Music: A to Z 11.13.09: U & V Are For...
Posted by Chris Crowing on 11.13.2009
u2 & VAST, with cameo appearances from Biffy Clyro, Gojira, Mammal and Tomahawk.
As we reach the end of the alphabet, the noteworthy bands get a bit thinner on the ground. So this week, I've decided to pare things down and go deep into the two bands who jumped out the most - being arguably the biggest band in the world, and the act who I wrote about to get this gig in the first place.
Of course acts like Ultrasonic, Unearth, Velvet Revolver and the Velvet Underground were worthy of inclusion, but I just found I couldn't get my teeth into the discussion....
Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
Released on Monday past, it's already one of my records of the year and I implore you to check it out, buy it and help in raising the best in Scottish alt.rock to the status of genuine international superstars.
Just to be difficult...
OK, so we've got a shill for a brand new alternative rock release, the biggest band of recent decades and a semi-obscure personal favourite which tends to the ambient electronica and acoustic songs. This leaves one question...
... where is the metal?
Well, my bassplayer and I have been exchanging superlative kove for this song for a while now so, here's some Gojira...
* Please note, all 'Best...' designations are merely this writers opinion, and stand as a recommendation for new fans, rather than an attempt to make a definitive statement. I'll likely change my mind by next week anyway.
u2
What: The Biggest Rock Band in The World From: Dublin, Ireland In the Beginning: Formed from high school in 1976, the band had achieved a record deal with Island Records within four years, leading to the release of their debut record Boy in 1980. Best Album*:War (1983), the Joshua Tree (1987), Achtung Baby (1991), Pop (1997) Best Song*: "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "With or Without You", "the Fly", "Discotheque" Recently...:No Line on the Horizon released in March this year, and the customary big-budget egotastic, overpriced world tour is currently ongoing...
Ever since I can remember, u2 have been one of the biggest bands in the world. Their pantheon of mega-hits were part of the background musical radiation all the way through my musical education, but they didn't mean anything to me until Batman Forever…
In fact, the super easy and totally satisfying riff to that tune is one of the first guitar riffs I learned, that wasn't Metallica or Nirvana.
In the name of not splurging on a huge, unfocussed ramble about u2's career, I'll break it down into three simple stages.
From the Start to the Stars (1980-1987)
From the original release of Boy until they became "the biggest band in the world" with the near ubiquitous success of the Joshua Tree, u2 gradually evolved from their self-confessed punk roots, characterising one of the most important musical groupings of the 80s – New Wave (ostensibly the New Wave of Punk, but really…) alongside the likes of Simple Minds and the Cure.
Displaying a more mainstream acceptable aesthetic than the increasingly uninteresting punk movement and the growing nascent howl of the various forms of metal (from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal at the start of the decade to the apotheosis of Thrash and the onset of grunge and groove metal at the end of the decade) with a more intelligent, adult (and often bleak) outlook than the New Romantics, New Wave was IMHO the defining mainstream sound of the eighties, and u2 were the most successful group therein – their Irish-ness surely didn't hurt their appeal in the States.
By the time they were recording the Joshua Tree with Brian Eno, they were right on the cusp of genuine international mega-stardom, and having gradually honed their skills and sound through heavy touring (see Under a Blood Red Sky for an example of their live sound at this time) and sequentially more accomplished album, they created a record which is jam-packed with assured, anthemic singles at exactly the right point in time. For better or worse, the Joshua Tree is one of the salient release of the last twenty-five years.
The idea has been copied since, but thats an AWESOME video...
Interestingly, people seem to be torn between absolute adoration and utter condemnation of this record (check out the varying reviews on http://www.rateyourmusic.com for a great example) with some lauding it as the very best in anthemic, emotive rock music and some lambasting it as formulaic, overblown, egotistical, technically dull and a sign of all that is soulless, hateful and wrong on rock music.
To be perfectly honest, I tend towards the feeling that it is a good album and think that much of the hatred labelled at the Joshua Tree comes from it being such an iconic release, and thus an easy target. Of course, I'll lay into u2's more recent misdemeanours later, but I don't think you can attack the original goodness for what turned sour in later years.
Of all their early work, my favourite has to be this song, which I'll freely admit is the most obvious, simple, radio ballad I could possibly have chosen. That said, I think it's hauntingly awesome in it's stark simplicity…
Interesting Times (1988-2000)
Having thoroughly conquered the world, solidified their place in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame and made millions of pounds, what was left for u2 to do?
Many bands who achieve success (or even those bands who don't) fall into the trap of repeating familiar past form, resulting in ever diminishing creative returns (although the approach does seem to provide long term success by appealing to that sadly large segment of the music buying public who prefer safe, familiar mediocrity over potential unpredictable awesomeness.)
However, u2 decided to change things and morphed from their slightly folksy-looking image, old school rock approach to add in electronic elements, a more glam, comic book style image (Bono's re-incarnation as the Fly – a look he maintains to this day is one of the starkest reinventions in mainstream rock history) which discomfited many of their old school fans, but also earned them a great many new fans, so it kind of balanced out.
Achtung Baby was a transitional record, maintaining the anthemic rock hooks which had made their names but combining with the newfound electronic influences and sharp edges, but the next record Zooropa made no such concessions and as widely either lauded as u2's most experimental, interesting release or a useless dirge with no redeeming features.
The first u2 record to come out since I was musically conscious was 1997's Pop, and this continued the tendency to have a great many dancey, ambient and electronic influences, mixed in with some truly awesome rock segments. Lead single "Discotheque" only solidified my liking for the band.
The album is full of reflective, electronica influenced songs (which perhaps pre-empted my liking for the band I'm talking about next) and I still have a great deal of affection for "Mofo", "Do You Feel Loved", "If God Would Send His Angels" and "The Last Night On Earth." In my innocence and ignorance, I thought this was what u2, and mainstream rock was about. I was of course sorely mistaken…
Rinse, Repeat, Rake It In (2000-present)
Given my affection for Pop and my respect for the Joshua Tree of course I bought All That You Cannot Leave Behind when it came out. While the record is technically fine, it was clear from the opening chords that u2 had decided they had spent enough time experimenting and they preferred to return to their most popular tone circa the Joshua Tree.
While this is certainly understandable and has worked quite well for artists from the Rolling Stones to Bon Jovi, I always tend to find this approach quite hateful, especially in a band who HAVE shown a will to break new ground, only to recant in the name of laziness, commercial success (which they surely don't need) or whatever.
That said, I really liked the single "Beautiful Day" as a tidy slice of anthemic rock, but it was perhaps the last true hurrah for the band, from a aesthetically pleasing, if familiar and undemanding point of view.
The following records How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and No Line On The Horizon have continued the trend of predictable, formula u2 songs full of Bono's increasingly self-aware and self-righteous lyrics and the Edge's utter and total reliance on his trademark guitar effects…
In an era dominated by formulaic, cookie-cutter ‘rock' bands, u2 at least manage to stand out by having a distinctive sound, and possessing a certain dedication to providing the very biggest rock show they can provide when they go on tour. The ticket prices are steep, but the level of the production of the show is a step above what almost any other band commits themselves to.
With the likes of Coldplay looking to supplant them, u2 are still well worth their place at the top of the mainstream rock tree, but on the other hand their reliance on a twenty year old formula, their (well, Bono's) annoyingly righteous commentary on any socio-political issue and their ubiquitous presence at the top of that tree makes them an easy target for those who ask for a little more genuine passion, creativity and energy from their music, including myself…
VAST
What: Alternative Rock / Electronic Personal Favourite From: Austin, Texas In the Beginning: Cited as a promising guitar player of the future at the age of 13 by guitar player magazine, Crosby eventually created a project which like Nine Inch Nails, he was the only permanent member of. His teaser demo VAST is... caused enough waves to get him signed to Elektra/Mushroom records... Best Album*:Visual Audio Sensory Theater (1998), Nude (2004), April (2007) Best Song*: "Touched", "Pretty When You Cry", "Flames", "Lost", "I Need To Say Goodbye", "Take Me With You" Recently...:Me and You released in May this year, supported by a full US tour.
When I first ‘auditioned' to write for 411, the piece I submitted was about this band, who have been one of my most beloved and enduring personal favourites since I first discovered them in high school.
I remember it well, I was watching some late-night TV (about midnight or so) and a music/alternative culture show was on (I can't remember what it was called, and don't remember ever seeing it again, so I guess it only ran for a very short time) and I remember hearing that the video they were about to play was ‘banned' on pre-watershed TV. Of course, that piqued my interest...
By pure serendipity, I read an article in the once-awesome Rock Sound magazine the next week about Crosby and his project, and all the talk was positive. So I sought out, and purchased the debut album Visual Audio Sensory Theater.
It remains one of the most beloved, regularly played records in my collection, all at once introducing me to the concept of a subtle electronic influence in rock music, mixed with almost choral vocals and aggressive acoustic guitars. From the stark opener "Here" to the heartbreaking closer "You" this is easily one of my top five records ever, with "Touched", "Pretty When You Cry" and "Flames" all being my favourite song at times.
The most successful song from the record, even back to the VAST Is... demo, was "Touched" which has been used in several advertisements and about a million TV shows. However this is not some sound byte, but some of the most emotive, anthemic awesomeness I've ever heard... I remember seeing VAST live for the first time in 2000, and this song was one of those that sends shivers up your spine, makes the hairs on your arms stand on end and generally makes you glad to be alive...
With the relative impact of the first record under his/their wing, Crosby/VAST were under some pressure to make a mainstream hit with their next record and the result was Music for People.
While the lead single "Free" did well, hitting #2 in the Billboard Modern Rock Charts and the relatively large airplay of the song on MTV and the like raised their profile, the record didn't do well enough for Elektra and the band were terminated from their contract in 2002.
Crosby has said that "Elektra wanted VAST to be this big, huge band and I [Jon Crosby] wanted VAST to be this underground kind of thing, so we just decided to split" and I'm prone to agree as Music for People has always come across as the VAST record with the least depth, coming across as shallow, forced and over-produced compared to the debut record, and those which would come later. It is no coincidence that the shallowest person I know espouses to be a VAST fan, but only knows this record...
Somewhat burned by his experiences with major labels, Crosby practically self-released EPs called Crimson and Turquoise online, but under pressure from his former label, who he was somewhat indentured to, he ended up releasing a 'best of' the two demos as Nude through conventional channels on indeed label 456 Entertainment.
Nude displays more heart and depth than it's predecessor, but the heavy edge of the original album has been replaced by ambient effects over sweetly acoustic guitars. It's a more mature collection of bittersweet songs, which to me gives a wonderful sense of some enigmatic, yet nearby place. I know that makes no sense, but listen and you'll see what I mean...
Despite decent sales for such a low key release, Crosby has regularly stated the experience was 'a nightmare' yet it gave him the impetus to set up his own label 2blossoms to release his material through the wondrous direct medium of the internet.
TANGENT: The mainstream music industry is increasingly terrified of artists using this kind of approach, and as a fan and a musician I think this example is awesome and exiting.
Quickly releasing a compilation of early demos (VAST...A Complete Demonstration,) the whole of Turquoise & Crimson and a live record Live @ CBGBs before going back to the studio for a new 'proper' album, their first all-acoustic effort April.
I pre-ordered April, and I'll admit it took a little more getting into than previous records, lacking the electro-rock punch and garnering a mixed fan reaction but it was a tremendously rewarding experience once I gave it time.
The layered, simple melodies and heartfelt songs are frankly awe inspiring, with the standout tracks "You're Too Young", "I'm Too Good" and "Take Me With You" now integral parts of any acoustic/chilled out play list I put together.
Not to say that the album is all downbeat balladry, with the western tinged black humour in "Tattoo of You Name" and the utterly gratuitous "I am a Vampire" adding some light and shade to the hopeful melancholy of the album.
Post-April Crosby embarked on a six month project releasing a series of initially acoustic, later full on records as Jon Crosby or Jon Crosby & the Resonator Band (which is VAST in all but name) us the Generica project.
As these records were not available in shops and I was out of internet use in early 2008, I haven't spent the same loving time with them as other records, and I only recently obtained the full-on VAST record which is a compilation of these songs, entitled Me and You.
Another side project from the past few years was the project called Bang Band SiXXX's Relay EP which forms a soundtrack to Crosby's futuristic novel about the adventures of a band in a dystopian future world.
Returning to a heavier, more electronic, sound, reminiscent of VAST's earlier work, especially compared to April or Generica (unsurprisingly to positive reviews) it adds another facet to the canon of this, my most beloved artist.
Crosby has said that he only has one album, like April in him, and while it's his favourite record he's made and "VAST is about love and Bang Band SiXXX isn't." I'd expect the next 'new' record to come from Crosby (be that VAST or one of his other incarnations) to be a bit heavier once again.
In the beginning VAST showed me how to reconcile my still relatively newfound alternative principles with acoustic guitars, electronic influences, samples and basically NOT shouting all the time.
Over the years since, Crosby has shown me how simple, heartfelt songs can be worth so much more than shiny production and following fashion, how you do not need the backing of the industry to make your way as an artist and how it's absolutely fine (or even laudable) to reinvent yourself to play in a different way or from a different perspective.
When I was writing my Honours Dissertation for my degree, I sent out questionnaires to a host of musical figures. Predictably enough, most of the respondents came from local Scots artists and promoters with only one 'real' artist/label getting back to me. That was Jon Crosby, and his insightful, experienced comments changed many of my perceptions on how the music industry works.
The fact that he took time to fill out my (in retrospect and all honesty) ham-fisted, inexperienced and ill thought out questionnaire and also conversed with me via e-mail for a few weeks really made an impact
I guess it's impossible for me to make a impersonal, non-biased or journalistically neutral appraisal of this artist, but it seems to me that anyone who 'gets' VAST/Jon Crosby, falls in love.
I am in love with this band, they represent almost everything I would hope to be as a musician (I'm prone to more commercial heaviness at times, but nobody is perfect) but more importantly the represent hope for independent artists, who do not wish to be dictated to by the homogenising swarm that is the Industry.
Most importantly, they have an ever-growing canon of songs that take my breath away, and transport me to a far better emotional and mental place. Not least, this song, which has become an integral part of my own acoustic canon...
I got an awesome turnout of comments this week. I thank, and salute my regular commenters.
First up Brandon offered Boris is awesome. Akuma no Uta and Pink are my favorites by them. I sat through Absolutego once.
Besides those original grunge band, all post grunge is terrible. Staind? Really? Alter Bridge? All awful.
I'd like to see Uncle Tupelo mentioned, since they are awesome and splintered off into two great bands (Wilco and Son Volt).
Yes, Boris are awesome, but unfortunately I have never heard of Uncle Tupelo (although Wilco rings a bell...)
However, I cannot agree that 'all post grunge is terrible' for a few reasons.
First of all, I don't quite believe that the genre distinction even exists. IMHO to qualify as a 'grunge' band, you have to have a serious love for detuned riffage straight from the Black Sabbath school, but then also have a tendency to heartfelt balladry with a distinctly folksy tendency.
All the best grunge bands have these dichotomy's in their back catalogues - for example, the difference between "Jesus Christ Pose" and "Black Hole Sun" or "Them Bones" and "Nutshell." This defines the sub-genre called grunge, and encompasses everything from Alice in Chains, Nirvana and Soundgarden to Mudhoney, Tad and arguably even Stone Temple Pilots and the Smashing Pumpkins (as a slightly more glam and polished incarnation.)
I guess Pearl Jam don't strictly qualify as a 'grunge' band under these criteria, with generally being less invested with the dirty, low down riffage, and I internally categorise them as 'classic American songwriter influenced alternative rock' instead.
Picking hairs? Probably.
So for a few years after grunge had ceased to be the scene of the moment, the term 'alternative rock' seemed to suffice, covering everything rockier than pop to the edge of truly scary metal. I'm fine with that distinction, as I kinda hate the pedantic tendency to nail down every nuance of tone to a particular definitive genre label.
Then as the Foo Fighters gained steam, and bands like Creed and Godsmack started becoming successful, some marketing wag at the major label's baby-burning cabal meeting decided that the appropriate term to group these bands would be 'post-grunge' as they kinda sound like the grunge bands we made such a killing from...
However the term now seems to cover a great pantheon of the most mainstream-friendly, limp wristed by-the-numbers nonsense, some very awesome alt.rock and some genuine 'grunge' revivalists of varying quality. Basically, if it's not Bon Jovi, Emo or Metal - it's post grunge. Yawn....
I can see why people don't like these kind of bands and I am not a universal apologist for alternative rock (my preferred term) - merely relying on the qualifier that they should be at least a bit 'alternative.'
Bands like Nickleback and Shinedown bore me, being the most formulaic and fundamentally soulless music I've ever heard. Rock by numbers is NOT rock and false emotion in contrived radio-ballads is to be condemned universally.
The vast majority of this 'genre' are hit & miss with me - for example I really like Puddle of Mudd's Come Clean record, but could happily ignore the rest of their output, while Seether ("Gasoline", "Remedy", "Broken", "Fake It"), Staind ("Mudshovel", "Epiphany", "Right Here") and Godsmack ("Vampires", "Keep Away", "I Stand Alone", the Other Side LP) all have enough songs to keep me interested, but I wouldn't call myself a devoted fan.
However, the Foo Fighters and Alter Bridge are awesome, managing to straddle the line between metal and folk which characterises the best of grunge, and while the songs are formulaic (verse, chorus, verse, instrumental, chorus) they are put together and played excellently, sung with passion and there is often a little touch or two which lifts them from radio-rock mediocrity to a genuine pleasure.
Of course, that's just my opinion...
Then lev contributed once again with... Firstly, TOOL!
Awesome.
Secondly, Trivium. Completely agree. I took a chance and brought Shogan and while loving the music and the band's ability, I always felt there was something missing ...
So I took another chance and brought Ascendancy. And I figured it out ... I don't think I like Matt Heafy. Certainly, I haven't been able to get fully into Ascendancy as I just can't stand Heafy's screaming. Sounds so forced. And some of those lyrics. Argh. And yet I still love the music.
Thirdly, look, I've finally learned to get in early with these comments as last week I was (again) overlooked.
So ... still interested in what you think of Daron and whether he adds or subtracts from SOAD. And what is the name of the band who sang 'The Majority' a few weeks back?
First, I apologise - I check my comments lastly on a Monday, as I tend to think my column has dropped off the edge of the world any later than that...
Secondly, I agree that Heafy's slightly forced vocals are probably Trivium's biggest flaw, alongside the '5% short of original' songwriting. You certainly cannot fault the actual musicianship...
Thirdly, Daron was/is an integral part of System of a Down as his unconventional guitar lines formed one of those factors which made them distinctive.
However, I feel that SOAD are at their best when Serj is front & centre and Daron is restricted to his juddering riffage, as whenever he steps up to the mike, the dynamism of the song seems to falter. Furthermore, Serj's melodic musical tendencies (not just his soaring vocals) as shown on Elect the Dead, "Atwa", "Question?", "Spiders" etc. balance out Daron's riffage to an effect which is more than the sum of it's parts.
This is only backed up by the general awesomeness of Elect the Dead and the general mediocrity of Scars on Broadway. Daron needs Serj, but Serj does NOT need Daron.
Lastly, the band who sing "the Majority" are an Aussie band called Mammal, who you can check out at www.mammaltheband.com and in this video, which is from the same record (oddly enough the record is titled the Majority.)
Next Hdj360 contributed with Lol padawan?! You know, your right about trivium being just a cut and paste band from previous metal bands but I believe they will throw in some new creativity in their next album... Hopefully... Shogun was a start but their next one should be even better!
U: Unearth, U2?, umm I got nothing!
I've always said that Trivium have the talent to do something truly special, and while it might seem I'm hyper-critical of them, I'm a HUGE fan of Ascendancy, regarding that records success as the first step of 'real metal' (as opposed to metalcore) coming back into prominence as has since happened.
A long time away listening to some varied music, which is NOT metal (Bach, Celtic Folk Music and Motown would be best) and some vocal training for Heafy could yield serious dividends.
Unearth came close, u2 I had to discuss. You know me too well...
In one of the most concise comments ever BLACK said TOOL is the best band ever. FACT!
Not fact, sorry. Tool are stunning beyond words, but 'the best band ever?' I think not. Are they really greater than the Beatles, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Primus or the Backstreet Boys? They are certainly in the very top pantheon, but no band is EVER the undisputed king of the mountain.
skinead_bufty chastised me with um, Ibitsu isn't drone. Its awesome but apart from the first track theres nothing drone on Akuma no Uta which is about as pure balls out rawk album as Boris get. Now if you want awesome drone Feedbacker pt 2 has the best buildup release and pacing I've ever heard (hmm well top 3 anyway) Also I linked you and your readers an awesome ambient drone music project last week but it seems the comment wasn't approved by moderators :(
You are correct, "Ibitsu" isn't a drone song, and it was a wantonly erronious and gratuitous segue to put some awesome rock in to break up what was becoming a massive wall of plain text. I do not apologise. You have my e-mail Charles, so send me the link and I'll probably post it for the enlightenment, delight and delectation of all. I don't think the mods like unsolicited links....
Jesse T. confused me with Not sure if they count since their band name starts with the number 10, but what do ya think of 10 Years?
I was considering a column on 'bands who's names start with numbers' once the a-z is done in a week or two, if only to include 36 Crazyfists and whoever else occurs to me. That said, I have never heard of 10 Years, so gimme a second...
(runs off to consult www.rateyourmusic.com and www.last.fm)
...OK, it seems like 10 Years are yet another alt/hard rock band of the almost standard formula, but some of these reviews seem to imply a more progressive/varied tendency in their music. I shall check them out, thankyou sir!
Lastly, Norg appears to not have mastered the use of sentences in his comment...
TI
To my surprise
Tomahawk ..prob one of the best rock bands of the 00's
Tub ring desvers a mention
Is that just a list of unconnected words, or some bands you feel I should have covered? Most of that is meaningless to me, but I'll agree that Tomahawk, like most things involving Mike Patton is unabashed awesomeness, so here is a video...
Have been a huge fan since catching them live for the first time in '98. April and the entire Generica series never have held my attention like the rest of Jon's catalog though. Bang Bang Sixx was a pleasant return to the electro elements. Hoping the next album keeps up the vibe. (and hoping in vain that one day they'll revisit the video projections they used on the first tour)
Posted By: Commie (Guest) on November 13, 2009 at 01:36 AM
Wow VAST! Nice to see your showing some respect for my hometown! I really agree with you that U2 is the biggest rock band in the world and I think that Muse will be following their footsteps, IMHO! Oh and I just freaking missed out on a Trivium show about a month ago here in Austin!! It just pisses me off I didn't know they came here until a few days after the show!
W-whitechapel, the who, weezer, the white stripes
Posted By: Hdj360 (Guest) on November 13, 2009 at 03:18 AM
