Okay, so the title is opportunistic and misleading since the actual meh-ness occurred in the fall. And it's possible I've used it before but it's our duty to recycle, so...
I've been listening to so much great jazz this year it muscled out pop music, which has been merely good. And just as the perfect is the enemy of the good, the good can also the enemy of the bad, which is at least good for a laugh.
But no one's laughing now.
Primal Scream: Screamadelica (1991)
This UK psychedelic/dance/dub and sometimes rock record starts off well enough but drags from there on, so nothing here really sticks to your ribs.
Loud and proud like Spiritualized, with (slightly) shorter (but still too long) songs. I want to say they're more focused, but when they repeat the title phrase of "Come Together" (Yeah, they're not great at coming up with original titles) for eight minutes, I realize there's such a thing as being too focused.
Excellent production by Jimmy Miller of Stones fame, and great backup singing, but I only put it on out of curiosity.
B+
"Movin' On Up" (see what I mean?)
Tame Impala: Currents (2015)
This time out Kevin Parker's melodies ride a wash of dance beats and synths. I miss the sloppy psychedelia of Lonerism, though. I guess I would prefer to hang out with a stoner for an hour than a car salesman.
Perfectly listenable, though.
B+
Wednesday: Rat Saw God (2023)
This record is so f*cking intense, it can be too hard to take. There's an eight-minute cut where the female singer sounds like she's being murdered, for instance. (I am not exagerrating.)
After that, things calm down a bit and the melodies and guitars really ring out. Then I hear a pedal steel guitar and I realize they're playing country rock and roll, like early seventies Neil Young.
Sort of the opposite of Laura Marling.
When they're good they're fantastic, which may entice me to give the murder songs another try.
B+
Genesis: Selling England By the Pound (1973)
One of the better prog-rock albums I've heard. The last time I tried PR was King Crimson, which was pretty good but oh so serious. Luckily Peter Gabriel is more modest than pretentious and is thus easier to take than Robert Fripp.
Here, they make sure there are melodies to accompany the keyboard histrionics. (As much piano as organ thank god.) Some actual guitar, too!
Of course, I have no idea what the story is about. Figuring that out might ruin the fun.
B+
"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"
Galaxie 500: On Fire (1989)
Kinda slow, but if you're tired it comes as a relief. Three then-young people are playing simple, familiar chord progressions and melodies (because that's all they know?) and slow them down so you get their full majesty.
But just to make it strange, the band - which does have a female member - uses one of the guys to sing the higher parts. It's like listening to "Cortez the Killer" with Neil singing it in his "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" voice.
The guitar solos are pretty rudimentary but get the job done. And on their cover of New Order's "Ceremony", they damn near improve it.
A-
Coasters: 50 Coastin' Classics (1992)
I used to hate '50s music. I was born in 1957, so, to me, the Beatles were the real Big Bang, not Elvis, and all good music started in 1963, etc.
And I was at the height of my anti-anti-rock snobbery - where I equated seriousness with quality - when people started listening to oldies stations. I was outraged! There was nothing wrong with current music! As Carly Simon said, these are the good old days! You don't need to feel nostalgic for another time.
Plus, '50s music was silly. The sound quality sucked, guitars were not prominent, and guys sang like girls.
Okay this seems a bit overboard, but then again 50s music made me feel a bit over-bored (see what I did there?)?(??)
I've come around a bit since then. Reluctantly exploring Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers. The turning point came with History of New Orleans R&B, Vol. 1, which is such a terrific record I began to see the whole era in a different light.
So from that point, I was willing to explore other lesser-known (to me) artists of the era. I'm up to C.
From the get-go, the songs are tuneful and funny - and silly!!! - the band is committed and the singing is right on the mark every time. Plus Leiber and Stoller wrote almost all of these songs and produced most of them, too.
Any record that packs in "Riot in Cell Block", "Smokey Joe's Cafe", "Youngblood", "Yakety Yak", "Along Came Jones" and "Poison Ivy" (I could go on...) all in one place is really special.
A delight.
A
