The Winter of Jaybee

The picture above gives an idea of what I had in mind for 2022. Laugh if you will, but the most unrealistic thing about it is the guy doesn't have a bald spot. 

I had plans! I was gonna get records from Big Joe Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson, Skip James, Lefty Frizzel, Joe Tex, Merle Travis, Louis Jordan, Hound Dog Taylor, Tom T. Hall, Papa Wemba... 

I was SET. A deep dive, Jaybee style, biting off more than I could chew, eating something bigger than my head, my ears bigger than, well, my ears.  You get the idea.

Then I noticed my Amazon gift card balance was kinda low.

The second omen was Mrs. Jaybee telling me she didn't want to hear BB King and Billie Holiday  (Christmas gift box-sets!!) for the twelfth day in a row. (Who'd a thought?)

Then, yesterday, I put on a recent purchase. 

"Who's this?", says Mrs. Jaybee. A long time ago, this might have indicated a degree of interest. Not so much lately.

"Dry Cleaning", says I.

"And who did you put on before that?"

"Oh, that was Weather Station"

"And before that?"

"Haim."

"Okay, now you're just making up names."

This is the point where having mere facts on my side meant nothing whatsoever.

So I've learned - yet again - there are LIMITS. Time, energy, money, other people's patience...

Time especially. First, because I'm running out of it. (Don't laugh. You are, too.) But also, the very limited amount of it on any given day when I can play "questionable" music (i.e., when normal people aren't around.)

So my efforts have been somewhat muted (see what I did there?).

But here are all the records I did pick up so far this year. Well, except for....oh, never mind.

Sonny Sharrock Band: Highlife (1990)

A free jazz electric guitarist decides to rock. And does so quite gracefully, if that's possible. Lovely, bordering on slick,  noisy when he's lulled you. Sonny seems to know just when to rough things up. 

But that slick part leads me to suspect it doesn't have staying power. So I'm hedging my bets. Let's see how it sounds at the end of the year.

B+

"No More Tears"

Ben Webster: King of the Tenors (1956)

Perfect mellow morning jazz, and not that easy-listening stuff, either. You'd swear this was a best-of, but no, just another LP.  No pyrotechnics. No grand statements. Just playing for the song and nailing it every time. 

Again, I'm hedging. For all I know, it'll end up on my all-time greatest jazz list.

A-

"Danny Boy"

Spring Heel Jack: Busy, Thirsty, Curious  (1997)

British Electronic Dance (you read that right) music from the 90s risks being impersonal but somehow avoids it. Essentially by not giving you a moment's rest. Damn near relentless.

In other words, nothing at all like our quaint old picture of the Brits. These are the youngins, who more than make up for their mum's and dad's good manners and bad teeth. 

They also make up for all those awful 80s bands that covered old R&B songs. (I'm looking at you, Soft Cell.)

A-

"Bells"

Next time, I will attempt to prove the existence of Dry Cleaning, Weather Station, and Haim to Mrs. Jaybee, even if I have to create fake Facebook pages for them.

And then, I'll get to... never mind.

I Had A Feeling 21 Was Gonna Be A Good Year

I hate to admit it but 2021 was a pretty damn good year, as long as you don't count pandemics, global warming, violence, insurrection, and the end of democracy, of course. 

See? Not bad, right?? It's all a matter of expectations.

In other words, in Jaybee's little bubble, if he can turn off the radio and TV, and just listen to music, everything is almost, just about, not bad.

So why do I say that? Mainly because while praising the best music I heard in 2021 in my last post, I hadn't even gotten around to mentioning these records to you:

Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque (1997)

I wouldn't blame you if you thought I was nuts for not loving this. 

They play multiple electric guitars and sing harmony like the Wrens, so what could go wrong? My first listen bordered on the ecstatic. 

After a few listens, though, it started to wear. The main reason was the extremely poor sound. My copy sounds like it was pressed from a poor-quality cassette version. It muffles the punch of the guitars and any other feature that may have distinguished them from a dozen other talented bands.

This should be right up my alley but it ends up falling short, even though there are a couple of brilliant moments. 

B+

"Alcoholiday"

 

Elizabeth Cook: Welder (2010)

Knowing her vocal range makes Dolly Parton sound like Satchmo, I was expecting extreme country verging on bluegrass, and braced myself.

But Ms. Cook wants more than that. While the music is largely country, she never settles for a banjo when an electric guitar is handy. 

The ballads, like "Heroin Addict Sister", are sad but never overly sweet. The rockers rock in a fairly commercial but straightforward way. And while men sometimes let her down, she knows they can be a lot of fun, too. It makes her a hell of a lot more interesting.

It's quite lively. And if not quite compelling from beginning to end, I never feel like it's work.

A-

"All The Time"

Ya Ntesa Dalienst and Le Maquisard: Belalo (1992)

This is the lead singer and band for African legend Franco. I picked it up along with several other pop/rock records that I could actively enjoy while I absorbed this excursion into World Music. No need, as it turns out.

This one is as or more tuneful than any of those other records I got at the time. The guitars are a joy throughout, the horns are never overdone and the rest of the band moves swiftly and nimbly. 

Anyone who doesn't like it needs to get out more. (Okay, wait until the pandemic is over. But then head over to Africa.)

A-

"Dangara"

Teddybears: Devil's Music  (2011)

Positively Satanic in its catchiness. It's just your typical Swedish techno/pop/rock/rap/bubblegum record. And if you can either ignore or embrace the silliness, you'll notice how good it is at all of the above. The chord progressions are the best money can buy and it just never lets up.

And they don masks a la Daft Punk, except they're, uh.., teddy bear masks. Somewhat scary ones, so there's that.

Plus they have guest stars up the wazoo, including the B-52s (who I can't really hear) and the Flaming Lips (who I definitely can hear).

Even though my first listen helped me put a desk together, I still secretly wanted to hate it for its shameless commercialism (whatever the hell that is anymore). I expected to play it one or two more times tops. Now, after a couple of dozen listens - usually requested by Mrs. Jaybee - I feel it's a crime it wasn't a huge hit. 

Back in the day commercial crap stood for something.

A-

"Wolfman"

Various Artists: Township Jazz and Jive (2007)

This collection of South African jazz from the late fifties and early sixties - directly influenced by American jazz from prior decades - is something of a miracle. The band and song names are sprinkled with enough American references - Yanks, Manhattan, Hollywood - to make one fear blatant imitation. 

No worries though. The singing is great, the music sweet, and the joy utterly African. 

A

Here's hoping 2022 is on par. I'm willing to trade off a little musical quality for a little less insanity, though.

The Eleventh Annual Jaybee-bies: My 2021

Executive Summary:

Better than 2020. 

Abstract:

At first, I thought 2021's edge over 2020 was slim, and only because of not having a fascist in the White House. (Don't worry, there are still plenty in Congress.)

But in fact, it was a year of musical richness.

Yes, I did my usual "disappointment" post, but when I look back on how much enjoyable pop music I heard even while doing deep dives on LVB, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Bill Evans, I'm a bit stunned.

Best Humans:

Stephen Colbert

Bernie Sanders

And way too many others to mention.

Worst Humans:

Pretty Much Everyone at Fox News, although Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, and Jesse Watters all deserve special mention.

Kristen Manchin

Apologies for not bothering to mention all the new dictators who are actively making the world a worse place.

Best Books:

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson.  Easily the best popular science book I've ever read.

Connections, by James Burke. A companion to the 1980s series, Jimmy actually knows of which he speaks.

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman. And yet another book about how we humans think. Bu the best one, and really, the one all the others are based on.

Best Movies:

I didn't really see many for obvious reasons, so I don't really give a shit. Or is that vice versa?  But here are the ones I did see. 

Don't Look Up: What is the issue everyone is having with this movie? It's funny, bleak, entertaining.

Spiderman: No Way Home: I'm not a huge superhero movie person (I used to be a big comics person, though.) but this one got me all choked up.

Get Back: A lot less depressing than Let It Be. But so so sad given what would ultimately happen.

Best TV:

What We Do in the Shadows

Derry Girls

Music Awards:

Most Work (But Worth it): 

Thelonious Monk (8 album set!), 

John Coltrane (8 album set!) 

Bill Evans (12(!) album set (leftover from last year.)

Time to slow down, Jaybee?

Most Work (And Possibly Not Worth It): 

Weyes Blood Titanic Rising Stately, serious, perfectly good, quite playable for company, but no intensity.

Most Surprising (and Not Necessarily in a Good Way): 

Township Jazz and Jive: But in this case in a great way.

Most Disappointing: 

Spoon: Fine, but nothing to shout about.

Big Thief: Same here. I guess I like to shout.

Best Artist: 

The continent of Africa, apparently. (More on this next time.)

The Best of My Year:

1. Phoebe Bridgers: Punisher - A sweet voice, a gift for melody, and a good sense of humor in trying circumstances.

2. Fontaines DC: A Hero's Death - With its similar arrangements throughout, each song still somehow sounds unique.

3. Perfume Genius: Set My Heart on Fire Immediately - Pop musician goes baroque and somehow manages to pull it off. It just wore down any reservations I had.

4. Dramarama: Cinema Verite - Is it a songwriter album or a rock n' roll record? Both.

5. Etran de L'Air: No. 1 - It's amazing what energy and momentum you can generate with just a couple of guitars, a set of drums, and an enthusiastic audience.

6. The Paranoid Style: A Goddamn Imposible Way of Life - So many words! So many in-jokes! But the singer articulates them all and the band has just the right combo of sleaze and swagger.

7. The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane - The best Australian band ever provides yet another reason why they are. 

8. Waxahatchee: St. Cloud - Kate Crutchfield made an almost perfect rock and roll record a few years ago with Out in the Storm. This time she nearly matches that feat, this time with country music.

9. Humperdink: Hansel and Gretel - Not being familiar with German, for all I know the lyrics consist entirely of variations on the phrase shove that old bitch in the oven! And yet it's lovely and sometimes sublime.

10. Rachid Taha: Bon Jour - High-quality rock music that just happens to be made in Africa.

Honorable Mentions/Also-Rans/Tieds for Tenth: Toots and the Maytals: Funky Kingston, Ya Ndest Dalienst: Belalo, Sharon Van Etten: Remind Me Tomorrow, Teenage  Fanclub: Bandwagonesque, Spiritualized: Ladies and Gents We're Floating in Space, The Rough Guide to Music of the Sahara, Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures, Jocelyn Pook: Flood, Teddy Bears: Devil's Music, Elizabeth Cook: Welder, TV on the Radio: Dear Science, Various Artists: Township Jazz and Jive.

With so many also-rans it sure seems like a pretty good year.

Some of the best songs I heard this year can be found here.

Conclusions:

My cup ran-eth over.

Too bad about the rest of the country.

Music for the War on Christmas

It's been a less than merry time in the Jaybee household. We've received a few blows recently, including the death of our dog, the one-year anniversary of my mother-in-law's death, and the news of the death within our circle of friends/family.

And whatever anyone tells you, not everybody's ability to cope has been, shall we say, "heroic". That whole notion is bullshit anyway. You're lucky if the grief doesn't take you all down with it.

What to do when the mood of the season is laughably out of sync with your own? With cheerfulness being thrust upon you, you fight back, of course, defending your negativity from any encroachments of goodwill toward men.

And what better to arm yourself with than the most utterly depressing music I can think of? "River" by Joni Mitchell, you say? Please. Joni got over that pretty quickly. Ian Curtis didn't.

Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures (1979)

Joy Division's second - and last - album, Closer, was one of my first ever CDs. Lucky for me I got it with about a dozen other CDs, which gave me time to dip my toe into that black hole of sound.

This record - their first - is not quite that far gone but it's pretty grim, and its grimness is baked into the overall sound itself. 

Ian Curtis and Co. are an acquired taste unless you're a 1970s/post-punk depressive. I was tempted to say you had to be feeling pretty strong to listen to this without wanting to off yourself. But that's not true. If you were feeling strong you wouldn't listen to this at all. This is for wallowing in the depths.

As I get ever older I should be less patient with that approach. After all, here it's coming from a bunch of twenty-year-olds. I mean, what do they know? But lead singer Ian Curtis meant it, man, and proved it by committing suicide not long after their second record. 

The music itself is as intense but slower than your typical punk rock. It features more of the loud yet echoey guitar that would re-emerge when the Ian-less band morphed into New Order. It's the sound of someone on his way to rock bottom. Closer, with its more dirge-like songs, trading guitar for keyboards, is the sound of the bottom itself. 

Do you know how they say sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you change? What they don't mention is that there's no guarantee you will. 

I can't really say I enjoy this music, exactly, but it does move me. 

I guess Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, Vol 2 is comparable, but since it's all instrumental its desolation is in what is absent and is thus less in your face.

But with its up-front vocals, JD counts as the most desolate music I've ever heard.

Merry Fucking Christmas

A-

There's a Surprisingly Thick Line Between "Not Bad" and "Pretty Good"

As year's end approaches I'm yet again scrambling to distinguish the bad from the good, the meh from the meh-gnificent, the mezza-mezza from the Measure for Measure, the crummy and puerile from the Crime and Punishment. 

And as usual, most of it falls somewhere in the middle.

Of course, what slows me down is my short attention sp -  

Look, a new 50 CD set of out-takes by (fill in obscure and probably overrated indie rock "legends")!!

And suddenly, it's three months later.

But I eventually return and get back to telling the bad from the good, the turd that's forced from the tour de force, the... well, you get the idea.

So here are two records that, on paper, seem similar - keyboard-based pop music with female singer/songwriter - but whose outcomes are completely different, if not in quality exactly, definitely in the fun factor. And isn't fun non-negotiable?

Weyes Blood: Titanic Rising (2019)

Christ, I've listened to this a couple of dozen times and I still don't know if I am actually hearing it.  (I must admit this also happened with Destroyer which I eventually came to like a lot.

This lady's kind of a drag. She sings in that stentorian style that comes from on high, indicating she's above all this mere pop music. She's always got her orchestra with her. 

The songs are not bad, the voice is not bad, the tunes are not bad and the record is overall...not bad.

It is kind of annoying and one-note (Jesus, sing in a different key fer chrissakes).

But I'm finally able to distinguish one song from another! I even put it on for company - not to knock their socks off, of course, but to provide that pleasant background sound for civilized dinners. Nothing that could be confused with rock 'n roll. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Some people will love it. A lot more will admire it. It's very accomplished, but really no fun. At. All.  And when you're just not in the mood, it's interminable.

But not BAD.

B+

"A Lot's Gonna Change"

Sharon Van Etten: Remind Me Tomorrow (2018)

Her voice occupies approximately the same range as Weyes Blood's, so why does she sound so much more compelling, even if her melodies aren't quite as strong? 

Maybe it's the delivery? Yes! It's not as technically accomplished, but it's far more passionate. She sounds like a participant in these songs, rather than just an observer. 

Or the dynamic and varied arrangements? Yup. Piano, of course, but also guitars, drums, and even some gratuitous noise. (My favorite kind.)

Or maybe it's the way she goes over similar territory as WB but risks throwing in a "holy shit" in order to keep it all grounded. Fuck yeah.

And it all goes by so quickly you're sure you missed something. So even if each song hasn't quite hit me yet I'm ready to play it again.

So, it may not turn out to be a MASTERPIECE, but it's pretty damn good.

A-

"I Told You Everything"

So next time....Oh, look! A squirrel! - 

Forget Everything I Said

Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane (1988)

This is the GBs sixth album, and their last one before taking a ten-year hiatus.

It's also my eighth unless you count the anthology of solo records by each of the two songwriters, Robert McClennan and Robert Forster.

Now, this would seem to go against everything I said a couple of posts ago, yet here we are.

How to explain? Well, in a way this should have been my first GB record. After all, I heard "Streets of Your Town" on the radio in late '88. That timeless pop classic alone should have gotten me to the record store the day I heard it. Shall I say that, as a new parent, I put the care of our newborn first? It's just as likely I was avoiding the "one good song on a crappy album" situation. 

It took two years to get over that. Alas, when I tried to buy it at J&R, they had every other GB record except 16LL. There was an anthology 1978 - 1990, which had "Streets" on it, so I took the plunge. It turned out to be one of my favorite records ever - a great mix of their best album cuts, b-sides, and assorted weirdness. It would take me another six years to venture beyond that record, mainly due to the fear that I had now already heard all their best stuff.

And once I did it wasn't all smooth sailing. Each record had something to offer: some incredible high points, but also some annoyances. The latter were usually supplied by Robert Forster, whose songs didn't always have a clear melodic line, and his singing didn't worry too much about things like pitch. Kind of an MOR Lou Reed, if such a thing were possible. (btw, I'd pay to see that.)

I would learn that these were features, not bugs. Records like Before Hollywood and Tallulah were exactly what they wanted to be. And it was my tough luck if because of that they weren't perfect. 

It would eventually become obvious to (even) me that I liked their post-hiatus records Friends of Rachel Worth and Oceans Apart the best. Maybe by then, Robert decided that if they wanted a hit he'd have to be a little less awkward.

Unfortunately, this coincided with the music business becoming infinitely more superficial, if that were possible, so despite his best efforts to sell out, no one was buying, no matter how great the records were.

So I now came full circle, finally listening to Nutboy, who, in 2011 told me 16LL was his favorite GB record. And ignoring my own misgivings about the diminishing returns from getting multiple albums from the same artist. There are some for whom such a concern simply doesn't count. They're always going to give you something more than what you had before. And the GBs are among them.

Grant McLennan contributes his usual set of literate, emotional, melodic pop songs, "Streets" being merely the best one.

Robert Forster steps up with an almost too pretty "Love is a Sign" and the so sad it's almost funny "I"m All Right". Vocally, he reverts to form with "Clouds" but manages to sidestep the usual snags. The production helps. As a matter of fact, his songs are the prettiest on the record.

What's missing is the powerful rhythmic motor that usually drives their songs. But I guess it's just not that type of record, so they get away with it. 

My only regret is that they didn't get the success the album richly deserved.

A-

So in case you're interested here are my GB albums in order of preference 

Oceans Apart

The Friends of Rachel Worth

16 Lovers Lane

Tallulah

Spring Hill Fair

Before Hollywood

Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express

No go and have at it!

On Being Here to Stay, Never Forgetting, Etc.

Hmmm. No sooner have I bitched about the paucity of good rock 'n roll when I get slapped in the head with three excellent records. And what do they have in common? Well, nothing, but only one of the three was by a band I already had a record by. But it's so different from their other one that it almost doesn't count.

This is an early and short take with the grades subject to adjustment (even more than usual).

Spiritualized: Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space (1997)

First, the drug record (see cover), which is reminiscent of many late-sixties jam-mish records, none of which I can quite name.

Almost every melody sounds "pre-owned" but that's not necessarily a problem. In my book, if it doesn't immediately make you think of the other song, it gets a pass. And the only time that happens here is on the last tune, which nicks the riff and overall vibe from "Out of the Blue" - the first cut on the Apple Jam (see?) disc from All Things Must Pass. Which I like!

The lyrics aren't going to win any prizes with phrases like come together and I so too can rock and roll (or something like that), etc., but they're not so awful as to be distracting. And they're sung with so much stoned... commitment that I just go with the flow. A bit like Lonerism but with a higher dosage.

A bit long, but they're on another clock altogether.

Graded leniently, for the feeling of nostalgia it gives me for some other album I've never really heard.

A-

"I Think I'm In Love"

TV on the Radio: Dear Science (2008)

Second, the formerly-arty-but-now-a-little-more-down-to-earth band

Last time out these guys exhausted me with volume, song length, noise, and depressive subject matter. This time there's less of the first three, more rhythm/singing/melody, which almost by definition means less of the fourth thing.

There is almost a sense of humor here.

I love when an artist sticks to his/her vision (a la Neil Young) but sometimes you can do more with less. 

Graded cautiously because there's a lot to take in here.

A-

"Halfway Home"

The Paranoid Style: A Goddamned Impossible Way of Life: (2019)

And finally, the political rock 'n rollers.

For the last few years, I've been partial to the more poppish/melodic bands with female vocalists singing real pretty. 

This is more sleazy rock n' roll and gnarly guitar riffs with the smart as hell female vocalist with a lot to say. Luckily, she's - and I hesitate to use this phrase as an actual compliment in a rock n' roll context - Very Well Informed. 

That might seem...exhausting, but it's not. Each song is a waterfall of words buoyed by a swaggering band charging ever forward. They've got more than a little Clash and Mekons in them. 

Just thirty minutes, but damn near exhilarating.

A-

Grand Ending Statement (that would take too much work to dispute):

So I'm beginning to think we have moved from the era when a small handful of geniuses consistently made the hugest chunk of the great music to one in which many many different people each do a little piece of it. 

That or I'm just a music slut.