There's a great Chris Morris radio clip from many years ago when he talked about how Sade was the epitome of the 'production' artist - i.e. no substance, no performance, all-studio.
Today, I came across this travesty which not only somehow encapsulates everything that's wrong with corporate rock (and I know I'm taking on a pretty easy target there), but everything that's so truly vacuous about young people of the age that spent their teens living vicariously through Myspace.
From the way their vocals are CONSTANTLY autotuned, to the preposterous Duran Duran-style hairdos, this band actually makes me feel a bit ill.
As I remarked to Jack and Mike M at the Make Believe gig last week, the kids are not alright.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
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4 comments:
'Indie / Rock / Classical'
???
I'd contest all three definitions, myself.
;)
Ian
Hey
Just read your comments about my band "Elliot Minor" and I have to admit were on the verge of splitting after such barbed comments.
It really upsets us to see amateur musicians such as yourself so wracked with jealousy that you have to protest about our hair.
We will probably always be in the shadow of your band, after all we only have 3 major labels interested in our music.
When we sign our £££ advance you'll be playing a home counties toilet venue to 2 paying customers.
Artistic integrity paying the bills yet......
When I first saw that this humourous reply to my post had been added, my initial thought was whether it was one of my friends being funny. Whether it is, or whether it's someone from the band really isn't of much consequence.
These are the serious points:
1."amateur musicians ... wracked with jealousy". Great stuff. First off, I think I need a reminder of what the jealousy is supposed to be about. Listening to the overcompressed recordings of this band, and the awful music itself is enough to make your toes curl. There's nothing of merit there.
In terms of the notion of amateur musicianship, I'm firmly of the belief that trying to earn a living from making music would not be for me, and is not a great idea all-round unless you are absolutely at the pinnacle of what you do. And there are only a handful of people worldwide who you could say that about. For the record, I have done a fair amount of paid singing, but the fact of the matter is that most people who earn their crust from professional performance almost always have to supplement this with teaching.
2."after all we only have 3 major labels interested in our music". Again, very funny. I suppose I could provide a link to Steve Albini's 'The Problem With Music; article. That might save me typing the arguments against this idiocy again. Major labels - great gag.
3."When we sign our £££ advance you'll be playing a home counties toilet venue to 2 paying customers"
But I will have a day job, at some point be able to support a family etc. Good luck enjoying your advance. I'd refer you to the Albini article again. Good luck earning minimum wage. And goodbye.
So what is actually wrong with Elliot Minor? You imply with your reference to the comment about Sade that they can only record and not perform, but judging from the one live performance of theirs I have attended, I would say that is not the case; far from it--it was one of the most exciting and original performances I have seen in a very long time (and I'm close to 40, so it is a long time!). And the teens I saw there may have appereared vacuous to you, but they seemed to me to be pretty similar to how I remember myself and my friends at their age.
You also say that the vocals are constantly autotuned, but I wonder what evidence you have for that. In fact, one of the things that impressed me most about their live performance was their largely immaculate tuning. They did, I have to admit, tend a little to sharpness when they got excited, but the same can be said of many professionals who have been working for a lot longer than they have, and it was not, in any case, a serious problem. I personally doubt very much that their recordings have been autotuned at all. And I also doubt very much that you have ever attended any of their performances.
As for overcompressing (whatever that means), I think you should blame the recording company rather than the band.
But apart from your comments about overcompression, autotuning and lack of performance ability (and . . . hairstyle?!), all of which are unsubstantiated, you don't give any rational argument at all as to what it is about this "awful music" that makes your toes curl. Saying there's "nothing of merit" is meaningless unless you say what you consider to be "merit" and how Elliot Minor fails to provide that.
I only came across your blog because I was interested in learning more about Elliot Minor and it came up on Google, but I'm frankly appalled by the low quality of commentary (both good and bad), as exemplified by but by no means limited to yours, that people put on the web! Grow up.
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