Category Archives: lawr

Breakfast Blend: Jason Isbell, “Super8 Motel”

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OK, I am not dead, and I apologize for my Remnants absence.

I actually had this great piece all ready to write, back when B.B. King passed away, but aside from a bunch of crazy baseball and football junk to write, we went up to the Lake for a respite. And, I began working on an outline for a long piece about god and life and golf, though I am not sure where it is going.

So, enough cheap excuses.

As a member of the BileTones, I have been turned onto a lot of stuff I did not previously know that well. New Order, Uncle Tupelo, Hayes Carll, and the Drive-By Truckers for instance, are all performers I now really like a lot.

Well, Jason Isbell was a guitar player for the Truckers for eight years, from 2001-2007 and worked on some of my favorite Truckers material from the album A Blessing and a Curse.

Isbell did some solo work, then formed his band, The 400 Unit, in 2009, worked with Neko Case, and in 2013 released the brilliant Southeastern, which features your accompaniment to Sunday Eggs Benedict and a latte (or whatever other virtual chow you choose), Super8 Motel (which is currently a standard part of the Tones setlist).

I mean, even if you are in a Super8 Motel, if you cannot get Eggs Benedict, maybe this song will be a tonic.

Lunch Break: Bob Mould, “Turning of the Tide”

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Peter’s fine Bob Mould post reminded me of…Bob Mould.

Like Steve I was a fan of Husker Du, and then Sugar, but I was more than surprised when Mould appeared as a contributor to Beat the Retreat, a compilation/tribute (ugh, I hate that word in this context) to guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson.

I am pretty out there as a huge Thompson fan. He is my favorite live performer and songwriter, and well, he was my favorite guitar player till I got turned on to Bill Frisell and appreciated Mick Ronson as much as I do now. Still top three with some pretty good company.

Anyway, Mould covers this fine Thompson tune, and kills on guitar, but he also really nails the timbre of Thompson’s voice. Best of all, I found a couple of other Mould covers of Thompson, so more to come!

Breakfast Blend: Wilco (and the BileTones), “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

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I am a big fan of the Chicago-based band, Wilco, in fact their fantastic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot made my essentials list.

The wonderful thing about Yankee Hotel is that it was recorded when the band was signed to Sony Records, and they delivered the album which Sony determined was “unlistenable,” so the the brains at Sony rejected the disc and released Wilco from their contract.

Undaunted, the band toured, performing songs from the album, looking for a new deal. During their road adventures, the band delivered the same buzz that got them signed in the first place (well, that and they formed out of the terrific Uncle Tupelo so that helped), and suddenly there was a bidding war which was won by Interscope records who gave the band a $200,000 signing bonus.

Yankee Hotel went on to become a critics fave, much to the chagrin of Sony, but the real beauty is that Interscope is owned by Sony, meaning they paid another $200K to be able to release the album they rejected in the first place.

Ah, sweet karma.

But, this tune is from the band’s fine Being There disc, and it totally rocks. In fact, the BileTones are such Wilco fans that we have a half-dozen of their songs on our ever growing set list, and always play two or three per show.

And, of all those songs, Outtasite is a mainstay.

So, first, here is the band killing it on Letterman.

And, for fun, here are the Tones at Raymond’s in Cazadero, Ca, near the Russian River.

Happy Mother’s Day: Lucinda Williams, “Lake Charles”

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OK, this song has nothing to do with Mother’s Day, and it is not particularly upbeat, but, it has great guitar, it is Lucinda, and I figure Gene will love the line “..in a yellow El Camino, listening to Howlin’ Wolf.”

I do love Lucinda (she is in the Chrissie Hynde please walk on me with spiky heels club in my not-so-secret-diary of wishes). Saw her once, long ago, and would be happy to again.

Happy Mother’s Day all!

Afternoon Snack: Bob Dylan & the Rolling Thunder Review, “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”

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Finally.

Someone posted the entire Rolling Thunder Bootleg Volume 5, which essentially covers what was a normal Rolling Thunder Review gig by Dylan and his Renaldo and Clara band in 1975.

The Rolling Thunder Band, who toured between October of that year and May of 1976, totally cranked it out, featuring the likes of Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Joan Baez, Steven Soles, Roger McGuinn, and my faves, T-Bone Burnett and Mick Ronson.

This version of It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry not only completely deconstructs the original studio version, but it just fucking smokes.

The interplay between Burnett and Ronson, along with great growling bass of Rob Stoner, makes this my favorite Dylan period.

And, this cut is my favorite on the disc and of the set. In fact, this might be my all time favorite live song recording, with my all time favorite guitar solos.

Check out the first Ronson solo, during which he plays the same Chuck Berry lick 16 times before blasting into some free-form Chuck-land. Then, to make sure we get it, he closes the song out with another totally killer blast that even Keef would smile about.

Swear to God: fire comes out of the speakers (or is it my head?) every time I play this.

Please note, that this link posts the entire 22-song box set, and though it is all terrific, #16 is It Takes a Lot to Laugh on the playlist.  Sorry for the inconvenience, but you will see it is more than worth it!

Bad Songs: The Wailers, “It’s You Alone”

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Steve’s Sonics posting brought back the other, not very good Wailers, who I guess were known as “The Fabulous Wailers” because I guess we were supposed to think they were terrific musicians or something.

Aside from the fact that these guys could not hold a candle to Marley et al (I doubt they could execute a decent cover of a Marley tune, either), neither of the bands hit’s–Tall Cool One and It’s You Alone–have stood much of a test of time, although I did not realize just how awful both songs were till Steve’s post tripped the wires and I went in search of YouTube.

To prove the point, here are the Wailers a few years back “performing” It’s You Alone and it only makes me think of one thing.

And, that thing is when I started gigging regularly in bands, I made my friends and loved ones promise me that if I ever looked or acted like any of these guys in these Wailers, to either shoot me in the head, or tell me to stop: whichever came first.

What’s with the barefoot sax player, and how about the guy standing stage right? Yeah, standing. Value added. And the “featured guy” makes Bill Murray’s lounge singer act really seem seriously good, and not just funny ironic.

How pathetic is that?

 

 

Cage Match: Greg Maddux v. Bill Frisell

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frisellI did not get to see The Upper Crust last night, but my life-long mate Stephen Clayton and I did venture across the bay to San Rafael, to Terrapin Crossroads (Phil Lesh’s place) to see Frisell and his band touring behind the guitar player’s latest disc, Guitar in the Space Age. maddux(Note that I have wanted to see the guitarist for years.)

True, it ain’t rock, but, that does not mean the music doesn’t rock. These guys–for this video is the same band Stephen and I saw–were arguably the most talented collection of musicians I have ever seen playing live with one another. The interplay and musicianship and notes chosen by the collective was breathtaking (watch this and you will see what I mean).

But, in deference to my previous Edge  v. Tekulve post, I have started thinking of guitarists in terms of ballplayers, and this time, I could only think of the great Cub and Brave, Greg Maddux as a parallel.

Both can clearly paint the corners, and are artists with a true craft within their respective profession. And, they don’t really look alike, but do sort of have the same look in their eye in the above pics, huh?

Stylish, smart, never overtly overpowering, yet always dominant, Maddux could make the perfect pitch just as Frisell squeezes out the perfect note. Both Hall of Famers!

 

Cage Match: Kent Tekulve v. The Edge

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tekulveAs I walked into BileTones (I guess that is the correct spelling) practice the other day, my mate Tom Nelson handed me a pamphlet that had a pic of Phillies hurler Rick Wise on the cover.

Tom told me he got the little handout–the title of which is Balk–at a Twins game at Metropolitan Stadium back in 2009. The whole little brainchild of Balk was by David Selsky, who along with former Pirates closer Kent Tekulve concocted an hysterically funny collection of baseball cards of bespectacled players.

The names and pics are priceless: Gary Gross, Rick Reuschel, Lee Walls, Carl Sawatski, Chris Knapp, and Craig Kusick (just looking at his beak on a card makes me wonder how he wound up a hitter and not a plumber?).kusick

However, the whole thing made me think of submariner Tekulve, and for some reason I contextualized his skill set with that of the Edge, the guitar player from U2 who I like and who Steve does not.

Let me say this to start: I have never had a friend quite like Steve. For some reason, about half the things we believe in and process could not be more simpatico; however, the remaining 50% could not be more diametrically opposed. Very strange.

Back to the philosophy, Tekulve was not a hard thrower. In fact, to the contrary, he threw underhand and lived on sinkers, location, and delivery deception to build a pretty successful career with a 98-90 record, 2.80 ERA, and 184 saves. But for sure, he did not overpower hitters a la Goose Gossage or Eric Gagne or Aroldis Chapman.

But, he got the job done, satisfactorily, and were he pitching today, Tekulve would be a well thought of Fantasy Baseball closer (1.250 career WHIP).

OK, so to the Edge, where the guitar player does not really approach his craft like Eric Clapton or Mick Ronson or Keef, who are clearly masters of the axe. edge

Edge relies more on sonics and harmonics–though he can play blues licks for sure–and pedals, along with dropping the fifth of the chord very often, to attain this signature chorusy shimmering sound.

Now, I get that Steve doesn’t really consider this playing, but my philosophical question to start the week is what the Edge does any less successful–and thus worthy of our approval–than was how Tekulve nudged his outs via groundballs by frustrated hitters?

Since I do like the Edge (and U2), and can not legally see without my spectacles, I approve swimmingly of both.

But, I guess it is a personal thing.

What do you say?

Night Music: Pretenders, “2000 Miles”

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Last week, in my post on Simple Minds (Waterfront) I alluded to this song, which seems to have ties to Jim Kerr’s (Chrissy Hynde’s ex) song.

Waterfront is from the album Sparkles in the Rain, and I mistakenly made the connection to this song, referring to “diamonds, sparkling in the snow.”

Doesn’t matter. This is still a lovely song, showing the softer side of the great Ms. Hynde (I will revisit her with some crunch) in a sort of Christmas song/homage to Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott, the late bass and guitar players for Pretenders.

This is how sentimental should be done.

Lunch Break: Bob Dylan, “Jokerman”

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Last Friday I was making my Passover Cheesecake (see Cheesecake post, in fact), streaming KTKE on the Bluetooth speaker Diane bought me for Valentine’s Day, and Jokerman, from Dylan’s album Infidels, was played.

It is a song I had not thought of for a while, but similarly, it is a song from an album I really dug when it came out, featuring Sly and Robbie holding down the rhythm section, and Mark Knopfler on guitar.

The thing is, Dylan has such a huge and extraordinary body of work that it is easy to simply forget about how many great songs over how many great periods Bobby has produced.

Hearing Jokerman was great in that it is really my favorite vocal period of Dylan’s, voice wise. His singing is so laid back and really sweet, especially on this cut.

I do find it interesting, though as I search through my archives and albums and CDs that as often as not I find myself going back to Bob, who is always so satisfying, irrespective of when and what he did.

Enjoy! Goes great with a cheeseburger and some curly fries, btw!