Slow Songs For Fast Hearts: Video

MEN w/ Trash Kit, Madame JoJos 19/01/10

It was a packed house last Tuesday night at Madame JoJos in Soho. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, given that the headlining act was JD Samson’s latest project MEN. I mean, on the one hand MEN hasn’t received the kind of media attention JD’s most famous band, Le Tigre, did, but on the other hand, MEN’s concept of mixing dance music with worthy lyrics is a pretty winning combo as far as queer audiences are concerned, and JD has been involved with so many different artists over the years, she has garnered a fan base all her own.

MEN was orginally a DJ/remix outfit, consisting of Johanna Fatemen & JD, which was good news for Le Tigre fans, as that band went on indefinite hiatus in 2006. The name MEN came about as they asked themselves “What would men do?”, vowing to always do that, and more.

MEN began to develop as a band with original songs, but then Johanna Fateman had a baby, so JD was joined by Michael O’Neill and Ginger Brooks Takahashi from queer art collective LTTR, who added guitars to JD’s synth.

I have to admit, before Tuesday I had only listened to the early incarnation of MEN, and I wasn’t all that keen, being a grumpy old woman who is not particularly into upbeat dance-type music, and I missed the punk attitude of Le Tigre. I was mainly going along out of curiosity, and because I always love seeing JD perform.

Well, I have to say that while the songs are still firmly rooted in the disco camp, I loved MEN. The inclusion of the guitars, the spirit of the lyrics, and the visual spectacle all combined for an amazingly warm, totally fun show. The costumes (mediaeval chain mail helmets, purple lycra body suits, a paper house JD wore on her head), as well as the backing dancers who held up protest signs saying things like “Fuck your friends” (for the song about making gay babies), made it clear that MEN is more than just a band, and they’re keen on making the elements of politics, art and queer fun equally important – much like Le Tigre, come to think of it. But MEN are a band in their own right, and it’s unfair to keep bringing in the Le Tigre references, I was completely impressed and utterly won over.

Opening for MEN was London band Trash Kit, who I raved a tiny bit about in an earlier post. Trash Kit are great, full stop. But I couldn’t help feeling that while as musicians they no doubt enjoyed the good sound offered by Madame JoJos, it took something away from the music, made it cleaner, neater, which always tends to make me feel more distant from any band (and seems incongruous when a band is playing with torn up cymbals).

The inclusion of Ros Murray (Electralane, Lesbo Pig) on bass was a good move, as Trash Kit’s sound tends towards the no wave/tribal post punk which really was calling out for a bass to develop it further, but again, I guess due to the “good sound” I found the bass somewhat overpowering on Tuesday night, and preferred Trash Kit’s earlier performances in less fancy places with Rachel on guitar, and Rachel on drums. I guess I’m something of a sucker for shambolic, chaotic, raw sound. However, I’m looking forward to seeing them again as a trio in a different venue. How could I not love a band that does a song about being mixed race (Filipino Song)?

I’m super excited about their forthcoming release, and I’d say, play alongside your ESG, Raincoats, New Bloods & YPants records.

MEN – Off Our Backs (video by K8 Hardy from LTTR)

Posted Jan 27, 12:08 AM | By Melissa | Comment
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New Video from MIA

MIA’s new album is meant coming out mid-this year…Here’s a new video which she recently posted on her Twitter.

MIA – There’s a Space for Ol Dat I See

Posted Jan 15, 05:14 AM | By Melissa | Comment
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Xmal Deutschland

I’ve been told before that my taste in music is too serious…probably. I blame my parent’s record collection which instilled a deep need for over-wrought music from the dark side from a young age…

Here I’ve decided to continue to be predictable and put up a couple of videos by an originally all-female, German goth/synth band from the 80s, Xmal Deutschland. Xmal Deutschland formed in 1980, in Hamburg and was led by Anja Huwe.

NB. See also: Malaria!.

I just can’t help it!

Xmal Deutschland – Orient

Xmal Deutschland – Incubus Succubus II

Posted Oct 1, 03:35 AM | By Melissa | Comment
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"Typical Girls? The Story of the Slits" by Zoe Street Howe

I’ve loved the Slits for a few years now, not as many as I should have, because I was a late comer to their music, but long enough that their songs are pretty embedded in my bones. Living in New Zealand their music fitted in neatly with the rest of my mental history of English & European grrrl punk/post punk; I knew their influence on riot grrrl and felt duly outraged at their lack of acknowledgment, both in the “punk era” & today. Their music made me excited, confused and intrigued. I liked the Peel Sessions better than Cut, but could completely see the importance of Cut, and the fact that the Slits had busted down the convention of what punk “was”, and forged their own amazing & influential style, of course not to mention the fact that they started out as an all-female punk group who wrote, played and controlled their own music, and the lead singer was only 14 years old!

However, it was not til I got to London that the whole thing really, fully clicked into gear for me. I mean, you could say that about most of the UK based music I listened to really. And this is not to say you can get everything you need out of this music listening to it in a far away country like New Zealand, and comprehending it through the filter of your own hometown, but I have to say there is something romantic (and completely, shamelessly idealistic & nostalgic I’ll readily admit) about looking out the window of my North London flat on a grey Autumn Sunday afternoon, at the bricks & the chimney pots and the kids playing in the middle of the streets, listening to the mixture of accents & languages, watching the crows & the pigeons stalk around the rooftops and going ahhh….right….now I get what they’re saying.
“Newtown where everybody goes around sniffing televisena Or taking footballina…”. Walking around neighbourhoods like Brixton and hearing the reggae on the streets, mingled with punk coming out of the squats. “Dreaming on a bus…” and seeing tough as nails young girls who talk loud, wear insane outfits and act bolshy (this happens in NZ too of course, but different accents, different contexts).

Zoe Street Howe’s book, as well as being a thorough and comprehensive history of the Slits, is an amazing snapshot of London in the late 70s early 80s. If you’re feeling as romantic about London as I am, I would recommend you read this book despite what you do or don’t know about the Slits.

Strangely enough, given the fact that they are so often name-checked by many artists today as being inspirational musically, politically & personally, the Slits have not had any books written solely about them up until now. Particularly strange as they are so important and intertwined with punk rock history, post-punk & also the formation of riot grrrl. Oh well, I hopefully this will be the first of many, and I’m glad Zoe kicked it off.

Recently I read Meaty, beaty, big and bouncy!: classic rock and pop writing from Elvis to Oasis, which included articles by rock critics such as Julie Burchill and Nick Kent. Zoe Street Howe’s writing doesn’t have the painfully honed personality of these critics, which makes it an easy read, and you don’t feel irritated by an opinion forced down your throat. But at the same time, who can deny the enjoyment gained from reading a purely opinionated piece of music journalism? Who doesn’t like feeling the passion fairly burning up the page? I would’ve liked to hear more about Zoe’s own experience of listening to the Slits, and her opinions about various periods in their history, hear more of her voice in her writing. I guess that’s one of my only criticisms really.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was the fact it gave the opportunity to find out what other musicians thought of the Slits music. Up until now, even “pro-Slits” articles that I have read focus on other aspects, such as their crazy antics & the horror they inspired in the general public. Only very occassionally have I read about people actually analysing their music, because most often they’re dismissed as not being able to play. Friends such as Keith Levene (the Clash, PiL) and Don Letts, among others, offer up insights into the Slits musical intentions, and analyse their playing as is the norm in articles written about male musicians of the era, but rare to non-existant when it comes to the Slits. So for example, you can read about Levene’s thoughts on Viv Albertine’s playing, after he gave her a few guitar lessons and she went out and did her own thing, experimenting & creating her particular style. We discover Ari Up was a musician before joining the Slits & played piano – so much for her just being an attention-seeking hellion as people would have you believe. Strictly-for-the-fan’s details, such as how Tessa felt about singing “Adventures Close to Home”, stepping out of her role as the silent, mysterious bass player are also revealed. The Slits connections with other female musicians of the era such as the Mo-dettes & Nina Hagen are similarly explored.

Actual analysis of female punk musicians – amazing!

ok, well, I’ll stop rambling now. This is a great and much overdue book, about an extremely important band that is finally getting its dues.
www.myspace.com/slitsbook

The Slits – Instant Hit

Posted Sep 29, 03:58 AM | By Melissa | Comment
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New from New Zealand

Parallel Dance Ensemble’s single “Weight Watchers” feat. Coco Solid and Bobbi Soxx. Ism Records. Directed by Lisa Dunn. Editors: Yaser Naser and Morten Leirkjaer. Producers: Gilly Luxton and Mel Whyte. DOP: Neal Wagstaff. Makeup: Riki Anderson.

Posted Sep 11, 12:52 PM | By Melissa | Comment [2]
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