been hearing a lot of hype lately about Tune-Yards, an essentially one-woman band, who plays weird but touching and rocking melanges of folk, world music, hip hop, soul, and.... the kitchen sink.... rock, reggae, African, Indian... it's all in there, and much much more....
somehow i missed out on the hype surrounding her first album, Bird-Brains, in 2009, but the 2011 hype for her second album, whokill (2011, 4AD) is all but inescapable. Everywhere you look, there are pictures of Tune-Yards, or tUnE-YaRdS, as she, Merrill Garbus, would have us write (I'll pass, thanks....), making funny faces, things painted on her face, and writers declaring her to be the best thing since Pet Rocks... did I mention she had a background in theater? Guess I didn't have to....
Anyway, i again assumed that if the hype machine was kicking into gear for her rear she must be pretty awful - wrong again! (just as i was about Iron & Wine.... don't judge just by looks and hype alone, listen to the fucking music, maestro....)
Tune-Yards is something else....
See/hear Tune-Yards 4AD Session here....
She uses loops of her own vocalizations and beats, as well as "found sound" recorded on the street, throw in a little bass from her pal, and her own ukulele, and... viola! soundscape collages emerge, echoes of Fela here and there... all them other white ersatz "African music" aficionados (yes, I'm picking on the poor rich kids in Vampire Weekend once again...) look like the poseurs they are compared to this firestarter.....
Besides being pleasantly surprised that a hyped artist was actually good, I got to feel good about myself for listening (big pat on the back) to non-rock non-guitar-based music.... music one could actually dance to.... made by a non-male.... my recent playlists have been dominated by white boys with guitars that it has becoming embarrassing.... M.I.A. was virtually one of the few non-white non-male non-rock artists i listened to on a regular basis....
Now, suddenly, my world is full of vaginas! not literally, mind you, but lately i've been really digging PJ Harvey, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and now Ms. Tune-Yards... I'm not about to impose a quota system, requiring me to listen to a certain percentage of non-male non-white and/or non-rock artists, but it is refreshing to find such artists who are compelling and, jesus, adding a little diversity to my playlists, no?
The layer/collage approach to music, i find fascinating, and artists such as Wavves have used this technique brilliantly. The use of sound collage, including found sound, weird vocalizations (sometimes tribal sounding), and world music, is radical and creative.
It works as background music, foreground music, or dance music, which is more than can be said about most indie rock.
Although i HATE dance music, electronica, techno, and all that shit (AKA "the Devil's Music), i keep trying to maintain an open mind for crissakes, and have had many long discussions with people like my cousin Valentino, an East Coast-based DJ/producer http://www.myspace.com/valentinolarosa on how rock and techno can, uh hem, get along....
i think back to the concerts in the 60s, where people often danced, paying little or no attention to the band, and comparing that to most rock shows these days, where people stand stone-faced and stoic, "don't you know you shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you?", depending on the artist/shaman to do all the magic, while we stand and watch.... compare and contrast to raves, where everyone is dancing (and socializing) like crazy.... i guess it's easy to dance like an idiot when you're on 500 mikes of acid (like those folks in the 60s) or ecstasy in the case of the ravers, but still... Of course, on our side, we've got Words and Meaning, passed on from our folk, blues, country, gospel roots, whereas they often have no words whatsoever.... Surely, I have often argued, we can use some of their funk and they could use some of our, er, brain.
Well, you get the point.
Do yourself a favor and check out Tune-Yards ASAP.... and then pray a short prayer for my salvation....
somehow i missed out on the hype surrounding her first album, Bird-Brains, in 2009, but the 2011 hype for her second album, whokill (2011, 4AD) is all but inescapable. Everywhere you look, there are pictures of Tune-Yards, or tUnE-YaRdS, as she, Merrill Garbus, would have us write (I'll pass, thanks....), making funny faces, things painted on her face, and writers declaring her to be the best thing since Pet Rocks... did I mention she had a background in theater? Guess I didn't have to....
Anyway, i again assumed that if the hype machine was kicking into gear for her rear she must be pretty awful - wrong again! (just as i was about Iron & Wine.... don't judge just by looks and hype alone, listen to the fucking music, maestro....)
Tune-Yards is something else....
See/hear Tune-Yards 4AD Session here....
She uses loops of her own vocalizations and beats, as well as "found sound" recorded on the street, throw in a little bass from her pal, and her own ukulele, and... viola! soundscape collages emerge, echoes of Fela here and there... all them other white ersatz "African music" aficionados (yes, I'm picking on the poor rich kids in Vampire Weekend once again...) look like the poseurs they are compared to this firestarter.....
Besides being pleasantly surprised that a hyped artist was actually good, I got to feel good about myself for listening (big pat on the back) to non-rock non-guitar-based music.... music one could actually dance to.... made by a non-male.... my recent playlists have been dominated by white boys with guitars that it has becoming embarrassing.... M.I.A. was virtually one of the few non-white non-male non-rock artists i listened to on a regular basis....
Now, suddenly, my world is full of vaginas! not literally, mind you, but lately i've been really digging PJ Harvey, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and now Ms. Tune-Yards... I'm not about to impose a quota system, requiring me to listen to a certain percentage of non-male non-white and/or non-rock artists, but it is refreshing to find such artists who are compelling and, jesus, adding a little diversity to my playlists, no?
The layer/collage approach to music, i find fascinating, and artists such as Wavves have used this technique brilliantly. The use of sound collage, including found sound, weird vocalizations (sometimes tribal sounding), and world music, is radical and creative.
It works as background music, foreground music, or dance music, which is more than can be said about most indie rock.
Although i HATE dance music, electronica, techno, and all that shit (AKA "the Devil's Music), i keep trying to maintain an open mind for crissakes, and have had many long discussions with people like my cousin Valentino, an East Coast-based DJ/producer http://www.myspace.com/valentinolarosa on how rock and techno can, uh hem, get along....
i think back to the concerts in the 60s, where people often danced, paying little or no attention to the band, and comparing that to most rock shows these days, where people stand stone-faced and stoic, "don't you know you shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you?", depending on the artist/shaman to do all the magic, while we stand and watch.... compare and contrast to raves, where everyone is dancing (and socializing) like crazy.... i guess it's easy to dance like an idiot when you're on 500 mikes of acid (like those folks in the 60s) or ecstasy in the case of the ravers, but still... Of course, on our side, we've got Words and Meaning, passed on from our folk, blues, country, gospel roots, whereas they often have no words whatsoever.... Surely, I have often argued, we can use some of their funk and they could use some of our, er, brain.
Well, you get the point.
Do yourself a favor and check out Tune-Yards ASAP.... and then pray a short prayer for my salvation....
U´re so right!!! Tune yards is great! The sounds and voices...
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