November 6, 2005

Stand Back and Take a Good Look

There are all kinds of orthodoxies in music appreciation. Some people worship at the altar of “simple and catchy.” You can even add “dumb” to the formulation, depending on whether you prefer the lyrics of the Rolling Stones or ? & the Mysterians. I used to religiously tape the radio show of WFMU’s DJ The Hound, who played vintage rock ‘n’ roll, blues and r’n’b and occasionally made declarations to the effect that there was no good music made after 1970, except for the Stooges. (I dunno, he might have played a Slade song once.) The liner notes of the excellent Back From the Grave series of 1960s garage-punk feature the humorous musings of Crypt Records mogul Tim Warren as he verbally slashes and burns all categories of music that do not engender a particular primal response. To be fair to these guys, they were trying to be funny, and their single-mindedness uncovered some genius songs, and changed my life. Check out Norton Records / KICKS Magazine for further study.

I don’t know where power pop fits into all this. The received wisdom in the garage scene used to be that decent primitive rock died around the time that hardcore came to life.

In the past, I have defended these borders and waged these battles. I’m kinda simple; I like simple songs. But music can do a lot of different things in many ways. For me, it’s just not interesting anymore to hate bad music – much more rewarding just to love the good stuff, and leave it at that.

The Nerves were Jack Lee (guitar/vocals), Paul Collins (drums) and Peter Case (bass).

Those guys were doing high-energy “power pop” in front of punk crowds way before some record exec even decided the term needed to be invented. Ignore the suits. It’s all in the songwriting, kids.

Paul went on to form the (Paul Collins) Beat, whose first album is the absolute gold standard for power pop. Go to the official website and download videos from a live show (on the 1979 Ramones tour) for free! Do it! Also, check out his new country band. Peter Case formed the Plimsouls. There’s a very interesting article about Peter’s strange musical journey here.

The Nerves – “One Way Ticket”
The Nerves – “Hanging on the Telephone”
The Nerves – “Stand Back and Take a Good Look”
The Nerves – “Paper Dolls”

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This is not an apology, but simply an admission that I’m not posting as often as I’d like to be. There are quite a few well-written blogs that cover the music scene. The only hope this one has of maintaining its audience is with steady rockin’ updates… So don’t worry. Once I shake this depression, we’re gonna be right as rain, you and I.

Two awesome books I’m currently reading:

Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange and Menacing World of Antarctica by Nicholas Johnson

Nick Johnson writes about the actual Antarctica (the one that’s ruled by pinch-minded government bureaucrats and the Raytheon Company) in a comedic style stripped of romance, earning him a permanent disbarment from the South Pole’s worker hives. Tales of horrifying waste disposal, Human Resources blunders, skua culture and massive frozen hot dog stockpiles are balanced with the author’s detailed obsession with the history of the region’s early explorer heroes, a modern version of whom – Eirik Sonneland – contributes the book’s forward.

Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979-1984 by Martha Cooper

Bomb All Lines! This insider’s photobook should be your companion piece to the excellent DVD documentary Style Wars – a must-see for those who are fascinated by this mysterious lost era before graffiti, breakdancing, “turntablism” and street/subway style spread throughout the entire planet like a virus. Thanks again, Chris!

Rick at 3:40 pm

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November 3, 2005

The World is Coming

Thank gawd for soul music. Until recently, I kept my enthusiasm for various aspects of hip hop on the down low. Not wanting to be thought a “wigger,” I often retreated behind the scholarly veil of social anthropology, when all I really wanted was to kick some dope beats.

Perhaps the hip hop landscape has grown so rich and varied that I just can’t hide in whitey’s closet anymore. Maybe I’ve finally broke free from my self-made prison of musical identity politics. Maybe I’d better pick a metaphor and stick with it.

Anyway, there’s this guy, Cody ChesnuTT. He does a mix of styles that is apparently connected with a genre known as “neo-soul” (a grand idea that does not always translate into superior music, judging from some of the other artistes lumped under the term). After his humbly-titled The Headphone Masterpiece came out in 2002, it opened up a lot of doors in my head. I really “dig” where he’s “at,” even though he touches upon subjects like weed, bitches and spirituality, things I couldn’t possibly have any experience with, given my upbringing.

Buy it here.

This review mixes a pretty decent description of the album’s contents, along with lots of subjective assessments I don’t have the energy to argue away. The Headphone Masterpiece is an epic 2-disc CD that’s impossible to excerpt properly, because it’s just all over the place. The liner notes are positively slathered with references to his family and friends, and praises to God – it’s like a frickin’ Dr. Bronner’s soap label. The music is a completely different story. As you will hear, I’m partial to the quieter acoustic style stuff… some of which which may or may not include the contributions of Silverlake’s own Sharif Dumani.

Chris S. made me a copy. At first, I didn’t really like it. Then I couldn’t get some of these songs outta my head.

Cody ChesnuTT – “Enough of Nothing” (0:58)
Cody ChesnuTT – “Serve This Royalty” (5:42)
Cody ChesnuTT w/Sonja Marie – “With Me in Mind” (3:51)
Cody ChesnuTT – “My Women, My Guitars” (3:15)

Rick at 2:55 am

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