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Background on Big Star: Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, and reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the vocal harmonies of the Beatles, as well as the swaggering rhythms of the Rolling Stones and the jangling guitars of the Byrds. To the resulting power pop, Big Star added dark, existential themes, and produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before it broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" in the words of Rolling Stone, as the "quintessential American power pop band" and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll".
Big Star's first album—1972's #1 Record—was met by enthusiastic reviews, but ineffective marketing by Stax Records and limited distribution stunted its commercial success. Frustration took its toll on band relations: Bell left not long after the first record's commercial progress stalled, and Hummel left to finish his college education after a second album, Radio City, was completed in December 1973. Like #1 Record, Radio City received excellent reviews, but label issues again thwarted sales—Columbia Records, which had assumed control of the Stax catalog, likewise effectively vetoed its distribution. After a third album, recorded in the fall of 1974, was deemed commercially unviable and shelved before receiving a title, the band broke up late in 1974. Four years later, the first two Big Star LPs were released together in the UK as a double album. The band's third album was finally issued soon afterward; titled Third/Sister Lovers, it found limited commercial success. Shortly thereafter, Chris Bell was killed in a car accident at the age of 27.
The Big Star discography drew renewed attention in the 1980s when R.E.M., and the Replacements as well as other popular bands cited the group as an influence. In 1992, interest was further stimulated by Rykodisc's reissues of the band's albums, complemented by a collection of Bell's solo work. In 1993, Chilton and Stephens reformed Big Star with recruits Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies, and gave a concert at the University of Missouri. The band remained active, performing tours in Europe and Japan, and released a new studio album, In Space, in 2005. Chilton died in 2010 after suffering from heart problems. Hummel died of cancer three months later. These deaths left Stephens as the sole surviving founding member.
Background on #1 Record: #1 Record is the debut album by the American power pop group Big Star. It was released in August 1972 by Memphis-based Ardent Records.
Many critics praised the album's elegant vocal harmonies and refined songcraft but #1 Record suffered from poor distribution and sold fewer than 10,000 copies upon its initial release. However, #1 Record gained wider attention in the late 70's in the UK when EMI reissued it with Radio City as a double LP package due to increasing demand. The same combination was used when the album was released on CD in 1992. In 200,3 it was ranked number 438 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone magazine also ranked the song "Thirteen" as number 406 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
#1 Record is the only Big Star album on which group founder Chris Bell is officially credited as a member. Bell had a major hand in the record through songwriting, vocals, guitar work and the album's production. The polished sound of #1 Record, in contrast to the more raw styles of the band's subsequent albums, Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers, is attributed by producer John Fry to the presence of Bell: "When Chris Bell was still in the band, he took more interest than anybody in the production and technology end of things. He had a good production mind...the reason why the second album is rougher, with fewer harmonies, is due to the absence of Chris's influence in the studio."
Bassist Andy Hummel would also credit Bell with having a hand in the album's production: "Chris was in charge. I would pretty well credit him with recording and producing that LP [#1 Record]. Of course, he had a lot of artistic help from Alex [Chilton] but Chris was the technical brains behind it. He was the only one of us at that time who knew how to record." Alex Chilton would also acknowledge Bell's heavy role in the studio production: "Chris was really into recording. He didn't want the rest of us fooling around in the studio, that was his business." Chilton would also give producer John Fry credit for being achieving the album's high-level of production quality: "John Fry was a genius in his way of mixdowns. We didn't put things on tape much differently then was the standard method of doing things, but he just had such finesse and great ears, and he was just a great meticulous mixdown engineer and producer. [...] He's the one responsible for making those records sound so fucking great." In 2014 the album was re-released through Stax Records with liner notes by Mike Mills.
My preconceptions: You are never going to guess how I, as a Replacements fan, first heard of Big Star!! I've spent a few times trying to listen to their songs on Spotify but never really quite got into them, for whatever reason. This time, I'm hoping spending a bit more time with a single album of theirs, as well as simply forcing myself to listen to them will help me see a bit of the magic that everyone else has seen.
Background on Big Star: Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, and reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the vocal harmonies of the Beatles, as well as the swaggering rhythms of the Rolling Stones and the jangling guitars of the Byrds. To the resulting power pop, Big Star added dark, existential themes, and produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before it broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" in the words of Rolling Stone, as the "quintessential American power pop band" and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll".
Big Star's first album—1972's #1 Record—was met by enthusiastic reviews, but ineffective marketing by Stax Records and limited distribution stunted its commercial success. Frustration took its toll on band relations: Bell left not long after the first record's commercial progress stalled, and Hummel left to finish his college education after a second album, Radio City, was completed in December 1973. Like #1 Record, Radio City received excellent reviews, but label issues again thwarted sales—Columbia Records, which had assumed control of the Stax catalog, likewise effectively vetoed its distribution. After a third album, recorded in the fall of 1974, was deemed commercially unviable and shelved before receiving a title, the band broke up late in 1974. Four years later, the first two Big Star LPs were released together in the UK as a double album. The band's third album was finally issued soon afterward; titled Third/Sister Lovers, it found limited commercial success. Shortly thereafter, Chris Bell was killed in a car accident at the age of 27.
The Big Star discography drew renewed attention in the 1980s when R.E.M., and the Replacements as well as other popular bands cited the group as an influence. In 1992, interest was further stimulated by Rykodisc's reissues of the band's albums, complemented by a collection of Bell's solo work. In 1993, Chilton and Stephens reformed Big Star with recruits Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies, and gave a concert at the University of Missouri. The band remained active, performing tours in Europe and Japan, and released a new studio album, In Space, in 2005. Chilton died in 2010 after suffering from heart problems. Hummel died of cancer three months later. These deaths left Stephens as the sole surviving founding member.
Background on #1 Record: #1 Record is the debut album by the American power pop group Big Star. It was released in August 1972 by Memphis-based Ardent Records.
Many critics praised the album's elegant vocal harmonies and refined songcraft but #1 Record suffered from poor distribution and sold fewer than 10,000 copies upon its initial release. However, #1 Record gained wider attention in the late 70's in the UK when EMI reissued it with Radio City as a double LP package due to increasing demand. The same combination was used when the album was released on CD in 1992. In 200,3 it was ranked number 438 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone magazine also ranked the song "Thirteen" as number 406 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
#1 Record is the only Big Star album on which group founder Chris Bell is officially credited as a member. Bell had a major hand in the record through songwriting, vocals, guitar work and the album's production. The polished sound of #1 Record, in contrast to the more raw styles of the band's subsequent albums, Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers, is attributed by producer John Fry to the presence of Bell: "When Chris Bell was still in the band, he took more interest than anybody in the production and technology end of things. He had a good production mind...the reason why the second album is rougher, with fewer harmonies, is due to the absence of Chris's influence in the studio."
Bassist Andy Hummel would also credit Bell with having a hand in the album's production: "Chris was in charge. I would pretty well credit him with recording and producing that LP [#1 Record]. Of course, he had a lot of artistic help from Alex [Chilton] but Chris was the technical brains behind it. He was the only one of us at that time who knew how to record." Alex Chilton would also acknowledge Bell's heavy role in the studio production: "Chris was really into recording. He didn't want the rest of us fooling around in the studio, that was his business." Chilton would also give producer John Fry credit for being achieving the album's high-level of production quality: "John Fry was a genius in his way of mixdowns. We didn't put things on tape much differently then was the standard method of doing things, but he just had such finesse and great ears, and he was just a great meticulous mixdown engineer and producer. [...] He's the one responsible for making those records sound so fucking great." In 2014 the album was re-released through Stax Records with liner notes by Mike Mills.
My preconceptions: You are never going to guess how I, as a Replacements fan, first heard of Big Star!! I've spent a few times trying to listen to their songs on Spotify but never really quite got into them, for whatever reason. This time, I'm hoping spending a bit more time with a single album of theirs, as well as simply forcing myself to listen to them will help me see a bit of the magic that everyone else has seen.
This is really such a good one. It's remarkable to me how overlooked it was for so long. Alex Chilton could write some damn fine pop songs, and there a lot of great guitar work as well. One of my favorites. "I never travel too far, without a little Big Star"
"I Feel the Earth Move" - Yep, there's the piano, but this isn't what I expected. This seems more in line with soul music than the kind of balladry I was expecting, and the backing vocals seem to confirm that (though they also sound 60s girl group-ish in their own way, too). That interplay between the piano and guitar in the bridge is pretty cool. I like this song.
"So Far Away" - I guess this is more what I was thinking the album was going to be like. But there's still a twist - that guitar is very unique (though maybe a lot of that is just the way it's mixed). I do like the bass in the song, too. The flute at the end seems like it's pushing the sentimentality a bit too much, but I'm getting the sense that many things on here are supposed to sound pleasant, so I'll let it slide.
"It's Too Late" - There's more of that soul influence again! Maybe not quite soul. Definitely pop.
"Home Again" - I stood up, went to get a glass of water, and by the time I came back, the song was over, so that's that.
"Beautiful" - There have been almost no ballads so far. Color me completely shocked. I think this may be the first album on the list where my understanding of it turned out to be completely wrong. I still don't know how I feel about this album yet. As for this song, this totally predicted Christina Aguilera.
"Way Over Yonder" - So is this song about dying or what?
"You've Got a Friend" - This is a song I feel like I'm obligated to say a lot about but I honestly don't have...uh, anything to say, really.
"Where You Lead" - I know it's not, but after "You've Got a Friend", I kind of envision this a friendship song, too. There really should be more of those.
"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - "This line ["Will you still love me tomorrow?] caused a few radio stations to ban this song, objecting to the innuendo of a “one night stand”. Nevertheless, the song sold over a million copies and made it to he top of the charts." wow, things have changed a LOT in the past 40-50 years.
"Smackwater Jack" - this is, uh, timely.
"Tapestry" - What is that sound in the background? A synth? Whatever it is, it's very weird and I love it.
"(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman" - It's weird how I can see how this works both for Aretha Franklin and Carole King in two completely different words. I think Aretha's the stronger singer, but I do like the soft arrangement here.
Impressions: I thought this was going to be a collection of boring ballads and boy, was I sure proven wrong! There was even a borderline risqué moment on one of these songs! In that sense, I feel like my perceptions of what 'singer-songwriter' meant back in the 70s has changed. Of course, Carole King's songwriting abilities are exemplary here, but not in the way I thought: she's a really good pop songwriter! Who knew? (Not me, which is I guess why I undertook this 'project' in the first place.) While I can see how some songs on here may have more fans in the hands of other artists ("You've Got a Friend", "(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman"), it's interesting how all these songs fit so neatly together into one compact package all on their own.
Tapestry is my mom's favorite album of all time, so I heard it often as a child. Subsequently, its always been one of my favorite ablums, too. If anyone ever wants an example of an almost perfect singer/songwriter album, this is my go-to. The title track was always my favorite, but each song is a classic.
"Feel" - That opening was...deceptive. This song really seems like it has some Beatles influence. Or the Stones? Or, weirdly, it seems kinda glam in its own way? I remember this band being folkier so I'm glad I'm wrong. For now, at least. Oh, a saxophone. That's cool.
"The Ballad of El Goodo" - A ballad, yes, but still not quite folksy (though that acoustic guitar makes it come close in parts). Wait, okay, so it's not....really a ballad. This song seems sad in the verses in spite of its anti-authority themes. I think it's more of the melody. The choruses are more defiant, though.
"In the Street" - Oh, this was the That 70's show theme? Cool. This song makes me see how Big Star influenced The Replacements
"Thirteen" - ;_;
"Don't Lie to Me" - wow, this is weirdly aggressive after how sweet and tender "Thirteen" was. I don't know how to feel about this one. The music is good, but to be honest this song comes across as a bit too confrontational. Of course, fights happen, but this feels like toeing the line.
"The India Song" - Is this supposed to sound like Indian music? Are flutes Indian? Whatever, this song is cute.
"When My Baby's Beside Me" - yeah, yeah, Beatles, Stones, blah blah blah blah blah. Handclaps (?) are always appreciated, though.
"My Life Is Right" - I like this song, but 'You give me life and that's right' is...confusing.
"Give Me Another Chance" - ooh, I like that ending.
"Try Again" - Chris Bell: Lord, I've been trying to be what I should be... The Lord: ...We shouldn't have left you/without a dope beat to step to, step to, step to
"Watch the Sunrise" - At the beginning, I was super super super into this album and now my interest has been slowly fading, if I'm being honest. I know this album is only like 35 minutes long, but a lot of these songs feel like they should be shorter. Or maybe just this one and "Try Again". I know that's not an opinion everyone will agree with, and I may not agree with later, but that's okay. For example, did this song and "My Life Is Right" really need to repeat the first verse? anyway, the bridge on this song is good.
"ST 100/6" wow, I was not expecting the finale to sound like that. But kudos to them for going for reverb-drenched weirdness at the end.
Impressions: Maybe it's just because I'm really tired, but this album really felt like it was dragging towards the end. And it wasn't even very long! But I say that more as a statement of disclosure than anything else, because I really, really liked the first half of this album. "Thirteen" may be my single favorite song from any album I've listened to so far, and I love the combination of 60s musical influences and a lyrical style that somehow both borrows liberally and deviates from pop music. I clearly see the lineage from this album to other bands who I like a lot, and while I like their albums more for now, I could see it possibly joining that canon. I'll definitely have to revisit this....one day....down the line....maybe five or six years from now when I have the time?
Background on Liz Phair: Elizabeth Clark “Liz” Phair is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She began her career in the early 1990s by self-releasing audio cassettes under the name Girly Sound, before signing with the independent record label Matador Records. Her 1993 debut studio album Exile in Guyville was released to acclaim; it has been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Ten years after the release of her debut, Phair's fourth album, Liz Phair, was released on Capitol Records and her music began to move in a more pop rock-oriented direction. Phair has sold nearly three million records worldwide. Her latest album, Funstyle, was released on July 3, 2010.
Background on Exile in Guyville: Exile in Guyville is the debut album by American indie rock singer-songwriter Liz Phair. It was released in June 1993 to widespread critical and commercial success, still appearing today in many critics' best-of lists. It is also considered a landmark in alternative rock music, and was ranked at 327 by Rolling Stone in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. As of July 2010, the album had sold 491,000 copies.
After early sessions with John Henderson, Liz Phair started working with producer Brad Wood at Idful Studios, in 1992. Wood stated, "We did two or three evenings of recording just for fun where we tried to discover something. We recorded "Fuck and Run," and that's when I realized we were on to something. This really spare beat: just guitar, drums and vocals. It was right: simple, driving, direct and blunt. It had so much exuberance." These sessions were thereby very different from the recording sessions with John Henderson. Eventually, engineer Casey Rice joined Idful and started working with Phair and Wood as she had no band of her own.
Regarding the recording process, Casey Rice stated, "We basically all sat around and thought about how to make the guitar and vocals versions of the songs into what we thought would be better ones. Listen to her four track versions of the tunes, and try to come up with ways of doing them as a 'band'. I do recall there being no lack of candor and if someone wanted to do something, we tried it. If it sucked, no one would hesitate to say so if they believed it."
"Johnny Sunshine" was one of the first songs recorded in 1992 that eventually made the record. The songs "Fuck and Run", "Never Said" (as "Clean"), "Girls! Girls! Girls!", "Flower", "Johnny Sunshine", "Divorce Song", "Soap Star Joe", "Shatter", and "Stratford-on-Guy" (as "Bomb") all originated from a set of home recordings by Phair under the moniker Girly-Sound, and were re-recorded for the album.
My preconceptions: I was personally surprised to see this album's genre listed as 'lo-fi' and not 'grunge' on this album's Wikipedia page! I have no idea why I've associated this album with grunge other than its year of release. Maybe it's Liz Phair's screaming face on the album cover - something that suggests aggression and righteous anger. And maybe this album is more pissed-off than I'm assuming it is now. It could be an EP of electronic covers of children's songs for all I know! (Sorry, Tanlines.) Anyway, challenging assumptions was the point of this project in the first place, right?
"6'1"" - Okay, so this wasn't quite lo-fi. This just sounds like it was recorded in a cheap manner (not a bad thing! Just not what I'd call lo-fi). This sounds both like indie albums that come out today and in a way, I hear bands like Pixies, too. There's less screaming than I thought there would be. Liz Phair's voice does sound kind of grunge-y. And she writes a fun chorus.
"Help Me Mary" - That one guitar sound is interesting in a way I can't put my finger on. It's partially the way it's mixed, but it's also the guitar itself too. oh well.
"Glory" - I was worried that there wasn't going to be a whole lot of stylistic variation, so it's nice to have something different right away. I do like these to-the-point songs.
"Dance of the Seven Veils" - Oh, and more variation, too! The "Johnny" lyrical conceit kind of reminds me of St. Vincent's "Marry Me". The use of the c-word caught me off guard. Will this be two songs in a row without drums? Yep. Hmm.
"Never Said" - And another good chorus!
"Soap Star Joe" - I like the intermittent drums. This song was fun.
"Explain It to Me" - There are way more ballads on here than I thought there'd be. I don't think it's even a bad thing. It makes the mood more dynamic, I think. Am I starting to like ballads as a concept now? I hope not. The only good ballad ever done is "Maps", and that's not even a ballad. This isn't even really a ballad.
"Canary" - Oh, this is an actual ballad. But a piano? Who does Liz Phair think she is, Carole King? jk I'm a sucker for a heartfelt piano melody and this hits the spot.
"Mesmerizing" - that keyboard sounds out of place at this point.
"Fuck and Run" - weird how Liz Phair predicted ghosting two decades in advance
"Girls! Girls! Girls!" - This is not the kind of song I was expecting with a title like that.
"Divorce Song" - weird how Liz Phair invented the concept of divorce
"Shatter" - speaking of unexpected things, a five-minute song is kind of a curveball at this point. The extended guitar intro is kind of pretty but kind of snoozy too. I was looking at CHVRCHES' spotify page and for a second I thought I heard her sing "I'm thinking maybe...you could be my enemy"
"Flower" - This song is weird and I like it. The soprano? The guitar riff? "I'll fuck you and your minions too"? "Blowjob queen"??? Actually, if the minions referred to the movie, it would be this close to being a Cupcakke song.
"Johnny Sunshine" - Is this not a country song? Oh, and now it's not anymore. huh.
"Gunshy" - didn't write anything for this one oops
"Stratford-on-Guy" That Galaxie 500 reference is throwing me through a loop. Are Galaxie 500 videos particularly well-known? Were they shown a lot on MTV? I had no idea, regardless.
"Strange Loop" - I always like albums with strong openers and strong closers. This song's got a lot of emotion behind it, and while it sort of veers more towards a fizzle than a bang at the end, it's at least got a nice drumroll going at the end. I'd like it to be a little more noisier personally, but this album really hasn't been about being that kind of noisy.
Impressions: To be honest, I liked this album more than I thought I would. I'm always wary of straightforward alternative rock, but this album has a lot of surprising left turns, even if it sticks pretty closely to its aesthetic. Liz Phair herself never gets particularly loud, and neither does the music, really, but even if it comes across as disaffected, enough songs still pack their emotional punch; those that don't are often coy or fun. My main gripe is that a lot of times it's rhythmically boring, but that's forgivable. I can see why this caused a splash during its original release. It makes me curious as to if her later career works are as bad as they allegedly are. If they are, that's a shame; it's hard to hear a debut like this and think that the talent its driving force brings could be squandered. But I guess that's just how it is sometimes.
Favorite tracks (just realized I haven't done this in a while): "6'1"", "Canary", "Fuck and Run", "Flower"
Background on Brian Eno: Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno, RDI is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer, writer, and visual artist. He is best known for his pioneering work in ambient music and contributions to rock, pop, electronic, and generative music. A self-described "non-musician", Eno has helped to introduce a variety of unique conceptual approaches and recording techniques into contemporary music, advocating a methodology of "theory over practice" throughout his career. He has been described as one of popular music's most influential and innovative figures.
Born in Suffolk, Eno studied painting and experimental music at the art school at Ipswich Civic College in the mid 1960s and then at Winchester School of Art. He joined glam rock group Roxy Music as synthesiser player in 1971. After recording two albums with the band, he departed in 1973 to record a number of solo albums, coining the term "ambient music" to describe his work on releases such as Another Green World (1975), Discreet Music (1975), and Music for Airports (1978). Meanwhile, he took part in frequent collaborations with artists such as Robert Fripp, Harold Budd, Cluster, David Bowie on his "Berlin Trilogy", and David Byrne on 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. During the 1970s, Eno also began a parallel career as a producer, which included work on albums by Talking Heads and Devo, the 'no wave' compilation No New York (1978), and recordings by avant-garde artists including John Cale, Jon Hassell, Laraaji, and Budd amongst others.
Since then, Eno has continued to record solo albums whilst also collaborating with and producing other artists, including U2, Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones, Slowdive, Coldplay, James Blake, and Damon Albarn. Dating back to his time as a student, he has also worked in other media, including sound installations and his mid-70s co-development of Oblique Strategies, a deck of cards featuring cryptic aphorisms intended to spur creative thinking. From the 1970s onwards, Eno's installations have included the sails of the Sydney Opera House in 2009 and the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in 2016. An advocate of a range of humanitarian causes, Eno writes on a variety of subjects and is a founder member of the Long Now Foundation.
Background on Another Green World: Another Green World is the third studio album by English musician Brian Eno, released by Island Records in September 1975. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it featured contributions from several guest musicians including Robert Fripp, Phil Collins and John Cale. The album marked a transition from the rock-based music of Eno's previous releases toward the minimalist sensibility of his late '70s ambient work. Employing tactics derived from his Oblique Strategies cards for guidance, the album utilized a variety of unconventional recording techniques and instrumental approaches, and made use of fewer lyrics.
Some of the album credits for the instruments have fanciful names that describe the sound they make. The "Castanet Guitars" are electric guitars played with mallets and are electronically treated to sound something like castanets. The "Leslie piano" is an acoustic piano miked and fed through a Leslie speaker with a built-in revolving horn speaker. Eno described the "snake guitar" and "digital guitar" by stating "the kind of lines I was playing reminded me of the way a snake moves through the brush, a sort of speedy, forceful, liquid quality. Digital guitar is a guitar threaded through a digital delay but fed back on itself a lot so it makes this cardboard tube type of sound."
Like his previous two solo efforts, Eno had several guest musicians contributing to Another Green World. Unlike his previous albums, Eno worked on more solo material. Seven songs on the album have Eno playing all the instruments himself, including electronic and nonelectronic keyboards, guitars, and percussion. Among the guest musicians was Phil Collins, who played drums on Tiger Mountain and got along with Eno, which led to calling him and fellow Brand X bandmate Percy Jones to play on Another Green World. On recording the album, Collins recalled: "[Eno] gave us all a bit of paper, and we made lists from one to 15. Eno said 'No. 2, we all play a G; No. 7 we all play a C sharp'; an so on. So it was like painting by numbers...[Eno] used to love me and Percy; we'd go in and run through our dictionary licks and he'd record them and make a loop of them."
Robert Fripp, who worked with Eno on (No Pussyfooting) and Here Come the Warm Jets, performed the solo on "St. Elmo's Fire". Eno asked Fripp to improvise a lightning-fast guitar solo that would imitate an electrical charge between two poles on a Wimshurst high voltage generator. This was the basis for Eno crediting Fripp's solo on this track as "Wimshurst Guitar".
Though the album failed to chart in the United States or the United Kingdom, Another Green World was initially met with high praise from critics. Contemporary reception of Another Green World has been very positive; several critics and publications have placed the album on lists of the top albums of all time.
My preconceptions: When it comes to Brian Eno, I've listened to more Roxy Music and the glammier stuff (including Here Come the Warm Jets) but have focused less on his ambient side. I could have just as easily picked Music For Airports, but I've listened to bits and pieces of that before and know nothing about this album. Brian Eno has always struck me as a particularly interesting person and creative, and while the glam rock stuff is good, it still comes across as fairly conventional (and that isn't shorthand for 'bad'!). As such, I'm hoping for something unique and more experimental, and expecting something with more pop/rock structures but with perhaps lots of textures as opposed to lyrics.
"Sky Saw" - Oh, these synths! I'm already invested in this! This is halfway to what I envision The hashtag 80s to sound like. Also, this could pass for a lot of late 2000s-early 2010s indie rock.
"Over Fire Island" - This is literally a MGMT song without the lyrics????
"St. Elmo's Fire" - Okay, so now this is completely 80s. But what's up with that guitar?? I'm not sure I like this.
"In Dark Trees" - It's wild how much these instrumentals sound like how they could be on any recent indie rock album.
"The Big Ship" - I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little drunk and also I missed a song but these instrumentals are really good?
"I'll Come Running" - See? This is more of the glam stuff I was expecting. It's also really good. Saxohphones, Piano riffs, "I'll come running to tie your shoes"? I live for this.
"Another Green World" - All these instrumentals sound like MGMT!! No wonder they felt "so tired, soul searching..."
"Sombre Reptiles" - All these songs are so short!
"Little Fishes" - Okay, this one is a little different. It reminds me of Aphex Twin's work circa Drukqs in a way, with these unusual piano melodies.
"Golden Hours" - One thing I don't think I've appreciated enough is Brian Eno's singing style. It's clearly been aped by James Murphy enough times, but he seems to have his own unique place in the pantheon of 'white men who sing altogheter too seriously'. This isn't a bad thing. Also, I love the guitar and the keyboards on this.
"Becalmed" - Well, I am a little calmer.
"Zawinul/Lava" - I feel like by this point, if I didn't understand how this is the transition between glam and ambient, I"d be an idiiot.
"Everything Merges With the Night" - That piano!! That guitar!! This is borderline Sufjan, yet Brian Eno's voice is too authoritative for that.
"Spirits Drifting" - "I really only listen to, like, German death reggae and Halloween sound effects records from the 1950s"
Background on Ornette Coleman: Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, a term he invented with the name of his 1961 album. His "Broadway Blues" has become a standard and has been cited as a key work in the free jazz movement. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1994. His album Sound Grammar received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music.
Background on The Shape of Jazz to Come: The Shape of Jazz to Come is the third album by jazz musician Ornette Coleman. Although Coleman initially wished for the album to be titled Focus on Sanity, after one of the songs on the album, it was ultimately titled The Shape of Jazz to Come at the urging of Atlantic producer Nesuhi Ertegun, who felt that the title would give consumers "an idea about the uniqueness of the LP." Released on Atlantic Records in 1959, it was his debut on the label and his first album featuring his working quartet including himself, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Billy Higgins. The recording session for the album took place on May 22, 1959, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. Two outtakes from the session, "Monk and the Nun" and "Just for You", would later be released respectively on the 1970s compilations Twins and The Art of the Improvisers. In 2012, the Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry.
Coleman's quartet, like Gerry Mulligan's, was unusual in that it did not employ a chordal instrument such as a piano or guitar. Each composition contains a brief thematic statement, then several minutes of free improvisation, followed by a repetition of the main theme. While this resembles the conventional head-solo-head structure of bebop, it abandons the use of chord structures. The Shape of Jazz to Come found Coleman and his quartet elaborating on the sound and themes he had been developing throughout his career.
One prominent feature of Coleman's signature sound was that he played a plastic Grafton saxophone, which some feel contributed to the harshness of his timbre. He coined the term "harmolodic", a combination of harmony, movement, and melody, to describe his philosophy of improvisation which heavily emphasized melody rather than harmony. It was early in his career, in an attempt to further emphasize focus on melody over harmony, that he stopped including a piano as a part of his ensembles.
Coleman continues with this tradition on The Shape of Jazz to Come, dispensing with harmonic accompaniment and focusing solely on improvised melodies and variations on themes and motifs. Coleman had a unique approach to pitch as well. His use of microtonal intervals was central to his sound, and he even went as far as to suggest that the same pitch should sound different when played in different contexts, stating that "jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night, but differently each time" The album was a breakthrough and helped to establish the free jazz movement. Later avant-garde jazz was often very different from this, but the work helped to lay the foundation upon which much subsequent avant-garde and free jazz would be built.
My preconceptions: I've talked a lot here about how much I don't know about jazz. It's not that I dislike it, but it's also not what I want to play when I'm in the car or when I'm by myself. But albums like this ignite controversy like I can't even begin to imagine. Charles Mingus and Miles Davis (who also both appear on this list) apparently didn't like this album and yet it's on Rolling Stone's best-ever list. Whenever I listen to an album like this, all I think is, "Wow, these guys are talented. I have no idea what the hell is going on, but this is pleasant enough." And it's not even that jazz is truly inaccessible (and, really, the idea of 'accessibility' in music always strikes me as kind of an odd one), but I feel that it requires either a lot of background knowledge or a lot of thought to determine what's good and what's bad. Listening to classic jazz albums like this or Kind of Blue or A Love Supreme feels in some ways like more of an obligation to something that I still enjoy. I suspect this will be no different. Of course, if knowing what's good and bad in jazz requires a lot of background knowledge, this is one way of getting there. But I'm not sure what I'll find at the end of the road.
PS: Kind of fucked up Basement Jaxx never released a compilation called The Shape of Jaxx to Come, huh?
“Lonely Woman”: I do like the focus on the rhythm with the bass right at the beginning. Is that a “woo” I hear around 2:20? That would make this a good candidate for my fantasy playlist I never get around to making: Songs That Are Improved Because They Have a Well-Timed “Woo!” or “Yeah!”. I guess the rhythm section is…more consistent than I thought. hmm.
“Eventually”: Had no idea the song changed. This song is a lot faster, though! Honestly, I don’t know what it is, but I still have a hard time really feeling the emotion of the music, and it’s not the musicians’ fault. I always feel I approach music like this for their virtuosity and their technical excellence. idk.
“Peace”: God, all the good stuff comes at the end of these songs.
“Focus on Sanity”: Reading the Wikipedia article on this again (lol, I know) but maybe the focus is really on innovating on form? That would almost make more sense. I do like the drum solo here!
“Congeniality” - Hmm I guess I have nothing to say!
“Chronology” - I just love the rhythm section on this album! But I love the horns, too. I want to give a special shoutout to the trumpet here. And I guess how remarkable it is that a lot of these melodic portions are so improvised. That’s pretty cool. I’m genuinely envious of the talent these guys have.
Impressions: One of the reasons I undertook this project is to dive more into genres that frankly, I don’t appreciate as much. Over time, I think it’s becoming clearer that I either need to wait, listen to these records more, or god forbid, age, to really get into jazz. I want to connect with it. But I’m not. This definitely isn’t a bad album (and while it’s probably my least favorite out of all the jazz I’ve listened to so far, that still doesn’t make it bad by any means), but it’s just not resonating with me. At this point, I’m only thinking aloud, but while writing this I had a realization that the jazz artist whose music I’ve heard in passing that has impacted me the most has been Nina Simone; maybe it’s just a lack of vocals? But I don’t even know if that’s the case since I have a much easier time feeling the emotion behind electronic music (maybe ironically). I’m still torn between what I want to feel, what I’m ‘supposed’ to feel, and what I’m actually feeling. I don’t know if it’ll ever resolve.
Background on The Slits: The Slits were a British punk rock band formed in London in 1976 by members of the groups The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Romero, who played briefly with Spizzenergi and later left to join The Raincoats), with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members Kate Korus and Suzy Gutsy. Their 1979 debut album, Cut, has been called one of the defining releases of the post-punk era.
The group supported The Clash on their 1977 White Riot tour along with Buzzcocks, The Prefects and Subway Sect. Club performances of The Slits during this period are included in The Punk Rock Movie (1978). In November 1978, The Slits toured with The Clash again on the "Sort it Out Tour" and were joined by The Innocents who opened the shows. Joe Strummer said the group would be "great" with intense gigging.
Captured on a Peel Session, the Slits' originally raw and raucous live sound was cleaned up and polished by the time of their debut album. Their Dennis Bovell-produced debut album Cut was released in September 1979 on Island Records, with Neneh Cherry joining as additional vocalist. The album's sleeve art depicted the band naked, except for mud and loincloths. Palmolive left the band around this time: it is often claimed that this was partly because she did not like this artwork, including by Palmolive herself, but according to Viv Albertine, Palmolive had been asked to leave the band before that, and anyway does not appear on the record. She was replaced by the drummer Budgie (Peter Clarke), formerly of The Spitfire Boys and later of Siouxsie and the Banshees.
The Slits' sound and attitude became increasingly experimental and avant-garde during the early 1980s, when they formed an alliance with Bristol post-punk band The Pop Group, sharing a drummer (Bruce Smith) and releasing a joint single, "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm/Where There's a Will There's a Way" (Y Records), followed by a bizarre, uncommercial, untitled album of mostly homemade demo recordings, and a few more singles. The band toured widely and released another album, Return of the Giant Slits before breaking up in early 1982. Ari Up went on to be part of the New Age Steppers.
Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt reformed the band with new members in 2005, as Viv Albertine was unwilling to rejoin, and in 2006 released the EP Revenge of the Killer Slits. The EP featured former Sex Pistols member Paul Cook and Marco Pirroni (formerly of Adam and the Ants, and Siouxsie and the Banshees) as both musicians and co-producers. In fact, Cook's daughter Hollie played with the band, singing and playing keyboards. Other members of the reformed band were No (of The Home Office) on guitar, German drummer Anna Schulte, and Adele Wilson on guitar. A full-length album entitled Trapped Animal was released in 2009, and the band continued to perform live. Group founder Ari Up died in October 2010. The band's final work, the video for the song "Lazy Slam" from Trapped Animal, was released posthumously according to Ari Up's wishes.
Background on Cut: Cut is the debut album by English punk band The Slits. It was originally released on 7 September 1979 on the Island Records label in the UK and on Antilles in the US. It reached number 30 on the UK album charts at the time. In 2004 it was voted at no 58 in The Observer's list The 100 Greatest British Albums. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain listed the song "Typical Girls" in his top 50 favourite recordings of all time.
My preconceptions: I first heard The Slits when their "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" cover popped up in my Spotify Discover in a week when I was listening to a lot of dance-punk (and, funnily enough, it popped up on shuffle on my phone while I was writing this). I was immediately wowed. It had more reggae influence than any other post-punk I had heard before, and it was fun and raucous in a way that never came across as sloppy. That, and it had killer percussion. What more could I ask for? I guess I'm about to find out.
“Lonely Woman”: I do like the focus on the rhythm with the bass right at the beginning. Is that a “woo” I hear around 2:20? That would make this a good candidate for my fantasy playlist I never get around to making: Songs That Are Improved Because They Have a Well-Timed “Woo!” or “Yeah!”. I guess the rhythm section is…more consistent than I thought. hmm.
“Eventually”: Had no idea the song changed. This song is a lot faster, though! Honestly, I don’t know what it is, but I still have a hard time really feeling the emotion of the music, and it’s not the musicians’ fault. I always feel I approach music like this for their virtuosity and their technical excellence. idk.
“Peace”: God, all the good stuff comes at the end of these songs.
“Focus on Sanity”: Reading the Wikipedia article on this again (lol, I know) but maybe the focus is really on innovating on form? That would almost make more sense. I do like the drum solo here!
“Congeniality” - Hmm I guess I have nothing to say!
“Chronology” - I just love the rhythm section on this album! But I love the horns, too. I want to give a special shoutout to the trumpet here. And I guess how remarkable it is that a lot of these melodic portions are so improvised. That’s pretty cool. I’m genuinely envious of the talent these guys have.
Impressions: One of the reasons I undertook this project is to dive more into genres that frankly, I don’t appreciate as much. Over time, I think it’s becoming clearer that I either need to wait, listen to these records more, or god forbid, age, to really get into jazz. I want to connect with it. But I’m not. This definitely isn’t a bad album (and while it’s probably my least favorite out of all the jazz I’ve listened to so far, that still doesn’t make it bad by any means), but it’s just not resonating with me. At this point, I’m only thinking aloud, but while writing this I had a realization that the jazz artist whose music I’ve heard in passing that has impacted me the most has been Nina Simone; maybe it’s just a lack of vocals? But I don’t even know if that’s the case since I have a much easier time feeling the emotion behind electronic music (maybe ironically). I’m still torn between what I want to feel, what I’m ‘supposed’ to feel, and what I’m actually feeling. I don’t know if it’ll ever resolve.
When it comes to jazz, this album is sorta really out of place of the "norms" and is truly pretty groundbreaking. It was really prescient to title this thing "the shape of jazz to come" because it really set the stage for free jazz and the weirdness that ushered in. This thing came out only a couple months after Miles Davis' kind of blue, which was a totaly shift from chordal bebop into modal soloing. coleman eschewed all of that, got rid of all the chordal instruments in his band and just went on melody alone. There are motifs that start and end each tune, but the middle section is where coleman and cherry could just go. This is why the rhythm section is so tight and carries so much - they are the only thing keeping these songs on the rails sometimes. There is no piano holding down the chordal fort, so to speak. You say you don't really feel the emotion, and I can kinda get that - the improvised nature of free jazz (and this is actually pretty tame compared to some of the really out there skronky shiz that comes later - see like, pharoah sanders and albert ayler) sometimes misses the really emotive aspects of composed melodic lines - even if the improv itself may be an outgrowth of the player's emotion - that doesn't always translate to the listener. Especially someone who is a relative jazz greenhorn. the whole movement grew out of some boredom and dissatifaction with older styles of jazz, so someone who had been listening to 50's hard bop coltrane had a better context for free jazz when he dropped Ascension in the 60's (and Ornette Coleman's work on this album and Free Jazz really inspired Coltrane to move more into the free jazz realm).
I think, for you, context probably matters a lot - and some people just don't dig jazz, I get that. But i also think free jazz is a pretty difficult listen without having a proper foundation built up (as pretentious and stupid as that may sound). Think of like someone digging into chapter books and then picking up Ulysses. It's a lot to process. If you want some emotive jazz, check out "My favorite things" by John Coltrane. I think that song is perfect for a jazz neophyte - familiar melody, virtuoso playing, highly emotive for the listener. If that doesn't make you feel, don't feel bad about giving up on jazz
“Lonely Woman”: I do like the focus on the rhythm with the bass right at the beginning. Is that a “woo” I hear around 2:20? That would make this a good candidate for my fantasy playlist I never get around to making: Songs That Are Improved Because They Have a Well-Timed “Woo!” or “Yeah!”. I guess the rhythm section is…more consistent than I thought. hmm.
“Eventually”: Had no idea the song changed. This song is a lot faster, though! Honestly, I don’t know what it is, but I still have a hard time really feeling the emotion of the music, and it’s not the musicians’ fault. I always feel I approach music like this for their virtuosity and their technical excellence. idk.
“Peace”: God, all the good stuff comes at the end of these songs.
“Focus on Sanity”: Reading the Wikipedia article on this again (lol, I know) but maybe the focus is really on innovating on form? That would almost make more sense. I do like the drum solo here!
“Congeniality” - Hmm I guess I have nothing to say!
“Chronology” - I just love the rhythm section on this album! But I love the horns, too. I want to give a special shoutout to the trumpet here. And I guess how remarkable it is that a lot of these melodic portions are so improvised. That’s pretty cool. I’m genuinely envious of the talent these guys have.
Impressions: One of the reasons I undertook this project is to dive more into genres that frankly, I don’t appreciate as much. Over time, I think it’s becoming clearer that I either need to wait, listen to these records more, or god forbid, age, to really get into jazz. I want to connect with it. But I’m not. This definitely isn’t a bad album (and while it’s probably my least favorite out of all the jazz I’ve listened to so far, that still doesn’t make it bad by any means), but it’s just not resonating with me. At this point, I’m only thinking aloud, but while writing this I had a realization that the jazz artist whose music I’ve heard in passing that has impacted me the most has been Nina Simone; maybe it’s just a lack of vocals? But I don’t even know if that’s the case since I have a much easier time feeling the emotion behind electronic music (maybe ironically). I’m still torn between what I want to feel, what I’m ‘supposed’ to feel, and what I’m actually feeling. I don’t know if it’ll ever resolve.
When it comes to jazz, this album is sorta really out of place of the "norms" and is truly pretty groundbreaking. It was really prescient to title this thing "the shape of jazz to come" because it really set the stage for free jazz and the weirdness that ushered in. This thing came out only a couple months after Miles Davis' kind of blue, which was a totaly shift from chordal bebop into modal soloing. coleman eschewed all of that, got rid of all the chordal instruments in his band and just went on melody alone. There are motifs that start and end each tune, but the middle section is where coleman and cherry could just go. This is why the rhythm section is so tight and carries so much - they are the only thing keeping these songs on the rails sometimes. There is no piano holding down the chordal fort, so to speak. You say you don't really feel the emotion, and I can kinda get that - the improvised nature of free jazz (and this is actually pretty tame compared to some of the really out there skronky shiz that comes later - see like, pharoah sanders and albert ayler) sometimes misses the really emotive aspects of composed melodic lines - even if the improv itself may be an outgrowth of the player's emotion - that doesn't always translate to the listener. Especially someone who is a relative jazz greenhorn. the whole movement grew out of some boredom and dissatifaction with older styles of jazz, so someone who had been listening to 50's hard bop coltrane had a better context for free jazz when he dropped Ascension in the 60's (and Ornette Coleman's work on this album and Free Jazz really inspired Coltrane to move more into the free jazz realm).
I think, for you, context probably matters a lot - and some people just don't dig jazz, I get that. But i also think free jazz is a pretty difficult listen without having a proper foundation built up (as pretentious and stupid as that may sound). Think of like someone digging into chapter books and then picking up Ulysses. It's a lot to process. If you want some emotive jazz, check out "My favorite things" by John Coltrane. I think that song is perfect for a jazz neophyte - familiar melody, virtuoso playing, highly emotive for the listener. If that doesn't make you feel, don't feel bad about giving up on jazz
I appreciate your response to this. Since I always focus so much on the technical aspects of jazz (while having very little formal training in music theory, lol), I really appreciate how you sort of bridged my thoughts together along with the expertise of someone who actually knows something. I will say though that of my outings into jazz thus far, I think I've most liked A Love Supreme, interestingly enough. I think you're right in mentioning sort of creating a foundation - the random nature of the album selection here does have its limitations.
When it comes to jazz, this album is sorta really out of place of the "norms" and is truly pretty groundbreaking. It was really prescient to title this thing "the shape of jazz to come" because it really set the stage for free jazz and the weirdness that ushered in. This thing came out only a couple months after Miles Davis' kind of blue, which was a totaly shift from chordal bebop into modal soloing. coleman eschewed all of that, got rid of all the chordal instruments in his band and just went on melody alone. There are motifs that start and end each tune, but the middle section is where coleman and cherry could just go. This is why the rhythm section is so tight and carries so much - they are the only thing keeping these songs on the rails sometimes. There is no piano holding down the chordal fort, so to speak. You say you don't really feel the emotion, and I can kinda get that - the improvised nature of free jazz (and this is actually pretty tame compared to some of the really out there skronky shiz that comes later - see like, pharoah sanders and albert ayler) sometimes misses the really emotive aspects of composed melodic lines - even if the improv itself may be an outgrowth of the player's emotion - that doesn't always translate to the listener. Especially someone who is a relative jazz greenhorn. the whole movement grew out of some boredom and dissatifaction with older styles of jazz, so someone who had been listening to 50's hard bop coltrane had a better context for free jazz when he dropped Ascension in the 60's (and Ornette Coleman's work on this album and Free Jazz really inspired Coltrane to move more into the free jazz realm).
I think, for you, context probably matters a lot - and some people just don't dig jazz, I get that. But i also think free jazz is a pretty difficult listen without having a proper foundation built up (as pretentious and stupid as that may sound). Think of like someone digging into chapter books and then picking up Ulysses. It's a lot to process. If you want some emotive jazz, check out "My favorite things" by John Coltrane. I think that song is perfect for a jazz neophyte - familiar melody, virtuoso playing, highly emotive for the listener. If that doesn't make you feel, don't feel bad about giving up on jazz
I appreciate your response to this. Since I always focus so much on the technical aspects of jazz (while having very little formal training in music theory, lol), I really appreciate how you sort of bridged my thoughts together along with the expertise of someone who actually knows something. I will say though that of my outings into jazz thus far, I think I've most liked A Love Supreme, interestingly enough. I think you're right in mentioning sort of creating a foundation - the random nature of the album selection here does have its limitations.
Pops has a jazz thread around here which has some great suggestions for getting into jazz. If I can suggest one of my favorite more modern recordings, check out the bad plus Joshua Redman. The bad plus are a great jazz trio (they also cover a lot of pop songs so they are pretty "accessible") and Joshua Redman is a versatile sax player (he sits in with umphreys McGee, for example) and it is a pretty straightforward "classic" jazz album. If you want other suggestions for more styles (funk, fusion, modern, avant garde, jammy) let me know. I was a huge jazz nerd/trained jazz bass in high school and early college and I'm due to dig back in.
And you cant really go wrong with a love supreme, it is a masterpiece by a jazz master.
“Instant Hit” - If those guitars are any indication, I’m going to like this. Wow, the reggae influences are clear on this. Also, it’s weird now thinking about just how, to use a sort of incorrect word, volatile the late 70s were - I’m thinking about how Ramones came out only 3 years before this and Talking Heads: 77, well, two years before. Kind of surprised how low the vocals are mixed on this one, though.
“So Tough” - That ascending bass melody is great. Weirdly, it reminds me of MSTRKRFT’s “Vuvuvu”.
“Spend, Spend, Spend” - The double time chorus is kind of a neat idea. So far, by this album is way more laid-back than I was anticipating. Also, my autocorrect just changed ‘laidback’ to the hyphenated version, which is decidedly uncool.
“Shoplifting” - Oh, a faster song, sort of! I’m seeing more of a connection between this band and later post-punk; take away the dub influence and add in a synth or something and this could’ve been on Fever to Tell.
“FM” - I always love drums like this. The whole double time chorus thing seems to be a common theme here.
“Newtown” - That guitar tone at the beginning is very interesting. And what’s up with that, uh, wind-up sound at the end?
“Ping Pong Affair” - Disappointed this one isn’t about actually starting a relationship with a ping pong player
“Love Und Romance” - It’s bouncy!
“Typical Girls” - I hear this is one of Kurt Cobain’s favorite records? Anyway, this is a good song. A very good song. That piano is especially great.
“Adventures Close to Home” - I’m typing fast because I’m doing other things at the same time at this, but geeez, this album is short. Even these 3 and a half minute songs feel like they’ve been breezing by.
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine” - Yep, still goes off!
Impressions: Based on what I had heard originally, I wasn’t expecting this album to have a pretty singular sound. In fact, my original exposure - “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” - is really the high-energy exception on an album that really leaned into its reggae influences and consequently churned out a bunch of songs with unique, if not slower than expected, rhythms. Hell, the bonus track is a slow version of a song I wouldn’t exactly call speedy. In any case, I think my favorite part about listening to this album was hearing the direct connection between this album and one of my all-time favorite albums, Fever to Tell. I know I hinted at it above, but now that I’m done listening to it I think the connection is pretty obvious - although maybe it’s just Ari Up and Karen O’s completely original vocal approaches. Regardless, this was a great, quick punk album and I’m happy I finally got around to it.
Background on Paul Simon: Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Simon's musical career has spanned seven decades, with his fame and commercial success beginning as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, formed in 1964 with Art Garfunkel. Simon was responsible for writing nearly all of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the U.S. singles charts: "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", and "Bridge over Troubled Water".
The duo split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity and Simon began a successful solo career, recording three acclaimed albums over the next five years. In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music, which sold 14 million copies worldwide on its release and remains his most popular solo work. Simon also wrote and starred in the film One-Trick Pony (1980) and co-wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998) with the poet Derek Walcott. On June 3, 2016, Simon released his 13th solo album, Stranger to Stranger, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart and the UK charts.
Simon has earned sixteen Grammys for his solo and collaborative work, including three for Album of the Year (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy After All These Years, Graceland), and a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[6] and in 2006 was selected as one of the "100 People Who Shaped the World" by Time. In 2011, Rolling Stone named Simon one of the 100 greatest guitarists. In 2015, he was named one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time by Rolling Stone. Among many other honors, Simon was the first recipient of the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007. In 1986, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees.
Background on Graceland: Graceland is the seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Produced by Simon and Roy Halee, the album was released on August 25, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records.
In the early 1980s, Simon's solo career had hit a low point. Following a very successful but fraught reunion with former partner Art Garfunkel, Simon's marriage fell apart and his previous record, Hearts and Bones (1983), was a significant commercial disappointment. In 1984, after a period of depression, Simon became fascinated with a bootleg cassette of South African township music. He planned a trip to Johannesburg in the new year with Halee, where he spent two weeks recording with South African musicians.
Recorded in 1985 and 1986, Graceland features an eclectic mixture of musical styles, including pop, rock, a cappella, zydeco, isicathamiya, and mbaqanga. Simon created new compositions inspired by the recordings made in Johannesburg, collaborating with both African and American artists. Simon faced controversy for seemingly breaking the cultural boycott imposed by the rest of the world against South Africa because of its policy of apartheid. In addition, some critics viewed Graceland as an exploitive appropriation of their culture. Following its completion, Simon toured alongside South African musicians, combining the music of Graceland and their own music.
Despite the controversy, Graceland was a major commercial hit, becoming Simon's most successful studio album. His highest-charting effort in over a decade, Simon's return to the forefront of popular music was considered a remarkable comeback. It was lauded by music critics, won the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and is estimated to have sold up to 16 million copies worldwide. Graceland has frequently been called one of the best albums of the 1980s, and is present on lists of greatest albums created by numerous publications. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2007, having been judged to meet the registry's admission criterion of being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important."
My preconceptions: I've heard snippets of Graceland before (mostly from a friend who's a big Paul Simon fan), and I wasn't really a big fan. But for the sake of listening to more 80s music, the sake of looking at different styles of and approaches to music, and the sake of trying to open my mind to something that I may or may not end up a fan of, I will listen to this album. (That sounds like a threat.)
I am! I've been very busy between finishing school, graduating, getting a job, taking my licensing test, and apartment hunting and honestly writing about albums wasn't a huge priority! I wrapped up all the important stuff today though so I should be finally getting to Graceland tonight and you can yell at me if I don't.
“The Boy in the Bubble” - Not going to lie, I was not expecting this album to open with accordion. Or an especially fart-sounding tuba?? Also, maybe I’m just predisposed to dislike sentiments like these, but the lyrics scan as very “old man yells at cloud”.
“Graceland” - Those double time drums are interesting. But this is more what I was expecting the album to sound like. An odd thought: maybe it’s just Spotify, but this album sounds very quiet. The fact that Paul Simon isn’t exactly belting out these songs doesn’t help, either. He has some phrasing on this song that I like a lot, though - “Whoa, so this is what she means” stands out in particular. I like this song much more than “The Boy in the Bubble”.
“I Know What I Know” - Oh, so this is kind of material people are referring to when they compare Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend! I do like the use of the choir here. I think overall, I was expecting the lyrics on this album to be a lot more serious than they actually are.
“Gumboots” - Again with those drums! And again with the accordion? Well, I do like consistencies like that, so I’ll give him that. This song is also way better than “The Boy in the Bubble” and it has the same elements!
“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” - So this is where Ladysmith Black Mambazo comes in. I also like the way the song builds up at the end with the brass.
“You Can Call Me Al” - I don’t want to come across as a fun hater especially since this is apparently the Hit Single from this album but that synth riff is super corny. As are the backing vocals. As are the lyrics. As is that flute (?) breakdown. This whole song is just corny. Sorry.
“Under African Skies” - One thing I’m noticing that I think is pretty interesting is that in spite of its obvious musical touchstones (accordion, brass, South African music, etc) is that there’s a lot of different background singers across the album. I think that’s a pretty cool touch.
“Homeless” - It’s interesting reading criticism about this album as it relates to the anti-apartheid cultural boycott. I don’t want to speak about it too extensively since I’m mostly just reading about it from Wikipedia (I know, I know), but I can understand the tension between Paul Simon wanting to promote South African artists and the ANC wanting respect for the cultural boycott. I also understand the frustration regarding this album’s potential appropriation of South African culture; or, as a quote from the article about this album states, “So, it has taken another white man to discover my people?” There’s no doubt that this album further popularized acts like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but this album probably popularized Paul Simon more. I think the bigger issue this highlights is something that I find a bit discouraging myself - that very rarely, we as American or western audiences rarely explore non-English music. I remember reading a quote from Robyn recently that said, and I’m paraphrasing, “You probably don’t want to sing in the language only spoken by 8 million people”. And that’s referring to a European language from a country and culture many Americans have at least a passing familiarity with; it’s probably even worse for a language like Zulu. Of course, there are some exceptions - Shakira and the recent rise of BTS come to mind - but overall, I think it’s pretty sad. I could go on and on and on about this topic but I think I’ll stop here. To try and connect this back to the song, all things considered, since I knew about some of this controversy, I’m surprised that this song is as political as the album has gotten.
“Crazy Love, Vol. II” - The bridge reminds me of “White Sky”.
“That Was Your Mother” - This is treading the line between world music and Yakety Sax way too closely.
“All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints” - I guess I would’ve expected the album to end with something more bombastic or at least another choir, but oh well.
My impressions: There are some days when I think to myself, "Okay, so where is music going to go from here? Have we as a species stretched the possibilities of music so thin that all we can do now is cycle through stuff that was already popular?" So when I hear something truly new that I haven't heard before, I'd like to think that I'm more open to it. I bring this up because there's a lot on Graceland that, while still clearly of its time (Talking Heads) and influential in the future (Vampire Weekend), is still pretty unique! I can't recall any other album I've heard before that uses that particular accordion/brass/guitar combination or that style of choral singing, let alone across multiple songs (though, to be fair, I also clearly don't listen much to the styles of music that clearly influenced this album). Here's the downside: I simply didn't enjoy a lot of that stuff. "The Boy in the Bubble" is, if I had to pick, one of my least favorite songs I've listened to this whole project, and I'm not a big fan of the cheesy 80s touchstones on songs like "You Can Call Me Al". I appreciate more the intent of this album (and perhaps what it ultimately accomplished): uniting certain strains of western and South African popular music while promoting South African artists during apartheid. Aside from the music, there's some lingering political questions that I'd be curious to explore more from both sides, but really I don't think I'll see myself returning to the album itself more in the future.
Background on The Chemical Brothers: The act with the first arena-sized sound in the electronica movement, the Chemical Brothers united such varying influences as Public Enemy, Cabaret Voltaire, and My Bloody Valentine to create a dance-rock-rap fusion that rivaled the best old-school DJs on their own terms -- keeping a crowd of people on the floor by working through any number of groove-oriented styles featuring unmissable samples, from familiar guitar riffs to vocal tags to various sound effects. And when the duo (Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons) decided to supplement their DJ careers by turning their bedrooms into recording studios, they pioneered a style of music (later termed big beat) remarkable for its lack of energy loss from the dancefloor to the radio. Chemical Brothers albums were less collections of songs and more hourlong journeys, chock-full of deep bomb-studded beats, percussive breakdowns, and effects borrowed from a host of sources. All in all, the duo proved one of the few exceptions to the rule that intelligent dance music could never be bombastic nor truly satisfying to the seasoned rock fan; it's hardly surprising that they were one of the few dance acts to enjoy simultaneous success in the British/American mainstream and in critical quarters.
While growing up, both Rowlands and Simons grooved to an eccentric musical diet, ranging from the Smiths and Jesus and Mary Chain to Kraftwerk and Public Enemy. They met while taking the same history course at Manchester University, though neither was a native Mancunian -- Rowlands enrolled because of the legendary Haçienda nightclub nearby, while Simons acknowledged the city as birthplace to the Smiths and New Order. The pair began sampling Madchester's vibrant nightclub scene together during 1989 and 1990, just at the peak of Britain's fascination with a DJ'ing style named Balearic. Pioneered at the island hot spot of Ibiza during the mid-'80s, Balearic relied on a blend of early house music, Italian disco, rare-groove jazz and funk, Northern soul, hip-hop, and alternative dance. Original Balearic DJs like Trevor Fung, Paul Oakenfold, and Mike Pickering brought the sound back to indie clubs in London and Manchester, and the style proved very attractive to musical eclectics like Rowlands and Simons.
Though Rowlands was already performing in the alternative dance group Ariel, the pair began DJ'ing together at the Manchester club Naked Under Leather in 1991. Hardly believing that their weekend project would progress, they took the semi-serious handle Dust Brothers (a tribute to the American production team responsible for one of their favorite albums, the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique). Despite their doubts, Rowlands and Simons' club night did grow more popular, thanks to the duo's Balearic mix of rare house tracks flavored with hip-hop breakdowns, independent-dance fusions, and ancient secondhand discards. After deciding to try re-creating their unique sound in their tiny bedroom studio, the Dust Brothers emerged with "Song to the Siren," an intriguing example of the new alternative dance scene including sample victims Meat Beat Manifesto and This Mortal Coil.
After the single was pressed up on a limited release of 500 copies, it began getting attention from Britain's top DJs, initially including an old friend named Justin Robertson but later including Andrew Weatherall and Darren Emerson. Weatherall licensed the single to Junior Boy's Own Records, and after the pair had finished university, they moved back to London to work on another EP (14th Century Sky) and a residency at another club. After their third release, "My Mercury Mouth," the duo began to get more high-profile clients for remixing: besides Justin Robertson's Lionrock collective, Primal Scream, the Prodigy, and the Charlatans all received treatments.
When lawyers for the original Dust Brothers came calling in 1995, though, Rowlands and Simons were forced to change their name to the Chemical Brothers (the proposed Dust Brothers U.K. was turned down). Word on the street and nightclub scene was so good that it hardly mattered; their new residency at the Heavenly Sunday Social quickly became one of the hottest club nights in England -- documented on the mix disc Live at the Social, Vol. 1 -- and their debut album, Exit Planet Dust, was heavily praised by critics. Another fan of the record, Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher, agreed to lend his vocals to a future single named "Setting Sun," the Chemicals' tribute to one of their own favorites, the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows." The single went to number one in late 1996, and the Chemical Brothers opened up for the giant Oasis concert at Knebworth besides headlining their own shows all over the world.
The Chemical Brothers' second album, Dig Your Own Hole, took charge of the top spot on the album charts upon its release in April 1997, and on the wings of America's growing electronica push, the album sailed to number 14 stateside and went gold. The duo released a mix album in 1998, Brothers Gonna Work It Out, and followed with their third studio LP, Surrender, in 1999. Rather lackluster expectations sparked a return to the underground with the white-label-only single "It Began in Afrika" and the duo's fourth album, Come with Us. It too failed to earn the high notices of the first two albums, although after another three-year gap Rowlands and Simons returned with another, 2005's Push the Button, with guest vocalists Q-Tip, Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke, and the Magic Numbers. The music celebrity parade continued on 2007's We Are the Night, this time including the Klaxons, Willy Mason, Fatlip, and Midlake.
In 2010 they released Further, their first album with no vocal collaborations, and in 2011 they released Hanna, their first film soundtrack. Sticking with film, in early 2012 they released to select cinemas Don't Think, a combination of a Chemical Brothers live show and a visual document from their longtime art director Adam Smith. The film and live show were made available for purchase in March 2012. Another film contribution followed in 2014, when the Chemical Brothers collaborated with Miguel and Lorde for a song on the Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 1 soundtrack. With 2015 came the first Chemical Brothers full-length in five years, Born in the Echoes, which featured guest appearances from Beck, St. Vincent, Cate Le Bon, and the returning Q-Tip. It debuted at number one in the U.K. and became the group's sixth chart-topping album.
Background on Dig Your Own Hole: Dig Your Own Hole is the second studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released on 7 April 1997. It was recorded between 1995 and 1997 and features Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Beth Orton as guest vocalists.
It was the band's first UK number one album, achieving this peak in the charts on 19 April 1997. Five singles were released from the album, two of which reached number one in the UK: "Setting Sun", "Where Do I Begin", "Block Rockin' Beats", "Elektrobank" and "The Private Psychedelic Reel". The album has been included in several British magazines' lists of the best albums ever. The success of the album led The Chemical Brothers to be much sought-after remixers, and the duo released a mix album in 1998 entitled Brothers Gonna Work It Out.
After The Chemical Brothers' successful debut album, Exit Planet Dust, released in June 1995, the duo continued to tour but quickly sought to record new material. Following the release of "Life Is Sweet", the final single from that album, the duo had changed labels from Junior Boy's Own to Virgin, with Virgin getting credit on their album Exit Planet Dust as well under the liner notes. The duo released an EP, Loops of Fury in January 1996, consisting of new material and a remix of one of the band's earliest and signature tracks, "Chemical Beats".
The songs "It Doesn't Matter" and "Don't Stop the Rock" were released in June 1996 on vinyl as "Electronic Battle Weapon 1" and "Electronic Battle Weapon 2" respectively as promos for DJs to test in clubs. The duo met up with Noel Gallagher. They were interested in collaborating for a track. The Chemical Brothers had reportedly given him an instrumental track and he then wrote lyrics for the track. The song was released as the single "Setting Sun" in October 1996. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number one. Stereogum said that "the combination of rave sirens and psych-rock far-outness [on Exit Planet Dust] was probably what convinced people like Noel Gallagher and Mercury Rev to jump onboard".
My preconceptions: I really like The Chemical Brothers, but what I listen to most is their greatest hits compilation, Brotherhood. Looking at the tracklist now, though, really the only song from Dig Your Own Hole I've listened to is "Block Rockin' Beats", which, really, who could blame me for that? Nothing against rock or soul or funk or singer-songwriter music or whatever it is that Paul Simon does, but I'm very excited to finally get to some electronic music and am very excited to finally listen to this one.
“Block Rockin’ Beats” - I’ve loved this song for many years, so I don’t have much to say about it; but I’ve only heard the edited version off Brotherhood before so it’s cool to hear it with that intro.
“Dig Your Own Hole” - My impression was always that this album was more hip hop influenced than other works by The Chemical Brothers, but this sort of proves that idea wrong. Yeah, it’s got that breakbeat, but the faster tempo already contrasts it more with “Block Rockin’ Beats”. The whistle sounds/vocal samples/acid synths at the bridge are very ravey, too.
“Elektrobank” - Oh, I like the bass on this one. This song definitely has a lot of surprises on it - one problem with album-based dance music is that while a repetitive dance track can sound great live or in a club, it doesn’t always work well on an album, so it’s even more special when someone (like, say, Todd Terje) can pull it off. This track I think is an example of album-based dance music done well -there’s some pretty significant changeups halfway through and at the end of the song that surprised me and I thought were really executed well (especially the slowdown at the end).
“Piku” - This has been the one miss for me so far. Kind of interesting how this seems to follow a more traditional verse-chorus format (which I know is kind of bullshit given it’s an instrumental lol), but a lot of the samples and percussive elements in this song sound way too…stiff (?) for me. I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe it could be a bit more melodic.
“Setting Sun” - Here’s a confession: I’ve never listened to an Oasis album and don’t plan on doing so any time in the near future. Anyway, the drums on this song are kind of cool and those high-pitched synths are too. This sounds like the kind of song they’d use in the chase scene of a movie (I’m guessing it’s probably been used in at least one action movie before, right?)
“It Doesn’t Matter” - You know how earlier I was talking about album-based dance music? Not to harp on a point too much, but that extended drum opening, while useful for DJs, is kind of grating here. After doing some reading, it sounds like this was one of the band's first songs? This really doesn’t sound like an early song by this band though; if I had to pick any one so far I probably would’ve said “Piku” lol. I do like this one a lot, though.
“Don’t Stop the Rock” - Kind of interesting that as the album’s gone on, the breakbeat influences have gone away and now there’s more techno and acid.
“Get Up On It Like This” - This is kind of weird, even for an album like this. That’s all I have to say.
“Lost in the K Hole” - This sounds way more pleasant than what I imagine an actual k hole would be like. This song is way too pretty for that.
“Where Do I Begin” - ok, now I guess this just sort of veered into straight up psychedelia! The ending of the song is interesting - I wonder if that’s a synth, an altered sample, or what?
“The Private Psychedelic Reel” - …I mean, the title should’ve given it away, though. Actually, you know what? A lot of the stuff on this last third or so of the album reminds me of Caribou circa Andorra, if not a louder and more aggressive version. I suppose a lot of what makes this album so unique though is its drums - like when The Chemical Brothers’ Spotify description say they have an “arena-sized sound”, that’s almost certainly what everyone’s referring to, right? Anyway, I’m about seven minutes in and I’m starting to get the feel that this song should not be ten minutes long. Hoping for a nice shakeup at the end. I guess there kind of is with that woodwind and, uh, disco lasers combo. And what appears to be the longest fadeout on record. Please. End this song. I am begging you. Okay, it’s not even really fading out. That’s kind of more of a whimper than a bang, isn’t it?
My impressions: My first takeaway from this is that this album is impeccably sequenced. The Chemical Brothers do some neat genre shifting from breakbeat to acid to psychedelia to breakbeat and it works really well for this album. Remarkably, too, nothing from this album sounds terribly dated to my ears, as opposed to say, Fatboy Slim circa You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby. (Sorry, Fatboy Slim). If I had two criticisms, I think “The Private Psychedelic Reel” is a weak closer, given how energetic its beginning is and that some of the track intros need to be snipped more. Otherwise, this is a pretty great album that stretched the genre markers of dance music way more than I was expecting.
Background on Dinosaur Jr.: Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels earned the band a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock, creative tension led to Mascis firing Barlow, who later formed Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. His replacement, Mike Johnson came aboard for three major-label albums. Murph eventually quit, with Mascis taking over drum duties on the band's albums before the group disbanded in 1997. The original lineup reformed in 2005, releasing four albums thereafter. Mascis's drawling vocals and distinct guitar sound, hearkening back to 1960s and '70s classic rock and characterized by extensive use of feedback and distortion, were highly influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s.
Background on You're Living All Over Me: You're Living All Over Me is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr.. It was released on December 14, 1987, through SST Records. A refinement of the formula introduced on their debut, You're Living All Over Me features drawling vocals paired with loud guitars and driving rhythms. The album was well-reviewed upon release, and is now regarded as a high point of American rock in the 1980s.
The album's title was long rumored to have been a phrase uttered by singer/guitarist J Mascis in frustration at the cramped conditions of a lengthy tour. However, Mascis has denied this story. "Poledo" is different from the rest of the album in that the first half is a lo-fi recording of Lou Barlow singing and playing ukulele, much like his own group Sebadoh, while the other half is a collection of sound collages and abstract noise pieces.
The album is considered a classic of indie and alternative rock. The album has also proved to be massively influential, especially on the then-nascent shoegazing genre. Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine has named the album, among others, as an influence on their seminal You Made Me Realise EP; the two bands would eventually end up touring together. Several sources even recognize the album's influence on Nirvana.
My preconceptions: A friend played the Fossils compilation while we were hanging out a few weeks back. It was the first time I'd ever listened to Dinosaur Jr. and I really enjoyed it. And that's fine and all, but what really gets me excited is finding out that this album influenced You Made Me Realise. I can sort of picture the connection, but I can't fully envision it, and so I'm really excited to dig a little deeper and see how this fits in with other parts of indie rock history.
“The Boy in the Bubble” - Not going to lie, I was not expecting this album to open with accordion. Or an especially fart-sounding tuba?? Also, maybe I’m just predisposed to dislike sentiments like these, but the lyrics scan as very “old man yells at cloud”.
“Graceland” - Those double time drums are interesting. But this is more what I was expecting the album to sound like. An odd thought: maybe it’s just Spotify, but this album sounds very quiet. The fact that Paul Simon isn’t exactly belting out these songs doesn’t help, either. He has some phrasing on this song that I like a lot, though - “Whoa, so this is what she means” stands out in particular. I like this song much more than “The Boy in the Bubble”.
“I Know What I Know” - Oh, so this is kind of material people are referring to when they compare Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend! I do like the use of the choir here. I think overall, I was expecting the lyrics on this album to be a lot more serious than they actually are.
“Gumboots” - Again with those drums! And again with the accordion? Well, I do like consistencies like that, so I’ll give him that. This song is also way better than “The Boy in the Bubble” and it has the same elements!
“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” - So this is where Ladysmith Black Mambazo comes in. I also like the way the song builds up at the end with the brass.
“You Can Call Me Al” - I don’t want to come across as a fun hater especially since this is apparently the Hit Single from this album but that synth riff is super corny. As are the backing vocals. As are the lyrics. As is that flute (?) breakdown. This whole song is just corny. Sorry.
“Under African Skies” - One thing I’m noticing that I think is pretty interesting is that in spite of its obvious musical touchstones (accordion, brass, South African music, etc) is that there’s a lot of different background singers across the album. I think that’s a pretty cool touch.
“Homeless” - It’s interesting reading criticism about this album as it relates to the anti-apartheid cultural boycott. I don’t want to speak about it too extensively since I’m mostly just reading about it from Wikipedia (I know, I know), but I can understand the tension between Paul Simon wanting to promote South African artists and the ANC wanting respect for the cultural boycott. I also understand the frustration regarding this album’s potential appropriation of South African culture; or, as a quote from the article about this album states, “So, it has taken another white man to discover my people?” There’s no doubt that this album further popularized acts like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but this album probably popularized Paul Simon more. I think the bigger issue this highlights is something that I find a bit discouraging myself - that very rarely, we as American or western audiences rarely explore non-English music. I remember reading a quote from Robyn recently that said, and I’m paraphrasing, “You probably don’t want to sing in the language only spoken by 8 million people”. And that’s referring to a European language from a country and culture many Americans have at least a passing familiarity with; it’s probably even worse for a language like Zulu. Of course, there are some exceptions - Shakira and the recent rise of BTS come to mind - but overall, I think it’s pretty sad. I could go on and on and on about this topic but I think I’ll stop here. To try and connect this back to the song, all things considered, since I knew about some of this controversy, I’m surprised that this song is as political as the album has gotten.
“Crazy Love, Vol. II” - The bridge reminds me of “White Sky”.
“That Was Your Mother” - This is treading the line between world music and Yakety Sax way too closely.
“All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints” - I guess I would’ve expected the album to end with something more bombastic or at least another choir, but oh well.
My impressions: There are some days when I think to myself, "Okay, so where is music going to go from here? Have we as a species stretched the possibilities of music so thin that all we can do now is cycle through stuff that was already popular?" So when I hear something truly new that I haven't heard before, I'd like to think that I'm more open to it. I bring this up because there's a lot on Graceland that, while still clearly of its time (Talking Heads) and influential in the future (Vampire Weekend), is still pretty unique! I can't recall any other album I've heard before that uses that particular accordion/brass/guitar combination or that style of choral singing, let alone across multiple songs (though, to be fair, I also clearly don't listen much to the styles of music that clearly influenced this album). Here's the downside: I simply didn't enjoy a lot of that stuff. "The Boy in the Bubble" is, if I had to pick, one of my least favorite songs I've listened to this whole project, and I'm not a big fan of the cheesy 80s touchstones on songs like "You Can Call Me Al". I appreciate more the intent of this album (and perhaps what it ultimately accomplished): uniting certain strains of western and South African popular music while promoting South African artists during apartheid. Aside from the music, there's some lingering political questions that I'd be curious to explore more from both sides, but really I don't think I'll see myself returning to the album itself more in the future.
Favorite tracks: "Graceland"
The accordion is a large part of South African music, and this album was obviously influenced by, and created with, south African musicians. Also, I typically associate the "old man yells at cloud" meme with the cantankerous attitude of a person railing against something inane, or against the changing world around him. New things that make him uncomfortable and challenge the "way we've always done it." In the first two verses of Boy in the Bubble, he seems to be discussing shizty environment in apartheid south Africa and the desperate situation for many people there, and juxtaposing it with these advancements in human capabilities and a bit of hope (days of miracle in wonder...don't cry, etc.) I also like to think Simon is clever enough for the Boy in the Bubble to have a bit of a double meaning, beyond just as an example of the advancements of modern medicine, but as he himself as this "boy in a bubble" when he leaves the comfort of the US for the reality of South Africa.
It's interesting you mention Simon not belting these songs out - I've never really thought of him as a belter. He also uses quite a bit of sorta wry, spoken phrasing in his songs, particularly post-garfunkle.
As for You Can Call Me Al - you can call it corny, but the lyrics are about how he was approaching middle age and hitting a downpoint in his life and career. He was a superstar from his S&G days, then as a solo artist, but by the mid 80's he was on a downturn and his relationship with carrie fisher was ending, and here he is "in this strange world," walking down the street experiencing these new sounds and music. And that "corny" penny whistle solo is a major part of the South African "kwela" tradition - a typical street/folk music popular in S. Africa - not unlike walking down a street in NOLA and hearing someone playing a trumpet or sax. It may sound corny, but there is the context. I think the synths sound a bit 80's and dated, but that riff sounds great played by the horns ~2:15 mark and I'm not really one to knock on Adrian Belew. Plus that bass line is just some buttery smooth funkiness that I wish I could play.
And the yakety sax bit - that song is totally meme'd out, but "that was your mother" is heavily based on Creole Zydeco music (Simon even calls it out at the end of the first verse, ya). Creole typically being a mix of european, caribbean, and west african ethinicities, and also features accordion as a main melodic component.
As for the political stuff, there was an interesting interview with angelique kidjo on NPR the other day where she was discussing cultural appropriation, and though it was focused on her upcoming Talking Heads cover album, I thought this was an important point she made:
I always say, when you are inspired by a music, and you acknowledge that source of inspiration, it is cultural expansion. But when you deliberately take somebody's music and put your name on it, it's not even cultural appropriation, it's stealing — period. Cultural appropriation doesn't exist.
The Talking Heads, when they released this album, in the press release they acknowledge the fact they were listening to Fela when they did this album. They were reading the book [African Rhythms and African Sensibility] of [John Miller] Chernoff, and they tell people, "You want to understand our album? Listen to Fela and read the book."
Simon brought Ladysmith Black Mambazo on SNL with him, and toured with South African musicians to support graceland when it came out. So I never really got the cultural appropriation bit that some people claim. There was a bit of controversy because there was this big cultural boycott re: south Africa and western musicians playing there - but it also went both ways. The Apartheid government was not kind to black musicians in South Africa and often suppressed their output. As a counterpoint to your quote above about "it has taken another white man..." it could be argued that under apartheid, none outside of South Africa would have been able to discover that music because of suppression by the government. Just a thought.
Before I begin, I want to thank you, snowmanomura , for bringing lots of thoughtful discussion to this thread. I have a lot of knee jerk reactions to things, so I appreciate you bringing a different perspective to it. To sort of wrap up the appropriation discussion, I don't really believe Graceland is appropriative. It's interesting you bring up the Angélique Kidjo interview; I read another discussion from her on the issue today at Pitchfork. I've also been thinking about this Briahna Joy Gray essay on cultural appropriation, too. I don't quite think Paul Simon really exploited the artists on the record. As for the cultural boycott issue, I wasn't alive in the 80s so I'm not even going to touch that one lol (though I guess one could make it a case as to how it parallels today with, say, Nick Cave and Radiohead playing shows in Israel while Lorde doesn't and Young Fathers get kicked off festival bills for supporting BDS.)
“Little Fury Things” - Wow, I was not expecting that beginning!! I know this was on Fossils, so I guess I must’ve forgotten about it. My first instinct is that this seems to share more sonic DNA with hardcore punk than anything shoegaze related, but then the verse kicked and I realized maybe not. The play with dynamics here is interesting! And the song goes on and I think this sounds less like hardcore punk and maybe more like the Pixies (which would only be half right, considering Come On Pilgrim came out at the same time anyway). And then that guitar comes back and I don’t know what to think.
“Kracked” - My first thought was “This is like a less pretty and also more clear version of ‘Deerland’, lol”. I don’t want to think about the possible connections between this album and the nascent shoe gaze movement so I’ll try not to. I do like the guitar solo.
“Sludgefeast” - I’m definitely on the “sludge metal” wikipedia page to see if people think this counts or not. (Wikipedia classifies this album as “alternative rock, noise rock, indie rock, lo-fi”.) Anyway, it appears the answer is “no”. Kind of interesting that this song seems to have less of a lyrical focus than the earlier ones. Also, while I’m on Wikipedia, J Mascis is old enough to have been my dad. The thought is kind of funny. Anyway, this song kind of made a hard left turn at the end, with another great guitar solo! Not a big fan of the fadeout though.
“The Lung” - Okay, now this sounds like Bully. But a version of Bully that would also have a sudden tempo change right at the beginning of a song. My expectations are really being played with here, which, as you may have guessed, is something I like. Credit where it’s due: even Paul Simon did it.
“Raisans” - This sounds more closest to traditional “alternative rock” I guess than anything else before. Hmm. The singing almost kind of reminds me of Rivers Cuomo??
“Tarpit” - Not really a fan of this one and I can’t quite articulate why. I think maybe after several more aggressive songs, this is more of a comedown and maybe it’s just a bit more tonally dissonant as a result.
“In a Jar” - I’m listening to this kinda quietly but this sounds like the highest-quality recording on the album so far, which is also weird. I dig it.
“Lose” - Since I love playing the “what does this sound like” game (I think I may be one of like ten people in the world who finds musical comparisons in reviews actually worthwhile), this reminds me of “Shut Up and Get on the Plane”. Again, not really one of my favorites, but oh well.
“Poledo” - That very brief intro was…intriguing. Actually, there’s a lot going on in this song that’s intriguing. Weird, horror-movie noises scattered throughout, the acoustic guitar use, the changing rhythms and vocal effects. It’s way different from the other tracks, but in a more atmospheric way that contrasts with “Tarpit”. I like this one.
“Just Like Heaven” - When I read the tracklist, I thought about making a joke about The Cure and this song. Well, joke’s on me. (Also, turns out this is a bonus track on the reissue. “Poledo” makes sense as a closer anyway.)
My impressions: I guess my stated goal was to learn more about the origins of shoegaze, and I don’t think I did. The most MBV-like track is the opener, and if anything the influences appear to be more abstract: dynamic shifts, loud guitars, vocal effects. I think this is more of an interesting exploration of lo-fi to be honest. When I think of ‘lo-fi’, I honestly think of music like Best Coast and Wavves and Vivian Girls that has a bit more of a clear pop influence (which, to be clear, isn’t a criticism), even if that association isn’t always super valid. There’s much more of a strong difference here; I’d argue it gets a bit more experimental. As such, I liked tracks like “Little Fury Things” and “Poledo” more. Overall, I think this music sits fine with a lot of music I already like (as you can kind of tell from the reference I laid out in the track reactions) and that’s also probably a large part of the reason I liked this quite a bit. But as someone who sometimes gets a bit obsessed with genre, I think this was a pretty fascinating listen in its own way.
Favorite tracks: “Little Fury Things”, “Kracked”, “In a Jar”, “Poledo”
On your reaction to Another Green World, I can kind of see where you're coming from. I went straight to this album when I started looking into him back in high school, and I felt like I really wasn't getting the appeal. With that said, I enjoyed a number of songs on the album and absolutely fell in love with "St. Elmo's Fire" so I went back many times over the next couple of years and eventually it became one of my all time favorite albums. You might get more out of something like Before and After Science, so check that one out if you haven't... but, please, keep giving AGW chances, as I find it one of the most intricately rewarding albums I've ever heard.
Background on The Zombies: The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored British and American hits in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US two further singles, "Tell Her No" in 1965 and "Time of the Season" in 1968, were also successful. Their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle is ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
By the time Odessey and Oracle was released in April 1968, the band had broken up (in December 1967). The album sold poorly and was given a US release only because musician Al Kooper, then signed to Columbia Records, convinced his label of the album's merits. One of its tracks, "Time of the Season", written by Argent, was released as a single (in 1968) and eventually (1969) became a nationwide hit. In 1968, Argent and White began working on material for a possible new band when they were approached by CBS to do another Zombies album. Several new tracks were cut with a line-up of Argent, Hugh Grundy, Rodford (bass) and Rick Birkett (guitar), and were combined with some old Decca out-takes and demos that were overdubbed and enhanced in sessions at Morgan Studios in London. The album, scheduled for release in 1969, was cancelled and only a couple of the songs, "Imagine the Swan" (one of the newly recorded songs) and "If It Don't Work Out" (a demo of a song that Dusty Springfield recorded and released in 1965), were put out as singles instead (some of this material was released on several compilation albums during the 1970s and 1980s, and the album, titled R.I.P., was finally released in Japan in 2008).
The original line-up declined to regroup for concerts following the belated American success of "Time of the Season". In turn, various concocted bands tried to capitalise on the success and falsely toured under the band's name. In a scheme organized by Delta Promotions, an agency that also created fake touring versions of The Animals and The Archies, two fake-Zombies were touring simultaneously in 1969, one hailing from Texas, the other from Michigan. The Texas group featured bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard, soon to be members of ZZ Top. Another group toured in 1988, going so far as to trademark the group's name (since the band had let the mark lapse) and recruit a bass guitarist named Ronald Hugh Grundy, claiming that original drummer Hugh Grundy had switched instruments.
Blunstone and Argent did not play together again until late 1999. Argent spotted Blunstone in the audience while performing at a charity concert for jazz musician John Dankworth and invited him onstage for an impromptu reunion. This positive experience set the stage for further collaborations to come. The twosome reunited to play shows together in 2000 under the Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent moniker and moved to the US in 2001. They recorded an album, Out of the Shadows (2001), and continued playing live shows together into 2004 when they began going out under the name "The Zombies" again. The new line-up included Keith Airey (brother of Don Airey) on guitar, Jim Rodford on bass, and his son Steve Rodford on drums. Jim Rodford died after a fall on 20 January 2018, aged 76. He was replaced by Soren Køch.
Background on Odessey and Oracle: Odessey and Oracle is the second studio album by English rock band the Zombies. It was originally released in April 1968, on the label CBS. The album was recorded over a period of three months between June and August 1967, in sessions that took place at Abbey Road and Olympic Studios, in London. "Time of the Season" was released as a single and became a surprise hit in early 1969. The album was received indifferently on release, but has since become one of the most acclaimed albums of the 1960s. It was ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Odessey and Oracle was recorded in 1967 after the Zombies signed a recording contract with the CBS label. They began work on the album in June 1967. Nine of the twelve songs were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. Because the album was recorded to a tight budget and deadline, The Zombies worked quickly in the studio, having rehearsed rigorously beforehand. This meant that there would be no outtakes or unused songs recorded during the sessions. Cello and Mellotron parts were added to "A Rose for Emily" but discarded at the final mixing stage.
Colin Blunstone and Paul Atkinson felt disillusioned and tempers flared during the recording of "Time of the Season". Blunstone was not at all keen on the song. When writer Rod Argent insisted that he sing it a certain way, Blunstone's patience snapped and he effectively told Argent to sing it himself. Blunstone finally sang the vocal as required.
The album was recorded using a Studer four track machine, the same tape machine used on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Argent and Chris White mixed the album down into mono, but when they handed the master to CBS, they were informed that a stereo mix was required. The recording budget having been spent, Argent and White used their own money to pay for the stereo mix. One major problem arose when it came time to mix "This Will Be Our Year" into stereo. The Zombies' original producer Ken Jones had dubbed live horn parts directly onto the mono mix. With the horns not having been recorded on the multi-track beforehand, a faked stereo mix had to be made of the mono master.
Morale within the band was at a low point at the end of the recording. Two singles, "Care of Cell 44" and "Friends of Mine", had been unsuccessful, and the band had a declining demand for live appearances, so after a final gig in mid-December 1967, the band split up.
My preconceptions: Honestly? I assumed the Zombies were a garage rock band, so I'm a bit surprised to hear that they're more in line with the British Invasion. Given the tight budget this album was recorded on and the lack of credited musicians I'd expect to see if this had a more orchestral sound, I'm especially curious to hear what the guitars and keyboards are like on this album. I don't think it'll be anything too heavy, which is more what I tend to like, but we'll see!
As many of you probably know, this album isn’t on Spotify, iTunes, or elsewhere. Instead, I’m listening to it the way surely De La Soul intended: a YouTube video. Because this album is quite long, and because many of its songs are quite short, and because I’ll be doing other things, I don’t think I’ll be able to write my thoughts on every single song. But I’ll try:
“Intro”: Always a bold choice to have crowds cheering on any track, but I like the way it’s deployed here ironically. Will be mad if they don’t give answers to these questions.
“The Magic Number”: Starting off uptempo and psychedelic? I like it. Kind of interesting how Dove’s flow in the first part of his verse seems to be more sing-song than the others’. I like the all the vocal samples at the end, too.
“Change in Speak”: This is one of the first times I’ve immediately recognized the sample on an old hip hop album lmao. I’m sort of thinking about how the production here compares to A Tribe Called Quest’s, and when I think of ATCQ songs I really like (“Check the Rhime”, “Can I Kick It?” etc.”) the samples can sometimes sound a bit less naturally integrated together (I’m thinking of the scratches in “Check the Rhime”, for example), but here it sounds much more seamless.
“Cool Breeze on the Rocks” - They came back to it!
“Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin’s Revenge)” - I especially like the guitar sample here. Also, lmao @ chopsticks.
“Ghetto Thang” - I’m thinking about this one.
“Eye Know” - I know positivity gets emphasized in De La Soul’s music, and one thing I’ve noticed is that I just feel good when listening to a lot of these songs, even without paying too much attention to the lyrics. Like, in this song, the combination of horns and whistling is just so incredibly satisfying to listen to, on top of the three members’ relaxed delivery.
"Take It Off" - idk why but the "take off that jheri curl" line made me laugh a lot.
"Tread Water" - This kind of reminds me of The Chemical Brothers' "The Salmon Dance". Or "Superfast Jellyfish". It's fun.
"Potholes in My Lawn" - ok, that yodeling is something! We're getting to a kind of goofier part of the album, aren't we?
"Say No Go" - Okay, apparently not! "Drugs are like pleather" is a hell of an anti-drug slogan, though. "Plug Tunin (Last Chance to Comprehend)" - Honestly, not as much as a fan of this one. It feels less energetic than a lot of the rest of the album. I do like the harp (?) sample throughout.
"Buddy" - Does it Say Something that Q-Tip sounds like such a natural on this track? Probably not, given that De La Soul and ATCQ have compatible sample-based production styles and that Q-Tip is also not a super aggressive guy himself. It's a fun collaboration though.
"Description" - Pos was 19 when this was made? What the fuck. What the fuck?
"Me Myself and I" - A little (but only a little) embarrassed to admit I'm a sucker for a beat like this.
"This Is a Recording (L.I.F.E.)" - Okay, so it's got a gimmick. But it works, probably because it's not overused. It introduces itself, gets in a few quick jabs, and exits with just enough time for you to remember it without hating it.
"D.A.I.S.Y. Age" - A good summation of everything that just came before it. Also, I'm glad the album's frame was just a way to get a dig in at a label guy. That's pretty funny.
Thoughts: How could anyone not love this? It's fun, it's funny, and it's got a lot of heart at its core. I think the production on this one is top-notch, with a great combination of colorful instrumental samples over top of energetic drum breaks. I've overall liked a lot of the albums I've listened to in this project, but few have immediately blown me away. This is one of them. I could come up with a longer list of adjectives to describe it, but why bother? I'd argue that a lot of this album's appeal comes from the feeling you get while listening to it. And what could be better than that?
Favorite tracks: "The Magic Number", "Change in Speak", "Potholes in My Lawn", "Say No Go", "Me Myself and I"
“Care Of Cell 44” - There’s a lot going on here! My immediate reaction when hearing the piano was, honestly, “What the fuck?” I was expecting something significantly darker. Well, musically anyway. Lyrically, this is like…the opposite of “21 Questions”? Besides that, I like the vocal harmony bits quite a lot.
“A Rose For Emily” - Relatively speaking, from more maximal to minimal like that. I wonder if the dark lyrics/bright melody contrast is going to be the Zombies’ trademark. We’ll see.
“Maybe After He’s Gone” - Yep, another major key song with darker lyrics! One thing that strikes me about these three songs is that the arrangements all open slightly differently from one another…
“Beechwood Park” - …just like this one! I’m using the highly scientific resource tunebat to help me with my hunches about what key a song is in, and this is possibly the first minor key song on the album. But who cares about that when we’ve got some trippy vocal effects and keyboards!
“Brief Candles” - I kinda thought this was a duet for a bit, so I guess that’s cool. Maybe it’s just because I associate it way too much with the 60s, but those “ah AHHHHH” vocal harmonies are kind of grating, IMO.
“Hung Up on a Dream” - Oh, I like the guitar on here. And a nice little piano melody to take us out, too.
“Changes” - I won’t lie, I’m getting tired for some reason so these track reviews are probably going to worsen from here on out! No standard drums on this but the addition of bongos (?) on the chorus are two interesting choices! And some interesting panning effects at the end, too.
“I Want Her She Wants Me” - And there’s harpsichord. I’m aware my track reviews have really boiled down to just kind of been pointing out random instruments used on here and thinking “Oh, that’s cool.” But I think it signals an ambitiousness on the Zombies’ end! I haven’t really brought up the Beatles at all since it matters on a musical only superficially and matters more significantly on a marketing level. But if the Beatles’ popularity resulted in a push for bands making music as experimentally fun as this, well…
“This Will Be Our Year” - If it kills us?
“Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914)” - This intro is spooky as hell? This whole song is weird as hell?? That organ?? Those weird sound effects?? The lyrics?? It work well together.
“Friends of Mine” - Can’t tell if this is the kind of corny I like or don’t like.
“Time of the Season” - This is a good song! That voice/handclap combo is cool as hell, the bassline is hypnotic, and the organs are great. Kinda wish it didn’t fade out like that but oh well.
Thoughts: I’m sort of thinking of this now as a pop album. Sometimes, when I think of how the British Invasion happened in the 60, I think about what it would take for rock or psychedelia or whatever to have a major explosion like that again in the US. I also wish that generally speaking, the pop field was more full of weird risks, like Selena Gomez sampling “Psycho Killer” or Lady Gaga circa Born This Way or Beyoncé feat. Jack White. When I listen to this, I think of it as an (eventually) popular album that has some genuinely weird shit on it! To give an example, after listening to “butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914)”, I threw it on my Halloween playlist, which may make it the only anti-war song I can think of that sits well on a quote unquote spooky playlist. And each song has at least one unique detail or effect or instrument that makes it stand out from the others. It’s ambitious without being overly serious, though its serious moments do stand out a bit! I still find some of the harmonies grating (which is weird, because on some songs like “Care of Cell 44” they’re the standouts), and some songs like “Friends of Mine” pale in comparison to their counterparts. But listening to this makes me wish that we could get more weird, mainstream pop across the board.
Favorite tracks: “Care of Cell 44”, “A Rose for Emily”, “Time of the Season”
Background on Autechre: Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most popular acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of Autechre's full-length albums have been released beginning in 1993 with Incunabula. They have also worked closely with the label Skam.
The music of Autechre has shifted gradually throughout their career, from their earlier work's roots in techno, electro, and hip hop to later albums often considered experimental in nature, featuring complex computer-based drum programming, subdued melodies, and few stylistic conventions. Their work has been heavily associated with the 1990s electronic genre later known as intelligent dance music (IDM).
Autechre use many different digital synths and a few analog synths in their production, as well as analog and digital drum machines, mixers, effects units and samplers. They have also made extensive use of a variety of computer based sequencers, software synthesisers, and other applications as a means of controlling those synths and processing the synthesized sounds. Much of the hardware and software they use has been customized by the band themselves. Autechre have also experimented in depth with development environments such as Max/MSP, and Kyma, amongst others, from 1997 onwards.
From 2005 until 2009, they have used the Elektron Machinedrum and Monomachine, alongside Akai MPC and Nord Modular in their live performances. It has also been rumoured that Autechre have used military equipment in their work. In 2008, Sean Booth reported that if he were locked in a cell for a year with only one piece of software and one piece of hardware, he'd "probably take a copy of Digital Performer and an AKG C 1000 microphone." Other machines that Autechre have repeatedly mentioned in interviews are appreciated for their interface and aesthetics as much as their sound, including the Roland TR-606 and MC-202, and the Nord Lead. According to the 2016 interview to Resident Advisor, both members haven't bought a piece of equipment "in the last 5 years", making MAX/MSP a primary production method, with Sean Booth stating that "in Max I can generally build the thing I need, and if I don't know how to do that it'll generally be worthwhile learning."
Background on Tri Repetae: Tri Repetae is the third studio album by the British electronic music duo Autechre, released on 6 November 1995 by Warp Records in the United Kingdom and on 16 March 1996 by Wax Trax! Records and TVT Records. It is considered to be one of the most influential electronic albums of the 1990s, with its rhythmic patterns being more minimal and repetitive and its melodic arrays being more intricate and spacious, in comparison to the duo's previous albums Incunabula (1993) and Amber (1994). The liner notes of the album mention a preference to listen to the album on vinyl for its inclusion of surface noise. The CD version states that the album is "incomplete without surface noise" whereas the vinyl version states that it is "complete with surface noise."
My preconceptions:
edit: as a side note, it looks like I edited over 3 Feet High and Rising's introduction post with Odessey and Oracle instead. So that did get listened to last week!