tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340246882024-03-13T09:22:30.931-05:00Teenage KicksPhiladelphia * Kansas CityMichael Atchisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149731312548258515noreply@blogger.comBlogger930125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-74061088512630832982020-01-19T14:04:00.002-06:002020-01-19T14:04:14.741-06:00Testing...1,2.3... TestingTrip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-75803448473367908322015-09-07T23:06:00.000-05:002015-09-07T23:06:00.527-05:00Faces Reunion Prompts Teenage Kicks ResurrectionSo this happened Saturday night...
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Generally I am not bullish on reunited bands reaching back for a cynical shake of the money tree and for the life of me I can't explain why. If the Baha Men want to tour for the next 30 years on the strength of the genius that is "Who Let The Dogs Out", and folks want to plunk down their hard earned to see them, who am I to argue? If Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson want to barnstorm with a couple of hired hands and call it The Replacements, sign me up. As a matter of fact, I did sign up for that one, and the show was amazing. If Westerberg is singing those songs, you can call it whatever you want, I'm in.
And now the Faces (those still those with us) have reunited for a one-off charity gig and I salute them. I know all the reasons why it's a terrible idea - Plonk is dead, they should have done it when Mac was alive, Rod's a self-obsessed fop who looks like he just stepped off Thurston Howell III's yacht, it's not really the Faces without Tetsu - and I'm with you, but I don't care. If Rod Stewart and Ron Wood are in the same building cranking out early 70's vintage classics like "Stay With Me", "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "Ooh La La", then you bet your ass I'm in. As 1-2 punches go, I'll put up Rod and Ronnie against anyone.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lDEOzwJ6ZtQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-60777768575085747622014-04-13T16:16:00.001-05:002014-04-13T16:16:57.277-05:00Best of 2012 - Top 55. Jens Lekman -<i><b> I Know What Love Isn't</b></i><br />
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That shy, balding guy who seems a little off and looks the guy from <em>High Fidelity's</em> Championship Vinyl that's not John Cusack or Jack Black? That's Jens Lekman and he just happens to write some of the most wonderfully awkward conversational love songs this side of Stuart Murdoch. Listen here.<br />
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4. Dwight Yoakam - <strong><em>3 Pears</em></strong>
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Since I am writing this about 16 months late, it seems like<em> 3 Pears</em> came out a decade ago. Of all the resurgent alt country artists that blossomed in the 80's (Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, etc. etc.), Yoakam is the one that has maintained the highest level of consistency in his recordings. <em>3 Pears </em>brims with timeless honky tonk that puts the current big hat poseurs to shame. His best since <em>Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.</em><br />
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3. First Aid Kit - <em><strong>The Lion's Roar</strong></em><br />
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The purity of voice of Klara and Johanna Soderberg is the kill shot here. The foreigners' embrace of Laurel Canyon sweetness , Gram Parsons' Cosmic American Music and the immediacy and earnestness of Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley is addictive, and they wrap it up in a delicate, homesick bow and sell it back to us much like every British rock band from 1963 to 1975 used American rhythm and blues as the template for rock and roll world domination. What's so great about<em> The Lion's Roar</em> is the promise of greater things.<br />
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2. Allo Darlin' - <strong><em>Europe</em></strong><br />
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I did flinch a little when I realized that 2 and 3 were adorable female fronted bands but so be it. Allo' Darlin's Elizabeth Morris will win your heart then break it with sophisticated pop songs that pack considerably more wallop than the ukulele sweet treatments that sometimes threaten to undermine the top flight songs. Absolutely gorgeous.<br />
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1. The Japandroids -<em><strong> Celebration Rock</strong></em><br />
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Rock and roll ain't dead. Am I right, Jake Hartline?<br />
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<br />Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-54324902498440192732014-04-11T15:53:00.001-05:002014-04-11T15:53:54.409-05:00Craig Finn on The Replacements<span style="font-family: inherit;">My <a href="http://teenkicks.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-interview-with-craig-finn-from-hold.html" target="_blank">interview with Craig Finn</a> yielded more material than could fit in print, including this exchange about seeing the recently-reformed Replacements play last fall.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: yellow;">You've made no secret
about how big an influence The Replacements were on you. I know that you saw
one of last fall's reunion shows. What did you think?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I loved it. I thought it was great. I mean, I saw them with
Bob Stinson [original guitarist who was dismissed from the band in 1986 and
died in 1995], so it was obviously not going to be the same, but it was
ultimately a celebration of these songs. And I loved the fact that [band leader
Paul] Westerberg looked like he was having a blast at the show I saw, and was
really excited about that.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;">I saw them in
Colorado on the night they came out in orange skirts. It was, um, transcendent.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah, I've seen video of that. That looked pretty amazing.
There are these songs, and they haven't run themselves into the ground, they
haven't made, you know, a techno album or anything, so for them to come out and
play rock and roll, obviously, they're down a few members, but I don't begrudge
them that. I just had a fantastic time and I thought they sounded great.</span></div>
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<br />Michael Atchisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149731312548258515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-67246358930935176272014-04-09T13:54:00.001-05:002014-04-09T13:54:40.292-05:00My interview with Craig Finn from The Hold Steady.It turns out that this blog is only mostly dead.<br />
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Last week I talked to Craig Finn from The Hold Steady for this week's issue of <i>The Providence Phoenix</i>. You can read the results <a href="http://providence.thephoenix.com/music/157931-staying-positive/" target="_blank">here</a>. If you go back through the archives, you'll know that The Hold Steady is the great whale of <i>Teenage Kicks</i>. It was good to be able to talk to the man who wrote the words to "Your Little Hoodrat Friend."<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UP8xL5dbJio" width="420"></iframe>Michael Atchisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149731312548258515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-28365435661559289252014-01-01T15:59:00.001-06:002014-01-01T15:59:20.843-06:00Best of 2012 ... Seems Like a Long Time (# 10 to # 6)Top 10 starts off with...<br />
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10.<strong><u> Cheap Girls - <em>Giant Orange</em></u></strong> - Cut from the same melodic pop-punk cloth as Superchunk, Material Issue and mid-period Replacements, Cheap Girls offer nothing new and I love them for it. Stripped down rock and roll with big, fat hooks could feed my rock and roll jones for the next ten decades. And I can't get over how much lead Girl Ian Graham sounds like the Del Lords' Eric Ambel.<br />
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9. <strong><u>Rayland Baxter - <em>Feathers & Fishhooks</em></u></strong> - Scion of go-to pedal steel master Bucky Baxter, <em>Feather & Fishhooks</em> fashions freewheeling feelings of fair-haired fun that owes great debts to the twin towers of Jackson Browne and Gram Parsons. Warm, inviting Laurel Canyon vibe makes this one go down easy.<br />
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8. <strong><u>The Men - <em>Open Your Heart</em></u></strong> - While I couldn't find my way in to the howling, distorted density of their previous <em>Leave Home, Open You Heart</em> opens their sound and delivers something in short supply these days - a rock and roll album played by Men. Ya dig Skate?<br />
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7. <strong><u>Mark Cutler -<em> Sweet Pain</em></u></strong> - I reviewed this album for the <a href="http://providence.thephoenix.com/music/140678-mark-cutlers-exquisite-sweet-pain/?page=1#TOPCONTENT" target="_blank">Providence Phoenix</a> in June 2012 and found much to love, noting "<em>Sweet Pain</em> is an understated stunner. Combining the subtle urgency of Tom Petty's <i>Full Moon Fever</i> and the weathered grace of Alejandro Escovedo, the album's charms unfold slowly and reward repeated spins." We need new music from Mark Cutler in 2014.<br />
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6.<strong><u> Gaslight Anthem -<em>Handwritten - </em></u></strong>Continuing their winning streak, the Gaslight Anthem's tattooed punk is perfect for two dollar PBR's and bar band sing-alongs. One of the best American bands of the last ten years.<br />
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Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-27975887311460543692014-01-01T14:41:00.001-06:002014-01-01T14:45:25.064-06:00Best of 2012... Seems Like a Long Time (# 15 to # 11)With apologies (and Happy New Year) to my friend Sarah, here are my favorite 15 records of 2012. She says I am 11 months late, I say I need time and distance to critically evaluate a year's worth of music. She says maybe I'm lazy, I say maybe she's right. It appears that 2013 outshone 2012 with more spectacular releases, but 2012 still had much to be proud about it. So here goes (with special shoutout to Handsome Bob Brandt for keeping the faith... gotta love the kids!)<br />
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15. <strong><u>The White Wires - <em>WWIII</em></u><em> </em></strong>- a straight up power pop record, recorded like it was 1980 and no one was listening. And apparently no one was, as I found this youtube clip from a year ago that indicates it was from the last White Wires show and has amassed 115 views in a year. But Ramones fans will love their dedication to the buzz and the hook, and so will J Johnny Mezz. R.I.P. White Wires.<br />
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14.<strong><u> The Vaccines - <em>Coming Of Age</em></u></strong> - Smart-ass and cheeky, more classic rock than punk rock, <em>Coming of Age</em> feels like a collection of singles and that's OK with me. Buzzsaw guitars and gruff, deadpan delivery from lead singer Justin Young provide easy access but keep listeners at arm's length. Possible future greatness... Joey P approved.<br />
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13. <strong><u>Ian Hunter - <em>When I'm President</em></u></strong> - Still full of spit and fire, Ian Hunter's <em>When I'm President</em> makes a case for the greatest rock record made by anyone over 70. 100 years from now, if someone asks your great-grandchildren what rock and roll was like, let's hope they just show them a picture of Ian Hunter.<br />
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12.<strong><u> Jason Heath & The Greedy Souls - <em>Packed for Exile</em></u></strong> - Lean, heartfelt alt country with a punky attitude, Jason Heath's sophomore album toils in Southern California obscurity waiting to be discovered all those Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty fans seeking a fresh take on their heroes' classic Americana back porch anthems. Come to Philly, Jason.<br />
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11. <strong><u>The Weeks - <em>Gutter Gaunt Gangster</em></u></strong> - Thanks T-Dawg for these guys. Southern rock soul stew that percolates and bubbles up with the funkiest bass this side of Muscle Shoals and a lead singer whose bored NYC 1977 via Otis drawl makes you want to fall in love. Coming to Philadelphia next week at Underground Arts. Don't miss them!<br />
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<br />Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-50685255353793593282013-10-16T10:44:00.000-05:002013-10-16T11:05:11.357-05:00The Secret Handshake<br />
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Trip and I were talking about this as I recapped <a href="http://teenkicks.blogspot.com/2013/09/once-more-with-subtitles.html" target="_blank">the Replacements' show</a> for him. In the grand scheme, the legion of 'Mats fans is relatively small, but if you're in, you're all in, and only another like-minded soul could ever understand. The Replacements are a secret handshake amid strangers. If you see a guy wearing a Replacements t-shirt (like Tyson, who I met at the airport on the way home), you immediately have hours' worth of conversation ready to roll.<br />
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Another one of those like-minded souls is our new pal Grant, whom Scott and I met in front of the stage that night. Grant managed to get an impressive camera rig through security, and he got some great shots, some of which we're pleased to share with you here (click on them to get a better view). For more, visit Grant's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29146411@N02" target="_blank">Flickr page</a>. All photos here are courtesy of Conway Photography and subject to copyright.<br />
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<br />Michael Atchisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149731312548258515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-4540716246625696022013-09-24T21:24:00.003-05:002013-09-25T09:57:02.662-05:00Once More, With Subtitles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(photo:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Replacements-Live-Archive-Project/129292827160400" target="_blank"> Replacements Live Archive project</a>)</span></div>
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On Saturday night, in a dusty field, off a two-lane road,
across a vast expanse of time, I saw the greatest rock and roll show ever played. You might want to disagree, but you weren't there. You're going to
have to trust me.</div>
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Of course, you might also have to let me translate. If you
don't speak the language of The Replacements, you'll never understand.</div>
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* * *</div>
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8,143 days. That's how much time passed between when I last
saw The Replacements (June 6, 1991, Columbia, Missouri) and when I next did
(September 21, 2013, middle of nowhere). That might seem like an eternity, but
I could hardly have done better. The boys themselves took 8,088 days off.</div>
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In that span, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Stinson">Bob Stinson</a> died, and <a href="http://teenkicks.blogspot.com/2008/08/replacement.html">Steve Foley</a>
died, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Chilton">Alex Chilton</a>
died, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Dunlap">Slim Dunlap</a>
suffered an incapacitating stroke, and <a href="http://www.chrismarspublishing.com/">Chris Mars</a> shut the door on a
career in music. I graduated law school, got married, had one kid, then
another, quit the practice, buried four grandparents and an aunt and an uncle,
wrote a couple of books (one of which features Replacements' leader Paul
Westerberg in a pivotal moment; if you're reading this, and I suspect you are,
you'll love it, <a href="http://michaelatchison.blogspot.com/2012/12/xl-is-here.html">trust me</a>),
saw my dad drink himself to divorce and near-death, watched my mom persevere
like a titan, welcomed three nieces to the family, became the PTA president,
and went to my law school twenty-year reunion.</div>
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I also listened to the music they left behind more times
than I could ever count.</div>
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For the uninitiated, a thumbnail sketch: Toward the end of
the Carter administration, four guttersnipes from Minneapolis formed a band
that was equal parts punk rock, cheap beer, A.M. radio and amphetamines. They
were Paul, the singer, songwriter, rhythm guitar player, and accidental genius;
Bob, the manic guitarist whose leads were "hotter than a urinary tract
infection," as Paul once described them; Bob's thirteen-year-old
bass-playing brother Tommy; and drummer Chris, the misfit elf who wanted to be
a painter.</div>
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They made a string of indie-label albums that culminated in
the classic <i>Let It Be</i>, then got
signed to a major and released the equally transcendent <i>Tim</i>. Then Bob got kicked out of The Replacements for excessive drunkenness
(which is akin to being booted from Duran Duran for excessive stylishness) and
the band recorded one last great album as a trio (<i>Pleased To Meet Me</i>), before the affable and understated Slim Dunlap
took Bob's place. After two more good-not-great records, they handed their gear
to roadies on a Chicago stage on July 4, 1991, and walked out of our lives
while the crew continued to play.</div>
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During those waning years of their existence, I felt closer
to The Replacements than any band before or since. To be honest, I felt closer
to them than I often felt to my family. It's not rational or reasonable, but
it's true. Paul's songs didn't just speak to me, they spoke for me,
articulating all the young-adult angst and anticipation that I felt but
couldn't say, and it all sat atop a Stones-meets-Pistols buzz that hit me where
I lived. "The words I thought I brought I left behind," he sang,
"so never mind, all over but the shouting, just a waste of time."
Even when he professed to be unable to say anything, he managed to say
everything.</div>
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And he said those things in the nuanced way of reality,
churning out songs that were, by turns, touching, terrifying, harrowing and
hilarious. But -- <i>and this is the thing</i>
-- no matter how often he evoked isolation or despair ("Within Your
Reach," "Unsatisfied," "Answering Machine"), the note
that always lingered was hope. <i>I can't
hardly wait</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In January 1991, my friend Scott pried me out of the law
library and stuffed me into a car and drove us to St. Louis, where the band was
playing at the American Theater. We knew it was almost over. They were touring
on an album that had started as a Westerberg solo project before the label
intervened, and Chris had just been relieved of his post, replaced by Steve
Foley. The Iraq War was underway, and I was feeling unsettled. I am old enough
only to remember Vietnam as some vague thing that was happening when I was very
young. I thought there would only be peace in our time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Inside the theater, I expected to be disappointed, but
proceeded to be amazed. They were like a champion athlete in twilight,
summoning one last great performance. Paul snarled like he hated Steve, hated
himself, hated everything, but he poured it all into the songs and gave them a
shimmering, lingering resonance that I can still feel. After they finished the
encore with a raging and poignant version of "I'm In Trouble," their
very first single, we walked into the cold night grateful to have been there.
We listened for echoes of that show when we saw them again, one last time, less
than six months later, but we couldn't hear them. The Replacements were done.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
* * *</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it turns out that I wasn't done with The Replacements.
When I was twenty-two, I thought those songs were about what it was like to be
young. But as I got older, I realized that they were about what it was like to
be alive. Those feelings may diminish in intensity, may become less acute, but
they never go away. Two decades down the line, I have a life that's far better
than I deserve, with no good reason ever to be unhappy. But sometimes I still
am. Even though I'm loved, sometimes I feel alone. Even after a success, I fear
the next failure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In late 1993, Paul appeared on <i>Saturday Night Live</i> to promote his first solo album. And for
reasons I still don't understand, the second song he played wasn't from that
record, but instead was <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x89z1d_can-t-hardly-wait_music">"Can't
Hardly Wait,"</a> one of The Replacements' very best songs, achingly
gorgeous and wistful. Paul seemed triumphant, about to experience the kind of
success that he had managed to sabotage at every turn with the band. That night,
that song was a lifeline to me. I was newly married and beginning my career,
beginning my life as an adult, and I was overwhelmed. I felt down deep that
this was not the life for me (the professional one, that is; the personal life
still flourishes). The performance left me reeling for days, but I still felt
the hope implicit in it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After that, I followed each of the band members for a while,
from albums that went from really good to not particularly, with a frequency
that went from every few months to every so often. And then, each of The
Replacements seemed to recede from my life. Nobody played those songs anymore.
It's like they ceased to exist.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it turns out that those songs were just crammed into a
closet like precariously-stacked toys. And then a few weeks ago, someone opened
the door and they all came tumbling out along with Paul Westerberg, who
performed a perfectly-executed forward roll and stuck the landing on the
downbeat in front of the microphone just in time to sing "Stay right
there/Go no further/Don't call a doctor/Don't call my mother!"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
* * *</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now, the show, with subtitles.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In their typical <i>why-succeed-when-failure-is-an-option?</i>
style, after years of turning down offers to reunite, Paul and Tommy decided
they would get back together for three shows only (at least to date),
headlining a low-key, predominantly punk rock festival with stops in Toronto,
Chicago and a place hilariously inaccurately billed as Denver. No New York or
Los Angeles, or even hometown Minneapolis. No Bonnaroo or Coachella or
Lollapalooza. Nope, just Riot Fest in god-forsaken Byers, Colorado, an hour
east of Denver, smack in the dusty, rusty pre-mountain flats (to the Chamber of
Commerce: I'm sure Byers has its charms; no need to write).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Scott, my companion at those 1991 shows, has lived in Denver
for two decades. This, friends, is what we call fate. We would attend the third
and final Replacements reunion show.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The rest of what happened on Saturday is largely irrelevant,
but just know that it was a hot, windy, dusty, grueling day. We had been there
for ten hours before our heroes took the stage, and we are, ahem, <i>older</i> than we used to be. We were going
to need the band to carry us to the finish. Little did we know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Three stages were set up more or less in a row, and The
Replacements were set to cap the day on the far left. After the
Creed-meets-Cure outfit AFI finished playing there, and the crowd moved over to
the next stage to see Iggy and The Stooges (who I would have crawled to see on
any other day), we made our way down front, three bodies from the rail, just
off center, and held our ground for the next seventy minutes, chatting with
pilgrims who had traveled from as far as Eugene, Oregon and Seattle, Washington,
while waiting for The Stooges to wrap up their set.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is what happened next, in roughly chronological order.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: The
house lights fell, Frank Sinatra sang "That's Life," and Paul and
Tommy emerged from the wings with new members Josh Freese and David Minehan.
Each wore a day-glo orange cowboy hat and garish western shirt, with Paul and
Tommy sporting long pink skirts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
(1) It's <i>on</i>; and (2) the spirit of
Bob is in the house. Curious sartorial choices were a staple of the band at its
wild-eyed best, including the infamous 1986 <i><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6yi30_what-a-mess_music">Saturday Night
Live<span style="font-style: normal;"> appearance</span></a></i> in which the
four original members <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6yi55_that-s-where-we-re-riding_music?start=35">exchanged
clothes between songs</a> and earned a temporary ban from NBC for their
offstage behavior. Bob Stinson possessed an especially quirky sense of fashion,
sometimes performing in a dress or a diaper. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Paul and Tommy show up in skirts, that's your cue to
hold on tight.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: The
band launched into a thunderous, gnat's-ass-tight version of "Takin' A
Ride," a snot-caked slab of punk pop, and the first song on their first
album.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
We're going back to the beginning, back to when no one knew us or cared, to an
album no one bought, and you're going to love it. We did. In fact, four of the
first five tunes will come from their debut, <i>Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash</i>, including "Shiftless
When Idle," which they apparently had neither played nor practiced since
getting back together. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It certainly sounded like it, but in the best possible way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: Early
in the set, between songs, Paul looked at his bass player and said "Hey
Tommy, you know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby," eliciting a
laugh from the forty-six-year-old man who helped found the band as a
thirteen-year-old kid. Then Paul added "Far be it from me to give you shit
for being in Van Halen."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
The hatchet has been buried. Since 1998, Tommy has been Axl's chief lieutenant in
the current incarnation of Guns N' Roses. At one point, this appeared to cause some
friction between the two, as Paul publicly carped about Tommy's career choice
as hired gun in the Big Rock Machine. It may have been jealousy or insecurity
or lead-balloon humor, but it seemed to sour the relationship. That's over now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an aside, Paul, now fifty-three, looks better than he
ever has, handsome even. Sober, fit, refreshed. He has also clearly been
itching to plug in and turn up. These are all good things.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: Ten
songs into the set, the band plays "Androgynous," and Paul forgets
some of the words.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
Sing-along! In truth, the whole show was a sing-along. I was astonished at how
all of those words poured out across the gulf of time, deeply imbedded memories
surging to the surface. On the quietest song of the night, it was especially
evident. This is the only video I shot (notice how close we were), and you can
hear it clearly. Those aren't just words going back to the stage. That's love.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xbcUQWQX8qc" width="420"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: The band played "Love You Till
Friday," interspersed with Chuck Berry's "Maybelline."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
There's nothing new here. This is some primal, primordial shit. This is the
Beatles in Hamburg, tapping into the most elemental, exciting thing that has
ever been created, making it scream like a symphony for chainsaws, and imbuing
it with a majesty that three chords should not possibly possess. "Love You
Till Friday" is the second least-consequential original song played all
night (only the outtake "Wake Up" will be more obscure), but, good
lord, is it spectacular.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>:
They did not play "Unsatisfied."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
They are no longer unsatisfied.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: The
band hit the home stretch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
The most undeniable string of songs any current band on the planet can play. It
starts with "Little Mascara," a gem from side two (remember sides?)
of <i>Tim</i> that hums like an American
muscle car. During this stretch, Paul will (among other things), try to sing
while eating, attempt to play guitar while holding a cigarette, and nearly
drown while holding a water bottle upside down in his teeth while trying to simultaneously
hydrate and play. Miraculously, he survives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: "Left
of the Dial," that's what happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>: I
didn't know how I was going to react to the show. When it was first announced,
I was excited but also wary. The Replacements were great, but that was a long
time ago. Might it not be better to just leave it alone? Then I thought I might
get overwhelmed. I am not a man prone to emotion, but when I saw YouTube clips
of the first reunion show in Toronto, I'll confess to a tear welling in the
eye. But from the first note of "Takin' A Ride," all I felt was joy
until we got to "Left of the Dial." If you want to hear one song that
represents The Replacements, this is it. It's loud, lovely, wistful, sad and
hopeful. But then comes the final verse, with Paul signing "pretty girl
keep growing up/playing makeup/wearing guitar/growing old in the bar/you grow
old in the bar," and it hits me just like it does every time, an arrow
through the heart. The song came out in 1985, but Paul saw the future. We did
grow old, and I know it, and I can feel the constriction in my chest and the
cold rush through my face, all of the stuff the band has represented to me over
time (and, let's face it, they have represented my life) comes to the surface.
I keep it together, but just barely.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: "Can't
Hardly Wait."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>: I
was at a dinner party a few months back, and all the guests were asked to
provide three songs, one that represented childhood, one for the coming-of-age
years, and one for the married-with-kids period, and "Can't Hardly
Wait" was my coming-of-age tune. It was there for me in that crisis time
of transition to adulthood, it was there at the center of my novel, and it
showed up here again, just where it belonged.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>: The
set ended with "Bastards of Young."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
This is their "Born to Run," their full-throated, big-hearted anthem.
It opens with a guitar figure that is a musical battle cry, and a first line
that neatly encapsulates the band's career: "God, what a mess, on the
ladder of success." It is relentless and raging. Paul, again for reasons
unknown, decides to bang on his guitar with his shoe while Minehan plays the
solo (see below at 1:59), to Tommy's great delight. The song, as always, ends
in cacophony, and the band exits the stage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/J5SEt2HWsJ4" width="420"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>:
While the lights were down, I saw the flash of Paul's pink skirt dart behind
the drum kit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
"Hootenanny" is coming.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Hootenanny</i>, the
band's third album, was the great leap forward. It's not exactly professional,
but it's focused and brilliant. "Hootenanny," the song that gives the
album its name, is a glorious mess that features the members of the band
playing each other's instruments. Paul pounds the skins like a caveman and
shouts "it's a hootenanny!" over and over again. On this night, with
Paul behind the drums, drummer Josh Freese takes the bass, and bassist Tommy
Stinson takes Paul's guitar and then leans Paul's microphone stand across the
drum kit at an angle that results in Paul singing into his crotch. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is magical.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What happened</i>:
Well, it's hard to explain, but let's give it a shot, augmented by the video
below. When Josh Freese makes a move to retake his drum kit, Paul waves him off
so he can continue to sit. This is the segment of the show where they start
making stuff up. By the time I was old enough to see the band the first time
around, they were an intermittently professional unit. I never saw one of the
legendary drunken shows, but I've heard the recordings of several. This was a
little like that. Our pal Pete would call it shambolic, and he would be right.
As the band fumbles for something to play, Tommy fishes out the riff to
"Detroit Rock City" and the others join in. Sort of. And when that
falls apart, he plays the intro to The Who's "Substitute" (at least
one online recap lists them as playing "Ace of Spades" in between,
but that's more than a stretch; judge for yourself). Paul does a spastic Keith
Moon imitation and nearly falls off the stool, then jumps off the riser, grabs
his microphone from the stand, and attempts a Roger Daltrey mic-twirl. But on
the first spin, the microphone flies off the cord and slams into the stage,
Paul's big rock and roll move having gone appropriately, spectacularly wrong. Tommy
laughs uncontrollably, while a bemused Paul picks up the mic and tosses it into
the crowd. The band then walks off the stage, never to return. In Toronto and
Chicago, they wrapped up with "I.O.U.," but here they skip it, which
seems fitting. They owed us nothing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Scott and I then walk out into the night like we did in St.
Louis more than twenty-two years ago, just as awestruck as then, but somehow
wiser and happier.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means</i>:
The Replacements live on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What this means to me</i>:
More than you could ever know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/aKOWUFt4Ngg" width="420"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oLA7ZxWdKvM" width="420"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Michael's novel <i>XL</i>
is available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/XL-Michael-Atchison/dp/1480297054/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354150702&sr=8-1&keywords=XL+Michael+Atchison">at
Amazon</a> and all the familiar places)</span></div>
Michael Atchisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149731312548258515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-22241749497793125882013-06-30T23:33:00.001-05:002013-06-30T23:33:12.916-05:00Joe Strummer Nails The Ramones<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1zt9JAnSDNE" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
"We learned a lot off of The Ramones... how not to muck
around on the stage. When the Ramones number started, it started there! When it
ended, it ended there! They didn't spend hours shambling around, scratching
themselves... ya know, there's a lot of this casual behavior is considered cool
now - yeah, but I wonder if it's rooted in cool or rooted in just...
ineptitude."<br />
<br />
------ Joe Strummer, 2002</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Not only does the video perfectly capture the essence of The Ramones, but it reveals the massive heart of Joe Strummer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-14662122330255416892013-04-26T00:16:00.001-05:002013-04-26T00:16:46.218-05:00# 15 - The Weeks - Gutter Gaunt Gangster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEuH-iXpxyKBVPBJ_BsvdWJ25VZCdFk70cgLQHchh5ZDykUQWXjbBfz2i4IB6B4BhD9TOxYNPzFEVzmS-qMqPW7F5tuvZPbxubfZ_nK90ZY9_oQXKZZ6HUu1zkRtk5j7YkhdUvQ/s1600/weeks+gutter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEuH-iXpxyKBVPBJ_BsvdWJ25VZCdFk70cgLQHchh5ZDykUQWXjbBfz2i4IB6B4BhD9TOxYNPzFEVzmS-qMqPW7F5tuvZPbxubfZ_nK90ZY9_oQXKZZ6HUu1zkRtk5j7YkhdUvQ/s1600/weeks+gutter.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
With the countdown to <em>Dear Bo Jackson</em> at mere days (out April 30th), it's time to celebrate The Weeks stopgap EP, <em>Gutter Gaunt Gangster</em>, that reintroduced the band in 2012, four years after their promising debut,<em> Comeback Cadillac</em>. We already proclaimed <a href="http://teenkicks.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-weeks-house-we-grew-up-in-is-your.html" target="_blank">"The House That We Grew Up In"</a> the song of the summer, but sadly that won't get a third go round on the new album. Nor will "Slave to The South", a mournful ballad that seems to celebrate a life that can only be embraced by leaving it behind. <br />
<br />
I'd like to give<em> Dear Bo Jackson</em> Teenage Kicks highest rating... two ears open. It's out this Tuesday and<strong><a href="http://the-weeks.gomerch.com/" target="_blank"> you should buy it.</a></strong>
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vHQ9awOvH48" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://theweeksmusic.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">The Weeks</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/04%20Slave%20To%20The%20South.mp3" target="_blank">"Slave to The South"</a> (from <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gutter-Gaunt-Gangster-Weeks/dp/B005LY46GY" target="_blank">Gutter Gaunt Gangster</a></em>)Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-51781785633020422462013-04-25T23:36:00.002-05:002013-04-25T23:36:51.417-05:00# 16 - Gentleman Jesse - Leaving Atlanta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjY6T1n7Nu8p5ZXmi5p3UodulTI5htJ8EXaJPVSujFQJW3x14KSW0jTxcLvWTVJby_wtJazHoVBH7_v7JmeOG2qUs5-FpOt625azCDQmDcwZzXDNtPLQiiRFBw1TmolJkxUqfysA/s1600/gentleman+jesse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjY6T1n7Nu8p5ZXmi5p3UodulTI5htJ8EXaJPVSujFQJW3x14KSW0jTxcLvWTVJby_wtJazHoVBH7_v7JmeOG2qUs5-FpOt625azCDQmDcwZzXDNtPLQiiRFBw1TmolJkxUqfysA/s1600/gentleman+jesse.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
What happens when you wait 3 years to release a follow-up to a little heard gem of a power pop debut? You wind up # 16 on some doofus blog's year's best list. This is the skinny tie hearbeat perfected by the likes of 20/20, Richard X. Heyman and The Knack -with a jittery, Red Bull buzz upping the ante. Using the time honored trick of delivering bad news and bad breaks with a cotton candy coating, <em>Leaving Atlanta</em> is the missing link for anyone who pines for <em>Poptopia </em>and swallows <em>Yellow Pills</em> whole.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r79H8BRIB3g" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gentleman-Jesse-His-Men/243949526051" target="_blank">Gentleman Jesse</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/04%20What%20Did%20I%20Do.mp3" target="_blank">"What Did I Do"</a> (from<em> <a href="http://douchemasterrecords.blogspot.ca/2012/03/gentleman-jesse-leaving-atlanta.html" target="_blank">Leaving Atlanta</a></em>)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.richardxheyman.com/" target="_blank">Richard X. Heyman</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/01%20Falling%20Away.mp3" target="_blank">"Falling Away"</a> (from <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Man-Richard-X-Heyman/dp/B000008GJN" target="_blank">Hey Man</a>!)</em>Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-13080972463798751042013-04-25T23:03:00.002-05:002013-04-25T23:03:29.874-05:0050 Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDBIDffg6Lc5HsxRLZrnGw9SdHV_gDNTK03GNxEYz_-RFOacy3triWoVpyxty8h6MaiZZOZotb8PAUFc1lI-MX9ljekxSIhkMWHBQmpXQ4w37BqK1d7cOp8VU9yswxtfKQNf1mA/s1600/Record+store+Day+titus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDBIDffg6Lc5HsxRLZrnGw9SdHV_gDNTK03GNxEYz_-RFOacy3triWoVpyxty8h6MaiZZOZotb8PAUFc1lI-MX9ljekxSIhkMWHBQmpXQ4w37BqK1d7cOp8VU9yswxtfKQNf1mA/s320/Record+store+Day+titus.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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Yep - that was a quick 50 days (over 7 weeks, almost 2 months) between # 18 and # 17. As a treat for those still following (both of you), here's one of the songs from the Titus Andronicus Record Store Day release. When they played it in concert, they called it their "Free Energy song". It's lyrically slight, musically derivative ("Dyslexic Heart" anyone?) and sounds like a throwaway. And of course it's fantastic...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.titusandronicus.net/" target="_blank">Titus Andronicus</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/02%20(I've%20Got%20A)%20Date%20Tonight.mp3" target="_blank">"(I've Got A) Date Tonight"</a> - (from<em><a href="http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2013/04/titus_andronicu_45.html" target="_blank"> Record Store Day</a></em>)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.paulwesterberg.net/" target="_blank">Paul Westerberg</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/03%20Dyslexic%20Heart.mp3" target="_blank">"Dyslexic Heart"</a> - (from <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Singles-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B0000028MA" target="_blank">Singles</a></em> Soundtrack)Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-84490567458270167762013-04-25T22:32:00.001-05:002013-04-25T23:05:01.234-05:00# 17 - The Walkmen - Heaven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPQcIswFxlGDtmYHKnZ7ZVCnIZylVd95vcllaFq-qyZJRksEWdCyN7RQzBKB0lrA_3jVIGa4XnNUzsiYhsSaCci_ubXWhcPrlcSxLRxB35o1I0mpWkAGX7eh7Dt6v9-YfLP7cnw/s1600/walkmen+heaven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPQcIswFxlGDtmYHKnZ7ZVCnIZylVd95vcllaFq-qyZJRksEWdCyN7RQzBKB0lrA_3jVIGa4XnNUzsiYhsSaCci_ubXWhcPrlcSxLRxB35o1I0mpWkAGX7eh7Dt6v9-YfLP7cnw/s320/walkmen+heaven.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Instead of keeping us at arm's length with a cool reserve, The Walkmen invite us in for a warm embrace in their most personal, most commerical, most accomplished record yet. I think this is the album I'd hoped U2 might have made after <em>The Joshua Tree</em>. <br />
<br />
"Song for Leigh" just crushes... <em>Heaven</em> indeed.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xUB5S9RRt8A" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<a href="http://thewalkmen.com/" target="_blank">The Walkmen</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/07%20Song%20For%20Leigh.mp3" target="_blank">"Song for Leigh"</a> (from<em><a href="http://thewalkmen.com/store/shopthewalkmen/" target="_blank"> Heaven</a></em>)Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-44830521725120400742013-03-17T13:41:00.001-05:002013-03-17T13:41:39.354-05:00Ben Kyle House Concert Tonight in Media!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReSSUzZaETiRpbwOgrjC4aPC53b5nm1McFRYEPEQ4p8EPQYh7ZE1XbPJF9W3Ttr2iHH2w6e8RcG7r8f6ydWhy10tEhyphenhyphenSrVp18IQLAsXYZn8pZGe2XpUCjYPgfvAuJaQR0fTSh9g/s1600/Ben+Kyle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReSSUzZaETiRpbwOgrjC4aPC53b5nm1McFRYEPEQ4p8EPQYh7ZE1XbPJF9W3Ttr2iHH2w6e8RcG7r8f6ydWhy10tEhyphenhyphenSrVp18IQLAsXYZn8pZGe2XpUCjYPgfvAuJaQR0fTSh9g/s1600/Ben+Kyle.jpg" /></a></div>
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I can't guarantee "Danny Boy", "The Parting
Glass" or "The Irish Rover", but tonight's intimate show in
Media will surely gain its share of converts to Ben Kyle's contemplative balladry.
Ben Kyle is an ex-Pat Irishman who now calls <st1:city><st1:place>Minneapolis</st1:place></st1:city>
home, although his <st1:city><st1:place>Belfast</st1:place></st1:city> roots shine
through his tightly constructed story songs sung with an evocative Gaelic lilt.
After three albums with his alt country band Romantica, plus an exquisite duets
album with <st1:state><st1:place>Texas</st1:place></st1:state> sweetheart
Carrie Rodriguez, Kyle struck out on last year's solo debut,<em> Ben Kyle</em>. The
album deals with the push and pull of creating a solid home life for his family
with the vagabond lifestyle that is the calling card of most touring musicians.
The result is spare and touching, with the bare minimum of accompaniment. </div>
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Tonight's shindig is a Sixth Street Concerts event, which
means it's a super cozy house concert in Media. Show starts at <st1:time hour="8" minute="0">8:00</st1:time>, will be over by <st1:time hour="9" minute="30">9:30</st1:time> and will still provide ample time to get your Irish on
in one (or more) the approximately 3,000 bars in <st1:place><st1:placename>Delaware</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>County</st1:placetype></st1:place> featuring Irish music
tonight.</div>
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<a href="http://www.sixthst.com/" target="_blank">Sixth StreetConcerts</a> - call<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 610-627-0670 </span>for reservations.</div>
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Here is a sweet sampler of Ben Kyle's music:</div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/romanticaband" target="_blank">Romantica</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/04%20There%20She%20Goes.mp3" target="_blank">"There She Goes"</a> (from <em><a href="http://www.benkyle.com/buy" target="_blank">It's YourWeakness That I Want</a></em>)<br />
Romantica - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/03%20The%20National%20Side.mp3" target="_blank">"The National Side"</a> (from<em> <st1:country-region><st1:place><a href="http://www.benkyle.com/buy" target="_blank">America</a></st1:place></st1:country-region></em>)<br />
<a href="http://romanticaband.com/" target="_blank">Romantica</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/07%20Tonight%20I'm%20Leaving%20You%20for%20Love.mp3" target="_blank">"Tonight I'm Leaving You for Love"</a>(from <em><a href="http://romantica.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Control Alt Country Delete</a></em>)<br />
Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/06%20Unwed%20Fathers.mp3" target="_blank">"Unwed Fathers"</a> (from <em><a href="http://www.benkyle.com/buy" target="_blank">WeStill Love Our Country</a></em>)<br />
<a href="http://www.benkyle.com/news" target="_blank">Ben Kyle</a> -<a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/03%20Hills%20Of%20England.mp3" target="_blank"> "The Hills of <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>"</a>
(from <em><a href="http://www.benkyle.com/buy" target="_blank">Ben Kyle</a></em>)<br />
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Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-85402956888328799022013-03-05T22:59:00.003-06:002013-03-05T22:59:59.913-06:00# 18 - fun. - Some Nights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEjBh3ai9pe7rAzm2WYtNGgQ3X2RrzS8-4Gs_N2NaJx3MDUxpKCkiHuBFHLZ1eXX03gFXNB9D9lmdRfHifiGnwHsUJFPThWBMbMaYEYkcW-IJqN8lglzTgwi9QoKuZj0ej9PGAw/s1600/fun+some+nights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEjBh3ai9pe7rAzm2WYtNGgQ3X2RrzS8-4Gs_N2NaJx3MDUxpKCkiHuBFHLZ1eXX03gFXNB9D9lmdRfHifiGnwHsUJFPThWBMbMaYEYkcW-IJqN8lglzTgwi9QoKuZj0ej9PGAw/s1600/fun+some+nights.jpg" /></a></div>
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Back in 2006, I called <em>Dog Problems</em> by The Format the best
album of 2006... ahead of<em> Boys and Girls in <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>
</em>by The Hold Steady. I might want a do-over on that one.</div>
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I still love <em>Dog Problems</em>, and now the decade-long gestating
overnight stardom of Nate Ruess (lead singer for both The Format and fun.) has
propelled fun. to superstardom on the back of their massive smash "We Are
Young", surely to be a generational touchstone once the aughts' hangover
recedes a decade from now. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span> </div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Sv6dMFF_yts" width="560"></iframe><br />Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-82247167879352023242013-03-05T22:26:00.002-06:002013-03-05T23:00:11.273-06:00# 19 - The Lumineers - The Lumineers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpEvE90Oxpf7ui-N_hw-i_DAT7hTSd2x4e7LmP5QX3wsNe1_L5_EC_mynvE13lOWWBAIoLMUm5pmDVX4VswiWThsxwMqC2COVngfo1PWFddvhiMyG78iswQaGMy-TqCkuknTUtQ/s1600/The+Lumineers+Debut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpEvE90Oxpf7ui-N_hw-i_DAT7hTSd2x4e7LmP5QX3wsNe1_L5_EC_mynvE13lOWWBAIoLMUm5pmDVX4VswiWThsxwMqC2COVngfo1PWFddvhiMyG78iswQaGMy-TqCkuknTUtQ/s1600/The+Lumineers+Debut.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
I really like The Lumineers debut. I really do (take a look...
it's # 19!). But how the heck did they get so popular, so fast? Is it Mumford
mania pulling them along? Guess how many views the video for "Hey Ho"
has? If you guessed 24 million, you'd be half right. I say "God bless The
Lumineers", but keep it real kids, I don't want this to be your<em> Cracked
Rear View</em>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thelumineers.com/" target="_blank">The Lumineers</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/11%2001%20Classy%20Girls%20(Lost%20EP%20Version).mp3" target="_blank">"Classy Girls"</a> (from <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lumineers/dp/B0075MFS9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1362543702&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lumineers" target="_blank">The Lumineers</a></em>)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/M5C6CH0qvvs" width="560"></iframe>
Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-88579285047983157382013-03-05T21:59:00.001-06:002013-03-05T21:59:31.561-06:00# 20 - The School - Reading Too Much Into Things Like Everything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CnG2rmT2D6htnFz6pVofUofxGQU6N41boSgWhyKQ3nK8QJbEU1zLT85PkCtFw6Cdk4gKIhjmTkgV19ZCMNCeC0HrWxVHZOVyLialNl2RnA8NNW9e_H-mu_X9kyJejP8_DK3Lpw/s1600/the+school+reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CnG2rmT2D6htnFz6pVofUofxGQU6N41boSgWhyKQ3nK8QJbEU1zLT85PkCtFw6Cdk4gKIhjmTkgV19ZCMNCeC0HrWxVHZOVyLialNl2RnA8NNW9e_H-mu_X9kyJejP8_DK3Lpw/s1600/the+school+reading.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
If you ever wondered what would have happened if Brian
Wilson had produced The Shirelles, take a listen to The School. It's all bubbly
melodies, lovesick lyrics and kitchen sink production - guaranteed to make you
feel like you are listening to Hyski on WIBG or George Michael on WFIL. Groovy.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://theschoolband.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The School</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/10%20Why%20Do%20You%20Have%20To%20Break%20My%20Heart.mp3" target="_blank">"Why Do You Have to Break My Heart Again?"</a> (from<em> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Much-Into-Things-Everything/dp/B007G1I2C4/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1362541899&sr=1-1&keywords=the+school+reading+too+much+into+things+like+everything" target="_blank">Reading Too Much Into Things Like Everything</a></em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Much-Into-Things-Everything/dp/B007G1I2C4/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1362541899&sr=1-1&keywords=the+school+reading+too+much+into+things+like+everything" target="_blank">)</a><br />
<br />
Vinyl nerds... check out this video. Graded VG+.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bmDca2XAm7o" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-10917045948886531722013-03-03T21:14:00.000-06:002013-03-03T21:14:00.598-06:00# 21 - Nicki Bluhm - Driftwood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Lky1wj6uUHt09gxp_ORnCyYwwxIU0QSgxPBdCbg6wYa6dH2viPSJTq9TDmEaW32FcKSB2n49RXfX0de17Oqzv3ARBpZXhQ4jcPTh7pxA6LC0DqTcJ6H1M7AIZnG69wPHLiRyKg/s1600/nicki+bluhm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Lky1wj6uUHt09gxp_ORnCyYwwxIU0QSgxPBdCbg6wYa6dH2viPSJTq9TDmEaW32FcKSB2n49RXfX0de17Oqzv3ARBpZXhQ4jcPTh7pxA6LC0DqTcJ6H1M7AIZnG69wPHLiRyKg/s1600/nicki+bluhm.jpg" /></a></div>
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For those <st1:place><st1:placename>miss</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Laurel</st1:placename>
<st1:placename>Canyon</st1:placename></st1:place> songbirds like Linda
Ronstadt, Karla Bonoff and Joni Mitchell, may I present Nicki Bluhm, sweetheart
of the radio. Her second album, Driftwood, is a slow burn that features the
year's best duet, "Stick With Me" featuring her husband, Mother Hips
main man Tim Bluhm. And she was bringing back bangs way before Michelle.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nickibluhm.com/" target="_blank">Nicki Bluhm</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/03%20Stick%20With%20Me.mp3" target="_blank">"Stick With Me"</a> (from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Driftwood-Nicki-Bluhm/dp/B008A129DW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1362366466&sr=1-1&keywords=nicki+bluhm+-+driftwood" target="_blank">Driftwood</a>)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hj8xBSrrcvE" width="560"></iframe><br />Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-23332563222047134132013-03-03T20:39:00.002-06:002013-03-03T21:16:23.930-06:00# 22 - The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuFYjIWWdjXbWlgsZUvpHJ_4zA4tIU6XnauwrqaujZhAUMoIaQmQXJdmid9TO29_RrILyv6J3DJo6kUZFkOio2-dooTPMCnQ4FB22zH2GyqccTq9wLL8vSLBDvRI9kvuQv8hlKA/s1600/Avetts+carpenter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuFYjIWWdjXbWlgsZUvpHJ_4zA4tIU6XnauwrqaujZhAUMoIaQmQXJdmid9TO29_RrILyv6J3DJo6kUZFkOio2-dooTPMCnQ4FB22zH2GyqccTq9wLL8vSLBDvRI9kvuQv8hlKA/s1600/Avetts+carpenter.jpg" /></a></div>
Despite the huge misstep of "Paul Newman vs. The
Demons", which was probably a natural defensive reaction to the scattered
"sellout" cries that greeted <em>I And Love and You</em>, the Avett Brothers
continue their hot streak with their death-obsessed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><em>The Carpenter</em>. Despite the mind boggling success
of <st1:city><st1:place>americana</st1:place></st1:city> sensations Mumford and
Sons and The Lumineers, the Avetts remain the realest deal.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theavettbrothers.com/" target="_blank">The Avett Brothers</a> - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/01%20The%20Once%20And%20Future%20Carpenter.mp3" target="_blank">"The Once and FutureCarpenter"</a><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iQ-PguGIoWA" width="560"></iframe>
Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-51147625858073826052013-03-03T20:18:00.003-06:002013-03-03T21:19:37.768-06:00# 23 - Joe Pug - The Great Despiser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSo4aPzpAmcohDtTKukxPMziMygKduRAtxLOWcYD2UcnzoG3plYthcX7hWib0HhWyxQuEnZ8HQBk2aLIPEUStn2H6qhbP_Jz4lgrtYHFGrm07tot53ClyvIfaMAKfoZqDH8Z4n_A/s1600/pug+despiser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSo4aPzpAmcohDtTKukxPMziMygKduRAtxLOWcYD2UcnzoG3plYthcX7hWib0HhWyxQuEnZ8HQBk2aLIPEUStn2H6qhbP_Jz4lgrtYHFGrm07tot53ClyvIfaMAKfoZqDH8Z4n_A/s1600/pug+despiser.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.joepugmusic.com/" target="_blank">Joe Pug</a> is a self-effacing young singer songwriter who gives
away his music for free, tours like an old school troubadour and talks of his
debut album "escaping" rather than being leaked. There's a humanity
and forcefulness in his songwriting that sparks that rare combination of being
tender but not sappy. His second album, <em>The Great Despiser</em>", features 10
original songs and one killer cover, "Deep Dark Wells", that shines a
light on unknown Texan wordsmith, Harvey Thomas Young.</div>
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</div>
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Joe Pug - <a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/11%20Deep%20Dark%20Wells.mp3" target="_blank">"Deep Dark Wells"</a> (from <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Despiser-Joe-Pug/dp/B007IOUH4A" target="_blank">The Despiser</a></em>)</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xle4gDtoOO4" width="560"></iframe><br />Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-7908386625945416112013-03-03T20:00:00.001-06:002013-03-03T20:01:01.692-06:00# 24 - Shark Tape - 2 EP's (+)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrCZkDkfAF5ioxRpBSpmI-SztYSuWUrnqTX4z7sPLWiv9LBWL0UaniewKilDY12-xf2Um99iZNAnCIu0WKF_1hLfqt32GP5jrt6XUqToDoGqkoTjU1mL09abgSPzi5v4ZN2CYIg/s1600/Shark+Tape+EP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrCZkDkfAF5ioxRpBSpmI-SztYSuWUrnqTX4z7sPLWiv9LBWL0UaniewKilDY12-xf2Um99iZNAnCIu0WKF_1hLfqt32GP5jrt6XUqToDoGqkoTjU1mL09abgSPzi5v4ZN2CYIg/s200/Shark+Tape+EP.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9s7eKjJnq5eLvLRnyA34lCNAsOzG3SgIiqZ1ShmRZzP19-daymxAPoh0lcKqHchlN_iB0PdH7tEGbrCiS2oIAOhQD89iCcpTvkt03DW04iTACMQ4o1pB3SPH_Z0hXVGVemuOtsw/s1600/Shark+Tape+Debut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9s7eKjJnq5eLvLRnyA34lCNAsOzG3SgIiqZ1ShmRZzP19-daymxAPoh0lcKqHchlN_iB0PdH7tEGbrCiS2oIAOhQD89iCcpTvkt03DW04iTACMQ4o1pB3SPH_Z0hXVGVemuOtsw/s200/Shark+Tape+Debut.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Philadelphia's <a href="http://sharktape.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Shark Tape</a> self released 2 ep's and a digital
single (ten songs) that together combined to make the 24th best lp of 2012. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could look it up. Combining the early 80's
moody angst-ridden shimmer of Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes
with a dash of Westerbergian flair, Shark Tape is angling for Next Big Thing
status in 2013. Check out this video for "Put Those Things Away"... the
only bummer is that it's not introduced by Martha Quinn.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DLllPGWZFeE" width="420"></iframe><br />Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-7586447725187033042013-03-03T19:10:00.002-06:002013-03-03T21:23:51.519-06:00# 25 - American Aquarium - Burn.Flicker.Die<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQvjEFz0KW8RMP_pSYSYOJYhni3y0lA7JBhS5b52KfyA9b999ooHi3dkYysRA7p9SiowhwGq5evbXWtYEH1BAsh6qF44Wf-y6H7hVcGcosKKqDbgkMNSvhMLNGt-GidLkek7jYw/s1600/American+Aquarium+Burn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQvjEFz0KW8RMP_pSYSYOJYhni3y0lA7JBhS5b52KfyA9b999ooHi3dkYysRA7p9SiowhwGq5evbXWtYEH1BAsh6qF44Wf-y6H7hVcGcosKKqDbgkMNSvhMLNGt-GidLkek7jYw/s320/American+Aquarium+Burn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://americanaquarium.net/#bio_section" target="_blank">American Aquarium</a> lead singer P.J. Barham looks like the booze-bombed spawn of Tim Matheson and Ryan Adams, but luckily for us he evokes the gritty, lovable loser side of Ryan Adams that we fell in love with in early Whiskeytown. The protagonist in "Savannah Almost Killed Me" falls for a girl who was "A Bette Davis double / With diamonds on her knuckles / She knew every word to "Born to Run"". My kind of girl. My kind of guy.<br />
<br />
American Aquarium -<a href="http://teenagekicksusa.com/09%20Savannah%20Almost%20Killed%20Me.mp3" target="_blank"> "Savannah Almost Killed Me"</a> (from <em><a href="http://burn.flicker.die/">Burn.Flicker.Die</a></em>)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/myF-oy0ChEo" width="560"></iframe><br />Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-10958565833075382522013-03-03T18:57:00.000-06:002013-03-03T18:57:07.153-06:00Teenage Kicks Belated Top 25 of 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKw06nXvDhkYfCqtGcK77Mj2vNuwFtau0xz8slGtFpnYGOpiB03se4VOkYeyfDAkLddWGCgYPn5kM4n6DNwV_ENYcSBEURtuAw2P-p1LS3SjR93_KmO4uL0dGFP50GvzVHsOIog/s1600/2102+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKw06nXvDhkYfCqtGcK77Mj2vNuwFtau0xz8slGtFpnYGOpiB03se4VOkYeyfDAkLddWGCgYPn5kM4n6DNwV_ENYcSBEURtuAw2P-p1LS3SjR93_KmO4uL0dGFP50GvzVHsOIog/s320/2102+25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
My friend Sarah says that by the first week of January it is too late to post a best of 2012 list. I think she's right. But she is industrious and hard working and I am not, so therefore I bring you the top 25 albums of 2012 in the first week of March. Three titles battled it out for the top spot and ultimately a traditional, second generation artist took the crown. So without messing around, I'll start with # 25 and work my up (down?) to # 1. Trip McClatchyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915624243906432064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024688.post-27109334479668846922013-01-24T13:33:00.000-06:002013-01-25T07:05:12.115-06:00In which Michael listens to the Beatles on vinyl for the first time<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrNlZc5fa1d1erXp9Od4J8deYS4YVklxVAOnWGcw05fSvkPwnkhNRXlsJUq6XuYRYtCtVld9g7QIrgNBqDXinG7WglxpNnP9qj3xHCenPVI03OqgFylMpfCmoxOD_wfcRQkfglA/s1600/230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrNlZc5fa1d1erXp9Od4J8deYS4YVklxVAOnWGcw05fSvkPwnkhNRXlsJUq6XuYRYtCtVld9g7QIrgNBqDXinG7WglxpNnP9qj3xHCenPVI03OqgFylMpfCmoxOD_wfcRQkfglA/s1600/230.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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There is not a single note in the magnificent <i><a href="http://www.beatlesbible.com/2012/11/12/uk-release-beatles-stereo-vinyl-box-set/">Beatles
Stereo Vinyl Box Set</a></i> that is new to me. I have long owned all of it -
every song they released during their life as a band - on CD. And I've owned it
all in the same configurations, this mixture of British, American and universal
releases that became codified as The Beatles Catalog when the music was first
issued on compact disc in 1987.</div>
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I could not possibly guess the number of hours I have spent
listening to these albums over the past quarter-century.</div>
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I couldn't even estimate the number hours I've spent
listening over the past two-and-a-half years, from the moment I saw <a href="http://teenkicks.blogspot.com/2010/07/universal.html">Paul McCartney play
live</a> and went on a fully-immersive bender that prompted me to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Biography-Bob-Spitz/dp/0316013315/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359052843&sr=1-6&keywords=beatles+books">book</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Buy-Me-Love-Beatles/dp/0307353389/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359052886&sr=1-1&keywords=can%27t+buy+me+love+jonathan+gould">after</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/You-Never-Give-Your-Money/dp/0061774189/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359052919&sr=1-1&keywords=you+never+give+me+your+money">book</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Head-Beatles-Records-Sixties/dp/1556527330/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359052957&sr=1-1&keywords=revolution+in+the+head">after</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Here-There-Everywhere-Recording-Beatles/dp/1592402690/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359053009&sr=1-1&keywords=here+there+and+everywhere">book</a>
about the band, and even incorporate a whole lot of explicit Beatles worship
into my novel <i><a href="http://michaelatchison.blogspot.com/2012/12/xl-is-here.html">XL</a></i>
(which is available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/XL-Michael-Atchison/dp/1480297054/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1354315727&sr=1-7">Amazon</a>,
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/xl-michael-atchison/1114042688?ean=2940016072593&isbn=2940016072593">Barnes
& Noble</a>, iTunes and <a href="https://www.createspace.com/4017226">other</a>
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/259661">fine</a> <a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/XL/book-2OiEnYtny06GsvEUtZWQ-Q/page1.html?s=aRxzhJyKH0GmC7TwaZpibg&r=1">retailers</a>).</div>
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So when I opened the vinyl set on Christmas, even though I
knew if was coming, I could feel the same sort of swell I felt when I heard
Paul's band play the opening notes to "A Day in the Life."</div>
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This isn't an act of nostalgia for me. Though this music was
ever-present in my childhood, it wasn't the music <i>of</i> my childhood. I was born too late, between <i>Magical Mystery Tour</i> and the White Album. I gained musical
consciousness only after the Beatles split. I knew their songs, but never owned
their records. I had a few cassettes - <i><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-20-greatest-hits-mw0000319108">20
Greatest Hits</a></i>, <i>Abbey Road</i>,
the American version of <i>Revolver</i>, or
as we Americans called it at the time, <i>Revolver</i>
- but never a bit of vinyl. Just little tapes in nondescript packages, album
covers no bigger than baseball cards.</div>
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But, oh my, the music. I listened to <i>Revolver</i> over and over, in my room, in the car, anywhere a cassette
player could be found or lugged. And I could not have believed that anything
was missing. I listened to "Eleanor Rigby" and "Here, There and
Everywhere" and could barely believe that music could be so beautiful. I
heard "She Said She Said" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" and
ruefully acknowledged that the awful stories about LSD were probably true.</div>
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And then one day I was watching the old Beatles cartoons on
MTV and this came on (jump ahead to 2:45 if you must).</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h3rQ3lOEm9M" width="420"></iframe></div>
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It blew my mind in every way, combining power and melody
into the perfect rock and roll song. I had never heard it before. I never knew.
To my knowledge, no one ever knew.</div>
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Now, of course, everyone knows. Or at least everyone who
cares to know. I can't imagine what goes on in the mind of someone who doesn't
care to know.</div>
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Upon returning home after Christmas, I methodically,
chronologically worked my way through the collection. After listening to one
record, I unwrapped the next and listened to it, a ritual repeated through
fourteen albums, including two two-record sets. And each one revealed something
new to me, even after all this time. Here's how it went.</div>
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<b><i>Please Please Me</i>:</b> Pick it up. Look at the full-sized cover for
the first time. Notice that (unlike the CD) the word "stereo" appears
on the top right corner in that stylized sixties font, a feature consistent on
the first six albums. Look closer. It's impossible not to notice how young they
look, Paul and George especially, virtually schoolboys. Peel the plastic. Pull
out the plain white sleeve. Only a transparent circle revealing the label suggests
anything momentous. <i>Long Playing *
Parlophone * Stereo</i> it says in grandiloquent script. Put the record on the
turntable and drop the needle. It starts with a "1-2-3-<i>4</i>!" Just an ordinary count-in, but
to hear it now, knowing what we know, with the hard emphasis on the "<i>4</i>," it sounds like a declaration.
We four, forever. The first song features Paul singing "I Saw Her Standing
There." The last features John shredding "Twist and Shout." You
don't have to know much history to understand that a revolution has just begun.</div>
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<b><i>With the Beatles</i>:</b> The iconic cover, faces in shadow against a
black backdrop. In just eight months since the first album, the cherubs somehow
achieved <i>gravitas</i>. A half-century
later, project yourself into the mindset of the time. It must have seemed
audacious, almost aggressive. Long-haired bubblegum punks, purveyors of
"yeah-yeah-yeah" poetics, demanding to be taken seriously. If the
cover doesn't convince you, drop the arm on side one, feel the stomp of
"It Won't Be Long." That must have sounded like heavy metal in 1963.</div>
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<b><i>A Hard Day's Night</i>:</b> After thinking about this stuff for thirty years,
I start to have some realizations. First off, this is a <i>great</i> album. I always knew that, of course, but I mean it more
profoundly. The talk of great Beatles <i>albums</i>
usually starts with <i>Rubber Soul</i> and
marches forward chronologically. Before 1965, the single was the great artistic
and commercial expression, with the album a way to express a little more cash
from the consumer's pocket. But this one is so consistent, cohesive and
propulsive that it deserves consideration along with its brethren. And this
notion strikes me most forcefully when I flip to side two. For the past
quarter-century, this had been a single album to me. Now it's two sides. And
side two is what seals the deal. Side one has the more famous songs ("A
Hard Day's Night," "Can't Buy Me Love"), but side two is a
barrage of lesser-known gems that makes the entire record essential listening.
We've long heard about the rifle-shot snare that vaults Bob Dylan's <i>Highway 61 Revisited</i> through the speaker
and into your mind, but Ringo's blast that kicks off side two preceded it by a
year. And in that song, "Any Time at All," the genius of John's
singing is reaffirmed. He does for the voice what electrification did for the
guitar, imprinting it with the gritty distorted sound that differentiated this
generation's music from all that came before. The whole second side (really,
the whole album) belongs to John, with "When I Get Home" and
"You Can't Do That" hitting with the same power as "Any Time at
All," and "I'll Be Back" ending the affair on a wistful note,
sounding like a real album closer.</div>
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When contemplating the cohesiveness of <i>A Hard Day's Night</i>, it strikes me that this is the band's first
great leap forward. Between 1963 and 1964, Lennon and McCartney found their
voice as songwriters. There are great songs on the first two albums, no doubt,
but considerably less maturity. Another thought strikes me: While I knew before
that this is the first Beatles album to consist solely of original songs, I suddenly
realize that this is the <i>only</i> album
in the entire catalog to consist entirely of Lennon and McCartney tunes (no
George or Ringo here). I'm sure I'm not the first person to note that, but it
helps explain the record's seamless, unified perfection.</div>
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<b><i>Beatles for Sale</i>:</b> The fourth album by the four is the first to
feature a gatefold cover, and it includes four photos of the full band (front
cover, back cover, front inside cover, back inside cover). Have at it,
numerologists. Compared to <i>A Hard Day's
Night,</i> the record seems disjointed, with six cover songs among its fourteen
tracks. "Eight Days a Week" is the album's most famous track, but
"What You're Doing" is the most interesting, a McCartney original
with a soaring vocal in which he combines melody and power like never before,
while the band crafts a guitar sound that the Byrds will make a career of. The
primacy that John owned within the band on the previous record is gone, never
to return.</div>
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Above the second of the four photos, the liner notes manage
to sound audacious while still somehow underestimating the band. Derek Taylor,
the band's PR man, writes:</div>
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There's priceless history between these
covers. . . . When, in a generation or so, a radio-active, cigar-smoking child,
picnicking on Saturn, asks you what the Beatle affair was all about - 'Did you
actually <i>know</i> them?' -don't try to
explain all about the long hair and the screams! Just play the child a few
tracks from this album and he'll probably understand what it was all about. The
kids of AD 2000 will draw from the music much the same sense of well being and
warmth as we do today.</div>
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At that time, music recording was still in its relative
infancy, and the notion that a piece of popular music would continue to
resonate four decades into the future must have seemed preposterous (not many
folks in the 1960s were listening to recordings from the 1920s). But here we
are, well past AD 2000, and we're <i>still</i>
listening to it, studying it, and (in some cases) worshipping it. My kids were
both born after AD 2000, and they love these songs. My daughter plays them on
the piano. And if these kids and their friends carry this music with them
throughout their lives (and there's no reason to think that they won't), these
three-minute pop artifacts will endure into a second century. Mull that over
for a minute.</div>
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<b><i>Help!</i>:</b> The fifth album, the fifth consecutive one to include a back-cover
pitch for Emitex record cleaner (I use Discwasher, thanks), and the last to
include songs authored outside the band. The final original song on the record
is among the most celebrated of all time. It's easy to gloss over the majesty
of "Yesterday" having heard it so many times, but listen for a minute
and focus on the simplicity. "Yesterday" and "Suddenly" are
the only two words in the song longer than two syllables. Only nine others - <i>troubles, away, believe, shadow, hanging,
over, wouldn't, something, easy</i> - are longer than one. It's just a wisp of
a song, but as insistent a piece of popular music as there has ever been. These
are the things you think about as you watch a record spin.</div>
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<b><i>Rubber Soul</i>:</b> Hints that this is the great transitional album
are right on the cover. The moptops are wild, exaggerated, representing not
style but freedom. Inside, there's no era-defining hit, just fourteen songs
that explore new territory ("Norwegian Wood," "In My Life")
and hold together like a unit.</div>
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The first note about sound: I'm not one who will proselytize
about the virtues of vinyl and how it sounds <i>so much better</i> than a compact disc. But <i>good</i> <i>lord</i> does this
record sound great. The depth, richness, warmth and roundness are spectacular.
Paul's bass bounces and thrums, and there's a perceptible sense of space. I've
always thought this was a great-sounding album, but it's a spectacular-sounding
record.</div>
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<b><i>Revolver</i>:</b> The most radical piece of pop-art I know (<i>Highway 61 Revisited</i> is the only other
contender), and a brave one, too, as the world's most popular entertainers
defiantly lay waste to their audience's expectations. Sonically, I don't hear
anything new on the vinyl (except, perhaps, for a greater focus on McCartney's
jaw-dropping bass playing on "Taxman"), just the blueprint for all that
comes after, with Paul's genius for formalism, John's revolutionary gift for
rock and roll abstraction, and George's growing confidence and consciousness
(his first raga!) colliding and showering sparks that no other band could hope
to match. </div>
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It's when I flip over to the back cover, which I had never
before seen, that I have a revelation. I already knew that the template for
Oasis's music could be found in the album's grooves. Now I see that the
template for the band's visual aesthetic can be found on the back.</div>
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<b><i>Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band</i>:</b> A CD booklet, no matter
how lovingly executed, can never match the grandeur of a record sleeve. This
one opens up to reveal the boys in their moustaches and their silks, and the
front cover reveals details I'd missed before. I had never noticed that the
figure of Shirley Temple on the right edge is dressed in a Rolling Stones
sweater, for instance. And it comes with the original cutouts (moustache,
badge, etc.) that no right-minded person would ever actually cut out. There's
Sonny Liston on the front, and Bob Dylan and Lewis Carroll and on and on. The
record, unfortunately, is less impressive. The spindle hole on my copy is
drilled slightly off-center, which makes for some unpleasant distortion the
deeper you get into each side. It's the only dud disc in the box. I'll be
ordering a replacement.</div>
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<b><i>Magical Mystery Tour</i>:</b> A nice touch. Because this is the
American version, the label says <i>Capitol</i>
instead of <i>Parlophone</i>. If you don't
already know the reason, you almost certainly don't care, but the short version
is that the original British release was a six-song double EP that featured
only songs from the film, while the American version added non-LP singles. On
CD, the thing has never quite held up as an album, but on vinyl, side two is a
juggernaut, one of the greatest compilation records ever released.</div>
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<b>The White Album:</b>
After listening on CD for all these years, it strikes me that I don't know
where the breaks are on this double album. In my mind, I hear "Martha My
Dear" right after "Happiness is a Warm Gun," but on vinyl, you
have to flip the record in between them. Which is good, because nothing should
have to follow that song.</div>
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<b><i>Yellow Submarine</i>: </b>This is how great the Beatles were. You don't
want to own this album, but you have to. Because if you don't own it, you don't
have the complete catalog, and if you don't have the complete catalog you're a
casual fan, and who can be casual about this stuff? I mean, you already have
"Yellow Submarine" on <i>Revolver</i>
and "All You Need is Love" on <i>Magical
Mystery Tour</i>, and <i>side two doesn't
contain a single note of Beatles music</i>, but still you have to have it
because if you don't, you don't have "Only a Northern Song" and
"It's All Too Much" (which are kind of dreary) or "All Together
Now" (which is kind of slight), or "Hey Bulldog" (which is all
kinds of brilliant). And the best thing about the LP is the back of the sleeve,
in which they implicitly acknowledge the weightlessness of the project by
running Derek Taylor's review of . . . The White Album.</div>
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<b><i>Abbey Road</i>:</b> The downside to the pristine sound is the
"shoot me" that John repeatedly whispers before each verse is
wince-producing in light of what happened eleven years after the album's
release. The upside is that, instead of the second half of the CD, side two of <i>Abbey Road</i> is <i>side two of Abbey Road</i>, the most spectacular and
emotionally-cathartic twenty-three minutes in pop music.</div>
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<b><i>Let it Be</i>:</b> "This is a new phase BEATLES album" the
back cover declares, and I suppose the end of the band is technically a new
phase, but, crikey, what a bummer. Phil Spector has taken his share of crap for
the goop he glopped all over "The Long and Winding Road," but my main
takeaway is how direct and immediate the record sounds. He made no effort to
create a wall of sound. Instead, on the likes of "I've Got a
Feeling," the fourth wall is obliterated, and you're right there with the
band.</div>
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<b><i>Past Masters</i>:</b> The end of the story starts at the beginning,
with "Love Me Do" (in sparkling mono), then progresses through every
officially-released A-side, B-side, and bit of ephemera that don't show up on
the albums. As stunning as any of the lovingly-crafted albums, it moves
forward, gathers momentum, tells a story, blows the mind, "She Loves
You" to "Hey Jude" in twenty-one easy steps. But for all the
titanic songs here ("I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Paperback
Writer," "Revolution") it's fittingly subversive that a set that
includes the entire output of the band ruled the world should end with
"You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)," the one time they rolled tape
with the sole purpose of amusing themselves. Play us out, boys.</div>
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Michael Atchisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149731312548258515noreply@blogger.com7