Skip to main content

Boost That Ego

In all the years that I wrote for Alternative Press and Bust, it was next to impossible to see my writing have any impact whatsoever, which was one of the big reasons that I decided to drop that from my life. Of course, part of the problem was that I wasn't a great writer, as frustration and cliche proved time and again to be enormous stumbling blocks to navigate past. But every now and again, a review would come out that I'd be happy to put my name to.

My last AP review was one of those lucky accidents where it all came together, writing about a new DFA band called Free Energy. Once I let my cynical side evaporate (which took a listen or two), I was left with the fun and enthusiasm that the band were putting out, and that was pretty easy to capture with even my limited syntax. The published review is below:

FREE ENERGY ***1/2
Stuck On Nothing

File under: DFAzed and Confused

The ‘70s are often derisively called the “Me Decade,” as if solipsistic pursuits were vices instead of virtues. While the DFA canon of introspective disco has preserved the best ass-shakin’ moments of that oft-maligned time, it’s quite a shock to hear actual ‘70s parking-lot rawk from one of their flock. With sonic stability provided by producer James Murphy, Stuck On Nothing is a fun fetishistic foray into crunchy glam (“Dream City”), buzzing new wave (“Light Love”), and enough on-target post-millennial AOR to make Weezer burn a thousand Snuggies in envy. Refreshingly retro without being anachronistic, Free Energy bursts with unironic sun-flecked highs, classic rock from 8-track heaven.

(Astralwerks/DFA; astralwerks.com)

Go Download: “All I Know”

So I'm still on a lot of publicity mailing lists, and when I opened up a message about Free Energy, I saw the following:

Introducing Free Energy...

Stuck on Nothing by Free Energy is OUT NOW.

"It totally f*****g rules. Lighters up!" - Rolling Stone

"Free Energy burst with unironic sun-flecked highs - it's classic rock from 8-track heaven." - Alternative Press

Join fans Zane Lowe and Fearne Cotton and hear it for yourself now or watch their debut on Late Show with David Letterman.

I guess if you're going to go out, that's a nice way to do it, even if only a few people see it. Just like this blog.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Silver Gun" by Robert Palmer (1983)

I mean...Urdu? Seriously, Urdu . On an already eclectic and worldly album -- Pride , from 1983 -- "The Silver Gun" closes a chapter in Robert Palmer's career by singing a song about a horse in a language spoken daily by over 100 million people. The liquid bass line and propulsive electronics set out a bedrock for Palmer to ping phrasings rather out of place in Western music, askew astride even the peripatetic minimalism of the rest of the record. Somehow, in the middle of Michigan's Appalachia, I had this on vinyl a few years before the CD era officially commenced. It was an album of effort -- even the cover, a pointillism-and-bronze work, had Palmer's head barely above the water -- but the stitches didn't show to my pre-adolescent eyes and ears. In a career marked by zigs and zags, Pride and "The Silver Gun" were most certainly Other, and for a kid that felt like he didn't belong much of anywhere, it was nice to have those discrete feeling...
Post a Comment
Read more

"I'll Drive You Home"

Upon reflection, I’ve had a fortunate life in the area of work. As a freshly minted teenager, I would visit Evergreen Park Grocery and dream of someday working there like my father did, and at the age of 14, I got $2/hour to live out that dream, such as it was. From there, I yearned to try other occupations, from record stores to teaching, and I’d be chuffed to tell Young Erick that both of those things happened in due course. ( Oh, and Young Erick, one of them got you to meet David Bowie, and one of them got you to own houses and cars, so I’ll let you ponder on which one was better. ) I even got to DJ a bit here and there, and while it never hit the heights of a professional radio gig, it was certainly better than the summer I played preset cassettes on my boom box for a nerd camp dance while my unrequited crush stayed in her room. What I never crossed off my professional life list was acting, either regular or voice, but while I still yearn for that big breakthrough -- seriously, ask...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ready For College?

Infographic by College Scholarships.org
3 comments
Read more