Music Meridian

i think connor oberst is, or wants to be, an indie rock jeff tweedy, except more precious and contrived. while i disagree with stephen thomas erlewhine's determinedly negative assessment, i also disagree with a.p.'s double 5s. oberst is faking something, but the press, even the usually skeptical indie press (maybe especially the usually skeptical indie press), isn't picking up on it. all i can say is if oberst is his generation's spokesman (thankfully not my generation, that died with cobain), then this generation will never get off the ground. no one will ever listen to them or take them seriously. they'll always betrapped in lingering adolescence, a world of pop music and naive indie rock, a world of hopes and dreams and ignorance. a world of alcoholic haze and television daze.
the worst part is, oberst doesn't see this is what they are, but is too caught up in himself, his own world, to notice. that y generation's reality goes unremarked upon, goes unanalyzed, at least from within. it's an endless sugary confection, with no sour spots, no cancer no poison, to deflate the illusion of perfection from within. we know better, but they never will.
it's not emo, but it's still meaningless narcicissm.
i feel cheated.





I just bought the new album from Jimmy Chamberlin Complex called "Life Begins Again" and I must say I'm quite impressed. Chamberlin, as you may recall, was the drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan.

While he was quite a powerhouse in those contexts, here he really shines. It's more of a jazz-fusion record than a alt-rock record. Half the tracks are instrumentals with very tasty drum work and the other musicians are no slouches either! I'm glad to see Chamberlin trying something different. It really sounds like he's excited about this project because it comes off that way in his playing.

The vocal tracks work good too, for the most part, but I think the instrumentals are stronger and with more fire. There's no regular vocalist...the dude from Catherine Wheel sings on a couple songs, as does one of the Righteous Brothers. Sadly, Billy Corgan rears his ugly head on one track, which is the biggest dud...a lame-o ballad. Way to ruin a good thing, Billy.

I've recently been listening to Al Green. Maybe I'm just in a sexy mood. Anyway, of course if you're unfamiliar with his music, you're probably living in a cave somewhere in West Virgina (I can't get next to you, babe). Notwithstanding, beautiful sexy exhilarating music that makes me sway from side to side with my eyes closed. I'm not quite sure why I've been listening to him a lot, but it's great stuff. You should go back and check him out again. I guarantee you, if you haven't listened to him for a while, it's been too long.

Tonic in NYC is in financial trouble. They need money in a few weeks or will be forced to close. Read about it here:
http://www.tonicnyc.com/.

This is a giant shame as it's a very important jazz/avant-garde club that has ties to John Zorn and his cronies. In fact, last year for Zorn's 50th birthday Tonic hosted a MONTH of shows that included Zorn projects every night.

They have a contribution link on the site...maybe we can all help.