The District Attorneys – “Cherry Glow”
Heard this tune by Athens, GA group The District Attorneys on my road trip back from Colorado (istening to The Loft on SiriusXM). Instant like.Chorus sounds a tad like Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” no?
A New North Woods Legend
There are many myths, legends and stories that come from the North Woods of America. The wood spirit of Wendigo which could only be seen when facing it head on…the little people who lived among the trees and distracted many a traveler…and, of course, that giant bearded man whose pet was on Ox named Babe.With no need for any hammers from gods, The Stereo Pirates are wielding the full power of Paul Bunyan’s Ax, poised to make their mark in the musical zeitgeist of Minneapolis and beyond.When I first heard them play a few weeks ago at the Nomad World Pub on the West Bank, the first thing that struck me was how catchy and accessible their music sounded. The song “Fall Back Man” is a great example of this.
The pen of lead singer and chief lyricist Bryan Pertinen is matched only by his voice that cuts through the coldest of North Woods winters, soothing the scenesters as if they were in front of an open flame. Fire continually flies from the fingers and fret board of lead guitarist Jon Wefel as he takes his flower covered flock on many Kesey-esque journeys.
Yet the key to this voyage into pure pop heaven lies in Bryan Rubbelke‘s black and white ivories that happily dance for the various denizens of pubs and clubs, scooping them all up for the ride. The rhythm section of Mark Thoreen (bass) and Jeremy Krueth (drums) provide the kind of foundation from which aural skylines are constructed in Rock City, USA.
The Stereo Pirates have just released their self titled debut and it is a corker. It’s been in constant rotation on my iPhone, my home stereo, my computer and even my minivan as I haul kids around town. In fact, I can imagine soccer moms around the country re-embracing, and perhaps re-imagining, Twin Cities Pop with tracks like “Blue Eyes”, “Crooked Smile,” and “Painted Ladies.” The latter track nods wonderfully to Motown with a totally fab horn section that actually drove me to skipping as I was working out at the gym the other day. And I can’t help but chuckle at the obvious Zep influenced “She Cut Me.” This one gets my son’s nod for best track of the album as he always yells at me to crank the van stereo when it comes on. “Rock and Roll should be LOUD, Dad,” he reminds me and that’s exactly how this tune should be played.
But the album’s true gem and the one that will ultimately write their fire in the sky is “Take Me Home.” Ranking right up there with “Fix You” by Coldplay and “Bedshaped” by Keane, “Take Me Home” is the classic rock anthem in every sense of the word. I can already see former cigarette lighters and now cel phones lighting up arenas as this is one of those show closing songs that will simultaneously existing at every point in music history-adding another mythic and brilliant note to the infinite lexicon that comforts me every single moment of my life.
The Stereo Pirates will be playing live at the Fine Line Music Cafe on Thursday, March 8th. If you live in the Twin Cities area, I highly recommend seeing this band live. Click here to friend them on Facebook for all their latest news!
It’s So Hard To Just Walk Away
For the past several weeks, I have tried to get myself to the point where I could tell all of you that the new album by Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto, is a must for your Christmas stocking this year. Sadly, I have to report that I am not at that point and likely never will be. The London Lads’ 5th release is mediocre at best.
Certainly, Mylo Xyloto has some Parachutes-like moments but they don’t arrive until the middle of the album. “Us Against The World” is the first such example, a nice track to be sure, that has Chris Martin’s voice looming large in the mix with that familiar, dreamy echo. But then it’s right back to the keyboard driven pomp pop that one would expect from the likes of the latest American Idol contestant (“Every Teardrop is a Waterfall,” the first single). Indeed, this is what we sit through on the first four tracks of the disc. Perhaps it’s because I yearn for a return to the simpler time of Parachutes, their first full length release, and the mood that went along with it that was captured so beautifully over a decade ago. In many ways, that album ushered in the Era Of Dream Pop, unleashing such wonderful bands as Keane, Snow Patrol, Star Sailor, and the Delays into the world.
Thankfully, the track after Teardrop is the one that saves the album from being a real stinker. “Major Minus” is vintage Coldplay and one of their best tracks of all time. Martin’s “Ooo-ooo” ing along with a catchy acoustic guitar, terribly sick drum beat, and Edge-like electric guitar from Jonny Buckland make this song simply amazing.
“U.F.O.” also finds some Parachutes magic as does “Up In Flames” but this is largely due to Martin’s voice which most definitely does not disappoint. Of course, this has always been the case on all their records. He derides himself constantly, saying that he is a “4th rate Bono.” Nothing could be further from the truth. His singing brings a layer of emotion that speaks directly to points in the human condition (especially love) that Bono has never seemed to capture in his career.
The album’s closer, “Up With The Birds,” has the line, “It’s so hard to just walk away” which I found to be terribly appropriate. Coldplay are one of my favorite groups and it’s like pulling teeth to write this post but my inner Cusack in High Fidelity simply has to be honest. Download “Major Minus” for sure…”Us Against The World”, “U.F.O.” and “Up In Flames” if you must fill it out a little to get more of a taste but really that’s it.
Here’s the track, “Major Minus.”
Impossible But…
Before it had even arrived in the mail my mind was made up. There was no way in hell that the new Subways album, Money and Celebrity, was going to be as good as their last one. All or Nothing is one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time. Seriously. I listed it here as the 2nd best album of the last decade because it defines the very essence of the mixed up love affair I have with women and music.So, the very notion of it being as good or better was impossible. Indeed, the first listen didn’t go very well as I had this bias firmly entrenched in my mind. The same thing happened with the second and third listens. But the fourth listen was the one where I decided that it didn’t have to be as good as or better than All or Nothing.
Because it’s still way fucking better than 99 percent of the boring shit that’s been put out this year! And, honestly, Billy, Charlotte and Josh have turned in one heck of a third record. In many ways, it reminds me a great deal of their first album, Young For Eternity, in both theme and style
With this, we also see an attempt by the band to achieve more of commercial sound. This is evident in the first single, “It’s A Party” as well as “I Wanna Dance With You.” The producing talents of Stephen Street (The Smiths, The Cranberries, Blur) are evident in both of these tracks that were tailor made for radio. This record is also kind of a concept disc with the title coming from two most excellent tracks on the album (“Money” and “Celebrity”) which both offer biting social commentary.
My faves are “Popdeath” (timely, considering the recent passing of Amy Winehouse), “Like I Love You” (classic Billy in love track), and “Down Our Street” (ok, I’m always a sucker for stories of British towns).
Although the record has not been released here in the US, Amazon Uk has it available. I’d recommend it as a stocking stuffer!
Here is the song “Popdeath” performed acoustically on Carnaby Street at a recent guerrilla gig.
He Stands The Test of Time…Like Beatles and Stones
(Beady Eye, Live in the Main Room, First Avenue, 5 December 2011)
Liam Gallagher is doing just fine without Oasis. Well, actually, he took most of Oasis with him and formed a new band called Beady Eye so he’s not really suffering. Last night, this new outfit descended on First Avenue and put on a corker of a show. Part of it had to do with the venue, of course, as I hadn’t seen Liam in such a small setting for quite some time (1994, at the now departed Uptown Bar on Oasis’ first ever US tour before the “Supersonic” single had even come out).
Here was their set list.
Four Letter Word
Beatles and Stones
Millionaire
Two of a Kind
For Anyone
Three Ring Circus
The Roller
In the Bubble With a Bullet
Bring the Light
Standing on the Edge of the Noise
Kill for a Dream
The Beat Goes On
Man of Misery
The Morning Son
WigwamEncore:
World Outside My Room
Sons of the StageAs you can see, no Oasis songs were played but that was just fine with me. Beady Eye’s first album, Different Gear, Still Speeding, brings a fresh mix of styles as well as familiar, Beatles-esque yarns. Highlights for me last night were “The Roller” (another channeling of Liam’s inner Lennon), “Bring the Light” (the first single from the album which I didn’t really like right away but has since grown on me with its Jerry Lee Lewis piano…ballin’!) and “Kill For A Dream” (I think I got a contact high from this number and the pot was from 1967).
The show also saw Liam being his usual self (posing god like, picking fights with the crowd, general misbehavior fueled by titanic hubris) which made me crack up several times. The rest of the band showed the crowd their musical talents as well. Gem Archer and Andy Bell were both fantastic on the guitar. Chris Sharrock drummed his fucking heart out. Matt Jones added several layers of texture with his keyboard work.I’ll be looking forward to the second record which Liam has promised will drop late next year. Mega!
Check out the band’s remaining tour schedule for the US.
Here is my photo album from the show.
Sons of Anarchy, Katey Sagal, and Leonard Cohen
I’m knee deep in another great TV series courtesy of Netflix’s streaming. A couple months ago, I fell into Breaking Bad, and it was without question the best damn TV show I’d ever seen in my 40 plus years. I still believe that – but not far behind has to be FX’s Sons of Anarchy.
The series about a northern California motorcycle gang features the great Charlie Hunnam as Jackson “Jax” Teller, the VP of the Sons of Anarchy. I wasn’t familiar with Hunnam before this series, but it’s hard not to fall for his badass portrayal of Jax. You develop a bond with the whole motley cast of characters – Clay Morrow, the prez, played by Ron Perlman; Tig, Half Sack, Opie, Police Chief Unser…
And then there’s Katey Sagal, who most of us know as Peg Bundy from Married With Children. Truthfully, not being a big TV guy over the years, I don’t remember even seeing her since her Peg Bundy days. But she’s been busy over the years as her IMDB entry will attest. And her Sons of Anarchy role as club matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow has blown my mind. Gemma is mother to Jax, and wife / “old lady” to club president Clay Morrow. She’s fierce and mean as a pitbull, but devoted, loving and oh, just a bit protective of her family. You love her one minute and despise her the next.Toward the end of Episode 4 of Season 3 (‘Home’), a great version of Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire” began to play. It featured a soft, beautiful female vocal. A-Googling I went, and lo and behold, it is Katey Sagal singing (along with backup band The Forest Rangers). There’s actually an album out – Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Season 1-4 – that features a few other Sagal-sung songs, including “Son of a Preacher Man.”
The pairing of film & TV with the right music is a talent unto itself, and Sons of Anarchy picks some great music that is both familiar and unfamiliar to me. You can make some great discoveries this way. While I was loosely familiar with Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire”, I was never impacted as much by the song until I heard Sagal’s version while watching the ‘Home’ episode of Sons.
Well, better get back to the series. The boys are going overseas to Ireland, and some shit is about to go down.
UPDATE (Dec 6th): Rolling Stone just posted an interview with Katey Sagal in which she talks about her singing. I didn’t know that she’s married to the show’s creator, Kurt Sutter.
The Older Brother Speaks
Earlier this year, Beady Eye (AKA the rest of Oasis fronted by Liam) released their first full length album, Different Gear, Still Speeding. As I noted here, it was and is quite good. In fact, I will be seeing them live in 2 short days (review coming soon, natch) in the Main Room at First Avenue. The pilgrim will walk to one of the prophets…
Most of us Brit geeks have been waiting for the elder Gallagher to put his stamp on 2011 and boy has he ever with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds released just a few weeks ago. The album is magnificent and how lucky all of us are that Oasis broke up as we now get double the output from the dueling Mancunians. Don’t expect many surprises with this one. It has all the signature Beatles-dripped magic sung by the brother who I have always felt is the better singer. Noel wouldn’t agree of course but this is one of his rare self-deprecations. Songs like “If I Had A Gun…” (a deeply passionate love song) demonstrate the sheer beauty and emotion of his voice. “AKA What A Life” (a sister song to Oasis’ “Falling Down”) kicks this sentiment up another notch as Noel “takes that tiger outside for a ride.” With “Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks,” we hear a rare political rant that is most welcome. The infectiousness of “Dream On” easily draws anyone in.
And, is usually the case with Brit bands, the best track from these sessions is not on the regular album (but is available on the deluxe edition and the single, “The Death of You And Me”). “The Good Rebel” made me grin from ear to ear the moment I first heard it. Using the metaphor of cleansing rain, Noel washes his past away and stakes out new territory for himself. The older brother has spoken and the future looks very bright indeed with this great idea for a stocking stuffer this holiday season.
Check out “The Good Rebel” below and keep an eye out for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds coming to our side of the pond early next spring!
The Friday Five: November 25, 2011
Friday Five : ‘frī-(,)dā,-dē ‘fīv : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes, then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
“Deck the Halls” by John Denver & The Muppets (from A Christmas Together, 1977)
I swear, I did nothing to rig this. I opened iTunes, hit shuffle, and this is the first thing that played. I’ll let you in, however, on a little secret: on a normal Friday I will skip any random holiday tune that presents itself during the Friday Five. Since today is “black” Friday, I’m going to let this one play. Besides, it’s from one of my favorite Christmas records!
“Goin’ Against Your Mind” by Built to Spill (from You in Reverse, 2006)
I always forget how much I like Built to Spill. Drive-By Truckers, too! They fall into that category of bands that when I hear them I instantly fall in love with all over again.
“Still Water (Love)” by Four Tops (from The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 10: 1970, 1996)
Still the most intimidating collection in my library, The Complete Motown Singles continues to turn up tunes that I’ve not heard before.
“New Tattoo” by Mötley Crüe (from New Tattoo, 2008)
Naming your record after a lazy mid-tempo ballad can never lead anywhere good. Did Vince really just sing “I will be your Dorian Grey”? You can’t see it, but I’m sitting at the kitchen table shaking my head in disappointment.
“Never” by Gravity Kills (from Gravity Kills, 1996)
You know, I was kind of hoping that this Friday Five would finish strong. C’est la Vie!
What’s on your shuffle today?
Luz de Vida, Music for Tucson
Summers are hell, the nut jobs are many, but I love my home state of Arizona. And in the almost 19 years I’ve called it home, nothing that has happened here was more shocking, sad and incomprehensible than the tragedy in Tucson on January 8th, 2011. The shooting outside a Safeway store took the lives of six, and injured 13 more, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Tucson-Based music writer Eric Swedlund, who has been an online pal of mine for years (via his music blog, Catfish Vegas), was communications director for Gabby Giffords’ campaign back in 2008, and he was deeply impacted on that January day, having known many of those killed and wounded. In the days and weeks after the shootings, Eric – along with a like-minded group of Tucson writers, venue operators and recording engineers – banded together to form Music Against Violence.
Throughout the year, they gathered contributions from a host of musicians both from Tucson and with strong ties to Tucson. The result is a 37 song (!) compilation called Luz De Vida: A Compilation to Benefit the Victims of the Tucson Tragedy. It features the likes of Tucson artists Calexico, Giant Sand, Dead Western Plains, Sergio Mendoza y La Orkestra, among many others. It also features national artists like Neko Case, Spoon, Jimmy Eat World, Meat Puppets and Chuck Prophet (here’s a full track listing).
Local label Fort Lowell Records is offering the set in digital format as well as a twelve song limited edition yellow vinyl.
I encourage you to check out the compilation – 100% of proceeds go to the Tucson Together Fund, which is the only officially sanctioned fund to assist the victims and families of this tragedy. This is an exceptional collection of southwest-flavored music, and it goes toward a great cause.
BUY – Luz de Vida: on Amazon, on iTunes, or Music Against Violence / Luz de Vida
VISIT – Music Against Violence official site | Music Against Violence Facebook
LISTEN – Check out a couple of songs here from alt-country pioneers Giant Sand and rock/soul/electronic outfit Dead Western Plains:
Giant Sand – “Recovery Mission” (mp3)
Dead Western Plains – “People Beat” (mp3)
Autumn Delights
There is something magical about this time of year. It’s hard to put my finger on it but the changing colors, the crispness in the air, and the mood of the people all combine wonderfully for me in a near perfect, romantic and quite comforting melange. Essential to all of this, of course, is great music.
Many of my favorite bands have released new music this fall (reviews coming soon!) but it’s going to be a while before I decide if any of their albums are Classic Fall Records. What makes a Classic Fall record? Well, it’s not an exact science for me but it starts with an album that came out in the fall (obviously) or sometime a little before that and I just didn’t get around to fully absorbing it until the autumn. Sometimes it’s an album that I have heard a million times, didn’t come out in the fall and simply took hold with me sometime in October.
This is the case with The Yes Album, which, in my opinion, is the best in their catalog. I played this album constantly on my then newly purchased Sony Walkman in October of 1982 when I was training for cross country. Even though it came out in February of 1971 and I had heard my dad play it a million times, I think of this record as Classic Fall. The music just goes along with the spirit of the season. The same is true for bassist Chris Squire’s Fish Out Of Water album, an often overlooked classic. Here are tracks from each:
Mostly a Classic Fall Record stirs memories that are profoundly overwhelming. Such is the case with The Lexicon Of Love by ABC, an album also heavily played in the fall of 1982. I first heard it courtesy of the brother of our esteemed host, Pete. He, too, was on the cross country team and he loaned me the tape to play on a long bus trip to a race at St. John’s Military Academy. I had never heard anything like it and was completely blown away. Here is my favorite track from the album, “Many Happy Returns.”
Saint Etienne’s Finisterre is another album that oozes autumnal magic. A Dickensian voice asks in the first few seconds of Track 1 (“Action”), “Have you ever been to a harvester before?” and we are instantly transported to a world of crunchy leaves, hot chocolate, home, hearth, and our town. Somehow Sarah and the lads have managed to capture leafy Americana while talking about life in the villages and towns of Britain, proving that the moods and feelings of autumn are indeed universal. Here’s the best track on the album, “Shower Scene,”-a must for any scenesters out there.
One very key element in a Classic Fall Record is the atmosphere. It has to be haunting…echo-y…shimmering…dark, but in a comforting way…and melancholy. Forth by The Verve is a fine example of this theme and style. The atmospheric quality of “Judas” is exactly what I’m talking about here…you just drift when hearing it.
The expression of home and hearth, as we saw above with Saint Etienne’s Finisterre, really do figure heavily into classic fall records. Tired Pony’s The Place We Ran From radiates both of these themes as does Neil Young’s Harvest Moon. “Northwestern Skies” from the former has that autumnal echo and melancholy while the title track from the latter demonstrates unequivocally that autumn is the most romantic time of the year.
While these are all fantastic albums, there is only one record that is the pure, living embodiment of autumn and that’s The Unforgettable Fire by U2. Released on 1 Oct, 1984, this record was the soundtrack to my senior year of high school. Every time I listen to it, I’m right back there and can see, taste and feel exactly what that time was like. Sometimes I literally leave my body and travel back in time!
I also played it quite a bit on the drive between Minneapolis and Racine for the holidays so it really became the soundscape for Interstate 94 in Wisconsin. I bring it with me every time I drive home to see my mom and all the great memories of autumns past wash over me and warm my heart and soul. Here is the title track.
How about you? What are some of your Classic Fall Records?
