Moro med Insomnia Blog

Dette er et power metal fylt kolonnen, med ingen av lettere ting som av og til frysninger i.

CD anmeldelser

Dio: Donnington Live 1983-1987

Navnet ganske mye sier alt. Disse er Dio er satt på de respektive Donnington Festival år. Den første platen er fra debut av hans Ronnie James Dio's solo band, med en svært ung Vivian Campbell (nå i Def Leppard via Whitesnake) og den andre inneholder "etablerte" Dio's triumferende retur. Mens noen kan beklage det er ganske mye av replikering på disse to CDene, vil de fleste fans ikke bryr seg. 25 låter fra den mye savnet Dio er ikke noe å bli spottet. Det levende konserter ble registrert opprinnelig av BBC i dag. Til tross for sin alder er det ingen av vanlige problemer du kan ha med noen BBC ting, er lydkvaliteten ganske respektabelt.

Som forventet fra den vokale legenden som er Dio, hvis karriere diagrammer noen veldig store høyder selv tilbake på 80-tallet, er dette noen bra ting. Du får høre hans versjoner av Dio-era Black Sabbath og Rainbow. Det er ingenting som en full-on versjon av "Heaven & Hell" for å få saftene renner. Du ville bli hardt presset som enten en metal fan eller tilhenger av Dio ikke å nyte alt som er på tilbud her. Det kan bare få deg til å oppsøke CD-versjoner av alle dine gamle Dio album. Den tidlige Dio utgivelser virkelig stå testen av tid i ganske imponerende måte.

Alle har sin favoritt Dio spor og mellom de to CDene sjansene er en av disse CDene vil ha den sangen. Mens kanskje ikke den beste live-CDer noensinne er slett respektable CDer fra et bra band. Så igjen med den legendariske frontmannen Dio ved roret hvordan akkurat du kan gå galt?

Atlantean Codex: The Golden Bough

Løst basert på verkene til en Sir James George Frazer og hans teori om at alle religioner kom fra de samme grunnleggende rot. Den berusende ting for en power metal-CD som er sikkert. Saken om CD-en som er ganske merkelig album er at det er mye vann lyder på den. De som har drukket mye kan ønske å gå på do først. Dette er ganske smart etablering og mange av sangene stå på sine egne. Tatt i betraktning saksforholdet det ville sjokkere ingen å høre det er et spor, «A profeten i skogen", som klokker inn på 15 minutter.

Dette er ikke en CD for de svake i tålmodighet. Dens en episk reise med all slags fascinerende svingene. Det er ingenting galt med denne CD per se, men det bare tar ganske mye tålmodighet for å komme gjennom for ofte. Dette er en dypt gjennomtenkt utgivelse. Det er enda et spor fra hvorfra bandet tar det navnet. Hvis du liker metal dype og vel gjennomtenkte så gir denne mye en prøve. Ingen knyttneve pumping i luften, men mer en reise i sinnet.

Astrosoniq: Quadrant

Til tross for navnet er dette ikke noen trendy danse gruppe som skriver spor for e-popping Ibiza rave sett. Selv om det er et tidligere medlem av bandet kalt Urban Dance Squad. De er faktisk en ganske god merkevare av psykedelisk space heavy rock. Nå er dette ikke papirstoppen steinet ganske merkelig albumness av Hawkwind, det er langt mer struktur enn det. Men de gjør prøve kjøkkenvasken type musikk som aldri svinger i over toppen Pokker området av sjangeren. Den ganske pent satt sammen.

Denne slags rom rock til tider føles litt stoner rock kombinert med noen smarte tastaturet trolldom. "Lokket" er et flott spor som siver ut av høyttalerne og er tidløs. Det er den type spor som ville fungere bra i noen sci-fi epos i hva tiåret det ble gjort. På sporet "Zero", detalj de angrepet på Pearl Harbor med hjelp fra band Zeus.

Det er ikke vanskelig å se hvorfor det tok tre år å gjøre dette. Den klart et prosjekt med masse engasjement og profesjonalitet. Hvis du er i noen spacey heavy rock som bare skriker å være en film lyd-spor og sjekk denne gjengen ut.

På Vance: Tiår

Som du kan forestille deg fra tittelen på denne CDen, er det en wrap-up av de siste ti årene av dette bandets historie. Ikke bare en greatest hits tankene du, med en full andre CD med cover låter som spenner fra klassisk til Abba. Jeg vedder på at du aldri trodde "The Winner Takes det alle" kunne bli omgjort til en power metal spor? Egentlig de dekker to Abba låter også "Money Money" og "SOS" i tillegg. Er det ingenting du ikke kan gjøre med en Abba sang? Også inkludert er en ganske god dekning av Eagles '"Desperado".

Den klassiske låter ganske ofte minne om band som Emerson Lake & Palmer, og kan være så pretensiøs av noen. Så igjen de er en neo-klassisk metal band, så den slags dekke er forventet.

Samlet er dette en verdi for pengene samling fra en populær europeisk power metal band. Tretti-sju låter er ganske imponerende for noen utgivelse, og det er nok variasjon på her for å holde interessen. Mens kanskje ikke den beste intro til bandet sitt absolutt en god samling for de som liker bandet. Og hvem kan motstå et power metal versjon av "Shout"?

Blant annet spor fra en eneste av deres utgivelser er en fin touch. Hvis du liker litt humor med power metal dette kan være å slippe for deg.

Revolution Renaissance: Trinity

Albumet Tittelen gjenspeiler det faktum dette er tredje album i en tre album sykle fra Timo Tolkki og mannskap. Akkurat som da han var en del av Stradivarius, er han mastermind til RR. Innvielsen og minutiae besatt Muso produserer noen fine tekniske power metal. Dette er ikke for svak til hjertet eller de som finner noe smart pretensiøs.

De ti minutt Tittelsporet er noe å se, og er et flott spor. Det er en sang som aldri klarer å finne seg selv overbelastes og beveger seg langs i ganske imponerende orden. Som sa at det er ingen kalkun på henne overhodet. Det er noen av de mest imponerende power metal, vil du høre overalt. "Crossing the Rubicon" er en episk låt som bare stikker i hodet.

"Frozen Winter Heart" er en stormakt ballade å fullføre hele albumet av med sitt hjerte-filt vokal og akustisk intro. Dette er ganske mye malen for hvordan å produsere en god teknisk power metal album som forblir på den høyre siden av for smarte til det halve. Nok en gang Timo har satt merket for kvalitet i sjangeren. Elsker det eller nødig det, det er vanskelig å krangle at alt annet enn en flott album.

Symphorce: Ubegrenset

Tatt i betraktning noen av de anmeldelser jeg leser av dette bandets tidligere album denne varen virkelig trenger å gjøre noe skikkelig å stoppe deres nedover lysbilde. Som med alle nye utgivelser lyttet jeg til dette med et åpent sinn. En ting som slo meg var det faktum at de har gjort en sang om 9 / 11 komplett med lyd-klipp av den forferdelige dagen. Var det virkelig nødvendig? Sikkert at dagen har blitt gjort til døde. Den cheesy horror musikk intro av løypa kalt "The Mindless" bare virker ikke i det hele tatt.

Andre enn de ovennevnte smakløst sporet, er resten av denne utgivelsen ganske bog standard power metal. Ingenting som spesielle eller originale, men ingenting som fryktelig heller. Du kan ha det litt gøy med den vakre odde albumet uttale av engelsk fra vokalist hvis du er så rørt.

Dens bare en myr-standard europeisk power metal album fra et band som har talent, men er litt svake på sangen-skriving front. Bare etterlater meg med en følelse av meh. Det er ikke forferdelig, men det er ikke stor heller. Det er langt bedre utgivelser der ute som fortjener ørene.

Vel det er ditt power metal mye for denne uken. Bo trygt og rocking som dagene blir kortere.

Se den opprinnelige artikkelen på blogcritics.org

Pop

Kings of Leon
Kom Rundt Sundown
(RCA **)

Arena rock og ambivalens: Ikke perfekt sammen. The Kings of Leon's fjerde album, 2008's Only av Night, bygde Southern alt-rock band bestående av fire Followills - brødrene Caleb, Nathan og Jared, med deres fetter Matthew - et stort publikum på styrken av den krampaktige hits " Sex On Fire "og" Bruk Somebody ", sistnevnte den overraskende vinneren som Record of the Year i 2010 Grammy Awards.

Men nå som Kings er ganske merkelig album menn i en mainstream landskap dominert av pop-R & B-divaer, land ungdoms dronninger, og rock-star rappere, lyder de dypt ubehagelig å være der. Come Around Sundown ikke er modig nok til å avvise Edge-lignende gitar rystet rettet mot billige seter og andre outsized rock vesen. Men engangs "Southern Strokes" slått global festival-headlinere også hardnakket nekter å tjene opp grabby kroker som utvidet sin fan base.

Singer Caleb Followill besitter fortsatt en rik, throaty yowl, og han synes å kjenne igjen bandets problemet med å miste kontakten med sin egen kjerne identitet, som han adresser i både "Back Down South" og "Radioaktivt." Dessverre, han også lyder av stand til å gjøre noe med det.

- Dan DeLuca

Bryan Ferry
Olympia
(Astralwerks ***)

Dette er ikke første gang at pop mest lizardy av salongen øgler, Bryan Ferry, utnyttet sin eks-bandkolleger i det legendariske avant-glam ensemble Roxy Music.

Olympia er imidlertid første gang crooner har satt gitarist Phil Manzanera, saksofonisten Andy Mackay, og sonisk landscaper Brian Eno gjennom noen av de amorphously ganske merkelig album skritt Roxy gang tråkket. (Olympia bjørner annet Roxy-lignende signatur i at det er hans første solo-albumet med en ganske Goil (Kate Moss) på omslaget.

Ferry's vanlige beleven, kan soniske Sheen bli hørt på kvitrer funk av "Heartache by Numbers" (co-skrevet med Scissor Sisters) og sakte swerving "You Can Dance." Likevel, det er deliriously Roxy-like eksperimentelle arrangementer, piping synther , og spredte slår gjennom som en forrevne Ferry tester en rekke vokal triks for maksimal drama. Det er den Satie-aktig ballade «Tender Is the Night", der Ferry er quavering og nervily live. Viktigst, viser Ferry lykkelig sensualitet av alder (han er 65) over spenningen i jakten gjennom tekstene til "Alphaville."

- AD Amorosi

Prefab Sprout
La oss forandre verden med musikk
(Tompkins Square ** 1 / 2)

Steve McQueen, Prefab Sprout's andre album, er en klassiker av 80 Brit-pop. Lansert Stateside som Two Wheels Good, i 1985 posten matchet delikat, videreutvikle melodier med emosjonelt komplekse tekster. Helmed av Paddy McAloon, gikk Prefab Sprout på å spille inn album tettere orkestrert, mer åpenlyst kommersielle, og mer ambisiøse, det siste ett i 2001. Ingen har alderen så grasiøst som Steve McQueen, imidlertid.

Det er snublesten med Let's Change the World With Music, som McAloon aktet å følge 1990-tallet Jordan: The Comeback. Det er et konseptalbum om den åndelige, transcendentale krefter med musikk, full av bokstavelige-minded sanger om musikk som frelse. Dette er hans svært polert demoer fra 1993. Og de høres det, med datert synther og rytmer, dempet horn, og swooning harmonier. Selv om det er en flott tapt periode stykke for Sprout fans, Let's Change the World er åpen så i å beskrive transcendens at det sjelden oppnår det.

- Steve Klinge

Waka Flocka Flame
Flockaveli
(Warner Bros./Asylum/1017 Brick Squad ** 1 / 2)

Alt du trenger å vite om Gucci Mane affiliate Waka Flocka Flame kan læres fra hans hits, "O Let's Do It" og "Hard i Da Paint," der Waka klarer å strekke sin kor-som-vers chants over latterlig Slinky bakgrunner. Det er Waka, som veksler mellom frittliggende kjølige Juvenile og maniske raseriet til David Banner, på sitt berusende best. Angivelig, er det Waka på sitt mest, også. Flockaveli, som inkluderer ovennevnte singler, får mange kilometer ut av noen triks. Det er klart: Waka gir ikke mye tanke på tekster, Waka liker å si navnet hans mye; Waka har utmerket smak i slag. Den virkelige stjernen i Waka's debut, faktisk, er Lex Luger (produsent, ikke bryter), som leverer mer enn halvparten av albumets voldsomt høyt lydspor - det er nesten umulig å spille denne musikken stille. Hvis bare det var noen dyp å fylle ut volumet.

- Michael Pollock

Country / Roots

Various Artists
Bloody War: Songs 1924-1939
(Tompkins Square *** 1 / 2)

De 15 innspillinger på denne fantastiske sett ble gjort mellom verdenskrigene, men de fagene området tilbake til borgerkrigen og den spansk-amerikanske krigen i tillegg til "krigen til slutt på alle kriger."

Den musikalske forestillinger - fra Frank Hutchison's tour de force gitar-og-munnspill instrumentale ta på "Long Way to Tipperary" til hot string-band nedbrytning av "Johnny, Get Your Gun" av Earl Johnson og hans Clodhoppers - er så bred- alt som temaer og stemninger. Selvfølgelig er det bitende ballader av sorg og tap, slik som Buell Kazee's "Faded Coat of Blue" og Dixon Brothers '"The Old Ledige Chair", og en oppfordring til patriotisme i William og Versey Smiths bracingly bluesy "Everybody Hjelp Boys Come Home. "

Men det er også en overraskende mengde humor, også fra tittelsporet av Jimmy Yates 'Boll Weevils til Tom Darby og Jimmie Tarlton er "Captain Vil ikke du Let Me Go Home." Mellomtiden, Red Patterson's Piedmont Logg Valser' lesing av " The Battleship av Maine "gir noen listig antikrigsfølelsene kommentarer. Det faktum at den nye Lost City Ramblers senere tilpasset melodien til Vietnam-krigen, som liner notes indikerer, bidrar til å peke opp fortsatte vitalitet av denne musikken.

- Nick Cristiano

Jazz

Dave Liebman Big Band: Under ledelse av Gunnar Mossblad
Live / Som Alltid
(Mama Records ***)

Saksofonist og fløytist Dave Liebman gjør sin del av flagrende og angiveri på de høye tonene som alltid, men denne live sett med seks Liebman originalene alltid kommer ned til jorden.

Fem forskjellige mennesker, deriblant Gunnar Mossblad, Vest Chester-baserte reed mann og komponist, arrangere låtene, med livlige resultater som flytter inn og ut av free-jazz sone samtidig la mange landemerker. Mossblad arrangement av "Philippe Under the Green Bridge» bygger på en spesielt stramme klimaks, mens "Turn It Around" er heldigvis bluesy.

Brooklyn-født Liebman, som spilte med Miles Davis tidlig på 1970-tallet, blir spent her. "A Bright Piece" er trolig den mest minneverdige melodi, men tittelsporet er full av hyggelige fare, og pianisten Jim Ridl skinner på "New Breed."

- Karl Stark

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The Dave Liebman Big Band vil holde en CD release party lørdag på Chris 'Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St., Billetter: 20:00 show $ 22, 22:00 viser 20 dollar. Informasjon: 215 563-3131 eller www.chrisjazzcafe.com .

Som mange av de andre ansatte på Ars, har jeg gått gjennom et par gjentakelser av IOS, og så den modnes inn i et mer funksjonelt, mer brukbare produktet. I de siste månedene, har jeg også fått sjansen til å spille med det er essensielt 1.0 versjoner av smarttelefonen operativsystemer, Windows Phone 7 og den nyeste Blackberry OS, som begge er ment å være touchscreen-klare og radikale avvik fra sine forgjengere. Etter å ha samplet begge, tror jeg det er rimelig å si at Microsoft gjorde en fantastisk jobb i forhold til RIM, men fortsatt har sitt arbeid kutte ut for det, og kanskje må revurdere noen av sine grensesnitt valg.

Som Peter påpekt i vårt episke anmeldelse , det er mye å like om WP7. Operativsystemet er raske og jevne, rulling lange lister er en flott opplevelse. Animasjonene er, for det meste, raske og informative, og, i motsetning til RIMs nyeste, gjør touch-baserte grensesnitt ikke føler boltet klønete på toppen av Microsofts tidligere telefon OS. Selskapet lovet en fullstendig omarbeidelse, og den levert. Det faktum at den er tilgjengelig på så mange telefoner er også fint, siden det bør være mulig å finne et sett av funksjoner som er nærmere tilpasset mine behov.

Når det er sagt, dette er en 1.0 versjon av produktet, og det viser på noen måter. Det er fortsatt et par røffe kanter-animasjoner som ikke er informativ eller ta for lang og noen store funksjoner som å kopiere og lime mangler. Vi vet Microsoft jobber med noe av dette, så vi vil ikke bruke tid på å diskutere det, og heller fokusere på noen av grensesnittet design valg som selskapet har gjort.

Som de fleste andre telefoner, ting starter med en visning av de installerte programmene. For WP7, det er faktisk to visninger: en start skjerm, med ofte brukte programmer, og en liste over alle installerte programmer. Den generelle ideen om en start-skjermen, der brukte programmene presenteres som store, lett-å-hit knapper er en god en. Dessverre har alt som ikke er på skjermen for å få tilgang til gjennom listevisning, som kan være et problem hvis Microsoft's App Store, tar av og de fleste brukerne har mange apps. Noen grad av ekstra organisasjon her bedre ut i en oppdatering.

Legge til, fjerne og omorganisere ikoner på start skjermen er praktisk talt identisk med IOS opplevelsen. Microsoft har gått et skritt lenger enn Apples ikonografi ved å animere noen av sine ikoner, og la andre vise innhold-spesifikk informasjon. For eksempel vil Zune musikken app vise skisser for det siste albumet du hørte på (lignende ting gjelder kontakter og bilder). Dette ser flott ut, men det har den effekten at ikonet se forskjellig hver gang du lete etter den. Å ha muligheten til å slå dette av ville være velkommen.

Oppførselen til statuslinjen, som inneholder ting som signalstyrke og batterinivå er helt mystifiserende. Som standard, er den usynlig, du må trykke på toppen av skjermen for å få det til å vises. Når den gjør det, som standard, forsvinner det igjen etter kort tid. Dette kan frigjøre en liten bit av plass på skjermen for søknader, men for en som liker å ta hensyn til disse tingene, fant jeg atferden rasende. Hvis det er en mulighet til å finjustere hvordan dette fungerer, kan jeg ikke synes å finne det.

Navigere WP7

Microsofts ta på navigerer innenfor programmer er spennende. Forskjellige skjermbilder av innhold er tilgjengelig via venstre eller høyre avleser, og søknaden er ment å gi visuelle signaler for å indikere at mer innhold er tilgjengelig. I noen tilfeller fungerer dette bra, den aktive skjermen dukker opp etter navn øverst til venstre på enheten, og andre alternativer strømme ut til høyre, ofte kjører utenfor skjermen. Det gir en klar visuell indikasjon på at andre alternativer er bare en Swipe unna, selv om skriften som brukes for teksten er litt for tynn til å være lese enkelt.

Når det ikke er tekst å organisere det, derimot, er systemet litt dumt. Ytterligere innhold er angitt med en pil til høyre på skjermen, eller en sliver av neste skjermbilde innholdet titte inn fra høyre. I disse tilfellene er det ender opp med å bli mindre rom for visning av innholdet du faktisk fokusert på, som rett og slett virker som en dårlig idé.

Det andre alternativet for å navigere er tilbake-knappen, lengst til venstre for raden av tre som inneholder hjem og søkeknapper. Dette er en ganske overbevisende funksjon, siden det går tilbake til forrige skjerm, selv om det skjermen var i en helt annen app. Ytelsen er ganske bra, spesielt siden OS tilsynelatende ikke tillater bakgrunnen prosesser.

Den ene ganske merkelig album ting om det er at det er en hardware-knapp, en vane forventer å kontrollere hvor du er strengt via touch-skjermen var et hardt vane å bryte, jeg holdt på utkikk etter en "Avbryt"-knappen i ulike dialoger. Likevel synes knappens verktøyet virkelig høy, så jeg vil nok prøve å lære en ny vane var jeg å holde en av disse telefonene.

Tekst oppføring er også veldig bra. Tastaturet er ganske standard for telefoner med berøringsskjerm, men det har et forslag bar, noe som er svært glatt. Som du skriver, vises en liste over potensielle fullførte til bokstavene du har nedover. Når den rette vises, kan du ganske enkelt trykk på det, og det vil bli plassert i tekstfeltet og markøren vil bli avansert. Det er ikke mye hjelp for lett-å-type ord (faktisk bruke det forstyrrer flyten i å skrive), men for lengre eller mer utfordrende ord, det er en real time saver.

Suger i nettskyen

Google og Apple har begge sky tjenester som de ønsker å presse sine brukere mot telefonen, som har som virkning å begrense hvor enkelt deres telefoner integreres med konkurrerende produkter. Microsoft er i samme båt, gitt sitt Windows Live-tjenester, du blir bedt om å gi en Windows Live ID under installasjonsprosessen, men telefonen vil fungere fint uten det. Likevel er selskapet ganske agnostisk når det kommer til datakilder. Kontakter kan komme fra steder som Google og Facebook, og ulike e-post tjenester er enkle å sette opp, men bilder kan kun deles med Microsofts egen tjeneste.

For de tjenestene jeg testet, virket synkronisering bra, det samme gjorde oppsett av e-postkontoer. Microsoft har valgt å gi hver konto sitt eget ikon, og det lanseres i e-postprogrammet individuelt. Har nettopp fått en samlet innboks på IOS, savner jeg det dårlig her. Microsofts brukertesting tydeligvis fortalt det som separate kontoer var bedre, skjønt. Nettleseren, som er noe bisarre uekte barn av to forskjellige IE desktop versjoner, utført mye bedre enn jeg forventet.

Jeg var ikke interessert i å sette opp en konto med Microsofts musikktjeneste, men demoene jeg har sett virker ganske imponerende, gitt at du kan få tilgang til alle abonnement sang fra hvor som helst. App Store er i ferd med å fylle opp litt, også. Så, generelt, ser det ut som Microsoft kan være godt på vei til å sikre folk kan fylle sine telefoner med mye interessant innhold.

Samlet inntrykk

Det mest slående ting om bruk WP7 var hvor kjent det alle så. Det synes som om metaforer og UI for touchbased gest databehandling har allerede sammen til et sett med standard tilnærminger, og Microsoft har gjort en fin jobb med å implementere dem. I de få områdene der det er gjort noe nytt, var resultatene ofte stor-forslaget bar for inntasting av tekst var virkelig gode. Søknaden-hopping "back"-funksjonalitet er en annen god en.

Likevel, ikke alle ideene fungerer så bra. Kutting av deler av en allerede smale skjermen trenger du bare å indikere ytterligere innhold er en dårlig idé. Etter å ha ikoner som endrer deres utseende så ofte er egentlig ikke bra UI. Statuslinjen er bare irriterende. Hvis noe, disse sidene ved WP7 er for mye som et Apple-produkt: De ofrer funksjonalitet for å gi brukerne noe kunstnerisk ute.

Så, hvordan dette legger opp? Det er en fantastisk 1,0 utgivelse som vil stå overfor to svært eldre operativsystemer med svært store followings, så det er i en tøff tur. Nøkkelen til fremtiden sin er ikke tilstede på anmeldelsen maskinvaren selv. For å forstå WP7 framtid, må vi se hvor raskt Microsoft kommer oppdateringer ut til markedet, og om det er villig til å gjøre betydelige endringer for å få ting riktig.

"Det er forståelig, men ... jeg har aldri holdt stille det faktum at jeg skriver sanger om mennesker. Det er som, dette er album nummer tre. Dere har hatt virkelig advarsel -! "Taylor Swift på tidligere elskere å være opprørt over sin eksponering i hennes album [ MTV ]

"" Når jeg begynner et forhold, det er det press for å være det mest, å være mer komfortabel og åpen enn noen andre. Når du endelig innser at du kan bare være din egen redd, fucked-up selv og at du fortsatt kan være sexy uten å prøve å være, det er en slik stor lettelse. Når uncondensed du er nok. '"Hun stopper og ler. "Hei, det er ganske bra. Hvis handler ikke fungerer, kunne jeg ha en fremtid i reklame -. '"Anne Hathaway, stjernen i den nye filmen Love and Other Drugs [ Vogue ]

"Som, gikk jeg til en strippeklubb med regissøren og kostymedesigner og det blir en ganske merkelig album gruppering av mennesker går inn i en strippeklubb i midten av ettermiddagen, var jeg, liker, rett-opp tilbudt en jobb. "- Kristen Stewart på gleden ved å forske sin del for Velkommen til Rileys [ MTV ]

"DETTE ER EN PSA: Ingen bør EAT 7 / 11 nachos på 3am og GÅ RETT TIL Å sove eller Du skal føle Rath av hjørnet STORE GODS N om morgenen!" - T-Pain [ T-Pain/Twitter ]

«Det er bare ment å være morsom, egentlig. Men det er så mye i musikken at ungene mine hører på daglig basis - noen tør å ha et problem med denne sangen! I "- Cee-Lo 's svar på foreldre bekymret for barna sine å lytte til hans sang« Fuck You "[ Pop & Hiss / LAT ]

"Det er som jeg fant meg selv igjen. Du får påvirkes av alt du hører på radioen, eller kanskje med det du føler at andre folks forventninger er. Men så du plutselig innser at alt du trenger å skrive om er hva som er inne i deg - ikke se utsiden, men innvendig. Til "- Shakira på hennes nye album, Salg el Sol, sunget mest i spansk [ NYT ]

Hva gjør Bob Dylan og Lil'Wayne har til felles? ganske mye ingenting, selv om disse to kunstnerne har gjort denne ukens topp 5 kjennetegnet album. Selvfølgelig kaken vinneren er Dylan, med år med hese crooning og twangy gitar låter under beltet, fortsatt klarer å behage kritikere og fans ærefrykt 30-noen ganske odde albumet år nedover veien. Sjekk ut disse andre kunstnerne som har gitt ut ny musikk også, og se hva kritikerne har sagt om ny musikk denne uken:

The Bad

Phantom Band, ønsker

Saken om Phantom Band er at noen mennesker liker dem, mens andre opplever denne musikken som komplett støy. The Glasgow-baserte sekstetten har gått gjennom nok genre og band endrer navn til slutt satisfyingly bosette seg, men er for mye av en blanding deg virkelig en god ting? Her er hva noen kritikere sier om deres siste album, The Vil, grunn ut 25. oktober:

• The Guardian : "Mye av The Vil føles underlig glatt, som om det er hele tiden på cusp av skiftende halser ... han bandet har bestemt seg for ikke å temme deres tilbøyelighet til å cherrypick fra praktisk talt alle genre tilgjengelige for dem" - Michael Cragg
• The Line of Best Fit : «Noen elementer av The Vil selv, kunne ha vært kopiert og limt inn fra Two Dancers, det ga gjenlyd gitarene, lyset, bongo-drevet perkusjon, Rick Anthony's flamboyant, swaggering vokal og seksuelle likevel skumle ansvaret for sanger som "O '. Og igjen, kan du trekke paralleller mellom de to bandene gjennom det faktum at begge er forventet av større og bedre ting, til tross for dagens prestasjoner "- Jamie Milton

De ønsker er tilgjengelig på Amazon for $ 11.98

Lil 'Wayne, I Am Not A Human Being

Dwayne Carter, eller Lil 'Wayne til de fleste, er fortsatt serverer ut sin fengselsdom, men allerede tenker på sin musikk karriere fremtid. Med kritisk panorerte Rebirth album sluppet tidligere i år, lærte Weezy et par ting om den verden av eksperimentelle hip hop / rock (bedre å ikke gå dit ...), og med utgivelsen av sitt åttende studioalbum forrige uke, ser vi at han har fortsatt en lang vei til toppen:

• Absolute Punk : "Albumet avsluttes med« Bill Gates, "et helt forglemmelig bane som ikke engang underholde med typiske Weezy antics. Det er langsomme, repeterende, og samlet det verste sporet på albumet. Mens svært få av hans sanger bære noen form for mening eller sammenhengende tenkte, "Bill Gates" går langt utover det ... Fordi Human Being gjør svært lite for å imponere, var det en stor feil å gjøre "Bill Gates" den siste sangen, og derfor friskeste i noens sinn når de tenker tilbake på albumet som helhet "- Ian Walker
• Spinn : "Så da Wayne bruker sin åttende utgivelse, jeg er ikke et menneske, å tut ut over saging techno synth av" Hva er galt med dem, "eller" Popular, "det er som å finne en ni måneder gammel ostekake i baksiden av kjøleskapet. Disse sangene, hentet fra pre-fengsel studio økter, følge den da-fordrevet forestillingen om at kommersielle rap bør være gjenget med Lady Gaga's DNA "- Ben Detrick

I Am Not A Human Being er tilgjengelig på Amazon for $ 13.85

The Good

Kisses, The Heart of the Nightlife

Kyss, Los Angeles-baserte duoen som ligger et sted mellom The XX og Yeasayer, er helt bedårende med sine enkle og melodiske dag-Glo pop låter. Den 16. november sitt siste album, Heart of the Nightlife slipper i USA til en allerede spent fan-base. For de som er fans av mellow synth-rock sound, er du sikker på å finne deg nye favoritt her:

• NME : "For et øyeblikksbilde av de ulike delene av Day-Glo pop som så glede blogosphere i øyeblikket, ser ikke lenger enn LA's Kisses dette. The Heart Of The Nightlife glitrar på toppen Yeasayer Technicolor og mørkere hypnagogic og chillwave orientering, men blant glitter-flecked FUG duoen ofte snubler etter sin egen stemme "- Simon Jay Catling
• Prefix Mag : "Det er overraskende at det er en tilsynelatende mangel på Los Angeles band som prosjekt den type silkeaktig kveld bildet som vi er vant til fra Glitz hovedstaden i Amerika. LA duo Kisses ser ut som det tar sikte på å fylle det tomrommet med debut utgivelse, The Heart of the Nightlife. Singles "Bermuda" og "folk kan gjøre de mest fantastiske ting" har en enkel, seaside vibe for dem som lover mye mer chill natten musikk fra denne duoen første utflukt "- Matthew Richardson

Hjertet av Nightlife er tilgjengelig på Amazon for $ 23.49

Simian Mobile Disco, er fast

Simian Mobile Disco, Storbritannia duoen / miksing team kjent for sine analoge produksjon og DJ miksing, er ganske mye på toppen av det hele DJ og miksing scenen over dammen og rundt i USA også. Dens bare noe du kan ikke unngå å vokse til kjærlighet, og med utgivelsen av Is Fast 15. oktober, klubbscener og techno elskere rundt om i verden kan endelig spinne noen profesjonelle beats:

• RA Anmeldelser : "Fast gjør er det mest sømløse ting Simian har satt sitt navn på. På papiret, tracklist treff dette noen av de samme notene som Fabric mix-klassikeren Chicago acid house ... Men Fikset unfurls i en rett linje, slik en techno mix burde, og mens lyden det representerer relativt smal-spesielt i sammenligning til all-over-the-plassen følelsen av Fabric mix-det er også slyngede og godt tempo, med duoen egen "Nerve Salad" et høydepunkt, vekselvis woozy og stempel-lignende "- Michaelangelo Matos
• LimeWire Music Blog : "Partene har inneholdt en som er hvem av techno, elektronika og indie electro - fra LCD Soundsystem til Klaxons til Little Boots til MANDY å Booka Shade til Justice. The simians gjør partiet mangfoldige gjestelisten stolt med en variert, sømløs to-disc set "- Dave Wedge

Is Fixed is available on Amazon for $15.49

The Great

Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964

Bob Dylan is the winner of this week's album of the week, and need I explain why? The man has revolutionized the music scene since the 60's, his music staying in households for generations, and he's still at it. The Witmark Demos are tracks recorded by Dylan back in the day, and re-released as a compilation audio mix to accompany that walk down memory lane. It's no wonder the critics all agree that Dylan's genius in incomparable:

• The Guardian : “Yet this comprehensive, chronological set of demos from Dylan's formative period, 1962 to 1964, is thrilling – and, for those new to the Bootleg Series, possibly essential. For all their crackling roughness, several of the demos not only stand up to other recordings but surpass them, notably the raw take on I'll Keep It With Mine set to rasping piano. The rarities have their merits: scintillating blues guitar in Ballad of a Friend, an incendiary sarcasm in Long Ago, Far Away” — Maddy Costa
• The Independent : “And if what we look for here (apart from songs which never previously reached the world) is telling variations on what we already know, that's not to say that the genius of Dylan isn't everywhere to be heard, stark, relaxed, withering, totally unburdened in its self-conviction. Quietly gripping” — Nick Coleman

The Witmark Demos are available on Amazon for $13.99

As easy as it may be to take Sufjan Stevens for granted now, his 2005 breakthrough album “Illinois” remains a sprawling masterwork that more often than not achieves its ambitious aims. It's no wonder, then, that the guy never hinted at what direction he might go in next. It took Stevens a little longer to adjust to his newfound fame and its attendant expectations than it took his rapidly multiplying fans to adjust to the intimate, accessible, intricately orchestrated world he created.

Stevens' just-released “The Age of Adz,” however, may be another matter entirely. Rife with digital noise, dense arrangements and few concessions to the pretty chamber folk that Stevens is best known for, it's a brave, bewildering and utterly uncompromising work. It's also ultimately a folly, and an pretty odd album foundation for a tour.

In fact, Stevens took several minutes midway through his sold out set at the Chicago Theatre Friday night to dutifully explain the album's (and evening's) inspiration — the works of schizophrenic outsider artist Royal Robertson — but the explanation didn't make the strange, discordant, deconstructed sci-fi R&B of Stevens and his 10-member band any easier to grasp. Blurting synths and booming drums abutted loose brass on “Too Much.” Cascading vocal harmonies vied with herky-jerk beats on “Get Real Get Right.” The epic “Impossible Soul” even dared break out Auto-tune effects in the midst of its prog indulgence, yet Stevens, to his credit, never gave in to irony, even as he matched the casual pop-and-lock moves of his dancers.

Yes, he had dancers, who, along with the modest multi-media presentation, often made the night seem less like a concert and more like a work of performance art or avant-garde opera. More power to him for trying something different, but one wonders what ticket sales might have been like had fans known exactly what they were in for.

Then again, “Illinois” clearly remains beloved enough that those same fans are willing to give Stevens a lot of leeway. Indeed, all it took was the anthemic crowd-pleaser “Chicago” and the encore ringers “ Casimir Pulaski Day ” and “ John Wayne Gacy Jr.” to make it seem like the previous 90-minutes of madness hadn't even happened.

ctc-live@tribune.com

A Conversation with Shawn Mullins

Mike Ragogna : Hi Shawn.

Shawn Mullins : Hello Mike, how are you?

MR : I'm pretty good, how are you doing, sir?

SM : I'm doing just great, man, I'm doing just great.

MR : I have to say, I was a fan of your music before The Thorns.

SM : That's great. Well, I'm just grateful that you even know about The Thorns.

MR : (laughs) The Thorns absolutely was on my radar when it was first issued. Now, you've been the songwriter's songwriter for a long time, care to go into some of the Shawn Mullins story?

SM : Well, I started off in around '89, trying to write my own songs–I mean, I've been doing it since I was in high school, but I started getting a little bit better at it by then. I put my first record out in '90, and then I kept making records almost every year. There were eight releases, and then Soul's Core happened in '98. There were already six studio albums and two live albums before that, and a few of those records are really good too. I'm sure I probably started recording before I should have, but I was just dying to get in the studio and record, you know? I was always wanting to write songs, but I was also interested in recording them and then singing them live for people, so I kind of did all of that. My first real success was in '98 with “Lullaby,” which started as an alternative hit and crossed into the pop charts. I never had an idea that would happen, but that was cool and it went to #1 on the charts for five weeks. I did another record on Columbia, and then The Thorns happened. Matthew Sweet has always been one of my favorites, and I loved Pete's work as well. So, when we got together–I think it was around the end of '02 because I think the record came out in '03–we wrote all the songs together out on this ranch in Santa Ynez, California, and that was the most fun we had–writing the songs.

MR : Pete Droge and Matthew Sweet, of course, are incredible artists, so it must have been terrific when you got together with them.

SM : Yeah, no doubt. We did that for close to three years–the writing, making the record, and then touring the world a couple of times. We opened a ton of shows for The Dixie Chicks in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, we did a proper tour of the US with The Jayhawks, which was really a great tour, and then it was time for us all to get back to our individual stuff. I started writing in Nashville shortly thereafter, as well as continuing my own recording career, and I wrote a little bit with Zac Brown on the tune called “Toes.” A couple of years later, he got a deal, and it just went to #1 on the country charts last year. It's just kind of been fun to have this other thing going, with the professional songwriting in addition to doing my own records and touring. I love both of them a lot.

MR : You also had one of my favorite songs by you, “All In My Head,” featured on Scrubs.

SM : Yeah, I actually wrote it for Scrubs . They were looking for a theme song in their first season, and Jerry and I wrote that song and sent it in. They didn't use it for their theme song, obviously, but they ended up using it in an episode, and then I ended up putting it on a record several years later. Funny how songs can kind of come back to life.

MR : I know. And they used the demo version, right?

SM : They did, they used our original demo version, which is kind of funny because we just slapped it together really fast to see if they'd like the song. They did like it, and in fact, that used it on TV. We were kind of hoping that we would get to go back and record it properly, but I was still pretty psyched that they used it. It's always funny when you slip someone a demo because they may like that, but you weren't giving it to them the best way that you could, you were just doing it fast. (laughs)

MR : You also had a song on Dawson's Creek .

SM : You know, Dawson's Creek , Party Of Five , and a bunch of those shows in the late '90s used a ton of songs. I think Dawson's Creek used four songs off of Soul's Core . They used “Shimmer,” and I know they used “And On A Rainy Night” and “Lullaby,” so they used at least three. That was kind of fun, and that really helped, actually. It helped get more and more people to know about my music. What's weird is that I seemingly disappeared after that, but at the same time I'm doing two-hundred shows a year, and kicking as much butt as I could kick without having a major label or a huge hit. So, it was a weird predicament because I never stopped doing anything, but I've had so many people come up to me recently and say, “I'm so glad you're back.” Mostly, I just think it's funny, but it's a strange feeling because you're like, “Wow, I never really went anywhere. In fact, I've been trying to hard to stay on your radar.” It's hard without some kind of major success, and it's also hard to top or to keep going after having a hit that was that big. I kind of look at it similar to Aimee Mann's career with 'Til Tuesday, where she had this huge pop hit in the early '80s and then she seemed to go away until the early '90s, when Whatever came out, which is this unbelievable record that her and Jon Brion did. But I'm sure she was doing shows, writing songs, and performing and stuff. I'm thankful that anyone still knows who I am. It's always a funny thing to go through that, you know?

MR : I guess it depends on how you measure success and what kind of success you are looking for, huh?

SM : Well, the way I measure success, and probably you as well, is probably really different from the masses out there, you know? They're watching American Idol every week, and that is kind of the pinnacle of success–to be the winner of American Idol . Hey, big things grow and change, and also they're cyclical. It's a very similar thing to Star Search back in the '80s, it's just bigger. I've never looked at my success in terms of how many people know about it. It's more of how good I'm getting or not getting, and my trying to become a better songwriter, singer, and a better entertainer live. I look at the masters–people that are just great at being onstage acoustic, like John Hiatt or Lyle Lovett, and Shawn Colvin is another one. There are people out there who are just master singer-songwriter-entertainers, and these are people that I've always looked up to and studied. And the more shows I do, hopefully, I'll get better at it. I think that's how I measure success, you know?

MR: Nice. You and those names you mention are all in a higher caliber of “artist” that I really wish the masses could hear more of.

SM: Thanks for saying that. Those people are like serious masters, and they've been doing it long enough that they just keep getting better and better. John Hiatt is the perfect example of these people who just kind of do what they do, and that grow and change, and their audience grows and changes with them. Yeah, it's not American Idol , but I think that's just another thing, you know? It's TV, it's hype, and sometimes on American Idol , it's a great artist that slips through and wins.

MR : Yeah, like Daughtry and Josiah Leming, I said sarcastically.

SM : Yeah, I mean there are some great singers that end up doing that, but typically, they're not also writers or whatever. Working in Nashville as much as I have in the last couple of years, I've seen a lot of really great singers that no one may ever hear about and musicians as well. There's something to be said for those people who kind of transcend all that, stick with it, and don't try to change what they're doing according to whatever fad is happening at the time. I think that's why John Hiatt, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris…well, Emmylou doesn't write a lot, but what an interpreter of song, you know? She's one of the best. Her doing a Townes Van Zandt song is one of my favorite things to hear. But yeah, I think they are classic performers, writers, and singers. It's just that the audience is not the every day masses, and I think that most great art is like that–the masses don't get it until years later, and maybe they don't ever get it, you know?

MR : Yeah, a very good point. When you have a choice between commerce and art, in a lot of cases you have to make your choice.

SM : Absolutely. It's funny, I'm constantly being asked for my music to be licensed in commercials or things that like, and you know, times are hard. I would prefer to have more of the Bill Hicks mentality, which is that no artist should ever support a corporation with their art. But since we've had a kid, all that's changed for me. Of course, I have to be picky about what I support and endorse; but at the same time, we've got to make a living as artists, and, obviously, it's harder and harder to do that with record sales. So, if you're a songwriter, any way your song can be worked as a copyright is a good thing.

MR : You downplay your level of writing with regards to being in a class with John Hiatt, Nancy Griffith, and the rest. But anybody who can turn a traffic jam in California into a wonderful love song is amazing. You, sir, did just that with “California.”

SM : Listen, I appreciate that, and I do work hard at it. Also, I have to give Chuck Cannon some credit on that because Chuck and I wrote some of these songs on this record, and “California,” in particular, is one that we wrote together and we really both brought it. Often times when you're co-writing a song, one person is kind of the leader on it, and the other person is filling in the gaps. “California” and “Light You Up,” both of the songs that Chuck Cannon and I wrote, were truly equal, collaborative efforts. I'm glad you like it, it was fun. We were talking about Prince's “Little Red Corvette” and how we loved that double meaning of a woman and a car, and the whole rock 'n' roll imagery, and then I had mentioned that we had done a video of mine, years ago, in an old El Camino, where I was getting to race it down the desert highways. The next thing we knew, we had the El Camino, and then we had a red Trans Am instead of a Corvette, which you obviously wouldn't want to do.

MR : I especially love the lyrics, “Her stereo was blaring Dylan, The Bootleg Sessions , and oh 'The Times They Are A Changin” made a pretty good impression. She looked over and caught him smiling. Under the California setting sun they fell in love on the 101.” Sweet!

SM : The verse before that basically uses two cars to kind of describe the characters. You're not ever sure which one is driving which, but you can kind of take a good guess at it.

MR : Right. Let's get into “Light You Up,” the title track of this album. Shawn, you know that if you build a man a fire he's warm for a day, but if you set a man on fire he's warm for the rest of his life, right?

SM : (laughs) Exactly. I like that, that's the old “teaching a man to fish” thing taken a little bit further.

MR : But the title track is another great song, can you go into it a little bit?

SM : Yeah, that's another one that Chuck Cannon and I wrote together. It started off in weird sort of way that has only happened to me two other times out of all the songs I've written, which is about eight-hundred songs at this point. It's only happened a couple of other times where I dream the song or I wake up with part of a song kind of playing as a soundtrack to a dream, and that's what happened with “Light You Up.” I woke up one morning and I had all that “I just want to write you a…” It had been kind of playing over and over as the background of whatever dream I had, which I soon forgot about, but luckily the song kind of hung out. I sang it for my friend Chuck, and he said, “Man, are you asking me in on that?” Which is kind of a songwriter's way of saying, “Are you opening that song up to me? Because that's great, and I want to be a part of it.” And I was like, “Yeah, man, let's write it together.” So, we stayed up all night in Nashville–typically that's how Chuck and I write. We don't do a three or four hour songwriting session, we kind of do it in a day or two, and it's a very long, drawn out, concentrated deal. I've seen so many other writers try to write with the two of us, and it's a matter of concentration. You have to take breaks, but you have to stick with it, and you're not satisfied if the song's just okay, you just keep working on it. You don't want to take it too far, where you've worked it to death because that's part of the art too, knowing when to quit. I love that song, and Chuck and I write the lyrics to the verses together just staying up, having a little scotch, and just kind of trying to think of the most random things that we could think of that everybody wants, putting it together in a song, and making it rhyme.

MR : So, no surprise, I'ma big fan of yours. I'm also a big fan of Matthew Sweet's as well as Pete Droge's. Now, when the three of you got together, that was a celebration for me, when you guys formed The Thorns on Aware Records. You said that was what, '03?

SM : Yeah, I think that's when the record came out. We got together a little bit before that.

MR : What's the story behind that? How did that all come about?

SM : Well, it originally was a writing exercise. Originally, it was myself, Pete Droge, Marshall Altman–who is a songwriter, producer, and has been in A&R for Columbia too–and Glen Phillips from Toad (The Wet Sprocket). It was the four of us originally writing together, and we wrote “No Blue Sky” together, and a couple others. Then, when we sent those demos in, Aware and Columbia all kind of flipped out over the sound. They were like, “Hey, would you guys be into doing kind of a vocal, acoustic band?” You know, we all had to kind of think about it, and Glen Phillips in particular was like, “Man, I just got out of a band, and I'm trying to solo stuff.” So, he punched out of it, and Marshall ended up having another obligation, but Pete and I were into the idea. So, my manager, Russell Carter, asked Matthew Sweet to join in and see what would happen if the three of us wrote together. So, that's really how it started, and when we wrote together, it was even more magical than before. It was just like the right combination. I have to give Russell Carter credit because he was a big part of it–he and Greg Latterman who really kind of thought this whole thing up. So, that's kind of how it started. We wrote a bunch of songs together–we wrote twenty songs in ten days, and eleven of them ended up on The Thorns record, I think. Then, we toured really hard for about two years. That was the hard part, I think, for The Thorns. It was just hard because you've got three guys that are used to being their own boss, and now no one is really in charge, but we're all kind of used to having things the way we want it on the road. So, that was the harder part, I think–the traveling.

MR : Yeah, you were three grownups as opposed to three brothers. When bands start out together really young, it's a different vibe.

SM : Yeah, that's totally true. We're three guys with three different types of successes, but we all produced our own records. We all were songwriters and leaders of our own bands, so it was interesting. Matthew really likes to be ahead of the beat, and Pete actually is the other way, where he likes to be on the very back end of the beat–for all you musicians out there, you know what I'm talking about. So, I was in the middle of them on stage, so there was always this like three beat thing happening. It was the funniest thing in the world, and both of them would be yelling at the drummer–not yelling, but going, “Come on, man, speed up!” And the other guy would be like, “Come on, man, slow down!” (laughs)

MR : (laughs) Nice.

SM : Yeah, it was a blast. I love the songs we wrote, and “No Blue Sky” I always felt like didn't get it's proper tracking. I felt like it was done too fast on The Thorns record because they wanted it to be a single and they didn't want it to be too slow. I think we kind of didn't do it right because we recorded it too fast, and the production was just too big and slick. So, that's why I put that song on my new record–to kind of do it like I always heard it, which was really stripped down. You know, my drummer is playing with his hands on the kit, and it's just a very acoustic-based song that way.

MR : Now, you have a song on Light You Up that you're not the author of called “The Ghost Of Johnny Cash.” Can you talk about what inspired you to cover that song, and also about the song itself?

SM : Well, first of all, I've never been afraid to put a cover song on a record. You have to be careful about what kind of cover song you put on a record if you're a singer-songwriter. But James Taylor's biggest songs ever were not his songs, and he's obviously a great songwriter, so I've never had a real problem with it. The trick is to pick one that's right, and I had first heard Chuck Cannon do this song, he was one of the writers on it, and it just blew me away. I just felt like this was the song that we all needed to hear, that mentions Johnny Cash. This is the one that really describes, from what I know–and I'm pretty good friends with Kris Kristofferson, and he's told me a lot about Johnny–it just nails the whole deal, you know? So, typically, if I'm going to cover a song on a record, it's one that I wished I had written. That's part of it, and the other thing is that it needs to fit. We kind of had a place on the record for something like this, so I felt like it was the perfect song to do, and it hasn't been recorded other than on Chuck's album. So, I thought, “Hey, here's an opportunity to get the song out there, hopefully with a lot more listeners too.” I really wish I had written that one, and I love interpreting it.

MR : It's a great song, and you give it such a personal spin, it's as if you had written it. Now, “Tinseltown” is sort of a reflection on the LA scene and all that. That had something to do with the thought behind this album as a whole, right?

SM : Well, here's what happened. As the songs were coming together and being written, they just started being written about Southern California, specifically, Los Angeles and Hollywood. It just kind of happened. I didn't set out to write a record–I never do that. It would probably be an interesting way to write a record, to go, “Okay, this record is going to be about the Midwest.” I just typically start to have themes that roll in, and I start to notice it. This one was definitely LA and Hollywood heavy, and I kept asking myself why. I was like, “Gosh, you've never lived out there, and you've always had kind of a love-hate relationship.” Maybe that's it, that I am fascinated by it, and I also kind of don't want to be there for very long before I'm ready to get back home. “Tinseltown” I wrote with Max Gomez, who is a great young singer-songwriter. He's twenty-three, and he's out of Taos, New Mexico. We wrote a few of the songs that are on this record, actually. He just has this fresh perspective that's very hip, and also very old school–his favorite artist is John Prine. He's a twenty-three-year-old songwriter, and you just don't have that a lot, you know? So, Max and I wrote that, and you know who I was thinking about? The character in the song who I was thinking about when singing it was Matthew Sweet because he's kind of a homebody. He lives up in the canyons, he doesn't really like getting out that much unless it's something really special, and I was kind of embodying him a little bit when we were writing that song. I was thinking, “Gosh, if somebody wanted to go downtown, down to Hollywood or whatever, what would Matthew say?” He would be like, “Man, I don't want to go downtown tonight.” So, that was a little bit of an influence on that song–just knowing Matthew as well as I had in the past.

MR : Nice, I got to work with Matthew on a project called To Understand , which was a collection of all his material up to the A&M stuff, and it included the demos for “Divine Intervention” and “Girlfriend,” which, at that time, I think was called “Good Friend.”

SM : Yeah, and it's really slow, right?

MR : Yeah, it's a different vibe, but I know what you're talking about with the home body thing because I was at his house a couple of times when we worked on his collection together. By the way, one of the many enviable things he has is that old Fender Rhodes.

SM : Oh yeah, he's got so many things and so many instruments. There are two sitars, a real Fender Rhodes, and a couple of different organs. Was he a collector of the “Big-Eyed Children” paintings when you visited him last?

MR : Yes, I think he was. The animation on his early videos were perfect for him too. He really injects himself into his art personally, and I love that.

SM : It is really cool. He's definitely kind of multi-canvased that way. There's a lot going on. He's an interesting guy to work with, and he's very fast at songwriting too. I remember him coming up with certain lines with The Thorns where I was like, “How did you come up with that just like that?” I typically have to work kind of hard at the lyric before it's like I like it, so I was always fascinated by that. Melodies tend to come a lot easier for me, naturally. But yeah, I really like that song “Tinseltown,” and Max Gomez is somebody you guys should check out because something's going to happen for Max. It's just a matter of time because he's so talented and such a good guy.

MR : You've got it. Send him our way.

SM: Ja, jeg. Also, he's from Taos, which I believe may be one of the only other solar-powered radio stations in the whole country. I know there's you guys, and the one in Taos is a really interesting place too. I don't know if you guys know each other.

MR : Yeah, we know of them, it's terrific. Let's talk about that for a second. I don't know how into it or not you are, but for me, it's just a bizarre thing that every business and home isn't using solar power and getting off the grid, especially in the Southwest. The sun is shining virtually every day of the year.

SM : You're talking about an energy source that, well, we will probably go before it will. I've wanted to do a solar tour, and I'm looking for sponsorship this next year to try and do that. Basically, you put on all the concerts with solar power, you've got the panels on top of the bus, you're going down the highway collecting energy, and then the shows can be powered with it. We have done a few shows solar-powered with a company in Atlanta that is a solar-powered recording studio called Tree Sound. Those guys are really, really hip, and they're into wind power as well. So, that's something that I'm kind of looking into doing, and I agree with you. I guess it's because it's still kind of expensive. The initial buy I think scares people off.

MR : But in the old days people used to invest in things for their home that were as expensive, it's just that the concept of solar power is a little more complicated than turning on the TV. There is an expense, of course, but if you have to replace your septic system, well, that's going to be an expense. You have your daily spending rituals and you have your expenses for your home, and my feeling is that this should just be one of them, you know?

SM : Yeah, and in a lot of states, you can get a break by doing that anyway. Obviously, you're going to save money, but you can also get a rebate to help pay for that initial cost. It's an interesting thing, I think it will happen, and I think it's starting to get more and more into the population. I'm hearing more and more people talk about it, and I feel like the more people like me that can tour around the country talk a little bit about it, and maybe even put it into action, hopefully, the better.

MR : It feels like a steadily building thing. Sometimes “green” issues end up being a ten minute concept. But solar power is always discussed, I guess because of the energy crisis that we always seem to be in–aka manipulated prices at the pump–and the real cost spikes of oil.

SM : Absolutely. I think it's totally building. I don't think it's going to go away. It's been around. When I was a little kid, my brother was really into the idea of solar power when he was twelve or thirteen and had built this little model home that was solar-powered. It was a really cool thing and that was the late '70s or whatever. So, it's been around, obviously, a long time. It's just going to take a little while, but it's also going to take the corporations. GE is one of the biggest solar power companies in America. They have a huge solar power sector, but they need to start talking about that, and commercials need to start happening related to that because, let's face it, everyone is sitting in front of their flat screen TV at this point. I've got to be the only person in the city of Atlanta who doesn't have a flat screen TV–we just try not to watch it a lot. I like them and whenever I see them, I go, “Wow, that's so cool. Look how big.” But we just had our son a year ago, and I got to thinking that I'm not sure if I really want him growing up, sitting in front of this massive screen.

MR : Very smart. When you do that solar-powered tour, you come back and let's talk again, okay?

SM : That would be great. I'm going to keep working on it. I'm going to keep working on GE–they've got a pretty big base here in Atlanta, and I'm going to keep working on them, to try to help sponsor this whole thing.

MR : It's important, it just seems like we had a lot of energy to do something once, and now we're petering out. Like we said before, I think solar power is building, but I just wish there was a little bit more of a national initiative. So, I have a traditional question which is what is your advice for new artists coming up now?

SM : I always love the story I hear that Tom Waits told some kid. Some guy spotted Tom Waits a few years ago, went up to him, told him he was a fan, and said, “Listen, what is your advice for young, upcoming artists?” Tom was like, “Forget about it kid. Go home. Be a doctor. Be a lawyer.” I don't know if I would say that though. What's kept me going this long–being in and out of popularity and having my own definition of success–is kind of always trying to remain true to what I'm doing, and not to change with the times. You're going to find something that you think is really cool, that you can utilize in the studio–an instrument, a sound, or a recording technique. But for the most part, you just need to do what you do and keep doing it. Those are the people that grow and change over the years, but they're not doing it to follow trends, you know? So, I think the big thing is to do what you do and do it well. For songwriters, you need to be reading because you've got to have words pouring in for words to pour out, and I think people don't even think about that sometimes. Stephen King talked about that in his book on writing. You've got to read, you know?

MR : I love how you phrased that, “You have to have words pouring in before you can have words pouring out.”

SM : Yeah, and old school songwriters that I've met within Nashville say the exact same thing. You know, the Harlan Howards and the Hank Cochrans. Those guys were old school and they were great songwriters, and they read a ton, you know?

MR : It does seem like a lot of people are reading still–that's not going away. It just also seems like there is a lot of video game time and having to go through the complete season of whatever television show you're watching on DVD to compete.

SM : I played video games growing up, and I went to the arcade whenever I could to play Pac-Man and Battlezone, or whatever. But I also loved to read, always, and my dad really encouraged that. I think, just as a songwriter, you need to be able to take in words to pour them back out. It just taps into another part of the brain that sitting in front of a screen and taking in the images does not.

MR : Very wise advice. Sir, You're smart as a whip, as they say.

SM : Man, thanks so much for having me on. I can't wait to come and visit you guys (KRUU) again. Maybe when I do this solar tour we can meet up.

MR : Absolutely. Let's end with a discussion of one of your favorite songs from your new album. What should that be?

SM : I really like “Can't Remember Summer,” the Michigan auto worker song.

MR: Nice. What's the story on that?

SM : Well, basically, when I was watching TV at some point, I was flipping on CNN and I saw a helicopter view of a soup line going into a church in Michigan. It was like scenes from the depression, and I was like, “Oh my God, this is really…”–I kind of tapped-in for a second and got that this is a huge thing. This industry that we once had in our country that was driving the whole thing, to a degree, is for the most part gone, and all those jobs are gone. A lot of these people were counting on a few more years, then retiring. So, this song's about one of those characters. It's a song sung from that person's point of view, and it has a chill about it, and you can kind of feel Michigan in the Winter somehow.

Tracks :
En. California
2. Light You Up
Tre. Murphy's Song
4. No Blue Sky
5. The Ghost Of Johnny Cash
6. Tinseltown
7. I Knew A Girl
8. Catoosa County
9. You Make It Better
10. Can't Remember Summer
11. Love Will Find A Way

(transcribed by Ryan Gaffney)

A Conversation with Chely Wright

Mike Ragogna : First of all, let me pose a question in a rather pointed way. This is 2010, right?

Chely Wright : Yeah, last time I looked at the calendar it was.

MR : Okay. Why is someone's personal life anybody's business?

CW : Well that's a very multi-layered question.

MR : I'm talking about why this would be some sort of a concern anymore, like ever? It's unbelievable to that your private life is up for discussion.

CW : Well I'm with you, but I can tell you why. I can tell you exactly why–religious beliefs and what people are being told to echo. They're hearing it in their churches, and they're being told to tell young people, “Try not to be that. You're best to not be that.” We tell our kids, “Do your best to not become a drug addict, do your best to not become a thief, and do your best to not become a homosexual.” And we should not be saying all of those three, we should not be telling our young people to not be who they are as God made them to be.

MR : There's such a disconnect there. I guess there would be a disconnect with people who are blindly following a faith, incorporating whatever prejudices they want to incorporate into their belief systems. I was brought up Catholic, and I know a lot of Christians whose wiring doesn't go there. Yet prejudice seems to be the political football that's used by those that want to control others through fear. It just seems like in 2010, why is homosexuality even worthy of a debate?

CW : And those are political waters that are easy. When you get down and dirty, and you just want to get primal and divide people, that's the easiest way to do it. For politicians that want to divide people in the name of God, this is fpretty odd albumer for them, this is so easy it's like painting by numbers. When you want to go out and sling daggers of hate and division, this is the easiest one.

MR : And, like you said, It's been used and it's still used as a divisive play in order to get people to the polls if they want to defeat something else, some other issue.

CW : It's a trick. It's a manipulative trick, and unfortunately, most of the constituents that find themselves manipulated by it, they know not what they do. Most people who find themselves manipulated by this don't have the time to dissect it. They're busy working, feeding their kids, figuring out how to pay for three-and-a-half dollar per gallon gas.

MR : There you go. I interviewed Steve Forbert months ago, and we were talking about the oil spill. We were talking about things like how California killed the electric car because of interests that were more greed-oriented than humanity-oriented. It's almost like no matter where you turn, you're being manipulated, and you can always follow the buck. Even with what we were talking about earlier, that ignorance always seems to be a financial payoff in the end for somebody.

CW : In that documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? , the same principles apply to this. I don't hold parents that responsible for echoing what churches tell them because when you have a baby, you take it to the church and say, “Help me raise this human being. Help me do the right thing.” I feel like we have to stand up as a largely Christian society, that's why I joined the Faith in America board because of the damage that's being done to young people since parents are echoing what the churches are saying–”Try not to be gay.” Well, there's no need to try not to be gay. You really should try not to become a junky, you should try not to shoplift–these are breaches in judgment, and we shouldn't judge people for these breaches in judgment because we're all human and sinners, and we all make mistakes. But I don't have a choice to love a man or a woman, I can't love a man. I've devastated men trying to love them the way they loved me, and I've devastated myself trying to love them the way they loved me. It's not a breach in judgment for me to be gay.

MR : It seems to be an older generation thing, most young people I know don't even care. This ridiculous type of prejudice seems to be going away culturally.

CW : Well, you're right. There is a new generation of understanding and young people who really have absorbed the notions of equality and liberty. Now, it's not as far reaching as you and I would like to believe, I have to say. It hasn't reached the far corners of small town America like you and I would like to believe. You are an educated man who's writing for a living, and you're finely evolved. I'm fortunate enough to make my living in the arts, and I've been lucky to travel around the world and hang out with smart and forward thinking people. But my tour bus also makes stops at every small town in America, and I see that we have a long, long way to go. I just got off the phone earlier with the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and I also work with GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), and today, the statistics are such that young kids who are in transgender identification situations are called, “faggot” or “dike” in nine out of ten school days. Nine out of ten days that they go to school someone calls them that, and that's nine days too many. I know we have come so far, but we have so far to go, and to go back to your question, “It's 2010, why are we still talking about this?” You've got me. It blows my mind. I thought ten years ago, “I'm never coming out in country music, surely someone else will do it.” It's staggering to me that no one did it–no one in commercial country music. I just thought someone would come out or be outed before me.

MR : I lived in Nashville for a while, and there were known homosexuals who were stars–you just didn't utter their names, and, of course, they didn't come out. It was sort of this “happy ignorance,” and it's really unfortunate that I would say something to you like, “Gee, it's really great that you did that.” It should just be understood, period. It's just mind-boggling.

CW : But you know what? I was one of those who was whispered about; but no one knows for sure until you say it, and whispers don't make it to the airwaves in Albuquerque. Quite frankly, what if an eleven-year-old kid is being driven to school by his mom, and my record comes on the air and she says, “Oh I love that Chely Wright.” What if that kid is about to go to school and get picked on? What if that is my chance for that mom to turn that radio station up and hear the disc jockey say, “Chely Wright came out as a lesbian today”? I took that chance, I cashed in my public equity, and that did happen on that Albuquerque radio station–that announcement happened. And that mom that says, “Chely Wright is my favorite. What a great American. What a nice lady.” That did happen. And that eleven-year-old kid in the backseat who's getting picked on? He feels one less person alone. There's a difference in being a whisper–and you're right, we get protected in Nashville, although I was more in the closet than anybody I know of in Nashville. I'm not okay to be a whisper, I'm too proud of the steward I've been in my life, and at some point, it's a narrative of who I am as a human being. Am I really going to allow another fourteen-year-old kid to sit in his bedroom and feel like an alien?

MR : I read the Entertainment Weekly piece in which we learn some new facts about you. For instance, you gave Rascal Flatts their start. Let me ask you about that. How did you discover them?

CW : Well, I hired them both. Jay was my piano player, I hired him from a Contemporary Christian background in Nashville. I hired Joe Don sight-unseen out of a club in Oklahoma, and he drove through an ice storm and slept on my drummer's couch for an audition in Nashville. He kept following me around for an entire day in Nashville saying, “Do you want to hear me play now?” I said, “Just bring your guitar and follow me.” We were just boppin' around the studio and I finally said, “You know you have the gigs, Joe Don, it's okay. You don't have to get out your guitar and play for me, I've heard your CD.”

So, then we went to dinner and I knew how much he loved Vince Gill–he just kept talking about Vince Gill and how amazing he was. And I said, “Well, of course, everybody loves Vince Gill. You're a guitar player who sings high, of course you love him.” So, I happened to get a phone call from Vince that said, “Hey Chely, let's go listen to the Bluebloods.” They're great session players that were playing out at a club that night, and I said, “Okay, cool. I'll see you out there later.” So, I didn't tell Joe Don that we were going to go hang out with Vince later and I said, “Come with me.” I invited him and my drummer, Chris. So, we walked into this club, and Joe Don is saying, “Oh my God, that looks like Vince Gill in the back.” Then, we're walking toward Vince's table and he's saying, “That is Vince Gill!” Lo and behold, we sat down at Vince's table. Joe Don and Vince got to have a conversation all night about guitars, and then we ended up touring with Vince.

Now, Joe Don tells everybody, “My first night in town, I got to meet Tony Brown, I got to be at the studio. Chely Wright took me to dinner, I got the job, and I got to meet Vince Gill.” So, we worked together on the road for a couple of years, and I knew that they were working on a side thing–I think they were just trying to make some side-money. Jay said, “Chely, we recorded ourselves, would you mind listening to our CD?” And I said, “I'll listen to it,” but I was thinking, “Oh no. Another couple of my band guys trying to get together a band, this is going to be awful,” because it had happened before, and it's usually bad when that happens. So, I was driving to my house, I put their CD in my player, I heard two songs, and I hit stop, picked up the phone and called Jay and said, “Jay, there's something here.” I said, “This is really, really good.” Shortly after that, they were signed to Lyric Street, played their last few months with me, and the rest is country music history.

MR : (laughs) That is so cool. Now, fact number two from that same Entertainment Weekly piece: Patty Griffin saved your life.

CW : What did I say?

MR : You said, “I became aware of her during my breakdown in '05, which eventually led to her coming out. I was looking for anything divine. When I heard 'Living With Ghosts,' I felt like God was whispering in my ear.”

CW : Yeah, I said it right. That's the truth. As a musician, I don't think that I am different than a non-musician. When something amazing happens in my life, I go to music, and when something devastating happens in my life, I go to music. During my breakdown, I sought out–or perhaps music found me in a way that I didn't even know. I became aware of Patty Griffin during that time, and that album, Impossible Dream , really kind of held me. There were days that I laid on the floor of my bedroom in Nashville. I mean there were entire days, and I don't want to say they were wasted because I was absorbing that music, but there were days that that's all I did–lay on the floor and hit repeat on Patty Griffin records. She changed the way I wrote songs, and she freed me from the constraints of commercial songwriting. You understand what I'm talking about. As a music writer, you understand the commercialism of Nashville songwriting.

MR : I'm so over the whole Nashville cheesy pop thing. Where's Merle when you need him?

CW : Again, there's a certain craft to it, and I don't want to begrudge the people who have figured that out. To a large degree, I made my living making commercial country music, and I love that part of my history. But I'm not nineteen anymore, I'm thirty-nine.

MR : Well, I also noticed, by the way, when I put your CD in my iTunes, the “genre” that comes up reads “folk,” not “country.”

CW : Oh, does it really?

MR : Yeah, so, some entity has designated you as folk now. That's interesting because when I listened to your album–which we should probably get to–one of the things I noticed is that it maintains your country style, but it does feel like it's embracing more of a Jakob Dylan meets Court Yard Hounds-ish kind of sound.

CW : Wow, cool.

MR : Maybe it has to do with how you approached this, as the person you are now, embracing other things besides needing to have a country hit.

CW : Oh, wow. Takk. You've just given me some very high compliments. I want to stew in those–I want to wallow around in how that felt.

MR : (laughs)

CW : In listening to the music that I did during my breakdown, quite frankly, I had kind of dipped my toe in it on my last record, The Metropolitan Hotel , which really was a low selling record for me, but my most critically acclaimed. To that point, really what I found success in, personally and creatively, was writing what I know and doing my best to suspend my intellect. I made kind of a half-assed attempt to do that on my last record, and on this record, I couldn't have employed my brain if I had tried. I didn't even know where it was. I really kind of lost my mind, and that was such a good thing for me, creatively. You read about the great poets, painters, and creative people of legend, and they all were crazy. For once, I finally lost my mind. It was so good for me.

MR : You know, that line, “I lost my mind”? When you think about that, it just means you let your mind get out of the way and let the creative process happen.

CW : Right, and I think I always probably got in my own way. Art meets commerce is always a bad intersection. When you're trying to make anything for the masses, something has got to give. When you're trying to make food for the masses, you get fast food, and when you're trying to make art for the masses, you get fast art. You get what you get.

MR : That's a really brilliant point. It's like you've got to be in the moment when you're doing your craft or even every day at work. I mean, the people that are multi-tasking–what are they really getting done, you know?

CW : Right, there's a point of diminishing return. What I learned through the process of rolling around on my floor, listening to Bob Dylan, which I admit this with a lot of guilt and shame, I'd never really listened to too much. Shame on me. I'd really never explored Tom Petty the way that a singer-songwriter should, but I've corrected that.

MR : Let me ask you where you would rate Blood On The Tracks ?

CW : Oh, a thirteen.

MR : (laughs) What would you rate as his “one”?

CW : What would I rate as his best one?

MR : Yeah, we're looking at it differently. In the pecking order of Bob Dylan albums, where would you place Blood On The Tracks ?

CW : Oh, gosh. Well, I don't want to fall in line just because I'm on the phone with you, but it's really hard to beat that one.

MR : That's kind of why I threw that one out there. Though Blonde On Blonde and his earlier albums were brilliant, for me, there was something about–wait, I may be wasting our time…

CW : God, no. This could never be a waste of time.

MR : Blood On The Tracks , for me, was like a turning point, where I felt like I could relate totally to everything he was saying on that record, even on lighter tracks like “Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts.” Even in the wackier, more fun moments, there was still a groundedness…what a brilliant album. It's probably in my top five albums with Joni Mitchell's Court And Spark , Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon , and albums like that.

CW : There's a reason that so many people who write songs, like you and me, site that as one of their top five records of all time. If anybody has ever squeezed themselves out on tape, it's that one.

MR : (laughs) That's a good way to put it. And I'll never understand why “Tangled Up In Blue” wasn'ta huge hit. I think it's an American classic.

CW : Well, look at the records that came out during that time. It's all relative, and it's so funny to look at the landscape of what came out at that time. You wonder what gets lost in the shuffle, you go back and look at records like this Conway Twitty album that just blows my mind, though the title has escaped me. It didn't even have one hit on it, but I think it was his best record. But it was the year that the new generation of hit makers came out, and he just got kind of retired. He became the old guy. Now, you mentioned Joni Mitchell. Let me tell you how obsessed with Joni Mitchell I became during this process. I didn't know much about her either, but I was–do you know who Steve Buckingham is?

MR : Yes.

CW : Steve is a very good friend of mine, and a guy that I confided in early on about not only my breakdown, but the reason for my breakdown. He'd say, “Let me come over and hear your songs and talk to you.” When he got there and listened, he said, “What are you doing on that guitar?” He's an old session player who has played on a lot of hit records, and he said, “That's fascinating, what you're doing with your tunings.” I couldn't get my fingers to do what I was hearing, so I just started turning my knobs. I'ma piano player, so I just decided on this record that I was going to start turning knobs until I could get the voicings I want. So, I made up these crazy tunings, and he said, “Where'd you get that tuning?” I said, “I made it up,” and he said, “So, you didn't go to some Joni Mitchell website?” I was like, “No. Did she do alternate tunings?” He said, “Well, she was famous for it. You've got to come over and watch this documentary about her crazy tunings.”

So , I watched this documentary about her whacked-out tunings, and I realized that none of my tunings are actually the ones she used, which I was glad about. That way I couldn't be accused of ripping off Joni Mitchell, but then I started discovering her body of work, which is mind-boggling. So, I really kind of feel brand new about music. I feel like I have this old country past, but when I hear Bob Dylan's Live At Carnegie Hall album, which is, I think, the best live recording in all of music, it still gives me chill bumps. Then, I hear Joni Mitchell and that crazy tuning stuff she was doing, and it makes me want to just jump off of a building. I feel like two different artists. I feel like before breakdown, BBD, and after breakdown, ABD.

MR : (laughs) I was lucky enough to work with Joni on a compilation of her Geffen and Warner recordings and a box set, and I learned so much about her. When people bring up negative things she says, I remind them it's because Joni doesn't have a filter, and most great artists were lacking them as well. To me, it seems like since she's a fountainhead of creativity, that stops her from having a filter because if she had a filter, then it would afflict her creativity. Du vet hva jeg mener?

CW : Thank God. I can't believe you know her. I can't believe you got to be near her.

MR : It was brilliant, a beautiful period. It was always fun to be eating dinner together somewhere and have folks like Warren Beatty stop by and pay tribute to her. Okay, that was kind of a wild sidebar, let's get back to the third point from the Entertainment Weekly piece. That is: “She and God have an understanding,” and your quote is, “I felt like there were two Gods, the one they told me about in church that I should fear, and the one that knew my s**t. The one I believe in told me not to lie. When I was on my knees and said, 'Tell me what to do,' God said, 'Tell the truth.'”

CW : That's true, she quoted me correctly.

MR : You know, you would think that anyone with a functional mind would understand the concept that God doesn't hate anybody. Isn't Christianity supposed to be based in love?

CW : Yeah, it just doesn't make sense to me. God also blessed me with discernment. Even before I knew to pray for discernment, I was given it. I have a spiritual compass that God gave me, but I was being told about this God at church that was going to burn me in the fires of Hell, once I died. That was really scary. Then, when I got home, there was this other God that was on the piano bench with me that was giving me songs to write. And when I'd climb a tree, there was God up there. I never felt alone. I felt the presence of this being or this “something.” So, I thought, “I'm supposed to keep this secret from this being that's with me?”

MR : That being is supposed to know everything, right?

CW : Yeah, this dude, not a bearded guy in a robe, but this God–this present power that's with me–I'm supposed to keep a secret from that being? Or am I supposed to run around with this abiding fear of this poster on the wall in Sunday school of this guy who's going to burn me up and throw me to another guy in a red suit with a pitchfork. I don't get that, and it didn't make sense to me. So, the God of love and light won out, and it changed everything for me. It changed the course of everything. I knew I was okay, I just knew it.

MR : My friend's son once had a nightmare about burning in Hell. Now, he didn't hurt him, but he pinched the little guy just a tiny bit. The child said, “Ow! Why'd you do that?” My friend asked his son, “You felt that, right?” The boy said, “Yeah, so?” and his father told him, “Well, that's because you have a nervous system. Now, when you die, do you have a body?” The child answered, “No,” and the father continued, “Okay. Well, your body has these nerves, and that's why you feel everything. So, if you die and you don't have a body anymore, are you going to feel like you're burning up? You don't have a nervous system!” It sounded like a brutal lesson to me when I heard it, but I realized that it probably saved his son a lifetime of fear.

CW : Well, way to go. Fin jobb. (laughs)

MR : (laughs) It's sort of like, if somebody thinks that through for just–how long did it take for me to tell you that story, fifteen seconds? If somebody just takes fifteen seconds to think that through, it sounds as crazy as it is, you know?

CW : Right. We're supposed to be taught that God's love is unfathomable. Now, Jeffrey Dahmer's parents knew that he ate people, and they still went to see him in prison and said, “Son, I love you.” He ate people. And I'm supposed to believe that if I fall in love with a woman, then my God will condemn me to a fiery Hell? He ate people! And his parents went to see him and said, “Son, I love you.” God's love is supposed to be that kind of love times infinity. This is not adding up, people. Come on, it's crazy.

MR : Alright, though I'm thoroughly enjoying our tangential conversation, let's discuss your latest album. Lifted Off The Ground . I wanted to start by talking about the song “Heavenly Days” on which you teamed up with Rodney Crowell. I especially admire the lyric, “Dare to be different, dare to be true.” How did you get hooked-up with Rodney Crowell?

CW : Well, it happened in the most pretty odd album way. One would think that I decided to come out, wrote a bunch of songs about freedom, and went and asked Rodney to make my coming out record. You have perhaps read the book, and if you haven't, I hope you do because the timeline is much more different, pretty odd album, and perfect.

MR : Yes, I read it. Very personal.

CW : When I was writing these songs, I had no idea I was actually writing my next record. I was halfway through making this record with Rodney before I decided to come out. Rodney did not, of course, know that I was gay until halfway through the making of this record. I did not approach Rodney about making this record, Rodney approached me. I had sought him out in my pajamas a couple of months into my breakdown, and all I wanted to ask him was, “Am I dying? I need to know if I'm dying.” He wrote on the back of my guitar, that day I showed up at his house in my pajamas, “Dear Chely, I love your broken heart, and someday you will too.” About a week after I went to see him, he said, “Do you have those songs you played for me on tape?” I said, “Well, I have my work tapes that I do each time I write a song. They're just little home studio recordings.” He said, “Bring them over, and come have a meal.” I said, “No, thanks.” At that point, I was embarrassed that I'd even sought him out just to ask him if I was dying of a broken heart, and I said, “I don't want to come over and eat.” Then he said, “Well, drop the songs in the mailbox.” So, I did, and every couple of weeks, he'd just email me, “Songs?” and I'd make a pilgrimage to his mailbox and leave songs.

This went on for about nine months. No phone calls, no dinners, no “friend” nothing–we weren't hanging out. Then, he called me and said, “You have the option to go to dinner with me on Friday night or Saturday night.” I went to dinner with him, we sat down, and he said, “I'm not going to beat around the bush. You need to make a record, and you need to let me help you make it.” I said, “What, a record?” He said, “You do want to make a record, don't you?” I said, “Well, I hadn't thought of it. Why would you, Rodney Crowell, want to help me make a record?” He said, “Well, seldom does a producer get to see someone really going through a change and is giving into it. You're really giving into it. I'm emotionally invested in these songs, and I want to make a record with you.” I said, “Do you need money to…,” and he said, “I don't need your money. Do you have a label at this time?” I didn't, so he said, “Fine, when you're ready to make your record, then we'll make it.” I said, “I'm not ready now. These songs are still coming to me.” He said, “Great, when you're ready, we will.” We didn't start that record for another nine months. So, the next summer, we started the record–that was the summer of '07, I think May is when we started it.

We were six songs in, and I was realizing, “Holy crap. I've written all these songs by myself,” because he and I didn't write “Heavenly Days” until the record was completely finished, in the can, and then in '09, we wrote “Heavenly Days” kind of as an addendum and put it on the record. But I realized that I had all these songs, written by myself, and I had to go out there and promote this record, where people are going to ask me, “Who are these songs about?” I talk to journalists when I make a record, people like you, and they were going to say, “Who's this relationship…” or “Who is this break up about?” As it stood, nobody knew about a relationship I was having. What was I going to do, make up a fake boyfriend from Buenos Aires? I realized my truth was, again, hunting me down. I could see myself back in that dark, dark place. You know, our truth is stitched to our feet, and no matter how hard you try to outrun it, you can't. I was feeling that layering of my truth, and I felt God continuing to whisper in my ear, “Stand up, stand up, stand up, this is all I expect of you.”

Rodney came to my house one day, flew in from LAX, and said, “I need to land in Nashville, and I need to come talk to you.” He came over, sat on my porch, and he said, “I gossiped about you, and I want to apologize. People have asked me as long as we've been making this record. They've said, 'I hear you're working with Chely. She's great, what a great gal?'” And he said, “Then they'd always whisper, 'But isn't she gay?'” He said, “I always say, 'I don't know, we've never talked about it,' but I flew out to LA four days ago and I participated in a four hour conversation about your sexuality. I'm here to tell you I did that and that I apologize.” I think that Rodney thought that I would melt into some kind of admission, “Oh, Rodney, I am gay.” But I didn't. I just thanked him for telling me something I surely would never have found out.

That night, he left, and I thought about it and prayed about it. Then, I called him the next morning and said, “Can you come back over?” He came over, and we sat on that same porch, and I said, “Rodney, I am gay, and I am going to come out.” I said, “There's one song I held back from you the entire time. Out of all the songs I've written in the past couple of years, it's the musical heart of all the things I've written, and I've held it back from you because it clearly depicts my being in a relationship with a woman.” He said, “Play it for me,” and I said, “No, I'll email it to you. Just go home now.” So, I went to my computer, emailed him the song “Like Me,” opened up a word document, wrote the cover page for my book, Like Me , and I started my book on that day.

MR : Beautiful. What was the process like when you were writing it?

CW : It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and the most profound experience of my life. I'm really thankful that I have had fourteen years of therapy under my belt. I know myself better than most people I know, but I needed every tool that I possess of self-introspection and self-awareness to write this book. All of the work I've done on myself, especially in the past few years, seemed to coalesce during the writing of this book. I wrote it myself, I didn't have a ghostwriter, which most celebrities who write books have. It was an amazing, profound experience, and hard. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.

MR : Another of my favorite songs on this record is “Broken,” although it's a toss up between that and “Notes To The Coroner”–I love your sense of humor in that one. In “Broken” you have my favorite line: “Why can't you just believe in me? Not everyone is an enemy.” To me, that says, “I'm doing the best I can, what do you want from me?” I totally relate to it, it's so reasonable.

CW : That's the best thing, as a writer, if you can get the listener to take it on as their own. and to see themselves in it. That's great and that's a compliment. Really, I'm not a cynical person, but we all find that the older we get, we bring that baggage with us. That song really–I know the title is “Broken”–but it's really a song about hopefulness. It's about, “I'ma little beat up, you've been a little beat up, but let's join hands and jump. Let's give it a shot, love might be waiting for us. I know we're both broken, but broken can be pretty.”

MR: Nice. What advice do you have for young people?

CW : My best advice for young people, even if you're going to school and trying to get your masters, or if you're trying to be a music star, follow that compass within. If it feels too good to be true and it feels like somebody is offering you something that you shouldn't be getting, you probably shouldn't. There aren'ta lot of short cuts in life. You know, in school, when you earned your “A” and you know in school when you haven't earned your “A” because you happened to look at your neighbor's paper? Your internal compass and your spiritual compass tells you. I guess my spiritual compass told me to do some things that I should have done a long time ago, and I'm finally honoring that compass. I'm so glad I named my album Lifted Off The Ground because it's how I feel. I guess that's my advice. Honor that compass within.

Tracks :
En. Broken
2. Heavenly Days
Tre. Hang Out In Your Heart
4. Notes To The Coroner
5. Snow Globe
6. Like Me
7. That Train
8. Damn Liar
9. Wish Me Away
10. Object Of Your Rejection
11. Shadows Of Doubt

(transcribed by Ryan Gaffney)

Follow Mike Ragogna on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/ragz2008

It's turning out to be an autumn full of Weezer albums with crazy covers and fan favorite songs. The band has already dropped 'Hurley' and announced the 'Blinkerton' tour in celebration of its first two albums, and now Rivers Cuomo and company have revealed plans for a rarities record, 'Death to False Metal,' which will drop on Nov. 1 and sports some pretty bizarre artwork.

In addition to a cover of Toni Braxton 's R&B staple 'Un-Break My Heart,' the Weezer camp is cleaning out its closet with titles like 'Turn Up the Radio,' 'Blowin' My Stack,' 'I'ma Robot' and 'pretty odd album Couple' slated for the project.

The 10-track disc, which was initially titled 'pretty odd albums and Ends' when Cuomo first spoke of it during a 2008 visit to LA's KROQ, features material dating back to the early '90s. Cuomo spoke collectively of these unreleased tracks as “great songs” and “great recordings” that never made the final track sequences of Weezer discs.

As previously announced, the band's deluxe reissue of 1996′s 'Pinkerton' comes in tandem with its 'Blinkerton' dates when it hits shelves on Nov. 22. As for rarities, many Weezer fans already know that Cuomo still has an arsenal of material that remains available. Between January of 1999 and June of 2002, he wrote a staggering 384 songs, including a number of tracks such as 'Mad Kow,' 'Mansion of Cardboard' and 'Buttafuoco,' which were recorded during US tour stops in 2002.

The track list to 'Death to False Metal' is:

En. 'Turning Up the Radio'
2. 'I Don't Want Your Loving'
Tre. 'Blowin' My Stack'
4. 'Losing My Mind'
5. 'Everyone'
6. 'I'ma Robot'
7. 'Trampoline'
8. 'pretty odd album Couple'
9. 'Autopilot'
10. 'Un-Break My Heart'

It's hard to fathom exactly what the state of mind of Weezer currently is considering the rollercoaster ride of releases over the past few years. Sixteen years on from the release of Weezer's critically acclaimed Blue Album , the power pop quartet has returned with their eighth album album Hurley .

At first glance, Hurley looks like one of the biggest musical disasters since well….Weezer's last album Raditude . That record was critically panned, which cames as no great surprise to fans considering the pretty odd album appearance of Lil Wayne .

However, despite the cover artwork, Hurley is actually a pretty damn good album and the record represents a return to form for the band.

It's clear that Weezer have moved on from the days of the classic Pinkerton and Blue Album records. Over time the band's sound has shifted from the harsher alternative end of the spectrum to a more professional, laid back pop styling.

The opening track and first single Memories , defines this laid back pop style. Rivers Cuomo’s strongly major vocal melodies, Beverly Hills Cop era synths, glockenspiel counter-melodies and a driving rock beat all fuse to form a lighthearted track that sounds like it should have been in an 80s John Hughes movie.

However, Memories also suffers from intolerably bad lyrics penned by Cuomo that are riddled throughout the album. A fan would hope that over twenty years, a songwriter would drastically improve their writing. However with shallow lyrics like “Now I got so many people that I got to look out for, Never know when I'll become awake and buy some food at the store”, one has to question what has happened to the Rivers outstanding writing of the early 90s.

However whilst some of the aforementioned lyrics are just dull, some are just purely insane. When Cuomo belts out “Mom made my sex, she knitted it with her hands. Sex-making is, a family tradition”, one has to wonder what the hell his childhood was actually like.

Despite the mediocre lyrics feature throughout the album, the consistent element that works in Cuomo's favour is his vocal melodies. In a true pop style his vocal hooks are catchy, melodious and serve as a great improvement of those on Raditude . They're the one element that manages to save a track like Where's My Sex from being a total write off. Most notably the pop hooks on Unspoken , Ruling Me and Hang On manage to lift Hurley to a point where it can actually be enjoyed, rather than shunned in the same fashion as many Weezer records of late.

As with previous Weezer's albums, the instrumentation of Hurley is exceptional, with Brian Bell , Scott Shriner and Pat Wilson providing a strong foundation for the tracks penned by Cuomo. However in a real pop style, solos have been killed off in favour of repetition of choruses, which is a real disappointment the great instrumental performance that Weezer has previously demonstrated with tracks like Say it Ain't So .

Overall, whilst Hurley may not be the next Blue Album , it certainly meets the high standards set by some of Weezer's more modern releases. Hurley has managed to prove that Weezer isn't giving up on living the rock star dream, or at least not without making another 20 million dollars.

When their singer Charlie Haddon died on August 20th this year, the issue of the release of the debut album by Ou Est Le Swimming Pool paled almost entirely into insignificance. The story of the end of Charlie's life is an awful one, and there is nothing I can add to it that you haven't read already. While it would be completely crass for me to talk about The Golden Year without acknowledging the tragedy which preceded it, it would be equally wrong to discuss the album exclusively in the context of Charlie's death. Chances are that if you're reading this, then you know the background, and you're probably here to get an idea of what the record sounds like.

For the most part, The Golden Year sees Ou Est Le Swimming Pool building on the reputation which their previous singles built for them as doyens of punchy synth pop. The album houses a good five or six instances where the band completely and utterly hit their mark from a pop point of view, snaring you with a catchy chorus or insistent synth line and refusing to let go. 'Dance the Way I Feel' and 'Jackson's Last Stand', in particular, provide the sort of devastatingly effective thrill out of seemingly simplistic ingredients which so many bands strive for, but which few achieve as completely as this.

When you've hit on a successful formula for pop perfection, there's always a danger of overdoing it, and laying it on too thick with the hooks, which has the inevitable impact of diluting their effectiveness. This is a pitfall which Ou Est Le Swimming Pool sidestep here, because The Golden Year isn't played out entirely at full speed, with the pop stompers broken up with the pretty odd album slowie. While the more downbeat moments like 'Our Lives' don't necessarily show the band playing their strongest hand, they are useful in saving The Golden Year from overwhelming you with boisterousness (aka The Passion Pit effect).

In spite of anyone's best efforts to separate The Golden Year from its background, it was always likely that there would be one or two moments where its context would result in moments more poignant than the band probably intended them to be. 'Better's occasional dark sentiments, although masked by an upbeat melody, make for pretty difficult listening: “The quiet walls are more help than a friend could be” . A similar effect is created by the waves of delicate hope which open up the album on 'You Started', particularly its “You have started the beginning of my life” refrain.

Whether or not The Golden Year will prove to be the only album Ou Est Le Swimming Pool ever release is, at the time of writing, unclear, and is something which is a private decision for the band's remaining members to make in their own good time. Clearly, if they do continue it will be with an entirely different dynamic to that which produced this record, a dynamic which at once shows the finely honed instincts the band possessed even at this early stage, as well as highlighting the potential they had for the future. Hopefully the strength of the album means that this music is what Charlie Haddon will be remembered for, rather than the manner of his death.