16 July 2013 (Day 197) – Death And Life

I wake up to find nothing’s changed and so I resolve to see my doctor.

My clinic takes daily appointments at the same time each morning.  As I wait for that to tick over I watch the Today program and see an incredibly touching piece of footage.  It was of a woman dying of cancer in hospital who receives a phone call from her idol, Bette Midler.  On the footage I saw (its apparently on You Tube and runs for 9 minutes), Midler asks if there is anything she could do for her; the dying woman asks her to sing Wing Beneath My Wings.  Bette, presumably unaware she’s being filmed, then sings it, clearly crying at one point.  Only her dying fan can see the performance via a smart phone which prevents us from seeing it.  It is simultaneously touching, uplifting and incredibly sad (the woman died a few days later) and earns my admiration for everyone involved.

Shortly afterwards, I’ve made my appointment but the memory of the video remains with me.  I muse over the way in which people respond to the knowledge of their own impending deaths.  Some find solace in a variety of mechanisms – prayer, visits from friends and music among them.  Some refuse treatment and others bury themselves in work.  And then there’s Warren Zevon.

(AV 26) Warren Zevon – VH1 (Inside Out) (2004)

This was the obvious DVD in my pile to watch.  It is a documentary which shows Zevon’s response to the cancer diagnosis that ultimately killed him, compiled largely from a video diary he kept for most of this period, encompassing recording sessions and a David Letterman Show appearance that turned out to be his last live performance. Refusing chemotherapy, he decided to record as many songs as possible in the estimated 6 month period he had been given.  He has little difficulty in having musician friends assist him in the studio including Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Timothy B Schmidt, Ry Cooder and Bruce Springsteen among others.  Parts of it make for difficult viewing, especially his goodbyes to people in New York City, his increasingly obvious physical deterioration and growing realisation of his fate.  The pain is especially visible as he struggles to complete the vocals for the final two tracks recorded for his The Wind album, Disorder In The House (the track with Springsteen) and the poignant Keep Me In Your Heart.  Despite all of that, the documentary ends on a relatively happy note with the disclosure the he outlived the 6 month prognosis which was long enough to see the birth of twin grandchildren.

(AV 27) I’m Not There (2007)

This is the biopic that was inspired by and based on the life of Bob Dylan.  It was co-written and directed by Todd Haynes in an non linear fashion clearly influenced by Dylan’s structure of Chronicles Volume One.  Like the book, not every aspect of Dylan’s life is touched upon and the storytelling moves around a number of phases of his career.  But what Haynes added to the mix was turning aspects of each of these phases into fiction, with one character in each clearly modelled on the Dylan of the era.  For the most part, I could discern what was happening in almost all of the stories with the possible exception of the one involving Richard Gere.  This part seems to refer to the Rolling Thunder Revue, as seen when a heavily disguised Calexico performs Goin’ To Acapulco, and contains references to the Pat Garrett movie (Gere’s character is Billy the Kid) but I couldn’t work out the connection.  The parts involving Cate Blanchett as the electric Dylan and Christian Bale as the folkie Dylan are the most straight forward and impressive.   To fully appreciate this, you must have a familiarity with Dylan’s life, otherwise, I’d suggest you read the Wikipedia entry about the movie before you start.

But there wasn’t much time to contemplate the movie.   By the time it ended, I headed off to the doctor who diagnosed a viral infection and prescribed antibiotics.  This in itself is a sign of the nature of my illness as the Doc normally doesn’t do this. 

Somehow, I think I’ll be watching more DVDs over the next few days.

15 July 2013 (Day 196) – Touch Me, I’m Sick*

(* With more apologies to Mudhoney fans)

I wake up today and I feel even worse.   Throat, head, head, ears even appear to be clogged with phlegm and my voice is reduced to a croak.   I can’t read or concentrate, ruling out work, reading or any form of conceptual writing.  The last thing I want to do is lie in bed and listen to music.  I really need to be mentally active in some way which reduces my options to watching DVDs. 

Fortunately, I’ve developed a reserve of music DVDs that I’ve yet to watch and so have an opportunity to do some catching up.  In between spells of sleep, I manage to watch:

(AV 23) Ramones – Raw (2004)

This is a documentary based largely on films shot by Marky Ramone during his last 8 years in the band.  Interspersed with this is a live performance shot for Italian TV in 1980, a primo performance of 8 tracks, news reports and other items.  (The Italian show can also be played as a stand alone item on the disc.) It doesn’t hold together all that well – there’s really no sense of any theme or narrative arc to hold it together – but individual bits and pieces are worth viewing.  Among these are scenes shot from the inside of buses and cars of insane, mostly South American, fans, a performance of Take It As It Comes with The Doors Robbie Krieger on guitar and a visit by the band to the Melbourne Zoo.

(AV 24) Jimi Hendrix – Band Of Gypsys (2011 re release)

This is a documentary put together by the Hendrix Estate.  It tries to argue that Jimi’s break up of the Experience in favour of an all black trio marked a significant evolution in Jimi’s appeal to Afro American audiences.  I’m not entirely convinced by this argument which is very much undermined by some of the content of the documentary. It makes perfectly clear that the band was put together under pressure from elements in the Afro American community and that band’s only gigs at The Fillmore on 31 December 1969 and 1 January 1970 were held to meet a contractual commitment for a live album (i.e Band Of Gypsys, reissued as the 2 disc Live At The Fillmore East).  Even more importantly, a number of the talking heads attest that at this stage of his career, Jimi wanted to do nothing more than record in the studio with as many different musicians as took his fancy.  Interspersed throughout the documentary are 8 performances from one of the gigs.  A DVD option allows these tracks to be played on their own in full, resulting in an one hour performance.  Irrespective with how you view the historical impact of the shows, this musical footage and content is riveting

(AV 25) Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – The Abattoir Blues Tour (2007)

With the exception of this year’s gig at the Myer Music Bowl, this was the only Cave tour I missed in about 20 years.  The gig to have seen on that tour was the one at the Melbourne Town Hall but it sold out very quickly and I didn’t want to hear this band at the other tour venue, Festival Hall.  The footage of this show explains why. Disc 1 was shot at The Brixton Academy in London and incorporates a gospel choir in much the same way as the Town Hall gig, I believe.  Disc 2, shot at The Hammersmith Odeon also in London would have been in the vein of the Festival Hall show.  Naturally, tracks the Abattoir Blues/Lyre Of Orpheus albums are highlighted with only a handful of classics thrown in.  There’s nothing especially significant about the release other than being a professionally shot and edited film of one of the world’s great live outfits.

By the end of the day, my situation worsens. Something appears to have happened to the heating again.  After her return from work, I set up “M” with the ladder and she ascends into the ceiling.  The unit is fine but a section of the heating duct has collapsed.  It’s in a spot I cannot reach and, in any case, I’m not well.  What else can happen?

July 13/14 2013 (Days 194/195) – Here Comes Sickness*

* With apologies to anyone expecting this to be a post about Mudhoney.

Sometimes you just know that you’re getting sick and there’s not a lot you can do about it.  Today was a prime example.  The delivery of my two papers at the seminar went well enough but I could hear my voice begin to crackle.  Not helped by the venue which was simultaneously draughty and humid, I felt my energy levels decrease to the extent that I sat outside the venue for the penultimate session (still listening to the speaker mind you) and re-entered for the final panel session.   As soon as that was over I had to walk a few blocks in lightly falling rain to my car and, by the time I arrived home, knew I was done for.

“M” then reminded me that we were due at a friend’s significant birthday celebration.  We decided to go for a short while and then return home and spend the rest of the evening and all of Sunday in bed.  I next rang Mikey to offer my season ticket for Sunday’s home game against Essendon (it was going to be live on TV in any case).  He accepted it gratefully and off we went .

We ended up travelling across Melbourne’s suburbs to arrive at the Pink Rabbit Record Bar in trendy Kensington.  If I were ever going to run a café, this would be the sort of place I would want.  Opposite the railway station, on a quiet suburban shopping strip in a tree lined street, there is probably more than enough passing traffic to make it a going concern, with seemingly little in the way of competition.  We were supposed to have the beer garden out back to ourselves, but the rain put paid to that.  A pretty go flow of delicious finger food kept everyone happy and the décor scheme kept me happy.  There were lots of framed old style gig posters and other items on display including a crazy selection of album covers (The Ritchie Family album anyone?) that were also available for sale.  I was rapt to be seated with “M” in a corner underneath a poster for Frank Zappa’s movie 200 Motels; a photo book of NYC’s former punk haven CBGB’s rested above my head next to a vinyl box set of Queen’s albums.  Such eclecticism though was not apparent with the music on offer.  A DJ attached to the venue spun an inspired mix of mostly 60’s classics, deftly merging garage classics, with Motown, southern soul and more commercial offerings that flowed beautifully. 

Speeches came about 2 hours after we arrived and not a moment too soon.  Rapidly failing, we took our leave and returned home, with a detour to drop off my ticket at Mickey’s.  I took immediately to bed and basically stayed there for the rest of the weekend, cheering on the Bulldogs as they threatened to pull off an upset against Essendon only to concede some late goals to lose by an undeserved 31 points.  My listening matter more or less came as I was proceeding to and from the seminar venue;

(# 530) The dB’s – The Sound Of Music (1987)

If the world was fair, everyone would have heard of The dB’s, their songwriters Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey would be spoken of in the same breath as Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards, etc and this album would have been a mega hit.  Full of memorable supremely melodic power pop, mostly written by Holsapple, this album turned out to be their final album until a comeback album released last year.  It starts with a bang encompassing the unbelievably catchy Never Say When and Change With The Changing Times before surging into the moody I Lie, the choruses of Molly Says and the quirky Bonneville (which strikes me a s an uptempo version of Steely Dan’s Barryville). Think Too Hard, Working For Somebody Else and Today Could Be The Day are just as good.  If you like the Fountains OF Wayne, give this a listen and prepare to be impressed.

(# 531) Supersuckers – Live At The Magic Bag, Ferndale Michigan (2004)

Early on this album, frontman Eddie Spaghetti announces “We are the Supersuckers, the best rock’ n’ roil band in the world”.  But after an explosive opening of the very best of the band’s repertoire – Rock ‘n’ Roll Records (Aren’t Selling This Year), Rock Your Ass, Bad Bad Bad, The Evil Powers Of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Creepy Jackalope Eye – you realise that is actually a statement of intent.  And this for a show in a small club in the States on, of all days, a Tuesday night.  The tempo almost never flags, except for occasional humorous  between track patter by Spaghetti , as the band careens through the traditional concerns of many of middle America’s rock bands - drinking, gambling, cars and shooting.  By the time you get to the encores, including a cover of Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak and their own legendary Born With A Tail (encompassing a detour into one of their country tunes , this one hailing the benefits of marijuana), you realise that Eddie is correct.  When he repeats the statement at the end of show, he’s not boasting but casually stating a fact.  Whatever you might think, on the evidence of this one album, the Supersuckers were at least on this one night, the best rock ‘n’ roll band in the world.  And it remains the album that I’ve played most over the last 12 months.  

12 July 2013 (Day 193) – Great One Offs

Ordinarily, I look forward to Friday as it marks the start of the weekend.  However, tomorrow I’ll be presenting a couple of presentations at an all day seminar as well as sitting on a panel of experts.  I spend part of the day putting the finishing touches on these presentations, proof reading, sending a personal biography/introduction to the organiser, etc.   I leave work at the end of the day wishing I didn’t have to do this, or that I could view this as a one off, but I know it is an essential and part of my job.  Fortunately “M” understands, and suggests we spend a night on the town, or at the very least, dine out and we do just that.

The hope that Saturday would be a one off was not a thought that had occurred to me in isolation.  It had, in fact, provided me with the theme for today’s listening.  By this I mean albums produced by acts that produced just the single – great – album.  Interestingly this definition encompasses four definition situations starting with:

(# 526) Thunderclap Newman – Hollywood Dream (1970)

Thunderclap Newman were a band initially put together by The Who’s Pete Townshend to showcase some tunes written by the band’s former chauffeur John ‘Speedy” Keen.  The band also included jazz pianist Andy “Thunderclap” Newman and 15 year old guitarist Jimmy McCullough who would eventually play with Paul McCartney in Wings.  Townshend, who produced the album, also was their bass player under the alias Bijou Drains. 

This is a tremendous album full of brilliant late 60’s/early 70’s pop/rock.  The centrepiece is the magnificent hit single Something In The Air, a tune that has been endlessly recycled in soundtracks and commercials.  Wild Country, with a Townshend sound alike vocal, should have been a massive hit as well and Hollywood, a track about aspiring to a successful and excessive Californian lifestyle, is so good that two versions were produced.  The band make a cover Dylan’s Open The Door Homer their own, bettering the original with The Band that was eventually released on The Basement Tapes and the title track is a solid instrumental that closed the original album on a memorable note. (The album has since been reissued with bonus tracks.) Unfortunately the band never released another album and is regarded today as a one hit wonder, but that shouldn’t distract you from the fine music on offer here.

(# 527) Jello Biafra With D.O.A – Last Scream Of The Missing Neigbours (1990)

An inspired, though obvious, paring this was the one off that was to eventually result in another one off.  On this, former Dead Kennedys vocalist Biafra and veteran Canadian band D.O.A produced a magnificent collection of raging instant punk classics.  As the case on any album where Biafra is involved, the lyrics contain a fierce political outlook that matches the music perfectly as heard in opening tracks That’s Progress, Attack Of The Peacekeepers and Wish I Was In El Salvador.  But it is the final two tracks that really set this album apart.  The first is a cover of that old warhorse We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, which is so ferociously rendered that even it can be taken as a political statement. Even better, and even more ferocious, is the 14 minute closer Full Metal Jackoff, a Biafra state of the union address about the degeneration of urban life that leaves people with little alternative but to turn to a life of crime or serve in the army, each option replete with dubious moral choices.

(# 528) The No WTO Combo – Live From The Battle In Seattle (2000)

This live album was recorded during the 1999 World Trade Organisation Meeting in Seattle which was the venue for much violence.  The contains Jello Biafra on lead vocals, then former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on guitar, former Nirvana bassist Kirst Novoselic and his bandmate in his band of the time Sweet ’75, Gina Mainwal.  How well you regard the album depends on your reaction to the polemics of Battle In Seattle, a 15 minute introductory Biafra spoken word piece in which his charisma, humour and political commitment are showcased in equal measure. On the remaining tracks, the band kicks up an almighty din; New Feudalism and Electronic Plantation were new songs and the others were covers.  These are the Dead Kennedys’ Let’s Lynch The Landlord and a shorter, but no less ferocious, version of Full Metal Jackoff.

(# 529) Danny & Dusty – The Lost Weekend (1985)

This wonderful album is the result of a 36 hour session involving members from three of the key bands of LA’s “Paisley Underground”.  The album was the brainchild of Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate) and Dan Stuart (Green On Red) who also roped in members of The Long Ryders (Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy and Tom Stevens) as well as others.  Naturally the music has a loose feel to it which suits these roots rockers perfectly.  It opens with a couple of absolute gems, The Word Is Out and Song For The Dreamers , incorporates darker lyrical fare in Down To The Bone and Baby We All Gotta Go Down and a cover of Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.   Naturally as I sat to write this I discovered the album was no long a one off, with the band having released a couple of albums in 2007.

11 July 2013 (Day 192) – Jason Molina

After work last night we stopped off at the local supermarket to do some catch up shopping.  I took the opportunity to pop off to an adjoining newsagent to obtain the most recent edition of English music magazine Mojo.  This is their June 2013 edition which was probably published in May.  After dinner and writing that night’s posting, I sat down for a read.

There are many features in Mojo that I really like or, for which I’m at least grateful.  Definitely fitting into the latter are obituaries of individuals who have died since publication of the previous edition.   Now, I’m not one of those people who seeks out obituaries in the daily press and since the Australian mainstream media only tends to highlight music related deaths if the individual concerned was extremely well known (as it was for Ray Manzarek of The Doors recently), a local icon (such as Chrissie Amphlett) or anyone unfortunate enough to die in circumstances (i.e drugs, drink, suicide, etc) allowing for the publication of sensationist reports about the rock and roll lifestyle.  Consequently, I miss out on hearing about the deaths of many worthy acts or figures at the time these occurred and this feature in Mojo keeps me up to date.

And so it was the case last night.  Of all the individuals noted in Mojo, the ones I could recall previously reading in the media here was that of former Mickey Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello and, strangely, original Yes guitarist Peter Banks.  Among others, whose deaths I now discovered were the producer Andy Johns, music critic and Dylan expert Paul Williams and the producer whose surname inspired a band name, Phil Ramone.  But I groaned when I read that Jason Molina had died on 16 March.

Jason Molina was a singer/songwriter who specialised in a folk/country/rock setting, in some respects similar to Neil Young without going to the latter's abrasive extremes, especially when it came to rock.  His songs were often intense and personal, sometimes dark and unsettling but also bright and full of hope.    He had released 18 albums in his lifetime, only three of which were under his own name.  What especially upset me was that he had toured Australian a few years back.  I’d skipped these shows then as they were on rather inconvenient dates, assuming he’ll return.  But now all that’s left are the albums and I knew that I have four on my iPod that forms today’s playlist.

(# 522) Songs:Ohia – Axxess & Ace (1999)

Songs:Ohia was Molina’s first recording entity, basically himself with whatever musicians he surrounded himself.  This album comprises mostly comprises country tinged acoustic tunes augmented by the judicious use of electric instrumentation.  Come Back To Your Man adds mournful violin to brilliant effect and the poignant closer Goodbye Lover is superb.

(# 523) Songs:Ohia – The Lioness (2000)

The Mojo obituary describes this album as “one of the greatest love song/rebound albums of its time” and I’m not going to disagree.  The electrical instrumentation is slightly increased with understated keyboards added to the mix.  Being In Love is a beautiful tune that seems to draw inspiration from some of Will Oldham’s work from the same era and which simultaneously anticipates Bon Iver.  The last few tracks are sparse gems, especially Back On Top and Just A Spark.

(# 524) Songs:Ohia – Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)

The final album released under the Songs:Ohia moniker, this is a very highly regarded album.  It was produced by, of all people, Steve Albini who deftly enables Molina to integrate the full range of traditional country instruments.   The last three tracks are particularly effective.  Peoria Lunch Box Blues is a duet with a female vocalist with a voice quite similar to Joni Mitchell’s, John Henry Split My Heart is dramatic and Hold on Magnolia is a sprawling number that travels at a leisurely pace and reveals much with repeated listening.

(# 525) Magnolia Electric Co. – What Comes After The Blues (2005)

Magnolia Electric Co. was Molina’s other identity, a rock band with a pronounced country influence. Again produced by Albini, the album builds on Magnolia Electric Co (the album.)  The opening track The Dark Don't Hide It notably channels Crazy Horse and Hammer Down is a great ballad that Neil Young could have written or performed.    Leave the City adds a horn making the band sound very similar to Calexico. 

10 July 2013 (Day 191) – The Album Before The ‘Big One’

think I’ve discovered a nice method to determine my playlist for the day.  Pick an album, play it and then find other albums on my iPod that I haven’t played so far this year that can fit a theme.

So far it’s been a relatively simple task.  Buried in my brain are a large number of themes both conscious (i.e the theme has occurred to me but I haven’t acted upon it) and unconscious (i.e the theme dawns on me with the selection of the album).  Today’s theme is a representative example of the latter. If I sat down at a kitchen table with pen and paper and were to write down as many ideas for playlists purely off the top of my head, this one would probably not emerge.  However, once I had to think about a theme to accompany today’s starting point, the theme emerged within 10 – 15 seconds.

Today’s theme acknowledges the album released by major acts that immediately preceded the one that launched the act in question (or, in one instance, a version of an already veteran group) into the stratosphere.  Invariably but not always, the fate of these albums is that they’ve overlooked or, more often, undervalued in appraisals of its merits to the big one and there are certainly some instances of that occurring here.  Some examples of albums that would have fitted this criterion had I not already played them this year include Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger (the one before Superunknown), Nirvana’s Bleach (Nevermind’s screaming baby brother), Talking Heads’ Fear Of Music (the predecessor to Remain In Light) and Pink Floyd’s Meddle (next stop, The Dark Side Of The Room).  In fact, it could almost be argued that Pink Floyd have two candidates, the other being Animals, the often overlooked little brother to The Wall.

Pink Floyd apart, not everyone would necessarily agree with these examples or today’s playlist.  Just looking over the aforesaid examples, I know some would nominate Soundgarden’s Louder Than Love as it was Badmotorfinger that really brought the a measure of popularity.  And some would argue that Fear O Music provided Talking Heads with their first real meal ticket.  I wouldn’t disagree with either view, hence, my concept of the act being launched into the stratosphere.  What I’m getting at here are albums that have established the firm base for the act both commercially and critically; the ones that left them on the precipice of the truly big time; the one before literally the world caught on.

And this leads to some problems in selecting good examples.  Some bands don’t meet the criterion because they hit the bullseye with their debut, The Beatles, The Doors and Pearl Jam, being great examples here.   But what is more problematical are acts which experienced a steady climb to superstardom with any real massive leap in sales.  It is often said, for example, that each R.E.M album up to and including, I think, Out Of Time, doubled the sales figures of its predecessor.  So which was the big one?  Other acts that posed similar problems to me included, The Rolling Stones, U2, Roxy Music, Steely Dan and a great many others.

But I did include:

(# 517) The Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother’s Milk (1989)

Album number four was their first with both John Frusciante on guitar and Chad Smith on drums.  It is very much a transitional album but which at least moved them away from being regarded as a cult act. Some tracks, especially Subway To Venus, Magic Johnson and Punk Rock Classic are reminiscent of the previous good time party boys.  But the album’s highlights – their wondrous cover of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground, the infectious single Knock Me Down, the furious Taste The Pain and their take on Hendrix’s Fire – pointed the way to mega stardom that they were to achieve with the next album BloodSugarSexMagic.

(# 518) Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac (1975)

The first four tracks of this album announced what was in effect the debut of a new band.  Opening track Monday Morning and third track Blue Letter introduced fans to the sunny Californian sounds of new member Lindsey Buckingham and the fourth track, the unforgettable Rhiannon, provided the world with an introduction to Stevie Nicks.  Fortunately for any confused listeners, Christine McVie was still around to provide soothing reassurance with her contribution of the classy trio of Say You Love Me, Over My Head and Warm Ways.  But it was the way the band clicked together on World Turning and the final track I’m So Afraid that one can hear elements The Chain, the track that would provide the glue that held their next album – the multimillion selling Rumours – together.

(# 519) Radiohead – The Bends (1995)

Planet Telex, the title track and High And Dry provided the solid start that indicated Radiohead had already made great strides from their debut album Pablo Honey.  But it was the superb Fake Plastic Trees that raised the album to another level and really made people sit up and listen.  Remaining tracks including the propulsive Bones, the intriguing Just and the effective closer Street Spirit (Fade Out) made listeners realise that something special was brewing.  Peppered throughout the album are many of the touches that would emerge fully blown in its successor, OK Computer.  Whilst that album was to massively outsell this and jag unanimous critical acclaim, I still favour The Bends as it seems to contain an emotional pull which OK Computer lacks.

(# 520) Split Enz – Frenzy (1979)

And now to a local example.  Prior to the release of this album, New Zealand’s Split Enz, were regarded here as an eccentric act that was too quirky to obtain any level of mass success.  Examples of this can be found on this album, especially on Master Plan and Hermit McDermitt, but this a much greater emphasis on melody started to pay dividends here.  The frantic I See Red was a deserved hit and tracks such as Give It A Whirl, The Roughest Toughest Game In the World, the title track and She Got Body (She Got Soul) all garnered airplay.  The following album, True Colours, took this new found directness and gave the band its first major success in Australia and ultimately overseas.

(# 521) AC/DC – Highway To Hell (1979)

AC/DC were always superstars in Australia, especially in Melbourne.  But the rest of the world was another matter.  By dint of hard work, Angus Young’s inspired guitar work, a rock hard rhythm section and the tales of excess from charismatic lead vocalist Bonn Scott, they had begun to be recognised elsewhere, particularly in Great Britain.  This success was consolidated by Highway To Hell, their finest and last album with Scott which still provides a number of tracks in their live set today.  The title track, Girls Got Rhythm, Walk All Over You, Shot Down In Flames and If You Want Blood (You Got It) are among the numbers that left the band primed for world domination that was duly achieved, sadly without Scott, on their next album, an album you might have heard of called Back In Black.

9 July 2013 (Day 190) – Ignoring ARIA’s 30th Anniversary

I woke up this morning to a piece of inconsequential music news.  It is that today marks the 30th Anniversary of the compilation of music charts by the Australian Recording Industry Association. 

Now I have no axe to grind with ARIA which presumably does a lot a good work in the local industry.  Indeed, I would regard induction into the ARIA Hall Of Fame as the highest honour any local act can receive.  Rather, my lack of interest in this anniversary stems from two factors.

First, the last 30 years has seen a marked by my increased lack of interest in listening to the great quantity of music that gets documented by it.  Of the albums in this week’s top 50 album chart, for example, there are no more than 5 albums that I would be interested in obtaining and there isn’t a single album there that I own.  Black Sabbath’s comeback album 13 is probably the only album I’m certain to eventually purchase.

But the other factor is far more significant.  It is my belief that the charts now are probably no longer an indication of popular trends.  We all know that a lot of music is illegally downloaded these days, and radio airplay is excluded, so how representative is a sales chart of current popularity? Indeed so many of the entries in this week’s chart can be explained by as short term reactions to recent events, suggesting that it can now be as easily manipulated as an Australian Idol winner.   For example, Pink’s Greatest Hits album (#12) has re-entered the chart almost certainly on the strength of her Australian tour opening; John Fogarty’s Wrote A Song For Everyone (#16)  has been backed by a TV advertising campaign; Harrison Craig’s album (#2) is still riding his victory in  The Voice final; ex ABBA member Agnetha Faltskog’s new album (#5) charted only after a one hour program aired on prime time TV and reason for the inclusion of The Great Gatsby original soundtrack is self evident.   Even more damning is Bliss N Echo’s debut at #1 with Circus In The Sky.  Apparently this was achieved on the sale of just over 20,000 units which represents nothing more than their hardcore audience purchasing it in the week of release. 

And so, I was hit by an idea over breakfast.  Why not “celebrate” the milestone by playing music by some of the acts on my iPod least likely to obtain an Australian chart listing.  However, with my luck, chances are everyone I’ve played has charted, but it’s the concept rather than the reality that is significant here.  

(# 513) Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)

A great three piece from New Jersey USA, Yo La Tengo essentially produces noisy, squalling guitar epics that can include feedback, quirky instrumentals and minimalist numbers.  This album is dominated by the latter; mainly low key atmospheric tracks with understated vocals.  Our Way To Fall and You Can Have It All are the best of these with only Cherry Chapstick to torment unsuspecting listeners thinking they’ve latched onto a chill out classic.  But then again they could lull themselves to sleep by the wonderful 17 minute closing instrumental, Night Falls On Hoboken.  If the Kaplans really wanted to be perverse, they should have begun the album with this, just as they did the first time I saw them live.

(# 514) The (International) Noise Conspiracy – Armed Love (2004)

Insurrectionary garage rock from Sweden anyone?  The (International) Noise Conspiracy create garage rock complete with cheesy organs and political intent.  On this Rick Rubin produced album, the lyrics of just about every track is capable of being interpreted as a call for a worker’s revolution.  And if you’re too dense to understand the message there is always the rather more direct Communist Moon and it’s relentless chorus of “let’s all share our dreams, let’s all share our dreams, under a communist moon”.  (I dare you to listen to the track and stop yourself from singing along by its end.)  Ordinarily I would have no interest in such blatant sloganeering……but the music is just so damned catchy.  My advice?  Never mind the polemics, just enjoy tracks such I Feel About You, Black Mask, the horns assisted Like A Landslide and, yes, Communist Moon.

(# 515) Shellac – At Action Park (1994)

Does the name Steve Albini mean anything to you?  He is the producer of such uncompromising albums such as Nirvana’s In Utero, the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and multiple albums by acts such as The Jesus Lizard and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.  True, many of these albums have charted and he has also produced number quieter acts, but his own music is something else.  Prior bands Big Black and the appallingly named Rapeman are very much acquired tastes as is Shellac.  They emit quite a metallic sounding guitar din which is applied to music with jerky rhythms, strange time signatures  and heavy unyielding drumming.  Melodic it is not, but it does create a momentum all of its own.  At Action Park was their debut album and Dog & Pony Show is emblematic of their approach.  You will either like it (as I do) or more likely loathe it.

(# 516) Sunn O))) – Monoliths&Dimensions (2009)

Sunn O))) (essentially 2 Californians) play extremely heavy metal drones extremely slowly usually with screamed vocals and little if any percussion.  Live, band members wear robes and play their guitars shrouded in fog incredibly loudly.  This is regarded as their masterpiece containing just 4 tracks stretched out over 53 minutes.  In it they utilise a number of additional musicians and a choir that are simply swallowed into the overall sound but add intriguing bits to the overall texture.  The opening track Aghartha is long (17 minutes), very loud and contains lyrics that infers the apocalypse is coming. Big Church and Hunting And Gathering (Cydonia), both 10 minutes long are even heavier.  But it is the final track Alice, supposedly a tribute to harpist Alice Coltrane, that is the undisputed highlight.  It is a 16 minute heavy instrumental into which a number of horns have been applied and the overall effect of the meeting is a grand and stately track that rewards repeated listening.