The Random Ten #13

Matt and I will again be sharing writing duties on this edition of the Random Ten. Let’s get right to it.

John #1) The Jayhawks – “Won’t Be Coming Home” – Music From The North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology (2009, song originally recorded in 1991)

Alt-country is supposed to be exactly what it sounds like; classic country music and alternative rock mixed into a hybrid, connecting and contrasting the best parts of each. One of the fascinating things about alt-country is that its players are often young, mixing the exuberance of youth and feedback-heavy alternative rock with the thoughtfulness and life lessons of country. The best alt-country bands are those whose musicians sound aged beyond their years; as a twenty-something listener, I identify with their position. They have one foot in adulthood and one in youth.

The Jayhawks have the genre’s youthful, intimate heart down cold. “Won’t Be Coming Home” moves at a quick but deliberate pace, with singer Mark Olson providing the rickety, yearning vocals that fit perfectly with the melody. This is textbook alt-country from one of the genre’s criminally underrated bands.

Matt #1) Green Day - “Pulling Teeth” - Dookie (1994)

“Pulling Teeth” was one of my favorite, oft-overlooked songs from Dookie back when I was in 5th grade. The song is a mid-paced rocker that owes more to Buddy Holly or Social Distortion than, say, the Sex Pistols, but it was very indicative of the more pop-oriented direction Green Day would take on later albums like Nimrod and Warning. Lyrically, it’s a love song to an abusive girlfriend. If you like Green Day, or if you bought CDs in 1994, you’ve probably heard this song.

John #2) Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – “Good” – Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit (2009)

Jason Isbell is a former guitarist and principal songwriter of the Drive-By Truckers, whom he left in 2007 to pursue a solo career. “Good” is culled from his second album, and has a much different sound and vibe from the work he did in Drive-By Truckers. “Good” is much more in line with alternative rock than DBT’s mix of hard rocking and deep south earnestness.

I’m not sure it works, however. Isbell’s songs on the Truckers albums were often standouts, but he sounds like he’s hemming himself into a style of music that he’s a bit unaccustomed to. Unfortunately, “Good” moseys around without doing anything memorable. It’s just sort of a blank alt-rock track.

Matt #2) Probot - “Access Babylon” - Probot (2004)

Probot was essentially a Dave Grohl solo album featuring guest musicians from the underground (and not so underground) metal world, such as Lemmy from Motorhead, King Diamond from Mercyful Fate, Wino from The Obsessed/Spirit Caravan/The Hidden Hand, Lee Dorrian from Cathedral/ex-Napalm Death, and many others. “Access Babylon” is more of a hardcore punk track, and features Corrosion of Conformity bassist Mike Dean on vocals (who only sang on COC’s Four Songs with Mike Singing EP, fittingly enough). I’ve never heard much of COC’s earlier, more punk-inspired material, but I can imagine it sounded a lot like this song, which is a harmless, fun track.

John #3) Miles Davis – “Easy Minor” – The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions (2001, originally recorded 1968-1969)

I’m the first to admit I don’t know much about jazz. This was given to me by a coworker and fan of the genre a few years back. I’m certainly appreciative of the atmosphere Davis creates and the ease with which he seems to do it, but I’m not sure I could ever really get into this kind of music. I respect musicians who can create something all their own, which Davis has certainly done here. I guess I just need songs to take me someplace; “Easy Minor” is filled with fascinating sounds, but they don’t lead anywhere and nothing gets paid off. Cool but unsatisfying.

Matt #3) Judas Priest - “Love Bites” - Defenders Of The Faith (1984)

Not to be confused with the Def Leppard track of the same name, “Love Bites” is a mid-paced stomper from what might be my favorite Priest studio album, Defenders of the Faith. Opening with a synth-bass riff that leads into some start-stop riffing and Halford’s unmistakable voice, “Love Bites” really picks up when the whole band gets into things for the second verse. The lyrics are cheesy, and are most certainly about Rob Halford’s sexual exploits, but musically this track is a winner. Halford’s screams at the 3:37 mark are top-notch, even if the production is undeniably 1980s-sounding. Still, good song from a great album.

John #4) Common – “Thelonius” – Like Water For Chocolate (2000)

“Thelonius” is one of the best songs from one of my favorite albums ever. I urge any readers out there whose knowledge of Common extends only to Gap ads and his appearance in Smokin’ Aces to listen to this album. The song itself takes a mellow, subdued tone, with sharp but freely delivered lyrics accompanied intermittently by a piano piece that raises and lowers to accommodate certain rhymes. There’s really not much to say about it; it’s a really strong, no-frills rap song.

Matt #4) Testament - “Chasing Fear” - Low (1994)

Testament followed up two sub-par albums (Souls of Black was a lifeless, almost carbon copy of its predecessor, Practice What You Preach; The Ritual, on the other hand, tried to capitalize on the success of Metallica by going the cleaner, more commercial route, and yielded few good songs) with a new lineup and new vigor in 1994 when they released Low. A criminally underrated record, Low saw Testament reclaim their thrash metal roots, but also show that they could hang with the then-up-and-comers Machine Head, Fear Factory and the like. “Chasing Fear” opens with some typical Testament thrash riffing, before displaying some funk (!) influences about 0:26 in. Chuck Billy also displayed a more guttural, visceral vocal style at times on Low, which added to his already diverse repertoire. Testament went a little too far into death metal territory on 1997’s Demonic, which alienated some longtime fans, but on Low they had a great mix of styles working for them, and “Chasing Fear” displays almost all of them.

John #5) The Roots – “Water” – Live From Bonnaroo (2003, this is not an official release; “Water” originally appeared on Phrenology [2002])

This recording of the Roots’ live set from the Bonnaroo festival in 2003 was downloaded from the old Providence College network in my freshman year of college, before the school shut down our ability to take any album from anyone’s computer at the school. I only listened to this once before because the sound quality is quite atrocious. The band’s manic energy comes through on the recording, but it sounds like it was recorded underwater, tapering my enjoyment of the track. It’s not their fault; this recording is simply a mess. Good on Phrenology, not so good here.

Matt #5) Iron Maiden - “Run to the Hills” - Live After Death (1985)

This was Maiden at the height of their popularity in the US in the 80’s, performing a sold-out show at the Long Beach Arena, and this is one of their more popular tunes of the time. The band sounds absolutely on fire, although Bruce Dickinson’s voice was already showing signs of wear and tear, which is to be expected when one actually looks at the tour itineraries from this era. Either way, this is still a great performance, from one of the better metal live albums of all time.

John #6) Chris Robinson – “Silver Car” – New Earth Mud (2002)

“Silver Car” is by far the best song from Chris Robinson’s first solo record, New Earth Mud, and probably his best solo song ever. Like the album, the song is not terribly complicated, and lacks the ferociousness and cockiness of the Crowes’ hard-rocking work. In fact, the whole album really has an unmistakable sheen of “the lead singer of the Black Crowes trying to make a solo album”, rather than a forging of his own sound.

“Silver Car” comes closest to making an impression, due to its very simple and understated elegance. This mood is helped in no small part by strong piano work and a toned-down Robinson. A very nice and thoughtful song, albeit saddled with a meaningless “A Day In The Life”-type crazy ending which nearly ruins all the good that came before it.

Matt #6) Katatonia - “Nowhere” - Brave Murder Day (1996)

Brave Murder Day was the turning point for Katatonia, where they stepped out of the doom/death genre and into a more gothic metal with death metal overtones (before dropping the death metal overtones on follow-up Discouraged Ones entirely). The album featured Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt doing the harsh, screaming vocals, while Jonas Renske, who also played bass and drums on the album, took over the lead melodic vocals, a role he still occupies today as the band’s frontman. The melancholy music on “Nowhere” wouldn’t have been out of place on later albums like Tonight’s Decision or Discouraged Ones, but Akerfeldt’s vocals give it a harsher, more extreme vibe. Earlier Katatonia relied on the riffs and arrangements to invoke depression and angst, whereas the vocals would take that role on later releases. Great lead guitar melodies throughout, “Nowhere” is a great song from an incredible album.

John #7) Phish – “Mike’s Song” – Live: Camden, NJ 7/31/03 (not an official release)

Well, you knew it had to happen sooner or later. I actually have a Random Ten cutoff of twenty minutes. Anything over that length of time is being skipped. Luckily for us, this version of “Mike’s” only clocks in at nine.

I feel like I’ve heard and seen this song so many times that there is a “Mike’s Song” archetype to which each version of the song needs to live up to. This edition bounces along like it’s supposed to and the harmonies are there. A tight jam is included (obviously) that keeps the tune chugging along through its conclusion and melding into the next track. A very solid version, followed in the show, as is customary, by “I Am Hydrogen” and “Weekapaug Groove”.

Matt #7) Metallica - “Sad But True” - Metallica (1991)

What do I really need to say about this? If you haven’t heard this song before, you probably didn’t listen to hard rock radio at all in the 1990s. It’s one of 5 hit singles from Metallica’s self-titled breakthrough, aka The Black Album. Lars Ulrich joked that this would be the “’Kashmir’ of the 90s” when the band was recording it, and he wasn’t far off, as both songs still receive a tremendous amount of airplay to this date. Featuring one of Metallica’s heaviest riffs, “Sad But True” was catchy enough for rock radio fans, but heavy enough to not completely turn off Metallica’s fan base (that wouldn’t happen until 1996’s Load). Also features some great, bluesy soloing from Kirk Hammett, and some great vocal overdubbing in the bridge section, something Metallica hadn’t really experimented with at all until the inclusion of producer Bob Rock on this album. Still a live staple to this date, the song honestly sounds best in the studio, where they keep the tempo slow, emphasizing the heaviness of the riffs. That, and James Hetfield hasn’t really matched the intensity of his vocals on this album ever since.

John #8) Widespread Panic – “Jack” – Live: Boston, MA 9/22/06 (not an official release; “Jack” originally appeared on Ain’t Life Grand [1994])

Hey, more jamming, although this time with a band that I know much less about! Widespread Panic actually has always reminded me of a country-infused moe., if that makes any sense. The songwriting isn’t very impressive, but it works, and their songs lend themselves to being played live, much like moe.’s output. John Bell has a great voice for this kind of material, and the musicianship is certainly here. “Jack” also contains a really cool piece in the middle, which gets a bit darker and then opens up into a lighter guitar part and then back into the original riff. Nice, if forgettable, stuff.

Matt #8) DMX - “I Miss You” - The Great Depression (2001)

I only own one DMX album, and for some reason it’s one of his lesser known releases that spawned only moderate hits like “Who We Be” and “We Right Here”. I think I had burned copies of the first 2 albums at one point in time, but I thought I’d actually buy the 3rd one. Big mistake. “I Miss You” is a terrible, God-inspired song that I couldn’t even make it all the way through. This album didn’t immediately strike me as awful, but I can’t get through a lot of the songs, this being one of them. Not recommended.

John #9) Ben Folds – “Side Of The Road” – Songs For Goldfish (2005)

“Side Of The Road”, originally a Lucinda Williams song, is expertly and beautifully done by Folds on his 2005 odds and ends collection, Songs For Goldfish. I’ve never heard the original, but from the sound of this the song fits right into Folds’ wheelhouse of undying sentimentality and his unheralded ability to create somber moods in addition to the fun and goofy ones he’s known for. The song, about a woman who leaves her lover to see what else the world has to offer, probably hit close to home for Folds (he’s been divorced several times). This might explain how clear he sounds on the recording and how powerful it is. A lot of people chalk Folds up to being a little too cutesy and zany for his own good, but songs like this show how talented he really is.

Matt #9) In Flames - “Jotun” - The Tokyo Showdown (2001)

One of my favorite In Flames songs of all time, this live performance is energetic, maybe a little too fast, but solid nonetheless. The production on this live album has always baffled me, as the drums are clear, yet they sound almost distant or too clicky. I can’t quite pinpoint what doesn’t work about the sound on this live album, but something never sat with me as quite right. It could be the guitar tone, too, which sounds not nearly as thick and full as their studio releases. If you want a better performance of this song, check out their live DVD In Live We Trust, which, despite the stupid name, contains a club performance (as well as some arena shows in Europe) in which the band performs the entire Soundtrack to Your Escape album (boo!), but then follows it up with an entire set of classics including “Jotun” (awesome!). I’m sure the clips are on YouTube *cough*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYM2ngWz0JE*cough, so you’ll hear and see what I mean.

John #10) Andrew Bird – “The Supine” – Armchair Apocrypha (2007)

“The Supine” is a minute-long stringed instrument piece that serves as an interlude in his 2007 album, Armchair Apocrypha. It’s very beautiful and quite moving for a song of one minute in length, but it’s too short to make too much of an impression on its own.

Matt #10) Green Day - “Scattered” - Nimrod (1997)

I honestly don’t remember this song at all. I’ve probably only listened to this entire album two or three times, and those were back in 1998. This song features harmonized vocals throughout, and is an example of the more melodic, pop-rock approach the band first flirted with on “Pulling Teeth,” although the pace is a little more upbeat on this track. Surprisingly not a bad song, although I don’t recall liking a great deal of the rest of the album.

Matt Steele/John Lacey