Keep the Faith

When things are getting you down, remember, you’ve gotta keep the faith. You’ve gotta remember that things are always darkest before the dawn. Things do get better, you just have to keep plugging away and hoping and waiting; then poof. Things seem to find their way back to where you want them to be.

I have been railing against the state of contemporary music for quite some time. I would go into a record store and find nothing worth listening to.

But just when I thought music was dead as an art, my spirits became lifted up again. I found some more music to listen to.

I had been keeping my listening habits buoyed by some old school funk by an artist named Betty Davis. She made three albums in the mid-seventies. I’d only heard of her a few months back, but I’ve been listening to her almost everyday since.

Last week, I asked for recommendations for something to listen to. Dan recommended a handful of acts. One of which was the latest Wes Borland project, Black Light Burns. I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t Wes Borland the guitarist from Limp Bizkit. Yes, but that Fred Durst guy is the douchebag who did it all for the nookie. Borland had to just sit back and be a musician. Now, this Black Light Burns stuff, its not the best stuff I’ve ever heard, but its pretty good. Definetely worth listening to a second time. I feel the 9.99 I spent on iTunes for the album was worth it.

Last night, I went hunting for some more music. What I found was a guy named Roky Erickson and two of his albums. From the listening I’ve given so far, I’ve come to conclusion that Roky Erickson is a singer-songwriter stuck in a heavy, southern rock band. And that’s just right by me.

Both albums were released n the mid-eighties and are victims of bad production. Don’t Slander Me is a studio album recorded to sound like every other album released in the mid-eighties. The songs are good, but the way they were recorded does not the give them a long shelf life. They sound very of-their-time and that eighties time didn’t age well.

The second album I tried is called Gremlins Have Pictures. It is an odds and sods collection. Unlike the over-production of Don’t Slander Me, this has got under-production. Some songs sound like mixing board recordings from live shows (and probably are) while others sound like basement demos (and those probably are as well). But if you can get past the poor recordings and inconsistent musicianship, the songs themselves are really good.

Later last night, I learned something about Windows Vista that has finally made that product worth putting on my computer. The original sounds for the environment were written and recorded by Robert Fripp.

I can just see the TV commercial now.

Mac: Hi, I’m Mac.
PC: Hi, I am a PC.
Mac: I come with iTunes.
PC: I come with Robert Fripp.
Mac: Damn!

Chances are, if you’re still reading, you’re wondering, “Who’s Robert Fripp?” He’s the guitarist and mellotron-ist from King Crimson and has made some memorable tunes with David Bowie and worked with the likes of Brian Eno.

Recommended Listening: Shut Off The Light by Betty Davis, Anthem by Roky Erickson, “Heroes” by David Bowie.

Tags: Computers