Le Tigre slings some mud
Shannon Long
Issue date: 10/29/04 Section: Arts and Entertainment
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Imagine yourself in the following situation: You're an fairly well-respected member of the independent music community, you make music about women's rights, and you really, really hate George W. Bush.
You want your message to be heard by as many people as possible to hear your message before said president goes up for re-election, so you decide to sign with a major label for your next album.
Your choice is this: Do you continue to approach your work with a sense of humor as you have in the past, or do you dumb it all down just to focus on getting your message of hating Dubya Bush across to the masses?
Upon listening to This Island it's obvious what choice Le Tigre made in that situation. The album definitely contains more politics than quality music. Though there are "fun" songs on the album, they are lacking and easily overshadowed by the overtly political ones.
Not to say that the members' politics didn't come off somewhat abrasively in their past work, but it was just better, though even the quality of their earlier work is subject to argument. So much on this album just seems forced. It seems novel at first, but upon repeated listenings, the album just doesn't cut it.
"On the Verge" is an interesting enough song, but it really doesn't present the listener with anything new. It basically takes the formula of Le Tigre's past work and doesn't deliver anything new or interesting, as their earlier material at least did somewhat.
"Seconds" has much of the punk energy that existed in Hannah's music with Bikini Kill, and as the political statements go on the album it may well be the strongest, though it is far from revolutionary, "Wearing some uniform/ bombing in the night-time/ Lying on TV/ You make me sick sick sick sick sick sick" for example.
The simplistic, overly idealistic, clichÈd "New Kicks" is a painful'track, and it is a very questionable choice for a single. It's just unbearable. Why would one want to listen to political speeches over minimal background music, when one expected an album of intelligent, catchy music?
You want your message to be heard by as many people as possible to hear your message before said president goes up for re-election, so you decide to sign with a major label for your next album.
Your choice is this: Do you continue to approach your work with a sense of humor as you have in the past, or do you dumb it all down just to focus on getting your message of hating Dubya Bush across to the masses?
Upon listening to This Island it's obvious what choice Le Tigre made in that situation. The album definitely contains more politics than quality music. Though there are "fun" songs on the album, they are lacking and easily overshadowed by the overtly political ones.
Not to say that the members' politics didn't come off somewhat abrasively in their past work, but it was just better, though even the quality of their earlier work is subject to argument. So much on this album just seems forced. It seems novel at first, but upon repeated listenings, the album just doesn't cut it.
"On the Verge" is an interesting enough song, but it really doesn't present the listener with anything new. It basically takes the formula of Le Tigre's past work and doesn't deliver anything new or interesting, as their earlier material at least did somewhat.
"Seconds" has much of the punk energy that existed in Hannah's music with Bikini Kill, and as the political statements go on the album it may well be the strongest, though it is far from revolutionary, "Wearing some uniform/ bombing in the night-time/ Lying on TV/ You make me sick sick sick sick sick sick" for example.
The simplistic, overly idealistic, clichÈd "New Kicks" is a painful'track, and it is a very questionable choice for a single. It's just unbearable. Why would one want to listen to political speeches over minimal background music, when one expected an album of intelligent, catchy music?