(A little) OFF: My 'State of the Art'

[Scott Heller]

Hej,

I really enjoyed this diatribe below and can relate to some of it quite well.

>Well, as we sexually repressed Americans anxiously await Horndog Billy's
>State of the Union address, I was thinking about the current State of Music.
>For me, it's really hard to tell.  I mean, it seems like the general
>situation is quite good these days, that is, being able to find lots of nice
>new things and a bunch of nice 70's reissues in prog & space rock.  And then
>there's been many more live shows going on over here in the states, with
>European (and some of our own) bands, old and new....although it still is
>rather difficult for them to break even.  But now there are quite a few
>festivals over here (not only Strange Daze, but prog shows like ProgDay,
>ProgFest, ProgScape, etc.) that sometimes have 'spacier' bands.  All in all,
>a pretty good time to be a fan.
>
Yes, that fact that we get to see a lot of these bands live is a great plus!


>I started listening to space rock and other obscure progressive bands around
>1980, and for about 8 years, I got the impression that I was just about the
>only one.  These days, there seems to be so much more communication between
>fans (and also between fans and the artists themselves).  Of course, I think
>the Internet has done a lot towards making more unusual (and consequently
>financially-strapped) bands reach their fan base...so it's not coincidental
>that these more unusual styles seem to become resurgent in the late 80's.
>
You started into this field of music earlier than I did. I was a total 100%
metalhead  until 1989 or so, then I really expaned quite a lot, when I
moved to Berkeley and met some great people, like Malcolm Humes!

>That said, it really does look like the mainstream music scene is exactly as
>pathetic as it's been for at least 20 years now.  I mean, every year, you
>can just look to the new R&RHoF inductees and immediately see the absurdity
>of it all.  Every cheese artist in the universe is shuffled right on in, and
>the real pioneers (even mega-popular ones!) are just ignored.  Come on...the
>Bee Gees before Deep Purple or Black Sabbath?????  Well, now we have
>Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles....big deal.  I admit I don't know a damn thing
>about F. Mac before they showed up on my radio, except for Judas Priest's
>Green Manalishi.  But at least *I've* heard the names Peter Green and Danny
>Kirwan before.  And I can tell you that F.Mac is not in the R&RHoF because
>of their contribution, but rather because Stevie Nicks & Lindsay Buckingham
>helped them sell zillions of albums much later on.
>
>And the "alternative" movement that's been the cat's meow for almost 10
>years now is just sickening nowadays.  I had the depressing experience of
>witnessing perhaps the worst ever on-air performance of a band in all TV
>history last night (although I still think that would have to go to the
>Thompson Twins on SNL around 1983 or so).  They were called Third Eye Blind,
>and they looked to me to be the loser of an 8th grade Battle of the Bands.
>The singer was *really* awful, and pulled the most ridiculous stunt I've
>seen in years by appearing on stage in a straight jacket.
>
It is totally pathetic!

>You know, I thought that the then new alternative movement was quite
>interesting in 1988 or so, as American bands were finally coming up with an
>answer for the punk movement (ten years late).  But they added some more
>intelligence to the style and created something that was new for a short
>while.  So I still think positively about Jane's Addiction (even though they
>might be scumbags as individuals), the Minneapolis bands (Husker Du/Bob
>Mould, Replacements, Soul Asylum), some Toronto bands (TPoH and 13 Engines)
>and fIREHOSE.  But Pearl Jam's 'Ten' should have been the end.  It was like
>a successful Hollywood movie that spawned a whole host of bad sequels.  And
>now it's just become a parody of itself, about five times over.
>
Yes, the first two Janes addiction lps were very unique. Great band at that
time!


>And the 'alternative' to 'alternative'?  Spice Girls, Hanson, and
>Chumbawamba!!  Woo Woo!!  Well, let's put it in perspective...this kind of
>meaningless crap always exists.  Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer....move over -
>there's more coming your way!
>
There will always be that shit passing through the music business bowels..


>And finally...it's a bit sad to see some of the hard rock/metal giants of
>the 70's nowadays struggling to fill medium-size clubs crammed on to a stage
>about the size that their amplifier stacks used to fill alone.  Maybe they
>should just give it up.  I actually still go see these groups quite often
>(Yes, and that does include BOC) but there's really not much point in them
>aging in front of our eyes, both in physical appearance and in a musical
>sense.  I see a Page/Plant album coming up soon....I just can't really get
>too excited about it.  I'm basically a child of the 70's (and will always
>be), and when I lose interest in *these* two guys, it's time to turn the
>page (no pun intended).
>
BOC, Kansas, Ted Nugent, etc..

>To be more list-friendly, I'd say BOC's a little different.  Although the
>live show has been musical archeology for going on a decade, I *would* like
>to see a new album from these guys.  After all these years, even marginally
>competent musicians could come up with an album's worth of interesting
>songs.  And Dharma & crew are far above competent.
>
I also would like to see a new lp by them, but I donø't expect that much. I
think they have probably lost the motivation to do much new, that is why
they have not put out a new lp in 10 years.  They could easily have found
someone to put it out for them.

>And speaking of HW...my all-time favourite.  Keep 'em coming, at least until
>the next millenium!  I'd say there's a point in making Distant Horizons.
>There are things there (good and bad) that I haven't heard from this band
>before.  Of course, they really haven't challenged the marks they set with
>their 10 years of brilliance from ISoS to Levitation.  They came close with
>Electric Tepee and in multiple live performances (Palace Springs in
>particular).  And they still remain as evolving and innovative as most young
>artists out there.
>

I had a long talk with Doug Walker and Nik turner about Dave Brock's
Hawkwind, since it really isn't much of a band anymore but a bunch of guys
whom do what dave says and play music.. We both agree that Dave, as BOC is
just coasting. NOt really doing much new to push the envelope of music, but
just coasting.

I do really like some of the stuff on Distant Horizons though.

>And speaking now of young artists...there are more than a few of them as
>well creating something new, building on a base of 70's style space rock.
>The one that has my attention at the moment is Sky Cries Mary.  I can't
>really say that their recorded works are absolutely fantastic, but I'm
>fascinated by them for their originality.  I'm now convinced that there
>might be some new form of music that isn't simply a mixture of older
>styles...perhaps a bit of synergy exists there.  I think Porcupine Tree, the
>Fish/Steve Wilson pairing, and DarXtar also are branching out a bit beyond
>what's already been done.
>
I never have really been into the Sky cries Mary. Carl loaned me three of
their CD's and they were alright but did not really kick me in the face,
like that first Embryo lp I listened to last night, wow!!

I like the way that Darztar has progressed as well. I look forward to
hearing the next Porcupine tree as I liked the Signify studio lp a lot. The
new live one is too studio sounding.

As for Fish, I gave up on him a few lps ago. He became so commerical
sounding. I guess I should give this new project a chance?


Great!

scott

If you figure out the song tracks for the Amon Duul II show, please let me
know. Let me know ho you like the rest of the tapes as well.

R. Scott Heller PhD
Hagedorn Research Institute
Niels Steensensvej 6
DK 2820 Gentofte Denmark
(45) 44 43 91 96  or 44 3 91 38 Phone
(45) 44 43 80 00 Fax
shll at hagedorn.dk  or  heller at hagedorn.dk
Http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/stage/7713