PLAY MORE MUSIC
Having engaged in more than my share of self-righteousness in the past, I’m pretty tolerant when I run across others indulging this particular frailty. But on their new album (as in the past) Consolidated overstep even my flexible boundaries; the utter vacuousness of their textbook radicalism makes me wince. Sherburne’s lyrics are incoherent, awkward, sometimes little more than a conglomeration of politically correct concerns tossed together without regard for logic or even much of a rhyme scheme–e.g. “Men rape women and man rapes the environment / And people with opposed religious views are violent.” Many of the band’s songs are more self-indulgent than self-aware, more narcissistic than revolutionary. In “This Is a Collective,” one of their early songs, the band explained at length that they really weren’t a band at all, but a democratic collective. (Excuse me for asking, but WHO CARES?)
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As on their last album, the band intersperse the music on Play More Music with snippets from the 15-minute discussion sessions at their concerts: it’s a war between pop and agitprop. A few of the comments are bizarre right-wing outbursts–not everyone in their audience shares Consolidated’s politics–but most of the comments are plaintive pleas to, well, play more music: “This isn’t a fucking press conference–play some music,” “I didn’t pay 15 bucks to listen to CNN.” The band display these comments proudly, wearing the frustration of their fans like a badge of honor. The band, of course, do get around to playing more music, but we’re supposed to feel bad for wanting anything so frivolous. “How about this?” a Consolidated spokesman tells a fan begging for another song, “you be quiet and we’ll play more music.”
