Springtime for Hitl, er, Pop Music

I barely got a jazz post in before Spring, and now I'm barely getting a pop post in before Summer, which - let's face it - starts on Memorial Day.

The problem this time was that Mrs. Jaybee had some "reservations" about a few of these records. So I told her to give it time. She said she's given it forty years. Well, that's fair.

Anyway, I wanted to see where she landed on them. Her final judgements follow mine below.

The Dismemberment Plan: Emergency and I (1999)

They sound like a nineties version of Talking Heads, and I admit that I like this guy's voice more than David Byrne's. And the band is tight. The problem is in their pursuit of a unique sound they often sound like they're achieving it for its own sake. It might grow on me, but for now, it's a record to be appreciated, if not actively enjoyed. 

Except for one brief shining moment when it all comes together in "Back And Forth".

B

Mrs. Jaybee: I tried. I really tried. But no.

"Back and Forth"

Rosalia: Motomani (2022)

An eerily beautiful voice that is actually helped by autotune, assuming it's even there at all. She sings in Spanish(?) so I have no idea what's going on. But the constant flow of melody, beat, and noise in all the right places makes it hard to complain. The musical settings and styles are quite varied so there's rarely a dull moment.

And for heaven's sake, buy this record so she can go get a pair of pants!

A-

Mrs. Jaybee: Bleh.

"La Combi Versace"

Broken Social Scene: You Forgot it In People (2006)

Not a Canadian supergroup like the New Pornographers, but rather, a "collective", so right there they lose the Republican vote. But everybody else, stick around.

This is surprisingly mellow given the tendency of such formulations to rock out at great length since anything else would require um, songwriting.  Kinda similar to Spiritualized but more modest.

Quite easy on the ear but not quite compelling. It's the kind of record where you just go with the flow unless they jam on a little too long. But they avoid that here.

B+

Mrs. Jaybee Reaction: Good.

"KC Accidental"

Talk Talk: Spirit of Eden (1988)

A classic Mrs. Jaybee's first reaction: "This is boring. Don't ever play this when I'm around." (Ah, but she's said this before!)

I usually hate the throaty nasal whine of English singers (Spandau Ballet's "True"; Duran Duran's "New Moon on Monday"), and, alas, Talk Talk ("It's My Life") seemed to want to make a career out of it, so while they were around I avoided them like the plague (heh, heh). But now that we've actually had one I thought I'd given them a chance.

I wasn't thrilled to see the album was comprised of six longish songs. However, slowed down, and with just the right amount of ambient dressing and guitar gnarl that whine sounds pretty soulful, even if in the same key throughout. A minor miracle.

And speaking of miracles, the lyrics are rather oblique, but with hints of finding God. So I respect the singer's willingness to risk sounding like an idiot, and the band's willingness to back him up.

A-

Mrs. Jaybee's Reaction: I can't believe I'm actually enjoying this. (I can't believe it's Talk Talk, either.)

"I Believe in You"

Alvvays:  Blue Rev (2022)

There is an absolutely frantic level of energy and melody. Which may go to show that more isn't necessarily better. Their last album was so good because they kept it all sharp, bright, and clear, if maybe too controlled. 

But now they go all Exile on Main Street, and sound like they're playing on a subway platform with the train arriving. Last time the guitar solos were melodic and precise, and now they buzz and growl and roar,  risking utter chaos. Luckily Molly Rankin's voice can still be heard through it all.

And sometimes I'm a more is better kind of guy so I say here we're breaking even.

A-

Mrs. Jaybee's reaction: She has a high-pitched voice and here she sometimes insists on going even higher, but otherwise very good.

"Easy On Your Own?"

The Smile: A Light for Attracting Attention (2022)

Two guys (singer, guitar player) from Radiohead plus one guy (drummer) from Sons of Kemet, add up to kind-of-like-Radiohead but with a more intricate beat.

And like some Radiohead records this one veers between harsh racket and quietly melodic. Yorke's lyrics have never been great, he's got a nice voice, and man, the sounds Johnny Greenwood gets out of his guitar!

If forced to place it within other Radiohead records I'm familiar with I'd judge this as better than Amnesiac but not quite as good as In Rainbows.

You can take it from there.

A-

Mrs. Jaybee: Love it!

"Open the Floodgates"

Now let's see what Summer brings. I should know by Christmas.

They Were Better When They Weren’t So Good

I held off a long time in getting this, afraid that at the end of the day, I’d consider it overrated.  But then

I’d keep hearing how Radiohead’s first great album was not their third OK Computer, but rather their

second.  And I’ve always been a sucker for the old they were better before they got real famous line.

Radiohead: The Bends

Alas, I was listening to it around the same time I was playing a lot of Aretha Franklin, and well, it’s a matter of (Radio’s) head vs (Aretha’s) heart.  The Brits didn’t fare well in the comparison.  Plus, I'm not convinced they outdo Aretha in the head department, either.

It may have been my mid-year anti-music funk, but even though the three(!) guitars sounded good - clear, chiming, echoey and very sharp when necessary - and Thom Yorke's voice is pretty - I find it to be that kind of near-great album that I'd normally rush to put on, but that is actually kind of boring.

Being the pre-Ok Computer - and slightly less pretentious - Radiohead, the tunes keep coming and it’s certainly less cluttered, But I’ve concluded I like them better pretentious and cluttered.

So why am I not loving it? Why am I not rushing to put it on? And when I put it on, why does my mind wander so easily?  

Well, the two pretty songs are good but utterly predictable. And the loud ones are kind of there. I can’t make out any of the words and haven’t had the slightest interest in looking them up.

In other words I have no good explanation why an album loved by many is doing (next to) nothing for me.

But finally, after about six months there are a couple of songs that are getting stuck in my head. It turns out to be pretty good painting the house music. Not enough to make me want to paint more, though.

So, it’s the end of the day, while I’m not in love with it, I still hold out hope, and can understand why some people are.

B+

“Sulk”

My 2012: Mr. Jaybee Goes to the Record Store

While most of you lead normal lives, I do things like go to record stores - a doubly pathetic exercise these days, what with so few young people there to provide some validation. When they do frequent such places, it’s in the ever expanding vinyl section. When I was their age, I watched that section contract to about the size the CD section is now.

Unlike online ordering, where I consult my “To Buy” list, weigh the prices of various websites, factoring in gift cards and shipping and handling costs, and ultimately make the whole exercise comparable to the planning of the D-Day invasion, a trip to the record store is very circumstantial.

First of all, you’re browsing. And you’re limited to what they have in stock at the moment, and increasingly, by what they have on display, since going through the racks methodically like I used to do is the very definition of sad.

I rarely plan a trip anymore. That would be sadder still. But when I’m in the neighborhood, there is that gravitational pull that’s hard to resist. I just make sure not to look up to see the other pathetic people.

And what did J&R have to offer that day, for $4.99 no less?


Amnesiac Radiohead:
Coming off the almost twin “masterpieces” - OK Computer (the great, but kinda bombastic, popular one) and “Kid A” (the weird, and thus controversial, one that I like almost as much) - it’s a relief that this one’s pretty simple.  It emphasizes Thom Yorke’s voice and the song’s melodies. The lyrics aren’t as dumb as usual and the  textures are nice and soothing.  Solid.  B+
"You and Whose Army"



Lodger David Bowie:
Also coming off of what would eventually be regarded as two masterpieces - Low (the weird poppy ambient one) and “Heroes” (the weird rockier ambient one) - Bowie consciously moves away from an obviously Eno (who collaborated on all three of these records) inspired sound. It starts out straightforwardly enough, but as things progress, almost as an act of will, Bowie keeps finding a stranger melodies or arrangements. I think he realized that the songs just aren’t as memorable as the prior records, so he’s trying to keep your attention.  And it works, to a point. He nails it on “Look Back in Anger” and “Boys Keep Swinging”.  But it’s just not as catchy either prior masterpiece.  B+
"Look Back in Anger"


A week later, I somehow found myself in the neighborhood again, where I had a very similar experience in the jazz section. It’s ridiculous for me to grade something I barely understand, so I like to think of the following as my primitive gut reaction to something very sophisticated, something that will take me years to truly get.


Sidney Bechet Ken Burns Jazz:
From 1923 to 1947 he played the hell out of the clarinet and soprano sax, meeting up with Louis Armstrong along the way, and ends up filling in a big gap in my collection. I’m sure there are more comprehensive collections out there, but my time’s running shorter than my money.  Perfect for a dilettante like me. B+
"Wild Cat Blues"



Coleman Hawkins Body and Soul:
My preferred jazz era is the late 1950’s.  And I may never forgive the forties for impressing upon my youthful brain the supposedly vast difference in quality between the big bands of that time, and say, a small one, like the Beatles, from mine.  As such, it takes a long time for music from that era to get past my prejudices. Too soon to tell, but it’s probably me.
"Body and Soul"

So that’s the outcome of an hour or two of my time. I’ll bet you spent yours having a life.

But I’d do it again.

Being and Nothingness, or Jaybee Sartre's Virtual Record Store Trip, or Something

One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year was to buy more digital music. My goal was to make 50% of my music purchases mp3s. I’d dipped my toe in the digital water the year before with tUnE-YarDs
W H O K I L L , which , coincidentally, was my top record of the year.

My only complaint so far is that, with no jewelry case cover to look at, the tiny picture of the cover, which looks like this:


reminds me of nothing so much as a Subway sandwich ad.  Just looking at it makes me hungry. (Someone please tell me what this is.)

But above and beyond my obsession with seeming cool to young people, there was the very practical possibility of literally running out of room in our house.

Most family members would like to be preferred over inanimate objects, so when a pile of one falls into a pile of the other, said family members prefer that I save them first. Daughter has stack of CDs fall on her, daughter prefers that father pull her out before checking if the CDs are scratched, etc. Quite reasonable if you’re normal.

Thus, another good reason to take advantage of the odd iTunes gift card and Amazon sales to get mp3s whenever possible.

I’d already resolved to get used instead of new CDs whenever possible. To be environmentally correct? Of course! The fact that they are cheaper never entered my mind...

So this would be another year of great music, just taking up less room and costing less. This is called Continuous Quality Improvement.

So how’m I doing?  Let’s see so far:


January:

First there was Radiohead’s Amnesiac and David Bowie’s Lodger. An of-the-moment record store link trip yielded these two kind-of-want-to-haves-and-at-$4.99-who-can-resists?

I thought that would be it for the month. Every year I have a standing Slow the F*ck Down With the Buying of the Music Resolution that rarely lasts the winter. And this year, not even January.

Thanks to Amazon’s monthly $5 mp3 sale.  And for January, instead of the usual 100 albums, they’ve got 1,000! Now, I’ve finally learned how to keep this kind of thing under control, and after writing up a list of 50 possible buys, I settle for two:  Essential Leonard Cohen and Wild Flag’s debut..

So, what was my score at the end of this first month of the year?

MP3: 2
Used: 0
Cheap: 2
Brand New: 0

So far, so good!


February:

So my son Michael mentions Television (a girl he knows brings them up - the Official Best Possible Reason to Talk About Music) which results in a major (at least 3 CDs worth) mp3 buy, and using a gift card no less! I’d call it a two-fer but it also resulted in a blog post.  

Another trip to the record store unearthed two jazz cheapies: Sidney Bechet Ken Burns’ Jazz and Coleman Hawkins Body and Soul

MP3: 5
Used: 0
Cheap: 7
Brand New: 0

Okay, not bad, but I can do better, right?


March:

Used record store Other Music strikes again.  This time with Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala.

MP3: 5
Used: 1
Cheap: 7
Brand New: 0

Meh.


May:

Cabin Fever motivated me to plan a trip to both record stores once the weather got better. This resulted in cheapies Beck Sea Change and Wu Tang Clan Enter the Wu Tang, and used Bright Eyes Lifted and the Best of Bush. In a fit of remorse, I realized I could have gotten Bush as an MP3 for even cheaper.  So I’m penalizing myself by marking it as New. Ouch!

MP3: 5
Used: 3
Cheap: 8
Brand New: 1

I appear to be succeeding on the cheapness front (lots of practice) I’m paying the price on the environmental one. (Except that I’m not buying something brand new and thus taking up new resources, thus my carbon footprint blah, blah, blah...)


June:

A surprise while on a visit to a friend’s art show - it’s taking place in a used CD store! Quick! Retreat! Ah, too late! Thus Liz Phair’s Whitechocolatespaceegg, the Hives Veni Vidi Viscious, the Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight and Wire’s Pink Flag.

But I try to make up for it by going to my iTunes card. (The old more-is-somehow-less argument.) and get
Eno’s Music for Airports.  

But at this point, like global warming, I hit my 350 and there was no going back for room on the CD shelf. May our children’s children forgive us! ( Well, me anyway.)

MP3: 6
Used: 3
Cheap: 13
Brand New: 1


July

Amazon comes to the rescue twice with Bob Marley’s Legend and Postal Service’s Give Up each on sale for $2.99

MP3: 8
Used: 3
Cheap: 15
Brand New: 1

Which is how it stands right now. All things considered this doesn't suck exactly, but I've got work to do.


But Steinski Asks What Does it All Mean?:

But I miss the thing-ness of the CD (just like I missed the size of the LP, with the possibility that the cover could be a thing of beauty. Maybe even framed.  (Well, no, I never actually framed an album cover, but that was for convenience sake.  I was too lazy to do it, and besides what if I wanted to hear the record?)

And I miss the CD covers. I miss the liner notes, even though I can’t read them anymore.

The more serious and unexpected side effect of this foray into mp3s is that I am beginning to lose track of what I actually have and don’t have.  When I got Postal Service, I also got some free song along with it.  Do I remember what song it is? No. Did I Even Listen to It? No.  Do I Care? No.

So when you get down to it, does it even matter whether I “have” it or not?

When you have a physical CD, you put it on. (This isn’t even getting into the area of If You Have It, You Can Burn It Right Onto Your PC So That When You Want to Play It, You Just Look It Up On Your Computer discussion.)

But if you only have the mp3 you look it up.

Aand if you don’t even “have” it, just search for it on Spotify or Youtube.  

What used to be the very solid demarcation line of ownership - you either have it or wait for it to get played on the radio - has virtually disappeared.

And when my PC’s hard disk dies, do I “lose” these albums? (Please let me know. I’m too lazy to find out.) And is it then pathetic of me to burn the album onto a blank CD that I then lose in my basement? I would have treated the official CD better.

And will we end up looking back on all this with embarrassment, like we do when we see 8 track tapes (which I’m still replacing)?

Well I never said I wasn’t getting old...

Recycling

I have a confession to make. I occasionally recycle my albums. Not the good recycling, either. The pathetic recycling. The act of playing each and every one of my albums, one after the other, until I’ve gone through them all. So, day after day, week after week, month after month, I will methodically go down the list – almost to the total exclusion of other music - until I have played every last one of them.

Back in college, one friend admitted to doing this, so I confess now, assuming that this won’t make me seem completely ridiculous. Of course, it gets more ridiculous as you get more albums. And at the time, my friend probably had, what, 50? How long did that take? A few weeks? Ha! We are now closing in on 1300, so I’m talking a level of commitment not given to many marriages.

Why, you ask? Well… there are lots of reasons! Some of them rational:

• You get to hear something great that you haven’t heard for a while.
• You give the albums you didn’t care for the first time around another chance.
• You get to artificially fill the gaping void in your life.

I heard a music writer being interviewed on the radio say that he occasionally recycles his albums to help him decide which ones to get rid of! This, of course, is madness. Who gets rid of albums? No, don’t say it.

Now, it might seem to you that recycling is a pretty straightforward thing to do. Most human endeavors – even the non-ridiculous ones – appear easier at first than they actually are. You probably think that it’s just a matter of starting at the top of a stack of records, and just going until you get to the bottom. Well, yes, you could do that. But silliness in no way implies a lack of seriousness. In fact, it can carry some grave responsibilities with it.

First of all, you probably have CDs, tapes, vinyl and maybe even 8-tracks. So they’re not stacked. Not together anyway. So what to do? First play all the CDs, and then the tapes, etc.? Right? Too easy! Come on, use your imagination! Nothing that is not worthwhile is easy. With that in mind, I shall explain the different varieties of recycling.

Alphabetical:

You can simply play your albums alphabetically (no, not by title, stupid) by Artist. This approach will stand or fall based on the jarring change of tone that occurs when you go from Talking Heads to James Taylor. It keeps things from getting boring, but you may not be in the mood for Sweet Baby James after hearing “Psychokiller”. But then again, maybe you will be.

Personally, I feel that this approach is beneath contempt. You could make the argument that it provides variety by its very arbitrariness. I could make the argument that you could eat your food alphabetically, too.

By Release Date:

Or you can put your records in order of when they came out. In other words, you play your Beatles before your Ramones before your Radiohead. This provides some context for your music, and can give you a greater appreciation for some of your more adventurous stuff.

I like this approach, but, you’ve got to have your music database in order. (What do you mean, you don’t have a music database?)

Is everyone still with me?

By Historically Significant Date:

This is a further refinement on the Release Date method. But instead of blindly going by when the record hit the shelves, you go chronologically by when the music was made. It sounds like the same thing as Release Date, but it’s not. “Let It Be” gets played before “Abbey Road”, for instance. It puts greatest hits albums where they belong, and gets your jazz and classical up front.

This approach is great for guys who don’t have girlfriends.

By When You Bought it:

This is my favorite because it’s the most autobiographical. To do this is to relive old times, good and bad. How do you feel about that? Do you want all those memories coming back?

This is going to happen to some extent, no matter what – it’s the same music, after all, but in a different order - but this approach really rams it down your throat. So if you’ve ever had a particularly bad patch in your life, you might find yourself spending more time on it than is wise.

This is great for those who like to wallow in shame or regret.

Why Not?

You could very reasonably argue that doing any of these things keeps you from exploring new stuff. I agree, but let’s face it, you’re not doing that anyway. Try to consider recycling as a way of tilling the soil. When you’re done, you will be primed to find out what music is being made now.

Call it a cheap thrills project to add pseudo meaning to your life. Or just to pass the time. Because we all have so much of that, don’t we?