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Jason Bentley, Santa Clara, California: writing, photography, graphic design, music, audio, video, technology, life

December 18, 2004

Listen Without Prejudice

The Creative Remix, with Benjamen Walker, is a radio show that explores the remix and remix culture in what they call a "lawyer-free" format. Streamed on the website.

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My year in music

I'll get the big honors out of the way first. I'm splitting the vote on my favorite CD of 2004, because, well, I can.

The first mention goes to Brian Wilson's triumphant SMiLE, the flawless culmination of a nearly 40-year wait and a winning final chapter to the Story of the Greatest Lost Rock Record of All Time. Listening to Wilson's spotty output of late, the rumors of a completed SMiLE were as worthy of as much nailbiting as excitement, but damned if he didn't pull it off with skill and aplomb. Mmm...aplomb.

Just a handful of things to love about SMiLE:
  • the uncanny recreation of the original 1967 source recordings, using many of the same studios and equipment
  • the invaluable help of the Wondermints, Brian Wilson's live touring band
  • the addition of female voices to the harmony mix
  • Van Dyke Parks' suggestive, evocative lyrical imagery that set the stage for lyrical phonics from John Cale's Paris 1919 through the New Pornographer's Mass Romantic
  • hours of comparing the 2004 recording to the original bootlegs
  • the revelation of just how close Wilson had come to completing the record back in the late 60's
  • the miracle of the record arriving at all
SMiLE inspired my friend Doron to learn about Wilson's history and now he can beat me in Beach Boys trivia hands-down. :-) This is a good thing.

I'm splitting my vote largely because so much of SMiLE, for all its greatness, was largely written and worked out in 1966-1967. So it gets half credit for each year.

The second half fo the award goes to a CD made and released this year, Williamson's A few things to hear before we all blow up, a monster solo debut from a Silicon Valley local. I might be biased, but I'm hooked on his gentle, emotional mix of Spiritualized, Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, and Daniel Lanois into a reverential but progressive sound that I find irrisitibl. It works equally well as detailed music for active listening or as sonic wallpaper - good for working, the soundtrack to an art gallery. Somebody get this guy a licensing deal. Call Cameron Crowe.

The CD is entirely instrumental, and there's some really complex, Aphex Twin-style beats going on, but they're so quiet in the mix, they become part of a overall bubbly sound. All the ambient percussion reminds me a bit of the Samples first CD. All that flanging and phasing, the signature of the gentler, early Spiritualized, makes me purr. Laser Guided Melodies occupies a special place in my heart, and an obvious affection for the 1992 album shows though a lot of A few things to hear.

I emailed Williamson and shared my compliments on his CD and its influence by Lazer Guided Melodies, a CD that, I told him, changed my life. He emailed me back and wrote, "Lazer Guided Melodies changed my life too."

The first half A few things to hear before we all blow up is just amazing, and the second half suffers only because it's not the first half - it sort of stays in neutral until a contemplative closer. Still, there's a cohesion and even-handed quality to the CD that makes it an easy companion for creativity. Echoes of the ambient Aphex Twin show up in "An Hour In." "Time You'll Never Get Back," which I described in an earlier entry as resembling Spiritualized's "Angel Sigh" remixed by Cornelius, remains my favorite track. I'll just play it again right now.

A few things to hear is distributed by Magnatune under a Creative Commons license, which makes it important legally as well as musically. The more quality artists jump on board, the sooner a more sane application of creative copyrights for a digital age can come to pass.

Other 2004 releases that get honorable mention:

R.E.M., Around the Sun. It's weird. Since Bill Berry left, every R.E.M. album sounds (for different reasons, of course) like it will be their last and yet a new one shows up every couple years. This one's mellow but still slightly paranoid and uncertain. Hmm.

Interpol, Antics. It's not as great as the last one, but you can't hold that against them. Especially when they're just so cute. And you have to give them credit for being able write songs that would sound just as awesome performed by Glenn Danzig ("Narc").

VHS or Beta, Night on Fire. A contemporary band that channels nearly every significant artist of the 1980's and sounds vital, groovy, and booty-shakey. Extra points for a good website with an interface to high-quality streams of selected tracks from Night on Fire.

Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose. I was 8 during the era of Coal Miner's Daughter. My mom had both the film soundtrack (with Lynn's music sung by Sissey Spacek, who played Lynn in the movie), and a cassette of Lynn's greatest hits - the cover had Lynn in a huge 60's beehive in the middle of a gold starburst pattern. I loved listening to those tapes - I know all those songs by heart. And to hear Lynn return with the help of fellow Detroiter Jack White (woohoo!) with a sound this raw, timeless, and sharp record - it's up there with Brian Wilson's SMiLE and Johnny Cash's American Recordings series on the mantle of legends that stake a firm claim to right the fuck now.

Björk, Medúlla. I recognize greatness when I hear it and my love of Bjork is on record. That still doesn't mean I can listen to this one very often.

The Ice Weasels, A Year In the Life of the Ice Weasels. My friend Robey's still-unfinished year-long project (featuring lots of album art by yours truly) is a testament to his ample talent, his maturing sound, ripening production values (yay Macintosh!), and an unwavering ability to avoid much of the credit he deserves. Someone sign this guy! (and check out those awesome covers!) I predict 2005 will be the year of Robey Pointer and Williamson. Hey! That even sounds like a supergroup!

Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous. I like them more the more I listen.

Tom Waits, Real Gone. The legend doing what he always does, which is a mile higher than just about anyone else.

The Kleptones, A Night At The HipHopera. The best arguement for Creative Commons ever. A pure knockout, completely illegal.

In his email, Williamson strongly recommended Happy/Trance Mellow by Sugar Planet. "Its a 2-disc release (hence the two names)," he wrote, "and the band is Japanese so sometimes it's hard to find, but I can't recommend it highly enough. The album they released before it (After After Hours) is worth a good listen as well."

Williamson also mentioned he has an EP on the way, which I look forward two considering for my list at this time next year.

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