My Merge Day Five: Overview

Back in May, Ms. DB and I took a two-week long vacation over in Italy. This trip was easily the best vacation that I’ve ever been on and for those of you who have never been, I highly recommend trying it on for size. We kept commenting that if we ever won the Lotto big that the first place we’d look into buying real estate was somewhere in Tuscany. Absolutely beautiful.

In any case, because we knew that we’d be traveling around the Tuscan region via automobile for the better part of a week as well as not being sure of what, exactly, the status of Italian radio stations were, I figured it’d be best to load up on various compilation CDs that we could throw into the player and let run while taking in the sights.

One of those compilations was the 2009 Merge Records Sampler which I received this past April in my bag of goodies from Laurie’s Planet of Sound on Record Store Day. The compilation itself is a pretty nice overview of the Merge Records “sound” and it pretty much became the theme CD of our trip; I know that I lost count as to how many times we actually listened to it but it was a lot. So much that I have many different memories to choose from when hearing any particular song from it and probably always will.

I’m a tad embarrassed to admit that Spoon has been a recent discovery of mine. Despite having bought A Series Of Sneaks upon its release in ’98 as well as seeing the band on the Kill The Moonlight tour, I never really took the time to listen and get in to any of the other material until taking a chance several months ago on the Girls Can Tell record. My goodness it’s terrific and it quickly turned me into a Spoon convert. "The Underdog," from 2007's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, shows up on the Merge Sampler, quickly became Ms. DB’s favorite’s to bop along to while coasting through the countryside.

My two favorites from the trip were from some of Merge’s more recent releases: Telekinesis’ "Coast Of California" from their self-titled debut as well as the Broken West’s "Perfect Games" which came out on last year’s Now Or Heaven album. Both of these records showcase a wonderful collection of roll down the car windows type of summer power pop.

And for those of you completely unfamiliar of the type of records Merge has put out over the years, I recommend going out and picking up their 5th, 10th and 15th Anniversary compilations, Rows Of Teeth, Oh, Merge and Old Enough 2 Know Better as well as the three volumes of their Survive & Advance series. All of these will set you back about $35 and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the money.

Spoon – “The Underdog” (mp3)

Telekinesis – “Coast Of California” (mp3)

Broken West – “Perfect Games” (mp3)

(from the Merge Records CD, 2009 Merge Records Sampler, 2009)

My Merge Day Four: I Stare At Maps All Day, A Charade In The Sunset…

One of the few indulgences that my friends and I like to treat ourselves to every once in awhile is the old boy’s road trip to a nearby city/town in the hopes of taking in some live music and drinking silly amounts of beer. It’s one of those male bonding things; the likes of which don’t happen quite as often as they did, say, 10 years ago yet which we do still manage to find time for here and there. One of our favorite, overnight destinations is Kalamazoo, MI where we’ll hit up the Bells Brewery for beer, dinner and perhaps a bit of tomfoolery before heading across the street to the Kraftbrau Brewery for even more beer and whatever act we’ve driven all those miles to see.

Such is what Joel, Brian, Shane and I were up to when we made the trek over to Kalamazoo on a snowy, Friday night in February 2007 to see Camera Obscura wow the hipster Western Michigan and Kalamazoo College crowd. And while Camera Obscura were the main draw, I imagine more than a few people in the audience walked away equally, if not more, impressed with the Essex Green, whose cute boy-girl harmonies and jangly strummed guitar chords probably wipes them off the “cool” map immediately. However, since I’m old enough to not care about such things, I found them simply charming and thought those harmonies were just as good as anything Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra ever did.

Their 2006 album, Cannibal Sea, is smart and catchy indie-pop, the type Merge Records has effortlessly churned out all these years. It still has a regular home on our CD player. I remember the four of us listening to the album over and over on the way back to Chicago the morning after the show; all the while driving through a blinding snowstorm and simultaneously praying that Brian could make out some semblance of a road. Yes, I can remember all of this yet still have trouble with certain people’s birthdays and other notable dates.

Essex Green – “Penny & Jack” (mp3)

(from the Merge CD, Cannibal Sea, 2006)

P.S. Sadly, it’s been brought to my attention that Kraftbrau is no longer situated right across the street from Bell’s, a bummer as the convenience factor in terms of proximity was a plus.

My Merge Day Three: Then I'll Dig A Tunnel From My Window To Yours...

A bit of hand-wringing occurred on whether or not I’d indulge myself with a post centered around the band that gave Merge their highest Billboard placement; it almost seems redundant after the amount of media coverage the Arcade Fire has garnered since the 2004 pandemonium-spreading release of their debut album, Funeral. But again, it’s all about the memories my friends, and this release has a fair amount of them so here goes.

Spring 2004: We start to hear wide-spread rumors and tales about this mystical band called the Arcade Fire who’ll come and save us from musical purgatory. Being both skeptical and having conflicting Friday night obligations, we pass when given an opportunity to see the band perform at Chicago’s Open End Gallery on June 18, 2004, a decision we’ll come to regret.

September 14, 2004: Merge releases the Arcade Fire’s debut album, Funeral, thinking that perhaps it’ll sell maybe 4,000 – 5,000 copies. At the same time, a review of the album appears on Pitchfork’s website containing terms such as “empowering positivity” and “anthemic momentum.” The album receives a 9.7 out of 10.0 and suddenly 40,000 – 50,000 copies are in demand. We luck out by scoring a copy that day from Evil Clown Records (R.I.P.).

Much excitement is had on the way home as we can’t quite get the CD in the player fast enough. With the disappointing thoughts that were the Star Wars prequels still fresh in our minds, we hold off on the subdued excitement we’re feeling as the album plays; aware of the fact that sometimes the mind tries to convince us that things really are a lot better than the crap that our ears are actually hearing. We’re relieved that Funeral does not fall prey to this although we’re still not sure we’d rate it as a near perfect album. We continue to listen.

November 25, 2004: By this point, Funeral has really kicked in and the album is in complete over-rotation in the CD player. We have tickets to go see the band perform at the Logan Square Auditorium. However, as the day of the show is on Thanksgiving, a day where we normally over-indulge with the spirits and such, the tickets go unused. Another decision we’ll regret as it’ll be almost 8 months later on July 24, 2005 before we finally get a chance to see Arcade Fire with about 15,000 of our closest friends. While the Arcade Fire blow us all away into sweet oblivion, a nasty sunburn is had as payment for indulging the temptation of taking my shirt off on a smoldering 100 + degree afternoon in Chicago’s Grant Park.

Shortly after, a show at the Riviera is announced for September 28, 2005. Due to our slacking nature, tickets are missed out on by a mile. We tell ourselves that another show will be announced. Obviously another show is never announced. Shane procures the services of some schmuck on Craigslist who’ll sell us two tickets for $60 apiece. Like two equally big schmucks, we pay the price after my repeated assurances that the show will be worth it. It is…even though I never was able to identify the other schmuck who threw ice cubes at the back of my head.

That being said, the songs from Funeral are taken to another level; in fact, to this day I can’t listen to Funeral without remembering the overwhelming sense of excitement that pulsated through the crowd in anticipation as well as that 1 + year long personal journey I went through with the band. Within that time frame, I fell out of a 2 year relationship, had a summer of nothing but fun before subsequently going out and falling back in love, which I still am to this day so alls well that ends well. Obviously Funeral wasn’t the cause for any of that but it still was great to have that record along for the ride.

Arcade Fire – “Wake Up” (mp3)

(from the Merge Records CD, Funeral, 2004)

P.S. Has anyone seen the trailer for “Where The Wild Things Are” that has this song playing over it? Freaking adorable…

My Merge Day Two: Umbrella Wars

As I stated yesterday, it’s not always about the overall consistency but rather the 11 or so year old memories evoked from going back and listening to a particular piece of music. While I’ve always enjoyed listening to Spent’s Merge releases, the music in general isn’t something that ever would’ve gotten the mainstream all worked up over as Merge still hadn’t quite branched out enough by signing non-Superchunk-esque sounding bands. And without the Buzzcock-influenced punk to their pop, Spent just came off a bit too much like Superchunk’s timid little brother.

But there are memories associated with this one. For example: it’s January 1998. After reading a review a couple of days earlier, I went out and picked up a copy of Spent’s Umbrella Wars EP, released a couple of months earlier, while heading over to a friend’s place to hang out before going over to the Metro to see Hum. While amicably chatting away and drinking beer, I get up and put on Umbrella Wars whose clunky yet jangly sounding hooks and ridiculous lyrics charm me right away. Meanwhile, my friends all kind of have a “yeah, this is ok” tone which sounds suspiciously like they’ll never bother to go out and listen to Spent ever again.

This was probably the first time I realized that my friends wouldn’t always agree with some of my band-related choices and vice-versa. And that’s ok, really, because I can’t imagine what it would be like not having anything to debate/frustrate over via our musical preferences (i.e., Sloan, Frank Black vs. Pixies, etc.). "Umbrella Wars," however, still manages to charm my socks off to this day.

Spent – “Umbrella Wars” (mp3)

(from the Merge EP, Umbrella Wars, 1997)

My Merge Part One: I Don't Remember This Too Well...

While the overall consistency and quality of much loved releases is usually reason enough for one to remain overtly loyal to a particular label over the years, I also find that how a record label's catalog fits into whatever period of my life and the overall feelings and memories evoked play an even larger role in how the label’s overall quality will be judged in the grand scheme of things.

Therefore, in the aftermath of their 5-day 20th Anniversary celebration, I figured now would be a pretty good time to talk about some of the extraordinary records Merge Records has released over the years and how they fit into my own personal life’s setlist. For the most part, Merge Records has always been a consistent pressence throughout my life as a music fan and even if Laura Ballance and Mac Mc Caughan hadn’t created the wonderful body of work they put out as members of Superchunk, they still would’ve sealed their indefinite place in rock history for the overall diverse catalog of music they released as co-founders of Merge Records. In many ways, the sound of Merge's catalog is the sound of my own record collection.

And while it does seem like a bit of cliché to namedrop Superchunk and their album Foolish as one of those special records, it was in my case the first Merge release that I ever heard. I was already well acquainted with both No Pocky For Kitty and On The Mouth (both albums Superchunk had previously released when they were signed to Matador Records) when I bought their fourth full-length, Foolish, from Beautiful Day Records (R.I.P.) in downtown LaGrange the summer before my junior year of college, a couple of months after it had been released.

Upon my return to school that fall, Foolish, as well as Sebadoh’s Bakesale, Bee Thousand by Guided By Voices as well as Sugar’s File Under: Easy Listening pretty much became the soundtrack to first couple of months of our fall semester, all albums we listened to over and over and over. It was a wonderful period of my life that I remember fondly, a period that remains my favorite from my college years as both new friendships were made and existing ones were altogether sealed, all while records like this played in the background.

Superchunk – “Why Do You Have To Put A Date On Everything” (mp3)

(from the Merge Records CD, Foolish, 1994)

Let Me Walk With You Cuz It’s Breaking My Heart

1989 saw the release of several fine records, each of which hold a very special place on my record shelves; the Pixies’ Doolittle, Automatic by the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Stone Roses self-titled debut, Privilege by the Television Personalities as well as Bob Mould’s first solo effort, Workbook. Pere Ubu’s Cloudland is another one that could be added to that list.

Rewind to the summer of 1997. I’m in the midst of unhappily traveling (i.e., driving) around between Des Moines, IA and Boston, MA for work-related purposes. Since CD players weren’t automatically assumed in all rental cars, a majority of the vehicles I’m driving contain a tape deck only. Loads of cassettes are packed for the 12 + hours I’m spending each and every day in the car. I have an off-day in Boston that is spent mulling around Cambridge Square. I stop into Newbury Comics and load up on ridiculously underpriced cassettes. Cloudland is one of them. What follows is me listening to this album over and over and over for the next year.

Fast-forward to the summer of 2009. I hadn’t listened to Cloudland in anything resembling a constant rotation for the past ten years as cassettes have become all but extinct unless you happen to be driving around in my mother’s 1998 Camry. I’m flipping through the vinyl racks of the CHIRP Record Fair at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival and stumble across that familiar cover. Ecstatic elation occurs and Cloudland has once again become a regular fixation on the Ditching Boy trellises’ sound system.

While a majority of Pere Ubu’s catalog has always been unsettlingly weird if not downright subversive, Cloudland remains one of the band’s few efforts at constructing a traditional rock album. Where prior song topics have focused on urban decay and social infrastructure, Cloudland goes in the opposite direction by filling up an album full of pop-oriented love songs. Greg Kot described it as the “industrial-strength equivalent of a classic Beach Boys album from musicians more familiar with factory than surf;” an apt comparison since Cloudland retains the classic Pere Ubu-vibe while simultaneously being an immediately enjoyable album.

Pere Ubu – “Waiting For Mary” (mp3)

(from the Fontana LP, Cloudland, 1989)

Reverb Delay Drums Heavy Tremolo Feedback Guitars Repitition

Once again, another Pitchfork Music Festival has come and gone. And while every year fans are treated to that one band it would best behoove them to see (i.e., The Jesus Lizard) as well as current blogosphere favorites (i.e., The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart), attendees are also treated to a sprinkling of “up and coming” groups that sometimes gives us, the music fanatic, something to very much look forward to in the hopes of achieving a brighter future.

And while I wouldn’t call their particular brand of post-punk minimalism bright, Chicago’s Disappears do fit the latter category as far as giving the fanatic something to look forward to. For the past several years, singer/guitarist Brian Case has handled rhythm guitar duties for the currently-on-hiatus The Ponys before stepping up and handling the lead vocals for Disappears, which started out as a side project with former BOAS drummer Graeme Gibson.

Described in many circles as “space rock,” our ears actually hear a bit more of the minimalist styling’s of post-punk groups such as Joy Division and Flying Nun stalwarts, The Chills as well as the mid-70s work of Rocket From The Tombs. Like those groups, Disappears has no problem laying off the feedback to let the songs develop a sort of dream-like trance before ultimately barraging the listener with a wall of distortion that never once comes off as noise for the sake of noise.

The band currently has two wonderfully produced self-released 45s available which can also be had via download here but if one really wants to pick up on the glorious sound the band achieves then the 45s are the way to go. And if you somehow managed to wrong yourself by missing their Pitchfork set, they’ll be opening up for the Obits this coming Saturday (7/25/09) at the Empty Bottle here in Chicago.

Disappears – “Hearing Things” (mp3)

(from the self released 45, Needs, 2009)

Let Me Flow Into The Ocean, Let Me Get Back To The Sea...

While the Who By Numbers LP remains my favorite collection of Who songs, its predecessor, Quadrophenia, is the one that strikes the emotional chord and which demonstrates perfectly what The Who were all about and why many devotees of the group adore them the way they do. Regarded as his classic ode to teenage angst and disaffected youth, Pete Townshend has often praised the record as not only the best music he ever wrote but the best album he’ll ever write. I know I spent many hours as a teenager, headphones firmly in place, trying, and at times succeeding, to relate to the emotional themes that permeate throughout the album’s 80 + minute storyline.

But the fact that the record goes out of its way to also paint a picture of what early 1960s English society was really like propels Quadrophenia into the stratosphere of greatness, making it one of the “classic” rock albums. I imagine one would be better served by listening to Quadrophenia to get an idea of life in swinging-sixties London than, say, watching an Austin Powers film. I couldn’t relate to The Who’s story of the “deaf, dumb and blind kid” but as a teenager, I could find something to latch onto with Quadrophenia and perhaps a bit of solace.

I was reminded of the record by two stories today: the first being a well-written piece on the possible origins of Quadrophenia’s lead character, Jimmy, as he relates to a certain 1964 news story; a story the author concludes Townshend undoubtedly heard and stored away for future reference. The second was this: a story that all too well paints the angst and disillusionment a teen suffers by the rest of society due to being different and the sad consequences that can painfully result.

The Who – “Cut My Hair” (mp3)

(from the Polydor LP, Quadrophenia, 1973)