Remember how small your grade school gym was when you went back? Cabaret Metro used to be larger than life. Even the dressing rooms seemed so glamorous! Now it's kind of a runt. Everyone was great there though. From Bouncer to doorman to stage-manager to the bands. Super great folks! The band moved me. John Convertino is my new drum hero.
Shots are here. A couple standouts below:
Mostly straight off the camera. I was playing with red gels on my flash. Some PhotoShop trickery here and there.
Brilliant!
Sony BMG – came up with a campaign that loads the video for “Black Ice” as ASCII art within a Microsoft Excel file. Simply download the file, open it up, and the ASCII art mimicks the motions of the real video while the song plays.
Here's a YouTube version.
This commercial is brought to you by MallWart
The sophomore slump is well documented. Here's the latest in my series.
Never been a huge fan of the Rock Video. This music lover likes his tunes separate from his images. Of course I'm a grump and MTV had only minimal influence on my development. The TarBabies tried to make a video once with a local artist. We did these weird location shots at an abandoned airplane hangar and then set up some cheap lights in our practice space and with hand painted backdrops we moped around like thoughtful musician types. No skateboards or thrashing, no cute girls or cute guys for that matter. Oh yeah, it was black and white. Forget what kind of technology we used. Film?... not FisherPrice cam, maybe Betamax...? Anyway, I only saw the thing once and it was Stooopid! Mostly Dan, as he sang the song, and I don't think the band was ever even shown playing our instruments. Wish I had a copy now. Be hilarious! Anyway, I digress, videos usually are pretty dumb. Maybe if Spike Jonze or Gondry does your piece great, otherwise a fat waste of everybody's time.
BUT!
When I saw this video I was transformed
Watch that moment ... when the band burst from the sand ... that is pure magic. Who are these psycho-punk-funk rockers?
The Red Hot Chili Peppers. A perfectly stupid name for a band of Hollywood kids with a flair for poppin' funk and funkin' pop. Almost as much a visual experience (the socks over cocks is notorious) as aural. The Red Hots killed on that video introduction.
1984's eponymous album was produced by Gang of Four's guitarist Andy Gill. The record sold poorly and lacked quality tour support, the band was fractured and unfocused due to multiple projects and sidemen. But it's an excellent record. Gill's influence is fine to this listener. The Red Hots are not from Detroit or Philly. They are from Hollywood. They surf. They know more about skateboards than Cadillacs. Few critics liked this record... but as a Gang of Four and Minutemen fan I loved it.
I heard that Gill had track notes describing one song as "shit!" Hmmm... wanna guess which one that might be? I'm not saying every song on here is a gem, but re listening to this record after 14 years, I still dig it a lot and look forward to putting some of it into my DJ set list.
What happened next is a classic tale of record company execs steering a band into places they DON'T need to go. Instead of hiring Minutemen producer Ethan James and taking things down the punk road, they went to Detroit and recorded Freaky Styley with George Clinton. A novel notion for sure, but since when is Clinton a producer? The new emphasis on the band was Anthony singing. Ouch! Hillel was back in full time which is great, but considering the potential, this record stinks. American Ghost Dance indeed! Ain't nobody dancing to this record! This was the beginning of the end. Doing the rounds looking for the magic production touch, The Peppers then went to Rick Rubin only to be told "no." (Thank god!) Drugs, infighting and Hillel's suicide follow. Under the Bridge is most certainly their worst (and most popular song) so that clearly indicates where this writer stands in the pop music taste scale.
"Red Hots got baby appeal" raps Anthony on that first record. Yep! We like 'em young.
Part 2 of my intense college portfolio. Armed with crappy limited range film I roamed the eastside looking for edgy subject matter. Can't find my prof's notes or grade sorry.
Something to consider kids
