While Uncle Joe is best known as one of America's top Classic Rock historians, throughout his 40-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. And don't miss checking out the Rave's Raves website! Enjoy!
July 2009
***RAVE'S RAVES #35.1***
RAVE'S FAVES (artists receiving airplay since May 1)
Jet, Noisettes, Art Brut, Phoenix, Placebo, Metric, White Rabbits, Horrors, St. Vincent, King Khan & The Shrines, Spinnerette
Jet's awesome new "She's A Genius" single is gathering airplay and is my favorite current. It's nice to see that radio is willing to consider a band that many felt had seen its best days, and that radio is willing to play a hot garage-oriented song. Noisettes have taken on more of a 60's pop direction and just topped the UK charts. Phoenix, Art Brut and Metric stacked their CD's with lots of good songs. The Spinnerette single is growing on me, but as I say in the live review below, I like their grittier stuff better. The Horrors' "Who Can Say" track is a grower as well.
LIVE
Doves played a set at L.A.'s Wiltern that did a fine job of entertaining their fans. They're aren't the most dynamic live, and I wonder whether there were many converts in the house. They've got some stellar tracks on their current album, and I understand they're considered to be the early favorites for the U.K.'s coveted Mercury Prize this September. King Khan & The Shrines were recommended by several friends and I enjoyed their live show at The Echo. The number of mid-tempo songs surprised (and slightly disappointed) me, and my understanding is that past shows have been more energetic. Jay Reatard also played at The Echo. Energy was no problem for this dude that NME has christened "the new king of garage rock". The short set was packed with tunes played so fast that they all sounded like the same song. White Rabbits are a buzz band that filled The Troubadour in support of their highly-touted sophomore effort. These guys are very musical and effective live. Most of the better responses were to edgier songs from their debut album. Art Brut held a 4-night L.A. residency at Spaceland and The Echo. I've long loved them, and this gig might have been the best I've seen. Singer Eddie Argos was in fine form at The Echo, tossing condoms into the crowd prior to "Good Weekend", urging everyone to remove their clothes, and generally providing more irony in one evening than we normally hear in a month. Spinnerette had a highly-buzzed about, sold-out CD release party at The Troubadour. People like the disc and the new single. Brody Dalle has a natural presence about her, and this band is less punk than her old band The Distillers. The grittier, harder tunes worked best, although much of the set was more mid-tempo. Everything was played the same way, rather than bringing it down for the less intense stuff.
TOPS ON LATE-NIGHT TV(May and June)
You should be able to find these online:
The Killers with an orchestra, Phoenix and St. Vincent on Letterman
Dead Weather and Wilco on Conan
No Doubt and Phoenix on Kimmel
Asher Roth on Fallon
Friendly Fires, The Kills and Glasvegas on Carson
...and...
The 70's were a decade where it seemed like American society was on its way to becoming more enlightened as a whole. It didn't last, but what's interesting is that we may be headed back in that direction with Obama as President. As it was back then, rock music is becoming more and more instrumentalized. I like the trend, but let's hope this upcoming decade is more memorable for great music than the 70's turned out to be... Thanks to everyone at WSUM as I hosted another fun 8-hour Rave-A-Thon on May 19th. Station indie rock DJ's Randy B. and DJ Renton co-hosted for an hour apiece, and Music Director Mat Frey sat-in as well. It was good chatting on air with Station Manager Jenny Underwood, and thanks as always to General Manager Dave Black... That's a wrap for now. I'll be back within a couple of months with the next edition. Let me hear from ya, and whatever you do,
RAVE ON!!!
April 2009
***RAVE'S RAVES #35***
RAVE'S FAVES (currently on the air)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Matt & Kim, Lily Allen (various), Ida Maria, Depeche Mode, M Ward, Rancid, White Lies, Late Of The Pier, Franz Ferdinand, Doves, The Dead Weather, Morrissey, MGMT, Peaches
Lots of controversy about YYY's new direction, and I'm one who favors it. New artists such as Matt & Kim, White Lies and Late Of The Pier have a number of strong tracks. In the case of Doves, I favor a number of their songs over the single. This is probably my favorite Morrissey album. The kid in me is happy to see that "Kids" has finally become a hit for MGMT, more than a year following their album's release. Peaches' "Talk to Me" is one of my favorite tracks right now. Sooner or later, this woman will have a hit.
COACHELLA RECAP
When attending a festival like Coachella, I like to focus on new bands. Top discoveries for me were as follows: The U.K.'s Los Campesinos dominated with their energetic, quirky brand of rock. Kentucky's Cage The Elephant supported their substantial airplay with an intense live set, a major front man in Matt Shultz and a number of good songs. London's White Lies impressed me at South By Southwest and played well again at Coachella. Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls put on a solo set that was probably my most fun experience of the weekend. She concluded by body surfing all the way to the back of the tent, grabbing a ukulele, and leading everyone in a cover of the song "Creep." Speaking of fun, Friendly Fires burned up their crowd on a very hot Sunday with yet another great gig. They also triumphed at The Troubadour a few days prior to the festival. Based on Coachella triumphs in past years, all of these artists will probably see career spikes from these shows. As expected, The Ting Tings and Beirut did real well. It was good seeing TV on the Radio for the first time. Most of the bigger bands bring their A-game to an event like this, so there are few surprises. I'll mention Franz Ferdinand, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, and of course Paul McCartney's historic show as faves. Leonard Cohen matched the major hype surrounding his appearance. Fleet Foxes could have been magical but got off on the wrong foot by admonishing the crowd to "keep the banter down" before the first song was played. Their sound was muddy, and that band needs to be clear. At a time when many festivals are seeing declining attendance, Coachella drew the second largest crowd in its history. There were two moments that for me were magic. One was Leonard Cohen performing his song "Hallelujah." The other was Amanda Palmer's rendition of Radiohead's "Creep".
...and...
The RAIN internet radio conference in Vegas was informative and a success. Online radio listenership is increasing greatly and is in a position to explode. Other than computers themselves, it seems the iPod is the most efficient device at this point for internet radio... I always look forward to the Musexpo conference, which attracts a worldwide crowd of industry players and artists to Los Angeles. Sat Bisla does a great job with this conference. Ida Maria played a year ago and look where she is now. I'm very pleased to relay that "Go Deep With Bruce Rave" has been announced as a national show being targeted to commercial radio stations. Look for a debut later this year. I'd love to hear what you think of my redesigned Rave's Raves website! I'll be back in the near future with more updates. Until then...