http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sat, 16 Nov 2002 16:01:56 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/11/16/160156.php Craig KleemannIt just dawned on me that maybe people are always looking for an adversary. I'm thinking about this mainly in context to the obnoxious academic climate I live in day to day. Even more specifically I'm thinking about Iraq. Every day, whether I'm waiting for an elevator, walking to class, or reading any new media, I'm getting messages about how terrible our nation is for taking action against Iraq. I was at a show a few weeks ago where Jonah (from onelinedrawing) took a minute out of his set to tell kids to refuse to register for the draft, because "it's not our war." NYU has got to be one of the worst places in the world to be conservative. Every now and then you run into someone else who has the same beliefs, and it's like some sort of secret club where you're both giddy that you found another member. I'm sure the same can be said about being gay in the part of suburbia that I was raised in, but nonetheless, being an ideological minority is kind of odd. It just seems like the liberalizing nature of higher education is a pit, and all of these kids are falling into it. Next Wednesday, there's a walk out planned for noon, or possibly 12:45, depending on which flier you see. A big gathering in Gould plaza to protest our unjust oil war. My plans are roughly the same as they would be any other day at 12:45, watching an episode of The Simpsons on my computer. Meanwhile, a couple of thousand kids from NYU and Columbia will be getting collectively pissed off by reciting the same rhetoric they've been rehearsing for the past month. I think that even then I'll continue not to get it. I'd like anyone reading this to think about the qualities that Americans look for in a just government, democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to protest peacefully, suffrage for women and minorities, education, affordable health care, etc. Now think of regions that have governments like these. There are a bunch in Western Europe, a few in Central and South America, North America is doing alright, Australia is fine, Africa could be better. Now think about the Middle East. You'll be hard pressed to find any governments even remotely resembling that description other than Israel. Yes, the same Israel everyone loves to call racist, or bigoted, or war mongering. But Israel isn't my focus here, that's another essay. My point is that Iraq unilaterally none of those things. Freedom of the press? None. You can't write an article against a totalitarian dictator like Hussein. Freedom of speech? How many other countries that you can think of vote unanimously for one candidate (though it's more convenient when nobody else can run). Right to assemble? No. Rights for women? No. Suffrage? No. There's no way you can call it a democracy. Iraq is a wreck of a nation, but everyone will blame it on the United States. Maybe rightfully so, you'll think. They can't sell their only product (oil), and 5000 Iraqi civilians are dying a month from U.N. imposed sanctions that result in a lack of food and medical supplies. These figures may be inflated (think about the thousands of years Iraq spent without imported medical supplies) but that argument will not be made here. It's terrible that women are children are dying in Iraq from malnutrition, but the fact that makes me sick is that Saddam still has wonderful dinners every night. He's also not lacking for any medical attention. The man has a dozen presidential palaces and an army of servants, but his people are starving. Wow, with a loving leader like that, why wouldn't you vote for him? Consider the actions of Iraq in the past. Saddam Hussein is a leader who not only invaded his neighboring state, but one who lethally gassed hundreds of men, women, and children a little more than a decade ago for the simple reason that they were Kurdish, a minority group that Iraq doesn't like. Imagine the U.S. testing out a new Anthrax delivery method by taking out a tribe of Native Americans on their reservation. Would civilians around the world get angry at their governments for being appalled for that disrespect of human life? Furthermore, after the Iraqis were routed from Kuwait in 1991, they took it upon themselves to open the country's oil reserves onto the ground, detonate oil wells and empty 100 million barrels of crude oil into the Persian Gulf to coat a thousand miles of coastline. The cloud of smoke from the fires dropped the average ground temperature in the area by 10 degrees centigrade, blotting out the sun and putting thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the air. The thing that gets me about the anti-war rhetoric is the thought of a world where the U.S. was doing nothing. Several years ago NOW wanted the Taliban ousted for women's rights issues and circulated an email campaign calling for U.S. action. Had the U.S. kept out of Iraqi affairs after Desert Storm, Greenpeace would be up in arms about Iraq's environmental crimes, and human rights groups would be drying out for the U.S. to do something about Hussein's genocidal activities.When Bush actually attempts to become involved, however, he is accused of imperialism, and people ponder why the U.S. feels a need to police the world, exactly as they did when the Clinton administration ignored the Rwandan genocide. Liberals across the nation would be protesting in front of the Iraqi embassy (though we don't have one now) and petitioning the U.N. to do something about the atrocities a world away. Now, however, we get back to my first sentence, that people always need an adversary. Seemingly uninformed undergrads here in New York see the president as a terribly handy target, and sweat blood trying to reverse such terrible acts as bombing Iraqi missle sites that attack U.N. endorsed American airplanes.In part, it seems that their rage is the result of a feeling that at 18-22, they're supposed to be activists. I was debating with an ex-girlfriend of mine long ago when she interrupted me by saying, "You're young, you're supposed to be a liberal at this age." Why the connection? The liberalizing influence of higher education is well documented, that voting trends and ideals are swayed to the left when an individual attends a four year university. Additionally, the higher the tuition, the greater the influence. At forty grand a year, NYU seems like a young democrat's breeding ground. Interestingly enough though, this campus liberalism seems to be the blind variety.Ask most people who dislike President Bush why they find him objectionable, and an alarming amount of the time they'll reply "Because he's so dumb!" Bush-isms aside, isn't this a bit of a trite answer? Didn't we hear that line enough in the election, used to avoid making any kind of legitimate point? Ask the same people to outline which policies they disagree with, and you'll be met with silence. It's exactly the same as the uneducated conservatives who hated Clinton because "He's a liar" or "Monica wasn't even hot." People find it easier to fall into rhetoric and ready answers because the alternative would be to actually think for themselves. Rather than read a newspaper, people will watch CNN, or more likely, MTV. With sound bite politics, it's difficult for such people to form valid, grounded opinions that hold up under scrutiny. Don't, however, think that I'm a starry-eyed idealist celebrating my hero Bush's attempts to save the little people of Iraq. The conflict with Iraq is about oil, and it always has been about oil. It's the same exact reason why the U.S. didn't become involved in Rwanda, there was no oil involved. Why do you think we keep on appeasing the Saudis? That aside, war in Iraq is a chance for the present administration to do something they need for international trade and do something they see as morally right at the same time. Why simply take a candy bar when you can take a candy bar and help an old lady across the street? If we simply wanted oil, we would pave Iran and Saudi Arabia, but international morals and practicality keep us from it. The oil connection is the part of the puzzle that I find most important in the issue. It seems that most people don't understand that international events impact their day-to-day existences. People, especially young people, don't see how Alan Greenspan makes things they pay for more or less expensive, or how the stock market is going to determine their job market, or why their parents are unemployed because of Japanese copyright laws, or that OPEC is responsible for how much it costs to fill up a tank of gas. Being an American is a position with an amazing amount of perks, and if you're willing to give some up, oppose the means with which they've been gotten. In 1812 Americans decided they didn't want to be impressed into the British Navy, and after a few other events we were at war with the British.So-called "American Imperialism" has saved the Jews from further genocide, kept the Koreans from being wiped out by the Japanese, kept Europe from becoming one big Germany, kept South Korea democratic, and kept Taiwan from being overrun by communists. Those were instances of the U.S. achieving its goals while helping others, and Iraq is another example. Think about the acts that gained your state of life, and think of the trade off that you're proposing. So I think I disagree with Jonah, it's our war because it's our way of life at stake in these decisions. If you want to burn your draft card, don't complain when gas costs $5 per gallon. It still bothers me that hating the United States government is the hip thing to do, that whining about human rights is almost as cool as gassing up your Escalade without thinking about the connection. This has been a long, arduous discussion, with only the intention to maybe help someone think. Maybe it's just been to help me think. I'll leave you with the though that has inspired me, recently. America today has the wealthiest, most free, most self determined society in the history of the world. What are you really complaining about? Feel free to disagree, you can also email me at cak259@nyu.edu Culture1863@blogcritics.org Sat, 16 Nov 2002 16:01:56 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/11/13/012431.php Craig KleemannAhh, the Roseland Ballroom, corporate promotion at its finest. It holds over 3000 eager ticket holders, has a VIP seating area (a second stage), an upstairs, several bars, and a relatively crappy sound system. This, my friends, is where I went tonight to see New Found Glory; pop-punk's finest, pride of Drive Thru Records, and MTV darlings.Doors were at 7, I arrived shortly before 6 to see a thick line halfway around the block. I had to walk along it purely for the zoological voyeurism of it all. I felt like the crocodile Hunter, discovering exactly the species I was expecting: The 14 Year Old Mall Punk Female. Note her sparkly Adidas with custom starry laces, her pre-faded boot cut jeans from Express, and the cute top in the form of a Hot Topic band-tee or an old navy tank top. Outerwear is either a light denim jacket or a hoodie, the latter being so much more hard-core. Hair was done up even cuter, often with glitter, sometimes even (gasp!) dyed.Males of the variety were strangely similar, and bore a striking resemblance to members of Blink 182; short, gelled hair, colorful tshirts advertising either a band or skate/surf company, and jeans or khakis of the not-fitting variety. Studded belts (two, not three like those poseurs) were a must, along with a dark hoodie. It is necessary to point out that 80% of the crowd fit this description and was between the ages of 13 and 17. It was the most frightening event of my life.The high point were the really "punk" girls who hated the lame "preppy" girls for "ruining their scene." These rebels wore their attitude in their mucho-oversized JNCO's and way cool dyed knotted up hair. Ian Mackaye was not as punk as these rebels.But enough about the super cool kids about the show. The tour going around now is New Found Glory (Drive-thru), Something Corporate (Drive-thru), Finch (Drive-thru) and Further Seems Forever (tooth and nail). Only slightly ironically, New Found Glory and Further both boast an ex-member of Shai Hulud, instantly making this tour a tiny bit cooler. FSF, however, was off the tour this night, possibly because they're just not MTV friendly enough to play this close to Times Square.After waiting in line for over an hour, I got inside at about 7:15. I ended up about 8 meters from the stage, with a decent vantage point of the horde of 14 year olds in a massive simultaneous ovulation in preparation for the bands. Finch started the show to a moderately good response. I might almost like this band if they weren't on such a terrible record label. Scratch that. I can't stand this band. Finch plays a terrible mix of pop-punk and hard core. I simply can't deal with it. Stage presence was good, I'll give them that, but the singer's scream works about as well live as on recording, which is not well at all. I simply can't deal with the dynamic of pseudo hardcore and bad pop. That's the thing, I like pop. I love great, catchy songs, but Finch doesn't play them. Disappointing. It may have been better if the teeny-boppers had tried to mosh, but I was gypped on that, too.Something Corporate hit the stage next. This band I actually like. It took me awhile to get used to Andrew's voice, but I'm a sucker for piano rock, so my conversion was inevitable. I'm not sure that I'm into their stage presence, but the band was undeniably tight. The nice thing is that SC knows that they're a power-piano-pop band, and they're okay with that. They're a fun show, and I recommend them. The high point was Andrew going nuts on his piano, feet, elbows, and all. It was mad nice.The guitars were kind of high in the mix, and got annoying sometimes (that whole Line 6 sound...), but not a big deal. I'm also not sure how much I like Andrew switching back and forth between microphones so he could run about the stage, it got kind of distracting after awhile. Altogether a decent show though. I just happen to love the record more.Finally, the screams started early for South Florida's finest. After Something Corporate's set people started pushing forward to the stage, crushing the first couple rows. I felt sorry for the innumerable chubby people at the front who had to be gasping for air. Wait, I'm not sorry for them at all, scratch that. The band finally got onstage, and gave the chubby ones new role models. Am I the only one who has noticed that Jordan has gained weight? Not a bad thing of course, but he's nowhere near as cute as he used to be. Ian, of course, is still mad fat, but whatever dude, you get enough flak from buddyhea for that.I really wish I had brought ear plugs to this show. Not for the crappy sound system, but for the screams of the children. I felt like I was in the Temple of Doom, and children were being tortured all around me. This time, however, they weren't screaming in pain, they were being told that they couldn't have Jordan Pundik's baby. Between every song the chorus of high pitched warbling arose. Granted, this was not NFG's fault. I in fact have great respect for the band, they're done their time and their share of crappy van tours. They just play a genre of music (very well) that is widely accessible and attractive. I would like to start ranting right about (*checks watch*)...now.Why did all the underground kids love New Found Glory three years ago? Come on, don't act like it didn't happen. I remember it specifically. One of my friends who was the most into straightedge hardcore and metalcore gave me "From the Screen to Your Stereo" and said "Hey, this band is great!" I remember going to NFG shows a little after that, before they got any radio play, and it was nothing like what they are now. They could play with other good "underground" bands and nobody cared, because everybody saw New Found Glory as half way decent.Hell, I remember none other than Derek Malpass owning the new self titled CD and talking about how good it was. Yes, Derek who is now into metal could appreciate NFG (not to slight Derek, but to show that NFG has wide appeal). ToTO protect Derek's rep, however, I will add that he got tired quickly of the record's polished sound. And suddenly now everybody thinks they've sold out. Really for the past two years that's been the thing. Why? Because they're making money? Because people know who they are, making them not "your" baby? Because they tour in a bus rather than a van and have roadies load up their gear? Because shirts and tickets cost more?Any and all of these are ridiculous. I can't stand this whole "sell-out" argument, and think it's possibly the worst thing that a person can do for music. So what if you were at an early show in their career and now the band doesn't recognize you? So what if you never got an email back? People need to get over the idea of Rock Stardom and that it makes people different. Realize that when you meet one of these people, it's not their job to act like you're their best friend. Maybe it was a long day, or maybe they're the type of guy that seems standoffish at first. That doesn't mean you need to spread the rumor that they are Rock Star jerks. Think about the musicians that you know! Think about what you're saying about people that are doing what they love and happen to make money for it. Enough on that rant.Now I have another one. I've always been for music about being for everyone, but what the hell is up with these kids? I absolutely hate sounding elitist, but does it seem to anyone else that some of these kids simply don't belong at shows? I'm gonna work hard not to contradict myself here. I'm glad that kids that saw the band on TRL bought tickets to make the band money, but I'm talking more about an idea of scene here. I want everybody still reading to think about the first indie or underground or punk show that they ever went to. Think about how you heard about it, who you went with, how you were received, etc. Different people got into it different ways, but I think a lot of the time it occurred as the result of a relationship you had with someone. I think a peculiar mix of people go to local shows and shows with touring acts, but I think a couple of similar factors exist about them.My thesis is that kids at these shows never really belonged anywhere else. That maybe in school they were loners, or didn't connect with a lot of people, or felt shunned, but despite that they knew they could go to a show and have a good time. That nobody really cared who they were, because they knew they were there for the music. That was the important part of community at shows, that people in underground music care about what they're hearing very differently than people who depend on the radio or MTV to define "cool" for them. Everybody probably also knows the feeling of seeing people at shows who don't seem to know the rules of dress or behavior. This is going to sound elitist, but bear with me. Think about the last local show you were at with a couple of dressed up little fourteen year old girls giggling and acting like they were at a school dance. Maybe they hit on your friend, or talked loudly through the band's set. In any case, you could sense that maybe, just maybe, their lack of conformity with the crowd marked a dissimilarity in something other than dress. That these kids were acting the way they did because they didn't see the show as anything really different from their high school dance, a place to hangout and look for guys. Shows are great to hang out, but these types of people are missing the point because they're completely ignoring it: the music. The high school cheerleading squad doesn't need to come to the New Found Glory show with cute hair and posters, they already have a place where they feel comfortable. Think about those cliques in high school, where some kids partied, some kids studied at home, some always had their group to hang out with on the weekends, and some kids had no other place to go but shows, because it was the only place in their life where they felt even remotely accepted or at home.I don't think I'm overstating the point at all here when I say that these kids have a perfectly legitimate reason to be pissed off, the one thing in their world that makes them feel different or unique and actually matters to them is being co-opted by kids that they spend their Mondays through Fridays trying to get away from. I'm not mad that kids are paying for NFG shirts so the band can eat, I'm mad that an experience that I used to be able to share with a few hundred kids like me is now the territory of the exact typed of people I would never spend time with if I had the chance. I would rather skip the concert than be subjected to people who take what I view as a very valid emotional experience and turn it into the same clique-ready party scene I hated in high school.Which is why I didn't go to the New Found Glory concert tonight. I scalped my $18.50 ticket for $40 to a acne ridden 14 year old who was dressed like she was about to go clubbing. And damn, did it ever feel good. Music1808@blogcritics.org Wed, 13 Nov 2002 01:24:31 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/11/02/174509.php Craig KleemannIrving Plaza NYC, October 29, 2002 Thursday, Jonah's onelinedrawing, From Autumn To Ashes, Planes Mistaken For Stars It's nice that I live one hundred yards away from Irving Plaza, a great mid-size venue by Union Square. I end up there all the time, drawn in by their trendy corporate booking. Tonight wasn't as bad, as tickets were only $10, partially explaining why the show sold out. The other factor is obviously Thursday's rising popularity among the young, quasi-hip crowd in attendance. I left a half hour early, and found a line around the block, full of a combination of hoodie-hardcore kids and scenesters wearing a preposterous amount of pre-faded denim. I did my time in line, then smuggled my two cameras inside, and further flouted their paltry rules by not checking my "European carry-all." Despite being so far back in line, I managed to get fairly close to the stage, and patiently awaited the first act. Coming into the show, I only knew that Planes Mistaken For Stars were signed to Deep Elm, and had a feeling that they rocked a little bit more than some of the other bands on that label. When they finally came onstage, my attention immediately was drawn to their pants. Tight, tight denim. If I have learned anything in my days of concert attendance, it is that the tighter an artist's pants, the better the rock. I was not at all disappointed. PMFS looked like truckers through their combination of poor hygiene, long, often ratty hair, and tattoos. It worked. The music was straight on rock with some interesting "twinkly" guitar parts, justifying their Deep Elm contract. The telling moment of their set was the signer's announcement of "This song is about f***ing..." drawing cheers, odd looks, and frightened gasps from kids who thought they were in for an emo cry fest. While not intensely interesting, PMFS were a completely decent rock band who gave it up on stage and were genuinely entertaining. I would let them sleep at my apartment, but I'll go to their shows anytime.From Autumn To Ashes seem to follow the continuing trend of Long Island being the next New Jersey. More and more well known underground bands are coming out of the indigenous scene, to the joy of indie-rock lovers everywhere. As they prepared to play, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that, wonderfully, FATA was also wearing tight jeans. They started playing to a crowd that loved them, with friends of the band rocketing from the stage into the crowd every few minutes. I could look behind me to see a decent pit forming, with standard issue hardcore dancing I've seen from most kids in New York. The band was fairly standard issue as well; somewhat preppy fellows playing the music of the positive youth. Chug-chug guitars, double bass drumming, sing/scream dynamics, and the classic twinkly guitar parts. FATA does it well, but it's nothing that original. Stage presence was great, but nothing really set this band apart from a lot of others like them. A high point occurred in their last song (of epic length) when a female vocalist came onstage to sing several verses. I would assume that she's on the album as well. Not a lot of hardcore bands have done this, and it's a step in an interesting direction. I also must give props to the drummer for wearing a Britney Spears-esque headset mic for his singing parts, as it went against the tough guy image that hardcore has intentionally acquired. All around FATA are fine, just nothing spectacular.I've decided that I'm not cool at all because I never listened to onelinedrawing before. I kept on hearing how great Jonah was, and how great Far was when he was in it, but never really got around to getting into him. I had only heard continuously good things, and they all happened to be true. Jonah got onstage with an electric guitar plugged into a 6 inch wide fender mini amplifier, and a drum machine/sampler in the form of R2-D2. Pretension went out the window. For the next half hour, I witnessed perhaps the most sincere, vital one man show I've ever seen. If irony is dead, Jonah killed it. The songs are great on their own, and require no real explanation, They are simple vocal-driven anthems about every day topics presented in a very real manner by a guy that you could meet and subsequently hire as your babysitter. His banter with the crowd kept a smile on every face, as did his mid-song breaks. It just seemed like he was too excited about what he has to say to wait for a chance to speak between songs. He joyously thanked the crowd for singing along, but for doing so quietly enough that others could hear. He put aside what he wanted to play to play a set of almost all requests. I could talk for days about Jonah, but the most telling comment I could make is that his pants weren't tight, and he still rocked. If Jonah ever comes to your town, don't miss him. Brave the opening bands to witness the spectacle, you won't be disappointed. Next up were the darlings of radio DJs who think they are into underground music. This isn't meant as anything bad against Thursday, it's just that their especially catchy brand of melodic hardcore brought in a lot of fans that wouldn't be at the shows otherwise. In tight pants and sporting a new keyboard player (not sure how long he's been in the band), Thursday opened with "Paris in Flames," followed by the single "Understanding in a Car Crash." The crowd seemed to be enjoying it immensely, and the band was definitely tight, but something just seemed a little off for me. Perhaps it was the hand motions that Geoff accompanied the songs with. Perhaps it was the somewhat canned staged presence by the band. Maybe the band's just been on tour for too long. In any case, the show just lacked the sincerity that I had expected. The music lacked the urgency that exists on the recording (Full Collapse, on Victory Records), and the band seemed to simply be pantomiming itself. The notes were perfect, but I couldn't really believe that they were feeling any of it, there was a lack of the catharsis I expected. They were great, don't get me wrong, but maybe they would have been better if they hadn't been touring nonstop for the last year. I would still recommend everybody to go see Thursday, maybe I just caught them on an off night, but for this one show, they were outshone by a man with a ratty electric guitar and an R2-D2. Music1640@blogcritics.org Sat, 2 Nov 2002 17:45:09 EST