Where did Julie Christmas go? After the chilling The Bad Wife in 2010, she's had barely any new songs or performances. Her unforgettable band Made out of Babies split up. John LaMacchia, her Bad Wife producer and collaborator, is now at work on a new Candiria album. When will we hear more from Julie?
Until then, I will treasure The Bad Wife. Even though the melody is the same, it took me two listens to realize that "If You Go Away" is "Ne Me Quitte Pas," a Jacques Brel standard that I'd previously only known through Nina Simone's version. The lyrics beg, but in Christmas' hands it becomes a threat, like the kind of thing that she'd sing to a guy she'd already locked in her basement. Whoever she's singing about should think about moving.
Showing posts with label made out of babies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label made out of babies. Show all posts
Friday, February 7, 2014
Friday, July 26, 2013
To Break the Spell of Aging: What makes a band sound "dated?"
This week, Metallica's Kill 'Em All turns 30. I'm listening as I write this (yes, I can barely control my head enough to type), and it sounds just as great as I remembered. One of the best rock debuts and an all-time classic metal album. I'd even argue that it's one of the greatest punk albums ever. But one thing that always surprises me about Kill 'Em All is how modern it sounds.
Three decades have done nothing to wane Kill 'Em All's ferocity. If anything, it sounds even more brutal, now knowing how many thrash and metalcore bands couldn't emulate it without watering it down. The production is perfectly raw, the kind of sound that black metal bands consistently aim for and always fail at. Were the scowling, acne-faced boys of Metallica to support Kill 'Em All today, they could hop on a tour with anyone from Meshuggah to Kvelertak to the Dillinger Escape Plan to Immortal.
But why is this? Consider Venom's Black Metal, released a few seasons before Kill 'Em All. Its influence is all over Metallica--that hardcore-infected metal and basement production are just as discernible here, only Venom did it before Metallica. The lyrics aren't nearly as good as Metallica's, but no one listens to metal for the lyrics. The music on Black Metal is pretty great. So why does it sound enjoyably silly today, whereas Kill 'Em All sounds essential?
When music ages poorly, it has little to do with how influential it is, as Black Metal proves. It has even less to do with the way it sounded at the time. Giorgio Moroder's entire career feels buried in the '80s, yet Daft Punk just included him on their ultra-hip new album. What really matters is how the artists that emulate the sound compare to the originals. Countless bands have sounded like Metallica since 1983, including several great ones, but none of whom are as transcendent as Kill 'Em All. Shortly after Black Metal kicked off a musical renaissance, it was outclassed by Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth and Testament. I'm impressed that Venom's influence has carried over to bands as varied as High on Fire and Behemoth, but I'm even less likely to play Black Metal when the best work of the latter two bands is available.
This year, Venom's influence turned up on the Melvins' excellent covers album Everybody Loves Sausages, which King Buzzo and the gang opened with their own version of Venom's "Warhead." It never stops being fun to watch a band as idiosyncratic as the Melvins constantly increase in stature. At least once a year, it seems like a great new band breaks through on the sounds that the Melvins defined--Sleep, Mastodon, Boris, Neurosis, Isis, Big Business, Made Out of Babies, Torche, Coliseum and East of the Wall all come to mind. All of these artists are honoring Houdini and Stoner Witch with their music, but none of them have been able to occupy that sound from the Melvins. One still can't get that unpredictable avant-sludge-stoner-doom-punk-grunge-metal anywhere else. Yet with more and more great bands working on those ideas, the Melvins matter more now than ever.
Think about the band that's generally considered the architect of heavy metal, Black Sabbath. Reasonable listeners still credit them with inventing and perfecting the genre. Their chief rival at the time was Deep Purple, a quintet of equally innovative Brits who basically popularized the idea of blues-based hard rock being played faster than Led Zeppelin. Purple easily outsold Sabbath, got more radio play, generally received better reviews and often played bigger venues. But Deep Purple couldn't survive the rise of AC/DC, Van Halen and Aerosmith, none of whom tried to compete with Sabbath's tuned-down doom rock and occult-inspired lyrics, but all of whom thoroughly trounced "Highway Star" several times over.
It's examples like this that remind us why originality in rock music, which infamously stole themes and progressions from the blues, is overrated. It's admirable to break ground, but it doesn't matter much if the ground that you break gets covered by someone who writes better songs than you.
Three decades have done nothing to wane Kill 'Em All's ferocity. If anything, it sounds even more brutal, now knowing how many thrash and metalcore bands couldn't emulate it without watering it down. The production is perfectly raw, the kind of sound that black metal bands consistently aim for and always fail at. Were the scowling, acne-faced boys of Metallica to support Kill 'Em All today, they could hop on a tour with anyone from Meshuggah to Kvelertak to the Dillinger Escape Plan to Immortal.
But why is this? Consider Venom's Black Metal, released a few seasons before Kill 'Em All. Its influence is all over Metallica--that hardcore-infected metal and basement production are just as discernible here, only Venom did it before Metallica. The lyrics aren't nearly as good as Metallica's, but no one listens to metal for the lyrics. The music on Black Metal is pretty great. So why does it sound enjoyably silly today, whereas Kill 'Em All sounds essential?
When music ages poorly, it has little to do with how influential it is, as Black Metal proves. It has even less to do with the way it sounded at the time. Giorgio Moroder's entire career feels buried in the '80s, yet Daft Punk just included him on their ultra-hip new album. What really matters is how the artists that emulate the sound compare to the originals. Countless bands have sounded like Metallica since 1983, including several great ones, but none of whom are as transcendent as Kill 'Em All. Shortly after Black Metal kicked off a musical renaissance, it was outclassed by Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth and Testament. I'm impressed that Venom's influence has carried over to bands as varied as High on Fire and Behemoth, but I'm even less likely to play Black Metal when the best work of the latter two bands is available.
This year, Venom's influence turned up on the Melvins' excellent covers album Everybody Loves Sausages, which King Buzzo and the gang opened with their own version of Venom's "Warhead." It never stops being fun to watch a band as idiosyncratic as the Melvins constantly increase in stature. At least once a year, it seems like a great new band breaks through on the sounds that the Melvins defined--Sleep, Mastodon, Boris, Neurosis, Isis, Big Business, Made Out of Babies, Torche, Coliseum and East of the Wall all come to mind. All of these artists are honoring Houdini and Stoner Witch with their music, but none of them have been able to occupy that sound from the Melvins. One still can't get that unpredictable avant-sludge-stoner-doom-punk-grunge-metal anywhere else. Yet with more and more great bands working on those ideas, the Melvins matter more now than ever.
Think about the band that's generally considered the architect of heavy metal, Black Sabbath. Reasonable listeners still credit them with inventing and perfecting the genre. Their chief rival at the time was Deep Purple, a quintet of equally innovative Brits who basically popularized the idea of blues-based hard rock being played faster than Led Zeppelin. Purple easily outsold Sabbath, got more radio play, generally received better reviews and often played bigger venues. But Deep Purple couldn't survive the rise of AC/DC, Van Halen and Aerosmith, none of whom tried to compete with Sabbath's tuned-down doom rock and occult-inspired lyrics, but all of whom thoroughly trounced "Highway Star" several times over.
It's examples like this that remind us why originality in rock music, which infamously stole themes and progressions from the blues, is overrated. It's admirable to break ground, but it doesn't matter much if the ground that you break gets covered by someone who writes better songs than you.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Crooked Man at Freddy's
John LaMacchia is one of music's most underrated genre-benders. In Candiria, he didn't just blend jazz, hip-hop and ambience with metal, he actually infiltrated authentic jazz, hip-hop and trip-hop measures into his music. More recently, he teamed up with fellow sonic mavericks in Isis, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Made Out of Babies for a bludgeoning EP as Spylacopa (say, when can we hear more of that?) and produced Julie Christmas' haunting solo album, The Bad Wife, all for LaMacchia's Rising Pulse label. He could already retire on his track record, but his new three-piece Crooked Man indicates that there's more up his sleeve.
Performing in a secluded room at Freddy's in Brooklyn, LaMacchia's band was filled out by bassist Michael Shaw and singer/guitarist Sabrina Ellie. The sparse, drumless lineup recalled the better MTV Unplugged episodes, where the bands ditched the hits in favor of the songs that were best left underproduced. Stripping much of the aggression from the doom metal nightmares of their recent EP, Crooked Man waltzed songs like "The Parting Gift" into murder ballad territory. Much of LaMacchia's acclaim goes to his production and arrangement gifts, so a forum for his songwriting talents was particularly welcome.
On vocals, LaMacchia doesn't have much range, but he's a convincing frontman with a theatrical flair. He embodied Morrissey and Thom Yorke's emotiveness on Smiths and Radiohead covers, and best of all, interpreted the Misfits' "Come Back" as a Nick Cave ballad. If Crooked Man release a covers record, there'll be at least one buyer.
Encoring with a lovely read of "No Surprises," Crooked Man left the impression that the best of LaMacchia may be yet to come. Call it the process of self-development.
Performing in a secluded room at Freddy's in Brooklyn, LaMacchia's band was filled out by bassist Michael Shaw and singer/guitarist Sabrina Ellie. The sparse, drumless lineup recalled the better MTV Unplugged episodes, where the bands ditched the hits in favor of the songs that were best left underproduced. Stripping much of the aggression from the doom metal nightmares of their recent EP, Crooked Man waltzed songs like "The Parting Gift" into murder ballad territory. Much of LaMacchia's acclaim goes to his production and arrangement gifts, so a forum for his songwriting talents was particularly welcome.
On vocals, LaMacchia doesn't have much range, but he's a convincing frontman with a theatrical flair. He embodied Morrissey and Thom Yorke's emotiveness on Smiths and Radiohead covers, and best of all, interpreted the Misfits' "Come Back" as a Nick Cave ballad. If Crooked Man release a covers record, there'll be at least one buyer.
Encoring with a lovely read of "No Surprises," Crooked Man left the impression that the best of LaMacchia may be yet to come. Call it the process of self-development.
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