Marah, I have not come to bury you, but rather to damn you with faint praise.
Last night's Marah show at Johnny Brenda's was…
…good.
The Wistful Rant
It was full of energy, frequently fun, and I will never get tired of singing along to almost their entire catalog.
But missing are the outlier adjectives that would previously fell regularly from my lips like sweat from my brow. Words like, "great", "transcendent", and "unfuckingbelievable" never even bought a ticket for the notoriously short trip from my brain to my mouth.
And I'm beginning to doubt whether they'll ever will again.
I take no joy in this. I want to be blown away by them again. I want to sit in a puddle of my own joy, rendered speechless except for silently mouthed "wow"s.
I've tried like hell to keep an open mind, which hasn’t been easy. After seeing Marah at WCL last May, I wrote extensively (http://bit.ly/k8ZqA) about the baggage I brought to a Marah show and how it affected my experience. I won't rehash that, but suffice to say I haven’t lost all that baggage in 15 months. In a nutshell, they were a band with an already turbulent history who, in one fell swoop, lost 4 of their 6 members at a creative & performance peak. Not an easy hole to dig yourself out of.
But right now? Comparing Marah 2009 with Marah 2010? They’re moving backwards, not forwards.
This is yet another new lineup. Same drummer. New bassist and guitar player. So it’s possible I’m being too hard on them.
As erratic as the WCL show was, they were at least trying new things. Classics were reimagined, some even with the interesting tinge of funk. That incarnation at least had the balls to swing for the fences. I may not have loved the path they had chosen, but I respect them for not sticking to the one with all the picket fences and pavement.
Look, I realize they're in a tough spot. They have to win over new fans, while not alienating the old ones. That's a tough line to walk for any established band. But what I saw last night at Johnny Brenda's was they type of show I never thought I'd see from Marah:
Safe
The "hits" were front and center and only "Formula" seemed to have some imagination to it. The new stuff was sprinkled capriciously throughout. One could even pedantically debate whether or not "Muskie Moon" even counted as a new song. Hell, it’s practically old enough to get a learner's permit and subsequently get to 3rd base with half of the drama club.
The new album leaves me cold. It’s not like I dying to hear a lot from it. But the old/new ratio does not speak highly of their confidence in the new material. I would have respected them more if they came out with a big chunk of LIAP songs and said "Screw you and your expectations, these are our latest and greatest babies. We’re going to play the hell out of them and make you love them." Whether in the dark days of “Float Away…” or buoyed by mainstream recognition, the hell bent for leather Marah I've come to know and love like a blackjack dealer with poor math skills would do.
The Disjointed Critique & The Backhanded Compliment
You'll never convince me that every single song of theirs needs keyboard. It works slightly better on the AOD & LIAP material. But I've never once listened to Tyrone or Catfisherman and thought, "Boy, I wish there were more keyboards on this song." I realize it’s not changing any time soon. Christine is here to stay. She’s talented (I liked her solo album), but miscast in her current role.
I really enjoyed the stripped-down acoustic stuff, which is not something I thought I would ever say. More of an indictment of Electric Marah than an endorsement of Acoustic Marah? Possibly.
Sloppiness on Dave’s part reared its head several times. He skipped numerous chunks of lyrics. At first, I was willing to chalk it up to a certain level of ramshacklitude, which has been part of their charm. But it happened enough that it the charm quickly wore off.
The new band lineup was solid, if unspectacular. The drummer is rock-solid. I liked the addition of the horn on several songs, one of which, gloriously, was Christian St. Takes me back (in a good way) to the shows with the Hopping John Horns.
And I’ll be dead in the cold, cold ground before I can hear “The Closer” and not dance a jig.
A snippet of “Baba O’Reilly” was teased early on, but thankfully, it was not played. To me, that’s indelibly a Serge moment and decidedly not kosher if he’s not singing it.
The Closer
I'm coming to grips, sadly, with the fact that the primary enjoyment I get from a Marah show will likely be rooted in nostalgia and camaraderie going forward. I’m not quite ready to foreswear the slack-jawed, googily-eyed awestruck transcendence I’ve come to expect.
So I'll probably stop being publicly crotchety about how much better things used to be. Because it quickly becomes a broken record that’s dead horse-adjacent.
I’ve bent over backwards to avoid getting embroiled in Marah’s soap opera over the years. All I’ve ever cared about is the music on the CDs and on stage. The elusive “it” that bands and fans spend years trying to find? They had it, regardless of personnel changes or backstage drama. I was able to keep a blind eye to because of it.
Maybe I'm tired of rationalizing yet another lineup change, or maybe they just don't have "it" anymore.
The bottom line is that if they put forth the effort, with the songs they have in their arsenal, Marah can hit a bloop double every night. But home runs seem further out of reach than ever before.
And that's a goddamn shame.
p.s. If they ever brought “After the Implosion” out of mothballs, I take back everything I wrote here.
If only it were that easy. Loyalty to anything carries with it the burden of accumulated memories and expectations inseparable from those memories.
It would be nice to see things with fresh eyes and experience things with an empty canvas of a brain, but that’s easier said than done.
Oh, hey. I’m back scrambling posting.
I saw Marah last Thursday night. Swirling eddies of thought about that show and its place in Marah’s ever-turbulent history will greet you after the jump.
Too Much Background (or “I Need To Show You Where I’ve Been So I Can Bitch About Where I Am”)
I’ve been attending Marah shows for over 10 years. It all started back in the summer of 98. XPN began playing a few tracks (“Fever” & “Formula, Cola, Dollar Draft”) off their debut album, and it scratched an itch I didn’t know I had.
As an aside, if there’s a better title for a debut album than “Let’s Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later On Tonight”, I wanna hear it and then punch you in the face for undermining my ability to make grandiose statements.
The first time I saw them, I sprinted barefoot down Delaware Avenue with an anticipation-swollen heart and a bread pudding-swollen stomach for fear of missing their set. At the time, I probably couldn’t have explained why I was doing it, but it seemed very, very important at the time. And I was right.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen them (estimates are in the 60-70 range). Those shows have encompassed 5 states, 2 continents, 3 countries and hundreds of sweat-soaked transcendent moments where my shit-eating grin could be seen from space. Hell, they let me share the stage with them and butcher the hell out of one of their songs. And my connection to the band and the music has been the common ground of has been the manure in which numerous friendships have grown.
Marah has achieved a moderate level of success. They’ve had critical acclaim, high-profile celebrity fans (Stephen King & Nick Hornby), and a friendship with Bruce Springsteen (he played on their album and has shared the stage with them several times). Sadly, though, it often seems as if Marah was trying to find an easy way out of some weird rock-centric army the way they continually shot themselves in the foot any time a modicum of momentum was generated.
It’s kinda ridiculous how many rhythm sections (6 at last count) they’ve had. The latest split was particularly galling to a long-time fan on several fronts:
The band was as fucking tight as any lineup they’d had to that point.
Near as an outsider can tell, it seemed to be over the level of inclusion of keyboardist Christine Smith in the band. Just before a big American tour, ultimatums were given, bluffs were called, and when the dust cleared all that was left were Dave & Serge Bielanko and Smith. Adam Garbinski (guitar), Dave Peterson (drums), and Kirk Henderson (bass, keys, etc.) were gone. Smith & her keyboards had been a nice addition to the band, but not worth losing who they lost fro. I’ve strained to avoid the Yoko comparisons because she is talented. But jeez, I’m only flesh and blood.
Adam & Dave were not only a great rhythm section, but they had their own band (Bloodline) which is pretty kick-ass in its own right. They would often open for Marah and then join them for the main set with them. Afterwards they would tie brooms to their asses and help clean up.
They had just put out their strongest album in years (“Angels of Destruction!”) and never got a chance to tour the US behind it.
Champion mustache grower and general bon vivant, Kirk Henderson, was perhaps the saddest casualty. When the band was at its lowest and darkest point in the wake of the much-anticipated, almost-universally-loathed-at-the-time Britpop sophomore effort “Float Away With the Friday Night Gods”, Kirk came along. He seemed to be a life-saver both as a musical jack-of-all-trades and as positive chi in their collective Feng Shui.
The 2 constants through all the tumult were brothers Dave & Serge. Swap out rhythm sections all you want, they were Marah.
Or so I naively thought.
The Show (or “My Brain Can’t Process What My Eyes Are Seeing”)
Which leads us to the point of this post. The show. This would be the first Philly show since the split happened early in 2008. In the interim, Serge had moved out to Utah to begin raising a family. It’s not clear how permanent this lineup is (Dave on lead guitar, Christine on keys & tambourine, Johnny Pisano on bass, and Martin Lynd on drums) whether Serge will ever rejoin the lineup.
But I guess any time you have a chance to add Ivan from Clerks and Dr. John to a band, you have to take it.
I have mixed feelings about World Cafe Live. The sound is always good, but the atmosphere fits certain bands better than others. And long rows of tables may have worked for The Last Waltz, but it adds a weird atmosphere for more rock-based shows. This should have been at Johnny Brenda’s or even the North Star.
I’ve been weaned on cramped venues like the Khyber. This was unsettling:
For the first half of the show, I had to close my eyes to keep from the sights overpowering the sounds. The wildly different lineup, the giant stage that seemed half-full at best, the sparse backdrop which seemed better suited for a high school talent show, picturing Jason Mewes singing Iko Iko, it was all too much. With my eyes closed, the songs sounded pretty good, which is not surprising given the quality of the songs and my love for them.
But this is a new band. It just is. And it bugs me, maybe more than it should, that Dave chose to still call the band “Marah”. Yes, it was technically his band that Serge joined way back in high school. But that’s a technicality in the most lawyerish of ways. Every album they’ve put out and every show for 10+ years have been the two of them as the rocks of the band amidst waves of tumult.
Half of that rock breaks off and you still call it Marah? That’s an XL horse pill you’re asking me to swallow.
Maybe calling it Marah would help with booking venues, though the last-minute cancellation of the 2008 tour could not have helped their reputation with promoters. Maybe it’s a placeholder until Serge can finish his “maternity leave/hiatus/exile in the alkali flats of Utah”. But that’s not how it feels. It feels like Dave’s taking the reins of the band. That’s his prerogative, but have the guts to forge a new identity, even if it’s “Dave Bielanko’s Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings”.
You can’t have it both ways. You can’t trot out an entirely new band and then expect to get the same rapturous reception that you’ve received in the past just because it’s the same name on the ticket. That’s something you earn. Not something you get by raising your arm and begging for applause after every third song. First, you’re not going to get that kind of reaction at a 3/4ths-full WCL with half of those people in the seated positions. Second, it reeks of insecurity and trying too hard to make up for it. If the music is good enough, the fans will respond. At times it was, at times it wasn’t, but there’s going to be growing pains.
But as I looked around, there were more than a few people who seemed to not be weighed down with the baggage I’ve wordily described. They were ecstatic in their reception of every song. So maybe I was the weird one. Wouldn’t be the first time.
On one level, I was jealous. On a larger, more weirdly cluttered level, I would have felt disloyal to inhabit that level of rocking-out from the word “Go”. Disloyal to the memories of past shows, past line-ups, and past experiences.
New Mommy may be prettier and she may treat you extra, super nice. But you still owe it to Old Mommy to respect the importance of what has happened before by not cleaving enthusiastically to the newer model’s breast and loudly proclaiming your eternal love and loyalty the first time you meet New Mommy.
Sigh. I’ll stop with the creepy metaphors. Strong personal feelings aside, this was not a terrible show.
It was quite strong in areas:
Hearing the songs off of AOD! live for the first time. Hot damn.
The funk tinge added to songs like “Catfisherman”.
The banjo-less “Round Eye Blues” that worked way better than I thought it would.
And it needed work in others:
Do we really need keyboards on every song? Listen, I love keyboards underpinning rock songs. It’s one of the reason I love a number of bands (Centro-Matic, Two Cow Garage, come to mind). I liked it on a lot of songs, and as I stated earlier, Christine is very talented. But it cluttered a number of songs. Just because the keyboard is there, it doesn’t mean you have to use it.
The reworked, slightly up-tempo “Formula Cola Dollar Draft” suffered for the change. They’ve reimagined a number of songs over the years, but this one wasn’t working.
Dave has never said a lot. Rambling stories and speechifying were always Serge’s forte, and he’s quite good at them (with the notable exception of a New Mexico snake story told at a State College show). Dave has good comedic timing when commenting on other people’s peculiarities, but he seemed to struggle a bit stepping into the storytelling, show-running limelight.
So there were signs of hope, but Marah as it’s currently constituted has a ways to go. I’m interested to hear the new album this fall and am curious how much, if at all, Serge was involved. I hope the door isn’t closed forever on his involvement, but I’m not optimistic.
I’ll leave you with a few vids from both Mommies.
The song that inspired this post (Walt Whitman Bridge):
From the previous lineup, here’s a smoking version of Feather Boa, which tells the tale of a star-crossed cross-dresser, interrupted with a little Baba O’Reilly. This hopefully gives you an idea of why I miss what was before so much.
Semi-acoustic Round Eye Blues, looks like it was taken from a Dave/Christine show late last year:
The Setlist
... Bagpipes (Coolerman)
Theme From Rocky
Faraway You
Coughing Up Blood
Angels on a Passing Train
Tyrone
Catfisherman (+Jungle Boogie, Fame, etc.)
This Town (for Dave's Mom)
City of Dreams
Body
Limb (w/Coolerman)
Rocky Theme Reprise
Rain Delay (for Harry ...)
Can't Take It With You
Walt Whitman Bridge (Christine on Harmonica)
Young at Heart
So What If We're Out Of Tune (which Dave introduced as a "backwards skating chick tune")
As Time Goes By (Johnny and Martin Dance w/girls in the audience)
Round Eye Blues
Angels of Destruction
The Closer / Too Much Monkey Business ----------------
Inspired by Goose’s mostly annual, highly entertaining list of his favorite music of the previous year, here’s the first half covering my Top 10 Albums. I’ve included streaming versions of 2 tracks from each of them, and a random selection of YouTube clips.
If you’ve listened to our podcasts (if not, why not?), you’ll know that Goose listens to a much more eclectic range of music (Bolivian Vacuum Polka Funk, anyone?) than I. Also pretty sure he’s the reason Comcast may start throttling users’ bandwidth. Admittedly, I could stand to open the valve wider into my ear hole, but what I love, I love.
So here’s the Top 10 albums I loved the most in 2008. Eligibility was determined by the Year that came up in iTunes.
We’ve said from the beginning that we will sell out to the first person who offers us enough money to buy us a nice sandwich. The same applies for persons 2 to 100. But that’s where we draw the line.
The Popcorn Trick is easing on down the slow road to whoredom. All of the albums listed below are linked to their respective Amazon CD & MP3 pages. If you purchase them from the links on our page, we get a few shekels kicked back in our direction.
We give you hours and hours of entertainment, and all we ask in return is that a 3rd party compensate us.
If you do actually buy one of these albums, drop us an email or a comment so we can see if this scam actually works. I think you have to buy the product in the same browser session you initiated when you click a link.
Top 10 Sampler
Here’s 2 of my favorite tunes from each of the Top 10 Albums. In some cases, I did not choose my favorite because they will be included in my favorite songs of 2008. And they’re somewhat out of order because I changed my mind on the Top 10, and you can’t edit a mixtape once you’ve created one.
Fuzz.com says that songs will stop being playable after a few weeks, but the Christmas mixtape I did back in December is still working, so who knows?
Press the Play button to open the case and start the music. If you have any problems viewing the embedded player, you can check the mixtape out here.
“It Still Moves” might me one of my Top 10 Albums of all time. It’s that good. Most of the songs I heard off their follow-up, Z, were going in a more experimental direction compared to the stadium-rock, jammy-but-not-too-jammy-more-like-Neil-Young-than-Phish-jammy, stuff off ISM. Left me cold.
This feels like they moved the dial somewhere in between those 2 motifs. You have the full-throttle rock of “Aluminum Park” and “Remnants” juxtaposed with the atmospheric weirdness of “Touch Me, I’m Going to Scream Pts. 1 & 2”. But they split the difference with several mid-tempo numbers touched by late-model Wilco-ness (“Sec Walkin” and “Two Halves”). It gets eclectic with some falsetto soul (“Evil Urges”), sweet-sounding but lyrically caustic beauty (“I'm Amazed”) and a fricking bizarre song which I have to be in the right mood to enjoy (“Highly Suspicious”).
This one has really grown on me, and it feels like they’re still growing and trying new things without going all Radiohead on me.
Here’s 2 members of MMJ doing one of their weird ones in the back of a cab:
I’ve pimped these guys multiple times before. Their combination of raspy vocals and blistering cowpunk hit me in the cozy hearth of my wheelhouse. And while I’ve never seen them in a crowd of more than 20 people, they are incredible live.
But this album feels like it could have been a lot better and a bit of a step back from their last one (“III”). The peaks are high (“Humble Narrator”, “Bastards & Bridesmaids”, “Skinny Legged Girl”, “Funeral Drag”), but there’s more filler (“Swallowed by the Seas”, “Glass City”, “The Heart and the Crown”) than there should be.
This could be one of the greatest 6-song EPs ever, but as it is, it’s a frustrating collection of classics and skip-this songs.
It did provide probably my favorite YouTube of the year:
A few years back I was walking around the Austin City Limits Festival and came across these guys playing on one of the smaller stages. I wasn’t familiar with their stuff, but was really impressed with the size and scope of the music they made from just 2 people. I made a mental note to check them out. That joined my resolution to
Fast-forward to this year when this album came out. I heard “My Only Offer”, liked it, and eventually got the album in December. I then listened to it like a mental patient. I love the interplay of their vocals and the sparse but hook-filled tunes. It may be the most consistently good album on this list. There isn’t a bad song on the album. It makes me want to go back and get some of their older stuff.
Also, I think Kori Gardner may be a future version of Kristen Bell:
Here’s an in-store performance of an older song with a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” inserted into the middle:
Always been a big fan of the country/pop/rock thing these guys do. Their stuff has gotten more polished and more pop-centric over the years with mixed results.
BIOG could still have a bit more edge and grit, but it’s a good collection of the kind of songs they can probably craft in their sleep (whilst counting their Chili’s money).
The highlights are the twirling word play of “Dance With Me” and the simply beautiful “The Color of Lonely Heart is Blue”. The latter is Murray Hammond’s contribution (the rest are Rhett Miller’s). Normally, the song or 2 a band gives the bassist seems more like a bone tossed to him in attempt to forestall a prolonged pouting session. But Murray makes the most of his bones, and this song overcomes its mawkish title in a big way.
Here’s the video for “Dance With Me”. It features a Gallifinakisian protagonist fighting his way towards some chick from Battlestar Galactica.
I had a chance to see Rilo Kiley at the Troc over a year ago. At the time, I only knew “Portions for Foxes” and passed. A decision for which I’m currently kicking myself. Really. It’s
I’ve fallen hard for both Rilo Kiley and Jenny Lewis. Not just because she’s hot. And not just because she was in Troop Beverly Hills, a movie whose tape my kid sister just about wore out watching to my disbelief.
She’s got skills as a singer and songwriter, but what I love most of all is her unpredictability. While there are hooks all over the place like some kind of house whose inhabitants have way too many coats, the song structures rarely feel familiar from one song to the next. They’re much more about the journey than the destination.
This album alternates between slower tunes that explore the upper end of her register (“Black Sand”, “Trying My Best to Love You”) and tempo-shifting romps (“See Fernando”, “Jack Killed Mom”, “The Next Messiah”). The clear highlight for me is the title track, which is the one of the most desolately beautiful song I’ve ever heard. It feels like something Linda Ronstadt and some hangers-on would sing at sunset during Jackson Brown’s Annual Clam Bake and Quaalude Festival in Reseda.
While I still prefer her R-K work, you can feel the fun they had experimenting with different styles.
Here’s a clip of her doing Carpetbaggers with Elvis Costello:
This is not the masterpiece I think these guys are capable of producing at some point, but it’s a solid double in the gap nonetheless.
“Navy Sheets” is an annoying misstep. Probably my least or second-least favorite song in the Top 5.
“Sequestered in Memphis” grabbed me from the get go, but I like the sax less and less with every listen.
The guest vocalists (Ben Nichols from Lucero, Patterson Hood, amongst others) are subtly used throughout. Maybe too subtly.
You can feel them trying a to write an anthem with “Stay Positive” & “Constructive Summer”. When that kind of aspiration is tangible, it’s usually not a good thing. But they’re so winningly earnest about their desire for you to pump your first and sing along, it works.
The other weird thing about this album is that the best 2 songs are the last 2. “Joke About Jamaica” and “Slapped Actress” do indulge in their usual storytelling and name-checking, but not even obliquely referencing Hallelujah or Charlemagne feels liberating and a new take on things. The next album should be all references to the man who called a blind blues man “Elvis” and asked him to play something with balls.
These guys do web videos, and they somehow finagled an afternoon of drinking and playing bar games with THS. Not bad work if you can get it. Check out the chick’s potty mouth, and also the tattoos that Tad and another guy got at the end of this. Weird.
Here’s another artist that The Popcorn Trick is firmly in lockstep behind. It’s music whose building blocks are a rapid-fire assault of beats and clips of songs well-known and obscure.
If you look at the list of 20-30 songs necessary to build each track, some of them are the obvious ones you can hear. But there’s a lot buried deep in the mix and/or distorted to the point of being unrecognizable. Popular songs are hardwired into our DNA and these songs use that both on the liminal and the areas below the liminal.
It does seem that the beds of the song use more rock/pop with hip-hop more featured in the foreground, as compared to his previous effort, “Night Ripper”. It also seems like he’s using more distorted vocals (“The Weight” in “Still Here” and “Nothing Compares 2 U” in “Play Your Part (pt. 1)”). Those vocals play like an attempt to bond with the listener over how good, but worn out those songs have become over the years.
Picking out favorite tracks is hard, since they’re all such altered beasts. Favorite moments, however, are plentiful and easier to spot. They distill two or more disparate well-known musical sensibilities from different eras into combinations that seems obvious in hindsight.
Metallica’s “One” & Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss” -- (“Like This”)
Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park”, Quad City DJs “Ride the Train”, & ? and the Mysterians’ “96 Tears” -- (“Here’s the Thing”)
Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is)” & Big Country’s “In a Big Country” -- (“Hands in the Air”)
I included a bunch of their videos way back when, but here are a couple I didn’t. In this first one, Greg walks us through how he puts together a few seconds of mashed up goodness. He also tries to justify the manner in which he makes his music and wordlessly show off the Level-9 Stockholm Syndrome chick he has dozing in the background.
While most of the Girl Talk YouTube clips use the original videos for the songs in the mashup, this guy is different. He puts up the lyrics and pics of the bands as the song plays out. Literal, but I like it:
Albums are not made in a vacuum by robots. At least not until 2015. They’re made by humans and are shaped by their personal lives, by factors mundane and ethereal.
The DBTs’ last effort (“A Blessing & a Curse”) was the last one made with Jason Isbell before he divorced Shonna Tucker (the band’s bass player) and went solo less than a year later. You can hear the transitional aspect of that album. The band that made “Decoration Day” & “The Dirty South” knew what they were and that they could kick your ass. The band that made ABAAC could still kick your ass, but they seemed to be spinning their wheels.
This album, however, seems to find the band in a much more settled place. And that’s a good thing. I’ve written at length wondering what direction they’re going to take in their post-Isbell times. If you can judge by this album, they’re turning down the volume and turning up the warmth. Adding pedal steel (John Neff), piano (Spooner Oldham), and female vocals (Tucker) will do that.
They can still stomp a mud hole and walk it dry (“The Righteous Path”, “That Man I Shot”, & “Goode’s Field Road”). But the intimacy of songs like “Daddy Needs a Drink” and “Two Daughters & a Beautiful Wife” is comforting, even if the subject matter of the lyrics isn’t
I was surprised how much I enjoyed Shonna’s efforts, especially “I’m Sorry Huston” and “Home Field Advantage”. I question her range (the clip of her doing the female part of THS’ “Chill-Out Tent” is cringe-inducing), but her husky voice is well-suited to these regret-soaked songs.
My only major qualm with the album is that its 19 tracks are 4 or 5 too much. Take out “Bob”, “Lisa’s Birthday”, “Perfect Timing”, and “The Purgatory Line”, and I probably move it up to #2. Note that three of those songs are Mike Cooley’s. That would be my only minor qualm, that his efforts could have been stronger.
Patterson Hood & I share some favorite bands:
Doing “Marry Me” with some help from #5 and a guy in a gorilla suit:
This one came out so early in 2008, I had almost forgotten about it. Thankfully iTunes’ Smart Playlist technology had not.
It’s easy to forget about an album when a band doesn’t tour behind it. The bad taste in my mouth from yet another band reshuffling causing that non-touring didn’t help either. I’ll be damned if they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot for fear of taking that next step yet again. I don’t know where Marah is headed, since Serge Bielanko is on semi-permanent hiatus in Utah having just become a father.
All that being said, this is a great album. It doesn’t really have a cohesive feel to it, but that’s OK because the songs are that good.
“Blue But Cool” is one of the few missteps, and even that has more good moments than bad. There’s all kinds of styles here, from the carnival folk of “Can’t Take it With You” to the propulsive “Coughing Up Blood” to the moody verses/uplifting chorus combo of “Angels on a Passing Train”.
“Jesus in the Temple” is a really good, but out of place stylistically. That’s not easy to do on an album as diverse as this one. It’s largely the efforts of yet another rhythm section shown the door. They left to form Adam & Dave’s Bloodline (a really good band in its own right). With them still in the fold, Marah would have been a powerhouse.
The album closes on a 10-minute track (“Wilderness”) which is 2 songs connected by a bagpipe interlude (a shout-out to the end of their debut effort). The first part is a stomping, defiant ode to persevering through struggle (“passing through this wilderness… searching for our home… together and alone…”). The second part is a slow, jokey song about Dave Bielanko’s incarceration for falling asleep drunk in the lobby of an Indiana hotel. The first part would give me hope that this too shall pass, but the reality says otherwise. Also, I’d love to hear them stomp through Wilderness live. With Serge.
“Marah” is still touring, but in a more stripped-down fashion. Marah will always be Dave & Serge, and whomever they haven’t pissed off yet filling in the rest. They’ve been a huge part of my life in the last 10 years, but it feels like I will be talking more and more about them in the past tense. This album reminds me how much that sucks
Here’s Dave doing “Can’t Take it With You” in the UK with Christine Smith on keys:
On the recommendation of some fellow Marah fans, I checked these guys out at the First Unitarian Church’s exceedingly intimate Chapel back in April. It was, to put it mildly, incredible. They climbed all across the altar and shivered the rafters with their murder ballads and heartache takes on folk classics. They are by far my favorite musical discovery this year.
3 of the 5 members are actual brothers, and the rest of the band is filled out by washboard and traveling dice players. Seriously. Seriously.
Everything seems loose and organic with these guys. Nothing’s forced. It’s entirely plausible that they traveled here from a 1930s Dust Bowl tent city via time travel.
When I saw Old Crow Medicine Show earlier this year, I couldn’t help but compare them to The Felice Brothers. OCMS has all the ingredients of a great band, but it all seems forced. I don’t want to get into an authenticity pissing match, but the gut feel I get from both bands couldn’t be more different.
Oh, and the album? Transcendent. They turn phrases and paint evocative stories with remarkable consistency. I do lunge for the Next button when “Goddamn You, Jim” comes up, but the rest is straight from the Big Pink. The highlights are “Frankie’s Gun”, “She Loves Me Tenderly”, & “Whiskey in my Whiskey”.
Here’s a MixTube list of videos I recorded at a fantastic house show last June. Possibly my favorite show of the year, but I’ll save that for Part II.
Got this after hearing the killer single “Right Hand on My Heart”. It hasn’t held up fantastically on repeated listenings, but they bring the heat live.
As I’ve mentioned in several places on this blog, this outing really disappointed based on my love of most things Dulli and a fondness for Mark Lanegan’s Screaming Trees work. But the whole is less than the sum of its parts. It occasionally hits its dark stride on tracks like “Idle Hands”, but generally it just mopes along.
Haven’t really gotten into this one too much. My first impression that it was a little too stark. I loved “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” and its girl-group flourishes which seem to be absent from most of the other tracks.
Basically the same band with 2 musical approaches put out a double album with each approach getting their own “side”. Love Centro-Matic, but the SSG sound is too mellow for my tastes. It felt like SSG bled over more into the CM stuff, so I’m not feeling it as much as previous works. Still highly, highly recommended live.
Wryly sarcastic lyrics and good drawling vocals are a good combination, but the production was too glossy and new-Nashville for my tastes at times. “She Left Me For Jesus” is still one of the funniest songs in recent memory. And the video ain’t bad either.
Albums I Wished I Had Checked Out in 2008, and Intend to Check Out in 2009
I'll use this space to echo Goose's wish that you enjoy whichever regional/ethnic customs you celebrate at the end of the fourth quarter.
Here's another Xmas song that doesn't suck. It wasn't around when I made the compilation in this post, but it easily would've made it if I had.
It's a collaboration between (surprise) Marah and author/NPR contributor/Pixar voice artist/Naughty Nottie Sarah Vowell.
She wrote the lyrics and Marah did the rest. It's a weird mix of treacle, patriotism, and gore as they recount the struggles of the American forces during the Revolutionary War and tell kids today that they don't have it that bad in comparison. Even cheesesteaks get a shout-out:
So I wanted to share some of my favorite Christmas songs. Easy, right? Nope.
See how I did it after the jump.
My Philosophy
I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas music. No, I wasn't one of the kids in the awesome photos Goose dug up being abused by a mall Santa. And no, I'm not Jewish or Kwanzish. No, my reasons are much more pedestrian, unoriginal, and obvious to most people with a good ear for music and a healthy cynical streak.
Most Xmas songs are over-played, overly-sentimental, or just plain annoying. Rather than following the their muse the way they do the other 11 months of the year, they sound like they are fulfilling homework assignments. But instead of grades, they get bags of cash. Which leads me to The One And Only Rule You Need To Find Good Christmas Songs:
A good Christmas song needs to be a good song that just happens to be about Christmas.
It's that simple. You can add Christmas lyrics to a shit song, but it's still going to be a shit song.
Back Story
This is a collection of songs made in that spirit. It was a mix made just after the turn of the most recent century. It was a heady time. 9/11 was less than a year away, Trapped in the Closet was even farther down the road, and I was coming down the home stretch of an unhappy marriage. Luckily there was a dial-up modem and Napster to keep me preoccupied.
Yes, I'm old, and no, I wasn't in college with a faster connection. I would start downloading 5-10 different songs before I went to bed and when I woke up, 2 or 3 of them (on a good night) would be waiting for me. But I persevered.
We decided to give this away to our music-loving friends as presents that year. The goal was to alternate song choices between each of us, and that's kinda how it ended up. I picked all of my songs, she chose some songs, and I filled in the rest of hers from artists I knew she liked or at least didn't mind being associated with. The odd #s are "hers" and the evens are "mine".
It's a mix I still distribute, and I still give credit to the ex for her choices. It was a product of that time in my life, and it still holds up for me.
Stupid Technology
Some of these songs are obscure or are live radio recordings, so no luck using Seeqpod or Imeem. Muxtape would have been perfect, but of course the RIAA made sure an awesome, simple interface for people to check out other people's music would no longer see the light of day. Ditto some other Muxtape replacements like Mixwit. There's OpenTape which seems like it would let you do what Muxtape did, but you needed to upload software to your web server and my hosting account wasn't compatible for reasons I won't bore you with.
I considered just posting a ZIP file of the MP3s, but it's a huge file and it's not streaming.
So eventually I found Fuzz. The interface tries too hard to recreate an actual cassette tape. And songs you upload are only available for a couple of weeks. But since this is a Christmas mix, that's fine. After I set this up, I found SoundCloud, which looks more promising and less restrictive. They'll probably have to be shut down soon too. Thanks major music labels. Love ya.
December 2009 update: So those sites are all done with. So's Imeem. So's Seeqpod. And Grooveshark which seems promising has it's Upload feature undergoing "Maintenance", which is probably code for "legal review.
Let's try this again with Lala. To play all the songs, I think you have to have an account with Lala. It's free and this playlist is good enough to be worth the hassle. Let me know if you have any technical problems.
December 2013 update: Created a YouTube Playlist that has most of these songs on it. Still need to add "Beer in a Bar". I tried to find videos that were the intersection of weird but true to the version on the CD. Enjoy.
December 2021 update: You can download the songs from my Drive account here.
Less Talk, More Rock
Enough with the chatter, here's the tunes. Some one-liners and vids for each song down the page. If you dig this, let me know and I'll get you a copy. And feel free to add your suggestions for good holiday songs in the comments.
Press the Play button to open the case and start the music. If you have any problems viewing the embedded player, you can check it out here.
So even though I went on and on above about Christmas songs, this mix was intended to include other holidays in a chronological manner. First Hanukah, then Christmas, and finally New Year's. Clever? Hardly. But I was (and am) a big BFF fan and this tune will get even your Gentile toes a-tapping.
Here's Ben Folds' ghost doing the song live:
Silent Night (Live) -- Bad Religion
The one time a year I didn't mind going to church was Christmas Eve. The sermon was short, there was lots of music, and the service always ended with Silent Night sung a cappella with the lights out and everyone holding cameras. It's hard not to feel something in that moment.
This, however, is not that moment. This is Bad Religion blasting their way through your ear drum, stopping only to break out a little My Sharona. Badass.
It's Christmas Time, Pretty Baby -- Elvis Presley
Not the biggest Elvis fan, but this is a sexy little number that makes you think of coming down someone's chimney. Or maybe that's just me.
Beer in a Bar -- Marah
A well-structured straight-ahead rock song filters the Christmas spirit through that guy at the end of the bar who's always there.
This embodies the rule I described above. It's a great song. It could be about sport-fishing off the Keys and it would still be a great song.
Merry Christmas Everybody (Live) -- Oasis
I didn't realize this was a cover of a Slade song until I looked it up on the Wiki. It's a recording of a live version that Noel Gallagher did on a British radio station.
Apparently this song is as ubiquitous in England as Jingle Bells is over here. Who knew?
There are a few skips and the sound quality's not great, but it reminds me of when Oasis was still good and when I used to record songs off the radio by putting a tape recorder up to the speaker.
The original version by Slade (I can see why they influenced both Kiss and Spinal Tap):
Merry Christmas From the Family (Live) -- Robert Earl Keen
This might be my favorite song on the mix (at least until #8 or #18). It's a live version with the crowd singing along, which helps.
Yes, the characters that Keen writes about are rednecks of the highest order ("Mom got drunk and dad got drunk...", "I can't remember how I'm kin to them..."). But the characters are drawn with love and without judgement. While the Christmas he describes isn't one that I can personally identify with, it's one that sounds like a shitload of fun.
A live version from the crowd:
Christmas Medley (Live) -- Barenaked Ladies
Another live radio recording. They mash up "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "We Three Kings", and some wacky commentary. It shouldn't work, but their harmonies are excellent and every time one of 'em says that "The Stone Cold Tombs" are a band from San Diego, rather than a lyric from "We Three Kings", I giggle.
A more serious version with fellow Canuck Sarah McLachlan:
Fairytale of New York -- The Pogues w/ Kirsty MacColl
Jebus, where do I start with this one? It's perfect. It's kind of like "Summer Nights" as written by a drunk Irishman dying in a jail cell.
It melds Shane MacGowan's rasp and Kirsty MacColl's cool British voice and a swelling Irish tune into a rueful masterpiece.
More Christmas songs should include exchanges like "You're a bum, you're a punk... You're an old slut on junk..."
Here's a live version. Try counting Shane's teeth.
The 12 Pains of Christmas -- Bob Rivers
Almost all 12 Days of Christmas songs get old quick (there's a reason Bob & Doug Mackenzie's version skips some days). But this one has an Archie Bunker impersonator and a mincing gay voice singing about Christmas cards. That's good enough for me.
And here's awesome guy (or maybe 2 awesome guys, tops) acting out this song:
Rock & Roll Christmas -- George Thorogood
This was a staple of early MTV Decembers. Just a great Chuck Berry-esque tune.
I'm pretty sure I had no idea who John Lee Hooker was, much less that he played Santa in this one. I think I would have recognized and enjoyed the awkward banter that kicks the video off:
Christmas Song -- Weezer
This is a pretty generic Weezer song, so it probably fails the rule I laid out at the beginning. But I was starting to run out of "her" songs, so I needed quantity and was willing to concede a bit of quality.
Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You -- Billy Squier
Another MTV Xmas staple. It didn't hurt that all of the early MTV talent was in the video for crying out loud.
I don't remember liking it much at the time, but it's really grown on me.
Lonely Christmas -- Ben Folds Five
It's a Scroogian effort where the protagonist is just trying to eat his Cream of Wheat, and those lousy carolers keep him from that task.
This isn't weird or creepy at all.
Marshmallow World -- Darlene Love
Phil Spector may be a murderer, but he can produce the shit out of a song. This is one of many killer cuts off "A Christmas Gift For You from Phil Spector". Instead of hot lead, his gift is 13 tracks of a mistletoe-covered Wall of Sound.
The violins kick off the track, but they're a red herring. It's nothing but saxophones and Darlene Love's incomparable voice.
This cover makes me want to see what Phil's going rate for contract killings is:
Christmas Time (Is Here Again) -- The Beatles
This is just weird. It was originally just released to members of their fan club in 67, and is all over the place.
"O-U-T spells OUT"
Paul's Xmas wish: "I wish you everything you would wish yourselves for Christmas". Thanks for passing the buck, Paul.
It closes with a little Auld Lang Syne and John spouting nonsensical poetry.
Christmas in Hollis -- Run-DMC
This was huge when it came out. Fantastic hook.
The elf in the video still creeps me out:
Santa Got Stuck in My Chimney -- Ella Fitzgerald
This is the one I consistently skip. Too cutesy.
Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year -- James Brown
Goose, if you're still reading this, you need to listen to this song (if you aren't familiar with it already). 6 and a half minutes of JB laying down the horns and the funk.
And he mixes in some spoken word holiday wishes like only he can.
Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland -- Grandaddy
They cleverly merge a Christmas theme and the cold studio perfection of the Alan Parsons Project. It works.
"In the meadow we can build a snowman and pretend that he is Alan Parsons... And he'll say have you listened to my new band?... And we'll say no, but we really like that one song that goes 'Time... keeps flowing like a river'"
Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas -- The Eels
A hopeful tune set to a rocking beat. This song should be remembered if only for the lyric "Baby Jesus... Born to rock!" right before a guitar solo.
Cracker covering it in a poorly lit room:
Riu Chiu (Spanish Christmas Carol) -- The Monkees
I didn't like this one originally, but it sucks you in on repeated listening.
A different take on it:
Christmas Morning -- Lyle Lovett
Not technically a Christmas song, but it's got "Christmas" in the title and it's sad.
What Are You Doing New Year's (Live) -- Rufus Wainwright
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for this song and Rufus' voice.
The lyric "here's the jackpot question in advance" always kills me.
The version on this mix was recorded off of this Gap TV ad:
And a live version:
This Will Be My Year -- Semisonic
As big as "Closing Time" was, I don't think Semisonic get their due. Feeling Strangely Fine was a really good pop-rock album that still holds up.
It seemed fitting both chronologically and thematically to end on an upbeat note as we can all relate with trying to make this New Year's special and a harbinger of better days to come.
Amidst accusations of attempting a reverse jinx by Goose, I stand here before you to say that my bravado is based solely on the knowledge that this contest is basically over. We're just playing out the string as my unrelenting march to hops continues.
After the jump, my picks, a bunch of musical vids, and a little Voltron art...
Well, I can guarantee at least one person is now reading this.
In honor of finally getting my iPod up & running on my new laptop, I'm going to put it on shuffle and find some YouTube goodness for the first 16 artists and/or songs that I can find.
I hope you like Marah, early Elton John, Slobberbone, and The Streets... Now onto Week 14 in the league where they play... FOR PAY!
Ugh. Oakland stinks, but I also think that San Diego is just about done for the year. Atlanta did everything they could to hand them that game, and they said "No thanks, we're good." I'm going to put my money on a veteran team playing a night game to put up one last stand before reverting to mediocrity. Also, Oakland stinks.
This one's in the books already as Goose's track record for badly picking Raider games continues. The first song on shuffle is "Catch" by The Cure off Galore (The Singles 1987-1997). I don't really know this song that well, but it has some lovely violinning. I've been on a bit of 80s kick lately with the Cure & Depeche Mode. This is the official vid. Surprisingly it involves Robert Smith brooding. And the rest of the band strolling around a picturesque castle. Which is probably a waste since Smith would still find something to be depressed about.
Jacksonville at CHICAGO (-6.5)
I am fully off of Jacksonville, when a veteran player makes statements as bold as this, it's time to stop picking them. Especially on the road against a good team.
Shuffle: It's a cover of Brian Wilson's "Love & Mercy" by Golden Smog, a lower-case "s" super group with members of Wilco, Soul Asylum, the Replacements, and the Jayhawks, amongst others. The version I have is off of the "Until You Came Along" CD single. I was really into GS for a while during my alt-country-centric phase. I still appreciate their stuff, but I think I like the bands' separate work better than this collaboration. This clip is from an Obama rally in Minneapolis earlier this year.
As a bonus, here's Brian Wilson doing the same song with Springsteen on backing vocals:
MINNESOTA (-9.5) at Detroit
Everyone (well a few people) are breathlessly wondering whether Detroit can go 0-16. After looking at their schedule, I say "yes". They're not beating Indy on the road or Minnesota at home this week. Their best shot is an inconsistent New Orleans at home in Week 16 or if Green Bay is out of the playoff hunt in Week 17. What you have to take in consideration is that even if the teams they're playing aren't playing for anything other than pride, no team wants to be the one that gave the Lions their only W.
Shuffle: "Heavy Rotation" by Dilated Peoples (f. Tha Liks) off of an EMI New Music Sampler. As with most samplers, I'm not real familiar with their stuff, but I dig the laid-back groove on this track.
As a bonus, here's a cool video & song featuring Kanye:
Houston at GREEN BAY (-6)
I'm going to use my really complicated formula to pick this game. Green Bay's a better team and at home.
Shuffle: "Horn Intro" by Modest Mouse off of Good News For People Who Love Bad News.
Bad news: It's only 10 seconds long.
Good news: It led me to find a clip of an Asian kid getting pelted with fish, cake, & OJ while this song plays. Hang in till the end where you see some slo-mo reverse shots of him getting pelted.
Cleveland at TENNESSEE (-14)
There's lots of big lines, but I feel good laying the points with the Titans defense going against Ken Dorsey.
Shuffle: "Darkness on the Edge of Town" by Patterson Hood from a live recording at Athens' 40 Watt Club last December. I think it was part of a charity show where he covered six Springsteen songs off that CD. You can download them here. I couldn't find a clip of him doing that song, so here's a 30-year old clip of the original:
And 20 minutes of Patterson and a guy from Widespread Panic covering Stones songs (actual music starts around 1:20):
Cincinnati at INDIANAPOLIS (-13.5)
I don't feel good about this pick because Indy's been winning, but not scoring a lot. But I'm gonna give 'em one last shot to have an offensive explosion.
Shuffle: "Wildwood Flower" by Mike Ness off of "Under the Influence". It's a cover of an old Carter Family song, and quite good. Huge fan of Ness & Social Distortion, by the way.
The original:
ATLANTA at New Orleans (-3)
I'm gonna keep riding Atlanta until they prove otherwise.
Shuffle: "Cure for Pain" by Morphine off the album of the same name. YES! A great song by a great artist. And here's a live version:
Philadelphia at N.Y. GIANTS (-7)
Philly does have the pseudo-bye week to get ready for this big game. Philly could conceivably make the playoffs if they run the table. They've done it in years past, but I don't see it happening. The giants are too good and the Eagles too maddening to expect the upset.
SHUFFLE: "Cyclone" by The Lords of Altamont off of "Lords Have Mercy". This is a pretty cool little project involving members of MC5 & The Fuzztones. Just straight-ahead catchy power rock.
KANSAS CITY at Denver (-9)
Just like I picked Denver over the riding-too-high Jets, I think the Broncos may be riding too high after beating the Jets. Also, I didn't like a lot of the other big underdogs. I may sprain something reaching for this pick, but there you go.
SHUFFLE: "Call the Legion in Tonight" by Centro-Matic off of "All the Falsest Hearts Can Try". This is a band out of Denton, TX (like Slobberbone) which is one of Will Johnson's many projects and definitely my favorite. The style is a bit hard to pin down, but very good live. Odd lyrics, odd vocals, but put together really well. They've opened for the Truckers many times, but are very much their own thing. I strongly recommend picking up "Love You Just the Same" if you dig these tracks.
MIAMI at Buffalo (-1)
This is in a dome in Toronto for some stupid reason. Weather report for Buffalo? 28 degrees, snow, & wind. Thanks, NFL. We hate watching football in the snow. It's much better in a dome. Screw you.
SHUFFLE: "Tear-Stained Eye" by Son Volt off of Trace. Initially I was firmly in the Son Volt camp after Uncle Tupelo's break-up but Wilco slowly won me over. "Trace" is still a hell of an album.
N.Y. JETS (-4) at San Francisco
The Jets bounce back from the Broncos game and beat a bad 49ers team. They're firmly in the camp of decent/good teams that should beat mediocre/bad teams pretty much every time. And 4 points is not too much to give.
SHUFFLE: "You My Lunar Queen" by Cousteau off their self-titled debut. This something of a guilty pleasure. Their very dramatic tunes are a little bit too easy-listening-ish at times, but the lead singer has a great voice. And if I were a woman and prone to wearing panties, I'd have to wring them out after every song.
Their best-known song (used in several commercials & movies):
Probably my favorite song of theirs:
NEW ENGLAND (-4.5) at Seattle
File the Pats under the same category as the Jets. They're a good team that I'll take on the road against a bad one.
SHUFFLE: "Come Baby Come" by K7 off of "Swing Batta Swing!" Hells yes! One of my favorite old-school jams, and featured as one of my Musical Interludes choices (baseball entrance music).
A mixture of live performances here, introduced by Fab 5 Freddy, Arsenio, Steve Harvey, and British Fab 5 Freddy:
There's comedy, high comedy, and then there's a bunch of white women taking what I can only guess is a hip-hop dance class. YOU HAVE TO WAIT TILL ABOUT THE 0:58 MARK WHERE THE OLD WOMAN IN THE BACK ROW HAS HAD ENOUGH AND WALKS OUT:
St. Louis at ARIZONA (-14)
Not exactly Baltimore/Cleveland in terms of franchise-stealing rivalry, but I like the Cardinals to put up a big number in this game.
SHUFFLE: "Everybody Got Their Something" by Nikka Costa off the album of the same name. This is a great CD that I know Goose digs too. Saw her live at the Electric Factory a while back and dug it. Haven't heard much from her since then, though she has put out a couple albums. This is just great danceable funk/r&b, and she's not too hard on the eyes.
And here's "Like a Feather":
Dallas at PITTSBURGH (-3)
This should be a hell of a game. If it were in Dallas, I'd take the Cowboys, but I think the Steelers pull out a close one. But not too close since they're laying 3.
SHUFFLE: "Fever" by Marah off of "Let's Cut The Crap And Hook Up On Later Tonight" (possibly the best album title ever). Well, you knew we wouldn't go entirely Marah-less. This is off their first CD and it's really one of the songs that drew me in to them. I was firmly in love with alt-country and when XPN played this and a few other cuts, I was hooked. I don't know where the band's going, but this song will always have a place in my heart.
Here's a bunch of songs including Fever and the All in the Family theme:
You knew you weren't getting just one from Marah...
And continuing a theme, here they are jamming with Bruce:
Washington at BALTIMORE (-5)
The Ravens have been berry berry good to me. I'm dancing with the one that brung me.
SHUFFLE: "I'm Sorry Huston" by the Drive-By Truckers off of "Brighter Than Creation's Dark". This is one of Shonna's songs off the last album, and it's probably the best. It's also probably about her failed marriage with Jason Isbell. Enjoy.
TAMPA BAY at Carolina (-3)
The battle of 2 teams that aren't as good as their record. I still believe in TB more for some unknown reason.
SHUFFLE: "Weirdo" by The Charlatans off of "The Best...Album In The World...Ever! Vol.3". I love these compilations (I have several), as they provide a pretty expansive coverage of 90s Brit pop.
