US Government rips off Kaiser Chiefs?
Tell me the soundtrack to this Click It Or Ticket NHTSA ad isn’t a ripoff of the Kaiser Chiefs’ Everyday I Love You Less And Less from Employment.
Listen to the first 15 seconds of each.
Popularity: 18%
Editor Kevin Leaving NWMB
Kevin LeDoux is, I’m sad to report, leaving NWMB as editor. We hope to see him grace these pages as an occasional contributor. I’ll be assuming editor duties once again. Thank you, Kevin. Your contributions to NWMB cannot be overstated.
The situation may leave NWMB with fewer writers, so if you’d like to write here, contact us.
Popularity: 26%
Partman Parthorse Booted Off Bill By Camel
You might be wondering what in the world is going on in this picture of Gary Smith, flamboyant frontman of Seattle punk group Partman Parthorse, his distaste for the cigarette giant in plain view. But if you’re keen to the Seattle scene, you’re most likely not surprised at the antics of one of the city’s most thrilling live acts.
Turns out this act of defiance was in reference to the sponsor of a show the band played at the High Dive in February of 2007 (read Philip’s lively account here), where they shared the stage with another explosive and talented local band, The Heavy Hearts. The company’s mobile advertising/survey system was definitely all up in peoples’ grills that night, and I recall thinking, “Wait…people still let Camel sponsor their shows?” I didn’t give it much more of a passing thought than that as I enjoyed the strong musical lineup. However, in a health-conscious city with an indoor smoking ban—in effect since January of 2006—it’s anyone’s guess as to why Camel would still be able to subsidize shows without the names ‘Nickelback’ or ‘Puddle of Mudd’ on the marquee. But I suppose, despite what we may prefer, American corporations still have some clout in this world, even in the seemingly detached enclave of the Seattle music scene.
Unfortunately, that clout has once again reigned supreme, as PMPH, scheduled to play that same High Dive this coming April 26th for their pals the Heavy Hearts CD release show, have been unceremoniously booted from the bill. Obviously, Camel didn’t take too kindly to the anti-smoking message Smith was flaunting last time around, and decided to rectify the situation. I guess I’m not all that familiar with how a conglomerate like Camel comes to sponsor a particular event, but I suspect record labels and club owners and their relationships come into play. Word on the street was that the HH asked PMPH to play the show, only to succumb afterwards to the political whims of the show’s sponsor, and the equine-obsessed band was promptly ‘86ed. Now, who actually succumbed, I’m not sure, but the simple fact that this happened pretty much…sucks. The Hearts appear to be genuine, hardworking musicians, so I can’t imagine they made the final decision. Maybe the High Dive has a hard-on with the unscrupulous backer? Considering the show is free, that may not be too far off the mark.
I’ll be honest, I’m not a cigarette smoker; I think it’s quite possibly one of the most short-sighted, albeit addictive, habits one can engage in. Yet I also believe in free will, so smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, ya know? But when it comes to the sanctioning of certain bands over others based on the preference of well-heeled, crooked cigarette pushers, you’ll forgive me if I find that repulsive.
Popularity: 27%
Stranger Editor Rips Vampire Weekend a New One
Charles Mudede, associate editor of The Stranger and an African-born American, gives his indignant take on Vampire Weekend’s dated Afro-pop fetish. I won’t profess to have a solid opinion on the subject matter, but Mudede does make a compelling argument against the NYC group’s misuse (”appropriation”) of Africa’s indigenous sound.
Here’s a particulary seething excerpt, the context being VW bandleader Ezra Koenig’s recognition and subsequent confusion at Ivy League jackets in a Harlem hiphop store:
If Koenig’s mind had made even the slightest effort to penetrate this mystery in the Harlem store, he would have seen the reflection of his own ideas turned upside down. The Ivy League jackets were simply the inverse of the sound and catchy aesthetic of his band. Here in the Harlem store, low culture is appropriating the codes of high culture; with Vampire Weekend, high culture (rich kids in the richest country on earth, America) appropriates low culture (music made by the poor people in the poorest continent on earth, Africa). And when appropriation is going both ways—streets kids wearing the symbols of university prestige; Manhattan’s upper crust playing Soweto jive—appropriation is not bad. Indeed, it’s strange that Koenig, who celebrates postcolonial interclass/cultural exchanges as the new norm, can only recognize such exchanges when those at the top are taking from those at the bottom and not when those at the bottom are taking from those at the top.
I have to agree with him. It certainly should be a two way street, as Mudede points out, and the fact that the band’s leader wasn’t quite sensitive to that is a bit perplexing. He goes on to point out:
And it’s not just African music they are appropriating; it’s impoverished African music from the ’70s, ’60s, and ’50s. Since the 1980s, Afro pop has less and less sounded poor. The biggest names in the business—Papa Wemba, King Sunny Ade, Thomas Mapfumo, Stimela, Youssou N’Dour—have aspired to and maintained the production values of the rich and famous. Vampire Weekend are not faithful to this trend. They instead simulate the sounds of preindependence, pre-postmodern Africa.
It’s difficult to know exactly what the band’s intent is—or whether Koenig truly believed what Mudede indicts him for—but if it’s to pay homage to Africa’s musical past or emulate the current trend of African music (i.e. the band’s reference to the kwaito movement in Soweto, urban Johannesburg), they fail on both fronts. It’s particularly interesting to hear the author’s take on the ubiquitous Paul Simon comparison, as well (Graceland, woo-hoo!).
Anyway, it’s an interesting read regardless of your opinion. To digest the whole nine yards, click here.
Popularity: 91%
Poll: What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a show?
This Ed Vedder tour gets me thinking… “Some shows are just *worth* the expense.” Maybe you’re a huge Stones fan, and you have $300 burning a hole in the glovebox of your Bentley. Maybe you’re a broke college student but flying to Chicago for the Soundgarden fan club show wasn’t to be missed. Maybe it was stealing a twenty from your roommate for a night at the Offramp, and it eventually cost you the relationship.
Not to play Ross Reynolds here, but what’s your story? What’s the most you’ve ever shelled out?
OR conversely, what’s the least you ever paid for the best show you wouldn’t have otherwise gotten into?
My answer: NIN/David Bowie “INSIDE” tour. Shoreline Amphitheatre, San Jose, CA. $45 before incontinence charges. That was a mountain of cash for my broke college sophomore ass in 1995.
And someone in front of El Corazon (or whatever it was called then) dragged me into the sold-out Queens of the Stone Age show in ‘01 or ‘02. I was trying to buy tickets but this guy had a +3 and only two people showed up. “Follow me,” he said, and I got to witness a kick-ass performance with Mark Lanegan on vox and Dave Grohl on skins. Free-ninety-nine.
Popularity: 43%
Oh, Irony
From an email I just got from Vandenberg Communications:
SEATTLE — Eddie Vedder will embark on a small, West Coast, solo tour beginning April 2nd in Vancouver, BC and ending April 15th in San Diego (full list of tour dates below).
Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Friday, February 22nd at 10am* PST through www.ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets.
Entire press release, dates and ticket prices after the jump…
Popularity: 20%
What’s Cooking in the KEXP Kitchen?
Like many of you readers who are KEXP members/donors, I received a vague and unexpected message from Tom Mara at KEXP on 22 January which alluded to some upcoming collaboration. It instantly though maybe inaccurately reminded me of the change from KCMU -> KEXP and the “outcry” that followed.
So what of this message today? This morning’s email brings the news of an alliance with Radio New York and I am left with… “So what?”
I carefully read the Q & A and didn’t find an answer to “How does my listening experience change as a result of this news?” There was a lot of preemptive defense for the hand-wringing types: “How much will this cost?” “Is John leaving Seattle?” and most amusingly: “Did Paul Allen/Michael Bloomberg and Greg Nickels make this happen?”
So here I am, confused. But not terribly anxious or upset. I anticipate a lot of dialogue as this thing is brought to the table.
See: http://kexp.org/newyork/qa.aspx for more.
Popularity: 22%
Rock the Vote, Ya’ll!
In light of the Washington State Caucuses happening this Saturday, please GO SUPPORT YOUR CANDIDATE tomorrow. But since it is a music blog, I guess I should probably tie it into music somehow, right? Well I was curious to see who popular musicians are supporting — I found this interesting little tidbit on the internet I thought I would share:
REPUBLICANS
Mike Huckabee: Ted Nugent
John McCain: Burt Bacharach
Mitt Romney: Pat Boone, Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton: Madonna, Carly Simon, Tony Bennett, Jon Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge, Carole King, Janet Jackson, Quincy Jones, 50 Cent, Mya, Timbaland, Barbra Streisand, Merle Haggard, Elvis Costello
Barack Obama: Babyface, Jeff Tweedy, the Goo Goo Dolls, Macy Gray, Ne-Yo, Will Smith, Usher, Stevie Wonder, Harry Connick Jr., Pete Wentz , Win Butler (arcade fire), will.i.am/the Black Eyed Peas, the Grateful Dead, Jeff Tweedy, Conor Oberst, Joanna Newsom, the Cool Kids, Stephan Jenkins, OK Go, Shudder to Think, Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam
Also the most ridiculous quote I read from 50 cent: “(Hilliary) is a way for us to have Bill Clinton be president again, and he did a great job during his term” 50 cent is LAME.
Don’t know where your caucus is? Find it here: http://www.wa-democrats.org/caucusfinder
This music fan will be supporting Obama tomorrow.
Popularity: 22%
