M.E. Netzke – Gave Up Trying To Be Your Friend
Similar artists: Beck, Moby, Primal Scream
Genre: Indietronica, Indie Pop, Alternative Rock
For decades, a good deal of people have found refuge and a way to define their entire personality through the works of others. They’re called “fans” by some and “obsessives” by those less kind. And while there are many who’ll do this, few of them take advantage of just how far their choices could take them. Rather than investing in the kinds of gems that are known by a select few, they veer toward the sort of stuff that your grandma and your geography teacher will be familiar with.
The 1990s was The Golden Era for this kind of collectors. It was a time when movie directors could cobble together their cult influences and create general blockbusters. It was a time when experimental musicians could disguise their weirdness under the moniker of “pop.” And it was a time when audiences were willing to let themselves be dazzled by all these new hybrids.
M.E. Netzke’s “Gave Up Trying To Be Your Friend” sounds like the kind of record that’s arrived from the hodgepodge alternative era of music of the 90s. Is this a dance record? It could be! Is it a breakup record? Sure, why not. Could this be played on the radio? I would personally not oppose it in the slightest. M.E. Netzke’s takes many sharp left turns when it could just go straight. And that’s why “Gave Up Trying To Be Your Friend” is a great tune.
Jamie Rhodes – Tear This Fucker Down
Similar artists: Mr. Bungle, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Genre: Alternative Rock
People used to do all sorts of crazy things when being chased. Some would join the circus, some would run to the forests of Eastern Europe, and the ones that could stomach long walks and learn French would join the Legion. By the 1960s, few of these were an option anymore. And, besides learning a few chords and joining a rock band, paid better. That’s where all the weirdos were, and we loved it.
The weirdos have vacated that place for the most part, and we’re worse for it. Instead, we have lifeless pop stars bred for the job and with so little noteworthy personal experience that any personality can just be implanted upon them. Pop stars now sound like rich kids trying to pretend to be relatable, whereas in the past, they sounded like madmen who might burn your house down just for kicks.
Jamie Rhodes has been spending a lot of time with evil, difficult-to-execute music, and the result are songs like “Tear This Fucker Down.” Part prog-rock poetry session, part anarchist manifesto, Rhodes is going to the parts that your imagination purposely hides away from you. And, since the artist’s strongest reference point is the work of the crazed singer Mike Patton, you should expect twists at every turn.
