I don't watch TV too much these days, especially not popular TV, but when I was younger I watched a hell of a lot. Growing up back in the days when MTV showed music, it was always on for me. I've been a little out of it when it comes to popular music in the last 5 years or so because of the many events and circumstances in life that have demanded my attention. So when I had an evening to myself with no one at home and no movies to watch, I found myself watching the second half MTV Video Music Awards. I haven't watched one of these in at least 15 years maybe. The whole time I was just shocked at how much Hip Hop has taken over the music industry and eclipsed a lot of the other genres. This assumes that you can use the MTV VMA as a water mark for popular music, of course. I like Hip Hop, but I was wondering where all the other good music went.
I was underwhelmed. I saw lots of popular stuff that didn't inspire me. Oh, well, actually there was Christina Aguillera. I'm always floored by her voice. She blew everyone else away. I was convinced at that point that she was the only performer on that stage -- or among the nominees -- that had the kind of exceptional talent that can make music survive past a week's pop chart. It seemed the show was over and I was unmoved by any of what I saw except for Aguillera. I accepted that that was the current state of pop music through the lens of MTV. Then Axl Rose came on and introduced the Killers.
Now, I'm not a musician, but if I was and all I had been listening to on the radio was every other song they played during that VMA show, and then all of a sudden the Killers dropped "When You Were Young" on my lap, I would know what I wanted to do with my life. Alright, so maybe this wasn't exactly a moment like that, but the Killers' performance was epic -- to me anyway as a non-musician. I've actually heard some of their stuff before, but never paid much attention. Maybe it was the live performance that did it. The light and video was just amazing. Maybe it's the fusion of all their influences, who I grew up listening to -- New Order, The Cure, The Smiths/Morrisey and the like. Maybe it's that the song is simple but builds up like a massive ocean wave swelling to take over every thing in it's way. I just got sucked into it like that and it hasn't gotten out of my head since then.
I haven't been into Britpop so I don't know enough about what bands came before the Killers that may be more important to the rock landscape than they are. They're from Las Vegas, by the way, not England, but they appear to also be influenced by bands like Oasis and are compared with that wave of Britpop. So I could just be clueless here. The Killers' "When You Were Young" is now in heavy rotation on my iPod.
Comments
09/08/06 @ 07:03
One thing that always surprises me is how much the ideas of important bands and genres differ between the US and the home of decent music (UK) ... only kidding...
Killers and Oasis? Pfft! Absolutely no connection whatsoever at all even slightly... except that when The Killers' "These Things That I Have Done" single broke in the UK it had that same wave of expectancy as Oasis did... but then I went see The Killers and was frankly a bit bored... and then their album, although on loop for a few weeks... didn't stand the test of time (for me at least).
The "funny thing" about the killers is that they sound like a lot of other breaking/now huge bands in the UK at the moment, Franz Ferdinand, Futureheads, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs etc... all of whom seem to be aping that time right after punk rock... and during that time right about the time called "new wave"... and the bands you need to listen to to hear who were the killers obvious influences... namely...
Gang of Four, Joy Division, Magazine, Buzzcocks, Television, Wired, Adam & The Ants (pre Kings of the Wild Frontier, i.e Dirk Wears White Sox), The Fall etc... go listen to 'em...
... now, all of the above may not rely on synths as much as the Killers but make a playlist of current "new new wave" bands and old "new wave" bands and the seamlessness of the blend is amazing.
09/08/06 @ 07:18
Hmm. Ok. Take it easy on me, I don't know that much about Britpop, as I've said, but you obviously take this very seriously so I'll defer to your knowledge on those bands. A friend of mine once couldn't believe I didn't know any Oasis. I really don't. I've listened to bits.
I did grow up listening to some bands you mention like Joy Division -- bands that preceded my time -- then bands of my time like Siouxsie, The Cure, Smiths, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Lush, Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine. Most often I listened to dance/house music as well as early electronica like New Order, Depeche Mode, Psychic TV because I mixed a lot of that stuff as a DJ.
This started out as a *state of pop music* post from someone who doesn't listen to pop music, *not so much as a state of the avant garde*. I confessed that I didn't have a clue about popular music these days. But thanks for sharing the list of bands and your obvious passion for this music, Tom. It's still not my typical kind of music, obviously, so I'm not going to invest time in seeking out those bands.
I know you're kidding with the UK being the home of decent music, but please. Good music comes from anywhere. I hate to bring it up, but a lot of good music did get invented in the US and improved upon and further innovated elsewhere... Jazz, Blues, Rock and Roll, House Music. Give me a break with the turf stuff. Neither of us is responsible for the innovation of music in any genre, just by being spectators and armchair critics.
Let's just agree that you find them boring, but that I found that VMA performance stellar. I still don't know if you're just generally criticizing the band or the VMA peformance. I'm talking about the performance I posted the video for.
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