Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music #7

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music

Entry #7

Gonna be trying out a format where I number a collection of observations.

I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More 1929-1941 - Sleepy John Estes

1. I think I can judge the difference between a great bluesman and a good bluesman if I see there is more than strumming with a main chorus. On this front, even if Sleepy John Estes ain’t no Blind Blake or Robert Johnson in terms of playing power, he does try to add enough musical depth beyond just his crying vocals, which are plenty enjoyable on their own (making him a very distinctive singer). The smart thing about this guy is that he always teams up with the right people like his trio with James "Yank" Rachell and Jab Jones or his later stuff with Hammie Nixon. Forget the vocals and his lyrical skills, the feel of each one of these songs is so unique and beautiful. Songs like "Milk Cow Blues", "Girl I Love", "Floating Bridge", "Street Car Blues", "Whatcha Doin'" are some of the best recordings of the whole pre-war era in my book just because they have such a strong understanding of how to make a song sonically beautiful, and even if a song of his threatens to be boring, either his vocals or one of his sidemen will come to pick up the slack. Of the 23 songs on here, barely any of these seem boring and uninteresting just because there is care to make sure there is enough musically going on to accompany his vocals. No wonder he ended up being remembered well enough to influence Dylan, the Beatles, and Led Zeppelin. 
2. When they call the earliest session of Sleepy John Estes a "session of masterpieces", they are really not exaggerating. Seriously, the trio of Jones, Estes, and Rachell was an incredible combination, where the combination of Rachell's mandolin and Estes's crying tone would stitch a gritty but gorgeous web of sound held down by Estes's and Jones's rhythms. I'll be damned if "Girl I Love" isn't one of the best versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" I've ever heard with those beautiful mandolin runs, and "Whatcha Doin'?" is one of the most untrivial, upbeat songs I've heard from the era as Jones and Rachell sync their rhythms together. "Street Car Blues" is even more mind-boggling in how it literally paints a picture in your mind of a street car in a bustling down with his mandolin work. The true magic of the sound really comes, in my opinion, with "Milk Cow Blues" and "Black Mattie Blues", gorgeous songs that almost sound locked away in their own little beautiful, intimate paradise that feels real and lush even with their minimalism. I wouldn't say every single song is distinctive from this session, but together, they do form one of the most wonderful sounds to come out of this whole pre-war scene.
3. Can I talk a bit about how nice Nixon's harmonica work is? The guy is clearly one of the most influential harmonica players because this is really one of the earliest examples of the regular style of playing harmonica as rhythm and accompaniment, and he would also teach Sonny Boy I his skills, which means pretty much the roots of most harmonica players contains at least some of Nixon's style. He has a warm, friendly tone that loops, swirls, and curves adding itty bitty hooks to many of his songs that would otherwise not be nearly as interesting. He even takes the time to weave his lines around Estes's voice, especially in songs like "Floating Bridge". The story is distinct and interesting and Estes's voice is plenty memorable, but what pushes it to classic state is really all of the cute, playful lines that Nixon plays around him that make it distinctive.
4. If there is a flaw to this material, I feel Sleepy just isn't a great guitar player himself. When he doesn't have Nixon or his trio backing him up, he verges closer to just being "good" like many other players of the era. His voice is really the main thing that prevents any of these songs from getting boring or unlistenable, which is one of the most powerful voices of the era that can pierce very deeply. Yet, it isn't always enough to push his material to the top level, which is I wouldn't say he was like a titan of his era. But that doesn't mean he wasn't great when at his best, and his classic material from 1929 to 1937 is unquestionably essential listening for people interested in pre-war music.

Smiley Smile - Beach Boys

1. Honestly, I used to be too harsh on this album. Much of the reason I used to despise the record was that it was the second album I heard after Pet Sounds very early on in my listening journey, and it freaked me out! Seriously, the drugged-up sound of "Goin' Bald", the weirdness of the takes of "Vegetables" and "Wonderful", and the eerie confusion in songs like "Gettin' Hungry" and "Wind Chimes" all shocked me to the bone, and from there, I almost stopped exploring the Beach Boys' discography as a whole. Thankfully, Today! and the Smile Sessions tracks I heard made me continue on with his discography, but I pretty much avoided hearing this album again until recently. Hearing this album again after being a much more experienced listener, this album isn't all that scary, and at the end of the day, good melodic songwriting is good melodic songwriting: most of these songs are listenable and rarely such because many of them either are great songs at their core or have some nice fragmented ideas.
2. Still, don't listen to people who are going out of their way to praise this as some masterpiece. There is no way the Beach Boys could be great in a format like this, where Brian's melodies work well with intricate polish and care and the vocals are great when harmonized. You can argue there is a charm to the unfinished ideas, but I don't see how these fragments can be as enjoyable compared to the polished perfection of Today! and Pet Sounds or have the scenic melodic ambiance of the non-song-oriented songs of Smile Sessions. And frankly, there is way too much dissonance between the cheerful soul of some of these songs and the tired, weary way they are performed. That dissonance is not artistic, it is a defect of the band falling apart at the time, which is why the songs make you feel uneasy, but they cause mild unease rather than actually using such dissonance as an artistic tool, which is why most of these are just not all that great.
3. I fully support Brian adding in a longer bridge on the Smile Sessions. What makes "Heroes and Villians" such a masterpiece is how it feels like the life of a person rolling by before your eyes, and with that bridge, it is almost like you are watching the climax of the story as the protagonist bares his soul to his audience. The "dance Margarita" lyric is so unbelievably beautiful, it wrings out a tear every time I hear that section, and that's why ultimately when the "children were raised" section begins, it feels like a proper epilogue to the story. That's why I have even less use for an album with now the inferior version of the song, as great as the single version is even without the bridge.

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music #6

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music

Entry #6

The Complete Blind Willie Johnson

Man, relistening to this collection again has proven to be very, very rewarding for me, partially because now I've explored a bit more in pre-war blues and can put this in its proper context. The thing that most stands out about Blind Willie Johnson's slide work is his deep, deep understanding of the power of tone above all else. There were plenty of virtuosos back then or even today who don't really understand that just because you can play fast, complex passages doesn't make you a good musician. A great musician, first and foremost, is able to communicate their message and emotions to their listeners in a way that they feel a deep personal connection and a total unity of feeling, and this meaning of emotional communication can be broad enough to stretch from old country blues to Krautrock to even synth-pop and trip-hop. Complexity and technical skills are just meant to those ends because why else produce music if you don't want to offer something to your listeners?

That is why his slide-playing stands out so much to me. Seeing how he is able to churn out sharp, deadly slide licks so seamlessly and aggressively on songs like "You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond" or "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed", he clearly had some of the most technically accomplished playing skills of the 20s and 30s. Yet, it also seems to me he clearly understood the atmospheric capabilities of his slide playing, the ability to communicate a cold, brutal world of deep-rooted and intense pain and suffering. On each song where he utilizes his slide playing, he carefully plays each and every lick to fill the sonic space, having each note, tone, and whimper of his guitar reach their maximum expression before moving forward. At times, he just relies on brief moments of silence so that the fullness of the playing can be properly appreciated. Without these stylistic features, I doubt some of these songs would have even half of the emotional impact they make on a listener. In fact, that is why "Dark Was The Night" happens to be his most revered song, not just because of tormented humming but the way those spaced-out slide licks form a sonic painting in the mind of the listener, a chilling, agonizing picture of the suffering of Jesus Christ at the cross. It is really like no other song, so powerful that it can turn personal and convey the idea that, in the end, we all really do suffer and mourn alone. It really is one of the peaks of human expression through music and wouldn't be matched in power in blues until Charley Patton released his seminal "High Water Everywhere".

Even beyond that, it's one thing to use these tools for especially dark subjects, but the true uniqueness of this music is how it is for a Christian message and redemption from the darkness. Some people find this strangely bizarre, but I think it truly fits the music perfectly. Really, all religious music is about the tragedy of the material world, how it offers a false sense of happiness and meaning when people fall trap to its many vices and momentary pleasures. This music conveys sadness and pain because that's what the material world really does convey to people, and to Blind Willie, religion is the way one can truly find some peace in this world of chaos. If this music ain't art of the highest order, nothing is.

Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King

I used to say Albert King was my favorite bluesman of all time, and I thought I loved him the most because of the fantastic backing talent of Stax helping to provide the meat. But no, relistening to this album, much of the reason I love this album is Albert himself. Really, Albert had a distinct style for himself: a bombastic, dramatic, huge style of playing that was forceful but also quite explosive in its emotional intensity. To me, it's no wonder that Albert would team up with Booker T. & the MGs, a band who could properly amplify the intensity of his playing (Dunn is just as important on "Oh, Pretty Woman" as Albert himself) but also provide enough grit and toughness to ground his style, and it's this combination of eloquent bluesy drama and R&B earthy toughness that gives this album its awesomely unique character. Still, the reputation of this album should come just as much from the MGs and Memphis Horns, which without them most of these tracks would solely be stunning guitar showcases and not enjoyable songs in their own right (and they still would be amazing guitar tracks without them, just hear some of the jaw-dropping soloing on "Personal Manager" if you don't believe me).

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music #5

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music

Entry #5

"Let Your Light Shine On Me" - Blind Willie Johnson

Blind Willie Johnson is unquestionably one of the greatest slide players of all time, who throws around slide licks as if he was exorcizing demons from the depths of his soul and builds a harsh, cold, painful atmosphere at the very core of its tone. Though, his voice holds just as much weight to me, and this song is one of the finest demonstrations of why he was such an incredible vocalist. While Charley Patton's voice was naturally rough and battered, this track is where you can fully realize that Blind Willie actually had a normal, quite smooth voice, and the first half of the song where he utilizes it is quite beautiful and spiritual in its own right. At 1:34 though, he shifts back to his deep, guttural growl, amplifying the spiritual message of the song as a shelter from the cruelty and pains of the world around him. That's when it becomes clear why Blind Willie's voice strikes so intensely: that voice is not just a gimmick or a theatrical trick. That voice is who he is deep inside, the soul who endured his mother dying when he was young, the soul who endured lye being thrown at his young eyes by his stepmother turning him blind, the soul that endured deep poverty and pain in his life despite his records selling. Anytime he uses that voice, he is pulling out the horrible tragedies and suffering he keeps within and converts it into a bleeding, devastating medium of expression. That's what makes it so seamless during the song when he switches to it because, when it comes in, it is like the shell is removed and we see the true Blind Willie and the true pain and heart of his soul. 

This music isn't scary, it is heartbreaking because it is about real pain, real heart, real soul with no strings attached or theatrical gestures. It is one of the peaks of human expression, period, because that voice is the voice of every one of us who wishes we can pour that much real blood into our communication but fail to do so. This is just why the blues mean so much to me, it's real, deep music to me, not wasting time with trivialities and facing some of the most difficult parts of life head-on and finding ways to deal with it. Relistening to Blind Willie Johnson recently has only served to strengthen my belief in the sheer magnificent power of this artform

Stone Flower - Antonio Carlos Jobim

I think I have somewhat settled my opinions on the dude have been somewhat finalized. Now, I do think the guy was incredibly talented. Most of his tunes are quite beautiful, and his piano playing is wonderfully minimalistic while being both pensive and playful at times. He had a gifted ability to arrange, and albums like Wave demonstrate his ability to really take you someplace else with his beautiful little melodies, guitar lines, and arrangement capacities. Yet, I don't think he is nearly the towering genius he is made out to be, mainly because I think sometimes he borders on becoming easy listening. Now, I am not saying he is easy listening: most of the time, his arranging and melodic senses help him whip out tunes that are emotionally affecting but untrivial, but that problem does exist, which is why he was able to work with guys like Frank Sinatra in the first place.

I'm not trying to denigrate his creativity and I still think Wave is a classic precisely due to the atmosphere that can really carry you away, nice little melodic ideas in each song that stay with me, and the richness of the sound, but Stone Flower already shows his limitations to fully expand on it. He tried to explore new directions in bossanova, and he was successful on a lot of the songs, but he isn't able to find a proper coherent unity to the record, which is why quite a few of the songs aren't really that memorable or are just solid. Though, many excellent songs on it: "Children's Games", "Choro", "Stone Flower", "God and the Devil", and maybe even "Brazil" as well (but it is a little too long without much originality). I just don't really think Jobim fully pushed himself to the limits on this album, which is why I fail to see it as a classic. In general, Jobim's music is just a wee bit too accessible in general to the point his music ends up not being as consistently great as his reputation suggests. Still, that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn to love the beauty of Wave and appreciate some of his boundary-pushing on Stone Flower. I just think one should manage expectations around the guy. 

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music #4

 Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music

Entry #4

Stone Flower - Antonio Carlos Jobim

I got to confess that I do not find Jobim the level of genius that some people consider him too. Like some people speak of him as if he was a musical god, and yes, he is able to often come up with really beautiful soundscapes and really fun musical ideas. Wave is an album I find moving and serene and uniquely beautiful, and the fact I can remember how almost every song goes and still appreciate the whole album as a whole speaks to how great he is. Yet, bossanova is a genre that does verge on easy listening at times, which both Joao and Jobim generally do not sound easy listening to me. But generally, there needs to be enough inspiration so that it pulls it above that level. Thankfully, I am starting to really get into this record. There are a lot of really cool ideas on this record, and this album is definitely rich with variety that some might want from an album like Wave. At least, I am enjoying all the songs are individual entities rather than extensions of the same sonic universe. Well, actually I take it back about not appreciating Jobim's genius, I really do because both Wave and this album are beautiful and rich with musical ideas that do have an effect on me. It's just I don't think these albums fully transcend the limitations of their genre. They just happen to be some of the finest albums of the genre. Though Stone Flower is really endearing itself to me, that's for sure.

 The Best of Little Walter - Little Walter

Every day I get more stunned by his genius. Even though Sonny Boy is inarguably the greatest in terms of dynamic range and personality, in pure guttural power, nobody outblows Little Watler. This motherfucker plays his harp more intensely than some hard rock guitarists. Like have you heard the jump scares on "Blue Light"? That stuff is scary!

Doo Wop Box - Disc 3

The third disc represents doo-wop’s golden age? Then why are there only like 6-7 singles worth keeping out of 25? Or, lemme put it this way, only 6-7 of them stand out at all. I will say that this disc does have a slightly higher level of classics overall and a higher bar, but I still can’t agree with most revisionists on this: most doo-wop is dated. I would rather hear a doo-wop song than most modern R&B I’ve heard, but compared to everything great that came out of the decade in R&B, just most of this doesn’t sound all that interesting. Even if I assemble a best of these last three discs, it is STILL shorter than even one of these discs. I will continue to power through the box though since I am almost done, and hey, maybe I'll get around to finishing up doo-wop reviews to finish that list.

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music #3

 Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music

Entry #3

Dummy - Portishead

Things I like about Dummy

• The sound is so fucking good! That album cover just matches that feeling, it's so rich, textured, subtly bleeding, and almost haunting at points. I get shivers down my spine thinking about "Strangers" and "Wandering Star" because of how effectively it is built. Yet, it is so seductive, my mouth waters thinking about that wonderful sound. God how I love that sound. Have I made it clear that I love that sound? That it is the greatest sound in the world?
• Each and every song is memorable because the vocal hooks are just absolute perfection. Like it's crazy when people tell me the album is monotonous. Yeah, it has a uniform feel, but each and every song has a different personality because each song has such a well-crafted hook. Like can anyone get "Glory Box" or "It Can Be Sweet" out of your head? I certainly can't.
• I think Dummy is the album that made me feel that things like sampling and electronics can have a great deal of value if used tastefully and not substituted for actual musical substance. At least, a lot of the hooks here are still well-developed but still untrivial. It really feels like a gutsy record because of how well they grasp their own sound and are able to make something that it subtle but intense.
• "It's A Fire" should have been on the album, and I feel bad it wasn't because it's the only song on the album I feel is truly meditative and serene. I never listen to the album without it

"Say Yes" - Elliott Smith

I think "Say Yes" is the greatest demonstration of Elliott's genius ever. When it comes to musically talented individuals, often I differentiate the true geniuses from the occasional genius by their ability to come up with short, sweet musical phrases that are deeply moving, and "Say Yes" is simply it. It is such a simple melody at its core, but it is both optimistic and insecure, tender yet deeply encoded. It conveys, in a way, his whole musical personality, but it still manages to be a deeply moving song. Truly, it has been one of my favorite songs of all time, and the fact that it isn't even my favorite song from the album (which is "Alameda") just shows how fucking great that album really is.

"Sad Hours" - Little Walter

All I have to say here is that the harmonica parts simply tear on this song. When he plays that thing towards the end, it sounds like a dissonant scream of a horn section. That tone is unlike anything I've heard a harmonica player do before. Truly, this motherfucker shreds at the harmonica. Just great, great stuff.

Hard Time Killin' Floor - Skip James

I think now pretty much every song exists as a totally separate entity in my brain, and now, I am happy to call this one of the greatest collections of pre-war music I've ever heard. This guy is the only pre-war bluesmen I've heard who can truly be categorized as depressing, and his disillusioned state is so intense that you can viscerally feel it when he plays. And he is a bluesman that does have quite a bit of variety between both the piano and guitar. "Illinois Blues" is a tough, hard rocker, "Hard Time Killin' Floor" is atmospheric, "I'm So Glad" is a meditatively dangerous song, but "Drunken Spree" is him trying to (and failing) to escape it all. And even then, he can produce stuff of meditative beauty like "What Am I To Do Blues" and "Special Rider Blues". He really built a whole musical universe of his own, and on those terms, he is basically unsurpassed. I will say the only thing preventing Skip from being my favorite pre-war dude is that I just don't find as much relatable and nuanced as Mississippi John Hurt, a musician whose musical philosophy is just as unique as his but a bit closer to my own outlook on life. But why castigate one musician for another. I wish I could say "everybody should check Skip James out!", but I know a lot of people will find the sound quality hard to bear, and I understand that. Yet, there is just so much depth and raw humanity to this pre-war stuff that I feel one is missing out on a whole range of emotions to feel if you leave this out of your listening.

In A Silent Way - Miles Davis

Hear it again, still really enjoying it but not fully 100% to the consensus yet. The band gets a crazy awesome groove though.

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music #2

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music

Entry #2

Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues - Skip James

Skip James is one of the many reasons I find the way some people talk about old bluesmen absolutely moronic, as if reusing old chord sequences somehow disqualifies them from having a great deal of originality in their own right. Skip also the same blues chord sequences, sequences that had been explored quite a bit already by the time he hit on the scene. Still, only an absolute idiot would be able to say that Skip and Robert Johnson sound exactly the same. James is one of the few figures of pre-war blues that was truly "depressing", where his misanthropic and misogynistic outlook on life was so deeply intense it manages to paint a dull, bleak picture of the whole world around him. His true genius lied in his ability to make you feel that atmosphere within yourself: "Cypress Grove Blues", "Cherry Ball Blues", "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues", "Devil Got My Woman", "Illinois Blues", may seem like they are all basically the same song. Yet, what is similar about them are not the base songs themselves (with enough listening, they are all enough different that they capture separate sub-moods) but the atmospheric world they live in. The way his sullen, weary, deeply striking guitar tones rise and fall within restrictive patterns, the chaos and disorderly expressivity of his piano playing, the weeping, chilling mourn of his voice. It builds a world where people are so depressed and tired that they can barely move and do anything, where every person is opportunistic and gaining at others' misery. It's a world where you can't trust a single damn human being to be your friend, that even your woman may poison your food and your friends will steal your lovers. The only way to cope, in Skip's view, is to tough it out, mourn its existence but also find a way to look out for yourself. 

This is depressing music, but unlike Joy Division or the Cure, this world is painted in a realistic manner. This world very much could exist, and hell, to some of the more misanthropic ones among us, it may very much be how the world is today. Even if the Great Depression has past and living standards have improved, many people still find the world like, and in the age of social media and the death of many forms of true humanism, how can we argue against this view of humans as opportunistic creatures these days?

"My Babe" - Little Walter and Little Walter in general

As much as I can't get enough of that delicious groove and melody, I think the main attraction of me in the song is still Little Walter's harmonica playing. It's almost insane to be how much more personality of his comes out when he plays the harmonica. When you hear him sing, he seems like just another dude, but when the harmonica comes out, the inner ferocious monster comes out that can literally obliterate anything in its path. No matter what Little Walter you track you hear, it will always give a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde impression, but instead of Jekyll trying to prevent Hyde from occurring, Walter always leaves the juiciest bits for his harmonica playing. In this song, he opens up the groove with charmingly sleazy vocals, but it's up the harmonica to send this song to truly eternal classic territory, where the playing follows the groove well enough until the beast gets restless and starts bashing and thrashing with pure sexual animalistic intensity. In a way, that is what makes this song really memorable: without the harmonica solo, it would have just been a fun little groove, but after that harmonica solo, this song truly turns a bit menacing. I would be pretty afraid if I was Little Walter's babe after that solo.

I'm still not sold on Little Walter being a great vocalist still, but the harmonica playing is really something. A review on RYM said his songs on this comp sound like a "Muddy Waters album that he forgot to show up for," and I cannot imagine a better description. Really, that is the only thing preventing Little Walter from transitioning from a great artist to a truly epic one. You gotta sing the blues, you know? You can't just play 'em, which he does sing but not as well as his main competition at Chess and Checker. At the very least, I consider these tracks essential listening because you cannot fully appreciate his harmonica playing genius on Muddy Waters records (between Otis Spann, Muddy himself, and Jimmy Rodgers, it's not always that easy to stand out).

MTV Unplugged - Nirvana

I got to say there is no other album that proves Nirvana's genius is that their melodies from their albums sound just as harrowing acoustic as they do on the studio records. And many songs have been improved ("Pennyroyal Tea" and "Dumb" especially). I think "Man Who Sold The World" honestly was a perfect song for them to cover, seeing that the dark, psychedelic, exotic feel of that song could easily be appropriated and converted into something more personal and harrowing for Kurt's purposes. Moreover, I think, on some level, Unplugged feels like the true sequel to Nevermind because I feel it goes back into why Nirvana is so great: vocal hooks that tear out his soul, but it explores that in another dimension by switching to acoustics.

This album also makes it clear that "Something In The Way" honestly these days might be my favorite Nirvana song, bar none. Few songs' opening lyrics can make my skin crawl like that. That sort of guttural imagery can only come if you are just that deep down in the depths. Part of its chilling effect if due to the suffering animals imagery, which happens to be one of the most powerful poetic devices there is, primarily because deep down, we know we are not much separated from that state and often feel just as helpless and vulnerable. When an animal suffers, an animal that is weaker than us, we just feel bad for it because it just feels pain and doesn’t fully comprehend what is happening to it, which is why when a dog dies in a movie, it deeply affects all of us.

Time Out - Dave Brubeck Quartet

"Everybody's Jumpin'" is a fun song. That is all I have to say. Also, the album is damn catchy! Love it.

Either/Or - Elliott Smith

I still feel that Elliott Smith is, hands down, the greatest interpreter of the Beatles school of songwriting. As much as some people I've met that love Elliott Smith but also the people who declare "boomer rock" to be shit don't fully realize that Elliott Smith loves the Beatles. Yet, unlike so many others, he was smart enough to understand the deep level of pathos that was encoded in a hook, that writing catchy songs for the Beatles was also about deep, far-reaching emotional expression that so many people forget seemingly in trying to just recreate the form. To make a song like Lennon, you have to feel it down in your gut. To make a song like McCartney, you have to really believe in the sheer beauty of what you are creating. Too many people just copy the form of the Beatles without actually understanding how to recreate it within themselves, which is why Elliott Smith, being a singer-songwriter, ends up nailing it, while XTC and ELO get close but never quite make it for me for making songs that hit the same emotional pressure points as the Beatles but in a different way. Both Lynne and Patridge didn't get that you couldn't copy the form and revere the form without understanding why that form exists, which I am not saying either of them isn't great in their own right, but a lot of Elliott songs are great for exactly the same reasons why I love the Beatles.

Construção - Chico Buarque

I don't think I've talked enough about how large an impact this album had on me. I was sobbing to how emotionally powerful so many of these songs are. Even with the music, the album makes my blood boil, but after reading the lyrics, I am convinced it is easily one of the greatest achievements of the century. Angry protest music and singer-songwriter expressivity, always humane on the former and always down-to-earth on the latter. In fact, I feel its two sides feed each other and amplify their effect. No words I have to express how much I love this album now.

In A Silent Way - Miles Davis

Definitely enjoyed the record. Still learning the ropes of this genre, obviously, but the sound the band got was really cool and really beautiful at parts. I love that more ambient spiritual section at the very end. Will be trying to get more into it as the days go by.

Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music #1

 Assorted Ravings and Rantings on Music

Entry #1

Introduction

The reason for creating this sort of thing is a combination of conflicting characteristics that cause crippling conundrums (I hope you enjoyed that alliteration). Whether I like it or not, I do need an outlet for writing about music. I have a bunch of thoughts I want to get out all at once, and it's hard to keep it within myself. Yet, the whole obligation to write a long review is just too much for my brain to put together. I've tried many things as you've all seen, and maybe it wasn't enough trying before giving up. Yet, I can't back myself into a corner because I feel obligated to write something "serious" when I don't really feel like doing so. This is a hobby and not my full-time profession and writing like I am in an article like this is pretty much the only practical way I can move forward. 

So, I'll structure it by noting what song/artist/album or general topic I'm writing about, and I'll just write whatever comes to my mind. If you believe anything written in any of these to be good or interesting but wish I would make something nicer out of it, I apologize in advance. Someday I might be able to pull something together, and I still will be writing about 4 or so long pieces a year. Though, if you believe most of these entries are cluttered garbage, well, I didn't ask you to click the link anyways. It's for me, ultimately. These will open at the beginning of the day, and I'll update it throughout. Anyways, let's begin.

Stone Flower - Antonio Carlos Jobim

I am enjoying this album quite a bit more than my first listen. I love Wave because of how beautiful and rich the sound is, and how catchy and even spiritual some of the songs are ("Dialogo" is just transcendently serene). So I decided to listen to Stone Flower after Wave. My first listen yesterday I can't say I really processed it fully, still felt like I was adjusting to a very different approach he took to music-making. Already enjoying it more on my second listen, he definitely made a record much less accessible, and I think it is gonna be worth the time to fully digest it. The bouncy use of the famous "Brazil" melody is really cool!

Blind Willie McTell's 12-String

I learned yesterday what a 12-string guitar actually is, where it is double-stringed. That explains a lot about how McTell's output has so much sonic fullness.

Little Walter vs. Sonny Boy Williamson II

Little Walter is a great harmonica player, but I like him a little less than Sonny Boy Williamson II, at least when comparing their solo careers. I don't think Little Walter was a very unique vocal personality, but his harmonica playing certainly carries most of his weight. Sonny Boy was like Hendrix, but Walter was like Clapton: nobody plays like Hendrix, and most people view him more as a spiritual influence, but Walter actually was much more influential even though barely anyone could really kick ass like he could. Also, I think Sonny Boy was a great singer for whatever kind of music he tried to do, and at the very least, he is at least just as distinctive of a presence as Muddy and Wolf.

Construção - Chico Buarque

This is the first album in a long time that just instantly floored me. I heard it once in the background while I was working and didn't play any real attention to it, but hearing it today just blew my mind. Brazilian music somehow has musical traditions really conducive to great melody-making, and this album has to be one of the most intense experiences I've heard combined with amazing melodies. The only issue is that I really need to properly digest the lyrics since it is in another language, but damn, already know this is gonna be comfortably in my top 200.

Jackson C. Frank

I do think Jackson C Frank is a bit overrated in some circles, and my only gripe about that album is that it veers a bit too close to the typical folk revival sound at the time. He is generally more listenable than Phil Ochs, but at times, he still doesn’t let it loose as much as Bob Dylan would, for example, which is why I don’t think he is quite on the level of Paul Simon or Bob Dylan as some really enthusiastic people say the album is. Still, he is well above the average level, and “Don’t Look Back” is already a political anthem that kicks the booty of all of those typical cold folkie anthems back then. Also, I don't like how every damn zoomer wants to portray these sorts of singer-songwriter loners in a "sad, troubled, depressed loners." As tragic as Frank's past is, his musical personality was far from fragile and helpless. On the record, he sounds more bitter and troubled but without ever fully losing composure and sounding strong at his core. No wonder Nick Drake loved the guy, but Nick sounded more “enlightened” than him since his music sounds as if it was a form of meditation for him. Still, it is clear to me that Nick Drake was the closest to sounding anything like him and not, for example, Paul Simon.

The Blue Album - Weezer

I think I am still somewhat repulsed by some aspects of Weezer. Ultimately, they are responsible for influencing hoards of absolutely shitty, godawful emo and whiney nerdy pop bands, and in some respects, they share at least some of their flaws too. I can't get away from the fact some of the melodies on here are too obvious and shoved in your face, a bit more subtlety would have been nice. Also, at least two of the songs on the record annoy me a significant amount. "In The Garage" is a bit of a lame song without a very good melody and way too focused on the "message" when the message itself is dorky, and "Holiday", even though the melody unquestionably sticks to my brain, is just way too over-the-top both lyrically and in terms of how exciting they want the song to be. 

Yet, I am surprised to also find that the other 8 songs still have a profound effect on me, well-written and often quite moving. The production is perfect, there is definitely some depth to what's going on, and as cringy as some aspects of the album are, it is humanely doing that. Being awkward and embarrassing is just how Cuomo is, but he manages to explore something more psychological here with lots of rocking energy and pop hooks that really do stay with me after the record is over. At least, I have a good time hearing most of these songs and a lot of them actually hit quite deeply for me ("The World Has Turned And Left Me Here" is still one of the decade's most beautiful and humanistic anthems). I guess this power pop record will constantly confuse me, but the fact that it does is why I love it anyways.

Time Out - Dave Brubeck Quartet

Gonna say it once again that I love, love Dave's piano playing. I get that some people might dislike this smooth style of playing, but I think it's absolutely gorgeous. He has a gift of performing such perfect, smooth passages, so many ideas perfectly flow into each other that some may not notice all of his elegant phrasings. And even though I may be influenced by the genre title, I still get a very cool feeling from Dave's piano playing: still full of life, but he was interested in playing passages that free up some of the cold beauty of classical and almost animating them in this setting. That's why Paul Desmond is so important here, to provide that warmth of tone to counterbalance Brubeck. Anyways, this album has done a lot of getting me excited about hearing more jazz, and I am sure I'll keep listening to this for all of its catchy passages.

Kimono My House - Sparks

Decided to relisten to this after a long time, and I still find the album unbelievably strong. I guess the only valid reason I can imagine someone putting this down is that it is technically in one imposing style that covers everything with the same glammy coat. Yet, it is still a radically new style, one that takes the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Kinks schools of songwriting and transforms it into something so radically different that you would have to really think about where it is all coming from. Really, I still find small musical ideas stuffed in that I had no idea were there, and with all of these ideas, the songs flow without feeling clunky for a second. In a way, they understand, at a deep level, the emotional power of these hooks, and retain all of the tear-inducing beauty of all of these songwriting schools but transform them by their own, almost alien, emotional pathos. Even with the bits of sarcasm, you can feel all of these emotions are very untrivial: what can one even use to describe "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both of Us" or "Equator"? Still, these are emotions I feel exist in a very simple form for the Mael brothers, they are just unlike anything else in recording popular music. Just such an amazing record.

Money Honey - Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters

"Money Honey" - Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters

Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/money-honey/64742864?i=64742794

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/4cOXb4P2Ri6AMVQqfICPRY?si=e0516b66d8134e41

Now, this is just an unbelievably perfect pop song, sung by none other than the great R&B lead vocalist Clyde McPhatter. Even if he is not as well-remembered as some of his peers, McPhatter was one of the most versatile and memorable singers of his generation, with a tough tenor voice that could be just as dynamic as it is vulnerable. Before McPhatter would explore the latter direction with "A Lover's Question" and "Without Love", he captured much of the sweet but salacious side of R&B that started with this absolute classic. Obviously, the vocal melody here is of the highest order, so smooth-flowing, infectious, and well-written that it could make Leiber and Stoller jealous. However, the performance is what matters here, and Clyde's uncontrollable vocal playfulness and enthusiasm cause this song to burst with a type of pure youthful energy and excitement that blew the minds of American record buyers all over (who rightly made this song into a massive hit). 

It also helps that this was an Atlantic production, featuring some of the tightest playing and vocal talents in the business, and most importantly, you have Sam Taylor's explosive sax soloing, riding that glorious melody to a pure ecstatic conclusion. Just a masterful song all around, kicking off the reign of one of the greatest vocal groups in American recording music, and for the next 10 years, the group would deliver a series of timeless R&B classics as they aged from their McPhatter "teenage" years to their King "adult" years.

Crying In The Chapel - The Orioles

 Crying In The Chapel - The Orioles

Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/crying-in-the-chapel/528984099?i=528984104

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/4FjjvxG2LrfH0ZEKdM3UVj?si=e54ce5fe63bb4e51

Never underestimate the power of a well-placed vocal modulation. This is the peak of the Orioles' ability to create a truly religious atmosphere in the genre: the serious level of spirituality was already in place on "It's Too Soon To Know", but this song has this gorgeous buildup that pushes it firmly into classic territory. It's almost as if the opening words rise up higher and higher into the heavens, edging your expectations until you reach paradise with the glorious "the chaaaaaaaaaaaapelllllll" finale. With such a perfect musical phrase, all they need to do is hammer it home and sustain the pious atmosphere the whole way through, and with their tight minimalistic sound, they succeed at making something truly beautiful. Of course, don't go in expecting a revelation: it may sound quite typical of its era and genre at first. Yet, I do feel there is a certain amount of depth here that you don't find in most doo-wop singles, and that alone is a reason to give this single a listen almost 70 years later.

Gee - The Crows

 "Gee" - The Crows

Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/gee/528977422?i=528977591

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/2nuh83kb1bHRyhokfRiPFo?si=0db209d6e5ba4f7c

I'll be honest that my first exposure to this classic song was through the version on The Smile Sessions. Yet, Brian Wilson knew a meaningful melodic hook when he heard one, and this is easily one of the most memorable songs to come out of the whole movement. The main "doo do do do" hook is in the same category as Richard Berry's "Louie Louie" as an extremely simplistic musical statement but shocking effective in its straightforwardness. Its reputation as one of the first rock 'n' roll songs is probably due to that juicy little guitar solo in the middle of the song, but it was even more influential on the doo-wop scene, being the first song in the genre to sell a million copies and setting the core foundation for dozens of doo-wop songs just like how the Kingmen's version of "Louie Louie" did for dozens of rock songs. Even without this historical value though, it is still quite a nice little pop song, and for those who think the song is totally dumb and generic, just watch how long it manages to stick in your memory.

It's Too Soon To Know - The Orioles

 It's Too Soon To Know - The Orioles

Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/its-too-soon-to-know/4512146?i=4512079

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/1lEK6Piab5w6Nift2VMZN5?si=c14853188a9a4390

If one truly wants to get into doo-wop, it is necessary to at least hear the very beginnings of this genre, and this is where most people put the starting point at. Now, some people have noted that they don't really see what is being done here that is radically different than what the Ink Spots were doing before them, and I understand that: this sort of music was certainly not invented by the Orioles. Yet, the production here is a serious improvement over their predecessors, and there is a beautiful, spiritual intimacy to this recording's minimalism that makes it especially beautiful. I also like how, even if it is subdued, there is still a tightness to the harmonies here that gives it a lot of clarity in the atmosphere they try to create. Their greatest achievement was yet to come, but this is already a minor classic in its own right that many can still appreciate today.

Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic - Isaac Hayes

 "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" - Isaac Hayes

Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic/1440941776?i=1440941782

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/3a1hX6ImBUpnmRVKyjY0t2?si=38297f2dd5414f8a

When most people think of '70s R&B, they think one of two things: the hot, sweaty, tense funksters or the sappy, string-heavy, mature soulsters. Both of these individual styles have their individual charms to cherish on their own terms, but many of the greatest R&B albums in the '70s went so far as to unite both of these styles into a funky soul paradise: Superfly, Innervisions, and Talking Book are classic examples of this successful synthesis. However, this new type of soul didn't come solely from the hands of Curtis or Stevie. The roots of almost all of these burgeoning styles are found in Isaac Hayes's seminal Hot Buttered Soul, the true beginning of '70s soul for all intents and purposes, and while "Walk On By", "One Woman", and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" presage the lusher, mature types of soul, "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" is where funky soul music was born.

Of course, this shouldn't be confused with the birth of funk music in general. That probably started in 1965 with James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", and both Sly Stone and James would begin to establish their mighty empires as the decade went on. Yet, neither of them saw themselves primarily as soul musicians like Isaac did (at least by 1967 neither of them did), and because of that, it would be nobody but Hayes who would create this new style, a seamless merger of equal parts soul and funk that would prove to be so influential. 

How did he do this? Well, sultry sexuality, in short. Isaac Hayes was simply the smooth, masculine, larger-than-life sexual figure in soul music, one that would eventually become a cliche in the hands of Barry White, but for now, he was a radically new personality the likes of which the R&B community had never seen before. This charisma he brought in would affect how he would approach everything he performed, and especially on this song, he play funk music more erotically than anyone had done before him. Just hear the sheer sonic richness of the guitar-bass interplay throughout the song, how you can hear each grumble, twitch, and thrust of their synergistic playing as they lay down those filthy riffs. Yet, Isaac Hayes laid the groove down slowly, not just to ensure you can feel the fullness of every note but also so he can take control of the song with his deep, naturally sexy voice. With all of his carnal lyricisms and seductive phrasings, the whole song feels like you are peering into an intimate, love-making session between two lovers, and if you let this groove penetrate into your soul, you might even be able to place yourself in Hayes's shoes in the song.

Still, as sensual as the lyrics and vocals are in the song, his voice has an underlying depth of feeling and even spirituality that makes the song cut much deeper than your average "sex soul" song. That feeling is emphasized by the jaw-dropping, amazing jam that follows the main song, where Hayes showcases his incredible piano-playing abilities on top of the tight funk groove. Focused on expressivity over perfection, he relies on harsh, brutal phrases to pummel as hard as he can until the grand release of tension around the eight-minute mark where he totally lets it loose onto his listeners. It is a breathtaking performance, where you feel Isaac and the Bar-Kays are playing almost telepathically to reach the grand, final conclusion of such an epic song. 

"Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" is just an incredibly stunning achievement of soul music in general, balancing accessibility and experimentation with such perfection that the song is just as exhilarating today as it was in 1969. The song deserves the level of praise "Walk On By" receives, but instead of simply hearing those two songs, it is worth your while to hear this whole record to treat yourself to some of the most daring and rewarding soul music ever created.

Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me - Mississippi John Hurt

 "Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me" - Mississippi John Hurt

Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/let-the-mermaids-flirt-with-me/712021285?i=712021500

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/0dLD8pwJT8hXSB41XUocaR?si=65ec5a62591548c8

I have yet to find a musician whose music can radiate gentleness and humane warmth so organically like Mississippi John Hurt. Whether he was 35 years old or 73, he always performed as if he is a wise and content old man, having experienced the whole world and found inner peace within it. When you hear him sing and play, you somehow learn the very essence of life itself, but he doesn't teach you by rigid, moralistic lessons. He shows you by subtly healing chords, by stories of redemption from tragedy and cruelty, by tender love between people that seems to transcend all other worldly things. John Hurt's unique personality and approach to music, laying the foundation for nearly all modern folk music, was too modern for the musical world in the '20s, which is why it took all way until the '60s for him to gain the recognition he deserved. Even then, his deeply humanistic message is something that is both understandable to all people but takes a lifetime to process, just because there is so much depth and nuance to each note and breath of his that ever graced a microphone.

This song in particular, a big favorite of mine, was among the last he would record in his life. It was a part of the two final sessions in 1966 he held in a Manhattan hotel, released six years later in an LP titled Last Sessions. What's funny about this song and album in general is that he performs them pretty much in the same way he performed over his whole career. His voice weathered and his technical playing skills weakened, but he was clearly unfazed by his approaching mortality, his style feeling just as natural in old age as it was when he was much younger. 

If you want to understand why, this song is a perfect place to start answering that question. Based on a familiar old folk melody that you can hear in songs like Jimmie Rodgers's "Waiting For A Train", the song both lyrically and musically is based on a deep longing for salvation from worldly troubles, finding no meaning in work, people, and life on Earth in general and dreaming of a paradise underneath the ocean. However, he doesn't sing the song as if he craves such a refuge: he just sings it as if that's simply the flow of life. When he speaks about those pains and sorrows, he speaks about them with melancholy, yes, but with a mindset of acceptance, that life's difficulties are to be endured without fighting or mourning them. At the same time, talking about entering the cool, blue sea and flirting with all of the mermaids brings him joy in a detached way: he does not yearn for any particular fate, happy to get such an afterlife but not afraid to accept whatever he gets. It's such a profoundly beautiful way to live, one that allows you to do what is necessary but find peace and contentment with whatever the unpredictable world brings you. 

This is just one of the many jewels of his career where he succeeds in showing his way of life while soothing the soul, and it's no wonder Mississippi John Hurt struck a chord so deep in future listeners that they went on an expedition in 1963 to find the guy and get him recording again. That's ultimately why, among his many late-period recordings, this holds a place of honor: it's rare that an artist can capture something so deeply universalist, but it's even harder to find someone who can do it with such humility that it seems like a natural part of their being.