Given that one of the most sacred of Western holidays has already been irreversibly commercialized, will we ever know the true meaning of Christmas music?
By: Vanessa Uy
I’ve just found out recently that even people who claimed themselves to be devout and / or pious Catholics can’t seemed to provide a good enough definition – to me at least – on what is Christmas music. Given that there won’t be an overarching “easy solution” to this intransigent problem any time in the near future, should we – in good confidence – just resign ourselves to the fact that the true meaning of Christmas music is, well, meaningless? But before all of us resign to this somewhat distasteful inevitability, here are my various representative candidates on the true meaning of Christmas music and what they bring into the Christmas music debate.
On the “over-commercialized” Santa Claus-is-invented-by-Thomas-Nast front, Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” (written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells) has been well-established as all secular joy and seduction set in the Yuletide Season. Which, to me at least, another “very appealing” tentacle of America’s infamous commercialization of the most holy of Western holidays, which unfortunately was deemed “desirable” by more than a billion non-Americans around the world.
Modern Rock and Pop and Heavy Metal-based Christmas music (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, A Very Special Christmas, Just Say Noël, etc.) might not be everyone’s cup of tea despite of its relentless widespread popularity. But given that over 90 per cent of them donate a significant portion of their proceeds to charitable and humanitarian organizations of their choice, do they pass muster as Christmas music?
Given that most devout Catholics – even priests – under 40 that I know of “choose” not to use their brains for the enjoyment of Classical Music (like the works of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.), will they ever view Medieval period Liturgical drama music as Christmas music? Their Friedrich Nietzsche and Prof. Richard Dawkins loving counterparts already have. But to me at least, ”Hymns for All Seasons: The Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge” surely passes muster as “old school” Christmas Music.
Given that there is already a growing consensus that Santa Claus is a native of Kyrgyzstan and possibly an observant Sufi Muslim, will the Islamic Devotional Music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan be ever considered as Christmas music? Well, our local Sufi community seems to be unabashedly performing live concerts of Qawwali or Islamic Devotional Music during the Yuletide Season since last year.
Or what about those Christmas music with a nautical / tropical Caribbean cruise vacation theme – especially one’s by Jimmy Buffett? Well, Jimmy Buffett’s Christmas Island had never been my cup of tea even though I’m a very big admirer of the artistic merits of his musicianship. Questioning Buffett’s Christmas Island’s relevance as Christmas music might cause me to anger “Parrotheads” around the world. But given most Americans and Europeans with money choose to go to the Bahamas or other tropical vacation locales during the Yuletide Season, then the validity of Jimmy Buffett’s “version / visions” of Christmas surely has validity.
There you have it, despite the onslaught of commercialization Christmas music has never been easier to define. Much less accept the idea that it is utterly devoid of any semblance of meaning. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have this Death Metal Christmas music Website recommended by a friend that I have to visit.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Visual Kei: Has it Gone Global?
Originally emerged during the second half of the 1980’s Japanese Rock Scene, Visual Kei can be a source of both fascination – and conflict – among the genre’s adherents. Is the world turning Japanese?
By: Vanessa Uy
Even though everyone in the West perceive the Visual Kei phenomena as nothing more than the Japanese Rock Scene imitating Glam Rock antics of late 1970’s androgyny of David Bowie or late 1980’s LA-based Hair Metal bands like Mötley Crüe. Which is the very “bone of contention” that I was referring to. The Japanese defenders of the scene really do hold the cherished belief that Visual Kei as truly their own. And that is the reason why Western Rock bands adopting a Visual Kei aesthetic like the German bands Tokio Hotel and Cinema Bizarre were seen as an abomination by hard core Visual Kei adherents when they first appeared. But first of all, here’s an orientative primer to the uninitiated on what is Visual Kei.
Visual Kei refers to the movement among Japanese musicians that is noted for the use of eccentric, sometimes flamboyant looks as de rigeur. This usually involves sporting a striking make-up, unusual hairstyles that often defy gravity, and elaborate costumes, which are often – but not always – coupled with androgynous aesthetics.
Some sources state that Visual Kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of J-Rock or Japanese Rock that has it’s own particular sound. Even though is reminiscent of Western glam-rock / 80’s Hair Metal, and Punk Rock, it does stand out like the proverbial sore thumb – but in a good way - to seasoned listeners. However most “insider” sources state that Visual Kei’s unique clothing and make-up fashions and “lifestyle” participation in the related sub-culture is equally as important as the “sound” of the music itself when referring to Visual Kei. Image wise, there are a number of Japanese bands and / or musicians that pass muster as Visual Kei, even though they professionally play mainstream pop, Western heavy metal / Metallica-esque power metal, European Classical Music, Rap / R&B based Hip-Hop, and electronica / DJ style music. Given that music genre is no longer of importance, does this make Albert Einstein one of the first practicioners of Visual Kei due to his gravity-defying hair?
Visual Kei probably - to me at least - gained prominence outside Japan during the late 1980’s when Japanese bands like X Japan, D’erlanger and Color started their international concert tours. An exposure / PR stunt which forever influenced the fashion and music to anyone who wants to be associated with, or just want to cash in on the Visual Kei phenomenon. When the German band Tokio Hotel became gained international prominence, they are derided by hardcore Visual Kei practitioners and fans as just someone adopting the Visual Kei aesthetic just to cash in on the wave. Even Avril Lavigne and her band were not spared.
But recently, Girugämesh – a very influential Japanese Visual Kei band – professed their admiration to the German Visual Kei practitioners Tokio Hotel and Cinema Bizarre. Girogämesh cited that Tokio Hotel and Cinema Bizarre are genuine Visual Kei practitioners and should be embraced with open arms by the global Visual Kei community. I just hope that this gesture of détente will diffuse the feud between Japanese and “Gai-Jin” practitioners / adherents of Visual Kei.
By: Vanessa Uy
Even though everyone in the West perceive the Visual Kei phenomena as nothing more than the Japanese Rock Scene imitating Glam Rock antics of late 1970’s androgyny of David Bowie or late 1980’s LA-based Hair Metal bands like Mötley Crüe. Which is the very “bone of contention” that I was referring to. The Japanese defenders of the scene really do hold the cherished belief that Visual Kei as truly their own. And that is the reason why Western Rock bands adopting a Visual Kei aesthetic like the German bands Tokio Hotel and Cinema Bizarre were seen as an abomination by hard core Visual Kei adherents when they first appeared. But first of all, here’s an orientative primer to the uninitiated on what is Visual Kei.
Visual Kei refers to the movement among Japanese musicians that is noted for the use of eccentric, sometimes flamboyant looks as de rigeur. This usually involves sporting a striking make-up, unusual hairstyles that often defy gravity, and elaborate costumes, which are often – but not always – coupled with androgynous aesthetics.
Some sources state that Visual Kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of J-Rock or Japanese Rock that has it’s own particular sound. Even though is reminiscent of Western glam-rock / 80’s Hair Metal, and Punk Rock, it does stand out like the proverbial sore thumb – but in a good way - to seasoned listeners. However most “insider” sources state that Visual Kei’s unique clothing and make-up fashions and “lifestyle” participation in the related sub-culture is equally as important as the “sound” of the music itself when referring to Visual Kei. Image wise, there are a number of Japanese bands and / or musicians that pass muster as Visual Kei, even though they professionally play mainstream pop, Western heavy metal / Metallica-esque power metal, European Classical Music, Rap / R&B based Hip-Hop, and electronica / DJ style music. Given that music genre is no longer of importance, does this make Albert Einstein one of the first practicioners of Visual Kei due to his gravity-defying hair?
Visual Kei probably - to me at least - gained prominence outside Japan during the late 1980’s when Japanese bands like X Japan, D’erlanger and Color started their international concert tours. An exposure / PR stunt which forever influenced the fashion and music to anyone who wants to be associated with, or just want to cash in on the Visual Kei phenomenon. When the German band Tokio Hotel became gained international prominence, they are derided by hardcore Visual Kei practitioners and fans as just someone adopting the Visual Kei aesthetic just to cash in on the wave. Even Avril Lavigne and her band were not spared.
But recently, Girugämesh – a very influential Japanese Visual Kei band – professed their admiration to the German Visual Kei practitioners Tokio Hotel and Cinema Bizarre. Girogämesh cited that Tokio Hotel and Cinema Bizarre are genuine Visual Kei practitioners and should be embraced with open arms by the global Visual Kei community. I just hope that this gesture of détente will diffuse the feud between Japanese and “Gai-Jin” practitioners / adherents of Visual Kei.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Spoilt the Musical: An Indictment of GOP’s America?
As a fictitious Broadway-esc musical that seems too political to be performed in the Great White Way, is this “Gonzo” musical still relevant in indicting the follies of a GOP-run America?
By: Vanessa Uy
Everyone writing about politics should be thankful to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and his invention of “Gonzo Journalism” for without it, the inherent subjectiveness and untruths of politics would be unbearably boring. And since the American Entertainment Industry had become hopelessly intertwined with the country’s political process since the 1960’s, it would only be a matter of time that hypocrisy in politics – by becoming a parody of itself - will be fuelling the American entertainment culture like a perpetual motion machine run amok.
As a contender to be shown on the Great White Way, Spoilt the Musical - a musical based on a Lunachicks song titled "Spoilt" - is probably long overdue. Given that most punk enthusiasts are Abba fans and Abba managed to coexist with the punk movement of the late 1970's and early 1980's - unlike the over-egotistical faux girl power group Spice Girls of the mid 1990's - Spoilt the Musical has enough financial sensibility to warrant an understudy. But given it could easily beome a pale imitation of a neandering 5 hour long Philip Glass opera only makes the task a bit harder.
Recent events – especially the 2008 US Presidential Elections - had managed to segue into my proposals of creating a musical based on Lunachicks’ song “Spoilt”. Every Lunackicks fan know that Spoilt is a critique of the mid-to-late 1960’s US Government’s handling of the Vietnam Conflict. By fielding weapons that kill more innocent civilians than active combatants – like napalm and the dioxin contaminated herbicide Agent Orange proudly made by Monsanto – the devastating effects of the Vietnam War are still with us till this very day.
Since it’s birth in the economically depressed corners of London, punk rock music has always been a critique about the Anglo-Saxon Protestant political system obsessed with it’s own hypocrisy. When The Sex Pistols and The Damned tried to make music that would change the world. These bands not only entertained the masses living in the bubble of self-delusion that their elected officials create assuring them that everything is alright, but a cultural tour de force that’s still going strong till this day. Punk is and should be political. It outlasted many things, from President Reagan’s “whimsical” views on pornography – like the 1,960-page Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography; Final Report of July 1986 is a case in point – to the Cold War created by the Military-Industrial Complex. Its here, …get used to it.
Should the creation of Spoilt the Musical necessitates the reunification of Lunachicks one last time just to appease their ever loyal legions of fans? That would be great, but given that Led Zeppelin – which is quantum leaps more fiscally blessed - had a hard time making possible their ultimate reunion tour after more than 30 years. The phrase “cold day in Hell” comes to mind.
Maybe, as a dedicated Lunachicks fan, its up to us to create our own Lunachicks “tribute bands” similar to that all-girl Iron Maiden tribute band Iron Maidens to make Spoilt the Musical that much closer of a possibility. A self-made Spoilt the Musical would probably be the ultimate Halloween don’t you?
By: Vanessa Uy
Everyone writing about politics should be thankful to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and his invention of “Gonzo Journalism” for without it, the inherent subjectiveness and untruths of politics would be unbearably boring. And since the American Entertainment Industry had become hopelessly intertwined with the country’s political process since the 1960’s, it would only be a matter of time that hypocrisy in politics – by becoming a parody of itself - will be fuelling the American entertainment culture like a perpetual motion machine run amok.
As a contender to be shown on the Great White Way, Spoilt the Musical - a musical based on a Lunachicks song titled "Spoilt" - is probably long overdue. Given that most punk enthusiasts are Abba fans and Abba managed to coexist with the punk movement of the late 1970's and early 1980's - unlike the over-egotistical faux girl power group Spice Girls of the mid 1990's - Spoilt the Musical has enough financial sensibility to warrant an understudy. But given it could easily beome a pale imitation of a neandering 5 hour long Philip Glass opera only makes the task a bit harder.
Recent events – especially the 2008 US Presidential Elections - had managed to segue into my proposals of creating a musical based on Lunachicks’ song “Spoilt”. Every Lunackicks fan know that Spoilt is a critique of the mid-to-late 1960’s US Government’s handling of the Vietnam Conflict. By fielding weapons that kill more innocent civilians than active combatants – like napalm and the dioxin contaminated herbicide Agent Orange proudly made by Monsanto – the devastating effects of the Vietnam War are still with us till this very day.
Since it’s birth in the economically depressed corners of London, punk rock music has always been a critique about the Anglo-Saxon Protestant political system obsessed with it’s own hypocrisy. When The Sex Pistols and The Damned tried to make music that would change the world. These bands not only entertained the masses living in the bubble of self-delusion that their elected officials create assuring them that everything is alright, but a cultural tour de force that’s still going strong till this day. Punk is and should be political. It outlasted many things, from President Reagan’s “whimsical” views on pornography – like the 1,960-page Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography; Final Report of July 1986 is a case in point – to the Cold War created by the Military-Industrial Complex. Its here, …get used to it.
Should the creation of Spoilt the Musical necessitates the reunification of Lunachicks one last time just to appease their ever loyal legions of fans? That would be great, but given that Led Zeppelin – which is quantum leaps more fiscally blessed - had a hard time making possible their ultimate reunion tour after more than 30 years. The phrase “cold day in Hell” comes to mind.
Maybe, as a dedicated Lunachicks fan, its up to us to create our own Lunachicks “tribute bands” similar to that all-girl Iron Maiden tribute band Iron Maidens to make Spoilt the Musical that much closer of a possibility. A self-made Spoilt the Musical would probably be the ultimate Halloween don’t you?
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Music Journalism: Nothing but a Sham?
It’s an undeniable fact that music journalists had made a comfortable for jotting down their musings on something as intangible as music. But are music journalists really necessary for the enjoyment of music?
By: Vanessa Uy
Have you ever been stymied by a difficult task when your high-school English teacher asks (asked for the older folks) you to write a 100-word essay about your favorite musician and all you can ever come up with is “how cool they are”? Describing a really good band using oft used buzzwords as “cool” for all intents and purposes is about as far as it goes for 99% of the population. Yet this buzzword style immediacy is usually what comes to mind to a first-hand witness something so magical and yet so intangible that even a tenured multi million dollar earning music journalists eventually succumbs into. It’s never been easy to describe one’s profound sense of awe when it comes to musical appreciation.
There’s a growing consensus – mainly by musicians – that the whole thing about it is meaningless. Most musicians say that music journalism can never ever mean anything because it’s about writing things that don’t mean anything in the first place. Especially the intangibility of what makes a good melody or the creative process leading up to writing good lyrics. Most musicians strongly claim that 99% of all music journalism articles attempt to demystify something that you like – namely music. Though there might be a kernel of truth behind this “babble”.
To cite an example, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party’s music could pass muster as obscure in comparison to contemporary Western popular music. Yet, many outside of Pakistan are into this kind of music – especially in America. But music articles / reviews about Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s musical performance – including yours truly – pales in comparison in attempting to describe to the joys of hearing this kind of music first hand. So far, every journalistic attempt to describe the sound of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s musical performance of Qawwali or Islamic devotional music – especially attempts to demystify what makes this kind of music a veritable artistic tour de force – only detracts the listener from truly enjoying this kind of music.
Or what about musicians with unusual costumes, tattoo’s and what have you. A well-written description of a certain musician’s stage apparel can really make them famous in no time. Like the band Lunachicks forever inexplicably linked with tattooing. The rock end of the musical spectrum is where musical journalism really shines – for better or for worse. And this is also where the big bucks lie, rock music journalism is a money-driven business.
The sad thing is that this kind of journalism can also be described in the world of hi-fi. Even though hi-fi magazines often warn us about dealers you want to avoid – i.e. ones who make us listen with our eyes by keeping their products behind glass instead of conducting demos to the uninitiated to drum up business. Music – or other music-related topics - can be a difficult topic to write about in an objective manner. But that hasn’t stop anyone from enjoying his or her favorite music or made a fortunate few very rich.
By: Vanessa Uy
Have you ever been stymied by a difficult task when your high-school English teacher asks (asked for the older folks) you to write a 100-word essay about your favorite musician and all you can ever come up with is “how cool they are”? Describing a really good band using oft used buzzwords as “cool” for all intents and purposes is about as far as it goes for 99% of the population. Yet this buzzword style immediacy is usually what comes to mind to a first-hand witness something so magical and yet so intangible that even a tenured multi million dollar earning music journalists eventually succumbs into. It’s never been easy to describe one’s profound sense of awe when it comes to musical appreciation.
There’s a growing consensus – mainly by musicians – that the whole thing about it is meaningless. Most musicians say that music journalism can never ever mean anything because it’s about writing things that don’t mean anything in the first place. Especially the intangibility of what makes a good melody or the creative process leading up to writing good lyrics. Most musicians strongly claim that 99% of all music journalism articles attempt to demystify something that you like – namely music. Though there might be a kernel of truth behind this “babble”.
To cite an example, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party’s music could pass muster as obscure in comparison to contemporary Western popular music. Yet, many outside of Pakistan are into this kind of music – especially in America. But music articles / reviews about Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s musical performance – including yours truly – pales in comparison in attempting to describe to the joys of hearing this kind of music first hand. So far, every journalistic attempt to describe the sound of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s musical performance of Qawwali or Islamic devotional music – especially attempts to demystify what makes this kind of music a veritable artistic tour de force – only detracts the listener from truly enjoying this kind of music.
Or what about musicians with unusual costumes, tattoo’s and what have you. A well-written description of a certain musician’s stage apparel can really make them famous in no time. Like the band Lunachicks forever inexplicably linked with tattooing. The rock end of the musical spectrum is where musical journalism really shines – for better or for worse. And this is also where the big bucks lie, rock music journalism is a money-driven business.
The sad thing is that this kind of journalism can also be described in the world of hi-fi. Even though hi-fi magazines often warn us about dealers you want to avoid – i.e. ones who make us listen with our eyes by keeping their products behind glass instead of conducting demos to the uninitiated to drum up business. Music – or other music-related topics - can be a difficult topic to write about in an objective manner. But that hasn’t stop anyone from enjoying his or her favorite music or made a fortunate few very rich.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Guitar Hero: Savior of Classic Rock?
Guitar Hero, the video game raved by the mainstream media that lets everyone – even musical dimwits – revive their long-dead ambitions of becoming a “Rock Star” has been secretly saving the now-ailing music industry. Should we be thankful?
By: Vanessa Uy
Now on its third edition – as far as I know, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of 90 US dollars a pop, the video game Guitar Hero has been – believe it or not – been secretly saving the music industry in the past few years of its existence. I wouldn’t have believed it, except it’s the long-established rock acts like Aerosmith and Metallica who praised the somewhat simplistic-to-the-genuinely-skilled-guitarist-ergonomically-speaking video game of single-handedly saving the music industry. Especially the Hard Rock / Heavy Metal branch of the industry devastated by the proliferation of illegal peer-to-peer music file sharing which began near the very end of the 20th Century. The question now is to what degree of gratefulness should we be – especially us true blue rock enthusiast – to Guitar Hero, the video game?
Back around May 2001, I manage to wow my guitar teacher with my virtuosity when I accident discovered his “secret magazine stash” and Horror of horrors it’s the September 1997 edition of Guitar Player magazine with it’s then very depressing headline – “Who Killed Rock Guitar”. To me, it’s about as shocking when a kid finally learns that there is no Santa Claus (the truth is there is, but not like “The Man” portrayed him to be). Ever since then, the contents of that particular edition of Guitar Player magazine only shattered by delusions, but not my love of guitar-based music, especially Heavy Metal music.
Fast forward to 2008 and the runaway success of Guitar Hero in it’s “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” incarnation not only revived the record sales “museum-bound” Classic Rock artists like Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, and Aerosmith. The video game almost single-handedly made an ever-increasing majority of the under-18 s to become rock stars again - make that: Guitar Heroes or is it Guitar Gods. Not only that, sales of real electric guitars are actually up since “Boy Bands” and their ilk made us forget how truly evil US vice president Dick Cheney and Karl Rove really are. So the guitar maker Gibson should probably go easy on that copyright infringement lawsuit they are filing against the video game maker that created Guitar Hero. Also, increasing number of the under-18 s are enrolling in guitar classes and the last time my older acquaintances has seen such musical enthusiasm was way back during when the Seattle Music Scene were earning ungodly amounts of money – i.e. 1992. But the question still remains is that whether this upstart variant of the Karaoke is actually a marriage made in heaven between the rock music and the video gaming industry it was touted to be?
In my opinion, anything that would stop a beautiful and established art form – whether Classic Rock or European Classical Music – from dying out should be embraced with open arms. Despite the video games faults – which there are lots of them from a real electric guitar virtuoso’s perspective. Guitar Hero will undoubtedly be one of the unlikeliest heroes that will save the rock music industry from the damages brought about by the illegal peer-to-peer file sharing of few years past.
On my views and playing experiences on Guitar Hero the video game. When I first played it about two years ago. I was expecting the guitar that came with the game as similar to the one marketed by Optek Music Systems back in 1998 called Smartlight Guitar. You know the guitar with those LED s / sensors on the frets serving as inputs which more or less mimics the ergonomics of a real guitar. But NOOO! It was just these five buttons located on the first five frets. If the gaming industry can manage to replicate the ergonomics of an FN FAL assault rifle using just a polystyrene and polypropylene simulacra of the “shoot ‘em up games” that they offer. Video game makers can even do this without the inevitable visceral recoil of the 7.62mm NATO round. On Guitar Hero’s sound quality, despite being played at volumes at under-96 to 97 decibels sound pressure levels. Its relatively poor digital sound quality – compared to a 1950’s era Fender Champ – can get on your nerves as time wears on (three hours or so). It feels as if after three hours of exposure to the video games sound, I feel as if I’m just 70 feet away from a Pratt & Whitney F100 After-burning Turbofan jet engine undergoing a compliance test burn without hearing protection. And believe me, the sound pressure levels 70 feet away from such a test often reach near - or a bit above - 140 decibels. As loud as firing a .50 caliber Browning M2 machine gun without hearing protection. One redeeming factor of the Guitar Hero video game is that when your playing is really good, it is not miserly of praise. It motivates you like some Playboy or Penthouse magazine photographer. Maybe the makers of Guitar Hero should make something incorporating a guitar similar to Optek Music Systems’ Smartlight Guitar – i.e. a virtuoso version of the existing Guitar Hero incorporating MIDI-based technology. I’ll bet there would probably still be buyers even if they sell one for 500 dollars a pop. Hell, if it’s ergonomically good as a real thing, I’ll even buy one if they priced it just a bit under-1000 US dollars a pop. Also the makers of Guitar Hero should branch out into the classical music realm for us “elitists” straddling between two musical worlds. Maybe a Violin Hero for those willing to nurture their inner Itzhak Perlman or a Cello Hero for Yo Yo Ma fans. Or a “Classical Mode / Version” of Guitar Hero for Andres Segovia fans.
By: Vanessa Uy
Now on its third edition – as far as I know, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of 90 US dollars a pop, the video game Guitar Hero has been – believe it or not – been secretly saving the music industry in the past few years of its existence. I wouldn’t have believed it, except it’s the long-established rock acts like Aerosmith and Metallica who praised the somewhat simplistic-to-the-genuinely-skilled-guitarist-ergonomically-speaking video game of single-handedly saving the music industry. Especially the Hard Rock / Heavy Metal branch of the industry devastated by the proliferation of illegal peer-to-peer music file sharing which began near the very end of the 20th Century. The question now is to what degree of gratefulness should we be – especially us true blue rock enthusiast – to Guitar Hero, the video game?
Back around May 2001, I manage to wow my guitar teacher with my virtuosity when I accident discovered his “secret magazine stash” and Horror of horrors it’s the September 1997 edition of Guitar Player magazine with it’s then very depressing headline – “Who Killed Rock Guitar”. To me, it’s about as shocking when a kid finally learns that there is no Santa Claus (the truth is there is, but not like “The Man” portrayed him to be). Ever since then, the contents of that particular edition of Guitar Player magazine only shattered by delusions, but not my love of guitar-based music, especially Heavy Metal music.
Fast forward to 2008 and the runaway success of Guitar Hero in it’s “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” incarnation not only revived the record sales “museum-bound” Classic Rock artists like Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, and Aerosmith. The video game almost single-handedly made an ever-increasing majority of the under-18 s to become rock stars again - make that: Guitar Heroes or is it Guitar Gods. Not only that, sales of real electric guitars are actually up since “Boy Bands” and their ilk made us forget how truly evil US vice president Dick Cheney and Karl Rove really are. So the guitar maker Gibson should probably go easy on that copyright infringement lawsuit they are filing against the video game maker that created Guitar Hero. Also, increasing number of the under-18 s are enrolling in guitar classes and the last time my older acquaintances has seen such musical enthusiasm was way back during when the Seattle Music Scene were earning ungodly amounts of money – i.e. 1992. But the question still remains is that whether this upstart variant of the Karaoke is actually a marriage made in heaven between the rock music and the video gaming industry it was touted to be?
In my opinion, anything that would stop a beautiful and established art form – whether Classic Rock or European Classical Music – from dying out should be embraced with open arms. Despite the video games faults – which there are lots of them from a real electric guitar virtuoso’s perspective. Guitar Hero will undoubtedly be one of the unlikeliest heroes that will save the rock music industry from the damages brought about by the illegal peer-to-peer file sharing of few years past.
On my views and playing experiences on Guitar Hero the video game. When I first played it about two years ago. I was expecting the guitar that came with the game as similar to the one marketed by Optek Music Systems back in 1998 called Smartlight Guitar. You know the guitar with those LED s / sensors on the frets serving as inputs which more or less mimics the ergonomics of a real guitar. But NOOO! It was just these five buttons located on the first five frets. If the gaming industry can manage to replicate the ergonomics of an FN FAL assault rifle using just a polystyrene and polypropylene simulacra of the “shoot ‘em up games” that they offer. Video game makers can even do this without the inevitable visceral recoil of the 7.62mm NATO round. On Guitar Hero’s sound quality, despite being played at volumes at under-96 to 97 decibels sound pressure levels. Its relatively poor digital sound quality – compared to a 1950’s era Fender Champ – can get on your nerves as time wears on (three hours or so). It feels as if after three hours of exposure to the video games sound, I feel as if I’m just 70 feet away from a Pratt & Whitney F100 After-burning Turbofan jet engine undergoing a compliance test burn without hearing protection. And believe me, the sound pressure levels 70 feet away from such a test often reach near - or a bit above - 140 decibels. As loud as firing a .50 caliber Browning M2 machine gun without hearing protection. One redeeming factor of the Guitar Hero video game is that when your playing is really good, it is not miserly of praise. It motivates you like some Playboy or Penthouse magazine photographer. Maybe the makers of Guitar Hero should make something incorporating a guitar similar to Optek Music Systems’ Smartlight Guitar – i.e. a virtuoso version of the existing Guitar Hero incorporating MIDI-based technology. I’ll bet there would probably still be buyers even if they sell one for 500 dollars a pop. Hell, if it’s ergonomically good as a real thing, I’ll even buy one if they priced it just a bit under-1000 US dollars a pop. Also the makers of Guitar Hero should branch out into the classical music realm for us “elitists” straddling between two musical worlds. Maybe a Violin Hero for those willing to nurture their inner Itzhak Perlman or a Cello Hero for Yo Yo Ma fans. Or a “Classical Mode / Version” of Guitar Hero for Andres Segovia fans.
Friday, May 30, 2008
NY Loose ’s Year of the Rat: An Evergreen Punk Album?
Though I only discovered this album back in 2005, it does beg to question the naysayers’ adage that punk is dead because it sounded same-old, same-old for over thirty years. Is it really?
By: Vanessa Uy
Originally released back in 1996 which is coincidentally a year of the rat under the Chinese Zodiac, Year of the Rat an album by the New York-based punks NY Loose. A band that's named after a Stooges song (Stooges, the band that propelled Iggy Pop to stardom for those of you too ashamed to remember) NY Loose not only used traditional Chinese motifs to design this album’s cover art (you can’t do that with downloadable music these days) but also to the illustrative lyrics of an otherwise American Punk Rock music. With Year of the Rat, NY Loose manage to fulfill a goal that fewer and fewer bands ever achieve as time goes by. Namely, generating a large enough fan-base while not sticking to prevailing musical trends. Although the much hackneyed verse-chorus-verse songwriting formula being played via guitar, bass, and drums has been de rigueur in American pop music for over 50 years. And yet, a lot of people never seem to grow tired of such predictable formula. To overanalyze something that works so well might be deemed hair splitting, but it’s a good springboard for creativity for upcoming musicians. Noting that it’s much easier to make ear-friendly rockers from such tried and tested formula.
The songs on Year of the Rat seem to come from a stylistic wellspring that still inspires the current crop of punk / power-pop bands – like Paramore for example. NY Loose ’s Year of the Rat is also one of those rare albums that’s very satisfying to listen through from start to finish. The lead track “Pretty Suicide” still sounds fresh and interesting in 2008 like it probably did back in 1996. Other more interesting tracks include “Broken” which the band’s vocalist - Brijitte West – sang about her trusty six-string that’s broken beyond repair. With interesting lines like “black water around my bed” seems to be an attempt at illustrative poetry on how traditional Chinese paintings portray deep water as black, making the albums salient Chinese motif that more consistent. NY Loose did also a very good remake of that John Cale hippie anthem “Sunday Morning” which I thought was their original the first time I heard it. The version by NY Loose interests me to no end because they only applied only a smidgen of modernity. And this resulted as if the song is the viewpoint of someone looking 30 years into the past – from the mid- 1990’s. Other interesting track is the song “Hide” which lyric-wise is the vantage point of Western phenomenology looking at how traditional Chinese societies reconcile the pragmatic tenets of Sun Tsu’s Art of War with their relatively arcane-from-a-Western-perspective spirituality.
In short this album not only rocks it seems to also resist the ravages of time. Which from the perspective of the music industry might be seen as a solution for their ever-diminishing return on investment. NY Loose ‘s Year of the Rat could still be fresh when the next year of the rat rolls in – in the year 2020!
By: Vanessa Uy
Originally released back in 1996 which is coincidentally a year of the rat under the Chinese Zodiac, Year of the Rat an album by the New York-based punks NY Loose. A band that's named after a Stooges song (Stooges, the band that propelled Iggy Pop to stardom for those of you too ashamed to remember) NY Loose not only used traditional Chinese motifs to design this album’s cover art (you can’t do that with downloadable music these days) but also to the illustrative lyrics of an otherwise American Punk Rock music. With Year of the Rat, NY Loose manage to fulfill a goal that fewer and fewer bands ever achieve as time goes by. Namely, generating a large enough fan-base while not sticking to prevailing musical trends. Although the much hackneyed verse-chorus-verse songwriting formula being played via guitar, bass, and drums has been de rigueur in American pop music for over 50 years. And yet, a lot of people never seem to grow tired of such predictable formula. To overanalyze something that works so well might be deemed hair splitting, but it’s a good springboard for creativity for upcoming musicians. Noting that it’s much easier to make ear-friendly rockers from such tried and tested formula.
The songs on Year of the Rat seem to come from a stylistic wellspring that still inspires the current crop of punk / power-pop bands – like Paramore for example. NY Loose ’s Year of the Rat is also one of those rare albums that’s very satisfying to listen through from start to finish. The lead track “Pretty Suicide” still sounds fresh and interesting in 2008 like it probably did back in 1996. Other more interesting tracks include “Broken” which the band’s vocalist - Brijitte West – sang about her trusty six-string that’s broken beyond repair. With interesting lines like “black water around my bed” seems to be an attempt at illustrative poetry on how traditional Chinese paintings portray deep water as black, making the albums salient Chinese motif that more consistent. NY Loose did also a very good remake of that John Cale hippie anthem “Sunday Morning” which I thought was their original the first time I heard it. The version by NY Loose interests me to no end because they only applied only a smidgen of modernity. And this resulted as if the song is the viewpoint of someone looking 30 years into the past – from the mid- 1990’s. Other interesting track is the song “Hide” which lyric-wise is the vantage point of Western phenomenology looking at how traditional Chinese societies reconcile the pragmatic tenets of Sun Tsu’s Art of War with their relatively arcane-from-a-Western-perspective spirituality.
In short this album not only rocks it seems to also resist the ravages of time. Which from the perspective of the music industry might be seen as a solution for their ever-diminishing return on investment. NY Loose ‘s Year of the Rat could still be fresh when the next year of the rat rolls in – in the year 2020!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Twisted Red Cross: The Glory That Was in Philippine Music?
Given the dearth of both beauty and creativity of the current OPM offerings, will the retrospective of “past glories” kick-start a revolution for the “aesthetically ailing” Philippine music industry?
By: Vanessa Uy
Of all the 50 or so Original Pilipino Music in current rotation on the country’s leading FM stations and music video channels, only about one or two past muster – to me. This is quite sad because given the windfall of royalties – i.e. money – now up for grabs to every Filipino musicians and bands willing to release their works in the form of music recordings / downloadable media. Shouldn’t this have resulted to better songs, or at least a wider variety of musical genres? Sadly no, it seems as if the Bush-Cheney Neo-Conservative Cultural Gentrification Machine has reached our shores. And it probably established a foothold back in 1998! But all is not lost because a brilliant solution lay in the past, 11 or so years before I was born – 1985.
The Philippine record label Twisted Red Cross and her retinue of bands probably made the lives of a whole generation of Filipino teens seem more humanely bearable during the dying days of the Marcos Regime back in the mid-1980’s. But more importantly, Twisted Red Cross – quite single handedly as it seems – made bands like Wuds, Betrayed, Dead Ends, and George Imbecile (GI) and the Idiots establish the Philippine Punk Rock Scene when the phrase “Punk’s not dead!” is still a veritable cultural tour de force.
Like the influence of the record label Go Kart to the New York Punk scene of the 1990’s as epitomized by the runaway success of the Punk Rock phenomenon Lunachicks, Twisted Red Cross also had a lasting – if somewhat relatively obscure to the overall mainstream culture – influence on the Philippine Punk / Underground music scene. Even though our current powers-that-be in the Philippine music industry usually abhors the mere mention of Twisted Red Cross as a matter of policy. Especially when it comes to the record labels influence. Sometimes I wonder if these execs threatened by politically charged protest songs?
Though Twisted Red Cross recordings that survive the rigors of time are few and far between, especially when it comes to “garage sale” and swap meet availability. Fortunately during the 1991 to 1995 “Third Wave” of Philippine Punk, these albums were re-released – at the expense of the bands themselves – when they found out that there are still a market for their older stuff even though the record label was already several years defunct. You could almost smell the beer-stained floors of Club Dredd circa 1994.
After having acquired audio (and video) processing software that allowed me to digitize Twisted Red Cross’ cassette tape releases so that they can be transferred to CD while their audio problems like tape hiss and dull timbre can be alleviated in the digital domain. I manage to make them about MP3 download quality audio – you know that overly compressed Tom Lord-Alge kind of sound. Having allowed unsuspecting civilians aged 25 and below as my test subjects to gauge whether Twisted Red Cross bands circa 1985 can still rock their world proved really interesting. The test subjects’ first impressions of the bands’ performance were “highly gifted amateur musicians who should record and release an album”. I lied to my test subjects a little, telling them there a start-up band from my school – little did they know that they were already famous 23 or so years ago. My “test subjects” should plead the record label execs in Manila to re-release the entire Twisted Red Cross Catalogue.
Also, I recently acquired in a garage sale BETAMAX handycam recordings of the Wuds concert in PHILCITE – a purpose build ASEAN venue back in the 1980’s. Even though the quality is limited, this is probably the best live performance of the Wuds playing their two workhorses “Patay Buhay” and “Inosente Lang Ang Nagtataka”. Is this the famed July 1988 performance? Now transferred digitally to my currently available digital recording media available i.e. DVD and Video CD. In short, they too can still cut the proverbial mustard. Maybe I should start a campaign to re-release this stuff. Just to remind our current crop of mediocre musicians there’s more to life that riding high on the hog of music royalties. If you don’t want Anglo-Saxon musicians stealing your thunder, try listening to old Twisted Red Cross releases. We – the Filipino People - are long overdue to be amazed. I hope the next time when I turn on the radio or watch music videos on TV, I’ll be amazed as well.
By: Vanessa Uy
Of all the 50 or so Original Pilipino Music in current rotation on the country’s leading FM stations and music video channels, only about one or two past muster – to me. This is quite sad because given the windfall of royalties – i.e. money – now up for grabs to every Filipino musicians and bands willing to release their works in the form of music recordings / downloadable media. Shouldn’t this have resulted to better songs, or at least a wider variety of musical genres? Sadly no, it seems as if the Bush-Cheney Neo-Conservative Cultural Gentrification Machine has reached our shores. And it probably established a foothold back in 1998! But all is not lost because a brilliant solution lay in the past, 11 or so years before I was born – 1985.
The Philippine record label Twisted Red Cross and her retinue of bands probably made the lives of a whole generation of Filipino teens seem more humanely bearable during the dying days of the Marcos Regime back in the mid-1980’s. But more importantly, Twisted Red Cross – quite single handedly as it seems – made bands like Wuds, Betrayed, Dead Ends, and George Imbecile (GI) and the Idiots establish the Philippine Punk Rock Scene when the phrase “Punk’s not dead!” is still a veritable cultural tour de force.
Like the influence of the record label Go Kart to the New York Punk scene of the 1990’s as epitomized by the runaway success of the Punk Rock phenomenon Lunachicks, Twisted Red Cross also had a lasting – if somewhat relatively obscure to the overall mainstream culture – influence on the Philippine Punk / Underground music scene. Even though our current powers-that-be in the Philippine music industry usually abhors the mere mention of Twisted Red Cross as a matter of policy. Especially when it comes to the record labels influence. Sometimes I wonder if these execs threatened by politically charged protest songs?
Though Twisted Red Cross recordings that survive the rigors of time are few and far between, especially when it comes to “garage sale” and swap meet availability. Fortunately during the 1991 to 1995 “Third Wave” of Philippine Punk, these albums were re-released – at the expense of the bands themselves – when they found out that there are still a market for their older stuff even though the record label was already several years defunct. You could almost smell the beer-stained floors of Club Dredd circa 1994.
After having acquired audio (and video) processing software that allowed me to digitize Twisted Red Cross’ cassette tape releases so that they can be transferred to CD while their audio problems like tape hiss and dull timbre can be alleviated in the digital domain. I manage to make them about MP3 download quality audio – you know that overly compressed Tom Lord-Alge kind of sound. Having allowed unsuspecting civilians aged 25 and below as my test subjects to gauge whether Twisted Red Cross bands circa 1985 can still rock their world proved really interesting. The test subjects’ first impressions of the bands’ performance were “highly gifted amateur musicians who should record and release an album”. I lied to my test subjects a little, telling them there a start-up band from my school – little did they know that they were already famous 23 or so years ago. My “test subjects” should plead the record label execs in Manila to re-release the entire Twisted Red Cross Catalogue.
Also, I recently acquired in a garage sale BETAMAX handycam recordings of the Wuds concert in PHILCITE – a purpose build ASEAN venue back in the 1980’s. Even though the quality is limited, this is probably the best live performance of the Wuds playing their two workhorses “Patay Buhay” and “Inosente Lang Ang Nagtataka”. Is this the famed July 1988 performance? Now transferred digitally to my currently available digital recording media available i.e. DVD and Video CD. In short, they too can still cut the proverbial mustard. Maybe I should start a campaign to re-release this stuff. Just to remind our current crop of mediocre musicians there’s more to life that riding high on the hog of music royalties. If you don’t want Anglo-Saxon musicians stealing your thunder, try listening to old Twisted Red Cross releases. We – the Filipino People - are long overdue to be amazed. I hope the next time when I turn on the radio or watch music videos on TV, I’ll be amazed as well.
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