There Are (Almost) No Words

I so wanted to approach the end of the musical decade prepared. (I tend to ignore the things I should prepare for, like, oh, global warming, terrorist attacks, and the zombie apocalypse.)

And despite the distractions (WHP, this year's records, James' Bag of CDs, etc.), I was doing a good job of re-listening to records from the last ten years, but as is usually the case I couldn’t maintain the pace. Something always gets in the way.

So I’m now in a mode I’m all too used to - muddling through. Things have been so all over the place that I’ve been tempted to start posting decade related lists. Alas, neither I nor the decade are quite ready yet.

That hasn’t stopped others from posting their “Best of the Decade” lists. Looking them over I see that I’ve gotten a good number of the rock and roll related albums, which means I’m ahead (or rather, less behind than usual) when it comes to my musical safe-zone.

Where I’m woefully behind - as usual - is in that vast majority of the musical universe known as music made by African Americans. The polls are telling me I’ve got Frank Ocean, Solange and, yes, Beyonce in my near future. This, of course, will elicit those strange looks from Mrs. Jaybee and the Jaybee kids that roughly translate into “What the hell are you listening to?” Accent on “you”.

In the meantime, I still find odd gems here and there. The fact that they are nearly wordless this time around makes them easier to grasp.




Arca: Arca (2017)

But not that easy.

Sounding deliberately formless for a while, its structures eventually reveal themselves, even if they’re unique for each track.

There is singing, and words I don’t understand - this young man is from Caracas. And it’s usually a falsetto that makes the gender seem pretty formless, too.  The video below confirms that. Beware, it’s NSFR (Not Suitable for Republicans).

It’s classified, among other things, as hip-hip. If it is, it does as much for that genre as Immunity before it did for dance music.

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“Anoche”




Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma (2010)

Yet another ebb and flow texture album with very little vocalizing as they say. And you’d think after Immunity, Replica, and even Entroducing…, I’d tire of it. But I don’t.

This one’s still sinking in and not quite on the level of the above records, but still very entertaining.

And yet another semi-risque video below. I’d say it was an accident but it’s probably some male gene that - in the old days - would help us find the skin mags at the back of the candy store. It has now mutated for the digital age.

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“Table Tennis”

Seventh Annual Jaybee-bies: Listening to Fiddling While Rome Burns

Best of Times, Worst of Times, Ho-hum:

So how good a year was it (Musically speaking)?

Great! I’m usually complaining about now but this time around I really can’t.

There hasn’t been anything quite as great as last year’s Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest, but 2017 was way more consistent than 2016.

It’s been such a good year musically that even though I didn't get any great holiday (my definition) music, I realize that was probably too much to ask for. In a way, I did get it, just too early, and everything since then has been trying to catch up. Most of it great stuff, too. Just not for the holidays.

It was so good that my son’s record - good as it is - just made the top 10. But I have to grade him hard here, don’t I?

And how bad a year was it?

Well, my mom died in 2017, along with an uncle, aunt and cousin. I made a playlist for her. The effort involved digging into a lot of music from my childhood, which was emotionally draining. So it’s a good thing that the music was there for me.

And, of course, there’s this sociopath trying to destroy the country, but hey, what the fuck, right?

(I Still Suck at) Resolutions:

I still say “awesome” and “let's get on the same page” way too much.

I don’t get 10,000 steps in a day.

I don’t write 1,000 words per day.

I don’t exercise.

I don’t eat enough vegetables.

I eat too many sweets. (Hey, I thought dark chocolate was a health food!)

I could probably cut down on the drinking a bit.

So how can you expect me to follow my musical resolutions, like getting guitar lessons from my son Michael?

So how did I do with last years resolutions?

Buying fewer CDs: A  mp3s: 20  CDs: 9

Buying Current Year Music: B-  Still pretty crappy. Just Randy Newman, American Epic (if that counts, Nick Cave (if that counts), Jens Lekman, the New Pornographers.

2018 Resolution: 

Catching up on the current decade: I’ll be focusing on the 2010s and so may not do so well on the Current Year Music resolutions. Nothing like clashing resolutions to start off a successful year!


Top Ten Albums:

Tied for first:
Innocence Mission: Glow (1995) - Their seeming lightness is overcome by sheer joy.
New Pornographers: Whiteout Conditions (2017) - A big ole box of hooks and snark. 
King Creosote and John Hopkins: Diamond Mine (2011) - Like Glow, this one is so fragile you think it's going to break, but it never does.
Loudon Wainwright III: Older Than My Old Man Now (2012) - An older, wiser man looks death, and even worse - family - in the eye.
Courtney Barnett: The Double EP, A Sea of Split Peas (2013) - She's sly, she's funny, she's a bit insecure, but she's got a great deadpan delivery

6. Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Style (2015) - Some hooks and sounds even more brilliant than Denial, but hampered by airplane-hangar sound.
7. Jon Hopkins: Immunity (2013) - In a genre not reknown for deep emotion, this one wears you down until you hear the heart beating underneath.

8. Jens Lekman: Life Will See You Now (2017) - He writes in a style even my mom would have liked, and happens to be pretty great, too.

9. Todd Snider: Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables (2012) -  Strong medicine, this explains how Trump happened. I'd buy it if he could have explained why Bernie didn't happen.

Tied for tenth:
Death Cab for Cutie: The Open Door EP (2009) - Expert, driven, tuneful music.
Forlorne: The Old and Weathered Glass (2017) - Son of blogger gets even better.
Low: Things We Lost in the Fire: (2001) - This one feels like they know 9/11 is coming and they're already in mourning.
Roots: How I Got Over (2010) - Combines the best of Kanye and Lamar.
Future Islands: Singles  (2014) - Just a shade shy of awful, they manage to do all the right things to make it almost soulful.

Yeah, I cheated. There are fourteen.

Honorable Mentions:
Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and the Jazz All Stars, Kanye West, Miles Davis, Cloud Nothings.

Am I saying that the Top Ten are better music than the Honorable Mentions? Yes, but just for now.


Most Fun: New Pornographers

Most Bracing: Todd Snider

Most Work (But Worth it): Kendrick Lamar, American Epic

Most Work (And Possibly Not Worth It): Nick Cave

Most Surprising: Innocence Mission

Most Disappointing: Sonic Youth: Dirty

Best Artist: Courtney Barnett

Favorite Songs: My favorites can be found here:


Observations:

Pop beat out everything. It beat out hip-hop and jazz. Hip-hop because it’s not one of a go-to genre of mine, and jazz because those records were already familiar to me and thus lose out to the new.

One might think protest music would be the order of the day but sometimes pop - not stupid, empty pop, but instead smart, brainy pop - was the right medicine.

Last year’s music gave me hope. Let’s see how far into 2018 it gets me.

Pushing It: Jon Hopkins' Immunity

I was in a weird mood last month when I decided, out of the blue, that I’d take up Nutboy on another one of his recommendations. Back in 2011 he gave me two (really ten, but these two stood out), only one of which I tried at the time: the quirky but beautiful The Wild Hunt by The Tallest Man on Earth, which ended up being one of my favorites for that year.

You think I’d just dive into his next recommendation,  wouldn’t you? But nooooooo! Ever the pessimist, I argued to myself that one happy result is good, but trying for two is pushing things. So I did nothing.

So, earlier this year, I finally decided - why? I don't know - to give Diamond Mine by King Creosote and Jon Hopkins a shot, and, of course, it’s wonderful.

But here’s where it got weird.  I didn’t even wait to find out if it was wonderful before I decided I’d also get a solo album by Jon Hopkins! It was a pretty well-regarded record and all, but there are a lot of those, so why take the chance? Perhaps it was an act of penance for not going right to Diamond Mine when Nutboy first recommended it.

So two may be pushing it, but sometimes what you need to do is push.




Jon Hopkins: Immunity (2013)


It turns out that Jon Hopkins on his own is markedly different from what he and King Creosote do together. Or so it seems.

It’s hard to hear on first listen how this and Diamond Mine have the same person on it, in whatever capacity. So I went back to Diamond Mine and began to notice how - although the King’s gentle vocals are out front - what’s holding them up isn’t the expected acoustic guitar or piano, but rather the unexpected synthesizer or found sounds of Jon.

So while Immunity starts out sounding like generic dance/electronica, it gradually grows a soul. And that’s the key to this music. Either it should - below the cold brooding surface - have some humanity, or come up with a damn good argument for not having it. (Aphex Twin, for instance, although I'm not sure I'm convinced.)

On this record that humanity is revealed both over the course of each individual track and the album as a whole.

It’s a very worthwhile journey, and one of my favorites of the year. It also works like a charm when you go out for a run, or when you’re trying to do some thinking.

And at the end - surprise! - King Creosote joins Jon for the beautiful send-off. But it would be understandable if you barely noticed him. Like Jon Hopkins on Diamond Mine, he’s in the background.

But he adds the crucial detail - a human voice.

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Chronicles of Nutboy: 2011 Redux

Nutboy tells me I'm full of shit, but he’s about to buy a round, so I don’t argue. 

He goes on, telling me I'm not as fully engaged in the zeitgeist as I should be. My words. His exact words were more along the line of “Your top 2011 album list sucks. You've got exactly one album from 2011 on it.  What the hell is that? Complete bs.”

Well, that is the title of the blog, I'm thinking. But again, I say nothing. 

“You don’t really tell people about current music.  You go off on your little educational excursions, or you get stuff that’s decades old.  He’s right, of course.  After posting a song on Facebook once, a friend said thanks for the oldies.

“And when you do try to be current, you’re still a year behind, what, with your research.”  He spits out this last word with such vehemence that he starts to cough. And now, reminded of his own thirst, walks off to buy the round.

I want to object, but all I can muster is “I’ll have a Sam.”  First things first. If he’s going to insult me, he may as well pay for it.

But I do take this time to mull over his words, which he has every right to say. After all, his 2011 album list is made up entirely of, get this, albums from 2011.

I see him talking to the bartender, sharing a laugh, and I can’t help thinking it’s at my expense.  When he comes back with the beers I half expect to see a napkin with the bartender’s 2011 list on it.

But, hey, I’m not eighteen anymore. I can’t just sit in my room listening to current music all day. Who has the time, or the money? These days I need a buffer. I look to Metacritic, Pazz and Jop, Robert Christgau, etc. to separate the genuine talent from the hype, and distinguish what sounds good at this moment from what will sound great for years to come.

And it’s not to help me choose one record over another.  It’s to choose one record out of a thousand others. The Village Voice 2011 Pazz and Jop listed over 1,700 records, and that’s just ones that at least one person liked. When you add in what didn’t get mentioned, there’s got to be many times that number. So there isn’t enough time to listen to everything even once. 

I react to that daunting reality by doing my “research”. Nutboy deals with it by just diving in.

And I’m kind of slow taking in records to begin with, often not knowing whether I like something or not until the tenth listen at least. So, by the time I recommend something to you, dear reader, it’s gone through quite the gauntlet of opinion.

But I have to do this not only because I don’t have the time.  It’s also because I don’t have the time left. I’m closer to the end than I am to the beginning of…. you know, life.  So can you fault me if I want to spend it wisely?

Nutboy’s having none of it. His point is that by the time I’ve done all my research, it’s a year later. Part of pop music’s attraction is that you can enjoy it as part of a community. Now.

Nutboy’s a jump-into-the-pool-headfirst kind of guy, maybe even before he knows there’s water there.  I’m the type to check for water. Twice. Even at the beach.

And the other thing is that by focusing on great albums I probably miss a lot of great moments from the not-quite-great albums. So I’m guessing my method is more efficient – you know, more good songs per dollar or hour, depending on what’s more important to you - but Nutboy’s gets more good songs overall.

So who’s to say who’s right?  Which one of us has the better batting average? I don’t know.

  

But here’s his list, along with my reasons for holding out:

#1. 21 by Adele

Nutboy’s comment: Flat out great !! Cap G. 

Jaybee: And the world would seem to agree. Nutboy called this one way back in the spring when we first got to know each other. I’m mortified that I still haven’t heard a single one of these songs all the way through. It’s not like I haven’t had the chance.  I’m surrounded by the damned thing. And that’s why I haven’t gotten it.  I assume that I’m going to hear it ad nauseum anyway.  But I haven’t yet.  Something’s got to give. I should get it, but I’m usually underwhelmed by popular records.  Championed by Americana stations, who I’ve found to be pretty tone deaf.

2. El Camino by The BlackKeys

NB: By far the best rock n roll record of the year.  “Little Black Submarines” is fantastic.

JB: It’s showing midway up on a lot of year end lists. I’m holding back for now.

3. The Whole Love byWilco

JB: I’m very ambivalent about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and I make a point of distrusting any band that is popular on Americana stations.

4. Bad As Me by Tom Waits

JB: I like Mule Variations, but Waits has got so many records out I don’t know what to get - this well regarded record or something more deserving in the back catalog.

5. The King is Dead by The Decemberists

JB: I almost went for The Crane Wife, got scared off by The Hazards of Love and just don’t know if I’d like this other Americana favorite.

6. Wasting Light by The Foo Fighters

JB: Mrs. Jaybee and Jaybee Jr (Michael, actually) really like this record, but I’m not warming up to it.  I don’t hear them listening to it now, either.

7. Ceremonials by Florence And Machine

JB: Another one I don’t trust because I just see it around so much.

8. Dye It Blonde by The Smith Westerns

JB: Michael loves this record too. It’s got an early seventies feel to it that I have trouble placing.  10cc possibly, but like them I’m not in love.

Nutboy: And finally, two hidden gems:

9. Diamond Mine by Jon Hopkins with King Creosote

JB: Hmmmm, interesting. The sheer fact that I never heard of it gets me curious…

10. Wild Hunt by Tallest Man on Earth

Ditto. Another obscure one that’s I’m thinking about.

I’ve no doubt that all these reservations have prevented me from getting some great music. Next time I see Nutboy I’ll be asking him about what he thinks the downside is to his approach. What records didn’t work out for him?

The bottom line, though, is that we’ve both found our “method”. If it wasn’t working for us, we’d be a lot more jaded by now. We’re both still passionate about music. Both having a good time.  Both feeling younger than we have a right to feel.