Dan's Shadow: Comments to Shadows

I've been falling regularly behind on comments and all the while starting to have a general feeling that, by spending upwards of four to six hours in commentary a month, I am engaging in a major instance of "wanking off into the void."

This month I begin a new area of scaling back on the cross-referencing of past posts (aside from the Creators'), hyperlinks, and dissecting of minutiae (which generally seem to be off-putting, as much as anything else). Forgiveness is asked of anyone that liked to read through my lengthy past posts, and payment is requested of anyone who is grateful they will now be short.

Overall:
Stephen, thanks for the personal look into your journey of the past decade and a half; one of which we've heard some general recounting but, for the most part, to which we've not been there for. As expected (and I think as Mixdorf alluded), this collection reads almost like a "who's who" of artists for which I've always felt on the outside looking in. Either that or some sort of semi-independent film soundtrack. In the former view, however, it's definitely a valuable look into these artists of which I otherwise may have remained ignorant/intimidated indefinitely. So thanks for that.

1. Havalina: Funny, that it's ultimately the name of a pig. Even if it's about somewhat exotic places, the name definitely conjures the images of seaside breezes than it does anyplace in Arizona. For me, anyway. Dreamy, almost "Sleepwalk"-like guitar beginning. Unexpected chord change at around :30, and great one as the vocals come up, around 1:20.

2. Replacements: In addition to avoiding this group for the earlier reasons (out of the loop to begin with and a little intimidated), I gotta say that I've always avoided everything to do with the Replacements just cause they have such Godlike status in the hipster review circles in the Twin Cities. It's like if someone called into Cities 97 and announced a Replacements Reunion Tour, the disc jockey's boner would come right out of the radio and poke me in the eye. And then, the post-Replacements years, GOD! Enough with Paul Westerberg!!! So, getting past all that might have been expected to be challenging. But this song was great! I can see the appeal. Just pounding it out, sounding almost like a frat party with a chorus of partiers joining in on the "I don't knows." And I just LOVE the chorus. Great sax - especially from the years where sax was used wrong so often. Relentless!!! Note: I love your appreciation of the balls it took to release "Let It Be."

3. Way Down Now: Like a couple of the other guys, I know Ship of Fools, from that same Greenpeace collection of Gibbs'; and it is a song I like. this one, I recall from radio back in the years (where Stephen & I may have actually been both setting up video equipment, unbeknownst to one another), but one that I have never listened to with an attentive ear. I certainly didn't know it was World Party at work. The song is OK - but nothing really grabs me. Even as I am not gushing over it, I can appreciate the type of music that was at work there, and how it might have stood out, given its context in time. I do know Stephen has a history of sitting up an noticing when pop separates itself from the pack. To this day, I do not really know what elevated Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" to such status, but I seem to remember something about it being "just a great pop song."

4. Futterman's Rule: Unbelievably funky and driving. WONDERFUL, and perhaps the best use of the organ in rock music since Inna Godda Vita. Bass that I can imagine having played, in my heyday. I love the elevated guitar bridge part, the fills - all of it. I also love the actual "rule." Was that from the album with "Heart Attack Man?" Beyond the freeing of Tibet, they also seem to have some sort of side mission of lowering chloresterol. On a side note: Working out to show tunes? Listening to this song must have been like the Rapture for you (like, from the lucky ones' standpoint).

5. Pool: I really like this song. Another, yet of a different style, bassline I almost could have seen myself playing. A somewhat low, subdued, masculine voice elevates itself to a pretty range right after 1:00. Catchy & lovely. A bit of a cheesy guitar solo - and also that synth part around 3:00, but probably par for the time/place. Regardless of the unkown words, just a nice pop song, overall. And I love imagining that their entire catalog is just a series of "songs about taking flight, mysterious feelings and straightforward love."

6. On Earth: Like anyone who kind of came into their own during and in conjunction with the rise and fall of alternative rock in the 90s, I knew well and loved "Here's Where the Story Ends." Wheeler's voice - remarkable, pure, and truly a gift to the world. A pity she hasn't done more (or just more I know about?). That said, this song - while not objectionable - does little for me. It just kind of pleasantly meanders along, and then ends.

7. I See Monsters: I know this is a guy that A. Johnson likes quite a bit. So make of that what you will. Pleasant guitar work - almost a little "Dear Prudence" descent, but also a quality that makes it seem a little like an arena rock departure ("Dust in the Wind"?). I like some of the lyrical phrases, though I don't totally see what he's getting at, overall. This song, too, doesn't really knock me out.

8. Automatic Stop: OK. Here's my song. This one knocks...my...socks...off. The musical progression. The musical progression. Part one, with the main synchopated guitar hits & the singing, the part two with the fuzzed out guitar that departs on a little counter melody over the main riff, then the unexpected little disco section that takes off. Brilliant! And also - if'n I may be excused for yet another Dan/44 reference, this definitely seems like the type of production upon which vintage 44 may have embarked - to whatever degree of success. A combination of fond reminisces and appreciating from a songwriter/contributor vantage working together to bolster my enjoyment of this song. Just a little "Cake" like, isn't this song? Oh, and brilliant ending.

9. The Shadows: Yo La Tengo definitely going into the same category as Death Cab for Cutie, as indie-rock warlords to whom I've never tithed (GREAT Onion article, by the way. I remember it well from when it first came out). This song was going to fall into the "pleasant, but not knocking me out" category, but has been growing on me. She has a fairly lovely voice, and the song dreamily drifts along. The muted trumpet really gives a little welcome sparkle and lift. Some unexpected & sophisticated chord changes that I may not have completely gotten my head around yet.

10. Cleaning Windows: Definitely a change of pace, here. An OK song - pretty straightforward, easygoing blues. I've never been a huge VM fan, but I can appreciate the vastness of his body of work, only a small fraction of which I've (admittedly) ever sampled. As far as being the window cleaner in this song: that's what (in some discussions over "what the hell are we doing?" conversations with Gibbs in times past) I've come to refer to as "The Danny Glover" trick. Being the window cleaner, or janitor, or shelving guy in Walgreens who was found inner peace and who dispenses knowledge to protagonists seems pretty great in the movies, but I don't recommend that route for those who are living real lives.

Overall: A couple of songs in there I am really happy are now a part of my life. I also really appreciate this unveiling of the mystery of a few artists I may have never gotten around to, and a few more fragmentary stories from the Mysterious Lost Years of Stephen. Thanks!

T-clog Sees Methman's True Colors

I love the simple concept to this album. It is raw and explosive. The songs are grouped together into this album because they all have a color in their track title. Before I get into each song, I want to say that theis album is fantastic and a pure joy to listen to. Meth, you have pulled another one of your tricks out of the hat. I will keep my comments short, but know this: I love listening to this album!

Blue Caravan

I dig the wire brush on the snare drum. It gives a cool sound that fits this song like a glove. The voice is soft and soothing. I love the way it dances through the line "I walked awaaaaaaaay". Absoulutely beautiful. Great song!

The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth

This song is definately sung by a troll. Is his name Jonathan? It is refreshing voice that is truely unique and common at the same time. It is purposefully raw and rough. It is a fun song with great lines. An example of one is, "You look a little bit like coffee". Another fun line for me is, "Far away from West Virginia". I don't know why that tickles me, but it does. I also love the buzzing sound at the beginning and the end of the song.

Red Oyster Cult

Like the solid drums a lot. The men that sing this song have amazing abilities. Have they gone through puberty yet? This is not a bad song, but one that might not make the i-pod (Samsung).

Pink Triangle

Very clever song. I love this song because.............oh, you know why. Any song that has lesbian in it can't be disliked. I am unable to play this song unless i am alone in the car. I can't play it at school or at home. Bummer! It is a song that is ewxciting and captivating. I feel for the poor guy in the song. I weep for him.

Silver

"In this land of strangers there are dangers", sounds very ominous to me from the git-go. This is a very interesting song. I think of lonely silver miners. I dig this song a lot. Get it? :0

White Girl

Sounds like the Beastie Boys. It's alright, but it won't make the i-Pod (Samsung). Know that when I say i-Pod, I will always mean my Samsung. I do really like the end of the song when it repeats it's self over and over. I do really like the end of the song when it repeats it's self over and over.

Gold to Me

A great song! It is upbeat and sweet. IF you really like gold then this would be your theme song. I kept thing of the song Band of Gold that was recorded by Payne back in the 70's I think. The dud e really likes gold. I wonder if it is white gold or yellow gold? Maybe it's both.

Green Arrow

LOVE the song. IT is greatly green and sharp. I love the crickets! IT reminds me of Everything by R.E.M. It is very soothing and peaceful. Just a flippin fantastic song. It might be my favorite song on the album.

Orange Colored Sky

Where's Frank? Another great song! A trip down the ribbons of time. Nat is a wonderful artist. Was this the inspiration for this album? What a great pick Meth. I want a cocktail and maybe some cocktail shrimp to go with it. I think that I might go out and get a Nat greatest hits album.

Olive

I LOVE IT! It is 100% pure extra virgin poetry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments to Pac-Dan's Comments

(what else?) Pac-DAN's response to Pac-Man's I-Pod.

The 80's: nuclear war, girls, science fiction, high school, and MTV. Certainly not in that order. Girls, certainly. Nuclear war not for a second. Science fiction? Not really so much, either. High school and MTV? Perhaps, but only to the extent girls were viewable in either medium. Yup, it was pretty much girls that consumed my every thought - and what a remarkable little I had to show for it at the end of my four years! But on to the music.

The 80's were longer than 4 years cupcake.

1. Cheers: In case anyone didn't read my comments to a later post - I think, mathematically, I could only be tied in the amount of Cheers (or Cosby Show, or Family Ties, or Night Court...or Challenge of the Superfriends, for that matter) I watched (in those years at least), not surpassed. And count me among the legions that bought into the Woody Harrelson myth. Who knows, perhaps I started it. Perhaps it was started by my prolifically lying brother. In any event, I feel cleaner now, knowing the truth. The song, itself, was always well-regarded as a solid work of music, relative to other theme songs. The poignant concept of "...where everyone knows your name," indeed, became the unofficial motto for the show. And it's OK as a song, I guess. I find it really hard to separate the song from the show and judge it as purely on its own merits. And perhaps it's not intended that I should. I liike the "aahs" quite a bit. They're used to good effect.

If you started it I vote that you get your ass kicked hard! I love the song obviously, and I would like to tally up the hours I watched the show to see how much time I wasted on the boob tube.

2. You Make Loving Fun: Not one of my favorites of their collection - but definitely one of the coolest. It just kind of slides and funks along with bass/synthesizer action. The searing guitar - the little flourishes you speak of around 1:25 - not bad. My favorite part of this song is and has always been the fast little "chicka"-guitar right after "you - you make loving fun" at 2:40. Awesome. Doesn't sound pissed off to me - none of it - as it does to Meth Mix.

Almost a contradiction Dan. Pick a side and get off the fence.

3. Bette Davis Eyes: I echo Gibbs in saying "Only Cory. Wow." She's pre-CO-cious! She's fe-RO-cious! I'd love to hear this song sung by Nico. Many, many years after the fact, I can realize that, purely on its musical & lyrical merits - not a bad song. I did hate it at the time. And MAN - but it SOOO screams "80!" The synths. The crazy "clap" effect. The starkness. The bizarreness. I can't separate it from the times and I could never. And Kim Carnes.: You're no Bonnie Tyler.

Once again you said, "Not bad, but I did hate it at the time." What the heck? Do you see the negative strands that led to the discussion over the tone and delivery? I like to focus more on the positives while writing comments. That's just me, and that's what I want to focus on. Anyway, your honesty is welcomed. IT is as we said before a hard pill to swallow sometimes. I am glad that you have come around on some of these over the years. The hate will ease in time, and from those burned ruins a beautiful city will emerge.

Screams the 80's? That's the point sweetheart.

4. 99 Luft Balloons: Wow. Did I just say that the last song screamed "80s?" Did I just suggest that the last song used synths, crazy "clap" effects, and starkness? The only song that could top this neon, 200 foot, flashing sign of the times is, perhaps, Electric Avenue. Interesting musical occurrence here: I can recognize the catchiness of the song, and yet I hate it. Is it 'cause of the unwarranted pot-shot at Captain Kirk? Is it my aesthetic distaste for the German accent? Is it the stirring up of memories from my least-favorite decade of my life? Probably a bit of all. It just doesn't give me a good feeling when I hear it.

So much hate as a young man. In our house we teach that it is okay to dislike something, but we don't hate.

If you get upset because someone says something about Captain Kirk, then your a bigger nerd then we thought. :)

5. Walk of Life: Allow me to be the third to mention Mixdorf's fascination with "Brothers in Arms." I remember him mentioning that, if he put the cassette into his Walkman (which my mom pronounced "Walk Man") for a run, he felt like he could run forever. But I digress. My own memories & understanding of Brothers in Arms, at the time, was limited to (like most folks) this song & "Money for Nothing." How many grits, after buying BiA because of the Money for Nothing guitar solo and/or the fact he says "That little faggot, he's a millionare" were disappointed to no end upon hearing the rest of the album? Plenty. What do you think about this: "Walk of Life" is to Dire Straits what "Centerfield" is to John Fogerty? To Cory, anyway. I never loved the song, particularly. I remember being struck by the somewhat underwhelming nature of the"woo-hoo"s that kick off the vocals. Listening now - I can see how the structure & arrangement are there, but they don't do a whole lot for me. I really don't like the keyboards much at all. They remind me of some sort of "4th Street Cruise"-oriented music; intended for and appreciated by guys who roll their t-shirt sleeves up a couple of inches and have calendars with ladies wearing hot pants leaning over classic hot-rods. The whole thing kind of exudes a "50s rockabilly" sort of vibe - the echo, the timbre(?) of the guitars, the keyboards. I love what Gibbs says about "the boy can play." Knofler making a plea? Is it possible he is yet another troll? Too successful as a result of this album, perhaps...Perhaps half-troll.

You may be on to something there Mr. Dan!

Perhaps 25% TROLL, 25% HOBBIT, 25% HILLBILLY, and 25% ELF?

6. Magic: Wow - now this is one song where it is almost impossible for me to separate myself from my history with the song - an intimate familiarity with it stemming from the fact that Cars: Greatest Hits was the 2nd album in my CD collection. I love Mixx's "one of those bands almost everyone had the greatest hits of and no actual albums, no matter how popular they were" (a possible wonderful topic for a freelance music magazine essay!), as well as Gibbs' "fangless vampire." Who needs fangs with an Adam's Apple that pointy? Anyway, asked before the arrival of PacMan's i-Pod, I would have said that it was one of my least favorite Cars songs, and one of which I don't have particularly endearing memories. Listening now, however, I have to say that (once one gets past the very 80s "drumming in an all metal room" sound, as well as the 80s keyboards for which I - like Mixdorf - have no particular love) it's a pretty solid song. Words not paving any new ground, though I get a kick out of hearing Ric say "all shackles and balls." T-Clog - so glad to hear that you are a "newbee fan of the guitar." I think there's some interesting little flourishes throughout in this song, and I look forward to your further discoveries in this world.

I am not surprised.

7. Small Town: I echo what the Pat's have both said in terms of my growing admiration & respect for the man & his work and will go so far as to say I recall the three of us (Dan, Pat, Pat) having a particular conversation - perhaps on a February Freeze Off - about this mutual newfound apprecations. Gibbs-yes! D, A, E! This song is no exception. Having not read anything about Bob Seger at this point of my comments, and purely out of gut feeling; I would put Mellencamp's "singing for the little guy" credibility over Bob Seger's any day of the week. Perhaps it has something to do with my hatred of B.S. (funny, huh, his initials - especially in light of what I'm about to say), but when I hear John Mellencamp sing any one of a number of songs about youth, struggles, small towns, "the establishment" etc.etc. I just hear sincerity (akin to John Denver singing about Rocky Mountains), whereas when I hear (usually only very briefly) Seger sing about similar topics, I hear a guy who's creating an image and targeting it to a very specific audience (more like Color Me Bad singing about "the street"). Icon vs. image, here, in my mind. Mellencamp would never shop at a WalMart. Seger NEEDS WalMart to in order to sell his shitty albums. Mellencamp, as I understand, is very concerned about migration of rural youth into major metros; though, as far as I can see, he's been unable to do very damned much about it. Oh, the song? Very straightforward, but in a good way. I agree with Gibbs in that there is more than meets the eye with his lyrics. Using simple words to convey meaningful sentiments (as opposed to another way of writing great lyrics: Sting's approach) is actually a challenging endeavor and one in which I think JM succeeds like few do. Early solo Paul Simon also great at this. I think the "power acoustic" chords and hard-hitting drums (his drums are always hard-hitting) are a nice, visceral underscoring of the sentiment, which is impossible to miss and very effectively conveyed.

Still so much hate. Your childhood was worse than mine?

I have 4 or 5 Melloncamp albums. Glad you guys can appreciate him. I guess I was the pioneer in the group in regaurds to JM. I started listening to him back in the early 90's.

Glad to provide you the stage for yet another Wal-Mart rant.

8. Every Breath You Take: Can't add a ton more to the likeable elements of the song than did the Pats & can't add much more to the backdrop that is the career of The Police than has been covered so far on "Undercover." I, too, like it - but it is yet another song for which I have a very difficult time separating my ears & psyche from how many times I've heard it and how sick of it I may be. Gibbsy Cottontail, I did know that The Police are getting back together for a tour, and I also know that Best Buy drove six dump trucks loaded with money right up Sting's ass and that both entities have since taken a great deal about huge blocks of front-of-stadium tickets that were only available to 10,000+ point "achievers" in Best Buy's "Reward Zone" frequent buyer program. Mixdorf likes to say the concept of "selling out" does not truly exist, but perhaps we can all agree that some artists seem to like money a lot more than others. I personally think Sting ranks somewhere between 50 Cent and R-Kelly. You can't take anything away from this particular single, however, with its already-discussed relentless, guitar-driven rhythm section, and singular vocals (which Sting could, perhaps, be "persuaded" to rename Cingular vocals). Gibbs - on your favorite line, is it possible he sometimes says, "How my fool heart aches?" I almost like that better. OK, everyone - here's a 80s flashback for you: Who's bigger, Sting or me?????

It is okay to like somethin popular. You won't become a member of the redneck idiot club for doing so. It seems like through many conversations about music, the more popular it is with the public the more you want to stay away from it.

Who's the bigger hater? Dan!

9. Against the Wind: Well, after my comments in song #7, you're probably holding your breath. But rest assured, I fall a lot closer to the Mixdorf camp of "Overcoming extreme distaste for 'Like a Rock,' listening with fresh ears, and finding something quite pleasant" than I do Gibbs' "sorry, dude" opinion. I will take Mixdorf's thoughts regarding the romantic notion of the cowboy" another step and suggest that there is a large segment of society out there - we'll call them "the good ol' boys"- that are living under some sort of constant illusion that their neverending rage against some faceless, uppity, college-types from New England is allowing them to somehow live life on their own terms. Their rage is completely misdirected, however, and only effectual in that it wins elections for who should truly be the target of their ire: the billionares who sell them trucks and Miller High Life and pull all the strings that keep them downtrodden. I offer up this brief rant as background as to why I find the "against the wind" sentiment in the song quite frustrating. In the same way I find, "Take This Job and Shove It" frustrating. Songs that become rallying cries for some sort of hopeless, false movement that really only serves to diffuse the focus of the rage. In spite of the emotions that brought forth this rant, I will say that the emotions stem purely from an intellectual evaluation of the song. In my heart, I appreciate and enjoy the playfully wistful words and piano that work together nicely. This song also falls into a crazy sort of subgenre of music from my own personal memories collection (along with the Beatles' "Something" and, of all things, "Rhinestone Cowboy," that were songs I heard over, and over, and over during multiple car trips per year across this great nation of ours (to destinations as far as Oregon, New Mexico, and Florida), nestled in the back of a giant Chevy Station wagon, amidst the luggage. Pleasant, safe memories.

I understand where you are coming from, and appreciate your thoughts.

10. I Won't Back Down: Huge MTV-era memories of this one, which I didn't care for all that much at the time; but to which I have come around in the past few years. Love it now - for the simple, fist in the face of authority message others have pointed out. Love it, in fact, to the point that I performed it in my DanSolo acoustic guitar show last May. Very Petty-ish guitar, and OK harmonies, but nothing extraordinary. Other instrumentation is surprisingly straightforward, when I listen to it closely. Definite case, for me, of a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts," I guess. Which, in my estimation, makes it a complete opposite of Peter Gabriel's "Steam."

You're killing me with this love hate relationship thing.

Wonderful news! Glad that you love it. If I had to pick a theme song for myself, it might be this song.

11. Take On Me: What 12 year old kid - hormones just emerging (our own Mighty Tom excepting), yet confused, didn't imagine himself AS the sweaty, T-Shirt-wearing Austrian being chased by pencil-drawn SS officers, and flung back and forth down a hallway in a trial of devotion, pursuing that feathered-hair 80s beauty in the diner? Count me, certainly, as among those who did. Perhaps coming to terms with this, 20-some odd years after the fact, I recently re-enacted the scene - adorning myself in a plain white t (tucked into tight-fitting jeans), dousing myself with water, and flinging myself back and forth between a set of doorjams while Sharon looked on, mouth agape (with wonder and desire, I imagine), all the while the synth-accompanied crooning of "Take On Me" blasted from the kitchen boom-box. Hard for me not to like this song. I love Mixdorf saying comprehension of the (ESL-challenged, perhaps) lyrics "always seem to be one or two syllables away." Certainly, a serious student of composition (or a Poet Laureate) might label a song like this a pop throwaway - but if it is, it is the best kind, in my opinion. Much in the way of "500 Miles" by the Proclaimers. Not paving any new ground, but irresistable. Perhaps a bit too much synth, however. This becomes particularly evident during the "synth solo."

I wonder if this is a first among CMC members? Has anyone else used another members song to set the mood for love making?

12. Cheers Theme (full version): I sort of agree with everything Mixdorf says on this; the song going psychologically where the TV theme didn't, and in that I'm not sure I needed to hear that version. I join Gibbons in asking, "what the heck is that sound after two seconds? There's something prose-y about the words and how they are presented, relative to the backing music in this version, that seem awkward - or stark & slightly embarassing (for the singer/songwriter). Reminds me of Joe Jackson.

Well you heard it and it is up to you to dwell on it or to spit it out of your head.

Shoeless Joe Jackson?

Executive Summary: No one in this group resists a little trip down memory lane! Thanks!

B.S.: Every Breath You Take; however, probably not the one I enjoy hearing the most at this point.
S.I.W.H.I.: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Shoot me if I ever put a song on a CMC album that has a wrestler in the video.

In the air tonight

Volume 17: The Best of Phil Collins - The Disney Years coming to a mailbox near you soon.

Jeez, the commenting has been awfully slow from the MN and IN camps - it's just as well that Volume 17 is rolling out a little slow.

Frolic in the Shadows: Mix Reviews Volume 16

Gone from our lives for 15 years and more Mr. Cummings returns, and for his first collection fills in the musical gap of the years that we missed. I doubt this collection exhausts his musical experience over that time, but it certainly provides a useful link back to our earlier shared experience. In some ways this is exactly the collection I might have envisioned, though in other ways it is very different. Much of both views is prejudiced by my perception of him in that earlier era.

He was cooler than me. No doubt about it. And his musical taste was light years ahead. While I was fascinated by The Cars Greatest Hits he was pulling Jane's Addiction out of his bag of tricks, complete with shocking image of freaky nudity. It would take me most of college to achieve a level of musical sensibility that he possessed in high school. It will be very interesting to see where his next collection goes relative to his musical sense. The burning question in my mind: is he still five years ahead of the curve - curves being relative.

But onto the songs...

1: 1990. "Havalina", The Pixies, from Bossanova. Release date: 1990.

Frank Black/Black Francis returns to the collection and finds comfort there once again. The Pixies have an image for me that belies their actual work - namely one much harder edged than it really is. Part of that may come from the fact that I arrived at them late, after their demise and the birth of The Breeders from their wreckage. The Breeders are much less satisfying musically, though good as 'angry chick music' if that's your thing. The Pixies are certainly edgy , but are, at their core a pop band with an unmistakable gift for hooks. I'm not sure it's fair to attribute all of this to Frank Black but he seems to have maintained that consistently through his career while the Deal sisters have proven more volatile. It is probably a sum greater than the parts issue to some extent - there are few artists/bands for which their second incarnation can be seen to be better than whatever energy created their first go at music.

You had to like the Pixies in college to be cool. Sadly, I was not. It's not that I didn't like them, they were still off my radar. I was coming to terms with the Led Zeppelin catalogue (as all college males must) and reveling in the wonders of Bob Marely: Legend. It wasn't until I was ensconced in the world of architecture (more exactly the people to be found there) that my musical mind really started to expand. It had only been a few years prior that Mighty Tom and I had sat silently on the couch listening to Madonna:You Can Dance secretly hoping that my room ape didn't return while we did so. To be fair, I pretty much hated that album, annoyed at it's complete lack of track distinction and really never the Madonna fan that MT was. It was and is a long way from there to Bossanova, or even Doolittle.

This is a lovely little song about a wild boar. Is it the pig that's walking on the plain of old Sedona, among the trees? We may never know. It may be interesting to some to know that this closes out the album Bossanova, and it is the bookend of another instrumental song called Cecilia Ann - though they are worlds apart in feel. Cecilia Ann is a rock epic, an anthem perhaps, the counterpoint to the breezy gentility of Havalina. I like this song a lot, though it holds no reminiscents (the scent of memories?).

2. 1992. "I Don't Know", The Replacements, from Pleased to Meet Release date: 1987.

Another band that determined whether you were cool in college and dammit if I didn't fail again. For The Replacements (and subsequent Paul Westerberg) I never really got there. I have no idea why. I knew plenty of people that had every note that had ever been created by them/him but I never bothered or cared to delve.

It's hard not to imagine Morphine when hearing the sax on this song. It's a fun romp, though funny if you read the review on AllMusic. Based on that you probably wouldn't expect to hear this coming out of a supposedly more singer/songwriterly Paul Westerberg. This sounds like a band having fun, though it's not entirely clear they were.

3. 1990-1993. "Way Down Now". World Party, from Goodbye Jumbo, released in 1990.

I know three songs by World Party, and I like them all. This one, Ship of Fools (from the Greenpeace double album owned by both MT and I - possibly bought simultaneously) and Put the Message in the Box (also from Goodbye Jumbo) Oddly, since receiving this collection I've heard that last one at least twice on the radio, and on both occasions it brought a smile to my face and a song from my heart. I may add GJ to my list of albums to consider buying.

World Party has a very full sound (sounds like there are like 10 band members) and seem to deal with somber issues in a relentlessly exuberant way. They seem fun. And boy, the Woo Hoos are straight out of Sympathy for the Devil - I wonder if they had to pay royalties.

4. 1994. "Futterman's Rule". The Beastie Boys, from Ill Communication, 1994.

The Beastie Boys perplexed me. I was genuinely annoyed by Licensed to Ill, having endured almost endless repetitions while running in the dreaded Pit at West High for track practice. Brass Monkey, that funky monkey, haunts me to this day.

My next taste was Paul's Boutique, in a vastly different setting, and my mind wasn't prepared for the shift, even though it was in a direction that I would come to embrace. Where LTI has given license to assholes to like the Beastie Boys, PB spat in their faces (mostly) and made you reconsider what the hell they were up to. It took a few years before I was really on the BB bandwagon, though I remain there to this day.

When I first played this collection (prior to the actual useful track listing - or my googling thereof) this track came on and I thought, 'boy, this sure sounds like a BB song.' And lo and behold it is. If they have a signature funk sound, this is it in spades. This song rocks full blast.

As to rap albums that hold up over time - I can't really speak to the album since I haven't heard it, but a couple of songs from Public Enemy seem as powerful as ever - no matter how much a cartoon Flavor Flav is.

5. 1996. "Pool", Spitz, from Namae-wo stukete yaru/I'll give you a name. 1992.

Funny, my only other experience with 'Japanese pop' comes in the form of some rather different all female bands (the names of which are lost to time). I find it interesting that people that come from a musical tradition so very different from ours (employing the pentatonic scale among other things), and whose indigenous music sounds discordant to my simple western ears, can craft a pop song so on target with western music. I've seen plenty of examples of Japanese 'cover' bands playing note for note recreations of well known western pop songs, words included, but to craft an entire song is something different.

It doesn't really float my boat but I am glad for the hearing.

I seriously considered doing the English teaching in Japan thing, though I was a few years later in the thinking (dammit! again!).

6. 2000-2002. "On Earth." The Sundays. From Blind, released 1991.

You really hit the nail on the head with voice as instrument. I have Static and Silence and feel much the same way about that, though it's not all as 'dreamy' as 'On Earth'.

This song feels at home with Havalina.

7. 2003. "I See Monsters". Ryan Adams, from Love is Hell, Part 2, 2003.

Ryan Adams exploded onto the scene with Gold, released something like 3 albums in one year, and seems to have stepped back to appraise things a bit since then. I only know him from songs that got some airplay, and from discussions among music cognoscenti on some podcasts I listen to. He seems to have been universally praised, and I see no reason to not allow him his moment.

This is a lovely little song with a true shadow lurking behind it. This is a guy who can't accept how good he has it - always seeing the possible disasters that could befall him (or anyone), no matter how unreasonable they might be. This is a glass half empty kind of guy.

I like the guitar playing in this one a lot.

8. 2004. "Automatic Stop", The Strokes, from Room on Fire, 2003.

I've got This is It, 2001 and like it quite a bit, though perhaps not enough, since I didn't check to see if they had anything new. They have a sound, that's for sure, and if you like this, you'll like This Is It just as much.

This song has some interesting instrumental bits, including some relentless metronomic drumming to jangly guitar that is all pretty fun.

9. 2005. "The Shadows". Yo La Tengo, from I Can Feel the Heart Beating as One, 1997.

I've become aware of Yo La Tengo over the last couple of years only to learn that they've been around essentially intact since 1986 and with 13 albums to their credit (the latest being I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass - a great album title).

They floated around my consciousness often being confused with various bands incorporating Spanish in their names (and usually in their songs) and as such didn't inspire me to inquire. I just wasn't in the mood to wade into a wall of brass and lyrics I'd need to decipher. Boy am I an idiot. The name is a total ruse, sonsabitches.

Now if you had been a fan of YLT in the late 80's you would have been the absolute coolest person I've ever known. Screw the Pixies and The Replacements - they're practically N'Sync compared to this band. But no, you got to them before me, though I've closed the gap ever so slightly.

This song certainly fits with The Sundays and is really lovely. I like the muted trumpet part and the generally spare instrumentation all the way through.

10. 2006. "Cleaning Windows", Van Morrison, The Best of Van Morrison, 1991 (originally Beautiful Vision, 1982).

I look forward to some more VM from your extensive collection going forward, but for now I like your take on the meaning of the song. It should be alright to happy with your place in life and not feel the relentless need to strive for more, as if more will ever be enough. I suppose it's somewhat easy given my place in the world to feel that way, and also easier from an energy expenditure point of view, but still closer to the right frame of mind than not.

I was not 'aware' of this VM song previously (though I've owned that Best of collection for a decade at least). This song never stuck, I guess. I have since gotten Moondance to experience a full album from old Van, who may remain prolific but now looks like Randy Quaid after an industrial accident.

Wrap-Up

We seemed pretty aligned musically, if this is any indication of your current musical tastes. We seem to have taken similar musical journeys, though you started with a lead. I look forward to where the journey takes us next.

BS: tough call - possibly, I See Monsters simply because it was new to me
SIWHI: it's your journey

Next month?