For this year, I’ll reserve my perennial rant on the decay of the album as an art form and the loss that is represented by the turn to digital delivery of music. Instead, I’ll take this opportunity to point out three special albums this year that embraced the possibilities that are available for expanding the vision of the album to a more total view, including the physical representation of the themes and images of the music and lyrics. The highlight of the year was Fiona Apple’s The Idler Wheel…, which presents drawings and handwritten lyrics which give the sense of flipping through a writer’s notebook. Go Fly A Kite can be fitted into place as a 3-D diorama, which is unique at the very least, not to mention that the lyrics include chords. Finally, The Sound of the Life of the Mind is brilliantly designed, but for the fact that far too much space is taken up by names of fans who bought into the project as sponsors, particularly considering that there are no lyrics in the CD version, which is a shame based on how artful they are.
1) The Idler Wheel… – Fiona Apple
2) Go Fly A Kite – Ben Kweller
3) The Sound of the Life of the Mind – Ben Folds Five
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
There’s only one day left after today for our latest edition of “New Bands Week.” It’s always sad to see it go… Now, in the past, we have unofficially extended our New Band Weeks by quite a few days, fishing deep into our reserves to find songs from new and different artists. I wonder if Jim and Jeff plan to surprise us with acoustic covers of new bands even after Sunday…
Unfortunately, I’ll be breaking that trend by Monday, when I post my 100th Laptop Session! I wanted to make it a special one, so I have chosen — and no one can convince me otherwise — to perform barenaked. Oops, that was a typo. I meant to write “Barenaked” with a capital “B.” My bad. My 100th session will be “Break Your Heart” by the Barenaked Ladies. This is one of my all-time favorite songs, ever since Jim played it for me a few years ago. I love everything about it — the lyrics, the concept, the emotion expressed, and most of all, Steven Page’s vocal performance. Now, I’ll admit that this song is a bit out of my comfort zone. And I spent about an hour tonight practicing and perfecting my performance and running my voice ragged and to the edge. Will this be my best acoustic cover music video ever? Probably not. But, will it set the bar higher for my next 100 session? Absolutely!
But, that’s enough about my next session. I should probably write at least a little bit about my cover tonight…
Before New Bands Week started, we each signed up for bands we planned to cover. I had signed up for Jimi Hendrix, Billy Bragg & Wilco, and John Denver. Then, I jumped the gun and released a Jimi Hendrix cover a few weeks ago. That left me with two. I recorded “Walt Whitman’s Niece” by Billy Bragg & Wilco for my Tuesday session, so that left John Denver. And I truly planned on recording a Denver song.
But it was not meant to be. Instead, I’m bringing you a Billboard Hot 100 top twenty song. This is Duncan Sheik’s “Barely Breathing,” a song that I’ve been practicing and wanting to record for a couple months. Tonight, finally, I pulled it out, dusted it off, and I hope you enjoy it. It really is one of those songs that received a ridiculous amount of radio airplay when I used to listen to it, but it absolutely deserved it. It was easy to learn, had some interesting chord patterns, and this was probably one of the most fun recording sessions I’ve had in some time! It was actually an odd experience — I haven’t heard the song for years, but I remembered almost all the words the first time around, and the whole experience was very natural. For me, that was exciting!
Well, that’s it for me for now — Jeff Copperthite’s closing New Bands Week video is in the archive.
See you next session!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
Welcome back for another installment of “Chris Moore Monday” here at the Laptop Sessions. I’m excited to bring you another installment in my little Wilco project. I decided a couple months ago that I would like to record one song from each of their albums — since there are six, I figured that would be a reasonable goal.
I’ve already recorded from their first album (“Box of Letters” from A.M.), third album (“How to Fight Loneliness” from Summerteeth), fourth album (“I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), and now I’m happy to present “Wishful Thinking,” a track from their fifth album, A Ghost is Born.
This album took me a little time to get into, but once I did, I really grew to love the songs. There aren’t really any songs on the album that stand out as single-worthy; in fact, I don’t believe they even released a single. But, as you become more and more familiar with the songs, you begin to pick up on the subtle nuances in both the instrumentation and the vocals. Considering the album’s twelve tracks, I thought this one would work best as a solo acoustic number. In addition, I think the vocals are a particularly good match for my range and style, so I’m always excited when that happens…
Although I chose this song, my instant favorite track on the album was “Company In My Back.” I didn’t even know what that meant at first, but I loved the song, so I had to do some research so I could fully understand what I was singing along to! I may yet record that track (coincidentally the song that follows “Wishful Thinking”) for a future “Members Only” video or a surprise non-Monday video. After all, with so many great bands and songs that we haven’t covered, I don’t feel like I can spend too much time on any one artist, even if they’re one of my favorites…
So, I’ll hold myself back from recording my final two Wilco songs of this little “project” at least for a while. I did finally buy the second Wilco studio album today with a Best Buy gift card from Christmas. That was exciting, if a bit sad, since that’s the final gap in my Wilco collection. But, it’s a double album, so it’s a sizeable gap and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. I’ve only had time to listen to the first disc, and I was distracted for part of it, so I think I’ll put it on as I get ready for bed.
I should share that the second CD I bought with the gift card today is Warren Zevon’s 1991 album Mr. Bad Example. Apparently, this is the “Encore: Back in Print Imprint” version. If I recall properly, this album was such a flop when it came out that it went out of print until recently. I couldn’t be more excited, as my second favorite Zevon album of all time is The Envoy, his eighties album that was so poorly received that his record label dropped him. And I love that one! What a shame.
On a personal note, outside of my DVD player temporarily going haywire last night, I had a really relaxing weekend. For those of you who don’t teach and/or have work that you bring home, that’s also code for “I didn’t really get much work done.” Oh, well. The week will begin soon enough, and as good ole T.S. Eliot wrote, “There will be time. There will be time.” I hope so, because I’m going into midterms with a slightly larger pile of work than I hoped for and my BEST portfolio on the horizon…
Oh, and I almost forgot. If you haven’t already, you should check out my review of Meade Skelton’s new single “My Loudoun County Home,” which I posted yesterday. Jim and I are quite excited to have our music reviews section expanding, so go ahead and read them all! Or, if you don’t have time for that, then browse the archive for another awesome “Jim Fusco Tuesday.”
See you next session!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
Hello and welcome to the first Weekend Review of the new year. I hope you’ll enjoy our new monthly format, optimized for ease of use with the hope that you’ll be able to turn to guitarbucketlist.com for new music news in 2011.
The King is Dead
The DecemberistsProducer:
Tucker Martine
Released:
January 14, 2011
Rating:
4.5/5 stars
Top Two Tracks:
“Rox in the Box” & “Rise to Me”
After the impressive – and yet distracting – complexity of 2009’s The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists return to kick off 2011 with what may very possibly be the best album of the year. The King is Dead, referred to as a “barn album” by band members in the deluxe edition doc Pendarvia, is an album of simple and yet profound beauty.While, to be fair, it lacks the mind-blowing scale of recent previous efforts, there is something to be said for a cohesive and eminently listenable collection of tracks.
Think of it as an acoustic rock masterpiece, headlined by the soaring “Rox in the Box” and the sing-along anthem waiting to happen “This is Why We Fight.” Even the fully acoustic, balladic tracks like “Dear Avery” are gorgeous to such an extent that you won’t be able to skip the track, even if you’re on the road looking for a rock song. Although the lead single, “Down By the Water,” lacks something of the “x factor” that makes songs truly great, it is still a tightly packaged, catchy tune indicative of the best of the King is Dead sound. Oh, and if you think “Calamity Song” sounds like an aural love-child of R.E.M., you won’t be surprised to learn that it actually features Peter Buck on lead guitar.
Good, good stuff, and a high bar to be set this early in the year.
Mine is Yours
Cold War KidsProducer:
Jacquire King
Released:
January 25, 2011
Rating:
2.5/5 stars
Top Two Tracks:
“Royal Blue” & “Flying Upside Down”
2008’s Loyalty to Loyaltywas the album that introduced me to and left me in awe of the Cold War Kids. Their unique sound and keen sense for mixing the slow and off-center with the straightforward and single-worthy led me to high expectations for their next release.Well, as is often the case with high expectations, the reality rarely compares.
Whether my reaction is due to what I had expected to find on Mine is Yours is honestly too early to say, but what I’ve heard here is a collection of underwhelming tracks, many of which seem to promise more than they deliver and are often longer than they deserve to be. Tracks like “Royal Blue,” “Sensitive Kid,” and “Flying Upside Down” stand out as excellent without need of qualification, but others like “Broken Open,” “Louder Than Ever,” and “Cold Toes on the Cold Floor” beg for more consideration, more development, in order to reach the heights established on the previous record.
This is not to say that it should be like a sequel to Loyalty to Loyalty, but the songs of Mine is Yours should at least be as interesting. While I was initially turned off by the slicker production values, I’ve entirely come around on that, which makes me wish that more attention to detail had been paid.
The Party
Ain’t Over
Wanda JacksonProducer:
Jack White
Released:
January 25, 2011
Rating:
3.5/5 stars
Top Two Tracks:
“Shakin’ All Over” & “Nervous Breakdown”
Slogans like “The Queen of Rockabilly” don’t typically entice me to purchase music, but in this case, it was bookended by Jack White’s name in the production credits and a nod to Bob Dylan’s “Thunder on the Mountain.”In short, I couldn’t resist at least one listen.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Party Ain’t Over holds up to repeated listens, fronted by the outstanding “Shakin’ All Over,” a track that aptly blends the gritty alternative sound for which White is so well known with the sonic signature of 50s rock and, I suppose, rockabilly. Here, as on the rest of the record, riffs abound and Jackson’s ragged voice establishes her in my mind as the female equivalent of a contemporary Dylan, in vocal delivery if not in lyricism, craftsmanship, etc. In the area of originality, it is clear she doesn’t hold a candle to aforementioned Bard, but her choice of covers is impeccably fitting: a devastating take on “Busted” (see: Johnny Cash), the closest anyone has come to covering a 2000s Dylan track without earning a sneer from me, and a redefining arrangement of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know That I’m No Good.”
Even the latter half tracks are enjoyable, foot-tappers like “Nervous Breakdown” and “Dust on the Bible,” as well as slower tunes such as “Blue Yodel #6” (not to be confused with #4, or my personal favorite, #9). All in all, for an impulse purchase out of raw curiosity, The Party Ain’t Over is a testament to Jack White’s capabilities as producer and studio musician; it may not be the best album of 2011, but it bears a certain quality and strength of arrangement (both within tracks and across the album) that it deserves to be noticed.
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
