Sound Salvation Army

Would you like to hear what joy sounds like?

If you’ve never heard Jonathan Richman’s music then I feel sorry for you. You’re truly missing out on an important part of life, namely unadulterated enthusiasm, joy, and love of life. Of course, I’m being somewhat selective when I say that. He’s a well-rounded artist, but goddamnit do I ever prefer his buoyant tunes.

For the last several months I’ve listened to little else than a mix tape of songs from throughout Richman’s post-Modern Lovers solo career that focus on the positive: songs of love and joy. From the youthful exuberance of songs like “I Have Come Out To Play” (”Gonna ride my bike past the root beer stand/purple squirt gun in my hand and I’m here to stay/oh mommy, oh mommy, I can’t eat no more/Gonna run outside that open door and I am here to stay”) to the simply-stated messages of love like “Everyday Clothes” (”I loved her, yeah I loved her, cuz that’s the way it goes/and I couldn’t have loved her more in just her plain old everyday clothes”) and “It’s You” (”Well now, you’re looking while I’m watching different girls passing by/Don’t you know that I couldn’t lose this love even if I tried?”) it’s a mix designed to make you smile your balls off.

For goodness’ sake, the guy even wrote the world’s only (good) love song to Wrangler jeans.

I’ll admit my knowledge of Richman’s greater catalogue is limited to much of the singles released during his solo career in the 80’s and the Modern Lovers material. But there’s so much to love it’s kind of hard to see that as a bad thing. His love of dancing, odes to the bank teller he has a crush on or the prospective paramour he meets on the street, his ancestral home land of New England, the wistful memories of summer days lived and lost…his songs are simply-executed stories of life and what it means to live and love. His solo career took a step back from the overt rock of the Modern Lovers; where most rockers seek to turn the amps to 11, he always seemed to pursue the gentlest, quietest, most understated sounds he could get. The songs are still rooted in basic American rock tropes but they’re undeniably his own style.

There is some irony in this entry; I’ve failed to simply state what is so engaging about music that is simply-written but endlessly engaging. Perhaps simpler still:

If you recall about seven or eight months back I was feeling pretty miserable and sorry for myself. Having been on the dumped end of a long-term relationship I was not engaging in very healthy behaviours. But true story: I heard someone play “Everyday Clothes” on a local community radio show one Saturday afternoon and it jarred me back to reality. Sometimes you just need a gentle reminder that there is a sunnier side to life that is worth keeping your head above water for.

I’ve found that to be truer than ever in recent months. I’ve moved on, I rebounded, and now I’ve started dating the prettiest little redhead I’ve ever seen. It’s impossible not to think of her incredible smile, the majesty with which she wears someone else’s cross-country sweatshirt, the sparkle in her constantly-changing green eyes when I hear these songs.

Anyhow, it’s weird to think that Jonathan Richman is almost sixty now. The overwhelming tone of perpetual youth and innocence in his music seems to contradict that fact. I expect his youthful enthusiasm will persist, regardless of his age or the age of his songs. They sound pretty timeless to me, anyway.

 

 Jonathan Richman - It's You [3:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Jonathan Richman - Everyday Clothes [3:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Jonathan Richman - I'm Just Beginning To Live [2:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Jonathan Richman - the New Bank Teller [1:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Buy his albums through Vapour Records. He apparently doesn’t participate in the internet on any level, but hopefully someone tells him a dude in Saskatchewan loves him.

Pat entries acoustic, Jonathan Richman, legends, smiling

So yeah. Tanis beat me to the punch, but its the seventh anniversary of Joe Strummer’s death. Which totally sucked.

I remember the day, I remember reading the news on the internet. I remember feeling bad that I hadn’t listened to the Clash more. That’s my situation: the Strummer legacy for me, aside from London Calling, consists mostly of his late 90’s/early 00’s semi-solo output.

I remember living with Tanis in our basement apartment in Manitoba, blasting Global A Go-Go, the most recognized of Strummer’s work with the Mescaleros, from time to time. I remember how much we both loved that album, though I don’t remember if we ever really talked about it at length. I remember how excited I was when it first came out, having fallen in love with previous release Rock Art & the X-Ray Style. I loved its simplicity, its bare-bones vaguely-world music arrangements, a soundscape worlds away from the even the Clash’s most far-reaching sounds. He just sounded so joyous in those songs, like he was being reborn.

See, London Calling has an incredible legacy and is a record that the everyone ever should be familiar with. But I’ll admit, I don’t own any other Clash records. I’ve never seen a need. I know London Calling is their apex. I’ve heard the rest, but they don’t stack up. I don’t know anyone who disagrees.

But I adore Strummer’s work with the Mescaleros. I don’t know how they found each other but there’s a synergistic musical kinship that sews their three albums together in a magical way. There’s nary a bad note in the bunch. Even the 17+ minute “Minstrel Boy”, which closes out Global A Go-Go doesn’t get the skip button.

Its a sad day but a beautiful legacy to enjoy, regardless of what era you prefer. I guess that’s the point I’m trying to make.

 

 Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - X-Ray Style [4:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - Get Down Moses [5:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - the Road To Rock and Roll [3:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get your Strummer/Mescaleros albums from Anti- Records.

Pat entries anniversaries, Joe Strummer, legacies, legends, Mescaleros, misery

Joe Strummer died seven years ago today and when I think about that, it still makes me sad.

Nobody’s perfect. Nothing’s forever. You can change your mind. Damn the man. Steal shit. Know your rights. All things I learned, in a roundabout way, by listening to The Clash and Strummer over the years.

Have yourselves a merry little whatever you celebrate, but take a moment and pour one out for Joe. Here are some awesome songs.

 

 London Calling - The Clash: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Johnny Appleseed - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Silver and Gold - Joe Strummer: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Joe Strummer, legends, mp3, punk rock, rock

I’m primarily a new music guy, but I have a great affection for “classics” when its warranted.

I don’t listen to a lot of older music aside from the really genre-defining artists. There just isn’t enough time. But Springsteen, Ella, Cash, the Clash, Black Flag, the Misfits, Beatles…you make time for the ones that count.

At the top of my list is Sam Cooke, one of my all-time favourite songwriters. They call him the man that invented soul, but he’s just a damn good writer that managed to stay on top of his game for a lot longer than some others did. A big part of that effort was staying on top of musical and dance trends and playing to both the kids and the oldsters.

His most recognizable tracks (”You Send Me”, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, “Chain Gang”, “Wonderful World”, and “Bring It on Home to Me”) alternate between swooning, orchestral love songs destined to melt AM radio hearts and playful party tunes that celebrate clever wordplay and every dance craze that struck the U.S. between 1960 and 1975. Much of his songs followed the musical conventions of the time, and what really set him apart was his voice.

In time he would be named the fourth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone, but when he was just getting started he was known only in the gospel music community. He had a successful group before venturing into the scary secular world. He had dozens of Billboard hits, starting with his very first mainstream single. They just kept building and building. He exploited numerous dance crazes along the way, penning tunes about and for dancing the cha-cha-cha, the Twist, and the Shake (I think that’s a thing, right?). But it was his voice that carried each and every track to incredible heights, a full, forceful tenor that bursts forth with an innate ease that clearly demonstrates his gospel roots. Even when he’s singing about having “some chick” to talk to he fills the speakers with an unmistakably relaxed but prominent delivery.

While the man and his work never really went away, I’ve been noticing him popping up in the collective subconscious a bit more frequently in recent months. Two favourite groups of mine have recently paid tribute: Drag The River covered “Having A Party” for a recent 7″ single and the Gaslight Anthem crib his lyrics on occasion in some of their work. Everyone from Jimmy Buffett to Colin Meloy to John Lennon to Cat Stevens to Simon & Garfunkel have taken turns interpreting his catalogue. Hell, Otis Redding has covered Cooke multiple times and he’s a legend in his own right.

In the short seven years he was working he wrote songs that were loved the world over. Who knows how high he could’ve climbed if not for his unfortunate and sketchy death at the age of 33.

Anyway, I’ve been spinning some of his greatest hits daily for the last month or two and I thought it was time I shared some with you. While they aren’t all immediately recognizable they all sound familiar and welcoming enough. Let’s remember a legend.

 

 Sam Cooke - Rome Wasn't Build In A Day [2:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Sam Cooke - Touch The Hem Of His Garment [2:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Sam Cooke - Another Saturday Night [2:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Sam Cooke - Having A Party [2:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come [3:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pat entries classics, early rock and roll, legends, Sam Cooke, soul

This piece originally appeared on a good associate of mine’s website, Mammoth Press (click through for amazing things). This is my pick for best re-issue of 2008 and Pavement’s re-issues should be the template for all re-issues.

The most eloquent description of Pavement I’ve ever heard is provided by singer/guitarist/songwriter Stephen Malkmus himself, and coincidentally enough it lies within this album. “If my soul had a shape, it would be an ellipse.” When he shouts, “I’m on the stereo!” in Brighten the Corners‘ lead-off track “Stereo” it comes off almost less a declaration and more a genuine exclamation of surprise. It’s easy to imagine that in the early days no one would’ve thought they’d hear Pavement on the radio, but by the time this second-last LP was released it wasn’t only possible, but likely.

The sound on most of the tracks is much cleaner and more structured than their earliest material, even though the lead track harkens back to their shoutier, shambolic era with a barked set of lyrics and one of the album’s quickest tempos. Easily one of their best singles, it’s prototypical Pavement: lyrics that seem random at first blush (the line “what about the voice of Geddy Lee/how did it get so high?/i wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy” leads into “we’ll focus on the quasar in the mist/the Kaiser has a cyst”), jangly guitar lines, and upbeat drums that culminate in a frenzy of power chords and Stephen Malkmus’ howling vocals in the chorus.

But the tracks that lie outside of the first two are what really shape and differentiate Brighten the Corners from its predecessors. Nearly all of the remaining tracks are calmed down and prettied up, slower tempos and guitar figures that are more accurately described as lovely or precious than noisy or rambunctious. There’s ample evidence to back up Matador’s claims that this is the groups most accessible album. The melodies are emphasized in every instance, the playing is precise, and the raw energy of the past yields to a slightly more plaintive deconstruction on what it’s like to grow older and more suburban with every passing year.

The bands of the future that would clearly be influenced by Pavement’s career in general and this album specifically are numerous. At times some tracks sound like 2000’s-era Blur at a time when “Park Life” wasn’t yet a distant memory. Closing track “Fin” even draws the blueprint for the late 90’s “emo” movement, clearly informing the sound and style of groups like Mineral with its excruciatingly slow, beautiful guitar picking and unrushed, pleading vocal.

But in 2009 all of that is irrelevant; we know that the entire Pavement back catalogue (with the possible exception of Terror Twilight, which a lot of people had some problems with) is essentially flawless. The album itself is not the point of this review — it has stood on its own for a dozen years and will continue to do so for dozens to come. As with all the re-issues that began in 2002 with Slanted and Enchanted, it’s the glut of bonus material that we’re really looking at here.

It’s not just the fact that Matador and the band have included 30+ additional tracks on the re-issues (32 on this Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition release), it’s the window that each set of bonus songs has opened on the band, their catalogue, and how they wrote and recorded their albums. Since the beginning they wrote and recorded songs that wouldn’t be officially released for another two or three albums, always keeping something in their pocket unless it fit the overall tone and tenor of the album they were planning on releasing.

The extra material highlights the dichotomy of Pavement; while the album was slower, gentler, and more accessible, the guitar freak-outs, the feedback, and the denser versions of songs were left mostly to b-sides and Peel Sessions. The shift is handled well, going from the proper album cuts into a long-form, repetitive version of “and Then (the Hexx),” a song that would appear on the subsequent Terror Twilight album. Another version of the song is included on the second disc as well.

There is more energy, more upbeat material in the extra tracks. The b-sides from the Shady Lane single are the best example; kicking off with a stompier, almost Stones-ish version of “Type Slowly” (”Slowly Typed”) to a blast of genuine punk rock sass (”Wanna Mess You Around,” which culminates in Malkmus growling “I want to fuck around” like he’s channeling the spirit of Keith Morris) and a pure-pop song about getting a great tan on vacation (”No Tan Lines,” complete with falsetto vocals and “ba ba ba” back-ups). “Beautiful As A Butterfly” and “Cataracts” are two unmistakably Pavement unreleased tracks that would have fit incredibly well not only into the band’s catalogue, but also on the album itself without any shoe-horning.

Without a doubt in my mind, the band was writing two albums, possibly without even knowing it. Collected in this fashion the songs clearly show that Pavement was capable of being whatever band it wanted to be. The two closing tracks are the best example of the gamut run in this material. “Space Ghost Theme I” is all rough edges: hammered drums, phasers, random screams and shouts, some of their most violent guitars, and one of the gnarliest “big rock finishes” in the band’s history. “Space Ghost Theme II” shuffles along with shaker accompaniment, a slower, syncopated drum line, cleaner and more organized guitars, and calm almost spoken-word vocals. It’s left brain versus right brain, the uncompromising example of a band doing whatever it feels like and everything coming out genius.

If you haven’t been following Matador’s re-issue series of the band’s back catalogue you are doing yourself a disservice. This is categorically a 10/10 and the best so far in the series, hands down. Every cut here is enjoyable.

 

 Pavement - Fin: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Pavement - Wanna Mess You Around: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Many Pavement releases are for sale on iTunes and through Matador Records.

Pat entries indie rock, legends, Pavement, re-issues