Some Nights by Fun was released in February 2012; The Lumineers about a month later. Yet, somehow I managed to remain oblivious to them until recently when they started popping up on a good many Best of 2012 lists and the like--enough of 'em that I decided I should hear what they sound like.
And, indeed, I now know that one of them is Album of the Year. I just can't decide which one.
The two records sound nothing alike. Fun are pop-rockers whose signature is massive vocal harmonies (think "Bohemian Rhapsody") over pounding drums, with everything else mixed deep into the background. Along with Queen, there are hints of Broadway show tunes and of the Beach Boys and...well, of lots and lots of other influences. They're electric, they're eclectic, they're in fact quite unique, and it all works thanks to catchy melodies and terrific singing by Nate Reuss and the whole band. They sound like they're having, er, fun, until you listen to the lyrics.
The Lumineers, meanwhile, are folkie-rockers, Americana artists, Appalachians, as acoustic as Fun is electric. And singer Wesley Schultz is as laconic as Reuss is loud and intense and showy. (Think Mumford & Sons, only better and, well, American.) The angst is right there on the surface.
The two bands could not sound more different and yet both build on a similar foundation, and that is simplicity. The Lumineers, of course, carry simplicity throughout. "Anyone who can play an instrument can play a Lumineers song," says multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites. Fun? Not so much. But both bands begin with short, simple, even minimalist, but catchy-as-hell vocal melodies. Fun layers the sound on top, creating an anthemic, arena-rock sound. (Credits for Some Nights include 55 musicians in addition to the 3 official band members, Reuss, Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost.)
The Lumineers just let the vocal lines unfold. In addition to the 3 official band members--Schultz, Fraites and multi-instrumentalist Neyla Pekarek--"their Friends" are credited with group vocals, hand claps and stomps on "The Big Parade."No orchestra, no chorus, just the pure, unvarnished truth.
But, again, the bands have all of those "Best of" lists in common, too, and on December 5 both were Grammy-nominated--Fun 6 times and the Lumineers twice. They'll square off in the category of Best New Artist, also against Alabama Shakes, Hunter Hayes and Frank Ocean. Both are up for Album of the Year awards, and here both could be winners. Fun is nominated in the general or overall category, where they face the Black Keys, Mumford, Ocean and Jack White. The Lumineers are in the Americana category along with the Avett Brothers, John Fulbright, Mumford and Bonnie Raitt.
(Wait a minute! Mumford & Sons was nominated in the Americana category? WTF? But I digress.)
Fun
The difference is that Fun's single "We Are Young" was nominated for Record, Song and Group Performance, while no individual song from the Lumineers was recognized. "We Are Young" spent 6 weeks atop the Billboard pop charts, while the 2nd single, "Some Nights," topped out at #3, also spending 6 weeks at that position. But let's be honest. "Some Nights" is a better song. "We Are Young" features a slower, some (OK, I) might say, ponderous, rhythm, whereas "Some Nights" soars.
But "Out on the Town" is the best song on Some Nights. It's a break-up song:
"I set all my regrets on fire/Cause I know I'll never take the time/To unpack my missteps/Or call all of our friends/I figured they would take your side.... I make the bed/just not that well/Your name comes up a lot/When I talk to my mom/Oh I think she can tell."
For a band named Fun, there's a lot of loneliness and angst and doubt and uncertainty and regret here, but it's buried deep beneath the jaunty rhythms and boisterous singing. They're just pretending that everything is "All Alright," but in reality, "I got nothin' left inside of my chest (but it's all alright)."In "Some Nights," Reuss sings "I still wake up, I still see your ghost." Then there's, "I feel so all alone/No one's gonna fix me when I'm broke."
But getting back to "Out on the Town," well, it's simpler--guitar, keyboards, vocal--with less bravado and more vulnerability, it's more human, more approachable, more like the Lumineers. Not so much veneer.
And yet, it's that veneer and that bravado that make Fun Fun. But a little break is nice, too.
The Lumineers
No bravado, no veneer, just the pure unvarnished truth. "Ho Hey" made #1 on the U.S. alt and rock charts (only #8 on the pop charts, where Fun lives.) The musical accompaniment sounds like just one guitar, or maybe there's a ukelele, too, here and there, plus the continuous chant of "Ho Hey Ho Hey...."
"(Ho) I don't think you're right for him/(Hey) Think of what it might have been."
On the second single, "Stubborn Love," Schultz sings, "She'll lie and steal and cheat, and beg you from her knees/Make you think she means it this time/She'll tear a hole in you, the one you can't repair/But I still love her I don't really care."
But while The Lumineers have charted 7 songs from their eponymous 1st LP, like Fun, they have yet to chart their very best tune, "The Big Parade." It's 5-and-a half minutes of jaunty, up-tempo folk-rock with hand claps and half-spoken lyrics, describing a "Big Parade" of failures--the political candidate, the fighter, the Catholic priest "in crisis, the rock 'n roll star with his one night stands: "All the girls with the room keys/They all know his words by heart/By heart and they all sing."
But now the rock 'n roll star breaks the cycle, finding truth and love and happiness (and success): "Lovely girl, won't you stay/Won't you stay, stay with me/All my life I was blind/I was blind, but now I see.... Oh my my, oh hey hey/Here she comes, my saving grace."
Amongst all the Appalachian angst, a ray of hope.
But in the end, only time will tell whose vocal melodies remain catchy and engaging longer, who stands the test of time--Fun, or the Lumineers? But, for now, both are just hopelessly engaging. One is the Record of the Year. It might be some time before I figure out which one.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Best Rock 'n Roll Band in the World
No, this is not an article about the Rolling Stones.
In fact, I was never a big Stones fan. I mean, I loved "Satisfaction" and a lot of their early blues-based stuff, and I loved Beggar's Banquet and Let It Bleed as much as the next guy. And, yeah, they played with a lot of energy live.
But they were never the best rock 'n roll band in the world. Well, wait, yes, they were the best rock 'n roll band in the world in 1970 and again in 1978.
But, initially there was the Beatles, and I was always a Beatles guy. And in between there--between 1969 and 1978, there was Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd and the Allman Brothers and Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan. I mean, there were a lot of great bands in those days. And the Stones, well, they were good but in a live setting they surely had nothin' on Bruce Springsteen.
Speaking of which, Bruce and the E Street Band is not on this list--they're not a band, they're a guy with backing. Sorry. That's how I see it. Otherwise they would be about #2 or #3.
Top 5 Bands (or thereabouts) Each Year
1963--Beach Boys
1964--Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones
1965--Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Rolling Stones, Butterfield Blues Band
1966--Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Rolling Stones, Butterfield Blues Band
1967--Beatles, Doors, Byrds, Rolling Stones, Procol Harum
1968--Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Rolling Stones, Doors, Byrds
1969--Beatles, Rolling Stones, Cream, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, The Band
1970--Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Allman Brothers, Jethro Tull
1971--Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, Youngbloods
1972--Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Mark-Almond, Rolling Stones
1973--Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Mark-Almond, Jethro Tull, Allman Brothers
1974--Yes, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull
1975--Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Doobie Brothers, Rolling Stones
1976--Orleans, Rolling Stones, Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Pink Floyd
1977--Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Feat, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac
1978--Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Poco. Passport
1979--Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Bad Company, Supertramp
1980--Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Pat Metheny Group, Talking Heads, Electric Light Orchestra
1981--Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Electric Light Orchestra, Pink Floyd, Pat Metheny Group
1982--Dire Straits, Pat Metheny Group, Talking Heads, Genesis, Jethro Tull
1983--Dire Straits, Los Lobos, Pat Metheny Group, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd
1984--Talking Heads, Los Lobos, Dire Straits
1985--Dire Straits, Talking Heads, Level 42, Los Lobos
1986--Los Lobos, BoDeans, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, UB40
1987--U2, Crowded House, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Squeeze
1988--REM, Talking Heads, Til Tuesday, Crowded House, New Grass Revival
1989--Los Lobos, Dire Straits, Waterboys, Cowboy Junkies, 10,000 Maniacs
1990--Los Lobos, NRBQ, Gipsy Kings, Cowboy Junkies, Dire Straits
1991--Dire Straits, Los Lobos, Crowded House, Gipsy Kings
1992--Spin Doctors, Little Village, Los Lobos, Jayhawks, Sundays
1993--Los Lobos, Spin Doctors, Asleep at the Wheel, Flim & the BBs, Neville Brothers
1994--Los Lobos, Spin Doctors, Asleep at the Wheel, Freddy Jones Band, Sundays
1995--Wilco, del amitri, Dave Matthews Band, Los Lobos, Chieftans
1996--Wilco, Oasis, Subdudes, Chieftans, Gipsy Kings
1997--Radiohead, Wilco, Whiskeytown, Wallflowers, Chieftans
1998--Wilco, Los Lobos, Chieftans, Ed Palermo Big Band, Asleep at the Wheel
1999--Wilco, Los Lobos, Asleep at the Wheel, Whiskeytown, Wallflowers
2000--Wilco, Jayhawks, Los Lobos, Wallflowers, Radiohead
2001--Travis, Whiskeytown, Wallflowers, Wilco, Los Lobos
2002--Wilco, Los Lobos, Radiohead, Super Furry Animals
2003--Flaming Lips, Hem, Ween, Wilco, Los Lobos
2004--Arcade Fire, Zero7, Hem, Los Lobos, Black Keys
2005--Bright Eyes, Spoon, Fountains of Wayne, Hem, Wilco
2006--Halloween Alaska, Arcade Fire, Zero7, Bright Eyes, Hem
2007--Arcade Fire, Shins, Spoon, Black Keys, Kings of Leon
2008--Zappa Plays Zappa, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Zero7, Nomo
2009--Hold Steady, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Zero7, Black Keys
2010--Arcade Fire, The National, Mumford and Son, Black Keys, Hold Steady
2011--Black Keys, Wilco, Arcade Fire, The National, Kings of Leon
2012--Calexico, Black Keys, Lumineers, fun., Los Lobos
2013--Vampire Weekend, Black Keys, Mavericks, Dawes, The National
2014--New Standards, Hold Steady, High 48s, Communist Daughter, The Butanes
2015--Mavericks, Black Keys, New Standards, Calexico, High 48s
Best Rock 'n Roll Bands of All-Time
1. The Beatles
2. Pink Floyd
3. Dire Straits
4. Beach Boys
5. Arcade Fire
6. Jethro Tull
7. Talking Heads
8. Los Lobos
9. Rolling Stones
10. Radiohead
11. Wilco
12. Led Zeppelin
13. Steely Dan
14. The Doors
15. Allman Brothers Band
16. Black Keys
17. Byrds
18. Orleans
19. Pat Metheny Group
20. Jimi Hendrix Experience
21. Yes
22. Asleep at the Wheel
23. Hold Steady
24. Spin Doctors
25. Zero7
26. Hem
27. U2
28. The Mavericks
29. Mark-Almond
30. Crowded House
31. Travis
32. New Standards
33. REM
34. Lynyrd Skynyrd
35. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
36. Little Feat
37. Procol Harum
38. Kings of Leon
39. The Band
40. Zappa Plays Zappa
41. Calexico
42. The Shins
43. King Crimson
44. Vampire Weekend
45. Genesis
46. Eagles
47. Cream
48. Doobie Brothers
49. Paul Butterfield Blues Band
50. Youngbloods
51. New Grass Revival
52. ELO
53. The National
54. Waterboys
Among bands listed in the 1960s I saw the Beach Boys, the Stones and The Band live.
1970s--I never saw King Crimson, the Youngbloods, Orleans, Eagles, Poco, Passport, Bad Company and Supertramp. I saw everybody else. The Stones did put on the best show, but Steely Dan was right up there.
1980s--I saw Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Pat Metheny Group, Tull, Los Lobos, Crowded House, Cowboy Junkies. Jethro Tull put on the best show, even Pink Floyd was not close.
1990s--I saw Los Lobos, Dire Straits, Cowboy Junkies, NRBQ, Crowded House, Little Village, Jayhawks, Asleep at the Wheel, Wilco, Wallflowers. The best show was not Crowded House but rather Neil and Tim Finn, but it was with the rest of the Crowded House band. Then there was Little Village with Ry Cooder and John Hiatt (and Nick Lowe and Jim Keltner), but no way was that a "working band."
21C-- I saw Wilco, Jayhawks, Wallflowers, Los Lobos, Hem, Bright Eyes, Halloween Alaska, Shins. None of 'em was great live. Then again, take a look at YouTube: Arcade Fire and Radiohead just kick ass. But I haven't seen a really great live rock 'n roll show since, well, Dire Straits back in the late '80s and early '90s.
Best Live Concerts (Rock 'n Roll Bands)
1. Jethro Tull
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Rolling Stones
4. Yes
5. Steely Dan
6. Allman Brothers
7. Dire Straits
8. Pink Floyd
9. Zappa Plays Zappa
10. The Band
11. Mark-Almond
12. Pat Metheny Group
In fact, I was never a big Stones fan. I mean, I loved "Satisfaction" and a lot of their early blues-based stuff, and I loved Beggar's Banquet and Let It Bleed as much as the next guy. And, yeah, they played with a lot of energy live.
But they were never the best rock 'n roll band in the world. Well, wait, yes, they were the best rock 'n roll band in the world in 1970 and again in 1978.
But, initially there was the Beatles, and I was always a Beatles guy. And in between there--between 1969 and 1978, there was Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd and the Allman Brothers and Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan. I mean, there were a lot of great bands in those days. And the Stones, well, they were good but in a live setting they surely had nothin' on Bruce Springsteen.
Speaking of which, Bruce and the E Street Band is not on this list--they're not a band, they're a guy with backing. Sorry. That's how I see it. Otherwise they would be about #2 or #3.
Top 5 Bands (or thereabouts) Each Year
1963--Beach Boys
1964--Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones
1965--Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Rolling Stones, Butterfield Blues Band
1966--Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Rolling Stones, Butterfield Blues Band
1967--Beatles, Doors, Byrds, Rolling Stones, Procol Harum
1968--Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Rolling Stones, Doors, Byrds
1969--Beatles, Rolling Stones, Cream, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, The Band
1970--Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Allman Brothers, Jethro Tull
1971--Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, Youngbloods
1972--Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Mark-Almond, Rolling Stones
1973--Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Mark-Almond, Jethro Tull, Allman Brothers
1974--Yes, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull
1975--Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Doobie Brothers, Rolling Stones
1976--Orleans, Rolling Stones, Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Pink Floyd
1977--Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Feat, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac
1978--Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Poco. Passport
1979--Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Bad Company, Supertramp
1980--Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Pat Metheny Group, Talking Heads, Electric Light Orchestra
1981--Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Electric Light Orchestra, Pink Floyd, Pat Metheny Group
1982--Dire Straits, Pat Metheny Group, Talking Heads, Genesis, Jethro Tull
1983--Dire Straits, Los Lobos, Pat Metheny Group, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd
1984--Talking Heads, Los Lobos, Dire Straits
1985--Dire Straits, Talking Heads, Level 42, Los Lobos
1986--Los Lobos, BoDeans, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, UB40
1987--U2, Crowded House, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Squeeze
1988--REM, Talking Heads, Til Tuesday, Crowded House, New Grass Revival
1989--Los Lobos, Dire Straits, Waterboys, Cowboy Junkies, 10,000 Maniacs
1990--Los Lobos, NRBQ, Gipsy Kings, Cowboy Junkies, Dire Straits
1991--Dire Straits, Los Lobos, Crowded House, Gipsy Kings
1992--Spin Doctors, Little Village, Los Lobos, Jayhawks, Sundays
1993--Los Lobos, Spin Doctors, Asleep at the Wheel, Flim & the BBs, Neville Brothers
1994--Los Lobos, Spin Doctors, Asleep at the Wheel, Freddy Jones Band, Sundays
1995--Wilco, del amitri, Dave Matthews Band, Los Lobos, Chieftans
1996--Wilco, Oasis, Subdudes, Chieftans, Gipsy Kings
1997--Radiohead, Wilco, Whiskeytown, Wallflowers, Chieftans
1998--Wilco, Los Lobos, Chieftans, Ed Palermo Big Band, Asleep at the Wheel
1999--Wilco, Los Lobos, Asleep at the Wheel, Whiskeytown, Wallflowers
2000--Wilco, Jayhawks, Los Lobos, Wallflowers, Radiohead
2001--Travis, Whiskeytown, Wallflowers, Wilco, Los Lobos
2002--Wilco, Los Lobos, Radiohead, Super Furry Animals
2003--Flaming Lips, Hem, Ween, Wilco, Los Lobos
2004--Arcade Fire, Zero7, Hem, Los Lobos, Black Keys
2005--Bright Eyes, Spoon, Fountains of Wayne, Hem, Wilco
2006--Halloween Alaska, Arcade Fire, Zero7, Bright Eyes, Hem
2007--Arcade Fire, Shins, Spoon, Black Keys, Kings of Leon
2008--Zappa Plays Zappa, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Zero7, Nomo
2009--Hold Steady, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Zero7, Black Keys
2010--Arcade Fire, The National, Mumford and Son, Black Keys, Hold Steady
2011--Black Keys, Wilco, Arcade Fire, The National, Kings of Leon
2012--Calexico, Black Keys, Lumineers, fun., Los Lobos
2013--Vampire Weekend, Black Keys, Mavericks, Dawes, The National
2014--New Standards, Hold Steady, High 48s, Communist Daughter, The Butanes
2015--Mavericks, Black Keys, New Standards, Calexico, High 48s
Best Rock 'n Roll Bands of All-Time
1. The Beatles
2. Pink Floyd
3. Dire Straits
4. Beach Boys
5. Arcade Fire
6. Jethro Tull
7. Talking Heads
8. Los Lobos
9. Rolling Stones
10. Radiohead
11. Wilco
12. Led Zeppelin
13. Steely Dan
14. The Doors
15. Allman Brothers Band
16. Black Keys
17. Byrds
18. Orleans
19. Pat Metheny Group
20. Jimi Hendrix Experience
21. Yes
22. Asleep at the Wheel
23. Hold Steady
24. Spin Doctors
25. Zero7
26. Hem
27. U2
28. The Mavericks
29. Mark-Almond
30. Crowded House
31. Travis
32. New Standards
33. REM
34. Lynyrd Skynyrd
35. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
36. Little Feat
37. Procol Harum
38. Kings of Leon
39. The Band
40. Zappa Plays Zappa
41. Calexico
42. The Shins
43. King Crimson
44. Vampire Weekend
45. Genesis
46. Eagles
47. Cream
48. Doobie Brothers
49. Paul Butterfield Blues Band
50. Youngbloods
51. New Grass Revival
52. ELO
53. The National
54. Waterboys
Among bands listed in the 1960s I saw the Beach Boys, the Stones and The Band live.
1970s--I never saw King Crimson, the Youngbloods, Orleans, Eagles, Poco, Passport, Bad Company and Supertramp. I saw everybody else. The Stones did put on the best show, but Steely Dan was right up there.
1980s--I saw Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Pat Metheny Group, Tull, Los Lobos, Crowded House, Cowboy Junkies. Jethro Tull put on the best show, even Pink Floyd was not close.
1990s--I saw Los Lobos, Dire Straits, Cowboy Junkies, NRBQ, Crowded House, Little Village, Jayhawks, Asleep at the Wheel, Wilco, Wallflowers. The best show was not Crowded House but rather Neil and Tim Finn, but it was with the rest of the Crowded House band. Then there was Little Village with Ry Cooder and John Hiatt (and Nick Lowe and Jim Keltner), but no way was that a "working band."
21C-- I saw Wilco, Jayhawks, Wallflowers, Los Lobos, Hem, Bright Eyes, Halloween Alaska, Shins. None of 'em was great live. Then again, take a look at YouTube: Arcade Fire and Radiohead just kick ass. But I haven't seen a really great live rock 'n roll show since, well, Dire Straits back in the late '80s and early '90s.
Best Live Concerts (Rock 'n Roll Bands)
1. Jethro Tull
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Rolling Stones
4. Yes
5. Steely Dan
6. Allman Brothers
7. Dire Straits
8. Pink Floyd
9. Zappa Plays Zappa
10. The Band
11. Mark-Almond
12. Pat Metheny Group
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Gourds and James McMurtry at the Cedar in Minneapolis
OK, I don't get out much. I don't even remember if I'd ever heard of The Gourds before. If so, I had forgotten. But luckily, they followed old fave James McMurtry on to the stage at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis Saturday night, November 10, 2012. And so now I have experienced The Gourds.
Holy shit!
Words fail me.
For the moment I'll assume that anyone who reads this is familiar with The Gourds, so I don't have to describe the indescribable. I mean, are they country? Well, sure they're country. They're from Austin, TX. They play mandolins and fiddle and accordian. But of course their best-known tune is a Snoop Dogg cover. And they covered the Beatles, the Stones, Prince, Warren Zevon ("Werewolves of London")...and they sang Mary Tyler Moore's theme song, "you're gonna make it after all." (MTM was set in Minneapolis. There's a statue of her throwing her stocking cap in the air, like at the beginning of the show, downtown.)
Country-rock, off-beat, off-kilter, tongue-in-cheek, show-band, the kinda band you can't describe without hyphen or two. But, fun. That's it. Fun. They're just fun. Energetic. With tremendous humor. Always smilin' and laughin,' and infectious, making me smile and laugh, too.
But here I said I wouldn't try to describe them. But I can't tell you what songs they played, I'm not familiar with their music. But the highlights were 1) their balls-out boogie tunes, headlong rushes down the track at 90 miles an hour, just rockin' and sockin,' the kind of tunes where you just can't stand still and don't wanna stand still. 2) Bassist Jimmy Smith's totally original vocal style and totally bent lyrics, like this:
Drop the Charges
Call us on the cell phone
Tell us all why
Holy shit!
Words fail me.
For the moment I'll assume that anyone who reads this is familiar with The Gourds, so I don't have to describe the indescribable. I mean, are they country? Well, sure they're country. They're from Austin, TX. They play mandolins and fiddle and accordian. But of course their best-known tune is a Snoop Dogg cover. And they covered the Beatles, the Stones, Prince, Warren Zevon ("Werewolves of London")...and they sang Mary Tyler Moore's theme song, "you're gonna make it after all." (MTM was set in Minneapolis. There's a statue of her throwing her stocking cap in the air, like at the beginning of the show, downtown.)
Country-rock, off-beat, off-kilter, tongue-in-cheek, show-band, the kinda band you can't describe without hyphen or two. But, fun. That's it. Fun. They're just fun. Energetic. With tremendous humor. Always smilin' and laughin,' and infectious, making me smile and laugh, too.
But here I said I wouldn't try to describe them. But I can't tell you what songs they played, I'm not familiar with their music. But the highlights were 1) their balls-out boogie tunes, headlong rushes down the track at 90 miles an hour, just rockin' and sockin,' the kind of tunes where you just can't stand still and don't wanna stand still. 2) Bassist Jimmy Smith's totally original vocal style and totally bent lyrics, like this:
Drop the Charges
"i’m on the pay phone honey will you collect
only murder i know a pack of crows press one for english
detonate them drums that u-boat needs a pounding
well that’s good shag daddy but the best you’ll get is Bugler
trumped up non adhesive fall down jeeze louisin’
Suzi Quatro flankin’ tres well that’s who’s down in my palais
well i call a misdeal my hand was circumstantial
let’s just throw it out man call it inadmissible
i might have played a mark but maybe that’s just what he needed
prorated all the earnings so naturally we repeated it
small claims your court put the finger on my cohort
no, you know what to do
drop the charges"
(Jimmy Smith and The Gourds, Old Mad Joy, 2011)
Say what?
Then 3) just their playing, really impeccable. Smith is one clever bassist whose unexpected bass lines really spice up a song. Then there's the fiddle and the accordion, injecting some different sounds in there, keeping it interesting. And 4) their stage presence. Like I said, their energy. Kevin "Shinyribs" Russell with his hand jive and Smith meandering around looking totally oblivious sometimes....
What an incredible show.
James McMurtry
Then there's the fellow whom we went to see in the first place. And shockingly he played in the first place. What the heck? McMurtry opening for a band I've never heard of? But it made good sense. McMurtry is as serious as The Gourds are not. (It is testament to The Gourds humor that they made McMurtry smile during the grand finale.) I mean, there's this:
"Viettnam Vet with a cardboard sign
SitVieng there by the left turn line
Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing, both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's stretched so thin
And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore
SitVieng there by the left turn line
Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing, both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's stretched so thin
And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore
That big ol' building was the textile mill
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore
See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock
They're just gonna set there till they rot
'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore
They're just gonna set there till they rot
'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore
The bar's still open but man it's slow
The tip jar's light and the register's low
The bartender don't have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day
The tip jar's light and the register's low
The bartender don't have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day
Some have maxed out all their credit cards
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one of your stores
Bet you can't make it here anymore
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one of your stores
Bet you can't make it here anymore
High school girl with a bourgeois dream
Just like the pictures in the magazine
She found on the floor of the laundromat
A woman with kids can forget all that
If she comes up pregnant what'll she do
Forget the career, forget about school
Can she live on faith? live on hope?
High on Jesus or hooked on dope
When it's way too late to just say no
You can't make it here anymore
Just like the pictures in the magazine
She found on the floor of the laundromat
A woman with kids can forget all that
If she comes up pregnant what'll she do
Forget the career, forget about school
Can she live on faith? live on hope?
High on Jesus or hooked on dope
When it's way too late to just say no
You can't make it here anymore
Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can't make it here anymore
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can't make it here anymore
Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in
Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away
I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams
All lily white and squeaky clean
They've never known want, they'll never know need
Their sh@# don't stink and their kids won't bleed
Their kids won't bleed in the da$% little war
And we can't make it here anymore
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in
Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away
I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams
All lily white and squeaky clean
They've never known want, they'll never know need
Their sh@# don't stink and their kids won't bleed
Their kids won't bleed in the da$% little war
And we can't make it here anymore
Will work for food
Will die for oil
Will kill for power and to us the spoils
The billionaires get to pay less tax
The working poor get to fall through the cracks
Let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat sh$%, whatever it takes
They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps
If they can't make it here anymore
Will die for oil
Will kill for power and to us the spoils
The billionaires get to pay less tax
The working poor get to fall through the cracks
Let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat sh$%, whatever it takes
They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps
If they can't make it here anymore
And that's how it is
That's what we got
If the president wants to admit it or not
You can read it in the paper
Read it on the wall
Hear it on the wind
If you're listening at all
Get out of that limo
Look us in the eye
That's what we got
If the president wants to admit it or not
You can read it in the paper
Read it on the wall
Hear it on the wind
If you're listening at all
Get out of that limo
Look us in the eye
Call us on the cell phone
Tell us all why
In Dayton, Ohio
Or Portland, Maine
Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains
That's done closed down along with the school
And the hospital and the swimming pool
Dust devils dance in the noonday heat
There's rats in the alley
And trash in the street
Gang graffiti on a boxcar door
We can't make it here anymore"
Or Portland, Maine
Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains
That's done closed down along with the school
And the hospital and the swimming pool
Dust devils dance in the noonday heat
There's rats in the alley
And trash in the street
Gang graffiti on a boxcar door
We can't make it here anymore"
Music and lyrics © 2004 by James McMurtry
I hope you took the time to read that. I mean this is powerful stuff.
But what most people don't realize is that McMurtry on guitar with the Heartless Bastards--Darren Hess and Ronnie Johnson--is one great, kick-ass boogie band. "Choctaw Bingo" is 10-minutes of kick-ass boogie combined with McMurtry's characteristic storytelling. It's his most popular tune, and the crowd went wild for it here.
James was just fine. But I guess folks want to party on a Saturday night, and The Gourds are more what you think of when you think party. So they kinda stole the show and, personally, I cannot wait until I get a chance to see them again.
But what most people don't realize is that McMurtry on guitar with the Heartless Bastards--Darren Hess and Ronnie Johnson--is one great, kick-ass boogie band. "Choctaw Bingo" is 10-minutes of kick-ass boogie combined with McMurtry's characteristic storytelling. It's his most popular tune, and the crowd went wild for it here.
"Strap them kids in
Give 'em a little bit of vodka in a cherry coke
We're going to Oklahoma to the family reunion for the first time in years
It's up at uncle Slayton's cause he's getting on in years
You know he no longer travels but he's still pretty spry
He's not much on talking and he's just too mean to die
And they'll be comin' down from Kansas
and from west Arkansas
It'll be one great big old party like you never saw
Uncle Slayton's got his Texan pride
Back in the thickets with his Asian bride
He's got a Airstream trailer and a Holstein cow
He still makes whiskey 'cause he still knows how
He plats that Choctaw bingo every Friday night
You know he had to leave Texas but he won't say why
He owns a quarter section up by Lake Eufala
Caught a great big ol' blue cat on a driftin' jug line
Sells his hardwood timber to the shipping mill
Cooks that crystal meth because the shine don't sell
He cooks that crystal meth because the shine don't sell
You know he likes his money he don't mind the smell
My cousin Roscoe Slayton's oldest boy from his second marriage up in Illinois
He was raised in East St. Louis by his momma's people
Where they do things different
Thought he'd just come on down
He was going to Dallas Texas in a semi truck called from that big McDonald's
You know the one they built up on that great big ol' bridge
Across the Will Rogers Turnpike
Took the Big Cabin exit stopped and bought a couple of cartons of cigarettes
At that Indian Smoke Shop with the big neon smoke rings
In the Cherokee Nation hit Muskogee late that night
Somebody ran a stoplight at the Shawnee Bypass
Roscoe tried to miss 'em but he didn't quite
Bob and Mae come up from little town
Way down by lake Texoma where he coaches football
They were two A champions now for two years running
But he says they won't be this year no they won't be this year
And he stopped off in Tushka at that "Pop's Knife and Gun" place
Bought a SKS rifle and a couple a full cases of that steel core ammo
With the berdan primers from some East bloc nation that no longer needs 'em
And a Desert Eagle that's one great big ol' pistol
I mean .50 caliber made by badass Hebrews
And some surplus tracers for that old BAR of Slayton's
Soon as it gets dark we're gonna have us a time
We're gonna have us a time
Ruth Ann and Lynn come down from Baxter Springs
That's one hell raisin' town way up in Southeastern Kansas
Got a biker bar next to the lingerie store
That's got them Rolling Stones lips up there where everyone can see 'em
And they burn all night you know they burn all night you know they burn all night
Ruth Ann and Lynn they wear them cut off britches and those skinny little halters
And they're second cousins to me
Man I don't care I want to get between 'em
With a great big ol' hard on like a old bois d' arc fence post
You could hang a pipe rail gait from
Do some twisted sisters 'til the cows come home
And we'd be havin' us a time
Uncle Slayton's got his Texan pride
Back in the thickets with his Asian bride
He's cut that corner pasture into acre lots`
He sells 'em owner financed
Strictly to them that's got no kind of credit 'Cause he knows they're slackers
When they miss that payment
Then he takes it back
He plays that Choctaw Bingo every Friday night
Drinks that Johnny Walker at that Club 69
We're gonna strap them kids in give 'em a little bit o' Benadryl
And a cherry coke we're goin' to Oklahoma Gonna have us a time
Give 'em a little bit of vodka in a cherry coke
We're going to Oklahoma to the family reunion for the first time in years
It's up at uncle Slayton's cause he's getting on in years
You know he no longer travels but he's still pretty spry
He's not much on talking and he's just too mean to die
And they'll be comin' down from Kansas
and from west Arkansas
It'll be one great big old party like you never saw
Uncle Slayton's got his Texan pride
Back in the thickets with his Asian bride
He's got a Airstream trailer and a Holstein cow
He still makes whiskey 'cause he still knows how
He plats that Choctaw bingo every Friday night
You know he had to leave Texas but he won't say why
He owns a quarter section up by Lake Eufala
Caught a great big ol' blue cat on a driftin' jug line
Sells his hardwood timber to the shipping mill
Cooks that crystal meth because the shine don't sell
He cooks that crystal meth because the shine don't sell
You know he likes his money he don't mind the smell
My cousin Roscoe Slayton's oldest boy from his second marriage up in Illinois
He was raised in East St. Louis by his momma's people
Where they do things different
Thought he'd just come on down
He was going to Dallas Texas in a semi truck called from that big McDonald's
You know the one they built up on that great big ol' bridge
Across the Will Rogers Turnpike
Took the Big Cabin exit stopped and bought a couple of cartons of cigarettes
At that Indian Smoke Shop with the big neon smoke rings
In the Cherokee Nation hit Muskogee late that night
Somebody ran a stoplight at the Shawnee Bypass
Roscoe tried to miss 'em but he didn't quite
Bob and Mae come up from little town
Way down by lake Texoma where he coaches football
They were two A champions now for two years running
But he says they won't be this year no they won't be this year
And he stopped off in Tushka at that "Pop's Knife and Gun" place
Bought a SKS rifle and a couple a full cases of that steel core ammo
With the berdan primers from some East bloc nation that no longer needs 'em
And a Desert Eagle that's one great big ol' pistol
I mean .50 caliber made by badass Hebrews
And some surplus tracers for that old BAR of Slayton's
Soon as it gets dark we're gonna have us a time
We're gonna have us a time
Ruth Ann and Lynn come down from Baxter Springs
That's one hell raisin' town way up in Southeastern Kansas
Got a biker bar next to the lingerie store
That's got them Rolling Stones lips up there where everyone can see 'em
And they burn all night you know they burn all night you know they burn all night
Ruth Ann and Lynn they wear them cut off britches and those skinny little halters
And they're second cousins to me
Man I don't care I want to get between 'em
With a great big ol' hard on like a old bois d' arc fence post
You could hang a pipe rail gait from
Do some twisted sisters 'til the cows come home
And we'd be havin' us a time
Uncle Slayton's got his Texan pride
Back in the thickets with his Asian bride
He's cut that corner pasture into acre lots`
He sells 'em owner financed
Strictly to them that's got no kind of credit 'Cause he knows they're slackers
When they miss that payment
Then he takes it back
He plays that Choctaw Bingo every Friday night
Drinks that Johnny Walker at that Club 69
We're gonna strap them kids in give 'em a little bit o' Benadryl
And a cherry coke we're goin' to Oklahoma Gonna have us a time
James was just fine. But I guess folks want to party on a Saturday night, and The Gourds are more what you think of when you think party. So they kinda stole the show and, personally, I cannot wait until I get a chance to see them again.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Top Tunes of the 21C
UPDATED 3-12-13
1. Caballo Viejo--Ry Cooder. Cooder playing Cuban style not on the guitar but the organ, and concocts an all-time great pop workout. (2003)
19. Good Dog, Happy Man--Bill Frisell. From the record of the same name, Frisell's best work to date. (2000)
20. We Are Alive--Bruce Springsteen. Bruce in his best Woody Guthrie mode. Grammies really booted this one, nominating We Take Care of Our Own instead of this vastly more eloquent tribute to the downtrodden. (2012)
27. Hopes Too High--Tift Merritt. (2008)
28. Sequestered in Memphis--Hold Steady. (2009)
29. Trouble--Ray Lamontagne. (2004)
30. Inca Roads--Zappa Plays Zappa. Dweezil reinvents one of Frank's greatest and makes it Dweezil's greatest. (2008)
31. Home--Zero7. Haunting guest vocal by Tina Dico. Look up the version on Jimmy Kimmel on YouTube. Wow. (2004)
32. In the Morning of the Magicians--the Flaming Lips. (2003)
1. Caballo Viejo--Ry Cooder. Cooder playing Cuban style not on the guitar but the organ, and concocts an all-time great pop workout. (2003)
2. Best Kept Secret--Jerry Douglas Band. Top 2 are both instrumentals, but it 's not that much of a trend. From the greatest Jerry Douglas record ever (of the same name, Best Kept Secret) and the best Douglas band. I mean, he's got Derek Trucks and Bill Frisell as guests and the best guitar solo on the record is by band member Keith Sewell on this song. And Gabe Witcher's violin is positively otherworldly, gorgeous. And Jeff Coffin contributes perhaps his best sax solo ever. Incredible. (2005)
3. No Man's Land--Sufjan Stevens. Best of the best: Best song (by a narrow margin over a bunch of contenders) by the best artist of the 21C so far. Who else could construct such a dynamic song with a 1-note bass part? (2006)
3. No Man's Land--Sufjan Stevens. Best of the best: Best song (by a narrow margin over a bunch of contenders) by the best artist of the 21C so far. Who else could construct such a dynamic song with a 1-note bass part? (2006)
4. Another Travelin' Song--Bright Eyes. Not sure how Conor Oberst did this (record). He has never come close on any other record. But this particular tune is a brilliant throwback to the height of folk-rock and Dylan from the mid-1960s. (2005)
5. Waiting for the Federals--Aly Bain. Rollicking fiddle tune by the Scottish master. Another instrumental but, no, it's not a trend. (2000)
6. Tear Stained Eye--Kasey Chambers. Unlikely choice to cover the Jay Farrar tune, but boy does it work. (2002)
7. Conversation 16--The National. A totally quirky band, this time because of the unusual baritone vocal stylings of Matt Berninger, but it really really works. (2010)
7. Australia--The Shins. OK, the Shins are not gonna change your life, but this is James Mercer's cleverest work including a perfect and totally engaging little guitar solo. (2007)
8. Modern Man--Arcade Fire. I have no idea if this is their best tune, but it did find its way to the top of the list today. Ask me tomorrow and there's another half dozen fabulous songs to pick from. This one is from the restrained one-third of their output, as distinguished from the other two-thirds that are totally over the top in terms of energy and that wall of sound and Win Butler's incredible little sneer. But, see, they can do it either way. (2010)
6. Tear Stained Eye--Kasey Chambers. Unlikely choice to cover the Jay Farrar tune, but boy does it work. (2002)
7. Conversation 16--The National. A totally quirky band, this time because of the unusual baritone vocal stylings of Matt Berninger, but it really really works. (2010)
7. Australia--The Shins. OK, the Shins are not gonna change your life, but this is James Mercer's cleverest work including a perfect and totally engaging little guitar solo. (2007)
8. Modern Man--Arcade Fire. I have no idea if this is their best tune, but it did find its way to the top of the list today. Ask me tomorrow and there's another half dozen fabulous songs to pick from. This one is from the restrained one-third of their output, as distinguished from the other two-thirds that are totally over the top in terms of energy and that wall of sound and Win Butler's incredible little sneer. But, see, they can do it either way. (2010)
9. The Art Teacher--Rufus Wainwright. A powerful performance of a terribly clever tune in which the gay artists sings of his love for a male teacher in the persona of young girl. (2004)
10. I Can't Keep You in Love with Me--Vince Gill & Terri Clark. From a Louvin Brothers tribute record with a perfect western swing accompaniment that really really swings. (2003)
10. I Can't Keep You in Love with Me--Vince Gill & Terri Clark. From a Louvin Brothers tribute record with a perfect western swing accompaniment that really really swings. (2003)
11. Trouble on Alum--Jerry Douglas. Beautiful in the most understated way. (2008)
12. You Do--Aimee Mann. The guy rarely gets the girl in Mann's world and this is no exception. (2000)
13. When I Cross Over--Tift Merritt. Wonderfulness in a gospel/spiritual form with a terrific guitar line by T-Bone Burnett. (2003)
12. You Do--Aimee Mann. The guy rarely gets the girl in Mann's world and this is no exception. (2000)
13. When I Cross Over--Tift Merritt. Wonderfulness in a gospel/spiritual form with a terrific guitar line by T-Bone Burnett. (2003)
13. Antichrist Television Blues (2007)
14. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)--Arcade Fire. (2004) Win Butler's gotta be one bad-ass dude to so perfectly capture the persona of the slimy hypocrite of a TV preacher. And he's also stuck in adolescence with all his songs about growing up in Houston including not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 versions of Neighborhood on their 1st record.
15. Towers--Bon Iver. Best of Justin Vernon in his quirky, atmospheric, falsetto style. (2011)
16. A Remark You Made--Jerry Douglas. A slow blues from the wonderful Best Kept Secret record. Once again Gabe Witcher's violin is just incredibly eloquent. (2005)
18. Shelter--Ray Lamontagne. Hard to pick between Shelter and Trouble. Ray's voice sounds more like Trouble mostly, but I'll go with the slightly more uplifting tune. (2004)
14. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)--Arcade Fire. (2004) Win Butler's gotta be one bad-ass dude to so perfectly capture the persona of the slimy hypocrite of a TV preacher. And he's also stuck in adolescence with all his songs about growing up in Houston including not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 versions of Neighborhood on their 1st record.
15. Towers--Bon Iver. Best of Justin Vernon in his quirky, atmospheric, falsetto style. (2011)
16. A Remark You Made--Jerry Douglas. A slow blues from the wonderful Best Kept Secret record. Once again Gabe Witcher's violin is just incredibly eloquent. (2005)
17. Pilgrim--Steve Earle. With the Del McCoury Band, best setting for Earle's tunes ever. (2000)
18. Shelter--Ray Lamontagne. Hard to pick between Shelter and Trouble. Ray's voice sounds more like Trouble mostly, but I'll go with the slightly more uplifting tune. (2004)
19. Good Dog, Happy Man--Bill Frisell. From the record of the same name, Frisell's best work to date. (2000)
20. We Are Alive--Bruce Springsteen. Bruce in his best Woody Guthrie mode. Grammies really booted this one, nominating We Take Care of Our Own instead of this vastly more eloquent tribute to the downtrodden. (2012)
21. Again--Bill Frisell. The jazzy Frisell at his quirky best with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones. (2001)
22. Bloodbuzz Ohio--The National. Another quirky little effort. (2010)
22. Bloodbuzz Ohio--The National. Another quirky little effort. (2010)
23. Alexandra Leaving--Leonard Cohen. Say what? Inscrutable. But entertaining. (2001)
24. Lucky--Hem. The greatest band you've never heard in a folky-poppy sort of way. Their songs seem to come from a bygone day. (2004)
25. Sir Aly B--Jerry Douglas. Yet another gorgeous excursion from Best Kept Secret. (2005)
25. Sir Aly B--Jerry Douglas. Yet another gorgeous excursion from Best Kept Secret. (2005)
26. It's Not--Aimee Mann. Gotta love "Kiss me baby like a drug, like a respirator." (2002)
27. Hopes Too High--Tift Merritt. (2008)
28. Sequestered in Memphis--Hold Steady. (2009)
29. Trouble--Ray Lamontagne. (2004)
30. Inca Roads--Zappa Plays Zappa. Dweezil reinvents one of Frank's greatest and makes it Dweezil's greatest. (2008)
31. Home--Zero7. Haunting guest vocal by Tina Dico. Look up the version on Jimmy Kimmel on YouTube. Wow. (2004)
32. In the Morning of the Magicians--the Flaming Lips. (2003)
33. We're All in the Dance--Feist. From the Paris Je'Teme soundtrack. (2007)
34. Pious Proud--Sarah Borges. Mainly Sarah Borges kicks ass. But her single best tune is this slow lament. (2005)
35. A Soft Place to Land--Kathleen Edwards. (2012)
36. Line--Fantastic Merlins. Sax and cello jazz. Bee-you-tee-ful! (2007)
37. Rebellion (Lies)--Arcade Fire. More of what they do best. Sneer at the adult world. (2004)
38. Before the Colors Fade--Iris Dement. Welcome back, Iris, from a 15-year case or writer's block! (2012)
39. Reckoner--Radiohead. (2008)
40. Gravity--John Mayer. Specifically the version from the 2006 Crossroads Guitar Festival. (2006)
41. Billy Paul--Vince Gill. Crazy. Jaunty little melody about a guy who kills his girlfriend and then himself. (2011)
42. Part II--Keith Jarrett. Another of his wonderful piano excursions, in this case from The Carnegie Hall Concert. (2008)
43. Devil's in the Jukebox--Ray Lamontagne. (2010)
44. Give Peace a Chance--Bill Frisell. (2011)
45. I Ain't Found Nobody Yet--Caitlin Cary. From the very best recording ever made by a former member of Whiskeytown. (2002)
46. The Simple Life--Ricky Skaggs. The version from Transatlantic Sessions with the Irish breakdown at the end. (2000)
34. Pious Proud--Sarah Borges. Mainly Sarah Borges kicks ass. But her single best tune is this slow lament. (2005)
35. A Soft Place to Land--Kathleen Edwards. (2012)
36. Line--Fantastic Merlins. Sax and cello jazz. Bee-you-tee-ful! (2007)
37. Rebellion (Lies)--Arcade Fire. More of what they do best. Sneer at the adult world. (2004)
38. Before the Colors Fade--Iris Dement. Welcome back, Iris, from a 15-year case or writer's block! (2012)
39. Reckoner--Radiohead. (2008)
40. Gravity--John Mayer. Specifically the version from the 2006 Crossroads Guitar Festival. (2006)
41. Billy Paul--Vince Gill. Crazy. Jaunty little melody about a guy who kills his girlfriend and then himself. (2011)
42. Part II--Keith Jarrett. Another of his wonderful piano excursions, in this case from The Carnegie Hall Concert. (2008)
43. Devil's in the Jukebox--Ray Lamontagne. (2010)
44. Give Peace a Chance--Bill Frisell. (2011)
45. I Ain't Found Nobody Yet--Caitlin Cary. From the very best recording ever made by a former member of Whiskeytown. (2002)
46. The Simple Life--Ricky Skaggs. The version from Transatlantic Sessions with the Irish breakdown at the end. (2000)
47. Blind Love--Sarah Borges. Another slow blues from a master of kick-ass rock. (2007)
48. Freeway View--James McMurtry. (2008)
49. Crush in the Ghetto--Jolie Holland. From another wonderful album you've never heard. (2006)
50. We Used to Wait--Arcade Fire. (2010)
Artists with more than 1 song on the list
Arcade Fire #8 13 14 37 50
Sarah Borges #34 47
Jerry Douglas #2 11 16 25
Bill Frisell #19 21 44
Ray Lamontagne #18 29 43
Aimee Mann #12 26
Tift Merritt #13 27
The National #7 22
48. Freeway View--James McMurtry. (2008)
49. Crush in the Ghetto--Jolie Holland. From another wonderful album you've never heard. (2006)
50. We Used to Wait--Arcade Fire. (2010)
Artists with more than 1 song on the list
Arcade Fire #8 13 14 37 50
Sarah Borges #34 47
Jerry Douglas #2 11 16 25
Bill Frisell #19 21 44
Ray Lamontagne #18 29 43
Aimee Mann #12 26
Tift Merritt #13 27
The National #7 22
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Aimee Mann, Tift Merritt
2012 is turning out to be a pretty good year for women singers. Just in the past few weeks (fall 2012) we've seen a critical mass of new releases by women singers--most notably by Iris DeMent (Sing the Delta), Aimee Mann (Charmer) and Tift Merritt (Traveling Alone). But let the record show that Bonnie Raitt, Fiona Apple, Suzanne Vega, Beth Orton and Diana Krall also have new records out, and I've already reviewed new records by Kathleen Edwards and Alison Krauss (plus Krauss' concert at the Biltmore in Asheville, NC).
See my separate review of Iris DeMent.
Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann has been around since the techno-pop of Til Tuesday in the 1980s. She hasn't been prolific exactly, but unlike Iris she's been steady. Her new record is her 8th solo record in about 20 years. She's averaged one every 2.5 years. This is her 1st in 4 years, but her 2nd in 6, her 3rd in 7 and her 4th in 10.
She calls her latest record Charmer, and so you Aimee Mann fans know that there's a song here about a fellow who takes himself to be a charmer but who fails to live up to Mann's expectations, in the tradition of "All Over Now," "Calling It Quits," "Driving Sideways," "Guys Like Me," "I Should Have Known Better," "You're With Stupid Now" and a dozen more. The record in fact opens with "Charmer" and, unfortunately, it's absolutely typical of Aimee Mann. That is to say, nothin' special.
In fact, the record only gets moving with the 3rd cut, "Labrador," which offers something a little different from Aimee Mann--that is, a sense of humor--where she compares herself, that is to say, the personna of the singer, to a "loyal Labrador," yes, the dog. "When we first met/I was glad to be your pet/like the lab that I once had/that we called Maisie/but fetching sticks/was the best I had for tricks/you got bored/you got mad/then you got crazy." Har, har. The bouncy melody admirably conveys the humor, a characteristic rarely seen in Mann's songs and so refreshing here.
But the 6th cut, "Living A Lie," is the centerpiece. It opens with a male vocal...who is that? That sounds so familiar...yes, of course, it's James Mercer of the Shins, and this sounds exactly like a Shins song only better than anything on their record from earlier this year. But now the record's got some momentum going. "Slip and Roll" and "Gumby" are catchy slower tunes, "Gamma Ray" a little harder-edged and finally "Red Flag Diver" closes things out pleasantly enough.
That makes 7 of 11 songs that are minimally "pleasant enough." Not bad. But records are defined not by their average quality but by their high points, and there's certainly nothing here on a par with Mann's best work--which means pretty much every other tune with Til Tuesday and likewise from her 1st solo LP Whatever. In the 21st century, her records were characterized by their best songs rather than by their consistency. "You Do" from Bachelor No. 2, "It's Not" from Lost in Space, "Little Bombs" from The Forgotten Arm, "Columbus Avenue" from @#%&*! Smilers (which I am told is pronounced Fucking Smilers, who says the girl's got no sense of humor, eh?). There's not a song here on Charmer in that class.
I mean, it's gotta be tough being Aimee Mann. The bar is so incredibly high. Charmer is maybe the 5th or 6th best of her 8 solo records. And yet, it's still one of the top 5 records of 2012 so far. Faint praise for Aimee Mann. For lots of artists, even good ones, this would be a career masterpiece.
Tift Merritt
Tift Merritt now has released 5 solo studio LPs in 10 years, plus 2 live albums and 2 EPs. Her 1st 3 LPs were all winners--Bramble Rose, Tambourine and Another Country. Her fourth, by contrast, fell flat.
Now she's back with Travelling Alone, which makes it a trend. Jerry Douglas' record this year is called Traveller and Kathleen Edwards' record was called Voyageur. This isn't up to those records but it kicks Tift back into the category of alt-country artists to keep an eye on.
Tift has written about 1 up-tempo song for every 2 or 3 ballads, and she's like Aimee Mann in that her up-temp tunes are more satisfying throughout. "Still Not Home" is built around a minimalist fuzz-tone guitar riff, and it's about as close to rock 'n roll as she's ever gotten, though the "guitar solo" is actually a pedal steel, giving it a little bit of country cred. And that's who Tift is, after all, alt-country. "Still Not Home" pushes the envelop just enough.
"In the Way" has a softer, more typical Tift Merritt sound, and ends the record on a nice up-beat: "One day, I'll never be lonely/Oh, yeah, it'll really be something/Turn around and nothing will be in my way/Clear as the day/I don't see nothin' in my way." Nice.
"To Myself" has that same rock 'n roll quality to it, including the fuzzy guitar. "Spring" starts out slow but builds up in intensity and in tempo as the electric guitar comes forward once again.
"Too Soon to Go" and the title track feature slower tempos but pleasant vocals. Tift is in good voice here. It's a slightly thin voice, but expressive, and she sings passionately. While all else is professionally done, it's her songs and her voice that are her primary appeal. She hasn't quite caught the inspiration of her 1st 3 records, but this is solid nevertheless and adds to a substantial body of work that makes her one of the top 10 artists of the 21C.
And while Aimee Mann's body of work is about twice as big as Tift's, Tift Merritt is in a little bit better place right at this point in time.
See my separate review of Iris DeMent.
Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann has been around since the techno-pop of Til Tuesday in the 1980s. She hasn't been prolific exactly, but unlike Iris she's been steady. Her new record is her 8th solo record in about 20 years. She's averaged one every 2.5 years. This is her 1st in 4 years, but her 2nd in 6, her 3rd in 7 and her 4th in 10.
She calls her latest record Charmer, and so you Aimee Mann fans know that there's a song here about a fellow who takes himself to be a charmer but who fails to live up to Mann's expectations, in the tradition of "All Over Now," "Calling It Quits," "Driving Sideways," "Guys Like Me," "I Should Have Known Better," "You're With Stupid Now" and a dozen more. The record in fact opens with "Charmer" and, unfortunately, it's absolutely typical of Aimee Mann. That is to say, nothin' special.
In fact, the record only gets moving with the 3rd cut, "Labrador," which offers something a little different from Aimee Mann--that is, a sense of humor--where she compares herself, that is to say, the personna of the singer, to a "loyal Labrador," yes, the dog. "When we first met/I was glad to be your pet/like the lab that I once had/that we called Maisie/but fetching sticks/was the best I had for tricks/you got bored/you got mad/then you got crazy." Har, har. The bouncy melody admirably conveys the humor, a characteristic rarely seen in Mann's songs and so refreshing here.
But the 6th cut, "Living A Lie," is the centerpiece. It opens with a male vocal...who is that? That sounds so familiar...yes, of course, it's James Mercer of the Shins, and this sounds exactly like a Shins song only better than anything on their record from earlier this year. But now the record's got some momentum going. "Slip and Roll" and "Gumby" are catchy slower tunes, "Gamma Ray" a little harder-edged and finally "Red Flag Diver" closes things out pleasantly enough.
That makes 7 of 11 songs that are minimally "pleasant enough." Not bad. But records are defined not by their average quality but by their high points, and there's certainly nothing here on a par with Mann's best work--which means pretty much every other tune with Til Tuesday and likewise from her 1st solo LP Whatever. In the 21st century, her records were characterized by their best songs rather than by their consistency. "You Do" from Bachelor No. 2, "It's Not" from Lost in Space, "Little Bombs" from The Forgotten Arm, "Columbus Avenue" from @#%&*! Smilers (which I am told is pronounced Fucking Smilers, who says the girl's got no sense of humor, eh?). There's not a song here on Charmer in that class.
I mean, it's gotta be tough being Aimee Mann. The bar is so incredibly high. Charmer is maybe the 5th or 6th best of her 8 solo records. And yet, it's still one of the top 5 records of 2012 so far. Faint praise for Aimee Mann. For lots of artists, even good ones, this would be a career masterpiece.
Tift Merritt
Tift Merritt now has released 5 solo studio LPs in 10 years, plus 2 live albums and 2 EPs. Her 1st 3 LPs were all winners--Bramble Rose, Tambourine and Another Country. Her fourth, by contrast, fell flat.
Now she's back with Travelling Alone, which makes it a trend. Jerry Douglas' record this year is called Traveller and Kathleen Edwards' record was called Voyageur. This isn't up to those records but it kicks Tift back into the category of alt-country artists to keep an eye on.
Tift has written about 1 up-tempo song for every 2 or 3 ballads, and she's like Aimee Mann in that her up-temp tunes are more satisfying throughout. "Still Not Home" is built around a minimalist fuzz-tone guitar riff, and it's about as close to rock 'n roll as she's ever gotten, though the "guitar solo" is actually a pedal steel, giving it a little bit of country cred. And that's who Tift is, after all, alt-country. "Still Not Home" pushes the envelop just enough.
"In the Way" has a softer, more typical Tift Merritt sound, and ends the record on a nice up-beat: "One day, I'll never be lonely/Oh, yeah, it'll really be something/Turn around and nothing will be in my way/Clear as the day/I don't see nothin' in my way." Nice.
"To Myself" has that same rock 'n roll quality to it, including the fuzzy guitar. "Spring" starts out slow but builds up in intensity and in tempo as the electric guitar comes forward once again.
"Too Soon to Go" and the title track feature slower tempos but pleasant vocals. Tift is in good voice here. It's a slightly thin voice, but expressive, and she sings passionately. While all else is professionally done, it's her songs and her voice that are her primary appeal. She hasn't quite caught the inspiration of her 1st 3 records, but this is solid nevertheless and adds to a substantial body of work that makes her one of the top 10 artists of the 21C.
And while Aimee Mann's body of work is about twice as big as Tift's, Tift Merritt is in a little bit better place right at this point in time.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Welcome Back, Iris DeMent
Iris DeMent burst on the mainstream in 1995 with a now-classic recording The Way I Should. Produced by Randy Travis, it featured some incredible songs like "The Way I Should," "When My Morning Comes Around," "Wasteland of the Free" and "There's A Wall in Washington," sung with incredible passion and emotion, and accompanied by some of the best session players in Nashville.
Her voice is a little too twangy for some people, of course, but to me it's one of those unmistakable voices, like Alison Krauss,' that rise above the clutter and demand to be heard. Nobody cuts through to the heart and soul and the deep poignancy of the human condition like Iris does.
It turned out that The Way I Should was her third record. Each of the first two had contained more eloquent confessional songs like "My Life,""Sweet Forgiveness" and "Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day." Iris imbues each song with such passion and immediacy that people assume they're autobiographical. The latter is set in Idaho and Iris reports that people are always saying to her,"So, you're from Idaho...."
Who knew at the time that The Way I Should would be her last record of her own material for almost 17 years, until the release of Sing the Delta. Apparently Iris had a monumental case of writer's block. But thank goodness that has been overcome because, make no mistake, Iris is a treasure.
And so here, remarkably, out of the blue, is Sing the Delta. To be honest, I expected to be disappointed, as I was disappointed by her last record, Lifeline (2004), which turned out to be a collection of old-time songs that Iris learned from her mother. If you know Iris, "songs my mom taught me" is a perfect reflection of who she is, but it didn't make for great music, not like her own songs.
Sing the Delta, by way of contrast, is the full Iris. These are her songs. Not her mom's, not anybody's but hers. The Iris of The Way I Should, the Iris of "My Life," after 17 years in the desert. Like all of her best songs, these are confessions, reflecting the kind of thoughts that most of us keep private but that Iris hangs out there for all to hear.
Like "The Night I Learned Not to Pray," about losing one's faith, a subject she's sung about before, and that her fans know in general to be not a work of fiction but an expression of Iris' true life experience. Well, except the story line here is that her baby brother fell down a flight stairs, cracked his head, and died despite Iris' prayers on his behalf, that part I believe to be fictional. When the boy died, it became "the night I learned not to pray/God's gonna do what God wants to anyway." Somebody is going to come up to Iris and say, "I'm sorry about your baby brother...."
Sing the Delta is basically 1 up-tempo song and 2 ballads, 1 and 2, 1 and 2. For me, the record revolves around the ballads (plus "The Night I Learned How to Pray), though the up-tempo numbers keep things moving a bit and that's a good thing.
The title track is a love song to Dixie, "Mornin' Glory" is a love song to a flower garden, "If That Ain't Love" a love song to her dad, all featuring lilting melodies and occasionally soaring but always passionately sung vocals. Amazingly, Iris is in terrific voice here as if it were 1997 or 1998, as if she had never been away. And the dominant instrument here is Iris' crisp, old-fashioned piano, like grandma used to play. Like I said, this is the full Iris all the way.
In fact, this may be her best record ever and her best vocal performance. I have to say there's nothing here with the power of "The Way I Should" or "When My Morning Comes Around" or the pathos of "Sweet Forgiveness." But in hindsight, her political commentary on The Way I Should seems to lack to passion and the commitment of her confessional songs, and all of these are confessional.
In any event, Sing the Delta has just displaced Kathleen Edwards' Voyageur as the record of the year so far in 2012. If you're not familiar with Iris, you can find out if she is your cup of tea on YouTube, of course. There's a version of "A Whole Lotta Heaven" with an incredible ensemble including Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg and Bill Frisell on guitar, and Phil Cunningham (Aly Bain's alter ego) on accordion. And the title track, "Sing the Delta" is there, with a message by whoever downloaded it. Welcome back, Iris, it says. Amen to that.
A Fire Indeed: Arcade Fire is Best Rock 'n Roll Band of the 21st Century
OK, I have to admit it. I've just discovered Arcade Fire. Eight years after they burst on to the scene with what I now know to be a brilliant 1st long-playing record called Funeral. Later, it turns out, they kicked off their 2010 concert tour in support of the Grammy Award-winning LP The Suburbs right here in the Twin Cities. And I missed 'em.
Good God. Where to start?
Well, the first I heard of Arcade Fire was of course The Suburbs. I mean, you couldn't miss that with all the awards it won in the year following that St. Paul concert, including the Grammy for Album of the Year. So I picked up a copy and thought, yeah, it's a nice little record. Clever. Understated. Rich. Colorful. Really nice modern rock. Listened 3-4 times, put exactly 3 tunes on I-Tunes ("The Suburbs," "Wasted Hours" and "Deep Blue"), and put it away on the shelf.
Big mistake.
I don't even remember now what set me to giving them another listen, but having done so I have of course gone back and listened to The Suburbs several times in the past week. Well, in addition to the 3 tunes listed above, there are at least 3 more songs here that, just taken on their own, are terrifically listenable pop tunes. I mean "Modern Man," "City with No Children" and "We Used to Wait." In fact, "Modern Man," with its trippy little rhythm and minimalist guitar figure, has replaced "Wasted Hours" as my favorite from this record.
But all of the songs take on an added power and poignancy if you pay attention (as I had not done) to the story arc, based on Win and Will Butler's upbringing in the Houston suburb of Woodlands, TX. According to Win, the album "is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs – it's a letter from the suburbs." Everything from adolescent friendships and pranks, to teen love and lust, and to rioting in the streets--it's all there, and summarized in some powerful images in the video for "The Suburbs." The title track creates a mood of excruciating ambiguity with its juxtaposition of happy-go-lucky rhythms and that profound sadness looking back on innocence lost.
"The summer that I broke my arm/I waited for your letter/I have no feeling for you now/Now that I know you better/I wish that I could have loved you then/Before our age was through"
"In my dream I was almost there/Then they pulled me aside and said you’re going nowhere/I know we are the chosen few/But we waste it/And that’s why we’re still waiting"
"You always seemed so sure/That one day we’d be fighting/In a suburban war/Your part of town against mine/I saw you standing on the opposite shore/But by the time the first bombs fell/We were already bored"
The violence is penny ante compared to, say, The Wall, but the feeling of alienation is no less powerful, even in those rare lyrics that look forward rather than looking back:
"So can you understand/Why I want a daughter while I’m still young?/I want to hold her hand/And show her some beauty/Before all this damage is done/But if it’s too much to ask, if it’s too much to ask/Then send me a son"
The irony, of course, is that powerfully emotive and emotional and alienated lyrics aren't the only power that Arcade Fire has to offer. LIVE it's perhaps the most energetic band since the heyday of Springsteen or the Stones or maybe the Talking Heads. They create a wall of sound that is largely missing on The Suburbs. So it can now be said--it must be said--that The Suburbs is not their best work. Arcade Fire is at its best LIVE IN CONCERT, and it is at its best playing several tunes from the first two records--those of course being "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)." "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and "Rebellion (Lies)" from Funeral, and "Antichrist Television Blues" and "Intervention" from Neon Bible.
And having now watched at least a half dozen or more live performances of each--not to mention at least a dozen, maybe 15, other songs performed live--it becomes crystal clear that this is THE ROCK 'N ROLL BAND OF THE 21ST CENTURY and Win Butler is one of the two or three most consequential pop music personalities working today.
What stands out is, well, lots of things. First of all is the energy. Every musician in constant motion, so elegantly, so stylishly. And Win Butler, so charismatic with that smoldering intensity, spitting out those provocative lyrics. So ambiguous. I wonder, is/was he a nice boy? Or not so nice? I think, not so nice. The band endured some widely publicized frictions in its early days. The band endured. Some of the players, no. Butler, I take it, overwhelmed them, and they left. I'd say he's kind of a Roger Waters type. There it is, that Pink Floyd connection again. The dark side. Yes, but so much energy, so charismatic, so colorful.
The stage show, in fact, recalls the Talking Heads more than anybody. And sure enough, there on YouTube, there's a cover of the Heads' "Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)" with multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Regine Chassagne (also Win's wife) doing a rather poor impression of David Byrne as marionette. But otherwise it's Win doing the David Byrne role, singing and hogging the spotlight despite all the dash and color that his bandmates provide.
Further mindful of Talking Heads is Arcade Fire's female contingent, still something of an oddity in the world of rock 'n roll. In addition to the Haitian pistol, Regine, are violinists Sarah Neufeldt and Marika Anthony-Shaw. Regine and Sarah, generally untethered to fixed instruments (i.e. keyboards, drums), provide much of the band's visual flair and kinetic energy.
Secondly, there's that wall of sound. No wonder reviewers have found it necessary to describe Arcade Fire by reference to Radiohead. (These are, after all, the best progressive rock 'n roll records since OK Computer.) I also hear echoes of U2 and (as noted) Pink Floyd, the Stones, Springsteen, Talking Heads, all the epic bands with their wall of sound fairly shouting, Hey, world, we have something to say. Listen to us.
It's a wall produced live by at least eight, sometimes nine, sometimes more musicians: Two full-time violins and part-time horns, xylophone, hurdy-gurdy and sundry others that provide another brick in that wall and/or provide an exotic sound that is unlike any other band playing today.
Put them all together and it's a tsunami of sound, it washes over you, and you just ride along and hold on for dear life. But just when you think, no, this is too precious, too much atmosphere--violins and xylophones and other fru-fru--then there's Will Butler (on bass) and Jeremy Gara (on drums) pounding out the driving rhythms of Arcade Fire's best songs. And of course Tim Kingsbury's guitar sings and screeches and everything in between. This is rock 'n roll at its heart.
Third is that the concept of The Suburbs as "a letter from the suburbs" is nothing new. Here on Funeral--again, dating all the way back to 2004--are not one, not two, not three, but four songs titled 'The Neighborhood." One is subtitled (and often referred to simply as) "Tunnels." The second is sub-titled "Laika." The third, "Power Out," and the fourth "7 Kettles." All introspective, idiosyncratic looks at life through the eyes of an adolescent fascinated by but not yet a part of and ultimately deeply alienated from the mature world.
Sure, Neon Bible is a bit more extroverted--mostly, it's a third-party commentary on the influence of television and religion on today's worldview. "People don't necessarily know that they're taking on a worldview, or absorbing ideas while watching television," Win said. "I find it very easy to get sucked in." "Antichrist Television Blues" is a devastating stream-of-consciousness commentary on TV preachers, reminiscent of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and and Springsteen's Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., in its break-neck speed and its avalanche of lyrics running to fully three-pages of lyrics on the booklet that comes with the CD. And, surely it is Win's "bad boy" that is able to so fully realize the corrupt preacher trying so desperately to convince his daughter to sing professionally....
"Do you know where I was at your age?/Any idea where I was at your age?/I was working downtown for the minimum wage/And I'm not gonna let you just throw it all away!/I'm through being cute, I'm through being nice/O tell me, Lord, am I the Antichrist?!"
Still the album's most popular song, "Keep the Car Runnin'," is sung in the first person and represents Butler's more introverted--should I say self-centered?--side, as if to say that, hey, ultimately, it's about me and about how it feels to me, living as a "Modern Man" in this modern world:
"Every night my dream’s the same/Same old city with a different name/Men are coming to take me away/I don’t know why but I know I can’t stay.... Keep the car runnin'"
Great art is nothing if not obsessive.
Top Arcade Fire Songs
1. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)--Funeral
2. Antichrist Television Blues--Neon Bible
3. Rebellion (Lies)--Funeral
4. Modern Man--The Suburbs
5. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)--Funeral
6. City with No Children--The Suburbs
7. We Used to Wait--The Suburbs
8. Intervention--Neon Bible
9. Wasted Hours--The Suburbs
10. Keep the Car Running--Neon Bible
11. The Suburbs--The Suburbs
12. Wake Up--Neon Bible
13. Deep Blue--The Suburbs
14. No Cars Go--Neon Bible
15. Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)--Funeral
Good God. Where to start?
Well, the first I heard of Arcade Fire was of course The Suburbs. I mean, you couldn't miss that with all the awards it won in the year following that St. Paul concert, including the Grammy for Album of the Year. So I picked up a copy and thought, yeah, it's a nice little record. Clever. Understated. Rich. Colorful. Really nice modern rock. Listened 3-4 times, put exactly 3 tunes on I-Tunes ("The Suburbs," "Wasted Hours" and "Deep Blue"), and put it away on the shelf.
Big mistake.
I don't even remember now what set me to giving them another listen, but having done so I have of course gone back and listened to The Suburbs several times in the past week. Well, in addition to the 3 tunes listed above, there are at least 3 more songs here that, just taken on their own, are terrifically listenable pop tunes. I mean "Modern Man," "City with No Children" and "We Used to Wait." In fact, "Modern Man," with its trippy little rhythm and minimalist guitar figure, has replaced "Wasted Hours" as my favorite from this record.
But all of the songs take on an added power and poignancy if you pay attention (as I had not done) to the story arc, based on Win and Will Butler's upbringing in the Houston suburb of Woodlands, TX. According to Win, the album "is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs – it's a letter from the suburbs." Everything from adolescent friendships and pranks, to teen love and lust, and to rioting in the streets--it's all there, and summarized in some powerful images in the video for "The Suburbs." The title track creates a mood of excruciating ambiguity with its juxtaposition of happy-go-lucky rhythms and that profound sadness looking back on innocence lost.
"The summer that I broke my arm/I waited for your letter/I have no feeling for you now/Now that I know you better/I wish that I could have loved you then/Before our age was through"
"In my dream I was almost there/Then they pulled me aside and said you’re going nowhere/I know we are the chosen few/But we waste it/And that’s why we’re still waiting"
"You always seemed so sure/That one day we’d be fighting/In a suburban war/Your part of town against mine/I saw you standing on the opposite shore/But by the time the first bombs fell/We were already bored"
The violence is penny ante compared to, say, The Wall, but the feeling of alienation is no less powerful, even in those rare lyrics that look forward rather than looking back:
"So can you understand/Why I want a daughter while I’m still young?/I want to hold her hand/And show her some beauty/Before all this damage is done/But if it’s too much to ask, if it’s too much to ask/Then send me a son"
The irony, of course, is that powerfully emotive and emotional and alienated lyrics aren't the only power that Arcade Fire has to offer. LIVE it's perhaps the most energetic band since the heyday of Springsteen or the Stones or maybe the Talking Heads. They create a wall of sound that is largely missing on The Suburbs. So it can now be said--it must be said--that The Suburbs is not their best work. Arcade Fire is at its best LIVE IN CONCERT, and it is at its best playing several tunes from the first two records--those of course being "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)." "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and "Rebellion (Lies)" from Funeral, and "Antichrist Television Blues" and "Intervention" from Neon Bible.
And having now watched at least a half dozen or more live performances of each--not to mention at least a dozen, maybe 15, other songs performed live--it becomes crystal clear that this is THE ROCK 'N ROLL BAND OF THE 21ST CENTURY and Win Butler is one of the two or three most consequential pop music personalities working today.
What stands out is, well, lots of things. First of all is the energy. Every musician in constant motion, so elegantly, so stylishly. And Win Butler, so charismatic with that smoldering intensity, spitting out those provocative lyrics. So ambiguous. I wonder, is/was he a nice boy? Or not so nice? I think, not so nice. The band endured some widely publicized frictions in its early days. The band endured. Some of the players, no. Butler, I take it, overwhelmed them, and they left. I'd say he's kind of a Roger Waters type. There it is, that Pink Floyd connection again. The dark side. Yes, but so much energy, so charismatic, so colorful.
The stage show, in fact, recalls the Talking Heads more than anybody. And sure enough, there on YouTube, there's a cover of the Heads' "Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)" with multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Regine Chassagne (also Win's wife) doing a rather poor impression of David Byrne as marionette. But otherwise it's Win doing the David Byrne role, singing and hogging the spotlight despite all the dash and color that his bandmates provide.
Further mindful of Talking Heads is Arcade Fire's female contingent, still something of an oddity in the world of rock 'n roll. In addition to the Haitian pistol, Regine, are violinists Sarah Neufeldt and Marika Anthony-Shaw. Regine and Sarah, generally untethered to fixed instruments (i.e. keyboards, drums), provide much of the band's visual flair and kinetic energy.
Secondly, there's that wall of sound. No wonder reviewers have found it necessary to describe Arcade Fire by reference to Radiohead. (These are, after all, the best progressive rock 'n roll records since OK Computer.) I also hear echoes of U2 and (as noted) Pink Floyd, the Stones, Springsteen, Talking Heads, all the epic bands with their wall of sound fairly shouting, Hey, world, we have something to say. Listen to us.
It's a wall produced live by at least eight, sometimes nine, sometimes more musicians: Two full-time violins and part-time horns, xylophone, hurdy-gurdy and sundry others that provide another brick in that wall and/or provide an exotic sound that is unlike any other band playing today.
Put them all together and it's a tsunami of sound, it washes over you, and you just ride along and hold on for dear life. But just when you think, no, this is too precious, too much atmosphere--violins and xylophones and other fru-fru--then there's Will Butler (on bass) and Jeremy Gara (on drums) pounding out the driving rhythms of Arcade Fire's best songs. And of course Tim Kingsbury's guitar sings and screeches and everything in between. This is rock 'n roll at its heart.
Third is that the concept of The Suburbs as "a letter from the suburbs" is nothing new. Here on Funeral--again, dating all the way back to 2004--are not one, not two, not three, but four songs titled 'The Neighborhood." One is subtitled (and often referred to simply as) "Tunnels." The second is sub-titled "Laika." The third, "Power Out," and the fourth "7 Kettles." All introspective, idiosyncratic looks at life through the eyes of an adolescent fascinated by but not yet a part of and ultimately deeply alienated from the mature world.
Sure, Neon Bible is a bit more extroverted--mostly, it's a third-party commentary on the influence of television and religion on today's worldview. "People don't necessarily know that they're taking on a worldview, or absorbing ideas while watching television," Win said. "I find it very easy to get sucked in." "Antichrist Television Blues" is a devastating stream-of-consciousness commentary on TV preachers, reminiscent of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and and Springsteen's Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., in its break-neck speed and its avalanche of lyrics running to fully three-pages of lyrics on the booklet that comes with the CD. And, surely it is Win's "bad boy" that is able to so fully realize the corrupt preacher trying so desperately to convince his daughter to sing professionally....
"Do you know where I was at your age?/Any idea where I was at your age?/I was working downtown for the minimum wage/And I'm not gonna let you just throw it all away!/I'm through being cute, I'm through being nice/O tell me, Lord, am I the Antichrist?!"
Still the album's most popular song, "Keep the Car Runnin'," is sung in the first person and represents Butler's more introverted--should I say self-centered?--side, as if to say that, hey, ultimately, it's about me and about how it feels to me, living as a "Modern Man" in this modern world:
"Every night my dream’s the same/Same old city with a different name/Men are coming to take me away/I don’t know why but I know I can’t stay.... Keep the car runnin'"
Great art is nothing if not obsessive.
Top Arcade Fire Songs
1. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)--Funeral
2. Antichrist Television Blues--Neon Bible
3. Rebellion (Lies)--Funeral
4. Modern Man--The Suburbs
5. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)--Funeral
6. City with No Children--The Suburbs
7. We Used to Wait--The Suburbs
8. Intervention--Neon Bible
9. Wasted Hours--The Suburbs
10. Keep the Car Running--Neon Bible
11. The Suburbs--The Suburbs
12. Wake Up--Neon Bible
13. Deep Blue--The Suburbs
14. No Cars Go--Neon Bible
15. Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)--Funeral
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Summer Music 2012 Minneapolis-St. Paul
Well, my Summer of Music is over. From the Shins in June to the Mavericks at the Fair. I still hope to see some more music this fall, but it's time now to look back and pick the best performances of the summer. I of course did not see everything (see below) that I hoped to see, though in addition to some of the concerts listed below I also saw Minnesota Music Night at the State Fair, including Semisonic, the Jayhawks, Dessa, Jeremy Messersmith, and Lucy and Michelle and the Velvet Lapels.
Best Concert of the Summer--Rufus Wainwright (reviewed here at Boomer Rock) with the Mavericks and Alison Krauss close behind. #4 through #10 are the Blood on the Tracks Band, Los Lobos, Auto Body Experience, the Jayhawks, Steve Earle, Adam Cohen and Semisonic
Best Artist--Rufus Wainwright followed by Alison Krauss and Raul Malo
Best Song (Performance)--"All You Every Do Is Bring Me Down"--the Mavericks, ahead of "There Is a Reason" by Alison Krauss and "Candles" by Rufus
Best Vocals--Raul Malo of the Mavericks followed of course by Alison Krauss and Jeremy Messersmith
Best Instrumentalist(s)--Ron Block and Jerry Douglas of Union Station
Best (Electric) Guitar--David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos; then local boys Dan Wilson of Semisonic and Steve Grossman who sat in with the Blood on the Tracks band
Best Rhythm--Conrad Lozano and Louis Perez of Los Lobos, followed by the Mavericks' rhythm section and then Semisonic's
Best Other Instrument--the trumpet and saxophone with the Mavericks, whose names I did not catch and cannot find anywhere online; followed by Alison Krauss on fiddle; and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos on saxophone
Best Songs (Songwriter)--Steve Earle, then Rufus, though I suppose you could also make an argument for this fellow named Bob Dylan whose songs were played by the Blood on the Tracks Band Live
Best Concert of the Summer--Rufus Wainwright (reviewed here at Boomer Rock) with the Mavericks and Alison Krauss close behind. #4 through #10 are the Blood on the Tracks Band, Los Lobos, Auto Body Experience, the Jayhawks, Steve Earle, Adam Cohen and Semisonic
Best Artist--Rufus Wainwright followed by Alison Krauss and Raul Malo
Best Song (Performance)--"All You Every Do Is Bring Me Down"--the Mavericks, ahead of "There Is a Reason" by Alison Krauss and "Candles" by Rufus
Best Vocals--Raul Malo of the Mavericks followed of course by Alison Krauss and Jeremy Messersmith
Best Instrumentalist(s)--Ron Block and Jerry Douglas of Union Station
Best (Electric) Guitar--David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos; then local boys Dan Wilson of Semisonic and Steve Grossman who sat in with the Blood on the Tracks band
Best Rhythm--Conrad Lozano and Louis Perez of Los Lobos, followed by the Mavericks' rhythm section and then Semisonic's
Best Other Instrument--the trumpet and saxophone with the Mavericks, whose names I did not catch and cannot find anywhere online; followed by Alison Krauss on fiddle; and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos on saxophone
Best Songs (Songwriter)--Steve Earle, then Rufus, though I suppose you could also make an argument for this fellow named Bob Dylan whose songs were played by the Blood on the Tracks Band Live
Sun June
3
|
Scottie
Miller Band
|
Northern Vineyard, Stillwater
|
Th June 7
|
Dan
Israel
|
Mears
Park
|
Th June
14
|
Communist
Daughter
|
Mears
Park
|
Th June
14
|
Scottie
Miller Band
|
White Bear Lake Market Fest
|
Sat June
16
|
Martin
Devaney
|
Stone
Arch Fest Under Central Ave. Stage
|
Sat June
16 1 p.m.
|
Sweet
Colleens
|
Nokomis
Library
|
Sun June
17
|
Dan
Israel
|
Stone
Arch Fest
|
Th June
28
|
Auto Body
Experience
|
O’Gara’s
|
Sun July
8 noon
|
Haley Bonar
|
Northrop
Plaza
|
Tues July
10-Aug 21 5 p.m.
|
Music
acts at 5:30 and 7
|
+ market,
movie downtown Stillwater
|
Th July
19
|
Battle of
the Bands
|
WBL
Market Fest
|
Wed July 25
|
Los Lobos/Steve Earle
|
Zoo
|
Th July
26
|
The New
Standards
|
Mears
Park
|
Sat July 28
|
Blood on the Tracks (Dylan cover band, very highly recommended)
|
Wolfe Park
Amphitheatre, St. Louis Park
|
Sun Aug 5
|
JP Sousa
Mem’l Band
|
Como Park
Pavillion
|
Fri-Sun
Aug 10-12
Sat Aug
11
|
Irish
Fest
Sweet
Colleens
|
Harriet
Island
|
Sat Aug 11
|
Rufus Wainwright
|
Zoo
|
Tues Aug
14 5:30-8:30
|
Scottie
Miller Band 7 p.m.
|
Stw
Summer Tuesday
|
Fri Aug 24
|
Alison Krauss
|
Asheville
|
Thur Aug
30 9 p.m.
|
Scottie
Miller Band
|
Washington
Sq Pub
|
Wed-Thur
Aug 29-30
|
State
Fair
Mavericks
Monroe
Crossing 6:30
|
Bandshell
Today
Heritage
Square
|
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