Addendum to 2013 Death Grips Article

In the article to which I allude in the title I made certain comparisons to Rage Against the Machine - the high energy, non-mainstream yet mainstream, politically and emotionally charged with the caveat that Death Grips does not give a damn about anything approaching meaning or protest. Their protest is of sanity, an interesting type of protest in a world that's arguably getting more insane by the year, where it would no longer matter if, say, most of its inhabitants were exterminated (by their own complicity, appetite for violence, and indifference) in some kind of terrifying schizophrenic drug apocalypse. In a sense the apocalyptic vision is much more compelling to the apathetic drop-outs of the post 90s than 'fighting the man' since that fight doesn't seem fair or winnable, especially when its old champions were themselves arguably under the thumb of the same corporate America they claimed to despise.

But I digress. In the post I didn't write so much about my personal approach to Death Grip's music, which I felt had to be remedied in an addendum. I do so not only because the other post got a decent amount of hits (which is rare for me), but that I didn't examine the music so well, and I have always had contrasting opinions on it. It was incredibly interesting in 2012, and kind of dicked around with half-baked albums and moments of glory since then.

On the one hand there is something laughable in the balls-to-walls insanity of any Death Grips album. MC Ride screams unintelligible lyrics with the odd half-yelled statement (some of which hints at greatness, most of which was too cringey for non-headphone listening) while on the other hand the track parallels his delivery with high energy percussion, warped samples and effects, and breakneck pace and, at its best, compelling inventiveness. On Exmilitary (in my opinion  their most interesting album) the energy was pushed as far as it could be and the very good use of a sample ('Rumble', a song with an interesting history which was clearly being channeled for a purpose) really caught my attention. I loved the production because it was insane and very intriguing with samples and effects and at their best the lyrics matched that.

So I got the instrumental version of Exmilitary (then titled: Black Google) and finally I got to listen to the production and was very enamored of it. 'Spread Eagle Cross the Block' was the song that first really caught my attention but, for me, the lyrics only rarely improved it - stripping out the insane vocals made it easier to admire the production. Since that time I've loosely followed the band and they've had a couple of good moments where lyrics and production were briefly perfectly in sync, but by and large I've been disappointed. The instrumental album Fashion Week brought me in to take a closer listen but failed to hold any attention. It was interesting and at times pretty good but lengthy and kind of derivative and exhausting to listen to, especially as it seemed to confirm my view of the band as one that worked simply because it was a mainstream breakthrough for more aggressive sounds in a time just before bigger acts broke the seal.

It's hard for me to keep caring about most groups and artists if they release the same album a dozen times and disband (Linkin Park with their eternal cycle of remixes, late Wu Tang where its importance was only because it was Wu Tang and we were empathetic to their plight of never releasing a relevant album again, RATM which I loved when I was young and now find kind of funny [though the ROCK is still primo], and so forth). I will keep listening if I like the original idea enough that it doesn't bore me later on (Drum and Bass when I was younger, chamber pop like Prefab Sprout now) or that is flawlessly executed or completed by its flaws. Most of the time I am not overwhelmed, which is why I've always been on the skeptical side regarding Death Grips. Being transgressive, outrageous, and loud has value but kinda pales if used to ring the same note time and time again. Eh.

Then I chanced upon Interview 2016, which is all instrumental, way more focused than Fashion Week, and actually piqued my interest again. On first listen it was lively, a bit chaotic, but controlled enough to remain coherent enough to demand a second listen (and be pleasurable to the ear). And so, I suppose, my final judgment is that it's alright, what do I know? Basically nothing. I'm a sloppy blogger and Death Grips has at least ten thousand fans and probably they make a good amount of money and get to play big shows and fuck around with the media by releasing free albums and making incredibly dense aggressive music as a counterpoint to mainstream, sort-of-depressing, flaccid shit like new Kanye and even new Chance where twelve years of gospel stylings and samplings are recycled into deep nonsense that is praised for reasons I will never comprehend. I can't go on in this wasteland without making people angry at me, and that querulousness is why it doesn't matter how I feel, but I'll be damned if I won't write something after all this silence.

Interview with a Young North American Couple

Dennis and Leanne Sarcowitz are your typical Young North American Couple: middle class, literate, professionals with creative streaks, white wine with seafood, she drives a KIA sedan (he's holding on to his Civic), fitness enthusiasts, photogenic, politically liberal... I interviewed them because they're my age and I needed a blog post, but also to find out more about this exciting and diverse world, and others' experiences of it. Plus, everyone loves the interview format!

Publicato: Alright, thanks for agreeing to do this. You're helping me out a bunch. I guess the most obvious place to start is to ask how you met each other.

Dennis: Well it's pretty much the standard version: two people in similar social circles meet –

Publicato: Cool, yeah...

Dennis: – and they connect over really basic stuff. 80's movies, childhood memories, a shared fondness for plummy reds, similar senses of humor. It's standard but it's magic, you know?

Publicato: Oh definitely. So it's love?

Leanne (laughing): I guess it is. We're happy.

Publicato: Right on. Everyone's talking about gas prices, what do you guys think about it?

Dennis: They're great. I'm saving twenty or more bucks per fill-up. I still go out of my way to avoid traffic, but most excitingly –

Leanne: We're talking about doing a nice road-trip this summer with the money we're saving. Connecticut, to visit some of my family, and maybe all the way to Oklahoma to visit his. On the way we'll do some good hiking and camping and sightseeing... this is the year to do it.

Publicato: I hope so. If a '73 style crisis develops and you get stuck in backwoods Arkansas, will you liquidate your whole nest egg to get home?

Dennis: It's super unlikely, and we have other resources, but yes, we would do quite a lot in order to make it home safely. Gas will probably go up in a few months and we'll, I dunno, fly to Europe again or something. Spain's real nice any time of year and we haven't been to Bucharest yet – which we really want to do before it becomes touristy.

Publicato: Oh, word?