This mysterious (and idiotic) RIUSAB entity keeps taking shots in my direction - I've certainly had enough of dealing with that. In the midst of another inane, ridiculous entry, the author(s) does(do) reference a recent Jess Harvell piece in Idolator about current blog darlings Black Kids. The Harvell piece is a welcome one, taking on the destructive blog hype phenomenon I've already addressed (in brief form) here. Most of Harvell's points are perceptive and generally worth responding to, which I'll try to get to shortly (as in tomorrow, probably). I'm also planning to get a few words in about the new Britney album - yes, there is one, yes, it's coming out tomorrow.
On a lighter note (or maybe heavier), a few recommendations for your listening pleasure:
Marlena Shaw's "California Soul" from her album Spice of Life (via the excellent OhWord).
John Phillips' "April Anne" from his self-titled album.
The recently re-released Seefeel album, Quique.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Backlash/In Rainbows Review/QOTSA Live
Apparently my first blog entry is already stirring up trouble - witness this post from a blog called RIUSAB. I'll admit that I didn't have have RIUSAB in mind with my specific criticisms of the general response to/turning on Go! Team. That said, RIUSAB certainly provides a perfect example of the trend I started this blog to combat: mindless, relativistic/nihilistic nonsense masquerading as humor or intellect or - even worse - actual commentary/criticism. The entire entry (and virtually every other entry) manages to go on at length while saying absolutely nothing.
In happier news, I have two pieces of writing from yours truly, both up for your reading pleasure on the Internets (on the 'local' paper's site).
First, my review of In Rainbows. I can't decide whether I was too kind or too cruel. It's still strange to listen to a Radiohead album that's so unambitious by their standards...yet still ambitious as hell by most. Much like Hail to the Thief, Rainbows is going to take years to evaluate. Right there, though, you know it's not in the same class as Kid A - an instant revelation, at least for me. I've already tried listening to Rainbows and Kid A back to back
A bit later on, I got all gonzo on a recent Queens of the Stone Age/Black Angels show. It's a goofy piece of writing, I know - I mostly wanted to have a little fun and send a mangled tribute Hunter T's way. More on the actual music: I thought the Angels were superb. They weren't perfect, but I'm not sure their sound really calls for perfection. They made beautiful noise for 45 minutes without letting up, and even seemed to win the (initially skeptical) crowd over. It'll be interesting to see how their studio follow-up turns out - I'd be relatively satisfied with more of the same, but we can always hope for forward progress.
In happier news, I have two pieces of writing from yours truly, both up for your reading pleasure on the Internets (on the 'local' paper's site).
First, my review of In Rainbows. I can't decide whether I was too kind or too cruel. It's still strange to listen to a Radiohead album that's so unambitious by their standards...yet still ambitious as hell by most. Much like Hail to the Thief, Rainbows is going to take years to evaluate. Right there, though, you know it's not in the same class as Kid A - an instant revelation, at least for me. I've already tried listening to Rainbows and Kid A back to back
A bit later on, I got all gonzo on a recent Queens of the Stone Age/Black Angels show. It's a goofy piece of writing, I know - I mostly wanted to have a little fun and send a mangled tribute Hunter T's way. More on the actual music: I thought the Angels were superb. They weren't perfect, but I'm not sure their sound really calls for perfection. They made beautiful noise for 45 minutes without letting up, and even seemed to win the (initially skeptical) crowd over. It'll be interesting to see how their studio follow-up turns out - I'd be relatively satisfied with more of the same, but we can always hope for forward progress.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
'The Century' Begins
Welcome to Following the Century. After some time wandering in the wilderness of snarky cultural commentary on the Internet, I've come to the conclusion that there's a place for serious, earnest writing - even in blogs. I'm also determined to offer an alternative to the wave of unmitigated relativism sweeping cultural criticism - not an anti-universalist, racially or culturally coded alternative, but one that acknowledges the occasional failings of conflating sales numbers with quality. Thanks for bearing with me through the manifesto...now on to a couple of thoughts.
All too often, instrumental rock artists have to suffer through seasonal comparisons and adjectives - their music gets the "fall" or "winter" tag, and it sticks. I have to say, the members of Georgia's Maserati have nailed the feel of fall perfectly on their "new" album (it's been out since the beginning of this year). Granted, the name - Inventions for the New Season - begs that interpretation, but I challenge you to put this one on in the car or room over the next couple months. You'll see what I mean. The combination of faster, delayed guitar leads with slow chord changes (or no changes at all) has something to do with it - the effect is one of change and continuity at the same time. Anyway, I've had the album since it came out, but I'll be playing it quite a bit for the duration of the season.
Speaking of problems in contemporary criticism, I have trouble thinking of anything by way of critical reception that's bothered me more than some of the objections to the latest Go! Team album, Proof of Youth. I'm not entirely sure that Proof doesn't deserve some of the panning it's been subjected to so far - it does feel like a retread of Thunder Lightning Strike in a lot of ways. At the same time, it's troubling to see critics and bloggers from indie backgrounds turn so harshly on a band they were initially so eager to promote.
The clear lesson is that the hype-then-trash cycle of indie criticism isn't doing anyone any favors - it hurts bands, it confuses listeners, and it makes all of us look like fickle, indecisive morons. American indie pop seems to be feeding this cycle, with countless bands churning out catchy, bloggable tracks (just enough per album to have some variety in the mp3 links), never pausing to think about sustainability over the course of a career or even an individual album. Bloggers and critics are even more culpable here, obviously, since we let the Tapes 'n Tapes or Clap Your Hands of the world sound like the second coming of Television or Pavement in our writeups. If you catch me contributing to the problem on this blog, call me on it.
All too often, instrumental rock artists have to suffer through seasonal comparisons and adjectives - their music gets the "fall" or "winter" tag, and it sticks. I have to say, the members of Georgia's Maserati have nailed the feel of fall perfectly on their "new" album (it's been out since the beginning of this year). Granted, the name - Inventions for the New Season - begs that interpretation, but I challenge you to put this one on in the car or room over the next couple months. You'll see what I mean. The combination of faster, delayed guitar leads with slow chord changes (or no changes at all) has something to do with it - the effect is one of change and continuity at the same time. Anyway, I've had the album since it came out, but I'll be playing it quite a bit for the duration of the season.
Speaking of problems in contemporary criticism, I have trouble thinking of anything by way of critical reception that's bothered me more than some of the objections to the latest Go! Team album, Proof of Youth. I'm not entirely sure that Proof doesn't deserve some of the panning it's been subjected to so far - it does feel like a retread of Thunder Lightning Strike in a lot of ways. At the same time, it's troubling to see critics and bloggers from indie backgrounds turn so harshly on a band they were initially so eager to promote.
The clear lesson is that the hype-then-trash cycle of indie criticism isn't doing anyone any favors - it hurts bands, it confuses listeners, and it makes all of us look like fickle, indecisive morons. American indie pop seems to be feeding this cycle, with countless bands churning out catchy, bloggable tracks (just enough per album to have some variety in the mp3 links), never pausing to think about sustainability over the course of a career or even an individual album. Bloggers and critics are even more culpable here, obviously, since we let the Tapes 'n Tapes or Clap Your Hands of the world sound like the second coming of Television or Pavement in our writeups. If you catch me contributing to the problem on this blog, call me on it.
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