אנדרקאבר 24.11.2009

מאזינינו היקרים!

את בוקר יום שלישי ה 24.11 פתחנו בסלבט – עם “אני שוכב לי על הגב” , בביצוע של אסף אמדורסקי מ 2005 מתוך – “קדימה –אחורה”, אלבום גרסאות כיסוי ללהיטי שנות שמונים ישראליים, שזכה לביקורות שנויות במחלוקת, ותכלס…אפשר להבין למה…המקור של אריאל זילבר מ 1983.

ללא שום קשר לפינה הבינלאומית, מצאנו את עצמנו נוחתים בסקנדינביה – בביצוע האקספרמנטלי משהו של ההרכב סלרפנלאנד, ל Take on me  של A-Ha  מ 1985.

בפינה הבינלאומית: הפעם לא מחתימים דרכון, בביצוע כחול לבן –עוזי והמכרים לשיר הנודע של ה Zombies – She’s not there משנת 1965, או בעברית – היא לא שם.

עוזי והמכרים, לא רק מסע בינלאומי – גם מסע בזמן!

המשכנו עם ביצוע מקפיץ של ה Velvet Revolver , להקתו של הגיטריסט סלאש, מ 2004, ללהיט של להקת Cheap Trick משנת 1978 , Surrender.

For the cause ביצעו את Stand by me ,שמבוצע במקור על ידי  Ben E. King וזכור לנו גם מהסרט – Stand by me – אני והחבר’ה.

גלשנו לפסים הזויים , מה שלא הסב כל כך נחת לאופיר – השיר ציור, שיר הזוי של שלמה גרוניך ומתי כספי מתוך המופע מאחורי הצלילים, 1972, בוצע באופן צווחני לא פחות על ידי אביתר בנאי את אפרת בן צור בע”מ במסגרת הופעת מחווה לשירי מתי כספי.

קשיש”ק : אז מה אתם חושבים על לילה? ואנחנו לא מתכוונים לזו של אריק קלפטון, לילה, אחת הבלדות הנוגות של להקת נוער שוליים ( בפק”ל אצל שחר בווקמן). אז ברגע לא מתואם אך בהחלט מביך – צוות המגישים (ע”ע אופיר ויינשטוק ושחר לנדסהוט) הודה כי שמע ביצוע לועזי לשיר – בסדרת הדרמה לילדים – צער גידול בנות! ועל הדרך בררנו מי אחראי למקור ? Gary Puckett & the Union Gap וזה קורה ב 1968.

גארי פאקט, המקור הטוב והישן?

מודאגים מדני טרנר – Young girl , בביצוע מפליל משהו!

קצת לפני סיום  הלהיט , Solsbury Hill , במקור של פיטר גבריאל מ 1977 , בביצוע של בעלת תואר האבירות הקנדית – Sarah McLachlan מ 1989 .

סר שרה.

החלטנו לקנח ולהקדיש כמחווה אחרונה לזמן הקרוב עם פול אנקה , שביקר והופיע בארץ ממש השבוע,  בביצוע סווינג מקפיץ ללהיט Black hole sun של Soundgarden ולאחל לשני הסולנים היקרים – גם לפול וגם לכריס קורנל, שנשמח לארח אותם שוב בקרוב!

Matt Cameron, American drummer (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam)

A topic debated for decades now. Personally, I’d give the edge to Pearl Jam. They just keep producing albums and never seem to sell out. Nirvana, on the other hand, is overrated. Granted they pretty much helped kick open the doors publicly to grunge, their music isn’t as good as PJ’s. The overall consensus leans towards Nirvana however. I guess another poll for another time would be “Would Nirvana be considered the Top Grunge Band if Kurt Cobain Never blew his brains out??????”   Think about it. Anyways, it would have been nice to see a dangerous performance lastnight at the American Music Awards, but I was let down again of yet another year of lackluster hip-hop lip sync acts. I’m wearing my worn down flannel shirt right now…peace out….

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

Continua para ver los videos:

Amarillo: Pearl Jam – Yellow Ledbetter

Naranja: R.E.M. – Orange Crush

Verde: Pink Floyd - Green Is The Colour

Negro: Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun

Azul: White Stripes - Blue Orchid

Blanco: Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit

Rojo: Rush – Red Barchetta

Purpura: Jimi Hendrix – Purple Haze

Rosado: Aerosmith – Pink

Escarlata: Grateful Dead – Scarlet Begonias

รวบรวมเรียบเรียงแปล โดย สว อิเฎล
ห้ามนำไปใช้ใน Website อื่นโดยไม่ได้รับอนุญาต
หากต้องการสอบถามเพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับผลงานวง ให้ถามที่ http://board.thaimisc.com/manson

อ่านหน้าอื่น ๆ : ประวัติ วง Marilyn Manson, ประวัติ นาย Marilyn Manson, ประวัติ Twiggy Ramirez, ประวัติ Madonna Wayne Gacy (Pogo), ประวัติ John 5, ประวัติ Zim Zum, ประวัติ Ginger Fish

Frank Kenny (Kenneth) Wilson เกิดวันที่ 28 กันยายน 1966 ใน Framingham ใกล้เมืองหลวง Boston ในรัฐ Massachusetts พ่อของเขาเป็นนักร้องผู้เข้าร่วมเหมือนกับ Frank Sinatra และ Paul Anka และแม่ของเขาเป็นนักเต้นให้ Warner Brothers (ท่านปลาขิงจึงคุ้นเคยกับคำว่า Warner)

Ginger Fish Sleep, Drawing by Sw Eden

ตอนที่ Frank ยังเป็นเด็กอยู่เขาชอบวง Rush และ Black Sabbath วง Neil Pert เป็นวงที่เขาคลั่งมากที่สุด Frank เริ่มตีกลองตั้งแต่อายุยังน้อย นั่นคือ grade 2-3 (ของอเมริกามี grade 1 ถึง 12 grade 1 ถึง grade 6 คือ ป.1 ถึง ป.6 และ grade 7 ถึง grade 12 คือ ม.1 ถึง ม.6) เมื่อเขาอยู่ grade 7 เขาก็เริ่มเล่นรวมวง และอยู่ในวงใหญ่ 3 ปี คาดว่าน่าจะเป็นวงดุริยางค์ หลังจากที่ครอบครัวของเขาย้ายไปที่ Las Vegas เขาก็เล่นในวงของวิทยาลัยแห่ง University of Nevada และ Nevada All-State Big Band Frank เล่นให้หลาย ๆ วงใน Las Vegas จนค่อนข้างเป็นที่รู้จัก และมีข่าวลือว่ามีบุคคล 2 คนคอยสนับสนุนเขาคือ Paul Anka และ Barry Manilow อยู่ประมาณ 2 สัปดาห์ อย่างไรก็ตามหลังจาก Frank สพน์โอกาศในการทำงานเล็ก ๆ เขาก็เริ่มทำงานที่ไม่ค่อยสุจริตนัก โดยเป็นพนักงานในงานเลี้ยงที่ Circus Circus Casino (การละเล่นใน casino อาทิเช่น slots roulette และ blackjack)

ต่อมาเมื่อความอดทนที่จะอยู่ใน casino ได้หมดลง Frank เดินทางไปที่ Orlando รัฐ Florida ในที่ที่พ่อแม่ของเขาได้ซื้อโรงละครไว้โรงหนึ่ง Frank เล่นกลองในการแสดงที่ชื่อ A Chorus Line กับ Jesus Christ Superstar หลังจากนั้นเขาก็ตกงานมาตลอดจนกระทั่ง Marilyn Manson มาชวนเขาไปเล่น Frank เปลี่ยนชื่อเป็น Ginger Fish หรือปลาขิง มาจากฆาตรกรตอนกลางคืนอย่าง Albert Fish และดาราสาวหน้าใหม่อย่าง Ginger Rogers ปีนี้คือปี 1995 ปลาขิงมาแทน Sara Lee Lucus มือกลองคนเก่า มันน่าแปลกมากที่ปลาขิงเคยทำงานเปลือกนอกเพื่อศาสนากลับมาทำงันกับคนบ้านอกศาสนา

พูดถึงการแสดงของ Manson เรา ๆ ก็รู้ เวลาจบงานทุกครั้งจะมีการทำลายข้าวของ Manson มักจะเหวี่ยวขาตั้งไมค์ไปโดน ปลาขิง และเขาก็เข้าโรงพยาบาลบ่อย จนปลาขิงมั่นใจว่าสักวันเขาต้องถูกฆ่าแน่ ๆ ปลาขิงบอกว่า ถ้า Manson ทำร้ายจนเขาทนไม่ได้แล้วเขาจะฆ่า Manson ทันที และเขาก็จะติดคุก แต่ตราบใดที่เขายังมีชีวิตอยู่เขาก็จะเล่นมันต่อไป เล่นทุก ๆ ที่ กับ Manson จนกว่าความตายจะพรากเราออกจากกัน และที่ที่เดียวที่ยังไม่ได้ไป และจะไม่ไปก็คือคุก (พวกเราคงรู้ว่าเด็กชายที่ไปร่วมห้องนอนกับปลาขิงสมัยอยู่ Las Vegas คือ Edsel Dope ผู้มักจะพูดถึงคุกบ่อย ๆ เช่นกัน ทั้งคู่ชอบคุกหรือใครชักจูงอีกคน ถึงอย่างไรก็ตาม Edsel Dope ได้อิจฉา Tripp Eisen ที่ได้เข้าคุกสำเร็จไปแล้ว) นอกจากนี้ปลาขิงผู้นิสัยดียังแก้ตัวให้ Manson ผู้ทำร้ายตนอีกว่า ทุกคนก็มีอารมณ์รุนแรงเหมือนกัน ตัวเขาเองก็มี เพราะทุกคนยังไม่โตพอที่จะควบคุมมันได้ เวลาหงุดหงิด รำคาญก็จะโยนของเป็นธรรมดา เขายังหวังว่าทุกคนจะโตขึ้น และเขาจะคอยดูการเปลี่ยนแปลงครั้งนี้

ในฤดูร้อนปี 2000 วง Paradox ออกอลบัม SUMMER เอ้ย! ฤดูร้อนปี 1998 วง Manson มี tour ที่ Europe แต่ปลาขิงมีทำสัญญากับ Mono Nucleosis ไว้ ทำให้ต้องล้มเลิกการแสดงทั้งหมด มันก็เป็นอุปสรรคอย่างหนึ่ง แต่ภายหลัง Manson ก็ได้ สมใจนึกในสมัย Holy Wood (2000-2001)

Marilyn Manson and Twiggy, Drawing by Sw Eden

ไม่นาน ต่อมาในสมัย Mechanical Animals ประมาณ 1998-1999 มีหลาย ๆ อย่างเปลี่ยนแปลงไป Zimmy ที่น่ารักออกจากวงแล้วแทนด้วย John5 ทั้ง ๆ ที่เพลง Promote ของอลบัมเป็นผลงานของ ZimZum Twiggy และ Manson ร่วมกันแต่ง นอกจากนี้ Michael Beinhorn จาก Soundgarden และ Hole ยังถูก Manson จ้างให้มาเป็น producer คนใหม่ในวงอีก ปลาขิงต้องจำเชื่อฟังเขา เพราะนายคนนี้เคยไล่ Patty Schemel มือกลองคนเก่าของวง Hole ออกจากวง ปลาขิงมาบ่นว่าแต่เดิมก่อนมีไอ้นี่มาเขาทำงานเพื่อวง แต่ครานี้ต้องมาฟังคำสั่งไอ้นี่ Manson จ้างไอ้หมอนี่มาเพื่อทำให้เสียงดนตรีดีขึ้น แต่ทำไมต้องให้ไอ้นี่มาสั้งให้เขาปรับปรุงการเล่นกลองไม่รู้เท่าไร แทนที่จะให้มันลงมาเล่นเองอย่างที่มันชอบเสียเลย ที่ปลาขิงโกรธได้ขนาดนี้เพราะ Beinhorn ไม่เคยแสดงให้เขาดู หรือสอนเขา เอาแต่สั่งเขา เหมือนกับปลาขิงไม่เชื่อว่าไอ้นี่เก่งจริง แต่ในที่สุดเขาก็ล้มความคิดเขาซะ เมื่อเขาพบว่า Beinhorn เป็นคนเก่ง

ปลาขิงเป็นคนที่แปลกที่สุดในวง เพราะเขาไม่เสพ ไม่สูบ และไม่ดื่ม Manson บรรยายเขาว่า เขาเงียบที่สุดและจนดูน่ากลัวที่สุด เหมือนกับระเบิดเวลาที่รอการระเบิดครั้งใหญ่ Manson ยังให้ฉายาเขาอีกว่า “the strangest and quietest person in the band” (ที่จริงอาจจะเป็นคนปกติสุด แต่เทียบกับทุกคนในวงที่แปลก) นอกจากนี้ปลาขิงยังเป็นสมาชิกคนหนึ่งที่อยู่ในวง Marilyn Manson ได้นาน นาน นานมาก ๆ รองจาก Pogo (Gacy) (1989-ปัจจุบัน) ปัจจุบัน ปลาขิงทำ side project กับวง Martyr Plot หลังจากเข้าโรงพยาบาลเพราะตกเวที ทำให้ Chris Vrenna (ex-NIN) มาเล่นแทนชั่วคราว

Marilyn Manson in Court, Drawing by Sw Eden

Owen made the following comment on a recent post:

There is a certain type of young man who generally pursues the priesthood. We dance around it, but in my mind it is unequivocally true. In Orthodoxy there are certain forms and postures that are, aesthetically speaking, humble, but which are easily practiced and replicated, and do not necessarily reveal the inner heart – soft, slightly effete voice, a way of walking in the cassock, a way of mentioning the contrary opinions of others and pleading one’s ignorance on matters even as it is quite clear you’ve got a strong opinion and you want it to be deemed the right one, a slightly affected, sentimentalish manner of being around icons, prayer ropes, the altar &nave, and so forth, a slightly affected manner of quoting sayings or hagiographic tidbits of the saints, etc. But beyond all that, you spend some time with the fellow and you realize that he loves and is naturally given to didacticism – here is a man who likes to be in a position of teaching others. It is also clear that he has a hunger to be in a position of spiritual authority over others. In my opinion, keeping in mind that opinions in Orthodoxy are worth as much as wax stains on nave carpets, a desire to teach in the Church and have spiritual authority over others is usually, but not always, instigated by demons.

Okay. We’re adults here; let’s not be coy and play dumb. We all know what he’s talking about, and we all know people who are more or less like this — assuming we ourselves don’t fit this description! I’m going to let Owen’s words speak for themselves, and I assume that he is savvy enough to know that he has just profiled a chunk of his readership (although I would be hard-pressed to say whether or not he would particularly care if he offended any of them).

So, neither adding nor subtracting nor commenting directly on the particulars Owen discusses, my question is, why are young men who tend to have these characteristics the ones who seem to be drawn to the priesthood like moths to flame? (Perhaps people can weigh in on whether or not the ordination-bound in other confessions/communions also behave this way.)

In the interest of full disclosure, the priesthood is something I feel reasonably certain to not be in God’s plan for me. This is not a conclusion I have reached lightly; in one form or another, the question of pastoral ministry was one that really troubled me, at least off and on, from my teenage years up to late twenties. During my time in Anglican circles, there were a couple of people who were really pushing me to consider seminary, and I think it was only the fact that I did not yet have an undergraduate degree that kept these individuals from forcibly sending me off to someplace like Trinity or Seabury (Nashotah House is not a place one hears about in the Pacific Northwest). Being an excitable young man, of course the question resurfaced for me as an Orthodox Christian, and immediately following my chrismation in February 2005 it seemed (as it does for so many of us) that surely seminary would be the logical next step for Somebody Like Me (particularly since that would make the matter of grad school much simpler). In the fall of 2005, I visited the St. Vladimir’s campus, fell in love… and then the whole issue just seemed to dissipate as a compelling force. It hasn’t resurfaced since. I sometimes wonder if the point was simply to bring me to a place where I would finally be willing to go that route, and then to redirect me elsewhere. At this stage of the game, I am no longer afraid of the priesthood (and haven’t been for awhile), but it seems more likely that, if I were to wind up at a place like St. Vlad’s, it would be as a member of the faculty (or potentially as a visiting student while I’m writing my dissertation) rather than as a candidate for priestly formation. As it is, I have a desire to teach, but not in the Church — at least not as a catechist. No, thank you. That’s not responsibility I care to have. Maybe I could help illuminate a couple of things here and there within my own area of expertise, maybe I could teach a chant lesson or two, but I’m not the person to entrust with forming the holiness of others.

Extending maximum charity to the type of gentleman Owen describes (particularly given that, for all I know, there could be people who read those words and think, “Yep, that’s Richard Barrett!”), what pushes this person onto the path of the priesthood and gives them such a desire for spiritual authority? I am not totally unwilling to discount the explanation of demons, but let us say I feel more at ease discussing what might be the concrete instruments of said demons than the demons themselves.

My favorite ’80s teenage rom-com is Say Anything… In a lot of ways, it’s really more properly considered a ’90s movie than an ’80s movie (it was released in 1989) — rather than somewhere in California, it takes place in a rather idealized and curiously rearranged Seattle four years before Meg Ryan would get from the 520 floating bridge to Sand Point in a matter of seconds (it takes twenty minutes to half an hour assuming no traffic, folks), it’s got Soundgarden and Joe Satriani on the soundtrack, it’s got John Mahoney as the problematic Seattleite father (prefiguring Frasier by about half a decade), and it’s got John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler, in what amounts to his first adult role. Young adult (the script goes out of its way to explain that Lloyd is graduating high school a year older than his classmates because of various familial matters), but he’s not fantasizing about dancing hamburgers at his fast food job anymore. One perhaps could argue that he starts the movie as a kid and finishes as an adult (cf. Lili Taylor telling him, “Don’t be a guy. The world is full of guys. Be a man“). More to the point, you can see Lloyd as potentially growing up to become Martin Blank (and I have occasionally wondered if Say Anything… wasn’t discussed, even if only in jest, as sort of a murky back story for Grosse Point Blank).

Anyway, Lloyd is a nice, if slightly off-center, guy. He wears a Fishbone t-shirt and a trenchoat. He’s a bit disconnected from his family, since his parents are in the military and stationed elsewhere, and he lives with his single-mom sister and her kid while he figures some things out. He’s not intelligent or obviously talented in conventional ways, he’s graduating high school a year late, he has no college plans, but what he does have are some very definite principles (“I don’t want to buy anything, sell anything, or process anything as a career”), and when he’s dedicated to something — like kickboxing, for example — he gives it his all. His guidance counselor buttonholes him at a party to try to persuade him to make some conventional decisions about his future, and he dismisses her advice, saying, “I’m looking for something bigger, you know? I’m looking for a dare-to-be-great situation.”

Let’s just imagine for a moment that Lloyd one day wandered into St. Nicholas Cathedral (ROCOR) in Seattle and found his dare-to-be-great situation there, giving it his all just like he did with kickboxing. I think he’d wind up a lot like the kind of young man Owen describes.

My point is this. I think there are a lot of smart guys with a genuine faith in and love for God, who want to give something the whole of their effort, who maybe just haven’t had the right — or at least the obvious — opportunity come their way and who at least know that there are some specific things they don’t want to do. Maybe they’ve had an interest in various aspects of the humanities and social sciences, enough to be broadly informed about a wide range of topics, but they’ve never had the discipline or the right setting to rise above being a dilettante, or at least an undergrad who shows some promise. Maybe they’ve had something of a taste of church service in another setting, enough so that they put on a cassock or some other kind of vestment and realize that they’re visibly part of something bigger when they do that. Maybe there are other circumstances in their life that make them determined to never do anything halfway, so that they never have to apologize for their own presence or participation.

And when these guys discover Orthodox Christianity, with all of history and all of its richness of faith and practice and all of its demands, with all of the ways it can order one’s life in the service of Christ, the various facets of their person which otherwise make it hard for them to fit in suddenly have a place, a context. They’ve discovered their dare-to-be-great situation. This is their life’s work, they just didn’t know it before. How can the priesthood, if not monasticism, not become a draw, the call that surely was always there if it could only have been perceived?

(By the way, unlike what I suppose about Owen, I care very much about offending people, so I really hope nobody thinks I’m saying this to mock or be critical. I have observed much of the above, yes, but much of it I have observed in myself. I cannot mock without mocking my own person first of all.)

I think what it often (perhaps not always) boils down to is that, for the young, male, zealous convert, it is not difficult to develop the desire to spend as much time in church as possible. Eventually, and naturally, this turns into the question — perhaps unconsciously — “If what I want to do is be in church all day, then wouldn’t a vocation just make sense?” Since there’s really only one way somebody can work for Orthodox Christianity in this country as one’s day-job, the direction becomes pretty clear from there.

Does it have to be this way? Maybe not, and I would hope that a seeming one-to-one ratio of zealot to cassock could be a reasonably short-lived phenomenon. (I say that as a cantor who wears a cassock.) The truth is, there is something that drives young men who behave as Owen outlines. If it might be healthier that not all of them get tonsured as readers the day after their chrismation and start teaching catechism after their second Divine Liturgy as a communicant, then there needs to be some active spiritual guidance about what to do with whatever it is that drives them. I have no doubt that for priests and bishops who have long lists of things to get done, young men with a lot of energy and desire to serve are hard to tell, “You need to sit back and chill for a while.” Still, it raises the question of whether or not the desire specifically to be the one serving in a visible, set-apart fashion can’t itself turn into a passion.

Ultimately, I think Owen is absolutely right from a descriptive standpoint. I’ve remarked before that there’s a certain self-consciousness of the American convert that we’re going to have to figure out how to deal with, and what Owen talks about is part and parcel of this self-consciousness. If there is a sort of contrived and constructed manner of holiness that has been assumed, then the answer is that we need more models of holiness that haven’t been contrived or constructed. Still, I think there are deeper reasons for why this occurs that we’re also going to have to figure out how to understand and deal with, and we will need to do so compassionately and productively.

Ahora que 1990 suena tan lejano, la revista Rolling Stone ha puesto en su version digital una album de fotos de los inicios del mismo con fotos de NIRVANA, SMASHING PUMPKINS,SOUNDGARDEN, HOLE, SONIC YOUTH, ETC. Las fotos son de Michael Lavine y para ver al album completo da click aqui.

Back when I was a pre-teen/teen my chonies were all hot for Chris Cornell. For obvious reasons…he is a rock star. I just wanted him to rock scream at me and sing Buckcherry “Crazy Bitch” and I’d get all tatted and stuff. We would be the next Pam/Tommy. Yeah…that didn’t happen. Mostly because I was under 18. I decided to showcase this hot piece of older ass today.

Here’s the songs that are topping my playlist this week. As always, a couple of these will be used in the music round on Nov. 11. The link will take you to iTunes to hear a sample of the songs.

1. The “In” Crowd – The Ramsey Lewis Trio
2. Please Don’t Talk About Murder While I’m Eating – Ben Harper
3. Get My Drink On – Toby Keith
4. Gangsta’s Paradise – Coolio
5. Fell On Black Days – Soundgarden
6. Suddenly I See – K.T. Tunstall

When I first heard that Chris Cornell (former lead singer of Soundgarden/Audioslave/Temple of the Dog) was in the makes of creating a hip-hop album with TImbaland last year, I, like the common public mocked the idea. It was only until 2 weeks ago that I purchased the album because I needed some new tunes to add to my repertoire. I’ve always been a huge fan of Cornell’s so my curiousity peaked on that Sunday afternoon and I got ahold of this gem. Half a dozen songs stuck with me from the record “Scream” that I’m sure at some point in time I will end up discussing them on here. However, the track “Long Gone” makes my first “hip hop” blog spiel here. The song can strike an emotion to anyone who is at a loss of something in their life, assuming that they actually pay attention to lyrics. For all you hardcore rock n’ roll juggernauts, including myself, we can let our guard down and accept it for what it is: a beautiful song. Yah its hip-hoppy and kind of sappy, but again, we are all music lovers and I, for one, appreciate the hell out of the album and this song. Any artist that can step away from their comfort zone and do something creative and non-traditional immediately gains my respect. Rock on Chris and lets get a Soundgarden reunion already!

A finales de los 80 , cuando el hard rock empezaba a convertirse en una parodia de si mismo, toda una corriente de nuevos músicos empezaba a dar sus primeros pasos con la única idea de romper con todo lo establecido, desde la estética a las letras de las canciones pasando por el tratamiento de la música en si misma. Si en los 80 todo estaba encajonado por estilos en los 90 no había límites creativos . Con esas premisas empezaron a despuntar grupos como Red Hot Chilippepers mezclando funk y soul con Hard Rock logrando una mezcla explosiva, Faith No More con su estilo único que bebía tanto del Trhash metal como del funk como del Rock, Nine Inch Nails que fusionaba techno y guitarras metaleras, Rage Against The Machine con su furiosa mezcla de rap y Metal, The Prodigy con su techno punk …y por supuesto el Grunge con Nirvana a la cabeza y con Soundgarden ,Alice in Chains y Pearl Jam como máximos exponentes del género. Una década en la que le dabas una patada a una piedra y salían nil grupos acojonantes (lo mismito que ahora…) y que nos dejó un legado de discos increibles y conciertos irrepetibles.

RED HOT CHILIPPEPERS

SOUNDGARDEN

PRIMUS

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

THE PRODIGY

En los últimos días, navegando por blogs y portales de música me he llevado una impresión traumática (espero que temporal) sobre el que todavía es y fue uno de los iconos más importantes del rock alternativo y del grunge en general; Chris Cornell (20 de julio de 1964, Seattle), el que fue líder de las desaparecidas Soundgarden y Audioslave. El caso es que Cornell se esta desviado en los últimos años del “leitmotiv” del rock alternativo: El poder y el hacer libremente música con el mínimo apoyo ni las exigencias de las grandes discográficas; para centrarse en una carrera en solitario cada vez más “resultona” con la que parece buscar el éxito inmediato entre los top de las listas de éxitos más comerciales, a base de sonar repetitivamente en las radiofórmulas.

Parece mentira que Chris Cornell haya llegado a ese punto, cuando fue el mismo el fundador de Soundgarden, una banda realmente creativa que elaboro junto a otras grupos como Nirvana, Pearl Jam o Alice in Chains el género grunge, la fusión entre el punk y el hard rock que triunfo en la década de los 90 con letras melancólicas. Su estilo era ese pero lo que le diferenciaba de las demás era la voz de Cornell. Una voz única y potente con la expresaba una gran energía entre los distintos y distorsionados ritmos que imprimían sus otros componentes: Kim Thayil (guitarra), Ben Sheperd (bajo) y Matt Cameron (batería); dejaba notaren suma su influencia en bandas precursoras como Black Sabbath o Led Zeppelin. Con estos mimbres Soundgarden alcanzó  (después de varios abandonos e incorporaciones durante la buena acogida de la crítica especializada de sus primeros discos: Ultramega OK y Louder than Love) el reconocimiento mundial con el disco Superunknow (1994), en el que se pueden destacar sencillos como Black Hole Sun, Spoonman o Shadows in the Sun, con letras que aluden a temas como el suicidio o la drogadicción. Todo y cuando tres años antes, la repentina fama del Nevermind Nirvana le  “había robado” a Soundgarden la debida atención simultanea de su segundo trabajo, Badmotorfinger.

Curiosamente, la mayor parte de todo ese éxito vino a la par acompañada por la simultanea colaboración de Chris Cornell en la elaboración eventual del grupo Temple of the Dog y su correspondiente y único disco del mismo nombre. Esta banda surge exclusivamente de la idea de los miembros de Mother Love Bone para rendir homenaje póstumo al que fue su cantante y también gran amigo del Cornell Andrew Wood.

Soundgarden y nuestro protagonista continuaron su carrera con el que fue su tercer y último disco Down On the Upside. Un éxito destacable, pero menor del esperado tras lo ocurrido con Superunknow; provocaron a partir de ese momento, un punto de inflexión en el que surgieron diferencias musicales entre sus componentes sobre cuál debía ser la línea de identificación de la banda. El propio Cornell como líder del grupo explica muy bien la causa de la final de la disolución consecuente de 1997: “Soundgarden era una democracia: Si uno estaba convencidísimo de que su idea era la que había que usar, los otros tres acababan haciendo caso. El problema es que en lo que se refiere a la expresión musical, a veces, el proceso de comunicación y votación y discusión, crea una situación en que ya es demasiado tarde”.

En 2001, Chris Cornell comenzaba una nueva etapa en su carrera como vocalista de grupos rockeros con la formación de Audioslave, que quedo compuesta con la unión de la mayoría de los antiguos miembros de Rage Against the Machine: El guitarrista Tom Morello, el bajo Tim Commeford y el batería Brad Wilk. La conocida banda Rage Against the Machine (en español, algo así como ”Ira en Contra de la Maquina”) se podría identificar coloquialmente dentro del género musical del rap metal (utiliza bases propias del metal en general para ir desarrollando sobre ellas las rimas características del rap); en este ámbito, deben en parte su reconocimiento a la manera en la que expresaban a través del contenido de sus letras una fuerte disonancia ideológica anti – sistema y contraria a las injusticias sociales. Con Audioslave esta característica desapareció de la mano de Cornell (esto no quiere decir que la banda no realizase simbólicamente actos ideológicos reivindicativos o benéficos; de hecho, en 2005 fue pionera en ser el primer grupo de música estadounidense en realizar un concierto en la Cuba de Fidel Castro). el nuevo grupo también va alternar en sus temas y álbumes particularidades propias del genero metal y grunge, con otras inspiradas en la faceta de las baladas rock, que Cornell estaba desarrollando paralelamente en su carrera en solitario; aun así, en todas sus canciones la actuación de Cornell sigue siendo propia, sobresaliente; y con el gran añadido de los casi imposibles riffs y solos que le hicieron popular en su anterior banda a Tom Morello, como uno de los guitarristas en activo más destacados del rock en general.

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Con este estilo cercano a lo comercial, Audioslave fue recibido por la crítica y los fans como una fusión entre R.A.T.M y Soundgarden: en algunos casos positiva, como por ejemplo al llegar a los puestos más altos de las listas de ventas, con dos discos de platino (Audioslave, 2002 y Out of Exile, 2005) y uno de oro (Revelations, 2006); mientras que en otros negativa, sobre todo los críticos tachan al grupo de soso y repetitivo con unas letras con poco sentido. Aún así, sea como fuese  Chris Cornell terminó por abandonar Audioslave alegando otra vez ”conflictos personales y diferencias musicales” en 2007.

Cornell lo volvió hacer, dejó unos grupos que estaban en alza, para centrarse en su carrera en solitario que ya había combinado en tiempos de Soundgarden y que ahora retomaba de nuevo. En vedad, no se arrepiente de haber actuado de esa forma: “Estar en agrupaciones es algo que he disfrutado cada vez que lo he hecho, pero el tiempo invertido haciendo eso es tiempo perdido para hacer mis propios discos y experimentar con música de cualquier forma que sienta que me gusta”.  

En cualquier caso, los trabajos individuales de Chris Cornell han pasado desapercibidos en el panorama musical, en gran medida por abandonar por momentos el rock con esas ”experimentaciones” que están musicalmente (no a nivel vocal) tan fuera de lugar como sucede en el caso de la versión de Billie Jean o la de Ave María. El colmo de todo esto ha estado en la incorporación en su último trabajo Scream (2008) del rapero de Hip-Hop y R&B Timbaland, conocido también por producir y colaborar con Madonna y Nelly Furtado entre otros artistas de la escena Pop actual. Unos artistas, a los que tal vez les concuerde legítimamente mejor las bases repetitivas y canciones con escaso contenido para desarrollar con sus características musicales; que en el caso de Cornell no encajan, le hacen estar  dentro de la canción en un segundo plano en el que se desaprovecha esa capacidad vocal tan comentada anteriormente.

En un momento, Chris Cornell se mostro al público ilusionado con esta posibilidad que le ha dado el propio Timbaland para innovarse musicalmente: Es una experiencia increíblemente satisfactoria porque hay mucha diversidad musical en el escenario”. Pero poco a poco se está dando cuenta de las constantes críticas, sobre todo las de sus seguidores más veteranos, que le han hecho rehacer junto a  Jordon Zadorozny, (ex líder de Blinker the Star y productor de Courtney Love) una de esas últimas canciones, Never Far Away, cuyo resultado es realmente esperanzador; e incluso dejando abierta la posibilidad un futuro remake mas rockero del propio disco Scream.

Si ya lo dice el dicho:”Rectificar es de sabios“; a lo que añado… y más cuando has sido durante años un icono, un referente en aquello en lo que siempre has destacado.

Snuhthing Anything Report:

Click here to go to SA to check Steve Miller “The Joker”, Soundgarden “Black Hole Sun”, and Neil Young “Heart of Gold”

Pois é né, existe aquela teoria de que a música pop sempre volta 20 anos para o passado:  Nesta década que já se finda, as principais novidades musicais como o Strokes,  o Interpol, o CSS, entre outros, se inspiraram em algumas das vertentes musicais do som dos anos 80. O que de fato aconteceu: em qualquer balada indie o que mais se ouviu e se ouve é, ou as novidades de inspiração retrô, ou os próprios fantasmas dos 80 como Cindy Lauper, Smiths, Cure e Billy Idol (só para citar alguns). As roupas então, nem falo nada, mas aquele lance da Madonna de dançar com roupa de ginástica na divulgação do Confessions on a dance floor já diz muita coisa (teve até quem SE revisitou).

E  durante os próprios anos 80, muito do que foi  respirado, como alguns discos do R.E.M.,  tinha clara influência do Powerpop dos anos 60. Bem como nos 90 o grunge do Alice Chains carregava uma certa aura pesada do Metal setentista. Ou mesmo as canções de Kurt Cobain, com sua agressividade punk.

Uma coisa que um jornalista da Rolling Stone (não lembro qual) escreveu, e que até então não tinha me dado conta, é o fato de que muitos monstros mitológicos estão lançando discos regularmente, apesar de não terem vasta e exaustiva cobertura da imprensa. São eles: Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains e Dinosaur Jr. (para citar os que me recordo agora). E essas bandas, ou são símbolos dos anos 90, ou representaram uma parcela considerável no quinhão de influências que o grunge assimilou.

Outros nomes de peso se não lançam discos, ao menos fazem turnês ou fomentam comentários acerca de possíveis retornos, como: Pixies, Jesus and Mary Chain, Faith No More e Pavement. O que me faz pensar também acerca de uma possível volta das camisas de flanelas dentro de um(ns) par(es) de ano(s).

O que convenhamos: não é impossível.

Se o Interpol de Paul Banks, ao lado do Editors, She Wants Revenge, e mais um punhado de bandas conseguiu “reviver” o pós-punk, que é um estilo bem mais limitado comercialmente que o grunge…

- “O QUÊ?”

- “Esse sujeitinho está sugerindo que o grunge tem potencial para ser explorado apenas comercialmente?”

Vamos deixar a ingenuidade de lado um pouco agora. O Grunge não “morreu” com Kurt Cobain. O que morreu foi o potencial comercial que o grunge representava para o mercado fonográfico naquele momento. Um declínio inevitável que sucede um ápice. Pra tudo é assim. Mas nem por isso o Pearl jam deixou de gravar disco de alta qualidade após disco de alta qualidade, ainda que a sonoridade da banda tenha se expandido para além do “grunge”. O Silverchair mandou dois discos pesadíssimos logo de cara.  E eram apenas moleques.  Mark Lannegan mesmo sem o Scraming Trees lançou ótimos discos solos e com suas parcerias, ainda que com uma pegada mais folk. (E eu até arrisco dizer, sob risco de ser apedrejado, que o disco de estréia do Radiohead, “Pablo Honey” foi composto sob influência grunge, com suas 3 guitarras, e vastas paredes de distorção,  o que não é nenhum demérito, PELO CONTRÁRIO,  é um dos meus preferidos dos ingleses) O Queens Of  The Stone Age surgiu depois com o rótulo Stoner Rock, mas que em muitos momentos não se difere em nada do tradicional grunge (vide “feel good hit of the summer” do álbum “R”); o Audioslave, que lançou três discos de ótimo calibre com os vocais de Chris Cornell do Soundgarden, o Velvet Revolver, com a loucura de Scott Weiland do finado Stone Temple Pilots, e  por aí vai.

Ou seja: os grunges sempre estiveram aÍ. Eles nunca pararam de produzir. REPITO :O Grunge não “morreu” com Kurt Cobain. O que morreu foi o potencial comercial que o grunge representava para o mercado fonográfico naquele momento. E ESSE POTENCIAL PODE SER RESSUSCITADO. Porque a moda trabalha com esse movimento de vai e vem, e de reciclagem, e de ressignificação, até que os significados originais estejam completamente diluídos. Ora, o moicano, que sempre foi um horror social não é moda agora? Claro que não é AQUELE moicano, é um moicano aí, que lembra vagamente “O” moicano.  Acho que é o que vai acontecer com a música de Seattle daqui a poucos anos.

Ou seja:

Apesar dos já citados Monstros Mitológicos na ativa (e fazendo trabalhos maravilhosos diga-se de passagem), o que vai se destacar entre a molecada na nova década serão novas bandas grunge, com moleques cuidadosamente produzidos para soarem rebeldes e revoltados com as facilidades da vida moderna e blá blá blá. Aliás, essa seria uma ótima ideia para as gravadoras combaterem o compartilhamento de arquivos (que elas  insistem em taxar como pirataria): bandas que critiquem a internet! Melhor parar de dar ideia antes que um executivo de gravadora leia. E esse new grunge surja…

PS: não citei Melvins, Green River, Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney, entre outros. Eu sei. É que eu quis me ater mais ao “que estourou”, por assim dizer.

Twitter, once again, has given me a discussion topic for the week.

Rolling Stone Magazine tweeted the following several hours ago: “The Rise of Grunge: Photos of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden” with a link to the story. While the article was brief and linked to photos of 90s grunge rockers like Nirvana and Soundgarden, it made me realize the late 80s/early 90s are, in fact, making a comeback.

Kurt, Kris and Dave

As I write this article, I look around the student center at some of the fashion popular for this year. A guy with a faux-hawk is at a table, while a girl with ripped jeans and rainboots orders a drink at the coffee shop. I guess it’s true that the styles have trended back to the grunge style. I look down at myself and realize even I chose to wear a flannel (albeit fitted and baby blue) flannel shirt and light-wash jeans today. Which makes me wonder, what is in store for the coming months?

Should I expect to see sleeveless denim jackets and steel-toed boots again? Are black lipstick, shaved heads and goth attire going to rebound into pop culture soon? At this rate, what is society going to do in the next 5 years?

It’s interesting that fashion hasn’t really made any progress since the millenium; we seem to have just reverted to earlier styles. I personally mourn the fact that my mom never kept all her clothes from her teenage/young adult years. The boho/hippie look she sported after high school is almost exactly like the clothes I prefer. I would probably have to spend a fortune to get those bell bottoms with the American flag patch on the back pocket today, and there she is, just the same size, in a photo from 1979. It’s strange how our styles have reverted instead of progressed, considering the rest of our culture is so forward-thinking.

It’s worth noting that much of the fashion of the earlier decades reflected the music and Hollywood scene. movie and rock stars dictated what was trendy, but these days their dress is either too outrageous for daily wear, or reminiscent of the 60s, 70s, 80s and now the early 90s.

And the radio has just played the opening riffs of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Case in point.

JELLI: ALL REQUEST RADIO

Welcome to Jelli, user-controlled radio. This past week, I had the chance to catch up with Mike Dougherty, CEO of Jelli, at Digital Hollywood to ask him some questions about the site. Incidentally, Mike is not the lead singer of the band Soul Coughing as I had excitedly thought before meeting him. Apparently, I am not the only person to make this mistake.

The Product

Here’s the jist. Log on, start listening, and start voting music up or down based on what you want to listen to you. Others will do the same. The combinations of all of that voting will determine what comes next in the playlist. If you really want to hear that Herbie Hancock track, “rocket” it to the top of the list. If you really can’t stand that Citizen Cope song, “bomb” it out of the playlist. I come from a traditional radio background, and as a DJ for 5 years, I was quite used to the programmed playlist that neither I nor the listener had any control over. The playlist was dictated by a number of rotations coordinated in advance by the radio Program Director, band manager, and artist. In essence, if you requested something, there was pretty much no chance in hell that it was getting on air. This web site flips the switch on the whole radio industry.

The Hotness

Pandora, MySpace Music, iTunes, and pretty much any other online music service you can think of are very one-to-one types of experiences. You pick the music and based on what you are selecting, in certain cases, the service recommends additional music it thinks you will like.

Jelli brings the social aspects of traditional radio back to the forefront allowing users to each play DJ selecting and voting on music as the playlist runs its course. In addition, every Sunday on Live 105 in San Francisco from 10PM – Midnight, what plays on Jelli plays on traditional radio. It should come as no surprise that this is the most highly trafficked time for Jelli.

The Lameness

I would much rather listen to music that I and a few of my friends are selecting rather than listening with the main group. I don’t really need to hear that Soundgarden song once an hour and I know my friends would never subject me to that. Also, giving new users more power seems to be a must. On my first try to the service, a track that I had rocketed to the top was quickly bombed by another user and removed from the playlist. Sad face. Dougherty claims that this may be on the horizon.

What Comes Next

Jelli will be nationally syndicated allowing any radio station to follow the Live 105 lead and empower listeners on their airwaves. In addition, 5 stations in Australia will also begin carrying Jelli as of November. Live DJs? Also on the way. Also, users will eventually be enticed with incentives for their participation in the site.

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• Jelli’s crowd-sourced radio opens up to the U.S., Australia (news.cnet.com)

Seattle, la cuna del grunge

Parece mentira que hayan pasado dos décadas desde que el sello de Seattle, Sub Pop, apostara por una música que casi nadie escuchaba, pero que pronto se convertiría en uno de los movimientos musicales más interesantes de nuestro tiempo.

Pelo largo cuidadosamente despeinado (pero ni tan largo ni tan arreglado como para confundirse con los glitter de la tendencia glam rock), camisas de franela y pantalones vaqueros rotos o desgastados (en esto no hemos cambiado mucho, ¿no?). Toda una “Generación X” bajo una identidad que se unía bajo canciones de temática de desencanto y antipatía.

Veinte años después, Sub Pop celebra su aniversario y, para ello, reedita uno de los discos con lo que comenzó todo: “Bleach” (1989). Un disco de sonido diferente que puso a Nirvana y, concretamente a Kurt Cobain, a la cabeza del movimiento (eso sí, la primera edición se limitó a 40.000 copias y su producción costó alrededor de lo que ahora serían unos 400 euros).

Ya que Sub Pop está de 20 Aniversario, no puedo pasar sin recordar “Superfuzz Bigmuff” de Mudhoney, también lanzado un mes como este hace más de 20 años (1988) y aportando colores a lo que más tarde se llamaría “sonido Seattle”.

Sin embargo, todo tiene un origen y el “grunge” no puede pasar sin hablar de Green River, quienes pusieron el germen y que ahora han vuelto a juntarse (ya más mayorcitos) para celebrar los veinte años de grunge en el sello discográfico.

De aquellos que formaron parte de algo tan especial, hoy quedan pocos grupos en activo. Apenas en Pearl Jam (con “Backspacer” como último disco en 2009), The Melvins (con “Star Spangled Banner” en 2008) y Alice in Chains (Black Gives Way To Blue este año) podemos observar cómo ha evolucionado el sonido grunge mediante los grupos que dieron vida al movimiento.

Muchos se quedaron en el camino como Soundgarden que en mi opinión se merecen no caer en el olvido.

En España, el “grunge llegó un poco tarde, pero por lo menos algo llegó. Ante pocos grupos alternativos de gran relevancia (véase Surfin’ Bichos que está considerado como la conexión entre grupos indies y la música ochentera), será Dover (aunque parezca mentira, fue la banda liderada por las hermanas Llanos) quien logrará con “Devil Came to Me” crear un poquito del sonido Seattle en España, eso sí con muchas más influencias y desviándose del sonido origen del movimiento.

Det är ingen tvekan om vilka som är mina favoriter i årets Idol. Eddie blir bättre och bättre och verkar vara en riktigt hyvens kille; om jag inte visste att det kan vara känsligt för en kille att bli kallad söt så skulle jag göra det…
….Tove har varit bra från början och jag hoppas att hon kommer att vara med till slutet. En tjej som verkar ha charmen och utstrålningen som en personlig egenskap.
….Överhuvudtaget är det ett ganska starkt fält kvar nu tycker jag. Den enda som är helt fel är Rabih och trots att Erika har en “bra sångröst” faller den inte mig i smaken. Att Nicklas åkte ut tycker jag är helt OK, det enda som är synd är att han gjorde det när han framförde en så fantastisk låt!

Black Hole Sun är ytterligare en sån där låt som är så bra att den inte kan rangordnas; den är “världens bästa låt”! (Fler finns här)
Sångaren i Soundgarden, Chris Cornell, fick bli sångare i mitt första Dream Team av musiker och skulle göra ett fantastiskt jobb. Njut av originalet!

Idol 2009 i media: AB, Expressen,
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