I think that American Idiot was the last really mainstream punk album in a wave of pop punk crap. God, "pop punk" - those two words go together like "hot ice," or "Jewish Nazism," or "classy TMZ." Pop punk was a commodification of what was inherently countercultural, a taming of anti-authoritarian themes and passionate youth into petty 13-year old angst.
American Idiot has all the elements of punk - dissatisfaction with an increasingly authoritarian government, the passionate but short-lived support of various ideologies, young and dangerous love and conflicts about identity in an ever-changing world. The original British punk bands were formed mainly as a reaction to the rise of Thatcherism in the UK. With 9/11 fresh in recent memory and the PATRIOT Act just signed, a similar reaction to the Bush administration was all but inevitable. American Idiot is all that bottled-up anti-Bush sentiment released in rock opera form, and I love it.
decided to figure out how all of my favorite instrumental sections are played so they don't sound like deracinated noise
so far I figured out the breakdown of "Silver Rocket", and I'm trying find not-dark-as-hell footage of "Sleep" so I can see that wailing tone being played
I'm not saying that I hate pop punk, mind - I admit that I do like some songs of that sort, like Closing Time. I'm just bothered by how chimerical the idea is.
Only if you're crazy ideological about your music.
Which is not the anathema many poptimist publications present it as (wanting authenticity in your music is not a bad thing), but it's still kind of quaint in 2015.
Yeah, it's the authenticity that I'm really bothered by. I'm not saying anything about the quality of the actual music (again, I like lots of pop punk stuff), I'm just sort of disappointed that they've forgotten punk's squarely political roots.
decided to figure out how all of my favorite instrumental sections are played so they don't sound like deracinated noise
so far I figured out the breakdown of "Silver Rocket", and I'm trying find not-dark-as-hell footage of "Sleep" so I can see that wailing tone being played
"Silver Rocket" is fucking wild.
You mean This Heat's "Sleep"? I'd have to listen to it again, but I could probably tell you what it is.
Yeah, it's the authenticity that I'm really bothered by. I'm not saying anything about the quality of the actual music (again, I like lots of pop punk stuff), I'm just sort of disappointed that they've forgotten punk's squarely political roots.
Punk was never squarely political, though. I mean, it did tend to have an anti-authoritarian edge, but what the ideas were and how they were expressed and how conventionally political any of it was varied wildly. You had some activist bands, yes, but you also had bands who were very personal (Buzzcocks), ironic and meta (Subway Sect, The Fall), gleefully doofy (The Ramones, The Stranglers), literary (Television), or just liked fucking shit up (The Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees). What punk was really about was defying expectations, going your own way, and bringing energy and interest back to rock music, which had become too slick and bloated and threat-free for their tastes.
Which is to say that by the time The Sex Pistols imploded, most punk bands were about as "punk" in ethos as any other boring-ass pub band. All the people with vision were either just doing their own thing regardless or were moving on completely.
Also, Semisonic aren't even a pop-punk band, although their later material is lyrically way more subversive and sardonic than any of the pop-punk bands of the time that I can think of.
(It is also worth noting that The Sex Pistols were literally formed to promote a clothing store. Look it up.)
Malcolm McLaren couldn't handle other human beings. Period. Guy was a born troll and couldn't help himself whatsoever. Of course, that's what made the band such a dynamic presence: Lydon and Jones, in particular, were serious forces of personality and constantly at odds with McLaren, and the tension made things far wilder.
Granted, had they let Lydon take over the mixing board like he'd intended, things would have been even more out-there...
Okay, Boulevard of Broken Dreams is just kind of funny, though. It's not even him angsting, it's just him talking about how he's walking alone in the city and stuff.
"A Piece of the Sky" is probably my favourite off that album, although "The Seer" and "The Apostate" were fucking untouchable live. Still, To Be Kind is the superior release.
Weirdly enough, I prefer the vibe of The Seer to the vibe of To Be Kind.
To be sure, "A Little God in My Hands" and "Just a Little Boy (for Chester Burnett)" are pretty great, but it doesn't feel as welcoming as The Seer does, which is weird because it's the more accessible album.
It's still a good album, though, and it will probably grow on me with subsequent listens.
decided to figure out how all of my favorite instrumental sections are played so they don't sound like deracinated noise
so far I figured out the breakdown of "Silver Rocket", and I'm trying find not-dark-as-hell footage of "Sleep" so I can see that wailing tone being played
"Silver Rocket" is fucking wild.
You mean This Heat's "Sleep"? I'd have to listen to it again, but I could probably tell you what it is.
little late in responding but I actually meant the GY!BE song
as I was discussing on twitter earlier, I met a former record producer today while walking around the park. It's yard sale day so she was selling a ton of old cassettes of hers, a lot of which are demos from bands that never really made it.
Right now I'm listening to a solid black tape labeled "Blavet & The Magic Moments" in pen ink with no other info on it at all. I can't find anything about them on the internet, and it's crazy to me that this single tape might be the last document of their existence at all.
I'll record all I can while sitting here comfortably and without tying up my hardware, but as a consequence there's gonna be even more surface noise than there already is on the tapes (read: a lot) since the mic will also pick up, for instance, me typing this comment.
Since these are demos a lot of them are very long (90+ minutes) and many contain very slightly different takes of the same song, or songs that are so similar that they sound like different takes of the same song, so posting the whole tapes would not be worth the time or effort
but if I mix them together in the style of a DJ mix, spice them up a bit, I can create some dynamism while preserving the best of these songs.
I just wish I knew more about the artists involved.
Well, time to get started on Diamondfish Archival Recordings' first release.
Since these are demos a lot of them are very long (90+ minutes) and many contain very slightly different takes of the same song, or songs that are so similar that they sound like different takes of the same song, so posting the whole tapes would not be worth the time or effort
but if I mix them together in the style of a DJ mix, spice them up a bit, I can create some dynamism while preserving the best of these songs.
I just wish I knew more about the artists involved.
Well, time to get started on Diamondfish Archival Recordings' first release.
Okay, Boulevard of Broken Dreams is just kind of funny, though. It's not even him angsting, it's just him talking about how he's walking alone in the city and stuff.
Comments
Woah, they may have found a way out of their rut.
You mean This Heat's "Sleep"? I'd have to listen to it again, but I could probably tell you what it is. Punk was never squarely political, though. I mean, it did tend to have an anti-authoritarian edge, but what the ideas were and how they were expressed and how conventionally political any of it was varied wildly. You had some activist bands, yes, but you also had bands who were very personal (Buzzcocks), ironic and meta (Subway Sect, The Fall), gleefully doofy (The Ramones, The Stranglers), literary (Television), or just liked fucking shit up (The Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees). What punk was really about was defying expectations, going your own way, and bringing energy and interest back to rock music, which had become too slick and bloated and threat-free for their tastes.
Which is to say that by the time The Sex Pistols imploded, most punk bands were about as "punk" in ethos as any other boring-ass pub band. All the people with vision were either just doing their own thing regardless or were moving on completely.
Also, Semisonic aren't even a pop-punk band, although their later material is lyrically way more subversive and sardonic than any of the pop-punk bands of the time that I can think of.
(It is also worth noting that The Sex Pistols were literally formed to promote a clothing store. Look it up.)
That was why the Sex Pistols imploded so quickly, because Malcolm McLaren couldn't handle that.
Granted, had they let Lydon take over the mixing board like he'd intended, things would have been even more out-there...
I know jack shit about LP9 (Save for this track and "Burn the Witch") but I've never been as hyped as I am in years.
I admit I'm not entirely sure about the title track. I think that for 30 minutes it could’ve been better developed somehow.
The rest is pretty awesome, though. "Lunacy" and "A Piece of the Sky" are highlights.
it's titled Elseq
it's 5 CDs long