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10 TRACK MIND: Doomed for a well-garnished tomb
Critical Mass contributor Ryan Carey set his iPod to shuffle. This is where it led him ...
10 TRACK MIND: Doomed for a well-garnished tomb
Critical Mass contributor Ryan Carey set his iPod to shuffle. This is where it led him ...
1. Radiohead, "Feral" -- King of Limbs (2011)
Radiohead's latest release shows they're finished reinventing themselves (for now) and they've settled on ambient psychetronica, which draws mixed reactions from fans. But they're having fun and certainly don't owe us anything. Feral is a somewhat minimalist pulsing rhythm which waves York's lyrical vocals all over like an oscillating fan.
2. Morphine "Rope on Fire" -- The Night (2000)
The Night, Morphine's final album before lead singer and bassist Mark Sandman passed away on stage in Italy, was more critically acclaimed that its 1997 predecessor, Like Swimming. Reason probably being, The Night is a bit darker, dense, poetic, artsy. Like Swimming was more entertaining, groovy, and accessible, which is not necessarily Morphine's fanbase wheelhouse. But "Rope on Fire" — one of their few tracks to feature acoustic guitar — is one of The Night's more toe-tapping head bobbers, despite its gypsyish minor scales. R.I.P Mark Sandman.
3. Screaming Trees "Troubled Times" -- Sweet Oblivion (1992)
"Troubled Times" starts off with a slow paced bluesy riff and low key vocals on self reflection. After a few measures it breaks into Oasis-y guitar-drenched rock riffs and verses about a relationship underachiever (to put it mildly). Sweet Oblivion was seen as the highwater mark for the Trees, and is the album you most likely have heard of, however I have to personally refer you to their 1996 follow up Dust.
4. System of a Down "Mind" -- System of a Down (1998)
This insanely effed up metal tune (about... child-abuse? adolescent sex? government mind control?) is one of those tracks that hadn't really been on my radar. I love System of a Down, but I love them in a very specific way. The brilliant Toxicity is tied to a time and place for me, and its follow up, Steal This Album, appealed to my generally not-that-hardcore musical taste. For all I know, I might not have ever listened to their eponymous album in its entirety but this song, with dynamic quiet and heavy parts, is powerful stuff.
5. Little Dragon "Recommendation" -- Little Dragon (2007)
Giving a little bit of R&B to electro-pop, Little Dragon was something my wife got me into. About time, she owes me for almost ten years of recommendations that she now calls faves. Still, Little Dragon is not exactly my wheelhouse for electro-pop and my favorite work they've done is probably on the new Gorillaz album (which is actually somewhat common regarding Albarn collaborators). This tune is a good coffee shop rocker with a fun beat, some pretty vocals and a cool synth solo.
6. The Secret Machines "Still See You" -- September 000 (2002)
This debut EP by this Texas based psyche-rock trio is actually on my "To Listen" queue. Which is strange because they're one of my favorite bands, who I've seen live on four or five occasions. Only problem is that September 000 was loaded on my iPod at a swap meet during a time when I had other horizons occupying my radar. "Still See You" starts off with slow acoustic guitar, which, similar to Morphine, is not typical of the band's sound. After a minute, it bursts into upbeat pop rock, light on the pyschedelia and only 2:47 long. Way more Flaming Lipsier than I'm used to from them, but I like it.
7. Tom Waits "Jersey Girl" -- Heartattack and Vine, (1980)
I knew Waits was gonna show up at some point, just due to the sheer percentage of disk volume he takes up on my iPod. I was just curious as to which Waits it would be: "the sitting' in a sycamore in St. John's woods soaking day old bread in kerosene" Waits (awesome), or the "The piano has been drinking, waltzing Matilda" Waits (unlistenable). I like a musician who wows me one minute and repels me the next — it's important to let me know that they're not my psychic slaves, and I respect that. But, in the love-or-hate world of Tom Waits, people sometimes forget that in addition to insanely original, effective songwriting and pure pop crap, there's a third category of Tom Waits: somewhat straightforward, traditional folk-pop. A smaller portion of his catalog, certainly, but it's definitely in there. It's Waits, so it's always heartfelt, but I'm just so rarely in the mood for a so thoroughly explored idiom. And when I am, it's not a particularly Waitsy mood. Still, ridiculously sappy and decidedly uncool tunes like "Jersey Girl" remind you that Tom Waits in a genuine article whose music is never informed by trying to look slick. And if we learned anything from Phil Hoffman's Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, it's that the only currency left in the bankrupt world is time you spend with people while you're uncool.
8. The Mars Volta "Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore" (Pisacis Phra-Men-Ma) -- Francis The Mute (2005).
One of the more mild-mannered four minutes of Mars Volta available in my experience, the Pisacis chapter of "Miranda" isn't unlike a Pink Floyd interlude during "Echoes." I'm really glad City Paper asked me to do this experiment because there's a lot of cool stuff on my iPod I haven't given a whirl in a little while. I generally don't dig into the Mars Volta stuff, as it's generally too frantic and the singer's timbre doesn't really do it for me. And this track doesn't say a whole lot on its own, but it has definitely piqued my interest, and I will now take a deadline-afflicting break from this assignment to listen to some more of Francis The Mute.
9. Primus "Pilcher's Squad" -- Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People (2003)
Okay, back on track. One of the unique things about Primus to me is that I prefer their serious stuff to their playful stuff. This is usually the opposite for my musical preferences, but I suppose Primus is so inherently silly that when they really get serious, it's like genius 5th graders creating fusion. "Pilcher's Squad" is the only silly song on this platinum-certified EP. At two minutes long and having a dynamic that might as well be the South Park theme, it's sort of like losing the lottery that I don't get to write about My Friend Fats or Mary the Icecube. Cuz there's not much to say about "Pilcher's Squad." From another band, it might be one of my faves. But from Primus it's a sound-check at best. I'm working on separating my brain from this sort of lumped-in emotional thinking in order to heighten my enjoyment of all things, but it's definitely a work in progress.
10. Jaco Pastorius (Used to be a) Cha-Cha -- Jaco Pastorius (1976)
Jaco takes on a bit of Latin flair on this fast-paced, bongo-heavy groove. The nine-minute track from one of the most important American bassists ever is actually more expressive for its piano and flute solos than it's bassline. This is not to say that Jaco doesn't shred the shit out of things and offer a sweet bass solo three minutes in, but relative to other Jaco experiences, he stays more felt than heard on this one, if such a thing can be said of him.
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