Over, and Over, and Over I'm Really Not Ready At All

Sorry It's been so long. Been feeling uninspired. However, I've been on a big post-punk kick. Specifically the branch of first-wave UK punk rock that really set the stage for "indie pop."

The Mekons have had one unique career and their legions of extremely dedicated fans and their highly unusual path from post-punk to more straightforward punk certainly prove this.

Often considered their masterpiece, this album is one of the first to be called "alt-country" - quite a feat for a British band. One member tells that prior to making this album he had been listening heavily to classic country and after a certain point the three chords of punk and the three chords of country became the same three chords. This album's sound is surely the result of that, and the addition to fiddle to the roster makes it even more prominent. This is not to say the punk has not been lost, particularly in the shambolic "Hard To Be Human Again." That song is the perfect gateway for the punk fan that will leaves them wanting more of this countrified mess.

Fear And Whiskey is also one of the great post-punk concept albums with the likes of Hüsker Dü's best works. The story here is one of a city in a somewhat post-apocalyptic world fighting a war (brought hauntingly to life in "Trouble Down South") and struggling to hold on to everything that makes life worth living: love, culture, community, and of course a good party. With that in mind, opening track "Chivalry," is the perfect intro as the ultimate anthem to a drunken, embarrassing night coupled with a hint of the depth that will follow on the rest of the record. "Country," perhaps the album's best sums up the album's whole concept as the lose souls of this city hold on.

People always make once-relevant political connections with this record about the Thatcher/Regan era. Honestly I don't hear it all that much, but that may just be because I neither really lived through that era, nor consider myself a liberal. So, if you see it that way,, great. You are probably all the more enlightened.


The Mekons - Fear and Whiskey (1985)

plus, for good measure, here's a classic early single.


The Mekons - "Where Were You?"

We Got Road, We Got Time, So We're Outta Here...

So, as much as I dislike posting two albums by the same artist close together, I promised something of a section on desert rock, so here's another one. Most likely the last one for a while.

This one went out of print later than the other two London releases from the Puppets, but that's not why it is so easy to find. This is available in any used CD section in the United States thanks to Nirvana. Released in early 1994 after the tour and famous MTV Unplugged set, this was unarguably the Puppets' most mainstream and most successful work. That is not to say it is not great as well. Cleaner and grungier (wtf?) than even the previous album, this one does in fact carry their tradition well and modern rock radio hit "Backwater" is awesome, no matter what some detractors may say. In many ways other tracks like "Never to Be Found" really pick up where Forbidden Places left off and "Evil Love" really wails. As hard rock as the band can get on the album, the Southwestern sound is never completely buried by 90s production and preciesely distorted guitars. "Flaming Heart," probably the strongest song on the set is the ultimate testament to the matured band that brought us all their masterpieces in the previous decade. The grunge era was in fact kind to the Meat Puppets, unlike some of their other comtemporaries, the only exception being the hidden track - a re-recording of "Lake of Fire" done in the style of the Nirvana cover, which of course, was maybe the album's biggest mainstream draw. If you ask me, Mr. Cobain certainly did not do those classics justice. This is just another worthy Meat Puppets album, and in many ways the perfect 1994 rock album.


The Meat Puppets - Too High to Die (1994)

Tomorrow You Could Start Anew

The first time I heard "Confusion is Nothing New" - the first real song on this album I listened to it about 70 times in in a row. I am not even sure how I managed to procure it on my dying low-tech 2004 computer, but something in it really spoke to me.

This is some very Los Angeles music. The band's name comes from an intersection here (I've heard, though I used to think it was a play on the Zombies song), and there sound is full of good vibrations and the local tradition (check out the Forever Changes-esque album art), mainly that of Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Additionally, their sound owes a debt to previous California cowboys Camper Van Beethoven. The band's silence and eventual and very recent official demise was jsut another reason for the shortage of good music in this decade. This album, though does leave them with a pretty strong legacy. This is perfect psychedelic country rock, and perhaps even more than Gilded Palace of Sin lives up to Parsons' title of "Cosmic American Music." The perfect laid-back Saturday afternoon in the sun sound complete with alternating Western lap steel and trippy organ. The indie kid vocals could be tedious to some, but they are delivered with an alarming amount of sincerity for the sound and at times even excel. Inaddition to the aforementioned track other standouts include the harmonica melody of "The Hustler," the blissed-out "The Sun Surrounds Me," and the successfully romanitc Sade (!?) cover "By Your Side." This is the ultimate soundtrack to a bike cruise along the Pacific Coast, or a day spent folicking in Griffith Park, or even just floating in a broken-into Beverly Hills pool blazed. Enjoy.


Beachwood Sparks - Once We Were Trees (2001)

I'm Not Easy, I Know...

In continuation of my section on desert rock and my arrival in the Paradise City, I today give you Green on Red.

I originally heard of the band in 2003 when I was becoming a massive Pavement fan. I found a page that listed each member of the group's top 10 records. I do not know what year it was from. This one held a very high position on Bob Nostanovich's and was one of the year I had not even heard of at that point.

Despite hailing entirely from Tuscon Green on Red were an essential and arguable part of the Paisley Underground. In fact, both Matt Piucci (Rain Parade) and Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate) get specific shout outs on the sleeve. They did, of course have their very own sound, though, in having a very prevalent country sound, while retaining more psychedelia than a group like the Long Ryders. If one is to compare all of the Paisley Underground artists to an earlier group, Green On Red's would be to the Doors all thank to the dominant organ. Lyrically, though, things get heavier with them than most of the others, but their often bouncy rhythms make up for it. Two of such examples are the title track and "That What You're Here For." Other highlights include the 70s cinema (coincidence?) one-two punch of "5 Easy Pieces" and "Deliverence," and the Southwestern downer "Old Chief." With that said, one needs to also give credit to the anthemic "Brave Generation," which is a supportive voice at this age in this time, but that's nothing...

Like many other great re-issues, this version has bonus tracks placed in between the two sides.


Green On Red - Gravity Talks (1983)

Maybe I Had A Different Opinion That Nobdy Ever Considered Important

Well it's been a hectic past few days, hence the pause in updates. Just been very busy with my arrival in Los Angeles living the "J" Fantasy, moving, and ultimately having all the difficulties with wireless and other equipment affected by such things.


Along the cross-country drive, which has been a noticeable theme as of late I spent a lot of time in the desert, which as a Northeast kid is really something new. It certainly made an impact, especially the brief turn in I-15 through Arizona. I had plenty of desert rock in tow for this portion. Tonight I begin what will be a noticeable, but not exclusive feature on that style.

I have always been a Meat Puppets fan, but seeing the group's home turf really added even more to that. This album, one that has been out of print for many years, and as a major label debut - stemming from a deal that caused the then-defunct band to reunite, is not uncommonly maligned. However, it is one of my favorites - perhaps the most after the legendary II and Up On The Sun. Many people are not familiar with it, unfortunately, but the Kirkwoods lived out my ultimate dream (for the context) and opned their mind-blowing perfomance at the Middle East downstars September 2007 with this album's opener "Sam." The fast-paced blast of cowpunk energy was the perfect way to start a legendary show.

The album does not wane from there one bit. "This Day" is reminiscent of the feel-good psychedelia of Up On The Sun even as the next track shows the band outdoing their own straightforward hard rock style heard in their later 80s work. The pattern continues through the whimsical psychobabble of "Whirlpool," and rockers like "Popskull," but what is a Meat Puppets record without the cowboy campfire sound of "That's How It Goes" or frenetic insturmental "Six Gallon Pie"?

Essential for even casual listners of the group.

Meat Puppuets - Forbidden Places (1991)

You Don't Need a Lover, You Need An Interpreter

Typically, when people talk about Camper Van Beethoven, they talk about the first and last records. I, however will mostly talk about the first two.

This album, originally intended to be two separate ones, as the title would suggest, really stands up to Telephone Free Landslide Victory and surpasses everything else the band made. It is a shame that this one is not spun around as much, and I owe it all too the short-lived Bernardsville, New Jersey record store Spin City which was open only during the summer of 2003. There, the owner had just acquired a first pressing of this, played it for me, and a week or so later decided to sell it. For a long time it was the top pride of my LP collection, and really deserves that honor. This, however is from the CD, which is a shame because one of the best tracks (arguably first as the LP lists the sides as "B" and "II") "(We're A) Bad Trip" is an inferior, yet more up-tempo version than on the vinyl. It should also be noted that this version is from the boxed set, so the track listing is different from the separate CD, but other than the previously mentioned track, is identical to the LP.

The record really picks up where the last one left off, which cannot really be said about the rest of the band's discography. Even more than on the previous album, though the instrumentals stand out the most and verge on psychedelia and further integration of disparate genre/styles as country, gypsy music, ska, raga, and southern rock. Some of the best examples of this are "Circles," "Abundance," the gorgeous "Dustpan," and the brilliantly-titled "ZZ Top Goes to Egypt." Like the previous album's re-envisioning of Black Flag, Camper pulls out another amazing cover, like Mudhoney, they outdo Sonic Youth in their own game on "I Love Her All The Time," transforming it into a delightful East-meets-West romp. David Lowery's unique sense of humor remains intact and the lyrics do not disappoint, though I admit are not quite up to par with the likes of "The Day Lassie Went To The Moon" and "Where The Hell Is Bill?" with the possible exception of "Goleta," an ode disparaging the Southern coastal Universities of California - perhaps an attempt for a local anthem for Santa Cruz.

Either way, there is nothing like this and if you like Telephone Free Landslide Victory this is incredibly essential and will not disappoint.


Camper Van Beethoven - II & III (1986)