History tells us when The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, in 1967, it blew everyone away. Jimi Hendrix covered the title track live the next night. The Fab Four had answered Pet Sounds. The critics, who claimed that The Beatles were done, were silenced. However, in the 21st Century, there has been some hipster revisionism asserting that Sgt. Pepper is not only The Beatles worst album, but a horrible album in general. Regardless of where the truth lies on that spectrum, Sgt. Pepper is an iconic album that would seem to defy a wholesale reinterpretation by another band. Luckily, someone forgot to tell The Flaming Lips and their intrepid band of "fwends".
Obviously, The Beatles have been covered thousands of times. The Smithereens have recorded whole album covers. Cheap Trick performed Sgt. Pepper, in its' entirety, in Las Vegas for a run of shows. Robin Zander's uniform is even in the Rock Hall as proof. This week, the Flaming Lips had the audacity to re-imagine Sgt. Pepper as an offhand charity project with the help of a variety of guest artists; including Miley Cyrus, Moby, My Morning Jacket, Tegan and Sara, Dr. Dog, J Mascis and Foxygen. It probably comes as a surprise to loyal Sound Mind readers that I'm even writing a post about this album. I've been on the record as not being a fan of Wayne Coyne's antics over the past couple years. I'd had it with gummy vaginas, zip drives in human skulls, Wayne's naked junk in videos, 24 hour long songs and album covers like Dark Side of the Moon. One could cynically argue that it's just another in a string of gimmicks design to garner publicity for the Flaming Lips. Until recently, I would have been one of those cynics. This change of heart is the actual point of my post. but first the music.
What I like about With A Little Help From My Fwends is the way they respect Sgt. Pepper, but give it the Lips treatment. They preserve the sequencing and basic song structure, while using modern recording technology that was not available in 1967. For the most part, I could have done without the "fwends". I feel this would have been a better album had the Flaming Lips done it themselves. The one exception would be Miley Cyrus. Granted, she was given the best material in "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life", but she did a fantastic job. Her performance on LSD was uncanny and she also did the McCartney part on "A Day in the Life". Oddly, my favorite songs from Sgt. Pepper are my least favorite on Fwends and vice versa. For instance I love the title track on Sgt. Pepper, but tolerate the Ringo vehicle "With a Little Help from My Friends". The Lips version of the title track is really weak, but they show their sense of humor by auto-tuning Wayne on "Friends". I was also disappointed with "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite", which was speak-sung by Maynard Keenan of Tool and Puscifer. This track is only saved after the line about Henry the Horse doing the waltz, when they perform a brilliant instrumental section. I'm a bit conflicted about "Fixing a Hole", which is performed by Steven Drozd and Wayne Coyne's project, Electric Wurms. I prefer the energy of The Beatles version, but I like the quiet, floating in space take on Fwends. My least favorite Sgt. Pepper song is the melodramatic "She's Leaving Home", but I love this version which features Phantogram. This track seems to benefit from being sung by a female artist and her delivery is fantastic. Likewise, "Within You, Without You". "When I'm Sixty-Four" is unforgivably boring and ill-conceived. Despite the warts, Fwends is an interesting take on The Beatles' iconic album and is well worth a listen. It also makes you want to go back and listen to Sgt. Pepper again with fresh ears.
Ok, here's the part where I may lose some of you. I wrote a post over a year ago about Wayne Coyne and how the Flaming Lips album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots changed my life. Toward the end of the post, I lamented the direction Wayne seemed to be heading in artistically. I had reached a breaking point when he began hanging out with Ke$ha and pressing records with their combined blood mixed in them. Then came Miley Cyrus. I'll admit, I never watched Hannah Montana nor have I heard any of her music, but I have a knee jerk reaction to not like her based on nothing, except what I hear from talking heads. I came to this realization from listening to Episode 98 of the Roderick on the Line podcast. John Roderick told the story of getting free tickets for a Miley Cyrus concert and his experience at the show. All he knew about Miley Cyrus was he didn't like her. All of his middle-aged male friends refused to go with him because they had this same knee jerk reaction. John admitted during the podcast that he intended to live chat during the show and make fun of it on social media. He abandoned that plan once he arrived at the show. It was a visual spectacle. The atmosphere was positive and empowering. Miley was in complete control. She fed off the crowd of entirely 20 year old young women and they fed off her. I listened to this podcast about the same time Wayne was getting a lot of blowback from his fans about performing and recording with Miley Cyrus. At this point, it occurred to me, "Who am I to tell Wayne Coyne, or anyone else who to collaborate with or how to live their life". I have my hands full with my own life. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to start buying gummy vaginas or not have an opinion about him firing Kliph from the band. It does mean that I'm going to try to be more open-minded, which is the point of this post. One more thing though Wayne; please stop using "fwends" instead of friends. It's dumb. Peace.
A Living Will For My Music Collection
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Courtney Barnett: A Sea of Split Peas
In my brain
I re-arrange
The letters on the page to spell your name.
Those, my friends, are lyrics from the song "History Eraser" by Melbourne, Australia's Courtney Barnett. Earlier in the song, she modestly sings "In my dreams I wrote the best song that I've ever written...can't remember how it goes". She must have remembered long enough to record it, because it is in fact "History Eraser". The song begins by channeling Nirvana's "About A Girl", which is appropriate since she fronts a three-piece band and plays guitar left-handed. The song recounts a night out partying and goofing around. The second verse starts out, "I found an Ezra Pound and made a bet that if I found a cigarette I'd drop it all and marry you. Just then a song comes on: "You can't always get what you want"- The Rolling Stones, oh woe is we, the irony!" The final verse closes out with another great line: "You said, 'I guarantee we'll have more fun, drink till the moon becomes the sun and in the taxi home I'll sing you a Triffids song'". I have no idea who The Triffids are, but that line is fantastic. And she says "home" with that awesome Australian accent.
I've meant to write a post about this album for a few months, but I dropped the ball with Sound Mind this summer. Technically speaking, this isn't an album. A Sea of Split Peas is actually comprised of two EP's; 2012's I've Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris and 2013's How To Carve a Carrot Into a Rose. Tracks 7-12 are from the former and 1-6 the latter. Back in the Spring, I randomly heard a few of these songs on WRUW and each time I'd think to myself, "That's a cool song". Then I'd forget about Courtney Barnett until the next time they played one of her songs. Then one night, Courtney Barnett was the musical guest on Jimmy Fallon and blew me away with her performance of "Avant Gardener". She was rockin' out on a left-handed Telecaster and I was hooked. The next day, I went out and bought the CD and she has quickly become my favorite new songwriter. Her greatest strength as a lyricist is clever wordplay. For example, the song "Avant Gardener" is about Courtney having an asthma attack and has the following lines:
* I'm breathing, but I'm wheezing. Feel like I'm emphysem-in
* The paramedic thinks I'm clever cos I play guitar. I think she's clever cos she stops people dying
* I take a hit from an asthma puffer. I do it wrong. I was never good at smoking bongs. I'm not that good at breathing in
Courtney is a unique songwriter, but she does have some obvious influences. "Don't Apply Compression Gently" has a decided Flying Nun vibe; David Kilgour in particular. "David" is a blues-y rocker that lifts the riff from Bowie's "The Jean Genie". However, the overriding influence is Nirvana. This is especially evident on the track "Lance Jr". It begins with that same "About A Girl" structure and the lyrics could be interpreted as being about Kurt Cobain.
The most personal song in the set is "Are You Looking After Yourself?" It's about her family worrying about her trying to make it as a musician. She sings, "I don't want no 9 to 5 telling me that I'm alive". Then she's asked, "Have you got some money saved...just in case you fail?" I think the moral of the story is if you have a passion for something don't have a backup plan...just do it. I hope it works for Courtney and she continues to write amazing songs that connect with people. Peace.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Marketing For Dummies by U2
Let me preface this post by saying I love U2. I've loved them since "I Will Follow" and "Gloria". I knew my wife completed me when I realized I had all the 80's U2 and she had all the 90's U2. We've since spent the 2000's adding to our U2 collection. A few years ago, we finally saw them live at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Over the years, I've managed to compartmentalize Bono's activism and religion and ZOOTV and (red) and everything from the music. With the release of their latest album, Songs of Innocence, I may have finally reached my breaking point on a few counts.
I feel a bit sheepish about discussing Songs of Innocence on Sound Mind, because it's not technically in my collection...yet. However, since U2 released it for free, after getting paid up front by Apple, I'll forge ahead. Unlike many people who go out of their way to be offended, I had no problem with U2 downloading their album to iTunes at no charge to the user. U2 still have enough clout to get a company like Apple to pay them millions for digital content to, in turn, provide free to their customers. Then U2 can turn around and sell physical Cd's and LP's to old-timers like me. It was a clever plan, but no good deed goes unpunished. People in the First World have made a choice to give up countless privacy concerns for connectivity. Somewhere in the back of their minds they know they have no privacy and are being monitored, but they don't want to be reminded. It's like when you eat at a restaurant or buy food that's been canned in a factory. You know there's a certain amount of rodent hair in the can. You know there's a chance someone in the kitchen has a cold or didn't wash their hands after hitting the head. But we still eat out and we still buy processed foods. So, when a new U2 album just shows up in iTunes without their permission, they freak out and feel violated. Well, except my wife who didn't realize until I asked her about it.
My problems with Songs of Innocence mainly revolve around the musical content. I've finally come to the realization that U2's best music is behind them. It happens to every artist if they hang around long enough; The Stones, The Who, Bowie, Neil Young, Elton John, etc... U2 are a brand now that puts out middle of the road, slickly produced music. Maybe it struck me more with this album, because of the TV commercial that featured the track "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)". It starts out with a part of the song where The Edge is playing the only guitar riff on the whole album. Then you see images of The Ramones and The Clash. Wow, maybe this new U2 album is going to rock out. Why else would they conjure images of punk bands to promote Songs of Innocence? But no. The first time my wife listened to the album she asked, "Where's that song from the commercial"? I told her it was the first track. See, she has this annoying habit of listening to five seconds of a song and then skipping to the next one. She thought the song started with the guitar riff and, in fairness, it should have.
Now, I'm not saying this is a horrible album. If you like their last few albums you'll like Songs of Innocence. I will probably buy the LP at some point, because I'm a completist. There are even a few high points. My favorite track is "California (There Is No End To Love)". It starts with a Brian Wilson-y bit where they repeat "Santa Barbara", then it kicks in to a nice groove propelled by Larry Mullen Jr. It's also one of the few tracks where the band doesn't retreat to the background when Bono sings. "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight" is another interesting track. Most of the song is typical U2, but at the end The Edge plays a guitar part that is very similar in style to Steven Drozd circa The Flaming Lips album The Terror. Otherwise, The Edge just sounds like The Edge.
I know U2 don't need advice from me, but I would love to see them go into a studio for two weeks and just bash out a ragged, raw album. On some level it has to suck to carry the mantel of being "The Biggest Band In The World" for 25 years. You naturally lose your edge (pun kinda intended) and stop taking chances. Maybe they should let Foo Fighters or somebody else carry that weight and get back to the music. Peace.
I feel a bit sheepish about discussing Songs of Innocence on Sound Mind, because it's not technically in my collection...yet. However, since U2 released it for free, after getting paid up front by Apple, I'll forge ahead. Unlike many people who go out of their way to be offended, I had no problem with U2 downloading their album to iTunes at no charge to the user. U2 still have enough clout to get a company like Apple to pay them millions for digital content to, in turn, provide free to their customers. Then U2 can turn around and sell physical Cd's and LP's to old-timers like me. It was a clever plan, but no good deed goes unpunished. People in the First World have made a choice to give up countless privacy concerns for connectivity. Somewhere in the back of their minds they know they have no privacy and are being monitored, but they don't want to be reminded. It's like when you eat at a restaurant or buy food that's been canned in a factory. You know there's a certain amount of rodent hair in the can. You know there's a chance someone in the kitchen has a cold or didn't wash their hands after hitting the head. But we still eat out and we still buy processed foods. So, when a new U2 album just shows up in iTunes without their permission, they freak out and feel violated. Well, except my wife who didn't realize until I asked her about it.
My problems with Songs of Innocence mainly revolve around the musical content. I've finally come to the realization that U2's best music is behind them. It happens to every artist if they hang around long enough; The Stones, The Who, Bowie, Neil Young, Elton John, etc... U2 are a brand now that puts out middle of the road, slickly produced music. Maybe it struck me more with this album, because of the TV commercial that featured the track "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)". It starts out with a part of the song where The Edge is playing the only guitar riff on the whole album. Then you see images of The Ramones and The Clash. Wow, maybe this new U2 album is going to rock out. Why else would they conjure images of punk bands to promote Songs of Innocence? But no. The first time my wife listened to the album she asked, "Where's that song from the commercial"? I told her it was the first track. See, she has this annoying habit of listening to five seconds of a song and then skipping to the next one. She thought the song started with the guitar riff and, in fairness, it should have.
Now, I'm not saying this is a horrible album. If you like their last few albums you'll like Songs of Innocence. I will probably buy the LP at some point, because I'm a completist. There are even a few high points. My favorite track is "California (There Is No End To Love)". It starts with a Brian Wilson-y bit where they repeat "Santa Barbara", then it kicks in to a nice groove propelled by Larry Mullen Jr. It's also one of the few tracks where the band doesn't retreat to the background when Bono sings. "Sleep Like A Baby Tonight" is another interesting track. Most of the song is typical U2, but at the end The Edge plays a guitar part that is very similar in style to Steven Drozd circa The Flaming Lips album The Terror. Otherwise, The Edge just sounds like The Edge.
I know U2 don't need advice from me, but I would love to see them go into a studio for two weeks and just bash out a ragged, raw album. On some level it has to suck to carry the mantel of being "The Biggest Band In The World" for 25 years. You naturally lose your edge (pun kinda intended) and stop taking chances. Maybe they should let Foo Fighters or somebody else carry that weight and get back to the music. Peace.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Rock Hall Nominees 2015
I think it's time for The Rock Hall to take a page from Cooperstown and change it's induction policy. Baseball's Hall of Fame inducts members based on "merit" and not an annual quota system. A couple years ago, they didn't induct anyone into Cooperstown. One can still argue who merits induction, but there are very few undeserving players enshrined. The Rock Hall has come to a point in history where almost all the no-brainers (except The Zombies) are already inducted and there just aren't five acts every year who merit induction. That being said, I can list five acts who should be in and weren't nominated this year; The Zombies, Cheap Trick, Electric Light Orchestra, Duran Duran and Yes. Anyhow, I voted this morning in the fan ballot and only voted for two groups, The Smiths and Green Day.
In the 80's, The Smiths weren't in my wheelhouse. I was mainly listening to Sabbath, Priest and Maiden and couldn't wrap my head around "This Charming Man". Even today, Morrissey is a walking, talking nonsense machine. However, over the years I have grown to like much of The Smiths' catalog and recognized their vast influence on alternative music. I still don't like "This Charming Man". In fact, I'm probably in a small minority who prefer Moz's solo albums to The Smiths. Bottom line, they are way overdue for induction.
At the risk of losing my hipster cred, I like Green Day. It's true. Three of my favorite albums are Dookie, Nimrod and American Idiot. My only gripe with them is they seem to have been an influence on horrible bands, such as Blink-182. However, based on their own merit, I feel they deserve to be inducted.
After some consideration, I decided to pass on Sting and Stevie Ray Vaughan. While I love The Police and secretly wish I were more like Sting, I don't feel his solo material merits induction. I give him some credit for having the balls to release a lute album, but that's not a ticket to The Rock Hall. And he wrote "Soul Cake". Sorry Mike. As for SRV, that was a tough call. Back in the day, I was all about Stevie and even got into the Blues because of him. I still love "Pride and Joy" and "Cold Shot", but overall his music hasn't aged well for me. He's an interesting nominee but I don't feel he merits induction.
I can lump the rest of the nominees into two groups; those I hate and those I wonder why they were even nominated. The latter group includes The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Marvelettes, N.W.A., The Spinners, War and Bill Withers. Rounding out the nominees with those I hate are Kraftwerk, Nine Inch Nails and Lou Reed. In fairness, I strong case could be made for all three of them, but not by me.
In the future, it's hard for me to conceive of five acts that are locks for The Rock Hall, period, let alone five every year. Other than Pearl Jam, Radiohead, The White Stripes and Foo Fighters I'm stumped. Consider Cooperstown. Peace.
In the 80's, The Smiths weren't in my wheelhouse. I was mainly listening to Sabbath, Priest and Maiden and couldn't wrap my head around "This Charming Man". Even today, Morrissey is a walking, talking nonsense machine. However, over the years I have grown to like much of The Smiths' catalog and recognized their vast influence on alternative music. I still don't like "This Charming Man". In fact, I'm probably in a small minority who prefer Moz's solo albums to The Smiths. Bottom line, they are way overdue for induction.
At the risk of losing my hipster cred, I like Green Day. It's true. Three of my favorite albums are Dookie, Nimrod and American Idiot. My only gripe with them is they seem to have been an influence on horrible bands, such as Blink-182. However, based on their own merit, I feel they deserve to be inducted.
After some consideration, I decided to pass on Sting and Stevie Ray Vaughan. While I love The Police and secretly wish I were more like Sting, I don't feel his solo material merits induction. I give him some credit for having the balls to release a lute album, but that's not a ticket to The Rock Hall. And he wrote "Soul Cake". Sorry Mike. As for SRV, that was a tough call. Back in the day, I was all about Stevie and even got into the Blues because of him. I still love "Pride and Joy" and "Cold Shot", but overall his music hasn't aged well for me. He's an interesting nominee but I don't feel he merits induction.
I can lump the rest of the nominees into two groups; those I hate and those I wonder why they were even nominated. The latter group includes The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Marvelettes, N.W.A., The Spinners, War and Bill Withers. Rounding out the nominees with those I hate are Kraftwerk, Nine Inch Nails and Lou Reed. In fairness, I strong case could be made for all three of them, but not by me.
In the future, it's hard for me to conceive of five acts that are locks for The Rock Hall, period, let alone five every year. Other than Pearl Jam, Radiohead, The White Stripes and Foo Fighters I'm stumped. Consider Cooperstown. Peace.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Kasabian: 48:13
Since today marks the U.S. release of Kasabian's new album, 48:13, I thought I'd post about my second favorite band of the 2000's. I've been a fan for a decade, so when I got on social media I began following them. I was confused by all the hype for the release of 48:13 back in June, because I could find nothing about it's release in the States. I finally broke down in August and ordered it as an import. Perhaps it's late release in America was a record label decision to coincide with their short tour of the States, but I took it as an indictment on the U.S.
Let me preface what I'm about to say by pointing out I'm not usually a fan of things that are popular with the masses. However, how is it that Kasabian can headline Glastonbury 2014 and sellout stadiums all over the U.K. and Europe, but in the States...crickets. Kasabian were just in America and played a handful of shows at clubs like The Metro in Chicago. I just don't get it. Luckily for them, they seem to be successful enough in the rest of the world that they apparently don't need to be big in America. Selfishly, I wish they were on a 50 date U.S. tour and were playing The Quicken Loans Arena with their full show.
Before I get to 48:13, let me backtrack a bit. My introduction to Kasabian was the use of their song "Clubfoot" in a commercial for a TV show. I don't remember the show, but I had to check out the band behind that song. At the time, my wife had a job interview in Georgetown and I tagged along. While I was killing time during her interview I happened across the Kasabian album at Barnes and Noble and picked it up. That CD is still our "go to" when we're in the car together or want to just listen to music at home. It is a perfect combination of rock and British club music. There is not one bad song and there are several standout tracks, like, "Clubfoot", "I.D.", "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)", "Reason Is Treason" and "Test Transmission". If my kids decide to check out my Kasabian collection I recommend they start with that album.
48:13 is another strong set from the band that builds on their previous albums. Kasabian are one of those bands with a charismatic lead singer, Tom Meighan, who doesn't write the lyrics. Those duties fall to multi-instrumentalist and producer Sergio Pizzorno. At this writing, the tracks that stand out to me are "Glass" and "Stevie". "Glass" is a song about how the media tries to control us. We are urged to "turn off everything" and warned that "we are taught to watch the puppets, not the hands controlling". There's also a good class warfare rap by guest vocalist Suli Breaks. "Stevie" is about gun violence. The title character is a kid with problems who's off his med and get his hands on a gun. He's urged to resist violence and live to fight another day. Part of Kasabian's appeal is sexual energy. It's not particularly what draws me to their music, but I enjoy in the song "Bumblebee" when they sing about being in ecstasy and imploring "all you pretty things get on board this mothership". If you aren't familiar with Kasabian and you like high energy rock music with a groove check them out. Peace.
Let me preface what I'm about to say by pointing out I'm not usually a fan of things that are popular with the masses. However, how is it that Kasabian can headline Glastonbury 2014 and sellout stadiums all over the U.K. and Europe, but in the States...crickets. Kasabian were just in America and played a handful of shows at clubs like The Metro in Chicago. I just don't get it. Luckily for them, they seem to be successful enough in the rest of the world that they apparently don't need to be big in America. Selfishly, I wish they were on a 50 date U.S. tour and were playing The Quicken Loans Arena with their full show.
Before I get to 48:13, let me backtrack a bit. My introduction to Kasabian was the use of their song "Clubfoot" in a commercial for a TV show. I don't remember the show, but I had to check out the band behind that song. At the time, my wife had a job interview in Georgetown and I tagged along. While I was killing time during her interview I happened across the Kasabian album at Barnes and Noble and picked it up. That CD is still our "go to" when we're in the car together or want to just listen to music at home. It is a perfect combination of rock and British club music. There is not one bad song and there are several standout tracks, like, "Clubfoot", "I.D.", "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)", "Reason Is Treason" and "Test Transmission". If my kids decide to check out my Kasabian collection I recommend they start with that album.
48:13 is another strong set from the band that builds on their previous albums. Kasabian are one of those bands with a charismatic lead singer, Tom Meighan, who doesn't write the lyrics. Those duties fall to multi-instrumentalist and producer Sergio Pizzorno. At this writing, the tracks that stand out to me are "Glass" and "Stevie". "Glass" is a song about how the media tries to control us. We are urged to "turn off everything" and warned that "we are taught to watch the puppets, not the hands controlling". There's also a good class warfare rap by guest vocalist Suli Breaks. "Stevie" is about gun violence. The title character is a kid with problems who's off his med and get his hands on a gun. He's urged to resist violence and live to fight another day. Part of Kasabian's appeal is sexual energy. It's not particularly what draws me to their music, but I enjoy in the song "Bumblebee" when they sing about being in ecstasy and imploring "all you pretty things get on board this mothership". If you aren't familiar with Kasabian and you like high energy rock music with a groove check them out. Peace.
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