Thoughts on Raucous Rock’n’Roll

For a long time I haven’t really been thinking of Rock’n’Roll too much. It’s true that here and there were flickers all along the other stuff. To tell the truth, a lot of my focus has been on the music of Devo.

Devo rock, sure, but they're not really rock. To me they're above the fray of genre.

I’ve decided that I really like the lyrics of their 2010 album, Something for Everybody—I was into the music for a while but the lyrics suddenly came into focus. It’s unique album that manages to fuse the sometimes patchy band’s best form with contemporary concerns and production. The album’s provenance is also highly interesting: the title stems from the band’s decision to operate like a multinational corporation and employ focus groups to choose the track list.

Devo are currently zeitgeist because of their anti-Romney song:

False Alephs

The other day, I re-read Jorge Luis Borges’ ‘The Aleph’. It was a timely reminder that the notional every place is just that, a notion. When it comes to fiction, one of the most important elements can be desire—it makes characters seem autonomous. This led me to considering what makes the Aleph attractive in Borges’ fiction.

The letter Aleph, of the Hebrew alphabet. It is not pronounced as part of words.

Sterling Sound: Preliminary Thoughts

This is the first in a series on mastering in general and Sterling Sound Mastering in New York in particular. In the second part I will talk specifically about Sterling and what prompted me to choose them to write about.

I have written previously about mastering. The production chain of records is something that fascinates me. It can be simple or complex depending on a wide range of genre, session and production decisions and considerations. Something that all commercially released recordings have in common is mastering (a recording issued without mastering attention may well be pilloried as poorly mastered).

Review: Cold Cave--Cherish the Light Years

This is quite an old piece, a year or more old. It was written at a time when I was really trying to translate the feeling of listening to music and craft my informational writing to cram in a lot of detail. At the moment I’m trying to write shorter paragraphs to break things open better. Note, as I have written elsewhere that I failed to pick up on the over compression that was found by Pitchfork. With that said, listening again I still enjoy the music.

Regaining My Edge

I thought I would write this brief note because I know I've been a little quiet of late, but I like to think I've gained some insight.

Robot Ears

I thought I would reblog this because if I have the time I will definitely give it a go. Robotic listening ought to be really cool.

Last Fm: 'Do You Have Robot Ears?'

CD Report and Mono vs. Stereo

I just wanted to recount some thoughts on CDs and some (rare) issues that have cropped up recently. Remarks on Sugar's recent Copper Blue reissue and The Sonics on the 2003Psycho-Sonic compilation after the jump. Apologies in advance for any moaning. Another tiny item of news is that I've decided to start compiling a discography for music you absolutely have to listen to in mono (vinyl or CD), head-on. The first entry will be Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. The intial entries are going to be largely Psychedelic and Garage rock, I hope to branch out after that.

2:54: 2:54

My friend Aidan (who's in the band Chasing Melfina as well as a new project I hope to inform about more soon) just successfully turned me onto 2:54's 2:54. Solid song writing, well recorded. I detect Fleetwood Mac's Rumours in its more subdued moments, some classic Smashing Pumpkins here and there, and strident bass lines somewhat reminiscent of 80s Hardcore albeit with a lighter touch and more subdued tempos.

Update

This is just a brief update covering some changes made to the overall structure of the blog. Mainly to content management. You will now see on the right a list of labels which in time I hope will do a good job of categorizing the posts. There's also some links to friends' projects. Hopefully there will be more collaboration on those fronts soon.

There are also some new pages: my editorial policy of sorts, which I felt the need to draw up because I'm trying to get some more contributors on board, and my page for submissions as I feel the need to get some submissions in to grow the coverage and add in some serendipity to the enterprise.

Review: Bob Mould plays Copper Blue, live at the Shepherds Bush Empire with support from Cloud Nothings

Of all the Alternative Rock stories of the 1980s which followed the cresting Nirvana into the early 90s, it is perhaps that of Bob Mould which has, at least on this side of the pond, struggled to be told. Bob Mould rose to prominence in the seminal Hüsker Dü. That band had a rock ‘n’ roll rivalry with fellow Minneapolis band, The Replacements. Much of their material was released on SST, the independent label of Black Flag’s Gregg Ginn. They influenced both Pixies and My Bloody Valentine, to name but two acts, and they were responsible along with groups like REM for appropriating a certain 1960s pop jangle for the wider Alternative Rock scene. This trend matured in the 1990s and is well epitomised in albums like Teenage Fanclub’s Grand Prix and the first album of Mould’s second group, Sugar: Copper Blue. British bands like Yuck and Gross Magic, and indeed the night's support act Cloud Nothings, owe an awful lot to the roughing work done by Mould and his contemporaries in the 1980s and the perfected models they left in the 1990s.

More after the jump.

Cloud Forest

I Thought I would write a brief shout-out to the people at Taylors of Harrogate for what is currently my favourite blend of coffee prepared with moka pot. It's going to be fueling a piece I've got on the go--I saw Bob Mould last night!

My Bloody Valentine: Gender Theory and Cyberpunk

I was originally writing this as part of the second instalment of the My Bloody Valentine: EPs 1988-91 review but decided it would make sense to spin it out as it is more of an artistic profile than a part of the track by track review. I decided I wanted to break away from the dynamics of gender and sex for a moment when describing My Bloody Valentine, because despite the theory often sounding reasonable it just does not seem pertinent half the time. This came up in conversation yesterday when I was watching footage of one of Primal Scream's Screamadelica gigs. For all the rock'n'roll clichés, gender seemed the last thing worth discussing. Certainly not from the standpoint of diagnosing patriarchal societies or something like that. Reading this blog post about Oneohtrix Point Never inspired me a little. More after the jump.

Review: My Bloody Valentine – EP’s 1988-1991 (Part Two)

This is the second part of my review which talks about tracks from the Tremolo EP and various rarities.

Review: My Bloody Valentine -- EPs 1988-1991 (Part One)

Standing at around an hour and forty minutes. I thought that I would split my piece about this collection into two. This the first part gives a track by track account of most of the collection with some brief discussion of the implications of the remastering. In the second half I'm focusing more on evaluating the whole deal and passing a verdict.

Rhapsodising after the jump.

Cracking HDCDs

HDCD stands for High Definition Compatible Digital not, as it would first appear, High Definition CD. If you have a middling to substantial collection of CDs (or lossless rips) the odds of you having one are quite high. If one of your CDs bears the logo, then good news. First of all, it means that the analog to digital converter employed in creating the digital signal on your CD is either the Pacific Microsystems Model One or Model Two, reputed to be some of the best converters ever made. From that standpoint, HDCD is a mark of quality.

Second, it means that on your disc or lossless file there may be features which have remained hidden. The most notable of these features is Peak Extension: a way of increasing the dynamic range of the recording by making the bulk of it quieter, increasing the bit depth (so that there is more room for different gradations of loudness), and then reversing the compression of some of the music's peaks.

More after the jump.

Comics and the Graphic Music Thing

Chico and Rita by Javier Mariscal and Fernado Trueba is one of my most recent comics purchases along with Jonathan Ross' Turf. It's a love story with its setting split between Havana and New York. Just as important as the romance between Chico, a pianist and Rita, a singer is the love affair between New York's legendary Bop Jazzmen like Dizzy Gillespie and the exotic sounds of Cuban musicians. More about Chico and Rita and the difficulties of doing the graphic music thing after the jump.

My Bloody Valentine: Review of Critical Coverage and the Issue of Product Errors

Fans of My Bloody Valentine should read this blog post before buying the recently released remaster of Loveless.

While of course many CDs have already sold, buyers have the right to know that there are major errors in this release that have now been identified. The two critical problems are widely reported mislabelling of the CDs (as they each represent different tapes of exactly the same sessions and music it's almost farcical) and a clearly identifiable digital transfer glitch sound on one of the versions of 'What You Want.'

It was Analog Loyalist's blog that made the comprehensive case with good analysis, so all credit to him for breaking the story. Here is the litany of woes:

details: My Bloody Valentine Loveless 2012 remasters - manufacturing errors

Pursuant to my other post on critics: notice that no critics until this blog have identified that the CDs were mislabelled, or found this glitch, or indeed attempted to figure out which of the tracks Kevin Shields had digitally limited as alluded to in his interview with Pitchfork.

Pitchfork in their review have now pointed to Analog Loyalist's blog. I have to take issue with some elements of Mark Richardson's review. As lovely as the prose and the history lesson are, I genuinely feel that today's music writers are doing their readers a disservice by not properly holding record labels to account over the quality of remasters they release. Reissuing old material with a new master is often more profitable than releasing new material, and yet the business aspect is hardly ever mentioned. This is at the expense of fans who are seemingly told by a unanimous chorus of voices that the reissue heralds a bold new opportunity to really appraise the artist. Based upon the real level of difference that a remaster brings this is often false.

More after the jump.

Critics and Technical Illiteracy

One compelling reason I've found to try and come up with a method of music writing that aspires to reportage is that it represents an attempt to eschew technical illiteracy that can bedevil critical writing. Critics with technical issues and a book recommendation after the jump.

My Return and Exciting News

Well, it's been too long. But rather than apologise like a failing blogger I'm just going to focus on some great developments. Collaborations, announcements and a USP after the jump.

Two comics: Coltrane and Valerian

Last week I placed an order for Coltrane by Paolo Parisi. Promising reviews. The bookshop texted me this weekend to let me know it had arrived. I ought to be collecting it tomorrow. Maybe I'll read it on the train to London this week.

I thought I would take this opportunity to brifely discuss another comic, too. Out in April is the third album of Jean-Claude Mézièrs and Christin's vintage time travelling science fiction strip, Valérian. Interestingly it's being titled Valerian and Laureline for these editions published by the Canterbury based Cinebook, perhaps its because the first thing that springs to mind otherwise is the herbal remedy? It's probably a search engine thing, too. Then again it might have been left loose all along. More after the jump.

Spotify: One Piece of my Digital Music Puzzle

Academic work has really predominated for a while but next week is reading week, so there's some respite on that front. I wanted to talk about Spotify because for me it's an important piece of the puzzle along with last.fm which tracks everything digital I listen to. Spotify then allows me to follow-up what last.fm recommends at album length with last.fm recording my listening further. It's simply a virtuous circle, it's not perfect but more on that another time.

Spotify after the jump.

Update: Spotify now have gapless playback, awesome!

Update

While I sit listening to Miles Davis's Bitches Brew waiting for potential tenants looking to be shown around, I thought I would  post a brief update detailing various developments. Records and comics after the jump.

Serena Maneesh - Live at Incubate - 18/09/2010

Serena Maneesh - Live at Incubate - 18/09/2010

I came across this browsing. Serena Maneesh are a long standing favourite of mine. They're currently back in Norway recording a new album, I'm very excited to hear them play live again.

Comics Round-Up and the Uncanny Valley

Hello, thought I would write a fairly quick round-up of the comics I've been reading and also have a bit of an opine on DC Comics' newly announced Watchmen prequel series, where I ask: Have comics hit Uncanny Valley?

Veronica Falls live at the Norwich Art Centre, 27th of January

On Friday the 27th I had the pleasure of seeing Veronica Falls play the Norwich art centre. I'm always looking to see good gigs and Veronica Falls have had some positive attention lately. I've duly noted their associations with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, a band I like to listen to very much. The four piece had their self-titled album out in 2011 which met a positive reception that ensures that future endeavours ought to be well promoted. For my part I didn't find my listens particularly memorable, but things can change on the stage. Live verdict after the jump.

Judge Dredd

Well I finished those comic collections and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Each had its own set of merits. First, Judge Dredd.

Update

Today I was out and about in Norwich. I did not manage to make it to the Little Red Roaster before they closed, unfortunately. I had a pretty good time in the city, though.

Music Writing and the Problem of Values

The impetus for this post really came from considering my process for writing about music. I've been considering metaphor, simile and something approaching but not exactly a sense of dialectic. I suppose what I refer to is background and choice of assumptions. There are some obvious examples of this, like popularity--you can write about artists as waves: charting their bearing in the public conciousness through time until they crest and break, lost in the undertow. My colloquialism for this is "what's up, what's down?" This is chart or more recently 'buzz' or 'viral' based writing. That said, one mustn't discount the artist's need for good press, particularly when it comes from influential outlets.

Thoughts on the background and assumptions behind "what's up, what's down" and other modes of music writing after the jump. Also, the thing that brought on this blog post: the second edition of The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music (2002) by Nick Kent.

Miles Davis--Sketches of Spain

Right now I  am tired. And my throat is swollen I am listening to Sketches of Spain. Held to be the accessible Davis by some, it is a collaboration of Miles and Canadian composer and arranger Gil Evans. The two of them, with the help of musicians, in the sessions conjure a forlorn romance for a time when place and music were far more intimately linked.

At times embracing the power trumpet style, at times a more piercing lead sound and sometimes something more mournful, Miles plays over flamencos, arabesques, military marches, bebop jamming vehicles. The result is a fantasia composed of the modern American metropolis and an Iberian peninsula that probably never existed in equal measure.

I thoroughly recommend it.

Review: Cloud Nothings--Attack on Memory, Wichita Records

From the other side of the pond comes Attack on Memory, the third album from Cleveland, Ohio’s Cloud Nothings (it’s a Rock N’ Roll city). This instalment sees singer-songwriter-founder Dylan Baldi split session duties with other members of the band. Another important item of buzz around the record is the fact that the band decamped to Steve Albini’s (Big Black/Rapeman/ Shellac) Electrical Audio studio in Chicago to record. The result is a hot album that puts the lie to reports of Rock’s demise.

Against SOPA, or Running the Congressional Blockade in the Digital Age

When it comes to politics, as well as other walks of life, the old adage is “follow the money.” Now, it’s a fact that politics is an expensive business on both sides of the pond. According to estimates based upon campaign spending in the Republican primaries, costs per voter have exceeded $100. It may well have been cheaper to just to buy their vote (if it was legal, of course).  President Obama is widely expected to fight a $1bn campaign for re-election. Now, enough of that sorry parade of figures. SOPA analysis after the jump.

Coffee in Norwich

A little googling led me to Cosy Coffee Shops, a review site for independent coffee shops.

Two reviews caught my eye: The Window Coffee and The Little Red Roaster. I look forward to trying their flat whites.

Flat White

Since the beginning of the year I've been having my coffee prepared as a flat white when I'm out and about. Thus far I've only had three, but they're all important instances for discussing the drink and I am excited to go to more places. I've noticed Tapped and Packed on Tottenham Court Road for one. I would also like to find a really good flat white in Norwich. Flat white experiences after the jump.

Blood Meridian

Just a little note to say I'm 70 odd pages into Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian (1985) and thoroughly enjoying it so far.

It's one of those novels that are championed by people like Harold Bloom so I thought I would check it out. Part of the impetus comes from the fact that this semester I'm doing a module called American Violence. I thought I would acquaint myself with what is supposed to be one of the best literary treatments of violence.

Coming at the topic of American Violence from a different angle is Richard Pryor.

Atemporality

Because I'm ahead of schedule on my Cloud Nothings review (and I need to do some reference listening to Fugazi before I'm ready to finish my assessment), I've decided to write a brief piece on two cultural concepts which have been informing my understanding of Attack on Memory but are also integral to how time is constructed in art: atemporality and Italian Futurism. In recent years the theme of atemporality has been advanced in large part by two authors and intellectuals: Bruce Sterling and William Gibson. Of the two, William Gibson is the one I've spent some real time reading.

Vinyl Aquisitions Round-up

Just thought I would fill you in on 4 7" singles I've brought in recently. There's some Tom Petty, some Tom Verlaine and a new single from Part Time. Commentary and youtube playlist after the jump.

A Brief Note

I started this blog to garner a larger audience for my reviews.

In the fullness of time I hope to get swish theme and nice background. I'm thinking of detailing my record collecting on here too--both things I track down like some Tom Verlaine, Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers, Mission of Burma and Galaxie 500 I have in my sights and odds and ends from charity shops.

I realise that starting with a low scored review might come across as crass, if you disagree with it please let me know why. I love debate and I'm very much a subjectivist anyway.

I will consider seriously any suggestions for material to review.

Also comics, comics are cool.

Trailer Trash Tracys – Ester, Double Six Records

The build-up of TTTs is something I was blissfully unaware of until reviewing this, their debut album. There is a fine line between albums which mesmerise with their sonics and production, alluding to a dream-like alternate perception of the world and albums which wash themselves out  and lose impact. I am afraid to say that Ester suffers the problems of the latter.