reflection/rant (it’s a thin line)

The job of a critic is by no means an honorable one… to take the very stuff of a person’s soul, bravely thrust out onto the world to experience, and deconstruct it with a process much like marking answers wrong on a test. We make a business of being hard to please, and claim to only patrons of real quality (whatever that means). Distainful and a constant skeptic, we are all at once indispensible and a nuisance to society. A nuisance because no one wants to read about how the band who plays their favorite song sounds like “the same old churned-out over-and-over artsy garbage that this critic has heard all too many times before”. Not only do they not want to read it, they don’t need to know it! Do we really want to change the way people consider certain musicians? Everyone has a particular taste, and is entitled to it – the ones that choose to write about it do not always have a more important taste than others. More refined, maybe. But not any more superior.

Critics are indispensible because we set the standards for the music that people really should be hearing, to keep up with the way modern music is going and to fully appreciate what these people have shown the world. Without us, nobody would care about music nowadays beyond their own personal taste. That way there will be no discussion, no difference of ideas, and altogether no reason to distinguish one band from another (if they’re all artists and all to be respected, which they may be…. they’re not all meant to be publisized, however). Continuing on with the idea of “no more critics”, bands would never get any feedback to take seriously; for anyone who goes out of their way to somehow tell a band what they think of them is either going to deliver extreme praise or extreme criticism. Imagine never knowing what your art is actually worth, so to speak. It would be a blow to your motivation for one thing, and your confidence for another.

This can all be condensed into one phrase, I just felt like writing it out for you: IF PEOPLE ALL AGREED, LIFE WOULD BE BORING AND SOONER OR LATER, NO ONE WOULD HAVE ANY OPINIONS AT ALL BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE JUST NO REASON TO.

PANIC! AT THE DISCO – ! = NEW ALBUM!!!

The boys in Panic at the Disco have thrown away their makeup bags, corrected their punctuation errors, and are getting all pepped-up to come back with a new album! It is titled ‘Pretty Odd’, and set to hit the shelves March 25th. The single, “Nine in the Afternoon”, however, has already been released, and I am loving it. It is delightfully ridiculous and completely over-the-top celebratory. Brendon’s voice, unfortunately, shows little maturity, but it’s certainly not quite so choppy with the squealing vocal riffs, and moves the music along so much better than it did on the hyperactive ‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out’.

Anyway, here is the link to the video for “Nine in the Afternoon”: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCto3PCn8wo

watch it, if you care at all about popular music.

lazing on a (friday) afternoon

Alright……. I suppose that when nobody reads your blog, this is when it comes in handy. I am snowed inside my house, with only homework for company and no more Little Britain DVDs to watch (I took care of those in the forst 3 days of break). So I am going to write, aimlessly and obliviously, about Keith Jarrett.

I say “obliviously”, because I only just heard him yesterday, and I know nothing more about him beyond the fact that he was a jazz pianist who was popular in the 70’s and had a concert in Koln that was almost entirely improvised, and entirely preformed on the piano. It is astounding. He has such a knowledge of the piano, that there is no barrier between his mind and the music that comes out. It is endlessly engaging music to listen to – fresh, light and lovely scales tinker against one another like a windchime… only to fall into a dark, jagged series of chords above which he moans and gasps along with the notes (not kidding – he does the “gospel shout”). The skill and emotion of Keith Jarrett surpasses all pianists previously known to me. In this concert album (aptly titled “The Koln Concert”), he has created a timeless portal for all listeners of music…. into the most wonderous, and most intimate parts of his mind.

by the way…

I forgot to write about this when it actually happened, but Josiah Leming got voted off of American Idol (I watch devotedly, maybe I’ll do some entires on it in the future…). He was this emotionally haggard kid from a small town, who ran away from home to try and become a musical pioneer. I thought he was genuinely talented! In Hollywood week, he did an endearing, extra-poignant version of “Grace Kelly” on the piano, which won over even Simon. When he sings, he seems completely unaware of anyone around him, and what comes out is pure human emotion…all at once ugly and gourgeous sound.

Anyway, it’s sad he got voted off (I didn’t care about any of the other contestants making it, really). But he has a YouTube channel, and he’s put an EP out somewhere. Perhaps Josiah Leming is not stamped out of the music business yet.

I really hope he’s ok.

The sawdust of my mind

Eccentricity can be an very endearing quality to a band, if handled right. For The Killers, however, it is handled in the least pleasant possible way –  they have the gall to release a B-sides record (“Sawdust”) that skips between genres recklessly just months prior to the release of their weak glam-rock failure (“Sam’s Town”). Trying to keep an open mind about this, I think that there is a way to regard this album that can not only make it have instant sentimental value, but also earn a well-deserved place among your collection. Think of each song on its own (there are a few for which this won’t work because they’re not very good, but only a few), as if you found it on a CD left anonymously on your doorstep this morning and are listening to it with absolutely no pre-conceived notions about it. Almost every song is charming in its own way, and stands on its own.

Tranquilize – featuring Lou Reed (who just comes off as Brandon in a slightly lower register), what this song lacks in coherency, it makes up for in its mood; all at once hopeful and resigning, slightly edgy and radical. The thrilling guitars cycle off in the end to clear, perfectly coherent piano thuds, accompanying last words to be remembered: “We’re the ones who still believe and we’re looking for a page in that lifeless book of old where a dream might help you cope in the bushes and the bombs.”

Shadowplay – my dad heard this on the radio and thought it sounded a bit like the Cure. Such a flattering comparision is not entirely deserved, but still the soupy, abstract landscape hearkens back to the 80’s (not to mention the line: “In a room without a window in the corner I found truth”). It’s certainly trying for too much, but that’s where the appeal lies, and they get away with it.

Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf – swagger does not suit The Killers comfortably. Catchy and danceable as this may be, it is more than a little bit uncomfortable. It feels like there could be much more to this. It’s a good idea, just not one that has been developed fully, or has enough to develop. As he says in the last line, “Don’t you see….that I’m not satisfied”.

Under the Gun – an unhealthy, possibly violent romance, told over a whole mess of modern rock and pitch-controlled vocals (this is a song from their “Hot Fuss” days, where Brandon’s voice was run through computers). It is perfectly enjoyable, if you allow for the moments in which it is verging on obnoxious.

Where the White Boys Dance – great title included, this song is the strongest on the album next to Shadowplay. Controlled, brooding bass underlines the honest, slightly sacrastic vocal before an exhilerating punch of high guitar wails blares through and you can almost see the flashing lights of a dance club before your eyes. Just as easy to listen to at a party as it is alone in your room. Either way, you’ll probably end up looking foolish dancing like a white boy, glorified straight out of the song for all to see.

Show You How - the idea of recording music through someone’s answering machiene is so quirky and sentimental, this song is instantly likeable. On an album trying to be so many things, this song is absolutely individual and confident. Even if it isn’t, it certainly fooled me.

Move Away – this song seems like The Killers’ one genuine creative release on the album. They’re no longer trying to be too clever, or throw in an odd synthesized beat here and there – they sound like a really good rock band, thrashing around and yelling for you to “take off your skin when you listen”.

Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll – I’m not sure what I should say to make fun off the abysmally bad lyrics, but this song sounds great, is instantly fun to listen to and makes you want to sing out the title when it comes around for the 22nd time.

Romeo and Juliet – in a funny suburban setting, Romeo and Juliet emerge as two teenagers caught in their casual whirlwind romance. It’s an interesting note of closure to the album, admitting “the dice was loaded from the start”. If this is a swaggering farewell, for once, it works.