(A little) OFF: My 'State of the Art'

[Keith Henderson]

Hi Folks...

Well, as we sexually repressed Americans anxiously await Horndog Billy's
State of the Union address, I was thinking about the current State of Music.
For me, it's really hard to tell.  I mean, it seems like the general
situation is quite good these days, that is, being able to find lots of nice
new things and a bunch of nice 70's reissues in prog & space rock.  And then
there's been many more live shows going on over here in the states, with
European (and some of our own) bands, old and new....although it still is
rather difficult for them to break even.  But now there are quite a few
festivals over here (not only Strange Daze, but prog shows like ProgDay,
ProgFest, ProgScape, etc.) that sometimes have 'spacier' bands.  All in all,
a pretty good time to be a fan.

I started listening to space rock and other obscure progressive bands around
1980, and for about 8 years, I got the impression that I was just about the
only one.  These days, there seems to be so much more communication between
fans (and also between fans and the artists themselves).  Of course, I think
the Internet has done a lot towards making more unusual (and consequently
financially-strapped) bands reach their fan base...so it's not coincidental
that these more unusual styles seem to become resurgent in the late 80's.

That said, it really does look like the mainstream music scene is exactly as
pathetic as it's been for at least 20 years now.  I mean, every year, you
can just look to the new R&RHoF inductees and immediately see the absurdity
of it all.  Every cheese artist in the universe is shuffled right on in, and
the real pioneers (even mega-popular ones!) are just ignored.  Come on...the
Bee Gees before Deep Purple or Black Sabbath?????  Well, now we have
Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles....big deal.  I admit I don't know a damn thing
about F. Mac before they showed up on my radio, except for Judas Priest's
Green Manalishi.  But at least *I've* heard the names Peter Green and Danny
Kirwan before.  And I can tell you that F.Mac is not in the R&RHoF because
of their contribution, but rather because Stevie Nicks & Lindsay Buckingham
helped them sell zillions of albums much later on.

And the "alternative" movement that's been the cat's meow for almost 10
years now is just sickening nowadays.  I had the depressing experience of
witnessing perhaps the worst ever on-air performance of a band in all TV
history last night (although I still think that would have to go to the
Thompson Twins on SNL around 1983 or so).  They were called Third Eye Blind,
and they looked to me to be the loser of an 8th grade Battle of the Bands.
The singer was *really* awful, and pulled the most ridiculous stunt I've
seen in years by appearing on stage in a straight jacket.

You know, I thought that the then new alternative movement was quite
interesting in 1988 or so, as American bands were finally coming up with an
answer for the punk movement (ten years late).  But they added some more
intelligence to the style and created something that was new for a short
while.  So I still think positively about Jane's Addiction (even though they
might be scumbags as individuals), the Minneapolis bands (Husker Du/Bob
Mould, Replacements, Soul Asylum), some Toronto bands (TPoH and 13 Engines)
and fIREHOSE.  But Pearl Jam's 'Ten' should have been the end.  It was like
a successful Hollywood movie that spawned a whole host of bad sequels.  And
now it's just become a parody of itself, about five times over.

And the 'alternative' to 'alternative'?  Spice Girls, Hanson, and
Chumbawamba!!  Woo Woo!!  Well, let's put it in perspective...this kind of
meaningless crap always exists.  Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer....move over -
there's more coming your way!

And finally...it's a bit sad to see some of the hard rock/metal giants of
the 70's nowadays struggling to fill medium-size clubs crammed on to a stage
about the size that their amplifier stacks used to fill alone.  Maybe they
should just give it up.  I actually still go see these groups quite often
(Yes, and that does include BOC) but there's really not much point in them
aging in front of our eyes, both in physical appearance and in a musical
sense.  I see a Page/Plant album coming up soon....I just can't really get
too excited about it.  I'm basically a child of the 70's (and will always
be), and when I lose interest in *these* two guys, it's time to turn the
page (no pun intended).

To be more list-friendly, I'd say BOC's a little different.  Although the
live show has been musical archeology for going on a decade, I *would* like
to see a new album from these guys.  After all these years, even marginally
competent musicians could come up with an album's worth of interesting
songs.  And Dharma & crew are far above competent.

And speaking of HW...my all-time favourite.  Keep 'em coming, at least until
the next millenium!  I'd say there's a point in making Distant Horizons.
There are things there (good and bad) that I haven't heard from this band
before.  Of course, they really haven't challenged the marks they set with
their 10 years of brilliance from ISoS to Levitation.  They came close with
Electric Tepee and in multiple live performances (Palace Springs in
particular).  And they still remain as evolving and innovative as most young
artists out there.

And speaking now of young artists...there are more than a few of them as
well creating something new, building on a base of 70's style space rock.
The one that has my attention at the moment is Sky Cries Mary.  I can't
really say that their recorded works are absolutely fantastic, but I'm
fascinated by them for their originality.  I'm now convinced that there
might be some new form of music that isn't simply a mixture of older
styles...perhaps a bit of synergy exists there.  I think Porcupine Tree, the
Fish/Steve Wilson pairing, and DarXtar also are branching out a bit beyond
what's already been done.

Well, that's the way I see it FWIW.  Just felt like purging myself of these
perceptions for some unknown reason.

In Space We Trust...Keith H. (FAA)