d p d
E-Mail: dpd@futurerockstarsofamerica.com
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Web Page: http://www.sleepytakeover.com
Registered Since: 2007-07-31 09:33:32
Profile: DPD is a designer/rockstar whose clients include the likes of William Shakespeare, Amadeus Mozart, Abraham Lincoln & Snoop Doggy Dogg. He has lurked behind the shadows plotting his sleepy takeover and intends to begin world domination after lunch. Currently he heads creative direction for FR*A and runs a gamut of freelance projects. Did I mention www.futurerockstarsofamerica.com and www.sleepytakeover.com?
Posts by dpd:
New Instruments = New Music
September 26th, 2007
Ok, I’m not some musical scholar but ever since I conducted an interview with Eman Laerton (YHBTM - interview coming soon) I’ve been thinking about the concept of original music. When was the last time you heard something truly new? Maybe you’ll hear things that sound fresh, or maybe even innovative… but never new. That awesome band you saw at the Viper Room, with the original sound? Well it’s not original.
Why has it been so long? I’m thinking it’s because we haven’t had a new instrument introduced to us in a sexy way. We started off with some basic percussions, perhaps wind instruments early in the history of music. Back then it was cool because it was noise that was organized into an artistic language - the concept of music alone was mind blowing.
Classical music had the piano and a whole orchestra.
The blues had the acoustic guitar.
And then we have Rock N’ Roll and the electric guitar. Actually the sax was a major contender as Rock’s leading instrument for a bit, but the electric guitar won in the end - the sax exploring other territories eventually finding it’s home in Jazz.
Hip Hop has turntables, and so does Electronica/Trance.
The point is that all of these different musical genres have had their day in the sun, and for the most part have had a new instrument marketed to the masses in an appealing way. No new genre is ever created without the advent of a new instrument. So you want NEW music? Are you in a band looking for that NEW sound? Well, maybe you should invent a new instrument first, and find ways to pull off some cool gimmicks to market the instrument in a sexy way (think Hendrix + Fender). Maybe it’s as simple as strapping your Mac Book Pro to a 2×4.
Attention Span
September 24th, 2007
Growing up I listened to cassette tapes. Back then the quality sounded great to me, I liked how sturdy they were, and I loved to write the names of every single song on my mix tape cover. If I ever bought an album on cassette, I also had to listen to much more of the whole album - simply because rewinding and fast forwarding were a bitch. This in return made songs that you initially didn’t care for, grow on you. By the end of the week, you were also into that one song before your favorite song on the album. Take Appetite for Destruction by Gun’s N Roses for example. If you bought the album for Sweet Child O’ Mine, there were probably times where the tape would continue on to the next track, You’re Crazy without you even noticing. You might not even like the song, but because you don’t wanna rewind again, you listen to it. Soon, you realize that You’re Crazy is a great song too.
Fast forward to the 90’s and CD’s. When I first got into CD’s it was all about skipping tracks. With the press of a button, you could get to the very beginning of any song on the album. As a result however, if I wasn’t into a song, I would just skip it. Whereas cassette tapes forced me to get into ALBUMS, CD’s, for the most part, got me into SINGLES. So why even listen to albums anymore? Well, CD albums usually had about 3 good singles, and you couldn’t get all three of them on a “singles” CD. And so I’m stuck with buying albums. Unfortunately those suckers were typically anywhere from $13 - $18… I couldn’t afford to buy all my favorite artists’ albums, although I was getting sick of albums much quicker.
And finally we have the new century and iPods. Remember how CD’s were too expensive? Now I can have any song from any album for FREE. Every song I instantly like in this little white box put into “shuffle” mode. The album is officially dead. Why would my attention span suffer to “grow” to like certain songs? I can listen to any song that I like the moment I hear it. Don’t like this song? Skip it! Don’t like the album? Skip it!
This brings up a couple of questions. Is it weird for me to be a little scared by this? I guess I’m so used to the notion of “albums” that I can’t help but feel like we’re losing something good here. Maybe it’s natural selection and we’re weeding out the bad songs, even artists, from the good ones. What about on the artists’ end? Musicians will have to rethink the concept of “albums” as well as how to make money off of one single song, let alone standing out amongst a sea of other artists who have music available for FREE. It’s an exciting time, the revolution has begun, but a government hasn’t been established yet. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Rainy Fridays
September 22nd, 2007First things first, I headed out to the NMM group show which included the works of Nomzee, David Brady, and Bendow. It was a rainy evening but this made for a good show, people huddled in together to enjoy the works.
Meet Bendow, He’s 15 years old and this is his second show… complete with entourage.
The show was rather diverse featuring assemblage, mixed media, digital media, etc. The painting on the above right is the work of Nomzee.
After the show I headed on out to Tangiers for a showcase. It was nice out there, the perfect crowd - not too packed, not too sparse. I arrived to catch the last two songs by artist Phil Good. The first thing that struck me about Phil Good was that he looked like he should be singing “Rocket Queen” but instead he was singing tunes more along the lines of “Lately”. Hard Rock look, R&B vocals… interesting. The dude could definitely sing. Right after his set came The Jane Doe’s. They sounded exactly like what they looked like. The band was super tight and played funky R&B. Although the musical genre is not my cup of tea, it’s way more interesting to me when I hear it live then recorded.
Oldie but Goodie
September 20th, 2007
This Violent Femmes self titled album was released in 1982 and contains classics such as Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, and Add it Up. It gained a cult following and didn’t go platinum till ten years after the initial release… and this is from an album that still gets played today on stations like kroq!
The thing about Violent Femmes is that they sound so fresh and spontaneous. It’s acoustic garage, folk punk, whatever. For anyone who’s made music - this is what you sounded like when you first hooked up a mic to your stereo and pushed “record” … IF you sounded good. The thing is by the time you get to a studio you’re usually much better at your instruments and by then your songs are too well thought out.
Here’s a lyrical sample from Add it Up:
“Why can’t I get just one screw
Believe me I know what to do
But something won’t let me make love to you
Why can’t I get just one fuck
Why can’t I get just one fuck
I guess it’s something to do with luck”
They’re a step away from being a “joke band” but they just manage to stay above it… like most great bands.
Last I leave you with a live clip. Enjoy and then go find some Violent Femmes!
Methamphibian
September 16th, 2007Went to Kazuo HQ last night to see the Methamphibian show. Curated by Mr. Kim and co., the setup was amazing. Black, black, and some more black gave the backdrop to the moody pieces. It’s interesting to see these pieces coming from the famous sneaker head… when one gets so attached to seeing a certain style from one artist it always seems to take some time to readjust to a new style, let alone a new canvas.
See a taste of it for yourself:
The Other CD I Bought…
September 14th, 2007
Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
I am waiting to listen to this album so I’ll report back with a grade soon. Their single Jesus was what won me over. For now, sit back and listen as I give you a lesson on the band.
I’ve been a fan of this band since their first album, Your Favorite Weapon. On paper it would probably be described as punk-pop, but something about that album stood out to me in a sea of punk-pop albums… this might sound ludicrous to some, but there was something about this album that reminded me of Radiohead’s Pablo Honey. I was confirmed with my Radiohead comparisons when Brand New’s second album, Deja Entendu came out. This album mellowed out and aside from their hit The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows, the album was almost like an “emo-fied” version of The Bends, and when I use the word “emo-fied” I don’t mean it as an insult. Deju Entendu was a disappointment to those wanting more of the pop sounds that Your Favorite Weapon packed, however those who stuck around long enough were greatly rewarded by the depth of the lyrics and the dramatic build-ups.
Ah the lyrics. I personally think that singer Jesse Lacey, is one of the more under-rated lyricists out there.
“You are calm and reposed, let your beauty unfold pale white like the skin stretched over your bones. Spring keeps you ever close, you are second hand smoke, you are so fragile and thin standing trial for your sins. Holding onto yourself the best you can. You are the smell before rain, you are the blood in my veins.”
- from the song The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
Anyhow, BRAND NEW IS GOOD - it may take a cloudy fall day for you to fall in love with the band, but it’s worth a shot.
VISIT: myspace.com/brandnew
The Norm Maxwell Gallery
September 13th, 2007Walked down Sawtelle today and noticed a new spot I hadn’t seen before. Inside was a dude painting amidst a wall full of paintings. Turns out the guy’s name is Norm and the spot, The Norm Maxwell Gallery is his.
Norm’s a cool cat and has previously done tons of production work for some major players including the likes of Janet Jackson, Lil Jon, & Iggy Pop. Like most of us, he didn’t enjoy having to answer to someone else, so he started up the gallery. Rumor has it that the gallery also hosts musical events. For now be sure to check out the spot next Friday (09/21/07) for The Microscope (see flyer below).
