The Dam at Otter Creek

It’s been a few years since I used this space to write about the band LIVE.  They will always be one of my favorite bands, but like all artists, their prominence in my life waxes and wanes.  Seeing as I recently returned to the midstate after a lengthy absence and the once-broken-up band recently reunited, they’ve been top of mind lately.

As such, it also occurred to me recently that, having lived so close to the birthplace of a band I am passionate about, it is perhaps a shame I never took an opportunity to explore the landmarks they’ve created.

LIVE is, to my knowledge, the only rock band, of any era, to call Central Pennsylvania home and to also make that geographical fact an integral part of their identity.  Many bands exist that you don’t know anything about where they’re from–personally I have no idea where Queensryche or Deftones are from (and if you do, it doesn’t disprove what I’m saying, so can it) and many bands claim places like California or cities like Boston or New York, or regions like the South or New England.  But LIVE is from Central PA, and York specifically, and their (early) songs are unabashedly about this region.  Ed (the singer) mentions York often, from the stage during concerts all around the world.  So they’re not just a band from Central PA.  These are contemporary artists who have made incredibly successful art about our area; music that is sung by fans all over the world; Ed Kowalczyk crafted lyrics inspired by the very specific blend of elements present in this region and mined universally recognized themes from them.

Their second album, “Throwing Copper” was really the first that most people heard, and it was an international phenomenon.  Their fall from public favor over the years may have obscured the degree to which they were succesful at the time, but “Throwing Copper” was a truly behemoth hit.  Rolling Stone named the band their entertainers of the year that year.  And as popular as the album was in America, it exceeded that breadth in Europe (as the band continues to, to this day).  And “Throwing Copper”–the album the whole world was hip to in 1994 (it would eventually sell 8 million copies) opens with a song called “The Dam at Otter Creek”.

Most of “Throwing Copper” consists of taut, pop-inflected rock with singable choruses. Not so “The Dam at Otter Creek”.  The song opens the album with quiet melodic guitar fuzz, as if an imagined sound from far away.  Like music that had been read in a book, or dreamed. A man’s indistinct voice can be heard.  Is he on a megaphone? What is he saying?  We can’t be sure.  Slowly the sound coagulates, forms into simple repetitive chords, and, like a slow roll of thunder, Ed intones,

When all that’s left to do
is reflect on what’s been done
this is where sadness breeds.
The sadness of everyone.

This is not the typical stuff of radio rock.  This is a song about not living in the past–a common theme, for sure, but not presented in a typical fashion.  For the rest of the song, Ed makes a very bold decision as a lyricist.  In the first stanza (the one above) he presents to us his thesis: if all you think about is the past, that is some sad shit. But then instead of just presenting more lyrics about that idea, he tells us a story, about a time “the guys” built a dam at Otter Creek, and a man dove into the deep water and died.  It is up to the listener to decide how this story relates to the thesis.  Then, after the story, Ed treats us to the wailed refrain:

Be here now.

Of course, if you simply remove the story about the boy at Otter Creek, you have this:

When all that’s left to do
is reflect on what’s been done
this is where sadness breeds.
The sadness of everyone.

Be here now.

So that is a fairly neatly encapsulated philosophy: live in the moment, living in the past is sad.  BUT the “Be here now” line also interplays with the Otter Creek story; is Ed asking us to place ourselves in the shoes of an observer, on the bank of the Creek, watching the boy get carried out in the stretcher?  The listener can make choices about how they want to hear this song; Ed has left some of it in our hands.

Musically, the song builds to an unforgettable crescendo as Ed implores us to Be here now in a vocal rhythm that can only be described as highly unusual.  As a teenager, I had to consult my liner notes to figure out what he was saying.

Before I go on, I will present the complete lyrics and a YouTube of the song itself:

“The Dam at Otter Creek”
Ed Kowalczyk

When all that’s left to do
is reflect on what’s been done
this is where sadness breeds.
The sadness of everyone.

Just like when the guys
built the dam at Otter Creek
and all the water backed up.
Deep enough to dive.

We took the dead man in sheets to the river
flanked by love.
Deep enough to dive.
Be here now.

We took him three and three
in a stretcher made from trees
that had passed in the storm.
Leave the hearse behind.
To leave the curse behind,
be here now.

 

A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that I live awfully close to York, and so I probably live awfully close to Otter Creek.  So I started researching it.  Where is the creek, where is the dam?

Well, it’s a thorny question to ask.  A lot of people on the internet have a lot of answers.  Where the creek is is simple enough–it meanders for a few miles in the rural farmland outside of York, eventually emptying into the Susquehanna near a tiny place called Airville.  But the dam?  Some say there used to be one, some say there never was, others that the song tells a true story about kids who made their own dam.  Ultimately I decided I’d go see for myself.

There is a famous picture on the back of “Throwing Copper” that shows a sign for the Otter Creek Recreation Area.  This is that album art:

 

I was able to figure out quite easily where this was.  This is a parking lot that belong to the Otter Creek Campground, but is open to folks who are not campers at the campground.  The interesting thing about this parking lot is it is RIGHT AT the spot that Otter Creek empties into the Susquehanna River, AND it is in a spot that there is a river island about 150 yards from shore, making the Susquehanna look very small, so people pulling into the parking lot might be confused as to what body of water they are really looking at.  It’s, quite frankly, a little confusing.  Here is a picture I took of this confusion:

Alas, the famous sign from the album art has been changed, as one would imagine it would be after 25 years.  Here are the sings there now:

While the sign has been changed, after having been there, one can clearly tell it is the same parking lot as the one in the album photo.

Here are a few more pictures I took while in the campground parking lot:

Interesting, right? Given the lyrical content of the song. However, this is ALL Susquehanna River right here. If one dove here they would not be diving into Otter Creek,

One immensely interesting takeaway here is that the creek emptying into the Susquehanna finally sheds light on the lyric “They took the dead man in sheets to the river”.  What a perplexing line that has always been for me! I’d often wonder if we were talking about a creek or a river, and why/how do you take a dead man from the place he got hurt…to the place he got hurt?  But standing there, I can see that they would be moving him from the small creek to the large river.  Now…why they might do that would still be a mystery.  Also, this geography coupled with the lyric almost makes it certain Ed’s lyric is about this very specific spot.

And so, voila, that being the case, I will tell you, there is no dam there.  Maybe there was at some time, of that I have no idea.

Yes, some people will say this: there is a dam on the Susquehanna about a mile downriver.  I’ve seen some folks say THAT is the dam in the song.  That’s clearly poppycock.  Admittedly, it would be more clear if the song was “The Dam ON Otter Creek” instead of AT; the at does leave room for interpretation, but it is my assertion that the line “we carried the dead man in sheets to the river” authoritatively places the story at the confluence of Otter Creek and the Susquehanna River, dam be damned.

After I spent some time in looking around the confluence area, I got back in my car and drove for an hour or so around the country in the area, criss-crossing back and forth over the creek as many times as I could, looking for more access points; maybe secretly hoping for signs of a dam, but also just vibing in the origins of LIVE and remembering there are things about the midstate that are worthy of high art.  Yes, it is beautiful, serene, and contemplative, but as Ed is aware in plenty of other songs, it can be dark, derelict, and sinister.

That being said, here are a few other shots I took of the creek at other points on my drive:

Throwing Copper, Tenty-Went, H-Burg Gem, Ashcan Love Puck

1. I really want to write one of those entries I write about just 4 or 5 random things that are on my mind.  I’ve wanted to write an entry like that all day and yet, as I finally get the chance, I have sat down in front of the keyboard and have blanked on all the things I wanted to write about.  I figured if I just started, stuff would start coming to me.  Oh hey–it looks like Ed Kowalczyk is back as the lead singer of LIVE–that’s pretty extraordinary.  I mean this was a band that was SERIOUSLY BROKEN UP.  Like, much, much animosity. I would have ranked them very near the bottom on lists of bands that might get back together.  But it’s excellent news.  Whether you are into their music or not, if you see them live in concert it’s challenging not to admit they are one of the most electrifying acts out there. I never saw LIVE with Ed’s replacement–I bet he’s great, but like so many bands that replace the lead singer, it’s simply not the same band.  I can’t wait to hear more about what’s going on in the LIVE camp.
2. Speaking of camp–have you ever gone camping?  Karla, the boy, and I camped out in my dad’s back yard last summer, but aside from that, I’ve never really been camping, like in the woods.  We were close to almost “getting into” camping last year, and then somehow it just faded from our view.
3. I need here to give a shout-out to Harrisburg’s gem of a book store, the Midtown Scholar.  Although it is far from a secret, it also rarely gets the credit it deserves; this is a truly GREAT book store–as its name implies, it specializes in more academic or artistic fare, but it does have contemporary fiction, etc.  The store is truly enormous; the basement just goes on and on.  There is a quite good coffee shop, lots of places to sit, an outdoor balcony overlooking midtown Harrisburg, a huge collection of film, music and poetry books, tons of art monographs, and even a rare book room with books from as far back as the 17th century and a keen collection of art prints.  I could literally spend days–and thousands of dollars–there.  What perplexes me greatly is that somehow, I had never been there (and barely heard of it) before moving to Harrisburg; this despite the fact that it is about two blocks from the indie movie theater I used to frequent constantly when I lived in Carlisle.  All I can say is, I’m tremendously happy to have found it now, and I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone from the area who hasn’t been there.
4. Speaking of art–I was in the Scholar for Small Business Saturday and found my first ever art book focusing on the Ashcan School of artists; over the past year it has become clear to me that this entire group of artists is really my true passion when it comes to painting (although I still have other loves, ie Rousseau, Vermeer, Eakins, etc).  But the Ashcans and their use of color, broad brush strokes that approached but stopped short of impressionism, and their tendency to focus on urban scenes as a means to reveal human nature–really speak to my core.  If you’ve never heard of them and have an interest in art, I can not recommend highly enough Googling the works of John Sloan, Robert Henri, William Glackens, George Luks, Everett Schinn, and George Bellows.  I love Maurice Prendergast but it is often debated whether he qualifies as “Ashcan”.
5. I like ice hockey.

My 6th Favorite Song of All-Time

“White, Discussion” by LIVE

Unlike most of the other songs near the top of this list, “White, Discussion” isn’t an incredibly personal or emotional song for me.  I have just always liked it a whole, whole lot.

I talk of freedom,
you talk of the flag.
I talk of revolution,
you’d much rather brag.
And as the decibels of this disenchanting discourse
continue to dampen the day
the coin flips again and again and again and again
as our sanity walks away.
All this discussion,
though politically correct,
is dead beyond destruction,
though it leaves me quite erect.
And as the final sunset rolls behind the Earth
and the clock is finally dead
I’ll look at you, you’ll look at me, and we’ll cry a lot
but this will be what we say:

Look where all this talking got us, baby.

 

My 10th Favorite Song of All-Time

First, let’s recap everything that has come before:

100.  “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something
99.  “Jack & Diane” by John Mellencamp
98.  “Hotel California” by The Eagles
97.  “American Pie” by Don McLean
96.  “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson
95.  “Nuthin’ but a G Thang” by Dr. Dre
94.  “Bushwick Blues” by Delta Spirit
93.  “For the Workforce, Drowning” by Thursday
92.  “Fish Heads” by Barnes and Barnes
91.  “Shimmer” by Fuel
90.  “Rubber Biscuit” by the Blues Brothers
89.  “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals
88.  “Asleep at the Wheel” by Working For a Nuclear-Free City
87.  “There’s an Arc” by Hey Rosetta!
86.  “Steam Engine” by My Morning Jacket
85.  “Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest
84.  “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane
83.  “Fits” by Stone Gossard
82.  “Spring Flight to the Land of Fire” by The Cape May
81. “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” by The Postal Service
80.  “Sober” by Tool
79.  “Dream is Collapsing” by Hans Zimmer
78.  “Why Don’t We Do it in the Road?” by The Beatles
77.  “In This Light and on This Evening” by Editors
76.  “Lemonworld” by The National
75.  “Twin Peaks Theme” by Angelo Badalamente
74.  “A Comet Appears” by The Sins
73.  “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” by The Decemberists
72.  “Pepper” by Butthole Surfers
71.  “Life Wasted” by Pearl Jam
70.  “Jetstream” by Doves
69.  “Trieste” by Gifts From Enola
68.  “Oh My God” by Kaiser Chiefs
67.  “The Righteous Path” by Drive-By Truckers
66.  “Innocence” by The Airborne Toxic Event
65.  “There, There” by Radiohead
64.  “Ants Marching” by Dave Matthews Band
63.  “Symphony 1: In the Barrel of a Gun” by Emily Wells
62.  “The Best of What’s Around” by Dave Matthews Band
61.  “Old Man” by Neil Young
60.  “Cumbersome” by Seven Mary Three
59.  “Knocked Up” by Kings of Leon
58.  “Machine Head” by Bush
57.  “Peaches” by Presidents of the United States of America
56.  “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones
55.  “Fell on Black Days” by Soundgarden
54.  “The New Year” by Death Cab for Cutie
53.  “Call Me Al” by Paul Simon
52.  “Real Muthaphuckin’ Gs” by Eazy E
51..  “Evening Kitchen” by Band of Horses
50.  “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand” by Primitive Radio Gods
49.  “Top Drawer” by Man Man
48.  “Locomotive Breath” by Jethro Tull
47.  “We Used to Vacation” by Cold War Kids
46.  “Easy Money” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
45.  “Two-fifty” by Chris Walla
44.  “I’ve Got a Feeling” by The Beatles
43.  “Another Pilot” by Hey Rosetta!
42.  “Revelate” by The Frames
41.  “Wise Up” by Aimee Mann
40.  “Sample in a Jar” by Phish
39.  “Spitting Venom” by Modest Mouse
38.  “Sometimes I Rhyme Slow” by Nice & Smooth
37.  “I Shall Be Released” by The Band
36.  “When I Fall” by Barenaked Ladies
35.  “East Hastings” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
34.  “Terrible Love” by The National
33.  “Jolene” by Dolly Parton
32.  “Sometime Around Midnight” by The Airborne Toxic Event
31.  “This Train Revised” by Indigo Girls
30.  “Mad World” by Gary Jules
29.  “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes
28.  “Once in a Lifetime” by The Talking Heads
27.  “Growing Old is Getting Old” by Silversun Pickups
26.  “Brian and Robert” by Phish
25.  “Is There a Ghost?” by Band of Horses
24.  “Be Safe” by The Cribs
23.  “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Judy Garland
22.  “Ashes in the Fall” by Rage Against the Machine
21.  “We Laugh Indoors” by Death Cab For Cutie
20.  “Dondante” by My Morning Jacket

19.  “We Used to Wait” by Arcade Fire

18.  “Oceans of Envy” by Seven Mary Three

17.  “This is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan

16.  “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman

15.  “What a Good Boy” by Barenaked Ladies

14.  “Styrofoam Plates” by Death Cab For Cutie

13.  “Hard to Imagine” by Pearl Jam

12.  “Everything In Its Right Place” by Radiohead

11.  “A Day in the Life” by The Beatles

…and my tenth favorite song of all-time is:

“Rattlesnake” by LIVE

I have written extensively already here on this blog about the song “Rattlesnake”.  I talk about it a lot in this blog entry about why you should love LIVE, and then I posted a lot of pictures inspired by the song, here and here and here.  If you don’t feel like clicking on all that shit, let me sum it up for you: LIVE is from the same place, roughly, that I am from (and that place, roughly, is this).  This song directly addresses being from this area, but feeling a disconnect with the general culture here.  It also happens to address these things during the band’s creative peak.  Musically and lyrically it is as artful, un-obvious, non-cliche as a rock band of their stature is going to get.  A lot of people I know actually make fun of this particular song’s lyrics; they might seem truly random, silly, or meaningless to some.  But I beg to differ, and think he’s working on on higher level than just about any songwriter ever, on this song, and the whole Secret Samadhi album (for a more detailed breakdown of my opinion of the lyrics to “Rattlesnake”, click the link above about why you should love LIVE).

And there is just some very special feeling, upon hearing those foreboding, badass few chords, and the slow rock creep that starts out the song, in knowing that sound is designed to thematically represent the life we live here in Central PA, and the thoughts and feelings of not being a hunter or truck driver, and not “skinning hunted deer”.  In another place, in another time…

Do yourself a favor, Chachi, and watch the live performance video after the studio version I’ve embedded here.

“Rattlesnake” by LIVE

Let’s go hang out at a mall,
or a morgue, a smorgasbord.
Let’s go hang out in a church,
we’ll go find Lurch,
and we’ll haul ass down to the abbey.
Is it money, is it fame?
What’s in a name? Shame?
Is it money, is it fame
or were they always this lame?

It’s a crazy, crazy mixed up town,
but it’s the rattlesnake I fear.
In another place, in another time,
I’d be drivin’ trucks, my dear.

Let’s go hang out in a bar.
It’s not too far.
We’ll take my car.
We’ll lay flowers at the grave
of Jesco White, the sinner’s saint.
The rack is full, and so are we
of laughing gas and ennui.

It’s a crazy, crazy mixed up town
but it’s the rattlesnake I fear.
In another place, in another time,
I’d be drivin’ trucks my dear
I’d be skinning hunted deer.

 

 

 

“It’s not the dream that makes you weak/ It’s not the night that makes you sleep.”

The concert last night was AMAZING.  Partly because it featured two bands that I’m pretty much at the apex of liking right now, and it’s been a long time since my concert-going career was so in tune with what I’m currently digging (which is why you may have noticed a significantly higher rate of commentary about this concert on social media than I normally indulge in), and partly because I really have slowed my concert going frequency in the past year, so now when I do go to a concert, the experience is starting to have some of that oomph that it had in the beginning, oh-so-many years ago.

The Band of Horses show destroyed me emotionally, while the My Morning Jacket show ripped my face off, in the good way.  I won’t bother you with specifics, but it was wholly satisfying.  Although, one specific: I finally got a “Steam Engine” from My Morning Jacket, after seeing them 7 times now.  “Steam Engine” is my white whale with this band.  I’ve just thought up that term for this purpose, but it’s perfect.  I seem to have a “white whale”” with just about every band I see frequently.  My sister and I shared one with LIVE (it was “White, Discussion”) and we finally got it on their farewell tour.  With Pearl Jam it was “Hard to Imagine”, which at one point seemed unthinkable I’d ever hear…and by the end of the 2008 tour, I was actually annoyed when they kept opening with it!  haha.  Anyway.  Aside from those two, I think I have yet to see any of my other “white whales”.  Oh, and of course, I got “Steam Engine” last night, and I definitely fucking cried.

Of my opener/ closer predictions, I got one out of four correct (“The Funeral” to close BoH’s set)…which was by far the easiest guess, but was no gimme!  I got one from each band’s wishlist that I had made.  Not too shabby.

The inside of the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, before the crowd arrived. I had a seat in the balcony.

Band of Horses during “Infinite Arms”.

Band of Horses setlist

1.  For Annabelle
2.  NW Apartment
3.  Knock Knock
4.  No One’s Gonna Love You More Than I Do
5.  Detlef Schrempf
6.  Infinite Arms
7.  The Great Salt Lake
8.  Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
9.  Older
10. Ode to LRC
11.  The First Song
12.  Laredo
13.  The General Specific
14.  Is There a Ghost?
15.  The Funeral

My Morning Jacket during “It Makes No Difference”

My Morning Jacket setlist
1. X-Mas Curtain   <—this is an incredibly abnormal opener
2. First Light
3. Outta My System
4. Holdin’ On To Black Metal
5. Tyrone (Erykah Badu cover)
6. Mahgeetah
7. Into The Woods
8. Evelyn Is Not Real
9. Gideon
10. Rocket Man  (Elton John cover)
11. The Bear
12. Strangulation
13. It Beats 4 U
14. Steam Engine
15. Victory Dance
16. Circuital
17. Touch Me I’m Going To Scream pt. 2
18. Touch Me I’m Going To Scream pt. 1
19. Highly Suspicious
20. Wordless Chorus
21. Run Thru
22. Smokin’ From Shootin’

Encore One:
1. Wonderful (The Way I Feel)  [with Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses]
2. I’m Amazed
3. It Makes No Difference  (The Band cover)

Encore 2:

1. Off The Record
2. One Big Holiday

In case you’re even mildly interested, I recorded MMJ coming onto stage and the first few minutes of “Xmas Curtain” (which has some incredibly interesting lyrics)…for me, one of the most interesting things to see from shows I wasn’t at is how the bands start the performance…the entrance music, the first few chords, the audience response…and MMJ never disappoint in this regard. (notice the red and green lights for “Xmas Curtain”, which, as far as I can tell, may or may not be about having sex with a prostitute on Christmas).   This also gives you a good idea of how far away I was :(

Rattlesnake

Faithful blog readers may recall a year or two ago, I was kinda sorta obsessed with the song “Rattlesnake” by the band LIVE, and specifically, taking photos to set to this song. Nobody gave a shit then, so I won’t be offended or surprised by your complete lack of interest now, either.

LIVE is (was) from the area I am from.  Not simply the same state, but the very specific same part of that state.  And they write music about this area.  Now, this is nothing incredibly new; plenty of songs have been written about “south central PA” and/ or Pennsylvania’s Appalachia, however, most of those songs contain fiddles, ukuleles, and the word “yonder”.  Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of that music (mostly what is known as Bluegrass) and it is representative of this area.  But what draws me to LIVE’s renderings of the area is their markedly different approach.  (here is their first song about the area, Shit Town, about York, a city I once ran a restaurant in).  But nothing, as far as I’m concerned, matches “Rattlesnake”.

“Rattlesnake” is actually one of LIVE’s most derided songs.  Critics of Ed Kowalzcyk’s lyrics accuse him of putting actual nonsense into “Rattlesnake”—and they may be right.  Even I don’t know what “we’ll go find Lurch/ and we’ll haul ass down through the abbey” is talking about.  But to me, a lot of the lyrics here are meant as mood-setters.  The true purpose and triumph of “Rattlesnake” is to view this area through a new lens; one of mysticism, danger, and brooding darkness;  because there are definitely elements to living in Appalachia that are sinister and where the light—metaphorically—never shines.  Ed doesn’t ever really sing about this in the song, but it sure sounds like he is.  Musically, the song could not be much more different than most of the songs written about the area; hear that humming, suggestive, supernatural guitar underlining everything; hear that thwap-thwap-thwap rock thump that seems so juxtaposed to the humming guitar that the two seem to battle each other; hear that drumming that is practically March Militaire during the verses and practically Keith Moon on the choruses; “Rattlesnake” threatens to take you to a witch’s coven in the mountains, make you drink snake blood and have sex with a shadow-drenched moon-goddess. (and don’t get me started on the majesty of Kowalzcyk’s line “the rack is full and so are we/ or laughing gas, and ennui”…I have had hours of fun pondering it. Is the rack this or this or this?  How does the meaning change each time?  How does it not?)

I mention all this now not because I’m re-obsessed (it never really went away), but because now that I’ve discovered Windows MovieMaker, I can finally set my “Rattlesnake” pictures to the song in the way that I always wanted to.  I present to you here the first of a few slideshows of pictures I took in south central PA set to the song “Rattlesnake”.  First, in case you’re an outsider or dumb, a few things that might make the song more enlightening about this area for you (these are all links):

1.  Rattlesnakes in Pennsylvania

2.  Skinning Hunted Deer

3.  Jesco White

4.  Ennui

And now, my slideshow:

Monday’s Song: LIVE, “Rattlesnake”

 

Rattlesnake
by LIVE

Let’s go hang out in a mall,
or a morgue,
a smorgasbord.
Let’s go hang out in a church,
we’ll go find Lurch
and  we’ll haul ass down through the abbey.
Is it money?
Is it fame?
What’s in a name?
Shame?
Is it money, is it fame?
Or were they always this lame?

It’s a crazy, crazy mixed up town.
It’s the rattlesnake I fear.
In another place, in another time
I’d be driving trucks, my dear.

Let’s go hang out in a bar.
It’s not too far.
We’ll take my car.
We’ll lay flowers at the grave of Jesco White,
the sinner’s saint.
The rack is full, and so are we:
of laughing gas and ennui.

It’s a crazy, crazy mixed up town.
It’s the rattlesnake I fear.
In another place, in another time,
I’d be driving trucks, my dear.
I’d be skinning hunted deer.

My 100 Favorite Albums, in Order

Some of you may remember, about a year ago I made a list of my 100 favorite bands in order (that post is here).  Well, here’s a list of my 100 favorite albums!  This list follows (roughly) the same rules and principles as the bands list.  To re-cap those principles:

1.  This is a list of my favorites.  It is not meant to be a definitive “best” list, hence there are no right or wrong entries and you can’t exactly argue with the list, though disagreements are encouraged.

2.  How I made my choices: I pretended I was on a desert island with all 100 discs, then imagined I could only have 99.  Which would I get rid of?  And so on, down the line.  This method creates interesing and unexpected results.

3.  Unlike the bands post, the albums list is not limited to only bands.  However, I did not allow live albums, compilations, or other such anomalies.

4. Much like the bands list, it is clear to me that this list must be in a constant state of flux; this is far from my “permanent” list of favorite albums.  I can’t encourage you enough to do this yourself periodically, it really does reveal sea changes and trends in your own personal tastes.  Without further ado, here is the list:

100. Rage Against the Machine, Evil Empire
99.  Woodpigeon, Treasury Library Canada
98.  Do Make Say Think, You, You’re a History in Rust
97.  Death Cab for Cutie, We’ve Got the Facts and We’re Voting Yes
96.  Nirvana, Nevermind
95.  Drive-By Truckers, The Big To-Do
94.  Working For a Nuclear-Free City, Businessmen & Ghosts
93.  Radiohead, In Rainbows
92.  Seven Mary Three, day&nightdriving
91.  Cold War Kids, Loyalty to Loyalty
90.  Phish, Farmhouse
89.  Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
88.  Kings of Leon, Because of the Times
87.  The Decemberists, Picaresque
86.  The Ghost is Dancing, The Darkest Spark
85.  Pearl Jam, Binaural
84.  Seven Mary Three, The Economy of Sound
83.  My Morning Jacket, It Still Moves
82.  Barenaked Ladies, Gordon
81.  Pearl Jam, Yield
80.  The Frames, Fitzcarraldo
79.  Death Cab for Cutie, Something About Airplanes
78.  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nocturama
77.  Radiohead, OK Computer
76.  The Presidents of the United States of America, The Presidents of the United States of America
75.  Neil Young, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
74.  Pearl Jam, Riot Act
73.  Explosions in the Sky, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
72.  Modest Mouse, Good News For People Who Love Bad News
71.  Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman
70.  Nirvana, In Utero
69.  The Cribs, Ignore the Ignorant
68.  Sven Gali, Inwire
67.  Fire on Fire, The Orchard
66.  The National, High Violet
65.  The Pixies, Surfer Rosa
64.  Mogwai, Come On Die Young
63.  Emily Wells, Dirty
62.  Pelican, The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
61.  Radiohead, Hail to the Thief
60.  Phish, Billy Breathes
59.  Mooney Suzuki, Have Mercy
58.  TV on the Radio, Dear Science
57.  The Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
56.  We Are Scientists, Brain Thrust Mastery
55.  LIVE, Mental Jewelry
54.  Primitive Radio Gods, Rocket
53.  Indigo Girls, Swamp Ophelia
52.  Godspeed You, Black Emperor!, F#A#
51.  The Beatles, Revolver
50.  Hey Rosetta!, Plan Your Escape
49.  Seven Mary Three, Orange Ave.
48.  Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam (The Avocado Album)
47.  Grinderman, Grinderman
46.  My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
45.  Editors, In This Light and on This Evening
44.  Bush, Sixteen Stone
43.  The Postal Service, Give Up
42.  The Cape May, Glass Mountain Roads
41.  Pearl Jam, Ten
40.  Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine
39.  Dave Matthews Band, Under the Table and Dreaming
38.  Yeasayer, Odd Blood
37.  Eddie Vedder, Into the Wild Soundtrack
36.  Pink Floyd, Meddle
35.  Stars, In Our Bedroom After the war
34.  Stone Temple Pilots, Purple
33.  Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs
32.  The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
31.  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Lyre of Orpheus
30.  Silversun Pickups, Carnavas
29.  Neil Young, Mirrorball
28.  Kings of Leon, Only by the Night
27.  The National, The Boxer
26.  Chris Walla, Field Manual
25.  Pearl Jam, Vitalogy
24.  The Cribs, Men’s Needs, Women’s Need’s, Whatever
23.  Cold War Kids, Robbers & Cowards
22.  My Morning Jacket, Z
21.  Phish, Rift
20.  Pink Floyd, The Wall
19.  Explosions in the Sky, The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place
18.  Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
17.  Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism
16.  The Airborne Toxic Event, The Airborne Toxic Event
15.  LIVE, Throwing Copper
14.  Seven Mary Three, American Standard
13.  Radiohead, Kid A
12.  The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
11.  Godspeed You, Black Emperor!, Raise Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennae to Heaven
10.  The Arcade Fire, Funeral
9.   The Beatles, Abbey Road
8.  Pearl Jam, Vs.
7.  LIVE, Secret Samadhi
6.  Death Cab for Cutie, Plans
5.  Explosions in the Sky, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
4.  The Beatles, The Beatles (The White Album)
3.  Pearl Jam, No Code
2.  Seven Mary Three, RockCrown
1.  Hey Rosetta!, Into Your Lungs (and Around in Your Heart and on Through Your Blood)

LML

I just had a really awesome day.

While I’d love nothing more than to write a lengthy, detailed narrative of said awesome day, I don’t really have time, so I’m just gonna tell you about one moment that was a really knockout moment for me.

I was in Buffalo, NY to see an Ed Kowalczyk show (he’s the former lead singer of LIVE).  The show was a free show in a small park in a square in downtown.  I arrived around noon (first openng act was to go on at 5) and parked about 20 feet from the park.  I spent awhile scoping out the venue (the stage was up and there was ‘staff’ milling about, but the park was otherwise empty) and then I commenced wandering around the city for a bit.

(quick side note:  I love Buffalo.  Why?  It’s the most pedestrian-centric city I’ve ever been in.  Wider sidewalks than Manhattan, soft music piped EVERYWHERE.  You can’t even see the speakers, they must be hidden in planters, etc…just a great city to walk around in.  I’ll post a full entry about this sometime)

Anyway, after about two hours of wandering I ended up just a block from the stage a Lafayette Square, sitting at an outdoor table at a coffee shop, drinking a really delicious, piping hot caramel latte.  The sun was shining, it was about 80 degrees with a gentle lake breeze, I had nowhere to go, the quiet light jazz was being piped onto the street from somewhere, and life was just really freaking nice.  (this was when I Facebook-statused “LML”).   It was an incredibly simple, beautiful moment, and it’s magnificence was not lost on me. 

After sitting and enjoying the moment for a few minutes, I was jarred to reality by the thought that an Ed Kowalczyk song was playing down at the square (this was still only about 3pm).  I thought, It’s quite odd they’d play an Ed song on the day of an Ed show, as I thought they had simply started playing music through the massive speakers set up for the concert.  but after a few minutes I realized the sound was too “live”.  Ed was soundchecking!  I got up and walked (did not run) down the block to the park.  Ed and his band were playing one of the new songs off Ed’s solo album (which I did not hear any of until I bought it at the merch table after the show, so I fear I’ll never know what song I hear them soundcheck).  There were about 6 people in the park watching Ed’s soundcheck, and I suspect all of them just happened to be in the park.  I’m pretty sure I was the only Ed fan there.  I stood in the center of the park and watched Ed Kowalczyk play a song just for me, while still sipping my latte and enjoying the sunshine and breeze.  This was an incredible moment. 

After they were done playing, I took this video of Ed talking into the mic to prove how alone I was in the park:

My 100 Favorite Bands…IN ORDER

So, let me stop you before you post the comment…no, I do NOT have “too much time on my hands”!  This is just what I decided to do with the time on my hands!

OK, with that out of the way…yes, you are not reading that wrong.  I have in fact ranked my one hundred favorite bands in descending order.  You may ask…why, and how?

Well, I’ve just always been curious how my favorite bands would rank if I spent the time to do it.  I mean, I pretty much knew what 1,2 and 3 would be, but after that, it was a bit hazy.  So I figured I’d devise a way to rank the top 50.  I brainstormed my favorite bands randomly, and when I counted the brainstorm results, there were seventy-some, so I figured I’d shoot for the stars and go for the top hundred.

I also figured I needed a way to narrow down who I could use.  The only criteria was they had to be bands, not just musical artists.  No solo artists or R&B groups. This meant I could use Neil Young and Crazy Horse, but not Neil Young.

This is the method I used for ranking them:  I thought about a desert island situation, and then I thought, If I could only take one album from these bands, which band do I choose? I didn’t spend any time pondering WHICH album it would be, just…which band would I want an album from?  Then after a band was chosen, I crossed them off and asked myself the desert island question again, but now had to choose from the remaining bands.  When thinking about Neil Young and Crazy Horse (or, say, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) I only allowed myself to consider the work of the collaboration.  So, I could have Everyone Knows This is Nowhere, but not After the Gold Rush.

Now, I am open to the fact that I may have missed something and may have to revise this list, so please, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts, but remember, this is not a best list, but a favorite list, so you can’t really argue with the list, but I am actually afraid I forgot something, so please point out anything that seems amiss.  (But for the record, I did NOT forget:  Tool, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Led Zeppelin, or The White Stripes—I just don’t like them all that much.  And post-rock fans:  I didn’t forget A Silver Mt. Zion, Surface of Eceyon, or Mono.  Just not my favorites).

I hear you….why should you care?  Well, you shouldn’t care about mine, necessarily, but may I suggest you do something like this yourself?  It’s more interesting than you may think.  You can discern changes in yourself by analyzing your list.  For instance, 15 years ago, Dave Matthews Band would have been in my top 5.  Now, they’re 41.  What would they have been 8 years ago?  25?  So they’re on a slow slide.  Does this have something to say about changes in me beyond simple musical taste?  I’m not sure, but it’s fun to think about.  And some bands will pop into and out of my life quickly, as I’m constantly on the prowl for new music.  It’s intriguing to look at this list and wonder which bands will soon not make this list, and which bands that are currently in the 80s or 90s will be in the top 20 next year.  It’s certainly not a concrete list, I’m sure it is in constant flux.

Oh, and here’s a fun thing:  you’ll see it appears to be a list of 101 bands.  That’s because one of them is a fake band name, made up by me, right now.  If you are the first to identify which of them is the fake, I’ll send you a prize!!  And it will be a real prize, not some mix disc I made or something.  Good luck!

I’ve also linked to a few bands here or there, to some interesting or awesome song, video, or website, if you ever find yourself terribly bored with extra time on your hands.

Without further ado, the list:

101.  MGMT
100. I’m From Barcelona
99.   Oppenheimer
98.  Invert
97.  Constantines
96.  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
95.  Mother Mother
94.  Hollerado
93.  We vs. Death
92.  Interpol
91.  I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
90.  Thursday
89.  Stone Temple Pilots
88.  Mooney Suzuki
87.  Razorlight
86.  The Great Depression
85.  The Two Koreas
84.  The Mercury Project
83.  Tea Leaf Green
82.  This Will Destroy You
81.  Iron & Wine
80.  Band of Horses
79.  The Stills
78.  Jefferson Airplane
77.  Monsterpants
76.  The Walkmen
75.  Drive-By Truckers
74.  Black Mountain
73.  Pelican
72.  Animal Collective
71.  dd/mm/yyyy
70.  Cage the Elephant
69.  We are Scientists
68.  TV on the Radio
67.  Tegan and Sara
66.  Yeasayer
65.  Editors
64.  The National
63.  Islands
62.  Library Voices
61.  Caribou
60.  Stars
59.  Grizzly Bear
58.  The Presidents of the United States of America
57.  Fuel
56.  Low
55.  The Talking Heads
54.  The Hold Steady
53.  Kaiser Chiefs
52.  Mogwai
51.  Arctic Monkeys
50.  Bush
49.  Franz Ferdinand
48.  Do Make Say Think
47.  Jets Overhead
46.  The Ghost is Dancing
45.  Architecture in Helsinki
44.  Fire on Fire
43.  The Emily Wells Trio
42.  Creedence Clearwater Revival
41.  Dave Matthews Band
40.  The Shins
39.  Deerhunter
38.  Primitive Radio Gods
37.  Barenaked Ladies
36.  Nirvana
35.  Sven Gali
34.  The Trews
33.  The Cribs
32.  Doves
31.  The Cape May
30.  Man Man
29.  Indigo Girls
28.  Sigur Ros
27.  Neil Young and Crazy Horse
26.  The Violent Femmes
25.  Grinderman
24.  Rage Against the Machine
23.  The Postal Service
22.  Fleet Foxes
21.  Kings of Leon
20.  The Frames
19.  Cold War Kids
18.  Silversun Pickups
17.  The Airborne Toxic Event
16.  Modest Mouse
15.  Hey Rosetta!
14.  The Decemberists
13.  My Morning Jacket
12.  Phish
11.  Pink Floyd
10.  Godspeed You Black Emperor!
9.    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
8.    Radiohead
7.    The Arcade Fire
6.    Explosions in the Sky
5.    LIVE
4.    Death Cab For Cutie
3.    The Beatles
2.    Seven Mary Three
1.    Pearl Jam

Picture Sunday: “It’s the Rattlesnake I fear.”

Was driving home from work this morning (I worked the overnight last night), listening to the LIVE song “Rattlesnake” over and over again, amazed by how two verses and a chorus could keep revealing new things to me, and how I kept feeling more and more like I had a very personal connection to the song, and how it was even possible Ed was thinking about the very highway I was on when he wrote the song.  Then I realized it was Sunday, and I needed some pictures for my blog.  So I kept “Rattlesnake” on repeat and drove around Carlisle and its surrounding areas (as a light drizzle gradually turned into an ice storm) and I took pictures that were “inspired” by the song blasting from my car.  I often pulled over to the side of a road and left my door hang open so I could even hear the song as I snapped the photos.  I encourage you to play the YouTube video which I have posted before the pictures (it’s just the studio version of the song) as you view the pics.  And if you end up loving the song, under the YouTube video there’s a link to an awesome live performance of the song!  Without further ado, the pics:

And here is a rad live performance of the song!

Great quotes from LIVE songs! Join in with your own in the comments section as we mourn LIVE together!

My car became the church and I
the worshiper of silence there.
In a moment peace came over me,
and the one who was beating my heart appeared.

–“The Distance”

I know that I should think about giving,
think about helping out,
think about living,
but I can’t seem to rescue myself.

–“Mirror Song”

We are, by and large, the same.

–“Stage”

I was thirsty for everything
but water wasn’t my style.

–“Voodoo Lady”

And if I don’t know who to love
I love them all.
And if I don’t know who to trust
I trust them all.
And if I don’t know who to kill
I may kill myself instead.

–“Brothers Unaware”

When the brain is dead,
and the mind has taken over–
this is a skill, this is not a game–
where have you been,
are you with us?
Can you hear us?

–“T.B.D.”

Come on baby leave some change behind.
She was a bitch, but I don’t care.

–“Waitress”

It’s a crazy, crazy mixed up town,
but it’s the rattlesnake I fear.
In another place, in another time
I’d be drivin’ trucks, my dear.
I’d be skinnin’ hunted deer.

Let’s go hang out in a bar.
It’s not too far.
We’ll take my car.
We’ll lay flowers at the grave of Jesco White,
the sinner’s saint.
The rack is full and so are we,
of laughing gas and ennui.

–“Rattlesnake”

I have forever always tried
to stay clean and constantly baptized.
I am aware that the river’s banks, they are dry,
and to wait for a flood
is to wait for life.

–“Pain Lies on the Riverside”

Warm bodies, I sense,
are not machines that can only make money.

–“Pillar of Davidson”

“Free love” is a knife through the jugular vein, son!
“Free love”, I can’t afford to add up what you fuckers are made of!

–“Unsheathed”

Why You Should Love LIVE

If you only click on one thing in this entry, do yourself a huge favor and watch the YouTube clip of the band playing “Lakini’s Juice” live at the end of the entry.

One of the more painful facts of my existence (which proves I have a pretty easy existence) is the fact that a large majority of my friends gave up liking the band LIVE more than ten years ago.  I’m here to tell you you’re wrong, and why you’re wrong.  (also, in case you didn’t know, they broke up last week.)

At the outset here, I am going to grant you that there are a myriad of reasons to NOT like the band LIVE (and yes, I always type their name in all caps).  I will not, and have never (or, rarely) denied the existence of these negative factors involved with liking LIVE.  Once I have admitted the negative factors, I will then show how the positives overpower the negatives, or even how the negatives are a necessary by-product of true rock greatness.

Reasons to dislike LIVE:

1.  Ed Kowalczyk’s lyrics are occasionally sappy, unoriginal,  overly derivative, obvious, or just plain bad.

2.  The last few albums were bad in many ways: generic rock-radio riffs and song structures, lyrics and themes of pseudo-New Age Christian nonsense which continually repeated itself, mixed way too loud so you can’t tell the instruments apart.

3.  Way too many uses of water as a symbol for one band’s catalog.  I mean, really.

4.  The band’s most successful album, Throwing Copper, got severely overplayed in the late ’90s.

Why You Need to Love LIVE

1.  Firstly, it is my belief that any serious discussion of LIVE must first discount the last few albums (mainly Birds of Pray and Songs From Black Mountain. and to a lesser extent, V) as albums no longer made by the “band” LIVE–band in the sense of a co-operative–and simply as mouthpieces for a clearly artistically spent Kowalczyk.  The “band” LIVE almost certainly only co-operatively made the albums up to and perhaps including V. The following points will refer only to the albums from Mental Jewelry through V.

2.  Kowalczyk’s lyrics get ridiculous because he, unlike most rock lyricists, is absolutely shooting for the stars; he is not afraid to take chances, to appear strange or creepy, or even to appear unpopular.  When you have a lyricist trying so hard to wring truth out of words, you will sometimes get a lyric like “Our love is like water,/ pinned down and abused for being strange”, which is undeniably absolute nonsense.  But most safe bands wouldn’t risk such a transgression.  Aerosmith would have nixed that song from the start, and they also would have nixed the song “Lakini’s Juice”, with lyrics like “More wine!  Cause I got to have it. / More skin!  Cause I’ve got to eat it.”  And for my money, “Lakini’s Juice” is one of the major rock triumphs of the ’90s–if not ever.

So, long story short, Kowalczyk is far from a bad lyricist.  In fact, he was fairly inspired.  But when you’re going yard all the time, some of them will be foul balls.

(note: Ed’s lyrics are not subversive in the actual sense, but only in comparison to other bands shooting for mainstream appeal.  But still.)

3.  While I’m talking about lyrics, I might as well expound a little bit on that subject.  Kowalczyk is the only mainstream rock frontman (frontman=NOT a solo artist) who I can think of who crafted such a well-wrought, thoughtful, complicated COMPREHENSIVE WORLDVIEW over the course of four albums.  LIVE songs were NEVER just songs to notch into an album; every entry was one more brick into Ed’s thesis of life.  It’s quite impressive.

I could write a doctoral dissertation on the subject, but a really, REALLY brief overview of it goes something like this:

Mental Jewelry: Be spiritual but practical.  Enjoy life and help others.  Be of use.  Stop hating.  Together, we can really do this.

Throwing Copper: Be spiritual but practical.  Enjoy life and help others.  Be of use.  Stop hating.  Together, we can really do this.  And there is going to be dirt amongst the beauty.  In some of the dirt, there is beauty.  And some of the dirt is just dirt.

Secret Samadhi: Be spiritual but practical.  Enjoy life and help others.  Be of use.  Stop hating.  Together, we can really do this.  And there is going to be dirt amongst the beauty.  In some of the dirt, there is beauty.  And some of the dirt is just dirt. It is natural to want to like some of the actual dirt.  Do not hate yourself for wanting to be filthy–but the true glory of being a human being is in overcoming your basest urges.  As a human, you are destined to live in a constant state of  inner conflict.

The Distance to Here: Be spiritual but practical.  Enjoy life and help others.  Be of use.  Stop hating.  Together, we can really do this.  And there is going to be dirt amongst the beauty.  In some of the dirt, there is beauty.  And some of the dirt is just dirt. It is natural to want to like some of the actual dirt.  Do not hate yourself for wanting to be filthy–but the true glory of being a human being is in overcoming your basest urges.  As a human, you are destined to live in a constant state of conflict.  And here now we wrap around to the opening thesis: the way to survive this feeling of internal conflict is through a spiritual means–the material world cannot solve your interior problems.

V: Re-iterates all the above, plus going to the club is cool!

I cannot state enough times how much I think Secret Samadhi is one of–if not the–best lyriced rock album ever.  I say this emphatically, because most people think it’s “weird”.  This is the album where Ed really REALLY goes for it.  And while I realize the opening track–“Rattlesnake”–might not hit home for everybody, it seems like it was written for me–a guy raised in huntin’ country, in a valley in Appalachia, who doesn’t enjoy hunting, cars, trucks, guns, or even football. I am distinctly out of place here (though thankfully, lots of us are, no?)  Oh, and in case you didn’t know, LIVE is from here…like, literally RIGHT HERE, so it really does seem like they’re singing about me  (also, rattlesnakes are all over the place here in central PA)….check out Ed’s lyrics to open the album.  Here’s the chorus to “Rattlesnake”:

It’s a crazy, crazy mixed-up town,
but it’s the rattlesnake I fear.
In another place, in another time
I’d be drivin’ trucks my dear.
I’d be skinnin’ hunted deer.

I know, I know…so you identify with it, so what?  Those aren’t incredibly written lyrics.  I hear you.  But look at what I consider to be the genius shocker at the end of the song:

Let’s go hang out in a bar,
it’s not too far,
we’ll take my car.
We’ll lay flowers at the grave of Jesco White–
the sinner’s saint.
The rack is full, and so are we–
of laughing gas and ennui.

Look up what you need to look up and then spend some time pondering the end of that song.  In my opinion, Kowalczyk lets the first part of the song draw us in, by allowing us to say, “Yeah, fuck the rest of the world and where I live…I’m not like them!  I wanna be more!”, but instead of leaving the song a one-dimensional anti-authoritarian anthem, at the end, he lays the responsibility for our lives at our own feet–and indicts us for being judgmental, as he himself is, as well.  Of course, this is very much open to interpretation.

This is just the first song on Samadhi. Seriously, if I was independently wealthy, I think I’d write an entire book on just this album.  But you get the point.  Oh, I just remembered–I even think Ed reaches so hard, that even at the beginning of “Rattlesnake”–the song whose dick I just sucked–Ed has some flabbergastingly BAD lyrics (“let’s go hang out at a church/ we’ll go find Lurch/ and we’ll haul ass down through the abbey”….huh, Ed?)….but once you get to that blazingly brilliant last stanza, you’ve forgotten the earlier nonsense.

(also as a quick aside, who else would have the balls to put the lyric “I can smell your armpits”…and be totally freakin’ serious about it, in a song, as Ed does in “Century”?)

By the time they reached The Distance to Here, Ed’s spiritual agenda was front and center, but he hadn’t gotten overtly Christian yet (if you’re Christian, that’s fine, but I’m not, so you lose me from your music).  Ed’s spiritual lyrics can, of course, be really bad, even on The Distance to Here, but they are also often inspired, as in one of my favorite moments in any LIVE song, from the song “The Distance”:

My car became the church and I
the worshipper of silence there.
In a moment peace came over me
And the one who was beatin’ my heart appeared.

Yeah, I’ve felt that.  But I never could have put it that way.  You don’t have to subscribe to any organized faith to get that.

4.  Musically, LIVE could be described as “middle of the road”.  If you’re into more eccentric sounds, like Portishead or Animal Collective, you may find the majority of LIVE’s stuff too straightforward.  If you’re into primarily radio-ready modern rock, you may find some of LIVE’s early stuff too wayward (though their later stuff is perfect for you).  I can’t absolutely say that everyone can and will enjoy the music of LIVE, but I can say with zero doubt that they are all incredibly talented, and most importantly PATRICK DAHLHEIMER IS ALMOST CERTAINLY THE MOST UNDERRATED BASSIST IN ROCK MUSIC. This is mostly because LIVE arranged most of their songs in ways that did not specifically highlight this trait.  The man is capable of some incredibly intricate bass lines that don’t feel forced or unnecessary (oh hi Les Claypool) but instead are integrated into the heart and feeling of the song itself, and still logically propel it rhythmically.  Please do yourself a favor and listen to the following songs and pay attention to the bass:

Waterboy

Heropsychodreamer

Pain Lies on the Riverside

T.B.D.  (if you love life, listen to the whole song!)

’nuff said.

5.  I don’t typically give a shit about a band’s official music videos.  But for a brief period in the late ’90s, LIVE made me care, because right after they’d made the most daring rock album of the decade–Secret Samadhi–they proceeded to make some of the most daring videos ever to go along with the album.  And when I say daring, I don’t just mean risque, but also artful, difficult, and potentially alienating. The best ever is definitely “Lakini’s Juice”.  This song serves as the thematic centerpiece to the album–remember all that stuff about internal conflict and base urges–and as such, the video tackles the theme head on, with surprising candor and what was, at the time, shocking images.  (I still have trouble watching when Ed washes the woman’s feet and sings beside her on the round bed).  It is not an easy video for the viewer; there is layered symbolism, intentional focus problems, and a definite air of the creepy.  But “Lakini’s Juice” is no simple or happy song, and it deserved such a video:

At first glance, their follow up video to “Lakini’s Juice”–a video for the song “Freaks”–doesn’t appear as daring.  To be sure, the images aren’t as immediately startling.  But what. Is. With. ALL.  THE. MILK.

Look at the milk everywhere, it is creepy as fuck.

What is the exact plot of the video?  How do the plot of the video and the symbol of the milk help to inform and expand upon the lyrical content of the song?  And how does all this help to expand upon Ed’s greater thesis of life up to this point (Secret Samadhi)?  LIVE doesn’t make it easy for us, and that’s because this is actual art.

6.  LIVE is (was) one the absolutely most electrifying live acts out there.  When I’d go to see LIVE, I would be rocking out during every moment, even during songs I disliked (most notably, they were always able to make me jump around like a maniac to The Dolphin’s Cry–a truly crappy song).  The lion’s share of credit for this goes to, of course, Ed, but also to lead guitarist Chad Taylor, who managed to engage the audience on a personal level more than any guitarist I’ve ever seen.  The band had been rocking a long time, and had seen a significant drop in popularity over the years, but they never dialed it in.  They went out there every night with the intent of putting on the world’s best rock show.  They never did quite do it, because Pearl Jam exists  (I gotta keep it real), but they got damn close!

Here is the band playing “Lakini’s Juice”.  It’s from earlier this year–2009–so you can see just how much they were still rocking at this point in their career.  Notice how involved with the crowd Chad Taylor is, and how totally mobile he is.  He really only technically plays from stage left–he’s sometimes more mobile than Ed is!  I seriously have trouble watching this without jumping around, and it’s also moving me to near tears to know I’ll never be in that throng again, jumping to this song, which is so amazing live I’ve almost died before when they play it:

7.  I am truly stumped about why Ed used so many water images throughout their catalog.  Oh, and really, how many songs are you gonna write with “Dream” in the title?  The world shall always be mystified.

8. I typed this in one mad dash.  If you could point out the typos to me, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Seth’s Favorites of 2009: Concerts

Other favorites of 2009:

Magazines
Poetry
Television

I made it to a few less concerts in 2009 than I do in most years, mostly due to my decision to see less bands multiple times.  Despite the fact that I ended up missing epic, once-in-a-lifetime Pearl Jam shows, I stand by this decision.  It allowed me the time and finances to see more unique bands in more distant locales, resulting in not just some incredible shows, but fantastic all-around experiences.  My only big regret of the year is missing Kings of Leon on their first big arena tour; although I’ve seen them once before (opening for Pearl Jam in ’08), I’d have loved to see them on a grand scale.  Without further ado:

5.  LIVE, New Jersey

I saw two consecutive LIVE shows in New Jersey with a slew of awesome people, including my sister, Ron, Billhanna, and Bootney Lee Pharnsworth.  (half of you were supposed to come to one of these shows with me, but you are bad, bad people who all bitched out at the last moment).  I’ve seen LIVE lots of times now–I’m not even sure how many–but it never, ever stops being awesome.  Both shows this year were identical setlists, though they both had great energy, and the band pulled out a few hum-dinger rarities (“Gas Hed Goes West”, “The Distance”) as well as playing scorching versions of old favorites like “Lakini’s Juice” and “I, Alone”.  But the biggest deal, at least to my sister and I, were the opener and closer for each show.  Opener=”Purifier”.  Closer=“White, Discussion”.

Here are the final, amazing moments to the version of “White, Discussion” myself, Adrienne, and Ron saw the first night at the Starland Ballroom:

4.  Silversun Pickups, Virginia

My first time seeing this band, one of the more recent additions to my “favorite bands” list, and the show did not disappoint at all!!!  I had front row and was able to make pretty steady eye contact with lead singer Brian Aubert and bassist Nikki Monninger, as they played, basically, every single one of my favorite songs, essentially in the order I’d have asked for them to be played.  I mean, c’mon,they opened with “Growing Old is Getting Old”–mind-blowing!  A very tight, rehearsed band.

No YouTube exists of the the show I was at, but here’s a video from another show where they opened with “Growing Old”.  It’s a song that requires some patience to really get to the payoff:

3.  Seven Mary Three, Reading, PA

There is a huge blog entry about this show here.  There’s not much more I can say about it that isn’t already there.  I should just say that although it was clearly an amazing experience for me, concert-wise, nothing could possibly come close to touching the experiences I had with the #1 and 2 entries here.

2.  Man Man, Washington D.C.

There is also a pre-existing entry for this concert here.  But allow me to just re-iterate that I have never seen anything quite like this show.  I have never felt so compelled to move, never felt so much energy in a room that my skin shimmered with the excitement, never smiled so big and wide for so long after a show.  If you ever get a chance, you MUST see these guys.  There’s no YouTube from our show, but watch this anyway:

1.  Explosions in the Sky, Central Park, New York

Mary and I had a fantastic (yet I must say, truly adventurous) time getting to and seeing this show.  (original blog viewable here)  When I think back to this show, I still feel a spiritual uplifting, a true movement of my soul–whatever you think that means.  This sort of feeling is what seeing live music is all about for me, and it happens all too infrequently.  Do yourself a favor if you have an extra 20 minutes:  listen to this song here, and then watch the YouTube video below.  Once again, this is a band that requires patience, but your patience will pay incredible dividends.

Here’s the same song again, but from the Central Park show Mary and I were at.  The first video I posted has such superior audio and visuals I couldn’t in good conscience post only the Central Park video: