Song of the Week

You stuck a pin in the map I was in, and this is a note from the roadside. During a rainy Memorial Day weekend, some music best captures the companion feelings of looking back and going home. The D Man was inspired by Elbow's "Dear Friends," the last track on Build A Rocket Boys! It is a beautiful, traditional British pop song, expertly crafted, and a great closer to the opening magic of "Lippy Kids." The D Man is grateful for all those that have gone before him, and those stars that he currently navigates home by.

U2

By my count, U2 played seven songs from the 80's, seven songs from the 90's, and nine songs from the 00's. Relevant songs. There is not another band on the planet that can do such a thing. (Sorry R.E.M., I really like your new album, but your last decade was rough). Perhaps the most satisfying thing about the concert was being enveloped in this staying power. Experiencing the relevance. Four lads from Ireland still playing together thirty years later. They look great. And they sound great. Sure, Bono has a sleight Messiah-complex, but there is no one with his level of fame and access that has had his heart in the right place more often. The D Man enjoyed every minute of the spectacle.

• Even Better Than The Real Thing. The Edge's dance-fueled, buzzsaw guitars ripped forth. A great opener.
• I Will Follow. A nod to longtime fans from the band's first album, Boy.
• Get On Your Boots
• Magnificent
• Mysterious Ways
• Elevation. Some of the band's best work the last decade has clearly been inspired by playing in outsized stadiums all over the world. This song is no exception. A pan-global rock song that everyone just gets. Absolutely kicked.
• Until the End of the World. Love this song from the band's sonic masterpiece, Achtung Baby. Sounds as fresh, vital, and original as it did twenty years ago. Nothing quite like those shimmering, dance-addled tracks that helped U2 take over the world a second time.
• All I Want Is You
• Stay (Faraway, So Close!). The Edge pulled out the acoustic guitar and did just fine in slowing things down. Bono looks better than he has in years. He has lost weight and looks rejuvenated after his back surgery--even joked he has a new spine. His vocals were as good as they have ever been--he was born to front a band and bring God's message of rock to the masses.
• Beautiful Day. The D Man loves this song. Maybe his favorite soaring U2 lyric: Reach me, I know I'm not a hopeless case. Isn't that the message of messages? We are not cast off forever.
• Pride (In The Name of Love). The mere fact that The Edge can pierce the heavens--while strolling around so casually, so stoically--makes him one of the five best guitarists of all time. Not to mention one of the coolest dudes ever. His ringing, pedal-fied guitar tectonics altered the rock landscape forever, delivering post-punk riffs to the globe and leaving behind the (even in 1980) tired blues-based guitar tropes. His mighty axe is the sound of the cosmos moving.
• Miss Sarajevo. Bono even broke into some Italian on this one. He had a cheat sheet on the floor of the bridge to help him out. The D Man holds no grudges, as I can hardly speak proper English.
• Zooropa. The (incredible) visual round came down over the top of the band and formed a glittering hive. Showtime!
• City of Blinding Lights
• Vertigo
• Crazy Tonight
• Sunday Bloody Sunday. The most righteous march of all time? How long must we sing this song?
• Walk On. Bono helped free a Burmese lady from prison. The D Man is all about setting people free. And a big proponent of keeping only the bad ones in jail.
• One
• Where The Streets Have No Name. The screen flashed iconic images of the young band, circa 1987, walking through the California desert. The Joshua Tree. The song's matchless, epic exploration of Self and America is still inspiring.
• Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
• With or Without You
• Moment of Surrender

Five Things

The D Man's iPod has been on shuffle. Early morning workouts are one way to rediscover the deep tracks that you love. Enjoy some great tunes that had me excited all over again. These five random songs are worth a listen.

• "Tell Me Ten Words" by Idlewild. The Scottish band's 2002 album, The Remote Part, is an excellent record of slightly-downcast anthems and post-punk yearnings. When the bass line comes in at thirty seconds, "Tell Me Ten Words" releases a nervous energy underneath all those pretty acoustic strums, and the song takes off looking for answers. "American English" was the band's U2/Coldplay moment, and "In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction" a national symbol of sorts. But "Tell Me Ten Words" is the band carving out something of their own.
• "Streamside" by The Album Leaf. Jimmy LaValle makes radiant ambient music with a heft that is more than mere background pleasantries. His 2004 release, In A Safe Place, was recorded with the help of Jón Þór Birgisson and other members of Sigur Rós in their Iceland studio. While much of the record's sound is glacial beauty, "Streamside" is warmed by a northern sun and feels like the emerging possibility of verdant growth.
• "Love Don't Owe You Anything" by Strays Don't Sleep. A short-lived, one-album collaboration between Nashville's Matthew Ryan and Neilsen Hubbard, Strays Don't Sleep was a minimalist tour-de-force of pain, loss, and reconciliation. "Love Don't Owe You Anything" thrives by creating dark-hued spaces between the guitar strums and the singular, cascading piano line. And Ryan's plaintive vocals reaches for an epiphany: I thought I understood / Now I understand.
• "Your Arms Around Me" by Jens Lekman. Enter swirling harps. The song's premise is both mundane and ridiculous. But the payoff is a glorious vocal hook over a perfect marriage of R&B beats and high-minded violins. Two lovers are preparing for a picnic. The man cuts his finger while slicing avacados. He passes out and is rushed to the emergency room. All that matters? You put your arms around me. Thank you, Jens.
• "AAA" by Paul Westerberg. This scruffy tune takes me back to summers past. From a fine double-album of basement rock by the former Replacements frontman, the song is a desperate kiss-off, stranded in some parking lot. I aint got anything to say to anyone, anymore.

Song of the Week

Bon Iver's self-titled second album comes out in June--not exactly the depths of winter. But for music this cathartic, context readily dissolves. Check out "Calgary," a powerful (and seamless) transition from the Wisconsite's first full length, For Emma, Forever Ago. You may recall it was the best album of 2008. Bonus: check out the making of the beautiful Midwestern winter scene that doubles as the album cover art.

Stark the Vinyl Shark: Heady Nuggs (Vol. I)

Hi. My name is Joe and I never get up before 6 a.m.--unless it is Record Store Day. In four short years, RSD has become something of a national holiday if not a national phenomenon. Falling on the third Saturday in April, what started as a small effort to boost business for local independent record stores has turned into a nation-wide celebration of music and community, and, of course, a treasure trove of exclusive vinly releases.

I was first in line at Slowtrain Records on April 16th with good reason. I wanted to give myself a good chance to snatch up some pretty exciting exclusives including: The Flaming Lips: Heady Nuggs – The First Five Warner Bros. Albums (1992-2002), various My Morning Jacket picture discs, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals Class Mythology EP on colored 7’’ singles, and a re-issue of the classic Fleetwood Mac album Rumours pressed at Pallas on two slabs of heavy weight 45 rpm vinyl, ensuring the highest fidelity playback possible.

While waiting in line for the 10 a.m. opening time, I was able to chat a bit with other vinyl fanatics in line with me. For the most part, we all had unique items we were looking for though there was one common thread that ran through all of our lists: The Flaming Lips Box Set.

So what makes a re-issued vinyl box of five Flaming Lips albums so desirable? Especially on a day with hundreds of other releases, most of which are available of the first time ever? To answer this, we first need to cover a little vinyl history. In the 90’s, when the vast majority of these Flaming Lips albums were released (Hit to Death in the Future Head - 1992, Transmissions from the Satellite Heart- 1993, Clouds Taste Metallic – 1995, and The Soft Bulletin - 1999 ) the CD was king, and vinyl barely had a pulse. These albums were pressed in small amounts, went out of print quickly, and with low demand for vinyl, stayed that way. The two exceptions to this are The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Given this drought of Flaming Lips LPs available over the years, many vinyl aficionados were clamoring to get their hands on a Heady Nuggs box set.

So how does it look?

For the casual and diehard fan alike, this box set is beautiful and sets the bar for releases of this nature. These five albums, spread over six LPs are housed in a heavy duty box with never before released alternate artwork. Weighing in at over 10 lbs., even the most demanding fans can rest assured every LP has been recreated with care and an eye for detail. This box set is limited to 6,000 units, mine being #5,023.

So how does it sound?

Much like The Flaming Lips release from Record Store Day 2010: The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing the Dark Side of the Moon, these albums sound great. I do not own originals of any albums in the box, with the exception of The Soft Bulletin, so I have compared the sound quality to my CDs only. It is an obvious improvement, with the first noticeable difference being a more established low end, and a warmer sound overall. Some of the 90’s Lips releases suffer from a bright CD master, leaving the listener with a diminished representation of what was created in the studio. This is the case with Hit to Death in the Future Head, which sounds amazing on vinyl. It is nice to know the producers gave us a mix that is not too loud or too soft. The instrumentation is brought out nicely, and not distorted at high volume.

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is the obvious sonic gem of the bunch. An album full of rich texture is brought to life beautifully on vinyl; all of the detail you are used to on the CD master is here, as well as content you aren’t used to hearing. Yoshimi could be one of the best modern day re-masters in my collection.

All five albums sound great here, and I’m excited to add these great albums to my growing collection. If you are a Lips fan and want to get your hands on one, check Ebay, as the entire run of these boxes is officially sold out.

Stark the Vinyl Shark

Joe Stark hails from Minnesota. He collects vinyl. He shaved his beard and didn't like it. So he is growing it back. That is what you need to know. Recently, The D Man and Stark had the following email exchange that led to the Vinyl Shark landing a guest spot on The D Man's Music.

• Stark: Have you even listened to Bat out of Hell? You have dished out some pretty heavy judgment on the 'Loaf today . . .
• The D Man: Everyone has heard Meatloaf, Joe. He is fun (or funny) for a short time. Like some Broadway plays. But Bat Out of Hell has sold a hell of a lot of copies. Feel free to burn me a copy if you are so incensed. (Taylor Swift writes her own songs).
• Stark: Not incensed at all! I will burn you a copy since it belongs in every collection.
• The D Man: I will listen to it for a lark and then immediately dispose of it--that is probably the best I can do.
• Stark: It's timeless Rock & Roll. I own three copies of the LP because I wore through the first one I bought in the summer of 2004.
• The D Man: Not sure if it's Rock & Roll, but it does use some of the same instruments. Can rock be born out of writing workshops and bad plays? But I get the attraction. It's like Wicked with guitars.
• Stark: Nothing wrong with Wicked.
• The D Man: But it ain't Rock & Roll.
• Stark: Rock & Roll is more than a sound, it's a lifestyle. That's the beauty of it.
• The D Man: Exactly my point. Is having someone pen your overwrought stage songs ala Little Mermaid that lifestyle?
• Stark: Frank Sinatra didn't write lyrics either, and he was Rock & Roll.
• The D Man: Meatloaf ain't Frank Sinatra. Good luck with that comparison.
• Stark: I just really enjoy Meatloaf.
• The D Man: Now that is about the only real defense you have. Run to the whims of your fancy.
• Stark: Feel free to handicap my music criticism accordingly.
• The D Man: I'm thinking I need a new feature on the blog with email strings like this.
• Stark: I'd be happy to contribute. but you can't just make me look bad with your fancy lawyer powers.

So it begins. Enjoy Stark the Vinyl Shark.

(Note: Meatloaf can currently be seen on Celebrity Apprentice. And The D Man knows every word to "Part of Your World.")

Five Things

The D Man has several things in the hopper. But that does not preclude me from dishing on some songs I have been enjoying or want to enjoy a little more.

• Hospice created emotional wreckage with shards of spinning hope. "I Don't Want Love," a track from The Antlers second album, Burst Apart, picks up the pieces in a most beautiful fashion. Peter Silberman now wants to break your heart with his falsetto.
• Nobody does smooth electro-soul like Junior Boys. The Canadian duo's next effort, It's All True, is ready to drop, and the steady pulse of first single "Banana Ripple" will make you believe in effortless R&B from north of the border.
• The D Man extolled the virtues of Cass McCombs' last album and looks forward to hearing more new tracks like "County Line." Enjoy a vocal performance that they cannot teach on American Idol. Wo, wo, wo, wo, wo.
• Panda Bear's "Afterburner" is really cool.
• The D Man got a kick out of the cameo-laced New York City yuckfest, Fight For Your Right (Revisited). Even better? Some of the Beasties' new joints. Check out "Make Some Noise," which feels like a side-two track from Ill Communication, and is a throw back to a sound, style, and era that defined just about everyone ages 30 to 45.