Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks

Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks

Columbia, 1975

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $7

I pretty much half-fell in love with my girlfriend months and moths ago when she told me Blood on the Tracks was her favorite Dylan record and that “Tangled Up in Blue” was one of her favorite songs of all time. It all seemed very ironic, because I’d spent the entire last year listening to this record, as I was going through a pretty sinister break-up. I ran a gamut of emotions and there was always a song to match it. When I was sad and longing there was “Simple Twist of Fate” and “If You See Her, Say Hello,” but most of the time I was jamming “Idiot Wind.” Anyway, personally, this is my favorite break-up record ever and one I will always have waiting in the wings. Oh, and once I was in Chicago staying with a friend of a friend and he played a really weird version of “Simple Twist of Fate” on acoustic guitar and then forced us to take shots of Evan Williams, so I guess I associate that with this record.

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited

Columbia, 1965

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2006

Price: $4

I think my newfound boredom with Freewheelin’ stems from the two weeks I spent dutifully analyzing Highway 61 Revisited for a paper I wrote for my Pop Culture of the 1960s class last semester. I chose the topic mid-semester because I knew it would be an excuse to read up on and listen to tons of Dylan and pass it off as schoolwork. Ultimately, I felt it was one of the worst papers I’d ever written. I had set a goal for myself at the end of that semsester: That the last three papers I would ever have to write for college would be not only the worst papers I’d ever written, but they would become progressively worse. I think the absolute worst was the one I wrote for Film Criticism class, which I think was about Holocaust movies and ended up being, in my mind, one of the best papers I’d ever written (second only to the 25 page tome I wrote about Afro-Punk for Popular Black Music two years ago, but only because I legitimately worked hard on that one and didn’t bullshit at all). Anyway, the Dylan paper was better than I thought, or my TA was just a moron (which I think he might have been, but I’m not sure) because he gave me a 93% on it. “Nicely done, Mr. Hrabe,” the comments at the end read. “You have a clear passion for the topic, which good[sic]. Great sense of focus. Well-structured. Good use of lyrics as evidence. A pleasure to read.” I only cite this because this was one of my crowning achievements and made me feel like I’d really earned my PHD in Bullshit. Anway, in the process of writing that awful paper I had to pick quotes out of books about Highway 61 and Dylan and ended up getting caught up for hours just reading. There was this one book about the recording of the record that was absolutely fascinating and made me fall in love with the record again. Anecdotal things like how Dylan randomly grabbed the whistle from some other dude at the session and played it during the opening of the title track. How the excellent B-side “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window” took them forever to record and never quite sounded right. How “Desolation Row,” the only song that I can really consider Dylan a poet, had a full band version until he brought in some rad sort of famous dude to record that Mexican-sounding guitar and how it’s now a masterpiece. How Columbia was aghast at “Like a Rolling Stone” and, since management had recently been shook up, they wanted to split the song and release part 1 on side A and part 2 on side B and how some Dylan’s biggest supporter at Columbia leaked the song to the radio and thus forced the label to let him have his way. Anyway, this and Blood on the Tracks are the only two Dylan records I can listen to all the way through and I think this is easily his masterpiece. It’s earth-shattering and still sounds totally fresh. It’s one of the few records that has absolutely ZERO duds. Every track is a jam and it’s always a pleasure to put this one the turntable (earning it the title of the second-most played record in my collection). Despite being the greatest song of all time, “Like a Rolling Stone” never gets old and I think that’s why it’s the greatest song of all time. It’s always potent and I always (always) sing along even though I mix up the words most of the time. Anyway, I could have probably submitted this word vomit to that class (after dropping in random quotes from 8 sources) and still gotten an A. This record’s real good.

Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

Columbia, 1963 (Re-issue)

Acquired: insound.com, New, 2008

Price: $21

At first I wondered why in the hell I bought a re-issue of this record and then I realized that I bought it last August when I got my student loans, which used to be the time of the yeah in which I’d splurge and spend about $100 on records. Stupid, stupid me. Especially for buying this because, well, it’s beautiful and it sounds great but there are just certain records I want to have original copies of. Ok, not originals really, if I can, sure, but like, I want a copy of this record that I found at a garage sale. It doesn’t really matter, it’s still a great record that I’ve heard way too many times and listening to it now is kind of a drag. I think it’s because it’s before he really perfected the art of the “long song” and there are a handful on here. Actually, there are only two over six minutes and both of those are perfect (“Talkin’ World War III Blues” and “A Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall”) but other tunes like “I Shall Be Free” and “Masters of War” kind of drone on too long. “Bob Dylan’s Dream” comes kind of close, but that one really works for me. Maybe it’s just listening to it right now that’s causing me to go after Freewheelin’. It’s Dylan’s first record of original material and it’s heralded as one of the better records ever released, but like his self-titled debut, I think I just don’t care that much about this record because I know what comes next is even better. That is, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, and Blood on the Tracks. And for some reason I don’t own a copy of Blonde on Blonde, which is a shame. Anyway, the record just ended. I will say, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and “Girl From the North Country” are pretty much destructively good. The classics, “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall,” are jams, of course (although I have heard “Blowin’ in the Wind” so many times I hate it). However, I never noticed that there are about six songs on this record that I would just assume skip.

Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan

Columbia, 1962 (later pressing)

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $10

There’s a point during the opening track, “You’re No Good,” where Bob Dylan kind of giggles. This leads me to deduce that this track was recorded live (in the studio sense) and in one take, which is awesome. I say “Shit, this is really good.” Jenny says, “Damn right it is.” The thing about Bob Dylan’s debut LP is that it’s always going to be overshadowed by every record he makes until he makes Self-Portrait. Well, probably. It’s just a little sad, because it’s really, really fucking good. Granted, he only contributes two originals (the excellent “Talkin’ New York,” which plays like a sarcastic play on some kid from Minnesota movin’ to the city via aping Woody Guthrie and “Song to Woody,” which just makes me adore Bob Dylan because I have a thing for songwriters who are deeply indebted to other songwriters to the point of writing songs about them). It doesn’t have the swagger that he picks up around Another Side of Bob Dylan, but it’s exactly what Dylan wanted to be in 1962, which is to say Woody Guthrie, or a folk singer almost as good as Woody Guthrie. It’s really hard to view this record without bias because, goddamn, I know his next six records are going to be fucking masterpieces. I can’t even get to the point where I try to think “Well, what if this was some rare folk record put out by some guy named Bob Dylan, who never put out another record.” I can’t because it’s Bob Dylan and Bob Dylan is just unfuckwithable. But, listening to this while taking every other Bob Dylan record into context, it’s still really good. I like it more than John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline but not more than Blood on the Tracks or Desire. But what the fuck am I talking about? This is where homeboy started out and like a lot of debut LPs from future superstars, it’s not brilliant but the amount of promise held within it is unfathomable. Or maybe it is fathomable. Maybe if I said that in 1962 it would be unfathomable until it became fathomable. I don’t know. It’s a bunch of old folk standards sung by a dude who can’t really sing but that’s what makes him a great singer and there’s a passion in the way he sings these songs that makes him unfuckwithable. I always wonder if I would have thought Dylan was really annoying if I were a music critic forty-seven years ago. At this point, I listen to so many singer-songwriter records through music staff at KJ that it’s possible I could have passed on this, although I think forty-seven years ago this would have been pretty rad and I like to think I would have liked it. Now everyone just wants to be the next Bob Dylan, and it’s boring as shit. Actually, the last track on Side A and the first few tracks on Side B (including "House of the Rising Sun") kind of sound like he's trying way too hard and, as a result, kinda suck.

Dub Narcotic Sound System w/ Lois - Ship to Shore EP

Dub Narcotic Sound System/Lois – Ship to Shore

K, 1996

Acquired: Lawrence Antique Mall, Used, 2007

Price: $3

This is apparently a Dub Narcotic remix EP, but I was very confused because it features Lois Maffeo on the A-Side and on the B-Side it reads “Lois with Dub Narcotic Sound System.” Hence, I had a filing dilemma. For a project that relies on alphabetizing, this seemed like an important issue. Ultimately, the Dub Narcotic remixes are on side A and this little EP is listed under Dub Narcotic on All Music, so yeah, they win out. I should note that I have never really listened to Dub Narcotic Sound System, despite my rabid fanboy-ness for every other Calvin Johnston project (Beat Happening, the Halo Benders (who we will get to later in this project, with a funny story), The Go Team, and his solo stuff). I think I tried listening to Out of Your Mind once and it never stuck. Maybe I need to give it another listen, but not based on their remixes on this EP, because they’re not very good. I love Lois (Strumpet, in particular, which I own), but goddamn, these remixes scream mid-90s trip-hop or something. I would like to hear the original version of “Ship to Shore,” but only if Calvin is singing it (i.e. I need to download Boot Party). Seriously, though, the “Ship Shape Remix” fucking blows. As a matter of fact, I’m turning it over right now because I can’t tolerate it and my girlfriend is annoyed by it. The Lois side of things is a little better, but not as much as I’d hoped. Seriously, Lois sounds like an off-brand Liz Phair or maybe someone striving for a spot in Lilith Fair. Or at least that’s what I get when I hear “Rougher.” Ung, no wonder this was only three bucks, although it could be worse. After peeling off the tag from the Antique Mall, I noticed that the original buyer had picked it up at Love Garden for four. And I’ll probably end up selling it back for one. Oof.

Nick Drake - Bryter Layter

Nick Drake – Bryter Layter

Island, 1970 (re-issue on Simply Vinyl)

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2007

Price: $16

Once this was the Nick Drake album I paid the least attention to and since I’ve owned it on vinyl it’s moved its way into the position of most played. This is the record best suited for driving through the country (despite the fact that the first time I heard “Pink Moon” was in a car commercial (or myriad car commercials). Five Leaves Left is best suited for staying home and contemplating ingesting anti-depressants). THE record. Even sitting at my computer right now, I’m imagining myself with sunglasses and the windows down and this blaring out of the stereo while driving through the pastures and fields of the north country. Though Pink Moon is gorgeous as a guitar-and-voice record, Bryter Layter is a motherfucking masterpiece of British folk and I’m pretty sure it’s his best album. Not only is Drake one of the most extraordinary guitarists of all time, BUT he got John Cale to play on the two best songs (“Fly” and “Northern Sky”), in addition to members of the Beach Boys and Fairport Convention. Bryter Layter is a perfect storm. A great set of musicians backing a genius putting on his absolute best. I’ve also realized that this project is really fun when my girlfriend is in the room because a.) she will tell me if she likes the record or not (i.e. she really liked the Double record) and b.) she will sing along if she knows the songs (like this record).

The Double - Loose in the Air

The Double – Loose in the Air

Matador, 2005

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $7

I probably payed too much for this record. In my head, it should have only been $5 because I was basically buying it for one song (“Idiocy”) and a single typically costs $5. But I guess it’s worth paying an extra two bucks to get a record I’ve never listened to. Maybe there are more jams that justify this. Upon listening to Loose in the Air, I think it was totally worth $7. It’s a really, really solid indie-rock record when every other indie-rock record is trying to do something weird or different or something with more banjos. They’re not a great band, but they’re a really good band (reminiscent of the late Oxford Collapse, who never made a record I loved but always made records I liked, which is an excellent quality to possess sometimes). Apparently, John Darnielle loves this band which means that I should love them too. Not really, but most of the time he’s right (he’s my favorite and most trusted music critic). “Idiocy” is a PERFECT pop song that no one has really heard. It is perfect because it fits into my guidelines of a perfect song. That is, the verses are as catchy as choruses and the choruses are pretty much super-choruses. This is a rare thing to achieve. The New Pornographers (who played the same night as the Double in Lawrence and, following their show, went over and saw their set at the Jackpot) come close to this with most of their jams, but the closest they got was with the b-side “Graceland” (not a Paul Simon cover). “Idiocy” is better than that song, though. The rest of the album I can pretty much take or leave. It’s not bad, but I don’t see myself falling in love with it. It’s very “it’s not you, it’s me.” At the same time, it’s really fucking good. Flecks of Interpol and the Go-Betweens are strewn throughout, but mostly they sound like an indie-rock band on Matador Records.

Do Make Say Think - Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead

Do Make Say Think – Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead

Constellation, 2000

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2005

Price: $6

I bought this based on the fact that I completely loved one track off of Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn. Saw this at Love Garden one day and, since it was cheap, bought it. Basically, it sounds like a “post-rock” record, and I really don’t have the patience for that kind of music. Sure, I have all of the Godspeed albums on my computer, but I just don’t have the patience the drawn out, drone and build of most of this music. Not that I don’t think it’s good, I think Do Make Say Think are an excellent band, just not one I could listen to forever and ever. I do, however, like them more than Broken Social Scene (which Charles Spearin is involved with). Somehow, when it comes to Broken Social Scene, the parts are always better than the whole (at least for me). Do Make Say Think, Feist, Emily Haines/Metric, the Weakerthans, Stars. All of these bands and artists are actually pretty awesome, yet when they collaborate with BSS, I just can’t get behind it. Maybe one of these days I’ll have some sort of BSS revelation and be absolutely batshit crazy in love with them like everyone else seems to be, but for now I’d rather listen to the side projects. Anyway, Goodbye Enemy Airship is a good album, but it’s an easy album to ignore. It’s perfect background music or napping music.

Dis- - The Historically Troubled Third Album

Dis- – The Historically Troubled Third Album

My Pal God, 1996

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $5

I heard Dis- on the radio (played by the excellent Justin Brown when he hosted Alternative Flashback on KJHK) at the height of my post-hardcore/math-rock phase a couple years ago. Somehow, I’d realized why Slint’s Spiderland was brilliant and then all of those bands that sounded like Slint were totally awesome. I found this at Love Garden one day and quickly scooped it up. At first I thought the title was just tongue and cheek (and one of the better album titles I’ve ever come across) but apparently, during recording (with Steve Albini!) the band basically fell apart. This is their last album. A poetic indie rock casualty. Too bad, because this is their best record and, as a song title geek, I can honestly say it has some of the best song titles I’ve ever seen. “Please Stop Blaming Your Personal Problems on Films,” “Suddenly Everyone’s a Smoker,” “You May Get All the Ladies but I Got My Shit Together,” and “The Day We Danced in Your Swimsuit.” To paraphrase Bob Pollard, with titles like that, the songs HAVE to be good. And they are. They’re more upbeat than Slint or June of 44. I think they’re more like Chavez, full of energy and mathy breakdowns and ultimately, it’s one of the more fun mid-90s math rock records you can listen to. I am also fairly certain that I am the only person in the world right now listening to this record.

Dirty Projectors - Rise Above

Dirty Projectors – Rise Above

Dead Oceans, 2007

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2007

Price: $14

Upon learning that some band was re-making Black Flag’s Damaged from memory, I kind of flipped my shit. I remember this distinctly, and I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited for a record since. It’s kind of funny that it took covering Black Flag to push Dirty Projectors into the realm of “their next album is going to be a fucking masterpiece” territory. It’s something that I knew in 2007 and as soon as I heard Bitte Orca I knew I was right because goddamn, that record might just be my favorite album of 2009. Somehow, the songs on Rise Above sound like sex jams. I don’t know why, but I distinctly remember having sex to this album numerous times after I got it. It suddenly became my go-to record to bang to, and really, I don’t know how this happened. It’s experimental indie-rock covers/reworkings of punk rock songs that kind of sounds like R&B. I think the album’s greatest strength is that it completely manages to avoid being a novelty and instead comes off as the most original covers record of all time (in my head, at least). There’s something amazing about their version of “Six Pack” that I can’t really explain. Also with Dave Longstreth delivering the opening lines of “Police Story (“This fucking city is run by pigs”) with such conviction that it somehow, I don’t know how, makes me like this version of the song better than the original (although I belong to the camp that thinks Rollins (despite my adoration of the man) kinda ruined Black Flag). Ok, I don’t like it as much as the original. BUT IT’S REAL GOOD!