Category: music

#43: Bruce Springsteen, ‘Nebraska’ (1982)vs. TLC, ‘CrazySexyCool’ (1994)

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These albums are polar opposites. Nebraska is a stripped down depressing barn stomp and Crazy Sexy Cool is highly produced sweaty sex romp (exception being the righteous mega-hit “Waterfalls”). As much as CSC is a stone cold funkified-hip-hop jam, Nebraska is not that at all. It’s completely and perfectly bleak.

What both albums have is soul in spades. They got soul for days! Bruce’s titular first track, “Nebraska” is as if a grizzled country boy sliced his belly open and spilled his guts out on the table for all to see. Even an upbeat blues bar anthem  like “Open All Night” has a heartbreaking edge to it. On the paranoid drone shocker “State Trooper”, Bruce’s screaming yelps of “Woooo!!” are an unsettling wake up call of raw emotional energy. The rest of the songs are a collage of desperately brilliant Americana that is more compelling with each listen.

Crazy Sexy Cool is a different kind of soul. One that makes you wanna drop your hips and pucker your lips. I love the first track, a quick spit of verse by the late Phife Dawg introducing the ladies and setting the stage for the party to come.  Phife passes the mic to the ladies and they take us to their libido lagoon filled with deep circuitous roots running through dark organic wet earth giving rise to thick buttressed tree trunks.

This battle is a bit like comparing a low budget indie movie to a highly produced epic.  At the Oscars last year, Moonlight won out over the highly polished La La Land.  I am going to give the win to Nebraska over Crazy Sexy Cool for the same reason. Despite the deep base and glossy grooves, Nebraska is a deeper look into the human condition and just has more substance.

JS

WINNER: Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska (1 point)

BATTLE TALLY

80s: 5

90s: 3

EARNED POINTS
80s: 5
90s: 3

Next week’s battle  –  #42: The Robert Cray Band, Strong Persuader (1986) vs. PJ Harvey, Rid of Me (1993)

#44: Bob Dylan, ‘Oh Mercy’ (1989) vs. Fugees, ‘The Score’ (1996)

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All hail the master! The legend. The wizard of words. The  melody maestro. The trickster with a social conscious. No, I’m not talking about Bob Dylan (this time). I am talking about The Fugees’ Lauryn Hill. What a performance she and those two other guys put into their second and final album, The Score. Marvel at how she moves seamlessly and gorgeously between singing and rapping. What a voice! One minute, she croons achingly about how he’s killing her softly with his song, the next minute she’s tearing you a new one with her rapping:

So weep as your sweet dreams break up like Eurythmics
Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectile
Whether Jew or gentile, I rank top percentile
Many styles, more powerful than gamma rays
My grammar pays, like Carlos Santana plays “Black Magic Woman”
So while you fuming, I’m consuming mango juice under Polaris
You just embarrassed cause it’s your last tango in Paris

Seriously, how many references and rhymes can one person pack into a few lines? This album has humour, rage, political consciousness and beauty. I was aware of it at the time, of course, but paid scant attention to it. I’ve had it on repeat for the past week and I am thoroughly impressed. I’m actually surprised it’s not higher on the 90s list.

I say all this with an aching in my heart. Dylan is my guy, my favourite recording artist of all time (or maybe Neil Young). And Oh Mercy is a damn fine album; his improbable and incredibly welcome comeback album after a decade of mediocrity (the 80s were not kind to the greatest songwriter of all time), thanks to some beautifully moody tunes, and lush production and beautiful guitar from legendary producer Daniel Lanois. I bought it when it was new and I was also in the early days of vintage Dylan discovery, and it will always have a special place in my heart.

Alas, Oh Mercy is a minor Dylan masterpiece (he would have at least three bigger ones still to come), and it can’t compete with The Score, an influential and near-perfect album that also happened to be a massive hit that proved hip hop could be uncompromising and still appeal to the masses.

JG

WINNER: The Fugees, The Score (1 point)

BATTLE TALLY

80s: 4

90s: 3

EARNED POINTS
80s: 4
90s: 3

Next week’s battle  –  #43: Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska (1982) vs. TLC, CrazySexyCool (1994)

#45: Sonic Youth, ‘Daydream Nation’ (1988) vs. Alanis Morissette, ‘Jagged Little Pill’ (1995)

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Sonic Youth has always been a band that I wanted to love more than I actually did.   Alanis Morissette has always been an artist that I didn’t want to admit I like as much as I actually do. The obvious choice might be to go with Alanis (spoiler: I do) simply on commercial success.  Her break out record has got more mammoth hits than any other record I can think of. Jagged Little Pill is full of very listenable well written pretty-grunge gems that I must admit found new light in me. A light that my younger, more musically-snobby self had blacked out. It was just way cooler to like bands like Sonic Youth.

The cool factor for Daydream Nation remains. It’s the critical darling of the late-eighties punk scene.  The double album juggernaut is a definitive noise wonderland. There is no doubt that Daydream Nation rocks more than Jagged Little Pill.  Sonic Youth expertly meanders through a valley of distorted riffs and twisted journeys in sound. Its brand of weirdly tuned hard-core punk and sarcastic hatred towards conformity is a very palatable “fuck you!” to the norm.

Jagged Little Pill is the norm. Alanis dialed right into the sound of the times with this one.  I might have been a late to the game on fully ingesting the album, but, the masses weren’t. They gobbled it up right away.  On Jagged Little Pill, Alanis elevates 90s rock song-writing with empathetic relatability. Mixing personal reflections with astute life observations, she crafts catchy universal truth bombs.

Daydream Nation may be way cooler, but Jagged Little Pill is way way more popular. I am going to give this one to the 90s post-grunge-rock queen.  It was just that huge, and it is just that good.

JS

WINNER: Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill (1 point)

BATTLE TALLY

80s: 4

90s: 2

EARNED POINTS
80s: 4
90s: 2

Next week’s battle  –  #44: Bob Dylan, Oh Mercy (1989) vs. Fugees, The Score (1996)

#46: Peter Gabriel, ‘Peter Gabriel’ (1980) vs. Jay-Z, ‘Volume 2…Hard Knock Life’ (1998)

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This is a strange battle.  An interesting battle where similarities are minimal.  Aside from the numerical album identifier, both albums at times offer strange and alluring sonic touches that create interest unique within its own genre. With Gabriel, he mixes up different rhythms and musical styles incorporating African drumming and bag pipes on top of a synthy melange of distraught funkiness.  With Jay-Z, he mixes non-traditional hooks to give depth to the seemingly superficial world of Gansta Rap.

Despite the troubled inference in the title, Jay Z has no distraught funky qualities.  Touting his Roc-A-fella CEO status, this is a man demonstrating that he is in charge of both his world and yours too.  Aggressive and relentless, letting you know where he and those around him stand.  There is only one rhythm here. That tight ‘boom bap’ 90s hip hop perfected by Jay-Z and other outfits like A Tribe Called Quest, Mobb Deep, Wu Tang, and Black Sheep.  What I love about Jay Z’s songs is his sample and riff selections.  To my ear, it starts off sounding wrong but immediately makes sense and always works. Like the title track.  It’s quite an achievement to make a group of orphaned little girls who often break out into saccharine songs sound as hard core as a drive by shooting.  I am not sure anyone else could do that and get away with it. He even acknowledges that he might get criticized for his riff selection, but he couldn’t care less. On the track “Money, Cash, Hoes”, he spits:

I know they gone criticize the hook on this song
Like I give a fuck I’m just a crook on this song

Hard Knock Life was a commercial break-out for Jay-Z.  Once I get past the N-word fueled misogyny laced anger words, I can definitely bounce to stand out songs like “N***a What”, “N***a Who”, and “Can I Get A…”.  A highlight for me is using Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” on the track “It’s Alright (Streets is Watching)”.  The album is an undeniable party.

There is no party for ol’ Pete here.  If anything, Peter Gabriel (a.k.a. 3 or Melt) is the cozy but achy stay-in-bed hangover after.  Like the album cover, 3 presents two faces.  Sometimes between songs and other times within the same song.  Peter Gabriel is filled with clean musical lines and clear voicing mixed with a weird atonal smearyness that is hypnotic and at the same time unsettling. There is a grand sweeping musicality but it’s also minimal in that Eno-esque style common to the burgeoning New Wave landscape.  Melt was a critical breakout for Peter Gabriel and I can see why.  It’s a gorgeous, ugly, sprawling, melancholic, upbeat, danceable, anthemic, understated, sad, and angry piece of work.  With still more to discover in the morning after, I am more likely to stay in Pete’s complex world a little longer and forgo the next party.

JS

WINNER: Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (1 point)

BATTLE TALLY

80s: 4

90s: 1

EARNED POINTS
80s: 4
90s: 1

Next week’s battle  –  #45: Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation (1988) vs. Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill (1995)

#47: Tina Turner, ‘Private Dancer’ (1984) vs. Portishead, ‘Dummy’ (1994)

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Private Dancer is a really solid album. A great listen all the way through.  It’s quintessential 80s soul, full of well crafted synthy-soul-rock originals like super hits “Private Dancer”, “You Better Be Good to Me”, and “What’s Love Got to Do With It”. Injected in the mix are great covers like “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, “Let’s Stay Together”, and the stand out slow burning version of “Help!” (a wonderful surprise to this unlearned Tina listener).  Perhaps the only slight misstep is “1984”.  A dystopian nightmare that sounds like it should be on Broadway. It’s a bananas way to end an album, but I have to acknowledge its unabashed enthusiasm.  “Who could ask for more?”

Dummy has got a lot of that halloweeny sound you hear on a lot of 90s hip hop (e.g. Snoop’s Doggy Style). The foundation of the album is a deep scary groove that gets my body moving, but I remain a little distant just to protect myself from what feels like an impending doom. Wanting only to observe the super cool world of Portishead and not live in it.  Songs like “Sour Times”, “Wandering Star”, and “Numb” have got a soulful driving trip-hop vibe that is easy to latch onto. The last song on Dummy, “Glory Box”, is an alt-rock stand out.  It’s a killer.  However, songs, like “Roads” are just a little to dreary for me.

Both voices are powerful and work perfectly for their backing music. Tina’s is well seasoned and confident, Beth Gibbons of Portishead is understated occasionally exploding with well timed moments of power.  Private Dancer and Dummy are well deserved titans of their decade.  Overall, I am gonna give this one to Tina’s Private Dancer because it just hits that generational sweet spot a little better than Dummy.

JS

WINNER: Tina Turner, Private Dancer (1 point)

RUNNING TALLY:

80s: 3

90s: 1

EARNED POINTS
80s: 3
90s: 1

Next week’s battle  –   #46: Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (1980) vs. Jay-Z, Volume 2…Hard Knock Life (1998)

#48: XTC, ‘Skylarking’ (1986) vs. Weezer, ‘Pinkerton’ (1996)

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What a match-up – the sound of your favourite summer day vs. the sound of a rock star coming unhinged.

Apparently, XTC leader Andy Partridge had been listening to a lot of Beach Boys as they geared up to make their ninth album, and you can tell. Full of birdsong and summer breezes, the album soars with gorgeous melodies and harmonizing. But don’t let the prettiness fool you – the album has some sharp lyrics and hits on some big issues, like mortality (“Dying”) and the plight of the working class (“Earn Enough for Us”). It’s a beauty and it gets richer with every listen (I’m proof – I didn’t like it the first time I heard it upon its release).

Weezer’s Pinkerton, their second album, sees bandleader Rivers Cuomo showing a seriously dark and creepy side of himself, such as “sniffing and licking” an envelope from an 18-year-old Japanese fan while admitting “I wonder how you touch yourself” on “Across the Sea”. Ew. Pinkerton is loud, aggressive, surprising…and brave as hell in its candour. It also nearly destroyed the band because fans initially HATED it after the comparative breeziness of their classic debut. Even Rivers was embarrassed. Then, as reported in this great Rolling Stone article, something funny happened over the ensuing years and it slowly earned its deserved reputation as a stone-cold classic.

Both albums are brilliant, get better with age, and are required additions to any serious music collection. Listen to Pinkerton when you want to unleash some aggression, listen to Skylarking when you’re feeling wistful and nostalgic.

So who wins?

Skylarking. It has more to offer sonically,  plus it contains “Dear God”, in which Partridge writes a letter to God that asks the Almighty why he has abandoned his creation and declares “I can’t believe in you” – a perfect atheist manifesto 20 years before it was fashionable to do such things.

JG

WINNER: XTC, Skylarking (1 point)

BATTLE TALLY

80s: 2

90s: 1

EARNED POINTS
80s: 2
90s: 1

Next week’s battle  –  #47: Tina Turner, Private Dancer (1984) vs. Portishead, Dummy (1994)

#49: The Feelies, ‘Crazy Rhythms’ (1980) vs. Sleater-Kinney, ‘Call the Doctor’ (1996)

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Interesting match up. The indie boys of light eighties punk versus the indie girls of heavy nineties punk.  Different in some ways, but they are both in the same family. The Feelies being the brothers to the Sleater-Kinney sisters. The former ruling the teenage roost with a subdued confidence and the latter raising hell with a brash insecurity.

Its hard to select a clear winner here.  There isn’t much difference between them.  Both albums contain extremely catchy and very rhythmic songs filled with bursts of high spirited nervous energy.  Crazy Rhythms’ zero-distortion-two-chord-rifforama is clean and very pleasing to the ears. However, it is unassuming, filled with space and at risk of getting lost in the background. Call the Doctor’s all-distortion-three-chord-rifforama is completely in your face and requires full attention be paid to it.  But that is just attitude.  Change the dynamics of a strikingly wonderful song like “I’m Not Waiting” from Call the Doctor and it can seamlessly sit as a track on Crazy Rhythms.

Despite their seminal stature both of these albums are new discoveries for me.  From what I can gather, they equal in their impact and influence on the indie rock sound, so I can’t differentiate them that way.  So essentially it comes down to the MEAT of both albums and I have to say that there is more to chew on in Call the Doctor.  Ultimately there are more riffs, more rhythms, and more progressions.  Even though Crazy Rhythms’ minimalism is a punk rock triumph, Call the Doctor’s maximalist punk sound wins by a chord.

JS

WINNER: Sleater-Kinney, Call the Doctor (1 point)

BATTLE TALLY

80s: 1

90s: 1

EARNED POINTS
80s: 1
90s: 1

Next week’s battle  –  #48: XTC, Skylarking (1986) vs. Weezer, Pinkerton (1996)