Sinister: My recommendations: Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Weezer

[Mark Niciu]

ZvoRuna,

You requested recommendations from the wide world of sinister land.  Two 
recommendations that I offer for your listening pleasure are Godspeed You 
Black Emperor! and Weezer.  These aforementioned groups sound about as 
different as one can possibly imagine, but they (with Belle and Sebastian) 
represent the best music, in my humble opinion, to arise in the last five 
years.  But if you don't mind reading paeans of the highest order, may I 
state some reasons why I request these two?

Godspeed You Black Emperor! are the best group that I've encountered this 
year.  Their sound is an ineffable amalgam of Richard Wagner, the Who, and, 
on occasion, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci.  However, a better description of their 
brilliance is that they provide the soundtrack for the apocalypse.  The nine 
members of GYBE!'s live performances include five guitarists (3 
six-stringers and 2 bassists), two standing percussionists, a cellist, and a 
violinist.  Suffice it to say, the five guitars create a soundscape that 
crescendos (and diminuendos) to unparalleled degrees in the history of music 
(only Richard Wagner and, more recently, Mogwai offer suitable comparisons). 
  The percussionists typically begin at pianississimo volumes and 
imperceptibly build to fucking break the roof of the venue or blast a 
stereo, replete with marching beats, an incessant crash cymbal and a bass 
drum that seems to blast through your chest with every stroke.  Last but not 
least, the cellist and violinist appear to be Julliard's brilliant but rowdy 
rejects that complement and drive GYBE!'s timbre into uncharted regions that 
Beethoven could only dream about.  I would purchase GYBE!'s EP "Slow Riot 
for New Zero Kanada" before obtaining the LP "f#a# infinity" as the EP 
contains their best track to date, viz., "Blaise Bailey Finnegan III", and 
the drum-laden "Moya" that sends quivers through my stomach at the final 
crescendo.  However, I don't seek to give you the impression that "f#a# 
infinity" is pants; to wit, it may be the best LP of 1998 (including Belle 
and Sebastian's "The Boy with the Arab Strap").  However, to novel ears, it 
may seem tedious at times building to crescendo and the frequent drum loops 
and other miscellaneous noises, e.g. train sounds, bagpipes, and drone 
chants, may initially be an unpalatable morsel in one's musical mouth.

Now to change my direction entirely, allow me to deliver a panegyric to my 
favorite American pop band, those catchy-as-a-cold-standing- 
butt-naked-in-the-Antarctic dorks from California, Weezer.  They only have 
two albums, the self-titled release in 1994 and 1996' "Pinkerton", but for 
the amount of material that they have, to put it bluntly, there is no better 
pop band ever to grace the earth.  Only Felt and Belle and Sebastian offer 
suitable comparisons.  And, speaking of Felt, I think that there are 
tremendous similarities between Weezer and the Lawrence-led Birminghamians.  
Just as Felt is post-Sex Pistols British art pop that emphasizes punk's 
melodic dimension, Weezer is post-Nirvana American punk that exploits 
melodies pervasive in the early stages of "alternative" (as well as 1950s 
pop, but that's another story!).  In addition, Lawrence of Felt and Rivers 
Cuomo of Weezer leave no doubt who is in control of their respective groups. 
  Both maintain firm reigns upon their band's sound, and both have had 
members of their groups leave due to this fact (Maurice Deebank of Felt and 
Matt Sharp of Weezer, now with the Rentals).  However, both are absolute 
geniuses (and Rivers is truly a brilliant man as well - he graduated with a 
B.A. from Harvard in English) when it comes to sculpturing pop masterpieces. 
  I would start with Weezer's self-titled album, which features "Buddy 
Holly" - their biggest hit in the U.S. so far and, with its parody of Happy 
Days, it may be the best video I have seen.  However, their second album 
"Pinkerton" is lyrically different, as virtually every song is about foibles 
and failings with the opposite sex, but the power pop is still there in 
spades.  And there is no album that I have been awaiting more than Weezer's 
forthcoming third album.  Christ, it's been a long time!

Hope that helps and thanks for reading,
~~M

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