(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, previous post links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)
The "best rapper of all time" debate is one that always ignites passion, some willing to hand it to 2Pac because of his highest peaks and untimely death but forgetting that his immense output includes a lot of sub-par work; others prefer The Notorious B.I.G. because he, too, died too soon; others go back to the first masters of the genre, your street intellectuals Rakim, LL Cool J, and KRS-One. Millennials might have a soft spot for Jay-Z or Eminem, while the best voice in the game is undoubtedly Snoop Dogg, but he disqualifies himself for contenting himself with spelling his name out for over a decade, mid-career.
However, when it comes to square, 4/4, old-school rhyming, no one comes close to Ice Cube, save perhaps Everlast. Cube invented gangsta rap with N.W.A., became an even bigger star by going solo after refusing to get screwed over in a poor record deal, became a film star when he lacked inspiration in music, and came back to rap with material more incisive than ever at the turn of the millennium. Here he is, back again, doing what he does best: claiming he's the best:
That's It's My Ego, from the forthcoming album Man Down!, directed by Gabriel "Videogod" Hart.
Showing posts with label Video Of The Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video Of The Week. Show all posts
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Video Of The Week: Eminem, Big Sean & BabyTron
(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, previous post links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)
Eminem made the news recently when he was the surprise headliner of the concert that marked the reopening of Michigan Central, a building whose dereliction had come to symbolize the city's financial struggles. It was a Detroit-centric show, a Detroit-centric performance with his guest stars, and he continues the theme here with fellow Detroit MC Big Sean and Michigander BabyTron, on Em's latest single, Tobey: It's a little too "trapy" for my taste, as it gets repetitive between standout lines throughout the verses, but Big Sean and Eminem have a few strokes of genius here and there, particularly the eight-bar Melle Mel diss.
25 years in and still current, with references that draw from the past and present equally. Solid.
The video itself was directed by frequent Eminem collaborator and pioneer of underground rap for the past decade Cole Bennett, from what was probably an insanely long storyboard, and the special effects are well done for something that probably didn't cost plural millions, seeing as videos aren't really a thing anymore with no ratings-driven TV station to play them.
Eminem made the news recently when he was the surprise headliner of the concert that marked the reopening of Michigan Central, a building whose dereliction had come to symbolize the city's financial struggles. It was a Detroit-centric show, a Detroit-centric performance with his guest stars, and he continues the theme here with fellow Detroit MC Big Sean and Michigander BabyTron, on Em's latest single, Tobey: It's a little too "trapy" for my taste, as it gets repetitive between standout lines throughout the verses, but Big Sean and Eminem have a few strokes of genius here and there, particularly the eight-bar Melle Mel diss.
25 years in and still current, with references that draw from the past and present equally. Solid.
The video itself was directed by frequent Eminem collaborator and pioneer of underground rap for the past decade Cole Bennett, from what was probably an insanely long storyboard, and the special effects are well done for something that probably didn't cost plural millions, seeing as videos aren't really a thing anymore with no ratings-driven TV station to play them.
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Video Of The Week: Johnny Cash
(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, article links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)
After the extremely successful run of covers albums, Johnny Cash's estate now takes us to his back catalogue with a full album of unreleased 1993 tracks called Songwriter, Cash's new video for Hello Out There, a song that takes the side of presenting planet Earth to alien civilizations in bit of a cry for help, and mixes it in with the singer's usual religious inclinations: As per with the award-winning video for Hurt, this black-and-white video's story owes a lot to the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville, this time concentrating on a child finding out about the songwriter's craft or, as per the video's YouTube page:
After the extremely successful run of covers albums, Johnny Cash's estate now takes us to his back catalogue with a full album of unreleased 1993 tracks called Songwriter, Cash's new video for Hello Out There, a song that takes the side of presenting planet Earth to alien civilizations in bit of a cry for help, and mixes it in with the singer's usual religious inclinations: As per with the award-winning video for Hurt, this black-and-white video's story owes a lot to the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville, this time concentrating on a child finding out about the songwriter's craft or, as per the video's YouTube page:
“Hello Out There” was directed by Matt Paskert and starring Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s youngest granddaughter, six-year-old Grace June Cash, the daughter of John Carter and his wife Ana Cristina Cash. In the black and white video, Grace sets off alone on an adventure and comes upon the Cash Cabin, Johnny’s hallowed sanctuary in Hendersonville, Tennessee where he wrote and recorded some of his final songs, and where ‘Songwriter’ was produced.The cynic in me took a hard listen and my conclusion was that this was worthy of release and of inclusion in my Country, Johnny Cash, and Current playlists - and maybe in time my Eternal Playlist as well.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Video Of The Week: Pearl Jam
Remember in 1995-1996, when the Smashing Pumpkins could do no wrong and went full-artistic with a double album (Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness) as well as a five-CD set of b-sides to accompany it (The Aeroplane Flies High), producing high-budget stop-motion videos for off-kilter singles like 33 and paying tribute to the films of Georges Méliès (Tonight, Tonight) to go with the heroin chic of Zero?
It looks like that's what Josh Wakely was going for when he pitched Pearl Jam his idea for a video based on their new single Retrograde - not the safest bet as a single:
There are nice images and familiar themes - the "end of the world" / Global Warming / nature fights back theme of Gigaton is omnipresent, there are waves and water galore, the idea of people mixed with tarot cards is neat - but the animation doesn't rock my boat, unfortunately.
This one's a nice effort but a miss. Still, it's the best new video out this week.
It looks like that's what Josh Wakely was going for when he pitched Pearl Jam his idea for a video based on their new single Retrograde - not the safest bet as a single:
There are nice images and familiar themes - the "end of the world" / Global Warming / nature fights back theme of Gigaton is omnipresent, there are waves and water galore, the idea of people mixed with tarot cards is neat - but the animation doesn't rock my boat, unfortunately.
This one's a nice effort but a miss. Still, it's the best new video out this week.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Video Of The Week: Pearl Jam
When I first heard Pearl Jam's Superblood Wolfmoon last month, ahead of their new record Gigaton's release, I felt a tad underwhelmed by the song. It had a decent riff, but the lyrics seemed too juvenile at first glance, and I got to hoping they wouldn't play it too often on their upcoming tour, where I'd be seeing them at least twice (Ottawa and Québec).
I didn't listen to it that often, for that reason, but once in a while I would hear it on the radio - and I never listen to the radio, but sometimes when my kid won't sleep, I'll tune in to CHOM (Montréal's last remaining rock station) and dance with him in my arms for a while, and it invariably played.
It's been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks now. The hook is addictive. And Keith Ross and the Tiny Concert animation crew did a fine job of capturing the band's energy in their primitive drawings and giving them life in the official video:
I always feel kind of bad when keyboardist Boom Gaspar is left out of the picture, though. The poor guy's been playing with the band since 2002 and still hasn't gotten promoted to "band member", instead remaining officially a "session and touring musician". Yeah, for one band.
I didn't listen to it that often, for that reason, but once in a while I would hear it on the radio - and I never listen to the radio, but sometimes when my kid won't sleep, I'll tune in to CHOM (Montréal's last remaining rock station) and dance with him in my arms for a while, and it invariably played.
It's been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks now. The hook is addictive. And Keith Ross and the Tiny Concert animation crew did a fine job of capturing the band's energy in their primitive drawings and giving them life in the official video:
I always feel kind of bad when keyboardist Boom Gaspar is left out of the picture, though. The poor guy's been playing with the band since 2002 and still hasn't gotten promoted to "band member", instead remaining officially a "session and touring musician". Yeah, for one band.
Friday, February 7, 2020
Video Of The Week: Pearl Jam
It's been getting easier in the past 10-15 years to hear direct influences of Pearl Jam's newer songs, from the b-side Down sounding like a less-distorted version of AC/DC's You Shook Me (All Night Long); many people hear a Talking Heads influence in their latest video out today, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, but if you keep in mind The Heads have also influenced modern bands like Arcade Fire, you might also detect an eerie similarity to the Montréal band's own Reflektor:
Don't get me wrong, I'd rather they wear their influences on their sleeve and be true to it in their hearts, it's just that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers are clearly on a path where they are a lot less ahead of the curve than when they led the rock world.
Sure, with Gigaton, a record that dives head-first into political messaging and the urgency of global warming, their message is still on point, but the the edge no longer cuts.
Director Ryan Cory does a good job of merging the band's energy (and the track's dance-ability) with images of the earth's beauty and strength. Notice how guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament - essentially the band's founders and co-conspirators since the mid-1980s in Green River, then Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone - have switched instruments, with Gossard playing (and having come up with) the bass parts and Ament carrying his axe like a rockabilly twanger.
They're no longer reinventing rock, but at least they're reinventing themselves. And the song's pretty good, too!
Don't get me wrong, I'd rather they wear their influences on their sleeve and be true to it in their hearts, it's just that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers are clearly on a path where they are a lot less ahead of the curve than when they led the rock world.
Sure, with Gigaton, a record that dives head-first into political messaging and the urgency of global warming, their message is still on point, but the the edge no longer cuts.
Director Ryan Cory does a good job of merging the band's energy (and the track's dance-ability) with images of the earth's beauty and strength. Notice how guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament - essentially the band's founders and co-conspirators since the mid-1980s in Green River, then Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone - have switched instruments, with Gossard playing (and having come up with) the bass parts and Ament carrying his axe like a rockabilly twanger.
They're no longer reinventing rock, but at least they're reinventing themselves. And the song's pretty good, too!
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Video Of The Week: The Cars
Let's take a short break from hockey predictions to acknowledge one of the best songwriting talents in 20th Century Rock, Ric Ocasek, who was found dead earlier at the age of 75. He was inducted along with his other The Cars bandmates into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2018 (I sure as fuck voted for them, yes).
He also put out some terrific solo albums, my favourite being 1997's Troublizing, which included bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur (Tinker, Hole, The Smashing Pumpkins, a great solo career in stoner rock), drummer Matt Walker (Filter, Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins, Morrissey) and Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins) on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals.
But I wanted to focus on The Cars for the moment, seeing as that's what Ocasek was most known for. My favourite Cars song is My Best Friend's Girl, with Just What I Needed ranking a close second:
I'm still looking for additional information pertaining to the video, including who directed it. When I find out, I'll update this paragraph.
Okasek also produced a ton of records for other artists, including Suicide, Bad Brains, Bad Religion, Nada Surf, Le Tigre, No Doubt, and, most recently, Weezer. He just may be the king of Power Pop.
He also put out some terrific solo albums, my favourite being 1997's Troublizing, which included bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur (Tinker, Hole, The Smashing Pumpkins, a great solo career in stoner rock), drummer Matt Walker (Filter, Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins, Morrissey) and Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins) on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals.
But I wanted to focus on The Cars for the moment, seeing as that's what Ocasek was most known for. My favourite Cars song is My Best Friend's Girl, with Just What I Needed ranking a close second:
I'm still looking for additional information pertaining to the video, including who directed it. When I find out, I'll update this paragraph.
Okasek also produced a ton of records for other artists, including Suicide, Bad Brains, Bad Religion, Nada Surf, Le Tigre, No Doubt, and, most recently, Weezer. He just may be the king of Power Pop.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Video Of The Week: The Hazytones
Most days, I really like "stoner rock", distorted, slow-to-mid-tempo groovy rock like Queens Of The Stone Age, Bloody Diamonds and Priestess. The Hazytones definitely thread in those waters, with hints of Corrosion Of Conformity, Kyuss and heavy 1990s rock as major influences.
In the lo-fi video for the song "Living On The Edge", directed by Seb Black, the Montréal outfit shares the screen with wolf packs, "crazy" trains, fires devastating dead forests, mountaintops and psychedelic colours and effects:
I've already listened to it a few dozen times already this weekend. Good times!
In the lo-fi video for the song "Living On The Edge", directed by Seb Black, the Montréal outfit shares the screen with wolf packs, "crazy" trains, fires devastating dead forests, mountaintops and psychedelic colours and effects:
I've already listened to it a few dozen times already this weekend. Good times!
Friday, February 8, 2019
Video Of The Week: Fox And Bones
Somewhere along the lines of five to ten years ago, I took part in a benefit concert for the Mile-End Mission (a homeless shelter) in which all participants agreed to sing political folk songs; most chose to cover Woody Guthrie, Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger. My friend John "Triangles" Stuart used to hold these every month, each time with a different theme, which usually meant new songs we had to learn.
Fox And Bones sound like they would have attended a show like that one and been turned on by the general themes of "songs of the proletariat", but with an indie rock quality to their sound, a bit more polished.
The Portland, OR couple comprised of co-songwriters Sarah Vitort and Scott Gilmore know how to write a fine song; there's a nice positivity about Better Land that rises the song up like the best songs from acts like The Lumineers, however that takes away from the depth of what one expects from "songs for the people":
The video was co-directed by Chris Bigalke and video animator Zachary Winterton.
Fox And Bones sound like they would have attended a show like that one and been turned on by the general themes of "songs of the proletariat", but with an indie rock quality to their sound, a bit more polished.
The Portland, OR couple comprised of co-songwriters Sarah Vitort and Scott Gilmore know how to write a fine song; there's a nice positivity about Better Land that rises the song up like the best songs from acts like The Lumineers, however that takes away from the depth of what one expects from "songs for the people":
The video was co-directed by Chris Bigalke and video animator Zachary Winterton.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Video Of The Week: Chris Cornell
Coinciding with the release of a 64-song eponymous collection spanning his time with Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog, Audioslave and as a failed solo artist, Chris Cornell's estate released this video of the late grunge star featuring his son, Christopher Jr., as a paperboy, tracing back his father's old route and footsteps in the Emerald City, with some of his lyrics and song titles spray-painted all over town:
It was masterfully directed by Kevin Kerslake (Sonic Youth, Liz Phair, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana) as a tribute both to the man and the city, and in that respect works extremely well.
The song also works as a reminder that Cornell's lyrics were very often sad, depressing and suicidal, which should be both a deterrent and fodder for the conspiracy theorists who think the late singer was murdered ("12 years sober!" is generally their rallying cry).
This wasn't Chris Jr.'s first video appearance, as he was also in Soundgarden's Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart, which was pulled from just about everywhere, as it depicts Cornell as a prisoner in the Old West getting ready to be hung, with one shot of a noose being fitted around his neck.
The boxed set itself contains a lot of live material, including Cornell's One, which meshes the lyrics to Metallica's song of the same name over U2's ballad, a Sirius XM studio rendition of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U, a live duet with Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam on Wild World, and a duet with Toni Cornell (Chris' daughter) on Bob Marley's Redemption Song (which Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder famously did with Beyoncé).
Other covers include Led Zeppelin's Thank You and Whole Lotta Love, The Beatles' A Day In The Life, Mother Love Bone's Stargazer, Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, and John Lennon's Imagine.
It was masterfully directed by Kevin Kerslake (Sonic Youth, Liz Phair, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana) as a tribute both to the man and the city, and in that respect works extremely well.
The song also works as a reminder that Cornell's lyrics were very often sad, depressing and suicidal, which should be both a deterrent and fodder for the conspiracy theorists who think the late singer was murdered ("12 years sober!" is generally their rallying cry).
This wasn't Chris Jr.'s first video appearance, as he was also in Soundgarden's Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart, which was pulled from just about everywhere, as it depicts Cornell as a prisoner in the Old West getting ready to be hung, with one shot of a noose being fitted around his neck.
The boxed set itself contains a lot of live material, including Cornell's One, which meshes the lyrics to Metallica's song of the same name over U2's ballad, a Sirius XM studio rendition of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U, a live duet with Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam on Wild World, and a duet with Toni Cornell (Chris' daughter) on Bob Marley's Redemption Song (which Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder famously did with Beyoncé).
Other covers include Led Zeppelin's Thank You and Whole Lotta Love, The Beatles' A Day In The Life, Mother Love Bone's Stargazer, Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, and John Lennon's Imagine.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Video Of The Week: Weezer
Look, by now you've all heard Weezer's note-for-note perfect rendition of Toto's Africa (and probably their cover of Rosanna as well), but since they haven't officially produced a video for either yet, I thought I could feature their sublime (and again, note-perfect) reprise of Radiohead's best-written guitar-driven song, Paranoid Android:
This is a pretty complex song, and Weezer usually fuck around better than they play/write (although they've gotten pretty fucking impressive with the covers in recent years, particularly leader Rivers Cuomo in his solo shows), so I wasn't exactly thrown out of my chair when I noticed the best guitar parts were actually being played by drummer Pat Wilson while session superstar Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, Devo, Guns N' Roses, Paramore, Sting...) took to the skins.
This is a pretty complex song, and Weezer usually fuck around better than they play/write (although they've gotten pretty fucking impressive with the covers in recent years, particularly leader Rivers Cuomo in his solo shows), so I wasn't exactly thrown out of my chair when I noticed the best guitar parts were actually being played by drummer Pat Wilson while session superstar Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, Devo, Guns N' Roses, Paramore, Sting...) took to the skins.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Video Of The Week: Kandle
I haven't been able to stop listening to Kandle since I featured her last month - not that I ever did, really, as she's been playing steadily in my rotation since 2014.
I dove back into her first EP, her debut album, switched up my phone's song list to remove the oft-skipped Baby and replaced it with Gimme A Pill, a song she hasn't played live in a while because it sends mixed signals, often being interpreted as "pro-drugs" when in fact it is about her struggles with chronic migraines.
She shot a video for it in 2016, directed by Maya Fuhr, which depicts a day in the life of an opioid-addicted adult:
"I won't stop until the pain goes away" - the phrase that best describes the millennium so far.
I dove back into her first EP, her debut album, switched up my phone's song list to remove the oft-skipped Baby and replaced it with Gimme A Pill, a song she hasn't played live in a while because it sends mixed signals, often being interpreted as "pro-drugs" when in fact it is about her struggles with chronic migraines.
She shot a video for it in 2016, directed by Maya Fuhr, which depicts a day in the life of an opioid-addicted adult:
"I won't stop until the pain goes away" - the phrase that best describes the millennium so far.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Video Of The Week: Jack White
I haven't been able to listen to Jack White's latest record, Boarding House Reach, with the same fervor as, well, anything else he's ever done; it just doesn't resonate as much as a whole and the individual pieces that I want to listen to over and over are few and far between.
Except the actual song Over And Over, that is, which has a riff reminiscent of Icky Thump and Lazaretto, a fact that isn't surprising considering he's been toying around with it since his days with The White Stripes, having almost recorded it with The Raconteurs as well.
The video, directed by Us (Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor), shows alternate-universe Whites in the same room matching with each White personae, accompanied here and there by his band, background singers, a bunch of children, or by himself:
My conclusion: White The Brown seems like the most natural, while White The Blue is in his solo project's palette; White The White is more country and has the best décor.
Except the actual song Over And Over, that is, which has a riff reminiscent of Icky Thump and Lazaretto, a fact that isn't surprising considering he's been toying around with it since his days with The White Stripes, having almost recorded it with The Raconteurs as well.
The video, directed by Us (Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor), shows alternate-universe Whites in the same room matching with each White personae, accompanied here and there by his band, background singers, a bunch of children, or by himself:
My conclusion: White The Brown seems like the most natural, while White The Blue is in his solo project's palette; White The White is more country and has the best décor.
Friday, July 20, 2018
Video Of The Week: Kandle
I was at a taping for weekly talk show Le Beau Dimanche last night and was surprised that the musical guest was a favourite of mine, Kandle; she played her recent single Bender, which reminded me that she had a video for it that I hadn't featured yet:
It looks stunning, directed by Kat Webber in what seems like an abandoned NDG appartment, with visuals inspired by horror classic such as Stanley Kubrick's The Shining or the Silent Hill video game series...
Well done!
It looks stunning, directed by Kat Webber in what seems like an abandoned NDG appartment, with visuals inspired by horror classic such as Stanley Kubrick's The Shining or the Silent Hill video game series...
Well done!
Friday, June 15, 2018
Video Of The Week: Death Cab For Cutie
Once indie rock darlings (1997-2003), Death Cab For Cutie hit the mainstream hard with their last independent record to date, Transatlanticism as the 00s went in full swing, scoring hit singles with The Sound Of Settling and Title And Registration, but it wasn't until 2005's Plans (on Atlantic Records) that they went off into the stratosphere with peak-of-songwriting gems like Crooked Teeth, Soul Meets Body and I Will Follow You Into The Dark.
This week, Ben Gibbard's main band released Gold Rush, their best song in over a decade (listen to it twice, it takes a minute to sink in...) and lead-off single off of Thank You For Today, which should come out in August:
The video was directed by Alex Southam, a London-based filmmaker responsible for Kwabs' Fight For Love, Mumford & Sons' Ditmas, Atl J's Tessellate (Clean), Laura Mvula & Nile Rogers' Overcome, Rae Morris' Under The Shadows and Labyrinth Ear's Amber, among others.
This week, Ben Gibbard's main band released Gold Rush, their best song in over a decade (listen to it twice, it takes a minute to sink in...) and lead-off single off of Thank You For Today, which should come out in August:
The video was directed by Alex Southam, a London-based filmmaker responsible for Kwabs' Fight For Love, Mumford & Sons' Ditmas, Atl J's Tessellate (Clean), Laura Mvula & Nile Rogers' Overcome, Rae Morris' Under The Shadows and Labyrinth Ear's Amber, among others.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Video Of The Week: The Voidz
The things: I hate the 1980s, generally speaking. And Julian Casablancas can usually do no harm.
The former The Strokes singer now has a new band, The Voidz, with whom he continues to explore old 1980s synth music, and I like the dark undertones found in the song QYURRYUS ("curious"), for which he directed this video:
In addition to sounds reminiscent of Indian music (particularly the oeuvre of Bollywood classics like Donga, a.k.a. the "Indian Thriller" movie) and German electro, the video looks like a hair metal clip interspersed with George Michael rainy sexiness, an old Mike Patton/Faith No More look and the feel of a "shred" parody video.
The former The Strokes singer now has a new band, The Voidz, with whom he continues to explore old 1980s synth music, and I like the dark undertones found in the song QYURRYUS ("curious"), for which he directed this video:
In addition to sounds reminiscent of Indian music (particularly the oeuvre of Bollywood classics like Donga, a.k.a. the "Indian Thriller" movie) and German electro, the video looks like a hair metal clip interspersed with George Michael rainy sexiness, an old Mike Patton/Faith No More look and the feel of a "shred" parody video.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Video Of The Week: Temple Of The Dog
They played for years with such Seattle luminaries The U-Men (est. 1981), Melvins (1983), Green River (1984) and Soundgarden (1984); they were all friends. So much so that Malfunkshun's lead singer, Andrew Wood, started playing with Green River's Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard and formed Mother Love Bone, then moved in and became roommates with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell. The other half of Green River formed Mudhoney, who went on to have some success of their own.
In 1990, Wood died of a heroin overdose, which deeply affected all of his friends - and Cornell in particular; he wrote twelve moving songs in tribute to his best friend, ten of which made it onto Temple Of The Dog's self-titled record, a project he included Wood's Mother Love Bone bandmates in, including a new singer they'd brought in to front their new unit, then-named Mookie Blaylock in honor of the basketball star but would soon be renamed Pearl Jam, a Chicago-via-San Diego surfer/artist called Eddie Vedder; Soundgarden's Matt Cameron was on drum duty, having done the same on the Gossard's demo that prompted Vedder to move up North to try out for the new band, and PJ's lead guitarist Mike McCready was invited as well.
It was thus no lie when the Temple Of The Dog CD was adorned with a sticker that read "Pearl Jam + Soundgarden = Temple Of The Dog", and the video for Hunger Strike, which remains one of the best songs of the 1990s, made full use of all members sporting plaid shirts and shorts with underalls. It was directed by Paul Rachman and featured such Pacific Northwest staples as a beach, a "forest" and the West Point Lighthouse:
Cornell didn't actually think much of the song originally, until Vedder came along and added his twist to it:
When we started rehearsing the songs, I had pulled out "Hunger Strike" and I had this feeling it was just kind of gonna be filler, it didn't feel like a real song. Eddie was sitting there waiting for a (Mookie Blaylock) rehearsal and I was singing parts, and he kind of humbly - but with some balls - walked up to the mic and started singing the low parts for me because he saw it was kind of hard (and I was struggling). We got through a couple choruses of him doing that and suddenly the light bulb came on in my head, this guy's voice is amazing for these low parts. History wrote itself after that, (and it) became the single.In music, history is often made accidentally. Lightning in a bottle.
Friday, December 15, 2017
Video Of The Week: Fergie
Unbeknownst to be, I've been following Fergie's career since I was six years old, as she starred in the long-syndicated in the U.S. (but hard to find in Canada beyond 1986) TV show Kids Incorporated as Stacy Ferguson, alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt, Eric Balfour (24), Martika (who sang the theme song, and the mega-hit Toy Soldiers a few years later), Mario Lopez, and Wendy Brainard (who went on to sing with Corey Hart and Donna Summer).
I fucking loved that show so much I'd get up at 5 AM to watch it on Saturday mornings in the second grade; my parents didn't understand what was up with me, but there was something about the five songs per episode (and maybe Hewitt, Ferguson and Martika singing them as well).
Then came the girl-group Wild Orchid, whose records I bought for the album covers (namely the self-titled debut and the Supernatural single) but seldom listened to.
In the mid-1990s (and pretty much my entire life, really), some pop music suited my ears, but rock and rap more so; The Black Eyed Peas' first two records were decent underground fare, but when they hired Fergie and turned pop for Elephunk, their career hit new heights of commercial success... and creative depths that represent pretty much everything that is wrong with modern pop music.
In 2006, she came out with her first solo record, The Dutchess, which was successful, but sounded like it should have been a Gwen Stefani album, what with the reggae-ska numbers, the semi-honest/touchy-feely numbers that hint at deeper turmoil but ultimately fail at being truly poignant. And the insipid pure-pop numbers just didn't make it for me - although they made my then-girlfriend dance and act wild.
Fergie has tremendous skill as a singer, in the upper echelons, but for most of her career, it has felt like she was either holding back or refused to exploit it correctly.
There are two ways to go when you have a voice like that: the Céline Dion/Frank Sinatra/Whitney Houston way, which is to have people write songs for you to belt out like no other, or to bare your fucking soul, which works whether your voice is great or unique (Tori Amos, Charlotte Martin, Joanna Newsom, Björk), "normal" (P.J. Harvey), or awful (Courtney Love, Yoko Ono).
Finally, at age 42, Fergie has chosen the latter, with A Little Work, from the album Double Dutchess, which is a tad cliché'd but still rings true. The long-form video (a.k.a. "short film") by Jonas Åkerlund brings the point home very well:
You may recall Akerlund's work - such as the 2002 indie film Spun, or his videos for Roxette, Prodigy (Smack My Bitch Up), Madonna (Ray of Light), Metallica (Turn The Page, Whiskey In The Jar), The Smashing Pumpkins, Blink-182's I Miss You, and countless others - is among the best in the business.
He was the perfect director to bring to life a story about drug addiction (be it Fergie's documented struggles with crystal meth or the current opioid crisis in America) and mental illness.
I fucking loved that show so much I'd get up at 5 AM to watch it on Saturday mornings in the second grade; my parents didn't understand what was up with me, but there was something about the five songs per episode (and maybe Hewitt, Ferguson and Martika singing them as well).
Then came the girl-group Wild Orchid, whose records I bought for the album covers (namely the self-titled debut and the Supernatural single) but seldom listened to.
In the mid-1990s (and pretty much my entire life, really), some pop music suited my ears, but rock and rap more so; The Black Eyed Peas' first two records were decent underground fare, but when they hired Fergie and turned pop for Elephunk, their career hit new heights of commercial success... and creative depths that represent pretty much everything that is wrong with modern pop music.
In 2006, she came out with her first solo record, The Dutchess, which was successful, but sounded like it should have been a Gwen Stefani album, what with the reggae-ska numbers, the semi-honest/touchy-feely numbers that hint at deeper turmoil but ultimately fail at being truly poignant. And the insipid pure-pop numbers just didn't make it for me - although they made my then-girlfriend dance and act wild.
Fergie has tremendous skill as a singer, in the upper echelons, but for most of her career, it has felt like she was either holding back or refused to exploit it correctly.
There are two ways to go when you have a voice like that: the Céline Dion/Frank Sinatra/Whitney Houston way, which is to have people write songs for you to belt out like no other, or to bare your fucking soul, which works whether your voice is great or unique (Tori Amos, Charlotte Martin, Joanna Newsom, Björk), "normal" (P.J. Harvey), or awful (Courtney Love, Yoko Ono).
Finally, at age 42, Fergie has chosen the latter, with A Little Work, from the album Double Dutchess, which is a tad cliché'd but still rings true. The long-form video (a.k.a. "short film") by Jonas Åkerlund brings the point home very well:
You may recall Akerlund's work - such as the 2002 indie film Spun, or his videos for Roxette, Prodigy (Smack My Bitch Up), Madonna (Ray of Light), Metallica (Turn The Page, Whiskey In The Jar), The Smashing Pumpkins, Blink-182's I Miss You, and countless others - is among the best in the business.
He was the perfect director to bring to life a story about drug addiction (be it Fergie's documented struggles with crystal meth or the current opioid crisis in America) and mental illness.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Video Of The Week: AC/DC
"In Rock we trust, it's Rock or Bust".
As they've done many times over the course of their careers, when AC/DC opted to have that line open the chorus of the title track to their sixteenth album, they meant it; it was the first record without longtime-riff-writer Malcolm Young manning one of the guitars (nephew Stevie Young filled in), and the video also featured Bob Richards (Asia, Shogun, Man) on drums in lieu of Phil Rudd, who was on trial for murder and drug smuggling in New Zealand (the murder charge was dropped, but the drug-related ones led to his being sentenced to eight months of home detention).
Rock Or Bust was the the 14th of 17 AC/DC songs with the work "Rock" in its title; they also have six with "Balls", so you do with that what you want.
And as he'd done many times for the band before, director David Mallet decided to play to the band's strengths for the video: the raw energy of their live shows, the musicianship, the fun they have playing together, and the riffage, filming at Middlesex, England's Island Studios, on its central stage:
It isn't the best AC/DC record, and thus far from their best song. It's still better than a lot of what's out there, both in rock and beyond.
Hail to Rock! In Rock I trust!
As they've done many times over the course of their careers, when AC/DC opted to have that line open the chorus of the title track to their sixteenth album, they meant it; it was the first record without longtime-riff-writer Malcolm Young manning one of the guitars (nephew Stevie Young filled in), and the video also featured Bob Richards (Asia, Shogun, Man) on drums in lieu of Phil Rudd, who was on trial for murder and drug smuggling in New Zealand (the murder charge was dropped, but the drug-related ones led to his being sentenced to eight months of home detention).
Rock Or Bust was the the 14th of 17 AC/DC songs with the work "Rock" in its title; they also have six with "Balls", so you do with that what you want.
And as he'd done many times for the band before, director David Mallet decided to play to the band's strengths for the video: the raw energy of their live shows, the musicianship, the fun they have playing together, and the riffage, filming at Middlesex, England's Island Studios, on its central stage:
It isn't the best AC/DC record, and thus far from their best song. It's still better than a lot of what's out there, both in rock and beyond.
Hail to Rock! In Rock I trust!
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Video Of The Week: Halsey
Halsey is the stage name of one Ashley Nicolette Frangipan, from New Jersey.
She is a 23-year-old pop artist who is on her second record, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, having released Badlands in 2015. She has toured with Imagine Dragons and The Weeknd, recorded with The Chainsmokers and Justin Bieber, and is emo to the core, citing Panic! At The Disco as her all-time favourite band.
She spent her late teens dating a heroin addict in New York City and dropping out of college, so he had the regular rebellious lifestyle worthy of a TV biopic.
Oh, and she's way more into P!nk than she lets on, as can be attested by the video for Bad At Love, which she co-directed with Sing J. Lee:
There's a lot of Thelma & Louise in there, as well, of course. Because empowerment.
And because watching and getting inspired by Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Gas Food Lodging, Bound, Set It Off, Mulholland Drive, Frida, Suffragette, or Lost And Delirious is not cliché enough for a young soul who only pretends to be interested in cinema.
She is a 23-year-old pop artist who is on her second record, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, having released Badlands in 2015. She has toured with Imagine Dragons and The Weeknd, recorded with The Chainsmokers and Justin Bieber, and is emo to the core, citing Panic! At The Disco as her all-time favourite band.
She spent her late teens dating a heroin addict in New York City and dropping out of college, so he had the regular rebellious lifestyle worthy of a TV biopic.
Oh, and she's way more into P!nk than she lets on, as can be attested by the video for Bad At Love, which she co-directed with Sing J. Lee:
There's a lot of Thelma & Louise in there, as well, of course. Because empowerment.
And because watching and getting inspired by Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Gas Food Lodging, Bound, Set It Off, Mulholland Drive, Frida, Suffragette, or Lost And Delirious is not cliché enough for a young soul who only pretends to be interested in cinema.
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