OFF: Hi Again

[Jon Jarrett]

On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 mark.von-bargen at O2.CO.UK wrote:

> A bit of musical variety is called for these days while waiting for the
> old favourites to produce some new output. So...
> System of A Down - to fill those really HEAVY moments The Music - to add
> the 70's freak-out vibe The Coral - for the 60's psyche tinged pop vibe
> Foo Fighters - for the fun rock and the neat videos And King's X - for the
> hell of it.

        Even the new bands I, as one of the list's official young people
(ha!) a few years back, was then into seem to have ground to a halt over
the last couple of years, but from my slightly time-warped perspective of
what's still happening I agree about System of a Down, genuinely competent
and intelligent metal, though I really couldn't tell you hat sub-gnre of
metal they most readily fit into, and by intelligent I don't mean
math-rock, I mean it means something and has content. Not just for it
being packed with theological allusions, but while we're on bands who pack
their stuff with theological allusions, CLUTCH are still alive and
functional and still hitting the mark. The newest album _Blast Tyrant_
took a long time to come out but has been worth the wait.

        I don't rate Foo Fighters myself, but maybe I just haven't heard
the good stuff. I'd back Queens of the Stone Age against them for the
MTV2-friendly end of things, but now that QotSA are working without Nick
Oliveri *or* Dave Grohl I think their tiem may be over.

        Other high-quality bands in varying genres: in space-rock, well,
currently it seems to me that there is only Litmus, but that one makes up
for a lot more. I thoroughly recommend _You Are Here_ to anyone who ever
liked _Space Ritual_ or _Quark, Strangeness ancd Charm_, without implying
that it clones these albums because it doesn't. Around the worryingly-
close-to-goth alternative rock, Queen Adreena are maybe principally a live
experience but the first album has a considerable flavour of Tori Amos
gone childish and bad about it. Second is more metal and less subtle, the
third is (again) not out yet after some delays. Who else? Acid Mothers
Temple, another wave that seems to be ebbing. The Bevis Frond still going,
just about, does anyone know what the new one's like yet? The Ozrics are
still alive but too skint to do anything, especially publicise their gigs
which is a vicious circle. I don't have trouble finding gigs I can't
manage to go to yet, at least.

        But yeah, even I begin to worry that the new bands aren't coming
up like they used to. I'm in the wrong place to be seeing it though
because Cambridge's music scene is dead as Dawson and Crick.

> BUT, for a tune, nobody can beat Ken Dodd.

        Surely you mean Goerge Formby? Yours,
                                              Jon

--
                Jonathan Jarrett, Birkbeck College, London
    jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk/ejarr01 at students.bbk.ac.uk
  "As much as the vision of the blind man improves with the rising sun,
       So too does the intelligence of the fool after good advice."
       (Bishop Theodulf of Orleans, late-eight/early-ninth century)