My love for everything Robyn Hitchcock is well known. Autumn is the perfect time to take in his brand of off-kilter psych-folk-rock. Last week saw the re-release of his classic Soft Boys records Underwater Moonlight and Can of Bees on Yep Rock (purchase them HERE and get 30 BONUS TRACKS) and it's easy to see, from a cursory listen to Underwater Moonlight, where the roots of Hitchcock's muse lies. His skewed genius is in full effect with classics such as "Queen of Eyes", "I Wanna Destroy You", and "I Got the Hots".
The tunes below are from The Soft Boy's reunion tour of 2001 :
And some bonus Hitchcock - performing two of my favorite tunes (each kind of summing up my recent melancholic mood). Despite Hitchcock's success with The Soft Boys, The Egyptians, and The Venus 3, he is best heard solo (his guitar skills are underrated and stellar) - here's a taste:
Good Evening, my pretties. Sunday night. Stoner Rock. Close to Halloween. Must be Queens of the Stone Age. But stoner rock is such a cop-out. What Josh Homme has been able to do with the Queens is indulge his base desires (in comparison, Them Crooked Vultures allows him to indulge his Led Zeppelin hero worship and re-write the blues) and meld rock, blues, punk, and multiple types of metal. Homme has a true knack for writing catchy, heavy melodies and is smart enough to surround himself with some really talented musicians. Who else but Josh Homme could get Dave Grohl to take a hiatus from being the Foo Fighter's front man and go back behind the drum kit for the first time since Nirvana? Listen to Grohl's drumming in "Song for the Dead" or "Avon" - the only word that can describe his sound is FURIOUS. His propulsive sound pushes the rest of the band forward at such a clip that the entire thing threatens to bust at the seams. When Homme wrote songs that required a sort of "lived-in" voice, he went out and snagged the most grizzled of rock veterans - Mark Lanegan.
Here's a taste of the Queens - with Dave Grohl in full effect behind the kit, and Nick Oliveri holding down the low end on bass - Live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2002 playing "Regular John" :
It sounds like hyperbole, but the title is apropos. It seems like 1,000 years ago that Sleater-Kinney broke up. It's had to believe that it's been 5 years since The Woods blew the doors off of everything else that was hanging around the fringes of indie rock and 4 years since Sleater-Kinney called it quits. Thankfully, fans have a new reason to rejoice and celebrate. Roaring out of the Pacific Northwest - a three-headed hurricane with breasts - was the troika of Janet Weiss (she wasn't the original drummer, but she was the important one), Carrie Brownstein, and Corin Tucker. They were perfectly suited for one another - Tucker's lyrical genius over the top of Brownstein's squealing/thundering guitar and Weiss' heavy back beat. They couldn't just be pigeon-holed as a great grrrl group - they were a great group period.
S-K's early albums comprise blasts of pure punk ("A Real Man" from their self-titled debut, "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" and "Call the Doctor" from Call The Doctor come to mind) with screeching noise ("Heart Attack"). While their first album has a few clunkers and is kind of uneven, their second and third albums may be their best. Call the Doctor and Dig Me Out are both soaked with punk rock energy delivered from a distinctly feminine perspective (although not so feminine that it alienates male listeners). Dig Me Out is truly where S-K hit their stride - loaded with classics, the record is a taut, tense package. "Words and Guitar", "Little Babies", "Dig Me Out", and "Dance Song 97" are my favorites.
After garnering significant attention with those releases, the band could have rested on their laurels and put out a carbon-copy of Dig Me Out. Instead, they chose to go their own direction, open up their sound, turn down the anger slightly, and release The Hot Rock. This album tears fans down the middle. Songs like "The Size of Our Love", "The Hot Rock", and "Burn, Don't Freeze" are cerebral, heart-felt, and somber. This record proved the band's range - not only could they rock out, they could ease back and give a message as well.
For my money, the final three records in the S-K catalogue are the band's finest. All Hands on The Bad One contains great song after great song - "All Hands On the Bad One", "Ironclad" (how many bands can you name that can write balls-to-the-wall rock and roll allegory songs likening arguments between hard-headed lovers to the battle between the Monitor and Merrimack? None besides S-K? Thought so.), "Youth Decay", "#1 Must Have", and my personal favorite, "Milkshake & Honey" - sexy, dirty, longing goodness. You won't find a better pure rock record from the 2000s.
After the events of 9/11, the ladies in Sleater-Kinney felt it necessary to look inward toward what was really important. By this time, Corin Tucker had a daughter, and living in a world where our safety was suddenly thrown into question colored the songs that comprise One Beat. "Far Away" is downright harrowing and the feeling of claustrophobia and xenophobia is palpable. It may be the finest post-9/11 song out there. Check out the first stanza:
"7:30am, nurse the baby on the couch
Telephone rings: Turn on the TV, watch the world exploding fast, don't leave the house"
and later - "Don't breathe the air today" and, finally, questioning the meaning of it all - "why can't I get along with you?" - while questioning the powers that be -
"And the President hides, while working men rush in and give their lives/I look to the sky and ask it not to rain on my family tonight"
The band's swan song, The Woods, allowed the grrrls to go out on top. A bruising, full-force gale of a record, it includes one of the finest songs of the past 15 years, "Jumpers", a song that perfectly shows off each of the member's strengths - Janet Weiss is a powerhouse of drumming fury - pounding the skins with precision. Carrie Brownstein's guitar lines are sharp and cutting - alternating between the bouncy bop of the body of the song to the ferocity of her solos on the breakdowns. Finally, there's Corin's howl. There is no finer vocal instrument in indie rock history - somewhere between the screech of Chris Cornell and the blues yelp of Janis Joplin, Tucker's voice slashes everything in its path. We shouldn't discount the power and the harrowing nature of the song itself - a solemn taken on suicide, there might not be a more heartbreaking line in rock history than "4 seconds was the longest wait". Here are the ladies in action, playing this song, on The Henry Rollins Show:
The Woods also contains the epic, 11 minute "Let's Call It Love" - a sprawling, lumbering, beast of a song, and one that would make Jimmy Page and Robert Plant green with envy.
When S-K announced their indefinite hiatus in 2006, the indie music community was shocked, but hopeful that the ladies would take a break, then reform quickly. Alas, to this day, Brownstein, Weiss, and Tucker have not come together in any way, shape, or form. What fans of the band do have now is a new record from Corin Tucker under the moniker of The Corin Tucker Band. 1,000 Years is NOT a Sleater-Kinney record (although fans of the band will not be able to help but feel a little nostalgic at bits and pieces of the album). It is a thoughtful, mature, and well-crafted group of 11 songs that reflect where Corin Tucker is mentally and emotionally today. Gone is the anger, present is the longing of missing one's spouse ("Half A World Away"), the dangers of estrangement after years ("Riley"), and thoughts on the recession ("Thrift Store Coats"). Listen to "Doubt" - it's the most S-K-ish of any of the songs - you get some of Tucker's yelp with a little S-K fire in the guitar solo. "Half A World Away" sounds like One Beat's "Combat Rock", but slowly burns without an explosive payoff. It's nice to have any transmissions from any of the ladies in Sleater-Kinney. 1,000 Years should tide us over until Brownstein and Weiss release the debut album from their new project, White Flag, sometime in 2011 on Merge Records.
In the meantime, we'll always have the fiery performances that Sleater-Kinney was so famous for. Check out some live goodness from the grrrls:
Sleater-Kinney Live in Vancouver, BC, 2006: "You're No Rock and Roll Fun" "O2" "Oh!" "Get Up"
Until next time, check out Corin Tucker's new record, 1,000 Years out on Kill Rock Stars now, remember the finest straight-ahead rock band of the last 15 years, Sleater-Kinney, and don't forget to listen...
As we move closer and closer to Halloween, one's thoughts tend to wander off into the macabre. Nick Cave and his many projects tend to be the perfect soundtrack for this time of year.
Cave deals in the things that rattle around in the back of men's minds, out of sight of the rest of the world - deviant sex, gruesome murder, the evils of religion, lust, greed, and even hate. Early in his career, he had a tendency to alternate aggressive, evil albums with quieter, more introspective ones. His sound is clearly informed by Leonard Cohen (some have said that, without a Leonard Cohen, there wouldn't be a Nick Cave - he might still be making loud, abrasive post-punk with The Birthday Party). Cohen's influence is all over Cave's The Boatman's Call, No More Shall We Part, and parts of The Lyre of Orpheus - quiet, introspective affairs that show off Cave's trademark baritone and emotive songwriting. No song of this ilk is more beautiful than "Love Letter" from 2001's No More Shall We Part. Here's a beautiful live version on The Late Show with David Letterman with the McGarrigle Sisters singing back-up (the visual quality isn't great, but the performance more than makes up for it) :
Cave is not afraid to delve into pure rock and roll either - not that his version of rock and roll is anywhere near "pure". The cast of characters that have comprised his Bad Seeds over the years are a who's who of avant-garde talent - legendary guitarist Blixa Bargeld and violinist Warren Ellis among them. They add dissonant flashes to Cave's compositions and add a flair missing from 99% of the music out there today. Bargeld has since left the band, but Ellis' signature can be found all over recent masterpieces Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus and Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!. He's also an integral part of the Grinderman project (who I've waxed poetic about in the past).
To truly appreciate the Bad Seeds' genius, they must be experienced live. If you can't find them in your town (they're not currently touring as Grinderman is), check out The Abattoir Blues Live tour document - overflowing with 2 live CDs and 2 live DVDs of Bad Seeds madness. For more, I've dug out some live bootleg tunes from the vaults for your enjoyment.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Live from Copenhagen, Denmark on November 19, 2004: "God Is In The House" - Another beautiful, quiet, introspective tune from No More Shall We Part. It's a song that pokes fun at religion, prejudice, and the denial that many of us live in. "Easy Money" - More introspection, this one from The Lyre of Orpheus. I've thought about the meaning of this song a lot over the years - I've come to the conclusion that the subject of the song has chosen to do some unsavory (and likely unclean) things in order to allow his family to survive, but I'm always up for further interpretation. "Babe, You Turn Me On" - This one's deviant. Also from The Lyre of Orpheus, "Babe You Turn Me On" seems gentle and loving on the surface, but upon closer inspection, the singer's "babe" is being hunted like prey, and the singer is NOT being invited to seduce the object of his desire. "Red Right Hand" - The quintessential Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds song (mostly because it's the most recognized), I've always felt that the main character in this song would make a terrific Halloween costume (while Mrs. Cuddle claims that no one would know who I was - she's likely right). It has always been the chimes that make this song stand out from a sonic perspective, and the image of a Something Wicked This Way Comes-type protagonist, willing to give anyone anything (for a price), that make the lyrics stand out.
Live in Germany on May 21, 2008: "The Lyre of Orpheus" - A terrific song that turns the Greek myth on its head, this version is most notable for the crowd singing along with Cave, creating an eerie choir. "Moonland" - One of my favorite tracks from Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!. I could imagine this song in lounge version, being sung in Vegas by Sinatra. Zombie Sinatra, but whatever. "Deanna" - Legendary in the Cave canon, "Deanna" is from 1988's Tender Prey. It's raucous, pleading, and sexy. That it is still filling setlists 20 years after it's initial release is a testament to it's staying power. "Into My Arms" - More tenderness, this time from The Boatman's Call.
Bonus Live Bad Seeds from various sources - each song is from Murder Ballads : "Henry Lee (with PJ Harvey)" - I love this traditional song, manipulated to Cave's sensibilities. One of two duets on Murder Ballads (the other is just as beautiful - "Where the Wild Roses Grow" with Kylie Minogue), the voices of Cave and Harvey meld beautifully (as did, presumably, their bodies, as they were a couple for a while). The macabre pairing of Harvey and Cave was almost too perfect, and their relationship didn't last all that long. We still have this song to remember it. "Stagger Lee" - Not for the faint of heart, this version of the traditional Stagger Lee is peppered with more f-bombs than almost every other song that I know of. Beyond the colorful verbiage is the violence - Cave doesn't spare any gruesome detail of the fateful night in The Bucket of Blood bar.
Until next time, enjoy the various moods of Nick Cave (check out his albums as well - Mute Records is in the process of re-releasing everything in the catalogue), and listen (but maybe not too closely if you're faint of heart)...
Evening, y'all. Quite the tough week here at the Cuddle, as it was not the easiest past 24-48 hours in sick kids land. Another week of call in the books... and we move deeper into our favorite season, Autumn. nyctaper is quickly becoming our favorite blogger of all time, not just for the sheer admiration that we have for his craft, but, now, for his taping of EACH of Pavement's shows at Central Park Summer Stage in NYC this past week. He has each of the shows up for free download (in MP3 version on the site, in FLAC form if you email him). I encourage each of you to head on over to his site and listen to each of the shows. They're breath-taking in their variety and sheer duration (each show runs about 2 hours and 30 minutes). The quality is fantastic as well (considering the venue and lack of a ceiling). You'll find a preview of some of those shows below.
Can't say that there's a whole lot more on my mind right now. Just kind of feeling burned out. Need to recharge. Peep some Pavement here: MP3s REMOVED DUE TO COMPLAINT.
Pavement Live at Central Park Summer Stage:
September 21, 2010 : "Perfume V" "Frontwards" "Silence Kit" "Grounded"
September 22, 2010: "Starlings On The Slipstream"
September 23, 2010: "In The Mouth A Desert"
September 24, 2010: "Rattled By The Rush"
Until next time... kiss the ones you love and remind them how much they mean to you... and listen...
