Ah, Tuesday, also known as “new releases day” for music and home video, and ALSO known as “theft day” as I have no doubt the torrent sites and usenet are abuzz all over the world even as you read this. Tuesdays will be the day I write about music, as DVD releases can get lumped into Friday’s movie talk. That said, I should probably mention my own musical leanings, so that when you hear me refer to, say, the Black Eyed Peas as a “national musical embarrassment”, you’ll get where I’m coming from.
It began simply, with AM radio and “American Top 40” with Casey Kasem. I remember sitting next to the radio as a kid, wondering how the bands could get back and forth to all the radio stations to play their songs so fast, especially a few times a day…it was astounding. It was all Top 40 as a kid; I didn’t develop anything resembling a musical stance until late junior high, where the Bingo spinner needle landed firmly on…buttrock. Yes, I was a Bon Jahovi Witness; my second concert (after an Oingo Boingo show that I just simply wasn’t ready for (“What? No “Weird Science”???)) was Sammy Hagar at the Memorial Coliseum on the “V.O.A.” tour, and I wore that “Rock Is In My Blood” t-shirt oh-so-proudly to school the next day. I continued on a downward spiral of Ratt, Dokken, Poison, and Twisted Sister, ignoring the angels fluttering around me, trying to save me by lending me their U2 and Echo & The Bunnymen cassettes. After high school, however, my fortunes began to change, as I was introduced to the band that would ultimately become my favorite of all time, New Order. A friend and I concurrently discovered the underage dance club scene, and the 80’s TechnoPop era was underway. I grabbed every new 12” single that came out on Tuesday by bands like Erasure, The Cure, Red Flag, Information Society, Camouflage, and so many more, and began turntabling with the clear plan of being the greatest DJ evahhhhh!!! Sadly, the TechnoPop era ended far too quickly, as Nine Inch Nails came along and screwed up everything. Pretty soon Depeche Mode discovered heroin and decided to try to sound like pre-Soundgarden Soundgarden, and Jane’s Addiction was playing in my club instead of Book of Love. The era faded, and Grunge was upon us. After slogging through the early 90’s only halfheartedly embracing the grunge scene, the Electronica movement took hold as kind of the “anti-grunge”, and I was all over it. This comfortable transition led to embracing acts like The Prodigy, The Crystal Method, Aphex Twin, Fatboy Slim, and Moby, ignoring archangels fluttering around me, trying to ruin it by lending me their Limp Bizkit CD’s. Although I gotta admit, I did love me some Kid Rock and Linkin Park back in the day. After being stuck in this music mode for a little too long, a friend invited me to a couple concerts in June of 2005 that changed my musical leanings drastically: Athlete and Embrace, both playing at the Doug Fir Lounge. After that I discovered the terms “Britpop” and “Indie Rock” and soon was spending thousands of dollars on iTunes, loading my PC with Death Cab for Cutie, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, The Arcade Fire, Interpol, and Keane. Since then, so many musical sub-genres have disbanded and sort of all melted together, but I am still firmly under the “alternative” umbrella and all the various sounds it covers.
So, (all) that said, Tuesdays will be a day to talk about a new release or two, comment snarkily about music I don’t like, and talk about a live show I attended or just general touring news.
Speaking of live shows, there was a lot of hype about U2 playing up in Seattle last Saturday at Key Arena. All I can say is, “no thanks”. Somewhere between “Pop” and “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”, U2 became the go-to band for Audi-driving 50-year-olds who have tired of Michael Bolton and Elton John and want to go “edgy” (see what I did there? “Edge-y”? /kneeslap). Songs like “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” and “Vertigo” just kinda sit there, doing nothing. Seriously, U2 makes Coldplay seem raucous these days. But that’s not even the main problem. If U2 was playing at a venue where I didn’t require some sort of optical enhancement to actually see the band members, I’d consider going to see them just for the four or five old songs they played. But let me make sure I’ve got this right…I can play $20 to stand five feet away from a favorite band, or I can pay $200 to sit a football-field away from them and pretty much watch the concert on the big screen. Is it really even a choice? Not as far as I can tell...
Well, this will have to do for now. There’s still a ton left to talk about, but this is getting long. Sorry about that, but you know the first movie has to be the origin story, right? Anyway, I am working my way through the new Arctic Monkeys record released today, and I have to say so far, so good. So really good, actually. Check it out if you get a chance. Have a great Tuesday and we’ll talk more tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, the Black Eyed Peas are a national musical embarrassment.
COOL VIDEO OF THE DAY!
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