A quick catch up

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've had writer's block so I have been dedicating most of my time to reading books and listening to music. But I haven't forgotten you -  here's a quick round up of things that have been orbiting my musical brain recently.

1. Refused live

So last night I got to see Refused which was as incredible as I could have imagined. We arrived before showtime and it was a pretty interesting crowd. As my buddy and I took our seats, he remarked "wow, it looks like everyone is an extra in the punk rock scene of a big budget movie." And so it was, the mostly older punk set had gone to a lot of effort to get dolled up for the evening. Hilariously, to my right were two guys who took their fashion choices and demeanor from Ian MacKaye circa 1984, all black, bald heads and straight edge seriousness. As Refused literally tore the venue apart these two lads sat impassively looking bored. I think one of them may have tapped his toe once but that was about the level of enthusiasm they could muster. I have to say I was glad I got seats. I'm a small guy and when the band got going in earnest, from my vantage point above the standing crowd it looked like the most berserker out of control bunch of lunatics I've seen - hard pressed at the stage front with one of those violent tornadoes of bodies in the centre. Enthusiastic sure but those couple of bloody noses I saw coming out at the end probably spoke of how aggressive it was.

I make these observations because I'm only coming to grips with how amazing the show was. As the anticipation for showtime started to grow, the stage started to glow in tune with a growing wall of feedback before the band launched into the shape of punk to come behind a large sheet emblazoned with the band's name. As the sheet fell to reveal the band in full flight, the Enmore Theatre literally groaned under the weight of energy from the band which was fed back by the crowd. It was essentially a greatest hits set (as it were). For me it was almost surreal watching this band I'd listened to for years who I thought I'd never see were there before me - I couldn't quite believe it was happening. It's very rare I see a band and wish I'd learnt the drums but I did last night. Refused are anchored by the percussive fuck off ferocity of David Sandström - every great band has a great drummer and holy shit, Sandström is one of the best I've seen - intuitive, powerful and swinging - amazing. The guitars sounded like a sonic assault while Dennis Lyxzén's distinctive howl and James Brown dance manoeuvres were mesmerizing. The band seemed humbled by the ecstatic reception they were receiving and genuinely excited to play Australia.

The night predictably built towards the first encore of New Noise, their most well known song in Australia. I have been to the Enmore Theatre a number of times but I'd never seen it like this - I could have imagined the roof caving in such was the intensity of that moment where the right band, right song and right crowd collide in ecstasy. Probably one of the top ten concerts I've ever seen and when I got home, I couldn't sleep for hours, just reliving the experience and totally wired. A great, great show.

2. Soundgarden - King Animal
For a while now, I've been saying that a Soundgarden comeback album would be a bad idea. I'm glad to be proven wrong because it is nowhere near the clusterfuck of awful that I thought was coming. But that being said, there is nothing remarkable about it either. Realistically, it feels as if this album could have been record six months after Down on the Upside, they really have stood still In that respect. Upside was a disappointment and this isn't much better, it is listenable and enjoyable in spots but it's definitely not memorable. For me, Soundgarden will be forever defined by the caustic dissonance of Badmotorfinger ad the epic swing of Superunknown - this isn't close. This isn't the same ball park. Shit, this isn't even the same game.

3. Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Deftones are one of my favourite bands and even though they strayed for a few years (self titled, Saturday Night Wrist), even at their worst they're never less than interesting. After the perfect singular violent focus of their last album Diamond Eyes, the band have injected more dynamics into Koi No Yokan which swings with an intensity in line with their masterpiece White Pony. I'm sure you'll see that comparison a lot but I don't't think it's anywhere near the forward thinking, sideways shifting robo metal headfuck that makes Pony so brilliant. I've only had this a couple of days and it'll take me a while to digest where it sits in the order of Deftones merit but there are some great tracks on here: the smash and grab of Poltergeist compared to the majestic sweep of Rosemary but there is nothing weak on here. I'm going to dedicate my weekend to this and I feel pretty good about that. No doubt more to come on this record.

4. Bat for Lashes - The Haunted Man
I have to admit I was a big fan of her previous album Two Suns but this hasn't really grabbed me. The singles Laura and All Your Gold are the obvious highlights but for all the plaudits being poured upon it, I'm yet to hear it.

5. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
I've long been a fan of Godspeed but I am the first to admit that I thought Yanqui U.X.O was a flat and listless affair. Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! soars in a way that you rarely hear in music much these days. The dynamic waves of sound that turn on the most intricate whispered moment to a barrage of distortion is as captivating as anything else the band has ever done. Best consumed as a whole, Godspeed have produced a truly great album that reminds you why tags like post rock were invented and why they are ultimately, totally redundant.

6. Beth Orton - Sugaring Season
I've always been a fan of Orton's voice and Sugaring Season sounds like she decided to make a purest 70's folk album. This isn't a bad thing as the lush arrangements act as backdrop pushing her voice to the centre of the album. Mournful, gentle and elegant, it really is a lovely album.

I'm sure there's more stuff I've been listening to but that's the few things that come to mind. Anyhow, that's the news. Keep on rocking. Back soon.

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True conversations of music nerds: Soundgarden

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90's Fashion Flashback

I spent the last week with my Mum and strangely she had decided to hold onto a bunch of my band shirts from the 90's. I pretty much wore band shirts from the age of 16 until, well now, but in the 90's I didn't really have any other type of shirt (which seems a bit tragic in retrospect). Filled with holes and faded, it's weird to put them on now because even though I was an extraordinarily skinny guy for my most of my teens and twenties, they're all way too big and I favoured large and extra large for some reason which is a mystery to me now. Anyhow, here's some sentimental highlights from a much grungier time.


Land Speed Record Hüsker Dü bootleg shirt (circa 1992): I picked this up at the Valley markets in Brisbane and wore it to death. I actually went back to the market a few years later trying to find the guy who made them to get another. He was this washed out stoner-punk who said "oh yeah, I still have that screen at home. I'll print you one up." He never did.


Copper Blue Sugar shirt (circa 1993): My folks bought me this when they were visiting the UK and I loved that album so much I wore it until it literally started to disintegrate around my body. However, I'm still tempted to wear it now.



Betty era Helmet shirt (1994): I saw Helmet the day before my 21st birthday after taking a road trip from Townsville to Brisbane for the Livid festival. They were pretty punishing in the summer heat but I still have a recording of that gig which sounds great. I guess the design was a play on the whole X-Files thing which was huge at the time and I remember getting asked about that shirt a lot.


Superunknown Soundgarden shirt (1994): I saw Soundgarden at the Big Day Out that year and I left half way through because I was so tired. Little did I know that Superunknown (which hadn't been released at the point I saw them) would be my favourite album for the next couple of years. I must have bought it some time that year but can't remember where.


tu-plang Regurgitator shirt (1996): I was a big fan of Regurgitator and must have seen them about twenty times. I got this shirt free when I bought their first album. It is in perfect condition because I didn't like wearing white in the 90's.

However, regardless of which band it was, most of the shirts (except the white one's) ended up looking like this:


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The late career renaissance

I have written recently about how I think Soundgarden releasing a new album is a bad (BAD) idea. However, Cornell spoke about recording the new album to Spin:

"We're putting the music first," Cornell explains. "The process of writing, recording, and being creative together is the most important thing, not meeting a deadline."

I guess that bodes well in terms of not having contractual obligations to rush the thing and I sure as hell hope that there is no chance that this or this happens again. Anyhow, I've been thinking this through and perhaps they might be lucky enough to pull off the late career renaissance.

Generally I think the late career renaissance can be defined by the following three factors:
a) a band is well into its second or third decade;
b) they've released a couple of dud albums or been on extended hiatus; and
c) there is no expectation that they'll release anything amazing at this stage in their career.

Whenever I think of the career renaissance I think of Fugazi's The Argument. After the below par End Hits and the water treading Instrument Soundtrack, Fugazi's swansong is a ferocious call to arms by a band playing to its strengths. With tracks like Cashout and Epic Problem (released before epic became a meme), it is a fantastic album which was a sadly fitting end to this band's discography (come back boys, we still love you). Two years later Wire released Send, a reformation album that was, to be frank, fucking awesome.

Other more recent examples include Built to Spill's There Is No Enemy and Superchunk's Majesty Shredding - both fantastic albums that were surprises considering their previous couple of albums (or in Superchunk's case, 9 years after their last release*).

Can Soundgarden pull this off? I'm not convinced that the instincts that led to Badmotorfinger and Superunknown haven't been dulled by time, separation and Timbaland. But who knows? I'm happy to be proven wrong. We can always live in hope that our favourite bands that have gone off the boil can come screaming back in style someday. It's never too late.

(*Superchunk's Here's to shutting up (2001) is actually a good album but the few before it are pretty lame - sorry Mac.)

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Memo from the BFID

Memo from the BAD FUCKING IDEAS DEPARTMENT: Soundgarden

Sigh. Soundgarden have just announced they're making their first new album in 15 years. This is a bad fucking idea. Remember when those guy's were awesome - ripping off Zeppelin on Superunknown, Cornell in docs and cut-off army pants wooing the ladies while Kim shredded on a wah peddle in the background. Good times. Then they released Down on the Upside which kind of sucked because they hated each other and the contempt they had for each other started to show up in their shows. Remember when Ben played with his back to the audience in Brisbane for the entire gig? Good times.

Then they split up and we had that unholy alliance of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden known as Audioslave which was just megawatt suckage. Seriously, I'm sure revolution would have come quicker in the Middle East if Audioslave's second album had been used as a call to arms. Unable to bare to torment, the oppressed peoples would have risen up to stop the god awful racket - Gadaffi would be overthrown in minutes if that shit got played. THEN Cornell released a dance album with Timberlake (?!) which is the aural equivalent of watching your 80 year old aunty turning up to a funeral in hotpants. Then he released the second worst Bond theme in history (after Duran Duran).*

So, after this appalling slight to their legacy, Soundgarden reforms and that's good news. The Pixies did it and everyone was happy. Just play the songs we love. You can't compete with your back catalogue - just cash in now honey... wait... what? You're recording a new album. Oh for fuck's sake, just play Jesus Christ Pose already and we'll pay you lot's of money. Don't take a shit on your legacy - seriously, don't do it. It is not 1994 anymore.

Just don't alright!

Yours sincerely,

Manager
BAD FUCKING IDEAS DEPARTMENT

*And yes, I think the Madonna Bond theme is better than Duran Duran and Cornell's. It is easily the third worst Bond theme.

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