Jumana: I
spoke to Chris last night. I told him I wanted to pursue things,
he said he wanted to but he needs to sort some stuff out first.
Understandable.
David: He should
just say YES.
Jumana: He
basically said yes - but it's not like we're in love...yet.
he's got to figure out how much this is going to hurt Jeff.
Oh...well, with me and Chris there's definitely potential.
At least from my end. To be completely honest, I tend to
fall real hard real fast...but only for certain people. It's
only happened to me twice before and both ended up in lengthy
relationships.
David: Wow,
that is wild. Your life is like a rollercoaster.
Jumana: Hardly.
More like the Teacups ride.
David: Do you
end up vomiting at the end?
Jumana: Exactly.
That's the best part of a relationship, as far as I'm concerned.
:)
David: (-_-)
Jumana: Racist.
David: What?
Jumana: You
just drew a fat China man...racist.
David: Fuck
off.
Jumana: Tee
hee! Hey, aren’t we supposed to write that Radiohead
review?
David: Oh
yeah....or we could do a review of the beta band....which
I have been
listening to, and it just bores me. It’s like I can
see it is meant to be good music, and it’s clever,
but I just don’t get any emotion from it.
Jumana: Any
what? Boners? Lyrics? Oh, emotion.
David: Its
all rather flat.
Jumana: I
definitely agree, but I feel like that’s kind of
the point. Not the flat, but the non-emotion.
David: I
don’t
know.
Jumana: Like
Weezer.
David: You
think they are adopting an ironic stance?
Jumana: See,
no I don’t, because it’s not as if the songs
are about emotional things. If they WERE ...oh, phone call.
Hold.
David: See
the music is clever, and on paper it is all quite engaging...
but it never flies, it never catches. It’s there,
you know its clever, and like it, then its gone and you
can hardly
remember it.
Jumana: I
actually find it really comforting. First on an obvious
level - the
vocals are quite soft, the music’s quite sedate, but
it’s also quite intimate...but not in a Tori Amos
kind of way, which makes me ill.
David: Hmm,
I see what you mean. And I agree that is what they might
have been going for. Certainly that is what was achieved
on the King Biscuit Time Eps, but I don’t think they
hit the mark here...the tunes just don’t stand up.
And no matter how subtle a bands intentions are, people
do not write tunes to be forgotten.
Jumana: And
I reckon all the Beta Band fans would agree with you...we’re
looking at it from two different angles, Hot Shots II being
my first exposure.
David: Right......
Jumana: They
were probably trying to find a way to reach more people
- what’s wrong with that?
David: Nothing,
but they reached a lot of people with the Three EPs. Dry
the Rain was massive. It was like a great big hug, the kind
of feeling where you close your eyes and all you feel is
warm.
Jumana: But
don’t you think that ‘Dry the Rain’ is
more like the songs on ‘Hot Shots II’ than
the rest of the EPs?
David: Hhhhhmmmmmmmm,
not at all.
Jumana: No?
David: No,
I think they are way different.
Jumana: I
thought ‘Dry
the Rain’ really stood out from EPs.
David: Really,
how so?
Jumana: It
was definitely the most ‘pop’ tune on there.
David: OK.
What about ‘Inner Meat Me?’ And I am not even
sure if pop is the right term... what do you mean when
you say pop?
Jumana: Granted
- but that song is a little too odd. I liked it, but thought
it was trying too hard. I mean accessible, really. By pop,
I mean accessible.
David: OK.
Certainly most of the tracks of Beta Band are not umm accessible,
but The Three EPs is really, I feel, much more accessible
than Hot Shots II.
Jumana: Really?!
I don’t agree at all...
David: Sure
Hot Shots has shorter tracks, but they are all muted and
slightly inverted.
Jumana: I
found it so much easier to get into Hot Shots than the other
stuff I listened to
David: Really? The Three EPs was much
more welcoming. It was bright and happy. Hot Shots is cloaked
in its own oversampling. I feel it’s hard to get
the songs.
Jumana: True,
but I felt like someone listening to Three EPs already
had to have a certain, predetermined mind set. You had
to already
be introverted to really appreciate it. Not so with HS.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I feel like
those who aren’t regular navel-gazers could get into
HS much more. It’s more fun, certainly darker than
EPs, but more fun. If that makes sense.
David: I
don’t
think there is any fun on HS2 at all. Its all rather dull,
and they don’t sound like they are digging it at
all. Like, for instance, when they were in concert there
were
moments when you could tell that they just loved playing
the tunes.
Jumana: Actually,
I was surprised at how much more energetic they were live.
David: Yes,
that is what originally attracted me, the sense of excited,
enthusiastic, exploration of music. I get the sense that
they no longer love what they are doing? But on stage that
night, I could see they did (sometimes).
Jumana: But
when you first heard EPs, did you really think they were
being excited and enthusiastic? I got no excitement from
EPs.
David: Really?
I got this great sense of exploration, of testing and pushing
both music and themselves. They were excited the potential
of what they could do in a very simple way. Its not always
the excitement of happiness.
Jumana: Yeah,
I got that too...but in a very possessive way. Like they
were creating their own little world and I wasn’t
allowed in..
David: Sometimes
it came across as energy of some who had discovered how to
finally express their deep sadness in exactly the right way.
Jumana: See,
I think that’s it...too much sadness. even the seemingly
happy songs are about sadness. I just can’t listen
to that for long.
David: But
the new album isn’t really about anything but word
play, with no emotional connection to the work to back up
any of the sounds. Look what happened to Beck and ‘Midnite
Vultures.’ It was hailed when it came out, now its
pretty much seen as an empty and pastiched genre exercise.
Jumana: But
the thing you liked about EPs is the experimental quality.
Can’t you accept the idea that this is where experimentation
led them? The Beta Band have found themselves and this
is the result. I think that pisses you off.
David: Well...
I am not sure they have settled. Though I do think it is
interesting that they have followed a path and gotten here.
I find that always really interesting and I respect it.
Its just that I don’t think they have come with quality.
Jumana: I understand
that if I look at it from your point of view. Like, if Radiohead
had come out with Amnesiac first, THEN the Bends. We usually
find that bands produce the accessible stuff first, then
try to experiment.
David: WOW,
the quality of the Bends is not even in the same league as
HS2. Radiohead has tunes. Let me ask you do you see you self
listening to HS2 in a years time?
Jumana: I’d
have to say no. I mean, not NEVER, just not regularly.
David: I agree
and that saddens me.
Jumana: Wait...I
need to pee...
David: Cuz
I do pull Three EPs, Beta Band, and King Biscuit Time off
the shelf for an airing. Ok you can pee. So I am a disapointed
fan.
David: Let
me ask you another question’: If you had to knock
the album what would say?
Jumana: If
I had to knock the album I would say that it is, indeed,
relatively shallow and not eclectic enough. The songs sound
a lot alike. (Did you save all that Beta Band stuff so we
can sent it to Mark?)
David: I
still have it, just think inserting a bit about Radiohead
gig
Jumana: Good
idea. Can I go get lunch or do you still need me?
David: Lets
do it after lunch
Jumana: Perfecto.
Hey - did you hear the rumors about a terrorist attack on
London today?
David: No,
what is that?
Jumana: It's
one of those friend-of-a-friend stories. some guy in New
York dropped his wallet a few days ago. When a woman returned
it to him he said, "Instead of a reward, I'll give
you a tip: stay out of London on Oct. 11"
David: Rubbish,
sooo rubbish
Jumana: Oh,
I know. But it got some people a little tense around here.
David: Morons.
Jumana: Hey,
we even got a call from a retired general who used to work
in the defense dept. telling us to be careful. It's understandable
everyone's jumpy - London is the most logical next target
David: Its
okay to be careful. Hell its okay to scared. Its not okay
to be a moron |
