September 2009

  • Review: Seattle Music Revival (part two)

    By msarko on 9/29/09 4:56pm
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    The Seattle creative sector needs to decide whether or not to grow to accommodate the considerable talent that has grown out of the Puget Sound region over the past decade. Don't get me wrong, one of the great things about this city is its people's commitment to small business, grassroots organization and By The People, For The People directives. Still, it doesn't do us much good if all of our strongest musicians, actors, artists and writers have to go somewhere else to get the attention and facilities they deserve. When it comes to music Seattle has done well enough to foster rock, but we're living in the 21st century, there's more to the modern soundscape than guitars. Our hip hop and electronic music community becomes more interesting every year. If the acts at The Seattle Music Revival are any indication, we may just be standing on a wellspring of undiscovered talent.



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  • Review of U2's 360 Show in Toronto

    By tyroneslothrop on 9/28/09 8:27pm
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    U2 360U2 360As a member of U2.com, I was privileged enough to have access to a live stream of one of their concerts on the first leg of the tour in Europe (which I am listening to right now, just to get into the mood here), and had a pretty good idea of what I was going to be hearing.  Of course, hearing is only half of the show, and in U2’s case, it’s really only about a quarter of the show.  (You can read my review of their most recent album here.)  If anyone reading this has been fortunate enough to go to one of the U2 360 shows this tour or has even seen pictures, you know how massive of an undertaking this tour is.  It’s no Pop Mart, to be sure.  And I suppose we should be thankful for small blessings.  While Pop Mart was definitely a wonder t

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  • Review: Seattle Music Revival (part one)

    By msarko on 9/28/09 4:28pm
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    When you're standing in a sparsely populated music venue watching a band kick a dozen different kinds of ass, you have to ask why the crowd isn't as thick as it should be. Was it a problem with the promotion? The billing? The time or the place? In the case of The Seattle Music Revival, it was a deadly combination of all four of those things. The real shame about it is that the show featured an impressive collection of very talented artists. If anyone had actually attended, it would have been a downright legendary festival. As it stands, The Seattle Music Revival will either be considered an earnest attempt at a powerful showcase that fell short, or the event that launched a handful of cult bands.



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  • Artists Condensed: Joy Division and New Order (part three of three)

    By msarko on 9/10/09 7:01pm
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    For a band that made practically no money for the first decade of its existence, New Order sure was prolific. Between 1981 and 1993 they released six original studio albums, rounding off the last two LP's in their catalog in the late 90's and early 00's. In addition to these fully realized projects, they put together a series of compilations, singles, remixes and live albums that made up a significant portion of Factory Records' business. Below you'll find a condensed version of the sound that made New Order famous.



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  • Artists Condensed: Joy Division and New Order (part two of three)

    By msarko on 9/8/09 1:45pm
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    There's an inexplicable pattern in the fallout following the death or otherwise exit of a band's most influential contributor. The members that remain almost invariably move toward a more poppy, mass-appeal kind of sound. When Syd Barrett's mental condition declined to full-on disability in the late 1960's, Pink Floyd went on to make significantly more accessible music than they had with Barrett in the lead. After Kurt Cobain's suicide, Dave Grohl of Nirvana went on to form The Foo Fighters, who are arguably the exact kind of corporate rock that Cobain hated. It even happens in less high-profile shakeups, like when Connor Oberst left The Faint and the band subsequently embraced a much more dancey sound. Listening to New Order and comparing their work to their earlier iteration as Joy Division, it's often hard to remember that they are essentially the same band. There are still glimmers of Ian Curtis here and there, but pop's most iconic baritone certainly wouldn't have stood for what New Order eventually became.



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  • Artists Condensed: Joy Division and New Order (part one of three)

    By msarko on 9/3/09 4:43pm
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    It's been a while since I've condensed a band and I just didn't want to abandon the project. Call the gap a much-needed vacation to give me time to consume some new music and get my bearings in the modern landscape. Still, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write about one of the most important stories in pop from the past three decades. New Order is a band that could really benefit from a condensed catalog, but one can't really talk about New Order without first paying homage to the band they used to be. Joy Division has been a part of the traditional pantheon of pop practically since they ceased to exist. Likewise, Ian Curtis instantly became a tragic legend after his suicide in 1980, another victim to the familiar overlap between rock and depression. Peel away all the well-worn biographical layers and what remains of Joy Division is a band that found an incredible sound just shortly before its end.



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