Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Friday July 15

Today & Tomorrow may be one of the more obscure albums I own. It’s apparently not in print anymore and seems to be hard to find used on the Internet. I even struggled to find a picture of the cover  art.

In 1999 or so I took a DeCal class in college on the Beatles. In class we discussed all the albums and watched the Beatles movies. I also had an unrequited crush on the student instructor. As a very inexperienced youngster (at that point I had never had a real boyfriend) it was every bit as clumsy and ridiculous as you’d imagine. But that’s not exactly related to this album.

One of the other people taking the class mentioned at one point that he was bassist in a band very influenced  by the Beatles called “The Gears” (it’s the guy on the right of the album cover, and unfortunately I don’t remember his name, I think it’s Jason Graham, based on the CD insert). After the class had ended, I was at Rasputin’s and I happened to look in the used CDs for The Gears and somehow found their album. At the time I barely listened to it, though. Until the project I don’t think I had heard it all the way through.

It’s actually quite good, I’m impressed. It is extremely early-Beatles influenced  in sound, themes, vocabulary, and even down to the design of the packaging. It’s very catchy and well-put-together for a bunch of 20-ish-year-olds. Unfortunately, the names of all the dudes in the band are extremely common, so I can’t reliably track down any of them to see what they’re up to now. Maybe this was a one-off, or maybe some of them are in bands to this day. Sad I can’t easily find out!

Listened: Tuesday July 5

Interesting that Tiny Waves, Mighty Sea comes right after Tigermilk, considering members of Belle & Sebastian are involved in the project.

The music is a bit all over the place, but could be best described as a mashup between Indian devotional music and Scottish indie music. It’s an odd combination, but for the most part works pretty well. In terms of lyrics, there’s a lot of chanting, so the wittiness of Belle & Sebastian isn’t here, but the music and beautiful singing is. Then, they drop something like Beautiful Dreamer on you, which is a more traditional folk song sung by a 96-year-old woman, who sounds, well, 96. The album sort of reminds me of the Belle & Sebastian experiment Storytelling from around the same period.

If you like twists on Indian devotional music or you are a hardcore Belle & Sebastian fan who wants to hear them in another context, give this a try.

Listened: Tuesday July 5

I love Tigermilk. All the songs are beautifully sung (and sometimes even catchy and funky, like Electronic Renaissance) and wittily written (the classic  The State That I Am In is one of  my favorites of all time).

The one thing that stops me dead in my tracks though is the cover. A “baby tiger” suckling a human in a bathtub? What drugs was someone (probably Stuart) on? And how was that pitched to the model? Odd.

Listened: Tuesday July 5

I don’t think I had listened to Tidal since high school, but perhaps I did sometimes in early college. I was shocked how much I enjoy it now. I remember enjoying it at the time, but her image (waify, arty, vaguely insane) was so antithetic to mine that I never could quite let go and become a fan. I never bought any of her followup albums.

Now that all that is behind us, I can concentrate on the content of the album more. Never is a Promise is the obvious standout. The music sounds a little bit 90s to me (strings and the particular sound of the piano), but still engaging, and the lyrics and vocals are top notch. Shadowboxer and Sleep to Dream are other favorites.

Criminal is a brilliant song, but it still calls to mind the ubiquitous, somewhat scandalous video, which these days probably wouldn’t make people bat much of an eye. Watching it now, with the benefit of the years I have lived since then, I cringe a little at her skeletal body and the face that makes her look much so younger than she was (at the time I wasn’t that bothered by it, other than to note that she clearly was not “my people”). The well-crafted skeeze and sleaze of the vibe probably makes even some of the more lecherous viewers feel dirty. I do think it’s a brilliant video due to it both disturbing and intriguing me at the same time, but even though at the time she thought she was taking control of  the inevitable exploitation of herself by deciding to make it, I think she too probably has some regrets about it. I don’t think consciously exploiting oneself really works that well.

What appeals to me so much about the album is how well it expresses that fact that the singer/songwriter isn’t just a pretty face and voice, the instability that lies underneath seeps out, which makes it interesting, and it doesn’t seem forced or pitiable (the Criminal video notwithstanding). Given how many pitiable, trying-too-hard, or uninteresting pop stars there are these days, it’s notable.

Listened: Tuesday July 5

More folktronica madness from the Beta Band. The beats and horns are the most prominent on The Three E.P.’s than on The Beta Band or Hot Shots II. I felt more like dancing around the room than with those albums.

According to wikipedia, folktronica still exists, though I wouldn’t say that I’ve ever heard a band that sounded quite like the Betas. Of the list of artists on the page, I guess Badly Drawn Boy is the closest comparison, but still not the same.

Listened: Tuesday July 5

Those Who Tell the Truth is one of those crazy-coincidence albums. Released the week before September 11, the booklet art features planes and the phrase “This plane will crash tomorrow”. Then of course, there’s the name of the band itself.

The music itself is also very eerie – it’s more militaristic than other EITS albums. Songs start soft and then suddenly burst into volume and bass when you’re least expecting it. Slow headbanging is my preferred listening posture for this album, which is great for work or relaxing.

You need some Explosions in the Sky in your life!

Listened: Friday July 1

This Is Just a Modern Rock Song is Belle & Sebastian tied up in a bow. Out of all their EPs, this is my favorite (though Dog On Wheels is a close second). The music is lovely and Stuart’s voice is in fine form. I Know Where The Summer Goes is one of my favorite B&S songs. I ache when I hear it (in a good way). I’m not even a big Isobel fan, but The Gate is one of her best.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised I like B&S so much, given their obvious love of the 60s. Organs, ringing guitars, and tambourines abound!

Listened: Friday July 1

Similar to Led Zeppelin, when This Is Hardcore was first released, I don’t think I was grown up and relaxed enough to enjoy it. Despite my love of Different Class, the cover and sleazy tone of This Is Hardcore scared me off.

However, these days I love it. It’s a brilliant album, and quite different than other Pulp albums. Yes, Jarvis always has some level of loveable sleaze in anything he does, but This Is Hardcore takes it to another level.

Particularly Glory Days, A Little Soul, and the Day After the Revolution are righteous singalongs for me. Reading the lyrics, it probably has to do with the fact that I’m now about the same age as Jarvis when he wrote them (one song notes that he has been told he should “beware of 33” – when I realized I was nearly that age now, I grew another wrinkle). Nostalgia, self-reflection, and fear of leading a pointless life hang heavy.

When I was trapped at my desk at my last job, lyrics like “Oh and I could be a genius if I just put my mind to it and I, I could do anything if only I could get round to it” particularly poked at me.

This Is Hardcore is now of a similar importance level for me as Different Class. Different Class is more classic, but in terms of quality and meaning, they share the pedestal.

Listened: Friday July 1

Even though The Lonesome Crowded West was the album that introduced me to Modest Mouse, This is a Long Drive also connects me to the past, but I didn’t realize it until recently.

I owned This is a Long Drive for completeness’ sake, but I hadn’t listened to it much until a couple of years ago when I was ripping a lot of my collection to my work computer. I suddenly realized what a soundtrack of my friendship with Audrey it was. Over a winter break in college, we drove to Crestline and Torrence and back north again listening to many songs from this album. Back then, she fell much harder for MM than I did, and now I understand why, having finally got a clue how amazing they are, especially the early stuff. I’m so glad now that they were the background music to our youth, even if I didn’t appreciate it then.

I’ve righteously sung the bitter lyrics to Custom Concern many times at my now ex-job – “Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta have a job.” Yet another memory this album will remind me of in future years.

Listened: Thursday June 30

Portishead’s performance at Coachella 2008 (just after they had released Third) is one of the more amazing performances I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t even say it was pleasant – more like being run over by a train, but in an amazing way.

Beth Gibbons doesn’t look like a rock star (more like someone’s vaguely hip middle-aged British mum at this point) but as the huge screens made plain to us in the audience at the main stage, she rips herself apart as she sings and screams Portishead’s songs, especially the songs on Third. Her pain was palpable. Listening to this album after seeing that performance brings that all back to me, which often isn’t a comforting experience.

Oh, and Machine Gun? Amazing, a classic.