22. Waiting for a new record to come out (and a couple other things)

Waiting for these new records to come out. Ones that have been made by our friends here at Tarbox Road Studios. In the past you got to hear what writers thought. And this seemed annoying. The press. They always have an angle.

But now with the internet, there is a whole new level of opinion-giving going on out there. People really seem to think their opinion matters and they really enjoy sharing. (Every time you rant you of course end up going back on yourself, you see here I am writing down my opinion as well, on the internet).

My Opinion
I was really quite happy with what the Flaming Lips came up with for their latest record. Music at this time is DULL. I mean so far the 2000s have been DULL. I realized that for a society so caught up in fashion and music right now that nothing, nothing stands out as new for this decade. I am not sure the Lips record does either but at the very least a lot of parts on it make me scratch my head and say "what the hell were they thinking?" And "I can work with this". It may be subtle but these guys are musical freaks. I include my husband in this. This is a Good Thing to me.

Their Opinions
So you are waiting for the records to come out. And in a (worse than) bored moment you check the forums to see what "the kids" think since of course some jackass has to leak it so there is no mystery involved, all instant gratification all the time. And they have so many opinions. There just isn't any element of making a record that isn't discussed. Parts played, styles used, words, song choice etc. Anything you need to think about to make a record is discussed. Who did it. Who's responsible for what. Etc. Etc. In Lips land of course half of it is wrong despite the onslaught of (sometimes horribly personal) information being dispersed. You can't know what you are talking about unless you are living it and even then it is quite difficult. I could never speak for Dave or the Lips. I wouldn't dare to, not because he's mean but because how would I know? I am right here but still I am not in their heads. I like that I don't get it.

ShutUp!
I have a lot of opinions all on my own. And I think perhaps valid ones. I have been around the making of many a great record. In my younger years it was so devastating to keep my mouth shut on my opinions during a session. And really they did not matter. You know why? Because it was not MY record. I am not making this record. If I am asked I will give an opinion, if I have one. I think as I get older and establish my own very small reputation, I get asked more things. But you have to earn it. And these days noone earns anything.

Entitled
People seem to think people should care about them and what they think just because they exist. People think they should be paid well despite having no skills. People think people should buy their wares despite having no product worth selling. Entitled. Everyone is entitled. And we are taught this in school. Self esteem...How about a work ethic? How about any quality control at all? Is it not true that you have to return like half of anything you buy because of defect? Even several Lips releases (no blame on the Lips in this one btw; they are the musicians not the manufacturers). Anyways if you are so great, YOU go make a record of one tenth the quality of this Flaming Lips record, or Thursday or whomever you are complaining about. Or maybe why don't you just go try and line the burger up on the bun correctly. COME ON!

Retro
I said I can see no interesting trend in the Aughts..By that I mean SOMETHING NEW. There is grand technology. But everything is past-based in music and fashion. Rehash rehash. Mashups, samples, retro-keys, musical collectives(hippies). Look gauchos are back! Ok I'm forty. I wore those in 6th grade; not something I want to redo. Don't want to redo capes or bellbottoms or designer jeans. My 80s roots are showing... really we had new stuff that decade. Synths and fashion ideas. Course the mass culture thing hadn't kicked in yet. You could actually come up with an original hair or fashion idea and not see it on tv or at the mall next time you left the house. How wonderful..And I will give the 70s something. They had the drug thing. And a new found sense of letting go and something really weird..good song writing. Not sure about the 60s but they had the bands that hogged everything Beatles and Rolling Stones etc. The 50s of course, just rock in general. The 90s were pathetic but they had the lowrider baggy pants and grunge, I guess rap. None of that seemed amazing to me but at least I could appreciate it was a different thing.

Dull
But now. This decade, NOTHING. What a dull dull decade my children must live in. Is this because now we have blogs and forums and can all feel that we have expressed ourselves? Noone is driven to be artistic or have a new idea because the frustration never builds up. You can feel "in the know" and just get your hands on anything and say whatever you think and feel fulfilled...(?)

Fashion
Even celebrities have no requirements made of them. They get front page on a magazine these days for getting pregnant. Typically this is considered a skill that the lowest of the animal kingdom is capable of...basic, rutting and making baby animals. It seems to me that this basic human behavior is being treated as some sort of fashion statement. Ironically, this seems to trivialize the fact that making a person is actually a big commitment. I have a feeling there is going to be one messed up generation of kids coming around when all these fashion victims realize what they have gotten themselves into. You can't just get out of it like you can get out of a bad pair of shoes. You are stuck.

Nasty
Well this is a bold and nasty opinion laid out there by me. I don't know if you can tell, but I try to teach myself something when I write. Usually these things have worked out well. I start complaining and see the silver lining. I am unsure I can find one here other than that perhaps I can now see the value of the press reviewers. They are often people with writing skills and an angle. The once-hated angle is better than having none at all.

Challenge
And maybe when you want to bitch about the new Flaming Lips record or the new Thursday..or whatever...try and imagine what you might come up with if you tried to make a record. If these records aren't what you thought should happen, then get out there and show us something. We wish you would.

April 27, 2006