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
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