Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Toni Collette & the Finish
Holy Crap!!
Muriel has her own band. Toni Collette, of Muriel’s Wedding, sings with her band “The Finish”. Some people may have realized this, but this is big news. Their first album “Beautiful Awkward Pictures” is out now and I have to get it to see if it is anything like ABBA…
After acquiring the album I find that it is not like ABBA at all. She does have a real good voice and the music is light, something excellent if you want music on in the background but not something that will distract you. Her band “The Finish” does not get a real chance to shine above her. Toni is definitely in control. Toni Collette & The Finish will be playing the Live Earth festival in Sydney.
Muriel has her own band. Toni Collette, of Muriel’s Wedding, sings with her band “The Finish”. Some people may have realized this, but this is big news. Their first album “Beautiful Awkward Pictures” is out now and I have to get it to see if it is anything like ABBA…
After acquiring the album I find that it is not like ABBA at all. She does have a real good voice and the music is light, something excellent if you want music on in the background but not something that will distract you. Her band “The Finish” does not get a real chance to shine above her. Toni is definitely in control. Toni Collette & The Finish will be playing the Live Earth festival in Sydney.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
14913, Music part 3 of 5
Here is a fact for you: people listen to music for a variety of different reasons. Here is another fact for you: People listen to music for different reasons at different times. It is often a lack of understanding of this fact that causes some strange viewpoints about music, or more specifically other people’s views on music. As a Tori Amos fan I have participated in this by disposing many artists out of hand because they want to be just like Tori. In reality this is just a great thing because it only validates my viewpoint that her music is awesome because imitation is the highest form of flattery (though in the Music business it is a Weird Al parody that is the highest form of flattery). It took some time to break out of that mold and listen to a variety of different music.
Ignoring this viewpoint has also given way to some of the most horrible bands on the planet. There are a near uncountable number of horrible industrial, punk, and goth bands that are out there that have a small niche market for those fans that will buy anything from those genres. It should be pointed out that there is a correlation between that market and the market who ONLY listen to that type of music. I too went through this stage. I found myself listening to Skinny Puppy and Leather Strip over and over again and ignoring the Black Lung album that took me a month to track down. Of course the ever silly mentality of a band “selling out” when they sell more than fifty albums often takes hold because it can be difficult to fathom that other people listen you the same music as you for the same reason.
No one from my generation can see this more than in Phish, a band that I feel is just amazing that got hijacked by a group of fans who banned all others from their concerts. I know, if your were at a Madison Phish show in 1995 and saw the goth guy there; that was me. Phish is a really good band, though for me it was not a lifestyle which for many meant that I could not be a fan. This is an extreme example though, I can think of examples from a multitude bands when becoming a fan is more of a lifestyle choice than anything else (Tori Amos fans are another extreme example). Just because I do not make a lifestyle choice, or have a similar reason does not preclude me from becoming a fan. As a male Toriphille I should have related to this much sooner than I really did.
This fact also explains how I can remain a huge fan of ABBA, Tori Amos, Marilyn Manson, and the Secret Machines. Needless to say I often don’t combine the three in the same playlist but at times I’m a huge fan of each. Limiting yourself to a single band/artist or even a genre of music is nothing but a crutch. What does a Swedish Death Metal fan play when his single love of his life leaves him; or what do goth kids listen to on sunny days when they are mysteriously happy? There are a few artists that seem (for me anyway) to have music for most times (Beatles, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey), but the bottom line is that there is just so much music out there to listen to.
Ignoring this viewpoint has also given way to some of the most horrible bands on the planet. There are a near uncountable number of horrible industrial, punk, and goth bands that are out there that have a small niche market for those fans that will buy anything from those genres. It should be pointed out that there is a correlation between that market and the market who ONLY listen to that type of music. I too went through this stage. I found myself listening to Skinny Puppy and Leather Strip over and over again and ignoring the Black Lung album that took me a month to track down. Of course the ever silly mentality of a band “selling out” when they sell more than fifty albums often takes hold because it can be difficult to fathom that other people listen you the same music as you for the same reason.
No one from my generation can see this more than in Phish, a band that I feel is just amazing that got hijacked by a group of fans who banned all others from their concerts. I know, if your were at a Madison Phish show in 1995 and saw the goth guy there; that was me. Phish is a really good band, though for me it was not a lifestyle which for many meant that I could not be a fan. This is an extreme example though, I can think of examples from a multitude bands when becoming a fan is more of a lifestyle choice than anything else (Tori Amos fans are another extreme example). Just because I do not make a lifestyle choice, or have a similar reason does not preclude me from becoming a fan. As a male Toriphille I should have related to this much sooner than I really did.
This fact also explains how I can remain a huge fan of ABBA, Tori Amos, Marilyn Manson, and the Secret Machines. Needless to say I often don’t combine the three in the same playlist but at times I’m a huge fan of each. Limiting yourself to a single band/artist or even a genre of music is nothing but a crutch. What does a Swedish Death Metal fan play when his single love of his life leaves him; or what do goth kids listen to on sunny days when they are mysteriously happy? There are a few artists that seem (for me anyway) to have music for most times (Beatles, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey), but the bottom line is that there is just so much music out there to listen to.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
The Lies Told to Us
Like many people I have not lived in the 60s, but am fascinated by the changes that took place during the late 1960s. It was a time that the baby boomer generation grew up and fractured. Looking back this time can be called a “loss of innocence” or a “great awakening”. The greatest changes happened to society, and politics. Inherently what I think caused most of this change is censorship and a great feeling of betrayal.
It may be difficult to remember (not that I do) that there was a prevalent fear of communism; take for example Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and even the changing of the Cincinnati Reds to the Redlegs. McCarthy ran his campaign of fear for years before it collapsed, think about that for years there were people who were scared of being accused of being a communist and have their lives taken away from them. Music, Movies, and other entertainment was mostly free of references to a more complex world view. Capitalism was good, Communism was bad, they were polar opposites including the view that one was correct and the other evil. Then there was a generation that grew up and had access to education that was never available before, civil rights questions arose (self reflection about how we treated our own citizens), and most importantly a useless unjust war that our government hoaxed the country into.
Life was no longer black and white, it was complicated. A sense of social and economic justice (which are communist ideas) spread and entrenched themselves in American society. Most importantly there was media shows about these topics (MASH is an excellent example). This is not saying the earlier generations did not understand that the world was a complicated place, though there was some of that too, but I think that there was a hope that the world is a complicated place.
There is an easy comparison today, a group that views the world as black and white is put in charge when there is a new enemy against America. The use of fear was used to justify an assault on civil liberties and racism (sorry the PC term is racial profiling) and to bring us into an unjust war. There is some media crying against what our government is doing; but ultimately the so called “culture wars” is a battle between world views; one simple and black and white and another that has almost nothing but shades of gray.
As someone who understands how complex the world is I sometimes think that I am like many people in my father’s generation who feel betrayed that a simple world view is responsible for actions taken in my name to justify things that I oppose. When the president takes actions in the name of “The American People,” he includes without my consent. That really pisses me off. People who see the world in shades of gray don’t always agree (in fact they almost never agree) but what those shades of gray do is leave room for debate and compromise.
I dislike it when people say that history repeats itself. History is not repeating itself now, but it is telling us that by looking into it once and a while there can be something learned.
It may be difficult to remember (not that I do) that there was a prevalent fear of communism; take for example Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and even the changing of the Cincinnati Reds to the Redlegs. McCarthy ran his campaign of fear for years before it collapsed, think about that for years there were people who were scared of being accused of being a communist and have their lives taken away from them. Music, Movies, and other entertainment was mostly free of references to a more complex world view. Capitalism was good, Communism was bad, they were polar opposites including the view that one was correct and the other evil. Then there was a generation that grew up and had access to education that was never available before, civil rights questions arose (self reflection about how we treated our own citizens), and most importantly a useless unjust war that our government hoaxed the country into.
Life was no longer black and white, it was complicated. A sense of social and economic justice (which are communist ideas) spread and entrenched themselves in American society. Most importantly there was media shows about these topics (MASH is an excellent example). This is not saying the earlier generations did not understand that the world was a complicated place, though there was some of that too, but I think that there was a hope that the world is a complicated place.
There is an easy comparison today, a group that views the world as black and white is put in charge when there is a new enemy against America. The use of fear was used to justify an assault on civil liberties and racism (sorry the PC term is racial profiling) and to bring us into an unjust war. There is some media crying against what our government is doing; but ultimately the so called “culture wars” is a battle between world views; one simple and black and white and another that has almost nothing but shades of gray.
As someone who understands how complex the world is I sometimes think that I am like many people in my father’s generation who feel betrayed that a simple world view is responsible for actions taken in my name to justify things that I oppose. When the president takes actions in the name of “The American People,” he includes without my consent. That really pisses me off. People who see the world in shades of gray don’t always agree (in fact they almost never agree) but what those shades of gray do is leave room for debate and compromise.
I dislike it when people say that history repeats itself. History is not repeating itself now, but it is telling us that by looking into it once and a while there can be something learned.
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