CucosBlog

Anyway here’s my main contention regarding rock music: rock music is at its best when it embraces both pop and experiment, both harmony and noise, both exciting rhythm and abstraction, both pop song and poetry. The best periods of the best bands have been when they have managed to embrace both the popular and the experimental impulse.

And likewise, each extreme on its own will tend to be dull.

And this is why I struggle to listen to the noise bands that dominated the lineup of Thurston’s ATP festival. I used to get the same feeling from going to an improv concert. That feeling is of feeling frustrated, dissatisfied. I go through waves of admiring the sound and the abandon and the impact both sonically and visually, getting bored, wishing they would play something structured, longing for rhythm, and then I just flatline on boredom and at that point I usually leave the room. I’m talking about Prurient, Awesome Colour, Magik Markers, Hair Police, Wolf Eyes etc The problem with these bands is: they all sound the same, at least live [ I KNOW YOU THINK I’M WRONG BUT HEAR ME OUT!]. It’s like meeting a bunch of people who only scream at the very limits of their vocal cords. Their expression all sounds pretty much the same. It’s a tiny part of the spectrum of expression. I never hear these noise bands bring it down or change tack with a song, even break out an accoustic guitar [as Faust did, at least on the Faust Tapes], or address the audience normally, or do any number of things except make as much noise as possible. [If you’re interested in which gigs I did actually enjoy in 2006, check out the Ecstatic Peace best gigs of 2006 poll, which Thurston personally persuaded me to contribute to. Just scroll down the bowl.]

OK, you may ask yourself, if you don’t like these bands then don’t fucking go out to watch them. What’s the problem? There’s a lot of music you don’t like, just find the stuff you do like. Well my problem is: what does Thurston like about this stuff? Because I know that Thurston loves stuff that I love. I know that for a fact because he personally turned me on to or reinforced my interest in all kinds of cool music: Neil Young, Teenage Fanclub, Pavement, John Coltrane, Evan Parker, Sonny Sharrock, Swell Maps, Yes, Grateful Dead, John Fahey, The Beatles, Public Enemy, Meat Puppets, Glenn Branca, no wave, Television, Kim Fowley and a million others. So I know he has great taste.

I’m trying to work out what the attraction is. And the answer that keeps came back to me after ATP is: Thurston likes a lot of stuff that you don’t like. It’s like a Venn diagram (ah, wasn’t life so simple back then?) – and there is a big crossover bit, but also big swathes that don’t coincide. After all, did Thurston ever get into speed garage or house music?

So I breathe deeply and say: it is OK for my taste to differ from Thurston’s. That’s OK. Respect dude.