The Police at The Grammy's-Someone Shoot Me

Was it the leather vest, the hints of geriatrics or possibly the fact that Sting wasn’t able to move from the waist down while performing? I’m not sure but after last night’s Grammy performance I hope that The Police reunion comes to an abrupt end via Sting injuring himself during tantric yoga.
From about the age of three I listened to The Police. I loved every song, though I couldn’t appreciate it for what it was at the time; now I can. An album like “Brand New Day” is truly unforgivable but for some reason I thought they might be able to resurrect themselves. It would have made more since to do it at Coachella but signing on for the Grammy’s was the first sign of disaster.
Just because you had a good thing doesn’t mean you can come back to it 20 years later and it will still be the same. I don’t believe there is anyway to salvage The Police and its time for them to throw the towel in. Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland could have had the balls to just say no to Gordan Sumner and his black leather vest. When your front man turns to the dark side of adult contemporary you have to just keep walking.

SXSW-The Pain I Feel

I’ve been waiting for this day for quite some time now and I just don’t feel whole again like I had expected. Is it Interpol, is the ridiculous $425 I am supposed to drop or maybe it’s the fact that I have had such a shitty week not even SXSW can make it better.

Let us begin with Interpol. In the big scheme of things it doesn’t make any sense for a band like Interpol to play the festival or at least not be part of the line-up. But then of course rumors, along with an initial list said that they would be playing. Today the official list did come out and their name was very apparently missing. Now I realize I will get to see them at Coachella but it will also be with a few thousand sweaty drugged out people. I rather see them in an intimate setting and at a festival like SXSW . So most likely they will play but it will be one of those super secret, announced at the last minute things. My relationship with Capitol is not what I would like it to be and I am worried that disaster may occur and I won’t get in. This leads me to my next point…press passes.

I won’t name names, I won’t be specific but despite my job, company and previous involvement in Austin but since when did press passes have a dollar amount? I called bullshit on this but still nothing. I am not going down there to pay to interview bands on top of having to drop massive amounts of cash on the a hotel, flight and what not. Now of course this isn’t just for me this is for all registrants who are expected to pay that amount for their badge. I realize these people have to make money but I think it is absolutely outrageous. Why should music cost so much? They are going out of their way to make it an environmentally friendly festival well while you are at it why not make it affordable to the normal fan who doesn’t have 500 bucks to drop to see bands. I can understand a figure somewhere around 250 but the badges are just too fucking expensive.

I really didn’t think I would ever get down on SXSW but from I have never encountered such blatant rudeness in a professional setting. I hate that people should have to pay all this money to see all these amazing bands. It gets to the point where you have to be somebody or have some real cash to go there and that’s not right. Of course there has to be money to pay these bands, there has to be profit but something tells me those badges are paying for more that five days of music.

Don’t get me wrong I am still really excited about some of the artists who will be there. Its going to be an amazing five days but its also going to force me to eat Macaroni and Cheese for months at a time. I like compromise but I just don’t see any here.

The Theory of Integrity

When one sets out to write the next great American novel, the most influential album of the century or become the most radical artist of the past twenty years, ambition takes hold and disappointment soon follows. Then there are those who make their mark and are compared to those who have changed the world forever, and many times join those ranks. These people succeed because this was never their sole purpose, only a result of an unassuming attempt. Not all efforts lead to the golden road of succe

ss but the pretentious ones will never find their pot of gold because they were searching for it from day one. They disregard the fact that you can’t create something extraordinary when you loose your integrity along the way or never had it in the first place.

So of whom am I speaking of? In this oversaturated materialistic world we live in, unfortunately most everyone but for now I would like to focus on a few that make this decree a rule in music. The Killers, Sam’s Town is “one of the best albums in the past 20 years". If only someone other than Brandon Flowers had said this they might not fall into my law of egotism. Unfortunately, Flowers was quoted saying this while still recording the record. Sam’s Town is definitely an attempt at greatness but the blatant goal of being the next Pink Floyd is more apparent than their talent in the 12 tracks that litter the polycarbonate plastic it resides in.

So what was running through Flowers mind as he crafted the imagery of cliché archetypes, religious references and imitated personas? When one tries too hard it becomes blatant in what they create. After a few times through Sam’s Town it becomes sadly apparent that while writing the album Flowers was not only listening to Springsteen, he was studying it. When Springsteen recorded Nebraska in his room on a four track player I doubt his ambitions took over as The Killers did. This unpretentious effort is what allowed Springsteen to create musical masterpieces. Hot Fuss came out of nowhere and although it wasn’t an album to remember for centuries, it introduced a few well crafted pop songs. Whether Mr. Brightside was a fluke or someone in that band happens to be a genius is not the issue at hand. The fact is the band still had the opportunity to make a decent follow up but their success from their debut overshadowed any integrity they at one time possessed. Unless a miracle occurs I predict their third album will be the beginning of the end and they will soon fall into oblivion.

Now to those who achieve greatness while exerting humbleness. Arcade Fire’s most recent creation, Neon Bible exemplifies this fact. The record showcases a darker side while every song has a strong driving force behind it that emits a certain feeling to the listener, reminiscent of Born to Run. Already many people have compared Neon Bible to Springsteen and the similarities are clear. However, they are in no way carbon copies of each

other, but each reflecting the same key elements that create these amazing records. Neon Bible doesn’t make me think that Arcade Fire set out to write the next Born to Run, where Sam’s Town does just that. Neon Bible has already surpassed my expectations and has forced me to throw it on repeat. It’s not just the power of the album but the overall feeling I get from the band that are just trying to make good music and won’t let fame, hype or ambition cloud that purpose.

By the time Arcade Fire releases their third album, Brandon Flowers will meticulously be listening to Queen, Zeppelin or even Funeral trying to scrape together some sort of sound he can pass off as original and epic, still in an attempt to make the next best album of the century. Unfortunately for him ambition fueled by arrogance will only lead to a very public failure.

It’s Not the Road We Used to Know-Bright Eyes’ Homecoming

Despite yesterday’s post, not even selling out can defer me from good music. I opened my inbox this morning to Bright Eyes new single, Tourist Trap and it’s been on repeat since.
I was really torn the last year and a half with Digital Ash and I’m Wide Awake. To me Fevers and Mirrors and Lifted have yet to be surpassed. I feel that Connor’s recent dappling with fame and added addictions led to not being able to meld his musical intrigues together. I’ve tried, but Digital Ash can only take me so far without pushing the eject button in my car. I’m Wide Awake its Morning is a different story. I think it might be missing some of the haunting melodies that the other albums have but it’s still an amazing piece of work.
My obsession with music that contains synthesizers can only last so long and its time for a change. And just in time Connor comes along. Tourist Trap is definitely a melodic Yee-ha, with his typical lyrical grandeur. I think that this single is a brilliant prelude into the upcoming EP and hopefully an even better introduction to Cassadaga, which will arrive April 10th.
Bright Eyes is going on a preliminary tour before the release and will be playing in Los Angeles in March. The last time Bright Eyes came through he was only playing Digital Ash tracks so I chose not to go but this time I will definitely be at The El Rey with stirrups on.