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(04/03/02 6:00pm)
I'm one of those guys, a la John Cusack and Jack Black in "High Fidelity," who can't resist making lists. I love them. They make me feel good inside, just like puppies, chocolate chip cookies and Jesse Helms' retirement.\nSo to sum up the popular music of the 1980s, I'm making two lists: best songs and best albums. You can agree with me. You can (and most likely will because, when it comes right down to it, I have no taste whatsoever) disagree with me.\nBest Songs\n1. "The Message," Grandmaster Flash. Hip-hop is the most important development in pop music since the British Invasion, and this is the best hip-hop song ever.\n2. "Voices Carry," Til Tuesday. In a decade dominated by new wave, this song stands out above all the competitors.\n3. "Last Caress," Misfits. Listening to this song automatically damns you to hell.\n4. "Make a Change," Buckwheat Zydeco. A simple song with a simple theme: "Make a change in your life/And make it for the better." It's on the "Fletch" soundtrack.\n5. "Feels Like Rain," John Hiatt. This bittersweet beauty helped establish Hiatt as one of the best singer-songwriters of the last 20 years.\n6. "Smoking Gun," Robert Cray. The best blues of the decade.\n7. "Killed by Death," Motorhead. Two words: bleeding ears.\n8. "Islands in the Stream," Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. I know it's smarmy. I know the Bee Gees wrote it. What's your point?\n9. "Smooth Operator," Sade. Her smooth, sensuous voice floated over a cool instrumental background like smoke in a seedy jazz club.\n10. "It's in the Way That You Use It," Eric Clapton. Part of The Color of Money Soundtrack, this was a scorching pop song that highlighted E.C.'s otherwise dreary decade.\nHonorable Mention \n"Peace Sells," Megadeth; "Pink Houses," John Mellencamp; "Rockin' in the Free World," Neil Young; "Don't Come Around Here No More," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; "Tempted," Squeeze; "Talkin' Bout a Revolution," Tracy Chapman; "Love Stinks," J. Geils Band; "Crimson and Clover," Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; "Escape (I need a break)," Whodini; "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em,)", Greg Kihn Band; "Hang Fire," Rolling Stones; "Three of a Perfect Pair," King Crimson and "Open Letter to a Landlord," Living Colour.\nBest Albums\n1. Graceland, Paul Simon. Somehow he was able to fuse African soundscapes and perfect pop melodies. The album is no less than brilliant.\n2. Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen. Born in the USA sold a lot more, but this one was better. Just Bruce and his guitar. Very haunting.\n3. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy. Biting social commentary and funky beats.\n4. Master of Puppets, Metallica. The best metal album in history. Well, except for Sabbath.\n5. How Will the Wolf Survive?, Los Lobos. These guys should be remembered for more than a cinematic remake of "La Bamba."\n6. Surfer Rosa, Pixies. Paved the way for the alternative explosion of the early '90s.\n7. Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel. Gabriel's third self-titled album featured, among other things, perhaps the greatest protest song ever in "Biko."\n8. Trio, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris. This album lived up to all the promise that comes from a union of three great country voices.\n9. Street Songs, Rick James. Damn Hammer forever for ruining "Superfreak."\n10. Shoot Out the Lights, Richard and Linda Thompson. Sublime and elegant songwriting and vocals by the former husband and wife.\nHonorable Mention \nStay Hungry, Twisted Sister; Pretenders, Pretenders; Synchronicity, the Police; Document, R.E.M.; Blizzard of Ozz, Ozzy Osbourne; Raising Hell, Run DMC; Texas Flood, Stevie Ray Vaughan; Centerfield, John Fogerty; Screaming for Vengeance, Judas Priest and Double Fantasy, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.\nI've omitted the work of two acts from these lists because, in my opinion, they can only be honored as the Artists of the Decade: Prince and U2. They both proved that it's possible to blend artistic excellence and popular appeal; Purple Rain and The Joshua Tree both sold millions of copies and embodied the unmeasurable creativity and talent of the artists who made them. And that doesn't even take into account Boy, War, The Unforgettable Fire, 1999, Around the World in a Day and Sign of the Times.
(04/03/02 5:00am)
As the owner of All Ears Record Store on 10th Street, Charlie Titche sells both CDs and traditional vinyl records. In fact, his store is split evenly into two rooms, one filled with compact discs, the other with LPs. And, he says, his sales are divided 50-50 between the old and the new format.\nBut as a music collector, Titche isn't divided at all. He knows which one he prefers.\n"I'm addicted to vinyl," he says. "It's a personal fixation I have."\nSome might call Titche a throwback. They might say he's stuck in the past. That might be so, but he's not alone in his love for the 12-inch black platters.\n"I grew up with The Who's Live at Leeds and Jefferson Airplane's Volunteers, great vinyl like that," says Andy Walter, the manager of Tracks on Kirkwood Avenue. "It just sounds different off the stereo. The guitar sort of moves back and forth between the speakers. With CDs you don't have that. It's flat."\nLike Titche, Walter has stacks and stacks of old vinyl LPs for sale in an attempt to cater to the small but dedicated market of record collectors in Bloomington.\nJust how small is that market? According to numbers released by the Recording Industry Association of America, music companies shipped a total of 7 million units of LPs, EPs and vinyl singles in 2000. Total net revenue: $54 million. That's less than 1 percent of the industry's total sales for that year.\nWalter says sales of vinyl records are a "negligible" portion of his overall business; many of his LP buyers are international students studying at IU. In his mind, the vinyl business is "clearly on the backside" of the sales curve.\nStill, he says, there are still people out there who have a craving for LPs. He says he recently received new vinyl pressings of the Rolling Stones' ABKCO albums, as well as fresh copies of new Tom Waits platters. And, believe it or not, he's sold multiple vinyl copies of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the last month.\nTitche acknowledges that LPs have seen better days, but he believes the market has remained steady in recent years.\n"It's not the dominant format like it was throughout the '70s and early '80s," he says. "But compared to 10, five or two years ago, vinyl sales continue to rock."\nBut why? CDs are smaller, more portable and almost as cheap as vinyl, and to many collectors they have the best sound in the business. So why would someone prefer the clunky, scratchy, dusty LP?\nFor one thing, many vinyl collectors dispute the assertion that CDs sound better. For example, Walter says some classical, such as Mantovani, "just sounds incredible on vinyl. Some of that stuff is outstanding."\nAnd, Walter adds, many classic-rock bands like the Airplane recorded their albums on three- or four-track stereo systems, a sound that can only be brought out on vinyl.\n"The sound just moved around the room," he says.\nTitche agrees that LPs have a great, unique sound.\n"There is a marked difference in sound quality, and you don't have to have a ritzy stereo system to tell the difference," he says. "It might not be better, but there is a difference."\nAnother factor is price. Used LPs are frequently cheaper than used CDs, and many music stores have bargain bins of records costing a couple bucks each -- or less.\n"People can get 20 albums for $75," Titche says. "You can't get 20 CDs for $175, $200, $250. And we have lots of records that are $6 each, and they're in beautiful shape. There's a greater value there. People can pick up more for the same amount of money."\nMusic collector John McLaughlin says LPs' lower prices are attractive.\n"There's something kind of fun in finding a place that just has a rack of 25-cent or 50-cent albums of older stuff," McLaughlin says. "It can be pretty entertaining."\nAnother factor, Titche notes, is bigger, richer, more detailed album art and packaging. And, he says, there's still countless numbers of albums that can only be found on vinyl.\nThose are all qualities that help attract a fair amount of young buyers to vinyl. Titche says about two-thirds of the LP shoppers in his store are students under the age of 25.\nSophomore Tre Murillo and junior Dave Parker are both young converts.\n"I like the sound and the larger cover art," Murillo says. "There's something about putting on a record that's different than a CD."\nAnd as Parker says, "It's a nostalgia thing."\nBut for many vinyl enthusiasts, it's the intangibles that are too hard to ignore.\n"LPs appeal to a part of me that's off-kilter, out of the mainstream," Walter says. "There's a virtue to it, like emotional sustenance."\nAnd besides emotion, Titche enjoys the physical texture of the albums.\n"Sometimes when you flip through old records, you get that mildew smell, your fingers get a little dirty," he says. "You can flip through CDs all day and that won't happen. You flip through CDs and it's just click, click, click.\n"I've had friends who never collected vinyl before, then they tried it and were totally hooked in," he adds. "They didn't get it before, but they get it now."\nSo where do you go when you're jonesin' for some vinyl? While there might only be a handful of stores that still sell vinyl in Bloomington, other avenues of obtaining the stuff exist. There's usually a monthly record show in Indianapolis (the next one, organized by Alpha Records and Music, is scheduled for April 14 at the Quality Inn on Shadeland Avenue).\nAnd, if all else fails, collectors can head online. General auction sites like eBay constantly feature hundreds of LPs, while www.gemm.com is a nationwide music clearinghouse that features volumes and volumes of vinyl. There's also www.recordcollecting.com and a record collecting-webring at www.r.c.webring.8m.com.\nThe bottom line: it's there if you look hard enough. And Titche says collectors should be proud of their obsession. He definitely is.\n"Vinyl is not dead," he says. "Far from it"
(04/03/02 5:00am)
I'm one of those guys, a la John Cusack and Jack Black in "High Fidelity," who can't resist making lists. I love them. They make me feel good inside, just like puppies, chocolate chip cookies and Jesse Helms' retirement.\nSo to sum up the popular music of the 1980s, I'm making two lists: best songs and best albums. You can agree with me. You can (and most likely will because, when it comes right down to it, I have no taste whatsoever) disagree with me.\nBest Songs\n1. "The Message," Grandmaster Flash. Hip-hop is the most important development in pop music since the British Invasion, and this is the best hip-hop song ever.\n2. "Voices Carry," Til Tuesday. In a decade dominated by new wave, this song stands out above all the competitors.\n3. "Last Caress," Misfits. Listening to this song automatically damns you to hell.\n4. "Make a Change," Buckwheat Zydeco. A simple song with a simple theme: "Make a change in your life/And make it for the better." It's on the "Fletch" soundtrack.\n5. "Feels Like Rain," John Hiatt. This bittersweet beauty helped establish Hiatt as one of the best singer-songwriters of the last 20 years.\n6. "Smoking Gun," Robert Cray. The best blues of the decade.\n7. "Killed by Death," Motorhead. Two words: bleeding ears.\n8. "Islands in the Stream," Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. I know it's smarmy. I know the Bee Gees wrote it. What's your point?\n9. "Smooth Operator," Sade. Her smooth, sensuous voice floated over a cool instrumental background like smoke in a seedy jazz club.\n10. "It's in the Way That You Use It," Eric Clapton. Part of The Color of Money Soundtrack, this was a scorching pop song that highlighted E.C.'s otherwise dreary decade.\nHonorable Mention \n"Peace Sells," Megadeth; "Pink Houses," John Mellencamp; "Rockin' in the Free World," Neil Young; "Don't Come Around Here No More," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; "Tempted," Squeeze; "Talkin' Bout a Revolution," Tracy Chapman; "Love Stinks," J. Geils Band; "Crimson and Clover," Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; "Escape (I need a break)," Whodini; "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em,)", Greg Kihn Band; "Hang Fire," Rolling Stones; "Three of a Perfect Pair," King Crimson and "Open Letter to a Landlord," Living Colour.\nBest Albums\n1. Graceland, Paul Simon. Somehow he was able to fuse African soundscapes and perfect pop melodies. The album is no less than brilliant.\n2. Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen. Born in the USA sold a lot more, but this one was better. Just Bruce and his guitar. Very haunting.\n3. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy. Biting social commentary and funky beats.\n4. Master of Puppets, Metallica. The best metal album in history. Well, except for Sabbath.\n5. How Will the Wolf Survive?, Los Lobos. These guys should be remembered for more than a cinematic remake of "La Bamba."\n6. Surfer Rosa, Pixies. Paved the way for the alternative explosion of the early '90s.\n7. Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel. Gabriel's third self-titled album featured, among other things, perhaps the greatest protest song ever in "Biko."\n8. Trio, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris. This album lived up to all the promise that comes from a union of three great country voices.\n9. Street Songs, Rick James. Damn Hammer forever for ruining "Superfreak."\n10. Shoot Out the Lights, Richard and Linda Thompson. Sublime and elegant songwriting and vocals by the former husband and wife.\nHonorable Mention \nStay Hungry, Twisted Sister; Pretenders, Pretenders; Synchronicity, the Police; Document, R.E.M.; Blizzard of Ozz, Ozzy Osbourne; Raising Hell, Run DMC; Texas Flood, Stevie Ray Vaughan; Centerfield, John Fogerty; Screaming for Vengeance, Judas Priest and Double Fantasy, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.\nI've omitted the work of two acts from these lists because, in my opinion, they can only be honored as the Artists of the Decade: Prince and U2. They both proved that it's possible to blend artistic excellence and popular appeal; Purple Rain and The Joshua Tree both sold millions of copies and embodied the unmeasurable creativity and talent of the artists who made them. And that doesn't even take into account Boy, War, The Unforgettable Fire, 1999, Around the World in a Day and Sign of the Times.
(03/27/02 5:00am)
Action Packed: The Best of Jonathan Richman\nJonathan Richman\nRounder Records\nJonathan Richman is a little strange. Well, OK, the official industry buzz word is "quirky," but whatever you call Richman's music, the fact is that it's sometimes just plain weird. Or odd. Or nutty.\nAnd that's generally a good thing. Because in the mid- to late-1970s, Richman and his band, the Modern Lovers, helped spearhead the "new wave" movement that would bring punk into the '80s with a glib combination of humor and sincerity.\nAt first Richman recorded for the Beserkley label (which is probably best known for Greg Kihn's "Jeopardy"), but by the late 1980s he had moved to Rounder Records, where he continued to make off-beat yet catchy music. The best of Richman's seven Rounder albums have been condensed into Action Packed, a 22-track disc that largely features Richman alone with his guitar.\nThe anthology reflects Richman's innate ability to channel the spirits of early rock and roll legends. On "New Kind of Neighborhood," Richman gives off a distinctly Buddy Holly-ish vibe. "Closer" features vocals that echo Del Shannon and a twangy guitar sound that conjures up Duane Eddy.\n"You're Crazy for Taking the Bus" sounds an awful lot like the stuff Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash did for Sun Records nearly 50 years ago, while Richman openly acknowledges being influenced by the Kingsmen, the McCoys and the Righteous Brothers on "Parties in the U.S.A."\nNone of the tracks on Action Packed deliver the punch of Richman's best Beserkley stuff (such as the ageless "Roadrunner"). However, most of the cuts wonderfully reveal a songwriting talent who wears his heart on his sleeve and keeps his tongue in his cheek. Action Packed is a good lesson for twenty-somethings who know Richman only as the singing guy in "There's Something About Mary."\n
(03/21/02 10:57pm)
The Who was a zany lot.\nThe singer shouted and yelped and whipped his microphone around like a lariat. The guitarist tore apart his fingers on the strings and smashed his guitar to pieces. The drummer flailed his arms and pounded his kit and sent his drums flying across the stage.\nAnd that was just the band's on-stage persona. The musicians were just as wacky out of the limelight. Vocalist Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend frequently hated each other, and their relationship at times deteriorated into fistfights. Drummer Keith Moon, meanwhile, was an out-of-control alcoholic who dressed in women's clothing on a regular basis.\nThen there was John Entwistle. The band's bassist was the "quiet one." He stood still on stage as madness erupted around him, and he was at times the Who's sole voice of sanity.\nHe was also the band's most talented and underrated member and one of the greatest bass players in rock history (only Motown's James Jamerson, Yes's Chris Squire and P-Funk's Bootsy Collins could compare to him). His deft ability as a songwriter has long been overshadowed by Townshend's legendary compositions. Throughout the Who's career, Entwistle not only displayed a virtuosity on the bass, but he also contributed numerous songs that stand out as some of the Who's best.\nHis best-known cut is "Boris the Spider," a tale of a pesky arachnid that meets a messy demise. But the Entwistle catalog runs much deeper. He was a master of the macabre, an author of creepy, cheeky and off-kilter ditties that, underneath the tongue-in-cheek humor on the surface, exposed the darker side of modern society.\nIn the 1960s Entwistle produced several standout cuts, including "Whiskey Man" in 1966, about a man who shares his mind with an alcoholic alter ego, "I've Been Away," also from 1966, an eerie song about a wrongly convicted felon who takes murderous revenge on his treacherous brother, and 1967's "Doctor, Doctor," about a poor sap who suffers from paralyzing hypochondria.\nIn 1971 the Who released the classic album Who's Next, and the best song on the disc was perhaps Entwistle's "My Wife," which detailed a desperate man's flight from a vengeful wife. The lyrics represent Entwistle at his best: "Gonna buy a tank and an aeroplane / When she catches up with me won't be no time to explain / She thinks I've been with another woman / And that's enough to send her half insane." In the end, the man accepts his condition: "I may end up spending all my money," he says, "but l'll still be alive."\nAs the Who drifted into the 1970s and Townshend became mired in heroin addiction and depression, Entwistle's songs were often the best tracks on the band's albums. Who Are You, released in 1978, contained two standout Entwistle tracks that easily outshined the vaunted title track. A sci-fi excursion, "905" is about a genetically-engineered human, while "Trick of the Light" features a self-doubting but smitten shlub who pleads a prostitute to run away with him.\nAlong the way, Entwistle, who was also proficient on trumpet and French horn and played those instruments on most Who albums, contributed several other outstanding tracks, including "Heaven and Hell" (1970), "Postcard" (1974), "Success Story" (1975), "You" (1981) and "Dangerous" (1982). The 1981 Who album Face Dances included Entwistle's autobiographical "The Quiet One," in which he sings the virtues of subtlety: "I ain't never had time for words that don't rhyme / My head is in the clouds / I ain't quiet / Everybody else is too loud."\nBut perhaps Entwistle's best song is 1971's "When I Was a Boy," in which he looks back wistfully on his childhood and laments its passing: "When I was boy I had the mind of a boy / But now I'm a man ain't got no mind at all / When I was in my teens I had my share of dreams / But now I'm a man ain't got no dreams at all."\nBecause Townshend's compositions dominated every Who album, Entwistle frequently overflowed with ideas that didn't make the band's cut. As a result, he also released several solo albums, including the incredible Whistle Rhymes in 1972. Easily the best solo release of any Who member, Whistle Rhymes tells tales of degenerates, lovable losers and broken-hearted souls who are beaten down by life and unable to get up.\nThe Who was an exceptional band, and its three other members Daltrey, Townshend and Moon were all talented and unique parts of the puzzle. But the quartet was underpinned, both musically and personally, by John Entwistle. The other personalities in the band have long overshadowed him, but that doesn't diminish his abilities or accomplishments or the special place he holds in the heart of every devoted Who fan.
(03/21/02 9:49pm)
Echobrain\nEchobrain\nChophouse Records\nBassist Jason Newsted busted up Metallica because he wanted to dabble musically. Was the indulgence of this wanderlust "the debut release by Newsted's new trio Echobrain" worth breaking up the biggest band in the world?\nWell, yes and no. Newsted certainly wasn't the best bass player in the world (and couldn't hold a candle to Cliff Burton), but with Newsted Metallica had coalesced into hard-rock juggernaut that now will never be the same again. (Note to James and Lars: please, oh please, oh please bring in Les Claypool!)\nAnd Echobrain, while musically adventurous and, at times, inspired, makes you wish Newsted had just stuck it out with Metallica.\nApparently Echobrain had its genesis at a Super Bowl Party in 1995, when Newsted met jazz-funk drummer Brian Sagrafena, who at the time was a mere 16 years old. A year later Sagrafena introduced Newsted to metal guitarist Dylan Donkin. They began to jam at the Chophouse, Newsted's home studio.\nThey eventually produced their 10-track, self-titled debut album. In general, the disc is a far cry from Metallica; the last song, "Cryin' Shame," concludes with a bluegrass-flavored country hoedown, for example. On some tracks the band incorporates strings at least as well as Metallica did on S&M.\nAnd Echobrain gives youngsters Sagrafena and Donkin a chance to show their chops, with Newsted providing a constant, if rote, foundation on bass. Eschewing a star's ego for egalitarianism, Newsted lets Echobrain become a musical democracy, with three equal parts (which is more than he was afforded in Metallica, where Newsted was often treated like an interchangeable part).\nPerhaps we have become too dependent on Metallica-style crunch, but we still expect any product with Newsted's name on it to hit us with a wallop, and Echobrain does not. It might make us re-think our images of Newsted and his abilities as a band member, but it still leaves us longing for something more familiar.\n
(03/21/02 5:00am)
Echobrain\nEchobrain\nChophouse Records\nBassist Jason Newsted busted up Metallica because he wanted to dabble musically. Was the indulgence of this wanderlust "the debut release by Newsted's new trio Echobrain" worth breaking up the biggest band in the world?\nWell, yes and no. Newsted certainly wasn't the best bass player in the world (and couldn't hold a candle to Cliff Burton), but with Newsted Metallica had coalesced into hard-rock juggernaut that now will never be the same again. (Note to James and Lars: please, oh please, oh please bring in Les Claypool!)\nAnd Echobrain, while musically adventurous and, at times, inspired, makes you wish Newsted had just stuck it out with Metallica.\nApparently Echobrain had its genesis at a Super Bowl Party in 1995, when Newsted met jazz-funk drummer Brian Sagrafena, who at the time was a mere 16 years old. A year later Sagrafena introduced Newsted to metal guitarist Dylan Donkin. They began to jam at the Chophouse, Newsted's home studio.\nThey eventually produced their 10-track, self-titled debut album. In general, the disc is a far cry from Metallica; the last song, "Cryin' Shame," concludes with a bluegrass-flavored country hoedown, for example. On some tracks the band incorporates strings at least as well as Metallica did on S&M.\nAnd Echobrain gives youngsters Sagrafena and Donkin a chance to show their chops, with Newsted providing a constant, if rote, foundation on bass. Eschewing a star's ego for egalitarianism, Newsted lets Echobrain become a musical democracy, with three equal parts (which is more than he was afforded in Metallica, where Newsted was often treated like an interchangeable part).\nPerhaps we have become too dependent on Metallica-style crunch, but we still expect any product with Newsted's name on it to hit us with a wallop, and Echobrain does not. It might make us re-think our images of Newsted and his abilities as a band member, but it still leaves us longing for something more familiar.\n
(03/21/02 5:00am)
The Who was a zany lot.\nThe singer shouted and yelped and whipped his microphone around like a lariat. The guitarist tore apart his fingers on the strings and smashed his guitar to pieces. The drummer flailed his arms and pounded his kit and sent his drums flying across the stage.\nAnd that was just the band's on-stage persona. The musicians were just as wacky out of the limelight. Vocalist Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend frequently hated each other, and their relationship at times deteriorated into fistfights. Drummer Keith Moon, meanwhile, was an out-of-control alcoholic who dressed in women's clothing on a regular basis.\nThen there was John Entwistle. The band's bassist was the "quiet one." He stood still on stage as madness erupted around him, and he was at times the Who's sole voice of sanity.\nHe was also the band's most talented and underrated member and one of the greatest bass players in rock history (only Motown's James Jamerson, Yes's Chris Squire and P-Funk's Bootsy Collins could compare to him). His deft ability as a songwriter has long been overshadowed by Townshend's legendary compositions. Throughout the Who's career, Entwistle not only displayed a virtuosity on the bass, but he also contributed numerous songs that stand out as some of the Who's best.\nHis best-known cut is "Boris the Spider," a tale of a pesky arachnid that meets a messy demise. But the Entwistle catalog runs much deeper. He was a master of the macabre, an author of creepy, cheeky and off-kilter ditties that, underneath the tongue-in-cheek humor on the surface, exposed the darker side of modern society.\nIn the 1960s Entwistle produced several standout cuts, including "Whiskey Man" in 1966, about a man who shares his mind with an alcoholic alter ego, "I've Been Away," also from 1966, an eerie song about a wrongly convicted felon who takes murderous revenge on his treacherous brother, and 1967's "Doctor, Doctor," about a poor sap who suffers from paralyzing hypochondria.\nIn 1971 the Who released the classic album Who's Next, and the best song on the disc was perhaps Entwistle's "My Wife," which detailed a desperate man's flight from a vengeful wife. The lyrics represent Entwistle at his best: "Gonna buy a tank and an aeroplane / When she catches up with me won't be no time to explain / She thinks I've been with another woman / And that's enough to send her half insane." In the end, the man accepts his condition: "I may end up spending all my money," he says, "but l'll still be alive."\nAs the Who drifted into the 1970s and Townshend became mired in heroin addiction and depression, Entwistle's songs were often the best tracks on the band's albums. Who Are You, released in 1978, contained two standout Entwistle tracks that easily outshined the vaunted title track. A sci-fi excursion, "905" is about a genetically-engineered human, while "Trick of the Light" features a self-doubting but smitten shlub who pleads a prostitute to run away with him.\nAlong the way, Entwistle, who was also proficient on trumpet and French horn and played those instruments on most Who albums, contributed several other outstanding tracks, including "Heaven and Hell" (1970), "Postcard" (1974), "Success Story" (1975), "You" (1981) and "Dangerous" (1982). The 1981 Who album Face Dances included Entwistle's autobiographical "The Quiet One," in which he sings the virtues of subtlety: "I ain't never had time for words that don't rhyme / My head is in the clouds / I ain't quiet / Everybody else is too loud."\nBut perhaps Entwistle's best song is 1971's "When I Was a Boy," in which he looks back wistfully on his childhood and laments its passing: "When I was boy I had the mind of a boy / But now I'm a man ain't got no mind at all / When I was in my teens I had my share of dreams / But now I'm a man ain't got no dreams at all."\nBecause Townshend's compositions dominated every Who album, Entwistle frequently overflowed with ideas that didn't make the band's cut. As a result, he also released several solo albums, including the incredible Whistle Rhymes in 1972. Easily the best solo release of any Who member, Whistle Rhymes tells tales of degenerates, lovable losers and broken-hearted souls who are beaten down by life and unable to get up.\nThe Who was an exceptional band, and its three other members Daltrey, Townshend and Moon were all talented and unique parts of the puzzle. But the quartet was underpinned, both musically and personally, by John Entwistle. The other personalities in the band have long overshadowed him, but that doesn't diminish his abilities or accomplishments or the special place he holds in the heart of every devoted Who fan.
(03/01/02 2:25pm)
For a long time, I refused to accept hip-hop into my little musical universe. It just was not something I even considered. It was noisy, it was brash and it was too, well, too black for my white-bread, suburban existence. Besides, I thought, how hard can it be to talk over music and make the words rhyme?\nBut after the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and other racially-charged events, I started to think about the reasons fueling the anger and frustration behind much of the hip-hop scene. I started to realize that maybe, just maybe, the messages expressed by rappers were not only valid but incredibly vital, and that perhaps hip-hop was, after all, something I needed -- and wanted -- to hear.\nThat's when I discovered Public Enemy. I took a chance and bought 1991's Apocalypse '91… The Enemy Strikes Black, and I was blown away. From the opening beats of "Lost at Birth," through the fire of "Can't Truss It" and "By the Time I Get to Arizona," to the album-closing version of "Bring Tha Noise" with the heavy-metal band Anthrax, Chuck D became a revelation for me. "Land of the free/ but the skin I'm in identifies me," Chuck raps on "Nighttrain." From there I picked up 1988's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and 1990's Fear of a Black Planet, and I became convinced that Public Enemy was one of the most important groups of artists in the last 20 years of popular music. And I remain convinced.\nAnd now, rappers like Jay-Z and DMX enjoy the level of success and fame that would have seemed impossible for pioneers such as Afrika Bambatta, Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow. And, at the same time, white clowns such as Eminem and Kid Rock produce music that is a sad, pitiable distortion of what hip-hop was and should be, all this making me more certain that Public Enemy is the most important act in hip-hop history.\nThat's because Public Enemy infused rap with social and political urgency. Songs like "Night of the Living Baseheads," in which Chuck laments the way cocaine was destroying African-Americans communities, and "Rebirth," which has Chuck urging people to be wary of modern racism ("You can't see who's in cahoots/ 'Cause now the KKK wears three-piece suits"), resonate with the same type of awareness and an activism that revolutionized rock and roll in the 1960s.\nAs stunned crowds watched Spike Lee's brilliant "Do the Right Thing" in 1989, they also heard Public Enemy's hip-hop anthem, "Fight the Power." The song defined the band and crystallized the emotions felt by millions of disenfranchised, down-and-out people across the country.\n"Our freedom of speech is freedom or death," Chuck raps on the song. "We got to fight the powers that be." The track turned out to be a clarion call for action and resistance: "What we need is awareness, we can't get careless… My beloved let's get down to business." The song also included perhaps the most famous rhyme in hip-hop history: "Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me/ Straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain/ Mother fuck him and John Wayne."\nToday, it seems, such messages have been drained from hip-hop, which too often languishes in the culture of "bling-bling." While on the one hand, the fact that hip-hop artists are finding the type of material success that has, in the past, been notoriously withheld from African-American stars is a positive development. But on the other hand, it's distressing that those artists gave up all sociopolitical relevance to do it.\nPublic Enemy represents the best of hip-hop, the brightest such an important, urgent genre of music has to offer. Hopefully the band won't be forgotten as hip-hop continues to move forward into the future. \nRyan Whirty writes "Play Back," a bi-weekly column about classic music.
(02/28/02 5:00am)
Uncle Tupelo 89/93: An Anthology\nUncle Tupelo\nColumbia Legacy\nAs the '80s turned into the '90s, few people were thinking about country-rock. Seattle grunge was about to explode across the country, Guns N' Roses hadn't yet flamed out, and legions of white suburban kids were just beginning to expose their tender ears to the grittier side of hip-hop.\nA dozen or so years ago, the idea of reviving the breathtaking fusion of rock and country pioneered by groups like the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Big Star was way off the radar screen. Yet Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy did it with Uncle Tupelo, a band that burned with intensity and raw emotion for a handful of years before splintering into Wilco and Son Volt in the mid-1990s.\nRemarkably, Columbia Legacy has managed to capture the essence of Uncle Tupelo, on 89/93: An Anthology, a 21-track collection culled from the band's four albums (the first three were recorded for indie label Rockville, the fourth for Sire/Reprise). \nBeginning with the first cut, "No Depression" -- a cover of a classic Carter Family song -- the anthology proves that Uncle Tupelo deserved much more recognition than it received.\nMuch like "Spoon River Anthology," Edgar Lee Master's brilliant book of poetry about a sleepy but sordid Illinois town, Uncle Tupelo manages to reflect on the big questions of life while remaining firmly planted on the ground and focused on individual stories. As Tweedy sings on the collection's second song, "Down here, we don't care what happens outside the screen door."\nThe band was able to record both elegant ballads ("Sauget Wind," "Moonshiner") and hard-driving rockers ("Graveyard Shift," "I Got Drunk," "The Long Cut") with equal ease. Somber fiddles and sullen harmonicas float throughout the collection, and at times the band displays echoes of John Mellencamp, Neil Young and R.E.M. (whose guitarist, Peter Buck, served as Uncle Tupelo's producer for a time).\nIn fact, at its best, Uncle Tupelo conjures up images of Young's best work with Crazy Horse. On the epic "Effigy," a cover of a John Fogerty song, the trio of Farrar (vocals and guitar), Tweedy (vocals and bass) and drummer Ken Coomer seems as if it is channeling the same spirit that fueled classic Young cuts like "Down by the River" and "Like a Hurricane."\nPerhaps, in hindsight, Uncle Tupelo was either ahead of its time or behind the times. But even if they were, the band cut a wide swath of true Americana through a popular music scene that was, in many ways, so superficial.\n
(02/28/02 5:00am)
The Essential Masters\nMemphis Slim\nPurple Pyramid\nIt might be a few weeks after Valentine's Day, but in retrospect legendary blues shouter Memphis Slim has the best line for those of us who were without company that day: "A room without a woman is like a heart without a beat / Seems like I have trouble with every girl I meet." Preach on, brother.\nThus Purple Pyramid's re-issue of classic Slim sides comes at a perfect time. But actually, there's no bad time for a talent like Memphis Slim. As a singer and a pianist, he cut some of the nastiest, dirtiest blues ever put on wax. Whether Slim was working with guitar great Big Bill Broonzy or playing with his own backing band, the House Rockers, he was able to capture the essence of the blues.\nBut what do you expect from a cat who was born and raised in Memphis and then moved to Chicago. Being in such blues-soaked burgs most assuredly wore off on Slim, who produced hit records for 25 years starting in 1948.\nOn Essential Masters, one can hear a myriad of influences and styles. On tracks like "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Harlem Bound," Slim sounds uncannily like R&B big man Joe Turner; on "Slim's Blues" and "Trouble in Mind," he pours out the type of gut-bucket blues that would satisfy any lonely soul. On "I Guess I'm a Fool," Slim even uses a backing vocal group that evokes memories of the Ink Spots.\nAnd Slim is no less impressive on the ivories. Working with his backing band he creates a gritty soundtrack for his vocals. It's easy to see why he influenced countless piano players who came after him; one can hear shades of Slim in artists like Little Richard, Dr. John and others.\nIt might be too late this year to celebrate a lonely Valentine's Day with Memphis Slim and some moonshine hooch, but there's always next year. Don't worry, the music won't go bad. It just keeps getting better year after year.\n
(02/28/02 5:00am)
For a long time, I refused to accept hip-hop into my little musical universe. It just was not something I even considered. It was noisy, it was brash and it was too, well, too black for my white-bread, suburban existence. Besides, I thought, how hard can it be to talk over music and make the words rhyme?\nBut after the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and other racially-charged events, I started to think about the reasons fueling the anger and frustration behind much of the hip-hop scene. I started to realize that maybe, just maybe, the messages expressed by rappers were not only valid but incredibly vital, and that perhaps hip-hop was, after all, something I needed -- and wanted -- to hear.\nThat's when I discovered Public Enemy. I took a chance and bought 1991's Apocalypse '91… The Enemy Strikes Black, and I was blown away. From the opening beats of "Lost at Birth," through the fire of "Can't Truss It" and "By the Time I Get to Arizona," to the album-closing version of "Bring Tha Noise" with the heavy-metal band Anthrax, Chuck D became a revelation for me. "Land of the free/ but the skin I'm in identifies me," Chuck raps on "Nighttrain." From there I picked up 1988's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and 1990's Fear of a Black Planet, and I became convinced that Public Enemy was one of the most important groups of artists in the last 20 years of popular music. And I remain convinced.\nAnd now, rappers like Jay-Z and DMX enjoy the level of success and fame that would have seemed impossible for pioneers such as Afrika Bambatta, Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow. And, at the same time, white clowns such as Eminem and Kid Rock produce music that is a sad, pitiable distortion of what hip-hop was and should be, all this making me more certain that Public Enemy is the most important act in hip-hop history.\nThat's because Public Enemy infused rap with social and political urgency. Songs like "Night of the Living Baseheads," in which Chuck laments the way cocaine was destroying African-Americans communities, and "Rebirth," which has Chuck urging people to be wary of modern racism ("You can't see who's in cahoots/ 'Cause now the KKK wears three-piece suits"), resonate with the same type of awareness and an activism that revolutionized rock and roll in the 1960s.\nAs stunned crowds watched Spike Lee's brilliant "Do the Right Thing" in 1989, they also heard Public Enemy's hip-hop anthem, "Fight the Power." The song defined the band and crystallized the emotions felt by millions of disenfranchised, down-and-out people across the country.\n"Our freedom of speech is freedom or death," Chuck raps on the song. "We got to fight the powers that be." The track turned out to be a clarion call for action and resistance: "What we need is awareness, we can't get careless… My beloved let's get down to business." The song also included perhaps the most famous rhyme in hip-hop history: "Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me/ Straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain/ Mother fuck him and John Wayne."\nToday, it seems, such messages have been drained from hip-hop, which too often languishes in the culture of "bling-bling." While on the one hand, the fact that hip-hop artists are finding the type of material success that has, in the past, been notoriously withheld from African-American stars is a positive development. But on the other hand, it's distressing that those artists gave up all sociopolitical relevance to do it.\nPublic Enemy represents the best of hip-hop, the brightest such an important, urgent genre of music has to offer. Hopefully the band won't be forgotten as hip-hop continues to move forward into the future. \nRyan Whirty writes "Play Back," a bi-weekly column about classic music.
(02/25/02 4:31am)
The Celtic Fiddle Festival, a trio of renowned violinists, will bring traditional European folk music to the stage of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater tonight at 7:30.\nThree fiddlers -- Kevin Burke of Ireland, Johnny Cunningham of Scotland and Christian Lemaitre of the French province of Brittany -- make up the traveling festival and play both solo and as a trio during the program.\nTonight's concert is co-sponsored by the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation and the IU Dean of Faculties office. The show is also part of the Lotus concert series and IU's Arts Week celebration.\nLotus Executive Director Lee Williams said the festival should be well-received.\n"There is a large population in Bloomington that loves Celtic music, and there are a lot of fiddlers in town," he said.\nWilliams said performances by the Celtic Fiddle Festival are rarities because the trio has toured only three times in the last 10 years. He said the concert represents an opportunity for people to learn about Celtic music and culture.\n"Each fiddler will bring his own cultural tradition to the concert," he said.\nAssociate Professor of music Emile Naoumoff said Celtic heritage includes more than just the well-known Irish, Scottish and Breton traditions. Naoumoff said the Celts originated in what is now Germany more than 1,000 years ago and eventually migrated all across Europe. In addition to the British Isles and Brittany, he said, the Celts' influence is seen today in Spain, Italy and Eastern Europe.\nNaoumoff, in addition to his duties at the School of Music, is a pianist who recently recorded a CD of Celtic music with his wife, bassoonist Catherine Marchese, and bassoonist and accordion player Sarah Stevens-Estabrook.\nHe said the Celts were a peaceful people who "never imposed their music but adapted their music to the music of other people." For example, he noted that during the production of his CD, he realized numerous similarities between Irish ballads and popular music of his native Bulgaria.\nNaoumoff added that although the bagpipes, fiddle and flute are the instruments traditionally associated with Celtic music, other instruments can easily be used when playing the genre. He also said Celtic songs aren't limited to a certain structure.\n"For some purists, Celtic music is only quick dances or nostalgic ballads," he said. "But we discovered there were many different shades of Celtic music."\nTom Zoss, a member of the IU Foundation and of the IU Fine Arts Coordinating Committee, said the University and the town should be proud of tonight's concert.\n"It shows the ability of the Bloomington community to bring people in to perform for us," he said. "Many small towns can't sell enough tickets to bring a group like this to perform"
(02/21/02 6:19am)
IU Afro-American Studies Professor John McCluskey has been friends with acclaimed poet Mari Evans since 1977. McCluskey, himself a novelist, remembers with fondness the days when he and Evans shared ideas at Yaddo, an artist's community in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He said he appreciated her talent right away.\n"She's a fine poet -- an excellent, important poet," he said of Evans, who will present a lecture today at 7:30 p.m. in Room A201 of the Theatre/Neal-Marshall Education Center. "One of her strengths is how concise her words can be and how sharp her wit can be."\nThe 78-year-old Evans has consistently published poetry and other creative works since the 1960s. Her books of poetry include "Where Is All the Music?" (1968), "I Am a Black Woman" (1970), "Nightstar: 1973-1978" (1981) and "A Dark and Splendid Mass" (1992), plus several children's collections. She also authored the plays "River of My Song" and "Eyes," a work based on Zora Neale Hurston's poem, "Their Eyes Were Watching God."\nEvans has received fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell Colony and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the John Hay Whitney Fellowship. She recently was nominated for a 2002 Grammy Award for her liner notes to "The Long Road to Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music."\n"She's one of the early African-American poets who is still living," said Grace Jackson-Brown, director of the African-American Cultural Center Library, which is sponsoring Evans' lecture. "Her career spans four decades of writing, and she's considered a mentor to a lot of younger African American poets."\nJackson-Brown said Evans's work still has a great deal to say to younger generations.\n"Her poetry resonates a great deal with the black experience," she said. "It tells of day-to-day life, what it's like to live as an African American. It tells of the joys as well as the struggles with racism."\nEvans, who was born in Toledo, Ohio, and attended the University of Toledo, also has strong ties to Indiana and IU. She was a writer-in-residence at IU for six years in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to her work at IU, she also has taught at Spelman College and Cornell University, among other institutions.\nWilliam Wiggins, acting chairman of the IU Afro-American Studies Department, said Evans' visit "is quite a coup for the university." \n"This is one of those rare opportunities when you have a chance to be exposed to the author, not just to read her work," he said. "It's a way to engage in a dialogue with her."\nIn addition to her lecture tonight, Evans will be honored at a reception at the Faculty Club in the Union from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The event will also include student poetry readings.
(02/20/02 5:34pm)
Still Blazin'\nCapleton\nVP Records\nA couple of years ago I was rooting through some used vinyl at a music store in Burlington, Vt. I came across I Testament, a 1997 double album by Capleton. I had no idea who he was, but from what I could tell he appeared to be a run-of-the-mill modern reggae star.\nI picked up the album for $1 (it sold for $12 originally). The music turned out to be an interesting, if unimaginative, mixture of reggae and hip-hop (in fact, the double album was released on the legendary Def Jam label). I was satisfied that, at the very least, I didn't waste my $1.\nNow I learn, after reading the press release accompanying his latest CD, Still Blazin', that Capleton is a huge dancehall star with an ultra-devoted following of fans who call him "The Prophet." I suddenly feel guilty for thinking he was "run-of-the-mill."\nBut I can't fake it. Still Blazin', like the other album I have, just doesn't do anything special for me. Even though Capleton throws often-fiery lyrics over generally rock-steady beats that keep the CD flowing, it doesn't capture me the way Bob Marley's Rastaman Vibration or The Harder They Come do.\nAt times Still Blazin' is livened up by Latin beats and well-placed synthesizers; at other times the album is punctuated by Capleton's raspy, emotional raps. But in general, the tracks all kind of blended together in my ears. \nStill Blazin' would be ideal party music -- it's great to dance to and it's high-energy. But it falls short of the classic reggae many of us are familiar with. And, from reading this review, it's probably painfully obvious that I'm a dippy white boy who most likely is in way over his head.\n
(02/20/02 5:00am)
Still Blazin'\nCapleton\nVP Records\nA couple of years ago I was rooting through some used vinyl at a music store in Burlington, Vt. I came across I Testament, a 1997 double album by Capleton. I had no idea who he was, but from what I could tell he appeared to be a run-of-the-mill modern reggae star.\nI picked up the album for $1 (it sold for $12 originally). The music turned out to be an interesting, if unimaginative, mixture of reggae and hip-hop (in fact, the double album was released on the legendary Def Jam label). I was satisfied that, at the very least, I didn't waste my $1.\nNow I learn, after reading the press release accompanying his latest CD, Still Blazin', that Capleton is a huge dancehall star with an ultra-devoted following of fans who call him "The Prophet." I suddenly feel guilty for thinking he was "run-of-the-mill."\nBut I can't fake it. Still Blazin', like the other album I have, just doesn't do anything special for me. Even though Capleton throws often-fiery lyrics over generally rock-steady beats that keep the CD flowing, it doesn't capture me the way Bob Marley's Rastaman Vibration or The Harder They Come do.\nAt times Still Blazin' is livened up by Latin beats and well-placed synthesizers; at other times the album is punctuated by Capleton's raspy, emotional raps. But in general, the tracks all kind of blended together in my ears. \nStill Blazin' would be ideal party music -- it's great to dance to and it's high-energy. But it falls short of the classic reggae many of us are familiar with. And, from reading this review, it's probably painfully obvious that I'm a dippy white boy who most likely is in way over his head.\n
(02/13/02 6:26pm)
A friend of mine, himself a big music fan, told me a couple months ago that he rarely talks to someone our age who won't admit that they liked Iron Maiden as a teenager. \nAt first I had my doubts, but after thinking about it for a while, I realized he just might be on to something. In my junior high and high school, Iron Maiden was everywhere.\nIn the mid to late-1980s, a good chunk of the white teenage male population listened to Maiden religiously -- and I was certainly in that group. It was a rite of passage, something we had to do to become men. We wore ratty Iron Maiden shirts; some kids even had jean jackets with big Maiden patches on the back.\nBut, sadly, as most of us grew older, we grew out of Iron Maiden. We eventually felt that metal was too immature, too noisy, too juvenile for us to listen to. We went to college and were soon introduced to Nevermind, and Maiden faded into the dark recesses of our minds and memories.\nThankfully, however, some of us realize the error of our ways and have returned to the bangers from Britain. We understand that Iron Maiden is a crucial part of our past and, therefore, a crucial part of who we are. We also remember that Maiden was an awesome band.\nIron Maiden hit its peak beginning in 1982 with The Number of the Beast and running through 1986's Somewhere In Time. In between it released Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984) and Live After Death (1985), a live album that summed up their careers to that point.\nAt first my parents were not too thrilled with my Maiden fandom. I spent several months trying to convince my mother that, despite the Number's title, the band members were not Satan worshippers. (In hindsight, I was a relatively trouble-free teenager. At least I never took the car and drove it through an apple orchard. But ask my brother about that.)\nBut once my parents eased up and acquiesced, I dove headfirst into Maiden. I quickly learned that the band was special for four reasons, the first being lead singer Bruce Dickinson's voice -- and lung capacity. At times Dickinson (who, by the way, used to be an Olympic-class fencer) sounded uncannily like an air-raid siren. His shrieks and wails went on and on and on and on (trust me, that's a good thing).\nThe second unique feature of the band was its dual lead-guitar sound. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith were able to match each other note for note, and sometimes they did just that, producing powerful riffs and solos in complete unison. Up to that point, no band had really attempted such an approach; usually metal songs used one lead guitar and one rhythm guitar.\nThen, of course, there was Steve Harris, who was one of the first metalheads to use the bass virtually as a lead instrument. While Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler and others were talented bassists, it was Harris who really proved that bass could stand on its own and add something more than just the plodding rhythm of a song (at least as far as heavy metal is concerned; John Entwistle was doing incredible stuff with the Who long before metal even came into being).\nFinally, there was Maiden's willingness to go beyond simple, heavy riffs and thudding guitars. Thanks largely to the abilities of Murray, Smith, Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain (yes, that's his name), Maiden was a thinking man's metal. In many ways, the band represented a fusion between bands like Sabbath or Judas Priest and prog-rockers like Yes or King Crimson.\nThe results frequently were epic, 10-minute songs based on literary works, such as "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem) and "To Tame a Land" (taken from Frank Herbert's Dune books).\nBut Maiden was also capable of shorter songs that worked well as MTV singles. War horses like "Run to the Hills," "The Trooper," "Die With Your Boots On," "Aces High," "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Wasted Years" were head-banging classics to make your ears bleed.\nIron Maiden has been active for more than 20 years at this point, although Dickinson left the group for a while in the '90s and other band members came and went. However, the classic line-up is back together, plus a third guitarist (three guitars? OK, if you say so).\nMy recommendation: Pick up Piece of Mind or Powerslave. Those two albums represent the best metal has to offer. And if your mother bugs you, just turn the volume up.
(02/13/02 6:06pm)
Anything, Anytime, Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002\nBruce Cockburn\nRounder Records\nTo celebrate the signing of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn to a multi-album contract, Rounder Records is launching a campaign to re-release 18 of Cockburn's albums, all digitally remastered.\nThe Cambridge, Mass.-based company also recently released Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002, a best-of CD compiled by Colin Linden and Cockburn himself. Although spotty in places, overall the album represents a good introduction to the catalog of this intense artist.\nThe CD contains the top-40 hit "Wondering Where the Lions Are" from 1979's Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws, as well as a new single, "My Beat," featuring Patti Griffin on background vocals. And 2001's "Anything Anytime Anywhere" features backing vocals by the Fairfield Four (of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Fame).\nAt its best, Cockburn's music is both bitingly caustic and sublimely beautiful. On 1985's "Call It Democracy," Cockburn conjures up musical images of latter-day Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music while taking a lyrical stab at Reagan-era politics.\nAnd on "If I Had a Rocket Launcher," a minor hit from 1984 that was partially written in war-torn Chiapas, Mexico, Cockburn seethes with anger against dire wrongs. "If I had a rocket launcher," he sings, "some son of a bitch would die."\nBut perhaps the album's best track is 1996's "Pacing the Cage," a hushed cut featuring Cockburn's steady but emotional voice and quiet acoustic guitar. The song takes a retrospective glance back, perhaps over his life and his career. "I never knew what you all wanted," he sings with resignation, "so I gave you everything."\nThe weakest songs on the album -- "The Trouble with Normal" and "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" -- are the ones that feature heavy keyboards and sound too much like they were produced in the '80s (which they were, but there are some things about that decade that weren't great).\nBut in general, Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002, is a solid compilation from an accomplished artist entering a new phase of his career. At times it's softly sweet, at other times it's wonderfully bitter -- the right mix for any good singer-songwriter.\n
(02/13/02 5:00am)
Anything, Anytime, Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002\nBruce Cockburn\nRounder Records\nTo celebrate the signing of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn to a multi-album contract, Rounder Records is launching a campaign to re-release 18 of Cockburn's albums, all digitally remastered.\nThe Cambridge, Mass.-based company also recently released Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002, a best-of CD compiled by Colin Linden and Cockburn himself. Although spotty in places, overall the album represents a good introduction to the catalog of this intense artist.\nThe CD contains the top-40 hit "Wondering Where the Lions Are" from 1979's Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws, as well as a new single, "My Beat," featuring Patti Griffin on background vocals. And 2001's "Anything Anytime Anywhere" features backing vocals by the Fairfield Four (of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Fame).\nAt its best, Cockburn's music is both bitingly caustic and sublimely beautiful. On 1985's "Call It Democracy," Cockburn conjures up musical images of latter-day Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music while taking a lyrical stab at Reagan-era politics.\nAnd on "If I Had a Rocket Launcher," a minor hit from 1984 that was partially written in war-torn Chiapas, Mexico, Cockburn seethes with anger against dire wrongs. "If I had a rocket launcher," he sings, "some son of a bitch would die."\nBut perhaps the album's best track is 1996's "Pacing the Cage," a hushed cut featuring Cockburn's steady but emotional voice and quiet acoustic guitar. The song takes a retrospective glance back, perhaps over his life and his career. "I never knew what you all wanted," he sings with resignation, "so I gave you everything."\nThe weakest songs on the album -- "The Trouble with Normal" and "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" -- are the ones that feature heavy keyboards and sound too much like they were produced in the '80s (which they were, but there are some things about that decade that weren't great).\nBut in general, Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002, is a solid compilation from an accomplished artist entering a new phase of his career. At times it's softly sweet, at other times it's wonderfully bitter -- the right mix for any good singer-songwriter.\n
(02/13/02 5:00am)
A friend of mine, himself a big music fan, told me a couple months ago that he rarely talks to someone our age who won't admit that they liked Iron Maiden as a teenager. \nAt first I had my doubts, but after thinking about it for a while, I realized he just might be on to something. In my junior high and high school, Iron Maiden was everywhere.\nIn the mid to late-1980s, a good chunk of the white teenage male population listened to Maiden religiously -- and I was certainly in that group. It was a rite of passage, something we had to do to become men. We wore ratty Iron Maiden shirts; some kids even had jean jackets with big Maiden patches on the back.\nBut, sadly, as most of us grew older, we grew out of Iron Maiden. We eventually felt that metal was too immature, too noisy, too juvenile for us to listen to. We went to college and were soon introduced to Nevermind, and Maiden faded into the dark recesses of our minds and memories.\nThankfully, however, some of us realize the error of our ways and have returned to the bangers from Britain. We understand that Iron Maiden is a crucial part of our past and, therefore, a crucial part of who we are. We also remember that Maiden was an awesome band.\nIron Maiden hit its peak beginning in 1982 with The Number of the Beast and running through 1986's Somewhere In Time. In between it released Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984) and Live After Death (1985), a live album that summed up their careers to that point.\nAt first my parents were not too thrilled with my Maiden fandom. I spent several months trying to convince my mother that, despite the Number's title, the band members were not Satan worshippers. (In hindsight, I was a relatively trouble-free teenager. At least I never took the car and drove it through an apple orchard. But ask my brother about that.)\nBut once my parents eased up and acquiesced, I dove headfirst into Maiden. I quickly learned that the band was special for four reasons, the first being lead singer Bruce Dickinson's voice -- and lung capacity. At times Dickinson (who, by the way, used to be an Olympic-class fencer) sounded uncannily like an air-raid siren. His shrieks and wails went on and on and on and on (trust me, that's a good thing).\nThe second unique feature of the band was its dual lead-guitar sound. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith were able to match each other note for note, and sometimes they did just that, producing powerful riffs and solos in complete unison. Up to that point, no band had really attempted such an approach; usually metal songs used one lead guitar and one rhythm guitar.\nThen, of course, there was Steve Harris, who was one of the first metalheads to use the bass virtually as a lead instrument. While Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler and others were talented bassists, it was Harris who really proved that bass could stand on its own and add something more than just the plodding rhythm of a song (at least as far as heavy metal is concerned; John Entwistle was doing incredible stuff with the Who long before metal even came into being).\nFinally, there was Maiden's willingness to go beyond simple, heavy riffs and thudding guitars. Thanks largely to the abilities of Murray, Smith, Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain (yes, that's his name), Maiden was a thinking man's metal. In many ways, the band represented a fusion between bands like Sabbath or Judas Priest and prog-rockers like Yes or King Crimson.\nThe results frequently were epic, 10-minute songs based on literary works, such as "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem) and "To Tame a Land" (taken from Frank Herbert's Dune books).\nBut Maiden was also capable of shorter songs that worked well as MTV singles. War horses like "Run to the Hills," "The Trooper," "Die With Your Boots On," "Aces High," "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Wasted Years" were head-banging classics to make your ears bleed.\nIron Maiden has been active for more than 20 years at this point, although Dickinson left the group for a while in the '90s and other band members came and went. However, the classic line-up is back together, plus a third guitarist (three guitars? OK, if you say so).\nMy recommendation: Pick up Piece of Mind or Powerslave. Those two albums represent the best metal has to offer. And if your mother bugs you, just turn the volume up.