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July 24-30, 2008
buzz@boulderweekly.com
Crushin’ on Curtis
Music that makes you want to dance in your underwear or cry in your beer
by Dale Bridges
Impeach Voldemort!
Harry and the Potters defy physics and political apathy with the power of rock
by Erica Grossman
Crushin’ on Curtis
Music that makes you want to dance in your underwear or cry in your beer
by Dale Bridges
I don’t know how it works with other A&E editors, but I develop music-reviewer crushes on almost a weekly basis. Here’s how it happens: 1) I receive a CD in the mail addressed to either Dale Bridges or someone named Dale Bruges or Daal Brittle or, once, I swear, Dali Britches. 2) I listen to the album while I look up the artist’s website and/or MySpace profile. 3) I think to myself, “Hey, it sounds like this person is singing about me. Um, this person is definitely singing about me. Why is this person singing about me? Are they stalking me? Should I call the police? No, they’re cute. I wonder if they want to go see a movie.”
This is what happened when I looked up Shannon Curtis on MySpace. There are certain songwriters who are able to capture large, generic emotions in ways that do not feel derivative or patronizing. Elton John is one of the best examples, but Bruce Springsteen also fits into this category, as well as Paul Simon, Feist, Joni Mitchell, Liz Phair, Tom Waits and Stevie Wonder. In fact, pretty much all of the great ones do this. It’s the secret formula for pop music success, and it (partially) explains why ordinary bands like U2 and Coldplay are able to transcend their own music and rise to international crazy-mega-superstardom. They identify with mass audiences in ways that Radiohead or Bjork never will.
It always annoys me when people (usually hipsters) suggest that art is somehow unsophisticated if large groups of people can relate to it. Just because you enjoy listening to Daniel Johnston sing for 20 minutes about the plot of King Kong while accompanying himself on a pickle jar doesn’t mean you’re more or less intelligent than a person who rocks out every time “Bohemian Rhapsody” comes on the radio.
Shannon Curtis is not trying to be Freddie Mercury, but she is attempting to write songs that people in Topeka can identify with just as easily as people in Tokyo. And for the most part, she is successful at doing this. I’ve never been sad because my boyfriend moved to France, but I know exactly what Curtis is talking about in “Paris Can Wait.” I’ve never been pissed at an ex-boyfriend for booty-calling me when he’s drunk, but “Don’t Call Me” has a familiar message. The ability to translate personal experiences into universal emotions is the very best kind of art, and Curtis does it exceptionally well.
I wonder what she’s doing Saturday night.
On the Bill
Shannon Curtis will perform at 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, at the Laughing Goat Coffeehouse, 1709 Pearl St., Boulder,
303-440-4628.
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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Impeach Voldemort!
Harry and the Potters defy physics and political apathy with the power of rock
by Erica Grossman
I think Harry Potter would probably vote for Obama,” says Joe DeGeorge during a recent phone interview. “He knows that war can be ugly.”
It may seem trivial to ascertain who Harry Potter would vote for. Harry is, after all, British, and with his wizard status, wouldn’t qualify to vote in the 2008 presidential election anyway. Not to mention that he’s a fictional literary character.
But still, his imaginary vote may make a difference for some people out there.
Joe DeGeorge and his brother Paul are the sole members of Harry and the Potters, a rock duo whose music is focused on nothing but J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The songs are all written from the perspective of Harry, and the DeGeorge’s themselves each embody a different version of the angsty young magician: Joe represents the character during his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, while Paul is Harry Potter, Year Seven. According to the band, the two Potters united through time travel in order to bring the world of rock ’n’ roll to wizards and muggles alike, despite possible detrimental repercussions.
“Yeah, usually when that happens there could be some sort of risk in the time-space continuum, but [in this case], it’s avoided by the immense power of rock ’n’ roll — that overrides the laws of physics,” says DeGeorge, adding, “Rock ’n’ roll is powerful.”
It’s silly, to be sure. Songs like “Save Ginny Weasley” (a call to rescue Ginny from Tom Riddle and the basilisk) and “Phoenix Tears” (an ode to weekend Gryffindor partying) dish out poppy rock, with a little bit of dancey new wave thrown in for good measure. It’s feel-good music that makes you smile and chuckle along with the lyrics. But the band maintains a devout community of followers, and this time around, they are using that physics-defying rock power to raise some political awareness. Harry and the Potters’ current tour is part of the Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo, a coast-to-coast trip with Uncle Monsterface (a sock-puppet rock band) and Math the Band (progressive algebraic rock). The UEE aims to be more like a summer camp talent show than a typical road trip, and fans are encouraged to help out by making food or volunteering to set up. The UEE has even undertaken a Wizard Rock the Vote initiative, geared at young voters.
“A lot of our fans are turning 18 or will be 18 by November,” says DeGeorge. “And we’ve been getting pretty good numbers at our shows so far for voter registration. It’s been working well. The Harry Potter books do have a lot of political themes in them, and it’s important that as Americans we exercise our vote.”
But before older adults scoff at the possible political influence that Harry Potter might bear on young voters, it’s important to think about just how significant this orphaned wizard is to an entire generation. For adolescents growing up in the late ’90s, Rowling’s series was about as pervasive as anything else feeding into the stream of pop culture. Beginning with the 1997 release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Rowling captured the minds and hearts of nearly every young reader. She created a universe wrought with its own terminology — muggles, squibs, bludgers, grindylows — and with it a legion of devout fans who fantasized about living in an alternate realm that seemed so feasible. The books set all-time sales records, with caped kids waiting for hours in line for midnight releases. It was like Star Wars for Gen Xers, and when you think about it, Darth Vader and Voldemort aren’t all that different.
“Harry Potter has entered pop culture in such a rapid and humungous way,” notes DeGeorge, who recently turned 21. “I feel like it’s been the biggest pop-culture invasion that I’ve ever witnessed. Maybe it’s like The Beatles. Everyone knew The Beatles in the ’50s and ’60s, or at least that’s the impression I get reading about it.”
There’s no doubt that dedicated fans of John Lennon felt some sort of political inspiration through his music and actions. So why not use the most popular story of a generation to encourage young adults to participate in the voting process? The “kids” that the series was geared toward are now adults, and still feel connected through this shared literary experience. And, despite all the silliness, it seems to be working.
We wonder if this sort of popularity or motivation could arise out of another more canonical book, like… like…
“Like Ishmael and the Whales?” DeGeorge chimes in. “That band would be totally awesome. It would be this totally metal band, and Ishmael would come out of a whale’s mouth at the beginning of the set and there would be these power ballads going on constantly. But I don’t think people would go see that band, as awesome as that band would be.”
But people do go see Harry and the Potters. Since the band formed in the DeGeorge’s Massachusetts backyard in 2002, they have released three albums, a couple of EPs and done some extensive summer touring. The band plays with other “wizard rock” bands at libraries, house parties and, due to their ever-increasing fan base, music venues. While the Potters have been playing at the Boulder Public Library for the past four years, this year they have to move to The Fox in order to meet capacity needs. And even though the series has ended, the fans keep growing. With the upcoming election, the group is drawing in a new throng of wizard rockers who are breaking away from pop-culture saturation to step into some increased social awareness. After all, what kid who grew up during the Bush administration would vote for Voldemort?
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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