I've Heard This One Before

Of course, as a stalwart Morrissey fan, I bought Years of Refusal on its first week of release. Was I as excited about it as much as previous releases? No.

The fact that "That's How People Grow Up" and "All You Need Is Me" were tacked on less than a year after I purchased them on the confusing Greatest Hits makes no sense to me. Why oh why were they put on a new album?

With every Morrissey album, despite what non-fans will say, there are new things to learn about The Man. Unfortunately, I don't think I've learned anything new about Morrissey on Years of Refusal.

That is not to say I don't enjoy the album. Years of Refusal is a piece of fresh air compared to the intensely reflective, dark and meandering Ringleader of the Tormentors.


It's musically upbeat with "subtle Mexican sounds" and I'm finding the melodies linger on in the way great pop music is supposed to. My favorite tracks are the rocking "Black Cloud" and the dramatic "One Day Goodbye will be Farewell."

I wasn't a fan of lead single "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris," but I find myself humming it all week, so I suppose it does grab you when you least expect it.

Years of Refusal does have a stinker. "You Were Good In Your Time" sounds musically like "Ambitious Outsiders" on Maladjusted, and except for real strings, it sounds pretty dull and has the unfortunate title of being "the song I forget is on Years of Refusal" until it comes on.

The bizarre thing about Years of Refusal is that its rockier moments remind me of the sensitive arena rock that the band Gene was criticized for.

This might be the album Gene fans would love (and every Gene fan was a fan of Queen or The Smiths), but I'm not quite sure what that tells you about Morrissey.

Tripping on Neon

Here in New York, I've had to readjust from my West Coast methods of listening to music. My routine used to be: dance/hip-hop at the gym, folk/rock/pop on my work commute, and pretty much anything on my home stereo.

In my new apartment, the wall separating my room from my Morrissey/Crass-loving roommate is dangerously thin, so I've yet to buy a stereo system. Listening to my iPod at home just feels weird and this city is too new and exciting for me to wear headphones all the time.

So for now, I'm dealing with it until I get some soundproofing. To keep me entertained, I have been watching some hot videos. The New York Times keeps mentioning how surrealism is IN right now. How about a little neon and psychedelia?

Love this song and video. I recently bought Hot Chip's DJ Kicks and discovered Grovesnor's "Nitemoves." "Drive Your Car" is a real treat.









Yelle's "Ce Jeu" is extremely cute. Their shows are so high-energy. The lead singer can get any party started. And I still don't have their album!









I remember the first time I saw Tilly and The Wall, my friend Sailor whispered in my ear, "I think the tap dancer is crazy." No kidding! I am loving this song. I disliked their super-neon "Beat Control" single, so "Pot Kettle Black" is very exciting.

Run, Run, Hide, Hide

From Morrissey and M.I.A. to dance mixes from Fabric and DJ Kicks, I’ve often found myself forgetting the entire mix and focusing on just one or two songs that quickly grab my attention.

Santogold’s collaboration with Diplo on Top Ranking has a few of these moments, but the stand-out track for me has to be Trouble Andrew’s “Run - Hide.”

When this came on after the laugh-inducing skit with Mark Ronson, I literally stopped everything I was doing and wondered what artist I was listening to. “Run - Hide” is a drowsy, lo-fi electro hit.

It immediately reminded me of the more pop leanings of the hyped Berlin labels of the early 00’s, yet with a more fresh, hip-hop edge.

It starts off with creepy organs, then Diplo’s beats kicks in and we get the smooth chorus and the crisp, vintage synths. Everything about it is outstanding.

After listening to Trouble Andrew’s less interesting songs on his MySpace, I truly believe Diplo must have worked wonders to produce this track. Complete kudos to him, but also to Trouble Andrew for his great vocal delivery and overall sex appeal.

This track is available as a free download on Trouble Andrew’s MySpace, so please go there and have a listen.

Re-evaluate The Songs

Even though Morrissey's Greatest Hits album is fan exploitation of Bjorkian proportions, there are a few things I've enjoyed about its release.

The two new songs "That's How People Grow Up" and "All You Need is Me" are pretty good. The former is definitely a show stopper during his live sets. Something about the song sounds a bit forced, especially when you hear how natural "Everyday is Like Sunday" comes off. Still it's nice to hear how big, sweeping and dramatic the studio version becomes.

"All You Need is Me" sounds a lot like Bona Drag's "Disappointed," and there's a beautiful vocal melody bit around 2:34 when he sings "You don't like me, but you love me, either way you're wrong." It also sounds like he's double tracking his vocals on parts of this song. Is this the first time he's done that? I like it.

The packaging is very nice. I like the the little icons created to represent each song, which are then patterned throughout. It's printed on heavy card stock and I think it's one of the best Morrissey album packages.

Still, there's no doubt this collection is a complete act of pop star narcissism. The cover photo and photo of his bare ass on the album sleeve are at least 15 years old -- never mind that the majority of the songs are from his last two albums.

But you definitely get the feeling that he put this together, and that these are his personal greatest hits. These are the songs he's most proud of and that's probably what makes it interesting for any fan.

There's also an insert that says "Coming Soon. A very special Morrissey release" that will be made to order and not available in stores. What could this possible be? I hope it's not these new t-shirts.

Unite And Take Over

There is really only one messiah in my world .. and that is Morrissey. Yes, I can go on and on about my fandom (I made the Manchester pilgrimage in 2001!), but it's really the same story for any fan of the most polarizing, talented and legendary singer alive.

I am very fortunate to live in one of the 3 locations where he's having a multi-night stand, especially after seeing him a few months ago at Oakland's Paramount Theater. That show was pretty awesome, but seeing him at The Fillmore will be tremendous. Out of the 4 shows he's doing, I'm planning on getting tickets for the last two nights (Sept. 26-27).

I love what he has to say about this current tour:

"Thanks to those of you who have bought tickets, and thanks to those even considering coming along. With so many US concerts this year your loyalty has already been over-stretched, so if you decide to pass, that's OK." (Source)

Any morsel of self-deprecation from The Man will make my week.

Also, here are a few "bootleg" t-shirt designs that are somewhat pricey or no longer available:

These Are The Breaks

I've been listening a lot lately to Kurtis Blow's debut album. I got Spank Rock's Fabriclive.33 over a month ago, and was inspired to purchase the Kurtis Blow record solely on hearing the entire 7:41 minute version of "The Breaks" -- the Spank Rock mix gives us less than two minutes.

It's enjoyable, classic and bizarre. There's Kurtis rapping about hard times "spreading just like the flu, you know I caught it just like you", plus his really strange cover of "Takin' Care of Business", and the disco fun of "Christmas Rappin'", which sounds a whole lot like "Rapper's Delight."

The thing I like most about the record (and you might find this odd) is the really great backing band. Something sounded familiar about the "The Breaks," and it wasn't until I heard the bonus instrumental track of the song that I put it together. It sounds like Johnny Marr's template for "Oscillate Wildly" or "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" or -- you name any Smiths song with funky chords and a shimmery chorus effect.

I once read Marr was very much influenced by Chic, the Nile Rodgers sound, and funk/disco guitar playing. In a time when Marr is playing with Modest Mouse (they were my favorite circa 1999-2001) as if he barely exists, it's quite an experience to hear the instrumental version of "The Breaks," imagining Morrissey singing his heart out in a "Barbarism Begins At Home" kind of way. The guitar player on a lot of the Kurtis album is John Tropea, who I will look into.

In any case, I'm a complete amateur when it comes to old school hip-hop. Besides the sampling and the shout-outs contemporary hip-hop/rap artists use in their cuts, it's been hard for me to get turned on to it -- and that's not because I don't like it, it's because I forget that it exists. I don't know anyone who actually grew up to this stuff, or worships it or collects it or wants to tell me about it. It also seems of the artists in this genre, from Grandmaster Flash. Run-D.M.C. or The Sugarhill Gang, are missing the kind of cultural ubiquity you'd find from artists listed in a typical karaoke book. It appears time has been much more generous to punk -- a genre that emerged near the end of the same decade -- than to old school hip-hop. Perhaps this will change.

The last time I got into a old-school hip-hop/rap artist was when I walked into a shoe store on Haight Street last summer. I heard this simple drumbeat, a spacey vintage synthesizer and sound advice about how "it's all over when you hit that pipe." I memorized some words, and discovered Too $hort's "Girl" from 1983. It's still one of my favorites. I've enjoyed what I've clumsily discovered, and with my New York state of mind, I have a feeling this is going to be my year for old school hip-hop.