NPR Song Of The Day: Joan As Police Woman, ‘Real Life’

Joan As Policewoman's Real Life is out now.
Joan As Policewoman’s Real Life is out now.

I saw Joan as Police Woman open for Andrew Bird about a month ago at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club, and despite the rather inattentive and talkative crowd — which can ruin a quiet performance — she held it together and put on a great performance. Here’s a short piece about the title track to her album Real Life for NPR’s Song of the Day. Check out the song here.

Continue reading NPR Song Of The Day: Joan As Police Woman, ‘Real Life’

hello.music – Puppets are my Friends (the Aryn version 1)

hello.musicHere we go ladies and gents, my very first hello.cover version 1. From Greg Johnsons world through my fingers and vocal chords it makes its debut to the internets. I am likeing how this is turning out so far.. Going for that jovial, almost I’m From Barcelona type sound, which I think i’m hitting? Keep in mind I havent done any proper mixing yet, but here it is in it’s unfinished glory. Now with backing female vocals by Sue Burrington!

Puppets are My Friends

[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/hellomusic_aryn/puppets_v1_aryn.mp3]

Let me know…

Old Things That Are New (Again) To Me — Down In a Hole

REDISCOVERING ALICE IN CHAINS..and the DIMINISHING RETURNS of GRUNGE BANDS

Rediscovering Alice in Chains

The other day, when I came across a Ryan Adams performance of Alice in Chains’ song ‘Down in a Hole,’ memories began flooding back to when I was younger and how much I listened to this music. Though I mostly look fondly at this era, a recent review for the new Nine Inch Nails record in Paste Magazine opened with a notion that got me thinking. They pondered, “Has any genre aged more poorly than grunge?”

The more I thought about it, the popularity and commercial peak of the alternative rock of the early 90s, that Seattle sound, in many ways set alternative music off course for the remainder of the decade. More and more, the cliche trappings of the genre — overwrought throaty vocals, the crunched wash of guitars played through Marshall stacks, the long haired drummers pounding with heavy metal gusto — are growing increasingly out of favor especially, as Paste put it, “in this era of effete rock stars.” Obviously, as time goes by, there will be gradual changes of taste, but has the impact of grunge bands has experienced diminished returns?

I often joke about longing for when the 90s return to favor so that I can finally pull all my flannels and Stone Temple Pilot tshirts from the bottoms of boxes in the basement (mind you I was barely in middle school then). Yet I honestly cannot imagine anyone actually wanting to go back to those oversized relics. Similarly, it’s hard to imagine many new artists revisiting the same tropes.

Can we blame grunge bands like Pearl Jam for the sins of the late 90s music? And why are hard rocker bands still dressing like this?

Up until the most recent indie rock explosion of bands like Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse Death Cab For Cutie, and The Shins breaking through, mainstream (not indie) rock music was still stuck in that brooding post grunge pit of despair. Certainly we cannot blame Eddie Vedder (or can we?) for later-day and lesser talents such as Creed, Staind, Lifehouse and all sorts of other dreck that still populates modern rock radio today (do these bands even exist anymore? Actually, I have no idea, so I might be completely off base on my whole argument).

Fans had to retreat to those underground and independent labels, scour your weird friend’s collections or dig through stacks for the quality indie rock (Pavement, Guided By Voices and so on and on and on…). And in my case, I devoted much of my attention to jazz as a savior of music as an art form and not a commercial venture brought to you by Budweiser and the Mattress Warehouses.

Anyway, while it’s not my place to give the final verdict on where grunge music (or any music from the 90s) fits into the realm of rock history, I think the reason grunge still induces some groans is perhaps because much of the worst mainstream rock hasn’t evolved much from that era. Perhaps we simply don’t yet have enough distance to filter the good from the bad.

In the span of that ‘twenty-year cycle’ fans and consumers can gain some wisdom and perspective on music, art and even fashion. And yet I certainly can appreciate that, at least in my mind, the creative height of grunge was probably the last time artists in the MTV radio mainstream were simultaneously critically praised…at least until the last few years.

Its interesting to note that of the big four from that era, only Pearl Jam remains (which is more a testament to Vedder and company’s devotion to its fans and endless touring). And these days they aren’t so much grunge anymore as a modern version of straight up classic rock. But where is everyone else? Almost everyone else has broken up, moved on to other bands or even more unfortunately, died off. Suffice to say, if the lingering legacy of grunge are bands of the Nickelback ilk, perhaps then the true art of the music died when Kurt Cobain did. But that’s not to say that there weren’t songs that still hold up to the tests of time.

Which brings us back to Alice in Chains. Alice in Chains’ popularity never quite reached the heights of their peers, and like Nirvana, their careers (and hopes of a reunion) were cut short when Staley died of an overdose in 2002. But as we qualify the lasting legacy of grunge, Alice in Chains will always be in that conversation.

Peaking around the same time in Seattle, the band was lumped in with those artists, yet probably owed more to heavy metal than classic rock or punk like Pearl Jam or Nirvana. Alice in Chains was definitely harder edged and thicker in sound but singer Layne Staley’s distinctive voice pierced through the often murky layers of crunchy guitars. Staley’s voice was quite influential as was his passionately personal, pain-filled, yet timeless songwriting.

As such, it will be interesting in years to come to see what artists emerge that attribute their sound to growing up with grunge bands in the same ways bands now are taking claim on Gang of Four and Joy Division. It could be that perhaps guys like Adams, or Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard performing Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies,’ by putting their own spin on the song, could bring attention to some of the great songwriting of the era and rediscover the potential of these songs. ‘Down In a Hole,’ much like Adams’ own rendition of Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ displays a great reinterpretation of a timeless classic. Or at very least, provides a few minutes of music listening.

What is the legacy of grunge to the pantheon of music? Guess we’ll have to wait to find out…until then those old STP shirts will have to remain in those boxes.

Check out the Ryan Adams performance here and below the Alice in Chains’ live performance from MTV Unplugged.

[youtube]1TOltL0u49k[/youtube]

hello.music — TNT \ A Track and A Train update

hello.musicDid some significant work last night on this song…added some instruments and remixed it a bit. Still quite a ways off from completion I think but stepping in the right direction. Next up..reworking the vocals. Also thinking of repeating the chorus again before the grand fade out, but that will push the song past the five minute mark. We’ll see if I care to actually do that. ..

Here is version 2b of the song.

[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/hellomusic_mike/TNT_v2b.mp3]

UPDATE 6\27: I retracked my vocals last night…not perfect but better than before…I might give them another go tonight if my roommates arent around. I think the mix still needs some tweaking since thinks sound a bit muddy in the mid range but we’ll see. Here is version 3a.

[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/hellomusic_mike/TNT_v3a.mp3]

Recommended Listenings (or at least what I listened to yesterday)

These are the 3 albums that I threw on yesterday while processing work related business reports… Check em out when you have time, or don’t .. its your dollar/ears.

A Ghost is Born by Wilco

Coming off of getting to see them in DC last weekend, (thanks to a random series of business trips, random timing of free tickets, and general aligning of cosmic musical forces) I decided to throw this oldie back on the digital turntable ( i.e. iTunes). They were really great to see live, it was a little strange actually seeing them in person after only listening to them in recent years soley through albums and DVDs. Their set was energetic, rocking and a good time to be had by all. Living in Chicago its really hard to get tickets when they are here, so it was great to finally be able to see them in person.

TNT by Tortoise
Revisted this one as well, partially because Mike recently recorded a for the June Cover month ep, and also because its down at the botton of my alphabetical list close to “W” for Wilco.


Loon by Tapes ‘n Tapes

This was one of those records that I picked up on a whim while perusing at the record store next to my hair cutting store where I get my sidecars, and rear parts cut. It was playing in the store, and sounded at least intriguing, and after some recommendation from the store owner I brought home my very own shiny copy. All in all a decent record, entertaining, with a few tracks (namely Manitoba ) that shine out among the others. I really have no clue if they have released anything since this one. Maybe I should look into that…

Enjoy musics!

hello.music — TNT \ A Track and a Train

hello.musicWelcome back everyone to Hello Music releases… My absence can only be explained by computer problems, nice weather, and a general malaise of artistic self doubt. As you will here on this track, it is largely unfinished and still pretty rough. The vocals will need to be redone for pitch, the second verse added as well.

In addition there seems to be things lacking sonically; perhaps its in need of a more tonal center that can be aided with some droning synths or organ, some atmospheric depth and perhaps bass. I don’t want to overdo this song and let it get mucked up in too many overdubs so that will be my challenge for myself.

This being cover song month, I decided to not only cover one of Aryn’s songs (coming soon), but record a song by another band (or in this case bands). This song combines elements of Tortoise’s ‘TNT’ and Shout Out Louds’ ‘A Track and a Train’ played in a slower style that hopefully with be something of a dirge like something Sparklehorse would do.

Not sure its there yet but might as well show it off here to get some suggestions and outside opinions.

Here it is, version 1a of my cover of TNT.

[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/hellomusic_mike/TNT_v1a.mp3]

Anyway, thoughts?

Recommended Readings 6\22

Tom Kenny = Spongebob Squarepants = looks like my dad?!?

Here are some things we suggest you read if you like to read on the web.

— NPR’s All Things Considered talks about Michael Moore’s new film Sicko.

— Slate explains how Apple squeezed out more power from the iPhone’s battery.

— AV Club chats with Spongebob voice (and Mr Show alum) Tom Kenny.

— Wired takes a look at writer\director Judd Apatow‘s tv\film progression of adolescence to adulthood.

Don’t Stop Believin’ won’t stop…

Journey's Steve Perry didn't Stop Believin'More than a week after last Monday’s finale of the Sopranos, discussions, arguments and over-analysis in reaction to the controversial ending have calmed to a mild simmer. But with the spoofs and remix projects now coming fast and furious, a co-worker and I began to wonder about the impact of the usage of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin” in that final scene.

I’ll confess, that despite my not-so-secret dislike of Journey, huge 80’s metal hair and tight leather-panted arena rock, I found myself listening to this song a few times last week.

Turns out, I was not alone… as the Kansas City music blog Back to Rockville finds, Billboard is reporting huge boosts for the single and for the Greatest Hits collections of Journey:

The track, Don’t Stop Believin’, has re-entered the Hot Digital Songs chart at No. 21 with 41,000 paid downloads — an increase of 371% in online sales from the previous week, and the song’s best digital sales week ever!

Journey’s “Greatest Hits” album sold nearly 11,000 units this week — a 111% gain for the in-store sales.

The song is admittedly, (and embarrassingly) catchy. So it comes as no surprise that the viewers are are rediscovering their love of the band after the huge media reaction last week. Guess it was a good thing after all for Steve Perry, that he allowed his song to be used for the show.

So what does this mean for the legacy of Journey? A reunion tour? A new remix album? Appearances at Sopranos fan conventions? More leather pants? Or at very least nice boost of of income to squander of the vices of rock and roll stardom. Much like the ambiguous ending of Tony Soprano, all of this remains is up to us to decide…