Thoughts on Michael Jackson

It has all been said over the last two weeks. What will be said below is just some of my thoughts that have been brewing during that time.

• Dude’s albums were spotty, at best. Michael, of course had his success with The Jackson 5 and his various Motown recordings, but for most of us the beginning of his solo career was Off the Wall. It’s got some solid songs, and my favorite M.J. track, “Rock With You.” It was bested only by Thriller, which with the exception of two songs, is entirely enjoyable. After that, his albums continued to be less consistent in quality, his singles less infectious. All of his albums went to #1, which is incredible considering the length of his career and the various music trends that came and went over those few decades. It says a lot about the man’s appeal.

• That appeal has a lot to do with the fact that he was an absolutely BRILLIANT performer. I would say more than anything, this was his most valuable and entertaining asset. From the early home videos as a child to cheesy videos with Chris Tucker, Jackson f***ing brought it whenever he stepped on stage or in front of a camera. Like many of you, I’ve spent some time the last few weeks combing over old Michael videos that I hadn’t seen in years. Not just his music videos, which are classics in the medium (hell, they REINVENTED the medium), but his live performances as well. Dude knew how to put on a show, and not only that, but how to connect with his fans as well. Such a personal connection to an artist’s fans has never been seen, and probably won’t be seen again. Which brings me to my next point…

• Michael loved his fans. This doesn’t need to be said, really, but then again it kind of does. Michael lived a very tumultuous life. The paparazzi hounded him, he had multitudes of legal battles, and vas very much a recluse in the latter part of his life. It’s not a life that any of us would want to live, but he did it and he endured it for his fans. Michael was a notorious perfectionist in everything that he did, and a lot of that was to make sure that fans weren’t disappointed. He wanted to please his fans. Remember, that’s why he dangled a baby over a balcony. I bring this up because you really don’t see this a whole lot in the entertainment industry anymore, this devotion to your audience. Michael had this from the start he never lost it.

• Revisionist history will redeem him in the eyes of the public. It has already, and that’s for the best. Michael was more than a celebrity, he was an icon. His fame had nothing to do with his bizarre antics or tragic flaws. His legend should have nothing to do with that either! 20 years from now, his music will still be around and still be good (for the most part). Nobody will care about all the other stuff that supposedly happened.

• The first Michael Jackson album I ever owned was HIStory Book 1. The first tape (1995, remember?) was good ( a greatest hits collection), the second was bad (Shaquille O’Neal rapping) with the exception of “Scream”. Nothing really insightful about that comment, just something I thought I’d let you know.

There you have it folks. No unnecessary hype or glorification. Just this way it is for me.

Thanks, Michael.

Piracy v. Villainy? Whose Side Are You On?

Audio Overflow was founded on piracy. Were it not for the advent of the internet, of BitTorrent, this blog would probably not exist. If it did, it would hardly be what it is today. All of that music that I reviewed back in 2006 was mostly downloaded from P2P networks and file-sharing sites. In fact, it wasn’t until mid-late 2007 that Audio Overflow started receiving legitimate advance copies of albums from artist, labels, and other sources. No surprise there. Most music blogs operate the exact same way.

But that is not what I will discuss today. Today I will ask you, the reader, to pick a side. Are you on the side of the pirates? Or do you you side with the villains? The RIAA? The big-business cronies looking to secure their fortunes for their trust fund babies? Both sides are at fault here. Who do you sympathize with?

Two days ago, I had no clue what I would write about today. But I knew that I had an advance copy of The Faint’s new album, Fasciinatiion, in my “to-review” box and that I would probably go ahead and knock that one out if I had the time. Now, keep in mind that this is a legitimate advance copy with an FBI Warning and everything! I go to pop this CD into my laptop with the intention of transferring the songs to my MP3 player so that I can listen to it wherever I go. I do this with all my reviews, as i just don’t have the time to sit at a desk all day and listen intently. To my surprise, an error message flashes across my monitor, informing me that my laptop cannot read this CD. Odd. I grab the CD case to find this message emblazoned across the back.

WATERMARKED & COPY PROTECTED CD! THIS CD HAS BEEN PROTECTED AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED COPYING AND HAS BEEN WATERMARKED WITH A UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION CODE THAT ALLOWS US TO TRACE ANY UNAUTHORIZED COPIES OR USAGE TO THE INTENDED RECIPIENT (YOU). YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY UNAUTHORIZED US OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE MUSIC ON THIS CD. THIS CD IS DESIGNED TO PLAY IN STANDARD AUDIO CD PLAYERS ONLY. IT IS NOT DESIGNED TO PLAY IN PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND MAY ALSO EXPERIENCE PLAYBACK PROBLEMS IN CAR SYSTEMS, DVD PLAYERS AND GAME CONSOLES.

0 out of 10 Stars

Think about this for a second. Even though I legally obtained a copy of this album, I am unable to use it in a legal and fair manner. Discouraged, I humbly walked over to my stereo system and put the CD in. Guess what, my stereo can’t read it! The same goes for my car stereo, my game consoles, and my dvd players. What I have here is a useless piece of plastic, at most, a 5 second microwave light show! Notice the second sentence of that warning. If, say, I were to have this CD in my vehicle and someone broke in, stole it, and uploaded it to the internet, I would be punished!

How did we get to this point? Every month, we’re bombarded with PSAs, FBI Warnings, and news of the latest RIAA out-of-court settlement. The RIAA has reported declining sales over the last decade, coinciding with the increase of P2P networks. Their reasoning, their explanation is piracy. But is it?

To an RIAA suit, this graph shows that piracy is affecting the music labels’ bottom line. To me, it just looks like the high album sales that the RIAA was experiencing was a short phenomenon and that things are leveling back off. But what do I know? Well, I know that according to this study, that pirates actually buy MORE music. But how can that be? Well, it’s simple.

Before the advent of the internet people had just a few ways to discover new music (television, radio, etc.), and all of those ways involved being told what to listen to by the record labels. MTV doesn’t go out and find obscure artists. Clear Channel isn’t browsing through hole-in-the-wall record stores. They’re just playing what they’re told to play, what they’re PAID to play. But with the internet, people are actually able to hear as much music as they want to, and not just from RIAA artists. Sites like MySpace, iMeem, and Pandora are allowing music fans to hear music that they want to hear, not what they’re told to hear. P2P networks offer the same freedom, and the same opportunities. As a result of hearing more music, couldn’t it just be that these same people are choosing to buy more music?

I know that’s true for me. I buy more CDs than anyone I know, so much so that I’m often lampooned for spending so much damn money on music. My personal collection is now over 225 individual albums. And guess what? Most of those were bought within the last 4-5 years as I started getting into indie music and downloading it illegally on the internet. You see, I do my downloading by a code. If I like what I download, I buy it. If I don’t, I get rid of it. After all, there’s no point in clogging up your hard drive with music that you won’t listen to. Honorable as it may be, it’s still quite illegal and I’m smart enough to know that not all people can say the same thing.

However, I’m also smart enough to know that I am never going to be prosecuted by the RIAA simply because I haven’t downloaded an album from a major record in years. But far be it for them to reach out and help independent labels who are “struggling” (strange how you ever hear about that, ain’t it?). The bottom line is that the big whigs at the RIAA don’t care about their artists or their employees. They care about themselves, about their pocketbooks. Personally, I don’t. Do you?

Sources + Additional Reading:

Duffy Backs Illegal Downloading

Why Most Artists Profit from Piracy

Boycott-RIAA.com

AT&T to Cut Off P2P Users’ Service

How I Was Abandoned by Modern Rock

I am a man.  Beyond that, though, I’m a muti-dimensional, complex human being; a person capable of feeling a wide range of emotions.  Why is it then that so much of today’s modern rock songs only pander to the roided up, angry, “powerful” man?  Why is it that I can no longer turn on a rock radio station and hear something that caters to me?  Something that speaks to who I am?  I hope to examine this phenomenon and give you insight into how I became the indie rock-loving hipster that I am today with this Random Rant.

The 1990s

Favorite Bands: Live, No Doubt, Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine, The Offspring, Oasis

Most of my youth I spent consuming the media that was presented to me.  Movies, music, television – I ate it all up.  This was before the time of the internet, before one could discover new music with a few mouse clicks and a pair of speakers.  Music was what MTV told me it was.  Grunge music was everywhere, sending hair bands and 80s metal bands to the curb.  Like most, the first time I can remember hearing an alternative rock song that I just flipped out for was probably when Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” first showed up on MTV.  As great as they were, though, I was still young and a few years away from being able to appreciate it all.

I hit my prime in the mid-nineties, with the groups listed above.  I remember the first time I heard “Lightning Crashes” by Live, knowing that it was a powerful song without fully able to comprehend what it was all about (“placenta” was a foreign term to a 10-year old).  And great music has always been able to do that, to take you to a place that you can appreciate without having experienced it yourself.  “Tonight, Tonight” or “1979” by the Smashing Pumpkins are equally as touching, and beautiful.  And while these bands also had their moments when they rocked out like nobody’s business, they were always at their best when toned it down to subtly express their inner anguish or turmoil.  Oasis is right up there with them, as “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” remain some of my favorite songs to this day.

The other bands on the list – No Doubt, Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, etc. – were about having fun.  For as great as it is to have a song move you emotionally, a song that can make you smile, that can make you have a great time just by listening to it is also a wonderful thing.  And for as much as I hate the Offspring these days, as a 14-year old kid, “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” was good enough for me.

2000-2003

Favorite Bands:  Finger Eleven, Incubus, Relient K, The Grass Roots, System of a Down

It’s a bit weird, but for the most part, this period of my life was overrun by two bands: Finger Eleven and Incubus.  There wasn’t a whole lot else that mattered to me.  Looking at the above list of bands that I enjoyed, I notice that they all have the same thing in common.  They can be fun and a blast to listen to, and can also move you with lyrics that speak to you, or melodies that infect you.  I’ve always been a cheerleader for Finger Eleven.  Even now, though I don’t listen to them, I’m glad to see they’re finally achieving some mainstream success after all those years of being pushed aside by their label to make room for Creed and the likes.

But modern rock music started to change during this period.  As new bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand introduced people to an entirely new side of rock music, lesser bands began to garner much of the attention.  One look at the Billboard charts for 2003 can adequately show the change.  Bands like Trapt, Seether, 3 Doors Down, Chevelle, Nickelback, Staind, Saliva, and Cold had some of the top singles of the year.  Bands who worship the power chord, speak only in cracked, loud voices, and make rock music for the sex and the drugs were quickly becoming the norm.  

I felt abandoned by rock music because it was no longer speaking for me.  I didn’t drink, spend my weekends on endless sexual conquests, and I required more of my music than a “powerful” voice from some “powerful” dude singing over “powerful” chords.  Testosterone-fueled music overran rock stations and tv channels.  What happened to making music that was original, that was real, that was multi-dimensional?  As I soon found out, it was there all along.  I just wasn’t looking for it.

2004 – Present

Favorite Bands:  Of Montreal, Death Cab for Cutie, Band of Horses, Bright Eyes, Cursive, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, The Shins, Muse

In 2004, a friend of mine showed me a CD from a group called The Postal Service.  A few days earlier, I had gone out and seriously considered buying Linkin Park’s Meteora.  The first time I listened to this group, consisting of Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello, I was in love.  Literally.  This was music that spoke to who I was.  It was pop music, but its lyrics were deep and meaningful, its compositions fun and interesting, and the voice of Gibbard was astonishing.  I made my friend drive me to the local Best Buy so I could buy a copy for myself.  I wore that thing out over the next year or so.

However, the CD had a much larger impact on me.  It made me aware to and entirely different realm of music that they called “indie.”  I went on the internet and looked up The Postal Service.  *click* Their singer is Ben Gibbard. *click* He sings in a band called Death Cab for Cutie. *click* A girl named Jenny Lewis did vocals on The Postal Service’s album. *click* She sings for a band called Rilo Kiley. *click* Amazon.com says that if I like Rilo Kiley, I’d like a band called The Shins. *click* *click* *click*  

You see, as I was slowly becoming disenchanted with modern rock music, I was amazed by this wealth of different, talented, and interesting bands that were just waiting for me to listen.  Today, my favorite bands still share the same characteristics as they always have.  They are sometimes emotional, sometimes fun, and muti-dimensional.  Just like me. 

At the time of this writing, the Modern Rock Charts on Billboard.com still shows all of my least favorite groups.  But hidden amongst the Staind and 3 Doors Down are bands like Coldplay, Weezer, and, yes, Death Cab for Cutie.  As a society and a culture, we deserve more music like this:  music that speaks for itself rather than trying to prove its toughness, music that isn’t afraid to show different facets of the artist’s personality.  As humans, we are all different and equipped with the capacity to experience all that the world has to offer.  Shouldn’t our music reflect the dynamics of our being?  If you’re like I was, and you feel completely disenchanted with the music that the radio and MTV keeps sending at you in waves, look elsewhere.  There’s a whole mess of music waiting to be discovered.

And that’s about as cheesy of an ending as you’re gonna get!

Discovering The Known! Way To Go!

Picture it… you’re hanging out with a group of people. Suddenly a song comes on the radio. You’ve never heard it and most of your friends have never heard it… save one. That friend then begins to tell you, in no humble manner, that that band/musicians is the best and his most favorite. It’s his favorite and it’s so unique, it’s never been played on the radio before. In fact, he discovered it… if it wasn’t for your high and mighty friend, nobody’s ears but his own would have befallen this song. He takes much pride in knowing that he alone liked the band when every one else either wouldn’t give them a chance or passed them along for a band/musician with more money, talent, etc… This guy is what I like to refer as “superior annoying guy”. He likes to think he’s god’s gift to anything musical. In most cases, he listens to indie music, but occasionally, he’ll “discover” a really good band that no one’s ever heard of. Superior annoying guy can be found in almost every group of friends… except the group with multiple superior annoying guys… then he just blends in.

Well, some people thankfully grow out of that stage, including yours truly. Yes, I have been in superior annoying guy’s shoes, but when I look back, I feel that I can use the excuse that I was young, dumb, naive, immature and out of touch. Most of what I’d “discovered” had been discovered years before I ever came across the song in an unpopular movie that only 10.5 people had ever seen. Looking back now, I’m embarrassed that I ever met my inner superior annoying guy. The music I liked was sometimes unique and sometimes original, but never a discovery. I really feel like the only time you’re discovering a musician is if he’s a bum under a bridge, you happen to strike up a conversation, he happens to have an instrument in his stash which he begins to play as the earth shattering beauty not only spills over from how well he plays, but also how the angels accompany his majestic voice. You can see how my “discoveries”, and probably many of yours pale in comparison. Did Simon Cowell really discover Leona Lewis… or did he simply hear her sing amongst a crowd in a well known club one night where he was the only one who had actual bargaining power to sign her. Now, I’m not saying she’s without talent. She in fact has a beautiful voice, but discovery? I think not. More like right place, right time.

Below is a list of musicians and songs which I have personally discovered. They just happened to be so good that eventually people caught on to them and they ended up on the radio… No one else is responsible for the success of these musicians, how popular they are, or how they’ve been or will be remembered… only me. (wink wink)

Disclaimer: These are from different periods in my life, including pre-teen. Criticize accordingly…

Sometimes Change Is A Good Thing…

Hello, me again. Long time, no see right? Actually, it’s only been a week. I took a week long break so that I could attend to matters outside the scope of Audio Overflow. However, I’m back and this time, we’re going to try something different. That’s right, a change. This change however is not necessarily permanent or even temporary. I may in fact get horrible responses from this post, but as the saying goes, “You never know until you try”. So, while putting a retro review aside for a week, but still maintaining partial alliteration, I give the first and what may turn out to be the last…Random Rant.

So, what is a random rant exactly? Well, it’s pretty much my time to weigh in on a topic of music; any topic is game. However, it’s important that we get lots of feedback on this post. Good, bad, agree with the rant, disagree, “no more rants, only retro reviews”… it’s a topic discussion, only I get 95% of the floor to say my piece, so if you aren’t down with my piece, please let us know.

The topic for today (and I’m sure Cale will hate this) is Christian Music. Religious themed lyrics aside, what is it in particular that makes this genre so particularly bad? Is it the cheesy Jesus lyrics? Maybe… The mostly terrible musicianship? Extremely likely… The lack of pure “un-God-given” talent? I’ve never figured out what makes the horrible quality of Christian music stand out when flipping through radio stations. It is not like rap, where there are beats, country, where there are drawls, or classic rock with awesome guitar solos. Those genres can be stumbled upon on any radio station and instantly, you know what you are listening to because of the distinct sounds. Yet, Christian music can be made up of all of the previously mentioned sounds and is still a genre defined purely on the basis that every song deals with the same subject, “Christianity”. So the question is, if those sounds can be good on a secular radio station, what is it about them in Christian music that makes us laugh, cringe, or avoid the genre altogether?

Growing up listening to Christian music, as that is how I was raised, meant that I have heard it all. Nothing I ever hear in the genre surprises me. When I hear music that is completely devoid of all talent, in other words, what Britney Spears is to pop, I have to cringe. After all, who would really let someone make a song, let alone an album that bad? Did their manager/producer feel obligated to let them continue to make music because it was about a subject which is considered “wholesome” by most American standards? Or was it simply because they felt like they were good musicians? It’s unknown, but based on the fact those songs are out there, I can only assume both. Examples of these “so-called musicians” can be found on the play list below. They will include, but are in no way limited to “Carmen”, “Twila Paris”, “Point Of Grace”, “Avalon” and “Nate Sallie”. These artists span several generations, but each are bad in there own way, especially Nate Sallie who debuted with a Gavin DeGraw meets Maroon 5 hit, which I firmly believe to sound like complete balls.

On the other hand, there is a glimmer of hope at the end of the Christian music warp zone. It appears in the form of innovative Christian music which may or may not contain the words “God” or “Jesus”. Music that is first and foremost good music, served with a side of ministry. I believe that the artists in the Christian genre who have the ability of any secular musicians have the potential to bring back fans the genre may have previously lost. These musicians play just as well or better than others in different genres, the vocals are more distinctive, but not to the bad extent, and the lyrics are deeper than just “thank you Jesus”. As the religion of Christianity moves towards a more post modern approach, so do the lyrics. They approach new levels of intimacy, beauty, and depth than both Christians and non, can appreciate. Noteworthy artists that appear in the play list such as, “Robbie Seay Band”, “Matt Brouwer”, “David Crowder Band”, “Evangeline”, and “Brandon Heath” have all achieved genre respect from me and deserve to not be lumped into the categories of the previously mentioned.

So how do we answer, “why is Christian music typically so distinctive and so bad?” Well while Christian music has been around for hundreds of years, it has been radio played a lot less than most. I believe that it has growing pains like any other genre, only we’ve been alive through most of these pains. I believe the genre has both atrocity and outstanding ability, depending on what side of the fence you’re on about the subject. There’s no denying though that the 2nd half of the playlist is worlds better than the 1st. As you listen to the playlist, no matter what your religious preference, I want you to ponder over the ever growing genre (that’s right, despite some of your desires, it won’t go anywhere). Determine for yourselves why some Christian artists get airplay when they likely couldn’t get it elsewhere and the others who deserve the airplay haven’t gotten the attention and respect they deserve within the music industry. Just food for thought…