First, An Explanation (What Else Is New?)
I've been struggling with/apologizing for listening to non-rock/pop records, perhaps to ward off any complaints that I'm a snob. Which is silly, because I am one. Not that I think I'm better than anyone. I just avoid some people/places/things because I think they're dumb, annoying, or worse, boring, just like, I assume some are avoiding me for the same reason. Respect!
What's even worse than Dumb/Annoying/Boring, though, is same-old-same-old.
Which is why I'm slow to get that second record by that band whose first record was great.
A sub-explanation: By "second" I don't mean the band's second chronological album. This isn't about faltering creativity. It's about how much of any similar thing you need.
I mean the second record I got by that band.
On the one hand, if they gave me a unique/exciting experience the first time around, they are likely to do it again the second time. But on the other, it's got to be a departure of some kind, otherwise, it's just a rerun of the first experience. It's a lot to ask I know.
This hesitancy is a powerful force for pushing me to new (to me) bands, and on a larger scale, to new (to me) genres. Thus, my forays into Jazz, Classical, and especially, World music.
Of course, it takes longer to understand/appreciate/really hear those records. Thus, when I grade them it is typically based more on their "potential for imparting future joy" than, say, that Phoebe Bridgers record which I loved almost immediately.
So for instance the Rough Guide to the Music of the Sahara wasn't rocking my living room from beginning to end when I gave it an A-. Instead, it was providing me with a new experience that contained several outright great cuts which gave me the time to absorb the more, well, foreign-sounding ones.
The optimal end result of this is that some of the foreignness disappears - meaning I grow enough for it to now be familiar for it to become part of my "acceptable music" landscape. That along with its intrinsic uniqueness ensures I'll be listening to it for years to come, both to get into it more, but also to just downright enjoy it.
Somebody: So, Jaybee, why the long intro? Have you been drinking again? You know, the beneath the surface defensiveness (same ol' Jaybee). The need to EXPLAIN.
It's because I have to tell you about some more records and I don't want you to laugh at me. These are the two core-yet-competing impulses that define my every human interaction. It's the "Look At Me, I'm Smart/Don't Laugh at Me" syndrome.
Now it's possible I've just not given the less impressive records a chance to sink in. This is ironic, given that, if anything, the styles are more familiar to me than those of the non-rock genres.
Anyway, here are a few "second" records by rock bands that are good-not-great, followed by two records by not rock bands that are great, not good.
Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)
The first one was Kill the Moonlight - an excellent record.
This one's got the same rhythmic attack, the same sandy vocals. Maybe a little more guitar. But no brilliant songs like "Don't Let it Get You Down", or "Vittorio E." to put it over the top.
Good, not great, consistent, not brilliant.
B+
Big Thief: Two Hands (2019)
Too mellow (except for "No") and not weird enough. Except "No".
B+
Mountain Goats: The Sunset Tree (2006)
Again, very good, but not essential. Maybe it would be if I got it before Tallahassee. link
Not all that different from Tallahassee, which preceded it. That time, a toxic couple. This time an abusive father.
Darnielle's voice is just at the edge of unique/annoying. But the tales are still very immediate and compelling - he's one of the best wordsmiths around. Troubled people doing bad things. Again.
On brand, but just not different enough.
B+
Toots and the Maytals: Funky Kingston (1973)
Pros: It includes "Pressure Drop", surely one of the all-time great cuts.
Cons: It also includes "Country Roads". Yes, the John Denver song. Now I've got nothing against that alcoholic wife-beater, but it was jarring to hear it. Toots et al reggae-afy it and they make it sound easier than it probably was.
This is unpretentious yet smart party music, even if it's not always happy. Toots' vocals propel even the slower songs forward, and even "Louie Louie" sounds like an original.
If you've tried Burning Spear or Culture and found them too tuff, TATM are just what you need.
A-
Englebert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel (1893)
Okay, here me out.
First, it's not that dolt Arnold George Dorsey I'm not that crazy.
EH is a composer from the 19th Century, and this is his most well-known opera. And it's really great.
The last time I tried opera, it was because Costco was selling ten of them (well, the highlights) for $10. And it sits like a brick on my CD shelf talking up more room than anything else. Space becoming more of an issue, I look back on this decision not with regret but with something else that works out to me not being wrong.
But after seeing snippets of this on Classic Arts Showcase (channels 75 and 165 on my awful cable provider) and being utterly entranced, I jumped in. Hearing the whole thing – all two CDs of it - doesn’t have quite that impact, but it is definitely my go-to opera at this point. There's very little of the overly virtuosic singing that turns me right off. It's far more melodic and sweet.
A-
Last part of disc one.
"Sandman's Aria and Evening Prayer". It takes a minute but then it's sublime.
So there you have it. With Germany and Jamaica beating out America, my music is beginning to resemble soccer.
Here's hoping it gets back to being NASCAR.
