Why Can’t I Just LOVE Something Anymore: Sugar’s Copper Blue
For my fourth record this year (thank you amazon.com!) I needed something strong and bracing to get the initial Pleasures of the Harbor taste out of my mouth. (Up to that point, Iron and Wine had barely left a taste at all. But it’s okay now. We’ve worked it all out, and will remain friends!)
And Bob Mould’s post-Husker-Du/post-mellow-solo-records-new(at the time) rock-n-roll-band Sugar’s Copper Blue will definitely cleanse your palette. Mould pulls it all together here, as if to prove to everyone that Husker Du was HIM and not Grant Hart. And that after some mellowish solo records, he can still rock.
And although it’s as consistent as any Husker record, I still prefer Sugar’s second: the shorter, sweeter File Under Easy Listening. But you do get the Bob Mould wall of sound guitar, a dash of keyboards, and, gasp, hooks.
Clearly a lot of craft went into this record. But so far I’m not hearing the passion.
Part of the problem is that my initial reaction to such an onslaught is, well, apathy. As George Harrison would say, it’s all too much. But then came that little drum flourish about 3 minutes into “The Slim” that tells me that they mean it, man. So I’ve definitely moved into Like territory. But not love. Not yet.
I guess being exposed to the Beatles early in life warps your expectations. They’re the ones who got away.
It’s not you, Bob. It’s me. A-
Voice of the Narrator: Will Jaybee ever love (music) again? Stay tuned!
So Far:
1. Tame Impala
2. Sugar
3. Iron & Wine
4. Phil Ochs
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