Friday, July 17, 2009

I've Been Looking So Long

#14 Disintegration: The Cure. This is a mood album. It is one of the few on the list here that demands to be listened to in its entirety. Put it on your stereo, on a rainy day , when you are feeling mellow, slump down on the couch - and damn if you won't get up 72 minutes later completely miserable in tears wondering what the hell happened. Now I know that might not sound pleasant but there are beautiful moments here in the misery and frustration. The full 7.5 minute version of Pictures of You alone might make it worthy of this list but it's all great. The only song that is out of place is the song everyone knows, Love Song, which is shiny and happy enough but kind of kills the mood.

By the way, the Cure are still putting out albums - and they are still pretty good - and they are still touring. Who would have guessed that these guys would have this kind of staying power?

Your Hands and Feet are Mangoes

#15 A Picture of Nectar: Phish. I'm not really into the jam band thing. I never got into the Grateful Dead...in fact, I kind of despise them. I cant think of a single song of theirs that doesnt make me turn the radio off. Other jam bands I find either too trippy, or too self-indulgent, or just boring. But the thing about Phish is, they are *fun*. Really fun. Their songs are goofy with silly lyrics and fun wordplay. The musicianship is great - a little jazzy, a little country, a little everything. And a *real* Phish fan (and watch out, they are rabid when you find one) will tell you that all the studio albums suck and that you have to listen to them live to really appreciate them. And I am sure that is true. But I really love this one and it just puts me in a good mood - Guelah Papyrus, Tweezer, Chalk Dust Torture -- these songs all soar in their live shows, here they are a little tighter, but just as much fun.

By the way, check out Carrie Brownstein's (of Sleater-Kinney) blog on NPR about learning to love Phish. She "doesn't get it" but is trying to figure it all out. Pretty funny.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/