The Question

Today on Intensities in Ten Suburbs, Andrew Unterburger tries to respond to the question that serious music listeners hate most: "What kind of music do you listen to?"

This topic got me thinking. I replied to the post, saying that it's almost exactly the same question as "What's your favorite band?" - only the latter question, I might argue, is even more difficult. When someone asks you the simple genre questions, they're probably not expecting something more in-depth than "I listen to rock/ indie/ folk/ trip-hop/ etc." There's a certain amount of ambiguity implied right from the beginning.

While I agree wholeheartedly with what Unterburger says (and I'd suggest you read the post, it's very accurate), I always find the "favorite band" question even more difficult. The main essence of this question is: "I would like you to pick one musical artist that you admire over all other musical artists, always and forever." There's no flexibility or ambiguity there. It's a "gun to the head" type question. Other than the fact that most "serious music listeners" favorite bands change frequently depending on time of day, time of year, weather outside, mood, books currently reading/ just read, and state of intoxication, there's no simple way to answer this question even if you COULD pick one absolute favorite.

Example: "I like the Rolling Stones."

Now, this poses a multitude of problems. If you're talking to a music geek like yourself, there's a chance that he'll assume that you really don't like music that much; that you're one of those people that is actually dumb enough to pay 70 bucks for lower-bowl Stones tickets at Ford Field, the kind who truly believe that the Stones are still the greatest rock and roll band in the world.

On the other hand, if you're talking to someone who isn't a geek, they'll assume the same thing - except they'll be one of them and start trying to talk to you about that time they saw the Stones in '99. You'll then attempt to explain that they really aren't very good after Exile and utterly unlistenable after Some Girls, and then that your favorite album is actually Between the Buttons and then they'll look at you funny and say that they don't have that one. Of course they don't, because people like that use Hot Rocks as their record of the Stones from 1962-1968.

You can see the sort of problem this poses. I really do love the Stones, but it's a pain in the ass to specify that you only love them until 1975, and really hate them after 1979.

It's the opposite problem with artists that aren't household names. I won't go into detail here, but try answering the "favorite band" question with someone like Bad Brains or Guided by Voices or Sonic Youth. I don't know if it's harder to hear the awkward "Oh...cool" dismissal or to answer the equally difficult "Oh, I've never heard of them, what do they sound like?" question.

I'll spare you more bitching about this, though. After reading Unterburger's post, I really thought about it and came up with an answer that I could probably get away with as being somewhat definitive. People that ask me this question won't like this, but fuck 'em. They've started enough trouble as it is:

(conversation, turns to music)
"Yeah man, I saw your picture in the Collegian. You, like, write about music and stuff?"
(note: I have made this conversation as stereotypically "worst case scenario" as possible...most people that ask me this are fairly nice, smart, and normal people...not stupid frat boys. But this is my blog, so that's how I'm writing this example.)
"Yeah, a little bit."
"Aw, cool. So, like, what's your favorite band?"
"Uh, well, I donno, I have a lot."
"Ah, c'mon bro, Tell me at least one. EVERYBODY has to have a favorite."
(I scowl)
"Fine. But I don't have one favorite. I have five musical artists that, if I HAD to choose, I would probably name my favorite. But let me warn you, I listen to various types and kinds of music, and various bands. At any given hour I might change my mind. You might not have heard of these bands. So don't say I didn't warn you. I really like the Rolling Stones -"
"Oh, cool man I - "
"I'm not done. I told you I had five. The Rolling Stones, Joy Division, Elvis Costello, Sonic Youth, and R.E.M."
(silence. I realize that these bands aren't really, in the scheme of things, all that obscure. He does too. He opens his mouth to say something but I remember something else.)
"Oh, yeah, and almost anything by present or former members of the Wu-Tang Clan."

"Cool..."
(he walks away)

I realize that I'm a bigger asshole than I give myself credit for.

Remind me never to talk about music with anyone else ever again.

Clash (Of London Calling fame, as opposed to the "Of Cultures" fame)

Nick sent me this video the other day:



Aside from the fact that (1) dancing animals always make a normally boring video 100% watchable and (2) the main guy in the video looks like Kevin Barnes if he decided to pose as the Counting Crow(e?)s lead singer for a day, this video was interesting in that it led me to this video:



Which reminded me of this M.I.A. song:



Which ultimatley begs the question: are The Clash a "hip" band again? I mean, granted, they've always been universally recognized by critics and other bands, but by "hip" I mean acceptable enough to appear in rap videos. What's next, Mick Jones laying down a guitar track for the new Wu-Tang album? (Which, come to think of it, would be AWESOME). I guess I'm just curious as to why rappers are sampling them now (this is two in the past maybe 5 months).

I can understand sampling "Straight to Hell," which is ultimatley the best ever slow jam about the Vietnam War. M.I.A. rocks it pretty well.

But whoever the hell this "Lethal Bizzle" fellow is, I'd like to ask him a few things. First, why the hell would you choose "Police on My Back" to rap over? It's gotta be the least rap-able track on Sandanista!. It's really the only straightforward "rock" song on the album. I might have chosen "The Magnificent Seven" "Look Here" or "The Washington Bullets" or any of the numerous dub songs (a particular favorite of mine is "The Equaliser"). But, even more importantly, WHY IS THERE ANOTHER BAND PLAYING THE SONG BEHIND YOU?! the song is obviously a sample. People who know the song will not be fooled into thinking they are actually playing the song with you. And third, aside from the stupid looking token white band playing behind you, could you edit this video any worse than you already have? The dogs in there seem random.

Christ, I think we need to get the RZA and Mick Jones together and drop a new joint post-haste. Prehaps Ghostface can spin a sick verse about his friend who used to cut coke and then got shot over an inspired replaying of "Koka Kola." I'm waiting, Rizz. I'm waiting.

Monkeys

I've forgotten how good this video is:



Maybe the clowns have something to do with it. I don't know. But I've recently rediscovered the virtues of the Arctic Monkeys, frontman Alex Turner specifically. Yes, I realize I'm about a year-and-a-half late on this, but I don't care.

I bought Favourite Worst Nightmare when it came out last April and thought it was a decent yet ultimatley forgettable album. I think I was way wrong.

On a whim last night I played it all the way through driving back from the airport and was astounded how...astute it is. If I didn't know any better (I don't) I'd compare songwriter Alex Turner to something of a modern day, college-aged (but not educated) Ray Davies.

Heresy, some might say. Maybe. But bear with me here. Most of his songwriting on the band's first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not delt with little slice-of-life moments in the lives of middle-class British kids who like to party a lot. Not necessarily anything groundbreaking, and most of the songs deal with dancing or getting beat up by bouncers or getting ready to go and party for the night. This prevails for the first half of the album, until track 9 kicks in - the few songs after this show some impressive lyrical insights.

"Mardy Bum" (which, I believe, is British slang for something or other...I'd look it up but I'm on a typing roll right now) is a somewhat simple (as far as music goes, all of their songs are straightforward punk-influenced rock) love song about some working stiff who fights a lot with his girlfriend. Don't ask me why, but I think some of these lyrics are gems:

Now then Mardy Bum
I see your frown
And it's like looking down the barrel of a gun
And it goes off
And out come all these words
Oh there's a very pleasant side to you
A side I much prefer
It's one that laughs and jokes around

And then, the bridge:

And yeah I'm sorry I was late
Well I missed the train
And then the traffic was a state
And I can't be arsed to carry on in this debate
That reoccurs, oh when you say I don't care
Well of course I do, yeah I clearly do!

This rings true to me for some reason, especially when the above lines are followed by a somewhat sloppy guitar solo which brings to mind images of a fight, or sloppy makeup sex, or both.

The next song is "Prehaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But..." which is a raucus condemnation of the music press (think: NME or Rolling Stone) that seems to hound artists around every turn. Think "Rape Me" or "In Bloom" (that are about similar topics) with a sweet noisy breakdown in the middle.

Ray (and Dave) Davies, in their heyday, both wrote songs where they invented characters - maybe based on people that they knew or knew of around their hometown (think "Tin Soldier Man" or "Session Man" or "Do You Remember Walter" or "David Watts") .

Turner does the same thing. Two of the last three songs on "Whatever People Say I Am..." contain some character that Turner tells us about - albeit with less sunshine and more depression. It makes sense, though, seeing as how the Monkeys hail from Sheffield and the Kinks were from London. That's like the difference between being from Pittsburgh or Detroit and being from New York, from what I understand.

So their songs have a gritty take on life in the city. "When the Sun Goes Down" tells of a pimp who, by all accounts, "Is a scumbag, don't ya know?"

The last song on the album, though, is the kicker: "A Certain Romance". It's something of a cautionary tale: love, art, and decency are dead, and we know who killed it: jerks who think they're cool and just want pleasure. Or something like that. I don't know. I'm just stricken by the lines: "And over there there's broken bones / There's only music, so that there's new ringtones / And it don't take no Sherlock Holmes / To see it's a little different around here." It climaxes nicely with the guitars at full throttle.

So the point here is that "Favourite Worst Nighmare" is full of Kinks-y character tales. Most of it works pretty well and Turner has stepped up his lyrical game a bit - no songs about partying or dancing and he keeps the angsty relationship stories to a minimum. I like "Fluorescent Adolescent"s tale of the older housewife in heat, and how "Brainstorm" makes fun of player guys who try too hard to woo women ("Brian, top marks for not trying...We just can't take our eyes of his t-shirt and ties combination").

Maybe it's still a little rigid, and maybe the simple music doesn't make up for the lyrics, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I mean, Christ, the oldest member of the band is only a year older than me! They released the first album before any of them were even 21!

I think they deserve time. And listening. And maybe a new band name, but it'll have to do for now.

Recovery

I just "recovered" this blog after a year-and-a-half of inactivity. I won't delete anything, for hilarity's sake. But I'll try and get better quality control from now on. Expect more in-depth music and literary stuff than on the sad bear blog.

Peace.

Rock

3:30 AM. Somewhere near Bronson, MI. Or was it Sturgis? They all run together anyway.

Are those birds singing already, or are my ears chirping?

There were two main causes for this confusion:




As I lay myself down on the couch at the Beat in the sweltering nighttime heat I felt like my hearing was gone for good. It was still loud, invading my thoughts, felt like metal cockroaches or ants or some sort of insect had crawled into my ears and walked around on the drums with spikes instead of insect legs and punctured tiny holes in them.

It didn't hurt per se, it was just distracting.

I was actually sort of enjoying it. It isn't every day that something blasts you so hard that you have to spend the entire 24 hours processing it just to appreciate what you just heard or saw.

***********

Two extensive reviews on the Pitchfork Festival: Day One; Day Two. I would write my own, but these guys seem to have seen more than I did.

I will, however, give you a list of what I liked and did not like as much from the bands that I did see (no order other than the broad classifications they are under):

awesome:
-Mission of Burma (pictured at top)
-The Futureheads
-Ted Leo (pictured at bottom)
-Yo La Tengo
-Jens Lekman

good:
-Os Muntantes
-Tapes n Tapes

alright:
-Destroyer
-Mountain Goats
-The Walkmen
-Silver Jews
-Art Brut

not that great (or just really fucking bad, I can't decide):
-Devandra Bandhart
-Liars

comix

Why I love (1) comic books and (2) Wikipedia:

The Marvel Comics Civil War (as seen on The Colbert Report).

An American Tragedy