In Brightest Day, In "Black Love" in the year “1965”

After the “Gentleman”, the Whigs kept on going ‘til ’98. The music continues to be big, the sound expands a bit.. but the steam starts to leak. Also, they were a little loss in the surge of Alt, as it started to fade away and we all began dithering over what "Alt" meant, who was really "Alt", and why the fuck would anyone buy "Backstreet Boys" or "N-Sync"

“Gentleman” is a CD that comes to mind, that you can imagine picking up out the blue and putting on again and again. “Black Love” and “1965” are both great, and having had replayed them very recently, are both great, but aren’t as high on the instant play.  They aren’t the OHMYGOD SO AMAZING that the first album is.

Another way to describe the two is a really good scotch or whiskey. Not the best ever, but one you have to remember you have, and are rewarded for playing again. After the first sip, after the it sinks into you, you remember why you keep a bottle or two of it in your liquor cabinet.

But. these are high recommends. I need to listen to more of Dulli and co’s non-Whig output, but if you like
“Gentleman” at all, these are must buys.

Artist: The Afghan Whigs.

Album: Black Love
Year: 1996
Date Listened in Tour: 7/15/08
Rating: ****
Best Songs: Bulletproof

Artist: The Afghan Whigs.

Album: 1965
Year: 1998
Date Listened in Tour: 7/15/08
Rating: ****
Best Song: Uptown Again

You’re No “Gentleman”

One thing I have to say bewilders me. Somehow, music that you’ve burned and listened to many a time, that has happily lived on your iPod or other lesser mp3 player, disappears from your hard drive.

HOW THE FUCK DOES THIS HAPPEN? I DON’T KNOW!

!!

!

Ok.. back to the music.

In the early 90’s, while New Wave was fading and Grunge and Alt where taking over, I was working in the music industry while starting acting. And, starting to really get into music. Like, REALLY. Like, learning credit cards are FUN FUN, into music.

Anyhow.

Not every band was trying to be Nirvana, thank god. An early stand was The Afghan Whigs. I heard them here and there, saw them onto MTV News way more than they were played on MTV, and I just liked their sound, and their lyrics. Look, no matter how good a person you are, part of you has some mildly to seriously  hateful thoughts in it. And guess what..  kick ass rock n’roll can be quite cathartic in that respect.

“YEAH! WORSE PEOPLE THAN ME EXIST! AND MAKE A GREAT NEW SOUND WITH IT! AND AREN’T METAL DOUCHEBAGS!”

Well, maybe not that extreme. But you get my point.

The Whigs never took over the world, and as stories go, and allegedly they broke up amicably. Seeing Greg’s interviews, it’s not entirely believable. But for some of the best of early 90;s alt, you can’t go wrong with them.

I’ll be hitting the other two LP’s separately, but I’m including the EP in this entry. “Gentleman” is an essential part in any cd collection. Great to either amp you up or get you through dark moods, worth listening to the words while doing the head bop, and of the moment it was produced in but not stuck in the moment.

“What Jail Is Like” is a great little EP. Not only does it feature another great song from “Gentleman”, but it shows some different angles of the band. They have some banjo, they show some of the love of soul and classic R&B which marked them as more diverse than your average rock band.

And, it allows me to cheat a little. “What Jail Is Like” is another great song from the “Gentleman” cd, and instead of bursting the Best Song category completely, I get to put it in with the EP.

THANKS, GUYS!

Artist: The Afghan Whigs.

Album: Gentleman
Year: 1993
Date Listened in Tour: 7/15/08
Rating: *****
Best Songs: Be Sweet/ Deboanir

Artist: The Afghan Whigs.

Album: What Jail Is Like
Year: 1994
Date Listened in Tour: 7/15/08
Rating: ****
Best Song: What Jail Is Like

Let’s Hear It For “About a Boy”

The early 2000’s. Wow. We were all trying to chill… either from too many club drugs ( not me, but those of you who were.. it’s cool. Why didn’t you share more?), 9/11 ( me and a lot of other fine folks,) and the whole buzzkill of Y2K.

I mean, we passed both 2000 AND 2001 with out one robot trying to kill us all. Not counting Dick Cheney. I don’t think he was a cyborg yet.

And in to that mix, came all sorts of great, but chill things. Like “Chill Lounges” and “Chill Music.” New frontiers in folk and mellowness.

And Badly Drawn Boy. Another guy who I heard more about than heard, another Brit, his video with the kids’ braces stuck together spoke to a wholesome romantic wistfulness.

And then he did the soundtrack for “About a Boy.”

You may have figured out I’m a Nick Hornby fanboy. Yes, yes I am. And save for the fact that it’s impossible to make a decent film of “Fever Pitch”, the other movies based on his work have been purty damn awesome. Even better, “About a Boy’s” screenplay was written Peter Hedges, a former teacher of mine.

One of the nicest guys you could hope to meet. EVER. You read "What's Eating Gilbert Grapes?" Go back. Buy some of his other stuff.

Anyway,  BDB was a great choice for the movie, a fun mix of odd characters in odd situations, finding themselves in London.

And the CD was one of many found at an FYE in Kingston, NY, as we were rushing to find new cd’s to play in the rental car during a good but challenging recent vacation.

I was going to give this 3 stars, but a second listen bumps it up to 4.  BDB get’s some different styles in this cd, it’s not mopetastic at all. And it works brilliantly with the film.  

But I don’t often see listening to it for it’s own sake. Plus, where the hell is “Santa’s Super Sleigh?” REALLY! But it does stand out better as a CD for it’s own sake then I first realized.

Get this if you are a fan of the film or a Badly Drawn Boy fan. It won’t let you down. If you are looking to learn about Badly Drawn Boy, I’d say track down his other albums first, but swing back to this.

Artist: Badly Drawn Boy.

Album: 19
Year: 2008
Date Listened in Tour: 4/22/09
Rating: ****
Best Song:Silent Sigh

Oi, Adele, you got Soul?

You know, England never lost soul. I mean, Soul & R&B in the US have splintered into so many different directions and sounds… there is not a distinct modern US Soul Sound. Feel free to disagree with me… you are probably right.

But the English have held on to Souls circa mid-60’s on for much longer then the US has. Underground events when desperate souls cross the isle and join each others for dance ins’. Don’t believe me?

Evidence: Nick Hornby’s “Juliet Naked. Read it.

Then see “Blue Juice”- a 1995 Welsh Surf movie. Yeah.. you can stream it. No worries. You’ll notice that as time gone on, Sean Pertwee.. the actual male lead of the flick, has been pushed aside for Catherine Zeta Jones and Ewan McGregor.

That’s not the point. The point is you’ll see over the views there is an English soul scene that I just don’t think is here in the states. I know there are amazing soul musicians and bands… just not that lingering scene.

So when people are shocked by the waves of English Blue Eyed Soul singers ( never mind that the UK is racially diverse and has talented people of all backgrounds sharing music), they shouldn’t be. Save for their press and relations with contested territories, the Brits have had soul, and always had soul.

Now, Adele… she goes beyond the hype. And yes they’ve tried to hyper her up. And yes… they’ve likely been pressuring her some to fit the more standard image of a pop singer. Or just held pictures of Duffy in front of her saying “YOU SHOULD LOOK LIKE HER!”

No, she shouldn’t.

The fact that Adele is a singer and a writer who made two brilliant albums out of utter heartbreak give her cred. The fact that she sings with undeniable soul.. both in style and in practice,  give her cred. For the fact she gets’s so many different sounds as young artists in just two albums, give her cred.

AND FOR GOD SAKES! GET HER A GOOD MAN WHO INSPIRES HER AS MUCH AS EVERY ASSWHOLE WHO GAVE HER THESE TWO ALBUMS! SHE DESERVES IT!

4 out of 5. Damn fine, and you need to own her stuff.

Artist: Adele

Album: 19
Year: 2008
Date Listened in Tour: 4/22/09
Rating: ****
Best Song: First Love

Artist: Adele

Album: 21
Year: 2011
Date Listened in Tour: 7/18/11
Rating: ****
Best Song: Set Fire To The Rain (special praise for her cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong.”)

But How Do I Know What I Want To Know?

So how are the best ways to get a clue about music besides spending too much money for it? True, it’s a touch easier with the internet these days. But what you get in access, you lose in the sheer flood of data. Best ways are to know about music:

1)     Work in it.

2)     Have family in it.

3)     Have a friend in it.

I’ve been lucky enough to have all 3 apply. And while I need to be vague on some details, I recommend spending some time in the industry.. or at least putting some time in supporting an artist or two, or getting in good at a local bar with a good schedule of performances. There is just too much volume of music out there to not have one or two means of getting more than you normally would, or getting access to bands you won’t normally here.

Now, you may not get to hear the biggest in the business. Nor will you love everything you hear. But, you will find some gems to treasure, some bronze trinkets you won’t mind having seen, and some bits of zirconium.

And then there’s Starcode. OH FUCKING GOD THEY SUCK. If you see them run, run as fast as you can.

Seth Adams is a decent singer/songwriter with his band I caught through a club friend. I’m giving them a two for the CD. Which I am struggling over, because they weren’t bad, just didn’t light me on fire. They did a good live show, were great guys, and if you see them on a bill, give them a try.

So don’t take this as a don’t give a try.. just take this as me passing on decent enough artists in the night.

Artist: Seth Adams

Album: Amplify
Year: 2010
Date Listened in Tour: 7/18/11
Rating: **
Best Song: Vermont

 

You've Got The Look, But Do I Want to Know It Better?

ABC was another beneficiary of being an early MTV band. HEY, THEY LOOK GOOD! HEY, THEY GOT VIDEOS! PLAY THE FUCK OUT OF THEM!

One of Trevor Horn’s demon spawn, they seemed English, elegant, oh so New Romantic.

But one thing that I only found out… they were straight out of Sheffield, and they sold out ( or bought in)  for success so hard it makes David Bowie’s early 80’s and 90’s look downright punk.

And by the way, if you aren’t familiar with Sheffield, I can’t say I am, either. I lived in London, where they joke about the rest of the UK far more vehemently than New Yorkers do about all but the most inbred of our fellow Americans. And they take the piss out of Sheffield like you would not belive.

But so much of the English music we swallowed whole in the US came out of Sheffield bands. Don’t believe me? Go see “Made In Sheffield” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325767/

It’s on cable. It’s on Netflix, DVD only. You’ll thank me.

So, ABC, by the time we saw them on our MTV were the synthtastic, smoove mother’s working the slap bass like you would not believe. “Posion Arrow” and “Look of Love” are the stand outs, and their retro-50’s,40’s look made them stand out on the screen. They had a second go at the States later, but they were one of the bands of very brief moment here.

The album succeeds on more than just nostalgia and drum machines. Great music, dramatic lyrics and singing. And yes.. it’s got some mild, funk. Very white funk. But funk nonetheless.

Artist: ABC

Album: The Lexicon of Love
Year: 1982
Date Listened in Tour:7/17/07
Rating: ****
Best Song: Posion Arrow

Sure, it’s Scandinavian Vanilla. BUT WHO DOESN’T LOVE VANILLA?

ABBA has been in the background of my life, for most of my life. I remember hearing them as a wee lad in County Bergen, hearing them on the radio, and of course seeing them on TV, especially once or twice on Casey Kasem’s America’s Top 40 show on WNYW.

Then came new wave and the disco back lash. Which, I was swept up in, and gratefully so. Yet.. yet there was some collateral damage. As the over produced, soulless dance music and Osmondization of 70’sa culture was being rebelled against, some acts were caught up in the blast wave of scorn. ABBA and the Carpenters were cast aside. Spit upon, as it were. Fleetwood Mac went popular, and survived the 80’s, arguably, but ABBA was on the dustbin of history. To be mocked at.

They stayed in the subconscious. But it took a couple of things to tip them back into music fans good graces. One, of course.. AUSTRALIA!

“Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” started the wave of Aussie movies using ABBA joyfully and without shame. And well, those queer gender bending indie Aussie bloke’s and shelia’s seemed to be having so much fun. Speaking of Gay’s Advocating ABBA, real life and incredibly Gay Men Erasure released their “ABBA-Esque “ cd in 1992. Now, if the Kings & Queens of 80’s Dance Pop & New Wave were in on how much fun ABBA was, maybe there was something there.

And, well, all these grunge and indie rock artists started mentioning how much they liked the music of their youth.. the early to mid 70’s.

The era… of ABBA.

I’m not saying it was the final moment, but just as Pope John Paul II finally forgave Galileo, Elvis Costello also redeemed ABBA, citing their great harmonies and intricate melodies. And that was it.

ABBA was forgiven. For their own music. Argue amongst yourself about whether CHESS deserves acclaim or condemnation. Don’t own it, never seen it, won’t say.

My interest was piqued by “Priscialla” and “Murielle’s Wedding,” and when I got ABBA “GOLD”, well I was instantly converted by the sheer pop joy. Yeah, it’s cheese. Yeah, it’s Eurovision Crack. But it’s the finest of cheeses, and the finest of European crack.

The drug, not the… never mind.

ABBA could get points off, because after you a buy one of their best of’s, you probably won’t feel the urge to buy the actual albums. But you need ABBA in your collection.And with the amount you will replay even their best of... 5 stars, all the way.

Artist: ABBA

Album:Gold
Year: 1992
Date Listened in Tour:7/15/09
Rating: *****
Best Song: Knowing Me, Knowing You