Saturday, April 26, 2014

Give me a moment, some kind of mysterious

I gave up on music videos a while ago.  Mostly because there was no place to really watch them and the fact that the majority of them became product placement commercials for headphones, body spray and Samsung.

A couple months ago I was watching Palladia on Directv.  Palladia shows great concert films, performances, and events like Glastonbury.  Places I would love to go and see live, but as I've gotten older, much more enjoy from my couch.  Less people, less mud and better views and sound.
I was busy cooking dinner or something and it was just serving as background noise that I could look over at times to see what was happening.  Whatever I was originally watching was already over, but the TV was still on and stuff was still playing.  I suddenly heard a song I wasn't familiar with, but recognized the voice.  I walked over to my TV and it was a video for a song by The Killers called "Shot at the Night" from their Direct Hits album.  The song itself was great, but I wanted to see the video.  I hit rewind on my remote and started from the beginning.  From the moment the song began, the visual grabbed me to the point that I had to sit down and watch.  I did this about 4 more times in a row.

The song, like I said, is fantastic, but this visual that told a story to this song was even better.  A beautiful story, with great direction and acting.  It actually tugged on my heartstrings in such a way, that this song has became my obsession for months.  The combination of the video and song did everything I love about the how the two mediums can complement each other to elevate the feeling to a whole other place you never knew existed. The video for "Shot at the Night" is (to me) a short film and not a music video.  A story of a working class girl from Las Vegas, who works at a hotel where people come in and out and both her and the visitors are just faceless and interchangeable objects in a 24 hour period.  The girl (portrayed by Bella Heathcote), represents (and totally nails) a naturally beautiful, lonely girl who's life is a repetitive, uneventful cycle of just her and her cat.  She goes to work, goes home and then back to work.  Until one day, while driving the strip of Las Vegas in her beat up, old used car almost hits a young man as she daydreams while behind the wheel.  The two lock eyes for a brief moment, they smile and she continues to her soulless job.  As she continues her daily duties, she once again almost hits this same young man, this time with her housekeeping cart.  It's a deja vu moment for the two that is kismet.  The young man, (perfectly cast Max Minghella), invites the young housekeeper to join him and his friends for the evening.  The young housekeeper goes in the room with the girl that is with the young men and she pulls out  a dress for the evening for them to go out.  The young housekeeper then reveals herself a Cinderella story.  They leave and she goes out to live outside of who she is for her "shot in the night".  The visuals of the two new found lovers is so romantic as they experience each other with such passion, I felt like I was experiencing that magical feeling with them.

As this is all happening, you have Brandon Flowers singing the song from above in a room overlooking the Las Vegas night like a Greek chorus or narrator.  His presence is perfect for this story.

What I love so much about this is that the song, (when I listen) gives me a romantic feeling that I could paint into any situation, but this story (written and directed by Roboshobo) feels like the song was written just for this story.  The video served the purpose I always felt a great video was made for.  It took my emotions for a song to the next level.
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When music videos first came out, it was such an exciting time.  As a kid watching MTV at 12 years old, I was just starting to go to shows, but prior to the music video, I would spend hours a day listening to an album, looking at the album cover, reading the lyrics, liner notes, reading magazines like Rolling Stone, Creem, Hit Parader anything that could take me further into the world of these songs and voices.  Waiting for concert films or the actual acts to do a concert to come to town, so I could experience what I have spent so much time looking at still photos.

Images in magazines of Gene Simmons spitting blood, Pete Townesnd doing a windmill or Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton jumping (what looked like) 10 feet in the air.  The music video now allowed me to see this.  I would then spend my time between watching videos and reading liner notes.  The level of passion for a song was beginning to go to another level.  Of course, with this new level of connection, I would start making mix tapes for girls and send them musical love letters...That's another story.

When the music video first came out, there was so much trial and error of what to do with this medium.  The concert performance that brought the pages of the magazines to life.  Seeing David Lee Roth do his martial arts kicks, NWA taking you to Compton or even Tom Petty telling you the story of Eddie as he took you "Into the Great Wide Open".  Sure, there were more stinkers than winners, but it was a work in progress.



This new art of being able to mix the feeling of a song to a visual became a new experience that to this day I can't explain in words.   My first experience of this was the film "Over the Edge".  The soundtrack was adolescence of the late 70's explained in  11 songs.  In the 80's teen films were amazing, because the music placed in a film was doing this emotional enhancement by raising the bar of a moment with a song.  Certain directors were masters of this.  John Hughes comes to mind immediately.  The use of "If You We're Here" by Thompson Twins at the end of Sixteen Candles or "Don't You Forget About Me" at the end of Breakfast Club were as important to the scene as what was happening on screen.  The song never had to literally fit the scene, just hold the same feeling of what you were watching, whether it was a melody or a chorus.  John Hughes used "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush in his (not as successful) film She's Having A Baby as there is uncertainty of the birth of this couples child.  The tone and vocal of Kate Bush, took this frightening and joyful moment and made you feel it in your soul.  John Hughes was a master.  There are other directors that share this same level of importance that music plays telling (or feeling) a story .  Cameron Crowe and more recently, Zack Braff with Garden State and Judd Apatow (and all affiliated directors). There are many more, but I can't think of them right now.

Television has been the place that has been carrying the creative flag of well done placement of music to a feeling in a story.  The beauty of this has been that it's been an amazing place for new artists to be discovered and exposed.  Judd Apatow and Paul Feig were so good at this in the brilliant "Freaks and Geeks"that they held off from putting out the box set until the songs used were all cleared.  The use of the songs were as important as the dialogue.  One scene that comes to mind, was a scene where the character "Bill" comes home after school to reveal that he is an only child of a single mother and (like many kids of the 70's and 80's) was a "latchkey" kid.  He comes home, makes himself a sandwich, and watches the Dinah Shore show as Gary Shandling performs Stand Up.  The scene has no dialogue and is sound tracked by "I'm One"by The Who.

This is magic. Another moment of sheer brilliance and could not have closed and wrapped up a series better was the use of Sia "Breathe Me" to close Six Feet Under.  I don't know one person who wasn't effected to the point of crying and being saddened when it was over.  I was in a dark haze for 2 weeks.  Without the use of the song, I really don;t know if it would have been the same.  Nor, do I care.  Because, this is how I feel it had to be.


The soundtrack and the music video lost their way when it became about a financial win.  Soundtracks in the 90's started this with music "inspired by" soundtracks, putting together soundtracks to place their new acts on for exposure and handing over B sides of their A list acts.  This from my experience, was not due to the supervisors, but the label dictating placements. The "Inspired by" songs were dumped into a soundtrack that are never even heard in the film or had any association other than using film artwork.  The Matrix, Spiderman, Hunger Games, etc... and the music video became a product placement source.  You watch any video and for no reason, someone opens a Sprite or grabs some Beats Headphones.  The passion and magic was removed.

I'm sure there are lots of videos out there that aren't any of the above, but unfortunately, the places you can see them have gone away.  MTV used to be so great at this.  From 120 Minutes, Headbangers Ball, Yo! MTV Raps..there was a way to find new music in all genres and feel new music. Palladia and AXStv hopefully will bring this back.  I'm not talking about the TRL rotation of the same videos, but blocks of discovery. 

"Shot At The Night" has given me hope as much as Brandon Flowers and The Killers continue to give me hope for long lasting bands who will continue to make great albums.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Oh Debbie...Hi.




I saw this documentary called Blondie's New York, that aired last week on the Smithsonian Channel (yeah, i never heard of that either).  It was about the making of the album Parallel Lines.  It featured the band and producer, Mike Chapman now, talking about making of the album, the writing and the recording.  Things like this are so awesome.  They usually have the artists sitting at a mixing console, soloing tracks as they talk about them.

Hearing Debbie Harry's vocals on "One Way Or Another" solo and her describing the recording and Mike Chapman describing his perspective really takes you back into the studio in 1977.  I could watch stuff like this all day. 


Parallel Lines was a total coming of age album for me.  I was 9 when it came out and Debbie Harry was my 1st crush.  Her voice, her look (even today) is still one of the sexiest women out there. 
From the moment "Hanging on the Telephone"* starts with a UK telephone ring tone, I get transported to when I first heard the album.  It still sounds just as fresh as it did 36 years ago.
*"Hanging on the Telephone" was originally written by The Nerves

Of course, this made me feel nostalgic and sad that bands like this don't exist anymore.  So while I spent all this time listening over and over to the album, my mind subconsciously ventured to another band favorite of mine from the 90's, Letters To Cleo.

I can't believe I never drew the comparison.  Not that Letters to Cleo were trying to be Blondie, they just shared a lot of the same musical DNA. Which would easily explain my immediate attraction to the band.

Blondie.  6 members.  Guitar and Singer relationship, killer drummer and key bookends to seal it all up.

Letters to Cleo.  5 members (ok not 6 like Blondie, but stick with me).  Guitar and singer relationship, killer drummer and key bookends to seal it up.

Singer.  Both women, Deborah Harry and Kay Hanley are tough as nails, beautiful and very distinct voices with as much attitude as sex appeal.

Both Chris Stein and Mike Eisenstein (Hello?  "Stein"?) are amazing guitar players and songwriters that complemented their romantic halves.

Stacy Jones and Clem Burke, both amazing drummers who both went on to play with other artists and hold amazing drummer reputations and great hair.

I'm not looking to short change Nigel Harrison, Jimmy Destri, Frank Infante, Scott Riebling or Greg McKenna but I don't want to go too into the history that I have looked up and know way too much.  I'm a fan, what can I say...

Musically, both bands crafted great pop/rock songs.  Both had great lyrics with a great sarcasm and truth.  Romance, great chorus and just great musicianship.  Their live shows also carried this vibe and you couldn't take your eyes off of their charismatic singers.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Letters To Cleo and call a few of them friends!  Even their Manager, Creamer who I love even though he's a Red Sox fan... That's a whole other blog. 

Kay even performed one time with Sponge on Conan O'Brien as a guest while they were on tour together.  Even with her just standing in the back singing back ups, she stole the show. 

Letters to Cleo never reached the level I feel they should have, but that's not their fault.  If the label was like Chrysalis was in the 70's and 80's, I have no doubt they would have gotten there.  The business was just different. Their records to me are timeless.

Blondie keeps doing it, Debbie Harry is still hot.  The songs are forever and albums like Parallel Lines are what make me LOVE music.

I have had a great week just listening to both catalogues of 2 great bands.  If reading this gets you to revisit them on YouTube, pull albums from your catalogue or even Spotify. 

If you trashed all your old albums,  I hope you take the time to go to a record store, buy a CD, LP or even to iTunes and put these bands into your rotation for a week.   It will leave you with a smile on your face.

Blondie are New York and Letters to Cleo are one of the only things I will ever admit to loving from Boston.



Saturday, February 1, 2014

Paint A Vulgar Picture

After being someone who worked in the music industry for half my life, the one thing I dreaded becoming was the guy that would look at new bands or labels and say things like "back in my day".  I'm only 44, so my day wasn't really that long ago.

The speed that things have changed (not for the better) is incredible.  I don't care about the music and whether it's shitty or just unoriginal replicas of music from the past.  Ok I do care, but that's not the point of this post.  My issue today is how the opportunity of growth and development for an artist or band has become a thing of the past at a major label.  Now before I hear all about the indies, etc, that also is not the point of this.  I'm more talking about the boutique labels that existed as placed to grow and nurture before the big money and hits came.  Labels that existed within a label or were distributed by a major system, but didn't have the major label money to spend to develop those bands.  Sure the costs today are higher and the demise of record stores are also part of that, but there is always a way to adapt and adjust while still carrying on with the same marketing strategy.

Labels like IRS, Stiff, Reprise are ones that immediately come to mind.  But more important to me, Sire. Sire was home to The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Smiths, Madonna... The list is endless of great artists and bands. Sire was special mostly because if their large range of musical taste.  What they brought was almost always quality stuff that was new or important (even if we didn't know yet).  The commitment they had to artists was what mattered.  I didn't work with any bands that were on the label, nor did I work there (so those people might have a different thoughts), but I base my opinions on how I saw it.  Some of these bands broke into super stardom, some never got as big as they should have, but they did make a careers worth of material to be a band as a career (for the most part).  But specifically, Sire put out albums that made a mark and were important in their quality and what they will mean to people in the future.  Benchmark albums that get cited in the "most influential album" lists. 

I just got the brilliant new album by Against Me!

Transgender Dysphoria Blues is an album that belongs on Sire.  The only problem is, Sire dropped them 4 years ago.

Against Me! Had the luxury of putting out 3 albums independently and 2 on Sire.  The first release came out on (very small indie) No Idea.  Got a place to grow and build a fan base with Fat Wreck Chords for 2 albums.  Following those releases, they then made the bold move to Sire for the next 2 releases.  I'll be honest, I would always get mad when punk bands did this move to a major.  And I'll say it.  This was always because I was jealous that it wasn't me doing it.  That's the truth.

The move to Sire was to grow bigger, get more opportunities, sell more records.  Makes sense.  Sire made sense. Shit, if I was managing them, I would have done it too.  Only at this point the business was changing and the major label system wasn't changing with it.  The life span of a new or developing artist is not very long.  The numbers needed to keep a band working on a major are also amazing.  Because a release that sells 50,000 copies is a huge success on an indie, but a flop on a major. 

Against Me! did exactly what what it was supposed to do.  They made 2 great album and got bigger.  They grew with the opportunity.  They were following the Sire model.  Only, Sire wasn't that Sire anymore and that model was long broken. I'm not blaming those that were there, it's just the system and the loss of artist development vision.  They tore the trees from the field for not growing fast enough.  Sure, sometimes things happen faster, but that's a fluke (Offspring).  They failed to let them grow even though the roots were strong.   The billboard debuts for both records showed they were on their way.  New Wave entered at 57 and the follow up White Crosses at 34.  The touring was growing and the merchandise was insane, radio was playing them.  So why drop them?  It became a numbers game and the cost of keeping them wasn't worth it.  If this was the case back in the day, The Ramones would never have gotten to Road to Ruin, The Smiths would never have gotten to The Queen is Dead and Talking Heads would never have been able to release Fear of Music.

It looks like it became a blessing in disguise because on January 21st, 4 years after White Crosses came out, Against Me! debuted at number 34.  The album was released on Total Treble Music, the bands own label.

I'm happy for them, because this is a true rock and roll record.  If say punk album, but the word has been butchered so much, it would devalue it.  They never gave up and instead Laura Jane Grace and the band put it all into this, almost rebirth of Against Me!

Transgender Dysphoria Blues is an album about depression, living as someone you aren't, all the things that come with it and changing who you are and the what comes with that.  I think it's a important album for anyone who is struggling with any of these issues to know they aren't alone and hopefully gives them strength to live a full and happy life.  It's also an album for people to feel the pain some people have when dealing with these issues as well.  Learn how they feel and how to be supportive.

I hope as an indie, it gets the attention it deserves, but I can't help but wish it had a chance with the support of a Sire of yesteryear.  This album would fit right up there next to classics like Meat is Murder and Music for the Masses or Remain in Light

When The Smiths released the album "Strangeways Here We Come", the song Paint A Vulgar Picture always stood out to me.  Mostly because of the music and melody, but also because of the lyrics.  I kind of got what Morrissey was saying, but not really until I got into the business.  The story behind the song, is basically when an artist dies, the record company finds a way to parade the catalogue and anything they can to make a buck from what's over.

Catalogue is the meat of a label to make money.  It makes sense.  Exploit the catalogue, hope to please fans and make new ones while getting as much from your investment than you can.

But to sell a catalogue, you need to have a catalogue.  Having a greatest hits album with only 2 albums worth of catalogue is not a career.

By not developing artists anymore like they used to by investing time and money in something they believe in is killing it off, shortening careers and aborting the possibility of what could be.   

Just imagine if the business was then how it is today.  I'm sure you can make a list of bands who  would never have made it.

I would post a link to stream Transgender Dysphoria Blues, but I would rather you plopped down $9.99 and supported the independent artist, rock and roll and future careers.

Here's to the the underdogs and here's to Laura Jane Grace