Today I went to Record Den and bought the remastered vinyl version of Magical Mystery Tour. "What's the big deal about that you ask?". Here's the big deal; I have a sickness. In the past 35 years I have bought the Beatles catalog several times. When they remastered the albums on CD in 2009, I bought them all individually and then when my son ripped them all up I got my parents to buy me the boxed set. I had many of the LP's when I was a kid, lost most of them, then started replacing them on used vinyl. I even have Beatles' Rock Band for Christ's sake. Now they are releasing all the remastered CD's on vinyl and I promised my wife I wouldn't buy them again. But the ineveitable has begun. Recently, I bought the restored DVD of Magical Mystery Tour after my wife begged me not to. But all I had was a janky old $9, grainy version of it, so obviously I had to get it. In my defense, I didn't buy the $400 dollar boxed set of LP's like my friend did, but I'll eventually buy most of them at some point.
Even after McCartney's expensive divorce I'm sure he still has billions of dollars. I'm pretty sure Yoko doesn't clip coupons. Who really needs this annual money grab. Apparently, we do or they wouldn't keep doing it. The real pisser is that what fans really want is for the Let It Be footage to be released on DVD and they seem to have no interest in doing that. I'd even settle for the Beatles cartoons on DVD, even though they were pretty cheesy. At least I have no interest in the $400 Beatles pen set.
Anyhow, I understand capitalism and the laws of supply and demand, but how about a break for a few years. I guess I just have to learn to control my completist personality. At least the new generation is being exposed to the Beatles, so it's not all bad. Peace.
A Living Will For My Music Collection
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Mark Linkous a.k.a. Sparklehorse
About two and a half years ago, I went into to work and one of my co-workers asked me if I had heard that the Sparklehorse guy killed himself. He knew I was a big fan, but I hadn't heard. I think I asked him a couple questions about it, but I was mainly trying not to cry. The next day I didn't have to work and I was on the internet literally all day looking up stories about his suicide and watching youtube video. The news was crushing, but not surprising when you look back at his songs. A couple years before his suicide, I had written a proposal for the 33 1/3 book series on Sparklehorse's album Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (Viva...). My proposal wasn't well written and not accepted, but it is a great album that sheds much light on Mark Linkous.
Mark Linkous was a soft-spoken, creative, troubled soul. Two song titles on Viva... seemed to summarize his outlook on life, Heart of Darkness and Sad & Beautiful World. His lyrics suggested a childlike amazement at both the beauty and the sadness of day to day existence. When I listen to Viva..., I imagine Linkous' mind as an abandoned amusement park littered with broken funhouse mirrors and dilapidated carousels. In the background, you sometimes hear what sounds like a demented calliope from an alternate universe. In the song "Tears on Fresh Fruit", he sings Through the bony walls of my skull / they was playing lullabies. The album is in turns haunting, powerful, fragile and triumphant. It has several classic Linkous lines, such as:
* Yes your hair smells like sunshine today
* Everything that's made is made to decay
* I'd like to tell you how I feel, but I'll probably keep it 'til Saturday
* The parasites will love you when you're dead, la la la la la
* Pretty girl milkin' a cow - oh ya
* Hey little dog, can't even fly
The album also had two tracks, Rainmaker and Someday I Will Treat You Good, that should've been alternative rock radio classics. But the song that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it is Spirit Ditch, ande it goes something like this:
I want my records back/ and that motorcycle gas tank that I spray painted black
The owls began talkin' to me/ but I'm sworn to secrecy
Woke up in a burnt out basement/ sleeping with metal hands in a spirit ditch
There's another verse and then he plays a recording of his mother on the phone talking about how she had a dream that he had been hurt. Words can't really convey how haunting this song is.
When Mark was on tour opening for Radiohead, he nearly died when he passed out from a combination of Valium and painkillers. His legs were pinned under his body for several hours and almost had to be amputated. Much of his next album, Good Morning Spider, was about that experience. He went on to record a couple more albums and collaborated with Tom Waits, PJ Harvey and Danger Mouse, to name a few. He was working on a new album when he killed himself. I'm glad I got to see Sparklehorse open for R.E.M. in 2003 or I may never have been exposed to the dark, beautiful mind of Mark Linkous. Peace.
Mark Linkous was a soft-spoken, creative, troubled soul. Two song titles on Viva... seemed to summarize his outlook on life, Heart of Darkness and Sad & Beautiful World. His lyrics suggested a childlike amazement at both the beauty and the sadness of day to day existence. When I listen to Viva..., I imagine Linkous' mind as an abandoned amusement park littered with broken funhouse mirrors and dilapidated carousels. In the background, you sometimes hear what sounds like a demented calliope from an alternate universe. In the song "Tears on Fresh Fruit", he sings Through the bony walls of my skull / they was playing lullabies. The album is in turns haunting, powerful, fragile and triumphant. It has several classic Linkous lines, such as:
* Yes your hair smells like sunshine today
* Everything that's made is made to decay
* I'd like to tell you how I feel, but I'll probably keep it 'til Saturday
* The parasites will love you when you're dead, la la la la la
* Pretty girl milkin' a cow - oh ya
* Hey little dog, can't even fly
The album also had two tracks, Rainmaker and Someday I Will Treat You Good, that should've been alternative rock radio classics. But the song that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it is Spirit Ditch, ande it goes something like this:
I want my records back/ and that motorcycle gas tank that I spray painted black
The owls began talkin' to me/ but I'm sworn to secrecy
Woke up in a burnt out basement/ sleeping with metal hands in a spirit ditch
There's another verse and then he plays a recording of his mother on the phone talking about how she had a dream that he had been hurt. Words can't really convey how haunting this song is.
When Mark was on tour opening for Radiohead, he nearly died when he passed out from a combination of Valium and painkillers. His legs were pinned under his body for several hours and almost had to be amputated. Much of his next album, Good Morning Spider, was about that experience. He went on to record a couple more albums and collaborated with Tom Waits, PJ Harvey and Danger Mouse, to name a few. He was working on a new album when he killed himself. I'm glad I got to see Sparklehorse open for R.E.M. in 2003 or I may never have been exposed to the dark, beautiful mind of Mark Linkous. Peace.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
In Defense of Neil Peart
In the short history of this blog I've established that I'm a big Rush fan. I'll admit that I'm not one of those super fans who have seen them 100's of times and go to multiple cities every tour, but I've seen them 6 times and I love their music. However, I'm not myopic and freely admit that they have made questionable choices throughout their history. Among these would be:
* kimonos
* Ayn Rand
* those 80's mullets
* kimonos
* skinny ties
* keyboards
* naked dudes on album covers
* the song Dog Years
* kimonos
I say this to show that I'm not a fan boy apologist when I say give Neil Peart a break already. Now, maybe my perception is skewed because I'm basing it on what I read on message boards, but people really need to lighten up on Neil. I am a frequent visitor to the fansite Rushisaband which is a fantastic resource for everything Rush. Rushisaband has a link to a message board called Counterparts that is populated by many bitter people. The object of much of their bitterness is Neil Peart. I'm all for people having opinions, especially about music, but some of these people seem to feel entitled to something from Neil because they buy tickets and records. I understand people who aren't fans hating Geddy's voice or thinking Neil is a robotic drummer, but I don't get supposed fans bashing someone who has done nothing to them just because he's a private person. I've read all of Neil's books, including Ghost Rider, which was about the deaths of his daughter and wife and his subsequent motorcycle journey to heal from these losses. I've also seen the Rush doc Beyond the Lighted Stage several times and the members of Rush seem like great guys. So why all the vitriol for Neil?
The craziest complaint about him is that he's responsible for a five year band hiatus because he was a self-indulgent baby when his wife and daughter died. People begrudged him this time to recover and dismissed it as a rich guy not working for their amusement just to ride a motorcycle and mope. What a bunch of crap. We all deal with grief in different ways and his process seems to have worked well for him. He's remarried and has a little girl and the band is still going strong, so be happy for him.
The main thing people have against Neil is that he doesn't like to be bothered by people he doesn't know, e.i., fans. All Rush fans know this about him, especially from the song Limelight, and most respect his wishes. There is a vocal minority, however, who have a huge problem with his private nature. It's a constant topic of ridicule and venom on the message board. All Neil owes you is to play his best every night and that's it. He enjoys creating music and performing to the best of his ability, then he wants to get on his motorcycle and live his life the way he wants to. How is that hurting anyone? Is your own life so bankrupt that you need your fandom acknowledged by Neil to feel validated? I don't get it. Let it go! Life's too short. Peace.
* kimonos
* Ayn Rand
* those 80's mullets
* kimonos
* skinny ties
* keyboards
* naked dudes on album covers
* the song Dog Years
* kimonos
I say this to show that I'm not a fan boy apologist when I say give Neil Peart a break already. Now, maybe my perception is skewed because I'm basing it on what I read on message boards, but people really need to lighten up on Neil. I am a frequent visitor to the fansite Rushisaband which is a fantastic resource for everything Rush. Rushisaband has a link to a message board called Counterparts that is populated by many bitter people. The object of much of their bitterness is Neil Peart. I'm all for people having opinions, especially about music, but some of these people seem to feel entitled to something from Neil because they buy tickets and records. I understand people who aren't fans hating Geddy's voice or thinking Neil is a robotic drummer, but I don't get supposed fans bashing someone who has done nothing to them just because he's a private person. I've read all of Neil's books, including Ghost Rider, which was about the deaths of his daughter and wife and his subsequent motorcycle journey to heal from these losses. I've also seen the Rush doc Beyond the Lighted Stage several times and the members of Rush seem like great guys. So why all the vitriol for Neil?
The craziest complaint about him is that he's responsible for a five year band hiatus because he was a self-indulgent baby when his wife and daughter died. People begrudged him this time to recover and dismissed it as a rich guy not working for their amusement just to ride a motorcycle and mope. What a bunch of crap. We all deal with grief in different ways and his process seems to have worked well for him. He's remarried and has a little girl and the band is still going strong, so be happy for him.
The main thing people have against Neil is that he doesn't like to be bothered by people he doesn't know, e.i., fans. All Rush fans know this about him, especially from the song Limelight, and most respect his wishes. There is a vocal minority, however, who have a huge problem with his private nature. It's a constant topic of ridicule and venom on the message board. All Neil owes you is to play his best every night and that's it. He enjoys creating music and performing to the best of his ability, then he wants to get on his motorcycle and live his life the way he wants to. How is that hurting anyone? Is your own life so bankrupt that you need your fandom acknowledged by Neil to feel validated? I don't get it. Let it go! Life's too short. Peace.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Achtung Baby
One great thing about the relationship between me and my wife is that we are musically compatible. Not that we agree on everything (Enrique Iglesias), but we do share similar taste. We also enjoy going to concerts together, such as, McCartney, Duran Duran, Foo Fighters, U2 and Rush. It takes a special kind of wife to go to a Rush concert and actually like it. She has drawn the line on one thing, however. Now, she will only go to concerts where you buy seats - no standing. A few years ago we went to the House of Blues to see Cheap Trick and Squeeze. We bought main floor general admission tickets and had to stand. The standing wasn't necessarily the problem, but she couldn't see over people and they keep bumping into her. We made it through Cheap Trick, but left half way into Squeeze because she couldn't take it anymore. I'm not a huge fan of standing, but most bands I want to see play at the Beachland or Grog Shop. Therefore, I stand.
Some couples don't find out that they are musically incompatible until it's too late. That was not the case with us. Before we started dating she invited me to a party at her apartment. While everyone else was talking and drinking, I was looking at the shelf with her CD's and DVD's. The first thing that caught my eye was the complete series of The Young Ones. I was, and still am, a Britcom dork and I love the Young Ones. So, I knew we had similar senses of humor. Then I noticed something interesting about her CD collection. She had the other halves of my collections. What I mean by that is I had all the 80's U2 and she had all the 90's U2(hence the title of my post - I'm not going to break down the album, sorry). I had the first two Better Than Ezra cd's and she had the next three. Oddly though, we had the exact same Oasis cd's. This can be explained by the fact she is nine years younger than me, but it was still kind of serendipitous. So, we had a Dr. Evil / Mini Me "you complete me" thing going on musically.
Anyhow, neither of us had seen U2 before so we decided to splurge and see them at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. This was their most recent tour that was postponed part way through when Bono messed up his back. Originally, the opening act was Interpol which I was excited about. When the show was rescheduled it was changed to Florence and the Machine who were better than I thought they'd be, but not Interpol. U2 were amazing and it was a great experience.
As long as I'm on the subject of U2, I do have some confessions. To me, they parallel R.E.M.
They were the biggest bands in the world in the 90's and seemed to have a friendly rivalry with each other. However, I'm that guy that likes the "old" stuff and didn't like them changing. I hated Zoo TV, The Fly, McPhisto and all that crap. U2 really lost me for awhile. My perspective on that has changed as I've gotten older and I enjoy my wife's 90's U2 cd's as much as my 80's U2 cd's now.
We've also seen Better Than Ezra twice and enjoyed them. The last time we saw them they talked about being Rush fans and played a little Rush medley, which was awesome. Friction, Baby is one of my all-time favorite albums and I hope some day they play it live in it's entirety. We never saw Oasis and I guess we probably never will, unless the Gallagher's stop being wankers and get the band back together. I would love to see them play "Supersonic" live. Keep hope alive. Peace.
Some couples don't find out that they are musically incompatible until it's too late. That was not the case with us. Before we started dating she invited me to a party at her apartment. While everyone else was talking and drinking, I was looking at the shelf with her CD's and DVD's. The first thing that caught my eye was the complete series of The Young Ones. I was, and still am, a Britcom dork and I love the Young Ones. So, I knew we had similar senses of humor. Then I noticed something interesting about her CD collection. She had the other halves of my collections. What I mean by that is I had all the 80's U2 and she had all the 90's U2(hence the title of my post - I'm not going to break down the album, sorry). I had the first two Better Than Ezra cd's and she had the next three. Oddly though, we had the exact same Oasis cd's. This can be explained by the fact she is nine years younger than me, but it was still kind of serendipitous. So, we had a Dr. Evil / Mini Me "you complete me" thing going on musically.
Anyhow, neither of us had seen U2 before so we decided to splurge and see them at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. This was their most recent tour that was postponed part way through when Bono messed up his back. Originally, the opening act was Interpol which I was excited about. When the show was rescheduled it was changed to Florence and the Machine who were better than I thought they'd be, but not Interpol. U2 were amazing and it was a great experience.
As long as I'm on the subject of U2, I do have some confessions. To me, they parallel R.E.M.
They were the biggest bands in the world in the 90's and seemed to have a friendly rivalry with each other. However, I'm that guy that likes the "old" stuff and didn't like them changing. I hated Zoo TV, The Fly, McPhisto and all that crap. U2 really lost me for awhile. My perspective on that has changed as I've gotten older and I enjoy my wife's 90's U2 cd's as much as my 80's U2 cd's now.
We've also seen Better Than Ezra twice and enjoyed them. The last time we saw them they talked about being Rush fans and played a little Rush medley, which was awesome. Friction, Baby is one of my all-time favorite albums and I hope some day they play it live in it's entirety. We never saw Oasis and I guess we probably never will, unless the Gallagher's stop being wankers and get the band back together. I would love to see them play "Supersonic" live. Keep hope alive. Peace.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Things I'm Thankful For
Well., I just finished watching the Lions epically blow another game, so I need to spend some time reflecting on things I'm thankful for. Obviously, I'm thankful for my family, having a job, having a home, television and bacon. However, this is a music blog, so here's what I'm thankful for musically.
* 180G vinyl
* Manchester, England
* Rickenbacker
* My Fender Telecaster
* My car CD player
* Record Den - Mentor,OH
* Square Records - Akron, OH
* Will Johnson Living Room Show
* Sparky's Dream by Teenage Fanclub
* Star Sign by Teenage Fanclub
* Hand Clap Songs (there will be a list someday)
* The British Invasion
* 867-5309
* Eddie Money running a travel agency
* Matador Records
* 33 1/3 book series
* Youtube
I'd also like to thank the NFL for that indefensible rule that screwed the Lions today and a thank you in advance for when the Lions fire Head Coach Jim Schwartz. That is all. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day with my family, drinking. Peace.
* 180G vinyl
* Manchester, England
* Rickenbacker
* My Fender Telecaster
* My car CD player
* Record Den - Mentor,OH
* Square Records - Akron, OH
* Will Johnson Living Room Show
* Sparky's Dream by Teenage Fanclub
* Star Sign by Teenage Fanclub
* Hand Clap Songs (there will be a list someday)
* The British Invasion
* 867-5309
* Eddie Money running a travel agency
* Matador Records
* 33 1/3 book series
* Youtube
I'd also like to thank the NFL for that indefensible rule that screwed the Lions today and a thank you in advance for when the Lions fire Head Coach Jim Schwartz. That is all. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day with my family, drinking. Peace.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
R.E.M. - Country Feedback
About seven years ago, I made a mixtape of my favorite R.E.M. songs and I entitled it Country Feedback. Not only is that the title of my second favorite R.E.M. song, but, I feel it also perfectly summarizes their sound. In the beginning, it was an intoxicating mixture of rock, country, Faulknerian Southern Gothicism, guitar jangle and mumbly, indecipherable lyrics. I would argue that their first five albums are all nearly perfect. I would also contend that no other band has ever started their career with five straight albums of that quality. When Murmur came out, I was a nerdy teenager growing up in rural Michigan and R.E.M. were right in my wheelhouse. I loved their sound. I loved their look. I loved Peter Buck's Rickenbacker. I loved mumbly Stipe. I loved Mike Mills fragile harmonies. I loved Bill Berry's eyebrows. I loved Sitting Still and Shaking Through. I have the 7" of Radio Free Europe.
Reckoning will always be my favorite R.E.M. album, but their defining song is Driver 8 from Fables of the Reconstruction. That was everything great about R.E.M. rolled into one song. There was a great guitar riff, great vocals and evocative railroad imagery. They followed that up with Life's Rich Pageant which had stellar tracks like These Days and I Believe. Then they delivered the album Document which for me was a double-edged sword. They finally broke big with The One I Love, Finest Worksong and It's the End of the World As We Know It and I was thrilled. But the success of Document landed them a deal with Warner Brothers and old R.E.M. died.
I hate to be that guy, but I really didn't like their major label albums. Don't get me wrong, I've bought them all and there are many great songs, but I didn't like them as well as their IRS catalog. I also didn't like it when Michael Stipe gave up the mystery of his lyrics for explicit songs about politics and relationships. I missed the mumble. They recorded two songs that most people currently identify them with that I can't even listen to anymore: Losing My Religion and Everybody Hurts. In fact, here's my list of songs I can't listen to anymore, because I've heard them too many times.
1) Losing My Religion
2) Everybody Hurts
3) One- U2
4) Stairway to Heaven
5) Free Bird
6) Come As You Are- Nirvana
7) Another Brick in the Wall
8) Pinball Wizard
9) Space Oddity
10) Wonderwall- Oasis
Nothing against these bands (except Skynyrd), but enough already.
Anyhow, when Bill Berry left the band due to health reasons, I felt they lost their edge musically and wish they had retired then. I regret never seeing them play in the 80's. I saw them in 2003 on their greatest hits tour and they were great. I was surprised how much fun Stipe seemed to have during the show. And when Peter Buck stepped on stage with the black Rickenbacker my life was complete. The opening band that night was Sparklehorse who I was unfamiliar with at the time. I soon corrected that and I will talk about them in a post very soon. Let me just say I have a list of three "goosebump" albums and here it is.
1) Sparklehorse- Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
2) Neutral Milk Hotel- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
3) Flaming Lips- Soft Bulletin
As far as recommendations, I have everything by R.E.M., including concert DVD's, and my kids should try all of it. I hope when they are teenagers that a band can still come along like R.E.M. and touch them the same way. Peace.
Reckoning will always be my favorite R.E.M. album, but their defining song is Driver 8 from Fables of the Reconstruction. That was everything great about R.E.M. rolled into one song. There was a great guitar riff, great vocals and evocative railroad imagery. They followed that up with Life's Rich Pageant which had stellar tracks like These Days and I Believe. Then they delivered the album Document which for me was a double-edged sword. They finally broke big with The One I Love, Finest Worksong and It's the End of the World As We Know It and I was thrilled. But the success of Document landed them a deal with Warner Brothers and old R.E.M. died.
I hate to be that guy, but I really didn't like their major label albums. Don't get me wrong, I've bought them all and there are many great songs, but I didn't like them as well as their IRS catalog. I also didn't like it when Michael Stipe gave up the mystery of his lyrics for explicit songs about politics and relationships. I missed the mumble. They recorded two songs that most people currently identify them with that I can't even listen to anymore: Losing My Religion and Everybody Hurts. In fact, here's my list of songs I can't listen to anymore, because I've heard them too many times.
1) Losing My Religion
2) Everybody Hurts
3) One- U2
4) Stairway to Heaven
5) Free Bird
6) Come As You Are- Nirvana
7) Another Brick in the Wall
8) Pinball Wizard
9) Space Oddity
10) Wonderwall- Oasis
Nothing against these bands (except Skynyrd), but enough already.
Anyhow, when Bill Berry left the band due to health reasons, I felt they lost their edge musically and wish they had retired then. I regret never seeing them play in the 80's. I saw them in 2003 on their greatest hits tour and they were great. I was surprised how much fun Stipe seemed to have during the show. And when Peter Buck stepped on stage with the black Rickenbacker my life was complete. The opening band that night was Sparklehorse who I was unfamiliar with at the time. I soon corrected that and I will talk about them in a post very soon. Let me just say I have a list of three "goosebump" albums and here it is.
1) Sparklehorse- Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
2) Neutral Milk Hotel- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
3) Flaming Lips- Soft Bulletin
As far as recommendations, I have everything by R.E.M., including concert DVD's, and my kids should try all of it. I hope when they are teenagers that a band can still come along like R.E.M. and touch them the same way. Peace.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
How Wayne Coyne Changed My Life
I mentioned before that in the late 90's I pretty much stopped listening to rock music and was into jazz and New Age. I'll talk more about that sometime when I get to my Miles Davis collection. Anyhow, in 2002, I had just gone through a divorce and I was in a really bad place in my life. I had a weekend off from work and decided to take a drive up to Mackinac Island to clear my head and just get away. The trip was alright, but I didn't feel much better about my life. On the way back to Detroit, I was driving past Lansing and was channel surfing on the radio. I stopped on a college station that was playing an interesting song. It was about telling people who are close to you that you love them before they die and it's too late. The DJ came on and said it was a new song by the Flaming Lips called "Do You Realize?". I had a vague memory of seeing them on HBO's Reverb and thinking they were kind of cool in an unusual sort of way. I didn't really think about them again nor did I recall "She Don't Use Jelly", which had been a minor hit for them in the mid-90's. Shortly after I heard "Do You Realize?", I was in a CD store with listening stations and one of the choices was Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by Flaming Lips. The opening track "Fight Test" grabbed me right away with the distorted spoken words "The test begins nowwwww"! Then it goes into a song about how a guy loses the girl he loves because he wouldn't fight for her. I stopped listening and bought the CD and that started me on a road of musical rediscovery. I bought all the Flaming Lips CD's I could find and ordered the rest at work. I was done with jazz, except Miles, and New Age and back into rock music.
I went back through their catalog and was thrilled by the quality and variety and off-kilter insanity of their albums. My favorites were In A Priest Driven Ambulance and Transmissions From the Satellite Heart. Priest had many great tracks, but I especially loved "Five Stop Mother Superior Rain". One line that encapsulates how I feel quite often is "somebody please tell this machine I'm not a machine". There's another great line in the song "There You Are", You stand in the rain/ and the rain fills your brain/ and it makes you think that God/ was fucked up/ when he made this town.
At work, we had Red Dot machines which allowed you to listen to 30 seconds of a song on thousands of CD's. It also suggested similar artists when you selected a CD. This lead to hours of listening to bands similar to the Flaming Lips and then bands similar to those bands. This is how I discovered GbV, Mercury Rev, Modest Mouse, Pavement and many other bands that I had either missed when they were first out or new bands. This type of music spoke to me in a way that music never had spoken to me before. I felt better about myself and my life and it all came from a random song on the radio by a weird band from Oklahoma City.
Obviously, their best album is The Soft Bulletin which was released in 1999. My favorite song is "Waitin' For a Superman" which is the only song that makes me cry every time I hear it. The chorus is:
Tell everybody waitin' for Superman/ that they should try to hold on best they can/ he hasn't dropped them, forgot them, or anything/ it's just too heavy for Superman to lift.
The way Wayne sings it kills me every time. It also has one of my future funeral songs on it, "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate". The other two on my list so far are "Do You Realize?" and "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison. I hope my kids will give all of the Flaming Lips music a chance, but definitely the three albums I have mentioned here.
One last thought about Wayne Coyne. I hope he finds his way again, because he has touched a lot of people with his music. I've gotten to the point with his gummy vaginas and 24 hour long songs and disturbing videos that I can't support his art anymore. I really hate to say that, because he helped get me through a very rough time in my life, but that's how I feel.
I went back through their catalog and was thrilled by the quality and variety and off-kilter insanity of their albums. My favorites were In A Priest Driven Ambulance and Transmissions From the Satellite Heart. Priest had many great tracks, but I especially loved "Five Stop Mother Superior Rain". One line that encapsulates how I feel quite often is "somebody please tell this machine I'm not a machine". There's another great line in the song "There You Are", You stand in the rain/ and the rain fills your brain/ and it makes you think that God/ was fucked up/ when he made this town.
At work, we had Red Dot machines which allowed you to listen to 30 seconds of a song on thousands of CD's. It also suggested similar artists when you selected a CD. This lead to hours of listening to bands similar to the Flaming Lips and then bands similar to those bands. This is how I discovered GbV, Mercury Rev, Modest Mouse, Pavement and many other bands that I had either missed when they were first out or new bands. This type of music spoke to me in a way that music never had spoken to me before. I felt better about myself and my life and it all came from a random song on the radio by a weird band from Oklahoma City.
Obviously, their best album is The Soft Bulletin which was released in 1999. My favorite song is "Waitin' For a Superman" which is the only song that makes me cry every time I hear it. The chorus is:
Tell everybody waitin' for Superman/ that they should try to hold on best they can/ he hasn't dropped them, forgot them, or anything/ it's just too heavy for Superman to lift.
The way Wayne sings it kills me every time. It also has one of my future funeral songs on it, "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate". The other two on my list so far are "Do You Realize?" and "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison. I hope my kids will give all of the Flaming Lips music a chance, but definitely the three albums I have mentioned here.
One last thought about Wayne Coyne. I hope he finds his way again, because he has touched a lot of people with his music. I've gotten to the point with his gummy vaginas and 24 hour long songs and disturbing videos that I can't support his art anymore. I really hate to say that, because he helped get me through a very rough time in my life, but that's how I feel.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Comments
Apparently I needed to change the settings for comments on my blog. I did say I'm not tech savvy. Anyhow, sorry about that and I think I fixed it.
Doves
With all due respect to White Stripes, my favorite band of the '00's is Doves. They are a trio from Manchester, England who I would describe as a little less weird Radiohead. If there were any justice, the door that Coldplay opened to the States would have brought in Doves, Elbow and Kasabian. However, we got Keane, Susan Boyle and One Direction. The band consists of Jimi Goodwin and brothers Andy and Jez Williams. They began in the 80's and 90's as a club band called SubSub. In 1998 they became Doves and their sound has been defined by insistent guitars and drums and atmospheric effects.
I can remember the first time I heard Doves. When my 14 years old daughter was two she woke up in the middle of the night and I got up with her. I turned on the TV while I rocked her back to sleep and put on MTV 2. The video for "Catch the Sun" came on and the next day I went to work and ordered Lost Souls. To this day, "Catch the Sun" is one of my favorite songs and encapsulates how I felt growing up in a rural town. I have never been to the UK, but it seems like I've been to Manchester just from listening to Lost Souls. When you listen to this album, you can almost smell the sea air and hear the waves against the docks and the seabirds as they circle overhead. Doves main themes then, and even now, are the water and escaping.
Their subsequent albums are also quite good. Their biggest hit is probably "There Goes the Fear" from the critically acclaimed Last Broadcast, which ironically is my least favorite, but still good, Doves album. I can't list all my favorite songs in the space of this blog, but among them are Black and White Town, Snowden, Here It Comes and Winter Hill. I really should try to write a book about Doves. Someone in the UK probabaly already has though.
I have pretty much everything by them that you can get in the States, including a 10" single of "There Goes the Fear". I would recommend that my kids listen to Lost Souls and The Places Between, which is a best of collection with a music video DVD. If you aren't familiar with Doves please check them out. They are an amazing band. They are currently on hiatus, but hopefully they will begin recording again soon.
I can remember the first time I heard Doves. When my 14 years old daughter was two she woke up in the middle of the night and I got up with her. I turned on the TV while I rocked her back to sleep and put on MTV 2. The video for "Catch the Sun" came on and the next day I went to work and ordered Lost Souls. To this day, "Catch the Sun" is one of my favorite songs and encapsulates how I felt growing up in a rural town. I have never been to the UK, but it seems like I've been to Manchester just from listening to Lost Souls. When you listen to this album, you can almost smell the sea air and hear the waves against the docks and the seabirds as they circle overhead. Doves main themes then, and even now, are the water and escaping.
Their subsequent albums are also quite good. Their biggest hit is probably "There Goes the Fear" from the critically acclaimed Last Broadcast, which ironically is my least favorite, but still good, Doves album. I can't list all my favorite songs in the space of this blog, but among them are Black and White Town, Snowden, Here It Comes and Winter Hill. I really should try to write a book about Doves. Someone in the UK probabaly already has though.
I have pretty much everything by them that you can get in the States, including a 10" single of "There Goes the Fear". I would recommend that my kids listen to Lost Souls and The Places Between, which is a best of collection with a music video DVD. If you aren't familiar with Doves please check them out. They are an amazing band. They are currently on hiatus, but hopefully they will begin recording again soon.
Flying Nun : The Label, Not The Show
It's criminal that I can't walk into any record store where I live and find releases from the Flying Nun record label. Flying Nun (FN) is the iconic New Zealand label that is known for DIY, jangly rock music that started about 30 years ago. Some of the bands on FN were The Clean, The Bats, Straightjacket Fits, the Chills and the Verlaines. I have learned what I know about FN from Youtube and I have managed to find a few CD's and records. I only have the Clean Anthology, an LP of Daddy's Highway by the Bats and Melt by Straightjacket Fits. Part of the charm of FN was the low-budget, ramshackle way the label was run, but it's the year 2012 and there's no reason that the FN catalog should not have worldwide re-release. I guarantee there would be huge demand in the States for this stuff. So, this is my plea for Peter Jackson or Neil Finn or the Fight of the Conchords guys to invest in FN so this can happen. People should know who David Kilgour is. They should know who Chris Knox is. They should know who Shayne Carter is. They should know Death and the Maiden by the Verlaines, not just the Stephen Malkmus cover. I mentioned earlier that I like Popstrangers. They are on Flying Nun and I need to be able to buy their stuff. If you're not familiar with them they have a video on Youtube for a song called "What Else Can They Do" which is awesome. There's also a FN documentary on Youtube. I think it was called Heavenly Hits. I have this fantasy of going to New Zealand and walking into a record store and all of this great music would be there. I have the feeling though that I'd be on a plane for a zillion hours and when I got there they wouldn't have any either. I'm sure I could order stuff on the interwebs, but I prefer going into a store and touching it. And don't start me on downloading. I probably have to get over the ordering online thing though. Anyhow, I recommend that my kids give the Clean Anthology a listen and if they like that maybe by then the FN catalog with be available for them to buy. Hello Peter Jackson, are you listening. Peace.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Some Background Music
Before I continue with this blog it might be helpful to provide some more background about myself. I have to apologize up front that I am not a tech savvy person. The absence of links to Youtube videos and creative design are probably baffling to anyone viewing this blog. This blog started as a way to force myself to write because I wanted to write a book of essays about music and my life. I haven't promoted this blog, nor did I expect anyone to even find it in the vast blogosphere. I promise at some time in the near future I'll figure out enough technology to make Sound Mind a more interesting blog. In the meantime, I welcome any relevent comments and may even respond to them in future posts. So, in short, pardon my dust.
My musical journey has been long and often embarrassing. The first 8 Track I ever bought was Barry Manilow Live. You know, the one with him in the blue jumpsuit. Please don't stop reading. For the benefit of those of you who have no idea what an 8 Track is, it was a machine that played tape cartridges. It would break an album up into 4 parts which would audibly change in the middle of songs. It was horrible, but it was easier to use than a reel-to-reel player and before cassette tapes. It's amazing that the 8 Track player was invented by the same guy who invented the Lear Jet. Anyhow, my dad had an 8 Track player and cartridges by Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. I believe this, coupled with being raised on Hee Haw, lead me to feel a connection with early R.E.M. and alt-country in general.
When I was young, my babysitter would bring her records with her and most of them were Elton John. It's not strange that in the 70's someone would have Elton John lp's. However, this was mid- Michigan which was, and still is, rural, religious and redneck-ish. So looking back it does seem kind of odd that she'd be a huge Elton John fan. Consequently, the first album I bought was Greatest Hits Vol. 1. and I would stack up 70's Elton John (and Bernie Taupin) with just about anyone in the history of music. Now old, bitchy, diva Elton John you can have.
Confession time again. My parents were fans of Elvis and country music, not the Beatles. So I wasn't exposed to the Beatles and I knew "You're Sixteen" by Ringo and "Live and Let Die" by Wings before I knew who the Beatles were. I eventually caught up, but it was 10 wasted years of my life. To my mother's credit, she let me get 3 things at the grocery store every week. A comic book, a pack of baseball or football cards and a 45 RPM record. I had a pretty good collection, but many of them were either abused or lost over the years. I still have the first three 45's I ever bought and they are all by The Sweet (Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run and Action). I remember in Elementary school our music teacher would let us bring in records on Friday to share with the class. So I was exposed to Peter Frampton, Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys and Kiss. All I remember about middle school was drawing the Kiss guys, the Boston spaceship (also a Robert Pollard side project) and Cheap Trick's logo on all my notebooks.
For the sake of getting on with this blog, here's the Cliff's note version of the next 25 years after this. I went from Album-Oriented-Rock to Prog rock to Heavy Metal to Hair Bands to 90's mainstream Alternative. At the end of the 90's I was really burnt out on rock music and immersed myself in jazz for a couple years. I made the mistake of starting with Bitches Brew by Miles Davis and was not prepared for that yet. So I went back to Kind of Blue and it was love at first listen. Eventually I worked up to Bitches Brew and love that as well. At some point in this blog there will be a list of the best bands of all-time and number 1 will be Miles Davis' Second Quintet. Beside Miles were Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. The human race could continue another thousand years and I can't imagine a greater collection of musical talent and genius. I'll save the story of what got me back into rock music for later.
My musical journey has been long and often embarrassing. The first 8 Track I ever bought was Barry Manilow Live. You know, the one with him in the blue jumpsuit. Please don't stop reading. For the benefit of those of you who have no idea what an 8 Track is, it was a machine that played tape cartridges. It would break an album up into 4 parts which would audibly change in the middle of songs. It was horrible, but it was easier to use than a reel-to-reel player and before cassette tapes. It's amazing that the 8 Track player was invented by the same guy who invented the Lear Jet. Anyhow, my dad had an 8 Track player and cartridges by Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. I believe this, coupled with being raised on Hee Haw, lead me to feel a connection with early R.E.M. and alt-country in general.
When I was young, my babysitter would bring her records with her and most of them were Elton John. It's not strange that in the 70's someone would have Elton John lp's. However, this was mid- Michigan which was, and still is, rural, religious and redneck-ish. So looking back it does seem kind of odd that she'd be a huge Elton John fan. Consequently, the first album I bought was Greatest Hits Vol. 1. and I would stack up 70's Elton John (and Bernie Taupin) with just about anyone in the history of music. Now old, bitchy, diva Elton John you can have.
Confession time again. My parents were fans of Elvis and country music, not the Beatles. So I wasn't exposed to the Beatles and I knew "You're Sixteen" by Ringo and "Live and Let Die" by Wings before I knew who the Beatles were. I eventually caught up, but it was 10 wasted years of my life. To my mother's credit, she let me get 3 things at the grocery store every week. A comic book, a pack of baseball or football cards and a 45 RPM record. I had a pretty good collection, but many of them were either abused or lost over the years. I still have the first three 45's I ever bought and they are all by The Sweet (Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run and Action). I remember in Elementary school our music teacher would let us bring in records on Friday to share with the class. So I was exposed to Peter Frampton, Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys and Kiss. All I remember about middle school was drawing the Kiss guys, the Boston spaceship (also a Robert Pollard side project) and Cheap Trick's logo on all my notebooks.
For the sake of getting on with this blog, here's the Cliff's note version of the next 25 years after this. I went from Album-Oriented-Rock to Prog rock to Heavy Metal to Hair Bands to 90's mainstream Alternative. At the end of the 90's I was really burnt out on rock music and immersed myself in jazz for a couple years. I made the mistake of starting with Bitches Brew by Miles Davis and was not prepared for that yet. So I went back to Kind of Blue and it was love at first listen. Eventually I worked up to Bitches Brew and love that as well. At some point in this blog there will be a list of the best bands of all-time and number 1 will be Miles Davis' Second Quintet. Beside Miles were Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. The human race could continue another thousand years and I can't imagine a greater collection of musical talent and genius. I'll save the story of what got me back into rock music for later.
Friday, November 9, 2012
My Other Beatles Dilemma
As I said in my original post, the Sound Mind blog is a road map for my kids to sort through my music collection when I die. I don't know how they'll feel about most of my collection, but I know there will be fights over the Beatles stuff. Now by the time I die, someday, they may be grown up and have their own Beatles collections and it won't be a big deal. I hope that's the case, because I don't want to decide who gets what.
At this point, I would like to officially apologize to my oldest daughter for not exposing her to the Beatles when she was little. To this day, she isn't a fan and it's one of my greatest regrets as a parent. My second daughter, whose name is also the title of a Beatles' song, is another story. When she was two years old, she was obsessed with "The Wizard of Oz" and had to watch it at least four times a day. To this day, I know every damn word of that movie. The only funny thing was she used to call the Wicked Witch the Dicked Witch. Obviously, this got old really fast and I needed a solution. One day I took her to the library and they had videotapes ( yes VHS tapes that you had to be kind and rewind) of A Hard Days Night, Help, and the Beatles' Anthology. I checked them out for me to watch and miraculously she was hooked right away. Then the Yellow Submarine was reissued and we bought that. and I bought her the McFarlane action figures for Christmas. She is still a huge fan and wrote a school paper last year about why the Beatles were better than the Rolling Stones. She got an A+. It was a very proud moment.
In 2004, I remarried and have a daughter and son who are both Beatles fans, especially my son. They have even seen McCartney and Ringo live. My son was about 18 months old when he took over my original CD collection. At that time, they remastered the Beatles catalog and I bought them all again because he had destoyed the cases to all my old ones. I tried to keep him from destroying the new ones and it worked for awhile. But he eventually tore up the packaging of the reissues. Thankfully, my parents got me the boxed set for Christmas and I have it stashed. Now my son just has a CD case full of loose Beatles CDs but he's happy to have them. I'm happy to have the boxed set, so it's all good. I also introduced him to my Beatles records and he has actually bought a few of his own at the record store. I kind of hope that he gets my records and my second daughter gets my CDs, but I'll probably let them fight over it after I'm gone. I will have more Beatles lists and posts in the future, but I'll try to not over do it. There is no shortage of writing about the Beatles already.
At this point, I would like to officially apologize to my oldest daughter for not exposing her to the Beatles when she was little. To this day, she isn't a fan and it's one of my greatest regrets as a parent. My second daughter, whose name is also the title of a Beatles' song, is another story. When she was two years old, she was obsessed with "The Wizard of Oz" and had to watch it at least four times a day. To this day, I know every damn word of that movie. The only funny thing was she used to call the Wicked Witch the Dicked Witch. Obviously, this got old really fast and I needed a solution. One day I took her to the library and they had videotapes ( yes VHS tapes that you had to be kind and rewind) of A Hard Days Night, Help, and the Beatles' Anthology. I checked them out for me to watch and miraculously she was hooked right away. Then the Yellow Submarine was reissued and we bought that. and I bought her the McFarlane action figures for Christmas. She is still a huge fan and wrote a school paper last year about why the Beatles were better than the Rolling Stones. She got an A+. It was a very proud moment.
In 2004, I remarried and have a daughter and son who are both Beatles fans, especially my son. They have even seen McCartney and Ringo live. My son was about 18 months old when he took over my original CD collection. At that time, they remastered the Beatles catalog and I bought them all again because he had destoyed the cases to all my old ones. I tried to keep him from destroying the new ones and it worked for awhile. But he eventually tore up the packaging of the reissues. Thankfully, my parents got me the boxed set for Christmas and I have it stashed. Now my son just has a CD case full of loose Beatles CDs but he's happy to have them. I'm happy to have the boxed set, so it's all good. I also introduced him to my Beatles records and he has actually bought a few of his own at the record store. I kind of hope that he gets my records and my second daughter gets my CDs, but I'll probably let them fight over it after I'm gone. I will have more Beatles lists and posts in the future, but I'll try to not over do it. There is no shortage of writing about the Beatles already.
The Great Beatles Dilemma
As this blog goes on, I will be including several music lists. The inherent problem with music lists is that they are dominated by the Beatles, and rightfully so. I was born in December of 1964, so I have never known a world without the Beatles. It's almost impossible to imagine what it must have been like to be alive before the Fab Four with nothing but megaphone crooners and opera singers. Sure there were influences for the Beatles like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis, but none of them have the vast legacy and generational resurgency of the Beatles. Okay there were Sinatra and Miles Davis, but still, what passed for entertainment before the Beatles was quite abysmal. Just watch the episodes of Ed Sullivan that they appeared on as exhibit 1. So, I have one rule about music lists. I only put the Beatles on Beatles lists. Including them on other lists is boring and unfair. Every time there is a Top 100 albums of All-Time list the top 10 is almost all Beatles albums. What a revelation! So right now I'd like to share some of my Beatles' lists and then in my next post I'll talk about how I've passed my love of the Beatles to my kids.
Best Album
1) Abbey Road
2) White Album
3) Revolver - this would be #1 if Rain and Paperback Writer were on it
4) Magical Mystery Tour
5) Sgt. Pepper
Top 10 Songs
1) Rain
2) I am the Walrus
3) I Wanna Hold Your Hand
4) Ticket To Ride
5) Helter Skelter
6) Here Comes the Sun
7) Paperback Writer
8) I Want to Tell You
9) Strawberry Fields Forever
10) And Your Bird Can Sing
Songs I can't listen to anymore because I've heard them too many times
1) Yesterday
2) Hey Jude
3) Let It Be
4) Eleanor Rigby
This is no indictment of Paul McCartney other than he wrote great songs that get played to death. I've seen him twice and I'm a huge Wings fan and much of the criticism of him being a songwriting lightweight is completely unfair. But I can't listen to these songs anymore. I wish he could replace them in his live show with some off the wall gems, but most people would riot. Maybe it's just me. Sorry.
Best Album
1) Abbey Road
2) White Album
3) Revolver - this would be #1 if Rain and Paperback Writer were on it
4) Magical Mystery Tour
5) Sgt. Pepper
Top 10 Songs
1) Rain
2) I am the Walrus
3) I Wanna Hold Your Hand
4) Ticket To Ride
5) Helter Skelter
6) Here Comes the Sun
7) Paperback Writer
8) I Want to Tell You
9) Strawberry Fields Forever
10) And Your Bird Can Sing
Songs I can't listen to anymore because I've heard them too many times
1) Yesterday
2) Hey Jude
3) Let It Be
4) Eleanor Rigby
This is no indictment of Paul McCartney other than he wrote great songs that get played to death. I've seen him twice and I'm a huge Wings fan and much of the criticism of him being a songwriting lightweight is completely unfair. But I can't listen to these songs anymore. I wish he could replace them in his live show with some off the wall gems, but most people would riot. Maybe it's just me. Sorry.
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