Katie and I spent a couple of days in Chicago. Highlights: toasted ravioli at Harry Caray's, views from the Hancock Observatory, our room at the Drake, dinner at Riccardo's Trattoria, Henri Matisse and Wm. Eggelston exhibits at the Institute of Art. Eggleston's picture 'the red ceiling' adorns Big Star's lp cover for Radio City. Eggleston and Chilton were friends in Memphis. Eggleston was also commissioned to photograph Graceland sometime after Elvis died. The photo's were never widely published. The ones shown at this exhibit were very strange.
In the Modern World - Jesse Malin How You Like Me Now - The Heavy Don't Ever Promise - American Princes Want - Tommy Flake Livin Was Easy - The Glands Real Long Distance - Josh Ritter You Blanks - Portastatic Slow Descent into Alcoholism - The New Pornographers Some Kinda Love - The Velvet Underground Working Girls (Live) - The Perniece Brothers The Good Slot - Grand Champeen Heaven Help the New Girl - The Long Blondes Sugar Cane - Sonic Youth Watch Out for Me Ronnie - Yo La Tengo More Than I Can Talk About - The Mice Street Lights - Josh Rouse Coma Girl - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros Come Anytime - Hoodoo Gurus One Man Guy - Rufus Wainright Polyanna - Patterson Hood Painted Shut - Jay Reatard
Op-Ed Contributor Beyond the Box Tops ('A reflection on Alex Chilton, the soulful singer of the Box Tops and Big Star, by the man who wrote the song “Alex Chilton.”') By PAUL WESTERBERG Published: March 20, 2010 Minneapolis
HOW does one react to the death of one’s mentor? My mind instantly slammed down the inner trouble-door that guards against all thought, emotion, sadness. Survival mode. Rock guitar players are all dead men walking. It’s only a matter of time, I tell myself as I finger my calluses. Those who fail to click with the world and society at large find safe haven in music — to sing, write songs, create, perform. Each an active art in itself that offers no promise of success, let alone happiness. Yet success shone early on Alex Chilton, as the 16-year-old soulful singer of the hit-making Box Tops. Possessing more talent than necessary, he tired as a very young man of playing the game — touring, performing at state fairs, etc. So he returned home to Memphis. Focusing on his pop writing and his rock guitar skills, he formed the group Big Star with Chris Bell. Now he had creative control, and his versatility shone bright. Beautiful melodies, heart-wrenching lyrics: “I’m in Love with a Girl,” “September Gurls.” On Big Star’s masterpiece third album, Alex sang my favorite song of his, “Nighttime” — a haunting and gorgeous ballad that I will forever associate with my floor-sleeping days in New York. Strangely, the desperation in the line “I hate it here, get me out of here” made me, of all things, happy. He went on to produce more artistic, challenging records. One equipped with the take-it-or-leave-it — no, excuse me, with the take-it-like-I-make-it — title “Like Flies on Sherbert.” The man had a sense of humor, believe me. It was some years back, the last time I saw Alex Chilton. We miraculously bumped into each other one autumn evening in New York, he in a Memphis Minnie T-shirt, with take-out Thai, en route to his hotel. He invited me along to watch the World Series on TV, and I immediately discarded whatever flimsy obligation I may have had. We watched baseball, talked and laughed, especially about his current residence — he was living in, get this, a tent in Tennessee. Because we were musicians, our talk inevitably turned toward women, and Al, ever the Southern gentleman, was having a hard time between bites communicating to me the difficulty in ... you see, the difficulty in (me taking my last swig that didn’t end up on the wall, as I boldly supplied the punch line) “... in asking a young lady if she’d like to come back to your tent?” We both darn near died there in a fit of laughter. Yeah, December boys got it bad, as “September Gurls” notes. The great Alex Chilton is gone — folk troubadour, blues shouter, master singer, songwriter and guitarist. Someone should write a tune about him. Then again, nah, that would be impossible. Or just plain stupid.
Paul Westerberg, a musician, was the lead singer of the Replacements.
"Is that what you wanna do with your life? Suck down on peppermint Schnapps and call Morocco at 2AM? That's senseless. But that's what happens, man." Mark Borchardt, American Movie
Didn't call Morrocco last night, I don't think. But had a great time and really good dinner.
Hot Pepper and Cheese Chicken over rice from Paul Prudhomme's classic Louisana Kitchen Momofuko Hanger Steak Saam with ginger scallion sauce and spicy kimchee from David Chang/Momofuko Crispy Corn Bread from the Hot & Hot Fish Club Cookbook Pork Liver Pate and Blue Cheese & cranberries provided by JZ
Movie Night last night with Brett, Joel, Dawg, Brian D., Scott. More like Movie Festival since we watched 3 films!!
American Movie - Amazing documentary about Mark Borchardt's endless desire to make a movie. Hysterical and poignant. I've seen this 5 or 6 times now. Too Tough to Die - Tribute to Johnny Ramone It Might Get Loud - Jimmy Page, Edge, Jack White talk about guitars
March EMusic: Quasi - American Gong The Heavy - The House that Dirt Built Rodney Crowell - Sex and Gasoline Josh Rouse - Nashville The Gits - Frenching the Bully
I've spent a lot of time with this man's songs in my head. Chris Bell went a long time before him. I've been listening to the 3rd/Sister Lovers record lately. I only have this on vinyl. It's one of those records the evokes a place, a time and an emotion all at once. Needle drop. "Dreams and wishes and shooting stars..." Guitar riff. This album was really post Big Star, but in my opinion is Alex's masterpiece.
Amy and I saw Chilton open for Counting Crows(!) right when they first hit it big and were still playing club shows. This was at a short-lived place down on Shadeland here in Indy. My greatest memory of Chilton's set was his overt pandering to the ladies in the crowd. He looked old then I remember. Unfortunately, the pyschic trauma inflicted by Adam Duritz during the next set has erased any memory of what songs Alex played that night.
That's now 3 extraordinarily talented songwriters dead in the last 3 months. Vic Chesnutt, Mark Linkous(Sparklehorse) and now Chilton.
Reading this Graham Greene classic right now. Had to pass this passage along. Brilliant.
"The glittering worlds lay there in space like a promise - the world was not the universe. Somewhere Christ might not have died. He could not believe that to a watcher there this world could shine with such brilliance: it would roll heavily in space under its fog like a burning and abandoned ship. The whole globe was blanketed with his own sin."
Most of you know that I love Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations. It's a travel show with a food/cuisine emphasis. Deep down though it's a show about people, heritage, understanding, reverance and humor. Tony has the uncanny ability to whittle away the glossy sheen of travelling to locations all over the world and finding the heart of the people through their connection with food. He's not always able to pull off his magic; where the heart and soul of the people are tied together through the local cuisine (Romania episode). Although the Romania episode is outrageously funny. He never takes the easy way out, avoiding cliche at every turn. Check out Tony's blog for the latest behind the scenes comments on a trip to Liberia and other archived commentary. Also check out Tony's alternate universe video section. Funny. Irreverant. Awesome.
Last Saturday, Phyllis, Brian Deer and the Achievers & a re-united Watership Down, including Sean Fogarty on drums, hit the Haute like a tsunami of big hooks, big licks and big star(s). The Speakeasy was pretty much packed and the sound was decent for the volume at which it was played. Phyllis started the night, but weary-voiced Brett, beginning a nasty sinus infection, cut short after 7 or 8 of their many hits. The boys left everyone wanting more. Brett threw on a bass and played with Brian, Matt & Leroy in the Achievers set. Wow, hadn't seen them in a while and they were great. Love those songs. The crowd was enthusiastic as well. They TH equivalent of Wrigley's Ronnie Woo Woo enjoyed the set. Finally, Watership took the stage and peeled off pop gem after gem. I gotta tell you those songs hold up really well after all these years. I need to figure out a way to get those digitized for posterity. Anyone???
Many people left with a smile on their face that night. Scott Hart came over from Newcastle. A crew from Indy rolled in. Bro-in-law Jim was in town from St. Louis.
The new picture above is one I took of Steve Wynn with my iphone at the Southgate House gig we went to see last fall. It was a triple bill, with no personnel change. Steve Wynn, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey & Linda Pitman. Minus 5, The Baseball Project & Steve Wynn IV. It was a rock'n'roll songwriter in the round type of thing. These guys put out a record together in 2008 called the Baseball Project, all new original songs about baseball. Peter works with Scott in Minus 5. Steve and Linda are married and play together in Steve's Miracle 3 band. My favorite show of 2009. Double bonus for me?? I took a leak between Peter Buck & Steve Wynn. That's my rock n roll brush with greatness.
Go Tell the Woman by Grinderman Am I the Manager or Am I Not? by Centro-Matic Annie & Me by Steve Wynn Twilight Distillery by Minus 5 Come Back from San Francisco by Magnetic Fields Sukie in the Graveyard by Belle Sebastian Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken by Camera Obscura The Seed by Cody Chesnutt Treat Me Like Your Mother by the Dead Weather Resonate With Me by United States Three The Wait by Built to Spill Remain Yr Strange by Superdrag Hanging on the Telephone by Blondie In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul by The Clean A Whole Lot Better by Brendon Benson June Salutes You! by Guided by Voices Do It Better by Imperial Teen Broadripple Nightclubs by Gentleman Caller To Go Home by M. Ward Stop Thinking by Mysteries of Life I Turn My Camera On by Spoon Beulah, You Rock by Born Again Floozies
I've been making playlists, burning them to cd and listening in the car. I've commented before that the ipod changed the way I listen to music, a constant shuffle. Pre-ipod, that's all I wished for; some magical station that only played the songs I liked. My Music. "Your music," as my family calls it. Well, careful what you wish for. I've been listening to more cd's/lp's and making playlists recently. The randomness has lost some of its luster and the deep enjoyment of picking the perfect song(s) for the moment has made the past couple of weeks enjoyable for this music lover. Here is last week's list, it's a good one:
Take the Bench by Sloan
All World Cowboy Romance by Mission of Burma
Answer to Yourself by the Soft Pack
Down on the Street by the Stooges
House of Cards by Radiohead
I Saw the Light by Todd Rundgren
I Wanna Destroy You by the Soft Boys
Old World by Modern Lovers
I'm Stranded by The Saints
Near to You by Jad Fair and Teenage Fanclub
Time Enough for Rocking When We're Old by Magnetic Fields
Right Hand on my Heart by The Whigs
The Wait by The Pieces
Courage the Tack by Tobin Sprout
King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1 by Neutral Milk Hotel
See No Evil by Television
Don't Come Close by the Ramones
Animal Shapes by Silver Jews
Can This Be by the Wipers
Not Like You by Poster Children
I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight by Young Fresh Fellows
Bought my ticket for Drive-By Truckers in Lexington KY on 4/10. So far it's me and the V-Man for the road trip. DBT also opening for Petty at Verizon in July, 5 minutes from my house.
Other upcoming live shows: Phyllis/Deer/Watership Down in TH(3/6), Alejandro at Royal Theater (4/1), Japandroids at RadioRadio(4/8).
Matt & Ted Lee wrote this crazy southern cookbook a couple of years ago and it won the James Beard award for writing about food. I have this 'thing' about certain cookbooks. If you like food, you must own this cookbook. They also have a catalog called The Lee Brothers Boiled Peanut Catalogue. I found this video on Oxford American's website. Their annual music issue is out by the way. Mine's in the mail.
I've spent a considerable amount of my life surrounding myself with music. What do I mean by "surrounding" myself with music you ask? Let's make a list, shall we?
I enjoy listening to music
I enjoy reading about music
I enjoy discussing music with other people
I enjoy searching for music
I enjoy buying music
I enjoy a variety of styles
I enjoy alphabetizing music
I enjoy 45's, LP's, cd's, mp3's
I enjoy going to see music played live
I enjoy trying to play music on a guitar
I enjoy lyrics
I enjoy melody
I enjoy dissonance
I enjoy the artwork on the cover
I enjoy reading liner notes
I enjoy sharing music with others
I enjoy having others share music with me
I enjoy scouring ebay for lp's and 45's
I enjoy watching music-related movies
Sounds like a Tom T. Hall song.
On no other subject could I create such a list. What does this mean. I don't feel like an obsessive person. Except that I continue to buy everything Robert Pollard puts out on both digital and vinyl. I dream about finding Half Japanese's first lp release, a 3 record set, 1/2 Gentlemen, Not Beasts. I spend hours looking at you tube live music clips. I've read more books about music in the last two years than anything else. (Reading Fargo Rock City right now. A treatise on 80's Metal Bands and their impact on one young author and pop culture.) I'm listening to a live Bob Mould cd while I write this.
Honestly, I'm tired. My hobby could be the benefits of artificial insemination in Semmintal cattle. That would lead to a few less interesting conversations.
Another memorable evening with the Lovemeknots. The songs from their three albums and choice covers sent me home feeling very nostalgic and lucky, quite frankly. The songs from this little band (3 guitars little!) from Indy should be in everyone's cd shelf or ipod. After a stretch of many months, years, from playing, the night went off without a hitch and had the crowd on their feet. I emailed Evan on Monday and told him what a great time I'd had and the whole nostalgia thing I had going driving home. Here's his reply.
"Thanks for coming, Derek! There was nostalgia on all sides, I think.Rich said afterwards that the more infrequent our shows get, the more meaningful they start to feel to him. And I know what he means. It didn’t occur to me back in 1995 that being in a rock band was going to turn out to be one of my life’s most meaningful experiences, but I’ll be damned if that isn’t exactly what it turned out to be."
Here's a clip I found of them recording Quaker Gun off Setting Noises.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Yesterday's blizzard didn't stop us from a planned dinner at Pizzology in Carmel. It was our 2nd visit to this wonderful pizza joint. We had a sausage and roasted red pepper and a pepperoni, both good eatin'. Good crust is a must is my pizza credo and Pizzology's is a winner. Read up on their story by following the link above.
Speaking of the blizzard, I think we ended up with six inches. The real story was the wind. I haven't seen one like that here in Indy for awhile. More snow coming Tuesday.
Big Super Bowl party tomorrow at Max's place. Joel tells me a Mexican Feast is planned. I had already decided to make Portugese Kale soup and I'm sticking with it. If you get the chance to see Bourdain's episode in the Azore Islands, take it. One, it's where I learned about this soup, and two, it may be the funniest episode he's done. Lots of big laughs. The Azores look like a great place to live, 900 miles from mainland Portugal.
Listened to Patty Griffin's new cd Downtown Church while making oatmeal waffles this morning. Produced by Buddy Miller and recorded in a Nashville church, this thing sounds awesome. Starts off with Hank's House of Gold and ends with the traditional All Creatures of Our God and King. Breathtaking. Highly recommended.
