"The Monkees" Rewatch: Monkee See, Monkee Die

In “Monkee See, Monkee Die,” the boys travel to Cunningham Island to collect an inheritance from “eccentric millionaire” John Cunningham. When they arrive they meet Mr. Cunningham’s butler (Ralph), travel companion (Kingsley), spiritualist (Madam Roselle), and grandniece, Ellie. Besides being the person Davy falls in love with “for the very first time today,” Ellie is meant to inherit the mansion, but she must spend one night there before she decides to keep it or give it up. Cunningham left the Monkees the library organ and when they try to “inherit and run” the island’s “foggy season” forces them to stay the night.

Straight up, I love this episode. The writing is on point; the jokes tighter and snappier and more quotable than “Royal Flush,” for sure. Take the opening scene with their landlord, Mr. Babbit, threatening to kick them out. Less than a minute in, two great exchanges occur:

The first: 

Davy: Hey, what’s the matter we paid the rent the first of September?

Mr. Babbitt: Yeah! But that was for July!

And then: 

Mr. Babbitt: Fix? What fix? This place, this place is like a castle!

Mike: Yeah, well okay, in this castle the moat overflows.

Micky: The, eh, roof leaks.

Peter: And the plaster’s falling.

Davy: Yeah, and the phone doesn’t work!

Of course, as awesome as the episode’s writing is the best part is simply the image of the guys in three nightgowns and an onesie screaming and flailing at every creak and bang in the house as the other characters get knocked off. Another great visual (sort of running) gag in this episode is Mike’s attempt to get a message out by luring various animals, like a carrier pigeon with breadcrumbs and a dog with large bones he found in a closet. Incidentally, despite their growing fright that last detail passes without much notice, which is surprising. I would think random bones would raise some flags, especially since everyone seems to be dropping dead. But, then again, I shouldn’t overthink it too much.

The romps in this episode are pretty fun as well, though “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day” is my favorite of the two. I briefly mentioned the romps for “Royal Flush” and I suppose I should elaborate the terminology a bit for the unfamiliar, because it plays a big role in the show. The romps are basically music videos that act as a way to incorporate the music into the show and some songs got multiple romps throughout the course of the series. As can be expected, the romps differ from episode to episode, but overall they tend to include performance footage, stock footage, old clips from the show, and the guys running in silly costumes or goofing around. Some tie better thematically into the episode than others, like this episode’s version of “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day” which includes footage of the guys running around in monster masks and capes. I’m probably not making this all sound too entertaining, but just trust me, it’s quite endearing in practice.

Daily Album Digest: June 14 - 27, 2015

Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.

6/15: The Libertines' Up The Bracket: An enthusiastic and infectious debut, though perhaps a bit bittersweet in hindsight.

Why? Apparently though I’ve listened to their self-titled I missed this somehow, so it was time to rectify that.

Additional Thoughts: I wish my view of the Libertines (and the connected band, Dirty Pretty Things) wasn’t so colored by all the drama and drugs. I wish that, but I suppose that can’t be avoided sometimes. In this instance it mostly makes me sad, because this album sounds so enthusiastic and… man, I can’t help but wish for some alternate universe where it hadn’t gone to hell.

6/16: Nate Ruess' Grand Romantic: Restraint doesn't seem Ruess' forte and I, for one, am very glad for that.

Why? New release.
Additional Thoughts: I saw some compare this record to Some Nights and while he does quote the title track, for me, this feels closer to the bombast of Aim & Ignite. I love the bombast and I love his intensity. He has such a powerful voice, both in terms of technical range/ability and his sincerity. Also, there’s this lyric from “Moment”: "And when I think about the ways / That you never waste your breath to say you love me / How you always held your lost loves above me / As you kept your other hand on the door,” ooof, too close to home, Nate. Too. Close.

6/17: Leon Bridges' Coming Home: A debut as impeccably crafted and timeless as the classic soul that inspires Bridges.

Why? NPR First Listen. I read their description and windmill slammed listen: “A young singer who works in the mode of classic soul, Leon Bridges' songs are made with deep respect and bottomless affection, and his studied appropriations are so detailed that they come alive.”

Additional Thoughts: I get the feeling Bridges might be a divisive artist - among music writers anyway. Some critics don’t take too kindly to artists who so prominently wear on their sleeve how indebted they are to the past; others eat it up (including me, in this case.) I touched on this idea a little when I discussed Alabama Shakes back in April. While I do think some people maybe revere the past too much and hold it on too high a pedestal, I also think there is value in preservation and reinvention of the past. There are always going to be artists who try to push for completely new things and of course that has value, but being new doesn’t automatically make it good just as being old school doesn’t automatically make something good. Anyway. This is all just rambling speculation on my part so that I have something to talk about here, because really Coming Home is impeccable. Like I’ve said before, some albums and songs are so good you simply can’t break them apart and analyze them.

6/18: Jack White's Lazaretto: "That Black Bat Licorice" makes me feel like I just got into a fight.

Why? I suddenly remembered I had yet to check this out.

Additional Thoughts: And speaking of artists with great affinity for the past, my main man, Jack White. Now, I loved his first solo album, Blunderbuss, but this album, frankly, knocked me on my ass. I described Sparks’ Hello Young Lovers as being chased by a runaway train and while that might also be fitting here, the fight analogy works, too. The album mercilessly yanks you back and forth, musically and lyrically. He’s a musical madman and even in individual songs there’s no predicting where they’ll end.

6/19: Active Child's Mercy: Beautifully crafted and delicate, but I feel like the latter often works against it.

Why? New release. 

Additional Thoughts: This album immediately reminded me of Caribou’s Our Love, which I discussed some weeks ago. Both have similar willowy falsetto vocals and central themes (love and loss.) I didn’t really connect with Our Love, but it did have some grooves that one could hold onto; Mercy, as I said, is very delicate and that often causes songs to disappear in the ether once they’re over. It’s a nice listen when it’s happening, but doesn’t stick, at least not for me.

6/20: Dr. Feelgood's Malpractice: While "pub rock" might be more suited to a live setting this is still bluesy and fun.

Why? It had been sitting in my Spotify “queue” for a while.

Additional Thoughts: I can’t lie; a big reason for this album being in my queue is the influence Dr. Feelgood had on Franz Ferdinand, which becomes more apparent when looking at bands’ live shows than listening to this. Honestly, I’m not really feeling this album and I think that’s due to the fact that they are so obviously a live band. I just get the sense that the show would be miles away from this and no recording could truly capture it. Incidentally, that’s a problem Franz run into as well. Go figure, eh?

6/22: Soap&Skin's Narrow: A bit short, but so raw and dark it packs more of an emotional punch than albums twice its length.

Why? I saw it reviewed on the Needle Drop.
Additional Thoughts: According to Wikipedia, this album is “sadcore,” which seems a bit reductive and insulting (as genre labels often are). It’s also described as “neoclassical dark wave,” which seems a better fit from what I read about it. Genre talk aside, this album is intense and heavy and given that it was created after the death of Soap&Skin’s father, I suppose it’s appropriate. Even though the music itself isn’t always loud or heavy, lyrically the album is always dealing with some deep pain and dark imagery and metaphors (“Vacuum of God / Gobbets of me / Wrapped in tissue through the side blow”). “Deathmental” and “Big Hand Nails Down” are two tracks where the music is heavy, foreboding, and plain terrifying. I don’t know if I like it, per se, but the album certainly makes an impression.

6/24: Adele's 21: Break-ups inspire a lot of righteous anger; luckily this also contains introspection and self-awareness.

Why? I listened to 19 a long time ago and somehow forgot to get to this one until now.

Additional Thoughts: “Rolling in the Deep” is quite misleading as an opener, because most of the album is softer and not as vengeful as this song would suggest. I’m glad for that; a full album of my-ex-is-total-asshole would get tiring. Like break-ups themselves, break-up songs and albums are going to include a lot of anger, no matter whose “fault” the break may be, but in reality, it’s rarely just one person’s fault. 21 does a great job admitting and examining the flaws and mistakes on Adele’s part that contributed to the relationship’s downfall. There aren’t any cartoon-y villains out to “break me down” or what-have-you here, just the reality that people screw up, accidentally and purposefully.

6/25: Wolf Alice's My Love is Cool: "Silk" is great, but I just can't get on the hype train behind this right now.

Why? New release, this week; I saw DIY call it an instant classic and I couldn’t help but be curious.

Additional Thoughts: Honestly, that whole “instant classic” thing should’ve made me run screaming. Let me clear, I don’t think this album is bad by any means - and if you like the idea of grunge with bits of Britpop with a prettier voice then Wolf Alice is for you - I just don’t get all these proclamations of it as the best debut of the year/decade or the album of decade or band of a generation. Like, man, cool it. I get it – no one wants to be lumped in with past maroons who besmirched the likes of Paul’s Boutique and Pinkerton, but is the solution to overly praise things just. in. case? I don’t know. I feel a bit cheated. I’d prefer to just talk about the album itself and I want to like this much more than I do, but sometimes the hype train derails something that could’ve been awesome if people had just let it be instead forcing a legacy upon it before it’s barely out the door.

6/27: Joy Williams' Venus: A tweet isn't any near enough space to express how much I *love* "Woman (Oh Mama)".

Why? Joy did a duet with Paramore and Hayley Williams mentions her frequently, so I wanted to check her out and NPR streamed the album early.

Additional Thoughts: I wonder if I could make full entry of “Woman (Oh Mama)”, because it is magnificent. As for the album as a whole, I don’t know what I was really expecting from it, but I dig it. I like her voice, though I can’t quite place who her voice reminds me of. The Tori Amos comparison is apt, but I don’t think Tori is where my mind went when I first heard Joy. Anyhow, the album also has an underlying drama and heaviness to it that I really like. 

All albums available to stream on Spotify. Except for Venus which can be streamed at NPR.

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me. 

"The Monkees" Rewatch: Royal Flush

As I’ve talked about before I am a huge fan of the Monkees, both the show and the band. Recently, I decided it might be a cool idea rewatch the series and write about each episode. It’s not a “new” idea, of course, but I figure it could be fun, why not? So, with that, each Monday I will watch another episode and have the recap post up by the end of Tuesday. Hopefully. (This week is the obvious exception.) I will be watching the fifty-eight episodes in broadcast order as well as the specials 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee and Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees. I think I’ll save any discussion of the film Head until after the specials (that could change), because I suspect that it will be way more involved than these posts will likely be. As for what these posts will be, well, that largely depends on the episode in question. It could be a lot reminiscing, music, uncomfortable portrayals (to say the least), magical realism, psychedelia, or silly fan theories and headcanons. I want these posts to be quite off-the-cuff, so basically anything that comes up is fair game.

I know given all the various projects I have in the works this probably seems like I’m simply adding to the list of things I’ll likely fall behind on, so I’d like to explain why I’m doing it. For one thing, I’ve been trying to take to heart this piece of creative advice from Alex Steacy of LoadingReadyRun frequently says: do a lot of work. That advice is part of why I decided to take part in the #MusicWritersExercise, which then morphed my daily albums tweets and the biweekly digests. Also, projects like the Franz Retrospective, Working Macca, and the RS500 require a big amount preparation and I put a lot of pressure on myself to get them just right. I need to let go of this paralyzing idea of perfection and I feel having these daily, weekly, and biweekly deadlines for posts with a much looser tone can help facilitate that. Another reason is that as ambitious as Working Macca and the RS500 are, I’d like to do a project with a more definitive endpoint. And finally, well, I’ve never watched The Monkees in order before and there are portions of the second season I haven’t seen nearly as many times as early episodes. I want to rectify that.

And so, that brings us to season one, episode one “Royal Flush.”

The premise behind “Royal Flush” is straightforward: while at the beach, Davy Jones saves a girl who nearly drowns in a wave when her raft pops. Turns out, the girl is Princess Bettina and the raft has been tampered with as part of an evil plot by her uncle, the Archduke, to kill her. The boys have to keep her safe until she “becomes queen upon my eighteenth birthday” the next day. After all, as Mike says, “Well, if she’s got your jacket.” Admittedly, later episodes get rather weird in both premise and execution, but still this does seem a rather strange way to introduce a show that’s ostensibly about a teen band living at the beach. Then again, I’ve never been very big on this episode, so perhaps that plays into it. (Though probably not.) Despite my lukewarm feelings on it, it does have some highlights. The first is Archduke Otto’s hapless flunky Sigmund, who I find hilarious and endearing and another is the second “romp” of the episode during which Davy and Otto fence off to “Take a Giant Step.” I don’t know I just always liked the overlay joke during it: “It always worked for Errol Flynn.” And even with all the scheming, half holes, and stealing of hotel towels, I don’t think Davy got his jacket back. 

Daily Album Digest: May 31 - June 13, 2015

Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.

5/31: The Unicorns' Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?: Very rough, lo-fi, silly, a bit morbid, and so charming.

Why? It was in my Spotify recommendations. I wish I knew how it got there.

Additional Thoughts: Much of this album feels like it came from an alternate universe where the Beatles were never under the tutelage of George Martin. Definitely not something for everyone, but I find it charming.

6/1: FFS' FFS: Unless I misheard, this album contains the line "Carrying a Hello Kitty oozie." How could I not love it?

Why? NPR streamed it a week prior to release and I just couldn’t help myself.

Additional Thoughts: I’m going to go deeper into this album in its own post, but for now I’ll say this: Just as Tonight put into relief all Franz did wrong on You Could Have It So Much Better, FFS shows just how much they were coasting on Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action.

6/1: Blur's Modern Life is Rubbish: Could've used some edits, but a definite improvement from their debut, nonetheless.

Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through; after The Magic Whip I’ve decided to go through Blur.

Additional Thoughts: I feel like that tweet just about said it all. Maybe I just need to spend more time this album and/or Blur, but I’m not grooving with them as much as I thought I might. I do really like “Star Shaped,” though, so there’s that.

6/2: Zella Day's Kicker: A bit of a slow start, perhaps, but promising. "Jameson," in particular, is quite moving.

Why? New release. I read about her on witchsong and quite like “1965,” so I figured I’d give this a shot.

Additional Thoughts: Zella’s been compared to Lana Del Ray and I don’t know enough about Lana to agree or disagree. I do know that the vocalist she reminds me of is Stevie Nicks. I can’t put my finger on it exactly; it’s something about her lower register, like on “Jerome.” Does she have the exact same weight and bewitching quality that Stevie exhibits? Not quite, but this is only her debut, she may get there in time.

6/3: Mount Eerie's Clear Moon: Romantic (in the literary sense), atmospheric and challenging. Highlight: "Over Dark Water"

Why? I saw it reviewed on the Needle Drop.

Additional Thoughts: I’ve said before that I hesitate when music is described as “challenging,” but I really know no better way to describe this album. It’s a hard listen. One reason for that is, as I tweeted, the lyrics are very Romantic as they are very focused on nature and the way one interacts with it, which might seem obtuse or strange to some. It’s also challenging because the obtuse lyrics are delivered with vocals that are often quite meek and get buried in the mix.

6/4: Mariah Carey's Emotions: Impressive vocally, as always, but how is "The Wind" not more well-known?

Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some gaping holes in my knowledge of her work. I’m going about rectifying that.

Additional Thoughts: The tweet was mostly rhetorical, by the way. I know why “The Wind” doesn’t get much attention. It’s a jazz influenced tune about death/possible suicide – not really a good topic for the pop charts, even (or especially) if you’re Mariah Carey.  

6/5: Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Multi-Love: Some fantastic and funky psychedelia that is really a joy to listen to.

Why? Recent release; I dug the title track when I first heard it, so I figured I’d give it a listen.

Additional Thoughts: There’s been a lot of psychedelia influenced work coming out this year that I just love. I don’t why that is, but I’m going to ride the wave. This album also reminds me a lot of Stevie Wonder, such as tracks “Like Acid Rain” and “Ur Life One Night,” which are also pretty damn awesome. I feel like I should dig into the album on its own. We’ll see.

6/6: Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas: Wasn't going to mention it, but "O Holy Night" gave me too many goosebumps not to.

Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some gaping holes in my knowledge of her work. I’m going about rectifying that.

Additional Thoughts: Yeah, you could probably put Christmas albums in the same “difficult for me to discuss” category as live albums and greatest hits compilations. Christmas albums have the added difficulty of overcoming the possibility of blending together in a mush of sleigh bells. Of course, any album can run into same-song-over-and-over territory, but since Christmas albums have to stick to one theme/subject it’s especially easy for it to happen to them. Does this album fall into that? A bit. For example, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and the arrangement of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” are very similar. Is that on purpose or an oversight? I don’t know. That said, man, I still love “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and I’m a sucker for a good “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / In Excelsis Deo.” Plus, Mariah made me briefly forget my I-don’t-ever-need-to-hear-this-again twitch in regard to “O Holy Night,” so I consider the album a success.

6/7: Jacaszek's Glimmer: A beautifully melancholy experimental mix of classical and electronic music.

Why? I saw it reviewed on the Needle Drop.

Additional Thoughts: It’s very reminiscent of Danny Elfman scores or Wind In The Wires era Patrick Wolf, so it’s right up my alley. One thing that does bother me, though, is that sometimes the use of distortion doesn’t seem to add anything interesting to it and seems like just noise. I suppose that’s part of the point in mixing seemingly opposed things such as electronica and classical, to also mix beauty and melody with sometimes dreadful noise. Still, I enjoy it.

6/8: Mariah Carey's Mariah Carey: Her rap(-ish) verse in "Prisoner" makes me wonder why 97's Butterfly shocked anyone.

Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some gaping holes in my knowledge of her work. I’m going about rectifying that.

Additional Thoughts: I will say one thing (besides the seemingly random rap verse) did shock me about this album - how poppy and upbeat much of it was. Music Box and Emotions are quite heavy on the soft rock and ballads, so I expected move of that here. “Prisoner” also ended up taking precedence over the track I thought I’d highlight through most of the album, “Vanishing.” I could be wrong, but I seem to recall Mariah once listing it as a favorite and I can see why.

6/9: Tove Styrke's Kiddo: Ironic the voice of this strong personality often feels buried in the mix. Highlight: "Decay"

Why? New release; I didn’t want to crack into Muse’s Drones yet and I already listened to FFS, so I decided to go with someone I’d never heard of before.

Additional Thoughts: Apparently buried vocals are a theme among this grouping of albums. No idea how that happened. Anyway. A good example of Tove’s strong personality is “Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You,” which contains the line, “I know you feel that pop doesn’t really have a clue.” 

6/10: Alpine's Yuck: The sweet, sometimes breathy harmonies remind me a lot of Janet Jackson. Highlight: "Come On"

Why? NPR featured it as a “First Listen.” I figured why not?

Additional Thoughts: While Alpine is described as “indie-pop” much of this album feels more like R&B. As I said, vocally it recalls Janet Jackson’s sweet and breathy moment, but musically it also feels like her track “Empty”; minimal yet full. 

6/10: Frog Eyes' Tears of the Valedictorian: Some see it as a toning down of their "manic" style and I doubt I can agree.

Why? It was in my Spotify recommendations based on the Unicorns.

Additional Thoughts: When I said “some” I was mainly referring to this review. Admittedly, this is my first exposure to Frog Eyes, so I could be wrong. However, given what the album sounds like, it feels like nitpicking. To my ears, this album is crazed and frenzied. It’s also frustrating, because (like Mount Eerie) the lyrics are quite wordy and involved yet buried under the instruments or the often incomprehensible singing. I can see how it relates to the Unicorns (manic, lo-fi, Canadian band, experimental, etc.), but it lacks any of the charm that made me like their record.

6/11: Alpine's A Is For Alpine: Bit repetitive lyrically, but the sweet harmonies and disco vibes make a pleasant listen.

Why? I really dug Yuck, so I wanted to give their first album a listen.

Additional Thoughts: I realize given what I’ve said about Sparks’ Lil’ Beethoven and Hello Young Lovers that me criticizing an artist for being repetitive lyrically might seem inconsistent or some such. But, as with anything, it depends on how it’s done and why. In a track like Sparks’ “The Rhythm Thief” the repetition builds rhythm for the track the way a beat would. While other times repetition just feels lazy or like an artist didn’t know what else to say. I wouldn’t categorize A Is For Alpine as lazy, but while perhaps they might have been going for something minimalist in the writing, it does sometimes feel like they just ran out of words.

6/13: Zhala's Zhala: She describes her music as "cosmic pop" and that's especially true of the gorgeous "Right Way's Wrong."

Why? Recent release I’ve been meaning to get to for a couple weeks (I think), because she’s the only other artist signed to Robyn’s label and that intrigued me.

Additional Thoughts: Something I found interesting about this record is that, overall, the first half feels very high energy that kinda climaxes with “Prophet”, while the second half is mellower (by comparison) and feels like a good comedown. At present, I think I like the second half better than the first, but that could change. As noted, “Right Way’s Wrong” is great, but another track I found noteworthy is “Prince in the Jungle.”

All albums available to stream on Spotify. Except Yuck, which can be streamed at NPR.

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me. 

Daily Album Digest: May 10 - 30, 2015

Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks (ideally) compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.

Thanks to some unforeseen complications this Daily Album Digest is a) a week late and b) much shorter than usual. I apologize for that. I will try to make up for the lost time (and albums) in the coming weeks.  

5/13: Arca's Xen: Quite interesting. I wish some tracks were longer, but brevity is in keeping with its minimalism

Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.

Additional Thoughts: Apparently this is a concept album, of sorts, based around Arca’s female alter ego Xen. I’m not sure how that idea plays into or relates to the music itself (except for maybe some of the titles), but it’s an interesting idea. Arca also works very closely with visual artists, so perhaps the concept would be clearer with the aid of a visual. Regardless, the music is abstract and strange enough on its own and I mean that in a good way – it doesn’t need a concept to be intriguing.

5/15: The Weather Station's Loyalty: Like great singer/songwriters it focuses on stories and intimacy, not big arrangement.

Why? Recent release.

Additional Thoughts: The arrangements and melodies used in the album are beautiful, but they are there to highlight the stories, not overpower them. The songs also don’t really follow a traditional verse-chorus structure or contain hooks. There are a few refrains, but again, that isn’t the focus. The focus is on telling stories and evocative, emotional detail, such as the song “Like Sisters.” 

5/16: Aphex Twin's Syro: I'm torn. It's well-crafted and quite melodic, but mostly fades into the background.

Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.

Additional Thoughts: As I’ve said before, I’ve had difficulty getting into full-blown electronica. I feel like part of that is because my earliest exposure to it was mid to late nineties stuff like Prodigy or Aphex Twin (and those inspired by him) that comes off fairly cold. When I say it fades into the background I mean that it doesn’t make its presence known or felt. Of course plenty of electronica can express a variety of emotions and move, but I can’t find a way into this album.

5/17: Japandroids' Celebration Rock: Like the fireworks that bookend it, loud and explosive but predictable and fleeting.

Why? Saw it on the Needle Drop and it was also recently on Spin’s list of the 300 best albums of the last 30 years.

Additional Thoughts: I don’t know how this ended up on Spin’s list. I really don’t. There’s nothing much wrong with it, sure, but there isn’t much right or special about it either. It has great energy, but raucous and in-your-face energy can’t mask the emotion it lacks. Clearly I’m in the minority on that opinion, though. 

5/17: Brandon Flowers' Flamingo: Should've heeded his own words, "You're not ready, slow down and take the time to evolve."

Why? I wanted to give it a spin before The Desired Effect.

Additional Thoughts: One of my big issues with the Killers’ Battle Born was that there was no concept of pacing. All the emotion was turned all the way up and the album couldn’t sustain it. This album has the opposite problem – it’s dreadfully boring. Things pick up around the midpoint, but it never truly recovers. 

5/18: Mariah Carey's Music Box: Classics like "Dreamlover" and "Hero" overshadow the rest and make it feel like filler.

Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some gaping holes in my knowledge of her work.

Additional Thoughts: Yet another case of my tweet being harsher than I’d like. Still, the singles do stand out the most, which is why they were singles in the first place, of course. “Now That I Know” is a pretty fun early 90s r&b/dance track; I don’t know if it will ever be a favorite among deep cuts from Butterfly or Rainbow, but it’s good. 

5/19: Brandon Flowers' The Desired Effect: Doesn't quite stick the landing for me, but comes damn close. I dig it.

Why? New release I’d been looking forward to since I heard “Can’t Deny My Love.”

Additional Thoughts: Mr. Flowers and the Killers are often hit or miss, but “Can’t Deny My Love” is definitely a hit, at least for me. It’s one of my favorite songs of the year so far, so going into this album I desperately hoped that it would live up to the single. I got even more excited when I saw a review which said the record is Flowers’ best since Hot Fuss. For all its faults, I’m not ready to give up Hot Fuss’ spot in my heart to another album quite yet, but I will say The Desired Effect feels like Flowers finally coming into his own and not letting his ambition be hampered by pretention. Where Sam’s Town and Battle Born often felt like lame attempts to imitate Springsteen level sincerity, this album has the genuinely effecting and honest “Between Me and You.” It all works wonderfully well. I hope he keeps down this path.

5/19: Patrick's Stump's Soul Punk: This dude... if anyone ever doubts this man's talent this album should quiet them.

Why? I kept putting off this record, but since I also did another frontman’s solo effort, I figured I’d carry on with that theme.

Additional Thoughts: Despite its title this album definitely favors soul over punk, which isn’t a bad thing by any means. I mean, one of my favorite Fall Out Boy tracks is the Chicago-esque “I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers,” so I’m all about Mr. Stump getting his soul on. Now, I love his voice so much I’d probably listen Patrick sing the phone book, but the album impressed me, especially when I find out he also played every instrument on it. A big highlight is the funky “Cryptozoology,” which is hidden in “Run Dry (X Heart X Fingers)”; in other hands that trick would come off smug and overly impressed in one’s own cleverness (as Fall Out Boy often does), but Patrick makes it work. But, of course, as already established, I’m severely biased in Patrick’s favor. I make no apologies for it. 

All albums available to stream on Spotify. 

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me. 

There’s Only One Song I Know: Sparks’ “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’” (Singled Out)

As I plowed through Sparks’ discography the last few months, one of the albums I loved the most yet said the least about was Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins. When a song or album doesn’t work it can be easy to figure out and expound on why, or, at least, easier than trying to pinpoint what makes a great song or album great. There isn’t one set thing that guarantees a piece will be great music, but when you hear greatness, you know it. But I also hate how vague that explanation sounds. Perhaps a better way to explain what I mean is with James Joyce’s concept of aesthetic arrest; the idea is that when all parts of a piece of art work harmoniously the work will have a certain radiance, a glow that will transfix and, well, dumbfound the observer. Basically, in the presence of such enchanting beauty we can only sit in awe – and that’s how I feel about Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins. It’s not perfect album, by any stretch, but man, is it exquisite and for me the song the most embodies that is “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way.’”

Before diving into Sparks’ song it’s key to dig into “My Way” first. Paul Anka wrote the lyrics while much of the music and melody came from Claude François’ “Comme d'habitude.” At its core “My Way” is a song of triumph, the triumphant swan song of someone who knows without any doubt they kicked life’s ass. They did all they wanted and any regrets pale in the knowledge that even their regrets belong to them. Every action and word was their choice and “not the words of one who kneels.” Anka wrote the song specifically with Frank Sinatra in mind, at times trying to imitate the way Sinatra spoke, and well, no one would ever call the Chairman of the Board a pushover – at least not to his face.

In stark contrast, “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’” drips in regret and desperation after the life of “one who kneels.” Sparks’ narrator has gone through the motions in the hope that attaining all they were told to want would eventually be worth it when, in the end, all they got was a life of screams and “flying plates and shoes.” Unlike Anka’s narrator who blazes their own trail, this narrator decides to “be gracious and wait in the queue.” They put themselves aside to wait their turn, but it never comes. Furthermore, they’re so resigned to a life of passivity that asserting their individuality isn’t a viable option. The song opens with, “No, no use in lecturing them or in threatening them they will just say, ‘Who are you?’ Is that a question or not when you see that the plot is predictable not new?” These lines not only indicate a fear of seemingly inevitable dismissal, but also the fact that the narrator may not even know the answer. This loss of self proves the narrator of “My Way” right when they say, “What is a man? What has he got? If not himself then he has naught.” By far the biggest regret expressed by Sparks’ narrator is the lack of self-assured nature exemplified by a figure like Sinatra; “When do I get to feel like Sinatra felt?”

Over the years so many artists have covered “My Way” that it ranks near the Beatles’ “Yesterday” as one of the most covered of all time. However, of all those covers only one is mentioned in “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way,’” that of Sid Vicious. Not only does genre change make the Vicious version notable, but also the fact that he changed the lyrics. He made it his own and spat in the face of pop traditionalists with every sloppy, sneering “fuck” as he did it. While the narrator of “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’” may question tradition to an extent, they certainly don’t do anything to rock the boat. “It’s a tradition, they say, like a bright Christmas day and tradition must go on.  And though I say ‘yes I see,’ no, I really don’t see. Is my smiley face still on?” They engage with the tradition, but not out of genuine attachment or belief in its importance. Those bright Christmas days mean about as much to the narrator as Sinatra appears to have meant to Sid Vicious – not at all. The only difference is that Vicious had no qualms about making his disregard apparent to all, while Sparks’ narrator keeps on a fake smile and secretly envies him. Of course, in reality Vicious is no one to envy; as with Frank Sinatra, the envy is not about the real man, but what he represents – rebellion. The second verse ends with the line, “Sign your name with an X, mow the lawn.” Earlier I noted the narrator’s passivity and loss of self, which run so deeply the narrator can’t even muster up the desire to write their own name before quickly going back to their routine. They may envy rebellion in others, but they have never and can never engage in it.

Sparks have performed an orchestral version of “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’” and though it is very beautiful, I think the original has a desperation to it that gets lost in the rearrangement. (Of course, I’ve always had an affinity for dancing away bleakness and angst with a thumping beat so perhaps that has something to do with it.) The narrator’s desperation really crystallizes in the contrasts between the bridge and the final verse. The bridge feels like dream sequence wherein the narrator fantasizes of the life they want, one where “women seduce me and champagne flows.” Only for reality to come crashing back in during the final verse where they remember they “have no souvenirs of these crackerjack years, not a moment I could choose and not one offer that I could refuse.” They have no good old days to look back on and no bright future to look toward. They don’t even care if they end up “in heaven or hell.” They just have a vain hope that maybe there is a chance that they could turn things around and finally get somewhere on their own terms. Erase their regrets.

But they won’t.

“The plot is predictable.”

Daily Album Digest: April 26 - May 9, 2015

Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.

4/26: Vatican Shadow's Ghosts Of Chechnya: Minimalist industrial that loops more than builds. Highlight: "Peace Rage"

Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.

Additional Thoughts: Albums like this are pretty the reason I started to write these digests, because that tweet wasn’t really a judgement or criticism against the record, that’s simply what the music does. As another review put it, it only becomes a good or bad thing if one doesn’t like what’s looping. The concept around Vatican Shadow is very interesting though. It’s one of many projects by Purient (Dominick Fernow) and it focuses on political struggle and war. I feel like maybe if I knew more detail about the political aspect of this the music would then mean more and carry more weight, but since I don’t, not really. It’s a lot like what I said about Ben Frost’s Aurora, it’s hard for me to find a way into music like this but I want to try – if for no other reason than to broaden by palette.  

4/27: Tears for Fears' Raoul & the Kings of Spain: "Life is not a cake to separate"...what am I supposed to do with that?

Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through; right now I’m going through Tears for Fears.

Additional Thoughts: I try my best to be constructive and not be a dismissive, snarky jerk, but… good grief, I just don’t know how else to react to this album. I was curious how this album was going to pan out, because it was said to be about Roland Orzabel’s family and Spanish roots with much of what I’d seen prior to listening to it making it seem like a concept album. It isn’t and even if I throw that idea away to take it for what it is, I still don’t like it. However, I will say that I like the lyric from “Sketches of Pain,” “Great wide stretches of canvas / Signed by a godless name,” which is likely a reference to the fact that Orzabel’s name was anglicized to Roland after he’d already been Christened Raoul. It’s clever, personal, and interesting and I wish the album had more of that and stuff like “Los Reyes Catolicos.” It’s disappointing as there are some cool ideas here, but they are few and far between and, well, precious little can make up for “God’s Mistake.” Spoiler alert: it’s love. Apparently. I… don’t know. 

4/28: Blur's The Magic Whip: I find it fascinating that the bulk of this was done in a few days. It doesn't feel like it.

Why? New release and I’ve been meaning for quite some time to dig more into Blur.

Additional Thoughts: So, yes, first off, this is my first full Blur album, so take my opinions with a grain of salt, if need be. If I’d known the recording process before listening to it, I would’ve assumed it to sound like a disjointed mess. I don’t know if the cohesion is a testament to the production work of Stephen Street and Graham Coxon, to Blur’s tightness as a band, or both, but it’s impressive nonetheless. While I don’t know if it harkens back Blur’s glory days like some say, I quite like it, especially “My Terracotta Heart.” 

4/29: Caribou's Our Love: While this album wants to be emotionally affecting, I'm not sure it is, which is unfortunate.

Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.

Additional Thoughts: One review describes this album as “downtrodden to the point of dreariness” and “drowsy torpor” and I have to agree, especially with the latter. The album is by no means lazy – the pieces are complex, intricate, and have some interesting ideas. There are some great grooves (“All I Ever Need”) and atmosphere (“Silver”), but there are few songs as a whole that I can get into. As I said, the album wants to be emotionally affecting and it sometimes gets there, but it’s still mostly locked in its head.

4/30: Tears for Fears' Everybody Loves a Happy Ending: Proves Sgt. Pepper is very hard to recreate, but can be enjoyable.

Why? To finish up Tears for Fears’ discography.

Additional Thoughts: As a young Beatle geek, it made me angry when I felt an act was imitating them. Now it tires me. Influence is one thing, imitation is another and it takes a certain amount of finesse and personality to not cross over into a carbon copy. Sparks, for example, clearly influenced by the Beatles, but are very much their own thing. This isn’t the first time Tears for Fears has attempted a Pepper riff either. I will give this album credit though; it’s a better at it than The Seeds of Love. 

5/1: The Weepies' Sirens: Fittingly named, as it quietly lures you in then hits you with a track like "Fancy Things."

Why? Recent release. I can’t remember why I chose this specifically, though.

Additional Thoughts: The Weepies are an indie-ish, folk-ish husband and wife duo. Like I said, this album lures you in with relatively quiet, acoustic stuff like the beautiful “Sunflower” (though it is a bit later in the album, still, go with me on this!) and then “Fancy Things” and “Early Morning Riser” come out of left field. The former has a sinister and sixties spy movie sort of vibe, while the latter is a seemingly ska-influenced bouncefest.

5/2: Alabama Shakes' Boys & Girls: They're obviously talented, but this runs out of steam very quickly.

Why? Sound & Color made me curious about their debut.

Additional Thoughts: Sound & Color shows obvious improvement and growth. This album isn’t bad, exactly, it’s just oddly lifeless and a bit of a bore to listen to. Regardless, I won’t rag on them too much as the follow-up was much better. They needed to find their footing and seem to be on the way there. Besides, I think people put too much pressure on debuts and are too quick to dismiss people who just need time to grow and improve. 

5/3: Neil Cicierega's Mouth Sounds: Hilarious in concept and execution. Who knew "All-Star" could be so versatile?

Why? Graham from LoadingReadyRun mentioned it during a recent livestream and since my internet was acting up I figured I would go with this.

Additional Thoughts: In short, Mouth Sounds is a comedy/mash-up album that primarily plays with Smash Mouth’s “All-Star.” If I say anything more it will likely ruin a lot of the jokes, so really, just listen to it. 

5/4-5: Blur's Leisure: I don't know that I agree with Albarn's assertion that it's "awful," but it is, perhaps, uneven.

Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through; after The Magic Whip I’ve decided to go through Blur.

Additional Thoughts: Not particularly remarkable. However, as I said with Alabama Shakes, this is only their debut and they’ve clearly improved with time, so there’s no need to get too uppity about it.

5/5: Ciara's Jackie: I wish "That's How I'm Feelin'" was just her and Missy. "One Woman Army" is pretty bitchin' though.

Why? New release and I really liked the video for “I Bet” when it premiered. She also appears have a cult following, of sorts, which made me curious to dig in more.

Additional Thoughts: As I tried to imply with my tweet, I don’t get why Pitbull and his lack of subtlety needed to be on “That’s How I’m Feelin’” – it would’ve been great without him soiling it. That aside, this album does have a couple of good songs, such as “I Bet” and “One Woman Army,” but as a whole it didn’t click with me. Maybe it just needs time to grow on me and who knows, maybe I’ll like her other albums more.

5/6: Clark's Clark: Don't let the pretentious genre label "intelligent dance music" put you off, this album is great.

Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.

Additional Thoughts: As you could probably guess, I’m not too thrilled with the label “intelligent dance music” – there’s just so much wrong with it – but the genre conversation is a separate thing. I really liked this record, which was a relief after some of my recent attempts to broaden my electronic/techno/noise palette fell a bit flat. I’m not sure why this one in particular struck a chord with me. I suppose it might be due to the fact that, despite the genre it’s lumped into, it doesn’t feel stuck in its own head – it has a primal, immediate, and physical nature. 

5/8: Mandolin Orange's Such Jubilee: The cover captures it well as the album manages to be both intimate and vast.

Why? Recent release and I liked their punny name.

Additional Thoughts: Mandolin Orange is another male-female folk duo, but more on the country and bluegrass side of folk than the Weepies. It’s a beautiful, relaxing record. It’s acoustic and minimal (for lack of a better term) in terms of instrumentation, but it still manages to sound as open as the sky depicted on the cover. 

5/9: Mac DeMarco's Salad Days: Like a hybrid Harrison and soft rock, but not in a bad way. Highlight: "Jonny's Odyssey"

Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.

Additional Thoughts: My first thought about listening to this album was, “Wow, this dude has listened to a lot of George Harrison and Bob Dylan.” There were even moments when it seemed like he was actively trying to make himself sound like George in terms of vocals. Overall, that’s not a bad thing, necessarily. It’s a bit more accessible than George could sometimes be, though. In a word, I’d call it “breezy,” because the album feels like a relaxing day sitting on a beach.

All albums available to stream on Spotify, except Mouth Sounds which can be streamed and downloaded from NeilCic.com. 

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me.