Greetings from Chris LaMay-West, a writer and filmmaker in Vermont (hence the title)! I believe in the power of cats, rock music, Beat poetry, and the sanctity of Star Trek. Blog contents follow accordingly...
31 out of 52! Well, I've learned that these things can be very valuable once you let go of self-flagellation if you don't make it. Because the thing is, you end up achieving more with an ambitious goal, even if you fall short of it, than if you aim low. I'll keep it brief here, since I haven't done an update in a while. The final books were:
When The Past Is Present (David Richo, 2008, 224 pp.) A friend recommended this to me two years ago or so, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. David Richo uses conventional psychology, Jungian psychology and Buddhist concepts to explore how issues from childhood and past relationships can cloud our present relationships, and how we can learn to recognize and process them so we can be truly present. If I hadn't already done A LOT of this kind of work in the past few years, this book would have landed on me like a thunderbolt. It strongly affected and challenged me as it was. Recommended for anyone who has had issues with unresolved issues from the past affecting the present. In other words, everyone.
Sliver (Dave Morrison, 2008, 108 pp.) Here's the deal: If you're a 40ish former rock musician from New York & Boston who currently lives with your wife in my dreaming-of-living-there state Maine, and I run across your book during a trip to Portland, Maine just as I'm ready for a new volume of poetry, I'm going to get it. As it turns out, in subject matter and sensibility, Morrison is my kind of poet even if the form of his poetry doesn't always work for me.
Foundation Trilogy (Isaac Asimov, 1961, 678 pp.) We'd read several things by Asimov in my late great Sci-fi Book Club, but we never got around to this, widely considered to be one of his masterworks. About the only thing I can say about it that isn't superlative is that the dialogue ends up sounding a little dated (1950sish, in fact) at times. Otherwise, you have an epic sweep of future history, political intrigue, twists and surprises, and, as always, Asimov's shrewd and compassionate understanding of how people are.
Powers: Roleplay (Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming, 2001, 110 pp.) If you have a fondness for superhero comics and you haven't read Powers yet, I highly recommend it. The series centers upon a pair of cops (one of them with an intriguing secret past) who investigate crimes involving super-powered individuals. In this volume, they're investigating the murders of a group of college kids who were role-playing superheroes. Bendis is a superb writer, Oeming is a superb (though highly stylized) artist, and the whole thing is just fun. Get on board!
Ultimate Spider-man Ultimate Collection II (Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley, 2009, 308 pp.) And here have Brian Michael Bendis' second appearance on this list, in a volume that brings together issues 14-27 of Ultimate Spider-man. Marvel's used-to-be-great "Ultimate" line took characters from Marvel's mainstream Universe and retold their tales in a setting stripped of the main continuity's decades of story-line, giving things a chance to be fresh and new again. So here we get Peter Parker back to his roots, a teenager learning the ropes as Spider-man while also dealing with crushes, bullies and high school, and in a more modernized setting. Good clean fun all around, including the most realistic portrayal ever of what would really happen if the totally-human Kraven fought the strongly super-powered Spider-man. My only complaint is that the teen love melodrama got a little needlessly thick at the end. Ah well, kids. What can you do?
JLA Vol. 1: New World Order (Grant Morrison, Howard Porter & John Dell, 1997, 93 pp.) Let's not dodge the truth: for a lot of the 70s and 80s, DC sucked. Then, starting in the 90s, several creators stepped in, remembered that they were dealing with the world's greatest heroes, and started to have fun with them again. Grant Morrison's work with the JLA was one of the signposts of this, and here we have the first volume of his run as writer for the group. The artists, well, let's just say they haven't quite caught up yet (that will come later in the series), but the tale is solid good old-fashioned fun.
Superman/Batman Vol 6: Torment (Alan Burnett, Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs, 2009, 160 pp.) I do love my Superman/Batman. They're both such icons, and there's so much that somebody who understands how to bring out the contrast between them can do, purely in terms of characterization, to make a great story. Throw in some cosmic shenanigans and great artists, and you get a grand tale here. It's marred a little bit by tie-ins to the most recent grand Universe-shaking hullabaloo that DC was doing at the time, but otherwise is a rollicking good time.
So there we are for 2012. And what's on the docket for 2013? (But first, let's pause here for a second to say, "Holy crap! It's going to be 2013! How did that happen? And are there flying cars yet?") I don't think I'll be doing the Goodreads challenge again, instead I'll be challenging myself to read the collected works of two of my muses, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. To whit, Ginsberg's collected poems 1947-1997, and all the works Kerouac published in his lifetime, plus two published after. More description to follow...
And here we are, the final five albums of my re-visitation of what was a musical lost decade for me, the 2000s (aka Naughts, aka 00s, aka we never came up with a good name for it). To quickly reintroduce you to the theme, despite being a huge audiophile, I spent most of the last decade vastly distracted by life and/or back-filling on older artists and genres. So I wondered what I had missed, and turned to a cross-section of critical evaluation to identify the top 20 albums of the decade that I hadn't given a careful listen to yet.
You'll find the intro to this project here, followed by albums 1-5, 6-10 and 11-15. In all those reviews, as in the ones you're about to read, I wrote my reviews in real-time, as I listened to the album. What you see here are my immediate reactions, unedited except to correct gross spelling and grammar missteps.
And so here we proceed with the final five, highlighted below in yellow:
Animal Collective, “Merriweather Post Pavillion” (3)
Arcade Fire, “Funeral” (7)
Beck, “Sea Change” (5)
Daft Punk, “Discovery” (4)
D'Angelo, “Voodoo” (3)
Eminem, “Marshall Mathers LP” (3)
Interpol, “Turn on the Bright Lights” (4)
Jay-Z, “The Blueprint” (6)
Kayne West, “Late Registration” (4)
LCD Soundystem, “Sound of Silver” (6)
Madvillian, “Madvilliany” (3)
MIA, “Arular” (3)
MIA, “Kala” (4)
Outkast, “Stankonia” (6)
Phoenix, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” (3)
Spoon, “Kill the Moonlight” (3)
Sufjan Stevens, “Illinois” (3)
The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” (3)
TV on the Radio, “Return to Cookie Mountain” (3)
Wilco, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” (8)
Spoon, “Kill the
Moonlight” (2002, 3 votes)
Track
one “Small Stakes” is a nice thumping way to start an album, and I like how
there’s a slurred uneducated indifference to the vocal delivery that contrasts
with the music’s head-bopping driving power. This really reminds me of the Jam,
which is to say it’s immediately endearing itself to me. Makes me wonder, is
this a British or an American band? Yes, that’s how little I knew about Spoon
before starting this review. Only know the name, really. Oh, track two still
has that Jam thing going on, only now a little more swinging, with a hint of,
say mid-60s Kinks. This must be a Britpop group. And, heck, there’s no law
against that. Especially since this one is more on the rock, and less on the
60s studio overproduction, side of that equation. Three tracks in now, and this
one is having some Who-style power-pop coming through. I love it! So entranced
by the music thus far that I’m not quite catching the lyrics. I have a feeling
they hold some riches that will emerge from repeated listening. Oh, you know
who else this is reminding me of? The Zutons. Which, again, endears it to me.
I’ve got the feeling that this lacks the gravity of, say, Arcade Fire or Beck’s
efforts from this list, but I would probably play it more- it’s hitting all my
“British rock favorite” nerves in just the right way! Track 6 “Paper Tiger” is
doing some interesting things with a kind of love song from a pub thug meets
well-mannered pop-rock sound. You know what every song is about so far? Short
catchy refrains. Again, puts me in mind of Jam/Buzzcocks. I would also like to
give these guys a medal, maybe even kiss them, for the fact that the longest
track on the album is 3:39. You don’t need more than that when you know what
you’re doing! And track nine, “All the Pretty Girls Go to the City” knows what
it’s doing. Weary, jaded lyrics, big beats and even a little piano, without
ever forgetting to rock. Track 10 of 12, still loving it. It’s weird though-
this could be almost an undiscovered 60s holdover, an alt-80s band, or a 90s
Britpop album. It gives it a kind of timeless quality. And track 11 is- wait,
what?!? Just permitted myself a little research now that I’m near the end- Texas based? From Austin? Is Austin producing bands
that do classic timeless-sounding Britpop-inflected rock better than the Brits?
I’m moving there immediately! USA-USA-USA!
Sufjan Stevens, “Illinois”
(2005, 3 votes)
When
this first came out I remember hearing about his project to do an album based
on every state in the Union and thinking both, “Damn that’s ambitious- admire!”
and “He’ll never get around to it.” That second has turned out to be true,
which makes this even more precious, so I’m glad to finally have a chance to
listen to it. My impression so far? I love the opening track, an indie folk
ballad about a UFO sighting. Second piece was instrumental. Third seems to have
crossbred Muzak and polka. It’s all very poppy, and very, very indie- long
titles that are a thesis unto themselves, clever lyrics, lackadaisical vocals,
musically a variety pack that delights in its own quirkiness. You wouldn’t put
this on if you wanted to rick, but you might put it on to clean the house on a
Sunday afternoon. I’m finding myself in a war between finding it too cutesy for
its own good and oddly catchy and compelling. Now a ballad on John Wayne Gacy
which is appropriately unsettling. Ah, and there we go, the narrator
identifying at the end with him, and the secrets we all keep. Track five,
“Jacksonville” seems to be channeling a little Neil Young- crap, I think the
album is winning me over despite its self-consciousness and way too much
production with strings. Track seven “Decatur”- equally catchy, equally
befuddling. I can’t decide whether it’s profound, or a cheesy farce. Which is,
you know, kind of like life, and maybe true to his experience of Illinois. Now
it’s getting more serious toward the middle with and “Chicago” and “Casimir
Pulaski Day” the kind of earnest heartfelt lyrically dense songs that Deathcab
for Cutie trades in. And now noticeably less “children’s album” than some of
the earlier songs on the album with their lyrical and musical quirkiness. Figures
that the Superman-related song “The Man of Steel Steals our Hearts” works for
me, of course, and is (in parts) the most rocking thing on the album so far.
Though it could do with being half as long. This whole thing strikes me as kind
of what would happen if you had Michelangelo do a WPA art mural: a klunky
collection of themes rendered with unwarranted extraordinary artistry. Now
track 16, with a title much too long to actually write, but something to do
with a wasp, is (not for the first time on this album) presenting some queer
themes, which is always good news socially, though it can be more of a mixed
bag musically. This is reminding me of “69 Love Songs” now, which also
continually confronts one with the question, “Is this the greatest thing ever,
or is it kind of silly and annoying?” There is something to be said for having
the title of every track make you want to read a Wikipedia article to
understand it, though. It has its charm. Not as much charm as a hard-rocking
song that kicks your ass, but still. Now on my research break, I’m interested
to see how several sources mention the Christian themes of the album. Which
didn’t really make as distinct an impression on me, I suspect because I always
see the mundane suffused with theological significance. It just seems normal to
me. And now track 24 of 26 (granted, several of them are interludes). What to
say to sum up? A+ for super-sized cajones of artistic ambition. A+ again for
high musical and lyrical quality of such excellence. Now apply a preciousness
deflator and indie over-cleverness penalty. It adds up to something superb,
always listenable, and sometimes quite affecting, even if it’s not quite my cup
of tea.
The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi
Battles the Pink Robots” (2002, 3 votes)
I
have to admit I’ve always been well disposed toward this album, since Yoshimi
and Pink Robots is clearly within my oeuvre. Without having more than a vague
sense of its contents. I have to admit I didn’t expect it to sound like this!
“Fight Test” is like burned out 70s rock fueled by a child’s synthesizer.
Pretty groovy. Now the second track is more of the ambient electronic sound
effect inflected piece I was expecting. But it’s got a beat, and it’s about a
robot, so I have to be pretty happy with it. And I am, despite the swell of
strings and electronic sound effects at the end of track two. Now three,
“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Part I)”, it’s like an acoustic ballad that
swallowed and is digesting electronica. This is superb! Vocally so heartfelt,
lyrically superb, and yet ridiculous. I’m moved to wonder why this is working
for me, but “Illinois” didn’t? Stronger point of view? Less lyrical obliquity? Material
I’m just more in tune with? Greater thematic and musical unity, certainly. And
the electronic beat certainly makes it more uptempo, which I appreciate. At
heart, I think just can’t help but love anybody capable of producing a yearning
heartfelt ballad to a Japanese girl fighting giant robots. Now “In the Morning
of the Magicians”, a title check to an occult conspiracy classic. Of course I
love it! This track, by the way, is like a space age psychedlica. “Are You a
Hypnotist?” asks track seven, and yes indeed this album does put one in a fine
and mellow mood. It’s just the eight mix of ambient, strong beat and orchestral
swell, and it doesn’t hurt that the lead vocalist could just as easily be
singing a country song. I think this is the vocal tenor all those other droning
bleary indie groups are going for, and missing. It is getting a little too late
Beatles studio experimental for my taste as it goes on, but still quite
charming. As, indeed, is late Beatles studio experimental if you can divorce it
from its canonical standing. Oh, I didn’t realize “Do You Realize” was them.
Very fine, very fine. Sad, heartfelt, space age, esoteric yet feeling real.
Thumbs up all around! They even managed to pull off ending the album with an
instrumental track. Well done, boys, well done.
TV on the Radio, “Return
to Cookie Mountain” (2006, 3 votes)
This
is a fitting album to end on, as I’d heard hype about it all decade long, both
critically and from people I knew. I’ve even heard a lot of it, even though I
never owned it, or listened to it all the way through. There definitely is
something to this first track too. Not only is there the sonorous rhythm of the
weary burned-out vocals and the weirdly disorienting beginning, but there are
lyrical flashed of brilliance throughout including one of the all-time best
lines, “I am trying to break your heart.” Every great song ever has been, but
Jeff Tweedy actually figures that out and turns it into a manifesto. A little
too Beatles sound-effecty clever tape loop at the end, but hey, they have the
ambition to sell it. And then comes “Kamera” a nearly perfect pop-rock song
something that sounds a little bit like it belongs to the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s
simultaneously. “Radio Cure” seems like it might be a love song to Radiohead,
or almost a sonic one-uppance of Thom Yorke. And of course kudos for just coming
out lyrically with, “There is something wrong with me.” All these songs, too,
are somehow undermined in a way that doesn’t actually undermine them, but
instead disorients just the right amount, by what sounds like a toy
synthesizer. And fuck, I mean come on, “War on War” is one of the most perfect
songs I can imagine. My take so far is that this album is like a distillation,
a nearly perfect distillation, of a certain vein of 80s college rock and 90s
alternative. Something neo-singer/songwriter, alt country, ironic experimental
a la Camper Van Beethoven, with the intense emotional nakedness that grunge had
at its best, divorced of the bombast. And don’t get me wrong, I love
that bombast, but this album has a stripped down straightforwardness that’s
refreshing. And now “Heavy Metal Drummer”, a paen to “playing Kiss covers
beautiful and stoned” as if to prove my point. But at the same time full of
musical playfulness and some pure music geek experimentalism. Track eight “I’m
the Man Who Loves You” plays almost like a thesis on 60s and 70s pop-rock,
without forgetting to be fun. Now track nine with its tagline “every song is a
comeback”, and darned if it doesn’t sound like it. In a way, I feel like this
is the end product of the evolution of Big Star->a certain current of alt
80s->certain current of 90s alternative->Big Star of the 2000s that
evokes it all. Wrapping up now, as we approach track 11 of 11. What to say?
It’s pretty awesome. This is the kind of album you could finish and immediately
start again. I could see it going in to heavy rotation thereafter. I have to
think it is one of the best albums of the 00s, though in a way it seems odd to
say it, since it feels so timeless. Got a little ambient at the end of the last
track, which isn’t the note I would think you would want to end the album on.
That’s the danger of going to 7 minutes- it’s hardly ever justified. Still, any
way you slice it, it belongs near the top. A fitting way to end this review of
the leading candidates for the best album of the 2000s.
And there we are, my take on the critical world's top 20 albums of the 2000s. In another week or two, I'll do one last summary post looking back on the whole list, and suggesting my take on a dissident top 20. In the mean time, dear reader, I would love to hear your reactions...