Music That's (Mostly) Uncool As Fuck

I've been listening to Nine Inch Nails' latest opus, With Teeth, lately, courtesy of the Chili Princess. Now, I haven't listened to any NiN since college when Pretty Hate Machine came out so I'm basically treading on new ground here. I like that everything seems so off-kilter but the mechanical insistence of the rhythms is proving to be an acquired taste. It's not that the songs are bad it's just that I'm having a hard time settling down with them. I do like all the stuff going on in the tunes. There isn't much that's straightforward about them. And, as Martha would say, that's a good thing. In a certain sense, Porcupine Tree have come to sound like NiN. Not really but kinda. Both bands' music has that heavy, dark feel but PT is more...more...organic. Now, I hesitate to use that word for fear of conjuring aural misconceptions of folk music since that is strictly not the case. But PT has the acoustic drums thing and the rhythms are less, well, mechanical sounding. Still, I'm game for new music and will definitely give With Teeth a shot.

This weekend I'm heading south to Chicago to visit family and see Marillion at the Double Door. Plus! Plus! Plus I get to see them perform at the Tower Records on Clark and meet them!! I've been into them since 1987 yet have never seen them live. Unfortunately it won't be a full band thingy. Instead H, guitarist Steve Rothery, and bassist Pete Trawavas will be doing the acoustic thing. Still, it's been 18 years coming. I will probably come across like a complete dork to them but, hey, they've gotten enough of my money in the past 18 years so they can suffer for a minute with me. I wonder if they still sell those t-shirts that say, "Marillion - Uncool as Fuck". If so, I gotta get me one of them because that's totally me. I'm so unhip I can barely see over my own pelvis.

In other music news, I have heard "Ampersand" from Adrian Belew's new album, Side One. It's manic, it's melodic, it's chaotic, and has weird lyrics - all the great things about his music. He'll be at the Park West in Chicago on July 16th. If you've never heard his music and want to get an idea of what he's about do three things:

1) Consider that he has played with Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Tori Amos, King Crimson, Porcupine Tree, Talking Heads, and Nine Inch Nails.
2) Consider that Madison's own weirdo, Biff Blumfumgagnge was his guitar tech.
3) Listen to his Budweiser commercial.

In other music news, I've heard the "Mother and Child Divided" and "Revenant" by Porcupine Tree. They are Deadwing leftovers that only appear on the DVD-A of that album. They're both instrumentals. "Revenant" is a slow, moody affair. Kind of like listening to the Arrival bit of "The Colony of Slippermen" by Genesis. "Mother and Child Divided" is a heavy rockin' affair with a pseudo-funky bass thang. I really like the minimalist guitar soloing. Almost a one-note Pete Townshend kinda thing in spots ala "I Can See For Miles".

As long as I'm blathering about music, I'll mention my latest bootleg acquisitions:

We have an Emerson, Lake, and Powell show from 1986. (Remember, I'm as uncool as fuck.) It's a really good soundboard. Remember back then when MTV showed the video for "Touch and Go"? Also a clutch of shows from Madison. We have Dark Star Orchestra from 2003, Garbage's show from last month, and Morphine at Club DeWash (RIP) from back in 1993. Plus what is the best sounding boot of Porcupine Tree's current US tour - from 13 May in Philadelphia at The Tracadero. Truth be known, I've grabbed quite a bit of PT lately including a compilation of their BBC appearances and a nice soundboard from 1994.