As the aughts draw to a close… who cares? Seriously, who really does care? Does it mean the same to you as it does to me? I ask because this is what I see:
The span of time between the years 2000 and 2009 was like no decade that came before in that, given the rapid and ever more sophisticated advances in technology, we’ve been able to create our own very unique cultural experiences. There may be no “i” in “team” or “us” or “together,” but “i” creeped into our TV viewing experiences (TiVo), our telephones (the iPhone), our computers (how about the iMac?), and – most significantly – the way we listen to music (iTunes, the iPod, etc.), which is arguably where many of our personalized media experiences began in the first place. Which is great, on one level. If we only want to hear what we want to hear at the moment that we want, we can have that experience for relatively little money, at any time we please.
But on the other hand, what was threatening to become reality pretty much happened in the ’00s – we collectively eliminated the possibility of there ever being another Beatles, Elvis Presely or Michael Jackson, someone that most of us can all agree on. Given that Michael left us mid-way through the last year of the decade, we have effectively lost our last great pop culture figure, and even he was vulnerable to the pressures of our shape-shifting culture. The one album of all original material he released this decade (2001’s Invincible) was not only one of his poorest sellers, it also sucked way more often than it didn’t. Granted, we still have two Beatles left, but even Paul McCartney hasn’t been able to produce an album that could unite all of his old and young fans the way his work with the Beatles continues to do.
Which brings us to the album itself. It’s not completely dead, and will always have a place so long as musicians think of themselves as artists and still revel in the joy of creating a cohesive work of art. But let’s face it – fewer people are buying albums (on CD, that is – digital download sales and even sales of vinyl records continue to increase, though not nearly enough to offset the decline in CD purchases). And that translates to fewer people who can come together to agree on which ones are great, and which ones are best forgotten. And fewer people to care.
Having said all that, in conjunction with our End of Decade series, I present to you my picks for ten best albums of the decade, in no particular order. These are albums that, for one reason or another, connected me to many, many different people over the past ten years, all of whom mean something to me. Maybe you’re one of them, or maybe you will be someday.
Doves – Lost Souls (2000) Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R (2000) Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008) M. Ward – The Transfiguration of Vincent (2003) Brian Wilson – Smile (2004) The Gutter Twins – Saturnalia (2008) Beck – Sea Change (2002) Ambulance LTD – LP (2004) Erykah Badu – Mama’s Gun (2000) Herbie Hancock – River: The Joni Letters (2007)
The Texas power trio loves classic rock and that affection is on display here with an EP featuring covers of five tunes from one of the greatest years in rock history, 1969. Santana’s “Evil Ways” kicks it off with a showcase for Henry Garza’s blazing lead guitar skills. Blind Faith’s “Well All Right” and the Beatles’ “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” both receive the “Texican” treatment and become groovier than the original versions. The band makes the songs sound like their own with upbeat arrangements where Garza’s soulful vocals intertwine very nicely with his guitar playing. There are also jamming wah-wah solos at the end of each.
Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie” is the most obscure track on the disc, but it’s a bluesy rocker that fits right in. The Garza brothers close it out with The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues,” which also receives an infusion of wah-wah before blowing up into a turbo-charged jam. All the songs retain a classic sound thanks in part to mixing by Andy Johns, the engineer who recorded the original version of “Well All Right” (as well as working with Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.)
These artists are all obvious influences on Los Lonely Boys. But since there would be no point in making an EP of covers that sound just like the originals, it’s fun to hear the band do a strong job of re-arranging the tunes so that anyone of them would fit right into their live set. (R.E.D. Distribution 2009)
For PS3 and XBox 360, the tracks will be offered up in two ways: Fans of Side A but not Side B — if those people actually exist — can buy “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” “Oh! Darling” and “Because” as standalone download. However, if you want those three songs and all 16 glorious minutes of the Abbey Road medley, plus all 23 seconds of “Her Majesty,” you can purchase the complete album pack for $16.99. Wii will offer up the three songs plus “You Never Give Me Your Money” as $2 a la carte downloads (”Her Majesty” will run $1) except for the medley, which will be divided into three multi-song downloads at $3.50 each.
But why stop there? Harmonix and MTV Games will release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in November and Rubber Soul in November for download.
Liam Finn, son of Crowded House’s Neil Finn, is back with a five song EP that is somewhat of a follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2008 release, I’ll Be Lightning. And when Paste says that 2008 project “could be an Abbey Road outtake,” quite honestly, where do you go from there? So Finn did the smart thing and teamed up with band mate and fellow Aussie singer/songwriter Eliza Jane Barnes to create something of a diversion. The result is Champagne in Seashells, and it’s not totally what you might expect by pairing a male and female singer/songwriter together. In fact, “Long Way to Go” is more like bouncy hipster fare – you know, the kind of thing you might hear in a clothing store in New York City and think to yourself that you have to find out what that ear candy is you’re listening to. But there is also rainy day brooding as on “Won’t Change My Mind,” and Eliza proves she is every bit worthy of being in Finn’s company when she takes the lead on “On Your Side.”
Side project or not, this is a damn good EP and proof that the Finn genes are also, well, damn good. (Yep Roc 2009)
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (09/07/2009 @ 5:45 pm)
Within a few years time, I’m sure there will be another influx of Beatles-related reissues, movies, documentaries, video games, etc. Right now, however, it all seems appropriate. Granted, I know hordes of individuals are making bank off the Beatles’ legacy, despite there being only two surviving members. It’s hard to even care though, considering the amazing music they left behind. It’s been a pure joy to watch this Beatles week on VH1. I know everything is tied together with the anticipation of The Beatles: Rock Band and the EMI remasters of their entire catalogue, but it seems fueled by a genuine excitement and gratitude for the music.
While those popular remasters will be in stereophonic sound, receiving less attention is “The Beatles in Mono” box set, which also hits street retailers on September 9th. EMI had originally planned to only release 10,000 copies of the box set for the U.S. market. Unsurprisingly, pre-orders shot through the roof and they’re going to expand that number.
This may be where The Beatles in Mono comes into its own. At first glance, it looks an extravagant frippery: a £240 11-CD box set, featuring perfect miniature reproductions of albums pristinely remastered in a sonic format rendered obsolete almost half a century ago. But until 1969, the Beatles were disinterested in stereo: they oversaw the mono mixes of their albums, then left the rest to George Martin. The box set can thus proudly claim to offer “the closest you can get to hearing the authentic sound of the Beatles”. On the later albums, that amounts to a handful of cosmetic differences: if it’s striking to hear Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds with added psychedelic phasing effects, it doesn’t radically alter your perception of the song. The early albums, however, are transformed.
Hardcore Beatles fans and audiophiles tend to favor the monophonic production of their first four albums over the stereophonic albums that followed. If you care to read more about the debate, check out this link. I have a record player and can notice slight differences in the production of the mono and stereo LPs. Nevertheless, you’ll need a receiver with a channel switcher to get an obvious presentation. If not, a good old pair of headphones will do when comparing both formats of a song.
When talking about the Beatles, most people think about the two main singer/songwriters in Paul McCartney and John Lennon. But guitarist/songwriter George Harrison was no slouch, and he certainly went on to have many years of success after the big breakup. In fact, Harrison had four Number One singles on the Billboard pop charts, and any fan of his music with or without the Beatles is going to have to own this encompassing collection of the man’s big hits, Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison. There are tracks like “My Sweet Lord,” “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) and “Got My Mind Set On You,” as well as live versions of Beatles classics that he wrote such as “Something,” “Here Comes the Sun” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” There are also some of the more obscure beauties, like “All Things Must Pass” and the pure ear candy of “This is Love.” There is also “Marwa Blues,” a stunning instrumental that showcases Harrison’s unique guitar tone and the way that he could, well, make that thing just weep. If you’ve been a fan from the beginning, you probably already own this album, but if you’re less in tune with the man’s work and you love timeless pop, it’s a classic that you just need to have. (LABEL: Capitol)
Dhani Harrison…yes, you may know him as George’s son…has been making the press rounds, talking up You Are Here, the album by his band, thenewno2. While doing so, however, it hasn’t exactly required a great deal of arm-twisting to get him to chat about how he had more than a little bit to do with the folks at Apple Corps agreeing to license the Beatles’ music for their very own volume of “Rock Band.” But that’s fair enough, since “Yomp,” a song by thenewno2, was released as downloadable content for “Rock Band” on July 29, 2008, and another track, “Crazy Tuesday,” was released as one of 20 free songs for “Rock Band 2.”
“I basically did that for Apple,” admitted Harrison, “so that they could see it and say, ‘Oh, look, there’s Dhani, he’s a new media kind of person, and this is how he’s selling his stuff. Maybe we should consider doing that with the Beatles, seeing as we don’t have any digital deal or anything.’”
The Beatles’ “Rock Band” evolved out of several meetings Harrison had with Alex Rigopulos, co-founder of Harmonix Music Systems, the developers of “Rock Band.”
“He’s a genius,” said Harrison, “just the loveliest, loveliest guy. We were sitting around one day, and he just said to me, ‘Do you think they would ever go for a Beatle game?’ And I was thinking the same thing to talk to him about! ‘It would be amazing, wouldn’t it?’ I said to him. Actually, I think I said, ‘It would be amazing because I could kick your ass at ‘I Am the Walrus’ while dressed as a wizard in Shea Stadium.’
“Do you know what I mean? Or I could put on the ice skating outfit from ‘Help!’ and then beat you at ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ in the universe somewhere. I don’t know. Just make up whatever you can; ‘I Am the Walrus’ at the Cavern Club, even. Wouldn’t that be fun? And we both just started riffing on that kind of stuff until we both just were in hysterics, and it was obviously a brilliant idea, but I said, ‘Well, that’s never going to happen, is it?’ And he said, ‘No, it’s never going to happen.’ I said, ‘But I should talk to the guys from Apple, anyway. Because it is actually a no-brainer. It is the biggest no-brainer that I’ve ever, ever thought about, and if Apple don’t go for it, then they are shooting themselves in the foot, because someone else is going to do it. Someone else is going to get their own game.
“In the way the media works these days, in the way that music delivery systems work these days, I find it quite often best to be first,” Harrison explained. “If you were the first person ever to design an application for the iPhone and you patented it, you would be very, very better off than we are right now, you know? But you’ve got to be the first one to do it. So I figured that Led Zeppelin or The Stones were going to do it unless we just got on to it. So I got cracking with the guys from Apple. I kind of almost bullied them into believing how amazing it was. They really didn’t need much convincing if you looked to the fourth quarter, the month of December 2007, I think they sold something like 10,000,000 units of ‘Guitar Hero 2′ in just one month, and they are $50.00 each. I said, ‘If you do the math, if you go 50/50 with ‘Rock Band’ and you sell a Beatles ‘Rock Band’ game, that’s a big deal’ you know. And not to mention that, once the game is made, you can just keep adding songs to it. You could do the Bangladesh pack, you could do the ‘Live and Let Die’ pack, you could do the ‘Imagine’ pack…”
Are you salivating yet? Better clean yourself up. You’ve got ’til September 9th until the Beatles’ “Rock Band” hits stores.
Beatles fans and Rock Band fans can celebrate – The Beatles version of the popular game will be released in September 2009.
Here are the highlights from the press release:
• The game takes players through an “unprecendented experiential progression” of the musical career of the band.
• The game will be available as standalone software and hardware, as well as a limited edition bundle. The game will be compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers and other current music-based video game peripherals.
• There will be limited edition hardware modelled on instruments used by John, Paul, George and Ringo.
• The numbers:
- The Beatles: Rock Band Software – Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $59.99 MSRP
- The Beatles: Rock Band Standalone Guitars – Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $99.99 MSRP
- The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition Premium Bundle: Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $249.99 MSRP
- International pricing to be announced at a later date
• Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE album project, is providing his expertise and serving as Music Producer
• Fans who pre-order the game will get access to exclusive content created by Apple Corps, MTV Games and Harmonix over the next few months.
Doves – Lost Souls (2000)
