J. Hitchcock Roach writes: "Hm, sounds like your first topical song. This is about the Deepwater Horizon rig spill, right? It must be. Aside from the annoying repetition of the harsh snare drum hit and the oompah of the throbbing synth, I like the simplicity and catchiness of the melody. Sound like you were listening to Depeche Mode that week. And maybe Billy Idol --? Just a guess."
Anton responds: "Nope, was just didn't have the oil rig disaster in mind specifically and consciously, but now that you point that out, I must have had it on the unconscious. Weird. Yes, I was listening to DM's 'Violator' that week, and yes, I'd just played in cover band, 'The Greatest Hitz' for friend Pierre De Gaillande's wedding a few weeks earlier -- format was mostly 80s synthpop songs done acoustically, and one was indeed 'White Wedding', so good work catching the Billy Idol influence. This whole track grew out of the spooky ominous sample loop I made that opens the song."
So here are two clips from the Anton Sword & The We Ours show July 21 2010 at the Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, filmed by Leane Clifton:
Above: 'Here in the Hurricane' (still new). Below: "City of Oblivion" into "I Like Your Mind" (both from the CD, "City of Oblivion").
Incidentally, it was a very fun night. The Snow also played; check out their videos on youtube and/or Facebook as well. I think they posted some of the same night....
J. Hitchcock Roach says, on Sonic vs. Visual: "You're out of step with the times.
Music for you is still almost completely an auditory experience, not a
visual one. You began listening to music with your eyes closed,
imagining your own images and stories to accompany it. You seldom
bother watching your favorite performers on youtube or wherever. You may
not even attend many concerts of your favorite bands. Basically,
you're in the dark. Yet you've made music for a long time, alone and in public, solo and in groups, maybe in a wide variety of styles, and
you enjoy performing music on stage, and after a few years of doing it
you imagine you want someone to film you doing it so it's visible to
curious distant strangers or bored or crazy people who might want to
watch a tiny video of a show they didn't go to by a band they can't
decide whether they like or not... so why not try it? Then you do it,
and first you think, cool! We got the camera & software to work. Ok,
it wasn't too complicated. It's just a straight video, nothing arty,
but still...cool.' Then you actually watch the videos and you think,
'Whoa. so THAT's how I/we look on stage? Wow. Ugh. Yikes. And not our
best performance. ' It's a bit like the first time you hear yourself
speaking in a recording and you're freaked out to discover how your
voice actually sounds to other people. But even though you think you
look weird or unexpectedly ridiculous (if you're vain, which you are, or
you wouldn't be involved in such a project in the first place), you
decide to go ahead and post the videos anyway 'cause that's what people
do these days: clamor for attention in any and every way possible. Music
is no longer central; like fiction and painting and poetry and even
rational thought, it's been pushed to the periphery by the hulking
creature of the century: filmed entertainment. Yes, the video, be it a
massive Hollywood film or a tiny online clip, is now at the center of
our cultural life, and everything else has been displaced and pushed to
the margins, where it will all continue living, just not in a central
position of command. Yes."
