Music documentaries available online (Part 1/7) - Rock/Punk
OK, since there are so many cool (and full) music documentaries/films on Youtube, I’m just going to group them all under one post:
“Don’t Need You: The HERStory of Riot Grrrl”
Sid Vicious
Sex Pistols
“The Decline of Western Civilization”:
LA’s punk/rock scene (featuring bands such as The Germs, X, Black Flag, Circle Jerks
“Punk in London”
“1991: The Year Punk Broke”
featuring Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Babes in Toyland, The Ramones…(I’m not able to embed this one)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4926890020703443995
“The Seven Ages of Rock”:
This is part one
“Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany”
"Smart rock criticism in the dailies was once number one with a bullet. Now the pages are full of boosters who never mind the bollocks"
This article was recommended by Jessica Hopper, a music critic I appreciate (wrote, for example, “The Girls’ Guide to Rocking”)
It is written by Jessica Lewis, who compares music journalism from the 60s to now. She complains that music journalism used to be passionate, whereas today it is more informative and journalists will be less biased. She finds this to be sad.
I honestly don’t see a problem with it, much the opposite. I hate reading very personalized opinions of albums and artists. I read artist/album reviews to get suggestions of new albums or artists to listen to or, at most, to get a musical and/or sociological context of an album/artist. But, I couldn’t care less about the journalist’s personal opinions, because I have my own. Quite simply, for the most part music is not measurable, it is an artistic expression that is valuable in that it connects to the recipient or helps explain an historical/sociopolitical context.
Secondly though, the piece criticizes the fact that everyone seems to be playing “music journalist” now (quantity vs. quality). In contrast to the first, this is a topic I find more interesting. But then, it isn’t really a new topic, nor is it any different from any other sort of cultural field, and it is a present condition that is a direct result from the expansion and democratic orientation of the internet. I am quite confident that the future will bring a dynamic balance between the weight of the “specialist” and that of the majority and I’m looking forward to witnessing how that balance with take shape, first hand.
Is 90s rock finally making a come-back?
You know how every decade you see a resurgence of music from two decades ago? The noughties saw a profusion of 80s pop/rock bands, with several acts opting for the combination of feminine voices and electronic, syncopated beats, or rather male-driven bands opting for the earnestness of male folk in the style of Bon Iver (for what I consider a brilliant observation on this phenomenon, which wholeheartedly embraces my feelings on the issue, please refer to this article by Carrie Brownstein on NPR).
The Strokes were great. Bon Iver very touching. But then why did rock have to stagnate for 10 years on bands repeating the same idea a million times? When was the last time that we found ourselves this submerged by “indie” bands that all sound the same? And why has “indie” completely lost it’s original sense, by the way?
With the beginning of the 10s I sticked my ears out and expected to hear new sounds, sounds of change. Could the 90s finally be making a come back? Could we start hearing bands fronted by kids who grew up with Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder? Could we have a wave of music that cleans away all the laziness and lack of inspiration that has accumulated in rock of the last years? In the same way that Nirvana and Pearl Jam wiped away the remnants of hair-metal of the 80s?
Notice, I’m not nostalgic. I did in fact grow up in the 90s but I have no wish nor desire to listen to a rerun of 90s rock. For that I can go back and play the albums of my favourite musicians. But I do believe that music, as any art of form of knowledge, advances in waves, contrasting what has been made before and adding to a previous construction.
In the same way, I am anxious to hear bands that will rupture with today’s rock and I am eager to hear how those bands will metabolize and transform the music they grew up with, 90s alternative rock. Indeed, I am anxious for the future of music, not the past.
Leaving this preamble behind, lately I’ve began to have some hope, for there are some bands which more or less appear to me to be doing more unapologetic, straight-forward rock, fast and heavy on distortion.
I have already written about Yuck which, not being a super original band, indeed honor their early 90s influences. I expect they will get better and find a more unique sound in the next couple of albums. Some traces of hope can be seen here:
Then, there is Roomrunner , who I’ve also mentioned before:
To these two, even if a little bit more different, I can also add Slothrust:
You can get their EP for free at bandcamp here. Update: Slothrust has just released a full-length album, called “Feels Your Pain”, get it also from band camp at 10$, here.
And lastly, Screaming Females, which actually have been around since 2006. I also mentioned them recently.
Are four bands enough to announce a movement? Are there any other new bands lurking around? And would you know any?
Meat Puppets concert!! So much love for the Meat Puppets! :) They have just released a modern and very dignified album (not at all repetitive or poppy as you might expect from a band who’s been around for 30 years) AND are definitely the goofiest and most down-to-heart band i’ve ever seen live! definitely worth going to if you can!
