Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Leading Ladies
My new favorite band is The Pierces. It's updated indie folk that could be the soundtrack to a present day sideshow act. Their country rendition is an homage to vaudeville and the dust bowl. They have the aesthetic of a melancholic girl-duo from a graphic novel, not that of pop group. Their sophomore album's cover art (done by one of the Pierces themselves) shares a similar resemblance to Emily the Strange. Their musical comparison to a sideshow act is fitting considering the sisters (Allison and Catherine) are part of a nomadic clan of hippies, a traveling family band raised on backwoods tunes. They are a new addition to the two-girl bands including The Ditty Bops (to whom they sound quite similar at times) and CocoRosie. "Boring" is a song that makes me laugh, mocking celebrities and their "never satisfied" attitude. Other songs are haunting and catchy, like the opener "Secret" and "Sticks and Stones". Both of the girls, trained ballerinas, have mastered their harmonies, particularly with the uber sexy "Lights On" and the pop-pleaser "Kill! Kill! Kill!".
Monday, June 23, 2008
Take me back to the start...please
I was thinking about Coldplay today and wondering if they discovered the perfect recipe for stardom. People love them, critics admit that they're decent enough, they have MASS appeal. They have mastered musical mediocrity and are rewarded for it. They are often lumped with the likes of The Police and U2, as bands that will be timeless because of their overall appeal. I saw Coldplay in concert once. I went for Rilo Kiley and while Coldplay performed a flawless set, it will not rank in my top concerts ever because it was just simply good. There was no surprise, although it was the tour after "X&Y" and I think we were all waiting for the surprise on this album, the song that took it up a notch or the crescendo into a blasting chorus. It never happened. We were all disappointed. The songs on "X&Y" swelled and then dissolved. There was no climax. I think this pretty much sums up Coldplay as a band. Steady, consistent, linear. If they were put on a chart there would be no peaks or valleys, just a single line to represent their safeness.
I also want to know why people put Coldplay in the batch with Radiohead. How are these two bands at all similar apart from the fact that 1. they both have sold a shit load of records 2. Chris Martin wishes he was Thom Yorke.
These thoughts are all arose because Coldplay has put out their 4th (and my guess is 3rd best) album, Viva la Vida. It's supposed to be inspired by Spain, Martin has started wearing body paint again and strange bandanas to try to change his image (I don't know if change is the right word here, since Martin really has no image, apart from arm candy to Gwenyth Paltrow). But Coldplay can get no better than they were on A Rush of Blood to the Head, when I was in 9th grade and thought his lyrics were so poignant and when their songs actually had a climax. When "The Scientist" so perfectly fit my life that a guy actually typed out those lyrics to me in Instant Messenger and I reciprocated with them a month later. The cliches of high school made Coldplay the perfect band, but the open-mindedness of college leaves them no room; they are too ordinary, nowadays I'd rather spend my time with the obscure and unrelatable than a stereotype.
I also like to remember Coldplay as that band who I saw on Vh1 in the early millenium, walking down the beach singing about how yellow it was. I liked yellow. It was simple and sweet, fresh. Now it's boring and overdone, and mostly over. Coldplay is going to be another U2. They'll make album after album that will sell like Furby's in 1998 and each one will have hit after hit, played on mix stations in every city. Irritated by complacency, the rest of us will (and have already) drifted to more progressive and meaningful music, that may not be timeless by American standards, but whose influence and advancing sounds will shape new artists to come. Coldplay can't do that. There cannot be another Coldplay because this band cannot be a hit twice and because their music will influence no one. It's too homogenized to spawn original creation, it would only be an imitation.
I also want to know why people put Coldplay in the batch with Radiohead. How are these two bands at all similar apart from the fact that 1. they both have sold a shit load of records 2. Chris Martin wishes he was Thom Yorke.
These thoughts are all arose because Coldplay has put out their 4th (and my guess is 3rd best) album, Viva la Vida. It's supposed to be inspired by Spain, Martin has started wearing body paint again and strange bandanas to try to change his image (I don't know if change is the right word here, since Martin really has no image, apart from arm candy to Gwenyth Paltrow). But Coldplay can get no better than they were on A Rush of Blood to the Head, when I was in 9th grade and thought his lyrics were so poignant and when their songs actually had a climax. When "The Scientist" so perfectly fit my life that a guy actually typed out those lyrics to me in Instant Messenger and I reciprocated with them a month later. The cliches of high school made Coldplay the perfect band, but the open-mindedness of college leaves them no room; they are too ordinary, nowadays I'd rather spend my time with the obscure and unrelatable than a stereotype.
I also like to remember Coldplay as that band who I saw on Vh1 in the early millenium, walking down the beach singing about how yellow it was. I liked yellow. It was simple and sweet, fresh. Now it's boring and overdone, and mostly over. Coldplay is going to be another U2. They'll make album after album that will sell like Furby's in 1998 and each one will have hit after hit, played on mix stations in every city. Irritated by complacency, the rest of us will (and have already) drifted to more progressive and meaningful music, that may not be timeless by American standards, but whose influence and advancing sounds will shape new artists to come. Coldplay can't do that. There cannot be another Coldplay because this band cannot be a hit twice and because their music will influence no one. It's too homogenized to spawn original creation, it would only be an imitation.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Ethics, Ethics, Ethics...
This post is a little out of the ordinary for me, but I think it fits into the bigger picture of careers and life overall. This semester I have been taking a media ethics class in which we discuss various ethical cases in the journalism field and use certain philosophical principles to analyze them. The professor I have for this class is one of those guys who really challenges students. He has no problem calling people out, or arguing just for the sake of arguing. Sometimes he comes off as a bit pompous and self-righteous, but he is a teacher that doesn't give a shit about getting in all the curriculum or giving you enough tests, he genuinely cares about what you take away from the course. Since it is media ethics, he hopes we take away some greater understanding of ourselves and our ethical choices, whether in journalism or in life. Tonight we had one of those classes that was not an oh let me teach you the curriculum, but instead let's talk about life and society and philosophical questions that we often ignore. He started class with this quote:
"...corruption/never has been compulsory/when the city lies at the/monster's feet there are left the mountains."
-Robinson Jeffers
He framed this quote with the question of what we do in our society, how society works and what drives people. The quote served to show that taking a corrupt path for money or success or any other reason is not compulsory--we don't have to do it. Even when we think there is no choice, there often is. This brought up the idea of when people have choices in life and when their choices are burdened or already made for them due to circumstance. Someone can't help where they are born or the kind of parents they grow up with. Those are unchangeable circumstances. When we are questioned with whether to take the ethical path or the corrupt path, then we do have a choice. We discussed how our society is truly driven by money and our obsession with materialism. It is when we follow the path that will make us the most happy, not grant us the most possessions that we are in the mountains.
All of this talk got me thinking about my own ethical values and where they came from, about my parents, siblings and people around me who serve as varying examples of products of society. For instance, my parents have never been money driven people. They are teachers who mainly want to live a simple, quiet life that is free of financial worry. My brother and I always joke that they are reformed hippies, because while they still uphold many of the view points of the liberal non-mainstream, they have become more "normal". I think this is in part due to the fact that we left the diversity and culture of the city to live in a better school district, a mainly white suburban town. I think my brother and I were also influences on my parents. When we were younger my mom tried to make us eat thick fresh baked slices of bread for our sandwiches, but all we really wanted was homogenized white bread like everyone else. Because my brother and I were young and impressionable, and just plain old kids who wanted to fit in, my family sort of blindly acclamated to our surroundings. Now this isn't all dealing with ethics--I think my parents have remained very moral and conscientious people throughout all this, it's just that now they wear Old Navy and drive an SUV because that's sort of considered normal.
For me this all comes back to another quote we discussed in class, dealing with dreams, "Follow your bliss." What is at the heart of the issue of ethics and our society, is that people don't follow their dreams, they think that the decisions in life are already made for them, that the have to go to college to get a good job and make lots of money. That's it. No questions asked. Few people today step back from this sort of destined path and ask why they are doing this or if this is really what they want. So many of us ignore what we really want to appear normal and to lead a comfortable life. This made me think of other people around me. My parents friend John is probably the biggest hippie I've ever met, and I've met quite a few. His whole life he has supported himself off of his art and music, selling his work and teaching classes. He was one of those people who didn't follow the path people told him to, accept because of his radical views he recently had to find a "real" job. After not paying his taxes for a number of years (his own fault and an ethical dilemma in itself) he is now working as a bus driver. Even though he got himself into this situation, it's sad to think that people who do follow their dreams sometimes get shit on. It makes you think, jesus christ I am so fucked. No matter what I do, if I take the dirty path or the righteous one I'm gonna be screwed. It's a pretty depressing thought.
This also makes me think of my brother. Andrew has always been the child who has wanted to be "normal". He used to dream of being a cartoonist or film maker, but somehow grew out of that and found his true passion: politics. Now I am amazed that my brother loves it so much. He reads more than anyone I know and is so up to date on all world affairs. Politics itself isn't known as an ethical profession and my brother is certainly realistic in his views about politics, but at the same time he really wants to do something good for the world. I find that so admirable. For awhile he thought he was going to become a lawyer for the sake of becoming a lawyer, but in the past year he has decided to follow his true dream, which is to work in intelligence. I have my own ethical issues and questions with the government and intelligence, but this is truly his passion and he is putting himself out on the line by following it. He is going to enlist soon, which scares the hell out of me but it's something he really wants to do. It's just funny because somehow I feel like he is the more mainstream child who wants to backlash against his parents, and I am the child who loves the fact that my parents were hippies and raised me in this sort of weird environment. Andrew is still a serious liberal (my parents might disown him otherwise) but he doesn't have the same appreciation for weirdness and counter culture that I do. It's funny how we're two very different products of the same environment.
Mostly I think I've been really lucky that my parents never stressed the importance of money on me and instead stressed being a good person and doing what I want to do. They never pressured me to follow a certain path, any pressure I felt was self-inflicted. I know it is important to them that I get an education and it's equally as important to me, but I also know that whatever I end up doing or whoever I become they will support me. Their acceptance and support has really shaped who I am, because I never felt the pressure to be anyone but myself.
"...corruption/never has been compulsory/when the city lies at the/monster's feet there are left the mountains."
-Robinson Jeffers
He framed this quote with the question of what we do in our society, how society works and what drives people. The quote served to show that taking a corrupt path for money or success or any other reason is not compulsory--we don't have to do it. Even when we think there is no choice, there often is. This brought up the idea of when people have choices in life and when their choices are burdened or already made for them due to circumstance. Someone can't help where they are born or the kind of parents they grow up with. Those are unchangeable circumstances. When we are questioned with whether to take the ethical path or the corrupt path, then we do have a choice. We discussed how our society is truly driven by money and our obsession with materialism. It is when we follow the path that will make us the most happy, not grant us the most possessions that we are in the mountains.
All of this talk got me thinking about my own ethical values and where they came from, about my parents, siblings and people around me who serve as varying examples of products of society. For instance, my parents have never been money driven people. They are teachers who mainly want to live a simple, quiet life that is free of financial worry. My brother and I always joke that they are reformed hippies, because while they still uphold many of the view points of the liberal non-mainstream, they have become more "normal". I think this is in part due to the fact that we left the diversity and culture of the city to live in a better school district, a mainly white suburban town. I think my brother and I were also influences on my parents. When we were younger my mom tried to make us eat thick fresh baked slices of bread for our sandwiches, but all we really wanted was homogenized white bread like everyone else. Because my brother and I were young and impressionable, and just plain old kids who wanted to fit in, my family sort of blindly acclamated to our surroundings. Now this isn't all dealing with ethics--I think my parents have remained very moral and conscientious people throughout all this, it's just that now they wear Old Navy and drive an SUV because that's sort of considered normal.
For me this all comes back to another quote we discussed in class, dealing with dreams, "Follow your bliss." What is at the heart of the issue of ethics and our society, is that people don't follow their dreams, they think that the decisions in life are already made for them, that the have to go to college to get a good job and make lots of money. That's it. No questions asked. Few people today step back from this sort of destined path and ask why they are doing this or if this is really what they want. So many of us ignore what we really want to appear normal and to lead a comfortable life. This made me think of other people around me. My parents friend John is probably the biggest hippie I've ever met, and I've met quite a few. His whole life he has supported himself off of his art and music, selling his work and teaching classes. He was one of those people who didn't follow the path people told him to, accept because of his radical views he recently had to find a "real" job. After not paying his taxes for a number of years (his own fault and an ethical dilemma in itself) he is now working as a bus driver. Even though he got himself into this situation, it's sad to think that people who do follow their dreams sometimes get shit on. It makes you think, jesus christ I am so fucked. No matter what I do, if I take the dirty path or the righteous one I'm gonna be screwed. It's a pretty depressing thought.
This also makes me think of my brother. Andrew has always been the child who has wanted to be "normal". He used to dream of being a cartoonist or film maker, but somehow grew out of that and found his true passion: politics. Now I am amazed that my brother loves it so much. He reads more than anyone I know and is so up to date on all world affairs. Politics itself isn't known as an ethical profession and my brother is certainly realistic in his views about politics, but at the same time he really wants to do something good for the world. I find that so admirable. For awhile he thought he was going to become a lawyer for the sake of becoming a lawyer, but in the past year he has decided to follow his true dream, which is to work in intelligence. I have my own ethical issues and questions with the government and intelligence, but this is truly his passion and he is putting himself out on the line by following it. He is going to enlist soon, which scares the hell out of me but it's something he really wants to do. It's just funny because somehow I feel like he is the more mainstream child who wants to backlash against his parents, and I am the child who loves the fact that my parents were hippies and raised me in this sort of weird environment. Andrew is still a serious liberal (my parents might disown him otherwise) but he doesn't have the same appreciation for weirdness and counter culture that I do. It's funny how we're two very different products of the same environment.
Mostly I think I've been really lucky that my parents never stressed the importance of money on me and instead stressed being a good person and doing what I want to do. They never pressured me to follow a certain path, any pressure I felt was self-inflicted. I know it is important to them that I get an education and it's equally as important to me, but I also know that whatever I end up doing or whoever I become they will support me. Their acceptance and support has really shaped who I am, because I never felt the pressure to be anyone but myself.
Monday, March 24, 2008
She & Him: Volume I
Actress Zooey Deschanel's latest work is not in movie form, but in the shape of another small disc, an album. Deschanel recently put out a cd with M. Ward as producer, with their collaboration titled She and Him. Volume One is a charming cd, full of twang and nods to the seventies. Deschanel's voice sounds like a simple and refined Joanna Newsom on the single "Sentimental Heart". Much of the songs have drawn resemblances to various old-timey styles like motown, seventies folk and also the cheesy hits of female singers during this decade. Cheese in an artistic sense is usually a horrible description, but on "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today" it manages to be so sweet that you'll be glad Ward and Deschanel brought it back. Ward joins Deschanel on the cover of the Beatles song "I Should Have Known Better" and with the addition of a ukulele, the classic is transported to Hawaii. Comparisons of Deschanel's vocals and style has been drawn to Carol King and Linda Ronstadt. So check it out, it's a decent listen.
http://hypem.com/search/she%20and%20him/1/
http://hypem.com/search/she%20and%20him/1/
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
As a sophomore, with reggaeton
I have to say, I have not been so excited or obsessed with a cd since my junior year of high school when I first heard Rilo Kiley's More Adventurous. The ivy-league quartet, Vampire Weekend has got me in lust. I popped their cd into my car and have literally been listening to it on repeat. All the hype around them is deserved, their sound is fresh and providing a nice spice to the indie world. As a child who grew up on Paul Simon's Graceland, I appreciate the renaissance of African beats. The caribbean influence, horns and flutes wrapped up in the guise of a preppy indie band is a hidden surprise. Even my 64 year old dad loves them (and has said he's going to thrown their name around in conversation and see where it gets him).
Check out this article
http://www.spin.com/articles/vampire-weekend-graduates
Check out this article
http://www.spin.com/articles/vampire-weekend-graduates
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Micky D's
I wrote this a month or so ago when coming home from college. I'm not sure if it's really finished or not, but I'm posting it here for the sake of explaining the recent irony. I thought it was funny and satirical, but now I have a newfound appreciation for Mcdonalds.
Coming home from a semester of stress for winter break, I was driving down Interstate-90 with country pastures to my left and forests on gridlocked land to my right. Peaking out from a cluster of trees was a golden glow, the emblematic arch that sways travelers off their designated path towards gluttonous treasure. That’s when it hit me. BAM. It was so appalling and obvious I simultaneously laughed and grunted, a chortle that came out like a stifled sneeze.
McDonald’s is America’s church. It’s what we worship once a week (at least). If we knew who to pray to it would be Epicurus for starting the trend that makes sinful pleasures cool. Worshipping the guy who allowed us to commercialize and capitalize on something that clogs our arteries and leads to heart disease. Instead of looking for the glowing cross in the distance in times of salvation (or starvation,) we look for the yellow arch, the universal sign of trans fats and obesity. This steeple of burger land is an omnipresent being and also a quintessential American representation worldwide. NOTHING shouts America louder than this company’s logo.
In this sense our food of faith has become a global phenomenon. For the rest of the world, it’s like the tribal religions in Africa, an isolated concept everyone knows about, but does not necessarily take part in. The rest of the world doesn’t get it. They understand our country is made up of greedy, overweight middle aged men who frequent Micky D’s, but they don’t get why. Only the American, the patriotic mcnuggeter, can truly get it.
So why is my criticism of America and McDonald's ironic now? Well, driving back to college my car broke down and my central locale on two occasions was McDonald's. I was stuck in a small town with a garage that my car was stuck at and down the road was a McDonald's, the only other commercial sight around. My aunt and uncle rescued me here--"oh ok, the McDonald's right off the exit, yeah we can pick you up there." Then, my friends picked me up near their house met us at a McDonald's. I guess the glow of the arches does come in handy for more than just a rumbling stomach.
Coming home from a semester of stress for winter break, I was driving down Interstate-90 with country pastures to my left and forests on gridlocked land to my right. Peaking out from a cluster of trees was a golden glow, the emblematic arch that sways travelers off their designated path towards gluttonous treasure. That’s when it hit me. BAM. It was so appalling and obvious I simultaneously laughed and grunted, a chortle that came out like a stifled sneeze.
McDonald’s is America’s church. It’s what we worship once a week (at least). If we knew who to pray to it would be Epicurus for starting the trend that makes sinful pleasures cool. Worshipping the guy who allowed us to commercialize and capitalize on something that clogs our arteries and leads to heart disease. Instead of looking for the glowing cross in the distance in times of salvation (or starvation,) we look for the yellow arch, the universal sign of trans fats and obesity. This steeple of burger land is an omnipresent being and also a quintessential American representation worldwide. NOTHING shouts America louder than this company’s logo.
In this sense our food of faith has become a global phenomenon. For the rest of the world, it’s like the tribal religions in Africa, an isolated concept everyone knows about, but does not necessarily take part in. The rest of the world doesn’t get it. They understand our country is made up of greedy, overweight middle aged men who frequent Micky D’s, but they don’t get why. Only the American, the patriotic mcnuggeter, can truly get it.
So why is my criticism of America and McDonald's ironic now? Well, driving back to college my car broke down and my central locale on two occasions was McDonald's. I was stuck in a small town with a garage that my car was stuck at and down the road was a McDonald's, the only other commercial sight around. My aunt and uncle rescued me here--"oh ok, the McDonald's right off the exit, yeah we can pick you up there." Then, my friends picked me up near their house met us at a McDonald's. I guess the glow of the arches does come in handy for more than just a rumbling stomach.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Concerts
I decided tonight after seeing the Fiery Furnaces that I should keep some sort of record or journal of all the concerts I have been to. Here's me trying to recreate the list starting with 7th grade.
Jingle Jam-Shaggy, Christina Aguilera, Boys 2 Men
Guster
Ben Folds
Nickel Creek
Guster/Ben Folds/Rufus Wainwright
Sarah Slean
Franz Ferdinand/Death Cab for Cutie
Rilo Kiley/Coldplay
Ben Lee
Regina Spektor
Nickel Creek/Fiona Apple
Kevin Devine
Interpol
Siren Music Fest-The Black Lips/We Are Scientists
Brazilian Girls
Cat Empire
Mount Eerie/Microphones/Phil Elvrum whatever name he's going by these days
Andrew Bird
The Fiery Furnaces
Boz Scaggs
Of Montreal
Akron/Family
Vetiver
Camera Obscura
I'm sure I'm missing a few, but those are the notables.
I also saw Joe Cocker as a baby, but that's only because my parents used my diaper bag to sneak in beer.
Jingle Jam-Shaggy, Christina Aguilera, Boys 2 Men
Guster
Ben Folds
Nickel Creek
Guster/Ben Folds/Rufus Wainwright
Sarah Slean
Franz Ferdinand/Death Cab for Cutie
Rilo Kiley/Coldplay
Ben Lee
Regina Spektor
Nickel Creek/Fiona Apple
Kevin Devine
Interpol
Siren Music Fest-The Black Lips/We Are Scientists
Brazilian Girls
Cat Empire
Mount Eerie/Microphones/Phil Elvrum whatever name he's going by these days
Andrew Bird
The Fiery Furnaces
Boz Scaggs
Of Montreal
Akron/Family
Vetiver
Camera Obscura
I'm sure I'm missing a few, but those are the notables.
I also saw Joe Cocker as a baby, but that's only because my parents used my diaper bag to sneak in beer.
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