Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 123

Sonic Youth: Murray Street (2002)

I have too many records.

Mind you, that should be beyond obvious to anyone familiar with this blog. And, hey, who cares? What's wrong with having too much music?

The problem, though, is that a lot of perfectly good music I enjoy hearing get lost in the (figurative, now digitized) stacks. I could scroll through the thousands of CDs in my digital library looking for something I haven't played in awhile, or I could throw up my hands and say, screw it, let's just spin up Abbey Road or Reckoning.

So whe...

The Chills: Submarine Bells (1990)

As noted before, I'm most partial to the compilation of early Chills singles, Kaleidoscope World , which is a little rawer and more comparable to other bands in New Zealand's Flying Nun stable like the Clean and the Bats. But their second full-length, 1990's Submarine Bells, is close behind. By this point, Martin Phillipps had honed his pop-craft, opting for a more sophisticated, artsy vibe, with pianos and haunting melodies and carefully embedded strains of melancholy.

Opening track "Heavenly Pop...

Brian Jonestown Massacre: Fire Doesn't Grow On Trees (2022)

The Brian Jonestown Massacre's somewhat dense catalog of latter-day psychedelia and shoegaze seems to come in fits and starts. After a prolific 90s, the band's output was more intermittent in the decade that followed, but bounced back to high activity throughout the '10s. And then another quiet period, as it's been three (presumably Covid-related?) years since the last one.

The good news is that the new one, at least on initial spin, is a winner. Their albums can sometimes be hit-or-miss, interes...

Michael Nesmith: Nevada Fighter (1971)

Michael Nesmith's passing late last year was particularly sad. After decades of trying to escape the Monkees' legacy, he'd finally seemed to embrace it, touring with Micky Dolenz, at a time when most had come to recognize the Monkees as not just that fake band from the silly tv show, but as purveyors of a wickedly fun and enduring catalog of terrific pop music.

Of course, Nesmith was always the most "authentic" musician of the band (though all had often under-appreciated talents), contributing a ...

Depeche Mode: Speak & Spell (1981)

Indulge me, if you will, for a brief trip back to high school...

I realize that Depeche Mode's first album is something of an outlier in their catalog, largely disowned by the band; but it's also my favorite (which isn't to say there aren't plenty of later singles I enjoy). It's the one album helmed largely by keyboardist Vince Clarke, who departed shortly thereafter to form Yaz (or Yazoo, for you British folks). In contrast to the darker, almost goth-tinged direction vocalist Martin Gore would t...

Jimmy Silva & The Goats: Heidi (1991)

Here's one of those charming, understated little pop gems you'll kick yourself for having missed at the time. (At least, I kicked myself.)

The late Jimmy Silva (who sadly passed away quite young in 1994) was part of the 80s indie music scene in both San Francisco and Seattle. He had some ties to the Young Fresh Fellows (who covered one of his songs), and that band's Scott McCaughey (also of the Minus 5 and a billion other bands) plays and sings on this record, as does the Posies' Ken Stringfellow...

Neil Young: Toast (2001/2022)

Neil's latest archives release dropped this morning, yet another shelved record that he's finally deigned to unleash on the masses. And while Toast--originally slated for a 2001 release--may not be quite the "great lost album" as other aborted Young efforts like Homegrown and Hitchhiker and Chrome Dreams (still available only as a bootleg), it's another worthy part of the catalog for fans, particularly compared to what was released in its place.

Recorded with on/off again bandmates Crazy Horse, Y...

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? (This Bloggy Thing, That Is)

Going through the usual existential back-and-forth internal ruminations whether to continue on with this thing...

I started up this blog a few years back as a personal writing exercise. Blogs were already relegated to the not-so-distant past, embarrassingly passé, the public proclamation "I have a blog" a mortifying fore-runner of "Hey, I have a podcast!" To the extent a few soldiered on, the last thing the universe needed was another half-assed music blog. 

But I was writing a book at the time, a...

Meeks: Beatless (Shoegazer Covers Of The Beatles) (2013)

Yes, it's a novelty album whose title speaks for itself. Doesn't make it any less fun, though.

Meeks, as far as I can tell, were a one-time spin-off from a Japanese band called Broken Little Sister. (That band's lone album, 2010's Memories, Violet & Demons, is a perfectly fine blend of dream pop and shoegaze, and streams on Spotify if you wanna check it out.) As Meeks, they recorded 10 Beatles covers, all reworked to sound like they were recorded for My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Washes of guit...

Ian Hunter: Shrunken Heads (2007)

I'm a little torn on whether I like this album simply on its own merits, or because it just feels good to hear the former frontman of Mott the Hoople coming up with something so solid some 40 years into his recording career. Maybe a little bit of both?

As a longtime fan of both Mott and Hunter, I have to admit his post-Mott solo career is pretty hit and miss. Yes, he's got some tremendous singles--I'd say "Once Bitten Twice Shy," "Just Another Night," "Cleveland Rocks," and particularly my person...