AURAL INTERCOURSE

Thursday, May 29, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Aural Intercourse: Nu-metal lives on

By Mike Prevatt

Waiting for nu-metal to finally choke on and die face down in its own bile has been as frustrating as holding out for a power chord in a Radiohead song. But if you're going to spend any time listening to broadcast radio or watching MTV this summer, you better get used to it--contemporary rock 'n' roll outlets are awash with mook anthemry, threatening to stave off infiltration from the more imaginative likes of the White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age and, of course, Radiohead.

Here's a rundown of the most pervasive four-minute culprits hijacking the charts. From the looks of it, things aren't getting better anytime soon. But, to be fair, we'll start off with nu-metal's sole hope:

Deftones, "Minerva": Sacramento's hardcore balladeers are to discerning rock fans what Jurassic 5 are to anti-rap music listeners: a universally acclaimed and thus obligatorily name-drop-worthy band from a pop genre that normally warrants truckloads of condescension because of its superficial and patterned artistry. Here, the band shows continued depth with its refined bombast and, courtesy of underrated throat shredder Chino Moreno, welcome sensitivity.

Staind, "Price to Play": Wow, this song is hard to nick online. But once you nail down an uncorrupted file, it's nearly worth it. Following the rote chugging of the first verse is Staind's best chorus to date, resulting in a surefire summer headbanger hit you won't turn off...until maybe the fifth airing.

Linkin Park, "Somewhere I Belong": The ascetic, Pro Tools-enslaved collective from the SoCal suburbs doesn't even bother evolving from its rap-rock foundation. Worse, this radio staple reduces the complexity of teenage strife to barely impressionistic misfit cliché.

Trapt, "Headstrong": I haven't heard a rock single this creatively barren since [enter 3 Doors Down song here]. This embodiment of softcore Metallica with the post-grunge distortion riffage should get bumped from the top spot once St. Anger hits--lest you downloaders are still bitter at Lars.

Evanescence, "Bring Me to Life": Much slack has been granted to this rookie hotshot act because it's fronted by a female with an angelic voice rather than a juvenile delinquent who once decked his father for unplugging the Playstation. As welcome as the estrogen is to alt-rock's boys club, it's bafflingly sensational, overly solemn, AFI-meets-Korn-meets-Sarah McLachlan hit looks better on paper than it sounds coming out of the headphones.

A kinder, gentler

interrogation

They say the ordinary Joe is the critic of the future, what with consumer reviews on Amazon.com and message board concert commentaries becoming the scoop of choice for music fans.

Well, Joe might be part of the next league of rock interviewers as well. Aural caught indie fave Pedro the Lion's tour closer in San Francisco last week, and as band auteur David Bazan spent guitar-tuning time entertaining audience questions, we realized the common fan was no less qualified to interview musicians than, say, any alt-weekly hack. Here's part of the exchange:

Audience: What record are you most artistically proud of?

David Bazan: The next one.

A: Who was your favorite Transformer?

DB: Well, Optimus Prime was the most bitchin'...but I think I was stuck with the Go-Bots.

A: Is Pedro the Lion a thinly veiled Christian reference?

DB: The first time I abbreviated it, I nearly shit myself. Then I stopped taking myself so seriously, so I started putting PTL on buttons.

A: What's with the guns on the T-shirts?

DB: Guns just seem to be in again.

A: Was Winona Ryder at one of your concerts?

DB: She was just outside one of our gigs and wanted to meet [the band].

A: Did she steal your wallet?

Quickies

Madonna has quickly learned that fucking with the online community is not in her best interest. After she flooded file-sharing servers such as Kazaa and Limewire with tampered American Life tracks, admonishing potential downloaders with her terse "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" soundbite, edit-savvy computer users figured the snappy line was ripe for sampling, remixing and subsequent online distribution. Doh! To hear karma's digital bitch-slap in several variations, visit www.madgelloland.org/irixx/madonna.

Coldplay continued its remarkable year with a big win at the Ivor Novello Awards on May 22. The British rock act--which plays two shows at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Southern California starting May 31, as part of its sold out North American arena/amphitheater tour--was named songwriters of the year by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.

Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood recently told the British media that the title of the band's soon-to-be-released album, Hail to the Thief, is not a reference to President George W. Bush. Yeah...he might be wrong. Anyway, MTV.com's "The Leak" will stream Thief in its entirety June 2-10, and on the 10th, the album hits stores.

And, finally, the winner of Fox's "American Idol" second season was none other than...Who Gives a Shit.

Send love letters and hate mail to oughtabeinporn@yahoo.com.