(Re:)discovery

As onerous as it can be sifting through the admittedly dense pile of crap available through mp3 subscription service eMusic, it can still ocassionally reward you with some true gems. Every few months, they try to entice me back into the fold with a ton of free downloads, and while it can be challenging, it gives me a chance to either check out new stuff that I’m iffy about purchasing in CD form, or rediscovering songs from the past that for one reason or another I never liked enough to own, but now are much more appealing.

By appealing, I mean cheap.

By cheap, I mean free.

First up: LA “punk” band Face to Face.

I vividly remember hearing this song on the local radio station back in high school, and immediately thinking how catchy it was. But every time I went into the store to buy it, something else took precedence, and eventually I got over it. But it popped into my brain again recently, and I made a mental note to check eMusic the next time they offered me free downloads. And here we are. There is absolutely nothing interesting or ground-breaking about this song. But when you’re 16 and live in the suburbs with no exposure to indie or college rock, this was about as cutting-edge as things got.

Next: Canadian power-poppers Limblifter

After my first failed foray into college life, I landed back in Herndon, VA living in my parents’ house and taking classes at the local community college. One of the few fun things I had to do to pass the time with all of my friends away at “real” college was watching the pre-recorded feed of Canada’s MuchMusic on a local public television station, where I learned all about Sloan, Gob, Matthew Good Band, and other late-90s/early aughts Canadian musical “luminaries”.

Despite originating from Canada, this song has a bright, metallic sound that evokes images of southern California more than the  shores of Nova Scotia.

Finally: Triple Fast Action

I actually discovered these guys tangentially because after they broke up, their bassist Kevin Tihista went solo, performing under the moniker Kevin Tihista’s Red Terror. The first single of his solo debut, ‘Lose The Dress’, appeared on a CMJ sampler back in 2001/2002, and piqued my interest.

When I found out he’d been in a power-pop-punk band previously, I was desperate to get a listen. Only problem was, they were only regionally successful, and the label(s) their albums were released on weren’t widely available by the time I discovered them. So this last time out with eMusic, I figured I’d give it a shot, and sure enough, there they were.

On Music Criticism: Black Croasis

dischorddesoto: Dude, one of the music sites I go to had a Black Crowes discussion, and someone was asking a poster going to a show to “report back about how the new album sounds.”

dischorddesoto: It took all my willpower not to reply screaming at him to just listen to any other one of their albums at random.

popgirlsetc: Hahaha

dischorddesoto: I mean, seriously, people. That’s like me breathlessly asking what the new Oasis album will sound like.

dischorddesoto: LIKE FUCKING OASIS.

popgirlsetc: Dude, I totally agree that it was lame of Maxim to run that review, but it’s still hilarious. I’d have to say that that critic’s “educated guess” was more accurate than not.

dischorddesoto: Maxim is shit, but I wish they had just run with it and been like, “fuck them.” Sadly, I’d assume that much of their readership LOVES the Black Crowes.

popgirlsetc: Did I ever tell you about my friend Steven’s run-in with Liam?

dischorddesoto: Nah, when?

popgirlsetc: A few months before Stop The Clocks came out.

dischorddesoto: Was alcohol involved?

popgirlsetc: I dunno. It was at like 10am. But it was Liam…

popgirlsetc: Anyway, Steven was in London on business, and checking out of the same hotel Liam was checking into with his lady and their kids. Steven’s like Oasis super-fan #99, and goes up to Liam and just says, “Hey Liam, I just want to say what a huge fan I am, and how excited I am for Stop The Clocks to come out.”

popgirlsetc: Liam just smirks and replies, “Well, I’m sure it won’t be anything we haven’t heard before.”

dischorddesoto: Oh, that sassy devil. And I’m sure it was much less coherent.

popgirlsetc: And more combative.

dischorddesoto: HAHAHAHA!

popgirlsetc: And homophobic in a veiled way.

dischorddesoto: Of course. And with the term “god-like” thrown in.

No. 9: The Houston Oilers

Oilers' derrick

Oilers’ Derrick

This was another “grower”, as I didn’t really appreciate this logo until it became obsolete when the Oilers changed over to the Titans. As averse as I am philosophically to the championing of non-renewable fossil fuels, there’s powerful iconography at play here, completely “American” in both its selection and its perceived importance. The red, white and blue imagery is obvious in meaning, but what’s really telling about our attitudes as citizens is the uncompromising pride this kind of logo evoked. At this point in history, with so much being said about converting the American economy base back to one of production from one of consumption, the spirit of the mark is accurate (when it hadn’t been for almost 25 years), but the paradigm shift from fossil fuels to green energy is totally at odds with what the oil derrick represents.

So as unfortunate as it is that such a great, meaningful logo had to fall by the wayside, it makes a ton of sense as a reflection of the cultural shift our country is currently undergoing. Give it another 10-15 years, and this little red, white and blue oil derrick will take on a quaintness no one would have ever associated with something football-related. And that’s kind of cool.

Logos, logos everywhere!

Shocker of shockers, in addition to being an avid consumer of pop music, I’m also a big sports fan (I had a hip coworker look at me quizzically one day when she saw me wearing a Washington Redskins football jersey the day after I was seen sporting a Joy Division tee). And a graphic designer with a passion for great logos and brand marks. So interspersed among our usual content, I’m going to be counting down my Top 10 favorite logos of the major professional sports leagues. Since we’re in the thick of the NFL season, and with an entire day of Turkey Day football right around the corner, let’s jump right in, shall we?

No. 10, Tennessee Titans

Thumbtacks!

Titans’ “thumbtack” logo

As a rule, I tend to hate expansion teams. Or rather, expansion teams chartered since I became sports-aware. They mess up divisional and conference affiliations, and tend to have very “of-the-moment” uniform and logo designs that look dated within about five to ten years.

To be fair, the Titans were not an expansion team; they represented the reinvention of the former Houston Oilers after they relocated to Nashville in the late 1990s. This logo was something of a grower; I hated it for a very long time. I wasn’t a fan of the light blue, and the design itself smacked of some lower-tier league, like the CFL or a European football team. But I’ve slowly come around, appreciating the thought that went into the design. The three stars representing the Tennessee state flag, the “t” with the star placed above it a stylized representation of a torch (in Greek mythology, Prometheus was the Titan that dared to bring fire down from the gods to give to man), which is further reinforced by the flame trailing behind it. The light blue is a clear reference back to the team’s history in Houston, which escaped me at the time of the logo’s introduction, but now seems honorable and worthy of appreciation. All in all, a fine logo for a team that looks poised to represent the AFC in the 2009 playoffs.

Well, Chinese Democracy came out, and the world didn’t end.

A lot of bloggers/critics/people with a pulse have already written and are going to write a lot of stuff about Guns ‘n’ Roses’ seventeen years-in-the-making third (yes, third) album Chinese Democracy. I’m not going to get into a detailed track-by-track analysis or a philosophical reverie regarding what happens when THE MOST POTENT SIGNIFIER OF THE END-TIMES APPEARS AND NOTHING HAPPENS.

No.

What I will say is this: Chinese Democracy, by all accounts, is a good album. Had it come out in 1995, it would have been great, even groundbreaking (for hard rock). But the fact of the matter is, all of the sounds and styles contained therein that are “new” to G’n'R have (disappointingly) been co-opted from other genres that have cropped up in the last seventeen years. It’s as if Axl was completely befuddled as to how to move forward post-Use Your Illusion, and had to wait seventeen years for other artists to create new styles he could rip off and synthesize. So basically, Guns ‘n’ Roses is the new Oasis.

Ya gotta roll with it.

Ya gotta take your time.

Let’s just hope it’s not another seventeen years.

On Rap, Part I: Getting older.

popgirlsetc: You know what I realized as I was browsing through the hip-hop section today?

dischorddesoto: What’s that?

popgirlsetc: There seems to be a direct correlation between the “gangsta”-ness of certain albums and the crappiness of the album art.

dischorddesoto: Shittier the cover, the more gangsta?

popgirlsetc: Yeah. Case in point: Anything affiliated with that whole Cash Money Millionaires scene back in the late 90s.

popgirlsetc: Master P.

popgirlsetc: You retard.

dischorddesoto: Master P is an evil genius.

dischorddesoto: Easily one of the most legitimately wealthy men in the rap game, and he did it with zero talent and a stable of shitty rappers.

dischorddesoto: Most of these guys are well-off to a degree. But he’s like Russell Simmons-loaded.

dischorddesoto: Insanity.

popgirlsetc: I bet L’il Jon’s probably socked away some decent scratch. His whole thing is so clearly a gimmick. He seems like he’s pretty smart with his cash.

dischorddesoto: True.

dischorddesoto: Though he can at least produce some legitimately catchy songs and club hits.

dischorddesoto: Master P had nothing.

dischorddesoto: Jermaine Dupri is the other secret genius.

dischorddesoto: Dude’s been making rap and R&B hits for like 15 years now. He’s loaded.

popgirlsetc: Yeah, but he’s always been really commercial. That’s not surprising at all.

dischorddesoto: Oh, definitely.

popgirlsetc: Dude, 15 years?! Has is really been that long since Kriss Kross? Shit.

Wow. Six months, huh?

For the very few of you that pay attention to my random ramblings on this blog, I realize you’ve probably by now given up on ever reading new content. To be honest, I’d pretty much given up on ever writing new content. To be fair, I just wrapped up my degree program a little over a week ago, and will be receiving my 10-year-plan Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Design early next month. So everything was pretty much relegated to the back burner due to that.

The last 12 days have been spent contemplating how I’ll be moving forward with this blog. One thing’s for sure: I’ll no longer be confining it strictly to music. There’s just too much of a wealth of pop cultural artifacts out there, past and present, to analyze, praise and villify. I’ll also be stretching out the formatting a bit, and try to incorporate contributions from like-minded pop enthusiasts in varying ways.

With that said, I hope you all enjoy Thanksgiving this week. Eat some turkey for me!