RACHEL GREENE
RACHEL GREENE
1. Neu! The perfect sound track to Richter’s “18. Oktober 1977” cycle. With its mesmerizing oppositional and aimless tracks, this rerelease, from the same fraught world (’70s West Germany) as Baader-Meinhof, encapsulates that culture’s urge to self-define.
2. P.J. Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea No longer a singing interface to some archetype of a suffering, rejected woman, P.J.’s energy has become less labile, more Patti Smith.
3. The Strokes, Is This It Like Vanessa Beecroft’s bored mannequins, the Strokes ooze ennui. I’d imagined them as normal kids who’d discovered the VU. Turns out they’re cosmopolitan Manhattanites. Regardless, songwriter-vocalist Julian Casablancas is a real talent.
4. Nirvana, “10th Anniversary Box Set” Reportedly quashed by scary Cobain estate executrix Courtney Love. One of my generation’s most fragile artists, screwed again.
5. Le Tigre, Feminist Sweepstakes A band using music as an entry into feminist consciousness, encouraging us along the way to wear name tags, have fun, and kick some shit.
6. Radiohead, Amnesiac Heart-tugging, vague, atmospheric: lullabies that defy analysis.
7. Missy Elliott, Miss E . . . So Addictive Unexpected flourishes around sexy lyrics and catchy beats suggest an agenda more cutting-edge and ambitious than meets the eye.
8. The Need (Bowery Ballroom, New York, Apr. 12) They’re years ahead, scoring for hybrids of sci-fi and Grand Guignol I can’t yet visualize.
9. Caetano Veloso, Omaggio a Federico e Giulietta An homage to the Fellinis and masterpieces like Nights of Cabiria. Nothing chaotic here, just affirmation.
10. Chuck D, Fight the Power: Race, Rap, and Reality From ’97, but I just got the book. Today’s hip-hop is conservative, and D’s intelligent narrative of its finer moments inspires.
A board member and former editor of Rhizome.org, Rachel Greene has recently penned essays on Sue de Beer’s photographs and Elisabeth Subrin’s experimental films.
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