Old Is New... Or Reflections On Punk, Alternative In General, And Other Dribble

     Relax - we're not going retro on you with this "old is new" statement that's in the title. It just seemed fitting because of some things that are currently happening here in our neck of the woods as well as in the music industry.

     First off, the old and out-dated website, 360 Degrees of Alternative, will soon be taken down & replaced with a more modern and interactive one at some point this week (before March 1st 2013). It was hard for me, in a way, to come to the realization of the benefits of a totally new site, and not because I'm getting old. The first stumbling block I had to deal with was the fact that the website will only be 3 years old next month. In my mind, that's nothing. In technology's mind, that's ancient. Then came the reality of actually building the thing - this is no small task. It's not like we have a whole IT department here to whip this up in a day or two.


     But as more ideas came on the table, the more excited I became. We would make it more interactive with photos, music, videos, links, and more. The timing in actuality couldn't be more perfect. I've been doing a great deal more freelance writing and amateur photography. To accommodate all these ventures and pursuits, we are putting all these aspects under one roof if you will. The new site will simply be called "360 Degrees", as it will cover alternative music, photography, and writings about this same genre of music as well as alternative views on hi-performance automotive, past and present.

     Once the site is up, browse through it at your convenience & shoot us an email about what you think. We know we can't please everyone, but we feel you will enjoy it or at least a certain aspect of it. As a famous person once said, "Take what you like and leave the rest..."

     I was cruising through some music news yesterday and noticed some interesting tidbits from some artists we haven't heard from in a while, mainly Iggy Pop & Nine Inch Nails. Seems they are also in the "old is new" mode or at least a regeneration type thing. Okay - when it comes to Iggy, maybe we could call this, "the thing that wouldn't die" - no pun intended and not that I'm complaining in the least. This guy has been around the music scene for almost 50 years... shit the guy is 65 years old as I write this. Their new release, Ready To Die is due out on April 30th. It will mark the first time Iggy has worked with guitarist James Williamson & drummer Scott Asheton since the album Raw Power that saw the light of day back in 1973. It will also be the first Stooges album since 2007.

     Another surprising tidbit was about Trent Reznor & Nine Inch Nails. Apparently the band is working on new material and is "reinventing itself completely", according to Reznor. The first thing I thought of was, "didn't they have a farewell tour, the parting of the ways, and all that other glorious stuff four years ago?" 
Yup - that piece of history hasn't changed. As the saying goes, you can't keep a good person down. No rumblings of exactly when any new stuff will hit the net or stores, (except for the fact it will be at some point this summer), but Reznor mentioned that band lineup changes include former members of Jane's Addiction & King Crimson.

     I've been a little confused lately as to why, all of a sudden, so much media attention has surfaced about the magazine Legs McNeil started back in 1976 called "Punk". It's not like it's a 30th or 40th anniversary... it's been like 36 years and 9 months. The magazine came out, for a while, every other month and then quarterly by 1977. I've managed to snag a copy or two over the years, and they're a gas! Not only did it highlight the music and the bands, mainly in NYC and who played at CBGB's at the time, but it also helped define it's sound. I found this cool pictorial on Spin Magazine's website. Click here to check it out.



     I received some feedback about my thoughts and comments regarding alternative music starting in the early 60's. A fan named Glen shot me an email stating he felt alternative started more in the early 70's with the Detroit and Cleveland sound. I responded back with info about The Stooges and Velvet Underground - both had vinyl out by 1968. He replied back stating they were practically solo anomalies, one being from NYC, the other from Detroit. His point was of a more widespread geographic area and album releases to include such bands as The Electric Eels and The Dictators. While I agreed with him on those points, I mentioned the point of influences. These bands just didn't wake up one morning and say, "Hey - let's play our songs this way." They had musicians who influenced them in some way. Case in point - The Who. While Pete Townsend and company were influenced by rhythm and blues, they in turn influenced many future bands  - from the Sex Pistols to Nirvana... like it or not. Stage performances also had a lot to do with it as well. Check out this live performance of The Who doing "My Generation" from 1966. I kinda feel sorry for Roger Daltrey - while Keith Moon & Pete Townsend are just hammering away, he just has to... well, sorta stand there and groove along. How do you pull that off while instruments are beaten to shit, speakers are smoking, and general chaos is raining. Watch this and tell me this didn't fan the flames of punk to come...
Click here to flip your wig (or whatever they said back then).

     Until next time, peace out!
    

What Are You & Who Are You Doing? David Bowie, Live Lou Reed & More!

     I've always liked that line - it's a demented twist on the old cop show / movie question. As humorous as it may be, it sometimes seems appropriate (in an odd way... very odd) in the grand scheme of things. I'll respond to this in two parts; the latter statement first because that one is easy - it's none of your dang business. With that out of the way, I'll answer it from the blog / radio station's point of view. They are doing (and thus being) themselves. The station nor the blog is an imitation of anything else out there. It was never meant to be. It's going to exist and evolve in it's own way, in it's own time. I always like to hear comments or feedback about the two entities, but it doesn't mean changes will be made just because someone loves it or hates it.

     The "what are you" portion is an extension of that last thought and statement. I started 360 Degrees of Alternative because there wasn't anything out there like this. I have my own views of what "alternative music" is. I'm sure you do as well. If those planes mesh, then great. If not quite completely, that's still okay. We can still have the love for this genre of music and still agree to disagree. Bottom line - hopefully we all learn from each other, evolve in a positive way and can all co-exist peacefully. 

     I'm going to steal another old cliche here; is it me or has there been a lot of press and general hoopla with the timing of David Bowie's return to the music scene? I'll admit - with some of the latest PR pics floating around the internet lately, the first thing I noticed is that he looks... well... old. Yeah, the guy is 66 years old, but for the longest time he seemed to have had this Dick Clark anti-aging thing going on. Be that as it may, the BBC has agreed to air a documentary on his life, primarily focusing on certain years, namely 1971, 1975, 1977, 1980 and 1983. I think these time frames have a lot to do with how Bowie changed musically during those times. Another question that popped into my head was - where is the Ziggy Stardust years? It's quite possible that once Bowie "killed" that character, (which he has described in the past as quite egotistical and dangerous), that he wanted it buried for good. I can remember seeing him back in 1983 on his "Serious Moonlight" tour - he performed zero songs from that brief era. In any event, it should be an interesting documentary and I wish him all the best with his upcoming release "The Next Day".

     Since we're discussing icons in the alternative music world, I'm going to leave you with another video clip of one of rock's greatest artists - and not just in the punk / alternative world. Some even pose the question, without Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, would there be rock n roll as we know it today? I can't answer that, but I do agree that without Reed and company, who literally threw everything out the window when it came to conventional rock and roll - at a time when society was starting to throw conventionalism out as we knew it. In 1966, when the Beatles were singing "Yesterday", the VU was singing about heroin. This may seem like no big thing today, but 45+ years ago, it was cosmos moving! This clip is a more modern Lou Reed jamming out the classic "Sweet Jane". Enjoy!

     Until next time - peace out.

We're Back! Time To Flog The Blog!

     I'm trying to come to terms with a contradiction in Internet terms if you will - it's been over a year since my last blog entry; yet the 50+ blogs that we've shared have over 18,000 views. I'm in awe, both in a slightly negative as well as in a positive way. It's possible I've under estimated myself - just like many people under estimated punk back in the 70's (as far as influences go) as well as when grunge in the very early 90's wearing it's ripped jeans, ugly sneakers, and faded flannel shirts.

     I'm not going to get on some bullshit ego trip here, but as the saying goes, "looking back in hindsight is always 20/20", but as Dave Mustaine of Megadeath adds, "...and it's usually still a bit fuzzy". My current hindsight is that I should have kept going with the blog, regardless of what came onto my plate. Writing for me is actually a decent form of stress relief and I enjoy doing it. It has become obvious to me that other people like what I write about, or like my writing style, or something... who knows. But between the battle of royalty costs for the songs I play on 360 Degrees of Alternative to some personal issues that took me out of the game for about 6-8 months, the blog inadvertently took a back seat... and then got parked for way too long. For that, my friends, you have my sincerest apologies.

     However, positive changes have been made, progress is being seen, and we are moving forward once again. Please ignore the squeaks and rattles as we work out some of the kinks, but I am 110% confident that we'll get there - and in even better fashion.

     So - were just over 6 weeks into 2013 and where are we? Today being Valentine's Day, I was cruising through Rolling Stone's website and their home page story was about the 10 nastiest rock band breakup's in history. 360 Degrees plays 6 out of those 10 bands - in a way it doesn't really surprise me - but in another way, it bums me out. We're all human beings, we all have negative emotions, egos, and all that other fun shit we could really live without. There's also other killers like success - many bands like The Clash just couldn't handle it - as well as drug problems which put the final nail in the coffin for Smashing Pumpkins. But what hits home is some of the petty junk some of these bands experienced, sometimes at the hands of one or two people. If they could just get over themselves, things could have been much different. Case in point, The Pixies. This was a band who primarily rocked out in the mid to late 80's and were way ahead of their time. I'm a pretty big fan of this group. I admire front-man Black Francis and his artistic abilities. It's too bad he just couldn't get his head out of his ass. If he did, the band could have been huge. I had a chance to meet him in the late 90's and he was still bitter about Pixies fans loving bassist Kim Deal.

     Just a quick note here - I'm glad the Grammy's experienced their 2nd largest TV viewing ever. But a word to the media, whether it's print, web based, radio, whatever. It's over... move on. I'm tired of hearing if Jack White swore during the ceremonies or not.

     Another quick note - yes, we are aware that Fall Out Boy, Silversun Pickups, and Radiohead have either completed a new CD or are working on one. We are also aware that Oprah landed an interview with Beyonce, that Justin Bieber fans are all pissed off (Twitter it if you must), and Nicki Minaj is the new judge on American Idol. Guess what - aside from the 1st sentence, we can honestly say we truly don't care. Hate us if you want. Whatever.

      One more quick note - I promise. Did you hear about Beck's remake of the David Bowie classic "Sound and Vision"? From what I've seen & read, it's nine minutes of pure wow. To give you some idea of this, Beck did the tune with a 157 piece orchestra. He also had it filmed with 360 degree cameras and microphones. It gives new meaning to the term "being there". However, the best thing that came out of all this was beck's comment about the entire project - "...it was an experiment and an opportunity to try something completely irrational". Words to live by, people.

     I'm going to leave you with a taste of one of the new features that will become a regular part of the blog. I'm still sorting it out, but it's definitely coming together. Alternative on video.
This aspect has two goals - one is to make the blog more interactive. The second is to bring you cool stuff you've probably never seen before. This entry's piece of anti-high def is an old video of The Kingsmen doing their immortal song "Louie, Louie". Whether you agree with me or not, I consider that hit ground zero of alternative music. Why? Because it is distorted garage rock at it's primal infancy. The tune itself was three basic chords. No one could understand the lyrics. The song was inflamed in controversy and it pissed off parents nationwide. Alright, the band members were clean cut, but hey - we gotta start somewhere. This particular vid is a live broadcast from the TV show "Shindig". And guess what - you can actually understand the lyrics! Wonder never cease. Just click here to watch.

     Until next time, peace out & keep listening.