Containing, among other things, my humble effort to bring my fellow sixty(ish) year olds up to date on some current, and frankly, not so current, pop music.
Ah, the sound of 1990s Brits getting high and playing slow. Quiet storm, kind of, only on drugs with hip hop added in. (I can totally relate to all this!) Well, good luck to them.
Every heard of trip hop? It more or less starts here.
It’s not the best trip hop I’ve ever heard. That’s Tricky. So I was all set to dismiss this one based on my first listen, but these (no longer) young men won me over. They’re more fun, more funky and less arty than Portishead. And when they’re not fun, their misery is well earned. They’re also more tuneful than Burial. And not as scary as Tricky. Tricky can be very scary.
It’s ironic that music that’s most likely meant to be heard at night while in a trance in a dance club sounds better to me in the morning. Especially on a crappy day when I’m not in a good mood, like when I’m doing the bills. I’m sure they’d be appalled.
At first I thought there was no song here as good as “Protection” from their second record. But I take that back now. “Hymn of the Big Wheel” here is just as good. And despite it’s downer lyrics, the music is quite hopeful.
So these (no longer) young Brits with whom I have almost nothing in common made that time spent in the used-CD bin worthwhile.
Now that everything is just great, I brace myself for the unending tidal wave of musical brilliance that is to inevitably flow through my life, now that I know I still have a hankering for it.
But instead of a tidal wave, it’s more of a trickle. I need musical Flomax.
To put it another way, music continued to disappoint, but this time I don't think it was my fault.
This is the happier, peppier cousin to the record that I use for my depressions. And as I said previously I thought it might serve as a halfway mark to music that was more fun than what I had been listening to during that long, cold winter.
But my (admittedly unreliable) first impression is meh.
My second impression, awful, and in it’s own way, even more depressing than his other record.
And, as is usually the case my third thru whatever-I’m-up-to-now listen, better.
This is one of the first records ever called “electronica”. And the issue, to me, will always be Does It Have Any Soul? And by that I don’t necessarily mean does it have Aretha Franklin singing on it, but rather, does it have real (or very well faked) feeling to it?
This is a valid question for any kind of music, but especially important for electronica, where there’s less of a reliance on words, and where there’s always a danger that the technology will overwhelm the the human.
That seems a fair way of judging this record. Here’s my reaction to each track, without the track names, because they’re silly. (ie. “Xtal”, “Tha”, etc. You get the idea. It’s like he’s a member of a Sci-Fi themed fraternity):
We start off promisingly enough. Very sleek electronica. But the key element is the woman's voice in the background that humanizes it.
Again, voices in the background - this time spoken - humanize this one, but not as successfully as before. I like my alienation as much as the next guy so I hang in there. It's somewhat sterile but the ghosts in the machine help.
A less cool, and thus more humane, melody and beat that will one day get used to great effect by Erasure.
Here’s where I start to get a Pure Moods vibe link. (Do you have Pure Moods? Of course you do. It’s a phase we all go through. Dont let it get you down. It’s not so bad. But it does kind of announce that you’re middle aged.) For a while I thought I was hearing heavy breathing on this one, but that turned out to be my son Michael exercising. So, thumbs down here, although the bass is trying.
And now I just don't care. He's trying to be Eno, and failing. Thank God it’s short.
And now he's getting desperate - he speeds things up a bit, but all I’m hearing are a lot of synthesizer farts.
And here he tries to be haunting and almost gets away with it. But not quite.
Now, this is a pretty cool track, and I can definitely imagine it getting played in clubs, where, you know, humans go. (Not me, cool humans.) But there’s that whole “we are the music makers” lyric. Well, screw you buddy. We're the ones paying the music makers.
And again, not bad. Techno, but not entirely soulless.
More, techno, and perfect for that club.
Now he goes to outer space, where no one can hear you snore.
And then back to Earth, where’s it’s not all that exciting, either. After a minute or so it perks up a bit.
Kind of brooding, in a good way. Kind of peppy too. It’s got the right attitude.
Most of these cuts are pretty long, and to be fair, they usually need a minute or so to kick in. But I don’t know if I’ve got that kind of time.
I suppose that, in its infancy, these are the areas that electronica had to explore, but I find more heart in Eno/Moby/DJ Shadow and even Burial.
From what I understand, Richard D. James (secret identity of Aphex Twin!, Oh my god, I gave it away!) was in his teens when he started out, so in that light, this is quite an achievement.
I also noticed a disturbing resemblance to the type of music they'd play on Miami Vice (another extreme dislike of mine from the 80s), which makes sense given that this collection covers 1985 to 1992.
This is music for those desperate to feel cool. And it works better in a club than it does out here in real life. Or to paraphrase Mark Twain, it’s music that sounds better when you’re not listening to it.
But it’s growing on me. A little. The big joke on Aphex Twin is that, instead of this being apt for nighttime at a club in the city, how much better this sounds on a Saturday morning when I’m trying to do chores.
As it so happens, I’ve just gotten out of bed. I’m in a tee shirt and haven’t shaved yet, so I can practically pass for Don Johnson. So let me put on that blazer, roll up the sleeves and do the dishes!
The title of this Year End Roundup is more of a plea than a statement. My son’s and my wife’s 2008 music keeps intruding on mine.In 2007, it was Queen, Aerosmith and the Killers.This year, it’s Avenged Sevenfold and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
So let them write their own entry.Here’s my year in music:
Loves:
None yet.It’s a shame that no music has indelibly stamped my year.But there was enough joy in real life to keep me going, so I’ll not complain.Besides, it’s when the going gets tough that the un-tough (me) go for their music.That’s when I’ll need it.
Highlights:
Nuggets: This four CD set Father’s Day present is the American version of the 1960’s British Invasion (okay, maybe a little later).Well, talk about your fun!There are not many “great songs” here, but there are a ton of “great records”.I still couldn’t tell you the names of 75% of them because not all of them have names like “Louie, Louie” and “Woolly Bully”, but most of them are in the same vein.Not for the pretentious.
Well, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, thanks to my son.He played their Greatest Hits for us and I was surprised how pretty it was.My original impression of them had been all energy and rhythm, but no melody or songs.I recommend this record or By the Way as a way of bonding with your annoying (not you, Mike) teenager.
The New Pornographers “Mass Romantic”: Neko Case’s striking “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” led me to her other band, where she shows off her voice in a more chaotic pop setting.It can get to be too much, like a friend who’s had too much coffee, but when you’re in the mood – or had a few yourself - it’s quite a ride.
The Flaming Lips “The Soft Bulletin”: This one’s got a lot of good tunes, but I still prefer the more spare, gentle Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. But quite enjoyable.
Modest Mouse’s“Good News for People Who Like Bad News”:Or as I like to think of it, Bad News for People Who Like Easy Listening.With titles like “The Good Times are Killing Me” you’ve got to love this guy’s attitude.He sings how he feels and he doesn’t feel too great.But the guitars ease the pain, and his gentle side takes a bit of the edge off.They remind me of early Talking Heads, only from the Midwest.What?
Django Rheinhardt’s “Djangology” – This little $6.99 miracle effortlessly brings to you back to a time you never actually went through, except maybe by way of the soundtrack to the Little Rascals.But then that band didn’t have anyone playing an awesome guitar, violin or piano.
Discos Matador – Intended Play 2007, which was a free sampler from Matador records.My wife found this in my bag when I got home from the record store.I didn’t see the lady at the counter put it in.I was too worried about her reaction to what I bought.(As usual, she was totally unimpressed.Those sixty year old Russian women are awesome cool.)The ten or so bands, the high point among them Lavendar Diamond, range from good to excellent, and I’ll be looking forward to their other work.
Disappointments:
LCD Soundsystem’s “The Sound of Silver”: This 2007 “punk disco” Pazz and Jop winner is not a bad album, but I just don’t go to dance clubs, where I suspect it sounds fabulous.
My Morning Jacket’s“Z”: Strange as it may sound at this point, I don’t like this guy’s voice.It undermines some of his tunes, which aren’t bad, but rarely striking.
Challenges/Homework:
Burial’s “Untrue”: Well, I’ve listened to this 2007 electronica Metacritic winner about 20 times and still don’t think I hear it yet.It’s not bad – I’m just a little dense sometimes.
Steinski’s“What Does it All Mean?”: This is like a hip hop version of Nuggets.Steinski samples music and all sorts of other sounds and puts it all together for your dancing pleasure.Fortunately for me, I can sit and enjoy it anyway.
