“Turn on the radio, nah fuck it, turn it off” shouts Zack de la Rocha on Rage Against the Machine’s track “Vietnow” and I couldn’t agree more. Radio stations lately have been especially irritating to my ears. Now mind you, I am well aware my musical tastes might be a little biased but I’m just tired of the overplayed, undercooked music that stations like the Edge and Y108 persistently bombard their listeners with day in and day out. I’ve completely tuned out the radio.
I listen to a decent variety of music but my personal favorites mostly come from the wide, wide world of rock and roll. My favourite band is Led Zeppelin. In fact, they are the greatest band in the world. But that’s some Classic Rock radio shit though so it’s not even worth talking about right now. The radio people I have beef with are the ones that present themselves as the beacon for “new” music – rock in particular. Pop music is not my thing and they are always playing the latest and greatest anyways so what’s for pop listeners go complain about anyway, right?
When it comes down to rock radio, the stations that promote the newest bands just tend to shovel the same garbage into listeners’ ears every day. A typical radio schedule for a rock station these days is pretty much loaded with Mumford and Sons, the Black Keys, Mumford and Sons coattail-riders, Nirvana and, of course, the CanCon staple Tragically Hip. Where’s the goddamn variety? Do people have the balls to play new music anymore? Okay, so that’s not the only stuff getting played on rock radio right now, but the deviations are not far off. Swap Nirvana out for Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or, even worse, Nickelback (I’m looking at you Y108) and throw in the latest sonic trend, whether it be the folk vibe we have now or the retro rock revival of the Black Keys. Where are bands like Tame Impala? METZ? My Morning Jacket? Titus Andronicus? There are so many fantastic bands out there that deserve some airtime. Just play some new music that excites people, makes people interested and keeps them thinking. Stop stuffing us with the same shit all the time. I swear I heard Finger Eleven on the radio more times this week than I can count. Are they even a relevant group anymore? What did they do for music? Why keep playing them?
Take a risk, rock radio, and show me something I haven’t heard before. Challenge your audience and challenge yourself because I’m over you.
By: Kyle Fisher
Although Toronto’s Kool Haus is better fit for raves than psychedelic rock concerts, the easygoing Aussies that comprise Tame Impala made themselves at home this past Saturday. The quintet of Kevin Parker (vocals/guitar), Jay Watson (synth, vocals), Dominic Simper (guitar/synth), Nick Allbrook (bass) and Julien Barbagglo (drums) displayed an ability to acclimatize that seems beyond their years. An eclectic sold-out crowd upwards of 2000 people filled the warehouse-like venue, attesting to the band’s heady rise to prominence as a must-see act. From the stonewashed Levis-wearing older men who probably have Rolling Stone subscriptions and stories about the Aerosmith shows they drove cross-country to see in the ‘70s to the bespectacled hipsters who just got off shifts at artisanal, fair-trade coffee shops on Queen Street, I was among good company.
Fellow Perth natives The Growl did a good job of keeping the anxious crowd attentive - or at least as well as anyone opening for Tame Impala can. “Smoke It Down to the Bone” was a groovy piece of stoner blues-rock that was commandeered by an earth-shaking bassline and the frontman’s grizzly vocals. To say that they are the Aussie version of The Black Keys — except they haven’t sold out (no shots, though) — would be fair, but they exceed the comparison.
After a quick soundcheck, which may have just felt that way because of the plentiful number of drinks imbibed, Tame Impala suddenly strode on stage to clamorous applause. Without greeting the multitude of fans, the band complacently jammed before launching into Innerspeaker standout “Solitude Is Bliss.” Even when distorted by vocoder, Parker’s John Lennon-like vocals sent girls swooning into fits. Although the song is about the frontman’s introverted mentality, it brought the crowd together as they ironically sang along to lyrics meant to alienate him from others: “you will never come close to how I feel.”
Flanked by a projection screen that displayed trippy visuals and whose fluctuations seemed to be synced with Parker’s Rickenbacker guitar, the band deftly wove their way through Lonerism’s “Apocalypse Dreams” without appearing to be phased by the large crowd. Heavily touted for their live performances, the band showed their worth with “Music To Walk Home By,” which, even through the Kool Haus’ shoddy sound system, sounded better than the studio version. Sure, the band might’ve employed a genius sound engineer, but the jam-packed closing minute of the song was too well performed to be a fluke. Not content to give the crowd a breather, Allbrook sent the fans into a rabid state with the visceral bassline of “Elephant”. Those who had been politely swaying to and fro lost any sense of middle-class reservation and avidly banged their heads along to the fuzzy jam reminiscent of the ‘60s.
Tame Impala ramped the energy up even further with Lonerism’s clear standout, “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” In a brief three minutes, the band expressed their mastery of the oft-done wrong psychedelic genre in a perfect sonic blend of their maximalist use of technology. The 14-song set was tight, but short (too much so) enough to leave everyone pining for more.
Although he had the crowd ready to proclaim him Toronto’s new mayor (God knows he’d fare better than the current KFC poster-boy in office), Parker maintained a steady distance from the concert-goers and made little banter other than to thank everyone for their support. But even without that paltry bit of interaction, the band’s music was more than enough to captivate. Tame Impala is clearly on their way to selling out bigger venues, and next time they roll through Toronto they may well have graduated to the stunning acoustics of Massey Hall. Along with many others, I look forward to it.
tomi milos
Lonerism is a peculiar album. The first time I listened through I didn’t understand it. But there were two tracks that stood out to me - “Elephant” and “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” Those songs motivated me to give the album another listen, and that time it hit me a little harder than the first time. I realized the entire album is filled with catchy tunes and brilliant sound engineering. Like all great albums, I could feel that it deserved my attention.
I now think that Lonerism should be viewed as a modern triumph of the psychedelic genre. It’s not easy to create unique music from a band whose singer sounds uncannily like John Lennon and whose style is nearly identical to the musical atmosphere of when he lived, but Tame Impala have succeeded in creating their own personality.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that differentiates this album from the psychedelic heyday of the late ‘60s, but it isn’t hard to distinguish it from the other bands grasping for fame by reinterpreting that era’s music. Tame Impala have breathed new life into an increasingly lifeless genre, and with renewed interest this type of music can hopefully once again capture public attention and awe.
Music isn’t what it used to be - but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Even though I’m too young to experience it, I’m sure this album will bring a wave of nostalgia to an older generation and hopefully a wave of affection for a younger one. Lonerism is a brilliant display of subtle musical genius.
Spencer Semianiw
