One/One Thousand

Supergrass: In It For the Money

1997

His album 

Eric says: In the summer of 1997, I was working as a lighting assistant for a Vegas-style variety show at a hotel that catered to Japanese tourists in Guam. Yes, very random. I bought "In It For the Money" the same day I bought "OK Computer" at the local music store at the biggest mall on the island. I remember sitting on my hotel bed at night and hanging out by the pool during the day enjoying the contrast of Supergrass’ in-your-face immediacy and infectious energy to Radiohead’s dark, genius, and disconcerting album. Supergrass has always been one of those reliable bands.  Even when they’re putting out clunkers, they’re not so-bad-I-need-to-shut-off-the-stereo terrible. They uphold the British lineage of the Kinks, the Who, the Jam, etc. pretty well. This album runs the gamut from the 100 mile-an-hour rampage of Richard III to more introspective, low-key songs like "Late in the Day."  Although this album was released during the bloated, dying days of Britpop, 1997 was one of the best years of music in my lifetime: "OK Computer," "Urban Hymms," "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space," "Homogenic" – all classics that have stood the test of time.
 
I still remember the video for "Cheapskate" being played on 120 Minutes. It’s full-on Supergrass done right. With the great melody, jump-for-joy chorus, and all, it’s a small detail that always gets me in this song – the Hammond organ hits during the verses. Listen for it! To me, that one trick seals the deal.  When Gaz sings, “I need someone to be around, 'Cos I'm breaking into life. Somebody stop me, 'cause I'm looking for my high,” it pretty much sums up being 18 during a summer in Guam.
 
This reminds me – I never did pick up "Diamond Hoo Ha Men," their latest and I need to do that...

Anouche says: It took me a few listens to decide that I really liked this album, despite the fact that it’s essentially easily accessible “alternative” pop rock – or as it was called back in the day “Power Pop.” I know Eric hates that term, but I’m sticking to it! I never really listened to Supergrass before, despite the fact that Eric reminded me that I own "I Should Coco." (I only really listen to the one big hit on that one.) They’re really a party band, but in a good way and when I listen to this album I think of a thousand skinny British kids jumping up and down in a basement with a keg and a million red party cups. This album is almost universally upbeat – no ballads – unless you count “Late in the Day” or “It’s Not Me” which are no downer but pretty, slightly slower songs that still have some bounce in the tune.  It’s definitely written to dance to and has a groove – and a little oopah thrown in. If you’re craving late ‘90s rock, this is a good bet and will definitely take you back to when you were younger, cooler and had way more parties to go to. Or is that just me?

The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan

2005

Her album

Eric says: The challenge with listening to The White Stripes is to see beyond the shtick. Once you get past the white/red/black wardrobe, the sibling/spouse pseudo-drama, and the blooz-rawk posturing, you can appreciate the actual songs and musicianship. Get Behind Me Satan is the sound of The White Stripes getting bored with the guitar and drum reliance, and expanding their sonic pallate. But really, what can you say about The White Stripes? Even when they're using a marimba, you know what it's going to sound like. This album isn't going to change your life, but it's fun. I feel obligated to mention the aural vomit that is "Passive Manipulation." Can we all agree that Meg should stay behind the drum kit and never have a microphone in front of her? "The Denial Twist" is classic White Stripes. With little more than just a piano and drums, the song rollicks and rolls. What I love about the song is the way the vocal phrasing, piano rhythm and shaker percussion all counter each other and blend.  Before you know it, you're bobbing your head and swaying your hips. And that is what I like about this band -- it's all about the feel, maaan.

The Denial Twist

Anouche says: Fans of The White Stripes love them for their simple formula of clever, sometimes ironic bluesy guitar rock with the stray novelty song thrown in. Meg White's lack of talent has never bothered us in the scope of the big picture and her enthusiastic banging contributes to the energy and whimsy of their songs. Whenever The White Stripes diverge from this formula, it takes fans like myself a little while to recalibrate and listen to an album for what it is rather than what we expected it to be. Maybe that's why I have never given Get behind Me Satan the attention it deserves, focusing on a few standout songs and ignoring the rest. 

That said, this album may not be as consistently good all the way through as early albums like Dee Stijl or White Blood Cells but it is still a good album with good songs. Out of the 13, maybe three could have been cut resulting in a much stronger album. Among these are the mercifully short "Passive Manipulation," Meg White's 35 second vocal massacre. It's a shame as the lyrics are clever and thoughtful. Sung by someone else, this could have been salvaged. "White Moon" loses out as well as it's a tad boring and "Take, Take, Take," while seemingly adhering to their winning formula just doesn't make the cut. 

That was the bad, or at least what's not living up to expectations. Now for the good. There's a solid stretch of good songs in the middle of the album (From "The Nurse" to "Denial Twist" that are enough to carry the whole effort. "The Nurse" is a vibraphone and shaker composition that has all the quirky energy you'd expect from the White Stripes. "My Doorbell" is a strong song despite its simplicity. This is another guitar-less song, but nonetheless quintessential White Stripes, fun and whimsical with a strong  blues influence. "Little Ghost" is not out of place as it is the kind of novelty song that we expect one or two of on every White Stripes album, but has clearly been influenced by Jack White's role in Cold Mountain and the influence of early American folk music, a divergence that makes sense for a band that bases their style on borrowing from the past and adding their own updates. The album also has a strong finish with "Ugly as I Seem," a melodic tune reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins and "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)" which could have been on any of their previous albums.

The Nurse

My Doorbell

Massive Attack: Mezzanine

1998

His album

Eric says: Blue Lines and Protection were both albums that seamlessly fused hip-hop, dub, pop, and even some house influences together into a warm, sensual whole (by the way, make sure to check out “Five Man Army”from 1991’s Blue Lines and tell me that track isn’t the SHIT) . Mezzanine, released in 1998 after a four-year break, was an altogether different animal. Dark, dense, menacing, and cold, it was quite a departure. With a few exceptions that give room to breathe, this album is a tightly wound black hole. And it’s brilliant. Like most great albums, it doesn’t really work or sink in on the first few listens. I got back into this album last winter when I was still living in New York. It was the perfect soundtrack to nighttime walks around the East Village and Lower East Side. This one is a keeper. It’s an 11-year-old electronic album, released at the height of “electronica” – Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy, and all the rest – that doesn’t sound dated. Quite a feat.

But the track I want to highlight is “Teardrop”. Sung by the Cocteau Twins’ Elisabeth Fraser, it’s a fragile, gorgeous piece that works emotionally even though I can only make out the lyrics “black flowers blossom” and “teardrop on fire”. Check the creepy/beautiful video featuring a baby in utero.

Anouche says: If someone played you this album and did not tell you what year it was from, you could definitely identify this as a product of the ‘90s. It’s got that dark, trip-hop, stoned dance-music feel that was unique to electronic music of the era. It’s dancey yet relaxing. The style of the songs employing the female vocalist sound like Madonna’s better songs from the late 90’s (and I wouldn’t be surprised if Madonna ripped off Massive Attack, she rips off everyone else.) On the other hand it employs industrial electro sounds reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails (what is that? The warning beep when you don’t put on your seat belt?) There’s also that tribal music influence that was so well loved by sample-mad musicians of the time. It all works seamlessly to create what I’d call a mood album -- A mood album that makes me want to wear too much eyeliner and glitter and dance around in something made out of stretchy crushed velvet. 

That’s not to say that I don’t like Massive Attack or this album -- to the contrary. But it is a product of the era it was released in. You know when you just can’t ever drink tequila again (gin, vodka, whatever) because of a bad experience? That’s kind of this genre of music for me. I had a lot of fun but at some point I overdosed. Songs sipped individually are quite enjoyable, but as a whole album I start to feel a little overwhelmed. Poor Eric is going to think that I hate all his music, which is not the case. 

Standouts:

"Teardrop" is a pretty, melodic tune with a cool vinyl-inspired crackle in the background and a good beat.

"Man Next Door": This has a steady “low” beat, simple composition and great vocals from reggae legend Horrace Andy.

Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues

1930s

His album

Eric says: I recently watched There Will be Blood for the third time and once again, I was completely transported to another universe with its own rules, norms, and culture. Whether it’s being absorbed by the strange world of the 1950s south in Flannery O’Connor’s stories or immersing myself into Daniel Plainview’s world of the early 20th century, for whatever reason, I’m completely transfixed by an America that I know very little about from a first-hand perspective (even if it is fictionalized). It’s an America of hard, rural living, where people are worried less about their credit card bills and promotions and more about a ever-present danger that lurks behind every decision. Robert Johnson fits squarely into this intrigue. His songs aren’t ones you listen to on the subway or while walking down a noisy city street. It feels wrong and totally incongruous to do so. Instead, you need to give your full attention to these recordings and immerse yourself in his world of the 1930s south. These performances are full of pain, passion and most all, are alive. You feel these songs in your gut. With nothing but an acoustic guitar and Johnson's strange, high-pitched voice, these very dusty, one-track recordings are completely captivating. Despite being of a completely foreign time and place, these songs affect me in a way that is hard to put into words. While these songs are a product of a very specific time and place, they also live on in our very different age.

I also have to say, from a guitarist perspective, Johnson’s style of simultaneously finger-picking and playing slide and his use the high strings for melodic emphasis and the low stings for rhythm is just ingenious. It’s a method I’ve tried throughout college when I first bought this record to predictably embarrassing effect.

Anouche says: This is a good album to have if you want to impress your friends with your knowledge of blues or you just really like straight-ahead, old-fashioned blues. The recordings are really low-fi, just vocals over acoustic guitar with an airy crackle in the background. There’s something refreshing about the simplicity of the songs and recordings. And there are some clever lyrics such as “You can squeeze my lemon until the juice runs down my leg. Know what I’m talking about?” Yeah, we get it. Good album, but not really my thing. If you happened to put this on at just the right moment I would really enjoy it (maybe somewhere rural during a cross country car trip in the summer), but I wouldn’t put this on for a listen on a regular basis.

Stop Breaking Down Blues

Low: The Great Destroyer

2005
Her album

Eric says: There are more than a few albums in our collection that exist in a vacuum – isolated and lonely.  These are the albums that I've forgotten and lay on our shelves unlistened to, glanced over and unnoticed.  I suppose that makes Low's The Great Destroyer an appropriate start to our random listening experiment. My knowledge of Low is fuzzy. I know they've been around for a while and that this album was well-received when it came out.  Oh, and I put "California" – far and away the most sunny, poppy, catchy and melodic tune – on a mix back in 2005.  Other than that, this was the first time I carefully listened to the album.  It's telling that I have a hard time thinking of what to write. It's all quite forgettable – not brilliant by any means nor offensively grating enough to arouse strong emotions.  It's just…..there.  It also sounds like it could have come out in 1995, for better or worse (actually, that's not a good thing).  Most of the time, they kind of sound like a cross between Matthew Sweet, Live and REM circa Monster. I can't imagine putting this on willingly. The album flows like watching a baseball game. You kind of zone out until you wake up all of a sudden and ask yourself, "How long have I not been paying attention? What's been happening?" Anyway, I chose "On the Edge Of" as this album's pick. It kind of reminds me of late 70s Neil Young in a way – I just wish the snare was recorded with a harder feel and didn't have such a muddy production. 

On the Edge Of

Anouche says: I bought this album a few years a ago when it was released and obviously didn't give it much attention. When we pulled it off the shelf the other day I asked Eric if it was his. Then I asked him to add it to my iTunes. It was already in there, although I had removed it from my playlist. After giving it another good listen, I find that I like the individual songs but as an album it's monotone. Have you ever had the experience that you're walking down the street listening to an album and it starts out good, but then 30 minutes later you stop and think, was I listening to something? This is that album. Individually the songs are good and would be great added to a mix. The fuzzy guitars, '90s shoe-gazer feel, prominent female back up vocals  bring to mind My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies and The Pretenders. Although a couple of songs have a novelty feeling that's unfortunately very current. My favorite songs are "Monkey" and "Silver Rider" for the churning guitars and the same reasons mentioned previously (especially The Pixies influence.) The hit, "California," is just a little too "Alternative" for me, although, it's probably the song that made me buy the album.

Monkey