Deerhunter @ Drunken Unicorn

Deerhunter must be getting a lot bigger than they were just a few months ago, since I heard nary a word about Bradford Cox's appearance at the show last night. I know a lot of people hate them live (their myspace page had more than a few scathing reviews on it), but I love them. Less sturm und drang than previous shows, so the innate poppiness of their songs was allowed to come out - or would have if the mix had been good. The whole show seemed sort of hurried, but it was a good time and I was really happy to hear some songs from Fluorescent Grey live. Can't wait to see them open up for the Fiery Furnaces on the 7th.

41 Days of Music V

This is where is gets interesting. My favorite thing about listening to my records chronologically is hearing what records were released in the same year. Come to think of it... that's the only thing. Anyway. My records from the late 70's and early 80's are more diverse so I've heard a few interesting combinations.

Buzzcocks Singles Going Steady / Brian Eno Music for Airports
Magazine Real Life / The Police Outlandos d'Amour
Tom Waits Blue Valentine / Wire Chairs Missing
Gang of Four Entertainment! / Gary Numan Pleasure Principle
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures / Pink Floyd The Wall
Birthday Party Hee-Haw / Blondie Autoamerican
Aztec Camera High Land, Hard Rain / New Order P, C, & L

and my personal favorite...

Squeeze Sweets From a Stranger / Christian Death Only Theater of Pain

Metalsome

Can you have more fun than watching a stranger karaoke their way through Ratt's "Round and Round" backed by a full band?
Probably, but that doesn't stop Metalsome from being the best thing about my yesterday. The balding guy did a very credible Geddy Lee on "Limelight". And all was right in the world.

Act Your Age

I am still afraid of needles. It is the one thing I think I will always fear. I had to have blood taken today and I almost didn't make it. Luckily my care-giver, Shawna, was there to hold my hand as I cried my way through it. Just kidding, of course.

She didn't hold my hand.

41 Days of Music IV

Moving inexorably towards the 80s. Should get there by the weekend. I most enjoyed Joy Division's 1977 demo for RCA, consisting of "The Drawback", "Interzone", and "Shadowplay". These songs - as is - could have come from just about any of the myriad of bands that formed in the wake of the Sex Pistols and The Ramones. Looking back you know that Peter Hook, Ian Curtis, Martin Hannett and the rest had bigger things in mind, but as is the demo is a bit limp. "Shadowplay" in particular sounds like it has had the air taken out of it's tires. It has neither the propulsive force of their live versions or the recorded in a black hole atmosphere of the later album version.

Also, listening to Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers in the same day was quite interesting. You can practically hear Alex Chilton come undone as the songs get looser, more destructive, and infinitely depressing. On Radio City, particularly "September Gurls", he's wistfully romantic - but halfway through Third/Sister Lovers he's singing, "you're a holocaust". Yikes.

• Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
• Brian Eno - Another Green World
  
• Big Star - Radio City
• Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers
• King Crimson - Starless & Bible Black
• Roxy Music - Country Life
• David Bowie - Low
• Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
• The Jam - This is the Modern World
• Suicide - First Album
  

41 Days of Music III

The Wicker Man, Dark Side of the Moon, For Your Pleasure, Raw Power and Closing Time all came out in 1973. Personally, I think that "Corn Rigs" is more menacing than anything Iggy Pop could ever dream up, but what do I know. Poor old thing.

I forgot what a weird warbler Brian Ferry was, even if he looks like Terry Wogan in my mind. As goofy as he may be, he's got nothing on King Crimson's "Cat Food". Seriously, the old creative well must have run completely dry if they were writing about cat food.

I can't hear "Lola" anymore without thinking about "L-E-E-L-A". I don't know if that is a good thing. I just know that I like Billy West in my head more than Ray Davies. Ironically, I can hear "Satellite of Love" without thinking of MST3K, but that's probably because Mike never sang any Lou Reed. An album of Mistie songs would be excellent. It goes without saying that they'd have to include the classic, "Hear the Engines Roll, Now" song.

Hearing The Wicker Man Soundtrack (my all-time favorite soundtrack by a wide margin) immediately before The Stooges' Raw Power has re-affirmed by belief that the subtext of that film is very conservative and reactionary. By 1973 the hippie daydream was dead leaving anger and cynicism to become entrenched throughout the culture. In the film its the earth first flower children that murder the police officer based on a philosophy that itself is based on a lie. If it was made in the 60s, the surrogate hippies would have been the heroes, or at least their belief system would not be fundamentally flawed.

Sgt. Howie may be as deluded as well (and he certainly is a prig), but he is not depicted as the murderous drones that the people of Summerisle are. I don't know why Raw Power cemented this for me. Its the first 70's record that I've listened to while doing this that doesn't feel like it still has a toe in the 60s (except for possibly Transformer). Even Funhouse, which came out in 1970, still felt tied to the previous decade. Raw Power is a record of the 70s, which a mindset changed and shaped by the events of the end of the last decade, and an nihilistic eye towards the future. Kind of like The Wicker Man.

41 Days of Music II

Ah, working on Saturday afternoon. Does it get any better? Of course it does, but what am I going to do about it?

I made it midway through 1970 today. At Folsom Prison, Abbey Road, Beggar's Banquet, Band of Gypsys, In the Court of the Crimson King. Good stuff all, but the album I enjoyed most was Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets. These guys have been so overplayed on Classic Rock radio that its hard to listen to their "commercially viable" records (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall) and not be bored by over-familiarity.

I extended that feeling of overkill to their entire catalog and therefor haven't listened to any Pink Floyd in years. But listening to A Saucerful of Secrets helped me re-align my perception of them, removed from all the tired t-shirts and black light posters. It is really an incredible record; artistic and atmospheric without the pretentious overindulgence that would come to characterize their music in the 70s. It was the first record without Syd Barrett (though one of his songs, "Jugband Blues", is included in all its incongruous glory) and it marks their transition from his cracked-pop psychedelia to ethereal space-rock of their later records. I can't wait to re-listen to the rest of their early stuff.

Speaking of space-rock, I never doubted the greatness of King Crimson's early material, but it was nice to listen to In the Court of the Crimson King straight through again. I wish they had retained the same personnel from album to album, because the constantly changing line-up makes their back catalog a bit dicey. I love Islands and Starless & Bible Black, but am kind of ambivalent to the rest of their older material. Damn you Robert Fripp!

Got the Stooges' Fun House coming up, should be just the thing after all this prog-rock. Time to go home. Cheers.

41 Days of Music

So, I’m listening to all of the songs in my iTunes at work straight through chronologically. No point really, just bored. Right now I’m nine hours in (1967) and listening to Velvet Underground and Nico.* My library is 329 hours long. If I listen 8 hours a day I’ll be through in just over 41 days.

A few little notes. I like the Beatles more than Elvis. I like Elvis more than the Rolling Stones. I like the Rolling Stones more than I thought. “My Obsession” is an awesome song. Their first few records are really good, especially Between the Buttons. I forgot how much of their early material (and the Beatles) consisted of covers. I can’t imagine a young band today doing that and being taken seriously. Though most bands’ first records are kind of like covers anyway: a collection of influences played out, rather than built upon. But still, imagine if some indie band came along and their first record was almost all covers of songs from the past few years.

Capt. Beefheart’s Safe as Milk is really good, but is a once-in-a-while record for me, kind of like Rehearsing My Choir. I’d take Johnny Cash’s early, propulsive material over the Rick Rubin-produced funeral dirges any day. “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is still my favorite Cash song. Love that Kris Kristofferson.

I still remain mystified by Pet Sounds. I get it, its immaculately written and produced. It just doesn’t grab me, all the songs sound too similar. A recent article took Sgt. Pepper’s to task for being too removed, too aloof, while praising Pet Sounds for being deeply felt. What emo-style revisionist history bullshit. Sgt. Pepper's isn’t supposed to be about the Beatles themselves. Why else sing from both perspectives in “She’s Leaving Home”? There’s nothing in criticism I hate more than attacking something for what its not, rather than what it is, or wants to be.

I love Dusty Springfield. I could listen to "All I See is You" all day. I love Donovan too, but while he was writing “Mellow Yellow” Bob Dylan was writing “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”. Check and mate.

*Why does Nico get co-billing on an album that she didn't help write and sang only 3 songs on?

Way of the Sword

Ambrose and James are taking a Kendo class and put on a display last weekend on the deck. It somehow devolved into a chorus-line routine but whatever.

The purpose of Kendo is:
To mold the mind and body. To cultivate a vigorous spirit, And through correct and rigid training, To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo. To hold in esteem human courtesy and honor. To associate with others with sincerity. And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself. This will make one be able: To love his/her country and society. To contribute to the development of culture And to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples.

That what it looks like to me.

Krokodil

Went down the Hillsborough River towards Dead River Park. Lots of gators down there. On the shore. In the water. They seemed rather bored with us.

Krokodil is the German word for alligator. I always found this rather odd since crocodiles and alligators are different species. Alligators have U-shaped heads, while crocodiles are V-shaped heads. An alligators upper teeth are visible when an it's mouth is closed, while a crocodile's mouth will reveal both upper and lower teeth. Crocodiles also tend to have green eyes, while alligators have brown ones. Lousy Germans.

Cairo

Cairo made the long trip here last night. She came all that way just to hide under the bed. But she loves the broom. As we all should.

Cairo is the capital of Egypt. It means either "The Vanquisher" or "The Triumphant" in Arabic. Seems a fitting name for a cat that hides under the bed. Maybe she'll be inspired and start vanquishing things. Hopefully not the rug.