Starfire – Black Magic
Genre: Progressive Rock, Classic Rock
Some kids buy into the rock star ideal of one day owning a jet plane and having twelve groupies tracking your movements at all times. Others just want to learn to play their guitar really well. It’s hard to predict which one of the two will have a happier life.
Indeed, if you were to advise these two people as a wise adult, you would be inclined to present the one willing to spend hours practicing their instrument as the one that’s found the correct route. But will they be safe on their path? After all, such ambitions come packaged with a significant amount of work, big dreams, and a propensity to write rock operas.
Starfire’s Black Magic finds a band that long ago has bought into the idea of the prog-rocker as a person determined to build and tear their own worlds. Is this music that requires your full attention? Certainly! Does it feature solos? Yes. Is it rewarding? For most people that have grown up on classic rock radio, the answer is affirmative. Some people sacrificed a lot of their time perfecting their musical skills, and we are all better off for it.
Niles Crane – Motorcycle Contract Year
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
There used to be a lot of requirements that one had to fulfill before they could begin to dream about getting their music played on someone’s house stereo. Ideally, they were born in England, had long hair, possessed a glamorous sense of style, and could sing the kind of notes that make dogs bark in a panic. It also did not hurt if their recordings were made with the aid of a considerable budget and under the supervision of famous music producers.
Yes, there were uniforms that one had to fit into snuggly in order to have any hope of making music that might reach an audience. As time has moved on from rock music’s premier embrace of corporate elements, in certain quarters, the differences between performer and audience have shrunk.
Niles Crane’s Motorcycle Contract Year embraces the beauty of the lo-fi recordings seemingly created as inside jokes to your best friends. This is music written by ordinary people sitting at ordinary kitchen tables. It’s an old-fashioned country tune performed by indie rockers. And, it’s the kind of music that needs no uniform in order to attempt to gain an audience.
