Raised on Radio- Elton John

Here’s something you’re not going to like. I know Elton John’s 70s albums are among the most critically acclaimed of all time. I am not a huge fan. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate Elton John. He’s certainly nailed it on a few songs. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is as good as anything anyone has ever done. “Rocket Man” of course. I suspect if I would ever go back to the first time I heard “Bennie and the Jets”, I’d be impressed. But I grew up #raisedonradio with Elton in the 80s. These are the years you’re not supposed to like. I think that last sentence is supposed to apply to about every class of artist whether it’s Bowie, Dylan, Queen, Alice Cooper, Paul McCartney, the Stones, the Who or Billy Joel. But Elton had some fantastic singles in the 80s and 90s too. 1986s Leather Jackets album is considered a career nadir- an all time worst album. But something like 24 Top 40 hits on in the Eighties, well it’s kind of a blip. Which brings me to “I’m Still Standing”. If you had asked me ten years ago, I would have given you an impassioned speech about how it is typical of his 80s style, and individually is as good of a song as he ever performed Now, of course, I need not do that. It’s been featured in the movie Sing and Rocket Man and it is even one of my kid’s’ favorite songs. I don’t think it requires my approval any more to be reappraised In any case, I am posting Elton today and I am going to flip to one of the lesser known singles. This song went to 16 (“I’m Still Standing only went to 12, which kind of shows where he was in the 80s after his string of earlier Top 10 Hits). The third single from 1984s Breaking Hearts (best known for “Sad Songs Say So Much”) does not seem as ambitious as say “Nikita” or the John Lennon tribute “Empty Garden”. Not that the lyrics aren’t great, but self-reflection gives away to glam rock style stomp. It’s a tough rocker but everyone became tough rockers in the eighties (Michael Jackson to Billy Joel to Kenny Loggins to Hall &Oates to Springsteen to many of those I named above and perhaps the oddest one -Barry Manilow on 1982s Here Comes the Night). But hey I think it’s pretty great, so here it is

Raised on Radio- Matthew Wilder

 Matthew Wilder may be a one hit wonder but he somehow has never fell out of consciousness. His song “Break My Stride” now revived through TikTok. His Top of the Pops performance also goes viral for highlighting pop’s most unlikely looking star. Comments on YouTube compare him to everyone from Richard Simmons to Super Mario to the character Sammy in the Wedding Singer.

It is a weird song. Almost corny in its positivity. I loved it as a kid. As an adult, I have vacillated from love to hate and back depending on the day. I can think of very few songs that match it in terms of sheer optimism (Fitz and the Tantrums “The Walker” comes to mind. Also about walking. Not sure that’s a coincidence) and I’m not sure any top it.

His career is a weird path but quite accomplished. He produced Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus albums and wrote the music for the Disney movie Mulan, but also was the producer for No Doubt’s breakthrough Tragic Kingdom album.

When Matthew Wilder came up in conversation on a Facebook group (see he is still ubiquitous) someone listed him as a true one hit wonder. Here’s the thing, I was a huge Top 40 kid #raisedonradio and I remember the second hit.

The Kids American is a bit different vibe. It almost has to be. It was released in 1983 and fits into those 80s Reagan/LA Olympics era patriotic songs of the decade.

I didn’t think the bill I would pick to die on is Matthew Wilder wasn’t a one hit wonder but here we are.

Old and in the Way: It's the 2023 Iowa State Fair Free Stage review time again

Every year, I take some time to write about the music at the Iowa State Fair. 

It is a running joke, of course that a band is on the upside or the downslide of their career, and it is usually the latter.

I don’t focus on the main acts. Those bands that are still big draws, if only to an aging crowd- and this years list covers all bases - The Chicks, Jason Aldean, The Black Keys, NKoTB, and Ludacris to name a handful. 

No the bands on the Free Stage that are a “Where are they now” grouping and should be saluted for sticking it out. 

Often, these are bands that still get rave reviews from fans for their live performance, though I occasionally hear the opposite (I am looking at you Kix) 

In any case, this year brings a lot of return engagements. So a lot of bands that I have written about before. Still not going to stop me 

Junior Marvin and the Legendary Wailers- I know: The Wailers are legendary. I have also seen the name advertised for gigs for years and I always give some pause. You see Bob Marley (and Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston) have all passed. It hardly seems that the Wailers are still the product advertised 

I learned: But if we are being honest, I think everyone knows Bob Marley is dead. With any aged group, it is still exciting to hear the lineage. Now, this is where it is confusing. I think Marvin’s band is somewhat different than the one that constantly toured in the 90s. I think they exist too but that group was headed by the legendary bassist Aston Barrett and now led by his son (Marvin played with them for a time too) Marvin joined the Wailers in 1977 and has some bona fide connection playing guitar and joining the band on Exodus and playing on the next four (and final) Marley albums. He also has played with Steve Winwood, Lenny Kravitz and OAR through the years and recorded four albums as the Wailers 

Fun fact: Marvin was invited to join Stevie Wonder’s band or Marley’s. He picked the Wailers since he was Jamaican 

Great White I know: I mean, the number one people used to think of when they heard the band name was Ian Hunter’s song. But then the fire happened. That is always going to be associated with the band That said, I do know there are two touring versions - lead singer Jack Russell’s (the one with the Rhode Island Nightclub Fire) and the one without Russell 

I learned: Everyone remembers Twice Shy but incredibly, they had eight albums make the Top 200 starting with the 1984 debut and finishing with 1999’s Can’t Get There From Here. That’s an amazing run for a band “Once Bitten Twice Shy” made it all the way to # 5, but they still were getting play and chart action on Rock Radio even as grunge was replacing hair metal. Although I knew they were quite popular, it is a pretty impressive career that I don’t think people realize. Although the band is missing their charismatic lead singer, three of the bands classic five piece lineup are part of the band giving them real authenticity Terry Illous was Russell’s replacement until he left in 2018 to be replaced by Mitch Malloy who stayed until 2022 and singer Andrew Freeman. Freeman’s resume has a little bit of everything- playing on an Offspring album, leading the members of the late Ronnie James Dio’s band in the group Last in Line and singing quite often with George Lynch and his bands. Wiki says the current singer is Brett Carlisle 

Fun Fact: Per Wiki, the band seems to do quite well in Switzerland. In fact, 2012s Elation- the first album with Illous on vocals charted there. 

Vixen I know: In retrospect, we probably should honor Vixen more, the only all female band to make headlines in a sea of glam rockers. “Edge of a Broken Heart” was written by Richard Marx (and apparently co-written by Fee Waybill of the Tubes) and is the first song I think of, but the follow up “Cryin” was a bigger hit going to # 22. 

What I learned: the band’s history starts with guitarist Jan Kuehnemund in 1971 leading to the bands debut album in 1988. The band would put a total of four songs into the Top 100 Like many 80s bands, Vixen went through breakups and reformations, but unlike their peers, the touring lineups largely consisted of the “classic” members. Kuehnemund passed in 2013 and in the last few years, other members have stepped away with drummer Roxy Petrucci the only member remaining. 

Fun fact: an early iteration of the band appeared in that 1984 VHS store staple Hardbodies as the band Diaper Rash. 

 Autograph What I know: I write about some of the music in my youth as #raisedonradio and Autograph’s “Turn Up the Radio” is among the favorite songs of my youth. You likely know the band story. An unsigned band that found themselves opening for Van Halen when unsigned bands didn’t do that. One massive hit - one of those variations on the rock anthem like “Rock and Roll All Nite”. And that is it. That’s the story.

What I learned: the song went to # 29 and clearly was their biggest hit, but they did go as far as chart three albums on the Top 200. But otherwise, yes success was rather short lived. They did have a second hit in “Blondes in Black Cars” that got some rock play from their second album. I went and listened to it and it is definitely “of its time” (a fancy way of saying “cheesy”) I asked a friend who I consider about the biggest fan of 80s rock and he said the band just didn’t have the tunes and that is the music industry for you. The band reunited in 2002 and released a new album but that only lasted three years. After that, singer and most recognizable member Steve Plunkett never had an interest in a reunion but the rest of the band did regroup with Simon Daniels recruited for lead vocals Unfortunately because of deaths, the band that Daniels now leads has no original members left. 

Fun fact: Steve Lynch won “Guitar Solo of the Year” for “Turn up the Radio” in Guitar Players Year End Awards 

Country Gold with LeRoy Van Dyke, Mandy Barnett and David Frizell What I know: The Country Gold concert is as certain as death and taxes with 93 year old Van Dyke leading the proceedings for over 40 years. Van Dyke is probably best known for the country classic “Walk on By”. As a kid, I lived in a house where classic country was the soundtrack, and there were only two songs that really were rock enough for my tastes- “Ghost Riders in the Sky” and Van Dyke’s “The Auctioneer Song”. I didn’t know that Van Dyke predicted punk. Heck, maybe that is a stretch but not enough of a stretch that Hank Williams III made an album of auctioneers over metal guitar in 2011 called 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin. (It surely is one of the most inessential albums ever made but Allmusic shockingly praised it and gave it three and a half stars.) David Frizell was never as famous as his country legend brother Lefty, but he did have one all time classic country song (with Shelly West) in “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” (# 1 on the country charts in 1981) and though I don’t really remember it, he had another country # 1 in 1982 which I have seen referenced a lot lately called “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our House”. I know he is one of those artists that has been forgotten in time but West and Frizell were big stars in the early 1980s 

What I learned: Van Dyke’s career was overshadowed by his two early hits, but he had 19 Top 100 country hits from 1956 through 1977. I don’t really know Mandy Barnett at all but she is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and her album I’ve Got A Right to Cry was a Rolling Stone pick Best of pick in 1999. Frizzel’s career spanned decades, first touring with his brother as early as the late 50s until having success in the early 70s and his real time at the top in the early 80s. He had three top 10 country albums in 1981 and 1982 (one solo and two with West). He had six Top 20 country hits with West (the last one in 1984). As a solo artist, he had three Top 10 hits (in 82 and 83) but he did have another 15 Top 100 hits from the time span of 1970 until 1987 

Fun fact: Fast talking was a hallmark of Van Dyke whose one of his final hits was “Who’s Gonna Run the Truck Stop in Tuba City When I’m Gone” 

Asleep at the Wheel What I know: Surely one of the more unique paths a Musical Artist might take. Influenced by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, their style of Western Swing found success in the mid 70s, and while their sound fell out of favor, they had a resurgence in the neo traditional climate of Country music in the late 1980s. 

What I learned: AaatW only had two top 20 country hits - more than a decade apart- 1975s “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” and 1987s “The House of Blue Lights”. At least 60 members have provided service in Ray Benson’s collective. The band has charted 13 albums on the Country Top 100 Albums chart and 19 total songs on the Country 100. Even as we have entered the 21st Century, the band has placed two albums in the top 15 of the Country Albums Chart- 2009s Willie Nelson collaboration Willie and the Wheel and 2015 Bob Wills tribute Still the King. 

Fun fact: Perhaps one of the most famous musicians to serve time in the band is legendary guitarist Junior Brown (1985-1986) 

Tribute bands What I know: Tribute bands are always a hit and reflect current tastes. This year provides four tribute artists:  Blake Guyre (Elton John/Billy Joel) Hairball (local Glam rock faves) Good to Be King (Tom Petty) Paradise Kitty (Guns N Roses) 

What I learned: 20 year old Guyre often plies his trade in those famous Central Florida amusement parks Hairball has been playing hair rock for 30 years According to the State Fair website, Good to be King are based out of Western Massachusetts, but as far as I know are local band The Jesters Paradise Kitty are a nationally touring All-female Guns N Roses cover band. Lead singer Jenna Syde (get it?) is one of the more interesting interview subjects on the net 

Fun Fact: Hairball bassist (and band resident Gene Simmons impersonator) Dave Moody previously played bass for Billy Ray Cyrus 

Bonus Fair Fun Fact: Every year, the Fair releases ticket sales on the Grandstand act. This year, Eric Church leads the pack with The Chicks closely behind- both selling around 15,000 tickets. The much recently discussed Aldean is in the 10000 range with the nostalgia acts New Kids and Ludacris and Christian pop band For King and Country. Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, Tyler Hubbard (Florida Georgia Line), Maren Morris and the Black Keys were all under 7000

Some history and some HD Harmsen

Awhile back, I got to think about local “scenes”. Everyone has local bands. I grew in the sphere of St Louis, a city that had a few successful bands (the Urge, pale Divine, Gravity Kills) though none particularly grabbed me as much as they did my friends. 

After that, I went to the college town of Carbondale, Illinois. While the town was too small to have much of a “scene”, there was a short time from around 1995 to 1997 where there were a bunch of great local bands. For a time, there was a website that had uploaded a bunch of area band songs but it may be defunct now 

My favorite Carbondale band was a rockabilly band called the Bottletones who reunited for their fourth album in 2019. Highly recommended to fans of the genre

I never lived in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois but I almost feel like I did, by proxy.  I did have friends there and the music filtered to me. Now, Champaign legitimately had some national impact. Probably the biggest bands were the late 90s Emo bands like Braid and American Football. Their impact being one of those that only grew in time.  Other Champaign bands to have national success were the Poster Children and Hum

Bands that caught my ear (via friends in the late 90s) were Corndolly, the Beauty Shop, the Funky Butt Drum Club, the Viper and his Famous Orchestra and Hand to Mouth.   All but the last at least have their songs still living eternally in time via streaming.  

I moved to Iowa in 2003. Des Moines doesn’t have a large scene but it has had some good bands during my time here. When I moved here, there weren’t many venues. That would improve, likely peaking around 2011 or so, but in recent years, some smaller stages have closed. Not having those locations is a major bummer. 

My favorite Iowa area (currently active) artists are roots rocker DICKIE, the self explanatory named Surf Zombies and alt country band Loose Gravel. The first two are available on streaming. 

Ames, Iowa is about 40 miles north of Des Moines. It is the home of Iowa State University. It is close enough of course that I don’t know that there is much difference in the two cities’ “scenes”. 

As with the previous two college towns I mentioned, Ames had a swell of great local bands. Particularly, around the same time the Des Moines scene seemed to peak (from 2010 to 2013 or so) there were a lot of interesting sounds coming out. The big boost (as often is the case) was the support of a local record label (Maximum Ames Records) and a concurrent promotion of the annual Maximum Ames Music Festival

If we are being honest, the most popular Ames musician is early Internet celebrity Leslie Hall (Gemsweater.com) and she, in fact, did release music for Maximum Ames. 

But the more typical rock band that led the charge was a four piece called the Poison Control Center- a really talented band that got press from the likes of Pitchfork and the AVClub. 

A top hit on a recent Google search I did was “Ames Music: What the Hell Happened” and admittedly, we are a decade removed from the magical time. I suppose like Carbondale and Chicago, Ames can only slow down ambition of a bigger nearby town like Minneapolis 

Of course, the pandemic set things back for everyone. 

Recently, I saw a musician perform live who had released an album for Maximum Ames Records: HD Harmsen

Harmsen’s discography probably looks as expected. His debut 2013 “Papoose” for Maximum Ames got some local press. A follow up in 2015 called “Idiot Boy” was also released by Maximum Ames

Now, after a recording hiatus, we have his third album Glaciers available on the usual streaming platforms. 

Harmsen is hard to categorize as he jumps genres from Lo-fi rock on the albums opener to chamber pop to anti-folk. 

On the standout “Enmeshed and Obsessed”, the dreamy "Hope Begins in the Heartache" and the instrumental "2020 Visions", he sounds like something off the Shimmy Disc label -which is right down but alley - but other moments on the record recall Guided by Voices or Pavement. 

On stage, he’s dressed up for performance in a white suit. I am reminded of Elliott Smith and I think that could be  coincidental, but there’s definitely the same ingredients making up both musicians- introspective and vulnerable lyrics and vocals but also an ear for melodic indie pop

I started this post saying I had a history of not being impressed by local artists, but I like Glaciers quite a bit and can see it as a really possibility for one being of this year’s favorite discs of mine. 

https://hdharmsen.bandcamp.com/

Spotify- Glaciers

(With apologies to the artist, concert pictures always look worse than real life)

Concert review - Jeffrey Lewis and the Voltage

 

My parents didn’t want me going to rock concerts in high school, so upon turning 18 (almost concurrent to graduation) I was ready to make up for last time. 

For a ten year period, concerts were such an important part of my life. I saw so many of my favorite bands. I spent a good chunk of my limited income. Even looking back, I think of this as one of my biggest life accomplishments. I have not tallied it up but I am sure I saw 100 bands or more. Most of these were at smaller venues. 

The next 15 years are a bit of “wilderness” years. I would say concerts were not a priority. Still, I have a fondness for some of the artists I saw. I saw a few more festivals so my numbers might be similar. Also I feel like I saw more of a mix of unusual and unique artists. So what I lacked in Quantity, I made up for in Quality

The last five years or so (pandemic excepted) feels like a “third wave” of concert going.  Kids are growing and I have people that I can go to shows with again. 

Now, I haven’t found a good cadence because I do lack the freedom of the younger me to go see any show. I am more selective and yet, I am trying to find a way to get myself out of that comfort level. 

I am not sure what that looks like yet but I am trying 

But Jeffrey Lewis definitely fits the bill. Here’s an artist I know a bit about, heard a couple of songs, seems interesting but isn’t a “must see” for me or a longtime favorite artist. The former are the kind of shows I probably need in my concert diet. 

What I know about Lewis is his reputation. He’s extremely prolific. His style is called anti-folk which kind of sounds like it says- but had a bit of a heyday in the early 00s with Lewis a key figure alongside Moldy Peaches, Regina Spektor and the Mountain Goats

That was my image going in and I also know he is revered by the DIY and outsider crowd. While I hate the gatekeeping of some of those fans, I would say that is accurate but it’s not like he is a one man band like Bob Log III or Scott H Biram

His setup tonight was pretty traditional- though certainly charming. Brent Cole (Moldy Peaches) on drums, Mallory Feurer on violin and keyboard (who also fronts The Grasping Straws) and Mem Pahl ( Catt Tatt) on bass. A perfect backing band. 

Listening to him live, I shifted my focus from 21st Century marketing to the actual music. My first thought was humorous Michigan area 90s folkie Wally Pleasant. There certainly is a lineage to bands like the Dead Milkmen, They Might Be Giants and Camper Van Beethoven and more than anything, the bands that occupied the Shimmy Disc record label roster, not to mention indie nerd mavericks like Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and Atom and his Package. 

Weirdly, the opening song made me think of roots rocker Todd Snider. Not that the two styles are comparable but Snider has found a secondary audience for his more humorous work- even getting played regularly on Morning Zoo radio like the Bob and Tom Show. The song about his girlfriend falling asleep when they watch movies together was absolutely wholesome. 

A look at his set lists indicate that each show is quite different. Not that he has any “hits” but his setlist seemed devoid of the songs he is most known for with the one exception of taking an audience request for “The Last Time I Took Acid”.   Though his setlists do have some commonality and I don’t think you are necessarily get a “here’s my new album” set either 

Lewis is also known for drawing comics. Which brings to mind R Crumb indies but also Daniel Johnston’s drawings. 

Lewis performed three of his songs accompanied by a slideshow of his comics -Champion Jim and Creeping Brain certainly fell into the category of Daniel Johnston or perhaps Jad Fair’s monster songs but the third was the History of Communism: Part 5- Vietnam which is apparently part of his concert series 

I really enjoyed the concert if you can’t tell and it probably should go closer to the top on the all time list than others. 

My last question coming in is how “authentic” Lewis is. It’s a ridiculous question of course. But I don’t feel attachment to anybody who just gets up and spits out nonsense.  Lewis is definitely active on social media which made it harder to assess 

But seeing Lewis and briefly meeting him at the merch table afterwards, he is the real deal

That’s not surprising- as he seems to be a huge music fan- even recording entire albums to cover counterculture icons like anarcho punks Crass, the Fall and avant garde pioneer Tuli Kupferberg. Lewis’s work is filled with cameos from Kupferberg, Kimya Dawson, Peter Stampfel, Diane Cluck, Kramer and Producer Roger Moutenot (most of Yo La Tengo’s classic 90s/00s albums).  (He took the stage to the sounds of Jim Sullivan’s “UFO”)

I am not sure if Lewis is a depressive but he has the true brain of a comedian and when his music wasn’t funny (or educational) he had plenty of positive and encouraging (but not cheesy) messages in his songs. 

His most recent album is 2019s Bad Wiring but he has released a collection of A-Sides and B-Sides (2014-2018)

It was one of the best shows I have seen in recent years. Support was local and great (to the point) I might just write about them individually- Book of Bees and HD Harmsen

Raised on Radio - Taco

I think the music of my youth is the best ever. For a second, I will pretend that everyone doesn’t think the music of their youth was the all time best. I write about the forgotten (and not so forgotten) songs of my youth and I call it #raisedonradio. But dang, if MTV helped usher in some adventurous music in the early 1980s. I am going with a one hit wonder but it really is an all-time favorite song of mine, and I don’t think I ever heard a second song from this artist. Taco probably doesn’t need an introduction. You likely know the Simpsons reference ("Thanks Taco for that loving tribute to Falco"). The Indonesian-born German-based singer really had the one huge hit. His follow up “Singin in the Rain” got some world airplay (except in the US) and he had a couple of minor European hits. I remember Casey Kaseum said something that I never have heard or be able to verify since. But my understanding was that Taco appended a certain amount of “There’s No Business like Show Business” and the original “Gotta Dance” bit so he got some time of writing credit as it became a medley instead of a cover. (Which makes sense if true, Marc Almond surely lost a large sum of money by pairing a cover "Tainted Love" with another cover "Baby, Where Did Our Love Go" instead of an original) Again, in a world where you can look anything, I can’t confirm what I vaguely remember from a radio bit I heard once 40 years ago. But I do love Taco who’s singing a depression era tune, dressed to the nines, he looks mad, possibly evil. A rock star but a rock star seemingly moved to the Vegas (or New York) lights. OMG!?! Did Bono just rip off Taco wholesale for his Mephisto/ Zoo TV character?

Album Review- Iggy Pop- Every Loser

I feel like the last two thirds of Iggy Pop’s 50plus year career has been “comeback”s. Maybe that is the way it works for any long time artist. He has had some high points of course. 1993s American Caesar and 2016s Post Pop Depression felt like late career capstones. 2023’s Every Loser feels every bit of a marker of where Iggy is going next. I have read a few reviews that suggest that it’s every aspect of Iggy’s career covered in one album. It’s certainly more catchy than 2019’s Free- a Pop into poetry, jazz and atmospheric introspection. In many ways, it’s hard not to compare Every Loser to 1990s Brick by Brick. That album paired Iggy with a big time producer (Don Was) and a bunch of stars- Slash and Duff from Guns N Roses, John Hiatt, Kate Pierson, Waddy Wachtel and Kenny Aronoff. Every Loser is produced by Andrew Watt (Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Ozzy Osbourne, Eddie Vedder) and features an all star list of rockers- Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, Stone Gossard, Taylor Hawkins, Travis Barker, Josh Klinghoffer and once again, Duff McKagan Iggy has done the rock star cameo thing before with 2003s Skull Ring with Green Day, Sum 41, and Peaches. Though there are as many opinions as fans, I consider Skull Ring one to skip. Every Loser does have some of that “big, dumb” rock that Iggy is known for, but Watt generally knows what to do here. There’s no great single on par with the best songs off Brick by Brick but the album holds together. Opener “Frenzy” and “Modern Day Ripoff” get closest to the mark as the kind of rocker Iggy made in the 1980s. If anything, the album reminds me of 1999s Avenue B. Not necessarily sonically- though it does at times share some characteristics of introspection and occasionally slowing down especially on songs like “Morning Show” and those two tracks labeled as “interludes” But Avenue B was an album that at first few listens felt like it would be one of Iggy’s better albums, but it didn’t really hold over too much over time. I doubt Every Loser will float to the top either. Watt is a positive but also a bit of a negative too. If Iggy really wanted to shake some listeners, he is a bit polished here. Closer “Regency” is the most discussed song here and it probably should be, as it feels like what the album is building to. It’s also a pretty good example of the album. It is very ambitious, and yet feels like it falls short. It’s full of profanity. Musically, it is the closest to 80s and 90s Iggy, which is notable considering some of his recent detours. Neither the song nor the album are the type of quality that gets mentioned in the obituary. Yet, that isn’t to say it’s not a good album. Album tracks like “Strung Out Johnny” and “Comments” are amazingly strong despite some pretty overused lyric fodder - hard drugs and social media.

Alan Rankine RIP (The Associates- An Appreciation)

The Associates are probably the last band I would ever expect to hear in my small Midwestern town. Yet, I became aware of them via two ways. One was from being a huge Smiths fan and the implication that “William, It was Really Nothing” might be inspired by the Associates’ Billy MacKenzie (and he would later reply with a song called “Stephen. You’re Really Something”.) The second being an album review in Spin magazine. These were rough times for me personally (in my mid-20s) and I would read and re-read these magazines This was also during a time where I was routinely hitting up the CD section in local pawn shops and to my shock, found two Associates CDs while doing this. One was 1990s Wild and Lonely- the bands fourth album is essentially a McKenzie solo album with collaborator Alan Rankine out of the band. It’s a bit of a completists only record that production wise, is off its time. But I also found Popera: The Singles Collection (also 1990) a collection of the band’s Greatest Hits I know that there probably is one Associates fan who will read this, so I hope to continue discussing the band without causing offense. There are a lot of similarities between the Associates and one of my favorite bands, Soft Cell. Both are duos. Both are ostensibly synth pop bands with an ear for melody, but more interested in making art over chart success. Because of this last aspect, I would suggest that they fall into a category of “love it or hate it”. It was the 80s and they weren’t the only band so strongly committed to their craft, but so committed they were, that it is hard to think of too many bands that approached them in style and quality - Besides the aforementioned Soft Cell, I would suggest Bronski Beat, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Fad Gadget, Cabaret Voltaire and a select very few others that would come to mind. Popera is what makes the Associates great in one disc. Here are the band’s greatest moments - front loaded with songs from their most acclaimed album “Sulk” along with a career of worthwhile singles and a few well selected covers like “Love Hangover” and “Heart of Glass”. The title of the compilation perfectly capturing the operatic vocals and the synth pop beat. McKenzie committed suicide at the age of 39. Since his death in 1997 (and despite little success in the US), his influence shows in big ways via songs that were dedicated to him post-mortem by musicians like Siouxsie, Bjork and the Cure. Last year, Sulk received the 40 year anniversary boxed set treatment. There’s not much to recommend social media in 2023, but a real positive is that we hear about musicians who have passed, and can celebrate their work. Last month, Alan Rankine died at age 64. After the Associates, he recorded three solo albums, produced the Cocteau Twins and played a role in the early years of Snow Patrol and Belle and Sebastian via the Electric Honey label.

Terry Hall: An Appreciation

Hearing the Specials for the first time was one of those "Lightning strikes" moments. The first few weeks of college were tough for me, but discovering new music eased things. The first Specials album is an all time great. Though I was well immersed into the British punk scene, I had missed out on the Specials. For the benefit of one person who may be reading this, I can tell you I bought this at the Record Store that used to be by Quatros in Carbondale, Illinois I had listened to the Clash, the English Beat and (album producer) Elvis Costello, but nothing quite prepared me. The album from start to finish is amazing. Terry Hall was the perfect frontman. He sang as if it was a chore, as if he was “put out” or bored (Bernard Sumner is another vocalist who sounds like this) but the rest of the band was partying around him and somehow the contrast made everything more powerful. (Wikipedia suggests that I am on the right track by telling us that the vocals were taken from two vocal takes - a "bored" one and an "angry" one.) My version of the first record is the American version which adds “Gangsters”. Both that song and its follow up “A Message to you, Rudy” are perfect songs with accompanying fantastic videos. The music axiom of breaking up early instead of carrying on like The Rolling Stones (or U2) is in play here. Somehow, Jerry Dammers walking away from the Specials has cemented a certain legacy for him, but Hall continued to make music. Like Paul Weller, fans might not appreciate the pivot to more poppy music and The Colourfield and Fun Boy Three don’t carry the same gravitas. This plays out in the disappointment that Dammers didn’t join the recent Specials reunion. Then it is to Hall (and gang)’s credit that those two records were great additions to the band’s canon. Sadly, we didn’t get the third album from this incarnation which was supposed to be reggae influenced. I can hardly think of more iconic videos than “Gangsters” even if it’s just the band. The black and white striking out. Hall only occasionally maintaining eye contact, Neville Staple being a force of frenetic energy, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter jumping around while Roddy Radiaton provides his guitar heroics, and Dammers stealing his scenes by being a bit of a smart aleck. It is probably impossible to calculate the effect the album had on American punk and ska. Additionally, think of the influence passed on in artists as varied as No Doubt, Damon Albarn and Tricky.

Tom Verlaine: An Appreciation

I am fairly certain I bought “Marquee Moon” based on reputation and I was a big fan already of the New York punk scene. Everything you can say about the album is true. I think it is fantastic. I also bought “The Blow Up” shortly after- a more messy live affair that has been packaged and repackaged quite a bit over the years. It was a ROIR cassette that showed the band’s live side -adding versions of their early single “Little Johnny Jewel” - a song as adventurous as anything the band did and covers of “Satisfaction”, “Knockin on Heavens Door” and the 13th Floor Elevators “Fire Engine”. I was becoming a fan around the time the band reunited and released a self-titled third album. I was disappointed with the album at the time, although it has grown on me. Verlaine always spoke to me. His path seemed mystical - paired with Richard Hell and Patti Smith in bringing poetry to rock music. Verlaine pops up in another of my favorite artists biographies, working with Jeff Buckley for what would have been the follow up to Grace- a great rock n roll what if. Uncut featured Television a few months ago. Apparently, rumors of a fourth album are an annual occurrence with the possibility of actual recordings as anybody’s guess (Richard Lloyd having checked out of this conversation many years ago) Little Johnny Jewel is also the first track on the fantastic 2015 Ork Records: New York New York compilation

Jeff Beck: An Appreciation

There’s probably not a lot to add about the late Jeff Beck but I feel like I should say something. I am going to start with High School. I read Guitar player magazines and Beck was one of the highest regarded of all. I even bought his 1989 Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop album. Now, I would say his instrumental guitar jazz fusion music wasn’t for me. I don’t know that I would reach out for Blow by Blow or Wired- the two classics of the genre. But it’s a ‘me’ thing, I absolutely get it. I appreciate it, but I probably wouldn't pick it out to listen to. No, I gravitate to Beck in the Yardbirds. I still have them in my constant rotation. Over Under Sideways Down (also called Roger the Engineer) is a classic album. Again, I don’t need to educate on that. But for a moment, take another listen to 1965s Mister You’re A Better Man Than I (lead song off Having a Rave Up With the Yardbirds) Is it the first metal song? There were a few earlier (You Got Me, Louie Louie, Rumble) but there’s not many. Listen to the guitar solo at around 90 seconds in and it’s still powerful, predating the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Cream.

Christine McVie: An Appreciation

For many years. I considered Christine McVie the weak link of Fleetwood Mac. I don’t think that is a lot to be ashamed of. I discovered them in the 80s. Lindsey Buckingham is one of the coolest men on the planet. Stevie Nicks might be ‘the’ coolest woman on the planet. McVies solo releases were not nearly as rock oriented It wasn’t the Say You Will album that convinced me otherwise. (I am a fan). It is that the McVie heavy Tango in the Night has become a favorite of mine. I have spoke about this at length but while 1987 was nearing peak music creativity in almost every genre (U2, Public Enemy, Prince, Boogie Down Productions, Anthrax, Guns N Roses, Husker Du, Sonic Youth, REM, the Smiths, Roseanne Cash, Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakum all had albums of note), and Fleetwood was making some of the least adventurous music. Yet, Tango is surprisingly solid, even finding a spot in one of the more memorable television ads of the year. Additionally, the 2017 self titled album she did with Lindsey Buckingham has become a favorite I have really begun to enjoy McVies position in Mac, her various Mac contributions, the Winwood assisted “Got A Hold On Me” and so on. Whatever damage the overplayed, unpunk “You Make Loving Fun” caused, by the time of McVies death in November of 2022, I was able to realize what a real loss it was.

What I am Listening to : Rodriguez

Even though I used to watch a lot of music documentaries and these days even though I don’t watch a lot of television, I still watch a lot of documentaries, I have yet to see 2012’s Searching For Sugar Man   That documentary had a fascinating hook. Early 70s musician Sixto Rodriguez’s records had became hugely popular in South Africa, and yet in on his home country, the United States, he was virtually unknown and possibly considered deceased. My intro to Rodriguez like so many artists in modern day was via the soundtrack (in this case the Johnny Lee Miller / Lucy Liu take on Sherlock Holmes show “Elementary”) It’s hard sometimes to articulate why an artist “hits” a certain way. Rodriguez’s sound isn’t easy to describe except by saying it is of its time, 1970 and 71, during the bridge between 60s protest and 70s singer songwriter radio sound. There’s a variety of names that come to mind when I listen to Rodriguez -Donovan , Cat Stevens, Tim Buckley, Gil Scott Heron, Arthur Lee, Jose Feliciano and Curtis Mayfield. Cold Fact for me is the recommended disc- a near perfect summation of his work but the Follow up Coming From Reality has plenty to recommend it. The sequel given an air of working toward commercial success. He worked with Producer Steve Rowland (who has a fascinating career of his own - from producing Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and the Pretty Things and to having UK pop hits both with his group The Family Dogg and with Albert Hammond and discovering artists including Peter Frampton, the Thompson Twins and the Cure) on Coming From Reality and Chris Spedding played guitar. I don’t know why but Cold Fact really resonates me (and Coming From Reality is a good listen too). Like many of the artists I listed above, there only seems to be a limited commercial appeal (talking in terms of competition with pop music) but because of that, perhaps it is more timeless and even if it sounds of the time with its production and instrumentation, the songs hit like they are modern