Owl City

I really don’t understand what the big deal is with Owl City. If it’s a “new sound” that all the old folks are so impressed with, you’ve been completely blind to what I’ve been bitching about in my scene…for the past 3 years. Go check out A Rocket to the Moon. Same exact sound. If it’s the lyrics, I vote Andrew McMahon (who I’ve written about before). Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin have much better lyrics, and have the variety of fuck you attitude in SoCo’s “If U C Jordan” to the soppy love of JM’s “Mix Tape.” Just listen to the song they’re using in the movie about McMahon’s struggle with cancer, “Dark Blue,” with the lyrics,

I have (I have) you breathing down my neck (breathing down my neck)
I don't (don't know) what you could possibly expect under this condition so
I'll wait (I'll wait) for the ambulance to come (ambulance to come)
Pick us up off the floor
What did you possibly expect under this condition so

Slow down.. this night's a perfect shade of
Dark blue (dark blue)
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room when I'm here with you
I said the world could be burning (burning) down
Dark blue (dark blue)
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room well I'm here with you
I said the world could be burning 'til there's nothing but dark blue..
Just dark blue

This flood (this flood) is slowly rising up swallowing the ground
Beneath my feet, Tell me how anybody thinks under this condition so
I'll swim (I'll swim) as the water rises up, the sun is sinking down
And now all I can see are the planets in a row
Suggesting it's best that I slow down

Which reminds me, the movie finally got a release date. November 3. Everyone’s bitching that kids don’t spend money on entertainment anymore, but the special pre-order bundle (with a JM song download, autographed poster, and the DVD) sold out in days. With very little promotion outside the band’s website (at least, that I saw). Andrew is also doing three live viewings with a Q&A session after (New York, Chicago, and LA). Haven’t checked recently, but I’m sure these will sell out pretty quickly as well.

I don’t know…maybe I’m missing something. But really, is this something you want to see live?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4JLa0hbUw

A Rocket to the Moon:


Or can we all agree that the better use of funds is “Dear Jack.” Hey, maybe if there are enough pre-orders we can get it into more theaters!



www.dearjackmovie.com

The End of The World Is Near

I just saw the scariest thing in the world. Or perhaps the most telling of our times. I don’t really know. But there it was, as I was refreshing my twitter page…@DetMattParkman (for those who don’t know twitter-speak, the @ sign makes it link back to that person’s page…it’s like the hyperlink of twitter).

It was there, on actor Greg Grunnberg’s twitter account, a link to his character’s twitter page. Yes, his character. Heroes character Detective Matt Parkman has his own twitter page. Excuse me while I die a little inside.








OK, back. I joined twitter for the same reason I joined myspace: to keep up with the bands I love. They were using the site to announce new tour dates, special giveaways, and meet and greet times and locations (especially on Warped Tour). I also follow some real-life friends, though not that many. I follow a few actors…who am I kidding, it’s just Greg Grunberg and Kristen Bell. And I recently started following one of the main personalities from the Philly morning show I podcast.

But now, twitter has been taken over as the next marketing plan. And now is when it’s going to implode.

Once Myspace became popular, it was taken over by the biggest bands, comedians, actors, and ADS. It was started by the uncool, and suddenly everyone had a myspace, and thus it was the best place to market your newest album, show, or movie. And now no one uses it anymore.

Maybe twitter will last a few more months, but keep your ear to the ground – or in this case, to the nearest emo-teen. Now that twitter is being used to advertise and market the newest trends, it has become un-trendy. The only thing keeping it useful is the fact that it has no replacement. Yet.

Myvana

On Thursday night, September 17th, I got to see a show I had been waiting for all summer. Since February at the Grammy’s. Since I was a teenager. At 23, I experienced “a place or state characterized by freedom from or oblivion to pain, worry, and the external world” (from Dictionary.com), I experienced nirvana.

Blink 182.

First, I have to point out that Weezer kicked ass. This is a band of uber-nerds in white jumpsuits and male pattern baldness, and I still fell in love with lead singer Rivers Cuomo. I mean, they had a *trampoline* on the stage! They had a constant stream of hits that night, and while a lot of the crowd was too young to remember some, I almost cried when I heard “The Sweater Song.” Weezer is one of the bands that I first heard when I found out that there was music *other* than shitty bubble-gum pop. A lot of what I do today, and my taste in music, is due to these guys.

Blink 182 broke up a few years ago – before I ever got to see them live – because of childish behavior (and they even admit it). Mark, Tom, and Travis, the best of friends, suddenly couldn’t stand to be in the same room together. Tour catering turned into a high school cafeteria, with separate tables for those in the Mark/Travis camp and those close to Tom. A year ago this past weekend, drummer Travis Barker was in a plane crash where he was one of two survivors (the other being DJ AM, who died recently of an apparent drug overdose). After his near death experience, all three realized that life is short, they were best friends once, and could not remember why they weren’t anymore. This February at the Grammy’s, they confirmed they were getting back together.

And thus the come-back tour was born.

Blink had a pretty big stage show, with lots of fog and a backdrop entirely made of lights and videos. But their energy stood up to the stage set-up: quite surprisingly, the production didn’t upstage the band. And even with all the space on stage (and the history of anger and fights), the small, three member band was one unit, not three individuals (something Fall Out Boy failed at when I saw them a few years ago in a similarly sized venue).

However, what made this show wasn’t the stage show or the sound. It wasn’t the on stage toys or the banter. What made this show great was being transported by music. For a few hours Thursday night, I was a teenager, sitting in my room, letting my stereo drown out the rest of my world. For a few hours I didn’t care about my current money problems or homework concerns of yesteryear; I didn’t worry about how much sleep I was going to get before work, or how much sleep I could sneak during school. For a few hours, I was listening to my favorite band, in my perfect world, my nirvana.

WATCH YOUR BEAGLE, VICK’S AN EAGLE!

So, it’s been a week since the announcement of the addition of one soul-less human being to my precious, my love, my team, the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (insert eagles chant/fight song here).

I don’t like it. I don’t care what it does for our Superbowl prospects (I’m 23 and haven’t seen it yet, and I don’t expect to anywhere in the near future, and that’s fine with me). I don’t care that Donovan and Vick are like, omg totally so tight and Donovan wanted him there. He planned and funded the torture and murder of dogs. Period. End of story.

That being said, I figured I’d try my hand at a fair look at the pros and cons of Michael Vick joining the Eagles team.


PROS:

1. McNabb and Kolb have already had some pre-season injuries, so having the extra QB can only be good (to which I say AJ FEELEY!)

2.No doubt Vick is a very talented and versatile player, and his addition to the offense just makes it stronger.

3. Before he entered his legal and financial problems, he was involved in community outreach (for the most part trying to get and keep kids in school), and god knows Philly could use some more community outreach programs of this variety.

4. If he does well and gets past the PR nightmare, the city may (let’s face it, will) turn around and start supporting him in a way only Philly fans can, giving him a second chance at a career that he wouldn’t have gotten in some other cities.


CONS:

1. This is terrible PR for the team, who have in the past made a point of promoting how strong the teams’ character is (as Kathy from the WMMR Preston and Steve morning show pointed out, two players were traded for neglecting their own dogs). Now, not only are we giving up on our commitment to players and teams with integrity, but we are hypocrites for hiring someone after committing a crime worse than two players that got fired.

2. The move has angered fans – and they had to know it would have. People are saying they’re going to rip up or burn their tickets, they don’t want to watch the team, they’re not buying any merchandise. In terms of city morale, you took a nose dive. In terms of money, you took a nose dive. Good job. On top of which, you’re now saying that you don’t really care about what the fans think at all…which just makes me want to skip the games even more.

3. Other cities’ view of the Eagles and Philly fans (and Philly in general) is already terrible. Do we need to give the world another reason to look down on Philly and its people?

4. Again, in terms of money, this is a terrible idea. I have not heard anything official yet, but if I was an advertiser/sponsor of the Eagles, I’d have to think about pulling my funding. Not only is there a chance less people will watch, but now your company is attached to this team that hires animal abusers. Probably not the best image to put forward. Disagree with me? Two words for you: Michael Phelps.


The Eagles are in the spotlight, and people are giving them more of a chance to win the Superbowl now. Great. Is that worth the PR nightmare that’s going on right now in the city of Philadelphia? Not to mention the massive amounts of fans you’ve alienated, and the black spot now on the record of our beloved team? No. Disagree (or agree for that matter)? Let me know why. I really want to hear as many opinions on this as possible. I beg you: give me a reason to change my mind, I love the Eagles, they’re one of my ties back home. And it upsets me greatly that they’re upsetting me greatly.

HARRY POTTER (SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER)

I should probably start this with a HUGE spoiler warning: if you have not read the books, leave now. I have read them all religiously, so if you don’t wanna know how it all ends, stop.reading.NOW.

Last night, I went to see Harry Potter again (I went at midnight opening night, but was so caught up in the story I missed part of what I love about movies – the stuff constructed behind the scenes, specifically costumes, sets, lighting, cinematography, etc). Though everyone I’ve spoken to *loves* it, one girl left saying “I’m so upset! That was terrible!!”

I knew some of what was going to be left out of this movie, and I did know one of the scenes being put in (when I first saw the Burrow on fire in the trailers I almost shit a brick), so I may have been more prepared for this movie than that girl. But her disappointment made me think: Half-Blood Prince is not for the uninitiated. Half-Blood Prince should not be taken as its own movie. Half-Blood Prince, by itself, is not really an exciting adventure the way the rest of the books/movies are. The entire point of book/movie 6 is to set up book/movie 7(a&b).

My high school English program was very focused on the Hero’s adventure (For anyone out there who’s a lit major, we had to highlight and annotate “Hero with a Thousand Faces.” That was a *great* summer.). A refresher: hero lives boring life, someone gives him a call to adventure, hero crosses a threshold, hero’s guide dies and hero is forced to finish adventure alone, hero grows, hero returns home. Look at some of the most famous adventure stories of all time; from Hollywood to Greek mythology, they all follow this pattern.

Most of the Harry Potter books/movies individually follow this pattern as well. Half-Blood Prince…doesn’t. There is no real “adventure.” Sure, he goes off with Dumbledore to get the Horcrux, and there’s the epic battle (which looks like a bitch-slap fight after book 7) for Hogwarts in the book, but purely in the boring-call to adventure-threshold-adventure-boring sense, none. Book 6 is entirely backstory. (Incidentally, part of what I think makes the end of HP most interesting is that you get so much more backstory, you start to see that there is more than black and white, good guys and bad guys. Voldemort’s backstory in book 6 is exactly what the three new Star Wars movies *should* have been.)

Steve Kloves (who I go back and forth on) I think did a pretty decent job on this script. There’s a line in Lord of the Rings (I wanna say Two Towers, but it may have been Return of the King) when people start talking about fighting overwhelming odds yadayadayada and someone says that the difference between the two sides isn’t size, it’s that they have “Something to fight *for*.” Look at movie 6 that way, and it becomes the perfect set up for movie(s) 7. Ron and Hermione finally start to look like their going to go out during the next movie. Harry falls for Ginny. Draco (played unbelievably well by Tom Felton…seriously, he goes from mental breakdown to kicking Harry’s ass in 0.5 seconds) stops being an asshat when faced with true evil (murder). One of the last lines of the movie is from Harry: “I never realized how beautiful this place was.” Steve Kloves wrote a script not about magic and the battle between good and evil, but about *people*, about love, about death (and he managed to be pretty funny as well).

In the “big picture” sense of the series, Half Blood Prince is the last part of set up for the final part of the adventure. If you chart out the storyline, it would go like this: Harry lives in a cupboard -> Hagrid tells Harry he’s a wizard -> Harry goes to Hogwarts, learns about magic and the evil force (Voldemort) he’s going to have to face -> Dumbledore dies, leaving Harry to fight Voldemort on his own -> Harry beats Voldemort -> everyone lives happily ever after (with lots of snogging). The whole point of Half Blood Prince was for Dumbledore to die, leaving Harry with the realization that he has to fight Voldemort alone, and he can’t count on the headmaster to explain everything now. And though it did leave a lot out in the backstory department compared to the book (especially when you consider what amazing actors they had to work with playing young Tom Riddle(s)), it did explain well enough what Harry’s going to have to do to continue Dumbledore’s work.



Now that I’ve gotten that rant out of the way, I had some other random thoughts I figured I’d throw out:

First, this movie interestingly put in something not in the book: when Harry touches the ring in Dumbledore’s office and the ring wigs out, Harry does his creepy neck-crack-thing from the last movie, and Dumbledore gives him a look. It was pointed out in the comments of a blog I read that this might be Dumbledore noticing Harry’s reaction to another part of Voldemort’s soul, and putting two and two together: Harry is the last Horcrux. How much does that make you want to see the creepy train station of death scene? Or is it just me?

Second, there’s a line in the movie that completely changes Harry’s relationship with Slughorn (and kind of Dumbledore), and I can’t decide which version I like better. About halfway through the film, Dumbledore explains that Slughorn once taught young Tom Riddle, which is why he wanted Slughorn back:
Harry: You said professor Slughorn would try to collect me.
Dumbledore: I did.
Harry: Do you want me to let him?
Dumbledore: Yes.
Dumbledore at one point does concede to Snape (I believe…this is one of the flashback conversations Snape shows Harry when he dies, unless I’m totally mistaken) that he has been using Harry to fight Voldemort from the start, something Harry realizes when he’s about to face his death in the last book. The *end* of the last book. Harry actually has to spend all of the next movie with the nagging suspicion that Dumbledore’s always been using him; even though at the end of book 5 Dumbledore tells him that he has to fight Voldemort because that’s the kind of guy he (Harry) is, now in his darkest moments, he can question whether it was all a lie, whether he’s always been used by Dumbledore. Assuming that’s how they write the last movie.

Snape. Where to even begin with Snape. Alan Rickman is genius. His most important scene, when he finally kills Dumbledore because Draco can’t, was perfect. I was a little unsure how I felt that Harry just let it happen, but someone pointed out to me that earlier in the film, Remus (the last of his father’s friends left to act as a father-figure) says that they must trust Snape, because they must trust Dumbledore and Dumbledore trusts Snape. So when Harry sees him on the tower, he thinks, “Oh, good, you’re here to fix OMGWTFYOUKILLEDHIM.” Alan Rickman made me forget about the scene re-write however, because the look he shares with Dumbledore will just break your heart. It’s love for the man, and hate for what he has to do; it’s the fear of killing the one person who understands him, and fear of what happens if he doesn’t. His eyes show total anguish, and though you don’t really understand why until the last book, Alan Rickman plays it perfectly.

My final thought is something not totally Harry Potter movie related. I just found out recently (in this past week) that Daniel Radcliff has dyspraxia, a developmental disorder “affecting the initiation, organization and performance of action” according to Wikipedia. For Radcliff, apparently it just makes it harder for him to tie his shoes, however it also supposedly accounts for his oft-mocked interview style, or lack thereof. I don’t know why I find that so interesting, but there ya go.

Please, if you didn’t like the movie, or *especially* if you haven’t read book 7, tell me your thoughts! I really wanna know!!!!!

Show Michael Giacchino a Little Love

Last night I went to see Star Trek (yes again. What, I had a free ticket but the movie had to be more than 2 weeks old). ANYWAY, this time, as I already knew what was coming, I decided to spend a little less energy watching, and a little more listening.

First of all, as the only piece of pre-recorded music (not written specifically for the movie), The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” was perfect. One of my favorite high school rebellion bands, with one of their biggest hits, was nice to hear in a major movie like this. Musically, the crescendo in the intro just got you ready for the joyride the rest of the move was going to be.

However, I’m not writing this about the Beastie Boys (though there’s tons that can be said there). I’m writing this for the composer, Michael Giacchino. JJ Abrams has had a string of successful shows and movies (including Alias, Lost, and Mission Imposible III), and he’s gathered a group of talented writers, directors, and producers he likes to work with (not to mention his “good luck charm,” Greg Grunberg). For music, he turns to Michael Giacchino.

Since the first episode of Lost, Michael Giacchino has been able to perfectly express the mood of any scene in the scoring, and he’s even used some strange and interesting instruments to do so (including hitting airplane parts). Some of the themes have become pop sound icons.

But Star Trek is different. Though it very much sounds like a Michael Giacchino soundtrack, Star Trek is much bigger, more intricate and interesting. The music is beautifully written and performed, and yet (except for a few exceptions, like the credits and the re-introduction of the original theme at the end), it is also very subtle.

Something interesting happened to me when I saw Star Trek again. When the full orchestra plays the same line as the Star Trek logo appears at the beginning, I realized I could have closed my eyes and been sitting and listening to a performance of the LA Philharmonic.

It doesn’t happen often that you can get people who would usually ignore a genre to really appreciate it. JJ Abrams has done that with Star Trek. And Michael Giacchino did it with his orchestra.

It's not Easy Bein' a Girl

The first thing I did as a college student was a program for women in science and engineering (I was at the time an Astronomy major). There aren’t many women in science and engineering programs in schools, and many of those switch majors, so there are even less women working in these fields. The reason? Women don’t take failure well, so when (for example) you’re in a physics class for physics majors only, and the class average on the first exam is a 16/30 and you get a 15/30, you freak out, drop the class, and switch majors. This program was meant to be a support system for women in these male-dominated fields, so eventually the numbers will start to even out.

A few years later, after switching majors a few times, I found myself in a similar situation. I wanted to be a recording engineer and eventually producer. My classes at Temple in this field were all small, and the upper level classes were all taught by males. In the first level class, there were 3 girls in a class of 25; second level, 2 in 20; third level, 1 in 20. Yes, I was the only girl there. And though I can try my damnedest to be one of the guys, they still will never fart in front of me, and they watch their words when they talk about nailing some chick over the weekend.

Last summer, I came to LA for two months on an internship program, where I was the uber-minority. Though the program was pretty even male-female, I interned at a recording studio where I was the only girl, and at an indie label where there were three (now two) full-time female employees.

Women are still having a hard time being taken seriously in certain positions. Though I could go on a political rant, or go back into math and science, what I know most is music, so I’ll stick to that. I wasn’t taken seriously in my recording/mixing/mastering classes (even though I was consistently in the top of the class, if not the top), and there are times when I’m not taken seriously in my job (and in my past internships). And there a lot of tour folks who don't want girls on tour: they're not as strong and need to shower more than the guys.

My friends and I are trying to start up a promotions company that will help up-and-coming musicians, photographers, graphic designers, and any manner of other artists start up a fan base. Though the artists we work with are not necessarily all female, the people who are running the show are. A lot of us aren't taken seriously by friends and family, and it's going to be a while before we see how the scene treats us. But I'm not going to lie, I'm a little concerned.

Because the music scene in general doesn't like girls. And I think it’s something that needs to be discussed a little bit more.

MORE GREEN DAY

Green Day released the video for their second single, “Twenty-One Guns” today. Thank god. Hopefully this means a whole lot less of “Know Your Enemy.”

I’m a big fan of the new album. When I first heard “Know Your Enemy,” however, I was getting ready to be disappointed. What a monotonous, boring, elementary song. I was expecting an earth-shattering revelation of what the future of my genre of music could be! When I heard in early May that the first single from Green Day was going to start playing, that they had just finished filming the video, I got my hopes up that this was going to be great: Green Day had revolutionized the genre before, and this new album was going to be a continuation of American Idiot, but BETTER! It would be everything I love about Warning AND MORE!

Then I actually heard the song. To say I was apprehensive about the album would be an understatement.

On May 15th, I went out after work to grab the album. It was Green Day, after all, it wasn’t an album that I was going to wait and see if I felt like getting it after I heard more. Even if their first single wasn’t everything I was hoping for, it was still a hell of a lot better than a lot of the other crap floating around the emo/pop-punk world.

I threw it in the CD player, holding my breath. And I got…. “Song of the Century.” Huh, okay. Radio sound effects, grainy sound. Something I could have put together after my first editing class (in fact, I did). Right into “21st Century Breakdown,” the album’s title track. This is more what I was expecting, sounds like it could have been a reject from American Idiot.

And then “Know Your Enemy.” In the context of the album, it works. However whatever A&R guy decided *this* should be the first single should be shot, because they know *nothing* about marketing a new album. A single is for promotional purposes. Get someone to like the single, they’ll buy the album. And though it’s a great arena song, it’s a terrible single. This song does not represent the best of the album, it shows the most boring, the most commonplace!

Cut down to the end of the album. The third to last song, the second single. One of my favorite songs on the album.

One of the classic Green Day recording stories is that during a lull in recording, Billy Joe pulled out his acoustic guitar and rolled tape. There was a slower song he had been playing around with, an emotional song about the bitter end of a good relationship. No one wanted that song on the album except the band. And it made it. And it turned out to be the biggest song on that album, possibly the band’s biggest single to date. That song was “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).”

“Twenty-One Guns” is slow. It’s pretty (well, for Green Day). It’s not the most complicated song Green Day has ever played, nor is it the most musically interesting. But it’s compelling. This is not a song that you can learn how to write in a three hour seminar. This is something that comes from an artist spending years honing his craft. It’s emotional. It’s powerful. It’s beautiful.

I can see them playing this song in front of sold out stadiums, giant screens with close-ups of Billy Joe’s face, fireworks and pyrotechnics exploding around the stage.

I can see them playing this song 10-15 years from now, being inducted into the hall of fame.

I did not see that video in any way, shape, or form. Them in a room? (Even though it was cool they finally had their other guitarist in a video.) Bullets shooting holes in the room (literal much?)? Two cute 20-somethings making out, echoing the front cover? It was boring, it was literal. It was worse than the video for “Know Your Enemy,” which was basically a live performance video to sell their upcoming tour.

I know videos mean less than singles, and I know neither matter all that much, but please, for the love of god, can we put some thought into it? I’m begging here.


Know Your Enemy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgvGPwEGoOI

Green Day - New Music - More Music Videos

Twenty-One Guns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl5RTxtjfbk



One of my favorite performance-based videos, All Time Low’s “Circles” (fyi, it’s a student film, so cut it a lil slack):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzqTuGAC4lo&feature=channel_page



One of my favorite theme-based videos, Yellowcard’s “Rough Landing Holly”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLU5sNiaSpo

Yellowcard - New Music - More Music Videos

Mood Music

On this past Saturday night, I was randomly checking my computer in between 15 other tasks I was trying to get done to get ready for this busy week. One of the websites I now constantly keep open is twitter (follow me @rustincolor). And when I checked Saturday night, I noticed quite a few tweets from the various members of All Time Low saying different versions of “Alex is fine now, thanks for the concern.” Going back through a few hours worth of tweets, I found that the lead singer had had a panic attack on stage, causing the band to play a few covers while he caught his breath and calmed himself down. This apparently is a recurring condition for him, this attack just came at a very inconvenient time.

Now, I have had a couple panic attacks in my time, though nothing too terrible (then again, I did quit one job once, and drop out of school for a semester, then transfer schools, so I guess they weren’t completely harmless). And many of my friends have also had some version of a panic attack or minor meltdown. Incidentally, the friends that come to mind all have similar music tastes as me.

This realization got me thinking: how much of our music taste has to do with our mental state? I have said time and time again that they are directly related: I know when I’m going into an extended state of depression because I unconsciously change my music playlists from the more pop, synth heavy music I have (Cobra Starship, Mayday Parade, new All Time Low) to more dark, rock based (old Yellowcard, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Linkin Park).

I can also affect my mood with music: on deeply depressed days, I know that I have to hit my low before I can come back up, and to do that all I have to do is listen to “When We’re Old Men” by Yellowcard and “Adam’s Song” by Blink-182. These songs are part of the healing process.

I often wonder if you can truly get into some of these emo/pop-punk songs and bands if you don’t feel some version of this way. All of my more shallow friends seem to be into more shallow bands (Brittany Spears, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers – I gotta admit, I’m not even sure what they listen to, the last two were pure guesses).

I have also been wondering more recently to what extent music effects different people. I know for a small group of friends, we put music up with family and air as some of the most important things in the world to us. I have conversely discovered that there are many people who consider music low-level entertainment, background noise for cleaning or driving, but nothing that could be truly life-altering.

So here’s the question I’m left with: How does the music we listen to affect our mental health? And does our mental health affect the music we listen to? Or are they totally unconnected for the common man?

Green Day - Warning

Recently, in a few random conversations with random groups of people, I have been saying that Green Day’s Warning is one of the most under-rated albums of all time. I realized, after repeating this assertion a few times, that I should (a) relisten to Warning, make sure it really is as good as I remember, and (b) actually look into how it was received. And once I came to these conclusions, I figured it was about time to stop being lazy and finally write another blog.

So, first things first, it wasn’t received exactly like I remember (it was released in 2000, my freshman year in high school, so I wasn’t quite up on the non-TRL world of music): I remember only hearing Warning a few years later, when my friend Dave and I bought tickets for the Bullet in a Bible tour, and I made Dave burn me some CDs of everything Green Day ever did. Even people who knew the non-American Idiot albums didn’t really talk much about Warning, with them it was mostly Dookie and Nimrod. In doing a little research for this blog, I saw that Warning actually did get *some* reviews, they just weren’t all that great.

Some excerpts:
The Village Voice: 9/10 “The whole thing breathes with neat ambiences.”
The Onion (AV Club): “Green Day has never made a record so slick and musically mature.”
Billboard: 7/10
Spin: 3 stars “By design, the band doesn’t rock as hard as it used to. Doesn’t punk as hard as it used to either.”Rolling Stone: 3 stars “Who wants to listen to songs of faith, hope, and social commentary from what used to be snot-core’s biggest-selling band?” (I knew there was a reason I stopped getting Rolling Stone)
MOJO Magazine: 1 star “Warning is the sound of three men growing old far too gracefully.”

Now, while none of that seems particularly bad (other than MOJO….and really Rolling Stone, 3 stars? Maybe it’s time to get out of Kings of Leon’s ass, that’s all I’m sayin), none of it was particularly outstanding either (though admittedly, I’m having a hard time tracking down Alt Press’ review…if anyone can send me a copy, I’d love you forever ;) ).

And to me (and most people I know who’ve heard most – if not all – Green Day albums), this is the best Green Day release to date, including their Grammy-winning release.

So why is that? Why was it not well received, celebrated like "American Idiot" was? Why is it only the people in the scene (either currently or at the time) who remember it, or for that matter love it and consider it one of the most under-rated albums of all time?

Well, for starters, it pissed off a lot of the old fans - which is where that Rolling Stone review comes in. Green Day burst onto the scene with Dookie and Kerplunk,
two albums titled after taking a dump. They were about teenage boys trying to get out of college and after-school jobs. Warning has a little more meaning than that, it was Green Day's first venture into social commentary, something they perfected with "American Idiot." It's also a whole lot more polished than their previous releases, something that the DIY punk scene in the Bay Area (where they started) wasn't a huge fan of.

So why do I love it? Start at the beginning- the title track "Warning" is simple, catchy, and still somewhat eerie. When a pop-sounding song has the lyrics "Is the cop or am i the one that's really dangerous?/Sanitation, expiration date, question everything/Or shut up and be a victim of authority" can you really still call it pop? Though they were definitely starting to change the sound of pop-punk, they weren't loosing the feeling. Follow that up with "Minority," the biggest song on the album:
I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

I pledge allegiance to the underworld
One nation under dog
There of which I stand alone
A face in the crowd
Unsung, against the mold
Without a doubt
Singled out
The only way I know

I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

Stepped out of the line
Like a sheep runs from the herd
Marching out of time
To my own beat now
The only way I know

One light, one mind
Flashing in the dark
Blinded by the silence of a thousand broken hearts
"For crying out loud" she screamed unto me
A free for all
Fuck 'em all
You are your own sight

I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

When you can get an entire stadium to start moshing, throwing up the middle finger, and screaming "Fuck 'em all," I think you can say that you have changed the minority, given them power, made them their own majority. Or, conversely, you've made the minority cool. With one song, Green Day gave the emo movement a shove into the limelight.

Past the feel of the songs lyrically, I love the musicality of this album. Green Day is lead singer/guitarist Billy Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool. And that works well when you're a couple of punk kids from the Bay Area. But with "Warning" they played around with different arrangements, for instance adding a whole circus soundtrack to "Misery." They also played with the feeling of various songs, going from upbeat and almost pop sounding (Jackass), to slow and thoughtful (Macy's Day Parade), to a more minor key slightly off, creepy sound (Blood, Sex, and Booze), to the straight up rock we're used to from Green Day (Church on Sunday). And somehow, they make *all* of it sound like Green Day. With the growing number of acts that all sound the same, it's great to pick up an album - old or new - that is so distinctive, so different, and yet so cohesive.

So, while some people who watched them grow in the scene may be upset, and those who expected the regular old 3-chord punk album were shocked, this is a classic album. This album showed the talent of a "snot-punk" band that no one expected to go anywhere. And look - they won a Grammy, and have one of the most highly anticipated albums of this year (out in May). This album defined not only the band, but the scene, and the future of pop-punk. Let's give it the respect it deserves.

Best. Marketing Plan. Ever.

Sorry it's been a while, I've been keeping busy with work, parental visits, work, passover, work, my sister's wedding, and have I mentioned work? Anyway, I'm working on a Green Day blog (researched and everything!) but real life jumped in and made me write this email to Bob Lefsetz, so I figured I'd throw it up here as well. I give you, the BEST MARKETING PLAN EVER!!

This is how you make money if you're in a band, major label or not:
Jimmy Eat World recently did a 10 stop tour to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the release of "Clarity" in which they played the album in its entirety (and then played an encore of fan favorites and their singles). Tickets were $54 with fees. While there, I bought a Jimmy Eat World Clarity x10 hoodie, another 50 or so dollars. Yesterday, they put out a digital download of the final performance (just the live Clarity tracks), $8.99 on their website. To promote this, they played a 6 song encore in their home studio which they broadcasted on their website next to the link to buy the cd. They posted on their twitter account (and reposted and reposted) that they were going to take fan requests, the top 6 most requested songs they would play. They had hourly reminders to the release of the CD and the live performance. I stayed late at work to catch the feed...and by the time I got home, I was suckered in to buying the download. I bought the CD 10 years ago (at the time probably 15 bucks), and I'm buying it again for a few dollars less, after having just seen the performance live in person *and* online.

To do the math, Jimmy Eat World made $54 (tickets) + $50 (merch) + $15 (original album) + $8.99 (digital download of live performance) = $127.99 off of one CD from one person. And I'd do it again. Give something away, interact with your fans, do something fun and different that the fans want to see, they'll help you out in return. And my ultimate act of support? We had a half-hour discussion at the management company I work for talking about the band. I was twitting about Jimmy Eat World all day yesterday (and facebooking and im'ing and message boarding and any other kind of online conversation one can have). Now I'm sending this to you. Jimmy Eat World may not be as big as they were when "The Middle" came out, but they're being talked about again, so now a whole lot of people are waiting to see what they're going to do next.

fyi: follow me on twitter (I gave in finally) @rustincolor
Oh, and listen to Automatic Loveletter, "Let It Ride" www.myspace.com/automaticloveletter

The Perfect Venue

What makes a good concert venue? Since moving out to California, I’ve been able to get to quite a few more than the limited amount in Philly, DC, and Baltimore. And though I’m sure this list will be completely subjective, it’s been floating through my head over the last few weeks, so here goes:

Lighting: You have to be able to see, this is true. But a venue that’s as bright – or brighter – than it is outside makes it feel like Disney Channel’s version of a rock concert. Leave the lights to the acts, keep the house lights somewhat dimmer, and waaaaay down once the show starts (even between acts). The only time it’s appropriate to bring them to full is well after the show, when it’s just the few groupies getting the last of their merch (and trying to flirt with security for a trip backstage), and the techies breaking everything down.

Décor: again, leave Disney Channel to designing the next High School Musical set *cough*House of Blues*cough*. One of my favorite venues in the world is the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. You know what’s on their walls? Nothing. On the floor? Trash…and old beer spills. Some old posters are cool, and of course the posters from upcoming shows, but there’s no need for you to have quilts and abstract art on the walls – the place should be dim anyway! The coolest design I’ve seen lately: Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA. They’ve purchased tshirts from bands that have gone through in years past, and nailed them to the walls. Any wall space that’s not covered in thsirts is covered with bands’ stickers. And the bathrooms’ walls are covered with graffiti. Though most of it is stupid, it’s still pretty awesome seeing a really old All-American Rejects tshirt next to the sound guy, or an Anarbor sticker on the stall wall.

Layout: You should be able to see the stage from just about anywhere in the room. The best example of this is the Recher Theater in Towson (Baltimore). The entrance hallway is somewhat long, but once you get through, it opens out to the stage, directly in front of you. Along one wall is the bar, along the other is merch. Basically, once you hand your ticket over, you are three steps from being able to see the stage head on. Entrances on the side are understandable sometimes (you can’t always rebuild the building), but if it can be avoided, it should be. Long thin rooms like the Electric Factory in Philly don’t work – the people in the front have a great view, but the people in the back seem miles away, and there aren’t that many spots in front because of the width. The balcony (if there is one) shouldn’t obstruct the view of the floor below it, and there’s no reason why you should need TV feeds of the show playing in the same room *as the show*.

People: The people make the place, and the place brings the people. If the décor is too corporate or cheesy, the kids will be too. One of my favorite securities guards ever was “that guy” at the 9:30 club (so famous he even had a front-page article written about him in the University of Maryland campus newspaper). He had gauged ears, shaved head, full sleeves, and he scared the crap outta you…but he *made* the venue. The few shows I went to and didn’t see him up in front, watching for crowd surfers, I was actually kinda sad. I understand that you can’t hire people who don’t apply, but in a customer service industry, looks *do* matter (and anyone who thinks differently should look at the tips I made wearing tight jeans vs the nights I wore my men’s pants). So why not hire the person that fits the venue?

Prices: I understand that a lot of the problems with ticket prices have nothing to do with the venues, but if the choice is between, say, Sum41 (which would end up being $20 a ticket) and All Time Low (which would end up being $15 a ticket), why not book the cheaper band? Spend less on a ticket, you’re more willing to spend more on food and merch (which venues *do* get a cut of).



With all that being said, here are some of my favorites, some good ones, and the ones to skip:

The Best of the Best:
9:30 Club, Washington DC www.930.com
Small (1200 capacity) room, easily accessible by Metro, good layout, great grungy atmosphere, cool history, and a knack for booking a wide range of new and old (but all amazing) artists.
Random facts: won the Pollstar “Nightclub of the Year” honor four times, and for most of that time was Pollstar’s top ticket-selling club; was featured in multiple music videos and concert DVDs, including Jimmy Eat World (DVD), Bob Mould (DVD), and the Beastie Boys (“Triple Trouble” video features posters from their performance there).

The Recher Theater, Townson MD www.rechertheatre.com
Extra small (700 capacity) room, surrounded by free/cheap parking, good layout, good atmosphere, host plenty of local artists, even breaking a few into bigger venues.

Emo’s, Austin TX www.emosaustin.com
Extra small room, good layout, very accessible stage, cool local atmosphere, one of the main venues of the South by Southwest festival.

The Troubador, Hollywood, CA www.troubador.com
Small room, good layout (with a 2 seating areas good for parents), very accessible stage, laid-back atmosphere, has a *long* history of breaking artists, and is one of the places bands go when they need a 1 or 2 show break from the bigger venues. Plus, John Lennon got kicked out for heckling. ‘Nuff said.

First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Smallest room of all (literally a basement), no atmosphere, limited parking, the only good thing is that, well, it’s a church basement, therefore the max audience is 50. Help launch indie Philly/east coast bands. Extra cool: it’s on the National Register of Historic Places. *Held one of my personal favorite shows of all time: Alex Gaskarth and Zack Merrick acoustic, 6.13.07

Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ www.stoneponyonline.com
Small room, ok layout, very accessible stage, laid-back beach atmosphere (across the street from the ocean). The launch-point of Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi (the only good things to come from NJ).

The good:
Key Club, Hollywood, CA www.keyclub.com
Chain Reaction, Anaheim, CA www.allages.com
TLA, Philadelphia, PA www.livenation.com/venue/getVenue/venueId/1681
The Trocedaro, Philadelphia, PA www.thetroc.com
Starland Ballroom, Sayerville, NJ www.starlandballroom.com
Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA/New York, NY www.knittingfactory.com
Chameleon Club, Lancaster, PA www.chameleonclub.net
Croc Rock, Allentown, PA www.crocodilerockcafe.com
Festival Pier@Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia, PA http://www.livenation.com/venue/festival-pier-tickets

The bad:
House of Blues - Sunset Strip, Hollywood, CA www.hob.com
House of Blues - Anaheim, Anaheim, CA www.hob.com
Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA www.electricfactory.info

Ticketmaster and Live Nation (both suck)

I have a question. Why don’t venues sell their own tickets? I’ve been reading a lot recently about the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger, and yes, I agree, it would be a bad thing. But why are they the only options for tickets? Maybe back in the day, before every venue had its own website (and myspace, and Facebook fan page, and twitter account…) you would need to go to a different site to buy tickets online. But now, most venues have their own websites (and they’re flashier and better organized than Ticketmaster and Live Nation), usually with someone on staff who runs it. Knowing that these venues already have some way of selling tickets set up (they do still have box offices, right?), how much harder would it be to open up a Paypal account and sell tickets themselves?

The biggest problem almost everyone I know has with online ticketing is merely that the convenience charges are almost as much as the tickets themselves. I just bought $35 Jimmy Eat World tickets for $54. Get rid of Ticketmaster AND Live Nation, and start selling tickets yourself! I had no problem paying $54 (well, I did, but still…I wasn’t going to miss Jimmy Eat World!!!), and had the venue charged it instead of Ticketmaster, they would get *all* of that money, instead of giving it to other people. If venues are so concerned about the future of the live music industry in this crappy economy, they should get rid of as many extra charges as possible, and focus on keeping ticket prices low.

Now, granted, I don’t know how to set up an account with Paypal to accept money. I do know, however, that the 11:11am Charity (a bunch of emo kids who love Something Corporate) could do it, all while in school (aka not too much time to spare). You already have people who work the box office, and probably a webmaster as well. It would take at most one hour to set up a paypal account, and maybe another hour a day for one of the people in the box office to log into the account, print out all the new sales, and stuff the tickets into envelopes and send them off. So raise ticket prices 2 bucks (hey, it’s still going to be cheaper than the $8 per ticket service charges), and pay someone a couple bucks extra to be in charge of that. Even better, keep the ticket prices the same price, get rid of service charges, and hire an *intern* to stuff envelopes (and maybe let them into a concert or two in exchange).

I realize that this may not be the best solution for a 50,000 person venue (a couple interns, instead of just one?), but for a lot of venues – the 500-2000 person clubs – I honestly believe this will increase sales and bring in more money in the long term, and it’s not like you have to give up that much money to start.

So, remind me, why are Ticketmaster and Live Nation so amazing?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/05/ticketmaster.livenation/index.html

another rant

as it has now been reposted and emailed around quite a bit, i figured i might as well post it here. this is a rant i wrote to bob lefsetz, a writer who has a music blog/email blast that a large portion of the music industry reads. he has been talking about how the music industry is going to fail because of no innovation coming from labels/bands, etc. this was my reply:


I gotta admit, reading your articles over the past few weeks, I've wanted to tear my hair out. Though you do have very many good points on some of the older, more established bands/record labels, you forget that in this economy one group of people is still spending money just as they did before: high school students. They don't really see how the economic problems affect them, they're still getting $20 a week from mommy and daddy for taking out the trash or running the dishwasher. And that money is going the same places it always has: music, movies, and clothes. Now, most of these students probably are downloading their music illegally, but they're still going to concerts, and they're still buying merch to get signed. And I have not heard one person complain about a $20 t-shirt, let alone another 5 for the band's bracelet, 10 for the shades, 2 for the pins, and a tip for the merch guy for the poster. And I think a large part of this is because younger bands work for every fan. The best example that comes to mind is a band I've been following for a few years, All Time Low (Hopeless Records). Valentines Day of their senior year of high school, they signed to Hopeless, having already done a few northeast tours (that their parents had to chaperone)....over summer break. The first time I saw them was a few months after, when they won the chance to open HFStival, the DC alt/indie rock stations big summer festival. After this show, they spent *over* their allotted hour signing autographs, asking fans to come to their CD release show in a few weeks, etc. When I went home and looked on their myspace, they had tour blogs, video journals, and other ways to get to know each and every one of them. There has not been one show in the almost 4 years I've been watching them that I have not seen them hanging outside the venue, signing autographs and taking pictures. And recently, those lines have been a few hours long. Alt Press Magazine just named them band of the year after several sold out headlining tours, and this spring they're going on tour with Fall Out Boy. They didn't get there by writing amazing, life altering music. They got there because their fans willed it to be. Currently, I'm doing PR for some older bands, and I wish every day that they would try as hard as the smaller bands did to gain and keep fans. If you want to be a successful band right now (and I judge successful as you can afford go on tour and not have a restaurant job when you get back), take a look at how some of the younger kids are doing it: interact with fans, sign autographs, take every opportunity you can to meet people and get your name out there (including taking every interview, talking to fans at shows, doing private concerts in fans basements...anything), set up (and visit) message boards, do shout-outs at shows for loyal fans. There are very few fans who care about the quality of the copy of the CD, audiophiles are one in a million in those under 20 or 25. And fans don't want Beatle-mania: if a band gets whisked from backstage to a car, they're going to be throwing eggs at you, not their bras. Forget the age of the untouchable rock star. If you want to make it today, be a part of your fanbase, be cool to them, and they will promote you for free.

NEW MUSIC: Eudora

I have always found new music by listening to it live. Though I do sometimes listen to friend’s suggestions, and I used to hear new music on the radio or MTV, for the most part, new-found interests of mine come from recent shows I have seen. Eudora is no different.

A local Orange County band who did a one-off show with Anarbor and The Lives of Famous Men, Eudora shouldn’t have been anything special. Just a couple of kids, playing badly for a few minutes before the *real* bands showed up. But they were tight, polished, they had their live show down more than most local bands I’ve seen (even some touring bands). They knew how to work with the sound guys, and (for once) the vocals were balanced well with the rest of the band, instead of being overpowered. They may not have gotten the best out of their instruments (one of the guitars in particular was really grating), and they were a little too effect-happy: a new band likes to play with their new toys.

What really struck me about them, however, was their *show*. Not the performance, or the quality of music, but the fun that they were having, and the fun they brought the rest of the crowd into. When one member broke a string, the lead singer had fun with it: he made fun of the guitar player and made some other jokes, and even had the crowd sing happy birthday to one of their friends. In the middle of one of the songs, they broke into Journey (which made even the “cool kids” in the back of the room who were just waiting for the later bands stop and take notice). They had a few sing-alongs (once just some “oooohs,” and later a chorus, though that doesn’t work as well when people don’t know your music). They introduced each band member, and made sure to state the band’s name a bunch of times.

I went back on Monday to listen to their music on their myspace page. I wasn’t blown away, but it wasn’t bad. But the reason why they made such an impression on me was not because of their music. It was because they were having fun, and everyone else in the room was too.

www.myspace.com/eudoramusic
See them:
Feb 4, DiPiazza’s, Long Beach
Feb 15, Chain Reaction, Anaheim

HAPPY 2009! (yeah, I know, it's been a while)

2008 was a big year for me: I graduated from college, moved out to California, got 2 internships in the music industry, got a job in the music industry. I went to see the last Yellowcard tour and All Time Low’s first headlining tour; I went to huge festivals and small art halls. This past year will go down as a major year in my own personal history.

So what do I really have to look forward to in the upcoming year? Well, it started big enough: All Time Low – a band I have been following for over 3 years now (and working for for a while, first with a promotions company, then with an internship at Hopeless Records) – was named Alternative Press’ “Band of the Year” for 2008, and they just announced they are going on tour with Fall Out Boy in the Spring. Green Day is going to be releasing a new album – the follow up to 2004’s “American Idiot” (FINALLY!!!). Jimmy Eat World is doing a tour for the 10 year anniversary of the release of “Clarity.” And I just found out that the Get Up Kids are playing Bamboozle Left (and as long as they play “Mass Pike,” I can die happy). I’m studying for my LSATs and looking at law schools in LA. I’m getting health insurance and car insurance, and registering my car as a Californian. And I just watched the first African-American president sworn in, a man that I had a picture of hanging up in my freshman dorm (the cover of Newsweek I believe, from December 2004/January 2005) which my Republican ex-boyfriend *loved*, a man that I think is smart, honorable, and hopeful, all at the same time.

So here’s my list, my expectations for 2009:

Bands to Watch:
Anarbor
The Scenic
A Rocket to the Moon
Hey Monday

Bands to Keep Watching:
All Time Low
Mayday Parade
Cute is What We Aim For
Cobra Starship
Paramore

Bands to Remember:
Get Up Kids
Green Day
Jimmy Eat World

Bands I Wish Would Just Go Away:
Fall Out Boy
Panic(!) at the Disco

Hey, Remember When These Bands Were EVERYWHERE:
Boys Like Girls
Plain White T’s
The Beatles (yeah, I wasn’t alive for it either….but man how I wish I was there for Beatlemania!)