Meh-ry Christmas

Okay, so the title is opportunistic and misleading since the actual meh-ness occurred in the fall. And it's possible I've used it before but it's our duty to recycle, so...

I've been listening to so much great jazz this year it muscled out pop music, which has been merely good. And just as the perfect is the enemy of the good, the good can also the enemy of the bad, which is at least good for a laugh.

But no one's laughing now.

Primal Scream: Screamadelica (1991)

This UK psychedelic/dance/dub and sometimes rock record starts off well enough but drags from there on, so nothing here really sticks to your ribs.

Loud and proud like Spiritualized, with (slightly) shorter (but still too long) songs. I want to say they're more focused, but when they repeat the title phrase of "Come Together" (Yeah, they're not great at coming up with original titles) for eight minutes, I realize there's such a thing as being too focused. 

Excellent production by Jimmy Miller of Stones fame, and great backup singing, but I only put it on out of curiosity.

B+

"Movin' On Up" (see what I mean?)

Laura Marling: Song for Our Daughter (2020)

Another UK artist. And like Primal Scream, it starts off great and then drifts a bit.

She's a little bit Joni, a little bit Judee Sill, a little bit Weather Station. I’m embarrassed to admit it but I prefer the recent girly (and thus potentially sarcastic) voices to the serious ones, which can be mocked.

I do not not like this record - I'm not suffering when it's on (that William Faulkner quote may be applicable) but it's not one I get excited about. Expert singing and songwriting. Down-to-earth folkish music. And I want to listen to the lyrics. Perhaps a little more change of pace and dynamics would have made it better? 

Given the choice, though, I'll put it on before I put on Primal Scream.

B+

"Alexandra"

Tame Impala: Currents (2015)

This time out Kevin Parker's melodies ride a wash of dance beats and synths.  I miss the sloppy psychedelia of Lonerism, though. I guess I would prefer to hang out with a stoner for an hour than a car salesman.

Perfectly listenable, though.

B+

"The Moment"

Wednesday: Rat Saw God (2023)

This record is so f*cking intense, it can be too hard to take. There's an eight-minute cut where the female singer sounds like she's being murdered, for instance. (I am not exagerrating.)

 After that, things calm down a bit and the melodies and guitars really ring out. Then I hear a pedal steel guitar and I realize they're playing country rock and roll, like early seventies Neil Young.

Sort of the opposite of Laura Marling.

When they're good they're fantastic, which may entice me to give the murder songs another try. 

B+

"Chosen to Deserve"

Genesis: Selling England By the Pound (1973)

One of the better prog-rock albums I've heard. The last time I tried PR was King Crimson, which was pretty good but oh so serious. Luckily Peter Gabriel is more modest than pretentious and is thus easier to take than Robert Fripp.

Here, they make sure there are melodies to accompany the keyboard histrionics. (As much piano as organ thank god.) Some actual guitar, too!  

Of course, I have no idea what the story is about. Figuring that out might ruin the fun.

B+

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"

Galaxie 500: On Fire (1989)

Kinda slow, but if you're tired it comes as a relief. Three then-young people are playing simple, familiar chord progressions and melodies (because that's all they know?) and slow them down so you get their full majesty. 

But just to make it strange, the band - which does have a female member - uses one of the guys to sing the higher parts. It's like listening to "Cortez the Killer" with Neil singing it in his "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" voice.

The guitar solos are pretty rudimentary but get the job done. And on their cover of New Order's "Ceremony", they damn near improve it.

A-

"Tell Me"

Coasters: 50 Coastin' Classics (1992)

I used to hate '50s music. I was born in 1957, so, to me, the Beatles were the real Big Bang, not Elvis, and all good music started in 1963, etc.

And I was at the height of my anti-anti-rock snobbery - where I equated seriousness with quality - when people started listening to oldies stations. I was outraged! There was nothing wrong with current music! As Carly Simon said, these are the good old days! You don't need to feel nostalgic for another time. 

Plus, '50s music was silly. The sound quality sucked, guitars were not prominent, and guys sang like girls.

Okay this seems a bit overboard, but then again 50s music made me feel a bit over-bored (see what I did there?)?(??)

I've come around a bit since then. Reluctantly exploring Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers. The turning point came with History of New Orleans R&B, Vol. 1, which is such a terrific record I began to see the whole era in a different light.

So from that point, I was willing to explore other lesser-known (to me) artists of the era. I'm up to C.

From the get-go, the songs are tuneful and funny - and silly!!! - the band is committed and the singing is right on the mark every time. Plus Leiber and Stoller wrote almost all of these songs and produced most of them, too.

Any record that packs in "Riot in Cell Block", "Smokey Joe's Cafe", "Youngblood", "Yakety Yak", "Along Came Jones" and "Poison Ivy" (I could go on...) all in one place is really special.

A delight.

A

I Know You Are But What Am I?

Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

I put off getting this for a while, thinking the title pouty on the order of Pee Wee Herman.

And when I finally did get it, it was on the same day I got Live at Leeds which I ended up enjoying so much, I almost forgot I had this.

And how could it not suffer in comparison? After LAL, this came across just a bit too busy for me. I was expecting something punkier. It turns out to focus more on rhythm and words than power chords. Almost a ska-less, rockier but less tuneful Specials.

So I miss the tunes, but grew more respectful of what I was hearing once I saw them slow it down enough to do a cover of Tame Impala’s “Seems Like We Only Go Backwards” and realized I’d need to give these guys some more time.  And every time I’d put it on I’d hear another good line I missed before.

The words concern young British louts hanging out. And they’re pretty articulate about it, too, in that lower class British but pretty smart anyway way. So much so that it helps makes the music come across less generic than it seems.

But the band it tight! I admire how taut each song is. You can imagine them impatiently waiting to spring forward into into the next song. They must be great live, where all of their strengths would be on full display.

But admiration is not love, and I just don’t find myself coming back to this, like say the Parquet Courts, who are not quite as tight (or articulate) but a lot more tuneful (if you count riffs as tunes, that is)  

And it only fits certain moods, like when you want to burn down your neighbor’s house. Which I only want to do sometimes.  And only the one with the barking dog.

B+

“The View From the Afternoon”

The Third Annual Jaybee-bies, or It Wasn’t You, 2013, It Was Me:

Mrs. Jaybee hated 2013. 

I just found it kind of annoying. Nothing really awful happened, but I did have to leave a job I liked because my employer was going under. It eventually worked out okay, but managed to cast a pall over everything. So it wasn’t a bad year, but it sure did seem to be messing with us a lot.

I was a bit fatigued by music this year. And TV and books and movies. As usual, there was plenty of good, but not quite enough great, music. My fault. I was bummed with  the job change hanging over me, so I wasn’t fit for fun, and my choices weren’t quite on the mark.

When I would look at the many, many possibilities out there I’d get a bad feeling that I'd be underwhelmed.  xgau was partly absent and I missed his keen eye for separating hype from quality. Admittedly, it's occasionally too keen, and has kept me from getting to some great albums, but overall he’s saved me lots of time.

And speaking of time, how did I do with my 2013 resolutions? Well, I was no better to 2013 than 2013 was to me.

2013 Resolutions:

1. No CDs:

I got 14, if you count double CD sets as two, and 12 mp3s. So I’ve got a ways to go.  B-

2. Get at least 3 albums released in 2013:

I failed utterly. My amazon Wish Lists are overflowing with records that seemed interesting but that I could think of an excuse not to buy. It was a mental version of what I used to do in the record store.

So I had to get something. And if my math is right, the “average year” of the music I did buy was 1987, with the 1970s being the decade most represented. I sort of made up for it by burning down some itunes and amazon gift cards - I’ve already got five records this year - three from 2013! But that’s too little, too late. F

3. Get Less Music:  It may seem counter-intuitive, but I really do believe that less is more. That the more you have, the less valuable each one is, especially when, like with mp3s, you can’t even touch them. And I did it! Didn’t seem like it! But I did it! A-.

4. More music books! Well I got “Revolution of the Head” anyway. Totally worth it. But that’s all. C+

Which all works out to a C+ average overall.

But enough about what I suck at. This show’s running long already, so it’s time for 

The Jaybee-bie  Awards!

Most Plays (By Other People) That I Could Have Easily Passed On, but That Ended Up Making Me Like The Record More Than I Thought:

High Violet - The National

Thanks to Mrs. Jaybee and Son of Jaybee Michael, who liked it more than I did, and insisted on putting it on constantly, I did end up liking this record.

On the one hand this merely reinforces my delusion that I’m the Arbiter of Good Music (in my house) who brings it to the Masses (in my house anyway (well, technically, it’s still the bank’s house)).

On the other hand, I hate it when other people end up liking my music more than I do.  (Hmmm. Must buy something they’ll hate….)

Most Disconcerting Musical Experience:

Present Tense/Tongue Twister - Shoes

Which forced me to think about whether or not there is such a thing as having too much pop music.

Good News For Modern Man Award:

While none of his three records quite made it to the list, I’m now I’m putting on John Cale’s The Island Years for fun.

OK News For Modern Man Award:

For records that are better than I gave them credit for at the time,:

Pleasures of the Harbor - Phil Ochs (22 plays) - But not that much better.

The Creek Drank the Cradle - Iron and Wine (64 plays!!) which testifies to how easy it is to play this first thing in the morning.

Not So Good News For Modern Man Award:

Kleenex/Liliput (41 plays) and still not fun just yet.

And finally...

Best of the Year - Weasel Version:

Here’s my Top Ten. You may have noticed that I've included, where possible, indicate how many plays these albums got throughout the year. Let’s see if Plays = love.

Tied for first:

I couldn’t decide between:

Seasick - Imperial Teen

It’s Blitz - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (only 4 plays, but that doesn’t count the ipad or the van)

Celebration Rock - Japandroids (12 plays, because it’s just too intense for just any occasion)

Oh, and let's throw in Tame Impala’s Lonerism (40 plays on the desktop alone!) in there as well.  As mistrustful as I've been to the woozy/hazy and even synth-y sounds, (and I could swear I smell a joint being passed around), and on top of all that, the singing that I thought was a gal actually being a guy. When measured against how good it sounded - from beginning to end - on a long drive last month, these guys deserve to be here. They combine the worst tendencies of the sixties and seventies and somehow make it sound great.

Tied for second (okay, fifth):

Alien Lanes - Guided by Voices

Piper at the Gates of Dawn - Pink Floyd

Tallulah - Go Betweens

Superunknown - Soundgarden

Copper Blue - Sugar (23 plays)

The more discerning of you may have noticed (hmmm, the more discerning of you left already, but whatever) is that I don’t have ten records in my top ten. It was that kind of pain in the ass year.

10. So let’s throw in The Very Best of Grin, which technically doesn’t qualify because it’s a best of, but what the hell. It’s a delight from beginning to end. (The Fall comes close, but “delight” isn’t quite the word I’d apply to them.)

Artist of the Year:

Nobody. Unless you count Imperial Teen who’ve made two albums that are amongst this and last year’s best. Yeah, screw you too, 2013!

So How Good a Year Was It?

Some of the annoying things from 2013 have finally settled down. It turned out, in retrospect, to be a good year. This is not the same thing as being a good year while you’re experiencing it, which is more, you know, fun.

Onward:

I’ve already gotten five records this year. And they are, happily, all over the place. Which is how it’s supposed to be.

And Mrs. Jaybee is insisting that 2014 will be a good year.

You got that, 2014?

Jaybee Gets Out of Bed in 2013

All right, all right.  A new year is like a Saturday for me. I probably drank and ate too much the night before, so it takes a while to for me to get out of bed, take a shower and - what else? - listen to music. Forget about how long it takes me to say anything about it.

So it's time for me to kick off 2013, before the best-of-the-year lists start.

And why not start with a record that placed very high in the 2012 Pazz and Jop poll? Especially with amazon.com selling it for only $5?

Tame Impala, Lonerism (2012)

And Lonerism doesn’t disappoint. It doesn’t exactly inspire rapture, either. That might be due to the its all over the place (lo fi production, airy vocals, some synth, and guitars that bounce between 60s and 70s at a moment’s notice) nature. How strong a statement can such an album make, when you picture everyone in the band sitting around smoking a joint? Well, that’s not fair. It must have taken some effort to reference to Dr. Who and Pink Floyd in the same song. I’m still skeptical that all of these very pleasurable individual moments will coalesce into a great album. By about the tenth listen, though, it all came together, highlighted by the sublime “Keep on Lying." And while I don’t hum it on my way to work, it does make the day seem better when I get home. A-