My 2011: Fall and the Holidays

For me, Thanksgiving is a critical time of the year formusic. I like to remember the holidays for a given year with a very specific musical background.  And when the music is just okay, so are the holidays.  Sorry family and friends, it just seems to be so.

Over the years, I've had some brilliant ones - 2007, for instance, with Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and the Go Betweens Oceans Apart- and some bad ones - well, let's not go there.  So I try to learn from a bad year and play it safe.  And with a couple of gift cards left I decided to cast a wide net when I put my order into barnesandnoble.com.

I knew that, at some point, I'd get that one Nick Drake album I'd missed, especially since he's such a sure bet. So I finally got Bryter Layter, his second record.  But I have to admit that, at first, I was not happy.  Nick's usually my morning depression go-to guy, but here he's a bit peppier than usual.  Too many horns, lush strings and back-up singers made it hard to warm up to, but that's all more than balanced out by what I go to Nick for: beautiful, sad and ultimately uplifting songs. And here Nick has some of his very best.  Otherwise, why would I play it almost every morning since I got it?  A-

The documentary “Who Is Harry Nilsson?”  rekindled my interest in him, and I decided to go for  NilssonSchmillson, which is always showing up on All Time Best lists.  And as is the case when you actually buy such records, the first impression is less than ecstatic. This stems from already knowing chunk of the music already, sometime too well.  (Jesus, did I really need to hear "Without You" again, and in Spanish, too?)    But it’s also got several of my favorite Nilsson songs – "Gotta Get Up", "The Moonbeam Song" and "Jump into the Fire". The bonus disc has got several more tracks that are well worth it, except for the annoying commercials at the end.  (I’m seeing a lot more if this lately.  Why?)  B+, but I think it's going to go up.

Eric Dolphy lurks in the background of one of my favorite John Coltrane records, and I love his Berlin Concerts.   Out To Lunch is his last major record before his premature death in 1964, and it’s got all the Dolphy-isms I enjoy so much – mainly the solos that seem to jump out perpendicularly from the themes and melodies.  An ex-friend (God, they’re really adding up, aren't they?) knew him. “Eric was a such sweet guy”  I have no reason to doubt this, but then again, said ex friend still owes me money.  Probably owed Eric, too.  (Unsolicited advice – never room with a musician.)  Anyway, the record is really good, and I expect I’ll be hearing new things from it for a long, long time.  File Under Education

The leadoff and title track of Against Me!’s New Wave is one of the most bracing punk rock songs I’ve heard in years.  It’s a shame that the rest of the record just can’t quite keep up.   Nice and loud, earnest, political (I love how they make the lyric “write that song, in response to military aggression!” actually sound great)   I like these guys so much that I want to like the record more.  I’ll check back in a few months to say if I’ve fallen in love or not.  B+

But I couldn't wait for this order to arrive so I ended up back at Other music (where else?), where I find Grandaddy’s The Software Slump (used, of course) and, of all things, Christmas music!  

And by whom, you might ask?  F*cking Sufjan Stevens of course. (Three albums and a total of seven CDs, which must make him Artist of Jaybee’s Year, if such an award existed.)  

Sufjan was putting out Christmas EPs for his friends for five years in a row, and he finally put all of them together into one box - Songs for Christmas - where I could pick up a used copy.  And it turns out to dominate the holiday music this year.  Definitely one of the best holiday albums around. A-

Grandaddy makes a kind of space music, but the space in question is California.  Jason Lytle's vocals bear a slight resemblance to Flaming Lips front-man Wayne Coyne.  And even some interest in technology and robots.  Jason seems a little more pro-robot than Wayne, but maybe is even more sad. It's strange that Software would lead off  with an eight minute dirge.  But it works, and I find myself still listening to its deft balance of snap crackle and pop.  After several weeks, I'm still playing it. Another maybe album of the year?  A

Amazon keeps tempting me with their $5 mp3, and I succumbed again, first with Brad Paisley's American Saturday Night, which comprises part two of my investigation into whether modern country music does anything for me at all.   The trouble with music downloads is that you can forget that you have them.  Thus my play count so far is only 1.

And then with A Tribe Called Quest's Anthology. I snuck in a listen early Christmas morning.  For hip hop, this is surprisingly listenable and tuneful.  Again, only a single play.  I hate when that happens. 

Part of the reason for the low play count of those mp3s is that I got Grant McLennan's Horsebreaker Star for Christmas. Nutboy (link) was pushing this record hard.  I held off because of the different versions floating around.  Nutboy’s got the single CD domestic version, so naturally the old Jaybee one-upmanship comes out and I have to get the original two-CD 24 song import.  These last-CDs-of-the-year are really hard to judge.  Right now, it's sitting at a B+, but may move up.

All in all, an excellent season.

Next: 2011 in Sum

Secret History: 1972

I’ve heard it said that the music you’re listening to when you’re fifteen is the music you’ll be listening to for life. I didn’t think this was true in my case, but then why do I have more records released in 1972 than in any other year?

We're truly in the album era now. While it's hard for everyone to agree on what the real masterpieces are, there are countless very worthwhile albums. And they're all over the place.


Brilliance:

Here are my picks for the masterpieces:

Paul Simon's first solo album is a great record. No, I mean it. It’s one of the greatest records of the seventies. It's not just one of those Grammy winning records that nobody really listens to. It’s warm and wise, like sitting by the fire in the middle of winter.

I know I just finished telling you about how great "Blue" was, but now I'm telling you that I like "For the Roses" even more. It was my first Joni Mitchell album, and it took a few listens to follow the melodies, what with Joni swooping up and down all the time. This is an ambitious, arty record, and I'm sure there are people out there who hate it. I think it's brilliant. Songwriting doesn't get any better than "Woman of Heart and Mind" and "Blonde in the Bleachers".

Do I really need to tell you about Steely Dan? God, I hope not, but let me at least steer you away from the later lounge jazz records, to their earlier jazzy-but-still-rock period. Their first few albums are so good that the very first one - "Can’t Buy a Thrill" - kind of gets lost in the shuffle. It's so good, in fact, that it's worth hearing "Do It Again" and "Reelin' in the Years" - two of the more overplayed songs ever - all over again


Brilliance Recalled:

Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, Volume Two is one of the greatest, well, greatest-hits records ever made. It's got the second wave of great Dylan songs along with a few unreleased songs. "Down in the Flood" is my favorite.

Another one of the greatest greatest-hits records is the "Kink Kronikles" (link) Like the Dylan record, this one scoops us some obscure album tracks along with the better known songs from that particular era.

The triple album “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is not for the casual record buyer. It is perfect for someone determined to learn more about bluegrass and early country music. “Dark As a Dungeon” is my favorite, but maybe you prefer “Tennessee Stud”. Or the title song. The singing and playing are stellar.


Near Perfect:

Young Bonnie Raitt sings as well as Linda Rondstadt and plays a mean slide guitar. Her music is more bluesy, and her taste in covers is better, too. "Give it Up" is probably the best record from the early part of her career. At first, I didn’t love this record, thinking I’d be getting pretty, when what I got was tough bluesy and soulful. Good then, and even better today, it’s aged quite gracefully, thank you very much.

I guess Pete Townsend was getting bored being in one of the greatest rock and roll bands ever, so he put out a sort of solo record “Who Came First”, which picks up right where side one of “Who’s Next” leaves off. “There once was a note pure and easy…” He’s got several friends, like Ronnie Laine, helping out, including on vocals. This is one of the sweeter records to come out in the seventies.

Not to be outdone, John Prine goes in the opposite direction with his second album, “Diamonds in the Rough”. Previously he used a small country combo. Now it’s just him and a couple of guitars. It’s not exactly pretty, but I find it riveting. "The Great Compromise" is one of the best Vietnam songs ever, but for me “Rocky Mountain Time” is the highlight.

It took for the movie soundtrack of "Super Fly" for me to become aware of Curtis Mayfield. (I thought the Chambers Brothers wrote "People Get Ready".) The title tune has some of the most insightful and saddest lyrics I've ever heard. One of the best soundtracks ever.

David Bowie ch-ch-ch-changes so much that it’s easy to forget that one of his best albums was "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". “Five Years” still sounds great.

Nick Drake’s last record before his death – “Pink Moon” - may be quieter than his others, but it’s no less powerful. Short, lovely, and in retrospect, so very sad.


Well Worth It:

Do you remember the song that goes like this?:

It's sooooo Hard,
It's sooooo hard,
It's so hard,
Livin' without you

No? Well I guess that's what I'm here for. I finally found the song - written by Randy Newman, by the way - on "Manfred Mann’s Earth Band". You remember them, don't you? Let me help. In the sixties, they had the hit "Do Wa Diddy Diddy". In the later seventies, they went completely over the top with a cover of Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light". This is about half way in between, and seems to balance it all very nicely.

Stevie Wonder goes out on his own again with "Talking Book", and the results keep getting better. “I Believe When We Fall in Love” is my fave.

Eric Anderson was one of those poor folkies left in Dylan’s wake. He’d put out some good songs but never quite got any real notice, until “Blue River”. He achieves just the right balance of folk and rock. It’s got that old favorite “Is it Really Love at All?”.

I'm more a fan of the crazy/mystical Van Morrison more than the seemingly oxymoronic "soulful Irishman". "St Dominick’s Preview" kinda combines the two. And for that reason, it's a bit schizophrenic, what with a few pop/soul numbers surrounded by the long, strange "Listen to the Lion" and "Almost Independence Day". Guess which ones I like best? How about you?

After all these years, I didn’t think Bob Weir’s “Ace” would hold up. But Weir was savvy enough to open with something that’s got bass and drums going for it. The Dead couldn’t always be counted on for fast. He makes the most of his limited vocal range. “Playing in the Band” shows that they could still make compelling music in the studio, and “Cassidy” not so much a song as it is a miracle.

Side one of Jerry Garcia’s first solo album gets all the notice, but has anyone else noticed the absolutely transcendent “To Lay Me Down” tucked away amongst the weird stuff on side two? Not a perfect record, but a really good balance of good old songwriting and experimentalism.

Todd Rundgren’s “Something Anything” is one of the first one man does it all albums. Mostly, anyway, but it’s quite an achievement. A double album of pop songs and “fun in the studio”. It has a number of hits, like “Hello, It’s Me”, “I Saw the Light” and “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”. But it’s also got hidden gems like “The Night the Carousel Burned Down” and “The Viking”. My only Todd record, but I think I got the best one. Now if he only got it down to a single record, we’d have a certified classic.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the Steve Miller Band started out with “Fly Like an Eagle” or “The Joker”. In fact, he goes back as far as 1967 along with band mate Boz Scaggs. Steve could always be counted on to put at least one radio ready song on each of his albums. Luckily, he pulled a bunch of them together for “Anthology”, which covers 1968 to 1972. My only qualm about it is that it completely skips their first record. But I like it more than anything he made since.

Steve Goodman could always write tuneful and funny songs, but not always at the same time. I didn’t care for his first record, and his third record is good enough, but his second, “Somebody Elses Troubles” is just right. Clever funny tuneful emotional. And it’s got “The Dutchman”.

On “Manassas”, Stephen Stills redeems himself, albeit with lots of help from Chris Hillman and Al Perkins. They'd go on to totally tank with their second album, but here they put it all together.

Side One of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Don Quixote” is just great. Side two slides a bit, and it’s where you spot his big weakness. His music is just too nice. The anti-war “Patriot’s Dream” is a good example. Whereas Dylan’s “Masters of War” comes out and says he hopes they die, Gord goes into a long explanation as to why war sucks. But overall, very pretty, and side one’s got some real feeling to it.


Just Out of Reach:

Then there are those records that are lodged somewhere in memory but no longer within ear’s reach.

First, there’s Yes’s "Fragile", one of many casualties of the broken 8 track player syndrome. I recall this being pretty good, albeit in it’s shuffled, truncated 8 track kind of way. They would go completely over the top later that year with “Close to the Edge”, but because they could write tunes it’s a hard record to not like.

Unlike Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”, which is EASY to hate, even though I like it. But man, they had no taste at all.

When I moved out of my parents house, I took a lot of records with me, some of which my brother could have argued belonged to him. (Perhaps because they, well, belonged to him.) One I couldn’t slip past him was the Flying Burrito Brothers “Last of the Red Hot Burritos”. I’m still trying to track down a reasonably priced copy of to see if it’s really as great as I remember. Al Perkins pedal steel replaces Sneaky Pete’s country licks with rock and roll. Different, maybe not better, but to my mind, just as good.

But this is all too long ago. Take out your copies and tell me what you think.


It Was a Very Good Year (Sort of):

I don’t see a lot of crowd pleasers here. That’s just because it’s the seventies, not the sixties, when such things happened to be brilliant, too.

It was more like the year when you began to play records in your room alone. And who could blame you? If you went outside, you were liable to notice that Nixon was getting re-elected. So these records provided me with some solace from that, not to mention the emotional turmoil that haunts a fifteen year old.

So tell me now, what got you through that year?

Secret History: 1970

In January 1970, well meaning but silly people were asking “Are the Sixties over?”. I know. I was one of them. And smart asses were answering “Technically, yes.” The real question was whether it mattered or not.

So the prior decade had barely ended, and everyone was already prepared to engage in sixties nostalgia. But it’s years like 1970 that make me question the need. Putting aside the obvious choices for great albums, like “Plastic Ono Band”, “After the Goldrush” and “Moondance”, we’ve still got:

The Velvet Underground are getting tired of making great music and not such great money, so they set out to make “Loaded”, their fourth, and most accessible record. Link. They partly succeed, making accessible music, even if nobody accessed it, except for “Rock and Roll” and “Sweet Jane”. So Lou Reed upped and left, and it’s ALL YOUR FAULT! I hope you’re happy.

Meanwhile on the West coast, the The Grateful Dead have decided to completely reinvent themselves with “Workingman's Dead”. Anyone who had just gotten over the electric mayhem of “Live/Dead” must have been shocked to hear the acoustic guitars and harmony of “Uncle John’s Band”. And over the course of the album, the Dead prove that this is no fluke, and with the help of lyricist Robert Hunter, practically invent Americana. Okay, the Band got there first, but the Dead were their worthy counterparts. I hated “Casey Jones” when I first heard it on the radio, where it just sounded slow and repetitive. But now, hearing it the end of this record, it sounds like a summing up of past and present. I don’t know how “Black Peter” managed to not become a classic. (Love those death songs!) This record has some of the best songwriting of the era.

Having just finished throwing jazz into an uproar with “Bitches Brew”, Miles Davis settles down into simply making a great record. With John McLaughlin on guitar, playing rock and roll, “A Tribute to Jack Johnson” is the record I think Miles was trying to make in the first place. It’s shorter and more to the point. And I’ll take it over “Bitches Brew” any day.

On “Five Leaves Left” - Nick Drake’s first album - a gentle soul distinguishes himself from the other singer-songwriters by his use of (non-syrupy) strings and the occasional jazz chord. And not emoting too much. What a relief after hearing Jackson Browne always telling us how miserable he was. (A hundred times better than Kenny Rankin, too.) Brits have more class than that. But then they die.

While they’re not white hot like on some prior records Creedence Clearwater Revival still make their next to last album “Pendulum" pretty great. Hidden away on it are the heartrending "Hideaway" and "Just a Thought", two of my favorite John Fogerty songs. And believe it or not, it’s nearly all over.

For a very short time after leaving Traffic, Dave Mason managed to avoid sounding like a lounge act. Luckily a tape recorder was on, and “Alone Together” is one of those AOR solo albums that is well worth the time. (My vinyl looks like vomit, by the way. How about yours?) Dave never quite got it this together again, alone or otherwise, even if he did make more money. The guitar playing is effortless, and I love the intermix of acoustic and electric. But it was all downhill from here.

It might seem that David Bowie could never resist a gimmick, but if you catch him early enough – pre- Ziggy Stardust let’s say - he’s satisfied just writing great songs. “Hunky Dory” is proof. (link) Jump in.
The critical consensus on Paul Kantner’s “Blows Against the Empire” is that it sucks, but I disagree. The lyrics are pretty weak, but Jerry Garcia brings the guitar, and David Crosby manages to not be a complete jackass. Ok, so Paul’s politics sound a bit dated. I still like the toons.

Before fame, but with several classics, Joni Mitchell’s “Ladies of the Canyon” isn’t quite on par with her very best, but it’s definitely worthwhile. For several songs, Joni manages to avoid her feared vocal swoops and leaps, as well as the background chorus’s reverent “oooohhhs” and “ahhhs”. She starts off with “Monday Morgantown” “For Free”, “Conversation” and the title song, and all I can say is Wow! And I’m not being ironic. She’s combining great melody, words and voice, and appears unstoppable. Then things bog down a bit with a few songs that involve DJs, priests and Graham Nash, in descending order. But Joni has a big ending planned for us, with “Woodstock”, “Big Yellow Taxi”, and “Circle Game”.

I should hate the slick “Time Passages”, but I love it. I should hate the slicker “Year of the Cat”, but I just don’t care. And I wouldn’t blame you for hating Al Stewart’s “Love Chronicles”, which came way before either of them, but I don’t think you will. The highlight is the nearly side long title song about a young man's sexual coming of age. By the way, that’s Jimmy Page on guitar, I guess in case that Zeppelin thing doesn’t work out for him. This album can also be found as part of the double disc “The Early Years”, which has many other great early moments.

Randy Newman pioneered the “so hateful you’ve got to like him” style of songwriting, and “12 Songs” is as unsentimental as it gets, featuring stalkers, racists and perverts. The best line comes early: “I’ll talk to strangers if I want to, I’m a stranger, too.” This is the most rock and roll – as opposed to rock - of Randy’s records, and very strong stuff. It’s also one of his best. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

And what the hell was going on with the Dead, anyway? Not content to put out one great album this year, they follow up with “American Beauty”, and suddenly, they’re songwriters. And singers, too! (Okay, not really.) Even Phil Lesh, whose “Box of Rain” is one of the most beautiful songs of the decade. If “American Beauty” is not quite as great as "Workingman's Dead", that's just fine with me. How many records are? My mom - not a Dead head, in case you were wondering - freely offered her approval of "Ripple", but "Broke Down Palace" is even better.

With Dolly Parton being such a “character” now, it’s hard to remember how way back when, she was one of the great singer-songwriters in country music. “The Best of Dolly Parton” (1970) is the proof, in the form of ten nearly perfect songs from the late sixties. Another master of melody with a soaring voice, her stories hold you to the end. What a beautiful soul.


So you see the world didn’t come to an end, musically or otherwise, when the sixties ended. But, as you can see from the abovementioned records, it became a little harder to find great music.

When I see a documentary from the seventies, the hair styles and fashion tend to make me, and I’ll bet you, want to run screaming from the room. And yet, while I would never suggest that Sixties music didn’t burn very brightly, I still admire the steady glow of the music of the Seventies.

More to come.

Decade: 2007 - Highway '07 Revisited

Since I’ve already done a roundup of 2007 and 2008, I’m just going to give them a quick once over to see if I’ve changed my mind about anything. (Have I ever?)

Here's the original post for 2007.

There’s not much to add, except to say that Neko Case, while not outdoing the Go Betweens, did outlast them. While it clear from the start that “Oceans Apart” was great, “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” hung back and slowly took over. Once it kicked in, we played it for weeks straight. It’s definitely one of the best of that year, and of the decade, too.

The other Go Betweens record – “Spring Hill Fair” - turned out to be pretty good, but not great. Sometimes the GBs –at least the Robert Forster part - are all elbows. It’s on “Oceans Apart” that they grow wings.

So the revised “Great List” stands as:

The Go Betweens – “Oceans Apart”

Neko Case – “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood”

PJ Harvey – “Stories of the City, Stories of the Sea”

And the “Really Goods” now are:

Nick Drake – Pink Moon

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Featuring Eric Clapton

Thelonious Monk – “Solo Monk”

The remainder of that year’s music more or less stays where it was in my original estimation, although some records will continue to swim around inside my brain, only to surface years from now, at the oddest times.

If I’m lucky.

More Morning Music

People are always (never) saying to me, "Hey Jaybee, thanks for those suggestions for morning music you gave last year. You've given me a reason to get out of bed! (The story of my life.) Ya got any more?"

How can I refuse?

What follows are several more records that can get you through those critical morning hours between say 6 and 9am on a Saturday or Sunday morning when you're asking yourself what the hell am I doing up this early? Don't worry, you're just turning into one of those old geezers who prowls the neighborhood in search of empty soda cans. (By the way, there is a "weeding the garden" ensemble – short-shorts, tucked in dress shirt, dress shoes and knee high white socks - in your future.) Before you get to that point, let me help you delude yourself into thinking you're still young and vital.

Frank Sinatra: In the Wee Small Hours-

As a committed Frankie skeptic, I held out quite a long time before getting this CD. And for once, I can take him. Here is Frankie the wuss. What a relief! For my money, it beats the hell out of Frankie the obnoxious tough guy who rock and roll damned near made obsolete. Yeah, you heard me. I strongly recommend it, but only for when you're feeling strong enough for the both you. Frankie's having a rough time of it.

Mississippi John Hurt: Rediscovered

If you like acoustic Hot Tuna, you will probably enjoy this. His voice is gentler than Jorma's and his guitar playing is just as good.
Now playing: Mississippi John Hurt - Candy Man
via FoxyTunes

Neil Young: Harvest Moon

I find this record somewhat over-rated, but it will appease the spouse. And hidden at the end of it is the haunting, ten minute "Natural Beauty".

Nick Drake "Pink Moon":

There isn't as much orchestration on this record as there was on his first one. Its starkness is probably due to the fact that Nick was to commit suicide not long after this. And yet, the music itself is not despairing. He's just going gently into that good night.
Now playing: Nick Drake - Pink Moon
via FoxyTunes

Bob Dylan: Time Out of Mind

Some people might place this on their Middle of the Night Music list, but I like it early in the morning. It speaks of hurt, regret and pain. Perfect for your depression. What better way to start the day?

Scott Joplin: Complete Rags

It might seem a bit jaunty for first thing in the morning, but in fact, it's very nearly perfect for it. Ok, maybe 9am instead of 7.

Now playing: Scott Joplin - The Easy Winners
via FoxyTunes

Thelonius Monk: Solo Monk

A more modern version of the above.

Django Rheinhardt: Djangology

At times you might think your listening to the soundtrack to the Little Rascals, but no, the guitar is too intricate, the violin too melodic, and the piano is giving them both a run for their money. From France, of all places.

Now playing: Django Reinhardt - I Saw Stars

Okay, now that I've got you this far, you're on your own. I can handle middle of the night and early morning, but haven't got the slightest idea what to do about daytime.

But I'm working on it.

My 2007

Around now, a lot of young people are reveling in the year-end best-of reviews of music and pop culture in general. Debating siblings and friends about what album was the best one released in a given year is a fun way to participate in the culture. It used to be for me, at least.

But at my advanced age, I can’t possibly keep up with all of the musical developments of the year. There are just too many artists to keep track of to be able to weed out the great from the merely worthwhile. And the term “worthwhile” takes on an added urgency when you realize that you don’t have many “whiles” left as you used to. So the things you spend it on – musical or otherwise – better be, well, worth it.

So I’ve left 2007 pretty much alone, letting the dust settle on it before jumping in. Instead, I’ve begun to dip into 2006, along with any other pretty colors that may have momentarily attracted my limited attention span.

So I have to define the musical year differently. My 2007 is not based on what was released this year. It’s based on what I either bought or was given. So it couldn’t be anything like yours.

Anyway, here’s mine:

Loved Them:

I’m not yet sure if either of these CDs is hall of fame material yet, but the Go-Betweens go deep and Polly Jean has a high on base average.

Oceans Apart-The Go Betweens (2006)
Beauty, pain, death, tears, and maybe forgiveness. Guitars, too. Never heard of them? Don’t get me started…

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Now playing: The Go-Betweens - Darlinghurst Nights
via FoxyTunes

Stories of the City, Stories of the Sea-PJ Harvey (2000)
I’ve gotten two of her earlier albums: “Rid of Me”, which is like knocking off a bottle of scotch on a Saturday night with a psychotic/nymphomaniac, and “To Bring You My Love”, which is like spending Sunday morning with her, after she’s found religion. Both can be bracing experiences, but aren’t my idea of fun. Here, you get hit with the chiming guitars right out of the gate, and she’s telling you how she’s got to get away from the violence. So she moves from England. To New York. Before 9/11. So her timing's not great, but the important thing is that she’s upped the tune factor, and cut back slightly on the histrionics. The result is bracing, but in a fun way.

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Now playing: PJ Harvey - You Said Something
via FoxyTunes

Really Good:

These are very entertaining records that might yet move up to Love over time.

Pink Moon - Nick Drake (1972)
This is sparer than “Five Leaves Left” – no strings, just Nick and his guitar - maybe because he’s closer to the end.

Solo Monk - Thelonius Monk (1964)
If you don’t know what a great composer he was, you could mistake him for a Scott Joplin for the 60s. You might even think he’s hitting the wrong notes, but he’s just re-writing things as he goes.

Still Getting My Ears Around:

Egypt - Youssou N’dour (2004)
This is the guy (yes, the guy) who sings at the end of “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. He’s a superstar in his native Senegal, and I quite liked his album “Nothing’s In Vain”, but I’m not even close to getting to the bottom of this very pleasant mixture of Middle Eastern and African music.

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case (2006)
This is pretty and spooky at the same time - like a country music soundtrack to “Twin Peaks”. And when spread out over a humongous playlist in Windows Media Player, each song stands out. I’m just not yet convinced that all the individual parts add up to a great CD.

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Now playing: Neko Case - Hold On, Hold On
via FoxyTunes

The Discount Bin, or Hey, at $6.99, how can you go wrong?

Aoxomoxoa - The Grateful Dead (1969)
The songwriting is beginning to strengthen, and they never sounded so muscular in the studio. Only one laughable track. (Hey, they were on drugs at the time.) And the bonus jam tracks are very good.

Disappointments:

Neon Bible - Arcade Fire (2007)
Actually quite good, just not as powerful as it’s trying to be. And a letdown after "Funeral".

Live at the Apollo - James Brown (1962)
I really shouldn’t complain. It is James Brown live after all. But it’s short, so a greatest hits collection (like “30 Golden Hits”, or the 4 CD box set “Start Time” would be better. Definitely not bad, but sometimes live albums make you feel like you had to be there.

Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio (2006)
It’s got tons of sound, and is occasionally striking, but too often is just a lot of noise. And the singing isn’t good enough. But I’ll keep trying.

What I Got for Christmas:

This amounts to a subset of “Still Getting My Ears Around”. This is where I ask for gifts that I’d feel too guilty just getting for myself. There’s usually some experimentation here, which can be cause, during the cold winter months, for joyful immersion or deep depression as I ask myself just what kind of weird music I’m getting myself into. But as our use of the word “weird” is merely a reflection of our own provincialism, I carry on proudly, feeling superior to all around me. And isn’t that the point of life?

So I won’t know what I’ve got until at least March.

Spring Hill Fair - The Go Betweens (1986)
Will this be yet another classic from the Australian band of the 80s? Yeah, you heard me. You can keep your INXS, Men at Work, etc.

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton – (1966)
Bitchin’ blues guitar from a post-Yardbirds and pre-Cream Clapton, and crappy singing from Mayall. Next year, I’ll go back to the originals that are covered here.

Brazil Classics, Volume 4: The Best of Tom Ze (1970s)
Gentle, but strange Tropicalia.

The Rough Guide to Youssou N’dour and Etoile Dakar (1980s)
A long vacation in Senegal.

I suppose that I ought to have a “Bad” category, but I rarely feel like I’ve gotten something that falls into that category. This may seem like the denial of a grim reality – bad music – but I guess I’m just too pig headed. I’ll force myself to listen to something over and over until I get it. Sometimes I never do. It’s great!

I got fourteen CDs altogether this year, and by my rough count, they average out to about 20 years old each. This gives the lie to my blog’s description, which refers to “current pop music”. But let’s face it, you don’t think in terms of years anymore, anyway. You think in terms of decades. Ouch!

It was an average year. I wish that there were a few more “Love”s. The great years are the ones where I get a truckload of music and five or six Loves rise to the top. I find that, unlike most things, more music is better.

Well, that was my 2007. How was yours?

Morning Music

It’s Saturday, or Sunday morning, around seven am, maybe even six.

You find yourself getting up earlier and earlier as the years go by. This is something old men do. (Old women have far too much sense.) You might even venture into the front yard to pull up the weeds. That’s fine - just don’t put on the white tube socks.

Anyway, you’re the only one up, and you’d like to hear some music, but don’t want to disturb anyone. You’re considerate like that. So, what to put on? The records below should be more than enough to get you to when someone else wakes up. There are definitely others that fit the bill, but these are the ones that have worked for me lately.

Really, Really Early, and Just for You: Yo Yo Ma – Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello

My nearly complete lack of knowledge about classical music doesn’t stop me from recommending this 2 CD set. I will merely attempt avoiding complete embarrassment by not trying to describe the music in any way, except to say that the title is accurate, and that it will help you feel like a civilized human being again, assuming you need a little shoring up in that department.

You don’t need to play the whole thing in one sitting. It’s just there for you when you need it.

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Now playing: Johann Sebastian Bach - Prelude
via FoxyTunes

Early, But the Neighbors Won’t Mind: Miles Davis – Kind of Blue

You’ve been telling yourself that you’d like to explore jazz a little more, because deep down you know that it can’t be that crap they play on those “quiet storm” stations.

Since I do enjoy improvisation - I was a big Grateful Dead/Allman Brothers/Cream fan - jazz should have been a natural for me, but it wasn’t. The problem was that I either didn’t like or wasn’t familiar with the songs that they were improvising from. I had totally missed the boat on the “classic American songbook”. To this day, I need the wife to name the standard we were just listening to. Since jazz musicians used these same standards as a starting point for their improvisations, I didn’t know what they were improvising from, which is what is supposed to be what makes it fun. Everything I heard just sounded like empty technique.

A jazz musician I used to know (that last phrase might sound very cool to fellow white fifty-ish middle classers, but it gets uncool real fast when he owes you rent money) recommended “Kind of Blue”.

There are no standards here, just very minimal themes that any rock and roll fan can get a handle on. They’re played in a very cool, almost laid back way, so you can take your time getting into them, and it leaves a lot of space for the musicians to stretch out. The overall quiet tone also makes it ideal early morning music, even when John Coltrane gets going.

The jazz train starts here.
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Now playing: Miles Davis - So What
via FoxyTunes

Time for a Human Voice: Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left

Nick Drake is a not very well known British folk singer from the early seventies. What distinguishes him from many others is that it’s not just Nick strumming a guitar. And although Richard Thompson provides a perfect electric guitar accompaniment to the lead off song, “Time Has Told Me”, I think that the key instrument here is the piano. Then there are the strings which are used at just the right times, and give a jazzy or even classical, rather than a sappy, feel to the music. This may sound rather awful in your mind’s ear, but in fact, its muted tone and modest singing make it perfect for 7 or 8am.

And although Nick helped me through many a morning, he himself didn’t make it, committing suicide after recording only three albums. I’m now considering breaking my “One CD per Artist” rule in order to check out the other two.

So hats off to Nick. If I drank at that time of day, I’d toast him.
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Now playing: Nick Drake - Time Has Told Me
via FoxyTunes

I’m Now Ready to Confront Yesterday, and Maybe Today: Beck – Mutations

Speaking of drinking, this one is probably pretty good for a hangover.

And no, he's not Jeff Beck. Just Beck, of 1995’s “Loser”. You know the one: “I’m a loser, babe, so why don’t you kill me?” Very uplifting stuff. Actually, he’s hilarious, and for his first two albums he uses an everything-but-the-kitchen sink / hip-hop approach to rock music. There are some great moments on both albums but I don’t recommend them to us older folk because of their overall abrasiveness.

The third times a charm, though. For some reason, Beck decided to tone it down with the sound effects, pick up an acoustic guitar and write some actual songs. The results are wonderful. Folky, bluesy, elegiac (like that word? So do I. I’ll have to look it up.)

Things don’t get loud until the very end, but let’s face it - you’ve been up all this time. Why the hell isn’t everyone else?
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Now playing: Beck - Nobody's Fault But My Own
via FoxyTunes

Listening Skills

So you bought a new CD and now you’re just putting it on. Don’t just sit there doing nothing, waiting for it an epiphany. Go do the dishes or something. If the CD’s good, it will get your attention. And maybe not the first time, either. Sometimes you have to just give it time. Some of my all time favorite albums didn’t hit me until listen six. A couple, even later than that.

Listen to your inner cheapskate who is telling you I just spent x dollars on this thing, I’d better invest at least a few spins in it. If you’re the type who spends good money on a CD and then puts it away after one listen, you obviously have way too much of it. Stop buying music, and give the money to charity. I’ll include my address.

The reason I’m going on about this is that you could very easily dismiss a perfectly good CD because you are in one mood and the CD is good for a completely different one. So it’s important to find the right time play it.

First, don’t open a new CD by an artist you don’t know, and then play it during “family time”. It’s the “No Soul Coughing at Dinner Time” Rule. I came to love their CD “Ruby Vroom” but it really didn’t work for the wife and kids at that moment. (It kicked in big time on a Walkman during a long train ride, though.)

Then there’s the right time of day. This is very subjective, since it has a lot to do with whether you’re a morning or an evening person. If when you first wake up, you can’t decide to use the razor to shave or slit your wrists, you probably shouldn’t put on Meat Loaf (music or food) at 7am. If you are a little more chipper than that, and think ML would be cool at that time, as one ex-girlfriend did, you should probably stop reading this now anyway. If you live next door to me, you’ve probably heard from me already.

Some CDs are great in the morning, like Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” or Nick Drake’s “Five Leaves Left” because of how they can gracefully ease you into the day. These same CD’s may seem a bit draggy by mid-day when you have to be somewhere and you’re still waiting for the artist to get dressed.

Time of the year is important too. I like tuneful pop and energetic electric guitars during the summer, as a way of fending off the heat and humidity. I don’t recommend being too adventurous. You want something that will bear you up while the sun is beating down on you. It should probably be either very familiar sounding or just plain pleasant. After all, it’s hot as hell out there. But that’s me. I once played Peter Gabriel’s third album (you know, the one about torture, war and assassination…hmm…maybe this isn’t helping) for a captive audience on a beautiful summer day while driving to a Mets game. The only reason I survived was that everyone was too depressed to beat the sh*t out of me. The Mets lost, too. I like the album a lot, but it’s definitely for the winter.

The autumn is for more song oriented albums. Less flash, more texture and depth. The more melancholy the better. Break out those minor chords! But nothing too heavy. Summer’s just finished fer chrissakes! In the late fall, as the holidays begin, I find myself listening to music that I had listened to before at this same time of year. It really brings back the memories, and can put you in the holiday mood without having to listen to a bunch of Christmas songs you’re totally sick of. The important thing, though, is to get something new so that you will remember this year, too.

Winter (after Christmas) is for experimentation. I’m hibernating anyway so I don’t want anything too happy or uplifting. I may have asked for a boxed set for Christmas (“The Complete History of Depressing Music”). The windows are shut tight and it’s kind of quiet. Everyone’s in bed. This is good, because I may have another Soul Coughing on my hands.

Spring depresses the hell out of me for some reason (perhaps the music I’ve been listening to for the prior three months?), so I need music that heals whatever imaginary wounds I’ve inflicted on myself. This is a very hard quality to pin down. The music should be soothing but not boring. The one that worked best for me is Yo La Tengo’s “I Can Hear the Heart Beat As One”. But for those of you who prefer to sit back and enjoy your depression, I suggest Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”, which I spent several months listening to, to the exclusion of all else. Sometimes the healing just has to wait.

You can probably think of your own favorites that are specific to a time of year or a time of day. When you try to place them in a different context, they just don’t work as well. You don’t have ice cream for breakfast, and you probably don’t have cereal at night, so why wouldn’t you have similar needs or preferences when trying to nourish your soul?

Now go and enjoy your new music.

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Now playing: Soul Coughing - Casiotone Nation
via FoxyTunes
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Now playing: Peter Gabriel - Biko
via FoxyTunes
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Now playing: Yo La Tengo - The Lie and How We Told It
via FoxyTunes
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Now playing: Wilco - I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
via FoxyTunes