Re: Field Music (from Re: R.I.P. Mick Karn)

Bummer...but we kinda knew this day was coming since he's been pretty sick for a while now.

Have a listen to Gentlemen Take Polaroids or Tooth Mother today in memory of one of the greats.



Post Edited (01-05-11 09:08)

Oh no. Sorry to hear this. He was a unique talent.

He'll be missed greatly. What a player. He made some fine solo albums, too.

Ah, fuck. Right up there with Mike Watt as my favorite bassist. I'll play "Sons of Pioneers" now....

In Pitchfork's brief obit for Karn they label Japan as a synth-pop band, which is about as accurate as labeling Roxy Music one. There are synths in there, but they're rarely the lead instrument and instead usually are adding texture and color.

When I think of Japan musically, it's the interplay between Karn's bass and Steve Jansen's drums that leaps to mind. They were an inventive combo that in my book deserve the same reverence as Holger Czukay and Jaki Leibezeit from Can.

Spot-on breno.

The coverage on Karn's passing has been a real letdown. And it's not the depth of the pieces that's bugged me so much as the carelessness. Pitchfork's shrug-and-you'll-miss-it mention was typical of what I've seen. In one sentence, they managed to short-shrift his legacy and misrepresent the band's work. No one's buying a Japan reissue on the basis of these pieces. No one's seeking out a second-hand "Titles."

Bah.

It's the bloggers who've stepped up and posted appreciation pieces that resonate. I've read a few. I wrote one (http://thegoldenyear.wordpress.com/). And I really like what John Taylor posted on Duran's Wordpress site. It was a heartfelt, behind-the-velvet-rope note of respect, and I hope it found the right audience.


----Len, in Toronto

That's a nice write-up, goldenyear. Thanks for sharing.

Japan seems like one of those bands that would be ripe for hipster rediscovery - they only had a fairly smallish cult following in the US, they were at their peak at a time that has been pretty heavily mined for influences of late, there was never really anyone else who sounded much like them and indie bands now are starting to branch out into more exotic influences than the Joy Division/Gang of Four/Bunnymen standard that's been the norm for the last decade.

Then again, since the few US articles I've seen about Karn's death inaccurately label Japan as either synth-pop or New Romantics, they still may be considered too uncool for hip young bands to get into.

I hated Japan in the '80s. Sylvian's voice bugged me, and, as the TP review said, the songs lacked backbone and just seemed to ooze along. And I can't imagine them being a hipster influence - their reputation seems to have deteriorated over the years, e.g.: Blender Mag (for what that's worth) put them on their Worst Bands of All Time list.

So, assuming I'm a different person then I was in the '80s (I certainly can't imagine listening to stuff like the Getto Boys now) what's good about them? Any albums to convert me? I loved Fripp/Crimson and Sylvain worked with him - that was the one thing that made me wonder if I was missing out.

Tin Drum and Gentlemen Take Polaroids are the prime albums.

I'm not surprised to discover that Blender had Japan on their list of worst bands ever. What would surprise me would be to discover that whoever wrote that article had actually ever listened to a Japan album instead of relying on the most dismissive stereotypes hurled at them at the time, ie. that they were New Romantic clothes horses and Roxy Music-lite poseurs, etc.

Rock history is made up of many, many instances of punditry whiplash wherein the experts have to double back on their opinions so quickly to stay current with changing tastes that it snaps their necks. I remember watching some show in the early 90s where there was some sort of music panel discussion and one of the participants said something nice about Til Tuesday and was greeted by hoots of derision and laughter. Then about a year later the wind changed direction and Aimee Mann was considered an artist of unimpeachable quality. Had the panel discussion taken place then, all the people hooting and laughing would have nodded sagely at the name dropping of Til Tuesday, though one of them might have pointed out that Mike Thorne had mis-produced their debut.

It's amazing how quickly myth-building takes hold. In early 1993 you could have nuked any major US city and killed a grand total of five people who gave a flying fuck about Johnny Cash - the main reaction to his appearing on Zooropa was WTF? By 1995 he was the greatest American musical artist of all time and everyone loved him and always had and that whole period of the 80s and early 90s where he had to survive by playing to churches full of blue hairs in redneck Midwestern and Southern suburbs surely never really happened. In 1994 when it was rumored that he was going to be part of that year's Lollapalooza, Roseanne Cash begged him to not take part because she was sure they just wanted to laugh at him. A year later she wouldn't have thought that.

So don't write off Japan yet. It takes one hot band to namedrop them and suddenly the learned minds will trample each other in their rush to insist that they always knew what a great band they were.

As Len pointed out, Karn's passing could have been the stimulus for that, but the incompetent coverage of it - especially in places that really should know better, like Pitchfork - has likely scuttled that from happening. But I do think quality eventually gets rediscovered.

Then again, I've been expecting the U.S. to discover Roy Wood for 35 years now, so that shows how much I know.



Post Edited (01-06-11 15:18)

"Then again, I've been expecting the U.S. to discover Roy Wood for 35 years now, so that shows how much I know."

Not to be depressing, but if the story on the Move in the latest (US) edition of Classic Rock is any indication, poor Roy is mostly forgotten in his own country as well.

And what in the world makes you think Pitchfork would "know better" when it comes to Japan? As far as I can tell, their sense of history goes no further than Pavement.

I bet you're correct about nobody at Blender bothered to actually listen to a Japan record before making that ignorant pronouncement.

Quote

And what in the world makes you think Pitchfork would "know better" when it comes to Japan?

Ah, but I didn't say "would." I said "should." And any outlet that positions itself as THE authority on music past, present and future as Pitchfork does definitely should know better than to tack Mick Karn's obit as an afterthought to the end of Gerry Rafferty's and dismiss Japan as a "synthpop" band - synthpop now being a label along with new wave or New Romantic used to dismiss any band from the 70s and 80s not judged weighty enough for the hallowed "post-punk" tag, though any band slapped with any of those labels instantly gets promoted to post-punk as soon as a hip Brooklyn band names them as an influence.

At the end of the day, it seems to be pretty random who gets rediscovered and who doesn't. Why in the world did the fickle finger of hipsterdom land on Vashti Bunyan a few years ago instead of, I dunno, Horslips or the Strawbs? There's just no telling who is suddenly going to be plucked from obscurity and declared to be a lost genius.

I know Mick Karn released an autobiography a while ago. Any word on how it was (and if it's still available anywhere for less than "collectable" prices).

I'm on it. Thanks, gents.

Oh, and that's got to be a thread in itself - who gets retro-actively canonized?

As nearly everyone hear has mentioned, Tin Drum and Gentlemen Take Polaroids are the best places to start. I'd personally recommend the former.

That said, I will admit to a fondness for the band's debut, Adolescent Sex. It's a second-rate New York Dolls rip-off, admittedly, but I think it's fun. Play it and Tin Drum back to back and you'd never think the same band made both. Hell, the first time I heard Sex I couldn't believe it was David Sylvian singing.

"Largest myth-building of the last 15 years:

Astral Weeks"

Not a bit. It's every bit as brilliant, beautiful and awesome as it has been described -- worth every word.

Bruce Springsteen is the actual answer to that, and it's only been building since 9-11, when scared Americans looked to someone that wrote a song most of them couldn't perceive was ironic: "Born in the U.S.A"

"Sons of Pioneers" has always been my favorite Japan song, and primarily for its amazing bass line.

Firstly, my thanks to both Brad and Rhett for their kind thoughts concerning my humble effort on behalf of Mick Karn's fans. And secondly, my appreciation to this great forum for typically intelligent discourse.

I wonder whether Rain Tree Crow might be the gateway record in the bunch. It's free of the production touches many associate with early-'80s music, and it's beautifully rendered. RTC's also dark as heck in spots, which offsets the prettiness of songs like "Every Colour You Are." Unfortunately, the damn band's name change doesn't serve those skimming the discography for a Rhino Hi-Five compilation.


Might I recommend a band who I feel would appeal to many in this thread?

Field Music is a band from Sunderland, who appear heavily indebted to the likes of Japan, XTC and Kate Bush. 2010's (Measure) is a strong, 18-song LP I feel comfortable pointing out to readers here.

On YouTube, give "Let's Write A Book" and "Measure" a try.

Additionally, one of the band recorded as The Week That Was in 2008; the S/T LP offers more of the same, and was Mojo's #8 LP of '08. Again, a really pleasant record with the same referents.

On YouTube, "Scratch The Surface." "The Airport Line" is particularly good, but the posted clips are live ones with crushed-sounding audio.


Thanks for the indulgence. I mention Field Music only because the new-gen media praise them often, yet clearly don't recognize all the influences on their sound.


----Len.

As I listen to the new Field Music album, I thought I'd search for FM talk on the forum, and this is all I found (on a thread I contributed to, no less - I guess I missed this part). Anybody else here fans? I dig 'em.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2024 11:25AM by Michael Toland.

Michael Toland Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As I listen to the new Field Music album, I
> thought I'd search for FM talk on the forum, and
> this is all I found (on a thread I contributed to,
> no less - I guess I missed this part). Anybody
> else here fans? I dig 'em.

Well, what a coincidence! I was thinking of starting a new topic on Field Music last week. I searched the forum but didn't see anything mentioned. But then I got busy and didn't start the new topic.

To answer your question, yes, I dig 'em! I haven't listened to them all that much, but I really like them. They remind me of another band...but I can't figure out which one.

They remind me of both XTC and China Crisis.

Very nice piece, Len, and thanks for posting that link to the Bill Nelson song. I always thought that one of Karn's finest moments. Now I'm gonna go mine YouTube for footage of Mick actually playing.

Oil on Canvas is an excellent live album. Song selection is skewed toward the band's later albums, including half of Gentlemen Take Polaroids and all but one of the songs from Tin Drum. But the concert setting (Hammersmith Odeon, November '82) adds a lot of warmth that's missing from Japan's studio work, and the performance is thoroughly first-rate.

If you choose to seek this out on CD, look for the reissue with the black & white cover; the remastered sound is very good. If you find a used CD with the original green cover, check the song listing before buying. Some of the early CDs omit "Gentleman Take Polaroids" and "Swing."

And both Tin Drum and GTP are great albums too. Tin Drum is probably their masterwork and not much of it could really be called "rock". GTP is a little more straightforward and not all that far removed from the New Romantic stuff, but light years better than most of it (though I'll also confess a soft spot for Rio). As Reno already mentioned, the musicianship and interplay between Mick and Steve Janssen is just astonishing.

I did find a number of Japan vids on YouTube and found myself getting a little misty-eyed reading the RIP comments directed to Mick.

I'm listening to the green cover one now (hey, it was super-cheap on the Amazon marketplace) and you're right, it's missing those songs.

I like it enough to want to purchase the remaster, though. I'll just have to deal with the copy control somehow.

I love Mick Karn's playing throughout Tin Drum, especially "Canton" (maybe because it's instrumental). He developed a remarkably distinctive sound/style in a very short time. Forgive the cliche, but like the greatest bassists, what he didn't play was as much of a part as (if not more than) what he did play.

> As nearly everyone hear has mentioned, Tin Drum and Gentlemen Take Polaroids are the best
> places to start.

No argument about the quality, distinction or value of either album ... but if we're talking about a "gateway" album, I'd still endorse the live album first.

BTW, I remembered that a "deluxe" 2-CD version of Oil on Canvas was released. That edition, however, has the notorious Copy Control feature coded into the discs, so buyer beware.

I've never bothered with it, since I always doubted Japan's ability to be a compelling live act, but after reading your endorsement here, I'm gonna have to track a copy down.

Of course, if it's got Copy Control, I may not be able to listen to it, since my computers (at home and at work) are my stereo these days.

Largest myth-building of the last 15 years:

Astral Weeks

which has somewhat supplanted:

Pet Sounds

---

I'm not sure agree about Johnny Cash but it might depend on region. Plus Cash resurrected with American Recordings. It's fair to say any artist gets left behind by the zeitgeist until another hit album is produced. FWIW, topping charts and winning a Grammy is high-profile. What I found weird was how it made a celeb out of (that generally considered asshat) Rick Rubin.

---

Not sure that reminded me of the Sept issue of FILTER but fans of Always Sunny Phildaelphia and guess-who will apprish:

MT,
Live doesn't always mean "recorded live ", particularly in the 80s.

> I like it enough to want to purchase the remaster, though. I'll just have to deal with the
> copy control somehow.

Just look for the 2007 single-disc reissue, with the black-and-white cover. The one to avoid is the 2003 two-CD release ... especially since it doesn't include any bonus tracks or anything.

Good to know. It looks like that version can be had fairly cheaply, too.

The sound on the original CD issue is pretty bad. I had to crank the volume way up.