Isaac Hayes passed away today (Sunday), in the very same hospital that my children were born in. His strong personality will be missed, but his musical legacy remains. I’ve been digging the soul/funk/R&B revival going on these days, thanks largely to Daptone Records, so it’s appropriate today to share a couple of gems from the Daptone 7 inch Singles Collection Vol. 2 by Charles Bradley & The Bullets.
Lewis & Clarke
I know, I know… If you’re at all like me, you were probably pretty stoked about a band named after Thomas Jefferson’s intrepid explorers of the Louisiana Purchase, until you noticed the “e” up there that’s not really on the end of William Clark’s name. Then you realized the band’s name refers to the correspondence between C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke, not the Corps of Discovery. (Ok, the band website helped me out on that last part.) And then you download the ten minutes of “Before It Breaks You” and listen to it, and then it’s over before you realize it and the whole time you’ve been bathed in the musical equivalent of sunlight filtered through a grove of aromatic, soft-needled southern pines, or something similarly tranquil and pleasant. Lewis & Clarke call their sound “avant chamber folk,” but don’t let that turn you off. Give them more than a few minutes, and see if you like what you get back. I did.
Jay Reatard
Jay Reatard is a crazy man from Memphis. He’s prolific, playing with seemingly a dozen bands over the years, notably the Reatards and the Lost Sounds, with even more releases. He’s even got his own Wikipedia page. “Sea Saw” is a single from March of this year. Matador, his new home, is releasing a collection of six of his singles from this year on October 7th.
Lee “Scratch” Perry
About 10 years ago on Thanksgiving, my grandpa waited until everyone had their mouths full, as he did when he really wanted our attention, then he shared a dream he’d recently had about how he was Santa Claus. In the dream, he was surrounded by adoring elves. Pretty cute, huh? Except they weren’t elves — they were strippers peeling off their skimpy green outfits and jockeying to, ahem, take a ride on Santa’s bowl full of jelly. Naturally, my mom and aunt were appalled. And, naturally, I had to bite my lower lip hard to keep from blasting my stuffing across the table. Man, I miss him. I hadn’t thought of that story for a long time before hearing Lee “Scratch†Perry’s “Pum Pum,†the dancefloor anthem from Perry’s ambitious new album, produced by his pal Andrew W.K. Most people know Perry as a legendary Jamaican musician and producer who helped create both the signature waka-waka sound of reggae and the signature stoned production quality of dub, among other influential moves. He is a giant among giants despite his diminutive stature — truly a living legend. He’s also a dirty old man. I can’t sincerely say that “Pum Pum†is one of my favorite tracks right now just like I can’t say that this Spring-Winter pairing of W.K. and Perry is the same as Rick Rubin and Johnny Cash, but I can say that it’s pretty fascinating. The crazy old bastard in the multicolored hat manages to mix reggaeton-style beats and synths with pornstar moans, lots of dirty-talk and, inexplicably, Jesus. Or that’s what I think he does. Truthfully, I can only understand about half of what is going on at any given time in “Pum Pum,†but I’m pretty sure it’s naughty. That’s part of the allure. Some are calling Perry’s new album a return to form. That may be so, but to me it sounds more like a lovingly perverse old coot flipping the bird at all of us and speaking what’s on the unfiltered side of his mind. Grandpa would be proud.
New ТелеВИЗИОННЫЙ from The Hectors
McCarthy Trenching
That Omaha ain’t that great sometimes isn’t really news. I’m from Detroit; tell me about it. That glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow is usually dashed somehow, in political scandal, murder, the weather, whatever. McCarthy Trenching, fronted by Nebraska singer-songwriter Dan McCarthy, captures acutely the extinguishing of that glimmer. All three of these songs are about as down as you can get, full of missed opportunity, booze, etc. And based on how natural and real they sound, you’d think McCarthy was a Michigan boy.
Andy Grooms Living Room
Time to return to my Memphis roots with Andy Grooms, and his album Greatful to Burn under the Andy Grooms Living Room moniker on Memphis’s Makeshift Music. “Mary Or Mephisto” is a genre blending song, jumping from trippy blues-tinged psych guitar to jazz piano leaning toward 70’s pop.
The Wedding Present
It’s been three years since The Wedding Present re-emerged from the ashes of Cinerama with the album Take Fountain. They’re back with what could be labeled David Gedge’s “L.A. album.” He lived in West Hollywood while he wrote these songs and it comes through in both tone and content (tons of references to L.A. landmarks, including the album title, El Rey, named after the famous mid-Wilshire venue). That said, the album was recorded in Chicago with the legendary Steve Albini (who also produced the seminal Seamonsters album), who roughs up each tune with the appropriate gloom and grit to match Gedge’s trademark forlorn lyrics—tempered occasionally by bassist Terry De Castro’s sweet vocals. Keep an eye out for tour dates (yes, Joe, I bought tickets for the Pontiac show) for your chance to catch one of the loudest shows I’ve ever witnessed.
Original post from 12/23/2004:
Multiple Choice:
Since 1985, The Wedding Present have provided
A) a distinct solace for those utterly steeped in general feelings of jealousy and rebuke.
B) David Gedge, a lead singer with a charmingly lousy voice and a ridiculously thick Leeds accent.
C) fantastic guitar riffs, faster in the carefree ’80s and wiser in the new millenium.
D) reliably good Brit-pop for longer than the flavor-of-the-week has been alive.
E) all of the above.
(It’s E, duh.)
Conor Oberst
Merge Records has this up-and-comer named Conor Oberst. Have you heard of him? He’s been in all sorts of bands or something. Now he’s releasing a self-titled album, which would make you think that it’s just him and a guitar but really he has this group called the Mystic Valley Band, which is a trip because it’s talking about the valley in Mexico where the album was recorded when you would think, from listening to “Danny Callahan,†that it was recorded in a not-so-mystic valley closer to Oberst’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Much of the album has that same vibe: reflective roadhouse ballads with rousing instrumentation and lush lyricism. This Conor Oberst fella writes some decent songs. He might just have a future. You heard it here first.