As I sit here now, I'm wearing a Waylon Jennings zip-up hoodie and listening to the Dead C's Trapdoor Fucking Exit- namesake of this blog. Misspelled, I know. Earlier I started the day listening to Wolf Eyes' newly reissued Dread cassette. "Burn Your House Down" was a milestone of my childhood which is actually kinda funny if you think about it. Picked that one up @ Bric a Brac Records in Logan Square about two weeks ago. After that, I listened to the Beatles' first three albums on Spotify- Please Please Me, With the Beatles, and A Hard Day's Night. Really the vocals of the Beatles are pure magic. No other band will ever achieve the ragged professionalism of Paul, John, and George. I spent the entire afternoon guessing at who's voice was whose [sic] as I drove Uber around Chicago. It was slow. I remember a pretentious old couple who actually didn't believe it was the Beatles for some reason. Would I lie to you? Come on, people!
Eventually I made it to Rubber Soul which, blah blah yeah, everyone knows is the greatest album ever and there has been SOFUCKINGMUCH written about it already. But picture this, I just listened to it for the FIRST time today. It was INSANE!
Then I spent some time researching Keith Jarrett who I've actually still not ever listened to. There was a fabulous story about him that I heard... He played a concert in France, or Germany maybe in the 70's. He shows up and has a meltdown because the piano he's supposed to use apparently is unplayable- out of tune everywhere, keys are sticking, worn out felt etc. And on top of all that, its too small and not even loud enough to really be heard clearly at the back of the sold out 4,500 capacity auditorium where the performance was to be held. So naturally, he refuses to play...
It just so happens that the person putting this show on was possibly the most determined and precocious 17 year-old girl in the world. She spent the entire afternoon tuning the dissonant piano herself and oiling keys that were sticking and somehow got the piano into (barely) playable shape. Jarrett still refused to play until she begged him not to disappoint the 4,500 strong crowd and to save her reputation. He agreed, stating, "Only for you. Remember that."
What followed, and keep in mind that I personally have not listened to this recording or any of Jarrett's other material yet, was a seminal performance in which Jarrett was forever captured in the purest moment of improvisation. It was recorded and became the highest selling solo-piano performance CD of all time. Pretty inspirational tale... I'm not really sure why I'm telling you this except to say that I listen to all kinds of music and I think you have to if you ever hope to be able to understand sound as an art form. And after 32 years on this planet I've heard a lot, learned a lot, and for the most part cast aside my listenings as I moved onward to more obscure recordings and broadened my musical knowledge.
But there's a few bands I will always be grateful to come back to...
Sonic Youth is one of them. I've spent years now listening to this band with a near-thirty year career arc and who almost never flinched from their anti-commercial roots. Even as they crossed into the mainstream, their music and imagery remained tongue in cheek. It's as if they were poking fun at the record executives by intentionally turning people off. Look at the leer and pomp of Goo, an album which can be best described as a feather boa or maybe a blowjob- as was the original title idea from the band.
You guys probably also know a bit about this band already. Or, if you don't, might this be a step down a long and fruitful sonic tributary. So much can be said about this recording. It's physical appearance dates back to a fan club mailing in 1984- the year I was BORN. It arrived as a cassette only. I have not been able to find any photos of the actual tape itself but the artwork is pretty straight forward, cheap photocopy collage. Very typical of punk and DIY bands even still today. There's a philosophy at play here. Just let it be what it is. It's a piece of what they hoped and knew was going to be a very long and comprehensive oeuvre. I first heard it while trawling through some online database of live SY. It was a big site. Anyone remember the name? Sonic Tooth?
The music really does not sound at all dated, apart from the shoddy recording quality. I like that though. It adds to the ideology. In Chicago, there are no-wave bands today that don't sound a whole lot different.
Early Sonic Youth is heavy and abrasive, almost terrifying. Picture them, as twenty-something's on tour in the mid-80's and playing "Death Valley '69" in the Mojave Desert. What did people think of them back then? Absolute monoliths.
There is a lot of tape manipulation happening in this recording. One song is dubbed faster than the Chipmunks. There is some interesting panning on a few other tracks. There's really so much fucking more I could say about this recording but I just got home from the gym after working all day and that's about all I can muster for now. Let me know if you want a copy and maybe I can dub you one or something.
Man.. I wish I was a member of the Sonic Youth fan club in the 80's.
