Malcolm McLaren RIP (I guess…)

Talk about a dilemma. How do you pay “tribute” to someone you basically despise? How can someone be despicable yet worthy of respect all at once? I’m not sure how, but if anyone fits into that realm of ambivalence, it’s Malcolm McLaren, who died yesterday at the age of 64. He’s best known as the manager for the Sex Pistols, but he managed a number of other bands as well, and became a public figure of sorts by manipulating the press and people in the music industry. I developed a pretty strong dislike for the man after reading Rip It Up and Start Again, by Simon Reynolds, a book about the British postpunk movement. The way he used and dominated the people he was supposed to be managing was just disgusting. Bow Wow Wow and Adam Ant in particular.

And yet… I find I still owe the man. Without him we wouldn’t have had the Sex Pistols. He put them together. His DIY attitude infused their sound. Even if you don’t like them, you probably like one or more of the countless bands they influenced. Maybe he was a jerk, but he did something important. Might as well give him credit.

Probably the best thing I can do is link to this article, in which Johnny Rotten and others tell what McLaren meant to them: Johnny Rotten Pays Tribute To Malcolm McLaren

This quote from Duran Duran’s John Taylor was pretty apt:

“Duran Duran would have never existed. Before Malcolm being a musician in England meant you had to read music, and clock up years of dues and motorway miles, hours of practice and play interminable solos wherever possible. Malcolm’s attitude changed everything. Without him, no punk rock revolution, no ‘Anarchy in The UK,’ no ‘Never Mind The Bollocks,’ no Sex Pistols, no Clash….He was a true artist, and a continual restless source of inspiration. There will never be anyone quite like him again.”

The Venopian Solitude – unique voice from the global village

We are definitely living in a global village. If you don’t believe it, give a listen to The Venopian Solitude, one of my favorite recent discoveries. I don’t think there could’ve been a musician like her before the net. If there had been, I certainly never would’ve found her, which would’ve been a damn shame.

The Venopian Solitude is a one-woman band whose sole member is Suiko Takahara, a young lady in Malaysia (Suiko is another pseudonym. She’s not really Japanese — she’s just very fond of Japanese culture). I was very surprised to find out just how young — 18 last time I checked, just about to head off to college. Based on her music, I expected to find someone a lot more experienced. Her voice has a nonchalant sophistication that’s well beyond her years. She has a slight vibrato on some of her songs, which I like a lot.

Suiko refers to her music as anti-folk. I’m not 100 percent sure what anti-folk means or if her music truly fits, but her philosophy basically comes down to composition over execution. She doesn’t want to be a virtuoso. She wants to make songs that express what’s in her heart and mind. It strikes me as almost a DIY punk rock ethic. Her songs could be described as loose, at times sloppy, always charming.  She plays guitar, ukelele and other instruments and records her music on a laptop herself, laying down tracks and sometimes harmonizing with herself. Some of her songs are catchy and I liked them instantly. Others turned out to be growers. She generally sings in English, but sometimes sings in Malay, or other languages. Her songs are witty, sad, joyful, funny, sometimes challenging. Her songs on the web are usually accompanied by little doodles – more DIY ethic, more charm.

She has a delightful self-deprecating sense of humor and is a lot of fun to talk to (best way to do that would probably be through her MySpace page, or her artist page on Uvumi. Also make sure to visit her blog. It’s interesting to see what’s on her mind.). She doesn’t seem to realize just how gifted she is and keeps acting surprised at how much people like her songs. I think she’s starting to get the idea, because she keeps putting out new songs and making them available — and they keep getting better. She has a real knack for songwriting.

Suiko has made quite a few albums available on Bandcamp. You could spend a very long time listening to them all, an exercise I encourage. If you find some of her songs a bit challenging, just give them time. They’re bound to take over your brain sooner or later. Here are a few of my favorite Venopian Solitude songs from different albums (or maybe they’re EPs?):

P.S. Suiko informs me that she’s actually 19, going on 20 in December. Positively elderly.

How ‘indie’ are your favorite tunes?

I guess it was around 2002 when I got bitten by the indie bug. I was pissed at the way the major labels sued consumers and cheated artists – and I had discovered the wonders of college radio. Back then I listened to KTSW from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas (then known as Southwest Texas State University), which turned me onto so many great bands & artists: …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Cornelius, McLusky, Elliott Smith, Interpol…

I figured who needs the majors? I started paying really close attention to an artist’s record label and if they were on a major label, I would avoid their album or try to get it used. I wouldn’t even download it. Eventually I found out it wasn’t as simple as I thought. I knew who the major labels were, but a lot of times what seemed like a small label turned out to be a one-off, owned by a major. At some point I discovered a tool called the RIAA Radar, which will tell you if any artist or label is affiliated with the RIAA.

There was a period of more than a year when I wouldn’t buy any CD without first running it through the RIAA Radar to make sure it was truly indie. I’ve since gotten over that. Too many of my favorite artists are on major labels and one-off labels. Am I going to give up The Dandy Warhols? I don’t think so. I also don’t blame artists who sign to major labels. There are certain services a large label can provide that an artist can’t always get on a smaller indie or by going it alone, services like promotion and tour support. I totally understand why The Decemberists signed to Capitol (I still liked them better when they were on Hush Records though). It’s a risk though. A band might lose artistic control, or might find that it can never recoup the money the label puts in.

That old attitude I used to have, of “they signed to a major, they’re dead to me now” just isn’t practical or fair. Artists have to do what they have to do. It would be nice to stay in a hotel room instead of sleeping on floors while on tour. I get it.

However, it still makes sense to use the RIAA Radar. It can show you things about the music you love. Years ago when I used it, I was surprised at how many bands I thought were on indies were actually not. For example, Built to Spill used to be on Up, a true indie, but they later went to Warner, obviously one of the majors. Trail of Dead used to be on Merge, one of the big indies, but later went to Interscope, which is part of Universal Music Group.  (BTW, in the ’90s, there were six major labels. The majors currently consist of the “Big Four” – Warner, EMI, Sony, Universal. I understand EMI is having trouble, so we may be down to a “Big Three” before too long. The Wikipedia article on record labels is pretty informative if you want to learn more.)

Now when I use it, what strikes me most is how many high profile artists are self-released or on independent labels. For example, I felt a little twinge of conscience when I posted that Vampire Weekend video early on. They’re high profile enough, I was sure they must’ve been on a major, but they’re not. Totally indie. Beggars Banquet, which put out so many great postpunk albums and 4AD, which put out albums by bands like Dead Can Dance and  His Name is Alive, are RIAA safe. I kinda thought those might be sub-labels of some major label. Daptone Records (featuring Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings) and Truth & Soul Records (Lee Fields) are straight up indies.

And thanks to the distribution possibilities of the internet, a lot of artists are simply doing it on their own, without even small label support. It’s pretty exciting to see that change unfold.

And BTW, if you’re interested in independent record labels and the DIY spirit, you should read Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life, about the American indie underground in the 1980s. I have a lot of respect for those artists and their labels, which include: SST, Sub Pop, Dischord, Touch & Go and K Records.