Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Kurt Halsey Frederiksen does some really nice stuff. I wish I had his sensitivity...I guess I'd figure that out if I drew more. Yeah, I'm sick of me complaining too. I'm an addict(to the web), and need therapy. Or a serious thrashing. I'm sure a thrashing would be cheaper. I'd just have to piss off someone at the Albert(the Royal Albert Arms...legendary live venue. Folks that actually drink would be able to tell you about their draft nights). 100% free ass-kicking! Anyway, I digress...check Kurt's site
here
. Very charming work.

Me and music. I love it and it's many "genres". I'm opinionated about it. Some would say I'm a "music snob". In fact, I'd say it myself! Given a chance, I'd make a "music snob" shirt. Having worked at a record store made me that way. I'm changing though...I'm more tolerant. People are different, different types of music move different people differently. What I just typed was probably an editor's nightmare. Anyway, here's where I stand on a few things:

Wankery Mistaken for Soul
American Idol was a prime example of this. excessive vocal pyrotechnics don't make up for true emotion in singing. That's just showboating, and it sucks ass. The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Both fine singers, yes, but where's the soul for fuck's sake? Okay, Whitney came up through church, so she knows about fire n' brimstone, but she ain't Aretha. Mariah has a wide octave range, true, but does she make you feel anything? Not me. The late Minnie Ripperton does, however. That woman oozed love and sex, man. Mariah is vocal paper tiger compared to her.

Garage Rock = Rock n' Roll
What many people call "garage rock" is really what we all know and love as "rock n' roll", but it's cliched to say you like "rock n' roll". That's fucked, really. And another thing that's fucked is what passes for rock n' roll today...or "rock". ROCK? What the fuck happened to the roll, bitch? Rock n' roll was a euphemism for sex, and I'll tell you right now...Nickelback doesn't make me wanna fuck. This was supposed to be the year that garage rock "broke" with the White Stripes, the Hives, the Vines and the ubiquitous Strokes leading the way. Yeah tell that to Estrus Records, the mecca of garage. Are they reaping the rewards? Nope. Same with Dionysus, In the Red, Sympathy For the Record Industry, Norton and other labels that do this kind of shit. Another thing that gets me are the folks that say they hate all these "the" bands. What? That's SOOO fuckin' stupid. Like it's trendy to attach "the" to your name. Get the fuck outta here! Why don't we drop it from everything, then. Good idea, eh?

"Hey, Phil...been to that new bookstore, I see."
"Yup, got me some awesome titles, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah...check it out: "Hobbit", uh, "Scarlet Letter", and "Bible". And for kicks, an issue of "New Yorker".

Man...fuck you!

"There ain't no more good music out there..."
Don't make me laugh. There's tons! You just aren't looking hard enough, lazy slut. Read reviews in music mags...in fact, read the whole fuckin' thing! Search the web...it's pretty much endless for info. There's mad amounts of info out there...for us Canucks, one damn good place to turn is
Exclaim!
, a free magazine. Nationwide distribution and extensive coverage of pretty much all genres. You have no excuses, man.

Burnin'
Making a mix tape(in the hip-hop sense, and otherwise) or cd, is cool. Burning a whole album, not so cool...unless yer planning to buy the real thing sometime later, so you can balance your musical karma. Right now, you're just strapped for cash...I understand. Burning and album and selling it, with a wack laser print reproduction of the artwork? Evil.



Ah...I feel better. Keep in mind these are just my opinions. They don't have to mean anything to you.

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