Mike Lazy ass.... I mean Mongillo's Summations

Michael Mongillo – Music Group Commentary, January 17, 2006

CURSIVE – “THE UGLY ORGAN” (New Selection) = 4 STARS
This is a perfect compare/contrast album to this month’s Mars Volta selection. Inventive and inspired musical arrangements meet smart and sincere lyrics, Cursive did everything right that Mars Volta did wrong. Art is hard (to reference the title of track three) yet Cursive manages to impart the struggle of making something great (Dare we call it “art”?) without it ever feeling forced.

THE FUGS – “BEST OF”
I get it and I respect it even but I just don’t like it. The biggest hurtle, which is true of almost all comedy and satirical “rock,” is that it just can’t maintain, either because of time-specific references or invariably changing boundaries and tastes. Although I have to believe The Fugs stuff was funny or biting or shocking or insightful (and/or any other adjective implying “relevance” that one might like to apply) once, all it is now is a mildly interesting time capsule.

JOYBANG! – “1,000 MG” (Old Selection) = 5 STARS -1 STAR (for my obvious lack of objectivity) = 4 STARS
It’s true that I love these guys because they were my band’s contemporaries back in the proverbial day but, more than that, I think Joybang rocks, then or now. We (50 Feet Tall) were headlining a show at Under Acme on Great Jones St. in NYC around ’95 and the club had booked Georgia’s Joybang as our opener. We met them briefly in the band staging area (can’t really call it a dressing room) before they went on, exchanged greetings and the standard yet genuinely supportive pleasantries, and promised to check each other out. I remember it so clearly, standing there with my band-mates, watching Joybang launch into their set. It was instantly awesome. Each member of this three-piece was a master of their instrument, they were super tight as a group, they had stage presence to spare, and the music was unselfconsciously hip. In short, they rocked hard. After the first song, which I later learned was “St. Anthony,” I turned to my drummer and said, “We have no business going on after these guys.” After they closed with “1,000 mg/I’m Not Sure Yet,” he agreed. That embarrassment aside, I was thrilled to learn that their recorded music was as powerful as their live set and from then on I was a diehard Joybang fan. My band played one more show with them and we saw them a few more times since they toured the Northeast with some regularity, but despite all their touring and all the right exposure, Joybang never hit. Unfortunately, like so many great bands of from that “alternative” scene, Joybang never made it beyond a few micro label and self-issued releases. I realize that this stuff might seem dated now (although, to me, it doesn’t) but put it into the context of “alternative rock” when the term and the music actually meant something; Joybang was indeed groundbreaking, if not original, and many less deserving acts went on to fame and fortune. Agree or disagree, it has been my goal to expose members of the group to music that you never would have heard otherwise and I knew I wouldn’t fail with this one. My personal taste and history aside, I still think that Joybang holds up to any release from, “The Year(s) That Punk Broke.”

THE MARS VOLTA – “FRANCES THE MULE” (New Selection) = 1 STAR
This one starts strong but by the end of the album (well, the first song, actually), the self-indulgence of it all just ruins it. I have nothing against self-indulgence but being weird (which it is) or even original (which it’s not) isn’t enough to sustain this level of musical masturbation. Almost any halfway decent musician can write a song with five to ten time-signature changes but, fortunately, most of them don’t: probably because, like most of us, those musicians don’t even want to hear a song with five to ten time-signature changes. And come on, the several minute long intros and exits of nothing but noise and/or real life sound effects seems so intentionally “challenging” that I have to believe these guys actually delight in trying to weed out those of us who “just don’t get it.” Well, guess what, fellas, I do get it and it’s nothing new. Call it “Post-Hardcore” or “Neo-Psychedlia” if you want to but you can’t fool me: this is progressive rock. There’s a lot of talent here, not just ability, and that’s usually not the case with a lot of progressive rockers, which makes it even more unforgivable that these cats would rather show off than make good music.

WATERBOYS – “A PAGAN PLACE” (Old Selection) = 2 STARS
For me, The Waterboys “A Pagan Place” falls under the banner of, “I understand why and recognize that this is good music but it’s not my cup of tea.” I guess if this CD were playing in the background at a party it wouldn’t make me want to commandeer the stereo but I would probably comment, “This shit ain’t bad but I wish they’d put on something else.”

TOPIC

1) How do you feel about musicians selling their songs for commercial purposes? Does it bother you to hear a song you like being used in an advertisement? Does it change how you feel about the song/artist?

How do I feel about musicians selling their songs for commercial purposes? Well, this is not an easy question to answer since many artists do not control the rights to their own music. But assuming they do, the question seems to imply that it’s a “sellout” to license ones music for commercial purposes. Since I happen to believe that the concept of “selling out” is an anachronism, I feel okay with it; yet, I suppose it’s natural for us to feel betrayed by our favorite artists (major stars or underground darlings) when they sell their music for commercial purposes. But who are we to say that Blur doesn’t deserve to make enough money off SONG 2 to last all of the band members ten lifetimes? And consider a band like Papas Fritas (on the Minty Fresh label): I licensed film festival rights to one of their songs awhile back and during my talks with them I learned that they had sold the rights to their song, TV MOVIES, to a European company, the fees for which sustained all of the member’s frugal lifestyles for over two years. This is the same story for a lot of struggling acts. To me, it seems that the necessity of “getting by” or the luxury of “getting richer” is the same set of circumstances that we all face, depending on the choices we’ve made and the opportunities we’ve had. ~ Does it bother me to hear a song I like being used in an advertisement? Yes, but only when the advertising agency making the commercial ignores the original intent, spirit, or context of the song, the literal meaning of the song’s lyrics, or the metaphorical meaning the song’s lyrics, like when that ocean cruise-line who used Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life.” That song is about doing smack and most people over the age of fifteen know this. Is “doing smack” really the association you want me to make with the cruise-line you’re hawking? Probably not. ~ Does hearing a particular artist’s song used for commercial purposes change how I feel about the song/artist? Nope. 2) Fill in the blank. The best band in the last ten years is [blank]. You have only 10 words to defend your choice.

The best band in the last ten years is Guided by Voices. Why, in ten words or less: They wrote more great songs with less effort than anyone.

MONGILLO’S TOP TEN OF 2005

1. SPOON – “GIMME FICTION”
If you don’t like Spoon, you simply have suspect musical taste.
2. JOY ZIPPER – “THE HEARTLIGHT SET” (Import)
More hooks than a tackle box with fun, trippy, and unpretentiously deep lyrics that actually improve with the band’s explanation of each song’s intended or accidental meaning (go to their UK website for a track by track audio commentary: http://joyzipper.tv/about_tracks.htm).
3. OKKERVIL RIVER – (BLACK SHEEP BOY)
This one snuck in, in a big way, in the last week of 2005 (I received it for Christmas, which is why it wasn’t on my -- evidently premature -- 2005 mix). Another dark, genre-bending Austin band (Spoon being the first) who is so inconceivably good that it makes me wonder what’s in the water down there.
4. JOHN DAVIS – (SELF-TITLED SOLO DEBUT)
Yes, it’s a religious album but the way John Davis sings about Jesus (between his blistering guitar work) is inspired (and inspiring) enough to make me think about going back to church.
5. WEEZER – “MAKE BELIEVE”
See Spoon: Replace Weezer for Spoon and after “...music taste,” add, “and you are a knucklehead.”
6. BLACK MOUNTAIN (SELF-TITLED DEBUT)
Perfect hard rock in the tradition of 70s hard rock.
7. NADA SURF – “THE WEIGHT IS A GIFT”
Required repeated listenings but eventually I figured out that this is the best we could have ever hoped for after their unmatchable last album, “Let Go.” A brilliant album in its own right, this one is another notch in this virtually forgotten band’s already phenomenal catalogue. Rediscover Nada Surf!
8. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – “LULLABIES TO PARALYZE”
More hard rock in the tradition of 70s hard rock, but not quite perfect. Maybe trying a little too hard to impress, “Lullabies to Paralyze” is a great album, nonetheless, and easily QOTSA’s best since their full-length debut.
9. MAJOR STARS – “4”
A "jam band" but not using the prerequisite Grateful Dead crap as its jam foundation. Instead, it jams with influences like Black Sabbath and Hendrix as the foundation. They may exist simply to please me, which is to say that Major Stars might appeal to only one in a hundred people’s taste.
10. THE DEATHRAY DAVIES – “THE KICK AND THE SNARE”
See Weezer: Replace The Death Ray Davies for Weezer and after, “...a knucklehead,” add, “and, also, you like to suck eggs.”
HONORABLE MENTION: MEREDITH BRAGG – “VOL. 1”
Harkening back to Matthew Sweet's best work, Meredith Bragg (with his band, The Terminals) makes sad and achingly beautiful music. A bit earnest, but it works because it actually is earnest.