Black Eyed Peas Halftime Show Super Blows

Why is it that the country that invented rock and roll can't have a good halftime show during the Super Bowl, the most watched American program every year?  The last time I remember enjoying one was when Michael Jackson performed 18 years ago, and even he lip-synched.  Here's the video of the 1993 performance to serve as a palette cleanser for this year's halftime atrocity: 

It is of my personal opinion that the Black Eyed Peas are the worst ilk to ever be associated with music.  There is nothing original about what they do.  They have the absolute WORST lyrics and stand for nothing.  There is no message to what they do.  Some may argue this point and say that BEP stand for love;  to that I rebut and say, what pop act doesn't say that?  Half the time they don't even have original hooks to their songs; they sampled Dick Dale and the Dirty Dancing theme during the halftime show.  They auto-tuned, hid what sounded like a live band at times, and mostly just stood, the four of them in a row, on the stage.  What happened to integrity and entertainment?

Black Eyed Peas worship money and fame.  They sell out their own ideals so they can compete in the politically correct music industry of this age.  Does anybody still remember that "Let's Get It Started" was originally "Let's Get Retarded"?  That is original and pushes buttons, the exact thing that music is supposed to do.  Instead they played it safe so they won't offend the dwellers of the red states who don't know the definition of context, and raped the benefits.  And yes, I meant raped, not reaped. 

And what's with Slash being there?  Not only does he have nothing to do with the Black Eyed Peas, but he wasn't even supporting one of their songs.  Slash was playing that same old, tired, 25-year-old "Sweet Child of Mine" riff for Fergie to butcher all over again.  I hate to say it, but I would have rather seen Axl Rose's self-martyring ass singing, and I HATE GUNS AND ROSES!!  Once again, money and fame overthrew integrity.

Why does the NFL try so hard not to offend anyone?  That attitude doesn't represent what goes on in the game whatsoever.  During any given game, a mic will be in the wrong place at the wrong time and we'll here the players, coaches, anyone on the sidelines, make crude or vulgar remarks.  Linemen, defense or offense, have the mindset to murder the opposing players to win.  Do the Black Eyed Peas seem to mesh with that kind of a culture?  HELL NO!!

This dance-y, tapioca, vanilla obscenity that was the BEP halftime show was marketed as the cure for the geriatric performances that have been the norm of the last few years.  We had The Who, Springsteen, and Rolling Stones all perform; these are iconic artists.  Sure, maybe they are past their prime, but I think they delivered much more solid shows. 

And another point: does this mean we're supposed to regard BEP as such iconic stars now?  Am I out of the loop here?  Are people really going to be playing a Black Eyed Peas song in 30 years and think, "Wow, they were so great!  This group changed my life!"?  I would venture to guess no.  The truth is that there will always be another BEP.  They will not go down being on the winning side of musical history.  A mad scientist music producer is in a studio right now with a younger, hipper, better version of BEP as I type this, shouting "It's alive!!"  This halftime show will be the peak of the Black Eyed Peas career.

So where do I get off as being so high and mighty?  I'm obsessed with music.  It is in my blood.  Other people can rattle off sports statistics and curate museums; I can tell you what year, what producer, what line-up changes occurred, all of this trivial knowledge about hundreds off bands.  Maybe it's useless to know, but it's all in how you use it.  And what I gather from my generation's pop group habits, is that very few survive.  How are the solo careers of anyone from Backstreet Boys, New Kids On The Block, or Spice Girls doing?  The only success story from this era is Justin Timberlake, and he hasn't made a new record in 5 years, focusing more on an impressive acting career.

Pop groups only exist for short amounts of time.  They survive because there are millions that don't know there is real music out there.  Once the next 4 chord generator makes their presence known, it is a nail in the coffin to the previous incarnation.  So count your money, Will.i.am, Fergie, and those two other guys; you're retirement, probably unwanted, will be coming soon.  Thank the universe for that!

Say It Ain't So!!: The White Stripes Have Broken Up

You read correctly.  The seminal rock duo from Detroit, The White Stripes, have officially broken up.  Jack and Meg White released a statement on their website here.  Unfortunately, it is true.

It is of my opinion that Jack White is the most prolific musician of this generation.  Anything that this man has touched has turned to ROCK!!  Whether it be fronting The White Stripes on vocals and guitar, taking a step back as a supporting member of The Raconteurs,  drumming duties in The Dead Weather, or producing the likes of classic artists such as Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson.  Mr. White has an old-school approach to creating music;  always analog, if possible, rejecting the digital takeover of recording that has encapsulated almost the entire music industry.  He founded Third Man Records based out of Nashville, TN in that regard, on the basis that less is more (and in Jack White's case, he is an artist of the highest caliber in that department).  Jack has the utmost appreciation of music as a historical contribution to humanity, and does everything he can to preserve, respect, and add to it's legacy. 

Here's an excerpt of an interview with The White Stripes on The Charlie Rose Show, my personal favorite interview I've seen of Jack and Meg.  Around 1:56 in the video Jack gets down to what they are trying to accomplish with their style:

Here is another excerpt from the same interview pertaining to why The White Stripes were created.  At about :30 into the video is what I believe every great musician tries to do:

From my experience as a performer, I know exactly what Jack White is talking about.  When a musician is in love with music that strikes a chord in them, the goal is to try and get others whom are unaware of said music, to pay attention.  Jack talks about "tricking" people into listening to the blues by putting his own spin on it with The White Stripes, hoping that the audience will dig for the hidden treasures of a time that has passed by exploring the influential artists in White's life by proxy, thus, preserving these historic performers and their legacy.

In my personal musical endeavors, I always admit that I'm trying to "rip off" the bands and musicians that have had similar impacts in my life.  I believe that you can't know where you're going unless you know where you've been.  Most musicians I know strive to be as good as the artists that inspired them to pick up their instruments in the first place.  If I can create a drum beat that alludes to Josh Freese, Jon Theodore, Elvin Jones, or Brooks Wackerman, and I'm approached by someone after a show that notices what I'm trying to do, it makes me smile; I'm fooling the audience into appreciating other artists by imitating them.

Though I'm sad that there will probably be no more new White Stripes records, I can't stay glum for long.  As you read this post, Jack White is most likely in his laboratory creating 10 more projects that will all blow the minds of the lucky who will be exposed to them.  And I can't be too surprised that this break-up has happened considering The White Stripes have been on hiatus for over 3 years now, but I don't want to take away from the significance of this event with my hipster proclivity to not being surprised. 

The White Stripes is where it all started for Jack White.  He'll be making music until his hands fall off, and even then I'm sure he'd find a way to make some killer tunes.  Bon Voyage, White Stripes;  you'll be dearly missed!!

What Does The Future Hold?: Coachella 2011 Line-Up Reaction

So here it is, the official line-up for Coachella 2011.  Here are the bands that I predicted/wished for in my previous post that actually made it:

Interpol, Crystal Castles, Flogging Molly, The Aquabats, Arcade Fire, The New Pornagraphers, Gogol Bordello, Cage The Elephant, Jenny & Johnny, Mariachi El Bronx (The Bronx, technically), Kanye West, The Strokes, Best Coast.

It is merely a fraction of what I guessed that turned out to be true.  But whether or not I had a low percentile of correct guesses is beside the point.  The point of Coachella, in my eyes, is to surprise the concert goer with acts that you'd never think of.  This year, for the first time in my 7 years of going to Coachella, I find myself dispassionate about the line-up in a sad way.

Now I'm the type of person that would go to Coachella no matter what.  It's the experience as a whole (camping, cruising the art exhibits, checking out new talent, quality time with great friends) that I look forward to each year.  Most of my favorite memories of the festival happen in the campgrounds; meeting people from all over the world, drinking endless cups of water each morning to hydrate properly whilst shooting the shit with my friends.  I hate it when I read passive-aggressive comments on Facebook or the Coachella message board expressing, "Maybe next year...".  Unfortunately, I find myself feeling this way this year.  But instead of just saying bollocks to the 2011 line-up and leaving it at that, I'll try to explain myself as best I can.

First I'd like to say that there are definitely more than a handful of bands that I want to see, aside from the groups I previously predicted.  My biggest surprise upon my initial viewing of the 2011 list was to see Ms. Lauryn Hill!  I thought she dropped off of the Earth.  She'd be great to see, but I have a feeling she might play a Sly Stone and bail on her sanity at the last minute, wasting everyone's time and dashing hopes.  Big Audio Dynamite is another group I would love to check out.  For those of you that don't know, this is Mick Jones' project after The Clash's break-up.  Quality tunes that explored what could be done with music in the early 80's.  And I'd really dig seeing One Day As A Lion.  This is Zach de la Rocha, from Rage Against The Machine, and Jon Theodore's, formerly of The Mars Volta, two man project.  It's heavy hip-hop with synth samples and it's pretty cool.  Of course, The Aquabats; they put on the most fun shows I've ever been too!

Even though experiencing these acts would be great, there are so many artists playing Coachella 2011 that I have all ready seen, some multiple times, and some multiple times at Coachella.  Kings Of Leon, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Animal Collective, Cee-Lo Green, Cage The Elephant, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez.  All killer bands,but it seems like a rerun.  There are also other groups that I haven't seen that are playing Coachella once again.  Kanye West, Bright Eyes, Interpol, Sleigh Bells, She Wants Revenge, Scissor Sisters.

To me, it seems like this Coachella was made for people who have never been to Coachella before.  It's like a greatest hits of Coachellas past.  For the promoters to keep selling more and more tickets, they chose  a ton of bands that are more mainstream to attract the just-above-average music fan.  These names are more familiar to a wider audience, thus selling more tickets.

2011 had a tough act to follow.  Coachella 2010 was one of the best years I've seen put on, second only to 2007, the year Rage Against The Machine did their reunion show (Still the best show I've ever been to. Period).  I am only omitting the 2004 festival featuring the Pixies reunion and Radiohead because tickets sold out for that one before I had a chance to claim my own;  I can only assume that that Coachella was as awesome as I thought it was.

Back on track:  Coachella 2010 had multiple astounding reunions - Pavement, Faith No More, Sunny Day Real Estate.  And the headliners were huge - Jay-Z, Muse, LCD Soundsystem, Them Crooked Vultures, and the first show in the US since the Demon Days tour by Gorillaz.  It was jaw-dropping to see that many great bands on the same bill.  I never thought I would see Pavement , Faith No More, or Gorillaz EVER!!  And my dream to see Dave Grohl playing the drums was fulfilled with TCV.

This year's line-up didn't do any of that for me.  I assumed that The Strokes and Arcade Fire would play; the Strokes release an album in late March, and Arcade Fire is the biggest band in the world right now and has an incredible history with Coachella.  When what I assume ends up happening, especially with bands I've previously seen, the wind is taken out of my sails.

There is a minute chance that I will still attend Coachella 2011.  The depending factor lies on who will be playing Bonnaroo this year.  I think I need a change in festival scenery if the one I've been dedicated to every year of my adult life is getting stale.  I've never been to Tennesee.  I'm ready for a new adventure, and with this being the 10 year anniversary of the Bonnaroo festival, I have a feeling that it'll be a party to end all parties.  Who knows who will be there?!?!

Coachella, I have not lost my faith in you.  What does the future hold for you and I?  For a festival that's about to be held for the 12th time, your track record is stellar.  But I can also accept that they can't all be winners.  I'm just spoiled for attending every year like clockwork.  If this had been my 3rd or 4th Coachella, I'm sure I'd be more psyched.  This line-up is not bad in the slightest, as far as talent goes; but for someone like me where Coachella has been like a second Christmas each year, I feel like Santa gave me the same gift twice.

The Rumor Mill Is Spinning: Coachella 2011 Predictions/Wishlist

To start this posting off, I would like to make it clear that I do not know the official line-up for Coachella 2011 (April 15-17).  All I can offer are predictions based on my experience in having attended Coachella 7 times and my pseudo-investigation of websites claiming to have inside info.

With that out of the way, the announcement of the 2011 lineup for Coachella will be revealed in the next coming weeks, as it is usually revealed towards the end of January/beginning of February.  This has encouraged enthusiasts of the festival (and in some cases, detractors) from creating the annual slew of fake Coachella Line-Ups.  These are a few of my favorites made up for this year.

These three fake-out posters, in particular, are extremely well-crafted.  The background is the exact template of past Coachella posters.  Headliners and lesser-known acts are placed with care into believable descending order.  There are common bands listed in each of these Coachella posters, included based on the mentions of said bands all over the internet to already be playing the festival; sometimes I believe that the better fake line-ups may influence last-minute add-ons of bands that ultimately perform at Coachella.  The font is practically perfect with the one used on official posters.  Below is the official Line-Up poster for Coachella 2010 for some contrast and comparison:

Every year these fakes get made, and every year I LOVE THEM!!  Why?  To me it's like telling Santa Claus what I want for Christmas.  You let him know what you want and you hope that it's what you get.  The official Coachella line-up is what Santa has left under the tree.  Most of the time it's what you've asked for, and there's always something that you didn't expect that shows up in your stocking (i.e. an impromptu band reunion).  I turn into the kid who opens up his present and it's a Lego set that I never saw coming, my heart bursting with joy!  That's the feeling I get when I look at the final Coachella line-up each year.  My household exploded in disbelief in 2007 when I saw Rage Against The Machine on the bill.

These Coachella prank posters also let me know that there are other people who go as crazy as me for the festival when this time of year rolls around.  I'm not the only one who looks up every band's web page and listens to their tunes so I can rank which bands are the most important for me to see.  That's why I love going to Coachella every year; everyone is there for the same reason - music!!

I've decided to make a prediction/wishlist of who I'd love to see at Coachella 2011.  These choices are made by my personal inclinations and wants.  The list is alphabetical, not ordered by most desired, because that would be almost impossible to do.  Let's begin:

Adele
Against Me!
Al Green
Aloe Blacc
The Aquabats
Arcade Fire
Arctic Monkeys
At The Drive-In
The Bad Plus
Bad Religion
Beastie Boys
Beck
Ben Folds (Five)
Best Coast
Billy Bragg
BLK JKS
Bon Iver
Boredoms 
Broken Bells
The Bronx
Cage The Elephant
Cake
Cat Power
Cee Lo
Cibo Matto
Crystal Castles
Cursive
Daft Punk
The Darkness
DeadMau5
Del Tha Funky Homosapien
Demetri Martin
Dethklok
Dr. Dog
Elvis Costello
The English Beat
Error
The Faint
Fantomas
Fiona Apple
Fishbone
The Flaming Lips
Flight Of The Conchords
Flogging Molly
Foo Fighters
Gallows
Gogol Bordello
The Hives
IMA Robot
Interpol
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia LIVE!!
Jake Shimabukuro
Janelle Monae
Jenny And Johnny
Joanna Newsom
Kanye West
Local Natives
Man Man
The Mars Volta
Matisyahu
Micachu And The Shapes
Modest Mouse
Mr. Bungle
The New Pornagraphers
Nine Inch Nails
No Doubt
Norah Jones
OutKast
The Pillows
Placebo
Portishead
Primus
The Prodigy
Queens Of The Stone Age
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Refused
Reggie Watts
Regina Spektor
The Roots
Saul Williams
The Strokes
Sublime with Rome
System Of A Down
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
Tenacious D
Th' Legendary Shack Shakers
Tobacco
Tomahawk
Violent Femmes
Wavves
Weezer
Whirlwind Heat
The White Stripes
The Who
Zee Avi

Yes, I'm sure I left your favorite band off of my list.  I'm admittedly lacking in hip/hop and dance/electronic predictions.

Let me know who you'd love to see at Coachella 2011 and who I moronically left out.

More Coachella posts to come!!  I've got to brag about who I guessed right, don't I?

Are You In The Mood?

One of the best movies I saw in 2010 was The Social Network.  Say what you will about it being a movie about Facebook (which it really isn't);  chances are that if you're reading this blog, you not only have a Facebook page, but it was a Facebook posting that alerted you to it's existence, so stop it.  Not only does it contain some of the smartest and fast-paced dialogue that's ever been written for a movie, but the musical score transforms The Social Network into a time-capsule rather than allowing it to be just another movie.

The soundtrack done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch is both breath-taking and unsettling simultaneously.  The twisting and stretching of the synth sounds, the simplicity of the piano, the sexual growl produced by the guitar and drum machine.  You're transported not just to the places you see on the screen by these sounds, but you get in between the wrinkles of "Mark Zuckerberg's" brain, feeling the torment, anguish, conflict, and satisfaction.  Every note enhances the tone of the movie exponentially.

Now imagine, if you will, the opening scene of The Social Network.  Mark and Erica are having a lighting fast exchange of words.  Mark continually interrupts and unwittingly insults Erica, while she just tries to keep up.  Eventually Erica feels so belittled that she announces to Mark that she is breaking up with him at this very moment.  Mark unsuccessfully tries to apologize and salvage the relationship, but Erica is exhausted by the future billionaire, stating to Mark, "You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you are a nerd, but that isn't true.  It will be because you are an asshole."  Erica leaves the bar and also leaves Mark in a defeated pile.  He sips his beer a final time and makes his exit.  As soon as his foot hits the sidewalk, "She Fucking Hates Me" by Puddle of Mudd starts playing.  Not exactly taking The Social Network seriously now, are we?

Music defines the tone of a movie almost more than acting in some cases.  The Social Network is a serious film with biting wit.  If Puddle of Mudd and Linkin Park and Trapt were the soundtrack, the movie would be ruined!  It would be misinterpreted as a boring comedy or a Dawson's Creek ripoff.  Luckily David Fincher helming the film as director got Trent Reznor involved and the soundtrack is incredibly cohesive with the images and performances.

Trent Reznor did not write songs for The Social Network.  He composed a mood.  We believe Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is exceptional not just because his acting was top-notch, but because the feeling from the music gave us context to his mood.  Humans associate feelings and moods with sounds all the time.  If we hear a high pitched siren, we feel concerned or curious or frightened.  Laughter makes most of us feel happy.  This is what Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch have done expertly with The Social Network; a dark yet optimistic mood arises from the tones they've created.

Inception is another terrific example of how music is the mood driver.  Hans Zimmer's ever-increasing "Buhm-buhm" that pounds louder and louder, almost imitates a semi-truck driver slamming on the horn of his rig to wake you up as you dozed off in your car on the highway and are about to crash into him in a fiery, head-on collision.  You wouldn't experience that feeling if Rob Zombie started ripping "Dragula" as Leo DiCaprio was being slow-motion dunked into a bathtub, would you?  Nothing against Rob Zombie, he's great, but his music would not compliment Inception in a moving way.

 

Where The Wild Things Are was a genuinely touching and sensitive movie.  It was not a movie for kids (as it was marketed), but a movie about how we felt when we were kids and how we began to deal with complex emotions for the first time.  Karen O, from Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame, accented beautifully the feelings of adventure and loneliness in the original songs she composed for the feature.  We were playing War with Max and the Wild Things instead of just watching a screen.  If tunes by Miley Cyrus had been the soundtrack, the point of Where The Wild Things would be lost and the movie would mean nothing to us.

I shudder to think about The Graduate's legacy if Simon and Garfunkel hadn't been what I was hearing throughout.  There's no way I can picture the opening credits of Pulp Fiction without "Miserlou" surfing over them.  I wonder how many mediocre movies could have been perceived differently if the music was more sensitive to the nature of the films.  Unfortunately we'll never know.  I'm just glad we have filmmakers and musicians that are cognizant of mood, or else movies would be a completely lost medium of expression.

This Is Not For You

It was recently announced that the hugely popular and inventive Arcade Fire will be performing at the 2011 Grammy awards. Their most recent album, "The Suburbs" (which happens to be nominated for Album Of The Year, and two other Grammys), debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 charts; quite a feat for any band, let alone one on an independently run label (Merge Records). The record is fantastic! It's complete and evokes such a nostalgic and thoughtful feeling throughout the entire album. No one else can make music quite like Arcade Fire.

Regardless of how good they are, the general reaction of music snobs upon hearing that Arcade Fire is to play at the Grammys is "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

I am one of those fans and I really don't know why I hate it when bands I love play the Grammys. Sure, there's the cliche, "The-Grammys-are-a-political-sham-and-don't-mean-anything- because-none-of-the-music-that-deserves-to-win-awards-ever-wins" excuse. It's more than just that, though. And I'm not the only one that has these feelings. Many fans of legit bands hate the overexposure. Why don't we want to share? Why does a band become less special when more people are aware of them?

Let me present an example. I can remember driving to my buddy Rogers' house with my pal Bentley when I was 18, blasting the "Master" EP put out by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It was fall of 2002. I had read a blip of an article about them, probably in Rolling Stone before it became a tabloid, and decided to look for it at Big B's Record Shop (of course, it is closed down now). They were weird and intriguing; when Karen O ground up her voice in a meat grinder on "Art Star", I didn't know what had hit me! Never had I heard a woman contort her voice that way. Nick Zinner made his guitar make anything but guitar sounds. Brian Chase brilliantly twisted his jazz style of drum playing into a dance-y, disco-punk feel. I instantly grew attached.

Anyone whose life revolves around music knows that feeling of discovering a great band before everyone else you know does. It's like sex at the beginning of a relationship. You're unsure, never having heard the band before, but you've already gone through the trouble of buying the CD or downloading the track. So you press play. The opening notes begin like foreplay; you're feeling out the music, letting it feel you out as well. There's something about that band that grabs hold of you and plunges you under the covers, blanketing and protecting your body from the cold of the U2's and Black Eyed Peas of the world; you know you've made the right decision. By the bridge, you're saying "Fuck yeah!", grooving back and forth, bobbing your head, tapping your feet, wiggling around, unable to divert your attention to anything else. Then the final chorus bangs out the climax. Before you know what's happened, the song is over and this new and exciting band has fucked your world apart; you are blown away by the discovery you have made...and you want more.

Fast forward, just one year, to the fall of 2003. YYY's first full-length album, "Fever To Tell" has come out, melts faces, and is a huge success. People whose musical opinions I respect are talking about them. They have become the buzz band of the zeitgeist. I should be happy that a band I love has reached this point in their career, thus cementing the eventuality of more music to be released with subsequent albums, allowing me to indulge in their sounds forever.

But no. Now Yeah Yeah Yeahs, my secret band that "I discovered first" had become everybody's favorite band. They even played the useless MTV Movie Awards. People whose musical opinions I DID NOT respect were talking about them. Frankly, I was turned off. Now came the part where it felt like having sex at the end of a relationship.

That's when we become conflicted. It's complete absurdity, but we become conflicted on whether or not we should continue to like a band because "the wrong people" like them now too. This has happened to me, band after band. Green Day and Kings Of Leon come to mind. I still don't know why this dilemma manifests itself in my brain. Shouldn't I not care about the popularity status of a band? Shouldn't I just enjoy the music because I like it and not worry who else likes it too? Maybe it's that I think my friends' opinions of my musical tastes will change and they wouldn't respect it anymore.

Not every band has the ability to shock and awe you, but the ones that do will always have a lasting impact on you. And I think that's a main contributing factor to why a lot of us music fans detest it when a mass appeal encapsulates a band after it felt like we brought their metaphoric flowers to blossom. We're like parents that don't want to see our kids grow up because we know what's out there in the world and we want to protect them from harm. The bands whose microphones we knocked over at a basement show will always mean more than the arena show you needed binoculars for. So when the band leaves the basement, becomes successful, and turns into the arena band, we feel cheated.

I feel very similar about Arcade Fire to the way I feel about the YYY's. They're two of my favorite bands out there right now. But I'm closer to 10 years older now than I was in my car heading to Rogers' place. I've mostly come to terms with my hang-ups about who likes a band or not. There are still plenty of artists that I love that will never be popular on a wide scale. I'm looking at you, defunct Nashville band, Be Your Own Pet. So who cares? I'll end up watching Arcade Fire's Grammy performance on Pitchfork.com anyway.