Nickel Creek is the real damn deal. I assume that you have heard of them. If not, then a little bit of backstory is necessary. They started up in the early nineties as precocious teenagers who could play bluegrass music like (well, better than) 50 year vets. The guitarist (Sean Watkins) and violin player (Sara Watkins) are brother and sister, with Chris Thile (mandolin and a little more vocals than the others) rounding out the group. Alison Krauss found them and apparently helped them sign a label deal, which led to 2000's Krauss-produced Nickel Creek. This whole disc is a really excellent style of fun bluegrass music, both with new-sounding elements and classic sound. Violin, Mandolin, Guitar, some bass thumping in the background. The big hit off of the album was "Reasons Why"
Those harmonies are spot on beautiful. Three part harmonies are not all that normal these days, but it makes a song that sounds like Krauss for the first third turn into a soaring chorus. The actual music on this tune is relatively tame, but one of the things that makes their music so great is the ridiculously awesome technical prowess they'll flash on some of their songs. Another song from that first album, that comes in first or second for me for favorite Nickel Creek song, is the Lighthouse's Tale.
Sad, but beautiful little ditty about a lighthouse watching his keeper kill himself for love. I won't say this album took the whole world by storm or anything, but it did get them a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. I think it is great from start to finish, with a couple great instrumental ho-downs and a few other great songs like When You Come Back Down, The Hand Song, and The Fox. Their next album was called This Side, from 2002, and it was more of the same, but they move away some from the straight-forward classic bluegrass, with a more alternative, offbeat flavor on some songs like Spit on a Stranger. My favorite song on this one is the title track.
They're not winning any points for super well-made music videos, but I just think this one just feels like a powerful declaration of bluegrass truth. Or something. I dig it. They scored a Grammy for that disc. The next album was called Why Should the Fire Die?, and it was also a damn fine disc. A little bit darker, and less bluegrass-y, while still keeping the same general style as their other music. The hit from that one was When in Rome, but I like Somebody More Like You and Scotch & Chocolate better.
Sadly, in 2007, the band split. We got to go see one of their final shows at Stubbs in Austin, which was an awesome show. Loads of people there, high energy from the band, it was great. Well, except for the fact that Amy was pregnant and Stubbs has no seats. She spent at least half of the show sitting in a stairwell near the back of the venue. Coming out of the split band, Chris Thile formed a new, freaking amazing band called the Punch Brothers. We got to see their ACL taping and while I couldn't play an instrument to save my life these days (well, maybe the recorder HOT CROSS BUNZZZ!!!) I was blown away by all of the dudes in that group. They were all amazing with their respective instruments. Check this one out:
Their album Who's Feeling Young Now is money. You should go check it out. After a few years of doing their own thing (we also saw Sean Watkins play as part of Lyle Lovett's band at the Moody Theatre), they have reunited! I won the lottery the other day by scoring tickets to the Austin City Limits taping for the reunited Nickel Creek and it was awesome. Chris Thile is an amazing player and has a really top notch voice. He can solidly hit notes through multiple registers, all while picking the living hell out of that mandolin. No voice in this next video, but pretty dang cool.
I could link you to loads and loads of other videos of them playing live or in the studio, but I'd just advise you to get out and see them if they come to your town. I found myself laughing out loud at Thile's dexterity with that tiny little thing. And go listen to Nickel Creek while you wait for them to come to you on tour.
When I read Rolling Stone or music blogs, or talk to friends about music, I'll usually try to go throw new music into one playlist I have on Spotify called New Stuff. I try to run through there every few weeks to see if any of the music is worth holding on to long-term, or if it gets the boot. With all of the new music I have been listening to for ACL Fest, I have fallen very behind and have a huge build-up of stuff to check out in my playlist. I'm hammering some out this week and thought I'd provide thoughts. Drenge - Drenge. Two English brothers who crank out some great, grungy rock and roll. I forget who told me about this, but it was good enough to make the Keepers playlist. Joanna Gruesome - Weird Sister. Welch band that does a really great mid-90's alternative sound. Their Spotify bio says they are influences by the "C-86 scene and buried shoegaze guitar tones," but I have no freaking clue what that means. What I do know is that Sugarcrush sounds like classic Teenage Fanclub or Sonic Youth to me.
Broken Bells - Broken Bells. I know we already talked about them for the ACL preview, but I wanted to keep listening to this one even more than just for that preview. Really good, smart pop music. Uncle Tupelo - No Depression and Anodyne. I have listened to the resulting pieces, Son Volt and Wilco, for many years but had never given Uncle Tupelo a chance. Love both of these albums. Alt. country, roots rock-y tunes that still feel fresh and part of the current musical landscape even 20+ years after they were released. You ought to go check them out.
Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes. Although I like Bruce and Rage Against the Machine, I find the guitar licks from Tom Morello to be annoying on these songs. Feels like Bruce is trying to up his street cred for doing protest music by adding a known rabble-rouser to a few tracks. I thought Wrecking Ball was much more interesting to listen to and had stronger songs. Not a keeper. Sun Kill Moon - Benji. Interesting music, well, no, the music itself is really basic but nice acoustic finger-picking. But this guy packs pretty great little stories into his songs. Makes it really hard to actually listen to this music while getting work done. I feel like I need to hear more of this before I can make a call. Mount Kimbie - Cold Spring Fault Less Youth. No verdict yet. Interesting rap/beats/electronic music that Lorde mentioned in a Rolling Stone interview. I'm keeping it in New Stuff to hear a few more times before I can decide. St. Vincent - St. Vincent. Yes. This is good stuff. Step Brothers - Lord Steppington. This is part of Dilated Peoples with The Alchemist. I like it. Not much generic pop/rap styling, and I think the beats are good, almost old-school sample driven, but they have been deconstructed to where you can't really be sure. Reminds me of Ghostface or Madlib. And Action Bronson guests on one track, and I dig him, so bully for me. I'll keep this one. Freddie Gibbs - . Nah. Not bad, but just didn't interest me all that much. More to come...
The American Championship Band Belt thing has me going back and listening to the music that the author said was the greatest for every era. Going back to Appetite for Destruction makes me realize just how awesome it is, so I felt like I needed to talk it out. When I was growing up, I was not comfortable with hard rock or metal. I was not supposed to listen to things like that (although I don't recall anyone expressly telling me that message, I just knew it was the truth). And Guns n' Roses and Metallica held a special place of terror for me. One of my childhood best friends, Cary, had an older brother named Kyle. I thought Kyle was crazy. He drove this beat up little car that he had painted with Scooby Doo and other strange things, he drank Mountain Dew all the time, and I remember him listening to Appetite for Destruction (loud) in his car. All of this may be mis-remembered, but I have a very clear recollection of him blasting Appetite out of that little white car in the street in front of their house in the Woodlands. In my mind, he did not give a damn.
I knew Paradise City from the radio, and that seemed safe-ish and innocuous enough. I mean, if you don't like that song, then you probably just don't like rock and roll. But Welcome to the Jungle and Nighttrain sounded like the music of the devil to me. He screams that you're gonna diiiiiiieiieiiiiieee! in Welcome to the Jungle. Come on! Not cool, man! I never listened to that album and was not about to like that kind of music, ever. Fast forward to 1991, and Terminator 2 came out with You Could be Mine fired out as the lead song/advertisement for the movie. I freaking LOVED that song. When the two boys ride that dirt bike to the mall, blasting it on their jambox, I thought that stuff was the coolest you could possibly be.
I remember waiting by the TV for this video to come on so that I could try to tape a copy of this song so that I could listen to it to my heart's content. Finally, my sister took me to the mall and I bought Use Your Illusion I and II. That's right kids, you used to be able to buy music on pieces of plastic at a place called a mall. It felt like just about the wildest thing I could do. Right up there with freebasing cocaine or murder. Buying that CD was so rock and roll. Although I needed her there just in case they hassled me about the whole Parental Advisory thing. That is rock and roll for sure. I jammed those discs for years before getting to college and stepping back to check out Appetite for Destruction. I can't remember what made me do it, but I can recall the realization of just how absolutely bad ass and cool that whole album made me feel. Paradise City and Welcome to the Jungle are the best known songs off of there, and for good reason. They are tight, aggressive, soaring rock and roll anthems that still sound fantastic cranked up right now. Sweet Child o' Mine is not only an amazing song in its own right, but in the many years since I first heard this album, it has become one of my go to lullabies for my kids.
I leave out most of the "Where do we go now"s and woaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaaoaoaoahs, but otherwise, it is a fantastic song to love on your kid with at the end of a long day. "She's got eyes of the bluest skies, as if they thought of rain, I'd hate to look into those eyes, and see an ounce of pain. Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place, where as a child I'd hide, and pray for the thunder and the rain, to quietly pass me by. Woaaaoh sweet child of mine, woaaaahoooaoahhaoh sweet love of mine." I mean, come on. Among the other songs on this album about sex, drugs, and rock and roll, that is pretty damn sweet to sing to your sleepy little kid. The rest of the album didn't make the charts (that I recall), but it is swaggering and aggressive rock and American roll. My Michelle, It's So Easy, You're Crazy, Out ta Get Me. All of it is great music for unleashing that slice of you that needs to be awesome. Go back up there and play Paradise City, at high volume, and see if you don't feel some of that when they kick in the reckless, swarming jam at the end. See? You deserve to mosh with yourself sometimes. You're welcome.
Grantland can be entertaining. It can also be an entirely useless wasteland car wreck of your time versus inane pop culture clickbait versus way too much NBA coverage that I don't care much about. This post is about that frustrating but entertaining combo. I thought I'd share it with you and also have a few comments of my own. My friend Joseph sent me a link to an article up today called The American Band Championship Belt, which attempts to award a championship belt to the best American Band for each of the past fifty years. Like many of the lists that people make on the Internet, this one is a fun thing to read, but is also immensely frustrating. Not just because I disagree with it, but because the author just cops out entirely by lumping multiple years together and therefore ignoring gigantic American music trends. He says that the 1980's was the hardest decade to figure out, but then lumps together the years so that he only has to give the belt to Talking Heads, Black Flag, R.E.M., Run D-M-C, and Guns n Roses. Then he washes right over the 90's with Nirvana, Wu Tang, and Outkast. That's it. Three bands get the 90's. Look, I think Outkast is fantastic, but to say that they were the absolute top American band for all of 1996 through 2000 is insane. Things I think he missed:
During that five year Outkast reign, Notorious BIG put out Life After Death and Tupac put out All Eyez on Me. Come on, man. Outkast didn't even put anything out in 1997, and yet you think the overlapping excitement of ATLiens was somehow better than Life After Death? Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP also came out in 2000, which ought to earn some sort of nod for that year versus the crickets he gives it here.
I will admit that the majority of other stuff that was large in the late nineties was good to forget. Lots of boy bands, Spice Girls, and Celine Dion on the charts right about then.
No mention at all of Green Day? They single-handedly brought punk out of the gutter and into the living room of America. Maybe the true punk people are mad about that or something, but to say they had no significance on American musical culture is silly.
I understand that he probably said U2 were out because they are Irish and all that, but they might as well have been American by Rattle & Hum.
No Chili Peppers? The Chilis are quintessential America, sneering funk and roll. It is one thing to have a different preference than me for music, but come on. Not even one of the honorable mentions? The Chili Peppers rocked my world in the early 90's and then ruled radio for years to come.
Other things I think ought to have at least received an honorable mention - Foo Fighters, Weezer, Fugees. And Queens of the Stone Age, Metallica, Vampire Weekend, and Pearl Jam needed more than just an honorable mention.
Deerhunter? I'm about to give them a listen, but come on. You give 3 full years to a band, saying that they have heavy cultural significance, when I have no clue who that is? I guess Kings of Leon didn't come out and revitalize southern rock and roll and sell a jillion albums in 2007, 2008, and then 2010. Most of the stuff that was big during this time gets zapped by his rules about solo people - Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kesha, Usher, etc. But I think choosing Deerhunter here is one of those moves seeking approval from Pitchfork and the other music know-it-alls.
I'm going to use this article as a positive influence on my music and give some of these things a try. I've already listened to a bunch of the Minutemen, and only now do I realize that they are most of the later band Firehose, which the Chili Peppers told me to listen to on Mother's Milk 25 years ago. Cool. Anyone else have thoughts about missing bands on here?
Do you remember when soundtracks used the be the shizz? Back before the Internet ruined everything (well, actually made it super awesome) by having all music be available at all times, soundtracks were an awesome way to get loads of songs for the price of one tape. And if it was a well-done soundtrack, it caught a mood or genre or era and gave you a quick introduction and lesson. Before I get to the best, some other nostalgia. The first soundtrack that I really remember loving (and my siblings can tell you, I freaking LOVED it) was the Muppet Movie. We had an eight track of that thing on a road trip to Florida and I wore my family OUT with the repeated listens to that thing. I may be paying for that now with the Frozen songs, but whatever. Loved that stuff - still love Rainbow Connection, Movin' Right Along, and Hope that Something Better Comes Along.
YES! Still makes me smile. Footloose and fancy free! The next one I remember getting was the Rocky 4 Soundtrack. James Brown! Livin' in America! Owwwwww!!! I had my eighth birthday at a bowling alley and remember being beside myself excited that I got Rocky IV Soundtrack, the Pretty in Pink Soundtrack, and the Breakfast Club (not the soundtrack, the truly awful band called Breakfast Club). Cassette Tapes. Awesome.
Oy. That video is something amazing. But as to those soundtracks, the Pretty in Pink one had a great slice of 80's awesomeness, from the Furs title track (which is still awesome) to The Smiths' Please Please Please (Let me get what I want), to OMD's If You Leave. Good stuff. Meanwhile, the Rocky IV soundtrack did not hold up well at all (kind of like Stallone himself) except for Eye of the Tiger. I had no recollection at all that it included a song by Kenny Loggins and Gladys Knight. WTF? Next, was the Stand by Me soundtrack. I knew nothing about oldies music at that time (at least that I can recall), but this thing brought me to Lollipop, Get a Job, Yakkity Yak, Great Balls of Fire, Stand by Me, and Buddy Holly! Really a well-done soundtrack to this day. Great little slice of 50's rock and roll. While I thankfully didn't have to hike through the woods and dodge insane teenage reprobates to see a dead body, I have good memories of listening to that soundtrack with my buddies.
There were loads of other good ones that came out around this time that I didn't pay much attention to. Top Gun, Dirty Dancing, Good Morning Vietnam, Big Chill, Wayne's World, etc. But when the Singles soundtrack came out in 1992, it perfectly matched up to my musical tastes. Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Paul Westerberg's solo stuff, Jimi Hendrix (and the Jimi was a non-radio-hit, which was infinitely more cool), and Smashing Pumpkins. If it weren't for the painful cover of Battle of Evermore on here, this collection would be perfect.
It still makes me feel a little bit bad ass to hear that opening bass line right now. This soundtrack not only caught the mood of the current music scene, but it also made the movie. I liked the movie quite a bit as well, but the music melded right in there until they were one thing. If only the soundtrack would have included all of the songs used in the movie, like Three Days from Jane's Addiction, it would have been perfect. Drop that stupid Evermore cover and put Three Days on there, man! It also helped that this came out right in the height of my obsession with Smashing Pumpkins, and included a song not on any other album at the time, Drown. This song closes out the soundtrack, and at the time, I thought it was the absolute height of all music. Loose and loving psych rock there at the start, picking up into a reverb-soaked crunch, laying back down into a chill interlude complete with Gen X'ey lyrics, then kicking back in for a bit before the extended feedback outro. This was a great bridge between the Gish era and the Siamese Dream era. And a great song to loudly sing along to when you are a teenager who is totally, like, misunderstood, man.
After Singles, it was the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. The Pulp Fiction soundtrack was this hyper-cool, excellently-curated package of eclectic old-school tunes and hip dialogue. My first exposure to it was with my friend Jordan, driving to either New Mexico or Colorado, and his mom put the soundtrack into their suburban. First off, the soundtrack starts with some lines from the movie (innocuously titled Pumpkin and Honey Bunny) where a sweet little gal named Honey Bunny threatens to execute everyone if they move during a robbery. Holy hell, what is this? And then Dick Dale's surf-rock Misirlou tears in. Great intro.
Then you have Kool & the Gang and Al Green and Chuck Berry out of no where - I mean, no one was listening to this music at the time, but now freaking Dusty Springfield was getting tons of love decades after her last popularity? Son of a Preacher Man was made in 1968 and did well back then, but wasn't even on the musical map in the early 90's. Tarantino did the same thing with Little Green Bag in the Reservoir Dogs, but this time he made an entire album of tired songs into fresh, sparkly hits that people from 15 to 55 were playing on repeat.
Other honorable mention:
Saturday Night Fever. I found this on vinyl in my house when in high school, and broke it out to be funny. However, I soon realized that this was not only awesomely funny stuff (Night on Disco Mountain is high comedy) but it was a great intro to disco.
Forrest Gump. I never bought it but I remember my mom having a copy and loads of other people having that fat, two-disc case for this collection of great historical hits from the 50's (Elvis) through the 80's (Bob Seger). Really good collection of well-known American-centric tunes.
Oh Brother, Where Art Though. Awesome. This was a huge shot in the arm for all roots, folk, bluegrass, americana music. Man of Constant Sorrow kick-started a huge pile of new roots music that still hasn't run out of gas.
Judgment Night. What?! You have no clue what this is? Get thee to the Internet, son. This was a terrible movie, as I recall it was about some whitebread dudes in an RV who get lost in the wrong neighborhood and terrorized by those awful urban youths who have guns (gasp!) and drugs (horror!). But the soundtrack is an awesome mash-up job matching alternative bands to rap groups. Helmet with House of Pain. Living Colour with Run DMC. Cypress Hill with Pearl Jam. This was before Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit was making rap-metal, and it was awesome.
Dazed and Confused. Another well-curated mix, all legit 70's rock and roll burners. With the exception of that awful (terrible, truly bad) Cherry Bomb song, this one is solid from front to back.
Garden State. Introduced me to the Shins, and otherwise this one is a great mood album. Has a very chill, relaxed, kind of detached sound, just like most of the movie. Nick Drake, Coldplay, Thievery Corporation, Simon & Garfunkle, Iron & Wine's cover of the Postal Service. This one just hits the nail on the head. When we moved back to Austin years ago, this was the only disc I had in the one CD player in the house, so it gives me happy memories of painting our nursery and unpacking things in our first house.
Friday. I watched this movie about 90 times in college, and so the soundtrack was something awesome for me. Had a few cool old soul/funk songs as well as several great rap songs. I don't think Dre's Keep Their Heads Ringin' was available outside of this soundtrack, which made it worth buying all on its own. And I liked jamming 2 Live Crew's Hoochie Mama at college parties.
In 20 minutes, I'll probably have an epiphany about some soundtrack I missed, but for now I think this is pretty complete. Anyone out there have strong feelings about one I missed?
Hard rocking awesomeness from some British dudes. Rolling Stone has a major stiffy for these guys, all under 18, and from England. TheRS reviewer is in love with them. So, I decided to give their album (Snapshot, 2014) a try. It is fast-paced, classically loose and fun rock and roll. Got some Vines, some Kinks, some Stones, a little Sex Pistol sneer, all packed into a truly fabulous little package.
I mean, when I was sub-18, I was playing the Robin Hood theme on the damn french horn like a huge nerd. These dudes have serious chops on some rockin' action. Well, that isn't entirely true, I know that their sound is relatively basic. But, they take that basic form of fun-loving, full-throttle and wife-open rock and roll and they hammer it home. Their most popular tune on either Spotify or YouTube is Blue Collar Jane.
YES! This is how I want my non-heavy rock and roll to be. I want some jangly guitar licks over a solid backbeat, something you can just plain rock out to and high five random stangers with in a crowd. People who make the lineups for ACL, here is a hot pick for next year.
