Sound Over Time

Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny

2006-11-29T09:12:00.000-08:00

Serving as a soundtrack to their new movie "The Pick of Destiny," Jack Black and Kyle Gass have given Tenacious D fans something new, and while not as classic as their self-titled album, this album still serves its purpose as a great rock comedy album.As a whole, the album attempts to portray the movie's plot through the music. If you listen before seeing the film, the story is a little confusing. It feels like some of the fluidity between tracks was lost through the need to construct a story in the album. Another problem is that most of the tracks are short, on average between one and three minutes, leaving the album's development feeling scattered and thrown together.Black's vocals, which are animated and lively, jump out through the music and create the album's mood. His choice of lyrics and the theatrical manner in which he sings makes for catchy and hilarious tracks. The music behind Black is well polished and easy to listen to. With his sidekick Gass on guitar and David Grohl on the drums, it seems that the goal was to build the music around the lyrics only to support Black. Without his humor, the band would just sound like general rock, which is part of the joke."Kickapoo" opens the album with Black singing accompanied by guitar. It unfolds into a rock epic. The song develops and gives a clear beginning to the story. Meatloaf guest stars on the track as Black's father who bans rock music from his house and pressures his son to subscribe to Jesus. Black then travels to Hollywood to find his destiny. Ronnie James Dio is also in the song at the end, seeming to be Black's guardian angel or his conscience. This serves as a great opener for the album, offering changes of pace, and most importantly, it's funny."POD," short for Pick of Destiny, is the first single off the album. Lyrically, it is a collage of the events though the movie and possibly was written to familiarize people with the storyline. While mostly promotional, it isn't one of the funniest tracks on the album.A highlight of the album is the song "The Government Totally Sucks." The song is satirical to other rock protest songs because it is obviously written in the most blatant and in-your-face way. The song is straight to the point with its catchy chorus and generalities in the lyrics, which complain about the government messing up the environment and say that we should all come together to bring back the United States of America. In this track, the joke really comes through.Another great point in the album is the song "Papagenu (He's My Sassafrass)," which gives a warm, Jethro Tull-like, feel good melody played with a recorder. The song is about a yeti that becomes Black's father. The song changes pace at the end and sounded a lot like the song "Kielbasa" from their self-titled album.Overall, this is only an album that a true Tenacious D fan can appreciate. While not a solid album in its entirety, it does offer enough substance to keep the listener involved.

Wes Montgomery Tribute Packs Iron Horse

2006-11-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

Local guitar virtuoso Joe Belmont, accompanied by a band that was right in the groove, took the audience on a trip through the life of guitar legend Wes Montgomery last Sunday at the Iron Horse."I put this together to promote Wes and re-familiarize people with his music," said Belmont, right before breaking into a version of Montgomery's "4 On 6," an upbeat song with sharp rhythms and blistering guitar.It took no time for this group to settle in, they got onstage and were immediately in the groove. The set opened with the band behind singer Jill Connolly performing a version of "God Bless the Child," her smooth timbre was reminiscent of Dinah Washington and mixed well with Belmont's quick trebles and Claire Arenius's exquisite brush work.Atmosphere in the Iron Horse was great that night, consisting mostly of an appreciative middle age crowd whose low murmurs during breaks mixed well with the warm smell of food and thick lager.The first highlight of the night came when the band sat out to let Belmont and Connolly do an acoustic duet. Their version of "Somewhere" had a Joe Pass styled guitar part that was a perfect complement to Connelly's voice.Afterward, Connelly got off stage and Belmont talked about Wes Montgomery's life for a bit, describing him as "one of the greatest jazz guitarist."Other songs played at the show were "California Dreaming" with special guest Bruce Diehl on the saxophone and "D-Natural Blues."Belmont's band was furiously on top of every song and communicated amazingly during the performance.The stunning chops of Dave Shapiro's upright bass work where well developed and right in the groove. His solo in the song "Caravan" made use of dissonant pizzicato chords, great phrasing, and warm bottom end that left the crowd going nuts.Locked in with Shapiro was drummer Claire Arenius. She impressed the crowd with her solos and proficiency in complementing the rest of the band. Paul Arslanian, the piano player, had some great moments as well. He used his sharp skills to keep the group moving, and his touch on the ivories was incredible.Shapiro, Arslanian and Arenius were so cohesive during the show that the energy between them was making them smile. You could tell that these were seasoned musicians who loved performing for the crowd that night. Throughout the show, Belmont told of Montgomery's life and career. He would introduce each song with the story behind it, adding another level to the show. According to his Web site, the show was "the result of a year [Belmont] spent extensively playing along with/learning the music on Wes' CDs."

Belmont asked the crowd if they were fans of Charlie Christian, then went on to explain that Montgomery followed his work. He learned guitar on his own and played furiously. Montgomery was finally made famous by his album "The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery," from which the group played two songs.Another great moment of the night was the song "No Blues," which Joe said was from the album "Smokin' at the Half note." They also played "Unit 7," another song from that album. Belmont said that song was used as Cannonball Adderley's theme song.Bruce Steel's sax was a great complement to a couple of the songs that night. He was able to jump right in with the band and use his mellow tone to give the songs a different feel.Near the end of the set Connelly got back on stage and beautifully accompanied the band with the song "Round Midnight." The band then went all out on the tune "Jingles" then told the crowd to have a good night, thanked us for coming out, and got off stage.After three minutes of yelling and clapping from the crowd, Belmont and the band got back on stage. Belmont asked the sound manager from the stage if they could do an encore. They then played a fast and fun Charlie Parker tune to end the night on a great note.Overall, the concert was a great event. Check out Belmont's Web site at www.joebelmont.com for future performance information.

Music Industry still wary of Internet

2006-11-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

Music lovers should be glad to be born in this generation. For $5 a month, you can listen to anything - there is a whole world of music at the click of a button. The Internet provides access to so much music that would otherwise go unheard. Just a few years ago, back in the CD generation, listeners had to have money and time to find that one rare album. Since almost anything can be found online, there is no longer a need to go to a record store. The digital makeover will ruin the Mom and Pop record store, but at the same time, it will release music from much of the corporate grip that has plagued the art for a long time.Corporations like Wal-Mart and Best Buy are the biggest sellers of music and have been able to control the music market by selecting what music they will sell. Record companies have had to keep that in mind when recording an artist. For instance, Wal-Mart bans albums that are of "explicit content," giving the artist an ultimatum: censor the albums or lose the sales from those stores. Wal-Mart distributes 25 percent of music sales, according to a November 2005 article on Mac360. The chain doesn't like politics or swearing in music, but movie viewers can always get the new bloody movie that just came out.However, Wal-Mart and Best Buy losing money should be the least of listeners' worries. The ones that truly suffer are the small record shops. Every music lover can remember picking up a record and running home to give it a listen. That exhilaration is gone and it's not coming back. Record stores should cut their losses right now. In five years, it will be hard to find a CD player, unless that device is part of a computer connected to the Internet.The drawback of digital music is that you can't hold it in your hand or flip through a booklet of it. You can't show off your collection to your friends without waiting for the screen to load. Should we consider this the death of the music collector? Don't worry, it is just a transition time now - the only thing to do is embrace it.
With digital music, the idea of the album could quickly become obsolete. The Internet allows musicians to release songs one at a time. This replaces the economic need to release songs in a set collection, the reason albums were made in the first place. It is unlikely that albums will ever stop being produced, but there is a possibility. If that happens, it would be the greatest loss to the digital music generation.The Internet does leave room for new expansion. The artist Beck, best known for his hit "Loser" in 1994, is pioneering new ways to expand his albums. He put out videos on YouTube.com with songs off his new album, "The Information." He is using the power of the Internet to expand the type of media that can go with an album. Digital music has been used by The Barenaked Ladies, as well. They put un-edited versions of new songs on their Web site for download. According to the band's Web site, the band wants fans to "remix, re-create, re-edit, re-configure, and realize what you will with these parts in coming up with your own versions." This gives fans an interactive experience, and if fans mix their own songs, they have played a part in creating the music.With these pros and cons weighed, there is a lot to look forward to in these next few years. Musical curiosities can flourish and be exposed to more music than if the CD were still popular. There is a lot to leave behind with the music store culture, but its ever hastening death is giving way to complete musical access to the one who deserves it the most: the listener. Michael Trabert is a Collegian columnist.

Blowin' in the Wind

2006-08-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Blowin’ in the Wind

“I never wanted to be a profit or a savior”-Bob Dylan

Considered one of Bob Dylan’s greatest works, Blowin’ in the Wind has been covered over by over 100 artists. Dylan’s contemporary style and lyricism come together to from this timeless classic. While politically charged, this piece gives no historical event or time. It instead asks introspective questions about war and life. This song is also deep rooted in the politics, and culture of that time.

Blowin’ in the Wind was released in 1963 on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. This was his second LP but the first to give him exposure and respect within the music industry. During the recordings he was produced by John Hammond a big name in the record industry and part the reason why his album got so much recognition when it was released. Blowin in the Wind became Dylan’s first big commercial success and made him a widely known name.

Not wanting to be labeled as a political song writer Dylan made sure to let his fans know that he was more than Blowin’ in the Wind. "This here ain't a protest song or anything like that, 'cause I don't write protest songs...I'm just writing it as something to be said, for somebody, by somebody." (Dylan, concert in 1964) He always strived to stay out of a genre and by doing so was free to change styles and set the creative example that defined his career.

What sparked the rash of protest songs was the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. A year before this song was released. There was a sense of the world ending, and Dylan had made the perfect song to ask why this could happen. It was at this time Dylan became the voice of the war sick generation, even though he didn’t want to be.

Musically this song is simple, which is why it speaks such volumes. This song, like most Dylan songs is about the poetry and performance of the lyrics. Dylan’s unique style is used in an almost mysterious way. He starts of with the famous line, “How many roads must a man walk down…before you call him a man” A question that has many different answers but ultimately needs to be decided within ones self. He keeps a feeling of uneasiness throughout the song by posing questions that are related by their hard to find answer.

What made this song political are the questions he asks about humankind and its fascination with war: “How many times must the cannon balls fly

Before they're forever banned?” The use of the phrase “cannon balls” shows how Dylan strived to keep the song objective. In doing so makes the song timeless and it could be applied to any war. “It sounded like it was written today, but could have been written 200 years ago,” (Izzy Young). This is Dylan’s strong point in his songwriting; his ability to write songs that were not only contemporary but whose meaning could be used for any historical setting.

In all he asks nine questions that are resolved by Dylan saying that “The answer is blowin’ in the wind.” This seems to offer some hope that solutions can be found to the worlds increasingly severe problems. We all just need to look inside and find the answer to the problems ourselves before we can come to any real understanding.

The song structure itself is based around No More Auction Block (Many Thousands Gone) a traditional American folk song that dates as far back as 1867. The words are all his own and he is said to have written them in less than 30 minutes. It is this melody combined with his gentle voice and odd phrasing that give this song the power that it need to become an anthem for the politically active generation.

There have been many big names that have covered this folk standard. Some of the bigger names are Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley, Peter, Paul & Mary, Chet Atkins, and Joan Baez. A lot of black soul singers took up this song because of how the song could lend itself to the racial problems of the time. This isn’t the only Dylan song to be covered, but for an artist to have such an impact with their sophomore album is an astonishing feat.

Over the years Dylan would change. Bolin in the Wind was only the first song in his 40 year career to be a huge success. His influence on music will can only be speculated because of the shear amount of people that have followed his steps. Dylan wrote his songs so everyone could interpret the meaning and in doing so his songs spoke for people from many different backgrounds. He never wanted to be stuck with a genre or sound; this gave him the power to keep exploring and innovating new areas of music.

Today, Blowin’ in the Wind is a definite classic. Being covered over a 100 artists and performed countless times. This was the first true milestone in Bob Dylan’s Career. Even though the song was written over 40 years ago, it is still as fresh as it was in 1963. The questions posed by this song still don’t have answers and the world is still in the same escalating turmoil.