pretazzo

For me, the rhythmic section of the Fear has nothing to envy from that of the Lizard (just as an example)........ "If we then say that hardcore is such a nuanced genre, what is jazz in its thousand insane incarnations?" <<< what kind of talk is that?? Jazz is a genre, hc is a sub-genre...you can't compare them...and anyway, jazz is also made with few instruments (the basic quartet: double bass, piano, sax, drums) and follows fairly defined patterns (initial theme, sax variation, piano solo, double bass solo, etc.). Of course, with Davis, Mingus, and many others, jazz has evolved and been contaminated, it has had "a thousand incarnations," but at this point you could make the same argument for post-hardcore and all the evolutions of rock in general....... "None of those original bands would have ever conceived a 'Monkey Trick' by the Lizard because they were too busy laying waste around them" <<< the Pistols did the scorched earth thing, all the rest has been constructive (what about the Germs' Shut Down? Scorched earth there too?)...... "Big Black, Butthole Surfers, Tragic Mulatto, Rapeman, Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, Naked Raygun" <<< well, what do the Raygun have that is formally complex, sophisticated, and evolved compared to the first hc bands?..... "let's move beyond hardcore" <<< ugh.....

Well, in some old-school groups, there is an abundance of melody (Misfits, Bad Religion, Descendents), and fragments of melody can also be found in extreme groups like Bad Brains (sure, it's not the linear, epic "west-coast" melody of Bad Religion, nor the farcical style of Ramones that the Misfits have, because H.R.'s vocal style distorts everything... but overall, I find Bad Brains melodic in their own way)... For the rest, I agree with what you say... I too am crazy about the post-hardcore of the mid-'80s (from the Surfers to Albini, from Scratch Acid to Minutemen)... my previous post was more of an invitation addressed a bit to everyone (myself included) to look deeper into things, in order to grasp the thousand nuances hidden behind an appearance of expressive barrenness (which many confuse with harmonic degradation)... for example, every time I listen to Germs, I always discover something new and realize the unsuspected richness of their proposal...

I don't agree with Fester and Sanjuro's talk about hardcore... hardcore is one of the most versatile genres I know... unfortunately, a problem of superficiality arises here: many people don't know (or don't want to) grasp the thousand nuances found within the old-school scene: Germs, Bad Religion, Descendents, DRI, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Misfits, etc... these are all bands with a very personal style, capable of varying while remaining within the same genre... a genre that only seems limited... the emotions felt when listening to Germs are quite different from those experienced with Minor Threat, and even more distinct are those evoked by Bad Religion and those of Bad Brains, which in turn are different from those of Fear, etc... the same goes for style: Smear, Ginn, Gurewitz, Dr. Know... then the voices, let's not even talk about it: Rollins, McKay, Crash, Aukerman, Graffin, Danzig, all very different from each other and all perfectly recognizable... it's easy to spot the strangeness in Minutemen compared to Surfers or Tragic Mulatto (because they make music that is explicitly contaminated)... it's more difficult to catch it in the (apparently orthodox) Dead Kennedys or in Bad Brains... of course I don't mean to call Fester superficial, not at all! ;-) (but Sanjuro, yes :-D)

a film of capital importance, both for its themes (the reflection on guilt and responsibility) and for its style (the use of sound, expressionist chiaroscuro, the opening scene which is literally a school of cinema)... however, in my opinion, it lacks that harmony between the components that is typical of every masterpiece (it's a bit clunky)... beautiful bjorkina! ;-)

he he he he it’s awesome, what did I tell you? ;-)

big russ, old wolf...but he wasn't a feminist worth a damn...great review, qz...

fuck, I miss all the goofy discussions :-( anyway: 1) metal is generally one of the most elaborate rock genres (except for Motörhead and a few others); 2) Metal Circus is more perfect than Zen Arcade (the difference is that the former is a sonnet, the latter a poem); 3) Surfers are a lot of fun, yet they're one of the hardest bands to understand and interpret; 4) how can you say who the greatest band of all time is? it’s all relative, depending on a myriad of factors... it’s impossible to determine that... right now I’d say Buffalo Springfield, but that’s just because I’m really into them lately... no, it doesn’t make sense to claim who has been the greatest of all time, let’s leave that nonsense to the “serious” magazines... one thing is certain, and it concerns the title of worst album of all time: Cosmic Interceptions by VonLmo (if Spacca comes around here, he’ll fry me! :-D)

psycho, regarding the last sentence, you know very well how certain texts are so ambiguous that they attract the sympathies of opposing ideological factions (and there's no shortage of choices here, from Nietzsche's thought to "Self-Reliance" by Emerson)... As for the film, beyond its aesthetic perfection, I believe it is a lucid and exemplary reflection on the meaning of ethics, the value of morality, the paradoxical effects of applying a rigid code of conduct in reality, and the relationship between idealistic ambitions and the corruption that life throws in our faces on a daily basis.

p.s. I believe the record for brevity is held by Agnostic Front: 1982 - United Blood (10 songs; 6 minutes and 25 seconds)

but indeed, you’re too smart to care about grades :-)