Music

Looking at Justin Timberlake’s on the old cover of the February 2003 issue of Vibe (it’s in the office, no idea why). Okay, fine. They had Eminem (and got Zadie “I Was A Promising Novelist For A Few Minutes There” Smith to write his puff-profile), then they got Justin, the white(r) Michael Jackson. But why is he wearing an MC5 t-shirt?

The hijacking of once-rebellious iconography is no surprise, and yet it’s still bothersome. For folks who take rock music “seriously,” as I do in my weaker moments, this is a vestigial response that can’t quite be excised, like the itching of a phantom limb. It’s just one more way in which pop culture can buck you off the horse, one more way you can be kept from coming to grips with its omnipresence, its omnivorousness, and its repeated, wilful murder of context.

Well, the Shepp disc just ended. I don’t really want to listen to any of the other things I brought with me, not right now anyway, so I’m listening to Miles Davis’ The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965, which is on my hard drive in MP3 format. (Yes, I bought it.)

I’m a professional music critic - I write for many websites so if you are into music you’ve probably read my stuff. This blog will consist primarily of my thoughts on music, but of course there’ll be digressions.

I’ll try to update regularly, even if it’s just a list of what I’m listening to.

Right now, for example, I’m listening to Archie Shepp’s Live in San Francisco. Earlier this morning I was listening to the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, and Motorhead Overnight Sensation.

The other CDs I’ve brought with me to the office today are:

Arch Enemy, Wages Of Sin
Peter Brötzmann/Fred Van Hove/Han Bennink, Balls
Dave Burrell, Echo
Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’
Alice Coltrane, Ptah, the El Daoud
Miles Davis, Water Babies
Decapitated, Nihility
El-P, Fantastic Damage
Squarepusher, Do You Know Squarepusher (but only the live second disc)