Showing posts with label 1993. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1993. Show all posts
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Award Tour - A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders - 1993
And so speaking of the frustration of following things that used to be a cool little niche that are now more and more mainstream...it's actually become harder and harder for me to be an American soccer fan (A soccer fan who is American, not a fan of the generally awful MLS).
Again, like Indie Rock, it's counter-intuitive. I would have thought, 10 years ago, that living in a world in which everyone knew who Pavement and The Pixies were would be AWESOME! But instead, I find it sort of troubling and frustrating. Well, Soccer has sort of become the same way. With EPL games becoming increasingly broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta Sports and starting this season ESPN2 I have more opportunities than I ever did to watch the sport I love...but the problem with this came up yesterday.
Arsenal played the first round of the Champions League group stages yesterday against Belgian Champions Standard Liege. The game was live at 245 and was being shown on FSC at 5 PM. I set my TiVo, stayed away from the Internet in the afternoon and prepared to go home and watch my game. As it turned out, do to some collasally stupid defending Arsenal went down two goals in the first five minutes of the game (This is exceptionally fast, for those that don't know)...and within ten minutes after that I received all sorts of messages from various friends and acquaintances that know of my strange obsessions "Dude, sorry about your team", "Are you watching this, yikes!" and "Yeah, you may not want to watch this game..."
Now fortunately, we did come back to win 2-3, but...even as little as 3 years ago, no one I knew, besides my fellow soccer fans would have had any clue that there was a game on. And certainly none of them would have been watching...but there it was.
It's hard being me.
Anyway, this Tribe song is a further result of my girlfriend's attempt to broaden my horizons. It's fun, I don't hate it...that's about all you can ask, right?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Anyone Can Play Guitar - Radiohead - Pablo Honey - 1993
Taking a half day from work today for my buddy Anand's birthday. In less than an hour I will be eating ribs, getting my drink on, and then heading out to watch Arsenal (hopefully) whip Tottenham today.
Pablo Honey continues to hold an odd place in the Radiohead Canon. It's not that it's a bad album, in fact there are probably more good songs than bad or indifferent, it's just that it can't escape what it is. Riding the wave of Nirvana (though the band will deny it) they were really the first band on the Alternative Nation bandwagon. Creep, with it's atonal touches and alienated lyrics, seemed like a perfect follow up to Smell's Like Teen Spirit (Incidentally, I saw Teen Spirit Deodarant in the deli downstairs this AM...didn't even know they still made it and can't believe they stuck with that name). The album shamelessly bleeds their Pixies influence, and it is unapologeticaly catchy (a quality that would seem like a sin to the band for a good while). But still you can't dismiss it.
First of all, it proves that a band can escape the chains of being a one hit wonder. Tons and tons of bands got consigned to the dollar bin after breaking a Nirvana clone hit, but a very select few, with Radiohead at the forefront, went on to do genuinely good work...and that has to give people hope.
Beyond that, too many of the songs, trapped in the amber of the early 90's as they are, are just enjoyable. They may not have the timeless quality of a Street Spirit or Karma Police...they are undeniably part of the Alterna-revolution, but they still have the bits of talent the band would put to better use down the road. This song is no exception. You can certainly hear Thom's smirk in full effect in the way he says "Jim Morrison" or through the general sense of derision that permeates the song. You can hear Johnny already experimenting with sound and frustrated by the limits of the guitar. And you can hear the band as a whole showing off their love of a good soundscape in the opening bits.
Sure, it's not the "Art" they would later produce, but it's still worth a listen.
Pablo Honey continues to hold an odd place in the Radiohead Canon. It's not that it's a bad album, in fact there are probably more good songs than bad or indifferent, it's just that it can't escape what it is. Riding the wave of Nirvana (though the band will deny it) they were really the first band on the Alternative Nation bandwagon. Creep, with it's atonal touches and alienated lyrics, seemed like a perfect follow up to Smell's Like Teen Spirit (Incidentally, I saw Teen Spirit Deodarant in the deli downstairs this AM...didn't even know they still made it and can't believe they stuck with that name). The album shamelessly bleeds their Pixies influence, and it is unapologeticaly catchy (a quality that would seem like a sin to the band for a good while). But still you can't dismiss it.
First of all, it proves that a band can escape the chains of being a one hit wonder. Tons and tons of bands got consigned to the dollar bin after breaking a Nirvana clone hit, but a very select few, with Radiohead at the forefront, went on to do genuinely good work...and that has to give people hope.
Beyond that, too many of the songs, trapped in the amber of the early 90's as they are, are just enjoyable. They may not have the timeless quality of a Street Spirit or Karma Police...they are undeniably part of the Alterna-revolution, but they still have the bits of talent the band would put to better use down the road. This song is no exception. You can certainly hear Thom's smirk in full effect in the way he says "Jim Morrison" or through the general sense of derision that permeates the song. You can hear Johnny already experimenting with sound and frustrated by the limits of the guitar. And you can hear the band as a whole showing off their love of a good soundscape in the opening bits.
Sure, it's not the "Art" they would later produce, but it's still worth a listen.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Anodyne - Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne - 1993
I had to get up early this AM to make it in to work and prepare for a big meeting I was running for the first time, and it reminded me of a theory I've long had about the correlation between time and the amount of attractive women there are on the subway...(okay, I'm going back on the promise I made to my girlfriend about not writing about hot chicks ont the subway, but I'm letting myself slide on this one as I am not talking about a SPECIFIC hot chick on the subway, but rather hot chicks, or their scarcity, as a phenomenon). Basically the theory goes like this...despite all of our best intentions and desires for us to live in a better and egalatarian world, in New York, where absolutely everything is a competition, attractive women have first dibs on the jobs that start at 10AM. Granted, in many cases, these are lower paying publishing or media jobs...but none of this changes the fact that you will find almost no attractive women on the subway at 8AM. You will find a fair amount of large middle-aged women, and power-suited men...hot chicks, not so much.
No for those that wonder why I spend all this time thinking about this on my commute, instead of, you know...thinking about my job, praying/meditating, reading the great american (or otherwise) novel, sculpting...what have you. It's because, frankly, we all need inspiration to make it through the hellish and tedious slog we call life. And we all find inspiration in our own places.
Jay Farrar may have only had a brief window of inspiration: three or four years tops, but this song falls squarely in the middle of that window. So here's to you Jay, and a word of advice to you. Never ride the subway before 8:45.
No for those that wonder why I spend all this time thinking about this on my commute, instead of, you know...thinking about my job, praying/meditating, reading the great american (or otherwise) novel, sculpting...what have you. It's because, frankly, we all need inspiration to make it through the hellish and tedious slog we call life. And we all find inspiration in our own places.
Jay Farrar may have only had a brief window of inspiration: three or four years tops, but this song falls squarely in the middle of that window. So here's to you Jay, and a word of advice to you. Never ride the subway before 8:45.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Altogether - Slowdive - Souvlaki - 1993
So I have to take this online quiz for my job about workplace harrasment (It's required of everyone, it's not like I did anything)...here are some of the questions...
Roquefort "Rocky" Barnes, an African-American salesman at Chez-Cheez, is highly offended by the racial jokes that circulate occasionally on the company's e-mail system. The company's anti-harassment policy provides for employees to file complaints with either their immediate supervisor or the Human Resources manager, but Rocky is not comfortable speaking about this to either of them. What's his best course of action?
- Mention the behavior to his friend Patti Melton, a manager in the Marketing department.
- Do nothing, because the jokes were intended to be humorous and therefore don't violate the anti-harassment policy.
- Mention it to his friends at lunch and hope one of them tells the senders to stop.
Marie Brie is a line-worker in Chez-Cheez's processing plant, where she works next to loud-mouthed Lotta Fondue. Lotta has five dogs and talks about them often at work. She preaches that all good Americans should have a pet of some kind, and she constantly calls Marie a "loser" and a "failure" for being "petless." Is Lotta breaking the law?
- Yes, she is discriminating against Marie.
- Yes, she is harassing Marie.
- No, she is not breaking the law.
Billy Chevre's supervisor, Frank Feta, was always making derogatory remarks about Catholics and Jews. Although Billy is a Presbyterian, he found the remarks highly offensive and reported Frank to the Human Resources department. Eventually, Frank was told of the complaint and responded by transferring Billy to a Chez-Cheez subsidiary in rural North Dakota. What should Billy do?
- Report Frank to Human Resources again and ask that the transfer be reversed.
- Nothing. That's what he gets for being a complainer.
- Nothing. Frank is his supervisor, so Billy must do as Frank says.
For months, Paige Turner, a black employee, passed by a group of white men drinking coffee and telling racist jokes around a table in the Chez-Cheez cafeteria. One day, Paige spoke up, telling the biggest loudmouth that she found his jokes offensive. The next time Paige entered the cafeteria, the loudmouth announced, "Here comes the Gestapo. Let's go over in the corner so I can tell you the one about that black guy and the gun...." Which of the following statements is the most accurate?
- The employees' behavior violated the company's anti-harassment policy, and Paige should report it.
- The employees' behavior may have violated the company's anti-harassment policy, but Paige has no complaint because she tolerated it for so long.
- The loudmouth has honored Paige's wishes and moved away from her, so Paige has no basis for complaining.
Curt Senway, Karl Jarlsberg and Ramona Romano are all line employees at Chez-Cheez. Curt is 52 years old; Karl and Ramona are 32. To make the day go faster, Karl likes to tease Curt for being the "old" man in the department. Ramona has encouraged Curt to report Karl to Human Resources, but Curt doesn't want to cause trouble. What should Ramona do?
- Tell Karl to stop teasing Curt and, if that doesn't work, report Karl to Human Resources.
- Nothing. She's not the one being teased, so it's not her place to do anything.
- Make Karl just as uncomfortable by teasing him about being "ugly."
Glen Gouda, a disabled employee in Chez-Cheez's distribution center, is repeatedly late for work and has failed to meet his last ten deadlines for filing paperwork. He just received his semi-annual performance appraisal, which highlighted his poor attendance record and failure to meet deadlines. Glen was placed in the first stage of performance counseling and was required to submit an action plan for improved performance. Glen has experienced —
- Harassment and/or discrimination on the basis of his disability.
- Retaliation.
- A performance appraisal that accurately reflected his performance.
Suzy Cheddar, a female quality-control inspector at Chez-Cheez, has accused co-worker Adam Edam of harassing her by repeatedly twisting her arm and blocking doorways. Suzy has seen Adam do the same things to other female workers as well, but never to males. Suzy has admitted that Adam didn't say or do anything to indicate that he was after sex. Could Adam be disciplined for sexual harassment?
- No, because his behavior was not offensive enough to be considered harassment.
- No, because he did not ask Suzy for sex.
- Yes.
Bria Benton bumped into Leslie Leiderkranz, her manager, by the water cooler. Leslie saw that Bria was upset and asked her what was wrong. After Leslie prodded a bit, Bria explained that a company vice-president had just offered her a promotion in exchange for a series of moonlit "walks." As Leslie was leaving, Bria said, "Please don't tell anyone," and Leslie nodded and smiled. Later that day, Leslie reported the incident to Human Resources, which began an investigation. Should Leslie have kept Bria's incident a secret?
- Yes, because Bria asked Leslie to.
- No, because Leslie had a responsibility to the company to report the matter promptly.
- No, but she should have investigated the matter herself.
Which of the following scenarios represent "real world" cases involving workplace harassment or discrimination?
- A woman employed at a shipyard complained that her co-workers covered the walls with offensive "art," including a dartboard with a drawing of a woman's breast as the bull's eye.
A bank teller's supervisor made repeated sexual demands of her, which included fondling her in front of other employees and following her into the women's restroom and exposing himself to her.
- A large corporation fired several employees for sending harassing e-mails.
- An auto maker agreed to pay $7.75 million to 900 women to settle complaints that they were groped and subjected to crude comments and graffiti.
- An investment bank that ignored complaints of racist jokes circulating on the company's e-mail system was sued for racial harassment.
- A woman truck driver learned that her male co-workers had established a "club," the purpose of which was to see who would be the first to have sex with her.
- All of the above.
Roquefort "Rocky" Barnes, an African-American salesman at Chez-Cheez, is highly offended by the racial jokes that circulate occasionally on the company's e-mail system. The company's anti-harassment policy provides for employees to file complaints with either their immediate supervisor or the Human Resources manager, but Rocky is not comfortable speaking about this to either of them. What's his best course of action?
- Mention the behavior to his friend Patti Melton, a manager in the Marketing department.
- Do nothing, because the jokes were intended to be humorous and therefore don't violate the anti-harassment policy.
- Mention it to his friends at lunch and hope one of them tells the senders to stop.
Marie Brie is a line-worker in Chez-Cheez's processing plant, where she works next to loud-mouthed Lotta Fondue. Lotta has five dogs and talks about them often at work. She preaches that all good Americans should have a pet of some kind, and she constantly calls Marie a "loser" and a "failure" for being "petless." Is Lotta breaking the law?
- Yes, she is discriminating against Marie.
- Yes, she is harassing Marie.
- No, she is not breaking the law.
Billy Chevre's supervisor, Frank Feta, was always making derogatory remarks about Catholics and Jews. Although Billy is a Presbyterian, he found the remarks highly offensive and reported Frank to the Human Resources department. Eventually, Frank was told of the complaint and responded by transferring Billy to a Chez-Cheez subsidiary in rural North Dakota. What should Billy do?
- Report Frank to Human Resources again and ask that the transfer be reversed.
- Nothing. That's what he gets for being a complainer.
- Nothing. Frank is his supervisor, so Billy must do as Frank says.
For months, Paige Turner, a black employee, passed by a group of white men drinking coffee and telling racist jokes around a table in the Chez-Cheez cafeteria. One day, Paige spoke up, telling the biggest loudmouth that she found his jokes offensive. The next time Paige entered the cafeteria, the loudmouth announced, "Here comes the Gestapo. Let's go over in the corner so I can tell you the one about that black guy and the gun...." Which of the following statements is the most accurate?
- The employees' behavior violated the company's anti-harassment policy, and Paige should report it.
- The employees' behavior may have violated the company's anti-harassment policy, but Paige has no complaint because she tolerated it for so long.
- The loudmouth has honored Paige's wishes and moved away from her, so Paige has no basis for complaining.
Curt Senway, Karl Jarlsberg and Ramona Romano are all line employees at Chez-Cheez. Curt is 52 years old; Karl and Ramona are 32. To make the day go faster, Karl likes to tease Curt for being the "old" man in the department. Ramona has encouraged Curt to report Karl to Human Resources, but Curt doesn't want to cause trouble. What should Ramona do?
- Tell Karl to stop teasing Curt and, if that doesn't work, report Karl to Human Resources.
- Nothing. She's not the one being teased, so it's not her place to do anything.
- Make Karl just as uncomfortable by teasing him about being "ugly."
Glen Gouda, a disabled employee in Chez-Cheez's distribution center, is repeatedly late for work and has failed to meet his last ten deadlines for filing paperwork. He just received his semi-annual performance appraisal, which highlighted his poor attendance record and failure to meet deadlines. Glen was placed in the first stage of performance counseling and was required to submit an action plan for improved performance. Glen has experienced —
- Harassment and/or discrimination on the basis of his disability.
- Retaliation.
- A performance appraisal that accurately reflected his performance.
Suzy Cheddar, a female quality-control inspector at Chez-Cheez, has accused co-worker Adam Edam of harassing her by repeatedly twisting her arm and blocking doorways. Suzy has seen Adam do the same things to other female workers as well, but never to males. Suzy has admitted that Adam didn't say or do anything to indicate that he was after sex. Could Adam be disciplined for sexual harassment?
- No, because his behavior was not offensive enough to be considered harassment.
- No, because he did not ask Suzy for sex.
- Yes.
Bria Benton bumped into Leslie Leiderkranz, her manager, by the water cooler. Leslie saw that Bria was upset and asked her what was wrong. After Leslie prodded a bit, Bria explained that a company vice-president had just offered her a promotion in exchange for a series of moonlit "walks." As Leslie was leaving, Bria said, "Please don't tell anyone," and Leslie nodded and smiled. Later that day, Leslie reported the incident to Human Resources, which began an investigation. Should Leslie have kept Bria's incident a secret?
- Yes, because Bria asked Leslie to.
- No, because Leslie had a responsibility to the company to report the matter promptly.
- No, but she should have investigated the matter herself.
Which of the following scenarios represent "real world" cases involving workplace harassment or discrimination?
- A woman employed at a shipyard complained that her co-workers covered the walls with offensive "art," including a dartboard with a drawing of a woman's breast as the bull's eye.
A bank teller's supervisor made repeated sexual demands of her, which included fondling her in front of other employees and following her into the women's restroom and exposing himself to her.
- A large corporation fired several employees for sending harassing e-mails.
- An auto maker agreed to pay $7.75 million to 900 women to settle complaints that they were groped and subjected to crude comments and graffiti.
- An investment bank that ignored complaints of racist jokes circulating on the company's e-mail system was sued for racial harassment.
- A woman truck driver learned that her male co-workers had established a "club," the purpose of which was to see who would be the first to have sex with her.
- All of the above.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Alison - Slowdive - Souvlaki - 1993
More Things I Learned in Indiana:
D) My family talks a lot about the surguries people have had. This is especially disconcerting as they have no objection to doing this during dinner. There's nothing more appetizing than hearing about aunt Zelma's gall bladder surgury while eating potato salad.
Clearly Alison is a very musical name...
Slowdive's Souvlaki is basically the quintasential Shoegazer album, and this is one of the best 2-3 songs on the album. I am continually amazed by the degree to which shoegaze sounds have infiltrated so much of modern music. It seems like everybody loves a delay pedal these days.
D) My family talks a lot about the surguries people have had. This is especially disconcerting as they have no objection to doing this during dinner. There's nothing more appetizing than hearing about aunt Zelma's gall bladder surgury while eating potato salad.
Clearly Alison is a very musical name...
Slowdive's Souvlaki is basically the quintasential Shoegazer album, and this is one of the best 2-3 songs on the album. I am continually amazed by the degree to which shoegaze sounds have infiltrated so much of modern music. It seems like everybody loves a delay pedal these days.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Acuff-Rose - Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne - 1993
I had an absolutely batshit crazy subway preacher on the 2 train this A.M. It's been a while since I've seen one of these guys. Must be a reflection of the hard times we've fallen on...or something. This one was of the radical African-American sort, "whitey is the devil" and all. And you know, as I was being harangued through my hangover by this gentleman...I couldn't help thinking...I agree. Our monolithic Western Culture has really created a lot of victims in its quest for control...but on the flip side...'the fuck you want me to do about it? I'm just trying to get through the day, pay the rent, and find a nice lady that wants to pass out with me. I'm just one man, sir.
Anyway, there's a certain amount of gospel, to Jay Farrar's finger picking here. Figured the subway preacher was a good enough segue for that. Jeff Tweedy has definitely made some steps in the direction of being insufferable "dad rock" to quote Pitchfork's phrase, but back in the day he could still pen a catchy tune, and still had enough of his broken hearted humor in tact to be charming. Quality song.
Anyway, there's a certain amount of gospel, to Jay Farrar's finger picking here. Figured the subway preacher was a good enough segue for that. Jeff Tweedy has definitely made some steps in the direction of being insufferable "dad rock" to quote Pitchfork's phrase, but back in the day he could still pen a catchy tune, and still had enough of his broken hearted humor in tact to be charming. Quality song.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Action vs Vibe - Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles - 1993
When Polvo was a contemporary band they were always a little too edgy for me. They were the one band in the Chapel Hill stable that I found too dissonant. Their weird guitar tunings and melodies buried under noise seemed so far out and avant guard. Perspective is an odd thing. At least I can take comfort in the fact that my tastes have broadened since college and not contracted. Now this just sounds like rock music from the 90's.
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