Discoverer 73: new indie findings

Sunday has arrived, so it's time for new indie proposals, enjoy !

The Secret History. For a long time on my radar, it was just a matter of proper listening to feature this Brooklyn-based septet. Formed in 2006 when songwriter Michael Grace Jr and four other members of his previous combo My Favorite received an answer from Lisa Ronson (daugther of glam's myth Mick Ronson) to their ad placed in the Village Voice seeking a "tragic female voice". After the final addition of Jamie Babich (Nouvellas), their first release, "Desolation Town" EP arrived in 2008, followed by the debut album "The World That Never Was" on 2010. And since June we have "Americans Singing in the Dark", sophomore LP where the band offers a bombastic dose of their cinematic, moody, multifaceted and extremely rich indiepop. Think on impossible combinations like Roxy Music meeting Comet Gain, or Morrissey playing along The New Pornographers. Yes, that big. The Secret History has a lot to offer, a music world to discover.
The French Pop Dream. A little gem arrived to our physical mail address a week ago (thanks!). The first release of Duncan Steer's (Pastel Collision/Kaleida) new project, alongside with French singer Anne Brugiere. At the beginning of 2013, the musicians found they were living very close one from the other in London, and decided to make a record with her singing in English. "Eurostar, the Musical" EP anticipates a full album (and a visual companion) to be released on 2014. If the LP is near as good as this sweet, romantic, full of that dreamy 60s vibe, we might be in front of a forthcoming masterpiece. A pop delight.

Driving Mrs. Satan. Ok metal heads, this is for you!!... Oh well, maybe... anyway, I'm introducing you this Italian trio, originally from Naples but based in London and their curious project. After a house change in a record-hot summer, Giacomo Pedecini renewed his love for heavy metal (¡¡¡) but thinking on a completely new form. Alongside Ernesto Nobili and Claudia Sorvillo they built an indiepop version of Helloween’s "Never Say Die" and formed the band. The song was included on their first release, a digital EP in April of 2012 together with covers of ACDC’s "Hells Bells", Black Sabbath’s "Never Say Die" and Judas Priest’s "Living After Midnight". And now they are back with a complete album, "Popscotch", out in November on Agualoca Records, where they even manage to make Metallica's "Battery" sound like a great shiny sweet pop tune. They keep the lyrics and somehow the melodic structures, but the tunes are completely (luckily) new, showing sometimes a jazzy, others pure pop range, but always delicate, seductive (Claudia's voice is a killer) and inviting. Raise your hands, shake you head and yell: Long live to the new Brothers of Indiepop Metal!  

"Killing Yourself To Live", Myth America?

Killing Yourself To Live: 85% of a True Story- Chuck Klosterman

Misleading advertising on a book again. After enjoying "Fargo Rock City", a work where auto-biography and music are blended with pleasant results (yet also some concerns) it was a matter of time I was going to read another Klosterman's. "Killing Yourself To Live" seemed the ideal choice, being built around the premise of Spin's magazine feature on death rock icons. A road trip through "Myth America" by a passionate music commentator looked great. But that's not what the book exactly offers.

Unfortunately, America's most famous rock and roll death places, from where the plane with Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly crashed to where Kurt Cobain's shot himself, is a mere excuse to talk, primarily, about something else.

That something else is, of course, Chuck Klosterman. "Killing Yourself..." is in reality a not very subtle dose of the writer's obsessions, in particular his troubled relationships and the confusion provoked by them. This might sound like Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity", this time on a car through the States, but believe me, it doesn't have the British's book charms. And no, I won't say this can be compared to gonzo journalism either, even if there's some booze and drug situation involved. No way.

Don't get me wrong, the book is very enjoyable and, thanks to his recognisable prose and what he is talking about, meaningful to many. But Klosterman has a serious issue with digression. "Fargo Rock City" suffered from that. But this one has several parts where its practically ruined because of that. The reader will quickly have the feeling there's no focus.
 
And damn it (sorry) but Klosterman can really be engaging when he talks about music. The best parts on "Killing Yourself..." to me are about Radiohead's Kid A (spectacular), the Chelsea Hotel or the brave (and so true) comment on Nirvana's end and the creation of Kurt Cobain's myth. But he shifts, better said hides, these sorts of opinions in between an overwhelming amount of pages that go back and forth through his three most significant relationships by then.... and the music becomes just the background of the book, sadly.

Why the death of a rock star is the "smartest" move any musician can do? Why do they matter that much to us? I'm afraid we didn't know. Klosterman wasn't that interested in his own premise.

SCORE: 5,75/10

"Lemmy", the rock's heavy rock

Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son of a Bitch

As you already know, I enjoy music documentaries so much it's easy I could end watching almost everything if its about music, even if the group/artist is completely opposite to my personal tastes. That's the case with "Lemmy", a rockumentary on Motörhead's leader, Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, an undeniable hard-rock/heavy metal legend and rock icon.

The good about this rockumentary is that (luckily) doesn't focus on the music, and is not a collection of footage just to please his devote fans. It is a film about Mr. Kilmister, about capturing who he is and what's behind his iconic figure. The conclusion couldn't be more striking: there's no difference between Lemmy, the "rock God" (not my opinion, you'll hear that affirmation thousands of times during the film) and Lemmy the human being. There's no Lemmy and then an Ian. Forget the usual glamorous, decadent or eccentric side of a rockstar. Forget the tortuous and extremely hard disassociation of his musician's life and his life at home. The guy is just the way he is. Always.

Many rockumentaries have their good share of interviews/comments with relevant/related people talking about what it means for them the artist/band object of the film. Many of them are really bland, but in Lemmy's case, if you let aside some worshipping and anecdotes that seem trivial (the passion, enthusiasm and consideration from the likes of Metallica or Dave Grohl looks genuine and moving), you'll hear/see a recurrent affirmation. He's real. He's the person you are seeing. There's no fake, no star-pose. For good or bad. Take it or leave it. Celebrity Joan Jett from The Runaways summarizes it: "Everybody assimilates at some point [...], go along to get along, you know, to get what they need to get... I don't see Lemmy as that kind of guy [...] I see him doing things his way to get where he wants to go. And that's attractive, because people don't do that anymore."
 
Lemmy's portrait is necessarily bittersweet, revealing a complex character to take an insight of. Aside from the expected account on Lemmy's role within music history, we see his everyday routine (bars and slot machines), his musical interests, his personal life, from his views on marriage to a shocking interview together with his son, his collector, more like an obsession, "mode" and (glups) peculiar tastes recalling uniforms, a little recall of his early career (the most hilarious moment of the film, with the Hawkind members trying to justify why they kicked them out of the band due to "different drugs choice") and interesting footage of his current music career: life on the road, band and crew opinions and some brilliantly filmed music clips (but if you ask me, Lemmy's voice is really annoying).

Some could say the rockumentary is a bit loose in its structure, or that, in my opinion it would flow better with a reduced length, but it succeeds well in its goal of bringing a detailed account on Kilmister, with several moments to be remembered. Even for a non Motörhead fan... well let's be honest, even for a metal hater, "Lemmy" is an absorbing film, an unusual, profound and brave attempt to show a music legend that just happens to be a complex human being, with a not very glamorous everyday life. His own life, made of his own choices. He's like a rock, unalterable despite fame, drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. He's the rock's heavy rock.

SCORE: 7,5/10

"Fargo Rock City", did 80s heavy metal's matter?

Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural Nörth Daköta 
Chuck Klosterman

The things we do for love... like reading this book. Just kidding. I'm too obsessed with music not to admit I was really curious about Klosterman's attempt to defend the indefensible (in my opinion). Hair metal, heavy metal, 80's hard rock: did it matter? So when my girlfriend (confessed fan of this style) bought the book and vividly encouraged me to read it... well, I had to.

Don't tell anyone, but for the majority of this "wild ride" I was seriously amused. That has to be credited entirely to the author's brilliant writing skills. I was utterly entertained and laughing at the mixture of personal anecdotes, detailed account on bands, records, tunes, and the elaborated music theories on the importance of the 80s metal. I will definitely seek out more of his writings.

But not everything works. Or maybe, the problem is Klosterman's level of exposure here. Occasionally, but more times than it would be recommendable, you will find his reasoning attempts truncated by unnecessary, even silly anecdotes, making you miss the point of the argument. In other few cases, the book gets just boring, like the never-ending account of his favourite metal albums (didn't get the "value thing" anyway), the chapter about the "band issue", or directly dubious, like the chapter about sexism on heavy metal.

One can easily feel related to the book and understand Klosterman's fierce opinions. I did. He bursts with passion on a subject that vividly matters to him. Just like a would do with regards to alternative music. Arrogance is just around the corner, or is just a matter of interpretation or interest on the topic. At the end, nobody can argue his reasoning. Did 80s metal matter? Its obvious that it did for many many people. Like him. But he (in my opinion, of course) cannot defend the "quality argument".

Like Klosterman's, I do have my own "teenager stories" with heavy metal. On the book, he makes himself look like the "victim", as fans of 80s heavy metal now seem obliged to constantly justify themselves for what they like (or liked). But I do remember the musical isolation (heavy metal fans have a strong sense of community) during high school, as I was the one saying Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" was simply boring, or that Axl Rose's voice was extremely annoying, or that I didn't need an everlasting Slash solo in every single song. Yes, I have always been a hater of heavy metal. My guitar hero will always be The Edge. I will always prefer "Country Feedback" outro than, let's say, "Stairway to Heaven". Lyrics will always matter to me (and that makes metal look reaaaally bad, at least as bad and/or ridiculous as Tolkien). I will never get how someone who is mentally healthy can take Van Halen's "Jump" seriously. Or that playing faster or louder means playing better (I had this sort of reasoning with bands like Manowar). Or that can consider Bon Jovi's metal (or simply worth listening).

To me, hair metal was plain silly, and therefore could only be taken as (a silly) amusement, one that was recreated and I would add, tributed, by "This Is Spinal Tap". But I cannot consider it seriously now, as the majority of people do. Klosterman arguments end saying that the music you loved when you were a teenager is the music that matters. I see the point, but I can't agree with him. "My teenage music" was britpop. I still love some few bands and many tunes from that period. But I evolved, and probably only Pulp would be included now among my favourite bands. And there's nothing wrong with evolving. One band brings you to another, then to the next. That's one of the greatness of music. The amount of possibilities, new discoveries and passions while your favourites remain no matter how much times passes. Luckily, it is not a static thing. Music cannot be static.

I would love to read a "Fargo Rock City 2", to see if his opinions have changed over the years. As a matter of fact, did anyone really listened to "Chinese Democracy"? 

SCORE: 6,5/10

"Some Kind of Monster", Metallica goes to therapy

Some Kind of Monster

I'm not into heavy metal/hard rock music, so is not surprise I have never liked Metallica. Well, it is much worse than that. I hate Metallica. They ever-present bombastic poses, combined with James Hetfield voice, particularly annoying to me (how he ends every phrase, damn it), and of course their brutal success when I was a teenager (I was such a "weirdo" cause I didn't get "Nothing Else Matters", I still can't) made my relation with the band an excruciating one (drummer Lars Ulrich didn't help a bit with his crusade against Napster either). But I guess time has relaxed my belligerency against the group, so I admit I was curious enough to watch this highly praised rockumentary.

It's pretty amazing that Metallica, as well as each one of its individuals, allowed the documentary crew to be ever-present during almost two years, from 2001 to 2003, in which they were supposed to record a new album. But the film quickly shows that this is not only about what would become "St. Anger", their eighth studio album, but an unexpectedly deep insight of very turbulent times. Don't expect much grandeur and enjoyment for making music. Metallica fans, don't expect a pretty, flattering portray of your heroes. Instead, you'll find some misery and fights against each other.

Because "Some Kind of Monster" (what a suitable name for the film)  is about the clash of the different personalities of the band members and the psychological dynamics of the band. And their exposure is, sometimes, brutal. For a while, a long while during the documentary, seems you are watching what should be the private breakdown of Metallica. Their members are evidently burnt-out, and is hard for the audience to see there's a real interest in creating new music. We see how they decide to hire a therapist to help them control an deal with the arising tensions, specially between Hetfield and Ulrich.

There's too much "shit" (sorry for that) floating around Metallica. How they fired former bassist, Jason Newsted, the ego clashes between the two leaders of the band, a producer that is incapable of mediating, the self-indulgence of a band that has become "too big", the conciliation with their new family lives with rock and roll lifestyle, Napster, addictions...  They all appear in the form of poignant scenes. The lack of enthusiasm for playing music or even practicing is obvious. But somehow, they are rebelling against giving up. "Some Kind of Monster" reveals itself as the documentary of a therapy. It looks like a torture many times (the scene with Dave Mustaine, leader of  Megadeth, is so disturbingly shocking), but they finally go somewhere (credit Robert Trujillo as an important factor too). Its a process of survival, self-knowledge and pain.

There a few but important concerns to be made. One is the excessive length of the film. Its understandable that with some many hours filmed, directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky had tones of material to work with. But considering most of the documentary takes place at the studio, the movie suffers from being too long (maybe fans won't say so). And directly linked with that amount of material, I have the feeling there are some very sharp transitions during the movie. My guess is the band, despite showing so much, exposing so much themselves, put some limits. Flashbacks into the past of the band are not really justified, the open fight between Hetfield and Ulrich, or with the therapist, are not resolved on screen. The Mustaine and Newsted's affairs as well remain there too. Many "situations" are presented but never fully developed.

Overall, "Some Kind of Monster" is a very powerful, at times absolutely striking, rockumentary about one of the biggest bands of the last thirty years, in their lowest moment. Fans absolutely HAVE to see it, but even people who doesn't care about music would find this film interesting. Rock stars are as petty, complex and vulnerable as everyone else. Praise the members of Metallica for being so brave to expose themselves as human beings.

SCORE: 6,75/10

Primavera Sound 2012, or how Mazzy Star saved me from heavy metal

Since my last post about the Primavera Sound Festival 2012, the line-up has changed quite a lot, some major and controversial surprises have been announced, such as a big headliner like Franz Ferdinand, and a pretty dramatic cancellation occurred, as unfortunately Guided By Voices won't be in Barcelona/Oporto this spring.

Sure, I'm among the ones that were hugely disappointed by the addition of several bands that doesn't have anything to do with alternative music but with heavy metal (black and death metal being specific). It is just my opinion, but I can't see where they fit at PS (the same applies to the hip-hop and rap acts I'm fearing will be at PS again this year). To be honest, everything was starting to look pretty bad regarding the Festival, with so many artists miles away from my tastes... until Mazzy Star was announced (and then followed by the also exciting Afghan Whigs). Finally a name to make me smile and be anxious about.

I'm still worried about how the line-up is shaping, and some facts like The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary tour scare the hell out of me. But at the same time, other arstists like The Shins or Cat Power have showed up, so let's have some well deserved faith on the PS' organization and their music wisdom. Fadeeeeee into you/ Strange you never knew.....

CONFIRMED ARTISTS FOR SAN MIGUEL PRIMAVERA SOUND 2012

30th May – 3rd June, Barcelona

A$AP Rocky» A.A. Bondy» AraabMUZIK» Archers Of Loaf » Baxter Dury» Beach House» Björk» Buffy Sainte-Marie» Codeine» Death Cab For Cutie» Death In Vegas» Franz Ferdinand» Godflesh» Grimes» Harvey Milk» Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel)» Josh T. Pearson» Justice» Lisabö» Liturgy» Mayhem» Mazzy Star» Melvins» Mudhoney» Napalm Death» Neon Indian» Numbers showcase: Jackmaster, Oneman, Deadboy, Spencer, Redinho» OFF!» Orthodox» Other Lives» Sandro Perri» SBTRKT» Shellac» Siskiyou»

Sleep» Spiritualized» The Afghan Whigs» The Dirty Three» The Drums» The Olivia Tremor Control» The XX» Veronica Falls» Washed Out» White Denim» Wilco» Wolves In The Throne Room» Yo La Tengo»

Green- Definetely seeing them. Absolute must
Orange- If there are no overlaps (in particular with the green ones), I'll be there for sure
Yellow- Curious about seeing the artist, or "on research mode"