Hörst Stachelhaus
a.k.a. John Entwistle, 1944-2002

"Hörst Stachelhaus" read the name badge.

It was January of 1990, and I was in Anaheim, California, chasing down autographs for my then-girlfriend. Elbowing my way through a sea of too-old-for-such-jet-black-hair industry folks, I was supposed to be working while at this National Association of Music Merchants convention. I managed a guitar shop, and we were looking for a new line.

Instead, I spent much of my time getting mementos from lite metal boys like Dokken's George Lynch (chemically augmented at 10 a.m. no less), Night Ranger's Jeff Watson (that other guitarist of theirs), and shred guru Joe Satriani. Autographs are awkward, especially since I wasn't getting these for myself. Yeah, the musicians were at autograph booths much of the time, but that still doesn't make wading into the throng for fame's scribble good for one's sense of integrity.

But shopping by himself, gathering no particular crowd, stood the Who's John Entwistle. The Ox was no fly-by-night chart-topper; he was the cornerstone for one of rock's cornerstone bands. His name badge was either a thin attempt at anonymity or a joke that only he got. (more)

Aural Fixations

DEADSY
Commencement
(Elementree/DreamWorks)
RIALTO
Night On Earth
(Eagle/KOCH)
When people think of the 80s, very few of them ponder happy memories. (Hardcore right wing conservatives, maybe...) Those that don't bemoan the hard economic times, rampant greed and repressive social atmosphere complain about the music. When, they ask, has music ever been as cold, sterile and devoid of feeling? Has music ever been as plastic as it was during Ronald Reagan's reign? Putting aside issues of pop music perhaps always having been dominated by the shiniest product (listened to the radio lately?), the 80s saw the rise of both the synthesizer and MTV. This was music that could be programmed into a computer and was designed to have its biggest impact visually instead of aurally. Certain sounds, even now, trigger memories of a specific era—bands like Duran Duran, Peter Schilling and Spandau Ballet (if you used to listen to top 40 radio) or Ultravox, New Order and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (if you listened to college radio)—maybe even Wall of Voodoo, Talk Talk or Gary Numan if you had taste for the outré. Numan in particular stands out; even though he's known in America as being a one-hit wonder ("Cars," of course), his synth-heavy sound is probably one of the era's most influential. How many artists of the period imitated his Moog licks, robotic vocal style and implicit criticism of style over substance (and no doubt misunderstanding that last point)?

The question for today, however, is how many artists right now, in 2002, also look back to those heady days of polish and savings and loan scandals and draw inspiration from it? The band Orgy, though it fits squarely in the metal-hop arena with Limp Bizkit and its ilk, had its biggest hit with a reasonably faithful cover of New Order's "Blue Monday," which is a pretty fair indication of what the boys in the band were listening to when they were growing up. Kids who had no access to "alternative" music outside of MTV are now old enough to have bands themselves; they've absorbed other influences, both more mainstream and more obscure, along the way, but the radio tunes of their youth have stuck to their brain pans, influencing the music they make now both subtlely and overtly. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; a radio landscape dominated by beat-heavy R&B and tuneless nü-metal could use a few of the 80s' bombastic but undeniably memorable hooks. If young artists can take elements of the synthesized Reagan years and meld them to contemporary ideas, more power to them. (more)

Album reviews of new music by:

Aytobach Kreisor

Aytobach Kreisor (name courtesy of some misunderstood Beatles lyric—don't ask) lays down the mind-expanding heavy psych riffs on its self-titled second album. (more)

Dead Soul Tribe

Graves treats his songs as diary entries, or so he claims, but he writes lyrics impressionistic enough to leave plenty of room for interpretation. Coupled with anthemic melodic hard rock with progressive leanings, the result is a hyper-dramatic song cycle about frustration and desire. (more)

Flying Nuns

Bassist/vocalist Kevin Sweeney, guitarist Pat Lynch and drummer Tony Velez write loud, catchy pop songs, but arrange them in such a way as to bring out all the sharp angles. (more)

IZZ

Tuneful and ambitious, multifaceted New York quintet IZZ masterfully combines pop and progressive rock on its sophomore release. (more)

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey

JFJO is perfectly happy to ride a groove, but it would rather search the ether for new melodies. (more)

The Ray Mason Band

Ray Mason's a master of literate, rootsy power pop that tickles the taste buds and fills the stomach in equal measure. (more)

The Possibilities

The group always bears down hard on the melody, letting enthusiasm and emotion be carried on top of insinuating hooks and singalong choruses. (more)