James Eldred
Scrunge Retrospective: Rotting Pinata & Throwing Copper 20 Years Later
A few years ago I read an issue of Spin that had a retrospective on grunge rock. Part of that retrospective was dedicated to “scrunge” or “fake grunge” that blew up in popularity immediately following the mainstream embrace of Nirvana and Pearl Jam in 1991. Most scrunge acts were reviled by critics, but many of them went on to become phenomenally huge, albeit for a very brief period of time.
Looking back, the era of scrunge was incredibly short-lived. I would say it started not soon after grunge itself, probably in 1992 with STP’s debut album, peaked in popularity just two years later in 1994 with Bush’s Sixteen Stone, and then vanished without a trace by 1997, being replaced by post-grunge and fellow flash-the-pan genres nu-metal and rap-rock.
So five years in total, and while that’s not much, as someone who was a teenager at the time, I really can’t overstate just how big this kind of music was. Soul Asylum, Candlebox, The Toadies and their ilk, they may have been shooting stars, but sure shined bright while they were here. So in that regard, I’m disappointed to see just how much they’ve been forgotten in the years since.
At the same time, I’ve been wondering if my somewhat positive views of these bands is nothing more than the rose-colored tinge of teenage nostalgia. Because, while these bands played a crucial role in my development as a music-obsessed geek, to be honest I’ve rarely re-visited most of them in the years since their prime. So maybe their continued snubbery in the annals of rock history is justified? Continue reading
Check Out This Dumb Thing I Bought: So Many Game Consoles
For the first seven or so months I was in Japan I really didn’t focus that much on buying video games. For the most part this was because I had a real shit TV with horrendous input lag, but I don’t know, I also had a general disinterest in playing games for a while. I think it went back to my depression/anxiety that I wrote about earlier. Whenever I feel down or out of it I make an active effort to get the hell out of my head and outside of my place.
But a return to a somewhat normal mental state + a new TV + HELLACIOUS SUMMER HEAT really made me dive back into gaming the past few months. I had bought a Retron 5, so that covered my basic needs. But with my Japanese skills more than severely limited, I soon found myself wanting to branch out into newer “retro” consoles.
This was around the time that I bought my Hanshin Tigers Gamecube, which also led me to make another decision; if I was going to buy any more old game consoles, I was only going to buy really weird/stupid/amazing variants.
Because any asshole can by a PS2 – it takes a special kind of person to buy a pink one.
Vinyl Review: Game Theory – Blaze Of Glory (Omnivore Release)
I bought a Game Theory album the other day and I’m still in a little bit in shock over it.
That’s because, up until this month, the entirety of Game Theory’s discography had been sadly out of print, making it nearly impossible for new generations to listen to and discover the band, who are one of the great unheralded heroes of the early “college rock” scene of the 1980s. Sadly, Game Theory’s lone consistent member and primary songwriter Scott Miller (a fucking genius by the way) passed away last year, and he never got to see his albums find a new audience thanks to all that bullshit.
But no more!
Record Store Review: HMV Record Shop In Shibuya
Tokyo’s original HMV, which opened in 1990 and closed in 2010, was more than just a record store. It was a scene spot where many up-and-coming Japanese bands were able to foster local popularity and grow into somewhat international stars. In fact, an entire genre of music, Shibuya-Kei, the jazz/pop hybrid made famous by acts like Cibo Matto and Pizzacato Five, became popular largely because of HMV’s heavy promotion.
But HMV’s Tokyo location was built during the tail-end of a bubble economy. And while its first few years were a hotbed of activity, everything I have read about it suggests that it spent the second half of its existence in a slow decline before finally shutting its doors four years ago.
But that was then! While international record sales are still on fire thanks to the digital revolution, if the insane abundance of record stores in Tokyo are any indication, Japanese people still love buying music on a physical format. And now that the vinyl and cassette tape resurgences are finally hitting Japan in full force, it seems that record stores are just doing better and better here.
So HMV is back! With an all new location, and new name (HMV Record Shop) and I went to check it out.
Cassette(?!?!) Review: 808 State Re-Issues
808 State’s Ninety and Ex:el are widely regarded as being two of the most important electronic albums of the early 90s. Not only are they fantastic records, but they also pioneered methods of combining the then-underground acid house sound with pop-friendly production and vocal hooks (not to mention all-star guest appearances). While they’re not as widely lauded today as more popular albums by acts like Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers or Prodigy, it’s safe to say that they’re far more influential than any albums released by those acts, and that they definitely helped to serve as the groundwork for the electronic music explosion that would briefly dominate the latter half of the decade.
So it’s nice to see both albums finally get the respect they deserve on newly remastered deluxe edition…cassette tapes.
Wait, what?
Summer Sonic 2014 Thoughts And Photos
I’ve been to many a music festival (eight Lollapaloozas, Outside Lands, Ultra and Deluna Fest, to name a few), and while I’ve always enjoyed going to them to catch as many live bands as possible, in recent years I became entirely dejected with them – thanks in large part to the horrible crowds.
In my experience, audiences at festivals have always been complete garbage, getting worse every year. People talk loudly over the music. They throw shit on stage. They have an overwhelming need to get fucked up or wasted. They start fights. They just generally suck.
But now that I live in Japan, I wondered – is it the same here? In my eight months here, I’ve noticed that Japanese people are by and large excessively polite (sometimes to a fault). Would that extreme courtesy and kindness extend itself to a festival?
Well, when it was announced that Kraftwerk was playing Summer Sonic 2014, one of the largest music festivals in the country, I decided it was time to find out.
And while I don’t want to spoil anything – yeah, Japanese audience are pretty dope.
Vinyl Showdown – City Of The Living Dead Soundtrack
City of the Living Dead (AKA Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi AKA Fear In The City Of The Living Dead AKA The Gates of Hell AKA That Movie with the Fucked Up Scene with the Drill) is one of Lucio Fulci’s most…let’s say memorable…films.
I mean, we should be honest here, City of the Living Dead is not a great film. Shit, I think it would be a stretch to call it a good film or even a halfway decent film. It’s an incoherent mess of a film, a film full of hilariously bad acting, horrid special effects and plot holes that a army of zombies could march through no problem.
But it’s also an oddly memorizing film filled with evocative and unforgettable imagery, with a dreamlike quality unmatched by many other horror flicks. It may not make a lick of sense and have some rather drastic problems, but that doesn’t make it any less visually stunning and captivating to this day. If a film can be so-bad-it’s-good and a legit classic at the same time, then it’s City of the Living Dead.
While much of the film’s high points can be credited to the amazing direction of Lucio Fulci, the score by Fabio Frizzi definitely deserves second billing in an explanation as to why the film transcends its cheesy nature. Many Italian horror films of the era featured spacey, prog-influenced soundtracks. Most were by Goblin, the prog-rock outfit who frequently worked with legendary film director Dario Argento on many of his greatest films, including Deep Red and Suspiria. Many consider their work on those previously mentioned films to be the best soundtracks to come out the Italian horror scene of the 70s and 80s. However, if you ask me, Fabio Frizzi’s score to City Of The Living Dead actually transcends them in many ways.
It’s the most “proggy” of the bunch, with a great bass and guitar sound that sounds highly reminiscent of Pink Floyd – if they had been big Romero fans. And it has more memorable hooks than most of those other scores. When you remember most Goblin scores you remember one key melody or theme, but the score to City Of The Living Dead has countless motifs that stick with you long after you listen to them. It’s simultaneously creepy and catchy. A rare combination.
So that’s why when I saw that Death Waltz was distributing Private Records’ limited edition re-issue of the original soundtrack on blue vinyl, I jumped at the chance to pick it up. I didn’t even think twice. Although I guess I probably should have, because I didn’t realize that, as a member of Death Waltz’s subscription service, I was already getting their own version of the film’s soundtrack as well.
Oh well, a great excuse to compare them then and help potential buyers out there figure out which one is best for them! So let’s get down to it!
CD Review: Harald Grosskopf – Synthesist & Oceanheart
About two weeks ago I was wandering Tower Records in Akihabara, looking for the latest Allman Brothers re-release, when I stumbled upon a feature display for someone named Harald Grosskopf. To be honest, I had never heard of him before, but the display caught my eye for two reasons. One was silver-painted portrait that graces the cover of his album Synthesist, and that’s a little hard to miss.
But what really captured my attention was giant text next to it that simply read SYNTHESIZER!!!! followed by a shitlaod of Japanese text that I couldn’t read.
I had no idea who Harald Grosskopf was at the time, but they totally had me at SYNTHESIZER!!!!
CD Review: The Allman Brothers Band – The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings
Let me just get this out of the way right now; I do not consider myself a “jam band” fan. I have never been to a Phish concert. I am not a Grateful Dead fan. The both times I saw Primus live I wanted to kill myself. As punk rocker/new wave aficionado, I can’t typically get into any band whose idea of a good time includes a drum solo that lasts more than one minute.
That being said, I think that The Allman Brothers’ At The Filmore East, an album known primarily for it’s lengthy “jam” sessions, is one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time.
A little Duane Allman goes a long fucking way in my book.
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