In the stream

Amid a lazy Sunday of watching football, napping, and wondering what in the world I did to pull something in my lower back (or so I assume), a thread about Toto flared up in my Twitter feed. I thought I could only name three songs by the band. You know, the one about Rosanna Arquette, the one with ridiculous lyrics shoehorned in about the eponymous continent, and "Hold the Line". After checking out what singles of theirs charted, I recognized one more.

And that's all I have today. Time to hobble around like an old man.

Time of day

I was looking for a song by U2 that shares the name with a certain popular series of books and film adaptations, the latest of which opens Friday. It was going to be a dumb joke leading into some thoughts on the whole phenomenon--I saw the latest entry tonight--but I've scrapped that because...well, because I wasn't sure where I was going with it. (I haven't liked any of the films, but I don't begrudge the audience that goes in droves liking them.)

So, instead here's another song by the band that came from the same performance. It's quite a good one. Plus, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" is kind of what I always feel like when it comes to writing something for this space.

The sands of time

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.  As I try to keep up with everything and spin my wheels here, I wanted to post Squeeze's fun "Hourglass" video loaded with optical illusions, but embedding is disabled.  The vintage Letterman clip up top is nice to see, though.

Scary

If you're looking for something scary to watch this Halloween, may I humbly suggest The House of the Devil?  Made in the style of '80s horror films (and set at an indeterminate time in that decade), it's one of the scarier films I've seen in recent years, and it does a bang-up job of utilizing The Fixx song seen in its official video form at the top of this post.  (I would have embedded that scene up top, but out of context I don't know that it sells it much.  Plus, why ruin the fun?)  It should be pretty easy to find for rental or streaming.  Just don't blame me if it freaks you out.

Gold star

I had an unexpected twelve-hour work day, so in lieu of writing anything, here's a (relative) oldie but a goodie from one of my all-time favorite bands.

Friday night video

Crashing into the end of the work week and too fried to write.  Enjoy a new song from Wilco.

Zzzz

Long day.  I just want to put this on repeat and fall asleep to it.

Talk about the passion

R.E.M. announced that they were calling it quits today.  As a longtime fan I'm a little sad that they're hanging it up as a band, but they had a long, remarkably consistent run.  The last two albums have been a return to form after easily their weakest effort and thus make for as appropriate of a way for them to close the book as anything. 

Perhaps there will be the standard new album and reunion down the line, but I don't get the sense they'll take that path.  Whether they were a big underground band or a big (and somewhat unlikely) mainstream rock outfit, they didn't seem to be all that different.  I get the sense that the guys will continue to work on their own projects and be content to see where that takes them.

As best I can remember, the first time I heard R.E.M. was when "The One I Love" began getting radio play.  I was a freshman in high school and not particularly into "alternative" music.  In fact, I thought they and some of their peers were weird. 

For that matter, I didn't buy music then.  I listened to the radio but wasn't all that caught up in rock and roll.  Document produced some pop hits, as did their major label debut Green, and I had friends who were fans.  Still, I didn't get on board until Out of Time and "Losing My Religion", which I consider among my all-time favorite songs.

For me U2 and R.E.M.--the two were virtually inseparable as modern rock titans--became a gateway to another kind of music being made that was at least a bit off the beaten path and of my generation.  To like R.E.M. was to assert one's identity as quite distinctly different from the hair metal bands and classic rock vestiges that dominated the rock mainstream then.

For a time R.E.M. surely held the title as my favorite band.  I collected albums and singles and lusted for the imports I'd see at record stores but wouldn't buy due to their high price tags and sketchy origins.  I desperately wanted to see them live, but I became a fan right when they took an extended break from touring.

I finally got to see them two days before my college graduation in 1995.  Despite buying tickets in advance through the radio station where I was doing part-time work, I didn't have a great seat, but it didn't much matter.  I managed to see them two other times, in Cleveland in 1999 and in Cincinnati in 2004. 

That last time seeing them was fraught with my peril.  Originally the concert was scheduled for Akron.  I had a seat in the second or third row--fantastic!--and just happened to find out a few weeks before it that the concert was cancelled.  It was rescheduled for Cincinnati and put on sale with little notice where I live.  I was the first (and only) person in line at Ticketmaster when I plunked down the money to see them.  This time I ended up in the front row.  I could hardly believe my luck.  If that is to be my final memory of seeing the band, how can I complain?

R.E.M. hasn't been a huge band in commercial terms in a long time, certainly not what they were in the late '80s through mid '90s.  Whereas The Beatles and Led Zeppelin were still touchstones for my generation, does R.E.M. fill the same role for today's high school and college students?  I tend to doubt it, mainly because they were never THAT massive, but the music blogs have healthy respect for them that may sustain R.E.M. through younger listeners.

For those my age, though, it does feel like a shift.  My Twitter feed had plenty of comments and memories from fellow Generation Xers about the band's role in shaping what they listened to and what it was like to see them live.  I feel like they and U2 were on that last wave where being the biggest band in the world meant something.  As much as I love some of their inheritors--Arcade Fire, for instance--is it still possible for a rock group to penetrate mass consciousness like that? 

Although the mainstream was hip to them for awhile, R.E.M. was never a trendy band, and that may be a key reason why they will endure.  Listening to their songs and albums today, they don't sound especially dated.  Sure, I link them to specific periods in my life, and I suppose at some point I may listen to them out of nostalgia.  The workmanlike solidity of their music should still hold appeal, though, for future teenagers...or so I hope.  R.E.M. was never The Beatles, nor was that what they were meant to be.  Nevertheless, they are a defining band of the '80s and '90s, and it'd be nice to know that they have a deserved place in the canon in the years to come.

I just wasn't made for these times

I don't make a point of reading the comments on YouTube, but while I was digging through it for old music videos, I noticed two strains of thought emerging around the common theme "they don't make 'em like they used to".

Predictably, one set of commenters were reveling in nostalgia. They wrote how the music of that era was so much better and how these songs take them back to times when things were perfect in their own way. Keep in mind that I was mostly looking at music videos of the 1980s, although some were from the '90s. In other words, these are not people who are on the porch in the rocking chairs reflecting on the good ol' days...or they shouldn't be. (Also, the '80s wasn't exactly an easy, carefree decade.)

Clearly I'm not immune to the allure of nostalgia. What was I doing but clicking on videos for songs I haven't heard in ages. Granted, my interest was more in hearing with new ears what was once familiar. (The same idea is behind my current kick of watching pop cinema of the '80s and early '90s.) Nevertheless, it's impossible to do that without triggering memories. But people--and I'm speaking to my generation--must we already be resigning ourselves to cementing our cultural tastes and wistfully recalling high school?

The other set of commenters were teens wishing they were growing up during that time when the music was good, etc. What's funny to me is that '80s pop culture was not particularly well thought of at the time. I do feel like I can say it is not considered a rich time for rock music.

I suppose this way of thinking is common enough. I knew people in high school who pined for life in the '60s, which, you know, also had its share of social upheaval and other stuff that might take the shine off it.

For those who believe the pop culture of their youth was the last gasp of creative excellence, chances are they're reliving it through a rose-colored prism and forgetting about all the garbage or that they didn't like it quite as much as they recall. For those who believe the pop culture of a time before theirs is superior to anything done now, they can't see the forest for the trees. They're living through the sorting and canonization for their time rather than approaching it after it has been settled. People talk about the golden age of Hollywood or the early days of rock and roll. Guess what? There's plenty from those eras that no one gives a second thought to and for good reason.

Now excuse me while I go look up videos for pop songs I learned how to play on piano when I was in grade school.

Pop music

While I try to get my head together from another long day on the clock, enjoy this recent performance by Fountains of Wayne. I don't know of many bands these days that can strictly be categorized as pop, but I think they fit the bill quite nicely. Their new album is pretty good--this single sounds better on it, for what it's worth--and just the thing to listen to as the summer approaches its end.

No big hair

I never expected to write about Warrant, but with nothing much else jumping to the fore and the death of lead singer Jani Lane in the news, I guess this will have to do for today's blogging.

Warrant and other hair metal bands were inescapable when I was in high school. I liked some of it. Certainly if you listened at all to the mainstream rock radio stations in town, you were going to get plenty of it mixed in with the '70s standard bearers. It was pervasive on pop radio too. I can't say that the music means much to me, although it's not unpleasant to sample stuff I haven't heard in ages. Still, while I heard lots of hair metal in its heyday, I bought very little of it. (I do have a Slaughter cassingle, though. For shame, right?)

News of Lane's passing caught my eye, perhaps because he had an Ohio connection. With this story being out there, I watched some of their videos for the first time in a long time. Frankly, as far as I can remember, I was never all that crazy about Warrant. The videos don't shake that opinion, but I can respect the ability to write catchy--sometimes maddeningly catchy--songs. For instance:



Look, I can't in good conscience or in good taste call "Cherry Pie" good, but try to get that chorus out of your head. The video was ridiculous when it was released and is even more so now. If the straightforward lyrics left any room for doubt as to the song's undisguised subject matter--trust me, teenage boys were not missing the finer shadings--the promotional clip couldn't spell it out any more directly. It would be worth being offended by if it weren't so unbelievably dumb. (And this peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart!)



If I had to pick a favorite Warrant song, I'd probably have to go with "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Not that I've looked all that hard, but wasn't the video for it controversial for a blip on the pop culture radar? While I have nice things to say about Warrant, "I Saw Red" is a solid hard rock ballad.

I now return to my regular listening habits.

Meet the Beatle

At the age of 69 it is sort of incredible how long Paul McCartney played and how good he was during his concert in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. He still seemed quite youthful, and his voice has held up very well. If neither of these qualities were in place, I can't imagine that he would have played a nearly three hour show, which is what we got. His songbook certainly could sustain such a lengthy performance, one longer than that even. Still, how many people his age can you think of capable of doing this and doing it so well?

This was the last stop on his North American tour, and it wouldn't be out of the question to wonder if it might have been his last ever on this side of the Atlantic. Honestly, the chance that this was my final opportunity to see him live was a big motivation in my decision to buy a ticket. Maybe those thoughts factored into the setlist, which featured far more Beatles songs than I expected. Sure, it's not like he could go wrong playing some of the most popular songs ever. The size of the catalog he can draw from is staggering. His career in Wings and as a solo artist were represented, but The Beatles ruled the day. I suppose it was only appropriate. I certainly won't complain.

I got the chills several times hearing him enthusiastically perform classic songs that he's surely played long past the point where they interest him. Whether he stuck closely to the recorded versions or went with different arrangements, the results were thrilling. Among the highlights were a ukulele-led "Something" (not even one he wrote!), his solo acoustic playing of "Blackbird", "Maybe I'm Amazed", and the concert-capping "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End". He hit a stretch in the middle of the night where I was astounded to be reminded of how many truly great songs and popular hits he's written. How could you not love this?

I don't attend many big concerts like this, and when I do, it can be hard for the artist or band to shrink the venue. Most turn to big production values. There were a few of those during McCartney's concert--pyrotechnics during "Live and Let Die" were the flashiest--but for the most part the strength of the songs and the performance were relied upon to make the stadium feel smaller. To my amazement, he accomplished that. No, I wasn't doubting his abilities. After all, he's had plenty of practice. But it takes a lot of skill to make anywhere with a sold out crowd of 41,500 is intimate. To that end, McCartney's jovial attitude and anecdote sharing went a long way in making this massive space seem like a small party. Plus, say what you will about the peace and love vibe from the '60s, but the joyousness in his music is as pure and enduring expression of it as one might hope for.

The label "living legend" gets carelessly applied, but in the music world I can't think of many who are on equal footing with McCartney. What are the chances that any musical artist in the future can reach across as many generations and cultures for going on 50 years? (I'm not even sure the same goes for former bandmate Ringo Starr.) Initially I second guessed if I should go, but I'm glad I did. What a great night of music.

Daytripper

Vacation commences, so I hit the road and set Cincinnati as my first destination. I was in town for a big event later in the evening, so I wanted to get into town early. I used the extra time there to take in a movie at the Esquire Theatre in Clifton. I really liked how its exterior makes the building stand out.

Going to and coming from the parking lot I saw this sign painted on the back of a building. I have no idea what's going on there.

I capped the day by going to see Paul McCartney at Great American Ball Park. More on that to come in the next day or two. (Spoiler: it was a pretty great concert.)

Listen to what the man said

In anticipation of seeing Paul McCartney in concert on Thursday, I've been listening to some of his post-Beatles albums. Some I'd never heard, some I know from having checked out cassettes from the library when I was a budding Beatles fan.

I was born after The Beatles broke up. I remember when John Lennon was shot and killed but don't know that I realized how big of a deal it was in popular culture at the time. What I'm getting at is that I came at the The Beatles more from a historical perspective than as something that was part of my life.

As I've listened to McCartney, McCartney II, and Band on the Run, I've started to associate the songs I know with the times I first heard them. Suddenly these songs are no longer things I plucked out of history or a pre-pop culture consciousness but part of my life. It seems weird to say that seeing McCartney, who I've never seen perform live, will be a nostalgic experience, yet there's no doubt that such will be the case.



Nowhere is that truer than with his 1989 album Flowers in the Dirt. Until recently it was the only McCartney studio album I owned. On cassette, no less. [I also have the succeeding double live album Tripping the Live Fantastic on tape and the live albums CHOBA B CCCP and Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) on CD.] Looking up songs from it on YouTube, I'm struck by how familiar they are even though I haven't heard them in who knows how long. I listened to that album a lot at the time.

If forced to pick, I'd probably select McCartney as my favorite Beatle. Perhaps it's because he was the most visible in my formative years. Perhaps it's because his impeccable pop instincts hit a sweet spot.



The knock on McCartney is that he's prone to sappy sentiment. Fair enough. At least with the songs I've sampled, I'm amazed by the positivity emanating from them. I find it refreshing, though. I certainly can't say who Paul McCartney is or know if his art is as sincere as it appears, but when so much of what I see and hear seems to be at arm's length, it's breathtaking to come across an artist who's putting himself out there even if it won't win points for being cool. (Seriously, an ode to long-term marriage that doesn't make your teeth hurt isn't the sort of thing you're going to come across much in pop music.)



Initially I questioned if I should get a ticket for this concert. I haven't kept up with his solo work in a long time. Ultimately I decided to go because it's surely the last chance I'll have. As I've returned to his work, I've become genuinely excited about seeing him perform songs I've loved for a long time. I expect I'll be among the younger attendees. No doubt I have a different relationship with his music than those who came of age with The Beatles. Nevertheless, I look forward to this journey into the past, in part because I haven't been there for so long.

Overloaded

Packed day 'round these parts. In my absence, please enjoy dancing Thom Yorke. May the chilly sounds help cool off your surroundings.

Heat flashes

Is there any time of the year more than summer that brings to mind listening to the radio? Whether it's tuning in to ballgames while sitting on the patio or blasting music from the car stereo while driving with the windows down, this season and the radio seem to be connected.

We're having some hot weather here this week. Yes, I know you're probably having some too wherever you are. So I got to thinking about songs that were big during the summer. What was I probably hearing a lot when I was mowing yards? According to this Billboard list, twenty-five years ago Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love" from The Karate Kid, Part II was dominant. That one has me flashing back, as do many of the others listed.

New ears

I was listening to some albums that I haven't put on in quite some time and was reminded of the jangly pop pleasures in Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians' "So You Think You're in Love". The album it's from, Perspex Island, was released in August 1991, so I must have first heard it on the legendary alternative station 97X out of Oxford. So, temporary personal mystery solved: I heard it before heading off to college. (I was trying to figure out how I would have come across the song, as the college radio station wouldn't have been playing it and I didn't have cable in my dorm room.)

If you'll humor me, I'd like you to listen to the song now, if you haven't already, and then join me in the next paragraph once you're finished. I would have posted the video, but I couldn't find it online. For my purpose, it's actually better that it's just the song and some stills.

OK, good to go? Tell me: what is the song about? At face value it is about determining if you are in love and being honest about that feeling. Simple enough, right? Sure, it's the obvious interpretation, but it's a direct song.

Hearing it today for the first time in a long time, I wondered if the song has dual meanings. Is the character singing the song telling the person it's directed toward that he or she is probably gay and is just now realizing it? This reading seems very apparent--and equally valid--although such an interpretation hinges on how the songwriter is defining "straight". Hitchcock displays a wry sense of humor in his songs, so it certainly wouldn't surprise me if he intended it to be taken both ways. (I regret even putting a disclaimer here, but that was not intended as a pun.)

If we want to get into extra-textual evidence, this performance (with an error-riddled anchor intro) finds him altering "can you imagine what the people say?" to "can you imagine what the Pope would say?"

My point in writing about this isn't that I'm hung up on what the song means but how we--or in this case, I--hear and see things differently through the years. This secondary interpretation surely came to me at some point in the twenty years between when I first heard it and today, but I don't recall hearing it in this way when it was new. It seems blatantly obvious now. How could I have missed those less than subtle hints?

This relates to my amazement at the innuendo in older films. While this example is still newer in relative terms than I'd prefer to use, do a search for the yellow purse in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film Marnie and see what interpretations you turn up. (The linked YouTube clip's title is very forthcoming in what the handbag suggests. And it's not just some perv. I bet just about every academic paper on the film will point this out.)

Did the majority of people not see or hear such things as they were at the time? It seems incomprehensible to think so, yet with this song as an example, it would seem that I haven't always picked up on the full meaning either.

Craft work

From The Guardian's list of key events in dance music's history:

"The germinating moment for British dance music occurred, strangely, in a 1975 edition of Tomorrow's World, which featured four young Germans dressed like geography teachers, apparently playing camping stoves with wired-up knitting needles."

Kraftwerk is one of the seminal bands I know more by name than by their music, so I was surprised to learn of the importance of knitting needles in their art. You can see a little of what's been written about here.

Out of the past

Pretty much wiped out--23.65 miles on the stationary bicycle will do that--and feeling a touch nostalgic today, which is why you get the embedded music video. While driving around at lunchtime I landed on a radio station playing "the next generation of classic rock". (Translation: the music that was on AOR stations during my formative years.) I haven't heard these songs in a long time and own next to none of it, so I was sent on a bit of mental time traveling at the sound of Guns N' Roses, Tesla, and Def Leppard.

To add to that, seeing the new movie Super 8, opening Friday at a theater near you, pressed all the right buttons for me, not the least of which is it being set in a fictional town that's virtually where I grew up. Brookville, which is five miles from my hometown, is name dropped. Greenville, which is twenty miles away, hosts some scenes, although it's at a fictional Air Force base. I suppose they avoided having the characters go to Wright-Patterson because that's more urban.

Of course, there are a couple of major slip-ups, not that anyone is going to notice or care about them. (These are nitpicks for me to make because I know where they're talking about.) Belmont County is referenced, which is on the other side of the state rather than being adjacent to Montgomery County. Much of the film was shot in West Virginia, so maybe it's a nod to the area where production took place. The hilly landscape is not at all like the flat part of Ohio that I'm from.

The houses, inside and outside, all felt very familiar, though. The main characters are about twice as old as I would have been in 1979, but I confess to watching hungrily for props, production design, and anything else that I'd recognize. But there I go, getting all sentimental.

Perfunctory

I'm just not feeling the blogging today. Tired and ready to go to bed. In my stead, enjoy this fine track from My Morning Jacket's discography. (And their new album Circuital is worth a listen too.)