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#333: Social Media

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RECORD STORE TALES Mk II: Getting More Tale
#333: Social Media

“Social media”, as they call it today, is nothing new.  Before Twitter there was Facebook.  Before Facebook there was MySpace.  Before MySpace there was Friendster, and so on.  What has changed is the degree to which we have included social media sites into our lives.  They’re already integrated into our phones and software, making it easy to dive in.  Some have shunned all social media, and who can blame them?  It’s not for everybody to put your life out there, or to see these endless streams of useless info pouring in.  If you only have “x” amount of online time a day, it’s easy enough to waste it all on Facebook.

Social media has its ups and downs.  Obviously we can now see breaking news all over the world as it happens.  We can also see false rumours start like fires, with “re-tweets” and “shares”.  You know this and I know this, so I won’t spend too much time commenting on it.  Social media can be a brain-killer.  It can reduce our teens to near illiteracy, as they spout their “urs” and “lols”.  (“Ur” drives me nuts.  Is it so hard to type “your”?)  Social media must be used wisely, if you choose to partake.  To the ignorant, it can have devastating results.

I believe in using social media for myself, but wisely.  Here are some positive things that have come from social media:

IMG_20141028_1715151. Direct contact with the stars.

The one time I received a message from Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) regarding something I wrote on MySpace about Helix was pretty exciting to me.  Now, you can tweet your own thoughts to your rock star heroes, and some of them actually read them!  Our good friend Heavy Metal OverloRd received a direct response from David Coverdale of Whitesnake, to his suggestion for a future Whitesnake DVD release.  I’ve been thanked or complimented for my reviews and stories by members of Helix, Killer Dwarfs, Harem Scarem and Judas Priest.  Dave Bidini liked that my reviews are “different” from the mainstream, and that comment really made me feel great!

The kind of interaction we can have today with our rock heroes is unprecedented.  I don’t mean the types who hire a social media guru to do all their online posts.  I mean the kind who are hands-on with their accounts.  I enjoy having the chance to say to somebody, “I really liked that song.”  Music is about communication and it’s nice to have another avenue of feedback.

2. Creating your own social groups.

Here on WordPress, there is a strong, supportive community of writers.  Some of us are pros, most of us are not.  Quite organically, many of us have grouped together to read, support, and offer feedback.  There’s no organization to it, it’s just a bunch of us here who have similar interests and comment regularly.  There’s no exclusion.  It’s just writers who read and enjoy each other’s work.  It’s a great, positive atmosphere that I believe has made us all better writers.  Very little negativity seems to happen here.

3. Surprise “follows”.

I’m fascinated by the people who follow me on Twitter.  Even though I’d never contacted her, followed her, or reviewed any of her music, Serena Ryder follows me.  I don’t know why, but I still think that’s pretty cool.  Other surprise followers included Olivia Black of Pawn Stars fame.  Leatherwolf followed me, and I’ve been a fan of theirs for a long time.  Then, I was followed by local cosmetic surgeon Dr. Takhar. I assume she heard me on the radio, rather than thinking I need some work done…but I could be wrong!

Best for me though, a couple writers I really admire have read some of my stuff, and have left positive comments.  That means more than any Pawn Star or plastic surgeon.  I really looked up to those two guys when I was starting to write.

SERENA RYDER FOLLOWS ME

There have also been some drawbacks to social media.

1. Too much music.

For every band that I love who has followed me, such as the aforementioned Helix and Killer Dwarfs, there are plenty that I’ve never heard of.  Some turned out to be pretty good!  But each one would probably like if I had a chance to listen to their music and review it.  I only wish I had the time!  I have a home life, and I work full time.  Mikeladano.com is something I do in my spare time, and it’s something I love doing.  I love listening to and talking about music.  I wish there were enough hours in the day to listen to everyone.  I guess there is such a thing as “too much music”.

2. Haters gonna hate.

You’re going to encounter haters online.  Geoff Tate fans, for example, have made a nuisance of themselves here in the past.  Worst for me personally were the Record Store Tales haters.  Social media meant it was inevitable that Record Store Tales would be read by people who didn’t like what I wrote, or that I wrote anything at all!

Regardless of the drawbacks, I don’t regret using social media to promote mikeladano.com.  I’ve made readers out of people who only knew me as “LeBrain” on the radio, and that’s what I was going for in the first place.

If you don’t like social media, I get that.  I support your decision to use it or not.  Aside from a few bumps in the road, it’s worked well for me to get my stories and reviews out there.  It’s part of the online landscape now, like it or not!

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REVIEW: Bidiniband – The Land is Wild

Part 2 of the Aaron Challenge:  He has challenged me to get out of my comfort zone.  Together, we will be reviewing some of the albums he bought in Toronto during Record Store Excursion 2012.  I’ve never heard any of these albums before, in fact I know almost nothing about most of these bands.  This time, I’m going into it at least knowing the Dave Bidini was in the Rheostatics!

Aaron paid $7.99 for each of these discs, at Sonic Boom Music.

Check out his thoughts on the exact same album right here!

For a cool interview with Bidini himself, check out my buddy Patrick Finch’s article right here!

the land is wild

BIDINIBAND – The Land is Wild

Last time, I took a look at In the Rock Hall, without knowing a thing about Dave Bidini.  Now, I’m a little more prepared.  And it just so happens that The Land is Wild is a very different kind of album, much catchier and more immediate.

Album opener, “Desert Island Poem”, is a beautiful acoustic guitar/piano tune with clever lyrics:  “Rheostatics eat their drummer,” and “Martin ran out of the van,” and then references to the incredible Drumheller Alberta, one of my favourite places in the world.  But lyrics aside, melodically and instrumentally this is just a great song.

Some more beautiful acoustics open track #2, “Memorial Day”.  It features one of my favourite instruments, under utilized in rock music: the clarinet.  It’s a slow mournful number juxtaposed with that playful clarinet.  This being Dave Bidini though, of course it takes a twist.  At 3 minutes it becomes more electric and distorted, but without losing direction.

“We Like To Rock” is a gleeful number with some catchy electric guitar licks.  It’s a melodic winner, I like this song a lot.  “This is how we like to live!  This is why we’ll never stop!  This is how we like to live, it’s how we like to rock!”  And how do they like to rock?  Not in any generic way, that is for sure.  This song is unique as any Bidini I have heard thus far, yet it’s a bit more straightforward and to the point.

The next song, “Take A Wild Ride” isn’t even a minute long and it strikes me as something jokey.  But fear not, for “Terrorize Me Now” is next, with an unforgettable chorus and a reference to both Malcolm and Roddy McDowell!  It’s just as playful as all the previous songs, with some intricate guitar parts and lush backing vocals.   I would have liked to have found the lyrics to this song online; no such luck though.

A longer song is up next, the title track, over six minutes, and little more along the lines of what I grew to expect from the last Bidini album I heard, In the Rock Hall.  It’s a bit more challenging, with some atonal guitar feedback, atypical drum beats, and different sections.  Good stuff.

“Last Good Cigarette” is a song I can’t relate to, lyrically, never having smoked one in my life.  Musically though, this is another nice acoustic number, with plenty of intricate guitar parts hanging around in the mix to grab my attention.   It’s over too soon though, and then we’re into the next one, “Song Ain’t Any Good”.  This is a funny self-deprecating number:

This song ain’t any good,
It’s not quiet, it’s not loud,
Its lyrics are warm and tepid,
Of them I’m not very proud.
This song ain’t any good,
You prob’ly heard these chords before,
Its melody is dry and chalky,
The words are lonely cold and boring.

He’s wrong though.  This song is great!

Then comes the 8 minute epic, “How Zeke Roberts Died”.  I had to look up who Zeke Roberts was (an old NFL player apparently, but I can’t figure out the lyrical connection).   This is a cool folk rock tune with several people taking lead vocals.  I love songs with multiple lead vocalists and this is a great one.  Awesome tune.

After such an epic, the playful “Pornography” came as a surprise.  It begins with a programmed drum beat and another humourous lyric.  For better or for worse, you’ll be walking around the house singing “Pornography, pornography…” after playing the album.  Be forewarned!  Ironically the song seems to be more about George W Bush than pornography!

“The Continuing Story Of Canadiana And Canadiandy” has more of that tasty guitar pickin’ that I love.  And of course, it also has more of those humourous lyrical acrobatics.  Another gleeful winner.  The guitar work is insane.

And then, the end:  “The Ballad of 1969” is an 8 minute epic, so the Bidiniband is not leaving you without filling your head with rock.  Delicate drums and electric guitars introduce the piece.  Eventually this morphs into surf rock “ooh ooh oohs” and riffing, but like many Bidini tracks it has multiple sections.  These songs have to be a bitch to play live!

But wait!  A hidden track about Tim Horton’s emerges?  And then…”Chad Kroeger, Chad Kroeger, you’re killing us now.”  Amen brother!  (This track is apparently called “The List”.)

This album is a hell of a lot more immediate than In the Rock Hall, but yet maintains the challenging arrangements and clever, tongue-in-cheek lyrics.  Strongly recommended.

4/5 stars

MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO

REVIEW: Bidiniband – In The Rock Hall

I’m done my series of Maiden reviews, so Aaron has challenged me to get out of my comfort zone.  Together, we will be reviewing some of the albums he bought in Toronto during Record Store Excursion 2012.  I’ve never heard any of these albums before, in fact I know almost nothing about most of these bands.  Here’s part 1.  Enjoy. (?)

Look for another Bidini feature on January 25.

Check out Aaron’s take here:

BIDINIBAND – In The Rock Hall

bidiniband

BIDINIBAND – In The Rock Hall

I know nothing about Dave Bidini, I know nothing about this band, and I know nothing about this album.  I didn’t cheat by reading up on them, or reading other reviews.  I truly went into In The Rock Hall blindly with open ears.

It’s obvious these guys don’t give a crap about commercial songwriting.  Anything considered standard, radio-friendly, or easy is tossed out the window in short order.  The songs twist and turn through different, sometimes contradictory sounding sections.  It sounds like it was painstakingly composed, piece by piece.  This is all good — I like a challenging listen.  It’s all done with a wink and a smile.  They sound like they’d be very loud, live.  It’s also obvious they love their ganja, as the subject comes up more than once!

The guitar work is striking.  Like I said, I didn’t do any cheating to learn more about this album, so I have no idea who the guitar player is, but he or she has weaved together some unorthodox hooks.  Riffs and melodies strike you from the speakers, demanding that you pay attention!

“I Wanna Go To Yemen” crosses acoustic riffing, latin-sounding clapping, unusual beats and electric guitars with some pretty funny lyrics:

I wanna go to Yemen,
I wanna go with you,
We’ll get high in the morning,
And in the afternoon

It defies categorization, which is a good thing.  I’m not too keen on the singer’s flat vocals, I’m hoping they will grow on me.  It reminds me of Pavement, a band I’m not too into.  But it demanded a second listen, on which it grew further.

“On Camoragh Lake” starts with annoying beeps and gratuitous “fucks”.  It’s pretty tuneless until you get to the chorus, which features some nice electric chords and female backing vocals.  The song takes a turn around the 2 minute mark, getting a bit more passionate and noisy.  It has some guitar squeaking that would make both Joe Satriani and Tom Morello happy.  This annoying song gets more and more catchy as it goes on.  It grows on you, with more listens.

Third is “Big Men Go Fast on the Water” (well, it was true for Vince Neil)!  This is the most melodic and straightforward tune thus far, very enjoyable.  This is the first song I can say I truly enjoyed from start to finish on first listen.

Another great tune follows, the passionate “Last of the Big Dead Things”.  This dark, acoustic, beautiful tune was instantaneous.  But just when you think you know what’s going to happen next, they go into a shouted section at 3 minutes, and then a quiet whisper.

“Needle Beach / Outdoor Motors” has a vague (but only vague) surf-rock sound, but it’s more distorted and twisty/turny than that.  I’m not sure why the band seems to be obsessed with water themes, but hey, it’s all good.  This one’s a bit too odd to get on first listen, but it does hit a catchy vocal part towards the end.

Better is “Hey Paul and Donna”, a nice acoustic one with a great chorus.  “Hey Paul and Donna, I’m glad you took the train to Taranna!”  That’s Toronto, for those who don’t know!  It has a vintage 1960’s sound, and is probably the simplest, instantly catchy song on the album.

“Popcorn” features some intricate catchy guitar licks.  It’s also a pretty simple catchy tune, the melody doesn’t do much for me, but that guitar part is truly great.  I wish I could play that effortlessly.  At 2:40 it takes another twist, with female vocals, almost sounding Christmas-carol-y.

Distorted robot vocals usher in “The Best Thing About The 80’s Was You”, complete with apropos drum programs.  If you like 80’s music, this is a whimsical homage.  If you don’t, like me, this one built for the skip button.  It’s all tongue in cheek, but it’s not for me.  “‘The Final Countdown’, the 80’s was you!”

There’s nothing simple about “Eunoia”, a 10 minute monster.  It starts as a poem, with Tom Waits-esque backing music and noise.  Then it goes into some nice guitar chords and understated vocal melody.  It’s powerful and melodic.  As you can imagine, it has multiple sections, each with some incredible guitar work, demanding that I pay attention.  Just when I’m getting tired of one section, it twists into something else.

Up next is the percussive “Earth (Revisited)”, a humourous retelling of human history.  It’s anchored by relentless drumming, and plenty of ooh’s and ahh’s.

The album closes with another long one, the title track, “In The Rock Hall”.  Somewhat obviously, this one is about the Hall of Fame in Cleveland, but with a tongue in cheek.  The lyrics are amusing, musically I felt like we’d already visited this territory.

Coming up with a simple rating is not easy.  One cannot overlook the chops, the unorthodox stylings, the variety, and the refusal to keep things simple.  On the other hand, I found the ooh’s, ahh’s, and la-la-la’s tiring, as well as the perpetually flat lead vocals.  I don’t know how often I’d want to come back to this one.  Striking a balance, I’ll rate In The Rock Hall:

3/5 stars

MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO