On the third day of Kwanzaa...

I hope everyone had the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tapped danced with Danny-fucking-Kaye. Mine was just dandy. It was nowhere near as relaxing as I had hoped, but still fun. I was hoping to cough up some more end-of-the-year album reviews, but the only time we were actually at home was to sleep. All of our other waking hours were spent driving to and fro various relative's houses where we would employ our time eating, opening presents, playing games, and thinking about when would be an appropriate time to leave. Aden had a really good time playing and opening presents. He got way too much stuff and we find ourselves with the same problem we had after his birthday: where to put all of his stuff and still have a house that looks like more than just a two-year-old lives there.

Anyway, tonight should be calm and I hope to get a chance to sit down, put on some music, and read a bit. Maybe I can finish another review or two. I think I really dug myself a hole when I started off with the epic Shatner review. Now when I sit down to write I think that each review should be structured roughly the same as that one. Perhaps I should just concentrate on saying that I enjoyed the album and why. Perhaps I should set up some sort of alarm that would go off when I reach the 1,000-word mark. Perhaps I should stop writing like such a dork and make them shorter. Thoughts? There are 7 more to go and if I continue on the snail-like pace that I'm currently on, the last review will be posted the first week of February. If that's the case, the album reviews will encroach on my February plans for The Undertoad's Tribute to Vice Presidents.~

The future has a valley and a shortcut around...

I became a fan of Wilco before knowing what Uncle Tupelo was all about. I’ve gone back and got the Uncle Tupelo albums and I enjoy them, but you can’t go back in time and pretend you were there from the beginning or pretend you were even old enough to be there in the beginning. Not that I would want to. I think those albums are great and I enjoy that kind of music, but why would I want to sacrifice the five outstanding Wilco albums for a chance to be snotty about a group of musicians “turning their back” on a genre they helped mold in the first place? I’ve never understood why certain fans are upset with Wilco’s constantly shifting sound. As soon as they make a record of all Kraftwerk covers, then I might join the chorus of complainers, but until that day comes I’ll be anxiously awaiting each new album with the hopes of them further pushing the boundaries of what it means to make a good rock album.

I wasn’t thrilled when first listening to A Ghost is Born but I wasn’t disappointed either. It’s rare that great albums grab you on the very first listen and this was no exception. I continued to listen to it and before long I was playing it constantly. Although I would probably take Yankee Hotel Foxtrot to the proverbial deserted island if I were forced to, there’s an argument to be made that AGIB is a better album. I’m not sure that I’m the guy to make that argument, but here it goes anyway:

There’s something here on AGIB that I didn’t even know was missing from previous Wilco efforts and that’s the perfect pairing of language and sound. When I first heard YHF I was instantly intrigued by whatever it meant to “assassin down the avenue” but I was more in love with lines like, “I want to hold you in the bible-black predawn” and “picking apples for the kings and queens of things I’ve never seen”. Those more traditionally poetic lines get overshadowed by the peculiarity and cleverness of “take off your Band-Aid because I don’t believe in touchdowns” even though those words do work together despite all of the possible realistic connotations they carry. My point being that the words were holding my attention over the music in some songs and vice versa in others. I’m not saying that AGIB is the first time Wilco has had that marriage of language and sound. In fact, the song "Via Chicago" from Summerteeth could possibly be the perfect example. I just don’t think they’ve ever had an album where the music and the words compliment each other so fully. Usually one draws more attention than the other. Let's look at the first song "At Least That’s What You Said" (link goes to lyrics). Just reading those few lyrics they might not sound like anything special to you, but when listening to the song it’s hard to imagine those words belonging anywhere else than right there being cradled by that acoustic guitar, soft piano, and Tweedy’s whisper. The fact that the song then goes on to fill the remaining 3 minutes with stabbing thrusts of electric guitar and an onslaught of drums draws more attention to the “purple black eye” part of the lyrics, something that the hushed tones of the opening seems to gloss over.

"Muzzle of Bees," "Hummingbird," "Company in My Back" are all just as strong as the opener and while not every song on AGIB is knock-you-on-your-ass outstanding, none of them seem like they should be changed; from the extended stretch of almost-silence at the end of "Less Than You Think" to the “noise” at the end of "Handshake Drugs". In the end they make A Ghost is Born a statement instead of just a random collection of mp3’s, a work of art instead of a compact disc, a complete album instead of just an album.

Well Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizz If that ain't love then tell me what is...

I’m an album guy. I always have been. Even in my days of listening to the cheesy pop music on the radio, I would never say, “man, I’ve got to get that single.” This has led to some really bad album purchases with a ton of songs I have only listened to once or twice, but nonetheless I have remained steadfast in wanting to hear songs in the context of their respective albums. Having said that, I am aware that some artists are stronger suited for singles. The one “non-album” item that I do invest in from time to time is the greatest hits collection. This is usually with artists that I like, but aren’t that familiar with. Some artists are only good for a greatest hits album; maybe two if they stick around long enough. A lot of country music is like that. There are some good country album artists, but for the most part it is a strictly singles genre.

Loretta Lynn's All-Time Greatest Hits is a collection of 20 songs from Lynn’s career. I have listened to it all the way through a handful of times, but I still probably couldn’t name any of the songs on it that I didn’t already know before purchasing the album. The songs that I knew (and liked) are joined by a few that I wasn’t familiar with, but for the most part the rest of the songs sound too much alike for me. After hearing her all-time greatest hits, I resigned to the fact that for me Loretta Lynn is a fine artist with a very interesting life and point of view that saturates her songs with passion and honesty and it makes her a likable enough musician for me to enjoy from time to time, but not too often. (Also, I fondly remember her Crisco commercials from when I was a child but that’s neither here nor there.) Her album from this year, Van Lear Rose, changes everything.

This, the second album I’ve reviewed here, is a lot like the first one. Both Loretta Lynn and William Shatner are people that I normally wouldn’t pay much attention to if it weren’t for the involvement of some of my favorite musicians with their new albums. William Shatner had Ben Folds while Loretta Lynn has Jack White of The White Stripes. Both Folds and White found a way to both bring out the best in their collaborators and to infuse just enough of their own sound to make their mark undeniable. Loretta Lynn wrote all the songs on Van Lear Rose and nearly every one of them sounds as classic as "You Ain’t Woman Enough," "Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’," or "Coal Miner’s Daughter." The difference though is that there is no standard Nashville conveyer belt sound in the background. The music that backs up Mrs. Lynn’s words sounds as if it is made my musicians that love what they are doing and are entirely confident that what they are doing is the very best thing for Ms Lynn with every note.

What I said about all the songs sounding like classics is not hyperbole. I can’t tell where Loretta Lynn’s voice has aged one bit. I challenge anyone out there who knows someone who is familiar with Loretta Lynn, yet hasn’t heard of her new album to play the song "Trouble on the Line" for them and then ask if they can take a stab at what year it was recorded. I’d bet money that their guess would fall somewhere in the middle of Lynn’s most successful years. Ask someone when they thought the song "High on a Mountain Top" or "This Old House" was written and you’d probably get a guess of sometime around they year of Lynn’s birth. This is not to say that Jack White has not added some more contemporary touches. That’s what makes this album so great. There’s a balance between country classicism and modern blues rock. It will not let you down from start to finish. It’s well paced and it sounds like it was made with a distinct vision by people who love making music. It’s a perfect example of why I’m an album guy.

Give Me That Old Time Religion...

It's things like this that make living in the South hard to defend.

I happen to like it down here, but that's strictly geographically speaking.

Listing My Life Away...

The post just prior to this one is the first of my year-end album reviews. Although I will be reviewing 10 albums, I haven't put them in any sort of order. They are just my 10 favorite albums released this year. I will write about each of them as I get the time. When I'm through with that I will probably follow up with some other notable releases from the year.

Chew away. I want you to be you. Spit out the gum...it doesn't work.*

I’ve never been interested in Star Trek. In fact I’ve never seen a single episode of any of the TV incarnations and up until last month I had only seen one of the
movies. I don’t know anything about Shatner’s Kirk outside of what I’ve pulled from references in other areas of pop culture. I do remember watching some episodes of T.J. Hooker. I have seen that SNL sketch where Shatner asks a group of Trekkies, “get a life, will you people?” He’s also popped up in some random movies that I’ve seen through the years. I’ve never really thought much about him though. The countless Shatner impressions by countless comedians (some funny and some not) are the only thing that has stuck with me until a few years ago when I heard a couple of “songs” from William Shatner’s 1968 spoken word album, The Transformed Man. They were hilarious. I don’t believe the intentions behind The Transformed Man were to make a bunch of geeks guffaw some thirty years later when hearing Shatner stagger-speak (as only he can) through Dylan’s "Mr. Tambourine Man", but that is the response it gets. (By the way, you haven’t heard funny until you’ve heard Bill say the line, “in the jingle-jangle morning I’ll come following you.”) Somewhere down the line Shatner has learned to play with his image, loosen up, accept the fact that he will always be Captain Kirk to a whole lot of people, and make fun of himself and the unusual pacing of his sentences. From his commercials for Priceline.com to his appearances on late night talk shows, Shatner has really taken away the instant laughs so many have received at his expense and he now gets those laughs for himself.

I had mixed feelings when I first heard about Has Been. I was excited that Ben Folds was working with Shatner, a duo that would assuredly provide some laughs, but I didn’t really think that a full album of Shatner-speak would be enjoyable or even memorable. I have been pleased to be wrong on both accounts. From start to finish, Has Been is a pleasantly paced album filled with humor (not all of which relies on Shatner making fun of himself), sadness, poignancy, and a touch of Aimee Mann (which is always nice). Ben Folds really understands Shatner and has created the perfect venue for him to exhibit what makes him, well, Shatner.

The album starts out wonderfully with the only cover song present, Pulp’s "Common People". Shatner holds his own with Joe Jackson, who balances the song out by practically screaming the chorus. "It Hasn’t Happened Yet" is the closest this album comes to sounding like something from The Transformed Man. It escapes the stuffiness and pretension though by actually sounding human and heartfelt. And speaking of human and heartfelt, "What Have You Done" is a chilling account of Shatner finding his wife face down in a swimming pool. Even If you are prepared for it when it starts, "What Have You Done" will shake you in a way that will have you taking back anything disparaging you may have said or thought about Shatner as a thespian in the past. "You’ll Have Time" is probably the funniest track despite some heavy competition from "I Can’t Get Behind That" (featuring Henry Rollins), "Has Been," and "Ideal Woman." My favorite song is probably "That’s Me Trying." With its mix of pathos and humor it is the perfect representative of the album. Aimee Mann and Ben Folds sing back up on the track which was written by one of my favorite writers, Nick Hornby.

I couldn’t have been more surprised by how great this album is. At most I was expecting a few funny tracks, but this is an impressive collaboration between Shatner, Folds, and a boatload of other guests. I can’t thank Mike enough for giving me a copy of this album. I would have probably put off getting it for a while until I either forgot about it or lost interest. Thanks, Mike.

*Lyric from "Ideal Woman"

I Have Here in My Left Hand a Copy of Tonight's Top Ten List...

As a warm up to writing about my favorite albums of 2004, here is a fun article from popmatters. It's called "8 Simple Rules for Writing a Top 10 List" and it's from December of last year. Here's just a sample:

The year-end top 10 list is just one manifestation of a tradition that music geeks everywhere hold dear. For what would the music press be without its countdowns, greatest hits, charts, and lists of every stripe? Cataloging is a ritual we refuse to relinquish. It helps us mark time; boils countless scattered and overwhelming cultural products into easily manageable round numbers; it's a practice which sparks debate, gives meaning, creates excitement. But of all of them, the venerable Top 10 List takes the cake. A Top 10 list is holy, mega-intense: almost as telling as one's DNA code, and far less cryptic to interpret. Dare I say the Top 10 list is more meaningful than the desert island album? Yes, indeed: for it's just long enough to be illuminating, just brief enough be loaded. If the desert island album opens a window to the soul, the top 10 list cuts a cavernous gash through the body, making visible the blood, bone, and guts.

Princess on the Steeple and All the Pretty People…

There’s a lot going on lately that I haven’t talked about, so here are some random ramblings for the end of the week:

I read Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 Rock ‘n Roll Songs list this week. I don’t find the merit in arguing about the importance of the list or its content’s positioning, but there was something I did think was interesting. Don McLean’s American Pie was not on the list. I don’t like the song so it’s not a big deal to me, but I thought it was supposed to be a hugely popular song. I was shocked to not see it listed. Not hurt, but definitely shocked. You can click through the list at rhino.

Apparently a basketball game broke out at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in Detroit? I’m not sure the specifics. I don’t follow basketball until the playoffs and even then my interest is tepid at best. I, like a lot of other people, can’t really identify with the game of basketball anymore. Rules have changed, the style of play has changed, and the players have changed. Uh, such is life. I do get mad at the people who try to blame the sorry state of the NBA on hip-hop culture. I think that’s a lazy and short-sighted argument. I don’t have enough passion about the NBA or hip-hop to try to defend either one, but I just wanted to get self-righteous for a millisecond on all the angry white guys who write sports columns out there.

I’ve read some weird reviews of the Nirvana box set, With the Lights Out. Apparently people are mad that not enough great material was left behind after Kurt’s suicide? Sheesh! If you are a fan, be thankful for what appears to me to be a very comprehensive collection of material (which I can’t wait to dive into). If you are not a fan, what is there to be upset about? Apparently the shiny packaging, which is something I read an actual paid critic complain about. In other Nirvana news.

I realize that my blog sometimes turns into the McSweeney’s link of the day, but there’s something else there today that made me laugh out loud. It’s a very sharply written Lester Bangs parody: Cooking with Esther Bangs

A reminder for anyone who is interested: Bob Dylan will be on 60 Minutes this Sunday.

I’ve been baffled at Google News all week. Why is the story about the Methodists defrocking a lesbian minister considered entertainment news? I thought it might be a mistake, but it’s been on the entertainment page all week.

Next week I will start writing about my favorite albums of 2004. Until then.

Oh, and by the way, I do realize there’s a steroid storm a'brewing in baseball. Believe me when I say that if I thought I had anything unique or funny to say about it, I already would have. As it is, I think anyone who follows baseball has been waiting for what has become public this week for a long time. Every bit of the Jason Giambi & Barry Bonds news was completely predictable as soon as the BALCO investigations started. Now it’s just a waiting game on how things will settle.

This Just In...

The Secretary of Cabinet Resignations is set to resign. Frank Lee Forcedtoleave, the former governor of Delaware, submitted his resignation letter to President Bush earlier today. A press conference is scheduled for 2:45 this afternoon. The conference will follow the 2:30 official announcement for the resignation of the Secretary of Used to See Things Karl's Way, a position that has been what some describe as a "veritable revolving door" in President Bush's cabinet. Immediately following the 2:45 press conference is the daily T-Ball game on the White House lawn. Today's match up is between the Roanoke Reluctants and the Martinsville Minority Candidates. More on that as it develops.