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.