1955

The most frustrating part about listening to music decades older than myself is knowing I'm missing out on the song's original context. Even though the guitars and voices I hear through my computer speakers are the same ones that crackled through AM radio fifty years ago, my interpretation and reaction is, by default, going to be different than that of those who hear the same thing when the song was originally released. Our environments are different and our perceptions of music are different. Quite simply, I can't unhear the years of rock and roll fuzz and unexperience the years of modern technological advancement that now filter the way I hear music, and Joe Nineteen-Fifty-Five couldn't even begin to imagine what a Led Zeppelin was, or that his children would eventually have access to a universe of music at the touch/click of a button.

But despite this, I try. I try to go back to simpler times. Before sampled beats. Before heavy distortion. Before FM. Before the Beatles. When it was all quite innocent, when even the rebellion was all in good fun.

Hop into your Delorean, we're going back to 1955.


Chuck Berry - Maybellene
This track flies -- dig, man, dig-- and was quite ahead of its time. Music back then just didn't rock like this. There's no country twang, no big band orchestration, no crooning, and though this song has a blues foundation Chuck Berry, instead of wallowing in it, sets everything on fire. That guitar solo must've driven the fogeys crazy. And OF COURSE this song is about cars and girls. "Maybellene" turned out to be Berry's first big hit and more or less ushered in the rock 'n' roll era. The kids, both black and white, loved it. Berry followed up with more hits. Music got aggressive. Rockabilly grew from a fetus to a musical movement, perpetuated by Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, among many others. Somewhere along this chain of events that extends to this very day your favorite band exists on a rung that links way back to that duck-walkin' man and his ditty about drag-racing hotties.

Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
Cash is so many things to so many people -- country singer, gospel singer, hero to the common man-- but the line about shooting a man just to watch him die? That's straight up GANGSTA. Lyrically this song goes all over the place. He dwells on what's outside the prison walls, recalls his mama's unheeded words of wisdom, dwells on an after-prison life, wonders extensively about what the people inside a passing train are doing, and, of course, laments his evil deed. Musically "Folsom Prison Blues" is easy on the ears. The rhythm shuffles along and the bass is cool and plucky. Cash's guitar kicks back, steps up when it needs to, then hangs back again. There's no urgency to the sound, no focus to the lyrics, and really if you're doing time in prison you've got time (nothing but time) to amble and ramble.

Eddy Arnold - Cattle Call
Every time I listen to this song I try to recall what John Ford film I heard it in. None of them, of course, but this could very well have appeared on the soundtrack to "My Darling Clementine". In the Dvorak-ish introduction to the song I can see the low sun spill across the western plains, casting shadows across the face of the upright cattle man, equal parts good-ol'-boy and frontier cowboy. And screw the Swiss Miss, old school country singers are by far the best yodelers, and Eddy Arnold's golden voice could quell even the most aggressive Indian raids. Despite the abundant countryness of this song, Arnold's use of "pop" orchestration led many in the country music community to cry "sell out". Music snobs existed even back then. And though I am usually a fan of stripped down music, the strings and brass and xylophone add a nostalgic and cinematic element to the tune that makes it inseparable from the classic and wholly appealing old west imagery.

Wanda Jackson - Tears At the Grand Ole Opry
Before Wanda Jackson became a rockabilly hellcat she was a straight up twangy country singer. While with Decca Records in the min-50s she released a series of country ballads that were certainly charming but definitely not edgy. Later, after hanging out with Elvis for a while, her music evolved into something very aggressive and she became one of music's first female rock stars. But back in 1955 she was playing the role of country music chanteuse, crooning traditional-esque waltzes about heartbreak and such. Though Jackson was only 17 when this song was released she already sounds quite accomplished and seems to understand (and thus able to effectively channel) the heart and soul of the genre.

Porter Wagoner - Satisfied Mind
"Satisfied Mind" sounds like a cautionary tale as told by your grandpa... that is, if your grandpa spoke in sweet gentle harmonies and carried a pompadour atop his head. Money can't buy happiness, the song goes, though I don't know if Wagoner continued to perform this song after becoming rich and successful. He probably did as this was one of his most popular songs, reaching #1 on the country charts in 1955. The tempo and melody and Wagoner's own mournful voice makes this song sound a lot sadder than it is, but maybe there's nothing more sad than seeking shallow happiness through earthly wealth rather than, y'know, finding fulfilling happiness through good deeds and being nice and stuff. There's also a Bible lesson in here somewhere. Camels and needle eyes, etc. Anyway, Wagoner passed away exactly one year ago today, hopefully with a satisfied mind.

il Buono, il Brutto, il AlbumArto: Elton John

il Buono, il Brutto, il AlbumArto
Take a band. Take its album cover highlights. Take its album cover lowlights.
Swish it all around in your mouth. Comment.


Elton John

This is the cover to Elton John's first official live release, titled 17-11-70 (when it was released stateside it was renamed 11-17-70). I'm a fan of sparseness and monochrome coloring where just enough detail exists to outline some sort of context. If you were shown this image without the title you'd be able to discern a figure hunched over, possibly (or possibly not) doing something (or nothing). But tack on the words and you know it's Ol' Reg bangin' away on the keys. And though John and his stage persona were often flamboyantly over-the-top, this cover is pleasantly low-key, yet it doesn't ignore the electricity of his live shows.


Good song. Great album (double disc!). Awful cover. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, released in 1973, is Elton John's best-selling studio album and features such classics as "Candle in the Wind," "Benny and the Jets", "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting," and the title track. It also features the image of Elton John in a purple bowling shirt and faaaabulous red platform shoes stepping into a tattered Oz-as-English-countryside picture. Ian Beck is a reputable children's illustrator, and it's too bad that he's mostly known for this cover. It IS imaginitive, yes, but it's also cheese-a-riffic. I don't even know what to make of the tiny wind-up baby grand. However, I do wish I owned this album so I could see what other inane imagery exists on the rear and inside flaps.


This is Caribou, released eight months after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in 1974. I've got JC Penney portraits that look exactly like this.

The Letter S

In this series I spotlight five bands and/or artists whose names begin with the same letter. I try to feature active (or recently active... it's hard to keep current with all the break-ups) performers so as to reflect who I'm listening to and enjoying at the moment.

Sally Shapiro
File under "guilty pleasure" because Swedish Italo-disco revival is a pretty dweeby musical genre. Audibly there isn't much to the music of Sally Shapiro, though everything about it is pleasant to the ear. The beats are firm but cool, the voice is detached yet soothing, and you could either dance or sleep to every song. But who is Sally Shapiro? NOBODY KNOWS. It's really just the moniker for the guy-girl duo. The dude who creates all the nice electro noises is named Johan. The chick who sings may or may not actually be named Sally, won't ever perform live, and rarely has her picture taken. Some have even questioned if she actually exists. Sally Shapiro is the yeti of Euro-club music.
There are dozens of remixes for "I'll Be By Your Side" floating around the internet. They're all good, but I really like this one by DJ Aven (free and easy from the official Sally Shapiro website).
I'll Be By Your Side (DJ Aven Remix)
Jackie Junior (Junior Boys Remix)
Hold Me So Tight


Shearwater
I know two things about Shearwater:
1) Shearwater features at least one member (used to be two) from Okkervil River, a band that is awesome.
2) This is a band that is awesome.
And really that's all you need to know. You could even skate by only knowing Shearwater fact #2. Musically they're pretty low-key, yet are capable of some good quality jubilant rockout. Epic, but in no way pretentious. They're actually comparable to The National in these ways and others, so if you like The National you'll like this (and vice versa).
Since I honestly don't know much else about the band I can only recommend songs. Here you go. Eat up.
The World in 1984
Red Sea, Black Sea (via Insound.com)
Rooks (via Insound.com)


St. Vincent
Another dude-with-a-moniker performers, but NOT just another dude-with-a-moniker performer. St. Vincent is Annie Clark, a New York-based singer/songwriter/instrumentalist born in Oklahoma. In fact, both she and I are the same age and from the same state. That's where our similarities end, however, as she is musically very talented and I am musically very talentless. She's recently made her rounds in the indie scene by touring with Sufjan Stevens (like, as a part of his band) and guitar-playing with the Polyphonic Spree. To date she has only one full length album and one EP (well... two EPs if you count the one she self-released in college). I like her because she's like an American-in-the-2000s version of Kate Bush. Her songs are sharp and almost at odds with her angelic voice. Also if you're interested in amusing little penned-by-Annie Clark snippets, she's got, like, two or three blogs floating around.
Now Now
These Days (cover song)
Jesus Saves, I Spend




Starflyer 59
It seems like Starflyer has been around forever, and it's difficult to remember what the world was like before they began releasing albums (and it's difficult to imagine a world existing after Starflyer ceases to be). Of course I'm being dramatic, but for fifteen years this band has been producing some of the best music in the world. Being dramatic again? Skip the rest of these words and listen to the tunes yourself.
The music itself is remarkably consistent. That is, you could probably identify a Starflyer song just by listening to it. The guitars are dense and shoegazey, the drumming is tick-tocky, and Jason Martin sings like he just woke up. Despite this, many of their songs are insanely catchy. Their earlier material is gloomier and maybe even a bit primitive when compared to the band's latter-day work, but it's no less awesome and really quite groundbreaking when you consider it was released to a Christian market.
Jason Martin is the genius behind the guitar fuzz, and it really is astounding how prolific the guy is. Apart from the dozens of releases full of outstanding music, he's also contributed to a handful of side projects, including Bon Voyage, which he duoed with his wife (and holy crap, they've got a new album out, the first new one in years... it's a blast from my high school past!), and that Neon Horse nonsense.
Anyway...
Download "Wake Up Early" from Purevolume, then stream the other five songs.
Good Sons (via Insound.com)
Play the C Chord


Suffering & the Hideous Thieves
S&tHT is one of the few bands that are capable of being lyrically provocative and instrumentally moving... all within the same song. Indeed, this band has performed some of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard, yet I fully realize these guys aren't for everybody.
If that name and voice sounds familiar that's because you're vaguely recalling Jeff Suffering from the spazz-punk band 90lb Wuss. Initially just a straight up punk band, they matured and explored new ground with each release, and perhaps The Hideous Thieves are the culmination of that. Sounding like a band of disgruntled rock and roll gypsies, The Thieves brilliantly back Suffering's warbly voice as he chronicles the best and worst (usually the worst) of human nature. Lyrics explore the farthest and darkest recesses of man's emotions and motivations, and more often than not the songs are completely depressing. Yet there still remain glimmers of positivity and glory, songs about hope and rebirth. Listening to Suffering & the Hideous Thieves is almost exhausting, but the investment is certainly worth it.
Go to Purevolume and download "I Am Tomorrow" and "The Collector"
Lujo Records has a handful of downloadables. ISound.com has a couple more (at a higher bit rate). Of those I recommend... ALL of them, but especially:
St. Elizabeth
The Other Side of the Moon
[Note: the song "Twice in Water Color" is actually sung by The Hush Hush, with whom S&tHT did a split]
Also listen to:
Return

See You (Not) In September

It looks like I missed the entire month of September. One reason is that I was on another continent for over half the month. A second reason involves high doses of work (as in, being at). There may be a third or fourth reason, but those two are the biggies.

So I really have been absent.

But now I'm back to let you know I can really shake 'em down.

At least until things get manic again during the holiday season.

Stay tuned.