It's That Time of Year

With the turkey scraps barely cleaned from the plates, the Christmas music is already chiming in. As an adult sharing the joys of these tunes with my children, I'm listening to them with a bit more scrutiny and realizing just how bazaar some of these songs are.

In the midst of old and new holiday songs on the radio yesterday, along came "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa" performed by Andy Williams. What a ridiculous song! The song is told from the perspective of a child who stumbles upon his mommy kissing Santa. And at the sight of this, he finds pleasure and amusement. He even muses at the notion of "what a hoot it would have been, if Daddy had only seen." What? I don't know what kind of liberal family this is, but "hoot" is hardly the term that comes to mind when think of my father walking in on mom and another man smooching. I'm pretty sure that "hoot" is not the word that would be used in the police report either.

And then there is "The 12 days of Christmas." The last time I heard there was only one day of Christmas. And this true love person has a twisted sense of what would be an appropriate gift.

12 drummers drumming? OK.
11 pipers piping? OK.
10 lords a leaping? WTF?
9 ladies dancing? I like where this is going.
8 maids a milking? Woah, woah woah. What kind of kinky freak are we dealing with?
7 swans a swimming? Aren't swans extremely aggressive?
6 geese a laying? Um, eggs are good I guess and I like birds.
5 golden rings? 5? 5 rings? Who did you rob?
4 calling birds? More birds?
3 french hens? I know that I said I like birds once, but isn't this a little overboard?
2 turtle doves? Enough with the birds!
1 partridge in a pear tree? At least it's a place to put all the birds. That's a whole lot of poop to clean off those pears, though.

SOTD - Low - Breaker

Low are the ultimate punk band. Not in sound, but in theory. The idea of punk is to push what is expected and challenge listeners to open their minds to perceiving music in new ways. When Low formed in the 90's, there were a number of bands imitating the the sound of the original punk movement. Copying the fast tree chord rock song was very punk in the late 70's when the status quo was ostentatious rock epics, disco, and wimpy ballads. The grit and energy was original and new. Twenty years later, not so much.

Anyway, Low took the spirit of of punk and and pushing against the flow. When fast and loud and dumb were the big thing, they decided to form a band that would be slow, quiet, and smart. There songs were dead slow and painfully soft and haunting. Repeated listens would reveal the beauty of the simple harmonies and human imperfections.

Their sound developed and changed over time, but the impact has been constant. In 2007 they released Drums and Guns with the song Breaker on it. The organ hums and the track is carried by a simple hand clap, but then the lyrics are violent and even scary. the song is so provocative in its ability to take your mind all sorts of places. Then there is the video... This is one of the few videos that actually adds to the artistic impact of a song. Like Low themselves, the video is simple and straight forward, but the video creates such a level of unease that perfectly suits the song despite the fact that the content has nothing to do with the lyrics.

Breaker

Their Christmas album is one of my favorites as well. The time to bust it out is near.

Dreamology

October 28th came and delivered the two albums that I have been anxiously waiting for over the past month. I have been a huge follower and supporter of the careers of The Cure and Ryan Adams over the years.

Each time anew album is presented by these artists, it is met with the same enthusiasm on my part. Thus, I waited until I had some time to absorb them and get over the initial excitement before I chose to write about these two albums. I have been listening to both ferociously and I still can’t get enough. Neither disappoints.


Cardinology is a laid back Cardinal effort. It is akin to Cold Roses in its kind of Grateful Dead feel. It is an album that isn’t afraid to blend aspects from numerous influences in subtle ways. Every song has its hook that sticks in your head and many of them build to triumphant endings. The band sounds so natural and intimate with how the guys play together and blend their instruments and voices. It is a complex album that feels quant. It is just fantastic.


4:13 Dream is the best Cure album since Wish. Dropping Roger O’Donnell and Perry Bammont for the return of Porl Thompson was the best career move that they have made, possibly ever. The three albums that they recorded after Porl’s departure didn’t hold up to the work that they had done with Porl. These felt a little phoned in. The songs were there, but the performances lacked energy. Porl’s return brought not only his fiery guitar squalls, but also a passion in Robert Smith’s performance. The songs are familiarly Cure songs without sounding like repeating songs that they have already written. It is complex and grand. Fantastic also.

Strengths in common:
Production! Both albums present a variety of types of songs, but there is a tone and texture established on each that tie all of the songs together to collectively form a bigger movement that is the album as a whole. This is something that both artists have struggled with trying to achieve on many of their albums. Cardinology achieves it through a stripped down, live in studio feel. 4:13 Dream achieves it through dense production and layering. The latest Cure album feels like a Wish or Disintegration era album.

Weaknesses in common:
Terrible album names and artwork. Cardinology is just a cheesy title, especially for an album by a group named the Cardinals. 4:13 Dream tries to be profound in its reference to the recently scaled back band of 4 members making their 13th album, but it is not very artistic. As for the artwork… well, take a look.