Shuffle Mania! Silly Facebook Games

July 9, 2009

So an old friend from my high school days tagged me with this over at Facebook. It’s silly, but I really enjoyed it. I almost never use shuffle play, as I’m an “album guy.” Turning the shuffle play on made me wish I used it more often. When you have as much music as I do, inevitably there’s some stuff that you haven’t listened to in years, and when you’re an attempted critic, you tend to focus on recent material so that you can write your review.  This reminded me that I have a lot of great music on my hard drive (the 17,000 songs I mention below is not an exaggeration), and need to dig deeper than I have lately.

The reason I’m sharing this (other than needing some filler) is that I think it does a pretty good job of showing you where I’m coming from. This is useful information when making purchasing decisions based on reviews. For example, I know Roger Ebert overpraises movies with flashy visuals or far-left political leanings, and I take that into account when trying to figure out whether or not I’m going to spend money on a movie he has praised. This will give you some insight into my musical tastes, and you can take it into account when reading my reviews.

Shuffle Mania!

Once you’ve been tagged… (1) Turn on your MP3 player or the music application on your computer (iTunes, Media Player). (2) Go to SHUFFLE songs mode. (3) Write down the first 30 songs that come up–song title and artist–NO editing/cheating, please. (4) Choose 25 (or so) people to be tagged. It is generally considered to be in good taste to tag the person who tagged you.

If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about your musical tastes, or at least a random sampling thereof.

(To do this, go to “NOTES” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, enter your 30 Shuffle Songs, Click ‘Preview’ below to tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click Publish, the little blue box at the bottom of your screen.

My list:

  1. “Terminal Show” – Motörhead (A fitting beginning!)
  2. “This is Pop” – XTC
  3. “I Can’t Control Myself” – The Troggs (I have lots of bad Troggs songs but I got a good one! Way to go, randomizer!)
  4. “Do it Again” – The Kinks (Out of all the Kinks songs you could have played, you give me this one?)
  5. “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” – Elvis Presley
  6. “Scarlet Pussy” – Prince (This is not a good song.)
  7. “Midnight Man” – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  8. “Out of Blue” – James Luther Dickinson (Am I the only person in the world with this album?)
  9. “Jayne’s Blue Wish” – Tom Waits
  10. “Dig, Lazarus, Dig” – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (WTF? How much randomness is actually in the Windows Media Player randomizer? I have 17,000 songs on my hard drive and I get two from the same album?)
  11. “New Sunshine” – Freedy Johnston (I’ve been meaning to write a piece on how incredible this nearly-unknown album is.)
  12. “Over the Next Hill (We’ll Be Home)” – Johnny Cash
  13. “She Told Me Lies” – Chesterfield Kings
  14. “The Man in the Santa Suit” – Fountains of Wayne (A B-side, and rightfully so.)
  15. “Scarecrow” – Pink Floyd (Haven’t heard this one in awhile!)
  16. “Emotion” – Bee Gees (This list would not have been right without the Bee Gees.)
  17. “Silent Night” – Emmylou Harris (Out of season, but lovely. What’s with all the Christmas songs? I swear I don’t have that many.)
  18. “Spike Driver Blues” – Mississippi John Hurt (From the Anthology of American Folk Music.)
  19. “Mirror of Your Mind” – We the People (Nuggets!)
  20. “I See Monsters” – Ryan Adams
  21. “Fresh is the Word” – Mantronix
  22. “Fox on the Run” – The Sweet (Oh, hell yeah!)
  23. “Lost” – Adam Schmitt (Unjustly obscure artist. Been meaning to write about him, too. Not my favorite song, though.)
  24. “Look On Up at the Bottom” – The Carrie Nations (Awesome! This is from the soundtrack to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I have a framed original poster on my living room wall! No, that doesn’t make me weird.)
  25. “Groove to the Eye” – The Psychotic Turnbuckles (Great band-name/song-name combo right there…)
  26. “Only to Other People” – The Cookies (A girl group number. The Detroit Cobras have covered it. I haven’t heard their version, but I’d like to.)
  27. “Los Angeles” – X (Double hell yeah!)
  28. “Going Nowhere” – Los Bravos (More Nuggets stuff. I have a lot of it.)
  29. “Eazy-Duz-It” – Eazy-E
  30. “Woman 2 Woman” – Urge Overkill (Not a bad way to end!)

So there ya go. As a glimpse of my music tastes, not bad at all. Not enough country, and many of my favorite artists weren’t represented, but that’s nitpicking.

I think the randomizer knew that its job was to provide you with a snapshot of my taste in music. My evidence for this is that it opened with Motörhead.

The Troggs – “I Can’t Control Myself”

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When the Fun Stops: An In-person Report from the Michael Jackson Memorial

July 8, 2009

Guest post by Former Housemate Mike.

Austin, TX 7/7/09

Austin, TX 7/7/09 (Photo by Gordon Winslow)

I consider myself quite the lucky guy. And what a roller coaster it was.

On Saturday, July 4th, I became aware of the Michael Jackson Memorial to be held at Staples center here in Los Angeles and subsequently of the free ticket lottery to said service. Like many people I know, I registered. I told my roommate Laura, a huge MJ fan, about and she registered as well. I received an e-mail saying I would be notified by 6 P.M. Sunday.

The next day at 6 P.M. I was working and received a call from my girlfriend saying our roommate had won tickets. I was amazed. She also said that the e-mail stated that the tickets had to be claimed by 9 P.M. I gave her my pass code and she checked my e-mail, as I would not have been able to do so in time.

Against all odds like Phil Collins, I had been selected as well. The next morning the three of us drove to Dodger Stadium to pick up the tickets. I was amazed at how painless the process was. We didn’t even have to get out of the car and there were our four tickets to what would prove to be possibly the most incredible experience of my life.

All day Monday we heard nothing but doom and gloom about how much of a pain the next day would be. No parking, scary crowds, you name it. My roommate almost decided not to go. But in the end, the three of us woke up at 6 A.M. Tuesday, and hopped in my car, ready for the worst.

Knowing the roads pretty well, we avoided the highways and amazingly made it downtown with virtually no traffic. It took about 15 minutes. Once downtown, we were hit by the street barricades we had heard about, but still found relatively cheap parking (for downtown LA for such an event) in minutes. It was about 7:45 at this point. We walked straight to Staples in about five minutes and realized the hassle was almost non-existent. The only real hassle was all the exploitative street vendors selling boot-egged, sweat-shop Michael Jackson shirts and buttons every ten feet. But that’s another story.

Credit for the ease should go to the LAPD. They were so organized, so well staffed and set up. And actually very polite and helpful. Kudos.

A large sector around Staples was blocked off as to where only press and people with tickets could walk in. We entered this area with ease and still had time for breakfast before going inside. We actually entered Staples about 8:45 A.M.

The energy inside was electric. Chants and shout outs to Michael came in regular succession. The crowd was also pleasantly diverse. Many different races, economic sects, and ages were represented. And almost everyone there felt like a sincere fan. Many red, zippered jackets. Many one-glove wearers. Even an Elvis impersonator.

The wait until the beginning of the ceremony was made pleasant by a wide scope of Michael Jackson songs being played, from Jackson 5 to Off The Wall to Thriller to Triumph. There was even MJ’s recording of “Smile,” foreshadowing beautiful moments from Brooke Shields and Jermaine Jackson.

The crowd looked oddly empty for a long time, but filled greatly just before the ceremony’s start. The general quiet, respectful anticipation in the crowd was only broken by the occasional eruption when a celebrity was seen entering. Jesse Jackson received some cheers, but Kobe Bryant by far got the loudest reception.

The event began with the announcement of Smokey Robinson coming to the stage. He read two quotes from friends unable to attend. The first was from a friend who wanted her mourning to be private, and ended with “Diana Ross”. The second was quite powerful, with South Africa references hinting at the sender. It ended with, “Nelson Mandela”.

Smokey then left the stage and a very long break followed. I’m not sure what of this was shown on TV. I expected a lot more unrest and shout outs from the crowd at this point, but again there was a patient, respectful, and quiet feel to the crowd.

The Jackson family entered to a huge response. They were followed by Michael Jackson’s casket. This led to a great deal of response and talk in the crowd, as us Angelinos were made to believe that his body was to be buried before this service. Possible a very smart redirect.

Most of the rest was seen entirely on TV, I assume, so I will focus on crowd response the rest of the way. The choir that opened set an amazing spiritual feel to the event. Queen Latifah’s reading of Maya Angelou began the emotional surge that was in the crowd throughout.

Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz rehashing their infamous MTV Unplugged duet was expected, but very well taken and performed. I don’t know how it sounded on TV, but Trey Lorenz was particularly impressive.

Stevie Wonder had the first big emotional moment felt throughout the crowd with his statement of “I prayed I would not live to see this day.”

Lionel Richie was tremendous, showing particularly impressive restraint during “We Are The World,” the song he co-wrote with Jackson.

The crowd broke into clap-along mode almost immediately during Jennifer Hudson’s awesome “Will You Be There?” You could tell they were waiting to set that moment up later, but the crowd beat them to it.

John Mayer was a real surprise. Very nice touch on the song, and excellent choice on not singing. I heard this muttered by several people around me also.

Usher seemed genuinely moved. I was kind of afraid he was going to embrace the casket at one point, he seemed so in the moment. They was a very audible “aww” in the crowd when he began to break up at the the final line of his song, and a very respectful wait for him to finish embracing the Jackson family.

Jermaine Jackson’s rendition of, as Brooke Shields stated, MJ’s “favorite song”, really hit an emotional note. He sounded amazingly good live though he looked like he was having emotional and equipment difficulty the whole time. Hope it sounded as good on TV.

The speakers today had a great thing in common. They made you feel that you not just at the memorial of an icon, but also one of of a real person that meant a lot to many people on a personal level. He was their brother or buddy.

Brooke Shields was the favorite of many as she seemed very real and genuine, and really epitomized the whole “Michael was a real person and a great one” theme. Her Liz Taylor wedding story drew great response. Magic Johnson’s KFC story filled a similar role, and made up for the pointless waste of an appearance and chance to speak by Kobe Bryant. Barry Gordy and Smokey Robinson’s shared story of a ten year old MJ out-doing Robinson on his own song also brought great response. What an anecdote.

Gordy also shared biggest crowd response/fastest standing ovation with congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Gordy’s entry was his reference to the title of King of Pop not being “big enough” for Michael Jackson, and he should be called “the greatest entertainer who ever lived”. Not to be outdone, Sharpton caused an insanse eruption with his line directed to MJ’s children of there being “nothing strange about your daddy.” Sheila Jackson Lee answered with saying that she and her fellow congress members know the law, and “a man is innocent until proven guilty.” Fantastic.

By the time the Jackson family got on stage, hardly a dry eye was to be found around me. And Marlon took out the rest. “I hurt”. So real, it was overwhelming. He appeared to say that Janet wanted to say something. You may have not heard this on TV, but at that point a few guys in the crowd started yelling “I love you, Janet” and were immediately greeting with shushes and boos. Inappropriate. Then Paris came on stage.

If any eyes were dry after Marlon, an end was put to that. It was so unexpected. I literally saw gaping jaws and covered mouths all around me. I realized that inadvertently, I had covered my heart with my hand. To my knowledge none of his children has ever spoken in public or on record. What a brave girl, and what a statement to all those who doubted MJ as a parent.

And then it was done. The casket carried away, and the tears began to dry. Once again, the event was so well organized that exiting was also a breeze. Which was a good thing, because we were all no doubt spent.

As I said before I am quite the lucky guy. I am lucky to have been blessed with the chance to be at this once in a hundred lifetimes event.

But more than anything, I am blessed and lucky to have been alive in an era where a man like Michael exists. Though it is sad and tragic that he left us so soon, not many in the history of man have had the honor of having a heart and talent like him at all. But, in the words expressed this morning by Maya Angelou, “We had him.” And that is all the luck and blessing we should ever expect to have.

Jermaine Jackson – “Smile”

Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean” (Motown 25th Anniversary)

Editor’s note: A hearty thank-you to Former Housemate Mike for covering this important event. A hearty thank-you to Michael Jackson for the music.

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New Music: We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Quiet Little Voices”

July 7, 2009

Man, there are some great bands coming out of Scotland lately.  One of last year’s best records was made by Glasgow band Frightened Rabbit, Glasvegas have caused a huge stir on both sides of the pond, Camera Obscura recently released a gorgeous record, and the list goes on and on.  The latest Scottish band to get some attention from the music press is We Were Promised Jetpacks, a power pop band from Edinburgh that have just released their debut record, These Four Walls.  I have not yet had a chance to pick up the album and give it a listen, but if the first single is any indication, there will be yet another Scottish indie rock band fighting it out for space on my iPod.  Once I get my hands on ths album, I will be sure to give it a proper review.  Until then, please enjoy their first single, “Quiet Little Voices.”

We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Quiet Little Voices”


Album Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains

July 7, 2009

It seems that the various eras of modern music are being recycled with blistering speed these days.  Perhaps the internet age, file sharing, and the mp3 blog culture’s constant emphasis on the Next Big Thing has hopelessly destroyed our attention spans as listeners, completing the job that television started over half a century ago.  Another culprit would have to be the modern hipster’s obsession with nostalgia for the items and styles of their youth.  Seriously, go search the net for some obscure toy, song, movie, TV show, clothing, or foodstuff that you think no one else remembers, and you will invariably find thread upon thread devoted to the obsessive cataloguing of said item’s history.  Nothing is new anymore, so much so that we are vainly attempting to make old stuff new again.  On a long defunct blog that I had back in the early 2000s, I postulated a theory that I termed the “Best Week Ever Effect.”  At that time, the notorious nostalgia traffickers over at VH1 had exhausted their “I Love the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s” format, and they introduced “The Best Week Ever” so that snarky semi-celebs could review the relevant pop culture events from the week before.  In my theory, I predicted a cycle that would soon lead us to “The Best of The Best Week Ever” (happened), “The Best Day Ever” (happened), and “The Best Ten Seconds Ago Ever” (hasn’t happened yet, but ask me again ten seconds from now). 

This theory has manifested itself in the music world as well, and many bands are already mining eras as recent as the early 90’s for musical inspiration.  If I had my way, everyone would be imitating the Pixies, but I would probably be unhappy since some recent bands have already gone that route, such as Blood On The Wall and The Whigs, with limited success.  On first listen, NYC band Cymbals Eat Guitars could easily be identified as a Pavement rip off band.  Indeed, the first two songs on their debut album, Why There Are Mountains, stick almost uncomfortably close to the Pavement playbook.  Album opener “..And The Hazy Sea” begins with a blast of horns before receding into a pretty guitar melody, after which lead singer Joseph D’Agostino launches into a pitch perfect Stephen Malkmus impression, eerily capturing that singer’s odd vocal cadence.  The song itself is an over six minute romp of shifting tempos and joyous noise, alluding to other influences like early Modest Mouse and Built To Spill.  Next song “Some Trees (Merritt Moon)” again plays on the Pavement angle, sounding like a lost track from Brighten the Corners with an infectious chorus.  But just when you think you have shoehorned Cymbals Eat Guitars into a knock off band, albeit a very good one, they change things up and reveal their depth.  “Indiana” emerges from some initial haze to reveal a jaunty, piano-driven slice of Brit-pop.    On a similar note, “Cold Spring” utilizes some incredibly well-placed strings at the beginning to create a quietly haunting dirge followed by wild tempo shifts and an explosive climax, while “Share” begins as a dreamy shoegaze crawl before blossoming into a gorgeous waltz interlude with Sgt. Pepper horns and quietly soaring background vocals before the electric guitar breaks in and takes the song to new heights.  Mind you, the songs described so far only make up half of the album.  The second half remains just as surprisingly addicting, with highlights such as the bouncy “Wind Phoenix” and the guitar squall of “Living North.”

The recycling of musical ideas is nothing new, I suppose.  Rock ‘n’ roll’s beginnings can actually be traced to white artists ripping off the sounds of their black musical forebears to popularize the genre for widespread audiences.  Still, I find myself unusually wary of bands that simply mimic the sounds of groups that came before, especially when the time between originator and imitator seems to be getting exponentially shorter.  Cymbals Eat Guitars, however, pulled a Shyamalan on me, beginning with familiar sounds and then sucker punching me with new and exciting ideas.  As long as bands are willing to be this adventurous and use the work of previous bands as a springboard for greater things, I say bring it on!

Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Cold Spring”

P.S.  If you are fortunate enough to live in the Austin area, Cymbals Eat Guitars will be playing at the Mohawk with the last band I reviewed, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, on 9/25/09.  That’s the day I leave for Vegas for a wedding, so sadly I will not be there, but I would highly recommend anyone check out these two great new bands.


Album Review: The Sounds – Crossing the Rubicon

July 5, 2009

Crossing the Rubicon isn’t quite an appropriate name for the Sounds’ third album. Halfway Across the Rubicon would have been closer–”crossing” denotes a radical departure, which the album is not. It is, however, an admirable attempt on the part of the Sounds to stretch their boundaries beyond the New Wave of their first two albums.

Attempts, even if admirable, do not always succeed, and Crossing the Rubicon can either be judged a qualified success or an ambitious failure, depending on whether you’re a glass-half-full or half-empty kind of guy.

As with their first two albums, Crossing opens with a killer single, “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake,” ready-made for the party-pleasing best-of that’s in the Sounds’ future if current trends continue.

As we advance, the cracks begin to show. The quality of Sounds lyrics has always been up and down, but it’s a real problem on Crossing the Rubicon. Jumping from their usual slightly-cynical posture to lovey-dovey or idealistic is incongruous and bespeaks a band having a little trouble nailing down its identity.

This results in one major missed opportunity. “Home Is Where Your Heart Is” has a glorious pop melody, and, if balanced with some dialed-back lyrics, could have been stunning. Instead, the lyrics serve up so much corn the listener could be excused for thinking the Sounds were from Iowa rather than Sweden.

Another error in judgment is the hip-hop/New Wave combo “Beatbox,” in which lead singer Maja Ivarsson decides that she can rap and makes Debbie Harry sound like Eminem in the process. The pisser here is that everything in the song that isn’t “rap” is terrific, and it could have been great if the Sounds had recognized their limitations and brought in a skilled MC as a collaborator. Perhaps a remix is in order.

Not every experiment is a failure, though. “The Only Ones” is something new for the Sounds, an epic number that seems to be set against a backdrop of political violence. Suddenly, the maudlin lyrics transform from a negative to a huge positive as they impart a heartbreaking wistfulness. Despite its scope or because of it, it’s the most human moment on the record.

Crossing the Rubicon is the work of a band in transition. While a letdown after the excellent Dying to Say This to You, it does provide plenty of reasons to believe that the Sounds have another great album in them once they’ve finished crossing.

Three Stars

The Sounds – “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake”

The Sounds – “The Only Ones”

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Independence Day 2009!

July 4, 2009

gas station flags

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

–Abraham Lincoln, from the Gettysburg Address

A glorious Independence Day to you and your family.

Vladimir Horowitz – “Stars and Stripes Forever”


“Stand by Me” by Andy, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora & Friends

July 3, 2009

Ryan Mauro has a piece today over at Pajamas Media that explains why the boys from Bon Jovi recording “Stand By Me” with Iranian musicians (and partially in Farsi) is more than just an empty gesture:

The Green Revolution, like all similar revolutions, lives on morale. Bon Jovi needs to be praised by all quarters for his contribution to this most essential element, and if the music can make its way to the Iranian people, I believe people will be surprised by the effect it has.

The technologically proficient Iranian population will make their own videos, playing the music in the background with images of the mixture of pain and hope that defines Iran today. It will be played in their homes as a form of protest and it will be played at rallies and demonstrations. It will be impossible for the regime to silence the music if each Iranian plays it loudly on their cell phones, laptops, portable music players, or even from speakers in their homes. The comfort they will feel as they walk down the street, fighting back the tears as they think of their loved ones being detained and beaten, while faintly hearing the music from another Iranian passing by will be immense. The rest of Hollywood needs to follow Bon Jovi’s lead, making awareness ads, fundraising for humanitarian aid if avenues to get it to the Iranians can be found (star power has a way of making things happen), and making similar videos so that Iranians can know that our short attention span hasn’t caused our ears to turn away from their voices.

Good for Bon Jovi for publicly standing with these brave people, and for doing his part to keep our attention focused on this important issue.

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Worst song of the year so far: Chris Cornell – “Part of Me”

July 2, 2009

My god.  What record company suit convinced Chris Cornell to jump into bed with producer Timbaland to create this shameless money grab of a song?  Auto-Tune?  A chorus featuring the lyric “No, that bitch ain’t part of me”?  This has to be one of the worst pairings in musical history, and the end result perfectly demonstrates that fact.  Chris, please call the former members of  Soundgarden for a reunion if you need money.  But please, please, please, never do this again!  Britney Spears called, and she wants her song back.


The Gaslight Anthem – “The ‘59 Sound” live, with a surprise guest!

July 1, 2009

The awesome has finally happened.  We are big fans of The Gaslight Anthem here at On Deaf Ears.  Both Gordon and I gave their latest album glowing reviews, and we also managed to see them play live at Antone’s here in Austin a few months back.  They put on an incredibly high energy show, and we both had a blast.  It was one of the better shows I’ve been to in quite a while. 

Anyway, if you haven’t seen this yet, I won’t spoil the surprise (even though the screencap below pretty much does that for me).  This clip was taken at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival that just ended this past weekend.  If you like the Gaslight Anthem, you will love this clip!

 


Semi-New Music: Metric – “Help, I’m Alive”

June 29, 2009

I received a text message from my friend Mike in LA the other night.  It was short, sweet, and to the point:

My new favorite song: “Help, I’m Alive” by Metric.

I have a slightly rocky history with Metric.  I have frequently been told that they are the next big thing, and it was this sentiment that caused me to finally check them out right after the release of 2005’s Live It Out.  It was an okay album, but the overwhelming feeling I got from Live It Out was that it was very mechanical.  The cold precision of the music, the weird tinny production, and something in lead singer Emily Haines’s voice (despite the fact that I love her work with Broken Social Scene) gave me the inescapable impression of a bunch of 80’s era robots hopelessly stuck on the New Wave setting.   In all, despite a couple of bright moments here and there, I was largely unimpressed, and I had no motivation to check out any of their earlier albums or to anticipate any future releases.

So then comes this text message.  I generally but not always agree with Mike’s taste in music, so unless his text message was dripping with sarcasm not easily conveyed through the written word, I believe this was a pretty glowing review.  Also, I’m never one to completely count a band out, even after a pretty decisive first impression, so I figured I would give them a second chance and Youtube “Help, I’m Alive.”

After some predictably robotic percussion leading things off, Haines’s echo-effect voice breaks in along with some low synths in the background.  The somewhat familiar New Wave vibe is still there, but there’s a new life in Haines’s voice and **gasp** something resembling emotion!  I was a bit concerned after the swelling synths come in at about 0:35, but the second time around,  the synths break completely and make way for some crunchy guitar chords, and Haines goes up an octave or so to create an instantly hooky chorus.  Less than halfway through the song, I notice my foot tapping, and I realize that this is by far the best Metric song I’ve ever heard, and I think I may be inspired to check out their latest record, Fantasies.

Thanks for the text, Mike!

Metric – “Help, I’m Alive”


Skyward: Sky Saxon of the Seeds, RIP

June 27, 2009

A second highly-influential musician left us on June 25th, 2009. That musician was Sky Saxon, frontman of the legendary ’60s garage band, the Seeds.

Three chords and the truth? Hell, Sky and the Seeds didn’t even need that many, as they demonstrated on their best-known song, the almighty “Pushin’ Too Hard.” Keyboards? “[Keyboardist Daryl Hooper's] idea of a creative solo was to play the same riff over and over at varying octaves.”* That was also the general concept behind many of the lead guitar lines.

I own a lot of Nuggets and Pebbles type stuff (for those not familiar, those are compilations of ’60s garage-rock songs). It’s happened several times to me where I hear a song that’s just awesome, and spend some money, sometimes a lot, to find more of the band’s work. Almost inevitably, I just wasted my money, because everything else the band did was completely horrible.

Not so with the Seeds. I don’t own everything they did, and I won’t, but they put out five albums (one under the moniker “The Sky Saxon Blues Band”) and I have their first two. There is a lot of bad stuff on them, but loads of good stuff too.

Probably the best way to go is a compilation. There are several out there, and I can’t tell you which is the best, but the one I have is called Evil Hoodoo and it’s well worth your time and your money. It contains such classics as:

  • “The March of the Flower Children” (”Somewhere, the children are out there playing, so happy, in their own flower garden.”)
  • “Mr. Farmer” (”Mr. Farmer, let me watch your crops. Mr. Farmer, let me water your crops. Mr. Farmer, let me harvest your crops.”)
  • “Rollin’ Machine” (”Everybody, do you hear me out there? Wanna take you ridin’ on my rollin’ machine.”)
  • “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” (”You fly around like a bee, hurtin’ everything you see.”)

Shit, maybe I do need the rest of their albums.

My sad postscript to this piece: Sky Saxon played a gig at Red’s Scoot Inn here in Austin just a few weeks ago. I wanted to go but for one reason or another I didn’t end up making it. See the artists you love when you can, because you never know.

Rest in peace, Sky Saxon.

The Seeds – “Pushin’ Too Hard”

The Seeds – “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” (Sound quality is not the best, but I couldn’t resist this great American Bandstand archival footage, and sound quality isn’t so important with garage rock anyway. You can hear the studio version here.)

The Seeds – “The March of the Flower Children”

*The New Rolling Stone Record Guide, which also notes that “Sky Saxon’s world view was limited to two subjects–sex and drugs.” Based on his music, that’s only a slight exaggeration.

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Michael Jackson’s musical legacy, or, what if Thriller hadn’t sold?

June 26, 2009

What if Thriller had only sold moderately? And what if Michael Jackson had then retired?

Why do I ask these questions? Because one thing that has disappointed me about the coverage of Michael Jackson’s death to date is that I haven’t heard anyone seriously discuss his musical legacy as music. The undercurrent (and often the overcurrent) of the coverage is that the grief is because of Michael Jackson’s huge cultural impact. That’s no doubt true, but people are also mourning the loss of a brilliant artist.

In this piece, I hope to demonstrate that Michael Jackson’s music was respected as much more than just catchy pop songs before Michael Jackson, the kid from the Jackson 5 gone solo, became Michael Jackson, the cultural icon. In doing so, I want to show that he would have had a significant legacy among music lovers even without all the trappings.

To make my case, I draw on some outside sources from before Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all time. My sources are The New Rolling Stone Record Guide from 1983 (Thriller was released at the tail end of 1982), and critic Robert Christgau of the Village Voice, who has most of his original reviews posted at his website.

The Jackson 5

The Jackson 5 were on Motown records, and, with few exceptions, Motown albums were made with a hits-and-filler approach, so the anthologies are what are important here.

Rolling Stone gives both anthologies available in 1983 five stars, its highest rating. Robert Christgau isn’t quite as impressed, grading one, Anthology, a B+, and the other, Greatest Hits, an A-. Nevertheless, he singles out “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” and “The Love You Save,” as “three of the greatest radio ups ever,” and calls “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “I’ll Be There” “good ones [ballads].”

Five stars? Three of the greatest ever? A pretty good start, there.

The Jacksons

After leaving Motown, the Jackson 5 (minus Jermaine) moved to Epic Records as the Jacksons. After a shaky start, the Jacksons released two critically-acclaimed albums, Destiny (1978) and Triumph (1980), which bookended MJ’s Off the Wall (1979).

Rolling Stone gives both albums four stars. Robert Christgau grades Destiny a B+ and Triumph an A-.

Not bad for a transitional stage.

Michael Jackson

About Off the Wall, critic Dave Marsh (Rolling Stone’s reviewer) writes:

Nothing, not even his groundbreaking work with his family, quite prepared the world for Off the Wall, a masterpiece of modern record making. Jackson’s voice–adolescent breathiness crowding maturity–was the perfect vehicle for music that broke down stylistic and conceptual barriers with casual cool. Off the Wall features disco beat and rock guitar, soul intensity and good-time jive, a triumphant merger of the mechanical and the spiritual…Off the Wall is unquestionably one of the most important records of the past decade.

Robert Christgau grades Off the Wall an A, and calls it “the dance groove of the year.”

Well, what about Thriller? Rolling Stone again rates it five stars, and Dave Marsh writes, “Jackson topped himself–or came close–with Thriller,” and remarks that it is “compulsively listenable and seems destined to be as popular and influential as Off the Wall.” Well, you were close on that last one!

And to top it all off? “[Michael Jackson] is now in the very top rank of rock artists measured from the beginning.”

(Christgau’s review of Thriller was written after the album was already huge, so it doesn’t count for the purposes of this piece. For the record, he also grades it an A.)

So there you have it–a journey back in time, and a look at what Michael Jackson’s musical legacy would have been had Thriller sold moderately and MJ then retired. To wit:

  • Many classic singles with the Jackson 5.
  • Two respected transitional albums with the Jacksons.
  • Two solo albums hailed as classics not in retrospect but upon release.

A fine legacy indeed, even without superstardom.

The groundbreaking videos, smashing MTV’s color barrier, the dance moves, the posters, the hysteria induced among fans, the stage shows–these are all important elements of Michael Jackson’s legacy, and I share in them to some degree.

But to me, Michael Jackson’s legacy is his music. And it would have been a brilliant and beautiful legacy even if the rest had never happened.

The Jacksons – “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)”

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