of LIVE MUSIC performances by EMERGING and ESTABLISHED ALTERNATIVE ROCK and INDIE ROCK artists. past NOTABLE participants include THE JOY FORMIDABLE, LAURA JANE GRACE, THE KILLS, ARCTIC MONKEYS, CSS, THE BETHS and SURFER BLOOD among many others.
the sound mix isnt as professional as KEXP, which is the gold standard, but these performances are definitely IMPASSIONED and most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
as one-off collaborations go, ABOVE (COLUMBIA, 1995) by the ALTERNATIVE ROCK band MAD SEASON, made up of members of PEARL JAM, SCREAMING TREES and ALICE IN CHAINS, is one of the most COHESIVE, POTENT and EMOTIONALLY RAW creative efforts from the RENOWNED SEATTLE scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. in the wake of getting SOBER around the time of the making of VITALOGY (EPIC, 1994), PEARL JAM guitarist MIKE MCREADY wrote some loose outside material with bassist JOHN BAKER SAUNDERS (THE WALKABOUTS) and drummer BARRETT MARTIN (SCREAMING TREES) as a means of therapy as much as anything else. eventually he recruited the generationally TALENTED but profoundly addicted LAYNE STALEY (ALICE IN CHAINS) to the fold in hopes of providing a SOBER ENVIRONMENT for him on his road to recovery. at that point in the wake of JAR OF FLIES (COLUMBIA, 1994), STALEY had been something of a recluse in that ALICE IN CHAINS were FAMOUS for not touring due to his SPIRALING HEROIN ADDICTION.
STALEY is arguably in top form throughout ABOVE, providing absolutely WRENCHINGLY AFFECTING performances on STANDOUT tracks like "WAKE UP," "LONG GONE DAY," "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING" and "RIVER OF DECEIT." sonically this record is sparsely constructed with a sound-bed that is almost JAZZ-like in its sparseness and use of space. it provides the perfect accompanying and unimposing support for a DELIBERATE focus on the weight of STALEY's VISCERAL and emotionally WROUGHT vocals. STALEY for his part never sounded so EXPOSED and VULNERABLE, even in his more ACCOMPLISHED compositions with ALICE IN CHAINS. even the artwork, an illustration also provided by STALEY, seems to showcase a couple deep in the throes of CODEPENDENCE which feels like another metaphor for his DOOMED relationship with NARCOTICS. ABOVE very much is a gift to music fans as many of is collaborators sadly lost their battle with HEROIN over the next few years, including that of STALEY (in 2002) and SAUNDERS (in 1999). for STALEY, the tragic passing of his fiance from a HEROIN OVERDOSE in 1996 is something he never recovered from. in recent years, the project was resurrected for various benefit concerts with SEATTLE luminaries like MARK LANEGAN (who originally guested on two ABOVE tracks) and CHRIS CORNELL (SOUNDGARDEN) filling in for STALEY and DUFF MCKAGAN (GUNS N ROSES, THE FASTBACKS, 10 MINUTE WARNING) in for SAUNDERS, but nothing permanent came of it. especially in the wake of the CORNELL and LANEGAN's recent passings the door seems finally closed on such. to me ABOVE and this project is not CURSED or DOOMED as some in the press of morbidly attested, in fact i feel the opposite. DRUG ADDICTION is a powerful force and the MAD SEASON project was an attempt, however futile in retrospect, to fight the good fight through art, COMMUNICATION and EMPATHY. that deep well of COURAGE and VULNERABILITY that shines through in the material is something that is uniquely human despite its ultimate FRAGILITY. its like a DYLAN THOMAS poem attempting to give voice to DESPAIR and EXISTENTIAL PLIGHT and to find BEAUTY in spite of itself. to me that is enduring legacy of ABOVE and why it is a SINGULAR achievement even among the CELEBRATED catalogues of its participating members. this record is required listening in my opinion. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
LEGACY is a TRICKY thing. on one hand its nice to have a pedigree of QUALITY associated with the very mention of your name, but it can be LIMITING, especially when it comes to something as FICKLE and ONEROUS as AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS.
like anyone else, i was pleasantly surprised to learn that KIM THAYIL (SOUNDGARDEN, THE NO WTO COMBO), KRIST NOVOSELIC (NIRVANA, GIANTS IN THE TREES, THE NO WTO COMBO), MATT CAMERON (SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM, HATER) and BUBBA DUPREE (VOID, HATER) were involved in a new project called 3RD SECRET, especially after hearing their first few releases online to learn that it was a bit of a sonic departure from the bands they're famously associated with. for starters 3RD SECRET is fronted by two women, JILLIAN RAYE & JENNIFER JOHNSON who both previously collaborated in recent years with NOVOSELIC in the decidedly EXPERIMENTAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK band GIANTS IN THE TREES. with 3RD SECRET, the PHRASING and ODD-TIME SIGNATURE guitar riffage of THAYIL is UNMISTAKABLE, but the context is DIFFERENT. with the TANDEM VOCALS and SPARSE INSTRUMENTATION the effect is often PASTORAL and intriguingly FOLK-adjacent at times to my ears, something id never associate with the AGGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVE ROCK of SOUNDGARDEN, NIRVANA or the UNRELENTING HARDCORE of VOID. most of all, i have to say its just great to see them all in action with a CREATIVE vehicle that nods but is not beholden to their PAST. and honestly, from an outside perspective they seem like they are ENJOYING themselves, so more power to them. im looking forward to what they come up with in the FUTURE, however long this current project lasts. 3RD SECRET is definitely worth checking out.
parodies by nacrowe
i wasnt on the bandwagon with the MERCURIAL SHEFFIELD band BRING ME THE HORIZON from the very beginning, but close enough. i first learned about them after their single "CHELSEA SMILE" off of their second album SUICIDE SEASON (VISIBLE NOISE, 2008) came out back in the late 2000s. and really what separated the band from the other BRUTAL and ULTRA-HEAVY METALCORE / DEATHCORE bands emerging to prominence at the time like ALL SHALL PERISH, SUICIDE SILENCE, DESPISED ICON, WHITECHAPEL, CARNIFEX and JOB FOR A COWBOY was ironically their sense of MELODY. i remember listening to that album and thinking that in spite of its beyond AGGRESSIVE sonic annihilation and DEVASTATING lyrical content were actual MEMORABLE, WELL-COMPOSED songs. like the band could actual construct riffs together and their vocalist, OLI SYKES, on occasion, could SING. my initial reaction was that this singer had a wider TECHNICAL and EMOTIONAL range then GIFTED scene peers in MITCH LUCKER (rest in peace), PHIL BOZEMAN or HERNAN HERMIDA.
their follow-up THERE IS A HELL BELIEVE ME I'VE SEEN IT. THERE IS A HEAVEN LET'S KEEP IT A SECRET. (VISIBLE NOISE, 2010) was a more WELL-PRODUCED and REFINED version of SUICIDE SILENCE but the fourth album SEMPITERNAL (EPITAPH, 2013) was the creative and commercial breakthrough. shedding both a NASTY addiction to KETAMINE and a beloved guitarist in JONA WEINHOFEN (BLEEDING THROUGH, I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN), SEMPITERNAL marks the addition of the TALENTED keyboardist and electronic producer JORDAN FISH to the band as an INTEGRAL SONGWRITING PARTNER and as the fork in their career when things got WEIRD. but in a good way. somehow the band maintained their edge while incorporating a wide VARIETY of elements that derived from everything from TRIP HOP, AMBIENT, POST METAL, ELECTRO and even INDIE POP to create an ever shifting and evolving stew of UNEXPECTED sonic juxtapositions that maintains a core of exceptionally STRONG SONGWRITING. and that focus on MELODY and the COMPOSITION of the song itself, rather than the sonic trappings of its relative heaviness or otherwise aural dressing up, is what continues to separate BRING ME THE HORIZON from the pack. it really feels like after the second lease on life post-ADDICTION, SYKES as the de facto leader of the band has really continued to put out VARIED releases that have a sense of DANGER and RISK to them. as if he is attempting to alienate his own audience in the process. contrarily, he has been an innovator in an otherwise stagnant METALCORE scene navel-gazing at and celebrating its own collective sonic BRUTALITY, with no real ARTISTIC RISK involved. you get the feeling that BRING ME THE HORIZON several eclectic albums post-SEMPITERNAL are on their own kick at this point. they have long transcended the scene, which continues to look to them for ideas and concepts (and even band names) from throughout their career. i just love the fact that in the great tradition of other cultural innovators in MODERN ROCK AND ROLL like MIKE PATTON, WAYNE COYNE, DEVIN TOWNSEND, PERRY FARRELL or GIBBY HAYNES, OLI SYKES is likewise unafraid to risk everything in search of a new sound, a new idea, a new expression. which is why i am still very much on the ride. embedded below is a RECENT DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a BRING ME THE HORIZON playlist from throughout their ECLECTIC catalogue. enjoy! photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
at the dawn of the new millennium MTV devised a new BRANDED LIVE PERFORMANCE series ostensibly to augment their played out LIVE MUSIC properties like UNPLUGGED and LIVE AND LOUD from the previous decade. the new concept was to honor a CULTURAL ICON with a series of prominent artists / bands covering their songs live right there in front of them, before they themselves closed the show promoting their latest release. MTV ICON only lasted four years and included episodes centered around JANET JACKSON, AEROSMITH, METALLICA and THE CURE(?!).
out of the four, THE CURE is the obvious OUTLIER but had INSPIRED PERFORMANCES by the likes of the DEFTONES, AFI and BLINK-182 that made the conceptually AWKWARD event quite MEMORABLE. i cant imagine what it must be like playing someone else's song right in front of them. feels like a high-stakes, lose-lose situation for both the band and THE CURE. in retrospect, it makes perfect sense that this was the swan song of the property itself, as the concept is pretty SELF-AGGRANDIZING and, lets face it, really LAME. but i cant complain about having these LIVE COVERS of CURE songs out in the ether two decades later. guess i have MTV to thank for that. photo & text by nacrowe
some records are of a place and time and PENNSYLVANIA's SOPHOMORIC yet highly INTELLIGENT BLOODHOUND GANG for me was all about junior year of high school. the band is undoubtedly CELEBRATED and/or RIDICULED for the over-intellectualized JUVENILE HUMOR of one JAMES MOYER FRANKS, a.k.a JIMMY POP. and really it is all about how one relates to said CRUDE COMEDY that largely determines ones opinion of the band.
on HOORAY FOR BOOBIES (GEFFEN, 1999), the bands commercial break-through, the conceit of most of the songs surrounds HUMAN SEXUALITY from a male perspective/gaze, with all the PROBLEMATIC associations that assumes. although topics range from LUSTFUL odes to PORN STARS and allusions to ANIMAL SEX on the DISCOVERY CHANNEL, the real lyrical conceit here is the HUMILIATION of MALE INADEQUACY. such can be inferred on tracks ranging from "THE BAD TOUCH," "RIGHT TURN CLYDE" and "MOPE" to "ALONG COMES MARY," "MAGNA CUM NADA" and "THE BALLAD OF CHASEY LAIN." i'd even go so far as to argue that HOORAY FOR BOOBIES is ultimately a MISGUIDED, but INSPIRATIONAL and HOPEFUL grand gesture for the possibility of one day securing HETEROSEXUAL ROMANTIC LOVE for the SOCIALLY CHALLENGED and habitually INADEQUATE males out there. all of this messaging would matter little if the songs were not so damn CATCHY. main songwriter JIMMY POP really does have a talent and ear for MEMORABLE hooks exploited by tight TRADITIONAL POP COMPOSITIONS. his adroit use of vintage samples undoubtedly taken from children's educational programming ingeniously pushes the thematic DELINQUENT agenda that much more forcibly with all the ABSURDITY that such entails. during a late 1990s period when RAP ROCK and NU METAL was all the rage, JIMMY POP and his VOCAL DELIVERY is almost a throwback to CLASSIC 90s rappers like RAKIM with CLEVER internal RHYME SCHEMES and multiple TEMPO SHIFTS employed throughout. POP's HUMOR and SELF-EFFACING disposition also blunted any forced comparisons to such JOYLESS hacks and supposed peers from that period like FRED DURST (LIMP BIZKIT) or JONATHAN DAVIS (KORN). has HOORAY FOR BOOBIES aged well? not really. in today's INCLUSIVE atmosphere its BRAZEN un-PC presentation and CONFRONTATIONAL disposition seems tailored made for MAGA country and their false equivalencies under the baldly, BAD-FAITH banner of "free speech." but im not sure that was the context of its creation two decades ago. i think it was meant to be a SELF-MOCKING, wink-wink nudge-nudge, CLEVER album about MORONIC topics that lionized STUNTED ADOLESCENCE and IMMATURITY writ large. it was an album meant and intentionally designed to be stupid that celebrated its profound SILLINESS and ABSURDITY. to that end it succeeded, but like all things politicized for today's polarized population, i have no doubt that HOORAY FOR BOOBIES still has the potential to prod and aggressively provoke a REFLEXIVE reaction. but that wasnt its intention: i dont believe THE BLOODHOUND GANG was ever about being CRUEL. it was about DELAYED ADOLESCENCE and being cleverly MORONIC. everyone should take a deep breath. its all a joke. a joke CELEBRATING MALE INADEQUACY. photo & text by nacrowe
i tend to think of the NINE INCH NAILS' BROKEN (INTERSCOPE, 1992) EP as a bit of palette cleanser from the INTIMATE, SELF-FLAGELLATING SYNTH POP-indebted PRETTY HATE MACHINE (TVT, 1989) to the eventual EPIC SELF-DESTRUCTIVE, PHANTASMAGORIC INDUSTRIAL nightmare that was THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (INTERSCOPE, 1994); two absolutely colossal LANDMARK releases in the history of ROCK AND ROLL, sub-genres be damned.
whereas THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL was a DELICATE web of INSECURITY and RESENTMENT primarily drawn from the vernacular of 1980s synth music subverted not to be CELEBRATORY, but deeply FLAWED and TORN in sentiment. there are some SAMPLED and INDUSTRIAL elements throughout, but such are more decorative in nature than what was to come on future releases. with debauched and crushingly aggressive tracks like "HAPPINESS IN SLAVERY," "GAVE UP," "LAST," "HELP ME I AM IN HELL," "PINION" and especially "WISH" BROKEN provides a more metallic edge that seeks to up the ante on sonic SELF-EVISCERATION and aurally emoting the remnants of a BROKEN PSYHE. BROKEN in essence reads like a PRIMAL SCREAM lashing out not only at the MUSIC INDUSTRY (especially exploitive former label TVT), but the world at large. it is the most AGGRESSIVE moment in otherwise famously unrelentingly BLEAK discography. by the time THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL came out, its more SAMPLE HEAVY and INDUSTRIAL-based experiments with DISSONANCE and JAGGED SONIC JUXTAPOSITIONS didnt come off as such a departure, but rather as a refinement of an earlier more blunt ARTISTIC expression encountered on BROKEN. this EP was something that completely blew me away as a teenager when i first got into NINE INCH NAILS in the late 1990s and seemingly expressed my FRUSTRATION, fears and insecurity like nothing i heard before. it was MAINLINED AGGRESSION and SELF-HATRED and easily one of the highlights of a CELEBRATED catalogue that continues to evolve, develop and mature to this day at TRENT REZNOR makes his way through life. BROKEN is one of my all-time FAVORITE records and well worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
there is so much that goes into a THRIVING and VIABLE MUSIC and ARTS COMMUNITY. its not just the VISIBLE ARTISTS and audience INVOLVED, but arguably more importantly an entire LOCAL MUNICIPAL AGENDA that encapsulates SYMPATHETIC ECONOMIC, LEGAL and even ZONING POLICIES. the pre-pandemic documentary NOW SOUND: MELBOURNE'S LISTENING (KEWL, 2018) is an extended argument for the maintaining of said POLICIES in MELBOURNE and beyond so that the EXTENDED COMMUNITY of INDEPENDENT RECORD STORES, RADIO STATIONS, RECORDING STUDIOS, REHEARSAL SPACES, RECORD LABELS, PERFORMANCE VENUES and VINYL PRESSING PLANTS may continue unabated by new political regimes.
at the heart of this argument is the CULTURAL VALUE of said ARTS COMMUNITY from which all the economic benefits are generated. SYDNEY is portrayed as a DOOMED, CAUTIONARY alternative example having previously imposed LAWS and RESTRICTIONS that limited business hours that basically curtailed LOCAL VENUES and cratered the scene overnight. or at least made it go UNDERGROUND with DUBIOUS LEGALITY and higher risk environments for potential patrons. watching NOW SOUND i couldnt help but be reminded of a similar situation in BROOKLYN neighborhoods like WILLIAMSBURG and GREENPOINT whereby the success of the LOCAL ARTS SCENE, which initially took advantage of SUPPORTIVE ZONING POLICIES and cheap rent, cannibalized itself as it attracted the attention of real estate developers eager to take advantage of the scene's NOTORIETY and now a decade or two later the whole place is a series of FACELESS, IMPOSING residential buildings. one even stands where my cousin's former RECORDING STUDIO was once located. as much as participants in MELBOURNE's EXPANSIVE MUSIC and ARTS SCENE pre-pandemic were pushing for more INCLUSIVITY and much-needed safe spaces for WOMEN and the LGBTQIA community, the sad truth is that ultimately GENTRIFICATION will seemingly level everyone. it happened in BROOKLYN and AUSTIN and various other thriving STATESIDE SCENES. this film seems to be an educational effort aimed at getting the word out about the potential future danger of MELBOURNE devouring itself in the name of short-term PROFITS and ultimately losing its HARD-FOUGHT REPUTATION as a MULTI-CULTURAL HAVEN in the process. sadly, i think that transformation is INEVITABLE. GREED and CAPITALISM consumes everything in its path, especially ART. photo & text by nacrowe
back in the day, ILLINOIS-based INDUSTRIAL-tinged ALTERNATIVE ROCK band STABBING WESTWARD were often unfairly tagged by critics as NINE INCH NAILS soundalikes and essentially OPPORTUNISTIC wannabes. it makes sense given that INDUSTRIAL MUSIC was largely a MISUNDERSTOOD underground affair until the genius of TRENT REZNOR and NINE INCH NAILS elevated the form from obscurity and found a national audience, especially with the ICONIC release of THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (INTERSCOPE, 1994). pre-NINE INCH NAILS, national music critics were largely unfamiliar with or ignored entirely INNOVATIVE acts like SKINNY PUPPY, THROBBING GRISTLE, FRONT 242 or MINISTRY. so i understand why STABBING WESTWARD took flack for sounding tangentially similar to a major buzz band of the moment when they released their WITHER BLISTER BURN + PEEL (COLUMBIA, 1995) album.
but STABBING WESTWARD is its own thing. to my ears they have more in common with the ALTERNATIVE ROCK / METAL wing of INDUSTRIAL-influenced music; acts like FILTER, GRAVITY KILLS, RAMMSTEIN and even early MARILYN MANSON who basically utilized SAMPLING and DRUM MACHINES to augment their TRADITIONAL ROCK AND ROLL sound. NINE INCH NAILS is an entirely different part of that spectrum / continuum having effectively carved out their own respected niche in the process. the thrill of STABBING WESTWARD is in WELL-CONSTRUCTED singles like "SHAME" and "WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?" that showcase the CHARGED, EXISTENTIAL howling of CHARISMATIC frontman CHRISTOPHER HALL, who often comes across as someone on the verge of a PSYCHOTIC break from this world. it is almost operatic in nature given the theatrical dynamics of their approach to songwriting, each song is almost a case study in longing, unrequited LOVE or bitter ENVY. its always FULL-TILT, TORQUED emotions and the EXISTENTIAL fear of subsuming ones identity to the paralysis of EXPLOSIVE romantic PAIN with STABBING WESTWARD. or such is how i perceived their appeal when i learned of the group from a classmate and friend in the late 1990s while a sophomore at a boarding school in NEW ENGLAND. i remember being surrounded by people of INCREDIBLE means and access with their CHARMED lives seemingly on hold for them to finish high school and feeling alienated by it all. my peer group was on a different level and deep down i just felt like a lost dunce from ORANGE COUNTY who somehow through a break in the time-space continuum found myself attending alongside them. STABBING WESTWARD and the sound of WITHER BLISTER BURN + PEEL is SOCIAL ISOLATION personified. it remains an important FORMATIVE record in my life, especially at such PIVOTAL state in my life. even in retrospect, it is most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
SHANGRI-LA DEE DA (ATLANTIC, 2001) can effectively be considered the STONE TEMPLE PILOTS creative swan song as it is the last record to include a fully engaged SCOTT WEILAND at the arguable height of his powers as a lyricist and singer. the strained post-VELVET REVOLVER reunion follow-up STONE TEMPLE PILOTS (ATLANTIC, 2010) album nearly a decade later found a CHEMICALLY DIMINISHED WEILAND literally mailing in his contributions via an outside studio from the band, which the surviving members have admitted in recent years were embarrassingly SUBPAR. but on SHANGRI-LA DEE DA he was in fine form.
like with all things STONE TEMPLE PILOTS-related, TRAGEDY and MISSED OPPORTUNITIES abound with SHANGRI-LA DEE DA. the record was a throwback of sorts to the harder-edge AGGRESSIVE sound of the band's debut CORE (ATLANTIC, 1992), effectively shedding the PSYCHEDELIC, GLAM and POWER POP elements the band had interwoven into their sound over the following records. tracks like "DUMB LOVE," "REGENERATION," "HOLLYWOOD BITCH" and "COMA" are some of the hardest hitting tracks the band had ever produced this side of "DOWN" of NO. 4 (ATLANTIC, 1999) or "PIECE OF PIE," "WICKED GARDEN," "SIN" or "DEAD & BLOATED" off CORE. to my ears those songs comprised the key tracks of the album, but you wouldnt know that by the fact taht ATLANTIC RECORDS chose "DAYS OF THE WEEK," a TUNEFUL middle-of-the-road POWER POP outlier on an otherwise PUMMELING album, as the first single. such became a minor radio hit, but the record kind of fizzled in the public imagination thereafter and the WEILAND saga and DOWNWARD SPIRAL continued from then on. i just dont understand how "COMA" was not a single as it is such a POWERFUL, CRUSHINGLY BELLIGERENT track. the context of SHANGRI-LA DEE DA's reception was that in 2001 you had the back-to-basics INDIE ROCK REVIVAL happening with bands like THE WHITE STRIPES and THE STROKES in full command of the zeitgeist, much as NU METAL bands like KORN and LIMP BIZKIT had only a few years earlier. the STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, even during the ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion of the early 90s, was always a bit of an outsider. back then they were a gifted SAN DIEGO band accused of aping and exploiting the SEATTLE scene, which is laughable now, but it belies the point that they were always seemingly proving themselves time and again in a HOSTILE marketplace that didnt view them as a natural fit. for whatever reason, later POST-GRUNGE peers in FOO FIGHTERS could transcend such but the STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, especially in the later years of their career, could not catch a break. despite how strong some of these tracks are off SHANGRI-LA DEE DA, it was effectively a CULTURAL ANACHRONISM even before its release. not sure it ever really had a chance. i remember coming across the album at the now long-DEFUNCT DIMPLE RECORDS in SACRAMENTO my senior year of high school and being particularly taken with the other STANDOUT track, "A SONG FOR SLEEPING." that track is lyrically a love letter of sorts from WEILAND to his newborn son NOAH, with him celebrating their future together and all the activities and life events yet to come. it is a HOPEFUL song that is rather SENTIMENTAL and TOUCHING. and in retrospect senselessly TRAGIC. of course now we know that WEILAND didnt make it to his son's 16th birthday when he died in SAD, PATHETIC fashion from a long overdue drug overdose on a tour bus in MINNESOTA in 2015. its not quite on the level of JOHN LENNON and the hauntingly MOVING DOUBLE FANTASY () track "BEAUTIFUL BOY," but it is sadly of that same unintended genre of a song yearning to see a new child through their development into adulthood only to have their life cut short in the process. very much a UNFORTUNATE state of affairs. i think SHANGRI-LA DEE DA is a STRONG STONE TEMPLE PILOTS record that was expertly pulled off by the LONG-SUFFERING DELEO BROTHERS and drummer ERIC WRETZ, the UNSUNG heroes (by far) of the band. my personal preference is for PURPLE (ATLANTIC, 1994) and TINY MUSIC... SONGS FROM THE VATICAN GIFT SHOP (ATLANTIC, 1996) as the DEFINITIVE records the band ever released and the perfect starting point. but SHANGRI-LA DEE DA is definitely worth checking out nonetheless. photo & text by nacrowe
what is there to say about NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) album that hasnt already been said again and again and again over the past three decades ad nauseam.
forget GRUNGE or ALTERNATIVE ROCK, NEVERMIND is arguably the most CELEBRATED ROCK AND ROLL album of all-time, right there with the likes of THE BEATLES' REVOLVER (PARLOPHONE, 1966) or SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (PARLOPHONE, 1967), BOB DYLAN's BLONDE ON BLONDE (COLUMBIA, 1966) or HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED (COLUMBIA, 1965), THE VELVET UNDERGROUND's THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO (VERVE, 1967), LED ZEPPELIN's LED ZEPPELIN IV (ATLANTIC, 1971), THE CLASH'S LONDON CALLING (CBS, 1979), AC/DC's BACK IN BLACK (ATLANTIC, 1980), and THE SEX PISTOLS' NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS (WARNER BROS, 1977). unlike those records NEVERMIND made an immediate impact on AMERICAN CULTURE, effectively establishing overnight long simmering UNDERGROUND INDIE and PUNK ROCK scenes as the new mainstream gatekeepers and arbiters of quality and taste writ large. with NEVERMIND, much like with the fossil record, there is a definite delineation of a NEW EPOCH, one in which we are still very much experience decades later. the BRITISH INVASION reacquainted AMERICA with its MUSICAL CULTURE while helping establish ROCK AND ROLL as a vehicle, while later PUNK ROCK revitalized ROCK AND ROLL when it became stale and predictable, but only NIRVANA and NEVERMIND effectively bridged those two movements together in one band, one expression. GIFTED SONGWRITING and AUTHENTIC ATTITUDE. so now that i got all that out of the way. my recollection of the album, which i got as a christmas gift along with IN UTERO (DGC, 1993) from my parents while on vacation in SAN FRANCISCO in 1994, were the songs. and not just the singles. there is a sense when listening to tracks like "ON A PLAIN," "DRAIN YOU," "BREED," "LOUNGE ACT," "TERRITORIAL PISSINGS" and "STAY AWAY" that what you are experiencing is the aural equivalent of SOCIAL ALIENATION and general DISSATISTFACTION. its not even about the words necessarily, which are often associative wordplay schemes rather than COGENT articulations. the brilliance and genius of NIRVANA and KURT COBAIN as a songwriter was his preternatural ability to seamlessly translate an EMOTIONAL STATE. his songs are unique unto him and the COMPLEX undercurrent of PAIN, DESPAIR and HELPLESSNESS that make them so POWERFUL. even after years of WELL-INTENTIONED acolytes futilely attempting to manufacturing his STEEZE, NEVERMIND still stands UNBLEMISHED as a near PERFECT expression of our individual capacity to locate what we hate about society staring straight back at us within ourselves. it makes sense that COBAIN was AMBIVELANT about the album and its UNEXPECTED commercial and artistic SUCCESS. he seemed to feel a myriad of ways about multiple aspects of his life. i dont want to glorify MENTAL ILLNESS, but that CONFLICTED MIND-STATE no doubt contributed to a record of such EMOTIONAL RESONANCE and COMPLEXITY, even on a purely sonic level. for me that unique listening experience divorced from pre-frontal cortex intellectualizing is what separates NEVERMIND from everything else. every time i hear it i feel a weight lifted from my shoulders, a sense of RELEASE and TRANSCENDENCE from the MUCK of life. its been that way ever since i first heard "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT" from a SHAKEYS PIZZA jukebox at an after-game soccer party when i was starting second grade in 1991. i knew that deep well of feeling and identified with it immediately on impact. what a REMARKABLE gift that was to the world. RIP KURT COBAIN photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
STUDIO BRUSSEL is a LONGSTANDING (since 1983) state-funded DUTCH language radio station in BELGIUM that is technically MULTI-GENRE, but primarily focuses its format on ROCK AND ROLL of the mostly ALTERNATIVE and INDIE variety. their signal covers not only BELGIUM but nearby FRANCE and the NETHERLANDS as well. much like KEXP and other stateside stations, over the years STUDIO BRUSSEL has branched out their operation to include PROFESSIONALLY FILMED and RECORDED live performances of PROMINENT bands and artists both in-house and on tour at nearby venues.
notable participants include QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS, ROBYN, KURT VILE, WET LEG, OMAR SOULEYMAN, BEIRUT, ROYAL BLOOD and the late MARK LANEGAN, the production quality is TOP NOTCH and well worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
this one takes me back.
i dont recall hearing RURAL PENNSYLVANIAN POST-GRUNGE band LIVE's THROWING COPPER (RADIOACTIVE, 1994) during my childhood in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, even though i know timeline-wise it was a staple on the massively INFLUENTIAL LOS ANGELES-based ALTERNATIVE ROCK radio station 106.7FM KROQ at the time. my exposure to MTV during that period was nil, i knew of one acquaintance from a soccer team that had cable and that was it. my first recollection of seeing anything LIVE-related was their "LIGHTNING CRASHES" video on MTV in 1996 when my family stayed in NEW YORK CITY for an extended weekend before flying to GERMANY en route to NIGERIA. so most of what i remember of this record was through my AMERICAN classmates in NIGERIA who had it on compact disc. along with NIRVANA, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, KORN, GREEN DAY, THE OFFSPRING, FAITH NO MORE, ALICE IN CHAINS, SOUNDGARDEN and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, LIVE was just another band in the mix of all that being blared from the company bus en route to and from school each day and at friends' houses playing video games. it was just kinda there in the background. i think the band's appeal was that they had a ROOTSY, QUASI-RELIGIOUS and POETIC bent to their lyrics courtesy of singer ED KOWALCZYK, which seemed to hint at BIBLICAL ideations of the sublime. their songs also had a tendency to build and dramatically crescendo which only further effectuated this proclivity for ALLEGORICAL and METAPHYSICAL meaning in their lyrics. its thematic territory that EDDIE VEDDER sometimes wades into from time to time. sometimes it worked and sometimes it fell flat and came off more than a bit POMPOUS. some STANDOUT tracks include the singles "LIGHTNING CRASHES," "I ALONE," "SELLING THE DRAMA" and "ALL OVER YOU," but far and away my favorite song they ever did was "SHIT TOWNE." living on a compound filled by RACIST southerners in WEST AFRICA took its toll on me over time and in retrospect "SHIT TOWNE" was my theme song. i didnt feel that way about neighboring LAGOS in the least but the company compound was the source of my ire and from which i attempted in my second and third years to get out of as much as possible. that song was the soundtrack to such activity. arguably the JERRY HARRISON (TALKING HEADS, THE MODERN LOVERS) co-produced THROWING COPPER was one of the more ARTISTICALLY SUCCESSFUL POST-GRUNGE albums that came out in the immediate wake NIRVANA, but to some extent it still trades on the same template that the SEATTLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement paved years earlier and is a bit DERIVATIVE, which is a criticism that could also be levied at the COUNTLESS bands that emerged in its cultural wake. my thought would be just to go to the source and check out those bands instead and then maybe make your way to the SILVERCHAIRs, COLLECTIVE SOULs and BUSHes of the world. or just skip the latter entirely. photo & text by nacrowe
HOLY WOOD (IN THE SHADOW OF THE VALLEY OF DEATH) (INTERSCOPE, 2000) was a bit of retread record. having expanded his INDUSTRIAL-tinged GOTH METAL roots at the zenith of his FAME and CULTURAL CACHE with a left turn to that of CLASSIC 70s GLAM ROCK a la DAVID BOWIE in MECHANICAL ANIMALS (INTERSCOPE, 1998), this follow-up saw MARILYN MANSON return back to the formula that seemingly worked on ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR (INTERSCOPE, 1996) almost four years earlier. only thing was that the cultural moment HOLY WOOD was released within had transformed the AMERICAN public's view of MANSON. this is since it was released a year after the COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL MASSACRE in COLORADO that saw twelve students and one teacher murdered at the hands of two heavily armed classmates. it was (falsely) reported in the press at the time that said murderers were fans of MANSON, an INNACURACY that forever transformed his career.
its hard to put COLUMBINE into perspective with our current AWFUL state of affairs where school shootings happen on such a regular basis that it is easy to be OVERWHELMED and HOPELESS about the prospect of change. the likes of SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY, VIRGINIA TECH, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLASS, UC SANTA BARBARA, SANTA FE, and ROBB ELEMENTARY are just the most prominent of an enduring facet of AMERICAN LIFE: our inability to confront the corrosive widespread availability of high-capacity weapons of war in our society. in 1999, during the CLINTON administration, COLUMBINE was that initial siren warning us all of this impending danger. instead of change or legislation, a new IMPOTENT NATIONAL RITUAL was instituted in which HOLLOW PRAYERS were made and nothing happened. gone on ever since. back then instead of change we as a country did the easy thing going after cultural targets: i.e. violent movies, video games and, of course, MARILYN MANSON. for me its hard to read HOLY WOOD disentangled from that cultural moment, as MANSON himself was consumed by it. his global supporting effort was the "guns, god and government" tour for starters. he even made a MEMORABLE and THOUGHTFUL cameo in MICHAEL MOORE's BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (UNITED ARTISTS, 2002) film, itself an examination of AMERICA's fascination with guns, before a DENVER gig. sonically the record is not that far removed from MECHANICAL ANIMALS in that the songs are pretty streamlined and traditionally structured, unlike previous efforts which were more EXPERIMENTAL INDUSTRIAL art pieces. lyrically MANSON is trading on his requisite themes of ALIENATION and PSYCHIC / SOCIAL ISOLATION on memorable tracks like "CRUCI-FICTION IN SPACE," "THE FIGHT SONG," "A PLACE IN THE DIRT," "THE NOBODIES," "BURNING FLAG" and "DISPOSABLE TEENS." my personal favorite track is the plodding "CRUCI-FICTION IN SPACE" which has a 40,000 foot elevated perspective on the human race and its follies similar to that of the famous ORSON WELLES / HARRY LIME ferris wheel scene in THE THIRD MAN (BRITISH LION, 1949) were the true value of mankind is discussed and entertained from a distance. the implication for MANSON seems to be that if these students dont matter in AMERICAN LIFE, than who does? who does indeed. HOLY WOOD is still as RELEVANT now as it was more than two decades ago. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
JELLYFISH were one of the GREAT AMERICAN bands that never made it, putting out two OBSCURE records in the early 1990s. their sound was this highly ORCHESTRATED and HARMONIZED affair with SOPHISTICATED ARRANGEMENTS that made them akin to the more POPPIER side of the BRITISH INVASION or maybe the BEACH BOYS. during an era when the musical tide was more about a STRIPPED-BACK, AUSTERE AESTHETIC of SONGWRITING that supposedly relayed a more EARNEST and AUTHENTIC sound, its REFRESHING to discover a band that was more into LUSH, DECORATIVE SOUNDSCAPES that indulged in a genuine love of layered MELODY and BIG MUSICAL IDEAS.
guess JELLYFISH was just around at the wrong time. i can see their approach in bands MODERN INDIE ROCK bands that spend time on the EXPERIMENTAL and BAROQUE end of the SONIC SPECTRUM like KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD, DEERHOOF, THE FLAMING LIPS, MELODY'S ECHO CHAMBER, THE DARKNESS, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA and TAME IMPALA among others. it is a COOL sound well worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
ELASTICA's eponymous debut album ELASTICA (DGC, 1995) was the GREATEST record put out during the BRITPOP era. end stop. the album exudes a LYRICAL CONFIDENCE and SONIC SOPHISTICATION that was seemingly presented to the world from the outset as a committed and FULLY-FORMED musical statement. taking influence most notably from POST PUNK bands like WIRE and THE STRANGLERS, main songwriter JUSTINE FRISCHMANN was the master of refashioning ANGULAR GUITAR PASSAGES and ODD TIME SIGNATURES into DEVASTATINGLY EFFECTIVE sonic hooks that separated their sound from their BRITPOP and ALTERNATIVE ROCK brethren. being a SINGULAR recording for the ages, there are no weak tracks on the album, but NOTEWORTHY songs include "BLUE," "STUTTER," "2:1," "CONNECTION," "INDIAN SONG," "ANNIE," "LINE UP," "NEVER HERE" and my personal favorite, "WAKING UP." i know i just named nine tracks (and to be honest there are another two id add come to think of it), but its that kind of TRANSCENDENT album.
my introduction to ELASTICA was hearing their STELLAR single "CONNECTION" on 106.7 FM KROQ during my late elementary school years in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. at the time i had no idea who the band was, or really anything about BRITPOP, but that indelible opening synth lick (courtesy of DAMON ALBARN of all things) with that ICONIC "eeeewwww-wahhhhhh" vocal intro was something absolutely seared into my adolescent FASCINATION and was a part of the soundtrack of my years going to traveling soccer and basketball matches throughout ORANGE, RIVERSIDE, LOS ANGELES and SAN DIEGO COUNTIES in my youth. its funny, because i didnt actually discover ELASTICA by name until my senior year of high school when i found their debut and put the dots together on that "CONNECTION" single. i was stunned by how consistent ELASTICA was with its memorable SLINKY BASS-LINES (a la JEAN-JACQUES BURNEL and PETER HOOK) and SNAPPY VOCALS sung with ATTITUDE and a SNARL. that record was one of the key discoveries from my senior year of high school which i spent largely alone after being moved from the MIDDLE EAST to a unwitting relative in SACRAMENTO shortly after 9/11. other groups i discovered during this period included THE BREEDERS, LOVE AND ROCKETS, MASSIVE ATTACK, SLOWDIVE, FUGAZI, APHEX TWIN and THE CRAMPS. it was a horrible year but in that regard it was quite PRODUCTIVE. why ELASTICA is not a bigger name in the history of ALTERNATIVE ROCK still baffles me. usually FRISCHMANN only gets mentioned because of her past relationships with DAMON ALBARN (or BLUR) and BRETT ANDERSON (of SUEDE) which is being SEXIST and does her a total disservice. it should be the other way around, that those two dudes once dated arguably the BEST songwriter of their generation. it could be that the band dissolved after another INCREDIBLE record due to cliche tropes of INFIGHTING and UNHEALTHY and ultimately DESTRUCTIVE narcotic habits. maybe, i dont know. it still stuns me that ELASTICA isnt more widely CELEBRATED. so go check out their debut album. seriously, its worth it. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
MTV's LIVE 'N' LOUD series was one of many LONG-FORM LIVE PERFORMANCE series that the channel intermittently produced in the mid-to-late 1990s. much like with the more famous UNPLUGGED, it was a series that they could resurrect anytime they found talent that fit its structure, i.e. POWERFUL live bands and artists with multiple singles and/or a deep back catalogue. the series was shot all over the world, usually at outdoor venues or MASSIVE theaters that showcased throngs of people enveloped and deeply immersed in the music and the spectacle on stage.
as with all things NIRVANA, there was a MEMORABLE 1993 SEATTLE CONCERT for the series at PIER 48 that was filmed as part of their then-ongoing IN UTERO tour. other prominent participants over the years include CYPRESS HILL, NO DOUBT, SOUNDGARDEN, BJORK, NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS, ALANIS MORISSETTE (with future FOO FIGHTERS drummer TAYLOR HAWKINS in tow) and PAUL WELLER. these PERFORMANCES are genuinely WELL PRODUCED with PROFESSIONALLY MIXED sound and as the series moved through the decade it employed somewhat EXPERIMENTAL visuals (including filters, set design, high angle shots and curious lighting) as well to keep it INTERESTING. definitely worth checking out as this series is most definitely a part of the historical record of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement so prevalent in the 1990s. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
May 2024
CATEGORIES
All
|