a coherent collection of random statements regarding God, words and tunes

Some Aging Brits to Keep My Wits

Following up briefly from above (below?): On a personal level, I've decided there's at least one conversation I need to have and just deal with things. Don't know what the results will be, but those of the praying persuasion are as always invited to do so, and those that aren't are invited to be persuaded. :)

Anyway, hopefully in a week or two I'll talk about some much newer music, but in the meantime I've been wading through a bunch of stuff of various ages, and they all seem to be coming from the far side of the Atlantic, so let's spend a few minutes a pop pursuing this and seeing whether you should too.... OK, I do (naturally) go long on the last one....

Van der Graaf Generator (1970-1976, 2005) and the latter-day but not quite latest Peter Hammill (1998-2001) -- I won't say it's been all absorbed. I mean, have you heard this stuff? Probably not. This (scroll down a litte) will give you a fuller initiation into the tortured yet visionary world of Peter Hammill. I won't go into length about any of them here, and won't even mention all of them, but suffice to say:

1) Pawn Hearts (1971) is one complex album -- kind of like Traffic having a street fight against a gang of especially rambunctious Jesuits. Suffice to say it's thus far been an album more experienced than enjoyed -- and thus... "There is no escape but to go forward...."

2) A New World Record (1976) would probably be your best introduction to the larger world of VdGG, the seven-minute reggae coda to the already-previously-13-minute "Meurglis II, the Songwriter's Guild" and all. "Wondering" is a particularly challenging yet ultimately lovely song, "When She Comes" gives ample proof that Peter knew the divorce was coming (see also his solo album Over, 1977), and the soft funk of "A Place to Survive" keeps you coming back for more.

 3) That said, I've really been enjoying their reunion album, Present (2005). What's not compelling ("Every Bloody Emperor" and "Nutter Alert," for starters) is at least interesting, even the instrumental jams that make up disk two, and "On the Beach" is the eerily joyous sound of someone making peace with their past AND their future. Surf's up for the silver surfer! Indeed.

 4) As for the later solo stuff, I've really been enjoying This (1998) -- a quieter, gentler Peter Hammill (bearing in mind that this, of course, is a relative statement). The closer "The Light Continent" is a great ambient yet lyrical piece that nonetheless refuses to stay in the background (see also similar comments re: Sonix in the link above). Cool cover too, yes? And "Fed to the Wolves" (from What, Now?, 2001) is easily the most powerful and damning song about the Catholic sex scandal ever written. I won't post the lyrics here, but Google them and tell me I'm wrong.

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 Paul Weller -- Catch-Flame! (2006) -- I admit it: I loved The Jam. Derivative though they often were, there was a single-minded persistence and passion about Paul Weller's vision that couldn't be denied. That said, I checked out early into the initial singles produced by The Style Council, Paul first full-fledged-white-soul-boy effort (which had been hinted at late in The Jam's run), and have only checked in intermittently in the 25 years between. Long story short: 30-plus years after In the City, he's still cranking out the albums; Britain still snaps them up; America still ignores them. Catch-Flame!, a live collection from last year, is a good place to catch up and hear the highlights from what's been a danged respectable career. And guess what? He sounds every bit as persistent and passionate as a late-40something.

Highlights include (obviously) the three Jam songs -- the ever-sublime "That's Entertainment," the encore "A Town Called Malice," and a very extended version of "In the Crowd" that reminds in spades exactly how much he learned from Pete Townshend (right down to the false "Won't Get Fooled Again" ending, followed by the faux Moon drum solo, followed by the REAL "Won't Get Fooled Again" ending); the #1 British hit "Wild Wood"; the lovely, haunting "The Pebble and the Boy," the joyous Motownish Style Council chestnut "Shout to the Top"; the 1995 single "The Changingman," which takes the aforementioned Townshend's "Another Tricky Day" and ELO's "10538 Overture" and stomps the crap out of both (remember, kids: bad artists borrow, great artists STEAL....) Heck, they're all good, and again the best part is their collective force. It's got a good beat, and you WILL dance to it.

As Weller once proclaimed at the end of The Jam's tenure: "Belief Is All!" He no doubt means/t it a bit differently than I would, but this album serves as a testament to his interpretation as well. To quote the maestro himself (from 2005's "Come On/Let's Go"): "Sing, you little #$©%ers! Sing like you've got no choice!"

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 The Divine Comedy -- Regeneration (2001) -- This one came totally out of left field, in any number of ways. I only stumbled across it because someone on Amazon compared the song "Eye of the Needle" to Hammill's "Faint-Heart and the Sermon." Said person wasn't entirely wrong, but... MUCH more on that later.

First, a disclaimer: Approaching this band via any other of their albums will you give a much different impression. Suffice to say Neil Hannon is a lyrical genius who usually buries said genius under a decidedly lush, urbane, romantic (and to my ears, deliberately jerky) persona. Kinda like Bryan Ferry developing the lyrical chops and characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald -- you can't deny it's good, but you have a REALLY hard time caring about the people in his songs (not least of all because you know danged well they don't care about you, or anyone but themselves, for that matter). On the other hand, HOW many years did "Seinfeld" stay on the air? Make the characters rich and British, and you're pretty close. If this sounds interesting to you, by all means pursue it. I still laugh and/or smile wryly at some of the lyrics of, say, Casanova and Victory for the Comic Muse despite myself, but that's about all the reward I can get from those ones.

That all said, Regeneration stands out like a sore thumb amidst the rest of The Divine Comedy's 20-year pantheon -- which is also to say, fans of the band either love it or hate it. Put me down as a impassioned lover. The above persona still comes out in places here, but more as an underscore than center stage. The lyrics truly do the talking here, and as a very welcome change they talk about what's actually on the singer's heart.

Anyway, to the tuneage we go.... From the first notes of "Timestretched," you know this is going to be VERY different. Musically here and elsewhere, it's a whooole lot closer to Radiohead here -- only with a heart and a brain (and yes, a panache) that OK Computer could only hope for. Although "Bad Ambassador" does a good job of linking back to the past big string-laden sound, amidst another repeated theme, that being religious hypocrisy (probably not totally unexpected from the painfully articulate son of a bishop):

I'm gonna abseil down my ivory tower
And buy myself a Jaguar...
I'm not the Pope and I don't wanna be the Archbishop of Canterbury
I'm a bad ambassador for that elusive place you're searching for
I wanna show you so much more... but maybe some other time.

Keeping things on the lighter side is "Perfect Love Song," which is actually pretty close to one, what "with a divine Beatles bassline / and a big old Beach Boys sound." Both (sometimes literally) winking and entirely winsome. And actually quite touching: "No matter what other people may say / We'll hold on to each other / 'Til we're old and grey."

"Note to Self" is where the album turns decidedly and doesn't turn back. After the protagonist works through his philosophical to-do list "Monday, restate my assumptions: Heaven and hell do not exist / Tuesday, restate my assumptions: If you die you do so at your own risk...." it gives way to a crunching bridge of "What the #$©% is happening? Where has everybody gone? What the hell is going on? There is nothing -- as frightening -- as being alone." And it sounds exactly the way it HAS to, before dropping back into the final verse, "Friday, restate my assumptions: The writer writes for himself, not for you / Saturday, restate my assumptions:  A song is not a song until it's listened to," which in turn uses the sound of a ping-pong game to segue to "Lost Property," another laundry list of lost items to which the writer concludes, "I passed through a sheepskin screen / To a green, pleasant land / I found them all piled up into the sky / And I cried tears of joy." And the swelling, emotional music makes it all work.

Which brings us to the aforementioned and gorgeous "Eye of the Needle," one of two songs here that reduce me to rubble. Lyrically, I see the connection to the Hammill song. But musically, and even more lyrically than Hammill, this is Pedro the Lion's "Secret of the Easy Yoke" all the way -- but instead of being told by a believer who's hanging on for dear life, it comes from someone who desparately wants to believe and is not getting the evidence he's looking for, least of all from those around him:

They say that you'll hear him if you're really listening
And pray for that feeling of grace
But that's what I'm doing, why doesn't he answer?
I've prayed 'til I'm blue in the face...
I know that it's wrong for the faithful to seek it
But sometimes I long for a sign, anything
Something to wake up the whole congregation
And finally make up my mind.

The cars in the churchyard are shiny and German
Completely at odds with the theme of the sermon
And all through communion I study the people
Squeezing themselves through the eye of the needle.

Between that and the next rubblemaker comes the pep talk "Love What You Do." Hannon sings full-throatedly and thankfully without a touch a irony, "If you want it, you can have it  / If you need it, go and get it / Whatever it is you've got to love it.... Exercise your freedom / Exorcise those demons / You have got to love what you do" This had to have been the single after "Perfect Love Song" (I don't know if either was; just saying it HAD to be...)

Then comes the dour, sad, and entirely pointed "Dumb It Down," which positively drips with emotion by the end:

You've got a personality
We'll throw you in the sea and watch you drown
Dumb it down
Your concentration span's too long
It's longer than this song, that's not allowed
Dumb it down...
Intelligence is dangerous
A virus of the brain you pass around
Dumb it down
We'll vaccinate each boy and girl
Lobotomise the world through sight and sound
Dumb it down
No one can tell you what to think
And if you think that's true then you're a clown
Dumb it down
'Cause freedom's wasted on the free
You just don't see the beauty all around
Dumb it down...

'Cause everything is mindless fluff
Like this world's not dumb enough
Does anybody feel the same as me?
Is there anybody listening? 

 Since you asked, Neil: YES.

OK, three tearjerkers: "Mastermind" being the last one. Picking up where "Dumb It Down" leaves off -- and from here to the rest of album -- things turns even more personal and appeal directly to the listener:

Every girl weeps like the willow, every boy cries into his pillow
Every tear disappears in the morning sun
You don't need an indie song to figure out what's going on

Tell me that I'm normal, tell me that I'm sane
Tell me that you feel this too
All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're not mad to you...
 
Well we all need reassurance as we play life's game of endurance
Like a nice cup of tea or a cigarette
But don't lean too long on your crutches or you'll fall straight into the clutches
Of those who see free expression as a threat
You don't need a law degree to set your mind and spirit free
So tell me what the hell is normal and who the hell is sane?
And why the hell care anyway?
All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're all mad and that's OK.

Another gorgeous arrangement, and I'm wracking my brain to think of what it reminds me of (I mean, besides Radiohead ). Little matter.

The title song sways between acoustics and those bigger strings as it encourages us: "The battle is over but the war's not yet won / It's only just begun / We'll walk the razor's edge / The highest ledge of the worlds highest window / The first lap is finished but the race isn't run / It's only just begun.... They'll tell you it's over, just tell them they're wrong / 'Cause it's only just... / It's only just begun." Another nice crunching bridge here, too.

"The Beauty Regime," the almost 50s-ish ballad that closes this (again if not for the atmospheric trappings that catch up with it later on), teeters between bitter irony toward a world that tells us in any number of ways that we're not good enough, and comforting those willing to not sell out to it:

So many lives condemned for no need
'Cause people don't buy the right magazine
Take a look in the mirror and see
Exactly how worthless you are

In a rut? Can't get out? Don't know why?
It's time to make that change
Cover up all the pain in your life
With our new product range
So please don't feel blue - let us show you how
To talk yourself into a good mood right now
Feeling sad is no longer allowed
No matter how worthless you are

And if your life depresses you
Just live it through your favourite movie star....

Don't let them sell you impossible dreams
Don't be a slave to the beauty regime
Look again in the mirror and see
Exactly how perfect you are.

Yeah. Find it. I'm glad I did.

Posted by: burninglight at 20:34 | link | comments (4)

The End of the Longest Winter?
(or: Intermezzo, Part III?)

I dunno. I'd love to say I'm out of the woods in a number of ways because I can see the clearing, but if you've ever hiked a mountain and thought you were near the summit, you know how deceptive that can be.

Anyway, this isn't really the physical winter we're talking about -- although by all accounts this was the worst winter Colorado's seen in a few decades. At the same time, it was the equivalent of a normal Jersey winter, so while frustrating it wasn't personally unprecedented. (All I have to do is think of '96-'97, when I lived in Franklin Boro, NJ and commuted to New Windsor, NY [JUST below Newburgh -- an hour's drive on a good day] during a 100-inch winter including ice storms.... yeah, no competition.) 

And anyway, Spring started in late February here, so despite a really tough two weeks during the holidays that took almost two months to melt off (and suffice to say Colorado's a lot more lax in taking care of any non-principal roads), no real complaints.

No, I'm really talking about the emotional distance from the middle of last winter to the end of this one. From the tumultuous adjustments to moving here and finally starting to adjust to a new job/land/life to wham! my mom dying last February and all the b.s. and probate that Jersey and that old life could offer, to almost immediately going to housing my brother-in-law and his issues for 4 1/2 months (which really all in all, wasn't any worse than I personally expected but worse than anyone else in our family expected and stressful enough, in any case).... in short, with no emotional or physical down time whatsoever since arriving here....

Anyway, since it's been awhile, and I keep waiting for proof of a turning that hasn't quite yet arrived (but hasn't been shot down in flames, either), here goes.... well, whatever.... it's time for this groundhog to see if his shadow's there....

Reasons That Spring Is Finally Here....

1) Did you just read the above?

2) Spiritual condition still weakened but improving. Heck, even got to lead that men's group I've been going to last week (by default, but nonetheless...) When I automatically kicked off our prayer time with the words, "OK, let's rumble..." I simultaneously smiled to myself, and realized how long it's been since I've used those words. Likewise, am still kind of accepting of where I'm at and trying not to force things (see also here). Although I have dropped a line to my old district superintendent, who's now charge of church ministries for the entire denomination (and thus in Colorado Springs instead of Jersey, as well); whether anything comes of that remains to be seen....

3) Work has been routine but has given me a chance to catch my breath. Now I look like an overachiever, which beats feeling underwater. Sounds like some interesting doings are in the pipeline, and (again) by default I've sort of become the adult curriculum ""expert"" here. (I think it appropriate to put even the quotes in quotes, in this case. )

4) Oddly enough, the strongest indicator may have been a business trip I took to southern California a couple weeks ago. (BTW, I've come to the conclusion that SoCal is basically Jersey in denial, and/or with palm trees.) I'm not sure why -- maybe because I had some alone time and really just wanted to get back home -- but there's this feeling that something kind of "popped" and I can start moving on.... and since my gut usually has a clue long before my brain does, I choose to believe there's something to that.

Reasons I'd Better Just Hold My Stinkin' Horses....

1) Did you just read the above?

I recall a phrase I used during another extended period of limbo awhile back: "God will do what God will do." And that's where I remain. But in the meantime, at least you have some pale representation of what that looks like.

Until next time.... which likely will re-introduce something musical...

Posted by: burninglight at 21:05 | link | comments (9)