One of the most difficult aspects of writing a weekly column is sifting through the incredibly vast array of possible topics, and finally deciding on one that seems somehow pertinent to delve into. Reconciling with the freedom to do just about anything is something of a challenge, since boundaries and guidelines can often ease the process of creation.
In a related area, it's interesting to note that some of the most engaging bands around right now are the ones who limit themselves technologically, especially when they do so not out of an expressly retro purpose, but rather just because their music sounds best that way.
Groups like the White Stripes and Dr. Dog use long outmoded technology to record and produce their albums, much of it dating back to the 1960s in an effort to craft something fresh by confining themselves to the past. The Stripes famously declared on their most well-known record, Elephant, that no computers were used in any step of the recording process, which is in stark contrast to how the bulk of music has been produced since the 1990s. The band's dedication to dated gear no doubt plays a significant role in the delivery of their primal, raw energy.
People often overlook - perhaps out of its sheer obviousness - the extent to which music is a product of the time it is made. The fact is, an era's sonic limitations can leave an indelible mark on a record's sound as anything controllable by the artist making it. As Dr. Dog's bassist/vocalist Toby Leaman puts it, If you were making music in 1966, you had a much better chance of making something good, just because it was 1966 vs. 2006.""
Beside the obvious fact that there were many great bands around in the 1960s, in a sense the decade was the pinnacle of rock music, because the way it was being recorded was most ideally suited to the genre's core sensibilities. Sure, technology vastly improved, opening up plenty of new avenues, and naturally a plethora of stellar bands have come along whose success has been completely reliant on these advancements.
But it's never really been quite as good as the golden age 40 years ago, when the musical spirit in the air combined with some quaint analog tape almost always ensured quality. Bands like Dr. Dog, who purposefully worked within the confines of old technology to craft their minor psych rock masterpiece We All Belong, manage to stand out nowadays by conjuring that past glory.
On the flipside of this, you find classic acts such as the Rolling Stones and the Stooges who are somehow still kicking but whose modern output falls conspicuously short of the mark. These guys made their best, most distinctive music under the practical constraints of a time long gone, and now that those limits have vanished, their embrace of modern production values has leveled their music to a rather stale mishmash.
As most anyone who bothered to listen to the Stooges' recent comeback The Weirdness would attest to, band reunions are never, ever a good idea. It seems best for old bands to let the past be the past, especially when they once yielded such impressive, unmatchable results and, therefore, have a long way to fall. As for newer bands though, rock 'n' roll is all about the vitality of youth, and if a good rock group can use that vibrancy to evoke the magic of the 1960s, nostalgia can become strangely transcendent and fresh.
What do you think about the White Stripes' and Dr. Dog's sound? Send reactions and responses to peterson1@wisc.edu.
