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Alan Semerdjian - When There Was Something Wrong With You

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  • Alan Semerdjian - When There Was Something Wrong With You

    ALAN SEMERDJIAN - WHEN THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU

    TheCelebrityCafe.com, NY
    May 3 2006

    - Generally, I just don't like pretentiousness. Anything that goes out
    of its way to claim that there is some sort of general truth beneath
    it or greater energy, around which it orbits, irks me to the point
    where I just naturally gravitate toward less "deep" material.

    Sure, Jess Simpson may be an airhead, but she is also remarkably
    forth-right about the fact, whereas you can find no end to the number
    of frustrated artists and rockers whose work has been tainted by a
    vicious self-importance. Of course, acting in the role of a critic
    (even a poor one) requires no small degree of pretension either, so,
    before I go off sounding like an utter hypocrite let me just say that I
    really enjoyed much of what Alan Semerdjian put into his latest foray.

    The New York Indie-rock/folk singer/songwriter would seem to be the
    poster-child of post-modern nonsense run amok. His web-site describes
    the album as blending "together indie-folk pop, alt-country forays
    into the world of punk and free jazz, as well as subtle hints of his
    Armenian-heritage..." I have no idea what the hell they are talking
    about here, but to keep in step I'll describe the tunes as electric
    folk with a smidgeon of wild rock-west guitar and a prevailing gust of
    poeticism. This kind of art-speak is what post-modernism is all about:
    words, images and sound devoid of any firm content. The meaning is
    supposed to be polymorphous I guess, but as far as judging the music
    selection I encourage you to listen to what is here rather than how
    its supporters would describe it.

    To put it simply and unequivocally, this is alternative folk music.

    Semerdjian screws around with some weird instruments now and then,
    but they serve mostly to distract, as if to say, "Look at this,
    it's that Australian Aboriginal thingy in the background! That's
    different." However, when he sticks to his strong suit, powerful lyrics
    belted out by an almost-conversational beatnik voice, a scruffy guitar
    and melancholy piano backing everything up, the results are enough
    to make you want to start snapping spontaneously.

    http://thecelebritycafe.com/cd/ful l_review/11919.html
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