20 & 21 May 2013 (Days 140 & 141) – Music For Nursing “M”

I spent Monday and Tuesday looking after “M” as she recovered from her surgery, also fitting in a day’s worth of work from home.  Thanks to our laptop, kitchen table and internet connection I was able to work whilst "M" slept during the day. Undertaking work tasks were the only times I was able to focus my mind on something over than “M”s condition and on each occasion I would emerge mentally refreshed from the stint. 

At the moment music isn’t in the forefront of my mind nor, for that matter, has this blog.  (The current disparity in dates between the actual days being recorded and the date of posting is testament to this.)   Suffice to say, these are tense days as we await the results of the surgery.   

I didn't play much music over these days, not being entirely certain about the power of music to soothe my soul.  It is something I use often as a means of relaxation but this involves loud or discordant music (and frequently both) played at maximum volume with or without headphones.  My technique involves letting the sound envelope me and then concentrating on just one element (e.g. guitar, feedback, basically anything of interest I find in a given track) and concentrating on that.  But this is not a technique I can use in this instance.  The loud music will annoy “M” and, in any case, I’ll miss her calls to me should require something from me.

And so, these are the albums I played over the two days, starting with an act whose early albums have proved to be a great relaxant in the past;

(# 369) Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet On The Sky (2012)

This is another solid album (the third) from the reformed original trio of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph albeit a lot smoother than its predecessor Farm.  The opener, Don’t Pretend, is classic Dinosaur Jr at full throttle complete with some inspired soloing by Mascis.  But the best material comes towards the end of the disc; Pierce the Morning Rain is a great rocker, closing track See It Your Side is another manifestation of Mascis’ seeming love of Crazy Horse and Recognition displays a clear appreciation of Queens Of The Stone Age.

(#370) Grizzly Bear – Shields (2012)

It has been a long time since I heard this band’s previous album Veckatimest.  If my recollections of that hold, this new album involves the same type of delicate melodies as found on it but has given a much greater emphasis to the guitars and drums.  As a result the album sounds a lot louder especially on tracks such as Speak In Rounds, A Simple Answer and Yet Again. This is a logical step forward and their next album could be the one that breaks them into the big time.

(#371) John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts (2013)

John Grant has a voice that, for some reason, reminds me of Stan Ridgway.  On most of the tracks on this album, his voice is accompanied by sparse electronic/keyboard backing and little else.  This is exactly the sort of music required for a set of songs that can make for unsettling listening particularly on Vietnam, Ernest Borgnine (a song about his positive HIV diagnosis) and Glacier.

(#372) Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Going To Change The Way You Feel About Me Now  (2012)

The opening line of the opening track of this album, Am I That Lonely Tonight, contains the first reference Justin makes about his illustrious father Steve that I’ve managed to pick out.  It doesn’t actually reveal anything (the reference itself is nothing more than stage setting) but on Baby’s Got A Bad Idea Justin sounds so much like his father that its spooky.  Ironically, the rest of this album sees him taking his boldest steps yet away from the sound of his father, employing sparse horns on many tracks.  It is a strong album of modern country from an artist whose best work is still to come.