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Zaph Mann on Art & Noise
Another Planet With You : Music and Art criticism from a green skin & red zed. Zaphod R H Mann, is the author of three novels, & is a painter and an energy consultant. Contact: zaph@nonstarvingartists.com |
Siberian: Interview - Intelligent Evolution
Siberian are full of it. Not bulls' it. Nor the it Lou Reed was sick of. Siberian are full of the it Peter Gabriel famously wrote of on the closer of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. Few bands emerge from the swamp of indie-rock without an annoying copycat stench about them, so when something original pops up, it is worth tracking. Loch Lomond: Interview - A Depth Charge A Scot named Ian Anderson once wrote "Closing my dream inside its paper-bag. Thought I saw angels... waving me through to cry you a song. That came before the pomp of rock stardom took its "Tull". Anderson could have been portending the music of a new phenomenon with a Scottish name. - In Depth Interview with Richie Young as his band Loch Lomond go on tour in support of their new release. The Eels: Three little words towards a slippery slope? As the Eels tour "An Evening With Eels" winds on through Australia, the question of whether the great Mark Everett could sustain his brilliance raised it's ugly head. Read how The Eels came through the test: Georgie James: Interview - The sound of chalk with cheese Georgie James - intriguing, pop yet not, fresh act but proven class, soft rock with a hard edge? I caught up with the contrary duo, Laura Burhenn & John Davis, on their West coast radio and TV promotional tour, and for a minimal set - live at the Artistery, Portland. Le Loup & Ruby Suns: Less is more.... more or less. Two emergent bands opt for decidedly different approaches to delivering their swirling polyphonies of sound. Pig Whipped Punk Blues Hillstomp - On Tour, McMenamins Grand Lodge, Forest Grove The hype around Hillstomp is all about fun - "Cans & buckets drum-kit & rambunctious slide guitar" - But this is no noisy mess; it's the blues with a whip, hill-punk with melody; Hillstomp burst out of the garage like wild horses, whinnying new songs that you'd swear were great old ones. St Vincent: Spellbound - Annie Clark, a new sorceress. St. Vincent & Foreign Born, Doug Fir Lounge, Portland 3/08: While the USA frets over the possibility of a woman running for the presidency, several other women with creative genius or determined talent have transformed the female presence in rock and popular music. You might pick Chrissie Hynde, Annie Lennox and Alanis Morissette; but it's a more edgy feminine triumvirate that compares obliquely to a new major talent.... St Vincent & Foreign Born live at the Doug Fir, Portland, Oregon With Webbed Ears, What Will We Hear? Music from the internet; coming faster, more smoothly and to you, soon enough: Sod the technology – we know about ‘wired’ space, Ipods and webmusic. Soon ROKU’s spawn will put music into everything small enough to hold. But will the music be worth hearing? Will it be more of the same tightly controlled FM crap? As web streamed music usurps radio, will we be liberated or not? Will old rock and rollers really NEVER die? Can good DJs stay in the business to save us from committees and computers? Music Radio OPB New Media
Death For No Reason
Are sophistic arguments sufficient defence for artists who gain notoriety by ‘documenting’ animals’ deaths? Can the capture and starvation of an animal in exhibit be justified by its oblique commentary on society? What, if anything, is being said under the cover of art? As another show with dubious animal death content opens in San Francisco there’s a different question to ask, one that the artists should ask of themselves. It's not Perverted - it's Subverted. From the newsstands this week: it's Front Cover and it's Official: The 'Art World' has 'Gone Mad'. And it's not someone's Mum sounding off - this time it's a major critic and New York in particular.... How many million$ for this $#@!? auction saatchi and saatchi Contemporary Art Pastry Pie Crust & Cherry Chocolate Topping No Strangers Here Today - a collaboration between Portland writer/movement artist, Susan Banyas and L.A. jazz artist, David Ornette Cherry. This ambitious performance piece weaves texts from 19th century slave rescuers with contemporary issues of war and freedom - the performance evokes Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk and David Glass. Isreal Galván: After Picasso, a new Spanish genius transforms an art-form: 'Arena' - Flamenco As Never Imagined Flamenco, even as it is popularised, has been in trouble, being either stuck or diluted: Either frozen in formal delivery or laced into spectacular but ultimately meaningless fusions. Galván - one of the most important artists in any dance form - blows all this away. Review from XI Festival de Jerez, Spain. Mother condemns the art world and its retinue of perverts! It's the same old story, putting down the art world. But what's going on here? Mother's not one to shoot down artists - after all, she's had painting lessons herself... and she reads the Manchester Guardian. Links |
