I am not a hip hop guy. I am not like my peers – I don’t hate it. I get it, but shit has to touch your soul. Throughout the years I have had my moments: “The Message,” “Rock It,” Run DMC, De La Soul, PE, etc.and then there was Atmosphere.
I stumbled on to Atmosphere’ 2005 You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having – I did not stumble into it – I slammed in to it. If you lived in Minneapolis in 2005 it was hard not to be aware of Atmosphere. I bought this CD at the Edina Target the week it came out – that is how mainstream Atmosphere was in the Twin Towns. I spun it before Pwelbs. I think he was impressed I bought it. It lived up to the hype.
Fast forward and I have been following them ever since. It is a band (yes I call them a band) that I dig. They touch my soul. Maybe it is a Minneapolis thing, but this is the only hip hop that has entered my top shelf. The first hip hop that I ever truly got and it opened my eyes to fully appreciate the genre. I can’t explain. I like the story telling and I like the 70s funky soul grooves.
My wife Laura follows the events calendar better than I do. She gave me the heads up there would be an Atmosphere release day meet and greet at Fifth Element. We went to Atmosphere’s last album meet and greet and it was truly awesome. So it was after work on a stressful day after a hard week, Laura not feeling 100% and its pouring rain – a lot of reasons to stay at home and drink a beer – we met eyes and said let’s do this. Am I glad we did. Slug and Ant have this meet and greet concept down to an art form – they genuinely know how to meet and greet – no one feels rushed – yet they keep the line moving.
So enough, how is the album. Pretty damn good. First thanks boys for not trying to squeeze this on to two LPs – my ears appreciate you let an LP air it out on the lathe.
“Like a Fire” kicks it off with a song with the foundational lyric/beat: “bum bum, bubdy dub -dub dum -dum.” Slug rants, but reminds us that despite all the power of fire, it does burn out.
“Ringo” is one of several Atmosphere songs that are named after famous musicians that have nothing to do with the famous musician (like Bob Seger and Lyle Lovette). “Ringo” is about being a drunk and/or hung over celebrity.
“Besos” is kisses in Spanish, but this song is more of a kiss off.
“Pure Evil” (featuring I.B.E.) Slug gets political, not by chanting black lives matter, but telling the story of police brutality from the perspective of the perpetrating cop.
“Perfect” lightens things up both musically and lyrically. The song shouts out to Minneapolis and a subtle wink to the late great Prince.
“Seismic Waves” is a pretty cool song – almost a Radiohead feel. It has some of the best rhymes on the album including my favorite:
Things ain’t been the same since Treyvon, shit
Things ain’t been the same since Reagan; wait
Ain’t a single thing change from the days
When the gods went crazy
And broke the languages
“Next To You” (featuring deM atlaS) is about being worthless drunk – time truly wasted. deM atlaS cameo is brilliant – his soulful growl is perfect punctuation for the song.
“The Shit That We’ve Been Through” could be the morning after to “Next To You.” A song about heading out on the road with some things unresolved.
“When the Lights Go Out” (featuring. DOOM & Kool Keith) musically has a deconstructed Aerosmith “Sweet Emotion” feel to it. It has a pretty cool chorus with a leap frogging Slug, Kool Keith and MF DOOM. All three rappers take a verse.
“No Biggie” is a pretty good anthem – you can see this song rocking it live. A shout out to the Notorious B.I.G. Check out the song title and the lyric: “There’s not life after death, I’m not ready to die” a shout out to famous Biggie album titles.
“Everything” is chapter two to “No Biggie.” Lyrically this is a song about being an adult and a dad.
“Chasing New York” (featuring Aesop Rock) has a great jazz beat and is Slug’s love letter to the great city.
“Sugar” is a classic soulful Ant groove. This is my favorite song on the album. In a better world this would be a huge hit. Slug goes all Marvin – dewy pants music.
“Fishing Blues” (featuring The Grouch) is the titular track (I love saying that). This is mid-life wisdom.
“Won’t Look Back” (featuring Kim Manning) – who the hell is Kim Manning? She sounds like a hip hop Stevie Nicks. This is another song that should be a massive hit. With little nuggets like “Make giant steps, gotta catch the cold train” – the boys leave an Easter Egg for old jazz heads like me. This song has an amazing funky little guitar riff too. What an ending – harpsichord, the riff and Kim.
“Anybody That I’ve Known”is Atmosphere’s Pavement song – what a great treat when they go out of character.
“Still Be Here” is a love song and it is pretty.
“A Long Hello” gives the good advice that “We always over emphasize the goodbyes.” Instead we should focus on beginnings: “a long hello.”
Over all this is a great album – hip hop for adults. As always there are great Ant grooves and clever Slug lyrics. I love it when a band has a genuine career and constantly delivers quality year after year – true craftsmen.
It was a wet day, but it cleared up just in time for Wilco. When the weather toys with you all day – including a cloud burst on the bike ride down to the show – you are even more grateful when it clears for show time.
I have seen Wilco a half-dozen times and this was by far the best set list. If I were to make a career spanning playlist for a friend, the 30 songs from this show would all be on the playlist. On top of that this was audiophile sound and a gorgeous sunset. Tweedy joked:
“I think that’s an average sunset. You don’t even have to turn around, it’s not that great. People need to be warned when there’s a sub par sunset.”
As golden as the sunset was yet another bonus: Summit’s 30th anniversary West London-Style Ale on tap.
A shout out to my buddy Nick who had the foresight to pick me up the exclusive poster during a pee break (they sold out shortly thereafter).
It was a special night. Wilco and audience were connected. I don’t think Tweedy was patronizing us when he said:
“This feels like a hometown gig for us, so thank you for being so nice to us for all these years.”
As a special reward we got a seven song acoustic second encore. The set list is the playlist below. Here are a few professional reviews:
I have had this album since April. I started a review months ago and never finished it. Today I have finally finished it off.
I am not sure why I bought this album – I must have seen a couple of good reviews (although I can’t remember). I am only vaguely familiar with the band. I had listened to some of their other albums in the past and they sounded like Pavement (a band I was late to the party to, but that I really liked once I finally stumbled upon them). For some reason while shopping at Grimey’s in Nashville this past spring I felt compelled to buy this LP.
Buying the LP was a retro experience for me. Back in the day kids, daddy did not have a way to sample music prior to buying. Most of the time the music I was interested in was not on the radio. I would scour several magazines and newspapers for record reviews (printed on paper and not pixels). After seeing a few positive reviews that resonated with my taste I would make a mental note to acquire that album.
In 1980 the cost of a new LP was between $6 and $10 ($18 to $30 in today’s dollars) and a used LPs in good shape were roughly half that. That suggests that current pricing of LPs has not changed in nearly two generations, whereas a digital download of an album are about half the cost of 1980 LP in today’s dollar. Yet digital seems expensive given there is nothing physical and near frictionless delivery. Streaming services are a bargain today and even more so when compared to 1980 prices – unlimited and convenient access to a near limitless library for a monthly subscription that is about half of a 1980 LP in today’s dollars (and with Spotify you can feed a family of six’s ears for $15 a month).
Back in 1980 I would have a mental list – I would keep my eyes open for a sale or crate dig for a used copy of something on my list and when I found it I would snatch it. Once home I would place it on the turntable and set the needle down for the first listen. At this point like it or not you were invested – financially and emotionally. Amazingly I rarely bought a stiff. Whether that was careful research or self-deception, I can’t be sure.
Well this is a roundabout way of saying I come to the Parquet Courts’ Human Performance invested. And despite how much I love the low-cost and convenience of streaming I am nostalgic for the old ways. If I had to rely on streaming for Human Performance, I would have thoughtlessly snacked on it once or twice and moved on. Instead I have listened to Human Performance a couple dozen times and I am only now appreciating it. I wrote the first draft of this post on my iPhone as I listened to Human Performance on my turntable; the final draft was written on my laptop listening via my iPhone so I could be outside on a nice summer eve.
Well after that long preamble how is Human Performance? Pretty damn good. My musical taste was primarily formed in the late 70s and early 80s. Parquet Courts seem like they are right out of that period. They remind me of the Modern Lovers, Lou Reed/Velvet Underground and Television. But they also have some late 80s/early 90s in them too: Pavement and Sonic Youth come to mind. But given the current scene they sound original even though they are not. I don’t mind how derivative this is because nothing in rock is original anymore. All the same this is creative and entertaining music. Lyrically clever with equally clever arrangements.
Parquet Courts are a NYC band whose members are Andrew Savage (vocals, guitar), Austin Brown (vocals, guitar), Sean Yeaton (bass) and Max Savage (drums). They formed in 2010 and this is their fifth long player. They sometimes record as Parkay Quarts.
The album opens with “Dust” a song about dust. The video suggest the meaninglessness of life today – where being busy often trumps accomplishments. Sonically it is very cool song – three independent riffs that weave together. The song ends with a slow burst of guitar noise that hands off the baton to a noisy city street. A very ambitious opening.
The digital album actually opens with “Already Dead.” A pretty cool move to put bonus material at the beginning vs. at the end. For bonus material this is pretty rich lyrically and has a cool female spoken word section.
The titular track has a great rock chorus. The song opens with a Positively 4th Street sneer:
I know exactly, where I was when I
First saw you the way I see you now, through these eyes, waiting to retry
“Outside” is a thoughtful break up song. The narrator is over it on the outside, but is still a mess on the inside.
“I Was Just Here” starts out with a laconic rap/chant that perfectly captures the end of a bad day. This song ends with punk chorus as punctuation.
“Paraphrased” would not sounded out-of-place on Television’s Marquee Moon. The song is about being misunderstood – by others, but more importantly by yourself:
Sometimes I
Drop definition from my words
Sometimes my
Speech recalls moments of violence
Sometimes I
Can’t be repeated, I can’t be
Paraphrased
No
“Captive of the Sun” is a nice rocker with some cool textures – including some vibes. Lyrically it a surreal stream of consciousness.
“Steady On My Mind” is a Pavement-like ballad. A solid portrait of classic male romantic non-commitment.
“One Man No City” has a great Velvet Underground vibe. The song has cool retro conga throughout and great jangling guitar solo at the end.
“Berlin Got Blurry” sounds like Graham Parker – wordy and gargly diction.
“Keep it Even” provides some great advice:
You got to keep it even, even when
You’re uptight
“Two Dead Cops” sounds like a punk ZZ Top. Lyrically it is a mini-movie. It points out the police challenge of our time:
Protect you
Is what they want, but
Point and shoot
Is what they do
Nobody cares in the ghetto
For two dead cops
“Pathos Prairie” has a pogo beat and Neil Young and Crazy Horse harmonies.
“It’s Gonna Happen” ends the album with a song that sounds nothing like the rest of the album. Lyrically short, it is sung almost like a round.
This is an album that creeps up on you. Going back to my original point (my opening ramble) – if I had not felt invested to listen to this LP several times I would have never have experienced its beauty. Give it a chance and let it reveal itself to you.
On my bike ride today I was listening to k. d. lang’s anthology Retrospective in anticipation of the case/lang/veirs concert I will be seeing this week. “The Air That I Breathe” came on and my first reaction was that this must be a Radiohead cover. But as the chorus came a round the second time I said to myself this is an oldie – I have heard this song before and it was not Radiohead. Sure enough I searched Spotify and it was a 1974 hit by The Hollies. I am not the first to make this discovery – the songwriters Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood successfully sued Radiohead and reissues of Pablo Honey now credit Hammond and Hazlewood as co-writers of “Creep” and Hammond and Hazlewood split royalties with the band. No wonder Radiohead never plays “Creep.”
Lollapalooza 2016 (Chicago), the four day music festival, was a success with great music, decent weather and good times with the kids. There is too much to give you a play by play, so here are a few highlights:
- Hiatus Kaiyote – I dug the soul, funk, jazz and rock of this band (day 1).
- The 1975 – I was dismissive of this band given they were pop, but they are a great pop and ROCK band with a charismatic front man with a very cool look (day 1).
- J. Cole – I knew nothing about this guy, but wow what an entertainer. I assumed this hip hop artist was not big enough to headline, but clearly he was. The crowd was totally into it (day 1).
- Modern Baseball – Thank god rock and roll saved these guys (day 2).
- Lettuce – A powerful funk band with a bassist who rivaled Flea as the most impressive bassist of the festival (day 2).
- Frank Turner – I had never heard of this guy. A folk singer with a rock and roll heart (day 2).
- Radiohead – This was the number one draw for me. They fully met and exceeded my high expectations. I forget that as huge as these guys are, they don’t have hits, so the audience was not nearly as into it as other main stage acts. For me it was sublime with a great set list and the sound/audio was perfect (day 2).
- Honeysuckle – We caught the end of their set and loved this country/folk band (day 3).
- Tor Miller – My wife and I made a point of seeing Tor this past winter in Minneapolis because we know his drummer. Over the last few months the band has really jelled and Tor has become a solid front man (day 3).
- The Joy Formidable – This band was an afterthought because the X Ambassadors sucked – The Joy Formidable were a pleasant surprise. A powerful alt rock band that looked like it belonged on the big stage (day 3).
- Chris Stapleton – I expected him to be good and he delivered. I was surprised at how bluesy he played. He was totally comfortable in a rock setting (day 3).
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – They were born to headline festivals. Spectacular (day 3).
- Hiam – This band combined transcendent moments with lapses of uninspired pop rock. When they hit it right – they were perfect (day 4).
- Muna – Front woman Katie Gavin was like a sexy goth librarian (day 4) – a perfect look for this pop band that deals with heavy topics.
- Zhu – LCD Sound System was a stiff, so we closed the night off with this electronic musician who had a nice cameo by Trombone Shorty (day 4).
Overall it was a great festival. I got to see some bucket list acts and discovered some new bands. The weather threatened, but never got worse than a drizzle. It never got too hot on sunny days. Thank you Chicago! Ready to get home an be with my sweetie who made it all happen – miss you.
Of the great British guitar gods from the 60s, my favorite is Jeff Beck. He is not as famous as Clapton and Page, but his tendency toward experimentation and jazz chops is what tips the scales for me. He can make his guitar sound like industrial noise, tender and everything in between – he is always musical.
Loud hailer is what the British call a bullhorn or megaphone. This is a good album title because Beck is his loud rock mode on most of this album (however there are some gorgeous ballads too).
Beck appears to be quite inspired by the young unknown players who accompany him on this album. According to the PR machine for this album, Beck met a young women at Queen drummer Roger Taylor’s birthday party: guitarist Carmen Vandenberg. Vanderberg then introduced Beck to her musical buddies: singer Rosie Bones and produce Filippo Cimatti. Cimatti then recruited drummer Davide Sollazzi and bassist Giovanni Pallotti – Beck had himself a band. Most of the songs were written by the trio of Beck, Bones and Vanderberg.
Bones has a cool voice. She sounds a bit punk and she lets her British accent color the vocals. She is a great foil for Beck – who has always been a great vocal accompanist. This is not the first “nobody vocalist” he has introduced to the world – Rod Stewart was his first.
Some of Bones lyrics are a bit ham-handed and lefty political. But she delivers the goods with her great rock voice and earnestness.
Beck is yet another example this year of an aging rock star who is still on top of his game and still exploring new sounds. Bonus points for passing on studio pros and flying without a net with a young unproven band – they are proven now.
My parents were from Ireland and introduced me to black tea as a wee child. Well not really black tea – they sweetened and lightened it with a generous portion of cream (half & half) and sugar. As a “rebellious” teenager I switched to coffee.
As a coffee drinker I evolved toward dark strong coffee with a bitter edge (espresso and French Roast for example). The older I have gotten the more I have appreciated bold flavors like Isly Scotch, IPA and sour beers, blue cheese, etc.
A few years ago I got reintroduced to tea through my wife’s interest in herbal teas and chai. I started experimenting with black teas and stumbled across Pu-erh or Pu’er.
Pu’er is a fermented and aged dark tea produced in Yunnan province, China, and named after Pu’er City. It has a unique flavor – or as my wife says it smells and tastes like a barn. I fell in love with it. It is strongly caffeinated and to me that barn taste is earthy – I like to think of it as the espresso of teas.
I recently heard a podcast, featuring the great essayist Malcolm Gladwell where he mentioned his love of lapsang souchong tea. He (or the podcast’s host Tim Ferriss) described it as comparable to the flavor Isly Scotch. That is all I needed.
Today I stopped by La Société du Thé in Uptown Minneapolis to pick up a batch. After a few errands I got home and brewed up a cup. The taste was definitely black tea, but as Gladwell suggested, it had that smokey peaty taste of Isly Scotch. In addition, It had that head clearing effect of menthol – it is not menthol in taste or smell – just that kind of effervescence. As it cooled the basic taste morphed into subtle variations like a good beer warming. This will be a definitive competition for my daily caffeine fix. Mr Gladwell and Mr. Ferris thanks for the tip.
Per Wikipedia Lapsang Souchong is distinct from all other types of tea because lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavour.
This is Steven Tyler’s “country” album. About a year ago Tyler told Rolling Stone “Country is the new rock & roll.” I agree. Much of current country is rock and in many cases country hits would not sound out-of-place on a classic rock station. For a long time I have felt that The Eagles were as influential on contemporary country as Hank Williams. Country artist like Keith Urban are as much rock as they are country. True country is not lost – there is still has plenty of twang with new sensations like Chris Stapleton, Margo Price and Jason Isbell. Defining something as country or rock is impossible – like a lot of things it is on a spectrum. This album is firmly in the middle of that spectrum.
I really like this new Steven Tyler album. Tyler’s voice has never sounded better. The album is barely country, but that is OK – I like that Tyler stayed true to himself. Many of these tunes would work as power ballads on an Aerosmith album. There is bro-country (“Red, White And You”), a taste of Mumford and Sons (“Love Is Your Name”) and a nod to Don Henley and The Eagles (“It Ain’t Easy).
This is not an amazing genre shifting masterpiece like Robert Plant’s Raising Sand, but it is plenty entertaining. Tyler sounds like he is having fun. What more can you ask for from a 68-year-old rock star resisting legacy status. Is he a sell-out? Hell yeah – but that is part of his charm – it’s only rock and roll.
I am a graduate of Basilica grade school, a serious music head and frequent concert goer, but it took me until its 22nd year to finally check out the Basilica Block Party. It was Ryan Adams that got me there.
Thursday my wife and I looked at the forecast and saw it was going to be a perfect night so we bought a pair of tickets.
We live close by so we rode our bikes down and explored the grounds. We found a perfect spot at the Preferred One Stage: elevated, a fence to lean on, good sound, nice sight line and in the shade. We were set for the night.
Craig Finn had the tough job of being the opening act to an arriving crowd. He did a nice job and I do admire his punk-Springsteen. His “Newmyer’s Roof” was perfect for the mood of the week.
I have heard of Milky Chance, but not heard them until pre-gaming for the show. They are better live than on record. A very fun group and they got the crowd stoked. My wife gave them the ultimate endorsement: “I would see them again.”
The main event was Ryan Adams. We chatted it up with a fellow fence leaner and he joked (and I paraphrase here) “I wonder which Ryan Adams will show up? The alt-rocker, alt-country guy or Taylor Swift cover band?” Mostly the alt-rocker, but you could add jam band as Ryan was tearing up the guitar on his solos. “Magnolia Mountain” was magic.
Ryan Adams used to be a moody bastard and you never knew if you would get the good or bad Ryan. Now there is the only the good Ryan. He is self-deprecating about his history by throwing mock tantrums and he highlighted a record store sign he had seen early in the day (from near-by HiFi Records):
Ryan’s set list is here and here. Over all a pretty magical night: perfect weather, cool venue, great music and side by side with my beautiful bride.
PS – a bonus when you plant yourself on a hill is you get to watch the parade of people between sets. It was like watching reality TV.
When I recently joined Tidal to get access to the new Radiohead, one of the bonuses was getting access to Neil Young’s catalog (Neil is one of those artists who has chosen to make his music hard to get). Neil teased his new album Earth a few weeks prior to the release of Earth with a tasty half-hour single “Love And Only Love” as an exclusive on Tidal. It sounded like vintage Neil and Crazy Horse, but it is Promise of the Real, Neil’s latest band he has been touring with for the last three years. The band features Lucas and Micah Nelson – Willie Nelson’s sons. The band made its first recording statement with Young on The Monsanto Years (2015).
Neil has been releasing great live albums throughout his career – and the Crazy Horse variety is well represented in that catalog of live takes. The gimmick here is that he is trying to reinvent the live album by adding backup vocals (not so unusual) and sound effects (now we are getting weird). These sound effects link the tracks so that it feels like a cohesive gapless 97 minute suite. Earth includes songs spanning the length of his career.
I did not listen to The Monsanto Years when it came out. I was not up for hearing a billionaire-rock-star-hippie’s diatribe against the modern miracle of today’s agriculture: safe, cheap, plentiful and quality food. A system that has the capacity to feed the world – if it wasn’t for terrorism and third world corruption. Humans have been manipulating plants and animals since we crawled out of caves. Granted I am biased because I make my living off agriculture. Neil was pissing on my parade. So I gave The Monsanto Years a pass when it came out in 2015.
Hearing the The Monsanto Years cuts on Earth (four of the thirteen cuts are from The Monsanto Years) was pretty much what you would expect: predictably left-wing and anti so-called “big agriculture.” But there is an upside to the rant – Neil is authentically pissed. A pissed Neil is an inspired Neil (e.g. Kent State 1970=CSNY’s “Ohio”). So do your best to stomach the politics and listen to some inspired music
The gimmick – augmenting a live recording – actually works. It has been a long-standing practice to clandestinely and subtlety sweeten a live recording. But Young has a bigger idea. He does not even try to disguise the manipulation – instead he is bold in his studio additions and makes something unique and artsy.
Promise of the Real is something special. They can rock it out like Crazy Horse and they can be as sweet as Nashville Cats. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Willie Nelson’s sons are amazing. Between Neil’s political inspiration and this crack band, this is a special live album – on par with Live Rust. The fact that Young has been able to reinvent the old warhorse that is the live recording into something new and interesting is quite a feat. Young’s voice sounds great – he seems to show no deterioration in his pipes.
After releasing “Love And Only Love” as the lead single, Young did another cool thing – he streamed it a week early on Tidal, but as one 97 minute cut – so you would have to listen all the way through and not just skip to a favorite song. The CD and current stream is now cut up into 13 tracks.
One of my favorite tracks from Earth is “Hippie Dream.” Promise of the Real reinvent Crazy Horse grunge to a more contemporary rock sound. The make the grunge their own. After lots of Neil’s politics he advises “Take my advice / don’t listen to me.” And in a nod to his old band, he reminds us: “The wooden ship was just a hippie dream.” Surprisingly “Hippie Dream” is from 1986’s Landing on Water. That is an album that I had dismissed as horrible – evidently there was some gold on that stinker.
I have been listening to a lot of classic 60s/70s artists lately – between new releases and live shows. These guys in their mid-60s to mid-70s are amazing – they sound great and they still sound relevant. Neil certainly falls into this category of exceptional artist. Earth is a totally unique album and yet familiar. You should listen to Earth on a good stereo. The sound effects sound cheesy via ear buds and your phone. On a good stereo it sounds like art. I had kind of gotten fatigued with Neil in the last few years – so it is a very impressive that he can still toss off a masterpiece.
Axl's Catch Groove 