Music – Page 15 – Zonker.net

July 24, 2016

“Ekstasis” by Nicky Skopelitis (No. 79)

On the off chance that anyone is actually playing along at home, I feel bad about listing records that you can’t easily find on Spotify, Google Play, or other digital music services. Yet, like Prison, I can’t really leave Ekstasis off the list. (You can find it on Bandcamp, though.)

Ekstasis is in a similar vein with Hallucination Engine, being a heady mix of funk, jazz, rock, world music, and the kitchen sink if it adds anything. The album is credited to guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, but the cast of characters contributing looks a lot like a Material album. Continue reading ““Ekstasis” by Nicky Skopelitis (No. 79)”

July 23, 2016

“Whip-Smart” by Liz Phair (No. 80)

Liz Phair‘s Whip-Smart is a perfect Saturday afternoon album. By happy accident, that’s when I’m re-listening to Whip-Smart and writing this post.

Whip-Smart is not a radio-friendly album, unless the radio station is an early 90s alt-rock station with a penchant for pissing off the FCC. Unusual at the time, Phair drops more than a few f-bombs on Whip-Smart, and Phair’s songwriting doesn’t produce a lot of accessible tunes ready to push out as a single anyway.

Sure, “Supernova,” is an exception to this rule. Clocking in at just 2:48, it sports a chunky, fuzzed out guitar hook that makes the song as crowd-pleasing as they come.

[youtube https://youtu.be/9EUT9Bo0IEg]

Change of Pace

But many of the tracks on Whip-Smart are ethereal and un-rushed. More like vignettes or short stories with a backing track. Phair’s delivery alternates between hushed and vulnerable and the confident alt-rock goddess.

“Cinco De Mayo,” is a more straight-forward rocker with Phair’s trademark off-key delivery and garage band sound. “Dogs of L.A.” is somewhere between the lands of ethereal and off-key garage rock.

Then there’s the title track for the album, “Whip-Smart.” Easily one of my favorite Phair songs, it’s a song about how she plans to raise her son, someday. The chorus is irresistible, and it’s just a magnificent track all around.

[youtube https://youtu.be/QAqPG1a0uz0]

“Jealousy” is another more direct number, with a heavy bass throb and loose rhythm guitar. Phair is wrestling with the green-eyed monster in this one, singing:

I can’t believe you had a life before me
I can’t believe they let you run around free
Just putting your body wherever it seemed like a good idea

Go supernova

If you’re new to Phair, give it a chance, then dig out Exile in Guyville and the rest of her catalog. Sadly, it’s a bit slim – Phair has only put out six full-length albums since Exile in 1993. Say what you will about Phair, she doesn’t hold back. Maybe that’s why I enjoy Whip-Smart so much: It’s raw, unfiltered, and deeply personal. Its lack of polish is a feature, not a bug. On repeated listens, it gets even better.

July 22, 2016

“Hack” by Information Society (No. 81)

Hack may, in fact, be the only album to sample a Walt Disney read-a-long album and James Brown on the same track. The fact that it works is just the icing on the cake.

The follow-up to their self-titled album, Information Society put out Hack in September of 1990. This one Takes on a decidedly harsher and more experimental tone than Information Society and failed to have the same kind of success that the debut album did. But commercial success and successful music aren’t always the same thing. Continue reading ““Hack” by Information Society (No. 81)”

July 21, 2016

The Big Express” by XTC (No. 82)

XTC‘s The Big Express pulls into the top 100 station at number 82. Roughly in the middle of the band’s discography, The Big Express successfully melds the awkward New Wave-y XTC nicely with the more lush, Beatlesque XTC to come.

Picking my favorite XTC album or albums is sort of like trying to choose my favorite limbs or organs. Yes, when absolutely necessary, I could choose. That’s not to say that I’d be happy losing any of them. Continue reading “The Big Express” by XTC (No. 82)”

July 20, 2016

“Hallucination Engine” by Material (No. 83)

Album cover: Material's Halluciation Engine

Today’s pick, Hallucination Engine by Material is a bit of a sharp departure from the likes of The Who, L7, Rollins Band, and the rest of the list so far – excepting, perhaps, Steven Jessie Bernstein.

Where I mostly go for straight-forward classic rock, hard rock, or alternative, Hallucination Engine mostly instrumental, or only features background chants or singing – and much of that not in English, so that the vocals are also treated as another instrument or texture in the fabric of the song. Continue reading ““Hallucination Engine” by Material (No. 83)”

July 19, 2016

“Weight” by Rollins Band (No. 84)

If you ever need an album to derive inspiration from at the gym, Weight is your friend. The Rollins Band’s 1994 Weight is the Rollins Band at its most accessible, but losing none of its hardness.

“Disconnect” starts relatively placidly, Rollins speak-singing about wanting to get away from the noise of other people before putting the song abruptly into high gear. Rinse, repeat. It’s the best anthem for the weary. Continue reading ““Weight” by Rollins Band (No. 84)”

July 18, 2016

“The Minus 5” by The Minus 5 (No. 85)

The Minus 5 may be one of the best bar bands ever assembled. Made up of a rotating cast of alt-rock heroes like former R.E.M.’er Peter Buck and drummer Bill Rieflin, and headed by Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows, the self-titled The Minus 5 is a loose, rollicking set of songs that practically beg to be performed live.

I can thank Robyn Hitchcock for my introduction to The Minus 5. Several members of The Minus 5 (Buck, McCaughey, and Rieflin) backed Hitchcock on his 2006 album Olé! Tarantula as “The Venus 3,” and I had the chance to catch the bands in Seattle, playing the Crocodile Cafe in November 2006. So I nabbed The Minus 5 too, to see what they had to offer. Quite a lot, as it turns out. (Spoiler alert, this isn’t the only time Hitchcock or Buck will appear in the top 100.)

Continue reading ““The Minus 5” by The Minus 5 (No. 85)”

July 17, 2016

“Hollywood Town Hall” by The Jayhawks (No. 86)

The Jayhawks are usually categorized as “alternative country” or “country rock,” but neither label suffices to describe the band at its full power. Hollywood Town Hall, released in while founding member Mark Olson was still with the band, is definitely a snapshot of The Jayhawks operating on all cylinders.

Like R.E.M., The Jayhawks span multiple genres and audiences. Any cut from Hollywood Town Hall would be equally at home alongside 90s alternative rock, on a classic rock station, and would probably pass just fine on modern country stations as well. (I’m probably a bad judge of what fits on modern country, though.)

Continue reading ““Hollywood Town Hall” by The Jayhawks (No. 86)”

July 16, 2016

“Dreamboat Annie” by Heart (No. 87)

Before I owned this album, I’d happily empty my pockets of change – or beg my parents for a quarter – to put “Magic Man” on the jukebox. To this day it feels a little like cheating* that I can just play “Magic Man” any damn time I want.

Turns out, I want to pretty often. I turn to Dreamboat Annie all the time when I’m looking for something to listen to while I read or work on the computer. Continue reading ““Dreamboat Annie” by Heart (No. 87)”

July 15, 2016

“Tommy” by The Who (No. 88)

What can I say about The Who‘s Tommy that hasn’t already been said? Since its release in 1969, Tommy has been written about nearly as much as Sgt. Pepper. Tommy was a peak moment for a band that has had enormous impact on rock and roll, and broke new ground in several ways.

Arguably the first “rock opera,” Tommy spanned two LPs, and takes the unusual approach of telling a single (if somewhat muddled) story over the span of its 24 tracks.

Continue reading ““Tommy” by The Who (No. 88)”