Damn you, David L. Ulin! Ok. Maybe I'm being a bit overdramatic but the guy stole my idea for an article about The Beatles and imagining a post-breakup discography. The only hitch is he did it better. His article appears in the July/August issue of The Believer, which just happens to be their music issue. In it, Ulin goes into detail about imagining if The Beatles didn't break up in 1970 but still called it a day somewhere around 1975, leaving plenty of time to "record" new material that really just appeared on post-Beatles solo records.
Now, I have had this idea for the longest time of what would it be like if The Beatles never split and kept making music together. It's something that you do with friends or fellow Beatles enthusiasts and it usually turns into people yelling their favorite solo stuff and making their own albums, which is what Ulin's piece is about (only with no yelling). The problem I always had when it came down to this imagining is, had The Beatles stayed together would these solo songs have come about? For instance, "God" by John Lennon. Maybe it would have come out without that extra stinging lyric of "I don't believe in Beatles," but for arguments sake, that's the whole fucking song! I mean, sure, Lennon said a lot in that song, but I doubt we'd hold that song in such high regard if it weren't for the meaningful kiss off he gives to his former band.
But Ulin does the right thing when it comes time to pick his tracklists. He keeps it strictly Lennon/McCartney, gives Harrison a few slots just like a regular Beatles album, and keeps the Ringo to a minimum. He splits the four albums he creates between seventies material that, for all critical purposes, wasn't very good when compared to work of The Beatles when they were a group, which just goes to show how much they needed each other just as we need them.
David Ulin's First Album: Instant Karma!
Side One 1. Remember 2. Mother 3. Look At Me
4. Teddy Boy 5. Working Class Hero 6. What Is Life
Side Two 1. Cold Turkey 2. Isolation 3. Beware of Darkness 4. Instant Karma! 5. Maybe I'm Amazed
As you can see, Ulin's tracklist is mostly taken from Lennon's solo work from Plastic Ono Band with McCartney and Harrison getting two tracks each. For me, this was always going to be the strongest imaginary record, but Ulin goes a different way from where I would have taken it. The problem that arises when you load it up with Lennon's work from Plastic Ono Band is that it becomes way too personal for a Beatles album. "Mother" as a Beatles song? I don't think so. And where's "Every Night?" How do you sleep at night, David L. Ulin?
In any case, here's my version of Instant Karma!.
Side One 1. Well Well Well
2. Wah-Wah 3. Instant Karma! 4. Every Night
5. My Sweet Lord 6. Cold Turkey
Side Two 1. Behind That Locked Door
2. Junk
3. Beware of Darkness 4. Isolation 5. Maybe I'm Amazed
I'll be tackling these imaginary albums all week, so stay tuned. And remember, this Beatles breaks up in 1975 so no McCartney II. Sorry folks.
I really can't take this rain anymore. So here are a few songs I've been listening to while I've been stuck inside all day, since I don't really have the mindset to write. Lots of Beach Boys for some reason.
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows from 1967 Recording Session
The Beach Boys - Disney Girls from Surf's Up
Leon Russell - Manhattan Island Serenade from Carney
I can't seem to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Because of this, I was able to watch some VH1 Classic the other night/morning, particularly 120 Minutes, a show that is dedicated to alternative music videos. This show has long been off MTV where it got its start, but you can still see it in all its glory (that is, see it in all its glory through increasingly droopy, reddening eyes). Anyway, the other night when I was watching, I had to fortune of seeing a video for Paul Westerberg's "World Class Fad." It's not a very good video but it's fun. Westerberg crawls out of bed, jumps around, orders room service, and plays guitar in the mirror while wearing pajamas and a sparkly suit jacket. Yeah, it's self-masturbatory, but only the best can pull that off. Well, the best and ten-year-old me.
I have always been a fan of Westerberg's fuck off attitude but not because I want to share that outlook. I just respect him for that attitude. Plus, the guy was in The Replacements. How cool is that!? I was, too, once. In fact, we wore the same pajamas.
Music Video 101: Zack Snyder, future director of 300 and Watchmen, directed the video for "World Class Fad."
Paul Westerberg - Dyslexic Heart from Singles Soundtrack
Paul Westerberg - Making Me Go from Come Feel Me Tremble
The Replacements - Androgynous from Let It Be
The Replacements - Tossin' N' Turnin' from Please To Meet Me Reissue
It's difficult to pinpoint the most important line in pop music, but we all have our favorites. For me, it's a line that has traveled through music for four and a half decades. Starting with legendary girl-group The Shangri-Las in 1964, the line "Is she really going with him?" starts off the ultimate teenage death song, "Leader of the Pack". In this instance, the line is a reference to the girls asking Betty if she's really wearing Jimmy's ring. And guess what? It turns she is and bikers hang out in candy stores. Over time the line has made it's way to the beginnings of punk rock, far from its girl group origins, with the Damned on the song "New Rose," a song that goes in the opposite direction of undying love and takes it towards getting out of there before things get too serious, and with The Boomtown Rats writing the happiest song about Hitler ever (unless you count Prussian Blue). Then we have Joe Jackson. 'Nuff said there. Oh, and now we have have MTV to thank for a new show that borrows the line for its title and finally drives its greatness right off the cliff. Poor Jimmy.
Location, location, location. Tom Waits is the epitome of the songwriter that doesn't stay in one place for very long. He can be with the hustlers in Union Square on one song and "crawling down Cahuenga" the next. His experimental style doesn't seem to matter, nor does it appear to hinder Waits when it comes to his unique storytelling; it's all his part of his idiosyncratic Americana.
Tom Waits - Fannin Street from Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Tom Waits - Had Me a Girl from The Early Years, Volume One
One day you think you have life all figured out, then the next thing you know ... BAM! Tom Waits on the old iTunes. For some reason, Waits has that effect on people. Well, maybe it's just on me. Here's some songs from Waits' catalogue that I heard the other week and haven't been able to shake since. Perhaps it's the singer's gruff-nasal tenor or maybe it's the words that he writes. It's not common to find a songwriter like Waits that, ever since his early days, he has sounded like a man that has lived and seen more than any troubadour before him. With the exception of Dylan, of course. But unlike Dylan, the characters that appear in Waits' songs are purely bottom of the barrel. You know they've had their chances but they never made a proper go of it; squandering it all for the bottle. But you listen anyway, hanging onto every word, because if they make it, well, then so can you.
I'm also including a cover by Neko Case of "Christmas Card From a Hooker In Minneapolis," which might be my favorite cover of all time.
Tom Waits - Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
Tom Waits - Martha
Neko Case - Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
In honor of the weekend, allow me to share some tracks from an out-of-print compilation, which was released by Olympia, WA's Yoyo Recordings way back in 1994. It showcased a bunch of artists that would later become household names, including Neutral Milk Hotel and Beck. The first song is by a "cuddlecore" band from Vancouver called Cub. The second is a New York band, Raggedy Ann. Please enjoy!
Today I feel like reliving some sixth-grade music. Oh, those were days. Maybe. Eh, not really. But I'll be damned if the music wasn't the best thing those prepubescent ears ever heard. I remember thinking I was really in the know back then about music and was a little snot about it (not much has changed, except I have a blog now!) and I owe that to a show that changed my life.
The show was called Are-Oh-Vee and it was on a local public access channel, KDOC, Friday nights at 1 A.M. Are-Oh-Vee played music videos mostly from ska and punk bands like Save Ferris, Zebrahead, The Killingtons, and MxPx, but they also played videos by Björk, Pavement, Kent, and Weezer, which changed my life considerably. I watched the show every Friday because that's how cool I was. Hell, I'd still be watching it if it didn't go off the air in February of '01. That was a sad day for me. Mostly because this was where I got new music. Well, here and this guy that worked at a record store in Fullerton, CA called Black Hole Records and had a (pretty sure) fake British accent and loved Oasis. And when the show ended, it did so very abruptly. The host was signing off and made the error of saying "we'll see you next week" only to catch herself by adding, "Oops. Actually, this is our last show." Then color bars.
Anyway, I remember this band, The Hippos, and the first song below very fondly. They're a ska-punk band that is no longer around, but this song will always hold a place in my heart. Mostly because the first time I heard it in a public space, I told everyone that I had been listening to it for months. Not much has changed.
As I begin to recuperate from whatever the hell I came down with these past few days, I've been listening to a lot of this artist, Yoñlu. There's a very interesting story behind this singer-songwriter from Brazil. Sadly, he took his own life at the age of 16 by carbon monoxide poisoning, but his parents, unaware that there son was making music, went through his computer and found all the music he had created and discovered that his songs had been circulating online making him quite the online sensation around the world. It's all very lo-fi with hints of bossa nova and his music can be likened to Nick Drake (not just because of the suicide) and Gilberto Gil. His album, A Society in Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre, was released in April 2009 on David Byrne's label, Luaka Bop. I really recommend that everyone pick up a copy.
One of the best concert experiences I've ever had the privilege of being part of was seeing a reunited Bauhaus at the Coachella Festival in 2005. Not only was it a pleasure to see the band perform it's classics, frontman Peter Murphy came down from the rafters upside down for the set's opener, "Bela Lugosi's Dead."But, perhaps the best (and worst) part of that evening was seeing Bauhaus play its set while Coldplay fans waited for that band to come out after to play their headlining set. Guys with their upset girlfriends because this wasn't "look how the stars shine for you," and the boyfriends yelling for Bauhaus to leave the stage, which continued for the rest of the set, and because this is a goth band none of their fans dare speak up against Coldplay fans (particularly the male ones) who probably held their girlfriends' hair back and sang "In My Place" while they vomited, to sooth their very, very deep souls.
So, here's my favorite Bauhaus song. This one's for you Coldplay fans!
I just got back from D.C. and am feeling a bit tired after sitting on a bus for seven hours (somehow the driver managed to get lost and we roamed the highways of New Jersey looking for a way out, like most Jersey residents). So, here's an interview I did with E of the Eels a few months back about his new album, Hombre Lobo. Regular updates begin tomorrow, and I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July.
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When I told people I was going to be interviewing E of Eels, the response I got was one that stemmed from E’s notorious attitudes during interviews – An attitude of distance and downright loathing of answering any questions. My favorite bit of advice from a friend was ‘duck and cover.’ ‘Impossible,’ I said. This is a guy who, afterall, writes some of the saddest, most heart-on-sleeve songs today and authored a sometimes painful to read autobiography, {Things The Grandchildren Should Know}, which details the rollercoaster ride that is E’s life. From the strained relationship he had with his father whom came up with the theory of multiple-universes, his sister’s suicide, being labeled crude by Bush-era White House, and run-ins with John Legend; With all of the information that he has put out there himself, how could he be anything but forthcoming? As it turns out, all the warning were for not. In the interview, E openly talked about his new album {Hombre Lobo], his first in four years; the comfort of writing songs from the point of view of a character; and John Legend.
{{This is your first studio record since 2005 and in between you've done a live album, a best of, and a soundtrack for a feature film ({Yes Man}), so I was wondering how long the sessions were for {Hombre Lobo} and how did you narrow it down to the twelve songs that appear on the album, and how long did it take to make the record?}}
It was about three or four weeks and most of the songs were actually written during the three or four weeks of recording, with a few exceptions, and what was unusual about it this was time is that it was only these twelve songs. I didn't whittle it down to these twelve songs. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted each song to sound like and be about, and I kept track of the sequence as it was going along and filled in the spaces as I went along and once I was done with twelve songs, I knew I was done.
{{Did you have any ambitions t make it a double album like {Blinking Lights and Other Revelations}?}}
No. After doing a thirty-three track double album, I didn't have a burning desire to a double album; not to say that won't happen again someday. Who knows. You know, maybe I could have gone for a triple. [Laughs]
{{I noticed on the record that there is loud-soft-loud-soft sound structure for the most part, was that intentional?}}
Yeah. I wanted to have sort of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Werewolf thing about it where Dr. Jekyll handles more of the tender moments and the werewolf comes out and things get a little bit more terrifying; when the passions come to a head.
{{This is a continuation of the character The Dog Faced Boy from {Souljacker}, right?}}
Yeah. I figured its been several years down the line and he's older now, and, what's he like now?
{{So this is a character you still feel attached to or is this a way for you to write more autobiographical songs and, kind of, mask it behind it?}}
I think it’s a really valuable thing to put a mask on and tell yourself your writing songs in a character because it really takes the burden off of you where, you know, you feel less personally vulnerable, and I think it's a really great way to get down to the truth and the heart of the matter.
{{So it's easier to write the songs in this character and just see what happens and see how people take them?}}
Yeah, it makes it easier to say stuff you might be afraid to say if you say, "This is me saying this," you know.
{{Since you've embarked on many (non-music related) projects since {Blinking Lights}, did you ever think any of those other paths was a better way than music?}}
I like all the other ways there are to make music, I don't think any of them are better or worse than each other it just depends on what you're in the mood for at that time.
{{So right now it's music?}}
Right now it's music? Oh, you mean all the other projects I've done that were other than making a record.
{{Yeah. Such as your autobiography and "Nova."}}
Everytime I do something like that I think it's going be a release or something and I always learn that everything else is harder for me than making music and music is really low. But music is the thing I love the most. There are times when you feel like taking a break and trying something else, but I gotta say writing my book was so hard – the hardest project I've ever worked on – and I can't say that I enjoyed writing it, but I did enjoy finishing it. I'm glad I did it and wrote my book, made a documentary about my father, and put together the best of and rarities collections, and all that, but it's no fun living in the past all the time. But it was worth it because it gave me this great feeling of closure on the past and it's nice to be back in the future now.
{{How long did it take you to write the book?}}
About a year; a year of painstaking, constant work.
{{Had you kept a journal throughout your life and that's how you were able to recall these things?}}
No, I never kept any type of journal or diary. I had my hands full just living my life, I didn't have any desire to write it down at the end of each day but luckily I remembered it all. Now I can forget it. Opened up a lot of space now for new memories.
{{I know in your autobiography you tackle some very personal subjects and I was just wondering, what made you want to bring all those personal moments into the public spectrum?}}
Well, it wasn't like I signed a book deal and then set out to write my book. I did it just as an experiment with myself. I just thought, "well, let me see if I can make something out of this" and I didn't know when I started it that I was going to finish, let alone put it out. But when I finished, or almost finished it, I started to see the storyline could maybe be inspirational for some people if they read it. And I thought about my younger self and wished I could read something like this when I was younger. It could have given me some hope as a clueless young kid to see another clueless kid who went through some terrible stuff and came out OK. So at that point, I realized I needed to finish it and put it out.
{{When it came out, I was actually working at a bookstore and picked it up and read it and if I could get anyone off "Twilight" and read your book – I tried my best.}}
[Laughs] Yeah, what is "Twilight?" Isn't that subversively supposed to be encouraging kids not to have sex?
{{Basically.}}
Well, my book might accomplish the same thing when they see all the crazy sex I had. [Laughs] They might want to avoid it too.
{{Should have added some vampires then. It could have been huge.}}
Well, I've got the next best thing: werewolves.
{{Getting around to controversy, in March of '08, you mailed a letter to President Bush about attending a concert you did in D.C., did you ever hear back about that?}}
Yeah. We got a phone message from the White House, which we played at the concert in Washington D.C. that night. It's pretty funny. I guess if anybody calls the White House and invites the president to something, they have to reply. [Laughs]. It said "Sorry, but the president and first lady are already booked with something that night, but thank you for the invitation." Very polite.
{{Have you or are you going to extended the same courtesy to President Obama?}}
Well, you know, I had a grudge to settle with President Bush, which is why I was doing it. I don't have a grudge with President Obama – he might actually show up too, so I better make sure I'm ready for him if I invite him.
{{Was it strange to be targeted as crude entertainment for children when you released {Daisies of the Galaxy}? Did you get the impression that the people who were condemning you had never even listened to the album?}}
It was awesome. I mean it was one of the funnest things that ever happened to us. You know, it couldn't have been more ridiculous. It was a little depressing but the same reason why we were all depressed for eight years having Bush in the White House, because of such ridiculous stuff like that. Like, really?
{{Back to nowadays, what are the musical plans for the future? Are you going to be touring in-support of {Hombre Lobo}?}}
Well, we just finished the album. It's really brand spanking new and we're just trying to get it out now. That's the next thing we've got to figure out: what we're going to do next.
{{The session players on the record had you played with them before or is this a new group of guys?}}
No, it's just me and two guys that are often Eels members – Koool G Murder (bass) and Knuckles (drums). There’s no flashy special guests this time.
{{Do they have an input in the sound of the record or is it mostly your vision of what the listener will hear?}}
Well, Koool G Murder, in particular, definitely … we wrote a lot of the songs together and he plays a lot of the guitar and bass parts, so he’s definitely a big part of it.
{{Just for my own personal amusement, I was wondering if you ever had more run-ins with John Legend?}}
[Laughs] No, and I've been sleeping with one eye open ever since my book came out and I keep wondering when that's going to happen. I've been fortunate enough to not have been in the same room with him since. I know that day might be coming.
{{Is that something you were worried about when the book came out?}}
It could get ugly, I don't know what to expect. But, you know, if you're going to boo me on national TV, you've got to expect some retribution.
{{I guess he didn't know he was messing with a guy that was going to write an autobiography.}}
That's the thing, if you're going to boo somebody, you better know who you're booing, bitch.
{{Has anyone taken you aside about certain things you wrote about and said, ‘You know, I don't really remember it happening that way.’}}
No, nobody has, and I'm willing to hear that argument but I haven't heard it yet. I just thought it was great that, at the same, an actual legend, Van Morrison was there, and he was cool and quite cordial to me, and he is someone who is known for not being friendly and cordial. Whatever. Real legends don't have to name themselves "Legend."
{{I was wondering if you could talk me through the running theme of the Dr. Jekyll, Wolfman structure?}}
I don't know. It just all came to very quickly that I wanted it to reflect different intensities of desire and musically that meant that sometimes it would be soft and sweet and other times it was more immediate and desperate, if you will.
{{Are there any bands now that influence how your music comes out?}}
I’m really behind on all that because I’ve just been making this, and you spend so much time working on music all day and night so when you have a spare moment you don’t really want to hear any music. You want to give your ears a rest. One thing that I have noticed over the years is something that seems to be sorely lacking in indie rock, in general, as far as I can tell is the element of sex and danger, and, isn’t that where the term rock ‘n’ roll came from in the first place? So I thought it was time to bring a little bit of that into the mix.
I'm really excited about going to Washington D.C. this weekend for the Fourth of July. I've never had the chance to walk around the nation's capital, unless you count walking from the train station to the bus depot. - I don't! - and now I can see it illuminated by fireworks. I don't know if the city can live up to the cheerful ra-ra of the Magnetic Fields' song, which is named after the city and appears on their three-disc album about romance, 69 Love Songs.
That said, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and I'll start this up again when I get back. Be safe, everyone!
I've never heard such a joyous song in my life. Listen to those horns; that voice. "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" starts off Van Morrison's '72 album, Saint Dominic’s Preview, and what a way to begin. "I'm in heaven when you smile," he sings. It's not Shakespeare or anything groundbreaking lyrically but it sure as hell says a lot. How he wrote this song while his marriage was falling apart is beyond me.
"Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" is my all-time favorite Dylan vocal and it's not even from an album, it's from the New Morning sessions and features a solo Dylan. Though a studio version would eventually come out on the album Dylan in 1973, a record of outtakes from his albums New Morning and Self Portrait. This version, however, is just beautiful. It really captures an artist, who by all accounts was really having a hard go during these times, just laying it all out there; even if it was by accident. I don't get this feeling from any of his other songs and he's my favorite singer-songwriter ever. But when I play "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" I hear something I don't get anywhere else: Authenticity.
