Pure Joy

I first became aware of Pure Joy when they released their 1990 LP Carnivore on the Popllama label. Carnivore is a nice slab of power-pop with a healthy dose of Cheap Trick influence. Pure Joy leader Rusty Rusty Willoughby's subsequent band Flop also mined the power-pop vein and gained enough attention to land on a major label (who subsequently did nothing to support them). In my mind I very much slotted Pure Joy into the power-pop ghetto (and I mean that in both a good and bad way).

So when I borrowed their 1986 self-titled EP from my friend Adam, I was a little surprised at the sounds I heard as the diamond vibrated in sympathy with the record groove. I expected a rougher version of what the band delivered on Carnivore, and what I heard instead was a band that sounded much more like The Chameleons UK, Echo & The Bunnymen or The Mighty Lemon Drops than any of the usual power-pop touchstones. It was only after listening to this that it dawned on me that the band obviously took their name from a track on the second The Teardrop Explodes album, Wilder.

After this revelation, I went back and listened to their fantastic 1988 LP Unsung [buy it!] that was not widely distributed until it was reissued by Flydaddy in 1994.  The fixation with British neo-psychedelica is evident on this album, if not as obvious as it is on the EP, but since I approached the album from a power-pop frame when I listened to it previously, I hadn't noticed it before.

The other thing that surprised me about the EP was that despite the fact that it was self-released by the band, and predates their first widely distributed album by a good four years, the recording quality is very professional and the band's playing is polished. So not only does the EP not sound like a rougher version of Carnivore, it actually sounds slicker both in terms of production and performance than their later work. In fact, when I threw Carnivore on my turntable for the first time in many years, I was somewhat disappointed by the muffled sound of the recording which holds back the very energetic performances somewhat.

Pure Joy reunited for new albums in 1997 and 2003, and I plan on tracking those down soon. And if you ever come across a copy of this EP, pick it up!

Where Is The Love...For The Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl Halftime Show?

So it seems like The Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl Halftime Show is being nearly unanimously panned and mocked. Being the contrarian that I am, I'd like to say a few words in defense of their performance.

I'd like to preface my comments by saying that personally I don't like the music of The Black Eyed Peas. From "Where Is The Love" in 2003, to "My Humps" in 2005, to "Imme Be" in 2009, right up to their current smash "The Time (Dirty Bit)," the music of the Black Eyed Peas could have been created by a complex and constantly improving set of algorithms designed specifically to annoy the heck out of me.

Insofar as this is the case, I have a grudging respect for the band. I'm a white man in his 40s, and it's my personal opinion that  if the popular music of the day doesn't leave me saying "everything was better back in my day," then it is doing something very wrong. In a perverse way, I almost look forward to hearing how much more annoying I find the next Black Eyed Peas song than I did the last one. I feel like we have some personal contest going on, and just when I think their next song can't possibly annoy me as much as their last, they pull out a trick like interpolating the song from Dirty Dancing and drenching it in Auto-Tune. I'm pretty sure will.i.am is a genius of some sort, and I mean that sincerely.

With all that said, I felt like The Black Eyed Peas delivered more of what I think a Super Bowl performance should deliver than many of the recent Halftime shows. Ever since Janet Jackson bared her bejeweled nipple for a fraction of a second, the NFL has gotten pretty conservative with their choice of entertainment, leaning heavily on aging classic rockers like The Who, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul McCartney. I guess they figure the worst "wardrobe malfunction" that might happen in these cases is someone will lose their dentures, or a toupee will blow off. While that would be embarrassing, it wouldn't risk offending those extremely sensitive Americans who fear a microsecond peek at Janet Jackson's nipple might permanently scar their child's psyche.

While I like (even love) the music of many of these old geezers, their performances are very short on the sort of over-the-top glitz and showmanship that I think should be part of a good Super Bowl Halftime show. (I was only half-kidding when I said they should bring back Up With People). The other problem I have with these rockers' performances is that, by necessity while the vocals can be performed live, the music must be canned. Logistically, it's just not possible to get a good live sound set up in a stadium given the time constraints. Anyone who disses will.i.am and crew for not performing their music onstage should be aware that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers did the same thing, and believe me, it's not because they can't play. But the central problem here is that rock music performances are uniformly dull when the music is already in the can. Pop music can compensate for this shortcoming with synchronized dancing and other forms of razzmatazz (it just wouldn't work to have a troupe of dancers in light up suits dancing in time to "Born To Run," although I'd like to see someone try).

Okay, there were some obvious problems with The Black Eyed Peas performance, starting with the obvious fact that even with the help of Auto-Tune none of them other than Fergie can come close to singing on key. But as a show, I didn't think it was that bad. Those LED blockhead guys dancing onstage with the band at the end were pretty cool, and almost made me think of DEVO and the way they deconstructed popular music as spectacle. Slash appearing from the void in all his junkie glory wearing a light up top hat was totally bizarre, and kind of awesome in a really strange way. And it sounded like the crowd in that stadium loved every second of it.

So despite the fact that I don't like their music, I give The Black Eyed Peas credit for actually putting on a show with lots of flash and dazzle and showbiz schmaltz, and some pretty weird shit to boot. Personally, I think Super Bowl Halftime shows are better with a healthy dose of bad taste, and on that front The Black Eyed Peas more than delivered.

Where is the love people?

Super Bowl XLV - Where Are Up With People?

It's a shame those positive, young go-getters sponsored by Halliburton, General Motors, Exxon, Searle, and others known as Up With People weren't available to perform at this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show. Instead we will be treated to a performance by a new musical combo called The Black Eyed Peas.

Can will.i.am, Fergie and friends scale the heights of Up With People's epochal performances in Super Bowls X, XIV, XVI and XX? Only time will tell. Will they be asked to perform at three more Super Bowls in order to match Up With People's record? Unlikely. Only three teams in NFL history have won as many Super Bowls as Up With People have performed Super Bowl Halftime shows (a feat they accomplished without the aid of performance enhancing drugs or Auto-Tune). 

I recently scored a copy of Up With People's 1979 masterpiece, People Are The Energy, in VG+ condition at my local Goodwill (with a copy of 1982's Encore shoved in the sleeve for good measure). Better yet, the album cover had been signed by the entire cast (or a large portion of it in any case). I'll never understand what would drive a person to drop such a valuable treasure off at Goodwill, but their poor judgment is my gain.

I suppose tastes have changed a bit since 1986 when Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears featuring Jim McMahon, Walton Payton and William "Refrigerator" Perry defeated the Raymond Berry's New England Patriots featuring Tony Eason Steve Grogan, Craig James and John Hannah by the score of 46-10. Maybe I should get with the times and learn to enjoy the music of will.i.am and crew, but I'll probably turn the volume down on my TV and rock People Are The Energy during halftime instead. Better yet, maybe I'll hook my computer up to the TV and relive the golden age of Super Bowl Halftime entertainment by treating myself to Up With People's 1986 performance of "Beat of the Future."

Winter Wonderland

R.I.P. - Charlie Louvin

Charlie Louvin, half of the famed country duo The Louvin Brothers, died early this morning of complications from pancreatic cancer at the age of 83.

Charlie Louvin was born Charles Elzer Loudermilk (J.D. is his cousin) in Henager, Alabama in 1927, three years after his brother Ira. Charlie and Ira worked in the fields on their family's farm and began singing together as teenagers. Their musical partnership ended in 1963 in no small part due to Ira's excessive drinking which made him unpredictable and often violent. Ironically, Ira was struck and killed by a drunk driver in 1965, not long after a warrant was issued for his own arrest on a DUI charge.

Charlie kept performing and releasing solo albums, including a quartet of highly acclaimed albums on the Tompkins Square label during the 2000s. Charlie kept making music til very near the end of his life; his last album, The Battle Rages On, was released on True North Records on November 9, 2010.

The Louvin Brothers' Christmas music has been a staple of my holiday mixes for years, and their music has never been far from my turntable, CD player or computer. Charlie will be missed.

New Feelies Album On The Way + Tour Dates!

If you've followed this blog for long you know that I am very excited about the fact that The Feelies have reunited and have recorded a new album. With recording completed some details about the new album, Here Before, have emerged:

Legendary NJ avant-pop the Feelies have announced 2011 tour dates which will follow the release of a new studio album. After a 19 year break, the Feelies are back with Here Before an album of all new original material on Bar/None Records. The new album touches on different styles from the Feelies’ long history while adding new grooves and musical ideas to the mix. Electric and acoustic guitars melt together in archetypal Feelies fashion on songs like "Nobody Knows" and "Should be Gone." Elsewhere there are slabs of driving garage rock like "When You Know" and  "Time Is Right" and the down-tempo "Bluer Skies," and harmonically rich  "Later On."

     The dates are:
      Fri-May-13 Brooklyn, NY Bell House
      Sat-May-14 Cambridge, MA Middle East (downstairs)
      Fri-Jun-17 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
      Sat-Jun-18 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

Here Before was recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey produced by Feelies founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Besides Glenn on rhythm/lead guitar and lead vocals, and Bill on guitar and vocals, the album features Feelies mainstays Brenda Sauter (bass, vocals), Stanley Demeski (drums), and Dave Weckerman (percussion). The album will be released digitally as well as on CD and vinyl with a download card.

The release date for Here Before is 04/12/2011, which coincidentally is the same day as the Labour of Lust LP reissue. You can hear a preview track, "Should Be Gone," right now at Pitchfork. Life is good.

Nick Lowe - Labour Of Lust Reissued At Last

It was nearly three years ago that I lamented the fact that Nick Lowe's impossibly perfect second solo album, Labour Of Lust, was out-of-print. Since that time Yep Roc has continued reissuing classic Nick Lowe albums, and now I am happy to report a historic injustice has at long last been rectified as Labour Of Lust gets the deluxe reissue treatment:

As the bassist and primary songwriter for Brinsley Schwarz, Nick Lowe was one of the catalysts of the pub rock phenomenon in the early 1970s. As the co-founder and house producer at Stiff Records, he would help create the blueprint for the modern indie rock label and usher in British punk and new wave, helming historic recordings for The Damned, Elvis Costello, and The Pretenders. Here, his landmark second solo album Labour of Lust gets the deluxe reissue treatment, sporting an expanded 12pg. booklet with period photos, new essays and artwork by groundbreaking graphic artist Barney Bubbles.

The reissue also includes Nick's biggest US hit "Cruel To Be Kind," the originally U.K.-only "Endless Grey Ribbon" and U.S.-only "American Squirm" plus bonus B-side "Basing Street." Labour of Lust is the only of Lowe's solo albums to hold the distinction of featuring Nick's Rockpile cohorts Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams on every track. Originally released in 1979 and out of print for nearly twenty years, the album has been remastered from the original source, reintroducing this masterpiece to a new generation of pop music obsessives.

It's hard to believe an absolute classic album such as this could have been out-of-print for so long.  CD reissue date is 03/15/2011 with an LP reissue to follow on 04/12/2011.

R.I.P. - Don Kirshner

Don Kirshner (left) with Carole King and Gerry Goffin.

Don Kirshner died at the age of 76 on January 17th. Don was perhaps best known as the musical impresario behind the Monkees and later the Archies. At the time some joked that after the Monkees fired him, Don decided to work with a cartoon band because they couldn't (fire him, that is). But looking at Kirshner's career through this sort of rockist prism sells the man and his genius for spotting and nurturing songs and talent short.

First of all, there was much more to Kirshner's career than his role as a bubblegum impresario. He started off working closely with his friend, and fellow Bronx High School of Science alumnus, Bobby Darin. He co-founded (with Al Nevins of Three Suns fame) Aldon Music, one of the most important "Brill Building" music publishing companies. Writers employed by Aldon included Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weill, Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller. A few of the hits that originated at Aldon include: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "Up On The Roof," "The Loco-Motion," "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," "One Fine Day," "Walking In The Rain," "Stupid Cupid," "Uptown," "On Broadway," "We Got To Get Out of This Place" and (last but certainly not least) "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)." Had he done nothing but co-found Aldon Music, Kirshner would be an important figure in 20th Century popular music.

But of course he did do more. Much more. He was hired by the producers of the Monkees to provide the pre-fab four with songs (which would be needed quickly due to the demands of television). The songs he provided them with, including "Last Train To Clarksville," "I'm A Believer," and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" are rightly remembered as some of the greatest hits of the era, regardless of who actually preformed on them. And while much has been made of the fact that, yes, The Monkees did actually have their own songwriting talent (especially Michael Nesmith), it is unlikely anyone would care were it not for the outstanding material Kirshner brought to the band in the first place.

The Monkees fired Kirshner after he released "A Little Bit Of Me, A Little Bit Of You" as a single without the band's permission. Arguments about artistic integrity aside, it should be pointed out that it was a great choice for a single and one of the best songs released under the band's name. And rockist revisionist history aside, it should also be pointed out that the Monkees' sales slid precipitously after they fired Kirshner. They may have released some fine music post-Kirshner, but the the hits mostly dried up.

Kirshner's next project, The Archies, never got any respect from the rock establishment (not that it needed any), but I would still put "Sugar, Sugar" on a short list for greatest songs of the sixties. And despite the fact that the Archies failed to have as many big hits as The Monkees, many of their songs ("Jingle Jangle," "Bang-Shang-A-Lang," "Everything's Alright," etc.) hold up better than much of the "serious" rock music that was being championed by the rock music critical establishment at the time.

From 1971 until 1982 Kirshner hosted ABC's Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, which introduced such punk and new wave acts as The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Devo, The New York Dolls, and The Police to American television audiences at a time when few other U.S. television and radio outlets would touch them.

Here is what Kirshner had to say about his days helping produce hits in The Brill Building:

"I believe that after I'm gone, my grandchildren will be whistling these tunes. Whether they know that I published them or not - they will be whistling these tunes the same as they do songs from My Fair Lady and Camelot, and these tunes will be part of American culture - they'll be used in movies and so on. Of all the legacies that I have given, personally to me it's very important that I was able to come out of the streets of Harlem, out of my dad's tailor shop, and have the ability to create an environment where this sound will be part of American and international culture forever."

Don Kirshner is survived by his wife of 50 years, Sheila, two sons and five grandchildren. Whistle one of the many tunes Don Kirshner helped bring to the public's consciousness in their honor.

John Gabriel Borkman at BAM

Marjorie and I went to Brooklyn this weekend to take in a performance of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman at BAM starring Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw and Lindsay Duncan. That is a lot of acting firepower on one very small, intimate stage, and of course we had a wonderful time. After the show Marjorie was lucky enough to get her picture taken with Alan Rickman, who is very generous with his fans.

This is the first time we've ever both spent the night way from our kids (Marjorie's Mom was nice enough to visit us in Rhode Island to watch them). It felt a little weird pretending to be grown ups for the weekend.

Lent For Promotional Use Only

"Lent for Promotional Use Only. Any Sale or Unauthorized Transfer is Prohibited and Void. Subject to Return Upon Demand by Owner. Acceptance of This Record Constitutes Agreement to the Above."

I always wondered about this statement. Did simply stamping it on a record or CD make it true? Can a record company really claim ownership of something forever just by putting a stamp on it that says it's theirs? Turns out, not so much. From the LA Times:

A Ninth Circuit appeals panel sided with consumer advocates today, upholding a lower court's ruling that a record company couldn't block the resale of used CDs just by marking them as "not for sale."

The case was brought by Universal Music Group against someone who was selling promo CDs on eBay, but the ruling is also good news for used record store owners who no longer have to worry that a rep from UMG is going to show up at their shop to "reclaim" a bunch of promo LPs and CDs. And I can rest a little easier knowing that my white-label promo copy of Richard Lloyd's Alchemy really does belong to me, despite what the stamp says.