It's May of 1994. Kurt Cobian was only a month deceased. I'm in the Microfisch lab of my Junior High School library (1) researching for the year's final history paper, which, knowing me, was probably due the next day. My topic was the history of Rock & Roll, yet all I could bother to research was Kurt Cobain. You'll have to forgive me, after all, the man had only recently died, and Nirvana was one of my favorite bands at the time. As I was researching, I came across a magazine article - from what magazine I cannot remember anymore - that more or less named Beck as the Grunge poster boy now that Kurt had passed, pointing out how his hit song "Loser" had become an anthem for the slackers that worshiped Nirvana. I rolled my eyes. Loser is right, I thought, that no-talent ass-clown couldn't write a good song if his life depended on it. (2) What did I know? I was young and extremely naive. Besides, I was going off "Loser," and only "Loser." A few months later I stayed up late watching MTV and caught the video for "Pay No Mind" on 120 Minutes. I liked that song much more, and began to ease off my ire for Beck's music.
Needless to say, my expectations were not very high when I first saw the video for "Where It's At," Odelay's first single, on MTV in 1996. (3) While the song didn't do much for me at the time, a strange thought popped into my head, and I distinctly remember thinking to myself, I'll probably end up loving that song in a few weeks. How I could tell the song would eventually grow on me, I do not know. Perhaps it is because that was the age where, more than ever before, I was constantly opening my mind to new music. It was only a few weeks later that I first borrowed Daydream Nation from a friend, a moment that changed my life forever. Whatever the reason, I knew I would eventually wind up a fan of "Where It's At," and I was right. Two weeks of heavy MTV and Alternative Radio rotation later, I made my usual weekend trip to Best Buy (there were no real Ma and Pa record stores in the 'burbs) and bought Odelay.
At the time I could care less about sampling, genre crossing, Beck's hokey cowpoke attire, or the supposed importance of Odelay that established rock critics were already pelting the album with. I just knew I liked it, a lot. Now that I'm older, I can definitely see the Dust Brother's fingerprints all over this record. I notice the meticulous samples and scratches, the dusty, familiar popping from an old record, funk horns and percussion out the wazzoo. Secretly, I believe that without them, the Dust Brothers and their samples, Beck's follow up to Mellow Gold probably sounds exactly like Mellow Gold. So let's give Beck, or whoever was responsible, some credit for pairing them up. The Dust Brother's anything goes sampling strategy meshed perfectly with Beck's anything goes songwriting approach. Thus, Odelay was a child born of their love for all things rock, roll, funk, soul, country, folk, samples, loops, serious philosophical statements, jokes, samples, samples, samples, more samples, and that fucked-up dreadlocked dog on the album's cover.
Now almost 12 years old, Odelay still holds up rather well. The proof exists in 2004's disappointing Guero, which was also produced by the Dust Brothers. The Dust Brothers, thanks to broader and stricter copyright laws (4), are really just a shadow of their former selves, focusing on beats and slick production instead of fretting over which sample would fit perfectly at any particular moment. Not that it probably would have mattered, Beck too had changed. For once, it seemed like Beck had run out of ideas, so he ripped himself off, mostly looking back to Odelay in the process. (5) Lightning does not strike twice, they say, and Beck wound up looking like the older guy at the college party.
Honestly, who cares. Of course its a bummer that Beck albums don't hit my sweet spot like they used to, but the man certainly had a good run. I'll admit that the jury's still out on whether or not Odelay is even Beck's best album - that's like comparing apples to oranges to pears to, well, you get the idea - but here I am anyway declaring that if you don't own this album yet, you probably shouldn't go around telling anybody. Rather, you should do what I did so many years ago. Take your allowance to the record store (or Best Buy, or wherever you prefer to buy your music) this weekend and make Odelay your own.
(1) Remember, this is Kansas in 1994, we maybe had 3 computers in the whole school with internet capabilities. Maybe. And the Microfisch machines outnumbered them five to one.
(2) Office Space was still several years away, so I highly doubt I actually thought of the phrase "no-talent ass-clown," which is too bad, 'cause that would have been hilarious.
(3) Yep, I'm old enough to remember when MTV was actually one of the places where you would first hear a new song.
(4) Are the Rolling Stones to blame? Someone should ask Richard Ashcroft.
(5) Kudos to him for taking so long to get to that point though. Spoon's a great band and all, but they've basically made the same album how many times now?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wayback Whensday:
Don't Tell Anyone You Don't Own...
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Catching Up
Because we're all busy at Range Life, with school, work, or in some cases, both, we're just not able to cover every little thing we want to cover. I honestly don't know how other blogs do it. However, we're just as obsessed with music as we've ever been, so here's a post catching you up on shows and songs we haven't covered yet. (A post briefing you on albums we missed is in the works) I hope you've got a few minutes, 'cause this might take a while.
Shows:
There have been plenty of additions to the concert calendar to make a note of. Feist has scheduled a show in St. Louis, Man Man and Yeasayer are tag-teaming Omaha, and the Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City (yes, Iowa City) is shaping up to be a good looking, affordable music festival with Dan Deacon, Cursive, Range Life favorites Evangelicals, and Headlights. Colin Meloy is playing a solo gig in a few Midwest cities (including dear Lawrence at the gorgeous Liberty Hall), Radiohead tickets go on sale Saturday (in case you forgot), and last but certainly not least, the Breeders (you know, Kim Deal's other band) are hitting up the Bottleneck! The concert calendar is updated and ready for your browsing.
Songs (mp3's):
Ruby Suns - "Tane Mahuta"
Unlike Vampire Weekend, "Tane Mahuta," as well as all most of the Ruby Suns upcoming album Sea Lion, manages to balance pop music with African rhythms and NOT sound incredibly boring. Of course, that's just my opinion. Regardless of your stance on Vampire Weekend, this track is worth a listen. And just so you know, "Tane Mahuta" is not even one of my favorites on the album, its just the one Sub Pop wants available for free. My hands are tied, but trust me, this album (out March 4) is delicious, especially if you're a fan of Animal Collective.
Grand Archives - "Torn Blue Foam Couch"
Listen to the first two seconds, and what do you hear? Its the beginning of "Suffer for Fashion," isn't it? I swear, every time I hear the beginning of this song, I'm waiting for that fucking baby to go "la la la," and some really good glam rock. Moving on, this is the first single from the first album by Grand Archives. A lot of attention is heading the band's way mostly because this is singer/guitarist Mat Brooke's first post-Band of Horses release, but what's more important are the songs. Like the Ruby Suns, this particular track isn't my favorite off the album, but again this is Sub Pop (I'm convinced they do that on purpose) and my hands are tied. However, fans of Iron & Wine and, yes, Band of Horses, should keep an eye out for the self titled debut, which is out this coming Tuesday.
Bon Iver - "Skinny Love"
Technically, this song is far from new, as Bon Iver's debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, was self-released last fall. Since then, Bon Iver has been signed to Jagjaguwar, and this coming Tuesday the album gets a proper release. The song "Skinny Love" sounds to me like Tunde Adubimpe of TV on the Radio started a solo freak-folk project. Its damn fucking awesome, that's for sure.
Songs (stream):
Here's a smattering of 2008 songs that I'm currently digging.
Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster is available 2/19 via Phantom Sound & Vision.
Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off the Lavender Bridge is available now via Domino.
Beck - Odelay [Deluxe Edition] is available now via Geffen.
Born Ruffians - Red Yellow & Blue is available 3/4 via Warp.
Evangelista - Hello Voyager is available 3/11 via Constellation.
American Music Club - The Golden Age is available 2/19 via Merge.
Hello, Blue Roses - The Portrait is Finished &I Have Failed to Capture Your Beauty is available now via Locust.
Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel is available 2/19 via Kranky.
The Whitsundays - The Whitsundays is available now via Friendly Fire.
Thao (ed: not Than) - We Brave Bee Stings and All is available now via Kill Rock Stars.
Get Well Soon - Rest Your Weary Head You Will Get Well Soon is available now as an import via City Slang.
Lykke Li - I'm Good I'm Gone is available now as an import via...you know, I'm not sure, but you can order it from Amazon for only $9.99.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
An Upstage Battle
Ever been to a concert where the opening act totally mopped the floor with the headliner? If you've been to enough concerts, chances are pretty good that you caught an up and coming band obligated to a supporting role before Pitchfork gave their album an 8.7. Or maybe the headliners were sick, worried about taxes, or too fucked up to perform. Or maybe, just maybe, the opening band was just a better band, plain and simple.
I guess you could say I've been thinking about this very topic since the Range Life staff witnessed an upstaging with our very eyes on Monday night (refer to the previous post for details). But just in case you were wondering, here are a a couple of others that I have seen. Feel free to share your own experiences in our comments section.
Headlining Artist: Beck
Opening/Upstaging Artist: The Flaming Lips
Five years ago, Beck toured across the country with the Flaming Lips, stopping in Lawrence, Kansas for a night. Now, I know that long-time Flaming Lips fans will see this and think, "Why did they ever open for Beck? Should it have been the other way around?" Yeah, probably. But you have to remember, the name Beck sells more tickets, or at least it did in 2002. I know, I know, the Flaming Lips have solidified themselves into the psyche of many Americans thanks to their live shows, but its not like everyone just woke up one day and knew the Flaming Lips were a fucking blast to see live. Many of us had to catch them opening for other bands. Then we had to tell our friends.
The Flaming Lips' live show was pretty much the same as it is now, minus Wayne in his bubble and no UFO. The costumed dancers were there, confetti and balloons were in the air (see above picture), and a giant video screen played clips of kickass Japanese women - yeah yeah! The Lawrence show was on the second leg of the tour, and by most accounts - even Beck's own admission that night - Beck's shows (which featured the Flaming Lips as his backing band, no less) became rowdier and more fun, which tells me he knew deep down that he had to compete with them, if only for the sake of his audience. Early stops on the tour saw Beck playing more off Mutations to fit with the Sea Change mood. That all ended way before they made it to Lawrence. To be fair, Beck's set was pretty awesome, just not as awesome as the Flaming Lips.
Headlining Artist: BRMC
Opening/Upstaging Artist: The Rapture
About six months before my old roommate and I drove to Columbia, Missouri to catch this show, the Rapture played Lawrence opening for the Shins. By all accounts, the Rapture owned the Shins that night. Most people I talked to started to hate on the Shins after that. I wasn't there, so I cannot say for sure whether or not the Shins sucked that night. Instead, I took it as a sign that the Rapture were just fucking amazing live. I was not too far off.
In concert, the Rapture were less glamorous than I imagined. Their music, too, was also a little less glamorous, and a little more raw. But I liked that. The show was at the Blue Note, a venue that's a little grimy, so the dirtier sound fit the aesthetic. Despite not sounding as pristine, the band hit every right note. Their excitement and enthusiasm carried over into the crowd, who danced along to every beat. When Luke Jenner invited people on stage, I jumped (quite literally) at the chance, pulling up other young college age kids along with me. After the song, and back on the floor, things only escalated from there. I danced with everyone. Men, women, it didn't matter. I was too far gone, floating in a constant heaven with hundreds of my new best friends.
BRMC took the stage and played a few new acoustic numbers, not a good way to start if you're trying to keep an audience full of young, horny twenty-somethings entertained. I watched their whole set, and they were alright, but I don't think I've listened to them since.