Album Of The Week - "Through The Looking Glass"

One might wonder why I have elected to blog about a covers album rather than something from the original canon of work by my band of choice this week, Siouxsie & The Banshees. Well, first off I loved their version of "Dear Prudence" from their album Hyaena & because I like cover songs and I adore albums dedicated to cover songs. I was a big fan of David Bowie's Pinups, Bryan Ferry's Let's Stick Together, Booker T & The MGs McLemore Ave, you name it...if it was a cover song, I was more inclined to listen more attentively. Don't ask me why, I just do. When it comes to Through The Looking Glass by Siouxise & The Banshees, it is a most excellent covers album to listen to any number of times. Never one of my favorite bands (maybe thats why I never chose one of "their" albums), but their choices of songs and album title resounded like a classic to me. It still is, as far as cover albums go. I wish there were more of them. The bands of today might learn more of their craft by covering more older material. That's how the old school rock bands did it and they still do the covers. Cheap Trick did some great ones, so did Eric Clapton, Brian Eno, Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, Roxy Music, Nazareth, The Doors, Yes, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Nirvana, John Lennon, The Who. I am not even going to short change the multitude of other bands from the past 20 years who have done the odd cover song. But, I do miss the days when a cover song or two was a staple inclusion on just about any album and by just about every group or artist.

Of course, the unique attraction of a cover song would have to be the recording bands' distinctive interpretation of the chosen song. In a nutshell, they have to leave their fingerprint on the song and its' new version (I never really liked covers that were a note for note version).

In regards to Siouxsie & The Banshees' Through The Looking Glass, they get full marks for interpretation and even higher marks for material chosen. The album kicks off with "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us", my all time favorite songs by Sparks. An immediate nod to that bands influence on the Punk musicians. Then the hall of fame choices go even further back in time with Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit", Jimi Hendrix's "Hall Of Mirrors" (also covered by Chrissie Hynde & The Pretenders on their album Get Close) and The Band's "This Wheel's On Fire" (which is possibly also a nod to Bob Dylan since he co-wrote the song w/ Rick Danko). What a fantastic selection. The only question I had was why "Trust In Me" from Disney's Jungle Book?

Side Two of the album kicked off with another nugget from the 60's with the Doors "You're Lost Little Girl". Back again to the punk roots of the 70's with Iggy Pop's "The Passenger", John Cale's "Gun", Roxy Music's "Sea Breezes". Every single song neatly captures the essence of the original and distinctly portrays Siouxsie & The Banshees more "mature" side. Thats the best way I can describe it. I somehow had more appreciation for the band and their musical capabilities when I first heard this record. Their showed respect and earned it, in one fell swoop with me. And that was before I heard the last & final track.

The song that proved that Siouxsie, Budgie, Steve Severin had some serious underground tastes in their circles - Tom Verlaine & Television's rare 45 rpm single "Little Johnny Jewel". For me, their version comes pretty close to capturing a similar angst to the original and yet able to take the angst to another level. Slightly more disturbing, too. Through The Looking Glass is one album to check out if you are into cover songs like me. (4/5)

Iggy Pop "King Of The Dogs"

The anticipation of hearing Iggy's newest record Preliminaires is near killing me. Just love the first single and interactive video on Youtube. Check it out.. http://www.youtube.com/user/iggypop

Lyrics Should Be Included!

Maybe I am old skool, but, this is what I truly believe.

Having grown up in Dartmouth, NS as a teenager during the 70s, there wasn't a hell of a lot to do for entertainment, except smoke pot, drink beer & booze and listen to all the great music being released in that decade. Buying and collecting LPs and amassing a diverse & large collection of LPs was something of a teenage social status for us. Especially amongst my guy friends.

Some of my fondest memories during the mid to late 70's was coming home from a record buying venture, first sneaking off to the garage and smoking a bowlful of hash or a skinny spliff, then proceeding to seclude myself with the headphones on & sitting in my room listening to my newest musical wares. For me, the seduction of the LPs' 12 x 12" graphic art was enough to captivate me endlessly, whether it was expansive painting on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew cover or the exotic menagerie on Santana's Abraxas or any of the Roger Dean, Hipgnosis, Creem designed album covers. They were so beautiful! (This would explain my current obsessive collection of Japan Mini LP CDs). Most all of these albums came with lyrics printed within the inside cover art design or on a lyric sheet included inside, most times printed on the sleeve containing the LP. There were times when lyrics were not included and that was generally just a bummer.

This is what I would consider a connection with the music. One is listening to the music, following the lyrics and immersing themselves in the accompanying artwork. Quite the experience (One reason I have despised the CDs introduction is the complete lack of that experience one gets with a CD). Perhaps this is one reason why so many young adults are now turning to LPs instead of CDs or digital files. They are seeking that some of that same experience.

But all of this is not reason for lyrics to be imperative with every release.

My point for this declaration is simply:

1. We are denying the listener part of the experience of listening to popular music. If that part of the experience is taken away from the music fan, then it becomes just another reason to consider the music disposable.

2. Lyrics engage the listener to read and use their imagination (Something I fear is lacking more & more in this day and age, as I see it in my students. (Thank you MTV, MuchMusic and Video Games for spoon feeding our kids with images, pre-determined stories for the music and denying them the ability to form their own imagination - Yes, I hate slick, record company issued videos now.)

3. Lyrics help tell the songs' story. Sometimes the story and purpose of the songs' story can get lost in the recording process and without printed lyrics alongside, it can often be indecipherable. I guess, if I was a songwriter, I would want my fans and listeners to understand the words and "hear" the meaning of the song. I truly believe a song is more than just chords, melodies, riffs and hooks. A song is personal and has a story with it.

Record companies, labels AND artists need to ensure that the music fan can develop an experience & connection with their music and the only way to do that is through interaction with the fans/consumers (this is happening thanks to the 'Net and events like "Record Day" at retail stores in Canada & USA), good music (not shite), quality packaging (INCLUDING LYRICS) and accompanying live performances/tours.

If you give the people what they want (and deserve) then the labels will find that their sales will increase and could, possibly, be something more of a reflection of the old skool days, which is something I know that many in the business wish for.

Welcome to the New Electric Church

Welcome to the New Electric Church. For the uninitiated, the original Electric Church was a quasi-spiritual belief that electric music brings out emotions , feelings, and creative ideas in people, and encourages spiritual maturity. Popularized in the 1960s during the Psychedelic era, primarily by artists & musicians, maybe its original ideology still has some relevance today (Uh, forget what is called the "Electric Church" today and preaching from the web).

Consider all the Electronic music that emerged since John Cage, Pierre Schaeffer, Karlheiz Stockhausen, Terry Riley and Edgar Varese began dabbling and experimenting in the 1930s and 1940s - the 1960s oscillating & synthesized sounds of The Silver Apples, Martin Denny, Wendy Carlos, & The Wozard Of Iz, the 1970s Electronic Ambient music of Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Jean Michel Jarre, and all of the surreal Electronic music since the 1970s from the likes of Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tangerine Dream, Cluster and Klaus Schulze. Consider, even the pop-tinged 1990s Electronica of The Chemical Brothers, The Orb, Aphex Twin or the modern Electronic sounds of The Boards Of Canada. It all emanates from the same "wavelength" - man's fascination with new sounds and man's relentless pursuit to uncover newer sounds.

As much as I like to "Rock out" or groove to R&B, Funk & Soul, nothing gives me a more pleasing (quasi-spiritual) experience than the near "out-of-body" feeling I get when I listen to Electronic music (Kraftwerk live was almost a religious experience). Besides, nothing comforts me better when I sleep that the barely audible ambient/electronic music playing in the background while I nod off (My favorite music to achieve this ecstasy is Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois' Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks)

I am aware that Electronic music and Ambient music have grown in popularity over the decades. One of my students, last week, told me that he was really digging Eno's Ambient 1: Music For Airports, as he had never heard it before. Immediately, I was compelled to direct him to a multitude of other albums, but I know it might have been a turn off at that point. Let him discover more himself, I told myself.

So, I turn to this trusty blog to help me mention a few other Electronic/Ambient albums that I think others will find interesting and, possibly, enjoy...

Brian Eno - Discreet Music, Music For Films, Neroli, Lightness: Music For The Marble Palace

Robert Fripp & Brian Eno - No Pussyfooting, Evening Star, Equatorial Stars

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene & Equinoxe

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Comica (Brilliant Ambient Album!)

Tangerine Dream (Early Years) - Atem, Zeit, Green Desert

Tangerine Dream (Virgin Years) - Phaedra, Stratosphear, Ricochet, Encore

Roedelius & Morgan Fisher - Neverless

Klaus Schulze - Moonwind, Irrlicht, Cyborg, Dune

George Harrison - Electronic Sound

David Bowie - Low (Side 2)

The Future Sound Of London - ISDN, Dead Cities, Amorphous Androgynous

Air - Premieres Symptomes

Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children, Trans Canada Highway

Bill Laswell - Axiom Ambient

Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk I, Kraftwerk II, Autobahn, Trans Europe Express, Radioactivity

Buckethead - Colma

Cluster & Eno - Cluster & Eno

The Fireman (Paul McCartney) - Strawberries Oceans Ships Forests

Flying Saucer Attack - Rural Psychedelia

Harmonia - Musik Von Harmonia

John Cage - Nova Musicha .1 (Compilation)

Luke Vibert & BJ Cole - Stop The Panic

M Frog - M Frog

Moebius & Plank - Rastakrautpasta

Moebius, Plank & Neumeier - Zero Set

Neu! - Neu!, Neu 75

Nik Tuner's Sphyinx - Xitintoday

Peter Namlook & Klaus Schulze - Dark Side Of The Moog (Series)

Popol Vuh - Einsjäger & Siebenjäger, Future Sound Experience

Silver Apples - Silver Apples

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music

For anyone with an escalating interest in Ambient and/or Electronic music, check out any of the above albums and you will not be disappointed. If you can think of any I might be interested in then please email me or post it in your comment. Thanks! Oscillate onwards!

A Wizard A True Star

Since I would never speak on behalf of all die hard Todd Rundgren fans, I can only speak for myself about him. As selfish as this sounds, I am glad that Todd has never become another mainstream pop figure or a household name. It makes the music that much more personable. I like the fact that, since I discovered Todd's music in 1972, it has remained virtually undiscovered by millions. (I admit when I hear people say "Todd Who??" I come very close to dismissing them altogether & when I encounter other Todd fans they are quickly placed on a higher pedestal, so I can be judgmental sometimes - big surprise there!).

Even during my years employed in the radio and music business, most of colleagues and peers were aware of him and a few of his songs, but only a couple shared the same level of passion for Todd's music. Heck, sometimes it made it hard to find someone to go with me to see him perform. Thankfully, my daughter has grown into and become a member of the new generation of Todd fans and has seen him live with me. She mentioned once that she was strongly considering for her next personal tattoo it would be of the flowers from Something/Anything? cover art (Oh yeah, Daddy would be proud!).

Anyway, Todd is currently on tour in support of his newest release Arena. The best news, though, is what is coming up on the horizon on Sept. 6, 2009 in Akron, Ohio.

At 8pm Todd Rundgren will perform A Wizard A True Star in its' entirety, for the first time ever in his career, at a special concert performance in Akron, Ohio. http://www.awatslive.com/

If the album he was planning to perform in its' entirety was Something/Anything? I might strongly consider it. If the album to be performed was, say, Todd then I might struggle with keeping my credit card in the ol' wallet. But, when I learned that he was performing A Wizard A True Star, I could hardly contain myself. That credit card was whipped out so fast the pin number is still spinning. I am on the edge of my seat and will remain there until Sept. 6 at 8pm.

A Wizard A True Star! Holy crap! My Rundgren radar tells me I would not be far off by saying that A Wizard A True Star is his most enjoyable album ever. Sandwiched in between 2 other fantastic albums - Something/Anything and Todd, AWATS is a remarkable elpee worth of tunes.

Sequenced and mixed like one long medley, AWATS was ground breaking music for Todd and also, at the time, for the industry, having squeezed slightly less than 56 minutes of music onto one LP disc. If I am not mistaken, it was the longest running full album available at the time. There was NO other album like it at the time in 1973. It was an incredibly unique listening experience and still is after 35 years.

Even some of Todd's guests from the Something/Anything side 4 recordings participated on AWATS, including Rick Derringer, David Sanborn, Moogy Klingman, John Siegler, John Siomos and the Brecker Brothers. The Rundgren camp also now included the French synthesizer player M. Frog Labat. The vocal tracks were primarily all Todd along with drums, guitars, bass, keyboards et al.

The music was other worldly. The lyrics were at times funny, other times almost hallucinatory and some songs were so emotionally inspiring. Songs like "Just One Victory", the album closer, is one of the most elevating & inspirational songs I have ever heard. The song "International Feel" seemed to evoke a question of allegiance to his fans, for which we willingly enlisted...

Here we are again, the start of the end,
but there's More
I only want to see if you'll give up on me
But there's always More
There is More, International Feel
And there's More, Interplanetary Deals
But there's More, Interstellar Appeal
Still there's More, Universal Ideal
Still there's More, International Feel
I swear something lies
in your ears and your eyes
'Cause there's More
You hear and you see yet you do not believe
That there's always More
(I know)

Then there is the painfully sweet "Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel". That one line in the first verse "Today I saw a car crush my little dog under its' wheel, It did not even stop, it just sped off and out of sight" pierces the heart in such a graphic & realistically cruel way, yet the rest is so motivating and reassuring.

Sometimes I don't know
I just don't know what to feel

Sometimes I don't know what to feel
Everything I thought that I knew starts to look so unreal
There's a ringing in my head that keeps me awake at night
Sometimes I don't know what is right
Today I saw a car crush my little dog under its wheel
It did not even stop, it just sped off and out of sight
Sometimes I just feel so afraid
But I know that no one else has it made
So if I just believe in myself
I won't need no help from nobody else and I can make it alone
And everything will be cool, I got to keep on keepin' on
There's nothing else I can do

Sometimes I don't know what to do
Someone said the world's going to end and I think its true
I thought there was some love in the world
but I guess I'm wrong
Sometimes I just feel so alone
I don't want to admit to my friends that I feel confused
I wonder what I'd do with myself if the world was gone
Something makes me stay on my feet
Don't you dare admit to defeat
And if I tell myself it's all right
I can comfort myself through the night
and watch another day dawn
And everything will be cool

Non sensical, yet far from novelty-ish, many of the songs were filled with catchy hooks, improbable sounds and more witty lyrics - "You Need Your Head", "Rock N' Roll Pussy" (Supposedly Todd's rebuttal to John Lennon), "Just Another Onionhead", "Hungry For Love".

Side two's medley of Philly soul gems "I'm So Proud", "Ooh Baby Baby" "La La La Means I Love You" and "Cool Jerk" is still one of his most applauded recordings (because when Todd records a cover song it is usually done with such precision, dedication and love).

The Dali-esque cover art of the LP, by Arthur Wood, aptly portrayed the music contained within. The finished artwork was groundbreaking and unique itself with its' die cut gatefold sleeve featuring a hallucinogenic looking portrait of Todd with strong surreal influences from Dali and maybe a little LSD. BTW - Wood characteristically implanted some hidden message within the painting but the meanings of those message remain untold to this day, even to Todd himself.

The picture on the inside of the album gatefold sleeve showed Todd, shirtless in the stylish glam, pants and boots, while shaving in front of a mirror. Surrounding him were all sorts of objects, paraphernalia, memorabilia, toys, stuffed animals, the works. The entire shot was colored in light blue/white mix. There was a poem by Patti Smith inside introducing the album and a postcard for fans to send in to Bearsville Records so they could have their name placed on a poster made available on the next album), plus a full lyrics sleeve printed in the same light blue/white tone. A stunning example of great LP album art from the early 1970s. A very cool item for any LP collection if you can find an original gatefold version.

There simply isn't one mediocre song on this album. As a teenager stuck in Dartmouth, NS, there wasn't even a need to do any drugs before listening to this record. The album art, the lyrics and the final mix of the songs was more than enough to fill your head with surreal images.

I am glad A Wizard A True Star was never a mainstream hit. I am glad more people have never heard of Todd Rundgren. That way, Todd fans like myself are able to treasure his music that much more. Being a Todd Rundgren fan is a distinguished role and kinda sets us apart from everyone else. Just like Todd.

Tune In, Turn On & Drop Out With CRACKER!

Without any doubt, without any hesitation and without reservation, I join the minimal (and still growing) legion of fans who consider Cracker to be the best universally undiscovered band out of the USA in the past 20 years. Let me go a step further by saying that Cracker are so damn good, the Rolling Stones should get some refining lessons from this band. In fact, the music Cracker is making is just what the Stones should have been doing the past 20 years.

Cracker (yes with a 'C' not a 'K') have a brand new album out - Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey! Just released in the past week, it's a winner for those who enjoyed earlier albums such as Kerosene Hat, The Golden Age, Gentleman's Blues or the more recent Forever, and you will relish and enjoy every moment with the new album.

There are some obvious stand out songs, ranking up there with past classics, including the up tempo rockers "Yalla Yalla (Let's Go)", "Show Me How This Thing Works", "Time Machine" and the infectious Camper-ish "Hand Me My Inhaler". Songs such as "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me", "I Could Be Wrong I Could Be Right" are every bit as good as previous fan favorites such as "Low" "Eurotrash Girl" or "Guarded By Monkeys". My overall favorite from the album has to be "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me".

There is even some cool guest appearances from the likes of John Doe (X), Patterson Hood and Adam Duritz (Counting Crows).

For me, the bias is like an undercoating. I had the good fortune to work with band when they came to Toronto a few times during their years on Virgin Records (yeah, I know the label is still something of a sore spot for the band). Fortunately, despite being a employee of Virgin, David Lowery and Johnny Hickman were great guys to hang out with. This just makes listening to their music that much more pleasurable. (Maybe they remember the time we were driving in a van back from a retail conference gig up North in cottage country and we almost crashed the van trying to avoid the 100 pound porcupine in the middle of the road!)

Look, if you like the Stones, you will like Cracker. You may even grow to love them as much as us die-hard Cracker fans. See them on tour as well. They just announced a bunch of North American dates (sadly, only one in Canada but luckily in Toronto June 23 - Woo Hoo!)

You can see a list of dates at this website - http://www.crackersoul.com/

Album Of The Week - "Avenue B"

I do not ever want to sound repetitive in my blog in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of other armchair musical slugs out there, but I just gotta say this...IGGY POP IS A GOD. Gods are able to perform spectacular feats and impress their followers with such displays of brute strength and compassion. Iggy easily fits that criteria.

There, I said it. With not an ounce of shame attached.

So, consider this about Iggy Pop - Not only is he revered in virtually all musical circles as one of the Godfathers, Granddaddies, Pioneers and Instigators of Garage/Punk Rock, but of all his contemporaries of the past & present, he is clearly one of THE most diverse recording artists. His vocal range is one that most rock vocalists would die for. He can scream, he can growl, he can croon. Over the years, his collaboration recordings range from Ryuichi Sakamoto, to Peaches, to SUM 41 to Les Rita Mitsouko to Debbie Harry to David Bowie to Medeski, Martin & Wood. The styles of his musical contributions extend from Punk to Hard Rock to Alternative to World Music to Easy Listening to Modern Jazz and coming soon, his foray into New Orleans Dixie Jazz on his forthcoming new album Preliminaires

All of this preamble, brings me to my choice for Album Of The Week - Avenue B, released in 1999 and Produced by Don Was. Most do not "get" this album and I have even heard quite a few Iggy fans claim they think its okay but generally do not prefer this album. I suspect it ranks a few notches below Soldier or Party.

However, I disagree (as usual when it comes to Iggy). I believe this to be one of his BEST and clearly one of his most under rated recordings. I love listening to this album. When a track comes up on my iPod, I am tempted to break the flow of the iPod "shuffle" and just listen to this album in proper order.

First off, the verbal interludes. These are more in line with his non-musical poetry and so entertaining to hear him "speak". "No Shit", "Afraid To Get Closer" (this one makes me wanna cry) and "She Called Me Daddy" (with its sarcastic snicker before the final verse). Iggy had never delivered these types of spoken word recordings before. I envisioned what it might be like to listen to a full album of him reciting poetry (Heaven!).

Then off Avenue B, is one of his BEST cover songs ever - Johnny Kidd & The Pirates "Shakin' All Over". The way the guitar chugs along with the shuffled beat driven by a penetrating bass line - such a great groove. As Dick Clark might say, its' got a good beat and its' easy to dance to!. "Corruption" sounds like it could have been on his American Caesar album, another great and under rated album of Iggy's. To me, the most entertaining track is his collaboration with Medeski, Martin & Wood, the Alt-Jazz trio, "I Felt The Luxury", the closest Iggy has come to lounge music ever. He sounded like a natural for some Jazz tinged music (I wonder if this is where the idea for doing a Jazz album came from).

For further proof of this albums' potency, check out the DVD Live At Avenue B, recorded in Europe. Songs from the album received their first (and only) live presentations. As always, too, Iggy is in fine form as the consummate front man.

Perhaps, the reason Avenue B fails to register so favorably with his legion of fans, is because most of his fans are still waiting for Raw Power II or are not advanced enough themselves to appreciate such grand gestures of diversity. For me, Naughty Little Doggie is the "dog" of his canon of work. It just isn't Avenue B. No way. Not ever.