Off-Track

Educational Hip-Hop

2008-02-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

I'm all too familiar with feminist music, or so I thought. Before I really considered myself a feminist, I became obsessed with the bands that made the term "Riot Grrl" a household name in the punk rock music scene, such as the late greats Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, and The (ever-so-dear-to-my-heart) Butchies. God rest all of their souls. Just when it seemed people were starting to notice, the riot grrl movement faded out. But it appears there still may be hope for feminism in music yet in an equally shunned upon and misinterpreted musical genre as punk rock: hip-hop.

I googled both genres just to see which is making a mark, at least presently, and it seems that the words "feminist hip-hop" yields nearly twice the responses as "feminist punk rock." I was shocked at these results. Surely, Riot Grrl made a huge impact on how women enjoy and make rock music today, especially with the recent revival of punk in the mainstream (if you want to call that Good Charlotte crap punk rock). I took a closer look at my findings and what I believe to be the reason behind this internet attention for feminist hip-hop music is that women and gender studies and music programs nationwide have drawn up academic curriculums dedicated to feminist voices in hip-hop music, offering entire classes on the examination of the misrepresentation of women in rap music. And I say, "Big Ups!" No, I don't because I'm too white, but yes I really do ... on the inside.

Tonight I had the opportunity firsthand to experience the types of academia universities are bringing to our youth concerning this subject FOR FREE at the Columbia College of Chicago. Three very different, very talented, very intelligent, and very outspoken female groups came from around the country to perform FOR FREE at the school, and each enlightened and renewed my passion for feminist music. The most important thing each group brought, no matter how different their media, was the unification of all women regardless of what they grew up listening to.

Clearly, the most experienced stage performer was Soulflower, a Miami-based emcee who has worked with such hip-hop celebrities as Lauryn Hill and The Roots. Her act was without a doubt well-rehearsed. Her timing was impeccable and the slew of high school kids that showed to this event absolutely loved her, which is the most important thing. Soulflower, like the other performers, want the youth to know that rap music with a positive subject matter does exist. She demonstrated this by rapping a completely profanity-free set.

Invincible came from Detroit. She drove seven hours in a snow storm to spread a positive message, and she does. In my opinion, possibly the biggest contribution Invincible makes is her appearance and persona. Dressing androgynously in baggy clothes and a cap pulled down over her short hair, and speaking ambiguously, with broken grammar and slang, Invincible blurs gender and racial stereotypes creating a new identity that crosses cultural boundaries.

For me the most memorable performance, was the spoken word, poetry slam-style, dance and acapella singing by Chicago-based AquaMoon & Tha Crew,who almost reminds me of Ani DiFranco's spoken word performances as she was inspired by African-American poetry professor Sekou Sundiata. Their act is extremely creative, without contextual boundaries, which is what makes AquaMoon so powerful and vital to hip-hop. These women are no strangers to the classroom as a venue, proclaiming their mission to bring performances into grade schools, high schools and universities to provide a "balance in hip-hop music between 'My lip gloss be poppin' and positive hip-hop."

Tonight there were women and men of all colors and ages. I know that each person who came tonight left feeling a bit more confident in hip-hop music. It was an educational experience for me and hopefully for the kids, and I hope that they, like I, will make a conscious decision to actively listen to the music on the radio and think about the musicians who are working to change the corrupt money-hungry music industry that exists. This is the music I love, the music I like to see - the underground, the indie. That's where musicians still possess the power and the drive to do what these ladies have done: promote change, make people think, and be role models for the youth.

Miss Good Local Social

2008-01-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

Do you know what I miss?

My social life.

It's a damned shame that I moved from tumbleweed, dust-bowl Tempe, Ariz., to one of the liveliest cities in the U.S., Chicago, Ill, and five months later, I can't stop feeling like there's something missing. I mean, Chicago has everything I longed for while living in Tempe. Chicago has four distinct seasons (including the most active winter weather I've ever seen) the famed and amazing "El" train, classic brownstone architecture, American history, mobsters, crooked politicians, street fairs, a free zoo(!), its own indie music fm radio station , The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Science and Industry, The Field Museum , The Chicago History Museum, a museum, a museum, a museum, the Chicago Dog, The Cubs, the Bears. The list could go on ... for a few days, but I won't do that.

With all this said, why, then, am I experiencing a sentimental pull to listen to local Phoenix bands like Reubens Accomplice and Liars Handshake? And why do the lyrics "Ninth and Ash on a Tuesday night" from pop-sensationalized Jimmy Eat World's song "If You Don't, Don't" sometimes creep into my head like a broken record, repeating over and over?

I really love Chicago and all the people in this city. There's a real blue collar working class here that cares for the city and each other, a type of culture that was no where to be found among the boozing beligerent ASU bro culture and beneath the layers of makeup, silicone, bleach and bronze of Valley club girls.

But I found a few of my own diamonds in the rough - a few real, true friends that picked me up when I was down (which was quite a bit), and looked to me for a good laugh, too. And the local music really kicked in Phoenix thanks to indie music venues like Modified and the old Nita's Hideaway. I miss Jared Christy of Liar's Handshake singing his heart out and his shirt off. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Casey Moore's on a crowded, sweaty July Friday night.

In the tradition of my blog, I know this entry doesn't quite fit, but this is a comeback entry - a catchup, if you will. And I owe it to my friends of the desert, every last one. Thanks, guys.

Jetting for indie success

2006-11-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

Last week, two blast-from-the-past bands brought their sets to Phoenix. One has become a staple for modern rock ‘n’ roll bands in the United States, and the other, dominated Billboard charts with a few rock solid hits in the 1980s then appeared to fade out. The first band performed at the newly built University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale for nearly 60,000 fans, with ticket prices ranging from $60 to $2,000. The second band performed at the charming Marquee Theatre in Tempe for no more than 200 fans for a modest flat rate of $14.

Both bands are awesome in my book, but there’s only one that I would’ve gone to see. When bands play gigantic arena-sized shows like the Rolling Stones did last Wednesday, I can’t get over the loss of relationship that occurs between the performer and the spectator. I also can’t squeeze $60 out of my tight budget for seats a mile away or the extra cash for the binoculars I’d need in order to see the band perform.

I respect Joan Jett and the Blackhearts for their modesty. I don’t think they’d have much trouble filling up a large arena -at least halfway - if they wanted, but they chose to keep their stardom at an attainable length for their fans. When they played the Marquee last Saturday, there wasn’t a lot of hype in the papers. In fact, the only publication that printed anything about the show was the Phoenix New Times.

That doesn’t mean the band can’t hold its own in rock ‘n’ roll. Jett has written nine Top 40 hit singles for the group, and her most widely recognized contribution to pop music, the song “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” held the #1 spot on the Billboard Charts for eight weeks in a row and is now the #28 Billboard song of all time.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are maintaining their indie roots and modest fashion in their current U.S. tour by performing in small venues to promote their latest album on their own label. “Sinner” features 14 new tracks in Jett’s traditional style of power chord riffs and raspy vocals, but she strays a little from love songs and experiments with songs for social and political change. She’s not dubbed one of the original Riot Grrrls for nothing.

Music to make you vote

2006-11-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

Remember the Rock the Vote effort that seemed to dominate MTV programming during the Clinton/Bush 1992 elections and Clinton/Dole 1996 elections? It was a valiant attempt to increase voter turnout among young adults by using pop music and celebrity musicians to spark interest in politicians and hot-button issues, like abortion. On the surface, it seemed Rock the Vote was successful in perking the interests of 18-to-24-year-olds, but the numbers showed then as they still do now -- young people just don’t care enough to make it to the polls, no matter what mainstream band is pushing the candidates.

Rock the Vote was started in 1990 by Jeff Ayeroff, co-chief of the renowned powerhouse label Virgin Records, and since then, it has teamed up with big-name bands to organize concerts, voter registration drives and education efforts across the country and defeat political apathy among American youth. Currently, the group is working with the controversial Iraq war-hating Texan trio, the Dixie Chicks, which may put the non-profit political advocacy group into left-leaning light, but at least it has good clean elections intentions.

The Dixie Chicks answer questions and pose for
pictures at the Rock the Vote Press Conference
in 2003.

Unfortunately, Rock the Vote is much more active during the national presidential elections and not so much during state midterm elections. That doesn’t make Arizona’s gubernatorial election next week any less important. There will be a slew of weighty constitution-amending propositions on the Nov. 7 ballot, such as Proposition 107, which would define marriage as an institution between one man and one woman and denies benefits and rights to currently registered heterosexual and homosexual domestic partner couples.

If I were the president of Rock the Vote, I would get three politically charged bands to play a huge get-out-the-vote-rally at each of Arizona’s major state colleges. Those bands would be Sleater-Kinney, a feminist indie-rock trio from Olympia, Wash., Le Tigre, an all-out, in-your-face political commentary music explosion from New York, and the D.C.-based hardcore punk group Fugazi.

The Greatest Band in the World: Tenacious D

2006-10-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

There is nothing indie about this band. It has a label on Epic Records of the mega-media conglomerate Sony, and it is headed by steadily rising mainstream star of the comedic silver screen Jack Black. However, its music still rocks because it dares to be different and knocks righteous hard rock hair bands off their ridiculous pedestals.

Tenacious D is a death metal band mockery that consists of two pot-bellied, middle-aged men with acoustic guitars. What better way is there to toss fun at bearded, skinny jeans-wearing, flying-v guitar-thrashing heavy metal bands than with two seeming nobodies?

Jack Black is by no means a nobody anymore, and neither is his musical counterpart, Kyle Gass. The two actors/comedians got their start in music by borrowing classic guitar riffs from bands like Led Zeppelin and adding nonsensical and oftentimes expletive lyrics to make an ironic clash of folk metal music. The abrasiveness and black humor of their songs brought them a small spotlight in 1999 with a short-lived HBO TV series, and the group’s popularity really took off when they started touring with alternative pop groups like Weezer, The Strokes and Jimmy Eat World after the release of their 2001 self-titled debut album.

The absurd style of Tenacious D is best exemplified in their single "Tribute," which claims the band wrote the greatest song in the world, performed it for a demon that appeared to them on a road and then forgot how to play it.

The duo will take their musical act back in front of the camera lens on Nov. 17 with the release of their highly anticipated movie titled "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny." The musical soundtrack to the film and second compact disc release for the band will be available in music stores on Nov. 14. Stinkweeds is currently taking pre-order reservations for the CD and will throw in a free Halloween goodie bag complete with "Jack Black and friends" masks. Oooo, scary.

You say electropop, I say electroclash.

2006-10-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Defining music can be confining, and I can’t really bring myself to do it unless I am absolutely sure I know what I’m talking about. Just like the plethora of “isms” that exist in the art world, such as realism, romanticism and post-modernism, music forms have been categorized and labeled by critics since the beginning. Not to say that this is a bad thing. How else would I find Miles Davis in the music store if there weren’t a Jazz section?

But when I was looking up information on this fantastic British quartet called Ladytron, I learned quickly that music appreciators sometimes take categorizing music too far. I could see how Ladytron could be harder to define than say Kenny G, but six different genres is a little overwhelming. Here are four genres I found:

• New age – I can’t really see how Ladytron fits here. New age dates back to 1967 with the song “Aquarius” by a band called the Fifth Dimension, and I would say Ladytron is a lot more awesome and a lot less psychedelic. While they do create the electronic, synthesized sound that most new age music is associated with, Ladytron also packs a drum machine sound that kicks acts like Enya into the old age.

• Britpop – This genre is almost there. It’s derived from the British indie scene like Ladytron, but it’s more of a trendy alternative-rock style in the fashion of bands like Oasis and Blur.

• Electropop – Nope, no Ladytron here, but we’re really close. This British and German genre contains the synthesizers, electronic sound and characteristic abstract sci-fi lyrics, but there’s one more genre that seems to be a better match for Ladytron.

• Electroclash – This is the closest we can get to Ladytron. This genre is more of a movement of the electropop sound that incorporates the band’s stage presence, consisting of post-industrial fashion and attitude. When the they perform, they wear matching black military uniforms to symbolize sexual ambiguity, a characteristic of the electroclash movement.

Ladytron will be performing at the Clubhouse in Tempe on Oct. 24 if you’d like to decide for yourself where these uber-hip synthesizing Europeans belong on the musical spectrum.

Hard to Do

2006-10-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

Neil Sedaka got it right when he sang “Breaking up is Hard to Do” in 1962. It seems that the best songs throughout time have been sad bastard hits about love, and from the early 2000s emerged an entire genre dedicated to matters of the heart: emo.

Thanks to MTV, emo has become a hodgepodge of mainstream crap for teenaged recluses with the popularity of such bands as Dashboard Confessional and Fall Out Boy. However, I still have a soft spot for the heart-wrenching whiny guitars and screeching voices that belt out lyrics of loves lost.

So with that said, in the spirit of one of my favorite films "High Fidelity," here are my all-time top five indie emo breakup albums:

5. “Something to Write Home About,” The Get Up Kids (1999) – These guys may not have written this album with breaking up in mind, but every time the wailing guitars blare out the intro of the first track and front man Matthew Pryor swoons “say goodnight, mean goodbye,” I immediately feel heartbreak. The album keeps up the low spirit with songs like “Valentine” and “I’ll Catch You.”

4. “XO,” Elliott Smith (1998) – I love this musician, but listen with caution. A breakup is never a happy experience, but Elliott Smith can cause depression of a very clinical kind. With Smith’s sweet soft voice and his clean acoustic guitar, this album is guaranteed to leave you curled in a ball, sobbing in your bed for days. Don’t say I didn’t warn you first.

3. “Dilate,” Ani Difranco (1996) – OK, so this isn’t really an emo selection, but it’s indie! No one can string lyrics as real and poetically as Difranco, and Dilate defines every sour breakup moment you can imagine. The song “Adam and Eve” taps into the rawest of emotion and defines what happens when two people finally give up on each other after countless efforts to make it work.

2. “Rock and Roll Part Three,” Ozma (2001) – “I’ve been cheating on you ever since we broke up,” sings California-based Ozma in their song “The Ups and Downs.” The whole album combined is one big love ballad dedicated to that crush in your fifth grade class or even that special someone on the silver screen. Either way, it’s all about the heartache.

1. “You Are Free,” Cat Power (2003) – When singer/songwriter Chan Marshall declares acceptance in the song “Good Woman” with her unparalleled somber tone, you can’t help but feel the defeat. The album takes its listeners through heart-sunken regret to tranquil understanding of having love and losing love, and she does it with graceful prose, crisp piano chords and bold guitar riffs.

I'm bringin' radio back ... and you should, too.

2006-10-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Since I refuse to get technologically inclined like the rest of the American collegiate population and purchase an Ipod, I’ve had to find other means of whetting my musical appetite when I’m spending unhealthy amounts of time in campus computer labs. What I’ve found is at the very heart of my purist ideals: the radio! And not just any radio, BAGel Radio.

BAGel is an Internet radio station, so it puts me just at the edge of submission to the ever evolving technological musical world where my scratched compact discs and shattered jewel cases become obsolete. The station touts itself as one of the best sources for indie, pop, alternative and rock music. To prove it, they won the 2005 College Music Journal Specialty Music Director of the Year Award, making it the first Internet station to receive such an award -- and with good reason. The music is outstanding, and there are no commercials and barely any talking to distract the flow of song play.

BAGel’s got everything from the well-known British singles band “The Smiths” to more obscure rising indie groups like “Citizens Here and Abroad.” According to one of their slogans, the selection of music is guaranteed to help you “out-snob music snobs,” which I always strive to do.

The station has made itself extremely accessible, too. I stumbled upon BAGel while using an iMac in Coor Computing Commons at Arizona State University. Another way to access the station is through its Web site, or even from its blog on this very site, Blogger.com.

I’m not quite sure where the name came from, but between songs, band members from commonly aired groups promote the station by stating their bagel of choice. Here's a little video clip of The Flaming Lip's frontman, Wayne Coyne, doing one of these shout-outs for the station after a show. My personal favorite is an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. Yum.

Kinds of Music

2006-09-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

I dislike it when someone asks me the question, “What kind of music do you listen to”? It makes me feel claustrophobic … suffocated. So much good music is left out when you limit your musical interest to a few select genres. However, I do tend to go through phases in which I spend a month or so acquiring and listening to one particular genre.

During my Astrud Gilberto-esque-1960s bossa nova phase, I stumbled across Kings of Convenience, a Norwegian duo of ambient harmonic voices accompanied by crisp acoustic piano and guitar. They're sort of like Simon and Garfunkel meets cool jazz saxophonist Stan Getz without the saxophone.

Although this band has a strong retro sound, they’re not old and buried. They’ve been crooning these sweet slow melodies for just five years, and their third and latest album, "Riot in an Empty Street," hit music store shelves two years ago.

"I'd Rather Dance with You" is one song on the album that really shows what these guys are capable of, with a bold violin riff, a catchy snare drum snap and the cool voices of Erlend Oye and Eirik Boe. The video displays the opposite personalities of quiet and serious Boe and his quirky glasses-wearing sidekick Oye, who is shown dancing throughout much of the video while Boe sits at the piano, flashes an occasional soft smile and sings longingly to the camera.

Kings of Convenience just finished up a two-year international tour in July, so I don't foresee their return to the States for a while. But this album is still a must-have for indie music collectors, and the best place for good little indie music appreciators to pick up new sounds is the best little indie music store in Phoenix, Stinkweeds.

Difranco's World

2006-09-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

There is one singer/songwriter that I have to say I am a little embarrassed to be totally and completely in love with lyrically, musically, politically, emotionally. (OK, well, I can’t lie. My compact disc collection definitely holds more than this one guilty pleasure.)

She’s 5 feet 2 inches, but don’t let her vertical impairment fool you. She’s got a tall voice in grassroots politics and music, more than 15 years' experience, and prolifically stamps out a new record every eight months or so. Her newest, “Reprieve,” carries with it the brutal yet sincere poetic genius and sweet jazzy melody that she seems to perfect with each new release.

Her name is Ani Difranco, and this time she’s singing about issues that hit close to home, or more literally, hit her home. She started recording “Reprieve” in her New Orleans studio, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina last August, and the record retains a rough yet sophisticated quality that brings the repercussions of the disaster into her listener’s homes.

Difranco recovered these tracks post-Katrina, brought them to her home base studio in Buffalo, N.Y., and dubbed over the damages. The result is a very eerie, very real personal response to issues looming in the White House, in America's city streets or in the bedroom.

Her political message extends to the cover art of "Reprieve," which shows a lone mangled eucalyptus tree. The original photograph of this tree was taken by Yosuke Yamahata in Nagasaki shortly after the first atomic bomb was dropped in 1945, an event Difranco references in the title track of the album.

Difranco won't be travelling through the Valley for this leg of her tour, but if anyone's up for a road trip, she will be at Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, Calif., on Sept. 22. She's sure to make a bleedingly liberal comment or two and undoubtedly offend some right-wingers, too.

Where it's Rat-at-at.

2006-09-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

I love hearing music. In many ways it’s as vital to my life as breathing. I don’t just enjoy it when I’m working. I need it.

As a wannabe authority on the up-and-coming bands of the indie music scene, I do my best to stay in-the-know. Unfortunately, as a student with a part-time job, it is near impossible to be the know-it-all music snob that I aspire to be. So it helps to depend on friends and the music news grapevine for new sounds when life’s too hectic to stay on-track.

So, with that said, thanks to my good friends Rene and Mikey for introducing me to the New York-based band Ratatat, who just put out their second album titled “Classics” on Aug. 22.

With just two people, a couple of guitars and an Apple MacBook, this group pumped out an incredibly clean-cut production of '80s-style guitar ballads, hip-hop rhythms, roaring cat and whimsical bell samples, and playful synthesizer melodies. The men behind this multi-layered musical madness are guitarist Mike Stroud and instrumentalist Evan Mast.

As an entirely instrumental band, Ratatat is scraping an innovative path on the face of indie music. On “Classics” each song remains in a safe experimental space, never straying too far out of the electronic/rock genre. With a steady heartbeat tempo and easy-on-the-ear melodies, Ratatat is sure to keep you bobbing your head through your onerous reading assignments and won’t distract with a catchy lyrical chorus.

Ratatat will be at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix on Sept. 25 giving us studious types a little stress relief and some fine beats to move our feet to.

The Liars Handshake

2006-09-05T15:23:00.001-07:00

For my first entry, let's start with some of the nicest, coolest, sweetest people I've met in Arizona, the Liars Handshake.

The band is Jared Christy (vocals and harmonica), Billy Culbertson (vocals and guitar), Nolan Thompson (upright bass) and the fiddling duo Brittany Sanner and Megan McCluskey.

What was once a post-punk/hardcore band called Bullet Train to Moscow throughout much of the early 2000s, Jared, Billy and Nolan revamped into the Liars Handshake, an all-acoustic sing-along band.

The group stays true to their punk-loving roots by covering The Pogues' "Dirty Old Town" and Minor Threat's "Good Guys Don't Wear White," but have clashed the screeching genre with the laid-back style of folk music to ensure that everyone in the audience can have a hand-clapping hoot of a time.

They proved their potential for mainstream success when they opened for the popular L.A.-based Irish punk band Flogging Molly at the Mesa Ampitheatre last spring, but Liars Handshake is not about to pack up and move to "La La Land" in search of a major record contract. Fame and glory aside, these guys are dedicated to Phoenix with hopes that they can bring back some innocent fun to the city's punk rock scene.

Their next show will be at The Clubhouse in Tempe on Sept. 21, so get out of the house and support your local music venue. You may even spot me in the crowd, clapping along and messing up song lyrics.