Top Albums of 2008
OK, I’ve been REALLY slacking off with the posting. But, I’ve been busy. New job this year, etc…
But, I was inspired to jump start this blog up again with my Top 10 album picks for 2008.
1. Gutter Twins: Saturnalia and Adorata (EP) - 2008 was the year that I was totally immersed in the Gutter Twins. Three shows in NYC, including the tour opener – it doesn’t get any better. I’m a Greg Dulli diehard, so 2008 was quite a year.
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! - Also, an incredible live band who I was able to catch in NYC this year. Too bad Blixa isn’t playing guitar anymore, though.
3. TV On The Radio: Dear Science - I’ve liked some of their earlier stuff, but this album is just great start to finish.
4. Greg Dulli: Live at the Triple Door - A stellar performance. I’m just pissed that I couldn’t be in Seattle for this show.
5. MGMT: Oracular Spectacular - This technically came out in 2007, but I just found out about them this year. Really fun, love to hear more from them…
6. Kaiser Chiefs: Off With Their Heads - Not quite as good as “Your Truly, Angry Mob”, but you can never go wrong with these angsty Brits!
7. Aimee Mann: @#$%&* Smilers - She’s even more low-key than usual on this album. But, the songwriting is great as always.
8. Replacements Reissues - The ‘Mats in their crazy, brilliant early days.
9. Nine Inch Nails: Ghosts I – IV - Trent is a genius. Although I couldn’t bring myself to go see him in some crappy arena.
10. Passion Pit: Chunk of Change - A favorite new discovery. These guys are like MGMT lite.
More to come in 2009…
My city was gone
Back in the 50s and 60s, Robert Moses was considered a powerful force of urban destruction. As head of public works for New York City, he had bulldozed blocks of tenements to make way for housing projects. He cut through the Grand Concourse section of the Bronx to create the Cross Bronx Expressway, destroying once thriving neighborhoods. There were plans for a highway that cut through SoHo and lower Manhattan, that luckily never came to fruition. He was even blamed indirectly for the disappearance of the original Penn Station, that beautiful McKim, Mead & White landmark, demolished in 1964.
But, along with the destruction also came great public works – Jones Beach, the Triborough Bridge, the 1964 New York World’s Fair pavilions in Queens. For the most part, his projects were meant to keep people moving, giving them access to beaches, parks and other activities outside of New York City.
The mass changes going on for the past few years are far worse than anything that Moses could have ever dreamt up. Many middle-income housing developments like Stuyvesant Town have gone private. Renters used to sit on waiting lists for years just to get a coveted two-bedroom apartment in a safe building with some green space. They weren’t the most glamorous buildings. No doorman, or concierge. Just an affordable, clean place to share with a roommate or raise kids.
Besides housing, many of the small retail businesses and restaurants that make up the unique nature of the city are being forced to close their doors. This change has been more subtle. It started as far back as the late 80s. I noticed the change while I was going to N.Y.U. In those years 8th Street was THE center of interesting vintage clothing stores, funky leather shops, independent record stores, 8th Street Playhouse movie theater – the only place to get the authentic Rocky Horror experience, and, of course, the famous Electric Lady recording studio. Plus, even though it was a chain, the B. Dalton on the corner of 8th and 6th Ave. always hosted to the best book signings. Lou Reed even showed up once to autograph his book of poetry and lyrics.
Two blocks West you could get to the epicenter of Gay culture, a few blocks South folk/rock history met Jazz legends. Folk City right around the corner from the Blue Note. Folk City is long gone – the place where Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and many others started.
Right now there are several empty storefronts on 8th Street, along with some soon to be empty. Will the new tenants not want the cramped older spaces, will developers start leveling the charming duplex walkups? Only time will tell…
Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York is a great blog tracking the day-to-day progress of the destruction of a unique city.
What I don’t know about Jazz
It came to my attention again, recently, that I have a lot to learn about Jazz. I kinda know the basics, who the legends are, and what they played. But, until last week I didn’t know that Miles Davis started in Charlie Parker’s band. I’m embarrassed to say.
There was a great article in The New Yorker last month about an jazz aficionado named Phil Schaap who hosts a radio show at Columbia University. He is a walking encyclopedia of Jazz knowledge and basically grew up surrounded by some of the greats who resided in New York. Reading the article, I started to think about how little I really know about Jazz.
I’ve walked past 52nd Street many times, and seen the “Swing Street” sign but didn’t realize that in the 40s and 50s, this stretch between 5th and 6th Avenue was the premier jazz club center. Sixty years ago it was where many of the legendary performances took place. Now it’s just another nondescript block in Midtown with office buildings.
I know more about Classical music and the composers, because I studied it in college. But, we were never required to read up on Jazz. And then there is the fear of not “getting it”. In many ways, it has become an elitist form of music that is heavily male oriented.
But, this is going to be my new project. Rent a copy of “Bird”, dust off my “Birth of the Cool” CD and hopefully learn something new…
Music appreciation with Andrew Loog Oldham
I became a Sirius subscriber in December 2005. Which means that I was one of the millions of people who made the leap because Howard Stern was coming in January 2006. I grew up in New York City and had been listening since the WNBC days, and I wanted to follow him to satellite.
I might have never invested in the equipment and $13 per month if it wasn’t for Howard. But, I’m glad I did. I only listen to the show sporadically these days, I think I’m getting a bit bored of the same characters and gags. It’s the music stations that keep me interested.
I can turn on Left Of Center – Channel 26 and get a quick education in the latest hot indie bands. Sample everything without needing to download tracks or surf numerous sites. I’ve discovered some music that I really like recently – Raveonettes, MGMT, The Foals, Coconut Records, and others. I can hear one of my favorite bands, Kaiser Chiefs on a regular basis, and not just their semi-hit “Ruby”.
Many times I catch the Kaiser Chiefs on Underground Garage – Channel 25. This station is run by Little Steven from Bruce’s legendary E-Street band. I have lots of respect for Bruce, but that’s not why I tune in. I love listening to Andrew Loog Oldham and his morning show (East Coast time).
I’ve always been a peripheral Stones fan. I’ve never seen them live, I’m too young to have gotten the real career-prime Stones experience. Seeing them in the 90s or even this year would be kinda like seeing Bowie in the past ten years, which I’ve done. He’s still good, but it’s not the Berlin years anymore.
Oldham is the guy who co-managed the Stones and produced many of their early hits. Listening to him is like getting a history lesson in 60s and 70s London – what was it like to be on Carnaby Street in 1967? The scene…fashion…the sounds. You’re there for a few minutes when he starts telling a story about Cat Stevens’ manager and some strange meeting that they had at his apartment. What kind of hat the guy was wearing, what he was smoking. There are the little details mixed with fuzzy recollections that make the stories so fascinating.
It’s not just music, it’s a religion. His description of a singer’s performance that happened 30 years ago will almost bring you to tears.
Some of these tracks are way before my time, being born in 1968. But they are songs that I should hear. I understand the importance of The Wall of Sound and know the basics of 60s pop and rock, but he’s playing the deep cuts and giving cool tidbits of history about the labels and the bands. I am such a nerd when it comes to music trivia, and I love that I can get all of this info in an entertaining way.
Just last week Mr. Oldham was taking about Einstein and Ronny Wood in the same breath. They are both geniuses in some way, right? Why not?
But, it’s not just Vietnam-era pop that he’s playing. There are also lots of newer bands that he takes a shine to, and they are mixed in with The Ramones or The Strawberry Alarm Clock, perhaps.
He’s supposed to have another book coming out this year called “On Hustling (How to survive in rock’n roll )”. If anyone knows how to do it, I guess it would be him…
The Slip – free but slow
It took almost an hour, but I was able to get the free download of the new Nine Inch Nails album – The Slip.
I wanted the Bit Torrent version for Apple, which became a long process, taking two attempts to connect to get the files. I guess everyone was hitting the server tonight.
The songs vary from atmospheric to classic NIN distortion and angst. The minimalist artwork that accompanies each of the tracks is a nice touch.
Industrial roots…new NIN tour
I was really into the Chicago label WaxTrax and the whole industrial movement back in the early 90s. Pretty Hate Machine from Nine Inch Nails was a real breakthrough for industrial music, and still holds up as a great album. A lot of people were turned off by the violent imagery and lack of an actual melody that was the driving force behind industrial. But, I liked the experimentation and power of the sounds. I didn’t take the rest of it too seriously. Yes, I had Doc Martens and lots of black clothing, but the nose ring and neck tattoo thing never interested me.
When Trent Reznor became an alternative/industrial god, I followed all of the Halo releases, singles and all. The other early side projects like Pigface and 1,000 Homo DJs also became part of my collection. At the time, anything involving Alain Jourgensen and Trent Reznor was gold.
I recently downloaded the tracks from the new Nine Inch Nails album Ghosts. Since my email address is now on the list, I’ve been getting messages about the new tour. Today I got an email about a pre-sale and the will be tickets personalized with the members legal name printed on the face of the ticket.
It’s a decent attempt to reduce scalping. The thing that is strange about this tour is where he’s playing. There is no New York show. There’s a Thursday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. This is an over-the-top glossy Indian casino where busloads of retirees and suburbanites blow their mortgage payments. What’s that all about!?
There are supposed to be more dates announced later this year, so I’m assuming that he’ll do a show at Madison Square Garden. Although, I do long for the days when I saw Nine Inch Nails at a 500 capacity theater. It is quite an accomplishment though that Trent has kept the public’s interest for so long. Years between albums, no major label support. Pretty impressive…
Love/hate RockBand
I have some problems with RockBand and Guitar Hero – the video games. From a business perspective, they seem to be a great way to promote singles and give new life to older songs. But, it also is a lazy way to get into music.
I know how to read music because I started studying at the age of eight and continued into college. It doesn’t make me a great musician, many people who are more talented than I am and have a better ear don’t know how to read. But, it’s a skill that I’m glad that I possess. Even if I don’t use it for months at time, I can sit at a piano and sight-read a song or play some Neil Young tunes on the guitar.
I’ve played both Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and it’s fun. I was impressed that I could score high on the vocals to “The Hand That Feeds” by Nine Inch Nails in one take, or play the drums on R.E.M.s “Orange Crush”. I’ve always had a hard time mastering the drums, I’m too used to playing the melody in a song. But, with Rock Band I’m a pretty good drummer.
But, the guitar controller is a different story. The plastic toggle is too stiff so you can’t even come close to replicating a real strum. It just hurts my hand and I end up getting booed off the stage by the virtual audience.
My fear is that too many tweens and younger are going to pass up learning an instrument to get the instant gratification of banging out a few tunes with their PS3. With Guitar Hero you can sound like Slash in a matter of days instead of years.
Also, for parents, they just have to buy a $150 game and be done with it. No dragging the kid to lessons each week, buying expensive equipment and nagging them to practice.
So, I’m kinda torn on this. It’s great to be Thom Yorke for a night belting out “Creep”, but it’s also a bad message for the kids. Do as I say, not as I do…
Record Stores R.I.P.
I mourn the loss of the record stores. Not the “end-cap” displays that record companies fought to control or the overpriced CDs. The experience of record shopping.
Any true music fan has probably worked in a record store at some point. You have all of this otherwise useless trivia and knowledge about band histories and releases stored in your head and need to expose others to it. During the summer between high school and college I worked at a now defunct chain known as Record World. The store was in a mall at the border of Queens and Long Island in Valley Stream, New York.
It was a great summer job. Everyone working there was heavily into music, some people – like me – were in bands. I got to carry around the key that unlocked the glass cases holding the cassette tapes. This was before the plastic security strips were introduced. Those cassettes had to be protected under lock and key! Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Hot Tuna. Anyone could just walk away with those tapes…
My favorite thing was the Phonolog book. It was this massive yellow pages of record releases, telling you what songs were in print and could be “special ordered” if they weren’t in the store. Every few weeks, updated pages would be mailed to the store and they would have to be added to this huge binder. It’s hard to believe that this was only a few years before the internet…
Being in a mall store wasn’t quite the ultra-cool store experience portrayed in High Fidelity, but it had its moments. The best part was the customers who knew one line of a song and you had to figure out the title and artist. Most of the time it was something in the Top 40, so it wasn’t too difficult, but sometimes the song was 20 years old and it took three people to decipher the tune.
I was also a big fan of wasting an afternoon looking for imports and used stuff. Walking around the East Village looking for that one New Order single could suck up hours of a Saturday.
I spent several days in London, UK in 1996 just record shopping. It was so liberating to just walk the streets of Soho finding import singles that would cost double in New York (this was when the dollar was still worth something). I came home with a whole extra bag stuffed with vinyl and CDs – Pet Shop Boys remixes, Afghan Whigs bonus tracks, several compilations not available in the U.S. I was very proud of my findings.
I went to San Francisco this past Fall and noticed that the Tower Records was being used as a Halloween costume shop. It was kinda sad. In New York, the old Tower music outlet and main store on 4th street are gone. They had some great stuff in there. It was a landmark of the Village.
Since I make my living working on the Web now, I can’t really complain. The online communities are useful, but there is something about listening to a track in a store and discussing artists with the guy behind the counter that can’t be replaced with the internet…
Family rock
I went to a concert yesterday at Town Hall in midtown NYC. It was at 1PM and there was a stroller check - They Might Be Giants were playing.
I had seen them back in college and a few times in the 90s. They were always fun, usually had some interesting brass and percussion instruments during the show. Would I still be going to see them at this point in time? Probably not. But, they are now part of the growing list of alternative artists who have gone to kids music.
It’s not much of a stretch for them – “Cow Town”, “Birdhouse In Your Soul”, would fit fine on a kid’s record.
The audience was all mid 30’s to 40’s mom and dads, some in concert-ts. I spotted a renegade My Chemical Romance hoodie-wearing mom, while others had dug out their old They Might Be Giants shirts.
My kids are 3 and 5 and they’ve seen TMBG before. The band has toured over the past few years for other kids releases. Yesterday my 3-year-old grooved along for about 40 minutes and then her nap-time kicked in and she passed out in my lap. My 5-year-old is mesmerized by live performances and was fixed on the band for the whole hour +. At home she’ll dance up a storm, but she’s very focused when a band is on stage.
It’s kinda strange watching people with their kids at a rock show. Or even being with kids at a rock show. Usually they run away and there is a parent crotched down trying to catch them. Or cry because it’s dark in the theater.
I want to expose my kids to shows at an early age so it’s worth the effort. I’ll admit that I’ll be disappointed if they aren’t heavily into music. Can I ban Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers from the house? No…but hopefully I can slip some cooler stuff on the iPod and it’ll eventually sink in…
Musicals that don’t suck
I started to think about Broadway musicals again when I was walking past the marquee for Cry Baby with my sister a few weeks ago. I joked, “I’ll never go to a John Waters show unless they open Desperate Living-The Musical“.
No, that’s not happening. Although, it would be pretty cool if done properly. There was an article in the NY Times this past weekend about Cry Baby. The music is being written by the guy from Fountains of Wayne and the Executive Producer of The Daily Show. It could have potential…I might attempt it if there are $35 tickets available.
Being a native New Yorker, I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to Broadway. I try to avoid the shows that attract the bus tours. I never saw Cats, and have no plans to wait on line at TKTS to see Phantom of the Opera or Wicked.
I go for the musicals like Sweeney Todd (pre-Johnny Depp). The last production on Broadway in 2006 had all of the actors also playing instruments on stage- there was no orchestra. Michael Ceveris was a powerful lead, and the legendary Patti LuPone played his partner in crime. Much of the cast was fairly young, but gave great performances. Too short of a run for this Sondheim revival.
Cabaret with Alan Cumming. I saw this production several times at the old Studio 54 space, once with Molly Ringwald as Sally Bowles. She’s not really a dancer, but it was a novelty. Most of these Kander and Ebb songs are a sultry slow-burn that bring the nightclubs of prewar Berlin to life. There were many Emcees throughout this production’s lifespan. Alan Cumming eventually left and several other leads took over including the stellar Raul Esparza.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the greatest rock musical of all time. I love Tommy, but this is even better. John Cameron Mitchell is scary talented – playwright, singer, actor. I saw this show several times at the Hotel Riverview Ballroom. This decrepit hotel off the West Side Highway was the place that they took the Titanic survivors. The theater was the perfect setting for the story of a transsexual who never hit the big time. His former lover is playing Giants Stadium across the river, while Hedwig struggles with his identity and career. The songs are Bowie meets Jim Steinman (Bat Out of Hell), and are just great rock tunes on their own. But, Mitchell as Hedwig was unforgettable.
Truly the worst rock musical ever – High Fidelity. The book by Nick Hornby and even the movie were so great, how could this musical be so BAD!? They sucked the life out of every character. The cute indie rock record store chic into Belle and Sebastian became a John Tesh fan! Whoever put this thing together missed the entire point of the story. I want my $75 back…
I’m kinda curious about Spring Awakening, although could Duncan Sheik really write a musical that’s good? ”Barely Breathing” doesn’t have me convinced.
