Here's a little fun music as Summer grinds to its 2013 conclusion.
Here's a little Boston Surf Comedy from the late 70's. One of my roommates had this single. I'm pretty sure there are a few future members of The Cars performing on this.
Here's Voyage of the Aquanauts by The Posies. It's their song "Flavor of the Month" with new lyrics from an episode of Bill Nye the Science guy, who recently appeared on Bill Maher's Real Time on
HBO.
On a more serious note---Martin Phillips with some string arrangements from Van Dyke Parks. From the excellent "Soft Bomb" album by The Chills.
My favorite New Zealand group. Submarine Bells should be owned by everyone.
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Visqueen Celebrates America's Favorite Game!
As a New Yorker, I am not pleased with the way the Yankees are playing right now, but Opening Day of Baseball is the real first day of Spring for most Americans.
So to help celebrate, here's Rachel Flotard and Co., i.e. Visqueen, doing what they did so much better than most groups. The Seattle Mariners should feel lucky.
Though Visqueen is no more, hopefully we will be hearing more from the talented Ms. Flotard soon!
So to help celebrate, here's Rachel Flotard and Co., i.e. Visqueen, doing what they did so much better than most groups. The Seattle Mariners should feel lucky.
Though Visqueen is no more, hopefully we will be hearing more from the talented Ms. Flotard soon!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Merry Christmas!! Mark Lanegan Sings!
Merry Christmas! From Mark Lanegan's European Tour-only Cd, Dark Mark Does Christmas.
Simply beautiful. Like coal polished to a diamond.
Simply beautiful. Like coal polished to a diamond.
Monday, July 30, 2012
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?
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.
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.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Best Way To Spread Christmas Cheer!----Part 47--Young Fresh Fellows!
The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer is Singing Loud for All to Hear!
The Young Fresh Fellows---O Little Town Of Bethlehem
The Young Fresh Fellows---O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Visqueen Packing It In? My Recession has turned to Depression---
Just heard the news that Visqueen will be playing their final show in Seattle on November 26th.
Sad news. Their last album, Message to Garcia is fantastic; while their first two records are also pretty great, the new one branches out in so many new musical directions. The band is very talented, and if you live in Seattle you should count yourself lucky to have had the chance to see them live on many occasions.
I am very glad that I saw them last year at The BigTakeover's 30th Anniversary Party at the Bell House in Brooklyn. They methodically came out on stage for a short set, kicked our asses, and left the building. Rachel Flotard was a complete dynamo on stage, and she had some funny patter between songs. The whole band was fired up for the show, they could not have been more exciting--and I've felt that they deserved a lot more attention than they've gotten. If you don't believe me, listen to the music. It must be frustrating for a band this good not to get to a bigger level.
Anyway, I don't have any tangible information about why they are packing it in. I certainly hope they continue to make music in some way shape or form. As I've said before, sometimes when you spend years listening to bands it starts sounding the same. This band from the outset blew me away completely--if you are a young woman interested in being in a rock band, Visqueen would be a pretty great role model artistically. Hell, I even bought the T-Shirt and wore it proudly. Visqueen is a special band. If you haven't heard them, well, what are you waiting for? If you live near Seattle, see them while you can!
Sad news. Their last album, Message to Garcia is fantastic; while their first two records are also pretty great, the new one branches out in so many new musical directions. The band is very talented, and if you live in Seattle you should count yourself lucky to have had the chance to see them live on many occasions.
I am very glad that I saw them last year at The BigTakeover's 30th Anniversary Party at the Bell House in Brooklyn. They methodically came out on stage for a short set, kicked our asses, and left the building. Rachel Flotard was a complete dynamo on stage, and she had some funny patter between songs. The whole band was fired up for the show, they could not have been more exciting--and I've felt that they deserved a lot more attention than they've gotten. If you don't believe me, listen to the music. It must be frustrating for a band this good not to get to a bigger level.
Anyway, I don't have any tangible information about why they are packing it in. I certainly hope they continue to make music in some way shape or form. As I've said before, sometimes when you spend years listening to bands it starts sounding the same. This band from the outset blew me away completely--if you are a young woman interested in being in a rock band, Visqueen would be a pretty great role model artistically. Hell, I even bought the T-Shirt and wore it proudly. Visqueen is a special band. If you haven't heard them, well, what are you waiting for? If you live near Seattle, see them while you can!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
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... |
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.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Punk Out Of Time--Plastic Girls by the Minds
If you enjoy the music of a band you always want more. When I was a kid I used to wish that I might find more Beatles or Who albums filled with more great songs. But they didn't exist anywhere. Punk purists claim that the movement imploded within 2 years or so, before 1980 even. For those of us who want more classic punk rock and new wave, we have an enabler. Seattle's Dirtnap Records.
They have put out a number of wonderful poppy punk albums, from bands like The Briefs, The Busy Signals, the sadly missed Exploding Hearts, The Ergs, and The Epoxies. Not a lot of originality here. Just high energy exciting punk rock/new wave by a new generation of musicians recording under aliases. Even the album artwork and the fashion sense of the bands are inspired by the golden era of Punk Rock. And these bands have put out tremendous sounding derivative albums. And one of the best is Plastic Girls by The Minds.
Do you like The Buzzcocks? The Damned? The Undertones? The Ramones? Pointed Sticks? Joe Strummer? If your answer is yes, you can't go wrong with this Cd. It's a very fun album, heart pounding pop punk featuring stellar keyboard work by "Cera Bella Palsy" throughout. The singer "The Thinker" sounds a lot like Joe Strummer to me. The album is a brief twelve songs, with only Night Drive surpassing 3 minutes.
This album came out in 2003, but you would hardly know it.
Some of the great songs here are Undertonesy Don't Touch, and the Damned homage Smash Smash Smash.
The eponymous title song Plastic Girls is also excellent. The sound quality on the album is excellent--it sounds like they are performing it live in the studio. I can only imagine how great these guys must be live if they have this level of vitality here. They even do an inspired cover of The Adverts' My Place. If you like high energy punk rock you need to hear this. It doesn't have the depth of a Clash, Wire, or Gang of Four album, but give this album a chance and you will soon find yourself shouting and stomping along to the choruses of these retro punk confections.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
40,000 Tons of Devotion---Message To Garcia--Visqueen and the Unsinkable Rachel Flotard
 |
| Picking Up The Pieces Without Taking Them |
But what bugs me is that these guys remain relatively unheralded. Rachel is an undercover rock star that more of the world needs to know about. There is so much crap being trumpeted as art these days that great bands fly under the radar. Commercial radio is so bad, such a far cry from what it should be. These days it seems that it is basically the final product of contractual negotiations between monopoly corporations. The same stuff gets foisted on consumers ad nauseum--you might think radio executives recruit directly from Abu Gharaib. Pandering vs Art. There is almost a two or three tiered music business today and they don't seem to have much in common. Getting a contract with Anti, Merge, or Subpop has become a more valid career move than signing to a major label for many bands. It probably would insure a much longer recording career.
Message To Visqueen is simply wonderful, moving, passionate art, an album with great lyrical depth and musical diversity. I would highly recommend her other albums King Me and Sunset On Dateland. Those albums are full of punked out harmoniously memorable songs. All the Buzzcocks, Cheap Trick, Fastbacks comparisons are valid. But I feel like Col. Tom Parker when I try to describe this. She rocks out hard, but she does not sound like she is trying to simply follow in footsteps of The Who or some other macho band. She brings it with visceral energy, but as a woman, without being girly. Though certainly there are other worthy groups, I think that this puts Visqueen in rare company. But Message To Garcia builds on the strengths of their first two albums and expands outward, with more subtlety and new musical directions. And of course there is a tremendous outpouring of emotion here--the album is raw and confessional, packing a punch that goes beyond any volume adjustment. Non-generic music for the non-generic music fan.
Quite to my surprise, my favorite here is the country tinged ballad So Long. Cello and Piano instrumentation here, plus a pedal steel cameo by Jon Rauhouse. Though there are mostly uptempo songs on this album I think that this is really the cd where really she demonstrates her vocal chops. I consider Message To Garcia to be her crooners album, similar to Jeff Tweedy on Sky Blue Sky. So Long is certainly a good example of this. She succeeds in a completely new direction. It shows what the band and Rachel are capable of, and I hope they continue trying new things.
Here's Visqueen at Rabid in the Kennel...
All the songs are good on this album. So I'll make note of a few here. Summer Snow is a great uptempo number with great cello guitar interplay with a surprising Burt Bacharach flugelhorn interlude. Barb Hunter's cello is an integral part of this albums sound. Fight for Love is an irrepressible tune replete with a full on classic greasy guitar solo. When I hear Rachel sing on this song, I think in essence it epitomizes her indomitable spirit, her determination to keep battling. And since she has been through so much in the last few years, you can't help but root for her success. The recent loss of her father who she took care through a long illness (the album is dedicated to him), vision problems, dealing with the crappy music business, a rotating cast of bass players, and she perseveres. And she gives so much of herself on this record.
The Capitol is another great track a song that fiercely offers up relationship advice. On this song she channels her inner Janis Joplin. My second favorite song has to be the poppy joyous song Ward with the burbling synth ostinatos. Equally great is Tall Grass and the wistful ballad Forgive Me. "Run into you, once in a while."
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| Polishing What Was Inside |
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