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2010

T$F linked to unwind from 2009 over last weekend. Took a couple field trips around L.A.  Always too much too do and too little time.

Caught some good flicks, tons of graf everywhere.  Some super sick burners in the ally behind Safety Cycle..  Ewok/Pose/Rime stunners over there— no pics of it here.

Checked out that new Gallery 66 place, pretty cool- saw that Creature Feature work and purchased a jar of Witches Brew.  There’s a dope Rob One mural on the wall outside, so huge I couldn’t get a photo of the whole thing.

Dope LTS / KOG work around there too..

Stopped by 33 1/3 to get some paint too…
Great El Mac x Retna mural on the way…

Took a couple pics of the back walls, but looked unfinished..
Some MTN sale/signing was going down on Sunday- but no time to come back that spot.

Graffiti is cool, saw alot of this weekend.  Burnt out on that tip, time to focus on other ventures.
Got some cold drinks at the bodega next to 33 1/3, they had some super strange “wanted-style” posters taped in the front.  I love reading this crap.

STOLEN CUSTOMER’S BIKE…
POLICE’S LOOKING FOR THIS GUY!10-30-09 5 hour Energe Drink Steeler!
What a nice Shame guy!!!

10-26-09 What a Shame!!

Hilarious.

I noticed that on the 14th of October of this year (see entry by finding your way through my archives on the right –>) I was one day away from this blogs one year anniversary.  It’s strange that I celebrated in a way that I didn’t think would have happened if I was presented with the idea.  I released my first Extended Play.  Strange.

I’ve finished the 331/3 “Another Green World” Brian Eno book.  It was… a little interesting.  Nothing too surprising though.  I’m still reading (very slowly) “Neuromancer” by Bill Gibson.  I have also started (which I really anticipate to move through) the “Pendragon Chronicles”.  It’s listed, I think, as a young adult book…. but not really.  It’s got quite a bit going on with it.  I first read almost all of it when I was about 15.  It was probably the fastest I’ve read a book to date.  It’s not a small book either.  Just well put together.  It’s a collection of short stories about King Arthur and the C Street Band featuring some of the best authors in the genre.  Joy Chant and Andre Norton are the only ones I can think of now.  But I remember that most of the names are mentionable.

I would also like to share this music video/song with you.  It is mind blowing and incredibly good.  Carl Sagan, who would have been … really old on the 9th of this month, was a rare master of combining science with reaching the human spirit and tying them together.  I haven’t seen all of the PBS miniseries he did “Cosmos”, but I plan to soon.  The several hours of video footage I’ve seen of him (and biographies read) is just… incredible.  How I’ve never really known about him until recently is beyond me.  I would put his ability right there with Alan Lightman, my favorite author (who also can combine human with science in a heart touching/mind blowing way).  Enjoy.  

Speaking of birthdays, yesterday was my brother’s birthday.  He’s officially half way to 50.  Happy birthday and enjoy Triple Balls, courtesy of your eldest sibling.

Cover of Kate Schatz's Rid of Me: A Story; image courtesy of pjharvey.tumblr.com

So, Kate Schatz’s fictional narrative inspired by PJ Harvey’s scorched-earth 1993 breakthrough album is my introduction into the 33 1/3 canon. Perhaps not the typical way to become acquainted with the book series, but it seemed appropriate for me and my interests here because: 1) this is an album fraught with interesting, disturbing, and complex gender politics; 2) the artistic force behind it is a female, but is not always singing as one; 3) the scribe penning the volume for this canon is also a woman; and 4) said scribe is taking a different, distinctly feminist approach to arguing for an artistic work to be in the canon by creating a free-standing story inspired by an album for which there is great personal attachment. 

Oh, and did I mention that the main characters are two women who find love and comfort with one another in an abandoned cabin where they fuck and spoon and use one another to escape their male-centered tragic home lives? That helps. The first line is “Tie yourself to me,” a line from the album’s title track. Hot. Possibly Jane Campion hot.

You can imagine the “awww, man” that leapt from my lips when I found out that Megan Milks and Dave Heaton already wrote pretty much what I was going to say about this book in this entry. Such is the risk of having a blog and covering a book that came out two years ago. But do click on their names to read their reviews. Their insights are spot-on and will inform the remainder of this post.

As an idea, I’m all on board with Schatz’s novelization of Harvey’s album. I’m really into the idea of an author taking a beloved, influential album and turning the artistic results into something wholly distinct and apart from the source material. While clearly analogous to fanfic, Schatz’s approach is somewhat different. While characters and narrative motivation are informed by Harvey’s songs, they exist outside of them and outside of the singer as well.  

Yet in execution, this book left me cold (and a little dry). There is a danger in adapting any pre-existing text into another medium (see a myriad of bad film remakes of old TV shows for further evidence). When reinterpreting an album in this way, one run the risk of defining for others how they will perceive a text for which they once established in their own ways through their imagination. Thus, novelizing albums might be similar to arguments made against music videos and their ability to redefine the songs in ways that are distracting or misguided to an audience.

Schatz’s book suffers a bit from this (though, in fairness, if teenaged me penned a novelization of Harvey’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, it probably would’ve taken a cinematic record about big, declarative romantic feelings and turned it into The Red Shoe Diaries Takes Mass Transit). Overall, Schatz gets the stark, aggressively sexual tone and gothic atmosphere down. And like Milks, I think she’s spot-on in her decision to make the relationship at the story’s center sexually complex and explicitly Sapphic. I also like that both women suffer through oppressive relationships with men and lift each other toward liberation. Mary is an older woman, troubled to the point of mental distress by her abusive father and husband. Kathleen is young and curious, led to kill Mary’s father through psychic forces before being “kidnapped” by her.

While the book has a breathless opener that sets up a heart-racing, kinky abduction and does a good job sketching each woman’s home life and need for escape, the book really begins to decline once the ladies take refuge in an abandoned cabin. From here, the once-powerful prose becomes more than a little repetitive. The lyrical references to the album also become increasingly labored, especially on the “Highway 61 Revisited” chapter, which is a helluva cover on record.

Worse, the love story becomes tedious. The two women become almost cosmically attached, an obsession that becomes more than a little problematic if not also empowering to both parties. They also become drawn in almost comically overwrought romantic language. After a while, I got really tired of their writhing bodies, milky eyes, heaving breasts, and parched, opened mouths. While Milks opines that the book could have used more development that a 120-page novella cannot provide, I wondered if the story suffered from having little else go on outside the cabin. Though the book honors the source material by showcasing the claustrophobic dimensions of obsessive love, it left me itchy for Mary and Kathleen to be given more characterization, or at least for them to take their love outside. It also left me wondering briefly if the album was actually as good as I thought it once was.

All this is to say that, despite my criticisms, I value Schatz’s entry, look forward to learning more about her work, and will continue to follow the 33 1/3 series. Schatz’s Rid of Me: A Story is a great formal exercise, and one that I hope 33 1/3 allows room for in other volumes in the series. It allows music writing to expand outside criticism and historiography and into fiction, perhaps capturing something more immediate and personal to music lovers as a result. It also reminds us that even within music culture’s canon formation, there is no such thing as the definitive version.

Gone, daddy. Gone

Nine and a half years ago I pontificated about The Lilybandits in Cosmik Debris as part of my scour-the-globe feature called The MP3 Files. I put them on a list of bands to watch and follow, but I never heard anything else from their camp. I only discovered the reference to the live album when looking for a photo to include with this essay!

Andy Whitman writes this about them in his blog Razing The Bar (link below) and I think it sums up my frustration perfectly: “All Music Guide, an exhaustive music reviews database where you can find anybody and everybody, has this to say about The Lilybandits. You can click if you want, but here’s the deal: there’s nothing there. There’s a placeholder without content. And that’s the story of The Lilybandits…” Andy wrote those words a year ago and nothing has changed since. Now that is under the radar!

Here’s my original take from May 2000:

An absolutely stunning record that transcends any single style, 33 1/3 conjures up everyone from Big Star to the Jayhawks to the Long Ryders or even the Rolling Stones (with Gram Parsons steering the ship, of course). Tracks like “Fire In The Hole” recall more obscure y’alternative bands like Walk The West. “Past Few Days”, available as an MP3 file, might be the single most beautiful song I’ve heard this year, with achingly sweet vocals and fragile, haunting refrain. Tracks like “Hangin’” combine strong pop sensibilities with enough roadhouse flavor that both camps should gobble this up.

“Beautiful” is countrified blues with a guitar solo that recalls Ronnie Wood’s heartbreaker on The Faces‘ live version of “I’d Rather Go Blind” (if you’re gonna pay homage, it’s good to reference the gods!). “Long Time If I Don’t See You” is a great morning-after song, and in “Easily Broken Heart”, well…how about Rudy Vallee goes country? Chock full of winning tracks like “Vertigo” and “Top” that will resonate in your head after one listen. Make them one of your favorites, too.

And then, of course, they went poof. Try and find this gem if you can!

A live clip from a 2009 reunion.

Listen to three songs here.

No Depression article.

Razing The Bar blog feature.

Bands like The Replacements (above), Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and The Minutemen are featured in Our Band Could Be Your Life

Will there ever be another era in independent music like the ’80s and early ’90s? I think not, and Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 hopes to explain why. This book, published a decade later in 2001, attempts to explain and elaborate on the underground indie music scenes that defined the bands that today enjoy mainstream popularity.

Our Band Could Be Your Life focuses on thirteen disproportionately influential bands. None of them enjoyed any sort of mainstream success, but through constant touring, prolific recording, fanzine exposure and other methods of getting noticed, they all sired the bands that we today consider music gods (indie or mainstream).

Without Hüsker Dü, there could be no Pixies. Without Big Black, industrial rock wouldn’t be around. Without Black Flag, Green Day would probably have been a Cheap Trick cover band. Without The Replacements, The Decemberists literally wouldn’t exist. Without Sonic Youth and every other band mentioned in the book, Nirvana wouldn’t have changed the way we listen to music.

In The Replacements’ Let It Be’s 33 1/3, Colin Meloy mentions listening to Let It Be incessantly to get over the self-consciousness over his extended sternum. Books like this one and the 33 1/3 series are both interesting and informative. Speaking from experience, having a working knowledge of a musical genre’s history adds a lot to any critique. We salute you, Mike Azerrad.

– Eric Vilas-Boas, Managing Editor

[CORRECTION: A guy named John informed me that this recording came from a different album of the same year titled, "W/WS 1428 – Live Concert-Music Made Famous by Glenn Miller – Tex Beneke, Ray Eberle & Modernaires [1961]” Thanks John!]

This is “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” According to Wikipedia, “”Chattanooga Choo Choo” is a big-band/swing song which was featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle and Joan Davis. It was performed in the film as an extended production number, featuring vocals by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, and the Modernaires.”

I recorded this film from a 1960’s-1970’s “Alpha Beta” market record that contains a compilation of “Big Band” hits. This features Tex Beneke & The Modernaires. Tex Beneke did live shows two decades after the end of the Glenn Miller Orchestra of which he was the front man. He got much of the Glenn Miller Alumni & the Modernaires to also play for his tour in the 1960’s so the sound and performances were true to form and were spot-on. The recording quality is excellent and the performance is amazing. It was also done in true stereo. It was featured on the album titled, “Reunion in Hi-Fi.” I love the energy of this particular performance and stereo sound quality of the song compared to even the original from the 1940’s.

-Jacob

“Would You Rather See Woody Allen’s Manhattan Adapted by NYU Students or Muppets?” (thanks Flavorwire)

• The Rumpus talks with Beg, Borrow, Steal author, Michael Greenberg.

• Conversational Reading posted “99 Essential African Books“

• Here is an article that combines Steampunk and Lolcats

• Jacket Copy on the “masterful 33 1/3 series“.  (Okay, we think it’s good too)

• Gene Simmons, Stephen King, 2 presidents and eleven more famous people were teachers (Mental Floss)

• Black Moth Super Rainbow played the ICA in Boston.  (Thanks Impose)

The further my eyes traced down the page on the Continuum Books website dedicated to the thirty three and a third  series the more excited I became. The series was launched in 2003 and takes its name from the speed (33 1/3 revolutions per minute) required to play an LP. Each of the titles in the series focuses on a particular album and gives an insight into the significance of that album historically, musically and for the author him or herself. Rolling Stone dubbed the series “[i]deal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just aren’t enough“.

Out of all the titles covered by the thirty three and a third series a few really caught my attention. First and foremost was Elvis Costello’s ‘Armed Forces‘, written by Franklin Bruno, singer-songwriter, academic, writer, music critic and occasional member of The Mountain Goats. If you have been following my blog you’ll know that obsession with Elvis Costello is no secret.

Another of the titles which grabbed my eye was Magnetic Fields’ ‘69 Love Songs‘ told by L.D Begtol. I only discovered this triple album quite recently after The Shins cover the Magnetic Field’s song ‘Strange Powers’ prompted me to delved a little deeper. ‘69 Love Songs’ has been heralded as the strongest of the Magnetic Fields’ releases and so was an obvious first choice in exploring the band’s back catalogue. The book is a fully illustrated history of the 1999 release from the perspective of Begtol who has written extensively about pop music for Time Out New York, The Advocate and The Village Voice and who performed on the album.

Other titles in the series cover which I would very much like to get my paws on include The Flying Burrito Brothers’ ‘Gilded Palace of Sin‘, Belle & Sebastian’s ‘If You’re Feeling Sinister‘, Bob Dylan’s ‘Highway 61 Revisited‘, Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds‘, Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures‘ and R.E.M.’s ‘Murmur‘. In fact, I would love to collect the entire series. You can see the full list of titles here.

‘Heavy Rotation‘ is in the same vein as the 33 1/3 series although  the focus is more on the personal impact the album on the author rather than the historical or musical significance of the record, asking writers to discuss how the record influenced their lives in a profound way. Unsurprisingly, the writers’ stories are as varied as the albums themselves ranging from Benjamin Kunkel’s Smiths induced transformation into an ‘adolescent Anglophile’ to Pankaj Mishra’s tale of how a bootleg cassette of ABBA awoke him to a world outisde of his small village in India. The publisher’s website calls it ‘unforgettable celebration of the unique and essential relationship between life and music‘ which sounds just a bit wanky to me. I still want to read it though.

This post is really two posts. The first section preoccupies itself with why album covers matter culturally, so as to set up a discussion of a particularly interesting album cover, in this case Kate Bush’s 1982 release, The Dreaming, which I focus on in the second section. I intend to discuss more album covers throughout the duration of this blog’s livelihood. If you would like to throw out suggestions or contribute a piece, feel free. Contact me at feministmusicgeek@gmail.com.

One thing that I fear is leaving our popular consciousness in the digital age is the album cover. I don’t consider myself a technophobe and hardly think music videos (once on TV, now on the Web) contributed to the downfall of album packaging (I actually think that’s the fault of record labels who keep raising their retail prices). Yet I do worry what we’ll lose if we stop caring about album covers. Growing up, Madonna had some of the most interesting album covers ever. So imagine how bummed I was when I saw her slapped-together, clumsily Photoshopped cover for Hard Candy. Sigh.

Cover for Hard Candy; released in 2008 on Warners Bros.

Now I know that avering my love for album covers may cast me as a bit of a commodity fetishist (which I kinda am, despite how problematic it is). And I get why album covers don’t take priority. For one, market imperative — covers cost money and the more elaborate they are, the more expensive they can become (just ask the folks at Factory Records; for every sold copy of New Order’s “Blue Monday” — lavishly designed by Peter Saville to look like a floppy disc — the label lost money, though was more concerned in releasing a well-made, lovingly-crafted piece of popular art than in turning a profit). Also, the reliance of plastic for packaging can be less than environmentally friendly (though kudos to many musical acts, artists, and record labels for realizing this and phasing it out with more paper printing).

Cover for An Invitation by Inara George; released in 2008 on Everloving with paper cover

But album covers reveal so much — who the artist is, what the music is going to sound like, what the theme or concept behind the album might be, who made the cover art, the evolution of print technology, the history of album packaging, indeed how valuable packaging may have been to the people and companies responsible for release. And obviously, in terms of representational politics, album covers can tell stories, share folklore, provide commentary, project alternate realities, or rebel. Bottom line: they’re texts and we shouldn’t overlook them or what they may reveal about the artists, the markets, and the fan bases. If interested, I highly recommend Steve Jones and Martin Sorger’s essay “Covering Music: A Brief History and Analysis of Album Cover Design.”

Treatise endeth. New treatise begineth.

One such album cover I’d like to look at is Kate Bush’s The Dreaming. Now, I’m a bit new to her, but not exactly. I have kind of a greatest hits awareness of her. As a girl, I made up dance routines in my room to “Rubberband Girl” and “Running Up That Hill” when they (rarely) got played on the radio. I know she was discovered by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour at an early age and recorded her first album, The Kick Inside, as a teenager. I know that she produces her own material. I know that she’s a trained interpretive dancer and worked with Lindsay Kemp, David Bowie’s choreographer. I know that she directed and starred in a short film called The Line, the Cross, & the Curve co-starring Miranda Richardson based on songs from her 1993 album The Red Shoes. I know she’s done some bugged-out music videos. For example:

And then I know what other people think of her. I know a lot of negative things. Characters in books like Bret Easton Ellis’s The Rules of Attraction and Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity hate on her music. Likewise, people like to throw around rumors that, due to her perfectionism in the studio and her penchance for writing songs about female suffering and neuroses, mythological women, and the paranormal, she is crazy. It’s all crazy sexist. On that tip, I was friends with a girl who said of Bush, “Ugh, Lilith Fair.”

And then the positives. I know that a lot of people mention her when they talk about Tori Amos (and now, St. Vincent and Bat for Lashes). I’ve read some academic work (specifically Debi Withers’s piece on queer subjectivity in her second album, 1978’s Lionheart, and Holly Kruse’s “In Praise of Kate Bush,” which considers Bush’s authorial status, from the anthology On Record: Rock, Pop, and the Written Word). I know that Ann Powers, a rock journalist I idolized growing up, is writing a 33 1/3 book on The Dreaming (expect a future post upon its release next year — I’m way stoked).

And then I know male artists who have sited her as an influence. There’s L.A. outsider art rocker Ariel Pink, who borrows her treble-heavy, lo-fi, avant pop production sensibilities and clearly positions himself as a fan.

But lest we think that Bush’s weird music is only stuff white people like, OutKast’s Big Boi grew up on her music and R&B singer Maxwell covered “This Woman’s Work.”

Hmmm. Guess I knew more than I thought. Yet, I’d never actually listened to an entire Kate Bush album. So, I thought I’d start with The Dreaming, which is really great. It’s kinda crazy how influential and varied and timeless this music is — I haven’t had a listening experience with so many “aha” and “so this is where ______ came from” moments since I first heard The Velvet Underground’s debut album the summer before college. But that was all happy accident. I picked it because a) it’s widely regarded by music critics as a masterpiece, b) indeed, Powers is writing about it, c) it marks a transition for Bush as producer as well as singer and instrumentalist, and d) the cover.

Cover for The Dreaming; released on EMI in 1982

This cover (made by Kindlight) knocks me out. I’ve stared at so much in the past few weeks — after several years of looking at it in various record stores — and only recently figured out that it’s supposed to be Houdini and his wife (indeed, there is a song called “Houdini” on the album, told from his wife’s perspective). The shackles around him are to be broken using the key, which Bush (as Bess Houdini) has in her mouth. But I always thought she had a wedding ring in her mouth and was internally debating whether or not to put it on (and perhaps be shackled) or swallow it and flee.

I suppose it could work either way. It’s also possible that Bush and Bess Houdini have suddenly become self-conscious about the inherent performativeness of their careers (musicians, like magicians, trade in trickery). There’s also the possibility that the key takes on some sort of sexual, Freudian design as a symbol and that the juxtaposition of the key, the shackles, her tongue, and her lusty proximity to Houdini may be at odds with her Victorian dress, coinciding at once with Houdini’s era, Bush’s origins as a Brit, and Bush’s lyrical preoccupations. All readings are valid, as they peak curiosity and dialogue with the music. Indeed, they are part of the music. Part of this woman’s work.

Oh! Hi there!

That’s right, you heard correctly. Celine Dion is amazing.

I’m in a debate/book club (we have a patent pending on the title of our club so I’ll keep that under wraps, but soon we’ll be bigger than Oprah. OPRAH, you hear me?!) and up next is the 33 1/3 book Celine Dion Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste by Carl Wilson. It goes into what constitutes the idea of taste, good and bad, and I recommend it. It’s interesting, but you just have to get past the part where the author goes on about not liking things considered “mainstream” or “popular.” I am annoyed when people make a point of not giving popular music/books/tv/movies any merit just because everyone likes them. In short, he comes across as a douche at the beginning, but you just need to fight past that.

But back to the matter at hand. Celine Dion, she of goofiness, backwards white power suits and singer of cheese. I should say no more and let this Youtube clip say it for me.

Originally listed on amazon.com with a release date in mid march, amazon.com recently sent me an email about shipping the new 33 1/3 book about elliott’s record, ‘xo,’ saying its planning to ship in early/mid april! continuum is publishing the book and it is written by matthew lemay who has been a staff writer for pitchfork media for many years. here is a description of the book:

“many albums could be cited to support the claim that great suffering yields great art. elliott smith’s xo should not be one of them. smith’s 1998 major label debut defies the “tortured singer-songwriter” stereotype, and takes up this defiance as a central theme. at a time when smith was being groomed for a particular (and particularly condescending) brand of stardom, he produced a record that eviscerated one of the central assumptions of singersongwriterdom: that pain is beautiful. xo insists that romanticizing personal tragedy can only leave you “deaf and dumb and done.” and it backs up this claim with some of the most artful and intelligent music of its day. matthew lemay writes an original take on a widely beloved album, steering clear of the sensationalist suicide angles that have dogged most analysis of elliott smith’s extraordinary work.”

If you would like to pick up the book, please check your local book store or you can order through amazon.com by going here: elliott smith’s xo (33 1/3 series)

=tyler=

The other day the refined shortlist for the next batch of 33 1/3 books was posted on the official blog. One of the choices is a proposal on Radiohead’s Kid A, but alas, it’s not mine — it would have been a treat to see if I could make it all the way to the final round, but you can’t have everything!

Mind you, if you read some of the comments on the blog above, it almost seems like some people think you can. That said, there are two separate issues to unpack a bit. On the one hand, as Maura commented over at Idolator, the final list tends to stick to a “Big Albums And Artists That Stand The Maybe A Bit Rockist-Leaning Test Of Time” model — though let’s face it, my choice of subject matter pretty much fit into that.

On the other hand, though, the sheer amount of lack of grace, conspiracy theories and other bitterness in many of the comments leads me to shake my head a bit. A little perspective here — when I received word I hadn’t made the cut, I was up north visiting my sister, and just a minute before I saw the rejection e-mail, she had just passed on some further word about a dear friend of hers, who I also know, that had been in a terrible car accident through no fault of her own the previous night. While her brain and spine weren’t damaged, this friend was very severely hurt, faces numerous surgeries and will be spending months in recovery.

So when I read the e-mail, of course I was disappointed a bit, but I was mostly thinking about my sis’s friend and the cruel hand fate had dealt her. Even without that weighing on my mind I hope I would have taken the note with equanimity, but as it was I was actually pretty numb. There are more important things in life, after all.

All that said, I figured I might as well share the actual proposal here, as a bit of a curio. It was definitely flattering to have gotten so far with it, and my understanding is that there was some pretty fierce debate over whether to go with this one or the other one. If that proposal makes the final cut then you can be the judge when the book comes out — and hey, for all I know my book might have turned out pretty terribly in the end!

—

No less than Radiohead’s immediately preceding album – 1997’s OK Computer – 2000’s Kid A, the band’s fourth full-length release, generated both wide attention on appearance and continuing awareness since, especially due to its perceived break from the ‘real’ rock the band had gained fame for in favor of a distinctly different sonic palette based in electronics. What is less remarked upon now is how, somewhere between intent and accident, the album – anticipated and, even more importantly, leaked and released in the year when file-trading via Napster became part of widespread cultural knowledge – represents an intersection of technological trends and opportunities, not one which either the band or its then record label had full control over even as they happily participated in it, that has set the tone for how listeners encounter and consume music. The microcosm of Kid A’s themes about technological absorption and alienation, often expressed in often strikingly romantic and, intriguingly, retrospective rather than futuristic terms and styles, exists within a macrocosm: the unintentional symbolism of album and band arriving in and inaugurating a largely unexpected new world, now since taken as commonplace. It’s a world where the ‘music business’ as previously understood has steadily contracted, and increasingly where, to borrow from Marx, all that is solid has melted into air – or onto YouTube clips, or limited edition vinyl runs, or something else besides.

This book will look at these issues through two lenses – my experiences as a fan and a necessarily brief but broader consideration of the artistic and technological histories that produced Kid A as unstable artifact. A partial role model here is Timothy White’s The Nearest Faraway Place, his study of the Beach Boys that also was a study of the creation of ‘Southern California’ as a psychogeographical landscape, covering everything from how and why people moved to the area from other parts of the United States and elsewhere to the interlocking evolution of youth culture as the Los Angeles area grew over the years, how the Beach Boys were shaped by greater forces as much as they seemed to shape them. I strongly believe that Kid A and the admittedly vast subject of ‘music and the Net’ can be similarly, fruitfully twinned – how one band, one album, and one listener fit into a wider whole, a product and reflection of time and place.

Here is a brief ‘rough draft’ sample of the kind of tone and content I am aiming for in the book:

“For the longest time my copy of this album was a slowly rotting CDR that I burned from the mp3s that circulated when it first leaked to the Net. It has all the odd little glitches that cropped up in the rip of “Optimistic,” spikes and stutters that aren’t ‘glitch’ in musical terms, but actual mistakes, clips and interference. It wasn’t the official version of Kid A, with artwork and UPC codes and copyright warnings, it wasn’t even my version since these glitches were shared with a lot of other people out there, from whoever had created the original rip. When that person made that rip, a personal stamp had been placed on it, an unintended remix via the mechanics of the copy made or the computer used to create the rip, or maybe even simply the tray the CDR rested in. If vinyl crackles and radio has static, then this kind of error is the legacy of the CD in part, the thing that seems to make it real, even as the action of ripping the album created something else entirely, the formless sound file, the theoretically unchangeable artifact that is never fixed in place.”

The outline:

INTRODUCTION – A USER IN 2000: The framing stories for the book consist of two separate incidents where I engaged with Radiohead via the computer – where the computer wasn’t incidental but essential, where the existence of the technology of the Net and personal computing and everything that went into that had to come first. The introductory story discusses the day I purchased tickets for the band’s Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl concert for the short American Kid A tour – this was done, not by standing in line outside ticket outlets or a box office or trying to call on the phone, but by patiently waiting in front of a computer on a recently installed cable internet network, accessing a vendor’s website. The goal here is to show how something so mundane is in fact remarkable, unusual – to remind all of us now what it was like then, before it was mundane.

SINKING INTO THE NETWORK: Rather than starting with Radiohead or Kid A, the book proper begins by discussing the evolution of personal computing and the Net with an eye on music – not so much musical creation as electronic discussion and sharing between companies, programmers and users, in the seventies and beyond. Where and what were the initial flashpoints, and what decisions in retrospect had the greatest impact down the line? Some representative examples include: the evolution of Usenet discussion groups and mailing lists on bands and styles, the use of the CD-ROM as a standard data format in personal computers, the development of the mp3 format and its adoption as a widespread standard for sharing music, the creation of the World Wide Web, the debut of the Internet Underground Musical Archive in 1993 as the first formal site for bands to share and sell their work online, the haphazard recognition of the music industry on dealing with the Internet in general and the increasing commercial interest in higher-end and faster Internet service for home users. Potential interview subjects – computer/Internet historians, record company employees, radio station employees, music press writers.

RADIOHEAD – JUST ANOTHER UK POSTPUNK/PROG/ELECTRONIC BAND?: This chapter reviews the position of Radiohead as a simultaneously new and familiar band throughout the 1990s. There’s a well worn pathway the group followed in its initial fame – its appeal to Anglophiles and college radio in America, its love/hate relationship with the music press, the ‘breaking’ of America and a one-hit wonder tag, gained with the success of “Creep.” As time passed and their work became more overtly complex, the tone of discussion shifted towards the gravely serious, with OK Computer’s critical and commercial success being a key turning point, even as the band’s humor arguably became more overt and direct while their disenchantment with a perceived role as musical standard-bearers became equally notable. Meanwhile, the band’s increasing interest in electronic music – both in earlier 20th century experiments and in then-contemporary popular efforts, most notably the putative genre of ‘intelligent dance music’ or IDM – became clearer over time, pushing the perceived identity of Radiohead as a ‘rock’ band to increasing extremes. Potential interview subjects – band members and associates, webmasters of long-running fan sites, mailing list moderators, music press members.

TOWARDS A NEW MILLENNIUM: Radiohead established a website early on in its career – who were the prime movers in the band and its associates behind this move, and what were their goals and expectations? How quickly did their fans find them and each other online, and what communities did they build, and with what tools? When the sessions for what became Kid A and, later, Amnesiac progressed, the band used their site and the fan networks associated with it to preview material online, inviting fans to tune in and catch what they could – and clearly expecting they would be there. But who were these fans, with what technology and Internet connections in the late nineties would they use to listen in? As the sessions moved towards completion, the wider world saw the rise of Napster, the popularity of mp3s and the widespread knowledge of file-sharing. High-profile leaks had already occurred for bands like Metallica, Oasis and the Cure – how did Radiohead and EMI react to all this as the release date approached? Was there any overall clear approach or was it improvised? Potential interview subjects – band members and associates, webmasters of long-running fan sites, mailing list moderators, music press members, EMI employees, computer/Internet historians, music press writers.

KID A’S LIVES – Kid A’s songs were formally introduced to Radiohead’s fans via an initial European tour, with performances recorded and almost immediately shared online, to widespread interest. A month before its formal release, Kid A then appeared as a leaked document, a bare presentation of imageless files, even as elaborate limited editions of the album were announced, in both vinyl and CD formats, while formal single and video releases were eschewed in favor of Internet-targeted advertising which began appearing in the form of embedded sound clips and video files. The debate over the sound of the album and Radiohead’s choices for performance and arrangements was immediate – had they sold out, turned their back on rock, made a huge artistic mistake? What, then, was – and is – Kid A? A studio creation, a collection of songs, a concept album, an encapsulation of music and technology in and of itself and as reflected via mp3 sharing, the sharing of live tracks, the on-the-spot tracking. Was it ‘just’ an album in the end? Potential interview subjects – band members and associates, webmasters of long-running fan sites, mailing list moderators, music press members, EMI employees, computer/Internet historians, music press writers.

KID A LIVE(S): Following the leaking of the files, Kid A debuted at the top of the charts in the US and the UK upon release, as well as in many other countries. The band brought the now-familiar songs to America and Canada for a brief three-date tour which was also the end of Kid A’s promotional cycle, including a high-profile Saturday Night Live appearance with two songs that were not singles, even promotionally, and the previously mentioned Hollywood Bowl show, which will be discussed in detail. That would seem to be the ‘end’ of Kid A but what is its afterlife as a ‘classic’ album, or more? There’s the question of musical impact – the many bands and albums that followed where the combination of musical and thematic influences, especially in terms of the freer use of electronics, will be discussed. There’s the continuing popularity of the album among the fans, how certain songs have become established favorites in concert, how the ‘unfamiliar’ and seemingly shocking became ‘normal.’ Finally, there is the now-established model for how we generally encounter music – not street dates, but leak dates and more recently formal digital releases, where the physical product has been increasingly overtaken by the ephemeral, a situation highlighted (not prompted, it should be clear) by the fact that within months of Kid A’s release, Apple introduced the iPod. Potential interview subjects – band members and associates, webmasters of long-running fan sites, mailing list moderators, music press members, EMI employees, computer/Internet historians, music press writers.

CONCLUSION – A USER IN 2008: Mirroring the introduction as noted, this will discuss the day I watched Radiohead’s free broadcast of a Santa Barbara show at the conclusion of its In Rainbows tour in late August 2008 via my computer. It was the same desk and same chair I used back in 2000, the same computer monitor, but a different computer, sound system and Internet connection, something that was a ‘new’ mundane much like the experience of watching a web broadcast in general. Kid A songs were played along with plenty of other tracks, it was just part and parcel of the experience, as was the fact I was copying the broadcast onto my computer and the fact that clips appeared on YouTube almost immediately via other users. Kid A itself and everything about it was seemingly ancient history now, a time before iPods and iTunes and BitTorrents and questions about DRM and more besides – but how far away is it, as historical marker and as artistic creation? If, as the band claimed at the time of release, ‘Kid A’ him or herself was supposed to be the first cloned human baby, are we all now Kid As in a new century, replicating our experiences in a seemingly futile – and unnecessary? – search for what is ‘real’?

For those of you who enjoy vinyl, I’ve put together this local buying guide.  One of the best parts for me about of being a vinyl collector is the joy of the hunt.  In the last week, I bought all of the vinyls above used and most of them for only a few bucks.  I’ve been looking for Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” for a while now (not wanting to drop the $25 bucks+ it is selling for new) and found it today at the Used Book & Music Exchange for $1.98 in great condition.  In return for this info, I ask that you let me know if you find any Tom Waits, Nick Drake, Nina Simone or Leonard Cohen albums.  Lets get to it…

Where to Buy New

Some albums just are not old enough to find themselves on the used shelves, so you have to bite the bullet and drop the dime to buy it.  For all intensive purposes, there are only two places in town to buy new records.

ear x-tacy

1534 Bardstown Rd
Louisville, KY 40205
(502) 452-1799

ear x-tacy recently moved their vinyl collection downstairs and beefed up the selection.  On most occasions, you will be able to find what you are looking for and if you can’t, they will order it for you (at no extra charge).  Their prices are reasonable to what you would find on-line, and sometimes even better after you take shipping into account.  Their organization is good, but sometimes it is tough to distinguish what would fall under “Indie” and what would be “Rock/Pop.”  I generally browse both sections anyway, so it isn’t a big deal.  If you are into hip-hop, they have a pretty extensive collection, including a bunch of Tribe albums.  They also have an average collection of used vinyl.  For the used records, they are asking for an average of $6 or $7 bucks and you can find the same for much cheaper at other stores (see below).  Bottom line, ear x-tacy is a great option for new vinyl.  You will most likley be able to find what you are looking for and be able to buy it at an affordable price.  A

Underground Sounds

2003 Highland Ave
Louisville, KY 40204
(502) 485-0174

Underground Sounds is right around the corner from my house, so I make a visit there 3 or 4 times a week.  Though much smaller than ear x-tacy, they also have a very good selection (in fact, I bought Animal Collective’s MPP there when ear x-tacy was out).  Their prices are a bit higher, but never more than a dollar or two, and still often less than certain online options.  It takes a bit of time to get your bearings, but once you do, there are plenty of gems to be found.  On one side, you can find releases from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  On another, you will find rows and rows of popular music, plenty of indie releases and a very good Jazz/Blues section.  Tucked under standing CD shelves, are a ton of hip-hop, R&B/Soul, and Reggae records.  Displayed on the walls are a few vinyl selections, often new releases or interesting vintage options for sale.  On the floor along two walls are used vinyls; buy 1 get 1 free.  They range in price, but average around $5 bucks.  I’ve bought a few used vinyls here, but never have been too successful.  The best part of Underground Sounds is its people.  Almost in a High Fidelity nature (minus the snottyness), each employee has an ultra-understanding of their catalog and a passion for music.  From a nostolgic recount of a concert from the 70s in Louisville, to current copyright laws, to a simple recommendation based on the records I was holding, Underground Sounds embodies the reason I like buying records (as opposed to downloading online).  A+

Where to Buy Used

Book and Music Exchange (and Half Price Books) has a number of locations in Louisville.  I would say that over half of the vinyls I own came from one of their stores.  See below for details on each:

1616 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY‎ – (502) 454-3328‎

The Bardstown Road store is my third favorite of the four I know with vinyl.  While it normally has the most vinyl of the any of the stores, I’m guessing it gets picked over the most.  Their “premium” used vinyls go for an average of $3 to $7 bucks, with a few popular items ranging from $10-20.  I actually saw Nirvana’s In Utero there a few days ago for $30 (on yellow vinyl).  They also have an extensive “bargain bin” with oldies but goodies for 50 cents to $1.  It is definitely worth stopping by every other week to check on new arrivals.  B+

5400 Preston Hwy # C, Louisville, KY‎ – (502) 969-4403‎

This location has only a small collection of vinyl.  They average $10 bucks or more and most of them you can find cheaper at other locations.  What they do have is displayed high on their walls and surrounds the store.  I’ve bought one Bowie album here, but never went back because of the poor selection and inflated prices.  Skip this one.  D

2025 S Hurstbourne Pkwy, Louisville, KY

I make a weekly stop to this location.  They have a very good selection, organized well and decently priced.  You can find classic records for $5 to $8 bucks and a whole bunch are even cheaper.  Every once in a while you can find a “rare” vinyl for $10 to $20 (I found The Beatles’ Revolver two weeks ago).  They also have the same “bargain bin” deals as above.  I rate this location a bit higher for the fact that the quality of their collection is consistently better.  Also, be sure to stop in for their Vinyl Nights every Friday night.  All records are 20% off.  A

The Great Escape

2433 Bardstown Rd
Louisville, KY 40205
(502) 456-2216

The Great Escape has become a new stop on my vinyl hunt.  Amidst all the tons of comics offered there are a bunch of great used vinyls.  The main section has used vinyl for $2-10 bucks, but the selection is very good and you are bound to find a few gems.  My only problem with the main section is that it is not alphabetized, so I have to go through it all each time.  They also have one of the largest “bargain” sections in Louisville.  Shelves and shelves of vinyl, categorized alphabetically (ironically, all of the other “bargain” sections are not in alphabetical order), range from $1-$4 bucks.  Plan for a few hours to get through all of their vinyl on your first visit. A-

Highland Records

1617 Bardstown Rd # 2, Louisville, KY‎ – (502) 451-8805‎

An older gentleman runs this record store.  The store only sells vinyl and keeps very short hours.  It is a small shop and kept in relatively alphabetical order.  There is also a line of boxes on the floor in no certain order.  Prices are decent, but average around $10 bucks.  It is fun to browse around, but it is hard to find what you are looking for.  That said, if you stop by the Bardstown Road Book and Music Exchange, I’d recommend stopping into Highland Records, just for the experience.  Every other visit, you may just find something to take home.  B

Electric Ladyland

2325 Bardstown Rd
Louisville, KY 40205
(502) 458-4259‎

Electric Ladyland has a very good collection of vinyl but it is all overpriced.  It is not just a little overpriced, but a lot overpriced.  After browsing all of the other used vinyl shops, you will see the same vinyl there for twice the price.  If you like Jazz albums, they have a pretty good selection, so it may be worth your while to stop in.  I go every other month or so, just to check in.  C+

Antique Malls

Flea Markets

Where to Buy Online

Insound

Insound is THE place to buy vinyl online.  The key is knowing when to buy.  First, if you absolutely can’t wait to get the album and your local shop doesn’t have it in (or their supplier is back-ordered), then shell out the cash and use Insound.  If the album is in-stock, it is at your door in a few days.  Second, you may find a better price.  Sign up for their Vinyl Newsletter and they will give a) immediately give you 10% off your next purchase and keep you in the loop on future deals.  Sometimes, particularly during the holiday season, they will also throw in free shipping on orders over a certain amount of money ($50 bucks or so).  Combine the 10% off with free shipping and you are golden.  They don’t get a perfect score because their return policy is pretty lame.  First you have to email one of their employees and spell out all this information…then wait for them to email you back a code… then ship it back to them…then wait for them to ship a new one to you.  For your trouble, they may give you 15% off your next purchase (if you ask).   A

Best Buy

Best Buy may have a few vinyls in-store, but they are normally the “exclusive” releases and are hardly worth browsing.  I’ve ordered a few records from them on-line and have had a so-so experience.  They have over 8,000 records in their catalog, but you have to be sure to check the availability before you order.  If you see one that says 1-2 weeks or back-ordered, I’d pass.  I’ve tried to buy a few of those, thinking that the price is good enough that I can wait, and was later refunded my money because they couldn’t get it in-stock.  Otherwise, even with shipping, the prices are competitive, so it is worth checking out.  That said, I’d use it as a last option in your hunt.  B-

You guys know how to use eBay, so I’m not going to say much on this one.  I’ve had many very positive experiences buying vinyl on eBay.  A few things to consider.  1) Always look at the sellers rating and consider carefully how the seller has judged the condition of the album; 2) Sometimes the album you are looking at can be found cheaper new (be sure to double check); 3) With more and more reissues every day, if you are not buying as a “collector,” you may be able to save some cash by just waiting for the new pressing (and it will probably be on 180 gram). 4)  Always test the vinyl before leaving positive feedback (you may not be able to return it, but you sure as hell can help keep people from buying from a seller rating trash, “near mint.” A-

Craigslist

I’ve seen vinyl listed on craigslist, but it is always random and overpriced.  I’ve never used craigslist to buy vinyl (only missed connections) and it isn’t for lack of hunting.  D

Amazon.com has a pretty good selection of vinyl and their prices are all competitive, especially if you get the “SuperSaver Shipping.”  They also have a decent selection of used vinyl (often overpriced).  That said, I have had my best success with amazon.com when buying UK releases that haven’t come out in the US yet.  I bought my brother Late of the Pier’s debut, Fantasy Black Channel, months before its US release and, with shipping, it was less than $30 bucks.  Give it an occasssional browse.  B+

Where to Get Info On Vinyl

Here are a few sites that will help you in your hunt…

• VinylTimes.com
• MusicStack.com (Music Marketplace)
• Vinyl Rating System
• 33 1/3 Series
• Vinyl Collective
• How to Keep a Record Collection Safe
• Karate Body Records

If you have any tips or suggestions, please comment and share, I would love to hear them.

When he was 15 years old, Michael Stipe saw Patti Smith on the cover of Creem magazine and thought that she looked like Morticia Addams. And because of that he went and bought her seminal album, Horses, and and album that he says “tore my limbs off and put them back on in a whole different order.”

This album, if you didn’t know, is good. It’s desert island good. And whenever you see someone compiling a list of top albums, be it 100 best or 500 best or even just a 20 Near-as-damn-it perfect initial efforts list, then guess what? This album is on there.

And while a song like “The End” by the Doors may be talked about more, and may even have made a bigger splash on the cultural consciousness, which is not something I can say I always care about, especially since Patti Smith’s Horses contains probably one of my favorite songs ever in rockdom, “Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer (De),” a nearly 20 minute mega-opus (suck it, “The End,” which is only 12 minutes long) to something dark and primal and horribly and wonderful danceable in our core. It makes “The End” look like an even bigger cartoon than it already is.

Of course, that doesn’t say much at all, really. Patti Smith was developing a raw but intellectual and very feminist kind of rock n’ roll and Jim Morrison was just getting fatter and more ridiculous in his “Lizard King” and “erotic politician” rut.

Like so many men, Robert Mapplethorpe had a thing for women and snakes.

As a classic rock fan, especially growing up, I went through a phase of idolizing Morrison, rock n’ roll’s favorite jester, and most everyone else probably did too. It was junior high for me, as I sat there and read John Desmore’s biography, and thought about how much it sucked that Jim died and entertained notions in my brain that maybe he faked his death and was alive somewhere out there playing Chinese checkers with John Lennon and Elvis and JFK and… man, what an idiot I was.

“Most of my poems are written to women because women are most inspiring. Who are most artists? Men. Who do they get inspired by? Women. The masculinity in me gets inspired by the female. I fall in love with men and they take over. I ain’t no women’s lib chick. So I can’t write about a man, because I’m under his thumb, but a woman I can be male with. I can use her as my muse. I use women.”

-Patti Smith, from Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History Of Punk by “Legs” McNeil and Gillian McCain.

But that was a long time ago and eventually I went through a Patti Smith phase. I don’t know when it ended, if ever, really, but I can tell you where it began, it’s infancy being somewhere in 1996. That’s when REM’s New Adventures In Hi-Fi album came out, with it’s first single being “E-Bow The Letter,” featuring Patti Smith.

I had always known of REM before that album because I was a child who grew up with the radio and the MTV within reach, but with this album I realized that they were something better than what the radio or the vapid “music television” of the time could offer you. There was an eccentric warmth and depth to their music, and with this single, I was captivated because at the time, it was just so wonderfully bizarre. I wish I could post the actual music video up there for you, but that live performance will have to do, If not, here’s REM performing the song at the Tibetan Freedom Concert back in 1998 (God, do you remember those?) with that lazy eyed (that’s for you, Light) Thom Yorke. I remember that Yorke did a fine job with the song, but you can’t tell in the video because of the poor sound recording on his face. Though he does a fine job here on another song I love off the same album, “Be Mine.”

That’s where my Patti Smith phase began. It crystallized roughly a year later while watching the second season finale of Millennium. Remember that show? Probably not. It was Chris Carter’s second baby after X-Files, during the era of weird grim and gritty crime procedurals that featured vision-having (“It’s my gift, it’s my curse”) psychics, this one being Lance Henriksen, who has a face like a wall of stone and a voice like a rock polisher. The first season was fairly decent enough, but you could tell that Carter was getting bored running the show, so he handed it off in the following season to his proteges Glen Morgan and James Wong (and the proto-Charlie Kaufman, Darin Morgan), two guys who can’t possibly do a decent movie, but you hand them genre TV and they may very well be geniuses.

I assume that their only direction in taking over the show during it’s second year was “Hey guy, I don’t know how in the fuck we got a second season pickup, but I’m sure we’re going to get canceled. Do whatever the hell you want, be weird as shit, and have some fun,” and that’s what they did, and let me tell you, it was excellent. Possibly one of the smartest and coolest single years of a TV show that I had ever seen, but a dangerous beauty it was. And then there was the apocalyptic season finale of that second year, in which a character has a… Well, to call it a mental breakdown brought on by the heaviness of the moment would be a bit of an under statement, but it’ll do in a pinch. But what makes the breakdown so perfect, and helps solidify that year of TV as a strong one for this show is that they developed a whole act of the show to that moment, which took the form of essentially a music video for Patti Smith’s “Land” off of Horses:

There I was back in 1997, a stupid kid in high school, curious as to how the season would end when this season came on and that scene comes on, and my mind blown and possibly ruined forever. Without describing the previous year of the show to you, let’s just say there’s a nice bit of imagery summing up events there and offering portents for quite a few of the characters. And it’s a pretty wonderful interpretation of the song as well (as well as a decent job of editing the song down to an under ten minute run time).

Patti Smith “Land: Horses/Land Of A Thousand Dances/La Mer (De)” (mp3)

Broken Social Scene “Horses” (doing a partial cover)(mp3)

Patti Smith “When Doves Cry” (Prince cover)(mp3)

REM ft. Patti Smith “I Wanna Be Your Dog” (live Stooges cover)(mp3)

Other than those two bits of anecdotal history, I’m not going to talk about what this song means to me personally or anything of that nonsense. That’s just for me. Listen to the song, hopefully enjoy it, and find your own meaning and enjoyment in it, if there is any in it for you. I will just say that I do love the way the verse appropriated from Chris Kenner’s “Land Of A 1000 Dances” fits into the song, and other than that… do you remember an artist from several years ago by name of KT Tunstall?

If you don’t, well, then it’s not surprising since it’s been a few years. She was a harmless enough artist who I only bring up because her song “Suddenly I See” (and her career as well, possibly) was reportedly inspired by the cover to Patti Smith’s Horses album (which was shot by Robert Mapplethorpe), by the sight of a woman who was confident and comfortable as a rock n’ roll star. The cover to Tunstall’s album Eye To The Telescope is supposed to be an homage to the cover of Horses, but personally, I don’t feel it.

There’s a little place, a place called space, it’s a pretty little place…

Well, that’s just a bit on one of my favorite songs. Now I’d like to hear about one of yours.

Pink Flag is one of the classic albums. Wire expanded the boundaries of rock music. REM, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, The Cure and Blur have cited Wire as a major influence. The art school foursome has the talent to change and evolve. Of course they’ve also played at ZXZW. Lucky us.

In the brilliant 33 1/3 series which covers classic albums there’s a new one on Pink Flag. The book is written by Wilson Neate. It  features in-depth analysis and history of the album’s origins and creation, with input from pretty much all the band members. There’s also a smattering of very rare images, a foreword by Robin Rimbaud, and reflections from luminaries including Graham Coxon, Steve Albini, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, and Robert Pollard.

It already made the rounds that the other night at a certain big awards ceremony James Franco mentioned reading Carl’s excellent entry in the 33 1/3 series on Celine Dion. Well, somebody noticed somewhere because Carl just updated his Facebook status about fifteen minutes back:

Carl Wilson is almost scared to say it aloud, but Carl’s friends might want to watch the Colbert Report on Wed, March 4.

Amazing! And well deserved, of course. His excellent blog Zoilus is always worth checking out.

(A slight bit of shameless piggybacking on my part to note something I keep forgetting to mention — my own proposal for the series has made the shortlist, but that is of course no guarantee at all of making the final cut. Very flattering to have made it this far, though!)

Recently Continuum Books 33 1/3 series had open submissions to find writers for it’s next set of books. So although I was massively unprepared and without any real chance I threw my hat into the ring. Alas, I didn’t make the shortlist, but i figured I’d share this.

Proposal for 33 1/3

Subject: the Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

On February 10^th 2007 a senator from Illinois announced his candidacy for the seat of President of the United States of America, less the one month later a band from Canada released an album that would serve as the undercurrent soundtrack of that campaign. My proposal is simply put, the Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible is quintessentially an American Record that calls upon the people to open their eyes to the world that is around them which hearkens back to the socially aware album of the past. Helmed by an ex-pat who found a home in Montreal, who wrote most of the album from an outsiders view of his home country while decompressing from a tour through his beleaguered home, Neon Bible is a bursting at the seems with Americana, themes that resonate throughout the album hearken back to the music of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Neil Young. Furthermore the bands decision to show their support for the candidate from Illinois Barack Obama by playing a series of benefit concerts on behalf of his campaign displays their support for the campaign by using their art for a purpose. “Inclusion Rock” has been used when discussing the band, a way of saying the band music deconstructs the wall that stands between the artist and the masses it tries to reach, by exploring this idea I would conduct first person discussions with those whom were inspired by the album would be included in the narrative (I will expound on this later).

Now, how to go about exploring this? My goal would be to place the album in a historical context by comparing it to albums of the past that were influential to the political process through the following steps.

• A detailed decompression of the albums songs, and how they fit into the themes, I have previously stated would occur as a framing device for each chapter, which would allow me to segue into the larger picture of the narrative.

• By expounding on it’s impact with those who witnessed first hand it’s affects on the Campaign. Interviews with the band would be requested, along with those who helped organize the events that the band played.

• Interviews conducted with various members of the fan community that has sprung up around the band.

• The idea that the album helped spark an awakening movement amongst it’s listeners which lead to awakening from the discontent of the past few years.

• Show how the album served as a sort of “signal” to those who had been downtrodden by the “culture war” that their time to resurface was “now”

• Personal anecdotes that stem from my work on the campaign and how the a;bum affected it

• Reassertion of how the album links up to past albums, and how they played a role in the making of the album.

As to viability of this record’s influence on the masses, I can simply state the statistics. When the album debuted on March 10, 2006 it landed at number 2 on the US and UK Charts, while taking number 1 in Canada. Their supporting tour for the album had the distinction of selling out shows,in mere minutes, a video of the album’s title track posted on the Le Blogotheque video blog has 800,000 plus views, while their pop culture influence reached even the NFL Super Bowl where a excerpt of the album’s “No Cars Go” was played during the climatic returning from commercial sequence before the last minute of the game. And just a month ago the a selection from the album titled “My Body is a Cage” was used in trailers for the Brad Pitt vehicle “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, while recently the band announced plans to release a 70-minute film entitled Mirror Noir which documents the band’s tour in support of the album. The album found itself on may a reputed publications best of 2007 list including Q, and The Onion’s A.V. Club where it found itself at number 1, while Blender, Billboard, and Spin all placed the album at number 2 on their list.

In short, I feel that this is an idea that could be expounded on, catch the attention of it’s intended audience, and clearly define the album’s place in history in context with it’s influence on the campaign.

So yeah, there it was. They went with another pitch for the same band, which I can’t blame them for, after all I threw this together the day of the deadline.

the list

it’s down to 170 proposals now. some interesting albums made the cut.

even though i wouldn’t have picked it, i’m excited that the proposal for the chills “submarine bells” made the list. it’s not the chills record i would have picked, but anything that highlights flying nun records and the dunedin sound is a great call. i wish the person who proposed that one the best of luck. also very cool to see that m.i.a. is getting some props here.

gary numan and the tubeway army “replicas”
ac/dc “back in black”

arcade fire “funeral”
the beatles “the beatles”
bob dylan “self portrait”
britney spears “blackout”
david bowie “the rise and fall of ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars”
devo “q: are we not men? a: we are devo”

grateful dead “anthem of the sun”

jefferson airplane “crown of creation”

kraftwerk “trans-europe express”
m.i.a. “kala”

radiohead “kid a”

slint “spiderland”

talk talk “spirit of eden”
talking heads “remain in light”

x “los angeles”

the zombies “odyssey and oracle”

i’m especially looking forward to books about gary numan, arcade fire, and the zombies.

the crew over at the 33 1/3 music book series is taking another round of proposals this year. the field appears to be much larger this time, with around 600 proposals swamping the desk of one very busy managing editor.

i made a proposal for destroyer’s rubies that didn’t make the cut a couple of years ago. i didn’t submit a proposal for my lunatic riffings on dan bejar’s magnum opus this year, but those of you following my little story may be happy to know that some of the ideas live on in a movie treatment that i have been working on steadily for several months.

this year’s proposal list is pretty insane. i like to make a game of figuring out which records might make the short list, and narrowing the field this year is no easy task. while david is planning on announcing the final running sometime tonight, i figured i’d take a swag at what i would pick before the big announcement hits. i had the myopic audacity last time of actually trying to predict what they would pick, and i failed miserably. so this time, bloodied but unbowed, i’ll just guess based on level of interest, perceived impact, potential of the story, and likelihood of return on investment. all of my guesses are independent of the quality of the proposals, which i have no way of knowing:

gary numan and the tubeway army “replicas” OR gary numan “the pleasure principle”
ac/dc “back in black”
aphex twin “selected ambient works: 85-92″
arcade fire “funeral”
the beatles “the beatles”
bob dylan “self portrait”
britney spears “blackout”
david bowie “the rise and fall of ziggy stardust and the spiderthe s from mars”
devo “q: are we not men? a: we are devo”
dr. dre “the chronic”
fleetwood mac “rumours”
gang of four “entertainment!”
grateful dead “anthem of the sun”
jane’s addiction “nothing’s shocking”
jefferson airplane “crown of creation”
king crimson “in the court of the crimson king”
kraftwerk “trans-europe express”
m.i.a. “kala”
the microphones “the glow pt. 2″
prefab sprout “steve mcqueen”
radiohead “kid a”
sigur ros “Ágætis byrjun”
slint “spiderland”
the smiths “the smiths”
the stooges “fun house”
talk talk “spirit of eden”
talking heads “remain in light”
tortoise “millions now living will never die”
x “los angeles”
xtc “english settlement”
yo la tengo “i can hear the heart beating as one”
the zombies “odyssey and oracle”

as much as i love the church, “priest=aura” is not the album i would pick, and unless the “priest=aura” proposal is by someone like david fricke, who loved the album. otherwise, i don’t see how it could make it. it would be a great story, and an unsung one; what happened to that band after their monumental release and tour behind “starfish” is a modern rock music travesty. you could talk about the comparatively frigid reception that “gold afternoon fix” received after “starfish”. such a great, incredibly talented group; it’s hard to know what really happened unless of course the guys are willing to get into the painful details. pride before the fall? patti smith’s drummer on drums? how did that happen?

if i had to pick a short short list, and just pick a half dozen based on the story alone and a desire to get the word out and fill some critical gap in the literature of music history, i’d go with . . .

gary numan “the pleasure principle”
jefferson airplane “crown of creation”
the zombies “odyssey and oracle”
the smiths “the smiths”
gang of four “entertainment!”
the microphones “the glow pt. 2″ OR arcade fire “funeral”

i’m as curious to see tomorrow night’s results as anyone out there watching the running.