Mediated Media

Less than two months ago had somebody asked if I was familiar with The Dead Weather, I would have identified them as little more than another of Jack White’s many offshoot projects stemming from his days as a White Stripe. The man is a musical gypsy, meandering from group to group in a constant search for whatever sound he wants to craft next, lending his skill and genius to improve those around him so that he can express himself entirely. According to what The Dead Weather has become, it seems he has something dark and heavy to get off of his chest.

The band came together almost on a whim when White’s The Raconteurs were playing with The Kills in Tennessee. They asked Kills lead singer Alison Mosshart to perform with them as White was losing his voice; following the show the pair joined with Dean Fertita (guitar) and Jack Lawrence (bass) to form what I’m convinced is one of today’s only pure rock n’ roll bands. Their sound is versatile, extending from jazzy piano melodies and bass lines to grinding, distorted guitars always backed by White’s driving drum beats.

Saturday night, the band took the stage to an enormous roar from White’s home audience in Detroit and before we knew what had come over us the band was playing at a rampant pace. Their second song, “60 Ft. Tall” from their first album “Horehound” had everyone yelling back at Mosshart “I can take the trouble/cause I’m 60 ft. tall!” and as the night continued their energy was only fueled by the audience’s rising excitement. Standing only feet from the stage I could literally feel the audience tense and relax as the four carefully commanded the audience with dark and heavy guitar riffs (“So Far From Your Weapon” and “Treat Me Like Your Mother”) to some of their more soothing songs (“Will There Be Enough Water”) in what seemed to be an endless and refreshing ebb and flow. Adding to the experience, Mosshart and White’s methods for controlling a stage are markedly different; while White plays with the confidence of an experienced crowd pleaser and master musician Mosshart compliments her sultry voice and energetic dancing with a swagger that oozes sexuality, rage, and all things brooding. During one of my favorite moments of the night Mosshart strutted to her microphone during “Hustle and Cuss” holding a cigarette between two fingers in her right hand and a pair of maracas in her left. To say that the woman is a true performer is a gross understatement.

Playing for his family and fans, White along with Mosshart dominated the stage for nearly two and a half hours of pure rock n’ roll ecstasy. I can only remember one other concert packed with more energy and its likely that the Mars Volta only made that big of an impression because it was my first concert. Regretfully my videos from the night are not posting quality, but so that you can get a feeling for just how impressive they were that night please check out the videos below. To get a better sense of what The Dead Weather can offer you be sure to pick up their two LPs “Horehound” from 2009 and “Sea of Cowards” released earlier this year.

Since attending their concert at the Fillmore last Saturday, my head has been in a fog. To be honest, I don’t quite know what to listen to on my iPod, what to download off the internet, even what to play during a night’s pregame. I’m convinced for the first time in a long time that rock n’ roll, true rock music, is still alive.

Earlier this week Newsweek put out an insightful report on the decline of American creativity. The report profiles the research of professor E. Paul Torrance started some years ago and geared toward measuring the creativity of children. Through a series of tests, children are asked to perform tasks that indicate to psychologists a “Creativity Quotient” of sorts. What’s most interesting is that while the tests are obviously imperfect, the correlation between a child’s CQ and their eventual accomplishments as adults was “more than three times stronger for childhood creativity than childhood IQ.”

Furthermore, Newsweek goes on to describe the importance of “creativity” for success, the overarching theme being that the decline of creativity in the United States not only has individual consequences but implications on a macroeconomic level.

“The potential consequences are sweeping. The necessity of human ingenuity is undisputed. A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 “leadership competency” of the future. Yet it’s not just about sustaining our nation’s economic growth. All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others.”

The lesson here: quit those video games and do something…anything.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html

Hey everyone,

Hope you like the new look! It’s been a long time coming as I’ve spent the last month trying to nail down down a solid design.  I’ve gotta give a HUGE shout out to Audrey Trent with U of M’s Art & Design school for her help with the new banner and look, couldn’t have done it without her.  I hope you enjoy the new look and feel free to shoot me suggestions and comments about what you want to see go up (either new music or stylistically) and I hope to see you guys coming back for your daily fix of Mediated Media!

You can check out Audrey Trent’s work and get in touch with her for any of your design needs at her website!