...you suddenly realize this album is 10 years old. It seems like yesterday when I first heard songs from Interpol's "Turn on the Bright Lights," featured in a snowboarding video I can't recall the name of.
I was working at a shop as a repair tech, fixing and waxing people's boards, living the "seasonal" life split between riding the snow and surfing. When winter was over I would head somewhere warm and play in the water for a few months. When winter came back around I would pack up the truck and head for the mountains again - and this was more than 10 years after I started doing this in 1991! Life has been good and I feel fortunate enough to live like I want to live, enjoying those special and sometimes brief moments that define who I am. Along with friends, music has always been there for me, and is the soundtrack for everything I do and have accomplished. There hasn't been a time when it hasn't been there for me.
This is good and ties in with the season well. My favorite song by Bad Brains set to one of my favorite childhood Christmas shows. Whoever put this together is gifted ... and has a lot of time on their hands.
What if Pink Floyd's lyrics, "Did you exchaaaa a aange ... a walk-on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage?" were really referring to cyclists and motorists? Think about it; commuting by bike and trying to get to your destination safely is sometimes similar to battle, and the word "cage" is often associated to automobiles...
Thee Oh Sees have mellowed out a notch on this one, and it's a good thing. Instead of frantic it's more tantric. This band works hard and puts out a lot of music, as many as two albums each year, so it's not easy to get bored - especially with "Putrifiers," as it brings a new and more introspective approach to the band's songwriting. But don't take my word for it...
This here is Kevin Large's project, Widower. Erin, my wife, and I saw the band play when we first moved to Seattle and were both impressed. Large reminds me of Ryan Adams when he was in the band Whiskeytown.
That night, our car was broken into while we were at the show. Erin developed a crush on Kevin Large and used to go to the coffee shop where he worked as a barista. He flirted with her occasionally and she didn't mind. Then he moved back to the East Coast, where he is from. I didn't mind.
Do you think the lead singer chose to wear this shirt specifically for the filming? I am guessing he did, as he wanted the imaginary lovers to know what he was good at besides performing sweet, sweet ballads...
Important music is sometimes different than good music. Not so with Fugazi. Inspiring, uncompromising and true to their vision, Fugazi did it their way on their own terms.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Awesome beats with audio samples from Easy Rider? Yes, please.
After working 12 1/2 hours yesterday and then riding my bike home, I was pretty beat. I was also restless so I decided to watch something on Netflix. After syphoning through most of the garbage in the "TV" section of their website, I decided for the "go-to" of the music category. I joyfully discovered a newly posted documentary on perhaps my favorite band of all time, the original - and in my opinion the only lineup worth taking the time to write about - Black Sabbath.
There's so much to say about these four Birmingham blokes who have time and time again come to my rescue and lifted me up. In my mind, they are the masters of all things musical, and highly misunderstood for those not in the know. Written off by many as simply a heavy metal band that either worshipped the devil, sang about the occult, or doing drugs, many didn't give them a chance, especially the press. I feel sorry for all of these people, and as for the press, by ridiculing Sabbath they helped the band achieve mass success - suckers, everyone knows that bad publicity usually earns a band respect and notoriety, especially among fans of this band.
Lyrically, topics varied from politics and war (Wicked World), pollution (Into the Void), religion (After Forever), government propaganda (Electric Funeral), addiction (Hand of Doom), isolation (Wheels of Confusion), self empowerment (Under the Sun, Children of the Grave), labor (Killing Yourself to Live), space (Planet Caravan), greedy corporations (Cornucopia), love - that's right - love, (Sabbra Cadabra, St. Vitus' Dance), heartbreak (Changes) ... the list goes on.
And the rhythm. I dare anyone to contend that Geezer Butler and Bill Ward weren't two of the tightest bass and drum players ever to have played together. Listen to the constant changes in Sabbath's music - even a popular and overplayed song like Iron Man seethes with originality, as the song just goes from one place to another ... suddenly you're riding the wave and in control, then it grabs you and picks you up, taking a journey to outer space, ultimate chaos, and the unknown. Then, it comes back down, sometimes gently, other times crashing, but either way you're right back where you started. Much of Sabbath's music did this, as they were all about the adventure of which music can take those with open minds on. All one has to do is simply close their eyes and listen, really listen, and experience the chaos, confusion, sadness and sense of hopelessness - humanity. Sabbath didn't hide behind the flower power movement or the positive outlook that the revolution was supposed to bring in the '60s. They knew it wasn't working, they know it still isn't working, because a song like War Pigs is just as relevant today as ever. It always will be.
Then there's Tony Iommi, the man missing two fingertips, the master of all guitar riffs, and undoubtedly one of the most influential players ever. Other members of Sabbath always stand behind the belief that Iommi was usually the one to come up with the great song ideas. Most of it was never planned. It was created from the gut, with feeling, on the spot, and the rest of band fed off of the energy and made some of the most memorable songs in history around it.
Heavy most of the time, but oh so sweet and gentle at other moments, their music creates nostalgia, for a time when the earth and its people lived in peace, if there were ever a time.
I will forever remain young, good or bad, because of Black Sabbath. Thank you for the journey fellows, I hope there are many more to come, and when I move on from this world, I am able to "sail through endless skies ... bathed in cool breeze ... as the silver starlight breaks down the night ... and pass on by the crimson eye."
Bonus live show from 1970, the year I was born. The band in their best form, most likely.
Good stuff from a group of young 'uns from Perth, Australia. Definitely some John Lennon-like vocals set to some fuzzy guitar and poppy harmonies. I like.
Here's a link to most of their stuff on Grooveshark:
