donjunio

The mainstream is, by definition, a vast pool where many fish can be found, and any major proposal blessed by approval and featured on MTV is part of it. It's not necessarily a dirty word. I agree with the analysis made by popolo italiani: as derivative as they may be, the Interpol often manage to find flashes and solutions (both lyrical and musical) to leave a mark on the listener's mind, and this sets them apart from many contemporary bands. "lighthouse," in particular, is a small gem.

this is a good album, interpol confirm themselves as one of the most reliable names in today’s mainstream rock, in a different category compared to people like strokes or franz ferdinand. The rest is bar talk. There's no point in making comparisons with the grunge era: that was the last golden age of rock, these are irredeemably mediocre times and this is what we have to deal with.

I don't think Carmelo Bene's version surpasses this; however, we're talking about extraordinary peaks in both cases. For sure, the worst Hamlet of all time is Zeffirelli's with Mel Gibson, a true disgrace...

always impeccable, vivis!

Already the title of the album smells of Joy Division a mile away... "a means to an end," just imagine the rest. Nevertheless, those who compare the singer's voice to Stipe are not entirely wrong: among other things, the Editors have done an excellent version of "orange crush." In the realm of epigones, however, the Interpol are in a different category.

The film is not bad, a bittersweet portrayal of the 1968 disillusionment, obviously expressed as a comedy for a wide audience: those seeking cultural hyperboles should definitely look elsewhere. The first twenty minutes are splendid. The opening on the notes of "I heard it through the grapevine" is sparkling, the funeral scene, when the organ starts playing "you can't always get what you want," is poignant... it's a shame that the film then declines a bit into fragmentation, although a few lines here and there save it. Like, "it's frustrating to have to write articles that don't exceed the reading time of a piece of crap." "Well, people read Dostoevsky in the bathroom." "Not in just one sitting, though!"

I apologize to Panda and the other users; in fact, it’s not very polite to talk about other artists in a review dedicated to Jackson. I started it, so I won’t dwell further. Cptgaio, Cobain didn’t react with arrogance when he heard that cover; on the contrary, he joked (a bit bitterly, as was his style) saying, "Damn, I’ve become famous." I mentioned the episode just for the folklore. Thank you for the suggestion; I would really appreciate it, and we can delve into the topic there, perhaps. See you soon!

@cptgaio. Do you know when Cobain started to abhor the idea of becoming a rock star? When he heard the obscene version of "smells like teen spirit" made by your beloved Tori Amos. I find it quite audacious to assert that Nirvana was the other side of the coin of Michael Jackson; they are completely different stories: Cobain and his bandmates came from the most rejected and forgotten ‘80s, with solid punk-rock roots. Jackson was about glitter, sequins, and dancers from a hated decade. You talk about commerciality, but Nirvana managed to impose their trend, against the expectations of record labels (for "nevermind," Geffen originally pressed 200,000 copies, in spite of "in vitro" grunge). The comparison I made is linked to a purely personal memory: even though I was only 14 at the time, I believe that the ephemeral season of Nirvana was a breath of fresh air for many. Seeing Nirvana overshadow most of the plastic garbage peddled by MTV was a godsend for an entire generation, which then started discovering things that were even more interesting because of Nirvana. Moreover, the Seattle scene was the tip of a huge iceberg: it was the era of Lollapalooza, of crossover, of Neil Young taking Sonic Youth on tour. Grunge became a "commercial" genre once "Nevermind" broke through the barriers of the mainstream, and there was an overflow of their clones, supermarket grunge, and all those other horrors for which Cobain was an unwitting responsible party. Cobain himself, with "In Utero," tried to evade the traps of a homogenized sound, wanting to distance himself from what grunge had become: but when we talk about 1991, that was the golden age of American rock in my opinion.

...when Nirvana's "nevermind" knocked that shit off the top of the US charts, it was a huge day...

Well, I would recommend those albums to a novice not because I consider them inherently superior, but precisely because it's better to direct them towards a less esoteric and initiatory listening experience for their first approach. My favorite Lou Reed album, for example, is "Berlin," but if I had to recommend one to someone who has never heard anything from the old Lou, I would choose "Transformer" or "New York," works that are more accessible and enjoyable even on a general listening level, just as I would never recommend "Blood on the Tracks" to someone who is unfamiliar with Dylan. As I see it, when you become increasingly passionate about a great artist, you tend to appreciate especially those "sick" works that take their aesthetics to the extreme. "Berlin" perfects Reed's obsession with the idea of humanity as a downfall, just as "on the beach" captures the end of the West Coast dream and many other things. Clearly, we are talking about albums that are all 5-star experiences, and often it’s the small nuances that make you slightly prefer album x over album y, and it’s always a pleasure to discuss it!