My Fill-In-the Blanks. Et Tu?

This morning I was looking at Carrie Bronstein's blog over at Monitor Mix where I noticed an interesting fill-in-the-blanks music-informed exercise.


Here's HetPer's own version:




1) I've had to defend my love of _____________________ over the years.

2. As far as I'm concerned, ______________________ nearly ruined music.

3. One of my favorite live performers ever? That's easy: _______________________.

4. If I could go back in time and dance like crazy, crowd surf or join a mosh pit, I would do that at a ___________________ show.

5. If I could choose to name a concert that truly changed my life, it would have to be _______________________.

6. The one clothing item that's musically informed and I value above the rest would have to be ___________________.

7. If there is one musician I would choose to see live even though such a choice would mean that I would be skipping out on my loved one's birthday, it would have to be ___________________.

My answers:
1) The Killers
2) Bono. And it doesn't mean that I don't listen to U2.
3) Keane
4) 30 Seconds to Mars. Blame it on Leto. Featured in the picture with C. Farrell
5) Muse. It was a life-changing experience.
6) Easy! My vintage Bob Dylan t-shirt.
7) Kelly Jones. It's true. I'm sorry. I am flawed.

Yours?

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graph per google images

New Videocast: Of Entertainment, Michael Chabon, and Michel Foucault

In this new episode of Gendering the Media with Brikena Ribaj, I discuss the concept of entertainment as Michael Chabon treats it in his recent book Maps and Legends as well as Michel Foucault's treatment of heterotopias.
I mention reality TV, modernity, Wagner, Verdi, and, of course, Franz Ferdinand.

The main question I raise is: What is a heterotopia?

You can view this videocast here.

Incidentally, one of the sentences I quote from Chabon's latest book says the following about entertainment:

"Entertainment is junk and too much junk is bad for you. Bad for your heart, your arteries, your soul."

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graph per http://media.photobucket.com/image/the%20killers%20concert/zombie_elle/fff.jpg

Franz Ferdinand: Concert Report

Franz Ferdinand is on tour promoting their new album Tonight with Franz Ferdinand. We saw them in concert last night and I am happy to report that they delivered. They performed for one and a half hours and the energy of the band was in harmonious synch with that of the crowd.

The lead singer, Alex Kapranos, entered the stage in shiny red shoes coupled with blue polyester pants, and a beautifully tailored checkered shirt. Kapranos' boyish looks have always fueled his overall charm but this time around he, and the band, had much more substance informing their form. It was exhilarating being there and they put on a show worth remembering.

The red shoes I fully approve of:











Now, I have been wanting for Franz Ferdinand to do well for quite some time. I always thought they had potential and their new album is a good translation of their skills. I reviewed this new album here a while back and a bit of my review said: "Now I can finally think about their music when their name pops up and not their cropped pants and novel hairstyles (not that there is anything wrong with that, of course)." This felt especially true at the show last night.

I have been critical of some of their presentations in the past. Once I wrote:

"Franz Ferdinand is an example of a rock band that understands too well the difficulty to resist the side effects of the mainstream. After having experienced the mainstream, they are now back trying out their new sound in very small venues, away from music execs in an attempt to re-enter what I call Indie-topia [my coinage]."

The 'fashion' of Franz Ferdinand is not entirely who this band is, however. They have truly redeemed themselves with this new album. And, boy, do they put on a great show. If they are performing in your neck of the woods, do go and see them.

Ergo, a big and deserving tip of the hat to Franz Ferdinand for the aesthetically and substantially appealing show. Kudos to a band that not only possesses 'mad style' but also 'mad skills.'

[picture taken by B.R.]

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red shoes graph per: http://www.citypages.com/slideshow/view/8197313/2

New Music Review: Lily Allen, Franz Ferdinand, and Morrissey

Lily Allen's new album It's Not Me, It's You is what it needs to be, typically Lily.
To resort to a textile analogy, it's kind of like that nice, light t-shirt to wear underneath Autumn-like layers on a day that promises to get warmer. And as the sun comes out, you can remove the layers and enjoy the levity the little t-shirt has to offer.
That is what Lily Allen's new album It's Not Me, It's You is like.
And, coincidentally, my t-shirt today was, de facto, a white Lily Allen which I did use as a layering base. And the shirt analogy was truly coincidental.


Franz Ferdinand's new album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is one project that made me somewhat happy. Now I can finally think about their music when their name pops up and not their cropped pants and novel hairstyles (not that there is anything wrong with that, of course).
I mostly listen to this album when I'm doing cardio as the sound lends itself to a relatively quick pace. Tracks like Can't Stop Feeling, No You Girls, and Turn It On may become high-frequency tracks with some measure of ease. Tracks like Katherine Hit Me feature just enough 80's BritPop references to make one hunger for some Depeche Mode. It made me think of Enjoy the Silence and house music at the same time. This track also evoked some Bravery and, strangely enough, some Ladytron too.
Then tracks like Lucid Dreams and What She Came For are as old-school as the Beatles and the Stones.
I have always wanted Franz Ferdinand to succeed, especially after they gained much popularity for their fashion style as opposed to their musical relevance.
I think this album puts them on the right track.
If Lily Allen's album is a nice, light t-shirt, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand would be a comfortable pullover.

Morrissey's Years of Refusal is superb.
Let me try and explain why.

First, I wasn't always an active Morriessey fan. Morrissey used to be to me what a nice cocktail dress continues to be to me: great for a black tie but closeted the rest of the year.

Someone very special turned me on to Morrissey a while back and I have not looked back since. He's the dress I now wear, so to speak. Morrissey's been outed. And I like him. A whole lot.

Morrissey became truly relevant to me as a musician when the indie film New York Doll came out. Morrissey is featured in the soundtrack as well but what makes him stand out to me is his poetic presence in the telling of the story of Arthur Kane, the late New York Doll. Morrissey, the man, came across as human, relatable, cognizant of the human plight, and supportive of fellow artists who have encountered hard times. There's a kind of generosity of spirit that this artist oozes and that is precisely what makes his music so intimate, I find.

Morrissey's music features the kind of sensitivity, set of dilemmas, and quotidian pain that few artists have the gravitas and ability to capture and portray. It takes guts to truly like Morrissey because his music is gut-rippingly honest yet edifying. Morrissey is for brave souls.

His newest album, Years of Refusal displays the kind of musical savoir faire that only a true professional possesses. A truly rock song like Something is Squeezing My Skull almost makes one optimistic even though in it, Moz says things like:

"Oh, something is squeezing my skull
Something i just cannot describe
There is no love in modern life

Oh, something is squeezing my skull
Something i cant fight
There are no friends in modern life

Diazapam...valium...tarmazpam...lithium

Ect...hrt...how long must i stay on this stuff?"

Morrissey's voice is the stuff of the days when being talented meant carrying a tune without the crutches of computers and voice manipulation. When Moz sings, Moz SINGS. I cannot think of a track that does justice to his voice better than
"When Last I Spoke to Carol I Said"
In it, Morrissey's typically existential tone manages to come out seemingly effortlessly.

Yes, you definitely should listen to Morrissey's new album.

If Lily's album was the t-shirt, Frand Ferdinand's was the pullover, and Morrissey's Years of Refusal is that timeless jacket that goes with everything, because it is cool like that.

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graphs per wiki

Franz Ferdinand: Get a Clue from Muse

About five years ago I had one of the best musical experiences of my life. I was taken to a small venue to watch Muse live in concert. I don't know what struck me the most, the fact that Muse is fantastic live or that the setting was truly intimate and conducive to true artistic enjoyment. Or perhaps that I was experiencing an indie rock sound that I had not heard up to that point. After that experience, we discussed how unique the concert was and that hopefully the band would retain their sound when faced with the pressures of fame on the fast lane, aka, the mainstream. At that point I knew Muse would hit it big.
And hit it big they did.
Did they ever!
They went from performing in very small venues to giant sold-out stadiums.
And yet, whether they play for 100.000 or 100 people, this band has managed to retain their unique sounds quite well.
Enter, Franz Ferdinand. Their music was indie and unique in the beginning but when their track "Take Me Out" started to get a lot of airtime, Franz Ferdinand became mainstream. And so did their look. Although their originally unique style was solely theirs, once the attention fell on them, their unique clothing texts started to get read much more often.
Franz Ferdinand is an example of a rock band that understands too well the difficulty to resist the side effects of the mainstream. After having experienced the mainstream, they are now back trying out their new sound in very small venues, away from music execs in an attempt to re-enter what I call Indie-topia (yes, it my coinage).

And I wish Franz Ferdiand the best. I want them to be remembered for their music and not for their idiosyncratic haircuts and matchstick pants. I remain a fan, after all as I did think they had potential in the beginning.

The Times has a feature on them today, as well. A bit says:

"Since then the members have found that their aesthetic — from their high-hat beat to their mod wardrobe — has gone mainstream, especially in Britain, Mr. Kapranos said. “You feel like, right, that’s become so much a part of musical vocabulary of the contemporary band, it’s now a cliché, and you have to leave it,” he said.

So no more “angular guitars,” Mr. McCarthy said, a description that has stuck to the band as surely as their slim-cut suits. (Or their angular haircuts."

Read more here.

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