We Are the Innovators, They Are the Imitators

Here we are, Christmas Eve Eve... Hours away from the time when children are at their most excited... kind of like the audience who was lucky enough to be present when our next album was recorded.

NUMBER 8:

My Morning Jacket - Okonokos

The second live album on our top 20 of the decade was called, by allmusic.com, "one of the best live recordings of the past 30 years". They won't get much argument from me.

It is clear that My Morning Jacket is one of the most important bands of the past 10 years. Picking a favorite of their oeuvre is not as easy, as they are consistently excellent in the studio. The high, echoed, silo sound of It Still Moves and the proto-Prince keyboards of Z are worlds apart sonically, but linked in their key elements - excellent guitar playing, a rock-solid rhythm section, and strangely obtuse lyrics. The true way to hear this band, though, is live - as evidenced by their headlining, star-making turn at the 2008 Bonnaroo festival (and their eardrum-torching set at the Kool Haus in Toronto in Spring of that year - yeah, I was lucky enough to be there).

Okonokos was recorded at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The accompanying DVD has had praised heaped upon it, but the music is what carries the day. The band's power is undeniable, but can switch to complete subtlety if need to be - check "Golden" - easily Mrs. Cuddle's favorite MMJ track - a beautiful acoustic guitar ode to the next plane of existence, it floats along on a beautifully picked lead guitar line and gentle slide guitar backing. The band's music is hook-laden, and ever-propelled by Jim James' broken falsetto. His howling lead vocal on the coda of the album's opener, "Wordless Chorus", is chill-inducing. Disc 2 really shows off the band's chops - the extended jams of "Steam Engine" and "Mahgeetah" are one thing, but the back to back colossuses of "Dondante" and "Run Thru" are downright epic. They seem to have movements much like classical music pieces and each reach deafening crescendos. The crowd is whipped into a frenzy with each passing moment, as if they understand that music history and the ascension of a legendary band is occurring in front of their eyes.

My Morning Jacket has been feted by publications, blogs, and critics alike (and has even been the subject of an episode of American Dad - if you haven't seen it, check out the episode "My Morning Straightjacket" here). The tracks below give a taste of the power of this band and this album. Please check them out and share them.

Okonokos - "Dondante"

Okonokos - "One Big Holiday"

Okonokos - "I Will Sing You Love Songs"

Happy Holidays, enjoy friends and family, and new music everywhere...

If You Don't Bring Up Those Lonely Parts, This Could Be A Good Time

Greetings faithful readers... the list marches on with what can truly be considered a formative album of my musical education. As we push on to Number 1 of the decade, many more of these records are associated with specific times and places in my life - knowing exactly where I was when each album was purchased, the thoughts that raced through my head the first time I listened, how each changed me. Enough build-up...

NUMBER 9:

Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights

It was late Summer 2002 when this album landed in our collective consciousness. I was a fourth-year medical student on a collision course with residency less than one year later. It was an exciting, nerve-wracking, and confusing time. Feeling worn out from reading up on the interpretation of EKGs and cardiac disease in adults (and bored to tears, given a career in pediatrics was already in the cards for me), I felt that a break was needed. The future Mrs. Cuddle was busy working late at her given rotation at the time, so a well-deserved trip down to New World Record on Elmwood (R.I.P) was in the cards. Cruising around the store that night, I stumbled upon a listening station with 10 new releases cued up. My eye drifted toward an album whose stark black and red cover looked interesting. The blurb on the poster noted allusions to shoe-gaze and, of course, Joy Division (I know, that comparison is played out and over-used, but applicable). The sound that came out of the headphones in the subsequent minutes was unlike that of any other band that I was aware of at the time (at least, bands that were still making records). It sounded as if someone had taken an early 1980s British post-punk band and filtered them through the lens of the new millennium. I needed this record. I needed to obsess over this record. That's exactly what I did.

Arriving back home at our small apartment, I cued the disc up on the system, sat across the room on the couch, and just listened. I was surrounded by jagged guitars, pounding bass lines, and a voice that didn't just echo Ian Curtis', it improved it. The future Mrs. Cuddle arrived home, heard the disc, and was just as enraptured in its seductive draw.

Somehow, Interpol managed to make a debut LP that sounded self-assured and polished, yet completely ground-breaking. They had quietly released 3 EPs to that point, but no one was quite ready for the impact of Turn On The Bright Lights. "Untitled" starts the proceedings with a circling guitar line that is chased by a bouncing bass line and alarm-call rhythm guitar. "Obstacle 1" is the albums first true masterpiece - and clearly where the Joy Division comparisons came from. Paul Banks sings as if he's exasperated and fearful all at once, over a cacophonous rattle of guitars, bass, and menacing lyrics. With 1 minute left in the track, the band brings the song out of the depths with a major key bridge, before coming to a sudden, halting conclusion. "PDA" sounds more like an outtake from Television than anything that ever came out of England. The remainder of the album is no less brilliant, hitting high note after high note throughout its tension-filled songs of post-millennial life. This record acted like a clarion call to other NYC-based post-punk wannabes to resurrect this genre. Many imitators have tried to achieve what Interpol did with Turn On The Bright Lights - they've all failed. Indie rock is littered with bands whose sound is nothing more than a cheap knock off of bands that have come before. Interpol managed to improve upon a sound that many felt didn't need updating. The past decade has been much better for it.

Turn On The Bright Lights - "Obstacle 2"

Tomorrow, Number 8. Until then, be well.

Don't Say A Word, The Last One's Still Stinging

It's hard to believe that there are only 10 days left in 2009. Wait... there are 10 albums left on my list... hmm...

NUMBER 10:

Spoon - Girls Can Tell / Kill The Moonlight

It was just way too tough to separate these two albums. Released back-to-back in 2001 and 2002, these are the albums that launched Spoon to critical acclaim. After having been unceremoniously dropped by Elektra Records the previous year, Spoon made the jump to indie juggernaut Merge. The Durham, NC label couldn't have been happier.

Tense, taut rhythms, sparse instrumentation, "just enough" production, and Britt Daniel's vocal delivery equal two of the best back to back albums you'll find. Girls Can Tell kicks off with "Everything Hits At Once" - check out the repeated and deceptively simple organ line that runs throughout the song and is parroted by a touch of xylophone. This song sets the mold for what makes Spoon great - they know that they don't need bells and whistles to make a song great. The album also contains one of Spoon's masterpieces - "The Fitted Shirt". A walking bass line, simple guitar fills, and the singer longing for a simpler time - "when we used to say ma'am and yes sir". Who ever said that a little nostalgia had no place in modern rock?

Kill The Moonlight isn't quite as polished and angular as Girls Can Tell. It's clearly more experimental and loose, but no less inventive. Take the opening track, "Small Stakes". In the hands of almost any other artist, it would fall into a classic verse-chorus-bridge pattern, but with Spoon, that big bridge never comes. The song is propelled forward by a driving fuzzed guitar line that, on first listen, seems like it should explode into a wall of sound. That it doesn't explains what sets it apart. "The Way We Get By"? A theme song for indie stoners everywhere. "Stay Don't Go" includes human beat-box throughout. "Jonathon Fisk" is the proto-punk anthem of the record and deserves to be heard at sporting events everywhere. The album closes with "Vittorio E", an acoustic ballad with beautiful background harmony.

As the decade progressed, Spoon pushed their sound to new directions (with the dark, but equally excellent Gimmie Fiction and the neo-soul workout of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga), and they continue to push the envelope to whichever direction suits them. January 2010 will bring us the release of Transference, Spoon's first entry into the next decade's best of list. If you haven't heard this band before, by all means, enjoy.

Girls Can Tell - "The Fitted Shirt"

Kill The Moonlight - "Jonathon Fisk"

Tomorrow, Number 9... Number 9... Number 9... (no, it's not a Beatles record)... be well...

People Say That Your Dreams Are the Only Things That Save Ya

Hello again, fearless readers... As we prepare to jump into the next portion of the Decade's Best, let's take a minute to think about how nice the weather was in the Buff today... feel kind of bad for those down the East Coast being hammered with snow (sorry, Baltimore), but, our time is certainly coming sooner or later. Anyway, here we go...

NUMBER 15:
Eels - With Strings: Live At Town Hall
I can almost guarantee no one else posting a list of the best albums of this decade has this album ranked, but that's fine with me. To the uninitiated, the Eels may be known only as a one-hit-wonder ("Novocaine for the Soul", from the underrated Beautiful Freak, 1996), but the work that Mark Oliver Everett has amassed over the past 10 years stands alone in its naked emotion. To anyone not familiar with where Everett is coming from, by all means, read Things The Grandchildren Should Know, his autobiography (easily one of my favorite books of the decade). You'll have a true appreciation for someone who was able to harness a completely fucked up childhood (and life in general) and make beautiful music from it.
I could have easily chosen Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, the Eels excellent 2005 double album, at the 15 slot, but I think that this album really crystallizes what makes the Eels songs so heartbreakingly beautiful. The use of all acoustic instruments, including plenty of strings, puts Everett's fragile voice at the forefront and forces the listener to face his demons with him. The covers on the album are carefully chosen as well - Bob Dylan's "Girl From the North Country" and the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina" are great, but Johnny Rivers' "Poor Side of Town" has forever been marked with Everett's stamp - even the original can't compare. Other highlights include the theremin-soaked "Flyswatter", Eels favorite "My Beloved Monster", and a complete reworking of "Novocaine For the Soul". I've decided to post quite a few tracks from this record, as I think it deserves to be heard by many more folks. By all means, dive in.
With Strings: Live at Town Hall - "Railroad Man"
With Strings: Live at Town Hall - "Novocaine For the Soul"
With Strings: Live at Town Hall - "It's A Motherfucker"

NUMBER 14:
The White Stripes - Elephant
This record is a monster. In fact, I really feel guilty that there wasn't a place for it in the Top 10, as it is as re-listenable as albums get. There isn't a bad track amongst the album's 14 cuts, and some are just stone-cold classics. "Seven Nation Army" received more airplay and attention than most other cuts on Elephant, and rightfully so - it's a beast of a song, punishing the listener with a massive thumping bass line throughout its almost 4 minute running time. The cover of Burt Bacharach's classic "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" isn't a complete reinvention, although it is tough to listen to the Dusty Springfield or Elvis Costello versions without thinking about Jack White's guitar solo superimposed in them (the sexy black and white video with Kate Moss doesn't hurt, either). "Ball & Biscuit" (available below) is 7 minutes of pure throwback blues, and the album's standout track. White Blood Cells may have been the album that launched the Stripes to world-wide acclaim, but Elephant put them in a league all their own (unfortunately, Get Behind Me Satan almost derailed the entire outfit).
Elephant - "Ball & Biscuit"

NUMBER 13:
Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP/Fleet Foxes
I'm very proud to have jumped on this bandwagon well before the band set foot on the stage at Saturday Night Live at the beginning of this year (yeah, that sounds like indie-hipster posturing, but whatever). The Sun Giant EP appeared kind of out of nowhere on the Sub Pop label in early 2008 and heralded the onslaught of honey-voiced harmonies that litters the indie world today. By the time their self-titled full length dropped in the Spring of 2008, the buzz around the band had built to a frenzy, and with good reason. The easy comparison is with CSNY, mostly for the harmonic textures found throughout the album's 11 tracks. It is clear that this record wouldn't have sounded out of place in the late 1960s. Robin Pecknold, the Fleet Foxes' lead singer, has a voice that seems effortless, yet carefully honed. This album also sounds great no matter what the season - it fits well in a warm summer night next to a bond fire and a frigid winter evening next to the fireplace. Ethereal, pastoral, gorgeous. A classic.
Sun Giant EP - "Drops In The River"
Fleet Foxes - "Sun It Rises"

NUMBER 12:
The Arcade Fire - Funeral
Unlike Live at Town Hall, this is an album that most music critics can agree on placing in list after list of the Decade's Best. Like Fleet Foxes, this band carried an enormous amount of buzz with it as Funeral was released. It easily lived up to the hype. Boasting an amalgam of instruments and sounds unheard previously, the Arcade Fire came screaming out of Canada with both guns blazing. Every time I hear "Wake Up" I get chills. Using it in the Where The Wild Things Are trailer? Tears. Seriously. Anytime a band can conjure that type of emotion, it's got a winner on its hands. The album is complex, layered, and full of surprises. A cornerstone of this decade's indie music foundation.
Funeral - "Wake Up"

NUMBER 11:
The Strokes - Is This It
Another album that clearly has a place in all Best of the Decade lists (at least, those worth their salt), The Strokes' debut record sounded as if it was unearthed from a locked vault of 1970s New York City rock and roll. Like a lost transmission from CBGBs, Is This It shot out of the gate with a laid-back, self-assured vibe that owed its very existence to The Velvet Underground, Television, and early Talking Heads. Even though the American press hyped the record, the British press was even quicker to crown it as the Second Coming. Many British publications have placed this album at the top of their lists for greatest albums of all time. The album was released just weeks after 9-11 in the US, further underlining its NYC connection.
All of this would be pure hot air if the songs weren't so good. The album is easy to listen to over and over and over again. "The Modern Age", "Barely Legal", and "Someday" are just consistently excellent. Through it all, Julian Casablancas' voice lays behind the beat, loping along with his trademark sleepy drawl. The songs are deceptively simple and unbearably catchy - an easy recipe for success. Critics weren't as kind to the Strokes' follow-up, Room On Fire, but for my money, that album is almost as good ("What Ever Happened?" might be their greatest song). The Strokes may have made their last record (while rumors of a reunion in 2010 have been tossed around, multiple members of the band have put out solo records or new projects, and we all know what happens to bands when the members start having success elsewhere...), but we'll always have Is This It to remind us of their prowess.
Is This It - "Someday"

We'll delve into the top 10 with our next post. Until that time, and as always, be well, enjoy, and listen...

The Best Song Will Never Get Sung, The Best Life Never Leaves Your Lungs

Greetings faithful readers (assuming there are any of you)...
As promised, today starts our climb toward The Ideological Cuddle's favorite albums of this decade. The list is varied, very personal, and unlikely to agree with anyone else's list (but hey, isn't that the advantage of having one's own blog?).
Today, we'll highlight some artists who deserve honorable mention, re-releases that were heads and shoulders above the rest, and albums 20 through 16 on our list of favorites. Albums 15 through 11 will be highlighted tomorrow, and albums 10 through 1 will each have their own blog post, as there's plenty to say about each of them. Be sure to click on the links after each album for MP3s of some of my favorite songs.
Without further adieu, here we go...

RE-RELEASES OF THE DECADE:
I guess it would be remiss not to mention the Beatles reissues here, and, I have to admit, I wasn't going to jump in with both feet to the frenzy, but then heard how crisp and fantastic that Abbey Road sounded. I was hearing things that I never noticed before. Paul's bass may have been brought a little too close to the front of the mix, but the sound is unparallelled.

Billy Bragg - Volume I and Volume II - These two boxed sets cover all of Sir Billy's recorded output from his first EP, Life's A Riot with Spy Vs. Spy, through England, Half English. Each of the discs is lovingly remastered with a bonus disc of demos, b-sides, and period-specific rarities. It's the Holy Grail for those of us who have been influenced by Bragg's music. Absolutely Essential.

Robyn Hitchcock - Reissues (including the Luminous Groove and I Wanna Go Backwards box sets) - Yep Roc has done an amazing job of bringing this wonderfully strange and beautiful artist's work to the masses. Covering most of Hitchcock's essential work (we're still waiting for someone to get the rights to his A&M albums so that Globe of Frogs and Queen Elvis can see the light of day again), these CDs shine a bright light on the wondrous art of this singular artist. Often described as a strange amalgam of John Lennon, Syd Barrett, and Bob Dylan, Hitchcock's imagination and craft are on display with these reissues. For the novice, start with I Often Dream of Trains or Eye. Those looking for a little bit more adventure can jump into Fegmania! or the live album Gotta Let This Hen Out! with both feet.

HONORABLE MENTION:
To The Band With the Best Collection of Records This Decade, None of Which Made the Top 20:
The Drive-By Truckers
This band is tremendously consistent. In fact, they are so consistent, it was almost impossible to pick a favorite amongst the 5 original albums, 1 live album, and 1 odds 'n ends collection they released this decade. Decoration Day and The Dirty South might be the front-runners, but Brighter Than Creation's Dark isn't far behind. As was outlined on their own blog post earlier this year, the Truckers focus on true southern life. Their music is raw, emotional, and is chock-full of kick-ass rock 'n roll. Word has it that they'll be releasing their first album of the next decade in March, 2010, having recently signed to ATO Records, so this crew will be getting a jump on the rest of the competition for the next decade.

Drum roll please... into the top 20 albums of this decade (according to The Ideological Cuddle):

NUMBER 20:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
A towering achievement in a career that is full of them, Cave's double album concept project never fails to amaze me. There are so many nuances to the songs and the lyrics, that repeated listens are always rewarded. Some feel that Abattoir Blues is the rock 'n roll disc, while The Lyre of Orpheus is the ballad record, but it's not fair to pigeon-hole each of these pieces of art like that. The songs on the set are dripping with menace and malice, lust and horror. "Get Ready For Love" starts the proceedings with fire and brimstone, "Hiding All Away" is just vicious, and "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" might be the most grandiose tune Cave's ever done. "Easy Money" and "O Children" are absolutely heartbreaking (can anyone other than Nick Cave make suicide and murder sound so beautiful?). The companion piece, The Abattoir Blues Tour 2004 is very worthwhile too, if nothing than for the sheer volume of music contained within - 2 CDs and 2 DVDs of Cave and the Bad Seeds doing what they do best.
Abattoir Blues - "There She Goes, My Beautiful World"
The Lyre of Orpheus - "Supernaturally"

NUMBER 19:
Beck - Sea Change
Easily Beck's most mature album, Sea Change is also his "break-up" album. Completely melancholy from top to bottom, but also completely amazing. The songs are beautifully crafted and show that Beck can do so much more than mix beats.
Sea Change - "The Golden Age"

NUMBER 18:
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Indie rock's first super group had quite the decade. It was very difficult choosing a favorite amongst the New Pornographers' 4 offerings over the past 10 years, as each is consistent and varied. When I really broke it down, Mass Romantic won out on the strength of it's Dan Bejar songs "Jackie" and "To Wild Homes". To those not familiar with the Pornographers, all you need to know is that Neko Case, Dan Bejar, and Carl "AC" Newman are three of the most talented indie pop songwriters and singers alive. Put them together, and, many times, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As others have said, in a fair alternate universe, this album would have charted catchy song after catchy song, making the New Pornographers household names and international superstars. Since this is reality, you'll have to judge for yourself:
Mass Romantic - "Jackie"
Mass Romantic - "The Slow Decent Into Alcoholism"

NUMBER 17:
Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
OK, this might represent this list's first "great upset". Skimming some of the other "Best of the Decade" lists has clearly shown that most choose Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as Wilco's great contribution to this decade. While clearly a phenomenal album, YHF seems to profit from the mythology that surrounds it - you know, Wilco makes amazing record, record company dumps band and record, band leaks record, finds new label and rockets to critical acclaim and international fame. As I thought about the songs on each record, I found that I clearly reached for the songs on A Ghost Is Born more frequently than those on YHF. "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is over 10 minutes of prog-rock/krautrock heaven, "The Late Greats" is as catchy as Wilco gets, "Hummingbird" is delicate and beautiful, and "At Least That's What You Said" has some of the crunchiest guitar licks ever found on a Wilco record. This album is varied, balanced, and genius. And all without a mythology surrounding it... it's just waiting to be re-discovered.
A Ghost Is Born - "At Least That's What You Said"

NUMBER 16:
Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
Quiet and hushed in instrumentation, pastoral and aching in tone, Our Endless Numbered Days brought Sam Beam's unique musical view to the masses (since many didn't pay attention to The Creek Drank the Cradle or The Sea and The Rhythm EP). The album rocketed Iron and Wine to indie stardom and Sam Beam's songs to big movie soundtracks everywhere. Early pressings of the album included a bonus EP which included "Hickory", a gem of a tune that somehow missed the cut for the album proper (it can now be found on the b-sides compilation Around the Well). The details of Beam's lyrics in this tune are what set it apart from its contemporaries - "The money came and she died in her rocking chair/The window wide and the rain in her braided hair" is just one example. Beam would go on to expand the Iron and Wine sound throughout the rest of the decade, but has never quite been able to match the artistic achievement of this record.
Our Endless Numbered Days - "Each Coming Night"

Until tomorrow, with albums 15 through 11, be well, enjoy, and listen...

It Burns Being Broke, Hurts Being Heartbroken, And Always Being Both Must Be A Drag...

The holiday season is deeply upon us. The stresses of daily life compounded with the strain of the holidays equals major issues for some. What better way to let loose than throw some killer parties...
To celebrate, we here at the Ideological Cuddle are prepping a massive end-of-the-decade set of posts celebrating our favorite music from the past 10 years. It's hard to believe that the 'Oughts' are almost over and a new decade will be dawning. It's even more difficult to believe some of the records that came out in this decade (it's already been 9 years since Kid A, REALLY???). I have a huge list of albums that inspired me and pushed me along over the past 10 years and can't wait to share my favorites with you. I encourage all dear readers out there to leave your comments with your favorites from the past decade as well...

One of the bands that will definitely be included in the Decade's Best is the Hold Steady. I realized that I hadn't posted anything about this raucous bunch of Minnesotans (via Brooklyn) to this point as I was going through their back cataglogue (completely encompassed in this decade, by the way). Craig Finn's lyrics and delivery are steeped in the mythology of youth, the drug culture, deviant behavior, and even more deviant sex. There are recurring characters (most famously, Charlemagne, Holly, and Gideon), religious allusions, literary references, and, of course, killer parties. Finn has been accused of being all the things that his music embraces, but he's said time and again that his lyrics are merely a reflection of the things that he's seen and heard. Seeing this band live is the way to go, as they might be the best at what they do (call it what you will - bar band rock, indie rock, whatever) in all of music. You won't have a better time at a rock show and you won't feel closer to a group of fellow devotees than you will at a Hold Steady show. They tour constantly, so you shouldn't have trouble catching them anywhere in these here 50 states (heck, they even came to Buffalo this year).

So what's the link between The Hold Steady and the holiday season? This band just makes you feel good - that's exactly what we all need at this time of year. As the snow falls (sometimes in horizontal sheets in our neck of the woods), the shoppers flood the roads, and the stress levels rise, its good to know that there are bands out there cranking out rock and roll the way it was meant to be played - loud and energetic and frenetic - and transporting us to all those dirty places where they throw such Killer Parties...


Here's a little taste of the boys in their element - courtesy of Ideological Cuddle favorite, Daytrotter :
The Hold Steady Live from South By Southwest (via Daytrotter):
Sequestered In Memphis
Constructive Summer
Stay Positive
Sweet Payne

And a bonus live-in-studio track of The Hold Steady covering Led Zeppelin:
Your Time Is Gonna Come

Until next time (and the beginning of the Decade's Best posts), be well, de-stress, and listen...

Heading for Paradise, or Basingstoke, or Reading...

Wow... I haven't exactly been a prolific blogger in the past month. Not exactly what you'd like out of a blog that one would like people to read. It has been almost a full month since my last post, dear readers, but, I guarantee, I haven't been resting on my laurels. For a little insight as to what's been going on in the Cuddle household lately, head on over to Mrs. Cuddle's excellent blog The Crepe Confectionary and look for yours truly dressed as Max from Where the Wild Things Are for All Hallow's Eve...

As for today's thoughts, I had every intention of posting an excellent collection of tunes appropriate for Halloween, but just didn't get the time (maybe next year?). I had then planned (on multiple occasions) to blog about one of many artists who have caught my ear recently, but just kind of hit other snags that prevented me from doing so.
In the past week, I've been reflecting quite a bit. To some extent, it has been reflection on my current state, my place in the grand scheme of things (you know, light stuff). Today has me in a contemplative mood, reassessing what music has helped me through the year.
By no means does this mean that this is going to turn into a "Best of 2009" post. Everyone does one of those (and, to be frank, I have one planned), but it's too early. The place I'd like to start at took place on this past Tuesday at the Phoenix Concert Hall in Toronto, Ontario. This writer had the distinct pleasure of seeing (for the first time live) Billy Bragg. Fifteen long years into my love affair with the man and his music led me to that point, and I couldn't have been more enthralled by his performance. Not only did he sound to be in perfect voice (well, perfect for his pipes, anyway) and in great, fiery guitar form, but his song choices were downright legendary. "Levi Stubb's Tears"? Check. "The Saturday Boy"? Check. "Accident Waiting to Happen"? Check. The ENTIRETY of Life's A Riot with Spy vs. Spy, Billy's debut EP? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? CHECK!!! Two hours of worship at the altar of the Bard from Barking left me wanting for nothing (OK, I would have loved to hear "Greetings To the New Brunette" just so that I could give a shout out to this here blog when the lyric came around, but I digress...). I can't wait to see him again, and I hope that I won't have to wait another 15 years before our next encounter. (Pictures of the event are viewable at Ideological Cuddle's favorite blog - Chromewaves - here).
While standing in awe of the man and his music, I did find myself reflecting on the man himself. Billy's getting older (aren't we all?). He will turn 52 years young this year and, to be honest, is starting to look his age. A small belly is evident, his hair is an elegant gray, and the creases in his face are starting to deepen. This is not to say that he couldn't whip the ass of most musical newbies less than half his age, as the man is full of more heady ideas and music than most artists could dream of possessing. It was just a reminder of the passage of time... and the times that Billy Bragg has been present in my life.
This got me thinking deeper... about the last year, about music in general, about what it means to love something or someone, about family, about friends, about professions... quite the stream of consciousness.
Now, I'm not aiming for this post to be a metaphysical discussion or anything, but what's wrong with a little reflection?
This led me to think about Robyn Hitchcock. I still haven't written an entire post dedicated to the man and his (strange) music, but, as I reflected, I realized that it was only this year that Hitchcock's music entered my life. It opened a virtual treasure trove of new avenues for me and led me to an entire back catalogue that, until this year, I had only a trivial idea existed. The song below is the song I think of most. It fits my current mood perfectly.

So, dear readers, reflect on the year. Reflect on what you have, what you wish for, what you need. Think about how lucky we all are to have loved ones, music, and the things in life that feed our souls. No matter where we're all heading - be it Paradise or Basingstoke or Reading or anywhere else - our thoughts can take us there...

Robyn Hitchcock - "I Often Dream of Trains"

Until next time, friends... Be Well...

Rock and Roll Means Well, But It Can't Help Tellin' Young Boys Lies

It took a while, but we here at The Ideological Cuddle are proud to be back among those actively posting in the blogosphere. Let's just say that things in the world of pediatrics are a little on the hectic side, you know, pandemic and all....

On to the music at hand. Let's talk for a while about the term "Southern Rock". What's the first thing that pops into your head? Skynyrd? The Allman Brothers? Molly Hatchet? Little Feat? Hillbillies driving pick-ups with gun racks and the Stars and Bars flying from the antenna? It isn't hard to see why modern bands have tried to avoid the tag. The music was never fashionable (except for maybe a small period of time in the 1970s), and over the years, seems to have gotten a bad rap, possibly for the over-play that classic rock radio has given to many of the genre's flagship bands.
But what does it take to make true Southern Rock? Is it about the sound? Is it about just coming from a state south of the Mason-Dixon Line? The band we're talking about today has both of those things nailed, but elevates Southern rock to so much more because of the feel of their songs. It's about the experience of living in a section of the country that just isn't the same as New York or California. It's about the inflection in their voices. It's about the language that they use. It's the "Duality of the Southern Thing" as they once so famously said.
The Drive-By Truckers aren't exactly household names throughout the country, but they certainly deserve to be. No band works harder, puts more sweat and whiskey into their craft, tours more, or has such a roster of quality albums.
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing this band on the same bill as The Hold Steady (an institution unto themselves, to be sure) on the "Rock and Roll Means Well" tour at The Phoenix in Toronto. The Hold Steady played first, and it appeared that most of the crowd was only there to see them. As their set ended, a large portion of the crowd made their way to the exits - and were soon replaced by the most fascinating group of fans I have ever seen. The DBT fans were an amalgam of redneck/metalhead/intelligencia types (yeah, I know). The band tore the doors off the place that night. They started with "Where the Devil Don't Stay" and finished with "Let There Be Rock" - a song that gives me chills every time and sums up what it's like to worship at the alter of rock music.
What bands do you know that can lose one of it's 3 main songwriters (and singers) and be stronger on the other side? Prior to that departure, the Truckers had Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley ("The Stroker Ace"!!!), and Jason Isbell (whose solo stuff is certainly DBT-worthy). Since Isbell left, Cooley and Hood do most of the writing, but bassist Shonna Tucker (Isbell's ex-wife) stepped in on Brighter Than Creation's Dark - their last full length - and contributed some beautiful tunes.
Each of the songwriters has their own style, but there's certainly a continuity of theme throughout their catalogue. "Marry Me" starts with my favorite couplet in music - "My Daddy didn't pull out/but he never apologized" - and just gets better from there. "Outfit" is a cautionary tale sung by a father to his rock star son - "Don't worry 'bout losin' your accent/A Southern man tells better jokes" is one of his pearls of wisdom, as he opines about his trials and tribulations... and how he's proud of his son. The song that really caught Mrs. Cuddle's attention when she saw the Truckers in Philadelphia in 2006 was "Sinkhole". A menacing tale about family farms and those who dare to come between a man and his legacy, the song is propelled by a 3 guitar attack - a wall of punishing guitars.
If you get a chance to catch this band live, by all means, do. They won't disappoint you and you'll be left exhausted and wanting more. Check out their discography, then download some choice tracks the way the DBTs were meant to be heard - live.

Discography:
Gangstabilly - 1998
Pizza Deliverance - 1999
Southern Rock Opera - 2001 (a recount of the tragic plane crash that killed most of the members of Skynyrd and what it means to be from the south)
Decoration Day - 2003
The Dirty South - 2004
A Blessing and A Curse - 2006
Brighter Than Creation's Dark - 2008
Live From Austin, TX - 2009
Fine Print : A Collection of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008 - 2009

Live Truckers:
"Lookout Mountain" - Live at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC - 1/1/05
"Marry Me" - Live at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC - 1/1/05
"Puttin' People on the Moon" - Live at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC - 1/1/05
"Outfit" - Live at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC - 1/1/05
"Sinkhole" - Live at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC - 1/1/05
"Let There Be Rock" - Live at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC - 1/1/05

"The Day John Henry Died" - Live on All Songs Considered - 7/21/06
"Feb 14" - Live on All Songs Considered - 7/21/06

Until next time, be well...

You and I Belong in the Same Time and Place

This post comes one day too late, but I think that it's appropriate that I am able to reflect on the events of the past two days before blogging about them. My sister was married yesterday, and I can't imagine a better way to spend time with a large number of people that I love. I held it together pretty well (no crying for this guy - at least, none that anybody saw), but can't be more proud to be a brother-in-law to my sister's soul mate. Seeing them together, seeing my parents having a great time, spending the evening with my lovely wife (we'll celebrate 5 years together in about two weeks)... can't think of anything better.

I had planned a wedding mix of songs for your enjoyment, but it came out as more of a love mix... I don't think that any of these songs are "traditional" love songs, but they all mean something very important to me. I hope you enjoy them, and check out the artists who perform them (if you aren't well-acclimated with their work already). A word on the last song - the live version of "Killer Parties" by The Hold Steady really rings true, and not just in the lyrics and the feel of the song, but in Craig Finn's comments leading into the tune... "There is so much joy in what we do here" - you can feel it in his voice... that's how I felt yesterday...

Robyn Hitchcock - "I Feel Beautiful"

Eels - "My Beloved Monster"

Rhett Miller - "Question"

The National - "Lucky You (Live from Daytrotter)"

Band of Horses - "No One's Gonna Love You"

Leonard Cohen - "Ain't No Cure For Love (Live)"

M. Ward - "Poison Cup"

The Jayhawks - "All the Right Reasons"

Camera Obscura - "The Sweetest Thing"

The Hold Steady - "Killer Parties"

Until next time, be well, love all, and listen...

I Would Trade My Mother To Hear You Sing

We at The Ideological Cuddle are thrilled to have stumbled upon tickets to see another of our favorite bands. On November 25, 2009, the beautifully quaint German House in Rochester, NY will play host to one of indie music's most beautifully quaint bands, Camera Obscura. First off, I'm a little taken back that a band of such indie stature would play Rochester, not to mention in such a small venue (Rochester has many other venues that this writer could imagine Camera Obscura playing and filling).
For those not familiar with Camera Obscura's history or music, the easy comparison lies in fellow Scots, Belle and Sebastian, whose leader, Stuart Murdoch produced Camera Obscura's early singles and first full length, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi. The band's sound can be described as falling into the category of "twee" (although I hate that distinction - I mean, it sounds so juvenile, and this band, along with Belle and Sebastian and others, are far from that). Camera Obscura's albums take their cues from 60's sunny California pop, Phil Spector-like production, girl group harmonies, and hushed orchestration, but shouldn't be pigeon-holed as "throwback" or "retro". That being said, Camera Obscura haven't felt it necessary to reinvent the wheel - their albums have a reassuring consistency that doesn't need tinkering. From their early single "Eighties Fan" (which initially caught the ears of listeners in 2001), to this year's "French Navy", the band's songs are peppered with tales of lost love, heartbreak, redemption, wit, and humor. The band's biggest draw may be the voice of lead singer, Tracyanne Campbell, whose delivery is understated, but power is undeniable. Her voice is inviting, warm, pitch-perfect, and loses none of its' Glaswegian flourishes through any of the band's canon. It's a unique instrument unlike any other in indie pop.
I encourage everyone to seek out each of Camera Obscura's albums (they're uniformly excellent and catchy as hell) and try to catch them on their Fall 2009 as it winds its way across the United States. Links are below, and some of my favorite Camera Obscura songs can be found in the sidebar.

Camera Obscura - A Discography:
Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi - Merge Records, 2001
Underachievers Please Try Harder - Merge Records, 2004
Let's Get Out of This Country - Merge Records, 2006
My Maudlin Career - 4AD Records, 2009

Camera Obscura's homepage can be found here.

Until next time, enjoy

Take Me Through This Light Till the Dawning

Tomorrow happens to be a big release day for the faithful at The Ideological Cuddle. One of our favorite artists drops his latest masterpiece on the masses in a few short hours (the release date was today for those lucky enough to live in the UK).
Richard Hawley isn't nearly a household name in the US, but has a huge following in the UK. His new album, Truelove's Gutter is out via Mute Records tomorrow. It promises to be more of the same from one of music's true throwbacks. Hawley's solo work feels, somehow, timeless. His style falls somewhere between the work of the great Roy Orbison with hints of rockabilly and classic balladry (and he sports a vintage 50's greaser haircut). Never afraid to show is virtuoso guitar chops, Hawley tends to write from a lovelorn perspective (a la Billy Bragg), but his music drips of melancholia. His themes tend to be colored by his less-than-upper class upbringing in Sheffield. His last two albums, Cole's Corner and Lady's Bridge took their titles from actual locations in his hometown. Each is a masterpiece. Those who dig a little deeper should be able to find Lowledges, his second full length. His self-titled debut LP is much harder to find, and, I believe, is out of print. Used copies tend to fetch upwards of $30, but the actual MP3s may be available at sites such as Lala.com.
Unfortunately, I don't have any live tracks from Mr. Hawley to share, but the links below will lead you to his Myspace page, a site that has a live concert for sale (fully licensed by the artist, of course), and his homepage (which has been recently updated). Despite missing him when he came to Toronto in 2007, I won't miss my chance to see Hawley live in concert again (that is, of course, if he hits these parts again anytime soon).
Until next time, be well, and check out Richard Hawley.

Richard Hawley's Myspace page can be found here.
Richard Hawley's homepage is here.
A live concert by Richard Hawley from December, 2008 is available here.
Truelove's Gutter is out tomorrow via Mute Records and should be available at all music outlets with a brain and a sense of good music.

Sexual Politics Have Left Me All of a Muddle

This evening's post was to be the first in a series of reviews of albums that I love and that many of you may have missed (either because no one else liked them, or they were kind of "out-of-the-way", or whatever), but opportunity and fortune have smiled down upon me (with the help of one of my favorite blogs - Chromewaves, our neighbor to the north from Toronto). I was lucky enough to score tickets to Billy Bragg's show at the Phoenix in November. Needless to say, I was more than ecstatic.
For those in the know, you'll recognize that the moniker of this blog and the title of this post are taken from one of Billy's greatest songs, "Greetings To The New Brunette". This got me thinking about how to share some of my favorite Bragg music most effectively.
When one thinks about Billy Bragg's music, the initial reaction of some may be to pigeon-hole him as merely a political songwriter in the "There Is Power In a Union" or "To Have and To Have Not" vein. My personal opinion is that no one in popular music better investigates all of the ins and outs of sexual politics better than him.
Obviously, this topic is not an easy one to handle for most songwriters. Lay it on too thick, and your song becomes syrupy and trite. Be too brutally honest and you'll alienate your audience. Somehow, for the past 25 years, Bragg has effectively toed this line to outstanding effect, never becoming too sentimental, never falling into misogyny. In fact, when Mrs. Cuddle and I were dating, she always seemed to think that our relationship was on the rocks when she found me listening to Billy Bragg (truthfully, sometimes it was, but she's still here, so we worked through it). I guess she never got around to listening to some of his more "lovey" songs, though...
The interesting thing about his commentary on love, its loss, its gain, its trials and tribulations is how varied the actual topics are. For instance, "Greetings To The New Brunette" starts by talking about being "so excited to be sleeping here in this new room", but ends with the singer venomously spitting, "Give my greetings to the new brunette". Throughout, it questions the singer's "appropriateness" for his love, as "whoops there goes another year, whoops there goes another pint of beer", pissing his days away. Shirley may have been the new brunette at first, but she's obviously moved on in the space of 4 minutes. Somewhat related is "Walk Away Renee (Version)" - a proto-spoken word story iterated over the melody of The Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee", Bragg recounts a relationship that started well, but ended very poorly. The author in this case was obviously more into Renee than she was ever into him, but he acknowledges, "you have to learn to take the crunchy with the smooth, I suppose". When he finds her "going out with Mr. Potato Head", he realizes quickly that he's not the one for her, but in the meantime allows the bathwater to go cold around himself thinking about the two of them together. Just when the listener thinks that the author will continue to be bedeviled by Renee forever, he ends with one of my favorite couplets in Bragg's canon - "And then one day it happened/She cut her hair and I stopped loving her". Somehow that small change led him to feel that it was OK just to let go.
Once love is gone, what better way to celebrate it than by dwelling in self-loathing, such as in "The Price I Pay" or "She's Got A New Spell". In the former, the singer's friends are trying to persuade him that it's better for him without her, but he's convinced that he needs to suffer for her love - "That's the price I pay/For loving you the way I do". "She's Got A New Spell", despite being more upbeat in tempo and musical tone, is downright angry. The singer feels that he's been wronged by his ex - "The laws of gravity are very, very strict/And you're just bending them for your own benefit". Most of us could imagine a time in our own relationship fights where we'd love to come up with something as witty as that to hurl at the object of our ire. The meaning of "Valentine's Day Is Over" is obvious, and makes a great starter for a Valentine's Day Sucks mix (try it! may I also suggest "Bad Liver and A Broken Heart" by Tom Waits?). Want more self-loathing? Here's a couplet from "St. Swithin's Day" : "With my own hands/When I make love to your memory/It's not the same/I miss the thunder/I miss the rain". Doesn't make masturbating to the thought of a lost love sound too healthy, does it? Proving that he doesn't reserve lost love for those with jobs and commitments, Bragg wrote "The Saturday Boy" - a lovely note to the love of kids (likely no more than high school age), but, as with most great songs, the boy loses in the end.
Sometimes, great art can be hard to face head-on. "The Myth of Trust" stands alone in Billy Bragg's work for it's brutal portrayal of infidelity. It's message is clear from the first two lines: "I woke this morning/To find that we have outlived the myth of trust". Initially, it seems that the male in the relationship has fallen from grace alone, but a careful listen to the song seems to hint that while he was "upstairs in the bedroom/Dancing disgusting" she was "away in this land of Cain". Whenever adultery happens, it is never just one person's fault. We all need to learn, though, and quiet resignation runs through "A Lover Sings". The song ends "Adam and Eve are finding out all about love" and, in many of his live shows, Bragg includes "Adam and Steve" and "Theresa and Eve" to that list - no matter gay, straight, or what-have-you, we all need to learn the pitfalls of love.
Lest the reader think that Bragg isn't capable of writing songs about love gone right, his later career (after getting married and having a child) is littered with examples of odes to one's beloved. "Brickbat" is almost odd for Bragg, in which he acknowledges his punk roots, but celebrates his then new-found domesticity: "I used to want to plant bombs at the Last Night of the Proms/But now you'll find me, with the baby, in the bathroom/With that big shell, listening to the sound of the sea". He even went so far as to name his latest CD Mr. Love and Justice. It contains "I Keep Faith" - a verse dedicated to professing ever-lasting love to one's partner.

I guess I could go on and on espousing the merits of Billy Bragg's work, but it's best appreciated in its aural form. The following tracks are taken from two live shows, and widely circulated in bootleg circles. I hope you enjoy these and seek out more of Bragg's music, as it deserves to be heard by even more lovelorn, love lost, and loving souls.
Until next time...

Selections from Billy Bragg "Bigmouth Strikes Again" - Live in London 11/2/91:

"Valentine's Day Is Over"
"A Lover Sings"
"Greetings To The New Brunette"
"You Woke Up My Neighborhood"
"She's Got A New Spell"

Selections from Billy Bragg Live in Somerville, MA 3/23/06:

"The Saturday Boy"
"The Myth of Trust"

Shhh/Peaceful

It's nights like this that quiet the mind. Indian summer night, less traffic than usual, gentle breeze blowing through the half-opened windows. Nights like this make my ears pine for hushed, reserved jazz. The best way to appreciate it? Definitely on vinyl... the sound is just soooo warm. I freely admit to being a slave to the digital age, having shelves full of CDs, and a hard drive full of MP3s. Lately, I just feel the need to seek out more and more on classic wax... not that this, by any means, is a new venture for me... let's just say that I'm re-committing myself to the search...

Finding a beautiful vinyl copy of John Coltrane's Blue Trane today intensified my need for some peaceful, serene jazz. Enjoy these Indian summer nights... and this mix...



Shhh/Peaceful Mix - September 9, 2009:


"Blue and Sentimental" - Ike Quebec - Blue and Sentimental

"Carolyn" - Hank Mobley - No Room for Squares

"Idle Moments" - Grant Green - Idle Moments

"Body and Soul" - Freddie Hubbard - Here To Stay

"Blues To Elvin" - John Coltrane - Coltrane Plays The Blues

"Dolphin Dance" - Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage

"Out of the Night" - Joe Henderson - Page One

"Plum Blossom" - Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds

"Virgo" - Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer

"Ernie's Tune" - Dexter Gordon - The Classic Blue Note Recordings

"Night Flower" - Donald Byrd - Free Form

"In A Silent Way" - Miles Davis - The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions



Good Night, All...

There Ain't No Devil, There's Just God When He's Drunk

Thomas Alan Waits

Born: December 7, 1949

Death: Oh, far from it. No other musician may have created as much fanaticism among his faithful or confusion from the masses. There is no dispute to the trail of great art that he has left over the past 35 years. What no one can seem to get to the bottom of is who this man truly is - and Mr. Waits seems to like it that way.

I recently finished Barney Hoskyns' excellent, and unauthorized biography, Lowside of the Road : A Life of Tom Waits. An interesting read, to be sure, but confounding none the less. Despite Hoskyns' long resume of work in the field of music journalism (most famously for NME and Uncut, two of the UK's most prestigious magazines), he was unable to get Tom to cooperate. This, in itself, is not unusual, as Mr. Waits is famous for his reticence in adding facts to his own story - he likes his privacy, he's fine without the populace knowing everything about him, and he really doesn't seem to care if anyone outside of his "Circle of Trust" gets as close as seeing him live in concert. What is fascinating, is the number of collaborators, producers, and musicians who have worked with him over the years who were instructed by Tom's camp to NOT cooperate with Mr. Hoskyns. The appendix of the book has an eye-opening section wherein the author reprints e-mail communications between he and multiple sources who "after speaking with Tom and Kathleen (more on her in a second)" refused to comment.

This would be fine and good if everyone thought that Waits was an asshole. The truth is, almost everyone who has worked with him can't say enough about the experience. It's fascinating to think about how much sway Mrs. Waits may have over him and his privacy - at least that's the picture that one is left with upon completing the book, and one of the book's great unanswered questions.

Any great artist who reaches some level of fame and fortune will attract rabid fans, ready to take any piece that they can grab. To criticize Waits for wanting to protect himself and his family is quite short-sighted. Think about what he has been able to do - shelter himself, his wife, and his privacy - from the prying eyes of our ever-more voyeuristic society. Now, no one is going to argue that Waits isn't as famous as, say, Jay-Z or Bruce Springsteen or The Black Eyed Peas (despite the fact that his art trumps all of theirs), so it's not exactly like the paparazzi will leave coked up Lindsay's side to try to find the Waits compound somewhere in California. BUT, this point gives one pause into what it means to be worshiped like many of the musicians that we all care about are. I am as guilty as the next super fan about my fanaticism of all things Waitsian, but I think we all need to take a step back and consider what it might be like to live under the fish-eye lens for a while. As we like to say, don't poke the bear, don't rattle the cage...

So, what of Waits' work? A more complex and varied oeuvre is unlikely to be found over the past 3 decades. Starting as a "hobo poet of the gutter" (and supposedly stealing much of his "image" from the writings of Bukowski and Kerouac), he penned some of the most touching "grand weepers" of the 1970s, but always with his own touch. That touch, for many, is what keeps them from getting too close to his music - namely, his voice. Falling somewhere between the sound of a hound dog gargling gasoline and a carnival barker who's just coughed up phlegm littered with glass, the "Waits Grumble" is an acquired taste. Once you let it roll around in your skull for a while, though, it isn't likely to leave quickly. There is much beauty in that haggard instrument of his. Listen to "On the Nickel" from Heartattack & Vine - the lyrics, in the hands of a "prettier" singer would be enough to bring anyone to tears, but it's Waits' voice that lends this tale of lost innocence among the population of Los Angeles' down-and-out Fifth Street just the right dirty sheen. Knowing something about his own background (a child of divorce, alcoholic father, religious mother), it's hard not to imagine that Waits is singing about some of his own lost childhood when he sings of "all the little boys who never combed their hair/lined up all around the block, on the nickel, over there". Could it have been better for Tom growing up in a fully intact family unit? Maybe. Has it been better for his art that he didn't? There's the great conundrum for many artists.

Waits could have rested on his drunken poet laurels, continued to crank out album after album of woozy piano ballads, and probably would have killed himself in the process. Instead, he reinvented himself with what is easily one of popular music's great trilogies - the "junkyard band" sound of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Frank's Wild Years. Listen to "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six" from Swordfishtrombones - was that an anvil that someone just hit? Is that a car horn, or a trombone? What about "Cemetery Polka" from Rain Dogs? Strange lyrics, strange calliope, odd and sparse instrumentation, but downright genius. Then there's the out-of-tune piano line from "Tango Till They're Sore", the xylophone line from "Singapore", the crusty Victrola sound of "Innocent When You Dream (78)", even the deranged falsetto scream of "Temptation". This, by no means, is "easy" music to listen to. It challenges the listener, but there is ever so much to gain.

As 2006's Orphans shows, there's no sign of Mr. Waits slowing down anytime soon. He may not tour as much as his fans would like (would it have killed him to come to Buffalo instead of Mobile or Tulsa?). One fact remains - the man is a private, quirky genius. And the faithful will continue to fall out of the window with confetti in our hair for him time after time...

Happykidney's Playlist for Tuesday, September 8, 2009:

A Tom Waits Primer:

"Martha" - Closing Time

"Eggs and Sausage (In A Cadillac With Susan Michelson) - Nighthawks At the Diner (or, preferably, a live version from one of the myriad bootlegs that float around out there from the late 1970s)

"Invitation to the Blues" - Small Change

"Tom Traubert's Blues" - Small Change

"Kentucky Avenue" - Blue Valentine (if this one doesn't get you, you have no heart - a lament for lost childhood and childhood's mysteries)

"Burma Shave" - Foreign Affairs (but, again, preferably from bootleg - Austin City Limits 1978 is a personal favorite - complete with whining muted trumpet and Tom's own special effects of a car engine)

"Heartattack and Vine" - Heartattack & Vine

"Broken Bicycles" - Original Soundtrack from One From the Heart

"In The Neighborhood" - Swordfishtrombones

"Jockey Full of Bourbon" - Rain Dogs

"Way Down in the Hole" - Frank's Wild Years

"Falling Down" - Big Time

"Eyeball Kid" - Mule Variations

"Alice" - Alice

"Hoist That Rag" - Real Gone

"Lie To Me" - Orphans

"Lucinda" - Orphans

Until next time, be well...

Every Good Company Needs a Mission Statement

Greetings All!

If you're reading this, then you've obviously stumbled upon another music blog... it's my job to make it more than "just another music blog".
Why should you want to read what I have to say? Excellent question...
I hope that this blog educates, opens up discussion, and creates a forum to discuss great music (and art in general) - past, present, and future. I hope that I can open some eyes to music that means a lot to me, and share stories about what music means to all of you. I hope my entries are literate, interesting, and provoke a reaction in the reader (good or bad).
First off, a little about me... I live in the beautifully anachronistic city of Buffalo, New York - "The City of Good Neighbors that History Forgot" as our prodigal daughter, Ani Difranco once said. Buffalonians always discuss why they haven't split town yet (even though many of us have). My reason, is that I love it here. I'm in a field that is strong in Buffalo (medicine- thanks UB), am lucky enough to have great family and friends here, and currently, couldn't imagine living anywhere else. That being said, it's tough on a busy schedule to get to bigger cities (Toronto, Cleveland, Rochester even) to see certain shows, but we do get our share.
Enough background, on to music...
I hope that all readers of this blog will get a flavor for what music I like. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to wax poetic on the music that I love. Readers are sure to find posts about my favorite artists - too numerous to mention, but Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Robyn Hitchcock, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, The Hold Steady, The National, Neko Case, The Black Crowes, The Drive-By Truckers, My Morning Jacket, Nick Cave, Wayne Shorter, Camera Obscura to start - will be among them.
Although music has always been a galvanizing force in my life, I can easily trace my "obsession" with music back to 1993. A sophomore in high school and fighting for my life (literally - kidney disease really isn't fun) in a hospital, the sounds of Evan Dando's honey-soaked off-kilter songs brought me all the comfort I needed. The Lemonhead's It's A Shame About Ray was more important to me in that time than I ever thought music could be. "Rockin' Stroll" with its opening guitar runs, "Alison's Starting To Happen" with its proto-punk swagger, and "Confetti"'s ambivilance to love provided the solid rock that I needed. But it was "My Drug Buddy" that got me the most. I couldn't really relate to a junkie's lament, but I felt it... to this day, that song and its gentle organ line get me every time.
15-plus years have passed, and The Lemonheads haven't exactly become the biggest band in the world (hey, they even played Buffalo recently), but that record still has the power to make me cry, smile, and laugh - all at once. It still takes me back to being vulnerable, and scared, and yet, knowing everything was going to be OK. Isn't that what great music should do?

So, there it is, my first official blog post... much more to come, as I have a lot of thoughts to share. As a recurring feature of this blog, I'd like to leave you with some recommendations (based on what I'm listening to today). I hope you enjoy, I hope you seek out more music, and I hope there is much more for you to read in these spaces in the future.
Thanks All,
happykidneys

Happykidney's Pick of the Day - Monday 9/7/09:
Tom Waits - Foreign Affairs