If The Edge's opinion of Neutral Milk Hotel arrived in 1996, when "On Avery Island" was new and the Elephant 6 Collective was everywhere, maybe it would matter. And, I stopped looking to Bono with any sort of credible taste when U2 toured with Scissor Sisters. [Jokes on U2 and the fans.] Future Islands? Give me a break. What's next, a Communards Reunion Tour? Scritti Politti Remix Album?
The intro and quiet portions sound canned and cheap. The swells and the choruses build, but to what end? "The World's on fire," isn't enough to sustain a song. Neither is the over-compression of the chorus. Billy Corgan's capable of much better. Call in Butch Vig.
The fact that Apple has 3.2 Billion to blow on a hyped headphone brand makes me hate Apple all the more. iTunes sucks and isn't good for music and musicians. It's a really poor delivery mechanism for what once was vital music and culture in the analog era.
We HAVE to get honest. Celebrity jams really don't do anything. We HAVE to shape a functional society, where all people find their proper and rightful places, rather than the dysfunctional culture of stupidity were now suffering through. We can't keep promoting inept socially-correct morons at the expense of a world that functions well and feels balanced. When a serpentine belt has been thrown and the radiator has created a roadside geyser, acting "cool" and covering everything up with shitty pop culture DOES NOT cut it. Promote excellence, innovation and tradition in America. The "crunchy nugs" agenda is BULLSHIT--utter bullshit. You can tell Willie I said that.
There's absolutely NO WAY a politically-correct approach to politics will solve the real problems America and the world face right now. Yuppies and their progeny are THE problem, not the solution and have been for decades. There's simply no way an atheistic materialist culture built upon confused marketing messages and consumer consumption can ever contain the type of genuine integrity necessary to create improved environmental conditions and a balanced human population. Until America gets real and looks at real problems with honest observation, not a damn thing will change. Not a damn thing. Don't like overpopulation? Well, how do you feel about illegal immigration? The two are directly connected, but Leftist douchebags won't touch the either subject with a ten-foot pole. Sorry, Neil. Long on talk, short on ideas and targeting many of the wrong subjects.
Andrew WK and Lana Del Ray? And, someone with a band called Perfect Pussy wants to be respected for her subtlety and authenticity? C'mon, let's hear some decent music before we worry how well the "image" is holding up. This is a total non-event.
Pay attention. I'm trying to help you. This is much more interesting than Kayne West's entire life output. Listen closely and watch all 25 seconds. Can't wait to see more plumber's crack on the cover of GQ. It's about to get REAL, y'all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StmbrLfGC-8
"Speaking out against war" is easy. Creating peace is much, much more difficult. The vast majority of the people in the world want peace, but when bastards kill decent people you don't blame victims or armies seeking to deal with very difficult situations--combat zones, etc. "Kumbaya in the Park for Justice" emboldens bastards to slaughter more because it's not an active defense. When people murder people in civilization, they face stiff penalties. When nations invade other nations and harm the livelihood of large populations, someone needs to stand up and defend--that someone is a military. This cover of "Imagine" is nothing more than "Radical Chic," some name-dropping from the stage to prove EV's on the right "side" of things. http://www.tomwolfe.com/RadicalChic.html
I'll send a Uhaul by to pick up your instruments and recording gear, Eddie--so you can "Imagine no possessions." I'll also take the keys to your house and car(s), thanks. I could really use a studio at the moment to begin recording again. "The children of today should defend themselves against the '70s..."
Give me a break, Eddie. Call me up. We'll spend a week together and we'll talk reality. The Suburban model was flawed. The Megaburban model is the even more flawed. I loved John Lennon, but the man was literally and figuratively myopic. If you're going to perform as an adult and make public statements as an adult, you better use your head enough to deal with reality like an adult. Airy-fairy bullshit will not bring about real and lasting peace. War is not caused by religion. It's caused by scarcity, greed, geopolitics and host of other realpolitik factors. Peace will only be achieved through real and radical changes to national and global economies. You can't just flash a "peace sign" and think you're achieving peace. Same goes for eating veggie burritos in the Grateful Dead parking lot. It might win you a few friends amongst the bong-rip krew, but it's not confronting reality the way true peace needs to. True peace is minimalist and genuinely economically conservative. And, true peace comes from God.
Much better MC then than he is now. Not great, but not bad. There's a little off-the-street charm, which is soooo much more appealing than Kanye's bloated joke of an ego. The DJ couldn't cut his way out of a cardboard box though..
I thought I liked First Aid Kit, but I'm not so sure anymore. There's enough vapidity in the world without interviews about episodes of crap TV from the '80-'90s. Now, about those silicone implants...
It seems like Lana Del Ray has some growing up to do. She's still making the same song. Would've hoped for a little more color with Dan Auerbach producing. Time to lay off the valium-induced reverb and slurred-kitten croon and write some songs. Of the tracks I've heard, I suppose "Shades of Cool" and "West Coast" are the strongest. Would be nice to hear the whole album offline though to give it a thorough listen.
I'd love to produce a Lana Del Ray album. Her voice is pretty versatile. And, she has a long life ahead of her. I hope she gets a chance to settle down a bit and enjoy life. The music "industry" isn't really music. Music is more and a great thing.
Watching Robert Pollard jumpstart his own engine is more entertaining than this Simon and Garfunkel schtick. Pollard's also creative. Where's the cut-and-paste collage video, Bob? Kick out the jams, mofo.
Meg White = Basic. She could teach Neal Peart a thing or two about joy in drumming. Just bash it. She's one of my favorite drummers for that reason. Her playing is not self-conscious. That's a big plus, a nice way to approach music.
Kurt's absence is obvious. Not Nirvana and maybe a little too consistently butch femme--even for Cobain. I also don't think Cobain would've been particularly into playing such a bloated "rock star" type event. Cobain was a confused and confusing guy to many, but his lyrics and public statements are quite clear. He had a lot of musician friends from "back in the day" who might've been better tapped for this performance, rather than Lorde and St. Vincent. Kim Gordon was a good choice. Would like to see her performance. I hope Dave Grohl and Krist Novaselic had fun. Also hope Courtney Love felt proud for Kurt. All members of the band should've been inducted though--excluding Chad Channing and Jason Everman is kinda lame.
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