scene but not herd

2004 is almost over and I've been reading a lot of "best of" and "top ten" lists lately. I'm not going to do that here because, frankly, I can't even remember exactly what came out this year. I've also been buying a lot more old stuff that I missed out on the first time around rather than newer bands. I'm always interested in seeing what a consensus of people seem to be raving about at certain times and right now it seems to be the Arcade Fire. I need to hear their entire album, but right now I don't see what all the fuss is about. I've heard a couple of songs, but they didn't make me want to run out and buy the record or go see them live. I guess I'm lucky that I'm not interested in seeing them because they already sold out three shows that aren't occurring until next month. I know that I should accept that other people have different tastes than mine, but it always amazes me when so many people are raving about certain bands while other quality bands fall by the wayside. So instead of complaining about the hype surrounding Arcade Fire and others, I'm going to briefly mention some bands that I think have been somewhat neglected. I'm just going to focus on three groups which could all be categorized into the realm of pop music. They are the Go-Betweens, Chamber Strings, and the Pernice Brothers. Why aren't these bands mentioned more often? It's not like they are hard to listen to or are mentioned in the realm of being an acquired taste. People seem to love Belle and Sebastien, so if you like them you really should give the Go-Betweens a chance. They write great literate pop songs. The song "Devil's Eye" is a perfectly concise couple of minutes expressing the care that one person has for another. "Streets of Your Town" is so catchy that it should have been a number one hit, but at the same time it has some dark lyrical undertones. All their albums have been reissued so it would be a perfect time to acquaint oneself with this great band. The Chamber Strings remind me of a mix of Nikki Sudden and the Raspberries for some reason. They have a song called "Dead Man's Poise" which is just a great rock song and rates quite favorably with the best of the Rolling Stones or Faces. I had the pleasure of seeing them twice live and this song I think best describes their live sound. On record they also remind me a bit of some of Todd Rundgren's work. Unfortunately, last I heard, the singer seems to be caught up in the downward spiral of heroin so who knows what the future will bring. Hopefully he can clean up his act because he is too good of a musician to let it all slip away. I've always thought that the perfect concert bill would be the New Pornographers and the Pernice Brothers. I would be like a kid eating just enough candy for the perfect sugar high. I read a review once that stated that Smiths fans need look no further than the Pernice Brothers to find their next fix. I would tend to agree with that assesment. They have melodies to die for and the lyrics can get quite dark. I love the frequent juxtaposition of super catchy music with quite somber lyrics. Like I stated previously, everyone has their own tastes, but it seems a crime to me that these bands aren't being hyped up to the high heavens as well.

Spiritualized have a song called "Good Dope, Good Fun" and this is what I want to write about today. Actually I should say it is a variation of that which would more appropriately be termed "good drinks, good company." I get down sometimes and then something happens which makes me realize that it is often the most simple and basic things that bring me great pleasure in my life. Sunday and Monday I spent my evening sitting in bars talking to friends and it was really enjoyable. First of all it helps if you are in fine surroundings and that is definitely the case at the Cat and Fiddle in Hollywood. This restaurant is located about two blocks west of Amoeba records and I can think of no better combo than going record shopping then having a few drinks right after. Well, there are a few things better, but this one still ranks pretty high in my book. The Cat and Fiddle is located in a building that looks like it was built in the twenties and it has a courtyard where you can sit and drink and eat. That's what I did on Sunday with Suze and Rick and it was a casual and satisfying way to end the day. Monday, Alexis gave me a call and I ended up meeting her in Long Beach to watch Monday Night Football. Once again good drinks and good conversation. Some people need more flashy attractions, but I'm quite happy just sitting around and chatting with good friends.

Last night I headed over to Spaceland with Suze to see S'Cool Girls and RTX. I had heard good things about S'Cool Girls, but now I have seen them and I don't think I'll make an effort to see them again. I was hoping to see a New York Dolls kind of rock band and instead it was more like Poison. I can see where people would enjoy this in a campy way, but I wanted something a little more substantial. The New York Dolls were also pretty campy and looked like drag queens, but they had great songs and true swagger. S'Cool Girls come off as more of a Vegas style novelty act and I can do without that especially when it reminds me of Poison. Suze had given me somewhat of a hard time last week about my review of the Kills in which part of my argument was that Royal Trux had kind of already done the sexy couple thing already and better. Well, last night Jennifer Herrema was playing without Neil Haggerty in RTX which is what Royal Trux has evolved into. After seeing Jennifer in action I think Suze could see the point I was trying to make. In my eyes she is nowhere near as hot as she used to be, but she is definitely a Rock Star. She is really skinny nowadays and she reminded me, in terms of her face, of a feral Hillary Duff. She just has stage presence and I wish I could remember some names of other performers who you can tell it is all just posturing, whereas with Jennifer it just comes off as completely real and natural. As to the show, I still love her gravelly vocals, but the music was a little too metal-ish for my tastes and that is part of the reason I stopped listening to Royal Trux in the first place after they signed with Virgin. Still, I can't say I was completely disappointed. It was a good show just not what I really wanted to hear from them.

A fingerprint smudge on the side of a skyscraper. I'm stealing this from a movie I just saw called SIDEWAYS. Ah, sweet insignificance. What a great analogy and I've had a few days where I've felt like that. Actually I might be having one now. Anyway, I wish I was an mp3 blog currently so I could post a Beach Boys song called " 'Til I Die" which expresses these sentiments perfectly. I really liked this film and maybe it was because I can identify with the lead character, except I don't get to hook up with Virginia Madsen. I went to school, UC Santa Barbara, which is in the general vicinity of where the movie takes place and oddly enough I majored in film studies there. It is rare that I watch movies analytically any more. Like music, it is usually a purely visceral experience nowadays. It either hits me or it doesn't. This one did hit me. This movie is very plot and character oriented so if you're strongly into that I'm sure you'll enjoy it very much. Things like that aren't actually that important to me. Being that film is a visual medium I sometimes miss directors affecting me purely through my sight, but that seems to be the norm nowadays. I think sometimes people focus too much on acting and the story and their appreciation of a film is based solely on that. I'm not talking about eye candy either because all of today's CGI work I often don't find that interesting either. I'm talking about stuff like the use of widescreen, color, sound, blocking, etc. to convey meaning. There's a movie I love called ONE FROM THE HEART which was critically dismissed because of its acting and plot, but it is overflowing with visual cues. The films of Pedro Almodovar are like that as well especially something like LAW OF DESIRE. I guess what I'm saying is that a film like SIDEWAYS doesn't have all that, but by no means does that ruin the film for me. I guess this was just a tangent I went on reminiscing about some of the stuff I liked in film studies. Having said all that, the acting in SIDEWAYS is great all around and there are laugh out loud moments as well as poignant ones. I never ventured north of Santa Barbara when I went to school and this movie made me regret that decision. It is one of the nicer drives you can have in California and I really feel like travelling through there right now. It would really be nice to stop somewhere and have a picnic and drink some wine. I tell you that the epicurean aspects of the world sure make life worth living. Just thinking about that puts me in a better mood. Needless to say I may have a few drinks this evening.

I don't foresee many updates in the near future. I skipped going to see Neko Case this past weekend and there doesn't seem to be many upcoming shows that I'm interested in. I'm curious as to how Neko Case was, but of course there was no review in the L.A.Times which has a critic, Robert Hilburn, that really irritates me. I should have known to keep my distance when he and another music writer I dislike, Jay Babcock of the L.A. Weekly, were both raving about the Kills. I went to see the Kills last Tuesday at the Troubadour and, in contrast to the aforementioned writers, I thought they were just ok. Once again it just comes down to "I've seen this before." I've heard many references to "sexy" and "sexual tension" about this band, but I just wasn't feeling it. To me they just came off as too obvious. They don't really have a similar sound, but I think Royal Trux was already doing this years ago. The girl from the Kills has nothing on Jennifer Herrema from Royal Trux circa 1992. Now that was sexy! I can truly say I stood in awe when I saw her back then. She had a great hairdo which was just somewhat teased hair with bangs that just barely covered her eyes. She had on a football jersey as well as a big jacket with a football team logo on the back. She had on really tight jeans and cool boots. I guess the way she looked wasn't what was sexy about her, but rather the way she carried herself. When she wasn't singing she just stood at the front of the stage staring into the audience while chewing gum or smoking a cigarette. There was nothing coy about her; she looked totally in control. Every now and then she would put her foot up on a monitor and slip her fingers barely into the top of her pants and just keep taking drags from her cigarette and there was just something so cool about that to me. Who knows, maybe I'm just easy. As to other things I find infinitely more sexy than the Kills... Kim Gordon singing "Halloween." When she does those slow songs she has the sexiest voice ever. I can't help but think of a line from a Beat Happening song which mentions something about "sin dripping down my chin." When I hear that voice I'm like a dog that is getting its belly rubbed furiously and its leg is kicking back and forth like crazy. I'm sure Jay Babcock would cringe, but the interaction between Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez from the video of Boss Hog's "I Dig You" is much more sexy than the Kills' show I saw last week. Enough of that. Needless to say I don't think I'll go see the Kills again, but oddly enough, I wouldn't mind listening to their first album because some of those songs were interesting.

I hope some bands do suddenly pop up that I want to see because otherwise I think I'm going to be feeling pretty down for the month of December. I don't know what it is exactly, but I tend to get kind of depressed around the holiday season. A feeling of profound loneliness threatens to overtake me at times and hopefully I can fight it off this year and remain in good spirits. Maybe I'll just have to drink some fine spirits to fight it off. I have to keep things in perspective, though. My friend Kim was just diagnosed with breast cancer so any "problems" I may have are of really no consequence. Nothing says the holidays like chemotherapy. It's going to take some discomfort and time, but I think she'll be fine and I have to realize that all in all my life is ok. Stay strong sister!