{"id":577,"date":"2007-05-19T12:18:11","date_gmt":"2007-05-19T16:18:11","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2008-12-15T16:30:30","modified_gmt":"2008-12-15T16:30:30","slug":"hear-factor-geo-asks-what-s-it-all-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/hear-factor-geo-asks-what-s-it-all-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear Factor: Geo Asks “What’s It All About?”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Townsman Geo check in with his Hear Factor experience!<\/strong><\/em>
\nTo start with, I misread the first artist and am surprised to hear The O\u2019Jays<\/strong> kick off the mix with a duet between a hyperkinetic drummer and a noisy, simplistic guitar doing an instrumental. Oh, \u201cThe Jay Jays.\u201d I see.<\/p>\n

When the second song kicks in, I notice that it, like the first, has an untethered, uncompressed noisiness that I like. The Comet Gain song, “Record Collector”<\/a><\/strong>, reminds me of the verse to the Buzzcocks\u2019 song, \u201cHarmony in my Head\u201d, but it never quite gets to the payoff the Buzzcocks\u2019 chorus delivers. It does have an amusing dead stop in the middle, that starts back up with music so totally different after the break that I would\u2019ve sworn it was one of those Pink Flag<\/em> segues where a new song kicks right in and eventually you can\u2019t hear the end of the first without hearing the start of the second in your mind\u2019s ear.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit that although I have heard the Plastic Ono Band Album<\/strong>, I haven\u2019t rigorously explored every second- or third-tier rock band that has come down the pike. I know “Itchycoo Park” and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ve heard Ogden\u2019s whatever it is<\/em>, but I\u2019m barely familiar with the Small Faces<\/strong> beyond that. I expect \u201cAlmost Grown\u201d<\/a> to be the Chuck Berry tune that I believe The Animals covered, but instead it\u2019s an organ driven, nearly instrumental soul groove. I always think of McLagan as a piano player, but I remember back to his autobiography that he\u2019s also played a lot of organ. Pretty nice.<\/p>\n

So three songs in, and I\u2019m trying to place the \u201ctheme\u201d of the set as well as the source. I see Big Star<\/strong> and Velvet Crush<\/strong> down the list and I figure this to be some kind of rough power pop collection sprinkled with some English antecedents. I wonder why Mr. Mod aimed this one at me since it\u2019s not something I quite despise, but I guess I do have a studied disinterest to this stuff<\/em>. It doesn\u2019t appall me, but even at its nearly best, it often doesn\u2019t grab me, more admired than loved.
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\nOh, and I guess that Oats<\/strong> is responsible for the mix since the next song up is \u201cSuper Furry Animals\u201d and I have some vague recollection of him touting them. I saw these guys once a while back at the TLA, and this song leaves me with the same impression, dense, bludgeoning arty rock without many details to recommend it. Mission of Burma<\/strong> anyone? I do find the lower key intro somewhat inviting, but overall I think that whatever I read before that got me to check them out live, was describing something that they don\u2019t quite measure up to.<\/p>\n

My 12-year-old son, on hearing the Badfinger<\/strong> song said, \u201cThese guys sound like the Beatles.\u201d That was sort of the point, wasn\u2019t it? The weird, boxy dry sound seems like what Mr. Mod said he was going for on the new Nixon\u2019s Head recording. Catchy, but it doesn\u2019t make me regret that I barely noticed Badfinger during their little run. Hell, my favorite Badfinger song might be the faux one that America did a few hits after their faux Neil Young song.<\/p>\n

The first song on here that can be found in my collection is Sonic Youth\u2019s \u201cDirty Boots\u201d<\/strong>. Although I completely concede that Mr. Mod\u2019s and Dr. Vauclain\u2019s criticisms of Sonic Youth are valid, I do like them in spots, particularly during this string of late-80s\/early-90s albums, where thay seemed to carve nice little tunes out of their slabs of guitar noise.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got a Gorky\u2019s record, How I Long To Feel That Summer in My Heart<\/em>. It\u2019s pleasant enough, but the combination of that, Beulah\u2019s The Coast is Never Clear<\/em>, and especially, the High Llamas<\/strong> convinced me that the new Chamber Pop or whatever it was, was a pale imitation of the original era of Chamber Pop. This one\u2019s in Welsh, I think.<\/p>\n

I recognize \u201cThe Action\u201d as one of the groups on the Nuggets 2 set that focused on second-tier ’60s non-American garage. I hadn\u2019t heard this one before. It\u2019s one of those slow acoustic guitar driven ballads that XTC seemed to model for much of the Dukes album.<\/p>\n

The Youth Group song is another jangly ballad, and the production makes me think it\u2019s faux-psychedelia, from one of the many revival eras but definitely not from the first wave. Not horrible but certainly not a keeper in my book.<\/p>\n

Is \u201cYou Am I\u201d an anagram for \u201cMott the Hoople\u201d<\/em>, because Christ, to my fairly un-Mott informed ears, this song “Plans”<\/a> sounds very much like them, from the organ and boogie-woogie piano to the singer\u2019s goofy asides. Shades of \u201cAll the Way from Memphis\u201d! In fact, since I never got that much into Mott the Hoople, I prefer this for its apparently gleeful plundering. The more I heard it, the more I liked it. <\/p>\n

\u201cWash It Down\u201d by Luigi had a nice two part harmony lead vocal way up there, reminiscent of the dB\u2019s in the Stamey era. The rhythm section also has a muscularity similar to the Holder\/Rigby tandem. Another real nice one.<\/p>\n

I never heard anything by Teenage Fanclub<\/strong> that struck me as essential. The streak continues. There\u2019s nothing wrong with this perfectly acceptable piece of fluff, but I wouldn\u2019t pull it out of the corner of my pocket and pop it in my mouth. It really does seem like second-hand Big Star, with none of the personality that made Big Star work as well as it did being second-hand Beatles or whatever they were.<\/p>\n

I have this Velvet Crush album, although I can\u2019t say that it\u2019s been much played. My main attraction to these guys is from seeing them live at the Khyber when their first buzz album came out and thinking Menck was a great drummer, with chops and a personality to his playing. I\u2019ve seen him a few other times with them and some other acts and I still feel the same way. That drumming style doesn\u2019t get across on this relatively rote power pop recording. If I weren\u2019t straining to hear the magic I get from Menck\u2019s playing, I\u2019d probably throw them in the same category as Teenage Fanclub.<\/p>\n

Is this Big Star instrumental from the Pig Stosies era. I don\u2019t know it. Interesting use of Guitar panning. Nice for a little palate cleanser on the mix.<\/p>\n

The singer on the Spencer Davis song isn\u2019t Winwood, is it? A studied little White English pop\/blues, lacking the natural enthusiasm that Winwood brought to \u201cGimme Some Lovin\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

Is that a mash up<\/strong> of the Velvet Underground and Christine Aguilera by GHP? I really like this. It helps that the Velvet track, \u201cRock\u2019n\u2019Roll\u201d elicits a Pavlovian response in someone of my background and it\u2019s cool to notice how well Aguilera can sing once there\u2019s something to hook me in to really listen. The chorus verse structure that uses the lead guitar sections under the Aguilera chorus part really works, cleverly disguising that the whole thing is over the same repeated progression.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeart Condition\u201d by Let\u2019s Go Sailing sounds like an Elliott Smith record with singing by some cute little alterna-vixen. But not bad. I like the cello part. Maybe I\u2019m just picturing the bare young leg above the pink Chuck Taylors and ankle socks<\/strong> but this one is pretty good.<\/p>\n

“So It Goes” has that quarter note snare Motown beat with a tambourine on the 2 and 4 to recommend it, but not much else. I guess I like Nick Lowe\u2019s slight number by the same name better. Oh wait, the little drum thingy on the outro is nice and I noticed some vibes or something in there that was interesting.<\/p>\n

BMX Bandits<\/strong> has a verse that sounds like a second-rate Holsapple number and a chorus that seems like it\u2019s trying too hard to be a chorus. OK, just OK.<\/p>\n

I love the K. McCarty collection of Daniel Johnston\u2019s songs and I\u2019d recommend anyone that thinks that Daniel is merely a beneficiary of wacky-loving fans should hear her version of \u201cHey Joe\u201d, sort of an answer song to \u201cHey Jude\u201d. I saw the documentary but I never got around to picking up any of his records, possible feeling that they wouldn\u2019t live up to McCarty\u2019s interpretations. These two songs are good, particularly \u201cThe Dream is Over\u201d. I may yet get one of his albums, but I won\u2019t be paying full price.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve come to the end of my mix, and I get \u201cBlack Grease\u201d by the Black Angels. Sounds somewhere between Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Spiritualised, but not as execrable as the former nor as exhilarating as the latter.<\/p>\n

Overall, a very amusing listen, and I did listen to this thing a LOT. I became quite attached to a few of the songs, for example \u201cPlans\u201d by You Am I<\/strong> and would perk up and chuckle to myself when they came on. I\u2019m not swayed to the point that I\u2019m out investigating power pop releases looking for the one that will change my life because, frankly, it probably ain\u2019t happening. But this mix will probably be in my little box of CDs when I go down the shore or take a week long course in DC.<\/p>\n

Tracklist (full mix to follow in the coming days):<\/strong>
\nThe Jay Jays \u2013 Cruncher
\nComet Gain \u2013 Record Collection
\nThe Small Faces \u2013 Almost Grown
\nSuper Furry Animals \u2013 The Man Don\u2019t Give a Fuck
\nBadfinger \u2013 I\u2019d Die Babe
\nSonic Youth \u2013 Dirty Boots
\nGorky\u2019s Zygotic Mynci \u2013 Morwyr O Hyd Yn Llad Eu Hun Ar Y Tir
\nThe Action \u2013 Things You Cannot See
\nYouth \u2013 Dead Zoo
\nYou Am I \u2013 Plans
\nLuigi \u2013 Wash It Down
\nTeenage Fanclub \u2013 Going Places
\nVelvet Crush \u2013 Star Trip
\nBig Star \u2013 Another
\nSpencer Davis Group \u2013 Strong Love
\nGHP \u2013 Girl Wants to (Say Goodbye To) Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll
\nLet\u2019s Go Sailing \u2013 Heart Condition
\nThe Broken West \u2013 So It Goes
\nBMX Bandits \u2013 The Next Girl
\nDaniel Johnston \u2013 The Dream Is Over
\nDaniel Johnston \u2013 Some Things Last a Long Time
\nThe Black Angels \u2013 Black Grease<\/p>\n

Thanks, Rock Town Hall and whomever it was that gave me the chance to walk around with your earphones on for a few days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Townsman Geo check in with his Hear Factor experience! To start with, I misread the first artist and am surprised to hear The O\u2019Jays kick off the mix with a duet between a hyperkinetic drummer and a noisy, simplistic guitar doing an instrumental. Oh, \u201cThe Jay Jays.\u201d I see. When the second song kicks in, […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[75],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}