The Flaming Lips Have Something To Say

Okay, I am going to pick an album that everyone should own. If you don't have this album you should run to closest record store and pick it up. It is worthy of any album I talk about or mention. My only problem is trying to convince my straight music listener friends to get this and try something new. I have tried with a few people, but with limited success. Maybe, I might trying to reach the narrow minded music fan who likes what he likes and that's it. I know a few of my friends think I am crazy, but that's okay because I sometimes believe that I am crazy. Just maybe the band is too, and that energy of them being crazy get's me a bit out there.

I know most of you have heard The Flaming Lips at one point or another in your life and more then likely you thought I like I first thought. They should be a 60's band or a band that belongs on another planet. Even a band that just does not belong on the register of Rock and Roll. Some of my friends tell me that The Flaming Lips are a band that when you take drugs they are the band playing in your head. I disagree to an extent. I stopped doing drugs and they still sound really awesome.



I know they scored a hit in the middle of 1993. I also know they were on Melrose Place and played for people who more then likely did not get what they were doing. Even their titles of the songs suggest that they are way beyond what we think of musicians. I mean how many people have seen the video for "She Don't Use Jelly?" It maybe one of the most oddest videos, but it kicks so much ass. I think I even went to see them tour for that album back in 1993 and even then it was a big giant blur. At that point I was hooked on their music and would buy everything they put out. My Flaming Lips obsession was huge. Then it just stopped in 1997. I have no idea why it did but it was just to much and more then likely I was on another musical endeavor.

Thank got it only lasted for year because in 1998 their best album came out. I was at a record store where my friend worked and he handed me a bunch of promo CD's. He told me that he did not want them and was just going to throw them away. He had all kinds of stuff. Some of it was not even opened to play. In this pile was Mr. Bungle, Pavement, Wilco, Fiona Apple, Dream Theater and a few single's that were of the Flaming Lips. I grabbed them all. I went home and threw them on the CD player. There had to be about 2o CD's. I listened to them all. What stood out was that I questioned why I did not listen to the Lips for that long. It was a year and I went back to the albums I had and listened again. I was missing something that I never heard in the first go around. I heard music that stretched far and wide and had fun making the music as much as we did listening to it.


Then in 1999 the Flaming Lips changed my life forever. Once again I did the visit to the friend at the record store. He more promos that he did not want any more. In this pile was full of stuff I am sure now he regrets giving to me or wish he did listen to when he had the chance. Included was the new Flaming Lips. He told me that he did not like it because he was not a person that liked new Psychedelic music. I told him that he did not give it a chance. I grabbed it and went on my merry way. This time I had a car that had a CD player and I used it to it's full advantage. When I left my friend I knew that this Flaming Lips had to be the kicker. I went to see another friend who was a Flaming Lips fan and I showed him the Promo of The Soft Bulletin. He laughed and showed me his copy.

He put his copy in the CD player to play for the customers. After the first few notes we knew we were in for an album full of experimental pop music and music that full of lush beautiful sounds and what it made it more interesting that the Flaming Lips grew in two years and more to this point and this was the top of their game. It was different then Transmissions From Satellite Heart, but it sounded like they wanted to make music that was Radiohead OK Computer style. It was really amazing and that was just the first song. In little over four minutes this song was the best song we ever heard. It could only get better and it did.



It sure did too, and by the end of the CD we were sad it ended. In 53 minutes the music transported us to another planet. It was really amazing. Then in 2000 I brought that same CD to school. It was my first year back after some time off and I was moving into a new world. I unloaded my car and my friend and I got everything organized. We decided to put on some tunes while putting my room together in the dorms. I put on The Flaming Lips. I put the music on loud enough for us to hear and anyone outside who could hear it as well. Not to loud, but enough to make an impression.

Over the course of the unpacking my room I had a few visitors. The RA and a few other people introducing themselves and then came a gentlemen who was listening to the music and his eyes were beaming with excitement. Is that The Soft Bulletin he said. His friend with him was like of course it is you fool. They introduced each other and I was happy that these people felt the same way I felt. One of them went quickly to my record and CD collection and started going through it like a kid at a candy store. They asked me all kinds of questions regarding my record collection. I told them I wanted to be a DJ on campus radio station. With them looking through the records and CD's they told me it would not take long to get a show.

In conclusion if I could suggest a great album such as this I will. This is an album that must and should be heard. It has everything you want in music and every you want in a great album. Remember once you listen to this album. You will be completely spoiled by everything else you listen to. Enjoy!

Mingus! Mingus!

While at my community college my English Professor got me into all kinds of stuff. I mentioned this when in my post about Ornette Coleman, and Eric Dolphy. Not only did he help me with Jazz but he helped me with Classical. He was a great fan of 20th Century Classical and he liked all the hard Classical listens too. For example he loved Messiaen, Carter, Shostakovich, Mahler, Berg, Stockhausen and many others. He told me they were the Jazz forerunners of Classical music. He also told me that a man who does not get credit for his classical learning is Charles Mingus.

Charles Mingus was Classically trained he explained. He told me that he might have been the most music smart of all the Jazz people out there. I did not hear much Mingus before that time and I thought it would be cool to check him out. The English Professor asked me to bring in a few cassette tapes for him to record some Mingus. He told me he would give me full albums and not any type of greatest hits type albums. He did not tell me what albums I would be getting but he did tell me the two they have at the college library are not the ones I was going to get, but I should listen to those as well.



Two weeks passed and he asked me to come to his office for the tapes. He handed me Mingus, Mungus, Mingus, Mingus and Black Saint and the Sinner Lady on one tape and on the other the Charles Mingus Town Hall Concert and Oh Yeah on the other tape. He told me that I should soak it all in and enjoy. He did not tell me what his personal favorite, but he did mention that he was a fan of the early 60's Mingus of all. I took the tapes and put them in my car and I would listen to them after class. I was not sure what to think. I mean he told me he was classically trained and I thought I was going to listen to my uncle's Jazz not stuff I been listening to that he gave me. I mean we have yet to study him in Jazz class and the stuff I listened to in High School was not exactly the stuff I wanted to hear again.

So the first tape I started with was the Mingus, Mingus... one and like the Ornette Coleman this music was a life changing musical event. His music I was hearing before was something that sounded to much like the jazz that I heard. This music was fresh and wonderful and a little more different then most Jazz. Mingus not only played the Bass, but he also played the Piano and sang. He even had some conducting of the band that he was in. I could now see why Mingus was so good.



As I listened to the tapes I got more and more into him. I liked everything I heard. I really did like the first one I listened to and all the songs were very good. I would recommend any Mingus, but for now let's just start with the one I first heard. Mingus is a one of the best musicians to hear and if you don't have any this is the best place to start and see why his music crosses so many boundaries in the musical spectrum. Soon you too will be a Charles Mingus fan too. Enjoy!!

Robert Steven Belew's Rhino

Some people have spotlight on them for no reason, because they suck and I won't get into that, and others need to be in the spotlight because of how underrated they are. He is always over looked and should be recognized for his great guitar playing. I mean how many artists can you say played with Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, David Bowie, and King Crimson all in one breath. Not to mention, he has had people play with him by the likes of Les Claypool, of Primus and Danny Carey of Tool. He has recently been a sideman for Trent Reznor and Paul Simon. But he did not start playing guitar, his first love is drums. It was his love of the Beatles that got him hooked on guitar.

He started in a cover band in Nashville playing "straight music" and was seen by Zappa who needed to fill a void in his guitar department. He needed someone to play on Zappa's European tour. It was quite an honor that he could not pass up and what led him to be the most important guitar players out there. If you see the DVD Baby Snakes you can see him play with Zappa it's a real treat. From there he went to play with David Bowie. He is only on one album Stage but he makes his mark. At that point he was introduced to Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. The rest is history.



If you have ever seen Adrian Belew then you know all about him. He is a very good guitar player and his lyrics are pretty damn cool too. He is the spokesperson for when King Crimson goes up on stage. Fripp does very little talking or non at all in my case when I have seen King Crimson or any of the Projekcts that Fripp set up after the band toured in 1996. Adrian jokes with crowd and is very talkative. I had a chance to meet him a couple of times and he was really nice. I have begged a couple times to get the album from his early career in print on CD and he has many times said the masters are lost in Japan somewhere.

Adrian Belew's early albums are wonderful and Lone Rhino is no exception. The album is full of those early King Crimson and Afro-Beat roots. Adrian was making his presence known in the music world with his first album and even more he was in front of the spotlight with King Crimson. From the first song to the last each song is Adrian's. There is even a track with his daughter.



So if you want to be hip and I know you do, I would go out and look for this album. It's a great start to the early career of Adrian Belew. It shows early on what Adrian was taught by everybody who came across him and wanted him to play with. Adrian is a true guitar hero to me because not only can he play but he does not show off and he shows his fans he is just a front man who loves to have fun. I have a story about seeing King Crimson in 1996 and he came out to tell the King Crimson fans they were here for our entertainment. He also made fun of Eddie Van Halen for using a drill and a guitar in one Van Halen song and mentioned the video. He laughed and tried the drill and handed it to the roadie and told him and the crowd if Eddie Van Halen was watching this how you play guitar. He did not show off he just went about his business and reminded all of he played with Zappa and Eddie did not. Play this loud and remember it's not how you show off your instrument it's how well you play it. Enjoy!

Fear The Talking Heads

The first time I saw David Byrne was back during his tour of his Feelings album. It was good, but sadly nothing to write home about. I mean I really thought I should have expected more Talking Head songs then his own solo work so with that expectation there I was disappointed. Then in the summer of 2001 I saw him again. This time I was a little more mature on the musical listening and also educated on what he has done for me in my life. This time the show was amazing. It lasted only two hours, but at the end you wanted another two hours out of him so you can hear the same stuff again and again.

I saw him twice more since then and he was exceeding the level I had already put up when I saw him in 2001. My only regret seeing these shows of David Byrne was the fact that I never had the chance to see the Talking Heads. I am a huge fan of the Talking Heads and I remember as a younger adult buying Little Creatures and playing the tape to death. I thought it was the best stuff in the world. I even went so far to take out of the library the live album from 1982 and play it religiously. I would always put the needle on the songs I thought were the coolest in the world. I say thought because these were the big hits. Song's like "Psycho Killer" and "Burning Down the House" and "Take Me to the River." What I did not play were the rest of the songs at that tender age. Those songs are the ones that define a great band.



In High School I bought most of my Talking Head albums at the record store I would go to. I mean I had a base of the tape I had and now it was time to fill in the gaps. I started with the album before Little Creatures and go on from there. It was slow but effective in some way to let me hear each album. Then I got Remain In Light and my whole world had changed. I listened to that album all the time to figure out where David Byrne and the rest of the band where getting these ideas from. Most of the ideas were their own the rest came from a man named Brian Eno. When I bought Remain In Light I was a Junior in High School so I knew about him because of his circles with Robert Fripp. I knew their was some smart music going on there. I liked it too so this was a bonus for me.

I liked Remain In Light so much that my next progression was Fear of Music. Fear of Music turned out to be my favorite of all the Talking Heads albums. It might be the fact that Robert Fripp and Gene Wilder are on the album. The fact is that it's a great album full of poly-rhythms and the ominous sound of minor key use it becomes quite addicting. The fact Brian Eno's work is all over it makes a very good album all the way around.



There are great stand out tracks that make the album get quite addictive very quickly. I think "I Zimbra," "Life During Wartime," "Heaven" and "Memories Can't Wait" are some of the best songs the Talking Heads have ever done. These songs are Talking Heads, they would probably be the only artist that could do these songs. The whole band works very well with this album and soon it will be your favorite.

I know my readers like the Talking Heads too, but if you really study them as much as I do, I think some of their greatest work is not what you hear on the radio, but what is on each album. This album is full of songs that are non commercial and most of all just give you an idea what they can do given the great direction of Brian Eno. A must own and a great one to enjoy again and again.

High Voltage According to AC/DC

Like most fans of Rock & Roll they like the stuff that get's played in heavy rotation on the Classic Rock stations. Also, my generation and the one before grew up on good old fashion 60's and 70's Rock & Roll. Few bands cross the same generational gap as AC/DC did. I mean I was not an immediate fan but I did like their songs. I remember in High School how the Back in Black album to listen to at all the parties and everywhere we hung out. I personally went through two tape copies and I still have my record. I am not sure how many times I played that album, but I know for a fact that I wore the groves off just about every song on the album.

In High School they became popular for a lot of people. They were touring for Razor's Edge and I saw the show I think twice and enjoyed for what is was worth, but I decided to look for the early stuff. According to my friends, Bon Scott was the singer and the best singer. Since he died there was no comparison with Brian Johnson. I decided to go backwards from Back in Black to the start of their career. This move was by accident and it was great accident to be in.



The accident was my fault and I take all the blame. I was record shopping one day at a tag sale and I asked a guy selling crap if he had records. He motioned me to his garage. He told me to hold one one second while he grabs a few. If I like what he has, he told me he had more. He came out with Cream, Deep Purple, Rush, Pink Floyd and AC/DC. He told me also that he had 200 albums and he would sell them to me for about $40.00. It was a steal. I told him I will give you the twenty now and I will be back to give him the other twenty. I also recruited my friend to help me get them home. When I handed him the other twenty he gave me all 200 records. I kept my mouth shut because even though he played them, he took real good care of them.

When I got them home I went through all of them to see what I had. There was a lot of cool ones, but one thing I did notice was the fact that all his AC/DC albums pre-dated Back in Black. I went back to ask him the question where was the rest of the AC/DC and he told me that he hated anything after Bon Scott died and the true classic albums are the ones I should listen to. He turned out to be 100% right.



I took all the AC/DC and put them near my turntable. I had no idea at the time what these albums were, let alone if these were popular as much as the later stuff. I decided to throw one on the turntable and see if was interesting. I put on my headphones and closed my eyes. The first record I put on was High Voltage. I was shaken at the foundations running around the turn table and playing air guitar. This stuff rocked. At some points it sounded better then what I heard on the radio. Every song was a winner. It had great riff's and it also had wonderful singing by Bon Scott. This stuff was addicting. From the first song "It's A Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock and Roll)." to "T.N.T." to the classic "She Got Balls" every song was a rocker. I was very impressed by what I heard. I went on to all the albums he had by AC/DC which was five and each was great and unique as the last one I put on.

After finishing the albums I finally realized that I came across something better then what was being played on the radio. I kept going back to High Voltage and listening how great it really was. Even now when I turn my turntable on or when I have the CD in the car I crank it up. High Voltage is amazing. I am not sure why the album is more and more or even mentioned in the same breath as Back In Black, but I do know this album rocks and must be heard. Enjoy and if you do have it... CRANK IT UP!!!!

Lonesome West According To The Mouse

You read something or hear someone recite poetry or words to a song that you don't get the first time they are spoken or heard. Then about half day later they club you in the back of the head like you just got mugged. You say to yourself where the hell did those words come from. They did not catch to your brain till now and now they are kicking your butt everywhere because you cannot get them out of your head nor can you full comprehend what was the meaning of it. That is my beautiful issue with Modest Mouse. Issac Brock is a lyrical genius. Talk about a man who's words don't make sense on the surface, but once digested in your brain they just knock you down and leave you dazed for days, months, or forever.

From the top of the ocean, yeah!
From the bottom of the sky, goddamn!
Well I get claustrophobic
I can
You know that I can
Well, from the top of the ocean, yeah!
From the bottom of the sky, goddamn!
Well I get claustrophobic
I can
You know that I can

And he said
"I am not allowed much danger
Well, keep in mind you're an old friend, stranger
You'll burn me in effigy
And I'll burn you in effigy"
Well, a rattlesnake up in Buffalo, Montana
He bit the leg of the old sheriff
Ha! That boy fell down on his harelip
Ow! Ow!
Well I, I might be wrong
But you, you tag along
And we, we all been wrong and
I get dizzier by the mile
I said hell yeah
The money's been spent
Go to the county line

And pay the rent and said uh-oh
I said uh-oh

Oh, if you could compact your conscience
Oh, and you might
Oh, if you could bottle and sell it you might've done
Oh, and you might
Oh, if you could compact your conscience and sell it
Save it for another time
You know you might have to use it

And the television's gone
Go to the grocery store
Buy some new friends
And find out the beginning
The end and the best of it
Well, do you need a lot of what you got to survive?

Here's the man with teeth like God's shoeshine
He sparkles, shimmers, shines
Let's all have another orange julius
Thick syrup standing in lines
The malls are the soon to be ghost towns
Well, so long, farewell, goodbye

Take up all for the long ride
And you'll go around town
No one will want to be uptight anymore
You should be ashamed
To be so proud of what you've done
But not no one
Not now, not ever anyone
Take them all for the sight of their happiness
From that deep hurt deep down inside



That's not even the whole words to the song. Can anyone tell me what Issac is talking about because I still have no idea, but the song is great and it's from a great album called Lonesome Crowded West. I missed the album in 1997, but made up for it in 2000 when I went back to school. I would hear their music blasting from the radio station's airwaves and figure they were some new band. Then I met a few new friends who told me how great they were. I was given a mix CD and a bootleg live CD and I was hooked.



It was not the words that Issac Brock wrote, but it was the way the music was reminiscent of music that was extremely angular and tough to pull apart. I thought the music even had a quality of if you took one single note out of the equation then the who song would loose it all. Almost like pulling the string that is on a shirt and the whole shirt comes apart with that one string. The music was tough, but later on I noticed that Issac's words matched what he and the rest of the band were doing. It is really amazing that this stuff is achieved in this band.

The greatness of Modest Mouse is the fact they can play anything in any style and make it sound so unique to what Issac is talking about with such clarity. My guess is that Issac and the band are on some higher plateau then us and only he and the band can understand what they are saying. Even the song titles have this word phrasing that I could never understand either. The unique of the music is what stands out. There is no simple drums, guitars, bass and keyboards, but there is overdubbing guitars on top of even or odd melodies or sometimes there is just oddness in general. An album of theirs that came out a few years ago had Issac singing while he is playing a squeeze box or an accordion.



She was going with a cinematographer
Everyone knew that he was really a pornographer
They went down to the dance and grind
And everybody was feeling fine
She was talking with syllable lisp
And everybody she knew was gonna get the twist
And they all went down and did the porcupine
And everybody was feeling high
You are so hot
I would like to steal your digits
And I'm so hung up on it
I would like to
Move away from it
We are so caught up with things
We should pull each other's triggers
And I'm off
She was going with a cinematographer
Everyone knew that he was really a pornographer
They went down to the dance and grind
And everybody was feeling fine
She was talking with syllable lisp
And everybody she knew was gonna get the twist
And they all went down and did the porcupine
And everybody was feeling high
I've got a girlfriend out of the city
I know I like her, I think she is pretty (X4)
Last call!
It's closing time
I'm on the road to god don't know
My brain's the burger and my heart's the charcoal
It's closing time

More lyrics from Lonesome Crowded West with a song called "Lounge (Closing Time)." Again if anyone could understand what Issac is talking about please tell me, because I still don't. His words do make sense, I think; I am not sure where he is going with this, but it's just way to odd. I am sure people reading this are asking the same question that I am. The early Modest Mouse is the best because they did not break the norm of commercial pressure, but they did what they did best. They are still ahead of their time. The later stuff does not do any justice on what they are doing in 1997.

If you need something to own that is just a little different then I suggest this album here. It's got great moments. But as many great moments as their early work. I think Modest Mouse is a truly unsung band that only a select few can fully understand. The early work is a tribute to stick to your guns and go against the grain and really check out and explore something different. It may be rock on the surface, but below it's a whole new world that we can only try to figure out what is going on in Issac's head. Enjoy! a great album that is light years ahead of anything we can talk about or let alone make into poetry.

Lucinda's Quest Out West

The Fall of 1993 I had a friend who went to the College Music Journal in New York City to play. He invited me to come along to help set up and check out the other acts. We both agreed that we would see as many acts as we could or looked promising. We saw Frank Black solo show. We saw a little band called Urge Overkill and a band called Kyuss. We saw so much stuff I bet I saw someone who is now or was famous, but god knows I cannot tell you about it. I think we saw about 30 shows over that weekend. My friends band was in the middle of those shows and he drew a huge crowd. It was fun because he was just a little ole punk band from Connecticut. One person I wanted to see was on this sampler we got on the first day of entry. Her name was Lucinda Williams. She was playing at the Bottom Line. A club that I always idolized and looked up to when I wanted to see some great singer-songwriter. I heard stories from my uncle who saw Van Morrison there in 1978. He told me that if an artist just wants to be intimate or just looking for a good time he or she goes there. My friend agreed to go, because he wanted a change of pace from all the punk shows he saw at CMJ. It was our last show of the festival. We were drained and needed something to wind down.

A few of my friends who lived in the city actually got tickets to this show too. I knew I was in for a treat when my friends told me that Paul Simon was here and Elvis Costello was here and few other famous celebrity's where mingling around waiting for the show to start. I only heard one song, but I was eager to hear what else she was going to sing about. I sat at my seat and my friend was anxious as well. The lights dimmed and for the next 2 hours Lucinda Williams poured her heart out for all of us to hear. It was truly amazing show. One of my most memorable moments of my early concert going career.



More then a few years past after that great moment of my life and I wonder if Lucinda was going to put out a new album. These few years turned into six long years. I just did not get it. She put out four album from 1979 to 1992 and now I had to wait again for her to put something more out. Waiting was a pain, but when her new album came out in 1998 I was ready. She had added a little twang to what she was doing, but those confessional lyrics were great. Intentionally or not, the album's common thread seems to be its strongly grounded sense of place -- specifically, the Deep South, conveyed through images and numerous references to specific towns. Many songs are set, in some way, in the middle or aftermath of not-quite-resolved love affairs, as Williams meditates on the complexities of human passion. Even her simplest songs have more going on under the surface than their poetic structures might indicate. (AM)

At that point I saw her again and this time she actually was putting out albums more frequently. I saw her a few more times and she was never disappointing. This time she had more celebrities checking her out. If anything she felt conformable about herself and her words. She would make her father proud for taking to see Flannery O'Connor every week. (Something I did not know till some time last year, that her father was friends with the famous author.)



I bought the next three albums of her and was fully in love with her words and her roots. Then in 2007 an album that blew my mind came out. Lucinda just took me away from a place I never heard her do. The album West was amazing and produced by one of my favorite people Hal Willner. A complete 360 for an artist grounded in roots music and blues to do an album that was full of great interest. Her and Willner worked well together and when he brought in his own people to play for her. This collaboration — as unlikely as it might seem on the surface — results in something utterly different and yet unmistakably Lucinda Williams. West is a warm, inviting, yet very dark record about grief, the loss of love, anger at a lover who cannot deliver, and embracing the possibility of change. In other words, it's not without its redemptive moments. Williams has put all of her qualities on display at once with an unbridled and unbowed sense of adventure here on her eighth album. She, her bandmates, and Willner have come up with exactly what pop music needs: a real work of art based in contemporary forms and feelings. (AM)

As for me I think it's her best album in her career. It just is full of plush sounds and her lyrics go so well with what the band is doing. I wish this album was better accessible to everybody because it is well done. If you are trying to impress someone who thinks all you listen to is unappealing music, put this album and just listen. Below are some of her greatest words. Enjoy!

With an ocean in my spirit
And cracks on my lips
And scars in my heart
And this burden on my hips

Ocean becomes heavy and tries
To push its way out
Through these ancient eyes
And the memories in my mouth

Ocean becomes tears
That ebb and flow
Over the lines in my face
And the pain in my soul

And pain hits a wall
And doesn't know which way to go
And ocean says I'm crying now
And tells pain to follow

And pain courses through
Every vein, every limb
Trying to find a way out
Between the secrets in my skin

And secrets hold on
Until they finally give in
And they meet up with ocean
And tears again

And tears hand me a shovel
Saying break beneath the crust
That binds earthly skin
And buries all the trust

Somehow trust was caught
Between the cracks on my lips
And the scars in my heart
And this burden on my hips