I had my most productive day yet today, which is a good sign. I was starting to worry that I would remain blocked the whole time...
I've had a lot of quality time with my iPod, meaning that I've been able to hear some music I hadn't listened to in a long time. One thing I realized is that I have the exact same musical sensibility as the guys in Teenage Fanclub. They love poppy hooks, I love poppy hooks. They love all kinds of guitars, especially 12-string jangle and Neil Young fuzz, and I love those things, too. They love West Coast harmonies, I love all harmonies, especially West Coast harmonies. They love power pop and...well, you get the picture. ...Teenage Fanclub are not terribly original, but originality is a category that has been dead in rock for a long time now. The guys make music that feels like warm summer sunshine. Their stuff brings a big happy smile to my face. Ain't that enough? Songs from Northern Britain is especially satisfying. Check
out "Mount Everest," "Planets," and "Start Again." All three songs are absolutely perfect. ...As far as loving Teenage Fanclub goes, I would be remiss if I didn't give a lot of credit to my friend Dan Epstein, a great guy and my source for all needed bits of rock esoterica. I bought TF's Badwagonesque back when it came out because a friend told me they sounded like Big Star. I was a very serious young man at the time, and like many other very serious young men, I took my Big Star very seriously. Anything that sounded like Big Star would be something I would seriously dig. I loved and still like Badwagonesque, but I lost the plot after that. It wasn't so much that I lost interest in Tenage Fanclub, it's just that they kind of fell off the map ...About three years ago, Dan invited me to join he and his lovely wife, Carole, for a TF gig at the Troub. I was so impressed with how great and clean and amazing those guys sounded. Every song had the most unbelievable multi-part harmonies you could imagine. I've been a big fan ever since then, and I owe a lot of that to Dan. Thanks, man.
Speaking of harmonies...has there ever been a more creative harmonizer than Paul McCartney? Holy shit! He throws some incredibly weird and excellent harmonies into so many Beatles songs. Funny thing is, he did it throughout the life of the band. The earliest Beatles songs have great but strange Maca harmonies, and so do some of the very last songs they did...
Angels and Sox Tonight, Game 1. Go Halos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 comments:
You're most welcome, my man, and that was indeed a great TF gig at the Troub. It was also actually about EIGHT years ago...
Time flies when the seasons all run together, eh?
Holy crap. Eight years? We're gettin' old!
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