Re: [bomp]The Pattern/more thoughts on the new crop

[Deena Canale <roots66@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> 
> The Stranger says 'NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL GARAGE'
> 
> http://www.thestranger.com/2002-08-29/ex15.html
> 
> Neil

>Garage rock has become a frustratingly misused phrase since the White Stripes
>became MTV's favorite little novelty indie duo. When writers start calling
>studio-polished bands like the Vines "garage"--a genre that once loosely
>defined a raw style of rock 'n' roll--the word becomes an evil marketing tool.
>And just like the grunge label before it, the original meaning becomes
>bastardized for the sake of making a new buck off the retro-rock lemmings.

>Oakland, California's the Pattern play real garage rock, in the stripped-back,
>live-stylings sense of the word.


I dunno, Neil--the author totally had me until the last above-quoted
sentence.  Of course, I can't fairly judge the Pattern by my one instance of
exposure to them, opening for the Hives last June--but they certainly didn't
move me.  Likewise I found the Hives to be o.k., but they were too heavy on
the "America loves us" schtick and short on the memorable, vital rock to my
ears (and *short* is the operative word--their set was about 45 minutes
tops!).  "Hate to Say I Told You So" reminds me of no-one so much as the
Godfathers, oddly enough.

[By the way, there's a relevant article in today's NY Times about some of
the very bands we've been dissecting in this thread, who recently played at
the Reading festival:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/01/fashion/01RED.html

A couple of weeks ago there was another article in the Times Styles section
about the new breed of bands, dubbing it "privilege rock."]

Am I a crochety '60s garage or '70s punk purist?  Possibly but I honestly
think I'm more open-minded than that.  And I don't want to begrudge the
success of this new school of rock & roll--I agree with most people's
statements here that it's a vast improvement over the Pearl Jam/Creed/Korn
krap and that it's good to see kids digging decent guitar-based music again.
But there's undefinable *something* missing in it all to me.  Passion?
Memorable tunes?  Distinctive, attractive-to-the-ears musicianship and
singing voices?  The dreaded "originality"?  All of the above???  I cannot
tell.  I want to like it, I really do.  I was actually kinda pleased with
the state of popular rock & roll back in the Nirvana/Green Day era of the
early '90s--that phenomenon reminded me of the late '70s when Cheap Trick &
the Knack ruled the airwaves.  I'd love to see a similar takeover today--but
I'd just prefer to see the kids digging something better.  (Admittedly, I'm
yearning for acceptance of sounds that would fit my own personal standards
of "better"--YMMV.)

Signed D.C.
(see ya in October, Neil--Rocky & I are coming out to Budget Rock with
youse!)        

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