Committed

Today it snowed and I decided to give the new Ghostface a listen. As a precursor to listening to the album, I had heard all sorts of things said about the Clan regarding their new album and RZA’s production not being up to par. Both albums dropped within a week of each other, and with the added drama, it’s not hard to imagine battle lines being drawn between the two. This aside, The Big Doe Rehab continues the streak of amazing albums by Ghostface in recent years. It’s rare to find an artist that is this consistent. Big Doe doesn’t have the scope of Fishscale (2006), keeping subject matter in the status quo of drugs, women, and money. Fishscale was at times confessional, reflecting on the fast life. Rehab doesn’t dwell on the past as much as it gets caught up in the good times ("We Celebrate” ft. Kid Capri), while his talent for dramatic story telling is kept in tact, showcased on part II of the drug robbery series “Shakey Dog,” ft. Raekwon and Lolita. Production credits include The Hitmen amongst others, and continues Ghost’s signature feel for soulful sampling and New York ruckus. This is classic Ghostface Killah and just a flat-out great album. Thank you snow day.

Side Tracked

For the past couple years I have made it a major priority in my life to go up to Portland and see the Mountain Goats perform at the Doug Fir Lounge. The Mountain Goats are a must see and the Doug Fir is a hip new spot in the rose city with a cool basement stage area, probably why John decides to play there every year. This year, he is actually coming to Eugene and playing the WOW hall, so I am actually debating seeing both shows this year. I could go on about the Mountain Goats* forever being one of my favorite bands period, but this sojourn has come to serve a different purpose as well.

Back in 06’ I walked about ten minutes late into the opening act for the Mountain Goats, a single woman was on stage with a very small arrangement of piano, keyboard, and iBook. She sang and played the keys behind a computerized percussion track, nothing really jaw-dropping at first listen, but I soon warmed up to something unfamiliar. Her name was Barbara Morgenstern, she’s German, sings in German, and writes some amazingly lush tunes for a living. Her piano and voice stood nicely in contrast to the digital background, partly because she was singing in German, a language that I know exactly kaput. As soon as I got home I looked into her newest release, The Grass is Always Greener (2006), and loved it.

The next year a band named the Pony Up! was rolling out the carpet. While I was less impressed this time around, a couple of drinks with some friends had us later wandering over to pick up their album, Make Love To The Judges With Your Eyes (2006), and flirt a little with the band. The album has grown on me, despite not having one of their best songs “Wet,” which I got to see live, while it did feature cool song title and single “The Truth About Cats And Dogs (Is That They Die).” If you can’t get enough toe-tapping indie pop, these are your girls.

This year the Goats crew are bringing along fellow North Carolina scenesters, The Moaners. They’re a female duo playing syrupy noise rock and it will be interesting to see an opener with some teeth this time. The band draws from Pavement/Sonic Youth's cluttered distortion and the upbeat, post-punk tempo that almost seems standard in today’s indie world. What makes The Moaners fresh is a grating blues guitar, slathered on top of the familiar mix. The guitar howls, not in a Hendrix kind of way, but like a stray dog at the front door. Similar “duo” bands like the Kills don’t get this sloppy, who instead scratch at dance rock from the outside looking in, while the Moaners let their hair down and get their hands dirty. There's even a Saw and Harmonica that find time to slide in, adding a little depth beyond the standard guitar/drum uniform. While still a young band, they have captured my attention and got me debating which LP to snatch up when I see them in person, I'm just happy they chose to moan on my front stoop.

*The new Mountain Goats album, Heretic Pride, is out Feb. 19th. He has released one song over the Internet and is soon coming out with a video directed by Ace Norton. Goats rule!

In Review

Now that the year has come to an end, I feel obligated to deliver a “Best-of-Year” list. I think that to some degree, these miss the entire point of good criticism because music doesn't conform to a linear set of standards. There is no constructive way to rate albums against each other since different genres strive for a different emotional release, and to a greater degree, language does little to describe emotion. Comparing Big Business’s Here Come the Waterworks against Marissa Nadler's Songs III: Bird on the Water is a free fall through the abyss and all I've got is a flashlight. It’s been good 07', so long:

Profanatica – De Domonatia
Babyshambles – Shotter’s Nation
Rock Plaza Central – Are We Not Horses
Prodigy – Return of the Mac
Old Time Relijun – Catharsis In Crisis
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum
Laethora – March of the Parasite
Pissed Jeans – Hope for Men
Bomb the Music Industry! – Get Warmer
Scarface – Made
The Long Blondes – Someone to Drive You Home
Pig Destroyer – Phantom Limb
Bowerbirds – Hymns for a Dark Horse
Panda Bear - Person Pitch

These are in no order at all. Like I said, things like this are difficult contain. For example, Sa-Ra’s Hollywood Recordings didn’t make my list but was one of the most entertaining/funky pieces of music I have heard in a while. There were also tons of albums that I never got to listen to, including Christine Fellows's Nevertheless* and Foetopsy's In the Bathroom. Then there are some records that I technically shouldn't’t really be listening to in the first place, like Vampire Weekend’s S/T debut, which is officially released later this month. Hell, I haven’t even heard the new Radiohead album. On that note, don’t bother me - I’m busy.

*Sixshooter! I am STILL waiting…album please.