Author: jprobichaud

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Weezer “Weezer”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Weezer
Album Title: Weezer
Year released: 1994
Year reissued: 2016
Details: Mobile Fidelity, limited edition, numbered 011775, 180 gram, transparent blue

The skinny: Just over three weeks ago, fellow blogger Super Dekes over at Thunder Bay Arena Rock posted a review of Weezer’s self-titled album (also widely-known as ‘the Blue album’) and mentioned how he had finally gotten a copy of it on vinyl the previous summer. Coincidentally, I had tracked down a vinyl copy of it myself that very week and when I told Deke so, he suggested I also write a review. Well, I figured one of my ‘Vinyl love’ posts would work just as well, so here we are. I actually saw Weezer live before I heard this album. They opened for shoe gazers Lush at Toronto’s Warehouse in the summer ’94 and at the time, I was only vaguely aware of “The sweater song”. Nonetheless, I was blown away by their set – all crunchy guitars and Beach Boys harmonies – and told Rivers Cuomo as much when I spotted him at the merch table. A friend of mine in university later dubbed a copy of the album for me to cassette and I played the hell out of it. This debut is still Weezer’s most successful piece of music in my books, a classic, and though I spent a few dollars more than did Deke, it was well worth it to procure this limited edition Mobile Fidelity release. They do such a great job all round, what with the remastering, the pressing, and the immaculate packaging. Splendid.

Standout track: “The world has turned and left me here”

Categories
Tunes

Best tunes of 2002: #7 Interpol “PDA”

<< #8    |    #6 >>

“You’re so cute when you’re frustrated, dear
Well, you’re so cute when you’re sedated, dear
I’m resting”

“PDA” is not the first track from Interpol’s debut album to grace this list. “Obstacle 1” came in earlier at number twenty-seven and yeah, I feel like there’s a few other songs from “Turn on the bright lights” that could just as easily belong here. Interpol really did burst into the indie world with this album, leading the charge, nay, almost singlehandedly restarting a post-punk revival, a revolution of sorts.

The quartet of Paul Banks, Daniel Kessler, Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy originally formed Interpol five years earlier in 1997, but Sam Fogarino replaced Drudy on drums shortly after the release of their first EP, “Fukd ID #3”, in 2000. They have since released six full-length albums and a bunch of EPs and still continue today as a trio (Dengler departed the group in 2010). And though I’ve found their latter day albums not quite as phenomenal as their first couple, I saw them live for the first time in 2015 and their energy, rather than growing tired over the years, was exactly for which you would have hoped when listening to their records.

“PDA”, is actually a re-recording of a re-recording from that aforementioned first EP and it was released as the very first single off “Turn on the bright lights”. The drums crash and explode and then, the guitars burst in, just as percussive and just as menacing. Banks is shaky and neurotic, invoking the haunting memory of Ian Curtis. Yeah, it’s been said before but I feel like the comparison is never more true than on this particular track. It is intense and dark and heartbreaking and exhilarating.

Just press play below and listen to the song.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2002 list, click here.

Categories
Tunes

Best tunes of 1993: #30 Doughboys “Shine”

#29 >>

I wrapped up my Best tunes of 1992 list back in January, amidst a month chock full of 1990s goodness, and though I’ve continued on with my Best albums of 1991 series through February, it’s been spread out. So it’s March now, you must be ready for some more 90s tunes now, right? Of course! So let’s get this Best tunes of 1993 list started with a real rocker!

Jean-Guy “John” Kastner conceived the Doughboys in Montreal, Quebec after leaving his three year post fronting the hardcore punk band, The Asexuals, in 1987. Through the group’s original ten year run, Kastner was the only real constant, his supporting cast at times included Scott McCulloch (who would leave to form Rusty), Jonathan Cummins (who would later play with Treble Charger, Bionic, and The Besnard Lakes), and a host of other musicians from the Montreal and Toronto alt-rock music scenes.

Leading up to 1990, the Doughboys released three excellent pop/punk albums on a couple of independent labels and then, they got caught up in the wave of major label signings of alternative acts instigated by the explosion of Nirvana and the Seattle grunge scene. I very quickly grew tired of these bands cast in the grunge mould that were all of a sudden flooding the alternative airwaves. I found a lot of them too derivative, and that was likely the fault of big business music execs, but there were some, like the Doughboys, who were worthy of this newly found success.

I remember first hearing today’s single, “Shine”, on the radio and found the rip roaring guitars infectious. It didn’t take me long to connect the song, when I learned who performed it, to an album I had on cassette on the recommendation of a friend. Doughboys’ second album, 1989’s “Home again”, was one of the aforementioned indie releases and was a tape I would put in the player whenever I wanted to release some of pent-up teen angst. The great thing about the Doughboys was that there wasn’t a lot of that original energy lost on their 1993 major label debut, “Crush”. It was all there, no compromise and no quit, just with better production and a bigger budget. The band would only go on to release one other album, 1996’s “Turn me on”, but both of these two major label releases saw success in Canada, especially on alternative and college radio.

In fact, today’s song was used by MuchMusic, along with Jane’s Addiction’s “Stop” and Depeche Mode’s “I feel you”, for the opening of its weekday afternoon alternative show, “The Wedge”. “Shine” is all driving guitars that alternate between quiet rage and all out crunchiness. It riffs and rocks for just over two and half minutes while Kastner sings melodically about how the object of his affection makes him feel like gold. I can only imagine the pogoing and moshing that must’ve gone on when these guys roared through this one live back then.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 1993 list, click here.