Monday, February 13th, 2012 // Paperhouse
In 1988, pop culture’s unkempt poster child of doom and gloom and lead singer of British supergroup The Cure, Robert Smith, married his childhood sweetheart — Mary Poole. To honor the occasion, Smith wrote “Lovesong,” perhaps one of the world’s most covered songs.
Despite the fact that musicians such as Adele, 311, Jack Off Jill, Tori Amos, and Death Cab for a Cutie have covered this song, it is perhaps one of The Cure’s weakest. When compared to every other song on 1989’s Disintegration, something isn’t quite right.
It could be Smith’s disregard for his signature three-minute introductions, or perhaps the lack of multifaceted lyrical interpretations, that make the song so boring in comparison to the rest of the album. In “Lovesong,” Smith croons “however far away / I will always love you” over and over again. What happened to the sad, dark, and depressing Smith that we all know and love?
Other songs on Disintegration follow The Cure’s formula of melodic happiness juxtaposed with oh-so-sad lyrics. On “Lullaby,” Smith is afraid of a spider, while on “Pictures of You,” Smith reminisces on a lost love. Despite this shift in formulation, “Lovesong” peaked at number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and has been covered too many times to count.
I guess people love the straightforward presentation of the song: It’s comforting and idealistic. I know Valentine’s Day is coming up, but please, whatever you do, do not play this song. If you’re alone and looking for some good music, check out The Cure’s extensive back catalog.
Also, regardless of your plans for this fantastically commercial holiday that allows Hallmark to stay in business and creates an artificial demand for roses, you should call up your mom, and tell her that you love her.
Monday, February 6th, 2012 // Paperhouse
Around this time last year, Mirko Azis and I explained in this very column why minimal music is the richest, most compelling form of music. If you read the article, I’m sure you were convinced that we were, in fact, correct, and thus immediately made Gestalt psychology the primary force in your life. For this, dear reader, I raise my glass to you in congratulations.
A year later, I’m here to tell you that while minimal music is the pinnacle of clear, succinct, and meticulously crafted music, there are other types of music that I enjoy.
As a society, we often forget the importance of a little variety in our lives. It changes our routines. It adds that extra element of surprise and wonder. And, most importantly, it’s not perfectly minimal. There are so many wonderfully fantastic things out there, so why should we discard everything but the essential? My writing partner from last year may not agree entirely, but I’m here to tell you that there is no good reason why you only need to listen to one or two types of music.
Have you ever heard the sounds of the ever-so-free jazz composer Sun Ra or the American blues shouter music of Wynonie Harris? How about the rhymes of the lyrically talented hip-hop group Jurassic 5?
My point is simple: Regardless of genre, there are so many great artists and musicians out there to discover.
Fortunately, WRCT makes it easy for you. From Feb. 10 at noon until Feb. 12 at midnight, WRCT will broadcast half-hour segments of music, each dedicated to one particular artist or band. In addition to this, I highly recommend looking into websites like last.fm that track all of the music you consume and allow you to see what your friends are listening to. I sometimes spend hours listening to my friend’s libraries and, through this, my obsession with minimal music is slowly dwindling.
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 // Paperhouse
Last Saturday, a funk trio played in Pittsburgh.
For some reason, in the late ’80s, we cast off the funky sounds that the synthesizers of the era were beckoning to produce. Much like a lost balloon, it seems that the funk never left Earth’s orbit, but has instead been hanging out beyond the exosphere, drenching itself in alpha rays. Repeated exposure to these rays has resulted in the funk spiraling downward into the troposphere and, as a result, we’ve recently been hearing the heaviest of futuristic funks radiating from cities like Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.
Last night, members of WRCT’s experimental physics department made an excursion to lower Lawrenceville, where there seemed to be a radioactive disturbance. As they approached the Thunderbird Cafe, the readings on their Geiger counter were off the charts. It turns out the spikes in radioactivity were the result of an ELQ performance.
ELQ, formally known as East Liberty Quarters, a local future-funk group, has been creating quite a stir with its performances in Pittsburgh. The group has been revealing an intricate synthesizer-based funk that it has been composing in the studio, and it is impressing a good number of well-to-do Pittsburghers. The trio is comprised of Grand Ear, Nice Rec, and Buscrates 16 Bit Ensemble. On Friday, during their performance at the Thunderbird Cafe, they were accompanied on guitar by Zachary Curl of the Smooth Tutors.
The show was a blast. The funk radiated in a fashion kindred to that of Dâm-Funk, the self-proclaimed Los Angeles-based “Ambassador of Boogie Funk.” ELQ played a hypnotic array of songs that got a packed two-and-a-half-story bar grooving. Given last night’s performance, one can only expect that the power and exploration in their repertoire will be growing.
