Revolution in the Head

Took a jog this evening and decided to give a second chance to an album I previously had written off. The Alternative To Love was one of my most anticipated releases in 2005. His previous album, Lapalco was one of those that found its way into the player and basically took up residence for months. A homespun effort that was recorded and produced almost singlehandedly by Benson (Jason Faulkner receives a co-producer’s credit), Lapalco remains one of power pop’s finest of recent years.

But for some reason, The Alternative To Love failed to stick to the ribs. Where Lapalco felt both urgent and economical, Alternative came across as overthought and bloated. Too clever by the half, you might say. It feels like an opportunity lost. (Sidenote: At one point I considered selling the album, but She’s Whose Wishes I Must Respect– to paraphrase The Boss– objected. She’s usually right and has a pretty good track record for preventing me from foolish acts.)

Before I go much further, first a confession: the reason this album leapt from the shelves and begged to soundtrack my run is that one of it’s better tracks, “What I’m Looking For” is currently featured in an Apple iPod Touch commercial. “What I’m Looking For”, heard below, is a fantastic song with a great hook and it sounds, quite frankly, terrific in the commercial. It has a nuance for texture and arrangement that calls to mind Emitt Rhodes, a criminally overlooked artist from the 60’s and 70’s who also excelled in the one-man band/knob twiddler vein. (Note: Rhodes will certainly be the subject of his own post in the near future.)

Alternative starts like a house on fire, with the blazing, Cars-esque “Spit It Out”. “Cold Hands/Warm Heart” and “Feel Like Myself” follow and sound suddenly revelatory to these ears. “The Pledge” pays obvious and convincing homage to Phil Spector. Were my initial impressions too harsh? Would this album reinvent itself, three years after the fact?

Not quite. Things head south right around the time my knee starts to hurt (dammit). I start reaching for the skip button and remembering why this album failed to capitivate me. Alternative starts to wear out its welcome. Not until the penultimate track, the aforementioned Apple shil-du jour, do things pick back up. That song now stands as some sort of testiment to what could and should have been.

It seems Benson’s widescreen ambitions here may have got the best of him. The middle third of the album feels over-produced and under-written. Gone are the images of a Lapalco-era Benson; of a guy struggling to get the songs down on his eight-track as fast as his brain keeps pouring them out. The images are replaced by the vision of Benson sitting at the mixing desk, laboring over one unecessary decision after another. (Surprisingly, a glance at the liner notes reveals that the album is co-mixed by Tchad Blake, an engineer whose work on various Crowded House and Neil Finn efforts I greatly admire.)

I start to feel nostalgic for “Metarie”, perhaps my favorite track from Lapalco. “Metarie”, the album’s second cut, comes to us in a presumably demo-like form, with all of its warts and flaws left in for the taking. Did Benson attempt a fuller, more finely tuned version of this song, but failed to better capture its essence? (Actually, the answer is yes; I’ve heard two non-album versions, both more fleshed out, but ultimately lacking in comparison.) This may be an extreme example of why I prefer Lapalco to The Alternative To Love, but it illustrates my point: sometimes the artist just needs to trust his gut and resist the urge to embellish. Get it down and move on.

Don’t get me wrong: I certainly enjoy my fair share of carefully, ambitiously produced pop albums (afterall no one with Jellyfish in his/her collection can pretend otherwise). It’s just that in Benson’s case, the clothes don’t really seem to fit.

I’m curious where Benson might head with his next album. My suggestion? Take a nod from his fellow Raconteur, fly across the pond, book some time at Toe Rag Studios and just bash it out.

Brendan Benson, Lapalco (Startime International, 2002) & The Alternative To Love (V2/Startime International, 2005)

Metarie {download mp3}

What I’m Looking For {download mp3}

Exciting news on the homefront: DC’s own Meredith Bragg and the Terminals will be appearing live from Austin, Texas tomorrow, Thursday, March 13th on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” program, as part of that station’s coverage of this year’s SXSW conference.

Meredith’s appearance will be at 11:15am local time…that’s 1:15pm for us east coasters. More info here.

Meredith Bragg and the Terminals are on tour now, in support of their recent release, Silver Sonya. The Terminal’s ivory-tickler-extraordinaire Brian Minter is chronicling the band’s southwest journey here. Good readin’.

It should go without saying: one of my favorite activities is record shopping. By record, I mean, LP. By LP, I mean long playing vinyl record, of course. Getting new music in any format is exciting enough, but I’ve been concentrating much more on my vinyl collection of late. This was really precipated by two recent developments: the acquisition of a decent turntable last year as well as the recent regular dj gig, for which my partner and I have adopted a strict 33 1/3 and 45 rpm-only policy.

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of hitting the used vinyl bins. You never know what you might find. Some days you come up empty-handed; other days you hit jackpot. It’s always an adventure. I took in a pretty decent mini-haul this evening. Listen out for selections from these this Friday night at Heavywax.

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, Nancy & Lee
Originally released in 1968, this is their seminal and influential debut. This copy appears to be a German import. Think of a more off-kilter Johnny Cash and June Carter. I’m mostly excited that I finally have a copy of “Some Velvet Morning”.

Big Star, Big Star’s Biggest
Coincidentally, another German import collecting songs from the band’s 3 LP’s. Never seen the vinyl edition before. I actually had this collection on CD, before I ever owned and got familiar with the proper albums. Despite its relative unavailability, it’s a great overview– perfect for the unitiated. And perfect for me to cherrypick favorites from while djing. Bonus points: this is pressed on beautiful white vinyl. (Note: this actually may prove to be a bit of a hazard for cueing, but it sure looks pretty spinning on the platter at home.)

The Who, Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy
Sensing a trend here? That’s right…another collection of singles. I actually don’t own any Who on vinyl, so this seemed an obvious place to start. The tracklisting is flawless. (Caught a bit of Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who on VH1-Classic the other night. Must remember to add to Netflix.)

The Sugarcubes, Life’s Too Good
A high school favorite. Haven’t played this in awhile and am looking forward to hearing how it stands the test of time. I’m thinking “Motorcrash”, or possibly “Delicious Demon”, might sound kinda tasty Friday night.

Midnight Oil, Diesel And Dust
I’ll stand by the trifecta of Diesel And Dust, Blue Sky Mining and Earth And Sun And Moon any day. Another relic of my high school days. I reacquired these on cd semi-recently– you know it’s a high school album when you originally had it on cassette– and can vouch for the durability of each.

Elvis Costello, High Fidelity
Been going through a bit of an EC/Nick Lowe-craze lately. This is actually a 12-inch single on the F-Beat label. From the unimpeachable Get Happy! album, of course. I’m making a habit of buying just about any EC on vinyl that I can find. I’m particularly excited to hear this because I’ve heard the British mastering is superior to the domestic. Plus, one song-per-side-12-inch singles sure come in handy when you’re djing.

Sex Pistols, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Needs no explanation. The vinyl feels nice and thick, by the way. They don’t make them like they used to, do they?

Been spending a lot of time this week with the new Stephen Malkmus record and am finding myself more and more drawn to it. This is somewhat surprising because initial spins had me fearing this might just be the first Malkmus-related release to not work its wonders with me. (For those keeping score, that’s five proper albums with Pavement and now four solo ventures.)

As is the case though with so many records, patience and repeated listens brings new rewards.

This is easily the most muscular-sounding Stephen Malkmus record yet. One can’t help but wonder how much of this down to the influence of the newest Jick, drummer Janet Weiss (ex-Sleater Kinney, current-member of Quasi). Never one to simply lay down a backbeat or keep time, she’s always been a bonifide, dare-I-write Bonham-esque presence on any record on which she’s featured– high praise for any drummer indeed. This record certainly features more drum fills than any previous Malkmus or Pavement record; it also features, perhaps not coincidentally, more guitar solo’s. This should only be regarded as a good thing, as Malkmus is certainly no slouch in this regard himself. The result is the impression of one fantastic musician pushing another to new depths and dimensions. (This is also, I must add, an absolutely fantastic sounding recording as well.) It’s also noteworthy that this is the second Malkmus record to be credited as “Stephen Malkmus & Jicks”, sharing some territorial ground with the other band-credited record Pig Lib.

But it’s not all bluster and and brute force at work here. If you stick with Real Emotional Trash long enough to discover the cracks in it’s thick, hard exterior, you’ll still find the same melodic charms that Malkmus has seemingly effortlessly been offering for years. Indeed, it took me three or four listens of the epic “Hopscotch Willie” before I realized just how perfectly imperfect its unassuming slide guitar part is. And “Gardenia”, which features some lovely background vox from Weiss, just may be the single breeziest moment of Malkmus’ solo career, calling to mind his former band’s valedictory note from Terror Twilight “Carrot Rope”.

So, nothing here to necessarily convince or convert the non-believers. But if you’ve found any facet of Stephen Malkmus’ solo career compelling, there’s more than enough on Real Emotional Trash to discover and appreciate. It just may take a little while to get there.

Stephen Malkmus & Jicks, Real Emotional Trash (Matador, 2008, Purchase here)

Hopscotch Willie

Gardenia

Just back from a fantastic weekend visiting friends in Nashville. Said friends sure know how to play host, taking us to the finest restaurants, record stores and honky tonks in Music City. The weekend was capped off with a trip to the legendary Ryman Auditorium, part-time home to the Grand Ole Opry, to take in an amazing performance from Wilco.

This one had everything going for it: an historic venue with superb acoustics, an absolutely rapturous audience, a set list to please even the most ardent Wilco trainspotter (26 songs in all, each album represented), and of course, the band itself, fresh off an appearance the evening before on Saturday Night Live, playing at the absolute height of its confidence and powers. Quite simply, it was one for the ages.

Jeff Tweedy, clad in the same Gram Parsons-esque nudie suit worn the evening before on SNL, kept the banter to a minimum for the first hour, opting instead to cram as many songs into the set as possible. Highlights included the three selections from “Summerteeth” (a gorgeous “Pieholden Suite”, the always transporting “A Shot In The Arm” and buoyantly defiant “Nothingsevergonnastandinmywayagain”) and a rare mid-set three-fer from the band’s first album “AM” (including the John Stirrat led “It’s Just That Simple”). For the first encore, Tweedy stepped to the very front of the stage and offered up a sublime version of “Someone Else’s Song”, sans-amplification.

For this leg of the tour, the band is occasionally augmented by a three-person horn section, affectionately dubbed “The Total Pro’s”. I loved what the horns added to “Hate It Here”, moving it from side two of “Abbey Road” to a dusty vinyl slab served up by Stax Volt. I’ve been growing a little weary of the misguided and narrow dad-rock accusations/backlash to “Sky Blue Sky”, so it was particularly nice to see the Nashville crowd really respond to the newer numbers. “Hate It Here” in particular seemed to whip the crowd into a full-throated sing-along frenzy. During the first encore set, Tweedy got all the help he needed (and then some) when he solicited for some old-fashioned call and response vocal work on “The Thanks I Get”. So great.

Just like in DC last week, a very active camera crew was present. One can only wish that some sort of concert film is in the works. Hard to imagine large portions of this show not making the cut.

Setlist:Via Chicago / Blood of the Lamb / Pieholden Suite / California Stars / Company in my Back / You Are My Face / Side with the Seeds / Pot Kettle Black / Shot in the Arm / She’s a Jar / Handshake Drugs / Impossible Germany / It’s Just That Simple / Pick Up the Change / Too Far Apart / Nothingsevergonnastandinmywayagain / Jesus etc. / Hate It Here / Walken / I’m the Man Who Loves You / Encore #1: Someone Else’s Song (Tweedy solo w/o amplification) / Misunderstood / The Thanks I Get / Red Eyed and Blue / I Got You / Monday / Encore #2: The Late Greats

Bands like Nada Surf aren’t supposed to exist. In an industry not exactly known for giving second chances, the band are an unlikely story of a phoenix rising from ashes. By all accounts, they really shouldn’t be much more than a footnote in the history of 90’s alternative rock. Yet here they remain, having just released Lucky, the third album in a troika of memorable, hauntingly beautiful releases.

The late 90’s saw Nada Surf in danger of being relegated to “one-hit wonder” status. Their 1996 single “Popular“, whose verses consisted of singer Matthew Caw’s snarkily reading verbatim from a 1960’s etiquette manual on teenage dating, was a mainstay on MTV’s Alternative Nation.

Things went downhill quickly after that.

Their Ric Ocasek-produced debut album, High/Low failed to yield any further singles. Elektra refused to release their follow up album, 1998’s The Proximity Effect, essentially holding the band and the album hostage until finally being released from their contract in 2000. Yet the band somehow persevered, opting to finally self-release the album and tour in support.

In 2002, a full six years beyond their initial meteoric rise to video infamy, Nada Surf released the album Let Go, a self-funded venture that was picked up by northwestern indie label Barsuk. Let Go was a shot from the dark, an album of surprising depth and maturity that shockingly bore very little resemblance to “Popular” or anything of its nerdy alterna-ilk. It hit with the critics and the band suddenly found itself with something even better than a resurrected career: a complete rebirth. The band’s 2005 follow up, The Weight Is A Gift continued the renaissance, mining the same introspective, at times hushed, yet tuneful territory. Not nearly as revelatory as its predecessor but not without its merits.

Expectations in these parts for Lucky, however, were not especially high. The Weight… in some ways seemed just like an inferior, less-impactful sequel to Let Go. Would this be yet another case of diminishing returns? Had the band simply peaked with Let Go?

Those fears were unfounded: Lucky is the band’s true masterstroke, the first thoroughly great record of 2008. It’s an album that endearingly wears its heart on its sleeve and begs to be played loudly. If Let Go and The Weight… felt best on cloudy, rain-filled days, this is one to soundtrack the morning’s first ray of sun.

It’s album of many highlights. Opener “See These Bones” is a slow burner that hinges on the lyric “too tired to eat, too hungry to sleep”, but builds to a crescendo featuring three memorable melodies, weaved together and sung in the round. “Whose Authority” shimmers like nothing so much as a lost outtake from Teenage Fanclub’s career defining Grand Prix, while “Beautiful Beat” is an unabashedly positive reflection on the healing powers of that one perfect song. (Sounds hokey, but it works.) ”Weightless” alternates between herky, jerky, restless guitars and softly, swooning strings, before finally giving way to a soaring wordless choir that would make Mr. Wilson blush. It’s an album that is likely to yield new favorites with each play.

They say it’s better to be lucky than good, but in Nada Surf’s case it seems both apply.

Nada Surf, Lucky (Barsuk, 2008)

See These Bones {download mp3}

Whose Authority {view video}

Weightless

George Harrison: 25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001

All Things Must Pass (Solo Demo, EMI Studios, London, 25 February 1969)

In 1994, British writer Ian MacDonald undertook the most ambitious study of the Beatles music to date. In his landmark book “Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records in the Sixties”, MacDonald chronologically presented every song in the Beatles recorded history. MacDonald’s exhaustive studied approach was somewhat academic in nature, but it also provided great thrills for the Beatles-obsessed masses.I remember borrowing my brother’s copy of this book and letting Mr. MacDonald take me on a journey deeper into the heart of the Beatles’ music. I’d read a passage about a particular song, put the book down, cue up that song and listen with the newly acquired insights, noticing things I’d never heard before.

Lather, rinse, repeat, ie, etc, eg. It was a blast.

(Incidentally, “Revolution in the Head” has recently been put back in print and obviously comes highly recommended. I’m tempted to finally purchase my own copy of the book but am slightly afraid of the ramifications this action might have my ability to be a productive, interacting member of my own household.)

So…yet another music blog, right? Does the world really need another one? Probably not. And while it seemed appropriate to christen this site after one of my most favorite books, I don’t really aspire to a level of Ian MacDonald-like analysis of music, nor do I think I am capable or qualified to provide that level of analysis.So what exactly is the point? It’s actually fairly self indulgent in essence.

I buy a lot of music. I also read a lot of music magazines and books. I spend many of my waking (and even some of my non-waking) hours listening to and thinking about music. While I recognize that this hardly distinguishes me from so many others or qualifies me as any kind of expert, it does present some practical challenges. The bottom line is that at some point, all of this stuff fills and begs to leave my head and go…somewhere else.

I’m fantastically lucky that the person with whom I have chosen to share my life also shares this passion to some degree. And I have so many friends who are somewhat, ahem, afflicted, in varying degrees, with similar conditions. Still, there’s only so much that a person can share. Time constraints and geographic boundaries often prevail. So consider this an audio journal of sorts. It’s the place where I will brain dump the landscape of my musical mind, in order that I may free up that space for the next discovery or revelation to take residence. Perhaps you will find it interesting. And if you do, please feel free to make liberal use of the comments. That’s what they are there for, of course.

But like I said, this is mainly an exercise of self-indulgence. I don’t really aspire to be any sort of tastemaker and I’m not on some sort of mission necessarily to evangelize the next great so-and-so. There are plenty of excellent blogs out there that already do this and do it exceptionally well. Really, it’s just a place for me to share thoughts on the things I’ve been enjoying musically. It could be a new release. Or it could be a record that is 30 years old. In most cases it will be full length records (because this reflects how I listen), but it may occasionally be a single song. I have ideas for regular “features” that I will share in time. But for the most part this will just be a place for me to write about the records that I have been recently enjoying. I hope you enjoy it.

As a sidenote, I must mention that I have an additional motive with this site that has very little actually to do with traversing my musical mind. This site also has the purpose of serving as my own personal web design/development sandbox. I say this because I want to make the caveat that the scenery here may change often and without warning. Certainly this current Wordpress theme is merely a temporary decorating decision. My intention was to not start writing until I actually had a custom design ready to go, but a friend (and personal blog hero) successfully convinced me that it was better to just start writing and worry with the rest afterwards.

Every time I move somewhere new, the first thing I do is set up the stereo. It could then be months before the first picture is ever hung. Consider these first few posts the equivalent of that. We’ll get things looking prettier soon enough.