Category: Uncategorized

252. Tame Impala

~ ernopepper ~ 2 Comments

(February 2020) Episode 252  is TAME IMPALA.  Continuing my tour of psychedelic rock bands from Perth, Australia (yes, it’s a thing). I hit a speed bump with Tame Impala.  Not sure why they’re labeled “psychedelic” (especially after retiring their guitars). Merely the overuse of echo?  It’s all lush synth-laden pop which is not interesting to me (but gets them arena gigs, I guess).  I recommend Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Pond instead.

Fun fact: I finished this episode on the same day their most recent album was released.

Favourite album: InnerSpeaker

Favourite song: Solitude Is Bliss

Compared to expectations: ↓

Tame_Impala_-_Innerspeaker

251. The Easybeats

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(February 2020) Episode 251 of the “opus project” is THE EASYBEATS.  This is the best 1960s rock band you’ve probably never heard of (likely because they’re from Australia*).  And if you have, you might agree they belong in the same discussion as the Stones, Kinks, Pretty Things and Yardbirds of the same period.  Catchy melodies, sweet harmonies, groovy beats, guitar hooks.   You might recognize “Friday on My Mind.”  Bonus: they recorded albums of all-original materials before most other bands did.

Favourite album: It’s 2 Easy

Favourite song: Sorry

Compared to expectations: ↑

* Guitarist was George Young, elder brother of Angus and Malcolm of AC/DC.

The_Easybeats-It's_2_Easy-LPcover

249. Hank Williams

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(February 2020) Episode 249 of the “opus project” is HANK WILLIAMS. The influence of Hank cannot be understated.  He set the standards — musical style, performance, tone, lyrical themes — by which all country music that followed is measured.  I’m not a country fan, but I do enjoy artists closer to its roots. The dude could write a tune.

Favorite song: I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Compared to expectations: same

hank-williams-lovesick-blues-no-1

248. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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(January 2020) Episode 248 of the “opus project” is PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY.  Mr. Saccharine Strings.  Tchaikovsky is the Queen (band) of classical composers: very talented, wildly popular, played often, but merely gives a sugar (plum) rush that turns out to be empty calories.

Favorite piece: 1812 Overture

Favorite symphony: #5

Favorite balletic theme: Swan Lake

Compared to expectations: ↓

Tchaikovsky-St-Petersburg-Russia-1887

246. Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band + The Rutles

~ ernopepper ~ 2 Comments

(January 2020) Episode 246 is the BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND and THE RUTLES. I started this episode, and did these together, following the death of Neil Innes.  The Bonzos were an oddball comedy outfit.  The humor is mostly too old or too British (or both) for my comprehension, and so they’re mostly a historical curiosity.  The Rutles, however, are timeless as the best-ever send-up of The Beatles. Their soundtrack album remains classic, and the follow-up is pretty good too.

Favourite Bonzos album: The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse

Favourite Bonzos song: The Intro and the Outro*

Favourite Rutles album: The Rutles

Favourite Rutles song: Doubleback Alley

Compared to expectations: same

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* Mike Oldfield fancied the “master of ceremonies” format so he used it on Tubular Bells, with the Bonzos’ Viv Standshall also performing the role there

245. Oh Sees

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(January 2020) Episode 245 is OH SEES (also known as OCS and Thee Oh Sees).  One of my favorite bands of the ’10s; a good representation of the music I’ve been into in recent years, although its style is hard to describe. Their initial lo-fi experimentalism is not so interesting, but they hit the gas around 2010 with psychedelic garage-rock freakouts.  The evolution to space- and prog-rock in the recent albums is excellent.

Favorite song: The Dream

Favorite album: Floating Coffin

Compared to expectations: ↑

Floating_Coffin

244. Jimmie Rodgers

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(December 2019) Episode 244 is JIMMIE RODGERS.  He is known as the “Father of Country Music” because of his immeasurable influence there. Much of the music itself, however, is indistinguishable from the blues, demonstrating that blues, country, folk, and later rock all emanate from the same authentic American musical tradition.  Everything gets a yodel.

Favorite song: In the Jailhouse Now

Favorite ballad: I’ve Ranged, I’ve Roamed, I’ve Traveled

Compared to expectations: same

 

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243. Johnny Cash

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(December 2019) Episode 243  is JOHNNY CASH. If there were a Mount Rushmore of the Voices of America, he would be on it. I appreciate the independent, even rebellious, spirit of his long and storied career – resisting capture by corporate Nashville, collaborating with artists across genres (U2, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, etc.), exploring concept albums.  I love his musical expression of a personal ideology that defied political categorization: respect for the forgotten/downtrodden/persecuted man (exemplified by “Man in Black” and “Bitter Tears”) – a rare wokeness for its time and his genre.  But most of all his songs are just plain enjoyable (even though I’m not a fan of country music).  This was a long one, at ~80 albums.

Favorite album: American Recordings

Favorite song: Man in Black

Favorite duet: If I Were A Carpenter (with June)

Worst album: The Rambler

Favorite Period: Sun recordings

Least favorite genre: gospel

Compared to expectations: same

johnnycash

242. Hüsker Dü

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(December 2019) Episode 242 is HÜSKER DÜ. This is what I should have been listening to in the 1980s instead of what I was listening to.  Well, at least the first two kick-ass punk-ish albums; the rest were rather meh.  Highlight is drummer Grant Hart until he let the gated reverb ruin it.  IMHO Hüsker Dü is America’s The Jam.

Favorite album: Zen Arcade

Favorite song: I’ll Never Forget

Compared to expectations: same

HuskerDuZenArcade