James "Blood" Ulmer's Odyssey--Harmelodics Takes A Southern Turn--

Just the other day, I was watching the classic Warner Brothers cartoon with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny, with the whole "Wabbit season, Duck season routine". It makes me laugh today just like it did when I was 8. But I did notice something peculiar this time around. At one point Bugs Bunny pulls out of his rabbit hole a cookbook entitled "1000 Ways to Cook Duck", to entice Elmer Fudd to shoot Daffy instead of him. Daffy retaliates by reaching into Bugs' rabbit hole and pulling out "1000 ways to Cook Rabbit". Why would Bugs Bunny have a collection of Rabbit recipes in his crib? Call it comedic license, if you wish. Though maybe in truth Bugs was harboring a dark secret. At least Elmer was a vegetarian--he just did it for the visceral thrill of killing things.

Then of course during the toon, the duck and rabbit tear off alternating signs of Rabbit Season and Duck Season, until the sign comes up for "Elmer Season". And I suddenly thought how funny it would have been if that sign were replaced with a sign picturing James "Blood" Ulmer, Ulmer season. Except on my stereo every season is Ulmer season. Which tangentially led me to tonight's post. An idle mind is a dangerous thing I guess.

Preacher, Teacher

James "Blood" Ulmer's Odyssey has long been a favorite record of mine. I saw a review of this album probably in Newsweek of all places and I knew that I had to hear it, but not really knowing what it was about. And in my opinion I lucked out. I think Odyssey is one of those singular American albums, combining downtown free jazz, with country, blues, traditional folk songs and blending into something completely unique. Traditional and avant-garde collide head on here. At times serious, sometimes nostalgic, in places even playful, the music seems incredibly personal, a heartfelt vision. Mostly instrumental, but with some distinctively gruff vocal tracks by Ulmer, the album is a real journey running the gamut of emotions. It has the feel of a concept album.



The band is an interesting three piece, with Charles Burnham on Violin and Warren Benbow on drums. Of course, Ulmer's stellar Harmelodic guitar riffing is a dominant force here, though Charles Burnham more than holds his own. In fact, Burnham's violin work is a big part of why this album is so special. For whatever reason, this setup works wonderfully. I was fortunate to actually see this lineup on stage probably 10 years ago at the Knitting Factory. Ulmer was definitely larger than life that night, a charismatic performer who as a remember was fairly cowboyed up, boots, leather clothes I think with tassels even. A real badass, heavy gravitas. They seemed to be having a great time playing this music. The thing I remember the most was that I noticed something odd about Burnham on stage, something I initially could not place. The hat, pointy goatee, the vest. Suddenly about 2/3rds of the way through the set, I looked down and noticed he was wearing those pointy Arabian Nights shoes with the toes curled up. He was dressed up like one of Santa's maniacal elves. Who knows why? The music was so terrific I didn't really care that night. You just feel fortunate that you could be part of it.



Because Odyssey almost has the feel of a 35 minute piece broken into eight parts, I have trouble finding a highlight here. I just listen from the beginning to end. I like his voice a lot, so Little Red House and Are You Glad To Be In America? are two of my favorites. The closing instrumental number Swings and Things, does exactly that; it's basically a Harmelodic hoedown, with great bow work by Charles Burnham. Election is another excellent number, with a lot of playful, humorous riffs.

Though this is my favorite album of Ulmer's, he has done a lot of great things over this career, working with saxophonist David Murray in the Music Revelation Ensemble, studying Harmelodics under the tutelage of the master himself, Ornette Coleman. More recently, he has released some traditional blues albums that are quite good, notably the covers album Memphis Blood, and Bad Blood in the City, his reflections on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Always an interesting unique guitarist, Ulmer never fails to please whatever project he undertakes.

Funky, But Freak!!! Dandelion Gum--Black Moth Super Rainbow--

When I first heard of Black Moth Super Rainbow, I assumed that they were a Japanese band. Turns out this is a band from Western Pennsylvania, US of A. To say that this album is excellent is an understatement; if there were more albums like Dandelion Gum, people wouldn't need need drugs! Beneath the haze of bleeping analog synths there are some terrific succinct tunes on this 45 minute disk. It sounds like they construct a song and then bend it like silly putty, put it through a meat grinder. If you are a purist and like to keep your genres separate this might not be for you. Because folk, new wave, psychedelic rock, funk, are all mushed together in a KFC dogbowl of listening pleasure.



As much as I appreciate the punk ethos of name change, sometimes the names make me cringe; it reminds me of ordering off children's menus in restaurants when I was growing up. I was embarrassed to order the entrees with the silly titles. So, here goes. Past and present members of the band include Tobacco, The Seven Fields of Aphelion, Father Hummingbird, Power Pill Fist, Ryan Graveface, d. Kyler. According to everything I've read, they keep their personal lives close to the vest. What I do know is that Dandelion Gum is always challenging, never dull, like a looser, more organic Tortoise. Even that is not entirely accurate--these guys do what they want to do, so there's not a lot of purpose in pinning them down, even if you could.
I don't think even the lo-fi aesthetic exists here either, because the music is so well put together here, the songs are too short for self-indulgent jamming, and sophisticated, diverse use of sounds and beats here challenge any accusations of simplicity.

So what is here is an eccentric, catchy sounding, well thought out record. The vocals are buried in distortion and vocoders, so that they are more like another instrument in the mix as much as a focal point. For all the descriptions of the music, I am surprised that more is not made of Dandelion Gum's inherent funkiness; I could see rappers getting a lot of mileage out of this. But there is so much going on in this album and unlike a lot of albums, you look forward to hear what will happen next, because it is far from obvious. They don't beat you over the head with the music all the time. At times they get stripped down to acoustic folk, and they definitely work with space well and sometimes it seems the rhythms and the melodies veer of in different directions to interesting effect. In a nutshell, the music makes my eardrums tingle. If you are a fan of psychedelic music you really need to hear this. If you like the synth pop of the 80's, you have psychedelic renderings of that style here. What you need to know is that this album is an infectiously challenging listen from start to finish.

Let Gruff Rhys Get You Super Silky Smooth!!! Hotel Shampoo

Probably 6 months ago there was a bit of hype about Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys' superb new solo album Hotel Shampoo. Most of the chatter was about how his penchant for collecting complimentary shampoo bottles from the hotels he has inhabited over years of touring. I've seen the pictures of the little Welsh Fortress of Soltitude he had amassed. At least here in the states it has not made much of a ripple. I have to say it is a nice collection of  cleverly arranged 70's keyboard based singer-songwriter pop tunes. The songs are quite strong, the arrangements are mostly quite inventive, clever, and not stock imitations of old songs. He definitely puts his own distinctive eccentric stamp on the genre.

Of course Super Furry Animals are apparently one of those bands that we don't entirely get, because they are extremely popular across the Atlantic and they have made consistently fine albums. Psychedelic Techno Pop? What' not to like? There is a documentary that is part of their Songbook/Singles DVD where they are touring the US playing tiny venues, while back in the UK and Europe they are headlining festivals and playing in stadiums. I still believe that they are going to bang out a classic timeless album that will rank with the big boys of the rock n roll narrative and will leave most of the listening public surprised and startled, and probably a little disturbed. I think they have that kind of talent and creativity, and you hear it in bits and pieces on all of their albums. Sometimes I blank out when I listen to them and forget that I'm not listening to The Beatles, or The Beach Boys. And of course, I appreciate the fact that they released an excellent all-Welsh language album, Mwng (who needs vowels?).

Which was the best selling Welsh language album in  recorded history, by the way.

I already did a post on Rhys' collaboration with Boom Bip as Neon Neon, Stainless Style, which is without doubt my favorite electronic John DeLorean-themed concept album of the last decade. Definitely a very very cool album, which was nominated for a Mercury Prize. Hotel Shampoo is his latest solo project, released earlier this year. This album is a lot more elaborate than the prior ones. He wanted to create a simple piano album, but the songs would up being considerately more fleshed out. Rhys is a fine singer and the melodies are full to the brim with hooks. When I listen to the songs I can almost conjure up an alternate reality, where a team of producers with a gigantic budget took these songs and pumped them up to a gigantic size. To a point where they would be blasting out of the radio like Breakfast in America by Supertramp or Silly Love Songs by McCartney used to be when I was a teenager. You couldn't escape from them back then. Frankly, I prefer the songs on Hotel Shampoo just the way they are.

Orange Flakes of Purple Pop

From the outset, with the moody pop of Shark Filled Waters, you get the impression that you are going to get a lot of enjoyment out of this album. Some artists listen to music in their formative years and at some point are disinterested in music. I would venture to say that Gruff Rhys is not one of those artists; he seems to be an avid listener who soaks up influences like a sponge. And his pop sensibilities amaze me--a simple song like Honey All Over sounds magnificent here with the lush arrangements and harmonies. One of the best songs here I think is Vitamin K, which sounds like it could be retooled outtake from Neon Neon's Stainless Style. Great strings, 70's sax riffs, bubbly keyboard ostinatos. An interesting juxtaposition is the double timed tom-toms beats at some points in the song.



Some of Gruff's tunes here are politically themed, most notably Patterns of Power:

Kids are dying and I'm drinking champagne.
The patterns of power.
A patchwork of pain.
I'm on fire and you're drinking champagne.
The patterns of power.
Again and again.

Conservation Conversation is another such tune:

And as the conservation conversation,
Gets replaced by condensation,
And hot air:
Solar flare:
Remote control.

Other fine numbers include Christopher Columbus, which is like a combination London Calling meets Flower Power Ska. Nice horn lines. I like his charming duet with El Perro Del Mar, Space Dust 2, ostensibly a show-tune. At the Heart of Love is Gruff's is excellent RnB balladry, while on I Totally Understand (bonus track) he's channelling Elliott Smith. The other short bonus track on my disc, Pengwyn Pengwyn reminds me of those Welsh freak folk sing-a-longs of Meic Stevens. And I would be remiss in not mentioning another standout track, the Latin-tinged pop bliss of Sensations In The Dark.



If you are a fan of the Super Furries, you probably have this already. Hotel Shampoo one of the better new releases I've heard this year, but as I have said, be advised that it is on the mellow side. Fans of well-crafted pop music should eat this up like Andrew Zimmern at an all-you-can-eat Haggis buffet though. Not one duff track on this album. Another project by Rhys that I am anxiously anticipating is his documentary film Separado! where he travels to Argentina to reconnect with the relatives who emigrated from Wales in the 19th century. It's supposed to be a cool movie, but so far not released on DVD in NTSC format. Gruff Rhys is definitely an interesting, engaging person. Who knows what he will be up to next?

They Go Together.... like Rama Lama Lama, Ke Dinga de Dinga Dong--Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan--Ballad of the Broken Seas

Out of the frying pan...



Into the fire...

 Yeah, you know what I'm saying, I'm little bit grunge....and I'm a little bit indie pop. I make joking comparisons, but combining the talents of ex-Belle and Sebastian Isobel Campbell and Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stoneage is nothing short of inspirational. Richard Thompson wrote the song "Galway to Graceland". Well this is the Glasgow-Seattle connection. Their first album together, Ballad of the Broken Seas is a bit of a 60's genre exercise, like a creepier version of Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra or Jimmy Webb, but a damned fine one in my opinion. I think that Lanegan has one of the most distinctive voices in music today and he is a fine songwriter to boot. However, when I picked up Ballad of the Broken Seas, I was surprised to find that Isobel Campbell had written and arranged most of the songs here. And it turns out she is a talented songwriter in her own right. This long distance collaboration truly works like magic.

For me Lanegan's deep whiskey croon is a guilty pleasure; he sings with the weary voice of an old southern bluesman with a world of miles on his speedometer. Campbell's sweetly fragile voice fits right in the pocket and she provides a nice counterpoint to Lanegan's vocals. Sometimes the songs here are country ballads, like the eerie swagger of their cover of Hank Williams' Ramblin' Man or the fantastic closing tune, The Circus is Leaving Town, and other times they are like old timey folk like Do You Wanna Come Walk With Me?



But most of the songs are orchestrated and dark 60's pop-noir, like the soundtrack to a Jim Thompson pulp novel. I know I said earlier that I was surprised that Isobel Campbell wrote these songs, but it was not intended to be a knock on her, but rather the fact that songs sound so very American, in a bare bones classic way. Like the wonderful pop of Honey Child, What Can I Do? Campbell ethereally shines on the dirgey vibe-folk number Saturday's Gone. In some ways it bothers me that I know that they record their parts thousands of miles from each other. I would rather believe they are in the same room collaborating together on these albums.




On a record with a lot of high points, I find myself most drawn to the title track Ballad of the Broken Seas, heightened by Isobel's moving cello solo at the heart of the song. Not far behind is the orchestrated pop of The False Husband, one of the most moving duets here. I just checked and found out that they have recorded 3 albums together now, most recently 2010's Hawk. I don't think you can go wrong with anything Mark Lanegan is involved with. His last solo album from 2004, Bubblegum, is by far the finest grunge-blues album I've ever heard. But here's hoping that Campbell and Lanegan continue to work together, because they really have found something special here.

Quote for today from E H Gombrich--Austrian Art Historian and Humanist

I first stumbled upon Austrian writer E H Gombrich's (1909-2001) work in a Barnes and Noble outlet, namely his Little History of The World, which is a beautifully written historic overview intended for a young people. His historical view is particularly humanistic. I would highly recommend this book for any young boy or girl as a great introduction to history. It is very readable; I am almost reminded of a grandfather with his grandchildren on his lap telling stories from bygone days. From what I understand, the Nazis were not big fans of Gombrich and I can certainly see why. I recently sent a copy of this book to my 8 year old niece.

Mensch

Only recently did I discover that Gombrich is mainly known as an Art Historian. His book The History of Art, is considered by many people to be the best introductory book on Art ever written. I have just started to read it, but I was struck by something I read in the introduction which I feel the need to share. I feel like we both have a very similar perspective about art. I really like where this guy is coming from. He is definitely an art populist, and in the best of possible ways. He is not trying to "civilize" people, but just feels that art is for everyone, and it is something that anyone can appreciate because in a lot of ways it is already part of everyone's lives. And in a more general sense his opinions apply the world in a more general sense. Here's his quote.

One never finishes learning about art. There are always new things to discover. Great works of art seem to look different every time one stands before them. They seem to be as inexhaustible and unpredictable as real human beings. It is an exciting world of its own with its own strange laws and its own adventures. Nobody should think he knows all about it, for nobody does. Nothing, perhaps, is more important than just this: that to enjoy these works we must have a fresh mind, one which is ready to catch every hint and to respond to every hidden harmony: a mind, most of all, not cluttered up with long high-sounding word and ready-made phrases. It is infinitely better not to know anything about art than to have the kind of half-knowledge which makes for snobbishness. The danger is very real. There are people, for instance, who have picked up the simple points I have tried to make in this chapter, and who understand that there are great works of art which have none of the obvious qualities of beauty of expression or correct draughtsmanship, but who become so proud of their knowledge that they pretend to like only those works which are neither beautiful nor correctly drawn. They are always haunted by the fear that they might be considered uneducated if they confessed to liking a work which seems too obviously pleasant or moving. They end by being snobs who lose their true enjoyment of art and who call everything "very interesting" which they really find somewhat repulsive. I should hate to be responsible for any similar misunderstanding. I would rather not be believed at all than be believed in such an uncritical way.

I like the way Gombrich thinks. He also mentions that some people go into a museum and check the works of art off of a checklist instead of looking at the art through your own perspective. This sort of behavior would lead an individual to bypass great things that might not appear on someone else's list. He is of the same school as me: keep an open mind, view things with a fresh perspective. And this applies to music also--who knows? Maybe the next Daydream Nation, O.K. Computer, or London Calling might be created by a band from Tallinn, or Jakarta, or Johannesburg. The real question is, will you hear it? Or will you be part of the herd?

When Conversation is a Hand Grenade...and Laughter At Chaos! The Verlaines' Juvenilia

Long out of circulation but now readily available from the good people at Flying Nun Records, Juvenilia, a compilation of the early recordings of The Verlaines has been a Kiwi favorite of mine for years. Though Graeme Downes has made many recordings over the years, I still like this collection the best. The songs cut a fine balance between romanticism, tortured artiness and youthful energy. Until recently, you would expect to pay a premium to get this disc, even if you were a resident of their native country, New Zealand, much less the rest of the globe. Thankfully, that problem has been rectified, and this album and several others are available directly from the esteemed label, or from Smoke Cds, which is a good cyber outlet for Kiwi rock.

Life on a Knife's edge

One of the catchphrases of Downes' work are the poetic and classical music touches in his work, but I probably would never have noticed them unless some music critic said so. He did study classical music at Otago University after all. I just hear great inventive music here. This band, along with The Chills, and the Clean caught the attention of the Post-Nirvana music biz, when everyone was out seeking the next new music scene. The Verlaines spent time on Homestead and Slash records, but did not move enough product apparently. I managed to pick up the notorious Over The Moon album (back in the day I got an email from Flying Nun-a few must have fell off a truck), which was to be put out by Sony. The album completed, at the 11th hour the label decided to cut their losses and not release the album. They even began shredding the completed product! Seems a little strange, as the album is pretty good, though not their best.

Once I met a music critic at the WFMU record fair in New York who was a huge booster of music from New Zealand. And a Nice guy. Clued me into a hand painted copy of the Jono Lonie-Peter Jefferies "At Swim 2 Birds" that was floating around that day, and told me about Flying Nun finding a box of The Gordon's Second Album lying around. Thank you so much. He said he was at a music convention and was speaking to some people from Slash Records and at that point they simply said New Zealand is dead now. After touting album by The Verlaines and The Chills, they basically were writing the whole country off now. They probably got burned, people probably got canned from their positions. Music is a strange business.

That being said Juvenilia is some of the best New Zealand music of the era, part of the quintessential Dunedin music that is most associated with the Flying Nun label (though not a totally accurate assessment, just as Subpop is viewed as the "grunge" label). Their Hallelujah All The Way Home and Bird Dog (Slow Sad Love Song is like the NZ version of Day in the Life) albums are also pretty excellent. Juvenilia begins with the classic rollicking Death and The Maiden, whose opening lines "You're just too, too obscure for me" became the title of the Verlaines retrospective released on Flying Nun. If you have ever seen the charming low budget living room video from the Flying Nun dvd Very Short Films (not NTSC format), you will remember this one as video with the enormous bunny rabbit in it and the herky jerky waltz interlude.



Pyromaniac is another raucous number, though I'm not sure what shralak is in the lyric sheet. Maybe its supposed to be shellac? The number sounds almost like a jolly paean to arson, but I would guess that it is more of an analogy regarding living life. Downes' music can also be more quietly contemplative, as can be heard in the xylophone and oboe laden dirge Windsong. One of my favorites on this collection is in fact the blissful strummy ballad Joed Out. Downes is one remarkable songwriter.



But this just a very solid 15 song collection. The wonderful song Baud to Tears, is followed by the equally thrilling tune Crisis after Crisis. Angela alternates choppy  verses with a huge hooky chorus. "What am I supposed to do with you, When you get bored, there's no telling what you might do." You Cheat Yourself of Everything That Moves" is another monster of a song, as is the seven minute Clean-like, You Say You.



I actually did get to see Graeme Downes perform a few years ago, in-between the glory days of the 80's and the newest incarnation of the group who have released the well received Pot Boiler and the recent Corporate Moronic. It was just Graeme performing at Maxwell's in Hoboken solo. It wasn't such a good set, more of an afterthought. Apparently he was in New York on business I think, maybe trying to get signed. Unfortunately, he performed along to some pre-recorded music which I don't think worked too well. When he finally just strummed the guitar and sang, the set went much better. I was still glad that I went. I kind of felt like I was helping support a worthy artist.When these guys come from half way around the world to perform, you need to jump at the opportunity, because it may not happen again anytime soon.

In conclusion, this album is one of the essential New Zealand albums and one of my favorite Flying Nun albums of the era. This is cream of the crop stuff in my view. Don't deprive yourself, music fans.

Hello...It's Been Awhile...Not Much..How About You? One Year of C-Funk--The Music Blog for People Who Hate Music



One for the Homies. So sexy it hurts.

 Tommy Stinson was right all along, when he said, "I hate music, it's got too many notes." I kind of hate music but I also love it pretty obsessively.

When I started doing this, I didn't think I would change the world in any significant way. But I was out of work in a recession and it was a way of keeping my brain from atrophying. I think it probably only slowed the process down a little. I had thought about doing this for a long time, but it wasn't until I went to the Big Takeover Magazine's 30th Anniversary shows in Brooklyn last July that I decided to brush off the powdered doughnut sugar from my sweatshirt and get to work. 80's music is being marketed as nostalgia now, and it's like we haven't learned anything over the last 25 years--they are rehashing the same lame playlists that they used back then. It seems so many talented artists of the past are still the black sheep of the musical world, and the powers that be would just as soon have them excised from the narrative.





Earlier, Arianna Huffington was on some program, and said, "if you are out of work, start blogging". Perhaps self serving advice to a degree, but for some inexplicable reason the voice coming from the TV shamed me a bit. That was probably my first impetus to do this. And those two night in Brooklyn at The Bell House, where I saw all these terrific bands that are not getting the attention they deserve. Why not be another person tapping out my opinions into cyberspace? Who knows? Maybe some person will discover a record or band that they might not have found out about otherwise? And now that I've been working all of this year fulltime, though blogging seems like work at times and I haven't posted as much, it still feels rewarding to me.

I try to mix things up here, not as successfully as I would like to do. I don't pretend to be an expert on everything I write about, but I if I like something, I want to share my opinions with whoever wants to visit here. I would like to thank friends, family, supporters, and all the people who have been kind enough to take a look at some of my posts. The response has been mostly positive. And as I said, I would like to think that maybe someone came here interested in a specific artist or recording came away finding out about something new that they hadn't come here looking for. I can't say yes or no to whether it has in fact happened. I'm not sure if anyone has looked at a few of my posts.



So, I'm gonna talk about some music here mostly, drop some art and poetry from time to time, review some book and movies too, and rant about the world as coherently as I can here and there. I will delve more into Scandinavia, Wales, The Antipodes, Africa, Canada, Brazil, Japan, and points yet unknown, describing interesting music I've come across. I'll probably throw some Jazz in the mix too. There's a lot of stuff out that ought to be heard. I have things on the burner and I'm still on the lookout for new and interesting things.