tinnitus photography

bad word choice. his discography. and yeah, obv. his ability to get name producers would be compromised. some people will write songs regardless of what they may earn from them. Dylan, Pollard, Smith (aka Jandek), Barlow, Hitchcock, Gelb... all these guys (and more) fall into this category.

obviously Neil's success has afforded him the ability to make decisions that others can't. this was even true w/ Bob Pollard, who made some big-sounding records like _Isolation Drills_ after the lo-fi experimentation of earlier records raised his profile enough to do so. i can't find the quote right now, but i do recall seeing Neil basically dis the Thrashers Wheat board because of naysayers about his new music, something to the extent of if they didn't like it, that's fine, and they'll both move on. i hope your mum likes her copy. be sure to let us know when it's on bandcamp.

perhaps my troll comment was reactionary, but i was prodded by your apparent declaration that these records were not 'close to good' zuma rust never sleeps freedom ragged glory harvest moon i will totally agree that post-Rust Never Sleeps, the material is not nearly as strong overall as the previous work. it was probably including Zuma in that category that got me going. that's my 2nd favorite NY record after OTB (well, probably tied w/ TTN and TFA).

'regardless of what i meant' I use these boards as a way to kill some time, shoot the shit and talk about music, passionately; i figure others here have invested time and $ into listening, and it's not just ear candy from the radio like the general populace. I also realize that taste is subjective, and even if you truly thing that Neil's last 'close to good' LP was Tonight's The Night, I can vehemently disagree w/ it but I realize I'm not gonna move you off yr position. That's not my intent. Maybe arguing about music online is like dancing about architecture.

his fan base is incidental to the records he has released, they are not linked or have any impact on the material he's recorded. neil's career would the be same if he sold a single copy of each release, that his mom bought. don't get smug if you can't handle basic communication.

you replied to qualifier 'close to good,' which you now are equating with 'great.' make up your mind. they have substantial differences in interpretation.

even outsiders like R. Stevie Moore and Jandek release records (and lots of them)...i don't get your line of reasoning...they create things, and release them so that people can experience them and draw their own conclusions. that's how art operates, not in a vacuum. to think that a particular release would be shaped for a specific component of the potential listening population is a stretch, at least for Neil. it's long been established that he does what he wants to.

well i wasn't around to see them, but certainly Springsteen played big halls during the Born To Run tour, Pearl Jam started playing big shows almost out of the gate w/ the success of their debut LP, and I saw U2 on the War tour (3rd LP) when they played a large indoor arena. I realize 'many' is a hard term to quantify, and we could back and forth all day cherry-picking names so i can't imagine this point will be settled one way or the other. no, a major rock act has nothing to do w/ the quality of their work, or purported 'masterpieces.' it's down to popularity (cf. Budweiser; it's the be

yeah, my point wasn't that Napster was solely responsible for what's happened, but i couldn't let the use of a good metaphor get in the way Napster and the subsequent P2P sharing might have increased concert attendance overall but perhaps the base is much broader now...maybe in the past a band like Reigning Sound would have drawn 30 people to their show; now that it's easier to sample their music, they sell out a 200 ppl room. but the mega-stars, the U2s and Pearl Jams and Metallicas...they are a thing of the past, in my opinion. Or least a rarity, like a blue lobster (maybe Taylor Sw

i think you are missing my point. i'm not saying there won't be any. I'm saying there won't be enough keep the same rate of scheduled dates for these sorts of venues, as it has been.

i am not denying the fact that some current bands can draw big crowds. there's just not enough of them to sustain the current system. Coldplay is about the only band i can think of (and admittedly this sphere isn't where i spend a lot of time, so i am likely missing a fair number of bands) who started releasing material in 1998 or later and can fill an arena. surely a dozen years is enough time to grow an audience to this size, right? edit - Kings of Leon also qualify. my argument is that it was MUCH easier (and faster) to do this pre-Napster (which, coincidentally, started in 1999). I

current = fleeting pop stars, one-hit wonders. ok, let's pick an arbitrary date...1998...give me a roster of bands who released their debut LP on or after that date, that could routinely play 5K+ venues today. outside the well-known A listers of classic rock radio, you always get packaged tours like 38 Special/Foreigner, or Pat Benatar/REO Speedwagon, or Poison/Warrant/Ratt, etc...every single year. those comprise a large chunk of the shows that hit these kind of venues, at least near me. there are two large outdoor theaters (Comcast Center (~20K) and Bank of America Pavilion (5K) near

that's two bands...there are a ton of FM bands from the 60s/70s/80s...not too many current bands that are on the radio for more than a year or two.

wow. yeah, i'd be hard pressed to find a 'close to good' record among his post-1975 work...i was gonna post a list but figured why feed an obvious troll. what makes you think that Neil makes music for his fan base? you are certainly free to dislike it, but projecting motives is a losing strategy.

here's my take...i think the original premise is spot on. if you look at the makeup of the scheduled dates for outdoor sheds and arenas, it's probably 40% 'classic rock' bands, then about 25% pop/hip-hop/country, with 25% being a mix of 'modern' or jam bands, and then 10% 'other.' to even open the doors and turn on the power to one of these venues, you need a fairly considerable amount of revenue to pay the staff and pay the electric bill. so, you can't sell 10,000 tickets at $15 a piece, and expect a successful business model. if a particular band (no matter how good they are) does not have

review + photos: http://www.prefixmag.com/photos/pavement-jenny-and-johnny-agganis-arena-boston-pic/ fucking great show...when Nastanovich is screaming from the edge of the stage during 'Unfair' and your arm is leaping out of its socket in a fist pump motion, you know it's a good show.

does Chrome Dreams II count?

thanks ghost! i should have all my shots and review done and up later tonight.

i noticed that too...when he played w/ The Jicks, it was different btw, that was not David Cross, though Kannberg did mention the person by that name. not sure who it was.

you are correct; he's a much better player. i was flattened at the re-arrangement of "Fight This Generation." fantastic show. review to follow.

some favorites of mine The Lost String (a doc about Marc Ribot) Such Hawks, Such Hounds (a doc about stoner metal, featuring Kyuss, Om, Dead Meadow, Wino from St Vitus and others...really quite nice) Watch Me Jumpstart (Guided By Voices - definitive documetary...totally nailed the vibe of the band at this time in their career) Space Is The Place (Sun Ra...'blaxplotation' turned on its head) Jandek On Corwood (this lost some steam after Jandek actually played live, but it's still a riveting watch) Westway To The World (good vid on The Clash) Rock and Roll Circus (not only great footage of The

I always had a soft spot for UO even though they failed to live up to their promise. i caught the show a couple of years, and here's my take: http://www.bigtakeover.com/concerts/urge-overkill-middle-east-cambridge-ma-wednesday-april-30-2008 here's a vid of an unreleased song they played that night:

you should see the campus landscaping...it's like a jungle out there.

i guess the triple bill of Fucked Up/Fuck Buttons/Holy Fuck is off the table...