Primavera Sound 2016 in brief, days 1 & 2

Here we are, in the frantic, exhausting (adding some Primavera Pro activities) but always remarkable Primavera Sound Festival days. So, like we always do, here are our quick chronicles of what's going on for us within this 2016 edition. To begin with, the first couple of days, the opening day, Wednesday 1st, and yesterday's first "big one", Thursday 2nd. Let's begin!

The Good

First Day Pro: First time attending, and finding it pretty interesting. Liking the mixture of conferences (I attended a couple on the not very bright future of music journalism with members of Billboard, Stereogum, Pitchfork and Intro) and music (the plan is watching several gigs there). Letting aside the criminal midday sun, the CCCB is a comfortable and interesting place to be.
Núria Graham: Precisely, my first gig at PS16 was Núria Graham on Wednesday... and what an incandescent talent she is! Alone, just armed with her guitar and haunting voice, she can be effortlessly epic, lightweight poppier or St.Vincentnesque in a matter of seconds.

Ms. Graham, young magician. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Spanish indie: Also on Wednesday, our main interest of the afternoon at the Fòrum was my beloved Doble Pletina, who nailed it despite the hour and the huge stage for their minimalistic indiepop proposal. But to my surprise, the real winner of the afternoon (at least for me) was Sr. Chinarro, who managed to deliver a very powerful set, combining some of his expected greatest hits with several strong takes of new album 'El Progreso', that were the real highlights of his show. A veteran glowing.

Sr. Chinarro, still progressing after so many years. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Algiers/Protomartyr: Although their gigs weren't perfect they are two terrific bands. Algiers couldn't beat their mindblowing set at Primavera Club (the bar was so high with what they did at Apolo) but they are such a fierce presence, musically, lyrically, live, you always have to rise the white flag with them. Same can be said about Protomartyr. A very fun mess, with Joe Casey being such a chaotic yet ravishing frontman. Will follow closely.

Protomartyr, indeed it shakes, wildly. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

The Bad

Massification: PS might die due to success. Going to "Mordor" (H&M and Heineken stages) is always a punishment, but this year, even on Wednesday Primavera stage was incredibly full. Can't even imagine what's going to happen today with Radiohead's gig...

El Último Vecino: Sorry, just don't get it. And the live show hasn't improved a single bit...

Primavera Sound on strike: Living pretty far from Fòrum (as almost every person in the city who is not a tourist)? What about having to deal with a combined strike from subway and bus on the days where Primavera takes place? Nice, very nice... Years complaining on how ridicule are the lame transportation options every night of the Festival and now this...

The Queen
Daughter: I really don't qualify as a Daughter fan (not that fond of their records, my previous live experiences with them have been so-so), but what happened yesterday evening at Heineken stage was really something. An incredible mass of people gathered (the whole Mordor esplanade, scary and impressive at the same time, as Elena Tonra pointed out), to listen such a subtle music proposal. It's true that Daughter opted for some "muscle" at times, like the forgettable 'No Care', but the whole majority of the gig was simply arresting, with incredible moments as the surprising, very respectful silence (there's hope! there's hope!) while the quartet delivered 'Smother', the affecting power of 'Human', 'Youth' and 'Numbers' or the dreamy bliss of 'How'. Add that you can't help it but fall for Elena's adorable shyness and you have it: a wonderful, bewitching gig.    

A very joyful Elena. Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Brief of the second "big day" of the PS16, Friday 3rd, coming very soon here!

"Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste", gonzo music journalism

Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste. A Lester Bangs Reader- Lester Bangs (compilation edited by John Morthland)

Hunter S. Thompson writing about music. That's what's has been going in my mind while reading Lester Bangs for the first time. A long-time pending must-read in my agenda, I was more than curious to get myself into the writings of one of the most (if not the most)  recognised music journalists ever. After finishing "Mainlines...", now I can say I understand the myth. Reading Bangs is letting yourself go into a unique, several times pretty wild ride, about music. And much more.

This compilation of Bangs writings selected and edited by his friend and colleague in Creem Magazine (he was the editor in 1974-75), John Morthland, is divided in five chapters, with the clear goal of offering not only the widest possible selection of Bangs works, but also a general scope of the journalist's prose. There's sarcasm, rage, pure vitriol (haven't read a book with so many insults and expletive words), as well as an unparalleled passion on the topics he wrote about. Unmatched. And there's also an ambitious, without boundaries, aim to cover almost everything in his articles. It all reveals, in my opinion, a stunningly lucid, although quite suffering, thirsty and relentless mind. I think the quote "The pencil is mightier than the sword" is attributed to Shakespeare. But it fits much better to Lester Bangs. With him, the pencil looks like a complete arsenal.

That acid, uncontrolled, pulsating and extreme way of writing is incredibly addictive in the stand-out chapters of "Mainlines..": "Hypes and Heroics" and "Pantheon", the ones that are devoted to music. What a hallucinated, surreal, edgy music feast! I always considered myself a very though critic (maybe even more with films and books), but compared with Bangs, I'm as soft as Bambi. There are several articles where you can feel Bangs is so close to lose himself in the midst of chaos and continuously linking ideas... but somehow he always manages to make his point, loud, clear... and poignantly. Dylan, Stones (what a bitter, merciless compendium of essays he devotes to them), Fleetwood Mac, ELO... proceed with care if you are fan of any of these... 

Unfortunately, I think the remaining three chapters (minority of pages compared with the previous two) are way less interesting. With the exception of a couple of articles/essays on the "Travelogues" section, the one describing his trip to Jamaica searching Bob Marley, pure Gonzo, and his impossible conversation with Hendrix, and the moments of brilliance in "Raving, Raging and Rebops" accounting the roots of punk and the endless discussion of the current state of music (compared with the past), these chapters look a hodgepodge to me. Sure, it serves well the purpose (also with the teenager passages of initial section "Drug Punk") of showing Bangs "views of the world", as there's a bit of everything there: relationships, drugs, fame, politics, culture, future, sex... But the articles are more eloquent in revealing Bangs frustrations and pessimistic vision on almost everything surrounding him than getting really anywhere in terms of writing. I believe the last article of the compilation, "Trapped by the Mormons", summarizes it all very well. 

In any case, don't miss the chance of reading Lester Bangs pieces on music. Like the best records and/or songs, I want more!

SCORE: 7/10

"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

"New Wave & Post-Punk", well-known pleasures

New Wave & Post-Punk (1978-1984). From Depeche Mode to Franz Ferdinand (de Depeche Mode a Franz Ferdinand, Spanish original title)- Juan M. Corral (editor)

Here comes a very interesting and needed book. Well, music books are desperately needed in general in Spain, as the production is so small. So "New Wave & Post-Punk" has to be praised even if just as an attempt of covering such a music period. So thanks Juan Manuel Corral and the rest of music specialists (six different writers trying to dissect those times in several individual chapters) for the work.

Having said that, the book has many attractions, from just being informed about those years, who were the leading bands and artists of the different "movements" or "scenes" (whether the real existence or non-existence of the scenes are one of these perennial debates), their connections and relations, and maybe discover some of them, to bringing to the table, or at least explore, the origins and direct influences of many bands that are referential today. As the book clearly exposes, and I don't think its arguable, 80s are "on fashion" today.

To present such a vast and complex (it evolved very quickly) music panorama is not an easy task, so for sure, the scope of the book has limitations and the list of groups/artists included is, by no means (that's almost impossible) exhaustive, but the overall feeling after reading it is that the most relevant scenes have been covered and documented. Therefore, prepare yourself to embark on a quite challenging ride: from "England's Dreaming" to Joy Division fatalism, from American Hardcore to Gary Numan, from German industrial sounds to The Specials, from Morrisey & Marr to Diamanda Galas. 

As I said before, the book tries to analyse the most relevant bands and milestones of the different music scenes (plus a chapter on music labels, not that usual and highly absorbing, another positive point). I like the fact the writers doesn't hide their criticisms and opinions on albums and attitudes and that the focus is not reproducing what the chroniclers from USA and United Kingdom have vastly documented: the perspective is a more local one, about what and how we received these bands and styles here in Spain, and how we can value them. In that sense, the final chapters of "New Wave & Post-Punk" are particularly relevant despite its length constraints. One is dedicated to the "legacy", where music specialist Daniel Cabezas tries to summarize the influences of some of the most celebrated artists of the new millennium. A titanic, incomplete, but great chapter. The second is a brief (too short) but valuable view of how new wave and post-punk arrived and influenced national music, in a pivotal moment of change in Spain, after the dictatorship regime.

But there's a big, and a bit surprising, "issue" with this book: the unacceptable number of misspellings and typos. There's virtually no page without it. Just the back cover has half a dozen of them. Don't know which has been the problem (edition, lack of correction) but it makes the work look bad, not very professional. Sad, because despite its limitations, this book should be quite recommendable.

SCORE: 6,5/10

"Everyone Loves You When You're Dead", inside celebrities' mind

Everyone Loves You When You're Dead:  Journeys into Fame and Madness- Neil Strauss

Can you imagine? Having the chance of interviewing every major star of the music industry, among many other celebrities. Writing articles/critics/reviews on music and being read by milions and respected by thousands. I would love to have Neil Strauss' job. I would kill for it. That was my thought... until I read this book.

"Everyone Loves You..." is a collection of snippets from Strauss' most significant interviews (up to 228), to an impressive amount of music superstars from all times, other icons of popular culture and some other people, in one way or another related with them. This book might be then, although heavily deconstructed (again, this are just parts of interviews) one of the most amazing works of modern journalism. It is.

But even despite the numbers of surreal conversations, unbeliavable situations, unexpected adventures or grotesque, absurd moments Strauss' witnessees or takes part on it justifies the reading,  as it is amusing and immensely entertaining book, that wouldn't do complete justice to "Everyone Loves You...". This work offers a lot more.

Strauss' work is even more significant as an outstanding, gigantic task, on deconstructing the minds of celebrities. In his interviews, the author is not behaving just as a journalist, but more like a psychologist. And what he shows is basically, that fame and happiness are not synonymous. At all. As a matter of fact, the majority of celebrities on the book are suffering the consequences of their fame. Some (many) are "spoiled brats", pretentious and, quite frankly, unbearable. A few are directly stupid (look among the younger stars, wannabe celebrities or gangstas). Some built themselves an "Ivory Tower" from where nobody can disturb them (sometimes seems to work). But many are heavily traumatised people, with huge inner conflicts derived from a difficult past, familiar troubles, drugs, alcohol, etc. In a vast amount of these situations, fame didn't help a bit to deal with their issues. With the few exceptions of musicians that were capable to deal with their demons and now are looking fine, I would say the regular trend is the contrary: troubled person + fame= utter chaos. Among this "madness parade", the few "sane" celebrities interviewed on the book, happy people at control of their life, are wonderful and interesting counterpoints. Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Springsteen, Bono, Sacha Baron Cohen or Jay Leno were among this "category".

Several interviews were just amazing (hilarious, compelling, moving, deep, shocking...). The level of intimacy that Strauss' achieves with his counterpart, or just the genuine interest of the conversation will blow your mind. The ones with Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum (desperate loneliness of the two), Marilyn Manson, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, John Hartford, the aforementioned Baron Cohen, Slipknot, Curtis Mayfield, Herny Grimes. I could go on and on... If I had to make a little complaint, is that there were too many hip-hop/artists (the gangstas) and a couple of weird coverages, the one about the wax figures in particular, that could have been dropped from the compilation, so the reading would have been even more vivid with less pages. But I do understand why are they included and that this is just my opinion.

In the other hand, there's the end of the book. I'm still mesmerized by the story of Paul Nelson (looking for his biography right away). That and the epilogue summarizes the brilliance of this book. Must-read, for music lovers, celebrity lovers, celebrities and wannabes. For anyone.

SCORE: 8,75/10

"I Was Bono's Doppelgänger", music, pain and U2

I Was Bono's Doppelgänger- Neil McCormick

After the amusing and very original "Killing Bono" it was a matter of time I would put my hands over the book on which the film is based, "I Was Bono's Doppelgänger". And as the topic says: the book is more satisfying than the film. Or better said, is even more rewarding.

The thing that has surprised me is the amount of differences with the screen adaptation and the book. Director Nick Hamm took some less relevant/secondary or anecdotal facts and built several scenes on their own, allowing the film to flow as a surreal comedy with a few dark twists and a crazy plot, in which U2 are the recurring element of frustration, as their worlds are more and more extreme: U2 achieving stardom, while his school pal only a series of let-downs in their attempt to music success.

But the book is very different. Essentially, this is Neil McCormick's biography, covering an incredibly intense period of his life, in which he will struggle, again and again, to achieve his desire/obsession of being a rock star. Its a personal ride towards Dublin and London, in a cruel clash trying to make it in the music industry, in which the writer cannot help but add an increasingly excruciating note of comparison with his friend Paul Hewson, commonly known around the world as Bono, leader of U2.

I loved McCormick's writing skills. He's clear, direct, funny and extraordinarily frank in his narration, even when that honesty doesn't show the best portrait of himself. He makes the reader feels very close to his frustrations and stubborn behaviour, even despite his, sometimes pretty huge, ego. The failures of his bands, in particular Shook Up! are revealed with rage and pain in this pages, and offers a quite depressing look of the music business. From someone who has made his living on this industry nevertheless, not as musician, but as well-known pop-rock journalist and writer, its refreshing to read such open comments.

But don't get me wrong, this is not a rant against music industry. McCormick balances his tone with hilarious situations and anecdotes, and a witty, self-deprecating humour, so when the climax almost approaches and he lets his envy on U2's worldwide success explode in front of his friend Bono, it is clear this is written from the perspective of a mature person, who has grown and learnt from that experience.

"I Was Bono's Doppelgänger" also offers a much more insightful look to U2's evolution, that will please fans of the Irish band (as myself), as the band has a more active role in the book. In particular Bono becomes a very important character. The connection with the author is very intense, providing the reader with several amusing (some late parties too!) and intimate moments of friendship between the two, as well as pretty interesting conversations on music, religion and fame, revealing the good spirit of the Irish singer and political activist.

I assume I was particularly engaged with the book for personal reasons. As a person who dreams having McCormick's job, but has always been incapable of playing any instrument due to a sort of reverential fear to kill the magic of music, but also as someone with a brother pretty gifted that is striving against the difficulties of having a music career on his own but refusing to give up, I felt close to the story. I guess that by now you'll imagine I would highly recommend this reading. Without a doubt.

SCORE: 7,5/10