parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the LEGENDARY TEXAN ROCK N ROLL institution that is ZZ TOP!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience!
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parodies by nacrowe
ever since i spent some extended time firsthand observing my RECORDING ENGINEER cousin and the ARTISTRY and seemingly LIMITLESS production capacities currently available via MODERN DIGITAL RECORDING and PRODUCTION SOFTWARE ranging from PROTOOLS to LOGIC to ABLETON to even FL STUDIO and beyond, it just all got me thinking back to the MENTALITY of making records half a century before when there was much more LIMITED TECHNOLOGY. in the 1950s, 60s and 70s with a FIXED amount of TRACKS available, one had to commit to a PERFORMANCE and a COMPOSITION, production 'mistakes' be damned. it also meant MUSICIANSHIP and CHEMISTRY was at a PREMIUM since the quicker the turnaround was, the less the final bill was for EXPENSIVE professional RECORDING STUDIO time.
such was where a TALENTED specialized new breed of STUDIO MUSICIAN appeared that could quickly surmise and internalize a PRODUCER's COMPOSITION and play such flawlessly under INTENSE pressure and short notice. MUSCLE SHOALS in ALABAMA, the FUNK BROTHERS in DETROIT (who worked exclusively with MOTOWN RECORDS) and most famously THE WRECKING CREW in LOS ANGELES are all examples of loose collectives of STUDIO MUSICIANS that had CHEMISTRY with one another and recorded various NOTEWORTHY TRACKS for TOP-END ARTISTS. when BRIAN WILSON did not want to tour anymore and instead hunker down at home and compose the new album, no problem. such was the case famously with PET SOUNDS (CAPITOL, 1966) which was recorded with THE WRECKING CREW and for which the other BEACH BOYS merely sang on for the most part. the whole topic of SESSION/STUDIO MUSICIANS i perennially find INTRIGUING. just the idea that they as part of their NORMAL course of business will learn what they are being asked to play upon arrival. the MUSICAL RANGE and TECHNICAL VIRTUOSITY required to do such and the DEFT CRAFTSMANSHIP to work and collaborate seamlessly with an UNKNOWN collective just sounds daunting beyond belief. this sort of thing still exists today, but it is often coordinated through direct relationships with PRODUCERS who call in help for specific punch-ins when budgets and timelines are tight. GUITARIST JOHN 5 (MARILYN MANSON, ROB ZOMBIE, MOTLEY CRUE, DAVID LEE ROTH) and DRUMMER JOSH FREESE (A PERFECT CIRCLE, NINE INCH NAILS, DEVO, THE VANDALS, FOO FIGHTERS) are prominent examples of MODERN STUDIO and LIVE TOURING MUSICIANS of the first-order that were so IN-DEMAND that they were offered full-time gigs by multiple ACTS. these days VERSATILITY and AVAILABILITY are key, as well as the ability to vibe well with an ARTIST or PRODUCER. in that way it feels a bit DIFFERENT than past examples like JIMMY PAGE (LED ZEPPELIN, THE YARDBIRDS) and JAMES BURTON (ELVIS PRESLEY, RICKY NELSON, THE EVERLY BROTHERS) did a generation or two ago. today a successful studio musician has to wear several hats and be ready to immediately strike should an opportunity present itself, even at the top of the industry. listening back at the songs performed on record by THE WRECKING CREW presents an NOSTALGIC EXPERIENCE of studio budgets and the luxury of having time to build a UNIQUE CHEMISTRY between PLAYERS over COUNTLESS SESSIONS. that ALCHEMY of CREATIVITY seems to have been squeezed out of RECORDING or at least transmuted to the HIRED GUN game with need for QUALITY PLAYERS for live performances. which is UNFORTUNATE but such is PROGRESS when virtually anyone can produce something DECENT even on the most BASIC of RECORDING SOFTWARE. even GARAGEBAND. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the MAJOR culturally SIGNIFICANT songs recorded by the extended collective of LOS ANGELES STUDIO MUSICIANS now as THE WRECKING CREW. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
i mean, where do you even begin with THE DOORS?
to my ears they are the DEFINITIVE LOS ANGELES ROCK AND ROLL band of all-time fronted by arguably the greatest frontman of his generation in WILLIAM BLAKE-quoting FLORIDA transplant and the once and future LIZARD KING JIM MORRISON. some harp on the quality of his poetry in retrospect but nobody can question the UNBRIDLED CHARISMA and sheer SEXUALITY he brought to the equation. every SEDUCTIVE and CONFRONTATIONAL frontman from IGGY POP forward is molded in his REVOLUTIONARY aura. to many MORRISON is the very embodiment of the SEXUAL REVOLUTION that was the arrival of the 1960s COUNTERCULTURE passing into the mainstream. before THE DOORS and especially their self-titled debut THE DOORS (ELEKTRA, 1967) release, POP stars were WELL-MANICURED and GROOMED to present well to a WHOLESOME AMERICAN public, even THE ROLLING STONES. post-MORRISON it was game on. THE DOORS were the POETICIZED, SEXUALLY UNRESTRAINED, GRITTY personification of the AMERICAN DREAM for that era and undoubtedly influenced generations of musicians to come, everyone from the aforementioned IGGY POP (THE STOOGES), PATTI SMITH, NICK CAVE (THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, THE BAD SEEDS), IAN CURTIS (JOY DIVISION), MARK LANEGAN (SCREAMING TREES), CHRIS CORNELL (SOUNDGARDEN) and IAN ASTBURY (THE CULT) among many others. along with ARTHUR LEE's LOVE, pre-record deal THE DOORS were regulars at the FAMED WHISKY-A-GO-GO venue on the SUNSET STRIP. in fact they were the house band and de facto opener for larger touring outfits throughout the entirety of amassing the songs that would become THE DOORS album. most FAMOUS of which are the CELEBRATED singles "BREAK ON THROUGH (TO THE OTHER SIDE)" and "LIGHT MY FIRE." both speak of ROMANTIC LOVE as a means of PSYCHIC TRANSFORMATION that opens up and transcends our PEDESTRIAN DAILY EXPERIENCE. the LAIDBACK and decidedly more PSYCHEDELIC "ALABAMA SONG (WHISKY BAR)" really plays up on the OTHER-WORDLY tonal possibilities of keyboardist RAY MANZAREK's VOX CONTINENTAL organ on this highly IDIOSYNCRATIC KURT WEILL-composed, BERTOLT BRECHT cover song. for me this song in particular really sets up the SWIRLING, CARNIVALESQUE PSYCHEDELIA that is the tone of the IMMEDIATE follow-up STRANGE DAYS (ELEKTRA, 1967) release, especially on tracks such as "PEOPLE ARE STRANGE" and "STRANGE DAYS." but to me the most SIGNIFICANT THE DOORS track is the appropriately titled last number on the track list, "THE END," which is a HAUNTING OEDIPAL-tinged song that focuses on the ISOLATED DESPERATION and severe DARK UNDERBELLY of the drug and SEXUAL EXPERIMENTATION of the period, not to mention the VIETNAM WAR itself. it is a song that oozes out the HOLLOW feeling one experiences when loosing their INNOCENCE, however one defines such: POLITICAL, SEXUAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL or CHEMICAL in nature. there is a reason that along with BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD's "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH" off their debut BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (ATCO, 1966) release and CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL's "FORTUNATE SON" off their WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS (FANTASY, 1969) album, "THE END" is the most overused song in cinema depicting the VIETNAM WAR era, whether in conflict abroad or the bifurcation of sentiment back at home. as LEGENDARY ROCK N ROLL debut albums go, THE DOORS is arguably one of the most IMPACTFUL, right there with those of GUNS N ROSES, VAN HALEN, THE RAMONES, JOY DIVISION, OASIS and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. whether you are a fan of THE DOORS and JIM MORRISON or not, it is an absolutely ESSENTIAL release well worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
its always intriguing to consider why certain DISTRICTS and CITIES develop into ECONOMIC CENTERS and CULTURAL HUBS from an purely urban planning perspective. usually one person starts a business that becomes SUCCESSFUL and then another does something similar nearby and then a few more rounds of that equates into the emergence of the GARMENT DISTRICT in midtown NEW YORK CITY. that ORGANIC sense of a COLLECTIVE expression over time in the creation of CULTURAL NEXUS sites is what makes the recent THE RAINBOW () documentary such an INTERESTING proposition.
this longtime family-owned and operated restaurant on the FAMED SUNSET STRIP in WEST HOLLYWOOD has been an ICONIC CULTURAL INSTITUTION going back to even its pre-RAINBOW incarnation as the VILLA NOVA, when it was a DISCREAT haunt for celebrities like MARILYN MONROE and JOE DIMAGGIO (who had their first date at the restaurant). since the 1970s THE RAINBOW has been the central locus of all things ROCK N ROLL in the ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL of LOS ANGELES (and arguably the world), given its walking proximity to CELEBRATED venues THE ROXY, WHISKY-A-GO-GO and GAZZARRI'S (now defunct). with its longtime management in CHICAGO-transplant MARIO MAGLIERI (and later his son and grandson), who also ran the day-to-day operations of the likewise ICONIC WHISKY-A-GO-GO, the restaurant for all its INEBRIATED HEDONISM and DEBAUCHERY through the decades was somewhat of a family affair. and that sense of COMMUNITY radiated out into the musicians that frequented it, both famous and completely UNKNOWN. in fact, throughout the film numerous FAMOUS rock musicians from LITA FORD (THE RUNAWAYS) to MATT SORUM (GUNS N ROSES, THE CULT) spoke about how the MAGLIERI family gave them free soup on the house in their DOWN-AND-OUT, PRE-FAME days as a STRUGGLING musician. THE RAINBOW as a nexus point of the ROCK N ROLL COMMUNITY writ large is the main theme of the film. and that goes back to its early years in the 1970s as the watering hole for an exclusive drinking club that was ALICE COOPER, KEITH MOON (THE WHO), RINGO STARR (THE BEATLES), HARRY NILSSON, MICKEY DOLENZ (THE MONKEES), JOHN LENNON (THE BEATLES), BERNIE TAUPIN (ELTON JOHN), MARC BOLAN (T. REX) and KEITH EMERSON (EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER). just the idea that such rock royalty sought out this establishment to let their hair down back in arguably what was the heyday of ROCK N ROLL music as the pinnacle of the cultural ZEITGEIST is pretty REMARKABLE. that such momentum carried through the 1980s with HAIR METAL and on through the 00s with the NU METAL scene (albeit the 90s were a bit of a lull as the focus shifted to SEATTLE), it is crazy to consider what makes this place so special to so many for so long. it is also what makes one wonder about its fate moving forward as the LOS ANGELES REAL ESTATE MARKET devours addresses up and down the SUNSET STRIP, including MUSIC VENUES, to create LUXURY APARTMENT and CONDO COMPLEXES. there is also the matter of MUSIC PRODUCTION and RECORDING TECHNOLOGY that allows users to create product alone without a need for a COMMUNITY of musicians. record companies have followed suit with these ELECTRONIC and HIP HOP acts and the whole ECONOMIC underpinning of the ecosystem has largely collapsed, leaving ROCK N ROLL in a DISADVANTAGEOUS position. it is an open question if the ZEITGEIST can be recaptured in the same way that it did for decades before or the CULTURE has moved on. along with the aforementioned FORD and SORUM, this LOVINGLY-CREATED documentary included the engaged participation of ALICE COOPER, LEMMY KILMISTER (MOTORHEAD), GENE SIMMONS (KISS), SLASH (GUNS N ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER), OZZY OSBOURNE (BLACK SABBATH) and even JAMES PANKOW (CHICAGO), as well as generations of the MAGLIERI family. you really get the feeling that irregardless of the state of the music industry or ROCK N ROLL's roll in it, THE RAINBOW will last and persevere because that CORE COMMUNITY of fans persists and will support this institution because they believe in it. RIP MARIO MAGLIERI photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
TIM ARMSTRONG really does not need any introduction. or further publicity from blogs like this for that matter.
he has long been a MODERN PUNK ROCK legend. this was his legacy even before his much-CELEBRATED long-term band RANCID got off the ground in 1991 due to his previous participation in the likewise ICONIC SKA PUNK outfit OPERATION IVY. much like his peers in GREEN DAY, BAD RELIGION, NOFX, PENNYWISE, SUBLIME and THE OFFSPRING (maybe), the personal narrative of ARMSTRONG is arguably synonymous with the narrative of the genre itself. that being said, ARMSTRONG's TIM TIMEBOMB & FRIENDS project is a USEFUL vehicle that allows him to temporarily park the ambitions of his legacy project in RANCID and deep-dive into his eclectic appreciation of REGGAE, FOLK, ROCKABILLY, NEW WAVE, COUNTRY, DUB, CLASSIC ROCK, AMERICANA, and all things SKA, as well as outside projects such as his musical ROCKNROLL THEATRE film series. it also allows him the ability and freedom to collaborate with outside musicians. at this stage in the game ARMSTRONG is such a BELOVED SONGWRITER, no doubt due to his penchant for MELODY and the deeply PERSONAL / AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL nature of his LYRICAL CONTENT, that a project vehicle that allows him to branch out of his pocket and further develop his artistic potential sans the self-imposed genre confinements of PUNK ROCK feels like a WELCOME and APPROPRIATE thing. and much DESERVED. much like every RANCID release has delivered the goods, i likewise look forward to TIM TIMEBOMB & FRIENDS releases since it provides a perspective on where his heart is at during the current moment. definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
ROCK N ROLL seemingly came to MATURITY in the 1970s. the 1950s with the advent of mass produced solid-body guitars (and amplification) and televisions presented the world a with an early HYBRID ROCKABILLY / R&B form with the likes CHUCK BERRY, THE EVERLY BROTHERS, LITTLE RICHARD, BUDDY HOLLY and ELVIS PRESLEY among others. the 1960s STREAMLINED the sound, presentation and recording of such with ENGLISH BLUES aficionados in BRITISH INVASION acts like THE BEATLES, THE KINKS, THE ANIMALS and THE ROLLING STONES reintroducing such back to an AMERICAN audience. the 1970s in comparison was a bit of a CULTURAL FREE-FOR-ALL with the TURMOIL from the late 1960s coming to fruition in the form of CHAOTIC proto-PUNK bands like the MC5 and THE STOOGES, as well as later HEAVIER acts like LED ZEPPELIN and BLACK SABBATH was well as the whole PUNK MOVEMENT at the end of the decade. the originally DETROIT-based CREEM MAGAZINE is an artifact of that period and channeled the REBELLIOUS ETHOS of that UNSETTLING period. the recent CREEM: AMERICA'S ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL MAGAZINE (BOY HOWDY, 2019) documentary is an attempt at explaining and contextualizing the publication and is somewhat of a love letter to such as it is produced by the son of the late founding publisher BARRY KRAMER.
at the center of that magazine during its peak years was the ever-CONTENTIOUS TRIUMVIRATE of the aforementioned KRAMER, EDITOR DAVE MARSH and LEGENDARY CONTRIBUTING WRITER LESTER BANGS. the push-and-pull dynamics between those three saw the magazine overlap into POLITICS, CULTURAL CRITICISM and SOCIAL COMMENTARY with a SARDONIC, IRREVERENT flair that would not be tolerated into today's polite society. and not without good reason. some of the content was outright TOXIC with INAPPROPRIATE and UNBRIDLED HOMOPHOBIA, SEXISM, FAT-SHAMING and RACIALLY-MOTIVATED NATIVISM being the UGLY norm. all seemingly done in an effort to be EDGY, CONFRONTATIONAL and seemingly attempting present a highly REDUCTIVE "every man" perspective. but hey, it was the 70s, right? errrrrrrrr. im glad that they didnt choose to gloss past such, but it is quite embarrassing to witness in hindsight. CREEM was consciously very much in contention with the SAN FRANCISCO-based ROLLING STONE. they viewed themselves as channeling the ETHOS of the COUNTERCULTURE and the WORKING CLASS, whereas the independently wealthy JANN WENNER-led ROLLING STONE in comparison was above the fray and not engaged with POPULAR CULTURE at a STREET-LEVEL. this thesis has only been openly discussed fairly with WENNER's propensity to whitewash coverage of AFRICAN-AMERICAN artists as well as consider them (as well as WOMEN) intellectually insignificant cultural actors as evidenced by his recent much-maligned book. to get a sense of his inability to be in tune with the ZEITGEIST, consider for example that as ROLLING STONE was repeatedly promoting JAMES TAYLOR, at the the end of the 1960s as the future of ROCK N ROLL, CREEM was in contrast championing THE STOOGES. enough said right there. for me the most COMPELLING aspect of the CREEM narrative is the fact that it was started by complete AMATEURS with no training or supervision in a distinctly WORKING CLASS environment, with all that such entails. it was BRASH and UNREFINED and no doubt broke with JOURNALISTIC (and some would say MORAL) STANDARDS, but it was also honest and spoke directly to an emerging audience in a way that came off as distinctly AUTHENTIC. thus it became throughout the decade the perfect vehicle for ARTISTS to champion and in turn bring them closer to their public on a HUMAN LEVEL. and that is essentially the LEGACY that is claimed in the film. the other being the tragic and sadly PATHETIC passings of both KRAMER and BANGS, victims of the ROCK N ROLL lifestyles they so fervently and eloquently championed in print. notable interview participants include MICHIGANDER MUSICIANS such as WAYNE KRAMER (MC5), JAMES WILLIAMSON (THE STOOGES), ALICE COOPER, NIAGARA DETROIT (DESTROY ALL MONSTERS), DON WAS, CHAD SMITH (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS), TED NUGENT, SUZI QUATRO, MITCH RYDER and SCOTT RICHARDSON (SRC) as well as other ARTISTS of the period like JOAN JETT (THE RUNAWAYS), GENE SIMMONS & PAUL STANLEY (KISS), CHRIS STEIN (BLONDIE), PETER WOLF (J GEILS BAND) and LENNY KAYE (PATTI SMITH GROUP). also worth mention are other later MUSICIANS that were influenced by the magazine that were interviewed including MICHAEL STIPE (R.E.M.), KEITH MORRIS (BLACK FLAG, CIRCLE JERKS, OFF!), KIRK HAMMETT (METALLICA), JEFF AMENT (PEARL JAM), PATRICK CARNEY (BLACK KEYS), STEVE & JEFF MCDONALD (REDD KROSS), SCOTT KEMPNER (THE DICTATORS) and THURSTON MOORE (SONIC YOUTH). the list goes on to include VISUAL ARTISTS SHEPARD FAIREY and LAMAR SORRENTINO, DESIGNER JOHN VARVATOS, ACTOR JEFF DANIELS, MODEL BEBE BUELL and NOTABLE WRITERS / EDITORS / PUBLISHERS like CAMERON CROWE (ROLLING STONE), GREIL MARCUS (ROLLING STONE), LEGS MCNEIL (PUNK / SPIN / NERVE) and JOHN HOLMSTROM (PUNK). all that being said, CREAM: AMERICA'S ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL MAGAZINE is a FEARLESS film well-worth checking out as it presents the narrative of a major CULTURAL publication with a particular VIEWPOINT, warts and all. photo & text by nacrowe
THE BEATLES' EPIC SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (PARLOPHONE, 1967) record gets perpetually credited for being this LANDMARK CONCEPT album, but to tell you the truth, i dont see it. not that the songs are not TRANSCENDENT, with INNOVATIVE and absolutely SPECTACULAR tracks like "LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS," "BEING FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. KITE," "SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND" and the STARTLING, GAME-CHANGING, MULTI-SECTION track "A DAY IN THE LIFE," this album is very much worthy of the praise it has received through the generations. but outside of the first song that sets up the LYRICAL CONCEIT of an extended outfit of lonely people in what i presume is a marching band, the whole "CONCEPT" falls apart. which is FINE since, as i said before, the songs stack up and more than hold their weight in their ECLECTIC and INVENTIVE GENIUS.
famously in 1966, THE BEATLES gave up touring after years of being unable to hear themselves play and decided to retreat to the more EMPOWERING and FULFILLING confines of the RECORDING STUDIO. gone was the pretense for creating something that could be recreated or facsimiled live and instead was the artistic gambit to truly utilize the STUDIO as an INSTRUMENT and push it as far as they creatively could. that sense of AMBITION and loss of pretense for REAL-WORLD applications is the actual CULTURAL LEGACY of SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND and set a STANDARD for generations of ROCK N ROLL bands to attempt to follow. everyone from THE BEACH BOYS, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, BLUR, THE FLAMING LIPS, RADIOHEAD and KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD have seen the scope and scale of this particular project as a beacon and an open invitation to likewise not limit their own CREATIVITY. that being said, its technically a MIRACLE that it exists given the PRIMITIVE state of the RECORDING TECHNOLOGY back in the late 1960s, as this album was recorded on a four-track ANALOG TAPE MACHINES. that means that all those layers of instruments, percussion and vocals had to be paired down to one of those four tracks with no ability to go back and revise. today with DIGITAL RECORDING TECHNOLOGY there is an ENDLESS amount of TRACKS that can be individually tweaked with near LIMITLESS parameters. SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND in that sense is as much a TECHNICAL feat as it is a CREATIVE one and the work of longtime producer GEORGE MARTIN and engineer GEOFF EMERICK should be duly commended. when i think about THE BEATLES, i always have to remind myself that their artistic partnership and UNPARALLELED EVOLUTION as a creative entity lasted only seven years across thirteen studio albums. it is absolutely MIND-BOGGING the PACE and QUALITY CONTROL of those releases. admittedly the first few releases from PLEASE PLEASE ME (PARLOPHONE, 1963) up through BEATLES FOR SALE (PARLOPHONE, 1964) had a litany of cover songs to pad their track-listings, but from HELP! (PARLOPHONE, 1965) onwards through ABBEY ROAD (APPLE, 1969) they essentially recorded whatever songs they had available. its ASTOUNDING that these records are as COHESIVE as they are, with MODERN bands having numerous finished songs left on the CUTTING ROOM FLOOR as par for course. back in the 1960s there was no sense that this ROCK N ROLL movement or the BRITISH INVASION cohort of bands would be anything but a FLASH-IN-THE-PAN, MOMENTARY CULTURAL PHENOMENON, so PARLOPHONE and other labels likewise pushed their artists for more PRODUCT. meaning at least two full-lengths a year with holiday non-album singles that also had original b-sides. i mean just the b-sides alone of THE BEATLES are amazing. all of this is to say that the POPULAR CONCEPTION of the making of SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND is that it was this huge masterplanned effort, when in reality these were just the next batch of songs. it is INTERESTING that GEORGE HARRISON and RINGO STARR are low on their assessment of such given their lack of creative participation relative to past efforts. i love this record, but from this PSYCHEDELIC, sonically ADVENTUROUS and EXPANSIVE period of the band, i prefer the truly DADA-esque and FREE-ASSOCIATIVE nature of the songs on its LESS-CELEBRATED follow-up MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (CAPITOL, 1967). regardless, SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND is absolutely ESSENTIAL and worthy of all the hype through the generations. it is most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
when i consider the MUSIC of NILE RODGERS the word that keeps coming to mind is JOY. his KINETIC, UPBEAT and monstrously CATCHY RHYTHMS and COMPOSITIONS that he has architected not only for himself and his LEGENDARY band CHIC but also in COLLABORATION as a PRODUCER and CO-SONGWRITER with the likes of DAVID BOWIE, MADONNA, DIANA ROSS, INXS, THE B-52s, GRACE JONES and DURAN DURAN is the sound of EXUBERANT CELEBRATION and the good things in life. which makes it all the more COMPELLING that his life narrative, especially related to his TRAUMA as a child and young adult, is such a HARROWING and borderline TRAGIC affair with NEGLECT, MENTAL HEALTH, DRUG ABUSE and POVERTY affecting his early life. both sides of the coin are discussed in an OPEN and NONJUDGEMENTAL manner that is both DISARMING and GUT-WRENCHING in his RIVETING memoir LE FREAK: AN UPSIDE DOWN STORY OF FAMILY, DISCO AND DESTINY (SPIEGEL & GRAU, 2011).
RODGERS as a kid led a PERIPATETIC existence as a young child, being left to his own devices on both coasts by a string of relatives who were loosely given custody of him as his BEATNICK mother led her DRUG-ADDLED life largely unencumbered by the responsibilities of MOTHERHOOD. being a CURIOUS and INTUITIVE learner from a young age, RODGERS discovered the power of MUSIC when he was in LOS ANGELES, where he learned to read MUSIC and play the flute and clarinet in junior high school. this ability to both read and write compositions, as well as comprehend and implement SOPHISTICATED JAZZ INVERSIONS and VOICINGS of popular CHORD PROGRESSIONS would prove incalculably useful in his later career as a musicians, SONGWRITER and PRODUCER of the first order. after switching to guitar in high school, RODGERS progressed quickly as serendipitously the range of the instrument matched that of the woodwinds he was trained on years earlier. later relocating to NEW YORK CITY, he got involved with PROGRESSIVE politics at the time (including the BLACK PANTHERS) and played small clubs in GREENWICH VILLAGE which eventually after years transitioned into work as a session and back-up musician on the CHITLIN CIRCUIT. in this MUSICAL COMMUNITY he eventually found his musical counterpart in bassist BERNARD EDWARDS, whom he would form CHIC with years later. one of the interesting aspects of this memoir is how RACE played a part in RODGERS life and how he adroitly navigated such in his career. when CHIC started out they were rejected by labels when they learned the band was BLACK, and thus UNMARKETABLE to a WHITE RECORD-BUYING PUBLIC. taking inspiration from KISS and ROXY MUSIC, RODGERS surmised that if himself and EDWARDS laid back in the RHTHYM SECTION and let others (i.e. singers) form the popular image of the group to the PUBLIC, then such would counteract this RACIST BIAS in the music industry. and it worked. later on he would face similar headwinds with songs and whole records being rejected by the labels of COLLABORATING artists (i.e. DIANA ROSS and DURAN DURAN) for sounding too ETHNIC. its INTRIGUING that DAVID BOWIE and a pre-global fame MADONNA had enough industry clout to counteract such PREJUDICES. cant make this stuff up. another intriguing thread throughout the memoir is the fracturing and dismantling of one's IDENTITY and COMMUNITY through DRUG ABUSE. RODGERS is a HIGH-FUNCTIONING DRUG ABUSER, mostly COCAINE and ALCOHOL, with a high tolerance throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but eventually such corroded away both his ABILITIES and warped his literal grasp of REALITY. he hit rock bottom after being confronted with a recording of a live performance showing him to be quite TERRIBLE which countered his IMPAIRED MEMORY of said event. he thought he was hot shit that night. falling into fantasies of PARANOIA and HOSTILE DELUSIONS, he put himself into rehab and got better over time, putting his life before his work for the first time. TRAUMATIC triggers such as the UNEXPECTED sudden PASSING of EDWARDS did not cause him to relapse, thus breaking the cycle that he inherited from his FAMILY. specifically his FATHER who used DRUGS for years until his DEATH to escape the INTENSE PAIN of RODGERS' MOTHER refusing to marry him. at the close of the memoir we briefly learn about his CANCER diagnosis, which we now know years later, long after the publication of this book, that he came out (barely) on the other side of. music during this period, which also included an ALZEIMER'S diagnosis for his BELOVED MOTHER BEVERLY, was his vehicle for finding meaning in existence and literally celebrating life with his extended MUSICAL COMMUNITY. finding that COMMUNITY and its status as a SURROGATE FAMILY is another COMPELLING aspect of this memoir. for someone that was so severely NEGLECTED as a child, the rise of CHIC was specifically POWERFUL as it tapped into a likewise NEGLECTED segment of the POPULATION that intersected UNDERGROUND BLACK, LATINO and GAY SUBCULTURES. when the backlash against "DISCO" happened it cut deeply as it seemed WHITE AMERICA was aggressively assuming back the reigns of cultural hegemony from this UNDERPRIVILEGED MINORITY POPULATION. the RACIAL OVERTONES of the DISCO SUCKS movement were likewise pretty EXPLICIT for those that that chose to pay attention. most record buyers didnt and RODGERS career suffered, until he re-marketed himself and BOWIE resurrected his career. i personally find the whole discussion around DISCO FASCINATING as it is a stain that continues unabated to this day, with the music being disavowed as being largely INTERCHANGEABLE and DISPOSABLE fluff with little to no AUTHENTICITY, as opposed to the SOPHISTICATED MUSICALITY and TECHNICAL EXECUTION that was at its core. never mind the fact that dancing served as an escape and place of REFUGE and CELEBRATION of IDENTITY for all of these UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS. it is still quite an UNRESOLVED dynamic that i take great interest in reading about and learning from. LE FREAK is an CAPTIVATING memoir that very much exposes the steep hills and EXTREME low depths of the valleys of RODGERS' WELL-LIVED life. this book is a RARE achievement and one of the more COMPELLING memoirs ive read about a musician since starting this blog. i'd put it right up there with KEITH RICHARDS' likewise EXCELLENT LIFE (LITTLE, BROWN & CO, 2010), PATTI SMITH's JUST KIDS (ECCO, 2010), HENRY ROLLINS' GET IN THE VAN: ON THE ROAD WITH BLACK FLAG (2.13.61, 1995), JOHNNY MARR's SET THE BOY FREE (DEY STREET, 2016) and PETER HOOK's SUBSTANCE: INSIDE NEW ORDER (SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2017) memoirs. it makes sense that RODGER's legacy includes influencing an ECLECTIC range of NOTABLE musicians from DAFT PUNK, JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS), THE WEEKND, ORANGE JUICE and PRINCE to ROBERT WYATT (SOFT MACHINE), LADY GAGA, QUEEN, JUSTIIN TIMBERLAKE and PHARRELL WILLIAMS. LE FREAK is absolutely worth checking out for fans of the history of AMERICAN cultural and musical history. i'd even argue it is ESSENTIAL.
photo & text by nacrowe
i feel like JIMI HENDRIX is a bit MISUNDERSTOOD.
he is continually universally LIONIZED (for good reason) for being arguably the GREATEST GUITARIST of all-time having internalized the BLUES LEXICON and driving it way out into INTERSTELLAR space not unlike JOHN COLTRANE with BEBOP and JAZZ. i think oftentimes people get caught up on his TECHNICAL PROWESS on the instrument instead of the SEAMLESS INTUITIVENESS and ENDLESS IMPROVISATIONAL CREATIVITY he displayed with a GUITAR in-hand. like mid-period PICASSO, its not just the ability itself that is INGENIOUS, but the the PROCESS, PRODUCT and INTENTION behind it that continues to ENTRANCE and DELIGHT us. listening to HENDRIX records, as ive done since early childhood, you just get the PALPABLE feeling that he was really just getting started. that we were all denied a career of collaborations and one-off performances that would spellbind us as his MUSICAL DEXTERITY found new avenues and platforms of testing and further expanding that seemingly BOUNDLESS CREATIVITY. i also think HENDRIX is severely UNDERRATED as a SONGWRITING TALENT. what makes his records work is that the actual material is COMPELLING in its SONIC and LYRICAL IDIOSYNCRASIES, which intertwine and create an aural landscape that is comforting and thrilling to step in and at of as a listener. i can remember as a child just turning on "RAINY DAY, DREAM AWAY" and just blissfully zoning out to its ENCHANTED, CAREFREE rhythmically REPETITIVE MANTRA into the OPEN-ENDED lyrics fixated on the dilemma of what to do when the weather outside shifts to that of a downpour. its music from a DEEP, SUBTERRANEAN, almost PRE-CONSCIOUS source that is meant to convey and describe aurally concepts like FREEDOM, SERENITY and the SUBLIME. and yes, the dude could obviously PLAY. but like COLTRANE, he could also WRITE and THINK creatively with the best of them and in the process collectively raised our sense of COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS. or at least some of us. just listen to his catalogue. itll all make sense. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the BOUNDLESS CREATIVITY of JIMI HENDRIX. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
when KISS released their fourth album, a live recording appropriately called ALIVE! (CASABLANCA, 1975), it was on the heels of three efforts [KISS (CASABLANCA, 1974), HOTTER THAN HELL (CASABLANCA, 1974) and DRESSED TO KILL (CASABLANCA, 1975)] that were in essence commercial failures. the band was in serious danger of being dropped by CASABLANCA RECORDS so the financial windfall that was this record could not have come at a better time.
with touring maturing into a corporatized industry in the 1970s, the trend to release KEEPSAKE recordings of the experience became quite PROMINENT with the massively SUCCESSFUL releases of most notably PETER FRAMPTON's FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE! (A&M, 1976), THE WHO's LIVE AT LEEDS (DECCA, 1970), CHEAP TRICK's CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN (EPIC, 1979), NEIL YOUNG's RUST NEVER SLEEPS (REPRISE, 1979), THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND's AT FILMORE EAST (CAPRICORN, 1971), BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS' LIVE! (ISLAND, 1975), THIN LIZZY's LIVE AND DANGEROUS (WARNER BROS, 1978), LOU REED's ROCK 'N' ROLL ANIMAL (RCA, 1974), JIMI HENDRIX's BAND OF GYPSYS (CAPITOL, 1970), SLADE's SLADE ALIVE! (POLYDOR, 1972), QUEEN's LIVE KILLERS (PARLOPHONE, 1979) and MARVIN GAYE's MARVIN GAYE LIVE! (TAMLA, 1974) among many other examples. the live album was a bit of a cottage industry and represented a product that was much easier to produce given the fact that old material was being presented and resold anew. for KISS, ALIVE! with its gatefold photography of raised stages, bright lights and plentiful pyrotechnics, translated the experience of the live experience in a PALPABLE and VIVID way that spurred and captured the IMAGINATION of a generation of musicians coming of age in the 1970s from DIMEBAG DARRELL (PANTERA), SCOTT IAN (ANTHRAX), TOM MORELLO (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), MIKE MCREADY (PEARL JAM) and KIM THAYIL (SOUNDGARDEN) to RIVERS CUOMO (WEEZER), BUZZ OSBOURNE (MELVINS), JERRY CANTRELL (ALICE IN CHAINS), KIRK HAMMETT (METALLICA) and ADAM JONES (TOOL). for me that lineage is the lasting impact of KISS in general and the ALIVE! album specifically. similar to CHEAP TRICK's LIVE AT BUDOKAN with songs like "SURRENDER" and "I WANT YOU TO WANT ME", live renditions of certain ALIVE! songs are the de facto STANDARD versions in the PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS over the original STUDIO VERSIONS. songs like "STRUTTER," "DEUCE," "BLACK DIAMOND," "COLD GIN" and of course most iconically, "ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE," all showcase that EPHEMERAL MAGIC of a great live show. the not-so DIRTY SECRET is that much of ALIVE! is a COMPLETE AURAL FABRICATION, with rerecorded parts and imported fan noise making the release an inherently a STUDIO CREATION. but KISS are not alone in doing such, virtually all live recordings to date have some embellishment, MIXING and rerecorded TRICKERY implemented to give the audience an experience that matches their MEMORY of the gig itself. with a band like KISS that is all about the visual, their EDDIE KRAMER-produced ALIVE! album represents the release that finally provided a LISTENING EXPERIENCE that matched their presentation and the building strength of their LEGENDARY live performances from that initial decade. it is the platform from which subsequent SUCCESSFUL releases like DESTROYER (CASABLANCA, 1976) and LOVE GUN (CASABLANCA, 1977) were based on and expanded upon. it remains one of the most INFLUENTIAL live recordings of all-time and is definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
the almost ALCHEMICAL interplay between the VISUAL and the AURAL is one of the most POWERFUL relationships i can think of. look no further than the INDELIBLE film scores of RENOWNED composer BERNARD HERRMANN devoid and in complete isolation from his association with the cinematic work of collaborating filmmakers in ORSON WELLES [CITIZEN KANE (RKO, 1941)], ALFRED HITCHCOCK [PSYCHO (PARAMOUNT, 1960), VERTIGO (PARAMOUNT, 1958), NORTH BY NORTHWEST (MGM, 1959), THE BIRDS (UNIVERSAL, 1963)], BRIAN DEPALMA [SISTERS (AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL, 1972), OBSESSION (COLUMBIA, 1976)] and MARTIN SCORSESE [TAXI DRIVER (COLUMBIA, 1976)]. the key concept is that score complements the film and the POWER and MAGIC comes from the two working in tandem.
the same dynamic is at play with ALBUM ARTWORK, which arguably was at its zenith in the 1960s and 1970s when the cultural ubiquity and embrace of vinyl records allowed for an ACCESSIBLE format that presented as an ARTISTIC CANVAS. it was during this period that the ENGLISH firm HIPGNOSIS, made up of the collaborative duo STORM THORGERSON and AUBREY POWELL, emerged out of CAMBRIDGE came to dominate the market with wildly IMAGINATIVE and ICONIC visual images for LEGENDARY acts of the period including PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN, T. REX, PETER GABRIEL, AC/DC, WISHBONE ASH, 10CC, DEF LEPPARD, YES, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, UFO and BLACK SABBATH among numerous other artists. a quick rundown of their most CELEBRATED COVERS include numerous PINK FLOYD [A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS (EMI COLUMBIA, 1968), ATOM HEART MOTHER (HARVEST, 1970), THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (CAPITOL, 1973), WISH YOU WERE HERE (COLUMBIA, 1975), ANIMALS (COLUMBIA, 1977)] and LED ZEPPELIN [HOUSES OF THE HOLY (ATLANTIC, 1973), PRESENCE (SWAN SONG, 1976), IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR (SWAN SONG, 1979)] and PETER GABRIEL [CAR (CHARISMA, 1977), SCRATCH (CHARISMA, 1978), MELT (CHARISMA, 1980)] releases as well as T. REX's ELECTRIC WARRIOR (REPRISE, 1971), GENESIS' THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY (CHARISMA, 1974), AC/DC's DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP (ATLANTIC, 1976) and SYD BARRETT's THE MADCAP LAUGHS (HARVEST, 1970). all that being said, the recent SQUARING THE CIRCLE: THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS (RAINDOG, 2022) documentary centers around the UNIQUE working relationship of THORGERSON and POWELL and the cultural moment their WORK embodied and defined. the narrative is told largely from the PERSPECTIVE of the surviving POWELL, as THORGERSON passed away in 2013, as well as FAMOUS clients such as PAUL MCCARTNEY, PETER GABRIEL and PROMINENT members of PINK FLOYD (ROGER WATERS, DAVID GILMOUR and NICK MASON) and LED ZEPPELIN (JIMMY PAGE and ROBERT PLANT) as well as NOTEWORTHY non-clients GLEN MATLOCK (THE SEX PISTOLS) and NOEL GALLAGHER (OASIS). what is presented is that the INTIMATE yet CONTENTIOUS artistic collaboration between THORGERSON and POWELL was one of UNCOMPROMISING vision that repeatedly took big swings and big risks, and at times took big losses, that effectively stationed them as the vanguard CREATIVE VISUAL FIRM of the era. oftentimes they were ahead of the audience, as well as their clients. this INSULAR CREATIVE PROCESS is in stark contrast to today's more MARKET-DRIVEN and research GROUP-TESTED approach that puts a premium on riding current trends then innovating and pioneering new terrain. GALLAGHER functions as a later-generation fan of HIPGNOSIS and the era they represented, as well as the living embodiment and surrogate figure for the disappointment of what e-commerce and social technology has done to the quality of ARTWORK and the ALCHEMICAL POWER and MAGIC of such that has seemingly dissipated in decades since. to a degree, HIPGNOSIS was always dealing with the creation of a commodity that was to be sold in a marketplace, but there was a real connection to an audience that elevated said VISUALS to a sense of raised CONSCIOUSNESS and aesthetic appreciation. i do not believe fans are looking for that same connection to the VISUALS (and arguably the MUSIC) anymore in popular music that has widespread appeal. everything seems more geared towards entertainment with the shelf-life of a TIKTOK feed, which is all kinds of SAD and TRAGIC, but that is the current state of affairs regarding such. ultimately the partner of THORGERSON and POWELL didnt last through the 1980s as tastes changed and their era was seen as BLOATED and PRETENTIOUS. owing money to their creditors, THORGERSON didnt pay his end and the personal relationship of both soured irreparably. this emotional and psychic WEIGHT is adroitly visually evoked and represented by director ANTON CORBIJN in STARK, high-contrast black-and-white with POWELL physically laboring to carry his creative work in a large, CUMBERSOME over-the-shoulder bag through an abandoned side road somewhere in a NAMELESS, MISTY ENGLISH countryside. this film seemingly represents an attempt at putting the past into context, all the professional triumphs and the personal toll extracted along the way, in an attempt to excise such from his conscious. i should give mention that CORBIJN is the perfect director for this type of project, himself being responsible for ICONIC IMAGES, ALBUM COVERS and MUSIC VIDEOS associated with everyone from JOY DIVISION, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, DEPECHE MODE, U2 and NIRVANA. CORBIJN, much like HIPGNOSIS is a fellow alchemist in this POWERFUL and deeply MAGICAL interplay between all things VISUAL and AURAL. i was blown away by this film and heavily recommend it to anyone interested in the intersection of ART, IMAGE and COMMERCE. photo & text by nacrowe
it feels sometimes when navigating through MUSIC WEBSITES or the comments sections of YOUTUBE videos, MUSIC BLOGS or posts on SOCIAL MEDIA that the online world is just TOXIC. there seems to be a fixation with being AGGRESSIVE and CONFRONTATIONAL with one's opinion rather than THOUGHTFUL, CONSIDERED or COMPASSIONATE. with WEBSITES there sometimes seems to be an embedded incentive to come off ELITIST and EXCLUSIONARY because of their access and role as a gatekeeper to the opinions and thoughts of ARTISTS and MUSICIANS.
what i love about the WIKIPEDIA: FACT OR FICTION web series by ONLINE MUSIC MAGAZINE LOUDWIRE is not the fact that it confronts MODERN METAL, ALTERNATIVE ROCK and PUNK ROCK royalty from the likes of SLAYER, PANTERA, INCUBUS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, LAMB OF GOD, BAD RELIGION, WHITE ZOMBIE, KISS, METALLICA, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, SLIPKNOT and CANNIBAL CORPSE with their (more-than-often INCORRECT) group-sourced online WIKIPEDIA biographies, it is the fact that host GRAHAM HARTMANN is so EVEN-KEELED about the whole endeavor. too often an INTERVIEW SHOW like this will have a host that is attempting to make the whole thing about them and how KNOWLEDGABLE or COOL they are projecting themselves in the effective afterglow of the TALENT (for which the audience is tuning in for), which is more than a little GRATING and PATRONIZING as a viewer. it is easy to identify with HARTMANN as he is treating the talent like REGULAR people and thus humanizes them in the process. its refreshing how little of that actually goes on in the MUSIC PRESS, which seems keen on building up or tearing down the public profiles of prominent MUSICIANS and their work. that or being part of a TRANSPARENT PROMOTIONAL APPARATUS to the DETRIMENT of the FANBASE. i enjoy watching and rewatching these past episodes because of HARTMANN and his ability to not act as an industry cog, instead being an AWARE MUSIC JOURNALIST / EVERYDAY FAN that most MUSIC ENTHUSIASTS can see in themselves. at least i can. WIKIPEDIA: FACT OR FICTION has expanded in recent years into the worlds of PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING and ACTORS, along with MUSICIANS, but at the center of it all is still HARTMANN and his ability to make this promotional vehicle seem less showbiz and a bit more DOWN-TO-EARTH and FUN. most definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
sometimes its just fun to watch people discuss shop, whether they be PAINTERS or CARPENTERS or RECORD PRODUCERS or FILMMAKERS or MUSICIANS as the case may be. SHRED WITH SHIFTY finds lead GUITARIST CHRIS SHIFLETT, primarily known for his two plus decades of service with the DAVE GROHL-led MODERN ALTERNATIVE ROCK institution that is the FOO FIGHTERS as well as noteworthy PUNK ROCK bands like NO USE FOR A NAME and ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES, interviewing various other GUITARISTS about their TECHNIQUE, COMPOSITION, PHILOSOPHY and INSPIRATION(S) for playing. the PREMIER GUITAR-sponsored VIDEO SERIES and PODCAST appears to be the visual cousin and continuation of his informal longtime WALKING THE FLOOR audio podcast series that covered much of the same ground. NOTABLE past SHRED WITH SHIFTY participants in these video interviews include NILE ROGERS (CHIC), RIVERS CUOMO (WEEZER), MIKE MCREADY (PEARL JAM), BLAKE SCHWARZENBACH (JAWBREAKER) and ALEX LIFESON (RUSH). its an eclectic, INTER-GENERATIONAL and MULTI-GENRE blend that mirrors the interests of the host, himself an INDEPENDENT PUNK ROCK veteran that plays in arguably the most CONSEQUENTIAL ROCK N ROLL band on the planet, who also has a budding side career as an ALT COUNTRY TRAVELING SINGER-SONGWRITER.
personally i tend to pay more attention to the PUNK ROCK / CLASSIC ROCK end of his interviews rather than those with the BRAD PAISLEYs of the world (no disrespect to their GUITAR CHOPS and COMPOSITIONAL PROWESS). i am able to follow the CONVERSATIONS and understand the TECHNIQUES being employed and exploited in these discussions, but i wonder at times about the user-friendliness of such for BEGINNING GUITAR PLAYERS. it makes me rethink who the audience is for these EXTENDED VIDEO PODCASTS, because it would seem on the surface to be beginning or INTERMEDIATE MUSICIANS. yet there is no GUITAR TABLATURE provided or VISUAL ASSISTANCE on how what being played corresponds to a guitar in REAL-TIME, which would be beneficial to PLAYERS of all levels. maybe the engagement of the DISCUSSION is the real objective here, buts its DIFFICULT to ascertain since so much of the actual content revolves around the playing itself. for my purposes, i enjoy watching SHIFLETT and his GUESTS having FUN talking shop and exploring the diversity of thought that goes behind CONSTRUCTING a MEMORABLE part in a fan-favorite song that has stood the test of time (i.e. guitar leads from PEARL JAM's "ALIVE," RUSH's "LIMELIGHT," WEEZER's "ONLY IN DREAMS" and NILE ROGERS / DIANA ROSS' "I'M COMING OUT". there is real value in that and i look forward to each new episode irrespective of the GUEST involved(with the exception being the MODERN COUNTRY ARTISTS whose music is not my cup of tea). SHRED WITH SHIFTY is most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
THE WALL (COLUMBIA/CBS, 1979) is one of those records that is so repeatedly CELEBRATED and MYTHOLOGIZED down the generations that it is almost impossible to approach it soberly purely at eye-level. PINK FLOYD had made other massively commercially and artistically successful CONCEPTUAL recordings before, namely THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (CAPITOL, 1973) and WISH YOU WERE HERE (CAPITOL, 1975), which were about the things in life that ALIENATE us from each other and the ISOLATION one feels being used and commoditized by the MUSIC INDUSTRY, respectively. but THE WALL was different in that the source of the DETACHMENT presented was not lifestyle-related or the direct result of business and commerce transactions, instead it was the interaction with the AUDIENCE itself that was the source of said ESTRANGEMENT.
MODERN CELEBRITY CULTURE is something that has come to be more appreciated in recent decades and the phenomena of the PSYCHOLOGICAL TOLL that comes with having to balance the distance between your sense of SELF-PERCEPTION and that of a widely known PUBLIC PERSONA. the collision and collapse of that private/public equilibrium has led to the downfall of countless public figures from the world of SPORTS, POLITICS and ENTERTAINMENT alike. when i listen to the narrative presented in THE WALL, which is a parable / morality play concerned with that process of SELF-ALIENATION, i feel that HUNGER and DESPERATION that comes with battling that INEVITABLE process and sense of IMPENDING SELF-IMMOLATION. its CURIOUS but UNDERSTANDABLE that a band at arguably the peak of their creative powers chose to dissect and disassemble their INTENSE feelings of DISTANCE from EACH OTHER, their AUDIENCE and their CRUMBLING SENSE OF SELF. one can only imagine the pressures and expectations that come with the platform and they created for themselves, especially during an era where ROCK AND ROLL bands where expected (probably because of BOB DYLAN and THE BEATLES before them) to make grand cultural statements that were elevated to level of ART. such is probably why the concurrent PUNK ROCK movement was so effective in scaling back the scope and scale of such to purely PALPABLE, STREET-LEVEL PERSPECTIVES instead of BLOATED treatises on the nature of an artist's relation to themselves and their audience with massive commercial success. bullocks to that! STANDOUT tracks include the legendary ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN (and teacher) anthem "ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART II)," the hazy ode to giving up and giving in to the will of others, "COMFORTABLY NUMB," and other affecting songs such as "RUN LIKE HELL," "MOTHER," "IN THE FLESH?" and "HEY YOU" among others. this album also represents the DISINTEGRATION of the relationship within the band, as keyboardist RICHARD WRIGHT was fired during production but kept on for the subsequent tour as a auxiliary musician. while not the final collaboration between ROGER WATERS and DAVID GILMOUR, THE WALL is their last SIGNIFICANT artistic statement as a CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP. fitting at least that this WATERS-initiated concept was SELF-AWARE enough to presage his own ALIENATION from the group as GILMOUR, once the replacement guitarist for original bandleader and main songwriter SYD BARRETT, with much INTERNAL ACRIMONY took the helm of the group through the 1980s and beyond. my opinion is that some of these songs are UNDENIABLE and that the MYTHOLOGY of PINK FLOYD rests on the sheer MUSICALITY and EMOTION in those songs alone, irrespective of fancy concepts surrounding PERSONAL DETACHMENT. the music is what drew me in as a child, not the lyrics. GILMOUR's guitar leads throughout THE WALL are stuff of legend and very well should be since they are powerful and emotionally affecting in their sense of RESTRAINT and REFINEMENT, rather than masturbatory sonic gymnastics soon to become popular over the next decade. GILMOUR could say more with three notes than later guitarist could with thirty. is THE WALL conceptually a bit PRECIOUS and POMPOUS? no doubt. it is DIFFICULT to make regular people empathize and connect to the INTERNAL PSYCHOLOGICAL HARDSHIPS, which are REAL, of MONEY, STATUS and CELEBRITY CULTURE, but i do feel THE WALL points to a conversation we are still having more than four decades about the toll of losing one's ANONYMITY and sense of SELF-IMAGE in a MASS MEDIA culture. in essence with SOCIAL MEDIA, we are all creating little information silos, i.e. walls, around ourselves to insulate us from feeling attacked for our views and SELF-PERCEPTIONS however WARPED and UNREALISTIC. its an INTRIGUING and RELEVANT question to date and THE WALL helped point the way. definitely an album worthy of revisiting and checking out again. photo & text by nacrowe
not gonna lie. FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK (WE SALUTE YOU) (ATLANTIC, 1981), the follow-up to the LEGENDARY BACK IN BLACK (ATLANTIC, 1980) album by the AUSTRALIAN ROCK N ROLL CULTURAL INSTITUTION known as AC/DC, is all about the title track. with its STEADY buildup and punctuated OPEN CHORDS that rev up the drama and its crescendo with canons blasting is pure CLASSIC ROCK IDIOCY and more than worth the price of admission.
i was LUCKY enough to see AC/DC play MADISON GARDEN back in august of 2000 and by far the highlight was seeing those canons come out and shoot off while ANGUS YOUNG was duckwalking a CRAZY GUITAR SOLO across the stage. it was as RIDICULOUS as it was UNSOPHISTICATED. you can almost imagine the discussion when writing the song about how to really take this track to the next level, with PERCUSSION that sounds like a canon. wait, lets just get the canons and include them on the track! at fifteen none of that mattered to me, all i knew was that the canon schtick was pretty BADASS and the crowd went absolutely MENTAL. fast forward 48 hours and i am back at high school on the other side of the globe for my first day of classes in KUWAIT and my ears were still ringing from those canons. and i wouldnt have it any other way. i think at times ROCK N ROLL gets a bit PRECIOUS and INSULAR, with musicians feeling like they need to make some huge ARTISTIC STATEMENT that will last the test of time and define some HIGHFALUTIN claim of an enduring CULTURAL LEGACY. unless you are LEONARD COHEN, BOB DYLAN, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN or JOHN LENNON then that sort of thing normally falls flat on its face (see everyone from BONO, TOM DELONGE, JARED LETO, GENE SIMMONS, BILLY CORGAN, ROGER WATERS, CHRIS MARTIN, PETE TOWNSEND and that dude from THE KILLERS). there is a certain sense of earned STATURE and AUTHENTICITY that allows those aforementioned artists that sort of platform with GRAND OBSERVATIONS to resonate with large swaths of the record buying public. you either have it or you dont. with AC/DC that was never their deal or modus operandi. they just wanted to level you with their UNRELENTING FORWARD MOMENTUM and KILLER GROOVE. same with ZZ TOP and even MOTORHEAD to an extent (in addition they wanted to blow your face off with volume as well). the track "FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK (WE SALUTE YOU)" is absolutely PERFECT in that regard. you can't help listening to it and not smile and feel charged up afterward. for me that song is the STRAIGHT-UP soundtrack to the UNPRETENTIOUS spirit of CLASSIC ROCK N ROLL. a b-line straight from the lineage of CHUCK BERRY himself. as for the rest of the album. it is pretty MEH. photo & text by nacrowe
QUEEN was always an acquired taste in my estimation. boundlessly INVENTIVE and idiosyncratically SOPHISTICATED to the extreme, the band were entirely UNIQUE amongst their HARD ROCK brethren in the 1970s and their genre-skipping, MARX BROTHERS-referencing fourth album A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (ELEKTRA, 1975) was the culmination of such DISPARATE interests. that complexity of vision is in part the consequence of band whereby each member was a (somewhat) VIABLE songwriter, not just the recognizable faces like the universally CELEBRATED, LARGER-THAN-LIFE frontman FREDDIE MERCURY and LEGENDARY guitarist BRIAN MAY.
case in point is a track like the SELF-EXPLANATORY "I'M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR" written and, notably, sung by drummer ROGER TAYLOR. its a pretty STRAIGHTFORWARD declaration of his LOVE for, well, his car. nothing much more to say about that i guess. definitely a LAME track. similarly, bassist JOHN DEACON wrote the AFFECTIONATE yet CONTRIVED "YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND" about his wife. that these two songs (i'd strongly argue FILLER tracks) ended up on such a record is a testament to QUEEN's mutual support of each other's DRIVE, TALENT and CREATIVITY, which is definitely an outlier in the world of ROCK AND ROLL where writing credits and the largesse associated with such is often a BITTER source of CONTENTION and the root of many a breakup. definitely not the best moments by any stretch, but necessary and REVEALING about the economic nature of bands during this period. obviously the main attraction with QUEEN is very much MERCURY and MAY and they absolutely deliver on SEMINAL A NIGHT AT THE OPERA tracks like "LAZING ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON," "DEATH ON TWO LEGS" and the immortally EPIC "BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY." what i love about these specific tracks are how all over the map they are lyrically and stylistically. "LAZING ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON" has a CAREFREE, waltz-feel with a megaphone-like effect on MERCURY's VOCALS that emulates an old cylinder phonograph record from the end of the 19th century. it feels almost NOSTALGIC for a VICTORIAN era long-gone by as MERCURY sings jubilantly about his walk around town on a nice afternoon. part of the song's appeal is that it comes right after the opening track "DEATH ON TWO LEGS" which is easily the most MEAN-SPIRITED and PUNISHING QUEEN song ever, long rumored to be public RETRIBUTION against their former manager and his LESS-THAN-HONORABLE business practices. in VICIOUS, UNAMBIGUOUS terms the song basically character assassinates an unknown figure for being a snake, complete with KILLER BACKGROUND VOCALS and a MEMORABLE GUITAR SOLO. i dont consider myself a QUEEN fan, but "DEATH ON TWO LEGS" is pretty undeniably POEWRFUL in its absolute PETTINESS and HATEFUL NEGATIVITY, enough so that MERCURY had some reservations about the track in retrospect, feeling he wanted to put out music that was POSITIVE and uplifted people. the centerpiece of the album, and the track most synonymous with the band is of course "BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY." full disclosure, i have a relative who worked on WAYNE'S WORLD (PARAMOUNT, 1992) as a music supervisor who was involved with the ICONIC interior car singing scene at the beginning of the revered PENELOPE SPHEERIS-directed MIKE MYERS and DANA CARVEY comedic vehicle. the song itself, written by MERCURY, is as EPIC as it is RIDICULOUS. there are multiple parts, which were reportedly recorded separately by the band with no inkling of their ultimate arrangement in the track, and a famous harmonized A CAPELLA section that lyrically references famous OPERA characters, the BIBLE and the QU'RAN, for reasons unknown. the song should be irredeemably PRETENTIOUS, but the combined FULL-THROATED CONVICTION, PASSION and vocal DEXTERITY of MERCURY renders the song CONTAGIOUS in its idiosyncrasies. that song is completely UNIQUE and a one of one. i dont believe anyone in ROCK AND ROLL history has ever attempted something that is as CATCHY as it is completely SELF-INDULGENT. and i think that car scene in WAYNE'S WORLD picks up on both the IRREPRESSIBLE ENERGY and THEATRICAL ABSURDITY of that song for comedic effect. they arent making fun of the song at all, in fact they are making light of the song's effect on their behavior, the EPHEMERAL, TRANSPORTIVE state of PURE BLISS without inhibitions that it has unlocked in a cohort of young men. and for me that FLEETING state of DELIGHT in PERFORMATIVE ECSTASY is what sums up FREDDIE MERCURY's appeal and that of his band QUEEN at their apex, which A NIGHT AT THE OPERA arguably represents to most of the listening public. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is required listening. most definitely worth checking out for fans of ROCK AND ROLL writ large. photo & text by nacrowe
a REGGAE LED ZEPPELIN cover band fronted by an ELVIS impersonator. i feel like the concept sells itself.
and somehow JIMMY PAGE, ROBERT PLANT and the rest of the estate agreed making DREAD ZEPPELIN the only sanctioned LED ZEPPELIN cover band known in existence (or at least to my knowledge). it is a well-known industry fact that the LED ZEPPELIN estate jealously guards their interests and has been known to get quite litigious in the past in order to protect their catalogue, making the very fact that DREAD ZEPPELIN exists on an widely distributed record a minor miracle in and of itself. i first learned of the band through their UN-LED-ED (I.R.S., 1990) debut album that my father played for me as a child, usually after listening to LED ZEPPELIN proper. its the same dynamic at play when he introduced my brother and i to MEL BROOKS' CLASSIC SPACEBALLS (MGM/UA, 1987) FARCE only after making us watch the original STAR WARS trilogy back around the same time. one works only after intimate knowledge of the other. it is obviously impossible to divorce the LED ZEPPELIN and DREAD ZEPPELIN from one other, since all the SERIOUSNESS and EXPANSIVE GRANDEUR evoked by the former is basically turned on its head and PARODIED mercilessly by the latter. my personal FAVORITE recorded moment is on their cover of "MOBY DICK," which finds frontman TORTELVIS reading the introduction to the famously INTRICATE and OPAQUE HERMAN MELVILLE novel to a light skank (courtesy of the guitarist with BEYOND-GENIUS alias, JAH PAUL JO), before stopping abruptly and complaining that he's read it a thousand times and still has no idea what the hell the author is talking about. first time i heard that i was basically in LOVE with the band. same with the GENIUS hybrid "BLACK DOG / HOUND DOG" abomination. it just totally takes the piss out of everything involved (with a little classic "BATMAN THEME" from the CHEESY 60's television show through in). how do you not love that." again, same with the "HEARTBREAKER" and "HEART BREAK HOTEL" hybrid track, its all GENIUS. other STANDOUT tracks include their covers of "WHOLE LOTTA LOVE," "I CAN'T QUIT YOU BABY," "YOUR TIME IS GONNA COME" and "IMMIGRANT SONG." again, the fact that these PARODIES exist on record really makes me rethink the PUBLIC IMAGE of LED ZEPPELIN as a bunch of IMAGE-CONSCIOUS auteurs that make music meant to evocatively express the EXPANSIVE and ELUSIVE literary and sonic grandeur of ALBION's FOLK traditions. DREAD ZEPPELIN dismantles such by making music that RE-CONTEXTUALIZES and undercuts those ELEVATED ambitions and renders such as the target of light MOCKERY. they effectively make LED ZEPPELIN appear SILLY. kudos to PAGE, PLANT, JOHN PAUL JONES and the estate for allowing this to happen, because the beneficiary is everyone. ELVIS PRESLEY, REGGAE and LED ZEPPELIN fans alike. i view UN-LED-ED as ESSENTIAL. definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
seriously, that GUITAR TONE!
not sure what else to say other than guitarist LESLIE WEST has one of the THICKEST, NASTIEST, TASTIEST and downright GNARLIEST tones in recorded ROCK AND ROLL history as evidenced on his band MOUNTAIN's debut album CLIMBING! (WINDFALL, 1970). i remember the first time hearing that ICONIC intro guitar lead in "MISSISSIPPI QUEEN" blasting from the stereo of my father's car stereo as a child. it was OTHERWORLDLY and completely TRANSPORTIVE to another psychic dimension of existence. it also had GROOVE and deep sense of DELTA BLUES SWING to it, as if it had emerged fully-formed from the SWAMPY depths of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. it wasnt until my late 20s that i learned that WEST was in fact from the TRI-STATE area, which seemed unbelievable to me at the time. for years previous to CLIMBING!, WEST was involved in the INFLUENTIAL 1960s COUNTERCULTURE scene emanating form the GREENWICH VILLAGE. before his passing, WEST even spoke about this era on HOWARD STERN's radio show about an IMPROVISATIONAL jam with JIMI HENDRIX on bass at a small club. with everything calcified and formatted now with CLASSIC ROCK labels, its INTRIGUING to think about how FLUID and almost JAZZ-like things were back then in terms of impromptu collaborations without concern for commercial implications. that sort of thing would now be rehearsed and planned out in advance out of fear of shitty cell phone camera footage uploaded for posterity. just a different era. other STANDOUT tracks besides the LEGENDARY "MISSISSIPPI QUEEN" include "NEVER IN MY LIFE" and "THEME FROM AN IMAGINARY WESTERN" with all share the DNA of those EXPANSIVE riffs with that inimitably MASSIVE P-90 PICKUP TONE through a GIBSON LES PAUL JR and SUNN COLISEUM amplifiers that is so indelibly embedded in the hearts and minds of generations of ROCK AND ROLL enthusiasts. there is a reason WEST is so BELOVED and especially this record as songs from CLIMBING! have been covered the years by everyone from UFO, ACE FREHLEY and VAN HALEN to MINISTRY, OZZY OSBOURNE and even the late comedian SAM KINISON. to me his SINGULAR GUITAR TONE is the very EMBODIMENT and SPIRIT of ROCK AND ROLL bar none. cant help but listen and smile.
photo & text by nacrowe
with the loss of the GENERATIONALLY-TALENTED VIRTOUSO GUITAR PLAYER and SONGWRITER EDDIE VAN HALEN from cancer back in late 2020 just a few months into the GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, i still wonder and deep down dont believe the MUSIC COMMUNITY yet has come to terms with his PASSING. much as was the case with other NOTABLE FALLEN MUSICIANS in recent years like PRINCE, TOM PETTY and DAVID BOWIE, EDDIE was something of a cultural touchstone. his very name seemingly evokes a JOYOUS state or frame of mind.
my introduction to EDDIE and his namesake band was the film BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE () when the two ASPIRING SAN DIMAS MUSICIANS have a logically CIRCUITOUS argument about needing a TRIUMPHANT music video to get EDDIE in their band, but then also needing EDDIE to make their music video TRIUMPHANT. and there is a logic there. for me the MUSICIAN and VAN HALEN the band represent a kind of UNBRIDLED EXUBERANCE and ENTHUSIASM for living and enjoying life to the fullest. when i hear their music while driving, much like with AC/DC or JUDAS PRIEST, i have to be careful because often i find my speedometer creeping ever northward without even consciously thinking about it. to me VAN HALEN is the embodiment and spirit of JOY. do they come off decidedly CHEESY at times? oh definitely. but that to me is part of their appeal. i dont think DAVID LEE ROTH and company were worried about being COOL, i think they were more worried about being the center of attention. yes EDDIE was a PRETERNATURALLY-GIFTED musician with INNOVATIVE techniques that left a permanent mark on the vocabulary of guitar-based music like few MUSICIANS outside of JIMI HENDRIX. his example inspired a whole generation of FLOURISHING guitar talent in the 1980s ranging from GEORGE LYNCH (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB) and WARREN DEMARTINI (RATT) to NUNO BETTENCOURT (EXTREME), PAUL GILBERT (MR. BIG / RACER X) and even his late rival RANDY RHOADS (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE). look no further in the 1990s than ZAKK WYLDE (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY), TOM MORELLO (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), JOHN 5 (MARILYN MANSON, ROB ZOMBIE) and the late DIMEBAG DARRELL (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN). but i feel he is still UNDERRATED when people just limit his legacy to being on a very short list of GREATEST GUITAR PLAYERS whoever lived. i believe he also was a STELLAR SONGWRITER who had ARRANGING CHOPS and a FINE EAR FOR PRODUCTION like few of his peers (matched or exceeded arguably only by PRINCE). its one thing to be a TECHNICAL WIZARD on your instrument (just look at BORING VIRTOUSOS like YNGIE MALMSTEEN, JASON BECKER, JOE SATRIANI, MARTY FRIEDMAN, STEVE VAI and JOHN PETTRUCI), but it is another entirely to create MEMORABLE guitar moments in songs that are beloved by music fans CHERISHED and internalized as an INTIMATE soundtrack to their lives. i think the latter is where EDDIE's genius truly lied. i know for me his music is synonymous with a certain CASUAL LIFESTYLE and GOOD TIME MENTALITY that originated from my former home community in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. id argue the music of VAN HALEN, like that of THE BEACH BOYS, JANE'S ADDICTION, THE DOORS, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and GUNS N' ROSES, basically is CALIFORNIA. end stop. maybe i am old and not paying close enough attention, but it is my understanding that nothing has emerged in that lineage of CELEBRATED SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA bands since his PASSING. here is to hoping that he is not the end of an era and that the party will continue unabated in perpetuity. embedded below is an early DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the AMAZING LOS ANGELES ROCK AND ROLL band VAN HALEN. and this is all DAVID LEE ROTH-era VAN HALEN, absolutely no VAN HAGAR! enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY's CHEAP THRILLS (COLUMBIA, 1968) album is basically the STUNNING major label debut of the LEGENDARY POWERHOUSE singer JANIS JOPLIN. building off the hype that followed her in the wake of her ELECTRIC performance at the MONTEREY POP FESTIVAL the previous year, JOPLIN on CHEAP THRILLS showcases her PRETERNATURAL ability to channel both a sense of GUT-WRENCHING VULNERABILITY and HARD-WON SELF-AWARENESS that is as INTENSE as it is RAW. her UNMISTAKABLE voice today is every bit the PRIMAL SCREAM that it was back in the late 1960s. it is completely INIMITABLE and uniquely JOPLIN. when i consider the thought of similar like-minded singers, the FEROCIOUS yet UNGUARDED genius that was early BLUES singer BESSIE SMITH comes immediately to mind. with both singers there is UNBRIDLED and UNCOMPROMISING AUTHENTICITY to their voice that feels like they reached deep down and took their heart from their chest and placed it on a platter for you to observe. no show business trickery, just PURE INTENTION and DIRECT EXPRESSION.
the STANDOUT tracks from CHEAP THRILLS include renditions of both "BALL AND CHAIN" and "PEACE OF MY HEART." "BALL AND CHAIN" is an EMOTIVE cover of an absolutely BRUTAL BIG MAMA THORNTON song that dwells in the pits of despair over the PAIN, SUFFERING and SELF-DIRECTED ABUSE that comes with LOVE gone SOUR. in a BLUES setting it is an UNSETTLING number and JOPLIN carried that tradition forward in her BLUES ROCK interpretation of such. she is so CONVINVING in her delivery and presentation that it is difficult to not be moved by it. youd have to by a sociopath or dead to be unmoved by "BALL AND CHAIN." likewise "PIECE OF MY HEART" is arguably the most BELOVED song in JOPLIN's short catalogue, which besides a forgotten SUB-PAR, poorly produced debut on the INDEPENDENT MAINSTREAM RECORDS, entails two CELEBRATED solo albums, I GOT DEM OL' KOZMIC BLUES AGAIN MAMA! (COLUMBIA, 1969) and PEARL (COLUMBIA, 197`), before her untimely TRAGIC passing in 1970 from a heroin overdose. written by songwriting duo JERRY RAGAVOY and BERT BERNS, "PEACE OF MY HEART" was originally composed as a R&B/SOUL ballad for ARETHA FRANKLIN's sister ERMA, of all people, but in the hands of JOPLIN became something of a generational 1960s ROCK AND ROLL anthem. again, JOPLIN deftly projects a SEXUAL and PERSONAL CONFIDENCE by basically commanding the ROMANTIC object of the song to take a peace of her heart. its a confidence that is baked in a PALPABLE sense of VULNERABLITY. that UNNERVING CONFIDENT / VULNERABLE dynamic that JOPLIN so incredibly balances is arguably the reason she is such a RENOWNED 20th century icon and undisputedly one of the great MODERN singers of any genre. her voice just taps something PRIMAL and moves people to their core, even decades and generations later. CHEAP THRILLS is required listening. end stop. for me personally the music of JANIS JOPLIN always reminds me of my mother, who i see channeled to another time and place every instance she hears her voice. i believe she still very much mourns her death like many from her generation. what a UNIQUE TALENT. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
March 2024
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