BYP#6

A reminder - you have plans this Tuesday night:

Spare Me Over 'Til Another Year

Wandering around a record store a few years ago, I found myself browsing though the Americana section and came upon An Untamed Sense of Control, one of the Smithsonian Folkways collections of Roscoe Holcomb recordings. I had never heard of Holcomb before - in fact I didn't know anything at all about Appalachian folk (or "old-time music", if you prefer). It was pretty much just the photograph on the cover that convinced me to buy the album, but the first two tracks ("Swano River" and "Across the Rocky Mountain") turned made me a devoted fan.

For whatever reason, I never made much of an effort to explore the genre very much, but I recently had the good fortune to come upon a couple of tracks by Dock Boggs. Boggs, while he shares the "high, lonesome sound" so often associated with Holcomb, is generally thought to be more accessable. Holcomb's catterwail, admittedly, can get a little shrill. But I go for that kind of thing.

In any case, Dock Boggs' originally recorded a number of songs in the 20s and early 30s, then spent a number years away from music before being rediscovered in the 60s, when he also put out quite a lot of material through Folkways. Included are a number of traditional songs such as "Sugar Baby," which Holcomb also performed as "I Ain't Got No Sugar Baby Now," or "Little Black Train," also played by Woody Guthrie.* Boggs' instrumentation rarely goes beyond vocals and banjo, but in part it's the sparseness of these performances that make them timeless. These are mostly songs about love and death - similar to music from any time and place, probably - but what grants artists like Holcomb and Boggs a special kind of grace is that they don't seem to need to talk about either of these themes in terms of grand universals. Emotions ring clearly enough in the particlar stories told in these songs, so that grand declarations seem unnecessary. It's just good, old music. Plain and simple.

The 1960 documentary That High Lonesome Sound, which focuses on Holcomb, is also well worth watching if you get the chance. I have a copy on DVD if any locals are interested.

Recommended tracks: Dock Boggs/Little Black Train, Oh Death, Danville Girl, Country Blues. Roscoe Holcomb/Swano River, Across the Rocky Mountain, I Ain't Got No Sugar Baby Now, I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow**.

*On Folkways' High Lonesome Sound, Holcomb also performs "In The Pines," which Leadbelly played under the name "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," a song that Nirvana covered during their Unplugged performance.

**Click here to listen to Holcomb's acapella version of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow," the centerpiece to the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.

A Minimum of Effort

And better results than I expected. My 8-Ball:

1. how am I feeling today?
“Down to the Nightclub” by Tower of Power (unlikely, I think)

2. will I get far in life?
“Knock ‘Em Flyin’” by GBV (optimistic or pessimistic? could go either way.)

3. how do my friends see me?
“Genius” by Kings of Leon (well, I mean…)

4. where will I get married?
“It’s Pouring” by M+S

5. what is my best friend?
“Sacred Love (I Against I)” by Bad Brains

6. what is the story of my life?
“Dancing Gods” by Silver Apples

7. what was high school like?
“Edie is a Sweet Candy” by The 5678’s

8. how can I get ahead in life?
“Book of Moses” by Tom Waits (hey, are you calling me a Jew?)

9. what is the best thing about me?
“Flower 2” by Deerhoof

10. what is today going to be like?
“Brave New World” by Reagan Youth

11. what's in store for this week?
“9 Fingers on You” by Shudder to Think (ominous or amputation fetish?)

12. what is in store for this weekend?
“Small Man, Big Mouth” by Minor Threat (ominous or homoerotic?)

13. what song describes my parents?
“Final Home (ft. Esthero)” by DJ Krush (ominous or…ominous?)

14. to describe my grandparents?
“Down Boy” by Holly Valance

15. how is my life going?
“Sob Story” by Minor Threat (could it get more perfect?)

16. what song will they play at my funeral?
“West Side” by Coco Rosie

17. how does the world see me?
“Hopelessness” by Dreamend (see #15)

18. will I have a happy life?
“Out” by Quiet Personal Electronics

19. what do my friends really think of me?
“Burn” by Eric’s Trip (yikes)

20. do people secretly lust after me?
“Hypnotize Me” by Jeremy Joseph (I fuckin’ KNEW IT, Jeremy!)

21. how can I make myself happy?
“Call Me Up” by Gang of Four
22. what should I do with my life?
“Today” by Smashing Pumpkin (Billy, unhelpful as usual)

23. will I ever have children?
“Fuck Authority” by Raw Power (uh…)

24. what is some good advice for me?
”The Chill is On” by Big Joe Turner (yeah, relax relax)

25. how will I be remembered?
“Ever is Over All” by Pipilotti Rist

26. what is my signature dancing song?
“Wrecking Now” by GBV

27. what is my current theme song?
“Oklahoma, USA” by Yo La Tengo

28. what does everyone else think my current theme song is?
“Naturescent” by TRS 80

29. what type of women do I like?
“Rape Me” by Richard Cheese (Oh my fucking god. I don’t even know what to say.)

30. what type of men do I like?
“Last Days of Disco” by Yo La Tengo (what a finale)

Big Name

I was thinking of writing something about the new Black Mountain album (s/t), but couldn't think of anything insightful to say (just go read the Pitchfork review, they're always full of usefull information and hot air). Then, when I went to find out who put out the album, I realized that Black Mountain is on Jagjaguwar, which is such a good label that I might as well just post about the label.

Besides putting out Black Mountain, they've also handled all of Julie Doiron's albums. Doiron was the bassist for Eric's Trip (I strongly suggest picking up their live album, The Eric's Trip Show) before starting to put out solo records full of the beautiful, heart-wrenching singer-songwriter music I've ever heard. Pretty much every track off of Heart and Crime could make a person cry - sometimes in a sad way, sometimes in a happy way (Pulitzer Prize, here I come).

The album she put out with The Wooden Stars is also great - it has a really distincitive, quirky poppish sound. And if you're a total fuckin' America-hating traitor terrorist then you should be sure to pick up Desormais, an album almost entirely in French.

Jagjaguwar also put out Oh Fantastica by Aspera. Not to bring out the old chestnut about how one band sounds like another band if they were taking this or that drug, but... Aspera makes the kind of music that I expect you'd get from David Gahan if you slipped him some ecstacy and a bunch of Aphex Twin albums. Have a listen to the "Mountains Will Give" MP3 off the Jagjagwar site.

Finally, you have Minus Story, which is a good ol' fashioned sensitive indie band with some seriously tight hooks. You can also find some MP3s for them I'm sure.

In conclusion, Jagjaguwar is good. They have good music. They are good people. They one saved my dog from getting hit by a car and invented the emotion known now as "wistful".

Purchase-Proof

Even if you don't listen to much hip-hop, you might have heard about the Coup after an unfortunate coincidence involving the cover art of their 2001 album, Party Music. While that's a pretty rough situation, it does sort of give you an idea of where the Coup is coming from. You don't get a whole lot more militant than this.

Now I know some people have a get kinda antsy when music gets too political. They don't like to feel like they're being preached at. Plus, pop songs often have a way of oversimplifying political issues in a way that makes the artist look dumb. But Boots Riley, the Coup's MC, is incisive and funny - not just angry. He talks about concrete issues for race and class (gentrification, police brutality) that open up onto larger problems with "the system". And if you want to find somebody who can tear pop-gangsta culture a new one, look no further.

But even if you don't want to hear about that kind of subject matter for your leisure listening, you can still appreciate Boots' artistry as a lyricist. On top of that Pam the Funkstress spins the smoothest, creamiest beats that manage to take the edge off.

You can listen to a fairly recent KPFA interview with Boots here. The anecdote about Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" is pretty great, and you get to hear a bunch of great Coup songs...um...to boot. Sorry.

It's not entirely clear if the Coup is still making music. Their website seems to be out of commission, and the Tommy Boy site isn't exactly a treasure trove of artist information (though if you're looking for pictures of thongs, be sure to stop by).

Most Recommended Tracks: Dig It, Hip 2 Tha Skeme, Fat Cats Bigger Fishes, Repo Man