To Each His Own

I like lots of different kinds of music. Right now I am listening to the latest record from a chap named Matthew Perryman Jones. He's an indie/folkie type; perfect record for a Saturday morning and getting a little work done. I've been on a bit of a 70s New Wave kick, so yesterday was the first records from The Cars, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Nick Lowe and Television (who deserve an essay all to themselves but that is for another day!). Earlier in the week I was feeling all proggy so it was Rush and old Genesis and Porcupine Tree. Tomorrow it good get aggressive so maybe Slayer and Pallbearer and Baroness (get well soon, fellas!!)

Pitchfork is a music site I have a love/hate relationship with. I read their record reviews to stay up on what's new in the indie rock world. But a lot of times I read a review only to listen to clips and wonder if we are talking about the same thing. Pitchfork recently came out with a thing called The People's List. This is a list of the top 200 records of the last 25 years as picked by readers of the site.  Not surprisingly Radiohead has two records at the top, one I love (OK Computer) and one I don't (Kid A). Another one (In Rainbows) shows up at 6. I have most of the records in the top 20.

Two of them are records I have read tons about but just do not see what all the fuss is about. One is Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective. Allow me to lift a line from the review of this album. This comes after talking about incorporating West African rhythms and playing around a single chord for 10 minutes:

But Merriweatherfeels like a joyous meeting in a well-earned, middle place-- the result of all their explorations pieced together to create something accessible and complete.

Now I have no problem with a band getting experimental and challenging themselves and going off into new an interesting directions and dimensions. That is what the creative process is all about, right? Right. I think of a band like Wilco. Re-making A.M. is year after year is going to get boring. So it's natural to see a progression from that record to Being There to Summerteeth to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. They are another band that lost me after a while, and though they have gotten back to a roots-ier sound,  I have never been able to get back into their new records. I digress.

The pause I have with the above statement is the world "accessible." The next paragraph says this record will be "tagged as Animal Collective's pop album. This is not what I think of when I think of pop:

OK. I kind of hear a Beach Boys thing going in the harmonies. It reminds me of New Order, which is fine because I like the first couple New Order records. But if it's a sunny day and I have the top down, I am not going to be blasting this. And if I hear this coming out of the convertible next to me at the traffic light I am probably going to turn Lithium up.

No offense to the cats in AC. I am not saying they have no talent. And in no way would I say "they suck." They are creating something I could not possibly do.

The other record which baffles me is LCD Soundsystem's Sound Of Silver. A good friend of mine and his son are into this outfit and I believe they went (or were pondering going) to see LCD's last-ever (yeah right) shows in NYC. When I heard they were doing that I thought, wow I must check this out. This is what I discovered:

Now, I actually like this a bit better than AC. I still can't imagine standing through this show. I'd be in hell. I'd have to be a) much younger and single and b) the girl wanting to go would have to be really hot.

The pattern here is it's more electronic kind of thing going on. And I am unabashedly a guitar dork. I have a large spectrum of liking stuff but it has it's limits. If you are new here and wondering "well what do you like, snob?!?" just click around the other posts. Or better yet, check out my band! <nudge nudge>

So don't think I am slagging these bands. I am just saying it isn't my cup of tea. Like I said before they are both really talented and creative and making music that obviously many people enjoy and get and love and use it to make a shitty day a little bit better. Hooray for that! To each his own, right?

And to show that I am not just some rocker with no sense beyond three-chords, here's what I started playing when the first record I was listening to ended:

I wouldn't blast this with top down either. But it's perfect for my mood right now. Rock on, Leonard!

Really? I liked The Replacements but didn't dig Sugar?

Sometimes I amaze myself. Granted, I have a ton of music. According to iTunes there is 257G of music in it. Artists = 1637. Albums = 4033. Songs = 46180. It would take me 131.6 days of non-stop listening to get through it all. That's a lot to listen to. I understand there are many people who have more. But it's still a lot.

Sometimes I stumble across an artist that is inexplicably not part of my collection. Today's case in point: Sugar. I was making a 1990s mix to listen to while driving through the backroads of New York and Pennsylvania. My car has satellite and I like the Lithium channel but there is only so much Offspring and Red Hot Chili Peppers (neither band appears in my collection, except for maybe a song or two from RockBand) I can take an hour. So I made a mix that would what I would program Lithium with. Let's just say it has a LOT more power pop than Lithium would ever have the guts to play.

I was looking through Pitchfork's best of the 1990s lists looking for more esoteric stuff. There I was reminded of Bob Mould's post Hüsker Dü band Sugar. I remember an old friend from work (Nathan) was big on Bob Mould and made me play Sugar every now and then. For whatever reason it didn't sink in. Now, I am listening to Copper Blue and wondering why in the hell, when I was almost exclusively in my power pop phase, I didn't go nuts over "The Act We Act."  What's that? Here:

Frak me, what a great tune. And the rest of the album sounds like that. Here's a line I really wish I wrote: "Hours slipping by as you watch/The worlds collide/And now you're nothing more/Than another passer-by." Then again "Helpless" might be a better song. Whatever.

I think my missing out was due to two things primarily: a) I only had so much money in the early 90s and couldn't buy EVERYTHING; and b) I had already fallen into The Replacements camp. Let me talk about that second one because it's infinitely more interesting.

Hüsker Dü and The Replacements were two of the important bands to come out of Minneapolis in the 1980s. Both did the ragged pop-punk thing and had modest success. Some of the guys I was working with at the time were Mats fans so being the impressionable lad I was I became a Mats fan.

Both bands eventually wore themselves out when the leaders, for lack of a better term, went sober. In Hüsker Dü case the aforementioned Bob Mould and for the Mats Paul Westerberg. Mould did a couple records with Sugar before going solo and then ultimately becoming a DJ. Westerberg did the solo thing for two good albums, then a couple head-scratchers of album before falling off the face of the planet.

Listening to the first Sugar record and then the first Westerberg record (14 Songs) it's the Sugar record that holds up better, yet it's the Westerberg record I have had for nearly 20 years. The best song on that record is "World Class Fad." It's the only song on the record where Westerberg sounds like he means it: (of note the first 30 seconds has some odd German-dubbing...god bless the Internets!)

That's also a great song. But that's pretty much the only great song Westerberg did post-Mats. Sugar, and Mould on his first handful of solo records, do what I call "bring it." Westerberg seems like he ran out of ideas. Hey man, that happens. I love the story about him firing Brendan O'Brien during the making of his second record because if he "wanted to make a Replacements record I'd hire the fucking Replacements." HA that's awesome. But maybe making Replacements records is what he did best. I am not saying that an artist should stay in their comfort zone but that doesn't necessarily mean it will make for a great record. Bob Mould went from punk in Hüsker Dü to harsh power pop with Sugar to..well not much lately but he did do a couple songs with the Foo Fighters when I saw them in DC earlier in the year. Westerberg went from punk to power-pop in the Mats to the old-soul-world-wearied-guy kind of power pop to records that are almost unlistenable. I prefer Mould's arc better.

So good for me for finally realizing what a great band Sugar was. It only took me 20 years. But better late than never, right Nathan? I wonder what other gems are out there waiting for me to find them.

(On a happy note and according to his website Paul Westerberg seems to be quite happy being a dad and doing family stuff. Good for him!)

Air Guitar Heaven

After arriving back home safe and sound I first had to mow the lawn. Then it's blogging time! YEAH!

So last night I got the chance to see Boston at Bethlehem's MusikFest. Jodi grew up there and still has family there, so this was a good opportunity for me to participate in a storied Pennsylvania tradition.

The show was great. Tom Scholz is a really under-rated guitarist. And for 65 years old, he looks fantastic. I guess there is something to this being a vegetarian. The band was made up of hired guns, except for Gary Pihl, who has been playing with Boaton since Third Stage. The other band members were adequate, but it really highlighted what is missed with Brad Delp being gone. Where Scholz is an under-rated guitarist (a damn good organ player to!) Brad Delp is one of the greatest vocalists ever. The current guys, David Victor (who looks like Tommy Shaw) and Tommy DeCarlo, had the chops but did not have the fire. That's no real knock on them. Brad Delp is a one of a kind vocalist.

For example, here's my favorite Boston tune, "A Man I'll Never Be."

Once you get past the overly-loud cheering at the beginning and stop marveling at the super-awesome 70s hairdos and 'staches you hear what a phenomenal singer Brad Delp was. Sadly he killed himself a couple years ago. A real bummer.

The set-list was as expected. "More Than A Feeling," "Foreplay/Long Time," "Smokin'," "Peace Of Mind," "Rock n Roll Band" (the perfect show opener), "Something About You," "Don't Look Back," "Feelin' Satisfied," "Party," "Used To Be Bad News," and maybe "It's Easy" from the first two records. I will agree with Jodi when she said there songs tend to sound the same. From the meh-album Walk On they did the title drag (with a long-ass organ solo) and "Surrender To Me."

My favorite Boston album is Third Stage and I was happy to hear that record well represented: "Amanda," "Cool The Engines," "We're Ready," "The Launch," "My Destination," and "To Be A Man."

The stage show was solid to. The guys with long hair are a bit cheesy, and the Tommy vocalist doesn't have much stage presence, but not bad for a guy who was discovered on MySpace. The drummer was very good. Evidently the bassist-role is sometimes filled by a 6-foot tall blonde named Kimberly Dahme. Too bad she wasn't there!!

So there it is. I guess Boston is easily pegged into the classic-rock-dinosaur-act hole. So be it. These are still classic songs. And admittedly it is not the same as that first video. But it's a close approximation. And it's cool to see a mad-genius like Tom Scholz do his thing.

It is still air guitar heaven. When I was a kid I air-guitared as a lefty, no idea why it just feels natural. I actually play my guitar right-handed, but Sunday night I happily reverted back to my 13-year-old self fake-fretting like a fool. Rock on!

MusikFest!!

Jodi and I are in Bethlehem PA today for the end of our vacation. This is the first MusikFest I have been to. We are seeing Boston tonight. Even though Brad Delp has sadly passed on I am still pretty psyched to see them. Boston was one of my first favorite bands. This was back when I was starting to decide for myself what music I liked and not just what my parents had on the radio. Third Stage is one of my most favorite records. It came out in 1986 when I was at my most impressionable for music. My most favorite records tend to be those from 1985 till 1990.

I will post more thoughts tonight, but here's my top 5 Boston songs:

1. A Man I'll Never Be
2. Amanda
3. Don't Look Back
4. More Than A Feeling
5. Hollyann

All That Was Old Is New Again

I was talking with a friend at work about the new record from The Gaslight Anthem. His point, if I remember it rightly and frame it correctly, is that TGA are too derivative for him, that they ape the Springsteen vibe to too heavy a point and that there is nothing original present. I agreed in that the album, well the entire catalogue, is derivative but that most music has no choice but to be derivative because pretty much everything that can be done has been done. He didn't think that was true so I said let's leave this topic for a future happy hour. That works for me because it gets me an opportunity to work on my argument. HA!

Here's the lead single off of their new album Handwritten. The song is called "45" as in revolutions per minute, not a caliber.

If you take away the fact that TGA are from New Jersey you still get the Springsteen vibe. It's got that mid-70s Bruce earnestness and energy thing going. If I had to pick a record they most channel it would Darkness At The Edge of Town. Here's that album's leadoff track, "Badlands."

So the potential knock is go-do-your-own-thing-an d-stop-copying-other-people. That's a really hard thing to do whether it's consciously or unconsciously. Music is something that all musicians have embedded in them. A specific genre or band or artist leaves an imprint and it becomes near impossible to get away from it. For me, I find the songs I write mirror a band called Vigilantes of Love. Their song structures are pretty standard but lyrically they are a bit verbose and, as my wife chides, plot-y. Every song of theirs seems to have a story to tell and mine do to. I think that's just how my writing gravitates. I did not start writing with a desire to mimic what Bill Mallonee does in VoL it just sort of happened that way. You can take any band out there now and point to another band before them and say "They are just doing that!" Unless you are Radiohead. But if you are still playing guitars and want them to actually sound like guitars there is no band you will not get compared to or accused of stealing from.

Here's another story from my band. I wrote a song and brought it to the band and we played it and everybody seemed to dig it. Patrick the bass player said the verses sounded a bit too "Sunny Came Home" (the old Shawn Colvin hit). I hadn't heard that song in years and years but I reflected on that and got the comparison and said I would work to change it. When I tried it I thought anything I come up with is going to sound like something else. There's no way around it, it's just whether you spot it or not. Another point, Tom came up with a new riff. He played it and after the first time through it I started laughing, not because it was bad but because it sounded exactly like the start to "Fly Me Courageous" by drivin' n' cryin'. Tom had never heard DNC and when I pulled out the iPod and played it for him he just had to grin and say "oh well."

So what is TGA going to do? Brian Fallon obviously grew up listening to a shitload of Springsteen. If he didn't well then it somehow rubbed off on him, or he's just wired the same way musically as Springsteen. That's not to say he's as good as Bruce but he's got the same "connections" for lack of a better term. I think with all rock and roll you have to build on what has come before. I used to joke and say we might as well just start re-doing Chuck Berry licks because everything has been written so let's just copy from the beginning. I think every band has an obligation to their efforts to build on the previous. Oasis called an album of theirs Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants. Everybody copies the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. If you play guitars you copy the them. Nobody has ever been denigrated for redundancy more than Oasis. But does it make "Rock n Roll Star" any less of a song? By the Giants album they at least had the good sense to poke fun at it, assuming Oasis has a sense of humor.

Back to the point. Music is organic, it's continually evolving and building on what's next. It is going to be very difficult for someone to come along and play something that one can say "I have never heard anything like this before" and mean it. The job of the musician is to expand on it. To take it up a notch. Or if they can't do that just have a killer melody and say something interesting. And if they can't do that then just have fun making a racket. Creation is not always pretty but it's always a blast.

New Gets July 24

Sorry for the lack of posts. Here's some random thoughts on today's new interesting records.

Handwritten by The Gaslight Anthem - Straight-forward bar-room rock n roll. I read a much better essay on them on Grantland today and I get what the writer is trying to say. Sure it's derivative, but derivative can still be pretty cool when done well. Listening to this I liked it a lot. The cover of Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky" is a nice touch, though it sounds kind of predictable. But that goes back to my point: if you do it well why not. Not everything needs to be cutting edge or new or different. Sometimes you can just nail it. (It's still not as good as anything by The Hold Steady, who are the masters of this sound).

Dark Shores by Strand Of Oaks. SoO is basically a one-map operation named Tim Showalter. I have not listened to this yet (already have the latest Shins record going and I don't like to interrupt records currently going. yes i am anal.) but I have high hopes for it. His last record, Pope Killdragon was a great slice of indie-rock. I got to meet Tim when he played for about ten people at Iota. We talked about music and influences. Really nice guy. Do check out his record.

New Gets July 17

After a few dud weeks finally a week of interesting albums. They run the gamut to. Here's some quick thoughts on some of the new purchases:

One Lovely Day by Citizen Cope - Was introduced to the musings of Clarence Greenwood by my old friend Kevin. CC is an interesting artist: a DC guy who makes what I think of as urban indie. Very soulful kind of acoustic r&b. He is doing a couple shows around Thanksgiving that I am thinking of checking out.

Songs Of Patience by Alberta Cross - Been waiting for this one for a while now. Swedes by way of England now based in New York. Their first record was really good, sort of a British take on Son Volt. This one amps up the British-ness.

Hypnotic Nights by JEFF The Brotherhood - I downloaded their EP because it was cheap and was noisy. Cool loud Pitchfork-friendly rock band like The Men and Japandroids.

Yellow/Green Album by Baroness - Here's a record that has a chance to make the Top 10 of the year. Metal band out of Georgia who's previous albums have been called Red Album and Blue Album. This one is, go figure, a double album. More proggy and poppy than the previous two and I mean that in the most positive ways. I hope they tour because I want to see them.

One things of interest was a free download of a Rhett Miller solo live record. Really dig that.