The Mountain Goats: All Hail West Texas

     In honor of Merge Records reissue of the lo-fi classic All Hail West Texas, I thought I'd do a post on this album and the puzzling lack of The Mountain Goats in my music collection. I had never heard of All Hail West Texas until about a year and a half ago. One day at work, I went back to the receiving room and the guy back there was listening to it. I was there about ten minutes getting some product to take out on the salesfloor and really liked the couple songs I'd heard. They were right in my wheelhouse and I had no idea who it was. So I said, "This is awesome, who is it?" When he told me, I was surprised. I had heard of The Mountain Goats, but I didn't own anything by them. I knew John Darnielle was in The Mountain Goats, because he had written a 33 1/3 book about Black Sabbath's Master of Reality and it said so on the back cover. Anyhow, I immediately went to order All Hail West Texas on the computer at work, but it came up as being out of print. I checked around at several record stores and not only did they not have it, but they had nothing by The Mountain Goats at all. So I guess that's the explanation for why I have no Mountain Goats in my collection, except for this new reissue.
     Since I had struck out in my attempts to buy All Hail West Texas, I decided to resort to You Tube. This is where I found the song "Source Decay". I was instantly struck by the amazing songwriting of John Darnielle. The song seems to be about someone who has repressed a bad memory and his friend who tries to get him to remember through postcard correspondences. The chorus goes, "I remember the train headed south outta Bangkok down...toward...the water". I'm tempted to post all the lyrics, but I'll just post a few of the best lines instead.

* and I park in a alley and I read through the postcards you continue to send, where as indirectly as you can you ask what I remember. I like these torture devices from my old best friend.

* I wish the West Texas highway was a Mobius strip. I could ride it out forever when I feel my heart break.

* I set your postcard on the table with all the others like it. I start sorting through the pile. I check the pictures and the postmarks and the captions and the stamps for signs of any pattern at all.

     The astounding thing about the songs from All Hail West Texas, which I just learned from the liner notes, is if he couldn't finish a song in a day it was scrapped. The subtitle of the album is, fourteen songs about seven people, two houses, a motorcycle and a locked treatment facility for adolescent boys. I haven't managed to figure out all the math yet, but there does seem to be a theme that runs through the album. The opening track, "The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton", is about two of the seven people, Cyrus and Jeff. They are convinced they will be rock stars with Lear jets, but things fall apart. The most poignant line from this song is "When you punish a person for dreaming his dream don't expect him to thank or forgive you". One of the best songs on the album is "Jenny". She is apparently another of the seven people and she has a motorcycle. The narrator of the song loves riding on the back with his face in her hair. The first time through the chorus he sings "900 cubic centimeters of raw, whining power, no outstanding warrants for my arrest. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, the pirate's life for me". The second time through he sings "900 c.c's of raw, whining power, no outstanding warrants for my arrest. Hi diddle dee dee, goddamn, the pirate's life for me". Awesome! Then there seems to be a run of songs where his relationship with Jenny goes from bad to worse.
     I bought All Hail West Texas two days ago and I've already listened to it at least a dozen times. It's destined for my shortlist of goosebump albums with The Soft Bulletin, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. I really hope this album speaks to one of my kids. Apparently, this is the only Mountain Goats album that John Darnielle did completely on his own with a Panasonic RX-FT500 tape recorder. The reissue has a few extra tracks from these sessions that weren't on the original tape and they are pretty good as well. He claims there was another tape, but he threw it away. I'm afraid The Mountain Goats have just become my new musical obsession. I will be adding to my collection. Hail Satan! Peace.

2112

     Sound Mind reached a fun milepost today; 2112 pageviews. Loyal readers of this blog are painfully aware of my Rush fandom and 2112 is perceived to be one of their iconic albums. My best friend in high school owned it on 8 track, I own it on vinyl and recently bought the remastered deluxe edition on CD. When I was a teenager, I spent hours in my room with a Rush songbook trying to learn side one of 2112 in it's entirety. I still fart around at playing the "Discovery" section when I break out my guitar. I've seen them play the complete side one of 2112 live. I love 2112. Well, side one anyway.
     A mythology has grown up recently around 2112, which I don't particularly buy. The first part is that they were about to be dumped by Mercury Records and had to record an album with hits. The band even talks about how the label demanded they "sell out", but they stuck to their principles and put out a concept album anyway. Now, Rush was already a popular touring band and had songs on the radio, like "Working Man" and "Fly By Night". I'm pretty sure their recording career wouldn't have come to an end if 2112 had been a disaster. In fact, there were no hits or even songs that received radio play on 2112. Their next big song was "Closer To The Heart" from A Farewell To Kings. The other myth about 2112 is that it's one of Rush's classic albums. Moving Pictures even had to share an installment of Classic Albums with 2112. I'm a huge Rush fan, but side two of 2112 is the worst music they ever made. The only semi-listenable song on side two is about buying weed around the world (Passage To Bangkok).
     I am glad Rush finally got in the Rock Hall. I thought it was cool when Foo Fighters performed 2112 in costume during Rush's induction. I just think 2112's place in their history is blown out of proportion. To me, it's no Moving Pictures or Permanent Waves. Having said all that, Happy 2112th pageview! Peace.

P.S. There won't be one of these for Van Halen's 5150:)
   

Hooked On Hebronix

     Greetings from the post-Apocalyptic hellscape which is Willowick, Ohio. You know it's been a bad week when having hernia surgery was the high point. The procedure went well, I'm just sore and recovering. However, I am writing this post under the influence of Vicodin, so if it's more entertaining than usual that's the reason. Anyhow, here's a quick recap before I get on with official Sound Mind business. First, I didn't go to the Wire show because I had to be at the hospital by 7:00 AM Thursday morning. Hopefully, some of it is on You Tube. Friday / Saturday there was a severe thunderstorm, which woke up my wife and I at 3:00 AM. I looked outside and noticed there was standing water halfway up our driveway and asked my wife if she heard the sump pump running. Since I had just had surgery and couldn't go up and down stairs, she went to check and discovered our basement was flooded. We didn't know it at the time, but almost every basement in Willowick was flooded. My wife was on the phone with Nationwide and Serv-Pro right away and neither of them have done jack shit as of yet. Nationwide "is on your side", except when you have an insurance claim and need their help. And the city is run by ineffectual time servers who couldn't find their own asses with both hands. But I digress. Since I couldn't lift anything, or bend over or climb, it fell on my wife to start cleaning up the disaster. We had to throw out almost everything in our basement, including carpet, furniture, drywall and doors. We lost our hot water heater, furnace, washer and dryer. The whole town looks like a refugee camp with tons of garbage piled up by the streets. Of course, this is when the thin veneer of civilization falls away and people from other towns drive in and proceed to loot the trash heaps. I don't believe in Hell, but I hope there's a special place in Hell for these bottom feeding pieces of crap. Sorry, I didn't mean to use my blog for a diatribe, but apparently I needed to vent.
     I'm not really hooked on Hebronix .It just struck me as a clever title for this post. Once again, it could just be the Vicodin talking. I've mentioned before that Hebronix is the new project of ex-Yuck frontman Daniel Blumberg. I don't know why he felt the need to leave Yuck, rather than record side projects and continue with the band. Hopefully, he doesn't end up like Porcelain Raft standing on a stage playing with a tape loop machine. Anyhow, I love Yuck and was disappointed by this news. Incidentally, Yuck have just released a new song called "Rebirth" from their forthcoming album. It features Max Bloom on vocals and is quite shoegaze-y. It's good, but I hope it's not indicative of how the rest of the album will sound. Damn, I can't stop digressing. The standout track on the new Hebronix album is the title track "Unreal". The song is good and Blumberg embraces his inner-Mascis. The one flaw with this track, as well as the album in general, is it's too noodly and unfocused. Unreal has many great moments, but they are lost in a sea of self-indulgence. The album only has six tracks, but they all run over five minutes with little pay off. In fairness, I've only listened to it a few times, so it's possible that it will grow on me. Also, my judgment is probably clouded by my feelings about Yuck. Bottom line is Unreal needed a good producer to keep it focused. Peace.
   

Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience

     I am not too proud or hipster-y to admit that I love 90's mainstream alternative music, especially Gin Blossoms. In the 90's, I was too busy being a new father and working and trying to keep my first marriage together to have a clue about Neutral Milk Hotel or My Bloody Valentine. I thought I was on the cutting edge of musical taste listening to Better Than Ezra, Goo Goo Dolls, Oasis and Smashing Pumpkins. Now don't get me wrong, I still love those bands...yes even the Goo Goo Dolls. In retrospect, however,  I wish I had spent more time going to shows and investigating new music. It ended up taking a decade before I discovered the music of Jeff Mangum and Kevin Shields.
     All that being said, I love the Gin Blossoms. A few years ago, my wife and I went to see them at Cain Park in Cleveland. Neither of us had seen them before and she was jazzed because Tonic were opening for them. I didn't really care about Tonic, but it did allow the tour to be named The Gin and Tonic Tour. Very clever:) Anyhow, there was a considerable delay for Tonic to begin their set. Eventually it was announced that they had experienced a travel delay and Gin Blossoms would be performing shortly. Apparently, this threw them off their game, because they sounded horrible. The bass was way up front in the mix and you could barely hear the vocals or guitars. I was disappointed, but I understood the situation and tried to enjoy their show. Oddly enough, when Tonic finally arrived and played their set it was flawless. I only knew a couple of their songs, but they were outstanding. Wow...so far this post hasn't been a ringing endorsement of the Gin Blossoms. Let's turn that around and consider New Miserable Experience.
     New Miserable Experience, inexplicably, ruled the radio airwaves in 1993 during the height of the Grunge movement. The album was anchored by the jangly, power pop hits "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" which were a refreshing change from Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Not only were they great rock songs, but the lyrics were fantastic.

"Tell me do you think it'd be alright if I could just crash here tonight. You can see I'm in shape for driving and anyway I've get no place to go."

"Tomorrow we can drive around this town and let the cops chase us around. The past is gone but something might be found to take it's place."

"Did you love me only in my head?"

"Whispers at the bus stop. I heard about nights out in the school yard. Found out about you."

To me, New Miserable Experience is nearly a perfect album. There's not one bad song on it. I highly recommend it to my kids, as well as, Congratulations I'm Sorry. Released in 1996, it featured the song "Follow You Down". I do not advocate the use of harmonica in rock music (with a few exceptions like The Beatles and Midnight Oil), but "Follow You Down" uses this relic of the folk music scene to great effect. I also have Major Lodge Victory, but have only listened to it once right before we went to their show.
     Just a heads up on the Sound Mind front. I'm having hernia surgery Thursday, so I'll either have lots of time to write posts or I'l feel like crap and not post much. The annoying thing is I was supposed to have it today, so I didn't buy tickets to see Wire at the Beachland tomorrow night. Turns out I could have gone. Maybe I'll try to get in, since it will probably be my only chance to ever see them live. Peace.
   

Sound Mind Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

     I received a Member's email from the Rock Hall today, which included a feature about Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of The Zombies visiting on July 1st. Awesome, a visit to the Rock Hall from two distinguished, well-deserving past inductees. Oh wait... it turns out they aren't past inductees. You see, when I went to look up what year they were inducted I discovered they weren't. No, really, The Zombies aren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How did I not know that? How is that possible? I don't mean to be a jerk, especially after Rush finally got in, but come on.
     A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I would do a post on the Sound Mind Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so today seemed like an appropriate day in light of this Zombies realization. What I'll do is list the artists and groups that are already in the actual Rock Hall, that I agree with, then list and discuss those who I feel should also be inducted. I will use the same criteria that the Rock Hall does in it's nominating process. By the way, I'm going there tomorrow to see Rush on the Inductee Wall. Peace.

The Animals, Beach Boys, Beastie Boys, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, James Brown, Jackson Browne, Buffalo Springfield, Byrds, Eddie Cochran, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Cream (despite Eric Clapton), CCR, Dave Clark Five, The Doors, Bob Dylan (even though I can't stand his music), Duane Eddy, Ahmet Ertegun, Fleetwood Mac, Alan Freed, Genesis, Berry Gordy Jr., George Harrison, Buddy Holly, Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Elton John, Quincy Jones, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Leiber and Stoller, John Lennon, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, George Martin, Paul McCartney, John Mellencamp, Van Morrison, Roy Orbison, Parliament-Funkadelic, Les Paul, carl Perkins, Pink Floyd, The Police, Elvis Presley, Prince, Public Enemy, Queen, The Ramones, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes, Rush, Sam and Dave, Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan, The Supremes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, U2, Ventures, Gene Vincent, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Yardbirds, Neil Young and Frank Zappa.

*The Zombies- easily Top 5 British Invasion bands. Time of the Season. She's Not There. Tell Her No.
* Cheap Trick- Personality. Hits. Greatest live album during the live album era. Come On, Come On.
* KISS- Seriously, just put them in already.
* Yes- Greatest band of the Prog era and they had hits in the 80's as well.
* Dick Dale- King of Surf Guitar. Couldn't believe he's not in either.
* Bernie Taupin- He wrote the lyrics to all those amazing 70's Elton John songs. No brainer.
* Larry Williams- He wrote "Bad Boy", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Slow Down".
* Duran Duran- Do I even have to make a case for Simon and the Boys?
* Eddie Money- I know this is controversial, but his catalog is awesome.
* Midnight Oil- One of my favorite bands of all-time.
* The Smiths- I'm not a huge fan, but their legacy and influence is undeniable.
* B-52"s- This should also be a no-brainer.
* Big Star- If you don't know who they are please go listen to them.
* The Cars- Amazing blend of New Wave, Punk, Rock and Pop. You know you love them.
* Crowded House- Neil Finn is a songwriting genius. I'm not just throwing that around, he's a genius.
* Dinosaur Jr.- Top 3 Indie Rock band all-time.
* ELO- Once again, why are they not in?
* The Flaming Lips- Top 2 Indie Rock band all-time.
* Guided by Voices- #1 Indie Rock band all-time.
* The Monkees- They're in my rock hall all day.
* Pixies- Extremely influential, seminal band
* Husker Du- Ditto.
* Wire- Hello...Pink Flag!
* Deep Purple- I go back and forth with them, but Blackmore is amazing.
* Peter Gabriel- His solo career merits individual recognition.

Telekinesis

     Michael Benjamin Lerner, a.k.a. Telekinesis, is fast becoming one of my favorite songwriters. He is another artist I discovered listening to WRUW, especially Ed's show Cream of Broccoli. The first song I remember hearing was "Car Crash" from 2011's 12 Desperate Straight Lines. It's a fantastic piece of up-tempo indie pop and I went out straight away and bought the CD. "Car Crash" was fairly indicative of the rest of the album, which I would characterize as part indie rock and part indie pop. I know that's a narrow musical spectrum, but it is a really good CD. The fact that 12 Desperate Straight Lines is a consistently aggressive indie rock album is a bit surprising considering it was produced by Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla. How is it that a band named after a crazy strip club scene from The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour film be so God awful boring. Sorry, I digress. Besides "Car Crash", the other standout track from 12DSL is "Please Ask For Help". It's slightly derivative of The Cure, but the lyrics are great. The opening line goes "I'm not gonna let you down, but I'm not gonna help you up".
     Last week, I bought the new Telekinesis CD, Dormarion. It was quite a departure from 12DSL. The first track, "Power Lines" is illustrative of the difference. It begins with  lo-fi guitar strumming, then it explodes into a 70's style blues rock jam. However, underneath that Lerner adds some Grandaddy-esque synthesizers. The third track, "Ghosts and Creatures" comes right out of left field. It almost sounds like a song from Doves' Lost Souls album. It's very ethereal and atmospheric. The next song, "Wires" , sounds like Kasabian. It is also co-written by Nada Surf's Matthew Caws. "Lean On Me" is an exquisite power pop gem with ELO leanings. My favorite part is "We could cross the country in our beat-up truck. Stopping every minute because the thing don't run. But I don't care because we're in love." The song "Symphony" is ironically titled, because it's only Lerner strumming an acoustic guitar with no other accompaniment. "Little Hill" is a straight-up guitar rocker and my favorite song on the album. Great bass! I really love this CD. The only minor quibble I have is when he departs from his core songwriting style it's not always convincing. For instance, "Ghosts and Creatures" sounds like a Doves song, but lacks some of the authenticity and gravitas of a Doves song. That may just be me being territorial regarding Doves. It was produced by Spoon drummer Jim Eno, who also played drums on several tracks. I highly recommend these CD's and I plan on checking out his earlier releases, as well. It's encouraging that there are still good, young songwriters out there making music. Peace.

Red, White Or Blue Songs

     Happy 4th of July! Here's a list of my favorite red, white, or blue songs. Peace.

* Red Barchetta- Rush
* Red- Treblecharger
* Turning On Blue- Tommy Keene
* Blue Rondo a la Turk- Dave Brubeck
* White Rabbit- Jefferson Airplane
* Little Red Corvette- Prince
* Blue Suede Shoes- Elvis
* Red Shoes- Elvis Costello
* Red Rain- Peter Gabriel
* Red Skies At Night- The Fixx
* Blue Sky Mine- Midnight Oil
* Blue Collar Man- Styx
* Blue Jean- David Bowie
* White Wedding- Billy Idol
* Behind Blue Eyes- The Who
* Black And White Town- Doves
* Dirty White Boy- Foreigner
* Midnight Blue- Lou Gramm
* Mr. Blue Sky- ELO
* E's Navy Blue- Tobin Sprout
* White Room- Cream
* Blue In Green- Miles Davis
* Stone Blue- Foghat

Overseas

     Will Johnson has forced me into 21st Century music acquisition. His latest project is the slowcore supergroup, Overseas, which also includes David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) and the Kadane brothers (Bedhead and New Year). In order to get this album I had to do two things that are against my music collecting religion. First, I had to order it from the interwebs and wait for it to ship. I have only done this a couple times when it's the only option. When I ordered the album, they sent me a free digital download. I have never downloaded an album, but I wanted the immediate gratification of hearing it so I went for it. I'm one of those crazy people who buys an LP with a download code, but still buys an actual CD as well. Then I give the download code to a friend. The LP isn't here yet, but I have listened to the download a few times and it's pretty good.
     If you're a regular to this blog you know that Will Johnson is one of my favorite songwriters. He splits singing duties on Overseas with David Bazan and plays drums. He is no stranger to drumming as he did it in his first band, Funland, and also in the Monster Of Folk. It's interesting to read reviews of Overseas, because you can tell which member the reviewer was a fan of beforehand. I had never listened to the other principles in this band before, but I like Bazan's contributions. His powerful vocal style is a great contrast to Will Johnson's fragility. The album builds momentum as it plays out and there are no bad songs. I can't wait to get the physical LP and really dig into it.
     Speaking of albums that I can't wait for, there are several coming out soon.

Hebronix (7-9-13)- This is the new project of former Yuck frontman Daniel Blumberg.

Robert Pollard (7-9-13) You may be shocked to read he has two releases, a solo record and a project called Teenage Guitar. I may or may not get the solo album, but I'll probably take a chance on Teenage Guitar. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll end up getting both. I have a problem!

Mountain Goats- All Hail West Texas (7-23-13) I'm stoked that Merge is reissuing this album. It's my favorite Mountain Goats release and I love the song "Source Decay". It should have been on my Top 50 list.

Polyphonic Spree (8-6-13)- I've heard one song from this album and it's good.

Superchunk (8-20-13)- See my post on Superchunk.

Franz Ferdinand (8-27-13)- Actually, my wife is the one excited about this. I did see them once with my oldest daughter. I took her to see Good Charlotte (arghh) and FF was one of the opening acts. This was about 10 years ago.

Julie Ruin (9-3-13)- The Julie Ruin band is actually Kathleen Hanna and friends. One of my favorite WRUW shows is called Stone Cold Bikini, which is a Julie Ruin reference. This will be fun time rock and roll.

     Oh, I almost forgot the other exciting thing about ordering the Overseas album. Will Johnson is also a painter who specializes in baseball prints and in the Overseas online store some of his art was for sale. For the amazing price of $10, I ordered a numbered and signed print of my childhood hero Mark "The Bird" Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers. I was 11 years old during that magical summer in 1976 when he captivated the baseball world. He was one of the great characters of the game. He was tall and skinny with long, curly blond hair and he talked to the baseball. He won 19 games as a rookie, led the league in ERA, started the All-Star Game and beat the Yankees on national TV. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by injuries and he died a few years ago in a tractor accident. I will always remember the summer of "The Bird" fondly. Peace.

The Money Man

     I've loved Eddie Money's music since he debuted with "Two Tickets To Paradise", "Baby Hold On" and "Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star". It was an FM radio staple and was also played on the 1979 kids entertainment show, Hot Hero Sandwich. Despite his odd appearance and herky jerky body movements, he was also successful during the early MTV era. The same could not be said for many homely 70's bands, such as Blue Oyster Cult. I love the song "Burning For You", but their appearance in the video was a career killer. I've also enjoyed his recent pop culture revival. First he was featured in a Geico commercial running a travel agency where, unfortunately, his customers needed four tickets and had no interest in Paradise. These minor details did not prevent him from singing the song anyway. In fact, this commercial was so popular Ed Reed of the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens sang "Two Tickets To Paradise" during their celebration. Currently, his song "We Should Be Sleeping" is featured in a mattress commercial. Well played Money Man.

     The keys to Eddie Money's success were his infectious choruses and the muscular guitar playing of Jimmy Lyon. I defy anyone to listen to "Take Me Home Tonight" or "I Wanna Go Back" and not sing along with the chorus. "Take Me Home Tonight" was his biggest hit and featured Ronnie Spector, great sax playing and Jimmy Lyon doing his best Rick Springfield inspired guitar riffing. My wife had suggested I do a post called "Life According To Eddie Money", but as usual I was too lazy and time strapped to go to those lengths for The Money Man. It was a great idea though. Maybe I'll take a crack at it in the future. 

     For some reason, I've never seen Eddie Money live even though for many years he opened the Summer season at Pine Knob (then DTE) in Detroit. The only things I own by him are the CD, The Best Of Eddie Money and Life For The Taking on vinyl. Besides the songs I've already mentioned, the best of  also has hits like "Shakin", "Walk On Water", "Think I'm In Love", "Rock And Roll The Place", "Trinidad", "No Control" and "Where's The Party?". Life For The Taking has two of my favorite Eddie Money songs, "Can't Keep A Good Man Down" and "Gimme Some Water". The first is a great rocker and a good hand clap song. "Gimme Some Water" is a fantastic track in the great tradition of "on the run" songs. Here's my list of best "On The Run" songs.

1) Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen

2) Gimme Some Water- Eddie Money

3) Band On The Run- Wings

4) Renegade-Styx

5) Ride Like The Wind- Christopher Cross

6) Gallow's Pole- Led Zeppelin

7) Banditos- The Refreshments

8) Take The Money And Run- Steve Miller Band
9) Jail Break- AC/DC
10) Jail Break- Thin Lizzy

     Sorry, no "Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi. Anyhow, I recommend my kids check out The Money Man. He should also be in the Rock Hall. Peace.