Admittedly, I had a hard time coming up with a topic to write about this week. I have a few half formed ideas in the back of my head that might pan out for next week, but nothing really jumped out as something I should write about.
I'm a fan of cute animals. What does this have to do with music though? Well, two things kind of came together for this week's blog post. First, I've been digging deep into my Weird Al collection this week, listening to every album 2-3 times so far this week. Second, an old friend said that she's introducing her young son to Parry Gripp, so we got to sharing Parry Gripp songs this week.
I'm a fan of what you would call "novelty music". I like music that doesn't take itself too seriously, or, rather, music that takes emotion and fun seriously. Most music is serious, but self-righteous musicians, virtuosos who take their craft way too seriously bug me. I have most of Weird Al Yankovic's albums. I have almost every They Might Be Giants album. I have albums from musical pranksters like Negativland, Longmont Potion Castle, Devo, The Dead Milkmen. I have compilations of comedic covers. I collect albums simply because they're weird. But, as Frank Zappa once said, Does Humour Belong in Music?
I'd argue that it does. A good joke in the form of a song can go a long way to making a point. The Dead Kennedy's skewering of the music industry with "Pull My Strings", brilliantly performed live at the Bay Area Music Awards in front of industry big-wigs, was a coup for punk music. Negativland's controversial use of Casey Kasem quotes and U2 samples in "These Guys Are From England and Who Gives a Shit" got them sued but it made a point about cultural appropriation, copyright use and the right of artists to parody and criticize. Weird Al's rework of "Blurred Lines" to "Word Crimes" made a subtle point of using music to educate instead of reinforcing sexist stereotypes, and made the song a bit more punchy to boot.
Which brings us to Parry Gripp. I can't remember exactly when I discovered his music, or exactly which video of his I watched first (It might have been "Hamster on a Piano".) Parry Gripp writes very short songs, usually around a minute in length, and usually about cute animals or absurd things like tacos or Rupert Grint. He's also a member of the comedic pop punk band Nerf Herder, writes theme songs for TV and jingles for commercials. He's even been nominated for an Emmy for his musical work.
His cute animal songs aren't that serious, nor should they be treated that seriously. But, it does take some talent to write something catchy and memorable in just a minute. And his music is definitely memorable. It's insanely catchy and the songs stick in your head for months, and you'll find yourself going back to the videos. Music is meant to make you feel. Even to have fun. While some might enjoy a 12 minute, intricate guitar solo, I prefer a fun song that's going to make me smile or move me in some other way.
A few more Parry Gripp videos:
Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig)
Turtle
Cat Flushing a Toilet
At the Bunny Festival
Sumimasen
Dog with a Box on His Head
That Skunk is Mad
Showing posts with label Frank Zappa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Zappa. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Saturday, September 19, 2015
SJWs Invade Music!
A few days ago, I read an interesting article that was linked up from the BC Musician magazine Facebook page, called I Was a Polaris Juror and it Sucked. Having been a Polaris juror myself several years ago, I found the article an interesting look back into the world I had left. When I was a juror, I was called in due to my position as music director at CFBX and enjoyed the opportunity to help determine the best music in Canada, regardless of commercial success. I only stayed as a juror for one year, since I found a lot of the discussion fairly off-putting, as the article above points out. The politicking, sometimes harsh (if passionate) arguing and name calling often drowned out the actual discussion about the music. I kind of shrugged the rest of the article off as sour grapes, finding the tokenism of the author wanting to include more diverse voices as a point of social commentary, rather than a discussion of music.
That is until this happened:
The very same band the author of the article was campaigning against has changed their name, due to pressure from outside sources. I understand why the band did it, to silence people complaining about the band rather than talking about their music, but it's a shame they were forced to do so. They didn't choose the name because it was offensive (though that would be a totally post-punk/middle finger kind of thing for a band like this to do), but because it resonated with them. Today I realized, after watching the hilarious and spot on portrayals of SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) as bullying frat boys from Monday's season opener of South Park, that SJWs are beginning to infiltrate the music industry. And it sucks.
The SJW movement has it's roots in something noble, the feminists movement, but has turned into something extremely offensive and often unintentionally hilarious. Check out the TumblrinAction subreddit for the type of thing I'm talking about. Yes, the rights of the trans-gendered, the gay and otherwise marginalized members of society should be protected. No, just because you think you're a wolf in a human body (or even more ridiculous things like a galaxy in a human body, or a colour in a human body (yes, that's apparently a thing), does not make you special nor deserving of special treatment. Because you think you have a mental illness and you are "triggered" by someone saying you're not special does not make you special. It makes you delusional. Real people with mental illnesses don't brag about their illnesses, they instead work through them. And when they're triggered (actually triggered, not whatever you think being triggered is), they curl up in a ball in the corner, a quivering mess of uncontrollable anxiety or depression. They don't blog about it. Nor do they whine on the internet, unless they're looking for attention. Like most of these otherkin folk on Tumblr.
Yes, Johnnie Regalado, Viet Cong's name could be seen as offensive. But does that in any way reduce how good their music is? Fuck no. Their debut album is one of the best albums of the year so far, and I'd be pretty proud if the Polaris Prize went to them. Grant Lawrence is completely right pointing out that you don't seem to have any problems with other bands that have offensive names. The Dead Kennedys, named after the assassination of John Kennedy, are one of the most respected punk bands in the world. Joy Division are named after the group of "pleasure ladies" used to service Nazi leaders, and are one of the most important post-punk bands ever. Gang of Four are named after the repressive inner circle of Mao's revolutionary government in China, but still made several amazing and highly influential dance punk albums. The Lee Harvey Oswald Band, Marilyn Manson, Anal Cult, The Fucking Champs, The Dwarves. The list goes on and on of bands with offensive names that are making great music. Yet Viet Cong somehow twists your nipples and twisted a bunch of other people so hard that the band were forced to change their name because they got all offended by the choices they made. What right do you have to say that the band is wrong? How punk is it to knuckle down and bow to public pressure? Not very punk at all. And it robs the band of their ability to make an artistic statement.
This reminds me so much of the PMRC debates that happened back in the 80s, back when some morally upright politicians and their wives were openly complaining about depravity in the music industry. This was back when people were afraid that kids were killing themselves due to listening to heavy metal albums. The hearings that followed were amusing in a lot of ways, with Frank Zappa making the most poignant speech of the hearings. It's interesting to note that Zappa's Jazz from Hell album ended up with a parental advisory sticker on it, even though the album contained no lyrics, and there was nothing offensive on the album sleeve or liner notes. And Zappa was a staunch conservative. And, John Denver, who the establishment thought would for sure stand up for the depravity in the music industry, actually stood up for artistic expression.
Get your stinking moral high ground out of art and music. That sort of judgement stunts the artistic process and damages art and music. Viet Cong should not be forced to change their name.
FYI, here's Zappa's speech. It's a bit long, but worth listening to.
That is until this happened:
The very same band the author of the article was campaigning against has changed their name, due to pressure from outside sources. I understand why the band did it, to silence people complaining about the band rather than talking about their music, but it's a shame they were forced to do so. They didn't choose the name because it was offensive (though that would be a totally post-punk/middle finger kind of thing for a band like this to do), but because it resonated with them. Today I realized, after watching the hilarious and spot on portrayals of SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) as bullying frat boys from Monday's season opener of South Park, that SJWs are beginning to infiltrate the music industry. And it sucks.
The SJW movement has it's roots in something noble, the feminists movement, but has turned into something extremely offensive and often unintentionally hilarious. Check out the TumblrinAction subreddit for the type of thing I'm talking about. Yes, the rights of the trans-gendered, the gay and otherwise marginalized members of society should be protected. No, just because you think you're a wolf in a human body (or even more ridiculous things like a galaxy in a human body, or a colour in a human body (yes, that's apparently a thing), does not make you special nor deserving of special treatment. Because you think you have a mental illness and you are "triggered" by someone saying you're not special does not make you special. It makes you delusional. Real people with mental illnesses don't brag about their illnesses, they instead work through them. And when they're triggered (actually triggered, not whatever you think being triggered is), they curl up in a ball in the corner, a quivering mess of uncontrollable anxiety or depression. They don't blog about it. Nor do they whine on the internet, unless they're looking for attention. Like most of these otherkin folk on Tumblr.
Yes, Johnnie Regalado, Viet Cong's name could be seen as offensive. But does that in any way reduce how good their music is? Fuck no. Their debut album is one of the best albums of the year so far, and I'd be pretty proud if the Polaris Prize went to them. Grant Lawrence is completely right pointing out that you don't seem to have any problems with other bands that have offensive names. The Dead Kennedys, named after the assassination of John Kennedy, are one of the most respected punk bands in the world. Joy Division are named after the group of "pleasure ladies" used to service Nazi leaders, and are one of the most important post-punk bands ever. Gang of Four are named after the repressive inner circle of Mao's revolutionary government in China, but still made several amazing and highly influential dance punk albums. The Lee Harvey Oswald Band, Marilyn Manson, Anal Cult, The Fucking Champs, The Dwarves. The list goes on and on of bands with offensive names that are making great music. Yet Viet Cong somehow twists your nipples and twisted a bunch of other people so hard that the band were forced to change their name because they got all offended by the choices they made. What right do you have to say that the band is wrong? How punk is it to knuckle down and bow to public pressure? Not very punk at all. And it robs the band of their ability to make an artistic statement.
This reminds me so much of the PMRC debates that happened back in the 80s, back when some morally upright politicians and their wives were openly complaining about depravity in the music industry. This was back when people were afraid that kids were killing themselves due to listening to heavy metal albums. The hearings that followed were amusing in a lot of ways, with Frank Zappa making the most poignant speech of the hearings. It's interesting to note that Zappa's Jazz from Hell album ended up with a parental advisory sticker on it, even though the album contained no lyrics, and there was nothing offensive on the album sleeve or liner notes. And Zappa was a staunch conservative. And, John Denver, who the establishment thought would for sure stand up for the depravity in the music industry, actually stood up for artistic expression.
Get your stinking moral high ground out of art and music. That sort of judgement stunts the artistic process and damages art and music. Viet Cong should not be forced to change their name.
FYI, here's Zappa's speech. It's a bit long, but worth listening to.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
RIP Cesaria Evora/Vaclav Havel
Cesaria Evora may not be a well know name in mainstream music, but if you liked worldbeat music, then you'd know her work well.
Born in Cape Verde, she's probably the best known musician to ever come out of that tiny country. She was known as the "Barefoot Diva" for her penchant for performing in bare feet. She had 12 albums to her credit and she won a world music Grammy in 2004 for her album Voz D'Amor. She died on December 17, 2011 in Cape Verde from resperatory problems. She was 70.
http://youtu.be/dNVrdYGiULM
Not music related, but Vaclav Havel also died on December 18th. As the first leader of the modern Czech Republic, Havel asked Frank Zappa to be a consultant on trade, culture and tourism, which Zappa agreed to. According to Zappa, Havel sat down with Zappa, lit a joint then told Zappa he really liked Bongo Fury.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49XUP2gS-2s
Born in Cape Verde, she's probably the best known musician to ever come out of that tiny country. She was known as the "Barefoot Diva" for her penchant for performing in bare feet. She had 12 albums to her credit and she won a world music Grammy in 2004 for her album Voz D'Amor. She died on December 17, 2011 in Cape Verde from resperatory problems. She was 70.
http://youtu.be/dNVrdYGiULM
Not music related, but Vaclav Havel also died on December 18th. As the first leader of the modern Czech Republic, Havel asked Frank Zappa to be a consultant on trade, culture and tourism, which Zappa agreed to. According to Zappa, Havel sat down with Zappa, lit a joint then told Zappa he really liked Bongo Fury.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49XUP2gS-2s
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