Tag: Alternative

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Billy Bragg “The best of Billy Bragg at the BBC”

(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: Billy Bragg
Album Title: The best Of Billy Bragg At The BBC 1983 – 2019
Year released: 2019
Details: 3 x LP, heavyweight vinyl

The skinny: That thing I mentioned back at the beginning of the year? The thing where I put on a record and do nothing but listen to it, read the liner notes, enjoy the album artwork, follow along with the lyrics, and really just experience each record? Yeah, I’m still doing it, albeit at meandering pace. I started alphabetically and am just now reaching Billy Bragg ten months later. I’ve been a fan of the Bard of Barking since high school and yet, for the longest time, have had few of his records* on my vinyl shelves. So a few years ago, when I saw on the upcoming release charts a compilation of his best performances on BBC radio, I jumped at the chance and hit the pre-order button. This 3 LP set pressed to heavyweight vinyl shows Billy Bragg at his purest, for the most part, just him and his guitar, telling it like it is.

Standout track: “Levi Stubbs’ tears (with Frank Turner at Glastonbury)”

*His record reissues have been few and far between since I started collecting – the only proper studio that I’ve seen re-released has been the 30th anniversary of his debut, which of course, I purchased.

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Tunes

Best tunes of 2020: #13 Moaning “Ego”

<< #14    |    #12 >>

Moaning is an American indie rock trio that was formed in Los Angeles, California back in 2014. This wasn’t the first rodeo, though, for Sean Solomon (vocals, guitars), Pascal Stevenson (bass, synthesizers), and Andrew MacKelvie (drums, percussion). All three members were veterans of the hometown music scene and in fact were in a previous band together, having met and formed a friendship back in high school. This band seemed fated for more success, though, after some chance encounters led to Alex Newport producing their self-titled debut album and to their signing with iconic indie label Sub Pop for its release.

Moaning quickly drew comparisons Joy Division with their bass-heavy, dark, and angular post punk sound and Sean Solomon’s dour vocal delivery. They could’ve done worse in many people’s eyes and ears, especially since the mention in the same breath was not imbued with any derogatory irony. From album one to album two, the progression left room for the haunting synths to appear, giving the whole party a retro and nostalgic feel. And not forgetting of course, that at their base, all of their songs are dance floor, freak-out ready.

“The highest high, the lowest low
I wanna lose my ego
It’s easier to complain
But there is beauty in the mundane”

Track one opens Moaning’s sophomore album like a scraping footstep in an empty and very likely haunted house just after midnight. “Ego” is a driving and rumbling bass line that Peter Hook might be proud of and the drums just trounce along, adding a thudding heartbeat to this psychological thriller. Wailing synths grace the chorus, only slightly foretold by alien sounding creaks, just below the surface, seething and biding their time to strike. And as dark and sinister as this all sounds, the inspiration for the lyrics are quite the opposite, exploring the idea of thinking of others outside of one self, putting aside your own bs to see that the world is still happening around you.

“I wanna be anybody but myself
I wanna love anybody but myself”

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.

Categories
Tunes

100 best covers: #38 Teenage Fanclub “Mr. Tambourine man”

<< #39    |    #37 >>

Scottish alt rock legends, Teenage Fanclub have appeared many times over on these pages since this blog’s inception. In fact, they’ve already graced this particular list once with their cover of a great track by another iconic Scottish alt-rock band and – spoiler alert – you’ll likely see them again on this list before it reaches its end.

I first heard this particular cover of “Mr. Tambourine Man” when a friend of mine put it on a mixed tape for me. I later learned of its provenance when I found a used copy of the 3-CD compilation “Ruby trax” at Penguin Music in the late 90s, a compilation that has also received due mention in relation to this list of great covers. I remember thinking it quite apt that the Fannies chose to cover this particular track given that I had found that the jangling guitar and harmonizing vocals on their 1993 album “Thirteen” harkened back to the folk rock sound practically invented by The Byrds. Of course, this was before I learned that Teenage Fanclub was just as enamoured of Big Star and that The Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” was itself a cover of a Bob Dylan track*.

The Teenage Fanclub cover has way more in common with The Byrds version than with Bob Dylan’s original. Indeed, it’s almost an exact replica of The Byrds’ rendition, only a slightly bit shorter and perhaps a bit more raw in the vocals. The Byrds released their cover in spring 1965, less than a month after Dylan released his original. Both of these versions were very successful for those artists, topping charts and inspiring generations of musicians. The Byrds cut a few verses from Dylan’s composition, changed the time signature, and the recording is half the length. It’s 12 string jangle rock versus pure balladeering folk.

You can definitely tell that Teenage Fanclub owed more a debt to The Byrds than to Bob Dylan with their faithful ode. Some might knock them for it, but not me. And though the two covers are quite different from the original I love them all and refuse to go with one over the others.

Cover:

Original:

*Having only had limited exposure to both Dylan and The Byrds via my parents’ oldies radio station listening, I would later go on to learn that The Byrds covered many Bob Dylan tunes while exploring both of their catalogues much, much later.

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.