I love \m/ \m/

I love 'Metal'.

I always have. I have hesitated to write about it more often because the fandom of metal is somewhat intimidating. I do not mean that I am intimidated by guys with long hair and tattoos in black band t-shirts. Quite the contrary, I look to those guys as part of , if not the same at least a similar, tribe to me.

No metal fans are intimidating because of their depth of knowledge of their musical tribe and they do not appreciate it being talked about in broad brush strokes. Because metal is the most heavily compartmentalised section of the overall music spectrum. Amongst a multiple of sub genres I will have missed, and to only name a few, it breaks down into, Hard Rock, Blues Metal, Alternative metal, Thrash, Nu Metal, Emo Metal, Progressive metal, Progressive death metal, Death metal, Black Metal, Power metal, Progressive Power Metal, Grindcore, Straight Edge, Industrial metal, Rap Metal, Funk Metal, Melodic , Melodic Death, Doom metal, Sludge Metal, and so on.

So to the fans of music within these quite specific genres saying, I love metal, is like saying I love music. To which the answer is, oh really, what type?

Some metal (Sub genre Power)

I love that video (lots of love throughout this post) I especially like the bit between 2:30 and 2:40 or so. When the entire crowd thrust their hands in the air in time with the music and sing the chorus. Why? Well this is Iron Maiden (duh) filmed in Mumbai.(I have posted it before) this was filmed relatively recently, yet the song was first released 30 years ago, by a British band in what is viewed as a small section of the music spectrum. Yet, here is a sold out concert in India, which we can agree isn't the most obvious place for western music to take hold, filled with kids who are unlikely to have been born when it was first released.

This is the thing about Metal, it transcends borders , whether they be age, geographical, or cultural. No other music does this. Except perhaps Classical. Which is interesting isn't it. of course it is interesting, it is on this blog and everything here is interesting . . . .to me. Why? well some more music first

(metal is not just for boys)

People who tend to like classical music are generally considered to be more of an intellectual leaning than say lovers of Pop music. Right or wrong I think that this is the general perception. People who are into metal are considered to be the other end of the scale. Luddites who just like loud music and are as far from intellectual as you can get.

Except this isn't true is it? Generally they are people who like complicated music that has a meaning behind it. They are passionate about it and take the time to understand what they are listening to a little more than your average trend follower. Because metal has only a couple of times in it's life span been a trend (hair metal and grunge -  write in if you disagree) If you say that you like metal you are basically saying to the masses that you don't care what the trend is, you just like the music. It isn't something that you attach on to for a short period of time. It isn't  a ' oh I liked Slayer one summer, but not so much anymore '. No if you like Slayer , feel free to replace this band with another you have heard of , then it doesn't go away. Of course your tastes may morph and change, but it gets into you and leaves a little residue there.

However, back to my point about metal transcending borders. You can go anywhere in the world, anywhere and you will be able to find a local metal fan. I can say from my own experience that I have had conversations and listened to metal in places diverse as a restaurant in Alaska, and the Indonesian jungle. Let me tell you, The Black album by Metallica never really leaves you after doing 100kph on logging roads, through a jungle, in the rain trying to get a ferry back to civilisation . . . ever.

Why is it that it is so universal? Well, to me , it is because it makes you feel good. This can be because it allows you an outlet to frustration or anger. Just on this , before I go on to explain some of the other emotions, you almost never see a fight at a metal gig. In deed, whilst I have seen one or two, generally about something unconnected, the aggressive music does not make people fight per se. Instead it provides an outlet. Try singing next to a guy at the top of your lungs, thrusting arms in the air and jumping/ head banging and then try to fight them. It just doesn't happen. So music allows an outlet, this I think is fairly obvious. But is also allows introspection, Listen to Damnation by Opeth and tell me me after listening to some of the lyrics that you are not least a little reflective. Or anything by Tool. As per one of my recent posts , here is a song about the singers devout Christian mum and his thoughts on her beliefs and what should happen after she died.

For me, it is also a mood lifter. if I am just a little blah, I can put on any of the songs above or indeed, the thousands of other metal songs I like and I will instantly be in a better mood and feel like doing something more positive than just watching TV, or stare at a wall. Indeed, it would be fair to say that metal was one of the things that lead me to start this tiny piece of internet.

Thousands of metal songs? I would actually hazard a guess that I may have listened to maybe 5% of metal. There is so much of it. So much and yet some people don't even know that it exists. I am not sure how this is possible. but it is. Of course I am aware of the fact that I am not aware of some things that are globally popular and have been for 40 or so years. . . . Ok maybe not .

Metal can be said to have started with the first Black Sabbath album. Obviously there were lead ups to this and it can be disputed, and has been, at length. But for our purposes today that is the safest option to go for. So 44 years. I would also argue that it is not only going strong, but gathering strength with each passing year. It changes and new ways of getting the artistic vision are often coming up, hence the huge numbers of sub genre's, however, these are welcomed into the generally open arms of the metal fans.Ok, that may or may not be true. Actually, just like fans of all music, something new is treated either as a fantastic new event, or with deep suspicion that it is some way subverts what came before it. Don't believe me? ask a few metal fans about Nu Metal and see what they say. . . But that is OK. That is what happens when you care.

As a fan that new way is so fantastic though. Every time something new comes out I am keen to listen , as it just might be that thing I didn't realise I needed. For example , I never knew I needed this

But I did, and I will again in the future.

So long live Metal, you may be impossibly complicated, differentiated and underestimated. but without you the world would be a far poorer place

\m/ \m/

Babymetal

Every now and again I hear somethng that blows me away. generally because it is so good.

I just heard somethng that blew me away and I am not sure if it is good or not.

I mean , it is brilliant , but good is a different matter.

Anyway , just listen to this

Yes it is J-pop meets death metal . . . listen until at least 1 minute.

there isn't anything else to say is there really.

personal image not damaged . .

One of the great things about being very interested in music is the self gratifying snobbery that exists within it. Musical snobbery , disguised as 'taste' or justified as 'better knowledge', is perhaps the thing that puts people off musical discussion more than anything else. It is what being a musical hipster is all about.

I am as guilty of this as most of you reading this. Maybe more. In my defense, and I guess by extension, in yours, it is hard to listen to some music knowing that what influenced it was much better. Knowing there is so much better music out there. Knowing that what was originally ground breaking, has become a sanitized corporate output.

This is how it works.

Great bands, have some, or a lot, of success with an original sound or concept. The music industry says to itself, that is where the latest trend is, quick, we need bands like that, but a bit more radio friendly. Bang, 10 bands sort of the same come out and the public, like the musical sheep they are, lap it up like nice fresh juicy grass.Then something else comes along and they jump to the next thing. Here is a song about it:

There is also another kind, and this is perhaps more the domain of the hipster, snob, geek whatever you want to call me / yourself. . . I call this the ' I was there first' hipster.

Generally what happens here is that a band or artist , comes out with a first album, EP or something similar, and you love them. Something like this

or this:

In both of the above cases I claimed to love the band. Great band, what cool music.

Then, horror of horrors, everyone agreed. Great band.

It can be passed off, they don't really understand, they aren't as clued up, they just like the melody. So by the time the second album comes around, they are the main stream. Think also - Guns'n Roses.

You can't like the same thing that everyone one else does!

Are you mad???

So the second, 3rd, 4th, albums are decried as derivative, nothing like the first one. Success made the band lazy and they lack the punch they had to start with. The thing about this is that most people don't care. It is a little like protesting New Year's Eve and not going out because it is meaningless. The people out enjoying themselves don't care about your protest. For the most part people don't really care about other people's music taste . So you write a blog trying to convince them of how much you know . . .No seriously, when people engage you on it you have to then say, 'Yes, but they were so much better before . . don't you know, I have their first EP. Which I bought at their first ever gig, which was before half of them had met, indeed I introduced them and actually played on this' . . or other complete rubbish . . .

Sometimes you are right. In fact, there are very few bands whose later albums are better than their first few. There are some very notable exceptions. Like the album this comes from:

or this:

Anyway . . . the thing about all of this is despite the front that is shown to the world, you still know, deep inside, that you love the first album. Certainly in the case of Pearl Jam, Oasis and Guns'n Roses I do. So you come back to it after a certain amount of time, sometimes 5 years more likely to be 10 or in fact nearly 20, and you realize that it is still great. You realize that it is alright to love one album and not others. Sometimes you even begin to explore the rest of a catalogue and find some other stuff you like.

No, actually that rarely happens, because they did become lazy, but certainly you listen to the second album. Which is never as bad as you remember it to be, actually it is quite good, but your prejudice got in the way.

The point of all of this is that you believe that you managed to keep your credibility intact. But really, you just managed to convince yourself that you were special, and actually you aren't.

This is a little darker than I usually write, but it is an interesting part of becoming older and looking back. Love for music doesn't change, but your attitude to how it defines you does.

Isn't that interesting.

(Just a quick word on that Tool song, last listed in the you tube links. Listen to the whole thing.  It is a song about the singer's devout christian mother who died after living for 10,000 days with severe complications after having a stroke. Whether you are a musical snob or not that is a powerful song.)

New Music (for me) Bibio

The great thing about music is that you haven't listened to all of it. Not even close.

You can try, and waste a lot of your life trawling through dirge, the pop hit wanna-be's and the artistic noise makers.

Sometimes, though, you stumble across something that makes it all worth the while. last week I found something worthwhile and I thought I would share it with you if that is alright?

Bibio - The Green EP.

Here is a taste.

And here is another

Here is their website, or at least the record companies so you can get a feel for all of their stuff.

http://warp.net/records/bibio


I love the green EP because it is at once, quiet, but complex and somewhat mournful. While not being sad.

Which is quite an achievement.

Let me know what you think.

Surely there is an alternative? part I

Another post inspired by a documentary and a request. I guess they are the best and if it helps me to put something out there then it should be encouraged. So if you have a question please feel free to ask, and I will try and relate it to music somehow, or I will just make up some stuff.




I was watching a documentary about American Rock and Roll. It was and is pretty good. Looking at the music of the 60s 70s and 80s and relating to various aspects of society at the time(s). There was a quote in it, which went along the lines of, when the music industry sees something succeed they will produce copies of it, until it fails. Which we all know to be true, and quite depressing. This coupled with a conversation I had over the holiday period with a friends son about alternative music means that it is time to look at some of the music that inspires the copying.

This is from my experience and so, well, lets be honest here, it might be a bit dated, none the less and as has been commented on before, great music doesn't date.

So before it becomes a 'trend' or new style, there has to be someone who forged the way first. From my experience, these bands tend to not be as successful, well known and the music tends to be less polished, than the people you have heard of. That's kind of how it works, because improving on an idea is a lot easier than coming up with one yourself.

So let's start with the obvious. The Pixies basically led to to Nirvana and grunge. Here is a Pixies song, a great Pixies song

here is another

That video was done by the same guys that did Gorillaz and is the same story as Monkey Magic, the Japanese TV series of the late 70s. Cool.

The Pixies reformed in the early 2000s after splitting up for 11 years or so. They are great once again, although to be honest I prefer listening to their old stuff rather than anything new. But for all of you older fans. There is a new pixies album released last year.

Another band that has to be said to have had a large influence on people such as the 'Punk' scene that came through America in the 90s and 2000s is Sonic Youth. I am not sure if it is fair to say that they were perhaps a little more well known than the Pixies. I guess it is because when their music style was more accepted in the main stream they were still together. They split in 2011, after Kim Gordon and Thursten Moore announced their marriage of 27 years was over. (wow by the way, just wow)

It is perhaps true though that you cant draw a direct link with Sonic Youth and other bands that have copied them, mainly because they are so hard to copy, with various different emphasis's of style running through their music , no one band can really be said to be an imitation, although I guess most alternative bands are in some way. Their music ranges from the quite pop oriented, through punk and then to new or even no wave styles.

They are definitely worth checking out though. Here are a couple of my favourite songs. First a Rock style

yes that is Chuck D from Public Enemy

Here is something else

There is so much Sonic Youth stuff that I really do not know where to go. I recommend their albums, Goo (my favorite) Sister (everyone else's favorite), Murray Street, Dirty. As starting places. I have been meaning for years to put together a Sonic youth playlist of my favorite songs and play that.

If we look at 'Emo' and specifically My Chemical Romance. A good band and the best of their generation of bands. Sorry to say though not really a new concept, 'emotional' music put to guitars. Not to detract from their music though. The Black Parade particularly is a favourite album of mine and always worth a listen.

their spiritual fathers are perhaps the guys from Fugazi and Husker Du.

here is some Fugazi

I must admit, that Fugazi were a band that passed me by a little bit. I had a very cool 'I'm in on the kill taker' T-shirt which was always met with a little bit of skepticism by people who weren't aware of what it was. I would search around a little bit in their albums as it is worth the effort.

Here is some Husker Du

That is taken from the album, Candy apple grey and that is a bit of emotional roller coaster ride. It is fair to say that they may have had a larger influence of Green Day than MCR, but definitely give the album a listen.

Four bands worth checking out. I like this topic and so I am going to do a few more of them. I have concentrated on the a very small section of the music styles that I personally like and so there is a lot more to write and think about.For example, the new age of metal has some very obvious links, as does R&B as well as the indie folky sounds that seem so popular again.

As always, if you have any comments please feel free

The Religion that is Justin Bieber - update

You know, when I wrote that I wanted to punch Justin Bieber in this post HERE, I didn't realise what a spectacular fall he would have.

You know who was right?

Me

I was right.

Terrible music, terrible person. Treats fans badly, no respect for anyone and is so used to being told he is right by all of his hangers on, to whom he is their meal ticket, that he has lost all perspective on the world

Form a queue and maybe we can all punch him now . . .

Musical Magpie

 I am lucky enough to Live in London. London is one of the world's great cities and one of the thing that makes it great is the museums and exhibitions that you get to see. last week I got too see the David Bowie exhibition at the Victoria and Albert (V&A). The exhibition is called 'David Bowie is', and it is a huge collection of memorabilia and multi media going through his career.

That amount of stuff they have to listen to, watch and look at is amazing. We were there for about 90 minutes and scratched the surface. As a bowie fan, it was great. lots of good songs with the original costumes, things like original handwritten lyric sheets. Talks with collaborators on Album covers, set design , guitarists and all of the other people in between.

The most interesting part for me was a series of three essay like pieces that you could listen to going through the different periods of the music. The Ziggy years. the Berlin era and then what could be described as after that. In the first part of it, and indeed in a lot of the exhibition it talked about Bowie soaking up influences from his surroundings. The writer of the piece and presenter, Howard Goodall, pointed out that the guitar in Rebel Rebel is quite similar to that of a Rolling Stones riff and that it could be pointed out by some that as the Rolling Stones were the biggest band in the world at the time , arguably given Led Zeppelin obviously, that this was not coincidental. He then went to pains to point out that there was no way that Bowie would have copied or borrowed a style.

But then he had to say that didn't he.

Here it it

A great deal of the exhibition went on and on about how much a trail blazer that Bowie was (actually it also tried to say is, but I will get to that later). Do we agree with this? Well it is a little complicated isn't it.

There is no doubt that he had a different style from the main stream at the time. Although let's not forget that when Space Oddity came out it was 1969, and an androgynous man was not that unusual. Indeed like so much of the image of Bowie, it is taken very much from the theater and the many actors that are listed as inspiration by Bowie himself.

Still a good song though - seen through modern eyes here

Let's also not forget that when Ziggy was actually 'born' in 1972 we had subsequently had 2 years of T-Rexsity and 'glam' was fully underway.

You see where I am going here. It isn't that original really. It isn't a new idea. It is a similar idea with a couple of quirks taken from other sources thrown in and packed up for the masses. That, you see is my point here. Like so many other very successful artists that are considered trial blazers, what they actually do is scoop up the underground, mix it with some other influences and re-package it. because they are famous , people see it as the new trend. They are branded as heroes for it

A poor link , but I enjoyed it.

You can make very similar arguments for the Berlin era and the post Berlin, pre Tin Machine albums. The electronic and more industrial sounds were already coming out of Germany. Let's be honest here, Bowie didn't throw a dart at Europe, hit Berlin and say, 'I know a great place for this music that is completely unique'. It is true that he did have a previous, well documented love of the Cabaret scene in Berlin from the 30s and various artists from that and slightly previous to that who were based in Berlin.

No, he moved there because that is what he wanted to Absorb.

That song, has Nile Rodgers from Chic playing on it. Indeed much of the music you know and love has Nile Rodgers playing on it. I am going to write about that at some point, remind me. Again here we have Bowie taking something, a sound out of one area and putting it to the mainstream.

You could quite correctly argue that in using the leading Disco Guitarist of the age is hardly going into the underground. Perhaps that shows that he was slipping and after being the bringer of musical greatness to the masses for a decade, his finger slipped from the pulse.

Which leads me to the decline of Bowie. I have thought about this topic quite a lot. it has always struck me as a bit odd that he was able to produce such good music for so long and then it just went off. Well, you will be completely shocked to learn that i have a theory on the topic.

As per the above Bowie spent a lot of time absorbing and regenerating, in other ways obviously, the sights and sounds. He was if not ever the biggest performer in the world, certainly the one with the most credibility left, despite being so huge. There must have been a point where he decided, you know wht? i m going to put this out and if people don't like it then it doesn't matter so much.

Something I learnt recently was that there are two albums between Let's Dance and the Tin Machine 'experiment'. Before I get there, imagine being in Tin Machine , which, according to Bowie was a proper band to which he was the lead singer. I have never heard anyone ever say that they think Tin Machine is Bowie's best work, in fact i have heard such esteemed people as Robert Smith from The Cure describe it as ' the most horrible disappointment of my life. I love Bowie but I simply couldn't listen to Tin Machine'. It is the same for everyone. So you are asked by David Bowie to be in his band,. imagine how cool that would be. Then it is Tin Machine. That must suck, a lot.

Any way, back to the theory, ah yes, he basically decided to make the truly avant guard music he always wanted to. It is just that no one else really wanted to hear it. it wasn't part of a underground swelling in music that he helped shape and bring to the mainstream. it was what was in his head originally.

So, enough, one of the great things about writing this pievce has been the chance to narrow down to my favourite Bowie song. because let's face it. Everyone has a favourite don't they.

Well i have two, because , well I am special and a snowflake and all that sort of stuff.

Sorrow

and the man who sold the world