Now That's How You Play the Drums

The Case for Graceland

I'll come right out and admit that my mother is one of those aging baby-boomers who loves Graceland. She listened to it constantly while I was growing up and, because of this youthful inundation, I will forever have a piece of my brain dedicated to recognizing the melodies and rhythms of this album. There I'll be years from know, mind eaten away by years of e-pleasure implant abuse, drooling and mumbling about my lost African love, last seen ducking into a New York taxi. The fact that it never happened will only make it seem more real--myth of fingerprints and all that...

To start with, I like the African musical elements on this album. They work well with Simon's lyrics. The shuffling rhythms add some much needed energy to counter the tendency towards lazy folk/jazz miasma that tarnished some of Simon's 70's work. The vocal harmonies add depth to the soft urban-noir tinge of Simon's lyrics. Before this album came out Paul Simon was dangerously close to becoming a sort of thinking man's James Taylor. Now he's become the has-been that puts ethnic music in all of his albums. I'd rather that than any sort of hyphenated Taylor construct.

Other than the world music angle, I don't see much of a difference between Graceland and Simon's other albums. Now, I love 'Kodachrome' as much as anyone, even Little Earl, but what's so edgy about it? Is it because he says 'crap' in it? The wonderful thing about Kodachrome is it's lack of nostalgia. He's not singing about how great black and white photography was. He likes color! Cheap accessible color! But then you get to Simon's other hits from the 70's and it's nothing but nostalgia. His experiments with other musical styles seem forced. Listening to 70's Paul Simon I find myself wishing for more 'Kodachrome's and less 'Loves Me Like a Rock's.

Little Earl is right about one thing, the production on Graceland is mediocre. You can tell that there's a lot of stuff going on, but you can't hear everything. This is a problem that is common to 80's recordings. They had so many tracks to work with so they added all kinds of bells and whistles but the early digital recording technology just mashed everything together. Still, for an 80's album Graceland doesn't sound terrible. 'Diamonds on Souls of Her Shoes' in particular stands out. It has decent sonic range and doesn't go crazy with the electro-accordian or whatever that is on 'Graceland'.

Little Earl's objection to the African musicians appearing on the album seems unfounded to me. Sure, there are problems in America but that doesn't have much to do with apartheid in South Africa. Bringing attention to one problem won't take attention away from the other. Simon brought good paying jobs to people that might not be able to get employment under a racist system. How can that be a bad thing?

Paul Simon never wrote a song as emotionally affecting as 'The Sound of Silence' or 'Bridge over Troubled Water' after he split from Garfunkel. But for my money, Graceland is the best solo Simon album overall. It is a bit boring in places but not every song can be 'Kodachrome'.

The Paul Simon Fan Who Doesn't Really Like Graceland

("You got a problem, Little Earl?")

Hear me out, folks. Now, I love Paul Simon's solo career as much as anybody. Singer-songwriter albums don't get any better than There Goes Rhymin' Simon, for one thing. And no else could throw out a piece of offbeat New York whimsy like Simon could with “Stranded In A Limousine” (a lesser-known gem from his 1977 Greatest Hits, Etc. collection). But as much as I've tried to warm to it, I don't really care too much for Graceland.

Yeah, it's a good album, don't get me wrong. But the critical line on Graceland is that it's a late career masterpiece – one that not only revitalized Simon's career, but also introduced African music to mainstream pop audiences. Maybe it is a masterpiece. But it's not a masterpiece that I find very interesting.

Some of my objections might sound like nitpicking to certain fellow Paul Simon fans. I can hear their slightly mellow responses already: “What's the problem, dude? Who doesn't like Graceland? His lyrics are great, the songs are catchy, and the African thing was so new and fresh.” I do not wish to diminish the pleasure that these fans might receive from Graceland. I would just like to point out a few things that haven't really been said about the album.

Cheap Shot #1: Graceland is the epitome of Aging Baby Boomer Music.

Perhaps there are many here among us who would take the description “Aging Baby Boomer Music” as a compliment. This is not my intention.

I do not require every single popular musician to be edgy, outrageous, wild, avant-garde, rebellious, counter-cultural, etc. But music has to have SOMETHING going for it, something a little bit energetic and maybe even thorny and restless. Pre-Graceland Paul Simon is actually an excellent example of a relatively mellow musician who still had an edge. If anything, his edge was all the more effective because of his collegiate and non-rebellious image. Who didn't prick up an ear when they first heard “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school/It's a wonder I can think at all”? My God, did you hear the way he emphasized the word “crap”? My little Paulie? Who taught him such filthy language?

Mellowness is a wonderful thing in life. It can be a wonderful thing in music as well. If anything, Paul Simon was always so refreshing because he was much more thoughtful and reasonable than many of his reckless and somewhat arrogant rock contemporaries. The key was, any less of an edge and Paul Simon's music threatened to tumble into a bottomless cavern of blandness.

And that cavern, my friends, is Graceland.

I can almost see an aging baby boomer approaching me now, waving his or her arthritic finger, explaining to me that I possess the foolishness of the young person who thinks that all art needs to be confrontational and violent, because “they think that's what's good for the world.” As aspiring rock critics go, I'm probably more aligned with the mellow baby boomer than most. But Jesus, Graceland is SO BORING. Thoughtfulness doesn't always have to be boring, you know. A perfect illustration of this, actually, is EARLY PAUL SIMON.

What happened to the guy? Did he just get swallowed up in an endless sea of cocktail parties, award shows, all-star benefits, poetry readings and TV appearances? He didn't have to get so bland, did he? It's not a requirement of aging, is it? Look at Neil Young. There we go. Now there's an aging baby boomer I can get behind. Or Tom Waits. Instead of getting mellower, he just got crazier and crazier. Even Billy Joel, who isn't nearly as critically respected as Paul Simon is, at least retained a sense of restlessness and atttitude in his last recordings – which might make him an easier target for rock critic jibes, but, to these ears at least, makes him a lot less boring.

Graceland is the sound of total complacency. Maybe the guy had problems in his life, but you couldn't tell from the music. The lyrics are clever; you'll get no argument from me. But they also sound like the thoughts of a guy who has too much time to think about silly things. That's not the worst crime in the world, I guess. But it doesn't exactly make for thrilling music, either.

Cheap Shot #2: The African Thing

Buckets of ink were spilled in 1986 over how amazing and daring and original it was for Paul Simon to recruit a bunch of African musicians to play on his record. My response is to wonder why he didn't feel like engaging instead with contemporary African-American music, which was probably much more interesting, edgy and relevant at that time than traditional African music was. Traditional African music was exactly the kind of African music that white aging baby boomers could get behind - the kind of thing that would seem exotic and relevant without actually being that exotic or relevant. You didn't see them warming up to Boogie Down Productions, for example. Or Prince, even. I doubt Paul Simon did it intentionally, but the whole “I'm gonna go to Africa and get into the music of other cultures” just seems like another thing a white aging baby boomer with a lot of time on his hands would do. What about African-Americans? They weren't doing so hot in the 80s there. They kind of needed some help. Naw, naw, let's go to Africa instead and spread the boring-ass music of the side of Africa that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. No Fela Kuti for us, thank you. Don't get me wrong, Fela Kuti kind of seems like an angry revolutionary asshole. Maybe, but at least his music isn't as boring as Graceland.

Just think of the title. All I can remember from my visit to Graceland was how shockingly poor and predominantly black the surrounding neighborhood was. You think any of those black people gave a shit about Elvis? I'm not saying they should have and I'm not saying they shouldn't have. But the fact of the matter was, I'm not sure these thoughts were occuring to Paul Simon as he was driving with his kid to Graceland, humming the lyrics to his next gold record. Yeah, yeah, Paul Simon can sing about whatever he wants. He has no obligation to shed light on the injustices of the world. But I'm actually kind of curious what black people think of this album. My hunch is that they're not too big on it, but I could be wrong.

Cheap Shot #3: The 80s sucked

For reasons that are partially clear and partially unclear to me, the 80s were a big black pit of crappiness - at least in terms of popular culture, they were. Mainstream music was too boring, underground music was too extreme. In such a climate, I can see how Graceland would seem like a masterpiece. But twenty years on, I don't think it holds up all that well. Beats me if I know why (I'm not a recording engineer), but most attempts to record acoustic-based music in the 80s now sound dated and lifeless. Hey, everything goes in cycles. In the early 70s, I guess they couldn't help recording their music so well, because the equipment had just been invented, damn it. Or maybe they just had higher standards. Don't believe me? Put some headphones on. Listen to “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes,” and then listen to “Kodachrome.” Yeah. You know what I'm talking about. My God, from its very first notes, it's like “Kodachrome” just springs to life. There's all kinds of shit hitting you from all directions: multitracked acoustic guitars and pianos, drums that bounce across the stereo channels, too many vocal harmonies to count, and so on and so on. No one ever talks about how well-produced early Paul Simon is, but ladies and gentlemen, the proof's in the pudding. It helps, of course, that the song happens to be great, but you can have a great song and still lose the magic in the studio. My point is, popular music is the whole package. If you don't put some effort into the production, you're gonna lose me. A few artists can get away with this, I think. But not Paul Simon. And certainly not in the 80s.

So there you have it. Call me a curmudgeon if you wish. I'd like to make it clear, if I haven't already, that I don't have anything against Paul Simon as a person. I'm simply casting my vote against Graceland being a timeless classic of our time. Its very inoffensiveness...kind of offends me. But don't worry about me too much, I'm not losing any sleep over it. Besides, there's a couple of songs, at least, that I really like, and you can probably guess which ones. Spared from my purge against Graceland: “You Can Call Me Al” and “I Know What I Know.”

Why? Because these two songs are at least energetic and funny. Granted, they are not as energetic and funny as “Kodachrome.” But they are memorable songs and worthy of remaining in my mp3 files. Listen to this:

She said there's something about you
That really reminds me of money
She is the kind of a girl
Who could say things that
Weren't that funny
I said what does that mean
I really remind you of money
She said who am I
To blow against the wind

Hey! Now there's the Paul Simon that I remember! How about that? The album needed a lot more of that, and a lot less

Joseph's face was black as night
The pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked
By the stars in the Southern Hemisphere
And he walked his days
Under African skies

Yaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnn. Somebody wake me up when it's over.

Alright, alright, I admit it. I just hate Graceland because it's the kind of album that all those Baby Boomer parents used to listen to with their perfect Baby Boomer kids that I just couldn't relate to at all.

But does that mean it's actually good and I just dislike it for stupid reasons? The world will never know.

Sure George

From IMDB:

'Spider-Man 3' Is "Silly," Says Lucas

George Lucas has joined the major newspaper critics in their negative appraisal of Spider-Man 3. In an interview with FoxNews.com's Roger Friedman, Lucas said, "It's a silly movie. ... There just isn't much there. Once you take it all apart, there's not much story, is there?" Over the weekend, Spider-Man 3 surged ahead of Lucas's Star Wars' episode Revenge of the Sith to take the record for the biggest weekend box-office record. Star Wars was also criticized as being "silly," Lucas noted. "But it wasn't." He also disclosed that he is working on at least two other Star Wars movies for television. "But they won't have members of the Skywalker family as characters. They will be other people of that milieu."

Also: some of the reviews for the Lindsay Lohan/Jane Fonda "film" Georgia Rule almost make me want to see it. Selected highlights:

"Do not take your mom to Georgia Rule unless she's Roseanne Barr. You may expect a three-generational chick flick, but what you get is a child-rape comedy."

"The subject matter is grim, the relationships are gnarled, the worldview is bleak, and, at any given moment, you suspect someone’s going to be hit with a pie."

"On Golden Pond with fellatio jokes and whimsical incest melodrama and Fonda playing her dad (who, more and more, she eerily resembles)."

"Combines battleship actresses of the Steel Magnolias variety, fall-down-go-boom comedy that was obsolete in the '30s, Lindsay Lohan's cleavage and intergenerational fondling just for kicks."

"The most insensitive comedy ever about alcoholism or the softest drama ever about child molestation."

"Lohan stalks around in short low-cut outfits and tries to seduce everything with a penis, from a missionary to her boss to her stepfather. Sound like fun for the whole family?"

Sure does!

First Wookies, Now Giraffes

Drunk students learn lesson from peeved giraffe - MSNBC

Also:

Squirrel Attacks Student, Adults Inside SJ School - KNTV - MSNBC

The NBA Playoffs

I know this isn't the usual subject matter of our blog but I thought we might benefit from a slight change of pace. We also happen to live in the same general area as the big underdog team who have been getting all the press lately, The Golden State Warriors.

If you're like me, you had no idea the Warriors played in Oakland until a week ago. I always knew they were from somewhere around here, after all, the miles of imported Spanish grass along Interstate 5 continually remind me that we are indeed 'The Golden State'. But why aren't they named after an actual city? Does Oakland have such a heinous reputation that they wanted to avoid that particular proper noun like some moldy orange sitting in California's juicy flavor-filled crate? Do people in South Dakota buy Warrior jerseys to bring some modicum of happiness into their frigid lives?

Whatever the story is, the Warriors did live up to their Oakland heritage by beating the Mavericks, the team with the best record in the NBA, in the first round of the playoffs. You kinda got the feeling that if the Warriors had been playing any other team they wouldn't have tried as hard. But if you come from the city known only for being insulted by some literary hanger on a century ago and for having the best joke team in sports (I'm sorry but the Harlem Globetrotters have nothing on the Oakland Raiders) you probably get a special delight in beating the best team in the league just by smashing into them and running really fast.

The other team I enjoy watching is, of course, Phoenix. They play like Tarantino directs-fast, efficient, and fun. Some criticize their defensive skills, but defense, unless you are Dennis Rodman, does not make for good TV. Interestingly, Phoenix is also from a shitty city known for sprawl, heat, and...well, its basketball team. Now that I think about it, I naturally tend to root for teams from lousy cities. I could never be a 49'ers or Giants fan. I dislike all teams from New York instinctively. But when the day comes that a winning team somehow rises miraculously from the war-torn streets of post-apocalyptic Detroit--the original Oakland--I can't help but get excited.

Gumdrops Keep Shooting Out My Ass

In my younger years, I'd always assumed that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, my newest DVD purchase, was one of the "classic" movies. Only later, in grad school, did I discover that it has a rather low reputation among serious film scholars. Apparently they see it as too "feel good," too light-weight, too contrived. Considering that it came out during the same year as The Wild Bunch, and considering that it was probably about ten times as popular as The Wild Bunch, you can see how the critical resentment might have been birthed. I never like being told that something I like isn't actually good, so naturally I felt the urge to defend Butch Cassidy in my head. "It's not completely lightweight," I said to myself. "It still does the whole 'sympathize with criminals' thing. It still has a downbeat ending." Yeah, but...who was I kidding? The film was simply not a tough, gritty drama on the order of Bonnie and Clyde or McCabe & Mrs. Miller. It has its themes, it has its style, but it doesn't quite hold up to the same level of scrunity. When critics faulted the film for trying too hard to make the lead characters sympathetic (as if that's what, they implied with disdain, an audience needs in order to like a character), I could see their point.

Having now become aware that Butch Cassidy was not a "real" movie, I decided to watch it again in grad school anyway (armed as I was with my new grad school knowledge), and see how it stood up. Turns out I still liked the damn thing. Everything the critics said about it was true. But whereas all those factors, for them, were what made the film bad, to me all those same exact factors were what made the film good. (I feel the same way about that other successful Paul Newman/Robert Redford/George Roy Hill collaboration with a lukewarm critical reputation, The Sting.) Butch Cassidy's flaws are also its virtues; it just depends on what you feel like watching. True, the film is hokey and mainstream and the characters are relentlessly charming and likeable. If you're looking for a Bonnie and Clyde/McCabe & Mrs. Miller thing, then Butch Cassidy would probably make you want to vomit. But I'm not always in the mood for a Bonnie and Clyde/McCabe & Mrs. Miller thing. Sometimes I want a hokey mainstream movie with relentlessly likeable characters (as long as it's done in an artful way, I ask). This may really make me sound like a film snob, but to me, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is my idea of a guilty pleasure. It doesn't really challenge the viewer. It doesn't raise uncomfortable issues. It doesn't even reveal new depths with repeated viewing. It is basically exactly what it says it is and no more. If I leave my "critic" button on in my head while I watch it, I can see its limitations and will become annoyed. But if I turn off my critic button, I have to admit that I'm just a sucker for it.

Why, you say? Well, for me, what makes the movie work is that, at its core, it's basically a movie about friendship - male friendship. And that is not a hip subject in today's critical world. But's it a part of life and it's a part of my life. And the thing is, you really believe that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are friends. If you didn't believe that they were friends, then the movie would probably be the soulless piece of crap that critics accuse it of being. But it's rare in a movie for me to completely believe the friendship, and I believe it in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I have seen much edgier movies where I didn't believe a single thing I saw.

So I don't care what they say. Sure, it's not the freakin' Godfather, but it's classic enough for me.

DVD Features:

• Available Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 1.0), French (Dolby Digital 1.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Disc 1:
• Widescreen Feature
• Commentary by George Roy Hill, Lyricist Hal David, Associate Producer Robert Crawford and Cinematographer Conrad Hall.
• Commentary by Screenwriter William Goldman.
• Disc 2:
• 2005 documentary "All Of What Follows is True: The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• "The Wild Bunch: The True Tale of Butch & Sundance" featurette
• "History Through the Lens: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Outlaws Out of Time" documentary
• 1994 documentary: "The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
• 1994 Interviews with Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross, writer William Goldman, and composer Burt Bacharach
• Production Notes
• Alternate Credit Roll
• Deleted scenes
• Production notes
• Trailers

3 to the 5 to the Top

Bob Dylan songs

1. Visions of Johanna
2. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
3. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
4. The Times They Are A-Changin'
5. Tangled Up in Blue

Four of the above can make me tear up in the first 10 seconds. I guess I'm a softie. Hurricane and Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall could go in at #4. It's interesting how the #4 spot is the one I care least about.

Velvet Underground Songs

1. Sweet Jane
2. Venus In Furs
3. Rock 'n Roll
4. All Tomorrow's Parties
5. I'm Waiting for the Man


Talking Heads Songs

1. Once in a Lifetime
2. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
3. Life During Wartime
4. Sugar on My Tongue
5. Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)

Honorable Mention -- Animals

Somedays Animals is my #1 and I just sit in my car with that song on repeat laughing to myself.

It's Top Five Time!

We've done it before, but this time it's gonna be official. Yoggoth is free to respond either in the comments section or with a post of his own. Anyone else who feels they have a sufficient grasp of the artists' catalogues can give it a shot as well. At the very least, I'll try to pick artists I know both Yoggoth and I admire. I'd extend the exercise to movies but I don't think Yoggoth can recall the years in which movies were made, or who directed what. I mean, what kind of top five movie lists can we do, anyway? Top five Wes Anderson films?

Pffft. On your marks, get set, go!

Bob Dylan songs

5. "Tangled Up in Blue" (Blood on the Tracks)
4. "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" (Freewheelin' Bob Dylan)
3. "Things Have Changed" (Wonder Boys soundtrack)
2. "Dear Landlord" (John Wesley Harding)
1. "Lay Lady Lay" (Nashville Skyline)

Rolling Stones songs

5. "Ruby Tuesday" (Between The Buttons/Flowers)
4. "Love In Vain" (Let It Bleed)
3. "Angie" (Goats Head Soup)
2. "Paint It Black" (Aftermath)
1. "Honky Tonk Women" (single)

Velvet Underground songs

5. "Candy Says" (Velvet Underground)
4. "Train Round the Bend" (alternate mix on Fully Loaded)
3. "Venus In Furs" (Velvet Underground & Nico)
2. "I Can't Stand It" (VU)
1. "What Goes On" (Velvet Underground)

Jimi Hendrix songs

5. "Manic Depression" (Are You Experienced?)
4. "Red House" (single)
3. "Voodoo Child (slight return) (Electric Ladyland)
2. "All Along the Watchtower" (Electric Ladyland)
1. "Hey Joe" (Are You Experienced?)

Creedence Clearwater Revival songs

5. "Don't Look Now (Willy & the Poor Boys)
4. "Green River" (Green River)
3. "The Midnight Special" (Willy & the Poor Boys)
2. "I Put a Spell on You" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
1. "Born on the Bayou" (Bayou Country)

Simon & Garfunkel songs

5. "At The Zoo" (Bookends)
4. "The Boxer" (Bridge Over Troubled Water)
3. "Scarborough Fair" (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme)
2. "Mrs. Robinson" (Bookends)
1. "A Hazy Shade of Winter" (Bookends)

Nick Drake songs

5. "Things Behind the Sun" (Pink Moon)
4. "One of These Things First" (Bryter Later)
3. "Saturday Sun" (Five Leaves Left)
2. "Pink Moon" (Pink Moon)
1. "At the Chime of a City Clock" (Bryter Later)

Brian Eno songs

5. "I'll Come Running" (Another Green World)
4. "Cindy Tells Me" (Here Come the Warm Jets)
3. "The Big Ship" (Another Green World)
2. "Needle in the Camel's Eye" (Here Come the Warm Jets)
1. "Mother Whale Eyeless" (Taking Tiger Mountain)

Talking Heads songs

5. "Burning Down the House" (Speaking in Tongues)
4. "The Great Curve" (Remain in Light)
3. "Pulled Up" (Talking Heads '77)
2. "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" (Remain in Light)
1. "Cities" (Fear of Music)

Smiths songs

5. "Sheila Take A Bow" (Louder Than Bombs)
4. "This Charming Man" (The Smiths)
3. "Shoplifters of the World Unite" (Louder Than Bombs)
2. "Sweet and Tender Hooligan (Louder Than Bombs)
1. "The Headmaster Ritual" (Meat Is Murder)

Pixies songs

5. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" (Doolittle)
4. "Silver" (Doolittle)
3. "The Navajo Know" (Tromp le Monde)
2. "I Bleed" (Doolittle)
1. "Where Is My Mind?" (Surfer Rosa)

Nirvana songs

5. "All Apologies" (In Utero)
4. "Lithium" (Nevermind)
3. "School" (Bleach)
2. "In Bloom" (Nevermind)
1. "Heart-Shaped Box" (In Utero)

Radiohead songs

5. "Lucky" (OK Computer)
4. "Creep" (Pablo Honey)
3. "You and Whose Army" (Amnesiac)
2. "Just" (The Bends)
1. "No Suprises" (OK Computer)

Belle & Sebastian songs

5. "Lazy Line Painter Jane" (Lazy Line Painter Jane EP)
4. "Sleep the Clock Around" (The Boy With the Arab Strap)
3. "Your Cover's Blown" (Books EP)
2. "Like Dylan in the Movies" (If You're Feeling Sinister)
1. "The Boy With the Arab Strap" (The Boy With the Arab Strap)

Take your time, Y-man.

Warcraft the Credit Card

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/visa/

A highly ethical use of a captive college age audience! Who wants to cosign for me?