The Stone Roses: Legacy Edition

Recently, The Stone Roses' debut record was given the reissue/remaster treatment, and boy did it need it. I don't know why, but for some reason a lot of albums released at the tail end of the vinyl era have an icy sound. Perhaps the crispness now available with CDs made mixers completely forget about low end. Albums like Disintegration, Bleach, and The Stone Roses, all desperately needed some polish and are finally getting their due. You can now hear "I Wanna Be Adored" as soon as you hit play. The outro to "She Bangs The Drums" has a richness that was never audible before. The intro to "This Is The One" finally has the full kick it always needed. All and all, everything is how it should be, but with one slight drawback in that "Elephant Stone" is not included. The reissue emulates the original UK release although they seemed unable to resist throwing "Fool's Gold" on at the end as a bonus track. It's a tough track to part with, and there seems to be no easy solution in dealing with its absence. Leaving the old version on your ipod sequence among these remastered giants will most certainly have a catastrophic plummet in volume when it comes on.

The second disc offers a surprisingly listenable outing of demos, resequencing most of the original album with an ample amount of extra tracks that would eventually end up finished on singles. 'The Lost Demos' stands as proof that despite John Leckie's wonderful production techniques, the songs are still great without him. Going on to produce such stellar records as The Bends, it would be interesting to hear if Radiohead's demos hold up as well as these. I'm sorry to say I have not watched the DVD yet but will most likely give a separate post for when I do. Still, even without the DVD, the demos, or the booklet, it wouldn't matter. This record doesn't make one false move (okay, "Don't Stop" is a waste of everyone's time), and now sounds better than ever. In a year full of more reissues than anyone knows what to do with, The Stone Roses might be the best of the bunch (although it is tough to beat those Beatles reissues).

UNRELATED THOUGHT:  Today I watched the film The Flame And The Arrow. In it there is a scene where Burt Lancaster says "...and send a message to Rudy: that his father will see him soon". Perhaps the inspiration for the reggae classic, "A Message To You, Rudy"?

That Smell

So I was driving home the other night after leaving a bar and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came on the radio. This of course has been a regular occurrence on FM for the past 18 years, but this time was different for some reason. Maybe I was still a little buzzed, but I found myself doing something I don't think I've ever done (or at least something I haven't done since i was about 10). I sang along. Of course I knew the words, melody, and every sound in the song from the first tight strum to the fading feedback, but I still never sang the song out loud before. It's odd witnessing a song become a classic rather than it just being part of your rock curriculum the way "Stairway To Heaven" and "Satisfaction" are. In fact It becomes fuzzy when one thinks about how "Teen Spirit" stopped being an overplayed hit and and started being a part of rock history.

Having first heard the song on Z100 (probably the most consistently mainstream pop station I know of), the song seemed to become instantly played out. It was a Gen X cliche before it even had room to breathe (Nirvana themselves seemed sick to death of playing it by the time they were on Top Of The Pops). It was more of a punchline than a song and it took some years for anyone to really look at it seriously again. In a way, we still haven't. The song is still complete blasphemy to cover, and believe me all guitar players know the chords. It's a song that no serious Nirvana fan looks to listen to - but still who would ever deny that it's great? (I'm aware that there are some, but they're wrong). I'm not sure if I'm ready yet to advocate a raise against the ban, but all I can say it was fun to just once sing along with it, if only in private.

Pixies. Hammerstein Ballroom. 11/25/09.

So it's now the next day and I have seen the Pixies once again. The show turned out to be better than I expected (in theory; more on that later). Rather than start with Doolittle right away, they opened with a few b-sides that were featured on the "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven" singles. While I was ecstatic over hearing fantastic obscurities like "Manta Ray" and "Weird At My School", only the people I was with and a handful of my fellow audience members seemed enthused. Of course when they launched into "Debaser", everyone was amped, and why would anyone not be? Every song on Doolittle is excellent and the band still can perform every track on it with plenty of chops and enthusiasm. As I complained about in my previous post, I'm not a big fan of the 'album-in sequence' concert, but the performance was great regardless of predictability. The encore was ample, featuring a few more rarities like "Into The White", which they dressed up the way they used to back in their heyday, filling the stage with smoke and a blinding white light - probably the peak of the show. A second encore was performed that included favorites like "Bone Machine" and the not often played "Dig For Fire" (arguably my favorite Pixies song). Too bad it was ruined by the meathead assholes three rows behind me that at this point, were so drunk that they began slamdancing and purposely falling on to people in the audience.

As I left the show I realized that a lot had changed since I saw the Pixies at Hammerstein Ballroom 5 years ago. Although the Pixies had become more popular than they ever had before when they reunited in 2004, they were still an in-the-know band. Most people had heard of them at this point, but not everyone had taken the time to listen yet. Their notoriety has only grown since then and unfortunately this has lead to some, shall I say "less desirable" concert goers to get into them. Before I go on, let me make this clear that I am NOT the type of person who goes to a show and just stands there. I love to dance, sing along, jump around, etc. The difference is, I respect other people's personal space. These guys were purposely (not incidentally) disrespectful to everyone in the audience. As the show began, two fratboy fuckheads pushed their way in front of two girls that arrived probably the same time I did (an hour before the doors even opened). When she protested their rudeness, they joyfully mocked her. One then proceeded to put his arm around one of the girls, slurring something to the effect of "hey, you're pretty...". I tried my best to locate a bouncer to toss these apes out but they were nowhere to be found. 5 years ago, there was none of this. We sang, we danced, we jumped up and down. We had fun, and at no one's expense. I usually think of myself as someone who likes music because it's good, never letting the popularity of a band affect my enjoyment. Last night though made me think twice, that maybe great music is more enjoyable when less people know about it.

No Surprises

By the time you read this, I will have seen the Pixies perform Doolittle in its entirety. The Pixies as you may know, are one of the most important acts that have ever come to pass. A whirlwind of indispensable music delivered over the course of about five years flowed out of this quartet without a flinch. Not only were they simply great tunes, but it was a sound that more or less invented the musical landscape of the 1990's. As the years have passed on, more and more listeners stumbled upon their genius, making their reunion tour in 2004 an unparalleled success. They have in effect never made a wrong move, expertly achieving critical acclaim and a legion of fans both young and old. So why are they stooping to this 'play our most famous album in its entirety' bit that would be more suited for a washup like Peter Frampton?

The sad thing is that this is nothing new. This 'album-in-sequence' concert is now very much in vogue. It was surprising to see an accomplished band like Sonic Youth touring Daydream Nation a few years ago, not to mention The Cure performing Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers as their self claimed Trilogy. In these cases though, it was forgivable in that they seemed like interesting challenges. Daydream Nation is a long album and had songs on it the band had not performed in years. Trilogy was a marathon run, ambitiously tackling three albums from three different time periods of the band's career. Doolittle is 38 minutes long. Not only that, but every song on it (save "Silver") are staples of their live set anyway. Doolittle is their most played album at any Pixies concert. So why remove the excitement of spontaneity and just play it in the order it was originally presented? It's a move I don't quite get from a band that could do just about anything they want and still be loved.

So Tonight I Did In Fact See

Tonight I revisited Mazzy Star's 1993 sophomore album, So Tonight I Might See. I bought this album one late August afternoon years ago, in hopes to soak up the last fragment's of summer's majesty. It ended up backfiring, as the prettiness of the songs seemed to mock me while the days gradually became shorter, foretelling the bleakness ahead. Sorry for the melodrama, but I just flat out hate winter, yet love New York, catching me in a cruel juxtaposition. Needless to say, I wasn't really into the album. I of course loved "Fade Into You" (the reason why anyone buys this record), and there were definitely a handful of songs I found pleasant enough, but I just wasn't in the mood. I've always known the time of year in which I bought it played a part in my opinion and I have listened to it several times since, trying to find a new emotion with variations of success. Tonight though I feel has been the first time I've listened to it with a clear head. The album is still not a great record, but it still is a worthy lesson. The songs sound like they were recorded in a sauna, reflecting the warm, relaxing state of mind on par with the aftermath of a cleansing shower. The keyboard on "Blue Light" is the musical equivalent of the glow coming from Hope Sandoval's bedroom. "Five String Serenade" captures a pleasant stillness that seems to evoke domestic outdoor imagery, like a park or a backporch. Many of these tunes drift in very nicely. The tracks that still don't bode well are the experimental excursions ("Mary of Silence"; "So Tonight That I Might See"). They are certainly valiant efforts at going beyond the Cowboy Junkies route, but they just come off boring, not really achieving any clear image or idea. The album's bluesy detours fit surprisingly well though ("She's My Baby"; "Wasted"). Slow and slinky, they manage to stay within the album's frame while being able to add a little beef via distortion. All in all, it's a worthwhile listen and I think it may finally be time to move on to Among My Swan.

Extended Play

The EP is a format that in this day and age seems to be both essential and irrelevant to audiences. The EP, shorthand for extended play, used to be just that - regarding singles that is. EPs would usually be pressed at 7'', offering about 4 or 5 songs total as opposed to the usual 2. It was often seen as gift to the fan, giving them more songs for the same amount of money (or at least less money than they would spend on a full length 33 & 1/3). As we progressed into the CD era, the single became what the EP used to be, often sporting 2-5 songs, while EPs would become more like mini-albums, ranging between 5-8 songs. More times than not, the EP has become the intro to a band's career rather than the stopgap it used to be. Over the past ten years, there has scarcely been a new artist that hasn't debuted with an EP before dropping the first album. It seems like a good idea, not wanting to overwhelm the listener with too much too soon. The thing is who is actually listening to these EPs?

As an avid listener, I don't think I've ever bought an EP by an artist when it was the only release to their name, and I don't think I'm the only one. Because they're not priced as high as full length albums, the promotional push is much less, making the EP harder to find as it won;t be as readily available in stores. Being that this is a band's first release, one would think they would put their best tracks on it to make a good first impression. But why do this when they are just going to be discarded after your debut album. It's clear some bands are noticing that many fans aren't going back to these springboard EPs, proven by re recordings featured on later releases. For instance, Arcade Fire originally released "No Cars Go" on their first EP which would later go on to be redone and released as a single off of Neon Bible (2007). MGMT released the Time To Pretend EP way back in 2005 which featured both it's title track and "Kids" - two tracks that became huge hits when rerecorded for their first full length Oracular Spectacular (2008). The lesson? Debut EPs might be short, but they may have the most important material of a band's career.

Confidence In Backcatalogue

It may just be me, but we seem to live in an age in music where more and more bands have the ability to make relevant music way beyond the age of 30. Artists like The Flaming Lips, Mission Of Burma, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have made great records way after their projected prime, whereas great artists that merged out of the 1960s such as say...The Rolling Stones, make a record every five years or so that of course everyone says is great at the time when in actuality they really mean "it's not bad considering how over the hill these guys are." It shows in their concerts. The setlist will tend to consist of a handful of tracks from their current record (if that) followed by a parade of FM standards. The album that preceded the current one is jettisoned, which only seems to confirm how irrelevant it is. This being said, it's a little disheartening to see two great bands, Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth, both of which I saw last night, fall into a similar pigeonhole. Dino reunited with all three original members four years ago and since then have delivered two solid records, Beyond (2007) and Farm (2009). Although they can be partly excused as their set was limited being technically an opener, I was disappointed to not hear any songs from Beyond. Likewise, Sonic Youth's set consisted of nearly every song from The Eternal (2009) along with a handful of tracks from their 80's output. A great show nonetheless, one still can't help feel a lack of confidence in their previous 2000's albums. Murray Street and Rather Ripped are indisputably great and will surely be remembered in retrospect. It might not be the best point to be making since a setlist consisting of 11 tracks from Sonic Youth's most recent album is hardly catering to a mainstream audience the way Paul McCartney does when he runs through The Beatles catalogue - I still feel it's important for great artists to believe in their back catalogue, heyday or not.