While Uncle Joe is best known as one of America's top Classic Rock historians, throughout his 35-year career he's always been acutely aware of current trends in the music industry. Indeed, Classic Rock itself was the finest new music of its day, composed and performed by artists at their creative peak. For a scholarly insight into today's trends, J.B. presents Rave's Raves.
Rave's Raves are composed by Bruce Ravid, a veteran of Capitol Record's A&R Department and in no way reflect the official viewpoint of Uncle Joe, his staff or management. They are written from Rave's industry viewpoint, originally for friends within the music business, but now shared with the world. New editions appear in April/May, August/September, and December with occasional updates in between. Enjoy!
February 2005
***RAVE'S RAVES #22.1***
RAVE'S FAVES (on the air since January 1)
Queens of the Stone Age, LCD Soundsystem (various), The Bravery, Hot Hot Heat, Doves, Postal Service ("Silhouettes"), Caesars, Fischerspooner, Bright Eyes ("Take It Easy"), World Leader Pretend
As a reminder, the favored tunes are always singles unless otherwise mentioned. Welcome back, Queens! New York's LCD are a brand new buzz band who have a varied CD that blends dance, rock, funk, and punk. They do most of it really well. The Bravery also hail from New York and are grabbing airplay with their Duran Duran-influenced "Honest Mistake." Hot Hot, Postal, and Fischerspooner have all stuck with formulas that still sound great. So far, I'm in the slight minority that prefers Bright Eyes' "Digital Ash..." CD of his two hot selling releases. I think "Black and White Town" is the best Doves song yet and I almost made the Caesars' "IPod" hook a "fave" when it first came out in '03. Easy to say now, isn't it? Remember the name World Leader Pretend, who have a new melodic song that I expect to do very well on the indie circuit. Honorable mentions go to Kasabian ("Club Foot") as well as new tunes by Beck, Daft Punk, Moby, The Raveonettes w/ Ronnie Spector and Kings of Leon. Most of these artists have upcoming album releases that I'm excited about, so my players will be very busy this spring. I've also been eager for the new Garbage album but I'm reserving judgment on the first two tracks that I've heard.
STATE OF INDIE
Indie rock fans should be delighted with the slate of new discs being released in March and April, coming on the heals of an awesome twelve months. This column was originally designed to help people find cooler stuff back in the 90's when rock on the radio was comparatively dull, but it's now so much easier to locate great music. It's no surprise that much of this infusion is from England, where the local rock scene has improved greatly over the last few years. The Cult's Billy Duffy has an interesting theory: Since young UK bands grow up playing originals, they tend to have a more unique sound than Americans who often start out as cover bands. All and all, the state of indie rock is getting better and better, but sales have yet to match the quality of the music. The genre needs stronger personalities in order to better capture the imaginations and buying power of middle class suburban kids.
LIVE
The bill at L.A.'s annual Giant Village New Years Eve party was super this year. For the first time, a live band was brought in and that band happened to be The Killers. The sound wasn't the best but the crowd loved them (see my December review). After the stroke of midnight, Paul Oakenfold spun for two hours. He did a fine job but the night's highlight was Crystal Method, who started their set at 2:00. We thought we'd leave around 2:30, but there was no way we could exit until the guys finished at 4:00. L.A.'s Spaceland hosted The Kaiser Chiefs in January and virtually all of the band's tight set sounded like it could be on the radio. I'm more bullish than ever on these guys. Opening for them was San Diego's breaking Louie XIV. Unlike their EP, they come off as more of a jam band on stage. They're talented and have a big radio song locally, but it's beyond me why a new band would want to play a barely-recognizable version of their hot track. Also in January, Arcade Fire delighted the Troubadour. I was concerned that they might come off as "granola," but their show is energetic, funny, animated, and really well-played. Duran Duran just sold out the Staples Center and all of those Durannies (fans) in their 30's were as loud as they were 20 years ago. The original lineup has returned to midseason form and they more than satisfied the house.
80's COLLEAGUES
Thomas Dolby has formed a new company called Retro Ringtones. The name is self-explanatory. Thomas lives in the Bay Area with his family. Duran Duran's CD sales and airplay have been disappointing, but the tour is drawing great crowds all over (see above review).
...and...
U.S. bar owners might want to pick up on an idea that's fairly common in Melbourne, Australia: Open Turntables. I hung out at The Black Cat, which provides free drinks to vinyl aficionados who book the time and then lug in portions of their sizable collections. A quick stop became a three-hour stay as the crowd was flawlessly serenaded by Andy Hazel, who handled arrangements for the School Of Emotional Engineering remix that is on Bjork's latest single... Since I left A&R, people have always asked whether I'd be interested in managing rock bands. I've always said it's not for me and it's really not for a lot of people. As successful hard rock manager Andy Gould likes to quip when he's on panels, "What's the difference between a rock manager and a proctologist? The proctologist only deals with one asshole at a time." I think I'll remain a fan, thank you... I'd love your input, so please write and make sure you put "Raves" in the subject line. Until spring,
RAVE ON!!!
December 2004
***RAVE'S RAVES #22***
RAVE'S FAVES (on the air)
Kaiser Chiefs, Arcade Fire, Muse ("Hysteria"), Snow Patrol ("Run"), U2 (various), Green Day (various), The Killers (various), My Chemical Romance, Elefant, Keane, Social Distortion, Kasbian ("Lost Souls"), Zutons, Dogs Die in Hot Cars, William Shatner w/Joe Jackson (a cover of The Pulp's "Common People"), Mooney Suzuki, Louie XIV.
The Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict A Riot" is breaking out of L.A. radio and they have one of the best punk choruses in recent memory. Arcade Fire may have the highest initial buzz since Franz Ferdinand. "Hysteria" is currently #1 requested at KROQ in L.A. Elefant have been picking up some airplay on alternative stations around the country. Kasbian, The Zutons, Dogs Die, Shatner/Jackson, Mooney Suzuki and Louie XIV all have cool songs doing well with indie rock fans. U2 were awesome on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. Honorable mention goes to the U.K.'s Razorlight. They're getting a nice buzz but I feel their sound is a bit light for this market.
TOP FIVE AIRPLAY SONGS AND OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF 2004
1 – FRANZ FERDINAND: "TAKE ME OUT"
2 – The Killers: "Somebody Told Me"
3 – Muse: "Hysteria"
4 – Kaiser Chiefs: "I Predict A Riot"
5 – The Faint: "Agenda Suicide"
This list is mostly based on personal preference, but it also helps if a song does well and it's a band I've touted from the beginning. I'm proud to have been behind Franz, The Killers and Muse from day one. Franz are the indie rock story of the year with their ideal blend of style and substance. As they approach 700,000 CDs in the US, they're hardly a secret and the wonderful "Take Me Out" broke them big. "Somebody Told Me" was a perfect radio song for The Killers and I was hooked after the first listen. Last summer, I wrote about how high The Hives' song ranked but it just didn't have the staying power to make this list.
As for my other highlights of 2004, I list the Franz, Muse, Air and Von Bondies CDs and live shows. I must mention Brian Wilson and Green Day for fantastic albums that completely brought them back. Franz and the Von Bondies are both playing new songs that bode well for their next projects. Franz singer Alex Kapranos says their next album will be "less precise and less cold." I'm excited to hear a disc that truly captures their onstage spark.
Muse
These guys get their own paragraph. I like lots of bands for lots of reasons, but I feel Muse are the most compelling band in years. Slowly but surely they are developing a fanatical following in the U.S. with their intense and dramatic blend of classical, rock, and metal influences. In Europe, their tours are arena-level and they just won major awards for top live band in England and MTV Europe's "Best Alternative Band". Their domestic progress has been hindered by limited touring and in my opinion, by unremarkable videos. However, their recent U.S. dates had a major impact. They sold out two nights at L.A.'s Wiltern, where Hollywood's tastemakers loved them. Several nights later, they blew away the more mainstream crowd at the KROQ show. A Muse set doesn't have a dull moment. Several weeks later, the KROQ jocks can't stop talking about how good these guys were. With touring and another strong CD (this one is amazing), Muse will be very big in this country. They may never be everyone's cup of tea, but they have a solid chance to be filling American arenas for a decade or more. Matt Bellamy is a genius.
LIVE
I had my second opportunity to see the Von Bondies this year while I was in San Francisco in November. They headlined at the cozy, sold-out Cafe du Nord and put on another good show (see above). After hearing raves about Muse's live gigs in Europe, I got to see them twice in mid-December (see above). Night one of the "KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas" marathon was almost a complete success. The Music opened effectively. They were among the best musicians of the evening. Snow Patrol's set enhanced the CD experience and they were very likeable. Keane rocked harder than anticipated, but Tom Chaplin's cheesy stage antics detracted from his beautiful vocals. The Shins did a nice job with their arty, earthy tunes and were surprisingly familiar to this mainstream crowd. Following the Muse home run, Modest Mouse failed to move to crowd much. These darlings of critics and college radio will likely return to cult status unless they can come up with another radio hit. Franz Ferdinand thrilled the crowd, as expected. They've improved since I saw them in March, and I loved 'em back then. My surprise of the night turned out to be The Killers. Their live act was commanding, and Brandon Flowers will become a star if this band's next CD is a winner. The crowd roared and that didn't help Interpol, who followed. However, this New York band are also very strong and were winners with their dark, mid-tempo blend. Lots of people came to see them. Gwen Stefani was the evening's surprise act and was a hoot. There were only two downers: headliner Jimmy Eat World came off as an average bar band despite their great songs and Taking Back Sunday did absolutely nothing for me, although they did have some fans in the house. I heard much of the audio from night two. My Chemical Romance are a good live band. Sum 41 are always hot and Green Day played their entire "American Idiot" CD. That evening's highlight was during the Incubus set, when Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers come on stage for three Police songs. Brandon Boyd may not sing in Sting's register, but he pulled it off very well.
80'S COLLEAGUES
Iron Maiden will headline an arena tour this summer. Duran Duran fans are clamoring for their major U.S. tour, starting in February. The Knack's Doug Fieger is working in his home studio with a promising, unique band called Year Long Disaster. This talented metal trio is headed by Daniel Davies, son of The Kinks' Dave Davies.
...and...
Moby previewed much of his new disc (due in March) on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic." He originally intended it to be a dance album, but it has turned out to be lower key with some great ideas and some beautiful stuff... "Rolling Stone's Top 500" song list is good reading but should have little credibility. It's interesting that they decided "Like A Rolling Stone" is the greatest song of all time. That would be like my saying The Raveonettes are my favorite band and that Buddy Holly's "Rave On" is my favorite song... I hope you got to hear "Uncle Joe's Rockin' Christmas Show," which aired in 110 cities. It's an annual treat that I always look forward to... Speaking of looking forward, I hope you're about to have a super 2005. I love email, so please put "Raves" in the subject line to ensure that I receive, open, and reply to your message. Until my update at the end of February...