| Issue
#60
Mar. ‘04
I grew up in close proximity to Yale
University, so it was common
fare to waste lazy days roaming the campus, and I sometimes wasted lazy
rainy days amid
the various museums and art galleries. I remember one day in
particular; it was a nasty
rainy day, with a driving rain, howling wind, and occasional thunder
rumblings. It set an
eerie tone to my wandering the halls of the Yale Art Gallery. So it
didn’t surprise
me to see an older distinguished gentleman sitting on a viewing bench
and taking in a
painting on the far wall. It was a non-descript painting of what seemed
to me as old
Europe. It portrayed a cobblestone street with stone and brick
buildings, windows with
tattered curtains, a cart set as a fruit and vegetable stand, and to
the right side, a
small alleyway. Nothing striking, nothing of immediate note.
I continued on with my tour and about 45
minutes later found myself in the same place
where the same distinguished gentleman was still looking at the same
(what seemed to be
bland) painting. Curiosity filled me and I approached the man, begged
his pardon and
asked, “What captivates you so?”
“The
woman in the doorway,” was his response. Of course I did not
see the woman.
“Where?” I inquired. “See the alleyway?
Halfway down on the right is a
door, it’s split, the top half is open and the woman is
leaning on the bottom half
and looking out of the alley and into the street.” Peering, I
found the woman he
spoke of, yup, sure enough there she was. “Wow,” I
said, “I would’ve
never noticed her if you hadn’t pointed her out to
me.” “What do you
suppose she’s thinking about?” he asked me.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you think she’s looking at?” was
the follow up question. Again I
responded that I didn’t know. “Go walk up close to
the painting and take a long
hard look at that woman, and then come back to this bench.”
So I did, and when I
returned he asked me, “What did she look like up
close?” “Just a few
strokes and dots of paint, that’s all.”
He smiled at me and with a slight chuckle
said, “Of course, because when viewed up
close and literally all it is is a bunch of paint, but pull back and
let the art breath
and suddenly you find those streaks, dots, and strokes of paint take on
a life, and that
life can manifest itself into whatever the viewer deems important
enough for it to
represent. Like the woman there in the doorway. In the time
I’ve been sitting here
she has manifested herself into many different forms and variations of
themes that are
present and relevant to me. Whereas, and the reason for my inquiry of
you, she absolutely
represents whole and entirely different aspects through your viewpoint.
That, my son is
the beauty of art.”
Radio Banned by
The Runes is that
non-descript
painting, easy to walk by upon first listen, nothing striking, nothing
of immediate note.
But when you take the time to really listen, you see the woman in the
doorway of the
alley. And what is she looking at? What is she thinking?
Matt Kjeldsen
(vocals, guitars, keyboards, button pushing, additional
percussion) is the main artist behind The Runes
and it is his inspiration
that has produced this 3rd album by the Austin,
TX group, which also includes Julie
Carlton (bass, vocals, sax), Brian Collins
(guitars, vocals), Jimmy
Holloway (drums, percussion, vocals), and Carrie
Miller (cello,
violin,vocals). Working with a loose theme of “ideas and
implications that can and
will be offensive to some people,” Matt has created a
“Compilation” CD
– Each song is credited to a different (aptly) named band
– that pushes the
boundaries of what each individual may (or may not) be thinking about a
variety of
subjects: some everyday, some sensitive, some taboo, but none off
limits. Add to these the
self proclaimed “styles or bastardization of
styles” of music that stretch
across the board, and we find a CD that at first listen seems to be
just streaks, dots,
and strokes of music, but when allowed to breathe it manifests itself
into whatever the
listener deems important enough for it to represent.
A prime target is religion. Opening with a
track left off The Runes 1st
CD “Lost Songs,”
“Party
of God” has a bit of fun with Jesus
and nature through the believing
eyes of an aging hippie. “God Put the
Fun in Fundamentalist,”
skewers the right wing conservatives while sounding like a rally cry
for the Jerry
Farewells of the world, “We’re gonna take
this land back from the commies,
freaks, and queer boys / we’re gonna make this Christian
country free from choice /
we’re gonna keep them schools from teachin’
evolution lies / we’re gonna
make sure sex is always sanitized.” But
it’s actually delivered with so
much tongue in cheek that you’ll be singing along just for
the chance to stick it to
everyone whose holier-than-thou beliefs are actually detrimental to the
well being of man
(and God) in general. “Jesus 2 (The
Return),”
ruminates on how the Church probably would not accept Jesus today if he
appeared as an
average man (as he did 2000 years ago). And, “High
All The Time,”
compares any religion’s Holy Rollers to drug addicts. Whether
or not you think this
is good or bad is left to you and what you’re thinking while
you sit on that viewing
bench and take in the overall portrait that is presented.
That portrait also includes songs that upon
first listen will have you wondering, but
hold on there, don’t get up and walk away just
yet… “The Big
Wanker Blues” sounds like a Tom
Waits outtake complete with gravely
half-spoken lyrics that portray a man and the problems he’s
encountered because of
his huge (“I’d be genuinely monstrous, if
I wasn’t so colossal”)
member, set to some of the finest, and do not overlook this - saloon
style, stand up,
Honky Tonk piano to spill out of the old West since the days of the
buffalo. Speaking of
the buffalo, “Shoot the Buffalo”
is a traditional
campfire song that is rendered in such a straight and faithful style
that it can only blow
your mind when you think of how our pioneer ancestors could have even
written something so
morbid, yet sung so gaily. And “Brain
Dead” gives us a
backwoods barroom sing along soliloquy complete with a mini fiddle solo
and down home
moonshine jam.
The payoff of Radio Banned
is the songs. They make this CD worth
investing a bit of lazy or rainy days into, because the more you listen
to it, the more
you’ll find the many different forms and variations of themes
that are present and
relevant. “America Breathing”
allows a place for our
own post 9-11 sediment. “Waiting for
Life to Begin”
lends a comment on our helpless feelings of individual places and
points in life. “Lick
Your Teeth” rocks out
while exploring every boy’s fantasy of making it with the
luscious Queen of the Local
(or for that matter National) TV News. And “Progress”
sums up the place, race and disgrace of mankind in a 4 minute and 41
second sprint across
the last 200 years.
All these and more, covering more music
styles than have a right to be on one LP. Which
brings us back to the “Compilation” concept, for
this is too evident to be able
to single out each and every individual arrangement, instrument,
production, and/or
engineering achievement – this is another area that more than
one sitting is required
in order to find and appreciate each and every brush stroke, dot, dab,
and streak of
music.
Matt Kjeldsen
painted Radio Banned over a 5-year
period. The Runes are that woman in the
doorway of the alley. I’ve
been sitting here listening to her manifest herself into many different
forms and
variations of themes that are present and relevant to me. Whereas, and
the reason for my
addressing of you, she absolutely represents whole and entirely
different aspects through
your viewpoint. That is the beauty of art.
“What
do you suppose
she’s thinking about?”
The Runes
- Radio Banned
is available now for: $8.98 +s/h*
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