Blessed Visionary Cut Me With Your Sun

I can't quite figure out why I love Mastodon so much.  I'm not really into metal, never have been, but a friend turned me on to Leviathan soon after its release and convinced me that I would fall in love with it.  He was right.  I haven't missed an album since (although I have missed them live in concert - they've been to the area twice in the past few years).  2009's Crack the Skye was another step forward for the band, whose sound is ever-evolving and pushing the limits of the "metal label".  Sooner or later, we're going to have to create a category for the band itself (and maybe include Baronness as well, but I digress).  Today's release of a track from the Crack the Skye sessions as part of Adult Swim's Singles Program pushes the envelope even further, but not in terms of sound.  "Deathbound" is typical Mastodon - expertly played metal that's full of furious drumming and hooks a-plenty - but the video is far from typical.  Think "Muppets on a bad acid trip with lots of fratricide".  Look for the quasi-Doozer battle, it's epic.
The free track can be downloaded from Adult Swim here.  Below is the video and it will blow your mind.  You've been warned :



Mastodon is said to be hard at work on their next masterpiece.  After Leviathan took on Melville's Moby Dick, Blood Mountain tackled sci-fi, and Crack the Skye retold the tale of Rasputin, maybe their next record will be a tribute to The Muppet Show.  I would love to see them tear through "Rainbow Connection".
Until next time, try not to let the "Deathbound" video give you nightmares, check out the pure, unadulterated fury that is Mastodon, and listen...

If I Can't Change Your Mind, Then No One Will

Well, my Ideological Friends, it has been quite the eventful weekend 'round these parts.  For once, we, the people of the Empire State, can stand up and applaud our elected officials.  Amazing as it sounds, they have done the right thing for the first time in a long time, and have passed the gay marriage bill in New York State.  It feels wonderful to think about all the good that this will spread to our neighbors who previously would have had to cross state lines to pledge their vows to their true loves.  I immediately thought of Jay & Scotty in Boston when I heard the news (and how their ceremony is coming soon), along with Brant & Steve here in sunny B-lo.  Welcome to the marriage club, com padres... enjoy the times to come.
It just so happens that, as our state pushes for equality for gay couples that I should be currently addicted to the music of an indie rock icon, who also happens to be out and proud.  As we all know, Bob Mould was the driving force behind seminal punk-hardcore legends, Husker Du.  His work with that group was hard-edged, squalidly produced (by design), and utterly breathtaking in its vigor and fire.  Zen Arcade and New Day Rising are unparallelled for their drive and determination, and for how many imitators they spawned.  Some say that Arcade's "The Biggest Lie" was Mould's lifestyle declaration, with many "in the know" understanding what his lyrics ("Biggest lie/Back to your day job/The Biggest lie/Back to your girlfriend" chief amongst them) were pointing toward.  The band smashed to pieces ("broke up" is just too kind for the wreckage left between Mould & Grant Hart at the end of the band's run) in the winter of 1987-1988, paving the way for Mould to go solo, which he did in splendid fashion with his debut, Workbook.  This record opened new avenue's for Mould's sound, showcasing his soul-bearing lyrics in a more acoustic framework, but not totally abandoning his love for loud, electric guitar mayhem.
In 1992, Mould released the debut record from his latest venture, Sugar.  Copper Blue struck the perfect chord to the masses who had fallen in love with Nirvana, the Pixies, and Soundgarden - bands that, in many ways, were imitators of Husker Du.  Copper Blue would go on to be the most commercially successful record of Mould's career and contains some of his best work - "If I Can't Change Your Mind", "A Good Idea" (a thinly-veiled Pixies mock), "Hoover Dam", and "Helpless" chief amongst them.  The EP Beaster, with a more harsh and punishing sound followed, along with 1994's File Under Easy Listening (which in no way was to be found on easy listening radio stations anywhere).  Each of these three records are streamlined, heartfelt, and (unlike much of what cluttered the airwaves in the early 1990s) not dated one bit.
After the dissolution of Sugar, Mould went back to recording solo records, broadening his horizons to include forays into electronic and even dance music.  The vein that remains in all of his work is his honest, soul-bearing lyrics which, while written from the viewpoint of a gay man, are universal for everyone in a relationship (and more often than not, one that is on the rocks).  Last week saw the release of Mould's autobiography, "See A Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody".  By all accounts, it's a tough but rewarding read, well written and meticulously thought-out, just like his music.  It's well worth your time.
A sampling of the man's works of genius:

Husker Du - "Hardly Getting Over It" - from 1986's Candy Apple Grey
Bob Mould - "See A Little Light" - from 1989's Workbook
Bob Mould - "Shoot Out The Lights (Live)" - from 1989's Workbook - An amazing performance of the Richard and Linda Thompson classic - with all of the "fire in the belly" that Thompson brought to the original
Sugar - "If I Can't Change Your Mind (solo version)" - from 1995's Besides
Sugar - "A Good Idea (Live)" - from a live bootleg - Cat's Cradle, 11/19/94

Until next time, think about how people like Senator Mark Grisanti changed his mind (for the better) and how songwriters like Bob Mould continue to smash convention and surprise audiences, 30 years down the road.  Seek out some Husker Du, or Sugar, or Bob Mould solo records... and listen...