From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V6 #241 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Saturday, August 16 2003 Volume 06 : Number 241 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [idealcopy] Fw: AT THE RIVER (07/08/03) ["Keith Astbury" Subject: [idealcopy] Fw: AT THE RIVER (07/08/03) Thought this email I received may interest the Aphex Twin fans. Subject: AT THE RIVER (07/08/03) > > SQUAREPUSHER / CASSETTE-BOY / APHEX TWIN (DJ), HMS President, THURSDAY, 07 > August 2003 > A first - for me, anyway - a gig on board a boat! HMS President is moored > on the Embankment, directly opposite the OXO Tower, so, pre-gig, there is > the chance to go on deck (the vessel's claustophobia only intensifies the > capital's current, oppressive heatwave) and have a drink whilst marvelling > at the 360 degree panorama of the city's Thameside skyline. Impossible not > to think of the words "dirty old river" (Ray Davies's Waterloo Sunset is > surely the greatest ever "London pop song"?!), and muse on the forthcoming > electro-shenanagins, courtesy of the good people of WARP records. And the > start is great, as the 'Surprise Guest' is the Aphex Twin doing a DJ set, > which really rocks - or, er ... whatever the appropriate verb is, for the > relentless onrush of such super-speed, Drill'n'Bass. AFX builds up > intricate layers of cross-hatched, cross-referenced beats, pummelling the > boat's sweaty metal-husked ballroom, with sudden ruptures of thudding, dub > bass frequencies. Everything teeters on absurdity and chaos, but there is > always a structure; always a groove, no matter what distortions the > manically grinning DJ throws at us. Hard to tell whether this was actually > 'original' AFX, music or, simply a bunch of records (fragments of old > reggae and dub records keep rising to the surface like mad fissures of > lava). The crowd, the heat and the beat is almost overwhelming, with the > set climaxing in a torrent of unstoppable noise, and I begin to realise why > the concept of a bloke playing records can more than equal the more > established live band scenario. Whatever it is, it is excellent - so, > follow that, Cassette Boy! > > Alas, the Boy they call Cassette, blows it: Big Style! The thunderous > momentum worked up by AFX is almost completely dissipated by a self > indulgent, disjointed set of fragmented, quick-fire, cut-and-paste samples > from TV, films and records , which swiftly degenerates into cold-hearted > tedium. Although there are a few moments of witty Big Brother samples, > this cannot save the overall lack on inspiration. I'm also inclined to > think that, despite the digital perfection of the set's execution, the > comparitively primitive tape-looped samples from ancient 23 Skidoo records > like PORNO BASE, and the still awesome JUST LIKE EVERYBODY, have a thousand > times more power and resonance than Cassette Boy's flashy lameness. An > opportunity missed. > > After a short period of suitably WARP-like music over the PA, the headliner > emerges from the pungent clouds of dry ice, before strapping on a bass, and > huddling over his laptop (tonight is BIG on blokes huddling over their > laptops!). Squarepusher's opening salvo is a barrage of hi-tech samples, > punctuated by the most hideously complex bass-twanging since Jaco > Pastorious last hitched up his unbearably fiddly, Jazz-Rock robes. SqP is > obviously a frustrated jazzman, and has virtually limitless technique, but > ... therein lies the central flaw. As with most musos, the undeniable > technical ability is completely bound to the slavery of meaningless > virtuosity. Truly, one note from a Holger Czukay or a Jah Wobble would > shatter the flimsy framework constructed by our bearded bass-troubadour. > SqP compounds this with a huge, lumpy barrage of electro bleeps and > stuttering glitch-techno, but the results lack the manic cohesion of the > AFX set. One of my companions sums things up, when she turns to me and > states that this spectacle is the equivalent of "electro-wanking". A > gruesome image, but, nevertheless, one which is remarkably apposite. A big > disappointment. > > So, well ... 1 out of 3, anyway. Ummmm ... I suppose you can't win 'em > all?! And a top night anyway, for the novelty angle of the boat, and the > beauty of the river setting. But next time I want to listen to some high > speed, slap-bass action, I'll book a ticket for the Level 42 Reunion Tour, > thanks. At least Mark King managed to write a couple of decent pop tunes, > inbetween perpetually rolling up the sleeves of his 80's, 'Miami Vice' > style jacket. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 00:47:33 EDT From: Eardrumbuz@aol.com Subject: Re: [idealcopy] Interpol In a message dated 8/14/03 7:35:58 AM, andrew-wire@lexical.org.uk writes: > >They're alright; prone to the occasional bout of comically bad lyrics on >B-sides, which caused me to dismiss them prematurely based on the first >track of theirs I heard. agree 100%, though the bad lyrics aren't limited only to b-sides :o) still, i try to ignore the words and enjoy the music >They clearly want to be much more dark and mysterious than they actually >are; what they actually are is a pretty good mid-80s-post-goth indie >rock band. "Obstacle 1" is a damn good song, though. and, most fans and skeptics alike agree that they are better live than on record (or cd). - -paul c.d. www.mp3.com/winteracademy ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V6 #241 *******************************