IS ROCK DEAD?

The old 'Rock is dead' conversation.

It's nothing new. Many people have noticed the inherent lack of Rock music in the charts and public eye (or ears) these last few years. And for some reason this topic has popped back up recently. Anthony Fantano (of the needle drop fame) made a video discussing his opinion on the matter which you can watch here. And recently I found a new video posted by channel 'Circle of Tone' which you can find below.

I left a comment on his video as I feel like they both have made some great points. This is not all my thoughts on the matter and I would like to talk more about this in the future.

"                Honestly though I agree with you. How can we expect Rock to survive if every one is just rehashing old ground? There's no shame in being influenced by certain bands, but to sound EXACTLY like them is missing the point. I've lost count over how many local bands I've seen who do this. Add that along with the DAW mentality, you just get blah, blah, blah...

And then they wonder why it never went anywhere.

Think of the greatest most legendary bands in Rock: Queen, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Prince (just some examples). Why were they so successful? Because they sound like themselves! Granted there are influences in the music that you can pick up but for the most part Queen sounds like Queen and Prince sounds like Prince.

As well as that the 'Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll' spirit has dissipated. Everyone has become lame. Bands just get up on stage and chug though their half baked songs with no passion at all. Where is the attitude? The Passion? The true meaning of Rock? Don't just think of it as just another gig, PUT ON A SHOW! Make sure people can easily tell that you guys fucking ROCK! And if you upset anyone, well then too bad. You can't please everyone, pleasing everyone is not something Rock cares about.

By the way. Talking about half baked songs. Do yourself a favor and switch off the laptop. Grab a mug of tea, a pencil, some paper. Give yourself some time and write your songs the old fashioned way. It may seem like more work and less fun at first but in the end you will write FAR better songs compared to when you plug into a DAW interface.             "

ALBUMS I ENJOY FROM BEGINNING TO END.

Some Albums I Enjoy From Beginning To End.

Part 1 (of an ongoing series...)

Just to be clear not all these albums are in my 'favorite forever' list. 

This is an ongoing series of recommendations of albums that just I consider excellent through their respective run times.

1. Jeff Buckley / Grace

2. Fiona Apple / Tidal

3. Beck / Midnight Vultures

Full Album Playlist = Midnite Vultures

NEW BECK SONG OUT TODAY!

Beck - Tarantula

A Cover of 1983 song written by the band 'Colourbox'.

It's a 'Movie Song'. Beck is no stranger to making tracks for films, his 'Movie Song' resume includes films such as Danny Boyle's 'A Life Less Ordinary', Michel Gondry's 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind' and Edgar White's 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World' (among others).

This new track 'Tarantula' dropped today and it's shipped with the new film 'Roma'. Honestly I don't know anything about this film, however from the tidbits I have read, apparently it's quite good. 'Tarantula' is actually a cover song from the 80's electronic reggae soul band 'Colourbox' Listen to it here!. Except here Beck takes this in a more 'Morning Phase' direction. The way the strings swell in and out really remind me of the smaller transitional tracks on Morning Phase. The backing vocals from 'Feist' are a nice addition to this however they are a bit buried in the mix. This release is not all that memorable but overall it's very nice and well worth a listen. Then again, anything Beck makes is worth a listen! :D

Tuesday Morning / 'Tidal' - Fiona Apple

Tidal / Fiona Apple

It's Tuesday, but since I had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. It's going to feel like Monday all day and totally screw me up the rest of the week. 

Anyway here's what I'm listening to this morning. Classic 90's album 'Tidal' by Fiona Apple. She doesn't have a lot of music out there but Fiona is a singer well worth listening to. Her songs mainly revolve around Songwriter & Jazz mentalities, but at times she explores more experimental ideas as well. All her albums are worth checking out, despite their off putting Artwork. The whole of 'Tidal' is fantastic and you can check it out here: Tidal / Fiona Apple.

Or check out the video for the lead single 'Criminal' below. Directed by the famous Mark Romanek this video was initially banned by MTV for it's 'Heroine User Themes'.

This Is The Pinnacle Of Typical Indie Rock IMO

This Is The Pinnacle Of Typical Indie Rock 

Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know

So I'm not exactly a big fan of what people think 'Indie Rock' is. However a long time ago I was actually a fan of the genre, but times were different. The Indie bands I liked included; Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, The Futureheads... I could make a pretty big list. Around my late teen years Indie Rock suddenly became a victim of its own success.    Indie Rock broke the mainstream.    I often call this event 'The Kooks infection'. 

There were a few bands that had major hits in the U.K. After that record labels, publishing and talent agencies got together and went outside. Signed some bands that could be 'improved' and then have the typical sound that can be easily digestible by muggle ears. A lot of people made a lot of money. Shows what you can do when you go outside and research local talent.

That's when I dropped off the 'Indie bandwagon', suddenly Indie Rock was not the same.

However this tune above (Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know) came out in 2011 and it broke through my Indie Rock barrier. This is like the summation of everything I consider when that typical sound that took over. 

Yet this track performs it so perfectly. And that is why I like it.

I tried really hard to NOT look like the guy in this video.

Another Thing To Check Out...

Thom Yorke - Bloom

Not much to say really. We got blessed today with this chilling performance of Radiohead's 'Bloom' from their album 'King Of Limbs'. Front-man Thom Yorke is solo here, with piano, voice and some sort of mini modular sampler thing. 

As expected, the performance is chilling, lush and professional as always.

Something Worth Checking Out

Jungle - Casio

I discovered this band 'Jungle' at some random apartment in central Nashville. 

The apartment was rented out by a friend of a friend who happened to work as some kind of manager for Lyft (Lyft is the competitor to Uber). We ended up there after the free music at 'Live On The Green' last year and I heard this band while I was there. I had to ask who this was, I highly recommend the rest of Jungle's self titled album!!!

Check out their new song 'Casio' above. 

And if your still not sold give 'The Heat' a chance below!

Synth Porn : Korg is killing it again...

Synth Porn : Korg is killing it again...

My Wallet is Crying :(

Korg has always been my favorite manufacture of synthesizers and musical gizmos. They produce products that can hold it's own against other more professional equipment, and it's also reasonably priced. (Emphasis on 'reasonably', it's still not that cheap, then again music gear has never been cheap). Yesterday out of no-where Korg dropped their next three doodads, let's take a look...

1) Korg Minilogue XD Polyphonic Analogue Synthesizer

The original Korg Minilogue has been a favorite with many musicians since it's release in 2016. It's a 4 voice polyphonic analog synthesizer that capable of many luscious sounds. The XD (See video to left) is pretty much an improvement and expansion on the original. This time with an added digital oscillator, sequencer and improved filter. This thing is no joke. 
I'm still in the market for an original Minilogue so I'm hoping the release of this one will drive down prices for them.

2) Volca Drum

The Korg Volca Drum is the one thing I'm not that excited about to be honest. However I will say this is a HUGE improvement over the alternative that is the Volca 'Beats'. I used to have a Volca 'Beats' and (although it was a quality machine) it was the weakest from the Volca range. So this is pretty much Korg making up for that.

I will say, sounds like you can get some pretty crazy rhythmic sounds out of this thing. However it's not quite for me.

3) Volca Modular

Just when I think Korg has surely ran out of ideas when it comes to the Volca range, they drop another little box of genius. I did not see this one coming! So the Volca Modular is special in that it essentially replicates a full on modular synth system. This is going to be highly desirable to a lot of people (including myself) as this is a great way to explore and learning about modular synth systems without the intimidation and price point of a real modular system. 

I just want to get one of these and spend hours plugging in all these little wires into different inputs/outputs and hearing what happens! 

So This Is Something That's Happened...

Namibia Desert Blessed With The Sounds Of Toto's 'Africa'.

NME: A new art installation will play Toto’s ‘Africa’ in the desert for “all eternity”

By now it's common knowledge that if a meme reaches a certain level of fame there will always be someone somewhere who will perhaps take it to far. This is an art installation in the Namibian desert that will 'in theory' play 'Africa' by Toto forever. I say 'in theory' because there has most likely been a sandstorm that's already buried or torn it into shreds.

Interesting fact: In the UK, Africa by Toto is considered a Christmas Song.

Click the Link above for article or check out the video below!

Ian Brown Is Still Riding His Bike

Ian Brown Is Still Riding His Bike

New 'ish' song - 'First World Problems'

First World Problems - Ian Brown

Not Exactly new. This track dropped back in November, however I've just now discovered it now. I must say this track is a lot more up beat and playful than I thought it was going to be, and he's riding his famous Bike! If you don't know, Ian Brown was formerly in the band 'The Stone Roses', and has since been releasing his own material since. He is most well known for his 2007 single 'F.E.A.R.', which is it's own mini masterpiece of lush sweeping strings, clever lyrics and intricate guitar arpeggios. I highly advise you to check out 'F.E.A.R.' below if you have never heard it!!! It's like one of my favorite songs ever!

F.E.A.R - Ian Brown