Lost In Translation

In The iPod-December 2011: Tom Waits, Ryan Adams, and More

Tom Wait's new album Bad As Me (2011) is one of the year's best and one of Waits' best albums in years. Waits reunites with Keith Richards and Marc Ribot who also worked with him on The Bone Machine (1992). The best tracks are buried near the end with the apocalyptic "Hell Broke Luce" and "New Year's Day." Other standout tracks include "Chicago" and the bonus track "Tell Me."

I always look forward to the next Ryan Adams album and you always know there will be one since he is so prolific. He tool a few off and came back with a sparse singer/songwriter vibe on his latest Ashes & Fire (2011). I am still processing this record, but so far like the title track and "Invisible Riverside" are my standout tracks, but the whole album seems pretty solid to me.

After seeing the film Carlos, I was impressed by the soundtrack that was made up of several post punk songs by a variety of bands. One of them, "Dreams Never End" was off a New Order album that I had never owned before, Movement (1981) that also has a bonus disc of different versions of several classics. Some other impressive tracks include, "ICB," and "Truth."

Apparently director Oliver Assayas wanted to do a whole soundtrack with The Feelies songs, but they declined saying that they didn't want to be associated with terrorism. However, there were a few songs from them on the soundtrack which led me to get Crazy Rhythms (1980) with great songs like "The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness," " Fa Ce la," "Raised Eyebrows," and the title track. I had another album, Only Life (1988) from way back with great tracks like the title track, "Higher Ground," and "Far Away."

I was inspired by another film, Pedro Almodovor's Broken Embraces, in which a DJ is spinning Can's "Vitamin C" from Ege Bamyasi (1972). It still sounds very contemporary to me. Especially "Pinch" and "Spoon" in addition to "Vitamin C."

I also went and unearthed Mudhoney's fine second release, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (1991). I was always more of a Nirvana and Mudhoney fan than Soundgarden Pearl Jam fan. It has several classics like "Good Enough," "Into The Drink," "Let It Slide," and "Who You Drivin."

33 1/3: Marquee Moon

Marquee Moon by Bryan Waterman doesn't seem like a typical 33 1/3 book, mostly due to its length, 210 pages. However, it is a thoroughly researched book that is as much about the CBGB scene, and the media's relationship with the band as much as it is about the seminal album. And perhaps that is one of my criticisms. Waterman doesn't really talk about the album itself in length until p.156, that being said I am a huge fan of that time and place in that I also a huge Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, N.Y. Dolls, and Talking Heads fan and there's a lot of good stuff about these people and bands. I'm inspired to read a couple of his sources: Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain (which is on my shelf) and Patti Smith's memoir Just Kids.  

Wilco: The Whole Love

Wilco's new album, The Whole Love, seems to be a departure from the last two releases, Blue Sky Blue and Wilco (The Album). Both of which I happened to like, but they retreated from their experimental sound that started with  Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This album may have something to do with a more solid line-up. "Art of Almost" is the most progressive sounding tune on the album. The more conventional sounding and radio friendly tracks are "I Might", "Standing O," and Dawned On Me." I always think it's a pleasure to hear a new Wilco album. I have yet to be disappointed.

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea written by Kim Cooper about the critically acclaimed second Neutral Milk Hotel album is fairly new to me. I listened to it for the first time prior to reading the book after hearing so much fanfare about the record. I do think it is a great album, but I found that the book spent too much time discussing the band history and recording session for the album. I would have liked to have seen a longer and a more exploratory analysis of each track since I know the songs better than the band. It was also disappointing that the main songwriter Jeff Magnum refused to participate in interviews for the book. I can see how this album influenced bands like Arcade Fire and The Decemberists.

Dean Wareham Sings Galaxie 500 Songs

Last week I saw Dean Wareham (former front man for Galaxie 500 and Luna) play at the Liquid Room in Ebisu. It was great to finally see one of my favorite rock artists finally perform. I've been a huge Luna fan for years and on their last tour for their final album, Rendezvous, I found out after the fact that they had played just down the street from where  lived in Harajuku a few days after. Since Luna's break up he formed a new band with his wife Birtta Phillips: Dean and Britta, which has put out three excellent records: the latest was 13 Beautiful Songs: For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests. (Which I picked up at the concert as well) They played most of my favorite Galaxie 500 songs: "Blue Thunder," "Tugboat," "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste," "Temperature's Rising," and "The 4th zof July." During the encore they did a cover of "I'll Keep It Mine" (a song that was recorded by Nico) and New Order's "Ceremony." I would be happy to see them perform Dean & Britta tunes, but it's not likely that Luna will reunite any time soon unfortunately.

In The iPod: October 2011

I've really been enjoying the new Decemberists album, The King Is Dead. It is very much a departure from the equally impressive, but different prog rock opera The Hazards of Love. My favorite tracks are "All Arise,""Don't Carry It All" (which features Gillian Welch as does "June Hymn" and "Down By The River"), and Peter Buck's guitar is easily recognizable on "Calamity Song" (he also plays on three other tracks). It is a paean to the folk/country rock pioneered by the likes of REM and others. It's likely to be my favorite recording for the year.

I'm also impressed with Seattle-based Fleet Foxes second release on Sub Pop Helplessness Blues. It is a bit of a departure from their debut with a more melancholy sound and fewer harmonies, but still very listenable. My favorite tracks are "Helplessness Blues," "Lorelei," and "Bedouin Blues."

I had also been hearing good things about Fleet Foxes label mates and Seattle-ites, The Head and The Hearts eponymous debut. It doesn't exactly break any new ground musically, but it is competent and solid with impressive harmonies from dual lead singers Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell. My favorite tracks are "Cats and Dogs" and "Honey Come Home." There are some other standout tracks like: "Couer D'lene," "Down In The Valley," "Sounds Like Hallelujah" and "Winter Song."

I have to say that I'm really disappointed with Bon Iver's second album Bon Iver, because For Emma was one of my favorites from 2008. I would have been happy with a "For Emma Part 2." But the haunting sparse, intimate sound from that album has given out to an overblown sound that relies too heavily on effects and too many musicians. It sounds a lot like Peter gabriel and I don't mean that in a good way.

Daydream Nation

Daydream Nation (1988) recorded by Sonic Youth, and written about by Matthew Stearns, is one of those seminal albums that led to the modern rock explosion. Or as one documentary, "the year that punk broke." It's funny but I didn't realized that it was a double album, since I had it on CD, but that seems significant as they were playing with classic rock traditions in their conception of the album as Stearns points out. There are Led Zepplin-like Germanic symbols on the sleeve and contains a song trilogy, but was more in the vein of double albums from the likes of SST bands like The Minute Men (Double Nickels On The Dime) and Husker Du (Zen Arcade).  Pitchfork called it the best album of the 80s and in 2006 the US Library of Congress added it to the permanent archives of the National Recording registry deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important," and which "informs or reflects life in the US." Stearns does a good job of providing background information and clues about the genesis of the songs as well as their meanings. "Teenage Riot" is famously about J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., but I had no idea that "Silver Rocket" was inspired by Andy Warhol and is so oblique in its lyrics. It was interesting to hear that "Sprawl" was said to be influenced by Kim Gordon's reading choices, which included Southern gothic writer Harry Crews and William Gibson's tech-punk Sprawl trilogy: Neuromancer (1984), Count Zero (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). And "Eric Trip" was inspired by a character in an Andy Warhol film, Eric Emerson in Chelsea Girls. "Hey Joni" was inspired by Joni Mitchell and Jimi Page ("Hey Joe"). And the complete phone message from Mike Watt (The Minutemen and firehose) and back story was recounted for "Providence." Again I enjoyed revisiting the album and learned to appreciate it more for the experience.

In The iPod: July 2011

I feel as though I've been too busy to seek out new music, but one way around this is by listening to NPR's All Songs Considered. So one of the new tunes I found via the podcast was "How You Satisfy Me" by Spectrum (a former Spaceman 3 spin off) on the album Soul Kiss (Glide Down), which is a great track, however the rest of the album is not my cup of tea.

Another act I heard on the podcast was the song "Belong" from the album of the same name name by the band The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (the name is a mouthful...). It has that Ride/My Bloody Valentine vibe, but tends to be a bit repetitive. However, there are some other good tracks like: "Heaven's Gonna Happen Now," "Anne With An E," "Even In Dreams, " and "Girl of 1000 Dreams."

During one of the podcasts I came tot he realization that although I had several LCD Soundsystem albums, I did not have the one that has perhaps their greatest hit, "Losing My Edge" from the eponymous first album. It also has some other great tracks like: "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House," "Never As Tired As When I'm Awake," "Disco Infiltrator," "Great Release," and "Yeah (Crass Version)."

The Strokes have a new one out this year, Angels, which is more of that retro good ol' New York punk/new wave. I particularly like: "Machu Piccu," "Under The Cover of Darkness," " Taken For A Fool," and "Gratisfaction."

A friend also got me an Avett Brothers Live Album No. 3. I am a big fan of their great album Emotionalism. However, I haven't been keeping up or going back to their catalogue, so I'm not sure where the songs I don't know come from, but there are several I really like. My two favorites are: "Pretty Girl From Matthews" and "Kick Drum Heart." Other standouts include: "Talk On Indolence," "Shame, " "The Perfect Space," and "Distraction 74."

33 1/3: Kid A

I have been a Radiohead fan since their second album, The Bends. OK Computer solidified their reputations as torch bearers of rock. But their follow up to that, Kid A, was not so well-received. Marvin Lin's excellent analysis of Kid A for Continuum's 33 1/3 series explores the impact of this album. I think he is right in calling it a "grower." I remember that it took me several listenings to appreciate the sonic rumblings. But as lead singer Thomas Yorke points out, it may not be melodic, but it is rhythmic-so not so inaccessible. I think this is especially apparent on a song like "National Anthem"-with it's active bassline. I think all of their albums since OK Computer have been "growers" and this came up recently when talking with a friend about the latest King Of Limbs, which has grown on me with each repeated listen. Lim has divided the Book in to several section with abstract cocenptual titles to discuss different aspects of the album and band: Kid A-Aesthetics, Authenticity, Abstraction, Acclaim, Adaptation, Activism, Apocalypse, Agency, Ascension. Furthermore, I find this volume to be both a personal and generalized abstract foray into the what Kid A is since Lin talks about the personal importance of the album and the band and also draws somewhat tenuous connections between things like Dadaism and critical theory when discussing the album. But he also points out relative facts, like the fact that this album re-entered the Billboard Top 200 10 years after its release in 2010. I also like that he mentions Chuck Klosterman's claim from his book Killing Yourself To Live that Kid A is the soundtrack to September 11th, 2001 despite the fact it was released in 2000, with his track by track analysis. Overall, it was an enlightening look at an album that had fallen into obscurity on my iTunes. This book inspired me to give it several closer listens and as a result I gained a greater appreciation for the album. I think if that's the case, then the undertaking was well worth the effort.

Exile On Main Street

I was drawn to Exile On Main Street due to the fact it was a Stones album I didn't know well. Going into the album in preparation for the book, I was only familiar with one song, "Tumbling Dice"-which I believe was on Hot Rocks. There are certain classic rock staples I can barely tolerate due to overexposure, so I was looking for something new to me to explore. Also, earlier this year there was a NPR All Songs Considered segment on the reissue of the album. The author, Bill Janovitz, was a former member of a beloved band, Buffalo Tom. It is very personal account of an album that Janovitz knows and loves well. He did extensive research, which results in a bibliography at the end of the book. He provides a lot of information about the recording and the context of the recording as well as insightful descriptions of individual songs. For example, he reports that one of my favorite artist from the era, Graham Parsons, spent a lot of time in France, where the band was in tax exile, but did not actually play on the album. He also explains how Angela Davis' arrest was in the news and on the minds of the Stones and may have been a influence for "Sweet Black Angel." Janovitz also introduced me to the Swiss photographer Robert Frank, who did the cover art for the album and was know for his book, The Americans, that featured an introduction by Jack Kerouac. I foundthat I enjoyed a lot of the songs on the album. "Rocks Off" is a memorable favorite with some impressive lyrics from Jagger (who states that he doesn't think Exile is that great of a record): "The sunlight bores the daylights out of me, chasing shadows, moonlight mystery." Some of my other favorites include: "Happy," "All Down The Line," and "Shine A Light." Some of the others are a little too boogie woogie for me like "Rip This Joint" and "Casino Boogie." It is an informativeand deeply felt personal study of a personal favorite by Janovitz.