This week I've got another good one for you, reader. It's the classic eponymous album from The Band.
Release Date: September 22, 1969
Singles: Rag Mama Rag, Up on Cripple Creek
There are very few things where a person can say the [noun], and everybody knows what is being talked about. There is no "The Car" or "The Sandwich," but there are "The Pill," and "The Catch." So if you're going to go around calling yourself "The Band," you'd better be good. Luckily for the Band, and us, they are damn good. And their self-titled album, sometimes referred to as "The Brown Album," is probably their best album.
Musically, it's not your typical 1969 rock 'n' roll album. It feels older. It sounds sepia-toned. It takes you back to a time where things were all black and white, life was simple. There's influences from country, rag-time, blues, and rock and roll. The result is spectacular.
This album is a joy to listen to, and it sounds like the Band had a good time making it too. Each member plays different instruments on different songs, there are three different lead singers throughout the album, there's horns, and a fiddle, and a clavinet.
Rating: 15 thumbs up - This is about as good as an album gets for me. It's a timeless album. If I could figure out a way to put my turntable on repeat (and have it automatically flip the album each time), I would listen to this album over and over and over again. I highly recommend checking it out.
It was hard to pick a song from this album, because I enjoy them all. But here is "Rockin' Chair," and if you want to go listen to the rest of the album on your own, that's fine by me.
Reading Oakland's Vinyl Vault post on Springsteen got me thinking more about 'The Boss.' As Oakland mentioned, "cultural critics" on the Interwebs (pot calling kettle black), often claim he sold out. Springsteen's shtick works and reaches a broader audience than if he had stayed with his early Bob Dylan-esque punky sound. But does reaching a broader audience matter?
Capitalist culture does a tremendous job in regurgitating what was once subversive to create something completely benign and heartless. "Hippie" fashion is sold in department stores. Urban Outfitters sells Navajo hipster panties. Horrid places like American Apparel exist. Music about revolution and love are used as background music for television commercials. Music with soul becomes elevator music. Ronald Reagan plays Born in the U.S.A at his campaign rallies.
Soldiers are Peacekeepers. "Healthy Forest Initiatives" destroy forests. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery.
Another way to put it, capitalism takes what was once meaningful, then consumes it, shits it out, and then forces that shit into your mouth, while conditioning you through marketing and social controls to get you to truly believe that's exactly what you want, I mean, who wouldn't want shit? Nevermind the consequences of being dependent upon material objects. Learning about Human Rights and suffering is depressing (though not that much thanks to the glory that is television and all those educational advertisements - I'm going to ask my doctor about Zoloft!).
With music people create their own meaning to the songs they
listen to in order to have those songs relate with their self and
their beliefs of the world. I saw an interview with David Crosby a
while ago discussing how people in the audience of one of his shows were critical of the concert being "too political." These are
people who bought tickets to a Crosby, Stills, and Nash concert, who
presumably enjoy their music, and then are baffled that their songs have
a political message. People's "reality tunnels" get so set on a certain perspective it becomes difficult to conceive other interpretations to the songs they love, or you know they just like the jams. On the other hand, you have the Burn the Music
crowd, led by paranoids like Glenn Beck who believe Springsteen, The Beatles, Jay-Z and the Dixie Chicks are all secret
Communist agents part of a grand conspiracy to take over the world. Glenn, dude, it's just rock 'n roll.
But back to Springsteen - I think those critiques of him for selling out to be a bit silly. He has pushed as far as anyone else doing the mainstream thing. In a way, I see Springsteen in the same vein as Lady Gaga. Regardless of whether Gaga is actually best pals with Slavoj Zizek (it was however a kick to see TMZ covering Zizek a few months back), she is using her medium to message effectively. A Shania Twain sounding song such as You and I, is nice and safe for many ears listening on the radio. That song does nothing for me musically, but the music video itself is nicely subversive. There are religious extremist, Tea Party supporting parents somewhere who's children are singing Gaga's lyrics and watching her videos, I think that is a net positive for society. Lady Gaga and Bruce Springsteen may be mainstream artists in their respective genres, they certainly aren't underground, but they are at least pushing the boundaries a little - there are far more corporate produced acts to get up and arms over than a Springsteen or a Gaga.
Anyway, enough of that, here is some more Bruuuuuuuuuce:
