From: Stimp (stimp@aei.ca)
Date: Sun Sep 01 2002 - 06:54:12 CEST
Hey Nat,
Your observation about live Tool kinda having that 60's-70's heavy psych
groove, a-la Led Zeppelin/ 70's Miles Davis (as heavy and dense, but not as
percussive and funky), is right on. They actually do a version of Zep's "No
Quarter" which is as mind-blowing and intense a Zep cover as I've ever
heard. Those who like dense, atmospheric music laced with thick layers of
guitar and dark, moody vocals will definitely trip over Tool. I know that
Tool fans will probably wanna hang me for saying this, but I'd probably stay
away from their last record and go straight to "AENIMA" to really get to
hear them at their best. And, like Nat mentioned, you'd be doing yourself a
favor by checking out their self-made videos and the mind-boggling visuals
at their live shows. Yeah, it's that good.
Stimp
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nathaniel Rahav" <nat@rhythmlove.com>
To: <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2002 11:46 PM
Subject: [acid-jazz] Tool and being a DJ
>
> Hey all,
>
> a couple of remarks regarding recent threads.
> A few weeks ago, I took my 16 year old cousin to see a Tool show in
> Jersey, at Meadowlands Arena.
> I had never heard a single song by the band before this concert. My
> general impressions of the show were that, though musically not my style
> the band was definitely skilled. I felt that a lot of their sound was very
> reminiscent of early 70's late 60's rock a la Zeppelin and that was nice
> to hear instead of 90's "grunge" style. But the thing that really, really,
> REALLY impressed me about the concert was the visuals. Incredible,
> incredible, astounding, unbelieveable lighting and imagery, both on the
> videos which were in sync with the songs, and with these giant murals that
> were the backdrop behind the stage. Heavily psychedelic and I just
> couldnt stop looking at them!
>
> Anyway, i have nothing else to say about Tool, just that I saw their
> concert and it was pretty good. I think a lot of valid opinions have been
> made about why Tool is a pretty respectable band and why it often does not
> make sense to play their music in the middle of a set of the kind of music
> we like to discuss.
>
> But I wanted to say one thing about the everlasting saga between the DJ
> and the crowd. We have all witnessed some very outrageous music requests
> which make us laugh inside, or out loud, or sometimes even offend us. See
> the archives for a
> funny story I once shared with the list about some Colombians who wanted
> to hear me, the DJ, play for them the most god awful mixed CD, and how
> they had a great time once I put it on!
>
> What we have to keep in mind is that music is entirely contextual,
> and that as a DJ part of your purpose is to connect with the audience,
> and not to live in a bubble or a vacuum of your own music.
> When we make a choice as a DJ to play in a certain situation, we have to
> know what to expect, and that is one of the things that comes
> with experience. We will know that when we're going to play in a random
> bar that it would be a good idea to bring some songs that everybody knows.
> When we find ourselves in a situation where the crowd is not enjoying the
> music, we become as frustrated as they, if not more.
> I keep a rule to myself that I will not play songs which I personally do
> not like. But there are plenty of times when I've played music which has
> suprised the pants off of people who know me and the music I normally
> play!
>
> There is great virtue in building your own setting, where you know your
> crowd, and you know that your crowd is coming to hear "your music" .. But
> that takes an incredible amount of work! Once you have such a setting,
> it's a wonderful and strong "bubble" which you share with lots of other
> inhabitants... and if someone steps into that bubble and makes a fool of
> themselves, it's a laughing matter.
> But many other times, it doesnt hurt to try and understand where that
> person is coming from when they come up to you and ask for something
> and how your can bring them into your bubble. Because as a DJ, you need to
> connect!
> Like Lynne's request for hip hop while she was playing Run DMC. Probably
> that person wanted to hear some "Urban" style music (the kind Bob Davis
> despises, and which I have problems with as well). Maybe it wouldnt hurt
> to play "One More Chance" then back it with DeBarge's "Stay with Me", and
> *then* move on back to some Main Source or JB's or some Blackbyrds
> :)
>
> Sometimes the request has nothing to do with your music but with the
> requester's ego, and their need to flex it to you in some way. In those
> cases, there aint nothing to it but to smile !
>
> Anyway, here are some of my recent acquisitions :
>
> * today a woman was selling her record collection on the street - 4 for a
> dollar - mostly fusion jazz. Unfortunately I got there kinda late, but
> here are 8 nuggets i picked up for a smooth 2 dollars:
> - Stan Clarke: "Children of Forever" from 1972... nice fusion with vocals
> and scats from Dee Dee Bridgewater
> - Ramsey Lewis: "funky Serenity"
> - John McLaughlin: "Extrapolation"
> - Eddie Harris: "The Genius of ..."
> - Ramsey Lewis: "Love Notes"
> - El Chicano: self titled ... some nice post-santana latin rock
> - Mingus: "Me Myself and Eye" ... didnt listen to it yet, but theres a 30
> minute track on it called "Three worlds of Drums" !! hot damn!
> - Billy Cobham: "Life and Times"
>
> hey, for 2 bucks, you cant go wrong! I'm listening to the Chicano record
> right now, and this song "Cha Chita" is a dope downtempo latin lounge
> masterpiece!!!
>
> Here are a couple of 12"s that are rocking my world:
> - Kaori - Good Life rmx on Disorient
> I cant believe I havent seen this track mentioned on the list ! it came
> out a few months ago, and it's a BLAZING jazz remix of the house classic
> Good Life.. absolutely ballistic!
>
> - Trouble Man - The Essence - on Far Out
> Far out is really on a roll these days, with some dope ass jazz breakbeat
> 12"s.. this one is from last year I guess, but it's really fresh. The new
> Troubleman 12" is also great... both tracks need to be played the whole
> way through, around 3 am, to a sweaty mass of heads on a dope sound system
> for maximum pressure. They have that late night kinda feel.
>
> - Sepia - Hatari - on Life Line records
> Straight from Japan, in the US as a domestic record via Cisco, this b-side
> has a beautiful space jazz vibe in 6/8 which mixes nice into uptempo
> house jazz records
>
> - Dom um Rumao - Lake of Perseverance (Opaque Rmx) - on Head To Toe (irma)
> This has got to be the most ridiculous track I have heard in a long time.
> On the level of the zero db remix of Samba do Gringo Paulista. Maximum
> pressure! literally, ridiculous. I have no other way to describe it.
>
> Peace All
>
> Nat
>
>
>
>
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