bedsitter23 | Entries tagged with music director in exile

Those who know me personally know that I am a near-obsessive fan of the singer Morrissey.

In recent years, his words and actions have tarnished his reputation to all but his most dedicated fans. Were he born at a different time, he would have likely been like his antecedent Larkin likely found out only after discovery of letters after his death.

I admit to having a hard time boycotting work by artists who should be censured. My favorite artists of all my time were horrible at some point in their lives (Lou Reed, Richard Thompson, John Lennon), though we brush it off as 'being the times'.

It is rather easy to dismiss Morrissey of course. His recent work is absolutely inessential, and you can justify listening to the Smiths, as Johnny Marr appears to be an above-and-beyond great human being.

One wonders why after periods of great absence (1997-2004, 2009-2014), Morrissey picks now when his talent appears to be on the wane to be suddenly prolific.

For me, there's a clear drop in quality when Morrissey start working with producer Joe Chiccarelli (an incredibly diverse resume of Zappa, White Stripes, Alannis Morrisette, Cafe Tacvba, and The Strokes to name a few). It may also stem to this also being the point where Alain Whyte was no longer writing or contributing to the band. Whyte had been responsible for most of the beloved songs from the Mozzer from the time of Your Arsenal on.

Similarly, Boz Boorer is here but has become a diminishing presence and this is the first album without a Boorer credit in over 25 years.

Which isn't to blame the current band members- guitarist Jesse Tobias (stints playing with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Alannis Morrissette), keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Gustavo Manzur and bassist Mando Lopes (who played with punk legends Fear in the 90s and Title TK-era Breeders) or Chicarelli. Chicarelli always makes the Mozzers voice robust.

His lyrics betray everything else. He sounds like he is using a rhyming dictionary and on "The Secret of Music" just listing off the names of instruments.

It is an album that is easy enough to dismiss with one listen, and I only suspect the diehards like myself will find anything more in it.

The album's lead single was a song called "Bobby Don't You Think They Know" which is the best way to capture the mess that the album is.

Presumably, Bobby's secret is sexual, though it is unstated, and Moz is joined by Thelma Houston (Yes, that Thelma Houston, best known for "Don't Leave Me This Way") as they build to an almost six minute later crescendo.

It will be ridiculous to many listeners. It is to Houston's credit that it builds up into something worthwhile. The combination of two voices is really a great thing. One wishes that they could have collaborated much earlier when the material to work with was better. Manzur's music is also to be credited. Somehow pulling from Gospel and the Stranglers, he actually pulls it off.

The album is front-loaded with the strongest songs. Tobias writes an anthemic tune in Jim Jim Falls and Mozzer is in fine form. It would have made a good single back before people dissected his lyrics in these current times. Of course, Luke Haines got to something like If you're going to Kill yourself...get on with it" first, but it is within the Mozzer's wheelhouse.

Manzur takes over with "Love is on its Way Out"- the lyrics could be from a Moz Generator. It's not a bad song by any means, but I doubt he used 40 words in writing it. It ends up being more of a fragment than anything- though once again, Manzur's music is nice.

"Bobby" is the third track and the title track is fourth. Like the much earlier Moz tune "Roy's Keen", it succeeds despite itself. The lyrics are close to comical. It helps to know Canada Goose is a clothing company that Moz got in a verbal spat with.

Tobias again provides a backing track that is quirky and builds. Moz's voice is in fine form, and if the lyrics don't make you laugh (unintentionally) then this is one of the better tracks on the album. As the song builds to its anthemic closing, one wonders why Moz chose "Louder than Blows" rather than the much better "Louder than Bombs".

"What Kind of People Live in these houses" is one of those problematic Morrissey tracks where you are wondering what exactly he is getting at. Tobias's backing track would probably be fine, but this one is largely forgettable. Here is a case where Moz has written too many lyrics, and would probably be better served with being economical.

Knockabout World is another minimal lyric song over a Tobias beat that evokes New Wavy synths meeting Orchestra; pop. It seems to have some promise, but is over before it goes anywhere. The ending "You're going to be okay with me" likely works fine in a live setting. As it stands, it still feels like a sketch.

"Darling I hug a pillow" has great trumpets, though Moz seems tapped. "Why can't you give me physical love" seems like a lyric written by an AI version of The Man. A tribute to the talented Danny Levin- American Music Club member circa 2008, has worked with everyone from GWAR to 21 Pilots and on Iggy's Post Pop Depression. It's a shame this one isn't quite up to snuff.

"Once I Saw the River Clean" is over an electronic Tobias beat so good that Morrissey could read a telephone book over it, and he just about does. It doens't mean anything but it is a nice song.

"The Truth About Ruth" starts off with a lot of potential to be a Marc Almond-style spanish guitar melodrama. The truth is that Ruth is John, and in Moz's mind, that is a horror. It's a sentiment that would have been a good plot for Morrissey's 60s idols, but seems a bit outdated, and Like some of Moz's earlier solo work, it's unclear whether he's fine with this fact.

I like the work Manzur puts in to make this so dramatic. It's a shame he couldn't have gotten this over to Steven Patrick some 20 years earlier, where it could be put to good use.

The Secret of Music is not good and too long at 8 minutes. It makes a play at the nightmarish, but there isn't anything there.

My Hurling Days is a typical Moz ballad to end things. It almost works. Tobias has the melody right and Chicarelli surrounds it with the correct drama, but again,it never lives up to its potential.

Critics have given this album all sorts of reviews from it's his best solo work in years to it's trash. I admit I wasn't enamored with it at first.

On the plus side, Mozzer's voice is as solid as it has ever been, and the music is certainly adventurous.

On the other hand, Moz is no longer a sympathetic fellow and it's hard to give him a fair shake. There hasn't been much in the last few albums to indicate that there is anything left in the cannon. Any chance of a late career resurgence like Cohen or Reed seems slight.

The world certainly doesn't need any more Morrissey albums, and this is for the hardcore fans only. As a hardcore fan, will I listen. Yeah, I will probably for a few weeks. It's better than California Son and likely as good or as better as Low in High School. The Moz was always destined for self-parody or worse if he continued. In the modern music industry, he will likely only see a flow of pennies from streaming and minimal album sales. I guess I can't quit the Moz.

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1218936.html

It's that time of year. It may be easier to make a Top 40 than a 20, but I thought it was a bountiful year.

As always, best is subjective- even when you are talking about one person's opinion- so these are at least the 20 albums that impacted me the most or brought. Since I have wrote about some of these before, i will try to keep the descriptions brief.

Here goes:

The Beat Feat. Ranking Roger - Public Confidential (DMF Music) - Ranking Roger's death is sad, of course, but artistically, I am really going to miss him as his incarnation of the Beat was pretty great. With great harmony singing with his son, and a stellar band, I don't have much trouble putting their last two releases with the Beat/General Public discography.

Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet (Loma Vista) - I've watched Bird since his circa-Y2K breakthrough where he was one of the many interesting instrument brigade with the Arcade Fire, Beirut and the Decemberists. His discography has certainly taken an unusual route. MFWY is Bird at his most interesting lyrically, with as song as good as any I heard this year, "Sisyphus", but it's a pretty solid piece of work

Tracy Bryant Hush (Taxi Gauche)- Bryant is one of my favorite current artists, and Hush is pretty solid. Reviews tend to focus on Bryant's voice, but it is a perfect compliment to his music- which touches melodic pop, a little psychedelica and garage rock. Produced by someone who gets it - Kyle Mullarky (Growlers, Allah-Las)- this is really one of the great unsung records of the year.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- Ghosteen (Ghosteen)- Selfishly, this isn't really the type of Nick Cave record that I like. It, however, is still a pretty magical record with Cave, Ellis, et al making what is almost an ambient record. Credit to Cave's artistry that he has turned this grief into something so listenable and yet maintaining that raw emotion.

Leonard Cohen - Thanks for the Dance (Columbia/Legacy/Sony)- Improbably, Adam Cohen had some recording of his father's You Want it Darker sessions and made a record that would pass the ear test as a Cohen album. A tribute to the talent of both father and son, that this record stands up so well. Otherwise, it would probably be a very good record (like Iggy's 2019 offering), but it's something more.

Rodney Crowell - Texas - (RC1 Records)- I was a big fan of Crowell in the late 80s/early 90s, and I suppose this all-star concept album is meant to get him back on the radar. Crowell's sound tends to mimic his guests here (Billy Gibbons, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, even Ringo Starr), but it's strong lyrically, and though Crowell doesn't need it, this places him in the tradition of Delbert McClinton, Jim Lauderdale, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore as grand old men of Americana roots music.

Danger Mouse and Karen O - Lux Prima (BMG) - Such an interesting album that surely would have been huge 15 or 25 years ago. Danger Mouse gives Karen O her most commercial sound, but Karen is the real star here. At times, the pop princess, but at other times, very much the same singer she was in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Like much of Danger Mouse, the end results seemingly transcends genre.

Pete Doherty and the Puta Madres- s/t (Strap Materials) - Like that self-destructive icon Johnny Thunders, Dohery's discography is a mess, best to be cherrypicked. Outside of those first two Babyshambles records, his best work is an acoustic bootleg (doing business these days as The Freewheelin'...) So, no real surprise this quickly recorded seemingly throwaway project is the best Pete has sounded in years.

Steve Earle & the Dukes - Guy (New West) - Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark loom heavily over Earle's work. While I wasn't a big fan of his Townes tribute, Earle really seems to make Clark's songs his. You can tell there was a lot of love in this album, and it ends with a perfect celebration of Guy- "Old Friends" with Jerry Jeff Walker, Emmylou Harris, and Rodney Crowell among others.

Ezra Furman Twelve Nudes (Bella Union) - When I first heard Furman, I thought he was a Billy Bragg style folk singer. On his last album, he sounded like a late 70s Lou Reed with some Springsteen. Here, he is a lo-fi punk or a noise rocker. Who's the real Ezra? Well, they all are. Definitely a talent to keep your eyes on.

To be continued

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1207664.html

Set the Boy Free by Johnny Marr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Though tons of words have been written on the Smiths, this seems essential.

Besides, I am not sure you could consider Morrissey's autobiography non-fiction, so here we are.

This is pretty standard rock autobio. Conversational and breezy. Marr seems "aw shucks" as he recounts his life, marrying his teenage sweetheart and becoming one of the most influential guitarists of his generation.

Nothing wrong with that. His is an interesting story. Although he makes it sound like it was so simple, I gleam that he practiced his keyster off, and this story doesn't happen without Johnny putting in the work.

Pretty simple biography which recounts the England of his youth, getting involved in the local music and fashion scenes, up until he puts together the Smiths.

From there, it's a pretty basic bio which combines some of his inspiration and "behind the music" tales of recording, mixed with what he was feeling at the time. The kind of stuff Smiths fans will pore over.

Observers have noted Marr's weird post-Smiths career, but here, it follows a certain logic. He had known Matt Johnson since his teen years and they always planned to make music together. He plays with friends and heroes (The Kirsty MacColl bits are some of the best- along with him coming up with the name of her "Electric Landlady" album). He pursues a solo career, but finds he likes the feel of a band better, so he hitches up to Modest Mouse and the Cribs. He finally decides to really put his name out there, forming a band with the rhythm section of the band Haven, and playing music that recalls his glory days. Somewhere in there, he's responsible for discovering Oasis, as well.

It's a lengthy book, but it's a simple read. Smiths fans will enjoy it. He's interesting enough, though, if you are a fan of music bios, and have any interest in the band or the ear at all, it might be worth a read. For song-by-song analysis, you can do better, of course, but I would mark it essential for Smiths fans. I will probably thumb through it a few times over the coming years.

View all my reviews

Current Music: Gogol Bordello - Trans-Continental Hustle
Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1185069.html

Artists are bastards.

Some of my favorite artists have major flaws.

So what to make of Morrissey, indeed, my favorite of all artists, as he seemingly comes across as a racist these days.

It is easy to say either thing- “I’m done with him” or “it doesn’t matter one bit” but neither seems fair.

He has become a cranky old man like the poet Philip Larkin, and there is actually some romance in seeing the Moz as an old man cursing kids on his lawn, the Sun, and anything else that crosses his path. Unfortunately, in the current culture, it means everyone wants to put a mic in his face so they can run news stories.

Of course, these days, I can enjoy his music quite legally without putting much money in his coffers. Any moral quandary that I may have does seem lessened.

I have not always agreed with the critics since his career hits its apex with a steadily ascending success that resulted in a Billboard Hot 100 hit and had leveled off.

Looking back, you can see a solid enough singles career. Critics probably overstated his case but there are moments. I always credited him working with Tony Visconti as some of his best work, but that may have been overstating things. Indeed, the previous You Are The Quarry and the follow up Years is Refusal now stand up as rather worthwhile records- a few great songs with some filler. My at-the-time regaling of Ringleader of the Tormentors has cooled, but these three albums in a 6 year span probably deserves some praise.

This decade finds Moz lyrically bereft, but producer Joe Chiccarelli (a Zappa alumni, of all things) does seem to capture a strong vocal every time out.

Moz now comes with a covers record. As a fan, I have always felt Moz’s weakest moments are the covers. Work is a Four Letter Word, What’s the World, Skin Storm are songs I could go the rest of my life never hearing again.

On the other hand, improbably, a cover of The Pretenders’ “Back on the Chain Gang” actually worked. So maybe?

That Moz has a touch of Sinatra in him, I tend to group him with Marc Almond at times. Marc doesn’t gather the attention Moz does.

Almond is all over the place - from obscure spoken word records and collaborations with Coil and Michael Cashmore to albums produced by Chris Braide (Britney, Beyoncé, Sia, Christina Aguilera) and a collaboration with Jools Holland’s Big Band.

Would’ve Moz taken these chances? Bold in directive, a five year timeframe saw Almond move into trip hop, reunite (!) his famous band, and cover otherwise unheard Russian composers. I consider all those discs necessary purchases.

Oddly, both have come to a point in there career, where they are releasing covers albums. (Almond just had a Visconti detour as well- the Dancing Marquis which is fantastic and shows what Moz could have been able to do). While Almond’s recent cover work is hardly essential, he has always been indebted to Judy Garland, Johnnie Ray and Gene Pitney to name a few, and it shows. Meanwhile, Moz comes off a bit Fat Elvis.

It is easier to dismiss Moz’s attitude when the output isn’t very good.

Much has been made of the selections on Moz’s covers disc. Critics like to call it a mockery of left wing politics, but they are overthinking it. Yes, you could jump to that conclusion, but I think this is simply a collection of songs that Moz grew up with - Dylan, Joni, Ochs, Hardin, Buffy St Marie, Melanie. The titles are also a give away- he’s name checked “Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets”, his love for Joni Mitchell is well documented and “Suffer the Children”, c'mon.

Things start off promising enough with a cover of Jobriath’s”Morning Starship”. It’s a faithful version which 1) shows how talented the original singer was and 2) would have worked well as a Morrissey b-side.

Quickly, we find out why this album doesn’t work. Critics had fun writing reviews about how he “subverted” Dylan, Ochs and the other liberal voices, but truth be told, Morrissey is ultimately soulless in his interpretations.

It is telling that the best moment is Gary Puckett’s “Lady Willpower”- a big production that features Moz as the type of Vegas lounge singer that SNL has parodied for decades (Bill Murray, Will Ferrell).

Almost as Moz had been one of the early British Elvises he idolized, and was an otherwise generic pop singer. Orbison should work, but “It’s Over” doesn’t quite warrant repeat listenings.

On”Loneliness...”, Moz mimics Dionne Warwick to the point, one instinctively goes to stop the track and look for hers.

Most will know “Wedding Bell Blues” from the 5th Dimension. If you’re digging for a story, the lyrics unchanged become about same sex love. Unfortunately, it’s not even camp. Something your parents listened to on the AM, it is the worst of possibilities- it’s just lame.

At best, these songs could be B-sides. Closer “Some say I got Devil” has some signs of life, but as the record ends, we are left asking what is the point and where is the Morrissey we loved. Morrissey s folk musings make Bobby Darrin's folk musings (he also covered Hardin and Buffy St Marie) look like Smiths era Morrissey.

Chicarelli once again seems to get the best vocal performance of Morrissey possible. There are, of course, many guest stars (Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Petra Haden, members of Broken Social Scene, Young the Giant, and Grizzly Bear)

So, like the similarly Omni-monikered Glenn Danzig. A covers album sounds great (and something we looked forward to), but far removed from fronting a groundbreaking bands and closer to “Fox News special guest” territory. What we thought we might want, we no longer want. That Moz has entered Tom Jones territory is less fun that it sounds.

"Morrissey - Lady Willpower (Official Lyric Video)" (Watch on YouTube)

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1171558.html

My two passions are politics and music.

When the two collide, I really enjoy it.

I am not alone as when 19 candidates showed up at the Democrat Hall of Fame dinner, the walk up selections went viral.

Everyone from Slate to Vanity Fair to Spin to Vogue went to work writing an article and why not? What fun!

Here is what you need to know

I Would Have Called You Woody, Joe

The first thing most reporters noted was that there were 2 Clash songs selected. We have reached the generation growing up with Joe Strummer replacing the 60s icons as our go-to Political music spokesperson.

Beto O’Rourke is young and hip. That’s his thing, so it’s a natural pick. Heck, he has punk bona fides, playing bass with Cedric Bixler-Zavala before he went on to fame in At the Drive In and Mars Volta.

Clampdown is probably a good pick, with so many Clash songs about terrorist bombings, riots and avoiding the draft, the decision is tricky. Beto famously quoted it when running against Ted Cruz saying Ted worked for the Clampdown.

So, I get Beto but Bill de Blasio’s choice of “Rudie Can’t Fail” is odd.

Great song. It’s just that de Blasio isn’t even the first NYC Mayor who come to mind when I hear “Rudie”

Still, the Mayor went on CNN last month and said he loved the Ramones, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and ska.

He even was photographed at a Trash Talk concert (Keith Morris endorsed hardcore band whose biggest media moment besides the De Blasio pic, is the pic of a fan urinating into his mouth at a concert of theirs in Australia, which hit reddit fame).

(I’ll opt to show the de Basio pic)

He doesn’t feel “hip”, but when you are the mayor of the town that gave us CBGBs and Murphy’s Law. The remaining question is why he didn’t go NYC and use a Toasters song.

You Probably Never Heard of Them
Kudos to Amy Klobuchar who uses a Dessa song - “The Bullpen” -picking a constituent over a trendy artist. Dessa has appeared on NPRs Best Albums list and she contributed a track to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape.

"Dessa - The Bullpen" (Watch on YouTube)

Kirsten Gillibrand using Lizzo is a good selection. I would say “Good as Hell” isn’t Presidential, but these days, all bets are off

What you did there, I see it

Elizabeth Warren using Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” is inspired. If you forgot, the movie is about kidnapping and planning to murder your boss to improve labor conditions. The only bum note is Dolly didn’t approve the usage.

Andrew Yang’s “Return of the Mack” is a pretty solid choice for old school swagger. John Delaney using “I’ve Been Everywhere” is brilliant, and highlights the time Delaney spent in the state.

Green New Deal advocate Jay Inslee used ELOs “Mr Blue Sky”. Subtle.

(Elle suggests he may have used the Weezer cover, though it was probably ELO and any case, the comment stands. )

Bernie Sanders using Lennon’s “Power to the People” is well fit and old news by now. Insert “What? No ‘The Internationale’? Joke here.

Cover of the Rolling Stone

The most popular song of 2019 “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X was used by Tim Ryan. Everyone is talking about whether it’s Country music or not. Billboard says No but they also say Big &Rich, Florida-Georgia Line and Tim McGraw & Nelly are country, so...? It’s a topic everyone is taking about. No one’s talking about Tim Ryan. Well, it’s worth a shot. Maybe he should have came to the stage with a recording of “Yanny”/Laurel”?

I suppose there is a deeper meaning in Marianne Williamson’s “Higher Ground” (Wonder, not Chili Peppers) and Kamala Harris using Mary J Blige’s “Work That”, but otherwise they’re just great walk up music.

Same goes for Cory Booker using Bill Withers’s “Lovely Day” and Tulsi Gabbard with Marvin and Tammi’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. They are classics though there is a message. I could probably put them in the category below.

One of these days I am going to get organizized.

With this level of creativity, I suspect that their campaign poster is a kitten on a tree branch saying Hang in There
.
Michael Bennet used Springsteen’s “The Rising” which is what I would do if I was using “Generic Campaign Song” in a movie.
If not The Rising, then surely Mellencamp’s “Small Town”, picked by Montana’s red state governor Steve Bullock.

Pete Buttigieg used a rap/remix of Panic at the Disco’s “High Hopes”, which is just a hipster’s version of Springsteen or Mellencamp. Odd given, a professed love for Spoon, Radiohead and Phish

“Good Life” by One Republic (Used by John Hickenlooper, who otherwise seems to have good taste. He’s showed up on stage with Old Crow Medical Show before) is generic Campaign music for someone who thinks Mellencamp or The Boss are too edgy.

Eric Swalwell went with “Caught in the Country” by Rodney Atkins which is just n-th generation Springsteen (via Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton) flavored country anyway. At least it was contemporary and something not too overplayed.

(Bonus track: I actually have a friend who attended the dinner. He said it was a bit of a frenzied pace. He said the winners of the night were Booker, Warren and Klobuchar, which is in line with what Politico reported)

Current Music: Old 97s- Most Messed Up
Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1169906.html

We all knew Roky Erickson wouldn’t live forever, but it is still a shock to hear of his passing.

I did not get to see him perform live, but I believe some friends did. For most of my life, that seemed impossible. Still, for a few years at the end, he was able to get out and perform. It seemed his life ended up with a steady ascent and his death cemented him finally as an American hero.

I am ok with that. There are other garage rock bands and psychedelic bands that deserve attention (Seeds, Sonics, Sir Douglas Quintent) but Roky grew to be the image cemented in our mind. At last, he can be celebrated like Dylan, Reed or Springsteen.

It’s funny. I probably listen to Roky and the 13th Floor Elevators in recent years as much as I do anything. I might hard pressed to name artists I listen to more, but those I do are evergreens like Bowie and Cash.

It has been easy to classify Roky as a Rock n Roll casualty. It is romantic and he gets lumped in with Daniel Johnston, Syd Barrett and Wesley Willis. One can’t argue that his lyrics weren’t a bit out there, but he always struck me as having a real ear for melody.

I was lucky enough to be that impressionable age when Roky finally got his due. The idea of tribute albums came out and Roky got a pretty amazing one. It was a real testament that the artist involved were true fans- but not a group you might have put in the same room - REM, Julian Cope, ZZ Top, Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Richard Lloyd of Television, the Butthole Surfers.

Because of that, I bought a matching retrospective. It was mainly drawn from his 80s records for Restless, but the tracks were flawless. I truly treasured that disc.

For someone who wanted more, it was good timing as it was also the era of CDs and it seemed like the Elevators discography was easily found. Another Dimension was also released- a decent sounding live record.

Things were all leading to a Roky revival and in 1995, teaming up with Henry Rollins and Paul Leary and King Coffey from the Butthole Surfers to release a book of lyrics and record a new album

Even in those ambitious indie rock days, Roky was never going to be huge, but the re-recording of many of his famous songs on All that May Do My Rhyme

Allmusic shockingly gives it only three stars, but they are wrong. With Leary, LouAnn Barton, Charlie Sexton, Speedy Sparks of the Texas Tornadoes and brother/Guardian as well as multi-instrumentalist Sumner Erickson backing, it is a cleanly recorded record, that almost is country-tinged in its acoustic spirit. It is also a classic.

Unfortunately, I stepped on my CD and had to buy it twice.

In 2010, Erickson got one last hurrah by teaming with Okkervil River who helped work some old songs and ideas into a cohesive record. It’s pretty solid and leaves one last great document of his career

Meanwhile in the current environment, it seems every time Roky had a guitar, it found its way to tape. I appreciate the various moments caught. It also means the hard to find records spread throughout his career have bubbled up. I feel lucky to be able to listen to those.

Roky’s legacy is a complex one. Songs like “Starry Eyes”, “Fire Engine”, and “You’re Gonna Miss Me” are classics. Erickson’s issues are legend too- stealing peoples mail, listening to multiple TV sets at full blast at the same time- almost glorified or mocked.

Somewhere in between is Roky singing “I’ve been working in the Kremlin with a three headed dog” with as much sincerity as others sang “She loves you. Yeah yeah yeah” or “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man”. It was fantastic. I celebrate that.

"the spades "we sell soul"" (Watch on YouTube)

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1169353.html

One of my favorite 90s songs is More Than This by 10,000 Maniacs, which went to #25 on the US chart in 1997. Unexpectedly, as I was a Maniacs fan, but this Roxy Music cover was from the post-Natalie Merchant band.

Mary Ramsey had the unenviable task of replacing Natalie as the band was just beginning to reach new heights, putting her in a position like Gary Cherone or the dude who won the INXS talent show, who could only fail.

Ramsey’s history actually made her a perfect fit. She had played with original Maniac and songwriter John Lombardo in John & Mary, and as for herself, she had played on the Maniacs’ biggest hits.

In any case, to me there is no better marriage of voice and lyric. Unfortunately, I never did seek out any more of the Merchant-less Maniacs. Like the Pogues without Shane or the Bunnymen without Ian, it just didn’t seem like the same. Still, I loved this song, so I should go back.

The original is pretty great, too. Bryan Ferry debuted as a Lounge Lizard from Outer Space a long with Eno at his side on Roxy Music’s debut. By 1982, he was mainly just a Lounge Lizard.

Roxy Music were no strangers to covers.

This single followed their cover of Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” (which is another great original/cover pairing where both songs are classics). I would be here awhile if I named all of Ferry’s covers but “A Hard Rains A Gonna Fall”, “Like a Hurricane “ and “Lets Stick Together” are the top of the long and diverse list.

Ferry recently did a Dylan covers album and now as the Bryan Ferry Orchestra, he’s taken to covering himself.

It sounds like a cash grab but his collection of earlier Ferry/ Roxy songs in 2012 as 1920s Jazz and 2018 as Weimar Republic cabaret are absolutely fantastic.

The song became a popular concert cover for Blondie and Robyn Hitchcock and of course, all probably remember it was sang by Bill Murray in Lost in Translation

Of course, the 10,000 Maniacs - for a band who had fantastic and unique poetic lyrics- biggest hit was a cover of Because The Night- which is another example of equaling the original.

"10,000 Maniacs - More than this." (Watch on YouTube)

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1163453.html

Social media obviously draws attention to deaths but it is still true that they are sad events.
( Collapse )

Undoubtedly though, the death of Ranking Roger is a sad one.

I almost undoubtedly heard the English Beat first on MuchMusic. That Canadian video station found a spot for ska. I heard “Mirror in the Bathroom” and it is one of those special life-changing songs.

I special ordered “What is Beat?” because I had gotten in that habit. Needless to say, that album is perfect

The Beat like the Buzzcocks had three records that were pretty solid so the greatest hits records are start to finish perfection. Though not quite the same band template, the Jam’s “Snap” and XTC’s “Waxworks” make for four of the most perfect one record compilations of the late 70s and early 80s. True Desert Island Discs.

Of course, in the 90s and early Aughts, I upgraded to CDs and the greatest hits collections got filled out reissues. Without a doubt, there are very few records that I have listened to in my life than What is Beat.

After discovering the Beat, I would go on to discover the Specials and 2 Tone. Always grouped together and yet apart, the Beat because of their amazing pop sensibility, often get labeled as less authentic. Ironically, in terms of career output, the Beat dwarf this mythical competition.

In the 90s, one of the first new wave reunions took place when Ranking Roger joined the legendary Saxa and drummer Everett Morton from the Beat and four members of the Specials to form the Special Beat. To me, this was a really big deal. In retrospect, this was a nonevent in musical press terms. Of course, should that be the case? This was one of an early chain of events that kicked off a new heyday for ska.

Unexpectedly, General Public has another big hit and went to #22 in 1994. Their cover of The Staples’ “I’ll take you there” is a great cover and a deservedly pop staple in its own right and was in the year end Top 100.

In 2013, it was announced that Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling would both be leading separate versions of the Beat complete with tours, upcoming studio and all that entails. It was hard to imagine Roger without Dave and vice versa after so many years together off and on.

I saw much more press for the Roger version, which had some bona fide claim to the title. Besides Roger, it also included his son, Fuzz Townshend (Pop Will Eat Itself, Bentley Rhythm Ace), Oscar Harrison (Ocean Colour Scene) and Bobby Bird (Higher Intelligence Agency).

In 2016, that record did appear- Bounce. It was a good record though I felt it ultimately fell a bit short of its goal. Not a bad record by any means, but hardly essential.

What I didn’t realize when the new album Public Confidential came out was that Bounce was essentially a group that was in the process of finding itself.

There’s some irony in the fact that it comes out at a similar time as The Specials reunite and release a new disc. There’s also an ironic sadness that Roger passed away so soon after the release.

I wonder if I would have delved into this record without that. I likely still would have. In any case, I am glad that I did. It is a record that meets and exceeds its lofty expectations.

Whereas I listened to Bounce and lamented that Dave was not going to show up, with Public Confidential, I never feel that element missing. It truly feels like the English Beat, mixing the right amount of looking-back nostalgia mixed with a modern feel. It seems hyperbole when reviewers compare it to the Beat's classic, but it really is in the conversation. Nor is this an element of one or two hit singles, but a collection of cohesive songs. I find it unlikely, but it will undoubtedly be on the short list of my favorite albums of the year.

"Maniac - The Beat feat Ranking Roger" (Watch on YouTube)

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1157315.html

Concert Review: Gretchen Wilson. I try not to turn down the chance to see a live musical act.

To be fair, Gretchen Wilson is the complete opposite of what I usually listen to.

She is interesting to me, though. For starters, she is from about 50 miles from where I grew up. It is hard to think of anyone my age from my area that is more famous than her.

Everyone will likely know her 2004 hit "Redneck Woman" which put her on the map. She was showered with Grammies, ACM and CMA Awards.She had 5 songs hit the Country Top 5 and Pop Top 100, and was a solid mainstay on the Country scene up until at least 2013, when she recorded an album of rock covers. The last song I heard by her on (Satellite) radio was a cover of the James Gang's "Funk # 49"

I was not sure what to make of Wilson, but that she had showed a rock side was promising to me. "Redneck Woman" was a huge hit, and I wasn't sure a decade-plus later what I thought of it. It's a very slick produced singalong that is very much in line with a history of Achy Breaky/Urban Cowboy country music that is stronger today than ever. Yet, country music is short of songs by strong females, so it also owes to a lineage of "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", "Harper Valley PTA" and "The Pill."

Wilson, of course was discovered by Big and Rich. John Rich wrote and sang some of Lonestar's biggest hits, before making a bigger name for himself. Rich is responsible for Wilson's success; but also responsible for the auditory excrement of Big &Rich's wedding floor staple "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy). Rich also famously won the 4th Season of Celebrity Apprentice. The likeable Rich who won the competition in 2011 over Gary Busey, LaToya Jackson and Lil Jon among others- was the highest ratings ever achieved by that series- and thus, is probably just as responsible for the fact Marco Rubio isn't in the White House right now.

So, is Wilson a country rebel or a slick studio concoction? Well, it's complicated, but I am going with the former.The first thing you notice about Wilson is that she can flat out sing. If she had been given the fortune of being born and becoming famous in a pre-Napster, pre-TRL, pre-American Idol world, it seems likely that she would be revered in ways that Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and (probably her closest comparison) Tanya Tucker are and were. A multi-decade career as a country legend. There's no studio trickery needed. She has a voice for country. That Merle Haggard sang on her album is all you need to know for originalty

The second thing you notice about Wilson is her rock side. She cuts through faithful covers of Foriegner’s “Urgent”, Heart’s “Barracuda” and Zep’s “Rock N Roll”. The band even rip through an instrumental medley that references Van Halen, The Who, Queen, ZZ Top, the Scorpions, AC/DC and the Eagles. No doubt in my mind that Gretchen couldn’t pull an “Adam Lambert” and front any classic arena rock band. Her concert is as much as FM Rock as it is Country.

Indeed, it’s not surprising that she ends up there. There’s no real spot for the 38 Special/Steve Miller/ZZ Top crowd and it has eventually found a camaraderie with Country via artists like Hank Williams Jr and Charlie Daniels. Which is why people like Kid Rock, Brett Michaels, and Jon Bon Jovi find themselves on the country side of the fence in recent years, and Don Henley and Stevie Nicks are as important to country music as George Jones.

Little surprise too, that for Wilson’s last big hit, 2010's “Work Hard, Party Harder”, she lost a court battle to the Robinson Brothers for veering too close to the Black Crowes’ “Jealous Again”. Wilson is a rocker and is likely more a true heir to Joe Walsh than any kid out there with a guitar that Pitchfork is covering today. She has a voice for country, a voice for rock, and honestly could get onstage and hold her own at any Blues Festival.

At the end of the day, Wilson isn’t really my kind of music. Her anthemic arena rock and country isn’t my preference. She really isn’t a Lucinda Williams or Roseanne Cash style songwriter. But for what she does, she is good, it’s just not for me, and that’s ok.

Best moment: the Bakersfield stroll of “When it Rains (I pour). “

Wilson protege Jessie G opened. Despite the name, she was pretty straight pop country. She definitely could sing, though I suspect you could say the same for dozens of opening acts this weekend. She can sing and she is beautiful. though in a world of Taylor Swifts and Kelsea Ballerinis, I suspect she may already be too old for that to matter. She has what seems like a made for charts hit in “Army Ranger” about loving a soldier overseas.

Her set ended with a cover medley which is surely a Rushmore of influences - Joplin, Jett, Benatar and Ethridge. Admirable, but like those women, she will have to find her own distinct style to make an impression.

"Gretchen Wilson When it rains" (Watch on YouTube)

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1148416.html

Johnny Marr Call the Comet (New Voodoo/Sire) – It’s weird that Marr’s solo career didn’t realty take off until the 201xs. Even weirder, he seems to get better every record. Call the Comet is his best solo album yet, and in a world where 120 Minutes still mattered, “Hi Hello” would be in every house. Perhaps, little surprise that this is also the record that has most embraced the Smiths and New Order (and Joy Division) sound that has marked Marr’s career. I catch direct reference to Patti Smith, too. Smiths fans who may have not paid attention to Marr should check this out. This one shows what a real talent Marr was and he could have held it down on his own (though, add some unique voice and better lyrics, and well, I promised I wouldn’t do this…)

Mitski Be the Cowboy (Dead Oceans Records)- 2016's Puberty 2 was such a masterful indie record. It's hard to even classify Mitski's music. On one hand, it's lyrical folk, drawing comparisons to Jenny Lewis and Angel Olson, and the other hand it's totally lo-fi with the occasional Pixies-ish noise. It drew comparison to lo-fi bands like Car Seat Headrest. There really hadn't been an artist that broke those kind of boundaries since Julie Doiron and Eric's Trip. Mitski would be forgiven for taking a step back on this follow-up. Instead, she takes it to another level, adding elements of dance and electronic music. Moments of the record reveal a mixture of 80s influences like The Smiths and Kate Bush. It all adds together to make one of the most completely realized albums of 2018.

Parquet Courts Wide Awake! (Rough Trade) -2016's Human Performance was a revelation. It imagined the feel of the Velvet Underground wrap around shades and European son cool. Last year's Daniele Luppi collaboration Milano doubled down on that. Hard to say which album is better, but Wide Awake is just as good. This time, with another amazing collaborater Danger Mouse. This sounds like a great unheard of new wave album- nods to The Fall, Fear of Music, Gang of Four, Wire, even some Minutemen and classic 1970s NYC- Ramones, Television, and of course, Lou Reed. They seem to maintain a certain chameleon-like quality, but come off as their own.

Nathaniel Ratcliff & the Night Sweats Tearing at the Seams (Fantasy)- For all of the talk about rock being dead, there are quite a few good rock bands that fall in the genre that used to be called Adult Alternative.The Revivalists, Milky Chance, Alabama Shakes, the Avett Brothers and maybe best of all, Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats. This mini-explosion owes much to Jack White and the Black Keys though their concurrent influences of the Post-Mumford explosion and to a certain extent, jam bands which via The Lumineers, The Hand and the Heart, Of Monsters and Men, and even Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings bring us here. “SOB” was a huge hit that got these guys played on stations that normally play The Crue and White Zombie. There’s nothing quite that catchy here (a couple of songs come close) but it’s a much more realized record than their self-titled breakthrough disc. Impossible not to mention Van Morrison but like their tourmates Kings of Leon, I suppose the band owns a few CCR and The Band records too.

Rolling Blackouts C.F. Hope Downs (SubPop)- It is hard to think of a debut album that has come out recently that had so many expectations, and it was one of my most anticipated albums of the year as well. They had released 2 EPs that showed what a unique talent they are. So I am happy to report that they delivered. It's hard to classify RBCF. They are like all the good bits of music- C86 and some of the sophisticated pop of those days like Orange Juice and the Go-Betweens, with some Flying Nun pop, a touch of Parquet Courts style punk influences, and a lot of classic American college rock like REM, the Feelies, maybe even the Replacements. "An Airconditioned Man" might be the best kick off to an album all year.

Richard Thompson 13 Rivers (New West) I have put together "20 Best Albums of the Year" lists for 15 years, and this will be the first to feature Richard Thompson. I have followed his career and looking back, I may have been wrong a time or two (Sweet Warrior), but I think his legacy towers over everything he has done. So it isn't that he made bad albums, he has just already done it all. Then again, there is something about 13 Rivers that feels different. I would say it is a stronger set of songs, for one. I do think that is part of it; but it is also a throwback to the classic sound. Thompson produces and Clay Blair (The War on Drugs) catches a sound that is immediately arresting, much like Thompson's classic material.

Tracyanne & Danny Tracyanne & Danny (Merge) From a selfish point of view, I am saddened by the death of Camera Obscura pianist/vocalist Carey Lander. Lander was am integral part of the band, and they broke up. Looking back, the band's four records are incredible. They were often overshadowed by the similar Belle & Sebastian, but looking back now, were they just as good or even better. This album relaunches Traceyanne Campbell's career by pairing her with Crybaby's Danny Coughlan, and it's such a great listen. Campbell is always inspired, but when needed, Coughlan proves a worthy foil. Much in line with Camera Obscura, subsequent listens show the strong backing music that goes from Bachrach-ian pop to Velvet Underground cool.

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1143476.html

Brian Fallon Sleepwalkers (Island)- When it looked like the Gaslight Anthem had done everything it could, but become an arena rock band, Fallon has continued to reinvent himself through his solo records. This album falls short of his debut disc Painkillers, but it is to Fallon’s credit that he didn’t try to mimic that record. That likely would have failed, and instead, we get a very worthwhile set of songs here. There’s a strong influence of 60’s soul and R&B here that differentiates it from the previous disc. It is in the mold of classic Who and the Jam, even occasionally going to far into those Weller influences. Still, like most of Fallon’s work, it’s Springsteen who looms the largest in the background. Still, with Fallon’s current position, he gets away with some things in 2018 that the Boss couldn’t, and that ultimately, works to his favor. A fine record.

Bryan Ferry Bitter-Sweet (BMG) – Although I have probably followed Ferry’s career more than almost anyone, I almost skipped over 2012’s The Jazz Age. That particular album reimagined a collection of songs from Ferry(and Roxy)’s deep history as 1920’s era jazz recordings. Re-recording old songs? It seemed like a Rod Stewart-style cash-grab to me. I am glad I didn’t though, as those songs were so refreshed creatively that they felt like something new. 2018 finds Ferry on Netflix playing a 1930’s Berlin cabaret singer, so a sequel of sorts seems logical. Though like Dylan’s Sinatra records, there is no longer the thrill of hearing something for the first time, this album is well worth it. The bonus of this record is Ferry adding vocals to some of the newly reworked songs. It is also certainly more Weimar Republic than Duke Ellington this time, but it’s still pretty great. It helps that some of my most favorite Roxy Music tunes show up here. It’s quite possible that there aren’t two better albums in the last few years that are going largely unheard than The Jazz Age and this one.

Franz Ferdinand Always Ascending (Domino)- Despite generally positive reviews, let’s face it, critics have given up on this band. The first three albums are held in a certain regard, but no one but the most diehard of fans seem to really take note. Which is a shame as the band is still putting out good music. There’s no great single here, but there some great songs. It continues down the road the band has continued to travel (more groove, more dance) while Alex Kapranos veers into Jarvis Cocker territory more often than not. I am still happy to see the band making records, and will continue to spread the word as much as I can, as long as they put out records like this.

Ezra Furman Transangelic Exodus (Bella Union)- I was disappointed that outside of the AV Club (and despite positive reviews), this disc was left of year-end “Best Ofs”. I knew Furman was talented, but this really blew me away. Ambitious as all heck, Furman’s self described “queer outlaw saga” wants to meld together Born to Run and Nebraska Bruce Springsteen with Berlin and Street Hassle Lou Reed; (something I would probably advise not to attempt) but he pulls it off. It all gets thrown in – country road songs, glam rock, dance/ambient and even soul, all with Furman trying to tell his On the Road or Thelma and Louise. It would be interesting even if it only half-worked, but it succeeds.

Mick Harvey and Christopher Richard Barker – The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War (Mute)- I have weird records all over my “Best of”, but this is probably the weirdest. Longtime Bad Seed Harvey and Author/Poet Barker present an album that ostensibly is made of poems written by a long-dead WW1 soldier named Edgar Bourchier. You have to do some deep digging, but if you look far enough, you will discover Bourchier isn’t real. This album, though attempts to invoke the horrors of War. It does that in various random styles- often harkening back to previous times. In fact, it’s hard to even compare this record. I would probably compare it to Julian Cope or Chumbawamba’s music hall ballads. It’s hard to even find much similarity in the Birthday Party lineage (perhaps Harvey’s Serge Gainsbourg covers) or songs about War (Motorhead’s “1916” perhaps) . Non-rock arrangements, repetitive lyrics- even many, many listens, it’s hard to know what to make of this. Still, Harvey is such a deft arranger that it is almost impossible not to like this. It sounds like a bit of a ridiculous concept, but it ultimately succeeds (to the point, record reviewers are carrying the Bourchier ‘long lost poet’ story.

The Interrupters Fight the Good Fight (Hellcat)- This band follows the Rancid template (and actually have a long history with Tim Armstrong) so it’s hard to judge them. Clearly, there is a lot of Specials, Selector, Clash and Agnostic Front on their streaming devices. When I first heard “Kerosene”, I could smell a hit, though it felt like the band arrived 20 years too late. “Kerosene” did end up a hit, but the band evokes a memory of when bands like Dance Hall Crashers were the rage. There’s (*ahem*) no doubt that they will be compared to other female fronted ska bands. Fight is more realized than anything the band has done previously, and at the end of the day, Aimee Interrupter is such a strong frontperson, that the world should take notice. The rest of the album lacks “Kerosene”’s power, but it still maintains a better-than-average pop-punk-ska set of songs.

Cody Jinks Lifers (Rounder)- I can’t place what makes Cody Jinks so good, but he is. There is little here (the odd Jackson Browne reference notwithstanding) to differentiate this from other country artists. His voice has a huge Toby Keith bellow and his songs aren’t a million miles away from Tim McGraw. Still, there is something special about him. Probably unsurprising, Jinks started out in hardcore punk and thrash metal. He carries that booming voice and sense of melody. In a lot of senses, it reminds me of Steve Earle’s first record, which is also a ‘pure country’ record, but you can tell that there is a lot more than meets the eye.

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1142505.html

Please stay tuned for parts 2 and 3.

It was a great year for music. So many records could have made the cut, but I had to keep it to 20. Here goes...

Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino(Domino)- In a weird twist of fate, the Arctic Monkeys were supposed to be a fad, but by 2013s AM, in a post-rock world, they became one of the rock bands that matter. So what did they do? Alex Turner made himself a too-cool-for-school crooner in the mold of Jarvis Cocker. Bowie is of course, the obvious touchpoint, but this album may be more closer to Bolan, or frankly, the Rocky Horror Show and might be more “Bowie in Space” (Flight of the Conchords) than Bowie in Space. That said, strangely, this concept holds up. You know, space has always been important in all genres of rock- Rush, Floyd, Parliament, Voidoid, and Klaatu, to name a few. Still, in a world of Yelp, Netflix and Uber; of Trump, Kardashians and Elon Musk, it’s possible that no one has been more accurate with their vision of the future than the A-Monkeys. Critics like Pitchfork wrote 1000 word essays on the opening line of “I just wanted to be one of the Strokes”, but they were wrong. Turner’s reinvention here is something deeper to appreciate.

Chris Carter Chemistry Lessons Vol 1 (Mute)- I spent the 90s collecting the Chris and Cosey albums. The post-Throbbing Gristle duo always took a back seat to Psychic TV and Coil. (With reason, I enjoyed their music, but it was hardly essential. The stalwart Allmusic only gives two of their albums four stars or more). This record is rather enjoyable and though it can be used for background music; it really grabs the ears. Not too much unlike Martin Rev’s album last year, here is one of the classic innovators of the genre doing some really interesting work with sounds- 25 “songs” most averaging about two minutes each. This one is unique enough and hard to describe, more ambient and less dance than Chris and Cosey, more like a modern dat Kraftwerk than industrial, it certainly falls in lines of music that imagines the future in the way we thought of it in the past. I was pleasantly surprised to see this fall on Mojo’s “Best of 2018” list.

Current 93 The Light is Leaving Us All (The Spheres)- Current 93 makes Neofolk easy, but it’s not. Just type “neofolk” into a music aggregator and see. Indeed, the band’s latter era masterpiece (2006’s Black Ships Ate the Sky) makes it look real easy, though a listen through many of the band’s records since, show how hard it can be. David Tibet makes his best music when he sounds possessed, and he sounds a bit possessed here. The album is very much in line with an apocalyptic folk vision of Black Ships and 1997’s All the Pretty Little Horses- a world beyond time straight out of Fantasy. It doesn’t quite live up to those two records, but that it comes close is a testament to Tibet’s amazing talent.

The Damned Evil Spirits(Spinefarm)- Anyone who has seen the Damned live in the last couple of decades (or one of their many live records) know that there is still a lot of fire there. Unfortunately, the last couple of attempts at studio recordings have been terrible. This album finally gets it right- what we all knew, that there must still be fire in the tank. The band at this point feels like The Damned with Vanian, Sensible, the return of Paul Gray, and two newer members who have 20+ years in. Tony Visconti is an inspired choice to capture the sound, most masterfully in the sonic opener “Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow” and the closer “I Don’t Care”. It’s unfair to compare this to the band’s first three records or even 1985’s Phantasmagoria. It just doesn’t hold up to repeat listens after that first listen “They’re back” rush. Still, it’s a very enjoyable album and captures the grab bag of the band’s styles. Indeed, any track here would fit seamlessly on the band’s Light at the End of the Tunnel retrospective. Like the Stranglers, it’s great to see these so important punksters prove that they still have it.

David Davis & the Warrior River Boys Didn’t He Ramble: Songs of Charlie Poole (Rounder)- David Davis's uncle played in Bill Monroe’s band, but by now, David has plenty of bluegrass bonafides on his own. While the band has made some wonderful traditional bluegrass records in the last two-plus decades, this one is really special. By covering Charlie Poole, he’s unearthed some really great tunes. Now, Poole has a lot of rock fans (Dylan, Mellencamp, Baez, Wainwright III, the Dead, Hot Tuna, the Holy Modal Rounders), but the WRBs really do a great job of presenting the songs of Poole, which should be of interest to anyone who likes 1920’s music, country and blues, bluegrass, and maybe haven’t sampled bluegrass since the days of O Brother Where Art Thou. If you are interested in any of the above or the artists influenced by the sound, it really is worth checking out.

Ed Schrader’s Music Beat Riddles (Carpark Records)- Ed Schrader and Devlin Rice are fixtures on the very cool Baltimore scene (Beach House, Future Islands) and hooked up with another big Baltimore name Dan Deacon who produced this. ESMB was a good find for me. This is a wonderful future-looking album. Many of the songs have a repetitive beat which makes it almost impossible not to compare to another electronic duo, Suicide. It can veer from garage punk and noise to EDM, and “Tom” (Major?) also shows how big an influence Bowie is. A great unheralded album.

(To be continued)

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1142197.html

There are ups and downs in a band’s career, and there probably isn’t a better barometer than the State Fair circuit. Yes, the grandstand features bands that have achieved a certain amount of success. Still, it’s the Iowa State Fair Free Stage where the real truth lies. Country acts that are on the rise (Jordan Hayes, Drew Baldridge, Runaway June) play here but on the Rock (and R&B) spectrum, it’s the other side. Bands that no longer can command the grand stage. As I have for the last couple of years, I tell their story.

Bands inevitably keep going until they no longer resemble the originals. I saw a band that called themselves the Byrds which had the bands original drummer but didn’t have McGuinn, Hillman or Crosby. That hardly seems fair, and Thin Lizzy tours constantly, despite you know, no Phil Lynott. In any case, nepotism seems to be the new rule of the day for some big bands (Van Halen, Eagles, Yes). The news earlier this year was the reunion of the Guess Who, though it featured neither Randy Bachman nor Burton Cummings. In which case, I suppose it’s truth in advertising to call them the Guess Who?

In any case, without further ado. No duplicates from 2016 or 2017 oddly enough. This year’s crop of Free Stage bands

Queensryche

I remember: The “thinking man’s” metal band. They were Pink Floyd for the late 80s/early 90s, although I the Floyd (Gilmour’s group) was technically still around. They weren’t my cup of tea, but they were popular. It’s a fine line between The Wall and Kilroy was here. “Silent Lucidity” was a monster hit- going Top 10. Not only was Empire a hit, they were still very successful into Y2K as glam metal was getting eaten up by grunge and then numetal. Oh, and the umlauts are always cool.

What they have been up to: They haven’t stopped and still seem to have a dedicated fanbase. To call them a ‘state fair’ band seems unfair. That said, it’s probably not surprising their biggest hit in the 21^st Century was Operation Mindcrime 2. Geoff Tate is gone as is guitarist Chris DeGarmo who wrote some of their biggest hits. In any case, for a band that is almost 40 years in business, I can’t make too much fun of them, they are still playing on a pretty high level.

Faster Pussycat

I remember: I was not particularly a glam rock fan, but to me, this was one of the better bands of their era. Their chart stats aren’t impressive, but I know for three albums at least, they were relevant. Singles “Poison Ivy” and the ballad ”House of Pain” are some of the best of the era. The groaningly named Taime Downe remade himself as a goth industrialist and showed up in Pigface of all things.

What they have been up to: The band broke up in 93, but reunited in 2001. The second break up sounded particularly harsh (MySpace bulletins and all of that kind of stuff) with two bands diverging- one with Downs and one with everyone else. At this point, Downs has kept his version of the band going- which is him and hired hands. The band hasn’t recorded much in the studio- save 2006’s painfully titled The Power and the Glory Hole.

Great White

I remember: Hey, is this an outdoor venue? Ok, I am probably going to hell for that, but I am surprised this band hasn’t called it a day since the Station nightclub fire. I never knew what I thought about Great White. “Once bitten, twice shy” is a great song, but of course, it is; it’s an Ian Hunter song. Otherwise, I probably should have paid more attention.

What they have been up to: The band had three big records before being gobbled up by grunge. That said, they have recorded eight albums since 1991’s Hooked so they’ve stayed busy. Great White though at this point is without Jack Russell (indeed it was Jack Russell’s similarly named band that played at the Rhode Island tragedy). Otherwise, the band is well tenured with a new singer Mitch Malloy who had pop success and also tried out for Van Halen. Bridging the gap from Russell to Malloy, the band was fronted by lead singer of those other glam also rans- XYZ Terry Illous.

Iron Maidens

I remember: An all-female Iron Maiden tribute? Well, you can’t beat the name (though there is an AC/DC tribute called Hell’s Belles)

What they have been up to: Nearly 20 years in, the band hides behind aliases like Steph Harris and Bruce Chickinson, but have a lot of great history. Drummer Linda McDonald played in Phantom Blue and the Ozzy tribute Little Dolls. Previous vocalist Jenny Warren is an all-female ACDC tribute called Whole Lotta Rosies (that’s pretty good). In any case, three albums are out there and plenty of high profile gigs.

Brian Howe

I remember: Although Paul Rogers had moved on and was playing with Jimmy Page, Bad Company was still a big deal in the late 80s and Brian Howe was their singer. Dangerous Age, Here Comes trouble and particularly Holy Water were big hits.

What they have been up to: Bad Company continued on without Howe in 94, but that was the end of their chart run. The current Bad Company does feature Rogers and the original drummer, and until recently, Mick Ralphs as well. Howe who sang on Ted Nugent’s Penetrator album prior to joining Bad Company, has released three solo albums

Autograph

I remember: I loved “Turn up the Radio” which is one of the underappreciated big rock anthems from the days of Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot. I never understood why Autograph didn’t get even bigger, but I think I remember something about it being a “too much too soon” story with contract issues and the usual. Of course, Guns N Roses and Motley Crue changed the game, before Nirvana changed it for good, so everyone had moved on. Though a friend of mine who had the album said they also probably didn’t have the tunes.

What they have been up to: “Turn up the Radio” was their only Top 40 hit, though they were able to put three albums into the Top 200. The band broke up but in 1997, released what was supposed to be the follow up album. They reunited in 2003 to record a new album and after that breakup, they reunited in 2013, though this time without frontman Steve Plunkett.

Paradise Kitty

I remember: An all-female Guns N Roses tribute? It has to be. It could only be better if they were themed and played songs like “Welcome to the Litterbox”, “Mr. Meow-stone” and “Sweet Mouse of Mine”. Though apparently they aren’t.

What they have been up to: They don’t have a Wikipedia entry, but it seems plenty self-explanatory. Also bonus if their singer shows up to play concerts on time. Plus their lead singer is named Jenna Syde, that’s a pretty badda$$ nickname.

DMC

I remember: Run DMC changed everything. Of course, history tends to emphasize “Walk this Way”, but let’s not forget “It’s Tricky”, “Rock Box” “It’s Like That” “King of Rock” “My Addidas” “Mary Mary” and “Runs House” which brought rap to rock ears and took the genre to the mainstream. Raising Hell went triple platinum and legitimized rap. Of course, trends come and go , and so Public Enemy and BDP and then NWA pushed things onward. No one was going to match Raising Hell ever again, but the band had one last great single in 1993’s Down with the King

What they have been up to: In 1998, Jason Nevins took a remix of “It’s Tricky” to the top of the charts everywhere but the US. 2001’s Crown Royal looked to bring them a level of success as forefathers of nu-metal with guests from Kid Rock, Fred Durst, Mark McGrath, Everlast and Method Man, but it was a bit of a bust. Jam Master Jay was shot and killed the next year. Joseph “Run” Simmons is now best known as Rev Run and has spent the last decade or so as a reality star. DMC similarly has had VH1 moments and has published his own comics. Although he has continued to do some interesting things, it seems like DMC still is largely unheralded in comparison to his contribution to pop music.

The Gap Experience

I remember: I grew up in The Gap Band’s Heyday. Disco was dying and so funk bands picked up guitars and rocked. Some of my favorite music is from this time, and the Gap Band was among the best. I don’t remember all the hits but remember they were important, and of course, “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” has remained in constant rotation on nostalgia stations. The one I remember though was “Oops upside your head”. Of course, “Uncle Charlie” Wilson has had a revived career thanks to the likes of Snoop Dog and Kanye West and is as relevant as ever

What they have been up to: Well, as you know like George Clinton and Ronald Isley, Charlie Wilson has solidified his icon status by making hits into the 21^st Century. The Gap band were centered around three brothers and Robert passed away in 2005. The band charted all through the end of the 80s (eight albums in the Top 200 in 10 years) and recorded three albums in the 90s. The Gap Experience isn’t the Gap Band, per se, but are members who backed the Wilsons on record and on tour. Jimi Macon, the guitarist behind some of the band’s biggest hits passed away last year, but there is also trombonist/horn player Oliver Scott and drummer Raymond Calhoun who were there for all the essential hits, while Billy Young was on many of the 80s records. Roman Johnson played and cowrote on 88’s Straight from the Heart and with Terry Scott part of the 90s Gap Band. These five all have a solid pedigree as Gap Band members and so I consider the Gap Experience a legitimate continuation of the Band. Oh, and the reason Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” was so catchy was because it was really “Oops Upside your Head”, so hopefully everyone got a nice paycheck.

Blessid Union of Souls

I remember: I hated the misspelling but thought this was a talented bunch. They will go down as “one hit wonders” but they really had two gigantic hits. “I Believe” was earnest pop that took them Top 10. They probably should have been even bigger, and maybe would have been if they had just come a year or two later, when the charts were dominated by Hootie, Tonic, and Gin Blossoms. Instead, they kind of got lost in the shuffle. “I Believe” is an incredible song and one of the best of its era. Unlikely enough, they hit again with “Hey Leonardo” which is the opposite end of the spectrum- jokey and sarcastic. It totally smells like Bill Clinton, Friends and Benetton. It’s clever though. Admit that you like it.

What they have been up to: They really haven’t stopped recording, though in 2011, the record The Mission Field was their first geared towards the Contemporary Christian market.

Biz Markie

I remember: The Biz never sleeps. “Just a Friend” went top ten in 1989 and is still constantly played on classic hip hop stations. It will probably out live us all.

What they have been up to: Biz’s follow up changed pop music forever, though not necessarily the way Biz wanted it to. Album closer “Alone Again” drew heavily from Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally) and Gil sued and won, forcing rap artists to get clearance before using samples that moment forward. Biz probably would have always been known for his one hit, but it really slowed his momentum. He hasn’t sleeped though certainly he’s more B-list- MTVs play on Hollywood (Hip Hop)Squares, Yo Gabba Gabba, Sharknado 2, and various tv appearances (Black-ish and Empire) and lest we forget Celebrity Fit Club.

Current Music: Candice Gordon- Garden of Beasts
Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1125614.html

Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You can blame Dylan, of course. For many, many years, Tarantula loomed over musicians with a literary bent. If even Bob couldn't write a successful story, what hope did mere mortals have in crossing over into that medium. The success of Chronicles Volume One many years later finally opened the floodgates. There had been exceptions like Leonard Cohen and others; but in recent years we have finally seen those writers we always thought should try the form finally go down that road. The most literate of songwriters have now published - Morrissey, Springsteen, Patti Smith, Steve Earle, Nick Cave, David Byrne and even Prince had started to write a memoir.

So Costello, of course is a no brainer. I consider Costello one of the legends at this point, and I don't think you will get any argument. Indeed, you could probably pick any four years of his life and he could write a book about it- his dad's career, growing up in the 60s British invasion, early 70s folk rock and pub rock, Stiff Records, the late 70s punk scene, the early 80s new wave scene, Nashville leanings, pop success, 90s alternative, late day collaborations with Bert Bacharach and Allen Toussiant, his Spectacle show. All gets covered here.

I would be remiss if I didn't say something about Dancing about Architecture, which of course is here- though as I have read elsewhere probably owes credit more to Martin Mull.

But it's all here, and even someone with a five-decade career can be melted down to five to ten moments we remember, and he gets them - that SNL performance, the Pump it Up video, that particular Ray Charles quote, "guilt and revenge", the Armed Forces sleeve, "Everyday I write the book", the McCartney collab etc. It's all here, but you also get commentary on some of the stuff you forgot about- the Wendy James album, the Specials debut disc, Momofuku, "The Other Side of Summer" video. Then, the stories you haven't heard- sharing a double bill with Eddie Money in the late 70s because the record label thinks you go together, Rising in a tour bus in 78 with Geraldo Rivera as he writes an expose on 'punk rock'. All of the great Stiff Records stories.

It's a fantastic book. First, because it's a fantastic career, but it's also a fantastic person writing it. I have heard some criticisms and I don't believe any of them. One is that is nonlinear. Yes, but it works better this way. Indeed, why not talk about buying a Beatles 45 and transitioning to working on Flowers in the Dirt.

A second criticism is that it is too long, but no complaints from me. This is like that 18 song disc that you have no right complaining about if 14 songs are good. I didn't really not like any of it. Some complained that it doesn't need the family history stuff in it, but that's part of who Costello is, and I thought it was handled well. I also saw the complaint that Cait O'Riordian wasn't covered in enough detail. Costello generally spends the book letting it out there, so respecting Cait is the best decision. He does mention it after getting a jab in at Shane MacGowan (about the only person Costello badmouths in the book) and then follows a mention of the marriage with what are probably the two worst written pages of purple prose I have read in some time.

If you are not a Costello fan, you're not likely to be won over, since much of the book reads like a list of people he got to hang out with- McCartney, Bacharach, Touissant, Solomon Burke, Dylan, Aretha, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, members of Elvis's Confederates and many others. Still, at this point, I think Costello is as worthy as the people on the list. Also, of note, I am glad that I followed Spectacle when it was on tv. It was underappreciated, and probably would have been a smash in a post-Hulu/Netflix world.

I really loved this book, and though it did take a while to read at nearly 700 pages, I thought it was fantastic. I would read any detours Costello might make in writing about the music in his life or if he wanted to delve back into certain chapters of his life.

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Current Music: Stooges- Fun House
Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1113399.html

How Music Works by David Byrne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love, love, love Byrne's books.

Whenever, I read negative reader reviews, it's usually because they are expecting something else. Indeed, there are people more qualified to write a book called "How Music Works"- music historians, sound engineers, social scientists, linguists, and so on.

Still, Byrne has such a keen insight, and takes what can be a dry university subject and make it really interesting.

The most cursory of looks at Byrne's career will remind you he's seen and done alot. Punk pioneer at CBGBs. Pop hero headlining stadiums. MTV artist who pioneered modern-day visuals with some of the most memorable pop music images of the last 50 years. World music hero who experimented with sounds (and Eno) and found audiences for artists largely undiscovered in America.

He looks at music from a lot of different angles. How the way we listen to music affected architecture (Wagner and modern day music hall). The history of recorded music and the days where recording music was frowned upon by the old guard (Recording is Killing Music must have been the late 19th Century mantra). Then taking that recorded music on the road. The time eternal argument of pop art vs high art.

How a scene comes about and why CBGBs was so magical, and how you can do it in your hometown (not the way you might think of trying to duplicate it exactly on purpose). How music sales in a post major-label world. Selling your record in the pre-Napster age and now, what it looks like to be a major label artist or an indie artist or a self-distributed artist. Cassettes and vinyl and CDs and MP3s.

The dynamics of music and what music can do, with references from the likes of Eno (naturally), John Cage, Tom Ze, and many other innovators. The visual possibilities, and what Byrne was trying to accomplish with those big suits. The science of sound from birds to drum circles.

Inspiring creativity and kids and the less fortunate. Patterns in music that correspond to math and recur in science including astronomy, geometry, and even into religion.

Even then, I am still leaving stuff out. Byrne is a smart student and has done his homework. He also brings a lot of unique experiences based on his individual career. You don't have to be a Talking Heads fan to enjoy the book (Wait, who's not a Talking Heads fan?), though as a fan, it has some keen insight.

It's a very smart, accessible, read. The type of book you could read over and over again, and the McSweenys book format is nicely illustrated but still has plenty of text. It's (for the right party, anyway) a cocktail party book. I am sure you can find plenty of reasons to hate the book-it's too simplistic, it's not "deep" enough, it's too personal to Byrne's experience, why does Byrne hate Classical music so much etc.. but for me this is one of those perfect books to pull off the shelf now and again.

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Current Music: Blank Dogs- Under and Under
Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1108009.html

Although we knew it was coming, it was still sad to see Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie go.

I was a teen in the late 80s and early 90s and living in the country, it made us not a cable house, but a satellite dish house.

I spent nearly every waking moment watching MuchMusic (at least when I wasn't watching The Comedy Channel) which was Canada's version of MTV.

MuchMusic appealed to me so much more than MTV. Although I loved MTV as well, MuchMusic felt more like the original MTV, the budget was minimal and had more of a diy-appeal, the VJs were a gang- it was all of the things that I would have had with MTV if I had been slightly older, but they were now moving on into big budget production.

Best of all was that it was music pretty much 24/7/365. Like Early MTV, that meant they played a lot of stuff to fill the time. It was more of a potpurri. MTV would play Anthrax, Boogie Down Productions and Big Audio Dynamite sure, but they were each relegated to a specific place and time in the lineup. MuchMusic would play them back to back.

The other redeeming quality was that they had to follow the Canadian content rules and play home grown music. These rules weren't as basic as they sound- it was a mix of the performer, the producer, the writer, band members and who knows what else. Which made Rod Stewart a Canadian artist but Bryan Adams not.

Canada had a lot of great homegrown music and indeed The Hip were top of the list. For me, the best were The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, The Northern Pikes and blues rocker Collin James. I indeed loved Cowboy Junkies and The Pursuit of Happiness which made some inroads in the alt-rock scene. There was a great unconventional wave too (Barenaked Ladies, Moxy Fruvous, Rheostatics. I could go on and on with great Canadian bands that are fairly obscure this side of the border- 54-40, Jann Arden, Bruce Cockburn, Holly Cole and others. Given time, I couldn't name them all- 70s/80s Rockers like Rush, the BTO/Guess Who family, Chilliwack, Kim Mitchell, Red Rider, Gowan, obscure punks like the Viletones and Payola$, Madonna wannabes and pop divas like Mitsou and Alanis (Morrissette), female rockers like Lee Aaron and Sass Jordan, 90s grunge hopefuls Moist and The Tea Party and a whole list of those who hit big in America at least for a moment like Jeff Healey, Sarah Mclachlan, Our Lady Peace, Alannah Myles and Celine Dion.

Even from a rap point of view, Maestro Fresh Wes surely deserved a bigger audience in the pre-Biggie and Tupac days and would have been a great addition along the likes of Kid N Play, Kool Moe Dee and Heavy D. Jazz influenced 90s duo The Dream Warriors were deserving of recognition when they appeared with the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets and De la Soul.

In any case, the Tragically Hip were great. They have been called Canada's REM. In retrospect, there may have been better comparisons, but that was the go to description for any late-80s college rock band with traditional roots influences.

For me the band is defined by their early hits- like "Blow at High dough", "38 Years Old", and "New Orleans is Sinking". This was way before Amazon and you could find any album you want and get it. If you can't find it on Amazon, it's going to be on the internet somewhere- either a digital download from Bandcamp or from the band itself.

The Hips first record- 1987s eight song EP was only released in Canada. I was lucky to be that kind of person who looked everywhere and found it in a pawn shop.

1989s Up to Here saw a bit wider release, and I was able to find it pretty easy in the Amazon-of-that-day The Columbia House Music Club.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but I am less of a fan of the bands maturing work. Specifically, I am talking about what is considered their masterpiece -1992's Fully Completely.

Now that we are 25 years on, I remember that album getting quite a bit of promotion. The local newly launched alt-rock station played the single "Courage" a lot, and that song and "At the 100th Meridian" were definitely heard by a lot of American ears. Yet with the wave of 90s Nostalgia, I never hear about The Hip.

Wikipedia seems to do a bit of explanation. While Fully Completely was supposed to break America, they stopped American production after two weeks. To be fair, "Courage" may be good, but it's not quite as striking as the biggest songs of some of their contemporaries- Gin Blossoms, Live, Verve Pipe and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

I stopped following the band but they continued to turn out their art, and so maybe that is my loss. In any case, it indeed is a loss in that they were a great band and brought joy to a lot of people.

Watch on YouTube

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1097378.html

This one is a bit unexpected and certainly sad for me.

Tom Petty fell in a unique spot in modern music. I can't think of many solo rockers who were loved for so long by so many. Yes, he was part of a band, but for purposes of this discussion, everyone did think of him as an individual.

It's Springsteen and everyone else, but in the last decade Petty might be more beloved. Giving this some thought, I think we can agree on a triumvirate of Springsteen, Petty and Mellencamp.

There are rock bands of course (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica, even Bon Jovi) and there are people in the pop genre, but I am not talking pop. Nor do I feel Petty belongs in that category of great rock guys who dipped into soft rock. Soft rock did love Petty, but I don't consider him a soft rocker. So I am not including in the discussion guys like Henley, Sting, Collins, Clapton, Stewart, Adams, Elton and others.

Nor do I feel inclined to include those rockers who either have too infrequent with their output or just never stayed in the commercial spotlight. So as much as I love some of these guys- I say you can leave out Jackson Browne, Randy Newman, Peter Gabriel, Lindsay Buckingham, Mark Knopfler, John Fogerty, Roger McGuinn or Jeff Lynne. I am also talking charts, so we won't include icons like Dylan, Neil Young and Mccartney or cult figures like Elvis Costello, Lou Reed or Chris Isaak.

So, Petty is truly unique. He was born of a southern rock spirit that should have likely carried into the 80s but didn't. There was the Skynyrd plane crash, the Allmans break up and finally MTV came along and killed the momentum of bands like .38 Special and Molly Hatchet. Petty was able to succeed in this era by embracing the medium and giving us one of the striking music videos ever.

I knew Petty like many of my age from the Alice pastiche "Dont Come Around Here No More". It is still a work of genius- striking and a bit disturbing, and unexpectedly a more lasting Wonderland tribute than anything Johnny Depp or Tim Burton ever put together.

I remember 1986 as Petty rode high and being too young to know my history, and thinking how lucky Bob Dylan must be to be able to tour with Tom Petty. The local Wal Mart played MTV on a loop and it was about my only exposure so I ate up the excitement of the Petty/Dylan tour as much as I did the soul-inspired mid 80s version of the Stones and the excitement of up-and-comers Jason and the Scorchers.

Full Moon Fever of course ended up being the megahit, and no matter what kind of music you liked, you probably bought it. For me, it is still great, though to be honest, I have had my fill of "Free Fallin" and immediately turn it off. To be fair though, I would never turn off "Runnin down a Dream" or "I Wont Back Down"

My friends and I were in love with Manchester in those days, and punk, so the only cool Heartbreakers were those of the LAMF variety, and alternative, which meant it was ok to like REM which was born off the Byrds just as well, but not as cool to like Petty who had the same influences. Petty stuck out but I was never too worried about it. Sure, it was all about the Replacements and the Pixies, but I wasn't afraid of a little Full Moon Fever as I wasn't afraid of Diamonds and Pearls.

Into the Great Wide Open and Wildflowers came out in the landscape change of the 90s. The 90s showed Petty still knew video, and his title song was memorable with the Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway leads and the single "Mary Jane's Last Dance" with Kim Basinger in a 'memorable' role- like a Hollywood movie. I hated Wildflowers, and I think that was a prevailing thought, but time has come where critics now consider it his masterpiece. It was a commercial success and to be honest I do love all those hits- "You dont know how it feels", "It's Good to be king" and the throwback "You Wreck Me".

Though "serious" music guys discredit Greatest Hits, Petty's Greatest Hits is absolutely perfect. "American Girl" is as perfect as it gets. Released in a world where it wasn't cool like punk or new wave, time has established it as the perfect rock song. It is as good as "Born to Run". The early singles are all there and most are standards now. The only drawback was that it was released before capturing the Wildflowers singles, and another of Petty's finest moments- 2002's "The Last DJ". "Last DJ" is one of this young century's best rock songs. It is less known than the similar "Radio Nowhere" but is just as good. In those days, it was ok to have Britney sing about threesomes, Nelly sing about weed and Eminem to sing about all of that and more, but it was revolutionary to sing about Clear Channel, so the song didn't get near enough exposure.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the two Mudcrutch albums. Anyone who knows me knows that I have been a big champion of these albums. They are some of the best of recent years. Mudcrutch doesn't sound like much in theory- it was Petty's pre Heartbreakers band, and is very similar in lineup (Tench and Campbell, but also Bernie Headon's brother).

Those two records are fantastic. Very much in the vein of Byrds and Flying Burritos influence, with a little bit of NRBQ and Buffalo Springfield. If you have not listened to these records, I once again strongly encourage to do so. Petty was an amazing singles artists, but these are fantastic records. Also the song "Trailer" got a bit of airplay on Adult Alternative radio.

The sad thing of course was that the last Mudcrutch record came out last year and that meant we were still being treated to essential Petty music. What an artistic loss.

Crossposts: https://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1096214.html

The Iowa State Fair has come and gone. I have a few things to add to my archive of the fair's unique moments. But first, my annual review of the Free Stage.

The Fair Free Stage is a barometer of a band's career. If you are a country act like LANco, you are on the ascent. If you play rock music, your career is likely on the descent.

This year, some of the artists that likely would be relegated to the Free Stage, have bonded together for the I Love 90s Tour. Tone Loc, Young MC, Coolio, Color Me Badd, Salt N Pepa and Vanilla Ice.

So who's playing for free in 2017.

Tiffany

I remember: Before I knew what "selling out" was and complaining that REM signed to Warners, I was a kid and I thought if you played malls, maybe you weren't a serious artist. There were no bigger songs in Summer 1987 than "I think we're alone now" and Billy Idols' "Mony Mony", which meant that the voice of my parents generation might be Dylan or Lennon, but the voice of mine was Tommy James.

What have you been up to: Tiffany had two monster albums, until she was eclipsed by the next pop thing, which happened to be the New Kids on the Block. A bid for serious artistry evaded her. She tried country music, 2000s Color of Silence boasted Alannis-style angst and distorted guitars , 2005s Dust Off and Dance was a bid for the electronica market, and by 2011's Rose Tattoo, she was back to country music with a Bonnie Raitt/Stevie Ray Vaughn blues side.

Club Noveau

I remember: there weren't many bigger hits in '87 than the band's cover of "Lean on Me". The band was formed from another one hit wonder "Timex Social Club". New jack swing was new and vocal melodies always go over big. The band's "Why You Treat Me So Bad" is a timeless hit that has birthed numerous hits.

What have you been up to: "Lean on Me" sounds like its time, but harmony bands remain huge from En Vogue and Boyz II Men to Pentatonix and Fifth Harmony. The band was a one hit wonder, but remained relevant on the R&B charts for at least four albums in. It's been 20 years since their last album, but the current band features three of the original five members, so hopefully everyone is in a good mood. Puff Daddy and R Kelly took a "So Bad" sample for "Satisfy You" for a #1 R&B hit and a grammy, while the standout hiphop track by Luniz "I Got Five on it" gets played on "throwback" stations daily, so hopefully, the band is making pretty good residual checks.

Dokken

I remember: Dokken is probably a victim of their time. They certainly had some talent for hard rock. If they had hit their prime a few years earlier, they might have got to the level of a Van Halen, Motley Crue or Judas Priest. Instead, their height of their popularity coincided with the rise of Nirvana and Metallica. The band's downfall usually attributed to their opening act status for Metallica, and surely if they had been born a bit later would have been able to avoid the cheesy videos and other trappings of their time.

What have you been up to: The band actually weathered the 'decline of glam metal' better than you realize. Dan Dokken and George Lynch split up but had successful solo records and as late as 1995's Dysfunctional, the band would still sell close to half-million copies. Of course, the general consensus is Dokken and Lynch never ever liked each other, so a split was inevitable. With the decline of this particular genre, it was inevitable that the band would record for the CMC record label. and released two studio and two live records there. They have continued to tour and release albums. Their most recent records on our Frontiers Records (a CMC type label for the new century). In a most Spinal Tap-ish move, Dokken's lawyer was playing guitar for the band for a time. Wikipedia says Lynch is back with the band, though I could not confirm that.

Kix

I remember: Kix were clearly a second tier glam band. I do remember seeing a quite a few of their shirts though and "Blow My Fuse" being some kind of hit. The band's one big hit "Don't Close Your Eyes" has stood fairly well, and is probably one of the better ballads of those years.

What have you been up to: Kix's origin predated much of their glam brethren which probably were why they were a bit better. The band had all the usual events of the bands of their day- declining sales and being dropped from a major label. A record for CMC, split up, reunion and some bit of recent relative success while signed to Frontiers Records. The current line up appears to be all four original members.

Bang Tango

I remember: If Kix were B-level, well Bang Tango was c-level with the like of Sleez Beez, XYZ and Babylon AD. As happened at the time, I ended up with a copy of their "Aint No Jive...Live" on cassette, which was either given to me or I got in exchange for gas money or something.

What have you been up to: Given a shift of years, Bang Tango might have been classified alt-rock like The Cult, but instead was looped in with the glam scene. They were more talented than their contemporaries, but timing meant their success was limited. They have conitnued to record for marginal record labels 9though Cleopatra did release a couple of their discs). The current band is lead singer and a cast of others, while the rest of the original band performs as Bang Tango Redux. The Spinal Tap moment of this band is the wikipedia which list 35+ one-time members of the band, and claims to be a partial list.

Slaughter

I remember: "Up All Night" was a huge anthemic hit. It put everyone on notice that this band might be redefining rock. The band had real rock credentials as they came from the Vinnie Vincent Invasion.

What have you been up to: For me, I was less impressed with the other singles, though they certainly were successful. Outside of the Kiss-like chorus, "Up All Night" doesn't stand up to the test of time. It is easy to point to the band's decline to the rise of grunge which made the band look like out of style, but the truth might be closer to the band's "Behind the Music" story of drug abuse, litigation, and fatal and near- fatal car and motorcycle accidents. The band released three records for CMC international and haven't recorded since 1999, but have toured since. The current band includes Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum.

Nelson

I remember: Nelson were huge, and the timing meant they were classified as 'metal" where if they had come out a decade later, may have been a boy band. As much as I hate their music, they do seem to be generally good guys, and their pedigree (Ricky Nelson, Ozzie and Harriet) is undeniable.

What have you been up to: "Love and Affection" was such a great hit, that in retrospect, it's hard to imagine that the band wouldn't have had at least some success with a follow-up (even with the advent of grunge). Instead, Geffen and the band were in odds over the follow up, forcing a hiatus of five years. "Because We Can" (and its album cover) is one of the great tongue-in-cheek titles of all time. The band has tried a few reinventions- sometimes as the Nelson, sometimes as Matthew& Gunnar Nelson. They have made a country record as well as the inevitable Rick Nelson covers record. They recently record for the Frontiers record label.

Steve Augeri

I remember: Steve (former lead singer of lateday glam metal and CMC signees Tyketto) replaced Steve Perry in Journey, to be lost in history to the viral success of Arnel Pinada, a Filipino Perry sound-alike. Still, Augeri is hardly the "Gary Cherone" of Journey or that guy who replaced Phil Collins in Genesis. The albums he appeared on Arrival and Generations kept the band in the spotlight, and there's no shame in anything there.

What have you been up to: As with Perry, Journey and Augeri went their "separate ways" (i had, to right) because of vocal issues. Augeri has apparently recovered and been busy. When he is not performing alone, he plays in a band with Europe, Yngwie Malmsteen band and Planet X alumni.

Saliva

I remember: As glam begat Nu Metal, it doesn't get much bigger than Saliva. 2004's Survival of the Sickest, and that 2002 Spiderman song with Nickleback. I probably couldnt tell you the difference between Saliva and Seether.

What have you been up to: Looking at the charts, Saliva appear to still be relevant but they no longer have vocalist Josey Scott. What looks to be their last major single "Redneck Freakshow" came in 2013.

Green River Ordinance

I remember: They had a couple of songs that got radio play. I can't remember if they were rock, pop or country, and after reading their wikipedia page, i am still not sure.

What have you been up to: Still releasing albums and critically acclaimed as last album came out last year

Current Music: Mount Eerie- A Crow Looked at Me
Crossposts: http://bedsitter23.livejournal.com/1092231.html

Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk by John Doe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Instead of a John Doe book, this is set up as John Doe curating a book about the LA punk scene. The stated objective of the book is that the Los Angeles punk scene of the late 70s doesn’t get enough respect and attention in comparison to the London and New York scenes.
I admire working towards that end, although for me, it’s impossible to beat the UK and NYC for depth and quality, as well as diversity. Still, LA is very important. For starters, Doe’s band X is despite many plaudits, still underappreciated. As is so many of the bands that former the LA scene- the Go-Gos, Fear, TSOL, the Weirdos, the Dickies, the Germs- and there is a wealth of diversity and thought- Black Randy and the Metro Squad, the Blasters, the Bags, the Polecats, the Zeros, the Plugz, the Screamers and many more.
The book are short pieces –about 20 or so from 15 of the scene’s members- musicians, journalists, film makers. Billie Joe Armstrong with the introduction, and pieces written by Henry Rollins, Exene Cevenka, and more. The best in my opinion were the ones written by Doe, and Jane Weidlin and Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos. They really captured that period of youth where you discover others with the same tastes as you, and start making towards a scene, capturing the energy and the lack of money, no car, dead end jobs but also as the scene evolves over time. I was very inspired to think of my teenage years and early 20s and surely others will be reminded of their local scenes. Maybe not everyone we knew ended up on MTV, but we were inspired and created and made the scene in our lives.
Mike Watt has an excellent piece which is a fitting tribute to D Boon but also captures that feeling of being a lonely outsider and is written in the captifying way of ‘wattspeak” like only he can. El Vez (and others) pointed out the openness of the scene and that it was not just a white male scene, but everyone was equal, and the scene was accepting of women, gays, Latinos and everyone.
I found Dave Alvin’s piece worthwhile in that it argues over what punk is. If punk is ‘do what you love no matter what’ then the Blasters were indeed punk; but if punk is a haircut or a uniform , his band did not fit in. The Blasters shared stages with acts as diverse as Queen, Fear, Los Lobos, Bo Diddley, and Dwight Yoakam. It was cool that Lee Ving had the band’s back, and that their rockabilly-influenced sound fit in a scene where they did not sound like anyone else. I also really appreciated Jack Grisham’s piece. Most of the book follows the same thread- there was this magical group of outsiders who came together to form art, then hardcore came in, hard drugs were introduced, the scene was violent and testosterone driven. Grisham offers a great rebuttal on what drove bands like TSOL and others to do what they did. They were coming into a scene that had become the establishment it once railed against.
Journalist Kristine McKenna and Doe end the book with two pieces that sum up the chapters before. McKenna is a great writer, though I think she is a bit off with postulating that the scene wouldn’t have been created in world of social media. This to me hits a bit too much “Get off my lawn” for me. I get her point, but scenes involve. Now, there are blogs, sites like Bandcamp, kickstarter campaigns, guerilla marketing, and people across the world with similar tastes can connect, and artists like car Seat Headrest can go from home recordings to national stardom without leaving the bedroom. Her other contention borders on the “youth is wasted on the young” meme, which is mostly true. Without being ageist, many of her points are valid. The young have the time and energy and drive, before worrying about bills and families set in, and other motivations drive decisions. Another point made is that the scene once rebellious and considered something the mainstream would ridicule turned into something that corporations like record labels and MTV embraced because they saw financial implications. What was pure art was now being tinged by the greed of Capitalism. Doe ties it all together, capturing the points where the scene moved from a collection of creative souls to where it loses the plot- Go Gos Top 10 success, X’s major label signing and national tour, Darby Crash’s death. These things led to the scene no longer being this pure uncorrupted thing.
For me, this book was really powerful, and reminded me so much of my younger years and “the scene”, and I think friends of mine would say the same. Granted, we may not have the level of fame, but the scene for us was just as important to shaping our lives. To McKenna’s point, it was a time that you could get beat up for the way you looked, a nostalgia that the alt-right apparently wants to bring back. When I look at the reviews, they seem mixed. I think it may help that I know these bands very well. For me, this book was perfect for what Doe wanted to accomplish.

I would be remiss if I didn’t end this review with a glowing appreciation of my local library. In the last year or so , they have brought in not only this book, but a bunch of significant music biographies- Unfaithful Music, Porcelain, Trouble Boys, How Music Works as well as this book. Not to mention a lot of other cool books like Richard Zacks’ Mark Twain book. This is an amazing selection that I doubt my Big Box store can compete with. Way to go local library!

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Current Music: Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool
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Brian Fallon Painkillers (Virgin/Island EMI)One of my favorite bands of the last 20 years is the Gaslight Anthem. Born out of a love for the Clash, Live at Folsolm Prison, and the Boss, they came on the scene as an heir to Social Distortion, however after five albums, they have evolved closer to Bon Jovi style stadium rock. I wondered aloud what the fix would be, and here it is. Fallon has released a solo album, that is intimate and unplugged in a metaphorical sense if not an actual one. It his strongest and most consistent work in awhile. If you weren’t a fan before, the lyrical references to Steve McQueen, Marianne Faithful and Leonard Cohen may still annoy you. However, I still think it’s worth checking out. For me, he cements his spot as a vital singer-songwriter here, and maybe nudges a bit closer to his heroes.

Glint Inverter (Votiv) Glint is mainly the brainchild of New York artist Jase Blankfort. This is a genre- electronic-based altrock (I’ve heard it called indietronica) that Big Indie avoids, but generally does well with large audiences (Muse, Killers, MGMT , Hot Chip, etc). Big anthemic songs with synth and big guitars- for me, Muse is the obvious touchpoint. Glint nails that sound perfectly on “Guided”, which as with other tracks here would be perfect on altrock radio. Still, anyone can put together one great single, and the rest of the album is satisfyingly consistent. I don’t know that this album has garnered enough listens to make the big break, but hopefully success is right around the corner.

PJ Harvey The Hope Six Demolition Project (Vagrant)- A challenging record that got mixed reviews. Personally, it blows my mind away. Many in Big Indie had a problem that it was not a traditional record like Stories from the Sea… or even Uh Huh Her or the equally rousing Let England Shake. They criticized her journal entries set to music as not being artistic enough. They were wrong. This album of course is justified as an heir to Patti Smith, but equally, it’s a great noisy shambolic masterpiece that is heir to the greatest of all raw rock bands- The Stooges, the Birthday Party, and an early 90s three piece named PJ Harvey. I think this is an amazing end to end listen, and based on that, easily makes the short list for my favorite album of the year.

Mitski Puberty 2 (Dead Oceans)- This Brooklyn based singer songwriter was one of my biggest finds this year. Fortunately, I found her on my own, and not due to the influence of Big Indie. (Big Indie loves her, which I don’t have a problem with. The probem I have with Big Indie is that as much music as comes through them, they should be pushing Mitski and a dozen artists like her, not just her). It’s interesting to see Big Indie try to classify her- is she anti-folk, the new PJ Harvey or Pixies-influenced noise. Well, she’s all of that. If anything, the short songs and blasts of styles reminds me of mid90s indie heroes Erics Trip. Looking forward to what her future holds.

Moby and the Void Pacific Choir- These Systems are Failing(Little Idiot/Mute) Twenty years ago, Moby made a “hard rock” album that despite some big fans (Axl Rose and Bono, to name two) became a punchline. That album Animal Rights was considered a career destroyer. It didn’t of course. Moby not only was critically acclaimed, he finally reached Top 40 success. The lackluster Hotel ended the ride, though age and trends eventually get us all. No longer the darling of Big Indie (indeed virtually ignored by them), Moby is free to do what he wants. This freedom has been beneficial insomuch as I think he has made some of the most interesting music in the last decade of anyone. This is a return to a harder sound, but Moby hedges his bets by crediting it to the fictional Choir. Allmusic compares it to the 90s industrial scene (FLA, MLwtTKK, Consolidated), though I think it looks back further (Joy Division, New Order, even OMD) and nearer (the electroclash bands of Y2K3-6), with a certain bit of early-techno Moby for good measure.

Mudcrutch 2 (Reprise) I have always been a Tom Petty fan, and there’s no denying his run of singles, but his 2008 album by his pre-Heartbreakers band was a revelation. Perhaps, its that there Is no expectation commercial and otherwise and Petty and co. get to once again indulge in bar rock drawing heavily from the Byrds (and Buffalo Springfield, The Band, NRBQ, etc). In any case, the first Mudcrutch album was a great start-to-finish listen. What seemed improbable but what happened is the second album is just as good, if not better. It boosts a bonafide FM single “Trailer” (though adult alternative stations capitalized on it, its success was relative). But the album is just as good in its quieter moments as the Tom Leadon-led “Queen of the Go Go Girls”. Hard to explain why (it’s almost the Heartbreakers) but well worth it.