The xx: Captivating Listeners With Genuine Intimacy

Thrown together as little-ones, Oliver Sim and Romy Madley-Croft have likely experienced every dull, awkward, and exciting moment together. Often mistaken for a couple, they're more akin to siblings who respect and cherish one another, a bond inconsistent with the more well-known dynamic, ( i.e. a brother who tickles you until you pee your pants...in front of his friends, minutes after ripping off stuffed animal heads and punching a fist into your bowl of ice cream......
....followed by flexing). 

Like what my brother would do to me.

Or yours.

Certainly not the case here.

Buds

“Me and Romy aren’t necessarily singing to one another,” Oliver clarifies. “She’s my oldest friend.”

They sing in front of each other about universal and typically romantic topics, while the other listens, much like having a very personal, profound conversation....on stage...with microphones....
..and backing percussion.
Those listening feel like they shouldn't be--probably because these musicians are sharing really deep shit in a very public space. The universal "You" applied in their lyrics is addressed outwardly to no one specific, thus forcing listeners to accept their uneasy ambiguity about hearing such intimate music.
This is the same thing that makes their music so accessible.
The xx's subversion of traditional musical structures and interpersonal dynamics, including that of the "love-bird-duo", makes them one of the most singular and important bands at this time.

1957-1970: The Beatles Give The World a New Sound

The film Nowhere Boy depicts the initial formation of the Beatles
from the perspective of a young John Lennon. 

It starts with him running from hundreds of screaming fans,
followed by the unfortunate realization that he was just dreaming.

In one scene, Lennon sits alone in a movie theater, surrounded by girls, watching an Elvis Presley film.

His glance shifts quickly between the screen and the theater filled with swooning females,
whose extremely positive reaction causes some surprise on the part of Lennon,
as well as some jealous feelings and a spark of ambition.
As a huge grin spreads across his face, the audience can sense what he is thinking.

Later, after describing this strange experience to his biological mother, he complains:
“Oh, why couldn't God make me Elvis?!” to which she responds,
“Because he was saving you for John Lennon!”

If she did say something similar in real life, she probably had no clue how right she would be.

She also wouldn't live to see John's wish realized.

Rock Fan...Rock Star: Marlon Brando, James Dean, Elvis Presley

When Chuck Berry was asked in a recent interview what he
 thinks of Elvis Presley, this was his response :

"I think he had a wonderful manager (chuckles). But one thing Presley had that no other person had was that voice. He had a voice better than Bing Crosby's. That's another thing: I came up believing that singing did not mean just saying it with ups and downs and varied melody. Singing is almost like swinging: It vibrates.

To read the full interview, click >>>here!

Understandably, Chuck Berry and other African-American rockers at the time probably felt 

(at least somewhat) bitter and resentful toward this white kid, who was popularizing the hits they created. 

In the fifties, white musicians were classified as genuine Rock and Roll, while black artists were filed under the second-class title of Rhythm n Blues. Songs were being covered by dolled up white boys and topping the charts, without any credit being given to the original artists.

I would be pissed too.

At the time, the issue reigned supreme on the minds' of black performers, but in retrospect, with age, distance, and maturity, they can appreciate Elvis for what he brought to music and culture,
as illustrated in the more or less favorable quotation from Berry. 

In the years following, and to this day, the 'founding fathers' of rock n roll
(Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley) are typically given appropriate recognition for their contributions
to the genre, allowing a distinction to be made between their roles and what Elvis accomplished. 

Each represents two very different sides of the same musical coin.

Berry and friends are the Fathers of Rock, whereas Elvis will always be the King.

Rock 'n' Roll---The Beginning: Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley

Currently, it takes a lot to shock the public and authorities when it comes to the music and film industries.
People have to wear suits comprised entirely of red meat just to get noticed anymore.

 Poor Lady Gaga...



Celebrity sex tapes practically dominate a 7pm broadcast of E! News, and families just feign interest until they eventually yawn with boredom, change the channel, and continue digging into their mashed potatoes
(a hypothetical situation).

We have become desensitized, for better or worse.


Conversely, in the birth of Rock n Roll, everything was shocking.
The era would've taken Lady Gaga in her meat suit,  carted her away, and classified her as an alien.
She would then be killed by the big guys and written off as conspiracy.
Myth.
Lucky for her, she didn't exist during these times, though she is able to exist today because of these
early rock n rollers, whatever cultural benefit that might provide. (if any).

The early pioneers paved the way for creative musical expression.
They gave voice to a youth erupting with unconscious, repressed desire.


But how do you begin a conversation about rock n roll, whose roots are so complex,
and whose influence infiltrates nearly every genre of music?
People can, and have, written many books on the subject.
Despite good intentions and thorough research,
a website posting is destined for insufficiency, to say the least.

The answer is: you just have to start.
I'm choosing to start here, with this quotation from Robert Palmer's piece,
Rock Begins: Rolling Stone History of Rock n Roll:




"Rock & roll was an inevitable outgrowth of the social
and musical interactions between blacks and whites in
the South and Southwest. Its roots are a complex tangle.
Bedrock black church music influenced blues, rural blues influenced white
folk song, and the black popular music of the Northern ghettos--blues
and black pop--influenced jazz and so on. But the single most
important process was the influence of black music on white.
Rock might not have developed out of a self-contained
African American tradition, but it certainly would not have
developed had there been no African-Americans" (Palmer, 4).


Once traditional European structures absorbed African percussive drive and poly-rhythmic complexity (along with a few other components), rock n roll was prepared for discovery.

La Roux: The Unclassifiable Elly Jackson

In French terminology, merging the masculine "le roux" with the feminine "la rousse", results in the androgynous "la roux". La Roux loosely signfies "(male) red-haired one",
at least for lead singer Elly Jackson, who rocks boyish red hair and blatantly
defies external attempts to define her gender and sexuality.

La Roux appears to be many things at face value, including:

1) a solo act consisting of Elly Jackson (alone. no one else.)
2) French
3) a boyish-girl
4) a girlish-boy
5) a drag-king
6) a lesbian
7) a lesbian icon
8) bisexual
9) Tilda Swinton/Duckie (see: Pretty in Pink)

 

La Roux is...more or less..none of these things (though 7 and 9 are possibly true).

So how does one define the indefinable?

We can't, for starters. It's not our place to decide someone's identity, musical or otherwise...
......but I'll tell you what I can do...!

 I can tell you the facts, and then I can speculate while trying to respect
the artist's intent and musical integrity. 


Okay.......


Go!

Control: The Legacy of Joy Division

A few months ago, while browsing through feature films at the local library, I came across
one entitled Control.
Initially, the movie seems like a biopic about Joy Division, but quickly establishes itself as a portrayal of Ian Curtis, the band's tragic lead singer.

While reading the synopsis, a feeling of dread started to develop.
At this point in the game, I only knew so much about the band.
I will list that prior knowledge below...

The Things I Knew About Joy Division roughly 3 months ago:

-They existed sometime in the late 70s/early 80s range, but nothing is certain
-The 4 or 5 songs I have heard, I really really love
-I like the way they dress...Very business casual.
-The lead singer has a creepy-sexy voice
-I have a poster of them on the wall that I like to look at
-Their music complements the film Donnie Darko perfectly
-The lead singer killed himself

The last point brings me to a state of hesitation. I had the unfortunate experience of discovering suicide
first hand, and it's not something I would typically volunteer to watch onscreen, as most filmmakers have no idea how to handle the material tastefully (if a tasteful depiction of suicide even exists).
Knowing the film's conclusion before it even started, a conflict arose between wanting to know more about
the band, and not setting myself up to view disturbing content. Curiosity won the battle as usual,
and thus Control was added to my overflowing stack of CDs and brought home.



For nearly 12 weeks, Control sat next to the bed waiting to be watched. I couldn't do it.
Surprisingly, I was never in the mood to witness someone's life disintegrate.
I renewed the movie four times and incrued several dollars in late fees.
(Still cheaper than Blockbuster though! Plus, it helps out the library.)
Finally, I just returned it.
A week later, still sitting on the library shelf...still waiting...
I grabbed the DVD and forced myself to sit and watch for 2 hours, which is well beyond my usual
90-minute-time-limit for films.


As for the movie, I loved it. Completely. There are thoughts about watching it again.

Although this post will get written in a day or two, the process has taken months.
Coming up with a topic is easy, but discovering what the post is about, at its core, can take forever.
Writer's block, anxiety, lost sleep, procrastination...these things fuel any decent piece of writing,
and I would not exchange them for anything......not even for a bag of tater tots...
which would hit the spot about now.


Quick note: the post is much longer than usual.....clocking in at around 2 hours of quality music.

So, take your time, no need to rush, revisit if necessary, the post won't be deleted any time soon!
It is a lot to absorb in one sitting.


A plethora of good music and information can be found on the next page.
You wouldn't want to miss it.


I hope you enjoy reading about one of the greatest bands in existence.

Sound & Vision--Best Movie Trailers: The Runaways, 9, Bellflower

A great movie trailer should accomplish 3 things.

Ideally...

1)  It makes a person want to see the film in theaters.............
They eventually go, or at the very least rent it on redbox....
After all, trailers are a tool for marketing, folks!!

2)  The person desperately searches high and low for the music featured within, because it was just....that...bad ass...

3)  Lastly, and possibly most important, the viewer should feel inclined to watch the trailer again.
And again.



And again.


If you can genuinely captivate an audience for 2 minutes, and in that short time frame affect their lives somehow, then it really doesn't matter if your movie is good or not.

I could watch movie trailers all day....if I had that kind of time.........which I don't.
Though, a potential dream job of mine would be editing them. How does one get that gig?


All of the film previews featured today accomplish the criteria mentioned above, by utilizing a creative, vivid blend of sound and vision, attracting and haunting the viewer in a variety of ways.