In his excellent and devastatingly funny piece Give Me Centrism or Give Me Death! (reprinted here) Chuck Klosterman examines the most accurately rated artists in music. His evaluation of Mathhew Sweet is as follows:
Every Matthew Sweet album has only one good song, and this good song is inevitably the first single, and this single is always utterly perfect (“Sick of Myself” off 100% Fun, “Where You Get Love” off Blue Sky on Mars, “Girlfriend” off Girlfriend, etc.). He sells enough albums to live comfortably, and that seems reasonable.
Funny, and not so far from my opinion of Sweet. “Time Capsule” is most certainly the highlight of 1993’s Altered Beast. Sweet is an artist to compile a homemade compilation of; the highlights may not come as often as you’d like, but they certainly make it worth checking out each new release.
From the short-lived San Francisco duo’s swan song, 2011’s Father, Son, Holy Ghost. This is a band that will be missed. It seemed they were just hitting their stride.
Los Angeles-based band Family of the Year offer a catchy, sunny-sounding Beach Boy-influenced brand of indie folk pop, splashed with a bit of a hippie vibe here and there.
Love seems to have a variety of effects on Todd Rundgren. On the one hand, it inspired beautiful and timeless ballads like “Hello it’s Me”, “I Saw the Light” and “Can We Still be Friends”.
But it also can, as he puts it, “rearrange my brain in a strange cacophony”. A series of sound effects bring Todd’s dysfunction vividly to life. One suspects the studio wizard had studio time to fill, or needed one more song to fill out the album. Or perhaps he simply wanted to show off his studio wizardry. Whatever–your small children will love it.
To me, the only thing better than a great movie is a great movie that’s based on true events. I think it applies to songs too; once I know that a lyric has its origins in an interesting real-life situation, I usually have a greater attachment to the song.
Weezer B-side “Susanne”, which appeared on the Mallrats soundtrack, was a bit of a rarity for years; less so since its inclusion on the Deluxe Edition reissue of the “Blue album”.
From that CD’s liner notes comes the story behind the song:
Susanne was a talented A&R assistant at Geffen. In the long months of limbo between completing the Blue album in October ’93 and its eventual release in May of ’94, she became a big Weezer supporter, doing her best to keep the guys optimistic about their future with Geffen. As the lyrics imply, Susanne did in fact help Rivers (Cuomo) out with her spare winter coat when he needed one, and made plates of brownies to cheer him up. Her devotion and aid were perfectly summed up in this song. Before she knew of the song’s existence, the guys performed it a cappella for her in her Geffen office. Needless to say, it surprised the hell out of her!
Originally the line “Even Izzy, Slash and Axl Rose, when I call you put ’em all on hold” read “Even Kurt Cobain and Axl Rose…” In April ’94 the shocking news came of Kurt’s untimely death. Though the two had never met, Rivers had found great inspiration in Kurt’s songwriting on Nirvana’s Bleach. So when it came time to record “Susanne”, Rivers decided to change the lyric, not wanting to disrespect the memory of one who had been such an inspiration.
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Susanne, you’re all that I wanted of a girl You’re all that I need in the world I’m your child Make me blush, drive me wild Susanne, you’re all that I wanted
When I met you I was all alone Cold and hungry cryin’ on the phone You baked me brownies and said “don’t you cry” And gave me the coat off your back
Susanne, you’re all that I wanted of a girl You’re all that I need in the world I’m your child Make me blush, drive me wild Susanne, you’re all that I wanted
Even Izzy, Slash and Axl Rose When I call you put ’em all on hold And say to me that you’d do anything And all I can do is say that I haven’t much I can give you in return Only my heart and a promise not to turn But I’ll sing to you every day and every night Susanne, I’m your man
Susanne, you’re all that I wanted of a girl You’re all that I need in the world I’m your child Make me blush, drive me wild Susanne, you’re all that I wanted Of a girl YEAH!
If you’re getting the impression this blog has a crush on Aviv Geffen’s Blackfield project, you would be correct.
In all honesty, the newly-released Blackfield IV is the most uneven Blackfield album yet, and could have benefitted from more of Steven Wilson’s input on the songwriting front. The Porcupine Tree frontman had been a greater part of the first two records, on which his influence showed in the form of more guitar in the mix. With the past two albums seeing less of Wilson’s participation due to his solo projects, the songwriting has been 100 per cent Geffen, who also seems to also be winning most of the arguments about the arrangements, which more orchestral pop than guitar rock.
This isn’t all bad though, especially for fans of the mellower side of Pink Floyd and the ELO of “One Summer Dream” and “Strange Magic”. Geffen readily cites both bands as influential of his dreamy, orchestral pop sound.
Every Moment Has A Song 