Judging by the title of the mix I received, there’s little mistaking who put this mix of recent-vintage songs together. I assume Mr. Mod sent it my way because it had so much new music and because he knew I’d recently been scooping up Thin Lizzy‘s back catalog.
Overall, when I play this in the background, it’s a solid mix. When I try to break it down song-by-song I run into difficulties. For fair balance, you can download the entire mix here.
The CD starts with driving drums and off-kilter guitar that sounds like the prelude to one of those neo-Gang of Four bands that we all the rage 2 years ago. (Was it that long ago?) Then things settle down into on OK, ’90s, neo-proto-goth vibe. What was that band with the redheaded Scottish singer and Nirvana’s producer, Garbage? The song is called “Rideshare” and it’s by Beauty Pill. Don’t know a thing about them. Best thing about the song is that it ends like it begins.
A newer PJ Harvey song, “Big Exit”, follows. I like this one. It’s got a verse that sounds like what Patti Smith might do if she could sing and if her band didn’t sound like warmed-over E-Streeters, and the verse sounds a lot like Heart. There’s some Modern Rock cheese smeared across it, but this one delivers on the pounding beat.
I thought the first song was a good Replacements song before I looked at the track listing. Turns out it’s Old 97’s “Rollerskate Skinny”. Hard not to like this song, but like the music of The Replacements, I envision their music not getting much better, and I mean that in a humbling way. Tasty little guitar break.
“Oh Mandy” by Spinto Band makes me realize why I find myself trying to track down a copy of Phil Lynott’s first solo album, Solo in Soho. The track mixes high-pitched, whiny vocals; a New Order-like pulse; mandolin; and Swedish-style synths for a catchy, hypnotic, and ultimate annoying blend of just about every musical trick that’s been overvalued in the past 20 years.
Blur’s “Out of Time” isn’t bad. These guys have their own thing going, they set an identifiable tone no matter what they do. This song reminds me of one of those faceless, 3rd-rate British Invasion hits from 1965: mellow, pretty, inoffensive…nice.
The Dears’ “Ticket to Immortal” begins with a guitar riff that I know I’ve heard and liked before, but then I get mighty uncomfortable as a U2-inspired orchestral dynamic builds beneath the surface. Or maybe it’s an Echo and the Bunnymen influence, I don’t know. Something ’80s. This song doesn’t seem to know exactly where it’s going. Each time I’ve listened to it, I end up seeing John Cusack holding his boombox up in the rain in that movie a lot of people love. Eek!
I was looking forward to hearing this Rilo Kiley track, “The Execution of All Things”. I’d read a lot about her and her band, whatever their name is. She’s got a very plainspoken, pleasing voice that’s recorded – at least on this track – without a wash of reverb. The guitars have a New Rock sound to them – again, I’m reminded that there’s a whole generation that grew up listening to the Edge – but the guitarists play real guitar parts in places, not just effects box workouts, so that’s cool. Anyone remember Bettie Seveert? Similar vibe, to my ears, including the use of those “Beatles chords” that Oats needs.
“Hurricane Judy” by Future Clouds and Radar is the first song on the mix that jumped out of the gates right into my loving ears. It’s got that Move-like mix of psychedelia and The Power and Glory of Rock. A-1 steak sauce!
My favorite song so far is followed by just the sort of song I find so easy to skip in Modern Rock, “I Fought the Angels”, by The Delgados. I saw them once. They had a little woman in the band with dimples who was really hot. Beside that, they sucked. Over 3 days of listening to this mix, not even the image of that woman possibly being the singer of this song helped my liking it. Oats, I’ve got a broad question that you might be able to answer: What do you think was intended by the writing of this song?
Ah, and here’s a modern song I already own: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ “There She Goes, My Beautiful World”! I dig this one. It’s been sometime since anyone’s used a robed choir to such kick-ass effect on a rock song. I’m actually working on a piece around their new album, Grinderman. Hope to have it for you in the coming days.
“Hunt” by Sons and Daughters is a kind of post-punk hoedown. Not bad, but I have to imagine that the women singing the song look like the woman from The Delgados to hold my interest. Actually sounds a bit like the Bad Seeds but the women singing weaken it.
“Fat Children” by Jarvis Cocker represents much of what I find lacking in Modern Rock: it’s got a good beat, it’s got hooks, it’s got some “edge”…but it doesn’t add up to a song to my ears. Any 30-second excerpt would make great backing music for an ad for an energy drink or an affordable model of a Japanese car, but taken as a whole it sounds like a song that was composed to fill space on a CD. Don’t get it.
Quasi’s “The Sword of God” is a winner! Sounds a lot like the dB’s with some added weight, which is fine in my book! Why can’t more modern songs sound like this?
Jon Brion’s “Ruin My Day” has all the strengths and benefits of any of the Aimee Mann albums he produced. Easy to like, although the arrangements and overall tone have been done to death through his work with her and Fiona Apple. This guy’s entire schtick is to make records that sound like the cool McCartney album track on any mid-period Beatles album. Not a bad trick to pull off – and I like this song – but Brion needs a new trick. Badly.
The music of The Pernice Brothers always hits me like The Zombies, and that’s a good thing. Like The Zombies, however, they sometimes forget to actually write a gripping song in the midst of their pretty stylistic conceits. This song, “High as a Kite”, lacks that ability to close out some great ideas. Is this what Gilbert O’Sullivan deep tracks sound like? I’m not complaining, but I won’t abandon my search for that Solo in Soho album. This question comes to mind, whenever I hear them as well: Single guys (sorry ladies, I’m off the market), do Pernice Brothers albums help you woo the fairer sex? They strike me as a good warm-up to a night of sensitive love-making.
Neko Case’s “Star Witness” is a winner! Her voice warms me up for a night of sensitive love-making. The talk of upskirts of Linda Ronstadt and some of your dismissals of her classic work – not having Neko Case and her upskirts as a household image is the price you pay for your holier-than-thou cynicism! Shame on you, Rock Town Hall.
“How I Long” by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci needs to get its ass kicked! Beside the little roll that the piano player does every four measures, what the hell is the intent of this song? Does not compute.
This Sonic Youth song, “Pink Steam” is one of their best. No one tries to sing until the song is two thirds complete!
Art Brut’s “Good Weekend” is so easy to like. Like The Godfathers of the late-80s, they have boiled down certain elements of UK punk rock to their essential elements. Don’t think these guys will stick around any longer than The Godfathers did, but this is fun stuff.
Test: Are these comments turned on? I think so. Check it out, Oats. Are you logged out?
“She’s quite skinny, like me, but nice skinny, rollerskate skinny.”
I used to love a band called Rollerskate Skinny on Dischord… Saw them in Vancouver open up for Pavement at The Commodore. I missed Rhett Miller when he was here, I think I would have dug seeing him. Great mix, Oats! I can never get Oh Mandy out of my head, and just when I think I have, it shows up somewhere!! “How I Long to Feel the Summer In My Heart” is a great song by Gorky’s, but my favourite is “Let’s Get Together (In Our Minds)” Sounds pretentious with the long titles, doesn’t it. Kenton, right?;) Anyway, I love the GZM too, and I’m sad they broke up. Richard James and Euros have gone solo now though, so that’s okay, but just not as amazing as The Gorky’s.
Thanks for your excellent and though-provoking points, KingEd!
Now, though, I am facing a conundrum. I’ve already been on the receiving end of a Hear Factor mix and I already posted my responses. In crafting my rejoinder to Ed, how do I resolve the fact that I myself am not without sin in regards to the Hear Factor experience.
I could point out that KingEd almost compulsively compares tracks to what other bands they remind him of. But then, I could only view The Drive-By Truckers through the prism of Uncle Tupelo.
I could mention that he never once makes a reference to the lyrical content of these songs, which I would argue offer a key insight into the appeal of songs like “Fat Children” and “Ticket to Immortality.” But again, I do not recall having any major insights into lyrics on my Hear Factor assignment.
AND, I got no sense of how KingEd perceived my “world” via the Hear Factor mix. But did I do this in my situation? Hardly. I used it to make a swipe at alt-country, and the I got told that The Drive-By Truckers are in fact Southern Rock! SNAP!
Okay, I’ve looked deep within myself enough. Moving on…
Pince-nez moment: Rilo Kiley is the band; Jenny Lewis is the lead singer with a solo career on the side. Or was this some sort of commentary on your part?
KingEd wants to know what I think was the aim of The Delgados in writing “I Fought The Angels.” Honestly, I’m not sure that I care. I chose these songs for many different reasons, this one because I like the little arrangement quirks; the different keyboard parts, the backing vocals that enter in and out of the song. It has an urgency that I like too.
What does this even mean?
Movie scores and producing Kanye West don’t count? Bear in mind that “Ruin My Day” is about seven years old. (The subtitle of this mix was “The Best of the 21st Century.”)
I legitimately love this song, but it’s on this mix because I needed something especially reflective to help clear the palette for the energy of the last two tracks. I buy the “ass kicking” remark only if your musical diet consists solely of early Metallica and/or you just got done grinning down a bear. The alpha male aspect of RTH is duly, hilariously noted, but the way some of you go on about how your precious Power and Glory was besmirched is way weepier that a song like this!
Indeed it is. I could write a thesis paper about how every single part of this song hits all my pleasure points. The more time I spend on RTH, the more I feel that some elements of what each of us treasure in rock will never be comprehended by the rest, due to the individual responses, experiences, past triumphs and setbacks we bring to the table. This is both a good thing and an insurmountable one, but I feel it’s necessary to put it on the table. I rarely come away feeling that one person is right or wrong, because there’s just too much history caught up in all our responses.
But that’s enough for now. KingEd I again thank you for your honesty, good will and smarts! How about the rest of you?!
Great comeback, Oats. I dug the mix. There was a good deal of stuff I didn’t know, but of what I know of you and what I imagined further of you in listening to this mix, I got a better look into your world. One of the things I’ve liked about your input in the Halls of Rock is that you’re someone of a younger generation (than mine) who kept an eye out for ’60s-informed pop craftsmanship during the ’90s. Blur, who you helped me learn more about, is a great example of what I’m talking about. They aren’t really a “60s-style” band, but they practice an aesthetic that reflects that period in British rock.
I like what you say, too, about bringing it to the table. To me, that’s a major function of RTH: we are the table. I’d like to think there’s value in seeing how we fail to see things beyond our own quirks and history. KingEd’s Hear Factor report may have been our last one, right? I found the process fun; I hope you did too, and I hope you’ve taken advantage of all the different mixes to sample. I think I still need to load up 2 full mixes as .zip files. I will do that before we wrap up this series. Maybe down the road we can do it again.
KingEd, let’s hear back from you regarding Oats’ queries!
Just catching up with you, Oats. It didn’t occur to me that I wasn’t paying attention to the lyrics, although I do remember thinking the lyrics to “Rollerskate Skinny” sounded interesting along with the music. In most cases, it takes me a long time to focus on lyrics, unless I’m already familiar with the artist and awaiting the insights into the human condition.
I can’t help but compare what I hear to what I know, unless I’m hearing pennywhistle music from Uganda or something utterly foreign. The benefit of this is that people around my age may know what I’m talking about; the downfall is that I’m probably limited in what I hear. Something that I think sounds like music from a tv show may in fact have its roots in some real musical movement but I’ve never caught wind of it until it was watered down for use in the soundtrack to a tv show. Right?
Re: Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis… my bad! Consider it a modern-day “Jethro Tull’s a great flutist.”
The music for “Hunt” had a bit of a Bad Seeds sound to it, but I thought the women singing weakened the effect. It made the song sound a bit juvenile when it could have sounded a little nasty and cool.
Movie scores are the golden parachute for any musician who’s run out of ideas. Can speak to his work with Kanye West – he’s that intelligent, thoughtful guy who nevertheless resorts to calling women bitches and ho’s, in so many words, right? I’m hope Brion didn’t get in on that action.
KingEd sed:
“I thought the first song was a good Replacements song before I looked at the track listing. Turns out it’s Old 97’s “Rollerskate Skinny”.”
I’ve always thought of The Old 97’s as the New Replacements. Like Westerberg, Rhett Miller has a real facility for clever but emotional lyrics, but also has a tendency to get too cute with the wordplay, sometimes using it as a crutch when he doesn’t has something worthwhile to say. I always felt like the Rebel Without a Clue song on Don’t Tell a Soul was a perfect example of Westerberg falling for his own words that really weren’t all that. Some of Miller’s recent songs have hit me the same way.