happy Category: Music
Disclaimer: As this is my first entry in the series, it could be updated and edited later 
So I thought I'd try a little change of pace and write about something that is important to me, and that is music. We'll see how long I can continue this adventure series I like to call "Favorite Albums" (haha).
First up is one of my favorite "lo-fi" or "indie" artists of all time, even though she really has sort of crossed over this decade. Of course, it should be as no surpirse to some of you, that this individuals is none other than Liz Phair. The album that stands out for me is not the minimalist break through album of "Exile in Guyville" although that piece is very catchy and beautiful in it's simplicity, "Whip-Smart" was my first introduction to her. I read about her in my former favorite rag (the magazine formerly known as Spin, I now call it Spun, not funny but I was having a non-creative day that day. I was angry, see previous posting for more information) Spin.
On one rainy Sunday August afternoon in the year of 1994 while my mom was shopping at the Half Price Store for school supplies I walked over the the neighboring Best Buy (when you could still actually walk through the Western Mall to get to it from the inside. Remember that??). Anyway, I was going to pick up her latest album because of it's solid review in the magazine and the fact that it was a little more heavy (now with drums! as opposed to "Exile") so of course that interested me. So I picked up the album with a drawing of a strange boy holding up flowers who looked like the fellow from the cover of "Mad Magazine" and a circle in the middle of the cover with and extreme close up of a woman who I guess was Liz.
Of course I had my discman with me so I could listen to it on the way home. You have to understand that after my 8th grade year I was coming off my "metal year" and was still a little freaked out by this "indie" music, but something inside of me said I needed to grow up musically.
The first track is a rendition of the classic piano novices' "Chopsticks" So far so good, although the line "He asked if we could do it backwards/I said that's just fine with me/That way we can fuck and watch TV" was a little raw for a 14 year old boy to hear. Of course the next song that kicked in was the mildly popular "Supernova" which is still one of my favorite Phair songs of all time. It currently resides in the "Best Songs Ever" playlist on my iPod. The "heavyness" (a word? hmm) of the song combined with the smooth yet somewhat raw vocal stylings of Ms. Phair made for an interesting mix that has had me hooked for the last 12 years. Even after her eventual crossover into "Mall Music Era Liz Phair."
The next several tracks, especially "Shane" and "Nashville," were the staple sound of the mid to late 90's Matador Records efforts. They are very haunting to me and and resonated immediatly with my changing musical tastes.
The songs following in the later half of the album are mostly cheery and upbeat but still in the vein of being simplistic enough in their arrangements to still be considered "indie." Although this portion of the album may not have the most memborable tracks, it does however turn into one of the most solid backbones of any Matador album in existance. At least in my humble opinion. The track "Jealousy" contains a small tribute to one of my favorite bands of all time, where at the end of the song is a mixed up backwards guitar chord that closely resembles the same effect on the final track of Led Zeppelin IV (so it's called by me, please, no debating as it is just a preference) "When the Levee Breaks" so, kudos to Ms. Phair. The 3rd and 2nd to last songs are a little downtrodden but segway quite nicely into the slow starting but energetically climaxing "May Queen" which is one of my favorite closing songs on any album that I'll put up here.
So there you have it, one of my favorite albums of all time. All of these records will bookmark a certain section of my life that while listening to the album, usually brings me back to the exact time and place of first falling in love with any particular piece of music. This offering brings me right back to the fall of '94 and the first semester of my freshman year at Washington. Not exactly into Nirvana anymore, but wanting something a little more my own so I could seperate myself from what everyone else was listening to at the time. This type of music led me down the path that I'm still traveling, and while most indie rock purists have abandoned Liz, I still love her work and embrace most everything she continues to put out. I just wish she wouldn't try as hard to be a people pleaser and stick to making music I believe she would rather make. Although I'm very against stifling any artist and which direciton they wish to take their music.
Stay tuned for more...
 | Currently listening : Whip-Smart By Liz Phair Release date: 01 October, 1996 |
No comments:
Post a Comment