tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post7978295639267151035..comments2024-03-16T07:11:09.270-04:00Comments on Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches: One idea, three ways: Voivod, Kettle Chips and the unified rock aestheticHankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12995158278551531136noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-771422008999687132010-06-11T17:40:52.816-04:002010-06-11T17:40:52.816-04:00Yes! We were talking about this a few weeks ago......Yes! We were talking about this a few weeks ago...the example was Helmet's "Betty" album - in that case, one of the three ways (the album art) is a complete - and utterly successful - fake-out: Ugly & terse riffs, ugly & terse lyrics...gorgeous & colorful album sleeve?? Delightful! <br /><br />First example leaping to my mind of a band nailing it solid all three ways? FAR BEYOND DRIVEN.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-48413984996451914832010-06-10T14:45:36.639-04:002010-06-10T14:45:36.639-04:00Interesting post - sorry to be getting to it so la...Interesting post - sorry to be getting to it so late. Leaving aside album art, Steve Lacy has a pretty unified aesthetic. To me it all feels weirdly object-like: the titles ("Bone," "Stalks," "The Crust"); the short, angular themes; the compressed sound of the soprano. Even the guy's last name seems to reinforce the aesthetic.Jakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-84627063334949850132010-06-09T09:15:50.272-04:002010-06-09T09:15:50.272-04:00Jimi Hendrix.
Little Richard.
etc., in that founda...Jimi Hendrix.<br />Little Richard.<br />etc., in that foundational line - (Howlin' Wolf) - on back to Delta players like Charley Patton, for whom image had to be live and crisp enough to stand apart even at close range, from like 2 feet away.<br />The trend, reading backwards, roots the field of "images" in personal image, a proposal of one's self; by the time we hit Hendrix, though (and this is why he's a key example), the ensemble could be (i.e., was) tagged "Wagnerian" - Wagner being like "one idea, three ways" at its most programmatic.<br /><br />Flash forward to DEVO...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-57881561021189434772010-06-08T01:54:40.887-04:002010-06-08T01:54:40.887-04:00Despite diminishing artistic returns, The Mars Vol...Despite diminishing artistic returns, The Mars Volta and Radiohead. <br /><br />Interesting sidenote on the White Stripes. In "Ladies and Gentleman... the Fabulous Stains", a brit punk singer tries to educate a young Diane Lane about the limitations of her band's riot girr-esque concept by saying "right now, all you've got are your white stripes" (a reference to their new wave haircuts). <br /><br />Was this layer of pop cultural artifice an intentional addition to the White Stripes' 3-way concept? Who knows, but it's a neat detail (and a cool movie).evanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12607614651261832762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-69832475287678796312010-06-07T09:06:39.554-04:002010-06-07T09:06:39.554-04:00CLUTCH. Evey album goes one idea, three ways.CLUTCH. Evey album goes one idea, three ways.DKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-88000990863721075392010-06-06T23:53:57.642-04:002010-06-06T23:53:57.642-04:00The two that spring to mind for me are Refused (ec...The two that spring to mind for me are Refused (eclectic and poetic resistance to capitalism) and John Coltrane (reserved-yet-transcendent). There's probably stronger argument to be made for Refused, but I think all the iconic Coltrane album covers (particularly the Impulse! releases) paired with the liner notes (and, on A Love Supreme, Trane's poem) fit the bill as well. Come to think of it, lots of the AACM/60s-70s black avant-garde folks (Braxton springs to mind, as do Wadada Leo Smith, the Art Ensemble, and arguably Sun Ra) might fit the bill as well, depending on how you define the "words" part of the triangle. <br /><br />Could you squeeze John Cage in as well? Considering he "authored" visual art, music, and books without distinguishing one from another (and all three from "philosophy" or "theory") he seems relevant, if definitely a departure from the rest of the list.Max Suechtinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06991869886559344400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-28309573636654128832010-06-06T18:05:42.760-04:002010-06-06T18:05:42.760-04:00first band that came to mind was Converge, at leas...first band that came to mind was Converge, at least the complete aesthetic of <i>Jane Doe</i>.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17217534612674666877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273873.post-2000870400144643692010-06-06T09:36:05.904-04:002010-06-06T09:36:05.904-04:00Nice post. The simplicity of three is important; t...Nice post. The simplicity of three is important; the same idea 14 ways wouldn't work as well. Though any ad exec would probably just tell you this is Branding 101, thinking through examples made me realize most bands miss at least one of the three.<br /><br />My examples: Parliament/Funkadelic (arriving aliens have better parties). Stereolab (too-cool utopian futurism). Roxy Music (louche, wealthy decadence). Shellac (contrarian DIYism), Kraftwerk (calm, mechanical rationality), Sonic Youth (scattershot emotional collage using whatever's at hand), Duke Ellington (elegance uber alles, and thinking more of the look of the man and his band rather than album covers).michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15985436352682200993noreply@blogger.com