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Cliff, fnc, hipster abuse, rush, tragically hip — 3 comments

The Retroactive Hipster Cred Conundrum

The other day I was a tad surprised to see one of my interwebs indie music sherpas recommend an old Tragically Hip song as one of their daily song offerings. It wasn't outrageous, but it drive me to inquire if it meant that the Hip had actual hipster cred, a mild curiosity inasmuch that I didn't really give a shit as a longtime Hip fan. Then another one of my daily interwebs indie music sherpas chimed in, and at that point I realized that I was asking Canadian hipsters about Tragically Hip hipster cred, of course they were gonna say "sure." South of the Canadian / US border it gets a little dicier, but again, I don't really care. The Hip are the Hip, they've always been the Hip, that's why I like them, and that's why I've liked them for 13 years. My interest is in the growing question of the value of hipster cred in general when it gets doled out retroactively.

I'm not going to lie to you. I like Rush. They're not one of my favorites, but they're peerless musicians, some of their songs resonate with me, and they put on a great show. Neil Peart's lyrics aren't as profound as some would have you believe, but Rush were definitely musical outliers, outliers that have aged insanely well musically, according to their fans. Other folks however hold entirely different views, and Rush is definitely a polarizing band, which is in part why I whiffed on a buffaBLOG announcement of their show in October at the FNC. And let me tell you, as one of the elders at buffaBLOG, the guy who gets to say shit like "I've been a fan of Radiohead since 1995!", it gnaws at me. Springsteen? I was all over him. Roger Waters? No doubt. The Beach Boys? Mac got that one, but I was there waiting in the wings if nobody covered it. Why? Because I love them, but also because I am keenly aware that they have their bonafides in order. But then I saw on Brooklyn Vegan (of course I check them occasionally, even if I'm only aware of about 17% of what they're on about) that Rush got a post because their tour was hitting up Brooklyn, and I was like "I'll be damned."

It wasn't a perfunctory post either, it was loaded with YouTube videos of Rush. Somebody clearly unloaded their love of Rush on the hipster interwebs, it was almost hilarious. In fact, I have to wonder what BV's internal e-mail conversations about that one were like; in any case Rush won, and there they were, getting their bonafides via one of the most rigorous music blogs on the interwebs. Rush. Worse, had I not whiffed we could have been out in front of BV on Rush, an ultimately meaningless but strangely valuable distinction for a music blog. But my thinking was, I have my tickets, I'll spring a review on you people (and buffaBLOG's editors) in October for shits and giggles, and that was about it. But I wasn't going to try to get you all excited about Rush when that show was announced. No, I wasn't going there, not for Rush, and now I totally regret it.

Now to be completely honest, part of my Rush whiff is also due to my cresting disdain for the philosophy Ayn Rand and the Paul Ryan Budget, and for the record, I don't live my life in accordance with Pitchfork or Brooklyn Vegan; far from it in fact. But I do keep an eye on those websites (among many), and I definitely did a double take when I saw Rush on BV. I'm also pretty sure I had a good laugh. Rush? Rush. Upon further review of course it only proves that in the end that good shit is good shit, and that just about anybody gets their day in the hipster sun. It's just a matter of time.

buffalo, Cliff, fnc, roger waters — 2 comments

One Month Countdown To Roger Waters At The FNC

When I saw Rogers Waters perform The Wall at the then HSBC Arena two years ago I figured that was it, that would be my first and only time seeing The Wall live. My love of that album (and Pink Floyd) goes back to high school and Video Factory, and seeing it unfold before my eyes was literally a dream come true, something I could check off my list with joy in my heart. But then Roger announced on Fallon that he was taking The Wall back out on the road and playing baseball stadiums, and I was sure I'd have to go on a road trip to see it again, not a bad thing mind you, but I didn't think a second Buffalo performance of The Wall was in the cards. But lo, I was wrong, and in between dates in significantly larger venues a 2012 show at the First Niagara Center was announced in November of last year, an incredible coup and honor for our fair city considering The Wall is one of the great works of the 20th century. June 21 is the day. One month away.

And I am doing it right this time. For the next 30 days ,it's going to be a steady diet of Roger Pink Floyd (not the Roger-less Pink Floyd played far too often on 97 Rock). Meddle. Dark Side of the Moon. Wish You Were Here. The profoundly underrated and undervalued Animals. And of course The Wall in all of it's configurations (no Atom Heart Mother and The Final Cut- one has too little Roger and the other too much): the studio album, the live album, the movie, and the 1990 Wall in Berlin.* I'm going to be hitting that vintage of Pink Floyd when Waters asserted himself as a lyricist and creator hard, that glorious period in the 70's when they found their greatest success while issuing their most meaningful and confrontational music. And The Wall works every time, whether as a studio album, as the ultimate midnight movie, and as live experiences. It doesn't matter where or how it's happening or the scale involved, The Wall is a powerful and affecting piece of popular art.

So yes, I have to get ready. I'm going back and studying anew the sacred texts and their various interpretations in advance of the big day when Roger Waters brings The Wall back to Buffalo. For the last time? I was wrong the last time, and I'd hate to be wrong again, but this time, yeah, I don't think we'll be seeing it again in Buffalo... or seeing anything like it, again, period.

And here's a surreal yet insightful 60 Minutes profile on Roger and The Wall. Check out Van (The Man) Morrison singing "Comfortably Numb." Big thanks to Joe Vip for the hot tip.

* Please note, the new Beach House album Bloom will still be in the rotation. No doubt.

Buffalo NY, Buffalo Sabres, Cliff, fnc — 2 comments

The Sabres Situation

OK, a month ago I tried to be positive about the music situation at Sabres games because I wanted to be positive; I wanted to be a glass half fill kind of guy. But then I went to the game Wednesday night... and that positivity got chucked out the window because the music was atrocious. I was stunned by the rubbish they were playing. John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (yes- John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band). Phil Collins. Wang Chung. Motley Crue.... twice. It was shocking. It was godawful. Other than the Arcade Fire that kicks the game off and the Black Keys after Sabres goals I used to joke that the music at the FNC was programmed by a fourteen year old girl, but now, I am convinced it's programmed by a middle aged white guy in a denim jacket.

It's almost as if.... gasp... the Sabres target demographic is THE SQUARES.

Yes. The Sabres are for some reason appealing to the squares. The overly denimed. The Nickelback crowd. There. I said it. They've even managed to make 97 Rock look hip. It's outrageous. It's practically a scandal, and it doesn't get nipped in the bud pretty soon they'll be playing country music. And God help us if the music is picked by Terry Pegula... then we're really in trouble. That eventual Stanley Cup is going to be swell, but the price, the price might be too great to bear.

Please.... Sabres.... Buffalo is kind of cool. You're going the wrong way.

buffalo, Buffalo Sabres, Cliff, fnc — 7 comments

#Sabretunes Needs Our Help

Ok, so originally I was going to totally bag on the music choices of the Sabres and their event staff. Some of their choices for what gets played at Sabres games are terrible, no question, and yes I've had to seriously wonder what the fourteen year old girl tasked with making those decisions was thinking. But the situation isn't all grim down at the FNC, and if buffaBLOG is anything it's positive, and I want to be positive about this.

Why? For two reasons: 1) they're using Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" before the game and The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" after Sabres goals, and 2) it's not all their fault. Of course using Arcade Fire and The Black Keys goes a long way, but the real problem is #Sabretunes and us Sabres fans. Twitter users, check out #Sabretunes .... and prepare to be disgusted. I'm not going to name names, but that Twitter hash-tag is a wasteland. No wonder it's 98.5 rubbish and hair metal with the occasional decent song thrown in to give us hope. The Sabres are soliciting suggestions and we're not helping them out.

That's where we come in as music fans. We've got to step it up and send #Sabretunes some decent suggestions, or re-Tweet the decent suggestions somebody else has already offered to build up some critical mass for those suggestions. But lets not get crazy folks. Taste and discretion folks are important. A gradual shift is the key.

Here's a few suggestions of my own for #Sabretunes:

Stick with the Black Keys after Sabres goals and that Arcade Fire before the game. This is good stuff.
Use more soul music. Soul music is always good, and you can dance to it.
Enough of the hair metal. Break out of the time warp. The only acceptable hair metal is The Darkness, which they do play occasionally at games. They need to keep that going.
There's a large Canadian contingent at Sabres games so why not play more Canadian rock? In addition to the Hip, how about Arkells and Tokyo Police Club?
Ditch the "Sweet Caroline", at the very least during Carolina Hurricanes games.
M83.
And "The Hockey Song" has to get played at every game. Every game.