Having returned from the tour, I'm not quite sure what to write about in these blogs. The only music news I've heard recently is that Frank Black has disappeared. Black Francis has returned. That is correct Pixies fans: the arguably most influential band (with Sonic Youth) to the grunge era's singer's alter-ego has resurfaced. What does this mean?
Most probably, it means that the albums he put out under the Frank Black name (self-title, the near perfect Teenager of the Year, all the Catholics releases, etc) are officially shelved and the music he wrote on the records we know and love (Doolittle, Trompe Le Monde, Surfer Rosa, etc) is back! Upon first listen, the first track is exciting and really moving. It's exactly what I expect out of the lovely Charles K. Thompson.
However, I'm disappointed to say that the melodies that the Pixies records were so thick with seem surprisingly absent. There's not as much to sing along with even though the vocals are more Pixies and less Frank Black. Hearing this album, I'm ok with the Pixies not releasing a new record yet. I want their upcoming record to be the ultimate resurgence of teen angst and grunge and power pop and all the thing I love about them. The recent Dinosaur Jr. record was pretty good, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the hell out of it. I recommend this record to all of you superfans, those of you who love later Pixies and later Catholic stuff.
That's not to say it doesn't have the potential to be great. I said myself I've only given it one good listen. I was just too excited about it to wait and absorb it before posting about it.
Rating: Borrow and burn
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Want to grow up to be, be a debaser!
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I found this on George Howard's blog:
The following tips taken from “Politics and the English Language,” and nicely summarized here, are valuable for any of us who write lyrics, write bios, write business/marketing plans, or pretty much write anything at all:
A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
What am I trying to say?
What words will express it?
What image or idiom will make it clearer?
Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
And he will probably ask himself two more:
Could I put it more shortly?
Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?
One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails.
I think the following rules will cover most cases:
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
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