The Hidden Hand
Divine Propoganda (MeteorCity)
by Craig Regala
Wino: Grand old man of grizzled hardcore-scarred hard hard HARD rock leads his most flexable/traditional unit so far. He’s a guy whose positioned in stoner rock like Ian “Lemme a fiver will ya?” Motörhead is in fast action roots metal. Lotsa kudos, not much sales. Why? Well, let’s say once a band is past providing a “moment,” it’s back to the old rules. That moment includes extra-cultural pop concerns of the “we’re the new generation, and we got something to say!” variety (cribbed from The Monkees theme “Hey, Hey We’re the Monkees”). I’m prone to saying “people don’t like a buncha music in their tunes,” and hey, it’s often true. Example: Staind’s success comes like Pearl Jam’s before’m: As balladiers. Like Sinatra for your Great Gramma, Elvis for your Gramma, Jim Morrison for your Ma, and Mr. weepy over there in Staind for you. All these musical units had more to them than pure vocal pop, but that’s the first thing a mass audience fed by electronic media grasps. If they can associate the music with “that” image, maybe the band can get over.
(PO Box 40322 Albuquerque, NM 87196)