Midwaye Saves the Day
So I'm currently listening to Guided By Voices. My only previous exposure was when I saw them play at Grand Old Days two years ago in what was supposedly one of their last shows. Since it was a free concert, they presumably got drunk off their asses and played horribly. I don't even think Robert Pollard was intelligible. But this album, "Bee Thousand", is pretty good.
After listening to some early Dinosaur Jr., I've decided that they are better than the Pixies and possibly better than Pavement. Maybe thats a bold statements, but those guitar solos fucking rock. Can I write 'fuck'? If any of you like the Pixies, you should try out Pere Ubu. Pere Ubu was a punk group from the late '70s; the first punk group ever to use synthesizers. Their influence on the Pixies is surely heard, but as for who they sound like, well, its kind of a disjointed Talking Heads; really dancy. Another noteworthy aspect of their sound is that their frontman is fat, unlike most punk bands. His voice is thus more soulful than the average punk frontman (but still pretty white). He's kinda like Frank Black in that aspect. I first heard of Pere Ubu from one of my roommates, who heard of them through Lester Bangs.
Lester Bangs was a rock critic of the seventies, wrote for various magazines including Rolling Stone, and is known as the "William Borroughs of Rock Criticism". He's pretty damn prententious about music, probably because he considers himself as inventer of the term 'punk' (but how many critics claimed this?). Another interesting tidbit: he considers groups like the Clash and the Sex Pistols as "new wave" and real punk to be The Stooges, Velvet Underground, etc. He is also probably the sole rock critic who actually thought Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" was a great work of art.
Which brings me to my last point. Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" is a true work of art. It is 60 minutes of one crazy noise going crazier and crazier with each passing minute. Most regard it as pure garbage. It is probably the toughest thing I've ever listened to, but I got through it once. Go pick it up and listen. You won't get it until the 60 minutes have passed. I can't tell you what its meaning is, its indescribable; but once you get through it, you'll know.
After listening to some early Dinosaur Jr., I've decided that they are better than the Pixies and possibly better than Pavement. Maybe thats a bold statements, but those guitar solos fucking rock. Can I write 'fuck'? If any of you like the Pixies, you should try out Pere Ubu. Pere Ubu was a punk group from the late '70s; the first punk group ever to use synthesizers. Their influence on the Pixies is surely heard, but as for who they sound like, well, its kind of a disjointed Talking Heads; really dancy. Another noteworthy aspect of their sound is that their frontman is fat, unlike most punk bands. His voice is thus more soulful than the average punk frontman (but still pretty white). He's kinda like Frank Black in that aspect. I first heard of Pere Ubu from one of my roommates, who heard of them through Lester Bangs.
Lester Bangs was a rock critic of the seventies, wrote for various magazines including Rolling Stone, and is known as the "William Borroughs of Rock Criticism". He's pretty damn prententious about music, probably because he considers himself as inventer of the term 'punk' (but how many critics claimed this?). Another interesting tidbit: he considers groups like the Clash and the Sex Pistols as "new wave" and real punk to be The Stooges, Velvet Underground, etc. He is also probably the sole rock critic who actually thought Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" was a great work of art.
Which brings me to my last point. Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" is a true work of art. It is 60 minutes of one crazy noise going crazier and crazier with each passing minute. Most regard it as pure garbage. It is probably the toughest thing I've ever listened to, but I got through it once. Go pick it up and listen. You won't get it until the 60 minutes have passed. I can't tell you what its meaning is, its indescribable; but once you get through it, you'll know.
posted by joey at 3:00 PM
0 comments
