In my first feature for Collider, I dig deep into Josh Homme’s miles-long list of collaborations with other prominent musicians from a range of genres as part of Queens of the Stone Age and other projects. The 1,200-word article analyzes his work with PJ Harvey, Mark Lanegan, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Iggy Pop, Norah Jones, Rob Halford, Billy Gibbons and Dave Grohl – just to name a few.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played a solo drum show.”
-Jim White, one of the most revered indie-rock drummers ever
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Jim White, he of the Dirty Three, and Nick Cave and Cat Power collaborative note, is perhaps the most quintessential music mensch in the last 30 years. (An extremely critical point: White was never a member of the Bad Seeds, despite his affiliations with Cave.) To say that the drummer and percussionist is well respected is to say that PJ Harvey, another icon who has tapped White, can be a bit shy or antisocial at times. Other White collaborators include Mark Kozelek, Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile, Smog, Bonnie Prince Billy, Nina Nastasia … we could easily use up the word count for this article if we were to list all the musicians with whom White has rubbed elbows in studios and on stages.
But here’s what’s even more remarkable than all the facts spelled out above: During his impressively long career, White has never released an album of his own material until now. We went into our interview with him thinking that masochism or a complete and utter lack of self-respect and self-worth must be at the root of that bizarre wrinkle in White’s resume. But what we found instead was something that lessened our cynicism and upped our hope for humankind, if only just a little, and if only for a temporary period of time: Jim White is, simply put, a really good guy who appears to have determined that his purpose in life is to help others and serve where he believes he can be most useful.
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What do Cat Power, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Stephen Malkmus, Marianne Faithfull, Phosphorescent, Warren Ellis, Mark Kozelek, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Courtney Barnett, Mick Turner, Kurt Vile, Joan as Police Woman, Smog, Nina Nastasia, Matt Sweeney, Martha Wainwright, Simon Joyner, Xylouris White, Joan Jett, New Buffalo, and Kurt Vile have in common? The answer is the gentleman pictured above: Jim White, arguably the most sought-after drummer in the history of underground music.
Best known for incepting Dirty Three some 33 years ago with fellow Aussies Ellis (violin) and Turner (guitar), White is no less in demand now – at the ripe age of 63 – than at practically any other point in his illustrious career. And now, at very long last (more than three decades), the kit master is finally issuing his own records along with producer Guy Picciotto of Fugazi.
Continue readingHow you likin’ Authoritarian America now? To all the conservative “disrupters” out there, The Bad Penny hopes this is what you were wishing for – and (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) that the wave of tyrannical terror sweeping the nation doesn’t drown you in its wake.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you; after all, we launched this On Tyranny franchise in December. But rather than subject you to “I told you so examples” from our 25-part series, we’ll instead suggest some of our favorite contemporary protest records that you can serve as your soundtrack for the weekend. Here goes, in chronological order:
Refused‘s The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)
System of a Down’s Toxicity (2001)
Band patches, stickers and pins are so yesteryear. Check out artist merchandise running the gamut from the hilarious to the bizarre in my latest FLOOD feature.
Mark Lanegan wears all 40 years of his life on his face. His skin, once puffed in that Tom Waits sort of way, is now ironed out into a smooth sheet. His thin amber eyes pierce his surroundings with a devastating gravity. Even his thick maroon mane, which spikes out beneath a nondescript black hat, seems to be spun by the hands of time, hammered by hard living.
“Will someone give this guy an Oscar already?” It’s a question Nick Cave fans must be asking these days. No, not in regards to the wiry legend’s acting skills, although he has popped up on the big screen a few times. Rather, what many argue Cave merits is at least a nomination for the ace work he’s done crafting soundtracks, especially in recent years. Continue reading
GOLD
1. Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R (Interscope): Heavyweights in their own right, QOTSA are the closest thing we have to Nirvana right now.
2. PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (Island): If she goes on for as long and as strong as Tina Turner has, I’ll die a happy man. Continue reading
The Bad Penny (beta) 