The pick of Destiny
I watched Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny last night and I can't say I was impressed. Actually I really, really wanted to be impressed because I'm both a fan of Black and D, so I guess that also makes me a fan of Glass just as well, but there was something amiss from the whole experience and since it does touch the subject of how cool rock is supposed to be, I guess I took the whole flop to the heart.
There is always a genius in every style of music that exist. That's why I think it's not very wise to completely alienate yourself from the tastes you do not usually adhere to. For example as much as I hate rap music, I will always find the time to listen to some Dr. Dre. When it comes to contemporary music, or in other words, the plethora of emo bands and divas which are a dime a dozen, even the best of the best do not seem to be completely autonomous in function. I guess that's how music is done nowadays - even though commercialism was a part of any popular band in the past, that particular aspect seems to have rolled up into a typhoon that cannot be surpassed. Todays economy, or should I say the current philosophy that reigns supreme within the music industry, will not permit new bands like U2 or Led Zeppelin to see the day. It's all about how much farther can you push the image and sound of the new product to make sure there's going to be as much people ready to buy the album. The are no more doors open for the sake of risk or culture... at least when it comes to our youth.
Even bands like Ugly Kid Joe sounded more authentic or more from the heart than all the recent crap I'm being force fed through Musiqueplus.
So whenever I heard something from Tenacious D, not only did I get a smile on my face, I would quickly understand where this band came from. Just like me, these guys have had it with the recent times and they obviously felt the need to take a few steps back and show people what we had lost. Just listen to the song "Tribute" and you will understand what I mean.
I guess that's what they wanted to push with The Pick of Destiny, but it failed MISERABLY. Here's why:
1- By showing the hardcore side of being a rock star, they took away all the credibility of just how cool old school Rock and Roll was. I'm not saying they should have lied about the pot smoking and the gratis sex, I'm saying that they could have done a better job of bringing rock in a good light. After all, even groups that where heavy on debauchery did not seem THAT bad.
2- The movie, which is in fact a Rock and Roll musical, would have been better as not being a movie and more successful as a series of consecutive MTV videos that followed each other over time. This was obviously a message that needed to be sang and truth be told, all the parts in between sucked. The musical bits where quite nice though, especially the end when they face off the devil for a Rock Off. Then again, the prudish Amercian television would have never let most of the things go through...
DEVIL as he rocks hard: "Check those riffs they'r fuuuucking tasty!"
There is always a genius in every style of music that exist. That's why I think it's not very wise to completely alienate yourself from the tastes you do not usually adhere to. For example as much as I hate rap music, I will always find the time to listen to some Dr. Dre. When it comes to contemporary music, or in other words, the plethora of emo bands and divas which are a dime a dozen, even the best of the best do not seem to be completely autonomous in function. I guess that's how music is done nowadays - even though commercialism was a part of any popular band in the past, that particular aspect seems to have rolled up into a typhoon that cannot be surpassed. Todays economy, or should I say the current philosophy that reigns supreme within the music industry, will not permit new bands like U2 or Led Zeppelin to see the day. It's all about how much farther can you push the image and sound of the new product to make sure there's going to be as much people ready to buy the album. The are no more doors open for the sake of risk or culture... at least when it comes to our youth.
Even bands like Ugly Kid Joe sounded more authentic or more from the heart than all the recent crap I'm being force fed through Musiqueplus.
So whenever I heard something from Tenacious D, not only did I get a smile on my face, I would quickly understand where this band came from. Just like me, these guys have had it with the recent times and they obviously felt the need to take a few steps back and show people what we had lost. Just listen to the song "Tribute" and you will understand what I mean.
I guess that's what they wanted to push with The Pick of Destiny, but it failed MISERABLY. Here's why:
1- By showing the hardcore side of being a rock star, they took away all the credibility of just how cool old school Rock and Roll was. I'm not saying they should have lied about the pot smoking and the gratis sex, I'm saying that they could have done a better job of bringing rock in a good light. After all, even groups that where heavy on debauchery did not seem THAT bad.
2- The movie, which is in fact a Rock and Roll musical, would have been better as not being a movie and more successful as a series of consecutive MTV videos that followed each other over time. This was obviously a message that needed to be sang and truth be told, all the parts in between sucked. The musical bits where quite nice though, especially the end when they face off the devil for a Rock Off. Then again, the prudish Amercian television would have never let most of the things go through...
DEVIL as he rocks hard: "Check those riffs they'r fuuuucking tasty!"