I was so eager to get back to playing Razorface shows that I managed to book this one on my best friend’s birthday - sorry Geoff. Fortunately, theGR!D brought his whole crew to the Good Hurt on Thursday to celebrate. Unfortunately, it just so happened that I picked a fairly dark and lamenting set of tunes to play on this night. No better way to celebrate with friends and family than a good dose of bitterness. Nonetheless it was a thrill to have Geoff’s incredible parents and his rad brother Brian there to check out the show. We all bond through music, and it meant a lot to me to share some with ‘em.
The material turned out to be mostly newer tunes, with a couple from the 60’s thrown in. The more songs I learn, the more fun I have picking them - or letting them pick me i guess. I thank you, whoever you are reading this, and ask that if you have any song suggestions - send them my way! Here is the boxscore from Thursday’s game:
Thursday, September 1, 2011 - Club Good Hurt - Acoustic Show
1. “Come Pick Me Up” - Ryan Adams (Heartbreaker - 2000)
Heartbreaker was Ryan Adams’ transitional album from his band Whiskeytown to his now quite prolific solo career. The songs on it were tender for the most part with “Come Pick Me Up” as the bold exception (at least in my mind). Recently, I found a recording of the song made the day that Adams wrote it, which gives a nice insight to where he was really coming from, check it out here. I’m a gigantic fan of this guy because he’s really good at making you believe him. As smug as he can seem in interviews or whatever, the sentiments he’s able to convey through music are on another level. For me, a singer songwriter is only as good as their weak link between four skills – harmony, melody, lyrics, and DELIVERY. When he sings “I don’t know the sound of my father’s voice, I don’t even know how he says my name” you know he’s not making it up (or he is but who thinks of that?!). Here is a particularly on-point rendition with the Cardinals on Letterman:
2. “Go Away” - Elvis Costello (Momofuku - 2008)
This tune is really made by the background vocals of Jenny Lewis. Her playful squeal gives this chorus the perfect irreverence to compliment the spooky underbelly of the verses. The last song on 2009’s Momofuku, “Go Away” is probably the strangest mix I’d ever heard on an Elvis record (until the newer T-Bone stuff, which is pretty washy). As a rule almost, Elvis’ vocal gets mixed LOUD and DRY (See “20% Amnesia” from 1994’s Brutal Youth for a not so subtle example). For some reason, the vocal on the album version of “Go Away” is mysteriously distant. As shocking as that was to my system and considering the dark tone of the song, I can’t help but think that mystery was intentional. Check out the studio version here, or a fun live version below.
3. “Sad Smile” - Bobby Bare Jr. (A Storm - A Tree - My Mother’s Head - 2010)
This album has been rocking me pretty hard all year. I remember loving the anthemic “You Blew Me Off” by his old band Bare Jr. in college. These days, Bare’s playful sorrow seeps out of his songs with enough of a touch of nonsense to avoid melancholy. ”Sad Smile” pretty much sums that up, with it’s direct, country influenced lyrical tone and playful arrangement, being bummed out has never sounded so fun. When he croons, “Nothing feels that good, and nothing feels that great” you know there is a new spin on the blues happening here. Purchase it here.
4. “Everybody Cryin’ Mercy” - Mose Allison (I’ve Been Doin’ Some Thinkin’ - 1968)
I admittedly did’t used to listen to a ton of jazz, though recently I’ve been schooled a bit by my dad on the Art Blakeys to Horace Silvers of the world. However, I was drawn to Mose Allison from the first time I heard him. His songs are devilishly clever, inventively melodic, and - in a genre that isn’t always - easily accessible. Pick up his best of to see what I mean. I learned “Everybody Cryin’ Mercy” from and Elvis Costello Cover album called Kojak Variety, which served as my gateway to Mose Allison’s music. Watch Allison’s version below and compare to a rare live version of Elvis playing with the Rude 5 (featuring the one and only Marc Ribot on guitar). Enjoy:
5. “Shisiedo” - The Katies (The Katies - 1999)
Quick story - it was a Friday in mid August of 2000, the first weekend of my freshman year of college. I’d just moved to Murfreesboro, TN and the only people I knew were the three guys that lived next to me at the dorms. We heard about back to school show at the bar across the street from campus called the Boro. The place was packed and the band was fucking phenomenal! The Katies were a three piece that Zepplin doing Beatles songs, Skynard doing Nirvana songs, or any combination of those four bands therein at any given moment. The Katies the album remains one of my top, I don’t know, 5-10 albums of all-time. It captures that period of my life when everything changed and it takes me back there instantly - plus it fucking rocks. I can remember putting “Shisiedo” on a mix tape I made of music from that first semester - it still gives me chills. Stop reading this blog and go buy this record. Now.
6. “A Thousand Stars” - Monster Magnet (4-Way Diablo - 2007)
Monster Magnet are a desert island band for me - I would take their catalog with me to permanent exile to remind myself that things aren’t always supposed to make sense and that attitude is everything. 4-Way Diablo was a hit and miss album apparently made during lead singer Dave Wyndorf’s drug recovery (and relapse). When they are on their game, there is a bolder, trippier, heavier, cooler band on earth - except for Neurosis - but Neurosis make everyone sound like the Knack (an inside joke for anyone who went to the second night of Beyond the Pale in 2001). Hey, I should learn a Knack song… Also, dig the drum sounds in this tune:
7. “She’s Got You” - Patsy Cline (Sentimentally Yours - 1962)
Another song I discovered through Elvis Costello, “She’s Got You” appeared on a country album Elvis did early in his career called Almost Blue. Apparently the folks in Nashville were not that receptive to a British new wave punk recording their twangy classics. However, to hear her sing the song reminds you of when things were simple, which was never - but listening to her sing it, you can imagine a world as straightforward as this: Here is what I have, here is what I don’t. There’s no irony, sarcasm, or even nuance (lyrically that is). I read someone say somewhere: when you don’t know what to write, just write what you mean. Country music usually uses that as a starting place.
8. “Hold On” - Tom Waits (Mule Variations - 1999)
The first time I ever really thought about the lyric, “I miss your broken china voice” I crumbled and declared Tom Waits my new god. Even though Mule Variatons was HIGHLY critically acclaimed, there are other Waits records I get more spins from - Rain Dogs, Blood Money (see Setlist Blog #X), Small Change, Blue Valentine and even Real Gone. That being said, Mule Variations is undeniable, and “Hold On” is Waits at his simplest, which really allows you to peer into his genius - which is a beautiful and disturbing sight.
More Razorface shows coming soon…
Photo by Andrew Parkman
