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That was me. In a short review of Maybe Memories, I marveled at lead singer Bert McCracken's ability to scream. Hey, let's face it: sometimes there's nothing more cathartic than a good, throat-shredding yawp.
Well, McCracken can still let it rip. The opening track of In Love And Death, "Take It Away", begins with a sharp, dissonant guitar double-stops followed by a scream punctuating some heavy guitar riffage. It's very similar to the approach taken on the previous record.
But, oh...there is some dissent out there. Take a quick peek at some of the Amazon commentary and you will see that fatal phrase: "sell out". Even worse: "Good Charlotte". Ouch.
To be fair, I did point out that there was quite a range of musical styles on Maybe Memories, and this has not changed. There's the cool,tangled opening riff on "I Caught Fire" (which sounds like a distant cousin to Rush's "Spirit Of Radio"), the bouncy power popish "Cut Up Angels" and the soaring "Yesterday's Feelings", punctuated with acoustic guitars and glockenspiel. Yes kids, not every song is the angst-ridden freight train. Remember, people do change.
It's kinda funny that "I Caught Fire" should remind me (just a little) of "Spirit of Radio". Last night, while reading Neil Peart's Traveling Music, I came across a section where the concepts of sincerity and intent were tossed around by way of a quote from Nick Hornby's Songbook:
Of course, I've got no crystal ball. I wasn't there to see how the Used put this stuff together. Did they intend to "sell out" (whatever that emotionally charged term means)? I don't know.
I do know that much attention to detail has been paid in the lyrics, the artwork (check out creepy Ralph Bakshi-meets-The-Wall stuff of artist Alex Pardee) and the nuanced arrangements. Yes, the screams of "Listening" can exist right next to the sparse structure of "Lunacy Fringe" (built up from a base of acoustic guitar and bass). It does sound like they mean it.
It's my wife's birthday today.
I didn't have time to get her a present. So I got her this house instead.
And, hey, the waitress keeps coming back and asking if I'd like some more. It's just too easy.
Now it's past two o'fricken clock in the morning and I am WIDE awake.
Stupid.
But I left it in the danged car and it's raining chain saws and shoe laces outside (it's cats & dogs a little overused?).
Yea, I know...whine, whine, whine.
The radio was on one day and I heard these lines:
OK, I had no idea what this was about. But at that point it didn't matter as I'd been reeled in by that voice. The song was "Birthday" by the Sugarcubes and the singer was Björk Gudmundsdottir.
Now, I do realize that her voice is an acquired taste (though my acquisition process lasted all of two or three seconds), but it's such a unique instrument. Of all of the "weird mouth noise" female singers (including Nina Hagen, Kate Bush, the Cocteau Twins and Diamanda Galas), Björk seems to strike the right combination of humanity and weirdosity. She can go from a hushed & sexy whisper to a frightening shriek...all the in the same syllable.
At some point after my initial shock (and purchase of that fateful CD Life's Too Good) the Sugarcubes broke up and Björk went on to begin her solo career. Her post-Sugarcubes work has been populated with many stylistic shifts, emphasizing musics as dissimilar as jazz (Gling Glo) and beat-laden electronica (Homogenic).
Now all of the instruments have been jettisoned in favor of the purest one: the human voice. On Medulla, the highly textured layers of Vespertine are transformed into a symphony of vocal cords.
For highlights, let's look at the first four tracks.
On "Pleasure Is All Mine" we have Björk singing a very simple melody (with her own added harmony) before she begins the first verse, which is supported by Mike Patton and the Icelandic Choir. It might seem just a little bit formal if not for the various "voice-lets" that pop in from all angles: whispering, sighing, exhaling and generally providing an edge to the scene. I've read descriptions of the voices sometimes heard by schizophrenics. These could be the musical equivalents.
In a switch that parallels some of her career moves, "Show Me Forgiveness" downshifts to showcase only Björk's voice. With just a smidge of reverb, it's a very expressive instrument.
"Where Is The Line" again changes direction to create a more typical Björk song, with beats created from sampled voices and colored with a Philip Glass-style chorus.
The use of the Icelandic Choir on this record reflects the role that choral music plays in Icelandic culture (a recent New Yorker piece on Björk puts it this way: "If one in ten inhabitants seem to play in a rock band, one in five sings in a choir"). So it's not surprising to come across "Vigil". Icelandic composer Jorunn Vidar's simple and beautiful melody sets the mood for Jakobina Sigurdardottir's poem:
While Björk sings this in her native language, the choir slowly builds a soaring counterpoint. Ever seen a snowflake form in slow motion? This is a soundtrack to that process.
I just can't bring myself to describe any more of the songs on Medulla. Because Björk is such a musical omnivore, her music (especially on this release) is packed with countless moments of discovery. It just doesn't seem right to spoil any more surprises.
Finally, finally!...a live Greg Brown recording that captures his current sound. These recordings were taken from various performances at the Kate Wold Memorial Music Festival.For many years now, Greg has been doing 'solo' shows backed up by the wonderful Bo Ramsey on electric guitar. That particular sound pairing is on full display here as well as some other great support guests including Nina Gerber, Garnet Rogers, Pete Heitzman & Karen Savoca and Shawn Colvin.
Greg's midwestern upbringing has given him very strong feelings about the power of family, community, love and faith. These sentiments shine through is songs like "Wash My Eyes", "Poet Game" and "Two Little Feet":
There's also a great rendition of his classic "Slow Food", a tune about the joys inherent in building a day around the slow and respectful creation of the evening meal. As he puts it, food with "all the love cooked in".
While I'm generally reluctant to bring up politics in the Listen, there is one song that begs to be discussed. I went to a Greg Brown show on the evening of the start of the war in Iraq. A rumour had been circulating on the GB mailing list that Greg had written a song commenting on not just the inevitable war, but on the icy state of our world affairs discourse. I posted the lyrics to "Homeland (I Want My Country Back)" on March 20, 2003. They've changed slightly since then:
As they say, intelligent people may disagree about the current state of affairs. It's just kind of sad to see the blind rage and and inner-directed venom poisoning who we are, or who we want to become.
This is not 'jazz' in the usual sense, but is instead a long set of improvised material. As the liner notes say:
First, let's get to the instrumentation. Bobby Previte on drums and electronics. Charlie Hunter on 8 String Guitar and Osby on alto saxophone.
There is no way to describe the general approach used on this album beyond saying that first an idea is presented and then the group runs with it. On "Antarctic Circle", for instance, Greg Osby begins with with ascending figures that are capped by a single, echo-chambered note (and oh my, I must say that Osby's tone here is just gorgeous...even the valve clicks). Then an edgy call & response begins with his sax and some disturbing sampled sax lines played in the background. Charlie Hunter drops ambient guitar scrapings here and there as Previte slowly brings in percussion. The opening "North Pole" starts with a smudgy sampled chord that Hunter plays a few film-noir notes over. Later on Osby comes in playing some 'phoned in' (as in, it sounds like he's playing them over a telephone) saxophone as Previte provides a little structure with some cymbal work.
With this set of musicians, there just has to be some funk goin' on. That comes with "Arctic Circle", where all three guys lean into it. I'm always amazed to hear Charlie Hunter laying down the low end groove while playing funky chord fragments on top. It's inhuman.
Bobby Previte makes great use of electronics on this record, managing to keep everything sounding organic despite heavy use of the sampler (and I swear I hear a sample of Squarepusher on "Tropic Of Cancer".)
I'd highly recommend Latitude to anybody who is curious about creative improvised music but might have been put off by the "skronk-fests" they've heard. If that's you, I can't guarantee that you'll 'get' all of this...but it will get you thinking.
The point is that it's almost too much fun working on this stuff. Somebody should pay me to do it. Seriously.
Oy, I need some sleep!
P.S. I love it when the smallest guy on the team hits the game-winning home run.
Then The Who's Tommy came into my life and everything changed. Weird, just one album and suddenly I'm hooked on the idea of a concept album. Plus, the music just killed me...as did Quadrophenia, The Wall and Kilroy Was Here (sorry! just seein' if you were paying attention.) Part of the attraction (even though I wasn't a lyrics guy back then either) was the cool way that the music and message themes were interwoven and sometimes periodically restated as the album progressed.
As time went on rock operas and concept albums fell out of fashion. Sort of like art rock. They were seen as pretentious and bloated. Then punk rock exploded and wiped the slate clean. Even though I still listened to my Emerson,Lake & Palmer albums in secret, I gladly rode along with the ripped shirt and safety pin brigade. It felt good.
Now, all these years later, a punk rock opera? Well, why not?
I've been wondering where Green Day was going to go with their three-chord raveups. This particular direction I wouldn't have guessed. Apparently the guys set the mood by listening to some rock opera/concept album classics including Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Rocky Horror and Ziggy Stardust. The result,American Idiot, is a pretty much stunning piece of punk/pop storytelling.
The opening (and title) track rocks hard with that signature Green Day start/stop thing. Where Green Day has made a giant leap forward is with the 9-plus minute "Jesus of Suburbia". Bits of this 'suite' are actually driven by the sound of a piano. Weird (for this band) but effective. But...not as weird as when the glockenspeil comes in to punctuate a few lines. They've defintely torqued their use of dynamics. It's a blast.
Ah, but even the "not a lyrics guy" cannot (or should not) avoid what American Idiot is about. Yessir, this is one angry record.
One word: Alienation.
Alientation and anger and frustration. Yes, the guys in Green Day are not happy with the policies of our government. But it's not that simple. On the one hand you've got those policies and on the other you've got the assumptions made about them. In particular, the idea you must agree with the military actions of our government because it is the right and patriotic thing to do.
Not only is there dissent...but there is the pressure applied on those who dare to say "no". A kind of implied conformity. This is something that is missing from most discussions of the current state of our polarized discourse: the poisonous effects of all of that negative energy focused on the 'other' side. I've even seen dissent described as 'dangerous', being a form of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. When the Soviets close down newpapers of opposition, do we agree with that action? Is our democracy so weak that it can't survive internal debate?
American politics is not the only subject touched on here as there are several characters (St. Jimmy, Whatsername) who stumble their way through what life has to offer. Their stories are drawn to conclusions on "Homecoming" (which other reviewers have likened to The Who's "A Quick One While He's Away", but I think it's closer to London Calling by way of Cheap Trick) and the closing "Whatsername".
In some ways, Green Day took a big chance when they released the song "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)". But in a VH1 segment on the band, Billie Joe Armstrong said that it was probably the most punk move they could have made. I used to agree with that sentiment, until the release of American Idiot.
More fine Blogcritics reviews of American Idiot can be found here and here.
Danged early risers. Hate 'em!
A couple of days ago I listened to this great story on the radio about Dan Zanes (anybody remember the Del Fuegos?). He just put out a record called Parades and Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected by Carl Sandburg. I had never heard of Sandburg's book The American Songbag. Heck, my knowledge of Sandburg never went much past the following: poet, Chicago, fog. I should probably remedy that situation. Apparently, Sandburg was a 'collector' of songs and used to sing some of them after his readings.When I make discoveries like this the first thing that comes to mind is "You know, you still haven't bought any of those Alan Lomax recordings". Yea, I'll remedy that as well.
In the meantime, I do own a copy of this fine recording by Deborah Holland. It's a collection of depression-era songs done up with a very sparse instrumentation set of bass, percussion, harmonica and kalimba.
Deborah Holland? She was the singer for the pop 'supergroup' Animal Logic (with Steward Copeland and Stanley Clarke.) More important, her voice is fabulous..especially on these versions of "Brother Can You Space A Dime" and Woody Guthrie's "Do-Re-Mi". Check it out.
Then Wayward Angel shows up on my doorstep and, just a couple of songs into the first listen, I found myself wishing those two years or so hadn't been 'wasted'. Two years of not having that beautifully textured voice slipping into my ear canals.
Most of the print and internet talk about Chambers tends to make heavy use of two words: country and crossover. While it's true that her music contains elements of pop, folk and country, the 'crossover' label is misleading. First, given the sorry state of modern country music (with the 'country' bits usually consisting of a big hat, boots, weak lyrics and just maybe a few notes of pedal steel), those Nashville/CMT folks could learn a thing or two from this Australian talent. Second, the word 'crossover' sort of implies that the artist has made an effort to move in a particular direction. Chambers disagrees:
And cross over they should, because not only does Chambers have the voice (think Julie Miller, Natalie Maines and Lori McKenna), she's got a way with then pen as well (this coming from the "doesn't care about lyrics" guy.) For me, the killer tune is "Paper Aeroplane". It's written from the point of view of an aging widower...and the images brought tears to my eyes.
The lyrics are sung with simply piano accompaniment, letting Chambers' voice whisper out the emotion. The final verse just slays me:
I can see this happening to my father, or to me.
...And I'm listening to this song at this very moment, and I can't type another word.
Somehow we got to talking about heavy music. I mentioned the Sovereign EP by Neurosis as one of my favorites when in 'the mood'. Eric then pulls out Dopesmoker by Sleep.
Holy cringing inner-ear parts, this music is scary. It is the reference standard for the word 'dirge'. Long, low and distorted bass and power chords. Apparently, this disc is the original music from which Jerusalem was built (much to the band's displeasure.)
All I know is that it's 63 minutes of pure distillation of metal. A sort of Crazy Horse and Black Sabbath reduction sauce.
Because it's a mushroom! Yikes!!! I've never seen one this big before.
Pictures will follow shortly after I wrastle 'em outa the camera.
Odd or unrelated juxtapositions of non-musical objects:
For some reason, I find pairings such as these very thought-provoking. In my mind, the 'opposites' seem to heighten brain activity. It's as though my brain is jump-started into action because the question appears: "How did that happen?"
This phenomenon extends into the realm of music as well. The low, growling, woody tones of a string bass can tell its own singular story. But, add a simple counterpoint, say, the occasional scrape of a wire brush on a Chinaboy cymbal...well, now the the musical possibilities seem limitless. Now I'm really listening!
In the case of jazz pianist Matthew Shipp's latest release, Harmony & Abyss, the jazz trio music (piano, bass & drums) is texturized by the electronics of Chris Flam, who is listed as providing: "slicing, dicing, synths and programming". Yes, slice & dice he does. This is not jazz run through a blender though. In many cases little synthy blurpies pop out of nowhere, providing texture to the goings on ("New ID", "Virgin Complex".) On other 'tunes', a more ambient flavor dominates. "String Theory" sounds like a jazz band playing a bar scene in a David Lynch movie with its shifting sound palette and sinister industrial rhythmic underpinnings. The title (and closing) track revisits this foggy ambiance as well with the bowed bass stating a lone theme while being slowly wrapped in Flam's web. Great stuff.
What with all of this talk of electronics, it shouldn't be forgotten that jazz is still the guiding light for Shipp's group. They manage to avoid coldness (one of the pitfalls of some electro-acoustic musics) while serving a greater good: they swing like you wouldn't believe. Check out "Galaxy 105", where William Parker (bass) and Gerald Cleaver (drums) start off celebrating a killin' walking bassline before Shipp comes in on piano. This ain't no foolin' around!
One more odd combination of objects: Harmony...Abyss.
Harmony & Abyss will be released on September 28th, 2004.
Oh yea! Medeski Martin & Wood team up with Dust Brother John King (Beastie's Paul's Boutique, Beck's ODelay, just to name a couple) to produce one big pile of deep groovin' fun(k): End of the World Party (Just In Case).I've been listening to these guys since way back when I saw them perform "Chubb Subb" (from Friday Afternoon in the Universe) on some late night show (Dennis Miller? Conan?)
Over the years they've taken the organ/bass/drums sorta-jazz format and spun it into something pretty danged unique. More recently, they've been adopted by the jam band scene, causing some to dismiss them as just another group of hippie-pleasin' noodlers (and as much as I feel the urge to defend both hippies and noodling, now is not the time...maybe next week.) That's really too bad as MMW's jazz roots run deep. Proof? Check out Tonic, an improvised live set.
So no big epiphany for this week's Listen. I've just been sucked into the butt-shakin' grooves. Hey, it happens. Oh yea...and a couple of extra points for the appearance of guitar madman Marc Ribot on a few tracks.
NOT!
As reported earlier, we mark our end of summer with the yearly Southside Johnny show at Hampton Beach's Casino Ballroom. And, as usual, we were not disappointed.Well, maybe just a little bit...being a native New Englander, it is my birthrigth to complain about the weather no matter what the season. So lemme just say that for September 5th, it was just a little too cool outside. Heck, during dinner we had to abandon our ourdoor table because the wind had come up and the temps had dipped down toward 60. Now, I tend to like it cool (my usual complaining-New Englander stance is to crab about it being too hot for most of the summer), but that was a little too much.
Anyway...all of the cool weather hooey was soon forgotten as opener Rock E. Rollins exploded from the stage with a very cool, rockin' and loud version of the Theme From Batman. As Rollins continued his set, I began to get that "who is this guy?" feeling. It's the pork pie hat that's makin' me think. At one point he asks if anyone remembers The Stompers...and that he wrote most of the songs for them. This before playing the big Stompers hit "Never Tell An Angel". Ah, right...now I remember. It's actually Sal Baglio! In addition to some very cool new tunes, he also played a cover of The Archies' "Sugar, Sugar". Funny how songs you thought were bubblegum tossoffs seem different when coming out of nostalgia street.
A short break followed the Rollins set and then The Jukes hit the stage blazing. I tell ya, there's nothing like a horn section blasting through a big PA system. Much of the material played came from Southside's latest record Going to Jukesville. Mixed in were "new favorites" from Better Days, as well as some very cool covers including the Allman's "One Way Out", the Left Banke classic "Walk Away Renee" and a couple of Little Walter tunes.
As for the classic Jukes tunes, there were many including: I Played The Fool, Talk To Me, This Time It's For Real, Fever, Trapped Again and, of course, I Don't Want To Go Home (during which we totally embarassed the wife's son#1 by partaking in much dancing, shimmying and arm-raising.)
There were a couple of surprises too. The first was that they ended the set with "Hearts of Stone". I guess if I had played "Having A Party" as many times as these guys surely have, I'd want to switch things up too. The second (and bigger) surprise was the appearance of "I Remember Last Night". This is a tune from the eponymous Jukes record and was a favorite of my crowd back during college. There's something about that line "The Door Flew Open" that made us want to fling our young selves high in the air (especially after a few beverages.)
The complete setlist follows.
David Gray if he actually wanted to rock a little?
This is a tough one. I'm having a hard time pinning down who exactly Dan Dyer reminds me of. Not the music (I'll get to that later), but the voice. It's a high, reedy instrument that tends to slip into a mild vibrato only at the tail end of phrases. Better still, Dyer appears to know what to do with it. He's able to communicate sadness, love and hopefulness with soul and energy. Maybe it's because the music doesn't get in his way...
OK, here's the whole story. Dyer, a mostly unknown Austin-based singer/songwriter, is discovered by Lenny Kravitz. Kravitz signs him to his new label, "Roxie" (named for his late mom, the TV actress Roxie Roker.) On Of What Lies Beneath Kravitz plays the role of producer and band, playing most of the instruments (with Dyer and Craig Ross occasionally adding guitars.) Now, I'm a pretty big fan of Kravitz when he leans toward the pop side of things. "Let Love Rule" was a great song. Man, I just loved that descending vocal on the chorus. On this record, Lenny's pop side is on display. Check out the rubbery bassline that drives the verses of "Great Ocean".
Still, it's Dan Dyer's songwriting and vocals that are center stage here. There are fine pop/rock tunes (the opener "Red Alert" and "She Makes Me Believe") as well as songs that are out of the singer/songwriter thing ("Not Of This World" and "Space Alien"...well, until it boils over anyway.)
If this is the kind of artist Kravitz intends to bring to his label, I'd say Roxie has a bright future. Dan Dyer may be one of the most promising musicians I've seen coming from anywhere near a major label in quite some time.
Every year, right around labor day, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes bring their show to the New Hampshire seacoast's Casino Ballroom. For some of us, the event marks the end of summer.
But what a way to close it out! We're looking forward to Saturday night.
The live Southside record was a staple throughout the college experience. It's a great example of what the Jukes sounded like in their earlier years. Plus, the live versions of the classics "I'm So Anxious", "Talk To Me", "I Don't Want To Go Home", "The Fever" and "Having A Party" clearly trump the studio versions. It's the Southside album to own.
Better Days is a sort of Asbury Park reunion record, with the musical cast including: Max Weinberg, Gary Tallent, Little Steven (who turns in some fine guitar solos), Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. This album came out in 1991 and returned Southside to the top of his game. Just take a listen to "It's Been A Long Time", with the vocal quartet of Southside, Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Miami Steve. It's the real deal.
It gave me hope that the future holds something positive for all of us.
It was a celebration of our humanity, of our sincere and uplifting outlook for tomorrow's world.
While danger swirls around us, there's a glimmer of hope that the tide is turning....
Boston Red Sox 4, Anaheim Angels 3.
It was a Sedan DeVille equipped with a set of low profile tires and those shiny chrome wheels. Didn't get to see who owned. Probably a good thing, 'cuz I woulda probably started laughin' at them.
But, hey, it sure was a fun evening of baseball.
