When I was in high school I remember I attended a history panel by a famous Italian professor (I can't remember his name of course...) He was talking about the cultural "bourgeois" revolution that happened after the French Revolution, consisting in the fact that after that event, relevant culture was not anymore commissioned, produced and consumed by the royalty, the oligarchs and the church, but by the middle class. The professor was wondering if in our times a similar but less traumatic event is "transferring" the control of culture to the masses - he called that "pop culture". I think the answer is "absolutely", and even in the "indie" side of music it seems obvious to me that we are witnessing an incredible "poppification" of tastes, which basically means that most bands are focusing more than ever on writing songs that can appeal to a large audience. Where are today's Jim Morrison and Iggy Pops? The new Dead Can Dance or Nick Caves? Pop songs are great but tragedy is powerful, is that a too negative idea for our times? Like the kings and the oligarchs and the popes did after the French revolution I might be simply reacting to change, undervaluing a new idea of culture. But I still think that music like the one produced by Priestbird (Ex Tarantula AD) should have a place in our lives. You can buy their album with a small donation here.
We've always been big fans of Luke Temple, and it's good to see that, together with the Here We Go Magic crew, the man is keeping at it with increasingly beautiful records and videos. The band's new album "A Different Ship" (stream it here) will be out on May 8, and betrays at least a partial return to Luke Temple's more intimate and melodic sound from his solo repertoire - in this regard, lend a ear to "Hard to Be Close," "Alone but Moving" and "Over the Ocean". This is welcome news for fans like us who always thought that in most HWGM material Luke's noteworthy songwriting skills seemed a little sacrificed on the altar of textural experimentation. This doesn't mean that the band's signature hypnotic, impressionistic sound is lost - it's just that these two elements work together better than they did in past records, and this is what makes this album one of the NYC highlights of the year so far. Indeed, this collection also features songs more in line with the band's past releases ("Make Up your Mind", "I Believe in Action"), which follow on the steps of brainy-pop icons like Brian Eno and The Feelies, but there's definitely a balance here, also betrayed by the almost perfect alternation of melodic songs and less traditional ones.The just released video of "How Do I Know," telling the story of a rejected dancing robot that ends up revitalizing an older man's appreciation for life, seems to reflect on this brain/heart, mechanic/organic dichotomies and somehow bring them to unity. - PDG
