OD Records

Laoying Shao Road, Fenghuang, China

On the banks of the calmly flowing river Tuo, in the back water river-town of Fenghuang, sits  OD Record store.  Narrow and quaint, snugly camouflaged by tea shops and  food stores; a record store that could easily be unseen by even the most observant eye.

We enter the shop, which has more in common with a long slim corridor than your average store (the idea of browsing space, having not really caught on), and discover a wall dominated by CDs without covers.  Each CD sits in a perfectly fitted clear plastic wallet, offering neither explanation nor reason for their naked forms. I stare closely at the specimens and discover them to be neither official release, nor pirated copies, but press-release promotional CDs, the likes of which are usually sent to music journalists or radio-stations.

I stare closely at a remastered release of The Police’s Reggatta Da Blanc, and notice that each CD is dotted with  stickers offering press-friendly promotional notes in Mandarin. We stop for a minute and gaze out to the River Tuo in wonder, contemplating how a small shop in the middle of nowhere in China, could have come into such a supply of promotional CDs. We come to a swift conclusion; that the store is either an ex-writer/ radio presenter/ editor’s personal collection for sale, or else a record-label company has liquidated its stock onto the market (which, according to copyright legislation, is technically illegal).

Spurred on by the apparent rarity of the promos on hand (after-all when was the last time you saw a CHINESE promotional copy of a record!), we get flicking. A few interesting titles raise their heads; a chill out CD featuring a Radiohead remix tempts my purse strings, as does a James Brown live album from the 1980s, and Supertramp’s Greatest Hits.

I scan my eyes over the hypnotically monotonous shelving, searching for anything unusual or that I have wanted for a while. I spy Roger Water’s The Wall Live In Berlin,  haphazardly jammed at the back of one of the stands near the cash register. Recorded way back in 1990, the live album features the likes of Van Morrison, Sinead O’Conner and, erm, Cyndi Lauper, dueting with the ex-Pink Floyd singer.

Picking up on the slight interest I show, the manageress slots the The Wall into the shop’s stereo and cranks it up to 11. The opening chords of In The Flesh ring out, and a biro on top of the old speakers near the till rattles as Water’s aged voice eventually  croons, “So you thought you might like to go to the show”,  the infamous first lines of that infamous album.  I listen to the track,  reminiscent of that spine-tingling night at Live 8, and, light of its 40Y (£3.64) price tag, can’t say no.

We pay up, and wander back to the balcony of our hotel, where we listen to the album, as the sun sets over the quaint river town.

Purchase:

Roger Waters – The Wall Live In Berlin – £3.64 [Tracklisting]

Total Purchases:

Armand Van Helden – Ghetto Blaster – £1 [Tracklisting]

Club Azuli 1 – Mixed By Dave Piccioni – £0.48 [Tracklisting]

Club Azuli Part 2 – Mixed By Dave Piccioni – £0.79 [Tracklisting]

Chemical Brothers, The: Brothers Gonna Work It Out – £2.77 [Tracklisting]

Defected In The House – Mixed By Copyright – £0.79 [Tracklisting]

DJ Hardy Heller – Mix In Motion – £1  [Tracklisting]

DJ Shadow – The New Collection – £2.38

Elektrik 02 – Mixed By King Unique & Nubreed – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Fabric 25 – Mixed By Carl Craig – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Fabric 26 – Mixed By Global Communication – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Le Le – Breakfast 12″ – £8.24 [Tracklisting]

Moby – Last Night – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Roger Waters – The Wall Live In Berlin – £3.64 [Tracklisting]

Santos – Camels 12″ – £1.18 [Tracklisting]

Samim: Flow – £1.98 [Tracklisting]

Underworld – Cowgirl (Remixes) 12″ – £1.18 [Tracklisting]

Underworld – Underneath The Radar 12″ – £8.91 [Tracklisting]

Total Spend: £36.68

Benvolguts amics,

Avui és dimecres i per tant podeu sintonitzar altre cop amb La Pedalera. Us recordem que ens podeu escoltar des del 90.3 de la FM (Ràdio Vic) o bé des d’Internet a través de l’enllaç que us adjuntem. Els continguts d’avui són els següents:

- Do it yourself: l’Iris Palou va assistir la setmana passada al concert que oferien els Rammstein a Barcelona. Per avui ens oferirà una crònica del que va poder veure i, sobretot, escoltar.

- Més enllà del so: avui en Mike ens porta el més nou de Joaquín Sabina, l’últim disc Vinagre y rosas.

- Eclipsa: amb l’Ester Ferre recordarem el so de John Lee Hooker y de Mckinley Morganfield.

- A banda: Supertramp és la banda que ens analitzarà aquesta setmana en Jow.

- Agenda: tota l’actualitat musical del que podem fer i deixar de fer, de la mà de Jordi Gonzàlez.

- Top 5: el rànquing format per les maquetes d’artistes i bandes que mica en mica anem rebent a La Pedalera.

Aquesta és la programació que us tenim preparada per avui i que esperem que us agradi. A continuació us adjuntem l’enllaç per poder-nos escoltar online.

http://kara.fast-serv.com:8700/listen.pls

La Pedalera
Miquel Cornellà

Supertramp were a British progressive rock band that released a series of top-selling albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.Their early music included ambitious concept albums, from which were drawn a number of hits including “Goodbye Stranger”, “Bloody Well Right”, “The Logical Song”, “Breakfast in America”, “Dreamer”, “Give a Little Bit”, “It’s Raining Again”, and “Take the Long Way Home”. Supertramp attained superstardom in the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Australia and Brazil, although they were not quite as popular in their home country, the UK. Nonetheless, the album Breakfast in America was a big hit there, reaching number three on the UK charts and featuring two top 10 singles.

Crime of the Century, released in September 1974, began the group’s run of critical and commercial successes, hitting number four in Britain, supported by the iconic countercultural opening track “School”, and the top-10 single “Dreamer”. Its B-side “Bloody Well Right” hit the US Top 40 in May 1975, peaking at #35. Siebenberg would later comment that he thought the band hit its artistic peak on this, their third album, though their greatest commercial success would come later.

The band continued with Crisis? What Crisis? released in November 1975. It achieved good though not overwhelming commercial success. The following album, Even in the Quietest Moments, released in April 1977 spawned their hit single “Give a Little Bit” (#15 U.S.), and the FM radio staple Fool’s Overture. During this period, the band eventually relocated to the United States and moved steadily from the progressive styles of their early albums towards a more song-oriented pop sound.

This trend reached its zenith on their most popular album, Breakfast in America in March 1979, which reached Number 3 in the UK and Number 1 in the United States and spawned four successful singles, “The Logical Song” (#6 U.S.), “Take the Long Way Home” (#10 U.S.), “Goodbye Stranger” (#15 U.S.), and “Breakfast in America”. The album has since sold over 18 million copies worldwide.

The run of successes was capped with 1980s Paris, a 2-LP live album, in which the band stated its goal of improving on the studio versions of their songs. Instead of focusing on songs from the hugely successful Breakfast in America, it included nearly every song from Crime of the Century, another testament to the importance of that album in the group’s development. Initially, it was supposed to be a show recorded in Quebec City, Canada, but A&M vetoed the idea for a “more mainstream city”. Also in 1980, the song “Dreamer” was finally released as a single in the U.S., where it reached #15.

Tonight’s music byte is Supertramp playing Bloody Well Right in 1977. Please enjoy.

Goodbye stranger it’s been nice
Hope you find your paradise
Tried to see your point of view
Hope your dreams will all come true
Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane
Will we ever meet again
Feel no sorrow, feel no shame
Come tomorrow, feel no pain

And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I’ll never look behind me
My troubles will be few

~ Supertramp

Seguindo a sugestão de Lica e de Tikão, este blog vai ficando mais autoral e eu vou tentando diversificar os temas. Não sei se já falei isso por aqui, mas sou apaixonado por música pop. Já andei escrevendo algumas resenhas que ficaram perdidas ou escondidas pelo tempo. Vou, então, a partir de hoje, escrever algumas resenhas de discos que considero parte do meu TopTop pessoal. Vou começar com um disco do Supertramp que, só depois de terminados os anos 80 e sua revolução pós-punk e os anos 90 com o indie e a tempestade grunge  é que pude purificar meus ouvidos preconceituosos e entender o quanto ele fora importante para mim.

Esse disco é  “… famous last words…” do Supertramp  e é um discos da minha vida. Gosto dele de cabo a rabo. Melodias dramáticas, guitarras “gilmourianas”, canções de despedida. Tudo nesse disco soa tristonho, até as canções mais ensolaradas estão encharcadas de melancolia.

“… famous last words…” é um disco de despedida. Tudo nele tem esse clima. É o último disco com Roger Hodgson, e digamos a verdade, é o último disco do Supertramp. Tudo o que veio depois é coisa para fã. Por isso o clima de despedida. O relacionamento de Hodgson com Rick Davies já estava no limite e isso se refletiu nas canções e nas letras. Dizem alguns fãs que nas letras desse álbum Davies e Hodgson trocavam farpas. Não sei se isso procede. Mas sei que as desavenças renderam um grande álbum.

Vamos às músicas.

“Crazy” começa com gás e é um exemplo perfeito de uma canção ensolarada, mas triste. A melodia consegue uma combinação perfeita de energia e melancolia. “Here´s  a little song to make you feel right, send the blues away…”, canta Roger na segunda estrofe. Mas a tristeza não vai embora, Roger. Não, não vai. Um solo de sax tão característico do som do Supertramp completa a música. Crazy é simples, uma cançãozinha, mas como dói.

“Put On Your Old Brown Shoes” é uma balada bluesy de Davies. Não vou enganar, sou mais Roger Hodgson do que Rick Davies. Eu e meu irmão tínhamos uma disputa, eu do lado de Hodgson, ele de Davies. Mas o caso é que “Put on…” é, para mim, a pior música do álbum. o que não quer dizer,  no caso de “… famous last words…”, que  seja uma má canção. Mas falta a ela um pouco do clima triste do álbum.

“It’s Raining Again” é o hit do album. Canção típica do Supertramp, outra melodia de verão, mas que, paradoxalmente, fala de chuva. E, de novo, de despedida: “Oh, it’s raining again. Oh no, my love’s at an end”. Aqui se pode subentender as dificuldades entre Roger e Davies: “Too bad I’m losing a friend”. “It´s Raining Again” pode fazer até fazer você se sentir bem, é uma canção agradável, que rolava sem parar nas rádios da década de oitenta. Mas não se engane, ela não é uma canção alegre.

“Bonnie” é outra de Davies. Não sei se já percebeu, mas as canções ímpares são de Hopdgson e as pares de Davies. “Bonnie” é uma belíssima canção sobre um amor perdido. Outra canção cheia de saudade. Aqui, Davies entra de cheio no clima do álbum. Triste, mas agradável.

“Know who you are” não é um canção somente, é uma peça. Sua harmonia, o dedilhado do violão, o arranjo. Tudo nela é perfeito. Roger esbanja emoção cantando. Não dá para escrever muito sobre “Know who you are”. Escute-a. Se não houvesse tanto preconceito contra a simplicidade pop do Supertramp, “Know who you are” poderia estar em muitos top5 pelo mundo afora.

“My  kind of lady” seria a primeira do “lado B” na época do vinil. A melhor canção de Davies no álbum. Uma rock ballad com toques de doo wop e um dos melhores solos de sax que já ouvi na vida. John Helliwell, o saxofonista nerd do Supertramp, é um mestre, senão na técnica, ao menos na emoção e no feeling. Além do mais é o saxofonista do “The Dark Side of the Moon”. Precisa dizer mais? “My kind of lady” é linda, linda, linda. É swingy, é clássica, é Supertramp. Uma canção para nunca se esquecer. Perdi a conta das vezes que comecei a ouvir esse disco pelo “lado B” só para escutá-la primeiro. Um primor.

“C’est Le Bon” para mim, é o ponto alto do disco. Canção predominantemente acústica, com Roger dando um show de suavidade e bucolismo do violão de 12.  Sinceramente? Acho Roger Hodgson, com toda a sua limitação e discrição, um dos melhores guitarristas que já ouvi. Às vezes, ele parece fazer questão de fazer com que a guitarra fique esquecida. É econômico e simples. Mas quando toca, faz isso que fez no violão em “C’est Le Bon”. A canção é de uma extrema delicadeza folk e ponteada por uma clarineta  que quase faz você chorar. Enfim, “C’est Le Bon” é perfeita.

“Waiting So Long”. Aqui o clima fica soturno. Uma música sombria, lembrando o Pink Floyd da fase “The Wall” ou “The final cut”. A canção é de Davies, mas o destaque vai para o solo de guitarra “gilmouriano” de Roger Hodgson. Um dos poucos solos de guitarra do disco, nele Hodgson se permite extravasar. Solta os cachorros (ao estilo dele, é claro). Um belíssimo solo de guitarra que não faria feio em nenhum disco do Pink Floyd. Que sentir o clima?  “Angry music, words of fire. Painted faces filled with rage.”

“Don’t Leave Me Now” é a canção de despedida num álbum de despedida: “Don’t leave me now. All alone in this crazy world. When i’m old and cold and grey and time is gone…” A canção começa de maneira tão “silenciosa” que é como se não quisesse começar. É um “adeus” que não quer sair da garganta e que, no entanto, não tem volta. A delicadeza do início dá lugar a belíssimos acordes de piano martelados com certa agressividade. Roger canta com todo melodrama que lhe é próprio uma letra que fará chorar os mais sensíveis. Se você terminou um relacionamento recentemente, por favor, não ouça essa música. Ou, ao menos, não mergulhe nela. Você ficará triste, muito triste. Tudo se foi, o tempo não volta atrás e só restou a canção. Mais uma vez a guitarra floydiana de Hodgson e um emocionante solo de sax emolduram a música. No final, a bateria, numa batida repetitiva, hipnótica e quase marcial da caixa, vai revelando que tudo chegou ao fim. Uma harmônica agoniza, tentando ainda retomar alguma coisa, mas não tem mais jeito. É o fim do disco. É o fim do Supertramp.

Der Oktober vor 30 Jahren war für mich eine absolut lebensverändernde Erfahrung.
Ich war aus meiner Heimatstadt weggezogen nach Köln, es war nicht meine erste Wohnung, aber eine völlig neue Stadt.
Ich hatte mit dem Studium angefangen. Geschichte, Theater-Film-Fernsehwissenschaft, Germanistik. Eigentlich wollte ich ja mal Psychologie studieren, aber den NC hatte ich verpasst. Nun da ich sowieso Musik machte und Kabarett, wollte ich etwas in dieser Richtung machen. Dazu war und bin ich ein absoluter Erich Kästner Fan, der hatte Deutsch, Geschichte und Theatergeschichte studiert. Smile.
Ein Glück war dass viele meiner Freunde auch nach Köln gegangen sind. Es war die schönste Zeit meines Lebens dort in Köln zu studieren. Ich lernte sehr viele wunderbare Menschen kennen. Köln hatte damals schon ein Nachtleben wie kaum eine deutsche Großstadt neben Berlin und München. Das Luxor und das Blue Shell sind immer noch mit die angesagtesten Läden für Nachtleben und Konzerte. Cool.
Nur als Info für die Nachgeborenen: Damals hatten wir weder Handys noch Internet. Ehrlich keiner von uns hätte sich sowas auch nur vorstellen können. Die meisten von uns hatten noch nicht mal ein Telefon. So war es notwendig sich rechtzeitig vorher zu verabreden, wenn man Samstagabend ausgehen wollte. In Köln konnte es dann schonmal passieren, dass man sich verpasste, wenn man zu spät kam. Und so zog ich manche Samstag Nacht alleine durch die Nachtlokale, um am Montag in der Uni dann zu hören, daß die anderen auch z.B. im Blue Shell gewesen sind nur eben früher als ich.
Ich war in dem Sommer 1979 für 3 Monate bei meinem Bruder in Melbourne gewesen. Australien war eine Erleuchtung für mich. Ich habe nie wieder so eine geniale Mischung aus Disziplin und Südländischer Lebensweise erlebt. Die Menschen dort kennen kein Vordrängeln, kein Schubsen kein ich habe es eiliger wie Du oder ich bin besser wie Du. Weil alle dort zeit haben, unendlich viel Zeit. Der Hauptzweck der Arbeit ist die Freizeit vernünftig zu gestalten, dafür macht man gerne Überstunden, um die in einer sinnvollen Form wieder abzufeiern.
Ein Freund meines Bruders war auch zu Besuch damals, er lebte auf Papua und machte auf mich den Eindruck eines Gurus. So eine Ruhe und Weisheit strahlte er aus. Aber er war eigentlich nur ein Farmer.
Das waren meine Eindrücke die ich mitbrachte und die mich völlig verändert hatten.
Das war mein Leben in diesem warmen Oktober 1979.
Gleichzeitig marschierten die Sowjets in Afghanistan ein, aus den selben Gründen wie heute die Amerikaner und mit denselben Problemen. Dies und der NATO-Doppelbschluss sorgten für eine neue Eskalation des Kalten Krieges. Das bedeutetete für uns Menschen, daß jeden Moment die Erde in die Luft fliegen konnte. Jede Sirenenübung bedeutete kalte Angst.
Die Grünen zogen 1979 zum erstenmal in Bremen in ein Landesparlament ein. Noch gab es keine Bundespartei.
Das Atomare Endlager in Gorleben war Dauerthema. Es war das Jahr der Hausbesetzungen. Beides war ständiger Stoff für Demonstrationen und harten Auseinandersetzungen mit der Polizei. Es wurden Telefonlisten eingeführt unter den linken Studenten. Man wurde über eine Demo, eine Hausbesetzung oder auch eine Räumung eines besetzten Hauses von jemandem informiert und hatte genau eine Telefonnummer, die man selber informieren musste. Heute würde man das wohl als Flashmob bezeichnen. Gleichzeitig gab es Tips und Infos, woran man erkennen konnte, dass ein Telefon abgehört wurde. Schließlich befanden wir uns in einem Deutschland, das überall Terroristen und Sympathisanten vermutete, wo es um eine andere politische Meinung ging. Für mich begann an der Universität überhaupt ein verstärktes politisches Leben.
Im Kino starteten Apokalypse Now und Alien, die ich beide nicht im Kino gesehen habe. Dafür habe ich mir 2 Wochen später dann Quadrophenia den Film von The Who angesehen. Immerhin war das schon lange meine Lieblingsplatte.
Musikalisch änderte sich auch alles New Wave und Punk beherrschten mich und die Hitparaden. Joe Jackson, The Police, Gary Numan’S Tubewayarmy, Peter Gabriel, das waren meine Topacts 1979 und sie veränderten meinen Musikgeschmack total. Heute ist vielleicht nicht mehr so klar, dass Peter Gabriel einer der wichtigsten New Wave Musiker war. Es war keine Genesismusik, die er Solo produzierte, sondern purer New Wave.
Aber es spielten diesen Oktober 1979 auch Supertramp in Köln in der Sporthalle mit ihrer Breakfast in Europe Tour.
Die neue Generation Musiker war schon am Start, die alte noch auf ihrem Höhepunkt.

photo by redeyesatdown (ian grieveson)

Indignazione silenziosa, di quelle impotenti, da hula hoop sul tiggì e da chi frega è più fico. Pagare per poter vivere. Come una scommessa. Chi offre di più. Dignità uno, dignità due, dignità tre. Aggiudicato. Un russo ci verrà a comprare. Un cinese ci farà le scarpe su misura, di cartone. Un giornalista chiedera` milioni per dire idiozie. Mentre centinaia di migliaia vorrebbero mille euro di salvezza. Per non scivolare. Andarsene potrebbe sembrare una sconfitta. Ma è la vera sfida forse. Via dalle logiche europee, dice Magalie. Lei che se ne è andata in Thailandia, senza certezze, solo sapendo che non sopportava più la vecchia Europa bofonchiona. E sabato ha i cartoni pronti per spostarsi ancora. A sud ovest, a Hua Hin, bord de mer, dice lei, che viene da Argences e lì ci torna solo quando ha nostalgia della matelote o del calvados. Che basterebbe solo avere il coraggio di perdere le abitudini e tornare a rischiare. Basterebbe per alzarsi una mattina e decidere che breakfast in america non è solo una canzone, ma anche un possibile piano per la giornata.

(E.)

La Asociación de Escuelas de Música Moderna (Multimúsica Educativa) formada por L’Espai Musical, Aula de Música Alameda, Taller de Música Jove, Academia Musical Europa e Imagina-T nos hace llegar la agradable noticia de que el prestigioso guitarrista Carl Verheyen estará impartiendo una master-class en LA Conciertos (Mariano Ribera 33, Valencia) el dia 22 de octubre a las 20:00 horas. Carl Verhayen ha sido considerado como el mejor guitarrista de estudio y ha formado parte de nombres como Supertramp, Cher, Bee Gees, Cher, Chad Wakerman y por supuesto la Carl Verheyen Band

Nos complace dar cabida a noticias de este tipo en nuestro blog y nos alegra que hayan iniciativas como esta en nuestra ciudad. Los precios se pueden clasificar como verdaderamente asequibles: 10€ venta anticipada y 15€ en taquilla.

El backsatge utilizado por Carl Verheyen está formado por las guitarras Fender Stratocaster 1961, Fender Stratocaster 1958 y una Avalon Carl Verheyen Signature Acoustic. En la seccón de amplificación Carl confia en sus Fender Twin 1964, Vox AC30 1963, cabezal Marshall 100w de 1969 y un Dr. Z SRZ-65 conectados a pantallas Marshall 4×12 y TAD 2×12. Diversos gadgets en rack y fromato pedal incluyen varios Lexicon, Dunlop, Lehle, Voodoo Lab, THD, TC Electronics, Hermida Audio, Fuchs, Peterson y Boss.

Marshall, Vox, TAD...

Cabezal DR. Z y rack

Pedalboard

COIO3

Vosstanlya Street, St. Petersberg, Russia

Down a side street from the main train-station, a short hop from the hustle and bustle of the city’s tourist strip, is Coio, a ray of light amidst the endless pirate CD shops floating around the canal punctuated town .

As we push through the heavy wooden door to enter, the synths of New Order’s Blue Monday ring through the air and the poster for the new Moby album flaps in the sudden wind.

For the first time since leaving, vinyl dominates here, taking central floor space and out-numbering the CD selection relegated to the back wall. As we start to let our fingers wander through the pristine record collection, the sales-assistant tip his head towards us, as if to say ‘feel free to get stuck in’.

The vinyl selection offers a decent mixture of critical must-have LPs (Massive Attack’s Blue Lines, Bjork’s Debut, Supertramp’s Breakfast In America), alongside less-obvious and more interesting releases (Portishead’s Roseland NYC Live, Laurent Garnier’s Unreasonable Behaviour, Air’s Pocket Symphony ).

The selection of recent 12” dance-music releases for Russian DJs is ample, with everything from avant-garde electronica (Modeselektor’s remix of Bjok’s Dull Flame Of Desire) to straight-forward commercial house filling the racks.

However once again, Russian prices dominate, and any wax purchase looks set to blow my budget.

The CD section, which is more of a straight-forward affair, stocks  mostly recent releases and not much else. However, a few notable albums grab my attention, for better and worse. Both the lacklustre Privilege 2009 compilation (mixed by the dire Cosmic Gate) and the intriguing Garbage Greatest Hit’s remixed (Shirley Manson +  UNKLE = Incredibly Tempting) stand out as signs of  a record store that prides its self on product diversity.

Eventually a CD, with a price tag I can afford, comes to my attention. Armand Van Helden’s Ghettoblaster album from 2007 lies on the racks, offering a fairly strong roster of tracks for only 49 rubles (£0.98). Although he is a self-admitted scene thief, and has the ability to make the worst kind of commercial house, Helden is something of NY House legend, and so I relent and part with the small change it costs me.

Purchase:

Armand Van Helden – Ghetto Blaster – £1 [Tracklisting]

Total Purchases:

Armand Van Helden – Ghetto Blaster – £1 [Tracklisting]

Club Azuli 1 – Mixed By Dave Piccioni – £0.48 [Tracklisting]

Club Azuli Part 2 – Mixed By Dave Piccioni – £0.79 [Tracklisting]

Chemical Brothers, The: Brothers Gonna Work It Out – £2.77 [Tracklisting]

Defected In The House – Mixed By Copyright – £0.79 [Tracklisting]

DJ Hardy Heller – Mix In Motion – £1  [Tracklisting]

DJ Shadow – The New Collection – £2.38

Le Le – Breakfast 12″ – £8.24 [Tracklisting]

Samim: Flow – £1.98 [Tracklisting]

Total Spend: £19.43

Fruit Bats

So after wanting to set up a blog championing brand new music for such a long time and finally doing it who better to start with than ‘Fruit Bats’, a band who formed a decade ago and released their fourth album this August.

Fruit Bats rose out of the ashes of Chicago based band I Rowboat in 1999 and released their first album Echolocation in 2001. Since signing to Sub Pop in 2002 the band has released three more albums; Mouthfuls (2003), Spelled in Bones (2005) and this Summer they released their fourth album The Ruminant Band.

Despite being around for 10 years Fruit Bats do possess a huge number of qualities that make them perfect for the first IOHO review. Despite their quality, ability and tours with bands such as Modest Mouse and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci they remain relatively and unjustifiably unknown. They also scream of influence from classic 70’s folk rock as well as some more modern favourites. For their new album ‘The Ruminant Band’ Imagine Led Zeppelin III recorded by Fleetwood Mac and a host of 70’s superstars, covered by a band made up of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the Two Gallants.

Fruit Bats may lack the heart pounding drive of a strong rhythm section but they do possess a great collection of melodies, lyrical imagery and musical flourishes that make them a must listen for fans of 70’s and modern folk.

Fruit Bats are currently on a European tour promoting their new album ‘The Ruminant Band’ from which IOHO recommends the following tracks:

The Ruminant Band, Feather Bed, Buffalo and Deer and Seaweed.

Websites:

www.myspace.com/thefruitbats

www.subpop.com

www.fruitbatsmusic.com

The Ruminant Band Live

Nell’agosto 1992, a nord del monte Mckinley, in Alaska, un cacciatore di alci trovò in un vecchio autobus abbandonato, il corpo di un ragazzo, ormai in decomposizione. Accanto al corpo senza vita, qualche libro e un diario. Un diario firmato con uno pseudonimo che il ragazzo aveva usato fino a quel momento, Alexander Supertramp, ma il vero nome del ragazzo come si sarebbe scoperto poco dopo era Chris McCandless. Ma chi era Chris McCandless e cosa ci faceva una ragazzo così giovane, solo e sperduto nelle foreste dell’Alaska? Nel 1990 dopo aver conseguito con il massimo dei voti una laurea, Chris, un ragazzo di 22 anni e di buona famiglia, prese tutti i suoi risparmi (25 000 dollari) e gli diede in beneficenza, bruciò la sua auto e sparì dalla circolazione, per sempre, uniche tracce, i suoi appunti sul diario e la gente che incontrò sul suo cammino. Con poche righe spiegò ad amici e famiglia che non ne poteva più della sua vita normale e voleva abbracciare la natura. John Krakauer, uno scrittore americano ma prima di tutto un avventuriero ed un alpinista, affascinato dalla storia di Chris, decise tramite gli appunti nel diario e gli indirizzi annotati, di intervistare chiunque avesse incontrato Chris, chi gli aveva dato un passaggio, le persone per cui aveva lavorato in piccoli fast food o in fattorie sperdute dell’American del nord, chi l’aveva ospitato o semplicemente, fatto una chiacchierata e preso il suo indirizzo, raccolse tutto questo in uno splendido libro, ormai quasi introvabile “Into the Wild” (Nelle Terre Estreme, nella versione italiana)

Quello che ne emerse fu incredibile, tutti, nessuno escluso ricordavano quel ragazzo con grande affetto, Chris aveva come unica filosofia, quella di lasciare il posto in cui si trovava, appena ci si fosse trovato bene, la sua sfida era….mettersi alla prova ogni giorno, e come ultima destinazione, arrivare nella fredda Alaska, lì dove finalmente avrebbe potuto abbracciare la natura che da tanto cercava. Chris si muoveva per l’ovest americano lavorando ovunque gli capitasse, fino a mettere da parte i soldi necessari per la partenza successiva, da tutti veniva ricordato come un ragazzo taciturno e lavoratore, e sempre con il sorriso sulle labbra. Il corpo di Chris venne ritrovato nell’estate del 1992, nel vecchio pullman abbandonato c’erano graffiti e passi sottolineati di alcuni libri come quelli di Tolstoj, Kerouac, Jack London ecc. Il motivo della morte di Chris tutt’ora non è stato chiarito, lo stato di decomposizione non permise una autopsia accurata, Chirs potrebbe essere morto di stenti, freddo oppure avvelenato da alcune radici di cui si era cibato.Lo scherzo del destino fu che la salvezza per Chris era soltanto a pochi kilometri dall’autobus abbandonato, infatti a un’ora di cammino avrebbe trovato sia la strada, che un capannone per i rifugi usato dai Rangers, ma lo spirito di Chris gli aveva sempre imposto di viaggiare senza una mappa, quindi, lui ignorava tutte queste cose. Tra le tante persone con cui parlò, ci fu qualcuno che affezionò al ragazzo più degli altri, un anziano signore che incontrò Chris mentre faceva autostop, insieme viaggiarono da Salton City fino a Grand Juction in California. L’uomo si chiamava Ronald A. Franz, (uno pseudonimo su richiesta dell’uomo) una persona sola, in pensione e molto insoddisfatta della propria vita, Ron non voleva più separarsi dal suo nuovo giovane amico, ma sapeva di non poterlo fermare. Ecco alcuni stralci delle lettere che Chris scrisse a Ron: “Ron, apprezzo sinceramente l’aiuto che mi hai dato e i momenti che abbiamo trascorso insieme. Spero che la nostra separazione non ti abbia depresso troppo. Potrebbe passare molto tempo prima di rivederci ma, ammesso che io superi l’affare Alaska tutto d’un pezzo, riceverai di sicuro mie notizie. Vorrei ripeterti solo il consiglio che già ti diedi in passato, ovvero che secondo me dovresti apportare un radicale cambiamento al tuo stile di vita, cominciando con coraggio a fare cose che mai avresti pensato di fare o che mai hai osato. C’è tanta gente infelice che tuttavia non prende l’iniziativa di cambiare la propria situazione perché è condizionata dalla sicurezza, dal conformismo , dal tradizionalismo, tutte cose che sembrano assicurare la pace dello spirito, ma in realtà, non esiste niente di più devastante che un futuro certo.Il vero nucleo dello spirito vitale di una persona è la passione per l’avventura.La gioia di vivere deriva dall’incontro con nuove esperienze e quindi non esiste gioia più grande dell’avere un orizzonte in continuo cambiamento, del trovarsi ogni giorno sotto un sole nuovo e diverso. “Spero davvero, Ron, che non appena ti sarà possibile, lascerai Salton City, attaccherai una roulotte al camion e comincerai a goderti il grande lavoro che il Signore ha compiuto nell’ovest americano,vedrai cose, conoscerai gente, e ti insegneranno molto. Dovrai farlo in regime d’economia, niente motel, preparati da mangiare da solo e, come regola generale, spendi il meno possibile, perché così ti ritroverai ad apprezzare immensamente ogni cosa.Spero che la prossima volta che ti vedrò sarai un uomo con una sfilza di nuove esperienze e avventure alle spalle.Non esitare o indugiare in scuse.Prendi e vai, Sarai felice di averlo fatto.Riguardati.” Alex.

Dismal. Dreary. Grim.

That’s what the weather’s been like here in Central Pennsylvania over the past few days. A cold, steady rain’s been soaking everything with gloom. The roof has been leaking. There have been no opportunities to walk in the mornings.

The weather forecasts even predict snow for tonight, and it’s only mid-October. A coating of the white stuff would cause much rejoicing from my 14-year-old son, whose suffers from incurable ski fever. Last night we went with a bunch of his ski buddies and their dads to a local high school to see Dynasty, the latest bit of powder porn by Warren Miller Productions. A local ski club sponsored the screening, for an audience that shared my son’s illness. As I watched the footage of skiers crashing through deep, fluffy powder on slopes around the world, I felt my own fever rise. Enough with fall! It’s time for winter!

I know one thing: If it does snow tonight, I’ll be playing Steve Miller’s Fly Like an Eagle in the morning.

It’s easy to scoff at 1970s hit-maker Miller. Songs like “Jungle Love” and “Jet Airliner” don’t give him much hipster cred, but he did have a knack for a good tune. For me, a lot of his work conjures up winter. I remember reading at my desk in my old bedroom back in Maine as my tiny transistor radio played “The Joker” and snow fell softly outside the windows. That must have been around 1973, when I was 13. Even now, 36 years later, when I hear that song the snow starts falling in my imagination.

I have strong links between music and the seasons. Sometimes I hear a song and it becomes permanently associated with the circumstances, like the way a baby bird will “imprint” on the first thing it sees. From then on, whenever I hear that song my senses flash back to the past. The Wings song “Listen to What the Man Said” pulls me back to an early June day in what must have been 1976, riding down the Pond Road in Manchester, Maine, in my brother’s station wagon, out of school early thanks to a bomb scare and off to go water-skiing, the bright sun strobing in and out of the newly green trees as we pass. Sweet’s Desolation Boulevard always brings me to spring. I think my brother had the eight-track playing one spring day when we drove to Portland for a boat show. “(They Just Can’t Stop the) Games People Play” by the Spinners is fall, because it was an autumn day when I rode my bike to the Grants department store to buy the single.

There are even albums I play especially for particular times. On Halloween I always play Supertramp’s Crisis, What Crisis?, Al Stewart’s Past, Present and Future, and Mike Oldham’s Tubular Bells. I remember hearing Maine station WBLM play Stewart’s “Nostradamus” on Halloween night in 1977, and it seemed so appropriate I made it a tradition. I played the Supertramp album that same night as I did my homework at the dining room table before going out to raise some heck with friends, so I play it every year now. It works just like a time machine. I like to play Tubular Bells on Halloween because its Exorcist connections just make it scary and I’ve been doing it for so long that it instantly conjured up Halloween for me. On July 4 I have a long set list for the occasion: Frank Sinatra singing “America,” David Byrne’s “Independence Day,” X’s “Fourth of July,” Galaxy 500’s “Fourth of July.” On a really sweltering summer’s day the time is ripe for Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, the side with “In the Light,” “Down by the Seaside,” and “Ten Years Gone.”

Fly Like an Eagle is winter from beginning to end, especially that spacey “Intro” to the title song. Once again the connection is largely thanks to my brother’s car, this time a blue Buick Skylark. We listened to the album—on eight-track, naturally—one morning as we drove to Western Maine to go skiing. It was one of those bright winter mornings of knife-like cold, with thin wisps of clouds scudding along high above us in the frigid blue sky. Someplace there’s a photo we took with a Polaroid Instamatic camera on that trip. It shows us standing by the side of the road next to the Buick wearing our 1970’s-style ski duds, squinting in the early-morning sun. Soundtrack provided by Steve Miller.

So if there’s snow on the ground tomorrow, I’ll cue Fly Like an Eagle up on the turntable and make the fall turn into winter from more than 30 years ago.

I always believed that fall break was one of the most inspired things. It wasn’t as lengthy as spring break – a mere Thursday and Friday – but it’s placement in the school year was almost flawless.

It usually fell in late October, a week or so before Halloween, half the way between the start of the school year and Christmas break. It was far enough into the semester that the hopeless feeling that the school year would never end had set in, but scattered warm days of Indian summer were reminders of the summer past.

There are a couple schools I pass on the morning commute to work each day. They all have some kind of message board at the front of the school, marquee letters announcing football games and such.

I’ve started seeing dates for fall breaks.

I keep thinking of the fall break in 1984. It was the first fall break where my friends and I all had licenses. Acquiring a vehicle, though, sometimes demanded nimble gamesmanship and negotiation with parents or an older sibling.

I think it was my pyro friend who had snagged his older brother’s car. Another friend, Bosco, had joined us, but, as the pyro hadn’t actually obtained consent to have the car, there had been no time to track anyone else down.

We headed to the city – Cincinnati – and an hour later we were rifling through the racks at a record store. Bosco, an obsessive fan of The Tubes, was determined to snag the recently released solo album by the band’s front man Fee Waybill.

Bosco eventually purchased the album at a Record Bar in the mall from a clerk whom he dubbed “DLR” as the kid had adopted the look of Van Halen’s lead singer. We ended up taking the purchase to a stereo shop where Bosco peeled open the shrink-wrap and we listened to the record on a display system (at least until we were asked to leave).

I remember vividly the overcast skies – much like today – that day, but it was far warmer than it is here, now, where it feels as though we’ve skipped directly from September to November. I seem to recall the sun breaking through a bit on the drive home.

I’m less certain of what music I purchased that day, though I have no doubt that I returned home that evening with several new cassettes. Here’s a quartet of tracks from albums that I very well might have snagged on that break in the autumn of 1984…

INXS – Burn For You
from The Swing

I hadn’t been a fan of INXS’ American debut from the year before, although I thought (and still think) the song Don’t Change is brilliant. And, by the fall of ‘84, their second album, The Swing, had been out since the spring.

However, during the summer, another friend had bought INXS’ entire catalog (including earlier Australian releases that were only available to us as imports) and I had become a fan thanks to his incessant playing of the band. Also, our town finally had MTV and the video for the slinky, soulful Burn For You was getting a lot of play that fall.

Roger Hodgson – Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy)
from In The Eye Of The Storm

If you have followed my babbling on this site, you might be well aware of my affection for Supertramp (at least Breakfast In America). By 1984, founding member Roger Hogdson had left the band for a solo career that didn’t exactly pan out.

Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy) got some airplay on some of the stations to which I listened. In truth, it could have been on Breakfast In America and not sounded out of place.

The Fixx – Less Cities, More Moving People
from Phantoms

I think I always liked The Fixx in theory better than execution. Everything was in place – cool name, cool futuristic vibe – for them to be a favorite, except consistently good songs. Aside from Reach The Beach, their albums were maddeningly hit or miss to me.

Not that I gave up trying to embrace them. Although I didn’t like Are We Ourselves?, the first hit from Phantoms, I gave the album a shot nonetheless (and was disappointed). But, there were a couple of worthwhile tracks like the twitchy, shuffling Less Cities, More Moving People.

.38 Special – Teacher Teacher
from Teachers soundtrack

.38 Special was from the South and they were a rock band, but, despite being labeled at times as a Southern rock band, they never really struck me as belonging in that genre. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t a big fan of Southern rock and I liked a lot of .38 Special (or, at least the hits in the early ’80s).

Of course, the band was a staple on a lot of the stations in the Midwest, so maybe it was a familiarity thing, but Teacher Teacher was catchy, straight-ahead rock with a punchy chorus and plenty of guitars. I know that we caught the movie Teachers on one of our treks to the city. As we were in high school at the time, it resonated with us, though, for some reason, I don’t think I’ve happened across it since seeing it in the theater.

Beidzot arī manis solītā recenzija par popsīgu progresīvā roka grupu – tie ir Supertramp.

Līdz šim par šo grupu zinu vien to, ka albuma tituldziesmu pirms kāda laika piesmēja kaut kādi reperi. Vai kas tamlīdzīgs.

“Gone Hollywood” pēc falseta dziedājuma intro pārvēršas par klavierkoncertu, bet pēc tam par saksofona koncertu. Agresīvākās dziesmas daļas skan kā diezgan tumša mūzika, bet pārsvarā viss ir diezgan pozitīvs. “The Logical Song” ir loģiska dziesma šai grupai – progresīvais roks, kas skan sasodīti saldi. Tas pats atkārtojas arī “Goodbye Stranger”, kas turklāt atkal ietver sevī “Bee Gees” cienīgus falsetus. Un vēl tā svilpošana. Visai gejīgi, ejam tālāk. “Breakfast in America”, kā jau pieminēju, ir tā dziesma, kuru izčkarēja reperi. Kā izrādās, tie ir “Gym Class Heroes”. Neko vairāk par dziesmu neteikšu, tas pats kas iepriekšējām. Pirmā puse beidzas “Oh Darling”, kas ir vēl viena āžu stila kompozīcija.

Ar ne pārāk lielu patiku ķeros pie otras puses. “Take the Long Way Home” ir pagaidām labākā albuma dziesma, jo tajā ir izmantotas mutes harmonikas. “Lord Is It Mine” var nodēvēt par cik necik skaistu. “Just Another Nervous Wreck” ir nedaudz gospeļu dziedājumu ietekmes, kas pricipā glābj dziesmu. “Casual Conversations” ir tik garlaicīga cik vien var būt. Vēl 7 ar pusi minūtes garlaicības es saņemu no “Child of Vision”. Par lami, tas ir viss.

Kaitonošs albums. Ja man par to kaut ko neapsolītu, otrreiz es to neklausītos nekad.

Lieku albumam 5 zvaigznes no 10

Par manu vārdu pareizību pārliecinieties paši

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Moving from organ to electric piano this week, here’s me doubling the Richard Davies electric piano solo of Bloody Well Right from Supertramp’s Crime of the Century.

(Purchase the original: Amazon, iTunes)

Bearded festing

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There is definitely a story behind this post:  my roommates were watching some shitty medical drama and getting way into it, “OMG HE’S TOTALLY GOING TO DIE!”, “NO WAY!  That looks so painful I feel so bad for him!”, etc. and I remarked to a friend of mine, “Am I the only one who doesn’t see the appeal of medical dramas?  It can’t possibly be fun to feel so much concern for people who aren’t even real.  It doesn’t even make sense, there are real people with crappy problems, if they want to spend so much time feeling bad for other people, couldn’t they at least find some real ones to expend their emotions on?”, and we agreed that we couldn’t see the appeal in medical dramas until I commented, “God, I was just listening to Muse.  Every time I listen to Muse, I feel like somewhere, the Manhattan Project is still going on, and whoever is doing it is also having a tragic affair with an entire galaxy.  They are so overdramatic, but it makes me feel like a hero on the treadmill whenever I hit ‘Knights of Cydonia’.”  And we realized that listening to horribly depressing music wasn’t really any less stupid than watching TV programs about people with crippling illnesses and injuries, but we were doing it anyway.  So, I set out to compile a list of the most depressing songs ever recorded, just because if you’re going to do something stupid, you might as well go all the way with it.  So, here goes…

UNREQUITED LOVE

Muse, “Endlessly”.  Hopelessly, I’ll love you endlessly/Hopelessly, I’ll give you everything/…/But the moment never comes. What could possibly be so pointless, hurtful, and ultimately, futile, other than perhaps the diplomatic wranglings that occur trying to achieve peace in Israel?

THAT’S ME IN THE CORNER

R.E.M., “Losing My Religion”. I don’t know if there has ever been another song that captures the sensation of being morally adrift and buckling under pressure, yet still fighting with yourself about it.  Whenever I am at a party and there is a lull in the madness that allows me to begin actually thinking rationally, this song comes to mind, and it’s always a terrible experience.  I’ll be sitting on a sofa somewhere, stereotypical red cup in hand, and suddenly not having fun anymore because I start thinking about real serious problems… That’s me in the corner, that’s me in the spotlight, losing my religion. Luckily, I have the attention span of a goldfish, and that’s about as far as it ever gets, although I never really had any religion to begin with.  For those of you who do actually experience Jesus guilt, I feel bad.

Black Kids, “Hurricane Jane”.  Ah yes, another song about not really having any fun, this time, while other people specifically are.

It’s Friday night and I ain’t got nobody.
Oh, what’s the use of making a bed?
I took something and it feels like karate;
It’s kicked me down and left me for dead.
It’s Friday night and I ain’t got nobody,
So what’s the use of pulling a shade?
I put what I want, when I want, in my body.
I’m never gonna give what I take.

That’s for when you’re sitting around on Friday night with no plans, and no motivation to do anything productive.  It’s even better for that purpose, because it sounds like a party song, it’s just not.

King Crimson, “Starless”.  But my eyes turned within only see starless and Bible black… It’s a jazzy prog tune with sparse lyrics, but you can practically see the funeral procession passing from the side of the road when you listen to this one.

FRIED OUT

The Beatles, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “So Tired”.  While mostly known for lighter fare such as ‘Hey Jude’, The Beatles did also write songs that are perfect for sobbing in time to during finals week when you haven’t slept, bathed, or not been studying for three days and counting.

Syd Barrett, all of his solo works.  These songs are falling apart at the seams.  As much of a Floyd fan as I am, I have to admit that this stuff is painful to listen to.  Yet, when I am feeling especially neurotic, it has a certain masochistic appeal.

UB40, “Red Red Wine”.  Is it really already 10:30?!  God, fuck this shit, I can’t take it anymore… who wants to go do something reckless, NOW?!  On that note…

“WASTED” POTENTIAL

Steely Dan, “Deacon Blues” and “Reelin’ In the Years”.  The latter being a song about an old classmate or something who isn’t doing anything with his life, and the former being about a wannabe musician who wants to “drink Scotch whiskey all night long and die behind the wheel”.

Gorillaz, “Clint Eastwood”.  I’m happy/I’m feelin’ good/I’ve got a sunshine/In a bag/And I’m useless/But not for long/The future, is comin’ on, is comin’ on, is comin’ on… Ah yes, the endless deferment of the future for temporary pleasure.  Nobody else I know who liked this song when it first came out is still in college, for the record.

The Doors, “Waiting for the Sun”.  This song inevitably reaches the top of my playlist when I’m stuck in hiatus; the couple of weeks between high school graduation and summer classes at college, Christmas break, locked in indecision about what I should be doing, etc.  You can hear Morrison’s frustration with how he could see where things were going, both with himself and with the scene as a whole.

Sublime, Everything They Ever Recorded.  They don’t have a song that isn’t awful, by these metrics, anyway.  ”Date Rape”.  ”Wrong Way” (a song about a 12-year old prostitute).  ”40 Oz. to Freedom”.  The list goes on.

Janis Joplin, Copy paste previous blurb with different song titles.

Amy Winehouse, because as much of a media trainwreck as the woman is, she has written some amazingly depressing songs!  … “Rehab”, for starters, but Amy doesn’t just sing about heroin, she also sings about carpet burns, cocaine, and cleaning the house.

SEXUAL FRUSTRATION

Jethro Tull, “Aqualung”.  Basically, it’s a creepy song about an old guy with a runny nose that likes little girls.  However, it has a kickass guitar solo, so you should still listen to it anyway.

Flight of the Conchords, “Business Time” and The Lonely Island, “Jizz In My Pants”.  I am including these two videos (NOTE:  BOTH ARE NSFW!) under the same heading because I swear to god those SNL folks are just copying the song that was released first.  Also, the FotC video is friggin’ hilarious.  Not least of which because, towards the end of the video, the guitarist is standing right there.  Look for it, it’s the FedEx logo of this video.

Flight of the Conchords

The Lonely Island

Does anyone else think the one that has 64 million views is less funny?  (Tell me in the comments!)

Arctic Monkeys, “Fluorescent Adolescent”.  The first time I heard this song I was sitting in a hookah place and I wasn’t paying very much attention to the lyrics until one of my friends said, “I know exactly what this song is about:  sexual frustration.”  And I remember saying, “Well how do you know that?”, and he outlined the lyrics to me, and it’s really quite obvious once you listen to them.  ”You used to get it in your fishnets/Now you only get it in your night dress/Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness/…/Oh the boy’s a slag/The best you’ve ever had, the best you’ve ever had is just a memory…” It’s not a song that I particularly like because I find the music behind the words to be disinteresting, but it fits the theme to the ‘T’.

Radiohead, “Creep” and “Nude”.  I don’t even want to know what Thom Yorke’s girlfriends have been like, because these songs say more about sexual inadequacy than an entire terabyte of spam emails about DISCOUNT VIAGARA AND CIALIS SHIPPED TO YOUR DOOR ever could.  You’re just like an angel/Your skin makes me cry/…/But I’m a creep/I’m a weirdo/What the hell am I doin’ here?/I don’t belong here/I don’t care if it hurts/I wanna have control… Yorke sounds so pathetic when he sings these lines, it’s almost unbearable.

And as far as the other song is concerned?  ”She stands stark naked and she beckons you to bed/Don’t go, you’ll only want to come back again/So don’t get any big ideas/They’re not gonna happen/You’ll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking.”  These song lyrics are enough to make a person cry, yet I find myself listening to the song over and over again because it’s just so beautiful.

Coincidentally, our next topic is a favorite means of overcompensating –

BOMBS AND MISSILES

Neil Young, “Ohio”.  Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming/we’re finally on our own/this summer I hear the drumming/four dead in Ohio. Then again, a happy song about the Kent State massacre would probably be distasteful.

Weird Al, “Christmas At Ground Zero”.  A happy song about a literal nuclear winter, however, is not.  I guess.

Roger Waters, “The Bravery of Being Out of Range”.

Hey bartender, over here!
Two more shots and two more beers.
Sir, turn up the TV sound:
The war has started on the ground!

The idea that somebody finds war entertaining should be just a little bit disturbing.

Porcupine Tree, “Radioactive Toy”.

Run through forests on a hot summer day
Trying to break down walls of numbing pain
Give me the freedom to destroy
Give me radioactive toy

Let’s not ever put Steve Wilson in charge of the red button, k?

Flobots, “Handlebars”.  This is quite possibly the deepest, most depressing rap song I have ever heard.  I hope I never hear it in public because every time I do, I’m trying not to cry.

I can make computers survive aquatic conditions/I know how to run a business/And I can make you wanna buy a product/Movers shakers and producers/Me and my friends understand the future/I can see the strings that control the systems…/I can split the atoms of a molecule, of a molecule, of a molecule/…/I can guide a missile by a satellite, by a satellite, by a satellite/And I can hit a target through a telescope, through a telescope, through a telescope/And I can end the planet in a holocaust, in a holocaust, in a holocaust…

MISANTHROPY – FOR WHEN YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND

Supertramp, “Breakfast In America”, the entire album.  Allow me to elaborate:

1. “Gone Hollywood”, a song about how much of a pie in the sky idea it is to try and make it in Hollywood.
2. “The Logical Song”, ugly rationality disrupting a more idealistic vision of reality.
3. “Goodbye Stranger”, … so you had a great time last night, but were any of the people you met worth having a real conversation with or remembering the names of?
4. “Breakfast in America”, because we have insanely unrealistic aesthetic ideals in this country.  Yet, DON’T YOU LOOK AT MY GIRLFRIEND, ‘cos she’s the only one I’ve got.  Yikes.
5. “Oh Darling”, not what it sounds like it should be just looking at the title.  It’s actually a very tense song about a man pursuing a woman in a way that borders on stalkerdom.
6. “Take the Long Way Home”, because what other song features the line, “and then your wife seems to think you’re part of the furniture”?!?!?!
7. “Lord is it Mine”, when everything’s gone and nothing seems right, etc.
8. “Just another Nervous Wreck”, is ironically the least depressing song on this album.
9. “Casual Conversations,” No matter what I say, you ignore me anyway.
10. “Child of Vision”, You’re poisoning your body, you’re poisoning your mind.

Supertramp is actually very depressing.  I’m not sure why I listen to it so much.  Clearly, it’s not very fun.

Pink Floyd, “Animals” (album) and “Empty Spaces”.  Let me make this very clear:  ’Animals’ is 45 minutes of misanthropic rambling.  Everyone is either a dog, a pig, or a sheep.  But it just doesn’t get that much more misanthropic than the lyrics, “You know it’s gonna get harder and harder and harder as you get older/And in the end you’ll pack up and fly down south,/Hide your head in the sand,/Just another sad old man,/All alone and dying of cancer.”  The way Waters sings ‘caaaanceeeer!!!’ just makes it all the more inappropriate, and inappropriately enjoyable.

However, “Empty Spaces”, specifically the movie version, which is actually called “What Shall We Do Now?”, can be enough to inflict psychological trauma on a person, if they’re paying enough attention:

What shall we use to fill the empty spaces
Where waves of hunger roar
Shall we set out across this sea of faces
In search of more and more applause
Shall we buy a new guitar
Shall we drive a more powerful car
Shall work straight through the night
Shall we get into fights
Leave the lights on
Drop bombs
Do tours of the East
Contract diseases
Bury bones
Break up homes
Send flowers by phone
Take to drink
Go to shrinks
Give up meat
Rarely sleep
Keep people as pets
Train dogs
Race rats
Fill the attic with cash
Bury treasure
Store up leisure
But never relax at all
With our backs to the wall

“Keep people as pets”?  Between that and the thorough damning of the consumerism we all slave away for, if you’re not ready to chuck a TV set out a window and scream at the top of your lungs by the end of this song, you must be crazy!

SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

The Police, “Can’t Stand Losing You”.  The first time I ever really paid any attention to this song, I was shocked!  ”I guess this is our last goodbye/And you don’t care so I won’t cry/But you’ll be sorry when I’m dead/And all this guilt will be on your head/I guess you’d call it suicide.” Could anything be more selfish than proclaiming that a breakup has you suicidal?

The Bloodhound Gang, “Lift Your Head Up High and Blow Your Brains Out”.  The title pretty much says it all:  it’s an obnoxious, yet somehow intriguing song about shooting yourself in the head.

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Well, I guess that wraps up my list of horribly depressing songs.  I think I’m going to go listen to the B-52’s and look at pictures of sleeping puppies for a while, k?  (Remember, I’ve been actually listening to and either recalling the lyrics or reading the lyrics to all of these songs, not just scrolling through a list some other person on the Internet wrote!)

- sf1

Rock God Cred Report:

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Apart from sharing a love for a country that has been used and abused by many, and many more to come; it turned out that we share a love for music as well. So I dedicate this relatively long (but short in content) page to you my true Lebanese friend. I hope that you will enjoy it.