Blogging, Books, Cats, Music, Mayhem
The sirens, in Greek myth, were “beautiful yet dangerous creatures” that would lure sailors to the rocks with their music and voices. The Weepies, as far as I know, have no habit of luring sailors to the rocks with their music – but Sirens could certainly do the trick, were they so inclined. Continue reading ““Sirens” by The Weepies (No. 71)”
Another day, another album! This time around, Matthew Sweet’s 1991 power pop / alternative rock masterpiece Girlfriend. Continue reading ““Girlfriend” by Matthew Sweet (No. 72)”
At the intersection of glam rock and grunge, you’ve got Mother Love Bone, a band that burned out before its first and only studio album was released. Mother Love Bone, a compilation that includes the full album from 1990 (Apple) and 1989 EP Shine is a fitting tribute. Continue reading ““Mother Love Bone” by Mother Love Bone (No. 73)”
Today’s album was discovered by rummaging through the Magnatune catalog. This one is The Depths of a Year by Ehren Starks.
Magnatune lists Depths in several categories: jazz, instrumental, neoclassical, piano, and cello. It’s the last one that grabbed me. I realized sometime in the early 2000’s that I really love the sound of cello. So I started seeking out classical and instrumental works that prominently feature cello.
Eventually, I caught wind of Magnatune – a record label with the motto “we’re not evil.” The company’s business model has changed over the years from individual CD sales to MP3 (and other format) downloads, to an “all you can eat” model. It was sometime after 2003 that I checked out Depths and loved it. It’s been in heavy rotation ever since.
[youtube https://youtu.be/qp7JxL4iBMw]
The album features Starks on piano, and Kate Gurba on cello. Listening to the album, you might think that this is a pair of musicians well into their careers. In fact, Starks was 19 when the album was written. Both were students at Kansas University when the album was recorded.
Unfortunately, neither Starks nor Gurba seem to be playing music any longer. Starks released a second album on Magnatune in 2005 called Lines Build Walls. It’s also excellent, but Depths edges it out in my book.
You can stream either album for free on Magnatune’s site, and Magnatune subscribers can share the music under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 1.0 license. If you follow the YouTube link above, you can listen to the entire album. Or you can listen on Magnatune’s site, if you don’t mind a short notice after each song by Magnatune’s John Buckman.
Spike features Elvis Costello’s highest-charting single, “Veronica” – co-written with and featuring Paul McCartney. That’s just the cherry on the sundae for this album, though. Continue reading ““Spike” by Elvis Costello (No. 75)”
Today’s pick is a look at the early work of The Cure. Standing on a Beach and Staring at the Sea are co-sharing the pick for #76, because the titles are almost the same album. Let me explain… Continue reading ““Standing on a Beach / Staring at the Sea” by The Cure (No. 76)”
Free, the second album from LA-based Concrete Blonde is today’s pick for my top 100 favorite albums.
Concrete Blonde sits in the 80s/90s “Alternative/Indie” bucket, which means they’re not exactly top 40, not exactly hard rock, and they didn’t have a major label behind them for their first few albums. Free was released by I.R.S., which had also been home to R.E.M. before the band jumped over to Warner Bros. and released Green.
There are many sins in programming music on radio stations, but here are a few biggies: “Train wrecks,” where the second song is jarring and takes the listener out of the moment; “Ramps,” when the deejay talks over the instrumental lead of the song; and failing to program Journey’s “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” and “City of the Angels” back to back. Continue reading ““Evolution” by Journey (No. 78)”
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)”
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]
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
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.