So since I’ve been home a lot more than I usually am – pretty much more than I have been since grade school – I’ve gotten the "opportunity" to watch more TV than I usually do. 

First of all, I just want to say that TV sucks as a general rule.  I am now convinced that if it wasn’t for the Simpsons, Family Guy, and Deadwood, there would be pretty much no reason for me to have a TV.

Secondly, I’ve been watching some music videos on MTV (they apparently do show them once in a while… ) and have noticed a few things about the current state of hip-hop music.

I honestly think that hip-hop and rap music is at the same stage that heavy metal and hard rock was back in the early 90’s.   When metal (I’ll just use that term for the entire hard rock/heavy metal genre) first started back in the very late 60’s and early 70’s, and really right through the 80’s, there was an air of legitimacy about the "badness" of the music.  These were guys who were really doing all the drugs, sex and drinking that they were singing about, as well as some of the "truly" evil stuff (i.e. Jimmy Page becoming an Alastair Crowley fanatic).   As the 80’s bands came in there was a sense of true youthful aggression in a lot of the music.  Even if they themselves hadn’t had their limbs blown off by war or worshiped at the house of Satan or whatever,  you sure as hell believed it to some extent when you listened to the songs.  They were legitimate expressions of youthful rage and anguish that a certain (somewhat small) group of people identified with very strongly.

As metal became more popular, the genre became more mainstream and pop-sounding.   It didn’t start right away – the tales that bands like Motley Crue related in songs like "Wild Side" or "Girls, Girls, Girls" were their actual lives.  However, other bands took up the themes of sex, drugs, drinking, and debauchery and started making lighthearted pop songs out of them.

Suddenly everyone was listening to this music that was previously the estate of leather-clad long-haired rebels.  "Unskinny Bop" by Poison was taking the place of "Angel of Death" by Slayer. 

Now I don’t want to say that there’s anything wrong with either – "Unskinny Bop" is a disturbingly catchy pop-metal tune, but it is about as far away from the true roots of heavy metal as you can get.  Maybe the fact that it is about sex in some manner and has some guitar licks… but otherwise, it is mainly a pop song, which is fine.  And it doesn’t make "Angel of Death" a better song because it is more "serious" – it is, however, closer to the dark roots of heavy metal.

As more and more bands took the pop-metal approach, the look and marketing of the bands were more important than the music itself.   It was about the hair, the makeup and clothes – and how big, how much, and how gaudy, each band could get them, respectively.   Metal became a mockery of itself, taking the black leather, long hair, and scary dark eye makeup and turning it into red latex pants, "poofy" hair, and mascara.

So how does this tie back to hip-hop, and more specifically, rap,  in its current state?   Well, rap and metal  have similar roots, philosophically (something that has been addressed by several critics over the years):  both stem from disenfranchised youth looking for a way to express their repression, anger and fear, while hopefully finding a way out of the situation that they felt trapped in.

For metal it was often teenagers in decaying mill towns with high unemployment and a stifling lack of opportunities, or cookie-cutter suburbs where individuality was punished.  For rap, it was black youth in inner cities trapped by unemployment, racism, and a lack of education and opportunities. 

For both groups, their situation stirred an enormous amount of anger and frustration in them and they found ways of expressing it.  Metal was loud, fast and/or plodding guitars, drums and bass; for rappers it was using existing records and turntables as well as the sounds they could make vocally and then creating rhymes about life on the streets.

This is the "root" of rap and hip-hop – oppressed youth culture trying to express itself.   This was reflected in the music of Public Enemy, NWA, etc.    What has happened to rap since then  is remarkably similar to what happened to metal in my view.  Look at a typical rap video today and here’s what you will see:

• Girls in the skimpiest outfits possible; they would make Van Halen and Great White blush
• Rappers in pimped out expensive cars
• Drinking expensive drinks
• Singing about money and girls

What happened to surviving in the streets?   Well, what happened is that rap has gone mainstream which has resulted in two things: first, the music and the lyrics need to be more listener friendly.  Secondly, the artists – god bless ’em – have money and they are now forced to sing about what they know. 

This has resulted in rap becoming about the image and the glamour, just as it did with metal.   Rappers used to dress in nondescript loose clothing; now they have their own designer labels.  They used to sing about making it home from high school alive walking through the streets; now it is about shakin’ booty.

Now, before anyone brings up the obvious, let me address two points.  First of all, this not meant to be racist – I’m not saying black people shouldn’t be given a chance to succeed.   If anything, if anyone from the rap and hip-hop industry reads this, they may want to view this as a warning to them that they are on the cusp of potentially losing it all.

Let’s face it, at one point, all those metal bands thought they were going to be around forever, but when the hell was the last time Slaughter sold out your local civic center?  People finally figure out that it is all superficial and that all the music and videos are looking and sounding alike.  "oooh… look…. another black woman with a nice ass shaking her butt while wearing a short skirt."  Haven’t seen that in the last two minutes on MTV…  It is like the obligatory "rock chick" in the classic metal videos of the 80’s and early 90’s.  Hate to break it to you guys, but it is the same thing, just a different outfit.

Secondly, yes, I know that both genres have always had their fun artists.   It isn’t like "Funky Cold Medina" was a great social commentary, and that’s cool.  If anything, it is the exception which proves the rule.

What I’m saying is that "Candyshop" by 50 Cent is a good, catchy song with a hell of an interesting video – I’m sure that there are at least as many 12 year old boys hitting puberty watching that video as there were when Great White put out "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."  But let’s face it – "Anti-Nigger Machine" this stuff ain’t!

Is there really a difference between Whitesnake’s video of "Here I Go Again" (BTW, I’m criticizing my own favorite power ballad from a hair metal band I love, so I’m definitely being fair about all of this) with a ridiculously hot-looking Tawny Kittaen sprawling across a Porsche and Jay-Z dueting with a ludicrously hot-looking Beyonce?

The counter-argument to this would be artists such as Eminem and 50 Cent who come across as "legitimate" rappers with their experiences on the streets.   I’m not going to get into a "truth or dare" with any of that, as I respect anyone who pulled themselves out of a bad situation, but let’s face it – rap has created a culture where even the legit guys end up becoming a bit of  a caricature, since the model has already been cast. 

Again, there’s not a real message in this – and there probably isn’t anyone of consequence enough to read this that it would matter if there was – but instead, it simply an observation.  I will be watching with great curiosity over the next few years to see what ends up being rap’s version of grunge which will eventually unseat the biggest names, sending it into a downward cycle but never fully disappearing, only to come back up several years later with a meaner, leaner, more updated sound, while the old-timers enjoy a revival.   

This is another parallel to metal – once Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the rest came along in the 90’s and killed off metal (pop, hair, glam, and otherwise), many of those bands disappeared (where the hell are the Bullet Boys) but now, several years later you have two major trends: first, you have the Poisons/LA Guns/Warrants/etc. of the world going out on double/triple/quadruple billed shows and selling out arenas.   But more impressively, metal went underground for a few years, learned its lessons, and came back heavier and more aggressive than ever in the form of bands like Korn, Tool, Coal Chamber, Soulfly, etc., with lyrics as dark, evil, and/or depressing as ever.  It became "serious" music again. 

I wonder if we will ever see rappers returning to the roots of rhyming about bullets, drug dealing and racial inequities again in another 5-10 years???

So if you’re actually reading this Blog, you know that I just recently came back from a rather underwhelming trip to Los Angeles.  Among the few highlights (besides simply getting the fuck out of traffic) was going to the Whisky A Go Go, the legendary rock club in Hollywood.  Admittedly, this was about 80% of my desire to spend any time in Los Angeles at all. 

The club itself was rather surprising.  I’m used to rock clubs like The Middle East or Lupo’s or O’Brien’s.  Places where you feel the need to wash at least your hands, if not burn your clothes, after you leave.  Dark, somewhat dank, and what appears to be a half-dozen fire and health code violations in any direction you look.  And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  It is "very rock n’ roll" one might say.

The Whisky was remarkably well-lit in between sets, and you could actually see the bartender and see what money you had in your wallet when you went to the bar, even while bands were playing.  Usually the bar experience is a doubtful one at best.  It was also very clean, especially for a rock club.  I’ve eaten in diners that were dirtier than that. 

I suppose I shouldn’t complain, since one would think it would be nice to not be in a rat hole to hear some good rock bands play, but it is suddenly like dating the prom queen after banging skanks all you life.

Anyway, venue aside, it was a very cool experience.  It is about 1/10th the size of the club shown in the movie The Doors.  Damn Oliver Stone.  But you can feel the history and see it on the walls with all the photos.

While there, I caught two bands – one very good, the other just plain great.   The very good band was actually the headliner, The Real Mckenzies.  For all you Boston-area folks out there, they appear to be the West Coast equivalent of our beloved Dropkick Murphys.  They have that great – and already classic – combination of punk and Scottish music that goes so strangely well together.  I think around the same time scientists finally get a handle on cold fusion, they will figure out why the hell a set of bagpipes sound so good up against a solid punk guitar riff. 

The funniest part about the Real McKenzies were the band members.  I have this habit/talent of matching people up with their celebrity look-alike counterparts, which is quite funny if you pick someone who is completely out of place.  For example, in the Real McKenzies, you had Martin Short on lead guitar, Huey Lewis on bass, Uncle Fester on rhythm guitar, and apparently Tommy Lee has left Motley Crue once again, this time to take up playing the bagpipes.  Seriously – this guy looked – and acted – just like Tommy Lee.  It was kind of freaky.  If he had come out stage with a big-titted blonde "actress" it wouldn’t have surprised me.  There were a few other guys in the band who reminded me of other oddly placed celebrities, but it has been a few weeks and I can’t remember them…

Anyway, they were cool, and I ended up staying later than I should have, since I ended up with only two hours of sleep before my 6 hour flight the next day.  However, the real highlight of the evening was the band Custom Made Scare.  When they first hit the stage, they sounded a bit like they might just be another typical punk band, but they quickly changed my mind.  They bill themselves as "cowpunk" but I think that really limits their range.  They’ve been around for about 10 years now according to their web site and the fact that I haven’t heard about them simply illustrates just how badly fucked up the music industry is.

Live, they are a fast, punchy band with Charlie as the lead singer who sounds an awful like Axl Rose at times (and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible).   Charlie is definitely the best front man for a local band I’ve seen in a long time, exuding rock n’ roll without falling into too many cliches.  He seems to be having a legitimately good time up on stage, not just going through the motions.  The rest of the band have a cock-sure rock swagger that matches the music while complementing Charlie’s antics.

The music goes well beyond the cowpunk definition, while still bringing up a few country-ish elements here and there.  A more accurate description of their music is classic Sunset Strip rock n’ roll in the tradition of Motley Crue, Guns n’ Roses, the Doors, LA Guns and others.  And in case you get the wrong fucking impression, I also mean that in the best way possible.  At least twice during the show I said to myself "holy shit, this song could be straight off of Appetite for Destruction" and I don’t know if you can come up with a better compliment for a band than that. 

However, they aren’t stuck in the past, and definitely pay homage to their influences more than copy them, bringing in a slightly updated and fresh sound to the mix, including the aforementioned Johnny Cash-style country, as well as borrowing some of the best bombastic parts of modern rocks bands like Stone Temple Pilots. 

In fact, on record, Charlie begins to sound a lot more like Scott Weiland than Axl Rose, but the music still rocks with the same intensity as it does on stage, which officially makes Custom Made Scare’s album The Show Must Go Off the album that Velvet Revolver SHOULD have put out.   The cowpunk bit really falls off on many of the songs here, trading it in – with no compromise whatsoever – for fucking awesome balls-to-the-wall rock and roll.  If you don’t find yourself singing along to "Detroit" every time you hear it, and trying to turn the radio up louder and louder each time, then check your pulse.  The music has great production values, both in terms of quality AND the music itself.  The band sound properly experienced and sure of themselves, taking the room they need to stretch out in the songs and add some depth to the music (unlike Sin City Chainsaw, who is still a really good band, but could definitely learn a thing or two from Custom Made Scare when it comes to controlling themselves – see my previous post about that).

The result is a CD that definitely rocks, but also provides plenty of hooks to sink into you and not let go.  It is without a doubt, one of the best non-major label releases I’ve heard in a long time, and they have the best live show of a local act I’ve seen since the hey days of PURRR (the old Boston band I used to help out with back in the day).  Buy the album, see the band if they are in your area, and for chrissake, I hope they come out to the East Coast so I get my friends to go see them!