James and the Giant Bag of CDs

I’m Gonna Say About...1973?:

“You have to get Rock and Roll by Foghat,” said childhood friend Tony. “You’ll love it!”

For some reason, I wasn’t convinced. Tony was sixteen at the time, which would make me about fifteen. A music snob (snot?) even then, I passed. I didn’t say that to him, of course. I nodded, smiled and said something along the lines of Oh yes, I’ll have to do that.

And I don’t have the slightest inclination to check it out. Sorry, Tony! It’s not you, it’s me. Well, actually it is you because you recommended a record I believed then - and believe still - will be awful. (So I guess it is me, after all.)


1983:

“Human Sexual Response is pretty good. You should check it out.”

Friend Mike was in town for a visit, and since my idea of a good time is going to the record store, we ended up at J&R Music World.

I was looking for Human Switchboard’s first record and were in the H section when he showed me the HSR album.

Mike was speaking in his usual laid back - almost indifferent - tone, which undercut any enthusiasm he seemed to have for the record (mine, too). I somehow wormed my way out of it.


1990:

“You have to check out Be Bop Deluxe,” the moving guy said. (I only remember the year because we were moving into our house.)

No, I don’t. When I see phrases like “art rock” and “progressive rock” I fear I’m going to get a lot of technique and not enough joy. That worked when I was fifteen, but I doubt it still will.

I did come close, though.  And I still might, but it’s been nearly thirty years.


Your Music Sucks:

These are just a few of the many incidents over the years of my not taking the musical advice of others. I'm afraid I have profoundly different tastes than the suggester.

Tony was convinced Foghat was undeniably great. This is a variant of the "We've got both types of music here, Country AND Western" syndrome.

Moving man was a BBD enthusiast, and definitely older than Tony, but older folks do form their own  “enthusiasms”, don't they? Like Ted Kaczinsky. And if you partake in someone else's enthusiasm, you’re almost obligated to sign up for the cult.

Mike was just being laid back Mike. When Mike gets enthusiastic I sit up in listen, but it wasn’t that day.

So in these and most other cases, I managed what the young people call a “soft pass”.

However, a hard pass may not have been a bad idea. One opportunity for growth that not enough people experience is to have someone tell them that the music they like is terrible. It’s happened to me many times and has taken many forms.

My parents hating the Beatles.

My Led Zeppelin fans telling me how much the Grateful Dead sucked.

Robert Christgau sh*tting on Jackson Browne and the Allman Brothers.

Before Born to Run came out, more than one person told me they hated “that Jew” Bruce Springsteen. (Clearly, the critique quality varied greatly.)

I’m not saying they were wrong and I was right. I’m saying we were both right. (Well, not the anti-Semites. They were wrong on every possible level.)

So I’m not big on people’s suggestions.

And it’s only gotten worse as I get older because I’m painfully aware that I DONT HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD - on a given day (no hanging around with friends in the middle of the day like a normal fifteen-year-old) or in my lifespan (I'm sixty-two for god sake.)


James:

So along comes Son Michael’s friend James, who I’ve connected with on a couple of levels, music being just one. He burned a CD for Mike once, and because of the time frame it covered (1969-1980) I liked it at least as much as Michael, who was, to his credit, pretty enthusiastic about it.

It gets better.

For Christmas, James gets me and Mrs. Jaybe four vinyl albums! I haven’t bought vinyl in nearly thirty years.

And now he’s lent me a big bag o’ CDs. Good ones, too. There’s got to be thirty or forty in there.

So somehow I’ve got to give these CDs their due. But how am I gonna do that with my World History Project, Decade Project and 2019 piling up in front of me?


But Let Me Digress:

So before I dive into the bag, I should report on a few records I have gotten a chance to listen to.

The year got off in two unexpected directions, one being hip hop, a genre I suspect I’ll never love, but I at least I got reassurance that I can really like it


Pusha T: Daytona (2018)

There’s no getting around it. This is a rap record. And a real good one. The key, for me, is that there has to be music to go with the rapping. Or the music has to be in the rapping. This one is the former.

But the rapping is good, too. The subject matter isn’t family friendly - he’s not going to win any humanitarian awards - but he seems genuine.

A-

“Hard Piano”





Noname: Room 25 (2018)

Here’s another one, this time with a female point of view.  The music is more (warning, annoying musical description word ahead) sinuous and subtle.

Jazzy, smooth and easy on the ear, which brings you back to it again and again. But once you start to really hear the words you have to confront the pain

A-

“Self”


And it's suddenly possible to love hip hop!

Then there are a couple of more female artists - one disappointing (slightly) and one definitely not.



Mitski: Be the Cowboy (2018)

Mrs. Jaybee liked this one right off the bat. And I thought it was an improvement, too, over her last record, which I liked but didn’t love.

But that stentorian voice that, at first, pulls you in also keeps you from really loving it.

B+

But, I've got to admit this video really pulls me in!

“Geyser”



Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer (2018)

I’ve had my eye on this young woman for a while (okay, that sounded really bad, but you know what I mean, right? In case the police come?)

The first spin is all surface and enjoyable enough, but now after at least a dozen listens I hear an artist with some vision, and talent to burn.

Good songwriting. Kind of Prince-y.  But I like her voice more. And a little sci-fi for good measure.

And while I still prefer Kacey Musgraves, this one gives her a run for the money.

A-

“Crazy Classic Life”


So at some point, I'll report on the actual contents of James' Bag of CDs.

Just one last question. What do normal people do with their time?

2016 Leftovers:

Oh, how I long for the days when Donald was just President-Elect and not yet Actual President. Then I only had my fears of what could be – and music – to contend with. Now that I know what will be, I am feeling nostalgic for last year when it was all just theoretical.

Plus, there were a bunch of records I never got around to, what with Car Seat Headrest blowing everything else away and all.

But these records are pretty good to excellent - you might even love some of them - arranged roughly in descending order of quality:


Go-Betweens: The Friends of Rachel Worth

Their first record after a hiatus of several years. So it’s sort of a reunion/comeback album, but with members of Sleater-Kinney as backing band. Sounds weird on paper but they provide perfect support. They drive at least as hard as the GBs of old. And why not? Lindy Morrison was their drummer for the longest time, and she banged it out as well as anyone, female or otherwise.

And it’s interesting to hear this current powerhouse incarnation paired with some of the more melodic songs they’ve ever done. “The Clock” shows how well it all goes together. That insistent beat and hard as nails guitar powering a lovely song.

I’m beginning to think I like the post-reunion GBs more than the pre. I find this record and Oceans Apart more satisfying that anything prior to the 1979-1990 best-of. Robert Forster used to go out of his way to sound out of tune. Now he’s calmed down a bit and the results are striking. Everything comes together here. Highly recommended.

A-

“Magic in the Air”



Robbie Fulks: Upland Stories

Sometimes I think all you need to understand that you’re listening to a great record - besides your ears - is a quiet Saturday morning. That’s was put this one over the goal line for me. I could finally luxuriate in Fulks’ voice, lyrics and tunes all at once.

Nice and easy folk and country  The tunes are perfectly suited to his voice.  The lyrics - when I hear them - are very worthwhile.  And the accompaniment is perfect.

Some great songs came out of 2016 and several of them are here.

A-
“Alabama at Night”



Angel Olsen: My Woman

It’s not just because she slightly resembles Laura Palmer that this is my nomination for the soundtrack for the next Twin Peaks. It’s also that the music has the weird vibe of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. But where Neko Case’s voice cuts through the wilderness like a fog horn, Angel Olsen’s despair is right out of Fire Walk With Me.

Her exaggerated, emotive singing - at a high enough volume to push the needle to red - is a bit too much for Mrs. Jaybee, who asked that I not play it when she’s around. The weirdness even got to me when I heard a perfectly nice song almost ruined by a rumbling distorted guitar underneath the otherwise smooth sound – seemingly calculated to make things unnecessarily weird yet again – until I realized it was the sound my fridge was making. So I'll own that one.

After that, the rest kicked in nicely, with both the songs and the band playing them not letting up. She’s got the talent and the courage to back up her craziness.

A-
“Not Gonna Kill You”



John Prine: In Spite of Ourselves

Remember this guy? Back in the seventies he was considered one of the “New Dylans”, and he made several classic albums to almost back that claim up. Since then he’s continued down his own path, maybe not at the level of his early work, but still better than most.

This time around he does a duet album of country covers, which sounds like a really bad idea. After all, he’s a great songwriter. Why not do his own songs?

But he never had a great voice, and he’s got some great co-lead singers like Lucinda Williams, Iris DeMent, Trisha Yearwood, Connie Smith, Fiona Prine, Melba Montgomery, Emmylou Harris, Dolores Keane and Patty Loveless

The odd thing is that I originally assumed he wrote these songs. Shows what I know about country music. It turns out he only wrote one. But with Prine that’s the type of mistake one can make, he’s that good.

But you know how these things can go. You put it on once or twice, enjoy the “gimmick”  and then file it away because when you get down to it, it’s all a bit dull.

But not here. And it’s all in the execution. He picks high-quality songs that don’t demand too much of his voice, and the co-stars shine.

A grower.

A-
“In Spite of Ourselves”



Mitsky: Puberty 2

She’s got a lovely deep voice. And sounds way more normal that Angel Olsen. But when the music kicks in, she’s like Bjork-lite. And I mean that in a good way, because Bjork gets on my nerves.

These are “insinuating” melodies. They take a little longer to resolve but they do so just in time - before my ADD kicks in.

But because she’s more normal than Angel Olsen, she leaves less of an impression. I think.

B+
“Happy”




Willie Nelson: The Red-Headed Stranger

Years ago, when my mom said what good a voice Willie had, I didn’t take it as a ringing endorsement. I’ve lived to regret that.

I alway thought it was a woman thing to admire a guy’s voice. But it’s becoming more apparent to me that it’s Willie’s voice that really puts a lot of songs across. Stardust, for instance, might have been unbearable by anyone else. Now I can say I really like those songs.

Here, he’s doing country proud. Much more bearable than almost any country album I’ve gotten in years.

But it is about murder, so there’s that.

And there are a lot of melodies here that sound borrowed, but this record is over forty years old so it might just seem that way.

I think this one just got bowled over by the events of 2016. I’ll probably like it more as time goes on.

B+

“Hand on the Wheel”



American Music Club: Everclear

AMC started out as an obscure late-80s alt-rock band and turned into a slightly-less obscure early-90s alt-rock band.

I first heard them way back then while driving home from work. I have no idea what song it was I heard -  it isn’t on this record, or the other one I have by them - but it was off kilter enough to catch my attention.  It started with a minor chord based melody (misery is my favorite company) and then went into an instrumental break dominated by an aggressively strummed acoustic guitar. Pretty cool, I thought.

So I sought them out, first getting Mercury from 1993, which is pretty good - one of those records with a few very striking songs, a few annoying ones and a bunch in the middle.

Everclear is it’s predecessor from 1991. It’s more consistent, more melodic, but like Mitski, not quite strong enough to grab your attention.  Those same pretty melodies and arrangements make it harder to tell some of these songs apart.

They are/were led by singer/songwriter/alcoholic Mark Eitzel, whose voice isn’t pretty but pleasant enough when he’s not straining too much. Then he sounds like Elvis Costello with a sinus infection. (And Elvis already sounds like he’s got one.)

He does strain a couple of times here, but if the band keeps up with him it’s not awful. They pay his tab and drive him home safe.

I get the feeling this one will be a once-in-awhile-go-to record I’ll enjoy quite a bit.

But then I’ll file it away for a while before I need to hear it again.

B+
“Rise”



Elliott Smith: Either/Or

Elliot didn’t suffer fools gladly, himself included, and he’s having none of it here. Lots of songs about drinking and the ramifications thereof. You could find yourself humming a pretty tune with lyrics that will eat through your speakers.

But lurking beneath this is a very Beatle-y sense of melody and arrangement. Which doesn’t fully emerge until XO.

But this one’s got a bracing effect, like a person you respect who’s just thrown a cold drink in your face.  It makes you sit up and take notice. He may be mad, but you know he cares because he really wanted that drink.

Plus it’s got the right vibe for the times. Not giving sh*t. At least some of the time, right? Otherwise we’d all go mad.

B+

“Rose Parade”



James “Blood” Ulmer: Odyssey

Kind of strange: guitar, drums, fiddle, but no bass. And the stuttering rhythms make me wonder if the CD has a scratch in it.

It’s really hard to pin down the genre here. Sometimes jazz, sometimes rock, and weird, weird blues.

And then the gruff, ancient voice. Jimi Hendrix from Hell?  No, more like Purgatory.

B+

“Are You Glad to Be In America?”




At the Drive-In: Relationship of Command

Shrieky, and not at all what I had in mind for Thanksgiving, when I got it, but maybe what I need for the next four years.

Kind of like, Rage Against the Machine (Or was it System of a Down? I’ll have to ask my son.)

At first it nearly unbearable, but that was before the election. Now it sounds about right.

Compressed, focused, powerful. And maybe more than I can take.

B+

“Sleepwalk Capsules”



Gavin Bryars: Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet

Holy sh*t, does this go on. The same musical phrase for nearly an hour and a half. How dare I recommend such a thing? I can’t in good conscience. But I will tell you that I like it a lot.

Absolutely insane in its serene hour-plus of the same refrain over and over and over (and over) again.

At times, it’s quite beautiful, and I’ll probably put it on when no one else is around. You may not have time for all that, though.

B+

“Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet”




Joy of Cooking

This is old-style early-seventies blues played by white people. But that makes it sound really terrible. It’s not that bad. It is quite dusty though. I hear bits of Ani DiFranco, but it’s a little corny. That organ, ugh!

I hear enthusiasm but it’s hard to get past some seventies cliches.

The further back you go, the more time you have to give something.

B-
“Hush”



The Libertines: Up the Bracket

Loud obnoxious British louts. Produced by Mick Jones of the Clash, who was pretty obnoxious himself, so he ought to know.

But me? I don't know yet.

“Up the Bracket”



Music For the Age of Trumpy:

A lot of this and other music will have to get me through the next few years.

Most of the above is quite diverting, but maybe not useful for this moment in time.

Gavin Bryars is meant for “special” occasions.
At the Drive-In are good for rage, but I’m too old for that.
Glassworks is for Solace.
The Chills are Endurance.
The Libertines are F*ck It.
Elliot Smith is F*ck You.  (Not you. But you get the idea.)




And they will all be needed.