SONGS FROM THE MASTER'S MUSICAL PAINTBOX: "NEW" PAUL McCARTNEY

"NEW"
PAUL McCARTNEY
All music and lyrics by Paul McCartney except
"Save Us," "Queenie Eye" and "Road" music and lyrics by Paul McCartney and Paul Epworth  Executive Producers: Paul McCartney and Giles Martin
Released October 15, 2013

"We don't work music. We play it!"

Indeed!!

Those words can be found at the conclusion of Paul McCartney's self-penned liner notes inside of his terrific new album, the appropriately titled "New," and they also represent a pitch perfect assessment of the material that all listeners can find within. "New" is a jaunty speed-ball of an album that illustrates not only that McCartney, now at the age of 71, is still working at the peak of his legendary powers but it is also a testament to the art and artistry of the song, a topic that I have been exploring throughout this month on Synesthesia. "New" is not an album about a concept or a theme or one that contains dark explorations of our human existence or anything of the sort. This is an album designed to get you up onto your feet, rapturously captivated and swept away by the melodicism and musicianship that can only come from Paul McCartney. I highly recommend that you purchase the Deluxe Edition which rewards you with two more selections bumping up the track list to 15 (this includes the hidden track "Scared"), because if you are going to hear new music from Paul McCartney, you should hear ALL of it!!

As I think about the trajectory of Paul McCartney's life in music, it truly astounds me how his songwriting skills have not dulled a bit.over the years and how especially over the last decade or so, McCartney has simply been on a creative high, almost defiantly refusing to lazily coast upon his massive legend as he seems to always be seeking for new ways to write that perfect song. With that, and with each subsequent album, we are allowed to have as much fun listening to the results as McCartney obviously had during the creation period. Still having Paul McCartney in the world and for him still willing to share his creation with us is the purest of blessings to me as well as giving us all more chances to witness the MASTER at play.

While the albums "Flaming Pie" (released May 5, 1997) and "Driving Rain" (released November 12, 2001) were both deeply satisfying efforts that illustrated McCartney's superior songwriting gifts and ability to still surprise us, I think the true wonderments arrived after the elegant, sophisticated yet gray toned muted qualities of "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard" (released September 12, 2005). Beginning with the excellent "Memory Almost Full" (released June 4, 2007) and continuing with the extraordinary free flowing psychedelic whirlwind of "Electric Arguments" (released November 24, 2008), McCartney's collaboration with the producer Youth under their joint pseudonym as "The Fireman," Paul McCartney opened up his musical paintbox to an even wider degree, exposing and displaying more colors and shadings than could have been expected for an artist of his longevity.

As per most of his past solo catalog, McCartney handles the lion's share of the instrumentation, but he is also aided valiantly on several tracks by his ace backing/touring band since 2001 which includes Brian Ray and Rusty Anderson (guitars and backing vocals), Paul "Wix" Wickens (keyboards) and the mighty Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums and backing vocals). Also providing even more collaborative juice to the proceedings is McCartney bold decision to work with four different and highly notable producers over a variety of album sessions: Ethan Johns (son of the legendary producer Glyn Johns and who has worked extensively with Ryan Adams, Kings Of Leon, and Rufus Wainwright among others), Mark Ronson (most known for his work with the late Amy Winehouse), Paul Epworth (most know for his award winning work with Adele) and Giles Martin (son of "fifth Beatle," the inimitable producer George Martin).

While this laundry list of collaborators may appear to be too many cooks in the proverbial kitchen, the final results are as clean, clear headed, focused and so unmistakably, uniquely...Paul. Even with all of these creative hands at work, every song contains its own story and sonic palatte, all of the pieces congeal beautifully, and you are easily able to hear that "New" fully and joyously represents McCartney's singular artistic vision. With "New," from the blazing opening track "Save Us" all the way through to that aforementioned hidden track "Scared," McCartney gives us even more colors, with deeper hues and sublime vibrancy, and the whole album just left me spellbound! The MASTER has opened up his musical paintbox once again but instead of paintings we have songs...but truthfully, and with further thought, with Paul McCartney, what else are his songs but musical paintings?  Even if you are not as happily afflicted with synesthesia as I am, I can guarantee that you will hear every color of the rainbow on these wonderful new songs.

The album's title track, also released as the first single, it a blast of the most golden musical sunshine. The harpsichord laden "Penny Lane" bounce will undoubtedly plaster a smile across your face from the opening seconds and leave you grinning from ear to ear over the course of the track's two minutes and fifty six seconds. This very quality sits at the heart of then entirety of the full "New" album as you can hear with each and every track how Paul McCartney's songwriting skills have been honed to an even sharper point, filling all of the songs, most of them which last for a duration of under four minutes, with as much music as possible. Frankly, do not let the unfamiliarity of the songs sway you for I promise you, these are the types of songs that you will find yourself singing along with instantly.

"New, "Save Us," the speedy Wings-ish "Turned Out" from the Deluxe Edition and the rousing "Everybody Out There" are just tailor made for the stadium shows and would easily fit with all of the classics we know and love. The propulsive Mellotron augmented "Queenie Eye" dares you to not get up and jump around and I guarantee that its childhood playground chant of "Queenie eye, Queenie Eye, who's got the ball?/I haven't got it. It isn't in my pocket/O-U-T spells OUT/That's OUT!" will be riveted into your brains! The life lessons contained within "Appreciate" are fully augmented with a subtle hip-hop beat merged with DEEP bass, sticky sticky bubblegum harmonics and a dirty/swampy guitar solo outro.

Paul gives us a sense of his friskier and even lustier side with "Alligator," a song that actually sports the passage, "I want someone to save me/When I come home from the zoo/I need somebody who's a sweet communicator/I can give my alligator to." The track "Looking At Her" provides the same effect but mostly through the music where the bulk of the song, in which our narrator cannot help but to stop and stare at his lovely lady, is conducted with an almost sneaky, shyly covert lust. But when he expresses to us, "I'm losing my mind," the music explodes in a dissonance that we can all instantly understand.

The album's more emotional highpoints arrive in a collection of more rustic, acoustic selections including the bluesy and humorous "Get Me Out Of Here" from the Deluxe Edition. "Hosanna," featuring a dreamy, hazy, slightly woozy psychedelia envelops like a slow moving and trance inducing fog while "Early Days," finds McCartney in a reflective mood as he recounts the days between himself and John Lennon, long before Beatlemania, when they were just kids beginning to find their musical footsteps. "On My Way To Work" is a stunning selection of pitch perfect audio/musical storytelling as we find our narrator, the morning traveler, riding along sharing his sights, daily habits, inner fears, lusty daydreams, and future hopes and eternal musings with all of us, fully mirroring what I feel each and every one of us experience every day.

Within the liner notes, McCartney speaks of the sheer volume of songs recorded for this project and the process of choosing the best songs that would fit together in the most effective and artistic way. As for the discarded tunes, "They will, no doubt, show up somewhere sooner or later," McCartney explains. Well...if you just head on over to You Tube, you can hear yet another track selected for the Japanese Edition of "New" entitled "Struggle," a song in more of an avant garde style that includes what sounds like sequenced bells, an insistent drum beat that may encourage you to get up and dance until you hear the lyric, "I'm your glass of poison and I'm actin' up on you!" If this is just a hint of the wider diversity of material McCartney recorded and had to select from for "New," then, I hope the bulk of material surfaces MUCH sooner rather than later!

2013 has been an especially wonderful year for music especially when it has come to our veteran artists. To think that we had all had the opportunity to hear new works from likes of David Bowie, Todd Rundgren, Prince, Elvis Costello, Elton John, Sting and others...artists who truly have absolutely nothing left to prove anymore but have each continued to release creative and vital pieces of music. Paul McCartney sits at the top of this mountain, for if any artist has nothing left to prove, it is him. And yet, McCartney soldiers on, working...ahem...I mean, playing with music, always searching and seeking for that next collective of notes, words and instruments and through some sort of magical surge of alchemy, forming them together to make yet another piece of solid musical gold.

I would gather that Paul McCartney expresses the fullest of his intentions to us during the album in the grooving "I Can Bet," in which he states proudly, "What I'm going to do next I leave entirely to your imagination. Don't wait for me to be steady. I've got no plan, but I'm your man and I'll be there when you're ready." 

With Paul McCartney, I can imagine forever. But whatever he is imagining next, I am ALWAYS ready for it!

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS R.I.P./LONG LIVE THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

Seeing as I have written two sections this month celebrating the past and present of The Smashing Pumpkins, I wanted to dip way back into my archives and bring out something I wrote back in April 2009, completely in a flurry when Jimmy Chamberlin announced that he would be departing the band for the second time.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy it.

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS R.I.P./LONG LIVE THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

"They don't even know what it is to be a fan...to love some silly little piece of music or some band so much that it HURTS!" -Sapphire the Band-Aid
from the film "Almost Famous" written and directed by Cameron Crowe

I had originally been compelled to compose something very different about The Smashing Pumpkins, this band that I love so much. I had planned to write a note about a piece of music that I have been pouring over recently and I wanted to share it with you. I realize that the music and band in question is not everybody's cup of tea and the song in particular would not be to everyone's liking by any means as it is epic in length and musical complexity. But, this is just like me when I fall in love with some piece of music....I just want to share it with everyone...even when there is the great potential that it will not be appreciated in the same way..if at all. For me, it usually just backfires as the music that chose me just didn't choose the listener I decided to share it with. I am explicitly reminded of a time in college when I was so obsessed with this one particular album.  It was "Chips from the Chocolate Fireball"--a psychedelic parody pastiche album by XTC as their pseudonym The Dukes Of Stratosphear. I brought it over to my best friend's dorm room and we listened to it all--front to back--and the end result was met with an exhausted shrug and a scornful, "Well, those guys are just soooo in love with their own cleverness!" Oh well...but, I couldn't help myself and I wanted to share it anyway. As usual and to give you a better, clearer emotional picture, I digress...

The piece of music by The Smashing Pumpkins in question is entitled "Gossamer" and it does not appear on any released album by the band. It has been performed live in various incarnations since the 2007 reformation and you can easily find versions of it through fan sites yet the best sounding version can be seen and heard in the band's documentary film, Director Jack Gulick's "If All Goes Wrong" (2008). I wanted to take you through this piece which may ultimately be a treatise about war and spiritual decay in the 21st century...or maybe that's not what the song is about at all. But, musically it is a beast. An ever changing beast that somehow flows through it's "Magnificent Seven" styled main theme through organ filled "Pink Floyd-ian" mid-sections, rampaging guitar solos, nearly African--Fela Kuti styled--sounding drum excursions, a creepy portion hanging on the spider webs of a Moog synthesizer and groovy bass line a la The Doors with the repeated phrase "All my dreams are on TV" and of course, the punishing almost '70s era Miles Davis bombastic cacophony of an epic finish. I wanted to talk about the interplay between the original and new members of the band and how well they have coalesced into a unit I strongly feel was even more powerful and dexterous than the original foursome. Yet, if you were reading closely, you would've seen I used the word "was" instead of "is" in describing the state of the band. Here's why and also why the tone and overall content of the piece has changed.

T H E  D R E A M  I S  O V E R

P A S T  A N D  P R E S E N T

Fans of The Smashing Pumpkins were greeted the weekend of March 20, 2009 with an announcement that original member and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin had departed from the band, now leaving only one member remaining--songwriter, singer, guitarist and mastermind Billy Corgan. My jaw dropped open to be sure. But, what I deeply felt was a perfect description of the film quotation that opened this note. The news HURT. I know it may sound very silly to many of you as this is just music made by people I do not know on a personal level in any way, shape or form but nonetheless, it HURT. I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me repeatedly because something that seemed to be so secure, so intact, so driven to press onwards was finished and I couldn't believe that it was over--again.

When Billy Corgan announced the disbandment of the group back in 2000, it HURT so much for me. I couldn't believe that it was all over as I had envisioned many more years of challenging, majestic Pumpkins music for years to come. But, the band of the past had reached its limit or imploded or whatever...it was over and it HURT. Bands break-up. It happens all of the time but this one HURT. Such is life for a fan but over the previous nine years since the break-up, reformation and new break-up/evolution of The Smashing Pumpkins, the nature of being a fan with desired and demanded expectations have changed profoundly. It has moved onwards to a place I find to be very disturbing as there has been an increasing lack of humanity. But first, a little more background information for you...

When The Smashing Pumpkins returned in 2007, things took on an understandably curious turn as fans wondered if all four original members would be present. Message boards were constantly in a buzz as fans wondered if those past tensions could be erased for a continuation of the dream. With their June 2007 premiere performance in Paris, fans around the world discovered that the dream of the past had transformed into something else entirely as former guitarist James Iha and former bassist D'Arcy Wretsky were not present on stage and unknown musicians stood in their places.

The new incarnation of the band introduced guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Ginger Reyes-Pooley and keyboardist Lisa Harriton along with Corgan and Chamberlin. Over the course of the first European tour, two residencies and further tours across the world culminating with a highly controversial 20th Anniversary Tour, many fans that began as skeptics with the new members began to embrace them--myself included--and the cries of "Where's James and D'Arcy?" slowly began to dissipate...to a degree. The push-pull tension of the past and present was not apparent within the band but with the fan community, many were not interested in letting go of what was and for others, there was a newfound security in what had been created with the reformation. Although Corgan and Chamberlin didn't address the band of the past terribly much during interviews, the course of nearly two years of work presented a powerful new live unit to augment the studio creations of the two core members. But that security didn't last long as fans, anxious to see where the band would head next, saw the bottom fall out again with the announcement of Chamberlin's departure.

The dissolved musical relationship between Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin was shocking to me and many fans because it was a partnership that seemed to be so rock solid. While the concepts and songs originated with Corgan, the two men seemed to work as musical "brothers-in-arms," as co-pilots to the vision and direction of The Smashing Pumpkins. Like in a a World War II fighter plane, Corgan stood up front as Chamberlin held the rear intact cushioning the supporting band members in the middle, all leading a musical onslaught to the masses. On a more personal note between the two men, Corgan had also often and repeatedly addressed Chamberlin as "his best friend," a sentiment that was very touching and somehow comforting when thinking of the band's future and on-stage statements that "we aren't going anywhere." But again...maybe that image was solely a dream, perhaps even to both men, despite any truths that existed, and again everything at some point dies.

A U D I E N C E  V S.  A R T I S T

Just as before, life continues onwards. For Chamberlin, he is planning to revive his own alternative rock/jazz fusion group, The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex and serve his personal artistic muse. According to his own statement in explaining the musical divorce, he stated that there is "no bad blood" between himself and Corgan and he just wanted to essentially make his own music. Corgan has announced that he will continue to record as "The Smashing Pumpkins." (On a side note, former guitarist Iha is now a member of the new band Tinted Windows, who are about to release their debut album later this month. And even new bassist Reyes-Pooley has announced that she is pregnant and will depart the Pumpkins herself.)

This should be more than enough for the fan community and music journalists but something strange and ugly has happened over the last few years. It is a refusal to allow artists to be artists--to grow, develop, and change. It is a sense of entitlement on the part of some members of the internet community--a sometimes vile and dark place that only serves to collect and spew vitriol to the supposed objects of affection. It is a disrespect to the past and present members of the band by not allowing them to simply be human beings first and foremost, by having the supposed audacity to serve their own needs in their own lives before keeping a dream alive for listeners. It is a feeling that Corgan and even Chamberlin owe fans something that they haven't been receiving from the band.

These feelings were most seen during the 20th Anniversary Tour last fall, where fans launched many complaints. How could this possibly be a reunion without all four original members? How could this be an anniversary tour with so much unfamiliar music being performed...and how dare you for even doing it in the first place! The fact that this tour consisted of a two night, two part concert, during which the band performed three hours each night with approximately 50 un-repeated songs wasn't good enough. Just play my favorite songs, be my jukebox and go home because your best years are behind you. Admittedly, there was a sense of musical defiance during the shows as it quite possibly was designed to separate the wheat from the chaff as far as fans were concerned. To those who are willing to continue the journey with the band, we invite you to join us. If not, then go away. With the original band, the conflict was internal. Yet now, the conflict is external as what we are seeing is a battle between the audience and artist and over the creative process itself. And in regards to the tour, all I can ask is this: When we are living in a time when a Britney Spears concert, during which she doesn't even sing live is not criticized but expected and accepted, where does a band like The Smashing Pumpkins fit in?

The relationship between artist and audience is a dramatically tricky one as what an audience member may want may not be what they receive and when you are going up against people's memories, you will always lose. When people hear the words “reunion” and “20th Anniversary Tour,” expectations are already made and when they don’t match up to what people perceive those words to mean, then some are disappointed. After the reformation, Corgan made great pains to talk about the audience of the past and the band of the past and how despite "a few shows in 1999, THAT band hasn't shared a stage since '96." But, the image and memory of THAT band remains.

Pumpkins fans tend to be quite possessive so it is understandable that some feel the way that they do. Go to any SP message board and you will still find posts about the whole "James/D'arcy" issue. What is ugly is the tone and tenor of some detracting statements concerning the band's direction. During the most recent tour, so-called fans posted messages claiming how “Billy won’t get one more dime from me!!” or “We had three generations of my family to see your show and you ruined it!!” I cannot understand why some people are taking things so personally as if Billy Corgan sat around and plotted just what he could do to just make people angry and miserable? Of course, Corgan is not the first or the last to be attacked in this way. Think of the reaction from the folk music community to Bob Dylan's electric rock almost 40 years ago, for instance. But still, I cannot help but to wonder what happened to a time when people allowed their artists to evolve? Would The Beatles hold any cultural significance if their audience didn't allow them to move onwards and create works like "Rubber Soul," "Sgt. Pepper," and "Abbey Road"? Beyond that, what is it about our instant gratification obsessed culture that makes no room for possibility, progress and most importantly, the process?

As Chamberlin said in the documentary, "If All Goes Wrong," "As an artist, it's not my job to make you feel comfortable." These growing pains are all part of the artistic process and the audience is an integral part of it. As Chamberlin also said in a recent radio interview, the audience and the band are on this journey together and "we'll move forwards together and we'll move backwards together and we're not going backwards." Unfortunately, it is the worst artistic trap that many have fallen into. If they continue on the path they are currently on, they will lose fans. But, if they just delivered the hits and toured endlessly on a series of songs like The Rolling Stones, The Smashing Pumpkins would be easily dismissed as a novelty act and Billy Corgan would be assassinated with limitless criticism about how he's just in it for the money with nothing new to offer. Prince is a prime example of someone who will never be forgiven by some for not riding "Purple Rain" into oblivion but we would have all dismissed him if he did just that. Billy Corgan can't win and it seems that some just don't even want him to.

I N  D E F E N S E  O F  B I L L Y  C O R G A N

I do not know Billy Corgan. I have never met him, spoken with him or interacted with him. I just love his music and with all of the criticism that flown has way, I just wanted to take a moment to speak in his artistic defense, to do my part to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction, to give the brother some love!

The Smashing Pumpkins have always been a bit out of step. They are a huge band but not really taken that seriously. Billy Corgan wears his heart on his sleeve. His nerve endings are dramatically exposed, and while he sometimes he does play into that image, of course, that makes him a tremendously easy target. But, if he presented himself with some sort of ironic distance then would certain material be evaluated differently? If Wilco or Radiohead released the convoluted and demanding concept piece "MACHINA/the machines of God," (from 2000) it would instantly be hailed as genius. If the Pumpkins released The Flaming Lips' well received "Christmas On Mars" in the exact same way, I guarantee Corgan would be raked over the coals. What if Billy did things in the way Jack White did them? Would he be seen the same way?

Billy Corgan’s work is simply not evaluated in the same way as others. So much ink has been spilled about his superhuman ego, how he’s a tyrannical dictator and Svengali, suppressing the musical talents of any and all collaborators who work with him. There have even been the crueler articles that directly question his sanity. Chicago Sun Times music critic Jim DeRogatis has seemingly made it his mission to post negative blogs and articles about Corgan weekly as if there is some score that needs to be settled. And don't even get me started on that horrible music site Pitchfork! Reviews are often critiquing the persona (which again he does play into often) rather than focusing on the music itself. Why does the music press bash Corgan for having various versions of the current album "Zeitgeist" for sale yet when U2 does the exact same thing, there is no criticism whatsoever. Why no criticism for The Eagles, Guns N' Roses and Prince for having exclusive deals with Wal Mart, Best Buy and Target respectively while Corgan is taken to task for possibly driving the Mom and Pop record stores out of business with his arrangements? Why is the press calling Corgan a "sell-out" for licensing his music to commercials when it is again a common practice? Hell, even Bob Dylan showed up in a Victoria Secret advertisement!

Even the nature of the idea of the Pumpkins returning at all as a functioning musical unit has led to this endless debate about them maybe not being a "real band" or even questioning the integrity of this tour just because James Iha and D'arcy are not involved. But, what is a band? It is a something akin to a gang like The Beatles or U2. Is it something like Steely Dan, The Alan Parsons Project, Queens Of The Stone Age or Nine Inch Nails--a unit that features one or two core members with a revolving cast of musicians? It is a slippery slope but why is Billy Corgan being taken to task for something that is almost a standard? Band members sometimes depart, change, disband and return for the reunion tour all of the time but for Corgan it has been seen as some sort of musical crime. Yet, for Wilco for instance, there have been many lineup changes yet Jeff Tweedy remains the driving force and no one says a thing. How about the aforementioned Guns N' Roses? With all of the hype surrounding the release of "Chinese Democracy," there just hasn't been anything in the music press comparable to the continuous scoffing made towards Corgan in regards to the fact that Axl Rose is the ONLY member of the original band remaining and the album was made by himself and a litany of musicians. Is that a band?

The presence of the new members is also a debatable point and that is also up to the individual. When I hear the new members, I hear musicians that are/were quite possibly in the same musical and emotional place as Corgan and Chamberlin are and without that internal drama, that was a trademark of the original band, perhaps that builds a healthier headspace to be in to create and perform. Maybe a healthier headspace is a major reason as to why Iha and Wretsky chose to not return. Even by the time of the final show in 2000, Iha remarked that while he is proud of the work they did together, he didn’t really get into the whole mythology of the band and the grandness of a finale was a bit much for him. Billy Corgan is now 42 and Jimmy is 44—both middle aged and quite possibly not wanting to deal with any more internal drama or anything they put up with when they were younger. With Chamberlin's departure, perhaps what he said was true and the only reason. He wanted to focus on his music and perhaps being in the Smashing Pumpkins, and moving at the band's trademark rapid and exhaustive pace, the group didn't allow any room for him to express his own musical vision.

They have all moved on just as their original audience and fans have all moved on. Some will remain. Some will leave and that’s how it goes. Pete Townshend spoke of this very issue at length on their new DVD and it was typically eloquent. He spoke of how what the fans may have wanted or needed from the band when they were younger are things they no longer want or need from the band. “They don’t want The Smashing Pumpkins to be anything other than what they were,” Townshend said. If Corgan fell into that trap, his life as a creative person would cease to be and that, I feel, would be highly unfortunate.

It should be understood that after all of this time, Billy Corgan owes his fans absolutely nothing other than to try his best artistically. He has been historically gracious and appreciative of the fans and how people like me have allowed him to continue creating and live the life he leads. After that, he owes us NOTHING.

Even if it is occasionally unpleasant and even if it just doesn't make sense at times, we need bands like The Smashing Pumpkins. We need this level of musicianship. We need this level of songwriting. We need a band willing to take swan dives time after time--to push themselves just as they push us. We will all benefit grandly. It seems obvious to me that "The Smashing Pumpkins" is so much more than a band for Corgan and it is certainly more than a brand name. It is his IDENTITY and it only makes sense for him to continue under that name. Perhaps the departure of Chamberlin will open up his music in a wider fashion, allowing him to conceptualize in ways he may previously had not. Who knows? All I know is that I'll be looking forward to what all of the members come up with as these Pumpkin seeds now have the opportunity to create a vast array of musical gardens for anyone who chooses to listen.

WSPC'S FAVORITE ALBUMS: "MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS" THE SMASHING PUMPKINS (1995)

"MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS"
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
All music and lyrics by Billy Corgan except
"Take Me Down" music and lyrics by James Iha 
& "Farewell and Goodnight" music and lyrics by James Iha and Billy Corgan
Produced by Flood, Alan Moulder and Billy Corgan
Released October 24, 1995

I sincerely wish that this posting reveals to you just how much this album means to me.

Whenever a listener chooses music or when music chooses the listener, the bond in undeniably powerful. But when the listener and the music meet right at the exact same time, as if the two have been waiting to join each other forever, the effect is undeniably cosmic!

The alternative music scene of the 1990's was actually not a genre that I fully embraced immediately. Yes, and despite the media driven generational labels of "grunge" and "Generation X" that I and my contemporaries vehemently rejected, I did have several musical touchstones during that period that I do remember vividly. I remember the very first time that I had heard Nirvana (long before their sonic boom mushroomed around the world) in a State Street liquor store while on my way home from work as well as when I saw the release of Pearl Jam's debut album during my brief record store days. But during those post college days in the early 1990's, I was very happily satisfied with the musical wonderlands created by the likes of Prince, World Party, Jellyfish and Lenny Kravitz to name a few, and I was captivated not solely with the musical creativity but primarily with the colorful, euphoric melodicism that felt, to me, to be authentic and pure. To that end, I was indeed extremely skeptical to the alternative music scene as the media airwaves of television and radio were overrun with flannel adorned bands and what appeared to be faux malcontent with plastic snarls that felt to be as "punk rock" as The Gap (especially as I had already lived through the authentic punk rock era). Frankly, I was just not sure as to which bands were "real" or was the entire bunch all just a lot of feedback and attitude, a concept to which I suffered absolutely no patience. I kind of dismissed every single one of them because if this scene was all filled with poseurs and no musicians, then why should I give any of it any of my attention? But still, I did pay attention.

As for The Smashing Pumpkins, I was very much aware of them and their songs but as stated, I didn't pay them much mind initially. It was not until the release of their B-sides compilation album "Pisces Iscariot" (released October 4, 1994) that I began to listen. One album review mentioned their earnest cover of Fleetwood Mac's timeless "Landslide" and that made my ears perk upwards in curiosity. At this time, Fleetwood Mac had not reformed with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks back in the fold and also, there was absolutely no sense of "coolness" attached to them during this musical period overall. But if The Smashing Pumpkins, at the forefront of what seemed to be the new "industry of cool," would begin to not only reference but embrace a band that I beloved, then perhaps there was more to this alternative music scene than I had initially thought. I received "Pisces Iscariot" that Christmas, I had asked a friend to tape a copy of the gargantuan "Siamese Dream" (released July 27, 1993) for me and I also stumbled upon a blistering, and now infamous, Rolling Stone cover story about the band during which they, and their musical aesthetics were not only referenced with the likes of Boston (another 1970's band I beloved), but their behind the scenes but now public troubles made then the Fleetwood Mac of the 1990's.

Drummer extraordinaire Jimmy Chamberlin's drug addictions and disappearances. Guitarist James Iha and Bassist D'Arcy Wretsky's failed romance and still bubbling tension. And then, at the epicenter of this dramatic storm sat Guitarist/songwriter/singer/band leader Billy Corgan, the mad genius who was barely holding the band and his own psyche together yet somehow produced a masterpiece by seemingly sheer force of will combined with frenetic creativity...and by also playing all of the layers upon layers of guitars and bass guitars all by himself, a tactic that certainly caused even more tension between himself, Iha and Wretsky. Over time, I slowly found myself captivated by The Smashing Pumpkins' brutal force, whirlwind energy and studio wizardry but I also found myself enveloped by the emotional fragility of the songs--even the roof raisers--and it was that essential and crucial quality that alerted me that The Smashing Pumpkins were unquestionably REAL.

Billy Corgan, James Iha, D'Arcy Wretsky and Jimmy Chamberlin were not poseurs in the least. They were musicians (Chamberlin was and remains especially awe inspiring) and most of all, these four individuals were fans. They were fans of the very same music that I was a fan of, and then I realized that these people, plus so many of the artists that were part of this explosive musical era, were all around the same age as myself, thus making them my contemporaries. These people, despite their highly unusual circumstances with being globally famous, were embarked upon the same life journey with some of the same reference points as myself and my friends and that was also a crucial element that made me connect so passionately to their music. Where Nirvana and Pearl Jam represented the twin peaks of that era for so many, while I love both of those bands, for me it was The Smashing Pumpkins (and Nine Inch Nails). And once I became a fan, I was quickly anxious to see where this band would head next.

On MTV, and near the end of The Smashing Pumpkins' victorious headlining stint at the 1994 Lollapalooza festival, Billy Corgan announced in an interview that the next album from The Smashing Pumpkins would be a double album. This announcement that made my mouth drop open because, and as I have stated before on this site, I am just one of those people who loves double albums and the greater journey a musical artist can take the listener upon if they utilize the lengthier format correctly. So many of my favorite albums happen to be double albums and the idea that this band, on their third official album would swing for those kind of fences, especially during a time when NOBODY was releasing double albums, I was intrigued to say the least. Yet still, and even as excited as I was, I was also skeptical as again, NOBODY was releasing double albums at that time and the only thing even close to a double album was the short lived period where artists would release two albums simultaneously, like Guns N' Roses' "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both released September 17, 1991) and even Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town" (both released March 21, 1992). Frankly, releasing a double album during a period where the rock star excesses of years past were considered to be long and buried in the past would be a significantly ballsy move on the part of The Smashing Pumpkins, a band who have always traveled down their own creative path, no matter what the trends happen to be, and I really, really wanted to see this feat happen and succeed. But, I would only believe it once the album hit its release date.

The longer I waited for the release of the new album, the more anxious I became because unlike with the previous albums, this time, I would be ready! My appetite was significantly whetted with an MTV special previewing the album, now carrying the official title of "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," featured interviews with the entire band and gave fans a behind the scenes look at the album making process. Al ready, it appeared that this new album would present itself as an evolution from the band's previous works. First of all, instead of working with Producer Butch Vig, as they had for their first albums, the band decided to work with Producers Flood and Alan Moulder who worked on several pivotal releases by the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and U2. Flood desired to capture a suond that was representative of The Smashing Pumpkins as a live unit so instead of Corgan serving as essentially a one-man-band (aside from the drums), the full foursome recorded what would eventually become many of the albums basic tracks together, writing, jamming and recording in the studio. For even more intensive work, Flood collaborated closely with Corgan and Chamberlin in one studio while Alan Moulder worked with Iha and Wretsky in a second studio, thus giving all four members more than enough opportunities to add to the creative recording process. Over the six month recording period, nearly 60 songs were completed, providing a wealth of material to sift through, choose from and release to the world. By the end of the TV special, the release date could not come soon enough.

In the very early morning hours of Tuesday, October 24, 1995, and some time before I was scheduled to work at a children's book store later that day, I ventured down to the new defunct Discount Den on State Street, a convenience store open for students and city denizens which also sold compact discs. Entering the store, I made a bee-line straight for the "S" section of the CDs and was overwhelmed to find exactly what I had been waiting for. The absolutely stunning album cover (which is pictured above) transfixed me and made me anticipate what I would soon hear even greater than ever. I plunked down my loot, left the store and raced back home to begin listening.   

"Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" as promised by Corgan, was indeed a double album. A 28 song, two hour plus listening experience split into two subtitled halves ("Dawn To Dusk" and "Twilight To Starlight") and complete with ornate artwork and a lyric booklet that appeared as a libretto. Before I heard even one note, holding the CD in my hands took me back to the days when, as a child, I would lay across my carpeted basement floor, listening to records with the liner notes sprawled out in front of me. When I heard the very first song, my journey began...  

The album begins with the title track, a poignant instrumental that would not sound out of place on a 1970's Elton John album. From there, we reach "Tonight, Tonight," an orchestral fanfare that just sounds like the golden rays of the sun blasting through the clouds to welcome a new day and next, the pummeling speed metal guitar army of "Jellybelly." Just three songs in and the musical diversity of the material was head spinning and for the remainder of the album, I was absolutely overwhelmed with the breadth, the scope, the Herculean swing for the fences approach the band took as a musical unit and Billy Corgan took as a songwriter. "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" is indeed front loaded with hard rock songs that fully represent the musical tonality of the era ("Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "Zero") plus songs that harken back to treasured bands and artists like Cheap Trick and David Bowie ("Here Is No Why"). The album featured several touchingly fragile ballads ("To Forgive," "Galapogos," "In The Arms Of Sleep," "Take Me Down," "Thirty-Three") alongside dalliances into baroque dream pop ("Cupid De Locke"), electronic textures ("Love," "Beautiful"), anthems ("Muzzle"), songs of punishing brutality ("Tales Of A Scorched Earth," "Bodies," "X.Y.U."), and several widescreen studio epics and one nine minute underwater wonderland ("Thru The Eyes Of Ruby," "Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans") and of course, there was the New Wave influenced, power pop classic blast of "1979," the final song recorded for the album. By the album's monumentally beautiful and Beatle-esque closing selection "Farewell And Goodnight," on which all four band members sing, I was blissfully spent as it exceeded everything I could have ever hoped for this album to be and all I wanted to do was to just listen to absolutely all of it all over again.

And listen to it all over again is exactly what I did.

The more I listened to "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," the deeper I fell in love with it as it was precisely the right album at the right time. In 1995, I was 26 years old and this magnum opus completely hit me where I was emotionally, and therefore spiritually, as I believe music, and our relationship with it, to be entirely sacred. One friend even referred to the entire album as my "theme song," as I was listening to it repeatedly. While not the only music I was listening to at that time, I dove into "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" either in part or in full nearly every single day for almost two full years for it spoke to me so seismically. I bought the album many, many times and gave it to people as gifts as I felt that nothing else could represent a piece of me being given to them any better than that album as it said all I ever needed to say that I just could not quite express on my own.

For me, I feel that this album is a masterpiece exploring the nature and states of love, forgiveness, rage, redemption, agony, anxiety, aloneness, community, fury, empathy and compassion. It is a work that has continuously revealed itself to me, allowing me to make connections and discoveries just in the same way I had with all of the music I treasured growing up. It spoke to my heart, it found my soul, it filled my life and fantasies as it inspired me, consoled me, and undeniably rocked me!!! It represented the band at their very best, an artistic peak they never quite reached again in the same way as tragedies and band implosions forced the foursome to not work together as the same unit for very much longer after this stratospheric achievement. Now that is not to say that I am a Smashing Pumpkins "purist" or one who feels that Billy Corgan's best songwriting days have long eclipsed him. Quite the contrary, I feel that subsequent albums from The Smashing Pumpkins including "Adore" (released June 2, 1998) and "MACHINA/the machines of God" (released February 29, 2000) just may be even better albums due to their greater artistic reaches and ambitions. Furthermore, the outstanding "Oceania" (released June 19, 2012) featuring Corgan working in full collaboration with new bandmates Guitarist Jeff Schroeder, Bassist Nicole Fiorentino and Drummer Mike Byrne points to a wonderfully exciting new future. But, to this day, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" remains my favorite.

These days, I have to say that I hardly listen to this album quite possibly because I listened to it enough for a lifetime during a lengthy spell. But, for all of the albums I have listened to and purchased throughout my life, I cannot even begin to explain that almost inexplicable feeling I have when I see "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" sitting within my collection. Just last year, I purchased the newly remastered version of the album complete with loads of bonus unreleased material, a DVD of concert footage and gorgeous artwork and yes, the package and sound is incredible, and fully representative of the treatment I feel this album deserves. Now that I have this version, I certainly have no need to keep the original version I bought back in 1995, do I?

Maybe not...but when I place my hands upon it, I cannot even begin to conceptualize a reason for ever having it leave me because the day it came into my life, completely changed my life.

"Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" by The Smashing Pumpkins, without question, is one of my favorite albums of all time.

FROM THE DJ'S LISTENING BOOTH: THE ALBUMS OF 2013-PART FOUR

"OUTSIDES" (EP)

JOHN FRUSCIANTE

Composed, Produced, Arranged and Performed by John Frusciante

Released August 27, 2013

To those who tend not to keep a close eye on these sorts of things, it would appear as if guitarist John Frusciante fell off the face of the Earth after departing his beloved stint in Red Hot Chili Peppers, and for the second time at that. While he has remained under the radar, Frusciante has also remained productive and prolific as he has steadily released a series of EPs containing the sort of experimental, avant garde music that we would never hear as part of a Peppers' album. "Outsides," Frusciante's latest, while running only around 20 minutes, provides us with the tye of music we could spent hours upon hours travelling through.

The EP's opening track "Same" is a 10 minute wonderment as the odd timed rhythms, and constantly shifting melodics provides the framework for Frusciante's interstellar guitar work, which shows how completely in sync he is with his instrument. This is not flamethrower playing as he was accustomed to during his heroic final period with Red Hot Chili Peppers but it is no less jaw dropping as he effortlessly keeps up with every single (and seemingly random) chord change, soloing beautifully into the atmosphere. "Outsides" continues with two relatively shorter tracks that are no less head spinning and demanding of your fullest attention. Where "Breathiac" is reminiscent a Frank Zappa-esque Synclaviar based sound collage, "Shelf" inexplicably combines Tangerine Dream styled synthetics, drum and bass percussiveness, mumbled spoken words sections, new wave via hip-hop beat patterns with Frusciante's angular guitar work phasing through it all. Somehow, someway it all works.

"LOVE IN THE FUTURE"

JOHN LEGEND

Executive Producers: John Legend, Kanye West and Dave Tozer

Released September 3, 2013

"This is a new year for love/Love in the future/Not the love I lost..." intones crooner John Legend not over a piano but a rusty sounding electric guitar in the opening moments of his gorgeous new album, the first in a set of subtle surprising sonics contained within a 16 track song cycle of blossoming new love and romance. From beginning to end, "Love In The Future" possesses everything we already adore about Legend, from his lush production, uniquely emphatic vocals and songs that are so richly composed that they already sound like standards. 

What helps to set this beautifully composed, produced, arranged and sequenced album apart from works of other balladeers, in addition to Legend's classiness, are the unexpected studio touches that augment the songs appropriately depending on the lyrical theme. "Made To Love" combines moody synthetics with African drums and vocalizing. The slowly strutting "Who Do We Think We Are" combines an old school sample of Jean Knight's classic "Mr. Big Stuff" with a cameo by current "Mr. Big Stuff" himself, Rick Ross. And then, there's "Asylum," which holds the very outre electronic shadings that again suggest that John Legend has some tricks up his sleeve that he still has not gotten around to revealing yet.

If you plan upon purchasing this album, this DJ highly recommends that you go for the Deluxe Edition which boats four more songs, bringing up the package to a whopping 20 tracks, more than enough to keep us all sustained and satisfied until his next release. But, if I were to catch Legend's ear to offer him a suggestion that I am certain he is just waiting with bated breath to hear, I would urge him to step out onto the edge and delve into riskier musical waters and just make that FREAKY album that I have been feeling is resting inside of him somewhere. Like the wonderful Alicia Keys, I am wishing for John Legend to upend expectations and perhaps even upset his own fan base by making something downright bizarre. Make your "Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants"!! It's time, my brother. It's time!!

But until that time, should it ever arrive, we have "Love In The Future," another creative high point deserving of whatever success it should receive. 

"MGMT"

MGMT

Produced by MGMT and Dave Fridmann

Released September 17, 2013

First things first. If you are expecting a 2013 version of "Kids" or "Electric Feel" on the third release from MGMT, you will not find it. And in stead of being disappointed and remaining to wait for the band's return to the dance floor, it's time to finally understand that that particular musical ship has long sailed and will most likely not return.

MGMT is the latest band to find themselves caught within a precarious artistic trap. If they only repeated the formula of their first album, "Oracular Spectacular" (released January 22, 2008), then MGMT would have been completely written off as one-trick ponies incapable of discovering new musical territories to conquer. But, in defiantly going against expectations and desire to reproduce versions of the very songs that brought them fame and fortune, like they accomplished with their challenging second album "Congratulations" (released April 13, 2010) then they risk alienating the very fans who championed them in the first place. For me and my musical sensibilites, I am most thankful that MGMT decided for the latter path as they have become a musical entity that is impossible to pin down. Their self-titles third album is no exception.

The album's opening track "Alien Days" could be a signal for everything to come throughout the album as the entire work feels like some odd transmissions from Mars! Vocals, melodies and the poetic patchwork lyrics are all obscured through waves and layers of electronic dissonance but if you do stick with them, you will indeed unearth sonic treasures as evidenced by the ironically titled "Cool Song No. 2," as well as the nearly vaudevillian "Plenty Of Girls In The Sea," the appropriately melancholy "A Good Sadness," and the dreamy synthetics of "Mystery Disease." For those of you put off by MGMT's musical restlessness, I urge you to try and stick with them. For those who desire musical curve balls, then this album will undoubtedly be a perfect fit for you!

"OCEANIA: LIVE IN NYC"

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

Concert film Directed by Milton Lange

Audio Produced by Bjorn Thorsrud and Barry Summers

Released September 24, 2013

If MGMT is the latest band that continues to challenge audiences to re-think the artist's musical/creative trajectories, then The Smashing Pumpkins, and leader/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist/singer Billy Corgan especially have continued to challenge audiences to re-think perceptions of what a band actually is.

As the fan community still grumbles about the validity of The Smashing Pumpkins as a continuing musical unit although founding member/guitarist James Iha, original bassist D'Arcy Wretzky and world class drummer Jimmy Chamberlin have all departed, Corgan has valiantly soldiered onwards as the sole original member, gradually joining forces with drummer/wunderkind Mike Byrne, bassist/vocalist Nicole Fiorentino (who is also a member of the darkly romantic alternative rock trio The Cold And Lovely) and guitarist gunslinger Jeff Schroeder. As much as I will always...ahem...adore the original four members of the band, I am by no means a "Pumpkins purist" as I truly believe that this new incarnation is an even better musical force than the original, much like how the ever evolving King Crimson, led by sole original member Robert Fripp for instance, finds itself only growing stronger each times new musicians enter the fold. 

The fan community generally began to feel more as I did with the release of the stunning concept album "Oceania" (released June 19, 2012). Now, we arrive with "Oceania: Live In NYC," the official live document which encapsulates ferociously performed Pumpkins' classics ("X.Y.U.," "Cherub Rock," "Hummer" and others), the entire "Oceania" album, a David Bowie cover tune and even one explosive and time shifting new track entitled "The Dream Machine." Any doubts about the validity of The Smashing Pumpkins as a musical force or even the validity of the new band members should be, at long last, put to merciful rest upon listening to and viewing this powerful performance, which you can purchase in a variety of formats (2 CD/1DVD or 1 DVD or 1 Blu-Ray with standard and 3D versions or even as a digital download...phew!). 

Yet another misconception about The Smashing Pumpkins, and Billy Corgan in particular, is also eradicated with this new release. Throughout the CD and film, we do not witness Corgan as the ego-maniacal Svengali putting his poor hired hands through their paces at malevolent and metaphorical gunpoint. We are seeing the full collaborative and cooperative participation of four individuals working as a team to create musical alchemy as best as possible...i.e. a band! 

As the inimitable "Pumpkin King" Billy Corgan prowls and presides over the full proceedings with his trademark dark presence and towering guitar riffs, drummer Mike Byrne showcases with punishing precision that the once thought impossible feat of even trying to step into Jimmy Chamberlin's drum throne is not only possible but a throne where he can blaze his own percussive path. Nicole Fiorentino, with her McCartney-esque sense of melodicism combined with unquestionable rumbling force, proves why she is correctly considered to be the best bassist of the band's history. But for me, the MVP of this set is Jeff Schroeder, who the fan community have lovingly re-christened as "The Shredder"! Don't let Schroeder's quiet demeanor fool you as he is an incredible and constantly surprising guitarist to behold. His lead work contains superior flash and whipcrack sting and his atmospherics are blissfully enveloping, making him the absolutely perfect guitarist to join forces with Corgan, often to spellbinding degrees, as evidenced on tracks like "My Love Is Winter" and the epic, suite-like "Oceania." And if you are still unable to feel the musical unity when the band performs the tone poem "Wildflowers," with Corgan, providing his best vocal of the show, surrounded and supported by Fiorentino, Byrne and Schroeder all on keyboards and backing vocals, then I don't even wanna know ya!! 

"THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE-PART 2"

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

Executive Producer: Justin Timberlake

Released September 30, 2013

As promised, the second half of Justin Timberlake's mammoth selling "The 20/20 Experience" has arrived and now that the two halves have become a whole, I can say that this album is easily the pop masterpiece of 2013. Feeling like an epic double album, if the first disc housed a mythical Side One and Two, then this new installment finally brings us Sides Three and Four, and what a relentless ride it is. Unlike the first disc, which was filled front to back with bright, blossoming romance, this second disc is a slightly darker, lustier, sweatier and decidedly more carnal affair thta feel slike you are at the full epicenter of a booming nightclub with Timberlake as your Grand Master of Ceremonies.

The album's first six tracks, while not squelching a modicum of melody and harmonics, mostly courtesy of Timberlake's meticulously arranged and performed vocals, are fully designed to get you moving and making you slaves to their uncompromising rhythms as hypnotically conceived by Timberlake and his right hand man, Timbaland. Also as with the first set, the songs are lengthy with the heavy breathing "True Blood" clocking in at nearly 10 minutes. These are not songs in search of an editor, dear readers and listeners. These are songs that illustrate how closely Timberlake has been paying attention to the likes of James Brown, Prince and George Clinton as these tracks all ride the groove until they just cannot be ridden any longer. "Take Back The Night" continues Timberlake's audio tribute to the legacy of Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones as the "Off The Wall" aesthetics soar through the clouds.  

By the arrival of the blusey "Drink You Away," the album downshifts into more turbulent romantic waters as the rose colored optimism of the first album gives way to more troubling realities and dark insecurities. With titles like "Amnesia," "Only When I Walk Away," "TKO," and even "Murder," I would not be surprised if one were curious if there was trouble in J.T.'s personal paradise. But remember, all of the songs on both albums were written and recorded at the same time, truly making the two albums work together as terrifically as they do.

If "The 20/20 Experience" were a movie, then "Not A Bad Thing" would be the warm concluding track to play over the ending credit scroll. And what a "movie" this album has been!!!! From something I would typically never have given a second thought,m let alone a first, Justin Timberlake has proved with tremendous ability, talent, skill and artistry that pop music need not be mindless, disposable, fad laden pap. It can be luxurious entertainment that you just cannot get enough of!!

TAME IMPALA w/ WHITE DENIM LIVE AT THE ORPHEUM THEATER OCTOBER 9, 2013-A SYNESTHESIA EXCLUSIVE

TAME IMPALA w/ WHITE DENIM
ORPHEUM THEATER
MADISON, WI
OCTOBER 9, 2013

I have been very blessed to have seen Ryan Adams and the Cardinals live in concert on two occasions before Adams' self-imposed and health related sabbatical and decreased presence from recording and touring and after both performances, I remarked to myself that each of the shows were precisely the type of rock concerts that I had always wished to see as they felt like throwbacks to a different era (notably the 1970's) yet they were also completely in tune with right NOW!

I experienced those exact same feelings at the AMAZING Tama Impala concert, which occurred on the evening of October 9th at the legendary Orpheum Theater in Madison, WI. It was a performance of full on visual psychedelia and supreme musicianship which often found the five piece band, led by mastermind, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker, venturing into extended soundscapes that would not have sounded out of place during a Pink Floyd show or even Tangerine Dream but with superb pop songcraft combined with Led Zeppelin swagger and chest rumbling wallop. Every single moment and sound felt just absolutely RIGHT and I am already hoping the band returns to my city in the future as I would drop everything and see them again in a heartbeat.

Tame Impala was supported by the Austin, Texas based band White Denim as their opening act and I am excited to inform you that my jaw hit the ground with their mesmerizing and musically athletic performance. Before the show, I have never even heard of this band and by the middle of their first song (or was it a medley?) of their roughly 45 minute set, I knew without question that I was seeing perhaps the very best opening act that I have ever seen (and that even includes seeing The Pixies open for Love And Rockets back in 1989--but that's another story)!

White Denim, which consists of James Petralli (lead vocals, guitar), Steven Terebecki (bass guitar vocals), Joshua Block (drums), and Austin Jenkins (guitar) performs an amalgam of rock, jazz, fusion, pop, blues and even Latin rhythms and a dash of prog rock into a propulsive musical stew that left me blindsided with their dexterity and effortless ease with songs that shape shifted on a dime. They played in a fashion that I really thought that new, younger bands just did not even play anymore and it was deeply inspiring to witness, and of course, to hear.

 

James Petralli and Austin Jenkins' guitar work was dizzying and intricately layered with almost King Crimson-esque interlocking solos and patterns while Steven Terebecki's bass playing was as fluidly galloping and head spinning something that could have been in the neighborhood of Geddy Lee or even the late John Entwistle. Joshua Block's drumming was supremely impressive as well and through all of the songs (or again, were they medleys?), several of which lasted between 7-even nearly 15 minutes, Petralli's enthusiastic lead vocals soared confidently. Now, as I have already stated, I had never even heard of this band before tonight but I feel more than compelled to seek out their music to become even great acquainted. And frankly, after the high bar set by White Denim, Tame Impala needed to look over their shoulders a bit!
 
But onto the main event...

After watching White Denim exit the stage and subsequently take down their set, a small crew of lab coat wearing roadies entered the stage to set up for Tame Impala, who finally walked on stage at nearly 9:00 p.m. As fog machines, dry ice and whatever other substances could contribute to the enveloping haze within the Orpheum, the five piece band launched into "Desire Be Desire Go," the second track from the debut album "Innerspeaker" (released May 21, 2010), complete with hallucinogenic imagery on their movie screen sized backdrop, flowingly gorgeous lights and best of all, top notch musicianship.

If there was any sense of healthy competition between the two bands, it only served to ensure that the audience would indeed receive performances of the tallest order, which is precisely what we all received as far as I am concerned and also by gauging the reaction of the crowd. It was truly wonderful to have such a close vantage point to the band (I was standing at the barricade in front of the stage) to see how these five members would actually perform the music Kevin Parker (mostly) creates completely by himself on the albums.

With a set list devoted to Kevin Parker's earnest and intimately introspective yet undeniably cosmic material from "Innerspeaker" and last year's outstanding "Lonerism" (released October 5 2012),  he was aided beautifully by his band mates, Dominic Simper (guitar/synth), Jay Watson (keyboards), Paisley Adams (bass guitar/vocals) and Julien Barbagallo (drums/vocals), as they all not only perfectly translated the studio work to the stage, but also elevated the songs through multi-layered extended sections and grand psychedelia that transfixed, transported (even those of us who were not under the influence, like your favorite virtual DJ) and packed a powerful punch (the rhythm section certainly made your insides rumble).

Kevin Parker, who was barefoot throughout the show, cut a strikingly tall, approachable yet aloof figure whose somewhat languid demeanor belied the fact that he was entirely the master of this musical experience as Tame Impala phased beautifully from one song to the next. While we were all certain who the "kingpin" was on stage, the band members all congealed with terrific and visibly comfortable camaraderie. As far as any highlights, all I had hoped for was that the band would play the downright interstellar "Music To Walk Home By," and after they did perform that track as the fourth song in their set, I was already more than satisfied and took everything else as a blessing!

"Endors Toi," "Alter Ego," "Solitude Is Bliss," "Elephant" and the EP released "Half Full Glass Of Wine" all exploded in musical rainbows and that aforementioned Zeppelin styled wallop and crunch. "Be Above It," which in its studio form is a sparse track consisting of not much more than a drum machine beat, synthetic chords and Parker's spacey vocals, blossomed into a lengthy electronic dreamscape that sounded like Pink Floyd's "On The Run" or again something that Tangerine Dream would have envisioned. And the inevitable encore, which gave us the one-two punch of "It Is Not Meant To Be" and "Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control," could not have ended the show any better.

And then, there was the show's visual component which was simplistic and yet provided a most honest sense of awe and amazement. One section of the show found Parker alone on stage facing the large screen which presented a variety of images throughout the show. When he played a note, a chord or series of notes and chord upon his guitar, the images would shimmer and sparkle into a variety of geometric patterns, making it a toy that I think everyone watching wanted for themselves...or at least have the chance to take a crack at it. 

Another section of the concert found the band members themselves displayed upon the screen in real time and somewhat interacting with themselves. And I loved the electronic eye that blazed at all of us through the sheen of purple and pink spotlights.

In many ways, Tame Impala gave me the type of concert that I have never seen before but have always wanted to see in terms of glowing visuals and formidable musicianship. It made me wonder if some Pink Floyd shows were something like this one. But, for all of the nostalgia Tame Impala indeed conjures, this is no copycat act attempting to cash in on tried and true rock and roll tricks. Kevin Parker's musical vision is as idiosyncratic as it is authentic and I sincerely wish that he returns to his studio in the near future to craft more music as lovingly as he has already achieved.     

 

A most wonderful night it was in downtown Madison with a sea of college students and ahem...other non-college students spilling out into the night air (after all receiving a copious contact high), floating happily on the succulent sounds of both White Denim and Tame Impala.

Seeing both bands perform so supremely, and with such heart, talent and soul, truly gave me hope that music is still in fine hands, especially during these increasingly homogeneous times. It was truly a surprise that this Australian based band would arrive in Madison, WI. but what a gift and here's hoping that they return soon!

AMERICAN PSYCHO: "ST. ELSEWHERE" GNARLS BARKLEY (2006)

"ST. ELSEWHERE" (2006)
GNARLS BARKLEY
Music by Danger Mouse  Lyrics by Cee-Lo Green
Produced by Danger Mouse
Released April 24, 2006

Believe it or not dear readers and listeners, I've had this next installment in my head for YEARS!

I have long held a deep fascination with the art and artistry of songwriting when it is utilized in a most subversive fashion. What I am speaking of primarily is when shiny, happy pop songs actually house darker, troubling, disturbing and riskier themes and textures yet they go almost unnoticed because the craft of the songwriting and the beauty of the performance envelops us so completely that we are singing a long when we would otherwise be crying, cowering or hiding under the covers. Take a song like The Beatles' "Help!," where John Lennon himself explained that the song was, in reality, a personal outcry for help which was obscured due to the jauntiness and euphorically performed track. I would think that if we traveled back to the now classic works of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, the music of Motown and others, we would find a plethora of songs that we all know and love but upon deeper examination would be surprised to see how melancholy, and at times, depressing, those songs really are. To that end, I am compelled to provide you with a great quotation from Nick Hornby's landmark novel High Fidelity, in which his main protagonist, the music fanatic and record store owner Rob Fleming expresses the following:

    “People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands - literally thousands - of songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss...What came first – the music or the misery? Did I listen to the music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to the music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholy person?"

With that concept in place, I am happy to turn your attention to "St. Elsewhere," the 2006 debut album from Gnarls Barkley, the musical collective of rapper/singer/lyricist Cee-Lo green and producer/musician Danger Mouse. It is brilliantly conceived and performed work that effortlessly bridges the gaps between hip-hop, soul, funk, alternative music and even elements of glam rock and the blues to create a musical stew that firmly exists within its own universe. Over the course of the album's 14 songs and brisk under 40 minute running time, we are given a front row seat to the excellence of song craftsmanship. The instantly accessible songwriting is masterful as the tightly structured songs, many of which do not last much more than two minutes each, waste not even one moment of time. Gnarls Barkley ensures that all of us receive the fullest musical bang of our collective bucks! The critical acclaim, awards received and hefty sales are all richly deserved as Gnarls Barkley illustrated wonderfully how artfulness does not need to be discarded while providing tremendous entertainment.

But this is a piece about subversiveness and I have to admit that as amazing as "St. Elsewhere" is, it is also an album that, truthfully, has frightened me. That admission may surprise you but yes, I have found this album to be deeply disturbing, to say the least and in fact, through a sense of irrational fear, I have even entertained the thought of hiding it away as it kind of reduced me to that childlike fearful state where I thought that what I was listening to was somehow...evil.

Just take a look at the album cover! With its cartoon images of wild animals baring their teeth, mass pollution, a "Don't Walk" street sign flanked by a backdrop of a darkened cityscape, the backwards lettering of "LIVE" to be read as "EVIL" and all shrouded by a mushroom cloud, I do think that it completely gives you a clear insight as to what you are going to hear to a degree. In fact, for me, I think the album is actually a non-linear narrative and character study of the birth, rise and inner torment of a serial killer (let's name him "Gnarls Barkley") and we are placed in the maelstrom of his thoughts, like the character of Alex in Anthony Burgess' novel and Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film version of A Clockwork Orange or even the grotesquely horrific character of Patrick Bateman in Bret Easton Ellis' highly controversial novel American Psycho. Throughout the album, we are also being saturated with themes of isolation ("Online"), suicide, paranoia and depression ("Just A Thought," "Who Cares?"), insanity (the gargantuan hit single "Crazy"), schizophrenia ("Transformer"), murder and even necrophilia ("Necromancer") and yet somehow, we all just keep signing along. So, just in time for Halloween, I bring you Gnarls Barkley's "St. Elsewhere."

"St. Elsewhere" opens and closes with the sound of a film projector, immediately alerting us that what we are about to hear is a movie for our ears and that nothing should be considered as "real," quite apt as we are listening to an album created by two musicians bearing stage names that are hiding behind the faceless persona of Gnarls Barkley.  Even so, I don't think all of the artifice entirely lets us off of the hook.

With the wildly percolating beats and roof raising vocals, the very appropriately titled "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" finds our anti-hero in a state of celebratory euphoria as he is now able to experience "Freedom in Hi Fidelity" and expresses to us that "I'm well on my way/I'm almost everything/And today is my day." This would all be well and good but the very next song happens to be "Crazy," a track that begins with a vividly dark reminisce ("I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind/There was something so pleasant about that day/ Even your emotions have an echo in so much space") and continues onwards to challenge all of us about who is sane, insane and even moreso, "You really think you're in control?" With just those first two songs on the album, Gnarls Barkley has created the soundscape that is instantly inviting yet decidedly sinister. Sonically, the songs are respectively playful and soulful. But especially with "Crazy," just listen to the instrumentation. Danger Mouse has overseen string sections that are mournful, musical colors that sound a tad muted and really pay close attention to the harmony backing vocals, on this track and throughout the album. The backing vocals on "St. Elsewhere" do not sweeten the experience or soothe or coo alongside Cee-Lo Green's incredibly expressive voice. They moan! This quality makes the vocal aesthetics of the album sound nothing less than haunted.

The album continues onwards with the title track, a song that suggests to me the mental arena to which our narrator has retreated once taking leave of his sanity. Then, for me, the album's possible narrative becomes more fractured, possibly illustrating Barkley's disturbed state. "Gone Daddy Gone," a cover of a song by The Violent Femmes was a sharply clever move as our narrator's violent tendencies are brought to the forefront but are dulled by our familiarity to the original song and the almost 60's shimmy styled tone of the music. But make no mistake, Green's vocals are downright nasty and lascivious when he sings, "Beautiful girl, lovely dress/Where she is now, I can only guess." 

"Smiley Faces" is easily one of the album highest points as it presents a selection that sounds like classic Motown updated for the 21st century. It is bouncy, bright, and exuberantly sung. But again, check out those moaning backing vocals that indeed bring dark shadows over the musical sunshine. And then Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green smartly understand that the greater effect of a song doesn't always occur on the way it begins, but on how it ends. The final lyrics return us right into the mindset of our narrator when he explains, "I wanna be you whenever I see you smiling/Because it's easily one of the hardest things to do/Your worries and fear become your friends/And they end up smiling at you." And the vocals moan into the song's fade out. Creeeeeepy!

"The Boogie Monster" subverts its themes of middle of the night inner turmoil that leaves the narrator "waiting on the sun to rise," through its Vincent Price/late night television monster movie groove and a very funny and tossed off dirty joke at the song's conclusion. The first half of the album concludes with "Feng Shui," which could be an expression of the narrator's fastidiousness with his impeccably tailored home environment a la Patrick Bateman...and please note that we have not yet experienced the sadistic horrors that occur there or even know whatever happened to the young girl from "Gone Daddy Gone."

The second half of "St. Elsewhere" opens with "Just A Thought," a song that I think could be the narrator's backstory, the time before he embraced insanity and was plagued with "not just good, but great depression." The tracks "Who Cares?" and "Storm Coming" continue in this vein. And it is here where the music nearly matches the lyrics in terms of tone, sentiment and effect. "Just A Thought" and "Storm Coming" possess more dramatic arrangements featuring pounding drums and grim guitars while "Who Cares?" moans onwards and floats solemnly.

The wild cartoon music makes its return with "Transformer," subverting the narrator's acknowledgement of his schizophrenia and the slow, lounge-like pimp strut of "Online," featuring Green's funky growl spotlights our narrator's sense of alienation ("Feel like the life of the party/But it's all in your mind") as well as his copious drug usage ("Once I clean my mirror/I'm a be feeling fine").

And then, "St. Elsewhere" nearly crosses the line of good taste as it abruptly drops us all smack into a bonafide horror film like Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), with the nightmarish "Necromancer." Everything comes crashing down into Hell on this track, as our narrator begins teasing us with Marvin Gaye's classic refrain from "Sexual Healing" (single released September 30, 1982), when he sings "Wake up, wake up, wake up wake up..." to the corpse of who I assume to be the girl from "Gone Daddy Gone." Green's lyrics and vocals are at their most terrifying due to the cold, emotionless, wry, matter-of-fact descriptiveness of his sadism, again like Patrick Bateman.

Like Alex from "A Clockwork Orange," we are privvy to his thoughts and actions as if we are friends, thus making us co-conspirators. "Without a care in the world I'm compassionate about killing her," he explains. "A Cosmopolitan, cocaine and and an occasional pill in her." The narrator presents us with jokes that disgust ("I whispered in her ear to hear an echo") and taunts maliciously ("So scream and holler, run and play/Wish you could die another day") before leaving us with the afterthought, "Man, bet she was alright/When she was alive." For this track, Danger Mouse provides no escape as the subversion is non-existent, leaving nothing but the terror.

The after shock of that track informs the final selections of the album especially the final track "The Last Time," a roller disco rave that finds our narrator as a seducer, possibly making his moves upon the girl he eventually murders. "When was the last time you danced?" he asks while grooving under the mirrorball. And how terrible it all sounds, despite the nightclub uplift, as this poor girl is indeed dancing for the last time.

And then, the film projector ceases to spool, ending the audio movie that is "St. Elsewhere."

Now of course, everything that I have just written is solely speculation as neither Danger Mouse or Cee-Lo Green have attested to anything like "St. Elsewhere" housing a possible narrative like this at all during interviews. They have never even suggested that the album even follows a concept. That's fine, of course, as artists typically hold those sorts of cards close to their collective chests. But what surprised me when the album was originally released, and what continues to surprise me now is how the supreme pop craft, the dizzying sonic layers and culmination of a myriad of musical sources and references were so powerful that the darker nature of the album is barely mentioned at all. Looking back on the original album reviews, music writers spent very little time, if any, examining the themes of "St. Elsewhere," including "Necromancer," and spent nearly all of the time in amazement at the overall musical punch, which is mighty. It's like Gnarls Barkley got one past the goalie. But then, what if there was some sort of joke to the proceedings that I didn't get and I ended up taking this thing too seriously? And I cannot help but to wonder if I am the only person that was affected in this fashion by that album.

But then, I am reminded of a brief conversation I had with a friend concerning the television singing contest program "The Voice," on which Cee-Lo Green is a judge. My friend expressed to me that she found Green to be terribly unsettling, that his Cheshire Cat grin seemed to be hiding some more questionable quirks and qualities that she read as nefarious. While I have never even seen even one episode of "The Voice," regarding Cee-Lo Green, somehow, I just knew what she meant.

Gnarls Barkley's "St. Elsewhere" is easily one of the 21st century's most inventive, consistently surprising and finest pop albums. But trust me, behind that shiny sheen is something decidedly unnerving. Why don't you take another listen...

...if you dare!