scene but not herd

There are basically a few emotions or ideas that the arts dwell on over and over. Love, hate, pain, happiness, sex, solitude. You would think that these subjects would eventually be bled dry; nothing new or worthwhile could ever be discussed in relation to them ever again. Yet, I know 50 years from now something will be written or sung that will have people salivating in analysis at the exquisiteness of what they have just read or heard. Of course banality is ever present and it certainly makes one tire of these subjects at times, but quality often appears out of the blue to introduce these subjects in your mind once again. I read a quote at the site, Achtung Baby!, that is attributed to the author Francoise Sagan. I don't know the year of the quote or if it is taken from a novel or from an interview, but I know that I love the sheer simplicity of it and the truth at its core. "A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to want to take it off you." A nice bit of eroticism at play there. No need for flowery language to convey your meaning, just simple and to the point. I know it is not a very p.c. statement. Some could say it once again puts women solely in the role of a sex object and that women do not dress themselves simply for the benefit of men, but excuse me for being able to appreciate women as intelligent, complex human beings while at the same time thinking about them lying naked in a bed. Anyway, it's just a simple sentence that conveys an impression in what I feel to be an artistic way, which just comes out crudely and obvious in the hands of others. It is amazing to me the whole concept of a muse. As an artist you meet someone who truly sparks something inside you and you are able to describe that spark in the form of words, music, or images. It certainly is not an easy task and I find it a very commendable quality. I wish I could express the thoughts running through my brain.

Thursday night I went to see the Wedding Present at the Troubadour. I ended up being very pleased by the show, so much that I will probably go see them again in May. David Gedge is the only member left from the original line-up, but he's the main guy so that's ok. I hadn't seen them play since the time of the Sea Monsters album and it was nice to reaquaint myself with their songs. Everything sounded great, even the stuff off the new album which I haven't heard yet. I did kind of miss that frantic guitar strumming from the past though. It was nice to hear some old stuff like "Once More," "My Favourite Dress," "Dalliance," and "Kennedy." It was also nice to hang out with my friends Tita and Nancy who helped me cultivate my love for the Wedding Present way back in the day.

Friday night I went to see Dead Meadow at Spaceland. Matt Hollywood's (formerly of Brian Jonestown Massacre) band the Out Crowd played as well and I really liked them. Not much of an original sound, but it's a good one. A lot of current bands owe a lot to the Telescopes. Jennifer Gentile were up next and they didn't do too much for me. I commend them for being all over the place musically, but it just didn't do anything for me until the last song which was a fuzzed out guitar work out. What can I say about Dead Meadow? Once again not much of an original sound, but goddamn can they come up with some riffs. Loud, heavy, repetitious riffs equals heaven for me. I was just grooving along the whole time. Soooo much better live than on record. I probably should have gone to see them again last night, but my ears were still suffering from Friday. Good times.