Thursday, October 20, 2011
Please note we are still running our pink ribbon background in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Our On The Streets issue comes from a late October siting. No snow means some of the classics are still roaming loose. About 7:30pm yesterday evening, three Shelby Cobras (I'm assuming they were kit cars) roared in a line like one that might have been seen at a 1967 SCCA race past my house. This was actually seen yesterday, as I was leaving work, in my parking lot. I had to snap the picture fast as other people itching to leave at 5pm for the day were bearing down behind me. Note the very expensive S class Mercedes next to it. But unlike the giant German luxo-limo that it's parked, this T-bird started out affordable, lost value over many years, only to gain it in swaths to the point of, "which one would you rather be driving?" is an obvious answer. The Benz is worth as much as a 2012 Dodge Charger, whereas the Thunderbird is irreplaceable. The Thunderbird was a curious creature. After it's creation by Ford in 1955, it really should have never became the fat, overweight car that it did, only to become run of the mill through the 80's and 90's, and ending up a strange personal luxury two-seater based on a Jaguar that it did before it's run ended in 2005. It's agreed by most purists that a Thunderbird should only ever be a two seater or perhaps a two-plus-two luxury niche coupe, but there is a very small market for those vehicles now, one that Ford would not want to be involved in lest they become bankrupt, or be able to keep themselves into Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. In 1955, it was believed the Thunderbird was introduced as a competitor to Chevrolet's Corvette. However, the real fact is that the T-bird was marketed as a 'personal car' whereas the Corvette was marketed as a sports-car. While neither of the first versions of either made it to any sort of major stage to throw down the gauntlet in the race world, the cars were fairly similar. In fact, the T-Bird was slightly faster than the C-1 at the time it was released; powered by a 292 or 312 cubic inch 'Y-block' V8. There was even a supercharged version putting out 300 horsepower. Then the cute two seat sports coupe grew humongous for the 1958 model year; and although gargantuan and gaudy, still sold like hotcakes. But the styling was off in terms of the 'sports' aspect of the vehicle. So for 1961, the vehicle lost its' awkward rear doors, and given Ford's new FE block...a big block 390 cubic inch monster with at least 300hp. This model continued until 1963. After which the car would grow, and grow, and grow, and grown, and finally shrink, then shrink some more, and then be cancelled before being brought back briefly to be cancelled again shortly. In all of its' ten generations throughout 50 years, the 'bullet' styled 1961-1963 cars are among the most coveted. Among performance options like an 'M' code 390 engine that made 345hp, there were also many standard luxury features, like an AM radio (radios were not standard in all cars at this time) air conditioning, power windows, power seats, power steering, brakes, back up lights, and bucket rather than bench seats. Also, the car had an interesting 'swing away' steering wheel, that allowed the wheel to be swung 18 inches to the right for entry or exit of the vehicle. In all 214,375 Thunderbirds were sold during this period, including convertibles (About 30,000), M codes (about 200), Sports Roadsters (1427), and 'Principality of Monaco' Landau models (2000). So chances are, if you wanted one, there may be one available. It may not have sat-nav or FM radio like the Benz...but which would you rather be seen in?
We Are Generation A
A look at socioeconomic and sociopolitical problems in our generation
Kurt Vonnegut named us Generation A, in a 1994 address to Syracuse university, saying that we were, "...as much at the beginning of a series of astonishing triumphs and failures as Adam and Eve were..." foreshadowing that not everything was to be handed to us. Canadian author Douglas Coupland wrote a novel called Generation A, and pretty much re-applied the name to our generation (born in the 80's or 90's) , one where we have hideous anxiety about a future filled with mistakes made by science and culture; extinct species due to genetically engineering crops (see Food Inc.), vanishing language due to text messaging. Social networking gone extreme. Solitary tendencies promoted by anti-depressants. Technically we are known as Generation Y (or the Millennial generation, generation Next, or generation Net), with the next generation after us being Generation Z. These people in Z (or 'I' - internet generation) have been called the 'digital natives' and this is supposed to be people who were born into technical society, rather than a lot of us. You probably still remember when you didn't have a cell-phone, and like me, getting your own phone in your room was a big deal, maybe your own phone line (holy crap!) and you remember when your family bought it's first personal computer. The generation after us is supposed to be at the end. Z. The end of the alphabet.
But where are we really? Are we really 'Y' - or are we 'A' - or should we be 'Z'? Are we at the beginning, the end, or next to the end? And what do I mean by 'end'?
I think it is important to approach our generational markers through means of the way we examine the world and through sociopolitical and socioeconomic happenings. Also, I should state that although this is a global discussion, it mainly focuses on developed and interrelated nations; North America, Europe, and the like. In fact, the Eastern way of classifying generations is different, although their plight may not be so. First of all, look at the way we view war. For us, wars are not fought between two at war nations following the Geneva conventions, or between one nation and another nation where one infringes on land or human rights, or commits atrocities. For us, war is terrorism, and the response thereafter. War is when someone detonates a bomb for seemingly no reason, or, flies a plane into a building, and then there is a knee-jerk response by a military immediately following that infringes on civil liberties and lasts for years. When was the last time you thought about the U.S. Patriot Act, and how if you were an American, your library records would be consistently turned over to the FBI? Wars are fought against insurgents in a desert. Wars are about gaining oil rights, maybe? Wars are highly publicized and are to be read about in the paper, and in books like Contact Charlie by Chris Wattie (highly recommended by this editor). They aren't to be fought in.
Jobs are something that should have been easily handed to us like our parents' generation. Pretty much, what we wanted, we got. That's what happened with the Baby Boomers, and Generation X. Although there were difficult times, like the recession of the early and late 1980's and the OPEC embargoes of the 1970's, the Baby Boomers are retiring as the richest generation ever, notes economists at Royal Bank. In reality, Generation Y has the privilege of being known as the generation in which it's members have the highest unemployment rate among recent post secondary graduates, and the most difficulty in finding jobs among post secondary graduates ever.
Recessions aren't something that happens twice in a row, but after what was a very week recovery, we can expect to have another one maybe just before or after Christmas depending on how the chips fall. It doesn't seem to matter that a lot of people are retiring, companies have to downsize in order to maintain profit margins, and that means not hiring people in place of retirees. Remember when I asked the last time you thought of the US Patriot Act and war was? Were you thinking more of the Occupy Everywhere movement right now? The issues that we've had to protest (although no one was really in a protesting mood in 2005-2007 when everyone was making such mad cash) have changed extremely rapidly. From war, to climate change, to corporate greed and wealth redistribution, we have had a lot to talk about. In Generation X, people would have just gone out and played punk music.
Health is a curious issue. People used to worry about getting the flu, and we were happy when we eradicated smallpox. Your parents all have the vaccination scar. Now we have obesity epidemics. An epidemic is that everyone is becoming obese. We eat genetically engineered or modified food; eat something with enriched omega 3's and notice that something natural tastes a little fishy...because it has fish molecules right in it. Although we have the technology to make ourselves healthier than ever, we also have the technology to make chickens have breasts 33% larger, and make portion sizes ridiculously large. We have the technology to make and feed you more processed foods than ever before. This leads to...
Faulted Outlooks and Deniability in Self Accountability. We no longer put the blame on ourselves for anything. If people are getting fat, we have to change what's in school cafeteria and vending machines. We sue MacDonald's. When did anyone just stop and say, "you know what, I'm fat because I didn't regulate what I was putting into my body and the exercise I was getting. It's my fault!" And now you sue everyone over everything. There's no telling what a potential law suit might be. Toyota builds a faulty car? Time was people voted with their wallets. Sure one or two families might have been settled with (think the Ford Pinto), but the big crush came when people decided, no, I'm not going to buy that product. Now it's sue, and keep on doing it. Where did that mentality come from? People have this idea that they should never be fired. It is impossible to have ever done anything wrong at work to get fired. I've heard of places described as 'virtually impossible to be fired from.' Why would we want that? Because there were so many law-suits, so much to say 'it is never my fault' that it made it impossible to hold anyone accountable?
Social Networking and Texting. I remember when there was no Facebook, and I remember when there was no Text Messaging. What's funny, is that our generation, while remembering that these things didn't exist, often makes fun of people who use them. We will look at kids in grade school and say, "that's ridiculous, I could never send 3500 text messages a month." We often talk about how ridiculous Facebook is while were at work, with our coworkers; and then go home and use it, or check it on our smart-phones, or even sneak off to check it at work. Meanwhile, we put down the changes to Facebook, and look at other social networking sites, like Google Plus, calling it the next Facebook. We condemn Facebook for becoming too corporate, while praising Google Plus, all the while, Google is talking to the press, admitting that Plus makes a fantastic platform to monitor people's consumer habits so that Google can better target marketing. Then we mourn Steve Jobs, a guy who probably crippled us into being mass solitary beings stuck to their iPods, smart phones, tablets and computers. The biggest levier of Sloanism (that is planned obsolescence) on the planet since Alfred P. Sloan dies, and we might have saved generations of kids from being plugged in, and we mourn him as a visionary. Talk about changing your tune; I can't believe how much people used to make fun of Jobs every time he did a product launch. The most common joke goes like this:
Steve: Here is the new apple product!
Person A: Yeah but does it have this obvious feature?
Steve: No, you don't need that feature.
(two months later)
Steve: Here is the new apple product: the last product we released with that new, obvious feature!
Person A: Steve Jobs, you're amazing!
Person B: Yeah but does it have this other, fairly obvious feature?
Steve: No, you don't need that feature.
(two months later)
...
and so on.
We like to critique any involvement or participation in technology while using it.
I know a lot of this sounds cynical, but it's important to understand where we are if we're not sure where we're going. And this is pretty much where we are as a generation. Perhaps it sounds cynical because we are indeed a cynical generation. We are one of probably the highest rate of post-secondary graduates; so we're all very smart. But also, we see how well our parents have done, and immediately make the fault of thinking that we should do so well nearly immediately. We haven't grown up where war, or famine, or recessions that we can remember are problems, so facing what's basically a depression is shocking and terrifying to us. Finally the technology we use isn't just changing the way we communicate; it's changing our culture, and even our food.
Where do we go from here?
We are a generation of people who want to do better in all areas. We sort of want this done for us maybe? Protesting is a big thing, getting bigger, most of us insult the protesters. I think finding out where we are going takes some questions
- Will our protesting make any significant changes, or will the economy change enough that we no longer have to complain before that?
- Will we become more politically involved because of increases in issues?
- Will we allow science to become so big that we can no longer control it to the point of something catastrophic happening to our species?
- Will we allow corporations to become so big that we can no longer control adequate distribution of wealth?
Secondly, becoming more politically involved is important. Protesting and commentary is not enough. When a government recommends action and hands the wheel to us, it's important we get involved. We still have record low turn-out each election. Most Canadians indicate a lack of real choice on the ballot as a reason as to why. We don't have a two-party system though. To me, that sounds more like laziness. In the last federal election, I researched and went to the websites of each of the candidates in my riding, and then after learning their platform, I looked up what experience they had in supporting any former platforms. There is even a website you can look at to see how your represented voted on any specific bill on parliament (I forget what it is now - but I know there is a reader out there who told me, and hopefully She'll comment with it below). Then I watched the debates as much as I could. If you can't be there, note they stream them on the internet so you can watch them at any time. Vote. Write your representatives. Participate.
The last two are sort of things that go hand in hand. If you're familiar with Food Inc. then you are familiar with the fact that the FDA is almost entirely run by people who work for large Food corporations. Taking part in political action helps politicians regulate what industries do. When a federal regulatory body is made up of individuals that have almost all corporate interests, then how can they effectively regulate corporations? Science need not be stifled, but science in the hands of corporations that exist merely for profit runs the edge of soilent green. If you've ever worked sales, you know there are some people that will do anything for money.
What Can We Do?
I think, to steer us in the way we want to go, and to keep things from becoming culturally spooky, we need to follow a few time honored traditions.
- Vote. Participate in the political process. It is the best way to have your voice be heard. The more informed a voter you are, as well, the better the process works.
- Protest. This does not mean going to Melcor's square so you can Occupy somewhere. This means that when there's an issue that you feel needs to be addressed, you stand up for it. If occupying a space doesn't mean anything to you, maybe a well put together letter to your local politician or governing body, or a corporation you feel has done you wrong would. Bug 'em. Show them that it matters. If everyone did this, it would show people who are in decision making positions that people do have an opinion. Back when they introduced 'new coke' - Coca Cola got tons of angry letters and hate mail, and hundreds of thousands of angry phone calls on their consumer line. It prompted them to change back to the old formula. No one person had to write a long manifesto. A lot of people simply had to say, "I don't like it - fix it." You don't even need to know how to fix it, demanding change is enough to put something into action. The more directed and to the point your problem or solution is, however, the closer to the change you wanted will the change likely be.
- Vote with your wallet. We live in a consumer society, we don't live in a communist state. If a corporation exhibits behavior you don't agree with, stop buying their stuff, and speak out against them. If everyone started buying 'organic' food, stores would sell more organic food, and less processed food. Why do you think Wal-Mart got into the business of selling organic brand food? Because they saw a huge market demand for it. Where the money goes makes the decisions very easy to make for corporations and governments.
- Be responsible for yourself. Be aware of your actions, how you live, what you put in your body. Think about it; if we all ate healthier and exercised, we'd probably all be in better shape. That means less strain on the health care system. If the health care system doesn't need as much government money, that money can be earmarked for other things like education. We can't all depend on someone else to take the first step. If we each take our own first step, the solution would simply happen.
There is still no telling where using technology might take us culture wise, although we shouldn't forget each other. It is funny how something that enables networking makes us solitary individuals. It is still much more intimate to talk to someone in person, than it will ever be to talk to them online. Hopefully we don't forget that.
Wherever we are going in the future, whether it be tomorrow, or ten years down the road, it is almost guaranteed to be completely different than what we thought it'd be. But can we say that's true of every generation? We can still say that we hold the power to forge our own path, but only through responsible action can we do that. Wait to see what happens...nothing we want to will.
Heavy Metal - Have You Banged Your Head Lately?
I noticed from our reader survey that there wasn't a lot of metal listeners out there. However, a great friend of mine, Warren Tews, recently released an album with his local band Alterity. It was simply too good to overlook, and not to show everyone. But because we don't have a lot of metal listeners out there in OMPW land, I thought I'd give a brief overview of the genre before turning you on to what is one of my favorite local releases of the year. So sit back, grab some Jack, let your hair down, put on a bullet belt, or do whatever you need to do to get in the metal mood.
A Brief History of Modern Metal
Metal, first and foremost, is a heavy version of rock music. Most people will say it initially became popular with bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Led Zepplin in the 70's, that may be true, but these bands weren't metal per se. More, perhaps, would they be better off to be known as the gateway to the music's beginning. In metal, you can expect to hear a lot of distortion, often low tunings, very fancy guitar work. There are also a lot of times synthesizers present. In terms of the vocals, it can be everywhere from choir-sonata perfect to practically a grunt. Although modern metal employs a lot of screaming - it's sort of like distorted singing. You could blame this on Robert Daltry of The Who, whom screamed a lot on Who's Next. But no one seems to agree where it became a fairly popular stylized vocal treatment.There are a lot of different types of metal. There is simply 'metal' - anything with loud guitars, maybe a fast paced beat, a lot of distortion, a lower tuning, pentatonic or tritonic scales note - wise, mostly written in minor chords. In other words, it's not happy sounding. And of course, it sounds heavy. Then there are things like thrash metal - faster and more punk inspired, death metal - with dark lyrics and themes, doom metal - sort of similar, black metal - again sort of similar but maybe dark without the death, Norwegian metal - this is the one where gangs of metal heads kill each other and burn churches, etc (but not always, sometimes it's just from Norway), and further disambiguations like Groove Metal (Pantera was said to be a groove metal band because of the licks they used were...well...groovy). Then the ones that sort of were never true metal, like hair metal or glam metal (think Poison) or Nu Metal.
To know where metal came from, it is important to listen to the originators. Britain had a profound effect on heavy metal, mainly where Marshall amplifiers could distort guitars loud enough. Britain has also had a sort of larger political unrest than the U.S. - and political unrest makes for changes in music a lot of the time. This translated differently in the United States. People obviously already knew about Iron Maiden, for example, but something even more underground was happening. Bands that are often paid homage to, whether pre or post Black Sabbath, often can be seen as originators. Here you might want to try:
Saint Vitus: An American band started in the late 70's out of Los Angeles. Don't ever let anyone tell you these guys were before Sabbath, because they weren't. But they were important in inspiring a lot of people. Listen to Thirsty and Miserable.
Motorhead: Out of UK, Lemmy has been the only consistent member of Motorhead after performing in the new age band Hawkwind. Motorhead brought a quick tempo and just crazy blasting beats to heavier music. Listen to Ace of Spades.
Voivod: Out of Quebec. Why did I choose these guys? Because in the early 80's they mixed heavy metal with progressive rock to start progressive metal. That's sort of important, because should that have not happened, perhaps metal would have always stayed clear of what was going on in modern music, and never really developed into something track-able along mainstream music trends. Listen to Nothingface.
The Big Four
The big four really describes those that made metal popular when metal became popular, all considered to be true metal artists. Although some are more mainstream than others, they are still all fairly respected by metalheads the world over. The big four consist of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and and Anthrax. To begin to describe the libraries these bands have amassed since their inceptions in the early 80's is nearly impossible. Most of modern metal originates with these guys. Recently they went on tour all together in what must have been probably one of the most insane spectacles in music to date.The album of the event has gone 2X platinum already, and the concert tour was just this summer. I can't recommend any tracks, but I'd be surprised if you'd never heard any from these bands before. They are still going strong after 25+ years.
Nu Metal
Nu Metal is not to be confused with modern metal. Modern metal simply describes current bands making current metal in a current fashion. Nu Metal is a style of heavier music that became popular in the late 90's early 2000's. Most people who like Metal don't consider Nu Metal groups to be metal at all, but just a stylized version of hard rock. In the early 2000's it was popular for nu metal artists to collaborate with rap groups. Some had grown up simply where rap was popular (think Deftones collaborating with Cyprus Hill), while some did it all because it was popular at the time (Limp Bizkit and Wu Tang Clan). You might have some Nu Metal in your collection. What happened to it? It's still around. Although most of the bands of the original movement have either been reclassified or died out. For example, some bands were around before the Nu Metal movement, may have gotten branded, but moved on past it and were reclassified just to be metal (Deftones for instance). Some lost their gimmicks and became heavier to make the transition into metal (Slipknot for example). Some bands that got caught in it, in spite of existing beforehand, died in it, and whilst may not being Nu Metal, have the unfortunate moniker of getting stuck where it left off (Korn, I would consider to be one of these). Some can still be heard on the radio today and are still making music (System of a Down). Some died a terrible death and now are a continuing joke (Limp Bizkit), and may not have ever been metal at all. A good measuring stick of what is Nu Metal and what is Metal is what station it's played on in the land of Sirius or XM satellite radio. If it's on 40 (Liquid Metal) it's probably just Metal. If it's on 38 (Octane) it's probably Nu Metal, save for a few crossovers. What is Nu Metal now certainly has changed from what it was before. These bands may just have somewhat of a confused identity, like Avenged Sevenfold or Atreyu. While some may just be hard rock bands and not really metal at all, like Five Finger Death Punch. Slayer and Megadeth are metal. A7X and Atreyu are not.
Modern Metal Bands?
So you're probably saying, "Okay, so you've talked about some bands that are old school metal, and some bands that are still around, and some bands that aren't metal. So what are some current bands making metal I should listen to?" Good question, I'm glad you asked!
Modern Metal is made up by those that follow tradition, but also those who are leading the way. Here are some great modern releases to check out to get you in a modern mood.
Killswitch Engage - Self Titled - This was released in 2009, and supposedly KSE's hardest album. It was also the most melodic, leaving some KSE fans kind of angry. It represents what most mainstream metal listeners are into in an overall sense.
Hatebreed - For The Lions - Jamey Jasta, the lead singer of Hatebreed, has been known as the hardest working guy in Metal. Certainly the arrival of Hatebreed marked a transition where Nu Metal died, and modern metal took it's place. The aggressiveness appealed to most people, but there were no gimmicks. For The Lions is entirely a cover CD, so you get to hear Hatebreed, but you also get to hear them play some really important stuff too.
Lamb Of God - Killadelphia - Lamb Of God is probably one of the most popular modern metal bands in the tradition of the big 4, for example. Killadelphia is a live album, and therefore, covers a lot of their catalogue prior to 2010.
Machine Head - The Blackening - While not their newest release, The Blackening is tried, tested and true. Machine Head, although around for a while, continue to be one of the most important modern metal bands by playing dark, fast tempo music in a traditional metal style, while somehow keeping it fresh.
There are a few more bands to outline. Protest The Hero is a Canadian 'mathcore' metal band - these are bands that rely heavily on musical theory to make very intricate compositions. Sometimes they really mess with theory to make a song that has very little hook to it in terms of common radio and pop music. Another example would be Dillinger Escape Plan. Then there is Meshuggah, a band that plays in ultra low tunings and uses polyrhythmic writing for their songs. While modern, they have often been cited as an influence by many other metal bands. There is Devil Driver, a modern metal band formed from older 'nu metal' group Coal Chamber (they may not be nu metal but were pinned as such during the era). Children of Bodom from Sweden exhibit a lot of really fancy guitar work and synthesizer work, always playing very fast. Alexi Laiho's fast fingers have earned the band respect among his blazing guitar solos. Then there is Every Time I Die; a hard band with a lot of screaming and very verbose lyrics; originally accompanied to Canada by now defunct Alexisonfire in their first tour north of the 49th parallel. These guys are metal in the most modern sense. Their music is hard and heavy, and so are the vocals. But in a different sort of way. If you start listening to all of these, congratulations, you made it to metal. How does it feel?
Alterity - Self Titled
And now, modern metal from a metal band that hails from here in Edmonton. Alterity just recently completed their album after a long time working on getting it right, over two years if I remember; when Tews first played for me what was in his car. I was amazed, and even moreso at what turned out. A guitarist self-proclaimed fan of Killswitch Engage, I find their influence not just present in the initial sound of the music, but in the vocals as well, on the lead off track Projection, all except for the synthesizers at the end that give the song a sort of fantastical and grandiose feel for it's conclusion. However, I find the album takes a quick turn into much deeper space. In Deceit of Conscience, I feel a vastness in the music, and a continuous kick beat that makes me think of death metal in the realm of something you might find on Two Hunters by Wolves In The Throne Room, and the female vocals make me think I'm even more in some death or black metal space, even slightly reminiscent of Cradle of Filth, although not nearly as hokey...more clean kept if you will. That is not to say clean cut, of course. This is a true metal album. Interlude II features a beautiful...sonata...I'd call it where strings are present, an open space that both divides the sounds of this album and ties it together. The Pharmakon still has the feeling of both Killswitch, maybe even Fear Factory, although you really have to listen to metal a lot to see how that works there, but the changes in tempo and key throughout the song can be compared to modern polyrhythmic pioneers like Protest The Hero...again, somehow more cohesive. This feeling leads into Atonement, the final track, and then into the final interlude. Could it be? Did an independent group from Edmonton just make something better and more cohesive, taking elements from some of the best, than the groups they might have emulated could possibly have done themselves?
I think they just did!
I'm not going to bother rating Alterity, because their music simply defies my scale. If you haven't ever listened to metal, this is a beautifully put together and written album that must be listened to in its' entirety to be appreciated. I recommend downloading from:
http://alterity.bandcamp.com/album/alterity
On a pay what you can basis. I would purchase it for your iPod, aside from supporting local artists, you'll get to hear how the album is supposed to sound uninterrupted, which is the best way to listen to it.
Letters To The Editor
I welcome your discussion
rbw2@ualberta.ca
Don't forget our reader poll either:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D392LE437
I don't know why when I paste it, it comes out that colour.
Upcoming Issues
-Our Halloween Guide: How to throw an easy party!
-Fall/Winter Fashion Issue
and of course, more political and socioeconomic commentary.
-Probably less interesting cars. The snow is coming, what can I do?
