the weekend - and scarlet leonine

the light - and scarlet leonine

the pawn - and scarlet leonine

the shoes - and scarlet leonine

Modern Rock Radio Review

When I was 13 or 14 I listened to Modern Rock / New Rock / Alt. Rock radio before I moved on to other things.  I decided to revisit the station of my youth and hear what it is they're playing these days.  I got an old cassette style walkman and went for a walk around the city.

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MIA - Paper Planes:  I actually like this song (it may be the "Straight to Hell" sample).  It's surprising because I really really disliked her first album.  That "Bucky Done Gun" shit is unlistenable nonsense.

She Wants Revenge - Tear You Apart: I've never heard of these guys but they are totally ripping of Bauhaus (or possibly ripping of Interpol who are ripping off Bauhaus) It's enough for me to not hate them at this moment (long story about darkness).  It's like listening to a Bauhaus cover band.

Stone Temple Pilots - Plush:  I think Scott Weiland was the first person to rip off that Eddie Veddar "yarling" vocal style and because he actually got away with it (the song was a hit) it opened the door to countless jackasses' doing the same banal bullshit.  Thanks a lot dickhead.

The Salads - Get Loose:  It's garbage day in whatever neighbourhood I'm walking through at the moment and the warm weather has filled the air with the putrid stench of rotting trash.  At this point I honestly can't tell which is more nauseating, the smell of decaying food or the sound of the salads.

Oasis - Wonderwall: When these guys were big this was the only one of their songs that I sort of liked / could tolerate.  Hearing it again I wonder how bad the rest of their stuff would sound now.  Holy Shit!



I've decided to stop in a park for a bit to listen to more of this dreck.  Sitting at another bench there is a fat guy with his shirt off who's been rubbing his body for the past 10 minutes (he isn't "science fiction" fat but definitely quite large).  I don't think he's putting on sunscreen or anything he's just caressing himself.

The Offspring - You're gonna go far, kid:  The fat guy finally put his shirt back on and has started to leave the park.  He is walking past me and the radio station has drifted slightly out of tune wrapping the song in a blanket of white noise, making it barely recognizable.  This is easily the most interesting the Offspring has ever sounded.

Pearl Jam - Even Flow:  When I was 14 I had a Pearl Jam t-shirt and on the back was a picture of a rhino and it said music for rhinos.  I didn't get it then and I don't get it now and I bet whoever designed the shirt didn't get it either.  If the band had anything to do with that shirt then I like them less.

LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk is playing at my house:  Sounds like a song from and ipod commercial (it may be I don't remember / care).  It's ok I guess.  These guys have better tunes (but not much better).

As I lay Dying - I never wanted (remix):  Apparently these guys are a Christian metal band.  When I was in high school a guy in my art class was trying to defend Christian rock saying "It's just the same as the music you listen to it just has different lyrics".  I guess that would be true if I listened to boring shitty music.

Audioslave - Be Yourself:  How do I explain this band? Ok... If Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden were a load of laundry and you washed away any / every little bit of them that may have been interesting / original and then put that load in the dryer and dried away any iota of social / political relevance at the end of it all audioslave would be what you'd find in the lint filter.

Franz Ferdinand - No you girls: Forget it...





I can't take this anymore.  Everything is so fucking mediocre.  If the barometer for good art is its ability to produce an emotional response then this shit fails miserably.  It's sonic novacaine.  You know the sound of a band that's given up? Well imagine the sound of a band that never even tried thats given up.  Well they've devoted an entire God damn station to that sound.  Is autopilot a genre of music?

Dreams of Keith, Drinking with Bach

I had a dream about Keith Richards the other night. I don't know the circumstances but he was at my apartment hanging out. There we're a few people I knew there too. Also a couple who live in an apartment down the hall (which doesn't exist) I think I had just met them earlier in the night. Keith wasn't really the focus of the attention, he was just one of the people hanging out. I was talking to him (although he was doing all the talking and I was just listening to his ideas) He mentioned that his favorite band at the moment was Built to Spill (this is such a random thing to occur in my dream because I haven't thought about that band in months and haven't listened to them in probably years). He also said that the Beatles legacy wouldn't last much longer and that soon they would be regarded as just another band not anything very important or legendary. I wanted to ask him about the guitar work on "Jumping Jack Flash" but it didn't seem to fit the conversation. Apparently he was going to be in the City for a week or two and wanted to hang out with me and some of my friends for the duration. He told us where his hotel room was and that he would unlock the door at 2am so we should come by whenever. At that point he wanted to go out and party for the night so everyone was getting ready. I noticed that I was wearing a pink suit jacket, a random t-shirt and a pair of rubber spiderman rain boots (similar to a pair I may have but most likely didn't own as a child) I remember thinking that after a night on the town that my feet would probably be killing me wearing these damn things and that I generally looked ridiculous but it didn't really matter because I was going to be hanging out with Keith Richards and that no one would even notice. As we were getting ready to leave Keith's energy level made me think that there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with him for the next week despite the fact that he is over twice my age.

I talked to my sister the other day and she told me an amazing story. She has a friend who she used to work with at a bar and he'll often call her after leaving work/the bar in the middle of the night while taking a cab home. The funny thing is that when he calls he is always totally wasted with classical music playing at full blast and his cab ride always seems to take a really long time (when he gets close to home he just gets the cabbie to circle the block over and over again). During the last call he confessed that classical music touches his heart (or something to that effect) and he absolutely loves it but he only listens to it (or accepts his love for it) when he's extremely drunk. My sister tells me that he was raised in a small town listening to country music and such. I find this scenario hilarious because of the seemingly backwards nature of it all. Classical music is generally regarded as being civilized, sophisticated and intellectual music certainly not what you would associate with someone who is/or close to blackout drunk. In reverse it would seem logical. Say someone was raised on a strict diet of classical music. Lets also say they we're classically trained and they played in a symphony orchestra and they needed to keep up a professional facade but they also felt the urge to cut loose get extremely drunk and secretly listen to less sophisticated music like Rock or Country at max volume. That would seem to make more sense. I'm sure when Beethoven was crafting the 9th he never imagined that it would be appreciated by a barely conscious guy riding home from a bar at 3am on a Monday night. But I guess that's the power of good music it cuts through all boundaries.

Hi its been a long time

Well I've been really busy lately working on t-shirts for no demographic(you can check them out via the banner ad (shameless self promotion) on the top left of this page) so I haven't had time to post here. I do have a few web related things to report. I decided to open a flickr account and a youtube account so you can check out more shit that I decide to put up or at least favor on the internet. I have some ideas for some video type posts that I can't quite properly express with writing alone... hopefully I can get some of those up on youtube and here soon.

So the other day I was at the Salvation army and grabbed a bunch of LP's. Definitely the best bunch of records I've ever found there (well one time I found a copy of Fugazi's "in on the kill taker"on cd for $3 but that was years and years ago) I picked up: Wings "Band on the Run" (which I already have on vinyl but this copy is mint and has the inner sleeve), George Harrison "All Things must pass", George Harrison "Cloud Nine", Alice Cooper "Love it to Death", a couple techno/electronica records (not really into that stuff but the one is on Ninja tune and they've put out some interesting stuff) The most interesting looking one I got was called "Sentient killer metronomes from outer space" improvised electronic music by Allen Densen it was recorded and independently released in 1990. I have a few records like this (indie vinyl releases from lesser known artists).. I always grab them when I see them because they are interesting musical documents in history. Anyway all the records are pretty much mint and where $1 each (including "All Things must pass" which is 3 LP's) This is the way a thrift store should be. Value Village has gotten fucking ridiculous they charge $9 or $10 now for a beaten up Rolling Stones record....unbelievable.

While I was in line to pay for the records there was a mother with her 3 kids ahead of me. The mother was was checking out a pair of ice skates from the display case and talking to the cashier while the kids were all excited and hyperactive (as kids generally are on weekends when out and about) anyway the youngest girl probably 7 or 8 is talking to her sister probably about 9 or 10 about random stuff. I didn't catch any of the conversation except the last thing she said.... the younger girl says " I don't think the tooth fairy has any teeth...." just as she said this the mother turned around and asked the kids a question (something to the effect of "are you sure the skates fit right") The mother was in that semi frantic stressed out mode that mothers with 3 kids shopping at the Salvation army often are. Dammit I wanted to hear this kids theory on the tooth fairy. She was about to finish the explanation to her sister but had completely lost her train of thought by this point. Anyone who has read much of this site knows that I love bizarre theories and it would have been amazing to hear this kids theory on why the tooth fairy goes on an obsessive quest collecting and paying for teeth. I mean a kid that still really believes in the tooth fairy (and has an analytical type brain) might actually think about that type stuff a lot and come up with some fantastic wacko ideas. I've gotten too old and jaded to remember what it was like to ya know believe in things. I swear I almost asked the kid "Hey what were you saying about the tooth fairy?". But her mother definitely looked like she had enough to worry about without adding "who the hell is this weirdo talking to my kid".

James Blunt - Psychopathic Stalker

So I know that its pretty late to be talking about the James Blunt song "you're beautiful" but I heard it again today and realized that I never actually put down all my thoughts on this monstrosity.

From what I've heard Blunt claims this song is about his ex-girlfriend to which I say ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS???? Maybe in his delusional psychotic stalker mind she was his girlfriend.

Lets look at the lyrics:

My life is brilliant
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

So he sees a woman on the subway with her boyfriend and concocts some sort of plan...

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Ok.... we've certainly gathered that you find this woman beautiful. But why don't you know what to do? I thought you had a plan.

Yes, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last 'till the end.

woah relax pal she just looked at you I wouldn't say you really shared a moment

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

So is the angel smiling because she is tormenting you? You say the angel thought up that you should be with this woman but then you say that you will never be with her... I think its clear whats going on here...

JAMES BLUNT HAS A SPLIT PERSONALITY. There is obviously some sort of inner conflict going on in his head. One side of his brain (the rational side which is still in touch with reality) realizes that he will never be with this woman who he see's one time on the subway. The other side of his brain seems to think that they share intimate moments and that there is some sort of divine plan underway to connect the two of them.

Let's face it if you took the guitar out of his hands you wouldn't be able to tell Blunt from any of the greasy haired vagrants wandering around the subway mumbling about angels. Have you seen Blunt, he has those vacant lobotomy eyes. Its really quite freaky

Another thing that I find funny about the song (on an unrelated note) is how much it reads like a Craigslist "missed connection" post. In fact I posted it on Craigslist to show my point.

Random stuff

So I saw a commercial for the new Halloween movie by Rob Zombie and wondered if it was a remake of the original 1978 version so I looked it up on the IMDB and noticed these two promo pics from the movies (first one from 1978 second from 2007... pretty obvious). Definitely doesn't look like a coincidence. I've actually never seen any of the Halloween movies but I think I may check em out at some point.

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So remember before they caught Ted Kaczynski they had the sketch going around and then they caught him and it looked nothing like him. Well I think they may have the wrong guy.

MORE TROUBLE FOR JACKO!!!

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For those who haven't heard ironic fashion has reached new heights. The new look for fall is the dictator look. Behold:

Live Earth: Friend of Foe?

Well Live Earth is done now and I think I can still hear the planet choking from its effects...actually I think the old earth will be feeling the effects for quite some time. I want to start off by saying that I have nothing against environmentalism, conservation and trying to reduce our own "carbon footprints" in fact a lot of it to me seems like common sense and ridiculous in reverse.

The problem I have with Live Earth is it seems like such a fiasco and I have to partially question the core motives (not the seemingly obvious one of "lets all save the planet" but that it is all put on by a politician... I wouldn't be surprised if this all leads up to Gore's '08 presidential announcement). We all know that all politicians cannot be trusted... its the nature of the system.

The First big downfall to this whole thing is that I don't think it was promoted very well. I didn't even hear it was happening until a day or two before (I haven heard this from several people as well). Granted I don't follow any of the bands that played and if I did they may have been making a big deal about it.

Second big problem: Rock stars are among the most wasteful people there are (these are the spokespeople?) While touring they drive and fly thousands of miles around the world (most of the flying in private jets. One hour in a Gulfstream jet burns as much fuel as driving a family car for a year) HUGE CARBON FOOTPRINT. The best thing that all the artists could do for the planet is announce "We will never tour again". (and looking at some of the performers from yesterday I wishe they DID say that.... oh and stop making records too)

Third Problem is the amount energy used by the events themselves. So the big question is will the message override the damage done yesterday? Lets look at some figures:

The average person produces 10 tonnes of carbon per year.
it is estimated that Live Earth produced 74,500 tonnes of carbon emmisions in one day
(this includes all the concert locations, the artists and fans travelling and tv audience) the concerts will also produce 1,025 tonnes of waste (the majority of which will go to landfill sites)

Again will the message be able to compensate for this amount of added waste? I fucking doubt it.

I also want to add from the perspective of a music fan that the performances I did see we're pretty terrible. I wanted to see the Police Reunion set and it was average until the end when they brought out Kanye West and he stunk up the place. Seriously some of the worst rhymes I've ever heard. Watch for yourself he comes in at about 2:20. The look on the girls face at 5:20 says it all (its like she's thinking why did they let this idiot on stage with them?). If Kanye West's Suck factor could be measured in Carbon Emmisions it would surely surpass those of the enitre Live Earth festival mentioned above.

You may think I'm being too hard on Kanye West but if you claim to be the greatest artist ever (as he often does) and you pull shit like this you're going to get called out.

[Stats from Carbonfootprint.com in Daily mail article]

Hypothetical Scenarios

You have to spend 1 hour locked in a room with either:
CUJO






















OR

COJO



















WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE?

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Picture this:
a fairly rich man eats a large sized serving of eggs benedict even though he isn't really hungry.

also

a man unjustly fired from his job spends a night throwing eggs at his bosses car.

Do you think the hen who layed all the above mentioned eggs would be more
offended by one of the situations?

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You meet a Genie who offers you as much money as you would like.
THE CATCH: For every $250 the genie will randomly remove 1 word from your vocabulary. You will never be able to learn or understand the lost words again and when you hear them they will just sound like jibberish. You will have to learn to communicate with whatever you have left.

Facts:
1 million dollars: you lose 4,000 words
avg persons vocab: 5 or 6 thousand words

How much money would you take?

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You learn that James Blunt is a psychotic axe murderer













Are you even surprised?

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You meet another genie he gives you two options?
For the rest of your life you can only listen to either:
the genre of music that you most despise
or
your all time favorite album

CATCH:

for the genre you hate you can listen to any bands or artists (within that genre) whenever and however frequently you like but that is it.

for your favorite album you must listen to if on repeat for the rest of your life with no break.

Which do you choose?

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This idea partially inspired by Chuck Klosterman's 23 questions

superbowl

So I didn't really watch the superbowl because I don't really care about sports but I did flip to it during the half time show and catch the performance by prince. Holy Fucking shit it was one of the greatest things I've ever seen on many levels. Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of prince. I don't have anything against him or anything I've just never been into his songs or really understood why he's regarded as being so great. But one thing that is certain is that he is an amazing guitar player (as evidenced by the handful of live clips I've seen of him)

Now I may come off sounding really ignorant here but when I picture the average football fan the last thing I also imagine is a prince fan. The worlds seem diametrically opposed. So when I switched to the half time show and saw prince flamboyantly performing his set I imagined hundreds of thousands of football fans staring in disbelief with their jaws dropped. It was amazingly ridiculous, he kept busting into wank-tastic guitar solos that were about 3 times louder than all the backing music (anyone that knows me knows I'm a fan of searing guitar solos) also it was raining when when he went into purple rain. I'll see if a youtube vid gets posted of the whole thing because it has to be seen to truly understand but until then I'll leave a few pics.

FOOTBALL FANS

PRINCE

Ultra rare Velvet Underground and Nico LP un-earthed

This is the kind of story I love. In Sept 2002 a guy from Montreal named Warren Hill was at a Chelsea, New York Street sale where he picked up a couple records: a Leadbelly 10", a Modern Lovers LP and a record marked "Velvet Underground. 4-25-66. Att N. Dolph". He paid 75 cents for each album.

So after doing a bit of research it turns out that the record is extremely rare. It was created with a record cutter in the scepter studios where VU record their first record in 1966. It turns out this is a copy that Andy Warhol used to shop around record labels looking for a deal, also this is how he intended to record to be released.

The record has completely different versions and mixes of 9 of the songs that would appear on "The Velvet Underground & Nico". This is pretty amazing, VU are definitely one of the most important and influential rock bands of all time.


The record is on ebay so if you have more than $110,000 lying around you can grab it.

American Hardcore - Toronto International Film Festival

American Hardcore is a documentary about the Hardcore Punk Scene in the USA (and Canada when they refer to D.O.A.) from 1980 - 1986. The film feature interviews with most of the key players and features rare live footage (but not really a lot).

There are a few interesting interview moments and some decent Bad Brains footage but as a film this movie was very poorly put together (which is surprising because the director said they had been working on it for 5 years). It almost felt like they just took a bunch of clips and just randomly threw them together. Someone else described it well when they said that the order of the clips could have run completely in reverse and it wouldnt have made a difference. For a film about a genre of music that is generally fast, tight, very structured with a definative political message, this film seems to lack any sort of cohesive stucture or point (it was hard to see what they were trying to say with it). This could have been done much better especially seeing as the film makers said they had hundreds of hours of interview material. Die hard fans only.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

I first heard Daniel Johnston in 1995 when 2 of his songs ("Casper" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost") appeared on the "Kids" Soundtrack. I bought that soundtrack as soon as it came out because at the time I was a really big Sebadoh/Sentridoh/Folk Implosion/Lou Barlow fan (I was a 17 year old stoner at the time... what else would you expect). Anyway when I heard that the soundtrack was coming out that had 9 Lou Barlow project songs on it I had to have it, and of course I listened to it tons of times. At the time I partially wrote off Johnston as a novelty act "Casper the friendly ghost" was recorded in an extremely lo-fi fashion with what sounds like a toy organ and Johnston's unique voice. It wasn't that I disliked the song I guess I just had a hard time taking it completely seriously (remember I was 17 at the time). The funny thing is that as time went on I noticed that I often had "Casper the friendly ghost" pop into my head. Years after the fact I can barely remember any of the Lou Barlow songs on that soundtrack yet I would catch myself with lines from "Casper the friendly ghost" like "He was smiling through his own personal hell, dropped his last dime in a wishing well..." running through my mind. So I thought that if this song could have stuck with me for this long, there must be something to this Daniel Johnston character, I should get some of his records and find out what his story is. When I finally got some full recordings, I understood the genius that was Daniel Johnston.

Anyone that knows anything about Johnston knows that he has battled mental illness for some time and there are stories that seem almost too bizarre to be true surrounding his life and career. When I heard that they were making a documentary about him I couldn't wait to see it. Well....... I finally saw it and I have to say it doesn't disappoint. The story is tragic in many ways but beautiful in many ways too. I really don't want to say too much about the film but I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan or a fan of a good documentary. Watch the trailer if you need more convincing.

Thoughts

- green olives really are the poor mans black olives. Seriously!

- 2 of the greatest 1980's punk records ever are Operation Ivy: Energy & Hectic and Minor Threat: Complete Discography. Both are each bands complete discography. LEGENDARY!

- Rosemary is an interesting herb, I haven't really decided if I love it or not, it works on some things but I just had it on a foccacia pizza type thing and I'm not sure.

- I saw an episode to Iron Chef America the other day and the secret ingredient was bison. Several times it was referred to as having a "gamey" taste to it. I don't really know what "gamey" meat tastes like but I find the whole concept hilarious.

- "Date Movie" is insulting to the human race and I'll even go as far as to say that it (and things like it) make us devolve as a society. (When I say its insulting to the human race I don't mean its insulting in the way that "Wonder Showzen" is subversive yet clever, and hilarious.)

-The other day I ordered a decaf coffee and the girl gave me a regular coffee (I saw her pour it from the regular pot, I don't think they had any decaf brewed) She knew she gave me regular and I knew she gave me regular but I don't think she knew I knew. So anyway I went back a few days later and ordered another decaf from the same girl and looked her straight in the eye and said make sure its decaf, I have a heart condition and I just got out of the hospital... again. The look on her face was priceless.

-You know you can't get Count Chocula here anymore, the least healthy shit you can get is Lucky Charms and that's hardly even that bad. When I was a kid they had that cereal that was just mini chocolate cookies... Cookie Crisp I think.

Idol worship (American style)

American Idol is back and as great as ever. For those of you who haven't read all the posts on this site I will have to do a recap on a few points. For me American Idol would be what most people call a guilty pleasure except I think that the concept of guilty pleasures is bullshit and I'm not going to let anyone dictate how I should or shouldn't feel about things (and in this case pop music).

To re-iterate my points on pop music: You can only really hate pop music if you are confused by its motivations. But lets get it straight pop music is nothing but candy. It's overtly sugary, it offers no sustenance and too much of it will make you feel sick. It's unfair to complain about pop music by comparing to other forms of music because that's like comparing a healthy and substantial meal to a bag of lollipops and pixie sticks. Pop music has its place in the musical landscape but you cant live on it because you are in danger of dying of malnutrition.

Now that those points have been reinforced onto American Idol. I am a huge fan of music (all art really) and I think what I am drawn to primarily is truth and honesty. A lot of people tend to think that pop music and specifically American Idol have no merit and lack any type of credibility. But In the musical spectrum some people aren't meant to be songwriters. They are best suited as a singer/performer of songs. And just because someone doesn't write a song themselves doesn't mean that they are incapable of performing with powerful conviction and/or emotion. The singers that are truly great take the time to find something they can relate to in a piece and sing it sincere emotion. When a good singer sings a good song you can feel it. And although there are usually only a few truly amazing moments or songs per season of American Idol when it happens it is a great thing to see.

Ignoring the musical aspect of the show American Idol is completely in step with modern society. We live in immediate times where we want everything now! now! now! And generally don't care if it is disposable and forgettable. In this situation we want the product before it exists. This isn't a case where the end justifies the means. The means justify the means. Being a fan of the show doesn't mean that I would ever in a million years buy a CD from any of the contestants (or even be able to recall the names of anyone lower than the top 3 from the year previous). This doesn't even matter though. The album sales are nowhere near the millions and millions who watch the show but as I stated above we are buying the process not the product (and they make enough money on the show that they really couldn't care less if the artist is successful afterwards or not). Its like that show on the discovery channel where you see how stuff is made in a factory. No one (well almost no one) is running out and buying the stuff they see made at the end of the show but watching how it goes from raw goods to the store shelf is the fascinating part.

I just want to add that I predict at this early point that Paris Bennett will be in the top 12

Digital Vinyl

Saddle Creek and Merge records (home of some of the best indie rock going today) are offering free MP3 downloads of any albums that their customers buy on vinyl. It is refreshing to see an idea like this when all we see from the majors are lawsuits and threats to the customers. The indie's realize that it is best to keep your customer happy and offer them what they want.

If history has taught us anything it's that you can't win a battle against technology. Things change and if you are in business you must be able to adapt to new changes as they come along or you will be ruined. There was a time when record companies (such as Brunswick) stamped "Not for radio play" on their records because they feared it would harm sheet music sales. How's the sheet music industry doing these days?

The other day I watched a DVD and the first thing on it was a big warning saying that buying pirated DVD's was the same as stealing. But they didn't seem to do anything when this day was clearly coming. I remember saying just as music downloads were really starting to take off (the late 90's) that it will be very soon when the same thing is happening with movies. I think the next 10 years will show a major shift in companies that have technological foresight vs. the ones who have been doing things the same way for decades. The world is a very different place than it was even 10 years ago. With a home computer and few extras people can record their own albums and edit their own movies and the quality is damn good. Plus with the internet connecting people like never before, modern word of mouth spreads like wild fire.

Why Coke is better than Pepsi (The same reason that the Ramones are better than modern day punk)

To many the following will seem completely trivial and pointless, but this is the kind of shit that fills my brain. These are the kinds of thoughts that are a product of a media soaked lifestyle. Some people probably couldn't care less about the difference between Coke and Pepsi. I on the other hand have always cared about these minor details. Complacency has never been an option. I'm sure that there are also people out there who couldn't care less about the difference between The Beatles and the Rolling Stones or 50 cent and Run DMC but to people who care to look into it the differences are huge. I should add that when I go into a restaurant and order a Coke and they say is Pepsi alright I will never never say yes. I will invariably order something else.

Coca Cola and the Ramones burst onto the scene in much the same vain, they were fresh, original, exciting,and filled with cocaine. In time both cleaned up their ways but still maintained their hard and energy fueled edge. They were originators
in their respective fields and by all accounts perfected the recipe in which they set to create.

over the next few years both Coca Cola and the Ramones secured their position around the world as more than just an American brand/band but as true Icons of American culture. During their career the Ramones were much more popular outside of North
America than they were in their homeland. Coca Cola became the most recognizable and known brand on planet earth. Why was this? People from all different countries and cultures flocked to them to experience just a little bit of the American way. If for only in a small way it connected them with American culture. But why else? Well they offered a good product.

As with all good things they are imitated (but never duplicated). For Coke there was Pepsi and for the Ramones there is today's modern day mainstream punk rock* .What do these followers have in common? They are both sugary sweet renditions of the originals (also losing the edge), they have obviously tried to lift the iconography of the originals, and they cater themselves directly to the youth (or feeling youthful) market.

Too sugary sweet:
The bottom line is Pepsi is nothing more than a third rate Coke clone (2nd rate would be RC cola) it tastes horrible, its as if they said lets make something like coke but with 3 times the sugar. To me it honestly tastes no better than the generic brand of cola any and every supermarket produces. As for losing its edge Pepsi has never even had and edge. There is something compelling about drinking a soft drink that was once laced with an illicit substance. Even though it has long since been removed we still know that Coke was once "slumming it" for real. In a three legged cauldron no less.

Modern day punk rock is the same way. It is a candy coated, sugar filled version of what punk rock is supposed to be. Sure the Ramones played punk music that was poppy but they certainly didn't play pop music that was punky. There IS a difference. The difference is in terms of motivation . Modern punk has no edge. The Ramones weren't just writing songs about Forest Hills Queens, Sniffing Glue and shooting heroin. They were living it. Suburban kids certainly don't know what it's like living in the city or what it's like carrying a $50 mosrite in a shopping bag on the subway to rehearsal. You simply don't have the same motivations if you drive to band practice in your parents SUV with your brand new Les Paul in the back.

Attempted Iconography:
It is fairly easy to see that Pepsi recognized and tried to bolster Cokes status as an American Icon. You really need to look no further than the fact that Pepsi chose Red White and Blue as their packaging choice. The problem is they missed the point you cant just slap the colors of the flag on your product and expect to be viewed as something.

Modern day punk in the same way slaps on all the punk rock packaging yet they forgot one important detail. The clothes don't make the music and beneath it all there needs to be some substance. Modern punk really represents nothing. The Ramones stood for something (even if they weren't overtly political). If nothing else they were honest and real and even without a political agenda that IS something. They weren't listening to punk records. They were defining the genre.

Focus on youth culture:
Pepsi's Marketing tactic has always been clear. Sell to the youth. Just look at their slogans throughout history (The choice of a new generation, Be Young, Have fun, Drink Pepsi, Generation Next etc) It is easy to sell your product if you focus entirely on youth because for the most part your market is naive and doesn't have a refined palette (which is good if your product tastes like shit). Pepsi has always tried to sell an idea rather than a product. If you are selling to the youth it is an easy market to manipulate. Young children don't understand the concept of advertising and think that commercials are public service announcements and tweens-teens are heavily influenced by peer pressure. And once they have these ideas firmly planted in peoples minds years down the road they can re-sell them on the product claiming it will make them feel young again. Clever marketing yes. Evidence of a good product NO.

Modern Day Punk. I hardly find it necessary to go into the details of how this genre is marketed to the youth because it is so clearly evident. It is marketed the exact same way that Pepsi is. The difference with the Ramones is that yes they appealed to the youth but they also appealed to music fans as well. This is very important and shows the mark of a good band. (you may be saying hey why cant the youth be music fans? I am referring to people who are fans of any and all genres of music and not just "fad fans". To be a music fan you have to be open minded to the whole spectrum of music. If you are the type of person who says "I only listen to punk rock" Then you most likely aren't a fan of music. You are just probably trying to fit into one specific sub-culture. This has nothing to do with being a true fan of music. (I say "probably" and "most likely" only because there is a minimal chance that someone out there has been truly open minded to every genre of music known to man but by some freak occurrence they only like one specific type))

In closing I should say that these sugar coated imitators aren't all bad we can at least give them credit for reminding us just how good the originals really are by comparison.

*yes there are punk bands of today that are making real, honest and exciting music but I am focusing on the one's who have floated to the top, the one's on the radio and in the magazines Mostly the bands who have co-opted the punk rock image and or ideals such as Good Charlotte, New found Glory, Sum 41 and Avril Lavine etc.

tags: music, punk rock,ideas,

Revisions in popular thought

As I was sorting through some of the mounds of crap I have lying around I came across something that I had ripped out of a spin magazine back in the early to mid nineties. It has to be late 1993 or early 1994 (judging by what is written). It is a list of the 100 greatest songs of all time as voted by the readers (click to view a scan), on the reverse are various other top lists. There are some interesting things to note especially after this years release of spin's top 100 albums of the past 20 years.

Whenever we see a list of the top modern rock (or any rock for that matter)albums or songs of all time Nirvana will undoubtedly be in the top 5, or top 10 if its a British list. This is just accepted fact these days because that's the way history has presented to us since the mid nineties. We are told that grunge and especially Nirvana broke onto the scene and changed everything, although this is true it wasn't until Cobain's death that Nirvana (and the idea of grunge) rose to legendary status.
There is ample evidence right there on the readers songs picks of 1993. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ranks as number 43. The song didn't get any better after Cobain killed himself the following year. The number 1 song on the list is "Black" by Pearl Jam, Which makes sense because during the whole "grunge" thing Pearl Jam was a much bigger phenomenon than Nirvana was. The difference is that Pearl Jam made a bunch of mediocre records after Cobain offed himself thus changing the way music history is written. Its not breaking news that death is the best thing for a career (I've always found it interesting that people seem to forget that Lennon made crap records (with the exception of Imagine) for all of the 1970s.

As I said on the reverse of the readers poll there were other lists one being Spins picks for the top 5 albums of all time. Beside the 5 I will indicated what position the albums are on the new spin top 100.

1.Ten, Pearl Jam (drops to position 93)
2.Nothing's shocking, Jane's Addiction (drops to position 42)
3.Dirt, Alice in Chains (drops off the list)
4.The Joshua Tree, U2 (drops off the list)
5.Ritual de lo Habitual, Jane's Addiction (drops off the list)

Its funny that with the exception of Radiohead's OK computer the other 4 records in the top 5 had been released when the 1993 list came out. There is one glaring entry on the 1993 list that somewhat blows my theory about death and fame and that is of course Alice in Chains "Dirt" album, in just over ten years it went from being hailed as the 3rd best album of all time to an album someone would be embarrassed to use as a coaster. The explanation may be directly related to the last line of Cobain's suicide note. "Its better to burn out than to fade away". After "Dirt" Alice in Chains literally faded away where as Cobains death sprung them even farther into superstardom. Had Cobain's and Stayley's deaths been reversed I suspect history would too.

tags: music, top 100, grunge, Nirvana