311

Ah 311. a band people love to hate, but hardly take time to understand.

311 first got noteriety in 1995 with their single Down from their self titled record. They sort of Re-emerged in 2004 with a cover of the Cure's Love song.

Through their attitude is very L.A. (barf) these are corn fed guys from Omaha, Nebraska.
Along with Rage Against the Machine, they launched a wave of horrid rap-metal knock off's from Limp Biskit to Pappa Roach. It's funny since I bet none of those bands really listened to a 311 record all the way through.

Their singer Nix Hex has gone on to say his biggest influence is the Clash. I am going to take a wild guess and say it's more London Calling and Sandanista stuff. they have a fantastic cover of White man in Hammersmith Palais.

Their most over-looked and criticised record 'Transistor' is probably their best and most daring effort. It displays some awesome musicianship, musical experimentation, and varied emotional and colorful texture. It was a very uncommerical record coming on the heels of their commercial breakthrough. Alot of fans hate it, but they usually don't have the reputation of being particularly smart (kinda like a lot of lynard skinard or metallica fans.) I have known bass players to be particularly drawn to 311.

Over the years they have wandered away from if not totally abandoned the 'rap' aspect of their work. both of their vocalist can sing extremely well with a pretty decent range (though i'm not talking zeppelin era robert plant per se) the group puts out a ton of energy and knows the art of the jam, in their own way. They can play pretty heavy and blast the fuck out of their speakers. Some shows run 3-4 plus hours long. most of all it's fun!

their most recent album 'uplifter' is an excercise in positivity as is most of their music. They are one of the few groups out their who know how to write positive lyrics with genuine knowledge and smarts. I wish there were more people like them.

Dance to the Music

Hey yall,
I am taking this months blog to talk a little bit about a little thing called FUNK. I recently started a facebook page for a collaborative music discussion project with Kris Tavis. The start if which is Sly and the Family Stone. the second will be George Clinton and the Parliment Funkadelic, and the end will consist of TV on the Radio. TV on the Radio is not strictly a funk group per se, but has plenty of funk and soul to be totally relevant to the discussion.

For the sake of brevity I will talk more about the genre and leave the individual groups for later.
What makes funk music great? Versatility and fun! It can make you dance, think, F***, smile, and laugh. People like sly and George Clinton fill their music with positive vibes and take you on a mental and spiritual journey. With their music, racial and gender borders become irrellivent. Musical insturmentation goes beyond the 3-5 musician standard of most pop music (at a P-funk show I saw 50 + people on stage at one time).
All I can say is go on that journey and dance to the music!

Drive-By Truckers

I thought I would take some time to talk about a band that has taken a huge amount of my attention. This band is originally the brain child of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. It slowly formed out of the ashes of an obscure band called Adam's House Cat. Hood is a sort of woody Guthrie type writer (not in musical style, but more so in socially aware voice). and Cooley is a sort of Punk-Country-Rock n Roll Mark Twain. Many other talented musicians have graced their voice and musical talents in DBT. Jason Isbell is sometimes considered to almost overshadow the rest of the band, if not for the fact that he didn't get to write a whole lot of songs (but it's not 'his' band, and I am sure he knew that). and his Ex-wife, Shawna Tucker, lends a very nice apalacian like femanin voice to some of their songs, which balances out the raw ends nicely. Savannah native John Neff did some very beautiful and Haunting steel paddle guitar work on Brighter than Creations Dark, and still plays it quite well live. Brad Morgan is an excilent and very adept drummer, I would be interested to see if he ever wrote a song, though like Neff, I think he is a hired gun so to speak.



Drive-By Truckers have written a lot of music in the last ten years. The first time I saw them at Stubbs in Austin I actually wasn't really familiar with their songs, and I had spent my near 6 year tenure in the great state of Georgia ignoring their music. quite a shame.

But It may be for the best. their music, for the most part, is not 'happy' per se. Patterson Hood has said in many interviews he wishes he had more upbeat and happy songs and wants to challenge himself to do just that, because it's harder.
they have written a few happy songs more recently, like the wonderful 'I do Believe' and their cover of Eddie Hinton's 'Everybody Needs Love'.

This band from Muscle Shoals Alabama, is quite political, and for a group of people from the deep south, quite non conservative. I don't want to put a 'Left wing' Label, though they focus on the plight of the lower class a lot. I say this because this country has developed this insane obsession with being very right wing. (watch the CMA awards and count the times you hear them thank god and Jesus, in a very disingenuous way). They write songs about poverty, depression, families feuds, drinking, the devil, moonshine bootlegging, and nascar. They do this live all with a smile on their face. the songs are dark, but at the shows everyone is having a hell of a lot of fun, especially the band.
Apparently Muscle Shoals has a very rich musical history (wilson picket, otis redding, aretha franklin, the rolling stones, bob dylan, Paul Simon). and Patterson's father was in the Muscle Shoal's rythm section, a group of 'white country boys that sounded quite black'.
Jason Isbell - A member of DBT for 6 years, now touring on a very successful solo career.

Anyway, the brilliant thing about this band's political edge, is they represent the true nature of life in the south, not only in the social realism of the poverty stricken lives of every day people, but the 'Duality of the southern thing'. Not many people ever get a grasp on this concept, but it makes perfect sense to me. This is the idea that you can love living in the south (I know it is really a wonderful place after living there and traveling around for so long) and fully acknowledge it's failings and faults. It's like loving something despite the fact it's not perfect.

this band has searched every aspect of rock and roll music in at it's roots. Country, Chuck Berry, Heavy Metal, the Beatles, Neil Young, blues, and soul all make up their catalogue, and they have had a nice evolution. My only comment is that their song writing quality has been a little inconsistent in the last few albums. Brighter than creations dark could be a lot shorter and just as good. Go Go boots starts out really strong, kinda falters later, but ends nicely. I think it's just a matter of a little editing.

Their albums can be light and layered country and folk ventures, or loud and cocky rock n' roll adventures. mulitple song writers keep the variety fresh. the singers aren't even that good technically. I remember hearing Mike Cooley's voice when I saw them live and feeling like a chalk board was being scratched incessantly, but now I love his songs and I would love to see them again!

Jack White

Oh good old Jack White. I have to admit, for years, I didn't 'get' what was so special about him. Much like some other bands I have gotten into, it took a certain amount of musical sophistication and maturity for me to appreciate the white stripes. What really got me hooked was the raconteurs two records and the film 'It' might get loud'.

See Jack is really brilliant. It does sadden me to see the white stripes end, but I think it's a natural thing and if you have seen their final live concert film 'under the great white northern lights' you would see that it was time for that show to end, on the best note possible perhaps. I must admit I find their recent announcement of their breakup to be a bit trivial, but I think one of these days, it'l happen if it is supposed to.

Anyway on to Mr. White's other collaborations, he made two fanstastic records with Brenden Benson, as well as the albeit off kilter but really fun and interesting dead weather.
White is the model of musical success. He is always working, always pushing himself and challenging his own boundries, with a seamingly endless supply of great songs. and he has a great business model going for him.

Pearl Jam!

I figured I would take a moment to speak about this wonderful band!

I'll admit, I used to hate Pearl Jam when I was younger. This I now know was due to a certain amount of cluelessness, and to the fact that I didn't realise how much I really don't like Nirvana now. Not that PJ and Nirvana have anything in common (they really don't, you are comparing two very different groups entirely.)
Anyway it took me listening to their later effort, Binaural, to really see how talented and varied they are in their musical and conceptual pursuits. Most critics of the band call them mindless cock rock that has been blamed for the likes of such horrid bands like Creed. but again, nothing in common. Just because people love to wax intillectual and masturbate to Ten, doesn't mean they know what the band is really about.
I understand why people got turned off by PJ in their early days. Most fans are very strongly oppinionated when it comes to what their best moments are (to me it's No Code, Binaural, Backspacer, and their self titled), but some people are loyal enthusiest of Ten, Riot Act, VS, Vitalogy. I do like those albums, but I prefer the aforementioned for personal reasons.
Let's face it, Jeremy, their most popular song, is pretty terrible, though is always sounds great in the middle of a set of Pearl Jam songs live anyway. Over the years, Vedder learned to stray from the operatic nature of Ten, and focus on more straightforward singing and experimentation with layered vocals (something he doesn't get enough credit for doing really really well.) I don't like hearing Alive on the radio, but if you go back and watch them perform that song on SNL in 1990-91, it is pretty awesome, if only from the level of engergy they put out.
No Code is the closest thing I have had in some points of my life to a bible. It's been the light at the end of a few personal dark tunnels. and I will always be greatful to this band for creating this record.
Where some bands like Metallica really got their mainstream credit from their later work, thus having their early brilliance left litterally unknown to younger generations, Pearl Jam sort of retreated for a while into the background and found their own personal Zen.
The transition from the chaotic angst of Vitalogy (as brilliant as that record indeed is) to the spiritual and musical growth of No Code and Yield was massive. moving from Dave Abruzze to Jack Irons, and eventually to Soundgarden drummer, Matt Cameron, allowed the band to change drastically by allowing outside influences. Touring and recording with Niel Young helped a lot too.
What was so cool about the progression of their albums, is that they defied the prconcieved notions people had about their music. they eventually left behind the adolecent anger that pervaided their earlier records (though that certainly didn't hurt their early music, even if it did alienate alot of hipster music fans). This was replaced by spiritual soul searching, self acceptance, and an overall message that life could progress to something better. This had quite an impact on a sheltered white suburban kid from Dallas, where emotional and personal supression by conservatice forces are the name of the game throughout life.
and to the shock and awe of those not aware, Pearl Jam eventually learned how to lighten up and have fun. don't beleive me? listen to songs like All Night, Red, Black, Yellow (an homage to Dennis Rodman), U, Breakfall, Brain of J, Do the Eveolution Etc. Even a song like Smile is a toungue and cheek stab at self deprication.
Stone Gossard is one of the best rythm guitarists in music. he writes very complex and off the wall riffs and chord structures. I think I even like him more than Mike McCready, who is amazing in his own right, though he doesn't really get enough of a chance to shine anymore, shame.
Of course Jeff Ament is a fantastic bass player, and a hidden weapon as far as song writing goes!
All the while they keep a socially aware tone. Alot of people hate Eddie Vedder for his long winded political commentary on stage. Fair enough. but just because you don't agree with him, doesn't mean he hasn't worked hard to get on that stage and made his voice heard, just listen, and decide for yourself if you agree, and shut up and enjoy the rock!

The Clash

Howdy, been a bit, I'm back.
I think everyone with a good mind and decent taste for music owes respect to this man.
Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those card carrying 'only band that matters' clash fans. Sure, they broke a lot of ground in rock and roll music, and opened popular music to reggae, ska, punk, hip hop, and a whole slew of other ideas. But the 'only' band that matters is a bit arrogant of a term, and they were not about arrogance. Strummer, Mick Jones, and Paul Simannon were fierce populist, and cleverly introduced the punk and popular music world to palletable socialist rhetoric, without anyone knowing it. With their music, you got the perspective of someone living in a third world country, or simply those who are oppressed. You got social ideas that most media goes out of its way to squash fiercely. Like woody guthrie (who strummer was very influenced by) you got coherant, well thought out social commentary about things the way they really are. This was very different from the chaotic anarchist mentality of the Sex Pistols, though every bit as angry.

Did I mention they were musical geniuses? Even at their most indulgent and experimental moments on Sandanista, the Clash took on every musical genre and worked to do as good if not better than their influences. They took Punk, gave it a brain, and moved on to the next thing, and then some. They even wrote a bubblegum pop tune Hitsville U.K.. Ok that tune kind of sucks, but for what it is, they did a good job.



Their best record, London Calling, is something everyone should own a copy of. The mood actually changes from dark and apocalyptic to fun and carefree gradually throughout the record, and still maintains a great ammount of relevant storytelling. This was the first record they did where they didn't take themselves way too seriously, and told the world 'hey it's kinda fucked up, but you can still have a good time and enjoy life while making the world a better place. Bravo

I also highly recommend Joe Strummer and the Mescalero's work.

Soundgarden

Soundgarden. One of those bands that people either really love, or completely hate. I don't know why anyone would not like them actually. They are awesome.
They were once given the name frown-garden. I think for their often darkly tigned lyrics and sludge-alt-metal-grunge sound. They were not quite bleak like Alice in Chains, but they definitely tapped into the mass concience of the 90's youth.
I credit this band for helping me work through many a tough personal times in my life. There is something kind of sympathetic for the person who does everything they can to relate to others and make a good life for themselves, but often falls short. Songs like 'The Day I Tried to Live' deal with personal frustration very directly.' The song 'Zero Chance' deal with the reality of feeling personal isolation, and how no one who is not experiencing it really gets how it feels. 'Outshined' was the soundtrack to my puberty. In fact I don't think there is a song that captures adolescence better than that song. Screw smells like teen spirit.
Some songs are straight up Black Sabbath, like 4th of July and Limo Wreck. They specialize in sludgy metal riffs.
Don't get the impression these songs are all about wallowing in a personal pity party. 'Blow up the Outside World' breaks through to the other side with a strong defiance of 'no ones doing me in unless I choose to do so first.' In a messed up way, it's kinda life affirming. Something that really made sense in the cluster f**k that was the 90's.
There is a huge Led Zeppelin influence here, especially with the eastern tinged songs like 'half'.
Some of the songs, I honestly have no clue as to the subject or even intended mood.
Very few people can match the vocal range of Chris Cornell. The man can literally peel paint off a hubcap if he felt like doing so. I will freely admit I like all of the work he has done since soundgarden (With the obvious exclusion of "Scream" the last solo record he made with Timberland, Chris, that was a total piece of shit.) Most of Audioslave's music was a lot better than most people gave them credit for, especially their last record, very funky.
Well the end benefit of Chris's last solo record bombing out was that Soundgarden got back together. I mean I hate to just point out the obvious, what other reason would make a band that said they would never ever tour again, get back together. That being said, it's great to have them playing again.