Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Thursday July 15

A Hard Day’s Night is the Beatles album that started it all for me. When I saw the film and got this album from the library at age 16, it was all over. I’ve listened to it more times than I can count. I’ve woken up to it. I’ve gone to bed to it. I’ve driven too fast while playing it. The songs are all eminently singable and a song can be found to suit every occasion.

The 2 oldest Beatles were only 24 when this came out, and I’m sure at that age they had no grasp of how special their situation was, because really, who does then?

Listened: Thursday July 15

I love the art on Hail to The Thief;  it reminds me of a scavenger-hunt-type game that Radiohead did when this album came out. There was a flash version of the album with links to each puzzle on certain rectangles. I specifically remember there was one on the “ANTI” square and the “24HR” square. However, I don’t remember at all why my friends and I were playing – there might have been a prize, or it might have just been for cred. Back in those days, I probably did superfan things just for cred, even  my own cred that no one knew about.

This album still sounds at the very least modern, if not still ahead of its time. Like Amnesiac, these songs remind me of being young (early 20s) and stupid and having nothing more important in my life to worry about than music and going to shows. And maybe also not vomiting.

Listened: Thursday July 15

Ha is pretty, mellow, Indian-flavored chillout music. It would be great in the more active portions of a yoga class. It’s just energetic enough that it can be listened to at work without danger of the listener melting into a puddle of chillout.

Listened: Wednesday July 14

I loved Gulag Orkestar as soon as it came out, since I was getting swept away in the gypsy music tide of the day. The horns, accordions, and tambourines are so pretty and catchy. Beirut has the distinction of being one of the only bands of American origin doing this sort of gypsy mashup. All the others (Balkan Beat Box, Gogol Bordello, etc) have members who were born outside of America.

It was also impressive that Zach (the bandleader) was so young when this came out – about 22 or so. An American kid immersing himself in another country’s style of music and reinventing it as his own like this is inspiring.

Listened: Wednesday July 14

We can all learn from ballboy; they give good advice.

“You can’t spend your whole life hanging ’round with arseholes.”

“All the records on the radio are shite.”

“Nobody really knows anything.”

“The girl who works in the record shop, she says that I am not avant-garde enough. But, so what, she only works in a record shop and I don’t give a fuck what she says or she thinks about me.”

That is all.

Listened: Wednesday July 14

When I hear Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner I go right back to my very first job ever – Great Harvest Bread in San Carlos, a store which sadly is no more.

The store had a really old multi-cd changer (the kind that had the CDs balanced on their side in a side-loading tray) that didn’t work all that well. But it was stocked with a bunch of good music. I remember bobbing my head to Shine Eye Gal as I cleaned up the sandwich components or shelved loaves of bread. I also discovered Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Elvis, and the dub remixes of The Clash (“Daddy was a bank robba, but he never hurt nobody… hip… hip…”) during my time there. For a first job, you really couldn’t ask for much better.

Listened: Wednesday July 14

Danger Mouse had the most genius moment in music anyone has had in a long time when he came up with mixing music from the White Album under Jay-Z’s raps from the Black album. It flows together so well I don’t know why no one else thought of it first.

The particular standouts are Public Service Announcement over Long, Long, Long, December 4 over Mother Nature’s Son, and 99 Problems over Helter Skelter. It amazes me how well the very gentle songs are mixed so well with the rapping; it’s not something I’d expect to work.

As I’ve said before, I can’t listen to a lot of rap because the production is so bad or sonically confrontational that I can’t listen to the words. After this album, I can finally give Jay-Z the props and then some – dude is a poet and storyteller on par with anyone you can name. Though I have to note that his performance at Coachella 2010 was so. damn. loud. I couldn’t hear the lyrics or enjoy it. Yet another roadblock thrown in my path when I’ve tried to give a rapper a chance!

Listened: Wednesday July 14

Unlike a lot of albums that are coming up, I was not looking forward to reviewing Babybird’s Greatest Hits. This is another album I bought very cheaply (it may have even been free) because it’s a relatively obscure British band I had heard of at some point or another. But I’ve never been able to get past the first song, which starts out normal-sounding enough, but soon you hear “Fuck you, Father Christmas”. Which intrigued me, but it wasn’t a sentiment I could ever seem to get behind enough to continue listening to the rest of the songs.

The rest of the early songs are hit and miss. They sound purposely “difficult” which usually is irritating, since it’s too self-conscious and immature a pose to affect well. The sound could be described as Badly Drawn Boy or Super Furry Animals with a confrontational, darker, dirtier edge. I had to do a lot of research before I could come up with an appropriate comparison – they didn’t make it easy for me.

Then, all of a sudden, the clouds part and the last 5 songs on the album creep out – catchy, relaxed, pure Britpop songs with 60s and electronic flavors. Sha Na Na and Aluminum Beach are particularly good. Maybe they grew up a bit after a couple of albums.

Listened: Tuesday July 13

Grandpaw Would is an oldie but goodie. The main point of note is that Ben was only 16 when he recorded this, but he had been making music for years by that point. I’m nearly the same age as Ben, so when I discovered his music, it was shocking to realize how much someone of my age was accomplishing already.

I think these are the kind of simple songs only really young people could write; it reminds me of the Everly Brothers or songs Simon & Garfunkel wrote as Tom and Jerry before they were folkies. Especially impressive is Ben’s versatility; he can rock out, tell stories, and sing ballads authentically.

Listeners let you get away with a lot when you’re young too – singing off-key, the occasional weird lyric, etc. All those things make this album that much more endearing. However, while Ben has matured a bit, it’s clear he can’t get away with as much these days. Like much of life, sometimes one’s ideal ruling time at certain activities comes and goes, and I’m sorry to say it, but I think his best time in music has passed. But maybe he will drastically reinvent himself when he’s 50 or something.

Listened: Tuesday July 13

Being somewhat clued in to “hip” music for so long, I have noticed that mention of Grace comes up a lot. But until recently I had never heard it. Thanks to Woody, I am now a fan.

Jeff’s version of Hallelujah is timeless and transcendent. Jeff’s version, as well as seeing this performance on PBS made me want to explore Leonard Cohen more.

Like Geneva, “choirboy” comes to mind when describing Jeff’s voice (see Corpus Christi Carol), though he can rock it out quite well too (Eternal Life). I can also hear exactly where Fran Healy got his singing style – the influence is obvious.

This is another frustrating case of someone dying way too young and not fully reaching the potential he so obviously had.