BRIGHTS BLOG

The Future Is Unwritten: Joe Strummer – Directed by Julian Temple

Joe Strummer—front man, punk, poet, and seminal baddass. So much is out there on the Clash and Strummer, offering a unique perspective I am sure proved challenging for Julian Temple. But kudos to him. This documentary is very well-done. Filled with rare photographs, handwritten notes and drawings, old family movies, extremely rare footage of the Clash, it does an extremely thorough, inspiring, and respectful job at telling Strummer’s story, covering his many sides and not just his days in the Clash but his early days and his last days. It’s all there—the music, the imagery, the commentary, Strummer’s voice, too. By the end of this movie, you will want to start a band or a radio show or make a documentary yourself or at least run around the block a couple times to blow of that firey, punk-rock inspiration it fills you with.

Check out the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv102hoBDUU

Just Kids – by Patti Smith

Everyone raves about this book, and you should trusts those raves, and read it if you have not already. Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids focuses on her life before she became a rock star and on her soulship with artist/photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. In short, if you appreciate these things—poetic language, great imagery, New York City history and culture, art, music, love, and friendship, you will be satiated reading this. When Robert Mapplethorpe was dying, he asked Patti Smith to write their story. In their early lives as unrealized artists in their early 20s, they took care of each other and formed one of those relationships that transcend both lover and friend. Smith does a good job at convincing us of the providence and cosmic quality of their union. One thing I found particularly interesting—it was she who pushed him to pick up a camera, and he who convinced her to sing and become a rock star. These plans were not their own. I warn you, however, you might weep all over the pages. Read with tissues at hand.

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060936223/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=006621131X&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0G1H94VND2DGP3JNJ5D9

“Airplanes” – by Local Natives

Not only do I love this song, but I love the video. Mostly I appreciate how it relies on imagery and the art of “filmmaking” (for lack of a better term) and its relationship with the song to make an impact and has very little to do with the people/faces in the band. It puts the song in the forefront instead. A refreshing, oil-painting-like deviation from many rock videos that bat us over the head with guys with guitars and amps on 11, not that some of those videos aren’t fun. They definitely have a place. In short, the Local Natives’ “Airplanes” video is the opposite of the “Rope” video by the Foo Fighters. Watch both and you will see what I mean in seconds.

Local Natives video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob6kXOGfHPE&ob=av2n

Foo Fighters video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbpqZT_56Ns

Logic Will Break Your Heart – The Stills
A true emo record

“Fade Into You”  - by Mazzy Star
…an eternal song

No matter how many times I hear “Fade Into You,” it has the same effect. Suddenly, I am stopped in my tracks, my heart kind of hurts in a good way, and grainy, colorful visions of a slower, simpler West Coast flood my mind’s eye. It is as if I am remembering something that’s never been or perhaps has been and continues to be in a parallel universe. Drug me with Hope Sandovol’s echoey voice, drive me through the choruses with the pickup of a jangley tambourine, and kiss me with a simple but beautiful slide guitar part any day. The song has maybe four chords with an arrangement limited to about five or six instruments. I can hear some very cerebral, astute musicians heckling at the idea that this song could be classified as “great.” After all, there are no masturbatory solos. But if anything, this song goes to show how simple can be so brilliant and all the thinking in the world can’t promise a great song. It’s about something mysterious and dreamy, man!!! From the heart!!!

Check the classic video for “Fade Into You”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImKY6TZEyrI

Grace – Jeff Buckley
…an eternal album

Sometimes works of art are so beautiful they transcend space and time. They do not necessarily belong in any era. They do not necessarily commit to any genre. This is how I would characterize Grace. Jeff Buckley and his music hold a special place in my heart. He is a ghost, a time traveller, flipping between styles and eras within moments in a seamless, uncontrived way. Gone too soon, indeed, but what better record to leave behind? Grace is brilliant on multiple levels: the songs, of course, but also the performances, the arrangements, the production, the mixes, and the flow. An incredible debut for an artist and a classic album in the history of music. Enjoy the video for its signature song “Last Goodbye”:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MMXjunSx80&ob=av2e

Cynic

Even through Cynic disbanded shortly after the release of their debut album, Focus, the band came back after quite the hiatus.  15 years to be exact. Released in 2008, “Traced In Air” was heralded as a triumphant return.  In their review of this album. The New York Times cites: “Cynic should be understood not so much alongside any metal bands but along with the radical harmonic progressives in the last 45 years of pop and jazz: composers like Milton Nascimento, the Beach Boys or Pat Metheny.”   (you can read  the rest of their review here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE6D6173CF932A35751C1A96E9C8B63)

And so, Cynic showed evolution with Traced in Air:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSmAacEpt-Y&feature=related

My fears of another break-up were put to rest when Cynic forged on with an EP released in 2010 titled “Re-Traced” where they took 4 songs from Traced In Air and did reinterpretations of them (as well as include a brand spanking new song)…BRILLIANT.

Their evolution continued:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMfXt-bkMDc&feature=related

Last but not least, Cynic just released another EP, titled “Carbon-Based Anatomy” while informing their fans that a full length is being worked for a 2012 release.  (squeeee! hooray!)  So for now, I will leave you all with a track from this latest release, yet again showing how this band continues to march to the beat of its own drums,  continuing to express themselves with zero regards to trends, fads or the desire to seek fame. Artistic integrity intact, Cynic forges forward:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUnOHXfoErU

Bonus tracks!  (‘cuz I love them too much to not share!)

Wheels Within Wheels (the new song from Re-Traced):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvaFpKt8X_o&feature=related

And one last Traced/Re-traced combo:

Original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNGCJzPzAp0

Re-Traced Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gw1LOnmgBE&feature=related

Man I love this band. So much.

Cynic

This is part 1 of a two-parter, as I feel compelled towards showing my love for an amazing band known as Cynic. Having started back in the late 80’s, Cynic went on to release their debut album, Focus, in 1993. They disbanded shortly thereafter. The next 15 years came and went as Focus became regarded as a monumental example of technical metal/progressive metal/jazz fusion masterpiece.  It’s an album that I still confidently regard as “ahead of its time”.  I will now leave you with two songs from that album so that you may get a scope of what they sounded like at the beginning of their journey, first an instrumental track titled “Textures” and then a link for what I regard to be my favorite cut (which is VERY hard for me to say as I love all the entire album) on Focus, “How Could I?”:

Textures – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEo8IrU5MQk&feature=related

How Could I - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-fOpoLtj7U

Contact

To understand and appreciate this movie’s message is to understand and appreciate my view on our place as a species in this known universe. “We are not alone”.

Netflix Link: http://movies.netflix.com/HfHome

“Bicycle Race” covered by Between The Buried and Me

This is band that I earnestly feel deserves a Grammy (AKA validation of the music industry) because of their talent range and songwriting execution.  To truly appreciate the cover, I say you first sample what an original BTBAM composition sounds like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVv3tCiSA5Q&feature=related

and then enjoy their EXCELLENT cover of Queen’s Bicycle Race:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iudq4bduStE

Insanely good, amirite??!