tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921299954650310662024-03-13T10:15:47.950-05:00A Year of Soundgobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-13708656881168880772020-01-03T17:30:00.003-06:002020-01-03T17:30:38.718-06:00And I Would Always be Light Years Away from YouSingles:<br />
10. M. Ward "Bobby" (ya ya, 2018, but it didn't see physical release until then)<br />
9. Jim James "Over and Over" (TOoN vers)<br />
8. Bon Iver "Holyfields"<br />
7. Operators "Faithless"<br />
6. Panda Bear "Dolphin"<br />
5. Deerhunter "Death in Midsummer"<br />
4. Who "All This Music Must Fade"<br />
3. Hold Steady "Entitlement Crew/Confusion in the Marketplace"<br />
2. Beck "Die Waiting"<br />
1. Finn Andrews "Love, What Can I Do?"<br />
<br />
Albums:<br />
<br />
10. FKA Twigs "Magdelene"<br />
9. Vampire Weekend "Father of the Bride"<br />
8. Lana Del Rey "NFR!"<br />
7. Night Moves "Can You Really Find Me?"<br />
6. National "I am Easy to Find" <br />
5. Cold War Kids "New Age Norms Part 1" <br />
4. Nulifer Yanya "Miss Universe" <br />
3. Craig Finn "I Need a New War"<br />
2. David Bazan "Phoenix" <br />
1. Mountain Goats "In League with Dragons"gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-21696409221399884542018-12-22T10:49:00.000-06:002018-12-22T10:49:04.558-06:00so far, so fast (2018)<span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span><br />
<div class="x_PlainText">
Plans:<br />
1. Low Double Negative<br />
2. Decemberists-I'll Be Your Girl<br />
3. The Love Language-Baby Grand<br />
4. Beach House-7<br />
5. Troye Sivan-Bloom<br />
6. Kacy Musgraves-Golden Hour<br />
7. Janelle Monae-Dirty Computer<br />
8. Okkervil River In the Rainbow Rain</div>
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9. Neko Case-Hell on<br />
</div>
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10. Borns-Blue Madonna</div>
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</div>
<div class="x_PlainText">
Kisses (order? no order):<br />
Kali Uchis-In My Dreams<br />
Franz Ferdinand-Glimpse of Love<br />
Bleachers-Alfie's Song (Love, Simon)<br />Tracyanne and Danny-Home and Dry </div>
<div class="x_PlainText">
Neil and Liam Finn-Back to Life<br />
Spoon-Do I Have to Talk You Into It<br />
Now Now-knowme</div>
<div class="x_PlainText">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">
<div class="x_PlainText">
Rolling Blackouts C.F.-An Air Conditioned Man</div>
<div class="x_PlainText">
Father John Misty- Mr. Tillman</div>
<div class="x_PlainText">
John Grant-He's Got His Mother's Hips</div>
</span> </div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-14200317297611975682018-01-22T09:33:00.000-06:002018-01-22T15:26:56.079-06:00Now the Year is Turning (2017)<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong>Singles remind me of kisses</strong></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Weather Station "thirty"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9. Ramona Falls "in the wake"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8. Beck "wow"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>7. Dreamcar "kill for candy"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6. Cold War Kids "no reason to run"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5. Arcade Fire "creature comforts"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> 4 .National "day I die"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> 3. Kendrick lamar "love"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> 2. Elbow "magnificent (she says)" (could have been equally-"all disco" or "gentle storm")</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> 1. The Clientele "the age of miracles"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></strong><br />
<div>
</div>
<strong><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Albums remind me of plans</span></strong><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Foxygen "Hang"</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9. NERD "No One Ever Really Dies"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8. Slowdive s/t</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>7. Waxahatchee "Out in the Storm"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6. Craig Finn "We All Want the Same Thing"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5. Magnetic Fields "50 Song Memoir"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4. The xx "I See You"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3. St. Vincent "masseduction"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2. Perfume Genius "no shape"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1. Father John Misty "pure comedy" </span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-58018535853973313892017-08-14T09:41:00.002-05:002017-08-14T16:14:40.640-05:00The Ship of Theus<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Midnight oil at first
avenue August 29, 2017.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very
excited for this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are one of my
(if not THE) favorite bands of all time (FBoAT?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, what is not to love; fierce and
powerful live, visually dynamic in so many ways, blistering on albums,
outraged, but understanding lyrics that for all their preaching, have enough
humor and self-awareness to resonate, and of course, songs with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a shitload more hooks than you’d think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Peter Garrett went pro into politics (I
was going to say went into politics full time, but I think that’s been true
FOREVER) I figured we’d not see their likes this way again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And even after Peter stepped away from the
Fray (see what I did there?), and back into music, he seemed inclined to follow
a different path, one that didn’t involve his former bandmates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So fair play, I’d seen them four times (first
time still the most most of course, but all the shows were great), and I was
really ok with that being the end.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But everything happens if you let it, and the Oils are
back!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And touring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they are coming to my town (my hometown?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even better, we are getting as near the
classic lineup as is realistic these days (I’ll never be COMPLETELY on board
with Bones, even though he’s been in the band for 30 years now).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even accounting for the Gifford/Hillman
switch out (and Andrew James on bass before PGII), it’s astonishing to think
how stable the MO lineup has been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forty
freaking years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I could not be more delighted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Makes me think of all the other bands touring state fairs, summer
parks and barns in the middle of nowhere this summer that have constantly
rotating memberships .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At what point are
these bands even the same band as you knew and loved (or even hated). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted, a new lead singer is the most
obvious and disconcerting change, but losing a lead guitarist (yes, I mean you,
bon voyage jovi) is just as deleterious to a band’s sound and image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I can think of a bassist’s signature
sound and style so integral to the band’s sound that I just can’t see how they
can be the same band (no order).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Seems like some rebranding is in order, and of course, I’m more
than happy to throw my two cents on some alternate band names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Truth in advertising, accept no substitutes, be advised that
contents may appear have settled in distribution:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Beached Boys</strong> (c’mon, only Mike Love is left?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And no, as much as I love Disney Girls, Bruce
Johnston doesn’t write the songs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also,
no comment on Brian Wilson is meant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
man is a genius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A giant of industry. )</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Blood, Sweat and Strangers</strong> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Van Whonow</strong> (is it wrong of me to almost prefer Van Hagar?)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Great Off White</strong> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Winged</strong> (winger is mostly intact, but I fell in love with
winged)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>English Half Beat</strong> (Ranking Roger has his own half beat too)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>ELNO </strong>(but I’d see Jeff Lynne in a heartbeat, cos it’s a love
beat and a good vibration, if you are into string theory)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Little River Fraud</strong> (not a single one left from the classic
era, unless you count Wayne Nelson)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Still Stynx</strong> (say what you want, Dennis Deyoung matters)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Stole Temple Pilots</strong> (what is wrong with this band?)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Spoiled Prairie League</strong> (granted, they’ve always have a
flexible lineup, but sheesh)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Atlanta Rhythm Dissection</strong> (c’mon, just stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please. They are dead; they are all dead.)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Shortened Journey</strong> (although maybe this whole Cain/Schon feud
will bring back Steve?)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Foreigner (I feel like there should be something here, but I
just can’t put my finger on it, <strong>Forgener</strong>, maybe?)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Men Without Shame</strong> (although if I wasn’t going to Beck, I’d
go S. S. S. S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>E. E. E. E. T. T. T.
Them.)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Slowco </strong>(I will never get over Jay Bennett’s dismissal)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m torn about the Four Tops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They lasted for nearly forty years with their
original lineup and I think it was only death and serious illness that caused lineup flux.
But being as Duke Fakir is the only original left, maybe folks should know them
as the <strong>Four Fakes</strong>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(also, Levi Stubbs'
Tears is maybe my favorite song title ever, thank you billy bragg.</span></div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-14334654759901243232017-07-18T16:24:00.001-05:002017-07-18T16:24:17.237-05:00Surprise!that's my concept of sin<br />
<br /><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jbdjD6a-xw">america</a><br />
<br /><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbn6p2_K2JU&spfreload=5">much more than cars and girls</a>gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-60928478231004032252016-12-31T11:32:00.001-06:002016-12-31T11:32:42.443-06:00Album 2016Harder than I was thinking with lots of worthies falling just off the mark.<br />
<br /><br />
1. Blonde Frank Ocean<br />
2. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future Underworld<br />
3. Three Phantogram<br />
4. Goodness Hotelier<br />
5. Fever Dream Ben Watt<br />
6. 22, A Million Bon Iver<br />
7. Thick as Thieves Temper Trap<br />
8. Running Out of Love Radio Dept<br />
9. A Seat at the Table Solange<br />
10. Matter St. Lucia<br />
<br />gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-8820204097261770672016-12-31T11:28:00.002-06:002016-12-31T11:28:32.302-06:00Single 2016Maybe no order. but maybe still.<br />
<br /><br />
1. Can't Stop the Feeling! JT<br />
2. Hand Clap Fitz and the Tantrum<br />
3. Burn the Witch Radiohead<br />
4. Cold to See Clear Nada Surf<br />
5. Famous Kanye<br />
6. Stranger Things Theme Dixon/Stein<br />
7. Sorry Bey<br />
8. The Noisy Days are Over Field Music<br />
9. Floridada Animal Collective<br />
10. Gardenia Iggy Popgobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-38035396812550275192016-07-25T18:20:00.002-05:002016-07-25T18:20:57.247-05:00i know it's going to happen someday<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Diana Ross. Treasure Island. July 23rd, 2016. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
I didn't hear a symphony, and I could quibble a bit (venue and weird
show closer especially), but I was still delighted. Hell, she looks
great (to say nothing of being 72), her four costume changes (4, not 5!)
were a delight, she sang live, and she appeared to be having fun (or
she's such a professional that appearing and being are
indistinguishable to the audience, and I'll take that any day) <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">One more off the bucket list and a great companion to the Cure, Stevie
Wonder and Fleetwood Mac who are all recent cross offs. <br />
<br />
Of course, that fabled bucket list sits rather amorphously in my head,
adding/subtracting at will. So, the caveat that I might change my mind
at any moment, right here, right now are the ultimate acts I'd really
like to see (and would even make travel considerations where
warranted). I'd put ABBA on the list, but impromptu reunion earlier
this year, I don't think that's going to happen. As for The Smiths (or
at least Morrissey/johnny Marr...) think what you like. I'll keep a
light on in the window.<br />
<br />
Kate Bush (whatever. who's to say she won't do a residence in vegas?)<br />
XTC (ya ya. but you'd go in a heartbeat too)<br />
Van Morrison<br />
Strokes (yes, Julian is a bastard, but still)<br />
John Cale<br />
Annie Lennox/Eurythmics<br />
New Order<br />
Beck<br />
Elvis Costello<br />
Cock Robin<br />
Sheena Easton<br />
Donnie Iris<br />
Dwight Twilley<br />
Icicle Works<br />
Icehouse<br />
Julian Cope<br />
Marshall Crenshaw<br />
OMD (kicking myself)<br />
Paul Weller<br />
Prefab Sprout (one can hope, right?)<br />
Radiohead (ya never know...I could just end up at some festival one of these days)<br />
Ray Parker Jr<br />
Toto (Oshkosh, Wisconsin, August 31 and September 1st. just sayin')<br />
Split Enz<br />
The Fixx</span></span>gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-29367376679388860672016-07-21T22:22:00.001-05:002019-05-12T19:59:41.321-05:00Becoming Sound Again (Redemption 11)<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
A phrase that resonates<br />
A chord progression that lifts<br />
A melody that warms<br />
A hook that re-engages<br />
A rhythm that rouses</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Cure "Pictures of You" (the churn and misery, the minor chords, the moments of light when the guitars kick in, "the pictures are all i can feel")</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Yeasayer "I Remember" ("you're stuck in my mind, all the time")</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The
Eels "Last Stop: This Town" (the keyboard hook. the breakdown
freakout. "i'm gonna fly on down for the last stop in this town")</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Bjork "Hyper-Ballad" (that voice. that rhythm track. that barely restrained madness "every morning i walk towards the edge and throw little things off. I go through this before you wake up.")</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush "Don't Give Up" ("you have friends. you're not beaten yet. i know you can make it good.")</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Lyle Lovett "If I Had a
Boat" (Well, kiss my ass I bought a boat, i'm going out to sea" Why does a
simple guitar riff always connect?)</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Bill Withers "Lean on me" (The opening piano chords, "lean on me, when you're not strong")</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Waterboys "This is the Sea" ("These things you keep, you better throw them away." Anthem it out, brother, anthem it out and sing yourself hoarse.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Beatles "Blackbird" ("Take these broken wings and learn to fly")</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Jake Runstead (composer) "Let My Love be Heard" (the harmonies. the sweeping voices. hopeful. hopeful.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Mr. Mister "The Border" ("We, we must go on now. Wherever people go, go on together." the pulsing beat.) <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Accept.</span></span></span></span>gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-90188986229165676412016-07-20T20:39:00.000-05:002016-07-20T20:39:06.109-05:00For All to See<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The heat wave has arrived.
Summer is here with emphasis so of course it's time to rock out. What
better to listen to, than "Big Red Letter Day" from Buffalo Tom. <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Buffalo Tom, frequently derided as dinosaur jr clones (dinosaur jr jr?)
had a lot more going for them than that. Buffalo Tom's sound was/is a
built on noisy guitar buzz for sure, but they had big guitar riffs,
melodic and production hooks aplenty, and oblique enough lyrics to make
it all seem important, for four minutes anyway (four what more could you
ask?) <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Released in 1993 on Beggars Banquet, "Big Red Letter Day" was Buffalo
Tom's fourth album and a high water commercial mark for the band,
merging their fuzz rock with pop sensibilities. The album became a
(college) rock album hit with several singles, most notably "Sodajerk"
and "Treehouse," seeing chart success. Even though BRLD's sound can be
fixed to certain time and place, and it certainly doesn't break new
ground, it is a brilliant summer album. By turns, raucous and rowdy,
boisterous and full of bravado, it has a surprisingly sensitive center
and its lyrics are darker than one would expect for such a big sounding
album.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The big guitar riffs that lead into "sodajerk's" opening lines "Watch an
eyeball, take a freefall, at the mention of a name," waste no time
getting down to business and working up a sweat, and although it might
not make a whole lot of sense, it's impossible to listen to the "Jerk my
fountain" line and not smile. The band is giving it all they have, but
they aren't taking it too seriously. <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Perhaps realizing they were soundtracking a generation x of bar-b-q's,
the band pulls back from the sweatabyss welcome-to-the-party opening
track. "i'm allowed" arrives all uncertain and belligerent, looking for
a beer and somebody to talk to. "Came to the party, but I got my own
signals crossed. Thought I was welcome, but I felt like I should get
lost." Navigating a crowd, whether its friends or strangers requires
great skill or utter fearlessness and this song has both.<br />
"Seasons change" again with the uptempo rocker, "treehouse" and folks
are getting settled in now. The beer is flowing, the steaks are just
about to go on the grill and the sun is still circular on the pool.
Folks are playing some volleyball off to the side of the house and
everybody's making nice. This is what summer is all about, working up a
sweat and showing as much skin as possible.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The cool down doesn't take long to arrive again with "would not be
denied." Ordinarily, this fast, slow, fast, slow sequencing would be a
bit of a schizophrenic listen, but on "Big Red Letter Day" it's a
balancing act of rambunctious ball throwing and beer chugging, exchanged
with quiet asides beside the pool, positioning the events later in the
evening, if luck and lyric allow. Having one of the best melodies of
the album, as well as the best example of loud/soft dynamics, certainly
doesn't hurt the sequencing either. <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"latest monkey" and "my responsibility" continue the up and down
sequencing, but the highs aren't as high and the slows are just a little
more more. The food is ready and everybody is digging in as the sun
starts to hit the trees. The party has hit a pause. <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The evening shift starts with "dry land;" uptempo and melodic but
nothing extreme. Food has been eaten, folks are settling into chairs or
standing behind them. Roles are cast, lines are set and the act awaits
the musical cue. Something to sway to, something to nod your head to,
but the only thing sweaty now is the beer clenched firmly in a hand.
The transition from the fade of "dry land" to the guitar strum opening
of "torch singer" sets a damn near perfect mood. "late at night" adds
some late breaking drama to the mix. Bracingly pungent and slightly
unpleasant, the wind down isn't gonna be perfect and some hearts might
be broken before the party is over. "Suppose" closes down the conflict
and gets everybody back in a good mood before heading off into the
night.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"Anything that way" leaves the party hosts doing a little clean up,
before giving up and promising the rest of it to tomorrow. They are
both wondering if they should have told their friends about their
pregnancy or if it's too soon and if that might have been the last bbq
in a while. They upright a couple unsettled lawnchairs and watch the
fireflies for awhile before heading into the house and off to bed.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Buffalo Tom's profile was never higher after the success of "Big Red
Letter Day," but they were unable to capitalize, despite releasing a
couple stellar post-BRD singles in "Summer" and "Tangerine." Their
moment and sound fell into fickle disfavor and after a couple more
entertaining albums in the same vein with diminishing results, popularly
and artistically the band called it a (temporary) day with "Smitten" in
1998.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">How fertile was the songwriting period for Buffalo Tom? Enough so that
they could write and product 4 more tracks for b-sides and compilations
that equal anything on the album proper. In the never ending ultimate
sequence quest, here's a "Bigger, Redder, Letter Day." (and totally not
a dig on the original album sequence, just trying to fit the bonus
songs in the context of the album instead of pasting them at the end.
adding "the way back" after the "dry land/torch singer" couplet
certainly extends a certain perfect mood just a little bit longer and I
totally don't understand why "late at night" doesn't end the album)<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sodajerk<br />
I'm allowed<br />
Treehouse<br />
Would not be denied<br />
Witches broom (b side)<br />
For all to see (no alternative)<br />
Latest monkey<br />
My responsibility<br />
Butterscotch (b side)<br />
Dry land<br />
Torch singer<br />
The way back (b side)<br />
Suppose<br />
Anything that way<br />
Late at night <br />
(reprise)<br />
Anything that way (live)<br />
Late at night (live)</span></span>gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-47924492256791686352016-07-14T19:46:00.000-05:002016-07-14T19:46:11.359-05:00Versions of You<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Reduce, Reuse, recycle. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
The pop music industry already has these
particular basics of economy down pat. (Putting responsibility and the
music industry in the same sentence feels very strange.) Every hit,
near hit or just brilliantly written (but possibly unjustly ignored)
song eventually rises phoenix like from the ashes of a generation’s
dis-remembrance. Hits will be covered (for better or worse), hits will
be remixed (for airplay, for clubs, for someone’s ego power trip) and a
plethora of acoustic versions (either heartrenderingly treacly or
stunningly revealing) will repeatedly renew the shelf life of a song.
Even hooks and riffs, to say nothing of the blurred (lines) feel of a
song can be reclaimed, partitioned and renewed for a second, third or
however many chance(s) in some airplay shape or form. All about the
benjamins of course, but enough artistic success is engendered to make
the most of attempts a worthwhile listen, in theory at least. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
But beyond the lazy artists covering a golden
oldie as a follow-up to a one hit wonder, or the bloated cock rocker
shooting one last wad on an acoustic cover of a song with no discernable
melody, there are some true gems in the game of musical reuse. These
real experts of economy are artists who are brave enough to remake their
own signature hits. Here then, are a few artists and their songs, who,
despite having considerable success the first time, were daring and
talented enough to make lightning strike twice.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Frank Sinatra “Someone to Watch Over Me”</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Frank’s vocal performance of “Someone” from 1945
sounds tentative and the strings overpower him at times. His hits all
the notes perfectly of course, and his voice, so young here, is
flawless, but there no passion in the performance, no connection to the
lyrics in this performance. Instead of a plea, Franks sings the lyrics
almost as a boast. Frank even does some dipping in his vocal, perhaps
to add some drama to the all too careful rendition. It’s such a great
song, and Frank is such a vocal talent, that it would hardly be fair to
call this version a disappointment, but it doesn’t connect as well as it
could have.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Just nine years later, Frank recorded the song
again, and it is astonishing to hear the difference. The more
sympathetic strings help, but from the first breath, Frank owns this
song. His vocal is much more measured, he’s reassuring, cajoling, and
pleading in this version. His voice is richer,and he uses it
brilliantly, modulating volume, adjusting tone and adding shades to
dramatic effect; all within a single phrase. Frank’s phrasing here is
beyond impeccable, the way he draws out the tension by breaking up
following line into tiny phrases and staggering the emphasis within
each section , “ although<u> I</u>/ may <u>not</u>/ <u>be</u> the /<u>man</u> some /<u>girls</u>/ <u>think </u>of/, as <u>handsome</u>/, but to <u>her</u> heart/, I’ll /<u>carry</u>/ the <u>key</u>,/”
is breathtaking. Even his breathing becomes a part of the song, as
during the “Won’t you tell her please, to put on some speed (breath),
follow my lead (breath), oh how I need (breath), someone to watch over
me.” Nothing showy; sung strongly, but never loudly, perfectly in tune
literally and figuratively; that’s a primer on how to sing the hell out
of a song, holmes. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Neil Sedaka “Breaking up is Hard to Do”</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
The Brill(iance) Building shine of the original
“Breaking up is Hard to Do” cast a long shadow. “Breaking “ was (and
is) the archetype 60’s pop song, filled with every imaginable hook; a
great vocal intro/chorus; “do do do, down doobie down, down come-a,
come-a, down doobie down, down,” that kicks into an indelible melody,
tight female harmonies mirroring Neil’s lead excellent vocal, and the
perfectly placed key change at the bridge at baked into a breathless 2
minutes 30 seconds. This song is undeniably joyous pop perfection and
made breaking up sound like so much fun.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Which makes 1975’s remade “Breaking” all the more
fascinating. Starting with a nod to the vocal intro of the original,
this remake smoothly breaks down into torch song territory with a piano
driven, slowed down broken hearted version. A measured, sympathetic
adult vocal from Neil replaces the fun of the original with a dose of
chagrin and hesitation. Sure, there’s a little MOR balladry embedded in
the paint by numbers arrangement, but it’s an interesting remake with a
completely different dynamic than the original. And it beats the
nakedly incestuous “Should’ve Never let You Go” for best Neil ballad by a
landslide. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Aerosmith/Run DMC “Walk this Way”</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
“Walk” a top 10 hit from 1977, has one of the
signature opening guitar hooks of the rock era courtesy of Joe Perry’s
amazing guitar skills and the main guitar riff aint nothing to walk away
from either. Instantly identifiable and compulsively listenable, (your
mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for screechy lead vocals
and juvenile lyrics) the song is a mainstay of rock album radio and
understandable so.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
A slightly different kind of remake/remodel
brought Aerosmith back to the charts in the mid 80’s when Run DMC
covered their signature song with the band guesting. Let’s be clear
here, it’s not like Aerosmith really did anything all that special with
their part (one should be happy that they were still alive enough to
even play at that point in their drug careers), they basically played it
and sang it just like the original. But they do deserve credit for
having the vision (desperation) to allow their sound to be grafted onto a
hip/hop track. But Run DMC did all the heavy lifting here. And what
an amazing success this version is, commercially and artistically. It
still has that propulsive drive, and not just because of the sampled
drum kick intro combined with vinyl scratches, but seamlessly merging
two disparate musical styles is pure genius. Popular? Visionary?
Influential? Revolutionary? Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Joni Mitchell “Both Sides Now”</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
When she first recorded “Both Sides Now” in 1969,
Joni Mitchell was in her mid 20’s, and still somewhat girlish, where
romantic notions of life and love still held sway. With simple
production and a straightforward guitar strumming against the melody,
Joni’s pure singing promises perspective and understanding. Her
disillusions with love may have colored her performance then, but she’s
optimistic her losses grant her wisdom and strength for the journey
ahead. The girl may not have known clouds that day, but it was just a
momentary disappointment. A cloud front across the sunny day that is
just around the corner. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
However our experience defines the limit of our
emotional understanding, all deceptions fail to time. By the time she
returned to the song in 2000, experience laid bare the essential truths
of life. Against a wash of strings and the occasional horn accents, an
older wiser, wearier Joni has really seen all sides and she sings that
awareness into this version. Her voice is rougher around the edges and
her voice can no longer straddle both sides of the sky, but her
performance is still honest. Remembrance, regret, and loss color this
version of “Both Sides Now.” There are no moons or junes or dizzy
dancings ways to feel. She really has seen all sides now and there are
no more illusions. While there may still be some hope, her vocal is all
about understanding and acceptance. When she sings that she really
doesn’t know life at all, it’s her truest vocal moment, her barest
moment as an artist.</div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-91230085588766793702016-07-13T06:19:00.002-05:002016-07-13T06:19:47.962-05:00Life Beyond The Top 40<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Ambrosia vs. Pablo Cruise. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Who was who and which
hit belonged to which band? It’s easy to be confused. This then, makes
the case for telling them apart, and attempts to declare a victor in
the age old conflict between Ambrosia and Pablo Cruise. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Both bands were active from the early to mid 70’s to early 80’s and battled it out on the charts on several occasions. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Both were southern California rock bands, and
although their influences varied, they both had their greatest chart
successes with self-penned, very middle of the road/album oriented rock
(MOR AOR), state of the art-radio friendly songwriting and production
approach.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Both had strong lead singers who were largely
anonymous. While Ambrosia’s David Pack had some small measure on name
recognition, that might have been more attributed to his frequent studio
credits and a big label push behind a largely ignored solo album. Who
was the lead singer of Pablo Cruise? And both bands had
instrumentalist, who, although very competent players, never ascended to
stardom. (The same could be said for Orleans, Firefall, America,
Player, ARS and Toto too)</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<u>Hits</u></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Pablo Cruise edges out Ambrosia when it comes to
number of Top 40 hits, even including some iffy chart successes on both
sides. However Pablo Cruise charted three Top 10 hits “Whatcha Gonna
Do?,” “Love Will Find a Way,” and “Don’t Want to Live Without it” and
“Cool Love” peaked just outside the top ten , Ambrosia charted 2 Top 5
hits (“How Much I Feel” and “Biggest Part of Me” and had a near 10 ten
hit (“You’re the Only Woman”) as well. Both bands are still fixtures on
retrospective radio and all their hits are still surprisingly
listenable.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<u>Pablo Cruise Hits:</u></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
A Place in the Sun</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Whatcha Gonna Do?</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Don’t Want to Live Without It</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Love Will Find a Way</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Cool Love</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
I Want You Tonight</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
I Go To Rio</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<u>Ambrosia Hits:</u></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Holdin’ On to Yesterday</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Nice, Nice, Very Nice</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
How Much I Feel</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Biggest Part of Me</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
You’re the Only Woman (You and I)</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<u>Albums</u></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Both acts were primarily known for their hit
singles, but Pablo Cruise released 7 albums and Ambrosia released 5 over
the course of their careers (not including label cash grab greatest
hits and Christmas bonus live albums). Pablo Cruises albums were
somewhat hit or miss affairs, especially in the hit single years, with
plenty of (generic almost unlistenable) filler and several of their
albums (“Pablo Cruise,” “Lifeline” and not producing any hits at all.
Ambrosia albums were much more consistent and until the end (“Road
Island”) sported at least a (minor) hit single or a memorable album
track off each album.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<u>Artistic</u></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Ambrosia had a more interesting career arc,
starting out as a progressive pop band for their first two albums,
transforming into a mainstream pop juggernaut for their next two albums
before finishing up with a straight ahead rock album. The songwriting
was structurally and melodically complex, they worked with a variety of
styles and their lyrics were ambitious, at least for the first two
albums. Even when the band made a bit for mass acceptance and write
love songs, they never mired down in happy three chord chorus
structures, writing about regrets, compromises and loss in minor chords
and varied time signatures. Ambrosia had the chops and studio credits,
playing on too many albums to credit (early Alan Parson Projects amongst
their studio work). The Bruce Hornsby connection is fascinating and
Ambrosia bassist/singer Joe Puerta ended up being a part of the Range.
The band benefited from their studio connections as well, calling in
favors far and wide for their albums as well (It only seemed like
Michael McDonald sang back up on all of their hits). </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Pablo Cruise pretty much went into hit making
formula from the start, only waiting for their songwriting chops to
sufficiently develop. Once that happened, and the radio market becoming
more inviting to faceless corporate rock, listeners caught onto Pablo
Cruises undemanding uncomplicated pop pretty quickly. Which is not to
say they didn’t become very good at what they did, producing some very
ear worm worthy hits during their nice run of hits in the late 70’s.
They might not have been adventurous, but they knew their audience and
they exploited it very successfully. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<u>Album Covers</u></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
This is hardly a fair criteria, but damn if both
bands didn’t have great album design teams over the years. The first
Ambrosia album cover is pretty lame, and the second isn’t much better,
but “Life Beyond LA,” is a pretty cool album photo that is better at
conveying the theme of the alienation of the LA lifestyle than than the
music on the album does. And although “One Eighty” continues the band
members self-absorption with placing themselves on their album covers
(for all the fame it ever granted them individually) it’s a really great
image with “Ambrosia” in the upper left corner and “One Eighty” in the
right corner. Although it sunk without a trace, the drawing and
typeface from “Road Island” (influenced by Robert Crumb?) is visually
striking. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
I’d similarly throw out the first two Pablo
Cruise albums as well, with a generic jungle photo on the self titled
debut, followed by a rather boring shot of the shirtless band on the
cover of “Lifeline,” but by “A Place in the Sun,” much like the music,
Pablo Cruise had found a visual style that they went back to for
subsequent releases during their hit run. “World’s Away” and
“Reflector” typified the laid back, casual sound the band was pushing,
lots of sun, palm trees, and water. Even “Part of the Game” with it’s
ping pong battling turtles, managed to fit in a palm tree and water onto
a card table. The red hands of “Out of Our Hands” was perhaps a little
too literal, but by then the hits had dried up so maybe there wasn’t
anything to nourish the palm trees.</div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<u>Tale of the Tape</u></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Pablo Cruise was undeniably more fun to catch on
AM radio and had more hits with their bright sunny blast of pure pop
pleasure. Ambrosia’s more complicated adult themes were filled with
memorable hooks and sounded great on the radio too, and they produced
more consistent and ambitious albums. It’s a close call, but Pablo
Cruise just had a very more undeniably popular chart hits, and those
album covers during their run of hits might just be the tie breaker that
gives them the title. </div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
Winner: Pablo Cruise. </div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-85613282184269388582016-07-11T19:39:00.002-05:002016-07-11T19:42:40.415-05:00Songs in the Key of "S"<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">(I would have called this songs in the key of E, but someone
would have pointed out that the songs weren’t in the key of E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>now someone might be pointing out that there
is no key of S, but I’ll take the hit on that one.)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I haven’t had the best luck with mix tapes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sophomore year in high school, I made a
recording for a girl I had a crush on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was her favorite song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
yeah, it was from the radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I
recorded it on a portable cassette player.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And it sounded awful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she
barely even knew who I was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I might
have awkwardly played the cassette for her in the hallway between periods 3 and
4 while people (HER FRIENDS!) were streaming past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised when
she hit STOP and walked away.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Never mind, she was not my kind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Later on, I had a different kind of crush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was actually reciprocated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I tried again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being the Top 40 addict that I was, I scoured
the handwritten listings that my friend Shelley had made of Casey’s Countdown and
devised a plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was going to tell a
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About how I felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through top 40 hits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Week old top 40 hits, but still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I made a playlist with consideration to
chart positions and progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I camped
out in the barn with the radio on the right station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got the cassette recorder ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And my dad came in and had some chores for me
to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I missed the top 40 that week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But nothing much changed chart position
wise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a few judicious edits, I was
ready to try again the next Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m sure my dad was completely puzzled as to why I was not to be
disturbed for several hours on a perfectly fine Saturday afternoon when there
was farming to be done. However, the fervor in my eyes, must have convinced him
of my sincerity, or at least my temporary insanity and he left me alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can only hope my older brother had more
work to do because of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t say
the second recording went off without a hitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although there hadn’t been a lot of change between the previous two
weeks, for some reason, chart positions had changed a lot by the third
week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half of the songs were in very
different orders than I had expected, making my story a little (ok, a lot) less
coherent than I’d have hoped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I was
faster on me feet, I’d have told a different story, but I’m not and besides,
I’d spent a ton of time working my playlist up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Worse than the songs that were in different order, were the charts
positions of some<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>songs that I had
counted on HAD COMPLETELY FALLEN OFF THE CHARTS!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unheard of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Damnit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saving grace, however, was a long distance
dedication (usually, my least favorite part of the countdown) that arrived at a
pivotal spot in my playlist and made it all work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least in my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Skip ahead to next Wednesday and I’m in the
car before catechism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My crush stops by,
hops in the car, and I say, “hey, I’ve got something for you to listen to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if you want, that is.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get a nod, and then I start the
cassette.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A song plays, and I get
puzzlement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Just wait for the next one,
“ I insist, “it’ll make sense.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next
song plays and I can see I’m not getting through, “What are you doing,” but I
interrupt, and say, “oh Wait, let me play you the next song.” and I’m starting
to panic and also realizing that I have 30 minutes of music and about 3 or 4
more minutes before we have to be in class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So of course, I wasted a minute fast forwarding to the Long Distance
Dedication song, thinking that will be the thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I catch too much of Casey Kasem
talking, and I also happen to notice a cow mooing in the background (damn
quality control), but whatever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s
the song and it plays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After it was
over, my crush looks at me and he said, “I only like country music,” and got
out of the car. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It did get better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I also quit making mix tapes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or at least I quit making them for the reasons
I was making them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a long time, my
mix tapes were just greatest hits, mostly chronological, but making sure I
didn’t miss any of the lesser singles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And that was good enough.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I broke my rule back in the late 90’s and made another mix
tape (cd by this point).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frankly, I
think it was my best one ever (I still have a copy and play it regularly).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably don’t need to go into details,
something about apology and miscommunication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t say definitively that we aren’t friends today because of a mix
tape but I also can’t say it didn’t matter.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So there’s history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t make them very often anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I have some trepidation, knowing I’m going all “Man O Sea to Girl O
Sand.” However, I think I’ll take the odds of us over the some random bad luck
with mix tapes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here ya go, boo, a little virtual birthday mix tape:</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33o32C0ogVM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33o32C0ogVM</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Favorite things (Julie Andrews) </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiGQhMQCGZY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiGQhMQCGZY</a></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Purple People Eater-(Sheb Wooley)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK3ZP6frAMc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK3ZP6frAMc</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjxNnqTcHhg&index=1&list=RDNjxNnqTcHhg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjxNnqTcHhg&index=1&list=RDNjxNnqTcHhg</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Popcorn </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Africa-Toto</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Girls Just wanna Have fun Cyndi Lauper</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9prJXEhNhPA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9prJXEhNhPA</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mambo Italiano Rosemary Clooney</span></div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NYWJlOL_iY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NYWJlOL_iY</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Man I Love (Ella)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ImGP33hcc4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ImGP33hcc4</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning (Frank)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Iz)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKEuOO0lQPc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKEuOO0lQPc</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Come Away with Me (Norah Jones)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkxgGbYqBwY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkxgGbYqBwY</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It Had to be You (Harry Connick Jr)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbQUdtHS4U">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbQUdtHS4U</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Milkle Buble)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSZrzaTqaQg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSZrzaTqaQg</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My Funny Valentine (Bobby Darin)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHfxMGEb9iE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHfxMGEb9iE</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You take my breath away (Eva Cassiday)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb4iDP_tuYk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb4iDP_tuYk</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Wing and the Wheel (live) (Nanci Griffith)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isAUOa50wdA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isAUOa50wdA</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8niyG-cPgs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8niyG-cPgs</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaV-6qerkqI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaV-6qerkqI</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Nobody Does it Better (Carly Simon)</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9tCBpCvCsE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9tCBpCvCsE</a><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Somebody To Watch over Me (Frank)</span></div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-13922240405043884402016-07-10T14:39:00.000-05:002016-07-10T14:39:07.701-05:00They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Condo
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are places I remember….</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We drove through Uptown Friday night after a play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we stopped by the light at the Lagoon, I couldn’t
help but look at the hole in the ground that was the Uptown Cheapo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Made me think about all the great music stores
in town and wonder what kids today will have to remember 30 years from now (ok,
the Fetus will still be rockin’ it, I’m sure).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back in the 80's, a couple times a year, Joni would purchase music for the
library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First vinyl, later cds (there
might have been some cassettes in that mix too, but I resolutely refuse to acknowledge
their existence), once she got to know me (I’d say about a week) she’d ask me
for suggestions, and I of course would inundate her with a list a mile long
full of what I thought were willfully obscure acts, but were in fact fairly
pedestrian selections (culled from my detailed examinations of Rolling Stone,
Billboard and whatever music reviews I could scrounge up from newspapers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d buy a lot of the stuff on my list, as
well as a lot of stuff on her own, much more informed list, and she’d buy a bunch
of stuff on other patrons’ lists too, which around campus became an ever
changing rotation of players.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of
this, odds were high that her buy lists were surprisingly broad and the
libraries music collection surprisingly deep, and kept my tastes (and who knows
how many other rangey college students’ tastes, but let’s just go with the fact
that I was the favorite out of all the other SE library patrons) from getting
to insular or circular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once she started buying cds in the late 80’s and the buying
methodology in the library system changed I was only too delighted to accompany
her on her sorta semi-annual purchasing trips to the Electric Fetus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not sure I had been in the Fetus before
Joni started going there to buy library music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Kid in a candy store event of course, I’m sure I killed hours going
section to section adding last minute rare, unknown, ohmygodihavegottotrythis
items to her box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being the great person
she was, Joni patiently indulged me, even though I’m sure she just would have
preferred to give the clerks a list, go outside and have a smoke and sign for
it all once they were finished picking the music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she knew how much fun it was for me to
basically have a blank check at a record store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t thank her enough for letting me do that and for all the joy and
decades of listening pleasure it brought me (and hopefully anyone else who
might have benefiting from my random music choices). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The absolute hardest part of all of this, was the
interminable wait for the library system to process the vinyl and cd
purchases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took them MONTHS to
receive the music, catalogue it and get it processed and out to the library
branches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, it’s been almost thirty
years and the MPLS library system (ok, so it was devoured by the Hennepin
County Library system, is still no more efficient and might even be
slower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Can I just say delighted I am
that one library system in the metro these days has it all going on….no endless
waits, super huge hold lists and sometimes, even sometimes, the music is
available PRIOR to it even going on sale in stores).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, to my eternal frustration, they
didn’t do it all in one batch but in drips and drabs with no discernable rhyme
nor reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always the one album I just
had to listen to was the one that was in the very last set of music to be
shipped out to SE Library SIX MONTHS after it all had been purchased And of
course, Joni, blessed her soul, always let me have first dibs, often times even
before the music had been processed yet once again by the local branch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, but it was Christmas morning when I’d get
the call to come on in cos the motherload had arrived.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My love for the go-betweens, xtc and the chills and a host
of one hit wonders that have somehow stayed in my playing rotation all these
years later are the direct result of all the great stuff I had access to at the
library. To avoid perhaps too much self editing here, I should probably
mention, the outfield and the rainmakers and quite a few other mainstream rock
bands that I don’t put up my taste flag are from the same library source.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Needless to say, the library provided me with a pretty well
curated primer on popular music, 1983 to 1991 (which is where my first tenure
in the twins cities essentially ended).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But the library wasn’t my only source for music in those
days.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the life of me, I can not recall the name of the music
shop in the basement of Coffman Union, but I’m sure that was the first music
store I visited when I moved to the University in the fall of 1983.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also pretty sure I only ever bought an
album or two from the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as
I loved all their amazing imports, and that store was the place where the
concept of imported vinyl was introduced to me, their prices were far, far out
of my feeble minimum wage combined with a modest Pell Grant could afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even by my senior year, when I actually had
some pocket change and could afford to splurge, I just never could pull the
trigger. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I always liked hanging out
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The clerks were cool, the store
played the best music (heard “Skylarking” playing over the speaker system there
and pretty much spent an hour in the store just so I could hear all of it) and
other shoppers were always up for a conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent lots of wishing and a’hoping breaks
between classes there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The store was
still there after my graduation, but by ’93 when I was back in Minnesota
(briefly) and taking a few classes at the U in prep for grad school, it had
long since been plastered over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think
there was a coffee station there or a row of lockers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Progress?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cruel.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something even better than an expensive vinyl store was also
in the Coffman Union; they had an honest to god listening station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t quite remember all the logistics of
the listening stations, and I’m not really sure how I heard about it (probably
Alan, my year older college roommate, probably mentioned it sometime during my
freshman year) but it was pretty cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think it was on the second floor of the student union, on the side facing the
Mississippi River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d go up to what
was practically a DJ booth (glass fronted office in reality),<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>select an album (from a binder maybe?) hand
over your ID for a pair of headphones and a listening channel and make your way
out into the spacious opium room where there were plenty of super uncomfortable
space age circle chairs, couches, ledges and floor space for seating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After hunting down an available channel jack
and finding the correct channel, you’d plug your headphones in and just wait
for the music to enfold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the
whole system was run by work study students, so sometimes you’d wait quite
awhile for a student to remember to start up the music, but it was always a
great way to kill some time between classes, especially in the winter and fall
of 1984.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I never utilized the
listening booth to it’s fullest, I clearly remember enjoying both The Fixx’s
“Reach the Beach” and Mannfred Mann’s “Watch” albums at Coffman and I think it
was here, based on a tip from one of the guys manning the headphone booth that
I took a chance on John Cale’s “Paris 1919”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And there was always that great view of the river out the back patio
too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never noticed when it closed
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once, late junior year I went by
there and it was gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Musicland on 14<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> avenue in Dinkytown was
another regular haunt during the first couple of years and beyond, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A much more “proper” music store than the one in Coffman, it had a
surprisingly good music selection and being just a few blocks away from our
dorm provided a convenient excuse to browse (surprised they never kicked me out
for how often I shopped but never bought. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty sure other customers must have
thought my name was “CanIhelpyou?”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Musicland
was not exactly inexpensive either (I feel like this was the era of the 8.98
list price, but I could be wrong, and when cds first came out there were
insanely expensive there), but they had some regular sales, you could always
find coupons in the Mn Daily or some other newspaper, and they actually had a
ton of cutouts (and I’ve always been fine with the bargain bin).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t say it was ever my store, and I don’t
have any particular fondness for the place, or regret that it’s gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I do have some good memories.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think during our
sophomore year, my down the hall dorm neighbor, Arden and I gave plasma one
Saturday afternoon (as broke as I frequently was, I could not do the plasma
thing more the 3 or 4 times….of course it didn’t help that one of the times the
needle went right through…..no wonder I’m squeamish about blood and needles) and
then took our ill-gotten gains to Musicland for a bit of impulse buying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I bought Slade’s “Keep Your Hands Off
My Power Supply” and I feel like Arden bought some Motley Crue album, but I
might be unintentionally insulting him with my lack of memory (but it
definitely would have been something in the hard rock vein.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really dug that Slade album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still am delighted when I run across that
album on cd when I am picking music (has always been a nice flip) and can’t
help but put on the player to give it another run through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, I found better (cheaper) sources
for music than Musicland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t we
all?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Musicland eventually
folded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was nice to have that
store so handy during college and for awhile, shortly after I graduated in 1987
they had some super cheap cds on clearance (Hanoi rocks, double’s blue and
about 100 copies of Kansas’s “Power” album that I would buy and then trade in
for a buck at the Digital Only stores in favor of something else I wanted.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t even recall if I was still around for
the store closing sales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably not,
or I’d like to think I’d have some memory of something I picked up (certainly
remember some of the scores I made at the MediaPlay store down in Bloomington
when they closed down…come to think of it, I think I even drove up 94 (maybe to
St. Cloud) to dig through the closeout sales at that store too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know this is sacrilege, but I never really hung out at Let
it Be records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might have stopped in
once or twice at the downtown (Nicollet?) location, but for some reason it
never really fit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once they moved to
Loring Park, I went more (even bought my first cd there, 10,000 Maniacs’ “In My
Tribe”) but although I did go there for a few in store band performances, it
never really was my place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never
really knew it well enough to miss it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Likewise, Northern Lights off Hennepin only warranted a
couple visits from me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sure did love
all the imports they had, but either it was about going downtown, which I
didn’t do all that much of in college (unless we were going out on the town,
which isn’t really compatible with music shopping), or there was just something
too intimidating about going into those kinds of college music stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never had a bad experience at Northern Lights
(or Let It Be….ok, one bad experience at Let it Be, but it was brief) but they
never were my stores.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There were certainly plenty of college-ish music stores to
choose from during my college years besides Let It Be and Northern Lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At various times, there was you couldn’t
throw a rock without hitting an Oarfolk, a Garage d’Or or even a Platters in
the back of the Tatters stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
was that super cool store in St. Paul right on the corner of St. Kate’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was the Fetus, but despite Joni’s
purchasing for the library (or because of) I never really went there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was/is Down in the Valley, although
then and now, I’ve always been a little disappointed by that place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was Rockit Records, which deserves an
entire story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there are probably a
pile of places I have forgotten about that I visited and hated, liked or loved
but all went by the wayside in my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(And there is the story about that time when Banks up in Northeast had a
whole pile of fire and water damaged cds, and, well, I don’t know how to even
start that one, or if I even should say, but for sure that DEFINITELY is
another entry)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But even though I hit most of them once or twice at least,
during or shortly after my college career, there were really only three music
stores (or chains really) that were part of my regular shopping rotation.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Positively Fourth Street was on 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> street on the
northeast side of Dinkytown, just on the other side of 35W.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure of the three, Positively Fourth
Street was the first local record store I heard about and visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was not naïve enough to think Bob Dylan
might be in town and hanging out there, but I’m sure some wishful thinking
propelled me to wander over and check it out (that and it was only 4 or 5
blocks from our dorm). </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I sure loved the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was more than just a record store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dimly lit, creaky
wooden floors (think fine line without the over-serving and the threat of
trampleation), lots of exposed beams with just the windows facing 4th Street
for illumination (or so it always seemed at least) made P4S murky but
surprisingly welcome. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were two
main areas when you walked into the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To your right, towards dinkytown, was a bigger room with taller racks
and bins perpendicular to 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Street running along the walls and a
divider rack or two, running the same way, taking up the middle of the
floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the left was another, smaller
room, with short bins along the front, middle and back running parallel to the
street outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I seem to recall the
counter being in front of the window in the bigger room, but the magic eight
balls says “unclear, check back later.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The place always had a great vibe; friendly clerks/owners, friendly
shoppers and great music playing in the background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d heard “Brass in Pocket” of course, but
the first time I heard a Pretenders album (Pretenders II as it was) was at 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were also open until
midnight which always provided an easy opportunity to go for a ramble when a
study break (or otherwise) was needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even better, in the summer of 1985, we lived in an apartment on
University, a block away, so a visit through the vinyl after picking up a late
night snack at Ralph and Jerry’s next door was always in order.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have to admit that I never really bought all that much at
4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> street and I’m not sure why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They had a pile of cutout vinyl in the smaller room and I was endlessly
fascinated by the wild vinyl versions I would find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Una Historia de Velvet Underground, Una
Historia de Procol Harum, flimsy British vinyl that would warp from the heat of
your hands, but filled with tracks that I couldn’t find anywhere else (yes, I
was a great collector of greatest hits in those days, especially for bands that
I didn’t really know that well).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
poor, sure, and I did buy a few things there, but never that much, never,
apparently, enough to keep the place in business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not really sure when it closed and moved,
probably after college, but could have been during my college years for all I
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just know that one day I was
randomly driving by and my record shop was gone, nothing left but parking
spaces and for the laundromat next door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Packed up and moved to South Minneapolis under a new no name I done
heard.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Wax Museum was off Cedar in the West Bank area off the U
of M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It later moved to the heart of
Dinkytown, just across the street from the Varsity Theatre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were other Wax Museums around
town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a great one halfway
between the east bank of the UofM campus and Snelling Aveune in St. Paul that
was bikeable from campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was
another one in Robbinsdale kind of where the Eagle’s Nest is today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recall there being one down in Richfield
too, maybe south on Xerxes or Penn, but I can’t have hit that one that often
because it was too far to bike and I didn’t have a car until my Junior year of
college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe there was one in
Wayzata, but that might have been a Down in the Valley and I am sure I only
went that one time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Off all the record
stores in the cities, the Wax Museum contributed the most to my musical education
and I certainly spent more of my per capita income (such as it was) there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And of all the Wax Museum locations, the West Bank location
might just have been my favorite record store of all time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lot to love just about the look
of the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The store was long and
narrow with windows facing the street, but not a lick of natural light anywhere
else in the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinyl bins ran
parallel along the walls, with a double row of bins in the middle of the
floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was about 10 inches of
space between the bins and it was practically impossible to get around someone
with getting to second base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were
layers upon layers of promotional poster shellacked to the walls of the place
(and the ceiling for all I can remember).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some day, some way, some business rehab HGTV crew is going to inherit
the building and as they start to tear off the layers of paint and spackle,
they are eventually going to find treasure; xeroed copies of a Replacements
show at the Longhorn, a glamour shots Prince promo, Billy Joel posing for An
Innocent Man (ok, they won’t find that one because I stole it).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could spend all afternoon just reading
the posters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The check-out was in front,
in the corner towards the 400 bar (towards Triple Rock for you damn millennials),
basically blocking one of the windows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not that the windows, being covered with posters and poster paint
themselves, were really providing that much light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New vinyl was in the bins in the front half
of the store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Used vinyl was in a weird
little nook at the back of the store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
place had such a funky aroma; a little pot, a little b.o. (not mutually
exclusive), ten year old nicotine (oh wait, maybe that wasn’t shellac holding
the posters in place) a little incense, a little indian take out mixed in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to know what “Year of the Cat”
smelled like, the West Bank Wax Museum was the place to sniff (and perhaps
gag).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I loved it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In that little hole in the wall, they had everything I could
ever have wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An album I had never
heard of from Ali Thomson was just one section down from the album by Sneaker
that had “More than Just to Two of Us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Did you know that Lindisarne had a LOT more albums than “Back and
Fourth?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And did I mention that the west
bank Wax was where all the music critics dumped off their unwanted vinyl review
copies (or at least it seemed like that).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It seemed I’d only have to wait a week after a new release to find a
gently used copy of whatever mainstream rock album I was wanting to hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I really got the gravy train rolling
with the library (and oftentimes in spite of) the Wax was my go to place to
find cheap copies of recent releases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Promo stamps?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I built almost all my album collection from
that place (as well as the St. Paul University one).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even better, they had a super liberal return
policy on Used stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you could return
anything within three days for an exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have to admit that I took full advantage of that policy in ways I might
not want to admit, but I’m sure you can imagine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few clerks gave me some grief and accused me
of taping, and there was a little taping going on, but mostly to fill in gaps
in home-made greatest hits collections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless,
I was always going to buying an album (3.75 and under) and it was a great way
to pick up, say the latest Barry Manilow album I wanted to listen to for a
couple of days (with headphones on natch), but didn’t want to be caught in the
dorms with and then exchange it for the much more socially acceptable Bryan
Adams “Cuts Like a Knife” release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mild
bait and switch, but I prefer to think of it as two for the price of one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think I might have told the story of my Billy Joel concert
line experience in a previous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was at
the West Bank Wax the next morning that I actually stood in line with PEOPLE
and got tickets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I bought
tickets to a local show or two at that Wax Museum as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had ticket selling down to a fine
art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I barely ever waited in line for
tickets once I figured out where to go and when.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By Junior year, the Wax on West Bank closed and the stock
had moved into a rehabbed location in Dinkytown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it might have even changed to a Great
American Music store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d think being
closer to me (by now we’d all moved out of the dorm and into housing in the
Como neighborhood) I’d have been all in favor of the relocation, especially as I
didn’t have any more classes on the West Bank campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the new location never appealed to me. As
much as I appreciated all the new foot traffic the store size and location had,
something was missing and I’m not just talking about all the coincidental body
contact I was getting at the West Bank store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The walls were clean, the posters were new, the “used vinyl” in the spacious
basement had tons more space for all the “new” used vinyl coming in, and there
was way more selection from which to choose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>About the only thing the new location had was this super friendly
downstairs clerk named Ann who always chatted pleasantly about my used music
choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I very fondly remember her
telling me about how I should be embarrassed about my ABBA anthology purchase,
because their recordings were impeccably written and produced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I didn’t go as often to the Dinkytown or really
any other location and I stopped buying vinyl pretty abruptly (and pretty much
sold off all my vinyl by the time I took off on my hitch-hiking journey and
1989.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even my cd shopping wasn’t
happening at the traditional music stores, and more so at Best Buy which
actually had prices on CDs I could afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not sure what the last vinyl I bought was (could have either been Lions
and Ghosts “Velvet Kiss, Lick of Lime” or Deacon Blue’s “Raintown”) but it wasn’t
very long after I graduated college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now that the 400 has closed, I really don’t make my way to
West Bank much anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when I do, I
still pour out a little of the 40 for my deeply, dearly departed (although for
the life of me, I don’t even know what is in that spot these days.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t thought about any of the other
locations in years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I knew when they
closed, I’ve long since forgotten it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then there were Cheapos; maybe too many Cheapos to
mention or keep track of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was one
in Uptown, off Hennepin, then down Lake Street around Lyndale, then back
towards Hennepin and now over by Nicollet (although it isn’t nearly the same,
and who needs another effing condo in Uptown).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was a Cheapo in St. Paul off Snelling across from O’Gara’s then
switching sides a few blocks south and then switching sides again right across
the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a cheapo off
Central that moved to Blaine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby gets
around.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And so did I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike
my other favs, Cheapo was not a 10 minute walk away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Uptown and St. Paul were both more like a 20
minute bike ride away, one way, uphill any which way I went, always against the
wind, with a rusty chained bike that liked to slip exasperating me (but at
least no one ever stole that bike, unlike the new Raleigh I bought as my first
real job reward, which got stolen from a backyard chained up location 2 months
after I bought it).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as much exercise
as it took (probably not that much for a healthy 20 year old in retrospect), I went
to both locations pretty regularly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you’ve ever been to cheapo, you know the volume that is to be had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the first location I went to, across
from O’Gara’s, which was a smaller store, had more vinyl than I could ever get
my head around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And of course, being
poor, especially the first two years, put a crimp on what I could buy as well
(isn’t there a song about don’t look at what you can’t buy?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So pretty quickly, I started gravitating
towards the bargain bin vinyl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of
it was beat up and sounded kinda bad, but my ears weren’t that picky (not that
they are so much more discriminating these days).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those fifty cent albums were a great way to
dig in past the greatest hits and explore some acts I’d only heard or read
about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried out a lot of classic rock
in those days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some took, (Almost every
Steve Miller and Steely Dan album I gave a listen), some did not (I will never
understand the love for the Allman Brothers and only a little understanding for
Lynyrd Skynyrd) but I had a lot of fun going deeper into albums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I liked it I kept it, if I didn’t I tossed
it or gave it to someone else in the dorm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I sold most of my albums by 1989, I was a little outraged that no
one wanted these old beat up, worn out, no inner sleeves, despoiled album
jacketed vinyl albums, they had come to mean so much to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s somewhat funny that for all the time (and money) I’ve
spent in the various cheapos over the years, I’ve never really cottoned to the
stores themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are very
utilitarian in the most Spartan of ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nothing much to all their stores, across all the time they have been in
business, but bins and racks and media upon media. There used to be a music
retail chain called cd warehouse that had stores in the twin cities, but they
folded, probably because the business model changed and their business couldn’t
(that and the fact that they overcharged for crappy used cds) but I like to
think the real reason is that the REAL cd (and vinyl) warehouse has always been
cheapo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite my antipathy to the
design and aesthetic of the place, and to say less about the generally
unsupportive clerks at the place, cheapo has been my companion for most of
these 30 odd (and some very odd) years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
certainly go often enough, (and I have a ledger that tells me about all I’ve
spent there, although I really hate to think about) there have been enough
finds, but in the distant past, and some more recent holy grail items (that
initial friend ep is still mind-blowing) that I just can’t quit cheapo yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Faithless and wildly indifferent, but whatever, we have what
we have, right? So I guess we’ve just decided upon mutual support and
indifference and will go together to the bitter end?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As much as anything on this list, though, it really does
come down to people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the most
amazing time in college and shortly afterwards with so many great experiences
and so many great people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty much
everyone I knew (and liked) loved music and it was an inescapable soundtrack to
our lives then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I shouldn’t neglect
to mention all the great music I got turned onto then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the music store trips were with
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so much of the listening
(other than the socially unacceptable musics of the day) were listened to in
the company of friends, at parties, in the dorm rooms, just hanging out playing
pool with U2 playing in the background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We used to sit in one of the dorms rooms while a couple of the guys
would do a big dance team routine to the opening of “Let’s Go Crazy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everybody played air guitar to great
facility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right up there with the library (and sometimes
feeding each other), 7<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> floor of Sanford Hall (and later our house
on 13<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>) was as much of an education (musical and otherwise) that I
got in college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somebody always had
something new to share, and freely share it they did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prince and Madonna in the Tom’s double on the
other side of the floor, the triple down the hall from Al and I (they played
everything under the sun man), the triple up the hall from us with Arden, Paul
and Dave (Van Halen, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles), Nolan’s Jackson Browne
obsession, Dave F’s habit of blasting George and Dire Strait’s at all hours and
for every bbq at their house just down the street from ours on 13<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
Avenue, Tom S’s second year roommate who finally got me on board with U2 (via
“The Unforgettable Fire”), Dan B’s brief stay in the dorm gave me Trio and an
abiding appreciation of Yello, the Urban Guerillas and the Wallets at our
spring dorm party, the cool upper classmen who introduced me to the Violent
Femmes at a dorm meeting (and where I am pretty sure I first met Julie Tapper
although it would be decades before I’d actually met her again), Tammy S. who
kept up a steady stream of new music and concert tickets courtesy of her friend
who worked for Warner Brothers Records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And of course, Alan, my college roomie, who loved his Journey and Styx
and Kansas, but was and is, always up for a good listen of anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t see anyone from then nearly as often
as I should, but it is fun to revisit the memories and appreciate them all the
more as tides turn time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course, I really do miss all the stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They maybe weren’t just stores, but they were
something cultural, social and even emotional. I felt so very much at home there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t so much about buying something or
even about finding something to buy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was maybe something already found as soon as you’d step into the door at Positively
Fourth Street. How when the right songs came on over the speakers, you don’t
just have a High Fidelty, buy this song moment, but you really feel communion
with everybody else grooving to that very same song in that very same moment
and even though none of you know each other and you’ll never meet each other
again, for 3 minutes and 28 seconds you just maybe believe that we are all the
same and everything is gonna be all right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know it is, of course, but it was just nice when there were all these
great records stores to remind me of that now and again.</span></div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-29080719308706968192016-07-07T21:14:00.000-05:002016-07-07T21:14:45.457-05:00One Thing Leads to Another (Redemption 10)
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What makes an album work?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Songwriting, singing, playing, production, even album design all play an
essential role in the success of an album as a (greater or lesser) work of
art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To that list, add one more critical
element to the make-up of an album; sequencing.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What is sequencing?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Simply put; sequencing is the ordering of the songs on an
album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, in practice, it is so much
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With consideration to the form, good sequencing insists upon
different expressions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would be
considered acceptable sequencing for a cd, with one long continuous run for the
length of the album, might be too fragmented for two sides (much less FOUR
sides) of vinyl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Practically any Pink
Floyd or Yes album (your listening mileage may vary depending on your
tolerance) certainly works amazingly well on cd, even though they albums were
sequenced for the two sides of vinyl, but both acts always considered the whole
of the work, so the transition between sides is not distraction, in fact, even
benefits from the form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even with power
pop albums with barely a 30 minute runtime like the Ramones’ and Marshall
Crenshaw’s debuts work better on cd because the compulsive rush of 2 to 3
minutes songs aren’t interrupted by a vinyl flip.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For an album like Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” with song
cycles on each of the vinyl sides, it is almost better to have the constraints
of vinyl, listening to only one side at a time to allow the distinctive
approaches on each side to build, wave upon wave, to a crescendo before moving
on to the next movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listening to
the sides consecutively robs the music of some of the emotional impact as the
tones and approach are very different between the two sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As annoying as the vinyl flip might be, for
some albums, especially where there is a significant shift within the
contiguous work, a break is a useful sequencing tool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another function of the form that relates to sequencing
concerns the available space on the media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For cds, that equates to about 80 minutes per disc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
vinyl, available space ranges from 20 to 24 minutes per side for a 33 1/3
record, depending on pressing quality and vinyl weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theoretically, a stream length is unlimited,
and cassettes, rarely produced these days, but as mass produced back in the
day, typically had a slightly larger capacity than vinyl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the cd and vinyl forms typically
bore the most influence on album sequencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These different media run lengths potentially impact a host of
sequencing parameters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As cds increased
in popularity (yes, this acutally happened), album run times increased and many
more albums clocked in at over 50 minutes than didn’t, and plenty of acts made
it their personal challenge to fill the cd to capacity, with the concurrent
impact to sequencing.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">More songs, longer songs, weird spoken bits, and perhaps
even more stylistic diversity for all artists, (not just the acknowledged
commercial and artistic geniuses) were just some of the sequencing parameters
that were impacted by the advent of the cd. Statements became grander, chaff
became more prevalent (especially spoken and musical intros and interludes and
the dreaded “skit” tracks).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During vinyl
times, even on albums, the 3 minute single was king, now it has become the
album anomaly, and even the hit singles in their album form run to 5 minutes in
far too many cases (requiring a hit single mix and edit). </span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The increased length of albums certainly had a detrimental
impact to good sequencing; however, the increased run time of albums had some
positive effects as well, allowing scope to expand, more ideas to be explored
in more depth (longer musical suites and multiple longer running length songs)
and more diversity of ideas allowing a broader expression of themes and ideas
than could be contained within the limits of a 44 minutes vinyl album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even as vinyl makes its
resurgence, it appears that the monkey is permanently out of the cage, and the
sequencing of albums continues to follow the cd approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, for examples of good sequencing, those halcyon 60’s days
of the Beatles and Stones certainly are a great place to start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, even the white albums with all its
sound collages and experiments is a great example of using sequencing to
brilliant effect (how else could a song like “Revolution 9” still resonate if
not for how expertly placed it was in the context of that album?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as good as the songs on “Sgt. Pepper’s”
are, it is really the sequencing of that album that makes it an all-time great,
where even the run out groove adds to the brilliance of song cycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But good song sequencing didn’t stop in the
sixties and it wasn’t only major artists who excelled at it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Fixx’s “Phantoms” album from 1984 has always been
underappreciated, much like the band itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A much better than average new wave/rock band out of London, the Fixx
had been together since the very late 70’s and started a run of hit albums in
1982 with the “Shuttered Room” release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cy Curnin’s distinctive vocals, Rupert Greenalls synth fills and Jamie West-Oram’s
melodic guitar riffs were the trademarks of the band and although it would be
hard to pigeonhole them to a particular “Fixx” sound, they certainly had a very
strong band identity during the eighties. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Fixx song was instantly identifiable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Phantoms” came out after the phenomenally
successful “Reach the Beach” album from the year before and although it saw
some respectable success on the album charts, neither the album, nor the
singles released from it, fared as well as “Reach the Beach” nor even as well
as the album after it, “Walkabout” containing one of the great rock singles in
“Secret Separation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At about 42 minutes spread out over 12 tracks, “Phantoms” is
the quintessential length for an album in that pre-cd era, enough tracks to be
more than a one hit pony, enough runtime to explore some ideas, but still tight
enough to not suffer from cd era bloat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Album opener “Lose Face” is a great vision statement for
Phantoms’ ever popular musical theme of human alienation in the face of
constant change and modernization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bright, choppy new wave chords are undercut by a terse chorus and a
sense of isolation haunting the lyrics, all completed in a perfect 3.30 (ok,
3.28 but why quibble).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Opening an album
with a strong album cut, but by no means a potential single is a perfect bit of
sequencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The should-have-been-a-minor-hit
“Less Cities, More Moving People” with “more (great) chorus, less angular
guitars” and a martial beat is a smooth musical segue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slight slower tempo, and more reserved, but
the song still builds on the momentum of “Lose Face” and furthers the
estrangement themes with an open hearted plea for more human contact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly the band is playing to their
strengths here with melodic new wave pop and the sequencing is fairly straight
forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give the people what they
want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next two tracks appear to
follow suit, but actually begin to show a little more nuanced sequencing
approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The short nervy minor hit “Sunshine
in the Shade” and the sexy come on “Woman on a Train” are more aggressive with
some great guitar hooks, catchy melodies and soaring choruses. What is
particularly excellent from a sequencing standpoint here is the trainsition
between “Sunshine” and “Woman.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fade
out of “Sunshine” and then the rhythmic shuffle that starts “Woman” makes it
hard to tell where one song ends and where the next song begins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is even with a couple song gap
between them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to imagine any
other song other than “Woman” following “Sunshine.” </span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although you can have great sequencing with a continuous set
of same tempo songs, that’s asking a lot of the songwriters, so variation in
pacing can be key to good sequencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Wish” is a stunner, a beautiful song and a perfect change of tone and
tempo for a band not particularly known for ballads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a nice variation in the dynamics of the
opening salvo of upbeat songs, and although loneliness tinges the lyrics, it
offers salvation through sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
the longest song on the album and it is the beating heart of the entire work. </span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Lost in Battle Overseas” is the one time the production
fails the sequencing on this album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
the last song on side one, it plays a bravado role, with fat synthesizer hooks,
a slightly overdone guitar and a bit too big of a chorus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Lost” is the right song, and it is in the
right place, but giving the song an arena ready production belies the themes of
the album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Lost” is such a hopeless
song, and it really wants to be something much more restrained. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might have been a more effective side
closer as a devastatingly haunted shell of a song.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Question” which opens side two is a nicely played stylistic
curveball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Changing the key as well as
utilizing a time signature outside of their typical work works within the rest
of the “Phantoms” song sequence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although
the songwriting is somewhat awkward with a melody that doesn’t quite work, and
the recitation of letters is a bit problematic, it’s unlike anything on the
album so far, furthers the questing theme of the album and traveled ground The
Fixx rarely walked again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good
sequencing should not be afraid to mix it up and, especially in the vinyl era,
the second side of an album (much like b-sides of singles) always provided
ample opportunity to take some chances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“In
Suspense” plays it more safe, but it does pick up the momentum of the album
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s filler, but it’s competent,
even slightly funky filler, and while it could be removed from the album with
minimal impact to the feel of the album, makes the sequential step from
“Question” to the haunting “Facing the Wind” much easier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who puts some of their best songs on the
album on the back of the second side of the vinyl?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently The Fixx does and it works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where a less thoughtfully (lazily) sequenced
album might have front loaded all the best songs, “Phantoms” is very comfortable
rewarding faithful listeners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Facing
the Wind” is a lovely mid tempo ballad, with lots of ringing guitars,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a great melody line and a mid-song freakout
thrown in just to make sure the listener is paying attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then ten songs into the album, the hit is
thrown in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An extension of the theme of
“Lose Face”, “Our We Ourselves” is paranoid, dubious and clunkily funky, but
still firmly in the new wave zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It a
fun little song and a shocking delight, hiding a hit so deep into the album.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I Will” is another
stunner, gorgeously open and hopeful with a burbling baseline and too many
guitar hooks to count (but count them I Will and love them all).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a neat symmetry between the two sides
here as “Wish” occupied the same location on the first side of the album and is
nearly the equal as the album’s heart. </span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is only at the album closer “Phantom Living” where it
could be argued that The Fixx make their only real sequencing error. Much like
the misstep with closing side one, The Fixx aren’t quite sure how to close down
side two and the album as a whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
“Phantom Living” perfectly sums up the themes of “Phantoms” and is another nice
stylistic curveball, it doesn’t really go anywhere and just fades off instead
of actually saying anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a
song similar to “Our We Ourselves” and should probably follow that song instead
of closing the album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the fade off
from “Phantom Living” would sequence directly into the build-up of “I Will” serving
as a much more satisfying conclusion musically and thematically to the album.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>So what does the survey of Phantoms say about
sequencing?</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Certainly song choice and production are hugely important to
the success of a song sequence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes
the right song with the wrong production/arrangement makes a huge difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes the right song in the wrong place
ruins everything.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sequencing is not all about the right opening song and the
right closing song but it’s close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Openers
and closers need not be the hits, but they need to establish artistic arc of
the album, whatever that arc may be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Careful pacing of an album yields gold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cleverly spotting a ballad in a row of
rockers spotlights the ballad and makes that first rocker after the ballad all
that more impactful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The change in tone
can be illuminating, but it does require a couple songs to establish a pace or
tone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going up tempo, down tempo, up
tempo, down tempo from song to song is too schizophrenic and ultimately
exhausting and not remotely rewarding, despite the brilliance of the individual
songs. (Yes, I’m looking at you Belle and Sebastian and your Girls During
Wartime).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And throwing in some changes
in keys and time signatures are never a bad move.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Transitions between songs are hugely overlooked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lead in and lead outs can be as critical as
the song itself.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Song dynamics, within the songs themselves and between
adjacent songs are critical to a good album sequence create momentum from song
to song.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Establishing some kind of artistic or narrative arc with the
sequencing should not be overlooked. Storytelling is nice, but not essential
and while the album doesn’t have to be “The Wall” or “The Crane Wife” type
opuses, it should start somewhere and end up somewhere, even if the album is
just going from home to the grocery store and back.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Particularly with historic vinyl song sequencing, symmetry
between the two sides can create uniquely special moments and not only tie the
two sides together, but ground the work as a whole.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Song length variation, although not a huge factor in “Phantoms”
sequencing can still create tension and add interest within the song order.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Throwing a curveball or two into the song sequence is always
a good idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A strike here and there won’t
derail a strong album sequence and might just provide an unanticipated
highlight.</span></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Filler can be effective, as long as it adheres to the musical
or conceptual theme, and isn’t godawful bad.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Concept albums have their places, but concepts can be
confining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Programming an album sequence
thematically, even with a well-worn theme can be a good approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Multiple themes, either chained together individually
, or woven together, are more challenging and not for the faint of heart
listener.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Front loading the hits is lazy and boring, placing them
where they best work in the song sequence is much more rewarding for the artist
and the engaged listener.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a pity that “Phantoms” doesn’t get more love, then or
now. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If it had included “Deeper and Deeper” from the “Streets of Fire”
soundtrack, that might have increased the album’s commercial fortunes
(certainly one of The Fixx’s more memorable tracks). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Deeper and Deeper” could have easily slotted
into the original album sequence right “Facing the Wind” and just before “Are
We Ourselves.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The difference in
transition between “Facing” and “Deeper” compared to “Facing” and “Ourselves”
would be minimal, and the long lead in to “Deeper” might even make the
transition smoother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And going from “Deeper”
into “Ourselves” is practically seamless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It might even be sequenced that way on a Fixx Greatest Hits collection
or two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The album was reissued by One Way Records with a bunch of
bonus tracks (extended versions) at the end of the proper album sequence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, extended versions (even the extended
“Deeper and Deeper” which is great, btw) don’t belong anywhere within an album
sequence. Song Sequencing is endlessly fascinating. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is ridiculously fun, to reprogram classic
albums, even adding era singles and lost b-sides and listening to the end
result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The Joshua Tree” becomes a very
different album with just a few judicious tweeks.</span><br />
<br /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sorry this took so long to post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully it was worth the wait. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was happy with the first draft I scribbled
on notebook paper nearly a year ago, but I subsequently misplaced that before I
ever got it typed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing I wrote about
sequencing since (and I believe this is my third try since then), captured what
I wanted to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This comes pretty close
to saying what I meant to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-54499369638562899562016-01-09T16:22:00.001-06:002016-01-09T16:22:30.637-06:00Music Knows It Is (Redemption 9)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">This past summer I read an
article about a woman who lived to be over 100 years old. Her obituary
quoted a story discussing the most significant change she had
experienced in her lifetime. "electricity" she stated, saying something
to the effect that people today take electricity for granted, but have
no idea how hard lives were before the advent of electricity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
Maybe I'll live to 100, (maybe I won't), but in those septuagenarian
years before or beyond; without hyperbole, at least one of the answers
I'd give to the same question would have to be stevie wonder. The
impact Stevie has had on race, history, pop music and culture, is vast
and self-perpetuating. I daresay he's taken for granted, but ours would
be a very different world; musically and socially, without his impact.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
Granted, Stevie did not spring forth from the earth without precedence.
Ray Charles was an obvious influence and Sam Cooke, Ben E. King, Al
Green, Marvin Gaye, even James Brown were older brothers/contemporaries
that blazed trails for Little Stevie. All had extended chart successes
and varying cultural influence. However, outside of Diana
Ross/Supremes, Smokey Robinson and Aretha Franklin, the boundaries of
the R&B niche kept most out of the mainstream pop culture and
prevented them from capitalizing economically or politically on their
success. And for much of the 60's, Stevie was barely on par with those
performers. He was just another artist on the Motown label, undeniably
talented, but content to churn out covers and pump out some pretty
inconsistent product under the watchful control of Motown. Oh he had a
hit here and there, even a pretty good string of great singles by the
late sixties, early 70's, but he never really had consistent momentum,
failed to put out great albums, and as much of earworms as they are,
most of those early singles are pretty light-weight.<br />
<br />But by the early 70's, Stevie began to blaze a new trail, bucking the
restraints Motown had placed upon him and taking creative control over
his music, writing, producing, and performing his own work with minimal
label interference (circa "Where I'm Coming From"). Stevie finally had
come of age with complete freedom to follow his muse, which was rare for
ANY artist at that time, regardless of color. And success in every
possible way quickly followed, eclipsing his peers in Smokey and Diana
and Aretha in rapid order and by the mid 70's was arguably the most
important act in all of music. No longer satisfied with making great singles, he was concentrating on the album form and bringing greater substance to his music. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Starting with "Music of My Mind" in 1971 and continuing through "Talking
Book," "Innervisions" (arguably his high water mark), and
"Fulfillingness' First Finale", all released within four years, each
Stevie Wonder album raised the stakes on musicianship, songwriting,
politics and humanism. A remarkable run of artistic brilliance married
to mainstream success, never once compromising Stevie's personal
vision. Stevie Wonder was inescapable in the 70's; a fixture on the pop
charts, an articulate political commentator both in song ("Living for
the City" "He's Misstra Know it All") and in interview, and an
unwavering believer in MLK Jr and for equal rights for all when momentum
could easily have been lost. His blindness was an afterthought, if not
an additional asset (Eddie Murphy's later impersonation can only have
helped awareness on disability fronts, all the while being spot on
genially humorous). Even in the redneck back of the woods Wisconsin, I
was getting an education with each Stevie Wonder single. It gets a little thick to make a grand statement about his impact, but i know he made a difference to how i viewed the world; culturally, politically, musically, in a very positive and accepting light. i'd be a different person without his influence. and i'm not alone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
"Songs in the Key of Life" released in 1976 was the seminal work in the
sequence of great Stevie albums in the 70's. A summation of all he had explored on previous albums, plus
an exploration of themes and styles he had not yet touched upon, all
imbued with no less anger and pointed politics, but balanced with
wisdom, understanding and faith. "Life" is an album of wildly diverse
styles; rock, pop, soul, gospel, prog-rock, filled with great
songwriting, inventive and dynamic production, positivity and chock-ful
of eternal singles. And influential beyond measure to this day. What
exactly doesn't this album do?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
"Love's in Need of Love Today" is the perfect opener for the album.
Acting both as a mission statement and table setter for the album, the
song is wrapped in a gentle melody with graceful gospel touches. Stevie
dials it up a notch with "Have a Talk with God," and "Village Ghetto
Land" rolling out synth laden tracks that are funky, churchy, and
futuristic that call out for greater awareness in both the spiritual and
physical worlds around us. By the time we get to "Contusion," a jazzy
disco track with some great runs and key changes, we've already gotten
gospel, R&B, pop and funk, but Stevie is just getting started. Is
there really a greater one-two punch on any album better than "Sir Duke"
and "I Wish?" These songs, that defy categorization, fit so many hooks
into 8 minutes, I can' even count; horns, driving synths, hilarious
asides ("you nasty boy") joyous, exclamatory, feet moving, hand
clapping, rump rolling nods, never fail to get me singing in the car
songs. And perfectly sequenced into the pure pop delight of "Knock Me
off my Feet" that sounds like it could have been written by Carole
King. Trust me Stevie, you are not boring us with it one bit. But
wait, next up is "Pastime Paradise" and the synth run that launched a
thousand raps a half a lifetime later, but let's not lose sight (ahem)
of the fact that the original still has plenty of balls in the indignant
lyrics. "Summer Soft" and "Ordinary Pain" could easily be throwaways
in the hands of some other artist, but great melodies and a scorching
guest solo (rebuttal?) halfway through "Ordinary Pain" close out the
first half in spectacular fashion.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
Brilliant melodies abound on the second half of "Life" as well. "Isn't
She Lovely" is a standard by this point, but to follow up that blast of
joy with the heartbroken "Joy Inside my Tears," followed with the racial
outrage of "Black Man" is great sequencing. Listen to the tumbling
synthesizers of "Ngiculela -- Es Una Historia -- I Am Singing" on the
headphones, pure aural ecstacy. "If It's Magic" is another stunner.
Simply produced with a harp (or harp like synths), it's a beautiful
melody and a timeless sentiment. And if "Love's in Need of Love Today"
was the mission statement for the album, "As" is the challenge, the
declaration, the promise. "I'll be loving you always. "Another Star"
closes out the album proper with a horn laden workout that might go on a
little too long, but fun nonetheless.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />
And that was pretty much all the "Songs in the Key of Life" I ever
knew. The vinyl copy I kept borrowing from the library might have had
the four song bonus single at some point, but it quickly disappeared by
the time I finally was able to check it out. Even when I borrowed
"Life" from the southeast library when I was in college, that ep was not
to be found. so for decades and I never knew about the four extra
songs. and what a pity, because hidden away on those tracks were some
wonder flavors I had not encountered before, prog rock pop in "Saturn"
oh what a loss, but what a delightful find decades later. The music hall
pop in "Ebony Eyes" always makes me think of Elton John (and never
fails to make me smile, especially when the vocoder pops up). The
verses of "All Day Sucker" are maybe the one time in the entire album
where melody fails Stevie, but I like the almost rock edge in the song
and the key change at the chorus is a nice touch. And with "Easy Going
Evening" we get that classic Stevie harmonica to wind down the album. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And each and every time i listen still, it's all just perfect.</span></span>gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-70076726396295220792016-01-09T16:15:00.002-06:002016-01-09T16:15:33.796-06:002015 Year in Review-Singles Edition1. "South"-Hippo Campus (so so so good)<br />
2. "Return to the Moon"-El Vy (not that the album was bad, but this was so fun)<br />
3. "Let It Happen"-Tame Impala (if only the rest of the album was this good)<br />
4. "Fourth of July/The Only Thing"-Sufjan Stevens (ya it wasn't a single and completely depressing, but still great).<br />
5. "Crosswords"-Panda Bear<br />
6. "Beyond Love"-Beach House<br />
7. "The Party Line"-Belle and Sebastian ("Happy Couples" could fit here too, love them both)<br />
8. "My Mind/Tomato Can"-The Arcs (ya, i know, they are both b-sides, but i love them)<br />
9. "Honey, I"m Good"-Andy Grammar<br />
10. "Living My Life"-Deerhuntergobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-78375701731454941332016-01-01T14:38:00.000-06:002016-01-01T14:38:31.382-06:002015 Year in Review-Album Edition1. Sufjan Stevens-Carrie and Lowell (played and played and played and played. and even when i gave it a rest it was still playing in my mind. mite dark, but not really depressing, more darkly beautiful if anything)<br />
2. Mountain Goats-Beat the Champ (i might have given up on John, but wow is this a great album. yes, it's about wrestling. really. but also about so much more. and the music is the most open and adventurous he's been in ages. there are even a couple tracks that harken back to new wave Joe Jackson (and that's a good thing too)<br />
3. Vaccines-English Graffiti (easily my most listened to album of the year and my three favorite bonus tracks to boot. and a great live show. you really need to listen to it)<br />
4. Grimes-Art Angles (she just might be the real deal)<br />
5. Low-Ones and Sixes (however many albums in and they might have made my favorite album of theirs. and that is really saying something. everything they do, they do here, and they might just do it better than ever even adding electronics bells and widgets to the patented "low sound". and even kick up the pop smarts with "no end," "kid in the corner" and "what part of me." and "lies" might be my new favorite Low song. and just listen to "Landslide" when Mimi's angelic vocals kick in about halfway through this song, i get goosebumps. jeez. maybe this should be higher. or maybe this is a really great year for albums. )<br />
6. Belle and Sebastian-Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (welcome back belle. and thanks for making a great, if totally schizophrenic album. somebody should write something about album sequencing and use this album as a means to discuss said topic)<br />
7. Tame Impala-Currents (from the early singles this could have been #1, but those singles might have blown the load)<br />
8. Majical Cloudz-Are You Alone? (snuck up on me. had it in the car and forgot what it was and in no time it had won me over. and you might think it's a little too demo-ish, but it really says all it needs to say with no excess production.<br />
9.Marina and Diamonds-Froot (my pick for dancefloor album of the year. but it really is more than just some Max Martin/Dr. Luke cut comp and paste sterile production. warm vocals intertwined with organic production with Marina's vocals and some surprisingly perceptive lyrics put this head and shoulders above the antiseptic pop of the mileys and ariannas.<br />
10. Jr Jr-The Speed of Things (pure pop for power people, please and thank you. thank you very much!) <i></i>gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-28182158343439858352016-01-01T14:14:00.001-06:002016-01-01T14:14:03.343-06:002015 Year in Review-Live EditionLet's see...<br />
<br />
Stevie Wonder knocked off the bucket list. and everything i would have hoped for (and i'll even give him the little bit too long rambles and the dj set in the encore). one of my favorite artists of all time and i'm ashamed it's taken me so long to see him.<br />
<br />
3D Kraftwerk-amazing! really!!! you wouldn't think it, but the 3D was outstanding, the set list was great fun (and surprisingly deep) and the guys (especially Ralf and his cast of long time imposters) were really....animated.<br />
<br />
The Vaccines at triple rock-really fun show, just as, if not more, enjoyable than the first show. really like this band and i don't get why they don't draw more. ah well, more fun for me.<br />
<br />
a mad run of christmas concerts. some decent rock shows; dj shadow, el vy, the arcs, hot chip (aka cell phone party), the arcs, stand out, amongst others. and of course the usual too drunk people, long haired sweaty head flinging dancers, back movers (although rail shows were at a minimum this year), the live time reviewers (dude, your buddy can't hear you and even i don't care that that last track was on a european limited edition vinyl single, SHUT UP AND WATCH THE SHOW!) <br />
what else of note? hmmm...cop cars on cedar after show parties, scary stairwell scenes (what is worse, people shooting up in the stairwell somewhat shielded by their drug buddies, or people pissing in plain sight in the stairwell?) oh yeah, i finally got a smart phone so know i too am able to post badly focused and terrible sounding video.<br />
<br />
hmmmm..i feel like i'm forgetting something here...oh yeah, maybe mention of my favorite concert of the year? Squeeze (or at least Difford and Tilbrook) at the Cedar in November. you'd never notice that they didn't have a full band with them with all the great guitar playing/arrangements and playful between the songs chit chat. obviously, difford's voice has been unaffected by age (or what unique voice he has could only be character-built?) but wow oh wow does Tilbrook still sound amazing. great set list, fun surprises and they seemed to genuinely enjoy playing. only complaint? seemed over way too soon (and maybe i didn't need to see the pair of them in pajamas to start the show) i didn't have them on the bucket (and also, how have i NEVER seen them before) but i should have bucketed them, and i am incredibly glad i got to see them, even if i was a day or two late.<br />
<br />
<br />gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-79738237708322516242015-04-21T19:45:00.002-05:002015-04-21T19:46:26.036-05:00The Longest Time (Redemption 8)It should have started with the police, if not a lot sooner. That was certainly the plan. As it was, I was ashamed that I was so far behind everyone else I knew. Already out of high school and hadn't done it yet. Hell, some of them had done it in 10th grade already (I was so jealous when they were telling me the details of the evening before in 7th hour yearbook). I even got a job my last summer to get some extra cash to pay for it. I was ready, I was due, and it was going to be the police or bust! I was going to see a Rock show already!!!<br />
<br />
Never mind that I hadn't worked out the logistics of either getting said ticket nor traveling to st. paul for the show, but wills demand and I'm sure it would have worked out some way. Except somewhere between getting paid and getting to the bank, I lost the check. I was sure I had put it on the fridge, but it was not to be found. Look, look, looked for it, I did, high over hill and dale but no luck. That was one check that once written could not be cashed, alas. (a bunch of years later, when my folks were putting a new floor in the kitchen, my mom found the check underneath the fridge. The one place I never thought to look (I even looked in the coils behind the fridge, course in retrospect, underneath was a logical place to have checked). Ah well. Cashless (spare cash at least, my savings account for college was inviolate) I was unable to make that synchronicity show (not sure if it was met center or the civic center and sorta too lazy too google...best off to forget that first miss).<br />
<br />
So perhaps it was more fitting that my first concert (and I'm not talking some goofball act that plays a lyceum at school, or any of the chorus/band/high schooley things I'd invariably gone to), first REAL ROCK concert was billy joel at the st. paul civic center in 1984 (I'm thinking spring, but again I'm too lazy too look it up). I'm pretty sure this was the innocent man tour, although the show seemed kinda heavy on Nylon Curtain songs (ok, ok, I best pull up the set list in a bit to refresh my memory). I was always a fan of Mr. Joel. One of my very first vinyl purchases was "The Stranger," closely followed by "52nd Street." The Joelmeister went way back, so when I first heard about that tour, I was pretty excited and drummed up some interested amongst my dormmates. Three other guys were interested enough to commit, so I counted out my pennies and circled the date tickets went on sale. (I'm thinking tickets were like $13 each or somesuch, but they might have been as much as $20. Whatever, I was going, damnit, I was going to a show.)<br />
<br />
Now being the dork that I am, the day before tickets went on sale, I got all antsy and worried that we wouldn't be able to get tickets, so after fretting most of the day (a Sunday) I decided (against the advice of my dorm roomie, who was also going to the show, and probably every shred of common sense that I should have had) that I should go down to the civic center and camp out overnight for tickets. so I hopped a bus outside of my dorm on University avenue by the UofM campus (Minneapolis campus mind you) and rode over the civic center. I think I got there around 4pm and there was not a soul in existence. And believe me, I walked all over the place trying to figure out where the ticket booth was and where was the line I was sure would have been snaking outside at this point. (did I mention that it was winter---february-ish I'm thinking, although I could easily be misremembering that too). But whatevs, there was no line, and only one little lonely window that looked like it had any possibility of ticket sales the next morning. so I planted myself, popped open a book and settled in for the long haul. Around 6.30 or some the janitorial staff came by, scrubbing and buffing the floors (they were spotless already and I was totally fine with stretching out on their fine glassy finish). I'm sure they thought I was a) homeless, b) nuts and/or c)clueless, but to their credit, they kept their snickers to a minimum as they went about their business and left me to my solitude. And I do mean solitude.<br />
<br />
Where was the line? what the heck....was I maybe a little aggressive in this line camp out? around 7.30, with nary another fan in sight I was having some second thoughts (third or fourth thoughts at that point in reality) and I gave Al (college roomie) a call. He still thought I was nuts and should just go back to the dorm and get in line in the morning. if we got shut out, we got shut out, he figured but I was adamant damnit, I was getting tickets. Except, it was pretty boring hanging out there all by myself and even though nobody had thrown me out, the security guard was eyeing me on every walk around. Finally around 8.30 he said, he was locking up and I couldn't stay in the atrium anymore. I said I was in line for Billy Joel tickets, and of course, he looked at me like I was b and c (mostly c I think in retrospect), and said he supposed I could start a line, but it was going to have to be outside and around the corner (I'm thinking it seemed to be a particularly windy corner too). Suddenly, those wise words from Al clicked in my mind, and I'm all like, ok. Time to head back to the dorm. Also, that is a long ass bus ride between st. paul and Minneapolis. I don't know what it's like now (yay a light rail and all) but it was after 10 before I got back to the dorm (to a couple sly smiles from my dormmates I might add).<br />
<br />
But at least I got a good night's sleep before heading out in the morning to the Wax Museum on the west bank. And actually the line wasn't too long (in retrospect it was even shorter, but back then I was worried that the twenty people in front of me would take all the tickets). But the line moved well and other than some issues with me wanting to pay with travelers checks (ya, it baffles me to this day why I was going to do that), it sorted out (with a quick run back to the dorm and a mad rummage for cash) and I got our four tickets (Panka, Beddow, Al and I) and we were all good to go in a few months.<br />
<br />
Our seats weren't too bad, off to the left of the floor and not too far up the rows. I think one ticket was just behind the other three, but I seem to recall a few empty seats so Al moved up to sit next to me. it's hard to trust my recollection of the show, because, although I've never been to another billy joel show, I've seen way too much live footage of him and it just all begins to blur. I do remember being bummed that there weren't more deep cuts from "The Stranger" and "52nd Street" (to say nothing of earlier hits), but I was more or less happy with the song list. "Goodnight Saigon" and "An Innocent Man" were highlights for me (especially interesting considering I was pretty indifferent to either song but they sure made an impression during that show) .<br />
<br />
What I really do remember though, is he was (is) a total pro. He worked the crowd, he worked the band (take it away Liberty DeVito) he worked the keyboard, he hit all the right spots (even if he couldn't hit all the notes). At the time I pretty much thought he was on the back side of his career (and if you are looking at recordings, I was probably right), but in retrospect now, I realize he was pretty much at his peak when I saw him. Touring off his best selling album, still young enough to bring it, but experienced enough to work it for all it was worth. It was a fun show and although I've certainly seen a lot of shows since (and a lot of shows that had a deep and lasting influence on me) I'm still pretty happy that I got to see Billy Joel first.<br />
<br />
Setlist (courtesy of Wikipedia so I claim nothing about accuracy, but this feels right)<br />
<br />
1. "Prelude/Angry Young Man"<br />
2. "My Life"<br />
3. "Piano Man"<br />
4. "Don't Ask Me Why"<br />
5. "Allentown"<br />
6. "Goodnight Saigon"<br />
7. "Pressure"<br />
8. "Leave a Tender Moment Alone"<br />
9. "An Innocent Man"<br />
10. "The Longest Time"<br />
11. "This Night"<br />
12. "Just The Way You Are"<br />
13. "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"<br />
14. "Sometimes a Fantasy"<br />
15. "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"<br />
16. "Uptown Girl"<br />
17. "Big Shot"<br />
18. "Tell Her About It"<br />
19. "You May Be Right"<br />
encore<br />
20. "Only The Good Die Young"<br />
<br />
Oh yeah, I didn't get any merch.<br />
<br />
And I finally saw the police when they toured again in 2007. (and it was good, maybe not 20 some years good, but good)gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-9557671224738286852015-01-01T21:11:00.003-06:002015-01-02T23:24:32.252-06:002014-Year in Review-ShowsWas a light year on shows, although there were a couple pretty big ones that might have over-balanced the ledger (Paul McCartney and Fleetwood Mac). but there were two that were especially memorable.<br />
<br />
Kaiser Chiefs at First Avenue (i wasn't in the mood, i didn't exactly love the 3x education, and i might have been over them anyway. and yet i had a great time, reconsidered education, and went diving back into the back catalog and realized i'd been giving them the short straw for too long)<br />
<br />
Fanfarlo at Triple Rock (they never let me down, super fun show)gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-13320320342608173172015-01-01T21:07:00.000-06:002015-01-02T23:24:43.103-06:002014-Year in Review-Singles10. "From Now On" Delta Spirit<br />
9. "Coming Home" Kaiser Chiefs<br />
8. "Simple and Pure" Pains of Being Pure at Heart<br />
7. "Staircase at the University" Morrissey<br />
6. "Tourniquet" Jeremy Messersmith<br />
5. "Airwaves/Ojai" Ray Lamontagne<br />
4. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" Future Islands<br />
3. "Milwaukee" The Both<br />
2. "Put Your Number in My Phone" Airel Pink<br />
1. "Who Rings the Bell" Eno/Hydegobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-45615501273790094612014-12-31T18:03:00.005-06:002015-01-02T23:25:00.023-06:002014-Year in Review-AlbumsDamn. Didn't realize what a great year it was until I started compiling the lists. Lots of great stuff didn't even make the short stack. And I'm sure there are a few albums that I didn't really give a chance that will work their way into my life list (I'm looking at you, Ariel Pink and your "Pom Pom." You got it, i know you do, I just didn't give it enough plays to compete with the big kids)<br />
<br />
So before we hit the list, let's look at some contenders that just fell short:<br />
<br />
Spoon-"They Want My Soul" So nice to have them back, but sometimes consistent brilliance is a curse.<br />
The New Pornographers-"Brill Bruisers" Love it, and it would have been top ten if it would have just had that one song....<br />
Kaiser Chiefs-"Education, Education, Education" (see below or above)<br />
War on Drugs-"Lost in the Dream" I like, but just don't love compared to their other stuff.<br />
Perfume Genius-"Too Bright" I thought this was top ten from the very first listen and my opinion has not changed, but how much is ten? ten.<br />
Sun Kil Moon-"Benji" See, now no one got a present.<br />
Ariel Pink-"Pom Pom"<br />
Morrissey-"Business as Usual" Really good and on Harvest. how could i not love?<br />
Ray Lamontagne-"Supernova" How can something I listened to so much not make top ten?<br />
Rosanne Cash-"The River and the Thread" This was a slow grower for me (especially compared to the list and cadillac), and as close to top ten as can be.<br />
<br />
And now the top ten albums for 2014:<br />
<br />
10. Literature "Chorus"/FKA Twigs "LP1" (Literature is a no brainer, but FKA Twigs has been coming on strong and i just can't choose between the two)<br />
9. Jenny Lewis-"The Voyager" ok california sunny pop with a dark undercurrent. great melodies, some serious lyrics and production out of the 70's. yes. and thank you.<br />
8. Future Islands "Singles" they named the album Singles. and be damned if they weren't right. compulsively listenable.<br />
7. TV on the Radio "Seeds" Little known well known fact: I've never been that into TVOTR. just a bit too much something (either trying to hard or pretentious, i can never tell), but with Seeds (it must be the keyboards or that they are willing to try traditional song structures) they hit my sweet spot.<br />
6. Fanfarlo "Let's Go Extinct" Let's hope not.<br />
5. Eno/Hyde "Someday World/High Life" ok. someday world would have been enough, but another great album in the same year? excellent!<br />
4. St. Vincent. s/t I have to admit this got lost in the shuffle. and then i threw it in unaware and i was all..."wow, who is this?" and then i shamed myself when i realized who it was. but then i had a hit of dew and i felt better.<br />
3. Ty Segall "Manipulator" noisy. a bit abrasive. annoyingly recorded. but so poppy. i just kept hitting replay.<br />
2. Beck "Morning Phase" ya ya. but still. plus it gives me goosebumps. so there.<br />
1. Real Estate "Days" i wasn't sure what was number one for the longest time. i thought i had a lot of 3-7 items in my list. then i put "Days" back in and everything fell into place and i couldn't remember why i had forgotten this in the first place.gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-24974167410114063502014-10-30T20:13:00.001-05:002014-10-30T20:13:21.134-05:00So...Now....Are You Ready to Go (Redemption 7)<div dir="ltr">
<br /><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
You have to realize, I went into it completely blind.<span> </span>It wasn’t a particularly fertile period for my music listening.<span> </span>Early 2000’s.<span> </span>All
the old familiars were getting a little too old and familiar and all
the indie blog stuff wasn’t really happening yet (for me anyway).<span> </span>I was back in the cities but with nary a penny to spare.<span> </span>So
off the library for a little random flipping through the music
collection (Walker in Uptown if you are curious…whoever bought there
back in the day always seemed to know what my musical taste was and
where I had some glaring gaps…not that I ever met the person).<span> </span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
“It Still Moves” caught my eye.<span> </span>I think I thought I might have heard of My Morning Jacket.<span> </span>Or at least it sounded like a band name I thought I knew or at least should have known.<span> </span>And of course, a stuffed bear on the cover was a good sign.<span> </span>So I grabbed it.<span> </span>And once it was in my cd player, it immediately grabbed me back.<span> </span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
“Sitting here with me and mine, all wrapped up in a bottle of wine.”<span> </span>What a perfect introduction to the album, to the band, to the whole shebang.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Southern fried
country rock crossed with the beach boys by way of neil young in a silo,
with just a little eno/cale weirdness thrown in the mix. “Mahgeetah”
was such an unlikely to be accessible mash of influences but so so
immediately likeable.<span> </span>I bet I had that song on repeat 4 or 5 times, before I even moved on to “Dancefloors.”<span> </span>And even though southern boogie jam band wasn’t exactly my thing, <span> </span>I’d have done the same thing with “Dancefloors, ” but I didn’t have far enough to drive.<span> </span><span> </span>But
there was just something in the jam and boogie piano (with some
lonesome steel guitar aping swinging from verse to verse in the
background) and Jim James’ silo reverb vocals that had me completely
engaged.<span> </span>And then there was “Golden,” a loping
throwback acoustic guitar driven ode to life on the road with a harmony
filled chorus that kept me in the car running.<span> </span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
So. </div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
My. </div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Wheelhouse.<span> </span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
I was in love; delighted and entranced by my “discovery”.<span> </span>And that was just the first 3 songs!<span> </span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
What other wonders awaited?<span> </span>Well, suffice it to say, there isn’t a dud on “It Still Moves” ten years on, it still moves.<span> </span>For
every skynyrd there is a crazy horse, a time to wail and a time to
croon, epic solos, hard charging riffs, and delicate guitar picking.<span> </span>And that’s just “One Big Holiday.”<span> </span>Then
there is the languid beauty of “I Will Sing You Songs,” repeatedly on
the verge of falling apart, but picking up just enough momentum each
time to see another chorus, before it finally gets a roll on down the
hill.<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>“Just don’t make it last any longer than it has to.”</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
“Easy Morning Rebel” still makes me smile.<span> </span>Still
sounds like it could have been on a jukebox in the corner bar when I
was a kid.<span> </span>And that riffing around the 3.40 mark building to the big guitar solo is so great.<span> </span>And I’m not really a guitar jam guy.<span> </span>Same for “Run Thru.”<span> </span>Just
enough tension between the big guitars riffs and Yim’s wordless chorus
to carry me through jams I wouldn’t have the patience to bear on any
other sleeve.<span> </span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Smart sequencing
drives the album, never too deep into the jams, rockers give way to mid
tempo tracks and the ballads aren’t afraid to rip (without getting too
power ballad).<span> </span>And although it’s rare to have a
song under 3 minutes (just one song is around 3 minutes and that one is
over way too soon), the songs never feel too long.<span> </span>The
musicianship, the arrangements, the singing and an armload of memorable
melodies all around create enough variety within each track to keep
length from ever being a repetitive burden.<span> </span>The
longest songs just feel like a natural evolution of an idea instead of a
hard forced journey for lengths sake, which is saying a lot for someone
like me, who is a firm believer in the church of the 3 minute pop song.<span> </span>But those 71 minutes of “It Still Moves” <span> </span>fly by and I’m holding up on “One and the Same” even more than the band does, hoping to extend the visit just a little longer.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
I knew I had stumbled upon a great band that day.<span> </span>I immediately began making plans for a road trip to test out the album.<span> </span>Because
of course, although I could listen to the album in my place, music
always sounds best on the road (scientifically proven) and I had a
feeling, long since proven out, that My Morning Jacket albums are even
more suited for long drives out in the middle of nowhere with only the
occasional yard light sparking in the long dark of nothing.</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
PS:<span> </span><span> </span>I
don’t think “It Still Moves” is My Morning Jacket’s best album. And it
doesn’t even have my favorite MMJ song on it. (and although my best all
time moment with an album, any album, was with an MMJ album, it was not
with this one), but it is and always will be my favorite MMJ AND one of
my all-time favorite albums.</div>
</div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1792129995465031066.post-75998960465903187792014-08-04T21:06:00.001-05:002014-08-04T21:06:39.037-05:00A Blue Ribbon On My Brain (Redemption 6)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
What makes the magic that is the National?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The songs you say? Perhaps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are certainly some gems within their
discography, strongly (songly?) written melodies and lyrically deft and
wise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it their persona as fiercely
independent intelligent indie outsiders breaking into the mainstream?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their almost losers status made good does
make them golden and certainly appealing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But more than anything, what makes the National them and uniquely them
is how in the interplay between abilities and philosophies they produce records
that reflect their individuality as well as a uniquely collective vision.</div>
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Think about Matt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Matt’s skills are his considerable ability to write non sequitur lyrics
(that somehow add up to more than the sum of their individual parts), his
charismatic live performances and his general all around handsome-manness, not
his vocal prowess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s a rocker and a
shouter and he’s all about emotion and fury (and not a little bit of well caged
drunkenness) and completely unlike anyone else in the band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for sure, his voice
has some pretty strict limitations, especially in range and expression (either
mournful or howling).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But beyond the
obvious limitations Matt’s voice has, it does have a nice tone, especially in
evoking world weariness and a certain haunted restless dissatisfaction; said
milieu suiting the National’s musical aesthetic perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about it, if Matt’s voice were an
instrument of Bubleian grandeur, it would overwhelm all the other aspects of
the band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a case of limitations
becoming strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listen to the
guitars in “All the Wine” supporting Matt’s voice, giving the illusion of
range.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the guitars and bass
providing the color in the chorus while Matt’s haughty baritone is singing the
hell out of the beat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing really
traditional in terms of arrangement, but everything perfectly balanced to
brilliant net affect.</div>
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It is the guitar work of the brothers Dessner that give most
of the National songs their humming power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The carefully accented guitar filigrees and angular guitar lines expand
the melodic reach of the compositions, extending the Beringer baritone from
black and white into vivid Technicolor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Wasp’s Nest” is barely a monotone of a melody but with the ringing
guitars cupping Matt’s voice, the song soars with a generous sprinkling of
sugary Christmas bell beats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“About
Today” is yet another perfect example of this balance between monobaritone and
chiming guitars (with perfectly drawn drum beats providing just a little hope
to move the hopeless song into morning).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But that’s not to say the guitar solo doesn’t have a place in the
National record arsenal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Abel” (tied
with blood buzz for my favorite national song) pins all it’s promise on guitar
god work (and Matt’s most unhinged vocal ever).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would that the Dessners became more regularly unhinged in their
guitar playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But again, would we
want Matt to have to shout all the time to keep the balance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what would the National be if they had
to be a four by four rhythm section providing structural support for guitar god
roof raising?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(pretty much any other
neglected indie band that had their moment in the sun, I’d wager)</div>
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Keyboards in National songs usually play a lot of the same
rolls the guitar figures do, providing melody and breadth, but staying in the
background for the most part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
there are a few National songs that use piano more predominantly if
unconventionally, rolling out rhythmic figures and loping chords against the
outlines of songs like a tuned drum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Really though, it’s the rhythm section and most specifically
the drums that are the not so secret weapon in any National song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether it’s the geese in Beverly Hills,
fake empires, or buzzing in Ohio, the drumming and bass provide the beating heart
to every National song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intricate,
propulsive and always detailed, the brainy drumming never settles on the
obvious beat or approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bass
playing perfectly jumps from melodic to foundational support on a dime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rhythm sections grants a depth and
complexity to the simplest National tune. The brothers Devendorf’s work has
become progressively more pronounced in the mix as the band has grown and has
become more assured and complex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
integral to the National “sound” is the drumming that it’s practically in a
dead heat with Matt’s voice (another slightly less intricately syncopated
monotone) as the single most identifiable aspect of the National sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Now go and listen to your favorite National song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listen for the guitar line or piano line
that opens the song, wait a beat for the insistent hesitant poly playful
drumming contradicting or chasing the melody line around the center of the
song, listen for the burdened hum of Matt’s vocals at the center of the swirl. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The order of introduction, the keys and the
time signature might change just a little, but the elements will all be there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s only a question of the mix and how high
the sky goes and how deep the chaos gets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s always a universe onto itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a National song.</div>
gobeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881508210578908201noreply@blogger.com1