Calvin Harris isn’t your typical 24-year old. When this Dumfries, Scotland native isn’t helping to resurrect the once passé electro genre (asymmetrical haircuts and electro-clash, anyone?) or racking up infectious top-ten singles in the UK, he’s busy basking in the sunshine of success, writing and producing tracks for mini-pop princess Kylie Minogue’s latest effort X (in addition to a slew of other UK pop sensations). On his debut album I Created Disco, Harris mixes his signature sonic aesthetic–think bombastic beats, videogame-influenced effects and synth tones that sound like they are being played from the depths of the ocean–with lyrics about smoking flourescent-colored rocks, pill-popping in Vegas, and a fictional man who created disco after World War II. Fuzz recently discussed with the electro prodigy via-email the unlikely influence of food on music, Ms. Minogue, and who really created disco.
Fuzz: So, I know the Kylie question is played out at the moment, but what was it like working with her? Were you always a fan?
Calvin Harris: It was a really great experience, and a fascinating insight into the world of making pop music at the highest level. It was a door that I previously didn’t even consider knocking on, let alone jamming my foot in.
Did you have her in mind when you come up with the song “In My Arms” or was it a more collaborative process?
I wrote the music and the hook sometime before a collaboration was suggested, but when it was, I knew the track would suit her.
Is there any other mega starlet or man-star you’re dying to work with?
Yeah loads, in fact too many to mention. T-Pain, R. Kelly and Beyoncé are pretty high on the list.
What has been your best remixing or production experience and why?
I enjoyed the Dizzee Rascal track I made recently. It was a lot of fun and very rewarding.
What musical and non-musical things influence your sound?
Food influences most aspects of my life, including music. My beats are like a rump steak cooked rare with peppercorn sauce and a good side of mash and runner beans. Good, uncomplicated flavor in your earhole.
If your music were an animal, which one would it be?
Maybe a frog.
Had you even been to Las Vegas before when you wrote the song “Vegas”?
No and I still haven’t.
What is your favorite song on I Created Disco and why?
I like all of them equally.
In “Girls” you come off as an equal-opportunity dater. Is there anything about the opposite sex that really turns you off?
Broad shoulders?
As a fellow child of the ’80s, I know we’re a pretty magical breed. Were you afraid of alienating the elder music lovers?
No I couldn’t care less, if you like it you like it.
How did you start playing music? Were you always interested in making electro, or did you have a moody music period too?
I get the moody periods out of my system when doing interviews.
What’s the craziest thing a fan has done to get your attention?
Stolen my chips, and it worked.
Who are your musical heroes?
Timbaland, The Neptunes, ?uestlove, Roy Ayres and Outkast. There are too many.
If you could only take five albums on a trip to the moon, what would they be?
D’Angelo Voodoo, Raphael Saadiq Instant Vintage, Michael Jackson Off the Wall, Outkast Aquemini and probably some Lee Scratch Perry.
If you weren’t playing music right now what would you be doing?
Right now, aged 24, I’d be in a pretty bad place, mentally.
Fuzz: Describe your hometown Dumfries, Scotland in three words.
Green, Grey, Drinking.
If you didn’t really create disco, then who did?
Barry fucking Gibb.
Here are some facts that may shock you about influential Canadian hardcore band D.O.A.: Over the past 30 years, D.O.A. have released 12 albums and sold one million copies; frontman Joe Shithead Keithley is the bestselling author of “I, Shithead–A Life In Punk” on Arsenal Pulp Press; and in 2003, Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell declared December 21st to be “D.O.A. Day” in honor of the band’s 25th anniversary.
D.O.A. kicks off a tour in Canada in May and June, and expect them in the US later on this summer. For the tour, Keithley has teamed up with original bassist Randy Rampage and drummer James Hayden for a new album to be released this summer, produced by–another surprise–super-Canadian Bob Rock. Rock has produced albums for arena-fillers and indie acts alike, including Metallica, Offspring, Joan Jett, Subhumans, Young Canadians, Motley Crue, the Cranberries and many others. Rock also played bass on Metallica’s St. Anger.
D.O.A. will be releasing their 13th full length album Northern Avenger in December 2008, just in time for their 30th anniversary .
For more information on the D.O.A. 30th Anniversary Tour, go to www.suddendeath.com.
May 6th, The Casbah, Hamilton, ON
May 7th, The Dungeon, Oshawa, ON
May 8th, Call The Office, London, ON
May 9th, The Dominion, Ottawa, ON
May 10th, The Horseshoe, Toronto, ON
May 11th, Time To Laugh Comedy Club, Kingston, ON
May 12th, L3, St. Catherines, ON
June 9th, Wild Bill’s, Banff, AB
June 10th, The Doghouse, Medicine Hat, AB
June 11th, The Zoo, Innisfail AB
June 12th, TBA in Alberta
June 13th, TBA in Alberta
June 14th, P and Q’s, Ponoka, AB
Triclops! is a four-headed, multi-limbed beast that roams the fallow fields of the Bay Area. Its bloodlines run deep, from Oakland punks the Fleshies, to rockers Lower Forty-Eight and Bottles & Skulls, and to the region’s long-running prog-punk hybrids, dating all the way back to Victims Family. If you encounter this creature, Fuzz recommends that you remain calm. It will play its mating call for you if it is convinced you do not pose a threat. That call may bewilder you, and you might find your head banging in rhythm with its ululations. Again, remain calm–if Triclops! senses a threat, you might get your head torn off.
Field recordings have captured this creature’s rituals, and as a public service, they have been released for study and warning alike across a number of releases on labels like Sick Room and GSL. Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles imprint has recently issued the most comprehensive document of Triclops! to date in a full-length album, Out of Africa, revealing an abnormally high intellect and fearsome dexterity. Its odd vocalisms require multiple listens to comprehend, and at first might seem to rise from a dialect you have never heard before.
Triclops! is aware. It reads the paper and is suspicious of humanity’s misgivings. A quick listen to the tracks offered by Fuzz validates these speculations. “March of the Half-Babies” and “Freedom Tickler” are posted here for your own safety. Get to know the warning signs, so that when Triclops! approaches, you will be prepared and responsive to its alluring threats. Those who have approached Triclops! in peace have reported an experience of exhilaration and enlightenment. Those who have panicked in Triclops!’s presence have been known to experience buffeting, social castigation, and the aforementioned beheading. The choice is yours.
As the 1980s dawned, American punk found its voice. Hardcore acts scowled and grimaced in hundreds of regional scenes between Black Flag’s angry West and Minor Threat’s steely-eyed East. Despite hardcore’s sonic standardization, powerful music abounded–but humor floundered. So when a gloriously goofy band like The Meatmen emerged from that solemn landscape they became more than court jesters; Tesco Vee’s fraternity of sophomoric pottymouths were genuine rock ‘n’ roll heroes. At the time, few bands strove to put smiles on faces–even the brilliantly ridiculous Misfits would kick you in the head upon suggestion they weren’t dead serious. The Meatmen proved that punk need not be joyless.
Vee (Robert Vermuellen) was a Lansing, Michigan rock fan and Michigan State English student who eventually combined his love for loud music with his writing skills and launched a series of zines, including Touch and Go, which became a flame that attracted Midwest-scene mojo. By 1980 he had formed The Meatmen, obnoxious innovators who adapted hardcore’s sonic simplicity but rejected its non-theatricality. Tesco regularly took the the stage in leather sex garb and wielding props. After Necros bassist Corey Rusk helped Vee turn the Touch and Go zine into a record label, the Meatmen launched their ridiculous recording career and Rusk began building Touch and Go Records (now in its 26th year) into arguably one of the best indie labels in existence.
Releasing several EPs of ultra-offensive joke punk, the Meatmen (in less than an hour of material) managed to attack gays, women, the handicapped, the elderly, Rastafarians, onanists, aborted fetuses, Jack Grisham, and countless others. We’re the Meatmen and You Suck, their 1983 LP (really an expanded EP reissue), managed to render half-assed hate speech comical in part because of Tesco Vee’s transparently tenuous tightrope walk between articulate wordsmith and his inner dumbass.
The band soon dissolved and Vee relocated to Washington, DC, where the Meatmen had mysteriously made a big impression on righteous straight edgers. Reforming the band with Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, the ‘85 Meatmen proved to be the mightiest. With disciplined musicians behind him Vee expanded his comic visions, crafting songs that explored hard rock from the rawest punk to flamboyant metal, creating powerful sonic backdrops for motormouthed comedic rants. On War of the Superbikes and Rock ‘n Roll Juggernaut he skewered the fans, but also revealed himself to be one, celebrating clichés, covering favorite bands, and living a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy. Certainly the Meatmen continued to spew bile (forever telling us what sucks, be it crippled children, you, French people, you again), but Vee also found the freedom to move beyond insult comedy.
After this incarnation, the band dissolved in 1989 and Tesco briefly attempted to translate his humor to MTV. He then got back on the horse, fronting Tesco Vee’s Hate Police, then reforming the Meatmen. Though new lineups were consistently rocking, rarely did they provide as nurturing a backdrop for humor as his ’80s bands. Though several bright spots shone through, his obnoxiousness now seemed downright obnoxious. By 1997 the Meatmen were kaput.
There are many cult bands in music history whose haters are simply mistaken. If you believe that the music of Sun Ra, or X-Ray Spex, or AC/DC is not good–subjectivity be damned–you are wrong. However, the Meatmen do not fall into that category. It is completely reasonable for anyone turned off by posturings of homophobia, racism, sexism, or baby seal abuse to go ahead and hate them. Even if you’re a fan but you think their early work tries too little, their middle phase is overambitious, and their later work is ugly, I wouln’t argue. If you can’t get past Tesco’s lyrics (Trouser Press compared them to things assholes shout out of moving cars), fine. However, if you like the Meatmen, you do not suck. Tesco’s comedic stage presence, love of music (revealed by his cover songs), creative euphemisms for female genitalia (“pickle parlor,” “glorious gravy boat”), and relentless jesting make a case that his songcrafting is an act of joy, not an outlet of hate. Those who get the joke can dig the Meatmen shamelessly.
Recently Tesco reactivated the band, reissued most of the non-Touch and Go material, compiled a DVD, and took a new Meatmen on the road. Over the dozen years since the band last gave it a go plenty of things have sucked. If ever we needed an experienced “that sucks” finger-pointer the time is now–and if, as in 1982, we must learn once again that it is we that do the sucking, so be it. Welcome back Tesco!
Genius or heathen, social commenter or iconoclast, role model or laughable dumbass–no matter how you cast him, the Meatmen’s Tesco Vee never fell in the middle. With album titles like Crippled Children Suck, We’re the Meatmen…and You Suck! and Pope on a Rope, the comically irascible Vee (née Robert Vermeulen) helped draft the blueprint in the ’80s for politically incorrect punk to come. Now, after a 12-year absence, he’s formed a new version of the Meatmen, taken them on tour, reissued some records and is ready to challenge social mores once again with a covers album, Meatmen-style. From Lansing, Michigan, where he spent his teenage years and has raised his family for the past decade, Vee explains how absence has made his heart grow fonder and, more importantly, why we still suck.
Fuzz: Why, after 12 years, did you want to do the Meatmen again?
Tesco Vee: That’s the one my wife asked me a couple of times. “I thought you swore you were done!” I don’t know. I didn’t want to do it anymore. I moved back to Michigan and was all happy. And then John [Brannon] from Negative Approach called me and said, “Come on, man. We’re doing our first show in Detroit in 24 years.” First he said, “Come out and introduce us.” Then it was, “Do a couple songs.” Then it became a half-hour set, and the guys from NA backed me up. And, I don’t know, it felt good. It felt like I could still do this. I could still hop around in 120-degree heat and not have the big one.
Will you be writing any new music?
After we finish this covers CD and go to the well again and write a new album–I always call that climbin’ the mountain. Sometimes I think, like, with Pope on a Rope, I went for the throat and ripped the throat out and flogged everybody to death with it and now, where do I go from here? But I guess I’ll have to try.
What’s got you pissed off these days?
You name it. There’s plenty to be pissed off about. But it has to have the Tesco twist and be clever and funny and all that neat stuff.
Since you use humor so well, how serious have your rants been over the years?
In a way, it’s like don’t ask Van Gogh why he cut off his ear. Don’t ask me if I’m serious. Obviously, I’m a mean-spirited fellow, and some of that stuff I really feel. I think everybody has those feelings, but they don’t allow them to be verbalized or come out. They keep them quelled under layers of P.C. or just common sense, but I choose to let it all come out and I guess that’s my purpose on the planet, from my perspective.
Can you think of a time when one of your jokes got you in trouble?
Not specifically. I know where the flashpoints are, and I kind of dance around them, but, no, I’ve never been jacked up against a wall. Although [Long Beach hardcore group] T.S.O.L. did jack [Minor Threat/Meatmen guitarist] Brian Baker up against the wall in [Washington D.C.’s] 9:30 Club. This was sometime in the ’80s. And T.S.O.L. are big boys, and they found out about the [Meatmen’s] “T.S.O.L. Are Sissies” song and they were looking for me. I specifically did not go to that show. Them and all their roadies jacked Brian up against the wall.
Rather than bands you think are sissies, what punk bands have you liked lately?
Some of the punk I hear on XM is pretty good. Off the top of my head, the Casualties, Guttermouth and bands like that, that are sort of old school. Too much teenie punk, though. That’s the reason I came back. I needed to school this generation on how it’s done. I blame Green Day.
Speaking of making a change, you’re selling “Tesco Vee for President” stickers on your website. What would your first act in office be?
Probably legalizing marijuana. That’s needed to happen for a long time. I think I’m gonna plug [Fear frontman] Lee Ving as my running mate, too. I think it’s a marriage made in heaven–or hell.
Since it’s such a big part of your life, how did you explain the Meatmen to your kids?
I have a son and a daughter. They were raised around it and they always knew of it. And once my son was old enough to get into music, he was bragging to his friends that, “My dad is Tesco Vee.” He and my nephews were like, “We were born too late. You’ve gotta do this again.” My son and my two nephews are going out on the road with us now. And they’re the road crew and the drivers and the merch sellers, so it’s a family affair.
Your son gets to hand his dad an inflatable dick.
[Laughs] Exactly. What’s not to like? He scrawls “Son of Vee” in black paint on his chest, and comes out onstage in a gorilla mask and shoots confetti cannons. He’s having a good time.
Since information about you is so available online now, how do you feel about how you’ve been portrayed over the years?
I think I’m happy with it. People love me, people hate me. And there are people that want me to go away and go die. I got an email, because I have my contact info up, and some guy just said, “You were sucking my dad’s dick in Detroit in ’82.” And it’s like, “Wait a minute. Hold on. First of all…” But that’s fine. That’s one reaction. Other people tell me they love me. And that’s the reason I keep going. But when I look at my Wikipedia bio and all the things people have written about me, it’s all true. Well, it’s not all true. If it makes me more interesting than I really am, then that’s OK, too. Overall, I’d say I’m happy with my place in the world. When I die, I’ll have left quite a stain on the underpants of society.
We’re the Meatmen…and You Suck! (Touch and Go, 1983)
This album may merely be a reissue of the Meatmen’s Blood Sausage EP, beefed up with eight ridiculous live tracks, but with its goofy cover art and joyfully offensive music it stands as one of the most iconic albums in American punk history. There are few examples of a band so capably pulling off the oxymoronic feat of intelligently being genuinely stupid. Contained within these grooves are catchy, sloppy hardcore songs that express joy at the death of John Lennon, appreciation for the work of porn star Vanessa Del Rio, and odes to homosexuality and womanhood that could only make gays and gals glad to be different from these juvenile jokesters. Tesco Vee’s semi-inept vocals (despite an impressive tapeworm impersonation) joyfully spew hate evenhandedly. And while it would be easy to dismiss these oafishly offensive tunes as unoriginal and dumb, something about Tesco’s absurdist sense of humor makes these rants actually funny. This album sets the tone for all future Meatmen albums by making ridiculous pop culture references (Grease 2) and boldly declaring what sucks (crippled children, you).
War of the Superbikes (Caroline 1985)
At risk of losing my punk credibility, I declare that despite the timelessness of We’re the Meatmen, this is the band’s finest moment. Somehow a move to DC (known for their hyper-serious punk scene, personified by the members of Minor Threat) and the assembly of a new lineup (including Minor Threat members Lyle Preslar and Brian Baker) made Vee shift from sloppy jokecore to sophisticated comedy rock far more akin to a National Lampoon album than a Black Flag record. This new disciplined crew was capable of seriously shredding, and Tesco uses this skill set to explore ridiculous rock on the melodramatic title track, the breakneck “Abba, God and Me,” and reverent covers of Pagans and Nazareth tunes. The highlight is the hilarious “Punkerama” a tour de force assault/celebration of rockers, punks, and game shows, that outs Rob Halford and Joan Jett, name-checks obscure hardcore band the Clitboys, and demonstrates that Vee is capable of funny voices not hinted at by his grunting singing on the debut.
Rock & Roll Juggernaut (Caroline, 1986/Meat King, 2008)
One might call this the least Meatmen-ish album of the band’s career. Take away the German oompah song and the quintessentially-Meatmen “French People Suck” and this almost seems like a normal rock band making a real album. While far from straight metal (plenty of punk in the mix), songs like “Centurians of Rome” and “Turbo Rock” don’t seem like parodies of grand rock clichés, but rather enjoyable examples of such. The six stellar bonus tracks on the new reissue include live versions of Superbikes and Juggernaut songs.
We’re the Meatmen…and You Still Suck!!!(Caroline, 1989/Meat King 2007)
Not much to say about this live ambush (compiled from shows in DC, Boston, and New Jersey) other than to point out that it is extremely convincing. The minimalist early Touch and Go material, the hard rocking tracks from the mid-eighties, and the cover songs sound great together, surprisingly cohesive in their obnoxiousness. The recent reissue adds a few tracks.
Crippled Children Suck (Touch and Go, 1990); Stud Powercock: The Touch and Go Years 1981-1984 (Touch and Go, 1990)
As the eighties became the nineties Touch and Go decided to get nostalgic, honoring their founder by releasing the eighteen track Crippled Children LP (compiling songs from the EP of the same name plus rarities) and the 39 track retrospective CD Stud Powercock which included virtually every early Meatmen recording (even the not officially Meatmen 1984 release “Dutch Hercules” by Tesco Vee and the Meatkrew, which introduced the hard rocking DC sound). For fans of early Meatmen, this orgy of audio is all you’ll ever need, but metal heads who came to the party a little later may have trouble digesting the raw meat of these lo-fi reissues, demos and live tracks.
Tesco Vee’s Hate Police Gonzo Hate Vibe (Staple Gun, 1992/Meat King 2007)
Not long after Touch and Go got all wistful about the days of early Meat, Tesco theoretically moved forward by starting a “new” band. Considering the revolving door band-member policy of The Meatmen, and the fact that this album–and Hate Police’s numerous singles, compilation appearances, and tribute album tracks, including an infamous cover of REM’s “Losing My Religion”–continued the hard rocking, sensibility-offending tradition of late ’80s Meatmen, the significance of the new name is unclear. If anything, this album strains to be extra puerile as Tesco croons about big boobs, big dicks, two different types of anal ooze, and just in case you didn’t understand he was trying to offend, clubbing baby seals to death. On the Nostradamus tip, the song “Fuckin’ the Dough” predicted the American Pie baked goods copulation trend a good seven years before that fad took off. The 2007 reissue features an overwhelming 11 bonus tracks (REM included).
Toilet Slave (Meat King, 1993)
Tesco’s return to Meatmen branding was released on his own label in limited quantities with cheap looking artwork, but it sounds better than it looks. Though not exactly a departure from the heavier, more metal Meatmen stuff (Heavy Meatal?), with a new lineup, the band became more straightforward bar punk. This CD does contain some nice twists. For example, I assumed the song “Real Men” was using flaccid penis positions as a metaphor calling for a return to Republican values at the dawn of the Clinton era (“real men hang to the right”), but then the album wraps up with a call to murder GOP members. So I guess sometimes a penis is just a penis.
Pope on a Rope (Pravda, 1995/Meat King 2008)
This album features a return to good cover art (love the Mad Magazine font) and good cover songs (Blue Oyster Cult and Gang Green get the Meat-treatment) but overall this is coarser and less fun than previous releases. Without Lyle Pressar’s guitar flavor, some of the harder music here is kind of plodding. Combined with Tesco’s vocals becoming more guttural, this makes this release sometimes sound more like unfunny Mentors music rather than the joyful comedy of classic Meatmen. The new reissue includes five bonus tracks, including the excellent Boris the Sprinkler split EP (Deep Purple cover intact) and the “Green Acres” theme song.
War of the Superbikes II (Go Kart, 1996)
As the title indicates, this isn’t so much a reissue of War of the Superbikes with ten newly recorded bonus tracks, as it is a new album that just happens to open with the original Superbikes in its entirety. As a reissue it would be a disappointment, as the cover art is inferior and the 1985 recordings sound better by themselves, but as a new album it’s reasonably solid. Tesco is in classic form, making fun of Morrissey and grunge and paying tribute to blowjobs and death metal. The highlight here is the masterful cover of Venom’s “Evil in the League with Satan,” which maintains the thundering boogie-metal of the original, but thrashes it up a notch, and somehow makes it funny. Tesco will be reissuing this in 2008, presumably with bonus tracks, which may qualify as War of the Superbikes III.
Blight Detroit: The Dream is Dead (Touch and Go, 1995)
Add Meatmen absurdity to the Fix’s straightforward rock and the sum is…humorless art noise? For reasons lost to time, Tesco’s 1982 band Blight, formed with members of the Fix (the Touch and Go band whose 2006 compilation CD made available one of the all-time most expensive punk singles), was devoted to art damage music informed by hardcore and industrial, but also related to the more ambitious (some might say pretentious) work of Chicago’s ONO and Michigan’s Destroy All Monsters. Tesco’s most serious (and to Meatmen fans, least interesting) work appeared on one obscure vinyl EP, and several impossible to find cassette compilations, making this 1995 reissue pretty unexpected. Tesco trivia: This CD contains his finest trumpet playing.
Evil in the League of Satan (Go-Kart 1997)
This CD mostly compiles previously released nineties Meatmen tracks, including a few from “Toilet Slave.” A somewhat half-assed album, the most memorable cuts here are collaborations (including good ones with Rev. Norb, earth’s greatest devotee of Tesco lyricism, and unfortunate ones featuring vocals by the late Bianca Butthole, frontwoman of Butt Trumpet, which may have been the worst punk band ever). This double disc also features a CD-Rom of live footage and vintage Meatmen images (many of which appear these days on Tesco’s website). This would have been a disappointing swan song for such a mighty band, so it is with both relief and anticipation that we look forward to the forthcoming The Meatmen Cover the World album that will be infecting speakers–and now earbuds–later this year.
What the Hell Is Punk, Anyway?
The three unavoidables for musicians: death, taxes, and the van–the less than sumptuous facilities from which I am reporting to you now as the Damned hurtle at breakneck speed from Thessalonica to Athens on our latest Euro jaunt.
At least we had a reasonable hotel last night–but is it “punk rock” to be afforded the luxury of a bathrobe, room service and a vanity kit and all that? It takes a lot to get my chum Charlie Harper, singer of the UK Subs, to complain (”sleep on the DJ’s floor Charlie?”…”Yeah yeah yeah, but where’s the beer?”). The Subs will play any gig, anywhere, anytime–the bloke’s a legend.
Now I’m not saying that dossing on the floor’s beneath me–I just think at this late state in my dubious career I deserve a bit of comfort after a hard day’s flitting about in my quest to spread a little joy and happiness (plus a dollop of subversion) around the planet. Oh, and I’m not sure my dodgy old back would stand sleeping on the DJ’s floor these days, either.
A few years ago the Damned participated in the Warped Tour, a traveling punk circus with the bands journeying from town to town through the night in their various tour buses. We did notice then that some of the buses were a lot posher than others. And how about the bands that have private planes with an anarchy logo on the tail–as the owner of our last label had (although that didn’t stop us borrowing it on occasion…cough, ahem!).
I remember when we flew in for what was the first US show by a UK punk band. At CBGB’s it was, in 1976 and we were met by this limo to take us into Manhattan…which we promptly sent off in disgust taking the shuttle bus instead. Who did they think we were–rock stars? But it wasn’t long before we started selling reasonable amounts of records and the inverted snobbery went down the jolly old toilet pan!
So, what exactly is punk rock? Is it just about kick ass songs, spiky hair and tattoos, or is there more to it? The Damned’s motto was “THE FIRST RULE IS–THERE’S NO RULES”–but I’m not sure you can front a punk group wearing bright orange loon pants and get away with it.
Maybe punk’s job is to tell it like it is: naming names, challenging the lunatic policies of government and pointing out the failures of a society that works just fine and dandy if you’re stinking rich but is a nightmare for the poor–in a way that journalists used to do before the likes of Rupert Murdoch changed all that nonsense! And whatever you think of Green Day–”American Idiot” did hit the nail firmly on the head lyrically (even if the tune does reminded us of Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America” somewhat).
But is it not the DIY attitude that is the crowning glory of punk? Buy a guitar and do it yourself. You only need to learn a few chords and you’re away. And for me that philosophy should go for sport, TV, religion, art, whatever…don’t sit on the couch watching some arrogant overpaid asshole do it for you–use your own brain and see what you can create. That’s punk if you like.
But I’d better wrap up now as our van is finally approaching Athens after 6 hours of hell–sweltering heat with no AC to speak of–and regardless of my preceding waffle about punk all I can say is if they don’t have any decent beer at the venue tonight the gigs off!
Pip pip,
Captain S.
The worst joke I’ve heard this week…
A 6 year old and a 4 year old are talking. The 6 year old says, “I think it’s time we started swearing”. The 4 year old agrees.
They go down to breakfast and Mum asks what they want. The 6 year old says, “Oh shit Mum, I think I’ll have some Cocoa Pops”. WHALLOP… he flies out of the chair and across the room and runs out crying.
Mum looks sternly at the 4 year old and asks what he wants.
“I don’t know,” he cries–”but it won’t be fucking Cocoa Pops!”
Though many high profile bands have openly used alternatives to fossil fuels for their stadium tours, Radiohead is the first to ask fans to consider their transportation methods, and offer incentives to fans who try to reduce their carbon footprints.
Radiohead is one of the first high profile bands to commission a study from Best Foot Forward to definitively determine what the greater pollutants of touring might be. Best Foot Forward analyzed transportation methods both Radiohead and their fans for their stadium and theater tours in 2003 and 2006 (view a copy of the report here).
So, what is the biggest kick to the earth when it comes to stadium shows–those giant buses? The price of beer? Radiohead weren’t afraid to ask. Sadly, fans, it’s you. The 36 page report shows that fans’ travel to and from the shows accounted for the greatest proportion of the CO2 generated during each tour.
Following the report’s recommendations, Radiohead are encouraging fans to consider public transport where available, or to carpool. They don’t want you to stay home…just to think and consider reducing CO2 emissions where possible. Some of the venues have also helped by offering incentives to fans coming by public transport or in a car filled with fellow fans.
After the next Radiohead tour, the band will invite ticket holders to submit information on their methods of travel so further research can be done on carbon emissions and methods to reduce them–the ultimate in nerdy fan fun. Radiohead’s production team also plans to post news updates on how the band is trying to reduce their own carbon emissions on tour without losing any of the sound and fury that stadium shows typically demand.
Radiohead’s upcoming North American tour is sold out in many cities. For more info and ticket availability, check
www.radiohead.com/tourdates.
May 5th - Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, FL
May 6th - Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL
May 8th - Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA (Sold Out)
May 9th - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC (Sold Out)
May 11th - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge, Bristow, VA Sold Out(Sold Out)
May 14th - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, St Louis, MO
May 17th - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX (Sold Out)
May 18th - Superpages.com Center, Dallas, TX Sold Out
August 1st - Lollapalooza Festival, Chicago, IL
August 3rd - Verizon Wireless Music Center, Indianapolis, IN
August 4th - Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH
August 6th - Parc Jean Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec
August 8th - All Points West Festival Liberty State Park, New York
August 9th - All Points West Festival Liberty State Park, New York
August 12th - Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden NJ
August 13th - Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA
August 15th - Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Ontario (Sold Out)
August 19th - Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver, BC (Sold Out)
August 20th - White River Amphitheatre, Auburn, WA (Sold Out)
August 22nd - Outside Lands Festival, San Francisco, CA
August 24th - Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California (Sold Out)
August 25th - Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California (Sold Out)
August 27th - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, CA
August 28th - Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA (Sold Out)
Russian Circles play within the confines of instrumental/metal/post-rock as it exists today, a game left to bedroom dwellers glued to guitars and practice pads in an attempt to master technique and then learn how to play through it. To them, bombast is language; the quiet/loud struggle in their dynamic range is all the vocalizing asked of them. It’s hard to be all too expressive with the limited vocabulary afforded them, one abutted by Helmet to the north, Explosions in the Sky to the south, and all manners of junior varsity pedalhoppers in between.
Technically, these guys are pretty much always on, in particular drummer Dave Turncrantz, with a surprising short game that favors taut, precise control over little touches like rim clicking and hi-hat rolls. Guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist-for-hire Brian Cook, of Botch and These Arms Are Snakes, give him plenty of chances to execute pristine builds, as on the opening moments of the title track. He’s also wise not to overplay, but his bandmates on stringed instruments might do well to ignore that style and tear into it. Everything here is so cleanly executed, so devoid of flare and flavor, that the results are quite a chore to get through for anyone who’s been following the score for even a few years through the ascent of similar acts of suburban gravitas like Isis and Pelican. Sullivan employs far too much repetition in both his riff-writing abilities and his performance. He’s a human digital delay pedal, tapping away at his fretboard in circuitous patterns and shredding away on one riff, more concerned with keeping in rhythm than breaking off and exploring all the empty spaces these six orderly tracks create. Everything they lay down on Station reads cold and resolute, yet far too earnest and eager to please.
Despite glaring evidence to the contrary, instrumental rock music can indeed have something to say. Some believe it has the most to say of any rock or pop music out there, for the expressiveness and abilities of the musicians playing it to tell the tales a singer can’t. Russian Circles nail the abilities part so hard that it seems they forgot to consider the expression. These guys have peers which currently flank and outrank them, partly because they’ve all found that voice already. Best to check in with these guys when you’re certain the other shoe has dropped.
Last week, Live Nation gave Jay-Z (née Shawn Carter) between $100-$150 million in exchange for the next 10 years of his life, in the form of stock shares and promises of cash. The entertainment conglomerate will take control of his releases, his concerts and ticket sales, as well as bankroll Jay-Z’s own entertainment interest, Roc Nation, in a paternalistic arrangement conducted under the auspices of Live Nation.
Essentially, dude won’t be allowed to write a Valentine poem to Beyoncé without running it past the guys in legal before she reads it.
Jay-Z played his first post-deal concert on May 3rd at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, ahead of a two-night Madison Square Garden stand that begins May 6 in New York City. It was part of the Heart of the City Tour, which he co-headlines with Mary J. Blige. The tour was already being produced by Live Nation, even as the new deal was being struck, so there were no immediate changes in the day-to-day routine.
Boardwalk Hall was sold-out, as are most of the shows on the tour, and the 20,000 faithful who came to the Atlantic City gig got exactly what they paid ridiculous sums of money to see–a highly predictable, seamless and stiffly professional big time showcase revue–a real snoozer. The sets of both Blige and Jay-Z involved immense backing bands with string and horn sections, live video feed to enable those in the nose-bleeds to feel as though they were actually at the show, pyrotechnics for those who enjoy deafening and jolting surprises, costume changes, and heart string-tugging video clips of Notorious B.I.G. as well as one of Jay-Z and Blige sharing their humble, platonic love, and giving each other props, etc.
With entertainment that is corporatized, commoditized and scripted out to such a level of exactitude, the average onlooker would not be able tell the difference between rapper Jay-Z and pop icon Elton John, or, hell, for that matter, even Céline Dion. In a deal where the money outstrips what was given in a similar arrangement to the vaunted Madonna last year by Live Nation, Jay-Z has–as the late comedian Bill Hicks would have put it–taken himself off of the the “artistic roll call, forever!” Jay-Z is now melded, at a mitochondrial level, with the dreaded and monstrous Corporatia. He is beyond anyone’s intervening reach. Allow the man some dignity in his passing and, please, look away.
