As is probably very clear, my virus strategy has been avoidance. Musically, I mean. (As for the virus itself, wear a mask, you moron!)
I've been going through my vinyl collection, which, locked away in the basement I now happen to be using as an office, is the very definition of avoidance, since I haven't bought vinyl in over thirty years. Hence, the music I was listening to was at least that old.
So I went through it - A to Z - looking for records that were under-heard, under-appreciated, or, after listening again, under-inspired. It was a way of digging into the past without being nostalgic.
It helped me to adapt to the health crisis.
Then I did the full Beethoven (later for him, though), which got me through the transition from a health to a health/economic crisis.
But it wasn't enough as we slid into the health/economic/racial crisis.
So it goes without saying that from February through May I didn't get any new music. That's a long time for me. And then, as we entered June, I thought it was the time.
But I was cautious, opting for the familiar, with Fountains of Wayne's first two records. FOW made one of the great albums of the 2000s Welcome Interstate Managers, and Jaybee Sister Maggie said that these two were even better.
You don't really get a jolt of adrenaline from the FOWs - more like a sustained wave of pleasure. And they deal in the day to day and often work-related issues we deal with. Unfortunately, the stresses of the current crises were too much for that, and it's only now in late August that I can hear these records, with their thoughtful, often funny lyrics, and their deep musical craftsmanship. By the end of the year - or maybe when we're able to eat out in restaurants and hug - I'll love them.
But until then...
Fountains of Wayne: Fountains of Wayne (1996)
This one lays out the basic strategy of the band, and I'll leave it to rabid fans to determine whether in fact it's the best. There are at least four songs worried about or sympathizing with women, and one where they beg her to "leave the biker" (although I heard it as "banker"). They end it appropriately on a down vibe with "Everything's Ruined".
"Sick Day"
B+
Fountains of Wayne: Utopia Parkway (1999)
Here they get a bit "conceptual" and "satirical", which neither adds to nor detracts from their core strengths. The local references abound, as usual. Musically stronger than the first, but again, not knock your socks off brilliant. But neither am I.
"It Must Be Summer"
B+
My less than bowled over response is partially due to the "too much at once" syndrome that slows my embrace of the music. Maybe one at a time would have been better.
It's not their fault. The FOWs don't do strikingly original music. They follow a formula - guitars, bass and drums - and do it very well. They add a lot of lyrical specificity and show a great deal of empathy for young losers and women. But decency isn't enough. You have to be really good, too, otherwise, why are we listening. Being funny helps, too. They're very sly. Very ironic. But what might have been insufferable from a Brit is quite lovable in a group from the tri-state area.
Well guys, we tried. But the Corona was too strong for us. Under normal circumstances, one can quickly absorb and then enjoy the FOWs and enjoy the summer. But in the current “situation” it’s been uphill.
What to do?
I reached back to an album I picked up in February - before the shit hit the fan - and that I liked a lot, but - buried in the avalanche that was March - I completely forgot about.
It finally occurred to me to try it again.
Purple Mountains: Purple Mountains (2019)
And it was even better than I remembered. But so so sad.
David Berman was going down down down personally, and after this album was released he committed suicide. So this isn't exactly a fun record, but it's sometimes very funny, like when, in the opener, he sings This time I think I finally fucked myself, to an upbeat tune no less. Funny, but he means it.
Musically, it's nothing revolutionary. Just your standard rock band playing in a standard way. But the lyrics make the whole thing sing.
His nasal delivery reinforces his your-everyday-neurotic persona.
Excellent, but still, maybe not the musical way forward.
A-
"Darkness and Cold"
So maybe it was time to hear some voices I've been avoiding.
If the FOWs couldn’t penetrate the fog, how could D’angelo, who I couldn’t forgive for a vague run-in with a gay man decades ago? I kept waiting for an apology but it never came. But the statute of limitations of Jaybee outrage is running out. (Hell, it may run out on Clapton someday.)
D’angelo: Black Messiah (2015)
I was expecting a soul crooner but what I got was an R&B band-leader who actually plays guitar! And the band is super tight.
He does sing though. And it's a mix of Prince, Funkadelic and a half a dozen others. Nice to get it all in one place.
This very funky record didn’t so much break through the anxiety as burrow underneath it. It doesn’t express outright joy, either, and that’s appropriate in the George Floyd era, too. But the confidence he shows came at exactly the right time. To my surprise, I actively enjoy this record.
It's like listening to a lighter, faster version of There's a Riot Goin' On. It's not on the level of that record, but it's still pretty great.
A-
So things were beginning to turn around! I could actually listen to and enjoy "new" music.
But the big leap would really be if I could handle music of this time.
That'll be next.
