Notes from Generally Inclement Connecticut

The Mong
Music Group Commentary
June 2008

BUILT TO SPILL – “KEEP IT LIKE A SECRET” = 5 STARS
Seminal guitar rock. Easily one of the greatest guitar albums of all time.

FOXBORO HOT TUBS – “STOP DROP AND ROLL!!!” = 3.5 STARS
Fun Rockabilly-Punk Pop via “Green Day” by way of Stiff Little Fingers with Zombies-esque ballads thrown in for good measure. I predict score revisions up after more listenings by year’s end.

THE HEAVY – “GREAT VENGEANCE AND FURIOUS FIRE” = 2 STARS
If I find myself in the mood for semi-ironic cool meets faux-funk, this’ll be my first stop.

RADIOHEAD. – “THE BENDS” = 5 STARS
“The Bends” and “OK Computer” are the ones where Radiohead put as much effort into songwriting as being groundbreaking. “The Bends,” already thirteen years old, is a superb release that stands the test of time.

G’HITS – Elton John a.k.a. Captain Fantastic
You all have the recent D’Arcy topic question, “What was the first song that you remember really liking?” to thank for this G’hits. My answer was, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” which helped me remember that E. J. was my all-time-favorite artist from my earliest memories until about 1976, when I discovered KISS. I got hold of Mr. John’s ’69-’76 re-issued/re-masters and was amazed that it’s taken me this long to revisit this stuff. Say what you will about how his music became a Corporate Rock cornerstone or the direction his music went after his celebrity became (apparently) more important than the music, this early stuff has the scope and integrity that I’d put on par with the Beatles and the Who (e.g.: “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and “Pinball Wizard” covers, which are included as bonus tracks on these re-issues). End of the day, if you’d argue that David Bowie is cool and relevant (and I would too), can you really dismiss Captain Fantastic?

My Topic Question:
When I watched the “children’s” animated movie RATATOUILLE I was struck by the truth of the following quote (for - perhaps - obvious reasons) from the critic character, Anton Ego, which is clearly the artist/filmmakers’ voice as much as it is the character’s words: “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations: the new needs friends.” So, keeping that in mind, the question is: How can we criticize more responsibly with less self-indulgence, perhaps even more kindly, “in the discovery and defense of the new,” or should we even bother trying?

The Question’s Context/“Answer”:
Awhile back, I stepped away from music group for a lot of reasons and, pondering over things, the above quote definitely encapsulates a good part of my desire to no longer participate. Hanging out with fun people and drinking beer won but these thoughts (encapsulated in that quote) still occur because I had previously crossed this threshold in the 90s when I was in a “band to watch” band and also writing film criticism (for the since defunct “Hartford Planet”), comic book criticism (for “Strictly Independent”), and music criticism (for America Online/AOL). Back then I decided to no longer write criticism – even though being published with some regularity was a small but nice supplement to my less-than-consistent monthly income – because, well (like now), I was feeling like a walking contradiction and big time hypocrite, complaining openly about unfavorable spoken and published criticism of my own work and then publicly criticizing others’ artistic efforts. And now here I am: again a “critic” and without even a sorely needed supplemental income to weigh and balance. With all this in mind, from my first music group posting, I have semantically classified my writing as “commentary.” But, end of the day, it is indeed criticism, often mean-spirited but, not to crucify myself too much, often in the “defense of the new,” too. So, clearly the topic this month is as much a request for you to contribute to my peace of mind (or shatter it more so) as it is a question. I don’t really have an answer to my own question. That’s why I asked.