Why is heavy music overlooked?

I want to address an issue that I see with many large blogs, radio shows, websites, and podcasts that claim to look at all genres of music equally; heavy music (hardcore, metalcore, thrash, d-beat, etc.) is overlooked. Is heavy music looked down upon by the music world? If that is so, why? I know things have gotten better, even as little as 5 years ago hip-hop was still treated as second-class, but still not much has changed. My main concern is All Songs Considered, hosted by Bob Boilen on NPR (National Public Radio). I absolutely love and despise this show at the same time. If it wasn't for that show, I never would have found some of the music that I now hold so dear to me. The issue is, for a show to be called "All Songs Considered," wouldn't that require playing all types of music? That show is a great place to go to find the latest trendy indie band, and listen to the new tracks from Bon Iver and The Flaming Lips, but if you want to hear something besides indie or jazz fusion, you can forget about it. Once in a long while some hip-hop or obscure techno finds its way into the mix, but not very often. Seriously, how can you name a show that without considering all songs. I don't think just metal and heavy music should be added to the lineup, but everything should be, all the way from classical to minimalist to shoegaze to horrorcore. I don't care what The Phenomenal Handclap Band is doing every 5 minutes of the day, tell me about some music I never would have thought to listen to. I absolutely love it when Carrie Brownstein is a guest on the show, and I know I have talked about this before, because I never know what she will pick to play next, whether it be Bikini Kill or Lightning Bolt. Bob Boilen is too predictable; he was great as host of All Things Considered, but is so biased towards certain genres of music that it makes for a boring and uneventful show. Now I am not saying that Bob should leave the show by any means, I love how much music knowledge he has (did anyone else pick out the Zappa sample in the beginning of Meatgrinder by Madvillain? Didn't think so), but he needs to branch out.

Now to address heavy music and heavy music fans being treated as less than equal. All the excuses used to throw aside heavy music that I have ever heard are garbage. "I don't like the screaming," "its too loud," or "its so violent." Bull-shit. Those are just excuses for not understanding. Its the same reason I used to hate hip-hop, I didn't understand it. If you don't like the vocals, oh well, try to find a way around it. A lot of people don't like Bob Dylan's voice, but listen to his music because it is fucking amazing. Do you really think that metal music, with its fast guitar riffs and pounding drums, would have as much intensity and meaning if Ani DiFranco was singing along? No. If the music is too loud, turn down the volume and turn up the loudness (if you don't have a loudness knob or function on your stereo, its time to get a new one) so you can still feel the intensity. And lastly, heavy music is not always violent. At the Drive In, considered one of the forerunners for post-hardcore music, once walked off stage because they got pissed at the audience for being too violent. Heavy music is not all about flailing your fists and beating the crap out of hippies and skinheads.

Give it a chance. There has to be something about it that you like. If anything, the drums should impress you. You can't have a good metal band without a solid drummer.

Once again, you have sit through one of my rants, and now its time to discuss the music I have been listening to this week.

1. Converge - Axe to Fall
Yeah, I feel kind of guilty for downloading this album, but I already preordered it so its not like I am not going buy it when it comes out. I think my friend Sean said it best with, "it is not what I was expecting; its way better." This album really is amazing. I was sooooo excited for it, but worried that I might be disappointed. I was not at all. 19 years into their career and this may be the best album Converge has ever put out. I highly suggest that everyone goes out and buys this album on October 2oth, and if you live in Wisconsin, check out their show at The Rave on the 18th.

2. The Number Twelve Looks Like You - Worse Than Alone
This band continues to surprise me. This album is the best one they have put out by far. The first track hit me like a freight train. The gloves definitely came off for this record. It doesn't sound even remotely like anything they have ever done before. The first song sounds like it belongs on a Nordic Death Metal cd, while other songs straight up break into jazz fusion. Not a metal interpretation of jazz fusion mind you, but actual jazz fusion. The comparisons to The Blood Brothers no longer apply; The Number Twelve Looks Like You just completely annihilated everything I ever thought about mathcore.

3. Brand New - Daisy
I forgot this album was even coming out. Honestly, I haven't listened to that much Brand New since sophmore year of high school. This album is weird, really weird. I don't think I like it as much as Deja Entendu or Your Favorite Weapon, but it blows their last album out of the water. The first song sounds so much like The Blood Brothers its creepy. If I hadn't been warned about it beforehand, I would have wondered if I accidentally downloaded a long lost Blood Brothers single. Daisy is good, not amazing, just good. Don't expect them to win any awards for this album, but it is still better then a lot of music that has come out this year, and a lot has happened in the last 10 months.

Thats really all I've been listening to the last week. This year has been extremely exciting for music lovers. So much has happened. We have new cds from some of the biggest names in music. I can't wait to see what the next 2 months has in store for us, let alone the next week.

And if you want a few more perspectives on music, politics, and life, be sure to check out my friend Zach's podcast HERE, and my friend Eric's podcast HERE.

-Duke-