Paul Simon - "The Rhythm of the Saints"

I woke up this morning still wiped out from this cold that is lingering. (That's my excuse for neglecting my blog duties yesterday.) I wanted to put on some music that was pleasant and would help me wake up, but wouldn't upset my delicate system very much. "The Rhythm of the Saints" was somehow on top of a pile of cds, though I haven't listened to it in a long time. It was the perfect soundtrack to my sleepy morning.

I have a feeling that Paul Simon is one of those musicians you either like or you don't. I doubt there are many people out there who like one of his albums but not the others. I happen to like most of his stuff, and so I like this album. But I don't think it's worth my time trying to convince anyone who's not a Paul Simon fan to listen to this one.

If you do like Paul Simon, and you haven't heard "The Rhythm of the Saints," or haven't listened to it in a while, I'd recommend it. I'm no expert on his career, but it seems like he spent some time in South Africa, and then put out "Graceland," and then he spent some time in Brazil, and consequently put this album out. "Rhythm" isn't the classic that "Graceland" is, but it's really good. Typical Paul Simon melodies and lyrics, but with some Brazilian percussion to back them up. There are moments when it's obvious that it was recorded in 1989 - the bass slapping at the beginning of "She Moves On" is a dead give away. But overall, it's a really solid album of easy to listen to melodies, thoughtful lyrics and fun rhythms.

Totally Hits 2

Ahem. This is going to be a short one. If you were listening to pop music in 1999, you'll know these songs. I must have bought this cd for a party we threw at Green Street, which makes me feel less unclean for owning it, cause I know we had a good time. I can guess which track I was after, but I'm not tellin. I will, however, indicate which songs I'm burning into my own collection tonight. And if 1999 was a fabulous year for you, and you have really fond memories of these songs, or if there's just one of them that you'd be psyched to hear again, claim this cd. It's yours.

Here are the fine tracks of "Totally Hits 2."

Santana (featuring The Product G&B) "Maria Maria" - nope
Christina Aguilera "Genie In a Bottle" - definitely
Third Eye Blind "Never Let You Go" - nah
Sugar Ray "Falls Apart" - no way
Lonestar "Amazed" - um, no
Lou Bega "Mambo No. 5" - ack
Madonna "Beautiful Stranger" - sorry, no
Whitney Houston "My Love Is Your Love" - have to, it's an anthem (I didn't say it was good.)
Filter "Take A Picture" - cute, but no
TLC "Dear Lie" - oh how far they fall
Missy Elliott "Hot Boyz" - love it.
Moby "Natural Blues" - sure, though not quite sure why
LFO "Girl On TV" - this got recorded?!
N Sync "I Drive Myself Crazy" - thank god JT found Timbaland and Pherrell
Donell Jones "U Know What's Up" - yeah, so smooth, i'm into it
Monica "Right Here Waiting" - a Richard Marx cover???? that's low
REM "The Great Beyond" - no need
Sarah McLachlan "I Will Remember You" - nausea

Josh Ritter - "The Animal Years"

When my sister was finishing up at Oberlin, in early 2000, we were chatting on the phone one day and she admitted something to me. There was a guy at Oberlin who sang and played the guitar, and she actually liked his music. Emily and I share the same apprehension when it comes to singer songwriters, and I think it's safe to say that she has even less tolerance than I do. (I admitted in an earlier post that I've never been a huge fan of female singer songwriters, but in truth, I don't have much stomach for male singer songwriters either.) So, for Em to be psyched about this guy, he had to be pretty cool.

Indeed, Josh Ritter is downright exceptional. By the time I got around to acquiring any of his albums, I was able to get both his self-titled debut (which I'm pretty sure he put out while still a student at Oberlin) and his follow up "Golden Age of Radio" that came out in 2002. I loved them both. I listened to them pretty consistently for a long time. And happily I found that, though definitely influenced by folk traditions, Josh Ritter is definitely not just a folk singer, and definitely not a guy with a guitar feeling sorry for himself. He's a really talented, fun, creative musician. His compositions go way beyond vocals and guitar to achieve big, full sounds. In fact, when I checked his website tonight, I found that he's about to do two (sold out) shows in Dublin with a 24 piece orchestra.

Over the last bunch of years, Josh Ritter has definitely garnered a lot of media attention. I've heard him interviewed multiple times on NPR. I'm sure producers and hosts love him, 'cause he's a smart, witty, affable guy who comes across super humble. When he started getting a lot of press, people were throwing labels at him like "the next Bob Dylan." That's pretty serious. I don't know why people do that, but it's definitely indicative of how impressed the critics have been, so that's got to be nice. From a very outside perspective, it seems that he's been able to stay grounded and just keep evolving as a musician.

Josh Ritter has released three albums since I picked up those first two. I dutifully bought "Hello Starling" in 2003, and "The Animal Years" in 2006. However, I had gotten to the point where I felt like I loved the first two albums so much that if I needed a Josh Ritter fix, I'd just put one of those on. I never developed much of a relationship with the next two, and I have yet to purchase "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter," which was released this year. So I was a little worried when I pulled "The Animal Years" out of the drawer today and faced the prospect of writing about it. When I put it on, it was good to be reminded that I do really like his music, even the albums I don't know that well.

"The Animal Years" offers a nice array of songs. One of the things I really appreciate about Josh Ritter is that he can pull off super upbeat anthems, and really quiet meditations. You definitely get the gamut on this album. I'd say that overall, this cd is on the more serious side of his work, but if I can get into it, it can't be too much of a downer. I love the way he weaves in Biblical and scientific references. I'm sure that if I really took the time to pay attention to these lyrics, I'd realize that there are some good thoughts being offered. I've heard that this is his most overtly political album.

Poking around on his website today, I loved what I read. In one interview, Josh Ritter explained that after "The Animal Years" came out, he felt like "there was a premium being placed on earnestness that can be pretty stifling." Oh, I love that! So he decided to try an entirely new way of composing his next album - he put down the guitar and plucked things out on the upright piano, an instrument he doesn't even really play. He chose muses that made him happy, like Calamity Jane. That makes me want to listen to "The Historical Conquests" for sure. I mean, I've heard the single on the radio, and liked that (he's versatile enough to get a single on the radio!) but now I want to hear the whole thing.

I have a feeling that when push comes to shove, "The Animal Years" won't end up being my favorite Josh Ritter album of all time. But it's a really solid album, and it's nice to know that I do actually like it, and am happy to have it in my collection. If you want to add it to yours, definitely let me know and it'll be on its way to you. Either way, keep an eye on Josh Ritter. I think he'll be around for a long time, and I trust that he'll always be putting out quality work.

The Sea and Cake - "Everybody"

I love The Sea and Cake. They're definitely one of my all time favorites, but in a very particular way. I never get super excited about them, can't remember the names of any of their songs, and can't sing along to them (though I can whistle along). And still I love them. My friend Meryl once said that when she doesn't know what else to put on, she always turns to The Sea and Cake. Exactly. They're almost always a really nice soundtrack to my life. They never offend my ears. I don't know what their lyrics mean, they seem almost like random phrases strung together, and whenever I choose to pay attention the phrase of that moment resonates just fine. I don't even know how to describe what genre their music would fall under - pop? indie rock? electronica? ambient? It's a mish mash, but it all works together.

Lucky for me, they're very prolific. All of these guys have other projects going on, yet over the last fifteen years, they've put out eight albums as The Sea and Cake. The album that really got me, when I started paying more attention, is "The Fawn," which came out in 1996. It's definitely on my top ten list. Once I was hooked on that, I made sure I had their previous albums, and have bought each one they've put out since. "Everybody" came out in 2007. I like it as much as I like any of their other albums. I don't often reach for it first, in part because I'm not a huge fan of the first track, so that kind of throws me off. It's more heavily rock influenced than a lot of their work tends to be, as is the third track. But when I let it play beyond those first few songs, I remember that I really like most of the album. There are a couple of singles that stand out - "Coconut" got a lot of airplay on WERS here in Boston, and "Exact to Me" also gets in your head. In a good way. Really, the whole album is good. Which pieces you'll love the most just depend on your personal preferences - and this band gives you a ton of options.

So, in a nutshell, if you don't own any Sea and Cake, you should. They're really impressive musicians, and their music is unlike any other group. At least that I know of. If you don't have "Everybody," I'd be happy to pass it on to you.

Liz Phair - "whitechocolatespaceegg"

People tend to have strong feelings about Liz Phair. When I worked at WOBC in college, we hated her. All of us. We had a picture of her in the station office, and we would throw things at it. Not sure that we had actual darts, but whatever we could find we would throw. I was never totally sure why we hated her, other than that she was interviewed in Rolling Stone and said that Oberlin was totally lame. (I love that all those radical kids were so offended by someone dissing their school.) I was so good at going along with things like that that I honestly never listened to her until I graduated.

It was amazing to finally put on "Exile in Guyville" and realize that it was pretty damn great. I've never been very attracted to female singer songwriters in general. That's sometimes made me feel like a traitor to my gender, but I've just never had much patience, or been moved by, a lot of the sappy, breathy stuff that has gotten produced in that genre over the past couple of decades. I'm sure there are all kinds of sexism involved in what actually ends up getting produced and recorded by women, and the end result is that a lot of it just doesn't appeal to me. That's one of the reasons I was so psyched when I finally listened to Liz Phair, cause there's none of that going on - the sappy, breathy stuff, that is.

When I sat down to write this review of "whitechocolatespaceegg," I kept thinking, "I just like this." I've been thinking about why that is, and realizing that Liz Phair on her first three (widely distributed) albums represents some core aspects of my demographic almost perfectly. She nails the confidence, frustration, confusion, and bravado of white, overly liberally educated single women in the 90s. I love this trio of albums in descending order. "Exile" is amazing, "Whipsmart" is great, and "whitechocolatespaceegg" is real good. Nothing I've heard from or about her since then has made me want to re-engage, and that's okay with me. She captured that 90s era vibe, and somehow she hasn't translated into the 21st century. I'm sure there are all kinds of reasons for that, both personal and political.

The drama of Liz Phair's career has been written about a lot, if you're interested. You can even start with wikipedia. I know I should probably be more focused on all of that, but what's more important to me is that when I played "whitechocolatespaceegg" today, I realized that I still know all the words, even though I haven't listened to it in years. (Sara, I just remembered that the memorization of all these lyrics on "whitechocolatespaceegg" started that really hot summer night when you and I got stuck on the crossbronx for hours and hours!) It's been fun to get these songs stuck in my head again today, and to reconnect with my circa 1998 self. And yes, to struggle a little bit again with what her career has meant in my life and in pop music. I'm happily burning the whole album into my collection. If you want to sing along too, just let me know, I'll mail it off to ya.

Lisa Stansfield - "Biography"

Wooooow. I don't even know what to say about this collection of "greatest hits." Lisa Stansfield has a strong voice, though there's nothing interesting about it other than she's got a pretty decent range. She recorded a lot of songs in the late 80s/early 90s in basically the new soul/smooth jazz vein. Most of the tracks have really prominent bass lines, much like other British soul acts from this era - M People, that sort of group. Honestly, what I picture when I listen to this album is someone getting ready to go out for the night, drinking a glass of red wine, dancing in front of the mirror on a white shag carpet, and singing along to these tracks really loudly. If you need some of that in your life, I can't tell you how happy I would be to send you this cd. For the most part, I'm mortified that it is in my collection.

I will admit that I am burning one track, because it's the reason that I spent money on this album. Here's the story: when I was in high school, my entire family went on a tour of New England colleges together. My poor sister was in 6th grade, and got dragged along. The trip was basically a bust - I only ended up applying to one of the schools we saw. And the strongest memory that any of us seem to have of that week (other than my sister learning to ask tour guides if their schools guaranteed housing all four years) was spending hours upon hours in the car singing, "Been around the world and I I I, I can't find my baby....." Yes, Lisa Stansfield. We happened to take this college tour during the one week in history when she was at the top of the charts. God help us.