You know 2016 is a rough year for musicians when even Ralph Stanley can't make it through the first six months. We all know him his stirring rendition of O, Death from from Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Though.
NPR had a great obituary this morning and of course I'm sharing the video.
Has there ever been album written about more than Radiohead's Ok Computer? Perhaps Sgt, Pepper's but not many more than that. One of my favorite songs is the last one: The Tourist. It's a nice coda to the album: kinda lugubrious, druggy even. A great song to listen to at 2:00a in the morning after filling you head with 45 minutes of Radiohead and other substances. I really love the end: bluesy swirling guitars that give way to just a simple bass and drum beat and finally, the last note of the album, a single bell chime.
That chime just gets me (and it's foreshadowed early in the song). It's such a cool ending to the album. It is so simple yet that chime starkly announces the end; you can breath again and start thinking about what you just listened to. It's like the woo in What's Going On referenced by Russell in Almost Famous. It's a simple little thing but it makes the whole song (and album, I would argue). It's what you put in... That's Rock and Roll.
Drop Your Lists
Russell Hammond: But… it’s not what you put in, is it? It’s what you leave out. Listen to… listen to Marvin Gaye…
A song like What’s Going On.”That single “woo” at the end of the second verse – you know that woo – that single “woo.”
William Miller: I know that woo.
Russell Hammond: That’s what you remember. The silly things, the little things… there’s only one, and it makes the song.
It’s what you leave out. That’s rock and roll.
What I think is funny about this line of dialogue is that RH describes something that Marvin Gaye “puts in” not leaves out of What’s Going On. That single woo is just an added flourish, but it wasn’t something he left out.
I think I might use my five week FMD slot to go over other songs where the band/singer puts something simple in… and it just makes the song.
Let’s kick off the list with Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones. First of all the song is just a perfect little 2:13 of pop/punk joy. From the Hey Ho, Let’s Go chant, to the surf guitar sound, to the 3x repeated 2 versus about kids going crazy over a new dance craze. But what I love about the song is the Hey Ho Let’s Go chant. The first two times it’s chanted with just a drum beat. The next chant adds a bass, and the final chant has the guitar coming in. It’s a great build up to the verses (and song ending). I think the song would be missing something if they were just blasting all instruments during the chant, or conversely, having no guitars. It's what they put in. That's Rock and Roll.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYh1lRR1m6Y
Drop your lists.
HJ mentioned this last week, but do get your picks in for the WGOM summer mix. The basics were covered last week, but the gist is put three song in spoilers. They don't have to be from this year, but they totally can be. We'll make a mix, then post a playlist. It was fun last year, and I have no reason to think it won't be again this year.
Your next curator starts next week! I had hoped to own this a little more, but it's been a hectic last couple of months. Next time this opportunity comes around, I'll make sure to take a winter stretch. Thanks Can of Corn for the couple of pinch hits, and thanks everyone else for putting up with the increasingly half-baked content.
In the meantime, drop your ten.
This is here.
Add your list down there.
HJ:
I'm going to hijack this thread a little to announce...
WGOM SUMMER MIX 2016!
Over the next couple weeks we'll take submissions. Rules are pretty simple:
I'm shooting to have this done by the solstice, so let's get those picks in!
Last Wednesday, a friend of mine listened to Radiohead's newest, A Moon Shaped Pool, on the way back from mushroom hunting.
The album itself is good. It'll take a number of additional listens before I have any idea what to think of it, but my initial thought is that it's quite good - even if I still wish they'd bring the guitars back.
What it really got me thinking about, though, was how differently I approach music when I'm listening with someone else. I'm automatically more critical of what I'm listening to - not necessarily in a negative way, just in a slightly more mindful way. It's kind of fun. I wish I got to do it more often.
I've also been listening to a weirdly high number of NES soundtracks lately.
Drop your ten.
I have a game I play (using Last.fm) where I try to have listened to an album's worth of music from 15 artists on any given week. A little over two albums a day (one on the commute, one either at home or at work) from a variety of people keeps things fresh.
It's been sort of difficult to keep up with lately. I've been running all over the place, and I don't listen to nearly as much music at home as I used to (as mentioned in a previous week's post). I might have to bump it down to 10.
The new White Lung album it lots of fun. The new Kanye, not so much. I was discussing it with a friend, trying to be devil's advocate for it, but there really isn't much there that I keep coming back to.
Anyways, sorry about the late post. I had something written up on my home PC, but forgot to copy it over this morning.
Not sure who has May but I was here, nothing was up, and I went to a concert last night!
I've lived in the Eastside and/or the WBL area for the past 8 years, but I'd never been to the Myth for a show. It's sort of a weird venue; a dance club/concert space in what amounts to big box, strip mall, regular mall, sea of parking lots suburbia (but free parking ftw!). Once inside however, I was pleasantly surprised at the layout and acoustics.
Heard three bands: Joywave, Foals and Silversun Pickups. To be honest, I was most excited to see the first two bands, and rightly so as it turned out.
Joywave only had 30 minutes, but played some great stuff: Now, Parade, Nice House, Bad Dreams, Somebody New, Tongues, Destruction, Destruction (not a typo ... they played this song twice in a row. I've never seen that before). It was still light outside and the crowd wasn't into it yet, but the band didn't seem to care - lots of snarky self-deprecation and goofy commentary during the set, but they played some interesting & catchy tunes. Would've liked to hear another 5 songs.
Foals played an awesome set and rocked it out like it was the last show they'd ever play. I was really disappointed to miss them with Cage The Elephant and J. Roddy Walston & The Business a few years back, even more so after taking in their performance last night. Stuff I knew into stuff I didn't know, but seamlessly and with great flow, and live, they were cohesive in a way that I think some bands lack. Really impressive.
SSP have about a half-dozen songs I really like, and the remainder of their output feels like lots of sameness. That was the case live too. That being said, their production felt crisp and they sprinkled in some of their more popular stuff while playing lots off the newest album... actually, that could be why I wasn't really feeling it.
Next up for me is Sturgill, and then Wilco & Kurt Vile later in the summer. Not sure who else is coming ... what have you seen (or who are you planning to see)?
Having a kid hasn't slashed as much time from my hobbies as I might have expected so far (subject to change, obviously). I still play a fair number of video games, I will watch baseball, and I still listen to quite a bit of music.
The one thing I don't do nearly as much anymore is find NEW music. I almost always did that late at night after Linds went to sleep. Anymore, I'm just as tired as she is, so around the time I'd be perusing blogs and whatnot, I'm falling asleep on the couch, instead.
As a result, I haven't really heard a lot so far this year. The Operators album is pretty sweet, the new Mitski song is good. New M83 is deeply cheesy and odd....yeah.
Any recs?
Also, drop your ten.
More regularly scheduled nibbishment next week, but today, we'll talk about Prince.
I listened to Purple Rain again for the first time in a long time last night. I've never been a massive fan, but giving a "new ears" listen was a lot of fun. That was one talented dude.
And now, the obligatory...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fv_6bH8WUA
