An Ear For An Era: 1978

You're going to have to bear with me. I usually try to write these as quickly as I can after I finish listening to something, so I remember the thoughts I had, what I'd wanted to write, etc. But in this case I was trying to get done before a vacation, successfully finished listening to 1978 the night before, but had to pack and such and could not find time during the vacation to write it out. You know, I was busy exploring castles and cliffs, visiting whiskey distilleries and seeing the beauty of the world in general. Ireland is beautiful. I hope I can remember enough to make this a good write-up for you.

1978 was the year my older sister came from. It also featured music. A continuation of 1977 really, with expanding landscapes of punk and new wave and crappy rock and disco as well. I would also like to mention that to this point I have been including videos that are usually fan-created photo montages or whatever to the songs. Music videos were a thing now though, and the majority of the videos I've posted in this entry are actual music videos. So enjoy those!

We'll start with the fairly corporate. I didn't like Queen's (singles) output of 1977 but 1978 had three of my favorite songs of theirs. "Don't Stop Me Now" used to get me pumped up (I'd listen to it before going out when in college. Vinyl.) and then was used in Shaun of the Dead to great effect so now it makes me visualize that scene. "Bicycle Race" is my historical favorite Queen song. "Fat Bottomed Girls" is the companion piece to that.

I think this is the end of the line (for this project) for the Rolling Stones.  Some Girls was a decent album, I quite like "Beast of Burden" and "Lies." But I always just kind of think of this album as the one with "Miss You," their attempt at disco.

So while corporate rock dinosaurs were resorting to cheap ploys at relevance like disco songs, the exciting, envelope-pushing new bands like Blondie were innovating with their use of disparate genres like disco. But before I get to that, they had TWO albums out this year. Plastic Letters kind of makes me think of how much fun it would have been to see them in these days at CBGB. Deborah Harry bringing tons of attitude, the band going all over the place with jazz tunes and punk rock. And then Parallel Lines just took it further. The classic pop stylings, robotic rhythms, and yes, disco, that the band is best known for.  And a Buddy Holly cover! I like this album a lot. Here is of one of my favorite styles Blondie did, the sunny pop song.

Blondie "Picture This"

And of course I have to move on to the other big CBGB band, The Ramones. Road to Ruin is kind of their last "classic" album. After this I have a lesser album from 1983 and some various singles (and a live show from '95). They continued their blitz with fast hard songs, including the hit "I Wanna Be Sedated" but some of the songs remind me of that Blondie track above. A little bit slower, while keeping the trademark catchiness they so owned. Here is probably the most blatant version of that. I wonder if the punks were as pissed about this as they were about "Heart of Glass."

Ramones "Needles and Pins"

You know what punk band wasn't slowing down: Buzzcocks! I have Operators Manual, a collection of early singles, and the bulk of it is from 1978. Of all the 1978 examples I have, I feel like the Buzzcocks were the most like the coming-up-generation-of-punk, the focus on playing short fast songs. But the way they did it was still catchy like the Ramones. I get songs like "Noise Annoys," "What Do I Get," "Ever Fallen In Love," and "Fast Cars" stuck in my head all the time.

And The Greatest Punk Band Scratch That The Greatest Band The Clash had an album too, the somewhat unsung Give 'Em Enough Rope. It gets overlooked for not being their debut or their greatest album (London Calling) or their most experimental (Sandinista!) or their most popular (Combat Rock). But I kind of like that about this one. It's got the same energy level as their debut, is still primarily focused on punk over experiments, but it has just enough of that special edge to be interesting. It's the album that sounds like The Clash but has not been overplayed (by me at least).

OK how about new wave though? Devo made their debut with Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! Now this is punk. Completely outside the realm of what rock and roll should be expected to do, yet it's rocking. More of those robot rhythms. Completely deconstructing a rock & roll classic ("(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"), turning everything into machines including the act of prayer. The idea of this band was de-evolution. In that mindset this is the band at its most evolved. And it has to be their best album (we'll see if I take that back next time they come up here!). I've heard people talk about "nerd rock," and crediting Buddy Holly with starting that. I don't think that's accurate. Buddy Holly was super cool, he just wore glasses. Devo gave the nerds something they could understand. In a way that I think had been overlooked by the rock & roll machine up until now. The middle track is the most quintessential Devo song, the most rhythmic, and the one that includes the album title. Please note that the version below is not the one from the album (it's much slower) but this video is so amazing I have to share it. Devo was also streets ahead in regards to music videos.

Devo "Jocko Homo"

You know who else was nerdy? They Might Be Giants. Of course, they weren't around quite yet but The Residents probably were an influence on them...

The Residents "Constantinople"

Elvis Costello is still my favorite artist. Not too nerdy despite the glasses. This year he put out This Year's Model, which showed a shift towards more fast-and-loose rock and roll. The Attractions probably had a lot to do with that. But classics like "Pump It Up" and "Radio Radio" kind of define this early era of his career and they are just full of energy and spit. I also have the live album Live At The El Mocambo, which was a recent release BUT it's a performance from 1978 so I include it here. I mention that because it demonstrates the power of Elvis Costello & The Attractions as a force of nature, rolling through tracks with reckless abandon. I'm not sure if this live video is specifically The El Mocambo but it has the same energy.

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Lipstick Vogue" (Live)

I feel a little bad for Nick Lowe. Sure, he's great and has continued his music career to this day so he has to be doing just fine, but I always just think of him as the lesser version of Elvis Costello. He produced a bunch of his records, he wrote "Peace Love & Understanding," and he put out new wavy records not too different from those of Elvis Costello's. They just don't hit the same highs for me. Jesus of Cool comes the closest though. He went a somewhat more pop route (the American title for this record was Pure Pop For Now People, which I think is an appropriate title), while undercutting everything with a cynical edge.

I don't know where else to talk about Tom Waits. Blue Valentine is yet another step toward his more experimental side, but it could still be considered part of the early period of his career. Dominated by the same coolness, jazz, and his distinctive vocals that continue to work toward what we now know. "Christmas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis" is odd in that I have it on my Christmas music playlist but the song really has nothing to do with Christmas. Just a sad tale. I have one song from his 1980 album Heartattack and Vine and then my next Tom Waits album is Swordfishtrombones so...this is going to be the most "normal" he'll be. Next time I write about him it'll be absolutely gushing though.

Is that good enough? I think so.

Other stuff to say something about:

• I like "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty because of The Simpsons.
• Rick James, dude! I dig the song "You And I."
• I have but one early track by The Mekons, who are still going strong. This was when they were still straightforward punk..."Never Been In A Riot"
• Journey served as a fascinating way to see the terribleness that was going on in the mainstream at this time. Why do I keep it on my hard drive though?
• Willie Nelson put his trademark style on standards with the quite enjoyable Stardust.
• Marvin Gaye started emo? Maybe not, but Here My Dear is definitely a precursor to the oversharing overpresent in that genre. Unsurprisingly my favorite parts of the album are the less personal parts, such as "A Funky Space Reincarnation," which is a cool take on Mothership-style funk.
• The Cars' self-titled album to me felt like the start of the 80s. I associate them so closely with the 80s that it was weird hearing them come up, even though I also associate Devo with the 80s. The beginning of the (long drawn out) end for new wave?
• Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy is a good enjoyable album.

On The Next Installment...

The end of the 70s as we know it! I will have made it! What treasures do the rest of the 70s hold for me? How about London Calling?? Yeah. What else could I possibly need? Maybe The Cure?? The Cramps? Dead Kennedys (already!?)? Armed Forces is one of those consensus-favorite Elvis Costello albums so I'll have words about that one. Gang of Four! Michael Jackson's Off The Wall!?! And Pink Floyd's The Wall?? Weird I didn't know those were the same year! And Prince! And Talking Heads' Fear of Music. Lots of giant albums to look forward to here. Mostly London Calling though.

An Ear For An Era: 1977

Now that's a turning point. For 1967 I got excited that that "element" would now be present, that I'd have something from the fringe/art/punk/whatever to look forward to with each year I'd listen to. Now in 1977 it is officially the focus. Those '7 years, huh? They seem to be significant. Like, if each decade were a story the '7 would be the climax leading to the denouement of the last couple years. Maybe each decade has a movement in music that reaches its creative prowess at 7 before it becomes commercialized and a bastardized "pop" version of itself (particularly in the early years of the next decade). Just think about '67, and then 1970. Now 1977. The start of new wave before it became lame. Does this make any sense?

I just don't want to screw this entry up. Punk rock turned my life around when I was in high school, it got me started on this journey, it gave me the necessary mindset of rebellion and fighting back and questioning everything, and it "began" here. I know I've been talking about a bunch of different bands in this blog that show the beginning of punk. I know there was already a Ramones album in 1976. But those were the spark and the fuse. This is the ignition. Everything else is going to the "also worth mentioning" section in this post.

Of course, the stuff I include as part of the punk movement will include new wave, post-punk, and whatever other associated styles I feel like including. Such as David Bowie.

Two Bowie albums in one year? You bet! And he's part of this. He worked with Iggy Pop, after all. He's an enigma really. Or just complicated. The first album in his "Berlin trilogy" with Brian Eno was Low, whose first half was full of short, fast songs. Just listen to this. It fits perfectly into 1977.

David Bowie "What In The World"

The second side of the album is a little more of what I would have expected from a Bowie/Eno collaboration with longer, slower, more instrumental songs. The next album in the Berlin Trilogy was "Heroes," one of the few times it is correct to put the name of an album in quotation marks. I think more artists should do that when an album shares its name with one of the songs. Or does he mean the other use of quotation marks, implying the "heroes" that we can be are not real heroes? "Heroes" is a great album though, everyone knows that song is one of his best. The rest of the album is quite great as well. It has a similar layout to Low in that the more song-oriented songs were at the front half with some experimental/instrumental/more-Eno-influenced tracks on the back end. "Sense of Doubt" is a very creepy track that would do well in a suspense movie.

So I feel like I am using the word "punk" way too much here but I don't know how else to go through this. But I'd just like to apologize for that. The godfather of punk Iggy Pop should have been right at home in 1977, because what his band had created was now exploding, but while The Stooges could have had a big payday (I'm sure they did when they finally did reunite recently) if they'd stuck together or got back together for this and played CBGB, instead he went solo, working with David Bowie, and exploring new territory. I think the only way the term "post punk" is valid is because it was what Iggy Pop did post punk. Because besides that, it really came up at the same exact time as punk. 1977 was the landmark year for both genres. But ok, Iggy Pop put out two solo albums in 1977. The Idiot was what I theoretically should like more because it's darker and more artsy. And I do quite like it. But I actually prefer Lust For Life, despite some misgivings about the title track. It's a fun song, it's good to dance to, but it's been played on too many commercials and is too repetitive and long for me to enjoy. But once you're past that song it's post-punk brilliance. His vocals have the same urgency as they did in the Stooges but the bed they ride on is all over the map, from ballads to rhythmic exercises.

Iggy Pop "Some Weird Sin"

And there was Elvis Costello's debut! My Aim Is True! And what a wonderful debut. Not much related to punk in sound, but in attitude and everywhere that matters it is pure and true. "Alison" remains one of my favorite songs of all time. Who can't relate to that one? But what I really love are the bonus tracks that came with the Rhino reissue. A bunch of old demos. I don't know of any other versions of some of these songs, such an early display of absolute brilliance from one of rock's best songwriters. Just him and a guitar. And poetry. Here is one of my favorites but before I "play it for you," let me also mention that when Elvis Costello was on Colbert a while back he was having voice issues and Colbert said he'd sing a song with him. Elvis challenged him with this song, such a rare deep cut, and Colbert knew all the words and nailed it. I didn't know there would be a way for me to like Colbert more, but then he pulled that off.

Elvis Costello "Cheap Reward"

Just remember you'll only be the boss so long as you pay my wage...

Another highly prolific artist is David Byrne and of course he got his start in a little band called the Talking Heads. Their debut, aptly titled Talking Heads: 77 is a very impressive debut. They are already so well established in their sound of African rhythms, funk, and yet something still very caucasian. I think I'll have more on them as we get into their catalog with Eno, but the first album already had the brilliant hit song (still persisting today) "Psycho Killer." But the song that closes the album is one of my favorites, as it keeps some of the funk rhythm but incorporates more of the CBGB rock influence and energy, perhaps as a preview of what the band would go on to accomplish.

Talking Heads "Pulled Up"

Does anyone else think Television singer Tom Verlaine sounds a lot like Gordon Gano? What? There are other amazing things about their debut album Marquee Moon? Such as EVERYTHING ABOUT IT? The sense of rhythm, the technical prowess of the entire band, it really is a direct influence of what would one day become math rock. The way the guitars interweave into an odd combination of driving the rhythm and disrupting it with noise, it also reminds me a lot of Joey Santiago's work in the Pixies. Here is a song that emphasizes that as well as the Gordon Gano-ness of the vocals (yes I do realize that Gano sounds like Verlaine and not the other way around).

Television "Friction"

When I picked up the Joy Division collection Substance 1977-1980 it was because I was a fan of their post-punk-ish/new-wave-ish songs like "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "Transmission." Stuff that was good to dance to. Because at the time I was big on stuff I could dance to. Don't judge. So even though I had my fully developed love of punk rock, I somehow wrote off and did not appreciate the early tracks included in the collection when they were really pretty much just a punk band. Listening again in the context of this project, I was shocked that I had given all these 1977 tracks two star ratings in itunes. Just kind of goes to show you that 1) context is huge and 2) itunes ratings are dangerous because they last until you hear the song again and change your mind, and a low rating may prevent you from hearing the song again for quite some time. So let me say that while this is rhythmic (so therefore post-punk?) it is raw as hell, punk as hell, and I gave this track a revised four star rating.

Joy Division "No Love Lost"

That's a good transition into the "real punk rock" as opposed to all the post-punk stuff. The Buzzcocks showed up briefly here with their single "Orgasm Addict." Maybe the fastest song yet encountered here. Or maybe it was Johnny Thunders' "Get Off The Phone."

And immediately after that came The Sex Pistols' Nevermind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. I got this in high school, of course, and loved it for a while, but in the years since have come to regard it as overrated. Hugely important record, one of the most important ones leading up to another certain other record with "Nevermind" in its title (ahem), but not that great within the context of all this other stuff I've been talking about. Johnny Rotten was willing to sing in a, uh, rotten way, and they were revolutionary in the way they went out of their way to offend people, cashing in on the anger and frustrations of the lower class at the time (and they certainly lived the lifestyle as well, I'm not going to doubt that stories of their final American tour are any less shocking and mindblowing as they are made out to be). There was just better British punk rock at the time.

Yep, The Clash. The Only Band That Matters. One thing that annoys me is American versions of British albums. Particularly with this project. I was ready to talk about their self-titled album's "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" but that song didn't actually come out until 1978. I was all excited that ska-punk was as old as punk itself! But instead it's just nearly as old. Stupid American version of the album, being put out after their second album! Still, "London's Burning" could be considered a ska-punk song so still valid. Once I saw some punk band at a tiny bar and they covered "White Riot." Something was wrong with everyone else and they didn't seem to know the song. But I went crazy over it and got the mic in my face a few times for that one. Great memory. It's hard to believe this isn't the greatest Clash album, because it's one of the greatest albums and probably the best of all these 1977 albums I'm talking about. Not that I've heard the original British version...

And I'll close it out with the same band I closed it out with last time: The Ramones! Two 1977 albums. Leave Home is the first, and I'm a little less familiar with that one. I just got it actually. It all kind of blurs together. They were very true to their sound, to say the least.

Ramones "Pinhead"

Gabba Gabba 

We accept you 

We accept you 

One of us! 

They certainly were inclusive as well. A trait of punk rock that persisted and helped me feel accepted by something at last when I discovered it in high school. And then of course Rocket To Russia, the monster of a punk rock classic that includes so many anthems, goes over so easy, ends so fast, that you gotta just turn it up while it lasts. "Cretin Hop." "Rockaway Beach." "I Don't Care." "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker." "Teenage Lobotomy." To name a few.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR!

(you fill in the rest.)

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning Because Apparently Other Stuff Came Out Too:

• Dennis Wilson's only (official) solo album Pacific Ocean Blue was quite nice, a very different beast that I can't even try to associate with the punk movement. I think it kind of sounds like Bon Iver. Gorgeous.
• In contrast to most R&B of this time, Curtis Mayfield was still quite great on the album Short Eyes. 
• Kraftwerk! I can't say too much about Kraftwerk but Trans Europe Express is pretty great and is officially the first electronic album I've encountered here.
• My only actual Bob Marley album is Exodus. I can see that it is very good but the association with annoying people is too strong for me to want to listen to much.
• I have most of Billy Joel's The Stranger. Kind of a guilty pleasure but not as bad as his 80s work.
• The Bee Gees in full effect! "Stayin' Alive," one of the biggest hits in all of disco, both exemplifies everything that was wrong with popular music at the time and is one of the greatest dance songs of all time. I can hate disco and still love one of the biggest disco hits, right?
• I got a collection of Hall & Oates songs because it was cheap for a lot of songs. And then I realized I kind of hated most of them. But I still can enjoy "Rich Girl."
• There was a VERY brief overlap of the two Elvises! My last Elvis Presley song (except a 2002 remix) was "Way Down." Rest in Peace, king!
• And Queen...well I have some more from them coming up. But all I had for 1977 are their two biggest hits and two of my least favorite Queen songs. Of course, those are "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions."
• Speaking of Queen, The Queens Of Noise had THREE albums in 1977! I'm talking about The Runaways. It got a little tired to me after a while. They are best in smaller doses I think. But their level of rebellion, while a bit quaint next to the punk rock superheroes, was enjoyable and I can see it stirring the kids up.

On The Next Installment...

Punk/post-punk/etc: Blondie, lots more Buzzcocks, more The Clash, more Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe debuts (solo-ly), more Ramones, The 80s arrive early (The Cars! Devo!), a lost Dennis Wilson album, Marvin Gaye returns with an uncomfortably personal album, more of my favorite Queen songs, my last Rolling Stones album, Tom Waits is still great, Warren Zevon, and Willie Nelson does a standards album. Cool!

An Ear For An Era: 1976

Well that one just breezed by. Also I just noticed this is my 176th post on this blog. So ever since my last non-AEFAE post they have all matched like that, 175th was 1975, etc...

So 1976. It's punk or who cares, right? Kind of. Obviously there was other worthwhile stuff so I'll talk about that first.

How about the other 'unk? Funk? The first full album to come up was Mothership Connection by Parliament. One very problematic song aside ("Handcuffs," a pretty creepy song about wanting to handcuff one's woman so she doesn't leave), it is a funk party that just keeps going. Get on the Mothership, baby, and let's groove all night.

The other big soul/funk/whatever album I had from 1976 was the masterwork, the apex of the entire discography of Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life. This is something else entirely from everything else I've had to say about Stevie Wonder thus far (even though it seems I didn't really have much to say before this). It's free, it's less cheesy, it's catchy, it looks at the past, present, and future of black music. The jazz influences on here are great, particularly in the fact that he brought in Herbie Hancock for a song. It's got some disco, some funk, some soul. It has a very famously sampled beat in "Pastime Paradise" which also makes me think of 90s hip hop. I also used this as a way to get excited about my between-AEFAE-listens catchup on new music because I got the new Janelle Monae album and I feel like they share a lineage. There's love songs, there's political songs, and there is this great instrumental.

Stevie Wonder "Contusion"

Where there is funk there is disco. Well maybe not the same exact place. But funk's brother, the overachiever (commercially) of the two children of soul, the polished one that got good grades and etc, established itself alongside the punk kid named funk. Jr Walker seemed to take another turn to the disco side of things with the singles from 1976 ("You Ain't No Ordinary Woman," "I'm So Glad") and the Bee Gees were officially in full disco mode with "You Should Be Dancing." None of these songs caused much derision to me, but I know what was lurking on the charts.

David Bowie was still pretty poppy on Station to Station despite long track times (only one under 5 minutes!). Sources say that this was a transitional album from his disco/soul stuff to his more experimental phase (Berlin trilogy with Brian Eno). So it's gonna be the last "easy" one here.

I wonder if Small Change isn't Tom Waits' greatest album from this early period. Kind of his Rubber Soul, if you will. Meaning it's the one that showed the first real hints at the greatness lying ahead. All his early stuff had shades of it, but this is the album with "The Piano Has Been Drinking." And "Tom Thaubert's Blues." And "I Wish I Was In New Orleans." That last one is the reason I sought this album out. I saw a live performance of that song and it made me miss New Orleans, so I knew I wanted that song. It took me a while to track down the album at a decent price...and now it turns out to be one of his best. Still jazzy, impossibly cool, but showing flaws and maybe a little less calculated.

Tom Waits "The Piano Has Been Drinking"

The Runaways can probably be considered at least a little bit punk. Pop punk. Power pop. Something. Rock & roll. You know. Hard rock? Of 1976. They did cover a Velvet Underground song and the Blondie bassist played on this album (thanks wikipedia!) so they have their creds. I like their fire, I think of them as somewhat a rocked out/updated version of the Shangri-Las. I think mostly because the final track "Dead End Justice" is a story song with talkin' that reminds me of some of the Shangri-Las' cautionary tales. There's something more modern, more liberated (ironic I know since it's about them being in prison) about it though.

Was the first Modern Lovers album considered punk? It's at least in that school of Velvet Underground inspired, rough-and-rumbly, energized rock music. Wikipedia tells me it was actually recorded back in the early 70s but just not released until 1976. How about that. I feel like everyone should already know all these songs. Should I post one? It's one of those albums that has so many great songs that serious music people already know. So maybe I'll leave at that?

Blondie officially let me know that the CBGB scene was in full operational mode at this time. Which makes me very happy. There is something about Blondie. They were part of this scene, one of the first bands in it, and they fit in quite well...but they also played pop music. Anger about them doing a disco song seems silly because while the Velvet Underground influence is apparent and there are some moments of real punk rock (absolutely check out "Kung Fu Girls") they really were a pop band.

Blondie "In The Sun"

Patti Smith's second album Radio Ethiopia did seem to push toward a more punk rock sound, at least in some cases. Particularly the first track "Ask The Angels." But I feel like it looks forward more toward The Clash than any other punk act. It's that diverse in genre exploration while keeping the punk attitude.

So of course this is all to build up to the self-titled debut album by a band called The Ramones. The officially credited "first punk band," I am reasonably confident in saying they are the first band that the word "punk" was used to describe and while they didn't create the sound they created an identity around the sound that I don't believe I heard in this project before them. 2 minute songs, power chords, simple lyrics and simple songs. Played fast. The revolution starts here. Draw the line in the concrete. With a jackhammer. I can't really describe what I felt when it came on in my car. "HEY! HO! LET'S GO!" Turned up the volume, yelled along, and it was just a rush of excitement. We are past the boring 70s rock, time for something with real energy.

Ramones "Beat On The Brat"

Other stuff worth a word or two:

• (My) Tom Petty debut! "Breakdown."
• I may have been missing the full album, but the the hits that Queen released in 1976 were very awesome. Particularly "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" and "Somebody To Love."
• Nilsson's ...That's The Way It Is is (currently) the last work I have of his in my collection. He will be missed. Greatly. Appropriate that the first song on the album is called "That Is All" in addition to the album ending with a reprise of that. It's not his finest work and I'm sorely lacking in his latter era stuff but I could stand to spend a lot more time with his latter discography.
• It's for the suits man! Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. It came up after The Ramones had already refreshed me, so I was mostly bored/disinterested. They have some catchy songs (particularly album opener "Second Hand News") but even though this is a mammoth of a popular album and probably pretty critically acclaimed, the only reason I own this album is because I feel like I'm "supposed to." But in the context of this, it just reinforced that I'm a punk rock kid.

On The Next Installment...

It's hard to think that anything besides punk rock would be important in 1977. It's the year of punk! So Plastic Letters, Buzzcocks, The Clash, My Aim Is True (Elvis Costello may be my favorite artist of all time), TWO Iggy Pop solo albums, Joy Division, Rocket To Russia, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, and Television. Whew!! But besides that, it was also the year of Saturday Night Fever, Billy Joel's The Stranger, Exodus, the first two chapters of Bowie's Berlin Trilogy, Dennis Wilson, and Kraftwerk.

An Ear For An Era: 1975

OK that's better. No shortage in great music here. Music was really moving forward in most every genre, from the fringes of outlaw country to the New York underground. Let's just get started.

Patti Smith made her triumphant debut with Horses. She kind of gets pulled into discussions of the origins of punk rock. I'm not sure how accurate that is with all her sprawling experimental jams, but the attitude was certainly forming. I read her book Just Kids recently and she was living THE New York lifestyle at this time, and it is all very apparent from the opening of "Gloria," the opening track. "Jesus died for someone's sins but not mine..." she immediately expressed an entirely original voice, something quite different from everything else out around that time. Rebellion, newness.

Of course, the original New York rebel Lou Reed had to push things forward more than anyone else (possibly in all of "pop" music history) with his middle finger of an album Metal Machine Music. There's not much I can say about this that hasn't been said but I have to take a side...right? Let's just say that the ways it influenced countless experimental rock bands of the Sonic Youth variety justifies anything negative you can say about it. Yes, it's rough to listen to. It gets old after one track, let alone all four. I couldn't focus on the music while it played, I just let it be my background for an hour. But the last 2-3 minutes of side 4? It became apparent how important the record is. There is a pulsating rhythm that starts to rise out of the fuzz and it sounds like the opening to a truly epic jazz rock freakout. To push things out you have to create new boundaries. Lou Reed re-defined what rock music could sound like by creating something that was really vague about its genre. It's not the best thing to listen to in a sitting. But thanks to Metal Machine Music, we have post rock, we have noise rock, we have everyone from Sonic Youth to The Jesus And Mary Chain that may not have otherwise existed.

There's not really a good way to transition from this, but I've been a lifelong fan of Queen. I own the pre-1975 albums on vinyl but my digital collection only has stuff from the greatest hits collections. But I do digitally own A Night At The Opera, which might be their best album. I have lots of stories about the two big hits off the album, so that's how I'll talk about this. Once I was making a computer game starring my childhood dog Ringo. When you go downstairs (where my room as well as my brother's) I had the background music change to a midi version of "You're My Best Friend." Which was silly, but it's the only thing about that game that I remember and the song always makes me think of Ringo. It makes me smile. And now it also reminds me of Shaun of the Dead because it's featured over the end credits. Ok and Bohemian Rhapsody. So much to say about this song! The wikipedia page for it is one of my favorite uses of wikipedia, as it breaks down the song and analyzes every part of it. Pretty great. I used to think the song was "Bohemian Rap City" and I thought it was so cool. This was when the song was re-released as a single due to its inclusion in the Wayne's World soundtrack (and being the centerpoint of the greatest scene of the movie). I also did karaoke of this song once. It was me and the other quietest person at the party and we decided to go for it. We were both super shy but we just went for it. I can't not sing along with that song. I don't think I'm alone in that sentiment. And for the hell of it, here's another song that'd be considered more of a "deep cut." It shows how truly creative the band is (not that Bohemian Rap City ever fails to do that itself) and there is a pretty amazing vocal workout in the center of this song that reminds me of that Nilsson song I said reminds me of of Montreal. "Now I know...Now I know...Now I know...Now I know..."

Queen "The Prophet's Song"

Hey, Pink Floyd! Wish You Were Here is a quite brilliant album. The "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" bookends that dominate the album are a pretty beautiful tribute to Syd Barrett, while the title track "Wish You Were Here" is heartbreaking. The other songs are an attack on the music industry, so that's pretty awesome too.

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is probably one of Elton John's best albums. The hit song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is great, but I am really into "(Gotta Get) A Meal Ticket" and the closer "Curtains." My mom is a big fan of Elton's. I am less so but albums like this make me respect her opinion on the matter.

Hey, the first Bruce Springsteen in my collection! Born To Run is nowhere near his first album. But this one was pretty huge. I think he's kind of responsible for musical self-importance. If that's the best way to express it. Hell, I sometimes like musical self-importance. But it involves artists like The Arcade Fire and The Killers taking a cue from Springsteen with certain chord progressions to make a song and its lyrics "seem" important. The vocal delivery, the urgency. It doesn't always feel earned but there it is, intensely singing about this or that. Epic at 3 1/2 minutes. Not enough build. Not accusing Springsteen of this, but it seems like some artists take the inspiration and take the shortcut to the emotional punch. Of course, album closer "Jungleland" is quite earned (and owned by sax player Clarence Clemons, rest in peace).

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, "Jungleland"

And I got to hear the "return" of Bob Dylan with his classic Blood On The Tracks. I like this one a lot, it takes Dylan's usual style of storytelling and makes it much more personal, much more immediate.

Speaking of storytelling, Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger is quite the concept album. Sadness, murder, travel. Denver. And lots of instrumental breaks. The way it's put together kind of works against my general definition of a country album. Country opera maybe? Willie pullin' a Who? Sure.

I only have the one song by him from this year (thanks to the Crazy Heart soundtrack) but Waylon Jennings' "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?" seems like it must have been a rallying cry for the outlaw country movement, as mainstream country got worse and worse. It really is saying something that my introduction to Emmylou Harris was "Hank And Lefty," a song about what she was raised on. Declaring her as on the right side of country music history.

That was a bonus track from the re-release of Pieces of the Sky. This angelic voice is now upon us. My favorite of all country voices, Emmylou Harris could break my heart singing the dictionary. But instead she'll break my heart singing about her dead fried Gram Parsons (on the brilliant, and one of her most if not her most successful song "Boulder to Birmingham"). There were also many Beatles covers (Elton John, David Bowie) but the best of the bunch was her take on "For No One." She actually had two albums come out in '75 with Elite Hotel following closely in Pieces of the Sky's wake. Elite Hotel was a bit more upbeat in general with a cover of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya" and a song about Vegas. My favorite song on this album (even though I think I slightly prefer Pieces of the Sky) was "Till I Gain Control Again." Seems to be similarly arranged to "Boulder to Birmingham" but this Rodney Crowell composition is refreshing (in that I haven't heard it nearly as many times) and one of the top heartbreaking moments of Harris' long career:

Emmylou Harris "Till I Gain Control Again"

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• Frankie Valli's chameleon quality of blending in with the popular music of the day reached its logical conclusion, as the 50s pop star put out "Swearin' to God," a 9+ minute disco opus.
• Also a sign of the pending upending of music rising out of New York? The first demos from Blondie have come up. Including a very early version of "Heart of Glass" referred to "Once I Had A Love (The Disco Song)." It's funny, that song was considered by many to be a moment they sold out, but it was one of their first songs, before they even released a record. It's funny how people get associated with their environments so much that the supposed "values" of said movement are assumed to apply to everyone. Blondie had nothing against disco, even though punk rock was thought to be the antithesis of disco.
• Blowfly's "Aries (If Eating You Is Wrong I Don't Want To Be Right)" is quite the dirty song. I actually saw him perform once, opening for Nashville Pussy. Who else? I think I downloaded this track because I'm an aries. I don't particularly like it (especially the hateful homophobia involved in the song).
• I think the 1975 singles of James Brown are the last in my collection. That's sad. I was quite enjoying those. But it just shows that we are moving along quickly. Funk is about to give way to full disco times. I really liked "Thank You For Lettin' Me Be Myself, And You Be Yours." Total funk and an awesome trombone solo.
• Neil Young's Zuma (with Crazy Horse) showcases his rocking out skills. Which are great. But I still prefer his quieter moments.
• Tom Waits' Nighthawks At The Diner is a very intimate performance, a live performance from a studio. It'd be great to be in that crowd. 
• Lloyd Brevett & The Skatalites' African Roots is an awesome instrumental ska album. Seems to be years after their heyday, particularly since it features Lloyd Brevett instead of Tommy McCook, and this was reggae time in Jamaica, but this is old school ska through and through.
• Led Zeppelin are back for the last time! Physical Graffiti is a nice double album, meaning it has some degree of experimentation filling out the 80+ minutes. But I'm still mostly into "Kashmir." 
• Young Americans is a very catchy David Bowie album. Kind of disco even? Particularly non-album track "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)."

On The Next Installment...

We get deeper into this emerging underground/punk rock movement. An actual Blondie album! The Modern Lovers! More Patti Smith! And it's official...we have launched. THE RAMONES. Also...funk's not dead if Parliament has anything to do with it. Or Stevie Wonder! Also Fleetwood Mac, The Runaways, more Tom Waits (always welcome), and (a little bit) more! It looks like I don't have a ton but the bit I have looks like it counts.

An Ear For An Era: 1974

I'm running out of things to say here. I think I'm missing something. There were a few great albums in here but it mostly seemed pretty insignificant in 1974. Maybe I'm still getting over the highs of 1973 and getting excited about the advent of punk that it's not advancing quickly enough for me. Anyway, this one will be short.

It started with some really great jazz. Billy Cobham's Shabazz, a live album from a 1974 performance (oops! the official release was from 1975! no wonder it seemed so ahead of its time!) in "Europe." This was full of great trombone solos and ridiculously complicated drumming. That's mostly what I remember. I think it'd go over well with some of my friends that don't particularly listen to jazz but would be open minded enough. That whole fusion thing or whatever.

Now I'm going to write about a bunch of artists I've already written about at some point. Because there was so little "new to me" stuff in my collection from 1974. (Looking through rateyourmusic's list, I mostly missed out on King Crimson, Genesis, Brian Eno solo (damnit!), and Leonard Cohen (I thought I had all his significant releases! oops!). Among much other stuff. Remind me not to look at that again, because it reminds me how incomplete this whole exercise is!).

Stevie Wonder will be discussed now. I know Fulfillingness' First Finale is yet another acclaimed release from the golden age of Stevie Wonder, but I wish I hadn't made this promise because I don't know what to say here! It's starting to seem less cheesy as I listen to him more and more. He created quite the grooves in this era; I quite enjoy the Jackson 5 featuring "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and the ballad "Too Shy To Say" is a real showcase of his vocal talents.

But what about that Neil Young? On The Beach is an album I've only listened to once or twice, but I need to spend a lot more time with it. He was at the height of his talent in these days, and I could hang out in the nine-minute "Ambulance Blues" all day long. Is this secretly his best album? I don't know if I'm ready to make any statements like that but it's certainly underappreciated by me. 

The first Tom Waits album I ever bought was The Heart of Saturday Night. This was kind of a random choice (I didn't know where to begin) but it was a pretty appropriate one. It's a great introduction if you need to ease into his more experimental, later work. The coolness that oozes all over this album is undeniable. I think it inspired me to try to come up with a list that have that undefinable "cool" quality and nobody else really had it quite like Tom Waits on The Heart of Saturday Night. It's cooler than a well digger's ass. He'd fit well with the beat poets and whatnot. And because he's Tom Waits, he sang the saddest songs you will hear. And I now present to you: the song to play at my funeral. If it comes down to it and anyone that may read this happens to also help plan my funeral one day, it is my request that this is played.

Tom Waits "Shiver Me Timbers"

Those outlaw country guys were doin' stuff too. Willie Nelson put out Phases and Stages which was pretty good. It's nice that he had the thought to tell the story from both sides of a doomed marriage, and it's just a sad ol' time like good country oughta be. I also have Johnny Cash's Ragged Old Flag on here, for what it's worth. The title track seems like blind patriotism but sounds fairly convincing. If I want to get the people riled up on Memorial Day or something I'd play this I guess. I do still like "What On Earth Will You Do (For Heaven's Sake)" at least as far as the vocals go.

Now we'll move on to the power pop or whatever you'd call it, Big Star's other album Radio City. In my opinion it started out a bit boring but as the album moved along it got more and more interesting, more and more catchy, with the climax being (what I assume was a single) "September Gurls." I think Big Star would have been a good band to listen to in high school. Then listening to it now would be even more nostalgic.

And finally, Roxy Music's famous Country Life. I don't think it quite ranks as high as For Your Pleasure for me, but it's still very very gorgeous. The arrangements are flawless, hitting all the right notes in slow ballads, heavy brooding beats, and catchy pop tunes. I might like Ferry's vocals the most here. Here he is channeling Elvis (?)...

Roxy Music "If It Takes All Night"

Newcomers:

Some of the emerging rock n roll of this era just flew by me in that I only have some singles and not full albums. But there was the first taste of Rush with the song "Working Man." A few Queen songs as well (I have Sheer Heart Attack on vinyl but not digitally if you can believe it). "Killer Queen" and "Stone Cold Crazy" are some quintessential jams.

I guess that's all? 1974 was not a highlight here.

Other stuff worth mentioning:

• Some more James Brown funk singles from the collection I spoke of last time. Still very repetitive, still don't mind it one bit.
• Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" came on. I wish all of his music hadn't been ruined by frat boys everywhere. Also Eric Clapton's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff."
• In less-ruined reggae, Toots & The Maytals' cover of "Country Roads" makes me happy.
• Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" came on. Apparently I don't have Diamond Dogs. I know I have it on vinyl.
• I had a Frank Zappa epic track "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" come on. I wish I had more of his stuff.
• Nico covered "The End" by The Doors, and that was my "the end" to Nico.
• Billy Joel may be Mr. Cheesy, but "The Entertainer" is a pretty good scathing critique of the music business.
• Jr. Walker kept up the funky goodness with "Dancin' Like They Do On Soul Train." So now you know the world I've been listening to. 1974.

On The Next Installment...

I will have a lot more to discuss. We'll be past the early 70s and music will move forward with purpose thanks to artists like Bruce Springsteen, Blondie, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris (two albums!), and Queen, while the veterans will still be putting out landmark albums like Blood On The Tracks, Metal Machine Music (is it that time already??), Nighthawks At The Diner, Physical Graffiti, Red Headed Stranger, Wish You Were Here, Young Americans, and Zuma. Looks good to me.

An Ear For An Era: 1973

Happy 40th Anniversary, All Of The Music Discussed In This Post!

Remember when the Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Edition came out? That was already several years ago! Now some of the stuff discussed here has gotten such 40th anniversary deluxe reissue treatment but it'd be interesting to wonder why others may have not this year. Of course, it's still only August. And maybe some of the bigger ones are waiting for the big 50th. Who knows.

The stuff that came up this round can be described mostly as refreshing. Something about most of what came up was just such a step up from the last couple years, be it from refreshing "new" artists, returns of those that I hadn't heard from in awhile, or just great improvements. And funk. Somehow there was so much more funk in 1973 than the last couple years. Maybe even more than any of the previous years where I talked about how awesomely funky stuff was. Maybe. So where to begin?

Maybe I'll start with the soul/funk. Because a very indicative song came up very early. Jr Walker & The All Stars' "I Ain't Going Nowhere." This is one of my favorite songs by them, despite it being from such a late point in their career. I love the early stuff, I kind of didn't like most of the early 70s cheesy stuff, but they turned a corner in '73 with this song as well as "Gimme That Beat." Not exactly funk as far as rhythms went, but a strong, hard, northern soul sound exemplified by hard vocals and a driving fast pace that begs to be danced to and whatnot. Most of what I associate with funk without being funk.

Jr Walker & The All-Stars "I Ain't Going Nowhere"

Al Green also stepped it up (quite a bit in my opinion) with Call Me. I appreciated his wispy vocals on the earlier albums mentioned here but found myself getting bored on those ones. Call Me is a different beast to me. More rhythmic without compromising his style, I think it's mostly the production and the arrangements that make it stand out, it's just more dynamic. Just a little bit more of a beat makes it feel like it's going somewhere which makes me feel more invested.

Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On is his "other" greatest achievement after What's Goin' On. The album as a whole might not be as grand of a statement but the vocal achievement alone is his best work in that regard. And yes, the title track has become a gigantic cliche for movies to make cheesy love scenes but damn it if it isn't one of the best vocal efforts in all of music ever. Marvin Gaye puts so much soul into every syllable, running the gamut of everything in his rather extensive vocal range, all to try to seduce that special lady. It doesn't matter how much I hear this song, it doesn't matter how much movie producers try to make me hate it by associating it with garbage cheesy films, I will always love this song. And the rest of the album, yup it's pretty amazing too. Nothing as over-the-top vocally but still full of great ballads.

But what about the funk? I'm not gonna tease you that much, am I? Just mention it and then talk about other stuff? OK now. Most of my funk comes from different soul/funk rarities compilations. Like Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label from Numero Group. This may be my most recommended such compilation. Who would have guessed: Ohio soul! On it I found an irresistible gem by a ridiculously short-lived group called OFS Unlimited, called "Mister Kidneys." At the time when I first heard it I called it the funkiest song I'd ever heard. Now, that's probably not true. But still one of my favorites ever.

OFS Unlimited "Mister Kidneys"

That Prix stuff also included great stuff by Marion Black and Mitch Mitchell. I cannot recommend that compilation enough. Absolute Funk 3 is another great one. Check out Wee Willie & The Winners' "I Don't Know What You Got But I Know What You Need." And The Funky 16 Corners is another great one. Soul Vibrations' "The Dump" is another highlight.

And I can't talk about funk of 1973 without talking about the main man, James Brown! The Payback is a beautiful record, 73 minutes of pure funk gold. Almost all the tracks are marathon sessions as he was known for (all but one track are over 7 minutes, two surpass 12). It's really just the perfect James Brown album, because none of the tracks are overplayed in movie trailers to the point of cliche, it takes its time to build all the tracks out to the way they deserve to be heard, and it never gets old because anything that is repeated (and yes, lots of his work is quite repetitive) continues to sound fresh and exciting. I also have the compilation The Singles Vol. 9 (1973-1975) and four of the eight 1973 tracks are kind of variations on "Stone to the Bone" from this album with the repeated chorus "I've got a good thing, I ain't gonna give it up." And that kind of says it all. He ain't gonna give up this amazing groove, let's just keep it going for 20 minutes because it's working so well.

Let's switch gears. There's not much left to talk about before I get into what I'll call the "Hellos and Goodbyes" section that seems pretty essential to this entry.

Paul McCartney & Wings' album Band On The Run is probably the best thing he did outside The Beatles. Is that a universal sentiment? Probably? I never thought about it too much. I thought maybe his s/t was considered as such. But Band On The Run shows a maturity that most of his solo stuff doesn't seem to have based on what I've heard. These songs have different movements within them, many aspects are explored where I feel like that was missing in lots of his other solo work (as well as mini-reprises within songs of other songs that make the album at itself even more cohesive than it already is otherwise). Apparently he was still a genius in the 70s! He was holding out on us! And the stuff since this, I feel like he's holding out on us some more. Anyway, I'll be speaking later about songs I want played at my funeral...here's a song I want played at my wake. I assume I will have a wake, what with being 1/4 Irish.

Paul McCartney & Wings "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)"

Johnny Cash is back! Kind of! I counted some stuff on Personal File, a (relatively) recent release of some stuff he worked on that was more personal, not recorded for any commercial reason, during the time he was less "active" in the commercial scene because commercial country music got less good and more bad in the 70s, as 70s because it was recorded then. This Personal File stuff was excellent, mostly completely naked arrangements of just Johnny and his guitar. Lots of covers of old songs (I was excited to hear his take on "Galway Bay" because I'm going to be visiting Ireland in a couple months and will certainly watch the sun set over Galway Bay with this song in mind) as well as some original material (one was written when he was driving from Denver to Cheyenne, which is awesome because I've been on that stretch of highway countless times in my own lifetime and I'm glad it could be inspirational). Lots of gold here.

OK now let's say some "hello"s to the freshman class of 1973, the finest we've had in quite some time. Yes, I understand that some of these artists had stuff going back even back to the 60s but my music collection isn't as all encompassing as it should be. So this is, again, based only on what I have.

There was one major voice in country music (that I can speak to somewhat extensively) emerging in 1973 and that was Willie Nelson. His album Shotgun Willie is quite wonderful, kind of a first step in the direction of "outlaw" country, "anti-mainstream" sounds of traditional country music in the face of emerging pop crap. The album title makes me laugh a bit because in Denver we have a very prominent strip club of the same name, but beyond that it's a wonderful album of country ballads and drinkin' songs. The most indicative song I can think of for what I was talking about above is "Sad Songs and Waltzes," a sad waltz that will break your heart with a chorus stating that "sad songs and waltzes aren't sellin' this year." I don't want to hear the songs that were sellin' this year because this is probably about 1000x better than that stuff.

Let's move on to...jazz? I've never known how to label Tom Waits. This early stuff could probably fit better into the jazz category (or singer-songwriter whatever that means) than other stuff. I always called him the blues even though it's so far different from blues music. But yes, his debut album! Closing Time! It just makes me so happy that from here on out there will be Tom Waits to guide me through the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. I can keep looking forward to a Tom Waits album. This is before he got crazy experimental, it's traditional music in one sense or another of jazzy, bluesy ballads in his unmistakable voice. Here is a song that was on my shortlist to be played at my wedding. I don't know why I didn't end up putting it on the list I gave the DJ (other than deciding to surrender some creative control in the interest of having my friend that is an actual DJ make some actual DJ decisions and not just play a playlist I created), but here's a great song for other people to dance to at their weddings.

Tom Waits "Little Trip To Heaven (On The Wings Of Your Love)"

I watched a (relatively) recent New York Dolls live set where they verbalized their genre, stating "we're not punk, we're glam." Fine. But seriously, this self titled album of theirs sounds to me a lot closer to The Ramones and maybe Rancid than T Rex, Bowie, or whatever other band you'd call glam. I can see the glam in the way they present themselves, their attitude, etc. But the sound has a lot to do with punk rock. The looseness, the unrestrained energy, it's just so crass and punk rock to me. And they've been covered by pop-punk heroes The Groovie Ghoulies ("Lonely Planet Boy")! I think lots of punk groups were influenced by them (and they probably had some Stooges influence in them) so whether they like it or not they will be associated with this genre that will be fully established in 3-4 years time. It's the energy, man! Is this an actual music video?

The New York Dolls "Trash"

Roxy Music had two albums this year! One with Eno, one without. So that's exciting. It means the Eno influence/hand is entering the picture. First was For Your Pleasure. Art and rock and roll, together at last. I love this album. It's probably my favorite of their releases. There's a good amount of potential energy that builds up as the tracks go on, building and building until the payoff which is great. That sounds like it could be describing stuff from any type of music but I'm using it to describe this. Then their next album Stranded came up. It's been well publicized that this was Brian Eno's favorite Roxy Music album despite not including Brian Eno contributions. It was great but might have been missing something. I don't want to say it was a Brian Eno factor, it was something else I think. But still great. Whatever.

The most out of place entry here is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. They were definitely around since the 60s but I don't have any of that older stuff. Is it good? Should I check it out? There's not much to say about this because it's been studied more extensively and written about in ways that I could never imagine. It's a pretty perfect LP, front to back. I haven't listened to it as much as I should, but it fit together so logically that I could tell when it hit the final track "Eclipse" that this would be it, that it was the logical conclusion and then it happened. Well played sirs.

And finally, let's say goodbye to the graduating class of 1973. Again, some of these artists released stuff after 1973 (and it's possible I'll pick some of it up in time to hear from them again here!) but it looks like they'll mostly be spent.

The Who has been a presence damn near since I started counting year-by-year. I don't really have any personal history with Quadrophenia, it's an album that I never checked out until relatively recently but it's probably the one that would have spoken to me most directly of all of theirs had I listened to it in high school when I first started getting into them. I still haven't seen the movie but the music itself sounds like a more raw exploration of pure rock & roll, a bit looser and heavier. Maybe I should look into The Who By Numbers as a worthy successor? Maybe I should. But yes, I do quite love that song "Love Reign O'er Me." Who doesn't?

But speaking of loose, heavy, raw rock & roll...Iggy & The Stooges! Their last album (until very recently) was Raw Power. There's something very interesting about the sound of this album. It's so dirty, so full of piss & piss, that it's hard to believe it's the David Bowie mix (and Iggy's sounded even "worse"). Bowie, who was the king of glam, mixed this album, a super raw and opposite-of-glam dirty angry rock & roll. Their first album was kind of a precursor to punk. The second was kind of a precursor to other hard rock styles. And this one doubles down on the punk, sounding as mean as almost any other punk rock album you'll hear. The Stooges go down in flames and they are rocking the soundtrack while it happens. After this we'll find ourselves in Iggy Solo land where he won't sound nearly as dirty or angry as he does here. But just as a finale, my copy of Raw Power came with a bonus disc called Georgia Peaches, a live performance from 1973. It's an odd recording where you can hear a quite loud woman commenting on wanting another drink among other things, Iggy trying to start a fight with someone in the crowd, and oh yeah! Music! Some songs that don't show up on any of their studio recordings, some from Raw Power, and that's it. No older songs. This is a band that didn't look back (until I saw them this century playing old hits). Nope, they knew they were the future of rock & roll and this album shows it. They just didn't care.

Where I Stand: 4833 of 37675 (currently I'm in the middle of a big mistake of ripping lots of my old CDs from high school...I'm sure I'll regret having to listen to all of this when I hit the late 90s...)

Other highlighty stuff worth noting:

• Harry Nilsson put out a standards collection called A Touch of Schmilsson In The Night. It's mostly a showcase of his great vocal work. And he picked songs that match his style well, as far as levels of wit and whatnot.
• Vince Guaraldi's "Little Birdie" was a great pop jazz tune. Yup.
• "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & The Gang. I'm tellin ya, it was a funky year!
• Stevie Wonder's cheesy-but-good streak continued with Innervisions. It probably deserves a full paragraph but I don't know what to say about it right now. I'll probably give his next one a full paragraph though.
• Waylon Jennings snuck in there with "Ain't No God in Mexico"
• David Bowie followed up the great Ziggy Stardust... with the still pretty great Aladdin Sane. I just have to make this post not too ridiculously long and keep room for the newcomers! I don't have the album Pin Ups.
• I had a bunch of stuff by Jane Birkin pop up and let me tell you one thing. Her daughter (Charlotte Gainsbourg) sounds a lot like her. Like, a lot a lot.
• Barry White's Stone Gon' is a sexy good time.
• I got my first Queen single, "Keep Yourself Alive." Yeah!
• There was a live Rolling Stones album called Brussels Affair. I've decided that for live albums I'm trying to associate them with the year of the performance, so this was a 1973 performance (that I think was recently released). I want to visit Brussels someday. In 1973 the Stones had quite a library of great material and they were near their peak, so it's a pretty great performance with lots of great songs. 
• More funk is Aaron Neville's "Hercules" produced by Allen Toussaint. Talk about a groove! It's more laid back than most of the stuff I talked about here but it's still quite great.

On The Next Installment...

Another Roxy Music album that is quite the big deal. More Stevie Wonder. Some more great Tom Waits. Keeping it coming with Big Star, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. Not much else though. This may be the shortest one of all at 176 tracks. So...I'll be back with you soon with a short entry?

An Ear For An Era: 1972

It started out bold, got boring for awhile, then got better. Or something like that. 1972 was not a great year for soul in my opinion despite a few landmark albums released. The highlights were in the glam/power pop/whatever genre it's considered. I think they go together. And singer/songwriters had a great year as well. Stuff was music back then, you know? You don't?

Stevie Wonder's Talking Book is kind of maybe the first in his famous great-70s-albums series, but most of it seemed to be ballads and kind of bored me (although I did appreciate the many layers of orchestration). Still, "Superstition" was on the album so that was an obvious highlight. I think I like his later stuff a bit more though, it gets deeper and more complex soon.

Then a string of R&B popped up and it was all kind of continually weightless. Bill Withers, Allen Toussaint, Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway, Jr. Walker, Smokey Robinson...all artists I do quite like, but this all seemed too slight, flighty. Too many ballads, not enough funk.

Then Can came back on. And oddly was the funkiest thing I'd heard yet. Yes, the album Ege Bamyasi is quite a bit more grounded and accessible than Tago Mago, mostly because of shorter song lengths, lots of funky rhythms, and the song "Vitamin C," which was kind of a hit I believe. But my mind was completely blown when "Vitamin C" ended and "Soup" came on. The longest song on the album, it was advanced post punk before punk was even a thing. Crazy rhythms, blasts of guitar, screaming vocals, shifting time signatures and tempos, a drawn out version of loud (and fast) - quiet (and slow) - loud (and fast and slow) dynamics.

Can "Soup"

I don't have a good transition out of Can because there's really nothing else like them in this era in my library. How about back to soul, but the more positive stuff I have to say?

Maybe I just don't have any of the possibly great possibly popular funk of the day. But the best I got was from compilations of obscure stuff, like The Funky 16 Corners (Ernie And The Top Notes Inc. had a great song called "Dap Walk.") and Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label (Chip Willis & Double Exposure!).

The main, kind-of-funky, cinematic and great soul album (ok obviously it's cinematic, but I'm just saying he did a great job with it) was Curtis Mayfield's Superfly, the soundtrack to the movie. It's tough not to compare it to Isaac Hayes' Shaft, but it really is a different beast. Lots of very apt commentary in the lyrics (and lots more songs with lyrics!), Mayfield's completely different style of arrangements, it does really feel more like an album to listen through in a sitting without needing any context of the movie to go along with it.

And that's it for soul. Awkward transition to singer songwriter types?

Lou Reed solo. The album is called Transformer. It has his gigantic hit "Walk On The Wild Side." It has more of those sentimental songs in the style that I liked so much in the later Velvet Underground material, such as "Perfect Day." That may be my favorite. Or maybe "Hangin' Round" is my favorite. The line from the chorus, "You're still doing things that I gave up years ago" seems pretty apt considering the history of the Velvet Underground and how influential they were. Not that that seems to be what this is about.

Now the last we'll hear from Rodriguez (unless he decides to put something new out one of these days), some bonus stuff recorded after his last album that can be found as bonus tracks on the reissue as well as the Searching For Sugarman soundtrack. I just wanted an excuse to post this song, as he was slipping away from the music biz.

Rodriguez "I'll Slip Away"

We're also hearing our last of Nick Drake (other than a posthumous album that will be waaaay later). Such a tragic loss. Such a beautiful album Pink Moon was, appropriately sparse in a time when more and more music was getting overproduced. All short simple folk songs, mostly just a guitar and vocals.

Harry Nilsson followed up on the great Nilsson Schmilsson with Son of Schmilsson. I have a long standing opinion of this album as kind of a big laugh, not too memorable or really much of a successor to his probably-greatest achievement, but this time I realized that amongst all the joke lyrics ("I sang my balls off for you baby..." "Let me be your Joy boy," "You're breakin' my heart, tearin' it apart so f*** you," "I'd rather be dead than wet my bed...") there is a lot of Nilsson's impeccable vocals and plenty of heartbreak and authenticity. "You're Breakin' My Heart" is kind of the spiritual grandfather of Shellac's "Prayer To God," which is an id-driven, raw expression of heartbreak that can make you laugh through your own pain (at least both of those songs worked for me when I went through heartbreak). Still a silly follow up to Schmilsson, but far from something to be dismissed.

Neil Young's Harvest is yet another brilliant album, a very worthy successor to After The Gold Rush. I don't feel the need to say much aside from the fact that it's the album with "Old Man," "The Needle & The Damage Done," and "Alabama." What else do you need, man?

A couple words about Kris Kristofferson. He started sounding just slightly more 70s country on Jesus Was A Capricorn, but at this point it was pretty subtle and he still had some brilliant songs. It's not quite on the level of his first two albums but still quite enjoyable.

Rock & Roll! The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street may be my favorite Stones album. Mostly because the double album is usually something bands will use to indulge in more experimental material because hey, everything fits, but the Stones just kind of made their rockin' more loose and fun and wild. Then the slower songs are all winners. Particularly "Sweet Virginia." Yep.

Rolling Stones "Sweet Virginia"

Big Star popped up. I was definitely in the 70s based on the fact that the song "In The Street" came on. The one that was covered as the theme for That 70s Show! So there's that. But seriously, #1 Record is damned amazing. Of course the song "Thirteen" is one of the best throwback nostalgia tunes that will remind anyone of grade school crushes. Something very authentic in the songwriting considering this was basically pop music.

Big Star "Thirteen"

I like to think Big Star alongside the glam heroes of this time. T-Rex came on shortly afterwards with their album The Slider and I found a lot of parallels in the atmosphere developed. More authentic, lovely songs but with a bit more edge...

And it ended of course with the ultimate 1972 album, the ultimate in the world of glam rock, and possibly the ultimate David Bowie album:  The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Front to back, just a great album of space travel, song structure experimentation, protopunk, and glam party music.

Where I Stand: 4537 of 37161

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• It actually started with Alice Cooper. "School's Out." Yeah!
• A couple Johnny Cash cuts...I'm not sure when he totally fell off the radar, but "Jacob Green" was from this year so maybe he was still doing all right.
• Chuck Berry had some sort of comeback as he had the live hit "My Ding-A-Ling." I have the full 9 minute version and some sort of edited short version. Maybe not a song that needs to be 9 minutes.
• Michael Jackson's version of "Rockin' Robin." That goes out to my sister.
• We say goodbye to Ricky Nelson here with "Garden Party." A nice sentimental song about an earlier era of rock & roll.
• Aretha Franklin's Young, Gifted and Black kind of toed all the different lines of the different directions soul was heading, from the overproduced lightweight stuff, a bit of funk, and a bit of disco. 
• Elvis! "Burning Love."
• Some more post-Morrison Doors, the song "The Mosquito" is quite the curiosity.

On The Next Installment...

Soul is Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder is definitely in his stride, and others. More Bowie (I think pretty much every year will have some sort of Bowie for the 70s). Iggy & The Stooges have a finale. The return of James Brown. Band on the Run. Quadrophenia. And these guys all make their AEFAE debut: New York Dolls! Pink Floyd! Queen! Roxy Music! Tom Waits! Willie Nelson!

In UMSmation

The day after two days and four nights of exhaustive music research, sun, food trucks, music, rock and roll, hip hop, beer, and music. I wanted to do a daily blog of the previous day's findings but that didn't happen. So now I have to remember all four days, or who-knows-how-many shows, and tell you what I can recall. Let's do this.

I will also note that I attempted to link to bandcamp whenever available. Support these artists!

Thursday

I thought about not even going on Thursday. I thought, three days will be plenty. I thought, it's annoying that you have to wear the same wrist band for four days when you have to go to work on Friday (and in the past it's been having to wear it all days because I used to work weekends and could only catch shows at a certain time in the evening). But I looked at the schedule and I always feel compelled to see any band my friends may be in (and Bonnie and the Beard were playing at 11:00) so I went for it. I at least behaved myself by not drinking. The first two acts I saw were recommendations from my friend Alisha. Thanks Alisha!

After getting my primary UMS tradition out of the way (food at Famous Pizza) I picked up my wrist band and headed over to Blue Ice for Kitty Crimes. Pretty amazing female hip hop artist who used Kendrick Lamar's "Backseat Freestyle" beat and also covered "Bombs Over Baghdad." She crowd surfed, made everyone dance, used some heavy rock beats in a way that brings attention to my main complaint about the new Kanye album (that it doesn't have enough to say for how urgently it tries to say it, it sounds angry but doesn't go where it needs to go lyrically), and just started everything off with a bang. Bang.

After that I headed over to the Hi-Dive for Varlet, which was something completely different. I was told that singer Lilly Scott was on American Idol, which at first made me not like them without even hearing them. But I was in there, had nothing to do for the hour, so I gave them a chance. I'm glad I kept an open mind about that because the band itself was very creative, very talented, and yes, with a great singer. In a way she sounded kind of like someone that would be a contestant on American Idol (singing in an Amy Winehouse style) but it was very entertaining and engaging.

Then the evening ended at Illegal Pete's with Bonnie and the Beard. It was kind of cool when Open Air head Mike Flanagan introduced them saying we were about to get our "asses rocked." And we did! I hadn't seen them in a while and they had a couple extra guest musicians and played a bunch of songs that were new to me. It reminded me of Gogol Bordello, the energy levels generated with the crowd and the band. It may have been their best set that I've seen yet.

Friday

I think I saw more female singers than male this year. By a wide margin. So far we're 2 1/2 to 1/2. We'll check back on the tally a little later on. Friday I started at 3 Kings for Esme Patterson. Not much to report here, but I did like that she did a response song to Elvis Costello's "Alison." I think a big part of her appeal is her lyrics though, and I couldn't hear them very well in the mix. Still a good set.

Then we trekked all the way up to the 404 to check out New Jazz Order, a jazz New Order cover band. But the only thing that was really jazzy about it was the horn section and somewhat free jazz vocals. The overall rhythm and atmosphere were very New Order. It was really cool.

Then to the main stage for Mudhoney! I never got into them back in the day but obviously they are great. 

Then dinner and Jeffrey Dallet at The Hornet (delicious! (the dinner part)). Jeffrey was good, folk music in the old timey style of Woody Guthrie, just good ol' story songs, a Bob Dylan cover, and fun lyrics. He used to play silly songs on a show I produced in the old ManiaTV days about graduation, Neil Young, and other random topics. He could write a song overnight to sing the next day. Now that he's actually doing this for real the songs have gotten a bit more serious but they have the same charm and style.

The evening ended at the Irish Rover with the great Land Lines. Always gorgeous, hypnotic, and rockin', this time we were in the back and it was a little difficult to hear (the full night's worth of beers didn't help either!) but they were still fantastic as usual.

And then it was Socorro burritos and a ride home. A successfully partied out night.

Saturday

Saturday I got there pretty early and did some aimless wandering. The first place I wandered into was Eslinger Gallery to see WhiteCatPink. A guy in a cat costume as seen to the right there. He played drums to a pre-programmed ipod. He also had some go-go kittens dancing to his sweet beats and there was a cover of Kraftwerk's "Pocket Calculator." It was compelling enough for me to stay for the whole set without seeking out anything else, but I don't know if there's much else to it, or anything else to say about it.

I wandered around some more after that, had some delicious barbecue from the Moe's food truck and walked and walked some more to fill space so the next picture is below this picture here. It was a good time of wandering and eating.

I decided I'd wander into 3 Kings because I was curious about a strange band name Panal S.A. de C.V. There was some fog seeping out of the front of the place and I knew I was in for something. It ended up being one of my favorite shows of the festival. Instrumental post rock, very dark and brooding. The visuals to the left there are pretty indicative of what it sounded like if that makes any sense. High contrast, foggy, there were also lasers but they wouldn't translate to my camera phone very well. I highly recommend them and I plan on seeing them some more in the future.

I might start making this faster. OK, Sauna at the Hi-Dive was wonderful, it reminded me of Scott Pilgrim but that was probably just the style of music, the age of the musicians, and the girl drummer. It was a lot of fun and a very good recommendation from Pam. Thanks Pam! Then we saw Ian Cooke at South Broadway Christian Church. Just like last year! 

Another repeat from last year was Wheelchair Sports Camp at Compound Basix. Last year it was the amazing finale to the thing. This year I think it was even better. Possibly because I got a spot where I could actually see, that may have been a factor. But they rocked it so hard with two trumpets that just blasted away while the beat just went on and on and on and f***in' on. The lyrics were so insightful, the flow was smooth and hard, everything just came together so perfectly. Check out that linked bandcamp, they have lots of great free music available.

And then we ate. And then we got in line at the Hi-Dive because I knew that it would be packed for this next band because it always is. Because they are a Denver favorite.

I hadn't seen Snake Rattle Rattle Snake in ages. They haven't done much that I've been aware of. Except writing songs apparently. I maybe recognized one or two songs this time. And I have their one album! The new stuff is great, I look forward to whenever they get around to putting out another record. I thought Sineater would propel them to national attention but maybe that didn't happen. So maybe this next one will do so? Hey, as long as they keep rocking Denver on the regular I guess I'll appreciate that we still have this gem in town. But seriously, if you're one of the few people that know of the local Denver scene but somehow don't know SRRS? Fix that.

And then it was just about midnight.

And I went to The Skylark to see Dressy Bessy. Everybody was exhausted. Everybody. But we all held out and watched the full set (and the band played said full set) and an encore. And it was great. Hard to show enthusiasm though. But the band themselves didn't let it slow them down. They rocked it hard like the veterans they are. Dressy Bessy will always have a special place in my heart because back in the early 2000s when I was listening to nothing but mopey emo/hardcore music and moping about an ex girlfriend I saw some band I liked open for Dressy Bessy and stuck around to see them. They just kind of turned that whole thing around. Just the pure optimism of their music made me realize I could let myself be happy. So I am eternally grateful to this band. On Saturday night the vocals were pretty low in the mix making them sound somewhat similar to Sauna earlier in the day, with the pure pop punk fuzz and high energy rhythm. It was a good night!

Sunday 

Sunday Mornin' comin' down. UMS knew what we would need when they booked Sunday morning. Lots of low key country music, folk, etc. to ease us into it. I saw a lot of incomplete sets Sunday morning. I was indecisive. Clouds & Mountains were the very first band I saw at 3 Kings and there were people sitting on the floor. Of 3 Kings. That's how tired we were. brim liski played some sort of spacey synthy rock at the Hi-dive. Not sure what to call it. Something with the word "chill" maybe but I hate calling things that. I stuck around for them for a while before I got antsy and went over to Gozo to check out Megan Burtt and The Cure for Love. Pleasant enough. Stopped by the main stage for a song by SHEL. Pleasant enough. More wandering. Eventually wound up at the Skylark to catch the end of New Ben Franklins, a very nice sounding country group. This was where I found Leah & Jeff and we shared recommendations. We went by the main stage to see Rachel & The Kings. Not really my thing (nor theirs).

Then we ate at Punch Bowl Social in anticipation of Dirty Femmes featuring Gordon Gano. We ended up right up front for this. Wowza! An incredibly talented Violent Femmes cover band accompanied by the violentest of the femmes, Gordon Gano himself, on fiddle! A violin femme if you will. I wanted to use this but it wouldn't be accurate: "Gordon Gano literally played second fiddle to his own songs" (He actually played lead fiddle; there was another second fiddler). But this show was a complete blast. All killer Femmes tracks (mostly from the first album) that had the whole crowd singing along, Gano proved himself to be a quite amazing fiddler, playing some insane solos (as well as some great back & forth with guitarist/band leader Jen Korte for some extended instrumental breaks) and even sang a verse or two here and there (including in "Good Feeling" so that was pretty magical). The rhythm section is a giant part of why it is a successful Violent Femmes cover band as well. And all the funniness of Gordon Gano talking about how great the band was, them calling the songs masterpieces, Gano blowing that off and then accepting the compliment...it was nice.

Then we went over to the Hi-Dive to see Wire Faces at the recommendation of Leah & Jeff (thanks Leah & Jeff!). Any time you see the drum set front & center you know it's going to be a rhythmic assault. And wow, how he assaulted those drums. Almost math-rock-esque but I guess not really but certainly influenced by bands from that genre (think Rodan, Don Caballero, other Touch & Go staples from the late 90s) and also obviously influenced by Television (they ended their set with a Television cover), it was really something special and I highly recommend you see them if you haven't. So many highlights!

Then we went to the main stage and Lord Huron was pretty good. 

Then I ditched out on Born in the Flood's main stage headlining performance (dooming me to miss seeing the governor's introduction!) to go see good ol' Sour Boy Bitter Girl at the Irish Rover. As usual they were awesome and played a bunch of songs off the new album that just came out this year that you should totally get off that bandcamp link above. Heartbreak, analogies, words.

I was about ready to call it a festival but not quite. So I wandered into the book store but didn't care for what I heard so I wandered some more, ending up in Blue Ice where I started it with a party. So I also ended it with a party: The Skeleton Show. There weren't a ton of us, but everyone there was dancing pretty hard to the garage core punkish sounds. I'd definitely see them again, but I also hope they get more interactive. It seemed like the type of show that should've erupted into a crazy end-of-UMS fiasco with the singer in the crowd (kind of like the old Black Black Ocean shows) but it didn't particularly. It was still a party though. Always end with a party.

And then I had to find a bed that could take this weight.

*final count: 13 1/2 to 12 1/2 for the ladies (counting instrumental dude bands as "dude singers"). I thought the margin was wider.