EMP Pop Conference

The fifth - I guess you can call it annual by now - Experience Music Project Pop Conference kicks off tomorrow. If you are unfamiliar with it, the goal is, in their own words "to bring academics, writers, artists, fans, and other participants into an all-too-rare common discussion".

Discussion about pop music, that is. I think it's a brilliant idea, and something we'd benefit from having here in Norway as well (though, I guess they've made attempts at a some of the by:Larm-events). But you see, Norwegian music journos don't like to think too seriously about music, let alone pop music. Their idea of a discussion elevates to whether or not Idol is good or bad for pop. And that's about it. (Swedes are a bit better. Note, for example, the superior quality of SVT's Musikbyrån over it's Norwegian version Lydverket).

One of the sub-themes to be discussed at this year's EMP Conference, has to do with the awkward notion of "guilty pleasures", as if such a thing really exists. Christgau puts it well in his introduction:

"It's a pain that the idea of guilty pleasure has entered rock-critical discourse at all, much less taken a prominent role. The concept reeks of the notion that rock-versus-pop is some sort of paradox--the dim-bulbed theory that meaningful longforms with a rhythm section preclude three-minute trifles with a hook, and vice versa. In fact, as all good critics should understand, the satisfactions of these polar caricatures (most beat-based popular music, of course, falls somewhere in between) often bleed into each other, and figuring out how they interact is a continuing challenge."

But their aim is broader than merely discussing "guilty pleasures". One of the more interesting aspects of "liking something you're not "supposed" to" is when you end up enjoying a piece of music despite its politics, i.e. you don't agree with it's politics, as is the case regarding my relationship with Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" (if you don't understand why, listen to it once more). Looks like the Dean is going to talk about something similar to that.

Drew Daniel's paper, excellently titled "How to Sing Along with "Sweet Home Alabama"", looks like it will tackle the issue of invoked versus taken meaning, which may be especially significant in the case of that Skynyrd classic. Rob Wallace's paper "Angels and Demons at Play: Some Case Studies in Free Jazz and Race" should be very interesting. And the title of Tim Lawrence's alone is intriguing: "Go Bang: Some Queer Songs About Masturbation and Orgasm".

I'm not invited, of course, and wouldn't have been able to go if I was, but Zoilus has promised daily blogging from the conference.

Phoenix 'n' Eddy

I went to see Phoenix play a closed gig this Thursday. With me in the audience were mostly hairdressers, jeans shop clerks, bartenders and scenesters. Well, ok, there were a few musicians, who'd only come for the free drinks, and some music "journos", who seem to be under the misconception that Phoenix is the best thing since burnt toast. They do have a certain je ne sais qua (!) which goes down well over here. But while their music is often clever with its 70's soft rock reference, it's seldom very good. Since they begun to up the tempo on the few new songs I've heard, though, they may be on to something. That something may be Spoon-like, only Spoon write better songs. And I'm still pretty sure no English speaking person on Earth would say "everythin'" without the g-sound twice in succession.

The Village Voice are in the midst of a major overhaul, which among other things has resulted in music editor Chuck Eddy getting the can. Says Robert Christgau: "There have been many good music editors, but Chuck Eddy was the most efficient, most professional I worked with". I've personally always enjoyed his Eddytor's Dozen-column, in which he has often championed music deemed "uncool" (or just plain bad. Take your pick) by the consensus. Just have a look at his Top Ten-list from the SPIN Alternative Record Guide:

1. Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction
2. Various Artists, Electric Salsa: Hot Latin Dance Hits
3. Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
4. Various Artists, The Great Rap Hits
5. Quarterflash, Quarterflash
6. Boney M, The Best of Boney M Volume 2
7. Rose Tattoo, Assault and Battery
8. Skatt Bros., Strange Spirits
9. Loverboy, Loverboy
10. Stacey Q, Hard Medicine

Norwegian Jazz, for a change

Just so you know, in my opinion ECM Records have produced some of the most overrated, self important jazz ever. But they have a few gems too. Still, I'm positively surprised after the first few listens to The Source's new record The Source released on said label. Trygve Seim has failed to leave a good impression on me before, coming across as a second rate Jan Garbarek, which is far from good. This time, he has conjured up melodies that remind me of latter day Air, which is very good. But where Air upped the tempo frequently, both for juxtaposition, thrill and effect, The Source prefer the slow tempos tytpical of much ECM output. They do have a playfulness that is rare in those parts though, and Mats Eilertsen, who replaced Ingebrigt Haaker Flaten on bass, impresses. A promising effort.

Also, Thelonious Monk was honored with a posthumous Pulitzer Prize recently. More here and here.

Bob the Builder

I enjoyed this. Stylus has a feature this week where writer Dom Passantino has taken the task to listen to and review every British number one single of the new millennium. Judging from his ratings so far, he seems to have a penchant for Handbag House and soft Dance-tracks; both Fragma and Spiller receive good ratings. I'm not sure any track deserves a 0 out of 10, though, no matter how bad, stupid or mean spirited it is.

An unsung favorite if mine popped up on the list too. I never did know that Bob the Builder's "Can We Fix It" spent three weeks as Britain's number one single. But it's a great track. A solid stomper that preaches the idea that nothing is impossible:

"Bob the Builder, CAN WE FIX IT?, Bob the Builder, YES, WE CAN!"

Exactly what I would like to teach the kids. And a good few adults too. That's the spirit.

Busy Bee

Tom Verlaine is about to release two albums on Thrill Jockey in short succession. The aptly titled Songs and Other Things will be out on the 25th of April. It will contain songs, obviously, and other things (?!?). You can stream "Orbit" and "The Day of You" from that album courtesy of the Thrill Jockey web site. Both are songs, and probably other things (ok, stop it!). Couldn't find the release date for Around, which will be his second of the year. Rumor has it Around will be an instrumental record. Mr. Verlaine is also the main feature in the latest WIRE. They also have an exclusive mp3 on their web site, which you can find here.

Also, Slate had a beautiful picture special of Jazz musicians yesterday.

Will you Please be Quiet, Please!

In my humble opinion, Kenny Drew has never made a good album. Not truly good, anyway. Of course that doesn't exclude him from the right to have an opinion. After all, I've yet to make my mark musically (or in any other way, to be honest), yet here I am spewing my guts left and right for your (dis-) pleasure. But his recent column for All About Jazz, titled "What the F**k Happened to Black Popular Music?", just plain smacks of jealousy and ignorance, and his arguments are not far from what Classical musicians said of Jazz in its early days. Arguments that were bollocks then, and are bollocks now. Learn your history, mate!

In the article, he attacks current Afro-Am. Pop music, meaning Rap, for the "the stupidity and negativity in the lyrics and the video images that accompany this so-called 'music'". Well honestly, dumb lyrics have existed for a long long time, and I'm not sure Earth, Wind & Fire is the best example of the contrary. Secondly, the style of rap you attack has existed since the 80's, and if your taste in music was really that varied you'd have known that your arguments fall some ten years short of being relevant. Also, not all rap is gangsta rap.

Now I want to argue that although I for various reasons have problems with much of what is labeled "gangsta" myself, is the imagery and style really all that different from movies such as Scarface and The Godfather, both of which are considered classics? I think people have to start to realize that music can be, and often is, fiction too.

Another argument Mr. Drew drops, is that rap can not be called music at all, 'cause when he started playing he learned that music should consist of such-n-such. I myself am sick and tired of hearing arguments about what music should be. I'm not saying he's not entitled to say this and that is bad music, but to say it's not music for the reasons he lists, is close to saying that unless you have a plate of fruit in a painting, its not art. Grow up!

The last thing he argues, is the lack of instrumental skill of today's pop musicians. It's a common argument from older musicians, and it's been around for as long as potatoes. My view is that as long as a musician is able to use their instrument sufficiently in order to get a given song to work, they've done their job. Sometimes they don't have enough of what it takes, sometimes they do. Skill as such does not equal a good musician to me. Yngwie Malmsten has got skills in buckets, but he's a terrible musician.

Stop being a jealous old twat, Drew. Unless you have some valid arguments the next time, I suggest you play your music instead. It's much more admirable than the sobbing you've produced here.

More Jackie

A great tribute by Tom Hull to Jackie McClean, where he goes through some of his highlights on record.

(Note: It took a while for me to open the page. It may have just been my connection, though.)

Jackie McClean

I missed this over the weekend: Jackie McClean passed away last Friday. Jackie grew up in Harlem and was lucky enough to jam with his idol, Charlie Parker, while still at a tender age. He had stints with Miles Davis and Art Blakey, but really found his style after meeting and playing with Charles Mingus, and listening to Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. He recorded for Prestige in the mid to late 50's, and then made several strong albums for Blue Note in the 60's, among them Let Freedom Ring!, One Step Beyond, and Destination Out!. R.I.P.

Rolling Crispies

I'm not going to make a habit out of posting YouTube-videos here, but this one was too good to pass up. A song for a Rice Crispies commercial recorded by the Rolling Stones ca. 1964. Pretty good.

She's not Dead

When I first read the tracklisting for Pink's new album I'm not Dead, I thought "Ur Hand" (short sample) would be a tribute to some great lover. You know, kind of like Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes". I underestimated her, of course. Sonically, the refrain sounds almost exactly like the Veronicas' great "4ever", but this is no "hey! c'mon! let's make out!". No, sir-ee. Pink wants nothing to do with you, you creepy bastard. Which is why you'll end up all by yourself tonight. Just you and...

Will and Tortoise are on Your Side, while Boots is on Mine

I've talked about this before, but this recent review of Will Oldham/BPB and Tortoise's The Brave and the Bold in Pop Matters, which rewards it an 8 out of 10, makes me want to reiterate a few things. I find it so infuriating that a man so intent on portraing, even celebrating self-pity and shows no willingness to live and fight is continously being hailed as one of the best "alternative" artists of today. The reviewer of The Brave... says "The strategy for these cover versions tends to be to take each song in precisely the opposite direction of its original conceptualization", citing their version of Springsteen's "Thunder Road" as a prime example of how this works, in his opinion, perfectly. But why would you want to turn songs of hope on its head?!? The notion of self-pity is the worst sickness of the people in Western countries, especially in countries like Norway, where the biggest concern for most of us is how to make dinner now that minced meat might be poisonous. I'm not saying we should be content with the status que of the world, we shouldn't, but giving up is another matter.

Thank f**k, then, for people like Pam the Funkstress and Boots Riley of the Coup. In "LaughLoveFuck" from their forthcoming album Pick a Bigger Weapon, Boots insists that not only is he here to "laugh, love, fuck, and drink liquor", but also to "help the revolution come along quicker". That's more like it.

Nikki Sudden

Zoilus brought me the news that Nikki Sudden passed away this weekend. I'm not too familiar with his recent work, but I do know his work with Swell Maps, and I had a lot of fun listening to their first two records, Trip to Marineville and Jane from Occupied Europe, back in my late teens. I still find great moments there, too, especially on Trip... The final lines of "H.S. art" from that album seem to fit the occasion:

"If you can see right through the chance / And never take the fun away / Keep on walking to the end / Then you'll see what we can do"

My Name is Albert Ayler vol.2

I went to see the Albert Ayler documentary on Friday. The director was a no-show due to family problems, and the stand-in revealed a lack of knowledge into the subject, which may be because she was a last minute "reserve". I don't know. The documentary was hardly very original stylistically; we get 8 mm film with voice-overs, both in the form of old interviews with Ayler and comments from the director, coupled with interviews and concert clips. But it did turn out to be a warm tribute to Albert Ayler (AA). My biggest fear with such documentaries is that they'll portray the musicians as "troubled geniuses". Luckily, no such intention seem to have been on the directors mind, as AA comes across as a soft-spoken albeit headstrong man with an almost childish eagerness for his music to be heard. Only in the latter part of the film do we get hints of a man in distress, which I will return to.

The film is pretty much chronological; it starts with his childhood in Cleveland, and continues through his stint in the army and to his trip to Sweden. Here he recorded his first album, and later met Sunny Murray, who was playing with Cecil Taylor at the time. He is invited to join Cecil Taylor in Denmark, and they convince him to join them back to New York. This is when he got his recording deal with ESP-disks, and started his famous trio with Sunny Murray and Gary Peacock, which recorded Spiritual Unity (said record is given some consideration, as it has been acknowledged by many as Ayler's masterpiece). The trio was later joined by AA's younger brother, Donald. In New York, AA met John Coltrane, who turned out to be one of his biggest fans and played a part in getting him signed to Impulse!. From then on the film takes us through tours of Europe, one of which ended with Donald Ayler having a nervous breakdown, back to New York, and ends with the mysterious death of AA in 1970.

There are interviews with his family, friends and musicians, among them Sunny Murray (drummer), Gary Peacock (bassist), ESP-founder Fred Berkhout, Michel Sampson (violinist), and Mary Parks, Albert's last wife. I was especially taken by his father, who seemed like a really humble and kind old man. A nice touch by the director is that he plays Ayler's music to several of the interviewees. In this way he gets to focus on the music, but at the same time the tunes he plays seem to bring back old memories. Gary Peacock in particular appeared to be moved as he recognizes the first few notes of "Ghost: First Variation" from Spiritual Unity.

Much has been made of the relationship between Albert Ayler and religion, but it is made clear that he didn't become very religious until after his first time in New York, a time marked by long stints of hunger and lack of money as well as glorious music. Mary Parks, Ayler's last wife, is said to have had a lot to do with turning him into an old Egyptian religion which includes so-called "sun-watching", and several of AA's friends blame her for secluding him from them in the latter part of his life.

The film ends with the death of AA, and although there are many theories on what actually happened before he was found floating in the Hudson River, the director focuses on the theory that AA took his own life because of having severe guilt from first leaving his beloved mother, who was partially paralyzed, and later for kicking his brother out of the band when he was diagnosed with mental disorder. However, his father does not seem to place much credit to this theory.

Overall though, a nice portrait of Albert Ayler, and a recommended piece of Jazz history.

PS: Several of the interviews with AA himself can be found on the Revenant box set Holy Ghost (Revenant 213)

My Name is Albert Ayler

A bit short notice, and in fact I wasn't aware of it myself until today, but Cinemateket in Oslo is showing a Swedish documentary on Albert Ayler today at 19.15 called My Name is Albert Ayler. It was made by one Kasper Collin, who will be present at the event. Should be interesting.

I might add that ESP-Disk are considering taking legal actions against Koch and Runt Distribution over the recently released The Complete ESP-disk' Recordings of Albert Ayler for breach of proprietary rights (read more on ESP's website on the link above). Instead, I recommend that you purchase the magnificent Spiritual Unity, which was re-released by ESP themselves late last year.

The kids are alright

The feisty one you see here is Jemina Pearl. She is the singer of Be Your Own PET, four 16 to 17 year olds that make one hell of a racket. After hearing their joyful, exhilarating new album yesterday, she is currently my new favorite singer. I had just played the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs when Jemina and pals decided to shake me up. Her vocal performance is so commanding and strong on that record that she outshone Karen O for me. That is saying a lot.

It helps, of course, that BYOP's songs are two minute bursts of utter joy, and that their drummer is one of the most forceful and assertive I've heard since I don't know when. But Jemina is the star. She takes total control of each song, and some of the lyrics seem to play on similar strengths:

Lean on my shoulder, lean on my shoulder / I want another year older / Lean on my shoulder, lean on my shoulder / And share a bed with me

she demands in "Stairway to Heaven", while she warns us in "Bunk, Trunk, Skunk":

I am an independent mother fucker / And I'm here to take your money / I'm waking round and I'm here / To steal away your virginity

Plus, she takes on the role of a wildcat in, well, "Wildcat". While this no doubt can be interpreted in terms of sex, there is no question who's in control. Still, my favorite line is probably

We all have holes in our socks / And Bad Brains totally rocks.

The album is released on XL Records on March 27th. Fasten your seat belts.

For soundbits, go here.

PS: Special thanks to Steinar for the recommendation.

M vs. M: War, what is it good for

I probably shouldn't do this. There is no real reason for comparing the two, but I'm doing it anyway.

It's M vs. M:

M2M is probably Norway's best pop-export ever. For my money, A-HA never wrote a tune as catchy, let alone true, as "Don't Say You Love Me". Teenage love? I don't know. People seem to throw around "Love You"'s like pennies in order to, well, get their way, if you know what I mean.

And now, after a lengthy hiatus, Marit Larsen released Under the Surface just over a week ago. Stylus magazine are impressed, awarding the album an A-, and even going as far as calling it "the best sort of pop music being made outside of the US/UK". This comes just a week or so after Kelefa Sanneh praised Marion Raven's debut (released late last year in Norway).

Contrary to what I always thought (I never did bother to read the album credits), Marion seems to have been the main architect behind many of M2M's best songs. And although I think Larsen's "Don't Save Me" is a lovely tune, it doesn't grab me the way "Break You" did. Marion is more engaged in (most of) her songs, more willing to act out the words than Marit is.

That said, both albums have their strong and weak points, and I'm not sure either of them are as good as the articles above claim. But good luck to them anyway.

Young Blood

Out on March 21, 2006. That's this coming Monday, friends. The fella claims his songs are no longer about sex!!!

Lolita / you're sweeta / but you'll never make a cheata / out of me

Like the man said. No sex!

Mofungo

If you have heard Soul Jazz' New York Noise Vol.2 you may have noticed "Hunter Gatherer" by Mofungo, a New York four-piece once described by Robert Christgau as having a "stubbornly untrendy belief that you play music for love, with some well-aimed hate thrown in". Although NY Noise Vol.2 is more erratic than its predecessor, I recommend you consider checking out more of Mofungo. Their jagged folk/punk/jazz may be a tough listen, but I find their blend of noise and tune engaging, and most of their lyrical kicks both smart and funny.

Unfortunately, all of their records are out of print (search Gemm for used copies), but on a website called "Lost Records" you'll be able to get mp3's of what would have been their final album. My current faves are the danceable drug-war tune "Tobacco Road" (mp3) and an equally funky one about the immigrant/homeless "Boll Weevil" ("snutebille" in Norwegian) (mp3).

Albums of note: Frederick Douglass (Twin/Tone/Coyote, 1985), named after the famous black abolitionist, and Bugged (1988) and Work (1989), both released on SST.

Sumth'n smells fishy

I apologize for the infrequent blogging these days. I'll try to step it up. I've been listening to Ghostface's Fishscale a lot lately. He is by far the most consistent rapper of the Wu-collective, and there are several gems on Fishscale as well. One of the current faves is "Barber Shop", which contains this not-all-that-smart-but-still-pretty-funny-rhyme:

"One minute you're hot/next minute you're not/remind me of the New York Knicks with their jump shots/ah, whack!".

More later...

(Btw: I love the Knicks, but it's true).

Raffmataff?

Nick Sylvester's been caught with his pants down.