So Cynical

The tradition of Jazz Fest posters being anti-artist and anti-art is a proud one. Artists have been asked over and over again to mimic photos as realistically as possible where the figures are concerned, often at the expense of their style. That's the case in the Congo Square poster this year, which is in substance a reproduction of a Trombone Shorty publicity shot.

Worse is yet another James Michalopoulos poster, this one remarkably like the one he did of Fats Domino. This time, it's Allen Toussaint who's playing in the street with Michalopoulos' trademark curving buildings looming overhead. Besides the piece's lack of basic logic - why is he playing piano in the street? - it's also Michalopoulos' weakest effort. The piano is poorly drafted, resembling a key-tar more than a piano in the way it angles away from Toussaint's body. Since Michalopoulos' work usually shows better architectural consciousness than that, it's sad and inexplicable.

Still, his artistic sins are less glaring than Jazz Fest's. The choice of Michalopoulos for his third or fourth poster is simply cynical, as if people buying it will validate everything. Collectors collect, and those who have bought posters each year will buy them again this year, so the decision is whether or not to give them something as excellent as Doug Bourgeois's Irma Thomas poster last year, or pass off the same ol' same ol'. We know the answer.

Because He Asked Nicely ...

Rotary Downs was confirmed for SXSW too late to make OffBeat's March issue rundown of who-plays-where. Drummer Zack Smith recently sent over the details, which include two day parties for the indie rock band. Here's the rundown:

Wednesday, March 18th
PASTE SXSW Showcase
Ace's Lounge - 222 E. 6th St., Austin, TX
Rotary Downs @ 9pm (21+)
wristband access


Thursday, March 19th -

Electronic Musician/reapandsow music SXSW Day party
Calle Habana 6 - 709 E. 6th St., Austin, TX
Rotary Downs @ 3pm - INSIDE STAGE

AND

NOLA Soul Presents
Historic Victory Grill - 1104 E. 11th St, Austin, TX
Rotary Downs @ 5:45

See them at least once.

Telefon Talking

Leo McGovern interviewed Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv about Charlie Cooper's death for Antigravity. It's a pretty frank interview, and Eustis doesn't pull punches discussing the possibility that Cooper's death was a suicide:

Are you mad at Charlie at all?

Sure. I like to tell myself, to give myself comfort in a very selfish way, that it’s a natural response to something like this. But I can’t really be mad at him because the Medical Examiner, for instance—I’ll tell you this, since everybody is wondering—ruled inconclusively. They couldn’t rule that it was a suicide, because there wasn’t enough evidence to indicate that it actually was. It very well could’ve been an accident and that’s what the Medical Examiner thinks at this time. We get the toxicology report in a week and it’s going to stay between me and his family. If it wasn’t intentional, then I’m a lot sadder, but I’ll take comfort in knowing he wasn’t trying to take an easy way out of life’s problems. But, if it was intentional (which I don’t think it was), then yeah I’m pissed off because it’s a bullshit way of dealing with life’s problems—problems that everybody has: girl problems, money problems. Fuck, everybody has those problems. To despair when you have problems is the height of folly, because despair is only for people who know the end beyond any doubt. If you know for a fact that it’s going to end badly, then you can despair, but nobody ever knows that everything is going to completely fall apart and your life is going to end. For that reason I would be pissed off if the Medical Examiner comes back and rules it a suicide.

The Gift of Clarity

These days, much Americana music sounds like mutually agreed-upon wish fulfillment. If we all agree that this is a distinctive genre and it's doing something particularly valuable, then it's so. But much of what crosses my desk isn't special or genre-busting, so it's hard to get with the program. Still, I was driving last night and listening to Raul Malo's Lucky One and Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women and their musical, melodic, lyrical and conceptual clarity were so refreshing.

It's Not Me, It's "Me"

No surprise - Lily Allen's second time around is less engaging than her debut album. On It's Not Me, It's You, she's more of a caricature - the cheeky gal who says the things people think. Now, with the knowledge that there's an audience, she does so in a less breezy, more programatic way: Lily takes on hypocrisy, Lily takes on racists, Lily takes on bad lovers. That doesn't make them bad songs - "Everyone's at It" suffers from a chorus that may be longer than the verse, but it's catchy - and "The Fear" does the 'living in the spotlight' song better than her American counterparts. Where Britney et al act defensive and persecuted, Allen confesses that she doesn't know how she should feel.

Still, the most entertaining tracks end the album, as if Allen and company ran out of topics and started writing songs. Perhaps its no surprise that when the songs become more interesting, so do the ideas. In "Him," her meditation on God, Allen speculates that his favorite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival - the one line that made me laugh out loud. And it's funny 'cause it's true.

Doubt I'll Ever Make It

Friends tell me I'm missing something by not following Dexter Romweber, but Ruins of Berlin by the Dex Romweber Duo (with sister Sara on drums) hasn't changed my mind. I hear a guy writing entirely in the voice of his genre - song structures, lyrics, imagery, voice and guitar. What am I missing? There's nothing wrong with it, but I can't hear what would excite anyone but those so immersed in garage-ness that all of its iterations are intrinsically interesting - someone I haven't been in over 20 years.

On the Morning Drive

Spent the first half-hour of the day on the Juan MacLean's The Future Will Come. He has discovered the Human League - one song even quotes "Being Boiled." Best track is the opener, where the League meets Giorgio Moroder.