Okay, it’s time for me to contribute to “Original Wednesday.” And for my first selection…
This is one of my original Christmas songs. I know it’s a bit sad for a Christmas song, but it was a clear and simple portrait of how I felt at the time that I wrote it. And it still takes me back. (I suppose the question is, why would I want to?…)
By Chris Moore:
With only two days remaining in this decade, I’ve finally completed The Weekend Review’s take on the fifty best albums of the past ten years. I’ve added the modifier “Rock” albums in order to purposely separate out the other genres currently taking up spaces on many of the end of decade lists. The albums you will see here stretch across a wide range — from acoustic rock to alternative/indie rock to grunge rock and many shades in between – but what these works all have in common is that basic rock sensibility, namely a songwriter or band with guitars, bass, drums, and words and music of their own creation.
I had originally planned to post a top thirty list, but there were just too many (as you’ll see below) great albums that deserve ranking. And indeed, this has been a difficult — but enjoyable — task, pouring through my iPod selections and stacks upon stacks of CDs from the decade. I greatly enjoyed discussing and debating where certain albums should fall, and I was introduced and reminded of not a few by my close friends. Perhaps the most difficult part was attempting to remove my bias, wherever possible, from my final rankings. I even had to add the honorable mentions note, highlighting two albums that I could not in good faith rank higher than even one on the list above them and yet felt strongly about their quality.
With that, I enthusiastically thank those people who humored my desires to discuss and debate the greatest music of the decade, and I hope you will enjoy this first installment of the list. Check back tomorrow for the next ten, with annotations included for each album. And, of course, please leave your comments, criticisms, and even your own lists — I’d love to read and consider them!
31) Get Behind Me Satan – The White Stripes
32) Binaural – Pearl Jam
33) The Thorns – The Thorns
34) Rebel, Sweetheart – The Wallflowers
35) In Rainbows – Radiohead
36) Little by Little… – Harvey Danger
37) Reptile – Eric Clapton
38) On and On – Jack Johnson
39) Elephant – The White Stripes
40) American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
41) A Ghost is Born – Wilco
42) Riot Act – Pearl Jam
43) The Wind – Warren Zevon
44) Songs for Silverman – Ben Folds
45) The Ruminant Band – The Fruit Bats
46) (Breach) – The Wallflowers
47) Snacktime – Barenaked Ladies
48) More Than You Think You Are – Matchbox Twenty
49) Wildflower – Sheryl Crow
50) Sea Change – Beck
Honorable Mention
51) Here & Now – America
52) Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie
RATING: 3 / 5 stars
By Chris Moore:
To be honest, Marcy Playground is a band I had forgotten about, leaving them behind in a hazy collection of other nineties modern rock one hit wonders.
Out of sheer curiosity, I felt the urge to hear this most recent album from the “Sex and Candy” singer — it was originally slated as a John Wozniak solo project — that I came across on the Newbury Comics new release rack. (It certainly didn’t hurt that the disc came with a free download of their previous album, the aptly titled third release from the band: MP3.)
I didn’t expect much, considering that over a decade had passed since I had heard a song from the band. I always liked “Sex and Candy,” but even in 1997 I knew it was a fairly straightforward track made notable only by its provocative lyrics and Wozniak’s low, unique vocal tones.
What I got was a solid album comprised predominantly of an artist’s exploration of the roots of his music. Throughout Leaving Wonderland…in a fit of rage, Wozniak’s songwriting is simple and the band’s arrangements are as standard as they come.
When I use the term “solid,” I mean that Marcy Playground’s fourth release is comprised of generally enjoyable songs placed in an effective order to not only keep the listener’s attention, but also to contribute to a largely common set of themes.
And, yes, beyond all these qualifications that I am making, there exists the realization that a “solid” album may be listened to and even appreciated, but it is nothing special.
As with their late nineties single, one of the greatest strengths of the album is Wozniak’s signature vocals. Throughout the album, he weaves tales of sorrow, loss, and reconsideration. Whatever “Wonderland” represents for Marcy Playground’s John Wozniak — a relationship or fame to name just a couple possibilities — the exit from said Wonderland is indeed a violent one, soaked in booze and drugs and, at times, literally marked by flames.
“Blackbird,” the opening track and the first US single, sets the tone for what is a heavily acoustic record, a notable departure from their previous release. “Irene” and “Memphis” are so acoustic and rootsy that they sound as though they were snatched from a decades old country/folk record.
Meanwhile, the album is spiced up by tracks like “Devil Woman” and “Good Times” — the first Canadian single — which are predominantly acoustic, and yet endowed with a heavy beat and a set of catchy vocals.
Of course, the album is not without its electric touches. “I Must Have Been Dreaming” is a clean and catchy cut, but “I Burned the Bed” and “Emperor” are drenched in distortion and lie at the heart of this album, both thematically and musically. “Gin and Money” offers the complete package — opening with a nearly tribal beat, subtle but integral piano, and acoustic fingerpicking before kicking into high gear with a little feedback and a lot of spirited vocals and electric guitar.
Overall, I score this album as a “Maybe Not.” I’m glad I bought it, and I’ve listened to it almost twenty times already. I truly enjoy many of the tracks, and Wozniak has crafted the order to ebb and flow at just the right times.
However, what doesn’t hit home with me is the simplicity of the lyrics — referring to himself directly in “Good Times,” taking the bright and instantly-stuck-in-your-head “Star Baby” and crippling it with cheesiness, and feeding into some middle school-worthy rhymes in “Thank You,” to name a few instances. This is my most significant criticism; even the largely predictable arrangements fit within the larger context of the album.
This is an album about coming to terms with the universal thematic subject matter of love and youth lost, of having to grow up after having lost something to the ravages of time. If you can look past the simplicity of many of the thoughts being conveyed, then this album is worth a listen.
If not, then it might be time for you to go back to the classics — Dylan, Beatles, etc. Or at least to last year’s Counting Crows album.
Hey there! Well, it’s Original Wednesday, and Original-ly this post should have been Jeff! But he was nice enough to call me and offer the spot to get back on blogging. So, out from the bullpen I come, (hopefully more effectively than the Mets bullpen!) with this original acoustic laptop session for you to enjoy. I remember everything about writing this song- I remember being embarassed by the oddity of the tune. But, as some of you may know, songs come to me. So I don’t really have control of the style or genre or tune…and most of the time the words! It hits me like a sack of bricks. So what you get are raw and honest tunes, with simple lines that end up being my favorite.
This song has a spanish-feel to it, and the middle where chords ring out is very Dennis Wilson sounding. Some of my favorite lines are “She’s easy to love, and you can bet she’s so good lookin’…but in this case there’s more than meets the eye…” All of these words were auto-biographical, and you can hear it in the lyrics, like you’re a fly on the wall for these interactions- “And sometimes when I look in your eyes, I see confusion”… “When she sits across from me”…”Sometimes when I sleep, your eyes- they look so deep,..and in them I can see nothing but love”.
It was about the stress of romance and the meaning of dreams (where this song was written) and how during the day, facades can be put on, but at night, your conscience isnt always there to protect you from talking in your sleep. One of my favorite lyrics, in its simplicity, is “And somehow I know that I’ll never stop loving you”. The last verse, after a pause- was a joke in music form… when people think it ends, I hop in saying I wasn’t through speaking (hope i got you on it!) I remember playing it for Jim when it was recorded, saying “Wanna hear this stupid, weird song I just did?” and when he finished listening to it, he kept the headphones on and said, “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?…that’s the best song you’ve ever written” =)
oh jim, this is for you… you’ll be the only one that gets it.
3 = ooO