things that i think about

Undoubtedly, I haven't had much time to work on music this year. I sincerely hope this changes soon as I've a few projects to finish, a few projects to start.

I was on a quick run yesterday listening to the new Tricky album (Mixed Race) when I could finally articulate what I want out of my next stage piece:

"I want it to sound like Aaron Copeland hanging out with Frank Lloyd Wright in some shitty underground dance club in downtown Chicago and they're doing death drugs."

I hope I never forget that.

So tired, blah...

So. In the last week, Jwest produced his first night of standup comedy, Vicki from the Old School produced a new human being (with help from her awesome hubby Robbo) and Bex finally made Seany an honest man (as honest as he's capable of being anyhow). Seriously, Congrats go out to all of them. They're all awesome.

This week we're gonna go see Ray Lamontagne and David Gray at the Santa Fe Opera House. Then we're gonna throw Tyler a bachelor party. Then a rehearsal dinner. And finally, on Saturday, he impacts Poor Cheryl's life like a meteor landing in dino-land.

So no book writing tonight. I gots speeches to write, yo!

what's on radio free pennington this week?

This week, I'm listening to random albums in their entirety. Which is my occasional way of returning to the album as an art form- beginning to end, a listenable wholesale piece of art.

I grew up listening to cassette tapes in my walkman. There was no real skip option unless you wanted to spend half your life holding buttons. Instead, you just listened to better music. That way, you didn't want to skip a thing.

Somedays, in this Apple media world, I really miss albums.

In the queue this week:

Annetenna by Annetenna- there were Ednaswap, they got sacked, some of them regrouped, made this kickass album and still got sacked by Columbia records. Goddammit.

Angles by Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip- beat hop as I refer to it. Dan Le Sac throws out various electro clash shapes for Pip to rhyme over. Worth it solely for "Thou Shalt Always Kill" and the Radiohead sampled "Letter to God."

Heaven is Whenever by the Hold Steady- more tuneful than previous records, the knee jerk reaction is to think of this as THS slipping soft rock into the set. Numerous listens unfold an album of simple truths, beauties and time providing, a new direction for the band's next few years.

LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem- the first record, as buoyed by "Daft Punk is Playing at My House." "Tribulations" gave me vertigo the first time I heard it. Literally. Now I find myself chasing the dragon.

No Line on the Horizon by U2- not my favorite record by any means, but I find myself returning to the songs I found so challenging a year ago. I like to listen to it at work a lot, too.

No One's First and You're Next by Modest Mouse- it meanders a bit but offers subtle joys left off other albums. "Satellite Skin" and "I've Got It All (Most)" do that scrappy underdog emo thing they do so well down to a tee.

No Said Date by Masta Killa- the debut from the admitted ninth member of the bunch. Old school Wu-Tang with cameo's from every one in the Clan, there's beauty in simplicity. Especially when RZA rides shotgun on "School" and "Old Man."

Room on Fire by the Strokes- like the first album except tighter and better written. True, nothing on the record punches with the immediacy of "Last Night," but I could listen to this nonstop for a year. Wait. Already did. My last year of college.

Powder Burns by the Twilight Singers- Greg Dulli seems to churn out one self loathing masterpiece a decade and this is the last one's. Unlike the Afghan Whigs' Black Love, this album turns inward as Dulli comes to jesus with himself. But never more hauntingly so than "Bonnie Brae" or "Candy Cane Crawl."

This is Happening by LCD Soundsystem- by far the most listened album in my head so far this year, I keep thinking back to James Murphy's comments about the band being a forum for his commentary on music. Moreso with each album, it seems to become more of a commentary on his feelings about his age and its relationship to music. I put "Home" on repeat and ran for three miles the other day. It was haunting.

Streetcore by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros- Joe's final hurrah, it was full of barn burning rockers like "Coma Girl," "All in a Day" and "Arms Aloft." But that shouldn't betray the beautiful simplicity of Strummer's take on "Redemption Song" or the post 9-11 lament of "Ramshackle Day Parade."

Strangers by Ed Harcourt- the sound of Harcourt firing on all cylinders, he balances rockers like "the Storm is Coming" and "Born in the 70's" perfectly with gorgous down played moments like "Only Happy When You're High." Nothing beats the morose sexiness of "Black Dress," though.

Tedious Bliss by Feels Like Sunday- admittedly, I've been playing this one a lot lately. Spurred on by how much I miss their presence in Albuquerque and the fact that Joni was always a gutsier singer than I could ever be, this is my favorite "you had to be there" sorta moment. "Photographs" still slays me all these years later.

Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem- because you never forget your first one.

thank you, A.L.H.

You owned a promo copy of the Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack, vol. II. Maybe you just don't love it like I will. Maybe you needed some extra scratch. Maybe you needed some extra space. Maybe you were burnt out on being a dj or college music journalist or whatever.

I found your cd used online and now it is mine. Sadly, I've waited years for this. I am a simple but sick man. With an awesome music collection.

Poetry in Emotion

Was out tonight hashing out ideas over a possible new project and it's unbelievable the things you remember in the moment. How is it possible, I ask myself, to forget the good that comes of a night out on the patio with drinks and a friend and a million stories to tell. These nights out at the pub are tantamount to an oil change for the writer brain.

Which reminds me of Bud Brixey. Bud was my mentor in academic decathlon oh sooo many years ago. The one thing Bud taught me that no person could ever replace: the true meaning of poetry.

"Prose," he said, "Is words in the best order."

Simple, yeah?

"Poetry," he continued, "Is the best words in the best order."

And that was Bud's genius. Because poetry, by those standards, could jazz you about anything. A person blogging about the sublimeness of sushi could stir my soul just as much as Langston Hughes.

But only if it's the best words in the best order on the subject.

So maybe it's time to put a little more poetry out there into the world?

serving notice

Hello all. Today seems like just as good as any other day to remind you all to remind the world that you're brilliant.

Give 'em love, truth, beauty. Whatever. Give 'em hell if you want. Just give 'em something to talk about in hushed and excited tones.

first report from santa fe's 8 july 2010 Hold Steady show

In what was neither the first nor the last occurrance of this happening, I jacked a concert poster. I've done this so many times its not even funny. This one, however, I think I shall have framed.

The Whigs were great. The Hold Steady were prolific and incredible. On behalf of Santa Fe, New Mexico and Santa Fe Brewing Co., I just want to apologize.

More on that later. With video. Phenomenal incredible video.

Most People Are DJs: the Ronin Rock guide to the Hold Steady Pt. 2

Thursday, a small caravan of us are making our way 40 minutes north to catch the Hold Steady right outside of Santa Fe. The venue, Santa Fe Brewing Co., is new to me. Pressed to guess, however, I'm gonna say it will be small and intimate. A club to be sure, and therefore, the perfect place to catch the Hold Steady. I saw this band two times last year when TK and I were lucky enough to jailbreak for SXSW in Austin. There was copious amounts of singing along to be had. A gorgeous affair was had by all.

In that spirit, here is my bitchin' mixtape for the rest of the week as I prepare myself for the pending awesomeosity that this show promises to be.

Almost Killed Me

French Kiss records 2004


"Positive Jam"

While I'm not sure that I would normally put this song on a bitchin' mixtape, it works really well live. Vocalist Craig Finn gets to stretch out his literary pretense before the band delivers a holy hell of a ruckus. I saw it at the Mohawk in Austin and it was good, man.

"The Swish" & "Barfruit Blues"

I don't recall seeing these two numbers live, but after listening to last year's live album, Positive Rage, I really wish that I had. Between Tad Kubler's impending chords of doom on the former song and Finn's rambling conversational vocals on the latter, these two tracks sum up the best of the band at their rowdiest. "Most People Are DJs," with its misleading Afghan Whigs-like opening also rules my heart but this is a mixtape and space is essential, natch.

"Killer Parties"

The closing number. Always. Interestingly, this song catches the band at their most haunting and yearning. Additionally, the band plays with an ambiance here not often touched upon in other songs. It's the hard luck broken heart beating underneath the ragged exterior of the rest of their catalogue.

Separation Sunday

French Kiss records 2005

"Your Little Hoodrat Friend"

One of the Hold Steady's best known songs with one of Finn's best lyrics- "It burns being broke, hurts to be heartbroken and always being both must be a drag." With the requisite alt rock dynamics perfected by the Pixie's and cemented by Nirvana (hint: quiet loud quiet), Finn has all the space in the world to extol his most perfect teen angst melodrama.

"Charlamagne in Sweatpants," "Stevie Nix" and "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night"

Admittedly, one of my largest problems with Separation Sunday as a whole is the way that all the songs eventually blended into one another and became one song. Granted, its a great song, but it forces me to choose between listening to this album as a whole or choosing my favorite versions of the song. "Charlamagne" has a great slow burn with the opening organ working its mojo. "Stevie Nix" on the other hand, goes straight for the rock jugular with its muscular Clash-like chords before settling into a rambling bridge. "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night" is just plain demented. We'll be lucky if we get to see any of these songs on Thursday and I think we will.


Boys and Girls in America

Vagrant records 2006

"Stuck Between Stations"

Easily, hands down, one of their best songs ever. From Kubler's opening riffs to Franz Nikolay's arpeggiated piano underneath it all, this is everything one could ever hope for from the Hold Steady. Also, Finn paints a picture of literary America from beatnik ramblings to John Berryman's tragic flight at the end of his life. Finally, this song features one of the greatest bridges ever. EVER!

"Party Pit"

Another epic in which Finn sings the about the tragic aftermath of a youth spent too fast. The central character, a burnout who promises to "walk around and drink some more," is a great reflection of innocence lost and beauty destroyed by self destructive decadence. The end is always a rousing sing along in which the audience echoes the earlier promise.

"Massive Nights"

This exuberant blast of youthful indiscretion is the flip side. In a world where "everyone was funny & everyone was pretty," this song serves as a paean to simpler times where the biggest concerns revolved around beer runs and dodging chaperones. Coupled with that loping bassline, it's almost impossible not to shout along even if you don't know how.

"Citrus"

"Hey, citrus," Finn sings, "Hey liquor, I love it when you touch each other." Amidst the downplayed sadnesss of pubs across this world, Finn writes a solitary anthem for the casual barroom observer. The Hold Steady rarely sound this hushed or transcendent.

"Southtown Girls"

Closing out Boys and Girls in America, this anthem trades ambition for love and hits every Springsteenish pose it can on its way out. The only part of it more brilliant than the guitar solo was the high five shared between Kubler and Finn when I saw them play it at the Mohawk. Also, Franz Nikolay steps away from the keyboard for a moment to deliver the final piece of Americana in a nimble little harmonica solo.


Stay Positive

Vagrant records 2008

"Constructive Summer"

A turbo charged ode to summer, beer and friends, this has been my summertime anthem... basically, since its been released. In it, Finn celebrates double whiskey and St. Joe Strummer as he decides to build something "this summer." Despite frustration and disappointment with all institutions, he begs for a reminder that "we can all be something bigger" and "we are our only saviors." When he calls for a toast to St. Joe Strummer, my fist will definitely be in the air.

"Sequestered in Memphis"

A story of when to keep your mouth shut, Finn stills spins a story of braggadocio in which no one should be bragging. All the characters are tired, desparate and just a little more than destitute. In essence, it's a perfect Hold Steady song. "Subpoena'd in Texas, Sequestered in Memphis," the chorus sings as Finn apologizes, "I went there on business."

"Stay Positive"

The further into this album you get, the more you get called back to the ghosts of previous albums. No more so than this song. Finn looks back on both the failed hopes and desparate realizations of album's past with more than a little introspection. "It's one thing to start with a positive jam," he implores, "And it's another thing to see it through. We gotta stay positive."

"Joke About Jamaica"

A joke about Led Zeppelin's joke about Jamaica leads off this song as the band revisits another familiar face. Except in this song, your little hoodrat friend is a few years older and a little worse for the wear as everyone's teenage dreams butt up hard against mature reality. The classic rock aspirations come full circle with Kubler's great talkbox guitar solo. No one will be asking if it's fuckin' Frampton.

"Slapped Actress"

Closing out an album that almost serves as a retrospective of their career so far, this song takes us back to the Ybor City of Almost Killed Me's "Killer Parties." Sung like a conspiracy in the making, Finn informs us that "some nights it's just entertainment and some other nights its work." Luckily, one never gets that feeling watching this band.


*EXTRAS*EXTRAS*EXTRAS*

As per usual, I always say take out the one or two or even three tracks you don't like and replace them b-sides and rarities to be cooler than your friends.

"Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window"

This little gem comes from the I'm Not There soundtrack. The Hold Steady doing Bob Dylan? Nothing but net.

"Girls Like Status"

I first heard this on the band's live album, A Positive Rage. I hear rumors of a studio version on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie soundtrack but it's unsubstantiated at this point due to the fact that it's an album only download. Boo.

"You Gotta Dance With Who You Came to the Dance With"

This came off of Indie Rock Prom but I just downloaded it off of amazon. Totally worth finding and totally delicious.

Additionally, I'm holding judgement on the new songs til I hear them live. So far, I'm enjoying the new album but there is no doubt that Stay Positive was the last act in their original story. Heaven is Whenever has more space to breathe and the band has certainly had to adjust with the departure of keyboardist Franz Nikolay. Nonetheless, I've very much enjoyed the urgency of "The Weekenders" and the old school raga of "Barely Breathing."

But really, more on that later, to be sure.

dial m for nihilism

It would seem that it's time for the final push into my bumbling epic This is Not a Love Song with one Tyler Kent. A month from now, we should be doing final edits and get submission packets together. I just read Mr. McGowan's notes on TK's half and whooboy, am I ashamed of what mine contains. Looks like we'll be dialing up the nihilism in my half. We'll get one thing straight right off the bat, though, my character is not a raging alcoholic. He's a raging asshole. Alcohol is just one element of his arsenal.

All told, it will be great to be done. But it is bloody frightening to go back for one last go round. A lot of truth and a lot beauty took place in the half life that the first draft was done in. Accordingly, certain parts seem radioactive to me now as I've been like four different people in that time.

On the other hand, how often do you read a book whose first line is "Why is there a hammer in the wall?"

Killer Parties: the Ronin Rock guide to the Hold Steady part 1

Originally, this post was meant to be for Travis. I wanted him to get a small glimmer of what these guys are about before we see them in Santa Fe (July 8, Santa Fe Brewing Co- we'll be there in force). But then, it also had to be for Seany and Bex who forced this band into my life. Also, I kind of wanted it to be Dusty who doesn't think they're nearly as cool as I do. At the same time, I could never leave out Tyler, Victoria, Rob or Brooke who've all seen this band with me. Ultimately, it is a bit of a primer for anyone and everyone who's even remotely interested in enjoying this band in any way, shape or form. For old fans, hopefully it opens up fun discourse/dissent to be nerded over with likeminded music snobs. For new fans, hopefully it provides a sense of context that adds to the overall listening experience.

And away we go.

First, it has to be said that I initially didn't like this band. With no basis whatsoever, I took one look at them and arbitrarily decided they had nothing to offer me. And by arbitrarily, I mean I took one look at their photo and said to myself, "Look at those guys. What could they possibly know about rocking?"

The first photo above is the second one of theirs I ever saw. Let's break it down for a quick moment. First, there's guitarist Tad Kubler. On a simple sartorial basis, his dress sense is embarassingly reminiscent of every middle aged father white America has ever produced. Of course, most of them dress like that, it's just Kubler's yellow tinted glasses that seal it for me. Bassist Galen Polivka and drummer Bobby Drake actually look like pretty normal guys. You'd be hard pressed not to imagine them more at home in line at Home Depot than melting faces on a stage. Keyboard player Franz Nicolay wears a handlebar mustache. Handlebar for pete's sake! And then there's singer/guitarist Craig Finn, receding hairline in place and possessed of the fashion sense of your high school shop teacher.

I won't even get into the first picture I ever saw of them. We'll just note that I saw it in Q's "Bands to Watch This Year" feature and the picture made them look even schlubbier. What's worse, it made them look like Parisian buskers. Picture me- not impressed.

I mean, who the hell are these guys and what could they possibly know of rocking out? This, I thought to myself, is what rock and roll has come to? Pass. Passpasspass. I'll hang out with my Clash records, thank you very much. Suffice to say, I was about to have my little world rocked.

Flash forward a few months. It was the annual Double Matt Birthday Bash. I was eagerly unwrapping a package just handed to me by Seany and Bex. It was a copy of Boys and Girls in America, the Hold Steady's third and most critically acclaimed album yet. I could never tell Seany and Bex that I'd already written off this band (I mean, a handlebar mustache! And male pattern baldness!). Mostly because, if they were giving me this record, it had to worth exploring. At the very least. More likely, it was going to be incredible (Seany- we were banking on your credity here more than anything else. Sorry, Bex).

Travis and I played it on the drive home. Mostly, I remember it sounded like it was recorded underwater. This was undoubtedly due to my incredibly inebriated state. But I came back around to it within a week or two. I found a song I liked. Then two. Then five. Then the whole damn album. Hence, your first two lessons:

1.Thou shalt not judge thy band by their mediocre sartorial sense. Unless they're Japanese or want to be Japanese, because let's face it, those guys are all ridiculous.

2.Some albums are slow burners. They may take a while to hit, but when they do, they do so a tsunami. see Enter the Wu-Tang, Black Love, Rain Dogs, Disintegration.

Having had a little time to take in the Hold Steady now, I was familiar with their rep, their mythology, their lore. The basic rap sheet?

1.They've kindasorta got a Springsteen thing goin'.

Yes. But I always think of them as more of an amalgamation of Bruce Springsteen's and Elvis Costello's drunken nephews who never quite got over punk. Sure, they've got that sweaty all American epic rock feel to their sound. It all comes down to the instrumentation- two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards to fill out the sound. Occasionally, there's even a sax solo. But don't forget, they grew up in the time and place of the Replacements and Husker Du, so punk is still going to figure in. No more so than Craig Finn's vox/guitars.

2.Their audience will kill you for them without thinking twice.

Also, yes. But they'd rather not. Everybody there is just there to enjoy some music, some beer and some friendship. Still, they are a slavishly devoted crowd that knows all the right times to sing along and you should too (see Party Pit, Constructive Summer, Stay Positive).

3.They write about drinking. A lot.

Guilty as charged. I saw them play at the Mohawk in Austin. Bassist Polivka blew out the amp head on his bass cabinet. When he finally got it replaced with another one, he placed his Lone Star tallboy on it on a sign that read "DO NOT PLACE DRINKS HERE!!!" I may have pictures. Also, I think Nicolay drank a whole bottle of red wine by himself.

4.They write about drugs. A lot.

Also guilty. Bruce wrote about the hard working American dream crashing into reality. Elvis wrote about, well, whatever Elvis wrote about. These guys spend a lot of time writing about Post Meth America.

5.There's also a lot of writing about awkward sex between really young people.
Where there's smoke, there's fire. Consider that when you reread numbers 3 & 4. It's also worth noting that most people have really awkward sex. Except everybody here, of course.

6.But there's also a lot of religious symbolism- what gives?

Like there's ever been a better dramatic backdrop for Post Meth America? Craig Finn does use a lot of biblical imagery. It makes a great contrast for all the messed up stuff that surrounds the inhabitents of his songs. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

7.Really, though, it's mostly all about being young and stupid, right?

Sex, drugs and rock & roll, right? While their music has never actually been that simple or that narrow in scape, Finn certainly uses indiscretionate youth as the context from which he spins most of his stories. This is fairly true to life, however, when you realize that the majority of people's stories are survival tales from their own teenage wastelands. Most of our simple complexities come from being young in America while you sort yourself out. Accordingly, some of Finn's characters figure it out and some don't. When asked about, do as Finn says and say something vague.

Also, the characters that survive often return in numerous songs over the span of many albums. Their reflections on their past lives reveal subtle beauties and truths that only become apparent to us in light of the past. The album Stay Positive, in particular, is great about this.

Ultimately, this music is a heady mix of biblical imagery and sexual buffoonery set against the back drop of post Meth America. And while you don't have to be a reformed dealer/skinhead/skank to appreciate, you will smile if you're young enough to remember but old enough to know better.

*the second picture posted is one I took at the Mohawk in Austin. of special note should be Tad Kubler who somewhere along the way turned into a lean mass of rock monster. which is the second reason why I don't feel bad about bashing this band on their appearances. i was so obviously wrong, its embarassing.