I just realized that over the past two and a half to three years, I've flown four times--twice to Austin, TX and twice to Orlando, FL. Upon return from my two Austin trips, I had a lot to say about music and I had a lot of new music to listen to. Upon my return from my Orlando trips, not so much. I just returned yesterday from my second Orlando trip in two years, and I guess it's well known that you don't go to Florida for the music scene necessarily--unless you REALLY like Disney music and/or High School Musical, which I guess still qualifies as Disney music, but instead of cartoons, one gets over-caffienated high schoolers singing about everything.
But if you are at Disney World and really want to hear music, the place to go is to Epcot Center and their World Showcase area. In addition to all the food and souveniers (I know, I was shocked too...Disney World is commercial!) from the countries represented, you usually get some regional musical flavor as well. I briefly listened to a decent sounding Celtic Rock band in "Canada". Oh, they had to cheese it up a bit for the Disney crowd, but the music was actually good.
There was also the requisite mariachi band in Mexico, oompah band in Germany, and Japanese drumming group in, where else, Japan. I didn't get to see the British Invasion group in the UK, which would have been interesting at the very least.
I wonder about these groups. Do they enjoy their jobs? Do they like having to play the same songs over and over and over, and do the same act over and over and over? Does the tourist crowd ever get to them?
But then again, they have steady gigs, which few working musicians can lay claim to. Many people questioned The Roots when it was announced that they would be the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, but their response was that it's a steady working gig and there is something reassuring about that.
This wasn't an unknown band saying this, it was one of the most well-known/respected hip-hop groups of recent memory. A solid gig is a solid gig these days. I'm sure for the most part, the theme park performers are probably grateful to be able to play music for a living, even if they do have to caricaturize themselves a little. If I know musicians, I'm sure they have their own side projects away from the parks as well, which is probably what keeps them sane. I mean, The Roots still tour and all. I doubt being second fiddle to Jimmy Fallon is their one and only ambition.
I think what we fail to comprehend sometimes is that there are, quite literally, thousands upon thousands of working musicians--most of whom the mainstream public has never heard of, nor will ever hear of. But they are scraping away to make a living because that's their calling and they can't imagine doing anything else. Even before the recession, these people were struggling. The recession only made things worse, like it did for most everyone. It's too bad there aren't more opportunities or grants for working musicians, but as I've said before on this blog, we are not an Arts friendly nation. We are a nation that loves The Arts, but one that struggles to support artists. It's a weird contradiction, but one that exists nonetheless. As I've also said before, too, the music industry is going through quite an identity crisis right now, and no one is getting paid all that well. The top tier guys'll be okay, but the ones to worry about are the unknowns, the sidemen/women, the behind-the-scenes songwriters, the performers that schlep around to shitty bar gigs night after night in hopes of a few more fans and maybe a couple of dollars.
Keep your theme park band job if you've got it!
Okay, so Fall is here and I feel like Summer's releases were a bit lackluster. Nothing jumps out at me really. Grizzly Bear and Wilco hold the title of my favorite releases so far this year, but beyond that, sure there are things I've liked (Empire of the Sun, The Xx), but where is the album that hijacks my speakers? Fall has some promising candidates (no Arcade Fire or Of Montreal/MGMT collaboration on the list--two of the ones I was looking forward to the most for '09. What happened guys???).
Here are some of the standouts on the Fall list. I'll post a link to the full list, as posted by Rolling Stone Magazine, on The Hidden Chord's Facebook page (tell your friends!):
Pearl Jam (9/20): From about 1992-2001, these guys were my favorite band. They still put on a good show apparently, but even though this album is getting some hype and I've heard a couple decent tracks from it, I just can't get excited about it. They've got one of the exclusivity deals too (Target I believe?), which makes me cringe a little bit. Grunge is dead. Long live the spirit of "Ten".
Monsters of Folk (9/22): Released today is a collaboration between Jim James, M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and another guy. Oh I could look it up, but the three aforementioned are amazing enough for me to not care who the forth one is (sigh! I couldn't stand being a shoddy journalist--fourth guy is Mike Mogis, Conor Oberst's bandmate from Bright Eyes). Supergroups can be extremely hyped, then extremely disappointing (thank you very much Audioslave). Othertimes, though, you get some interesting results (Temple of the Dog--should have stuck with that one, there Chris Cornell!). I've heard a track from these guys, and it sounds good. Interested to hear what else they've got!
The Avett Brothers (9/29): "Emotionalism", their 2007 album, is one that I can listen to over and over. The group is bluegrass at its core, but strays off into punk, grunge, rock, and does so without compromising their amazing musicianship. In a way, they are in a similar vein as My Morning Jacket, in that, they have their Southern roots, but definitely aren't afraid to stretch out a bit, either. Very much looking forward to "I and Love and You".
Ugh! Alice in Chains are releasing a new album. I understand the want and/or need to keep a band alive after the death of a member of your band, but Alice in Chains without Layne Staley seems pretty pointless to me.
One word: Creed.
One reaction: why?
One hope: this album bombs terribly and Scott Stapp goes away.
There's a lot more going on this fall, but I've rambled on quite a lot already, so I'll do a "Fall Releases, part 2" very soon.
Here's a link to the song, "The Fixer" from Pearl Jam's release, "Backspacer". Not a bad song not a great song either. It's solid. Video's directed by Cameron Crowe. Even so, why am I not that thrilled by it? Maybe "Ten" was just too good of a way to start for Pearl Jam. What do you think of this one? Sorry, once again, you've got to copy and paste!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxDwU_SpiMI
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