Archive | October, 2011

A Silver Mt. Zion – *

9 Oct

So last weekend on Friday I was in the city (NYC). After eating lunch I decided to go and check out the protests on Wall Street. As I neared, the first thing I noticed was an extremely congested block of people being rallied by the police. I sort skirted in and around, dodging police and staying clear of most of the protesters. A parade of them marched along the outline of liberty square, chanting something along the lines of “Down with the Wall”. In the middle of the square, tarp and make-shift mattresses made the place into a sort of campsite for those “occupying” Wall Street. The “campers” were kids just hanging out trying to be rebellious, while the protesters marching around and yelling were just strange characters trying to be noticed. I didn’t go to the event trying to be inspired or anything, but honestly I was a lot more disappointed than I thought I was going to be. This protest was way unorganized. The towers surrounding it weren’t going anywhere and were full of laughing brokers.

This protest is still growing impressively all over the country and it has even entered foreign countries as well. Even if it is unorganized, they are at least showing others that there are those who are standing up. Honestly, a protest on Washington would make a lot more sense, but regardless something is brooding on the horizon.

There was a group of people playing drums on the street in a very tribal fashion. This will never start a revolution. Tribal drum music is exactly opposite of what will garner the attention of the American populace and it is quite honestly counter-productive. What is needed is some real revolutionary music, like the kind that made the American Revolution successful. We need some post-rock.

A Silver Mt. Zion is a Canadian band (slightly ironic) goes by multiple names and originated as a solo-project by a guitarist from Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The band plays a brand of post-rock deeply rooted in strong political motifs. Their debut album, *He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms…, aside from being quite lengthy in title, is almost purely instrumental. It engenders the sort of feelings in people which would make those smug towers shake in fear.

“Sit in the middle of three galloping dogs” opens with scratchy radio transmissions. The message is that a revolution is imminent. “Let us not sleep as do others, underline it, but let us watch. We are to be watchmen of this empire. And to be sober, be serious…” The transmission fades and a drum beat takes over, beckoning the violins to begin their epic wails. Their sound melts over itself as the beat coolly keeps it under control.
At about three minutes the drummer goes all out, picking up the tempo and the ante. The violins respond with a beautifully reverberating stutter and a guitar in the background shreds away furiously. This song is immensely powerful yet beautiful.

“Blown-out joy from Heaven’s Mercied hole” is like the actual sound of a revolution happening. A stand-up bass accompanied by lyrics sets the mood amazingly. “Don’t tell me that I am free, cause I have not been well…. lately”. The instrumentation is almost jazz-like in sound, yet a very sad form of bluesy-jazz. The 9 minute piece winds to and fro, but never really builds, just maintains a steady atmosphere of depression. The vocals at the very end create a perfect cap on the piece, making it whole in every regard.

“13 Angels Standing Guard ‘Round the Side of your Bed” is probably one of the most beautiful pieces you will ever hear. Less revolutionary and more just downright eye-openingly sad, this seven minute piece starts with the gentle meows of angels. A harp like instrument strums humble notes and again the violins sneak their way in playing a melancholy tune. Towards the end of the song even more angels call out, now with shriller yet ominously more powerful voices. This song is actually supposed to be about black bloc protests, where everyone wears black, covering their faces and appearing as one big ‘black bloc’.

If someone took a large pair of speakers to the protest and played this album from start to finish, glorious things would happen. First and foremost I predict that a silence would sweep over anyone who heard it. That silence would spread to anyone listening and the impression made would only be more silence. From silence emerge words. And hopefully those words can be those of reason.

-oko

P.S. Revolution is coming. Be prepared.

&)

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What is the Catchiest Song Ever?

7 Oct

Get it out of my head!

Have you ever asked a friend to hit you over the head with a hammer so the particular song that has been stuck in your head for the last week can finally be removed? By way of concussion, naturally. Then your friend laughs and goes no, I know a better way, and he/she starts to sing another catchy song thereby getting that song stuck in your head for the next week. Electric Light Orchestra describes the phenomenon I am speaking of in the title of their hit song “Can’t Get you Out of My Head.” Seriously, right now I am listening to “Band on the Run” and that incredible guitar riff will now be stuck in my head for the rest of my Friday. Perhaps the Beatles were really talking about getting a song stuck out of their heads when they wrote about Maxwell’s silver hammer.

Some songs are damn catchy and when you listen to them they stick to you like a bug trap. But what makes a song catchy? Recently, York University music scientists released a study that investigated the psychological catchiness of the most glue-like songs. They found that higher male voices that emit vocal energy, phrase length and pitch complexity all contribute to a song’s ultimate catchiness. Using their findings, the scientists released their top 10 list of most catchy songs ever. Here is what it looks like:

  1. “We are the Champions”, Queen (1977)
  2. “Y.M.C.A”, The Village People (1978)
  3. “Fat Lip”, Sum 41 (2001)
  4. “The Final Countdown”, Europe (1986)
  5. “Monster”, The Automatic (2006)
  6. “Ruby”, The Kaiser Chiefs (2007)
  7. “I’m Always Here”, Jimi Jamison (1996)
  8. “Brown Eyed Girl”, Van Morrison (1967)
  9. “Teenage Dirtbag”, Wheatus (2000)
  10. “Livin’ on a Prayer”, Bon Jovi (1986)

It’s the final countdown, da da da da, da da da da da, da da da da da, da da da da da da da, doo doo doo – wait – sorry – I forgot I was posting.

What do you think of this list? Is “We are the Champions” the most catchy song ever. It is a burst of vocal, tribal energy and, yeah, it’s exceptionally catchy. But what about the other songs? Hmm…I think I can think of better ones. So I want to investigate. It’s poll time. I need all of you this time. Let’s figure this out. Is “We are the Champions” the most catchy song ever, or is there another song that has you? I am going to include my list of top catchy songs in the poll below and feel free to choose other and vote for another song if you disagree.

I refuse to RickRoll you. I was thinking about it, but then I decided to do something even more cruel. I’m going to post all of the songs for your listening pleasure. Happy voting!

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A Reaction to Steve Jobs’ Death

6 Oct

My initial reaction to the news of Steve Jobs‘ death was my typical reaction when I hear that a well-known celebrity/icon has passed away. I watched as Anderson Cooper interviewed tech junkies, newsmen, and CEOs of other companies. I listened to them swoon over the man that was Steve Jobs. I, myself, said that the news was terrible, talked to my father about the death sentence that is pancreatic cancer (seriously, if there were any doubts, Steve Jobs died from it – Steve ‘I Molded Your Life” Jobs), and then moved on to my dinner of avocado and ricotta soft tacos (which were excellent). My family reflected briefly on how we must all not sweat the small stuff and realize that, in the end, the only thing one truly has is their body and health. And then we ate dinner and stored the thought of death back into the locked, fire-proof safe in our minds.

This morning I had a moment to reflect on the passing of Jobs. The tremendous outpouring of grief on social networking sites was astounding. I have actually never seen such a universal mourning in the recent modern age. Facebook and Twitter exploded with messages of “rest in peace” and small anecdotes of how Jobs’ inventions impacted their lives. It was just one man’s death, though, and I initially thought that such a reaction was weird, perhaps slightly misguided. It was almost too uniform, too trendy. But then I realized that in this odd way the reaction to Jobs’ death was caused by the man himself. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s Apple circuit board pretty much sponsored the rapid development of the personal computer. Jobs’ intuition could be looked at as a reason for why I am typing these words on a keyboard today. Jobs helped turn science fiction into reality.

Think about the last fifteen years. I am 22 years old. I remember fooling around with simplistic games on my bulky Apple computer in the 90s. The computer evolved and flourished and new features were added. It became a true constant in our lives. People had such a personal reaction to the news of Jobs’ death because personalized computer technology is so important to the masses. We, as humans, need interaction and connection, and while it does seem that people trap themselves into a closed, cold world when using these products, these high-tech phones and music storage devices do connect people to their loves and interests. So, in a sense, when the CEO of Apple passed away last night, people held a momentary personal funeral for a person who helped make their expansive technological world possible.

The iPod has revolutionized music. It was the next step in the evolution of listening to music. We can now carry gigabytes of music with us in little pocket devices for personal enjoyment whenever, wherever. Such an ability was a dream only relatively a few years ago. This remarkeable transformation was heralded by Jobs and Apple. I have become so accustomed to my loaded iPod that I often forget about those times with my skipping walkman in the backseat of my family’s old SUVs. Seriously, do you remember when the songs would skip when you hit a bump on the highway?

Today, as I pump my iPod during my noontime city walk, I will think of the advancements sponsored by Jobs and quietly thank him for improving technology for such a wide range of individuals. I am sure many people are doing the same today.

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Remember When…?

5 Oct

Remember when the macarena was the dance to do?  Or how about when you could turn on the TV and watch new episodes of Seinfeld or Friends or could scream about how terrible The Phantom Menace was and still be considered relevant.  Yes people, I’m talking about the music in the 90s and I don’t mean Brittney or Christina, ‘NSync or the Backstreet Boys (pre-coming out of the closet) or even the Tupac/Biggie feud.  I’m glorifying these bands of the 90s to help create a musical legacy that isn’t just gangsta rap posturing, soulless pop or teen idol emptiness.

I’m going to start off with probably the nerdiest  band of the past two decades: Weezer.  Pick a color either blue, green or red and you’ve picked a great album. Listening to Weezer is sort of like being shot into an alternate universe where your angst isn’t particularly angsty and it doesn’t hurt because you yourself can trivialize it to the point of hilarity.  In that alternate reality though, all memory of Buddy Holly and Mary Tyler Moore are preserved so you don’t need much else.

Now I would be remiss to talk about 90s music without mentioning the great grunge movement of long greasy hair, angry angst, unwanted popularity and battles against commercial success.  My favorite band from this lovely genre is Pearl Jam, whose battles against their own popularity included taking on ticketmaster and refusing to release one of their most popular songs as a single.  That being said, Pearl Jam could both rock (on Even Flow) and ballad (on Better Man) and are one of the still relevant grunge acts of the 90s.

In a totally different universe from pretty much anything else I listen to lies Rage Against the Machine.  Built primarily on testosterone and pedal effects, Rage built up a following because their anger was directed not at themselves or evil heart breaking harpies but at the unseen forces that control our political and economic landscapes.  Switch out Rage frontman for Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and you get Audioslave which I confess is not a 90s band but draws heavily from grunge music and is definitely worth a listen.

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Peel the Lower East Side and Enjoy Pre-Punk Punk

4 Oct

So let me introduce to you, the one and only David Peel. Wondering why I just quoted “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band?” You will find out in due time (even though the reference doesn’t link up perfectly because McCartney wrote these lyrics even though the lyric is credited to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting duo). I’m being pedantic. Let’s move on to the first post in the new category Obscure Classic Rock.

I want to first share with you all how I heard about David Peel. Don’t worry, this is not a long, fireplace story. Actually, my father told me about David Peel last night. This is one thing I love about 60s/70s music. At times, the list of acts seems endless. It’s not, obviously. There is a fixed number. But I have done a good amount of research on 60s/70s music over the past 4-5 years (starting when I was a senior in High School), and, I’m still learning about influential acts that I had never come across previously. And that is awesome.

My dad recalled how he used to go down to Greenwich village in New York City with his buddies back in his teens (early 70s) and he would often see David Peel (born David Rosario) performing with the Lower East Side Band (apt name). Peel would sit down and talk with my dad and his friends occasionally. My dad remembers him as a nice, intelligent guy, who sang songs about marijuana and revolution. Revolution, specifically the recent Wall Street Occupation, is why Peel was brought up in conversation.

David Peel and the Lower East Side Band. Ever hear of them? No? Well did you know that they are often cited as early progenitors of punk rock? Also, did you know that Peel became incredible friends with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (there is your answer for the opening segment)? Lennon had good taste. Well, so did Peel!

David Peel (left) performing with Yoko Ono and John Lennon. Don't Lennon and Peel sort of look alike? More on this later

John Lennon once compared Peel to Pablo Picasso. A bold proclamation, indeed. Well, similar to Picasso co-founding the Cubist movement, Peel definitely had a hand in providing some inspiration to the emerging genre of punk.

Peel and the Lower East Side band first recorded music in the late 1960s. They created a blend of “street rock” that targeted topics like marijuana and the police. It was fresh and attractive to the counterculture movement. Songs like “I Like Marijuana” and “Oink Oink” were obviously scorned by authority, but enjoyed by the youthful population that gathered in Greenwich Village. Peel and the Lower East Side band was actually among the first bands to regularly perform on cable TV in Manhattan. He appeared on the public-access cable TV channel of Manhattan Cable Television. He also performed at the first Smoke-in concerts at Central Park.

It was in front of a crowd at Washington Square Park in 1971 when Lennon first saw Peel. He was quoted saying, “He was shouting: why do you have to pay to see stars? I was embarrassed. I thought surely he must know we are here. Yoko and I love his hair, snazzy tight trousers and Hai Karate aftershave.” They quickly became friends and Lennon signed Peel to Apple Records where he promptly released The Pope Smokes Dope in 1972. The record was banned in nearly every country in the world, except for the US, Japan and Canada. I don’t believe this record was playing in cafes outside the Vatican. The fervor that Peel engendered is funny. It’s very…punk! And the music backs that statement up.

I mean listen to this. “Oink, Oink” was recorded in 1968. It is like Beach Boys meets the Ramones. And this was recorded when Dee Dee Ramone was 17 years old. Punk music is rooted in US garage rock and the New York underground (bands like the Velvet Underground). Peel, like Lou Reed, sang about drugs and unsavory NYC practices. In 1969 Protopunk was founded by MC5 and the Stooges (Michigan-based bands), but I do believe that Peel was a true predecessor of the burgeoning movement and, unfortunately, he does not get the credit he does deserve.

Peel and Lennon stayed close friends, Peel adopting Lennon’s thick-glasses style, and Lennon sampling Peel’s leather coat look (similar to retro Cavern Club Beatles). The two looked so much alike that Bob Dylan actually called a picture of Peel, John Lennon, and, because everyone takes what Bob Dylan says as the truth it seems, the FBI was also fooled. A picture of Peel was in Lennon’s FBI file. Lennon did help Peel become well known and he has performed with musicians like B.B. King, ELP and Alice Cooper. Peel still records music today and his full discography can be acquired. I suggest checking him out more. He is a punk visionary. And he recorded an album entitled The Pope Smokes Dope. I mean, come on.

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