Feb 192010
Jason Falkner‘s album I’m OK, You’re OK, which came out in Japan in 2007, is getting released in the U.S. this week! It’s streaming here for now. It’ll probably be up there only for a few days, so get at it while you can, Mr. Mod… I dare you!
Of course, those of us who actually, like me, enjoy some Jason Falkner music — Hrrundi, Alexmagic, etc. — are also welcome to give a listen. So far, it’s okay. Not mindblowing, though the song “Stephanie Tells Me” is pretty nifty.
I think he’s getting better – not trying as hard. And you can add me to that list of fans.
I accidentally left my work iTunes in “loop” mode and walked away for the weekend, so as a result this is one of my top-scrobbled albums in iTunes/LastFM even though there wasn’t actually anybody there to hear it as it played.
OK, I’ve hit PLAY. The album cover’s bumming me out. I’ll post my thoughts as it plays, in real time. I appreciate the throw-down, Oats.
This Time: The intro went on a little too long for my liking – what else is new from this guy. So far it sounds like a “cool” version of some cheesy ’80s power-prog song, the kind of thing Moody Blues would have done in their last-gasp efforts… The chorus isn’t even cool, but it’s a little catchy. That said I’m starting to lose the thread between verse and chorus. It’s become one godawful bowl of late-period Moody Blues gruel. I’m regretting the challenge I’ve taken already.
NYC: Good bass opening, but I have trouble believing he’ll deliver on his opening “All right!” So far this sounds like what Duran Duran might have sounded like if I didn’t hate them. Now here’s another reformed circa-1983 prog-rocker’s chorus… This middle eighth better add up to something…the little solo wasn’t bad. At the risk of coming off more poorly than I usually do in all matters Falkner and Japanese rock market, this thing sounds totally crafted for Japanese rock fans.
The Knew: Another good guitar opening…with white-boy, circa 1983 MTV vocals. The chorus is reminding me of something like Paul Revere and the Raiders – and that’s the highest compliment I’ve given Jason Falkner since saying that I really appreciate his Bedtime With The Beatles album, which has served our boys during many a restless night. I’m noticing a trend on this album: once he gets to a chorus the verse fades away – his songs become one extended chorus.
Stephanie Tells Me – The title scares me, but the song, despite it’s mushy production, isn’t terrible. It’s got a little bit of that nerdy Turtles quality that I always like. That said, the sound of the song is all wrong to my ears. His lyrics are buried in some weird effect, the rhythm track doesn’t hop out at me like I wish it would. The title continues to bug me through each chorus. The little synth breakdown sounds tailored for the Japanese market, like a demo for some new Casio product. This could have been a much better song if done by even late-period XTC – and that’s the third relatively high compliment I’ve given this guy over the years.
Hurricane – Ugh! What’s with the fake British accent and Duran Duran effects? I get the sense I will never enjoy a lyric by this guy. I’m going to have to skip the rest of this song. He’s making me feel like I’m back in college, wasted and wanting to pick a fight with some perfectly decent guy at a party for nothing more than aesthetic differences.
Anondah – This album’s now making me appreciate Peter Gabriel’s 4th album and beyond. I recently pulled out a much better album of this kind of British, ’80s gloom-pop, Colin Newman’s A-Z. Do you know that album, Oats? It’s moody, brainy, slightly experimental, and rooted in pop hooks. This “Anondah” song is now sounding like all the Bowie songs I’ve found intolerable over the years. What’s this middle eighth? Was he chugging Sunny D during the making of this album?
Komplicated Man – The purposeful misspelling of “complicated” bodes extremely poorly! So far this song most reminds me of the album a friend shoved on me years ago, Author Unknown, or something like that: lots of well-crafted pop hooks and the promise of something really good only to have the rug pulled out from under me with unexpected turns down the alleys of deep cuts on The Police’s Ghosts in the Machine, the band’s one “difficult,” mushy album. This is the kind of song that, thankfully, Andy Partridge is too fucked up to have written.
Runaway – If I had any faith that Falkner could deliver a song I could wholly embrace I’d be anticipating something great from this slow-building intro…hey, so far, so good. Don’t lose me on the major to minor part on the chorus – and please don’t get lost up the ass of another clever chorus… OK, he’s getting back to another real verse… This may be the best thing I’ve ever heard from this guy, sounding like a cross between XTC and Pink Floyd, without the emotional torment from either Partridge or Waters, but hey, at least it doesn’t sound like another attempt at re-creating the magic that was Bowie’s Glass Spider. I hope he has the good sense to get out shortly after this “My love will last long” section. The synth and guitar solo sounds like it’s actually going to wrap up – NOPE! He’s going to milk it. There’s still hope if he can get through this chorus with his dignity… Well, he’s not kidding about his love lasting long. I think it’s time he contacts his physician.
Say It’s True – Is this intro what Scott Walker 4 sounds like? It’s one thing for an American to sing in a fake British accent – I’m usually cool with that – but is he dropping his h’s, like some Home Counties Boy? Oh come on, does this song really need a dinky electric piano and George Harrison guitar solo? What is this, a friggin’ Gary Wright album all of a sudden? This Falkner guy needs to get his bangs curled over and start wearing silk blouses. As with so many of his songs, there are plenty of traces of interesting bits within this mess, but man, this approach to music making should have been OUTLAWED after 1998. The dream is over…
Contact – Yeah, I’ve always wished for a Talk Talk reunion. What really hurts about this is thinking of how much I like all of you Falkner fans as people and how much I share with you in terms of musical values, but now this album – along with everything else I’ve heard by him excepting his Beatles kids’ album – is lurking in the background whenever I see you. Man, that’s a heavy burden to bear. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about as you have to deal with something you find troubling in my collection. Let’s get through this together, OK? I’m OK, You’re OK, and all that jazz.
This Life of Mine – A philosophical ending? Time to get back into that Moody Blues costume? The orchestration that’s already building in the first verse tells me this bad boy is going to play on for some time. Man, he’s really into love! Wow, he wants to love her, but he don’t know how. Who’s he got waiting for him back home, Donna Reed? Come on, you know the real reason he’s cranking out this album for the Japanese market. Man, this guy needs a serious wedgie, and here I am back to my 19-year-old asshole self again. Thanks a lot, Oats! At least he wrapped up the song in a reasonable time.
I admire you Falkner fans and your patience with me.
MR. Mod, I admire the fact that you can do such a comprehensive effort of reviewing material you don’t really care for! I would have gotten nauseous a long time ago and turned it off. You have the patience and tolerance of a saint.
Bravo, Mr. Mod! You went above and beyond. Thanks for starting my work day with some high hilarity.
On the whole, I can’t say I totally disagree with your general outlook on this album. Falkner’s definitely spinning his wheels here. I think he needs to work with other musicians, rather than play everything himself. It’s like I knew what all the instrumental hooks were going to sound like already.
Hey cher, we should be last.fm friends. Here’s my profile: http://www.last.fm/user/shakeymike.
Going to Last FM now.. I don’t know how to use it too well, I just scrobble for the bots, you know.
Feel free (all) to friend me on there:
http://www.last.fm/user/arconaut
Actually, this thread reminds me of something I could’ve posted in the “Anticipation” thread: I am out and open of my love for Jellyfish, and was in a phase where I would buy any album related to that band. Some sucked, (Imperial Drag), some where just ok (Umajets) and some were a mix of very good and blah (The Grays). So that first Jason Falkner album was highly anticipated, and I went to a record store on the day of release to buy it. But then didn’t have it. So I went elsewhere, with no luck.
For an entire week, I stopped in various record stores – now this isn’t in Peoria, I’m talking Manhattan and Brooklyn – and I could not find that f-ing album anywhere.
My main issues with Falkner are his tendency to write pretentious lyrics (which I think has toned down a lot since The Greys and that first solo album) and the harsh fact that I don’t find his singing voice that interesting. Still, I think this is one of his more solid albums.
Also, I have enjoyed his production work with Brendan Benson, and some of the stuff he did with Eric Matthews.
Link to the stream doesn’t work for me…
I just checked it again, mrclean. Here’s the URL, if that helps:
http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/7
Aha – it doesn’t work in Firefox. IE only it seems…
Phaugh. I hate to admit it, but I mostly agree with the Mod, even as fan of The Grays, Author Unknown and Can You Still Feel? But it’s the guitar driven-Sloany side of that stuff that I dig. As Mod has demonstrated in his disdain for 168-string guitars, I would decry the 101 varieties of 80s keyboards cheese dominating on here. Granted there’s always been some of that with Falkner. Komplicated Man is pretty good as an echo of prior material, but with that spelling, I wish it sounded more like the Kinks, some power chord oomph. His lyrics still seem strewn with psychobabble, cher, maybe I’m still seeing backstory or something.
I agree a contrast to his own schtick would be helpful in here, but I suspect the album would have gone even further away from my personal preferences, and back to Til Thursday or something.
OK – I got the link to work in IE7 and was going to let it play while working from home today but after the first few songs found myself jumping to the next track after a verse and chorus…
I always had this impression of Falkner as a hot-shit guitar player – called into juice up the affair and provide some power poppy songwriting input but the stuff he’s written here is pretty pedestrian. It all sounds very 1980’s to me. I enjoyed Mr. Mods reviews.
It could be said that this release was written for teenage Japanese girls…not US rock nerds…so maybe he was onto something?
I’m on the pro-Jason Falkner team as a rule. I am a huge fan of The Grays, especially his songs on their cd.
That said, I just don’t have room in my CD/mp3 collection for another white-guy-power-pop-one-man-band-indie-label-loves-elo-loves-mccartney-record.
This one however is well done and I would download it from emusic if I had not just quit for the reason listed above.
I dare Mr. Mod to finally post his thoughts on the Hear Factor CD he was sent about a year ago!
Streaming it now — totally digging this first song. A big bronx cheer is sent to all the pussies who can’t handle pulsating 80s keyboards in their rock!
Second song — Another good ‘un. Mod, why are you so afraid of complexity in your pop music? Why is complexity okay from proggers — folks who don’t use it to any tuneful effect — but not from pop dudes like JF? I don’t get you.
Third song — good stuff! Same for fourth, fifth, etc. Good record, sez me! Back to work!
Interestingly, this “Stephanie Tells Me” song is the one I like *least* so far. But I can see how the dyed-in-the-wool poppists around here would be stuck on it.
“Hurricane” — Ugh is right. Good call, Mod. How did this B-side make the album?!
Hrrundi, at the risk of making a complete fool of myself (what else is new?), 1) I am in no way afraid of complexity in music, and 2) I have written and recorded my share of Prock music with my musical mates over the years and I’m confident that it’s MUCH more worthwhile than this turd of an album. I have no beef with tunefulness, but I’m really turned off by the guy’s seeming inability to have anything to offer musically. This is fancy vending machine food, not a meal, not a snack, not even old fashioned junk food! Of course you may be into that stuff.