My Three Songs - from the halfpod

When I got my ipod a few years ago I thought it wouldn't take much time to fill it to the maximum 7,500 songs. I'm pretty compulsive. Well, I've only just hit 3,750, 2-1/2 years later. I almost always set my entire music collection on shuffle and let the ipod do its thing, and I still marvel at what seems to be artificial intelligence. I've got about 400 Dylan songs on my ipod, yet on shuffle I'll hear Bob growling High Water after a Howlin' Wolf tune, followed by the Black Keys. A perfect trio. How does it do it? Allow me to share a few tunes from this week:

When I plugged the 3,750 song ipod in Monday morning for the shuffle, the first track to pop up was Hell is Chrome, probably my favorite Wilco song. It's a hypnotic dirge that reminds me of the Band, complete with the beautiful harmonies of the kind that Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson used to hit. And I love the screaming guitar break in the middle.


Wilco - Hell Is Chrome




The album that pushed me over the halfway point this week was Boxer, by the National. Lots of buzz over this album, and rightly so. The music evokes Bryan Ferry, The The and Joy Division, brooding, reflective, and engrossing with each repeated listen. The track that immediately caught my ear is Apartment Story, one of the more up tempo tracks on the disc. There's something about the vocals and lyrics that is just magnetic. This one will most definitely make my best-of 2007 list.


The National - Apartment Story

Third, a Forgotten Record from the 80's. I've started digitizing my old vinyl, and I pulled out a 12-inch single by the Hoodoo Gurus, a song called Bittersweet from their album Mars Needs Guitars. It's a perfect pop-rock gem, and I remember going nuts over this song for a few weeks in 1985 (or 86?). The Gurus were overshadowed by their Aussie brethren INXS and Midnight Oil, but this is a great song that you will hum the rest of the day. These guys are still at it, and currently on tour.


Hoodoo Gurus - Bittersweet

Ok, time to start on songs 3,751 to 7,500.

The Forgotten Records #9 - Blancmange

Time for another episode of the Forgotten Records. The early 80's were a grim period in music, in my humble opinion. It was the era of one-hit wonders, maybe more so than the garage rock days of the mid 60's. The difference though is that so many 'bands' of the 8o's were nothing more than soul-less electronic duos or trios, indistinguishable from one to the other. At least the garage rock bands has some raw appeal; the 8o's synth-pop groups were often as synthetic as their instruments. Thankfully, we had the Talking Heads, U2, REM and some good indie music to save our souls.

Once such one hit wonder was the Brit duo Blancmange, a meteor of obscurity that scored with Living on the Ceiling in 1982. Chances are you have not thought about this song in 25 years, or more likely, you've never heard it, though it reached #7 in the UK. Blancmange, named after a gelatin-like dessert (literal translation from French is 'white eat'), had a smattering of hits, peaking with this track, that combined Middle Eastern flavors with a pulsing dance beat. The sound was very similar to Simple Minds. Lead singer/guitarist Neil Arthur and keyboardist Stephen Luscombe broke up in 1986, never to be heard from again (at least to my knowledge). Imagine my surprise when I learned that the band has reformed, has a MySpace, and is writing new material.

This post would not be complete without mentioning the epic Monty Python sci-fi movie skit where giant alien blancmanges turn Englishmen into Scots, consume tennis players and actually play tennis. It was obvious of course that "they mean to win Wimbledon." Thankfully, the alien pudding was thawarted by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Brainsample, who turn out to be from the same planet as the blancmanges, but I digress.

The Forgotten Records #7 - Hot Smoke and Sassafras

Today it seems that a new band pops up every day, courtesy of avenues like MySpace. Affordable digital technology, a few instruments and a hook (hopefully) is all it takes to get your music out there. Forty years ago, probably the same number of young aspiring bands existed; it was just infinitely more difficult to get heard. The British Invasion inspired nearly every kid to put together three chords and prayer. But instead of ProTools, mp3s and the blogosphere, it was the parent’s garage, cheap guitars, Farfisa organs, and a slim, slim chance of getting a record made. The best document of the garage rock era is Nuggets, but there are also countless other one-hit wonders that didn’t make it on that retrospective.

Bubble Puppy, from Austin, was a flash in the pan circa 1968 that combined garage rock and psychedelic pop. Linked musically and geographically to the 13th Floor Elevators, their only memorable tune is the immortal Hot Smoke and Sassafras. Consider these lyrics:

In the mist of sassafras

Many things will come to pass

And the smoke shall rise again

To the place above where it began

Time will bring the fire and flame

As surely as it brought the rain

But in the gardens of the moon

Time is held within the silver spoon
If you're happy where you are

Then you need not look too far

If you've found your place at last

Then you need not use the looking glass

A mist of sassafras? Hot Smoke hit #14 across the country in the summer of ’68. Weird times, indeed, but imagine my surprise to find that these guys have a new record coming out! Check the official Bubble Puppy web site to read founding member Rod Prince’s tale. Among other things the Puppy opened up for the Who sometime in 1966. Love that album cover, A Gathering of Promises.

Buy the Nuggets
Buy Bubble Puppy

The Forgotten Records #6 - Vienna

In the continuing saga of forgotten bands we have Ultravox; nearly a one hit wonder in the States, and today cast adrift in the sea of 80’s New Wave bands. Formed in 1974, it wasn’t until 1980 and the addition of lead singer Midge Ure that Ultravox would carve their own niche in the New Romantic off shoot of the New Wave movement. Their crowning achievement is probably Vienna, a lush, synthesized record released in 1980 and the first with Ure. The title track and All Stood Still were hits on both sides of the Atlantic. But who remembers the subsequent records? Rage In Eden, Quartet, Monument? Anyone? Their sound was calculated and at times orchestral, and although the songwriting was strong, the tunes were not as interesting (or as danceable, which was pretty important in the early 80’s) as Depeche Mode or New Order. At a time when there were dozens of bands cut from the same cloth and records seem to come out weekly, there was not enough to distinguish Ultravox from the rest. After the song Reap the Wild Wind in 1985, Ultravox faded into obscurity.

Believe it or not, I saw Ultravox in Chicago, probably in 1982, at the Aragon Ballroom. I honestly don’t remember a damned thing about the show. Concerts ebb from your memory quickly, but there are always little bits you remember from the good ones. I can recall lots of things about U2 and REM at the same theater, around the same time. Nevertheless, Vienna is a great song, a defining song from a pop music movement and one that you never hear anymore.

The Forgotten Records #5 - XTC

The day I heard Senses Working Overtime for the first time, on WPGU in Champaign, 1982, my ears perked up, and I immediately walked to Record Swap and bought the double vinyl album, English Settlement. I thought that song was so clever and so catchy that there must be a least a few other good tracks on the record. It turned out that English Settlement is a stellar album, one that rightly deserved to be a double album. No filler here, like many other double albums tend to be. I gradually amassed all of the recorded output of XTC, including every 7 inch single with the ‘previously unreleased’ B-side, the 12-inch EPs with one single and three rare tracks, and various imports.

At their peak, XTC cranked out impeccable and irresistible heavy pop music at a Beatlesque pace. The band released 7 albums between 1978 and 1986, including the essential Drums and Wires, Black Sea, English Settlement, and Skylarking, and quite a few individual singles. So why aren’t they a household name? Surely their audience would have expanded exponentially if they had consistently toured, but due to Andy Partridge’s extreme stage fright, the band never played live after 1982, seriously hampering their exposure. Truth be told, their particular brand of intellectual pop rock is an acquired taste, and one that American audiences might not have fully embraced anyway.

In 1989 the band toured radio stations in the US, playing short live acoustic sets to circumvent Partridge’s stage issues. This medley of Senses Working Overtime-Grass-Love On A Farmboy’s Wages comes from a WXRT compilation CD. The track was recorded on May 22, 1989. Once I start to convert my vinyl to digital, I'll post a few other rare gems from this great band.

Buy: You can’t go wrong with any of the albums mentioned above, but it you want a solid cross section of their catalog, try Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-1992

The Forgotten Records #4 - Buffalo Tom

Deep in the recesses of my CD collection is Big Red Letter Day, the 1993 release by Boston based Buffalo Tom, a great trio that never seemed to garner the attention of their contemporaries. Compared to the likes of Dinosaur Jr., The Connells, and Galaxie 500, I think there were just too many bands of this type in the late 80s and early 90s for everyone to rise to the surface. Probably best known for taillights Fade from their 1992 album Let Me Come Over, the music is a predictable mix of heavy yet jangly guitar, crisp harmonies and a hard rock base. What sets the music apart are the clever lyrics and empassioned vocals. Perhaps the polished production of the album pidgeon-holed these guys into a more mainstream category; the grungier style of their earlier records might have kept them in with the indie/college crowd. Yet, they live on in the local Boston scene, and plan an album release. Bassist Chris Colbourn has a new release with Hilken Mancini that I've heard on Pandora that sounds good.

Some records you purchase on the basis of one song: Sodajerk

Buy

The Forgotten Records #3 - Forever Changes

This post was inspired by recent news that Love founder Arthur Lee was diagnosed with leukemia. I have found that most people I talk music with know nothing about Love, yet their 60's albums, particularly the 1967 masterpiece Forever Changes is widely considered to be one of the greatest rock albums ever made. I suppose it's a forgotten record to all but music critics and followers of rock music history.

One of the first integrated rock bands, Love was formed in 1965 by Arthur Lee, an African-American from a tough LA ghetto. Combining his talents with guitarist Bryan MacLean, who was steeped in Broadway show tunes and reportedly dated Liza Minnelli, the band became an eclectic mix of sounds. Lee was into British Invasion singers like Mick Jagger and Eric Burdon, and MacLean, in addition to the show tunes, was a roadie for the Byrds. So you've got a brew of folk, psychedelia, Beatlesque and Byrd-like pop with orchestral arrangements sung by what rock critic Lillian Roxon called "an amusing paradox of an African-American singing like a white Englishman singing like an old African-American." The results? Three terrific albums, culminating in Forever Changes in 1967. The album was a commercial failure, and the band never topped or even equaled this effort creatively and disintegrated by the mid 70's. Lee ended up in prison, and MacLean penned songs for Debbie Boone, among others.

Listening to Forever Changes today, the music is astounding, and so far ahead of it's time in 1967 that you have to consider it along with epic releases like Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper.

The Great Albums - Forever Changes

Listen: Alone Again Or

BUY

The Forgotten Records #2 - Tommy Keene

You may have noticed from some of my previous posts that I’m a bit of a Who fan. Today’s post is Who related, and also could just as easily be called The Unknown Artist #1. Unknown to me anyway, until very recently. I picked up the February issue of MOJO because of the great cover stories on the Who. A nice bonus was a CD of Who covers by the likes of the Jam, Flaming Lips and Richard Thompson. By far my favorite track on the disc is a cover of Tattoo, by a guy named Tommy Keene. The track features impeccable guitar playing and great pop vocals. Who is this guy?

Tommy Keene apparently peaked commercially in the 80’s as a guitar based pop singer/songwriter. Somehow he managed to fly under just about everyone’s radar, as far as I can tell. His story seems to be one of those cases where critical accolades and sheer talent don’t translate to record sales, for reasons that no one can explain (think Marshall Crenshaw, Greg Kihn and Matthew Sweet). My All Music Guide to Rock is nothing but four-star ratings and praise, but is also quick to point out that most of his recordings are out of print.

From Bethesda, Maryland, Keene enjoyed strong local support in the 80’s and after a few stints in local bands, signed with the Dolphin label in North Carolina. His 1984 release Back Again (Try) was produced by T-Bone Burnett and Don Dixon, and received heavy college radio airplay (not in Champaign, that I recall) Keene eventually signed with Geffen, who dropped him after two albums. In the 90’s, Keene signed with Matador and recorded several more well crafted pop records. 1993’s The Real Underground is a retrospective of his early career, and is probably the place to begin, if you can find it anywhere. It's where you'll find Tattoo.

For more recent activity, I turned to his website, which reveals that Keene is still recording and touring. His website features three free downloads.

Tattoo is one of Pete Townshend’s most brilliant pop songs and Keene nails it. This performance alone is reason to look a little further into this guy’s catalog.

The Forgotten Records - #1

Little Village was a supergroup of sorts, combining the talents of four great musicians on the periphery of the rock mainstream. Released in 1992, the self-titled album put John Hiatt, Nick Lowe, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner together again after they worked together on Hiatt's 1987 album Bring The Family. Although at times the record sounds like a John Hiatt solo effort, solid songwriting and tight playing are evident throughout. In Chicago, the song Solar Sex Panel got a lot of airplay, but there were several other standout tracks. I liked She Runs Hot because it featured some shared vocals a la the Traveling Wilburys. Definitely intended to be a one-off effort, Little Village was razed after a brief tour.

The song: She Runs Hot


Buy it: Little Village