So Where Am I Now?
My tastes seem to have become even more eclectic in recent years, I put this down to BBC Radio 3's Mixing It and the Internet. It's all out there if you know where to look and are prepared to put up with a bit of download time, although since Broadband came to my village things have improved considerably.
Certainly the WWW has been totally responsible for my reawakened interest in what is generally known as progressive rock (aka Progrock). Yes I know it was supposed to have died out with the dinosaurs but there has always been a hardcore who never grew out of it. After subscribing to a couple of mailing lists and sampled the vast numbers of MP3s for download I began to realise I was such a person.
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When I was a teenager I could never understand why the older guys still got so excited about Elvis and the rock 'n roll from their youth. I understand now, my rock 'n roll was Progrock. I still like the oldies of course (ELP, Yes, King Crimson etc) but there is a whole new generation coming through. Many are just recycling the past, but some, like my current faves Thieves' Kitchen are moving things on a bit. |
Jazz per se doesn't seem to feature in my musical world like it once did, improvised music is a more accurate description, the doors are open for a myriad of sounds and styles. Nowadays I am far more likely to be turned on by music generated inside a computer or a sampler, the possibilities are infinite. This is not to say I am totally rejecting traditional instrumentation, far from it, a tenor sax or a piano will always be a wondrous thing in the right hands. In this writer's humble opinion most of the really exciting developments in recent years have been down to skilful and innovative use of new studio technology.
As for live music well I've out of the loop for a while, there's plenty of catching up to do. I reckon 99% of all the gigs I've ever been to have featured guitar / bass / drums with or without some variant on organ / piano. Synthesisers were for ages just used as funny sounding organs, but things have changed thank goodness. Back in 2000 I went to see Scanner (aka Robin Rimbaud) at a club, one man and his electric box of tricks. The sounds were incredible, you could even dance to some of it if you wanted to, I'd never heard anything like it in a live situation. I need to get out more, these guys are coming out of their bedrooms.
Despite my enthusiasm for techno / electronica I still love guitars. Nobody has improved on the classic models perfected in the 60s, the young groups still use Strats and Gibsons. You only need to watch Top of the Pops occasionally to see the evidence.
The story of rock. The Beatles, The Stones and The Who are timeless, enough said. The Sex Pistols will generally be remembered for their image and attitude rather than their music, but we must not forget they did produce half a dozen killer tracks. I've still got my original EMI copy of Anarchy in the UK in its plain black sleeve, we nearly wore it out on the school record player. I never got quite the same buzz from The Clash. Nirvana were great until they were literally blown away, Oasis and Blur caused a bit of excitement but soon lost the plot. At present though there is nobody to touch Radiohead. I could write an essay about them but I won't.
| I'm not that fond of pigeonholes but one particular genre to catch my ear is so called Post Rock. Tortoise and a number of their fellow Chicago residents are generally cited as being the prime movers and shakers. They straddle the fence between the more subtle end of rock and the less traditional areas of jazz with a pinch of dub/trip hop influence in the mix. Oops, how many pigeonholes is that in one sentence?! |  |
As for more traditional genre, some interesting things have come out of the blues, particularly when samples of the originals have been used. The eerie resonance in many of the songs has contributed to a number of atmospheric hybrids combining ancient and modern. Young persons please note, the White Stripes would not exist without the blues!
Moving into funkier waters I can come up with a couple of names that have blown me away in recent times, Medeski, Martin & Wood, and Jaga Jazzist. Both take jazz / groove / funk inspiration and add experimental elements. |
MMW (organ / bass / drums) from the US of A cut their teeth on jazz so they have the technique, but hey, forget all that cool stuff, this power trio scream and lurch into all sorts of improvisational tributaries carried along on monster rhythms. Organist John Medeski, current instrument of choice the Hammond A-100, is the natural successor to Soft Machine's Mike Ratledge. Praise indeed! |
| JJ are a Norwegian 10 piece who create a modern big band sound utilising samples and electronics alongside more conventional vibes, horns and guitars. The layered and crafted arrangements are fantastic , not a very intellectual thing to say but it's from the heart! These guys are seriously talented, if they come to your town check them out. I may be sitting next to you. |  |
If you've got this far you'll realise that when somebody asks me the dreaded question "So what sort of music do you like?" or "Who are your favourite band?" it's almost impossible to answer. If the music moves me I don't care who or what makes it.