26 Mar 2012
Ever So Lonely - Sheila Chandra
I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot (and will continue to): this song is huddled inside, out of the cold and rain, in bed with Jessica. It sounds scandalous, but even though it’s none of your business I feel like I need to say I’m not implying any impropriety. We just spent a lot of time in bed, cuddled up, listening to music. Let’s be fair, we still do. But those first months were a huge injection of shared musical experiences. Some were new for just me, some were new for both. In this case it was an album from her roommate Erin, so we were processing it at the same time.
It’s noteworthy how not in-line with my style this is. It’s all vocals, and there’s not a lick of rhythm to most of it. It’s more ambience than what I’d usually consider music. But it’s also incredibly beautiful.
Years later, Jessica and I were probably the only two people in the movie theater who perked up to a song in The Two Towers to wonder “Is that Sheila Chandra?”
Almost Done - Morcheeba
I remember “Friction” off of Big Calm being the first Morcheeba song Jessica played for me. But it wasn’t the one that first connected. Naturally, it was the stuff we listened to while laying around: Who Can You Trust?
Apparently the whole time we were listening to it Jessica was a little on edge. I was listening to almost strictly acoustic music at the time. Every time a track had a little record scratch she was worried that I would freak out. I didn’t. I had never heard this whole “trip-hop” thing, but it totally worked for me. Relaxed, but rhythmic? Sign me up.
“Trigger Hippie” is the catchy song that welcomes you in. “Tape Loop” then firmly carries you into a relaxed groove. But the real destination of all of this, the place you hope to elevate to, is “Almost Done”.
I just want to breathe it in and live there. It’s slow enough to leave you eagerly anticipating every next movement. This song is just so damned sexy. It’s like the song is making love to my head.
Shoulder Holster - Morcheeba
After Who Can You Trust? won me over, it was time to delve into Big Calm. The tone of was considerably more up-beat, but still ever so good. Where the previous album was down and gritty, this one immediately lifted me up with the crystal vocals of “The Sea”.
But the song that stood out for me was “Shoulder Holster”. And I couldn’t immediately put my finger on why. It was this crazy blend of all sorts of musical influences, and it totally worked in this way unlike anything I’d ever heard. Deep vocals, a heavy beat, sitar, record scratching, slide guitar… it all melded into some crazy kind of awesome.
Dishonorable mention to the title track, “Big Calm”. Pretty much every Morcheeba album had one truly awful song that never should have happened. How that became the title of the album is beyond me. Skip it, enjoy the rest.
Criminal - Fiona Apple
I had heard Fiona Apple before. I remembered seeing the video for this song on the MTVs, with her all vignetted, emaciated, and red eyed. I also remember her legendary acceptance speech. For as much as the music industry tried to treat her as some weird heroine-chic sex object, there is some serious power in that small frame. Her voice, her piano… so deep.
So I first heard this back in ‘96. I almost ended up with the album too. There was one of those CD club things where you could get a couple albums cheap if you then remembered to get out again quick. This album was barely cut from my first draft list, and I didn’t end up getting it.
Which brings us to this time with Jessica, who was smarter than me and had picked up the album. It’s basically impossible to pick a single song to represent it; the album is just too good. And it matched the chill mood that Jessica and I had together. I finally got to my chance to sink into the deep rolling tones of Tidal, and it was so good.
23 Mar 2012
Say Goodbye - Dave Matthews Band
I told you Crash was going to show up a lot on this list. This one’s special though, trust me.
I’m in my dorm room, and it’s raining outside. With me is my new friend Jessica, and we just had an unexpected and delightful make-out session. The sound of the rain… I can still hear it in the song. I swear it’s part of the track.
In that blissful moment we are listening to this song and drinking the lyrical kool-aid. “Tonight let’s be lovers… and tomorrow go back to being friends.” I mean, this diversion was fun and all, but long-term it’s a terrible idea. So we should just stick with the original plan and be friends. This is totally going to work. No problem.
Yeah.
Spoiler: I married her. Not right then and there, god no. We were so young! Years later. The point is, I can’t hear this song without thinking about the beginning of it all. The moment when we first really saw each other and what could be.
Perfect Blue Buildings - Counting Crows
Jessica and I didn’t go to the same school. We weren’t so far away as to make crossing the distance impossible, but we only got to see each other on the occasional weekend. The difficulty was compounded by the fact that I didn’t have a car, so mostly she had to come to me. But there were definitely times when I could make it out to her. And those times are deeply ingrained into me.
Jessica had painted her dorm room blue. This most definitely wasn’t allowed by the school, but that didn’t stop her. It was this beautiful soothing deep blue, with a print of Starry Night on the wall. It was sanctuary.
We spent a lot of time in that room together. Laying around, talking, and listening to music. This entire Counting Crows album is a big part of that. It’s hard to pick out a single song to represent it. In the end I went with “Perfect Blue Buildings”, in memory of her perfect blue room.
On & On - Erykah Badu
This song comes from those early times spent lounging about with Jessica. The Counting Crows weren’t exactly a stretch for my palate; Erykah Badu was. But damn, this album is good. And not just as a collection of tracks, but as an album. It’s got planned book ending with “Rimshot”, which leads you in and out of the sound of the album. It’s got songs in the progression that set up and then call back to each other. It was planned as a cohesive experience. And I love that.
Remember how not so long ago I was paying attention to lyrics? Yeah… don’t think for a moment that that stuck. I was about to select a different song for this album, until I was informed that I had been mis-hearing the lyrics for, um, a decade. I thought the lyric was “still in bed”, apparently it was “still livin’”. Completely changed the song for me. Oh well, I still had “Certainly” and “On & On” as alternates.
Heavy Things - Phish
It was time to ring in a new millennium. Most years I would let the new year drift in without much celebration, but this was a moment worthy of epic party. I ended up going to a show in Portland with Jessica, Kevin, and Billy. Somewhere in a box I have photos from this trip, taken on a commemorative disposable camera.
The headlining band was The String Cheese Incident. I had heard of them before, but never listened to them. They were another jam band in the style of the Dead or Phish. I’m sure their performance was perfectly fine, but there was so much else going on that it didn’t really leave an impression on me. I did pick up an album to check them out, and remember getting a kick out of their cover of “Take Five”.
After the New Year had come I remember seeing a bit on TV about the various celebrations around the world. Of course our little Portland dig wasn’t featured, but they did show a full song from the epic Phish concert. It was weird to see Peter Jennings introduce this band that I’d spent so much time with.
The song was “Heavy Things”, and in no way did I experience that song during my actual New Year’s Eve celebration, but after the fact it became the song I associate with the event.
Brunette - Keller Williams
There were many acts at the millennial New Year’s Eve show: musicians, jugglers, dancers. One single musician really captivated me. He would record little bits with his guitar and voice (mouth trumpet and all), and in real time layer them over each other. It started out simple, but over time created a full rich sound.
He was clearly a very talented guitarist and the act was fun to listen to, but the nature of this type of performance doesn’t really transition to an album recording. He did have albums, but they’re just so different from what he did that night. I think something that at least somewhat captures his one man band sound is “Brunette”. It doesn’t have the layering, but it’s sure a whole lot of sound for just one guitar.
21 Mar 2012
Baba Blues - Hanuman Trio
I was in Portland with Kevin for a show of this band I had been listening to called The Jazz Mandolin Project. I’d had a mediocre experience with opening bands before, but this one stole the show. The leader of the trio, Jarrad Kaplan, illuminated that difference between a drummer and a true percussionist. He was surrounded all sorts of things that made sound, and he worked each of them to his advantage. You can hear Jarrad in the background of this recording, vocalizing along with the guitar. Because he was so damned into the music that he couldn’t help it. Such an raw energy in that man.
This song has such a delicious slow groove. It has time to breathe before it opens up. And the tone of Paul Benoit’s guitar… tasty. I bought an album from the band on the spot. I walked away far more interested in this small local band than the band that had actually brought me to the show.
I tracked this Hanuman band down with the magic of the internet. I found some sample tracks of their music on their web site, which was the first time I’d seen such a reasonable discovery experience. Try before you buy… what? That may had been technology magic, but the purchase was decidedly low tech: I sent a check to a local Seattle mailing address and one of the dudes in the band sent me back a CD.
The album that I had purchased was actually a journey backward in band time, to a time when the band had a flautist. You know… with a flute.
I liked the album, but I was oddly self conscious about it. I remember having a conversation with this girl in the dorms, Amy, about whether other people would judge me for my music. Maybe it was being thrust into a completely new group of people. Maybe it was living so close to everyone without a ton of privacy. But for moment I doubted myself. I doubted my music. She was reassuring. I got over it.
I think the track I played for her was “Green Man”, the first track. But in cataloging this entry I was extremely tempted to skip the memory and use the slot to promote “Emry’s Vision”, on account of it being rad. Or “Moon Dog Funk”. Lots of great moments on that album.
One Sweet World - Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
I listened to a lot of Dave Matthews Band in high school, as you know by now. The same year I left for college Dave released this album from his acoustic college tours. He paired with Tim Reynolds, and the two of them worked without additional accompaniment to replicate the band’s full sound. The album thus centered on songs that can be played by two guitars. As I set off to meet new people, guitar in hand, this was perfect for me.
I have many memories of doing Dave Matthews covers with my friends Dan and Billy in the dorms. Some of the residents loved that; others wanted us to shut up so they could go back to studying. Regardless I think of this as my high point in guitar-dom. Good music, good friends, simple times. One of us would continue on to take music more seriously. Sadly, it wasn’t me; that honor goes to Dan.
My choice of “One Sweet World” here is pretty much arbitrary. It captures the feel of the album, but we pretty much played all of them and so much more.
Run On - Moby
Although we were in my acoustic golden age, that wasn’t all I was listening to. This song… this song is excellent. That driving piano beat, the sampled vocals with that olde thyme feel, the smooth tone, and relentless grove. This isn’t music performed by musicians on raw instruments. It’s remixed, blended… and somehow better for it. This album laid some groundwork for my acceptance of music to come.