Track Listing: 1. Voices 2. Calm Americans 3. Blessed by Your Own Ghost 4. Drive on to Me 5. Calvary Song 6. Lipstick Stigmata 7. Dying Midwestern 8. Shallow Like Your Breath 9. Superstitions in Travel 10. Carving Oswego 11. Lie Close 12. Speed of Film
If "US Songs" provided an accurate snapshot of Emo '98, I feel "False Cathedrals" provides a perfect snapshot of Emo 2000. The original bands began struggling against the their own emo-ness and the spectre of serious music (read:Radiohead) as the cash-insters started infiltrating the scene and making it a clownish spectacle. As a result, the whole thing becomes a fascinating ghost of itself. Pianos, ghostly keyboard washes and snatches of processed drums color the self-obsession.
All in all, I find myself enjoying "False Cathedrals" (especially its first half) slightly more than "US Songs," although I can't pretend that I don't miss the accessible sing-alongs that were that album's strength. "Blessed by Your Own Ghost" is no "Watermark High": The sugarbuzz is gone but the whole thing ultimately makes you feel more satisfied in the long run (stomach rumbles). Man, that drumming on "Drive on to Me" is some of the best emo drumming I've ever heard! Good and dancey, skips beats to great effect. The drumming single-handedly elevates the song to the top of my Elliott playlist.
Again, I find myself clocking out somewhere past the halfway mark. All this sumptuous seriousness does wear me down after awhile, although "Lie Close" does get me moving again and the closer "Speed of Film" is indeed awesome...Maybe I should only buy emo EP's? But this is my problem, If you're into the whole spectral beauty thing you'll probably go bonkers for it, though...It is cool and it's another fine album from the waning days of emo (right before it became the most rancid musical trash-heap known to humankind)...
Track Listing: 1. Miracle 2. Intro 3. The Conversation 4. Dionysus Burning 5. The Watermark High 6. Every Train That Passes 7. Suitcase and Atoms 8. Second Story Skyscraper 9. Alchemy as a Rhythm 10. Ten Cent Inquiry 11. Safety Pin Explanation
This is going to be hard for some people to stomach, but there was a time when "Emo" wasn't a dirty word. This was before sideways haircuts, Senses Fail, Bleeding Until September, Hurting Until Monday, and Chris Carrblahblah...I swear to you, in the mid-to-late 90's some of the best records coming out would fall into this now-dreaded category. I still kinda feel that (unfortunately) Emo was the last original movement in the US punk scene. It ended up turning the genre into an listenable mess (that still continues to this day) but for a few years it was all very promising. Mainly because of cool albums like Elliott's "US Songs."
Opening the compact disc, I'm overwhelmed by the sheer Emo-ness of the packaging. Remember the ornate, elaborate CD covers? Full of lyrics printed on rice paper, multiple tiny, oddly shaped booklets, metallic ink, the obligatory white CD tray? This album is a prime example of the "elaborate personalized diary that I secretly want everyone to read" packaging trend.
And the music? Total quintessential emo. The exaggerated instrumental dynamics, boyish vocals, inscrutable lyrics (remember this is early emo before everyone decided to sob their damn guts out), a dash of moog here and there. Oh, and some nice, fat hooks. Strip the little league baseball jersey from any emo-er who doesn't instantly earnestly belt out "SUIT SELLS THE LIIINE..." when shown this silvery album cover!
The album's appeal becomes apparent (or blasphemous, depending on how seriously you take shit) on "The Conversation" when you realize this album is an attempt to scale Sunny Day Real Estate (a band who often sounds like they're trying to swallow themselves) to arenas. In a just world, "The Conversation" would be played to a packed crowd, waiving lighters (or cell phones, sorry...Have to manually adjust my old-man timescale) and hoisting their girlfriends on their shoulders (it suddenly strikes me how awesome the adrenaline surge of "The Watermark High" would sound while eating the $20.00 soft pretzel)...
I also have to give a shout-out to "Suitcase and Atoms," which I seriously put up as a contender for best emo songs of all time. Everything clicks here. The vocals melody snaps right into the guitar which snaps right into the tight drum rolls. It just works works works. And I don't know if it's just that this song is such a high point, or it could be my faulty-attention span or possibly front-loading, but to be honest, I kinda check out on this album after that song...I mean, there's nothing bad, but it seems like up until that point, everything is so on-point...Maybe it's elaborate-diary fatigue...Who knows?
So yea, I'm not ashamed to say it. I'm a 40-year old man who listens to
emo! And I don't care if everyone knows it! Revel in my shortcomings! My shame! (high) Blood
(pressure) On The Dance Floor!
Let's listen to some music...Here's "The Miracle" by Elliott. Emo-joy...
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Time to Die
Track Listing: 1. Incense for the Damned 2. Time to Die 3. I Am Nothing 4. Destroy Those Who Love God 5. Funeral of Your Mind 6. We Love the Dead 7. SadioWitch 8. Lucifer's Slaves 9. Saturn Dethroned
The Real Life Dangers of Alcohol and Punk Rock (A True Life Medical Drama)
by Dr. Jamin, MD (the MD stands for Mogen David and not Mad Dog, as commonly believed)
Because 2016 is hell year, I didn't have a car, so I carried home a 30-pack of Rolling Rock from the local convenience star (What am I supposed to bring home for the Friday Night Record Party? A can of Hi-C?!). Once I made it to the top of the stairs I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. It soon passed and I forgot about it and got on with my night.
The following day we were having band practice (we're scheduled to enter the studio this weekend) and while I was singing TA-80's soon to be classic track, "Trans-American 80" I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my beergut. I lay down and felt my stomach and there was a painful lump in my deep naval cavern (see the 30-pack of beer). Over the week, it reduced in size and no longer hurts although the lump is still there...
I went to the doctor and it was determined this was an umbilical hernia and said I should probably get surgery for the umbilical hernia at some point, but not to be in any hurry because it's nothing too dangerous...
So yea...Let this be a warning of the dangers of alcohol...Those 30-packs are heavy...And punk rock is dangerous too, cos if you sing it too hard you can strain your milk...
Sidenote: My band TA-80 entered a recording studio this weekend to finally lay down the final tracks for our long-demoed "Black Glitter" album. Amy is the main singer, so she usually does most of the lead vocals and because of my hernia, she was definitely doing all the vocals. We saved "Transamerican 80" (the song that gave me the hernia in the first place) for last and sure enough, the vocal part just didn't work for her. So I had to step in for lead vocals on the verse for that song, worried that my belly button was going to shoot out of my stomach like a cannon. Everything turned out fine, though. I laid down the vocal with no pain whatsoever...
Alright, enough of my old-man maladies, let's get to the melodies...
Oh, wait, there are no melodies on this album....Just downtuned slagheaps of guitar and ghostly howling over slow-as-shit drums...And it's brilliant! A sprawling concept album about a Satanic Panic-era murder! It's got all the necessary ingredients needed for a Geraldo Prime-Time special: Drugs! Satan! Heavy Metal! Murder! The album ends with the serene sound of a gentle stream as the water trickles around the dead body....
Again, the whole thing kinda just runs together in a long, slow river
of dark sludge. Especially with the epic 65-minute length of the album
and the abundance of 10-minute plus tracks. A few things do pop out:
Jus Oborn moaning, "I wanna get high before I die!" over the slow motion
riff of "Incense for the Damned"(which sounds like a black,
Everest-sized glacier crumbling in slow-motion). The classic-rock
noodling on the title track that sounds like it took a turn down the
wrong alley and realizes its about to be smashed...The riff at the end
of "Funeral of Your Mind" that never fails to get Flipper's "Sacrifice" stuck in my head. "SadioWitch"
is remarkable for its ability to fit so much haziness and bad vibes in
such a short running time (and check out that plume of feedback that
appears a bit before the three-minute mark).
Electric Wizard comes through again with a some of the thickest, Sabbath-iest shit out there. I still can't understand why folks are so hung up on "Dopethrone" that they can't see the dark beauty of the band's latest albums. Although, I might have a skewed perspective cos I heard all their material at roughly the same time, so I didn't get to luxuriate in "Dopethrone" for 10 years like some fans did...This album rattles the shit of my skull, at least...
Let's listen to some music...Here's "SadioWitch" by Electric Wizard. Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Black Mass 2. Venus in Furs 3. The Nightchild 4. Patterns of Evil 5. Satyr IX 6. Turn Off Your Mind 7. Scorpio Curse 8. Crypt of Drugula
I was waaaaay late to the party with these guys...They'd been churning out masterpieces of the haziest, sickliest doom possible since the mid-90's and I was bopping away obliviously until a late night youtube run found me in the thick of the band's discography. I can remember thinking, "This sounds like Black Sabbath demos or something..." But Black Sabbath was never this malevolent...This lo-fi....It reminded me of a sentient, venomous cloud of marijuana smoke...
So I went to the local FYE and bought a copy of "Black Masses"...Although not as highly regarded as some of the band's other albums it was the only one the store had, so I went for it...Besides, how great is that cover?
I don't know if Anton LeVay ever played rock n' roll, but I have to imagine if he did, it would sound something like this...Deep, black guitars that churn endlessly into the void as a distant spirit wails in horror...Album opener "Black Mass" is one of the only propulsive numbers on here, after that bit of rousing rock the whole thing slows to a crawl and time loses all meaning...You can't tell if the album is overlong or if the silence after "Crypt of Drugula" is the intrusive element.
Again, I run across people saying it's one of the band's weakest moments, but "Satyr IX" is one of my favorite Electric Wizard tracks...10 minutes of a gloriously distorted, gloomy, rising and falling riff that just cycles and cycles until up becomes down and hours become minutes...One of those songs you can just get lost in forever, and when you pair this with the following "Turn Off Your Mind" (which, I swear has an honest-to-Satan vocal hook...) it's just too beautiful...
I don't know of this record is for everybody...With all the satanism, the ponderous 10-minute song lengths, the crawling tempos, ragged performances, but if you're hopelessly addicted to the Tony Iommi doom riff then there are few bands who will provide a fix this clean...
Let's listen to some Electric Wizard...Here's "Satyr IX"...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. 10538 Overture 2. Look at Me Now 3. Nellie Takes Her Bow 4. The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) 5. First Movement (Jumping Biz) 6. Mr. Radio 7. Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) 8. Queen of the Hours 9. Whisper in the Night
Like many people, I was familiar with Electric Light Orchestra mostly through classic rock radio which regularly airs a handful of dico-ish pop-rock singles that mostly make me wanna puke. "Don't bring me dowwww-owwwnn...B-r-r-r-r-uce!" I had no inkling that some day I would one day own and actively enjoy an Electric Light Orchestra album. How did this happen?
Several years ago I was just hanging out, drinking some beers, listening to some old glam rock on youtube when suddenly I encountered a video of some King Diamond-looking Wookiee singing the poppiest Phil Spector shit I ever heard...The man's name? WIZZARD!!!
I instantly fell in love with Wizzard and bought all the Wizzard albums I could find. I discovered his real name was Roy Wood and he was in a number of other bands in addition to an excellent solo career...His first band was an amazing 60's outfit called The Move which also featured Jeff Lynne, who became the leader for ELO. But what I didn't know was that Electric Light Orchestra was originally an offshoot of The Move and their first album was helmed by both Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, intended to be a more ambitious version of The Move focusing on instruments and structures usually found in classical music.
Now listen, I'm a real plebe. I have no love or interest whatsoever in classical music. I drink Bud Light and listen to KISS records...Therefore, the album's "classical" ambitions terrified me before I heard it, but for the most part it's absolutely fantastic!
The classical elements that I was so afraid of turned out to mostly be BIG LOUD CELLOS THAT SOUND LIKE GIANT DISTORTED CHAINSAWS! Sure, there's also a fair bit of fancy-dan violin and stuff but for the most part this is very much rock...The minute I put on the album and heard that goose-bumpy descending opening riff to "10538 Overture" I fell in damn love. What a great song! I'm sorry I doubted you for a second Roy Wood and I especially doubted you Jeff Lynne (whose high keen is so perfect here...The only possible vocal that could exist for the song). They pull off one other absolutely flawless track with the swoony bittersweet that sounds like Ray Davies fronting sharp-toothed string quartet...The vocal melody on the chorus is a knockout. I'm also fond of Roy's "Look at Me Now," which has some of the best,
most interesting violin I've ever heard. It's all classical stings and
shit, but played hard like rock guitars...Man, Roy Wood could play anything...
But for all the incredible heights it routinely reaches, there are a few definite problems: Some of the material
is a bit meandering, "Mr. Radio" is a rubbishy Kinks vaudeville piffle,
"First Movement (Jumping Biz)" is a shameless rip-off of "Classical Gas"
(Roy Wood has a history of cribbing other people's music but manoman, Mason Williams is one kind motherfucker not to sue the pantoloon's off of these guys) But
there's also a lot of cool stuff here that I can't believe I missed out on...Roy Wood was on one hell of a creative streak during this era. He jumped from ambitious project to ambitious project. As a result of all this creative restlessness, this is Roy's one and only ELO record. I haven't been brave enough to wade any further into this band's discography because I know at some point I'm going to arrive at "Don't Bring Me Down."
Alright, let's listen to some music...Here's "10538 Overture" by ELO...Enjoi oi oi!
"Thank Heavens for Little Girls" and "Sugarfix" are the two albums after "Blood, Guts, and Pussy," but before "The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking." I have these two albums on one twofer CD, so I'm covering them both in one post (sorry about all the math, I know it's hangover day)...
Dwarves: Thank Heaven for Little Girls
1991
Sub Pop Records
Format I Own it on: Kompact Dusk
Track Listing: 1. Satan 2. Johnny Glue 3. Speed Demon 4. Blood Brothers Revenge 5. Blag the Ripper 6. Lucky Tonight 7. Who’s Fucking Who 8. Fuck ‘em All 9. Anybody But Me 10. Three Seconds 11. Fuck Around 12. Dairy Queen 13. The Scum Also Rises 14. Jonney Glue
I find this title and cover fucking hilarious for some reason. I imagine if you're unfamiliar with the band it would appear innocuous or even nice but if you're aware of the band's repugnant reputation you can't help but let a malignant grin slide across your face...
This album is where I consider the baseline Dwarves sound to emerge. The hardcore blasts of "Blood, Guts & Pussy" are mostly gone, replaced by a poppier punk sound with slight tinges of metal. Actually this album has an almost galloping cowpunk sound at times. The subject matter is still pretty much the same though...Lots of mayhem, drug, and fucking....Satan himself pops up from time to time to survey his kingdom.
A couple of my favorite Dwarves tracks appear here: "Blood Brothers" which has a fun sing-songy melody (and bizarre fucked up lyrics, but I guess that goes without saying) where that cowpunk feel I mentioned earlier is displayed more prominently with a slippery slide guitar and a rhythm section that sounds like the hooves of Satan's steed...
The other big one here is "Fuck Around," an amazing doo-wop ditty where we first get a good look at the more bubble-gummy, Ramones-y side of the band that would later become more prominent.
A couple other observations: Was I the only one who was surprised when "Three Seconds" went beyond the 3 second mark? I also fully expected "Dairy Queen" to be about some lactating girl with big jugs. After hearing the audio trailer on here for "The Scum Also Rises," I looked it up and realized it doesn't exist, except for a trailer on youtube....
Damn, I wish this really existed.
Alright, let's listen to some music...Here's "Fuck Around" by The Dwarves...Enjoy...
Dwarves: Sugarfix
1993
Sub Pop Records
Format I Own it on: Der Disk Kompact
Track Listing: 1. Anybody Out There 2. Evil Primeval 3. Reputation 4. Lies 5. Saturday Night 6. New Orleans 7. Action Man 8. Smack City 9. Cain Novacaine 10. Underworld 11. Wish That I Was Dead 12. Gash Wagon
Okay, this is why I love the Dwarves. Shortly before they released this album the band announced guitarist, HeWhoCannotBeName, had been stabbed to death, going so far as to include a memorial inside this album.
It turns out they faked his death and Sub Pop was so pissed they kicked them off the label. Brilliant.
"Sugarfix" has become one of my favorite Dwarves albums. For starters it kicks off with "Anybody Out There," which is such a perfect introductory rocker that last time I was at one of their shows the fucking place exploded when they opened their set with it. (Oh yea, side story...At that show I was outside the Queers' touring van helping Joe Queer fix his guitar when suddenly I found myself face to face with Blag and Nick Oliveri as they approached Joe to discuss some business. I kept my eyes averted and didn't say a word cos I didn't want to end up in a fistfight or something. I was later assured that Blag is a sweetheart.) If the world had any taste whatsoever, "Anybody Out There" should have been a hit, tossing Meatloaf's fat ass off the top of the charts...
"Saturday Night" is another great pop song to throw on the pile...A nice Ramones-y serial killer story that has you singing along on the first listen. "Smack City" tackles the Seattle scene, which had come into the band's orbit via their signing to Sub Pop. Anyway, the writing was on the wall as the band takes the piss out of some of the label's most sacred cash cows...
The whole album is fast and furious (although arguably a bit less fast and furious than their previous works) and a lot of fun. The Dwarves increase the pop ratio and prove the band's greazy worldview carries over even as they seem to be going for a less overtly offensive lyrical tone. At this point it feels like they were so marinated in scum that they were no longer required to consistently point out its presence...
Time to cut the shit...Here's "Anybody Out There" by The Dwarves...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Monsterman 2. On the Inside 3. Should-A Said Yes 4. Think Fast 5. Raise Your Hands 6. Message of Hope 7. Big Dog 8. Can U Juggle? 9. Throw Money at the Problem 10. I Luv Ur Gun 11. Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)(Polysics Remix)
This came out in 2013, but I wasn't especially aware of its existence until around 2015. I actually saw it once before and took a quick glance at the cover and thought it was simply a used copy of "Something for Everybody" with a signed cover. Duhh...Oops. This is actually a bunch of outtakes/demos from "Something For Everybody"with the "Monsterman" theme song and a remix of "Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)" remix tossed in...
And coming from someone who greatly enjoyed "Something for Everybody," I actually might actually enjoy this one a bit more overall...I don't know if there's anything on here as good as "Something for Everybody"'s first four tracks, but on the other hand there's nothing as weak as "No Place Like Home," "Later is Now," "Human Rocket," or "Cameo." The "Something Else" tracks are a little less overly flashy/dancey, which to me is a plus. "On the Inside" and "Should-A Said Yes" rock much harder than anything they've done in a long time...And a lot of this feels a bit more political, with songs like "Can U Juggle," "Big Dog," and "Throw Money at the Problem," "I Luv Ur Gun" tackling the often terrifying 21st century mindset.
BTW, ""Throw Money at the Problem," which in addition to being hilarious, is maybe the most naggingly catchy thing they ever wrote...Anytime I play this album, everybody else walks around for the next few days singing, "Throw Money at the Prob-luuum...Make-it-go-a-way!"
Weak points? The Polysics' (who are to Devo, what Balzac are to the Misfits) remix of "Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)" is fine, but I have a hard time getting too excited over remixes..."Monsterman" is catchy, but it's a little too theme-songy for me to listen to regularly. "Think Fast" (a sort of morality quiz) is entertaining on first listen, but I think I've skipped it every time since my second listen. Clever, but that's about it...And really even the weakest moments are pretty good and memorable...
Alright, let's have a little fun. If "Something for Everybody" and "Something Else For Everybody" had to be combined for one perfect 12-15 track album, what tracks would make your final cut? Here's my list (in no particular order, although no matter what, "March On" would have to be the closer):
1.Fresh
2. What We Do
3. Please Baby Please
4. Don't Shoot (I'm a
Man)
6. Sumthin
7. March On
8.On the Inside
9. Should-A Said Yes
10. Message of Hope
11. Big Dog
12. Can U Juggle?
13. Throw Money at the Problem
What does your line-up look like?
With the recent death of Bob 2, I really hope that Devo puts out more new music. Of all the recent glut of "reunion albums," Devo's were some of my favorites. But if this really is the end, then they went out with dignity and fire...Here's "On the Inside" by Devo...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Love Is for Lovers 2. She Got Soul 3. Spitting in the Wind 4. Lonely Is (As Lonely Does) 5. Not Cool 6. Amplifier 7. A Spy in the House of Love 8. Rendezvous 9. New Gun in Town 10. On the Battlefront 11. White Train
Happy 4th of July (the American Cinco de Mayo) weekend!!!
Hope none of you lose any fingers to those fireworks you bought in Ohio! And if you do lose fingers, make sure they're not any of the important ones (I don't know what my pinky is for). Oh, yea...Sorry I barely posted any new blogs last month. I'll make it up to you this month though...It's my goal to write no less than 10 posts in July. That's my 4th of July resolution...
Oh, man...I love the dB's debut "Stands for Decibels." Particularly the sweet, sweet pop compositions of Peter Holsapple, so I was happy to track down a copy of The dB's third album which is their first release without Chris Stamey who was responsible for a lot of the quirkier, more experimental stuff on their earlier albums...This may be a drawback for folks who are drawn to the artier side of the band, but for a jangle-pop loving fool like me, this is all gravy...
I don't know if there's anything on here that's on the life-changing level of 'Black and White" or "Big Brown Eyes" but this record is consistent as fuck...Kicking off with the shimmering pop of "Love is for Lovers" every single track is pure power-pop heaven...Song after song utilizes the same glorious formula: Chiming Byrds-ian guitars, with wiry new wave energy and beautiful harmonies...And for something so catchy, it's awfully subtle. Which means you have an album that sort of pleasantly floats by on the first few listens until suddenly one day "Spitting in the Wind" is hopelessly caught in your head with no way to get it out...
The band deviates from the formula on only a handful of tracks...For example, "A Spy in
the House of Love," finds the band falling into a funky dance groove that's sure to
liven up alternative dance night. The knockout "On the Battlefront" slows things down and adds some emotional intensity (oh, yea...I should mention there's an undeniable early R.E.M-ness about this band, and especially so on this track). Oddly enough, another diversion
was their big hit..
"Amplifier" sounds to me like Holsapple approximating Stamey's oddball approach and against all odds making it their breakthrough. It's like an askew version of rockabilly or Bo Diddley with a melody that unexpectedly has a way of worming its way into your brain. On an album so abundant with finely-crafted pop, this gangly indie rocker somehow manages to become the record's most memorable moment. Smart, funny, catchy stuff...So good it appeared on two albums in a row...Shouldn't I be condemning this crass money grab? No, cos I wouldn't have a copy of the song otherwise...
These dB's albums can be hard to track down...Somebody really needs to reissue these things...A huge shame such a wonderful band, who put out a pile of wonderfully poppy albums, are so obscure...In a world where "pop" means auto tune and repetitive robotic chants calculated to instantly irritate the shit out of you, the dB's are an oasis...A place you can go to hear well-written, subtle hooks that bury deep on repeated listens. I actually prefer "Like This" to the acknowledged classic "Stands for Decibels" simply because I value intelligently-written pop. To be honest, whenever I reach for "Stands for Decibels," it was to hear the Holsapple stuff. And "Like This" is nothing but Holsapple...So I'm happy...
Let's listen to some dB's...Here's "Love is For Lovers." Enjoy...
