Seven Items This Year! (Or, maybe eight depending on how you count them.)
It’s now a well-established tradition here at Trapezoid Global International LLC, this annual list of things. Inspired by the meaningless lists that are all over the place used as click bait (“The ten best movies you didn’t see in 2015!”) and lazy year end content filler. Alas, I play along in my own way with my annual list of mostly good music-related things. I am sneaking this in just under the standard deadline of before the year actually ends.
As I’ve pointed out previously, these best of random time period pieces are always seemingly done and shared before the actual end of the time period covered. Why just the other day I saw the Critics’ Choice Award nominations had to be reopened to add the new “Star Wars” movie to their best movie of 2015 candidates.
Speaking of Star Wars (remember, I mentioned that in the paragraphs above?)…
BEST FREE MUSIC FROM A BAND I TRY TO LIKE: Wilco
Intellectually, I understand I should like Wilco a lot. I have many friends who love Wilco and are not shy about expressing that to me. I periodically pick up one of their albums and give it a listen. All this, to no avail. I don’t necessarily dislike Wilco, but they just don’t do anything for me.
They surprised fans by dropping the latest album “Star Wars” earlier this year for free. So, what the heck? After alerting the Wilco partisans in my life, I downloaded a copy. And you know what? I liked it a lot. There was something that felt a little more loose and fun to me than their other music. While this is not a “road to Damascus” conversion story, perhaps it will serve as a gateway as I go back to their earlier work and try again. At minimum, “Star Wars” is in the rotation now.
IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES AWARD FOR LITERARY ENDEAVOURS: Jon Fine and Billy Idol
Let’s start with The Best of Times: “Your Band Sucks” by Jon Fine. Jon was a founder of the band Bitch Magnet. This book is a very entertaining trip through the life, death, and rebirth of his band. If you wonder what the glamorous life of an indie rocker is really like, here’s your answer. Great stuff.
As for The Worst of Times, that goes to the Billy Idol autobiography predictably titled “Dancing With Myself.” With the highs and lows Mr. Idol has seen, I thought this book would be full of juicy and wild stories. Maybe the elements of that imagined book are there, but they were just not put assembled properly. I sent “Dancing With Myself” to the boys in the lab to have it examined, and here is the summary analysis of the text that came back:
- Clichés – 18%
- Clumsy “Penthouse Letter” quality sex scenes – 7%
- Tortured prose – 26%
- Attempts to maintain his punk credibility – 23%
- Self-congratulatory credit for song quality and/or being ahead of his time – 24%
- Self awareness – 1%
(Doesn’t add to 100% due to rounding.)
In summary, go buy Jon Fine’s “Your Band Sucks,” not Billy Idol’s “My Book Sucks.”
BEST REUNION ALBUM I DID NOT SEE COMING: The Pop Group
Has it really been 35 years? Indeed it has been that long since the last studio album from The Pop Group. This one does not disappoint; agitated funk, distorted guitars, assertive lyrics, and occasional disorientation. Do not go gentle…
BEST CD TITLE OF SOMETHING I BOUGHT FOR $1: Oi! Skampilation Vol. #3
My local library sells used and donated CD’s as part of their fundraising efforts. I spotted this one and grabbed it based solely on the title; it was a no brainer. Surprisingly, it’s actually a compilation of calming ambient tracks. Just kidding…it’s actually exactly what you would expect. Thank you grown up Oi! fan who donated your collection to the library.
BEST USELESS INFORMATION REGARDING MY IPOD
I can guess what you’re thinking: “He has an IPod he still uses. How quaint.” Actually, I have two with a ton of music on each. This year I was able to listen all the way through one of my IPods in “song shuffle” mode. Not in one sitting, that would be crazy; it took months and months. Anywho, here was the last track that shuffled up:
What does it all mean? Nothing. As noted in the title of this category this is purely useless information.
BEST MUSIC PARTICIPATION EVENTS: Pop-Up Chorus
I am a really terrible singer, and that is not false modesty. Despite my trepidation, I decided to try attending a monthly Pop-Up Chorus event held nearby. I cannot express how much fun this is. People just show up, learn two songs, and sing them with the final performance recorded for posterity. There are enough good singers that I don’t ruin it, but the sense of community, acceptance and joy is worth the potential that someone might actually hear me. Here’s one we did at Halloween; see if you can spot me:
BEST NETLABEL FIND: Noise From Hell compilations on the Mindblasting Netlabel
Regular readers are aware that I am a big fan of Netlabels. And, I also contribute occasional reviews to Netlabelism Magazine (shameless self-promoting tie in link). This year I ran across the Mindblasting Netlabel which, working with Noise From Hell, posted their “Noise From Hell” compilation series. As I said in my review of volume 1, “It’s a shaken beer bottle full of punk, grindcore and metal, ready to explode when you break it open.” They’ve posted at least 9 volumes of this series; collect ‘em all.
FIN