Seattle Music: Crocodile and Queensrÿche

Apparently, Seattle institution the Crocodile Cafe has shuttered its windows. It came quite suddenly. Is this really the end?

It could be the end, depending on your views of Armageddon. For instance, how does one react to the news of Queensrÿche putting out a cover album? I only saw the poster today, so I’m still working that one out for myself. While paying homage to Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, the Police, and U2 – not all that surprising – they’ve also thrown in a number from Jesus Christ Superstar. But then, we knew they were nerds all along, right? The website has no sound samples (yet?). Drat.

Music vs. Music vs. Music

This week I spent a few days down in Los Angeles where it is about twenty degrees warmer than it is in Seattle right now. There is also much less water in the air. I used to despise California and L.A. in particular, but now that I’ve got good friends there, I’ve been able to see some good points. One of those good points would have to be the proliferation of live music.

We had three live music experiences during my stay. The first was Davíd Garza at Largo. Mr. Garza is one of several dark-haired male singer-songwriters for which I am gaga. I haven’t seen him perform for several years and was very much looking forward to Wednesday night’s performance. In fact, I timed my arrival in Los Angeles specifically so that I could attend. I could be tainted by memory, but I was expecting something different, better. However, I blame it on the venue. When I last saw Garza at the Green Room in Seattle, it was a small, intimate affair. Garza told stories, took a lot of requests, and played what seemed like a very long time. I sat quietly in the back, but I really felt energized and uplifted by the performance. At Largo, though, I didn’t. The club has so many rules for the patrons to follow, I just didn’t feel all that relaxed. On top of that, the show itself didn’t seem to last very long and had a very measured feel about it. Largo seemed to be too much of a controlled environment for a nonconformist musician like Davíd Garza. I enjoyed seeing him perform again, but I would have liked to enjoy it more.

Our second live music event was Friday night at the Troubadour and was a performance by Imperial Teen. I’ll admit that when I first learned of the plan, I wasn’t all that excited. I imagined that the show would be noisy indie musicians playing to a crowd of annoying scenesters. I knew I had heard Imperial Teen songs, but couldn’t readily bring any to mind. Anyway, I told myself it was work stress that was putting such a negative spin on the event, and that I would probably enjoy it if I kept an open mind. The Troubadour is a very nice space, as it turns out (aside from the smell of many alcohol-infused, late-night rock shows). The balcony where we sat afforded us a very nice, pretty close view of the stage. And once the show got underway, I was reminded how much I like them. I recognized all but one or two songs, and they were all performed very well. And the nice thing about Imperial Teen is that all the band members look like real people.

Imperial Teen

After leaving the Troubadour, we found ourselves at Canter’s Delicatessen, where we had our third live music experience. This one was provided by the attached Kibitz Room. While we had our late night nosh at Canter’s, we were serenaded by Pigeon Brigade and their truly awesome guitar. This guy is the next Steve Vai, I swear! Kaz had to get a photo:

Photo by Kaz

We actually had a fourth live music experience. This one was a continuous and intermittant (is that contradictory?) one. Our host, Mike, being a music professional, has a tendency to pick up a guitar from time to time (or a ukelele or whatever’s handy) and start playing. We heard all sorts of things from Rush to Journey to Nilsson to Mike’s own songs. For me, this fourth experience is a very good reason to like L.A.

Me, I’m Not (a Nerd)

The title of this post alone solidifies it. I am a big nerd. But there are bigger.

This week, Nine Inch Nails released a remix album of their latest studio album, Year Zero. There was some hubbub surrounding the release of Year Zero. The band is not happy with their label anymore, but are bound to a contract (for now). They let loose flash drives containing the album tracks prior to the official release, to the chagrin of the label.

To add insult to injury, this remix album – halo 25 for those counting – contains a dvd-rom of the multi-track recordings of every song on the original release. The purpose is for anyone and everyone to make their own remixes of the songs and share them with the world. The liner notes suggest the user upload their recreation to remix.nin.com, but in a blog posting from a few days ago, Trent Reznor has advised that website is not yet operational. More roadblocks from the label, it seems.

Now, of course I bought the new cd & dvd-rom on the release date earlier this week. I even bought the vinyl version (remixes only, obviously) this afternoon. It was not until this evening, however, that I ventured to make my own remix. It only took me an hour, but I offer you my pared-down version of the hit (?) single, “Survivalism.”

I made this using Goldwave, which has always been very handy to me when making my own samples. However, if it is made for multi-track mixing, I haven’t been able to figure it out yet. So, I may have to find some other program so I can make some really clever mash-ups or what-have-you. I do own the MTV Music Generator software which I bought years ago, but I’m not sure if it will run on this advanced version of Windows. (I’m only half joking.)

P.S. 11/29/07 remix.nin.com is now up an running. I am a geek and have uploaded my “mix”. This may become my new obsession.

Supporting Public Radio

It’s pledge week at KEXP 90.3 FM. I am not angered by pledge week, as is Captain Monkey. The thing is, once you make your pledge to the station (I made mine during my volunteer shift yesterday) there are other ways to enjoy the station while you wait out the pleading. KEXP has two weeks of shows archived. Take this time to listen to shows you missed, including some you may not have heard before. Catch up on or relive all the in-studio performances they also have archived on the site. Download the Song of the Day podcasts and listen to those all week.

I love KEXP, but . . .

 . . . sometimes I lose a little faith. KEXP is pretty much the best music-oriented radio station that I know of.  They have pretty well-rounded  programming that caters to most musical tastes, if only for 3 hours at a time. The djs are very knowledgable and experienced (and the ones I’ve met are nice people, too). I give them some of my time and [probably too much of] my money. But every once in a while, the station has a way of making me say, “Huh?”

For example, you can say all the nice things you want about the station, but if you have anything negative to say, you best keep it to yourself (or in your blog). I agree that some people get a little crazy sometimes and take out their anger on the dj. But I know of at least one dj who will get seriously offended even if you just state simply, “I don’t like that song.” I would think that would be good information to have if one’s job boils down to being an entertainer. If you do something that nobody likes, would you really want to keep doing it?

And then there’s this sort of elitism I feel sometimes with regard to the station. A kind of “we say what’s cool and what’s not” kind of vibe. Only sometimes. Which makes the fact that they are now playing Flight of the Conchords’ “Business Time” a wee bit ironic or something. I first heard this song several years when a friend of mine forwarded a .wav file of it to me. At the time, it was apparently a big hit on the Mountain. (The Mountain is a very cracker-type radio station in Seattle. They play Dave Matthews, ’nuff said.) I don’t know exactly how long ago that was, but I could swear I still lived in West Seattle, which would put it at more than four years. And at least two years ago, the kiwis were performing it on Conan O’Brien. So why is it now cool enough to be played regularly on KEXP? Because now the Flight of the Conchords are cool enough to have their own HBO series.

Or at least that’s how I see it.

Elliott Smith loved the Beatles

Several months ago, I gave my mom copies of all of Elliott Smith’s studio albums (I felt ok about that since he’s not going to miss out on any profits). I had mentioned the Beatles’ influence and asked her what she thought, having grown up a die hard fan. A bit later, she came back to me saying that, yes, she did hear the Beatles, but more specifically she heard George Harrison.

Last night, I was at my computer, searching for some Marty Robbins to put on my iPod. One thing led to another, and I found myself watching clips of Elliott Smith on YouTube and reading his Wikipedia article. In the Beatles influence section, the article mentions some of the solo works Elliott played regularly in concert. Making the list was only one Lennon song and three of Harrison’s. I’ll just have to take their word for it, but, coincidence?

I have no way of corroborating with first hand knowledge. I only went to one Elliott Smith performance at the Showbox here in Seattle, which, regrettably, I don’t even remember. I do have the ticket stub as proof, though. Nor am I the type of person to take note of such details. The idea that my mother would make the distinction among the Beatles is impressive to me. Sure, I heard the band’s influence in Smith’s work, but beyond that, I wouldn’t be able to make any definitive statements.

There are some people who know everything there is to know about their favorite artists (in whatever genre or medium). However, even regarding the one musician I “completely” obsessed over, I am seriously lacking. I made a pilgrimage to Trent Reznor’s home town, and I religiously traversed the homonymously named street during the five years I lived in New York. But ask me to name all the songs on any Nine Inch Nails album, and I’m sure I couldn’t do it. And there are only a handful of albums to choose from.

I do enjoy reading about artist’s lives, the paths they’ve taken and how it affects their work. I do think a lot about the music as I’m listening to it. And I suppose all those facts and ideas are stored in my brain somewhere. Mostly, however, I just feel like it goes in one head hole and out another.