ROLLING STONES AND ELKLAND AND MUSIC AND WELCOME TO MY BLOG

I wanted my first blog entry to be about something important. A couple days ago I started writing one called "Who's Gonna Save Capitalism This Time?" (which I hope to finish and get up soon. I got all bogged down in describing how horrible Harding and Coolidge were as presidents and how Bush is even worse.) But 2 nights ago I went to see a band, Elkland, and seeing them made me think about something that I decided to share. Actually the thought started a few days earlier when a friend told me he is going to see a Rolling Stones concert. Let's skip over, for a moment, that I've always hated shows in arenas (unless I got to stand on the side of the stage). The anti-intimacy can work when you're bonding big time with the rest of the audience in some kind of a tribal, cathartic experience (ala Woodstock or the Isle of Wight or something like that) but that-- almost by definition-- can't happen every week. But that isn't even the main reason I have exactly zero interest in seeing the Rolling Stones. They were my #1 favorite band for years when I was in college-- my first favorite band in fact. True, I started losing interest in them after the death of Brian Jones, even though they still had some good songs after that-- especially right after that-- but... well when an organic band starts changing members, it's never the same band. But that's neither here nor there in this argument. The reason I would rather go see an unsigned band in a club than go see the Rolling Stones is because seeing the Stones today is like seeing a parody of something that was once so intensely important to me. Everytime one of their albums came out it was a very special, unique experience. I would celebrate with some acid and focus on the album to the exclusion of everything else. (I can still get slight flashbacks by hearing songs from BETWEEN THE BUTTONS.) The times I saw the Stones play live were intensely magical for me. Now I shudder at the idea of these old men somehow getting it up in some kind of circus atmosphere to play the songs that the band I used to love wrote and played. (I'm sad to report that I saw CSN last night and it was the same thing-- and that WAS in a small club, not an arena. Very sad. I'm actually happy that apparently the other 500 or so people there absolutely LOVED the show-- except my 20-something year old friend who was severely disappointed and was relieved when I suggested we leave before the end.)

Anyway, Elkland was absolutely delightful-- all brimming over with youthful energy and excitement and promise. If you were ever a fan of The Smiths or of Erasure-- and still like what those groups were back then-- chances are you'd love Elkland. In fact, they are opening the Erasure tour in the U.S. and any Erasure fan that gets there early enough to see them will be able to pat himself on the back. I saw them last year at the Roxy, long before their album was recorded and they were... promising. Now a lot of that promise is being fulfilled.

Two other bands I came in contact with in the last week: Building A Better Spaceship (live show at 14 Below in Santa Monica) and La Paz. They're both great and I'll write more about them in the future. Now I wanna get my first blog entry up (if I can remember the pass word).