The one downside to listening to new things this early in the year is often that there isn’t anything new out to listen to. So I’m often bouncing around my music collection, throwing on whatever happens to pop into mind at the time.
As usual, I’m writing this just before my evening writing/editing session, and I was in the mood for a bit of Porcupine Tree — a band I’d discovered while at HMV (their 1999 album Stupid Dream had just been released) and one that would often be a go-to for my writing sessions during the early 00’s. In this case, 2002’s In Absentia came to mind, so I popped it on. It’s a lovely album, recorded at the point where they’d decided to morph from dreamlike, guitar-based prog rock to a more prog-metal influenced sound. [Note: lead singer/band leader Steven Wilson would be the first to slap me for labeling them prog, as he quite loathes the term. But I digress.]
I’ve posted numerous times before about some of the key album releases over the years that influenced, or at least gave a soundtrack to, the Bridgetown Trilogy. This album, Dishwalla’s And You Think You Know What Life’s About, Mansun’s Six, Beck’s Sea Change, and so on. They’re all great albums that I’ll still throw on now and again while I’m writing or editing.
Does music distract me from my work? Well, yes, sometimes it does. Especially if I hear a song like Silversun Pickups’ “Panic Switch”, which often sends me across the room to pick up my bass to play along with it. But more often than not, just as it has since I was a scruffy teenager first attempting to write novels, it serves a dual purpose: it’s background noise to help me focus on the task at hand, and it’s also a sound that, if I choose correctly, influences whatever it is I’m working on at that moment. I’ve listened to music for so long, and for such long stretches, that if I don’t have anything playing while I’m working, I kind of feel naked in a way. The silence makes me self-conscious.
But you know, that’s why I have such a large collection as I do, and why it’s 99% digital now. I have a library of sound that helps me through the day, in whatever I’m doing, whether it’s writing, editing, or the Day Job.
And finally, here we are at the last quarter of the year!
Phish, Big Boat, released 7 October. The band is positively perky on this album, full of bounciness and silliness that I haven’t heard since Billy Breathes twenty years ago. It’s also more cohesive and catchier than Fuego, their previous outing. And there’s some amazing harmony going on with this track right here.
Green Day, Revolution Radio, released 7 October. Another excellent album from the boys from the East Bay. While it may not be as radio friendly as American Idiot, it’s just as angry and in your face.
BT, _, released 14 October. BT is a fascinating musician in that you’re never quite sure what his next sound is going to be like. He’s a great remixer and his electronica stretches from glitchy to sublime. And then there’s this album, which is essentially an electronic classical album of sorts. It’s stunning and lovely and rates right up there with the work of my favorite new composer, Mason Bates. And of course this got a ton of play during writing sessions.
Bowling for Soup, Drunk Dynasty, released 14 October. BfS is up to their goofy, punky best as always with this Kickstarter-funded album (you should check out the KS page just to watch the video where they forget they’re trying to sell the album and talk about–you guessed it–drinking beer). It’s a strong and solid album all the way through, and a hell of a lot of fun.
Jagwar Ma, Every Now and Then, released 14 October. This album, interestingly enough, reminded me of Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, in that it’s a flawless mixture of melodic indie rock and blissed out dance grooves. And “O B 1” is definitely my Track of the Year, with its ticking ambient/chunky riff mix and infectious beat. The album itself is up there in my top ten as well.
American Football, American Football, released 21 October. WOO! New American Football! Given that their previous album was 17 years ago, that’s a long wait, but it was quite worth it. These guys were part of the original laid-back, wistful, math rock sound that included Low and early Modest Mouse back in the late 90s, so it’s great to have them back.
Jimmy Eat World, Integrity Blues, released 21 October. Glad to see these guys are still going strong after all these years, and still writing songs that stick in my head for hours. A solid album all the way through.
The Radio Dept, Running Out of Love, released 21 October. Yet another Wait–they have a new album out?? release for 2016, and it’s excellent. Dark and weird and groovy and twitchy all over the place — which is what makes me like them so much. Really dug the production on this one a lot.
Sleigh Bells, Jessica Rabbit, released 11 November. I really love their Wall of Crunchy Guitar sound (it’s great for headphones when you’re on a plane or at the gym), and I love the way they slip around their melodies, making them playful and in your face at the same time.
A Tribe Called Quest, We got it from here…thank you 4 your service, released 11 November. YES! Another ATCQ album finally arrives, and it’s a stunner. It might be their last one they release, but it’s a hell of tight one.
Metallica, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, released 18 November. Ending on a surprising note, considering I’m not much of a metalhead at all, but this is one hell of a great album, the best they’ve done in the past few years. They still have a few songs here and there reminiscent of the more radio friendly Load/ReLoad era, but they’ve returned (finally) to some the best axe-wielding they’ve put on record in quite a while.
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Coming up next week: The End of Year Lists! Favorite songs, and my year-end mixtape!
Blink-182, California, released 1 July. I’ll admit, I’m still a Blink fan partially because Travis is such an insanely great fast-speed drummer. This new album feels like a return to their happier, punkier days of the late 90s-early 00s, and it’s a lot of fun to listen to.
The Avalanches, Wildflower, released 8 July. When was that last album of theirs? 2000? 2001? Far too long. They’ve lightened up on the sampling (a bit) for obvious financial reasons, and their songs aren’t nearly as weird and goofy as the ones on Since I Left You, but on the other hand, they’ve excelled at creating groovy vibes and insanely catchy tracks like the above.
Lou Rhodes, theyesandeye, released 29 July. Lamb’s lead singer released a lovely solo album featuring some of her best work outside that band. Her style of singing works well in a non-electronic atmosphere here, and she also does a hell of a great job covering The XX as well.
Dog Party, ‘Til You’re Mine, released 5 August. One of my favorite local bands releases their fifth album — the first after drummer Lucy’s high school graduation (!!) and as always, it’s all kinds of fun to listen to. Short econo punk that would make the Ramones and Fuzzbox proud.
De La Soul, …and the Anonymous Nobody, released 25 August. So happy to see these guys back at it…one of the best hip-hop groups around. I’m also impressed by the DIY nature of this album as well: the samples used were recorded using live musicians (their jamming would be recorded and various bits used for the samples), and the entire project was funded via Kickstarter. Even a lot of the non-music packaging and post-production was done either by them or by friends and acquaintances.
Banks & Steelz, Anything But Words, released 26 August. Who knew that the dark, driving alt-rock of Interpol would fit so perfectly with the blistering delivery of RZA? And that these guys met up frequently to play chess? This match-up delivers one hell of a strong punch from both sides and it’s one of my favorites of the year.
The Wedding Present, Going, Going… released 2 September. The Weddoes are back! Another Kickstarter-funded album that was well worth the wait. Full of their trademark dreamy and crunchy riffs on top of lovely melodies.
Wilco, Schmilco, released 9 September. Wilco has always been just this side of weird, and their new album proves once again that they can pull it off and still be fun and enjoyable to listen to. Definitely a band off in their own universe, but they’ve become quite comfortable and agile within it.
Bastille, Wild World, released 9 September. I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to top their fantastic debut album from a few years ago, but they’ve pulled it off by being bigger, stronger, and more experimental with their sounds. They’ve also injected a bit of humor into the mix this time out, which makes a lot of the songs that much more fun to listen to.
Preoccupations, Preoccupations, released 16 September. The band formerly known as Viet Cong returns with a new album that sounds straight out of 1985-era goth that you’d expect to hear on Homestead Records, and it’s a fascinating listen. [Also, the above video perfectly fits with early era 120 Minutes, doesn’t it?]
Against Me!, Shape Shift with Me, released 16 September. One of their most melodic releases that I can think of, and some of their best work as well. The songs feel freer and livelier. Another frequent player during the Day Job as well as writing sessions.
Beach Slang, A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings, released 23 September. Another album that sold me on first listen, even before the album was done. Equal parts Replacements and Dinosaur Jr, there’s a hell of a lot of great pop-punk going on here. Definitely in my top ten of the year.
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Next up, the final quarter of 2016….and of course, I’ll follow up with the lineup for the end-of-year compilation mix and my Top Albums and Songs of the year!
As you can tell, I haven’t quite been sticking to my schedule nearly as well as I’d hoped. I’d blame it on the procrastination or the Day Job or the election or whatever, but it really has been a bunch of things. I started writing this one up last night after doing much of our Christmas wrapping, but had to stop short so I could get working on my editing. I’m hoping in the new year I’ll be a little more on the ball, yeah?
Well hey, here we go with Part 2 of my favorite albums of 2016, and Q2 was filled with a hell of a lot of great albums that I’m still playing heavily months later. Enjoy!
Cheap Trick, Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello, released 1 April. Thought I’d start off this one with an unexpected surprise — I’ve been a longtime Cheap Trick fan [I’m talking “Surrender” era here, so that means I AM OLD] so I was quite pleased to hear that they had a new album out this year. This isn’t the poppy CT from the late 80s, mind you. This is the crunchier, rockier CT from the late 70s – early 80s. One of my favorites of the year.
M83, Junk, released 8 April. Where 2011’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming was the sound of 70s LA glitz and 80s cinematic vistas, Junk seems to take the idea of the one goofy track from that album (you know, that one about turning into frogs) and expands on it. The end result sounds like a mix between 80s kids shows on PBS and theme songs to Love Boat episodes. And yet somehow it works without being cloying or embarrassing. Even if the album cover does look like a Happy Meal box.
Lush, Blind Spot EP, released 15 April. One of the best shoegazey bands of the 90s returns after twenty years for a tour and a new EP, and it was well worth the wait. It’s just as lovely and shimmery as their previous records. Yet another constant play during my writing sessions.
Wire, Nocturnal Koreans, released 22 April. Essentially a mini-album of leftovers from the sessions for their previous album (2015’s self-titled), but nonetheless there’s not a wasted track here. They’ve settled quite nicely into their current iteration as an indie-rock band with a sparse yet powerful sound.
RWBY Vol 3 soundtrack, released 3 May. I found this online animation series quite by accident back in 2014 (I think I saw the Vol 1 soundtrack on eMusic as an endcap suggestion), and I quite enjoy it. The soundtracks are great as well, very Paramore-ish and a lot of fun to listen to during my writing sessions.
Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool, released 8 May. “Doot doot OH HEY we have a new album out. Here you go.” And the fans trip all over themselves downloading and liveblogging it! Heh. Seriously, though, it’s a great album. Haunting, gorgeous, tense, and dreamy. Another writing session soundtrack!
Nothing, Tired of Tomorrow, released 13 May. I do likes me some crunchy alternative metal, especially if it’s as melodic as Nothing is. I’d never heard of this band before hearing this album streamed on NPR.com, and within two songs I definitely had that HOLY CRAP I NEED THIS response. And once this was out, I quickly downloaded it along with the rest of their available albums and singles, because I loved it that much. One of my top ten albums of the year.
Mark Pritchard, Under the Sun, released 13 May. On the other end of the spectrum we have some lovely quiet ambient electronic from one of its best producers (and one half of Global Communication, whose 76:13 I still listen to on a regular basis while writing). The album feels haunted at times — kind of hinting at being alone on a desolate world, come to think of it — but it also has its moments of light humor (“Hi-Red” sounds a bit like Mark playing with the settings on his keyboard more than anything else) to balance it out.
Beth Orton, Kidsticks, released 27 May. Beth is one of those ‘off in her own universe’ songwriters, but without the weirdness that sometimes derails Tori and Bjork. Her music has also retained that not-quite-electronic sound that she captured so well back on 1996’s Trailer Park, letting it sound both natural and ambient at the same time.
Garbage, Strange Little Birds, released 10 June. Probably my favorite album of theirs after their self-titled debut back in 1995. There’s some great guitar crunch going on here, and Shirley Manson can still belt it out effortlessly. One of my top ten favorites of the year.
The Shelters, The Shelters, released 10 June. As my sister said to me, ‘Dig that Rickenbacker sound!’ These guys picked up where Jet left off some time ago with the Swinging London-influenced sound, and I couldn’t be happier. That this was released on Capitol makes absolute sense; they would have fit in quite nicely next to the Beatles as a great 60s guitar combo.
The Temper Trap, Thick As Thieves, released 10 June. This band has grown to be one of those ‘I haven’t heard it yet but I’ll definitely download it’ bands of mine, and their newest has not let me down. The title track is in my top ten favorite songs of the year as well.
DJ Shadow, The Mountain Will Fall, released 24 June. The always amazing DJ Shadow brings forth an album that features less samples and a lot more hard sounds, giving his already experimental vibe a grittier edge. I’ve been putting this one on during my writing sessions when I need an angrier vibe. [The above track is NSFW lyrically, but they sure do fit the video, given the present political atmosphere.]
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Coming soon, Part 3, in which we check out some excellent late summer tunage!
The new 4TB external doing its thing on top of my dusty PC
So yesterday I started to move my mp3 collection to my new external hard drive. Originally I thought, hey, why not just do a block copy-and-paste all at once? and tried copying bands A through M. After about twenty minutes the status said ‘5% done; time remaining, 11 hours.’ That lasted until Depeche Mode, when the PC went to sleep last night. That was easily rectified of course, and I’m now going via small blocks of letters (it just finished N through P a few seconds ago).
So why am I doing this? Well, I think my externals are just getting worn out. Currently the collection is on two smaller 1TB externals and I’m starting to have issues with the PC reading one of them. It’ll work, but if the PC happens to go into sleep mode for any reason, the connection will get all wonky. No fear, though! Every mp3 is also copied to a third 2TB external whose sole purpose is to simply be backup storage. Nothing has been lost!
But seriously, though…why 4 terabytes? Isn’t that a bit excessive? Well, no. It’s a very comfortable amount of space for a collection that’s slowly been expanding for almost forty years. It gives me space for what I have already and an equal amount of space for any future purchases, rips, or downloads. [Especially now that I rip my cds at the max bitrate of 320 kbps. I’m not too snobbish about bitrate, but the higher it is, the better, clearer and louder the sound quality. And I usually stick with mp3 format instead of FLAC or anything else, simply because it’s space saving and I don’t hear too much of a difference.]
But that still begs the question: do I really listen to that much music?
Well, I don’t listen to every single song in my collection on a daily basis, no. That would be impossible. It’s more of a library than just a collection, anyway. I use it not just for entertainment but for background while I’m writing. I use it for reference with my music-related writing. And I share it with a few people on my Plex server so they get to listen and enjoy my tunage as well. A. likes to listen to stuff occasionally via that route while she’s working. Not everything gets heavy rotation play, but my library is big enough where I can shift that rotation and keep it fresh.
But yeah. I really do listen to that much music. If I don’t have a streaming radio station going, I’m probably listening to a certain batch of albums. Currently I’m going through a bunch of the 2016 albums in preparation for my eventual Best Of list next month.
Some people love vintage cars. Some love special edition books. Some love collectible figurines.
The ‘William It Was Really Nothing’ single, released 24 Aug 1984. British pop perfection.
One of the most common things I hear from many British bands in interviews is how surprised they often are when they’re told of their success in America. I mean, as a writer, I get it; once your art is out there, you only see the response of those who actually connect with you, but you have no idea of the bigger picture. Quite often, the musicians will respond with a bit of embarrassed surprise that they had no idea how inspiring or influential they are or were. They’ve only seen it from their point of view as a working, touring musician. They see the audience and maybe the sales numbers, but that’s about it.
I’m going to be seeing a conversation with Johnny Marr (guitarist extraordinaire of the Smiths and solo, natch) at the Jewish Community Center here in town tonight, and of course I’m trying to think of a good question to ask if there’s a Q & A at the end of the talk. My first thought, of course, was ‘How does it feel to have written one of the most recognized, beloved, and imitated riffs of the 80s?’ but that seems a bit silly. On the other side of the spectrum I could go full-on Matt Pinfield and ask about The Smiths being an insanely influential band on US college radio in the 80s. Or I could just ask him how he tunes his guitars because I can’t figure out how the hell he plays half his licks.
I paid a little extra for my ticket so I get his new autobiography, Set the Boy Free, as well. And perhaps I may get it signed if he’s going to be doing so.
Last time I did this was a few years back when I saw Peter Hook (bassist of Joy Division and New Order) at the same place. I ended up not asking any dorky questions, but I did get to tell him his playing style was deeply influential in my own over the years. [He followed that up with a big smile and asked if I was currently in a band! Come to find out he’s just as big a music geek as I am and loves meeting other musicians of all levels.]
I was a huge fan of Zebra when I was in junior high. I remember hearing “Who’s Behind the Door?” on WAAF — and seeing the video on MTV — and being totally blown away by the music. I loved the sound of synthesizers back then, especially if they used the strings setting. [I’d later get into Giuffria a year or so later for the same reason.] I even got to see them live, when they opened up for Loverboy at the Worcester Centrum — my very first big arena concert.
I bought the cassette of the self-titled debut album right about the same time, and I nearly wore it out within a year.
Decades later, and I’m listening to it on mp3, and it suddenly dawns on me — this album sounds almost exactly like a Porcupine Tree album.
Think about it: both lead singers are guitar virtuosos who write beautiful and complex melodies. Sure, one sings in falsetto half the time, but never mind. Plus the keyboards play a strong and vital part in the music, giving it a darker ambience. There are a few shorter pop songs here and there, but there are also some lengthy prog-jam pieces in there as well. It’s no wonder that I became such a huge PT fan in the late 90s.
I still pull out this album every now and again and give it a listen. I’ll listen to album two, No Tellin’ Lies, every now and again as well, but this first album will always be a particular favorite of mine.
Others have commented: it’s going to be the Beatles’ solo years next! This one’s gonna be a long series, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be featuring it on specific days…maybe offering it every other Wednesday or something. We shall see. This may take some time for me to build up a backlog, as there are quite a few releases to plow through — and I’m not going to include the multiple reissues that have taken place over the years. One last note: I’ve already decided this is going to be chronological, just like the previous series, so this means we’ll be visiting all four solo discographies at the same time. I will also be featuring multiple releases per post, or else I’ll be posting until 2019!
Until then, I’ll be providing the usual music posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The always excellent Johnny Marr, who I’ll be seeing in October!
I’ve been tempted to do another “blogging a band” series like I did with the Beatles a while back. The original one was a lot of fun, as I was not only able to give the songs and albums a good solid listen, I was able to better understand their place in musical history — both their own, and within the larger scene. And as a bonus, I was also able to learn a lot of new songs on my guitar!
I probably don’t know any band nearly as well as I know the Beatles, but I do own a lot of complete (or nearly complete) discographies of plenty of bands, or they’re easily available for streaming somewhere if I don’t. I’ll be relearning their oeuvre right alongside you!
So, what do you think? Here’s a shortlist so far of favorite 80s/90s bands I could possibly do:
Somehow I fell down another retro rabbit hole and have been listening to the Sirius XM Classic Rock Party station over the last few days. I’m fifteen again and listening to WAAF and WAQY in my messy bedroom, cranking up the 80s stylings of Twisted Sister, Billy Idol and Whitesnake alongside the classic 60s/70s hits of the Stones, Yes, and BROOOCE.
This was the music I grew up with. I was too young to understand punk and post-punk back in the early 80s (at least not until that fateful evening in early 1986), and as much as I enjoyed the pop of American Top 40 and American Bandstand, it was the music of rock stations that stuck with me most. I was a nerdy, spotty kid that was completely obsessed with music and radio and would be just as happy sitting alone in front of my boombox as I would be outside roaming the neighborhood on my BMX with my buddies. This was Diver Down and Pyromania playing on my sister’s boombox while we played touch football in the backyard. This was me completely blown away by 90125 and Synchronicity and So. This was my growing obsessions with other bands aside from the Beatles. This was our state capital’s own honored rockers in the forms of Aerosmith, the J Geils Band and Boston. This was where I learned to appreciate bands before my time like Jimi Hendrix and Cream and The Rolling Stones.
Decades later and here I am, hitting middle age and living on the opposite coast, listening to the still-epic “Born to Run”, still impressed by the guitar solo freakout of the back half of “Freebird”, still feel that “Layla” is a decent song but is about 3 minutes too long. Living in a city where Janis and Jerry lived, where Steve Miller recorded the sound of the foghorn going past the Marina for the opening of his Sailor album, where the classic Frampton Comes Alive! was recorded just three miles away at a long-departed ballroom in Japantown. Where Journey the Doobies and the Dead and the Airplane lived and recorded and became local heroes.
The playlist has its moments of amusing embarrassment. All that LA glam metal of the 80s is still goofy, doofy, simplistic fun, just like I remember it. All the prog rock of the 70s is still full of nerdy math and fantastical imagery. All the arena rock bands are still full of that bombast. Some of it’s kind of corny now, but you can’t help but have fun listening to it. The playlist is also going to be a lot of the same heavy-rotation classics that you can’t escape, even after all these years. It may even have its share of “oh, that song!” moments.
Sure, most of it’s a good three or four decades old now, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun to listen to.
Walk In Silence 