Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Recently read an In These Times article on Aaron McGruder (text not available online), the guy who does the great Boondocks comic strip. ("McGruder is the first African-American to have a major comic strip" they report, though it's hard to believe. He's also really cute.) He had some really interesting things to say on hip hop:
"McGruder thinks African-American culture has become lost between the glitter of materialism and the banality of faux hipness. 'All hip-hop sucks,' he told the Chicago crowd. 'On one extreme, you have these guys who are all talking about materialism and degrading women and all this stuff; and on the other side, you have these other underground cats who are like 'my cipher, my cipher, my cipher.'... Unfortunately, there are very few people in the middle now. I'm here to say, it's all bad.
"'Black people are no longer interested in the cultural aspect of hip hop. So the underground has become mostly white and Asian. The problem with that is that whites and Asians cannot progress hip hop, they can only look at it, study, mimic. But they can't progress the culture, because the culture by definition is a part of the ongoing evolution of the black cultural experience and expressions.'
"But McGruder is not merely concerned about a trough in the creative cycle of hip-hop; his gripe is a larger one. 'We as black people have become artistically stagnant, and that's the biggest danger.'"
Whoa! I thought that was pretty radical and brave to say. I don't totally agree with what he says about non-blacks. His argument is tautological: Non-blacks can't progress hip hop because hip hop is a black thing. (By whites and Asians, I wonder who he has in mind: Beastie Boys, Gorillaz, Cibo Matto, DJ Shadow?) Non-blacks can certainly co-opt it (not necessarily a good thing), they can redefine it, they can be inspired by it. I think people often tend to ignore the role of the audience (of all races) in this debate. But his overall purpose is great. Hip hop has always been about black culture.
Ironically, just before I read this I heard some new Jurassic 5 songs that sounded really fresh to me, without falling into either trap he mentions. And I'm not even looking that hard--surely there must be a lot of great stuff out there. Anyway, McGruder's comments are welcome food for thought. And his comic strip is a daily salvation this year--I think he's really found an important role and voice.
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Movies and Music #5
Lynne Ramsey makes great art films. Ratcatcher astonished me. Her latest, Morvern Callar, is also impressive. You are immersed in the subjective experience of an odd young woman dealing with her grief in an unusual way. The soundtrack is quite fresh, very unique in that it isn't loaded with any contemporary hitmakers. In the movie, a music mix tape plays an important role, and seeing as how it's a tape made by a brilliant young writer, the music used in the film, representing the music on that tape, is appropriately eccentric. One of my favorite moments is when you get a slo-mo shot of Morvern dancing at a rave, presumably to techno, but hear a different, much weirder piece of music--the piece she's listening to on her walkman? Soundtrack listing.
Movies and Music #4
At the Chicago International Film Festival last week, I saw a new music documentary that's getting distributed next year. It's called "Only the Strong Survive," and it deals with soul musicians from the glory days of Motown and Stax. Sort of a Where Are They Now? kind of approach. The musicians in the spotlight include: Wilson Pickett, Sam Moore of Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, Ann Peebles, Jerry Butler, the Chi-Lites, Mary Wilson, Carla Thomas and Rufus Thomas. The film was made by D.A. Pennebaker (Don't Look Back) and Chris Hegedus (Startup.com), who it turns out are married. There was another guy involved (can't find his name at the moment) who actually seemed to be the most instrumental in making the film. The main idea here was to catch these legends in their performances today, before it's too late to get them on film.
I wanted to go because there are days when I think Motown is the greatest thing America ever did. The audience was mostly older, but there were some cool-looking younger folks in attendance. The film is priceless, sad at times as you hear stories of downfall and see how hard many of these great musicians have to struggle for a living today, having been denied their rightful due because they're "just" performers (as opposed to writers or producers). But there's also a fair amount of comedy. Wilson Pickett is a riot. When asked about the gravelly quality to his soul singing, he called it his "cornbread." He also dismissed James Brown, saying he sings from the throat whereas he, Pickett, sings from the gut. Had a funny anecdote about Aretha, too.
I heartily recommend the film, and I even more eagerly await the DVD: lots of material was mentioned in the Q&A session which was only licensed for the DVD, or which they just didn't have room for in the film. Hopefully, people will come out to support this film and its soundtrack so that it does well.
The best news of all was that all the performers of the film are getting paid.
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Acquiring tastes.
It's funny how it works. You can try and try to acquire a taste, unsuccessfully. And then you'll stumble on a key that opens things up for you. After seeing Sleater-Kinney live (see previous entry), not only did I appreciate their music more, but when I went home I found that I suddenly loved the Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP I had picked up a few weeks ago. Before I only liked one song--now the whole thing sounds great to me. (Somewhat coincidentally, I just noticed the two bands are playing some gigs together.) Both bands were just a little rawer than I usually like, but now I'm finding that I dig it. It's an exciting feeling when something you've been frustrated with suddenly makes sense.
Which reminds me, the other day I grabbed a CD to play in a friend's car. She liked the cut I loved, but then she loved a couple other cuts I hadn't focused on. It made me realize that listening to music in a social context can really help you appreciate it. When you can see a band live and understand what they mean (or benefit from the way they've improved material since it was written); or when you sit side by side with a friend and can watch her respond, see what it is that's working in the music, it really helps deepen your comprehension.
Caught Sleater-Kinney at the Metro last Thursday, Oct. 10th. The Quails opened.
Quails: punkrock band from SF--very cool, sexy. Refreshingly political yet fun. They chatted with us between songs, like poets at an open mic, introducing songs, explaining their subjects, flirting with us, encouraging us to sing and dance, asking us what cool bands were going on in Chicago, etc. If they were a lover, they'd be the best kind, checking in with you to make sure you're ok, then going back to rocking. Loved them! (Seth was hot!)
Sleater-Kinney: no offense to The Quails, who after all haven't been at it as long, but the sound of S-K after The Quails blew me away. There's often a big difference in power between opening acts and main acts, but this was just a huge step up in power. I've always found Sleater-Kinney's CDs (well, the two I own, Hot Rock and All Hands on the Bad One) a little sterile. In person, though, their sound really rocked! They were awesome. Janet amazed us with an energetic drum solo (dude, she went ballistic); Carrie and Corin jammed together on guitar. The sound was so tight, you couldn't pry it apart with a chisel. I noticed they got a lot of cheers with songs from AHOTBO and that they did a complete mix of songs, old and new. SK also entreated us to dance, which we gladly did as best we could since it was a sold out show (the first of two for them in Chicago). For an encore, the did a few songs, including a cover of Springsteen's "The Promised Land" which was wonderful. They ended with two of their own songs flowing amazingly into one another (wish I could tell you which ones they were.) I really really want a live album from them. Their music really comes much more alive for me when it's live. I'd definitely see them again. (And Carrie is adorable!) [I saw some cool remarks on the concert in their guestbook.]
A recent New Yorker review (Oct. 14th-21st, 2002) of Beck's new one, Sea Change, was composed of excellent prose, but boiled down to a sentiment you might expect from any Joe BeckFan on the street: "It's really cool how he keeps doing something completely different, but I love his goofy stuff best and wish he'd get back to doing more."
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
Picked up some used CDs last weekend. Electric Sweat by Mooney Suzuki--I'm surprised by how easy this goes down. Based on first impressions I thought it might be too dry, but I really like it so far. Don't know how much I'll listen to it. Maybe a few times more. I really like Oh Sweet Susanna. The sound seems authentically late 60s, early 70s. I don't know that much JimiHendrix, so I hope I'm not full of shit in saying these guys sound like him.
Also picked up the soundtrack to Forbidden Planet--when I rented the movie months ago, I found the film good-looking but tedious (cool robot, though). The soundtrack really jumped out--no orchestra--just chirps and electronic sparks and squiggles. Like the sonic equivalent of a Miro painting or something. Very bizarre, and, I've read, rather ground-breaking. Not easy to listen to on its own though.
Also bought the soundtrack to Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Once More, With Feeling musical episode. It's my favorite show, and I thought the episode was a cool experiment. Plus not many people try musicals these days (though it seems to be a common ambition among the talented--witness Francois Ozon's new 8 Women and the reports that Spielberg has long wanted to make one). Anyway, the cast did their own singing. Many of them needed lessons and intensive training, and some still sound--well, not bad, so much as average. Which I thought fit the story very well. The standard crit of old musicals is that they're ridiculous--it's not "realistic" for people to burst into song suddenly. (Leave aside the obvious retort: it's stupid to limit ourselves to one style, realism.) In the Buffy episode, a demon was causing everyone in town to be trapped in a musical. Ergo, average voices fit the inner logic of the (parodic) story. What's more, many of the tunes are catchy, and they show a clever range of styles (Spike's number "Rest in Peace" is heavy metal melodrama). Joss (the writer) has a few clunkers, but overall, it's (I daresay) better than most of the musicals on Broadway in the last several years (maybe Urinetown excepted). Bonus: included is the heartbreakingly beautiful music from Season 5 ender "The Gift" (which kills me) and some other very cool episodes (including "Hush").
Book Roundup
-Caetano Veloso has a memoir out about the Brazilian music scene. Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil. Good review in Publisher's Weekly.
-Pop Music and the Press / ed. Steve Jones
Described as rather academic, yet interesting.
