Everything's gone green

After a month of anguish, our computer was finally repaired by the slothful drones at Microlive. Hurray and halleluiah! I cannot say it any better than Miss Muppet has: the lack of a computer at home, coupled with the absence of television, makes you feel like you're living in the Bronze Age. You should see this great mallet I built!

Given my long absence from blogland, you might think that I have loads of interesting topics amassed. I could talk about the wonderful things we've seen in southern England in the last month, or about the vagaries of academic life, or perhaps about my thesis! Indeed, I was considering pasting a chunk of my draft project here and calling it a blog. That would be darn amusing... for a minute ... to me, at least.

No, I think instead that I should, nay - must, offer some comments on a recent post by Snowy: He states that he does not understand the appeal of Dave Matthews. He then belittles John Mayer, among other musicians. His post has, of course, generated a great deal of commentary. Well done!

I have no problem with Snowy's preferences. He chooses thoughtfully and that's all one can ask. Snowy and I usually agree on music, tending to inhabit the "foppish music geek" territory that Zulu Records caters to and that the Garden State and Lost in Translation soundtracks are unabashedly aimed at (the Garden State soundtrack is so completely on the mark for foppish music geeks that I wonder if it is a computer-designed profit-maximizing model with "30-something intelligentsia" as its main parameter). When "Just like honey" by the Jesus and Mary Chain came on during the penultimate scene of Lost in Translation, I nodded with great approval - I had bought the J&M Chain's Psychocandy on tape when I was 15! I recall buying it after hearing a version of "The hardest walk" on the John Hughes/Stephen Hague produced soundtrack for Some Kind of Wonderful. True, that collection was not as influential as Hughes & Hague's previous gem, Pretty in Pink, but it spoke to my "sheltered adolescent who thinks he belongs in a castle outside London" side. A young art rocker was born!

On the palette of mod rock, with all its British anthemists (Verve, Coldplay, James) its groove trippers (Massive Attack, Air, Thievery Corp, Morcheeba), its cardigan-wearing indie rockers (Belle & Sebastian, the Shins, Death Cab for Cutie), and their hallowed predecessors (the Smiths, REM, the Cure), you won't find shades of Dave Matthews or John Mayer. I expect that most Zulu Records shoppers would rather torture their ears with Ween than listen to Mr. Mayer's lovelorn guitar (I do not get Ween).

But unlike Snowy, I really like John Mayer. I also like Dave Matthews. Both are talented poets and musicians, and they write great melodies. To be fair, I've never liked "Your body's a wonderland" and I didn't want to like John Mayer's music at all - but Heavier Things is a great album. I hated "So much to say" when I first heard it - too much faux blues rock for me. But most of Dave Matthews' other stuff is inspired. I think that "So much to say" is for Dave Matthews what "Mandinka" was for Sinead O'Connor or "Creep" was for Radiohead. I generally like what Dave Matthews does, although I'm not a devotee.

In fact, I like a whole lot of musical styles beyond foppish mod rock. I have a bit of a multiple personality disorder when it comes to music. In the early 1980's I dug Motley Crue but I also worshipped Depeche Mode. Really, Platinum Blonde was the height of greatness because they combined new wave and hard rock. Alien Shores was and is a fantastic album! I still enjoy old A-ha, New Order, OMD, Pet Shop Boys, and the like, and not just in a reminiscent way. But throw on Van Halen or Tesla and I won't complain! I've done my part for Vancouver's Nettwerk Records - I own albums by Sarah McLachlan and Skinny Puppy, among other artists. Have you heard Jill Scott or Angie Stone? Some of that nouveau soul stuff is great! And I like Blink 182. Some kind of layover from my dreams of a skateboard life. Strong punk pop groups like Blink, the Ataris, the Ramones, Weezer and the Clash are dear to me. But I detest the derivative nasal-voice loser-rock that passes for punk pop now (viz. Yellowcard and Simple Plan). Did you know that Linz and I went to see Neil Diamond in concert? It was fantastic, and not in a campy way. His music rules. Equally, I would go see Roger Whittaker if he came to town. And ... I'm a huge fan of Prince. Yes, all the "Pink Cashmere" and "Gold Experience" of his purple majesty.

It's not that I have no capacity to discern good from bad. There are things that are plainly bad, such as Insane Clown Possee (sp?), Mandy Moore, Faithless, Robbie Williams, Snoop Dogg, all death metal, and most country music. I detest the "dance and celebrate!" techno tracks that constantly repeat what C&C Music Factory already did in 1993 (this crap is really popular on UK radio!!). Other things aren't obviously meritless but I still don't like them much, such as Queen, Nick Drake, Blues Traveller, the Darkness, recent Radiohead, the aforementioned Ween ... the list goes on.

It comes down to the fact that musical preference is intensely personal. It's hard to explain why you like or don't like something. I expect that there are a lot of things out there that I would enjoy but that I haven't had a chance to hear, partly because (a) modern radio is the crappiest crap in the history of crapulence; (b) I don't have enough dosh to buy new cd's every week at £12 a pop; and (c) the university forbids us from using any file-sharing services (sob, sob). I quite like Roggles' suggestion of making and exchanging compilation cd's for each other's listening pleasure, though in truth it is hard to do well. Perhaps in future weeks I will try to put up compressed samples of songs I'm enjoying so that you might download and enjoy (or criticize) as you wish.

I expect that Snowy's primary complaint is that so many folks are such fanatical devotees of Dave Matthews (or John Mayer, etc). He is right to question that. I've never understood why people get so fanatical about particular musical acts, whether it be Dave Matthews, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, or the Grateful Dead. I guess some fans find or express their identity by becoming disciples of their preferred artists. I could never be so focused on a particular piece of art - there's too much to hear, see and do in the world.

At risk of going on far too long, I thought I would share an amusing story involving a musical celebrity sighting. About two weeks ago I was strolling along Turl street in downtown Oxford, between Exeter College and the university sportswear store. I was listening to our iPod that day, and had just finished listening to some songs from Radiohead's international super-success OK Computer. Then walks by Thom Yorke, frontman of said band! I looked twice, wanting to make sure he was who I thought but not wanting to stare like a goof. He and the other band members are known to hang about the Oxford area. He's quite recognizable, what with his weird-scientist eye and spiky hair. Here's a photo* that I asked a passing tourist to take:



* Note: Picture may not (technically) be an
accurate representation of true events.
But the story is true.

Stay tuned - who knows what other figures we might bump into in our travels!