11/28 – 12/02:

Betty Wright & The Roots, Betty Wright: The Movie 


 You really have to hand it to the Roots. Between their group work and Questlove’s pursuits outside the group, it feels like they’ve had a huge impact on music in the last decade especially, from Questlove’s involvement with Chappelle’s Show to their appearance as Jay-Z’s Mtv Unplugged band, to Questlove’s production of other artists to their album with John Legend to their key contributions to a long and diverse list of events, they seem to be everywhere. But even so, this album is pretty surprising. Betty Wright hasn’t released an album in 10 years, for one thing. But she did put out a single last year, and she lost a Grammy to The Roots & John Legend. And, oddly enough, their meeting that night lead to some performances and that lead to this record. Wright hasn’t lost a step, either. Betty Wright: The Movie is a worthy successor to her legendary, often-sampled ‘70s material, with the Roots creating a sound for her that is timeless and timely all at once. Other admirers like Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Wayne and Wright protege Joss Stone make solid contributions, as well. But the focus is squarely on Wright. Her still-powerful voice, the variety of subjects she takes on in her songs, and her conviction in singing them. Whether upbeat or somber, a perfect love song or a warning about domestic violence (A live version of the above-mentioned 2010 single “Go” on that touchy subject is included on some versions of this album), Betty Wright sounds as great as ever. I had no idea this was even coming out, but bought it without even listening to it when I saw it. I was not disappointed. 


 Betty Wright & The Roots, “In the Middle of the Game” 


 Childish Gambino, Camp 


 I was never wowed by Donald Glover’s hip hop music, and it bummed me out. I’ve been a fan since some one showed me the Derrick Comedy sketch “Girls Are Not To Be Trusted” several years ago, and have been excited to watch him go on to more and more success. I enjoy his work as an actor, writer and comedian, but when it came to music, it wasn’t working for me. Even in a genre almost defined by bragging, his lyrics seemed entirely too proud of themselves. Like even he couldn’t believe how clever his rhymes were. And those rhymes were, generally, either about buying sweaters, how everyone wishes they were him, or how his life sucks and he wants to die. There was no consistency, no authorial voice, and no topics I particularly cared to hear about. And to top it all off, he rapped in this high-pitched nasal whine that sounded like a petulant toddler. I tried to like him, but I couldn’t. 


 So when the homie Chris Coleman told me to give Camp a try, I did it to be nice. And I was stunned by it. The last thing I gave a shot was the Culdesac album. Maybe the change on Camp is less jarring if you’ve been keeping up with his subsequent releases, but wow. His voice is almost completely different. The “look-how-clever-I-am” smugness is gone, even when he’s doing typical rap bragging. And some of the songs get pretty deep, dealing with issues of racial identity and social isolation, but with nothing of the weird “I hate myself and I want to die” hysterics that turned up on Culdesac. These things are approached thoughtfully and honestly, and make for damn good listening. I mean, there’s songs about ho’s and gettin’ money and stuff, too, but more often than not, the lyrics are very engaging. And the production, which Glover is also heavily invovled in, is top-notch, fresh and engaging. This is a completely different artist from the last time I heard Childish Gambino, and I’m glad to hear it. 


Donald Glover got the name “Childish Gambino” from one of those Wu-Tang Name Generators that were floating around the internet a decade ago. I got “Bastard Bastard Harbour Master.” Even when it comes to random Wu-Tang names, Donald Glover is doing better than me. 


 Childish Gambino, “Bonfire” 


Los Campesinos!, Hello Sadness 


 Los Campesinos! are back, and more grown up than ever. On their 4th full-length (Although, for some reason, they don’t count We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, so they say 3rd), a lot has changed. 3 members of the 7-person group have left and been replaced, including semi-co-lead-vocalist/keyboardist Aleks, replaced by other lead vocalist Gareth’s sister, Kim (Kinda awkward for some of their material, I’d assume). But personnel changes aren’t all. Gareth’s singing suddenly sounds a lot more confident and practiced. Whereas previous material was delivered with a snotty snarl connecting them to a long history of British punk music, Gareth sounds like he’s grown up some, vocally. And for the most part, so does every other aspect of the band. The lyrics are less likely to be snarky one-liners and seem more raw and honest, and the music follows suit. The youthful bombast, the speed, the chanted backing vocals seem to have all quietly bowed out of the band’s sound. It is overall a much more somber affair, even on songs that aren’t sad. Which, I guess, is right in the title, but still a pretty jarring set of changes from all previous material. But, it still works. Even at their loudest and most sarcastic, the band always had a heart-on-their-sleeve openness that endeared them to the listener, and with a somewhat more mature approach, that connection becomes stronger. It leaves me wondering where they’re headed in the future. But I think it’s safe to say Los Campesinos! may not be a band that requires an exclamation point anymore. 


 Los Campesinos!, “By Your Hand”


Soundgarden, Badmotorfinger 


 There was a time, a time called middle school, where this album was entirely beyond me. I’d heard “Blackhole Sun” 4000000 times like everyone else, and enjoyed Superunknown, and in typical me fashion, went looking for more albums. And I had no idea what to do with this. I hadn’t really cultivated a taste for anything too heavy metal, and this was so far removed from the standard grunge fare of Superunknown that it totally broadsided me. In retorspect, what a strange transformation that must have been for existing fans. And in the present, with a much, much (much!) broader musical palate, I think this is my favorite Soundgarden album. But it took awhile to get there.


Soundgarden, “Rusty Cage” 


 Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll 


I will confess I’ve had diminishing returns on each subsequent Art Brut album. Some bands’ initial appeal is their wildness. The music is brash, raw, sloppy, and all the better for it. And no matter what, there’s no way they could realistically keep that up. Deftones and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are probably some of the best examples in my library, but Art Brut is definitely up there.I’ve enjoyed further releases and all, but the unpredictable, crazed, hilarious sound on Bang Bang Rock & Roll is exactly the kind of music that can’t stay the same. In terms of maturity, skill, production preferences, and just the artistic need to grow, no band is going to stay in a place where they can make songs like “Formed A Band,” “My Little Brother,” “Good Weekend” and “Modern Art” for long. But that special place early on where a band can just go for broke produces some of my favorite music. 


Art Brut, “Modern Art” 


Bob Dylan, Blonde On Blonde 


 The monolith. The one most people will say is his masterpiece. The epic double album that once and for all severed his ties with his past, the peak of a truly stunning 5-year artistic progression, some of the weirdest, densest popular music ever recorded at the time, and even putting all that aside, just a great collection of songs. 


I have come to realize over the years that, if I think something that isn’t necessarily meant to be funny is, indeed, funny when I’m first exposed to it, I will eventually come to genuinely love it. Dylan might be the earliest example I can think of, but there’s also Andrew WK, most genres of metal, a mid-life re-evaluation of Billy Ocean, and several other examples in my musical development. When I was but a lad, no later than 7th grade, my friend’s Dad got randomly hooked on the song “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” Even then, I had developed a reputation as  music-obsessed, so I was asked where he could find a good version of that song, but I was like 13, what did I know about “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door?” He eventually purchased the 1989 live album Dylan & The Dead. This... was a mistake. Such a mistake that he didn’t know what to make of it. But they played the album for me, and I cackled like a madman. This was Dylan at his most-parodied. The impression people do of Bob Dylan is generally how he sounded in the 80s. Especially nasal, nearly incomprehensible shouting, and nowhere in his 50 year career did he sound more like some one doing a bad impression of himself than this live album. I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what he was saying in basically any of these performances of some of his most famous pieces, but I thought it was hysterical. I dubbed a copy of the CD, even (OMG piracy!). Bob Dylan = funny. Filed that away, went on with my life. 


I was a freshman in college before I thought of Bob again. I was making the long drive to my comic shop and Blonde On Blonde’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again” came on the radio. I thought of Dylan & The Dead, and I laughed, and I kind of heard it as the parody Dylan voice instead of actually listening to it. But it’s a really long song, and as it kept going, and I stopped laughing at my memories and started really listening to it, I became more and more intrigued. Generally speaking, when we get to this part of a story, I’m about to become obsessed. By the end of the night, I’d researched his entire discography on the still fledgling late-90s internet and decided I should start with Blonde On Blonde. Within a few months, I’d own the vast majority of his recorded work, and be a true believin’ convert. In the coming years, I’d eagerly snap up each new record, see him in concert in 2002 (Shouts to Maile for front-row tickets!), buy his book, buy books about him, watch the Scorsese documentary etc, etc, etc. I became a dyed in the wool Dylan fanatic. But none of that probably would’ve happened if I didn’t spend a few hours laughing uncontrollably at Dylan & The Dead as a kid. It’s a funny ol’ world. 


 Bob Dylan, “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again” 


Yup. 


--D