A proposito da proxima actua��o de Rufus Wainwright com a Sra Mann, lembrei-me que a primeira pe�a que enviei para a rocksbackpages.com , foi esta entrevista com a sra Michael Penn. A vers�o portguesa , publicada pelo DN Mais, era completamente diferente. Sem o glossario que se segue, uma serie de refer�ncias incluidas sem contexto, seriam muito dificeis de descodificar para os leitores habituais de um suplemento nacional.O que e obviamente n�o acontece ,com uma audi�ncia anglo-saxonica e mundial, a quem se destinam os trabalhos, que envio regularmente para o site de Barney Hoskyns.Como complemento, o habitual Glossario:
1. Lady of The Canyon- refer�ncia obvia a Joni Mitchell e a uma area da cidade das estrelas onde se concentravam nomes t�o cruciais como Neil Young, David Crosby, os Eagles , Stevie Nicks entre tantos outros
2. Caf� Largo- assunto para desenvolver em breve; trata-se de um restaurante bar , situado no bairro judeu de Fairfax, onde acontecem momentos unicos de musica e comunica��o e ainda surpresas, como por exemplo a noite do produtor Jon Brion, afinal um dos ali�erces para a sobreviv�ncia de Aimee Mann, e para a banda sonora de Magnolia, de PT Anderson, " mito urbano" ao qual voltarei em breve
3.Kibbutz Night- �s ter�a -feiras e no Canter s( mesmo em frente do Largo, visualiza��o feita numa blogada sobre Chuck E Weiss e Tom Waits, publicada anteriormente), o junior Dylan apresentava e coordenava um verdadeiro encontro de cantautores 90s , de que eu eu era um espectador regular.
4.MTV artist- EM 1992 pude ver Mann, num showcase da falecida Imago, editora que ent�o incluia Henry Rollins e num periodo breve distribui White Noise , Black Tie, de David Bowie disco que merecidamente vai ter re-edi��o mais do que justa.
5. Jon Brion- uma especie de "jovem" Van Dyke Parks, ali�s com este co-produziu uma boa parte do album de estreia de Rufus Wainwright. Antigo baterista dos influentes Till Tuesday, Brion seguiu Mann de Boston para L.A. onde agora reside. Para alem das produ��es e albuns que edita via net, Brion apresenta semanalmente uma das cenas mais vibrantes e criativas a que algum dia tive a honra e privilegio de assistir: as noites de quinta, no referido Cafe Largo.
AC: So you haven't become a "Lady of The Canyon" after all...
AM: We just moved out! The general idea of the place as a beautiful safe haven is wrong. People drive too fast, the sidewalks are not big enough to walk safely.
Do you think there is a kind of "Cafe Largo" gang or attitude?
I can say there are Largo regulars, songwriters who congregate and try things together. As you know, in L.A. there are a few places like this, but what people connect with is the audience stance, how respectful it is. To be honest, part of it is dictated by the owner's presence: everybody knows that if there is a table of people talking, not paying attention, Mike kicks them out... the place itself helps create the perfect atmosphere for us to experiment.
It seems like a Fairfax thing going as well. I still remember the Kibbutz Nights at Canter's, right in front of Largo. Jakob Dylan was then sort of doing the same thing�
Exactly. There is a large pool of talented people to draw from in L.A. When I am not on tour I come here to throw stuff in front of an audience, tone it in a totally different environment from a tour concert.
When I talked to E from the Eels he mentioned your night at Largo as a great experience...
I haven't seen him much recently. E's kinda elusive� but he's right. The talent that gathers at Largo is amazing: Jon Brion, Elliott Smith and Benmont Tench can show up anytime, as some standup comedians do as well. It is something that is not possible to do in many other cities...
Jon Brion has become one of the most important producers around. In a way, it is the result of your moving west in the early '90s. Did you ever believe he would turn into a contemporary Van Dyke Parks?
I always felt he was some sort of a genius, way ahead of his time. Jon was including elements, instruments, citing songwriters that were not as trendy then. As you know, he produced my first two solo albums and was a member of the last line-up of 'Til Tuesday. Out here he was able to find the right people and create the perfect space to express his enormous talent. He's about to start work on the new Fiona Apple album.
In 1993, Billboard's Timothy White said you were an artist who did not protect emotions. Somehow that defined your '90s.
I came to realize that those ups and downs happen to many artists. It is just the way the record business operates. In my case I decided to take the situation in my own hands and confront it head on. I really had to get out of it for a while to regain some control. And in fact you can say there is a happy ending to this story...
Was there a moment when you thought about giving up, moving on to something else?
I did not really have that kind of edgy moment, until the very end, when I found myself at Interscope and realized I could not take the major-label stance one more time. Up until then I'd tried to make any situation I was in work, tried to adapt and adjust to people in charge, but it never did happen. I came to the conclusion it would never work no matter what I did in that context. Trying continually to come to terms was not the answer for me. The answer was getting out and doing it myself...
When I first saw you in Los Angeles in the early '90s, I saw an artist shaking off what was left of her MTV days. But the way you did come out of that tag , could already mean a stance. But it is amazing how you developed into this sort of study case of the ever vicious relationship between industry and artists in the digital age...
It was never that intentional. I feel some artists are reluctant to talk about their experiences and emotions, express them in a mediatized context as I did.I really believe is better to use those emotions and experiences than to bury them in some place. I never thought about the consequences for my career, if my stances were good or bad.
Being based in Los Angeles was indeed a good move. What's the role of your current hometown in your music?
It was a working one when I moved out here from Boston. Being closer to the core of the entertainment business and having more chances to find work and make a living in my own terms was the goal. But the main difference as compared to a city like Boston are the small scenes, the networks that places like Caf� Largo provide. Musicians can hang out, try new things even making a living without being bona fide stars, which was my case.
In L.A. the media plays such a major role in the development of these scenes...
Indeed, but let's be honest about it: a lot of what happens in Largo has to do with the owner s attitude. Mike is very clear about how he expects audiences to treat and respect the artists that perform at the Club. He genuinely loves music and does not let drinking and conversation get in the way of what happens onstage.
I know the Largo scene helped you get going, and even if your career has now moved on again, you value those nights at Largo very highly.
:Fave Raves and Rabid Enthusiasms for October 2002
Um exemplo da forma como a rocksbackpages.com trata o presente, neste caso a selec��o de acontecimentos de Outubro de 2002. Se estiveram atentos encontram o meu report sobre os ent�o surpreendentes Interpol.
ALBUMS O' THE MONTH!
Aimee Mann: Lost In Space (SuperEgo)
Compare Aimee Mann to the plangent and shiny female singer/songwriter/musicians so fawned over by the media and one thing is apparent � she's so far beyond them in terms of melody, sound textures and lyrics that there's no point of comparison.
Some would say that this follow-up to the marvellous Bachelor No. 2 is a disappointment, and on first hearing they seem to have a point. Melodically there's a familiarity to the motifs that you can trace back to 'Til Tuesday, and lyrically nothing obviously sparkles with wit like 'Red Vines' or 'Nothing Is Good Enough'. And yet, the more you listen to Lost In Space the more its pleasures unfold.
Like Leonard Cohen's Ten New Songs it creates a sustained mood, dark-toned and grainy. Some songs, like 'High on Sunday 51' are blurry, with smeary slide guitar between cut-glass vocals. Others like 'Pavlov's Bell' crackle along with sweeping Chamberlins. All of them are of a piece, though, and, given time, it becomes a really treasurable record.
Martin Colyer
Orchestra Baobab: Specialist In All Styles (World Circuit)
Nearly 20 years have passed since the recording of this Senegalese group's best-known album, which only came out in Britain in 1989 as Pirate's Choice, and this, its follow-up. But in that time, and based almost entirely on the sheer quality of the music on Pirate's Choice, their status as masters of African music has grown and grown.
This glorious comeback fully justifies that reputation. By turns languid and compelling, exuberant and haunting, it fuses the rhythms of Africa and Cuba � a connection made explicit by the guest appearance of Ibrahim Ferrer of Buena Vista Social Club fame � into a hypnotic whole.
What to expect? The five-strong vocal line-up � original singers Balla Sidibe, Rudy Gomis and Ndiouga Dieng augmented by newcomers Assane Mboup and Medoune Diallo � are on wonderful form, the guitar playing of Barthelemy Attisso, who had to be coaxed away from his career as a lawyer to rejoin the band, mesmerises and thrills in equal measure, and the saxes of Issa Cissokho and new recruit Tierno Koite lock, spar and float in ways that suggest an umbilica cord linking jazz and Africa.
This is transcendant music, full of spirit and emotion, and utterly brilliant. It's not just the best world music record of the year but one of the year's best period.
Tim Clifford
Various: Rough Guide To The Delta Blues (Word Music Network)
ENID (THORA BIRCH): "Yeah, it took a while before I got a chance to play it, but when I heard that song it was like �"
SEYMOUR (STEVE BUSCEMI): "So you really liked it? Yeah, there's some really rare performances. You liked that Memphis Minnie, huh?"
ENID: "Yeah, that's good too � the whole record was good, but that one song, 'Devil Got My Woman'? I mostly just keep playing that one over and over. Do you have any other records like that?"
SEYMOUR: "The Skip James record? Yeah, that's a masterpiece. There are no other records like that!"
This exchange from Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World pretty much sums up the Delta blues � at its best, not much like any other music ever heard. This exemplary (and cheap) compilation delivers an amazing dose of Mississippi marvels, putting obscure next to well-worn, the '30s side-by-side with the '90s.
From Skip James to R.L. Burnside, these tracks break out of twelve bars and head for the outer reaches of the solar system. If you don't believe me, listen to Geechie Wiley and Elvie Thomas' 'Last Kind Words Blues'. As eulogised in Greil Marcus' Invisible Republic, it's one of the most haunting and unearthly records ever cut. Hugely recommended if you have even the faintest interest in the blues.
MC
SOUNDTRACK OF THE MONTH
1 Beck: 'End Of The Day', from Sea Change (Geffen)
Sea Change is a serious grower of an album. On first hearing it sounds oddly flat � especially after its peerless "acoustic" predecessor Mutations. But then its bereft, Nick Drake-meets-Serge Gainsbourg moods get right under your skin. Beck in sombre, simplified mode is deeply moving, especially when (like me) you've seen him up close with Leigh, the dame whose infidelity inspired these songs. This bleak, muted, vaguely alt.nashville ballad is an especial favourite: "Had to act like I didn't care/But I did so I got stranded standing there." Could almost be a riposte to the Midnite Vultures backlashers, couldn't it.
Barney Hoskyns
2 Supergrass: 'Prophet 15', from Life On Other Planets (Parlophone)
I'm not sure Supergrass are ever going to make that truly Classic Album. But it shouldn't matter, because their records are always strewn with Great Pop Things. Yes, Gaz of the bugger grips and Simian demeanour is basically a canny magpie � feeding off the corpses of Lennon ('Za'), Bolan ('Seen The Light'), the Beach Boys ('Run') and others � but the boy has the gift of melody in spades. Life On Other Planets is, as others have noted, a perkier affair than the comparatively dark Supergrass, but it's not simply 'Alright' for post-Britpop thirtysomethings. You can't the beat the single 'Grace' � all Gaz's genius is there in the chorus' surprise root note � but 'Prophet 15' is my current favourite. A surreal gem, rollcalling dead heroes from Oscar Wilde to Marvin Gaye.
BH
3 Bob Dylan: 'Train Of Love', from Kindred Spirits: A tribute to the songs of Johnny Cash (Lucky Dog/Sony Nashville)
"Hey Johnny, I wanna say hi � I wanna sing you one of your songs about trains. I used to sing this song before I ever wrote a song, and I also wanna thank you for standin' up for me way back when?" One-take sound, most reminiscent of a Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid-era tune, Dylan tearing into the song with slashing slide one side, weeping steel on the other, the whole performance centered by Tony Garnier's chest-deep bass. Ragged but right.
MC
4 Theoretical Girls: 'Mom And Dad', from Theoretical Girls (Acute)
This is not music for the faint of heart: in fact the whole album's pretty raw and in yer face. But it is a fascinating document of an obscure late '70s band, one that reflected the avant garde of John Cage (interestingly, future avant composer Glenn Branca was the Girls' guitarist) and the Velvet Underground � bridging the gap between them and No Wave acts like James Chance. mirroring the work of British sisters-in-sound bands like Wire, PIL and The Raincoats.
William Higham
5 Solomon Burke: 'Don't Give Up On Me', from Don't Give Up On Me (Fat Possum/Anti)
It coulda been another of those fetishistic f�ting exercises: black veteran, white disciples, festschrift time. But producer Joe Henry has done the Bishop of Soul proud, rounding up fine songs by Dylan, Costello, Waits, Van da Man et al. Best of all is the title tune, a vintage country-soul offering from the Alabaman pens of Dan Penn, Carson Whitsett and Hoy Lindsey � stick it on Solomon's 1969 Muscle Shoals classic Proud Mary and it would fit right in.
Cleothus Hardcastle
6 Delia Derbyshire: 'Ziwih Ziwih Oo-Oo-Oo', from BBC Radiophonic Music (BBC Radio Enterprises)
The fact that Delia D has finally gotten her dues as a pioneering electronic genius doesn't detract from the shock value of this 1966 track, composed for a 1966 episode of Out Of The Unknown. With its sped-up, backward voices, proto-drum-machine plod and spacey reverb sounds, it could be the Aphex Twin. Amazing. The rest of this 1968 reissue (mainly John Baker) is pretty wild, too.
Djuna Parnes
7 Bright Eyes: 'Method Acting', from Lifted (Wichita)
Conor Oberst, may be an irritating tit, but Lifted suggests the Omaha wonderboy may be the missing link 'twixt Mark Eitzel and Ryan Adams. (Is that a good thing? Depends, I guess.) 'Method Acting' is precious but intense, pretentious but unfettered. "All I know is I feel better when I sing," Oberst sings; "Burdens are lifted from me, that is my voice rising!" You gotta the admire the kid's chutzpah if nowt else.
The Rev. Al Friston
8 David Ogilvy: 'Hole In The Ground', from Like It Is (Thumbpick)
The lustrous first track from this country-folkish Brit has a doomy, vaguely Cuban feel � Dylan meets Gillian Welch at the Buena Vista club, mayhap. A great song.
BH
9 The Three O'Clock: 'Half The Way There', from Arrive Without Travelling/Ever After (EMI Special Products)
One of the finest songs ever to come out of the Paisley Underground scene that gave us the Bangles, Long Ryders and Rain Parade among others in the early to mid-'80s. Aside from R.E.M. and The Smiths, there was little to inspire us back then, so this kind of psychedelic pop was a breath of fresh air, reflecting as it did the lighter end of The Who or early Pink Floyd. Sure, singer Michael Quercio's voice can be a little twee at times, but there's so much melody oozing from the grooves it doesn't matter.
WH
10 The Drifters: 'I Don't Want To Go On Without You', from The Heart and Soul of Bert Berns (Universal)
High time someone put together a Berns comp, but why did it have to be corporate bigwig Doug Morris � and why do we only get ten measly tracks? Oh well, at least Dougie has the discernment to include this sweetly wistful ballad, a song that's always lingered in the shadows of Bert's other Drifters productions ('Under The Boardwalk', 'At The Club' et al). Sheer pop-soul class.
BH
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Barry Miles: In the Sixties (Jonathan Cape, �17.99)
Miles (as he is more familiarly known) is not a musician, but he was a key figure in British counterculture in the '60s. He helped organise the 1965 Albert Hall poetry reading that defined that movement, co-founded Indica � the first "alternative" bookshop in Britain � and published International Times, the less celebrated but more widely read of Britain's underground newspapers.
For cultural historians, two elements are of especial interest in this well-written memoir. One is the link between the Beat poets of America and the burgeoning pop culture of Britain. The other is the picture of a relatively small clique at the heart of the latter, less a "drop out" culture than a "just dropped by" one. The meat for music lovers, though, is in the first-hand accounts of happenings such as the 14-Hour Technicolour Dream at Alexandra Palace, headlined by Pink Floyd, the recording of Sgt. Pepper at Abbey Road and, especially, the author's friendship with Paul McCartney.
For a man so obviously close to the centre of events, Miles has a wry and dry approach to his own past. There is no self-mythologising or self-justification here � and his book is all the more entertaining for that.
TC
GIG OF THE MONTH
Interpol: Graceland, Seattle
The Stranger, an alterna-guide to Seattle, proudly announces that "this used to be The Off-Ramp, and the beer spilled in those days is still stuck to the floor". It is now the Graceland, still on the same desolate edge of the downtown area, decorated by the never-ending buzz of a nearby freeway.
"Go early" was the sound advice of well-informed and coffee-fuelled locals, announcing a sold-out gig � a northwestern welcome to the "very young , clean and beautiful" Eurocentrics known as Interpol, all the way from NYC. A former Jack Endino acolyte informs me Seattle is back, saved from "the electronica conspiracy that replaced guitars and songs with sounds and pose..."
The eurocrat fans, squeezed into the very dark and legendary club , are wearing football shirts (Man United and, to my surprise, my fellow countrymen Benfica) displaying a "No Nu-metal" sign � a pop code that defines the current stance of the neo-new wave generation, lost somewhere between Dusseldorf and Folkestone, under a very foggy and misty evening in 1982. Pop-culture trivia aside, Interpol don't lose much time expressing what they are about. Joy Division comparisons aside, see them before they become a case study for the local Experience Music Project, filed away in the Raincoats and Skinny Ties wing.
Alvaro Costa
PLAYLIST OF THE MONTH
Captain America Radio SHOW, on Virgin Radio
presented by Nick Stewart
1. NEW AMERICAN LANGUAGE / DAN BERN / NEW AMERICAN LANGUAGE / Cooking Vinyl
2. THE SILVER LINE / CHRIS MILLS / THE SILVER LINE / Loose
3. HALLELUJAH / RYAN ADAMS / DEMOLITION / Lost Highway
4. FIREFLY / GRAND DRIVE / SEE THE MORNING IN / Gravity
5. WATER WHEN THE WELL IS DRY / BUDDY MILLER / MIDNIGHT & LONESOME / Hightone
6. ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM / BERT JANSCH / in session / in session
7. RUNNING FROM HOME / BERT JANSCH / BERT JANSCH / Sanctuary
8. GOODBYE PORK PIE HAT / BERT JANSCH & JOHN RENBOURN / BERT & JOHN / Sanctuary
9. LIGHT FLIGHT / PENTANGLE / BASKET OF LIGHT / Castle
10. FREAK STREET / ROY HARPER / COME OUT FIGHTING GHENGIS SMITH / Science Friction
11. LONDON TOWN / DONOVAN / TROUBADOUR / Epic-Legacy
12. MUSIC OF THE AGES / C.O.B / SPIRIT OF LOVE / B.G.O.
13. SWEET DEATH / BERT JANSCH / in session / in session
14. ALL THIS REMAINS / BERT JANSCH with HOPE SANDOVAL / EDGE OF A DREAM / Sanctuary
15. HELP YOURSELF / DEATH IN VEGAS feat. HOPE SANDOVAL / SCORPIO RISING / Concrete
16. SUZANNE / HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS / BAVARIAN FRUIT BREAD / Rough Trade
17. SERGIO LEONE / JACKSON BROWNE / THE NAKED RIDE HOME / Elektra
18. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST / ENNIO MORRICONE / st: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST / RCA
19. MUST BE YOU / JOSH JOPLIN GROUP / THE FUTURE THAT WAS / Artemis
20. HE KNOWS A LOT OF GOOD WOMEN / ARTHUR LEE / VINDICATOR / A&M
21. WHERE DO WE GO / JEFF FINLIN / SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF WONDER / Gravity
22. WHY AYE MAN / MARK KNOPFLER / THE RAG PICKERS DREAM / Mercury
23. TOO LATE FOR TONIGHT / LAURA CANTRELL / WHEN THE ROSES BLOOM AGAIN / Spit & Polish
24. BLIZZARD OF LIES / GRAHAM NASH / SONGS FOR SURVIVORS / Artemis
25. WILLY / JONI MITCHELL / LADIES OF THE CANYON / Reprise
26. JACKSON / HEM / in session / in session
27. THE GOLDEN AGE / BECK / SEA CHANGE / Geffen
28. CAGES / SPIRIT / SEA DREAM / Acadia
29. MANSION ON THE HILL / BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN / NEBRASKA / Columbia
30. COME AWAY MELINDA / TIM ROSE / TIM ROSE /Columbia
31. YOU'RE NOT MY SWEET SAME BABY / CHUCK PROPHET / FRISCO MABEL JOY REVISITED / Glitterhouse
32. WHITE BLUE & RED / KATHRYN WILLIAMS / OLD LOW LIGHT / Caw
33. BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS / THE HIGH AND LONESOME / FROM THE PLAYGROUND / DB Records
34. UNDERDOG / LISA LOEB / HELLO LISA / Artemis
35. A DREAM IS A WISH THE HEART MAKES / HEM / in session / in session
este � o ultimo " servi�o" enviado para a rocksbackpages.com . Se n�o s�o assinantes, acreditem que vale a pena. Por pouco dinheiro , ficam ligados a uma especie de Biblioteca de Alexandria da pop-cultura.Esta entrevista, concedida por Robert Plant e Jimmy Page( este praticamente n�o falou e as suas respostas foram mais dirigidas ao microfone de Luis Pinheiro de Almeida que me acompanhava pela Lusa) em Paris aquando da apresenta��o mundial de Unledded.Domingo de manh� confortavel e outonal, como s� Paris sabe ser. Apesar da " boa onda" era notorio que as feridas n�o estavam completamente saradas. E como RP o diz de uma forma directa e frontal, existem periodos de lideran�a assumida e um equilibrio precario no projecto Page e Plant .O tempo confirmou que era ,um projecto estilo Dreamland bem antes do seu tempo,com base numa explora��o sonora " Plantiana", a que se acrescentava uma notoria lideran�a mediatica do todo poderoso vocalista, como n�o � por acaso ,que � o guitarrista ,que assume quase todas as despesas do "wagneriano " DVD e CD com selo 03. Se Page mantem viva a chama Zeppelin , o " guerreiro viking" andam a a fazer tudo,para que as labaredas n�o "queimem " uma memoria ,de que , e em muitos aspectos tem sido uma especie de guardi�o do templo.Ainda mais fascinante , � a forma como Network News , uma can��o do inicio da decada se poderia encaixar na realidade geo-estrategica do nossos dias,uma can��o que ainda funciona como telejornal pop....
ROCK GODS SHOULD never leave their Olympus, in particular if they happen
to stroll along a Parisian street during the city's Marathon.
The consequences can be dire, as one anonymous athlete must still remember: frozen by such divine vision and unexpected presence, the man literally halted his course in front of The Victor Hugo Hotel, creating a scene inspired in some freeway pile-up. This scribe had to reassure the poor runner that the two long-haired gentlemen were not a magic trick being performed by some apprentice on a dark golden autumn Parisian day, but Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, two of the greatest icons modern culture has ever produced.
Inside the Hotel, tea and scones were served , shampoo advice traded,
and the sanity of triple-necked guitar questioned without any mercy. As with
some songs and albums, a lot of interviews don't age well. In this case, for reasons
barely hinted then, it seems the other way round, courtesy of a new double
whammy, performed by some digital Merlin....
AC: In tone and atmosphere, the new version of 'Nobody's Fault', sets the pace
and in many ways reminds me of how Zep would grab the listener's attention,
right on the first track...
RP: Essentially we were not trying to be musically correct, but trying to create an
atmosphere with a song that was very old , from the dawn of recorded blues
music. And presenting the location where it was recorded, and the fact
that we had a sound that was mimicking the '30s, a blues sound presented by
these instruments. A loose interpretation once again.
AC: This reunion is up for any interpretations in itself. The common view is
that given all the heavy vibes and intense scrutiny of your personal and
professional relationship, this possibility would remain a rock and roll
legend. What, if any, conditions did come about to create this common
project?
RP: It's impressions you are dealing with, and if at least we did not have a
sense of humor it would not make any sense at this point in working
together. With all the things that came before, our past is littered with
good and bad experiences... there is nothing heavy in this , and if there
is I will snap my fingers and it will vanish... [laughs]...essentially I dont
think we have exposed ourselves in the media like this before, maybe
because we wanted to put ourselves in a new established position, or at least
repositioning ourselves in the game. I do think it's time to do that...
AC: Analogy-wise, with some soccer comments, it's like being in the same team
again, having to remember old movements on a new team context.Did you find
space to fit in, or was it rusty for a while?
RP: We are part of the final eleven now... [laughs]...and now what we have to
do is to beat the offside trap, which is sort of the current malaise of
imagination within the music world, which I think is so retro and
safe. Maybe we will be saved by the Black Crowes' new album (Amorica)...we just have to keep pushing in the areas that we started to develop here. It's either that or leave it completely for the next project. Forget about Morocco, forget
about Cairo! I think we are fit, we have got our track suits on, and we
are warm enough to get on the pitch.
AC: And eventually score a goal.
RP: I do prefer the stuff they rub on you before the matches.... [laughs].
AC: Was it a" hard game", facing the mighty Gnawa and their penchant for
incantation?
RP: It's pure music and pure expression from their part. It has nothing to do
with commercial inferences. They don't relate to the concept whatsoever. For
instance if Eric Clapton and Phil Collins team up in a room playing bongos
and acoustic guitars ... [laughs] ... there is an immediate commercial
potential. With the Gnawa its a one-off thing: they expect nothing, they
give a lot and if they like you, they give even more. It is indeed a warming
and unusual experience. It's like we have a common music passport, whose visa
is the smile created by the communication of two different music cultures.
That came about during the jamming process, which both sides understand
completely...
AC: The main sound question was, who was leading who... it seemed it was a two-way process...
RP: That's very true. We began playing with them the day before we filmed and
usually it could be a melody or a guitar line Jimmy would lay out for them.
It came down to a three-way situation: once we got started, it was important to the Gnawa they would contribute to the song and create a counter-melody. 'Wha Wha' is a particularly good example in that respect : the combination worked
perfectly. It sounds rugged and rough, but because we wanted to keep that feel.
It was not meant to sound to studio friendly or polished...
AC: At this point it's more than clear that we are not dealing with a Led Zeppelin
reunion per se...which brings to my mind Bonzo. As I saw the current version
of 'Kashmir' I could not stop thinking about what would go through your minds
even if this is an entirely different frame....
RP: Yes, Bonzo is all over the place, and in particular in moments that have
nothing to do with the music frame you are dealing with. As many others who
are not with us anymore, but talking about the band as it is, and that what
you are asking, let me tell I have been working with Charlie [Jones] for over two years. He so adaptable, really into the Doors and that type of stuff, which means
he can lay down an amazing groove, similar to 'The End' or 'Riders On The
Storm'. We can be led into beautiful crescendos, subtle waves of explosion.
Some drummers would not want to embark and travel through so many stars of
this game, but Michael is egoless. For many drummers, this is a mighty
problem. If they drum a certain way seen as retro or derivative, it might
mean they are not good enough...as far as I am concerned it's quite the
opposite.To absorb where this comes from takes a lot of class and
musicianship, in view of what he is up against.
AC: Coming full circle, in light of what is going on right now, where does your
solo stuff stand ?
RP: If I can be as instrumental in working with Jimmy for this project (let's not
forget Jimmy has his moments when he is really controlling, as I have
mine).... I don't see any point. I might have made a few mistakes in the past.
Fate of Nations is indeed my best selection of mistakes..
AC: I react to '29 Palms' on a personal level, but also to 'Network News' as a
lucid world view....
RP: 'Network News' is by far the most important to me.It was about Kuwait, and
the whole carving up to the war and the whole Middle East conflict.
Nevermind the Guns, Death and Noise, Sand, Oil and Blood. I was really
agitated. And if I can maintain this level of lyric agitation there is no
need to get back to that point where you start telling people to play what
you want, at least while we have this chemistry going once again....
AC: Before we go. During the press conference I wanted to pose a very Fleet
Street question righ after the usual pan germanic tidbit about Deep
Purple... [laughs] ...Your hair seems to be back in shape and shining in its old
splendor. Any advice..
RP: Happiness does that to you....A good happiness session will do the job....
RADIOHEAD NO PORTO, CAPA DA ROCKSBACKPAGES.COM:Radiohead: Live in Porto
Este artigo, foi capa da rocksbackpages.com; um momento raro, em que Porto e Lisboa, estiveram no centro do mundo -biz.Cortesia da tour nacional dos Radiohead e do publico nacional.
EVERYTHING WAS in its right place during Radiohead's intense Portuguese tour: sunny skies, five sold-out nights in Porto and Lisbon Coliseums, an adoring and enthusiastic audience feverishly greeting a batch of "virgin material", classics that largely ignored Se�or Pablo Honey....
Iberia seems to be an ideal ground to test and rehearse new material; in 1997 , the Oxonians presented OK Computer to a less adoring and numerous Portuguese crowd, gathered together in the more humble settings of Lisbon's Paradise Garage. Saul Davies of James, now a Portuguese resident, still remembers a night in 1993, in the same sold-out Porto Coliseum, when � at the tail end of "a very loony and eccentric tour" � "the cr�me de la cr�me of '90s British angst collided". Davies says that although the Mancunians were "not very friendly to their supporting bands," he himself was highly impressed with the emotional histrionics that Thom Yorke laid bare to half-empty venues scattered all over Europe..
If 'Creep' was the focal point then, its omission now creates an even greater sense of its importance. But in this net age, Porto fans were more than informed about what had happened in Lisbon; indeed, some of them had already heard snippets of the new songs presented in the capital, and got word of the design for the 2002 shows. There were no requests during the first half of this very public dress rehearsal: 'Up on The Ladder', 'There, There' and 'Myxomatosis' were some of the new songs presented, apparently leaning towards a less electro-experimental angle.
A brief symbolic interval opened the way to a "greatest hits" sequence, based on OK Computer and The Bends, an album that hardcore Portuguese fans still relate to, since its songs were never presented in these shores. 'Just' and 'Fake Plastic Trees' were some of the highest moments of a memorable night, amplified by Yorke's warmer stage presence, and "digital-sensual" robo moves, which fueled the ever frenzied southern European audience...
Alvaro Costa checks in with the author of the acclaimed Heavier Than Heaven.
Autor de biogs sobre Springsteen e Led Zeppelin, colaborador regular da Rolling Stone para o Pacifico Oeste, Cross , Charles R. , acompanhou como muito poucos ,as varias cenas de Seattle.Como editor da Rocket pode observar da primeira fila, o filme que recupera em Heavier Than Heaven. Por acaso descobri que passei algum tempo no mesmo caf� onde uma boa parte do livro foi escrita: O Uptown Express da quarta avenida de Seattle, mesmo ao lado dos actuais escritorios centrais da Sub Pop. Quest�o central , como podem notar, � a ideia de Cobain "estar marcado" genetica e geograficamente. Esta conversa decorreu logo ap�s a paranoia sniper de Washington DC , mais uma manifesta��o de maluquice com raiz na poderosa regi�o das florestas humidas. Um dos suspeitos tinha como base Tacoma, a cidade onde est� situado o aeroporto de Seattle . O papel de Love � uma das quest�es essenciais do livro e das controversias. Para alguns Cross( que teve acesso � vers�o original e mais longa dos diarios) "a�ucarou" a import�ncia da senhora Cobain, na tragedia de dimens�es shakesperianas que iria ocorrer em 1994.Aqui , as informa��es cruzam-se um pouco j� que eu proprio cheguei a ver Miss Love na cidade dos anjos, por exemplo acompanhada por Evan Dando, j� com o cerebro meio frito pelo acido e ainda em sess�es de apresenta��o e autografos e num inesquecivel momento acustico, no clube Lingerie em que um casal de artistas apresentados como Ono -Lennon , eram de facto o casal Cobain.E para terminar as controversias made in net de meados de 90, ainda um territorio tipo far west , no que diz respeito a conspira��es, factos e factoides. Segundo Cross, se tivesse encontrado algo suspeito,seria o primeiro a denunciar . E se ao fim de 4 anos de pesquisa, nada encontrou de anormal, considera nesse campo , caso encerrado. Ao longo dos ultimos meses , temos trocado correspond�ncia. Nesta altura pesquisa e coordena o seu proximo projecto com edi��o prevista para 2005: uma nova e mais localizada biografia sobre outro filho de Seattle. Jimi Hendrix
AC: What was the genesis of this book?
The book really began more than a decade ago. I was the editor of The Rocket, the first magazine to ever include a cover article on the band. After Kurt�s death, I was unhappy with the things that were written about him, but I felt it was too early, and in fact it seemed wrong to write something. Most of what I have read so far, did not present an accurate perspective of the man, and was more focused on how he died. My initial concept was to be focused on the way he lived, rather than the circumstances of his death.
Kurt�s life is indeed fodder for megadrama. It seems to me that you created an almost Shakespearean tone for the story you presented in Heavier Than Heaven. Was that conscious?
You have a situation where the story of two tragic characters intertwine at some point. From the very first moment they are together, it becomes fatal � one of them will perish. All of this is contextualized around the Cobain family tragedy. Kurt was someone doomed from the very early moments of his life, due to the background of his family. In some ways I am surprised by what he did achieve, given what he had going against him...
In a way, as you mention, Kurt was "marked for death". Up until your book, most biogs concentrate on the pressures of stardom and the rock and roll side of his life, but you�re looking at this almost pre-determined fate...
The natural reaction to it is to find someone to blame: who could have prevented it, who was responsible for letting him to get to the state he did and finally what could have saved him? But there were so many things in this man�s life, before he was even born, that had a lot to do with the outcome, maybe even more than is commonly acknowledged...
There seems to be in your book a very subtle but dark presence: the mighty, humid, mysterious Pacific Northwest. Evidently, Twin Peaks comes to mind, recent events as well...but in the end what is the role of your region in the story?
The Northwest is a large region, populated by almost 20 million people. Not everyone here is a serial killer or a nutcase, but we do have our fair share of twisted individuals... it may just be that the area where Cobain is from, the southwestern area of the state, amplified the alienation. Some of those areas have lost their main source of income. Timber and other heavy industries founded the local economy, and are now almost gone. It�s hard to make a decent living and it is no surprise that those areas present the highest rates of suicides, alcoholism and domestic violence in Washington.
LA plays a big role in this drama and indeed in your book. In the early �90s I was a resident, and I remember Courtney pretty well � having bumped into her a few times hanging out in clubs like The Viper Room, sometimes with friends such as Evan Dando � as a very flirtatious and sensual woman. In Heavier Than Heaven you don�t seem to overplay her role in Kurt�s fate, as some other pop-culture observers tend to do...
In many ways that�s the way she really was .It was the core of their relationship: Courtney responds that way; she was no different with Kurt than she was with other boyfriends. Theirs was a relationship based on jealousy, directed from both sides. He was jealous of her previous lovers � Billy Corgan was an example � as she was jealous of Kurt�s ones. Their relationship began with games and lies, when they did not confront the people they were seeing at the time. It�s a thread that defined their relationship. But I do feel they really loved each other, and my job as a biographer was really to tell the story of their lives and not judge it at all.
Hence the fact, in the book you don�t play the Courtney "card", her role as a catalyzer, the "evil woman" that drags him down. You take time laying down the influence of Tobi Veil, and the murky relationship with Mary Lou Lord...
I am really glad you say that, because we have to understand that she was with him only three years of his life. Of course she married him and his the mother of their child and is a major media icon. I didn�t want to overrate the celebrities and give their relationship more credence than the others, only because the women in question are not as well-known. I tried to be fair with them and contextualize their importance on Kurt s life. I hope that�s what a good biographer should do.
As you told me, the direction of the book changed when you had free access to Kurt�s now-published Journals. In a way, after having read them, the book works as a "prequel". What was the role of research on the global tone of Heavier Than Heaven?
I had free acess to whatever is available, beyond what was published. Believe it or not, my book includes a lot more material than the published version of the Journals. The main difference is that people will read it via Kurt s own handwriting. Indeed, it changed my book drastically: because it gave me a "voice", his own presence as he becomes a " real " character. That�s why I feel the book can be more effective in this sense.
For some, with your book and the Journals, it seems there is not much more space to introduce new angles on this amazing story. Do you see it as "a closed case "?
As a biographer I would love to have written the definitive vision...but the man is still a mystery to me. Even myself, after four years of my life devoted to this book, after more than 800 pages written, I still don�t know how this brilliant mind worked. Kurt remains in many ways an enigma, and maybe that�s one of the reasons he still connects with people: he is not classifiable, can�t be " boxed in...
And about his death? any room for controversy?
I did spend years reading the facts, observing tons of police reports and evidence. I must say, if there was any evidence that his death was something else, I would have stood up right away. As everyone else, I wanted to find answers that would be less painful. But I really "believe in those suicide genes" he used to talk about. Regardless of what people might have suggested on the internet, or anywhere else, I honestly did not find anything that could lead me to believe that his death was not caused by what was officially announced. For me, however hard it may be to take it and face the grim reality, his life was taken by his own hand.
To pay homage to Songs For The Deaf, RBP?s Album Of The Year, Alvaro Costa is granted an audience with the chief Queen of the Stone Age.
A pedido do Daniel Marques que bloga em forma de Pirilampo Magico, segue ent�o a entrevista publicada no influente www.rocksbackpages.com,liderado por Barney Hoskyns e para o qual escrevo com alguma regularidade. Para os que conhecem a vers�o que foi publicado no DN , � evidente que existe uma abordagem diferente.
Vamos ao glossario
PLUSH HOTEL - O meridien na avenida da boavista. Por uma lado um encontro budista;ali se encontravam figuras de varias areas: politica, mediatica e outras; por outro o circo rock , montado pela entourage QOTSA
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS E ATTACK OF THE 50T WOMEN- filmes de serie b , geralmente exibidos em drive-ins. Se a pe�a fosse feita para o DN, n�o poderia apenas colocar as refer�ncias; teria de explicar um pouco , os filmes e o seu universo, j� que a maioria n�o faria ideia do que estava a falar
THE PLACE: a plush Porto Hotel where, by a twist of fate, the vibrations of a low-key meeting in support of the Tibetan cause (attended by very important people) are mixing with the "vibrations" of a rock and roll circus in full steam.
RESTAURANTE � BEIRA-MAR: o muito carnivoro Museu dos Presuntos � Foz velha
MASTER OF REALITY : chris goss que via muitas vezes de manh� bem cedo ao lado do Whisky , o ainda funcional clube do sunset blv. Local: o sitio mais rock and roll para um pequeno almo�o na America. O que resta do lendario Tropicana Motel, ( pouso de waits e chuck e weiss nos anbos 70), a coffee-shop Duke s. A consumir moderadamente
NEVER ENDING TOUR- refer�ncia imediata ao titulo das digress�es de Dylan que duram h� varios anos. Como expliquei , usando esta designa��o teria para os leitores nacionais de explicar um pouco, fazer uma refer�ncia, para situar o que estava a dizer
RANCHO CUCAMONGA- trata-se da entrada a sul ou saida a caminho do deserto do Mojave. Ainda se condz uma hora para chegar ao "centro" ou " centros" da cidade de LA. Tecnicamente j� faz parte da Greater L.A . , mas � u pouco como se Coimbra fosse uma suburbia do Porto A base de Ben Harper em pleno imperial valley. a saida ou entrada norte para o deserto pode dar-se por Lancaster, curiosamente tamb�m relacionada com zappa e don van vliet, ou captain beefheart
Culprits: Queens Of The Stone Age, at the tail end of an insane European trek that started four months ago. In fact, Nick Oliveri is AWOL; Mark Lanegan carries that " dry" northwestern sense of humour and presence; and the sound scientist Joshua Homme hangs out in the comfy hall, waiting to continue his media duties.
After a downtown Porto expedition, the lanky bassist does show up, but too late to meet yours truly. For some reason, Homme takes a liking to the reporter and decides to talk, announcing in a "desert-dry" stand up routine that "Nick doesn?t know that much" and concluding that I?m better off without him...
Still a few hours left to bamboozle in the fascinating Teatro S� da Bandeira, a downtown theatre that?s about to be invaded by "Body Snatchers" or ? even more cinematically ? by 50 Foot Men on the loose named Queens Of The Stone Age.
By day, S� da Bandeira moonlights as a porno cinema, a perfect scenario for the rock and roll medicine show that the Californians presented after a very hearty and meaty meal in an Oceanside restaurant, suggested by the man about town. Homme confesses that the worst thing about touring is what he calls the "bubble"....
*
AC: This tour could almost be called a Never Ending One....
JH: Playing live is the essential QOTSA experience. However, this bubble that is created around a rock tour is almost unbearable. It is all about us, our little world, and I needed a break. That?s why I "got lost" in Italy, decided to travel alone, explore a different culture from mine. I know it freaked them out but I needed to burst the bubble for a while.
Do your think your origins as desert rats are overrated as an influence on the music you create?
To the outside world, I feel it does. For us, is too natural to become an issue. As we say in the States, you can take the boy out of the country but you can?t take the country out of the boy. However, as you expressed it, is impossible not to reflect the lights, the atmosphere the space that the Mojave amplifies sound-wise. If there is something that represents what surrounds us, it?s the mastering of silence and the controlled explosions in our music....
Being a radio professional myself, I don?t underestimate the importance of the imaginary QOTSA Radio on Songs For The Deaf. What?s the role of the fantasy broadcasting in the overall feel of the record?
It?s essential, and not just a minor detail or variety effect. Basically it is a representation of a driving experience from 29 Palms to Phoenix. When I drive, I tune in to all types of stations, weird broadcasts from religious to Mexican. It felt really fun to imagine those stations playing our music in their own context and style....
A great detail is the ignition of the car right at the beginning of the record. Seems like a film screenplay ? actor ignites, tunes in a radio station and is ready to take off, in this case from Los Angeles, as we hear references to the city...
Exactly. It works that way. In fact, we compose sounds to films that don?t exist. Soundtracks without images. Songs... is a record to be heard in a car, I do feel it is great road music, or at least was planned that way...
As usual Chris Goss, a "master of reality", is included in the menu. But it is obvious that Dave Grohl is the media darling. It seems that all of a sudden lots of media did find out about the band. Knowing your sense of humour and distance, this works both ways. Were you aware of a possible "Grohlization" of the media input?
I can reveal that Dave wanted to play with us before and we were adamant about the dangers and, worse, about the media hunger for it. Sometime ago it would have destroyed the band, since all people would care about would be his presence and we could be seen as jumping on some bandwagon. It would have been too soon. Dave is a great human being, a funny man and one of the best rock drummers ever, and his contribution to this record is truly immense. But when we refused his offer, I am not sure if he did understand it. I feel he does know, because all of a sudden it became what we anticipated. Dave went back to his Foo duties at the right time and moment.
I did indeed notice the QOTSA when I got hold of your version of Romeo Void?s ?Never Say Never?, a underestimated ?80s song. But covering the Kinks is like a new rock and roll tradition. How did you come to choose these pivotal moments?
In the case of ?Never...?, it?s because I have great sex memories of it....plus it?s an ?80s song without being dated or limited by sound fashions. The sex beat of it is truly amazing. The Kinks is a common passion. I adore the apparent simplicity of the songs and ? heard in context ? it?s incredible how heavy some mid-?60s material is...
If I can suggest something, relisten to some Wall of Voodoo or some Stan Ridgway, the Raymond Carver of Pop and, to top it all, some Gun Club....
I am big fan of that sound. In some ways it?s not at all removed from Romeo Void. As a real music fan, I am fully aware of that ?80s sound...
To wrap it up, there is another name that comes to my mind. A Rancho Cucamonga legend: Frank Zappa. By this I mean the way he snatched sounds and styles and was able to incorporate them, in particular during his mid-?70s period.
I understand your point of view, but the main difference is that he used those styles to lampoon and make fun. We use them because we genuinely like what we include in the sound pot. It?s not a parody, or an ironic stance as some ?90s music displayed. And that?s why, if the listener is patient enough, the record sounds better heard without interruptions. Might be a " scary" journey but there are rewards in the end.
BANDA SONORA: a intensidade sofrida e possessa do grande Blind Willie Johnson, influ�ncia decisiva em momentos como nobody s fault but mine, ou in my time of dying. Indispensavel
: CAT POWER :: I'M SO TIRED As expectativas em rela��o ao concerto da Chan Marshall, no Festival do Porto, eram elevadas. N�o porque esperasse um grande concerto - n�o o esperava, j� que tive oportunidade de ouvir v�rios bootlegs, onde a execu��o das can��es ao vivo ficava bem aqu�m do que ouvia - e adorava - em disco. Mesmo assim, era a primeira oportunidade de a ver no nosso pa�s e seria delicioso ver uma das minhas "hero�nas" de perto. Falar sobre o que vi em Matosinhos � complicado. Simplesmente porque ainda me interrogo se estive mesmo l� e se aquilo n�o ter� sido apenas um pesadelo. A sua entrada em palco foi premonit�ria do que se seguiria: uma tresloucada Chan implicava com as luzes de palco, pois n�o queria que as mesmas reflectissem sobre o seu rosto e olhos excessivamente maquilhados. Depois, quando se esperava que come�asse o concerto, prosseguiu com as "palha�adas", quer seja com os fot�grafos, a quem concedeu algumas poses absolutamente inenarr�veis ou com um pat�tico epis�dio com o cartaz que cobria o seu piano. Assim se "perderam" 20/25 minutos, com um p�blico at�nito e que enchia por completo o Bl� Bl�. Parecia, enfim, que o concerto iria come�ar. Ao piano, ainda come�ou por soltar duas can��es, mas as suas interrup��es eram permanentes e, de certa forma, serviam para cobrir uma execu��o t�cnica ao piano muito pobrezinha. Salve-se a voz, porque essa, apesar de tudo, � �nica e lind�ssima. Mesmo assim, ainda se conseguiu ouvir "Names", o meu tema preferido do seu novo disco. Foi essa, no fundo, a �nica can��o com principio, meio e fim, porque do resto.. nada. Alguns principios, poucos meios e nenhum fim. Conversa - muita, muito excessiva e entediante. Sem sentido. Frases esmigalhadas, que alternavam sexo, religi�o, filmes e nada.. Sem conex�es e alguma interactividade com a parte do p�blico, que encarou o que via de forma masturbat�ria, at� porque Chan dizia-se encantada com Portugal e at� gostou da t-shirt da Catarina que via o concerto na linha da frente. Com o outro p�blico, o que ficava mais entediado e que ia ficando, minuto a minuto, desapontado e incr�dulo, tristes epis�dios, com insultos vindo da "menina mimada" que, definitivamente, pos de lado o concerto e partiu para um espect�culo da mais decadente esquizofrenia com muito de "show of" perfeitamente triste e lament�vel. Entre estes epis�dios: o intervalo. Nesse momento, em que Chan abandona o palco, parecia que o "concerto" teria terminado. E era bom que tivesse mesmo ficado por a�. Mas n�o. N�o aguentei a segunda parte do espect�culo at� ao fim. Resignei-me e abandonei a bel�ssima posi��o onde me encontrava. J� n�o aguentava mais e confesso que fiz um esfor�o enorme para aguentar o que pude. Ultrapassei os limites da minha pr�pria resist�ncia. Acabei por ver o fim, ao longe. Vi o momento em que lhe desligaram o som de palco, entre sorrisos e um ar de al�vio enorme pelo fim de um dos mais tristes espect�culos que assisti at� hoje. Chan, mesmo assim, permaneceu em palco, dan�ando com a guitarra no ar e fazendo gestos obscenos para a mesa de som. N�o vi mais. Como me disse o Manel, no fim do espect�culo, aquelas quase 3 horas ir�o ficar para sempre nas nossas mem�rias. Na minha ficar�o. N�o vou partir os discos de Cat Power - porque os acho excessivamente bonitos. Mas n�o sei quando voltarei a pegar neles e se o voltarei a fazer. De momento, n�o consigo. Lamento quem pagou o bilhete (quase 15 euros) depois de viagens desde Lisboa (ou de outros pontos) e se sentiu defraudado. Mas tamb�m lamento aqueles que contestaram com base em que aquele seria o espect�culo da "banda" Cat Power. Por favor. Agora, em situa��o nenhuma, poder-se-�o encontrar justifica��es para o espect�culo deplor�vel que Chan Marshall proporcionou e com a sua enorme falta de educa��o e de bom senso. Perfeitamente lament�vel.
A primeira parte esteve a cargo de Nacho Vegas. O p�blico n�o aderiu e fez barulho a mais, o que dificultou muito a audi��o de quem estava atento ao concerto. Nacho estava nervoso e parecia ter medo do p�blico. As suas can��es eram excessivamente longas e, quase sempre, repetitivas. O concerto, na verdade, n�o me tocou muito, mas fiquei com vontade de ouvi-lo em disco. Parece-me um bom som para ouvir em casa.
banda sonora: mler ife dada . l'amour va toujours bien, merci Finalmente, a "pequena f�bula". F�bula enorme, repleta de grandes can��es, do melhor que alguma vez se fez em Portugal. Uma v�nia enorme, sobretudo, � diva Anabela Duarte.
