Friday, August 21, 2009

Chode Rock: (Ambitions) A Mile Wide and an Inch Long

In recent years 90's nostalgia has claimed its fair share of our cultural zeitgeist. Whether it is the ever-growing pen of mash-up artists (who all inevitably "sound just like Girl Talk, but...") who play vocals of the rock hits of Oasis and Sublime over instrumentals of club rap icons like Lil' John and Nelly or the notion that Drew Barrymore could still be in movies or the resurgence of plaid. But, the latter points to a piece of the 90's that we would all just as soon forget, seeing as its irony does not remind us of a time we can laugh at; a time when we sang along to Eve 6 and thought we were punk or remember believing that The Matrix (trilogy if you were in way too deep) conveyed some grand philosophy to be understood and applied. Instead, the plaid reminds me of a musical style masquerading as grunge that began with this video and still resonates like a stale fart:


Jeremy - Pearl Jam

I believe there are other names for the genre started with Eddie Vedder, but I heard my favorite most recently: Chode Rock. Now, 'chodiness' can be found in a Post-Vedder white-man blues affectation, but is not limited to vocals. The message of the song - a bogus sense of loss or realization - plays heavily into a song's chodiness. Also, there is a distinctively chode guitar sound. Here are some of my favorites, for your consideration and cringing. I warn you, this is not pretty:

Creed - With Arms Wide Open


This may be the chodiest non-Vedder tune and it certainly takes the Chode Cake for video

Crash Test Dummies - Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm

via videosift.com

Chodiest vocals this side of Scott Stapp, but the instrumentation could turn your stomach a little more...

Stone Temple Pilots-Plush (acoustic)


Bare-bone chode, but certainly a gem that many chodesters cherish.

Now, many see the chode directly coming from Jim Morrison: his white man blues warble seems to be the basis for so much of chode rock's unique vocal stylings. But, The Doors, as an entity, became icons of the psychedelic rock movement, a movement based in debasing the establishment. The foundation of chode rock is whiney ambivalence about an unchangeable state of the world, opting instead to sit and comment on our collective failures while admiring your own false self-realization.

Unfortunately, the critical hoopla surrounding chode rock's wide girth allows for reunions of acts like The Doors to reincorporate those who claim influence. This may be the most despicable video I have ever seen:

The Doors feature Scott Stapp: Riders on the Storm


2:25-3:02 of this ruined my life. I loved The Doors. I have read multiple books about Jim Morrison and own the horrible Oliver Stone film The Doors. But, this concluded my ability to listen to one of my favorite bands.

And as if that were not enough...
The Doors feature Scott Stapp: Riders on the Storm


3:29 if you love pain.

If you made it through this post, I admire your commitment or self-hatred. Please believe that I will write about and put up something genuinely good very soon. It is just so much easier and more fun to write about despicably bad content.

2 comments:

  1. Good post. Never was perfectly sure what chode rock is, now I have a much better idea why you all loathe it so much. I just never listened to any of this stuff in the '90s, so I'm somewhat insulated against it, I suppose.

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