Day 0926 - Is This It

 The Strokes "Is This It" (2001)

One of the wave of garage rock revival bands (also known as the 'the' bands, e.g. the Strokes, the Datsuns, the Hives, the White Stripes etc.) and another of those bands given the plaudit of "Saving rock n roll".  I don't know about that, rock just seems to naturally ebb and flow rather than "die" or need "Saving".   

This is an enjoyable album though.  It's compact (under 40 minutes) and gives definite nods to its influences, Velvet Underground, and the first wave of bands influenced by them.   Definitely Julian Casablancas' vocals owe a debt to Lou Reed.   I detect a bit of 'Lust for Life' era Iggy Pop too, particularly in the rhythms of "Someday".   "Hard to Explain"  is a bit of a favourite of mine and always kind of brings Weezer (of all things) to mind.

Most of the songs have a propulsive rhythm to them, even something like "Alone, Together" which is a slower tempo track has an unrelenting beat behind it and the guitars keep pace.   The twisty turny interplay between the two guitars does offer a bit of a point of difference between the Strokes and some of their more rhythmically straight-ahead Rawk contemporaries. 

0873 - Queens of the Stoneage

 Queens of the Stoneage "Queens of the Stoneage" (1998)

Following the breakup of desert-rock/stoner-rock masters Kyuss, that band's guitarist Josh Homme got together with Kyuss drummer Alfredo Hernández to form QOTSA (major collaborator and former Kyuss member Nick Oliveri would join the group following the album's completion).

Oddly I seem to remember not really enjoying this album when I listened to it a few years back.  Not sure why, as it seems to be the classic QOTSA sound: bashy-yet-tight drumming a la Mitch Mitchell or John Bonham, and Homme's muddy fuzzed out guitar and light, clear voice.  It also features the studio experimentation that Homme continued on the group's second album "Rated R" with instruments being hard-panned to either side of the stereo field in unconventional, yet cool ways.

"Walkin' on the Sidewalks" has a guttural, gutter twang, contrasted by Homme's melodic vocals.  "Regular John" has a pounding, unrelenting pulse to it.  The instrumental track "Hispanic Impressions" bears a suspicious resemblance to Jimi Hendrix's very phonetically-similarly titled "Manic Depression".

In some ways with Homme writing all of the songs and playing most of the instruments, this is the heart of QOTSA.  Though I prefer "Rated R" and "Songs for the Deaf" with their contributions from Oliveri, the Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan and (on the latter album) Dave Grohl on drums, the band has always been Homme's baby.

Day 0827 - Walking Wounded

Everything But the Girl "Walking Wounded"

Following Tracey Thorn's guest spot on Massive Attack's "Protection" (see day 776) and the popular remix of EBtG's track "Missing", the group decided to delve into more of an electronic sound.

The sound is only cosmetically differently from where the band was at for previous releases.   Sure there are loops, and beats echoing a range of dance genres; but the songs are still based around sparse orchestration and Tracey Thorn's haunting voice.  

"Single" is a mournful tale of hurt at lost love, "the Heart Remains a Child" almost sounds upbeat with it's major chord melody and peppy beat.   "Mirrorball" with its heartfelt acoustic guitar, laidback beat and lovely melody make it sound like a blueprint for a lot of modern pop.

An updated but familiar sound for the band that placed them more in the triphop camp, and it fits them like a glove.

Day 0615 - Idlewild

Everything But the Girl "Idlewild" (1988)

Everything But the Girl named themselves after a department store advertisement that proclaimed it could provide all your bedroom needs "...everything but the girl".   Despite the skeezy origin of their name, they made beautiful, sultry and soulful music.

I was more familiar with EBtG's later more electronic-tinged music, but this was really nice.  Their soulful tunes are given a vaguely jazzy flavour due to the horn section.   Smooth as silk.

Day 0569 - Infected

The The "Infected" (1986)

I enjoyed this much more than the previous The The album in this list (Soul Mining).  It has a strong pop base with some great beats and nice funky bass.   Some of it is upbeat and pulsing, other tracks are slinky and moody, one track even features an early appearance from Neneh Cherry ("Slow train to dawn").  Good solid 80s pop, with angry, socially conscious lyrics.

Day 0525 - Porcupine

Echo & the Bunnymen "Porcupine" (1983)

E&tB's third album was apparently a bit of a chore coming after the ease of their first two.  They were experiencing a bit of writers block, and once they'd finished the album their record company dismissed it, saying that it was uncommercial.  ...Normally this would be the bit in the story where the band kicked against this assessment and pushed for 'their album'.  Instead, they said "Yeah, okay" and used the original album as a jumping off point to create something else.

Some sitar was laid down here and there (apparently against the wishes of much of the band).  A horn section was added to the song 'The Cutter', again, the band weren't happy but begrudgingly admitted that it improved the song somewhat.

This album is certainly a different beast to the previous two albums.  Aside from the different instrumentation, the Bunnymen's usual slow, Gothic groove was accelerated a bit in places.  Would have been interesting to hear what the original album sounded like, but the released version is enjoyable. 

Day 0519 - Soul Mining

The The "Soul Mining" (1983)

The The was set up by Matt Johnson and went on to feature a rotating cast of musicians with Johnson as the only constant, essentially making it more of a collaborative solo project (if that makes sense).

This music has the some of the drama and glitz of the new-romantic movement to it.  There are some squiggly little synth sounds, a little 'world music' percussion, but you can also hear the hints of Johnston's musical upbringing, growing up around his dad's East London pub in his vaguely misanthropic snarl and hints of 60s rock in places, maybe even a touch of the Velvet Underground adding a little New York to the mix.

Day 0439 - London Calling

The Clash "London Calling" (1979) - got it

From a ho-hum punk album on day 438 to one of the greats.  To be fair, the Clash were barely 'punk' by this stage.  The attitude remained, and some of the more direct, raw 'rock' tracks still reflect that side of their sound, but the band were pulling influences from all corners: rockabilly, northern soul, post-punk, ska, reggae... even hints of new-wave.

 With a run of 19 tracks, I do tend to get a feeling of 'track fatigue' with it.  Most of these tracks are good and I can pick out pretty much any one track and enjoy it, but it just seems as though 65 uninterrupted minutes of Clash is probably slightly too much in one sitting for me.

Day 0152 - From Elvis in Memphis

Elvis Presley "From Elvis in Memphis" (1969)

 
Elvis had been sinking a bit of time into making his movies.  He got back into the music thing with a TV special that was hugely popular and revitalised him and inspired him to get back into the studio. He went down to Memphis and unlike Dusty (in yesterday's post) he apparently had a laid back and enjoyable recording experience, dipping back into the RnB sound that worked so well for him in the past.

Another success, and some great tracks.  You can kind of hear the start of the added cheese that would segue the King into his sequinned disco suits and Vegas residencies.