SOUNDTRACK: BECK-One Foot in the Grave (1994).
It’s pretty well established that Beck’s Mellow Gold came out before One Foot in the Grave, although the recordings for Grave may have been earlier. This is Beck’s other indie label release that came out just as he was selling millions with DGC (One Foot in the Grave is another one that has barely sold 100,000 copies).
I have the earlier release with 16 songs, but it has since been re-released with 16 bonus tracks. The album was recorded with Calvin Johnson at his Dub Narcotic studios.
In contrast to the chaos of Soulmanure, this album is a lot more focused on Beck’s anti-folks style. And while there are some silly freakouts, the disc is largely a straightforward indie folk release. The disc even opens with a traditional track. And he has another song that sounds traditional (with slide guitar) but isn’t.
Sometimes the guitars are out of tune or overly twangy, but the songs are all serious and real, not noisy freakouts or nonsensical whaling. That’s not to say there’s aren’t a few silly songs. “Cyanide Breath Mint” is certainly weird and “Ziploc Bag” is a cacophonous blues song.
But this album is more consistent. Calvin Johnson sings vocals on the album with him (I don’t actually know which voice is his as there are a number of people credited with vocals). There’s a deep voice doing backing vocals on some tracks and there even a duet, on “Forcefield” in which Beck does not do lead vocals.
Probably the best song is “Asshole” which has a good melody and has lyrics that are somewhat surprising given the title: “She’ll do anything to make you feel like an asshole.”
It’s tough to say that the album is a precursor to Sea Change, because it is so lo-fi and under-produced and because the lyrics are more absurdist/funny, but the vibe is strong enough to make Sea Change a possibility rather than something that came out of left field.
[READ: March 1, 2014] 29 Myths of the Swinster Pharmacy
In continuing with the McSweeney’s McMullen’s children’s books series, this one is yet another weird book that my kids didn’t really like. I enjoyed it, but felt that the ending lacked somewhat.
Lemony Snicket books are often peculiar, and it seems like he’s really pushing the levels of what counts as a story with some of his books.
I love the conceit of the story–these two kids just don’t understand what is up with this building–what do they sell? And in trying to learn more about it, they have come up with all of these notions. Some of them are funny, some are absurd, some are serious, some are even true. But there’s no real sense of completion at the end, which is kind of a bummer. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra-Kollpas Tradixionales (2010).
Silver Mt. Zion are back! And they are noisy!
SOUNDTRACK: THE HOUSEMARTINS-Live at the BBC (2006).
I found out about the Housemartins after enjoying the Beautiful South, and since they only released two albums, it was easy to get into them quickly. This is a collection of live tracks from the BBC, some have an audience and some do not. What is most striking about the record are the amount of acapella works that are on here, and the, surprisingly religious aspect of many of the songs (especially for a bunch of guys who on the latest Beautiful South album say “No thanks to God, he did fuck all.”)
I Just Read About That... 