December 2003 Archives

An amusing music industry parody site just in time for holiday gift giving.

Orange County's #1 band, The Adolescents, will be playing a two night stint at Alex's Bar tongiht and tomorrow night. Here are the line-ups for both nights:

Fri. Dec. 12, 2003 - Adolescents, Speedealer, Pistol Grip, Drive by Smile, Supagroup - doors at 8pm.
Sat. Dec. 13, 2003 - Adolescents, The Crowd, The Stitches

For a good introduction to The Adolescents read Kevin Hillskemper's Tag-Along Adolescent.

And finally the OC Weekly's This Week....

This Week In Punk Pedigree - The Adolescents

Recently voted the No. 1 OC band of all-time by the Weeklyís writers and contributors, Fullertonís Adolescents are not only responsible for one of the most attention-grabbing standout debut albums in the history of punk, but theyíve also become the default, knee-jerk answer to the oft-repeated, mantra-like statement "Nothing good ever comes out of Orange County."

Donít think they donít share a similar view, either: if thereís any negative aspect of OC life that didnít get skewered on their self-titled debut, rest assured it was singled out in "O.C. Life" ("714 imbedded in your brain/Designer jeans and malls are all youíll ever have to gain"), the standout song from lead guitarist Rikk Agnewís subsequent solo album, All By Myself.

Subsequent lineups and releases may not have lived up to the Adolescentsí debut, but that doesnít mean the band was overshadowed by anything else released at the time. And considering their sizable influence and pedigree (members formed or were founding members of D.I., Christian Death, 22 Jacks and Joyride, among others), itís all the more impressive the bandís "classic" lineup (minus drummer Casey Royer) has recently begun playing reunion shows, sounding great, if not better, than the bandís early gigs. There are two back-to-back shows at Alexís Bar this weekend, but if you must choose between the two, go Saturday, when the Crowd and the Stitches open.

The Adolescents play Alexís Bar, 2913 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, (562) 434-8292. Fri.-Sat., 10 p.m. $10. 21+.

‚àö‚â•Warren Binder

Copywrong - Copyright laws are stifling art, but the public domain can save us

Artists steal. It's a well-known fact. Blues musicians built upon the tradition of other blues musicians playing on the same circuit, and rock musicians built upon their music in turn, sometimes appropriating wholesale their songs and styles. Writers, it's been said, choose from a limited number of plots and write the same story over and over, just tweaking the details. Nothing is entirely original, yet artists make original work out of the culture they're immersed in.

"Ain't nothing new under the sun," says rapper Phonte of emerging Durham hip-hop group Little Brother. "Everything's been done before. For the most part, in every art form, every innovation comes out of some form of imitation."

But culture as we know it is increasingly bound up in the very laws that are supposed to nurture it. Copyright law has gone from promoting creativity to hindering artistic expression, thanks in part to the efforts of a few giant corporations that are sitting on billions of dollars worth of intellectual property.

While surfing the 'net today, I found the Rock & Roll Library website.

The Rock & Roll Library (RRL) is a non-profit organization working to build the world's largest music information archive while promoting the use of popular music in education.

The unique mission of the RRL is to distinctly recognize the historical and cultural significance of popular music. Our education vision weaves popular music and culture into the fabric of educational curriculum.