Audioslave – Show Me How To Live

On my rock sh*t today.  If you want to listen to a really good album, definitely listen to Audioslave’s self-titled debut album from 2002.  Back in high school, my buddy Los  put me on to Rage Against the Machine.  Then after Zach de la Rocha left the group, I kept listening to the rest of the band when they formed Audioslave.

When I go to the gym (about once every 3 months) I really can’t listen to hip hop.  Just doesn’t get me pumped up enough.  I usually keep this album, Rage’s Evil Empire, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Greatest Hits (with Dani California added in) and a little Lenny Kravitz in the I-pod Nano and I’m good to go.  Maybe I should visit the gym this week seeing that they automatically debit my bank account monthly whether I go or not.  Ehhh…we’ll see.  No promises.

Check after the jump for a couple more videos.

Audioslave – Cochise

Audioslave – Gasoline (Live at Late Show with David Letterman)

You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but I love a good hard rock song as much as the next tat-covered metal-head.  I have always struggled to control my foul temper and there is something about the pure expression of raw anger in many hard rock songs that I love.  I’m pissed off – and so are they!

As you’ll see, many of the songs on this list are by “the usual suspects,” but I have tried to pick songs from these bands that are a little less obvious.  “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a brilliant hard rock song, but you already knew that, so what’s the point of putting it on my list?  OK, then, dear reader, please turn your amplifier up to 11 and let’s kick it…

• Nirvana, “Lithium” – These guys changed it all, didn’t they?  The hilarious thing is that “Nevermind” knocked off Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” to become the #1 album in America.  With all due respect to the King of Pop, Kurt Cobain was dangerous.  “Lithium” is classic Nirvana…Slow, then crunchingly fast, then slow, then fast.  Toward the end, Cobain screams, “I like it, I’m not gonna crack/I miss you, I’m not gonna crack/I love you, I’m not gonna crack/I kill you, I’m not gonna crack.”  Is it any wonder he eventually cracked?   
• Cracker, “Low” – Whatever happened to these guys?  Who cares, they left us with this amazing single, which includes this lyric: “I’ll be with you, girl/Like being low/Hey, hey, hey/It’s like being stoned.”  I’ve never been stoned, but I’ve been low, baby. 
• Smasing Pumpkins, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” – Is there a better voice in rock than Billy Corrigan’s?  Not when he sings this lyric: “Despite all my rage/I am still just a rat in a cage.”  Yes, Billy.  Me, too.
• Rage Against the Machine, “Guerilla Radio“ – Yes, yes, I know.  I AM the machine. But I can bite the hand that feeds me, can’t I?  Actually, this song takes the hand, rips it from the arm, chews it up, and spits it into a gutter.  The menacingly whispered, “It has to start somewhere/It has to start sometime/What better place than here/What better time than now,” leads to the repeatedly screamed, “All hell can’t stop us now.”  Oh, baby, turn that shit up.
• Metallica, “Enter Sandman” – This is the quintessential hard rock song, so I was tempted to pick another Metallica tune until I had the opportunity to attend Game Six of the World Series a few weeks ago.  They play this song when Yankee closer Mariano Rivera jogs out from the bullpen to the mound and it was EPIC.  52,000 people banging their heads.  Say your prayers, Phillies, you won’t be with us much longer. 
• Silverchair, “Tomorrow” – I can’t name another Silverchair song, but this one kicks ass, Fatboy.  Here’s a lyric that always makes me think of my ex-wife: “You say that money isn’t everything/But I’d like to see you live without it/You think you can keep on going, living like a king,/Ooh babe, but I strongly doubt it.”  She actually HAS kept on living like a king, but, oh, well.  Maybe tomorrow…
• Foo Fighters, “Monkeywrench” – How do you go from being the drummer of Nirvana to the front man of another kick-ass hard rock band?  I don’t know, ask Dave Grohl.  This song is about being gay (I think), but it really hits on all of the classic hard rock themes – not fitting in, persecution, and just being absolutely ripshit about the whole thing.  Take a deep breath and sing along with this lyric: “One last thing before I quit I never wanted any more than I could fit into my head I still remember every single word you said and all the shit that somehow came along with it still there’s one thing that comforts me since I was always caged and now I’m free.”  Remember, you need to save up enough air so that you can scream the word “free” for about 20 minutes.

I realize that I am missing several worthy artists: Guns-n-Roses, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, and Def Leppard, to name just a few. But I am out of time, and so are you.  Please add your ear-bleeding suggestions to the list.

Petites citations au sujet du “statut épistémologique” (comme dirait un pote) de la “science” économique, pour ne pas l’appeler l’économie politique (bah, y a bien la science politique, non?):

Tiré d’un billet de Paul Jorion intitulé à l’origine “Deux princes”, mais qui s’est retrouvé rangé dans “Récupéré! (du 6 au 12 septembre 2009) :

Le thème de l’Université d’été de l’IHEST était : « L’économie, une science qui nous gouverne ? » Je n’ai donc pas tout vu ni tout entendu, mais assez pour observer des non-économistes assez remontés – c’est le moins qu’on puisse dire – et des économistes sur la défensive – défensive bonhomme pour ceux qui eurent l’habilité de se redéfinir en cours de carrière comme des économistes « trait d’union », je veux dire par là « socio-économiste », par exemple – et défensive ombrageuse pour ceux qui n’ont hélas pour eux pas d’autre étiquette. Les rapports de synthèse me confirmèrent d’ailleurs que telle avait bien été l’atmosphère qui régna au cours des cinq journées.

Émergea également des rapports de synthèse, un portrait très complet de la « science » économique, dressé par l’ensemble des participants, faisant en particulier le relevé de ce qui la distingue précisément d’une science – en dépit de son accumulation tape-à-l’œil des « signes extérieurs de scientificité » : subjectivisation de l’objectif (centrage sur l’agent économique, « utilité », etc.) au lieu de l’objectivation du subjectif, caractère normatif de son discours : ne décrit pas ce que fait l’agent rationnel mais lui dicte au contraire ses comportements, enfin, et surtout – et soulignant sa nature profondément idéologique – définit les questions à résoudre en fonction de solutions déterminées à l’avance, au prétexte que c’est le seule moyen connu de rendre les problèmes solubles (le fameux TINA [There Is No Alternative], mis au point donc originellement par les économistes).

Une autre, plus récente de Jacques Sapir, dans un article sur Contreinfo.info, ce jour:

Pour dire les choses simplement, si l’on trouve bien en économie des régularités, qui permettent le calcul, ces dernières ne sont que temporaires et en réalité elles n’ont de pertinence que dans un cadre institutionnel précis. Que ce cadre change, et ces régularités changeront aussi.

L’économie ne sera jamais une science construite sur le modèle des sciences de la nature, comme les mathématiques ou la physique ou encore la mécanique. La raison fondamentale est que l’économie, activité humaine, dépend par trop de la subjectivité des acteurs et que cette subjectivité change suivant les contextes mais aussi suivant les changements dans la structure de la « dotation en facteur » que l’on reconnaît à chaque agent.

Michal Kalecki, un grand économiste polonais qui fut l’égal de Keynes, disait qu’il y avait deux erreurs qu’un économiste pouvait un jour commettre. La première était de ne pas calculer, et la seconde était de croire en ce qu’il avait calculé ! Ceci me semble bien résumer la double nature de la science économique. Les calculs que l’on peut faire n’ont de pertinence que temporaire et limité, pour tout dire contextuelle. Mais cela ne veut pas dire que dans un contexte donné ils n’aient pas de pertinence.

On voit donc bien que si l’Économie n’est pas bien sûr le simple prolongement de l’Histoire et de la Géographie, elle perd toute pertinence à ne pas se nourrir à ces deux disciplines, et ceci de plus sans que cela soit exclusif d’autres disciplines comme l’Anthropologie ou la Sociologie. L’économie est donc fondamentalement une science sociale, mais une science sociale impliquant le recours étendu à des calculs comme instruments et cela sans que jamais on puisse cependant y voir une « nature » propre de l’économie. À ce titre, ceux qui prétendent vouloir trouver dans les mathématiques la clé de la scientificité de la science économique errent gravement, à la fois en tant qu’économistes et en tant qu’épistémologues.

J’aime bien les citations dans le genre.  Mais, il y a aussi des conférences, moins faciles à citer, comme celle de Frédéric Lordon invité par Ars Industrialis à parler de la valeur esthétique vs la valeur économique. On y apprend, en passant par Spinoza, et d’autres, que la valeur est le résultat d’un rapport de force. Je sais, la vidéo n’est pas nouvelle, mais je suis en train de commencer à me dire qu’il faut que je collecte ce qui va dans ce sens, alors voilà, voilà. La vidéo donc:

Comme on parle de valeur et de rapport de force, on est pas loin de l’idée de formation des prix, selon Saint Paul Jorion, par exemple le chapitre sur “la science économique et le prix“:

Les deux formes de la “loi”, son expression contemporaine marginaliste, et l’expression ancienne de l’Économie Politique, nous confrontent donc à une difficulté déjà mentionnée: dans l’expression marginaliste de la “loi de l’offre et la demande”, “loi” doit s’entendre au sens normatif du Droit, alors que dans l’expression classique de l’Économie Politique, “loi” devrait s’entendre au sens descriptif de la Science. La vision marginaliste entretient l’ambiguïté de laisser supposer qu’est l’aboutissement de l’observation d’une régularité naturelle (l’objectif de toute loi scientifique) ce qui est en réalité une prescription normative (une loi juridique ou “éthique”) impliquant que les choses ne se passeraient comme elle le prévoit que si et seulement si les agents économiques avaient la sagesses et l’intelligence de prendre leurs décisions de façons “rationnelles”, c’est-à-dire, s’ils se comportaient en fait d’une autre manière qu’ils ne le font dans la réalité des choses.

Y en a, of course, bien d’autres des citations. Si tu (oui, toi là derrière ton écran ) veux en signaler d’autres en commentaire, c’est bienvenu, volontiers, merci. J’en connais à qui ça fera plaisir, si, si. D’ailleurs si dans l’futur (proche et moins proche) j’en trouve d’autres, je me réserve la possibilité de mettre à jour ce billet, ou d’autres solutions, on verra.

En collectant ces petites citations, je me suis demandé un truc: y a une différence entre “sciences sociales” et “sciences humaines”? Rigolo: en tapant “sciences sociales” sur “fr.wiki” on est redirigé vers “sciences humaines et sociales“. Et dans ce “tas”, on trouve “économie”, qu’en réalité chez “fr.wiki” se trouve à l’entrée (non, pas 4ter) “sciences économiques“, mais toujours rangé sous “sciences sociales”. Ce qui pourrait renvoyer à un article indiqué par une brève de Contreinfo.info: “The Paradox of Wealth: Capitalism and Ecological Destruction” dans lequel on peut lire des trucs du genre [selon ma traduction rapide et maladroite, les [] sont de oim]:

Le Paradoxe de Lauderdale

[...] Lauderdale (1759 – 1839) affirmait qu’il y avait une relation inversement proportionnelle entre le bien public et les richesses privées et qu’une augmentation de ces dernières servait souvent à diminuer le premier. “Le bien public”, écrivait-il, “pourrait être correctement décrit ainsi: c’est tout ce que l’humain désire, en tant qu’utile ou plaisant pour lui.” De tels biens ont une valeur d’usage et ainsi constituent la richesse [commune]. Mais les richesses privées, de manière opposées à la richesse publique, demandent quelque chose de plus (à savoir une limitation supplémentaire): c’est tout ce que l’humain désire, en tant qu’utile ou plaisant pour lui, et qui est rare.

Autrement dit, la rareté est une condition nécessaire pour que quelque chose ait une valeur d’échange [vs valeur d'usage], et ainsi augmenter les richesses privées. Mais ce n’est pas le cas avec le bien commun, qui se réfère à toute les valeurs d’usage et donc inclut non seulement ce qui est rare, mais aussi ce qui est abondant. Ce paradoxe amena Lauderdale à affirmer qu’une augmentation de la rareté d’éléments jusqu’alors aussi abondants et nécessaires à la vie que l’air, l’eau et la nourriture, si une valeur d’échange pouvait ainsi leur être conférée, augmenterait la richesse privée individuelle, et donc la richesse du pays – définie comme la somme totale des richesses individuelles – mais seulement au dépend du bien commun. Par exemple, si quelqu’un pouvait monopoliser l’eau qui jusqu’alors avait été librement accessible et la faire payer, les richesses de la nation augmenteraient au dépend de la soif grandissante de la population. [Toute ressemblance avec des tralalala...]

“Le sens commun de l’humanité”, continuait Lauderdale, “serait révolté” par n’importe quelle proposition d’augmenter les richesses privées “en organisant la rareté d’un bien généralement utile et nécessaire à l’homme.” Néanmoins, il était conscient que c’était ce que la société bourgeoise, dans laquelle il vivait, faisait déjà, de bien des manières. [...]

Privatisation, ce n’est pas un mot qui ne veut rien dire, non, non.

Voilà ce que  mon mixeur a craché ce soir.

Bon, un petit live de RATM pour terminer, à aller voir sur Youtube, allez savoir pourquoi, pas possible d’intégrer la vidéo…: Sleep now in the fire en live à Wall Street. (On y voit Michael… non pas J, mais Moore).

]]> http://tylerwoodbridge.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/d-a-m-n-11-23-09-audioslave-one-and-the-same/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:00:56 +0000 tylerwoodbridge http://tylerwoodbridge.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/d-a-m-n-11-23-09-audioslave-one-and-the-same/

It’s been quite a few days since my last blog entry. Today is the lucky day for my (few) readers, however, as I’m pleased to announce a new DAILY (or so I hope) entry series.

This is the first entry in the D.A.M.N. (Daily Awesome Music Nugget) series. The goal of “D.A.M.N.” is to share songs, performances, solos, and clips of music that I find to be epic, gnarly, boss, brutal, sick, or whatever synonym of “awesome” one can use.  I will continue to write my album reviews, as I love the album format and will defend and promote it until the end of the time. In this day and age, however, most people seem to respond to and embrace the “single” format more. This blog is for those people, the ones who don’t necessarily choose to listen to music by the album, be it by necessity or choice. Also, I will not necessarily be covering big hit songs, just ones that on the day I write, that I find to be especially awesome.

Without further ado, it’s time to move on with my entry. Today’s song is Audioslave’s “One and the Same.”

The band Audioslave.

This song, simply put, kicks twelve kinds of ass. From the funk-wah guitar intro/chorus of Tom Morello to the punchy groove of the rhythm section, from Chris Cornell’s passionate vocal to the tightness of the composition; there’s so much to like about this song. It’s not hard to get into at all, it’s very funky and poppy, and has a very positive vibe. I can’t say enough about Morello’s guitar work in this tune, it’s everything a Morello fan would want and more. The arpeggiating solo and his effective riffing are fist-pumpingly and toe-tappingly divine.

I can’t get enough of the breakdown immediately following the solo. With only Brad Wilk’s pseudo-tribal drums and Chris Cornell’s monster vocals pulsing through my ears, I find myself clapping and bobbing my head along. This song is a rock grenade with the pin pulled and is guaranteed to improve your mood. Highly recommended.

Hope you enjoyed my first Daily Awesome Music Nugget and will listen to this impeccable piece of rock.

LINKS:

YouTube

SongMeanings

Last.FM

Tracklist

01 – Bombtrack

02 – Killing in the Name

03 – Take The Power Back

04 – Settle for Nothing

05 – Bullet in the Head

06 – Know Your Enemy

07 – Wake Up

08 – Fistful of Steel

09 – Township Rebellion

10 – Freedom

http://lix.in/-6068f2

Artist: The Nightwatchman
Album: One Man Revolution
Release Date: April 27, 2007

Usually if a contemporary artist wants to drive home a point, especially one containing a social or political message, that message is accompanied by crunching guitars and ham-handed declarations cranked up to 11. Leave it to Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against The Machine, to turn that on its head. One Man Revolution is an album built on the rage and frustration Morello’s kept bottled up for who knows how long, but musically its got more in common with Bob Dylan and the 60’s folk singers of yore. Instruments beyond Morello’s voice and guitar are few and far between, and rarely does the album present much in the way of catchy tunes. Comparing The Nightwatchman to Dylan presents any number of flaws, mostly on the grounds that Dylan was far more effective in delivering his message. One Man Revolution is just tuneful and musical enough that the common-man lyrics don’t always resonate. But at the same time, tracks like the title song and “Union Song” are terrific anthems of relentlessness and perseverance. Rest assured that Rage Against the Machine were a far more exciting act, but Tom Morello has something to say too, and his words are well worth hearing.

The Nightwatchman – One Man Revolution [iTunes] (YSI)

==TJ==

I’ve been having a thought recently on songs I love, that if they came out between ‘77 and ‘81 would be deemed as Punk Classics. To me they all have the right combination of noise and attitude and have carried the musical side of Punk into other genres.

I know that they will not be everyones choice of a Punk tune, and I am not saying that they are…just that they would have been if they had come out in 1977.

Here is my list, let me know if you agree or not. Come up with a top five and I will post it as a seperate topic.

Song 2 – Blur

I can feel myself going absolutely mental as the chorus kicks in. Whoo Hoo.

I Predict A Riot – Kaiser Chiefs

It contains the word riot – always a good start – and the immortal line ‘if it wasn’t for chip fat she’d be frozen’, absolute genius.

Buck Rogers – Feeder

Fuckin stupid lyrics but a great riff, a real jump about tune.

Headshrinker – Oasis

The Gallaghers have a definate Punk attitude and some cracking tunes alongside some absolute shite. Headshrinker is one of their best.

Creep – Radiohead

Sums up my teenage years…or at least what most people thought of me. Still am a weirdo.

Killing In The Name – Rage Against The Machine

Political, Purposeful and Powerful. An amazing tune that builds to a great finale and captures the Punk attitude to life in general.

Richard III – Supergrass

Simply great pogo music.

Fell In Love With A Girl – White Stripes

This song could have been written by Pete Shelley. It would not have been out of place in 1979.

Un disco para sacudir el sueño.

Track list

1. Testify

2. Guerrilla Radio

3. Calm Like A Bomb

4. Mic Check (Once Hunting, Now Hunted)

5. Sleep Now In The Fire

6. Born Of A Broken Man

7. Born As Ghosts

8. Maria

9. Voice Of The Voiceless

10. New Millennium Homes

11. Ashes In The Fall

12. War Within A Breath

Link de descarga: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U8N56OL9

Rise Against are without a doubt the most-listened to artist in my huge directory of music during the last three or four years. After accidentally stumbling across their song ‘Give it All’ as the backing to a skateboarding compilation video on YouTube sometime in early 2006, I have since developed quite a fascination for their Melodic, Hardcore sound.

Last night, in Manchester, I got to witness them live. To say they didn’t disappoint me would be a vast understatement. They totally blew the place apart, covering a wide range of new and old songs from they impressive discography. My personal favourite was the live rendition of ‘Paper Wings’, from the album ‘Siren Song of the Counter Culture’.

The crowd, too, was very impressive. Even before the main attraction hit the stage they were forming full-circle mosh pits to the [CD] sound of Rage Against The Machine. Bodies of all sizes were jumping into one another and then been tossed to the front of the stage by a barrage of hands. Shoes were catapulted across the room and into people’s faces (including my own, which provoked a sudden rush of blood from my nose); the security guards even broke out the hose pipes and began rehydrating the audience with water because the kinetic heat got so intense.

All night, I was striving to get a few photos of the event, but because of how jam-packed the arena was with bouncing bodies, I was unsuccessful. However, when Rise performed their two ’slower songs’, I did manage to record a few minutes of video. You can view ‘Swing Life Away’ and ‘Hero of War’ below:

(Snippet of Rage Against The Machine mosh pit forming prior to Rise entering the stage.)

Simply put, it was a truly awesome night — one that I definitely won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Setlist:

1. Collapse (Post-Amerika)
2. State of the Union
3. Re-Education (Through Labor)
4. Paper Wings
5. Long Forgotten Sons
6. The Good Left Undone
7. Chamber the Cartridge
8. Drones
9. The Dirt Whispered
10. Audience of One
11. Blood to Bleed
12. Savior
13. Survive
14. Blood-Red White And Blue
15. Prayer of the Refugee

Encore:
16. Swing Life Away
17. Hero of War

Encore 2:
18. Dancing for Rain
19. Give it All
20. Ready to Fall

I think exploring history is like looking at the nighttime starry sky. No matter where you look you can discover something new. This week I came across a powerful and moving story while researching the song “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine.

On June 11, 1963, a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk named Thích Quảng Đức performed the act of “self-immolation” at a busy Saigon road intersection in protest.

The act itself occurred at the intersection of Phan Dinh Phung Boulevard and Le Van Duyet Street. Thích Quảng Đức emerged from the car along with two other monks. One placed a cushion on the road while the second opened the trunk and took out a five-gallon gasoline can. As the marchers formed a circle around him, Thích Quảng Đức calmly seated himself in the traditional Buddhist meditative lotus position on the cushion. His colleague emptied the contents of the gasoline container over Thích Quảng Đức’s head. Thích Quảng Đức rotated a string of wooden prayer beads and recited the words “Nam Mô A Di Đà Phật” (“homage to Amitabha Buddha”) before striking a match and dropping it on himself. Flames consumed his robes and flesh, and black oily smoke emanated from his burning body.

Thích Quảng Đức was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam’s Ngô Đình Diệm administration. Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime.

A spokesperson for the Buddhists had alerted U.S. correspondents the day before that “something important” was going to happen, but most reporters disregarded that message.

Photographer and journalist Malcolm Browne did show up and took the picture above, which won the World Press Photo of the Year award in 1963.

Journalist David Halbertsam of the New York Times also was there and wrote this eyewitness account:

I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think… As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.

Information for this posting came from Wikipedia: Thích Quảng Đức. That page contains much more information about the aftermath of Đức’s protest.

This week I was enjoying the song “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine. The song is a commentary on killing in the name of religion or God. For the cover art for the single the band chose the famous photograph of Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation.

That photo is what prompted me to learn more, and I’m glad I did. I find this to be a deeply moving, powerful and disturbing story.

I was quite surprised to learn just how common the act of self-immolation can be. You can read about many more examples at Wikipdedia: Self-immolation.

Here’s a video of the song “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine:

Actually, Rick Rubin’s Resume would be a cool name for a band, assuming he didn’t sue you. Anyway, wow. He not only has produced influential debuts from the Beastie Boys to LL Cool J to Run DMC to Public Enemy, but in the process proved that rock and rap could co-exist. He’s pretty much responsible for Johnny Cash’s late-career comeback and produced the flourish of albums at the end of Cash’s life. He produced a mid-career masterpiece for Tom Petty, almost all of the Slayer albums, and I think every Chili Peppers record since and starting with the classic Blood Sugar Sex Magik. He’s done solo/acoustic records for Neil Diamond and Jakob Dylan, alt-rock stuff like Slipknot, and produced the album that contains “Baby Got Back.” Most recently he got the unfocused and feuding Metallica to stop putting out crap and make a classic-sounding Metallica album and then produced a great rootsy folksy ditty for indie favorites the Avett Brothers. That kind of variety is what makes him incredible. He’s done everything at every end of every spectrum and everywhere in between and most of it is great. Sometimes all within the same year.

He started work with U2 on their most recent album but those sessions were shelved and never heard, as the boys when back to Lanois/Eno to do No Line on the Horizon. I heard, or read… or read on the internet that someone heard… anyway, this reliable source said that Rubin is a hardass, and he won’t just take and record the first 10 songs you show up with. He’ll send you back to write more and tell you to do better. Maybe Bono and the Edge didn’t like that and they wanted Yes Men at the controls? Maybe Rubin thought U2’s new stuff sucked and told them to get lost? Who knows. Just adds to the legend.

But the real legend is in his resume. It’s one thing to say “damn, go read this guy’s Wiki page!” It’s another to then realize that there’s a separate Wikipedia page for his Album Production Credits! Check out his bio on allmusic.com and click “credits” and take a look.

My Top 10 Favorite Albums Produced by Rick Rubin:

1986: Raising Hell – Run-DMC

1987: Yo! Bum Rush the Show – Public Enemy

1988: South of Heaven – Slayer

1991: Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers

1994: American Recordings – Johnny Cash

1994: Wildflowers – Tom Petty

2000: Renegades – Rage Against the Machine

2003: De-Loused in the Comatorium – The Mars Volta

2008: Death Magnetic – Metallica

2009: I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers

The Top 10 Albums Produced by Rick Rubin that didn’t make the list above:

1985: Radio – LL Cool J

1986: Licensed to Ill – Beastie Boys

1986: Reign in Blood – Slayer

1987: Electric – The Cult

1988: Danzig – Danzig

1998: Chef Aid: The South Park Album – South Park

1999: Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers

2001: Toxicity – System of a Down

2002: American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash

2002: By the Way – Red Hot Chili Peppers

I remember a time, which seems many years ago but was actually not that far back, when I used to sit in my school common room during break time and watch or play on the Gamecube. I remember racing speedily along with zero gravity tracks, sweaty boys, pulses, and the sound of Biffy Clyro’s third album Glitter and Trauma. I remember slashing and hacking and generally button bashing Nintendo characters, and even further back, ducking and sniping the day away to the likes of Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Rage Against the Machine, the likes of which were all extremely new (though old to the world) and strange to my ears but eventually came to constitute large amounts of my shelf space and my ongoing musical preferences. I remember a later time, huddled around the TV cheering along to a virtual football mega-tournament including half of the boys in the year, with the song, as titled at the top of this post, adapted to the currently favoured team. “I’m feeling so Iranian like you” has always had a hugely personal feel to it, despite having never consciously met an Iranian person, let alone imagined what it would be like to feel that way. I’m much more inclined towards Bohemia, but somehow it doesn’t feel as close.

All these memories are set to music. I seem to work that way… But today I think my evening formed a memory which will not be set to a soundtrack. This evening, though my Korean friends may not agree, I feel as though I had a very Korean evening. Here’s why:

This morning was unusually warm for Autumn, especially considering my girlfriend had warned me that today would be extra cold. Well, by the time I caught the bus home from school it had gotten unnaturally chilly, and the extra layer I had carried confusedly earlier now made a lot more sense. I, however, was not feeling all too great and was not particularly looking forwards to a quiet evening at home (which I feared would turn into an evening spent canoodling my computer and it’s associated gaming software) in what was now seemingly sub-zero weather. Relatively at least. To explain why I didn’t spend the evening conquering the virtual world, I must take you even further back than this morning.

Last night I stayed up unusually late writing unusually long emails to some of those back home in the UK, having no fear of needing to wake up because the next day was SATs day. This, from what I can gather, is a listening test which happens in High schools one morning every year, and all public offices – such as schools, government buildings etc – are closed until 9 40 so that the students can get to their (very important) tests on time, even if they happen to be running late. Apparently these are so important that if I kid is running late they’re allowed to ask a  policeman for a lift to school, whence they’re whizzed off on the back of a motorbike through the unusually traffic-less roads to their test. At any rate, this meant that I could get up a full hour an a half later this morning. Unfortunately this appears to cause my routine to shake too much, and I awoke at one thirty this morning and ate breakfast, thinking I’d better start getting ready to go. Thankfully I woke up properly halfway through, finished it off and didn’t get in the shower.

I also awoke at seven-thirty, eight, and quarter past eight thinking I was late for school.

When I finally did wake up at the (self-) appointed time of eight thirty, I finished off my cereal and showered and continued to school. This sounds inconsequential, however having eaten two breakfasts this morning, instead of one today and one tomorrow, meant that I needed to go shopping to buy some more this evening or go without breakfast tomorrow, which is, frankly, unacceptable. And so, there was at least one event planned for my evening which might otherwise have been spent neglectfully.

Before I arrived in my apartment, then, I swung by the Hana-ro mart and stocked up on various fruits and goods to restock my cupboards. After this I resisted the urge to buy a cheap and huge tub of ice cream, and instead bought a lovely doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts! Unfortunately most people don’t realise that the name implies that you should dunk your doughnut in some coffee, however I occasionally fulfil this obligation. This evening, however, I didn’t, and continued they long journey to my room (Dunkin’ is in my apartment block). Before I got to the elevator though, I realised that, rather unlike me, I felt like buying some 떡볶이 (Ddeok-bokgi)!

This is a common snack in Korea and can be bought at roadside tents every fifty metres, and is effectively rice cake in rather spicy sauce. This I bought for the pricy sum of two thousand Won (one pound), and after successfully exchanging a few comments in Korean such as “Do you want it spicy”, “Yes, I like spicy Ddeok-bokgi!”, “Oh, you speak Korean well!” and ”Thanks”, I went up to my room.

Upon walking through my door I realised that the loud drumming and music I had heard outside (but haven’t mentioned until now) was actually across the road from my apartment block, and would continue to be loud and rhythmic for some time to come. You seem to be able to play extremely loud music on the streets occasionally with no consequences… I’m not sure if this is because they got a license or if it’s just the culture, however it provided a particularly Korean backdrop to my dinner, which was eaten whilst I sat cross-legged on my bed watching Power Puff Girls on TV.

Powerpuff Girls? Yes, but not as you know them, in fact, I watched 파워 퍼프 걸Z (Paweoh Peopeuh Geolzeuh), in which the girls were seemingly older than their English counterparts, had strange personal weapons, had as much leg showing as possible along with every other celebrity in this highly conservative culture and, in this episode, were fighting against strange mutant Sushi which had somehow gained consciousness, grown significantly and was devastatingly attacking the local city. After they had been defeated by the doctor’s clever chemical formula (one of which had probably caused the problem in the first place), the girls didn’t hesitate in eating the formerly-deadly fish. They celebrated in an appropriately cute Korean style as I happily munched on my chewy spicy ricey cakes and ignored the ever louder drums.

And when this had finished I flicked over only to find a strangely impressive Gordon Brown giving a speech at the Berlin Wall anniversary celebrations, which, if you missed them, included the domino-like falling of a huge amount of giant dominoes, which I can only assume was meant to symbolise the falling down of something a little more significant. And all this comes just a week before President Obama was due to visit Seoul to discuss a somewhat similar situation involving communists and a nation divided by a big line and political tensions. One couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for the reunification of the Koreas to manifest itself, if, indeed, it ever does. I think I can hear on the wind that it might be becoming more likely in the near future…

Whilst I pondered these deep and complicated issues I sat and ate a persimmon.

Looking back, it was a completely ordinary day, but ordinary in what struck me as a Korean way. And, I guess, Korean is ordinary for me now. Come visit me, see if you can feel what I mean… And someone tell me how strange it is that being here is normal. I feel like it feels a lot less strange than it should.

톰

"Is that him trying to grow a moustache for Movember?"

It seems like all bands go through a few basic stages of their careers. There’s the early stage, usually before they make it big, where their entire repertoire is filled with covers of their favourite songs, and songs very much inspired by the songs they’ve covered. Then they hit on something reasonably original and run with it, which it what will get them really noticed. Then in the later stages, they run out of original ideas, and end up repeating what they’ve done before, or go back to the early stage of riffing on other bands’ ideas.

With Wolfmother’s first album, they didn’t seem to need to any further than the first stage to get noticed. They didn’t do anything particularly interesting with it, but they did what they did do very well. They sounded like teenage boys messing about in a garage, working out how they could rip off classic rock gods such as Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and most notably, fellow Australians AC/DC. But you didn’t mind, because it was all done with a sense of fun, almost ironically, and rather than feeling unoriginal, it felt like a massive tribute to the work of rock gods of yesteryear.

Sadly, Cosmic Egg just doesn’t feel the same. Wolfmother have moved out of the first stage of being a band that they fit in so comfortably. But in doing this, they’ve missed the second stage originality completely and gone straight to the slight staleness of stage three, obviously trying to recapture what they had with their self-titled debut release. I don’t want to be too harsh though; Cosmic Egg has been (to use a reviewer cliché) a difficult second album for the band. Two of the three original members left the band, leaving only the lead singer. This may actually explain for the lack of ideas, or at very least where the new inspiration came from for Cosmic Egg.

Here’s the thing, where their fist album reeked of classic rock, this one actually seems to borrow heavily from grunge rockers Audioslave. Oh, the Wolfmother sound is still there, and there are still nods to some classic bands like The Rolling Stones and again Led Zeppelin, but they no longer are the only influence. Distorted Bass leads the charge on this impression, but it’s also a case of the vocal styling on a lot of the songs. At times vocalist Stockdale drops his classic rock wail, and takes on more of a grunge sensibility, which just seems out of place with the Wolfmother image.

Cosmic Egg is a pretty average album. It’s not bad by any stretch of the word, but you feel it has shown you all it’s got by track 5, and the rest of it just feels dull and not as worth your time. If you are a Wolfmother fan, you should still enjoy it, just don’t expect it to have the same youthful exuberance as their first album did. Sadly, these mediums of the rock world seem to have chosen the wrong bands to channel this time.

6.5/10

Standout Tracks:

Sundial

New Moon Rising

California Queen

Köp Rage against the machine – The battle of los angeles

Diskussionen om politiska sympatier bland popmusiker dyker upp då och då. För några år sedan lanserade Timbro och PR-killen Erik Zsiga en version i ett desperat försök att framstå som relevanta inför sina bidragsgivare.

Zsigas metod var att dels med hjälp av diverse hiphop- och punktexter behäfta “popvänstern” med våldsglorifiering, dels skuldbelägga alla som uttryckt den mest försiktiga vänsteråsikt och samtidigt tjänat pengar på sin musik. Borgerliga ledarskribenter som Per Gudmundsson och Peter Wennblad har å andra sidan försökt klämma in så skilda saker som den svenska DIY-scenen, 90-talsindien och Manchestervågen i en högerkontext, med lite olika argument.

Grundfrågan kvarstår dock – olika tricks åsido, varför är så få popband öppet höger? Till och med de glättiga engelska syntpopbanden på 80-talet visade sig vara vänster när man skrapade lite på ytan – Depeche Mode flirtade med socialismen i intervjuer och i naiva texter, Wham! stödde de strejkande gruvarbetarna (men dissade fackbossen Arthur Scargill) och Martin Ware från Human League gjorde socialistisk konceptpop med Heaven 17.

Gary Numan, en outsider redan i småskolan, väckte uppståndelse när han deklarerade att han röstade på Thatcher. Här i Sverige blev Lustans Lakejer utskällda för sin utstuderat borgerliga image, men den känns i efterhand mer som ett sätt att reta upp proggare och punkare i stickade tröjor än som ett äkta politiskt statement. Därtill var det alldeles för mycket verklighetsflykt.

Naturligtvis finns det drösvis med band i diverse subkulturer som integrerat extremhögersymbolik och ibland också -åsikter i sin image – inom black metal, neofolk och vit maktmusik. Men det är ändå något fjärran från den ideologiska liberalism som Zsiga och ledarskribenterna bekänner sig till. I Sverige framstår fortfarande Alexander Bard som en särling i det att han kombinerar en genomtänkt liberal politisk ståndpunkt (och på sistone en politisk karriär i folkpartiet) med en framgångsrik artistkarriär. Men Bard skiljer å andra sidan nuförtiden oftast noga på de två rollerna.

Tanken på ett band som imagemässigt går in för att hylla arvet efter thatcherismen och önska hårdare tag mot fackligt organiserade, arbetslösa och sjukskrivna känns mest som något lika utstuderat som norska black metalbandet Mayhems hyllningar till diktaturerna i Albanien och Nordkorea.

Frågan om popvänstern och avsaknaden av en pophöger diskuterades i P1 senast i dag. Per Gudmundsson, som enligt egen utsago driver en kampanj för att “skriva om pophistorien ur ett högerperspektiv” pratade med Martin Aagård, vänsterintellektuell kulturskribent och medlem i Doktor Kosmos, ett band som i sin studentikost “lustiga” proggighet kan få vem som helst att drömma om att starta det där högersvaret på Mayhem.

Aagard har adopterat popvänsteretiketten på samma vis som homosexuella gjort med sina nedsättande epitet och säger sig vara stolt över att vara popvänster. Gudmundsson efterlyste tydligare politiska etiketter på låtar som i största allmänhet handlar om “frihet” – trots att de bästa brukar ha udden riktad mot sådana som honom. Programledaren lyfte fram en gammal spaning utbyggd till en lång artikel i Bon härom året om att det blivit hippt med borgerlighet bland annat eftersom vissa band anammat en ironisk tennis- och seglarstil och eftersom en ny generation vänsterengagerade ungdomar har bättre klädsmak än man hade på 90-talet.

Inte så värst intressant alltså, och mest småmysigt när det egentligen var upplagt för en ordentlig fight. Är det något som genomsyrat popmusiken de senaste 50 åren så är det passion.

Jag tror dessvärre att utgångspunkterna för diskussionen hamnat helt snett. Per Gudmundsson har tidigare velat se högerdrag i Joy Divisions musik med huvudsaklig hänvisning till att Ian Curtis röstade på tories i det enda val han hann med, vilket naturligtvis är en otroligt banal iakttagelse. Och övriga medlemmar var vänster. I dagens radiodiskussion talades om bristen på plakattexter om skattesänkning och privatiseringar, också det ett banalt sätt att resonera.

Om vi istället betraktar popmusiken på samma vis som Fredrik Edin gjorde med film nyligen finner vi att det självfallet finns mängder av högerinriktad populärmusik: All denna musik som genom att inte på något vis gå emot den rådande ordningen i själva verket blir ett stöd till den. Och då menar jag självfallet inte att det som krävs är vare sig gammal och ny progg eller förutsägbart “arg” musik som Rage Against the Machine eller Atari Teenage Riot – en ljudbild kan också vara politisk, som Tobbe i The Embassy en gång så klokt uttryckte det.

“Popvänstern” skapades genom att Erik Zsiga lyfte fram vartenda förment vänstervridet citat han kunde hitta hos svenska kändisar, inklusive Cardigans-Ninas försiktiga avståndstagande från höga chefsbonusar och till och med högertjejen Linda Skugges krönikor. I själva verket lider Sverige av att popartister talar alldeles för lite om sina politiska åsikter, alternativt är genuint ointresserade. Och det fåtal som öppnar käften tenderar tyvärr att vara olika sorters proggare.

“I’m working class. Give me a gun and I’ll shoot all the Young Conservatives” sade Primal Screams Bobby Gillespie när bandet var som allra störst. Den sortens tydliga ställningstagande för något radikalare än ett regeringsskifte väntar vi fortfarande på att höra från någon svensk artist i hans position.

Mer om Per Gudmundsson, Martin Aagård, P1, proggare, popvänster, pophöger, Wham!, Primal Scream, Bobby Gillespie, Cardigans, Linda Skugge, Erik Zsiga, Peter Wennblad, Doktor Kosmos, The Embassy, Fredrik Edin, Rage Against the Machine, Atari Teenage Riot, Joy Division, Ian Curtis, Mayhem, Alexander Bard, Gary Numan, Lustans Lakejer, Depeche Mode, Thatcher, Human League, Heaven 17

Artist: Rage Against the Machine

Released: 1992

Background: Let’s be honest: few people my age actually understood what Rage Against the Machine was rapping about when they first came on the scene.

I remember vividly asking my counselor at a Jewish sleepover camp in Wisconsin about “Bulls on Parade.” Was it about the Running of the Bulls? Michael Jordan? But even though he was probably in his early 20s, my counselor didn’t exactly know what the song was about either.

I have a hypothesis that most people who listened to Rage Against the Machine at the time of their popularity didn’t actually care about the group’s lefty messaging. Rather, they were more in tune with the band’s sound and tempo, such as “Killing in the Name.” The song has one of the most recognizable and awesome intros in rock music. And the chorus breakdown is also stellar. The lyrics, however, tend to be rather controversial.

The crux of the song is that “some of those who were forces are the same that burn crosses.” I suppose this could refer to police or military officials, but not completely sure. But by RATM’s logic, it would make sense to say “some of those who scoop ice cream are that same that beat up children.” I’m not sure though if that message is as powerful.

In any case, I’m not here to psychoanalyze “Killing in the Name’s” lyrics. I’m here to review the tune as a karaoke selection.

What makes the song great: Even though I enjoy rap music, I’ve never been a huge fan of rap karaoke. Often, the words fly by way too fast for a layperson. And even if a person can keep up to speed, it’s usually too speedy for an audience to comprehend. “Killing in the Name” is an exception.

I was hesitant to do this song at first, as it requires absolutely no singing whatsoever. How challenging could it be? But when I did it, I realized that keeping up the intensity and rapid-fire wordplay is indeed not easy. But especially after a hard or stressful day, I found the song to be somewhat therapeutic.

Let’s not forget the novelty of saying the “f-word” 64 times. I mean, that never gets old. Right?

Best element of the song: It’s one of the better karaoke rap songs. It’s a crowd pleaser. And it’s actually relatively challenging.

Worst element of the song: If you truly believe that karaoke songs need to have actual singing, this is not the song for you. Also, there’s a ton of profanity.

Conclusion: I don’t think RATM will ever win awards for subtlety. But they did make some great music back in the 1990s. And it seems that music translates surprisingly well in the karaoke realm.

Also, now you do what they told ya.

1. the beatles – sgt. pepper’s lonely hearts club band
2. rage against the machine – dto.
3. nirvana – nevermind
4. the velvet underground – the velvet underground & nico
5. pink floyd – the dark side of the moon

I’m very interested in video mash-ups and every now and then (when I’m inspired) I attempt at making my own. A decent musical score/soundtrack can make a piece of film fantastic and add a whole new level to what the viewer is seeing. When editing these videos I want to get that right mix of timing and pace and try to show off what’s great about what you’re watching. Whilst watching the advert for the latest Call of Duty game I was inspired by the musical choice that accompanied the footage.

Here’s my take:

I apologise for the lack of quality. I only have Windows Live Movie Maker at the moment and it’s a constant battle to get anything looking good on it.

- Jason

Cuando no puedes dejar de interesarte por cualquier estilo musical, sintiendo una atracción inmediata, independientemente del campo que sea, y, encima, te apasionas como un niño puede sorprenderse por alguna novedad vital, es difícil decidir cual es tu grupo favorito. Si es difícil decidir entre muchos estilos artísticos, ¡cómo vas a poder elegir una sola banda! …
El tiempo pasa y, si analizas un poco tus hábitos, puedes llegar a intentar acercarte a lo que verdaderamente te gusta. Y esto es lo que me di cuenta hace unas semanas.
Siempre que a uno le apetece ambientar musicalmente un feliz estado de ánimo acaba recurriendo a las mismas grabaciones. Y, lo peor de todo esto, es que no sabes a ciencia cierta si es de verdad lo que más te llega, te apasiona … Pero en los actos habituales podemos hallar algo aproximado.
A lo que íbamos, está muy bien el nuevo disco de Pearl Jam. Nirvana, de quienes han reeditado su concierto en el Reading de 1992 y Dave Ghrol prueba nuevas cosas con John Paul Jones de Led Zeppelin, marcaron un antes y un después. Los primeros Red Hot Chili Peppers eran crudamente jugosos. Los primeros tres discos de Jamiroquai fueron dignos herederos del Stevie Wonder mas funky. No estuvo mal el intento de super grupo de Audioslave .. pero no se perdonará el disco R&B de Chris Cornell …

Por todo esto y mucho más, y después del recuento del escrutinio… decido que, actualmente, el grupo que más me apasiona son Rage Against The Machine! Miento!! Actualmente no, hace ya unos cuantos años. Cuando tuve la oportunidad de descubrirlos en la etapa rock/pop/primertelectro de La Bôite 135 con el gran Antonio Rodriguez Morales, mas conocido como Tony “Don Disco” Morales. Gracias a sus inconmensurables sesiones uno guarda algunos de sus mejores recuerdos acompañados de su banda sonora.

RATM … que decir … buenos músicos?? … no se haría justicia … Muy buenos y entusiastas instrumentistas, teniendo como mayor virtud la creatividad y el riesgo a la hora de acompañar ritmos tan rockeros con efectos propios de la electrónica. La mejor base bajo-batería, los sonidos imposibles de Tom Morello y las rimas – sustituidas por los berrinches más escandalosos desde Cobain – de Zac De La Rocha- puede presentarse como una definición óptima. Luego súmales su discurso político y su denuncia mordaz -quizás excesiva en ocasiones- y, siempre desde mi opinión -no soy nadie para sentar cátedra, es sólo mi punto de vista- dan con una combinación inmejorable.

Como tampoco no soy muy experto en la escritura, mejor dejar un video para ver otro atractivo … la imagen … así arranca posiblemente mi disco favorito … y lo escribo “por puro placer” …

10.  Britney Spears – Look. Everyone (but the Australians) know Brit’s not singing when she’s onstage but her shows are highly entertaining. It’s like going to a Vegas show that happens to feature Britney Spears.

9.  Blink 182 – Although they’re not the best singers, Mark & Tom’s bathroom related banter is freakin’ hilarious. Plus, Travis Barker’s drumming ain’t bad either.

8.  Weezer – Saying you didn’t have fun at a Weezer show is like saying you don’t like puppies.

7.  U2 – They easily have the best stage show in rock.

6. Paramore – Hayley Williams and crew bring so much energy to the stage. Hayley is the ultimate performer with the voice of an angel.  Plus, what other bassist (Jeremy Davis) do you know that does back flips off the guitarist (Josh Farro)?

5.  Jay Z/Kanye West/Eminem – Most rappers suck live. These guys don’t.

4.  No Doubt – Gwen Stefani has got to be one of the greatest performers of all time and her abs are amazing. The guys do such a great job that you’ll keep you dancing through out their whole performance.

3.  The White Stripes – You wouldn’t believe how much one man (Jack White) can rock and command the stage until you see him live.  And it doesn’t hurt that Meg White has nice big boobs!

2.  Muse – Matt Bellamy has some of the craziest guitars I’ve ever seen. One of them has a laser that shoots out of it.  In addition, they’re all musical geniuses!

1.  Rage Against the Machine – I shouldn’t even have to tell you why. If Tom Morello’s face melting guitar playing isn’t enough, then Zack De La Rocha’s bouncing afro should do it for ya.