David Roback from Mazzy Star/Opal/Rain Parade etc. sadly passed this week, which prompted lot of folks to revisit his back catalog in some particularly evocative weather; I should remember to return to "She Hangs Brightly" on a cold, rainy February day every year. On the off-chance you're unfamiliar with it, I want to highlight one of my actual, no-exaggeration favorite records of all time, the Opal singles compilation "Early Recordings." A lot of the credit for these songs' greatness goes to Kendra Smith for the rare feat of writing actually-funny lyrics, but equally key are Roback's echo-y arpeggios and slides that cut through the mischief to the sadness she's barely hiding. It sounds kind of like if Lou Reed had written the vaguely country-ish songs on "Loaded" earlier on and with John Cale still around to drone away in the background, plus the occasional Neil Young-tone shredding. My favorite song on this record of flawless music is "Northern Line," a song driven by Roback's lead guitar line, which I initially thought was a pedal steel but I think he might just go ham on the whammy bar and it blends seamlessly with a harmonica, especially when they come together to mimic train sounds. Smith sings deadpan as a woman so pumped to leave someone behind and consequently so severely dgaf about everything else that she's singing a song (it's a song about singing a song yes) about a train wreck while sitting on a train--it's a Mary Gaitskill story in 4 minutes. Early Recordings currently runs a cool 99 euro on Discogs but if you feel like deaccessioning your copy please negotiate with me first. Also, check out this delightful original video for "Empty Box Blues":
Friday, February 28, 2020
chilling on the deep reflections on life and taste for this week to highlight 1 new and 1 old fav
Cold Beat's new album Mother came out today. The art has a Whole Earth Catalog sensibility, which you see all over the place these days, from expensive "bootleg" tshirts to Chobani yogurt branding. But not only does the Mother artwork wrestle free of cliche, it really fits the record perfectly: a document of life on a planet with an uncertain future, synths filling in the space between Hannah's propulsive, earth-bound bass lines and ethereal vox. There's a guarded optimism here, I think, because maybe you can't root yourself in despair over our current technological dystopia or hope only vaguely for better things to come when you've committed yourself to creating and loving new life? Although I've only listened to this twice after playing the two singles, "Prism" and "Flat Earth," relentlessly in my headphones over the past few months, I highly recommend this record by one of my favorite living songwriters, and may some more coherent thoughts soon.
David Roback from Mazzy Star/Opal/Rain Parade etc. sadly passed this week, which prompted lot of folks to revisit his back catalog in some particularly evocative weather; I should remember to return to "She Hangs Brightly" on a cold, rainy February day every year. On the off-chance you're unfamiliar with it, I want to highlight one of my actual, no-exaggeration favorite records of all time, the Opal singles compilation "Early Recordings." A lot of the credit for these songs' greatness goes to Kendra Smith for the rare feat of writing actually-funny lyrics, but equally key are Roback's echo-y arpeggios and slides that cut through the mischief to the sadness she's barely hiding. It sounds kind of like if Lou Reed had written the vaguely country-ish songs on "Loaded" earlier on and with John Cale still around to drone away in the background, plus the occasional Neil Young-tone shredding. My favorite song on this record of flawless music is "Northern Line," a song driven by Roback's lead guitar line, which I initially thought was a pedal steel but I think he might just go ham on the whammy bar and it blends seamlessly with a harmonica, especially when they come together to mimic train sounds. Smith sings deadpan as a woman so pumped to leave someone behind and consequently so severely dgaf about everything else that she's singing a song (it's a song about singing a song yes) about a train wreck while sitting on a train--it's a Mary Gaitskill story in 4 minutes. Early Recordings currently runs a cool 99 euro on Discogs but if you feel like deaccessioning your copy please negotiate with me first. Also, check out this delightful original video for "Empty Box Blues":
David Roback from Mazzy Star/Opal/Rain Parade etc. sadly passed this week, which prompted lot of folks to revisit his back catalog in some particularly evocative weather; I should remember to return to "She Hangs Brightly" on a cold, rainy February day every year. On the off-chance you're unfamiliar with it, I want to highlight one of my actual, no-exaggeration favorite records of all time, the Opal singles compilation "Early Recordings." A lot of the credit for these songs' greatness goes to Kendra Smith for the rare feat of writing actually-funny lyrics, but equally key are Roback's echo-y arpeggios and slides that cut through the mischief to the sadness she's barely hiding. It sounds kind of like if Lou Reed had written the vaguely country-ish songs on "Loaded" earlier on and with John Cale still around to drone away in the background, plus the occasional Neil Young-tone shredding. My favorite song on this record of flawless music is "Northern Line," a song driven by Roback's lead guitar line, which I initially thought was a pedal steel but I think he might just go ham on the whammy bar and it blends seamlessly with a harmonica, especially when they come together to mimic train sounds. Smith sings deadpan as a woman so pumped to leave someone behind and consequently so severely dgaf about everything else that she's singing a song (it's a song about singing a song yes) about a train wreck while sitting on a train--it's a Mary Gaitskill story in 4 minutes. Early Recordings currently runs a cool 99 euro on Discogs but if you feel like deaccessioning your copy please negotiate with me first. Also, check out this delightful original video for "Empty Box Blues":
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