Dig Yourself, Lazarus, Dig Yourself

How to start with Nick Cave?  Cave has been a popular recording artist since the late 1970’s when he was with his first band, The Birthday Party (formerly known as the Boys Next Door).  The Birthday Party explored numerous styles during their incarnation (1977-1983) and moved from Melbourne, Australia to London and later to West Berlin. Cave honed his writing style during this time, exploring many different themes, including religion, death, love and violence. During his time with the Birthday Party he succumbed to alcohol and drug addictions, which ultimately helped lead to the demise of the band.

The Bad Seeds formed shortly after the demise of the Birthday Party. Unlike the Birthday Party, the Bad Seeds enjoyed greater commercial as well as critical success. Cave’s writings continued to evolve and improve, and his collaborations with other artists in between his work with the Bad Seeds has helped strengthen his songwriting. His writings also carried over into the literary world; he has written four books during his career. The band has released 14 albums to date. Their latest, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, was well-received critically and is the subject of this write.

#80 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dig! Lazarus, Dig!!! (Metascore = 87)

The album kicks off with the title track which also happens to be my favorite track. The chugging guitars blending in with marching organs, grooving bass, and a guitar that seems to be stuck between a wheel and a brake pad are what really make this song cool to me. Of course the lyrics reference the biblical character and how he may be if he lived in the modern area. I like how Cave refers to Lazarus as “Larry” during the song. “Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!” grooves right into “Today’s Lesson”, though it trades the squealing guitar for a wah-wah-tricked guitar and humming organs. You can tell right away this is a band that has worked together for years, that knows when and what another band member is going to do.

Throughout the record the band mostly carries this grooving rock sound first initiated by the title track. Each track explores a different theme, though, and each track features a certain instrument more so over the others. For instance, the bassist really carries “Today’s Lesson” than the other instruments. The record at times almost feels like a dance record. Listen to “Albert Goes West”. I can’t help to clap my hands during the tom-tom parts that recur throughout the song. The song itself covers a psychotic episode in the desert to the suicide of someone that’s unhappy in his life.

As mentioned earlier, Cave tackles numerous subjects throughout the record. “Lie Down Here (And Be My Girl)” references love, though I wonder what the true nature and motivations of the “protector” are. “Jesus of the Moon” to me talks about the biblical apocalypse written in the book of Revelations. The last half of the record steers away from the grooves of the first half to a more guarded, darker sound. The beats that dominated the beginning of the record are replaced by haunted organs and guitars and imagery.

The first time I heard this record I was floored not only by the music but the imagery that Cave portrays in each of the songs. The themes and sounds give this album a particular strength that I rarely hear in music anymore (save for some of the albums on this list). I really liked this album right away and like it the more I hear it (sort of how I feel about The Suburbs by Arcade Fire). I would recommend this record to anyone looking for something fun to hear.

College Dropout

Kanye West’s career has not gone by without some controversy. He has had some form of controversy during his career as a recording artist, whether the controversy was about the theme of “Jesus Walks” to jumping onstage during Taylor Swift’s award acceptance speech at the MTV Music Awards in 2009. Despite the negative press he has received during his career, he has never let that hinder his musical creativity. His releases have frequently sold very well and received critical acclaim for his songs’ themes.

The record for today’s review is his first solo release, College Dropout. While West had produced numerous records and tracks for artists ranging from Foxy Brown to Jay-Z, he had never released any of his own material. His producing career had hindered any progression of his rap career because record companies viewed him first and foremost as a producer. Eventually he had the chance when he helped contribute a verse on “The Bounce” from Jay-Z’s The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse. From here his rap career took off.

#54 – Kanye West, College Dropout (Metascore = 88)

Before delving further into the record, I need to tell you part of the inspiration of this record. Prior to beginning recording the album, he was in a car accident that resulted in a broken jaw. He used the accident and his time in the hospital as inspiration for writing some of the lyrics on the record. His first single, “Through the Wire”, was recorded while his mouth was wired shut during the healing process. From there the record takes off. I also found another part of his life very interesting; that is, West also dropped out of college when he was 20. His mother actually was a professor at Chicago State where he dropped out, and she did not approve of his giving up his education. However, with the queue of beats and raps he had built up, he felt he had no other choice.

A trademark of Kanye’s producing style has been the use of samples and beats while also incorporating live instruments to help supplement the sound. He also started modifying vocals at this point, though on a smaller scale than he used on 808s & Heartbreak. Most of the beats and samples he had started building up over years of trying to establish his rap career.

Kanye’s lyrics also shift him away from the gangster rap crowd of guns, drugs, and murder to a more socially-conscious, topically-diverse crowd of rappers that would include rappers like Common, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def. The lyrics in “We Don’t Care” reflect on a childhood (not necessarily his but of kids he knew) looking up to drug dealers and the blue-collared workers that did what they could to put food on the table and get their kids in school. “Jesus Walks” was and is one of Kanye’s biggest singles and also one of his most controversial, rapping about a subject (Jesus) that many see as taboo on the radio. The song also has the best beat on the record in my opinion. Many of the lyrics on this record reflect economic struggles, social struggles, and political commentaries that are as relevant today as they were then.

One other thing I haven’t mentioned but must is his rap style, meaning his vocal style. Kanye has a smooth delivery when he raps. His raps are very thought-provoking. I can’t really describe exactly what I mean, but lines like “I’m just trying to say the way school needs teachers/the way Kathie Lee needed Regis that’s the way I need Jesus”, where he references culture and TV and religion…those are the types of lines I am talking about. He also has a smooth delivery; it’s not choppy nor does it rely on gimmicks. He just delivers his lyrics the way that best fits the song, creating a great flow to the overall record.

College Dropout is the record I most remember from Kanye West and also one of the better records I’ve heard. I really enjoyed all of the songs, each unique not only in beat but also in the topics tackled. He also brings out a number of his friends, including Jay-Z, Common, and Ludacris. I definitely recommend this record, though I caution the younger set, for the lyrics can be dirty at times.

Twin Cinema

After a long, unintentional break away from writing, I am back to write about some more music. Today’s entry comes from the band the New Pornographers, a sort-of super group out of Vancouver, Canada. The New Pornographers are comprised of several fantastic singer-songwriters, including Dan Bejar (also the founder of Destroyer), Neko Case (who has had a strong solo career parallel to her work with the band), and A.C. Newman (himself a solo artist). Combined, they have put together some strong records and some not-so-strong records, but in every case their work together has meant strong harmonies along with witty lyrics and some interesting music.

Their record Twin Cinema was well received after its issuance in 2005. The record contains 15 songs and numerous supporting musicians along with the original members.

#171 – The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema (Metascore = 85)

Twin Cinema begins with the dynamic guitar riff of the title track. “Twin Cinema” is a cool pop rock song that demonstrates some of the vocal harmonies (between Newman and Case) and musicianship characteristic of this band. “The Bones of an Idol” continues the poppiness, mixing in jangling piano with slide guitar while also giving Case the opportunity to take lead vocals. She has a soft but strong voice that seems to bring more out of the song.

The element of this album and the band is the wide range of vocals working in harmony with each other. Regardless of the lead singer, the mixture of the voices gives each song a hint of campfire song to it, where anyone can join in. Most of the songs are sung either by Newman or Case, but each song always has someone else backing up the lead. Sometimes the lyrics are a little insane (see “Jackie, Dressed in Cobras”), but many times they reference love in some sort of way. Of all of the vocalists, Neko Case’s vocals are the best.

Musically, each song is different. They incorporate stops into their songs (particularly Bejar’s songs). There are catchy riffs that you will find yourself humming (“Twin Cinema”, “Jessica Numbers”). The musicians mix up the instruments between straight up guitars to adding jangling pianos and organs. The songwriters also effectively incorporate crescendos to sing-song choruses and balance the poppy numbers with quieter songs.

Overall, I really enjoyed this record. I liked a lot of the songs and really enjoyed the vocals. The songs themselves were well-crafted and easy to like. My personal favorites were “Twin Cinema”, “Use It”, “Broken Beads”, and “Three or Four”. In some ways I cannot understand why critics didn’t like it more, but that could be due to the lyrics or something else. Either way, this is a great record to hear.

Sweet, Sweet Music

Most of us know of Randy Newman as a film score composer. He has produced fabulous songs for many movies, most recently for his work with the Toy Story movies by Disney Pixar. He’s released 26 film scores during his career, mostly for comedies. However, Newman has been a recording artist since the early 1960’s, releasing ten studio albums and a live album. He has also written songs for other artists and had other artists cover his own releases.

Although he did not live there his entire childhood, you can hear the New Orleans style in Newman’s piano playing and vocal style. He has that drawl that is typical of music artists from there, including artists such as Dr. John and Louis Armstrong. His songs often are satirical and witty. I personally like the hidden meanings in a lot of his songs. Listen to the feature songs in one of the Toy Story movies or A Bug’s Life. There are hidden meanings in those (I think that’s how the movie studios attract adults to kids’ movies). The focus of this blog entry, though, is his studio album Harps & Angels.

#138 – Randy Newman, Harps & Angels (Metascore = 86)

Newman’s jazzy piano immediately drew me into listening to this record. While I have always enjoyed his songs, he captures your attention right away with the title track. His vocal style is also appealing and lends to the humor in his songs. I like “Harps and Angels” because of the story. Here the character has been in an accident and is having a spiritual moment, and he realizes the errors of his ways (after a strong talking to). “Losing You” is a beautiful ballad of loss. While he didn’t do the score for the Pixar movie Up, this song would be perfect for that movie.

“Laugh and Be Happy” will cheer you back up; there’s no need to be all downtrodden all the time. Just enjoy life. “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country” compares the United States’ leaders to those of historical tyranny, how the U.S. isn’t all that bad, but it isn’t all that good at times. “A Few Words” kicks off a few songs that attack the current policies of the United States in different ways, from the Supreme Court to health care (“A Piece of the Pie”) to education (“Korean Parents”). I am somewhat surprised by this, but I suppose I am not as familiar as I should be of his music. I do find it compelling, though, especially with the music that accompanies the lyrics. I enjoy the varied styles that each of the songs. At times the songs sound like film score songs, at other times they cross the spectrum to Oriental music.

I found this album to be a great snapshot of Randy Newman’s music. His storytelling style makes his songs very entertaining and intriguing. Each song from beginning to end has a unique story that has humor, sadness, anger and love.

A Smooth Operator

Soundtracks not often crack any critic’s top album lists. The content of the album typically contains background music for the movie and/or throwaway tracks from an artist’s dustbin. Occasionally an album will buck this trend and present a fresh way to look and listen to a movie. Such is the case with the movie soundtrack for Ocean’s Eleven.

This Ocean’s Eleven was released in 2001 and starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts, to name a few. The movie was a hip update to the original that was released in 1960 and featured the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. The soundtrack for the update was produced by Northern Irish DJ, musician, and composer David Holmes. His musical acumen was clearly in fine form for this record.

#148 – Original Soundtrack to Ocean’s Eleven (Metascore = 86)

Most DJ’s listen to a plethora of music when preparing their music, trying to combine snippets or music tracks of songs together in a cohesive manner. With a soundtrack, a producer needs to be able to embrace the essence of the film while also reminding himself or herself that the music is secondary to what’s taking place on the screen. In some cases the music, dialogue and action of the movie mesh together effectively, which is really true about this soundtrack. Holmes to me has done an excellent job at embodying the essence not only of the movie but of Las Vegas.

When I started this soundtrack, I was immediately taken to the scene in the movie where Daniel Ocean (George Clooney) is at his parole hearing having to describe how and why he was sent to prison. The music sounds like he’s in an elevator, which feels appropriate given the nature of his character and the direction the plot goes once he leaves prison. From there, Holmes begins to meld elements of funk, jazz, rap, rock and blues together in a mix that just feels like Las Vegas. Throughout the record Holmes includes dialogue from the movie within the music, helping to further enhance the listening experience.

Also included on the soundtrack are current and classic tracks from a number of different artists. Each track appears to have been carefully chosen to embody not only Las Vegas but the feel of the movie. “Papa Loves Mambo”, performed here by Perry Como, which to me fits perfectly with the gambling scene (whether it be in Vegas, Atlantic City, or any other gambling haven). Not of place, though a little kitschy, is Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation”. Quincy Jones’ “Blues in the Night” is my favorite artist track from this record. The song feels like it’s tastefully embellished with that Vegas glamour while slinky in its own way.

Based on the feel of this album from beginning to end, I do not have a hard time understanding why this album was critically hailed. The music fits the movie perfectly while also being a pleasurable piece to hear without the movie. The soundtrack could easily stand on its own.