Actually, it should be said that some of these songs are extremely fun to try to sing along to, albeit in a weird raving lunatic sort of way.
I've now listened to
Trout Mask Replica a total of three times. I still don't get it. To me, there doesn't seem to be any sort of natural progression to this music. It's like what you'd expect to hear if you handed out a bunch of random instruments to some non-musicians and told them to try to play something. Noise for the sake of making noise. Not only that, it's UGLY, obnoxious noise. If they're going to insist on offering up such bland, inaccessible textures, they could at least have the courtesy to provide us with some individually compelling sounds. Instead, each musical line sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. Is the canonization of this album just some sick joke? Are those spoken word bits supposed to be funny? WTF is this shit?
I doubt I'll ever have the urge to listen to
Trout Mask Replica again. Everyone says that it's a grower, but I'm not sure I have the patience to explore it any further. For now, go ahead and pencil me in on the "uninitiated" list.
The Eminem Show is surprisingly very good. I was a little concerned when I heard that Eminem was taking over the production reins from Dr. Dre, but I think it's turned out to be a non-issue. This new album is very much in the same style as
The Marshall Mathers LP...heavy, enticingly simple hard-driving beats contrasted with sporatic, trebley instrumental elements and Eminem's familiar thousand-words-per-minute ranting. Now I have the feeling that I've said something similar about other hip-hop albums before, but on this album, these divisions are as readily apparent as ever. Yet again though, it's Eminem's vocals that serve as the main musical highlight. While his voice has a kind of punk-kid quality that I would normally find irritating, Eminem's flow is so natural and effortless that it tends to overshadow any other vocal misgivings. In the end, the effectiveness of his delivery makes his voice seem more identifiable and quirky than annoying. It's a shame that all anyone ever wants to talk about are Eminem's lyrics, because his ability to bend and manipulate the most unweildly of phrases to fit within the parameters of a song are second to none. I can't be the only one that's read through the lyric book and thought, "How in the world does he turn that into music?".
Now if you do want to talk about lyrics, it should be said that
The Eminem Show has an entirely different focus than the previous album. It's just as self-absorbed as his other work, but strangely (the album cover depicts a stage), it's less theatrical. Eminem seems less intent on spewing forth random hate just to stir the pot and speaks mostly about the nature of his own personal ties and societal influence. The scathing personal attacks are directed mainly towards his mother and ex-wife, basically blaming them for the disintegration of both respective relationships. The high esteem he holds for his daughter is even more pronounced on this album than the last, and if we didn't know better, we could at times almost mistake Eminem for a role model. Almost. Gone, nearly completely, is the anti-homosexual sentiment that was spread throughout the
Marshall Mathers LP. It's difficult to tell whether this was done to appease the gay activists or if it was due to a guilt-induced change of heart. Considering that we're talking about Eminem here, the most keenly self-aware artist in popular music, he probably figured that any further sensationalized gay bashing would be perceived as a desperate attempt to capture lightning in a bottle twice and would end up being career suicide. Personally, I'm glad he ditched that particular angle, as he's too talented an artist to have to rely on such cheap heat. Instead, we get an increased level of heterosexual content, definitely lewd, raunchy, and sometimes off-putting, though far from shocking. Actually, the same thing could be said for the entire album. The most apparent observation that can made about the content, and probably the only one that matters in the end, is that the public's reaction to the lyrics will ultimately be far more interesting than the lyrics themselves.
Almost finished making CDR's of Saint Etienne's
Tiger Bay for everyone. Since this is one of my favorite albums, I thought I might as well provide a brief track-by-track. Because I've made it a policy to try to avoid actively hyping music to most people, I don't often get the opportunity to gush over an album in the way I'm about to. I've always been under the belief that it's easier to write about music that you hate than it is to write about music you unabashedly love, so if this ends up sucking, I'm sorry...
Saint Etienne - Tiger Bay (U.S. version)
Track-by-track
"Urban Clearway" sets the stage, pitting a heavy, hard driving rhythm against the rich sounds of a harp and sweeping strings. This song is the very definition of the word "lush", though thankfully, the orchestral aspects are never quite convincing enough to imply that this is anything but a grand dancefloor romp. However, being that all we've been introduced to so far is the modern/classical duality of the instrumentation, even in all it's brilliance, "Urban Clearway" is only a sign of what's to come.
It isn't until a few seconds into "Hug My Soul", after what may be the most perfect intro in the history of pop music, that the baton is passed to the third player in all of this. This is where the strings take a sudden, spine-tingling downward arc and we're thrust into an aural expanse filled by the coos of one Sarah Cracknell, owner of a voice so warm it could melt your heart. Lacking a bit in vocal range, Sarah more than makes up for it through her expressiveness. Glamorous and elegeant, yet still wholly innocent, this is the voice of an angel. It's this sweet, passionate voice that leads us through what can only be considered an epic pop song. Not afraid to be beautiful, "Hug My Soul", in my mind, triumphs over the accusations that it's too fey or kitschy, and is simply one of the most stunning pieces of music I've ever heard.
Here, we're offered the chance to catch our breath with "Former Lover", a comparatively stripped down ballad. With just the gentle plucks of a guitar, a wistful harmonica, and Sarah's lovely voice, it becomes apparent that Saint Etienne's talents lie far beyond just adding a few melodic lines to a firm dance beat. A bit of an emotional curveball, this one's sad, but still exceedingly pleasant to the ears.
If "Hug My Soul" is the dramatic, uber pop song masterpiece, then "Like A Motorway" is it's understated, yet equally touching sibling. The title of the song is obviously referencing the comparison made in the lyrics between a motorway and a woman's life without her lover, but it could just as easily be referring to the music itself. This song has a certain enduring quality about it. There is no vocal chorus, just an endless cycle of the song's rhythmic foundation that lead in and out of each verse. It's almost like an uninterrupted stream of thought, that to me, isn't all that dissimilar to the contemplative feeling you might have on a long, lonely drive, lost in your own thoughts. Everything seems so serene and undisturbed that you tend to forget that you're traveling at 80 mph and that life is passing you by with every second. That's how this song makes me feel. A classic pop moment.
In "On The Shore" we've taken a detour from the clearways and motorways, instead plopping down to enjoy the scenery. Mostly an instrumental piece, "On The Shore" maintains an atmosphere that would be best described as organic. We hear the soothing sounds of an oboe along with some noises that could easily be mistaken as cricket chirps and frog croaks. On The Shore of the swamp maybe? Still enchanting, nonetheless.
"Marble Lions" sounds like a late night lament for, well...I don't know. Being that I don't really focus on lyrics, it doesn't really matter. The song is still gorgeous. Being one of the songs co-written by Sarah Cracknell ("Hug My Soul" being the other), this is basically a showcase for her sweet, honey-dipped voice. If by this point you aren't completely in love (don't take this comment at face value Rick Carlisle) and swooning at the "Don't say goodbye..." part, there is no hope for you.
"Pale Movie" is certainly a fantastic song through and through, but I just want to focus on one part. When played at high volume, very few pop moments sound as exhilarating as the sudden kick out of the chorus at 1:41. During the chorus, the song builds up to unbelievable intensity as strings swell and a heavy wailing is introduced in the background. This is where critical mass is reached and everything begins to collapse in on itself. Begin, a frenzied barrage of computerized beeps and blips, along with the gut feeling that this song could potentially burst at any moment. Suddenly, the drumming picks up to a near frantic pace and then...FOOM!, a quick descent back to square one, all that tension released in one exhausting fell swoop. The aural equivalent of being launched into the stratosphere by way of slingshot. Awesome.
Relentless...brutal...unforgiving... See through the haze and you can feel every beat pulsate through your body. Hope you're a glutton for punishment. I am. "Cool Kids Of Death"
A last minute addition to the U.S. version of
Tiger Bay, "I Was Born On Christmas Day" reminds me a little bit of the Pet Shop Boys
Very. A throbbing disco beat, luxurious use of orchestral sweep, brief intervals of oscillating digital tones, hypersensitive male vocals...all the components are there. Being that
Very is one of my favorite albums ever, you can probably guess what I think of this song. Sure Tim Burgess almost sounds too wimpy, but after being beaten senseless by "Cool Kids Of Death", I don't think I have the will to complain anymore. :)
"Boy Scouts Of America" is kind of an eerie note to end on. It makes more sense following the "Tankerville" medley on the U.K. version of the album, but I think the contrast with the rest of the songs on the U.S. version makes it an interesting inclusion here as well.
Well, that's it. Actually, on the version of the album that I have, there are remixes of "Hug My Soul" and "Like A Motorway" that, surprisingly, are just as good as and in some ways better than the originals. You won't be getting those if you're getting your copy of
Tiger Bay from me though. If you want em', you can aquire them "elsewhere", but hopefully you'll do the right thing and just buy the damn album.
Listening to the Sugababes new single "Freak Like Me". It's strange how things seem to come around full circle. When I downloaded this, all I really knew was that it was riding high in the U.K. singles charts and that it was by the Sugababes, who I already knew I liked. At the time, I was entirely unaware that the basis of this song was a bootleg, mixing some old 90's R&B song with a Gary Numan synth-pop sample. Let's just say it was quite a surprise when I pressed that Winamp Play button and found that I actually knew this song. Yes, I remember this. How could I forget? It's a "Torrs Classic"! Unbelievable. I'm already having flashbacks of those early high school years, a musical black hole for me if there ever was one. I didn't really listen to the radio back then, but I do remember riding around in the Torrsmobile hearing all the big R&B and "alternative" hits of the day. A more-miss-than-hit deal that always was, but heck, who am I to complain. Those were good times. Ack, I'm getting off topic. Anyway, back to the song...the original "Freak Like Me" was by no means terrible (it was even a bit catchy), but there was always something so stereotypical about it. To me, it sounded like what R&B of the time was
supposed to sound like. Looks like this Sugababes version has solved that problem. Obviously inspired by it's bootleg roots, the new "Freak Like Me" has a refreshingly unclean, fuzzed-out sound. That, along with the new high-pitched squelches, dirty electric guitar, and spaced-out tones make for the foundation of a pretty fantastic remake. Really, this song is to say the least,
off from what you'd expect to hear on the radio, American or British. Heh. Somewhat generic mid-90's R&B anthem spawns noisy, chart-topping pop mutant. What a great story.
