Saturday, May 31, 2008

that dog. - Retreat From the Sun




Wow, I've been busy. Sorry. I've also been kinda sick, as have a lot of other people I know, some more critically than others. And I can't lie, I've been trying to think of a good solid album to post about and haven't had the time to do so. Anyhow, it came to me last night. Take that as you will.

I'm the type of person who likes to relate my life to songs and no other album tells my life story like that dog.'s Retreat From the Sun. In fact it's like some kind of strange meta-universe existing each inside the other one. How do I explain that? It's like listening to a song about my life while living that life and having my life told to me in the process? Does that make sense? And am I a person that says "like" too much? I've heard that some people love that.


that dog. were from LA and were chock full of Haydens and led by the daughter of a music industry big timer. I suppose you could say that they would've never gotten this music released on a major label if not for their connections, but you could absolutely not say that they wouldn't have gotten it released at all. Which, had they the "indie cred" they might be more revered now. Also, I've had people tell me I look like Anna Waronker, which is just another in a long line of blond-haired, round-faced comparisons. Thanks.

Retreat From the Sun was released in 1997 and you'll never believe who it was recorded by...Brad Wood. I told you...half your record collection.

Interestingly enough, this was to be Waronker's first solo album but she allegedly talked her band mates into recording this with her. And that's probably why it stands out against the rest of that dog.'s catalog. This is some highly refined alternapop and I meant that in the nicest way possible. After all, this was from a time when the term "alternative" was just beginning to lose it's attractiveness. This gets in right under the wire. And I'd also like to say that this perhaps triumphs in creating the alluring and intriguing yet easily digestible pop nuggets that Liz Phair has been failing to fry up ever since Whitechocolatespaceegg.

Or maybe I should just say that this is someone putting my secret diary to music. (How dare you!)

Let's check out some entries:

May 1999 - "I'm Gonna See You" - Hey, I totally like you and our life is totally going to be like this song. For sure! I'm gonna totally like see you in the morning and junk. And "none of the above the waist activity"? I totally know that means boning.

August 2007 - "Never Say Never" - I'm like so totally dumb, for sure. I mean, I totally know you're the one and all. Man, maybe I should like go tell you and stuff.

February 1997 - "Minneapolis" - Oh wow, that dude is like so totally hot. I totally am going to go out with him. Swearsies. He should like be my new best friend and stuff.

September 1998 - "Long Island" - It's so true that "it seems as though our paths were never meant to meet", but wow, you are like so awesome. Let's share cigarettes and wish on stars. That sounds like totally awesome.

May 1998 - "Hawthorne" - This party is so bunk. Maybe I could talk to you. Maybe we could like start a band or some shit. You like that dog.? Me too. I'm totally dying to get a piece of this.

October 1999 - "Did You Ever?" - Hey I'm putting all my shit out on the line here. What have you done for me? Yeah, wouldn't it be great if we could split ourselves in two? Yeah that would like totally be my dream. Geez.

June 2001 - "Cowboy Hat" - My roommate just told me "April! There's a cowboy at the door!" Sure enough, there was. That cowboy talked me out of totally puking. For sure.

May 2008 - "Until the Day I Die" - I'm like gonna quote some shit. "I've never given back to you all the love in the world, to give to a little girl. No matter how hard I try, this will be until the day I die." That's like really heavy.

I would also like to add that that dog. is probably why I usually like to type in all lowercase letters. Just sayin'.

This is on Geffen, it's everywhere. But there's not really a web presence for the band, so here's Anna Waronker's myspace...



Hear it HERE.

Posted by at 1 comment:

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Discount - Half Fiction




Music from Florida is kind of like Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, the bands get older but the fans stay the same age. Fortunately, as there always is, there is an exception to this rule. For the purposes of this post that exception is pop-punk outfit Discount. Members of this band have grown up and formed new bands...bands for grown ups.

But in 1999, Discount's unique style of pop-punk was perfect for me. Now, this album came out in 1997 but at that time I was in the middle of a early-adulthood ska crisis, so it took awhile to pick up on this. Eventhough I was late in the game, I got a chance to see them a couple times before they broke up. Those shows fell at a time in my life where I finally had a car and could go to shows all by myself like a big girl, so there are all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings that I get thinking back on seeing Discount live. And this album always wakens those feeling when I listen to it.

Like I said, Discount were from Florida. They formed in 1995 and broke up in 2000. The singer, Alison Mosshart, went on to become VV, one half of The Kills. There was a period of time in the late 90's-early 2000's that Florida was a big deal and they were one of the bands that was worthy of the hype. Sauconys were big then, too. Remember that? And Alison was wearing a pair one time when I saw them.

Half Fiction was released in 1997 and re-released in 1999. It was recorded by Steve Heritage who most notably recorded a whole mess of Hot Water Music albums, along with Coalesce and Reggie and the Full Effect. And if those names mean anything to you, then this album will definitely be in your ballpark.

This is the sound of being a big girl.

I'm not really sure which songs to single out here. Each one is as urgent as the last. Mosshart's rapidfire delivery is so atypical for a pop-punk band. Honestly, it's often too goofy for me, but her inflection is definitely in a class of it's own. It's as though the vocals are dancing in and out of the lead guitar lines. And on top of all this, each song is an anthem! This is start-to-finish great.

You can definitely find this over the internet but there are a couple links to mail order on their historical artifact of a website.



Hear it HERE.

Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray




It's time for a Sassy Cute Band Alert! If you were a girl in 1992 you might have chosen to love Marky Mark and his Calvin Klein underwear, but if you were anything like me, Evan Dando was a real life forerunner to Jordan Cantalano. I was only 13, but damn if I didn't want to be part of Generation-X. The scruffy slackers with their unwashed hair and smoky flannel shirts made me want to drink coffee and sing about how I was just too jaded to love them. And what about Juliana Hatfield? How much did I want to be her?

The Lemonheads formed in Boston in 1986. I trust you've heard of them.

It's a Shame About Ray was originally released in 1992 without the ubiquitous cover of "Mrs. Robinson" which was unfairly synonymous with the band's name. It seems justified that when the band reformed to perform this album in its entirety at the 2005 All Tomorrow's Party festival, the song was left out of the setlist.

Prior to this release, The Lemonheads played a more aggressive and raw form of punk rock. Their choice to incorporate more jangle and pop really paid off in this engaging set of songs. It seems that they found that they could cushion their lyrical angst and irony with sweet melodies and sugary vocals.

This album was me turning off the radio in favor of listening to albums as a whole.

While the songs themselves are nothing new or particularly groundbreaking, there is an instant familiarity that just makes you feel good. And the lyrics are instantly relatable as well. "Confetti" is my first favorite on here. It's the story of the early 90's, a world where apathy saturated every aspect of young American life. At first listen it's a great little sing-a-long until you realize it's about a guy who couldn't love a girl that kind of deserved it, then it all becomes bittersweet.

"It's a Shame About Ray" feels like a eulogy. The acceptance that things must change and that includes losing people close to us. It also advocates the hardening of your heart in an increasingly crueler world. This same loss of feeling (and feeling of loss?) carries over into "Rudderless", another one of my favorites. You can try to find meaning in this life, but perhaps things should only be taken at face value. You go down to the lake and you find out that the lake was wet. And eventually you'll get tired of getting high. Perhaps you're just not meant to go anywhere if you're rudderless.

"Bit Part" continues that search for some sort of significance. That perhaps if you can't be meaningful in your own life, you can have a bit part in someone else's. The first moment of clarity and happiness is "Alison's Starting to Happen". It's the story of a girl finding herself and finding her way into Dando's heart. Suddenly, there is something worth really living for. This enthusiasm is also found in "Kitchen" which finds Dando "thrilled to be in the same post code as you".

I haven't talked much about the more drug-centered songs on this album, and while good, I just don't have as strong a connection with them.

The original edition of the album ends with "Frank Mills" a cover from the musical Hair. It's a much better ender than the overplayed cover of "Mrs. Robinson" that later re-issues included.

There's a brand new re-issue with demos and b-sides and a DVD so if you're interested there's that for you.



Hear it HERE.
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, May 12, 2008

The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile




I had a busy week last week and didn't get a chance to post anything, so I'm glad I have a chance to get back to this!

Today's choice is The Get Up Kids' Four Minute Mile, another one of those landmarks in my early adulthood (which I suppose I am still in). This album came into my life shortly after a break-up and right as I was figuring out how much fun it was (is?) to be a single girl (seriously, the world belongs to single girls). It's the sound of one-time make outs and going to shows alone. I was in love with the world through the eyes of this album. Unfortunately, TGUK moved away from the purer form of "emo-pop" they embodied toward the soggy "indie/pop" that mutated into the horror that is contemporary emo. So, it suffices to say that the love affair faded away as they released more albums.

The Get Up Kids came together in 1994 and broke up after much success in 2005. They were one of those bands that felt good when they were "yours" and kind of made you sick after they became popular. A lot like Patrick Dempsey's character in Can't Buy Me Love, they were lovable as outsiders and a bit too much when they were opening for Green Day (he did that in the movie, right?).

Four Minute Mile was recorded with Shellac's Bob Weston and was released in the fall of 1997, just in time to save me from becoming an over-grown ska geek.

The Get Up Kids added an "indie rock" flavor to the preexisting "post-hardcore" genre emo, which proved to be a volatile combination. How long could they have made music that was influenced by post-hardcore, yet was sweet and melodic? It was a thin wire they walked, which ironically they had fallen off of by the time they released their 3rd album On a Wire. They appealed to the lower common denominator, the pop-punk-mislabeled-as-emo hungry masses.

But for me, this album will always be about change and discovery. Or more accurately, discovering that what you know about yourself will change.

The tracks that really stand out to me are: "Coming Clean", with it's Jawbreaker-esque riffage, "Don't Hate Me", is as poppy as it gets here, "Stay Gold Ponyboy" with it's quick-change breakdown provides the fleeting catchiness of the lyric "anything at all you want to be, run around the world with me" (it's my favorite song on here), and "No Love", with it's hopeful daydreaming; but everything here is solid and gives you all the heartfelt longing for a perfect life you could possibly ask for.

You can get this anywhere and everywhere, so get to it.

Hear it HERE.
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, May 2, 2008

Isaac Green & The Skalars - Skoolin' With The Skalars




For me, the summer of '97 was ska summer. It was everywhere. It was on the radio, it was in the clubs. You couldn't escape. Now, I had been going down that path for a bit, but it was the road alone that I strode. That is until the phenomenon of ska shows at least once a week. I met other rude dudes who became my closest friends. And if we had to pick a favorite band, it was Isaac Green & The Skalars. In fact, one of our greatest triumphs happened the night they finally came to town. I had shortly before this gone through a particularly nasty break up. Not only did he totally dis me, but he dissed us all. We saw him for the pseudo-intellectual snob he was. Anyhow, he had been the one to turn us on to this band. That night I rolled friends-deep, while he came alone. Before the show we met one of the Skalars and he was super nice and we met a couple of the others. And during their set they dedicated a song to us. The look on my ex-boyfriend's face was priceless. Immediately after the set, a couple of the band members came down and talked to us. Evan, the trombone player/co-vocalist needed a ride to the airport either late that night or early that morning depending how you looked at it. Within earshot of my ex-boyfriend I excitedly offered to help him out. Hanging out with him until we dropped him off was a blast and it was the first time I had stayed out all night.

The Skalars were from St. Louis and released two albums through Moon Ska and a couple of 7"s on their own. They were among the handful of ska bands that actually had talent as both musicians and songwriters. Importantly, they were NOT ska-punk.

Skoolin' With the Skalars was their debut album. Evan Shaw was the main male vocalist, while there were three female vocalists of whom only saxophonist Jessica Butler (by far the superior voice) remained by their intensely soulful second album.

As I mentioned, these guys were not ska-punk, they draw from the originators, mixing big band and R&B into a sweet sweet 3rd wave sound.

For me, this the sound of leaving high school behind. (Finally!)

Each of these songs have such specific memories attached to them. "Spoiled Brat" reminded us of a rich girl who was in our social circle that just didn't get how easy she had it. Their cover of The Marvelettes "Beechwood 4-589" was the definitive dance party jam.

Both "Don't Count" and "High School" were later made available in newer versions focusing on Jessica Butler's lone vocals. And these songs are the heavy hitters of this album. I so deeply related to these realizations that the world is a tough place. You don't always win and you can never go back. That is the post-high school graduate condition.

"Sitting" reminded us of a hapless friend constantly pining for the most unavailable of ladies...it didn't hurt that he shared his name with the song's protagonist. And though I never shared it with my friends, "Junbok" was emblematic of my broadening horizons. After 13 years of school with the same handful of people, I was going out into the world where I would be meeting people that I might never see again and making connections that might never be revisited. Shit's deep, yo.

The hidden track "Ike's Ride" (which was the song they dedicated to us) was our anthem. We had mistaken the lyrics for "I Try!" which developed into more than a mere catchphrase, it was a codeword.

With the demise of Moon Ska in America, it seems that there's not a direct way to get new copies of this album, but there's plenty available on Amazon. I checked.

Hear it HERE.
Posted by at 3 comments:

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Crooked Fingers - Red Devil Dawn





There are certain songs that catch you off guard, spilling over with your secrets. How can the world hear these songs if they reveal the truths you hold inside? But then you realize, a stranger wrote these songs and you're merely feeling an intense connection to the words. After that moment of panic, you become comfortable to merely pretend. You can pretend that these songs are sending your secret messages into the universe letting those who matter know how you truly feel, and though they might be worlds away, they are hearing you. It also works in the reverse, sometimes you can receive the secrets of others just by listening. Red Devil Dawn is one of these magic albums.

Crooked Fingers is the solo project of ex-Archers of Loaf frontman Eric Bachmann, it follows his stint as an instrumental artist under the name Barry Black.

Red Devil Dawn is the 3rd album Bachmann has released under the Crooked Fingers name and the first to feature complex arrangements including strings and horns.

Bachmann is often compared to Tom Waits, as both of their voices share that standout rasp. Musically, Crooked Fingers is less of a carnival ride than Waits offers. There is a strong Americana sound verging nearly into Alt-Country.

But really, this sounds like a series of urgent transmissions.

And now, I'm going to get down to decoding some of these messages:

"Don't Say a Word" - Someone is telling you that even if you've learned from what you've been through, it doesn't mean that you're going to find the one you lost when you made your mistakes.

"You Can Never Leave" - This is someone saying "Oops, 'the love we made was no lie' but I'm retarded and totally let you go. 'I can't get you back' and now that I'm getting older I realize that was a big mistake. By the way 'when you dance it is torture', by which I mean to say that seeing you live your life is killing me, so maybe we can meet again someday but if we don't stay together then, I guess that makes us liars."

"You Threw a Spark" - Someone is mad at you because you claimed that you loved them so much but you didn't do anything about it. And then you had the nerve to blame them for not coming to rescue you from your little world when all along you were the one who failed to act.

"Boy With (100) Hands" - Now they're telling you that they tried to rescue you. They saw that you are "better than the world you live in" but even if they had 100 hands, they couldn't help you, but they'll hold you in their heart and try to move on.

"Sweet Marie" - The message here is that if maybe you didn't have to choose, maybe if the choice could be made for you, maybe then things would work out.

If decoding the rest of these messages sounds like something you'd be into, you should pick this album up. It's there, it's waiting, do it.




Hear it HERE.
Posted by at 1 comment:

Friday, April 25, 2008

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary





Sometimes a song can create and an entire lifetime that speeds by in only a moment. This is the song you listen to on repeat so you might relive that life over and over. Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary is an album full of those songs.

Wolf Parade are from Montreal and were part of 2005's much hyped "Canadian Invasion". Hype is so often a turn off for me when it comes to checking out new bands but upon hearing "I'll Believing in Anything" I bought into the hype 100% and have never looked back.

Apologies to the Queen Mary, Wolf Parade's debut album was produced by Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock. Here and there his touch is evident.

The sound of Wolf Parade is a sort of conglomeration of everything good that had happened up to that point in indie rock history. Guided by Voices, David Bowie, The Pixies, Talking Heads and so many more influential acts blazed the trails that led to this band. And in a not-so-distant future Wolf Parade might be lauded just as highly as their influences. They are no mere copycats, they are innovators, improving upon what is already familiar and creating something new.

Imagine that you have lost your soul mate and on the night before Earth is destroyed you find them. This is the soundtrack to your remaining hours. And as the sun rises, by some miracle, the Earth has been saved.

Apologies begins with "You are a Runner and I am My Father's Son". It reminds me of Pleasure Forever with it's stomping processional feel. Spencer Krug fronts this warning to a potential lover that fate may not have their happiness in store, he may just be predestined to lose. Next is the Dan Boeckner fronted "Modern World", this is more subdued, reminisent of Arcade Fire. Though quite lovely.

"Ground for Divorce" brings to mind a jagged, up-tempo "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)", but lyrically it's more about a broken home than going home. Following this is Boeckner's smooth delivery of "We Built Another World" which sounds like a Modest Mouse jam you could dance to.

Just after the halfway point is Boeckner's "Shine a Light", which also makes you feel okay about living a life that feels like it means nothing, after all "our blood is alive". But when what we're waiting for finally arrives it will be that much sweeeter.

For me the highest point of the album is Krug's "I'll Believe in Anything". This is what we've been waiting for to arrive, "the scary day we both pull the tricks out of our sleeves". This is the ultimate proclamation of love: "Give me your eyes, I need sunshine. Your blood, your bones your voice, and your ghost". Seriously, that sums it up. When you love someone that much, you need the things that make them whole. You only put a song this heavy on a mix tape you really mean.

Another song that "means it" is the final track, the Boeckner led "This Heart's On Fire". This is the song you play when you finally find the one and you have them there in your arms. It's true.

This album is available pretty much everywhere. I'd dare say it would be harder to find a music store that doesn't carry it than does.



Hear it HERE.
Posted by at 1 comment:

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Sarge - The Glass Intact





In March of '97 I attended the event that would change my life. I saw Sarge perform at the nearly rained out KTRU Outdoor Show. Before this I had definitely been interested in music and messed about with bands that were more ideas than anything else. But while watching Elizabeth Elmore front Sarge, it hit me..."I can do this." From that point I took my musical aspirations much more seriously. Though it took awhile to find my first solid band, I've been finding my greatest happiness in playing and writing music ever since. (And just a side note, my band nailed down perhaps the BEST song I have ever been a part of in my whole "career" as a musician. I. Am. Stoked.) As all things tend to move in circles, it was March 19, 2000 that Elizabeth Elmore on a solo tour between the break up of Sarge and formation of The Reputation played her Houston show in my parents garage apartment (we called it Club Last Chance, if you couldn't find a place for a show it was your last chance). My band London Girl opened for her. I played my ass off that night. And when Elmore took the "stage" she thanked us and said "Did you see April? Man! She's got chops!" Be still my rock & roll heart.

Sarge were from Champaign, Ill. and were fronted by the absolutely enchanting Elizabeth Elmore. And as much as I hate to make a distinction between male and female musicians, i must point out that Elmore is an undeniable inspiration as a front person, songwriter and musician. At her worst she keeps pace with all the "boys in bands with all these egos out of hand", and at her best leaves them miles behind in the dust.

The Glass Intact was Sarge's second album and a bit of a breakthrough being named in Spin's top 20 of 1998. It is definitely in my top 20 of all time, maybe higher.

Sarge are too tough to really bear comparisons to bands like Cub and Wolfie (who's Joe Ziemba wrote "Put in the Reel") and far too sweet to be lumped in with Sleater-Kinney or Bratmobile...and with the exception of "Fast Girls", far too boy crazy to likened to Team Dresch.

When girls kiss all the boys they're called sluts, when guys do it they get high fives. This album is the sound of shattering that double standard.

If you were to believe the subject matter of most of these songs, it would seem that despite all of her wonderful qualities, Elmore tends to attract the most heartless and insensitive of men...who she relentlessly identifies, and perhaps more appropriately, as "boys". She struggles to maintain her identity in the shadow of these boys who are almost always in bands. But for all the heartbreaks, Elmore always remains golden. After all, for every boy that "doesn't see the light", there are 10 more watching adoringly from the audience.

"Stall" finds Elmore searching for resolution in a nice relationship in which she doesn't have much passion. She resigns herself to "pray that things will die okay" after trying to give up, which the boy in question just would not have.

Elmore doesn't only write of her own personal conflicts, in "A Torch" she sings of a rape victim finding empowerment through arson. She celebrates these actions with reverence.

In "Beguiling" Elmore is bored with her boyfriend's insincerity. She finds herself torn between physical attraction and emotional repulsion. By the song's end she has still not made her choice. The down-tempo "Charms and Feigns" takes the previous song's weighing of pros and cons in a more solemn direction, only this time it's for the benefit of another. She has "been there before with him" she reveals as she addresses a friend who was "just another girl for that night". She may have been around the block, but she'll be there for you when you need her.

While "Beguiling" is a surefire rocker, for me it comes in second to the beautiful and powerful "Half as Far". In this song, Elmore is facing the reality that the one she loves really doesn't have what she needs. She mournfully examines the things that bring her comfort, listening to his breath as she watches him sleep. And she sees she's "not being fair" and that she doesn't "want to waste your time", adding "it's not that you're a waste of mine". As full as this song is, it fills the listener with the emptiness of falling out of love.

The album picks back up with "I Took You Driving". Elmore guards her heart against the charms of a boy from her past who's "only looking for one thing". Once again she must make the distinction between her physical attraction and her desire for emotional connection. She's "not so sure this boy is it" so she turns the tables on him. She admits her distaste for him, yet urges him to call next time he's in town.

Elmore is more reverent of her female subjects and this none more apparent than on "Fast Girls". She meets a girl at a "Madison punk rock show" who possesses all of the qualities that her male suitors lack. In fact, she has "their weaknesses down pat". But on her way back to Champaign she is left regretting that she couldn't find the words to express her feelings...when she should have been thinking of her boyfriend.

Album closer "To Keep You Trained" sums up the broarder theme of the album that no matter how much the music itself attests to Elmore's strength, boys will always be "every mistake [she] ever made'.

This is one of my all time favorite albums, a "desert island" album if you will. Try it out and if it's like that for you, you can buy it through The Reputation's (her current band) website,(link below).



Hear it HERE.
Posted by at 3 comments:

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Black Cat Music - This is the New Romance




Today I'm bringing you an EP that meant a lot to me right around my 21st birthday. At the time I still had the factory tape deck in my car so I dubbed a copy which was rarely ejected. I put songs on countless mixtapes, I listened to the CD at home making up guitar riffs based on the songs (totally ripping them off for my band...), and I forced them down anyone who'd listen's throat. I even picked up the 12" version which had two less songs. I was pretty obsessed. It didn't hurt that one of the guys in the band looked a lot like someone I was totally in love with.

At the time of this passionate listening affair Black Cat Music had yet to be signed to Lookout! so there's was little awareness of these guys. They were my band. They were dark and whiskey-soaked, much like I felt at the time...or was...there was a lot of whiskey around this time in my life...okay, I admit, whiskey is a definite theme in my life so let's just say it started here.

What little I knew I learned from their website; they were from San Francisco, they were comprised of former members of the Criminals and the Receivers. They were awesome. What I know now is that they released one more EP for Cheetah and then 3 albums for Lookout! before disbanding in 2004. I'm gonna say that signing to Lookout! was the death knell in their chances for anyone to take them seriously. I advise you to look past the label and check out all their releases, they're terribly overlooked.

This is the New Romance was their debut EP and was released on the apparently defunct Cheetah's Records in 1998. It made it's way over to me in 1999.

Black Cat Music sounds a little like a younger, sexier Murder City Devils. They're dark in all the right places. They know when to show their smarts and when to play it dumb. And oh, the basslines, your ears will be all sexed up by those baselines.

This EP sounds exactly like being drunk on whiskey with a broken heart, but you've got a fresh pack of cigarettes and your best friend, so you'll make it through the night.

The opening licks of "Lloyd, I Would Have Done the Same" just take off at lightspeed and finally breakdown just enough for you to catch up before they take off once again. The guitar work is beyond what you would expect of most "punk" oriented bands. "Journal Square Train" carries the vibe into a swagger of forbidden love. "This is the new romance", singer Brady Baltezore repeats almost as to convince himself that he will win out in the end. "Cut You Up Good" borders on filler but is kept to a short 2:08 as not to take the flow of the EP off track. There is a great breakdown at the end and is defintely not to be skipped.

"Red Velvet and Roses" has it all, the rocking riffs, the intense breakdowns, the dark imagery. It's the story of two lovers up to no good" "sneak[ing] around like two black cats at night". "Wine in a Box" is without a doubt my favorite track on this disc. It starts off with a sample taken from the Dylan documentary Don't Look Back:

"So the bearded boys and the lank-haired girls, all eye shadow and undertaker makeup, applaud the songs and miss perhaps the sermons. They are there; they are ‘with it'."

This was a reporter who was phoning in his review of Dylan's concert immediately after it ended. There is no connection between Bob Dylan and Black Cat Music, so this was obviously playing on the idea of the "undertaker makeup" line.

The song kicks in and almost immediately levels off. And at once we're hit with a request to "get high on your sister's pills". This is a song about young love and the cheapest of thrills, which was highly appealing to me at the time. In 2000, this is what I believed San Francisco to be like all pale faces, tattoos, black hair and being wasted. (I went, it wasn't...it was bookstores and peepshows.) But to this day this song gives me a rush.

"Haunted Hotel Colorado" is a good send off though I must admit that I get a bit of a lump in my throat listening to it...as though I'm dreading having to hit rewind on my tape deck. Fortunately, I can set my iPod to repeat album.

Make some of the Black Cat Music for me, indeed.

Black Cat Music are no longer around but you can visit their myspace, you can try to track down a copy of this EP, or buy any of their more recent releases from Lookout!



Hear it HERE.
Posted by at 2 comments:

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Michael Nesmith - And the Hits Just Keep on Comin'




When I was a kid watching The Monkees on 20Vision, I had decided that Mickey was my favorite...he was the funny one. As I got older, I gained an appreciation for Mike. He was funny too, but it was understated. His sense of humor more low key, less obvious. Watch him and you would hear the snarky remarks and the subtle satire that Dolenz was just not capable of.

But there is so much more to Michael Nesmith than being my favorite Monkee. His mother invented white-out, he invented MTV, Gretsch made him a custom 12-string guitar, he wrote "Mary Mary", and he wrote "Different Drum". He was the real talent in a fake band and I do not question his choice not to return when The Monkees (lamely) reunited.

And the Hits Just Keep on Comin' was released in 1972 after four lackluster attempts made for RCA. When the label demanded a hit album Nesmith came up with the name. Having parted ways with his band he was left with only pedal steel guitarist Red Rhodes. Working with what he had, this album features nothing more than acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and Nesmith's unmistakable twang. This results in 10 heart-melting tails of love and hope.

So what he have here is a country-folk album with touches of psychedelic lyricism.

And what I have is my idea of starting off on the right foot.

There's no deliberate sequence to these songs, no story to be told. This is a collection of very nice songs that aren't going to rock you but leave you feeling like you're holding hands with someone pretty while you dip your feet in the water of Marble Falls.

Here and there you'll hear similarities to Dylan's phrasing, which I believe purely unintentional, but welcome none-the-less. "Lady Love" illustrates how deceptively big of a sound you can get with only two musicians. "The Candidate" finds Nesmith channeling Phil Ochs until the eerie psychedelic fade-out. This is followed up by his recording of "Different Drum", though originally recorded by Linda Ronstadt, it was written by Nesmith. "Harmony Constant" maybe very well be one of the sweetest songs I've ever heard.

"Keep On" is as rollicking as the album gets but is sweet and reaffirming. In this song Nesmith lays out what is probably most important in the hearts of any true artist "number good is better than number one". And though he advises the listener to "consider the source and ignore it". There's no way you can considering that Michael Nesmith was in the prefab Monkees, designed solely to make "number ones" and at the time of this recording he was a struggling solo artist making perhaps the best music of his career. Dude knows what he's talking about.

Just go ahead and try it out. You can download it from iTunes, but you're gonna have a heck of a time finding a physical copy anywhere other than Nesmith's Videoranch website.



Hear it HERE.
Posted by at 1 comment:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)