Friday Recommends: Cat Power

Cat Power's latest album, Sun, is another remarkable piece of music. There are several standouts on the album, such as "Cherokee", "Ruin", and "Manhattan", but my favourite of the moment is the album's penultimate song "Nothing But Time". It is over 10 minutes long and features Iggy Pop on guest vocals. It is an awesome song and very life-affirming. I couldn't find a video or performance of the song, so I've attached a live performance of "Cherokee" from Conan O'Brien. Enjoy!



Read more about Cat Power at catpowermusic.com.

Friday Recommendation: Beck Plays Bowie

This week, listen to Beck cover David Bowie's awesome "Sound and Vision". As an added bonus, I've also added Bowie performing the song live in Tokyo in 1990. Awesome. 

Recommendation Friday: The Strokes

What's old is new again with The Strokes - a new song a dozen or so years since their debut Is This It?. Their new track is called "One Way Trigger." It's got the classic Strokes sound with a little bit of dance thrown in. Enjoy!

Recommendation Friday: Tame Impala

My new favourite band is Australia's Tame Impala. Their 2012 release, Lonerism, is an awesome start-to-finish album. Each song will have your toe tapping, and, if you're a Beatles fan, make you wonder if this is what they would sound like if John and Paul had met in 2007 instead of 1957.



Check them out!

www.tameimpala.com

Recommendation Friday

Another music recommendation - this time, it's a new-ish album by The Sea and Cake called Runner. It is an excellent album, meticulously crafted and streamed together seamlessly. I feel that this is a good sound for someone who likes the music that hipsters like, but doesn't like hipsters. Hipsters will also like The Sea and Cake, or they would, if the band was less liked by those in my age demographic. Below is a video for a song called "Harps", which is a great song, but not the best on the album. Enjoy! 

And for good measure, read this article from the New York Times on how to live an unironic life.

Books + Music = Fun

Tapes on Books - "Digital Mixtapes Acting as Unofficial Soundtracks for Beloved Books". This week's target book is The Magicians by Lev Grossman - a punk rock Narnia. It is one of my favs, and its soundtrack from ToB only makes it better, in my mind. Built to Spill, Mercury Rev, Belle & Sebastian, Talking Heads - it's like they're inside my head! Check it out.

Bob Dylan for Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize for Literature is set to be announced sometime this week, and, as is the trend the last few years, Bob Dylan is rumoured to be in the mix. Obviously, I think he deserves it; then again, I am biased. I had the chance to see him live in concert last night, and it was impressive. At 71, he is still making things new every chance he gets.

"Tangled Up In Blue" is my favourite Dylan song of all time, and here's why:

Early one mornin’ the sun was shinin’

I was layin’ in bed
Wond’rin’ if she’d changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like Mama’s homemade dress
Papa’s bankbook wasn’t big enough
And I was standin’ on the side of the road
Rain fallin’ on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I’ve paid some dues gettin’ through
Tangled up in blue

She was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helped her out of a jam, I guess
But I used a little too much force
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out West
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
She turned around to look at me
As I was walkin’ away
I heard her say over my shoulder
“We’ll meet again someday on the avenue”
Tangled up in blue

I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the ax just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I happened to be employed
Workin’ for a while on a fishin’ boat
Right outside of Delacroix
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew
Tangled up in blue

She was workin’ in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept lookin’ at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
And later on as the crowd thinned out
I’s just about to do the same
She was standing there in back of my chair
Said to me, “Don’t I know your name?”
I muttered somethin’ underneath my breath
She studied the lines on my face
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe
Tangled up in blue

She lit a burner on the stove
And offered me a pipe
“I thought you’d never say hello,” she said
“You look like the silent type”
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century
And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin’ coal
Pourin’ off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you
Tangled up in blue

I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafés at night
And revolution in the air
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside
And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keepin’ on like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue

So now I’m goin’ back again
I got to get to her somehow
All the people we used to know
They’re an illusion to me now
Some are mathematicians
Some are carpenters’ wives
Don’t know how it all got started
I don’t know what they’re doin’ with their lives
But me, I’m still on the road
Headin’ for another joint
We always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point of view
Tangled up in blue

(http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/tangled-blue)

Dylan was going through a divorce at the time, and the entirety of Blood on the Tracks is consumed with loss, heartbreak and anger. Tangled Up in Blue, though, is still hopeful, with "I got to get to her somehow". It leads the album, before moving through the stages of grief - "Simple Twist of Fate", You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go," "Idiot Wind" to "If You See Her, Say Hello" and "Shelter From the Storm", finally accepting the loss and moving forward with his own life. I like to think that "Tangled Up in Blue" is a reference not only to the emotion, but specifically to Joni Mitchell's Blue, released a few years earlier, and a breakup album of her own. Both are brilliant expressions of grief - the fact that Dylan still plays it live is a treat to his fans.

Jian Ghomeshi's Musical Life

Each Friday, I have noticed, I have mentioned something relating to music with my posts. Today, I am cheating a little, as I came across the Maclean’s review of Jian Ghomeshi’s memoir 1982:

The book suffers from one rather large problem: it is addressed to teenagers who will probably not appreciate most of its cultural references. His subject is the timeless teenage quest to be cool, but at times the book feels like an excuse to write about his favourite ’80s bands. The wafer-thin storyline—loser likes girl, gets hip, gets girl—punctuates far richer tributes to the tunes of David Bowie, the Clash, and Talking Heads. Ghomeshi had crushes on girls, but he loved music.

Andrew Stobo Sniderman feels that the book does not succeed as it intends. As a memoir, it is only effective if the subject can create empathy with its readers. With such a fixed time frame (the title should be a giveaway), this book may only appeal to, as Sniderman suggests, those who are old enough to remember this era. However, music fans of all ages should be able to close that gap quite easily. For instance, another writer that I appreciate, Jonathan Lethem, wrote a book dedicated to Talking Heads’s Fear of Music for 33⅓. It is an excellent book about an excellent album, one of my favourites (both the book and the album). Lethem carefully explicates each song based on its musical, lyrical, cultural and artistic merits. I listened to the album several times over while reading this book. His love of the album clearly shows in his writing.

Of course, Lethem’s experience with the album is listening to it for the first time when it came out, on vinyl, when he was a teenager. His attachment to the album are tied with growing up, attending his first Talking Heads concert, sharing the music with friends and strangers. My experience, certainly, is different than his, separated by time and distance. I will never be able to experience Talking Heads live in concert, nor can I replicate the experience of listening to the album for the first time as a moody teenager. But I had a similar response, even though our initial experiences were so different. It elicited memories of my own teenage years, as I remembered listening to R.E.M., U2, Nirvana, etc. for the first time. I have Cameron Crowe to thank for my first listen of Blood on the Tracks, as he used "Shelter From the Storm" in his film Jerry Maguire. After I saw that movie, I came home and search through my dad’s vinyl collection until I came to Blood on the Tracks, and proceeded to listen to the album several times over start to finish. I will never have the experience of hearing Dylan for the very first time, as listeners in the ‘60s would have. But I would argue that I will have a similar experience in listening to Dylan, and as I get older the experience of listening to Dylan’s music changes as my life does.

I am intrigued now by Jian Ghomeshi’s memoir, as he seems to connect the important times in his life to the music that was on in the background. Just like me.

The Relevance of Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan released a new album this week, his 35th studio album, Tempest, and he is once again thrust into the spotlight. I haven't been able to give it a proper listen, but my first couple of listens had my toe tapping and brain spinning. He's 71! And still relevant - not in a Tony-Bennett-duet-with-Amy-Winehouse way, or a Neil -Diamond-pretty-good-for-an-old-guy way, but in a real, meaningful way - perhaps only Neil Young has managed to stay relevant as long.

First, start out with the video for the lead single, Duquesne Whistle: 

                   

                   

                   

This video summarizes Tempest: love is a series of crushing disappointments. And through it, over it, Dylan walks with the outcasts and violent, oblivious to anything except his eventual destination. 

Next, read reviews of the album from several excellent publications, courtesy of bobdylan.com: Hype.

Will Hermes of Rolling Stone writes: "Lyrically, Dylan is at the top of his game, joking around, dropping wordplay and allegories that evade pat readings and quoting other folks' words like a freestyle rapper on fire."

Vish Khanna at CBC Music writes:

Lifting the veil and standing in plain sight, Tempest is Dylan’s most musically daring record in years and he sings with the conviction of a wronged outlaw who tastes blood. These songs aren’t threats, they’re outright warnings of gory eventualities, and that’s an important distinction to make; on Tempest, things are gonna get lowdown one way or another. You must hang on just to survive.

Now it's time to listen to the album. You can find it wherever fine music is sold!

Finally, read Steven Hyden's article on Tempest from Grantland.com, comparing it to two other newly released albums from The Dave Matthews Band and The Avett Brothers. Basically, he writes that Dylan still kicks ass.

The overall theme through the reviews and articles is "carnage." The darkness of the album, the focus on death, the body count - Dylan sings about death better than anyone. Heck, even Nick Cave covers a Dylan song on his album Murder Ballads. At 71, Dylan is still teaching others with his words and music, proving he is still relevant to fans, critics, and artists.

BONUS CONTENT: two lists that I have come across fit perfectly to this post:

The 15 Best Bob Dylan Albums

The Top 10 All-Time Best Bob Dylan Lyrics

Today, Something A Little Different

This is supposed to be a book blog, but sometimes another medium piques my literary fancy. Today, I listened to a song from the latest album by Sun Kil Moon. The band is fronted by Mark Kozelek, also of Red House Painters fame. He is known for his melancholy voice and emotionally-heavy lyrics. A few years ago he did a cover album of Modest Mouse songs, which is great! And is perfectly in line with his milieu. The song is "Sunshine in Chicago" and it shows a more reflective, humorous Kozelek. I also like the shout out to Canadians as "settlers":


 Sunshine in Chicago by Sun Kil Moon

 Pulling my guitar out of its green velvet case
A hundred settlers staring at my face
And a note from a fan Estan Young
And the note is on an inspection from Air Canada

Sitting at the Days Inn Hotel Chicago
Room 222 with the ceiling fan on low
And I just got in the door from Ontario
And I'm going home tomorrow

I took a walk down Lincoln Avenue
Got myself a foot massage and a manicure too
And I looked up at the marquee and hey was my name
Next to Julie Holland, think that was her name

Sunshine in Chicago makes me think about my dad
It was eight or nine siblings that I'm told that he had
When the summertime came his parents put him on a bus
And sent him to his uncle's in Chicago for three months

Sunshine in Chicago makes me sad
My band played here a lot in the nineties when we had
A lot of female fans and fuck they all were cute
Now I just sign posters for guys in tennis shoes

Tomorrow I'll get up at a quarter after nine
No itching or burning like I got the other time
My back it fucking hurts but otherwise I'm fine
Sunshine in Chicago

Each verse is a short story and the listener can piece together the singer's history in this business very quickly. I won't go into detail explicating the lyrics, but I was moved. You can listen to the song at Stereogum, and find out more about Mark Kozelek and Sun Kil Moon here and here.

The Rock Memoir

Memoir has enjoyed a renaissance of late (well, the last 10 years), and no genre has benefited more than the rock memoir. Seemingly inconsequential figures in music history come out of the woodwork to write about the experience - as if just being a musician entitles you to a better life story than other working people. However, there are some truly great books amid the sludge. Some are great simply because the subjects are true geniuses; some are interesting tell-alls; and some are just truly great life stories, written by people who happen to be musicians. Rob Sheffield at Rolling Stone, a great writer himself, catalogues 25 such books here. Surprisingly, music fan that I am, haven't read any of them, though I do own several. Perhaps one of these titles will be a future book club selection.

New Video - Jeff Tweedy spoken word virtuoso

My new thing

Is posting videos that I like. Maybe. I'm not sure if it's a thing yet. But I like this video:

The Black Keys "Tighten Up"

The Black Keys | MySpace Music Videos