an introduction
The first day in a new school is always a hard one. Kids gawk. Teachers condescend. Janitors snarl. Luckily today is my fourth day, so I’m not feeling too weird. My name is Sean. Technically, I am the new Director of Merchandising here at eMusic. But emotionally, I am your friend. And though no one could ever replace the irreplaceable Yancey, I’m here and I’m doing some Yancey things. Like finding new ways for you to find great music. And searching for artists as yet undiscovered for eMusic Selects. And working to solve the problems of the world, like why aren’t more people listening to ELO?
A little about me: I’m a young man.
A little more: I’ve spent nearly the last three years working at VIBE magazine, which recently folded. At the magazine I was the Music Editor, doing myriad things but mostly pulling my hair out. I’m also an active music writer. You can Google me, if you have a second. And though VIBE smacks of “rap guy,” something I’ve always sort of been, I’m a full-blown completist in all genres. No dilettante-ing. So for a cursory intro in a way that loyal 17 dots-ers can truly understand, I’ve compiled a short list of albums that eMusic offers that burn my bulb. I’ll try to be brief. I look forward to talking to you all regularly. Let’s start now.
Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out – A stand-by. Sad, lonely, ferocious, kicking and crying. Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss, and the shrieking queen Corin Tucker became an official, implacable trio on this album, still their best for my cash. I have a hard time hearing “Words and Guitar” and not punching someone in the face. Joe, Maris, Jayson and Alex have been warned.
Fela Kuti, No Agreement – Speaking of punches…Fela. Though perhaps not his “best” work, No Agreement has always felt like his most musical. As with any Afrobeat record, it is a churning, relentless force. But “No Agreement” is also a deeply felt, enormously vulnerable song about the power of saying little. Go with it.
Minutemen, Double Nickels On The Dime – I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know here. I’m a sarcastic-type. D. Boon is my co-pilot. “Oh here we are, in French Indochina!”
DJ Quik & Kurupt, BlaQKout – This is a new one some of you may have heard. It’s also the most adventurous rap album of the year. Quik, a Compton legend, and Kurupt, a surviving soldier with Death Row stripes, are getting older. And weirder. And better. Approach with an open mind, this isn’t restricted to the crushing parameters of gangsta rap. It’s a tall glass of ice water on a sweltering summer afternoon. Unless you’re listening to “9x Outta 10,” in which case it’s a nightmare that starts-stops-starts again.
Yellowman, Mister Yellowman – I misspent my youth ignoring dancehall. The last decade has been dedicated to making up for lost time. Yellowman, a people person if there ever was one, uses this album to blow his own horn while closely observing the quiet domestic life in Jamaica. “Yellowman Getting Married” is a heartwarmer.
Billy Joel, Cold Spring Harbor – I admit with some trepidation that I am from Long Island. It is a place with a dodgy reputation for muscle tees and IROC-Zs and haircare products. But it is also the home of Joel, a wrongly slandered laureate. And though the hits are tattooed on your cerebral cortex, the album cuts are largely unknown. Cold Spring Harbor, named for an L.I. town just a scant five minutes from my hometown, has the highest deep cuts-to-hits ratio. It’s also a revealing portrait of an artist in bloom. Joel had just left a ramshackle operation called Attila and begun to settle in as a sensitive, striving artist. Hopefully I can do the same at Emusic. Cheers.
YESSSSSSSSSS
Also, a very hearty “aye” on BlaQKout, though mostly to me Kurupt sounds like he’s entered his late-GZA phase (what’s that shit about different me’s and soliloquys?) Quik refuses to stop.
You had me at “why aren’t more people listening to ELO”. Welcome aboard! Only slightly off topic, any chance Emu will be getting the Lynne-worshiping Secret Powers and the Electric Family Choir? It’s on Not Lame. It’s brilliant.
Ptolemy,
I have NO idea what that is. Fail. I will ask around…..
Unless, Sean, your ELO comment was an example of the latter mentioned sarcasm, in which case I’ll just take your lunch money instead.
Jayson – http://www.myspace.com/secretpowersmt. “Orange Trees” is a good place to start, as is “Mary Ann.” Then check out “Both Sides of the Candle” at http://tinyurl.com/naswpn
I have been obsessing over ELO myself lately. And Cold Spring Harbor: I rep hard for “Everybody Loves You Now.” Maybe that’s my Long Island background coming out?
Any man who can admit to Billy Joel love in public deserves praise. Or is it pity? No, definitely praise. I think.
Anyway, welcome to eMu.
Your ideas intrigue me & I’d like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Excited to see where you point our ears.
Ptolemy,
Though the sarcasm will rear its head soon, it is nowhere to be found in this post. ELO guide me home, always.
“I have been obsessing over ELO myself lately.”
Me, too. I’ve had {i}Out Of The Blue{/i} on nonstop for a month. Album’s hidden secret weapon: the steady acoustic strumming and layered vocal harmonies of “It’s Over.” And this from the eMusic review — “ELO’s 1977 album Out of the Blue is (very) arguably one of the greatest records in rock history, approaching such canonical recordings as Sister Lovers, Loveless and Exile on Main Street” — is totally OTM.
Welcome, Sean. I look forward to reading your posts.
You must have some pretty big feet, Sean, as those shoes seem to be filling up quite nicely, thank you.
Not quite sure how you manage to namedrop a 70s progrock Sony release and instantly drop yourself into awesome, but you did it. Nice Job.
Out of the Blue was the first thing I downloaded from the Sony drop, knowing I should know more about ELO than I did – and oh my it’s freaking AWESOME. Over the top, over produced, over done, freaking crazy awesome.
Welcome to the team…
Not one domino shall fall, Sean
Welcome Sean
@Jayson “YESSSSSSSSSS” is this b/c yer not the NKOTB anymore
@Nergal -
Ha! I think I might always be the NKOTB round these parts, Nergal… I just don’t play the part of the grizzled veteran very well. Partially because I just don’t have any grizzle…
ELO, Sleater-Kinney, Billy Joel, and Fela. You got huevos, Sean. I’ll give you that. Welcome to town, new kid. Looks like you’ll fit right in.
We go from ELO straight into Sleater-Kinney – impressive! “Horace Wimp” is my absolute favorite ELO tune (I’m a sucker for just about anything that falls under the “coming of age” umbrella) and I’ve always wanted to be a riot grrrl when I grow up. Welcome Sean!
Oh and I’m really happy to hear Selects will still be alive and kickin’ – it’s been the absolutely coolest thing eMusic has ever done. Seriously.
“Minutemen, Double Nickels On The Dime – I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know here. I’m a sarcastic-type. D. Boon is my co-pilot. ‘Oh here we are, in French Indochina!’”
I never understood the love for this record. I never understood how it could be mentioned in the same breath with, for instance, Husker Du’s Zen Arcade (or even Warehouse: Songs and Stories, which frankly I love far more than Zen Arcade).
Daniel, I think those were regional comparisons more than anything else w/r/t Husker Du. Generational, too. But conceptually and stylistically they’re so different. I like records that don’t sound terribly fussed over, but with a certitude about how they should sound. Minutement to a TEE.
hey, welcome aboard!
so i’m just starting out on my elo discovery tour; i was leaning eldorado, but i’m seeing a lot of out of the blue love here. pointers?
(but daniel i don’t know if i can trust anyone who loves warehouse more than zen… i mean c’mon, turn on the news)