Songs About Dogs and Being Sick...Hype! The Seattle Anti-Scene Scene Documentary

Hype! is a very intelligent movie about the Seattle Music scene directed by Doug Pray in 1996. There are probably many people who rented this movie with expectations of getting the low-down on Grunge, the musical movement that went world wide with the sudden ascent of Nirvana to the top of the musical charts, after MTV put the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video in regular rotation. I can see people being disappointed with this movie because it is in no way a simple-minded glorification of Seattle grunge culture and the early days of SubPop Records, but a rather even-handed coverage of a diverse music scene with a variety of talented bands, and a narrative of how the eyes of the world turned to Seattle briefly, and how a mythology arose that locals found both baffling and amusing (and also somewhat disgusted). The very fact that a good percentage of the movie has footage of bands who have little to do with grunge is an indication of what director Doug Pray had in mind.

The movie start with an overview about the Seattle scene, and why things developed the way they did. The rainy weather is cited, combined with boredom. The fact that they are at the very end of the Continental USA was mentioned, and the fact that bands stopped touring there much by around 1980.
It may be that a certain isolation helped create a certain local scene that had its own uniqueness. I keep thinking about the great novel World's End by T Coraghessan Boyle for some reason, though it is set in my neck of the woods, the Hudson River Valley, jumping back and forth between the 1600's and the 1900's. Back at the beginning my town was the one at the edge. Producer Steve Fisk mentions that there were plenty of bands imitating bands back in the 1970's. True, but maybe you've got to paint a few bowls of fruit before you begin turning the art world on its ear. And there were good bands then--there always is, but like the old adage of a tree falling in the woods, is anyone listening?

You be the Cat and I'll Be the Mouse

Maybe the elephant in the room so to speak, is the book Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds written by Charles McKay more than a century and a half ago. Here it was the end of the 20th century and people were just as crazy as the fanatics portrayed in his book. Of course it took something special for the Seattle phenomenon to bust nationwide, and that was Cobain and Friends.
Outliers seems to be a big trendy thing these days and I suppose you could call Kurt Cobain a musical outlier. The right wingers are looking for a million Steve Jobs to emerge from somewhere like a scene from Night of the Living Dead, but that's kind of silly. In our society if such a crazy thing happened, the armies of techno whiz kids would all destroy each other until there was only one left. Sometime it seems competition doesn't work so well here anymore. Getting back to Cobain, in my opinion there are no longer conventional big rock stars like Jagger/Richards, Rod Stewart, Townshend, Vanilla Ice, etc., but if any band in recent memory had old school star power, it was Nirvana--whether they wanted it or not! There is no denying the visceral thrill of seeing that first performance of "Smells Like" which is part of this DVD. They may have been hyped to extremes, but their music was the real deal. Their success always seemed satisfying to, a great band getting its due. Unfortunately, it is a lot to cope with, probably beyond the capacity of a lot of people, not just the three lads from Aberdeen. But as Kim Thayil of Soundgarden said in retrospect, maybe not so much the fame, but maybe if we could keep the money.

So, this sleepy little town which happened to have a lot of good bands suddenly was overrun by media, journalists, record industry people, musicians coming to Seattle for their big break. In a way the subtext, as hinted in the movie that in a way, the whole thing could be seen as a hoax gone out of control. As much as Grunge was a homage to hard rock of the 70's, it was also seen as being a little cheesy, getting up on stage, having some fun in a "so bad its good" way. Besides playing loud, screaming loud, long hair, no shirt like Iggy---it's a Powerful feeling! Furthermore, what set the scene for the eventual deluge was mock PR of SubPop, hyping the scene to be more than the sum of its parts. Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt have a lot to say in this documentary, and some of it is true. You could say they marketed themselves as a "smartlabel", the scene rather than individual bands. And of course, Charles Peterson's black and white noir photography gave the label and bands a unique look. Inclusive and subversive at the same time. Today SubPop is a much different label, with a much more eclectic world-wide roster which I think is a pretty good thing. But even in its early heyday, there was plenty of bands that broke the stereotype. Additionally there were other great labels in the day like Popllama,  C/Z, Estrus & K Records.

The movie is treasure-trove of bands. In addition to Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Tad and The Melvins, some Nirvana footage. You hear a lot of other things. Great garagey punk like Dead Moon. The Posies are represented, as are the great band Flop. One of my favorite Seattle Bands, The Young Fresh Fellows are in the mix. The awesome Fastbacks are also on board! One of the best moments of footage is an electrifying performance by Mia Zapata and the Gits. If there was another great one in town, maybe it was her. You also get to hear cool bands like the Monomen, Coffin Break, 7 Year Bitch, Hammerbox, Some Velvet Sidewalk.

Hilarity ensued once the 16-25 year old demographic got out and voted with their credit cards, burning their spandex pants, and began dressing in thrift-shop Dinty Moore attire. I always found it kind of amusing, how this became a fashion trend seemingly from nowhere. When I was in High School, all the stoners wore flannels, concert shirts or one pocket tees, and work boots. Suddenly it was like the stuff was created by a Seattle based Vivienne Westwood. It's hard to believe that people may have actually paid hundred of dollars to get designer cloned copies of basically low budget clothing. I have to believe a lot of money was lost on that idea, ultimately.

Another hilarious bit was the hoax played by Megan Jasper, SubPop employee on a New York Times reporter, Rick Marin about the local lingo. The "Grunge Lexicon" actually was published in the New York Times, a short list of Seattle phrases and their corresponding definitions. Harsh Realm was a bad place. Cob nobbler was a loser, lamestain was an "uncool person". Swingin on the Flippity Flop was Green River patois for "hanging out". Big bag of bloatation was being drunk. When word came out that it was all a put-on, it was pretty embarrassing moment for the Times.

Of course there is the counter-argument. Maybe it was all very real. Let's me just say, as a Devil's advocate, that in reality, in an isolated city in the Pacific Northwest, hypercaffeinated by Starbuck's, a local language developed. You know like the Gullah languange of the Outer Banks of Carolina. Let's say, perhaps, that a certain Subpop employee let her guard down, and let the cat out of the bag. Perhaps, a few influential people gave her a talking to, and suddenly Damage Control Local #638 is on the scene, and the whole sorry incident is swept under the rug....I believe that someday, Rick Marin will find his journalistic vindication, and his Grunge Lexicon will be viewed as a Rosetta Stone for Seattle 90's Grunge culture. Call me crazy. Maybe I just want to believe. If I disappear, you'll know what happened.

In the final analysis, Hype! is a great documentary, intelligently done, very funny. Wise quotes abound, from Mudhoney, producer Jack Endino, the Connor brothers, Kim Thayil, and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (a guy I like personally a lot better than his music). If I had to do a chronological time line the Seattle storyboard would be:

1)Great Music Scene
2)Great Music Scene hit by Grunge Media Tsunami
3) Water recedes, bands come out again, do what they do, and keep making good music. Kind of like the scene at Hogwart's at the end of the last Harry Potter Movie, only they magic wands and not wack slacks and plats.

You don't have to be a Grunge fanatic to love this film. You can be a huge grunge fan and appreciate it too. I found a few bands I was unfamiliar with that I'd definitely like to hear more of. In addition to the film, there is also a pretty good soundtrack out on SubPop. And I probably will be checking out more documentaries by Doug Pray also, like Surfwise, Scratch, Big Rig, and Art & Copy. But definitely see Hype! music fans, for a fresh take on the Seattle Music scene of the 80's and 90's.

Pinch Me-I Think I'm in Kent...-- Giles Smith's Lost in Music

Recently I completed Giles Smith's book Lost in Music, a personal memoir that involves musical obsession and also about reaching out for the brass ring of success in the pop music world. It's just one of those books that combine humor, wit, and humiliation, in fairly equal doses, often hard to separate. And of course about life growing up in Colchester, England. Giles takes a scalpel, and about as honestly and intelligently as a person can, attempts to forensically analyze his musical addiction from its earliest beginnings to the unrepentant present. Anyone who is in a band or dreamed of being a internationally beloved pop icon can identify with Smith. This is definitely a different kind of memoir, unlike recent ones by Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, and Dylan. This is more like Killing Bono by Neil McCormick. Maybe I have more affinity for books by the also-rans, like John Armstrong of Vancouver's Modernettes (Guilty of Everything), and New Zealand's Sneaky Feelings' Matthew Bannister (Positively George Street). And as a fellow keyboard player who also always wanted to play guitar, I sympathize with Smith's plights. To a point. Because hell, he made an album with Martin Newell! I'm a little jealous, frankly.

Giles Smith was in Martin Newell's band Cleaners from Venus, a group that he hoped would find super stardom on some level. Certainly Newell is a incredibly talented songwriter. This year many of the lo-fi, limited release recordings,of Newell are being made available to the public, notably a 3 Cd box set from Captured Tracks. Unfortunately for Giles, Newell is unlike say, a Mick Jagger, or the Gallagher brothers of Oasis, and did not have the fire in his belly to get out there and promote the music, go on tours, etc. Think more Andy Partridge of XTC or Steely Dan; record some great records and hope that the public buys them. Which is alright; from Smith's description he is a man with strong principles that he was adamant not to compromise. Even with great music and driving ambitions for glory, the recording biz is a dicey one at best. Plenty of posts on this blog can attest to this. Needless to say, the Cleaners from Venus never made it big, despite the brilliant jangle pop they made. These days Giles makes his living as a journalist, and Newell returned once more to making music, and making poetry.

Smith is not for a moment trying to make a posthumous case for the band as he is explaining the reasons why they never really had much of a chance, using very funny anecdotes, often at his own expense. He details many of the foibles of the music industry, and the fleeting fame that it might potentially provide. For example, he writes about the tour of Germany, where the Cleaners main fan base was. At the last moment Newell bowed out, as he simply could not go through with the ordeal. It was something he never wanted to ever do, but labels can be persuasive. So basically the tour went on without Newell, the singer/songwriter, i.e. the Talent. Imagine doing PR for the band, where the first question is "Where Is Martin Newell?". Like going to see a Paul Simon concert, but with an understudy filling in, like a Broadway show.

In some respects, the book also is reminiscent of High Fidelity, the novel about musical obsession and romance by Nick Hornby. If you are huge music fan, Lost in Music will definitely be both appealing and maybe a little unnerving, just as all the He writes about the bands he first was interested in as a child, and he isn't afraid to admit that he was a fan of some pretty awful bands. He waxes eloquently on the aesthetics of categorizing his collection, how his tastes were at times hand-me-downs of this brothers, and also a sometimes a reaction against the tastes of his brothers. And guiltily, he admits that most of these albums he was embarrassed to admit that he owned are still somewhere in the back of his musical catalog even today. He lovingly writes about his phases with Marc Bolan, 10cc, and about local lad made good Nik Kershaw in addition to the music of Stevie Wonder and the Buzzcocks. Any book that can name check such artists, in addition to Andrew Ridgely, Scritti Politti, Milli Vanilli, and the Status Quo has got to be pretty damned excellent.

I think this book is a great read for any music lover, both casual and fanatic. I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. He does a great job of walking a tightrope between taking music very seriously, and laughingly expounding on all the absurdity and irrelevance of pop music. As the great John Peel stated... I have read few books as funny and none that caused me to recognise the roots of my own enthusiasm as clearly or as frequently. He summed it up much better than I have. Do yourself a favor and give Lost in Music a go! And while you are at it, look into Martin Newell and The Cleaners From Venus if you are a dedicated fan of the jangle.

The Windbreakers Time Machine Compilation

The Windbreakers were a great rock band from Jackson, Mississippi. I first heard about them through a good grade received in Robert Christgau's music column in the Village Voice. So at some point I made a trip down to Midnight Records on West 23rd Street, and got some of their vinyl. Good jangly pop music--I probably knew them before I became acquainted with REM. And despite their lack of commercial success, I consider them to be one of most important groups of the new Southern Pop Music, best known by the aforementioned group from Athens, Ga. But other groups like Pylon, Let's Active, dB's, and the Windbreakers also made some great music, music that probably grew from a trickle from the legacy of Big Star to Mitch Easter's garage, to fully fledged musical scenes.

It's strange that I just picked up a copy of the Windbreakers Bobby Sutliff's first solo album, Only Ghosts Remain. A very enjoyable pop album with a nice Byrdsified cover of Small Town Romance by beret-wielding guitar savant Richard Thompson. Then I heard the terrible news while thinking about doing a Windbreakers post.

Bobby Sutliff was in a major car accident last month, suffering serious injuries. Although he has health insurance for medical expenses, they expect that it will be a long road to recovery, with extensive rehabilitation. His co-partner in the Windbreakers, Tim Lee, has established a chip in fund, for anyone who is a friend, acquaintance, fellow musician, or simply someone who appreciates the great music made. If you want to help, this is an easy way to make a difference. I don't personally know the band, but I have a great appreciation for the Windbreakers, as a band and as to their solo material. And as I tap the keyboard, a benefit tribute album is being planned. I know word is out across the Internet, but for a good cause like this repetition is a good thing.



I strongly endorse The Windbreakers compilation Time Machine, which cover their output from 1982-2002, including new two songs recorded for this release. The Cd was released on the Paisley Pop label in Portland, Oregon. My only quibble is that it is only one disc.




Listen to these tunes and I think you'll get an idea of the quality of the music these guy made, and if you have the means despite these tough financial times, I'm sure even a small amount to help a worthy musician would be appreciated. If you aren't familiar with the band but like the new southern pop sound of the 80's, Time Machine will leave you impressed.

Flower--Beautiful Beautiful Urban Noise From NYC

Flower Power!!

I had heard of Flower, but mainly because of Versus, the later band of the Balyut brothers. When I went to the Big Takeover's 30th Anniversary shows in Brooklyn, they were the first band up. Back on stage after disbanding about 30 years ago.  I didn't know even one of their songs, but for me they were definitely one of the highlights of the whole festival. The music was pummeling at times, as light as air at other instances, challenging, complicated, creative, diverse, but the beautiful sound from the guitars and the way the whole band meshed together like a big noisy machine.



Jack Rabid, editor in chief of the BTO, thinks they were the best band in NYC in their heyday. I'm not one to argue the point. Think a slightly poppier Sonic Youth, or maybe pre-Thalia Zedek Live Skull. Throw in a  little Mission of Burma and  Wire, and I think you get the idea. Honestly, I went right out the next week and found myself a copy of Concrete Sky, which contains their entire recorded output, i.e. Hologram Sky & Concrete. Seeing them live, even after a 20 year hiatus was such a visceral thrill for me, such a rush, that I have to admit that hearing them on CD was a little underwhelming for me. And it's not fair at all, because this is great music that I heartily recommend. I guess it's more of a testament to their greatness live. Here it is two years later and I'm finally getting around to this post. I really feel like the post is really 20 years overdue. And since going to those two nights in Brooklyn  probably was the main impetus for starting this blog, I guess I owe them some very deserving appreciation.




There are a lot of bands that I enjoy that create great songs with big melodic hook, great harmonies, or songwriters with a great turn of phrase, who are basically singing sublime poetry. But it is always great to hear bands that are original sounding. Flower was Ian James, Bass and Vocals, Andrew Bordwin, Drums, Richard Baluyut, Guitar and Vocals, and Ed. Balyut, Guitar. While I mentioned the twin guitar assault of the Baluyut brothers as an entry point, the whole band is great. Ian James was later in Cell and French, worthy bands definitely worth hearing---there is a website for French where you can buy their music for $5 a disc, or download for free. If you like what you hear, maybe it would be worth dropping a few bucks. A bargain anyway you look at it. (frenchrocks.net).




Listen to some of this and you be the judge. I think these guys were phenomenal. I don't think a band could be much more criminally unappreciated than Flower. A great New York noise band that flew under the radar. Let's hope we can get a few more fans of great music on board.

Syd's Pink Wiring System--- A 2000 Tour Oddity from The Clean

Yesterday morning I took another listen to a live Cd by New Zealand's The Clean, Syd's Pink Wiring System, put out in 2003 to help support their US tour. I think that this was the tour that I saw them for the first time, at the Knitting Factory. I remember that it was a sunny day; that is, until I got within five blocks of the venue.....

You'll Know Fame When You Meet Her...

That was when the weather started getting rough, my 1998 Honda Civic XL was tossed (well, rained on a lot). I parked about three blocks from the venue, and by that time the rain was at monsoon levels, making it hard to even see. I actually ran past Leonard Street and had to double back. By the time I came inside I was as soaked as a human could possibly be. Adding insult to injury, the rain stopped about five minutes after I got inside. It felt like the whole place was staring at me collectively, like a giant drowned rat standing on his hind legs in their club. The good news was that I eventually did dry off, and the show was pretty much as magical as I hoped it would be. David Kilgour is simply a guitar mensch. It almost seems like he developed this style by tinkering around, with his guitar and the dials on his amp, almost like a form of folk art.

I think about the movie Spinal Tap and the amps with the volume knob with a custom 11, instead of the standard ten. And if you are at all familiar with the excellent magazine for recording music, TapeOp by Portland's own Larry Crane, owner of JackPot studios, maybe you have read the New Zealand issue, where the Clean was interviewed. Kilgour was asked about recording and how the sound of the early Clean was created, and I believe there was a similar answer as to Spinal Tap, except putting treble and reverb all the way up to maximum. And if you are at all interested in the process of making music, TapeOp is simply a  magazine you need to get your paws on. There are also two books out compiling old articles from the magazine.

But back to the Clean. Seeing them live, and also listening to Syd's Pink Wiring is like meeting up with old friends, even though I don't know these guys personally. The music is chameleon-like, mesmerizing, improvisational, combining elements of psychedelia, dub, surf rock, folk, pop, punk, kraut rock, though not always of course in the same song. And it's always exciting to see what David Kilgour will do next, and at times it seems he actually is thinking about it as he goes along. And of course, Robert Scott on bass and Hamish Kilgour provide a rock-steady palette for his sonic excursions. And Sir David definitely airs it out on several of the longer songs on this disc.

Right now I am listening to track 5, the epic Point That Thing Somewhere Else, arguably the Freebird of  Kiwi Rock, the difference being that PTTSE is an amazing song that I never tire of hearing. I guess what I'm saying is it's a long song. Nice anti-social quiet singing, in that way someone gives a speech who is too shy to orate. Shards of molten guitar on this. The second song on this live recording is I Wait Around, from their Vehicle album, long overdue for reissue. A different animal from their early music, Vehicle is probably my favorite summer album, light and melodic.


They do Hold On To The Rail here, a song sadly omitted from the Merge Clean compilation but present on the original comp of early material released on Flying Nun. It's a mellow version, but in any form the song is a treat. Another enjoyable moment is on the record is the joyful Do Your Thing, reminiscent of Anything Could Happen. And of course there is the hypnotic drive of Quickstep, which the Chill's Martin Phillips performs on. Kilgour and Phillips performing together is nothing new-- they put out a mini-ep of 60's covers as The Pop Art Toasters, and they covered Message To Pretty on We're All Normal and We Want Our Freedom, which was a Love Tribute album.

And as you may expect the album art, front and back, is by David Kilgour, lovely colorful abstract art, another one of his talents. I just saw recently that Original Music was selling a vinyl version of The Clean's Odditties now. These lofi recordings have been out of print for a long time. I have part one on Cd and I actually had Part 2 on cassette, but I'm not sure what I did with it. More Clean is always good I say. Music that will enrich your life, I say. And somebody please reissue Vehicle soon. You can hear some of it on the Merge compilation, but the whole thing would be a real boon to music fans.

What are ya Wearin'?--Kevin Barry's Dirty Old Town of Bohane

Just finished reading Kevin Barry's first novel, City of Bohane. Not the easiest read at first. The novel is a lot of things at once, fairly audacious in the least. Not an easy project to complete, I would wager.
The novel is speculative fiction, set in the near future, the year 2053, in a city on the west coast of Ireland, namely Bohane.

Not a lot of explaining in the novel as to the Bohane world of the future. In some ways, its very much like what we know, but things are obviously altered. There doesn't seem to be much use of the energy sources we rely on these days, hence a lot of walking and public transport. It seems a darker place, without ready electricity, garbage pickups, proper sewage. No computers or cellular communications. No Facebook "friendships".Bohane reminds me a bit of places like Somalia, where central authority and order as we know it have ceased to exist. It is clan vs clan, neighborhood vs neighborhood. The language at first was difficult for me to fathom, which complicated my attempts to fathom Barry's shambling Malthusian society. Think of James Joyce, Anthony Burgess, Irvine Welsh and the new Scottish School, as to the language. In some ways I think of the great J.G. Ballard's novels like Concrete Island, and High Rise. In his novel, the evolution of language and accompanying slang continues as one would logically expect. Even people who remember the near past, before things change have a fuzzy memory, and people often misremember things as much as they recall. Much like that old childhood exercise where you have children whisper a message to each other--when the message reaches the final child it is quite different, often unrecognizable from the original.

I also think a lot about the E-network, and of course Adam Ant, Bow Wow & the New Romantics, and all that punk-rock pirate foppery. There are constant detailed descriptions of the clothing that everyone wears in the book, making you wonder at times whether this was set in Italy instead of Eire.

K Beez wit the Remedy...

And just the outrageous ostentatiously colorful garb described, particularly the Fancy Boys who are for the most part running Bohane at the start of the novel, reminds me of the whole Adam Ant deal. I could see a film adaptation of this with Joan Rivers asking the characters "who are you wearing".And even though for a lot of people Adam Ant signifies some of the more ridiculous aspects of the 80's, some of his music is quite interesting and pretty clever. Mostly the early stuff--I like the drums. And as this novel, suggests, as much as the world changes, as long as there are people, there will still be celebrity and celebrity worship, pomp and pageantry, propaganda as produced by newspapermen like Dom Gleeson, and sociopathic politicians like Logan and fixers like Ol' Boy Mannion. And of course the cruelty and viciousness, the profane vitality, the human on human violence seen in the brutality and machinations of the main characters in the novel. A cautionary tale yet also a celebratory of life at the same time. There is no shortage of nostalgia and warmth, even in the tough, uncertain world the characters of the novel inhabit.

Turn off the cellphone, and do us all a favor.

Don't want to spoil the book for those of you who are interested, so let me just say that I recommend it pretty highly. I've read a few good books the past few months, but this is up at the top of the list, along with Swamplandia! by Karen Russell and The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. Not as excited about A Visit from The Goon Squad, though I wanted to be. Though not a bad read, definitely worth reading. Maybe if I read it again I will enjoy it more. But take City of Bohane out for a spin. It's a cool blend of science fiction, linguistics, popular culture, sociology, history, political science all thrown together in a big sweaty, smelly heap. I can't wait to read his next short story collection, Dark Lies the Island. His earlier collection, There are Little Kingdoms was pretty brilliant. Barry is definitely well on his way.

Junebug--An puzzlingly unsigned band from Wales

I picked up this Junebug album a few years ago. I was intrigued by some positive plug of them I found in a power pop blog, probably Power Pop Overdose. They play a pleasing collection of Bubblepunk on their first album. Fans of Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush, The Knack, their superb Welsh predecessors The Pooh Sticks will be more than satisfied with these tunes. A good upbeat album for a long hot summer.

As I stated in the heading these Welsh Popsters are still unsigned. I picked up their first album entitled "First" from CDBaby for a pittance. I just checked CDBaby for Junebug inventory, and now they have 5 self-released albums, going the Chicago route, titling them Two, Three, Four, and Five. I hope they make double digits.


JuneBug is from North Wales and they are:

Ralph Latham: Guitar and Vocals
Guy Latham: Bass, Keyboards, & Guitars
Warren Gilbert: Drums, Percussion

It's hard to believe that some pop-oriented label hasn't given them a shot. Maybe it's the economy. Maybe they are doing just fine on their own. In any event these guys sound pretty terrific to me.
If you like great pop music like I do, done with creativity and panache, with decades of musical styles blended into the mix, the music of Junebug will put a smile on your face.

Matthew Sweet--Girlfriend comes back after 20 years--with a Vengeance!

Two Saturdays ago I saw Matthew Sweet perform his Girlfriend album at Tarrytown Music Hall from beginning to end. I have to say that it was a great show. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was not exactly a sonic reprise of the album. The live concert was a fairly brawny, harder rocking version, which was not a bad thing at all. When I heard about the show I didn't hesitate getting a ticket. Girlfriend is an iconic album of the 90's, a commercially successful College Radio staple. And it is an album that more than lives up to the hype, from start to finish.

In some ways, this retro practice of playing classic albums from beginning to end live is a boon for the music fan. You basically know what you are getting when you go to the show. For me, I would just as soon see a show where the band plays new songs, old staples, and maybe throw a few obscurities into the mix. A lot of people I know get indignant because the artists set lists strays from the songs they are not familiar with. And that's not really fair to working performers who continue to make new albums long past their halcyon days of commercial success. I go to see the artist, and as long as they don't completely mangle their own songs, I don't have a problem with a band doing variations of songs I like, like seeing the Clean doing a countryesque, slowed-down version of Hold On To The Rail. I preferred hearing at the Mercury Lounge, when David Kilgour hopped up on stage with the opening band and joined them in a rousing version of it, sounding more like Merseybeat on steroids. Or hearing Nick Lowe on stage doing essentially a Gospel version of What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding. I am not averse to  such pleasant surprises when I see a band live.



But Girlfriend is a truly special album in a number of ways. There is a universality to the album; almost anybody who is or was in a serious relationship can identify with Mr Sweet, our narrator. The songs run a gamut of emotions from extreme joy to the depths of despair and hopelessness. And it is a concept album, inspired by the dissolution of his marriage, a song cycle starting from the exciting start of romance, to the sad conclusion. And though it something that everyone goes through, he raises it from everyday mundaneness to something completely sublime. Not all concept album/rock operas work, but this one is probably successful by not overdoing it. Girlfriend is also a great pop album with unimpeachable hooks, an equally great sensitive singer-songwriter album, plus there is the added bonus of superb guitar licks, courtesy of Robert Quine, a veteran of Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and Lou Reed, and Richard Lloyd, from Television.

And on top of everything else, Girlfriend was a vindication for Sweet. Having been dropped by his label after his Earth album, and after having his demos versions of this album rejected by various labels, he not only got this great album recorded, but received both critical and commercial success.
And deservedly so. I would also recommend 100% Fun, his Japanese album, and I also enjoyed his fun album of 60's covers that he did with Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles.




I have to say I was pretty excited to see the concert. I've never seen Matthew Sweet live before and I was stoked. It was a contrast to the couple seated in the fourth row center, directly in front of me. Colin had seen Matthew Sweet about 15 times already. A super fan indeed! Turned out that they flew up from Texas to New York to see the show for his 40th birthday. Very nice friendly people. Also turns out he was in a band called Stereofuse who had some hits a few years ago, including  a cover of Material Issues's Everything that made the Billboard Charts. I listened to it on Youtube, and I liked it. I was a little embarressed that I didn't know the band, but I have a lot of black holes in my musical knowledge. I may know a little about Hamza El-Din, or New Zealand's This Kind of Punishment, but maybe not so much about Depeche Mode. But it is fun being around people who share an interest in music. Most people I know have outgrown it to some extent.

Another reason I was stoked is because I knew that Ric Menck played drums on the original album, and he was performing that evening. Joining him on stage was his bandmate from Velvet Crush Paul Chastain, who played bass and sang backups. I never saw Velvet Crush perform (stupid on my part),
but I did see them play when I was at the University of Illinois back in the 80's, prior to Velvet Crush.
I was as impressed with their abilities as their evident enthusiasm for pop music. I'm not sure if they were called Choo Choo Train then, or if it was something else. So it felt like a homecoming almost to see these guys play nearly 25 years later. I saw a picture of Menck on the Parasol with a gigantic Amish farmer beard, but I guess he shaved it off at some point before the show. A terrific drummer with long gangly arms, he looks so big behind the drums that it seems like he's playing on a toy set.
Velvet Crush is a criminally unappreciated band--I especially like their first two. I would also recommend earlier recordings like Hey Wimpus! the recordings of Paul Chastain and Ric Menck and The Ballad of Ric Menck. Menck also has written a book in the 33 1/3s series, the topic being The Notorious Byrds album by the Byrds, which I have not read yet. Dennis Taylor was the guitarist for the show, in addtion to Sweet, who I don't know much about at all. He did a great job on stage on Saturday though.




Like I said before, the concert showcased the album in a somewhat different perspective, brawnier, probably a little angrier. Even the quieter songs were played more aggressively. I don't think there were many disappointed fans that night. To people who go live in the area of the Tarrytown Music Hall, I would recommend that you get to the shows early, because almost every show I've been to lately has had a very good opening band. This time it was a band from South Carolina called A Fragile Tomorrow. Originally some of the band members hail from Orange County, New York, on the western side of the Hudson. I actually bought the album, though I think I liked them live a little better. I probably need to listen to it some more. I was pleased that the show appeared to be a sell-out. Perhaps a successful box office for this show will provide incentives to book similar acts.