R.I.P. – Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse
Mar 9th
I’m a little late to the draw here, but over the weekend a relatively little known artist named Mark Linkous, better known as Sparklehorse, took his own life in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 47 years young. That is a real shame. It was allegedly set off by a text message. How would you like to be the sender? No thanks. I hope it was worth it. Reports say it was roughly 1:20 PM in the afternoon when this all happened so we’d like to believe this wasn’t some alcohol or drug fueled spur of the moment decision. Then again most of us don’t lose our composure over a text message. I’m not passing judgment here though. It may a Wonderful Life, but each of us has our own crosses to bear. I’m turning 50 years young myself next Monday. I never ever dreamed of being this old and yet here we are. Now life gets interesting.
My first exposure to Sparklehorse was in 1995 when I came across a copy of Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. I heard the song called “Rainmaker” on the radio just one time before I jumped on board the Sparklehorse train. I instantly added it to my mixed cut cassette tape empire because I liked it so much. The title of the record was a mouthful and a pain in the neck to deal with, but I’m sure it was intended to draw attention to the release. On that count it seems like it was successful. I was, and still am, impressed with Sparklehorse. It’s a real shame Mark decided to pack it in, but it was not the first time he displayed a certain instability. In 1996 he nearly lost both legs after overdosing on a lethal combination of drugs while on tour with Radiohead. He recovered after spending some six months in a wheelchair and, as it turns out, lived another 14 years.
Sparklehorse was essentially a one man outfit. It was a setup not unlike Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails except that the Sparklehorse sound bordered on Stoner Indie music. I don’t know if that category exists, but it does now. Mark’s music was sometimes hard to pin down and describe. It had some of that jangly Alt Country Wilco feel to it at times, but it could be as spacey as, say, Catherine Wheel too. I loved it because it was way off the beaten path. Sparklehorse didn’t get a lot of radio airplay so whatever audience it had built up was based word of mouth. Their music was mesmerizing to listen to because they didn’t have to adhere to any genre or record company directive. It’s not the kind of thing you throw into your CD player to get you pumped up for an event, but it had its place among the reflective late night set. It’s not going to rock you to your feet, but it was easy to get lost in the trippy feeling embedded in the melodies. I don’t know a thing about recording vocals, but I’m assuming he is singing through some kind of device that alters his voice a tad. It’s dreamy and hypnotic at times.
Nobody has any concrete answers for suicide. I’m pretty sure everybody contemplates it at some point or another, but reason and good sense usually rule the day. Everybody has demons, but most of us keep them at bay. I wish everybody could. Mark was obviously very talented and I wince every time I hear about suicide, but it’s particularly galling when someone with so much to offer the masses makes that decision. This guy is going to be missed, plain and simple and it sure doesn’t seem like it had to be this way. I hope whatever afterlife may exist makes Mark a happier man and I’m really sorry he felt like he had to go now. Rest in Peace.
I’m leaving you folks with a couple of Sparklehorse favorites. You can track them down on 1995’s Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, 1998’s Good Morning Spider and 2001’s It’s a Wonderful Life. I’m also tacking on their wonderful cover of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. That one is from a 2001 Promo only called Chest Full of Dying Hawks which may be hard to locate. I hope you like them.
Sparklehorse – Wish You Were Here.mp3
Sparkelhorse – Wish You Were Here.mp3 YSI
Buy or download It’s a Wonderful Life from Amazon here.
My Insipid Record Collection – Genesis
Mar 6th
They say March either comes in like a lion or a lamb. From the looks of this early March day here in Massachusetts, we’ve got the look and feel of lamb big time. Not too many records revolve around lambs, but I found this chestnut from Peter Gabriel era Genesis to discuss today. I don’t know how many of you are old enough to understand how great early Genesis really was, but I have to give some education here a shot. For those of you who feel like Genesis began with advent of their last decent record, 1981’s Abacab, we have a lot to talk about this afternoon.
I have very little interest in Pop Genesis. I have even less interest in Phil Collins’ solo career. I tried hard to follow Phil through his first two solo records, 1981’s Face Value and 1982’s Hello, I Must Be Going, but after that I bailed in a big way. Each of these records had something of redeeming quality in my opinion. I thought Phil and his Genesis lite solo Face Value record was listenable until radio began abusing “I Missed Again” and “In The Air Tonight.” I still like his version of The Beatle’s classic “Tomorrow Never Knows,” but by and large Face Value is forgettable fluff. No offense Phil. I’ll have more to say positive about the 1976-1980 Phil Collins led Genesis period in a minute. Hello, I Must Be Going had at least one track I loved in “Like China,” but that was cancelled out by the Supreme’s cover “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Look, I’m a huge Diana Ross & The Supreme’s fan myself, I heard “Love Child” in the dentist’s chair not three days ago and was loving it, but there is something about covering the Supreme’s that seems to fail most of the time. The J. Geils Band covered a few of them with less than type results in my opinion. I will say that both Rod Stewart and Vanilla Fudge did fantastic versions of “You Keep Me Hanging On” though. It’s such a great song it’s hard to screw it up, but I’m sure some folks have.
I have to say that I even liked Phil’s 1984 duet with Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey called “Easy Lover,” as poppy as it was. But when No Jacket Required surfaced in 1985 I totally lost it. Phil Collins went on to become one of the most successful solo artists of the 80’s, but I wasn’t among the faithful. I was working at WBCN at the height of his popularity and they just crushed that record. I couldn’t stand it. I’m aware he was probably able to retire based on that one record, but songs like “One More Night” and “Take Me Home” went right through me. I remember that track “Against All Odds” from the soundtrack of the movie was the last straw. I guess the women loved that sort of thing, but not me. I had to divorce Phil. The thing is, I had a lot of respect for the way he pulled up Genesis from the crushing loss of then lead singer Peter Gabriel (who went on to have a pretty fair solo career in his own right he said with a trace of sarcasm…Gabriel is and was tremendous). Few folks really know or remember how great the first five post Gabriel Genesis records really were. A Trick of The Tail, Wind & Wuthering, …And Then There Were Three, Duke and Abacab are all fantastic records. Really. They all had just enough of the original sound to be more than credible. My hat is still off to Collins for picking up lead singer duties and releasing such quality in the wake of the loss of Gabriel.
When you talk about Progressive Rock most folks think King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Pink Floyd for the most part. Chances are, most folks that have a copy of, say, 1986’s Invisible Touch do not have a copy of 1971’s Nursery Cryme or 1972’s Foxtrot. That is a crime in my book, but Progressive Rock isn’t for everyone I guess. Even the most diehard Prog Rock fans probably wondered where Genesis was headed with 1969’s From Genesis To Revelation and 1970’s Trespass. These two records definitely forshadowed vintage Genesis, but it wasn’t until Phil Collins came aboard just before Nursery Cryme that Genesis began to really take shape. It might have been a natural progression, to coin a phrase, and Collins just happened to be Philly on the spot, but whatever the case, Genesis definitely had an identity by 1971. I’m no expert on Progressive Rock, but I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe).
Long time Genesis fans will probably tell you their sweet spot was from 1971 to 1975. 1973’s Selling England By The Pound is probably the high point of that era, but 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is in the discussion. I can remember not really discovering Genesis until many years later. I had heard great songs like “Your Own Special Way” and “Follow You, Follow Me” over the latter part of the 70’s, but I really didn’t own a Genesis record until I got to Emerson College. First, I taped 1980’s Duke off of the radio, but it was two of my close friends who pointed me back in time to earlier Genesis. My friend Richard, whom I roomed with for a couple of years, was a fellow NJ boy who just loved Genesis. He turned me onto the previous eight or nine records because he just would not stop playing them. My friend Jefferson, a native of a suburb of Philadelphia, shared Richard’s zeal for Genesis though I’m not quite sure they were ever really friends at Emerson. Jefferson sort of took over tutoring me on the greatness of Genesis after Richard left town after graduating in 1982. He went on to be a big time Emmy Award winner at ESPN. Jefferson and I became friends in 1979 while sharing a class, but we bonded more over our mutual love of Jethro Tull than Genesis at first. Soon after though, I had it drilled into me that Selling England By The Pound was more than a decent record.
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is a sprawling double record that might well have benefited from some editing. I don’t say this to disparage, but sometimes double LPs can go on a bit long. If they had been released as a single record they can garner accolades that double albums have trouble getting sometimes. If nobody had the patience to sit through a double album back then, today it’s foolhardy to have a CD with more than nine songs on it seems. I saw a feature on Coldplay on 60 Minutes and if I remember correctly Chris Martin’s rule for Coldplay records is no more than nine songs. That kind of stuck with me. If your CD has 14 tracks you can bet folks are almost always least familiar with the last few tracks. Back in the day you played a 20 minute album side and if you had time you flipped the record. You could also go onto to another record entirely. Today you either play single mp3 tracks or lose interest in a CD after half an hour or whatever. The music business faces so many hurdles these days I can’t even cover them in one post.
OK, I’ve reached the 1200 word count in my post. Time to wrap it up. I have no off switch so I try to keep the posts within reason because I know many of them are never read anyway. If you made it this far, thank you. Peter Gabriel led Genesis unraveled for a number of reasons, but suffice to say the usual creative control and perceived lead singer more important than the band issues in addition to personal problems (including divorce) plagued the band around this time. The parting was amicable for the most part. It did seem that the theatrics and costumes started to detract from the music as time went on, but then again those very theatrics and costumes are part of what made Genesis so intriguing. And it should be said, reluctantly, that Genesis, post 1980 and still led by Phil Collins even with all the personnel changes over the years, was the most financially successful version of Genesis. Invisible Touch might have been their highest charting record, but no way was it their best. I’m leaving you with three of my favorites from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. Happy March.
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.mp3
Genesis – The Carpet Crawlers.mp3
Genesis – The Carpet Crawlers.mp3 YSI
Buy or download The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway from Amazon here.
My Insipid Record Collection – Kiss
Feb 28th
The last few days have been kind of trying for me. Anyone who has ever suffered back pain can surely relate. I literally could not sit in my chair to communicate with you folks for the past two or three days. The truth is I shouldn’t be sitting here now, but it’s the last day of February and I need to get in one more post. I must have watched five movies this weekend flat on my back. It’s incredibly frustrating, but I feel like I’m on the mend finally. It’s a chronic injury, but it only knocks me flat maybe twice a year and it usually stems from too much time at the computer. I’ve given up, for the most part, playing basketball and competitive softball, so there is nothing really standing in my way from relatively good health provided I don’t sit here for ten hours at a clip ignoring the discomfort in my back. Wish me luck going forward. I wouldn’t wish this kind of discomfort on my worst enemy.
Speaking of things not very Rock & Roll, The Giant Panther and I had plans to go see Black Joe Lewis at a local bar here in the Boston area last night. The GP grabbed the tix and invited me along and everything. Well, he came down with a scratched cornea, which is right next to debilitating back pain as far as weathering a light show at a rock concert goes, so I was overjoyed when he called me to cancel. For the record though, I was going to force it if necessary. That’s Rock & Roll.
OK, I’m sure this post won’t go down big with the Indie crowd, but here goes just the same. I had big plans for at least half a dozen other love fest related posts this month, but I think I lost my mojo. Sorry, watched Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me last night again out of boredom. Heather Graham really puts the “Ger” in Swinger baby, yeah! Anyway, I had a number of posts lined up to put forth this month which will now remain on the back burner. With my last chance to produce something this month I decided to post about Kiss for fun and games.
When I was a kid of maybe 14 I watched Kiss perform on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. For those of you who have never heard of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, shave about eight years off of the age of MTV and sprinkle in footage of real concerts. Rock hungry kids like me couldn’t wait to see who was going to be on Don Kirshner. It wasn’t like waiting for the musical guest on Ed Sullivan, The Smother’s Brothers or Saturday Night Live; this was a real rock concert. The show as 90 minutes, if memory serves and frequently had more than one guest. Don’t quote me, but that was the format I remember. The first show was a 1973 performance of The Rolling Stones. Much like Soul Train and other TV shows in strange (to rock musicians) formats, early on Kirshner’s team had to beg rock acts to be on the show. Not long after the show began, rock acts were begging Kirshner.
Kiss, a band that seems to have as many detractors as fans, was a very unique made for TV band because of their unusual makeup. These guys weren’t just mimicking Alice Cooper or The New York Dolls with a little makeup. You literally would have a tough time identifying them on the street without it. They painted their entire faces. Not one speck of natural flesh to be had. For me the interest was immediate; the first song I think heard them do was “Strutter,” which was the first track on their debut album. From there they did, and believe me this is all from memory because I can’t document this stuff; “Nothin’ To Lose” and ”Firehouse.” Sold. I watched their makeup slowly melt off their faces during the performances and I wanted the record. I still have the original cassette I bought back in 1974. Pretty soon you had friends from school carrying Kiss lunch boxes and declaring their membership in the Kiss Army.
The merits of their actual music aside, Kiss is arguably the most financially successful band of all time. I don’t have any facts to back up that statement, but these guys were the first act signed to Buddah Records subsidiary Emerald City Records (later changed to Casbalanca Records). Buddah, you probably will not recall, was home to a zillion Bubblegum acts like 1910 Fruitgum Company or The Ohio Express. Kiss had an almost instant following and I’m guessing a big portion of that had to do with the exposure they received as a result of their appearance on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. The makeup thing was remarkably catchy. Pretty there were Halloween costumes, lunch boxes, solo albums, comic books, Army memberships, posters, caricatures, figurines and everything under the sun. It was pretty incredible. Still, without 1975’s double album Kiss Alive!, I wonder if they could have really sustained. Make all the fun you want of Kiss, Kiss Alive! was one of the hugest live albums ever released when it came out. If Frampton Comes Alive hadn’t been released the following year I dare say it might be looked upon as the live album of the decade.
One thing is for sure, if it hadn’t been released, Casablanca Records would probably have been forced to declare bankruptcy. Later on they signed Donna Summer and were able to stabilize fairly well, but it was touch and go before the nation got a handle on Kiss mania. In all fairness to their detractors, I was a hard core Kiss fan for maybe three records. There was always something I liked on their first ten records or so, but I was not a face painter. No way. I didn’t even see them live until about 13 years ago at New Haven Coliseum and even then it was my friend Richard who dragged me along. It was probably twenty years too late, but I had a blast.
I do want to say that I loved this first record. I still do. Big time stars have reworked some of the songs from this record like Lenny Kravitz (Deuce) and The Replacements (Black Diamond), but it clearly struck a chord with folks my age at the time. It’s easy to dismiss them as kid’s music or whatever, but if they hadn’t recorded another note after their debut I would still feel compelled to post about them. My three favorite songs on the record are probably ”Deuce, Cold Gin and Black Diamond,” but if you like those tracks you’ll probably like the whole record. Hotter Than Hell, released later that year and Dressed To Kill, released in 1975 (they either had not mastered the art of milking the previous record for all that it was worth or they wanted to get while the getting was good) all produced the lion’s share of the songs that appeared on Kiss Alive! From there it was a matter of milking the money machine. Between the makeup, the spitting of blood, the fireworks, the breathing of fire Kiss was a sight to behold in concert. They ended up selling 100 million records worldwide and probably the same amount of DVDs. Staggering. Talk about making the most out of your ability.
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never seen Family Jewels or own every record these guys ever put out, but give me fifteen songs and let me have my fun. They call me Doctor Love indeed. Are they in my top 100 bands of all time? No, but hats off to Kiss original members Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley for knifing through the constant criticism and achieving monumental success. It’s so Rock & Roll. Here endeth the month of February 2010. Sealed with a Kiss…
Buy or download Kiss from Amazon.com here.
Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Feb 23rd
OK, it’s kind of cheating to file this under “Lost Classics”, Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is regarded by many music fans as one of the most important indie/lo-fi/folk albums of all time. As a side note, it also happens to be one of Mrs. Giant Panther’s favorites of all time as well. Some may be turned off initially by the sound, but most will quickly realize what a jaw dropping experience it can be to listen to this album front to back.
Originally released in 1998, this album was way ahead of it’s time, and one could hear now just how many bands this album must have influenced, The Decemberists come to mind, Sufjan Stevens.
Not many can argue with the absolute beauty of this album, and the real trick is winning the beauty contest while being the ugliest contestant in the pageant. Most would not label band leader and mastermind behind NHM Jeff Magnum’s voice as one of the technically great of our generation. Some would even go so far as to label his voice something just short of “shouldn’t be singing”. But for others, this is one of the finely cut puzzle pieces that make this album a true masterpiece. I could go on all day about all the little nuances that make this album tick, the overdriven guitar that if misplaced, could go horribly wrong, or the musical saws in harmony, the horn sections, the list goes on and on.
Like most masterpieces, the creator himself would never be able to go back and do it again. That’s part of the magic, that brings a series of intentional moves, unplanned mistakes, and inspired improvisations together to form something near perfection. That’s not meant to discount the genius it took to make this album, the songwriting, especially the lyricism is pure genius.
There are songs on this album that strike a chord differently with every listener. For me, it’s “The King of Carrot Flowers”, leading into the title track “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea”. It brings me back to when I was a young, only child, sitting under my favorite tree and asking so many questions, wondering what the hell I was here for, when were my parents going to split, what was happening to my grandparents, what happens when you die. Then to the first time I started learning about some of the things I had to look forward to between my time under my tree and my last few breaths, realizing these are the things that make up for the cruel fate I often dreaded. Like the face of the first girl you kiss, learning how amazing sex was, before we took it for granted, the time you realize you’re looking at the face of the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Realizing the only true way to enjoy life is not to look back or to look forward, but just to look at the exact moment your in and enjoy the hell out of it.
OK I’m starting to trail off, the beauty of this album is it does just that for so many, evokes for each listener a very specific memory or emotion, or new appreciation for the painful beauty of life.
If you’ve never heard this album, or maybe it’s been a few years since you sat down and just listened, I hope you enjoy as much as I do every time you put it on. I’ll leave you with my favorite line from the album.
“And one day we will die, and our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea. But for now we are young, let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see.”
MP3: Neutral Milk Hotel – The King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1
MP3: Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Download In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
My Insipid Record Collection – The Lovemakers
Feb 21st
I ran into The Lovemakers a couple of years back while surfing the end of year lists. They are an Oakland, CA based act that has been around maybe eight years or so by now. I had never heard of them until somebody put their CD Times of Romance in their best of 2005 list. I have to admit, without condoning anything remotely close to YouPorn, that I kind of liked the CD jacket artwork. I mean, if you are going to call yourself The Lovemakers, by all means, have some fun with it for crying out loud. I have read that Scott Blonde and Lisa Light (those absolutely sound like their original names…I’m sure of it) are the two main members of this sometime trio, sometime foursome. It has been written that they were tossed out of their previous band, Applesaucer (man it’s gotta be tough coming up with original band names huh?) for making out during practice. I’m all for a couple being unable to keep their hands off each other, especially during the designated month of love here, but there is a time and place for everything. The good news is, if that is even true, is that they have talent and things seemed to work out for them.
According to our friends at Wikipedia this band took its name from the Japanese film The Weird Lovemakers. I’ve never seen this film, but I’m sure it has merit. The Lovemakers (I’m assuming Light Blonde or Well Lit Blonde were already taken…speaking of shaky band names…I can play that game too I guess) released a self titled record in 2003 and Times of Romance in 2005. In 2007 they released an EP called Misery Loves Company and followed that up with a full length CD called Let’s Be Friends in September of 2009. I sure hope that last one isn’t an autobiographical account of the state of their relationship. Everyone knows men and women can’t really be friends if one of them still harbors feelings for the other, which I’d venture to say is, oh, 95% of the time. The breakup was mutual, yeah right. I don’t mean to say that Blonde and Light are not still an item, but it is a curious title for a Lovemakers CD don’t you think? Maybe that is just the point no? Keep ‘em guessing. Do you think Jack and Meg White are sister and brother still?
I don’t have a lot of information on The Lovemakers to share with you. According to their web site (www.thelovemakers.com) they are touring behind Let’s Be Friends as we speak. I was sifting through some of what is written about Times of Romance on Amazon.com and found out Light is a Standford graduate. She’s a lot smarter than I am already. As for bands they might sound like names have been thrown out like Human League, The Killers and or The Postal Service. Well, I’m a Human League fan, but those guys were more techno than New Wave sounding. Human League has a really catchy sound to them that went beyond the brilliant single “Don’t You Want Me.” I wouldn’t say they have much in common, but that is only my opinion. There is some techno there, but not like Human League.
The Killers? Man, how great were The Killers until they released a second and third record? Those guys better figure something out because one more “Human” (which to me is the equivalent of Peter Frampton releasing “I’m in You” after all that great music with Humble Pie and his solo career) and they’ll be irreparable damage to their brand. So many people love this band to a fault (including my local Alt Rock station WFNX), but I think they are headed in the wrong direction. The Postal Service is about the closest thing to The Lovemakers here, but definitely different. I absolutely loved that Postal Service record, but The Lovemakers rock a bit harder. I’m sure there are other comparisons, but I haven’t digested Let’s Be Friends at all yet. I’ll get there. I’ve always liked the male-female vocal back and forth so it’s not hard to see why I like The Lovemakers. It doesn’t take much if a female vocalist is talented.
I wanted to do a post about Times of Romance because it is a sexy record and it is a sexy month. I’m posting “Prepare For The Fight, Shake That Ass and Dance.” If you have never heard of these guys I’m betting you will like these tracks. If, on the other hand, I am five years behind the times, I apologize. Better late than never I figure.
I’m running out of days in February and have more ideas than days left so I’ll have to save some for February of 2011. Can you believe the Y2K scam is Ten Years Gone already? I remember battening down the hatches that New Year’s Eve in case my computer exploded. Pretty funny now that you think about it. The argument for preparation sounded pretty logical at the time, but it sounded kind of shaky. Not unlike Global Warming I guess, but I’d sure love access to Al Gore’s bank account. Did I just say something political? I hate that. Please ignore.
The Lovemakers – Prepare For The Fight.mp3
The Lovemakers – Shake That Ass.mp3
The Lovemakers – Shake That Ass.mp3 YSI
Buy of download Time of Romance from Amazon.com here.
R.I.P. – Bon Scott (Died 2-19-1980)
Feb 19th
I don’t like to post twice about the same band if I can help it (particularly when the band is not a favorite of The Giant Panther’s), but I did want to mention that today is the 30th anniversary of the death of one time AC/DC lead singer Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott. Born in July of 1946 in Scotland, Bon was found asphyxiated in a car in the East Dulwich section of London, England on this date in 1980. You want to throttle the greats; Bonham, Moon, Morrison, Bolan, Hendrix, etc for living recklessly and cutting short such promise, but the truth is it could be any of us, particularly when we’re young and have the illusion of invincibility. If you’ve ever overestimated your body’s ability to absorb alcohol in a given situation you know very well what I’m talking about. One minute you think you have it covered, the next…
At 33 chances are at least some lessons have been absorbed by mere mortals, but nobody I know really knows what it’s like to be a rock star. The pressures, the temptations, the travel, the lack of sleep and or diet, the one upmanship…who knows if he would have survived if someone had carried him out of that automobile, but it’s still a shame all these years later. That goes for Janis, Kurt and all the rest too. The Lennons and the Vaughans you can almost get a handle on, but not the self inflicted ones. Those are crushers. It can very frustrating, but what in life isn’t?
No need to delve into details, history or a discussion of lead singers or anything else…I just wanted to post a couple of songs I’m still a big fan of to this day by a man who sure looked like he was having a good time while he was here with us…maybe too good a time as it turns out. I was trying to figure out a way to keep this post within my own love, romance, Valentine’s Day monthly guidelines here and then it hit me…Bon Scott was once in a bad called the Valentines! Mission accomplished.
AC DC – Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer.mp3
AC DC – Down Payment Blues.mp3
AC DC – Girls Got Rhythm.mp3 YSI
Buy or download Bonfire from Amazon.com here.
My Insipid Record Collection – Bruce Springsteen
Feb 17th
Hope you enjoyed that Valentine’s Day smorgasbord of tunes the other day. I’ll be doing that again next year for fun. Hope I still can find that notebook with the pages of songs again. It’s still February and we’re still talking romance. I never dreamed, being from NJ and all, that of all the Bruce Springsteen records I’d be posting about 1987’s Tunnel of Love would ever stand a fighting chance. I read, over on Wikipedia, that Q Magazine once voted it the 91st best record of all time. That is lunacy as far as I’m concerned. Where did this alleged sample poll take place? AsburyPark? I’m sure to catch some Springsteen wrath here, but to me, Tunnel of Love was the dividing line between his great records and his merely good records. I’m a fan of Tunnel of Love, no doubt, but it was here that he took his foot off the gas pedal it seemed. There were moments after this, and I’m not counting his Live 1975-1985 box set, which was brilliant, when he seemed to regain the old Springsteen fire, but by and large the mellow Bruce Springsteen was the norm after 1984’s Born in The U.S.A.
I love the track “Local Hero” from 1992’s Lucky Town and I thought 2002’s The Rising was a great record, but I’m not all that enamored of the Nebraska style Springsteen. We only need one of those for my money. I’m a rocker. The Ghost of Tom Joad (love that Rage Against The Machine cover), Devils and Dust and The SeegerSessions are nice records if you want to totally chill out, but those aren’t my favorite Springsteen records. Not even close. I don’t mean to say they are bad records because they aren’t, but I Wanna Rock. I made a decision to skip those tours and people came back raving about them, but with maybe 15 Springsteen shows under my belt, I had other fish to fry. I will say that the only show I ever got shut out of was Bruce Springsteen at whatever they were calling Boston Garden back in 2002 during The Rising tour. I only needed a single and there just wasn’t anything decent around. And they wanted $400 for that ticket. I’m not afraid to pay the big money for a good seat, but I had to pass on what that less than stellar citizen was pedaling that night. I turned tail and went home. It had never happened before, at any event and it’s a black mark on scalping my record to this day. Hope that dude ate the ticket, but I doubt it…
I grew up in New Jersey, as I have mentioned many times here in the past, but it was not on the shore. We used to go to Point Pleasant or Wildwood in the 70’s as kids with the family, but I was maybe 10 or 11. By the time we were cutting school to drive an hour and a half to the beach it was 1977 or so. We’d head for Asbury Park or even Atlantic City, get a mad sunburn and then deny it all when it would give us away. The truth is I moved away in the fall of 1978 to Boston and give or take a couple of early summers, I never went back. New Jersey gets a bad rap; it’s the butt of jokes and people think of The New Jersey Exit 16W Nets, but it was a great place to grow up. I got into just enough trouble not to get caught and or derail my apparent aspirations of complete mediocrity. There are no do-overs in life, but I doubt I’d do all that much differently. I’d still get flattened by the same three women, I’d probably wish I was a DJ a major metropolitan radio station while radio still mattered and I’d probably have still headed for the nearest college in a big city far enough away to escape routine family commitments. If I die alone, so be it. I’ve had a blast and I Frank Sinatra’ed it.
Regarding Bruce, we did come here to discuss him didn’t we?, I first became aware of him as a result of my best friend’s older sister having a copy of Springsteen’s 1973 LP Greetings From Asbury Park. I wasn’t completely blown away by it, but I loved (and still love to this day) “Spirit in The Night, Growin’ Up, It’s Hard To Be a Saint in The City and For You.” The record has grown on me more as I age, but I wasn’t thinking about the Future of Rock & Roll as the famous quote goes. I didn’t even really pay any attention to The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle until many years later. If I could drop kick one song out of the Springsteen catalogue into oblivion a candidate might be “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight).” I understand why people like it, but I used to man the door at The Bull & Finch Pub, better known by some as the bar the show “Cheers” was based on, and the bar manager would not let up on this song…ever. The only song that may have come close is Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” I’ve just heard it one too many times I’m afraid, but I still love the old timey feel of “(4th of July, Asbury Park) Sandy” and “Kitty’s Back” so it’s not like I don’t own the record. It’s just that I don’t play it very often anymore.
What followed those two 1973 records is legend, pure and simple. Born To Run, Darkness On The Edge of Town, The River, Nebraska and Born in The U.S.A. all made Springsteen a household name. He was able to sustain Superstar status all the way into the Madonna, Prince and U2 eras. Today, a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Bruce is known for putting on the best live shows you might ever want to see. The good news is women love him. I remember buying two tickets to the 1980 River tour at Boston Garden. I was attending Emerson College at the time and I used to sit the security desk at one of the dorms as part of my work-study program. I must have been hauling in $45 a week, but you could buy anything with an American Express card…or more probably my mother’s Visa Card back in those days. The reason I tell the story is I asked out this girl, we’ll call her Cindy, who lived there and she accepted. I had no idea of the kind of effect a Springsteen concert had on women, let alone on me. I behaved myself that evening and was justly rewarded within the week and I owe it all to Bruce Springsteen. You can bet I was paying attention now…
Bruce has a long and storied history, so I don’t feel the need to go over every record or song. Everybody has their favorites, but I’m a “She’s The One, Adam Raised a Cain, Candy’s Room” kind of guy myself. I went and saw him last summer at Great Woods in Mansfield, MA, or whatever crappy name they are calling it now and had a ball. I showed up, scalped a ticket, went back to my car, opened the trunk, pulled out a beach chair, poured a libation and began talking to a couple in the next car over. It was their first time. I was excited for them and Bruce didn’t let us down.
Tunnel of Love, as some of you may remember, basically told the story of his love affair (and eventual marriage to) actress Julianne Phillips. I look at it more of a celebration of what he had thought he had found versus a blow by blow of the deteriorating relationship, but I’ve been wrong before. The bottom line is that there were some good songs on this record. As always I was looking at the quasi rockers like “Spare Parts” and “One Step Up” as opposed to “Brilliant Disguise” or “All That Heaven Will Allow.” This was not an East Street Band record officially and that is part of my issue I suppose, but I don’t begrudge Mr Springsteen for doing what he wanted at the time. Lord knows he had already provided me withenough great music to last me. I thought it was a phase…and I’m sure The East Street Band did too, but it lasted all the way until the 9/11 catastrophe. I’m very thankful he reunited that band so we could do it all over again. I can afford to see him now, well at least before the economy collapsed, but of course ticket prices are no longer $10 a whack either so I suppose it’s relative. And don’t think I didn’t notice “Valentine’s Day” on this record as I was doing my post the other day, but I just couldn’t fit it in. I could do it here, but what would that leave us with next year?…
OK, I better shut up now because I’m sure what I write rarely gets read by the surfing for MP3s crowd much anyway. If they have to scroll down two pages to get the goodies they might move on. To summarize; Tunnel of Love had it’s positives and it’s melancholy, but I don’t see how anyone could rate it in the top 100 records of all time. That said, Bruce is a five star performer and the ladies love him. It doesn’t suck to be him. Enjoy.
Bruce Springsteen – Ain’t Got You.mp3
Bruce Springsteen – Spare Parts.mp3
Bruce Springsteen – One Step Up.mp3
Bruce Springsteen – One Step Up.mp3
Buy or download Tunnel of Love from Amazon here.
My Insipid Record Collection – Joni Mitchell
Feb 14th
I was looking for an opening to post about one of my favorite records from the 70’s and I thought if I don’t do it now, this month, when will I do it? It’s not Indie music, it’s not really Classic Rock (anymore) and it’s an album that seems to have long been forgotten all around…but not by me. Folk Rock may not be your thing, but Joni Mitchell put out some of the very best records of the genre. If you don’t have copies of Ladies of The Canyon, Blue and or Court and Spark I kind of feel sorry for you. With a voice like an angel Mitchell could literally paint a picture of what she was singing about with her unique style of inflection and pitch. Her vulnerability was always a big draw in evaluating her body of work. Her music could be described as Folk music with Jazz leanings, but her voice really transcended the whole package. You may know her mostly as the author of the song “Big Yellow Taxi, Both Sides Now” or as the person who wrote “Woodstock,” but she had a string of really great songs.
It’s hard to pick a favorite among the records I mentioned above, but Court and Spark really put Joni Mitchell over the top as far as sales and radio airplay. The song “Court and Spark” was a sexy intro to her thoughts at the time and the record just explodes. “Help Me” was her take on falling in love at the speed of light and feeling a bit overwhelmed. “Free Man in Paris” is still a masterful single surviving decades of massive airplay to remain a solid track even as it makes the transition into Oldies land. It is literally the perfect single. Breezy and airy and the lyrics are tremendous. From there the record continues on non stop; People’s Parties, The Same Situation, Car On a Hill, Down To You, Just Like This Train, Raised On Robbery (the only other single of any consequence), Trouble Child and Twisted. I know every word and nuance of Joni’s wordplay and delivery. Brilliant. It went to #1 in Canada (shocking), #2 in The United States and #14 in the United Kingdom. It went Double Platinum and finished #111 in that 2003 Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of all Time poll. I still play this record, without fail, at least once a year start to finish and that is saying a ton with the number of choices I have here. I can’t recommend it enthusiastically enough.
Roberta Joan Anderson, who later became known as Joni Mitchell, hailed from the Canadian Province of Alberta. She worked in Toronto for a time (eventually teaming up with and eventually marrying Folk singer Chuck Mitchell) and Detroit before making a beeline to the Folk Rock hotbed of New York City around 1967. Mitchell performed up and down the east coast and luckily bumped into one David Crosby in a Coconut Grove, Florida club called The Gaslight South. Mitchell’s marriage eventually failed, but she kept the name and was coaxed into following Crosby west to Los Angeles. David Crosby was already a big star by virtue of his work with The Byrds, but he clearly had an eye for talent. He had no trouble getting Mitchell on track to sign a deal with Reprise Records in 1968 and getting her recorded. Joni didn’t need much in the way of backing; all she needed was a guitar, that beautiful voice and that god given talent. Her first record, Song To a Seagull (sometimes referred to as just Joni Mitchell), was followed by Clouds in 1969. Not only did she paint her own portrait for the cover, but “Chelsea Morning” and “Both Sides Now” were included on the record. Judy Collins, one of the few women…maybe Joan Baez as well…who were in Mitchell’s vocal class at the time, actually covered “Both Sides Now” with more success. Clouds ended up winning a Grammy Award for best Folk Performance. She was on her way…
I don’t think many folks would actually have foreseen the greatness that was to follow though. 1970’s Ladies of The Canyon is a masterpiece of the highest order. It begins with “Morning Morgantown” and doesn’t make a mistake for the ensuing 11 tracks culminating in “The Circle Game.” I remember a band called The Neighborhood covering “Big Yellow Taxi” with a lot of success. Everybody now knows the famous line “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” ”Woodstock” also appeared on this record (if memory serves, from reading about her last year, she wasn’t even at Woodstock…the song was written in a hotel room, but please don’t quote me), but it was immediately covered by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their stellar Deja Vu record. Joni Mitchell and the boys from this group had a lot of ties. Mitchell was Canadian as was Neil Young so they had that in common. Crosby shepherded her cross country and you can bet they may have kissed a time or two as Mitchell was quite attractive in addition to her talent. But if I remember correctly she was living with Graham Nash at the time of Ladies of The Canyon. There are some who claim the C,S,N & Y song “Our House” was written about their alleged domestic bliss at the time.
Mitchell was hardly done here though. 1971’s Blue may be universally thought of as her very best piece of work. “Carey, California, The Last Time I Saw Richard” and on and on. 1972’s For The Roses yielded “You Turn Me On, I’m a Rado.” I don’t know anything about the process of genius, but I can see why Mitchell might have needed some time off in 1973, at least as far as recording goes. This is the exact point where Jazz and horns began to make their way into her music. Court and Spark was a monster. It may have been all too much for her because after Court and Spark, with the possible exception of “In France They Kiss On Main Street” from 1975’s The Hissing of Summer Lawns, “Coyote” from 1976’s Hejira and possibly “Jericho” from 1977’s Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter Mitchell’s radio appeal began to fade seriously. Now radio changed a lot too, don’t get me wrong, but I can barely remember a couple of weeks of airplay for “You’re So Square (Baby I Don’t Care), which wasn’t even her song, from 1982’s Wild Things Run Fast. After that forget it. Now that doesn’t mean she didn’t make great records, it’s just that the public was no longer getting the news.
OK, I’ve gone on long enough about my love of Joni Mitchell’s work. She has over 20 records on the market counting the inevitable Greatest Hit packages. If you are inclined towards Jazz and don’t mind a bit of Folk mixed in with that you should be OK with her catalogue. I’m probably not going to convince anyone out there in this forum, but I felt like it had to be said. If you’re looking for a woman to Court and Spark this is the month and this is the time. Happy Valentine’s Day to all…
Joni Mitchell – Free Man in Paris.mp3
Joni Mitchell – Car On a Hill.mp3
Joni Mitchell – Raised On Robbery.mp3
Joni Mitchell – Raised On Robbery.mp3 YSI
Buy or download Court and Spark from Amazon.com here.
All Hail The Fourteenth of February…Lover’s Rock
Feb 14th
Grab your best girl or guy and feast your ears on a couple of ironic and thoughtful St Valentine’s nuggets. No chocolate, no flowers, no stuffed animals and no cards. Just some songs about love, sex, divorce, loneliness, isolation, heartbreak, pain and romance. You know, the usual. For a change I don’t have much to say except start your downloading. Some of them are funny, some of them are sad, some of them are heartfelt and some of them are not. Some of them you know well, some of them you don’t. Some of them you thought you might’ve heard for the last time already. Some of them might not even remind you of Valentine’s Day. I chopped it down from pages and pages, but in the end I’ll probably have to do this again next year so it’s best I save some for another time. Liz Lemon and I like to take Valentine’s Day with a grain of salt. Sorry Hallmark…Here’s a Dirty 30. Anything to help get you folks through the day…
Moby – Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad.mp3
John Hiatt – Real Fine Love.mp3
Kate Bush – Love and Anger.mp3
Kansas – It Takes a Woman’s Love (To Make a Man).mp3
She Wants Revenge – Tear You Apart.mp3
Simple Minds – Speed Your Love To Me.mp3
Paul Simon – 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.mp3
The Rolling Stones – Love in Vain.mp3
Living Colour – Love Rears Its Ugly Head.mp3
Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark – So in Love.mp3
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Listen To Her Heart.mp3
Al Green – Let’s Stay Together.mp3
Queen – Get Down, Make Love.mp3
Stevie Wonder – I Was Made To Love Her.mp3
Joe Jackson – Fools in Love.mp3
Hall & Oates – Kiss On My List.mp3
Paul McCartney – Maybe I’m Amazed.mp3
The Beatles – She Loves You.mp3
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Heatbreak Hotel.mp3
Sade – Hang On To Your Love.mp3
Sting – Fortress Around Your Heart.mp3
Dire Straits – Expresso Love.mp3
My Insipid Record Collection – My Bloody Valentine
Feb 13th
Some records get a ridiculous buzz you sometimes have trouble putting your finger on. One thing is for certain; when you have 422 people and counting review your CD on Amazon.com there are interested parties. I didn’t know My Bloody Valentine from a hole in the wall in 1991. I can remember becoming conscious of them as the Best of the 90’s lists began to surface in late 1999. They were one of those bands you read about in articles about other bands mentioning their influences. Their record Loveless isn’t for everyone, but if you keep listening to it, it’s kind of like one of those pictures that if you stare at it long enough you start seeing things and or you go cross-eyed. There are no particular melodies that wow you and you can’t decipher what they are singing, yet you cannot look away. My kind of record…
I know bands like The Jesus & Mary Chain and Lush and even The Cocteau Twins to a degree were quasi musical contemporaries, but it’s really something to hear folks like Robert Smith of The Cure, Trey Anastasio of Phish, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and or Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins wax poetic about this record. I’m not saying it doesn’t deserve the street cred hype it gets, but it’s a record I reach for when I’m feeling pensive or reflective. I don’t whip it out as I’m getting ready for a Friday night on the town. It is mesmerizing, I’ll give it that. It has been described as vague. I like that terminology. I have never heard such a successful record bury the vocals like they were just another instrument. It definitely worked for them, but even though I can’t sing, I’d sure like to be able to sing along when nobody is around. No chance of that here, that’s for sure…which is probably good for everyone…
Over the past decade, more than any other, now that I have more perspective than ever, I have found more avenues in music to enjoy than I honestly ever thought I would. I know I’ve said many times that I didn’t care for country for years, but now I get a big kick out of bands like Southern Culture On The Skids or The Bottle Rockets. The shoegazing set has always been a bit interesting to me as well. Ostensibly these bands are not very fond of the spotlight and don’t act out on stage to draw undue attention to themselves. That leaves the music. Many times you have to be patient over several listenings, but when you finally get there the payoff is worth the wait. I probably take the greatest pleasure out of locating relatively unknown records and really paying attention to the way a particular piece of music is making me feel. Thank god for music honestly, because the frustration of life can be debilitating at times no? I get frustrated when music is not given any thought at all at a bar or a party. It’s just not right. I really hate bad sound in a bar too. What a waste!
Distortion, reverb and bending of notes and other sounds are part of MBV’s modus operandi. They originated in Dublin, Ireland in 1983, but they spent some time in Holland, Berlin and London over the years. I can only find two records in their discography and Loveless was their last to date. There was a 2007 reunion and some announced dates, but as far as I know there has been no other full length release under the My Bloody Valentine moniker. So what we are left with is a two CD sonic wall of sound that sort of laps the brain as the tide rushes in. There was talk of the making of Loveless nearly bankrupting their label Creation Records, but whether or not that is true they were dumped after Loveless. It has been said that they were just too difficult to work with. Sire Records marketed Loveless in the States, but sales fizzled. The working number, according to Wikipedia, is 225,000 copies sold. We all know that sales hardly ever equals the level of greatness of a particular record, but don’t you have to sell something to come in at number at number 219 in the famous 2003 Rolling Stone Top 500 Greatest Records of All Time list? I suppose it isn’t a prerequisite, but what luminary gives it the final nod so that everyone in the rock press follows suit with the praise? How do I get that job? Change my name to Kurt Loder? Greil Marcus? Lester Bangs? What? Maybe it’s a function of end of the year list makers like me. You try not to peek at the others, but you don’t want to omit an obvious one or you’ll look like you’re not with the “in” crowd…yeah, that’s it…
Regardless of the yin and yang of rock critics and its relation to the actual record in question, no one can deny that My Bloody Valentine’a Loveless is a very unique record and when nearly 2% of all the folks that allegedly bought the record had something to say about it on Amazon.com, its legacy is safe. Is it music for lovers? Maybe. Is it Top 40 fodder. Definitely not. Is it cerebral and engaging. Yes. In fact I listened to it all the way through three times while I wrote this post just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything…again. I’ve decided to post “Only Shallow, I Only Said and Soon” to see if I can create a new fan out there somewhere. Tomorrow I plan to do a holiday post of singles for all you folks in love out there. See you then.
P.S. Some of the songs blended together so there are slight abrupt endings.
My Bloody Valentine – Only Shallow.mp3
My Bloody Valentine – I Only Said.mp3
My Bloody Valentine – Soon.mp3
My Bloody Valentine - Soon.mp3 YSI
Buy or download Loveless from Amazon.com here.
