Pink Floyd. The Rolling Stones. Miles Davis. The Ramones. Stevie Wonder. Neil Young. The Who. Genesis. All of these artists fell prey to one of the most unfortunate musical phenomena of the past 30 years - the 1978 Rule.
The 1978 Rule simply states that any band who was popular before 1978 sucked in the 80s. There are a couple simple rules for this :
1) Solo artists must be considered separate from their groups. So, while Peter Gabriel may have rocked in the 80s, Genesis still sucked in the 80s, and thus the 1978 rule applies.
2) Proportionality. If a band had a hit or two before 1978, but then became mega-stars in the 80s, I would consider them to be 80s artists, and thus the 78 rule wouldn’t apply.
Although firmly rooted in psychedelic rock, 54 Seconds excels at creating catchy, well-crafted pop songs.
Consisting of Spencer Gibb (guitar/vocal/songwriter), Stewart Cochran (keys, backing vocals), Rachel Loy (bass, backing vocals), and Jeff Botta (drums, percussion), 54 Seconds has a wide variety of sounds with which to weave their musical fabric. Gibb’s songs are accessible yet deep, with poignant stories and infectious hooks. Loy’s voice provides an excellent counterpoint to Gibb’s. And Cochran, who by day plays piano for ballet and modern dance performances, brings the keyboards to the fore in a way that I wish more bands would.
Gibb is the creative center of the band, writing lyrics and singing lead vocals. Despite being the son of legendary Bee Gee Robin Gibb, he’s determined to make it the old-fashioned way - by traveling around the country and playing at clubs like Rehab and Cicero’s .
Although regulars to the Austin scene (having snagged an SXSW award for Best Music Video ), 54 Seconds recently embarked on their first national tour to promote their new album, Postcards from California .
I had the pleasure of seeing them perform at Rehab last Saturday, where I filmed them playing Dirty Little Secret (video above), That’s How I Roll , and California . Before the gig, we walked up to Tompkins Square Park, where I had the opportunity to ask them a few questions. (Our Q&A after the jump.)
I have a confession to make: for most of my life, I didn’t enjoy hip-hop. Don’t get me wrong - I’ve always admired skilled hip-hop artists, especially those who freestyle . It’s just that my enjoyment of music generally comes from the instruments and the interplay between them. I appreciate lyrics and vocals, but I see the human voice as one instrument among many, and not always the main attraction.
However, my view of hip-hop changed dramatically about a year ago, when a friend forwarded me a link to DJ Dangermouse’s The Grey Album . Here was one of my favorite bands (the Beatles) providing instrumental tracks for one of the most skilled hip-hop artists of the day (Jay-Z). I finally understood what people have been saying about hip-hop all along - it really is an amazing vocal styling. Not just the words, but the rhythm of the words. I don’t think that I fully appreciated it until I heard it mashed up with equally impressive music.
Suddenly, I had to have it all. My generation had created an art form that rivaled anything that the Baby Boomers had came up with, and I wanted a piece of it. So I set upon a quest to find the best hip-hop mashups on the internet.
Who are Psychic Drive? They are Lizzy (guitar/lyrics/vocals), Connie (drums), and Kristin (bass/vocals). Their sound is hard-driving, feedback-drenched, and tinged with psychedelia. Reminiscent of the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine (who are playing at Roseland in September), their music features rich sonic textures, multi-layered guitar effects, and a pounding rhythm section.
However, I would never call Psychic Drive a “shoegazing” band, simply because they never shoegaze. Lizzy is a performer from the old school. He’s never content to just play a song; he wants to give you a show. As he dances across the stage, you can see every note and lyric reverberate through his body. Not afraid to engage the audience, he’s been known to jump into the crowd to play a solo, or even to use other peoples’ bodies as musical instruments. (True story!)
Psychic Drive has been perfoming in NYC for 3 years, and have played at all of my favorite haunts - Arlene’s Grocery, Niagara, Pianos, Luna, Lit, the Delancey, and the Bowery, where they shared a bill with Blondie.
I was fortunate enough to see them at Arlene’s Grocery last Wednesday, where I filmed them playing Cartoon Christ (video embedded above), Hide, and Ray of Sunshine. I also had the opportunity to ask Lizzie and Kristen a few questions. Our Q&A is after the jump. Read more »
For this week’s post, I planned on doing a concert review. However, since the band that I wanted to review this week isn’t playing until NEXT week (d’oh!), this is my opportunity to abuse you with my taste in music.
Be forewarned: listening to these bands will not make you cool. I’d be shocked if anyone you know is into them. They don’t have new albums out, and they’re not coming to a venue near you. Half of them don’t even exist anymore. They are, however, damn good bands. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!
For those who don’t know, Pandora is a brilliant web site that allows you to create your own internet radio stations. You give it a list of bands and songs that you like, and it uses this information to decide which songs to play for you. Besides playing music that you already like, it will (in the best case) introduce you to new bands that you’ll enjoy. That’s actually how I’ve found some of my favorite bands, including one that I saw in concert a few weeks ago .
There are people in this world who will tell you that Pandora is worthless. They’ll say things like, "It always thinks that I want to listen to Twisted Sister when I really want to listen to Neil Young." Or they’ll say, "It plays the same stuff over and over again."
The thing about Pandora is that you’ve got to have a strategy. Those of us who know and love Pandora know how to build good stations. Here are some tactics that I’ve learned over the years.
Hey all, I’m Afroblanco, and I’ll be writing The Waggle Dance, the music column for Neighborbee. For those of you not versed in apiculture, I shall explain: when honeybees find a good source for pollen, such as a particularly tasty flower bed, they return to the hive to tell everybody about it. Upon arrival, they perform what is known as a Waggle Dance, which is a special set of motions that communicates to their neighbor bees where the pollen source may be found. And that’s pretty much how I envision my role here - returning to the hive to let you know where all the good music is.
And so, without further ado, I shall present my first column - a review of The Helio Sequence’s recent show at the Bowery Ballroom.
