Jackhammer Stripped

jackhammer · 12-18-2009, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavin B.

My story is similar. I was in a kind of musical limbo when I first heard Blue Lines back in 1991. I had spent decade and half broadcasting and dee jaying reggae music but the roots reggae scene was dying in Jamaica.

Things got even worse in the late 80s. Most of my cherished punk and post punk bands like the Clash, Gang of Four, Essential Logic, and the Slits were over and done with. The Mekons and the Fall struggled along selling almost no records. The New York and Boston scene was dead with all of the great bands like Mission of Burma, the Bush Tetras, the Lounge Lizards and the New York Dolls all dead and gone. All of the great Mississippi delta and Chicago blues singers were dead. And Elvis Costello, the one musician who made consistent albums throughout the 80s was producing a string of baffling and incoherent albums like Spike and Mighty Like A Rose and the Juliet Letters.

Massive Attack changed everything for me and got me interested in popular music again. Blue Lines was a pastiche of nearly every kind of music I liked including pop music, reggae, dub, hip hop, dee jay style, soul, punk and experimental music. Massive Attack music was innovative, visionary and unprecendented. Massive Attack was ground zero of the current post-rock electronica movement and the most important band of the 90s.

Ivo Watts-Russell's recording group This Mortal Coil was doing a similar thing in the 80s but his approach was a narrower gothic, dream pop form of electronica. Massive Attack was important because they managed to fuse all of those diverse currents to create a new musical beast . They opened my eyes to a new world of musical possibilities by smashing all of the categories and genres and building a whole new kind of musical form.

I really like This Mortal Coil which was indicative of the 4AD sound over here which offered a pleasant alternative Pop sound to the mainstream but as you state, it certainly didn't encompass a huge array of genres and it took bands like MA to diversify further whilst still having a Pop aesthetic.

Astronomer · 12-20-2009, 11:19 PM

Mezzanine seems to be an album that has directed many of us who were unsure into electronic/ dance music. Because I had the exact same attitude as you before I had heard this album - dismissed any kind of electronic or dance music as empty and talentless. It wasn't until I came on MB and heard the worship this album had before I even considered it. But it made my views on what great music is do a complete U-turn as well. Fantastic album, definitely a masterpiece and one of my favourites of all time. Great post!

jackhammer · 01-13-2010, 05:54 PM

Fields of The Nephilim

Gothic music is unfortunately a genre of music that is ripe for criticism. The monotone vocals, melancholic lyrics and unfashionable riffs. However FOTN stood out from the crowd from the beginning. Their first full length release Dawnrazor featured photography from Richard Stanley (film director- Hardware, Dust Devil etc) which capitalised on the bands spaghetti western look with dry ice and dirt encrusted weatherbeaten leathers that gave the band an almost farcical look which detracted from the music.

Despite the monotone vocals of Carl McCoy, the band played an epic blend of Post Punk minimalism coupled with a Pink Floyd like atmosphere that still sounds unique to this day and it's hard to truly compare them to any band. You had the superlative complicated rhythms of drummer Nod Wright coupled with a two guitar attack with heavier riffs under pinned by a constant, languid guitar lick that gave their music a dynamic sound that was rarely heard in the scene at that time.

The major problem with FOTN is mainman Carl McCoy's propensity for shrouding the band in mystery and imbuing lyrics with mysticism and nods to ancient forgotten religion. This caused the band to split up in 1991 with only 3 full length albums to their name.

So why are they important to me? Bridging the gap between anger, heaviness and melancholia, their sound was rich in atmosphere and menace yet laced with tenderness at times it fitted my frame of mind at the time.

FOTN have since gone on to become one of the U.K's most talked about and cherished cult bands who count Metallica and many Black Metal bands as a huge inspiration.

A band out of sync even in the late 80's they however earn a place in fans hearts and still have a sound that they can wholly call their own.

Probably my favourite FOTN track. Absolutely love that drum track:

Arya Stark · 01-13-2010, 08:29 PM

I really like everything about the song, the vocals are a little bit of a turn off for me, but nothing that would stray me away from listening to the band.
The first song is the one I listened to, I like when a band can play at a quick tempo but still have a chill feel to the song.
It's not too much to handle at one time.
Good review. [=

jackhammer · 05-01-2011, 07:44 PM

It's been a while and I actually enjoyed reading my own thread so let's continue.

Underworld

Along with the previously mentioned Massive Attack in this journal, Underworld are another band that really opened my eyes to the extensive world of Electronic music and the fact that it CAN be timeless, full of invention, mood, atmosphere and quality songwriting technique.

Underworld really grabbed peoples attention in the 90's with the perennial (but overplayed) Born Slippy track that was released as a by product of the film Trainspotting. What is odd about this, is that the Trainspotting director Danny Boyle used their first album (classed as Underworld Mark 1 and the true beginning of the band according to them) dubnobasswithmyheadman as the film set soundtrack of choice which didn't include Born Slippy.

I originally first heard their second release (Second Toughest In The Infants) whilst working as a chef and clocking off late into the early hours playing chess and getting drunk (a lethal combo, the games would last for 3 hours + sometimes). It was one of those albums that you didn't notice immediately but you never found it distracting either. After a while the album seemed to burn into your brain and it was imperative that the album HAD to be played whilst challenging those members of staff who had enough staying power to drink to the early hours and still make it to work after 4 hours of sleep.

What emerged was a band that was heavily influenced by Electronic Krautrock, Prog Rock's more ambient moments and the present day Dance/Techno sound. A combination that defied the usual sound of the day (this was mid 90's) for 3 minute pop influenced dance tunes and instead opened albums with 7/8 minute plus layered tracks with a dance mentality and a progressive sensibility. The first two track on Second Toughest are both over 15 minutes long and whilst they both adhere to the sounds of the day (techno beats and heavy bass), they also swirled and swished through many tempo changes, instruments and vocal stylings that neither helped their commercial aspirations (if any) or bedded them to any particular fanbase.

Underworld are still making music 20 years on and whilst they are not on the cutting edge of music, they still are one of the very few electronic/dance bands still popular due to actually having lyrics and a vocalist and a sound that covers many bases but touches on few.

If Prog fans could get their head around beat based electronic music then they would be falling all over themselves for this band and if Dance fans delved beyond a certain BPM mentality they would hear music that would stretch them whilst still retaining aspects that they like.

Underworld remain one of my favourite bands of the last 20 years because they appeal to me on so many levels and those levels are hard to describe other than this is a band that makes music for themselves but are still not so oblique for the rest of us not to enjoy it.

Probably their most commercial track (but not successful- they don't really do singles):

**Janszoon** · 05-01-2011, 09:55 PM

Always loved "Born Slippy" but I have to confess my knowledge of these guys extends no further than the Trainspotting soundtrack. I'd love to hear more though.

jackhammer · 05-09-2011, 06:44 PM

FINK

Singer songwriters are a an acquired taste. Far too many bland broken hearted troubadours or far too many preachers out there. Far too many sad, lonely figures plinking away lamenting past failures who induce nausea instead of a sad sort of pity but what about the guy who sits there and says 'fuck it'?

I am a little older and wiser, made some mistakes, rued some missed opportunities but that's life. This is the sort of person I want to listen to. Tender enough to appeal to your melancholic need but not so wrapped up in spouting bleeding heart sentiment to make you vomit.

Fink has loved and lost, got drunk and messed up, said things he shouldn't have but rarely has seemed to regret any of it. It's life. It's growing older and all that comes with it.

The past is set. You can't change it. The present? Well I am trying to figure that out. The future? I have no control so why worry about it.

I don't want an artist to become a national favourite because he has a certain world view of the future and neither do I want an artist to constantly spout 'What if?'

Fink started out as a DJ/Trip Hop Artist in Bristol U.K (where else?) and began to write his own material for the Ninja Tune label (one of the U.K's rare independent success's in the last few years). He ended up going to Ninja Tune declaring that he had found a new artist and asked them to listen knowing that HE was the artist but worried that they would dissuade him from his DJ path so he recorded this in secret.

Ninja Tune were interested so he had to confess but such was the strength of his material that they forgave him.

Fink has become a 3 piece with the bass player and drummer playing an integral part of a sound that is at it's core one man and his guitar but incorporates a little Jazz and Blues along the way but that is really inconsequential in the grand scheme of Fink.

He is the archetypal man with a guitar sat on a stool but he is far better than that. Not technically or even emotionally. He is 100% himself. No need to create a hook to make lots of money and no need to create a perfect lyric to ingratiate himself into the mainstream.

His lyrics blow that apart. Referring to pubs frequented, beer drank, bar manager names and he is no better than me or no worse than me. He is an artist who just tells it like it is. Warts and all.

jackhammer · 07-21-2011, 07:43 PM

THE PRODIGY

Ah such a conflicting band for many people. Are they a band that just chuck out huge beats to keep the party going and are musically stagnant or are they a band that have an amazing knack of making music that they themselves would like to listen to whilst still not adhering to the mainstreams insistence of friendly hooks and wholesome band image?

The truth is probably somewhere in between but what is almost certainly not in dispute is their live prowess.

The Prodigy work in the studio and play in the live arena and they play hard. Despite the numerous band's I have seen The Prodigy are a huge gap on that particular C.V because of their fearsome live reputation. Very few bands can straddle the genre between electronic and rock music and emerge as victors with fans on both sides whilst still having integrity.

Is it the fact that they are all the same age as myself and we are all in this to recapture the energy of youth or are we still sticking two fingers up to the doubters and enjoying ourselves and still remaining true to our roots? I fecking hope it's the latter I really do.

I adore intimate music, melancholic music, generically varied music but I generally want to see this live in a club or small theater. When I go to a festival I want to jump around like a kid but still respect the band onstage to not manipulate me with contrived sing alongs or putting a lighter in the air scenario. I want a band to kick me in the head and enjoy themselves as much as I am.

The Prodigy in the studio have made some outstanding music and have made albums that have stood the test of time in an age where technology is outdated constantly but they are also one of the finest live bands in the world and that is the ultimate barometer for me. If you can't do it live then I have been duped and I can see through it easily.

I would dearly like to play drums live for The Prodigy because I like to imagine stupid crap that I cannot do but also because even one gig would be the best party for me.

This is from their first live album and although the actual footage is not represented, the track is. Thunder (despite the YT vid saying otherwise) is a ferocious enough beast on the Invaders Must Die album with it's rat-a-tat bass line so when I first popped the new DVD in and whacked up the surround sound I was even more blown away with the fact that they chose someone's remix of the song to become the live version. When you expect one outcome and get another that is equally as good then I cannot help but sit back and smile:

and here is the track in it's original form:

I don't always want to be amazed or educated, I just want to have some fun, get drunk and dance my ass off. Wish I was there:

12-20-2009, 11:19 PM	#72 (permalink)
Astronomer we are stardust Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 2,894	Mezzanine seems to be an album that has directed many of us who were unsure into electronic/ dance music. Because I had the exact same attitude as you before I had heard this album - dismissed any kind of electronic or dance music as empty and talentless. It wasn't until I came on MB and heard the worship this album had before I even considered it. But it made my views on what great music is do a complete U-turn as well. Fantastic album, definitely a masterpiece and one of my favourites of all time. Great post! __________________

01-13-2010, 05:54 PM	#73 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Fields of The Nephilim Gothic music is unfortunately a genre of music that is ripe for criticism. The monotone vocals, melancholic lyrics and unfashionable riffs. However FOTN stood out from the crowd from the beginning. Their first full length release Dawnrazor featured photography from Richard Stanley (film director- Hardware, Dust Devil etc) which capitalised on the bands spaghetti western look with dry ice and dirt encrusted weatherbeaten leathers that gave the band an almost farcical look which detracted from the music. Despite the monotone vocals of Carl McCoy, the band played an epic blend of Post Punk minimalism coupled with a Pink Floyd like atmosphere that still sounds unique to this day and it's hard to truly compare them to any band. You had the superlative complicated rhythms of drummer Nod Wright coupled with a two guitar attack with heavier riffs under pinned by a constant, languid guitar lick that gave their music a dynamic sound that was rarely heard in the scene at that time. The major problem with FOTN is mainman Carl McCoy's propensity for shrouding the band in mystery and imbuing lyrics with mysticism and nods to ancient forgotten religion. This caused the band to split up in 1991 with only 3 full length albums to their name. So why are they important to me? Bridging the gap between anger, heaviness and melancholia, their sound was rich in atmosphere and menace yet laced with tenderness at times it fitted my frame of mind at the time. FOTN have since gone on to become one of the U.K's most talked about and cherished cult bands who count Metallica and many Black Metal bands as a huge inspiration. A band out of sync even in the late 80's they however earn a place in fans hearts and still have a sound that they can wholly call their own. Probably my favourite FOTN track. Absolutely love that drum track: __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

05-01-2011, 07:44 PM	#75 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	It's been a while and I actually enjoyed reading my own thread so let's continue. Underworld Along with the previously mentioned Massive Attack in this journal, Underworld are another band that really opened my eyes to the extensive world of Electronic music and the fact that it CAN be timeless, full of invention, mood, atmosphere and quality songwriting technique. Underworld really grabbed peoples attention in the 90's with the perennial (but overplayed) Born Slippy track that was released as a by product of the film Trainspotting. What is odd about this, is that the Trainspotting director Danny Boyle used their first album (classed as Underworld Mark 1 and the true beginning of the band according to them) dubnobasswithmyheadman as the film set soundtrack of choice which didn't include Born Slippy. I originally first heard their second release (Second Toughest In The Infants) whilst working as a chef and clocking off late into the early hours playing chess and getting drunk (a lethal combo, the games would last for 3 hours + sometimes). It was one of those albums that you didn't notice immediately but you never found it distracting either. After a while the album seemed to burn into your brain and it was imperative that the album HAD to be played whilst challenging those members of staff who had enough staying power to drink to the early hours and still make it to work after 4 hours of sleep. What emerged was a band that was heavily influenced by Electronic Krautrock, Prog Rock's more ambient moments and the present day Dance/Techno sound. A combination that defied the usual sound of the day (this was mid 90's) for 3 minute pop influenced dance tunes and instead opened albums with 7/8 minute plus layered tracks with a dance mentality and a progressive sensibility. The first two track on Second Toughest are both over 15 minutes long and whilst they both adhere to the sounds of the day (techno beats and heavy bass), they also swirled and swished through many tempo changes, instruments and vocal stylings that neither helped their commercial aspirations (if any) or bedded them to any particular fanbase. Underworld are still making music 20 years on and whilst they are not on the cutting edge of music, they still are one of the very few electronic/dance bands still popular due to actually having lyrics and a vocalist and a sound that covers many bases but touches on few. If Prog fans could get their head around beat based electronic music then they would be falling all over themselves for this band and if Dance fans delved beyond a certain BPM mentality they would hear music that would stretch them whilst still retaining aspects that they like. Underworld remain one of my favourite bands of the last 20 years because they appeal to me on so many levels and those levels are hard to describe other than this is a band that makes music for themselves but are still not so oblique for the rest of us not to enjoy it. Probably their most commercial track (but not successful- they don't really do singles): __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

05-01-2011, 09:55 PM	#76 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	Always loved "Born Slippy" but I have to confess my knowledge of these guys extends no further than the Trainspotting soundtrack. I'd love to hear more though. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm

05-09-2011, 06:44 PM	#77 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	FINK Singer songwriters are a an acquired taste. Far too many bland broken hearted troubadours or far too many preachers out there. Far too many sad, lonely figures plinking away lamenting past failures who induce nausea instead of a sad sort of pity but what about the guy who sits there and says 'fuck it'? I am a little older and wiser, made some mistakes, rued some missed opportunities but that's life. This is the sort of person I want to listen to. Tender enough to appeal to your melancholic need but not so wrapped up in spouting bleeding heart sentiment to make you vomit. Fink has loved and lost, got drunk and messed up, said things he shouldn't have but rarely has seemed to regret any of it. It's life. It's growing older and all that comes with it. The past is set. You can't change it. The present? Well I am trying to figure that out. The future? I have no control so why worry about it. I don't want an artist to become a national favourite because he has a certain world view of the future and neither do I want an artist to constantly spout 'What if?' Fink started out as a DJ/Trip Hop Artist in Bristol U.K (where else?) and began to write his own material for the Ninja Tune label (one of the U.K's rare independent success's in the last few years). He ended up going to Ninja Tune declaring that he had found a new artist and asked them to listen knowing that HE was the artist but worried that they would dissuade him from his DJ path so he recorded this in secret. Ninja Tune were interested so he had to confess but such was the strength of his material that they forgave him. Fink has become a 3 piece with the bass player and drummer playing an integral part of a sound that is at it's core one man and his guitar but incorporates a little Jazz and Blues along the way but that is really inconsequential in the grand scheme of Fink. He is the archetypal man with a guitar sat on a stool but he is far better than that. Not technically or even emotionally. He is 100% himself. No need to create a hook to make lots of money and no need to create a perfect lyric to ingratiate himself into the mainstream. His lyrics blow that apart. Referring to pubs frequented, beer drank, bar manager names and he is no better than me or no worse than me. He is an artist who just tells it like it is. Warts and all. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

07-21-2011, 07:43 PM	#78 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	THE PRODIGY Ah such a conflicting band for many people. Are they a band that just chuck out huge beats to keep the party going and are musically stagnant or are they a band that have an amazing knack of making music that they themselves would like to listen to whilst still not adhering to the mainstreams insistence of friendly hooks and wholesome band image? The truth is probably somewhere in between but what is almost certainly not in dispute is their live prowess. The Prodigy work in the studio and play in the live arena and they play hard. Despite the numerous band's I have seen The Prodigy are a huge gap on that particular C.V because of their fearsome live reputation. Very few bands can straddle the genre between electronic and rock music and emerge as victors with fans on both sides whilst still having integrity. Is it the fact that they are all the same age as myself and we are all in this to recapture the energy of youth or are we still sticking two fingers up to the doubters and enjoying ourselves and still remaining true to our roots? I fecking hope it's the latter I really do. I adore intimate music, melancholic music, generically varied music but I generally want to see this live in a club or small theater. When I go to a festival I want to jump around like a kid but still respect the band onstage to not manipulate me with contrived sing alongs or putting a lighter in the air scenario. I want a band to kick me in the head and enjoy themselves as much as I am. The Prodigy in the studio have made some outstanding music and have made albums that have stood the test of time in an age where technology is outdated constantly but they are also one of the finest live bands in the world and that is the ultimate barometer for me. If you can't do it live then I have been duped and I can see through it easily. I would dearly like to play drums live for The Prodigy because I like to imagine stupid crap that I cannot do but also because even one gig would be the best party for me. This is from their first live album and although the actual footage is not represented, the track is. Thunder (despite the YT vid saying otherwise) is a ferocious enough beast on the Invaders Must Die album with it's rat-a-tat bass line so when I first popped the new DVD in and whacked up the surround sound I was even more blown away with the fact that they chose someone's remix of the song to become the live version. When you expect one outcome and get another that is equally as good then I cannot help but sit back and smile: and here is the track in it's original form: I don't always want to be amazed or educated, I just want to have some fun, get drunk and dance my ass off. Wish I was there: __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.” Last edited by jackhammer; 07-22-2011 at 08:54 PM. Reason: Wrong vid posted :(