Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

There is a darkness that hovers over the songs on Wilco's seventh studio album. Beneath the earnest simplicity, the band seems ready to face the mirror. The title of the album tips its hand to the confessional nature of the proceedings.

One of the things that a band like Wilco learned is that you can't even please all of your fans all of the time. There were people who moaned about the experimental nature of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and "A Ghost Is Born". There were fans who pined for the alt-country of "Being There". Then, you have the fans who think "Sky Blue Sky" was too straight-forward. So, for "Wilco (The Album)", Jeff Tweedy and company decided to produce the album themselves, with the help of engineer Jim Scott. Borrowing heavily from their own sonic palette, the songs came together very quickly after Wilco returned from Auckland, New Zealand where they participated in the Oxfam International benefit project.

"Wilco (The Song)" opens the album with a clatter as Tweedy whispers, "Do you dabble in depression? Is someone twisting a knife in your back? Wilco will love you, baby." For the next forty-two minutes, Wilco showers their people with the love by wearing their influences on their sleeves. The album has the feel of a band channeling their new music through their own record collection. You can hear Big Star, George Harrison, Motown and Talking Heads lovingly sprinkled throughout the beautiful hum of songs like "You Never Know" and "Sunny Feeling".

But, don't be fooled. All of this clarity feels like the moments when the hangover wears off, at times. "Bull Black Nova" is littered with images of violence and blood. "It's in my hair/It's on my clothes," sings Tweedy with all the dread of a man who wakes up in a hotel room next to a body. Finally, he realizes, "This can't be undone".

Feist shows up long enough to add sexual tension to the mix as her voice tangles with Tweedy's for the lovely "You and I". On "One Wing" Tweedy moans, "One wing will never ever fly, dear. Neither yours nor mine. I feel, we can only wave goodbye." Its a sobering realization and a stark reminder of how Tweedy can make heartbreak sound so beautiful. Even the gentle 60's flourish of "Deeper Down" sounds haunted and ominous as studio noise churns and hisses under Tweedy's measured and distressed delivery.

There are those that will tell you that this Wilco album is not as good as some of their earlier efforts. That would be a shame since Tweedy and his partners (the same men as the last album - a first for this band) have crafted a nuanced and haunting album that sounds like the sun going down on a beautiful summer day.

Finally, the album rounds out with "Everlasting Everything". It's a beautiful meditation on mortality and the endurance of love. Tweedy sings, "Everything alive must die. Every building built to the sky, will fall. Don't try to tell me my everlasting love is a lie." The sentiment and the song are breathtaking. But, no matter how beautiful the noise, "Wilco (The Album)" is full of clatter and an unflappable ease. Even when the songs break your heart, Wilco gives you a shoulder to cry on.

After all...Wilco loves you, baby.

Michael Jackson - 1958-2009

I can remember getting up at the crack of dawn to watch The Jackson 5 Cartoon Show, when I was very young. If I didn't see it, the day just didn't start right.

It was like missing breakfast.
You just started the day sour.



I loved their music.
I still love it, actually.

Michael Jackson seemed to embody the kind of wonder that is meant for dreams. Seeing him moonwalk across the stage on the Motown 25 Live special wasn't just a musical happening - it was an awakening. I can't imagine that it was any less important than Elvis Presley gyrating across the screen in black & white. For my generation, it had all the gusto of The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.

It was our moment.

This wasn't just a star appearing for the first time...it was a supernova.
It was like waking up in the morning and seeing a second sun in the sky.

In that moment, he claimed us.
Then, we claimed him.

So, instead of remembering the moment of his death, like so many of us do, I will instead recall one evening when I was in 7th grade.

It was a school night. I stayed up late to watch Motown's 25th Anniversary special. It was late and I was fading. Then, Michael Jackson appeared to perform "Billie Jean".

Watch the video.
I'll wait.



His performance was so breathtaking, you could almost hear the collective gasps of my classmates in the night sky. If we had cellphones, we would have been texting/calling each other. I am sure of it. Instead, we rushed into school the next morning and talked about it before classes started. Then, we broke our ankles for the next few weeks trying to moonwalk.

For the next ten years, Michael Jackson owned pop music. He was the world's biggest star. And, let's face it, he deserved it.

In a previous post on this blog, I tagged "Off The Wall" "as an album you should own"*. It's an amazing album that never disappoints me. It was Jackson's breakthrough as a solo artist and it is the purest expression of his talent. It was the moment when Jackson finally eclipsed the fame he achieved with his brothers. In fact, "She's Out Of My Life" was originally written for Frank Sinatra and he passed on it. Because Quincy Jones was working with Sinatra and Jackson, he decided to bring the song to Jackson. Jackson recorded the song and made it his own. Jones later commented that the emotional weight of Jackson's performance was what made him so special. It takes a special kind of performer to give that kind of reading to a song he didn't even write.

Then, there was "Thriller".

I don't know a single person who didn't own this album.
In fact, I have it in every format.

I bought it on vinyl and cassette.
Later, I grabbed the CD.

It seemed like MTV was created for Michael Jackson. When the network debuted, the videos were boring and one-dimensional.

Then, Michael Jackson appeared.

His videos were events. They were cinematic in their scope and Jackson was like a movie-star. On the strength of those videos, and almost every song on the album being released as a hit single, "Thriller" became the biggest selling album of all-time.

Billie Jean
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
The Girl Is Mine
Beat It
Thriller (it's amazing video)
Human Nature
P.Y.T.

Damn.

In recent years, Jackson's name has been tarnished by allegations of child molestation. Because of this, and the bizarre changes in his appearance, Jackson became the punchline of too many jokes. I have frequently said to the young people I teach, "When I was your age, this was not the Michael Jackson I knew. The stars you follow now (Chris Brown, Usher, etc.) wouldn't have been able to shine Michael Jackson's shoes. He was all of these guys rolled into one...a thousand fold."

In fact, I often say to people, "If I told you in 1982 that Michael Jackson was going to be accused of molesting children, his face was going to be marred by unsuccessful plastic surgery, and he was going to become the bizarre, reclusive punchline of late-night talk-show host's jokes", you wouldn't have believed me.

I can't even believe it and I watched it happen.

I followed his career until he fell out of favor. Then, he seemed to disappear from the public eye.

Ironically, Jackson was planning a comeback and had 50 sold-out shows booked at London's O2 Arena, this summer. This was to be his legacy. One last explosion...and then, back into the ether.

The other day, it dawned on me that Michael Jackson may not have ever been truly happy in his adult life. It seemed his entire life was consumed by his eccentricities and the drive to outdo himself and his past success. Now, his life is a cautionary tale of the dangers of excess and the trappings of stardom. He rose to fame in an age of information. It almost seemed like the paparazzi was invented to follow people like Jackson. Because of this, the public had more access to celebrities like him. As the press chased him, Jackson retreated into the prison fame built for him. This resulted in Jackson becoming the first real casualty of the digital age. Michael Jackson became the first real example of a celebrity losing his basic right to privacy.

Now, sensationalism is more important to people than an artist's achievements. If anyone cared to do it, they could trace this trend back to the paparazzi's hounding of Michael Jackson.

In the days that have passed, my friends and I have all remarked that Jackson's death is like our parents' generation losing Elvis.

Why?

Because, Jackson was the musical icon of our generation.

In the past few years, its been harder and harder to watch Jackson turn into the frail and bizarre looking man he has become. When I would see him on television, I would miss the guy I remember as a kid. In fact, when Jackson passed, I called a childhood friend of mine and we talked about the night was saw Jackson and his brothers on the Victory Tour at J.F.K. Stadium - in the prime of his life.

He was so bad-ass.

I miss that guy.

But, his contributions to the world of entertainment are going to be around for future generations to appreciate. When I am old, I will be able to tell my grandchildren I remember seeing the finest entertainer of my generation.

If Michael Jackson didn't exist, we would have had to invent him.

He was that good.

*http://fortyninepercenter.blogspot.com/2008/11/album-you-should-own-112108.html

Jeff Goldblum....reconsidered

I share a birthday with Jeff Goldblum.

Maybe, this is the reason I can make sense of this guy when he appears on talk-shows and begins acting like a more jovial version of Christopher Walken.

I love Jeff Goldlbum in spite of myself. When he talks, I can barely follow his train of thought. He appeared on Jimmy Fallon to talk about his latest role on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. So, Fallon starts talking to him about the Jeff Goldblum game (which is a loose approximation of the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Game"), and Goldblum smiles at him - his lips almost always appear as if they are about to drool - and he says, "Yes, yes....I like games of all kinds", and he gets a huge laugh from the audience. Goldblum scans the crowd to make sure they are laughing with him...and everyone continues laughing. Then, it hits you...Goldblum is laughing at all of us.

Appearing on "The Colbert Report", Goldblum demands that Barack Obama apologize for the brutal murder of a fly. Goldblum went on to interview the fly's widow and paid loving homage to a life that only lasted hours. All the while, Goldlbum has a hard time keeping a straight face.*

Again, I am laughing.

I think my affection for the guy has to do with the fact that this guy gets away with this behavior and I don't. Goldblum is the guy I want to be, I think.

Oddball?

No.
Hilarious.

He's even funnier when he is trying to be serious.

A native of Pittsburgh (and eighteen years my senior...to the day), Jeff Goldblum is on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, every other Sunday.

Seriously...I want more Goldblum, not less.

I gotta fever...and that's the only prescription.

*http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/231216/june-18-2009/murder-in-the-white-house---jeff-goldblum

(video of Goldblum's appearance)

Sonic Youth - The Eternal

It's fitting that after almost thirty years, Sonic Youth are marking a literal return to indie-rock with their latest release "The Eternal". Their intentions are clear from the start, too. About twenty-seven seconds into "Sacred Trickster", Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo let their dogs off the leash and Kim Gordon sneers, "Press up against the amp/Turn up the treble!" This is the kind of blistering, psychedelic-punk guitar workout that has become Sonic Youth's hallmark. Clearly, time has done nothing to mellow the trigger finger on Sonic Youth's heavy-artillery guitar attack.

"The Eternal" is a stark reminder that despite their tag as alternative/art-rockers, Sonic Youth can be louder than a construction site when the mood strikes them. With the addition of former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold, the band decided to change their songwriting approach. Instead of writing songs as an entire song cycle, the songs on "The Eternal" were written in quick bursts and recorded in a flurry of sessions.

"The Eternal" is self-referential enough that fans of every period in Sonic Youth's storied career will be more than satisfied. In fact, this is the heaviest Sonic Youth has sounded since 1987's "Sister". It's also notable that the band's debut set for indie-label Matador give a nod to the band's earlier days with SST. The most striking difference here is that the songs are tighter than usual. But, the band still hasn't lost the ability to stretch things out with muscle and confidence. In fact, "The Eternal" sounds very informed by the band's recent "Daydream Nation" shows.

Sonic Youth has always been built around the idea of fierce independence. Because of this, the band makes music that answers to no one. You can almost imagine that many A&R guys have thrown up their hands after repeating to the band, "I don't hear a single, guys". One also gets the feeling that a single was never really a big concern for Sonic Youth. For that reason, "The Eternal" reaffirms Sonic Youth's promise that their music will remain exciting, challenging and consistently satisfying.

Dead Weather - Horehound

Jack White suddenly realized that his voice had been pushed to the breaking point. In the last decade, he has released an album every year for the last eight years. There were six White Stripes records and two albums by The Raconteurs. He had also been in three movies and recorded a James Bond theme with Alicia Keys.

So, he invited The Kills' Alison Mosshart on stage to pull some vocal duties for The Raconteurs in his place. It turned out to be a stroke of genius. Mosshart's voice echoes White's to the point of being flat-out eerie. Assuming the drummer's chair, White isn't flashy behind the kit. But, the fury of his playing is like listening to a man who has been rendered mute trying to express himself through sound. Having said this, the music crackles and explodes with a tension on loan from some of the best film noir. Horehound is a sleazy, creeping blues ride that has White, Mosshart, Jack Lawrence and Dean Fertita riding straight out of the grave and breaking their whips on the horse's ass.

"60 Feet Tall" opens the album with minimalist bent-string blues and echoing rim shots as Mosshart intones, "You're so cold and dangerous, I can't leave you be". As the band lurches in, Mosshart invokes the spirit of PJ Harvey as she spits her lyrics at the microphone, making each syllable stick to your skin. Similarly, "Hang You From The Heavens" is a churning neo-garage wailer that has Mosshart's voice erupting as a bundle of hiss, cooing the molten promise, "I like to grab you by the hair, and drag you to the devil".

Lust?

Sure, if that is what you want to call it. But, at the end of this love scene, someone is either dead or waking up...chained to a chair...in a room with no windows.

"Treat Me Like Your Mother" is a warped Oedipal love-note that is spot-welded to a synthesizer riff dancing its way over a Zeppelin-esque shuffle. The affair gets even darker on "Bone House" when Mosshart admits "I put your heart in a vault, that's how I get what I want."

One of the more electrifying moments on Horehound is the duet between Mosshart and White on "Rocking Horse". The guitars shimmer as Mosshart and White moan and scream their way through lyrics like, "I wrote a nasty letter and I sent it to the Lord. I said, 'Don't you dare come and bother me no more." It's a sentiment that calls to mind some of the masters of the blues. Its the sound of two people who realize that no matter how far they run, the evil they have perpetrated will only catch up to them. Mosshart and White play their parts at the top of their lungs.

The album succeeds on many levels because the spirit of the proceedings is so "right-on". It's an album that sounds haunted, but never campy. The songs are dangerous, dark and achieve a certain masterful stroke of storytelling. It makes you hope that there will be a second album by Dead Weather.

Then you find yourself wondering, "What will Jack White do next?"
Is there anything he can't do?

But you will hit replay on Horehound quite a few times before an answer comes to you.

(This album is set for release on July 14, 2009)