Axl Rose released Chinese Democracy last November after a 17-year wait and a reported $13 million budget.
In March, GN'R manager Irving Azoff told Rolling Stone that the band has big plans for this year. "Axl has been basically quiet, keeping out of the limelight for almost 15 years. People think they know him but they only really only know what has been said about him by questionable people, he is a good guy and often misunderstood — he is a professional who has worked very hard to build and maintain a high creative standard for Guns N' Roses, which I support. We have some exciting things in the works this year for GN'R, I’m looking forward to it."
It's official: Lady Gaga will bring her fashion-forward stage show to the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, as she is set to perform at the ceremony on September 13. Though I love Jay-Z, Green Day and the other acts already announced as performers, I'm most looking forward to Gaga. I echo James Montgomery's enthusiasm for The Fame — even without the juggernaut singles, it would still be one of the more impressive pop albums of the past decade. When you add in her phenomenal approach to fashion, her ultra-quotable interviews and her extraordinary visual sense (hence her nine VMA nominations), you get a tremendous package. (No pun intended.)
But the woman born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta didn't simply drop from the sky fully formed. Rather, she's a careful construction of a number of other stars. Think of her as the FrankenStar, made up of the parts below.
David Bowie: Bowie spent most of his early career pretending he came to this planet from outer space. Those shiny suits Gaga wears? Totally Bowie. And Ziggy Stardust was also obsessed with the concept of fame — in fact, it was the title of one of his biggest hits.
Grace Jones: A woman who plays a hybrid stew of pop styles and has a commitment to stage costumes? That sounds familiar.
Axl Rose: Axl was a great singer and frontman (and hell, an underrated dancer), but the thing he was great at was creating a sense of unpredictability and danger wherever he went. Gaga has yet to refuse to perform because her deli tray wasn't up to snuff, but every time she shows up to an interview in costume or performs live, there's always the possibility that something could get out of hand — and that's awesome.
Kelis: Gaga probably wishes every night that she was the one who wrote "Milkshake," as it's probably the best double-entendre tune of the past 20 years. But perhaps Gaga's greatest skill is making things sound dirty — after all, "Bluffin' with my muffin" sounds like it should be filthy, but maybe it isn't after all.
Kurt Cobain: It may seem like a stretch, but one of the genius things that Cobain did during his all-too-brief career was not take himself seriously. Whether it was in videos, on stage or during interviews, Cobain sometimes came across like a guy who didn't care about being famous or even being a musician. Gaga is the same way — sometimes, it seems like she's just going to stand up and say "Gotcha!" and laugh at our expense. Again, that sort of unpredictability is so rare that it becomes truly thrilling.
I'm putting my money down now: Lady Gaga will steal the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
On 2008's Earth Beings on Exhibit, GLD set a new high-water mark for artistic excellence. This time they've aimed even higher, and succeeded.
The new album is all killer and no filler.
On You Better Run, GLD fuses piano, organ, mellotron and synths with lo-fi guitars, drums & bass to create a mindbending musical stew that is smart, fun, and just downright musical. Imagine if The Byrds had drawn their influences from The Minutemen instead of Bob Dylan.
There are beautiful harmonies and soaring guitar leads to draw the listener in, and enough abstraction in the lyrics to hold up to repeated listening. The band's playful aggression keeps the mood light without being silly, and dark without being morose.
The opening cuts, "Weighing" and "UFOs" are reminiscent of everything that's good about bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement.
But it's with tracks 3 and 4 where the fun really begins. The title track is absolutely hypnotic. The trio works together, like a musical Voltron, slaying rock 'n' roll cliches with a guitar attack. Without a doubt, it's the finest instrumental cut of 2009. There's alot going on in these songs. Girl Loves Distortion puts so much care into making records that they're almost "retro." "Dick and/or Jane" has a nasty, X-rated groove and a face-melting organ solo. The closing track, "Ascend," does just that as Jenn, Steve and Chris prove that rock and roll can still save your life.
Black Plastic Bag Washington City Paper: It seems your first record—most of it was very visceral, and then there were a couple more electronic numbers. But this one is more coherent.
Christopher Goett: I would totally agree with that. While I love our first record for what it is, in terms of documenting where we were at the time, I think it represents us figuring out how to play together. We got into the studio in Summer 2007 so we were just playing together for over a year. The last song on this new record is actually one of the first songs we ever played together, in ‘06.
Washington City Paper: I was going to ask about that song [“Ascend”]. I think you can read it as a bit of a band manifesto. Or at least that’s how I read it.
Goett: Yeah, I think in neighborhoods [he laughs again]. I was a community organizer for several years.
Washington City Paper: The blog party line seems to be that you’re one of the last bands embodying a “D.C. sound.” Do you buy that?
Goett: I have mixed feelings about that. I think most people are saying that as a compliment, but when I think of the D.C. sound, I think of a wide swath of kinds of music. There’s so many different kinds of bands. If you take Teen Beat or DeSoto or Dischord, even within there there’s a large spectrum. I love the D.C. “sound,” I suppose, and I’m not ashamed to be part of it at any stretch. I am a part of this community, and I’m entrenched in it and I like it. It’s one of those things [where I say], “Oh yeah, that’s really nice, but I don’t really know what that means.”
Washington City Paper: Can you tell me how the band formed?
Goett: Steve and I were in a band called Eight Track Mind that kicked around for most of ‘05 and some of ‘04, and it was becoming a situation where band members were moving further apart … It was mostly Steve’s songs and I was kind of playing second guitar. And Jenn and I were working together … in a studio called eSharp. And so kids were learning midi and learning guitar, bass, drums … it was actually really cool. Some young Go-go bands started cropping up. And so Jenn and I worked at the same nonprofit right around when our other band was stopping, and I knew she was an awesome drummer. And I said, “Hey, are you interested in playing rock again?” [Jenn Thomas walks up] … that was probably March of ‘06. We played a house show, I think in May …
Thomas: It was pretty much “let’s do it right now. O.K.” Then it what was like, “O.K. it’s working. Now let’s keep going.” And that’s that.
Goett: We all bring a different thing to the table.
Washington City Paper: What are those things?
Goett: I mean our perspective in terms of our library. That’s just an audiophile term, sorry, but I mean our collection. I love My Bloody Valentine, Ride and shoegaze stuff as much as I love punk, like T.S.O.L. and The Germs and all that other stuff.
Washington City Paper: … like the horror-rock T.S.O.L.?
Goett: No, the earlier stuff, please. [Everyone laughs.] And then Jenn turned me on to the Big Boys and stuff I wish I’d heard about … We’re not one-note in terms of where we’re coming from. I don’t mean to sound nerdier than I need to be, but I think that it helps. Steve has a certain proclivity where he’s coming form, I have a certain proclivity, Jenn has a certain proclivity …
Thomas: Steve comes from a little bit more of a smoother background.
Goett: Actually, Steve was in a hip-hop band for 10 years.
Thomas: And he comes from a melodic classic-rock [background], like Pink Floyd, and he really loves the stories behind the music and he brings in a lot of that in lyrics. … And my background is more like protest punk, like early D.C. stuff. I came from Austin to here, and I was at University of Texas for a while and saw the Big Boys and Minor Threat. And I moved up here as a skate punk. At some of the shows I remember being the only girl in a bright yellow Zorlac shirt amid an entire sea of people dressed in black. I was wearing cowboy boots and people were like, “whoa …” Black Plastic Bag
YOU CAN PRE-ORDER GIRL LOVES DISTORTION'S NEW ALBUM, YOU BETTER RUN YOUR HIGHNESSHERE!
Recently, I was lucky enough to attend a show at the newly-renovated Infinity Music Hall in out-of-the-way Norfolk, Connecticut.
I am here to rave about this music hall. It's gorgeous. The acoustics are superb. The staff was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, courteous, generous and attractive. Drinks were cheap and strong. The music was loud. The hall seats 300! It's simply the best place to see a show in New England, period.
It was like going to church. The music hall itself features stained-glass windows, a high ceiling, plenty of seats, and also plenty of room for dancing and milling about. There are several bars in the building and just about the nicest bathrooms I've ever seen in a public building ever!
They even have balcony seating which looked top me like it was a mere 3 rows!
Built in 1883 in picturesque Norfolk in northwest Connecticut, Infinity Hall is an intimate music, dining and entertainment destination beyond compare. Newly renovated, the historic building features its original proscenium stage and wood, as well as many other notable details. Whether it’s dinner and a show, high quality casual dining or simply drinks and music you’re seeking, Infinity Music Hall& Bistro — just 34 miles from Hartford, 20 miles from Great Barrington, MA and 50 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY — can provide it.
The music hall seats 300, ensuring each and every seat provides front row entertainment. Newly renovated, the hall hosts more than 200 music and entertainment shows by quality national and regional artists annually.
Legendary '90s grunge band Alice In Chians has set Black Gives Way To Blue as the title of its first new studio album in more than 10 years, due on September 29 via EMI's Virgin Records.
The band and producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) began recording last October at Studio 606 in Northridge, California and recently finished mixing at Henson Studios in Hollywood.
There is not a single album I'm more curious to hear this year than this one. I'm really rooting for these guys to succeed, and I'll be buying this disc the day it comes out. I HOPE it lives up to my expectations.
Original vocalist Layne Staley died of a cocaine-heroin overdose in 2002. This will be their first album with new vocalist William DuVall.
Here they are doing "Again" with their new vocalist, William DuVall, at Rock am Ring in 2006. For the record, I think this guy has a great voice.
And here's "Angry Chair" from Adelaide Soundwave this past February.
