Art and Awful

There's a fine line between art and awful. I saw a band tonight named Blacki (part of an every-other-weekly gig at The Art of This gallery showcasing three bands/soloists. Schuyler's Shield Your Eyes was the second band on the bill tonight. The first soloist was Pelzwik. They were both amazing.). While the other bands sported interesting ways to make ambient/noise/electronic/avant garde music, Blacki just made me think of those viral videos circulating the internet called "Shredding", which have terribly performed overdubs of famous band performances. Eric Clapton doesn't sound like Eric Clapton should, yet the overdubs logically follow what is happening on screen. A ton of bands have been "shredded".



My personal favorite is a Creed "shred":


Now, check out Blacki.

Alas, I was put in a funk, much like the post-Walker Art Center funk. I was really trying to see the artistic merits of Blacki, but I couldn't stop thinking that if I closed my eyes after someone said "Listen to these guys and tell me who you think is playing it" I'd say a bunch of four year olds picked up some instruments in a basement and just played random notes.

I'm sorry Blacki, I tried.

Pelzwik -- "Track 2 (Of Untitled Demo Disc I Received at Show)"