SOUNDTRACK: JARVIS COCKER-Further Complications (2009).
I really enjoyed Pulp’s Different Class album when it came out. In fact, I liked it so much I made sure to get This is Hardcore and even the one before the got big, His n Hers. I felt like the earlier stuff was just okay. So either they hit their stride or they got lucky just before they broke up.
Going back now, I don’t like those discs as much as I did then (maybe it was burnout), but I retained a fondness for Jarvis Cocker and his zany exploits. And yet, I wasn’t really all that interested in his solo output.
But there were several excellent reviews of this disc and I figured I’d check it out. And it was totally worth it. This disc is a fascinating collection of seemingly every musical style that Cocker has ever heard. Each song is laden with his (often caustic) wit and clever word play. And it rocks really hard. It was produced by Steve Albini (!).
Musically, there’s not a terrible amount of originality, but that almost seems the point. Cocker is trying on differnt styles, writing archetypical or over-the-top verses for these songs. “”Further Complications.”” opens the disc in what could be described as a Pulp-style rocker (But, and this is consistent throughout the disc, with much harder guitars). “Angela” is a dopey hard rocker ala the Stooges, while “Pilchard” is a fantastic near-instrumental with great breaks and stops.
The disc slows down on “Leftovers” which reminds me of a Nick Cave type ballad (although it is much funnier). “I Never Said I Was Deep” is, as the title suggests, a wonderfully self deprecating ballad. Funny and catchy with the delightful chorus, “I never said I was deep, but I am profoundly shallow.”
“Homewrecker!” is another great rocker (this one horn-filled). And “Fuckingsong” is a noise-filled, riff-fired rocker that seems totally out of character for Jarvis and yet works perfectly.
The last two songs take up a lot of time on the disc. “Slush” is another delicate ballad that kind of overstays its welcome at 6 and a half minutes (lop off a minute or so and it would be very tidy). But despite being too long, the song itself is really great.
And the final song “You’re in My Eyes (Discosong)” is, indeed a very disco-y tune. It fits in thematically with the rest of the disc somehow (probably because of how seedy it sounds). And it works very well as a disc track. But it also suffers from disco excess, in that at nearly 9 minutes it is too long by half. Especially since the last three minutes are (my personal pet peeve) just a repeat and fade/final note to the end. It ‘s the kind of thing that makes me not want to hit play immediately again because it really bugs me when a great album like this slowly fades away for three minutes. But then I remember that the rest of the disc is pretty fantastic, and I give it another whirl.
Good for you Jarvis, welcome back.
[READ: October 3, 2009] Automatic World
This is one of the first books I’ve read in a long time really just didn’t click for me. I picked up this book because of this fantastic review at The Walrus. The book wasn’t (and still isn’t) available in the States (although you can get a used copy from Amazon for $10), so I ordered in from amazon.ca. And the fact that I actually ordered it from Canada (and paid the shipping) is the major reason why I read through to the end.
But here’s the thing. Sections of the book are fantastic and totally gripping. But other sections are nebulous and confounding. And you get the real sense that the four (or more) stories are related, they really aren’t (as far as I can see). Now, I am fully willing to admit that I simply didn’t get this book. I’ve just come off reading (and putting a ton of effort into) Infinite Jest. I deliberately didn’t read Automatic World at the same time as IJ because I knew it was supposed to be a difficult read. So, it’s entirely possible that I was simply burnt out to really appreciate what was going on here.
When I just re-read the review at the Walrus, it once again really made me want to read the book (the review suggests that the book lets you know that the four stories are not connected, but I don’t think it does).
But let’s see what the book is about. (more…)
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I wasn’t sure who would be opening for Parquet Courts. I was surprised and delighted to see that the opening act was going to be a harpist. I had never heard of Mary Lattimore before, although on looking her up it seems quite likely that I have heard her before–she seems to be a go-to harpist for a lot of bands [a shortened list includes these records: Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts ; Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications ; Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo & Wakin on a Pretty Daze ; Sharon Van Etten – Are We There? ; Quilt – Plaza ; Hop Along – Painted Shut].
I Just Read About That... 