Five FBI agents recently arrested blogger Kevin Cogill(aka Skwerl) at his Culver City, California apartment for posting on his blog - antiquiet.com - nine leaked songs from the never-ending saga that is Chinese Democracy - the Guns N' Roses album which is roughly fifteen years(and counting) in the making.
As a piracy advocate and participant, you would think that I would have little sympathy for GNR frontman, Axl Rose, in this case, but I do. Cogill contends that if the album is good - which he believes it is - it would do well financially, in spite of any leaks. The financial aspect, however, is irrelevant to me. I just simply believe that the artist should be able to, at least, have control over their work before it is released.
Do I want Cogill to "rot in jail" as former Guns N' Roses guitarist, Slash, has advocated? Of course not. Is it really necessary for five FBI agents to take Cogill down? I mean, come on. Regardless, if Axl feels he needs twenty more years to complete his "masterpiece in progress" without it being released, I believe he should ultimately have control over that decision.
I saw the band - A Place To Bury Strangers - tonight at Emo's and it got me to thinking about the loudest bands I've ever seen live. Yes, it's list time and this list is in no particular order except for numero uno. 1)Mogwai - Somewhat mellow on record, yet anything but mellow live in concert. This is absolutely the loudest band I've ever seen. With a huge wall of amps stacked on top of each other, I'm surprised the band didn't blow themselves off stage. Everyone in the audience seemed to be in pain. 2)Jucifer - Tiny, tiny club...tons and tons of amps. The husband/wife duo that is Jucifer brought more amps than there were people at the show. 3)A Place To Bury Strangers - feedback...distortion...smoke from smoke machine...repeat. 4)Mission of Burma - The best band out of Boston. Don't let the old guys fool you - they are not for the faint of heart. 5)Comets on Fire - An absolute sonic assault with a couple of guitarists on stage seemingly trying to out-loud the other.
P.S. There's not a video out there that I could possibly post that would do any of these bands justice...you'll just have to take my word for it.
I never had much respect for djs and dj culture until DJ Shadow hit the scene with his 1996 breakthrough album - Entroducing.... I simply failed to see the importance of someone exclusively using other people's music as a viable art form. With Shadow, however, it became clear to me that using sound bites and samples from various albums was simply an audio form of collage and, if done right, could be every bit as original and entertaining as any other format or genre of music around. Not to mention the fact that djs, like Shadow, are some of the most knowledgeable music geeks in the world because they meticulously sift through tons of albums spanning every genre and musical era known to man in order to find that perfect sound.
The latest "collage" album released this year is What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective. The majority of it was created in the early days of hip hop by a Jewish white kid(Steve Stein, AKA Steinski) and yet it is just now getting an "official" release because of the obvious copyright infringements in his use of samples.
It was only a few months ago that I had even heard of Steinski and I imagined in my mind that this album would be a crude, outdated sound of the beginning stages of collage as a musical art form. At most, I thought it would be interesting, but far from great. What I heard, however, blew me away and it is, without question, one of my favorite albums of 2008. Steinski's use of sound bites and samples fits perfectly to create a fun record that sounds as fresh today as I'm sure it did in its bootleg form in the 80's. If you like DJ Shadow or modern collage progenitor, Girl Talk - I assure you that you will most certainly love this album.
I saw Man On Wire yesterday and it is an amazing documentary that chronicles not only the life of highwire extraordinaire, Philippe Petit, but the preparations, as well, for his ultimate dream - to run a wire between the two World Trade Center buildings and walk across. At a distance of approximately a quarter mile(1,353 ft) above ground, I can honestly say that the culmination of Petit's dream is probably the most insane act achieved by a human being. I mean, walking across a wire at that distance is crazy enough, but walking across a wire between two enormous buildings that have been known to sway because of wind gusts?! This guy weighs 135 pounds! Absolutely nuts. I have a healthy fear of heights and my nerves were wrenched just watching it. Being that the act itself was illegal, director James Marsh does a brilliant job in setting up the film as though you are watching a bank heist movie. The hijinks that ensue in attainment of this daring feat is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole film which is recounted by its fascinating protagonist - Philippe Petit. And there are many terms you could use to describe the man himself. Mad? Crazy? Insane? Perhaps. But whatever adjectives you throw out there, one thing is certain - the world needs more characters like Philippe Petit.
I've been hyping the Austin music scene a lot lately, but there's an equally incredible scene in a city that, for years, I have derided as culturally vacant. Yes, Los Angeles is making a comeback, at least as far as music is concerned.
The punk explosion born out of the New York City/CBGB's scene in the mid to late 70's was a much needed cultural shift in the musical landscape that eventually made its way to Los Angeles, infecting its youth and thus creating a thriving underground scene that birthed some of the most influential bands of the modern musical era including Black Flag, The Germs, Minutemen, Saccharine Trust, The Weirdos, X, The Circle Jerks, The Descendants, Fear, Suicidal Tendencies, etc., etc. It was also home to the greatest, in my opinion, underground label ever - SST Records - which was founded by Black Flag guitarist, Greg Ginn, and responsible for an array of 80's classic albums such as: Bad Brains - I Against I Black Flag - Damaged, My War Sonic Youth - Confusion Is Sex, EVOL, Sister Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me Descendants - Milo Goes To College Meat Puppets - II, Up On The Sun Husker Du - Zen Arcade, New Day Rising Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime
Yet, since the grunge era of the early 90's, the underground music scene in L.A. seemed pretty dormant until now, as a new crop of bands are once again putting Los Angeles back on the map. Young and experimental, these bands which include No Age, Abe Vigoda, Mika Miko, and my personal favorites - Health and Ariel Pink - are not only making great albums, but their live shows are some of the most talked about in music circles today. I saw Health for the second time last week and they are absolutely amazing live. Health further impressed me with a recent blog they posted on their myspace page:
AUSTIN KIDS PLZ READ -- AND FUCK CIGARETTES IF YOU WERE AN UNDER 18+ KID THAT GOT TURNED AWAY AT THE EMO'S SHOW PLZ EMAIL US YR FULL NAME TO: healthnoise@gmail.com EMO'S IS ALWAYS ALL AGES, BUT THE AESOP ROCK SHOW NEXT DOOR BEING SPONSORED BY CAMEL CIGARETTES FUCKED OUR SHOW WITH A SUPRISE AGE LIMIT. (DUE TO PATIO CONNECTION) EMO'S IS GONNA GIVE YOU 2 FREE ADMISSIONS TO OTHER SHOWS, AND THE NEXT HEALTH SHOW IS FREE. ALSO INCLUDE YR ADDRESS SO WE CAN GIVE YOU SOME STUFF. AND FUCK CIGARETTES P.S. BE HONEST
And just when I thought the youth of today were getting away from the punk ethos...anywho, if you haven't heard of these bands, go check them out.
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