Climb Aboard Human Folk!

Climb Aboard Human Folk!

Occasionally people ask me what's going on, and occasionally I tell them. Actually updating my blog has become a whole other occasion, and a quite rare one at that. I am happy to report that my kitchen smells much better than it did the last time I posted. I have managed to happen upon some varied and exciting CDs in the last few weeks, so I thought I'd fill you all in on the wonderful details. Anything else you'd want to know about me can be found on Facebook. :-)

Marillion - Somewhere Else and Radiation

I've decided that if there is one album that you should buy this year, it should be Marillion's new release, Somewhere Else. It's an all around fantastic album that showcases all of the classic Marillion qualities and introduces some new chapters in the ever expanding Marillion catalog of sounds. Since receiving it in April, It's been in my CD player ever since.

Then, last week I aquired Marillions 1998 release Radiation. This album has been maligned for its sub-standard production values. I came in expecting it to be bad, but not this bad. It sounds like an un-mastered garage demo. But after a thorough examination, I've decided the songs on this CD make it as good as any other disc Marillion has written. This will go on my short list of "CDs that I'd pay good money for a quality remix version" along with Rush's Vapor Trails. It's also been described as Radiohead-esque by the kind of critics who don't actually listen to the CDs they review. There are a few parts that sound like Oasis and the Beatles, but I don't hear any Radiohead on here, with the exception of the purposely stripped down sound.

Speaking of Radiohead, Marillion did decide to cover The Tourist on Somewhere Else and rename it The Last Century for Man. Go buy this CD, but skip this hysteria tinged global warming doomsday track, and go straight on to the intriguing closer Faith. "Feel inside the atoms where the science breaks down/ If you don't believe in love, you'd have to make it up." This makes an interesting segue into:

Rush - Snakes & Arrows

Rush returns 5 years after the aforementioned Vapor Trails with this very strong release. Vapor Trails was mastered very badly, and many many people complained. Snakes & Aarows, by contrast is the best sounding Rush album since 1993's Counterparts. Musically, it's kind of a mix between Counterparts (my personal favorite Rush album) and 1989's Presto (an odd but cool Rush record). There is a lot of acoustic guitar here, a very solid groove from our favorite drummer Neil Peart, and the usual excellent bass playing of Geddy Lee. Alex Lifeson, on guitar, is busy being the unimpressive Alex Lifeson we've come to expect over the last decade. But that's OK, I've never listened to Rush because of Lifeson's guitar work.

But one reason I do listen to Rush is because of Peart's lyrics. I have nothing but respect for his gift as a lyricist. I've always been able to take his agnostic materialism with a grain of salt and appreciate his existential humanism. At least he always seems like a nice guy. He really drops the ball on Snakes & Arrows though. He's gone off the Richard Dawkins deep end I think. He goes so far as to equate the Christian right with Islamic Jihadists. Apparently evangelism is just as bad as suicide bombing in Peart's blindly egalitarian worldview. The real offense of Christianity is that it contradicts "my own moral compass" and threatens human progress because, according to Peart, it, "resists all science." Apparently, Peart is dissapointed that vestiges of this backwards thing called religion still inhabit the globe, "It's a far cry from the world we thought we'd inherit," and its, "like we're back in the Dark Ages."

All this to say, I understand Peart's beef with false religion, and especially those "Christians" who really do act as hypocrites. What is very interesting is Peart's statement in the song Faithless, that: "I don't have faith in faith, I don't believe in belief. You can call me faithless... But I believe in love and that's faith enough for me." Much like in the song Ghost of a Chance from Rush's Roll the Bones album ("I believe there's a ghost of a chance we can find a way to love"), Peart takes an existential leap of faith in this concept of "love" that can be a possible good. Certainly, Peart's worldview, with all its bravado about being rational and materialistic, is very much based on faith. So, much like Marillion in Faith, which admits that science breaks down at a point and is insufficient to answer all questions, here Peart is admitting that he has to make up love in order to make his life worth living. It's kind of sad, especially after the events Peart talks about in his book Ghost Rider.

XTC - Apple Venus Vol. 1 & Wasp Star: Apple Venus Vol. 2

I've been wanting to explore XTC's catalog outside of Nonsuch for some time now. My initial impression of these companion albums is that they proved a fear of mine to be true. It seemed like Nonsuch was so borderline saccharine in its near perfection that more of the same would simply be artificial and indulgent. Some of the quirky lyrics and overtly Beach Boys arrangements are worn a bit too thin between these two discs. They could have combined the two volumes and made one outstanding work. Volume 1 is largely orchestral, and exquisitely beautiful in some parts. Volume 2 contains more of the upbeat rock based sound that made Nonsuch so catchy. As it is, we have two discs lacking variety and containing a bit too much filler. Still, I have to say that this band is very creative and refreshing to listen to. It's a sign of a group's skill at writing and arranging when they can pull off an album of mostly orchestral arrangements that doesn't sound trite. So go ahead and climb aboard human folk, I'm really starting to like this little known band.

Hooray for Be-Bop Records and Tapes!

As if this couldn't get much longer, I wanted to close by stating how much I love used CD stores, and how much I regret the trend away from the hard CD format towards MP3 downloads. I picked up a couple of rarity CDs by the Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket. Sure, each only had about 5 songs on them. But it was fun to be able to collect songs I didn't own yet, and have an actual CD to keep in my collection. It would have been much easier to download Till I Hear it From You, a hit Gin Blossoms song that doesn't appear on any of their full length studio recordings. But it was more fun to find it as a B-side to the Follow You Down single, which included two other Gin Blossoms songs I didn't own.

The Toad CD was a live acoustic performance from 1994 at a radio station in Atlanta. I had no idea this existed, and it's very cool to have, especially since the band isn't together anymore. Another trend I sort of dislike is bands that release all of their live shows on CD. Another trend I sort of dislike is bands that release all of their concerts on CD, as Pearl Jam has done for some time now, and apparently Genesis will do on their upcoming tour. It just seems to water down the collection of "official" releases, and make it less interesting to try to collect those rare recordings of a band on some European radio broadcast or TV show.

My golly that was long! If you made it all the way to the end, you get a prize! (My deepest respect and admiration)


Are you joking?
No I'm just fine
You take Nanci
For me Loretta's fine
No, I've changed my mind
I'll take Nanci
For you Loretta's fine
- Toad the Wet Sprocket