Classic meets classic ringing the death of US music

The trends in popular music these days revolve solely around remixes in the US. There is no new music that rises to form a front of the new aesthetic unless you count the faux punk rehash that is coming out of the hipster set. I find nothing new nor enjoyable in what they produce. It is meant to be loud, brash and ironic with little shown in musical craft.

For me, popular music pretty much heaved its last breath in the US in the early 1990s. The wave of grunge that came about was shaped a great deal by previous waves before and grunge acknowledged them and built upon them, bringing something new to the mix. It wasn't a remix, but apparently, now it is.

This mashup of Nirvana's "Teen spirit" and Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you up" is nothing short of genius. Who knew that the two songs would meld so well? Unfortunately this is also telling to the state of music in not just the US, but also Europe to a great deal. The best things coming out are those that have already been done.

What's the alternative? I'll tell you that it is not within our borders. We have to look internationally to where musicians still work their asses off to get know. Africa. There are a great many musicians coming out of the continent, specifically Nneka whose song Heartbeat is just fantastic. She's Nigerian and before you think that this is going to be some drum circle crap that your dreadlocked, cannabis-smoking neighbor would be blasting, let me tell you that it ain't. It's damned honest music that anyone who still has taste in the craft of notes and words should listen to.

20 07 2009      0 comments

Tags: in to africa, music, us america

The Secret of the Hit Song

Does everything sound the radio sound the same to you these days? Well, there's a reason for this. There are only four chords powering just about every one hit wonder song out there:

Of course, it's not just those four chords making the beat go on. There is also the issue of ripping off classical music, which Rob Paravonian pointed out in a rant:

And so if it's not either of those bits, it's probably something that Pee Schmuck Ho Coveralls Diddy sampled and stole. So yes, everything in music really is the same. This is why we're not buying any of it anymore.

23 03 2009      0 comments

Tags: music, video

Mutha Ucka Just Went and Blew my Uckin' Mind

I originally saw this here and that article author was pretty blown away by it as well. It ties in well with a past article I wrote called, The Brilliance of Editing. And it all goes to show why Puffy Blow Diddy Job Pee Ho (or whatever he calls himself now) is such a worthless hack. There are saps like him and then there are true samplers like the example above. Of course none of this bodes well for the music of the future because without some original content plugged in every now and again, are we just going to keep remixing the remixes until we explode? Most likely yes and is a great deal of the reason why the hipster is such a dead end that is epitomizing this before it really even happens to a massive degree. Just imagine ten years from now. I'll only be able to stand that if the world continues to produce good wine and cheese.

Oh, if you want more of this, go here although that one above is the best.

15 03 2009      0 comments

Tags: hipsters, internet, music

You're Nobody Cos I'm on a Boat

Awhile back David Cross pulled some stunt where he rode around in a limousine, standing out of the sun roof yelling, "Look at me! I'm in a limo! I've got $75! This limo is mine for two hours! Limo! $75!" Or it went something like that, since I can't seem to find the clip on the great expansive void of video that is YouTube. Anyways, the boys behind Incredibad took this to a new level and pretty much summed up most every R&B video that involves boats, which is a surprising 78% of them.

Naturally, as I'm late to the train on this whole thing, I've only recently discovered Jizz in my Pants, which is only more brilliance. While something of a new take on Inner City Pressure, it's still fresh.

23 02 2009      3 comments

Tags: humor, music

Terrifying in that it Sorta Works

So, the big thing making the rounds in the last few days is Microsoft's Songsmith. Basically, it's a terrorizing anti-karaoke machine. You sing and it makes the music for you. The possibilities are nearly endless and I pray, pray, pray to the almighty that American Idol audition tapes are going to surface showing people using this because really, that, not the hipster, will be the ultimate end of Western Civilization.

Anyways, some joker decided that if he stripped out the vocals from popular songs, he could send them through a reeducation process with Songsmith. The first one that works in a weird ass, ironic Radiohead kind of way is their song Creep:

Then we have Rick Astley who is so incredibly famous for Never Gonna Give You Up which gets more air time for Rickrolling than anything else these days. While a piece of pop past its prime, the slightly lemon-tinged addition of metal guitars really makes the song shine, which you'll have to view here as this sucka doesn't allow embeds.

And maybe it's just because I got so increbily sick of Buddy Holly by Weezer, that I find this new version a breath of fresh air until it gets to the chorus:

01 02 2009      0 comments

Tags: microsoft, music

Dude, Other Languages Suck

One of the more annoying things I've found with American pop is the fact that a) it generally sucks and b) when there is something good, it's the stolen "sampled" part of the song from another song that got absolutely no play in the US. As an example of this, I've just been tipped off to one of the hottest songs... from two summers ago in Spain which is by O-Zone, a relatively unknown (in the US) group from Moldova of all places. I've included a YouTube embed below and you can watch the proper video here as this loser didn't allow for embeds:

The song is catchy. I dig it and despite the uber-Balkan, open-shirted, cheesy sunglasses, dancing on the wing of a plane quality to the video, it's a good pop song, albeit similar in beat to Remind Me - Remixed. Of course, there was no way in hell this was going to be allowed to play in the US by the powers that be. First off, it was in a foreign language. Secondly, it's by a group that will probably be a one-hit wonder, and who wants to put valuable marketing dollars in to that when you can jolt another album out of Britney Spears? So of course this results in the "borrowing" of the catchy part of the song for this craptastic venture between T.I. and Rihanna. I mean, Rihanna is at least hot and has some singing chops to her, but T.I. is a hack and the fact that this was how "dragostea tin dei" ended up getting heard by US listeners sucks since the mash up is just painful to listen to.

Europe has a great advantage in that due to how many languages there are in the sub-continent, people are used to hearing songs in different languages. In the US, if it ain't English, it ain't heard. But, again, I blame this mostly on corporate laziness more so than public laziness. There will always be those who won't listen to a song because they don't understand it, but really, how many of us have walked around with "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" stuck in our heads by Hendrix. The words aren't so important as to trump the beat and enjoyability of the song. If it can be danced to, who gives a damn how achy and breaky one's heart is?

My hope is such that the internet hipsters, bloggers, and general users out there will end this trend. We have after all greatly changed the manner in which music is stored and distributed. Perhaps it is possible to change the way music is marketed and allow for these one-off songs to get heard, enjoyed, and added to the collective sound that comprises a greater pop.

26 12 2008      1 comment

Tags: language, music, the balkans, the europe

Onwards to Sunny, Chilly Spain

So, I'm outta here. It's Spain, baby. But, before everyone goes, "Oh, you're so lucky." keep in mind that it's about 1C or less at night and about 6C during the day. Frolicking on beaches, we ain't gonna be doing without proper coats and gloves. Of course, this means that everything on the blog is back to Metric (like I ever left) and the Twitter updates (follow at twitter.com/hudin) become more important as I have no idea how often I'll be blogging what with live caganers to see and jamón to carve. Oh and discos to dance at, where the following will undoubtedly be playing:

16 12 2008      0 comments

Tags: humor, music, spain, the europe

Treasure Island Fer Free!

This last weekend was the Treasure Island Music Festival. When initially hearing about it, I looked at the itinerary and said, "Who the hell are all these bands? Sure, I know and love Goldfrapp, but Vampire Weekend? Do they do music?!! Is this what crap the kids are listening to now?!! I need to go ask those stupid art students across the street about this!!!" The Outside Lands shindig a few weeks back had a great number of acts that I knew and loved and were it not for the high ticket price to see others I didn't care for all that much, I would have gone. Such was not the case with Treasure Island. I looked at the lineup and thought, "Hmmm, I'll pass."

Then, out of the blue, #1 Fan won two tickets to the thing. So, this of course meant going there and putting off going to the Dachshund Meetup. The sacrifices were great, but hey, we had free tickets to the concerts and it's been maybe five years since I've been to a real concert.

Upon arriving, it became quite clear as to why there was this half a decade absence. I don't like concerts. I think I stopped liking them at 23. The sound is never very good when compared to the album or a more intimate venue. The people pack in. The people are drunk and/or stoned. The people love to smoke in my face. The people pay $7 for a 20dl Heineken. It's just kind of dumb, but I knew this going in to the whole thing. I've been to concerts before. I know the deal.

But there was still the issue of Goldfrapp to see. Right before them, Amon Tobin happened to be playing, which seemed cool as he has a couple of songs I like from his Supermodified album. He also happened to be the only other act that I knew of besides one-hit wonder, CSS. Well, Tobin sucked. He sounded nothing like what is on his albums. It was an hour-long set of drum, bass, noise, and occasionally distorted rat farts. It was not good.

Thankfully, due to the two stage setup, Goldfrapp fired up right away. They (and I always feel weird using the plural as it's Alison Goldfrapp's last name, although it's her and Will Gregory writing everything) were great. They started out slow with some of the aural songs from the new album, Seventh Tree and then worked their way up in to the faster, heavier music of previous albums. I seem to remember an interview when they were asked why they shifted gears so heavily from Felt Mountain to Black Cherry and they admitted to really wanted to have some songs that would play better live. It's very true. Songs like Strict Machine and Twist really get a crowd moving, just like Ooh La La from Supernature.

The only thing that was unfortunate in their performance is that a) It was too short and b) It was the wrong crowd. It seemed like the group that were there were bummed that Burning Man was over, couldn't wait for Love Parade, weren't sure if they were going to check out Folsom Street Fair this year, and might spend the winter in Maui running a "sweet" fruit and veg stand. I'm just saying that it didn't seem like Goldfrapp's crowd. We tend to be a wee bit geekier.

21 09 2008      2 comments

Tags: hipsters, music, san francisco

The Voice of Radiohead

For those familiar with the song, "A Reminder" by Radiohead (it's on the Airbag EP) there is a lilting, ethereal woman's voice that comes on at the beginning of the song. It turns out that voice is a sample from the Metro in Prague warning about the closing doors at the Jiřího z Poděbrad‎ stop.

A the story goes, one or more of the members of Radiohead were struck by this seductive voice that comes on speaking a Slavic language. It pierces through all the din of the trams and Metro cars to just float above the hustle and bustle. Thusly, they felt like incorporation it in to one of their songs, as Radiohead does.

Now that I've actually heard the voice in person, I can understand why they made this choice. Truth be told, I find the voice (I believe it's the same woman) to be sexier in the tram messages than in the Metro messages, where she sounds a bit more matronly. But, it just goes to show that despite the stereotype presented in Cold War Era movies with Russian and other Slavic languages being portrayed as these brusque, hard languages, they can sound really sexy if they want to. It all just depends on who is speaking them.

That being the case, there is also a man's voice, which you hear on the red line Metro. I've included a clip of it below. Obviously, I'm not digging on it as much as the woman's voice, but it could easily be said that those who run the Prague transport system are striving for a good deal of creaminess for the riders to enjoy.

On a side note with these clip, I might be imagining things, but the beginning tones sound just like the first bit to the song Kid A. Maybe someone else will agree or maybe not...

04 07 2008      0 comments

Tags: czech republic, music, prague, the europe, trains

Back and Safe in Spain?

After two and a half weeks in DR Congo, I am back in The Europe and more specifically, Spain. But Congo is not to be forgotten so quickly. Any visit to a tropical region with malaria requires keeping an eye on your health for about a week after you return, since it takes that long for symptoms to manifest. While the treatment is fast and easy if malaria manifests itself, the chances of dying of the disease are actually greater in First World countries because doctors rarely know the symptoms properly and misdiagnose it all the time. There was a girl from Europe on Hospitality Club who was supposedly an experienced traveler that died of malaria, so the threat is there.

But, knock on wood, it's been a week since our return and I appear to be in the clear, so that's good. Sadly there is another threat out there, looming in the very near future. I was reminded of this threat when I heard Tina Turner's "What's Love got to do with it?", which despite the fact I admire the hell out of Tina Turner, is a song that I absolutely hate and grinds on me like the worst of reggae. It was then that I realized that the finals for, Eurovision 2008 are this Saturday.

For those unfamiliar with Eurovision, it is basically a salute to all that is unholy and shitacular in the world of music. Have a listen at the participants page if you don't believe me. Serbia won last year and so the event is in Belgrade this year and it's about as bad as it's ever been. While voted out already, the Irish have a singing turkey as their entry. This is bad, but I still say that my money for the worst entry is in Rodolfo Chikilicuatre for Spain. Go have a listen, you'll be sorry you did.

While Western European countries take the contest less and less seriously each year, Eastern European countries have really gotten in to it and still try to make, "quality" songs. Spain just sort of said "the hell with it" this year and had their selection process be based on MySpace submissions. Naturally, a big fat turd of a song rose to the top because of this.

Someday this is going to catch on in the US and be popular because it's "ironic". I think that a great drinking game should be based around it wherein you do a shot each time "love" is sang in a song. You'd be drunk (and/or dead) within 30 minutes.

20 05 2008      0 comments

Tags: music, spain, the europe