The Days of Lore

2011: The vinyl countdown … and then some

Friday, December 30th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Well, hello there. Remember when we used to hang out? Right here? I would tell you about the music I liked. And you’d get me up to speed on everything going on in your life—that new job, your new love interest, or that new zany electro-twee trio from Brooklyn—in the comments section. I miss that.

It’s been a fantastical year for The Days of Lore, filled with all sorts of life-shaping events … ahh hell, here it is in digestible list form:

1. I got married! Yes, married! Me! Married! To a wonderful woman who puts up with all of my quirks. It was an incredible ceremony, and the good times with friends and family lasted for daze. It was one of the most overwhelmingly happy events in my life. And everyone cried, per my plan. I captured the musical portion of it on the official Days of Lore Wedding Mix. Grab your copy here.
2. I also performed my first wedding ceremony, and I think it’s even official.
3. A couple of my good friends brought new little bundles into the world. Both of those little bundles have Willie Nelson onesies.
4. My beloved St. Louis Cardinals miraculously won the World Series.
5. My wife Alexis got a Master’s in teaching and a teaching job … all within four months.

Yes, 2011 was pretty darned swell. That said, TDoL suffered a little amidst all of the excitement, neglected like a Fleet Foxes CD in the stack of life. But I have a couple of goodies to offer before we call 2011 a year. Like this here year-end, rock and roll buffet (minus the all-you-can-eat crab legs).

I should note that I didn’t delve very deep into new music this year, instead spending all waking hours with my head buried in musty vinyl bins (I’m even working on a cologne called “Musty Vinyl Bin”) buying up old country and metal records. This year, instead of a comprehensive list of 2011 releases, I’ve compiled sort of a grab-bag of notable musical this and thats. Hope you enjoy. Here’s looking to 2012 with charged batteries and more good times.

Top five 6 Shows
1. Wild Flag at Doug Fir, 11.9.11
Windmills, leg kicks, noise, all performed with a certain je ne sais quoi—these ladies renewed my faith in rock and roll.
2. Danava at East End, 10.8.11
The best rock band in Portland. Period. Earplugs and diaper recommended.
3. Rush at Sleep Country Amphitheater, 6.28.11
I’ve only recently jumped aboard the Rush train, and finally seeing them live proved once and for all what I’ve known all along: These guys are nerds. And they fucking rule.
4. Deicide at Hawthorne Theatre, 3.5.11
The venue smelled like an 8th grade locker room, and a fight broke out within the first five minutes I arrived. Now that’s a metal show.
5. Ke$ha at Roseland Theatre, 2.16.11
I had no clue what I was getting into here, and I ended up having a blast. Throwaway pop and good ol’-fashioned schlock in the form of human sacrifices and a dancing penis.
6. Zola Jesus at Mississippi Studios, 10.6.11
Less goth and more grandiose than I expected. I felt like I had eaten a Ziploc bag of mushrooms. And Ms. Jesus was very down-to-earth.

Top 5 Albums
1. Koko and the Sweetmeats - Sacrifice
Seattle’s best kept secret is also Seattle’s best band.
2. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
I miss the Mint Chicks … but not that much.
3. Old 97’s - The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2
Even better than Vol. 1. So where’s Vol. 3 and 4?
4. Anthrax - Worship Music
Who woulda thought? They bring back Joey Belladonna and release their best album in 20 years.
5. Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler/The Dream
Album number two of 2011 from Jim Dwyer and Co. is numero uno in my book, and number five on the list.

Top five 6 Vinyl Purchases
1. The Saints - Eternally Yours
The gift that keeps on giving.
2. Steve Young - Rock Salt & Nails
Brilliant country gospel featuring Gene Clark and Gram Parsons.
3. Bollywood Bloodbath: The B-Music of the Indian Horror Film Industry
More funky than frightening—the dance-party soundtrack for 2011 and beyond (the grave).
4. Willie Nelson - Phases & Stages
Willie’s best, and I finally snagged it on vinyl.
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
I forgot how great this album was, and I played it for weeks at maximum volume. Now my neighbor Earl knows how great this album is, too.
6. Celibate Rifles - The Turgid Miasma of Existence
Australia’s answer to the Sex Pistols (get it?), only noisier and better.

Odds and Ends
Interview: A morning with Stephen Malkmus
I spent a few hours at Mr. Malkmus’ pad for Spin Magazine, talking to him about sports, guitars … oh, and his best solo record to date.

Record Store: Crossroads Music
I spent many an afternoon here this year. Spent many a dollar. Took home many a record. Made many an ill-advised decision. And for that, I love/hate/love it.

Book: Ace Frehley - No Regrets
The Space Ace drank enough booze and did enough blow to kill an adult male rhino, and he lived to tell about it. Guitar Gods never die—they clean up their acts and write rock bios.

TV: Wonder Years on Netflix
After years and years (and years), Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper (be still my beating heart) came back into my life, along with the laughter, tears, and the music … even if it’s not Joe Cocker on those opening credits. See you next year, eh?

Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter.

Tags: 2011, Ace Frehley, Anthrax, Bollywood Bloodbath, Celibate Rifles, Crossroads Music, Danava, Deicide, Ke$ha, Koko and the Sweetmeats, Old 97's, Rush, Stephen Malkmus, Steve Young, The Saints, The Wonder Years, Thee Oh Sees, Wild Flag, Willie Nelson, year-end list, Zola Jesus

Home boy, Stephen Malkmus

Thursday, August 25th, 2011 | interviewZ, musiX, pdX | 2 Comments

I was recently asked by Spin Magazine to hang out at Stephen Malkmus’ house and talk to him about random objects that were ineteresting or held some sort of significance to him. I closed the e-mail, changed my underwear and schemed how I would call in sick to my day job in two weeks. “There’s something going around,” I schemed.

I rarely get starstruck these days—only Rhett Miller holds that distinction—but that’s only because he’s so darned good-looking. Malkmus is a pretty handsome fellow, too. And aside from a few more gray hairs, he’s hardly aged. But I wasn’t starstruck—this was more like, “I’m going to hang out with Stephen Malkmus. At his home. What?”

I walked up to his door, which was attached to a very large, very old house in a cluster of other very large, very old houses near a popular park in Portland. His wife, artist Jessica Jackson Hutchins, answered the door. “He’s on his way,” she informed me. The videographer and photographers were already there trying to decide which room had the best light. It was my job to scour the home for quirky trinkets that would lend themselves to even quirkier answers. While the photogs began setting up their elaborate gear, the videographer Aubree and I headed to—where else—the basement.

It was exactly what you would expect: Records, guitars, some recording equipment, old books, genius-at-work clutter. We noted the signed copy of Sterolab’s French Disko on the wall, which Malkmus would later explain: “We did a big, long tour with them in Europe—and at the end we signed records and there were tears and champagne.” Sadly, there were no half-eaten Twinkies I could sell on eBay for a couple hundred bucks. The best part about all this? I was (sort of) casing Stephen Malkmus’ home because that’s what I was supposed to be doing.

Malkmus arrived about 45 minutes later, which doesn’t really qualify as “on his way” (man, he is such a slacker). He was wearing black jeans, a pair of white Adidas and a blue-and-white flannel (yes!) shirt. Atop his head sat a Detroit Pistons cap. Malkmus disappeared into the kitchen, and I could hear him and Jessica chatting, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. It sounded like married-couple talk. He re-emerged and we all introduced ourselves. I think I was the only one who was really familiar with/enjoyed Pavement and/or the Jicks. After some small-talk, Malkmus and I decided to scour the house to find more what-nots and what-have-yous.

We headed back down to the basement. He rummaged through a closet and pulled out a few things, including a small plaster sculpture of his head as a young child. I pointed out the Stereolab record. We made our way back upstairs. His two kids were not there, but the tell-tale signs were: toys, a nook with children’s books, scattered Cheerios on the kitchen floor. Malkmus disappeared upstairs and came back down with a framed photo of his mother as a young girl, a Jamaal Charles Jersey and some tape reels that included demos from Pavement’s Terror Twilight. After we rounded up what we thought were enough “curios” as he called them, we ended up back in the kitchen to talk about the new Jicks record Mirror Traffic and, of course, working with Beck.

“He gave me a call about two and a half years ago and he was just getting started in producing, and he’s like, ‘I’m a producer now, and I’d like to work with you,’ Malkmus explained. “I ran it by the band because we were thinking of ideas, and everyone really wanted to work with a proper producer—I think they were getting tired of the sort of willy-nilly way we were doing it.” Malkmus was making himself breakfast—English style—a fried egg and tomato on toast. Prior to that he had managed to sneak out for a smoke, which truly made it an English breakfast. It looked delicious … the food, not the cigarette.

“We did recording of the basic tracks in five or six days,” he continued. “It was pretty painless, and [Beck] was positive emotionally about everything and pretty mellow like a musician. He said, ‘I might be better at this than judging my own stuff.’ That’s one of the keys, I think, from the standpoint of the band—you want someone who can be like that, that doesn’t want it to be their thing, and can see what’s good about you. I don’t think everyone would be right for it, but he definitely seems to have a talent for it. And I think he’s going to be pretty busy.”

It’s true. Beck’s touches aren’t ham-fisted. Mirror Traffic is far less bombastic than 2008’s Real Emotional Trash, but maintains a warm quality that Malkmus was shooting for. “I didn’t really know what I wanted, I just wanted it to sound good—have a good fidelity that we liked. That’s what I was more worried about—having it sound too digital or modern.” Best of all, Joanna Bolme’s bass is high in the mix—a good thing, as she’s truly a secret weapon (listen to Quasi’s American Gong for proof).

Recording stalled while Malkmus was out for a year on the Pavement cash-grab extravaganza. During that time he was getting antsy, as were the rest of the Jicks. We convened at the kitchen table, where he chatted between bites. (”Sorry I’m eating while we do this.”) The band finished things up this year and released the album’s first single “Senator” back in early June, a song with a memorable chorus that was accidentally timely in the wake of the Anthony Weiner political boner.

“The chorus is just what I sang for the part, and I just made that up—so, I don’t know, that just came from my subconscious,” he explained. “It wasn’t really like shooting fish in a barrel, to tease guys like that, or to be something that would be on The Daily Show.”

The Jicks released Mirror Traffic on August 23, the final album to feature longtime Jick/pal Janet Weiss, who will be focusing most of her attention on Wild Flag. Joggers drummer Jake Morris has joined the lineup, rounded out by Bolme and guitarist-keyboardist Mike Clark. The record is less jammy, filled with well-crafted pop that manages to keep Malkmus’ quirks intact. It might be Malkmus’ best, most Pavement post-Pavement release.

“For me I decided to make it a little more about melody. That could be what I’m better at. I can try to be a big shredder psych-rocker guy, but I’ll let the memorable vocal melodies be the thing you take from the song.”

Jake the photographer came in and told us they were set up and ready to go. I headed toward the bathroom. “Umm, there’s no toilet paper in there, but I can run upstairs and grab some if you need it.” As much as I wanted to tell Stephen Malkmus to grab me some toilet paper, I assured him it was only No. 1. When I entered the living room, he was seated, surrounded by his own artifacts—among them the plaster head, the Charles jersey (a gift from Pavement bandmate Bob Nastanovich) and his diploma from the University of Virginia, where he got involved in college radio and punk rock in a small city in an even smaller red state. (”It was sort of like a mini John Hughes movie—where you would find weirdos and freaks, and you’d be like, ‘Oh, you’re my people,’ amid the uniformity.”)

Malkmus has come a long way since then. He’s come an even longer way since the day his grandmother sculpted a plaster statue of his head. But not much has changed, and that’s a good thing. He’s still mindful of the DIY, punk aesthetic. He still reads poetry from obscure avant-writers like Louis Zukofsky and Tom Clark, who did the cover art for Mirror Traffic. And he still makes interesting music that means a lot to a lot of people. He’s not hip, but he’s not irrelevant either. Throughout the morning Malkmus joked that he’s too old for this or too old for that, or questioned his coolness. I think it’s something he must think about as he eases into middle age.

Of the dozen or so objects we end up talking about, it turns out that one of Malkmus’ most prized is a drawing by Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart.

“He is an inspirational musical genius,” Malkmus said. He wasn’t smiling, or even smirking when he said this. “You know, he played this really insane music that sounds like outsider music, but it was all planned out. He knew what he was doing, and he still made it sound like it was completely original. To me it’s an inspiration that somebody can be such a weirdo, but also be a calm artist.”

That statement right there speaks volumes. I think Malkmus is going to be around for a while. He’ll definitely continue to be one of the most relevant irrelevant artists of his generation. And he really is a cool dude.

“Senator” - Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks

“Tune Grief” - Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks

Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter.

Tags: Beck, Jake Morris, Janet Weiss, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Joanna Bolme, Matador Records, Mike Clark, Mirror Traffic, Pavement, Spin Magazine, Stephen Malkmus, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Stephen Malkmus interview, Tom Clark

Malkmus-Colbert 2012

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 | musiX | No Comments

Oh, you’ve seen it already. Pavement made a stop on the Report. Malkmus and Colbert matched wits. Pavement performed “Gold Soundz.” Malkmus and Colbert had a beer afterward (Colbert a Bud Light, Malkmus a Lompoc IPA). And decided to run in 2012 on the Indie Party ticket. A man can dream, right?

Stephen meets Stephen:

Pavement does “Gold Soundz”

Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter.

Tags: "Gold Soundz", Pavement, Stephen Colbert, Stephen Malkmus, the Colbert Report

Barroom blitz

Friday, October 31st, 2008 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

Blitzen Trapper might have the best logo I’ve seen in years. However, if you were to judge a band by its album cover you might think the Portland, Ore., sextet was a throwback to when rockers dressed like women and women liked that sort of thing. But there’s nary a gimmick here. Blitzen Trapper hearkens back to American roots music of the late-’60s early-’70s in the vein of Neil Young and The Band—it’s the kind of music I’ve been listening to for years without actually having listened to Blitzen Trapper. How could this happen?!

The band has been kicking around since 2003, but it wasn’t until the release of 2007’s Wild Mountain Nation that these guys began their journey to becoming household names in the hovels of music dweebs across the country. Blitzen Trapper has appeared in Rolling Stone, received the elusive “Pitchfork bump” and has been blogged about by everyone and their mothers (hi mom!).

With the recent release of Furr (their first for Sub Pop), the members of Blitzen Trapper are doing it all over again. Rave reviews, big shows (they’ve already played with Fleet Foxes and Stephen Malkmus and have gigs lined up with Iron & Wine and a Nov. 17 performance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien). Why not? Smart lyrics, pop hooks, sweet harmonies. Just the right amount of twang and rawk. Fits well in a smoky bar or a big stage. You’d be silly not to like it. Does this mean it’s acceptable for critics to officially bring back the term “alt-country”? Didn’t think so.

“Gold For Bread” - Blitzen Trapper

Tags: Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, Furr, Iron & Wine, Neil Young, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Stephen Malkmus, Sub Pop, The Band, Wild Mountain nation