Initial Review of Chinese Democracy

Alright, I'm ready to weigh in (for the first of what might be several times.)

I think this record is remarkably strong. The most important thing I could say for it is that there is nothing that sounds like it. Not past Guns N' Roses, nor any other rock band for that matter. Now that will disappoint some people who loved their old sound (as I did.) But I'm happy to accept this for what it is. (As if I had a choice.)

The best aspects of the album:

1. Axl's voice. I don't know whether individual tracks were recorded in 1994 or 2007, but he's never sounded better.

2. Axl the arranger/producer. There are a million things going on in each song, and he weaves them together remarkably well. Particularly impressive are the guitar solos-- played by different people and perhaps recorded years apart-- which interweave with one another almost seamlessly. You can clearly hear when the soloist switches, but the transfer is remarkably organic. Actually this award should be shared with the co-producer Caram Costanzo, who it appears took the lead with a lot of the guitar arranging.

3. Axl the arranger/producer continued. As Dr. Kittybrains and Tex Plush have noted, the album is full of dynamics. One of the reasons I keep buying CDs is because their dynamic range is superior to that of mp3 files. And I listen to them on my nice stereo system (I finally bought one) instead of computer speakers. This is a record to be heard in high fidelity; not as an mp3, which cuts dynamics and frequency range.

4. The non-industrial sound of the record. People seemed to fear that this was going to be a techno metal album based on the "Oh My God" single, and the fact that ex-NIN guitarist Robin Finck was all over this. But Robin Finck doesn't sound anything like techno metal. He's totally '70s blues rock. Some critics have compared him to Slash. That's blasphemous. But he does compare favorably with Zakk Wylde. Very similar in fact. (And Oh My God is felicitously not on the album.)

4. The two shredder guitarists are surprisingly tasteful. For the most part, they keep the crazy squealing high-pitched-rockets-going-off thing to a minimum. There is some-- particularly in the Bumblefoot solo on Shackler's Revenge-- but most of it is awesome. Buckethead isn't just a great guitarist; he's genuinely musical. He knows when to cascade through arpeggios and also when to milk a single note. Bumblefoot too. And they also thankfully stay away (mostly) from the whole two-handed tapping thing, which should be banned for all guitarists not named Eddie Van Halen.

Negative Aspects:

1. The intros to the songs. Almost every song has one (some have outtros too) and none of them make the songs better. Some are interesting, like the Queen-style vocal collage at the beginning of Scraped. But most are really gratuitous.

2. The trip-hop beat in If the World. It doesn't work, and the song is too blandly mid-tempo. It wouldn't stand out as much if the whole album weren't mid-tempo.

3. The lack of any classic GN'R-sounding songs. There isn't a single riff on here to rival Welcome to the Jungle or Mr. Brownstone, nor is there any fast-paced punky thing to rival Perfect Crime or Right Next Door to Hell. (Then again, there's nothing remotely approaching the idiocy of My World, the shlubbiness of So Fine, or the third-grade lyrics of Back Off Bitch, Get in the Ring, etc. Come to think of it, there might not be a single curse word on this album.)

4. The "string" and "orchestra" parts. Boring and uninspired. Would sound better without them, or with only mellotron in their place. (Exception: Riad N' the Bedouins)

As for the specific songs, I'd group them into three tiers:

Tier One (classic): Street of Dreams, Riad N' the Bedouins, Better, I.R.S., There Was A Time

Tier Two (great but not classic): Shackler's Revenge, Scraped, Catcher in the Rye, Sorry, Chinese Democracy, Prostitute, Madagascar

Tier Three (would be better if omitted): This I Love, If the World

But again, what stands out most about this record is that it sounds like nothing else out there. It's the death knell of the old Slash/Duff/Izzy GN'R, because it sounds like neither Welcome to the Jungle nor Estranged. And that's okay.

This isn't the band I grew up loving, but I'm totally digging it for what it is. (4.5 stars out of 5.)

So it doesn't get lost in the shuffle...

I know I probably shouldn't even be mentioning this, since with the release of Chinese Democracy Axl Rose has now officially driven the stake through the heart of the album as an art form, in one fell swoop changing the landscape of the music industry forever, and become a World Historical figure who has broken the old law tablets and ushered in a new age. Thus I do recognize that by the time this comes out on Tuesday it will be just an unmarketable, scattered collection of songs that will show up in the Music History books as a mere footnote to Axl's self-destructive triumph...but all the same, if you haven't seen this crazy shit, you should take a look:

It's time!

Really, there's only one thing to say at this point...

Final Day...

Only one more day, and so - here's two classics that capture GnR in all their insane glory:

The Most Important Chinese Democracy News

As reported... somewhere:

"We never thought this day would come," said Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, reports the Associated Press. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."

A voucher for the free drink will be made available on drpepper.com for 24 hours this Sunday at 12.01am. Those who print the coupon will have until February 28, 2009 to redeem it.

2 Days...

The countdown rolls on! Featured today – the best overlooked song in the entire GnR canon. I give you… Rocket Queen.



This is a pretty amazing pre-Illusion performance, with them in full on Appetite for Destruction mode. Skinny Axl! Stephen Adler! Seedy looking club! You love it!

And now, as promised, a semi-coherent rant…

So here’s the thing about Chinese Democracy – I’ve heard all the silly rumors over the years. That it would feature Trent Reznor. That it would feature Moby. That it would feature Shaq. I’ve heard the awful “Oh My God” single. And at first there was a part of me that was of the “Oh man, this is going to suck – it will be hilarious” camp. But my inner high schooler has kicked in. You see, before I knew any of you, I was a HUGE GnR fan. Loved them. Would have argued at one point that UYI2 was the best album of the 90s – and while I wouldn’t go that far, it’s still up there.

And now, it’s a weird position. Are they dated? Undoubtedly. But at the same time, they were always insane, so has the past 15 years of insanity really tarnished their image somehow? And while maybe they’ve gotten crappy, the fact is we have nothing to base that off of, except one tossed off soundtrack song. So signs point to this not being a great album – and yet I can’t help but have faith. Faith that the band that made Estranged will show up. Faith that the band that made Rocket Queen will show up. Even faith that the bizarre band who made The Spaghetti Incident will show up, because those are all aspects of the whole GnR persona, and I love them all. Some more than others, but it is the My World’s and Manson covers that partly make them so amazing. And not, NOT, in an ironic way. This is a band (and at this point, just a single man) with huge aspirations. Sometimes those aspirations lead to crap. But sometimes they lead to brilliance. And for all the people who hold up Appetite as the pinnacle, I respectfully submit that it is those aspirations displayed on the Illusion albums that make GnR so much more than just another Aerosmith. Will there be garbage on this album? Undoubtedly. But there was garbage on every one of their albums, and that garbage just serves to make the best work float to the surface.

And so I’m probably getting my hopes up too high. But man, this is a moment I have anticipated for 15 years. 15. Half of my life. And it makes me happy to discover that, 15 years later, I’m not so jaded that I have lost that excitement.

Deerhoof

Not to derail my GN'R enthusiasm, but.....
At Via Chicago's request - here is a little taste of the latest Deerhoof album. I fully admit that these guys are an acquired taste, but once you see them live you'll really get it.
The biggest obstacle for most people are the strange vocals and the music school eccentricities (i'm looking at you, Drischord).
Most of all, Deefhoof play the shit out of their instruments. And they write great, hooky, surprising hard rock songs.
Here are two of my favorite cuts from the newest record, though their best record is definitely The Runners Four, wherein they finally outgrew weirdness for weirdness sake embraced pop song structure (for the most part).
The Tears And Music Of Love
AND
Chandelier Searchlight
Enjoy!

GnR Countdown: 3 days to go...

The Countdown continues. Today in anticipation I listened to Use Your Illusion II for the first time in years and man, that thing is amazing. And so, what better way to get pumped for this weekend than Estranged:

When you're talking to yourself...

Of course, Axl is nuts, so for some reason I can't embed this, but watch it anyway. And love it.

More to come tomorrow, including an argumant as to why I am really REALLY pumped about this album, and not in any sort of ironic train wreck sort of way...

Chuck Klosterman's Chinese Democracy review sends me on a little rant.

You will all excuse me if I spend a few moments taking issue with one of the more outlandish things Klosterman said in this review.

I think we still have a long way to go before we've seen the end of The Album. Yes, things are trending away from The Album as the dominant popular music form, but Klosterman saying that Chinese Democracy will be the last "group of songs" to ever be marketed as an album sounds absolutely absurd, and strikes me more as a kind of nostalgic reverie for a lost hard-rock heyday than as an even vaguely accurate forecast. Why, exactly, does he believe this? I think Lil' Wayne would be surprised to hear that Tha Carter 4 is apparantly doomed to failure if he tries to market it as an album, like he did with his wildly successful Tha Carter 3 this year. In fact, I think everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Bob Dylan to Jay-Z to R Kelly to the people trying to market any Broadway (or High School Musical) soundtrack, would be surprised to learn that, with the latest release from Axl Rose of all people, the Album can officially be declared dead. That's just absurd. I know that Tex (in the comments section of Via Chicago's post) was focusing more on Klosterman's idea that Chinese Democracy will somehow be the last album to matter as a physical object like a CD...and while I could try taking issue with that as well (there are lots of huge Lil' Wayne fans out there who I'm sure just love holding the physical object in their hands and spending hours upon hours staring at the tatooed baby on the cover) I think it's kind of beside the point. Why is a CD so essentially different from a collection of sound files? Would you be content with the physical CD WITHOUT being able to play the sound files encoded thereon? Of course not- so how does it make sense to say a given album matters "more" as a physical object than as sound files? Does Sgt. Pepper matter more as a physical object than as a collection of songs? Sure they included some fancy cover art, but essentially nobody would prefer the art over the music. Certainly we of the Kittybrains Collective all listen to the great "Albums" of the past on MP3 now, right? What the hell's the difference?

And even if the long term forecast is indeed trending towards something other than The Album, we're not there yet, and I will go out on a limb and say that there WILL be albums qua albums to be released and marketed after Chinese Democracy. Among the first will be 808's and Heartbreak, the new Kanye West album. After that...I hear Fall Out Boy has a new album due in December. I'm ready to predict it will sell respectably well.

More Chinese Democracy

Awesome review from Chuck Klosterman.

Chinese Democracy

Man I am pumped...

Judee Sill

Have you guys heard Judee Sill at all? Dr. Kittybrains, if you haven't, run, don't walk. She's under-appreciated in the U.S., in part because her (only) two albums were never reliably in print on CD. I'd compare her a bit to Joni Mitchell or Laura Nyro (she's from the same time/scene), but she's less abstract and jazzy than Joni-- more in the baroque country/folk pop vein, and she's less soulful than Nyro-- she has a kind of pleasantly pure, flat drawl and her vocals are multi-tracked and drenched in warm echo. Apparently her life was all kinds of tragic (drug overdoses, prostitution to support the habit, early death, etc). I have a compilation that combines her two albums and it's just gorgeous music. The instrumentation is usually very spare-- acoustic guitar or piano, occasional pedal steel or tasteful strings, light percussion-- but she overdubs really beautiful layers of vocal harmonies. The overall feel is just intense sadness. I don't know if I'm selling this very well, so just trust me that it's absolutely beautiful songwriting and performing and well worth seeking out. Even though she's a girl.

I'll embed some good youtube examples (which, as usual, feature cheesy montage of still images). Unfortunately I couldn't find one of the best examples of her sound, "Archetypal Man," which is primarily a melancholy country ballad with pedal steel but then has this insane break with baroque contrapuntal wordless vocal overdubs. It's awesome. Maybe I'll upload it later.

Jesus Was a Cross Maker (one of her best, more upbeat, covered by The Hollies)


The Kiss (just gorgeous)

One More From Shudder To Think

Via Chicago, glad to hear you were already a fan. Shudder To Think's actual albums tend to be a bit weirder than their soundtrack work, but that makes them even better in my opinion. (In addition to Pony Express Record, I strongly recommend Get Your Goat.)

But on the topic of their soundtrack material, I want to post 2 more tracks... these are from the movie First Love, Last Rites, which was directed by Jesse Peretz, founding member of the Lemonheads.

I've never seen the movie, but STT wrote all the songs for it, and they're really good. Unlike the equally great Bowie stylings of Velvet Goldmine, this is all 60's pop.

Here's two cuts with very special guest vocalists. First, "I Want Someone Badly," featuring none other than Mr. Jeff Buckley. (By the way, if they ever make a Buckley movie, Craig Wedren should sing his parts.)



And this is "Automatic Soup," my favorite track on the album, with lead vocals from Cheap Trick's Robin Zander.

Shudder to Think Bonus Material

As promised in my comment here's my personal experience with Shudder to Think - their spectacular song and video from Velvet Goldmine. I haven't watched this in years and it brought a smile to my face to see it again.



And just for kicks, here's Higher and Higher:

From the Vaults: Shudder To Think

Time to pull an old chestnut out of the archives: Shudder To Think. Originally from DC and signed to Dischord records (and now you know the origin of my internet handle-- dates back to when my family got AOL when I was 14). They released 3 albums and then moved to New York and signed with Epic Records. (They and Jawbox were the only Dischord bands to sign to a major.)

Unlike most indie "sellouts," Shudder To Think got better when they signed to the major label. "Pony Express Record," their first for Epic was completely uncompromising stylistically. If anything, it was even weirder than the stuff they'd been releasing on Dischord.

What I love about this band is their willingness to be off-kilter at any time. This is particularly true on the rhythmic front. Try counting along with the verse of X-French Tee Shirt, which was actually an (minor) alternative radio hit.



And my favorite track on the album is probably Gang of $, which is a nice showcase for Craig Wedren's bizarro tenor/falsetto voice w/ extra vibrato. Some people hate this voice; I personally love it. It's like musical theater superimposed onto indie rock, which is better than it sounds on paper! (Wedren, by the way, also writes film scores. And he wrote the incredibly catchy faux-80's "Higher and Higher" song from Wet Hot American Summer.)

Here's Gang of $



Anyway, the band is now touring for the first time in about a gagillion years, and I just missed them in LA. Boo!

Terminal 5 = Worst Sound Ever

It is official. Last night I went to see Drive By Truckers/Hold Steady at Terminal 5. I'd heard the bad reviews of the venue's sound, but i figured I'd give it a shot anyway since both bands were playing full sets.
The room absolutely had the worst sound I've ever experienced. Terrible. I had to leave in the middle of DBT's set. I'm never going back.

Back to the Music...

So, now that we can all relax a bit and breath a sigh of relief, I for one am eager to return to some sort of normalcy, where not every conversation is dominated by political talk. And so...

How about that new Deerhunter album? Anyone here like these guys and heard this yet? Seems like the kind of thing some folks around here would appreciate. I actually never got their first disc, and picked this up on somewhat of a whim, but holy crap is it great.

The first disc (which I guess is the "real" album) is quite good, although it gets a tiny but bogged down in the ambient middle section. That section is more than made up for by "Nothing Ever Happened" which is all kinds of great. Here's a live version that some of you may have seen at that Pool Party thing in Brooklyn this summer.



But the second album is really where it's at. They really embrace their inner-My Bloody Valentine here and it is glorious. Were it not for the fact that MBV are back together, I'd say thsi is the closest thing to a stylistic follow up to Loveless.

So yeah, maybe I'll be alone here, and maybe part of you are part of the weird Deerhunter backlash community, but I LOVE this album.

Fuck yeah.

Vote or Die

Wilco the Song

Did you guys see this?

Coates and Kool G

A couple of quick recommendations:

First, if you guys haven't checked out Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog at the Atlantic Monthly website, you should. He's a smart political commentator, hails from urban Baltimore, and is still quite a bit younger than your average pundit, which all adds up to an interesting, entertaining perspective on national events, written with a flair you won't find quite anywhere else.

Also, he has some very interesting thoughts on hip hop, which he muses on fairly regularly, and this weekend he posted this video from Kool G Rap in 1990. Some call Kool G the original gangsta rapper, which doesn't quite do him justice, as essentially nobody since has rapped "gangsta" with nearly so much depth, style, and social consciousness. Plus, his flow is just fucking sick! Prepare to watch some true science drop:

If Hollywood directors made John MCain's ads

The first couple aren't that interesting, but the third one, a John McCain ad in the style of Wes Anderson, is pretty funny.

Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping

Kittybrains and Eric - I'm curious what you two think about the new Of Montreal album, as you two (and myself) are such big fans of the last one. ANNNNNND - discuss:

Colin Powell Endorsement

Pretty awesome...

Dreaming of You

For any of you who haven't heard it yet, the new Bob Dylan Bootleg Series Vol. 8 is incredibly good. If it were anybody but Bob Dylan I might say it was shockingly, unbelievably good, but with Dylan I was perfectly prepared to believe that his musical scraps from the past 15 years would be able to fill two CDs with compelling, impeccably arranged performances. I also love the music video for one of the previously unreleased songs, "Dreaming of You", which features Harry Dean Stanton, who I believe is essentially playing the role of Bob Dylan in this video. He looks through scraps of old paper and tapes, listens to old recordings, and reminisces sadly about his career. It almost reads like a lost final chapter of I'm Not There, as sad, old Bob Dylan reflects on all he's been through.



It reminds me of Johnny Cash's final video, for his cover of "Hurt". It's such a similar concept I wonder if the parallel was intentional.



I just hope that Dylan keeps going on for longer than Cash did after making that video. I'd certainly love to be able to hear all the treasures on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 after another 15 years have gone by.

The Debate

Foot Slightly In Mouth

Okay, on the heels of my praising music that incorporates international genres, while simultaneously mocking Snoop Dogg, I must sheepishly report that Snoop has apparently gotten big in India! (Maybe some of you knew this.) He's embraced certain elements of their music and it pretty much works. Listen for yourself...

(Note that you need to skip the first minute of the video to get to the actual song.)

Nerd Alert Follow-Up

I started writing this in the comment section for Eric's post, but it got too long...

Look, a couple things to consider in comparing eras. Number one is that rock music was so much more mainstream in the 60s than it was today. "Stairway to Heaven" was the most requested song in history at that point. (maybe still) "Bohemian Rhapsody" was a #1 single for weeks. "Hype vs. Reality" debates concerned Bob Dylan and Donovan, both of whom are respected today. (One more than the other of course.)

When you talk about the most hyped bands of today, you have to remember that most of the country is paying attention to hip hop more than they are to rock. So maybe it would be more appropriate to talk about someone like Snoop Dogg, who had this earth-shaking debut and then got progressively worse to the point where he's now just an ironic cannabis icon.

And among the rock bands that really get the hype, I'd say nearly all of them won't live up to their billing over time. The White Stripes? Give me a break. What has that band done that Led Zeppelin or [insert bluesy punk band here] didn't do far better 30-40 years ago?

The problem with bands like the White Stripes and the Strokes is this: Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones were ripping off old black delta bluesmen who the vast majority of people had never heard before-- therefore, these bands' contribution to mainstream culture was a breakthrough to those with limited cultural palettes.

Contrast that to the White Stripes and the Strokes, who are ripping off not obscure bluesmen, but rather Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones themselves-- acts that everyone has heard and who were doing the same thing, only better, decades earlier! All these 60's/70's rip-off bands will be judged irrelevant by history because they're adding nothing new to the musical canon.

But now consider bands that really are bringing something new to the mainstream. Radiohead comes to mind for their use of electronic music and their weaving back in forth between distorted rock and hypnotic lulls. Also, Paul Simon continues to push musical boundaries to this day. (Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints were great canonical contributions, but also check out Surprise, his most recent album.)

Same thing goes for David Byrne. Other acts (i.e. Arcade Fire) might be repackaging his Talking Heads material, but not him! His solo releases continue to span in all sorts of directions. And in the spirit of both Byrne and Simon (I can't believe I'm about to say this), if Vampire Weekend were to build on their culturally off-beat debut, they, too could prove to be an important band over time. (Lots to prove obviously, but their debut is promising.)

Praising Nirvana is about as bold as buying your coffee at Starbucks, but they achieved the same thing that I'm talking about with these other bands. They took the melodic, often scream-y pseudo-punk played by their idols (Pixies, Raincoats, Wipers, etc.) and introduced it to the mainstream radio market, most of whom hadn't heard this kind of music before.

And to clarify my overall point, everyone I've mentioned has something else in common besides unearthing obscure musical genres. They were all great songwriters/performers. Kurt Cobain was a better songwriter than Black Francis, Kim Deal, etc. Jimmy Page stole his licks from Robert Johnson, but he played them in a more electrifying fashion. Paul Simon writes catchier choruses than Ladysmith Black Mambazo. David Byrne doesn't just do one genre like his influences; he does 15. So these people rose to the top for a reason.

Contrast that to the nostalgia acts that dominate rock radio (and often Pitchfork as well), and note the difference. Those bands are watered-down versions of an older, better product. Nirvana, etc. stood the test of time because they outdid their influences. That is the difference.

Ralph Stanley Endorses Obama

For all you old-timey bluegrass types out there, you'll enjoy this excerpt from the NY Times Sunday magazine story on Obama. It concerns a rally in Lebanon, VA...

The program opened with the validators. This is a critical part of Obama’s small-town strategy — getting respected surrogates to stand up and say that Obama is a guy you can trust. The first person on stage was Ralph Stanley, the 81-year-old legendary bluegrass musician, who was born in nearby Stratton and makes his home in Dickenson County. He unfolded a piece of paper and read, in a shaky voice: “I want to endorse Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Thank you very much!” The gymnasium exploded. (When the candidate met Stanley backstage, Obama told him that he had some of Stanley’s banjo music on his iPod. Stanley nodded appreciatively, but a few minutes later he turned to a friend and asked, “What’s an iPod?”)

Rest of the story found here.

Critical Consensus

Time for another navel-gazing post from me about the Rock canon:

I just saw this on Pitchfork:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/146414-the-pitchfork-500-our-first-music-guide-out-nov-11

Pitchfork is making the leap from pixels to the page: On November 11, Simon & Schuster imprint Fireside Books will publish The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present. This handy paperback chronologically explores Pitchfork's 500 favorite songs from 1977-2006, constructing an alternate history of the past three decades of popular music-- one that extends beyond the typical Baby Boomer-approved canon of the Clash, Prince, Public Enemy, Nirvana, Radiohead, and Outkast.

From art-rock and proto-punk godfathers such as Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie to today's leading lights such as the Arcade Fire, the White Stripes, and Kanye West; from superstars to cult heroes; and from punk, indie, and pop to hip-hop, electronic music, and metal, we've created the ultimate playlist. Interspersed throughout are sidebars on the most vital subgenres from electro to grime to riot grrrl, along with pieces like "Career Killers: The Songs That Ended It All" and "Runaway Trainwrecks: The Post-Grunge Nadir."

A few preliminary points:
-I think bashing Pitchfork is, at this point, tiresome (sorry guys-- I know it's one of our favorite activities) because at this point, they've clearly descended into self parody on some points and have proven to be a clearly useful site on other points.

-This is, in and of itself, exciting to me because I used to LOVE Big Rock List/Review books. For better or worse, I seriously grew up on the Rolling Stone Album Guide, the Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll, and the original print version of the All Music Guide (not to mention the Rough Guide, Music Hound, Spin Alternative Guide, and others I just browsed in the Tower Records and Borders Books on Rockville Pike). I say "for better or worse," because while it is undoubtedly what made me the music-obsessive I am today, it also made me the music-obsessive I am today. And it reinforced certain what I guess I'll call "rockist" (though I hate the term) biases that it has taken a very long time to shake off. (Broadly speaking, a basic preference for white male bands with guitars over all others). There hasn't been a new book like this that anyone cares about in a long time-- and why would there be? The action is all online anyway. So the fact that Pitchfork is trying to enter the print world is kind of exciting just on that basis.


Anyway, what actually struck me was the juxtaposition between the two lists of artists. To wit:

the typical Baby Boomer-approved canon of the Clash, Prince, Public Enemy, Nirvana, Radiohead, and Outkast

and

art-rock and proto-punk godfathers such as Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie to today's leading lights such as the Arcade Fire, the White Stripes, and Kanye West

A few things strike me about this. But in short, I'm not sure I see a difference between the two lists in terms of either alternative "cred" or acceptance by the critical establishment. Honestly, they could have swapped out any artist from one list to the other and it would be equally meaningless. In the first place, it's one thing if they were contrasting the Baby Boomer canon of Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Jimi with people like Bowie and Eno. But I don't see how, at this point, championing the Arcade Fire or Kanye West brings you so far outside of the mainstream critical establishment that boosts Radiohead and Outkast. They're just slightly newer artists. It would also be one thing if they said, "Damn the man, but Boyz II Men, Bush, and Offspring were the secret artistic leading lights in 90s music" or something like that. That would actually subvert the critical canon in a meaningful way too. But to force you Clash fans to think outside your narrow boxes and embrace David Bowie?? What does that even mean?

Anyway, the point is not just to bash Pitchfork's slippery sense of genre and the critical establishment. I also just find it interesting how the idea of a rock "canon" changes. The aforementioned Illustrated Guide to Rock and Roll (See here) went a long way towards establishing the rock and roll canon. I still remember it fairly vividly-- the article on the Band, for example, made me truly appreciate them for the first time. There were chapters on all of the usual suspects (Beatles, Stones) and genres (rockabilly, soul, girl groups). And though this is partially because of when it was first written (mid 80s I think), it is so strongly tilted towards the 60s, with full articles on overrated 60s bands who, at this point, could almost qualify as underrated because no one cares about them anymore (The Doors, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane) that I remember, as a young burgeoning music geek reading it (and watching the multi-part PBS documentary with all the great talking head interviews with people like Jeff Skunk Baxter and Bob Geldof) that upon the calendar turning to 1970, All Good Music Stopped.

Pitchfork's guide doesn't start until 1977 (which is actually consistent with the old establishment line that that was the year that Good Music Started Again, only to end in 1980, but then start again with the release of Nevermind in 1991), so it won't have the same problems regardless. But I think the canon has already shifted to embrace the figures they're writing about anyway. Also, the Whites Stripes are overrated.

This time I think it's real

At the risk of having egg on my face, I do believe that Chinese Democracy will actually be released this year. This sounds as close to official as we're gonna get.

(Dr. K: link fixed)

Take On Me: The Literal Version

These lyrics are much better than the original.

Andrew Bird - "Oh No"

From the new record coming out January 27th, Noble Beast. Listen here.

Fauxlksy

That's my new word. I checked google and it only brings up six hits (though that may be lagging, and it's possible that after last night there will be more people who simultaneously invented it too).

The Latest From Ralph Nader

I'm an unapologetic Ralph Nader supporter (yeah I voted for him in 2000) so was quite interested to see this interview with him in the AV Club.

Good read and most defintelyworth your time, but be warned - Ralph makes a pretty rational argument for why Obama is screwed, so it's not exactly happy fun time reading.

Thoughts?

New TV on the Radio?

So every time TV on the Radio release a new album, it gets ecstatically good reviews-- in every publication from Pitchfork to Time Magazine-- and all kinds of hype. I usually resist the hype for a while (as I do with basically every new album everyone gets excited about that I don't really care about because I'm too busy listening to Prince bootlegs or whatever) and then finally bite the bullet and get it. I usually find it sonically interesting (though often harsh to my ears) with a few solid songs, but mostly not that great and I usually only listen to it a few times. My favorite song of theirs is still the hidden-track doo-wop cover of the Pixies' Mr. Grieves.

So, my question to you all: Have you checked out the new one? It's getting the same boatloads of hype and near-unanimous great reviews, but will I like it any more than the last one?

Wilco and Fleet Foxes - "I Shall Be Released"

Download it for free here

DMX weighs in

Back in March, DMX shared his thoughts on the presidential election with XXL magazine. It's certainly a fresh perspective.

Paul Westerberg's 49:00

This is now unavailable so get it while it's hot. Totally great. Best thing Westerberg's done in years. And it's like a cassette! Meaning: it's a whole album on just one mp3 so you can't skip tracks. AND it has the feel of a demo tape that's been recorded over several times, so there are a lot of snippets of songs. The overall effect is perfect.
49:00

David Foster Wallace

Well, it's pretty sad about David Foster Wallace. I wasn't always his biggest fan, but he was certainly a talented and influential writer, someone you couldn't avoid dealing with in some way if you were interested in the state of literature, and it's too bad things ended up the way they did. For those who are interested, check out this story from the New Yorker last year. It's not an example of DFW at his full-on, mind-bending, greatest intensity, to be sure, but I think it's beautiful, and a good example of why he could sometimes be very worth reading.

Wilco and Obama

Continuing the political talk, check it out - here's Wilco (or a mini-Wilco) performing at an Obama fundraiser in Chicago earlier this summer. Nice little fluff piece:

So... Metallica?

Alright, so there's a new Metallica album out, and there's a very good chance this post will fall on completely deaf ears, but as an ex-Metallica fan who still loves their first 4 albums (and, grudgingly, The Black Album), puts cuts from S&M on my mixes all the time, and laments the pathetic shell of the band that now exists, I feel compelled to check it out.

So I've heard two songs from the new album and they're not at all bad. In particular, here's "The Day That Never Comes". It's long (8 minutes) and the first half is like an above average song from Load, but the back half is pretty impressive. If you have any interest in seeing how Metallica is doing as a band these days (and I fully realize you may not) then check this out:



Hetfield's singing sucks, but am I wrong for thinking this is kind of good? Certainly better then St. Anger, that's for sure. I do find the video a kind of fascinating snapshot of how the band has traveled - I mean, cotrast this to the video for One (which I assume you've seen). One: Super dark, depressing, and quite creepy take on war. This: A sort of feel good piece about how, despite being attacked and in constant danger, American soldiers sure are helpful!

Letterman, however...

has seen enough.

Meanwhile, it's more of the same....

with Lil' Wayne.

British Sea Power

I've been listening off and on to the new Britsih Sea Power album that came out earlier this year ("Do You Like Rock Music?") and it consistently leaves me perplexed.

On the one hand, it's got a lot of great, very straight ahead, epicly rocking songs in that Arcade Fire sort of tradition (and as a quick aside, I've been REALLY into those guys lately. I think in retrospect I should have made Neon Bible my #1 last year). But since they're Brits, they also mix in some My Bloody Valentine sound, which is just fine by me.

But on the other hand, there's something very - I don't know - calculated about the sound. Part of what makes Arcade Fire so appealing (and, to some people, UNappealing) is their earnestness. I think if you're going to go all epic about the plight of our modern world you've got to at least sound like you believe it, man. British Sea Power have a lot of times where the songs are great songs, but you can almost feel them conciously trying to capture that kind of sound. That's not to say Arcade Fire don't put a lot into capturing that sound - but they make it sound natural, which is, to me, key.

So I'm torn. I like the songs, and think it could be one of the best albums of the year. But sometimes I feel like the influences are so powerful and so evident that it almost makes me wonder if there's really any point in even listening to this. I just recently got over listening exclusively to noise rock for a few months, and I think the derivative nature of albums like this partly drove me there.

This is getting pretty rambling, so I leave you with two questions and a song:

1) Anyone here have this album and have thoughts?
2) If a band is so clearly copying a sound, what's the use?
3) "Waving Flags":



I feel like I'm stacking the deck unfairly against them by including the most Arcade Fire-y song there, so here is "Atom" - undoubtedly the highlight from the album and a great straight ahead rocker:

Theory: One Beat is the best Sleater-Kinney Album

Evidence in favor:
-Janet Weiss's always amazing drumming reaches epic heights of complexity and rock-itude.
-Corin Tucker's vocals find the balance between overwraught wailing and indie girl cuteness that had heretofore eluded her.
-Carrie Brownstein sings a lot more and is awesome and has a good blog on npr where she writes about music etc.
-It addresses 9/11 in a way that sounds real and does not feel dated even hearing it for the first time way later.
-The songs rock ferociously in a kind of punk way but are also complicated and interesting in their song structures. There are interesting instrumental fluorishes that never detract from the central power trio sound.
-Dig Me Out is great, and gives it a run for its money, but doesn't have the maturity or pop sophistication as this one. The Hot Rock and All Hands on the Bad One sound relatively aimless by comparison.

Weaknesses in my argument:
-I have never heard Call the Doctor or The Woods.


Once again, god bless Brooklyn stoop sales! I picked up this and The Hot Rock for (I think) two bucks each a couple weeks ago and I can't stop listening to it. I had never been that into S-K (despite Drischord's playing All Hands... (among others) on various road trips and whatnot), but this album just nails it. Corin Tucker's got an amazing voice but Dig Me Out always grated me just a little because her voice was so warbly. But it's more reined in (though not as much as on The Hot Rock) and the ineterplay with Carrie Brownstein's contrapuntal vocals is amazing. You can basically always win me over with contrapuntal vocals.

Also, seeing clips of them live on youtube makes me regret very much that I didn't take the opportunity to see them live when they still existed.

The Mixtape About Nothing

I've been really enjoying this free internet mixtape from DC rapper Wale, who first appeared on my radar earlier this year with his excellent guest spot on my favorite track from the Roots' Rising Down. His Mixtape About Nothing is a sort of concept album which uses samples from Seinfeld as the basis for a number of the songs...he's not rapping about Seinfeld, but he uses some of the themes from Seinfeld as a starting point and then lets his flow take him where it will. That may very well sound lame when you first hear about it, but in practice Wale puts together a thoroughly enjoyable, smart, funny and unpredictable mixtape that makes me very excited to hear a real album from him, whenever he can get one together.

I apologize for my continued inability to make divshare stream anything, but download this song if you want to hear a good example of what I'm talking about. And since it's a free internet release that doesn't have to worry about sampling issues, there's even a nice Stevie Wonder sample on the song:

The Grown Up

And if you liked it, the whole thing can be downloaded for free here.

Wow...

Last week's cover story for The Onion:

Obama's Hillbilly Half-Brother Threatening To Derail Campaign



Today's cover of the Sun Times:

Obama's half-brother to Vanity Fair: 'No one knows I exist'

Kittybrains Convention?

Neil Young with Wilco opening at Madison Square Garden, December 15. What do you say?

"White" Music

Via Chicago just responded to the last post by declaring (on behalf of Tex Plush and himself) just how "white" Billy Joel's music is. Relative to the groups that get praised on here-- Andrew Bird (solo), Radiohead, New Pornographers, Bonnie "Prince" Billy-- that's just absolutely flat wrong.

Now look, I just finished my 2 and half year education at Berklee, and while I'm not dropping that as any sort of superiority thing, it was very illuminating because-- at least in ensembles-- I played predominantly black-written music there. And I many took classes that focused almost exclusively on the work of black people. And I learned how to write in a lot of "black" styles. I'm not claiming to know more about black music than any of you (certainly not more than Quinapalus), but I do know a heck of a lot more about it than I used to know.

And here's what I can tell you: Relative to most white musicians, Billy Joel ain't all that "white." Listen to Little Richard or Ray Charles play the piano. Now compare the piano styles of Billy Joel and, say, Stephen Drozd of Flaming Lips. Or Thom Yorke. Or Neil Young. Or the Sigur Ros guy. Or Panda Bear/Animal Collective. Or The National. Or Mikael Jorgenssen/Pat Sansone. So who sounds more like Ray Charles and Little Richard?

You can hear it in songs like Big Shot, Movin' Out, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, Only The Good Die Young, etc. And then listen to "New York State of Mind," which is an homage to "Georgia On My Mind." Tell me how that song makes you feel white.

Look, I feel a little weird propping up Billy Joel, because I hardly listen to him anymore. But I do have those "Greatest Hits Vol. I & II" in my iTunes and I stand by the vast majority-- except for wussy stuff like "Just The Way You Are."

But using the "he's too white" argument against Billy Joel is just inaccurate. If anything, you could say too many of his best songs are simply derivative of black artists. (Musically at least. I'll concede that singing about Long Island all day is pretty white.) But the guy is simply too rhythmically attuned to get the "whitey" tag.

Theory

Every single song on Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Vol. I and II is amazing.

And I know every word and note even though I probably haven't listened to it more than a handful of times in the past fifteen or twenty years.

It's really strange to listen to it actually, because it seeped very deep into my consciousness at a time when I didn't really think about music in a self-conscious way. I just loved the Storm Front album with We Didn't Start the Fire and my friend Ben made me a tape copy of his earlier greatest hits. When I just listened to it now (on a random nostalgia kick after hearing a couple of the songs in a cab the other night), I couldn't help but hear everything in context-- how he moved from Prog Epics (Captain Jack), to New Wave Mimicry (Still Rock and Roll to Me) to shameless nostalgia (Uptown Girl), all while indulging in sensitively wussy singer-songwriter balladry (Just the Way You Are, Always a Woman). But back when I first got into it was just about the myuuusic, man-- I liked the way he spoke-sang "Biiiig shooot, deeeedja" and the awesome synth hook in Pressure and the "BrenderandEddie" section of Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.

To return to my theory: Seriously, every single song is great!

Zumpano for a Buck

Like Eric, I've been enjoying the general devaluation of the compact disc in the mp3 age. This past week, for instance, I was able to purchase Zumpano: "Look What The Rookie Did" for one measly dollar. Now admittedly, this may have owed more to the fact that the store didn't know what they had on their hands rather than worldwide downturn in CD value.



This leads me to mention that Zumpano, if you didn't already know this, was Carl Newman's band before New Pornographers. I'm pretty sure that the CD/Game Exchange up the street from my old high school in DC did not know this. They're much more of a hip hop store anyway, which leads to frequent mis-assessments of used rock stuff that comes their way.

Anyway, check out Zumpano. They lack the undeniable choruses of New Pornographers, but they've still got that classic Carl Newman craftsmanship and overall quality. I think they also had a looser vibe-- fewer fans to please-- which makes them pretty fun. Worth far more than a dollar.

Extra Golden

Here is an afrobeat update for those of you following that train with me:
I am REALLY into this band Extra Golden. They are a collaboration btw African and American musicians and they have basically created the cock rock of Fela-style afrobeat groovalicious guitar-heavy music. They are great. I saw them today at the prospect park African guitar festival, though I have been into their albums for a month or so.


Ok-Oyot System
To my inexperienced ears, the first record, OK-Oyot System, sounds more traditional. You can definitely hear African pop sounds - the kind that Paul Simon lovingly ripped off, and you can hear straight-up Fela worship too. You also hear a blend of American soul singing and traditional African singing in the space of the same number. It's refreshing and familiar at the same time. It'll make your hips move.


Night Runners
The second album has some different musicians on it due to the untimely death of a major force from the first record. Hera Ma Nono has more of a funk and soul edge to it. The drums are bigger and there are more guitars. Drischord, who was visiting me from out of town recently, thought it sounded like Phish. He was hilariously off the mark, but I must admit there is a slight resemblance there, at least in the sense that this is joyous, rocking and unsubtle. But unlike Phish, Extra Golden does not need to fake the funk.

New Wilco

So some good comes out of Lollapalooza - behold the glory of a new Wilco track.

Wilco - One Wing

For my money, this is pretty great. The final freak-out at the end is awesome and makes me want a new live album with the Nels version of Wilco so bad.

Christmas On Mars Trailer

It is impossible to tell from this trailer whether this will be brilliant or a disaster.

Lollapalooza

So, forgive me, but I am driven to rant a little bit here about our friendly Chicago music-fest. Not Pitchfork, but the big one. Lollapalooza. I can't go this year due to a wedding, and that's OK. There are a lot of bands I want to see (Radiohead, NIN, Rage, Malkmus, Wilco all top the list), but I am old now, and the entire Lollapalooza experience is kind of daunting. It was a lot to deal with when I went in 95 and it was one day, I was 17, and we were out in the country. Between the heat, the sea of people, and the cost of everything it's a lot more to deal with now. Still, I've not been in any way against the festival.

Until now.

Today I ventured over to pitchfork and there is a little blurb saying Malkmus is going out on tour. Good deal I say, I haven't seen him since a Pavement show in 99. I click, and the Chicago date is his Lollapalooza appearance. Same thing for Radiohead's tour. And Wilco. And Nine Inch Nails. All bands I want to see, all bands that are touring, all bands that won't play here as part of their tour outside of the festival. This is, to a large part, Lolla's fault, as they require bands to sign a contract stating they will not play in the greater Chicagoland area for 60 days prior and 30 days after Lolla. The end result is that instead of helping the summer music scene here, Lolla is screwing it.

Now, my frustration stems not just from the fact that I can't go, but also from the fact that for the vast majority of these bands, their Lolla experience is a poor substitute for an actual show. We've all been to festivals, and we know that bands tend to play shorter sets, have less of a show, and in general seem to put on more subdued shows. Do I want to see Malkmus play for 45 minutes in the middle of the day in the heat in a ginat field or do I want to see him play for 2 hours at the Riviera? To me, the choice is easy. Of course there's nothing to be done about this except be mad. And mad I am.

So there you have it. One cranky Chicagoan's view of Lollapalooza. Check back next week for a slightly less cranky rant about why I'm bored with 3 minute pop songs.

Wyatt Cenac is Very Funny

This segment kind of blew my mind.

Moving on now...

I wrote a draft of a post about the annoying Pitchfork coverage of the new Nas album (they panned it, in a typically annoying fashion) but I've decided I'm better off not expending the energy anymore on what stupid crap they're writing over at Pitchfork. My personal take on the Nas album is that it's flawed, but so far pretty interesting to listen to. I also enjoyed his appearance on the Colbert Report the other night. I'm always afraid to hear musicians I like speak on talk shows, sometimes they can be so wince-inducingly inarticulate, but I thought Nas held his own.



In other news, I've been on a big Bob Dylan kick recently. Every so often I rediscover that guy and find new layers I never noticed before. Here's a random outtake of Bob and Johnny Cash doing a Jimmie Rodgers song. I thought it was pretty great.

Dr. Dog - Fate

The guys who made my 3rd favorite album of 2007 are about to release their new one. Check it out!
RIYL The Beatles. The Band. David Bowie. Good songwriting. Great singers. Classic rock production values.

Download The Ark
Download The Old Days

Christmas on Mars

I can only dream, but reports are that Christmas on Mars is actually going to be out and in our hands by the end of the year. Too good to be true? Coming out the same week as Chinese Democracy? Maybe, but for now, consider me excited...

Billboard Article

And I'll say it now, if this comes out, I will fly to New York to watch it with most of you fine folk this spring, provided we all agree to wait and watch together.

I've Seen Rivers

I just wanted to do a quick post about an indie hip-hop duo I've been listening to a lot of this year. Nicolay & Kay are a rapper from Houston (Kay) and a producer from the Netherlands (Nicolay) who put out a concept album this year called Time:Line, which over the course of 13 songs loosely follows a character from his birth, to coming of age, to being killed by gunfire, to hanging out in the afterlife. Kay has great song ideas and knows how to tell a good story (which make up for him not necessarily being the most versatile MC in the world), and is very well supported by Nicolay's beats, which owe something to hip hop producers like J Dilla, but also have the echoes of Boards of Canada style electronic music around the fringes. I'm surprised by how little attention this album has gotten, I think it's a really beautiful collection of songs. Below is one of my favorites:

Bill O'Reilly in One Minute

First Half of 08

I’ve been thinking about posting this for a bit and now’s a good time I guess. Year is just about half over, so I am intrigued – what albums have been your favorites of the year so far? Nothing official here, just curious how the year end lists are looking at this point.

For me, there are 4 things I’ve been seriously digging so far:

-Real Emotional Trash – Totally great and rocking. Love the jams, and reminds me why I loved Pavement so much.

-Vampire Weekend – Didn’t like these guys at all when I first heard them, but this album really snuck up on me. I can tell that it doesn’t have huge replay value, but for now, I’m enjoying it tremendously.

-Lie Down in the Light – My first serious exposure to Mr. Oldham, and it’s a beautiful thing.

-Soldier On EP – I think Tex sold this a bit short in his initial post about it. This is GREAT stuff I think. Certainly Trees is the highlight, but it’s all really fantastic beautiful stuff. Really the pointless Plasticities remix is the only thing I don’t love.

Before the year is out I know I need to hear the new Nick Cave and that recent Dennis Wilson re-issue (Kittybrains – your thoughts on that one?)

So, that’s where I’m at so far this year. You?

Filled With Dread

Above is the cover art that iTunes assigned to my copies of Led Zeppelin I and How The West Was Won.
Add this to the list of things I think are funny at 12:20am.
Also, add Dread Zeppelin's relative success to that list.

Quiz Time:
What other bands besides Led Zeppelin has had more than one nationally or internationally prominent cover/parody bands?

To Be A Rock And Not To Roll

Give it up for The Beatnix!

Lil Wayne Lives Up to the Hype

After a few listens, I'm ready to say that Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne's newest album, is better than my wildest expectations, and is a huge step forward for him as an artist, miles beyond any album he's released before. He's done exactly what I'd always hoped, but didn't dare to believe he'd do: he's largely stepped out of the gangster, crack dealer posturing that has always made it impossible for me to make it through an entire Lil Wayne album in one sitting, and has created a complicated, inventive, nuanced pop masterpiece.

For longtime fans of his misogyny and mindnumbing violence, he throws a few bones here and there, and there is of course the incredibly irritating "Lollipop" song, but most of the album goes places Wayne has never gone before: a vulnerable and heartfelt ode to his hometown of New Orleans, a couple of shockingly inoffensive and entertaining love songs, inventive concept songs about such things as being a hip-hop doctor, a space alien, and lusting after a lady cop, all backed by awesome, r&b based beats from Kanye West and others.

Wayne is "Lil" for a reason: he's been recording since he was a kid, and is still a very young artist, only 25 years old now. I hope that this album bodes well for a long, fascinating career from an artist who looks as though he's no longer content to throw away his immense talents on the same tired nihilistic themes gangsta rappers have been beating into the ground for years.

Owls

Let's turn the clock back all the way to 2001 and revisit a band that I liked at the time, forgot about, and recently rediscovered: Owls. This is a band that features the Kinsella brothers from Illinois. Tim is best known as the singer of Joan of Arc and Mike records under the moniker Owen (and before that, American Football.) They also played together in Cap'n Jazz, a short-lived band that indie critics absolutely love to namedrop.

Anyway, Tim is notoriously erratic and inconsistent in his output. He performed one of the worst shows I've ever seen in my life at the Empty Bottle in the spring of Senior Year. TexPlush knows this-- he was there. Kinsella arrived drunk and spent most of his time playing with a volume pedal and cussing out fans who started heckling him after he'd gone 10 minutes without playing an actual song. Ringing endorsement, right?

But that side of Tim doesn't get out on the Owls record because everything his kid bro Mike touches turns to gold. So this album, which features Tim on vocals and Mike on drums, is really solid and brings out my favorite aspects of the brothers' music. Also recommended is anything Mike records as Owen or American Football.

WAYLON F'IN RULES!!!

I just got an update from the Waylon Jennings website newsletter, and I thought it was worth posting.
A couple years back I ordered multiple Waylon Jennings bumper stickers, for a reason that I will not bother to recount at this time, and since then I have received a few of these newsletters. Until tonight I have never given them any attention, but something about this one caught my eye and I have now reread it several times, each time with much enjoyment.
Enjoy -


HooooAhhhhh Waylon Army!
At long last we will be launching the redesigned waylon.com website late Sunday night. The new Waylon.com will feature music to listen to, videos to watch, and the center of it all will be the waylonpedia section. This section will be enhanced and improved by each and every one of you. I'm going to enlist few experts to really get this thing going.... like Jeff, Howard and Jim to name a few. If you 3 guys would phone me on the waylon phone that would be awesome. Anyway, we'll have a brand new blog/forum and hopefully and place that will grow in space and grow into the world's foremost knowledge base of all things waylon. That means the center of the stinkin musical universe. I'm hoping it will include how he changed the music industry, stories of his incredible personal and musical integrity and some dang good music. The polos and the denim shirts and a brand new 'prison tattoo' t-shirt will be available. I'll be able to offer all kinds of special sales, lower shipping, tracking info emails etc. etc. I hope it works.

In the meantime, if things go to hell in a hand basket, I have parked the current design of waylon.com onto www.waylonandwillie.com. That site will be there for a short time with everything except e-commerce. The current forum will still be there just in case. I don't totally trust technology quite yet. Look for a sister site at waylonandwille.com based on the greatest friendship in musical history. I'm looking to launch that one in September -- but I am an optimist.

Anyway, please be patient and check out waylon.com on Monday morning bright and early to see if I look like a fool. We will be keeping the same phone number for now...240-285-2700 but our new email contact will be......david@waylon.com.

Thanks for your patience... I think it's going to be really cool as this thing progresses.

WAYLON F'IN RULES!!!

cya Monday

David

ps -- type in WGJ to save %20 for the next 18 hours or so on the old site!

Pitchfork vs. Obama

So thanks largely to Q I've become sucked in to reading Pitchfork reviews and sometimes gettuing angry about them. I contemplated posting about yesterday's Radiohead review, which was yet anolther in the LONG line of "rock is dead" stupid reviews (seriously, how long has that been going on? Drop it already), but decided against it. But now, here's something that really got my goat. From today's review of the new Erykah Badu:

"The American media and public have spent a fair bit of the past months being fascinated and appalled by various remarks from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, of Chicago. Those months have also seen a fairly warm critical reception for Erykah Badu's terrific new album-- one whose notions and ideologies sometimes come from the same nexus as Wright's. Badu's theology is different, of course: more personal, more scattered, less Christian, laced with Five-Percenter notions. And Badu salutes Farrakhan explicitly, rather than just nodding politely across the South Side. But there's an odd echo in her wording on that one: "I salute you, Farrakhan/ Because you are me." Less than a month after this record's release, Wright's most notable acquaintance was describing the reverend as someone who "contains within him the contradictions-- the good and the bad-- of the community.... I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community." He is me? Until he hits the press club, anyway."

OK, so what the hell is going on here? It seems that what they are saying is that Badu is embracing the anger and tricky politics of men like Wright and Farrakhan, while Obama disowns them. That last line in particular (Until he hits the press club) really paints Obama as truly disowning these ideas. And yet, Obama's main speech about this issue - the speech that this review quotes directly from - refutes that point. They REPRINT the quote where Obama says that he can NOT disown Wright and disown his ideas, then they condemn Obama for doing just that? I mean, serioulsy, are they stupid? Can they not read? It seems crystal clear that Obama could have completely thrown Wright under the bus and saved himself a lot of headache, but he chose to talk about the feelings in the black community and to won those feelings. He chose to say, essentially, he is me. Just as Badu says. And yet, for some unknown reason, Pitchfork decides to skewer him.

And why? To what aim? Is it jsut that they think it's kewl to insult politicians? This whole thing leaves me baffled and angry.

And this doesn't even get into the final paragraph of their review where they rally against reviewers who say all black music must be about gund, violence, etc. Which is a good idea, but you know... Pot. Kettle. Black.

"Korean Drummer Steals The Show"

Exactly.

Radiohead Teen Idols!

I was just reminded of this song, which is one of the more enjoyably catchy Cure/U2-esque albums from-- the, I would submit, almost underrated-- Pablo Honey:



But check out that video! Look at all of them being all skinny and floppy haired (and in some cases, not bald!). Colin Greenwood, especially, had perfected that disaffected gothy stare while he played bass. And look how much happier Ed O'Brien must have been to be striking guitar hero poses with an open button-down shirt than he must be now, playing sundry percussion instruments during Thom and Johnny's electro-experiments. The less said about Thom Yorke's Kurt Cobain bleached blonde long hair, the better. Johnny Greenwood, of course, looks and plays exactly the same. Nice to know some things aren't as susceptible to change.

Night at the Hip Hopera

Apropos of nothing except the fact that it rules, here's an awesome Kleptones song. Enjoy.

Q: Are We Not Men?

Sorry for my lack of quality posting lately. Things have been swamped. But to make up for it, I pose to you fine folk an honest question:

DEVO: Ahead of their time geniuses or silly gimmick?

Surely the answer will be somewhere in between, but I have a very hard time pinning down exactly where. Once you move past “Whip It” (which is one of those 80s songs so entrenched in my head and wrapped up with nostalgia that I can’t even begin to objectively figure out if it’s good or not) and move into their cannon you’ve got some really great stuff. “Beautiful World” is fantastic (despite being a bit ruined by excessive use in commercials) as are their covers of “Satisfaction” and (to a lesser extent) “Working in a Coal Mine”. But the real gem to me is “Girl U Want”, a fantastic, driving song with a typically bizarre video clip to accompany it:



Come on, that rules.

But there’s also stuff that I just can’t get behind as being brilliant. I could post some late period stuff here but that’s hardly fair – to evaluate them we really should focus on their prime. But that prime includes “Jocko Homo”, which, I think, kind of sucks:



Of course, watching that you realize that, music aside, there’s something pretty amazing going on here. I mean, it may not always work, but clearly these guys are going for something. This is only reinforced by the fact that this is from 1978, which is way early for music like this. But all that doesn’t change that I just plain don’t like listening to that song.

So I don’t know. They’re a band I *want* to love, but sometimes the quality of music gets in the way of that love. I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

Oh, and in closing, I present the Devo Corporate Anthem, an oddly sublime little piece for your enjoyment:

Our Famous Classmate

I wanted to know how many people have heard the She & Him record by Allison Hall's own Zooey Deschanel. Since my only prior experience with her and music was watching her in the chorus of "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" directed by Jen Bender, I was somewhat skeptical of the whole deal.

I've since listened to the album and downloaded it from eMusic, and I have to say I really do like it. First of all, Zooey is a legitimately great vocalist. There are traces of Neko Case there, which would already be enough to sign me up. But beyond this, there are some really good tracks on there. Whether it's an issue of her being a master chanteuse or M. Ward being a master enabler, it doesn't really matter. This is some good listening.

I guess the obvious reference point sound-wise would be 70's California country-rock, a la The Flying Burrito Brothers, meeting Linda Ronstadt or someone like that. A lot of the vibe sounds like other M. Ward stuff, but Zooey is listed as the sole songwriter on most tracks. Also, there are a few covers tossed in, which are probably the only weak links on the album.

Anyway, this has been a pleasant surprise. Would be interested to know what others think.

Lie Down in the Light

I'm pleased to say that I'm really loving the new Bonnie "Prince" Billy album, Lie Down in the Light. I counted myself a pretty big fan of his awhile back (especially back when I was still that guy having religious experiences at Jay Farrar concerts), but in recent years I'd started to grow pretty bored with the predictability and dourness of all his soft, pretty, sad songs. But in some ways this new album is a striking turn away from many of his old patterns: for one thing, it's the rare Will Oldham (the man behind the Billy moniker) album that I could describe overall as "not at all a downer". It's still soft and pretty, and still benefits from many repeat listenings, but it's also shockingly happy. I might even define a couple of the themes of this album as "contentment" and possibly "joy".

And of course, it's joy with a few bizarre Will Oldham style twists thrown in. So far I've been especially fascinated by "So Everybody", which is a song that somehow makes an act of public oral sex sound like the highest expression of love and spiritual contentment. I'm not kidding, give it a listen. It won't stream (hasn't everyone been having problems with that recently?) but here's a download link.
So Everyone

"The eyes are the windows of your face."

This guy's ability to elevate mediocre writing to the level of genius is... well... genius, I guess.

Coldplay Goes Political!

You Are Not Needed Now

Just felt like it was time I did a quick Townes Van Zandt post. There was a time when this guy was one of my biggest artistic heroes, and even if he's too depressing for me to take most of the time these days (he outdid even Elliott Smith in terms of writing terminally sad songs) he was an incredibly talented, and criminally under appreciated songwriter. As Steve Earle famously quipped: "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in America, and I will stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that."

Here's a song from High Low and In Between, one of a series of stellar albums he did in the 70's, before he really got around to the serious business of drinking himself to death and destroying his voice.

New Dosh = Pretty Great

I've been a little hard on Andrew Bird's recent collaborator Martin Dosh, mostly due to my preference for the drumming of Kevin O'Donnell, but I have to admit I'm enjoying the new Dosh album, Wolves and Wishes. A HUGE step forward from the only other album of his I've heard, Pure Trash.

For some reason I can't get it to stream, but here's a download of the first track:

Don't Wait For The Needle To Drop

Best Bill O'Reilly Clip Ever

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

You should never need an excuse to play Big Star

Just because it's a blessedly low-key Sunday afternoon, and these guys kick ass.

Principal's Office

It recently came to my attention that Q has not heard this track. I believe the conversation that tipped me off went as follows:
me: "'Lip Gloss' is the 'Principal's Office' for the new generation"
Q: "What's 'Principal's Office'?"
me: too shocked to speak



Download it here

Rising Down update: Rising Up

I just wanted to state for the record that, despite the questionable taste of the video I posted here a few weeks back, the new Roots album is very very good.