Sunday, May 02, 2004
Yesterday was May Day so it is appropriate that I start here by discussing a documentary I saw on PBS a few days ago. "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." They took their name from a Bob Dylan lyric and the Weathermen started as students in the group Students for a Democratic Society, but became more and more radicalized until, as the Weathermen, they were blowing up buildings in protest of the Vietnam war and other government/state policies. I don't quite know how it started, but I am fascinated by leftist guerrilla groups. Right wing groups are squaresville, but I can't read enough about the Red Brigades, Red Army Faction, Baader Meinhof, and Sendero Luminoso. I guess my politics lean slightly to the left, but I am by no means a bleeding heart. I was born in May of 1968 when the Western world really looked like it was headed towards revolution so maybe that has a little to do with my interest in these groups. The probable reason for my fascination is the fervor in which these groups hold their beliefs. It's like a psychological case study of people who have lost their minds, in a way, in believing that what they are doing is absolutely right. I really can't relate because I'm too much of a pragmatist. The closest I come to "fervor" is the reason I write in this blog and that is music and movies. When something strikes me in either of those fields I feel like fucking wings are going to burst out of my back, but in general it would take a lot for me to take up arms. I hold some beliefs pretty passionately, but I'm also pretty reasonable when dealing with those beliefs with other people. I think the documentary is called WEATHER UNDERGROUND and it is worth checking out.
Friday night I went to see TV on the Radio at the Echo. I liked them, but I wasn't really blown away. Maybe it just wasn't loud enough. It usually helps when you almost feel overpowered by the sound and I didn't feel that except on some of the more up tempo songs like "Satellite," The Wrong Way," and "Staring At The Sun." If I wasn't so self-conscious I would have been shaking up a storm on the dancefloor during those numbers. I guess I like them because, in part, they drone. It's that wash of guitar sound that I love. The "shoegazer" sound with some soulful vocals on top. I'll have to give them another shot next time they come through town
Saturday was day one of the Coachella Music Festival. Where to begin...
I went to the first year of the festival and had a pretty good time. I heard a lot of cool music and I based my attendance this year on that experience. That first year I basically cruised into the parking area from the freeway off ramp. This year was a very different story. Once I got off the freeway the street to the venue was basically a parking lot. It was taking so long that people started parking their vehicles and walking to the site even though it was about two and a half miles away. After a few more minutes of basically not moving I became one of those people. That was a long walk and the hot sun didn't help any either.
When I finally got onto the sight I had missed two bands that I wanted to see: Dios and Erase Errata.
I can't deal with crowds anymore. There are just too many people for my taste. On the other hand, beautiful women everywhere showing plenty of wonderful flesh.
I decide to kill time in some shade and watch a movie I had heard about called DIG!. It's a documentary about seven(?) years in the musical lives of the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre. I don't own any records by either of these bands; I have only heard a few songs by each, but this was a really great documentary. Basically it shows the ups and downs of being in a band and I am simplifying things immensely here. It shows the friendship between the bands and the rivalry and competition that evolves between them as well. There is a lot of drama here especially when the Brian Jonestown Massacre is involved. It is a funny and sad portrayal and it is very entertaining. I can't believe how many good documentaries I've seen recently.
Believe it or not, the highlight of my day was seeing Junior Senior doing "Move Your Feet." Everyone was dancing and smiling and in that hot tent that song was truly a blast of cool air. What can I say, but I love that song.
The rest of my experience...
The Black Keys were good. I wasn't all that impressed with them by what I had heard on their records. For some reason I found them a little too close to that "white boy blues" thing that I'm not fond of , but live they changed my mind. Pretty nice, raw guitar and drum sound.
The Pixies were on the main stage and from where I was standing they looked really tiny. The video screens helped and they sounded really good. This seems to be a worthwhile reunion. Kim sang "Gigantic" and her voice sounded great. For some reason I thought it would be really gravelly, but she still had that sexy, girly thing going on.
Saw Stereolab for the umpteenth time. Good as always, but I was really impressed at how good of a response they got. People were really cheering them on after each song and it was really nice to see them be so appreciated. Laetitia seemed to be really pleasantly surprised by this.
I really wanted to see Kraftwerk, but they weren't going on till almost two hours later and by this time I had had it. I was never all that fond of festivals even in my youth, but nowadays I am really over it. It would take a ridiculously great line-up to get me out here again. Not a negative experience, but I can't say it was all that positive either.
Then I walked two and a half miles back to my truck.
Friday night I went to see TV on the Radio at the Echo. I liked them, but I wasn't really blown away. Maybe it just wasn't loud enough. It usually helps when you almost feel overpowered by the sound and I didn't feel that except on some of the more up tempo songs like "Satellite," The Wrong Way," and "Staring At The Sun." If I wasn't so self-conscious I would have been shaking up a storm on the dancefloor during those numbers. I guess I like them because, in part, they drone. It's that wash of guitar sound that I love. The "shoegazer" sound with some soulful vocals on top. I'll have to give them another shot next time they come through town
Saturday was day one of the Coachella Music Festival. Where to begin...
I went to the first year of the festival and had a pretty good time. I heard a lot of cool music and I based my attendance this year on that experience. That first year I basically cruised into the parking area from the freeway off ramp. This year was a very different story. Once I got off the freeway the street to the venue was basically a parking lot. It was taking so long that people started parking their vehicles and walking to the site even though it was about two and a half miles away. After a few more minutes of basically not moving I became one of those people. That was a long walk and the hot sun didn't help any either.
When I finally got onto the sight I had missed two bands that I wanted to see: Dios and Erase Errata.
I can't deal with crowds anymore. There are just too many people for my taste. On the other hand, beautiful women everywhere showing plenty of wonderful flesh.
I decide to kill time in some shade and watch a movie I had heard about called DIG!. It's a documentary about seven(?) years in the musical lives of the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre. I don't own any records by either of these bands; I have only heard a few songs by each, but this was a really great documentary. Basically it shows the ups and downs of being in a band and I am simplifying things immensely here. It shows the friendship between the bands and the rivalry and competition that evolves between them as well. There is a lot of drama here especially when the Brian Jonestown Massacre is involved. It is a funny and sad portrayal and it is very entertaining. I can't believe how many good documentaries I've seen recently.
Believe it or not, the highlight of my day was seeing Junior Senior doing "Move Your Feet." Everyone was dancing and smiling and in that hot tent that song was truly a blast of cool air. What can I say, but I love that song.
The rest of my experience...
The Black Keys were good. I wasn't all that impressed with them by what I had heard on their records. For some reason I found them a little too close to that "white boy blues" thing that I'm not fond of , but live they changed my mind. Pretty nice, raw guitar and drum sound.
The Pixies were on the main stage and from where I was standing they looked really tiny. The video screens helped and they sounded really good. This seems to be a worthwhile reunion. Kim sang "Gigantic" and her voice sounded great. For some reason I thought it would be really gravelly, but she still had that sexy, girly thing going on.
Saw Stereolab for the umpteenth time. Good as always, but I was really impressed at how good of a response they got. People were really cheering them on after each song and it was really nice to see them be so appreciated. Laetitia seemed to be really pleasantly surprised by this.
I really wanted to see Kraftwerk, but they weren't going on till almost two hours later and by this time I had had it. I was never all that fond of festivals even in my youth, but nowadays I am really over it. It would take a ridiculously great line-up to get me out here again. Not a negative experience, but I can't say it was all that positive either.
Then I walked two and a half miles back to my truck.
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