Daniel B. of Nothing But Noise Interview (Part 1 of 2) [Listen 21:34] Looking at sounds and images for meaning with Daniel B S04 Ep05
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S04 Ep05 (Part1 of 2) - Looking At Sounds And Images For Meaning With Daniel B
Special Guest: Daniel Bressanutti (a.k.a. Daniel B.) (Part 1 of 2): is an electronic music pioneer and one of the forefathers of the electronic body music genre. Daniel B was a founding member of the iconic Belgian band, Front 242, and an essential figure in the shaping of Synth-Punk, electronic dance, and post-industrial music. He and his current band, Nothing But Noise, comprises of himself, the other founding member of Front 242, Dirk Bergen, as well as adding Erwin Jadot into the mix. Nothing But Noise have a new Limited edition 300 copy 10” white Vinyl single called “Music For Muted TV 1” released on Record Store Day 2013. In this podcast we talk about his latest band Nothing But Noise and their new EP “Music for Muted TV 1”, going on stage for the first time after a long absence, and we start talking about the direction of electronic music and pulling inspiration from the past.
Rant on Record Store Day
Like many things that started with the best intentions, an idea can grow to become something much larger, and outside of its original intentions. It can sometimes become a Behemoth that has gotten out of control. Many a Record Store Day release has found it's way onto the profiteering website eBay. The resulting opinions on this activity run the full spectrum from what you would expect; from it's only an exercise of freedom and capitalism, to it being the most egregious behaviour; that these people are the lowest of the low.
If you want to know the opinion from someone who is a founder of Record Store Day, you might look to Chris Brown, the RSD brainchild, who has suggested that even if you have the opportunity to grab everything, the more respectable thing would be to leave something there for the next guy. Not surprising that he hold this opinion since his inspiration was to "celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally." And it's true, it has, it's a platform for global exposure, events, giveaways, concerts, and meet and greets. It truly has increased the exposure of record stores. You might even be impressed to hear that on the second RSD (2009), Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced that the City of New York officially recognized Record Store Day as a city-wide event, if you're the sort that gets impressed by what mayors of New York say.
A few years back, the band "Fucked Up" caught wind of people on eBay flipping their album "David's Town" and inaccurately reporting the release numbers. They considered these people "creeps," put a post on their blog site stating the true release numbers, and further, essentially stated that the trend on eBay is for the cost to go down in a couple weeks and that anyone that would pay such a price was dumb. They even went so far to suggest that if they wanted to hear their music, they could search for a torrent, or download link.
But lets dial it back a bit here. I may find it too easy to find the bad in everything. The idea and resulting exposure that Record Store Day gives to independent record stores is tremendous, and I don't want to knock it for the good that it's worth. The exposure is needed and deserved, and the furvour is exciting, and brings together people who might not engage in like-minded groups very often. And let's face it, many a good record store has gone under, and the frequency seems to be is quickening. It's a sad thing to see for anyone who has gotten the bug for vinyl, and especially for anyone who spent a good deal of their formative years building their musical taste amongst the stacks of the local independent shops.
I suppose that decency is too much to ask for when it's simply to easy to abuse. There are too many examples to draw from everywhere and not to copy, to try to grab a bigger slice of the pie, when everyone else is doing it, especially officials, mentors, authorities. Who can blame them, the example has already been laid and reinforced many times over.
Realistically, Record Store Day is a great idea, and when it was released out into the free market, capitalistic world, you have to let go and let it grow up to what it's going to be. There are always people ready to exploit whatever they see a quick profit. 
And as for us endorsing, or encouraging a behaviour, where there's an ethical border indistinct and blurred, no clear action dictated. We have to say that you are only guided by your own moral compass by which you choose your actions, and that's what makes this world so great, right? You stupid, vulgar, greedy, ugly American death sucker!*
*William S. Burroughs' words
Hauschka and Mark E. Smith of The Fall Interview (Part 1 of 2) [Listen 30:56] – Finding meaning at the bottom of a Rift S04 Ep03
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Hauschka interview - Finding meaning at the bottom of a Rift
Special Guest: (Written) Mark E. Smith of the Fall (Part 1 of 1): is an irascible genius. It has been said that journalists might rather punch their way out of a brick wall than to interview the frontman of "The Fall", one of the most notable bands to come from the post-punk era. Always one to speak boldly, and never shy about demeaning whomever he feels deserving, (sometimes with violence) we actually seem to have gotten him on a good day. Below, he touches upon the importance of music, and his love of record producers.
Special Guests: (Audio) Hauschka (a.k.a. Volker Bertelmann) (Part 1 of 2): is a wonderful example of a musician bridging the gap between the vibrant but challenging sounds of modern classical music with a more traditional and conservative style of playing, keeping classical music moving forward but doing it without substituting beauty or taste. Hauschka started his musical education as a child studying classical music on piano, but stopped around 18 to study medicine and economics, only to be drawn into hip hop and electronic music a few years later. His music has shifted away from the straightforward hip hop and electronic sounds that we know in the clubs today to a more classical vein (ala John Cage with his interpretation of the prepared piano), using the piano as an experiment and adopting natural instruments but with electronic music in mind. Recently he teamed up with one of the biggest names in classical music, Hilary Hahn, to record Silfra. In the interview, we talk about his evolution as an artist, working with Hillary Hahn, the meaning behind Silfra and the process in making it, and we get into his other latest works and his remix album and wax philosophic on the concept of remixing.
The Fall (The 2013 Mark E. Smith interview)
GTV- The band's name was taken from Albert Camus' "The Fall" which is said by many to be Camus' most advanced and least understood book. (Sartre amongst them) Why did you take the title? Does the work and it's interpretation still influence the band after your more than 35 years in existence?
Mark E. Smith - WANTED TO CALL THE GROUP IN ITS NEMESIS "THE OUTSIDER", BUT IN THOSE DAYS FINALLY DISCOVERED THAT A LOT OF GROUPS WERE CALLED THAT SO I DECIDED ON "THE FALL" INSTEAD.
GTV- Your "existence" as a band has come in constantly shifting forms,with no member ever remaining throughout except yourself, to which you have stated to the effect that you are The Fall; that you, and any other fashion even if it were something like a monkey beating on cans and yourself would be "The Fall." We're not criticizing that, but would you say this is what has led to the band's high turnover rate, or is there another reason you could name as the primary issue?
Mark E. Smith - LIKE CAMUS, I WAS A VERY DISGRUNTLED GOALKEEPER.
GTV- Considering the heavy rotation of the band, aren't you worried about having your wife play keys?
Mark E. Smith - THE FACT IS THAT ELENI IS A SUPERB KEYBOARD PLAYER, THE FACT THAT SHE'S MY WIFE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
GTV- You keep your artistic talents mostly to music, and rather prolifically. If not for music, what other form of art would you pursue?
Mark E. Smith - I AM NOT A MUSICIAN, I AM A WRITER.
GTV- Forming in 1976, and identified and shaped by the "Post-Punk" genre, you hammered out a style that is unique and immediately recognizable, your sound has, of course, taken different sounds and forms throughout the years, but always maintains a strong core, plus you maintain a consistent devoted following. What would you say that you provide to the music world that no one else can? Why does it still work when so many other Post-Punk bands can sound so dated?
Mark E. Smith - APPRECIATED THE QUESTION. THIS IS A QUESTION THAT I AM OFTEN ASKED, AS I DON'T LISTEN TO ANY OLD FALL MATERIAL I DON'T KNOW.
GTV- Being a more literate band than most, I assume you are familiar with Chuck Palahniuk's "Fight Club" (also made into a movie) which, partly, deals with a group eschewing society's constraints of a pacified and manipulated population, and acting on man's more primal (truer) nature. I see The Fall's music an artistic realization in this fashion, and thus it's lasting appeal. Not to flatter your ego, for which you are known, but would you agree?
Mark E. Smith - NO FILM IS AS GOOD AS THE BOOK.
GTV- Also you complain a lot about other bands, or, rather, you get press attention when you state a negative remark about another band or on music in general, and more than likely we'd be in agreement, but there has got to be something good to speak of on music.
Mark E. Smith - MUSIC IS, I THINK, A MUCH ABUSED FORM. IT IS TOO EASY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. WHEN YOU THINK OF STOCKHAUSEN,THE MONKS, ETC. YOU REALIZE IT IS NECESSARY TO CONTINUE.
GTV- Theoretically speaking, we have the potential to achieve immortality with the aid of nano-robots, would you go for injecting yourself with nano-robots for immortality? Assuming you would, what if the condition was that drinking alcohol would destroy the robots (and thus, your immortality?) What if the necessary condition was you had to be friends with Oasis (for eternity?)
Mark E. Smith - SINCE WHEN?
GTV- What is the title of The Fall's new album. What's the significance of the title?
Mark E. Smith - RE-MIT. WHICH MEANS I NEED A GLOVE WHEN I GO OUT.
GTV- Where did you look to for inspiration for this album?
Mark E. Smith - TRIED TO KEEP IT AS SHARP AND HARD AS POSSIBLE. YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT I HAVE TO DEAL WITH INDOLENT PRODUCERS.
GTV- What piece of work are you most proud of?
Mark E. Smith - RE-MIT, MAYBE HEX.
- FIN -
Keith Levene Interview (Part 2 of 2) [Listen 37:11] – Doing An Event With But Never Getting Hired by Keith Levene S03 Ep08
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S03 Ep08 (Part2 of 2) - Doing An Event With But Never Getting Hired By Keith Levene
Special Guest: Keith Levene is a punk rock icon. He started off his career as one of the founding members of the Clash – helping write some of the bands early songs like "What's My Name", only to leave before they recorded their first album. His next project was another short lived but significant band, The Flowers of Romance, which consisted of Sid Vicious (pre Sex Pistols days) as well as Palmolive and Viv Albertine just before they formed the Slits. But Keith Levene is probably most famous for his unique guitar style and his powerful song writing skills in the band, Public Image Limited, which included the lead singer of the recently defunct Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten, a.k.a. John Lydon as well as a then unknown bass player by the name of Jah Wobble. PiL as they became to be known changed the direction of punk for good taking it away from the pre-packaged punk music created by people like Malcolm McLaren and veering into completely uncharted territories with albums like First Edition, The Flowers of Romance, and their landmark album Metal Box (or known in the states as Second Edition). Keith Levene recently teamed up with his old bandmate, Jah Wobble, and have a new album titled Yin and Yang out on Cherry Red Records.
In this Podcast Keith Levene and I talk about The Clash and what early Clash songs he contributed to, we discuss what Johnny Lydon was/is really like, the band PiL and the behind the scenes band politics, his friend Sid Vicous and what he was like behind all the hype. I ask him about Bernie Rhodes and Malcolm McLaren, the time he started playing with Fishbone, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, how flea inspired him to play again, and what the future holds for Jah Wobble and Keith Levene.
Enough Is Enough
It has been proven. Now is a time when pop music is becoming the same. The same to each other, and the same in itself. The same to each other, that is, that there is less differentiation from one pop song to the next, and same in itself as in there's less changes, less of a dynamic range in pop songs these days. One can follow this progression through to the point where all pop songs will become a constant drone with a steady beat of 120 bpm and an autotuned vocal track that wavers only between two pitches of a short range. Ok, actually, that sounds strangely interesting to me, and I'm reducing the problem to the absurd, but the problem is legitimate. Pop music is becoming too much the same.
The point I want to make, is that music is losing something. It's losing it's flavour, the personality. 
While some may say that pop music never had that much substance to begin with, and that's not it's particular aim, a quick introduction into the history of pop music will show that there was much more there in the early days of the 20'th century. Love and loss, the subjects weren't that broad or deep, but the personality of the performers shone through. And now there's a homogenization taking place, and it's going on under the noses of people perhaps too pacified already to take notice and speak out for their own benefit.
The unfortunate thing is that the music is being packaged and sold in pretty, glittery packages that dazzle the eye of the consumers. The rate of exchange comes so quick that there isn't enough time to discover the ruse before the public is dazzled by the next latest offering. It's more about production and advertizing. Much like the days that punk emerged. Punk emerged out of an era of over-produced music. Music that had gotten outside of itself and into the hands of heavy-handed producers and laden glitter and dazzle. It became less about the music and more about the show. I'm afraid that this is the result when music becomes too much an industry and follows a formula, and too far removed as an art form.
In the late seventies, this was, by large, what you had to choose form: music that had lost sight of itself. It's true that there was always music of integrity, if you had the paitience and dedication to search for it, but what was being marketed was filler. Punk was the anti-movement, the reaction. Then, of course, the terrible inevitable happened. Punk became too big and itself became manipulated, watered down and over produced with an eye for marketing and turning a buck. The answer: Post-punk. Steering the reins away from the managers and advertisers once again and making music for music's sake. For the joy of music. The need to make a sound. A tribal gathering, not an event just to fill a stadium and line pockets.
This is what's missing today; the reaction. The backlash. The anti-movement to the mind-numbing consumer fad and conformity.
How it'll come, I don't know, perhaps the seeds are sprouting right now. But I believe it will, and it'll have the impact that punk had on the scene in the late seventies. The blank canvas is prepared. It'll come, and I'm waiting for it in anticipation. Most likely, once again, it'll come on the heels of the disaffected youth sick of the pablum they've been force fed for so long. Keith Levene might be the best one to ask, he was on the punk & post-punk scene, in nearly every scene that mattered. He never seemed to carve his place in one particular band, not in those turbulent and visionary times, but he was the journeyman, coming in and seeding his influence then kicked out or moved on to the next scene.
Keep in mind, as Benjamin Franklin said, “If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.” There is at some point when someone realizes that and decides to act against conformity and produces a profound and worthwhile change fueled with exuberance and exhilaration. Every great epoch of music is hinged on it. I'm waiting.
-- Guthrie Alan Corwin
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jul/27/pop-music-sounds-same-survey-reveals
Keith Levene Interview (Part 1 of 2) [Listen 37:10 min]- Slashing Through The Rules With Keith Levene S03 Ep08
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S03 Ep08 (Part1 of 2) - Slashing Through Rules With Keith Levene
Special Guest: Keith Levene is a punk rock icon. He started off his career as one of the founding members of the Clash – helping write some of the bands' early songs like "What's My Name", only to leave before they recorded their first album. His next project was another short lived but significant band, The Flowers of Romance, which consisted of Sid Vicious (pre Sex Pistols days) as well as Palmolive and Viv Albertine just before they formed the Slits. But Keith Levene is probably most famous for his unique guitar style and his powerful song writing skills in the band, Public Image Limited, which included the lead singer of the recently defunct Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten, a.k.a. John Lydon as well as a then unknown bass player by the name of Jah Wobble. PiL, as they became to be known changed the direction of punk for good taking it away from the pre-packaged punk music created by people like Malcolm McLaren and veering into completely uncharted territories with classic albums like First Edition, The Flowers of Romance, and their landmark album, Metal Box (or known in the states as Second Edition). Keith Levene recently teamed up with his old bandmate, Jah Wobble, and have a new album titled Yin and Yang out on Cherry Red Records.
In this podcast, we talk about his guitar style, the newish album Yin and Yang and some of the songs and concepts on the album, we touch upon drugs and his experiences and thoughts, the Beatles, what dub music was like growing up and he gives a shout out to Dub Gabriel.
BTW since the recording of this interview (back on December 6) Keith Levene has released a new album titled Search4AbsoluteZero that I think will be one of the best releases of 2013.
Buy it here: http://keithlevene.com/
Keith Levene
Whether you're a fan of the British punk/post-punk scene or not, the influence that just a few individuals had upon the world's music scene is monumental. Really, for what impact they've made, they simply aren't famous enough. The tangents and avenues opened up from this scene (small as it was in the beginning) has had a profound and lasting effect on music that still reverberates today, and I'm not simply speaking of punk music/genre itself and all the off-shoots, but of contemporary music in general. Punk got in there and wormed it's influence into whatever music wanted to be seen as contemporary, somewhere, at some point. Enough credit isn't paid to the originators. And the originators really come down to just a small collection of people. If you want to go by today's measure of whether music is good by judging the degree of separation to Brian Eno, then Levene and the crew are in very good standing. One doesn't have to look far for that connection. I'm sure that some people who know the dub and ambient type of work Eno & Wobble produced would say that it's a far cry from punk for there to be an influence, but I'm saying that there is a punk influence there; and to prove otherwise, one would really have to go to the source and ask them specifically. I'm betting that they'd say that punk has an influence in whatever they do at least to some degree. Really, the argument could be made that punk imparts itself despite whatever they would say. To be involved in the formation of a scene, and such a shift from the current scene, and at such a impressionable time in one's age has to have a lasting effect in the foundation of a person's being, especially a scene that attracted so much attention, fury, and controversy.
Even the formation of punk itself has its controversy; some say that it all was a manufactured orchestration from Malcolm McLaren, but we'll leave that debate as it is and focus more on Keith Levine.
One could say that Levene has had his hand in the punk/post-punk cookie jar more than any others through being involved with Public Image Limited (PiL), The Clash, the short lived, but notable band, Flowers of Romance, and not forgetting Pigface, (although nearly everyone in a band is a member of Pigface, and probably even you) plus his courtship with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone, and not only with his physical presence, but his playing style has had a far reaching influence; The Edge from U2 gets referenced most often, but there are many more that owe a great deal to his style, many probably don't know it, but his influence has spread far and shaped so much, and he doesn't get his due credit, and that's really a shame.
All this, ironically, comes from someone who first stepped into the music scene by becoming a roadie for the very non-punk, but progressive, and symphonic band "Yes." Ironic because punk is supposed to be the kick-in-the-teeth counter-action to the music and bands that had grown to such a degree to be something in awe of its own manifestation. Strangely, Levene doesn't classify himself as a punk, rather he calls himself a hippie. One has to wonder now, why it is that of any musicians that have been interviewed here on Going Thru Vinyl, that it's the musicians that call themselves hippies but play music far outside the "hippie" spectrum that seem to be the happiest with where they are today with their music (ref. John McLaughlin). In fact, when Levene talks of leaving the Clash, he says that the parting wasn't on bad terms at all, but that he simply said that the music just wasn't for him. His departure from PiL wasn't the same by any means, (he was a founding member, and spent 5 years within the band, plus was a profound influence in their sound), but those were different days, and his departure was under different circumstances. The truth of the matter is hidden behind great clashing egos. Unfortunately, his departure came just before PiL's tour in Japan. It's clear, from listening to Levene in the interview, what an impact this split from PiL had on him, and still does to this day. It's clear when he speaks of his ambition to play Tokyo in 2013.
Levene labels himself a hippie, but speaks not in idealisms, but with candour, pragmatism, and ingtegrity. His views on heroin use are particularly poignant.
Considering their experiences, one could forgive them all for being road weary, yet, they're at it again - producing music, releasing albums, and touring. Levene most recently with his own release "Search 4 Absolute Zero", Wobble with Levene - "Yin & Yang", and John Lydon with another manifestation of PiL, "This is PiL". And one has to wonder why, for being as old as they are, and all that they've been through, for all to be producing music so far above expectation. Judging against their peers, one has to think that maybe they had the right idea at the beginning - an ethos of being and of music as an anti-production, but simply of being, despite convention and politeness for the sake of the status quo. It's unfortunate that something was too passionate and honest that it become the cause of it's own destruction, but these men still carry the glowing embers that once sparked a revolution.
- Guthrie Alan Corwin
Parting Thoughts:
As you probably know David Bowie is bringing out an new album (The Next Day) due out in March. I thought I would remind our listeners that we have two Bowie related podcasts already up and hope to have a few new ones by the time the album comes out. Also I thought I would give a shout-out to a fellow Bowie fan Adam Dean (of Bowie Downunder) who has probably the most up-to-date unofficial Bowie website out there. So here`s a link to that: http://www.bowiedownunder.com/
Lastly, we are really excited to announce that Dub Gabriel has agreed to come on the show! We highly recommend him and his music and think you should check him out. Here is a link to his site: http://destroyallconcepts.bandzoogle.com/home.cfm
Steve Albini Interview (Part 2 of 2) [Listen 17:33] – Nirvana, Fame And Dying In A Grease Fire With Steve Albini – S03 Ep05
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S03 Ep05 (Part2 of 2)- Nirvana, Fame And Dying In A Grease Fire With Steve Albini
Special Guest: Steve Albini is famous for his distinctive style, the music he has been a part of, and his anti-producer producing philosophy. His work speaks for itself, recording bands like Nirvana, the Pixies, Superchunk, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Helmet, PJ Harvey, Cheap Trick, Bonny “Prince” Billy, Jarvis Cocker, Sparklehorse and believe me when I say the list could go on. He has been a member of the bands Big Black, Rapeman, and Shellac. I first came across Steve Albini's name from reading Nirvana interviews around the time Nirvana was releasing their masterpiece “In Utero.” In those interviews, Kurt Cobain talked about how he wanted to follow up their mega-hit album “Nevermind” with the producer who recorded his favourite albums like “Surfa Rosa” by the Pixies and “Pod” by the Breeders. Albini’s style of engineering and producing has been described as “hands off,” or minimalist in its approach. He also is a person who prefers not to receive credit on the albums he has worked on, stating that he doesn't think it's right to be paid in perpetuity for something he took part in for only one day. Albini is also known for his integrity to the music, and has gained fame not only in music he put out but for his reasonable recording rates (charging affordable flat rates regardless of the bands' fame). He's clearly music fan and I am thrilled to have Steve Albini on the show.
In this podcast we talk about the Nirvana album In Utero and the controversy surrounding it, we get into the music of the Jesus Lizard, we talk about fame and success and it’s relationship to music as an art form, we get his opinion on where he thinks music is today.
Suicide - The Ultimate Sacrifice
Death is so...............final.
The loss of one’s life is by far the worst thing that could ever happen in one's life (excusing religion, nihilists, etc. but let's not make this a philosophical debate) Death - “the thing” to avoid at any cost. Yet we all know we all have death facing us at some point.* (*In my case this may never happen.) “Art” on the other hand could be seen as the benchmark - the highest form, manifestation of “Life.” Immortality through self expression- whether through an idea, a thought, or some universal feeling expressed – a connection with another human being outside of place or time. We as the listener are let into their world and given pieces of insight by that artist for us to digest. When suicide is involved it puzzles one’s mind. What does it mean when an artist we love takes their life?
Tons of questions come to mind that we wouldn’t otherwise think: was their death avoidable; is that any of my business; is there a deeper meaning to the music now; was fame too great for them; if the music moved me to me does that mean I myself could be closer to suicide than I think?
I remember Kurt Cobain’s death well. It was strange for me because unlike someone like Nick Drake who died back in 1974, Cobain was someone of my generation that I actually really dug. Nirvana’s music and Kurt Cobain’s art seemed to speak my language more than other music at the time.
When I first heard of his death, I remember seeing other people in a sense of shock over the news too. It was strange because for a brief window in time people connected with other people, sharing their shock and disbelief about his death. Seeing people crying and the media that surrounded it - I couldn't help but think, he would have got a kick out of the mayhem surrounding his death and touched by the genuine sadness over peoples reaction.
Today, like always with time thoughts soften and change. The 90’s are gone and I’m glad. I couldn't imagine going back to living pre-internet days. That said, it would have been cool to hear another Nirvana or Sparklehorse record or, better to have seen them live.
The list of great musical artists who have taken their own lives is a long one, sadly.** We thought we might pay tribute and highlight some of these tragic figures.
Kurt Cobain
Mark Linkous
Nick Drake
Wendy O. Williams
Vic Chesnutt
Darby Crash
Ian Curtis
Sid Vicious
Johnny Ace
-Jason Hoffer
**(and the list could go on) but I want to pay tribute without glorifying. See full list here if interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Musicians_who_committed_suicide