Benvolguts amics,

Ja hi tornem a ser! Avui a les 22:00 h podreu escoltar La Pedalera que, com sempre, vindrà carregat de bona música. A continuació teniu les raons per les quals no us podeu perdre el programa d’aquesta nit. Son aquestes:

- Entrevista: aquesta nit tenim el plaer d’entrevistar a Dani Flaco. L’artista de Bellvitge ens parlarà, entre moltes altres coses, del concert que donarà el pròxim divendres al Casino de Vic.

- Do it yourself: amb grups com Nofx, Minor Threat o Fugazi; l’Iris Palou ens farà un recorregut que va del punk al hardcore a més a més de parlar-nos del moviment straight edge.

- Mes enllà del so: avui en Ramón Castro ve ben carregat. Ens parlarà del disc Imperfectos de Manolo Tarancón. Un altre disc serà l’anomenat Cartografias de José Ignacio Lapido. I també ens parlarà de la nova promesa del rock madrileny, Vikxie.

- Eclipsa: avui l’Ester Ferre trencarà un pel amb la tònica a la que ens tenia acostumats i ens portarà una crònica del concert al que va assistir aquest dissabte. I entre els molts concerts que es van fer dissabte… a quin creieu que va anar? Doncs a Depeche Mode.

- A banda: en Zeus Díaz ens portarà també una crònica d’una banda espectacular, els Porcupine Tree. Després d’això ens parlarà de Poncho K.

- Agenda: avui l’actualitat musical, de la mà de Jordi Gonzàlez, passa per El niño de la hipoteca, Maria Rodés, Alex Guideón, Las Furias i El Bicho.

- Top 5: el rànquing format per les maquetes d’artistes i bandes que mica en mica anem rebent a La Pedalera.

Com cada setmana us recordem que també ens podeu escoltar per Internet mitjançant el següent enllaç.

http://kara.fast-serv.com:8700/listen.pls

Sintonitzeu amb nosaltres!

La Pedalera
Miquel Cornellà

Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat fame was just one of the members of this influential band. Aside from writing great music and intense live performance, Fugazi strongly regulated the price of their CD’s often printing the price directly on the artwork to prevent retailers from price gouging fans. They had a huge, dedicated fan base despite the fact that they sold no merchandise at live shows or received any notable radio-play outside of college stations. They were dedicated to the music, and that’s what they did well.

Fugazi “Repeater”

Like what you see feel free to email me at tad@creativesquall.com and don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook. Check out the Creative Squall website to see how sketches grow up to be complete ideas.

Naquele ano, eu tinha certeza que o reconhecimento do Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 seria uma questão de tempo. Era a banda nova que eu mais gostava e mais ouvia (junto com o Cassiber). Tinha certeza que eles, Slint, Sun City Girls, Trumans Water e o Soul Junk, em um prazo curtíssimo, seriam descobertos e transformados em referências roqueiras obrigatórias, como já havia acontecido com o Fugazi, o NoMeansno e o The Ex, por exemplo.

Até agora, só acertei dois da minha lista, mas uma boa matéria da vice me encheu de esperanças em relação ao grupo de Oakland (que aliás, já foi publicado aqui). No texto, o repórter Andrew Earles ainda dá várias bolas dentro, menciona o Supreme Dicks, Strapping Fieldhands e Dead C. Fala mal do Mr. Bungle e Primus. Só faltou incluir o Radiohead nesta lista negra, que é  feita a partir de uma designação cruel, mas eficaz para falar do midbrow indie rock.

O texto me fez lembrar que o meu gosto pelo rock, a música popular e as novidades vanguardistas do jazz e da música clássica veio da sensação de querer fazer uma vida nova, mais animada e interessante. Já vi muita gente associar esse gosto a gente que está a margem, quem não é aceito ou quem se isola. Não tinha nada disso. Eu não gostava disso por participar de um grupo diferente. Não achava que aquilo se alinhava ao bom gosto, aliás, estava pouco me fodendo para o bom gosto.

Todo mundo andava com meninos que gostavam de Skid Row, Death Metal e com outros que nem gostavam muito de som.

Não tinha nada a ver com isso, nem a ver só com música, cultura, arte. O ânimo passava por aí, mas o interesse maior era fazer coisas mais legais em um lugar onde tudo parecia meio sem graça. Não era auto complacência, sensação de deslocamento e nem a imagem de estar a margem, mas a sensação de participar de algo novo, desafiador e que ia contra tudo que havia de mais babaca (inclusive os estilos de vida e a participação em tribos juvenis).

Também não existiam aquelas bobagens de filme americano de vencedor e perdedor, herói e vilão, turma da mesa de cá e turma da mesa de lá. Era um monte de gente. Todo mundo convivia com todo mundo numa naice. Uns se contentavam com o que tinha na cidade, outros queriam mais. Quem queria mais não podia reclamar.

O mais legal é que esses meninos que circulavam comigo por lá, hoje estão por aí, são gente de primeira qualidade e continuam atrás de uma vida mais intensa, cheia de sumo.

Para comemorar, seguem músicas do conjunto:

According to the New Testament, the Rapture is the transporting of believers to heaven brought about by second coming of Christ. Not sure about the carpenter from Galilee, but Monday’s night second coming of the Jesus Lizard certainly proved a rapturous occasion for believers and nonbelievers alike. As far as I am concerned music can come to a screeching halt after Monday’s show. Anything additional would be superfluous and at worst in the context of this miraculous reptile, blasphemous. At one point between songs David Yow said, “We’re 65 years old and we’re still the best band in the world.” Penned against the stage barrier, I asked aloud, “What about the Melvins?” With a grin, David Yow conceded that the Jesus Lizard were at least the second best band in the world.

Aside from the Melvins or Fugazi there isn’t another band belonging to the loosely independent music scene of the 1990s even worth mentioning. Their last studio record, Blue, came out in 2000 and only in the last year have they started playing shows after having taken off the first decade of the new century. I saw them Monday night at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza and though vocalist David Yow’s a year shy of a half century, he stage dove with abandon a half dozen or more times. Can you imagine another 49-year-old musician doing this? What about Bono? Please. Yow’s face was bleeding by the third song and yet he just kept singing, diving into the crowd, and generally running riot on stage. Picture a louder, drunker Harry Dean Stanton and you’re close to the sort cinematic effect of David Yow. What’s remarkable about this band that released all its albums on Touch & Go (save Blue, released on Capitol in 2000) is the forcefulness of what is essentially just rock & roll. This deceptive normalcy gives their music an almost American Gothic quality like there is to many of David Lynch’s movies.

I am not sure if another band like the Jesus Lizard could emerge from the present music scene(s), independent or otherwise. I frankly don’t even care. You can be sure David Yow doesn’t have his own blog and if he does, then so what, the point is he didn’t have one before his first 12″ EP dropped in 1989. Revisiting them a decade later is a reminder of all the changes that have taken place in music for better or worse. Ten years from now when _____ reunites, then perhaps its audience will recall fondly their quirky iPhone application and their music only second. Thankfully the Jesus Lizard will never suffer this ignominy.

David Yow & the Jesus Lizard © Damien Neva

David Yow & the Jesus Lizard © Damien Neva

David Yow & the Jesus Lizard © Damien Neva

Check out this video of Fugazi performing “Waiting Room” and “Repeater” in Dupont Circle (1989).

A los 18 años, ¿quién se imagina que se va a convertir en uno de los iconos más importantes de un movimiento musical emergente (por aquel entonces)?

Ian McKeye nace  el 16 de Abril de 1962 en Washington D.C., Estados Unidos y se crió en el barrio de Glover Park junto con Henry Garfield (Sí, como el gato. Pero menos risas porque sería el futuro cantante de Black Flag, bajo el nombre de Henry Rollings). Los padres de Mckeye dieron pie a que el inconformismo de su retoño creciese bajo un ambiente liberal y progresista. Durante su adolescencia, en su tocadiscos sonaban bandas de rock como Ted Nugent o Queen hasta que en 1979 descubrió en un concierto den The Cramps que el hard rock o el punk podían ser más duros todavía y alejarse así de “alejarse de la música verdaderamente corrupta”. The Cramps: culpables del primer empujón musical de Mackaye.

Ian Mackaye en Minor Threat

La primera producción musical de McKeye fue grabada con los The Slinkees en una cinta con una canción llamada “I drink milk”. Al poco participó como vocalista en Skewbald/Grand Union Su primer proyecto serio a la par que breve (1979-1980) se llamó The Teen Idles, en el que tocó el bajo junto con Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle y Jeff Nelson, con quien formaría Minor Threat junto con Lyle Preslar y Brian Baker. Paradójicamente, Minor Threat fueron idolatrados y odiados a partes iguales puesto que se mostraban muy críticos, no sólo con el sistema, sino además con la escena punk local. El mensaje de Minor Threat fue uno de los primeros en alejarse del “There´s no future” de las bandas de punk o las primeras bandas de hardcore y se acercaron a un hardcore positivo además de crítico. A Ian Mckeye se le conoce como uno de los precursores del movimiento Straight Edge, que criticaba a los jóvenes inmersos en una espiral de alcohol, tabaco, drogas y sexo promiscuo. Esto se vislumbra en letras de canciones como “Straight Edge”, “Out of step” o “Bottled Violence”

Straight Edge: [I'm a person just like you/But I've got better things to do/Than sit around and fuck my head/Hang out with the living dead/Snort white shit up my nose/.../I've got the straight edge]

Bottled Violence: [Lose control of your body/Beat the shit out of somebody/Half-shut eyes don't see who you hit/But you don't take any shit].

No obstante, algunas de sus letras generaron malentendidos además de controversia, como por ejemplo “Guilty of being white“, que describe la opresión sufrida por un blanco en una sociedad eminentemente negra.  Se llegó a acusar a la banda de racismo pasando por alto que la escena de DC se manifestó siempre abiertamente antirracista, antimachista y antisistema.

Guilty of being white: [I'm sorry/for something I din't do/Lynched somebody/but I don't now who/You blame me for slavery/a hundred years before I was born//Guilty of being white]

Ian Mackaye en Fugazi

Tras la ruptura de Minor Threat Mackaye participó en bandas de post hardcore como Embrace (1985-1986 junto con tres miembros de la banda de su hermano Alec, The Faith), Egg Hunt (1986) o Pailhead (1987-1988). En 1987 fundó Fugazi, que sería considerado uno de las bandas más importantes de post hardcore. La tendencia innovadora y transgresora del grupo no sólo abarcaba lo musical: sus conciertos no sobrepasaban los cinco dólares ni sus discos los diez, no se promocionaban, en todas las reseñas del grupo o crónicas de conciertos aparecen los sustantivos humanidad, energía y emoción… en definitiva una apuesta total por el DIY (Do It Yourself).

Ian Mackaye en la actualidad

En la actualidad, Mackaye se encuentra embarcado en un dúo llamado The Evens con Amy Farina (The Warmers donde tocaba la guitarra el hermano de Mackaye, Alec). Por suerte para los adolescentes americanos que son incapaces de asistira conciertos en salas por no sobrepasar los 21 años, The Evens tocan en cafeterías, librerías, salas de arte, escuelas… Mackaye defiende su política musical con declaraciones como estas: “Amy y yo decidimos que la típica experiencia de los clubes era, de algún modo, anti-ética con respecto a la música. En este tipo de locales, el énfasis siempre estará puesto en el verdadero negocio, que por supuesto es el alcohol. Tal situación ha perjudicado en el hecho de que los menores de edad no pueden asistir a conciertos, lo que obviamente obedece a una ley que se conecta con la industria del alcohol”. (…)En los Estados Unidos hay muchos, pero muchos locales que no permiten la entrada a menores de 21 años. Es una locura… Déjame preguntarte si escuchabas música cuando eras adolescente y si era importante para ti. El hecho de que hagamos ese tipo de shows es por que nos gusta pensar en que al sacar la música de esos lugares, para llevarla a otros más inusuales, el foco central vuelve a la música y a la interacción humana.”

Lo que en un principio fue un proyecto con miras a un futuro inmediato (producción del 7″ de The Teen Idles) se convirtió en un sello discográfico independiente llamado Dischord Records, que fundó Mackaye con su amigo Jeff Nelson. Hasta la fecha el sello ha producido más de 150 títulos (además de The Teen Idles, Minor Threat, The Evens…) de bandas como Dag Nasty, Youth Brigade o Void hasta nuestros días. De momento.

Como fuente de ingresos alternativa Mackaye limpia cristales.

Web de Dischord Records

DVD American Hardcore

Artículo Super 45

YouTube Videos

]]> http://radioloveless.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/nirvanas-bleach-and-live-at-reading/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:41:55 +0000 radioloveless http://radioloveless.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/nirvanas-bleach-and-live-at-reading/

I’m not going to go into the fact that just in time for the holidays Nirvana’s Bleach has been remastered and a DVD is available for their Live at Reading show. The rock magazine Kerrang placed this show as one of the “100 shows that shook the world.” There is a really good commentary in Newsweek on these two releases, both the live at Reading show from Universal Music Group (Geffen) and Bleach from Sub Pop. I’ll be featuring two tracks from Nirvana tonight from these.

Here’s a famous clip from the festival:

Listen in tonight at KRUI 89.7 fm or online here. I’ll be playing between 8 and 10 pm.

1. Nirvana, Live at Reading, Come as You Are (1992)
2. Nirvana, Bleach (20th Anniversary), School (Live At Pine Street Theater)
This album originally came out in 1989 with Subpop and is Nirvana’s debut album.

3. Low, Things We Lost in the Fire (2001), Dinosaur Act (A Request)
4. Sonic Youth, EVOL, Expressway to Yr. Skull (A.K.A. Madonna, Sean and Me)
I wanted to play this track during the Halloween show but didn’t get to it. It was released in 1986.
5. Mudhoney, Superfuzz Bigmuff, Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More
Another Sub Pop release that came out in 1988.
6. Iggy Pop, The Idiot (1977), Funtime
7. Melvins, Nude with Boots (2008), The Savage Hippy
The Melvins formed back in 1982.

8. Scratch Acid, The Greatest Gift (1991 compilation off of Touch and Go), Owner’s Lament
9. Mark Lanegan (of the Screaming Trees), The Winding Sheet, Mockingbirds
This was released in 1989 off of Sub Pop records.
10. Babes in Toyland, Painkillers (1993), He’s My Thing
11. Siouxsie & The Banshees, Kiss in the Dreamhouse, Slowdive
This album was released in 1982 and recently rereleased and expanded this year.
12. Bikini Kill, Pussy Whipped (1993 on Kill Rock Stars), Rebel Girl
This track is #455 on Blender’s “500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born”.
13. Heavens to Betsy, Calculated (1993 on Kill Rock Stars), Decide
Corine Tucker is on Guitar for these guys, she’s also the main vocalist for Sleater-Kinney
14. Pixies, Doolittle (1989 on 4AD), Hey
This album changed my life.

15. Pavement, Wowee Zowee (1995), Kennel District
16. Superchunk, Here’s Where the Strings Come In (Merge 1995), Certain Stars
17. The Jesus & Mary Chain, Honey’s Dead (1992), Reverence
18. Gang of Four, Entertainment! (1979), Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time
19. Magazine, Magic Murder and the Weather (1981), About the Weather
20. PJ Harvey, Is This Desire? (1998), Joy
Here’s another album that changed my life and that I might take with me to the grave. This is art.
21. Flipper, Generic (debut in 1982), Nothing
22. Cat Power & Steve Shelley, Dear Sir (1995), Headlights
23. The Replacements, Let it Be (1984), Androgynous
24. The Swell Maps, A Trip To Marineville (1979), Vertical Slum
25. Mission of Burma, The Definitive Editions Compilation, Ballad of Johnny Burma
26. The Breeders, Mountain Battles, Overglazed
Their 4th album released in 2008
27. Fugazi, Steady Diet of Nothing, Runaway Return

Det ser ut som jeg må skaffe meg Converges Axe To Fall. Bandets to forrige plater var strålende, og denne skal være enda bedre.

Converge
You Fail Me
Epitaph/Bonnier Amigo 2004
5/6

Nyskapende og genreknusende punkrock fra Boston-band. Et av 2004s beste rockesjokk.
Metal og hardcore kan både være ekstremt nyskapende og konservativ, og selv om flere band klarer seg utmerket på sin lille planet, er genrenes fremtid avhengig av artister som tør knuse båser, rive i stykker regelbøker og kaste seg ut på dypt vann. Gjerne samtidig. The Blood Brothers og The Locust gjorde det i fjor, og i år kan vi la øregangene ristes i filler av Boston-bandet Converge .

Deres fire foregående album har gjort kvartetten til semilegender i grenselandet metal og hardcore, og You Fail Me er så sterk at enda flere med sans for nyskapende rock bør rydde plass i platesamlingen.

Tekstmessig fremstår You Fail Me nærmest som et konseptalbum om bitterhet og følelsesmessig forræderi, mens de i løpet av 35 minutter brøyter ny musikalsk vei med referanser til så forskjellige artister som Fugazi, Napalm Death og Nirvana. Det sier sitt om dette albumet at Converge er i ferd med å skinne like sterkt på rockehimmelen som disse storhetene.

Converge
No Heroes
Epitaph/Bonnier Amigo 2006

Etter mesterverk som Jane Doe og You Fail Me er amerikanske Converge i eliten av band som rister løs ørevoksen og sprenger grenser mellom metal, hardcore og ekstrem støyrock. Kvartetten har verken funnet bremsepedalen eller kompromissknappen på sitt sjette offisielle album, men veksler mellom voldsomme adrenalinutblåsninger og innadvendte, dvelende låter som nesten ti minutter lange «Grim Heart/Black Rose». Ikke for pyser!

Bonus: Tidenes beste hardcore-album ifølge «justinjj» på Epinions.com.

1. Hatebreed: Satisfaction is the Death of Desire

2. Madball: Hold it Down

3. Blood for Blood: Living in Exile

4. Converge: When Forever Comes Crashing

5. Sworn Enemy: Negative Outlook

Its the Halloween show this Wednesday from 8 to 10 pm on Radioloveless at KRUI 89.7fm or listen online here.

1. Suicide, The Second Album (1980) + The First Rehearsal Tapes (rereleased 1998), Creature Feature

2. R.E.M., Dead Letter Office (1987), Burning Hell
3. The Clash, Combat Rock (1982), Straight to Hell
4. Fugazi, 13 Songs (1989), Burning
5. The Misfits, Collection II (1995), Halloween II
6. The Misfits, Collection (1986), Night of the Living Dead
7. Archers of Loaf, Vee Vee (1995), Death in the Park
8. Siouxsie and the Banshees, JuJu (1981), Halloween
9. Joy Division, Still (1981), Dead Souls
10. Beat Happening, Black Candy (1989), Gravedigger Blues
11. The Velvet Underground, Peel Slowly and See (Box Set), The Gift
It’s found originally on White Light/White Heat (1968). The lyrics are written by Lou Reed and recited by John Cale, and the track is mixed in such a way that a short story can be heard in the left speaker while a rock instrumental is heard on the right. Also, the story is creepy as hell and perfect for Halloween.
12. Guided by Voices, Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996 on Matador), Cut-Out Witch
13. Blue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune (1976), (Don’t Fear) The Reaper
14. The Cure, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987), Tortue
15. Bauhaus, Bela Lugosi’s Dead-single (1979), Bela Lugosi’s Dead
16. Echo and the Bunnymen, Ocean Rain (1984), The Killing Moon

17. Concrete Blonde, Bloodletting (1990), Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
18. This Mortal Coil, Filigree and Shadow (1986), The Horizon Bleeds and Sucks its Thumb

19. The Murder City Devils, Empty Bottles Broken Hearts (1998), Cradle to the Grave
20. The Birthday Party, Junkyard (1982), Release the Bats
21. Tom Waits, Blue Valentine (1978), Wistlin’ Past the Graveyard

22. The Germs, M.I.A. The Complete Germs (1993), Lexicon Devil
The 7″ of Lexicon Devil was originally released in 1978.
23. Pixies, Come on Pilgrim (1987 off of 4AD), Ed is Dead
24. Sonic Youth, Evol (1986), Expressway to Yr. Skull
25. David Bowie, Scary Monsters (1980), Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

Two musical memories have been shaping my night quite nicely, each provided by a friend this past weekend. The first, while sitting in a record-strewn living room, littered with the occasional empty pack of Pall Mal’s and can of the cheapest beer the local gas station sells, was friend numero uno trying, as he has been for a few weeks over the phone, to convince me how — seriously — the first two albums by the vomit inducing Goo Goo Dolls were worth not only listening to, but owning a copy. I, of course, disagreed without needing to hear a single note. After a beer, we compromised with the promise of both albums on a single CDR, requiring me not to empty my already short pockets.

On my drive to meet friend numero dos, and without any of my usual musical companionship, I begrudgingly inserted the fresh CDR which laid bare on my passenger seat. I was told to skip to a particular track, a cover of Prince’s “I’ll Never Take The Place Of Your Man,” one of the many masterpieces off of Sign ‘O’ The Times, transformed here into a late-period Replacements jam, and a particularly great one at that. I soon discovered, driving east on the Long Island Expressway, that the entire collection was, basically, the same thing. This is not a criticism, rather an expression of praise. At any time, on most days of the week, I’m down for Replacements jams, whether sung by Paul Westerburg or some dirty kids from Buffalo, New York, who would later in the decade astronomically wuss out on the promise laid out so beautifully here.

So my night was going well. In the rain, at a strangers house, in a town whose name I made no effort of remembering, I heard somebody utter the name Harbour Sounds. When I was a wee teenager, on trips with my grandmother, I would always make a visit to the local record store — which was now being spoken about fondly in the past tense, as it closed a few years ago. This was a period when I was convinced cassettes were better than compact discs (for monetary issues, obviously, but was still ahead of the indie curve by about 13-15 years) and remember, quite passionately, buying Fugazi albums and listening to them late into the night on my Sony Walkman, for days, sometimes week. I remember listening to it on the bus, watching the kids I wished I was hanging out with sneak into woods to kiss girls and smoke cigarettes they stole from their parents. I played ice hockey at the time, and used In On The Kill Taker to “pump me up,” as they used to say, before a big game. I was never very good at ice hockey. Maybe because I had those fucking basslines stuck in my head the whole game.

As I returned home in the wee hours of our sabbath, with the quiet of my bedroom surrounding me and the sleep I so desperately needed drifting away, I frantically decided I needed to dig up my Fugazi albums, which I now own on compact disc. Immediately, I inserted them one by one into my computer and loaded them onto my iPod. I was never convinced on those damn coasters.

(Image: Richard Tuttle, Walking On Air, 12, 2008)

not much new music in my pipeline at the moment outside of the Edward Sharpe album and the anticipation of the new Thao, Miles Benjamin, and John K Samson albums, but I’ve been rediscovering stuff up the wazoo. Maybe it was seeing a phenomenal Roadside Graves show a week or so back, but I got the urge to dig out anything and everything I owned that had two drummers on it. And one of the best examples I can think of is The Argument, Fugazi’s last album (to quote one Seymore Skinner for a moment, “prove me wrong, kids, prove me wrong”) from a few years back.

The thing about Fugazi as a punk band is that they were already less melody based and more rhythmic than than most of their peers (save for the other few other Dischord bands that evolved alongside them, notably anything J Robbins was involved in). I think this is partially a result of the band haven been spat out from Minor Threat, a band much more well versed in hardcore than in punk. I think it’s also a result of the true democracy of this band, the idea of them functioning as a collective unit, and if not that, at least a band where everyone gets some real time in the spotlight. I think it’s, finally, a result of the fact that Brendan Canty, the band’s drummer might have been their most technically accomplished instrumentalist, and so the fact that he was bringing complex ideas to the table including time signatures besides 2:4 and 4:4, meant that songs got based around them.

What it lead to was Fugazi being a band built upon rhythms. But when they added second drummer Jerry Busher for The Argument, something special happened. Oftentimes when a band has two drummers, they feel the need to make two divergent drum parts for each to play. The great thing about fugazi is how through overlapping and moments of singularity, the rhythm often peels and pushes. These drums feel fluid and feverish, but never overwrought.

“Cashout” and “Oh” are from Fugazi’s album The Argument.

and Hurray for the Riff Raff, who released what I can almost certainly say will be my favorite album of the year, just recorded a Daytrotter session. I haven’t listened, but, like Mallomars or Steve Buscemi cameos, there are something you can just tell are going to work out well.

Anche lo skateboarding, un po’ come l’hip hop, inzia ad avere una vecchia scuola proprio a livello anagrafico, non più solo per qualche anno di militanza in più nel giro. Oggi lo skater e regista Stacy Peralta infatti compie 52 anni. Nel 2002 al Torino Film Festival ho visto il suo Dogtown and Z-Boys. Il seguente articolo, su quel notevole documentario di Peralta, lo scrissi all’epoca per la rivista cinematografica on line ENOL – Effetto Notte On Line.

Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, prima metà degli anni Settanta: nelle ville in cerca di acquirente, temporaneamente abbandonate, le piscine sono vuote anche a causa di una grande siccità. Qui, dopo un’accorta ricognizione, s’intrufola un gruppo multirazziale di adolescenti provenienti da Dogtown, quartiere malfamato e fatiscente della metropoli californiana. Attrezzati per svuotare e pulire le piscine (all’occorrenza anche attaccandosi di nascosto alla corrente elettrica della villa limitrofa), i ragazzini sanno che da un momento all’altro potrebbe arrivare la polizia. Perché sono qui? Beh, la loro tavola da surf si è rimpicciolita, ha messo le ruote e da qualche tempo le onde che cavalcano sono diventate d’asfalto. Dogtown and Z-Boys è la storia degli ingenui pionieri delle evoluzioni sullo skate (loro sono arrivati a scoprire vertical e aerial), veri rivoluzionari nel loro ambito, in primis perché, puntando tutto su uno stile “radical”, hanno definito le regole di un nuovo sport anche infrangendo la legge. Una crew nata attorno al negozio di surf dei mentori Jeff Ho e Skip Engblom, i cui membri diventano presto gli idoli di Ian MacKaye dei Fugazi o ancora di altri personaggi del mondo musicale come Henry Rollins e Jeff Ament dei Pearl Jam, che li scoprono grazie alle foto pubblicate sulle pagine della rivista ‘Skateboarder’.
È Stacy Peralta (1957), uno degli z-boys (dove z sta per Zephyr, come il nome del negozio), l’autore di questo orgoglioso e appassionato ritratto di un team di skater da molti visto come l’equivalente di una qualsiasi gang di strada, ma che applicando le tecniche del surf, ha determinato la sorte di quella tavola supportata da ruote in uretano. Proprio questa sostanza chimica ha costituito un aiuto fondamentale per la crew, la cui peculiarità principale può così diventare la completa torsione del corpo con le mani che automaticamente vanno a poggiare, senza controindicazioni (con altri materiali il rischio caduta era nettamente maggiore), sul terreno, non più sul mare. Una storia coinvolgente, con numerose e preziose immagini di repertorio che restituiscono il sapore e, soprattutto, i colori di un’epoca rimpianta da più parti. Una storia rovinata dal violento ingresso degli sponsor, dall’avvento del professionismo o, è il caso di Jay Adams (attualmente in carcere), dall’abuso di droga. Proprio Adams e Tony Alva sono ancora considerati dal resto degli z-boys i membri che meglio incarnano lo stile del gruppo, tutto grazie a un talento puro e alla capacità di trovare e sviluppare nuove tecniche con una pratica costante. Mentre i due si raccontano non si può fare a meno di notare i loro denti scheggiati, e il nesso causale con le acrobazie che facevano sullo skate, spesso senza alcuna protezione, è automatico.
L’albero genealogico del surf ha dato vita allo skateboard e, più recentemente, allo snowboard. Stacy Peralta ha portato sul grande schermo una storia collettiva creatasi attorno a questa famiglia e il suo documentario, che si apre sulle note di Ezy Ryder di Jimi Hendrix, riesce a divertire e interessare anche chi non ha mai avuto niente a che fare con questo mondo. Dogtown and Z-boys funziona, un po’ come tutti i racconti riguardanti persone che, quando si mettono in gioco per una passione, lo fanno senza mezzi termini, spesso correndo dei rischi sulla propria pelle; attributi spesso latitanti in chi sceglie di fare cinema, a parte rare eccezioni come quella di Werner Herzog che, proprio con un documentario autoreferenziale (Kinski – il mio nemico più caro), ha definitivamente svelato questa sua attitudine.

You’ll be seeing a lot more of these and far bigger from here on out as I’ve reached out for some in-store help.

F.Y.P. – Five Year Plan
Forgotten – Control Me
Four Letter Word – A Nasty Piece of Work
Four Year Strong – Rise or Die Trying
Lars Frederiksen and The Bastards – Viking
Fugazi – Fugazi
Fugazi – Repeater
Funeral for a Friend – Memory and Harmony
G-Unit – Terminate on Sight
Gallows – Grey Britain
Game, The – LAX
Gaslight Anthem, The – The 59 Sound
Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
Ghostface Killah – More Fish
Ghoulie, Kepi – Hanging Out American Gothic
Gorillaz – Demon Days
Grae, Jean – This Week
Grayskul – Bloody Radio
Grayskul – Deadlivers
Green, Al – Lay It Down
Guttermouth – Covered With Ants
Gym Class Heroes – The Quilt

We’ve also got our first music DVDs up (more to follow):

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Live in London
Method Man – Live From Sunset Strip

Oh – and our two CDs ever!

Against Me – New Wave (French Import with 5 Bonus Tracks)
Rancid – Let the Dominoes Fall Expanded Version

I break the surface

so I can breathe

I close my eyes so I can see

I tie my arms to be free

Have you ever been free?

Fugazi, Shut the door

Pete’s ripping his Fugazi CDs while Tricia tries to read.

Follow Pete’s tweets: @pbickerson

Reportaxe emitido na sección Snub TV do programa de cultura alternativo Night Flight da televiión americana sobre a primeira xira inglesa da banda de Washington DC Fugazi en 1988. Inclúe entrevitas a Ian MacKaye e Guy Picciotto e a interpretación en directo do tema ‘Suggestion’.

No Age craft one of the best EPs of the year.

PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD No Age’s “You’re a Target” MP3
WE GIVE IT: 18/20 Watts

From Sonic Youth, to My Bloody Valentine, to Fugazi, great noise rock bands delve into the curious relationship between tumult and transcendence.  What many bands forget is that, unless you can coax the sublime out of the hazy and the dissonant, you’re putting screwdrivers in your guitars for nothing.  Few bands today understand this better than No Age, the critically beloved two-piece from Los Angeles.

On their latest EP, Losing Feeling, No Age are at their most accessible.  Calling to mind later Sonic Youth, No Age craft four sweeping, fuzzed-out songs that each feel epic and grand, despite the fact that not one plays over four minutes.  The EP starts out with the melodic title track, a chugging, swirling, summer song that seems more appropriate for a barbecue than the impending winter.   This segues into “Genie,” a gently spinning track, with a bit of bite to it.

There’s a definite shoegaze influence on these first two songs, although No Age take their cues less from My Bloody Valentine and more from Ride, eschewing the ethereal for some (relatively, this is noise rock we’re talking about) straightforward hooks.

The third song is an instrumental, and although Allen Spunt’s always-nasally yet never ingratiating vocals are a great asset to No Age, “Aim at the Airport” is a lilting, clever, feedback-meets-ambient experiment.  The title even recalls Brian Eno’s Music for Airports.

Finally, No Age bring everything to a climax with “You’re a Target,” the EP’s highlight.  The track is fast, loud and melodic, inviting the listener to both headbang and sing along.  It gets stuck in your head, and you won’t mind a bit.

The EP’s only problem is that the listener wants more.  At fourteen minutes, Losing Feeling is short, but since not a single second is wasted, No Age can hardly be faulted for that.  As it is, the band has crafted a nearly flawless EP that serves as a perfect starting point to new fans, and will get consideration as one of the best short-length releases of the year.

– Marc Sollinger

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973), co-author of "Up Above My Head"

I start with a song from the three-disc set of recordings from Wattstax released a few years ago.  (It’’s technically a reissue, but with all the previously unlreleased material, it feels like a new release.)  I just recently got the collection, and it’s been blowing my mind ever since.  Overall, it is a collection of fairly decent recordings, especially considering they were live recordings from 1972.  I really appreciate how it showcases many obscure overshadowed by the label’s heavyweights.

At any rate, this week’s episode is for the crybabies who whined that last week’s show put them to sleep.  Stir up the Similac and press play.

1. Up Above My Head – Rance Allen Group (1972)
2. Follow You Follow Me – Genesis (1978)
3. Number 5 – Fugazi (2001)
4. Carnival Kids – Futureheads (2004)

Radio Free Raytown – Episode 12 (10/2/09)

Artista: Vic Chesnutt
Album: At the Cut
Genere: Songwriting / Post-Rock
Label: Constellation
Data: 21 Settembre 2009
Link: Sito ufficiale, MySpace, Stream
Voto:

Tracklist:
1. Coward
2. When The Bottom Fell Out
3. Chinaberry Tree
4. Chain
5. We Hovered With Short Wings
6. Philip Guston
7. Concord Country Jubilee
8. Flirted With You All My Life
9. It Is What It Is
10. Granny

Seconda collaborazione con Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) e con gente di GYBE e Silver Mt. Zion, dopo il già ottimo North Star Deserter di 2 anni fa. Subito via ogni dubbio: la magia di quella miscela di cantautorato americano e post-rock non si è persa, anzi. Ma qualcosa è cambiato: dove in NST gli accompagnamenti, per quanto obliqui (e per forza, viste le band di provenienza), erano sussurrati/discreti per lasciare il dovuto posto alle belle melodie di Chesnutt, nell’album in oggetto si fanno avanti più prepotentemente. Archi, organi, bassi vanno in primo piano, si rincorrono, poi lasciano ancora il posto alle ballate scarne chitarra-voce del nostro. O le colorano di toni jazzy (We Hovered With Short Wings). E in quel paio di canzoni più tradizionali (When the Bottom Fell Out, Granny) si sente la mancanza, pure, di quegli arrangiamenti.

Si può ascoltare in free streaming su Paste Magazine.

Jay Ryan 'When Robots Die' Edition of 100 Size: 20 x 26 inches $30 Each

Here is the latest print in this year’s Nakatomi Invitational. This is by one of my fave artists Jay Ryan, this beauty is called ‘When Robots Die’ it is a 20 x 26 screen print on a kraft coloured paper stock with an edition size 0f 100, comes signed and numbered by the artist for $30 each. Throw in a limited edition Jay Ryan ‘When Robots Die’ T-Shirt and it will run you only $40 for the set. These WILL NOT last long. Additionally, if you grab this print, the boys at Nakatomi will be throwing Kirby’s ‘Moon Boy’ (below) print in the tubes for FREE!! (while supplies last!). WICKED DEAL FROM SOME WICKED DUDES!!

Check it out HERE

Kirby 'Moon Boy' Size: 6 x 26 Inches FREE