newcritics - Latest Comments in Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Leighton Rees — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:00:34 -0000

The Sats were an awsome band. Saw them 3 times here in the UK and they were fantastic.

Dan's solo work is also excellent, and he continues to tour (Europe anyway).

As for new bands, I've just discovered The Trews who are based in Canada. I saw them in London UK last week and they were superb. Good songs, great harmonies etc. Check out www.thettrewsmusic.com .

LR.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Tony Alva — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:44:41 -0000

"It had to do with the way that newcritics recycles the whole boomer aesthetic, waxing lyrical about the good old days which were never exactly as good as they seemed to be."

Oh contraire my feisty friend THEY WERE BETTER(at least for rock)! That's exactly what my position is Lex. I'm STILL "discovering" great music from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Just this weekend I picked Jeff Beck's first three records. I used to hear them all the time, but I never owned any of them. A couple of Elvis Costello disc's too. Oh yeah, I'm not sure what defines a "Boomer", but I was born in 1964. My discovery of the 60's acts were after that heyday.

It's to my great disappointment that the late 90's and 00's have produced very little fertile ground for rock music. There are a few good records out there, and there are bands playing rock (Jackson records these acts at his studio regularly), they're just not getting any traction. THIS BOTHERS ME!

So I'll ask again, since you're so critical of the "Boomer" wining at Newcritics. Make your case for your contemporaries: Give me something to listen to that will restore my faith a little bit. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m all earsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

lex — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 03:13:17 -0000

Who needs to spew?
What "stance" would that be exactly, Jackson? My comment had nothing to do with "giving props to...musical taste," whatever that
means. (I have nothing against the Ga. Sattellites, no strong opinion about them either way).
It had to do with the way that newcritics recycles the whole boomer aesthetic, waxing lyrical about the good old days which were never exactly as good as they seemed to be. Over and over. Again and again. (I repeated this in comment 9, but alas reading isn't Jackson's strong suit.)

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Tom Watson — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 20:32:54 -0000

True Jackson, but hate and self-loathing have a long, storied place on the rock-and-roll storyboard. So, lex pistol, spew away.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

jackson — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 11:18:20 -0000

As I said, Lex has nothing to back up his idiotic stance. Sure there's a whole world of music out there to enjoy, and discuss. It just so happens this post was about the Georgia Sattelites, a neglected but great band, and Lex seems to have an issue with us giving props to our musical taste.

If Jason likes Brittney more than the Ga. Sattelites, well then I accept that. What he doesn't do is chastise Tony for writing about them - quite the opposite in fact.

Yep, Lex is a loser.

In other words, hate blogging.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

sean — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 23:29:51 -0000

Jason--
I haven't heard the new Tinariwen but I'm looking forward to--their last one was a grower--a bit reticent at first but one of my fav's of 05.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Jason Chervokas — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:40:47 -0000

Sean, you're right, rock sure does travel well. Tinariwen may the be best rock band working today---great guitar-driven, groove-heavy rock from Toureg refugees. The group's records amaze me.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Sean — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:08:27 -0000

I like "Toxic" too. The whole notion of "authenticity" and "sincerity" seems beside the point. JT's promblem's not "computer-driven" but persona driven, he seems like a cipher with a measure of talent unsure of what he wants to say. I like guitars as much as anyone else around here but the whole punk rock playbook is all but exhausted and there are times when I think I never want to hear another roots rock record again. Until someone rewrites the rules, (not an easy thing to do at this late date) the template is just too narrow.
But there is still plenty to listen to. Rock as a commercial force may be stone cold dead, but its basic components, guitar, bass drums, power-chords, etc. travel well and have been assimilated for the past two decades (at least) by any number of indigenous musics from the Balkans to Algerian rai to Japanese psych and beyond.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Tony Alva — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:24:53 -0000

"The notion that you could listen to anything else is unfathomable."

BTW Lex, I'm open to any suggestion that you might have with regard to anything contemporary that is halfway listenable. Com'on man, move me with something. While not optimistic, I'd be releived to be proven wrong. No joke, make a suggstion and I'll pick it up on Amazon right away.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Tony Alva — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:13:13 -0000

"IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m a Britney fanÃ¢â‚¬Â¦Toxic, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m a Slave for You, even Oops I Did it Again. These are records I really like (more than I like any Georgia Satellite records, frankly)."

I don't know how to respond to that and if I were you I'd consider not repeating that too loudly.

Huge hip hop fan, but it is suffering the same death as rock and for the same reason, lack of credibility and sincerity. Why will kids say, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Who are Nickleback?Ã¢â‚¬Â in ten years? I think they produce nice melodies over rockinÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ guitars, but I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t BELIEVE THEM and they arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t saying anything. Same with hip hop. With exception of a few contemporary acts todayÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hip hop lacks any substance.

All the great technology that has falsely created the impression that Ã¢â‚¬Å“anybody can do itÃ¢â‚¬Â has quite frankly fucked it all up and I think everybody is slowly coming to realize it, at least I hope so. The music buying public has been subjected to a bunch of computer wiz jackasses that actually thought that with technology they could overcome their gaping lack of creativity. While electric instrumentation has been a part of pop music for a long time, I think people yearn for the more organic analog sounds, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s just they donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know how to articulate this need. Combine that with a credible artist who has something to say and wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be on the next Coke commercial, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve got somebody IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m willing to take a chance on. I hope this is why traditional instruments are flying off shelves at Guitar Centers around the world. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the only way rock/pop will survive.

Jackson gives me a ton of shit about my affinity for JT and a couple of NÃ¢â‚¬â„¢sync tunes that I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t resist. My wife is a huge JT fan so IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m subjected to it a great deal, but the worst aspect with his records is not that heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s talentless (quite frankly the guy can sing his ass off and craft a great tune), but itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the lack of organic instrumentation, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s all fucking computer driven shit and it wears on you quickly. Christine Agulara, or her people figured it out and pared her up with a band playing trad instruments and sheÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s enjoying more success than she ever has.

WeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve got to get back to the garden and quick before itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s all gone.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Jason Chervokas — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:32:25 -0000

Oh, and ps, I'm music editor and I'm a Britney fan...Toxic, I'm a Slave for You, even Oops I Did it Again. These are records I really like (more than I like any Georgia Satellite records, frankly).

Watson, still waiting on that Der Bingle multi-parter w/ the Bob Crosby sidebar and special focus on megaphone technique.

I hope we don't have a house aesthetic but I'm perfectly happy with writers who do and with commentors (and other writers) who are happy to bring their own aesthetic biases to the table.

Rock's not my passion, but I love people who have any sort of aesthetic passion. If there's a house aesthetic to the way we treat music, let it be that--articulate passion. (Though generally I'd like to see us favor a tone of discovery over one of nostalgia.)

I'd like to see us cover a lot of different kinds of music, and the more writers we can convince to write for us for free, the more kinds of music we will cover!:)

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Jason Chervokas — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:03:16 -0000

the loops and beats are often samples, or start as samples..in any event I was referring to the whole looping practice which is what the samples were always used as...

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Tom Watson — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:16:21 -0000

Hey lex, there is no "newcritics musical aesthetic" - stick around and see us argue.

And just wait till my huge Bing Crosby multi-part extravaganza!

Jason, from what I can tell, sampling as we know it from the rap era is old now...building songs from sounds and loops and midi and beats is bigger. but I could be wrong.

Also, big return to trad instruments....kids buying drums and guitars. Visit any GuitarCenter...

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Lex — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:56:56 -0000

I needn't say another word: that last bit of idiocy neatly encapsulates the newcritics musical aesthetic: if you don't want to hear the same baby boomer boilerplate nostalgia recylced again and again, well, you must be a raving Britney fan with tech issues or...a dick. The notion that you could listen to anything else is unfathomable. High marks for defensiveness though.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Tony Alva — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:22:13 -0000

Don't sweat it Jackson, Lex just lost his hard drive with $5000 worth of Britney Spears iTunes that he'll have to now re-purchase. Either that or he's just a dick. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Jason Chervokas — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:48:57 -0000

Actually jazz moves catalogue too.

Rock IS dead, at least as a dominant commerical pop force. Hip Hop killed it. It won't die w/ the boomers but just as swing band jazz was the music of the WWII gen and faded from popularity as that generation aged out, so too w/ rock.

Samplers and sampling are to kids today as electric guitars were to kids post-Beatles on Sullivan. Timbral and rhythmic changes always form the dividing line between changing pop musical styles and hip hop offers the rhythmic and timbral sounds that define contemporary pop and have for the past twenty years.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Jackson — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:18:16 -0000

Just as I thought, he's got nothing.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

lex — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:51:12 -0000

Who's "hate-blogging" Jackson? What data do I need to cite about nostalgia, warmed over for the umpteenth time? Reading about "great music" over and over and over and over...and over and over...and over. Talk about a dog chasing its own tail.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Jackson — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:29:57 -0000

I'm sure Lex can do much better. I like to back up my hate blogging with some references or data. Guess Lex can't be bothered to do much more than complain about.....about what exactly? Having to read about great music - oh yeah, he doesn't have to read it at all.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

lex — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:43:17 -0000

oh, sorry, nostalgia hour again...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...tom petty...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...this site inches closer and closer to the Joe Franklin show.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Jackson — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:27:36 -0000

Nobody slaps a Chuck Taylor on the boards like Dan Baird, and his solo debut - 'Love Songs for the Hearing Impared' makes any rock record (exception Tom Petty) made today seem trivial. There may be plenty of new grinding rock out there, but I haven't heard any new good rock.

Re: Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…

Tom Watson — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:27:17 -0000

Only rock moves catalogue.

But there's plenty of good, new, grinding rock music out there. There just aren't many emerging arena acts.