David Fricke – “Material: Bustin’ Out in a Material World” (1981)
A Nov. 28, 1981 Melody Maker article on Bill Laswell’s avant-rock band Material by none other than David Fricke…
“We completely confuse people and they think that’s one of the most wonderful things about us. We move ahead. Fuck them if they’re still in the same space where we were yesterday.”
– Michael Beinhorn
It seems like only yesterday. In fact, it’s last April. AtNew York’s now-defunct Hurrah, where a sparse but self-consciously hip crowd drifts through the smoke and shadows like beatnik ghosts, a Massacre is in session. Avant-garde guitar strategist Fred Frith is firing on all six strings, slicing the murky air in front of the stage with sharp metallic chords and steely leads of alien composition. Beneath and behind him, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher – banging away with a vengeance and wisdom beyond his 18 years – hold tight to a gripping beat that for the most part seems 4/4 only by association.
Laswell, whose bass seems to speak in tongues, and (for the time being) Maher are actually two-thirds of another ensemble,New Yorkfusion mavericks Material. Frith is a long-time friend and collaborator with Material. Together, they moonlight as Massacre. Tonight, they encore with a radically customized version of “Apache”. Only a few days later, Material proper opens for James Blood Ulmer at the cavernousManhattandisco Bonds. A group of musicians under that name play musical structures written for and associated with that name. Read the rest of this entry »
R.E.M. – “We All Go Back to Where We Belong” (2011)
This final single by R.E.M. is a nice way to say goodbye to a brilliant thirty year career. Mostly written by bassist Mike Mills, it shows a clear, understated Burt Bacharach feel with pensive lyrics and placid strings.
After their last two albums, Accelerate and Collapse Into Now, saw them returning to the peak of their musical powers, they decided to end on a strong note with this leftover from the Collapse sessions.
It may not send them off with a bang, but it’s a classy way to bow out. This is one band that will definitely be missed.
Jay Mucci
“Leaving Las Vegas” (1995)
Sometimes we look for happiness wherever we can find it, no matter how fleeting or self-destructive. Sometimes it’s at the bottom of a liquor bottle. Sometimes it’s with someone we know is wrong for us simply because we are lonely and need to feel the touch of another human being – even if only temporarily. Life has a way of grinding us down until we are left with nothing. For some of us, it’s our own bad choices that cause us to lose it all. Most of us still keep grasping at some form of happiness though.
For Ben and Sera, they are two lost souls at the end of their rope. The thought of happiness has become just an illusion. We don’t know exactly what has driven them to the situations that they currently find themselves in, but to those around them they have become outcasts of society.
Ben Sanderson (Nicholas Cage) is aHollywoodscreenwriter who has just lost his job due to his excessive drinking. He breaks down in his boss’ office. He was once successful. He’s now left with nothing in life, except the promise of another bottle. It’s become his only friend and his biggest enemy.
He’s already lost his wife and son. Did she leave him because of his drinking? Did he begin drinking after she left him? Perhaps his wife and child died in an accident which set him on his current destructive course? Perhaps he is the one who accidentally caused their death? Who knows. Even Ben no longer remembers the reason why he is now alone and drinking so heavily. Read the rest of this entry »
Stop SOPA and PIPA!
There are two potentially-damaging bills being considered in Congress right now: SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) which should never be allowed to pass.
SOPA and PIPA put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won’t have sufficient resources to defend themselves. …Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn’t being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won’t show up in major search engines. SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.
In a world in which politicians regulate the Internet based on the influence of big money, Wikipedia — and sites like it — cannot survive, which is why Wikipedia and many other sites are going “black” today in protest.
Congress says it’s trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the “cure” that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease. SOPA and PIPA are not the answer: they will fatally damage the free and open Internet. Write to your state representatives to let them know what you think about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
Prince – “20Ten” (2010)
Prince’s forgotten album — never released in America. This review comes from Chris DeLine, July 10, 2010, on the Culture Bully website…
What followed the unexpected announcement of Prince’s new album in June was something that had to surprise even his most die-hard fans. (Then again, it is pretty much par for the course in terms of Prince’s career… the last decade even more so.) With less than a month’s notice, it was not only announced that 20Ten would be released, but that it would be released for free via some 2.5 million newspapers in the UK. While the prolific artist followed a similar promotional path for the release of Planet Earth in 2007, this move most certainly stepped things up; a decision which Prince considers logical despite many musicians opting to release “free” albums online rather than through a physical outlet. In fact, Prince took to condemning the digital publishing model, explaining to The Mirror‘s Peter Willis that “The internet’s completely over.” He continued, “I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it.”
Though not released through the exact same means, Prince nonetheless made waves last year when it was announced that he would work exclusively with the Minneapolis-based retailer Target (in the U.S., at least) in releasing his new Read the rest of this entry »
