Society Dome

What's Happening!!

Rerun meets The Doobie Brothers:

Belinda, Keytar Virtuoso

Petra Haden: "Don't Stop Believin"

The video isn't all that great but watch for the brilliant Wilson Phillips reference near the end. There's a bunch of good Petra Haden stuff on the YouTube (like "I Can See For Miles" live). The Journey cover is from an album called "Guilt By Association" which also features Superchunk doing Destiny's Child, Will Oldham on Mariah Carey, and Jim O'Rourke, bless him, singing the Spice Girls.

Double Shot

Stream the two new Robert Pollard albums two weeks before they're released:

Thank you, Merge!

People Get Ready

There's a warm breeze blowing, and if you listen beyond the sounds of the waves and seagulls, you might hear the smooth sounds of electric piano, vibes, synths, muted drums, and gentle, groovy bass lines. My obsession has paid off in the form of a nearly-complete playlist from Yacht Rock for our collective listening pleasure. Behold:

Episode 1: What A Fool Believes

Sweet Freedom Michael McDonald
Breezin' George Benson
Sailin' The Wind Loggins & Messina
Whenever I Call You "Friend" Kenny Loggins w. Stevie Nicks
What A Fool Believes The Doobie Brothers

Episode 2: Keep The Fire

Peg Steely Dan
Sara Smile Hall & Oates
Portable Radio Hall & Oates
This Is It Kenny Loggins
Sailing Christopher Cross

Episode 3: I'm Alright

Time Out of Mind Steely Dan
Keep the Fire Kenny Loggins
How Do the Fools Survive? The Doobie Brothers
Lights Journey
Any Way You Want It Journey
Kid Charlemagne Steely Dan
I'm Alright Kenny Loggins

Episode 4: Rosanna

Hold the Line Toto
Make Believe Toto
Ride Like The Wind Christopher Cross
Don't Fight It Kenny Loggins w. Steve Perry
I'll Supply the Love Toto
Rosanna Toto

Episode 5: I Believe In It

Believe in It Michael McDonald
Beat It Michael Jackson
Thriller Michael Jackson
I Gotta Try Kenny Loggins
I Gotta Try Michael McDonald
Eruption Van Halen
Human Nature Michael Jackson

Episode 7: I Keep Forgettin'

I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) Michael McDonald
Nuthin' But A G Thang Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg
Let Me Ride Dr. Dre
Gz and Hustlas Snoop Dogg & Nancy Fletcher
Who Am I (What's My Name)? Snoop Dogg
Regulate Warren G & Nate Dogg

Episode 8: Gino (The Manager)

Love Will Keep Us Together Captain & Tennille
Any World (That I'm Welcome To) Steely Dan
Swear Your Love Kenny Loggins
Watching The River Run Loggins & Messina
Your Mama Don't Dance Loggins & Messina
Gino (The Manager) Hall & Oates
Takin' It To The Streets The Doobie Brothers

Episode 9: Runnin' With The Devil

Atomic Punk Van Halen
Runnin' With The Devil Van Halen
Echoes Of Love The Doobie Brothers
I'm The One Van Halen

Episode 10: FM

Winter Tori Amos
Sweet Freedom Michael McDonald
I Believe In Love Kenny Loggins
Life In The Fast Lane The Eagles
Everything You Did Steely Dan
Do It Again Steely Dan
Hotel California The Eagles
F.M. Steely Dan
Danger Zone Kenny Loggins

Obviously I didn't include the many song repeats (though, really, can you ever get enough "What A Fool Believes"?) except that "Sweet Freedom" is in here twice, which is conservative considering it's at the beginning of every epsiode. Also, no Jethro Tull. No one would be amused by that except for me (and perhaps JD Ryznar).

On top of this I've got 87 more songs in a playlist of a similarly beachy vein, with more Ted Templeman production, Jeff Porcaro drumming, and Michael McDonald backing vocals than you can shake an empty coconut at.

Come with me, and escape.

SO SMOOTH: The Yacht Rock Extended Family Mix

Beginnings Chicago
Vahevala Loggins & Messina
Summer Breeze Seals & Crofts
Only A Fool Would Say That Steely Dan
Just You 'n' Me Chicago
She's Gone Hall & Oates
Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song) Hall & Oates
When The Morning Comes Hall & Oates
We May Never Pass This Way (Again) Seals & Crofts
Wishing You Were Here Chicago
Call On Me Chicago
I'm Not In Love 10cc
Camellia Hall & Oates
Dance with Me Orleans
Bad Sneakers Steely Dan
Doctor Wu Steely Dan
So Into You Atlanta Rhythm Section
What Can I Say Boz Scaggs
It's Over Boz Scaggs
Lowdown Boz Scaggs
I'd Really Love to See You Tonight England Dan & John Ford Coley
You Are the Woman Firefall
Rich Girl Hall & Oates
Back Together Again Hall & Oates
Good Ship Pablo Cruise Pablo Cruise
Save It for a Rainy Day Stephen Bishop
Sentimental Lady Bob Welch
1993 Boz Scaggs
Feels So Good Chuck Mangione
You Belong To Me The Doobie Brothers
Just Remember I Love You Firefall
Time Loves A Hero Little Feat
Red Steamliner Little Feat
Baby Come Back Player
How Much I Feel Ambrosia
The Biggest Part Of Me Ambrosia
Little Darling (I Need You) The Doobie Brothers
Here To Love You The Doobie Brothers
Minute By Minute The Doobie Brothers
Right Down the Line Gerry Rafferty
I Just Wanna Stop Gino Vannelli
It's A Laugh Hall & Oates
I Don't Wanna Lose You Hall & Oates
Reminiscing Little River Band
Lotta Love Nicolette Larson
Don't Want to Live Without It Pablo Cruise
Love WIll Find A Way Pablo Cruise
Baby Come Back Player
Crazy Love Poco
Losing Myself In You Stephen Bishop
Georgy Porgy Toto
Magnet And Steel Walter Egan
Nobody's Fool Bill Quateman
Dependin' On You [Single Version] The Doobie Brothers
Sharing the Night Together Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer
Wait For Me Hall & Oates
Let Me Go, Love Nicolette Larson
I Go to Rio (Extended Version) Pablo Cruise
I Want You Tonight Pablo Cruise
You Can't Change That Ray Parker Jr & Raydio
Escape (The Pina Colada Song) Rupert Holmes
99 Toto
Biggest Part of Me Ambrosia
You're the Only Woman Ambrosia
Into The Night Benny Mardones
Miss Sun Boz Scaggs
Never Be The Same Christopher Cross
Say You'll Be Mine Christopher Cross
One By One The Doobie Brothers
One Step Closer The Doobie Brothers
Real Love The Doobie Brothers
Kiss On My List Hall & Oates
Steal Away Robbie Dupree
Hey Nineteen Steely Dan
Living Inside Myself Gino Vannelli
I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) Hall & Oates
Did It In A Minute Hall & Oates
Heart to Heart Kenny Loggins
Shoot For The Moon Poco
All Right Christopher Cross
Say It Isn't So Hall & Oates
Africa Toto
Foolish Heart Steve Perry
No Lookin' Back Michael McDonald
By Heart Michael McDonald
Yah Mo B There (single version) James Ingram & Michael McDonald
Drowning In The Sea Of Love Boz Scaggs w. Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Cornelius Bumpus, Phoebe Snow

The Mysteries of Vinyl

The good news is that since I got my ridicuously overpriced new turntable I've been a lot less obsessed with equipment and a lot more obsessed with music of varying degrees of quality (mostly "low"). The bad news is that having a pretty damn good record player introduces fascinating new problems, such as the totally unpredictable quality of albums. I bought a very expensive new pressing of Lou Reed & John Cale's "Songs for Drella," an album I once enjoyed frequently in the cassette format. Unfortuntely the sound quality sucks ass to the degree that I'd be better off digging out my old cassette (or finding a used copy on CD).

A lot of these new LPs are really, really good, better than CD without a doubt, especially those from Analogue Productions, but I'm pretty pissed about the Reed/Cale deal (only much later did it occur to me that I maybe got a bum pressing and I should've returned it...too late). Some of my shitty bargain-bin records sound really good, too, even .38 Special's "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys," and today's selection: Jethro Tull's "War Child" which I bought for fifty cents. That's a damn good deal. Meanwhile, Joni Mitchell's "Dog Eat Dog," which I purchased some years ago, sounds like crap (price paid: unknown, probably $4.20 or less). Not even the smooth vocals of Michael McDonald on the title track could save this one -- though, granted, the mid-Eighties production and battery of synths (featuring Thomas Dolby) probably wouldn't lend itself to good sound no matter how clean and untarnished the source.

Of course, much of this seems moot when you look at the number of awful MP3s I've bought on iTunes recently to fill out my Yacht Rock collection: Kenny Loggins, Toto, Stephen Bishop, Little River Band, Orleans, Bill Quateman, Ambrosia, Pablo Cruise, Firefall, Gino Vannelli...oh, my life . . . ?

I've Joined a Singles Club!

No, not that kind, silly. It's the Robert Pollard Happy Jack Rock Records Singles Series! Say it five times fast! Details:

In coordination with his duel October 9th releases on Merge Records, Robert Pollard introduces the Happy Jack Rock Records Single Series. The series will feature one 7" per month for 12 months (starting June 22). The A side will be a song from Robert Pollard's upcoming simultaneous releases on Merge Records, Standard Gargoyle Decisions & Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love, while the B side will be a non album release. The 7"s can be purchased one at a time or as a one year subscription.

June 22
HJRR-1 Rud Fins b/w Piss Along You Bird
July 22
HJRR-2 Spider Eyes b/w Battle For Mankind
August 22
HJRR-3 Current Desperation (Angels Speak Of Nothing) b/w Met Her At A Seance
September 22
HJRR-4 Pill Gone Girl b/w Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love
October 22
HJRR-5 Shadow Port b/w Be In The Wild Place
November 22
HJRR-6 Count Us In b/w Sixland (John Shough Verison)
December 22
HJRR-7 Dumb Lady b/w Street Velocity
January 22
HJRR-8 Youth Leagues b/w Spirit Of The Fly
February 22
HJRR-9 Folded Claws b/w Speak Again
March 22
HJRR-10 When We Were Slaves b/w Battle For Mankind 2
April 22
HJRR-11 The Killers b/w Revolver Tricks (Stanley West)
May 22
HJRR-12 Miles Under The Skin b/w Frostman (Long Version)

Pollard also has a new Circus Devils album, "Sgt. Disco" coming out this July, and the second Takeovers album "Bad Football" came out recently. I've been falling behind on Pollard releases lately, but I'm super excited about the singles series.

Great Moments In Music History

"Nasally is a form of singing."

-Chris Richardson to Simon Cowell, 04/17/07

[I'm simply astounded that he sounds like that on purpose.]

A Belated Celebration of the Year That Was

As my listening habits have become more conservative and predictable (so sad!), I offer you, several months after the fact, my...

TOP-TEN POP/ROCK ALBUMS OF 2006:

(1) The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
The third time is the charm for this band that's getting too big for the world. While their debut had a certain charm, it didn't have much staying power, and though "Separation Sunday" took a surprising turn for the spiritual, it was also chock full of solid rock songs. Here Craig and the boys get downright poppy, sounding like the New Pornographers if they were a Springsteen cover band. Craig Finn especially shines as he starts singing again (versus the usual poetry slam ranting) and seems to be working harder than ever on his lyrics, to his credit. Throw in some amazing riffs and an unusual but effective Dave Pirner cameo and you've got a fairly surprising evolution that takes this pretty darn good band into truly great territory.

(2) Long Winters - Putting The Days To Bed Probably the album I listened to the most this year, even though I'd be a little ashamed to recommend it to some people. Sort of a Crash Test Dummies for the indie rock set, with similarly smarmy vocals and minimalist, screwy lyrics, but also with a lot more power pop energy and general not-suckiness.

(3) Yo La Tengo - I am not afraid of you, and I will beat your ass "Summer Sun" looks pretty shitty in comparison to this, another homerun in the rather large Yo La Tengo catalog. Beginning, middle, and end jams can be a bit tedious on repeated listenings, but there are some amazing pop and punk songs here, leaning heavily toward a Byrdsian '60s rock feel (e.g. “The Race Is On Again”). A surprising James McNew lead vocal graces one of the highlights of the album, the gorgeous "Black Flowers,” which also wins points for best use of euphonium on a pop album. Ever.

(4) Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit Hey, they don't suck anymore! The new "Twee-Rex" sound fits them well and the current band seems to be shining at last. Stevie's "To Be Myself Completely" in particular captures the glory of the B&S that was and reminds me why I ever loved this band to begin with. Best thing they've done since "If You're Feeling Sinister."

(5) Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways I'm gettin' more sentimental as I get older, and Cash's warbly cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "If I Could Read Your Mind" has put me to tears more than once. Not limited to weepies, "God's Gonna Cut You Down" shows that Cash could still rock pretty hard when he wanted to. Not even the creepy liner notes from Rick Rubin marr this great last statement from the man in black.

(6) Califone - Roots & Crowns A real triumph after the lackluster "Heron King Blues," "Roots & Crowns" treads a bit of new ground with songs that enter into High Llamas pop territory as well as melodic Iron & Wine-ish folk lullabyes.

(7) Robert Pollard - Normal Happiness I've been waiting for this for at least a year, ever since we were promised an album of 16 two-minute long pop masterpieces. Well, it isn't that, and it really couldn't be due to the involvement of producer and multi-instrumentalist Todd Tobias, who leans toward trebly, screechy mixes, prog-lite arrangements, and general weirdness. Fortunately there's still a lot of good stuff here, and overall it's a disc worthy of more repeat-play than From A Compound Eye (if for no other reason than its brevity). Despite vocals that are below Bob's usual quality in some places, songs like "Towers and Landslides" and "Tomorrow Will Not Be Another Day" prove that he's still capable of putting out instant-classic rockers as well as sweet pop masterpieces.

(8) The Takeovers – Turn To Red Yeah, I couldn't really get away with putting only one Bob Pollard release on my list. This collaboration with Chris Slusarenko comes in as favorite number two, getting closer to the unpredictable weirdness of classic-era GBV than anything he's done in a long time. A nice combination of quirky acoustic numbers, fuzzy punkish rockers, and gussied-up treasures from the vault ("Be It Not for the Serpentine Rain Dodger" features an old Bob-and-guitar track with new drums, bass, and other overdubs). Not for the humorless.

(9) His Name Is Alive - Detrola It's been way too long since we've had a proper HNIA album, and this one is a delightful return to form after the Lovetta Pippen-dominated last two albums (one can only assume that she and Warn have had a falling out). In all, a nice summation of the many different sounds of HNIA past. They put on a great live show, too.

(10) Neil Young - Living With War Long a favorite artist of mine (who I've never seen live, sadly), I haven't heard a good album by Neil in, oh, 13 years. Last year's "Prairie Wind" I found particularly unmemorable, so it was pleasurably surprising when Neil churned this sucker out soon thereafter. Available in both choral and non-choral versions (I've got both thanks to Christmas and the liberry), a few simple-minded platitudes for the most part are buried in pure heart and outrage, in simple but effective songs that have some staying power as straightahead rock songs, politically thematic or not.

RUNNERS-UP (any of these could also be top-ten material):

The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics I just can't decide if I like this album or Yoshimi better, but I can agree with myself that I don't like either one as much as The Soft Bulletin (although both have superior surround mixes if you're into that sort of thing).

Howe Gelb - Snow Angel "Snow Angel" might be one of those albums that I quickly forget about and never listen to again, but it needs to get its due. Gelb recorded this one with a church choir and it works way better then you would ever guess it would. Gelb's voice and guitar are as rich as ever, and a nice spacious recording manages to make the assembled masses seem rather intimate.

The Keene Brothers - Blues and Boogie Shoes '80s power pop with a side of candy corn. Bob belts out a few bum notes, but there are some real works of beauty here, especially "Death of the Party.”

Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers Panned by Pitchfork while everyone gave Cat Power's similar "Greatest" all kinds of accolades, Beth Orton and Jim O'Rourke created a lovely pop/folk album to rival, oh, say, Norah Jones or something. Mastered really quiet (which probably helped it sink into obscurity), this record is full of memorable tunes and creamy acoustic arrangements.

ETC.:

Lilys - Everything Wrong Is Imaginary
Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
Essex Green - Cannibal Sea
Amy Millan - Honey from the Tombs
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams

None of the above were great enough that I wanted to listen to them a million times over, but they all had highlights or were pleasantly better than I thought they would be. Worth checking out if you haven't heard them.

On the other hand, we have THE LET-DOWNS:

Built To Spill - You In Reverse
The Minders - Bright Guilty World
Calexico - Garden Ruin
Islands - Return to the Sea
Portastatic - Be Still Please
Sparklehorse - Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly of a Mountain
Futureheads - News and Tributes
The Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin 5.1 surround mix DVD

All of these albums had good-to-great songs on them. In fact, Built To Spill's "Goin' Against Your Mind" was probably one of my top twenty or so songs of the year, but nothing else on the album interested me; a lot of it seemed quite dull and pedestrian for Martsch 'n' the gang. The Minders record suffered from a similar dullness, odd for a band which often excels at creating memorable, hummable pop nuggets. The Calexico album was actually fairly good, but nowhere near as good as "Feast of Wire" and frankly not that exciting (until the surprising emotional outburst of "All Systems Red" at the very end). "Return To The Sea" from youngsters Islands suffered from the classic syndrome of having a couple of great singles surrounded by a lot of forgettable filler, and Portastatic failed to keep their winning streak going with "Be Still Please" ("Sour Shores" is the standout here). Futureheads lost a lot of good will when they lost a lot of catchy hooks, though there's still a lot of strong stuff on their sophomore album, and Sparklehorse gave me the big letdown of the year with the long-awaited, awkwardly titled "Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly of a Mountain," which didn't completely dissapoint but seriously lacks in originality (and, like "Return to the Sea," features an interminably long, pointless final track to needlessly pad out the running time). Finally, the surround mix of the classic "Soft Bulletin" was a real screw-up for the Lips, starting off with a whimper by burying Wayne's vocals on "Race for the Prize" in the front right channel. Stick to the stereo version, kids.

I listened to a bunch of other stuff this year, not as much as in years past, but the above are all I really had anything to say about. The end.

the world keeps getting weirder...

DAVID LYNCH AND DONOVAN: TOGETHER AT LAST!

Sure, why not?