M-IS-ISOL35NOISE

There seems to be some self-righteous hipster dickwads that have been displaying petty disdain over the new Goldfrapp record, Seventh Tree. They can't believe that Goldfrapp completely did away with the ridiculously overhyped glam rock/club pop hybrid nonsense and created a (insert sarcastic GASP) more lush and laidback record, akin to their gorgeous debut Felt Mountain. These people want to all of a sudden riot in the streets as if they were in Bosnia or something, exclaiming their outrage over this blatant sacrilege. Well, I have three words for these people:

GET THE FUCK OVER IT. Oh, that's five words, but that sounds better. I don't understand it when people freak out whenever an artist or group tries to even remotely do something different rather than play the same 'ole, same 'ole record after record after record. Then, they act personally offended that the said artist would "betray" them. There's an affliction named after this phenomena (of my own creation). I'd like to call it SYS (Sonic Youth Syndrome.)



Some people just can't get over the fact that Sonic Youth aren't re-recording Sister over and over and over and over again. OH NO! How horrible! That is just so terrible. How dare they!!! Bands evolve. Music evolves. That's what makes music such a wonderful thing. I feel cheated sometimes if an artist or a band does the same thing over and over. Even if they fail or disappoint, I can at least respect the fact that they consciously tried to evolve in some way or other.

In the case of Goldfrapp, their sound has returned full circle to what made some of us fall in love with them to begin with. Felt Mountain, at its core, was not glammed up and prancing around in short shorts that it shouldn't have been wearing in the first place. I liked the old Goldfrapp, with its lush atmospherics and angelic vocals. Alison's voice is one of my favorite voices on the planet. Her vocals have the ability to put me into a happy place that not a lot of other voices can do.

At least with the second album, Black Cherry, I felt that there was still some beauty and grace that made Felt Mountain great. Although I don't dislike Supernature, I felt that Supernature was too robotic in a "glamtacular" sorta-way, which in turn, minimized the lush dynamics of her voice. Therefore, I firmly believe that Seventh Tree is a valiant return to form for Alison and Will. Seventh Tree accentuates the qualities of Alison's voice that made me fall in love with her in the first place.

Maybe I am a little biased myself. Truthfully, I am sick to bloody death of the glam rock/club pop combo meal that has been spoonfed to the masses. I like glam rock in certain doses and also club pop in certain doses, but when that is all I hear, it drives me crazy. The fans of the "glam rock/club pop" combo meal that surround me whenever I go to the various hipster nights around town also drive me nuts. Some of these individuals are also those that SHOULD NOT be gyrating around Chop Suey in tight-fitting 80s-high-school-throwback gym short shorts, armpit-stained white t's and fuzzy wristbands. God, I hate that look. Anyway, I digress.

I love the new Goldfrapp. I'm happy to see them back again. Give Seventh Tree a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised.

I am starting to get blown away by the number of live shows that are occurring in the upcoming months. The list just keeps growing and I'm not sure that I can keep up with all of them. Anyway, here's what is coming up for me in the way of live shows (all in Seattle, except where mentioned):

Xiu Xiu - March 8, Chop Suey
Red Sparrows - March 20, Neumos
Boredoms - March 21, Neumos
Bob Mould Band - March 28, Doug Fir Lounge, Portland
Ministry - March 30, Roseland, Portland
American Music Club/Evangelista (Carla Buzolich) - April 4, Doug Fir Lounge, Portland
Evangelista - April 5, Healthy Times Music Club
Acid Mothers Temple - April 5, Sunset Tavern
Autechre - April 7, Neumos
Meat Beat Manifesto - April 9, Neumos
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - April 11, El Corazon
Sissy Spacek (John Wiese)/Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - April 11, The Vera Project
Stars of the Lid - April 19, Triple Door
Sasha and John Digweed - April 22, Showbox at SoDo
Hot Chip - April 22, Showbox at the Market
Ellen Allien/Sascha Funke - May 1, Chop Suey
Margaret Cho - May 10, Paramount Theatre
No Fun Fest - May 16-18, Knitting Factory, NYC
A Silver Mt. Zion/Vic Chestnutt - May 20, Bowery Ballroom, NYC
KTL [Stephen O'Malley of Sunn 0)))] - May 21, Knitting Factory, NYC
Ladytron/Datarock - May 24, Showbox at the Market
Destroid (Daniel Myer of Haujobb) - June 6, El Corazon
Wolf Eyes - June 12, High Dive

Down the pike:
Decibel Festival - September, Seattle
Brainwaves Festival - November, Boston

Rumored Summer/Fall Tours:
Radiohead (West Coast in August???)
Legendary Pink Dots (Fall)
Wire (Fall)

That is completely NUTS! On April 5th, 11th and 22nd, I have to choose between multiple shows. This is going to be hard. On top of all that, I have to figure out how I am going to afford my upcoming return trip to NYC and to pay off my current debts. Something's gotta give. I might have to miss a couple of these shows. I might have to cut my expenses back from Bauhaus and Stumptown. Maybe I have to sell some cds. Hooking on the streets will be the absolute LAST resort. Ha ha!