weird, lame entry #2
Thanks to Carlos’ AIM-shared-folder, I have been listening to the Nerves a lot lately. Their claim to fame is the song “Hangin’ on the Telephone.” You most assuredly know this song, but the first version you heard was probably by Blondie. The Nerves version is almost identical, except the vocals actually communicate emotion. I really like it. Some people may prefer the bands that make their music more pleasant and accessible, then work really hard at touring and promoting their records, etc.
I recently picked up a two-dollar record at Amoeba by a band called Heartworms. The a-side is really awesome. It has a bunch of weird covers, too, including a rendition of Blondie’s “Sunday Girl.” It’s just such wonderfully vacant, fuzzy pop. Superior to the original, perhaps? I suppose the record’s cheapness augments my appreciation of it.
I do not have anything against Blondie. I like them well enough. I actually saw them a few years ago, when they performed at a winery in Livermore. It was really depressing, though. For one, Debbie Harry is decidedly NOT hot these days. Plus, the rest of the band seemed really bored and unenergetic. They’re just one of those bands whose lifespan outlasts their vitality.
It all makes me wonder whose better off, these institutional dinosaur bands or the groups who make great music that barely anyone hears, then spend the rest of their lives working in record stores, on construction sites, wherever. Is selling out worth it if you become dependent on playing in a band, even if you’re old and cannot rock correctly?
If you make music, there’s few respectable occupational choices after you’ve lost your youthful energy. Starting your own label is the best option I know of. With your own label you can still be involved in the music biz without having to make mediocre music. Plus, you get to put out whatever the hell you want, namely: countless volumes of pretentious spoken word albums, releases by ho-hum bands from any genre, a few awesome records that no one will buy, then one wanna-be edgy rock/punk/hardcore/hip-hip/whatever album per year that adolescent boys throughout the world will sink their teeth into, forking over their allowances to keep your business afloat.
Or, you could try to be like Russell Quan and fail miserably.
I recently picked up a two-dollar record at Amoeba by a band called Heartworms. The a-side is really awesome. It has a bunch of weird covers, too, including a rendition of Blondie’s “Sunday Girl.” It’s just such wonderfully vacant, fuzzy pop. Superior to the original, perhaps? I suppose the record’s cheapness augments my appreciation of it.
I do not have anything against Blondie. I like them well enough. I actually saw them a few years ago, when they performed at a winery in Livermore. It was really depressing, though. For one, Debbie Harry is decidedly NOT hot these days. Plus, the rest of the band seemed really bored and unenergetic. They’re just one of those bands whose lifespan outlasts their vitality.
It all makes me wonder whose better off, these institutional dinosaur bands or the groups who make great music that barely anyone hears, then spend the rest of their lives working in record stores, on construction sites, wherever. Is selling out worth it if you become dependent on playing in a band, even if you’re old and cannot rock correctly?
If you make music, there’s few respectable occupational choices after you’ve lost your youthful energy. Starting your own label is the best option I know of. With your own label you can still be involved in the music biz without having to make mediocre music. Plus, you get to put out whatever the hell you want, namely: countless volumes of pretentious spoken word albums, releases by ho-hum bands from any genre, a few awesome records that no one will buy, then one wanna-be edgy rock/punk/hardcore/hip-hip/whatever album per year that adolescent boys throughout the world will sink their teeth into, forking over their allowances to keep your business afloat.
Or, you could try to be like Russell Quan and fail miserably.