Rilo Kiley - "The Moneymaker" 7"

Rilo Kiley – “The Moneymaker” 7”

Warner Bros, 2007

Acquired: KJHK Music Staff, New, 2007

Price: $0

 

Rilo Kiley’s final studio album—Under the Blacklight—is a disaster. Gone were the days of sweet, heartfelt and earnest indie pop, as they were trumped by…whatever this was. Lead single “The Moneymaker” is a flat, empty, and trying desperately to be edgy. It’s a boring, by the numbers tune barely fit for a late album filler track and yet, it’s the track they thought best represented Under the Blacklight. It sort of embodies everything I hate about modern pop music, which is the tendency to repeat repeat repeat without offering anything substantial. Considering that Jenny Lewis’s solo records and Blake Sennett’s work with the Elected are so much better than this, it’s an acceptable failure. This sound of a band going through the motions and falling apart. The b-side “Draggin’ Around” is more soulful than anything on the record proper. You know, it’s been so long since I dismissed Under the Blacklight maybe there were some good tracks there and I let “The Moneymaker” ruin my experience. Alas, there are worse things than making a forgettable album.

"The Moneymaker"

"Draggin' Around

Royals

On  Wednesday Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost took to the local talk radio airwaves and ended up making a grievance about fans not showing up for the games. Here’s the quote:

“I mean, what, 13,000 people got to see a great game? . . . We’re in a pennant race, yeah. We’ve been working on trying to build this team for the last three or four years to put ourselves in a position where we can contend for a championship. And not only the division, but we want to contend for a world championship. It’s really, really important we have our fans behind us at the stadium . . . I know there’s different things you can do. You can watch it on the Internet. You can watch it on TV. But there’s a real need for our fans to be a part of this. We had a great crowd last night, and I was kind of hoping we’d have another great crowd tonight, and we really didn’t.”

I think the unanimous response from Kansas City went like this: “Shut the hell up Ned Yost, you don’t know what the hell you are talking about.” Do you want to convince the Royals front office to make going to a game affordable for the average person? Do you not understand that you work for a soulless business with the sole design of raking in fat stacks of cash? This isn’t your grandpappy’s baseball, Mr. Yost, where 25 cents bought you admission to the greatest show on earth, peanuts, a cool beverage with enough leftover for the trolley ride back home. A nosebleed seat in the upper deck behind the infield costs $18, which isn’t so bad but then you have to factor in the fees. Kaufman Stadium is located outside of the city, which means you pretty much have to drive out there and pay $11 to park at the Truman Sports Complex. So that plus gas is a nice sized chunk of change if you’re broke and going to a game all on your lonesome and who does that? A garbage hotdog will set you back $4. A coke $6. A beer? Let’s not even bother.

For reference, here is what it would cost for my brother and I to go see the Royals play the lowly Twins tonight (nosebleed seats edition):

The thing Yost doesn’t get is that it’s not chump change, and while I also find it frustrating when I see the stands empty when I’m watching the games on TV, I’m frustrated because I’d gladly go to a game if I could it. The Royals would rather make money by charging an arm and a leg for seats (decent field level seats run $40-60 a piece) than putting butts in them. The Royals do not care about their fans, they care about money. Just like every other sports franchise on the planet. It’s not new. It’s not even wrong. It just is.

The other side of this is that Kansas City hasn’t had a baseball team worth rooting for in 29 years. When the Royals won the World Series in 1985—also the last time they made the playoffs—was the year I was born. I wasn’t even alive to see it, but I like to think I was there in spirit in my mother’s belly. Since then it’s been a shifting state of hopelessness. And still, we loved our team. I was obsessed with baseball as a kid and I was fortunate enough to see George Brett play in the twilight of his career, but there are drawbacks to rooting for a team that never, ever wins. Especially as a kid. I was flipping through a shoebox of old photographs at my parents’ house last week and was amazed at how many photos there were of me sporting Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins gear. Those teams were added to the MLB in 1993, and to me they represented a fresh start. There was something pure and untainted about those teams to my eight-year-old brain.

In 1994 the strike happened and that pretty ended my love affair with professional baseball. The Royals were doing the best they’d ever done since I’d been born and then the season was shut down. I kept playing little league for a couple more years but my team had divided into two factions: the kids who loved the game and the douchebags who wanted to call me a fat piece of shit. Our last game ended with a brawl in our own dugout. One of those memories that will never leave me is standing outside the dugout, watching these kids fight, and telling my dad that I was done with baseball. After that, I got into music (really shitty music, but music nonetheless) and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and that was the end of it.

I started watching baseball again in 2011 when I joined my little brother’s Fantasy Baseball league. All of that deep seeded passion for the game welled up and I was obsessed. I drank in everything I had missed, and though the Royals had a typically Royals season (71-91, 24 games out of first place in the division), it was nice to see the team nurturing its young talent instead of selling them off as soon as they got good (see: And other reasons it was painful to be a Royals fan for years and years). In 2012 I was in Minnesota but watched as many games as I could via MLB.TV and for once, they had a shot at the playoffs! It was a dream! A long shot, but more hope than any Kansas Citian had dared to foster in 25 years. We moved back to Kansas in September of 2013 and as we were driving into Kansas City I caught the tail end of their last home game of the season on the radio. The Royals were down, bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded. Justin Maxwell came to the plate and hit a grand slam. I started to cry. They were out of the playoffs run by then, but it felt so, so good to be home.

This season has been the absolute best. All the cynicism for the game I developed when I realized the harsh realities of the money game via the strike in 1994 melted away and I just enjoyed a young team that was there to compete. Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, Alcides Escobar, Jarrod Dyson, Lorenzo Cain, Nori Aoki, Omar Infante, Moose, Greg Holland, James Shields, Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy, Jason Vargas, Jeremy Guthrie, even the once and former garbage fire Wade Davis! These are my guys. When the season started, I would listen to the games on the radio via my phone at the lowest volume pressed to my ear whilst holding my infant daughter as she slept. I tried hard not to jostle her too much when they won. Midseason my father in law sprung for the KC sports package via Dish Network and there’s something wonderful about coming home from work and turning on the game and watching the Kansas City Royals play absolutely fantastic baseball.

This year, the Royals are gutting it out. Their young pitchers are coming into their own, their veterans are holding steady and leading the team, Greg Holland is the greatest shut down closer in the game, and even though I worry that Alex Gordon is putting his season at risk diving for fly balls and running into walls, my heart jumps every time he catches one of those harrowing flies. I love this team, and the fact that they are 17 games over .500 is almost too much to handle. Even if they blow the rest of the season, this is more hope than I’ve ever had for the Royals. Honestly, my hope caps out at them making the playoffs. I can’t even think about them getting to the World Series. I honestly can’t fathom the situation. I can see them making the AL Championship Series. Winning the pennant would be the greatest thing I had ever seen as a sports fan. It would be a dream.

I don’t think Ned Yost understands what it’s like to be let down for decades. This quick turnaround from worst to first has left folks a little gun shy. We’ve been duped before, why is this time any different? It’s promising, but you can’t expect folks to go out in droves to the games. The stadium is still out in the boonies and games are expensive, and while I wish I had been there the other night to see Alex Gordon’s walk-off homer, I can’t afford it. But I’ve been trying to find a game me and my brother can attend. I’m willing to put tickets on the credit card to be a part of this glorious run.

Jay Reatard/Deerhunter - Split 7"

Jay Reatard/Deerhunter – “Flourescent Grey”/”Oh, It’s Such a Shame” Split 7”

Matador, 2008

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2008

Price: $6

As the scarcity of the 7”s rose, so did the price, which correlated with a severe dip in my interest. $6 for a seven-inch is fucking insane from a numbers point (That’s $3 a song, where a long player runs about $1.50 a song assuming an average of 12 tracks and ballooned $18 list price). Still, I was committed, having already purchased the first three sevens in Jay Reatard’s 2008 Matador seven-inch series, and even though I don’t consider myself a Collector collector, that was the mindset I was in when I bought this. The $6 for a seven-inch racket exists to woo hardcore collectors. It’s something exclusive. It’s like finding all the gaps in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or collecting all the hidden flags in Assassin’s Creed: totally superfluous. At least from a music stand point, since when am I ever going to just put on a seven-inch? That’s just me personally, though. It’s more a piece of art than a delivery system for jams. Still, this is a beautiful little piece of art. The vinyl is split pink and black to fit the overall packaging scheme and looks absolutely delicious. Oh yeah, and there’s music too, I guess. Reatard covers Deerhunter’s “Flourescent Grey” and makes it creepier than the already pretty creepy original. Deerhunter covers Reatard’s “Oh, It’s Such a Shame” and they do a really fantastic job with it. Deerhunter has always been one of those bands I’ve failed to connect with, despite enjoying their albums. They bring a surprising amount of gravitas to Reatard’s garage rock banger. I’m not usually one for big, instrumental pieces to close out a track, but the blanket of processed guitars Deerhunter lay down over the last minute or so of this cover is exceedingly pleasant. They steal the show, on Reatard’s own seven-inch, and maybe that was the point. You’ve also gotta love the trollingly homoerotic cover, too.

Jay Reatard - "Flourescent Grey"

Deerhunter - "Oh, It's Such a Shame"

B-Side Worship: Frightened Rabbit - "Boxing Night"

Frightened Rabbit – “Boxing Night”

"State Hospital" EP, 2012

As much as I love Frightened Rabbit (which is a whole fucking lot), I’ve always found their b-sides to be a little throwaway…which is sort of the whole essence of a b-side, so no harm done. But “Boxing Night,” from the State Hospital EP is a marvelous exception. The picture Scott Hucthison paints of the day after Christmas is perfect, and with pure Frightened Rabbit (read: Scottish) glumness:

Boxing night

I celebrate in style, in boxer shorts and spirits

Floor littered with ghosts of bottles past

There’s a naked hush, clothed only in breath and a pulse

Of a heart that is kicking as though it is desperate to be born

Jesus Christ.

Good Glasgow could burn to its timber tonight, I’d barely blink an eye.

Hutchison’s songwriting is prized for his brutal understanding of agony, and the lilt of this song almost feels like a sick joke. It’s fantastic. Absolutely terrific. The little acoustic guitar line that runs through this track practically bounces. The choruses swell into these big, optimistic triumphs with ethereal backing vocals and a glorious sense of fulfillment. Somehow, Hutchison has found a way to be bleak without being depressing, and maybe that’s one of the reasons why he’s one of the best songwriters out there.

Hutchison recently released his first solo effort under the moniker Owl John and it's morose and terrific. I've been wallowing in it for the last month. Review forthcoming. Here's one of my favorite tracks, "Los Angeles, Be Kind."

Gut Feeling: The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers

The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers

Matador, 2014

The New Pornographers are making records like there are other bands vying for the title of finest power pop band of the 21^st Century. As usual, no one even comes close to matching the explosive, soulful, and devastatingly hooky pop Carl Newman and company have been crafting since the turn of the century. Their last two records—2007’s Challengers and 2010’s Together—were understated, democratic affairs, that were enjoyable but seemingly shooting for loftier emotional payoff rather than pop majesty. Brill Bruisers is their most undeniable record since their 2005 masterpiece Twin Cinema and a mighty return to form.

Has it really been almost ten years since Twin Cinema? That record is still so fresh in my mind. Driving down I-35, blaring it the day it came out, understanding that it was going to be my favorite record of the year. Undeniable. The kind of music with a direct line to that kinetic link between my heart and mind. Nine years later I’m driving down the same highway, listening to Brill Bruisers, and feeling that same satisfaction. And I’m thinking Brill Bruisers is the better album. It just feels like a classic.

While a lot of what I love about Brill Bruisers is rooted in a gut-level appreciation for the booming guitars and lovely harmonies, but have been actively tricking my brain into appreciating all of the elements that went into making this immensely satisfying record. First, it’s a wonderful blend of something old and something new. The aforementioned full-bodied guitars that morph into a big wall of sound at will are like sonic comfort food, but it’s worth mentioning that Neko Case and Dan Bejar are coming off the best albums of their respective careers and there’s something about Brill Bruisers that feels like an All Star Game, but with actual stakes. Carl Newman (who is also coming off the best solo album of his career) plays ringleader, effortlessly corralling all of these elements like a master alchemist.

The Neko led “Champions of Red Wine” is buoyed by sparkling synthesizers and despite having throaty, driving guitars backing her up, it’s the album’s most intimate moment. The crunchy guitars that anchor two thirds of Dan Bejar’s tracks are perhaps the furthest thing form the euro disco vibe on his latest album as destroyer, Kaputt. “Born with a Sound” oscillates between heavy verses and effervescent choruses thanks to the sweetness of Kathryn Calder’s co-vocals. His other stand-out track is the album’s single “War on the East Coast” which is a delightful bit of fun with menacing guitars and the busy synthesizers that tie the whole album together.

There are so many treats on Brill Bruisers that it’s impossible to list them all. The ELO inspired vocoded vocals on “Backstairs.” The token late album change-of-pace track “Wide Eyes” features the album’s best interplay between Case and Newman and it’s just nonchalantly tucked away! Slow burning closer “You Tell Me Where” ends the album the way all New Pornographers albums end: with big, satisfying harmonies and perfect synthesis. It’s amazing this group is still together, considering how successful Neko Case and Dan Bejar have become in their own careers. Still, after 14+ years, maybe it’s inertia keeping these guys together. And in that case, thank god for inertia. I don’t expect this album to grow, not really. They don’t have to evolve. I look forward to their albums because I know I’m going to get the best, soul satisfying power pop the modern music world has to offer and yet here I am, delightfully surprised that the group has somehow gotten better. I’m going to appreciate it while it lasts, which will hopefully be a long long time.

"War on the East Coast"

Jay Reatard - "Always Wanting More" 7"

Jay Reatard – “Always Wanting More” 7”

Matador, 2008

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2008

Price: $5

Pulling this one from its sleeve, I forgot this one was one was on clear vinyl with neon primary colors painted in streaks on the B-side. It got my heart racing! And then the track kicked in and my heart kept racing because “Always Wanting More” is the best. Sure, it was the first track from Reatard’s 2008 singles series that I heard (on a Matador compilation on the way back from SXSW that year) so there’s some sentimental attachment. It was the first song of Reatards that stopped me in my tracks. It’s the purest distillation of what Reatard does so well: big, chiming riffs; barreling garage rock with a pop singer’s mentality; earwormy hooks. It’s super satisfying and relistenable. B-side “You Mean Nothing to Me” borrows the warbly synthesizer from “An Ugly Death” but neglects to channel that song’s spunk. Maybe it’s just the scales balancing and we just have to deal with the series’ catchiest song being paired with its most forgettable.

"Always Wanting More"

Covered Up: Neko Case - "Madonna of the Wasps" (Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians)

Neko Case – “Madonna of the Wasps” (Robyn Hitchcock)
The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You B-Side, 2013

There was a time, five or six years ago, where I was an absolute nut for Robyn Hitchcock’s Fegmania!. I think it had something to do with Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy citing Hitchcock as an influence. I played a track from that album every week for a semester on KJHK. “Another Bubble,” “My Wife & My Dead Wife,” “I’m Only You,” actually, the whole first side of that album was on rotation. Despite my devotion to that record, I never picked up another Hitchcock album, which seems totally insane. Leave it to a fantastic cover to reopen the door to Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians. I didn’t know “Madonna of the Wasps” was a cover when I first listened to the b-sides from Neko Case’s latest album The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, and that’s probably a good thing. Her rendition of my favorite Harry Nilsson track—“Don’t Forget Me,” featured on Middle Cyclone—was a huge disappointment. This one, however, is just so wonderful. Without even listening to the original, I can hear Case and the band channeling the jangly guitars and wobbly synthesizers of the late 80s. M. Ward provides soulful counter vocals that play so well with Case’s, which is no surprise since their vocal interplay on The Worse Things Get… is one of the myriad elements that make that album a masterpiece.

Listening to the original for the first time was like meeting up with an old friend after years of separation. Hitchcock’s buttery, yet lightly idiosyncratic vocals, and those beautiful jangly 80s guitar tones are pure magic. It’s just flabbergasting that I didn’t think to rip Hitchcock’s entire catalog when I was at KJ. It was all there on the shelf, even Queen Elvis, from which “Madonna of the Wasps” is culled. Beautiful, slightly dark, but cut through with that shimmering riff and infinitely replayable with its three-minute running time that feels way too short. Three-minutes is the perfect length for a song, and I’ve wasted so many words railing against bands who feel the need to repeat the same verses and choruses over and over again, but I could listen to this track forever.

Jay Reatard - "Painted Shut" 7"

Jay Reatard – “Painted Shut” 7”

Matador, 2008

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2008

Price: $5

How Reatard and Matador decided the A and B-sides seems to have been an arbitrary process, because the rather rote garage rocker “Painted Shut” absolutely pales in comparison to b-side “An Ugly Death.” A spooky synthesizer sets a creepy, Halloween-y vibe that carries through the verses and reappears in the chorus to lend the bouncy hook a hand. I just listened to “Painted Shut” a minute ago and I’ve already forgotten what it sounds like, but “An Ugly Death” is one of my favorite tracks from Jay Reatard’s 2008 singles series. Sure, it’s garage-y like the rest of ‘em but it’s the most fun track of the lot.

"An Ugly Death"

B-SIde Worship: The Get Up Kids - "Central Standard Time"

The Get Up Kids – “Central Standard Time”
Vagrant, 1999

One of the earliest memories I have from when my wife and I started dating was seeing the 7” split the Get Up Kids and the Anniversary did together on her dining room table…melted to form a cute little bowl. I don’t even remember what was in the bowl. Probably nothing, which made me even more frustrated. “How could you!” I think I asked, incredulous. We’ve been together ever since. Coming of age in Kansas City in the late 90s/early 00s, the Get Up Kids were all we had. Outside of the area they are typically met with derision by people who think they know better, but around here they’re basically an institution. Fucking beloved. “Central Standard Time” is a perfect b-side, because though it was recorded along with the rest of their 1999 emo masterpiece Something to Write Home About, it has a lot more in common with the songs on their debut Four Minute Mile. It’s a fine track seemingly built for a split 7” where it doesn’t have to worry about not fitting in. I feel like I’m giving this song a pep talk. “Hey! Don’t listen to them! So what if they’re wearing fancier shoes and are dressed in fancier clothes, you do your own thing. Just be yourself and someday, you’ll show them all!” Ok, maybe this song isn’t going to show anyone anything. It’s a footnote in the Get Up Kids discography, and it’s not even their best b-side (that would definitely be “Mass Pike”), but it’s so damn catchy that you can almost forgive them for inspiring Fall Out Boy.

Jay Reatard - "See/Saw" 7"

Jay Reatard – “See/Saw” 7”

Matador, 2008

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2008

Price: $4

“See/Saw” was my introduction to the late Jay Reatard and his immediately satisfying ramshackle garage-rock. Actually, that’s not true. I heard “Always Wanting More” first on a Matador compilation highlighting all the cool shit they were releasing in 2008. “See/Saw” was the first of six seven-inches released in 2008 (“Always Wanting More” was third) and, despite not really buying seven-inches at the time, I was buying scads of records and liked “Always Wanting More” enough to take a flyer on Memphis’s latest musical genius. “See/Saw” is fantastic, and so is the B-side “Screaming Hand,” and really, so are most of the tracks from his 2008 seven-inch series (I have changed my tune since I wrote up the compilation collecting all of the seven-inch songs five years ago, and of course I don’t have it anymore, drag). I don’t know if Reatard heralded the grungy garage rock revival that exploded in the late 00s and still haunts us today, but he was one of its brightest stars and the only one I could listen to without having my eyes glass over. The hooks are just phenomenal, and somehow the production sounds professional and gritty at the same time. It’s a ridiculous shame that Matador released fewer and fewer copies of each successive seven-inch because I bought the first four and it was absolutely impossible to get my hands on the other two without having to do commit some sort of debauchery, which I’d do for GBV or the Hold Steady but not for Jay Reatard. Still, these two tracks are absolute killers.

"See/Saw"

"Screaming Hand"