Music – Page 13 – Zonker.net

August 14, 2016

“Black Snake Diamond Röle” by Robyn Hitchcock (No. 59)

The first solo Robyn Hitchcock album, Black Snake Diamond Röle, literally opened a new world of music for me. A friend in high school declared that I’d like it, and handed me a cassette recorded from the LP. She was wrong, though. I didn’t like it, I loved it.

This was around 1986, and at the time I was mostly into classic rock – The Beatles in particular. I dabbled a bit in popular 80s music, but I hadn’t really gotten into alternative yet. Robyn Hitchcock was my gateway drug. Continue reading ““Black Snake Diamond Röle” by Robyn Hitchcock (No. 59)”

August 12, 2016

“Copper Blue” by Sugar (No. 60)

Sugar‘s debut album, Copper Blue is a fusion of metal and melody, full of joyful noise and irresistible poppy compositions.

Sugar is Bob Mould‘s follow-up to Hüsker Dü, and you can hear the logical progression from tunes like “Makes No Sense At All” to Copper Blue. But Copper Blue is a little bit better produced and cleaner sounding, but still with plenty of rough edges left on for folks who don’t like it too clean.

“A Good Idea” leads off with a thunderous and simple bass figure, and adds layers of guitar, drums, and vocals in an ascent to sonic mayhem. The album goes straight from there to “Changes,” which starts off with a high-pitched guitar assault that’s like an ice pick to the eardrum… but in a good way.

“Changes” devolves briefly to a bit of guitar feedback that could be an outtake from My Bloody Valentine‘s Loveless. Then, with that little palate cleanser out of the way, Sugar launches back into the fray with “Helpless.”

[youtube https://youtu.be/rMvMS7PK8iA]

“Hoover Dam” adds keyboards (it almost sounds like a harpsichord) and has a baroque feel to it that sets it apart from the first four tracks on the album. It’s got a trippy intro, backwards guitar, and you’ll notice that Mould’s vocals are ever-so-slightly nudged towards the front on this one.

“The Slim” is a primal wail, about someone who’s lost a lover to AIDS. “The chances seemed so slim” he recriminates, angry and mourning simultaneously. It’s the most intense song on the album, and that’s saying something.

As if to let off a little pressure, “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” leads off with acoustic guitar and an almost peppy cadence. There’s honest-to-goodness harmonizing and everything here, and an almost Beatlesque guitar solo. The tempo is no less aggressive, but the rest of the song is as poppy as it gets.

[youtube https://youtu.be/Q8rmOX0H44M]

“Slick” is a more plodding, even thicker wall of sound with guitars so thick you’d need a jaws of life to pry yourself out of them. Again, though, Sugar doesn’t sacrifice melody to kicking ass.

Copper Blue has held up well indeed, to the extent that Mould played the album in its entirety on his 2012 tour to celebrate its 20th anniversary. (Sadly, I did not manage to catch this tour.) It pairs quite well with going to the gym, driving, writing, and any time one needs a strong push. If you managed to miss it the first time around, you’ll want to rectify that as quickly as possible.

August 11, 2016

“The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983” by Johnny Cash (No. 61)

Cover: The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983

There are few bands or musicians that command universal respect. Even The Beatles have their detractors. But when talking to other music-minded folks, I can’t recall a single soul who had a bad word to say about Johnny Cash. The Man in Black’s career spans nearly 50 years, and The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983 is a treasure trove of Cash’s early to middle years.

Cash is a hard artist to categorize. He’s often lumped in with country music, but also folk, rockabilly, and he’s done work that fits in the gospel category as well. According to his Wikipedia page, his later work fits in the alternative rock and even “Southern Gothic” categories.

Cash moves between genres effortlessly. On The Essential Johnny Cash you’ll find excellent examples of country standards, folk standards, gospel tunes, rockabilly, talking blues, and rock ‘n roll. The unifying factor is Cash’s legendary bass-baritone voice. There’s no mistaking Cash for anyone else, and he cannot be duplicated.

With 73 tracks on the three CD set, I won’t try to go track by track, but there are a few standouts I can’t resist touching on.

The Man in Black

There’s Cash’s “Man in Black,” a simple statement of why Cash opts to wear an all-black stage outfit rather than the more garish outfits usually associated with country acts. It’s unabashedly political, a protest song against Vietnam, mistreatment of drug users, and more.

It’s a simple, stripped-down song that depends Cash’s voice and acoustic guitar. And that’s it, really.

That’s the somber side of Cash, but his music has a much lighter side as well. There’s the classic “A Boy Named Sue,” which… well, if you’ve never listened to it, you need to pause a minute and give it your full attention for a little less than four minutes.

[youtube https://youtu.be/WOHPuY88Ry4]

There’s also “One Piece at a Time,” an upbeat piece about an autoworker stealing parts for a Cadillac over several years (decades?), eventually to assemble them into a Franken-car.

Paying for your crimes

Cash’s work is clearly aimed at the blue-collar, working poor. Plenty of songs in this collection are from the perspective of prisoners regretting their crimes, or about to pay for their crimes on the gallows. “25 Minutes to Go,” Written by Shel Silverstein, Cash counts down the minutes until the trap drops.

“Oney” is a revenge fantasy about a worker getting to punch out his boss on his last day at work. And, of course, you’ve got Cash’s cover of “The Legend of John Henry’s Hammer.”

Whether it’s talking blues, rockabilly, Cash’s version of country, or even gospel, there’s not a single song on this collection I’d leave off.

The organization of the collection is a bit haphazard, but that’s the only real complaint I can muster about this selection. For folks just wading into the work of Johnny Cash, as I was in the early 2000’s when I picked this up, it’s a fantastic primer on the first few decades of his work. Trying to get entirely up to speed on Cash is a bit daunting, given his fairly prodigious output and longevity. Start here, and then consider moving on to the American recordings.

August 10, 2016

“God Shuffled His Feet” by Crash Test Dummies (No. 62)

Crash Test Dummies ‎– God Shuffled His Feet

You have to love an album that asks the important questions, like how does a duck know which direction south is, and whether you have to get your hair cut in heaven. God Shuffled His Feet is full of little things to ponder, and strong pop tendencies.

The Crash Test Dummies were all over the place in the early 90s with singles off God Shuffled His Feet. If you were around in 1993-1994, and watched MTV or listened to alternative and top 40 stations, you almost certainly caught “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.” Catchy, but with distinctly subversive lyrics, I still love this one even though it got a bit of backlash – probably due to its omnipresence on different radio formats.

[youtube https://youtu.be/7H-czMueCwY]

I remember playing “Afternoons & Coffeespoons” pretty often as well during my first radio gig with KSLQ in Washington, MO. I might have even played cuts by the Crash Test Dummies a little more often than strictly recommended by the play sheets.

The most distinctive feature of God Shuffled His Feet is undoubtedly Brad Roberts’ bass-baritone voice. Throughout the album he hugs the lower registers and delivers the Dummies’ unusual lyrics with gravitas.

[youtube https://youtu.be/0aqlS9SOkjs]

The entire album feels like a lazy Sunday afternoon to me. Even the more upbeat numbers have a slightly ponderous, heavy feel to them thanks to Roberts voice.

“The Psychic” is one of my favorite cuts on this album. It’s a spare arrangement of acoustic guitar, piano, and Roberts lead vocals and Ellen Reid’s backing vocals. It’s a tale of a man who encounters a psychic whose visions “cuts like a knife.” It’s a haunting tune with echoes of the Dummies’ “Superman’s Song” from their first album.

“When I Go Out With Artists” wrestles with questions about art and not being able to see “all the symbols” in modern art. It’s also a fine pop song with great guitar playing and dexterous drumming and bass work. In fact, on all the songs, the band’s chops are unassailable.

I haven’t kept up with the Crash Test Dummies very well since God Shuffled His Feet. Their next album didn’t really resonate with me that much, and I lost track of the band after that. But God Shuffled His Feet is a classic and should be on any list of “best albums of the 90s.” It also is one of the 100 albums I’d reach for if, and I hope this never happens, I had to choose only 100 for the rest of my days.

August 9, 2016

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show Original Soundtrack” (No. 63)

It’s probably been at least ten years since I was moved to stay up until midnight to catch a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but I still reach for the soundtrack on a regular basis.

Oddly enough, I won’t watch the movie at home. I firmly believe that the only way to experience The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie is in a theater with a very boisterous crowd, a few rolls of toilet paper, a squirt gun, some rice, and (optionally) toast. If you’re not shouting at the screen, by goodness, why even bother going?

But I do love the songs, and even though I’ve seen RHPS more than 80 times, I need to be able to get my “Sweet Transvestite” fix more often than I’m willing or able to see midnight showings.

Much, even most, of my fondness for this album is wrapped up in nostalgia and fondness for the movie. While I’m listening to “Dammit, Janet” I can access my teenage self for a little while. Attending RHPS was good, bawdy, fun.

The cool kids didn’t spend their Friday or Saturday nights seeing RHPS, at least not regularly. It was the outcasts, the nerds, the punks, goths, and (in my case) theater club kids that generally jammed the aisles doing the Time Warp and dressing up as their favorite character.

[youtube https://youtu.be/MZtavHAsQCM]

Even today, I can remember a lot of the standard lines used in St. Louis during the movie. As I understand it, audience participation can have some regional flavor, and I’m pretty sure that nobody yells out “it’s the U-City Police force!” when it’s played in Ohio. If it is, of course. Pretty sure Brad is an asshole everywhere, though.

But I love lots of movies, that doesn’t compel me to listen to their soundtracks regularly. What brings me back time and again to this one is the fact that it has a lot of damn good songs. Richard O’Brien managed to subvert a lot of musical tropes with RHPS, but it remains every bit as catchy and compelling as more standard and well-beloved musicals. I’ll put “Over at the Frankenstein Place” or “Rose Tint My World” up against “I Feel Pretty” and “Jet Song” any day.

[youtube https://youtu.be/yjc-I-parYs]

If you’re one of the unlucky few who has never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I suggest you look for a midnight showing and remedy that as soon as possible. Then get yourself a copy of this soundtrack to relive it.

August 8, 2016

“Stunt” by Barenaked Ladies (No. 64)

It’s unclear to me when I first heard the Barenaked Ladies. It feels like I was introduced to the band through a sort of osmosis, hearing their tunes in the background for a long time before I really noted them as a band I should check out.

Stunt is an embarrassment of riches when it comes right down to it. Literally every track on Stunt is a classic.

The album opens with “One Week,” which should be immediately familiar to most folks. It’s a bubbly, happy song about two friends making up after a fight. Perhaps the most entertaining bit of the song is Ed Robertson’s stream-of-consciousness raps throughout the song,

[youtube https://youtu.be/LwalKkIfqKQ]

“It’s All Been Done,” “Call and Answer,” and “Alcohol” were all singles off the album as well. No doubt most of the folks in the 25 to 45-ish age range are familiar with these. They’re all super-solid songs with amazing pop sensibility. Technically, Barenaked Ladies are usually put in the “alternative” category, but they’re a straight-up pop band.

Some of the best of Barenaked Ladies

“Call and Answer” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. A song about a dysfunctional reconciliation, it’s alternately hopeful, loving, and reproachful. It’s got a dreamy quality about it, much slower paced than “One Week” or “It’s All Been Done.” It’s a relationship you know can’t work, but you try anyway, because it’s not quite over yet. Even if it should be.

“In the Car” has a bit of surf rock guitar going on. This one is about looking back at teenage relationships, the frenzied explorations in the backseat that never went quite all the way.

“Some Fantastic” features Robinson and Stephen Page trading off vocals, fantasizing about all the things they’ll never do – but none so much as wanting to be with someone again. The music for this one is almost deceptively simple, but it’s almost entirely carried by the vocals.

Another nod to Brian Wilson

Then there’s “When You Dream,” a song to an infant son that’s amazingly touching. It reminds me more than a little of “God Only Knows.” Once again, the Ladies enter a dreamy territory, and it’s almost impossible to resist. Acoustic guitar, ethereal backing vocals, and Page’s voice singing in a lullaby voice. It’s a truly sweet song.

For those unfortunate few who’re new to Barenaked Ladies, Stunt is an ideal starting point. In and of itself, it’s nearly a greatest hits album.

August 7, 2016

“Everything Under the Sun” by Jukebox the Ghost (No. 65)

The band behind today’s album may have the distinction of having the oddest name in the entire lineup. Naming aside, the trio produces amazing piano-based pop, and Everything Under the Sun is a fantastic snapshot of their work.

The band consists of Ben Thornewill (piano, vocals), Tommy Siegel (guitar/bass, vocals), and Jesse Kristin (drums). If the band hadn’t opened for the Barenaked Ladies, it’s entirely possible I’d have never stumbled on their work. Luckily, I got there early and was totally blown away from the start of their set onwards. I picked up both albums from the merch table immediately after the set, and was not at all disappointed when I got home.

Everything Under the Sun is frenetic and bouncy from the start. “Schizophrenia” is off like a rocket with rapid-fire piano, keyboards, and Siegel setting down solid guitar riffs. Kristin is all over the drums, like the offspring of Keith Moon and Ringo Starr.

[youtube https://youtu.be/xdUvaIV0t7E]

“Half Crazy,” continues the theme started with “Schizophrenia” with a fairly angular and choppy feel to the guitar bits, while Kristin plays at breakneck speed. The band also knows how to build a song that takes you on a rollercoaster from ludicrous speed to comforting lull and back again.

[youtube https://youtu.be/Mn009GSw7gk]

After two high-energy pieces, the band slows it down slightly with “Empire.” This one is built for audience call-and-response, and works great live. The interplay between drums and piano on this song, and throughout, is deeply satisfying.

At times I catch influences from Little Richard, Queen, The Beatles, and many others in Jukebox the Ghost’s music. At the same time, it’s never derivative and always interesting.

“Summer Sun” starts with lazy piano and a bass drum beat. It sounds like it’s going to be a ballad, but then morphs into a rocker and then into gentle fade.

You might think a three-piece band would sound fairly stripped-down, but JtG is quite the opposite. They’re capable of creating quite the wall of sound in concert, and their studio work is amazingly lush. “So Let Us Create” is mostly piano, soft drums, and vocals, but it’s incredibly rich.

Let’s take a second to talk about the band’s lyrics. Like a lot of pop songs, they sound a bit more profound when sung than when on the page – but the band still has a way with words that has a lot of heart. Consider some of the lyrics to “So Let Us Create”:

Isn’t every day exactly what we make?
Mistakes, mistakes
And often on the same day
We’ll make the same mistakes
Let’s get to know them then
Let’s get to know them then

So let us create
What we need each other to be
And I’ll be what you need
For me to be

“The Stars” is another impressive piece of work. It’s all over the place, in a good way. It’s optimistic and apocalyptic. It’s high energy, but occasionally ponderous. The drumming on this one is particularly impressive.

And then there’s “The Popular Thing,” which I defy anyone with any love of pop music to listen to without getting it stuck in their head. The piano breakdown towards the end of the song is masterful, and the chorus is impossible to resist.

From start to finish, Everything is a perfect collection of indie/pop/piano-pop music. It’s hard to categorize, but also hard for me to imagine anyone who could be immune to its charms. Take it out for a spin and you’ll probably agree.

August 6, 2016

“Your Arsenal” by Morrissey (No. 66)

When I first got my hands on Your Arsenal back in 1992, I knew from the first few notes of “You’re Gonna Need Someone on Your Side” that it’d be a winner.

No disrespect to Moz, but it’s tough to carry a band with vocals and lyrics alone. Johnny Marr’s guitar playing and musical contributions (as well as from Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, but Marr in particular) were essential to the band’s sound. The folks Morrissey gathered for Your Arsenal were up to the task.

Evolution in sound

Your Arsenal has a harder edge to it than Morrissey’s solo work immediately after leaving The Smiths. I might even argue that it’s a bit harder than most of The Smiths’ albums, but there are probably a few Smiths tracks where Marr and company match the band here.

As always, Morrissey’s lyrics are as biting as the guitar. It’s hard to see “We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful” as anything other than a dig at Marr. It does, however, apply to many other situations as well.

[youtube https://youtu.be/1nRRu9WAA-k]

“Certain People I Know” is another dig in the direction of Marr, with a pretty direct reference about people who “break their necks and can’t afford to get them fixed.” For such a petty sentiment, it actually still makes for a decent song. Guitarists Alain White and Boz Boorer aren’t direct substitutes for Marr, but they have great chops nonetheless.

“You’re the One For Me, Fatty” is (I hope) tongue in cheek. It’s got a great hook and guitar solo about mid-way through. I should probably add that the bass on this one is top-notch as well.

[youtube https://youtu.be/GFDzQD-LR80]

Return to the Morrissey basics

It wouldn’t be a proper Moz album without at least one or two songs pining about loneliness and despair. “I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday” and “Seasick, Yet Still Docked” fill that nicely here. “Someday” doesn’t quite live up to some of the more substantive songs of this time from The Smiths, but it’s still a pretty good song.

“Tomorrow” closes out Your Arsenal, and it’s a rollicking and dynamic number. The album is full of intricate guitar work, but “Tomorrow” is at the top of the pack. It was, also, damn good live. I managed to see Morrissey in St. Louis at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on the tour supporting the album and it was damn good.

If you want an introduction to Morrissey as a solo artist, start here. I suspect even folks who might not dig the entire Moz catalog would enjoy this album, but if you’re prone to enjoying The Smiths and Morrissey, then this one is a do-not-miss.

August 5, 2016

“Puzzle” by Dada (No. 67)

The early 90s were a great time for music. Not only were there a lot of really interesting bands putting out albums, it was the first time in my life that I actually had a fair amount of disposable income to drop on new music. Those factors combined meant that I found a lot of new bands between 1990 and 2000. Dada‘s Puzzle was one of those records that happened to appear on my radar and find its way into regular rotation.

Dada was another band that I was introduced to by MTV. Their single, “Dizz Knee Land” (hello trademark obfuscation!) was in heavy rotation on the music video channel while I had time to troll the channel for new music or hoping to catch a video I already enjoyed.

“Dizz Knee Land,” is a fantastic single. It’s got catchy as fuck hooks, sinewy guitar, and dexterous bass and drums that just absolutely worm their way into your consciousness.

[youtube https://youtu.be/daa9pZDxfIY]

No duds

Let me say, for the record, I wound up buying a lot of albums in the early 90s that turned out to be duds. One or two singles would be really damn good. Then I’d get the entire album home and be crushed by the sheer awfulness of the rest of the album. Yes, Blind Melon, I’m looking at you.

But, it turns out, “Dizz Knee Land” isn’t even the best track on Puzzle. “Dog,” for example, has a melody worthy of The Beatles and a chorus that will keep you humming for days.

“Posters” is one of my favorite songs of the 90s, period. The extended drum riffs and interplay with bass and guitar in the song’s intro are amazingly wonderful. By the time the song finds its grove, you’re already entranced. Lyrically it reminds me of nothing so much as a latter-day “Norwegian Wood,” but with twenty times the intensity.

[youtube https://youtu.be/IqPVZgALpPc]

And then there’s “Dim,” which is absolutely perfect. It’s got searing guitar, dexterous bass, perfect drums, and amazing harmonies. “No one told me, what trouble I was in, before my life went dim!” It’s the perfect post-breakup song, suitable for playing on repeat until you can face the world again. Dada manages to make heartbreak catchy and upbeat, but also lets you wallow in the pain with a cathartic release. “Can’t this car go any faster? Cause I can still see where I am!”

“Tim” is a latter-day “Eleanor Rigby,” but focused on an at-risk child instead of a lonely adult. Replete with strings and acoustic guitar, the band weaves a tale of a boy trapped in telling compulsive lies about his parents to cover for the fact that they’re really not present in his life in any real way. The music to this one is just hauntingly beautiful.

The best of the bunch

Frankly, every song on this album is perfect as far as I’m concerned. I’ve checked out other albums by Dada, and they are … OK. But this one is just frigging dialed in from start to finish. When I’m on long trips, I love to pull this one out because I know the next 55 minutes are going to sail by like the outside world doesn’t even exist.

If you haven’t heard it, I do recommend checking out Dada’s Puzzle. It truly is a masterpiece.

August 4, 2016

“All of this and Nothing” by Psychedelic Furs (No. 68)

Thank goodness for Columbia House. The “12 cassettes for a penny” deals helped me build a healthy music collection back when I was a teen with minimal spending cash. That’s how I landed All of this and Nothing, the Psychedelic Furs compilation album that serves as a fairly comprehensive selection of their best cuts.

The Furs’ last studio album, World Outside was good enough to make the top 100, but it’s hard to beat a collection that has “The Ghost in You,” “Love My Way,” and “Pretty in Pink.”

All of this and Nothing is wall to wall 80s alt/rock/pop that (if you’re an 80s kid) you’ll recognize instantly. Richard Butler’s raspy croak shouldn’t work, but it does. The warbling saxophone shouldn’t work, but it does. The wall of bass and guitars should work, and it does.

Had I only enjoyed “Pretty in Pink,” it would have been worth snagging via Columbia House. But I also re-upped to buy the collection on CD after I’d worn the cassette to shreds, and took the time to rip the CD to MP3 for frequent playback.

But every single track is a treasure. All of this and Nothing has been one of my favorite albums for flights, long walks, and long road trips. You should be able to find it on any and all of the major streaming services, if you don’t have it already. I suggest you cozy up with it and let it work its way into your favorites too.

(Apologies for brevity, writing this post while at Flock and don’t have quite so many cycles to write the lengthy post I’d usually wish to.)