parodies by nacrowe
even in the MODERN pantheon of TRANSCENDENT SONGWRITERS, that undoubtedly includes the likes of JOHN LENNON / PAUL MACCARTNEY, TRENT REZNOR, MARVIN GAYE, COLE PORTER, NEIL YOUNG, DOLLY PARTON, STEVIE WONDER, MORRISSEY / JOHNNY MARR, Q-TIP, DAVID BOWIE, JOHNNY CASH, RAY CHARLES, CAROL KING, SAM COOKE, PRINCE and BOB DYLAN, in my opinion LOU REED still very much remains unquestionably atop such PROMINENT company. its one thing to be technically PROFICIENT or ever VIRTUOSIC on an instrument, with the required PHYSICAL DEXTERITY and coordination to pull off COMPLICATED sequences. it is another entirely to have the EMOTIONAL CAPACITY and IMAGINATIVE ABILITY to translate musical ideas, BASIC or ADVANCED, into FORMS that touch and heal the soul. for some reason people confuse the two and it is MADDENING.
in my mind, the SONGWRITING of REED is more of a PERSPECTIVE or an EXPERIENCE rather than a catalogue of songs, very much like great ART, CINEMA or LITERATURE transcends its MEDIUM into that of a HIGHER realm of CONCEPTS, MOODS and FEELINGS. undoubtedly part of that urge to create is about the need to ESCAPE, and all of those aforementioned SONGWRITERS did such to one degree or another, but with REED it very much feels he used ESCAPISM as a TOOL to cut deeper and expose in HARSH, COLD, BRUTAL detail the UNSPOKEN, HARROWING aspects of the HUMAN CONDITION. the CRUELTY, the LONELINESS, the very ABSURDITY of life. when i think of REED i think of that. that and NEW YORK CITY. never has a SONGWRITER been so singularly identified with a specific location and representative of the both the SEEDY and CELEBRATED aspects of society therein, from IMPATIENT FIENDS waiting for their heroin connect on a corner in SPANISH HARLEM, to UNDERGROUND ARTISTS and their SYCOPHANTIC underlings in the MEAT PACKING DISTRICT to ASPIRATIONAL TRANSVESTITE ACTRESSES in the LOWER EAST SIDE. it goes on and his eye for detail and EMPATHY is what shines through, even when the subject is coarse and unflinchingly REAL. its that INTEGRITY and AUTHENTICITY of his VOICE and his words that transcend his songs, similarly to DYLAN, from ROCK N ROLL lyrics to VERITABLE POETRY. to my taste DYLAN was more interested in the finer aspects of AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC traditions and his WORLDVIEW is emblematic of such, whereas REED is more about juxtaposing EXPERIMENTAL sounds (of the STRAIGHTFORWARD, DISSONANT, COMPLEX and/or INCOHERENT varieties) with the EMOTIONAL STRUGGLE, SPIRITUAL PLIGHT and EXISTENTIAL DREAD of MODERN URBAN LIFE. i hear aspects of REED in all sorts of HIP HOP, especially with regards to that PALPABLE sense of the STRUGGLE to become something GREATER. the music itself is a collection of found parts that in concert create something more emotionally RESONANT. it is the very MUSICAL EXPRESSION of the LYRICAL CONTENT, which is striving to REINTERPRET, REPURPOSE and RE-CONTEXTUALIZE a DEGRADED, DIMINISHED and societally DISMISSED LIVED EXPERIENCE into that of an ELEVATED CONSCIOUSNESS to help uplift communities. i believe REED was on that tip with his HONESTY and ability to EFFECTIVELY communicate REALITY. he wasnt attempting to inspire through falsehoods, but UNVARNISHED, close-up looks into the mirror of our collective improprieties. REST IN PEACE LOU REED. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the catalogue of the LEGENDARY NEW YORK SONGWRITER LOU REED. enjoy!
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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!
parodies by nacrowe
HIP HOP CULTURE is a lot of things to a lot of people, but a genre or venue for aging GRACEFULLY is not one of them. in fact, arguably more than its JAZZ, ROCK N ROLL or POP peers and counterparts, HIP HOP in particular is all about YOUTH CULTURE and maintaining an ear to the NOVEL, UNEXPLORED and CUTTING-EDGE. its the LIFEBLOOD of the genre and historically leaves little to no breathing room for so-called LEGACY acts taking up air space as with other genres (examples being AEROSMITH, BILLY JOEL, KISS, PEARL JAM, MADONNA or U2 still drawing ARENA-SIZED crowds despite being culturally RELEVANT literally decades ago). again, you dont see that with HIP HOP. you dont see veteran groups like WU-TANG CLAN, NAS, EPMD, RAKIM or DE LA SOUL selling out MADISON SQUARE GARDEN multiple dates every few years like their DINOSAUR ROCK N ROLL band compatriots.
so for me the BEASTIE BOYS are a complete OUTLIER. right up until their breakup after the TRAGIC PASSING of ADAM 'MCA' YAUCH from PAROTID CANCER in 2012. with each subsequent release they were given the latitude by their fanbase, and more importantly each other, to truly EXPERIMENT and EVOLVE on wax as musicians as well as individuals. case in point was the conscious mid-career choice to ACKNOWLEDGE their previous MISOGYNY on stage and on record and PUBLICLY APOLOGIZE for such. and not only apologize publicly with mere lip service, but meaningfully ADVOCATE on behalf of charities and groups that work in those AFFECTED arenas. in HIP HOP with its OVERWHELMING FETISHIZING of ANTIQUATED cultural concepts like AUTHENTICITY and SELLING OUT, where one is in disincentivized from ACKNOWLEDGING WEAKNESSES and FAULTS out of FEAR of PUBLIC SHAMING and LOSING FACE, the result of such is ironically a lot of bullshit POSTURING and FRAUDULENT claims of personal hardship. over the years of being a HIP HOP fan, the BRAVERY of the BEASTIE BOYS in celebrating their friends and loved ones and getting that FRAT BOY crap they embodied on the first record and tour just comes off as more and more COURAGEOUS and NECESSARY as they transitioned into EMPATHETIC, QUESTIONING, SELF-REFLECTIVE, THOUGHTFUL adults. likewise when MCA became a BUDDHIST and started bringing that perspective into the music, both lyrically and even sonically on tracks like "BODHISATTVA VOW", both ADAM 'AD-ROCK' HOROVITZ and MICHAEL 'MIKE D' DIAMOND went along with it. rather than feeling threatened by this MAJOR LIFE CHANGE, they openly SUPPORTED and CELEBRATED their friend as he continued to EVOLVE on his own PERSONAL journey. ive long wondered why the BEASTIE BOYS were able to carve out this wide lane while their peers and ARTISTIC compatriots have had to largely compete with their younger selves ad infinitum. was it the fact that the BEASTIE BOYS had a large ALTERNATIVE ROCK following unlike peer groups in CYPRESS HILL or RUN-DMC? one would think that given their race in a black-dominated art form they would be even more prone to being culturally pigeon-holed. i dont know the answer. maybe its just because they did it, damn the consequences. either its a pretty COMPELLING narrative, even in retrospect over a decade after their breakup. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the BEASTIE BOYS. enjoy!
parody by nacrowe
AMY WINEHOUSE was such a RAW and POWERFUL SONGWRITER.
her passing was DEVASTATING to me in a way that few CELEBRITY DEATHS have ever been. part of that was just the nature of her MUSIC, which was so brutally HONEST and EMOTIVE yet DELICATE and preternaturally MELODIC. that DICHOTOMY pulled you in as a listener and never let go. when CELEBRITIES PASS AWAY, i try to be mindful of the fact that this person had a FAMILY and circle of FRIENDS that loved and cared for them irrespective of their GIFT. i recognize that my appreciation of them is a REFLECTION of me PROJECTING VALUES, AMBITIONS and IDEALS to their ART and PERSONA that is entirely separate from them as a PERSON. that when they PASS ON, that spark they initiated grows dimmer as well. that being said, i can count the amount of CELEBRITY DEATHS that really effected me on one hand, those being that of CHRIS FARLEY, LAYNE STALEY (ALICE IN CHAINS), OL' DIRTY BASTARD (WU-TANG CLAN) and WINEHOUSE. part of it is undoubtedly that sense of PROJECTING i already described, but beyond that there is a clear SELFISH sense (on my part) that they had UNREALIZED potential and FUTURE ART left on the table to the COLLECTIVE LOSS of EVERYONE. their PAIN and their SUFFERING and their LOSS equated to a diminish of my QUALITY OF LIFE is what it comes down to i guess. again, pretty SHALLOW and SELF-CENTERED but TRUE. most CELEBRITY DEATHS we acknowledge as individuals but dont necessarily grieve. these individuals i honestly can say i did so as their ART deeply resonated with me. FARLEY, STALEY, the ODB and WINEHOUSE all had in common the TRAGIC fact that they were immensely TALENTED ARTISTS, that publicly SUFFERED and senselessly succumbed to their ADDICTIONS in spite of much psychic effort to transcend such by them, their FAMILIES and their LOVED ONES. another thread is that WINEHOUSE was only a few months older than me and her PASSING in a very REAL sense was a STARK and PALPABLE reminder of my own MORTALITY. similar markers of such over the years include watching LEBRON JAMES' prolific basketball career or reading about MARK ZUCKERBERG's rise to power (and the TRAGIC unforeseen societal repercussions of such) or witnessing in REAL-TIME the HORROR that is ELISE STEFANIK's CRAVEN political capitulations to one AGENT ORANGE. all are within a year of my age. i didnt know WINEHOUSE other than her MUSIC. i didnt bear witness to her DREAMS, FLAWS, HOPES, INSECURITIES or AMBITIONS outside of what she choset to present to the world on vinyl, on stage or in interviews. being a fan is a PASSIVE activity at heart. you are the receptacle in an UNRECIPROCATED arrangement that clearly only goes one way. yet somewhat counterintuitively the POWER of ART is one of RESONANCE and SELF-IDENTIFICATION where the viewer/listener completes the circuit so to speak. it makes sense that one feels a sense of LOSS when the other link is denied in that bond through the very real and very human process surrounding MORTALITY. the situation surrounding WINEHOUSE is emblematic of such and permanently colors our opinion of her art in a similar manner to other PERSONALITIES and SONGWRITERS that arguably DIED prematurely at their creative peak like KURT COBAIN (NIRVANA), BUDDY HOLLY, TUPAC SHAKUR, HANK WILLIAMS, IAN CURTIS (JOY DIVISION), JANIS JOPLIN (BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY), THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., DUANE ALLMAN (THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, DEREK & THE DOMINOS), PATSY CLINE, BRAD NOWELL (SUBLIME) or JIMI HENDRIX among way too many others. RIP AMY WINEHOUSE embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating THRASH METAL. enjoy!
parodies by nacrowe
it was my understanding back in middle school that the only type of METAL was THRASH METAL.
end stop. it was the summer of 1996 and my family was stateside in NEW JERSEY visiting after my first year living in NIGERIA. that was the time that METALLICA's LOAD (ELEKTRA, 1996) came out and i can still remember the display at a local record store that had their entire DISCOGRAPHY on discount as a promotion. i liked LOAD so i remember on a whim going back to the store and picking up RIDE THE LIGHTNING (MEGAFORCE, 1984), MASTER OF PUPPETS (ELEKTRA, 1986), ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (ELEKTRA, 1988) and METALLICA (ELEKTRA, 1991) in one fell swoop. id later come across KILL 'EM ALL (MEGAFORCE, 1983) from a friend back in AFRICA. not only did those previous ALBUMS, especially the earlier ones, completely blow me away beyond that of LOAD, it made me interested in investigating other THRASH METAL bands within the year including SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, SEPULTURA and EXODUS. this was back in the mid 90s before streaming, YOUTUBE or downloading when to get new music you effectively had to either buy PHYSICAL PRODUCT or borrow such from your IMMEDIATE NETWORK OF FRIENDS and buy CASSETTES to create MIXTAPES. for me, THRASH METAL was ground zero when it came to EXTREME MUSIC. from their i went chronologically backwards to NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL bands like MOTORHEAD, DIAMOND HEAD, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST and even further to BLACK SABBATH. years later in high school and college id become familiar with DEATH METAL, BLACK METAL and GRINDCORE among other sub-genres, but THRASH was essentially the foundation. to my ears the recipe of THRASH was two parts the TECHNICAL MUSICIANSHIP and FEROCITY of NWOBHM (especially MOTORHEAD and JUDAS PRIEST) with one part the SNARLING ATTITUDE and immediacy of HARDCORE PUNK ROCK (a la THE MISFITS and DISCHARGE). within CLIFF BURTON-era METALLICA there was also this added NEOCLASSICAL ELEMENT that also provided those early string of ALBUMS, especially RIDE THE LIGHTNING and MASTER OF PUPPETS with a COMPOSITIONAL and EMOTIONAL SOPHISTICATION that has not been matched since across all sub-genres, even by the band themselves. and for me personally as much as i love the increased AURAL ASSAULT and OUTRIGHT BRUTALITY of MODERN EXTREME METAL bands like PIG DESTROYER, FULL OF HELL, DEATH, ENTOMBED, NAILS, TERRORIZER and NAPALM DEATH, it still all comes down to those two key METALLICA RECORDS, as well as SLAYER's REIGN IN BLOOD (DEF JAM, 1986) and SOUTH OF HEAVEN (DEF JAM, 1988), SEPULTURA's CHAOS A.D. (ROADRUNNER, 1993) and MEGADETH's RUST IN PEACE (CAPITOL, 1990) as the foundations of my appreciation for the THRASH METAL genre at large. ​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating THRASH METAL. enjoy!
parodies by nacrowe
the term INDIE ROCK is a pretty AMORPHOUS marker that encompasses a STRIPPED-BACK strain of ROCK N ROLL from the 1980s and beyond that was (for the most part) released on INDEPENDENT labels with LIMITED distribution and supported with tours that (along with HARDCORE bands of the era) established an ALTERNATIVE circuit of makeshift VENUES across the UNITED STATES. to most acts like R.E.M., PAVEMENT, THE REPLACEMENTS, HUSKER DU, DINOSAUR JR, BUILT TO SPILL, SONIC YOUTH and PIXIES come to immediate mind for many when considering the term, but intriguingly it doesnt really denote a particular style per se and is an umbrella term encompassing other genres of the period like POST PUNK, GOTH ROCK, NOISE ROCK and SHOEGAZE. during the 80s many even referred to it as COLLEGE ROCK, given the propensity for only INDEPENDENT-MINDED DJs on local COLLEGE RADIO STATIONS supporting these ARTISTS, as opposed to MAINSTREAM ROCK N ROLL radio at the time which either had its collective head in the sand back in the 1960s and 70s or even worse, the concurrent wave of FECKLESS and UNORIGINAL HAIR METAL emanating from the SUNSET STRIP out in LOS ANGELES.
INDIE ROCK was essentially music for NERDS and its legacy is that of EXPERIMENTATION, focus on craft and (sadly) CULTURAL ELITISM. just by the BOUTIQUE nature of the INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL business, these cultural artifacts were relatively unavailable at scale to the buying public, much less promoted through MAINSTREAM MUSIC PUBLICATIONS or supported by ESTABLISHED CLUBS and THEATERS. by the very nature of the business-side of things, INDIE ROCK was inherently UNDERGROUND. the story of the genre is much like the apocryphal narrative surrounding the fact that few PEOPLE witnessed THE VELVET UNDERGROUND play live during their brief existence, but those AUDIENCE MEMBERS went out and started bands and furthered their GOSPEL. with the rise of the more INDIE ROCK and HARDCORE-influenced ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion from SEATTLE in the early 1990s, many of these bands rose to national visibility on the collective backs of NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM and ALICE IN CHAINS. the AESTHETIC has likewise continued onward for the last thirty years as the culture caught up to INDIE ROCK to the point that it is currently an almost MEANINGLESS term. what is left of it feels co-opted by MODERN online gatekeepers like PITCHFORK, STEREOGUM and BROOKLYNVEGAN who lionize CHEAP NOVELTY and EXPERIMENTATION as an unto themselves to the point that TUNEFULNESS and attention to ACTUAL CRAFT are DIMINISHED and perceived as a glowing indication of a lack of SOPHISTICATION. its a definite problem with BASELESS ELITISM and the false understanding of what makes something AUTHENTIC and unfortunately has INFILTRATED the mindset of the music-buying public in the last two decades plus. not sure whether to BLAME INDIE ROCK itself, but the COMMUNITY at large let it FESTER and reach a critical mass. its UNFORTUNATE because i grew up on many of these bands and truly enjoy their presence in my life, but shy away from the COMMUNITY itself due to the ARBITRARY PISSING CONTEST that it has all become. just my opinion. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the INDIE ROCK movement of the 1980s and early 1990s. enjoy!
parodies by nacrowe
POST PUNK to me has long been one of the more EXCITING periods of music to continually explore and re-investigate due to its EXPERIMENTAL nature. for musicians of that generation who witnessed the BRITISH INVASION as kids and then the later more TECHNICALLY ACCOMPLISHED LARGER-THAN-LIFE figures of 70s ROCK N ROLL (i.e. LED ZEPPELIN, QUEEN and PINK FLOYD among others) as well as PROGRESSIVE ROCK (KING CRIMSON, RUSH, GENESIS, YES and EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER), the bar for entry seemed impossibly high.
then PUNK ROCK enters the fray and reframes the whole conversation. the revolution that was the PUNK movement was in part a social reimagining of what it meant to be a musician, that INTENT was as SIGNIFICANT if not more IMPORTANT than RAW TECHNICAL ABILITY. musicians and fans that attended those LEGENDARY late 70s gigs witnessing those FIRST-WAVE PUNK acts like THE RAMONES, THE CLASH, THE SEX PISTOLS, THE DAMNED and THE BUZZCOCKS often left feeling like they could do that as well, maybe even better. POST PUNK is such a VITAL period because you had all of these AMATEURISH musicians playing well outside their comfort zone and creating INTERESTING sonic juxtapositions out of somewhat pure NAIVETE and INSTINCT. many of these bands grew into TECHNICALLY PROFICIENT entities, but it is that explosion of DISPARATE material that served as a big bang of sorts for later iterations and generations of musicians to peruse through for INSPIRATION. to tell you the truth, i never understood why INCREDIBLE POST PUNK bands like GANG OF FOUR, MAGAZINE, PUBLIC IMAGE LTD, THE FALL, BAUHAUS, WIRE, THE POP GROUP and KILLING JOKE didnt amass anything beyond a NOMINAL, LOYAL cult following. yes it is true that acts like THE CURE, JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, THE SMITHS and SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES all had their cultural moment, but collectively it is probably due to the ECLECTIC nature of the music and its lack of a cohesive perspective that made it less marketable and difficult to promote. it is also what makes POST PUNK perpetually INTRIGUING and aesthetically CHALLENGING to take in and digest. for me the somewhat concurrent NO WAVE movement was one step beyond POST PUNK, but taken together those two genres are something i constantly return to when i feel jaded about music in general. inevitably after some digging and investigation something will arise that challenges my tastes and expands my appreciation, which is probably the highest compliment i came present. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the POST PUNK movement. enjoy!
parody by nacrowe
there is a whole litany of SUCCESSFUL second acts in MODERN MUSIC HISTORY, especially of the SOLO ACT variety coming off a massively INFLUENTIAL and commercially LUCRATIVE group project, but i am hard pressed to think of another ROCK N ROLL example other than NOEL GALLAGHER who has been able to match (if not succeed) the quality of output of his former band, i.e. OASIS. JOHN LENNON's post-BEATLES output was rather SPOTTY, albeit with some spellbindingly TRANSCENDENT highlights. dont get me started on the embarrassment that is PAUL MCCARTNEY. the caliber of company i can come up with are SEMINAL SOLO ARTISTS like MORRISSEY (THE SMITHS), IGGY POP (THE STOOGES), OZZY OSBOURNE (BLACK SABBATH), NEIL YOUNG (BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, CSN & Y) and LOU REED (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND).
what is INTRIGUING about that list is that arguably those ARTISTS were the stars of their former groups. yes they all had FORMIDABLE and LEGENDARY COLLABORATORS and CO-SONGWRITERS with the likes of JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS), JAMES WILLIAMSON and the ASHTON BROTHERS (THE STOOGES), TONY IOMMI (BLACK SABBATH), STEPHEN STILLS (BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, CSN & Y) and JOHN CALE (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND), but in contrast the case of NOEL found him to not be the star, but the sole SONGWRITER and LYRICIST [for the majority of OASIS' career] in CREATIVE and ARTISTIC support of his VOCALIST younger brother, LIAM. so in a very REAL sense, OASIS was NOEL and NOEL was OASIS. cant say that about MORRISSEY, POP, OSBOURNE, YOUNG or REED. or even LENNON or MCCARTNEY. or for that matter STING (THE POLICE), BRYAN FERRY (ROXY MUSIC), RAY DAVIES (THE KINKS) or ROBBIE ROBERTSON (THE BAND). so when he went solo in 2009, NOEL effectively took the CREATIVE BRAINTRUST of OASIS with him, and the intervening years have seen that eye for QUALITY SONG-CRAFT expand into new SONIC TERRAIN with songs that juxtapose his penchant for MEMORABLE MELODIES with AMBIENT and ELECTRONIC TEXTURES as well as DANCE rhythms. such excursions into DANCE CULTURE might seem on the face of it COUNTERINTUITIVE and in stark contrast to the traditional ROCK N ROLL ethos that OASIS represented to many an ALTERNATIVE ROCK and BRITPOP enthusiast, but you have to consider that his FORMATIVE years were spent at the HACIENDA in MANCHESTER during the peak years of the ACID HOUSE explosion of the late 1980s. OASIS and NOEL were children of the MADCHESTER scene so such later EXPERIMENTATION with such is not really that odd when viewed in context. what is COMPELLING is that those SONIC EXPERIMENTS lead to some QUALITY tracks such as "BLACK STAR DANCING," "BLUE MOON RISING," "THIS IS THE PLACE" and "SHE TAUGHT ME HOW TO FLY" that rank up with his best work. and in essence that UNIQUE capacity to INNOVATE and continually EVOLVE his sound in a manner that builds on his FORMIDABLE strengths as a SONGWRITER is what makes NOEL so FASCINATING a CULTURAL FIGURE. he is not dredging up the past or attempting to be something he was back in his 20s. if anything, he is in the moment. THIS MOMENT. and i am forever looking forward to checking out his new material. ​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the solo work of the ICONIC BRITISH songwriter NOEL GALLAGHER. enjoy!
parodies by nacrowe
i am continually fascinated by the EXPERIMENTAL and highly IDIOSYNCRATIC MUSICIANSHIP of SONGWRITER / GUITARIST WES BORLAND (LIMP BIZKIT, BLACK LIGHT BURNS, BIG DUMB FACE). yes his SIGNATURE double-handed tapping TECHNIQUE is VINTAGE LES CLAYPOOL (PRIMUS) to an extent, but his SYNTHESIS and mastery of various APPROACHES and STYLES into an UNPREDICTABLE sound is pretty INCREDIBLE and the reason i pay attention to each new LIMP BIZKIT release despite my less than enthusiastic toleration of vocalist FRED DURST.
what is UNIQUE about his APPROACH to composing MEMORABLE GUITAR RIFFS is that it is a similar CREATIVE PROCESS to that of how he conceives his PAINTINGS. as a VISUAL ARTIST he will juxtapose FORMS and COLORS until something emerges that is pleasing to him. at that point he may go further or even strip the COMPOSITION back to an earlier SIMPLER FORM, all in the subconscious act of creation with NO DISCERNIBLE OBJECTIVE in sight. such is also his modus operandi as a COMPOSER, whereby through the addition and subtraction of elements he comes across a piece of music that was not premeditated or articulated with a PURPOSE in mind. its just SPONTANEOUS creation through being an OPEN CHANNEL for one's NON-COGNITIVE CREATIVITY to flow through. this process is highly ECCENTRIC and is rooted in INSTINCT and FEEL, which is why BORLAND is responsible for some of the most DISTINCTIVE and absolutely SAVAGE riffs of the past few decades. its a CREATIVE PROCESS that reminds me of how JAZZ musicians often describe being in a state of FLOW where they are reacting to the music as it envelopes and presents itself, their hours upon hours of PRACTICE and DISCIPLINED TECHNIQUE becomes almost an UNCONSCIOUS reflex, an extension of their subconscious. when i listen to some of the more PERSONAL end of BORLAND's material, especially that of his EXPLORATORY ALTERNATIVE METAL band BLACK LIGHT BURNS, i both admire the singularly inventive nature of the guitar-playing involved, but also the decidedly UNSTRUCTURED, somewhat FREE-ASSOCIATIVE PROCESS that birthed it and sparked his CREATIVITY. i am not on that level in any aspect or pursuit in my life, but it is still very much an avenue to consider. ​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the music of ARTISTIC SOUNDSCAPES of WES BORLAND. enjoy!
photo & text by nacrowe
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
the untimely passing of ANDREW WOOD, the much BELOVED and CELEBRATED MOTHER LOVE BONE / MALFUNKSHUN singer, from a heroin overdose in 1990 was an absolute CULTURAL EARTHQUAKE that rippled throughout the NASCENT ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene in SEATTLE. WOOD was a larger-than-life character whose CHARISMATIC personality and sheer force-of-will was a highlight and point of UNITY in a particularly INTIMATE COMMUNITY of musicians and artists during this pre-fame era. it is TRAGIC and more than a little IRONIC that such a TRANSCENDENT creative figure with naked ARENA ROCK ambitions did not live to see his band, or the scene itself in peer bands like SOUNDGARDEN, TAD, MUDHONEY, ALICE IN CHAINS, SCREAMING TREES, NIRVANA and the post-MOTHER LOVE BONE outfit PEARL JAM, rise to GLOBAL CULTURAL DOMINANCE and POPULARITY.
the TEMPLE OF THE DOG project was meant as a PROPER CELEBRATION and SEND-OFF to WOOD by close friend and fellow singer-songwriter CHRIS CORNELL (SOUNDGARDEN) and surviving MOTHER LOVE BONE guitarist STONE GOSSARD and bassist JEFF AMENT. drummer MATT CAMERON (SOUNDGARDEN), lead guitarist MIKE MCREADY (PEARL JAM) and most crucially EDDIE VEDDER (PEARL JAM) rounded out the group. mind you, this album was recorded months before PEARL JAM entered the studio to begin on their debut TEN (EPIC, 1991), so the TEMPLE OF THE DOG (A&M, 1991) album was the introduction to the world of VEDDER as a vocalist. i believe it is one of the great acts of ROCK N ROLL GENEROSITY that CORNELL chose to duet with VEDDER on "HUNGER STRIKE," effectively warmly embracing and presenting the SAN DIEGAN anew to the SEATTLE COMMUNITY and the listening public. CORNELL is a SINGULAR artist with one of the great ROCK AND ROLL voices of all-time and it should be stated that one that track VEDDER very much held his own. for most people "HUNGER STRIKE" is the obvious STANDOUT moment. "SAY HELLO 2 HEAVEN" likewise is another highlight in that it is a GUT-WRENCHING CORNELL track about saying goodbye to his late friend. CORNELL by definition was an INSULAR, deeply COMPASSIONATE and TALENTED dude, but it was the BRASH and FEARLESS (and sadly RECKLESS) WOOD that brought him out of his shell. that particular song can almost be viewed as a public testimonial to the PROFOUND effect of WOOD had one him and how gaping the hole in his heart was at the time by the loss of such a DEAR friend and CLOSE peer. in a sense, that CORNELL / WOOD relationship is an apt metaphor for the SEATTLE scene itself and how SELF-CONTAINED and mutually SUPPORTIVE it was before it went overground and became a GLOBAL PHENOMENON. in retrospect it feels like CORNELL is as much saying goodbye to his deceased friend as he is to that naive sense of artistic and creative PURITY before the careerist business ambitions inevitably took root in the COMMUNITY. that transformation, which was relatively sudden, changed how these peers viewed themselves, and brought about much CONSTERNATION and GUILT at home relating to the efforts of outsiders to sully pure intents and creative pursuits. it all feels sadly INEVITABLE. TEMPLE OF THE DOG is an ESSENTIAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK album and a UNIQUE look into the underlying of the ETHOS and CAMARADERIE of the SEATTLE scene pre-fame. decades later it is still beyond INTRIGUING to revisit and consider, especially in the wake of the untimely passing of CORNELL himself and PEARL JAM (along with MUDHONEY), being the last band (with original core members) standing.
parodies by nacrowe
i was just at the BROOKLYN MUSEUM today to catch the INCREDIBLE SPIKE LEE: CREATIVE SOURCES exhibit (which i highly recommend and is open through february 4). after taking that WONDERFUL exhibit in, i had a happy accident in noticing from the guide that there was another INTRIGUING exhibit taking place a floor below called COPY MACHINE MANIFESTOS: ARTISTS WHO MAKE ZINES (open through march 31). honestly, in my mind i was just hoping that said exhibit would have examples of those RARE RAYMOND PETTIBON ZINES from the 1980s. oh did they. in fact there was a whole wall of them. beyond COOL. just as COMPELLING, there were also MULTIPLE BIKINI GIRL ZINES from the early 1990s which got me thinking about the MEDIUM in general.
with the ubiquity of EFFICIENT and COST-EFFECTIVE office copy machines in the 1980s (largely due to a lost anti-trust case that saw XEROX bequeath its intellectual property to rivals TOSHIBA, CANON, MINOLTA and SHARP), there was suddenly a mechanism for retail customers to SELF-PUBLISH at scale at a reduced cost. enter SELF-MADE ARTISTS, SOCIAL/POLITICAL ACTIVISTS and MUSIC ENTHUSIASTS who grabbed onto this platform to create MAKESHIFT, LOW-QUALITY publications that expressed a viewpoint by definition outside of the mainstream. the exhibit very dives into the diversity of output from the late 1970s onward and how the format really provided a voice for the voiceless and addressed the needs of COMMUNITY FORGOTTEN or UNRECOGNIZED by the publishing industry at the time. that melding of ART, POLITICS and MUSIC is such an INTERESTING topic and the exhibit showcases the extremities of taste and decency in those often aggressively TRANSGRESSIVE publications. i feel like i understand the niche pre-internet. what i had a harder time understanding was the need for ZINES from the 2000s onward when the internet had provided numerous avenues (FORUMS, SOCIAL MEDIA, BLOGS, WEBSITES, E-MAIL CHAINS, NEWSLETTERS, SUBSTACKS, etc.) for COMMUNITY generation on a MASSIVE global scale. but maybe that limitation is the point. ZINES are by design DISPOSABLE and severely limited in production, thus limiting the COMMUNITY involved and rendering such UNSEARCHABLE in the technological sense. it makes you consider if KATHLEEN HANNA was starting out today in 2023 what messaging vehicle she'd have initiated to get her thoughts transmitted to the PUBLIC. thats what ive been thinking about the rest of the day. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating RIOT GRRRL bands from throughout 1990s, as well as later female artists that took up the mantle and ran with it thereafter. enjoy!
photo & text by nacrowe
its funny. when i think of SCANDINAVIA broadly mental images of an EDUCATED, WELL-ADJUSTED population in a SOLID economy with a STRONG work ethic and a ROBUST public safety net of social services, not to mention STYLISH much SOUGHT-AFTER furniture, is what comes immediately to mind.
and then there is BLACK METAL. with the stateside 1980s THRASH METAL movement (METALLICA, SLAYER, TESTAMENT, MEGADETH, EXODUS, ANTHRAX) and its SOPHISTICATED MUSICAL TECHNICALITY, SYNCHRONIZED galloping RHYTHMS and AGGRESSIVE VISUAL AESTHETICS that seemingly split the difference between TRADITIONAL METAL and PUNK ROCK; there was almost a call-to-arms moment that really pushed the BRITISH and AMERICAN METAL community to further push the genre to new depths of EXTREMITY. thus the advent of ever-more POLARIZING and TECHNICALLY PROFICIENT genres like GRINDCORE and DEATH METAL in the BRITAIN and the UNITED STATES. this strain of EXTREME METAL found its way to the EUROPEAN continent most predominantly in places like GERMANY (MORGOTH), SWITZERLAND (CELTIC FROST) and HOLLAND (PESTILENCE) before finding its way into DENMARK, FINLAND, SWEDEN and NORWAY. with DEATH METAL and GRINDCORE being highly technical genres there developed a need for quality studios and engineers that mostly found their niche in the big cities. BLACK METAL was essentially the result of poorer kids who lived in the wooded suburbs recording LESS TECHNICAL METAL with more RUDIMENTARY EQUIPMENT on lesser quality INSTRUMENTS. lyrically this new strain of METAL was focused on nature and the spirits of the forest and had a DISTINCT look with the use of corpse paint. this PAIRED-BACK SONIC AESTHETIC with AGGRESSIVE VISUALS and PISS POOR AUDIO QUALITY ironically sounded way more evil and thus METAL compared to the efforts of their urban counterparts. if DEATH METAL is the red-headed stepchild nobody wanted, then BLACK METAL is the proverbial red-headed stepchild of that red-headed stepchild. which is why i think so many METAL enthusiasts adore the SCANDINAVIAN BLACK METAL genre. it is absolutely too WEIRD to ignore. personally i took an affinity for BLACK METAL for largely the same reason i adore IDIOSYNCRATIC and highly INVENTIVE music by the likes of DEVO, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY, SUN RA, GEORGE CLINTON, DEATH GRIPS, TRICKY, DAVID BOWIE, MASSIVE ATTACK, FELA KUTI, ORNETTE COLEMAN, DEL THE FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN, HOWLIN' WOLF, OLD DIRTY BASTARD, KRAFTWERK, PERRY FARRELL, BJORK, HARRY NILSSON, CSS, WES BORLAND, LOU REED and DEAD KENNEDYS among others, namely i find it NOVEL and deeply INTRIGUING. especially within a genre as CONSERVATIVE and uninterested in creative innovation as METAL (not to mention the TOXIC HYPER-MASCULINE and clearly PATERNALIST overtones that often define it), the fact that BLACK METAL is a authentically ODD sub-genre on substance only makes it that much more COMPELLING in comparison. bands worth checking out include those from SCANDINAVIAN countries like NORWAY (MAYHEM, ENSLAVED, DARKTHRONE, GORGOROTH, IMMORTAL, BURZUM, EMPEROR), SWEDEN (WATAIN, BATHORY, MARDUK, DARK FUNERAL, NIFELHEIM) and DENMARK (MERCYFUL FATE), as well as several non-SCANDINAVIAN EUROPEAN countries like ENGLAND (VENOM, CRADLE OF FILTH), HUNGARY (TORMENTOR), BELGIUM (ENTHRONED), GREECE (ROTTING CHRIST) and SWITZERLAND (CELTIC FROST) among others. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating mostly SCANDINAVIAN BLACK METAL. enjoy!
photo manipulations & text by nacrowe
with the recent passing of SHANE MACGOWAN, the ICONIC songwriter and frontman for the LEGENDARY CELTIC PUNK ROCK band THE POGUES, it is hard not to be in a REFLECTIVE mood about what has been LOST by his departure and the legacy he left. THE POGUES were a distinctly IRISH band founded in ENGLAND by the DECEDENTS of IRISH IMMIGRANTS and their music was acutely cognizant of both that FAMILIAL EXPERIENCE and that emotional and psychological distance from their roots. there is something acutely IRISH that trickles down the GENERATIONS about the LONGING and DISAPPOINTMENT of losing one's homeland and how satellite COMMUNITIES fill that role throughout DIASPORA.
personally i only need look back THREE GENERATIONS to my great-grandparents who ventured out to NEW YORK CITY from COUNTY CORK at the turn of the 20th century. ive been to my ANCESTRAL village and seen tombstones at a local graveyard behind a small stone church with my FAMILY name going back several centuries. i understand that MELANCHOLY and how deeply tied my FAMILY once felt to that CHARMED diminutive island, but to be IRISH now is to be a part of that extended COMMUNITY i feel. especially stateside whether that be in NEW YORK CITY, BOSTON, CHICAGO or otherwise. its all one big FAMILY. and for me growing up listening to THE POGUES with my father was an entry point into that FAMILY LINEAGE as it brought about stories of relatives present and past and what was LOST and gained along the way during that transition. MACGOWAN was so ELOQUENT, PITHY and emotionally RESONANT in describing that UNIQUE sense of heartbreak that connects the IRISH EXPERIENCE to so many other AMERICAN diaspora experiences (BLACK, ARMENIAN, CUBAN, ITALIAN, HMONG, etc.) to the point that it feels he was connecting on a rather UNIVERSAL, no bullshit, EYE-TO-EYE human level. one of the first radio shows i did back when i got the DEER GOD RADIO ball rolling was a show celebrating the IRISH DIASPORA and all of its UNEXPECTED GLORY. of course there were identifiably IRISH bands (i chose not to make a distinction between north and south) included in the playlist like THE CRANBERRIES, U2, THIN LIZZY, RORY GALLAGHER, SINEAD O' CONNOR (RIP), MY BLOODY VALENTINE, TWO DOOR CINEMA and likewise FAMOUS IRISH-ANGLO artists such as JOHN LENNON, THE POGUES, KATE BUSH, OASIS, JOHN LYDON (THE SEX PISTOLS, PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED) THE SMITHS but the real treat was playing music by artists not popularity recognized as being of IRISH descent. these people include BEYONCE, ELVIS PRESLEY, RIHANNA, JUDY GARLAND, TRENT REZNOR and so on. i knew that such a decision would be semi-controversial but worth it since being IRISH today is an appreciation for COMPLICATED, FRAGMENTED identities that speak about the incredible journeys of GENERATIONS of DECEDENTS throughout the past century. case in point is the example of MEGAN MARKLE, the recent DUTCHESS OF SUSSEX, who has IRISH ancestry and is now part of the ENGLISH monarchy. when i visited IRELAND, even those with the smallest percentage of IRISH heritage were embraced by the locals as long lost cousins, which only endeared the place more to me as a child. to them everyone is IRISH at heart and everyone is welcome. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a vastly ECLECTIC playlist celebrating the music of the IRISH DIASPORA. enjoy! RIP SHANE MACGOWAN and SINEAD O'CONNOR​
parody by nacrowe
by the time i saw AFI play for the first time in late june of 2001 at a WARPED TOUR stop in VENTURA they were already well in the midst of MASSIVE transition. it was an INSANE period, as i was staying with a childhood friend of mine in nearby ORANGE COUNTY who was basically giving me an education on all things 80s HARDCORE and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK (think everything from THE VANDALS, ADOLESCENTS, D.I., FEAR, AGENT ORANGE, PENNYWISE, DESCENDENTS and RICH KIDS ON LSD to DR KNOW, BLACK FLAG, NOFX, WASTED YOUTH, T.S.O.L. and BATTALION OF SAINTS). i had left CALIFORNIA in sixth grade to live in AFRICA due to a parent's job and by this point was staying over for an extended period before returning to KUWAIT, of all places, for my senior year of high school. a CRAZY time. anyway, my friend was a PUNK purist, maybe somewhat of the PURITANICAL variety, and loved AFI's string of albums on the INDEPENDENT NITRO RECORDS as well as LIKE-MINDED bands they were associated with like THE NERVE AGENTS and TIGER ARMY.
in 1999 the band released BLACK SAILS IN THE SUNSET (NITRO, 1999) which was a particularly PIVOTAL moment as it represented the first full-release with guitarist JADE PUGET as a full-member and major CONTRIBUTING SONGWRITER. this record sounded more COHESIVE and POLISHED than previous efforts with a decidedly SOPHISTICATED sense of COMPOSITION and SONG DYNAMICS. it was a SIGNIFICANT artistic step forward that was followed up by the similarly CONSISTENT follow-up THE ART OF DROWNING (NITRO, 2000). this album saw them gain widespread attention with "THE DAYS OF THE PHOENIX" single and video. this was the album cycle that i first came across AFI at VENTURA and it proved to be their final album for NITRO RECORDS. in retrospect its intriguing to me the timing of my discovery of AFI. it was essentially through the eyes a longtime fan who was falling out of love with them, seeing the direction they were, as well as the scene itself, going in. namely lots of once UNDERGROUND PUNK ROCK and emerging POP PUNK bands (everyone from TAKING BACK SUNDAY, FALL OUT BOY and MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE to GLASSJAW, MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK and NEW FOUND GLORY) were making the jump to major labels, due in no small part to their popularity on the annual WARPED TOUR. AFI had their cultural moment with the two subsequent releases of SING THE SORROW (DREAMWORKS, 2003) and DECEMBERUNDERGROUND (INTERSCOPE, 2006), both incredible efforts that benefited greatly from the increased PRODUCTION VALUE and ENGINEERING prowess of SINGULAR and much sought-after producers like JERRY FINN and BUTCH VIG, respectively. but in my opinion we are currently in the midst of AFI's most FORTUITOUS period. everything after and including CRASH LOVE (INTERSCOPE, 2009) has seen the band explore their underlying POWER POP and POST PUNK roots to great avail as their SOUND and AESTHETIC has really blossomed from their previous 2000s GOTH PUNK pigeonholing. i really feel strongly that they are riding their own CREATIVE WAVE right now and the band has never been more VITAL or COMPELLING as a listener and a fan. everything before seemed to be very much about leveling up to feel CONFIDENT enough as SONGWRITERS and ARTISTS to take up the challenge of DRASTIC STYLISTIC SHIFTS, shedding and reemerging at will in the form that best fits their current taste as they see fit. when the bottom fell out of the recording industry back in the early 2000s it feels like such was freeing for them and their music as catering to their own UNIQUE AESTHETIC and bringing along their core audience at their INTENSE live shows is what kept them going. so that is my take. im always interested to see what AFI has cooked up next and what musical interests they have been basking in as of late. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the EVER-EVOLVING music of AFI. enjoy!
parody by nacrowe
i was talking to someone at the radio station the other day and the subject of HENRY ROLLINS comment about NU METAL in the AMERICAN HARDCORE (SONY PICTURES, 2006) documentary came up, which paraphrased was something to effect of that the way in which those songs are STRUCTURED with the BIG GUITAR RIFF payoff after a whispered DOWNTEMPO PRE-CHORUS was something he would have absolutely been into as a teenager. it got me thinking of what that specific experience was for me of being confronted with a band or genre that up my first listen absolutely instantaneously defined my experience as a young person.
for me that was first coming across the ENGLISH ELECTRONIC MUSIC of THE PRODIGY and specifically their STELLAR THE FAT OF THE LAND (XL, 1997) album during my middle school years in NIGERIA. i can still recall that WIDE-EYED surge of adrenaline when that initial MASSIVE BASS DROP hits in the intro for "SMACK MY BITCH UP." in less than a minute of my first listen to a THE PRODIGY song i was hooked. it was beyond anything i had come across in the more FORMULAIC world of ROCK MUSIC and just seemed intently designed to make adolescents like myself go completely MENTAL. same with other singles like "BREATHE" and "FIRESTARTER," but for me "SMACK MY BITCH UP" is the obvious highlight. other tracks i absolutely adored off that album were "MINDFIELDS," "FUEL MY FIRE" and especially "NARAYAN," which all seemed to have an INTERIORITY about them, as if they were meant as a mantra for an induced COLLECTIVE MIND-SPACE and SHARED CONSCIOUSNESS. i have never taken MIND-EXPANDING drugs, but that concept of shared emotional INTIMACY through RHYTHM and DANCE made immediate sense upon my introduction to THE PRODIGY. fast forward a few years to high school and i am now at a boarding school in MASSACHUSETTS. somewhere along the way i obtained the preceding album MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION (XL, 1994) which is songwriting-wise is less traditionally structured and more EXPANSIVE with harder-hitting UPTEMPO beats, COMPLEX POLYRHYTHMS and OBSCURE SONIC TEXTURES. i was on a break staying with my uncle in BROOKLYN, who was then still working in lower MANHATTAN, and i was supposed to meet him somewhere near the WORLD TRADE CENTER for lunch before heading up to LINCOLN CENTER, where a charter bus was waiting to take me back to boarding school. needless to say i missed the lunch and barely made the bus. my experience was that i was listening to HARD-CHARGING MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION tracks like "BREAK & ENTER," "VOODOO PEOPLE," "POISON," "THEIR LAW" and "FULL THROTTLE" while on the subway and loss track of time. this was before cell phones were UBIQUITOUS and in my defense my watch's battery died, leaving it permanently stuck near noon. my uncle called the police and national guard apparently and almost gave him a heart attack. but yeah, i was somewhere else on planet JILTED GENERATION obliviously running around the city having a great time. arguably one of my FAVORITE experiences in high school. almost felt like FERRIS BUELLER running around seeing stores and visiting a museum in the process. for me the music of THE PRODIGY is indicative of where my musical tastes permanently shifted and expanded upon leaving CALIFORNIA and first living abroad. i have long wondered what i would have gotten into if i had stayed put in the UNITED STATES and not been subject to that IMMENSE CULTURE SHOCK at such a tender age. i'll never know. ​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the INFECTIOUS ELECTRONIC MUSIC of THE PRODIGY. enjoy! RIP KEITH FLINT
parodies by nacrowe
the internet is an INTERESTING place.
when i did my 120th EPISODE of DEER GOD RADIO back during the height of the pandemic in april of 2021, i chose to highlight a SMALL but highly INFLUENTIAL record label responsible for some of my FAVORITE HIP HOP artists of all-time in MF DOOM, MADLIB and the producer J DILLA. it was part of an ONGOING series featuring the ROSTERS of various (mostly INDEPENDENT) RECORD LABELS including at that point LIKE-MINDED firms such as 4AD, DOMINO, STAX, GREENWAY, SUB POP and CHESS and has gone on to include DFA, CARPARK, MATADOR, WARP, NACIONAL, DISCHORD, SARGENT HOUSE, FAT POSSUM, STIFF, FOOL'S GOLD and METAL BLADE to date. for all of these SHOWS i created parodies of their respective LOGOS to say "DEER GOD" instead of their actual name. these are of varying quality but made in GOOD FUN and on SOCIAL MEDIA i routinely tag the LABEL to both let them know about the SHOW and the NONPROFIT RADIO STATION MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC as well as make them aware that i am utilizing, but absolutely not profiting off of their INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. what is intriguing to me is that up until this point, for three years i had gotten pretty good responses from some of the ARTISTS and LABELS that i parodied and highlighted on my BI-WEEKLY RADIO SHOW. in fact, in the two years since (and over 200+ total episodes), never anything remotely NEGATIVE happened until STONES THROW, which i will readily admit saddened me. and its not like they did anything particularly intense, just mocking me with two new versions of their circular LOGO stating "WRONG FONT" and "BUT THANKS" on TWITTER. and point taken, DEER GOD has seven letters while STONES THROW has eleven, so the font wasn't completely a one-to-one facsimile. i was just surprised that they would PUNCHING DOWN at someone promoting their LABEL and ROSTER. i took the time and effort to create a playlist of their ECLECTIC ROSTER and talk during a two-hour SHOW about why their LABEL mattered to me, and they effectively SHIT ON ME. or rather the sadly inevitable VILE comment section thereafter did. if it was a direct message from STONES THROW id have been in on the joke and laughed, but there is something about making it public and having their fans make judgements about me that kinda soured me on their whole operation. which is UNFORTUNATE. they are a RELEVANT underground LABEL that continually promotes unknown artists of an ELEVATED artistic caliber in spite of the whims of the industry at large. but i guess they are also pretty ELITIST in the process as well. my experience being case in point. or maybe i am just too THIN-SKINNED. probably. anyway, below is the EPISODE in question if interested. investigating MADLIB, MF DOOM and J DILLA is most definitely worth your time for the uninitiated. REST IN PEACE DANIEL DUMILE and JAMES DEWITT YANCEY.
parody by nacrowe
ever since i became aware of him in graduate school, ive long been fascinated by the PIONEERING and ICONOCLASTIC FREE JAZZ musician ORNETTE COLEMAN. at the time i was studying to become an english teacher and i remember being tasked in a class with an assignment asking us to derive an analogy for who we were as educators. mine was something along the lines of "if my classroom was a JAZZ ensemble, i was ORNETTE COLEMAN." my professor appreciated it because embedded within it was this NOTION that classrooms (and by extension any mass gathering of people) were inherently COMPLEX, MESSY and UNSTRUCTRED things, but that order emerges from such.
COLEMAN of course is synonymous with the RADICAL FREE JAZZ movement of the late 1950s which sought to confront long-held conventions within the genre, most famously on the CELEBRATED album THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME (ATLANTIC, 1959). traditionally ensembles would be assembled by a leader would walk the players through a tentative roadmap of where the recording session or live gig would venture through in terms of musical elements like TEMPO, KEY and basic CHORD PROGRESSIONS. COLEMAN did away with all that and empowered each participating musician to instinctively play what they felt in real time. free rein. no holds barred. this resulted in DISCORDANT clashing of NOTES and INSTRUMENTS, but often the players would resolve into each other and come to a mutually derived-at UNSPOKEN UNDERSTANDING and ARTISTIC EQUILIBRIUM. the musicians would listen intently to one another. an ORDER would rise out of CHAOS. that PHENOMENA is such a SEDUCTIVE IDEA that expands way beyond music. oftentimes as a teacher i would over-prepare and spend sleepless nights worried about how a lesson would land with my students the next day. in essence i was worried about CONTROLLING the situation instead of letting it happen and taking advantage of opportunities as they naturally emerged. towards the end of my first semester of student teaching at an NYC public high school that INSIGHT was what drove my UNDERSTANDING of pedagogy. i always came prepared (maybe even a little over-prepared), but entered each room knowing that i can only control what i can control and that people are MESSY with their own agendas and that groups of people take on their own COLLECTIVE PERSONALITY and what works well in one classroom has no bearing on the next one. you just have to take it as it comes. same with WRITING, ART, MUSIC or any EXPRESSIVE MEDIUM. for me that was the lesson i derived from ORNETTE COLEMAN and it really impacted my sense of IDENTITY and PERSONA during my brief teaching career, especially when i was abroad in UNFAMILIAR locales. ​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the career of the LEGENDARY FREE JAZZ icon ORNETTE COLEMAN. enjoy!
parodies by nacrowe
its hard to believe that its been something like seventeen years since the LEGENDARY SOUTHERN HIP HOP duo OUTKAST last decided to put out an album.
that may be in part due to the fact that the ATLANTA HIP HOP scene in the intervening years has long since emerged as a VERITABLE MECCA of cultural activity that has rivaled (along with HOUSTON) the traditional powerhouses that are LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK CITY. look no further than all the local artists out of ATLANTA that haven risen alongside OUTKAST or thereafter to national prominence such as CHILDISH GAMBINO, LIL JOHN, SOULJA BOY, GUCCI MANE, LIL BABY, 2 CHAINZ, KILLER MIKE, T.I., YOUNG THUG, WACKA FLOCKA FLAME, 21 SAVAGE and MIGOS. in many ways it feels like we are very much living in a COMPLEX musical world that is decidedly influenced with a UNIQUE SOUTHERN flavor and seemingly GENRE-LESS AESTHETIC that OUTKAST played an INSTRUMENTAL role in creating. rappers BIG BOI and ANDRE 3000 are DISTINCT to one another. not exactly opposites per se but more DISPARATE CONCEPTIONS of what a HIP HOP artist should that somehow paradoxically complement one another. BIG BOI is definitely from the HARD-HITTING mold of celebrated STREETWISE lyricists like ICE CUBE, NAS, 2PAC, MOBB DEEP and RAKIM whose CRAFTSMANSHIP and preternatural ability to evoke the GRITTY and UNFILTERED ETHOS of daily URBAN BLACK life to the mic are stuff of absolute legend. ANDRE 3000 is likewise a TALENTED lyricist but seemingly more focused on EXPERIMENTAL WORDPLAY and expanding the boundaries of the FORM, writing more OPAQUE CONCEPTUAL NARRATIVES over time in the tradition of artists like Q-TIP, MADLIB, TRUGOY THE DOVE, MF DOOM, TALIB KWELI and even GEORGE CLINTON and SLY STONE. in my mind OUTKAST married those two strains of HIP HOP in a SEAMLESS fashion and the culture itself has been following that lead ever since. i remember getting to see OUTKAST on tour in support of their STANKONIA (ARISTA, 2000) album as part of MOBY's ECLECTIC AREA:ONE tour back in 2001 and just being amazed that this dude wearing blonde wigs with football shoulder pads and feather boas was part of the same group with his more traditionally attired ATLANTA FALCONS jersey, low-brim baseball cap-wearing counterpart. of course in rap this dichotomy was nothing new at the time, just look back at PUBLIC ENEMY with the ECCENTRIC clock-adorned FLAVOR FLAV grabbing attention or WU-TANG CLAN's OL DIRTY BASTARD evading police at industry award shows and taking trophies on stage from others with MEMORABLE impromptu, heartfelt speeches like "WU-TANG is for the children." look at KANYE WEST, INSANE CLOWN POSSE, TYLER THE CREATOR, DANNY BROWN or BIZ MARKIE (RIP) for that matter. i feel like the difference with ANDRE 3000 is that his IDIOSYNCRATIC presentation was less of a calculated conceit for generating attention and more an expression of an ALTERNATIVE ARTISTIC VIEWPOINT, complete with an EXPANDED LEXICON of what constitutes MASCULINITY in HIP HOP culture. himself an acolyte of Q-TIP, i see his lineage in peers and EXPANSIVE-MINDED, THOUGHTFUL and SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS artists like FRANK OCEAN, CHILDISH GAMBINO, KENDRICK LAMAR, RUN THE JEWELS, J. COLE, AB-SOUL, LOGIC and CHANCE THE RAPPER. seeing the sometimes intermingling manifestations of those two DISTINCT STRAINS and TRAJECTORIES of HIP HOP is endlessly FASCINATING and part of the allure of paying attention to how emerging artists RE-CONTEXTUALIZE the form itself, which is in a constant state of rebirth. unlike their ROCK AND ROLL counterparts, HIP HOP as a musical FORM is always EVOLVING and giving away to new permutations and EXPERIMENTAL SONIC JUXTAPOSITIONS that is NOVEL and EXCITING for those who choose to participate and i give some credit to OUTKAST for helping spur such, especially in the somewhat more artistically conservative 1990s. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the career of the ICONIC ATLANTA HIP HOP duo OUTKAST. enjoy!​
parodies by nacrowe
i was first introduced to the ETHEREAL EXPANSIVENESS that is the decidedly INTROSPECTIVE music of revered BRITISH SHOEGAZE band SLOWDIVE my senior year of high school when i discovered TRANSGRESSIVE NEW QUEER CINEMA GREGG ARAKI-directed films like NOWHERE (FINE LINE, 1997) and THE DOOM GENERATION (TRIMARK, 1995) of which the group's music is prominently featured. those 90s CULT films showcased characterizations of teenagers trapped outside of society in EXTREME situations and their BULLETPROOF soundtracks included PROMINENT INDUSTRIAL, SHOEGAZE and ALTERNATIVE BANDS acts ranging from SKINNY PUPPY, FRONT 242, COIL, NINE INCH NAILS, MINISTRY, ELASTICA, PORNO FOR PYROS, LUSH, THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, APHEX TWIN and RIDE to LOVE AND ROCKETS, PIZZICATO FIVE, 311, MASSIVE ATTACK, THE CATHERINE WHEEL and SUEDE among many others.
all this to say that the specific context from which i first appreciated the work of SLOWDIVE was a highly charged one in which the music was utilized to engender and describe a CRUSHING sense of ALIENATION and DISENCHANTMENT with AMERICAN culture writ large. such is the power of cinema that it can transform the meaning of all other vehicles of ARTISTIC EXPRESSION (PHOTOGRAPHY / CINEMATOGRAPHY, SET DESIGN, SET DESIGN, COSTUME DESIGN, ACTING, SPECIAL EFFECTS, etc.) that contribute to such, with music being no different. but when you separate SLOWDIVE from that specific use case by a particularly IDIOSYNCRATIC film director, what i hear is not a band attempting to describe a feeling of OVERPOWERING DISLOCATION from the outside world, but rather a unit attempting to aurally represent the SUBLIME. thats how i took it at least when first listening to spellbindingly TRANSCENDENT SOUVLAKI (CREATION, 1993) tracks "DAGGER," "40 DAYS," "HERE SHE COMES," "ALISON" and especially "SOUVLAKI SPACE STATION" and "WHEN THE SUN HITS." there is just the sense with these MERCURIAL, reverb-drenched AMBIENT tracks of a deep emotion springing forth into being from the recesses of one's consciousness, as if as a listening you are taking joint part in this PROFOUND CONNECTION. and that is kind of my point. when i listen to SLOWDIVE, not unlike similar groups in JOY DIVISION, BAUHAUS or MY BLOODY VALENTINE, i dont feel isolated from my COMMUNITY, but part of a greater SHARED HUMANITY. their music to me (some of it created during SIGNIFICANT interpersonal strife including unrequited love) is the aural equivalent of attempting to establish a CONNECTION. an interconnection with what is up for debate, but it feels like there is a sense of deep INTENTION to something emotionally resonate outside of oneself. being a part of a COMMUNITY. the music of SLOWDIVE, even the more recent reunion material, is some of the most emotionally POWERFUL music i have ever come across and definitely feel it should be appreciated by a bigger audience, well outside of SHOEGAZE or CREATION RECORDS aficionados. the radio show i did on them was a gesture, however small, at such. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
March 2024
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