photo & text by nacrowe
LIMP BIZKIT's sophomore release SIGNIFICANT OTHER (INTERSCOPE, 1999) was such an UNEXPECTED global CULTURAL PHENOMENON that it effectively put the band at the forefront of the now ESTABLISHED NU METAL movement of what was essentially HIP HOP-inspired HYBRID of ALTERNATIVE METAL. and you get the feeling that the band wasnt entirely ready for such attention.
if anything the IMMEDIATE follow-up release, the JUVENILE and nonsensically titled CHOCOLATE STARFISH AND THE HOT DOG FLAVORED WATER (INTERSCOPE, 2000), for all intents and purposes felt like something of a CASH-IN and a RUSH JOB. whereas SIGNIFICANT OTHER for the most part lyrically dealt with UNSOPHISTICATED THEMES related to romantic relationships and the fallout when such goes south, albeit from a decidedly MISOGYNISTIC and IMMATURE perspective, on CHOCOLATE STARFISH frontman FRED DURST seems to be pulling at straws on what to talk about. written, recorded and released a year after their breakthrough release, CHOCOLATE STARFISH resorts to UNORIGINAL LYRICAL CONCEITS like relying on LAME ALLUSIONS to other people's songs (i.e. THE EAGLES' "LIFE IN THE FAST LANE" on "LIVIN' IT UP," THE WHO's "MY GENERATION" on "MY GENERATION," the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE theme song on "TAKE A LOOK AROUND") as well as INSULAR MUSIC INDUSTRY complaints regarding MUSIC CRITICS and UNSUPPORTIVE rival MUSICIANS (i.e. TRENT REZNOR on "HOT DOG"). in short, it is OBVIOUS that DURST ran out of ideas. all that is missing is a song about the road to complete the LYRICAL DOWNWARD SPIRAL into total UN-RELATABLE NARCISSISM. the funny thing is though, the actual BAND never sounded better. in particular GUITARIST WES BORLAND on tracks like "BOILER," "FULL NELSON," "THE ONE," "MY WAY" and "LIVIN' IT UP" with much DEXTERITY and TOUCH that brings a VULNERABLE FINESSE and an INTENSE MUSCULARITY to both ETHEREAL INTERLUDES and BONE-CRUSHING detuned CAVEMAN RIFFS that propel the songs forward. much the same for DRUMMER JOHN OTTO and BASSIST SAM RIVERS, who have to be one of the most criminally OVERLOOKED and critically UNDERESTIMATED RHYTHM SECTIONS in ROCK N ROLL writ large. i lay that all that blame at the feet of DURST, whose aforementioned UNINSPIRED LYRICAL CONTENT on CHOCOLATE STARFISH is the main deficiency of this release and arguably much of the BAND's catalogue. for me, their are certain sections on most of these songs that i enjoy, but the lyrics are so KNUCKLE-DRAGGINGLY DUMB that it kind of ruins it for me. the two exceptions are "BOILER" and "THE ONE," which feel like the most CONSTRAINED and therein COHERENT songs on the album. "BOILER" is all harmonic and DISSONANT FEEDBACK until it explodes into a KILLER GROOVE with lots of FEEL. "THE ONE" is STRAIGHTFORWARD song-centered around a DYNAMIC DELAYED GUITAR EFFECT that is both ENTRANCING and highly MELODIC. both find DURST singing about RELATABLE EMOTIONS regarding DIFFERENT aspects of being in a relationship, the INSPIRED OPTIMISM about the opportunity opening up and the DISGRUNTLED CONFUSION and EMOTIONAL rollercoaster that comes with such being swept out from under your feet. not exactly WORLD-CHANGING IDEAS, but the LYRICS are DIRECT and largely serve the song. unfortunately CHOCOLATE STARFISH suffers from an EXORBITANT amount of filler that ever the STELLAR LIMP BIZKIT RHYTHM SECTION cant save from OUTRIGHT MOCKERY. i detested "MY WAY," "ROLLIN'," "MY GENERATION," "TAKE A LOOK AROUND" and the SCOTT WEILAND co-write "HOLD ON" when they came out, and thought they were beyond CRINGY, and nothing has changed in the two decades plus since. obviously this album would have much benefited from not being released and instead reevaluated and reconsidered in an EXTENDED WRITING PROCESS, but i get it, they struck while the iron was HOT. i just wonder if BORLAND's subsequent exit from the GROUP could have been salvaged if this record didnt SUCK half as much as it did. in my opinion CHOCOLATE STARFISH is MEDIOCRE. the OBVIOUS career highlight is SIGNIFICANT OTHER although the recent STILL SUCKS (SURETONE, 2021) is surprisingly worth checking out. but yeah, outside of two STANDOUT tracks, this album is a hard pass for me.
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photo & text by nacrowe
in the lead-up to the GLOBAL CULTURAL EXPLOSION that was BRITPOP in the mid 1990s, there were a few INFLUENTIAL preceding scenes that would later coalesce into that DIVERSE and POTENT MUSICAL MOVEMENT. among them were the CONCURRENT SHOEGAZE and ACID HOUSE scenes of the late 1980s, both of which introduced NOVEL RHYTHMS and SONIC TEXTURES to the more TRADITIONAL INDIE ROCK SOUND of yesteryear. post-SMITHS and pre-OASIS there was another INNOVATIVE and absolutely SEMINAL likewise MANCUNIAN band that very much bridged that point of connection in this much ESTEEMED lineage, THE STONE ROSES.
all the ELEMENTS were there. a CHARISMATIC SHAMAN-like singer/poet in IAN BROWN whose URBAN SWAGGER and INDELIBLE, LAID-BACK, MANSPREAD POSTURING presaged LIAM GALLAGHER and evoked the LYRICAL OSCAR WILDE-isms of MORRISSEY. a SINGULAR SOUND that very much incorporated the CYCLICAL RHYTHMS of the homespun MADCHESTER SOUND with a decidedly INTERIOR sense of SCALE and a tinge of PSYCHEDELIA that emotively and sonically marked the SHOEGAZE MOVEMENT. their eponymous debut THE STONE ROSES (RCA, 1989) very much split the TRADITIONALIST POP SENSIBILITIES and POETIC lyricism of THE SMITHS with the more EXPANSIVE SONIC AESTHETICS and NONSENSICAL, somewhat SURREALIST, LYRICAL LEANINGS of OASIS. key tracks include "I WANNA BE ADORED," "SHE BANGS THE DRUMS," "I AM THE RESURECTION," "WATERFALL," "FOOL'S GOLD" and "ELEPHANT STONE." unfortunately due to internal conflict, THE STONE ROSES IMPLODED and never reached their full POTENTIAL. in retrospect many see their potential career trajectory in that of the later OASIS, who even consciously mimicked their achievements in matters such as a holding a likewise MASSIVE outdoor concert at KNEBWORTH. for me the NEAREST CULTURAL ANALOGUE to THE STONE ROSES is the likewise LEGENDARY and massively INFLUENTIAL BAY AREA SKA PUNK band OPERATION IVY who likewise IMPLODED after one national stateside tour despite their UNMITIGATED CREATIVE BRILLIANCE. their example is one of never capitalizing on or living up to the POTENTIAL of their one single full-length, ENERGY (LOOKOUT, 1989). sure, other bands came along and evolved their SOUND, but it was a TRANSFORMED MOMENTUM that forever rendered them a footnote in someone else's narrative (i.e. RANCID. JAWBREAKER, GREEN DAY, DANCEHALL CRASHERS, SUBLIME and NO DOUBT). the debut THE STONE ROSES album is a SEMINAL release by a much BELOVED and REVERED band that pointed the way to the future, even if they did not live on as a unit to take advantage of their CULTURAL ANALOGUE and the decade of music and culture that thrived on it. most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
society moves fast and and of the mainstays of my childhood that seemingly has evaporated from our NATIONAL COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS is the CULTURAL POWER of the TIE-IN MOVIE SOUNDTRACK. it kind of makes sense why, given that PROMINENT artists were financially incentivized to part with a PROMISING B-SIDE to uplift a CULTURAL ARTIFACT for an UNPROVEN PROPERTY. i mean, the OBVIOUS RISK is that the FILM might suck and now you are permanently associated with it. just makes you look like a PHONY SELL-OUT, or at least that was the MINDSET at the time. also over time these SOUNDTRACKS had little to no connection to the FILM at hand, instead they acted more as a side REVENUE STREAM than a SYNERGISTIC ART PIECE in and of itself. in the age of SINGLE DOWNLOAD SALES and DIGITAL STREAMS, the concept of a MOVIE SOUNDTRACK album is a TOTAL ANACHRONISM and a CULTURAL VEHICLE that has little VALUE.
or maybe not. one of my FAVORITE FILMS growing up was WAYNE'S WORLD (PARAMOUNT, 1992), based on the PROMINENT MIKE MYERS and DANA CARVEY fronted RECURRING SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE SKETCH which featured two ENTHUSIASTIC yet DIMWITTED HARD ROCK music fans hosting a UHF TELEVISION SHOW from a suburban ILLINOIS basement. in terms of music, this FILM very much excelled in how it utilized the CATALOGUES of QUEEN, ALICE COOPER, THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE and even GARY WRIGHT in featured scenes that forever transformed their relationship to the public. such included the ICONIC multi-part, group lip-syncing of QUEEN's epic "BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY" from the COMPRESSED hatchback confines of a 1976 AMC PACER, or the LUSTY hip-gyrations of GARTH to HENDRIX's "FOXY LADY" or even the OTHERWORLDLY daydreamed imaginations of WAYNE toward his beloved to the LIGHT, INTOXICATING sounds of "DREAMWEAVER." all these songs were absolutely INTEGRAL to the INTERNAL WORLD OF THE FILM. even live tracks from the film like "FEED MY FRANKENSTEIN" and "BALLROOM BLITZ" served their purpose as exemplars of the POWER of ROCK N ROLL as a performance in a live setting. i choose to see the WAYNE'S WORLD SOUNDTRACK in retrospect as not so much as a CALCULATED cash-in vehicle to meant to supplement the FILM's earnings, but as an extension of the experience of the PROJECT itself. other PROMINENT examples of similarly devised SOUNDTRACKS that truly extend the FILM EXPERIENCE includes those of THE BIG LEBOWSKI (GRAMERCY, 1998), TRAINSPOTTING (POLYGRAM, 1996), PULP FICTION (MIRAMAX, 1994), O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (TOUCHSTONE, 2000), LOST HIGHWAY (OCTOBER, 1997) and even the recent GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (MARVEL, 2014-2023) trilogy of decidedly NOSTALGIC "MIXTAPE" series. my guess to why such has died as a culturally VIABLE vehicle is that with the advent of MP3s, SOCIAL MEDIA and OMNIPRESENT STREAMING, music just doesnt live on the same PEDESTAL for most people as it once did. i still see it that way, i have a radio show and a blog where i regularly celebrate and write about such, but i am aware of my OUTLIER STATUS. the CULTURE moved on. but i still feel that the WAYNE'S WORLD SOUNDTRACK is an ESSENTIAL release from a relatively recent but utterly BYGONE era. photo & text by nacrowe
its INTERESTING to look back at the debut BLUR album LEISURE (FOOD, 1991) given the incredibly DIVERSE and ACCOMPLISHED discography of not only frontman DAMON ALBARN, but also guitarist GRAHAM COXON. undoubtedly the band is a PIVOTAL and wildly INFLUENTIAL BRITISH CULTURAL SONGWRITING institution well beyond their BRITPOP association not unlike THE KINKS, T.REX, THE JAM, ELVIS COSTELLO, THE SMITHS, DAVID BOWIE, THE WHO, XTC, THE CLASH and THE BEATLES transcended GENRE before them.
but this is not the album to start with. to my ears LEISURE is the sound of a young ENTHUSIASTIC band getting acquainted with the RECORDING PROCESS and finding their bearings while sounding rather DERIVATIVE. all the hallmarks are there, a little MADCHESTER-esque ACID HOUSE beat here on "THERE'S NO OTHER WAY" (apparently a favorite of KURT COBAIN) that wouldnt sound out of place on a HAPPY MONDAYS, PRIMAL SCREAM or THE STONE ROSES track and a bit of ARTFUL SHOEGAZE DISSONANCE there on "SHE'S SO HIGH" a la LUSH, RIDE or SLOWDIVE. what shines through on those two singles is the QUALITY songwriting, the MEMORABLE guitar lines of COXON and the GENERATIONAL CHARISMA of ALBARN. compared to subsequent releases this album does not hold up beyond those two singles, with ALBARN even stating (probably overzealously) that it was one of the two BAD albums he ever made, the other being THE GREAT ESCAPE (FOOD, 1995). i think that assessment is a bit HARSH, but relative to their peers in OASIS, SUPERGRASS, ELASTICA and SUEDE, all of whom had CLASSIC debut albums, LEISURE is undoubtedly somewhat of a slow start of out the gate. but the growth both MUSICALLY and CONCEPTUALLY in-between this and their sophomore album MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH (FOOD, 1993) is TREMENDOUS and showcases a considered and THOUGHTFUL PERSPECTIVE of BRITISH CULTURE brought on by the TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE of EXTENSIVE INTERNATIONAL TOURING that put their sense of SELF-IDENTITY in context. such would be CREATIVE fodder for several records, if not the whole career of the band and numerous outside ALBARN and COXON projects. i would not state that LEISURE is an essential BLUR release, but it has two great singles and gives a UNIQUE look at a SEMINAL band during its brief NAIVE phase before a long STORIED, CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT TRAJECTORY. photo & text by nacrowe
i always find it INTRIGUING that RUSH's MUCH-HERALDED eighth studio album MOVING PICTURES (MERCURY, 1981) is considered such a CAREER-DEFINING highlight given that it within the SCOPE and CONTEXT of their catalogue it was something of a TRANSITIONAL record. SYNTHESIZERS and KEYBOARD PAD SOUNDSCAPES were always a SUPPLEMENTAL ELEMENT on previous records but COMPOSITIONALLY and STRUCTURALLY were more of an additional ORCHESTRATED layer on top of the CORE GUITAR, PERCUSSION, BASS and VOCAL ELEMENTS. at their core RUSH were always a TECHNICALLY-PROFICIENT PROGRESSIVE ROCK band that utilized their abilities adroitly to aurally embellish on and help establish the MOODS and NARRATIVES of their almost LITERARY LYRICAL CONTENT.
interestingly on "TOM SAWYER", SYNTHS are introduced as an INSTRUMENT more than on equal terms with the other AFOREMENTIONED ELEMENTS. this would be a harbinger of what was to come throughout the 1980s as the next several releases would find ELECTRONIC SYNTH-BASED MUSIC at the forefront of their new TRANSFORMED SOUND. MOVING PICTURES is the beginning of such and arguably when that more equal balance was at its peak. that said there are several more TRADITIONAL RUSH tracks that represent some of the STRONGEST SONGWRITING of their career in "LIMELIGHT," "RED BARCHETTA," "VITAL SIGNS" and the ICONIC INSTRUMENTAL "YYZ." those tracks in particular almost represent a last hoorah of a certain approach to SONGWRITING that would not be revisited until the 1990s when the band transitioned into more of a legacy act. thing is, i really appreciate bands that are willing to INNOVATE and follow their own CREATIVE IMPULSES, dramatically altering their STYLE and SOUND damn the consequences or UNEVEN reactions from a HARDCORE fanbase. and believe me, RUSH fanatics are opinionated about their almost NERDISH obsession with the VIRTUOSIC TORONTO three piece. obvious MODERN examples of such include that of METALLICA, LINKIN PARK, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, RADIOHEAD, BRING ME THE HORIZON and AFI. its not even about whether the NEW SOUND was quality or not (not everyone can be DAVID BOWIE), more just the very idea that they were willing to take the risk of not being stuck in a CREATIVE RUT a la the RAMONES, AC/DC, MOTORHEAD, SLAYER and so forth that have effectively recreated the same record their whole career. more than any particular song, MOVING PICTURES is EMBLEMATIC to me of the need for artists to expand their SONIC PALETTE and explore, sometimes consciously shedding a SIGNIFICANT portion of their fanbase in the process. this go around it worked out CREATIVELY and commercially, but on subsequent releases like SIGNALS (MERCURY, 1982) and GRACE UNDER PRESSURE (MERCURY, 1984), such is up for SERIOUS debate. if anything MOVING PICTURES is an ESSENTIAL album by a LEGENDARY band well worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
in the immediate wake of the CULTURAL TSUNAMI that was NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) release, a slew of UNDERGROUND bands from DINOSAUR JR (SIRE), MUDHONEY (REPRISE), THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS (CAPITOL), DANIEL JOHNSTON (REPRISE), HELMET (INTERSCOPE), BAD RELIGION (ATLANTIC), DRIVE LIKE JEHU (INTERSCOPE), JESUS LIZARD (CAPITOL), TAD (WARNER BROS), ROYAL TRUX (VIRGIN), BOREDOMS (REPRISE), WEEN (INTERSCOPE), THE AFGHAN WHIGS (ELEKTRA & COLUMBIA) and MELVINS (ATLANTIC) were absurdly signed to major labels in short order who no doubt had ELEVATED ambitions of FINANCIALLY cashing-in on this UNIQUE GENERATIONAL PHENOMENON. in retrospect it is a testament to the POP CULTURE influence of KURT COBAIN at the time that bands as EXPERIMENTAL and seemingly UNCONVENTIONAL as these would even get a foot in the door, much less a record deal with INTERNATIONAL distribution.
such is the case with MELVINS and their major label debut HOUDINI (ATLANTIC, 1993), which is now considered a SLUDGE METAL classic. COBAIN, a former MELVINS ROADIE and SUPER-FAN, himself was listed as a co-PRODUCER on six tracks but GUITARIST and SINGER-SONGWRITER BUZZ OSBORNE has attested in recent years that such was a formality as the CELEBRATED NIRVANA frontman was sadly high on narcotics for most of the sessions leaving RECORDING ENGINEER GGGARTH to effectively take over the proceedings. that being said, HOUDINI's association with COBAIN garnered it some cache back in the day when everyone was waiting on the follow-up to NEVERMIND. it is the DIZZYING height of irony that COBAIN, who learned and lived the stridently INDEPENDENT DIY ETHOS of the PUNK ROCK lifestyle via his involvement with ABERDEEN hometown heroes in the MELVINS, was the EFFECTIVE reason they were afforded the opportunity to branch out into the MAINSTREAM via ATLANTIC RECORDS. regardless, the UNRELENTING SONIC BRUTALITY of absolutely PUMMELING tracks like "NIGHT GOAT," "HOOCH" and "HONEY BUCKET" is just SIGNATURE MELVINS. along with OZMA (BONER, 1989) and STONER WITCH (ATLANTIC, 1994), its effectively the sound that spawned HIGH ON FIRE, MASTODON, BORIS, TORCHE, SUNN O))), KYLESA and COUNTLESS SLUDGE, STONER and DOOM METAL bands galore. such a legacy is CURIOUS given their close association with SEATTLE and the ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement of that era, especially local LIKE-MINDED fellow "DEEP SIX" bands in SOUNDGARDEN, GREEN RIVER, THE U-MEN, SKIN YARD and MALFUNKSHUN. in essence MELVINS are an SINGULAR group in the HISTORY and LINEAGE of that scene. so effectively the MELVINS have an artfully AGGRESSIVE SONIC AESTHETIC that has long straddled MULTIPLE GENRES and influenced many SUBSEQUENT ACTS. but i think the one thing that hasnt been replicated is their LYRICAL EMBRACE of the ABSURD, mocking the countervailing "HONESTY" and "AUTHENTICITY" posturing that ALTERNATIVE ROCK FIGUREHEADS so readily and unironically embraced as a means of countering their PUNK ROCK guilt for jumping into bed with a major. for OSBORNE and drummer DALE CROVER they had nothing to be ashamed of and thus took it all in stride, lyrically creating almost WEEN-esque DADA FREE-ASSOCIATION experiments with no real COHERENT message. the music was the point. the MELVINS only lasted two more albums on ATLANTIC before being dropped and permanently going back to INDEPENDENT labels, but they milked the situation for all it was worth and were one of the few BANDS BUSINESS SAVVY-enough to not be defined artistically or commercially by their fleeting dalliance with the majors. they went into the relationship expecting it to end and planned accordingly. and they have remained successfully SELF-SUSTAINING to date. for me HOUDINI is an ESSENTIAL release from the 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK era despite its RELATIVE OBSCURITY with no big hits or singles to speak of. but like THE STOOGES or THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, its importance lays in the next generation of MUSICIANS that were exposed to it and initiated their own bands accordingly. most definitely worth checking out, especially as a decent introduction to this ICONIC GROUP. photo & text by nacrowe
ever since my FAMILY moved overseas from SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in the mid 90s, NEW JERSEY became a bit of an ADOPTED HOME base between stints in NIGERIA, KUWAIT and ANGOLA. its FUNNY to me that it took me attending a year of high school in the MIDDLE EAST to become aware of a PUNK ROCK band that was from just an hour up the GARDEN STATE PARKWAY in NEW BRUNSWICK. but yeah, it was through a classmate in KUWAIT that i became aware of THE BOUNCING SOULS around the turn of the millennium and specifically two of their first four albums in MANIACAL LAUGHTER (CHUNKSAAH, 1996) and HOPELESS ROMANTIC (EPITAPH, 1998).
MANIACAL LAUGHTER was effectively a SELF-RELEASED, INDEPENDENT effort that saw the band establish its CHARGED, BREAKNECK-PACED TEMPOS, NYHC-influenced GANG VOCALS and ANTHEMIC CHORUSES that became its calling card via mostly TRADITIONAL PUNK fair in "THE BALLAD OF JOHNNY X," "QUICK CHECK GIRL," "LAMAR VANNOY," "THE FREAKS, NERDS, & FANATICS" and "HERE WE GO." even at this early stage their is a PROPULSIVE, MELODIC PULSE to bassist BRIAN KEINLEN's SIGNATURE BASS-LINES and frontman GREG ATTONITO's EVERYMAN WAILING. the songs would dramatically improve in short order beyond this release once the band made the step up to EPITAPH, but all the quirks and IDIOSYNCRASIES that make THE BOUNCING SOULS themselves are apparent in spades on their second INDEPENDENT release. what drew me to the band, both on record and later as a live act when i saw them repeatedly at WARPED TOUR over the next decade, was their SONIC DRIVE and ENERGY as well as a RELATABLE ability to convey a sense of ORDINARY, everyday struggle in their LYRICS. while i consider the INDIVIDUAL band members NEW JERSEY icons a la BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and more than appreciate their adoption of the JERSEY SHORE as a base of operations with numerous side businesses (including a RECORDING STUDIO and a TATTOO SHOP), the band itself was never a vehicle for STARDOM such as NOFX was for FAT MIKE, PENNYWISE for FLETCHER DRAGGE or RANCID for TIM ARMSTRONG. somehow they managed over time to keep their RELATIVE ANONYMITY and just become a part of the greater COMMUNITY in suburban NEW JERSEY. for me personally that is the most PUNK ROCK thing ever, just being yourself and contributing positively to the quality of life of your NEIGHBORS and FRIENDS. thats what i hear when i listen to their discography, especially those early releases such as MANIACAL LAUGHTER. definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
FAILURE was one of the truly INCREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands of the 1990s that i am sad to say i didnt learn about until way after the fact. and my excuse isnt even that during much of the mid-to-late 1990s my family was overseas living in NIGERIA during an effectively PRE-INTERNET era where obtaining physical RECORDINGS, especially newer acts, were difficult to say the least to come by. somehow during that era through classmates my extended network of friends id been educated on most of the WEIRD, INNOVATIVE and POPULAR bands of the era, but FAILURE was not one of them.
which still baffles me. because FAILURE's second album MAGNIFIED (SLASH, 1994), as well as their third effort FANTASTIC PLANET (SLASH, 1996), are absolutely REMARKABLE examples of PRODUCTION and SONG-CRAFT even in comparison to the FRUITFUL period in ROCK AND ROLL history especially loaded with such by the likes of seminal acts like SMASHING PUMPKINS, NINE INCH NAILS, TOOL, NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, WEEZER, SOUNDGARDEN, RADIOHEAD, GARBAGE and ALICE IN CHAINS. i dont want to say that they practiced a CLASSIC PROG ROCK aesthetic to their overall SOUND but a key component to such was an adroit use and manipulation of SPACE, starting with the KEN ANDREWS-produced MAGNIFIED. specifically their guitars, bass and drums always sounded absolutely MASSIVE with not overly complicated COMPOSITIONS that very much highlighted that HEIGHTENED sense of VOLUME and WEIGHT, especially on tracks like "FROGS," "UNDONE," "MOTH," "LET IT DRIP," and "MAGNIFIED." during a time when bands were sonically associating AUTHENTICITY with a severely STRIPPED-BACK approach to RECORDING, FAILURE seemingly took the opposite tack and created a AURAL world on MAGNIFIED that was LUSH, CLEAR and absolutely CRUSHING. my introduction to the band itself happened during undergrad in the early 2000s when i learned of the track FANTASTIC PLANET track "THE NURSE WHO LOVED ME" via its CELEBRATED cover on the second THIRTEENTH STEP (VIRGIN, 2003) album by A PERFECT CIRCLE, which is fronted by TOOL singer MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN. incidentally TOOL toured extensively with FAILURE during their initial run as a unit before breaking up and splintering into several bands and a production/mixing career for ANDREWS with the likes of BECK, NINE INCH NAILS, CHRIS CORNELL, BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, PARAMORE and TENACIOUS D among many others. upon hearing MAGNIFIED and FANTASTIC PLANET i was literally stunned and even ashamed that something this HIGH QUALITY had slipped my attention the previous decade. it made me reconsider what other gems i had glossed over and very much put me on an ongoing path for discovering more music of varying genres. what struck me was how lyrically ANDREW's yearnings and misgivings about MODERN life were so seamlessly juxtaposed with such an EXPANDED SONIC TEMPLATE. acutely intimate and internally-defined struggles became fodder for PINK FLOYD-esque SOUNDSCAPES and MASSIVE SONIC SHIFTS of TECTONIC proportions. to me FAILURE reintroduced that notion of SCALE that had been discarded for the most part during the ALTERNATIVE ROCK generation of the 90s in favor of INTIMACY via SIMPLICITY. neither is wrong, but it was INTRIGUING to be provided the yin to the era's yang. i consider MAGNIFIED an ESSENTIAL release and believe strongly that it is well worth checking out for anyone interested in the TRANSCENDENTAL POWER of truly EXPERIMENTAL ROCK AND ROLL, from CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, SCOTT WALKER and KRAFTWERK to IGGY POP, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, DAVID BOWIE and JANE's ADDICTION. i view FAILURE in that lineage. photo & text by nacrowe
the BIRMINGHAM-based THIRD-WAVE SKA band THE ENGLISH BEAT was a relative late-comer to the 2-TONE party, but their STELLAR debut I JUST CAN'T STOP IT (SIRE, 1980) was well worth it with some of the best SONGWRITING of the period. while previous bands like THE SPECIALS and MADNESS were able to effectively translate a deep affinity for JAMAICAN legends in DESMOND DEKKER, PRINCE BUSTER, LAUREL AITKEN and JIMMY CLIFF into a PROPULSIVE, ANTHEMIC, COHESIVE sound, in my opinion THE ENGLISH BEAT brought to the table a DISTINCT POST PUNK AESTHETIC that skewed and manipulated the sound to their own IDIOSYNCRATIC CREATIVE INSTINCTS, which tended sonically towards the slightly SURREAL, IMPRESSIONISTIC and dare-i-say PSYCHEDELIC. in essence the are one of the key bands that evolved the SOUND of SKA MUSIC beyond its origins and set the table for further HYBRIDIZATION that has continued on to the present. STANDOUT tracks include "TEARS OF A CLOWN," "CAN'T GET USED TO LOSING YOU," "RANKING FULL STOP," "HANDS OFF... SHE'S MINE" and of course, the CLASSIC stomper "MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM."
my exposure to the band was two-fold. in high school i followed and listened extensively the TRADITIONAL NEW JERSEY PUNK ROCK group THE BOUNCING SOULS who were are all STEADFAST and OUTSPOKEN acolytes of the band and as a small child FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS (consisting of guitarist ANDY COX and bassist DAVID STEELE of THE ENGLISH BEAT) were a major player and influence in my early appreciation for music writ large. in some ways i was just destined to discover the band at some point. for me it just comes down to the songs, which are UPBEAT and have a contagiously ECLECTIC POP SONIC AESTHETIC that seemingly combines everything from LATIN, REGGAE, SOUL MUSIC and SKA, yet is distinctly its own thing. in a sense they were forbearers of what would become critically tagged as NEW WAVE, which was a less AGGRESSIVE and more musically SOPHISTICATED, catch-all peer genre of PUNK ROCK that would encompass everyone from BLONDIE, TALKING HEADS, DEVO, XTC, NEW ORDER, THE CARS and beyond. even among that ESTEEMED company THE ENGLISH BEAT and their debut transcends such with their INFECTIOUS sense of OPTIMISM and UNDENIABLE, PROPULSIVE GROOVE. I JUST CAN'T STOP IT is just a FUN, ENERGETIC set of songs by a TALENTED group at the peak of their powers that never gets old. definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
back in 1997 when JANE'S ADDICTION REFORMED, or rather "RELAPSED" for what would become the first of many such REVIVALS over the years with VARIOUS LINE-UPS, the BAND decided on releasing the KETTLE WHISTLE (WARNER BROS, 1997) COMPILATION ALBUM as a COMPANION PRODUCT to their planned TOUR.
the SONG SELECTIONS were reportedly done by DRUMMER STEPHEN PERKINS, who was somewhat of an IN-HOUSE BAND archivist, and included LIVE TRACKS as well as some choice RARITIES and DEMOS as well as STUDIO OUTTAKES mostly culled from their late 1980s heyday. this LINE-UP of JANE'S ADDICTION included FLEA on BASS rather than FOUNDING member ERIC AVERY, who opted out, and so the two TRACKS "SO WHAT!" and "KETTLE WHISTLE" are the only recorded tracks from this era (however it should be noted that FLEA played TRUMPET on their NOTHING'S SHOCKING major label DEBUT). this connection was timely as GUITARIST DAVE NAVARRO had just previously played with FLEA and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS on their ONE HOT MINUTE (WARNER BROS, 1995) release after taking over GUITAR DUTIES for JOHN FRUSCIANTE. technically during this period he was still an ACTIVE MEMBER of both GROUPS. that being said, "SO WHAT!" is a completely NEW TRACK while "KETTLE WHISTLE" was an UNRECORDED song from the late 1980s, both recorded by this period's LINE-UP. i can distinctly remember the moment i acquired KETTLE WHISTLE. i was at a wildlife reserve in BOTSWANA that was along the NAMIBIA border with my family on vacation back in 1998. it was a trip that saw us visit SOUTH AFRICA, ZIMBABWE, ZAMBIA as well as BOTSWANA. at the time my family lived in NIGERIA and my father had ordered COMPACT DISC COPIES of NOTHING'S SHOCKING (WARNER BROS, 1988), RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL (WARNER BROS, 1990) and KETTLE WHISTLE for me as a gift. this was PRE-INTERNET and it took weeks for things from EUROPE or the UNITED STATES to make its way over and through customs due to CRAZY corruption in LAGOS. anyway, i can remember first hearing all three albums in totality while sitting outside my room's door surrounded by warthogs. for me the crux of KETTLE WHISTLE are the three HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM live recordings of "AIN'T NO RIGHT," "UP THE BEACH" and "THREE DAYS." listening to those SONGS clicked in my head how POWERFUL the BAND was as a LIVE ACT. intriguingly i heard those LIVE TRACKS at the same time i became familiar with the STUDIO VERSIONS, both FIERCE in their own respective light. i wouldnt actually see the BAND live for another decade as part of the NIN/JA co-headlining 2009 TOUR with NINE INCH NAILS, the first reunion with AVERY in tow. JANE'S ADDICTION only has a handful of RELEASES and the two that are absolutely ESSENTIAL are NOTHING'S SHOCKING and RITUAL DE LO HABITUAL. for a new listener interested in the BAND i'd point them in that direction rather than KETTLE WHISTLE as an introduction. KETTLE WHISTLE is more ENJOYABLE as an extension of those two RELEASES. it was meant as a SAMPLER to get their fanbase reacquainted with the GROUP, to get their appetites whetted in anticipation for the UPCOMING TOUR. it served its purpose as a CURIOSITY but in recent years there are other LIVE RELEASES that are much more COHESIVE and AUTHORITATIVE that are worth pursuing. recommended but not ESSENTIAL listening. photo & text by nacrowe
ever since the ICONIC debut self-titled VAN HALEN (WARNER BROS, 1978) record, VAN HALEN essentially never left the road. viewed as a CASH COW by their management and record company, the band rarely got time off only a few weeks at a time to WRITE and RECORD new material before the machine started up again and the cycle continued UNABATED. these intervening FORMULAIC RECORDED EFFORTS at best were RUSH JOBS with songs haphazardly written in the studio and inexplicably included and amongst the track-listing were at least one or two DUBIOUS DAVID LEE ROTH numbers/covers that showcased his BIZARRE, SCHMALTZY and more than a bit rather CORNY VAUDEVILLE-inspired PERSONA.
that is, until their sixth studio release with the 1984 (WARNER BROS, 1984) record. this was the first time since the debut when EDDIE VAN HALEN basically took control of the RECORDING itself and the PROCESS around it. thus it has the distinction of being a LANDMARK album, along with the debut, and as the last recorded effort (during their PRIME) with ROTH's involvement. the behind-the-scenes turmoil that brought about this POWER PLAY is best captured by the late FORMER VAN HALEN manager NOEL E. MONK in his biography RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL (linked HERE), but the basics of it was that EDDIE after years of subservience, learned of his leverage and basically forced all parties to capitulate. the new material showcased this EXPANDED SONIC APPROACH that included a PRONOUNCED SYNTHESIZER SOUND on tracks like the opener "1984" and "JUMP." arguably the highlights of the record are the INTRICATE and HARD-DRIVING "PANAMA" and "HOT FOR TEACHER" tracks which are as HIGH-ENERGY and PROPULSIVE as anything in the VAN HALEN catalogue. the thing that stands out to me about 1984 is the VERSATILITY of EDDIE's COMPOSITION chops as well as TECHNICAL MUSICIANSHIP. by this point in his career, EDDIE had long been CELEBRATED as a VIRTUOSO GUITAR PLAYER of the first order, a place even posthumously decades later he still very much holds with the likes of JIMI HENDRIX, STEVIE RAY VAUGHN, JIMMY PAGE, CHUCK BERRY, JEFF BECK and PRINCE in the PANTHEON of GUITAR GREATS. but as a COMPOSER he was severely UNDERRATED and UNDER-APPRECIATED due to his GUITAR INNOVATIONS. the fact that EDDIE was as GIFTED a PIANIST as he was a GUITARIST is something that is on OBVIOUS display in 1984 and was something of an ARTISTIC risk to employ since his fanbase were UNINTERESTED in such relative to his GUITAR PLAYING. its INTERESTING to consider that some bands (ALICE IN CHAINS, INCUBUS, WEEN, DEFTONES) make DRASTIC sonic decisions early in their career that allow them ARTISTIC latitude with their fanbase thereafter while others make mid-career adjustments (METALLICA, GREEN DAY) to differing responses. i think 1984 was a shock to fans because of their previous recorded output and how it never implied the new trajectory 1984 implied. as great as VAN HALEN was, it makes you consider the heights they would have climbed if EDDIE had wrestled control sooner and pushed forward with his VISION instead of being effectively stymied by the business forces around. one can only wonder. otherwise VAN HALEN's 1984 is an absolutely ESSENTIAL record. definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
RUBBER SOUL (PARLOPHONE, 1965) is often attributed as being the specific release where THE BEATLES took a critical step forward in terms of their SONGWRITING and sonic production that very much cleared the way for later ARTISTIC and CONCEPTUAL INNOVATIONS, most famously on much CELEBRATED subsequent releases such as REVOLVER (PARLOPHONE, 1966) and SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (PARLOPHONE, 1967). done were SONGS dealing with the BOY-MEETS-GIRL THEMATIC cul-de-sac that marked the first era of the band and in its stead were more lyrically SOPHISTICATED and OPAQUE (no doubt influenced by FOLK singer-songwriter BOB DYLAN) takes on LIFE, LOVE and the nature of EXISTENCE.
far and away my FAVORITE track, both as a child and as an adult, is "NOWHERE MAN" and its EXISTENTIAL EXPLORATION of feeling ISOLATED and SEPARATE from SOCIETY and HUMANITY writ large. i can only imagine what JOHN LENNON was going through when composing and conceiving those LYRICS, having been bombarded with CELEBRITY CULTURE and loss of ANONYMITY for years at this point. its so lyrically MOURNFUL yet strangely MELODIC and UPLIFTING that you wonder if it is a PERSONAL FANTASY to go back to being a relative unknown. "NORWEGIAN WOOD," "GIRL," "YOU WON'T SEE ME" and "IF I NEEDED SOMEONE" are all intimate and decidedly MATURE LOVE SONGS that deal with the maintaining of said AFFECTION and CONNECTION past the initial MUTUAL INFATUATION phase. for years the band relied on SONGS that were essentially lyrically seducing their AUDIENCE, but this go around you get the sense that they actually wanted to write AUTHENTIC and HONEST MATERIAL of the more ARDUOUS and therefore REWARDING aspects of RELATIONSHIPS and how they naturally develop over time, with all the HOPE, OPTIMISM, INTIMACY and RISK involved. "DRIVE MY CAR" is another CHILDHOOD favorite of mine, since i was always game for a GREAT SONG about cars, going back to my UNAVOIDABLE CULTURAL EXPOSURE in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA to the BEACH BOYS catalogue. its just a CLASSIC PAUL MCCARTNEY-penned POP song with TERRIFIC HARMONIES and a PROPULSIVE GROOVE that makes it a case study in QUALITY BEATLES SONG-CRAFT. for some admirers and critics the highlight of this collection of SONGS was "IN MY LIFE" and its BITTERSWEET retrospective LENNON-penned LYRICS about years and EXPERIENCES long gone by from some FUTURE PERSPECTIVE. i have always been a big fan of LENNON's VOICE, especially when he is reaching slightly outside of his HIGH BARITONE range, which is on full display on this emotively AFFECTING track. even knowing full well that he never was allowed the opportunity to live long enough into his golden years to inhabit this PERSPECTIVE, the SONG is a master stroke in IMAGINATIVE PROJECTION and his ability to reduce COMPLICATED feelings into perfect SIMPLIFIED POP MELODIES. about that, apparently this is one of the few SONGS that both LENNON and MCCARTNEY contested that they authored the MELODY. we will never know, but in a sense it doesnt matter. we all benefit from its very EXISTENCE and manifested influence over the WORLD and the rest of their CATALOGUE. it goes without saying that RUBBER SOUL is an ESSENTIAL landmark release by a SEMINAL band who have no peer. definitely recommended and absolutely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
lets get this out right from the jump. CREED is a JOKE.
they likely will go down in musical history, fairly or unfairly, as the poster children for why the term POST-GRUNGE is very much permanently a PEJORATIVE. they are critically viewed at best as DERIVATIVE of other way more TALENTED bands (ALICE IN CHAINS, PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN, etc.) and at worst CAREER OPPORTUNISTS with unmistakeable EVANGELICAL overtones that opened the door for a flood of unimaginably SHITTY bands in the late 90s and early 2000s with REDUCTIVE DEEP-VOICED, BARREL-CHESTED, AGGRESSIVELY MASCULINE singers from FUEL, HINDER, BUCKCHERRY, SALIVA, TRAPT, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, GODSMACK, PUDDLE OF MUDD and, of course, NICKELBACK. the legacy of CREED is that for a period they muddied the waters enough in the music industry that those TERRIBLE bands and their ilk passed as ACCEPTABLE to mainstream rock radio. so there you go, i got all of that out of the way. my introduction to the FLORIDIAN ALTERNATIVE ROCK band CREED was back in high school when i entered a boarding school in NEW ENGLAND in the fall of 1998. it was my freshman year and part of the deal was that every student was provided a personal laptop. at some point during the first semester this kid down the hall who was tech savvy clued everyone into this file called an 'MP3' that allowed you to download and save music on your computer. this was years before the first IPOD was released. i distinctly remember this classmate taking me to a fan website for some emerging band called CREED, where you could play their recent debut album MY OWN PRISON (WIND-UP, 1997) just by clicking one of these MP3 files after downloading some software called QUICKTIME. its all laughably PRIMITIVE now in this modern age of streaming, but back then this was REVOLUTIONARY. and i'll never forget that CREED was the first band i heard in this new manner. at the time i felt like the band was not TERRIBLE. their guitarist, id later learn to be MARK TREMONTI, obviously knew his way around a MEMORABLE arpeggiated ALTERNATIVE ROCK RIFF and the songs themselves were PLEASANT enough with a sense of STRUCTURED DYNAMICS, especially on tracks such "TORN," "ONE," "WHAT'S THIS LIFE FOR" and the title track "MY OWN PRISON." even in retrospect i think those songs compositionally are more SOPHISTICATED than fellow POST-GRUNGE peers in the like-wise CRITICALLY-DERIDED SEETHER, SWITCHFOOT, BREAKING BENJAMIN, CHEVELLE and STAIND. only when the much SUPERIOR ALTER BRIDGE (made up in part with CREED's rhythm section) came about years later with the UBER-GIFTED WASHINGTON STATE-based frontman / singer-songwriter MILES KENNEDY, would people recognize TREMONTI as a LEGITIMATE CREATIVE FORCE. much like LIMP BIZKIT, MEGADETH or MOTLEY CRUE before them, CREED's weak point was undoubtedly their lead singer SCOTT STAPP. on MY OWN PRISON the LAME CHRISTIAN IMAGERY and blatant RELIGIOSITY is somewhat held in check relative to later releases, but in terms of TONE and PRESENTATION, he seems to be comically aping that of fellow FLORIDIAN JIM MORRISON. even at the time i kept thinking that this dude is a total jock POSEUR with no real perspective or sense of IDENTITY outside of cliched and pathetically GENERIC CHRISTIAN-influenced ideated fantasies surrounding a simplistically BINARY good-versus-evil WORLDVIEW. its obvious his deep EDDIE VEDDER-esque VOICE, which sadly passed for TALENT (and unfortunately set the standard in the market), and not his LYRICAL IDEAS were his selling point. lyrically the GREAT ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands seemed to be dancing in this psychic zone where morality is complicated and truth is relative. that was what made listening to ALICE IN CHAINS, NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN and SCREAMING TREES on a LYRICAL level so COMPELLING since you very much got the sense that you were riding shotgun to a deep exploration of LAYNE STALEY / KURT COBAIN / CHRIS CORNELL / MARK LANEGAN's innermost FEARS, ADDICTIONS, FRAILITIES and PERSONAL FAILURES. with STAPP you are denied that and instead is this FACSIMILE in TONE but TOTAL COP-OUT in terms of CONTENT. this proclivity for VAPID and knuckle-draggingly HORRENDOUS CHRISTIAN-themed lyrics would only grow WORSE on successive releases which sadly became very popular. but the first album is relatively not that bad. it is also not that great either. its just meh and sadly that was the peak of my initial interest in the band. in short order they quickly became a JOKE. i wouldnt recommend MY OWN PRISON or any of their records, but would point for someone interested in POST GRUNGE to skip that genre and just search out REAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK bands like ALICE IN CHAINS, MELVINS, SCREAMING TREES, NIRVANA, MUDHONEY, SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM and even STONE TEMPLE PILOTS for actual context. after that they can pursue the LACKLUSTER IMITATORS and CHARLATANS that came directly after to their hearts delight. photo & text by nacrowe
FEVER IN FEVER OUT (GRAND ROYAL, 1996) was such a MASSIVE album and i can personally attest that the single "NAKED EYE" was absolutely INESCAPABLE at the time. in fact it was practically the soundtrack to my freshman year of high school and the WONDERFUL memories of being bullied mercilessly at an ELITE NEW ENGLAND boarding school. i can only imagine the whirlwind of attention and expectation that followed suit for the band, who previously enjoyed a more stable UNDERGROUND reputation as a THOUGHTFUL and musically SOPHISTICATED, UPBEAT NEW YORK CITY ALTERNATIVE ROCK band with an URBAN, infectiously DANCEABLE SOUND and AESTHETIC and personal ties to the BEASTIE BOYS (KATE SHELLENBACH was their original DRUMMER). by the time the follow-up ELECTRIC HONEY (GRAND ROYAL, 1999) came around three years later, the four-piece became a three-piece with the AMICABLE departure of founding KEYBOARDIST VIVIAN TRIMBLE, who grew weary of life on the road and understandably wanted to stay more attuned to life back in NEW YORK CITY.
although ELECTRIC HONEY in comparison a bit more sonically STRIPPED-BACK with less of an emphasis on outright GROOVE, what takes its place of prominence in the mix is the GORGEOUS interplay of sung VOCAL HARMONIES, especially during CHORUSES, between JILL CUNNIFF and GABBY GLASER. it seems obvious that the line-up shift influenced this new emphasis on a hidden aspect of their SOUND that was their all along, but on songs like "CHRISTINE" and "LADYFINGERS" really make that point all too apparent. that is not to say they abandoned their SOUND as CONTAGIOUS, almost neo-DISCO numbers like "SUMMER DAZE" and "NERVOUS BREAKTHROUGH" as well as more SHOEGAZE-y, hypnotically HAZY tracks like "ALIEN LOVER" and "SEXY HYPNOTIST" will attest. while there is no single with the UNFORESEEN widespread appeal of "NAKED EYE" hidden in its midst of ELECTRIC HONEY, i'd argue its track-listing is more sonically VARIED than past releases. so many STRONG songs. until their reunion a decade and a half later, this would be the final recorded effort of their initial run. the BEASTIE BOYS' owned GRAND ROYAL label that released their three major releases followed suit two years later. it was the end of an era. to me LUSCIOUS JACKSON is one of those singularly ECLECTIC bands that could only come from a DIVERSE place like NEW YORK CITY. their music just inherently had that UNIQUE PULSE and SENSIBILITY that comes with walking down a crowded street in the city and cacophony of OVERLAPPING MUSICAL STYLES being thrown your way from apartments, stores, cell phones and subway ghetto-blasters. two decades later that GENRE-LESS MINDSET is arguably adopted by most MODERN MUSICIANS that grew up on STREAMING MUSIC and instant access to everything at the touch of a button. i feel like LUSCIOUS JACKSON in that respect were well ahead of their time and ELECTRIC HONEY, much as its immediate predecessor FEVER IN FEVER OUT, are ESSENTIAL listening. most definitely worth checking out. RIP VIVIAN TRIMBLE photo & text by nacrowe
the 1990s were an INTRIGUING adventure for the IRISH ROCK N ROLL band U2. they effectively shed their EARNEST, DO-GOODER image by taking on PERSONAS and CHARACTERS (i.e. THE FLY, THE MIRRORBALL MAN, MR. MACPHISTO) and playing overtly with concepts such as IRONY, SATIRE and PASTICHE common in both the 20th century DADA and POP ART movements. in essence the whole decade with its three albums, ACHTUNG BABY (ISLAND, 1991), ZOOROPA (ISLAND, 1991) and POP (ISLAND, 1991) were an exercise in the artistic freedom of not being yourself on record in the vein of DAVID BOWIE, THE BEATLES and LOU REED. arguably this approach started off incredibly with arguably the greatest record of their career to date, but came with diminishing returns soon after.
it appeared by the close of the decade that the band was CUTTING OFF THEIR PROVERBIAL NOSE TO SPITE THEIR FACE in the sense that singer-songwriter BONO was their major asset and differentiating factor in the marketplace, and it made little sense to diminish such on further releases. ACHTUNG BABY worked because it was such a CONCEPTUAL, VISUAL and SONIC departure in both STYLE and SUBSTANCE from their catalogue and really gave the band room to breathe and not be imprisoned by their own COLLECTIVE SINCERITY and AUTHENTIC, GOOD-WILLED nature. a one-off is nice, but a series of releases is a new trajectory and by the time of ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND (ISLAND, 2000) was released at the turn of the new millennium, it represented a new BACK-TO-BASICS, RETURN-TO-FORM era that harkened back to their IMPASSIONED and RIGHTEOUS 1980s heyday on albums like WAR (ISLAND, 1983), THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE (ISLAND, 1984) and especially THE JOSHUA TREE (ISLAND, 1987). the band has been on that tip ever since. CELEBRATED tracks include the ANTHEMIC, HIGH-ENERGY and unironically OPTIMISTIC singles "BEAUTIFUL DAY" and "ELEVATION." taken together they represent an almost QUASI-RELIGIOUS testimonial to the power and glory of being live and feeling connected to the world. i can only imagine the feeling of writing those songs with those LYRICS in a TINY, STERILE recording setting and then the rush of having the world reciprocate that SENTIMENT directly back at you throughout global soccer and football arenas filled to capacity. but for me the tracks that standout are the more INTIMATE "NEW YORK," "KITE," and "WHEN I LOOK AT THE WORLD" which both take advantage of STRUCTURED DYNAMICS in which MASSIVE build-up CRESCENDOS take root from SOFTLY-SUNG, LILTED MELODIES. guitarist THE EDGE really outdoes himself on the LEAD SECTIONS which are highly EMOTIVE and expertly and efficiently composed and executed. you cant tell that it took all that UNBRIDLED EXPERIMENTALISM from the past decade to achieve those MINIMALIST GUITAR MELODIES that are that emotionally RAW. my recollection of this album is completely SKEWED by what came after it, namely the passing of JOEY RAMONE in the spring of 2001 and of course, 9/11. there was a certain NATIONAL CATHARSIS that happened in the UNITED STATES when U2 played the SUPER BOWL that year and paid tribute to the VICTIMS. i remember living with a relative in SACRAMENTO, half a world away from my family in KUWAIT (where i was on 9/11), and seeing the name i knew on that projected list while the band played. U2 is the type of band that has that sort of relationship with its audience where that fourth wall of pretense and bullshit can sometimes be temporarily dismissed and real SENTIMENT and reciprocated EMPATHY can traverse back and forth in a loop. in fact, i am having a DIFFICULT time thinking of another band that has that sort of effect. COLDPLAY aspires to such and the FOO FIGHTERS or GREEN DAY may have similarities in that regard but U2 undoubtedly has such in spades. 9/11 was such a MOMENT when the band definitely comforted and supported the UNITED STATES deal with the gravity of such an UNFORESEEN and severe CALAMITY. a few months early, in fact the spring of my junior year of high school when i was in KUWAIT, RAMONE famously was listening to "IN A LITTLE WHILE" when he passed away from LYMPHOMA. since childhood, RAMONE was a hero to both my brother and i. it felt like a part of our identity left with him, especially being in such a foreign environment. that U2 brought him SOLACE at the time of his passing also seems very much indicative of their PALPABLE trademark aura of EMPATHY, COMPASSION and GOOD-WILL. do i think this is their STRONGEST record? no. people will argue between THE JOSHUA TREE and ACHTUNG BABY forever (for the record: im firmly on the ACHTUNG BABY side), but ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND is nowhere near that level. but although i dont find it to be an ESSENTIAL U2 release, i do feel that it was an important TRANSITIONAL effort that laid the groundwork for MEMORABLE and QUALITY subsequent releases. seems ODD and eve WRONG to say this, but also it was released at an opportune time when the UNITED STATES arguably needed them the most after 9/11. to me this record speaks to that will to look ahead, create, move forward and look optimistically towards the future even in the face of wanton DESTRUCTION, DEATH and UNADULTERATED EVIL. im not a christian, but ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND feels very CATHOLIC to me. in the best way possible. less POPE BENEDICT IX and more ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. definitely recommended. photo & text by nacrowe
i mean this is it.
when you consider 1980s HARDCORE PUNK ROCK there are arguably a few immediate bands that come to mind: BAD BRAINS, DEAD KENNEDYS, CIRCLE JERKS, MINOR THREAT, D.O.A., THE MISFITS and BLACK FLAG. and THE FIRST FOUR YEARS (SST, 1983) compilation is in essence a re-release of all the ICONIC pre-HENRY ROLLINS INDEPENDENT EPS such as NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (SST, 1979), JEALOUS AGAIN (SST, 1980) and SIX PACK (SST, 1981) when the band was fronted by a succession of VOCALISTS from KEITH MORRIS to RON REYES to DEZ CADENA. it doesnt get more ground zero than these AGGRESSIVE and extremely RAW PERFORMANCES of "NERVOUS BREAKDOWN", "NO VALUES," "WASTED," "CLOCKED IN," "WHITE MINORITY" and "FIX ME" in the history of HARDCORE or INDEPENDENT music writ large in the UNITED STATES. by the time ROLLINS joined in 1981 BLACK FLAG was well on their way to carving out an INDEPENDENT circuit of small veteran affair halls, elks lodges, backyards, bowling alleys and NONTRADITIONAL concert venues that would later be utilized and exploited in the 1990s by ALTERNATIVE ROCK and INDIE ROCK bands alike. these SONGS were the core of the gospel they spread and BLACK FLAG were nothing if not CULTURAL PIONEERS in that sense, along with fellow travelers in THE CRAMPS, VANCOUVER HARDCORE act D.O.A. and COLLEGE ROCK acts like R.E.M. and THE REPLACEMENTS it should be noted during the same period. i was aware of the band going back to elementary school years through reading KURT COBAIN interviews where he mentioned them along with the likes of FLIPPER and THE RAINCOATS, but it wasnt until high school that i was clued into them via a childhood friend i was visiting at the turn of the millennium in SOUTHER CALIFORNIA. through this friend i gained an APPRECIATION and context for what previously i experienced as DISCORDANT NOISE and SLOPPY MUSICIANSHIP. after that education getting to sear FEAR on that trip it dawned on me the UNRELENTING ENERGY and UNBRIDLED FURY that the MUSIC unleashed in a crowd. something clicked. it was as if BLACK FLAG was a soundtrack to that VIOLENT release of pent-up AGGRESSION and FRUSTRATION that comes with living in this country. that feel of SUBLIMATION rooted in being poked at by superiors at work, in the media, at the bank and at school to conform and acquiesce to the man. it was TRANSFORMATIVE and the music to me seemed more aligned with another COUNTERCULTURE HERO whose MUSIC i had come to know intimately when my family lived in NIGERIA a few years earlier: FELA KUTI. GREG GINN's furiously PRIMITIVE GUITAR WORK and these various VOCALISTS screeching their EXPLOSIVE DISSATISFACTION with society all came to be the same COHESIVE EXPRESSION in my understanding and i thank my friend for opening that door for me. also, the RAYMOND PETTIBON ARTWORK on those early EPs are SINGULAR in their absolute DEVASTATING DEPICTIONS of SOCIETAL COERCION and the physical BRUTALITY of VOILENCE. as someone that was repeatedly hazed in high school, discovering PETTIBON took me unflinchingly right back to the moment of ABUSE. the PERFECT primer for the proper MINDSET for listening to BLACK FLAG no doubt. THE FIRST FOUR YEARS is an ESSENTIAL release by an absolutely ICONIC band. it is a release well worth checking out and returning to again and again. photo & text by nacrowe
i usually shy away from writing about greatest hits collections since they are usually just CYNICAL cash-grabs with ZERO ARTISTIC VALUE, but i'll make an exception when it comes to 70s FUNK giants in the COMMODORES and their ALL THE GREAT HITS (MOTOWN, 1982) package. it basically has every stone cold CLASSIC and absolutely not-embarrassing LIONEL RICHIE banger in existence. everything from the savagely FUNKY "SLIPPERY WHEN WET," "TOO HOT TA TROT," "MACHINE GUN," "I FEEL SANCTIFIED" and "BRICK HOUSE" to the emotive saccharine sweet ballads of "THREE TIMES A LADY," "STILL" and "EASY." id file this record specifically under 'always makes me smile' since i can listen to it under any MOOD or SITUATION and can't help but nod, laugh and smile. just try.
somewhere along the lines, let's call it the the entire 1980s, RICHIE became popular but got off-track in a critical sense and became something of a PERENNIAL LAUGHING STOCK with ABSURD SCHMALTZ hits like "DANCING ON THE CEILING" and "ENDLESS LOVE." to date i feel like those songs and many others in the same vein obscured his image as one of the great TRADITIONAL POP SONGWRITERS of the MODERN era. my introduction oddly was through the MUCH-REVERED and INNOVATIVE ALTERNATIVE ROCK band FAITH NO MORE who covered "EASY" on their second record ANGEL DUST (REPRISE, 1992), which i assumed was a SEND-UP or a PARODY. nope. it as a straight DOWN-THE-LINE COVER with all the IDIOSYNCRATIC VOCAL INFLECTIONS carried over intact verbatim. the GENERATIONALLY-GIFTED SINGER MIKE PATTON can seemingly sing anything from any genre and he chose to go with UNADULTERATED RICHIE for a reason. i have no doubt its out of an abundance of respect for his SONGWRITING, COMPOSITION and VOCAL TALENTS, which consequently have never been respected up to level they deserve. it is always odd when a cover does that for a certain audience, but that is why FAITH NO MORE is essentially doing GOD'S WORK here. and those HARD-DRIVING 70s FUNK TRACKS rank with anything released by GEORGE CLINTON, ZAPP, EARTH WIND & FIRE, KOOL & THE GANG, CAMEO, THE GAP BAND or LAKESIDE in terms of sheer BOOGIE and downright DACEABILITY. i hold out that STEVIE WONDER, JAMES BROWN and SLY STONE may have him beat at his own game, but that is the case with nearly everyone who ever existed not named LENNON or MCCARTNEY. in practical terms, i sometimes have to catch myself when in the supermarket and "BRICK HOUSE" comes on because i just get transported to a whole DIFFERENT DIMENSION and MENTAL SPACE where things are alright and the GROOVE is everything. and for me that is the true to test of a GREAT ARTIST, how much their MUSIC just sends you off to a different EMOTIONAL sphere instantaneously where you bypass CONSCIOUSNESS and just live-and-die moment-by-moment in that UNDENIABLE GROOVE. that is the COMMODORES to me and RICHIE at his UNQUESTIONABLE peak. photo & text by nacrowe
the legacy of OL' DIRTY BASTARD to me is one of UNBRIDLED ORIGINALITY and FEARLESS EXPERIMENTALISM. it may be APOCRYPHAL, but it has been said that the dude entered the booth and went about his LYRICAL DEXTERITY without even listening to the BEAT itself. which kind of makes sense. much of what makes HIP HOP so INTOXICATING musically is the extent to which a GIFTED MC can layer a set of PERCUSSIVELY-EXECUTED RHYMES over an EXISTING track, creating a series of POLYRHYTHMS much like a WEST AFRICAN drum circle where such ODD TIME SIGNATURES ebb and flow from one another and create a MANTRA-LIKE effect. this is on full display with LYRICAL CRAFTSMEN in the TRADITIONAL school of ARTISTS like RAKIM, NAS, JAY-Z, EMINEM and THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. among others. in contrast, the UNORTHODOX RHYME SCHEMES of OL' DIRTY BASTARD are inherently UNPREDICTABLE and IRREGULAR in NATURE, so any POLYRHYTHMIC effect is entirely RANDOM and CIRCUMSTANTIAL, making his AESTHETIC entirely UNIQUE and AUTHENTIC unto himself. to date, no one sounds like him.
there is also a STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS vibe to his VOCALS, with much of it seemingly coming from the top of his head in the moment. the effect, especially among first time listeners, is quite MESMERIZING as if this HIGH WIRE ACT is meant to lose balance and topple over. which of course never happens, instead stumbling into the next VERSE with added MOMENTUM and DESTRUCTIVE potential. the absolute CLASSIC tracks off his debut RETURN TO THE 36 CHAMBERS: THE DIRTY VERSION (ELEKTRA, 1995) are "SHIMMY SHIMMY YA" and "BROOKLYN ZOO," which both showcase this invigoratingly ERRATIC sensibility on FULL DISPLAY, with OL' DIRTY BASTARD switching up topics and introducing NON SEQUITURS at a FURIOUS pace. with the WU-TANG CLAN, the only LIKE-MINDED rapper was GHOSTFACE KILLAH who similarly was all over the place with an OFF-KILTER DELIVERY, the difference being his GRITTY LYRICAL NARRATIVES were entirely COHESIVE with an overflowing of MULTIFACETED details shotgunning from his mouth. with OL' DIRTY BASTARD the plot as well as the details were always up for INTERPRETATION, much like an ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST painting. i was in my final year of undergrad when OL' DIRTY BASTARD PASSED AWAY and i took it pretty hard, which was ODD because i am normally quite INDIFFERENT to CELEBRITY DEATHS. with him i felt like there was so much QUALITY WORK left on the table, as he was recently let out of prison (where he was incarcerated on a NONVIOLENT cocaine possession rap) and was in the process of reintegrating with society and getting his LYRICAL BEARINGS back when he PASSED from an ACCIDENTAL overdose of cocaine and an opioid prescription for pain. as an ENGLISH student in college where i was trained to be HYPER-FOCUSED and concerned with things like METER, RHYME SCHEME and CADENCE, OL' DIRTY BASTARD was the prime example of a writer that literally MARCHED TO THE BEAT OF HIS OWN DRUM and created some DIZZYINGLY-EXECUTED GEMS that were HUMOROUS, COMPLEX and highly AFFECTING on an emotional level. still miss the dude twenty years later. RIP RUSSELL TYRONE JONES. WU-TANG FOREVER. photo & text by nacrowe
seemingly every popular CULTURAL MOVEMENT has their TRANSCENDENT, FRONT-OF-MIND acts that capture the collective imagination of the public such as with THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES and THE WHO with the BRITISH INVASION during the early 1960s and arguably outshine similarly STELLAR acts like THE ANIMALS, THE YARDBIRDS and THE KINKS. alright, maybe THE KINKS should be in the former category and not the latter but you get the idea, the strength and depth of a CULTURAL MOVEMENT is likely the quality of those ALSO-RAN acts as much as the frontrunners. in the 1990s you had the BRITPOP scene that REVITALIZED BRITISH ROCK AND ROLL and undoubtedly was dominated by OASIS and BLUR, and to a lesser extent SUEDE, PULP and ELASTICA. below even that was a tier of bands that id argue were similarly UBER-TALENTED including SLEEPER, SUPERGRASS and THE VERVE.
in the public imagination, THE VERVE was in essence a public front for the gifted SONGWRITER RICHARD ASHCROFT and their third album URBAN HYMNS (HUT, 1997) is his MAGNUM OPUS. the band was primarily known for EARNEST SONGS about COMMON WORKING CLASS life, often delicately strummed on an acoustic with MINIMAL INSTRUMENTATION that put the aural focus on ASHCROFT's voice a la SONGS like "SONNET," "THE DRUGS DON'T WORK" and especially "LULLABY." there are also more SPACEY numbers like "THIS TIME" and "THE ROLLING PEOPLE" but those are less successful than his STRIPPED-BACK fair. with one quite NOTABLE exception. "BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY" is arguably one of the BIGGEST singles from the entire BRITPOP movement, being outshined in comparison to "WONDERWALL" or "DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER" by OASIS, "PARKLIFE" or "SONG 2" by BLUR or "COMMON PEOPLE" by PULP. maybe. whereas those other bands had other NOTEWORTHY singles, "BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY" represents THE VERVE's lone SHINING moment and it was definitely BITTERSWEET, give that its use of a orchestral sample off a ROLLING STONES SONG was not cleared by the COPYRIGHT holder, LEGENDARY manager ALLEN KLEIN, and subsequently the band lost all of its revenue from the single. their BIGGEST HIT was their BIGGEST DEBACLE and is an INFAMOUS CAUTIONARY TALE to date about the risk of not properly clearing all SAMPLES before publication. in 2019, ten years after KLEIN's passing, the bequeathed COPYRIGHT holders passed on the COPYRIGHT to ASHCROFT. but the DAMAGE was done. the SONG itself, with its LILTING STRING SECTION, is an UPLIFTING paean to living one's life to its fullest given the brief time we all have here in this physical realm. the SONG has been included on various greatest-songs-of-all-time lists and seemingly perfectly captured a deeply felt sense of unbridled OPTIMISM that took place during the BRITPOP era and the REVITALIZATION of BRITISH MUSIC and POLITICAL CULTURE during this period. that this career peak became a career low is a testament to the BRUTALITY of the MUSIC INDUSTRY and the need to have a skilled and loyal support team at the ready. URBAN HYMNS is definitely worth checking out, albeit i consider it a lesser album than those put out at the time by their BRITPOP peers in OASIS, BLUR, PULP, ELASTICA and SUEDE. photo & text by nacrowe
arguably the most universally CELEBRATED METAL album of the 1990s, PANTERA's uncompromisingly BRUTAL second album VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER (ATCO, 1992) defiantly waved the flag for the genre during the height of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK revolution that saw other legacy acts effectively bow down and acquiesce to its will (looking at you METALLICA, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and SLAYER). its accomplished predecessor COWBOYS FROM HELL (ATCO, 1990) set the stage for this release with its GUITAR HEROICS via DIMEBAG DARRELL and their ZZ-TOP inspired attention to all things GROOVE, but VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER took it all to another level of INTENSITY and SONG-CRAFT.
UNDENIABLE tracks like "FUCKING HOSTILE," "MOUTH FOR WAR," and "A NEW LEVEL" where live show highlights for the rest of their career and showcase a FOCUS, COHESION and INTERNAL CHEMISTRY that the band built upon with later releases but never equalled again. although decidedly more MELLOW and SLOW-PACED, the ballads "THIS LOVE" and "HOLLOW" likewise showcased a SINGULAR attention to craft with MEMORABLE VOCALS and GUITAR MELODIES that intertwined to HYPNOTIC effect. arguably the STANDOUT track from an absolutely LOADED record is the single "WALK" with its INDELIBLE opening hammer-on, hammer-off GUITAR RIFF and that absolutely CRUSHING CHORUS that comes crashing in with SLEDGEHAMMER FORCE and ABRUPTNESS. that song in particular is a case study in efficiency and how less really can mean more to a track's EFFECTIVENESS. many consider "WALK" PANTERA's finest moment. not sure id go that far [my personal FAVORITE is "FLOODS" off of THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL (ELEKTRA, 1996)], but point taken. the LEGACY of VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER is both its MEMORABLE songs and the context of which it was released. most of the LEGACY THRASH METAL bands turned in SUBPAR records in the 1990s attempting to follow suit with the ALTERNATIVE ROCK predilections for minimizing (if not skipping altogether) GUITAR SOLOS and [from a metalhead's perspective] hiding behind excessive DISTORTION instead of showcasing both TECHNIQUE and MUSICIANSHIP. METALLICA's LOAD (ELEKTRA, 1996), MEGADETH's YOUTHANASIA (CAPITOL, 1994) and later SLAYER's DIVINE INTERVENTION (AMERICAN, 1994) were more STREAMLINED affairs that seemed to capitulate to the MUSICAL AESTHETICS of the era whereas VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER and its successor FAR BEYOND DRIVEN (ELEKTRA, 1994) just came off like a giant MIDDLE FINGER to it all. remember, the PANTERA dude's were close longtime friends with the likes of ALICE IN CHAINS and the FOO FIGHTERS, even shared the stage with them on numerous occasions so there wasnt any personal ANIMOSITY at all. but in terms of the FRACTURED FRATERNITY that is the greater METAL COMMUNITY, PANTERA is nearly universally REVERED since they stood firm against the cultural tide when others patently SAID UNCLE to the music industry. and that BRAZEN STEADFASTNESS is as much a part of the popular lore surrounding VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER as the songs themselves and has singularly stood as a TOUCHSTONE for all METAL bands moving forward, from LAMB OF GOD, DEFTONES and HATEBREED to SYSTEM OF A DOWN, MUDVAYNE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and beyond. VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER is a LEGENDARY record that continues to live up to and exceed its own hype and is absolutely ESSENTIAL for anyone interested in METAL. end stop. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
April 2024
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