HOW LONG TIL MY SOUL GETS IT RIGHT?

It wasn't til tonight that I felt ready to touch on the new Killers. In one ear, I had Sarah shouting its innumerable praises. In the other I had another friend banging on about how Day & Age is the steamingest pile of shizz he'd ever heard. I wasn't sure. In fact my auto-response became "it's a weird record, eh" every time someone asked my opinion. I definitely didn't hate it - even on first listen. But I definitely didn't love it. Now having had the chance to listen in headphones, alone with my own thoughts - I'm still torn, but definitely leaning towards the latter. As in, I still fuckin love the Killers.

And then I caught their most recent SNL appearance (yes, the other night, I was out of town when it originally aired). Their rendition of "Human" was flawed for sure. I don't mind that song on record now. I laughed along with the rest of you when it first started playing on radio, but in the context of the record, it works.

Anyway, despite the flaws, watching them still made me smile. Brandon Flowers is exactly where he wants to be. The Bowie comparisons, the flashy costumes, the rapt audiences - he's been cultivating this since he left the womb. You can mock him all you want for his obnoxious soundbites, even more obnoxious lyrics and somewhat robotic nature - but the fact remains, he's an artist with a billion ideas in his head at all times, and when translated to record and performance they may get muddled, but at the end of the day - we're all talking about his band. Which is ultimately all an artist looking at posterity can hope for. The last thing an artist would ever want to be is boring, and among all the things you can call the Killers - boring isn't one of them. Reinvention is the key to longevity in this age of micro-attention spans. So kudos to the Killers for keeping things interesting.

Just as an aside, but a relevant one - I was watching VH1 Classic last night (duh) and lucked on the metal mania video block (again, duh) and got to revisit the awesome B. Jovi of the '80s. Specifically - "Bad Medicine." Watching JBJ and co begged the question - while everyone was busy accusing the Killers of trying to rip off Springsteen on the last album, did it ever occur to anyone that a different prodigal son of Dirty Jerz might be the better comparison? (Could acid-wash hair metal be the Killers next move?) And I mean, sorry, but am I the only one who can imagine Dave getting his guitar tricked out a la Richie S:



All these things that I've... strummed?

**UPDATE: Thanks to Peter Gaston for sending me the following:
BRANDON FLOWERS: STYLE ICON OR JUST INSANE?

Amen.

HEY ALIBI, LET ME SHOUT OUT YOUR NAME

OK, before I get to anything else - wtf is going on with emo bands? I mean, first Panic decided they're the Beatles - I guess they finally got weed delivered in Vegas (which may also explain my boy B. Flow's new turn as Aladdin Sane). But oh how it's spreading! I turned on Fuse in the wee hours last night to see if Matthias was on SURS (yeah, our lil jewmie is all growed up now, hosting on TV box. Leave em alone for five minutes - or in this case, six months - and look what happens). I caught a bit of a Motion City Soundtrack video. Didn't that singer used to have some crazy Sonic the Hedgehog thing going on? He's like, a total fucking hippie now. Either that, or from Silverlake. Maybe he's bummed that Tokio Hotel stole his hair thunder. I dunno. Oh well.

So I've been doing all this chicken-and-egg thinking. Have bands/the scene gotten more boring and thus we've tuned out? Or have we (meaning both my buddies and the bands we know) just gotten older and moved on to other interests like, say, happy hour? I mean, the last time I was in the UK, I met up with Mikey and Jasper from Art Brut for drinks... at 6 pm. We were toast by 10. I got home around 2 am and still slept through my alarm the next day. Two years ago, our nights didn't even BEGIN til 11. And then there was the We Are Scientists gig this past Saturday night. Trader Joes vino served as pre-gig appetizer and what was left of their rider served as mid-gig entree, and by the time they finished playing at midnight, I was teetering on my heels. The plan was to go out in Brooklyn after, but I had to beg my exit. I found Keith and Chris for the requisite goodbyes and Keith looked at me - appalled. "Where are you GOING," he wanted to know. Home, I said. "You know, you used to be my doctor's worst nightmare," he replied, "Now you're - you're - you're Deepak Chopra!"

Yeah. Dunno about that. But I'm certainly not the nightmare I used to be. The thing is, my idle behavior is most likely a product of career change as well as aging (slightly). Now that I'm not a publicist, I no longer have the obligatory band babysitting gigs. I mean, fuck me - in the two years that passed since I stopped blogging I was in total Horrors land, both literally and figuratively. I love those boys to death, but wow, they gave Art Brut a run for their money in terms of night terrors. When you work with British bands - young ones in particular - you often become their first port of call when they hit the States. They have no other friends to start with. And thus it becomes your responsibility to entertain. Don't get me wrong, it rules. It just takes discipline and stamina. And I wonder if I still have it in me. I gotta find some bands that make me WANT to have it (in me).

If history is any indicator though, it'll happen. Sure bands like Vampire Weekend and Chairlift and blah and blah are getting the hype now, but really, no ones gonna care in a year. Just look at Clap Your Hands and ummmmm, whoever else you can't remember. I was watching this documentary the other night on the history of protest songs in popular music, and some guy was attributing the impact of Hendrix and his Woodstock brethren to the fact that in the late 60s, young people - creative ones at that - were frustrated by lack of change. There had been such promise with the inauguration of Kennedy and yet when all was said and done, by '68, shit was pear shaped all over again. So it begs the question - what's gonna happen to us now in the age of Obama? How many years of slow-burning policy before bands start speaking up and making interesting statements again? Let's hope it's not too many.

In the meantime, let's give thanks for established bands who kick butt and reinvent themselves and come up with ways to buck the existing trend of stagnant artistry.

www.idlewildmusic.com

Click it. Support it. Love it.
And since it's a holiday weekend (in the US at least) you'll have the downtime to read Roddy's amazing track-by-track breakdown of their debut LP, Hope is Important, over at DrownedinSound - CHECK IT.

OLD SKOOL IDLEWILD VIDEO (mega. fucking. lolz. Sarah - if you're reading, I'm weepin).



NEW(ER) SKOOL IDLEWILD VIDEO

ARE YOU SURE WHAT SIDE OF THE GLASS YOU ARE ON?

It's been over five years since I started this thing. Fucking hell. When I go back and read my early posts - well, first I laugh my ass off because the shit Brigid and I got into on 13th street was ridic - but I also kinda cringe. I mean, forget the writing. Totally get why people hated Sarah and me for existing. But like, how did we DO it all? It seems like there was a party or a gig every night. And if there wasn't one, we pretended. It was amazing, and I often find myself longing for those days when I walk through the East Village. Walk past where the Hole used to be. Walk past where Lit still is (albeit filled with unfamiliars). Alt.Coffee, once a hangout for cracked out kids without home internet and um, Carlos D, is now some sort of green living space. These are signs of an apocalypse - but not one as dire as you may think.

The fact is, the scene of five years ago has aged. When it started, we were all fresh out of college. May be stating the obvious here - but it is a hell of a lot easier to party when you're fresh out of college. We're older now. Somewhat wiser. Definitely more jaded. Not only is it a fact of social life, it's a fact of working in the music business. When you see so many bands hint at greatness, only to fade away like smoke - it's easy to become a cynic. And cynicism doesn't lend itself to blogging. Which I suppose is why I let this shit lie for two years. I've been so uninspired. But now I'm trying to fix that. And remedy my boredom with writing.

Things on the music landscape are still pretty crap. Well, actually, let me restate. There are few NEW bands impressing me these days. However, there are a couple that I've actually found listenable.

The first, HAUNTS, is a major grower. In fact, I fucking hated them when my friend Ian first played it for me. He gave me a few tracks and told me that Haunts are what the Horrors should sound like. You see, I love the Horrors. I would never try to convince you that their music is for everyone, but their combination of style, sound and attitude makes them one of the better groups out there. (Please read and digest what I'm saying here before attacking with the "their songs suck" responses). You see, Ian loves the Horrors' style. But hates their sound. And when he discovered Haunts, he decided they were the aural manifestation of Jack the Ripper style London - the perfect soundtrack to Shoreditch (which yes, is somewhat cringeworthy at base level). In his mind, that's what the Horrors should've been (I disagree of course, The Horrors are a fucking modern garage-psych-punk band, but whatevs, you can't argue with him). So, I took some time to digest Haunts' songs, and eventually found them creeping into my consciousness - more often than expected. Then I went on the road with Lostprophets and got the chance to see Haunts in action (they supported). The crowd before them was incredibly hostile - they were there for Lostprophets and didn't give two shits about Haunts. But the guys sounded great. And as far as style goes - I came very, VERY close to ripping the singer's patent leather Doc boots off him (literally. I pretty much accosted him in the production office). Haunts are sleek and dark - and if you can get past the Peter Murphy rip-off vocal style (which I obvs can, seeing as Interpol are one of my favorite bands evs), I think they might very well become a nightlife soundtrack of choice.

HAUNTS VIDEO



The other new record that I've been obsessing over is Ladyhawke. But see, she represents precisely what's put me off the music business, the blog scene, etc. Her record RULES. And I generally HATE chick singers, but she's an amalgam of every great chick singer that ever was - Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Lita Ford (who is apparently trying to make a comeback now - someone needs to hook her up with a Ladyhawke duet pronto). But the thing is - by all accounts, Ladyhawke is terrible live. And when I say all accounts - I'm not just talking press. We all know how grumpy and glib music journalists can be (more on that in a future post, I promise). I'm talking friends who have toured with her. Shit like that. She's too shy and unpolished in person - which, IMHO, is clearly a product of the hype machine. Artists aren't given time to cultivate and perfect their craft anymore, which is a real shame, because unless someone's the whole package (again, said package being talent, sound, style, and attitude) - no one cares beyond album #1. So anyway, listen to the Ladyhawke record, and pray for her that she ups her live game so we can actually declare ourselves fans.

LADYHAWKE VIDEO




That's all I'll say for now. I actually have plenty more on my mind, but this post is getting too long and in the spirit of true blogging, I'll tailor it to our collective low attention span. That said, stay tuned, cuz I'm back y'all.