About Jon Chaisson

Author, blogger, music collector, cat wrangler. May contain trace amounts of sugar and caffeine. Books available at Smashwords!

Twenty Years On: December 1998

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

…and here we are at the end of a long year of great music! As always, labels usually focus more on holiday sales of already-released albums than on dropping new ones, so this month was indeed a bit light. A few singles here and there, and that’s it. Personally I was letting myself relax a bit after an incredibly fruitful and creative year by listening to a lot of the records I’d purchased (or gotten as free promos!) from my store. I started working a little on the revision of The Phoenix Effect and starting in on its sequel, and would continue to do so until about late 1999 when I decided a complete rewrite was in order. (That, of course, would become A Division of Souls, the first book in the Bridgetown Trilogy.) I spent New Year’s Eve up at my sister’s place and taping WFNX’s countdown, and driving home early the next morning.

Porcupine Tree, Metanoia EP, released December. I didn’t get into this band until early 1999 when they dropped their fantastic Stupid Dream album, but I’d seen this cd floating around in the back room of the record store. It’s full of instrumental outtakes from their 1996 album Signify but it does go to show how tight they were as a band.

Belle & Sebastian, This Is Just a Modern Rock Song EP, released 7 December. A lovely follow-up EP to their fantastic The Boy with the Arab Strap record from earlier in the year. The title track is a simple three chord tune but it’s got a wonderful slow build.

Beck, “Tropicalia” single, released 7 December. A bit of light-hearted bossa nova fun from his otherwise moody Mutations album, this one got the most airplay from the record on the local alt-rock stations.

All in all, 1998 was a very good year for me. I’d finished up my first novel in years, and I was in a good place financially and emotionally for the first time in ages. I still had a long way to go before I could save enough money to move out on my own, but I was no longer flailing. Things would change soon enough when the store manager moved on to bigger and better things (a regional manager of Newbury Comics — during the post-HMV years I’d run into him every now and again). He was replaced by a much less enjoyable manager, and by 2000 I’d be out of there myself. Despite that, I found myself in a much better frame of mind. And a lot of the tunes from 1998 had a lot to do with it.

Hope you enjoyed my year-long series! I may follow it up with more overviews but I don’t have anything planned as yet. We shall see!

Coming Soon: 2018 Year End Best-of Lists!

Thirty Years On, December 1988

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

Well here we are, on the back end of one of my favorite years ever. Despite the emotional ups and downs I dealt with, it was a highly creative one for me, and started me on the long road of becoming a more serious writer. My circle of college friends returned for a brief holiday break and we met up a few times before it was time to return for spring semester of 1989.

The brief meet-ups we had were just what I needed to get myself back on track emotionally and creatively. It would still be a sad parting, but at the same time I had to remind myself that I was only a few months shy of escaping my small town as well.

Various Artists, Winter Warnerland, released early December. The Warner Bros distribution team kicked this fine and fun double album out to radio stations across the land, and ended up in my vinyl collection later on. Its quirky lineup includes Danelle Dax, Los Lobos, Hugo Largo, Throwing Muses and REM alongside more lighter fare like Gardner Cole, PM, Honeymoon Suite and Peter Cetera. It also features a few holiday cheer bumpers from bands and singers such as ZZ Top, Randy Travis, Nelson Wilbury (aka George Harrison), and, weirdly enough, multiple bumpers from Pee-Wee Herman. It’s worth checking out if you can find it, if for it’s kitschiness.

The Pogues, “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah” single, released December. A stopgap single between albums, this a wonderful take-off on early 60s British pop, complete with a fantastic video riffing on European music programs like Beat Club.

The Cowboy Junkies, The Trinity Session, released 7 December. This band came out of nowhere and immediately became a critic and fan favorite with its gorgeously sparse album of tunes and covers recorded in a single day using the natural reverb of a Toronto church. While their follow-up albums may not have garnered the high praise this one received, they’ve remained active and dropped a lovely bluesy album just this year.

Compilation, Does Truth Dance? Does Truth Sing? The Singles 1988, created 27 December. My first end-of-year, multi-tape mix encapsulating my absolute favorite tracks released throughout the year. Partly inspired by the end-of-year countdowns I used to record off the radio, this one ended up being a favorite mix of mine, even though the tracks do get a bit thin by the third tape. Not bad for a first try, though! The title was snagged from a repeated line from Wire’s “A Public Place” that closes out side 2 of the first tape. I’d make more of these mixes off and on throughout the years, and by 2011 I’d made it a consistent annual event.

…and that’s it! Hope you enjoyed this series! It was certainly a fantastic year for music, a year that in my opinion was going to be hard to top. For years I held it to the highest regard and no years would ever come close, at least not until ten years later, with the HMV year of 1998…

Recent Releases, November Edition

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

Hi there! While I was hiding out and taking a blogging break, I of course kept listening to all the new tunage coming our way. I have to say I’ve been right pleased with the crop of releases for 2018 (further proving my theory that the best music comes out in years ending with 2 and 8, heh). Here’s some great stuff that came out this past month.

Dead Can Dance, Dionysus, released 2 November. An unexpected yet fascinating release from a great band. It’s essentially two side-long tracks threading multiple melodies together, but it’s a fascinating listen. I’d say it’s similar to their 90s output in sound and rhythm.

The Neighbourhood, Hard to imagine the neighbourhood ever changing, released 2 November. Okay, so essentially this is their self-titled album plus tracks from the Hard, To Imagine and Ever Changing EPs (whose names finally make sense now) and resequenced into a full album, but it’s still great. I love how they’ve evolved from the radio-friendly “Sweater Weather” to murky and experimental alt-rock. A solid collection.

Steven WIlson, Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, released 2 November. A great live album from one of my favorite multi-instrumentalists. It features a good cross-section of his solo output with a few Porcupine Tree surprises in there.

K-DA (feat. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE & Jaira Burns) “Pop/Stars” single, released 3 November. I’m totally not a gamer (this is from League of Legends) and this would not have been picked up on my radar otherwise, except that an artist I follow on Twitter commented on how freaking amazing the rendering was on this animated video. And it’s a killer track that gets stuck in my head now.

Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers, Bought to Rot, released 9 November. An energetic and raucous album, she really sounds like she had a hell of a fun time recording this one. Even the ridiculously spiteful “I Hate Chicago” sounds like there’s an element of playfulness.

Imagine Dragons, Origins, released 9 November. I’ll totally cop to being a big ID fan despite their corporate rock sound — they’re just so much fun to listen to, and their ability to switch styles during the course of a single album is impressive.

The Beatles, The Beatles (The White Album) Super Deluxe Edition, released 9 November. Well of COURSE this would be on my list here! Giles Martin did a fantastic job of remixing an album that’s caused all kinds of arguments between fans, musicians and producers over the years. It sounds clear and vibrant, but more importantly it brings out the band’s innate energies and gives each track a new life. Highly recommended, even if you’re a passing Beatle fan.

P.O.D., Circles, released 16 November. I’ve always liked this band ever since the Southtown album back in the day. Great alt-metal tunes to crank up loud in the headphones. A fantastic new release from them.

Failure, In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind, released 16 November. An experiment for the band, they recorded this album four songs at a time over the course of 2018 and released them as EPs via PledgeMusic before dropping the entire album upon completion. While this could have easily caused the album to become disjointed, it flows beautifully and retains its energy and power throughout.

Hooverphonic, Looking for Stars, released 16 November. One of my favorite bands sneaks out an album while I’m not looking! They may have yet another new singer but they’ve retained their lovely atmospheric style I love so much. It sounds very similar to The Magnificent Tree, come to think of it.

The Smashing Pumpkins, Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol 1/LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun., released 16 November. With a ridiculous title like that, I really was expecting some kind of overblown navel-gazing monolith, but it’s actually a super-tight, super-fantastic, positive-sounding record that reminds me of Billy Corgan’s side project Zwan. I’m quite surprised and pleased by how fun it sounds.

Laibach, The Sound of Music, released 23 November. Our favorite Slovenian band takes its turn at covering songs from the Rodgers/Hammerstein musical and does it in their usual disturbing yet fascinating style. Only they could make the purposely childish “Do-Re-Mi” sound sinister, proggy and awesome. Bonus points for managing to intertwine the music with their attempt to play a live show in North Korea some time ago.

Art Brut, Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!, released 23 November. These lovable goofballs return after a long absence with more punk silliness and infectious party rock. A very welcome return. Hooray!

The 1975, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, released 30 November. This band has evolved in so many fantastic and unexpected ways that I’m always fascinated with what their next song will sound like. This time out they’re twitchy and poppy, alternating between technopop giddiness and Radiohead-like weirdness. I’m still not quite sure what to make of this album, but it’s definitely amazing.

Coming Soon: December releases and a Year-End Roundup!

Twenty Years On: November 1998

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

Oh hey there! Here we go with another edition of Twenty Years On. I don’t have too much to cover regarding memories of this point in time, other than that I was pretty much in full-on revision mode with The Phoenix Effect and listening to all sorts of tunage down in the Belfry. This volume’s a bit thin, as is normal for end of year, but I still love these albums.

Beck, Mutations, released 3 November. After the massive success of Odelay, Beck surprised many with a decidedly straightforward and moody semi-acoustic album. This would become his album release style: alternating between weirdo funk and introspective melody.

Alanis Morissette, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, released 3 November. This album garnered mixed reviews — it was extremely long at seventeen tracks, and it lacked the pissed-off-exgf feel of “You Oughta Know” — but in retrospect it’s a surprisingly solid and pleasing album about finding inner peace after years of turmoil.

The Offspring, Americana, released 17 November. This is possibly their most accessible and consistent record, featuring quite a few of their radio hits (“Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”, “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright” for starters), but it’s also a surprisingly dark album as well. It’s my favorite of theirs.

Seal, Human Being, released 17 November. Slagged off by critics for not containing the hits that his two previous records had, it’s nonetheless a lovely and contemplative album. He’s on my “I will buy anything from them” list of musicians, and he’s one hell of an amazing singer.

Coming Up: December 1998!

Thirty Years On: November 1988

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

Back again! Thanks for waiting! Here are a few of my favorite releases from late in the year. I’m pretty sure by this point I was already obsessed with heading to Emerson College, having learned about it from a college fair in the Valley. I remember spending a few mornings in The Pub Room writing up my admission forms and essays and looking forward to getting the hell out of town as soon as I could. Changes were a-comin’.

The Wolfgang Press, Birdwood Cage, released November. I’d first heard this band on 4AD’s Lonely Is an Eyesore compilation, and I loved the funk direction they’d decided to head towards.

Danielle Dax, Dark Adapted Eye, released November. She’s a singer I’d heard a lot about through music magazines and Trouser Press, but I’d only ever heard one song from her, a delicate and beautiful song called “When I Was Young”, which was only released as a b-side in 1986. By 1988 she’d signed with Warner and released this great compilation containing multiple singles, about half of her UK Inky Bloaters album, and this new single. She was weird and quirky, but she was a hell of a lot of fun.

The Waterboys, Fisherman’s Blues, released November. I remember WMDK and most of the other AOR stations loving this album and playing the hell out of it. You’ll still hear the title track on alternative radio to this day. It’s probably their most well known track after “The Whole of the Moon.”

Blue Clocks Green, “Hemingway” single, released November. Alternately voted as the most favorite and the most reviled track by the DJs on WAMH during the ’88-’89 school year. You either loved it or you hated it. Sure, it’s a really dumb song, but it’s catchy as hell. The 12″ of this album featured a remix called The Sun Also Reverses, which was the 7″ mix playing backwards.

My Bloody Valentine, Isn’t Anything, released November. Before Loveless blew everyone’s mind in 1991, there was this album, a perfect bridge between their more psychedelic earlier sounds and their noisier follow-up.

REM, Green, released 8 November. Their first album for Warner, this one divided some fans. There’s a distinct move away from the acoustic countrified sound of the previous albums, leaning more towards the hard rock they’d started experimenting with on Lifes Rich Pageant as well as with more poppy fare. This one’s my favorite REM album — it’s solid and it’s amazing.

Erasure, Crackers International EP, released 28 November. Sneaking out some new tracks after the unexpected but welcome success of The Innocents earlier in the year, Erasure had another minor hit with the “Stop!” single.

Coming Soon: December 1988!

Fly-By: brb, busy doing a bajillion different things.

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

Right now I have a hell of a lot on my plate, so I’m going to take the rest of the week off so I can get caught up and give myself a little bit of breathing room. I may take next week off as well. We shall see.

In the meantime, please enjoy this new Beatles video for “Glass Onion”, which will be on the new White Album box set out this Friday. And yes, of course I pre-ordered it ages ago!

Getting into (the) Spirit and other classic rock bands

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

First off, my apologies for that terrible pun.

Lately I’ve been reading Kent Hartman’s Goodnight, L. A.: Untold Tales from Inside Classic Rock’s Legendary Recording Studios, and it’s quite an interesting read. The 70s was definitely an interesting and extremely varied decade for music, that’s for sure. But what struck me was that this is yet another music biog where I’m quite familiar with the titles of the albums mentioned from this era and the surrounding years: The Family That Plays Together, Tapestry, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Rumours, Tea for the Tillerman, and so on.

But how many of them have I actually sat down and listened to? Sure, I know Rumours and Hotel California and Fly Like an Eagle from my preteen years listening to the radio and getting records from the library. But I know only two Spirit songs: “I Got a Line On You” and “Nature’s Way”, and I only know the latter because This Mortal Coil covered it in 1991. I know tons of Carole King songs (and I just recently read her autobiography, Natural Woman) but I don’t think I’ve ever listened to any of her albums, including her most famous one.

I’m thinking I should change that. I mean, sure, do I really have enough time in the day to listen to streaming radio stations, new releases, and older favorites on top of listening to classic albums for the first time? Well, maybe. I have Amazon Prime so I can give a lot of these a listen essentially for free. And this is back when full albums lasted maybe thirty minutes, forty tops. I can fit in a few a day, I think. I’m always up for expanding my musical knowledge.

It’ll be a long-term project, but I’m thinking it’ll be fun to finally give these a listen and figure out what all the buzz was about.

Recent Releases, October 2018 Edition

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

October has had a bumper crop of amazing releases, much to my surprise! Sometimes these latecomers can go either way… they may be filler, or they may not quite live up to the hype, but this time out it most definitely did. Loads of tunes worth checking out…

John Lennon, Imagine – The Ultimate Collection, relesed 5 October. Although John’s solo output wasn’t as pop-oriented or catchy as Paul’s, when he nailed it, it was flawless. His 1971 album Imagine gets a multi-disk overview here, filled with demos and alternate takes, as well as fascinating partial mixes (such as the amazing strings-only ‘Elements Mix’ of “Imagine”), all of which are worth checking out if you’re a hardcore Beatle fan.

Kristin Hersh, Possible Dust Clouds, released 5 October. I love the claustrophobic loudness of this album, a style Hersh perfected way back in her early Throwing Muses days. One of my favorites of her recent output.

Matt Nathanson, Sings His Sad Heart, released 5 October. After the surprise release earlier this year of his Def Leppard covers EP (which earned kudos from DL singer Joe Elliott himself!), Matt returns to his pop roots and writes an album that on the surface might be somewhat melancholy, but never ignores the more positive future.

Kurt Vile, Bottle It In, released 12 October. Kurt is one of those musicians I never thought I’d get into, but I find his stuff fascinating. It’s off-kilter alt-folk very similar to Courtney Barnett (no surprise they released an album together last year) with some really inventive and fun songs.

Justin Courtney Pierre, In the Drink, released 12 October. The former Motion City Soundtrack singer surprised everyone (even himself!) by releasing a solo record, and it’s just as great as you’d think it would be. Very similar in sound to his MCS work, and just as peculiar and fun.

Live, Local 717 EP, released 12 October. I was pleasantly surprised by this record — Ed Kowalczyk is back in the fold as lead singer — and the music is just as solid and powerful as their mid to late 90s output. Great to see them again!

Minus the Bear, Fair Enough EP, released 12 October. Alas this band has disbanded and this is their final release, but it’s a great way to go. I was late getting into their work, but their entire discography is worth checking out.

Cloud Nothings, Last Building Burning, released 19 October. This band has always been loud, but this record’s just brutal. It’s unrelenting, pissed-off punk that kicks you repeatedly in the head from the first note and doesn’t give up. A perfect punk record and one of my favorite releases this month.

Elle King, Shake the Spirit, released 19 October. Elle has no fucks to give, and she’s not afraid of letting you know that on this album. She’s always had sassy lyrics, but there’s an extra layer of it here. Sometimes it’s funny and clever, but just as often it’ll be pointed and biting. A great follow-up to her previous album.

Robyn, Honey, released 26 October. A VERY welcome return for the dance-pop singer, after a long personal hiatus. The new album is filled with infectious dance beats and sleek production and it’s a fun listen.

The Struts, Young & Dangerous, released 26 October. A very aptly named band with the cockiest swagger since the Rolling Stones. Their sound is most definitely a throwback to the late 70s-early 80s, with a bit of glam and a whole lot of attitude, but it’s an extremely fun if often ridiculous listen.

Sara Bareilles, “Armor” single, released 26 October. Per her Twitter, this wasn’t supposed to be released until early next year, but she felt its message was extremely important and much needed this second, and she’s not wrong. It’s a call-out to all the sexist bullshit going on out there and the power of inner strength to make it stop.

Semisonic, Feeling Strangely Fine (20th Anniversary Reissue), released 26 October. “Closing Time” may have been their biggest and only hit, but the rest of the album it’s from is simply amazing. Dan Wilson and Co. are stellar songwriters that know how to craft catchy tunes that get stuck in your head for days. This re-release has been remastered (it sounds much warmer than the original) and contains four b-sides as well.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, IC-01 Hanoi, released 26 October. An unexpected but fascinating follow-up to their Sex & Food record from earlier this year, it’s an all-instrumental jazz-rock record that sounds a little like Meddle-era Pink Floyd with its swampy jam sound.

Thom Yorke, Suspiria OST, released 26 October. No big surprise that Yorke was tapped to do the score for the remake of the 1977 Italian horror flick, as it’s full of weirdness and creepiness that was only hinted at on the darker edges of Radiohead’s Kid A, Amnesiac and A Moon Shaped Pool. There’s a lot of instrumental score going on, but there’s also some great full-song tracks such as “Suspirium”. Worth checking out.

Next Up: November New Releases!

Mixtape: Listen in Silence XXIV

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

Yes, the current volume of Listen In Silence is number twenty-four. Not bad for a mixtape series I started back in 1988, yeah? Missed a few years in between, but I’m glad to say after I resurrected it, it’s still going strong. The links are for the YouTube videos because I can’t be arsed to attempt to build a Spotify playlist right now. Enjoy!

Side 1
1. John Hardy, “Hidden Title Theme”
2. Gorillaz feat. George Benson, “Humility”
3. Bob Moses, “Heaven Only Knows”
4. Mitski, “Nobody”
5. Death Cab for Cutie, “Gold Rush”
6. The Kooks, “No Pressure”
7. Eric Bachmann, “Daylight”
8. tunng, “Crow”
9. Metric, “Dark Saturday”
10. James, “Many Faces”
11. Lucy Dacus, “Night Shift”

Side 2
1. Death Cab for Cutie, “I Dreamt We Spoke Again”
2. Gorillaz, “Tranz”
3. tunng, “Dark Heart”
4. Dog Party, “Operator”
5. Nothing, “Us/We/Are”
6. Paul McCartney, “Fuh You”
7. The Neighbourhood, “Softcore”
8. Jungle, “Happy Man”
9. Failure, “Heavy and Blind”
10. Art Brut, “Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!”
11. The London Suede, “The Invisibles”
12. ShadowParty, “Celebrate”
13. Mogwai, “We’re Not Done (End Title)”

Twenty Years On: October 1998

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Jon Chaisson

October 1998: The fourth quarter kicks in at the record store, which keeps me ridiculously busy in the back room, processing all the stock coming in. I do manage to sneak out onto the sales floor every now and again to check out what’s going on and upsell some of my favorite releases.

U2, “Sweetest Thing” single, released 4 October. A teaser single for their first official greatest hits album that would be released in November, this is a reworking of an old Joshua Tree-era b-side that got airplay even back in 1987. It’s a simple pop song even by their standards, but it’s lovely and fun. Plus, the video is wonderfully silly.

The Wiseguys, The Antidote, released 5 October. There were many electronica one hit wonders in the late 90s, and these guys were one of them. Their single “Ooh La La” did get some minor notice in a commercial, but it was this track that got the most attention. One of my favorite 90s videos as well, as this is pretty much exactly the visual equivalent of how I hear this kind of creative sampling!

Duncan Sheik, Humming, released 6 October. While not as gorgeous and introspective as his debut, his follow-up album did in fact show his fabulous songwriting chops with some great upbeat tunes. He’s definitely on my I will buy anything he releases shopping list.

Placebo, Without You I’m Nothing, released 12 October. While their first album flew well below the radar in the US, their second one got some major airplay thanks to one of their best songs, “Pure Morning”, which of course should always be played at top volume.

Fatboy Slim, You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby, released 12 October. Norman Cook’s breakthrough album is indeed a fine collection of some of his best DJing work and featuring “The Rockafeller Skank”, “Praise You” and “Right Here Right Now”.

Love and Rockets, Lift, released 13 October. The final album is so markedly different from their first from 1985 that it’s almost impossible to see they’re the same band — but it also shows how much they’d evolved since their Bauhaus/Tones on Tail days.

Eels, Electro-Shock Blues, released 20 October. Mark Everett’s quirky songwriting has always been naked and personal, but it’s also a fascinating listen. “Last Stop: This Town” got some heavy airplay on the alt-rock stations upon its release.

Robbie Williams, I’ve Been Expecting You, released 26 October [UK]. You either loved or hated Robbie Williams in the 90s and 00s; you either found him cheeky and unbearable, or you found him fun and enjoyable. I’m firmly in the latter, because his songs were always so full of relentless energy. In 1999 some tunes from this and his previous UK album (Life Thru a Lens) would be compiled into a hit album in the US, fittingly called The Ego Has Landed.

Phish, The Story of the Ghost, released 27 October. THE jam band of the 90s, this album was a lot quirkier and improvised than 1996’s Billy Breathes, so while passive fans who liked their single “Free” weren’t as excited, the hardcore ones loved it.

REM, Up, released 27 October. I’ll admit that I was never that big of a fan of REM’s later years, partly because they’d moved too far away from their original sound. I didn’t mind the sheen of Out of Time or the rock of Automatic for the People, but I couldn’t quite get into anything after that. However, Up was in fact an excellent example of just how tight they were as a band despite their change in style.

Next Up: November 1998!

Walk In Silence

Jon Chaisson and His Obsessions with Music and Writing

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