WWW.RIDESIDE.NET

Posted by rladew on 2004-09-09 15:57:16 +0000

who cares?

Posted by tgl on 2004-09-09 16:08:50 +0000

Just the title alone: "... Franz Ferdinand is the ultimate bland band" I thought we had some Franz Ferdinand-ists out there. Maybe this is why we need 15-year-olds in garages inspired by the D.I.Y. ethic. Otherwise, we're going to be subjected to the cyclic fashion of music, instead of breaking free every now and then.

Posted by frame609 on 2004-09-09 17:24:09 +0000

It's funny, because the beginning of 'Take Me Out' sounds just like the Strokes, but everyone I know who hates the Strokes likes Franz Ferdinand.

Posted by bizquig3000 on 2004-09-09 18:47:35 +0000

For whatever it's worth, BQ owns three of the last four Mercury Prize winners: "Franz Ferdinand," "Boy in da Corner" and "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea." Franz is great pop music. Period. And just remember that whole DIY basement keeping-it-real nonsense is equally an image like skinny, clean, well dressed art school graduates in skinny ties.

Posted by tgl on 2004-09-09 19:15:35 +0000

The writer concedes that they're a pretty good pop band. However, he seems to be saying, musically, they aren't that much more daring than Britney Spears. Here's a line: "British rock has become scared of technology, retreating into an arid world of old-fashioned instruments, analogue recording equipment and supposed "honesty". Isn't that same the gripe over The Strokes? White Stripes? How does this not apply to F.F.? Back to the cycle: If everything is a Stones rip-off right now, what's next on the agenda, J. Geils? I thought DIY scene is more than just an image (there's certainly an image component). To attain the image, you have to do something constructive is my understanding. Any joker can go to Goodwill and get a skinny tie, not naming any names, if that's OK with Terry Lorber..

Posted by frame609 on 2004-09-09 19:37:11 +0000

We all know, though, that the constant for Cool Skinny Tie Width is 1 3/8 inches. You'd be surprised at how hard it is to find skinny ties nowadays. Try it. Anyway, the whole new wave thing was a reaction to the punk rock thing, as far as the dress code went- a loosening. Things started to change a little bit when the Knack got popular- the proper new wavers hated them because they were kind of a construct of the record company (The Knack's label, for example, shipped millions of copies of their album, which were shipped back unsold, to boost their sales numbers.) This is the second (third?) go-around of the new wave fashion (the skinny tie thing has been used by the punx for years,) which makes me feel like disco and grunge can't be far behind.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2004-09-09 19:42:06 +0000

[quote:6cb063effc]they aren't that much more daring than Britney?[/quote:6cb063effc] As far as I know FF has never lip synched, they write their own songs, if they got married they'ed at least try it for a month or two, and their biggest pop hit has a dramatic time change / meter change 45 seconds into the song.... I'm not the biggest fan, but come on tgl....

Posted by frame609 on 2004-09-09 19:47:48 +0000

Britney isn't a musician, though, any more than Madonna is. They're entertainers who put out records. Apples and oranges.

Posted by tgl on 2004-09-09 20:08:14 +0000

The members of F.F. are musicians who create bland music. Spears is an entertainer that performs bland music. If you know the formula for what works, and you follow that formula, where is the daring bit? Of course, I've only heard F.F. once, so, I can't really say I _agree_ with the Guardian's writer that the music is bland. (Actually, he seems to be in favor of their music, it's the band that's bland).

Posted by rladew on 2004-09-09 20:13:05 +0000

does it rock when you listen to it or not? that's all that matters.

Posted by tgl on 2004-09-09 20:15:10 +0000

[quote:22583ff142="rladew"]does it rock when you listen to it or not? that's all that matters.[/quote:22583ff142] As far as I can tell, The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand rock in exactly the same way. . . . I was going to delete that, but I'll leave it. There is something else besides the "rockin'" that matters. Otherwise, we wouldn't make value judgements on the music based on what color shirt the singer wears. I'm saying I do this, if everyone else is past this, then great.

Posted by rladew on 2004-09-10 01:30:03 +0000

for me im not going to listen to it if it doesn't rock. Duke Ellingtom said there are only 2 kinds of music good and bad. That sums it up for me.

Posted by frame609 on 2004-09-10 05:13:17 +0000

It's funny- I feel like an old coot a lot of the time now because I hear music on the radio and know who the band is ripping off, one, and who THAT band ripped off, two. Maybe I'm just bitter that like Gang of Four (and/or 'Metal Box,' Computer Cougar and, to a lesser extent, Radio 4) didn't get the props they deserved. I don't know.

Posted by tgl on 2004-09-10 05:34:12 +0000

[quote:de1a3a4ac4="rladew"]Duke Ellingtom said there are only 2 kinds of music good and bad. That sums it up for me.[/quote:de1a3a4ac4] I agree, but the calculation of "good" is sometimes not straightforward.

Posted by rladew on 2004-09-10 11:35:41 +0000

Terry, why are you refuting me on this? If you listen to it and you enjoy it, does it matter what some guy writing about it tells you ultimately? I dont understand what your qualifications for disagreeing are here...

Posted by tgl on 2004-09-10 14:02:46 +0000

I was agreeing that you can categorize music as "good or bad", although now that I think about it, that seems a bit simplistic. My point of contention is that people, well, me at least, don't make value judgements solely on the musical content. I wasn't thinking about "what some guy writing about it tells me", more about the context where you find the music. Some of that has to do with the awareness of it's derivation. Some of it has to do with an awareness of pop culture's reaction to the music. For example: I prefer Gang of Four over Radio 4. I think "Two Nuns and a Pack Mule" is the best Albini album. I prefer Don Cherry over Miles Davis. I'll take Rye Coalition over The Strokes, The Hives, The ... but I'm not ready to embrace AC/DC. I have no qualifications! You either like or dislike a band, a song, (a rock, a goat, a tree...) but that decision isn't made in a vacuum. That's all I'm saying.

Posted by rladew on 2004-09-10 17:09:53 +0000

Yeah, that definitely makes sense. I concur that decisions aren't made in vacuums. I was just talking about the end result of the music and not all the contexts / styles it rips off etc. At the end of the day, I either like it or I don't. I prefer Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone over Lenny Kravitz, but if I hear "It Aint over Til Its Over" I still crank it up because its a good song IMHO.

Posted by frame609 on 2004-09-10 17:24:14 +0000

Some of it, too, though, has to do with your relative unawareness of the climate, as well.

Posted by rladew on 2004-09-10 17:51:09 +0000

being unaware of the climate ? do you mean socially/politically/aesthetically? I'm not sure I follow. Like did I understand what circumstances LK put together such a derivitave song that I happen to unashamedly enjoy?

Posted by frame609 on 2004-09-10 17:53:56 +0000

Being unaware of the musical climate can infuence your choices, too. If you're just getting into ________ and the first band of that genre that you hear is a fifth rate knockoff band instead of a seminal one, chances are the knockoff will win out because you heard 'em first. To a certain extent, it's the separation between art and pop culture- the former is there for the latter to mine.

Posted by rladew on 2004-09-10 21:48:51 +0000

thats very true.... but very few (if any) musician can honestly say they own acertain style of music. Theft has always and will continue to be a big part of the music business. Maybe if there is a song that you like and think its good, however theartist ho dis it as well as the listener should be thanking another more original artist, but the rush of enjoyment you get when you hear the song is either there or it isnt.

Posted by tgl on 2004-09-11 14:19:18 +0000

I prefer the Rapeman version "Just Got Paid" over the ZZ Top original. Of course, I'm assuming it's a ZZ Top original...