Ten percent of people in this world are complete morons. I’ve seen people put the idiot number as high as thirty, but I figure two thirds of those people are just really stubborn. But that last third, they’re complete dillweeds. Ten percent of people couldn’t hold down a job if it just meant dressing nicely, showing up on time, having a seat, and not ruining everything. Ten percent of sportswriters don’t want to put Ricky Henderson into the Hall of Fame. Ten percent of dentists seriously want to hate on Crest toothpaste. I’m not sure whether these people defy the obvious for attention or not, but we all know somebody like this, who just gets a great amusement out of being a contrarian jackass.
There’s also another ten percent, the ones everyone looks up to, people who defy convention in all the right ways, not just shaking their heads and saying “no”, but opening our eyes to new possibilities and new ideas. Sometimes good timing helps, but when opportunity knocks, they’re always leaning against the door, ready to stumble in at full blast.
Something happened recently that made me wonder which camp I was in.
Everyone here at Stereo Zeitgeist loves music. To be honest with you, we don’t really mind art, either. So when we heard about what was being billed as “a psychedelic and obscure art show”, our collective ears perked up a little.
The relationship between acoustic and visual art is a historic one, but modern interpretations of it have sort’ve mixed results. Usually, they exist in separate realms for very good reason. Visual art is, for the most part, more subtle than a song. Music that’s too harsh or grating can take attention away from it, and music that fades into the background becomes little more than the Coldplay songs they play for yuppies at Banana Republic. When I heard about the the Hijacking Music events that’ve been held in the Atlanta, Georgia area over the course of the past year or so, I was optimistic, but skeptical.
When you want to know when something will be successful, in music or in life, the strongest indicator is usually the people involved with it. Winners win, drama queens bring drama, nerds nerd out, innovators innovate, whatever. The results of any endeavor don’t often become more than their individual parts. With that in mind, we checked out 13 Day Mission, the guys who brought the gig to our attention, before we got stick in the muddy.
13 Day Mission, Playing Music.
If this event’s even close to as good as 13DM are, you need to drop whatever you’re doing and go check this out. Music journalism (at least in the sense of longwinded adjectives and almost-but-not-quite-like-this descriptions) has been obsolete since the 80’s, but if it was the 1970’s and cliches about “rollercoaster rides” and “stop start rhythms” and “soundscrapers” or comparisons to Pink Floyd or bloated genre descriptions like “spacey neo-prog” and crap like that held any pull with anybody, we’d whip them out with gleeful abandon. As it stands, they’re simply worth your time in a time when that’s become increasingly rare.
There’s a sense of motion to songs like “Eat All Speaking Canaries” that’s so vivid that they almost have a visual component though (staring at the very, very cool site graphics didn’t hurt), so we jumped at the chance to learn a little more about the Hijacking Music events. This is their third one, and previous events have featured local artists like Brandon D, Keith Barthelmeus, and Marissa Kaye, and bands like Beatrix Kiddo and the quality group Ship To Shore.
What we think elevates this from “huh, interesting” to “worth writing about” however, is the live painting that’s been done at the shows. During the musical acts, footage from various films were projected onto the bands to create added atmosphere and provide the music with additional visual texture…
The Kiddo at last years Wonderroot.
The next Hijacking Music event will be held January 31st, 2009 at the WonderRoot in Atlanta and is going to have a horror-based theme. Bands scheduled to perform at the event include Light Pupil Dilate, Attila, 13 Day Mission, as well as Sanus Valde. The venue will be decorated as a haunted house and there’s also word that there may be a costume party to coincide with the overall theme of the show. As in the spirit of past events, movie footage will be projected onto the bands as they perform, specifically footage from horror movie flicks.
If you enjoy and support local art, music and culture, see this event, which again, is being held January 31st at the WonderRoot, in Atlanta. Don’t be a ten percenter.
Or better yet, do.
82 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, GA 30316
http://www.wonderroot.org/
8pm / ALL AGES / $5
Featured:
13 Day Mission – http://www.myspace.com/13daymission
Attila – http://www.myspace.com/attilaga
Light Pupil Dilate – http://www.myspace.com/lightpupildilate
Sanus Valde – http://www.myspace.com/sanusvalde
Tags: 13 Day Mission, Attila, Beatrix Kiddo, Coldplay, Light Pupil Dilate, mp3, new music, Sanus Valde, Wonderroot