State of the state of music (MOG repost)

I just got word that the old MOG.com site is being mothballed. I have some music posts there that I'd like to save, so, lucky reader - here's new old content for you! This was originally posted 12/23/06.

Okay, so I'm probably in the minority, but I couldn't stand the Testosterone Rock of the mid-late 90's-early 00's - your Limp Bizkits (sans Wes Borland - he's a pretty good player), your Creeds, Nickelbacks, Stainds - that growly vocal thing. 3 Doors Down, Fuel, that sort of thing. I couldn't listen to rock radio for years. Not even Live 105 in the Bay Area, which went from "alternative" to all testosterone rock, all the time.

So, now we're in punky emo land, which, you know, is more my speed. The screamo stuff is a little (okay, a LOT) over the top for me, but hey, I'm almost an old man. I'm allowed to have my "kids these days" moments. There's a lot of the emo-y, punky bands around, plenty of them on the radio, too. In fact, there's enough of them to make Daughtry sound sorta novel (you know, that band featuring the guy from AmIdol last year?).

So, there's one thing in particular that I've especially never loved about Cock Rock, and that's the "hoodley". The "hoodley" is what the singer for a band I was in called the solos that you find from, say, Steve Vai, Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen. They're okay. I don't mind a little tappy guitar solo now and again. I like my share of metal, really. I do. I tend more toward Industrial, though. Skinny Puppy, Ministry, that sort of stuff. The grindy, not the flashy. Or the indie. Futureheads, Bloc Party. Or to reference some good ol' rock 'n' roll, Superdrag, Dillon Fence, Replacements. Bendy, not flashy.

So...imagine my surprise, I'm watching Taking Back Sunday on the David Letterman show: the singer's prancing around, doing his yelling vocals thing, they're rockin' allright, and about 2:40 in, the guitar player busts out a hoodley:

 

Ok. Someone got their chocolate in my peanut butter and we are NOT amused.

Album Covers Battle

I just got word that the old MOG.com site is being mothballed. I have some music posts there that I'd like to save, so, lucky reader - here's new old content for you! This was originally posted 10/7/06.

Reposted from CollegeHumor.com:

CollegeHumor's Favorite Funny Videos

The Cure - "Foxy Lady"

I just got word that the old MOG.com site is being mothballed. I have some music posts there that I'd like to save, so, lucky reader - here's new old content for you! This was originally posted 10/4/06.

This song should *really* suck, but I find myself groovin' to it. Their cover of it, I mean. the song is good anyway, but jeez...some spazzy, proto-new-wave kooky cover. It totally works for me.

Anyone out there have covers that they like but for some reason just *shouldn't* work?

In my view, there are two types of good covers - what I call "straight" covers, which are faithful to the original. Otherwise known as "playing it safe". The other kind is when the band "makes it their own". This is more difficult, and what the Cure did here. You will not confuse their version with Jimi's. :) Another good example of someone making the songs their own is Mark Kozelek (from Red House Painters & Sun Kil Moon, for those familiar with those bands) and his album of AC/DC covers, "What's Next To The Moon". You gotta hear his version of "Love at First Feel" next to their original. Where AC/DC comes across as sleazy, Mark transmogrifies into a tender plea.

Now, if we're gonna talk about the Cure's version of "Purple Haze"...well, I'd rather not. It's more along the lines of "straight", but it sucks. See: their version of "Hello, I love you", wherein they try to straddle the lines of "straight" and "making it their own" and end up in "suck".

Who do you think are the hardest bands to cover? Where all attempts typically just fail, because the originals are so strong and ingrained? I'll say the Beatles for starters. Other people doing their songs, for the most part, just sounds wrong.

Songs That Got In My Head At Work

I just got word that the old MOG.com site is being mothballed. I have some music posts there that I'd like to save, so, lucky reader - here's new old content for you! This was originally posted 9/22/06.

Stocking stuff at SuperBullseyeMadeInChinaLand, your mind tends to wander. When you're a music nut like I am, it wanders toward music. Some of these songs recur because of products that I stock, some are totally random. So, now that I have a Blackberry, I type down the songs as they pop in. I don't get them all, but it's kind of fun to see what I've been singing to myself.

Depeche Mode - "Love in itself"
Elvin Bishop - "Fooled around and fell in love"
Fall Out Boy - "Of All The Gin Joints In All The World"
Elton John - "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"
Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "Parents Just Don't Understand" (See, there's this Yoplait "yogurt" product called Whips. They're a total rip-off, they're fluffed up and flavored but since they're fluffed, you don't get much. But that's not the important thing here. When I'm stocking them, I keep singing "I asked her for adidas and she bought me whips!" Instead of Zips. Get it? It bugs me, but I always sing it.)
Neil Sedaka - "Calendar Girl"
Cookie Monster - "C is for Cookie"
Sweet - "Teenage Rampage" and "Blockbuster"
Arlo Guthrie - "City of New Orleans"
The Blue Hearts - "Paper Balloon Bomb"
Digital Underground - "Humpty Dance"
Gary Numan - "Down in the Park"
Pink Panther theme
Michael Jackson - "Bad"
Steve Forbert - "Romeo's Tune" ("Meet me in the middle of the day/lemme hear you say everything's ok...")
Jay Z - "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"

Ramblin' 'bout musics

I just got word that the old MOG.com site is being mothballed. I have some music posts there that I'd like to save, so, lucky reader - here's new old content for you! This was originally posted 9/22/06.



Either "man", like the Almond Brothers (heh...joke) or like Steve Martin.

I was just thinking, seeing that Louis Armstrong has a "Definitive" out, that he's kind of like a "gateway" jazz artist for me. I really like Louis Armstrong, but seeing that collection just out, I was about to click and see what was on it. I don't have a lot of Satchmo, a couple of collections. But I then thought "you know what, I don't really want any more. I wanna be challenged." Meaning about Jazz. Like Miles or Coltrane or something. After years of liking the most accessible jazz (Armstrong, Dixieland, Louis Prima, etc), I feel the need to expand my listening.Dovetailing off of that, as an early fan of rap (Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Sugarhill Gang, Run-DMC, and especially Public Enemy), I was thrilled to see an interview with Hank Shocklee in the latest issue of TapeOp (Thanks, blinder!). It's a good, long article, talking about how PE got started and the recording of some of the earlier albums. I need to go back and take some more listens, but it's great to see a broader scope of music in that magazine. I always wondered how they did some of that early stuff, and I love hearing from everyone in a group, not just the leaders & mouthpieces, although Chuck D is kind of a hero of mine.Also saw that Pansy Division has a greatest hits out. Very cool. Another great, fun band. Check out the "clean" version of their song He Whipped My Ass In Tennis, Then I Fucked His Ass In Bed. :D Bonnie Prince Billy might be a good artist, but I can't get past the name.

Most fun Halloween costume ever

For me, anyway. Not every day you get to look like Robert Smith from the Cure. And I think I did look a lot like him!

I've long been a huge Cure fan (just check out my other Cure post for evidence), but this is the first time I really got to do the hair & makeup.

Now if I could just sing & write songs like him….

Westword Music Showcase 2012

Two weeks ago I won a pair of passes to attend the Westword Music Showcase, courtesy of the fine folks at Ultra5280. Westword advertised that there were over 150 local bands and I saw the tiniest fraction of them, but I had a friend pointing me in the right direction to start the day.

My day started with The Don'ts and Be Carefuls at Club Vinyl at the recommendation of my new friend Nigel. He tells me that he's friends with the band, but I don't think he'd recommend them if they were crap.

They had a ton of energy and a great 4-piece loud pop sound - guitar, bass, synth & drums. I might have missed a song or two, but I'm already hoping to catch them during the Underground Music Showcase next weekend (July 19-22). I'm listening to their song "The Still Favorites" as I write this and wish I had a stand-up desk so I could dance and write at the same time.

It was one of the hottest days of the summer in Denver, and everyone was walking around in shorts, t-shirts and sandals, trying to beat the heat in any way possible. I took off my shirt and twirled it around when walking between venues to try & dry it out. We were smart, though, and parked in the $5 structure near the Denver Art Museum and packed a cooler with our own food & a few bottles of water.

After seeing the Dont's and Be Carefuls we beat feet over to the Curious Theatre to see Ian Cooke. He plays cello and sings but has a full band with him. I used to work with the guitarist Ian O a few years back and he constantly invites me to his shows on Facebook and I haven't made it out to see him until now, and I'm so glad I did.

They played a couple of covers (Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" and ABBA's "I'm A Marionette") and I just really enjoyed the music. You can imagine that it's not really loud with the cello, but the guitar, bass & drums get things rocking pretty well. Great songs and great presentation with all of the band members interacting with each other. Talked with my friend Ian O after the show & was reminded how great of a guy he is. He highly recommended Battles on the main stage later that day, so we made sure to catch that show.

Here we are at the Public Shaming poriton of this post. Close to the end of the Ian Cooke show some crashing bores came and stood near us & in front of us - I had to tell one guy to step aside as he had rudely set up directly in front of me in the aisle to where I couldn't see. But the capper was this girl who was standing talking to someone and waving her sweaty body odor right at me:

Don't be like her, kids. Be aware of your surroundings.

After seeing Ian Cooke, I wanted to catch Joy Subtraction at Bar Standard, but they were the only venue all day to deny access to my 11-year-old. Undaunted, we walked over to Rooster & Moon to watch A Mouthful of Thunder, again at Nigel's suggestion.

There were a couple of microphone feedback issues and a lot of warm people packed into a small place, but the music was really good, lush, catchy, rootsy pop, and I'd like to see them in a bigger venue that could fit the band & it's music.

We left a little before the set ended to go get out of the sun and have some food & water and enjoy the air conditioning inside my car. We then made our way over to Stoney's to see Bop Skizzum, but got there early enough to catch the end of Rob Drabkin's set of jam-band-ish tunes. Rob has done some shows recently where he has covered Paul Simon's Graceland album. I love that record and it looks like a performance of it is up on Spotify that I'll probably check out soon & may try to see if he's going to do that live again as well.

Bop is a band I saw for the first time a couple of months ago and really enjoyed meeting Andy, the lead singer/guitar player. I first heard of them about 10 years ago from a co-worker and haven't really seen or heard much from them in the meantime, but they seem to be everywhere lately (probably thanks in part to the efforts of my friend Aimee at Giese Media). 

Bop puts on a hell of a show, even a short set like they were at the WMS, and my kid loved that they have a female singer. We went up and talked to the band afterward - everyone in the place was sweating like devils afterward - and they're so nice & gracious.

After Bop we went over to the main stage to catch Battles. What Ian briefly told me about them was that they make dance-type music but using live instruments. Very difficult to describe but enjoyable. Not like sampling, but playing with precision, controlling the sounds the instruments make, probably some looping. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures. Oh well.

At this point we went back to the car for more air conditioning, water, song trading & singalongs with Terry. Sufficiently cooled, we went back to the main stage area to watch Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Pretty fun stuff, not brain surgery, you know? Something good to listen to while we waited for Girl Talk. Both my kid and I were there mainly to see Girl Talk. I had seen him last year just a few months after All Day was released, and it was easily the most insane concert experience I've ever had. I was there alone and everyone was packed together, dancing, sweating, moving almost completely as one. I left that show thirsty, wet, and somehow completely worn out and energized at the same time.

The crowd at the WMS started gathering and I told the people I was with that "shit's about to get crazy," and I don't think anyone believed me, but the joke was on them. More people kept packing into the city block parking lot where the show was being held. All of the people around us were vitalized and we were feeding off that as well. It wasn't quite dark yet when the show started and everyone started dancing, but the crowd seemed to be holding something back.

(this photo was featured in Westword's WMS Instagram recap!)

The darker it got, however, the more everyone let loose and just danced like nobody was watching. Maybe that was just me, but it felt like the atmosphere became more charged and the crowd shook off their inhibitions and everyone was having a great time. That's what a Girl Talk show does to people, and it's great.

The long, hot day ended with a bunch of tired people, energy spent, us included. My kid told me how great that was, though, and that was worth it for me. I'm completely grateful to Ultra5280 for the tickets and to my friends for sharing the day with us. I hope to have more days & nights like that, and soon.

Band Links:


The Don'ts and Be Carefuls
Ian Cooke
Mouthful of Thunder
Rob Drabkin
Bop Skizzum
Battles
Macklemore
Girl Talk

Post-Violator Depeche Mode Discography Suggestions - Part Two

Where was I...oh yeah. Depeche Mode had released Ultra, a slow, sensual album in the wake of Alan Wilder leaving the band & Dave Gahan almost dying. Or actually dying and being revived. Either way, it's a great album, and one of my favorite DM records, post-Violator or not.

The biggest challenge when writing posts like these, however, is not to frame what the band does *after* a classic album in the same light as the classic album, or "classic period." I will never be caught up in the excitement of discovering Depeche Mode again, I will never have another concert experience like seeing the Black Celebration tour at Red Rocks, I will never be falling in love with my future wife to Violator. As previously mentioned, Songs of Faith and Devotion was the soundtrack to a pretty heavy time in my life. Ultra, well, I just remember half-drunk late nights with the record on and sinking into the corporeal music and lyrics.

With 2001's Exciter, I don't have those types of memories or experiences (except with one song), so I'm left to simply give my take on the songs as I hear them now. 2001-02 were very busy years for me. I wouldn't be surprised if I bought Exciter in 2003 or later.

As far as the music itself goes, "Dream On" is a peppy two-step, definitely quicker than anything on Ultra, and it's an ok single. "I Feel Loved" was the next single, and while it definitely shares that quick two-step DNA with "Dream On," for some reason I like it better. There's a lot of effects and riffs winding around the beats, and it keeps my interest pretty well. There's not much lyrically to the song, though, and that holds for most of Exciter, in my opinion. There's a depth that feel like I'm used to from Martin Gore and I don't feel like I'm getting it here.

"When the Body Speaks" is good, but my favorite song on Exciter is by far "Freelove." Listening to this record, I know the singles ok, but not the album tracks ("The Sweetest Condition," "The Dead Of Night"), although I must have listened to them to have heard "Freelove." I don't really know "Goodnight Lovers" that well, but the melody reminds me of an old tune from the 40's. Listening to it, this is clearly the start of my "Oh, Depeche Mode has a new album?" phase, meaning I wasn't paying attention as closely as I had for the previous decade. Which isn't to say that there aren't great tunes on these recent 3 records, and "Freelove" is a catalog fave.

Continuing with the 4-year release cycle, Playing the Angel was released in 2005. The only single I remember from this albm is "John the Revelator," and I remember that more for the title than the music. I read now that "Precious" was the first single and that's definitely one of the songs I picked off this album on first listen, which was pretty much a couple of months ago.

This process has been interesting for me, listening for songs to recommend when I dont really know them. I've been trying to figure out if I'm listening for songs that remind me of the "old" Depeche Mode or if I'm just listening for good hooks and good lyrics. I have a future post coming about when one of your favorite groups released an album you didn't care for, I suppose I'll explore that feeling more when I write that post.

The songs I really like on this record are the other singles - the aforementioned "Precious" and "Suffer Well," the latter of which is one of Dave Gahan's first lyrical contributions to be featured on a Depeche Mode album (along with "I Want It All" and "Nothing's Impossible"). "Precious" reminds me musically somewhat of one of the slower Nitzer Ebb songs from the As Is EP, "Come Alive"and has a really catchy chorus. "Suffer Well" has a good guitar hook - something that started with Personal Jesus and has become another recent DM signature - not what most people used to think of when they thought of a synth band.

I certainly don't mind "John the Revelator" or "A Pain That I'm Used To," and I guess they're someone's idea of what new Depeche Mode singles should be. "Nothing's Impossible" and "Lilian" are decent tracks as well, and "The Darkest Star" was all right. The rest of PtA I wasn't crazy about.

Sounds of the Universe was released in - you guessed it - 2009 (I think that means we're due for some new Depeche in 2013) and was the first Depeche album I recall paying attention to in a while. Which strikes me as a bit odd now, because I didn't listen to the album until recently, either. Thinking about it now, I think I remember reading that it was a more "Depeche" album than the last couple had been.

The album is pretty strong, as far as I'm concerned. From "In Chains" through the first single "Wrong" to "Fragile Tension" and "In Sympathy," (my two favorite songs on the record), and on through the choirlike sound of the refrain on "Peace" and the most relaxed I've ever heard Martin Gore sing, I think, on "Jezebel", it's just a really good record. If you listen with headphones, there are a lot of nice synth touches - "In Chains" opens with square analog waveforms joining one at a time and then being tuned to a chord that drops out before Dave Gahan's voice appears clear & strong. The rich bass tones & trill treble riff that starts "Fragile Tension" are Devo-esque; there's a bitcrushed 8-bit rhythm tone that runs through "In Sympathy"; "Peace" could musically be set in the middle of Some Great Reward without anyone noticing.

All of this is not to say that it's a retro record - the central musical feature of "In Chains" is a distorted wah-wah guitar riff, and most songs have at least a little guitar in them, usually supporting the chorus. But Sounds of the Universe to me sounds like a Depeche Mode that is comfortable with its past and secure in its future. This may end up being one of my favorite DM records ever. I definitely slept on this album when it was released. Don't count on that happening again.

These albums all have their high points, but my favorite post-Violator single wasn't an album track, it was a single that appeared only on The Best Of - Volume 1 collection. "Martyr" was recorded during the Playing the Angel sessions but could easily be a Violator track. There's something in the strong pulsating backbeat and signature guitar riff that immediately set it off from the other PtA songs and, for me, it would be enough to purchase the whole Volume 1 collection - if there wasn't a "Martyr" single  available.

So, there you go. I didn't go over the Dave Gahan or Martin L. Gore solo records, perhaps that will be an exercise for another time. I'll link to my absolute favorite tracks below, and please feel free to argue or support my choices in the comments!

---------------

Links


Post-Violator Depeche Mode Discography Suggestions - Part One

DepecheMode.com

Affiliate Links (buy here and support Your Older Brother a little):

Depeche Mode

Exciter (Remastered) - Depeche Mode
Playing the Angel - Depeche Mode
Sounds of the Universe - Depeche Mode

I Feel Loved - Exciter (Remastered)
Freelove - Exciter (Remastered)
When the Body Speaks - Exciter (Remastered)
Goodnight Lovers - Exciter (Remastered)

Precious - Playing the Angel
Suffer Well - Playing the Angel
John the Revelator - Playing the Angel

In Chains - Sounds of the Universe
Wrong - Sounds of the Universe
Fragile Tension - Sounds of the Universe
In Sympathy - Sounds of the Universe
Peace - Sounds of the Universe
Jezebel - Sounds of the Universe

Martyr - Single - Depeche Mode

And one more because I'm cheeky: The Dead Milkmen Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything) - Bucky Fellini