Vinyl Vednesday 6/1/2011

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. In celebration of punk rock cartoonist Mitch Clem’s new comic Turnstile Comix AND his new seven-inch with his band The Tigermilks, this week’s installment discusses three bands he introduced to me. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: Discount’s Crash Diagnostic (2000) on clear, Jawbreaker’s Bivouac (1992) on black, and The Mountain Goats’ The Coroner’s Gambit (2000) on white.

Place of Purchase: eBay. Here’s the funny thing about bidding: You never know how it’s going to work out. I’ve overpaid for records, the most expensive being a Joe Strummer bootleg that went into triple digits, but I feel like I underpaid for all three of these. I guess the economy doesn’t lend itself to record shopping these days, especially when all three albums are available on compact disc. PISHAW.

Thoughts: Discount was already caput when Nothing Nice to Say started talking about them, and by “them,” I mean Allison Mosshart. Before The Kills blew up, Mosshart was known for Discount’s introspective pop-punk tunes bordering on emo. Crash Diagnostic marked a slight shift away from pop-punk towards something a little more instrospective. At the time it was “more emo;” today it would probably be called more indie rock, as the band started to take on some of Sleater-Kinney’s characteristics by this juncture. It’s still mighty fine though; “Broken to Blue” is my jam.

While I’m sure it would have happened at some point in high school, Clem’s comic about Jawbreaker introduced me to one of my favorite bands (and songwriters) of all time. As I get older, I keep revisiting Blake Schwarzenbach’s discography and finding new things to love. Jets to Brazil definitely sounds better in my twenties. Jawbreaker hasn’t aged much at all, although I’ve started gravitating towards the songs for different reasons. In high school, I was about the lyrics. Now I’m more obsessed with the moods and band dynamics. Jawbreaker was such a great power trio, and I love hearing what each player brings. Bivouac is probably Jawbreaker’s loudest album. Unfun and 24 Hour Revenge Therapy are more grounded in pop-punk, and Dear You has this almost shoegaze-like quality to the guitars. But Bivouac has the throatiest yells, the most thunderous low end, and the rawest guitar tone. That it could still pack in a love song as great as “Chesterfield King” is a bonus. The bassline on “Big” has always been a highlight for me. Lately, though, I’ve taken to yelling “Bivouac!” to myself when I’m bored/tired at work.

I don’t think Clem has done a Mountain Goats strip to date (not tru punx, although TMG is gonna cover Jawbreaker’s “Boxcar” soon for A.V. Undercover), but he used to post these compilations called “Liquid Paper” on his site. One of them featured “Baboon,” from TMG’s seminal lo-fi masterpiece The Coroner’s Gambit. That record kicked off a string of artistic and commercial successes for TMG, as each album found a larger and larger audience in the new millennium. I was subsisting on a diet of pop-punk and Tool at the time, so “Baboon,” which is just such a bitter divorce song [Sample lyric: “I’d be grateful my children aren’t here to see this / If you’d ever seen fit to give me children.”], came on like a shock. But I was intrigued and, after writing an e-mail to Clem, followed his suggestion to pick up All Hail West Texas. Coroner’s Gambit followed soon after.

Vinyl Vednesday 1/26/2011

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. With seminal ’90s emo act Braid reuniting, I figured I’d mention one more time which bands I want to see get back together. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: Discount’s Half Fiction (1997) on black, Jawbox’s For Your Own Special Sweetheart (1994) on black, and Jawbreaker’s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994) on black.

Place of Purchase: Discount and Jawbreaker were spoils from hard-fought eBay battles. I picked up Jawbox’s Sweetheart re-release from Repo Records in Philadelphia.

Thoughts: Each of these reunions would be tricky for various reasons, but if Braid, Dismemberment Plan, Sunny Day Real Estate, and a slew of other bands can pull it off, so can the three bands I picked here. Discount’s big hurtle tour-wise would be frontwoman Allison Mosshart’s schedule – she’s already working full-time with The Dead Weather and The Kills. Artistically, she doesn’t really write in the emo vein anymore. Heck, if Discount’s final album, Crash Diagnostic, marked a move away from interpersonal relationships towards rock ‘n’ roll and surreal imagery. Still, Half Fiction is one of the best pop punk albums of all time. The title track is a perfect 106 seconds of longing and hope. Plenty of more rocking, catchy numbers follow. Yeah, it’s the kind of work that can only come from the young, but it’s still better than most.

Sure, Jawbox did technically get back together for that one-off, but I’d like to see something more. Frontman J. Robbins is a full-time dad now on account of his son Callum’s genetic motor neuron disease, so it would have to either be A) a brief East coast tour (It’s not that far from Maryland to Pennsylvania) or B) a new album. I think an album might be more realistic – Robbins could just do it from his own studio – and honestly, the guy never made a bad record, from Government Issue straight through to Channels. For evidence, check out Jawbox’s third album, For Your Own Special Sweetheart. I’m usually not that into remasters, but I wanted to get it on vinyl and the reissue was cheaper. Lo and behold, it really does sound better (Much like the Unfun remaster from around the same time). Go listen to “Savory.” It’s so droning and powerful and dissonant that it makes other bands’ entire careers irrelevant.

I… really, really like Jawbreaker. Got into them in high school because the lyrics appealed to my awkward, fragile ego. Stayed with them in college because the guitar/bass/drum interplay rules. I can’t single out a single person from Jawbreaker because they were one of the best power trios, along with Face to Face and The Police (Fuck Cream). 24 Hour Revenge Therapy is generally regarded as the band’s best album; it’s their catchiest at least. I’ve got a three-way tie for favorite song off the album: “Boxcar,” the top anti-punk punk song; “Ache,” which is super sad; and “Do You Still Hate Me,” which is super sad but also super rocking. At this point, I don’t know what’s keeping Jawbreaker from reuniting. Get it together, please.

Vinyl Vednesday 9/22/2010

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. This week’s entry celebrates Blake Schwarzenbach’s return to music with PUNS. IT’S SCHWARZENBACH SCHEVEN-INCHES DAYYYYYYY.

…e-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds...]

Records: forgetters’ forgetters double seven-inch (2010) on black, the Jawbreaker/Samiam split (1992) on clear red, and Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M. (1993) on black 12-inch with a clear yellow seven-inch, featuring Jawbreaker, Jawbox, and a lot of bands who butcher R.E.M.

Place of Purchase: forgetters was pre-ordered through Interpunk.com. No Idea “found” a box of Jawbreaker/Samiam splits earlier this year and sold for half the price they go for on eBay, which is funny to me since this seven-inch was originally included for free with a copy of No Idea Magazine. No Vinyl Vednesday feature would be complete without a reference to Siren Records in Doylestown, which just so happens to be where I found Surprise Your Pig.

Thoughts: I have listened to forgetters about 40 or 50 times since I got it in the mail on Monday. That means I’ve dedicated about 11 hours to listening to four songs. I really, really like this EP, and it means so much to me that Schwarzenbach is still making music. “Too Small to Fail” has been stuck in my head; it was one of the two songs that stood out for me during their set at the Barbary last year, along with “Vampire Lessons.” That bit at the end when he screams “Someone’s gonna love me someday” is quite cathartic. I had a lot of trouble trying to focus my feelings into a review, and I’m not entirely happy with what came out, but Schwarzenbach is just one of those writers that has shaped my life for so many years that it’s hard for me to find new ways to explain how much he means to me. I’ve been a fan since I heard Four-Cornered Night in 2001. I guess the best way I can put this is, “Too Small to Fail” and “Vampire Lessons” mean as much to me as “Accident Prone” or “You’re the One I Want.”

I bought the other two records featured today simply because they were available to me. I generally don’t pursue rarities like this, especially since in this case, Jawbreaker’s songs “Split” and “Pretty Persuasion” are both available on their rarities compilation Etc.. Stilll, when No Idea offered me a rare Jawbreaker seven-inch, I couldn’t help myself. And hey, it turned me on to Samiam, a punk band that blends a lot of different styles into their sound. I guess my short description would be that people who like NOFX’s snot and Sunny Day Real Estate’s guitars could both enjoy this band. Overall, a good purchase.

Surprise Your Pig, however, was a bad idea. It’s telling that the liner notes for Etc. say “Our first and last tribute record. It seemed like a bad idea at the time. And it was.” Most of the compilation consists of terrible indie rock and punk. Of the 17 bands featured three come out looking OK. Jawbreaker and Jawbox, who covered “Low,” went on to include their renditions on their respective rarities comps, Etc. and My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents. That leaves The Mr. T Experience. Poor, poor MTX. I like their version of “Can’t Get There From Here,”, but not enough to try to find its groove for the needle. The only thing keeping me from selling this back is the bonus colored seven-inch with Jawbreaker on it. When I inevitably start scaling down my vinyl collection, this’ll be one of the first records to go. Argh.

I LOVES YOU BLAKE SCHWARZENBACH.

Vinyl Vednesday 9/8/2010

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. This week’s entry is based around rarities compilations. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: Crime in Stereo’s Selective Wreckage (2008) on black and white, Jawbreaker’s Etc. (2002) on black, and My Bloody Valentine’s Before Loveless (1991) on black and clear blue.

Place of Purchase: Hot Topic. Repo Records. Grass Roots Music Store in Ocean City, N.J. In that order.

Thoughts: I’m a huge Crime in Stereo fan, and I’m still mourning their break-up, but at least they went out with a solid discography. I can’t say much about Explosives and the Will to Use Them, but The Troubled Stateside, Crime in Stereo is Dead, and I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone are all amazing post-hardcore records. Crime in Stereo has left behind a stellar catalogue. What they haven’t left behind is a whole lot of rarities. B-side collection Selective Wreckage is awfully skimpy – 10 tracks in 23 minutes, and one of ’em is an instrumental intro. While it may have been prematurely released – I’d love to hear what went on during the Describe sessions – it still contains some of my favorite CiS songs, like “When the Women Come Out to Dance,” which jumps from one punishing hook to the next.

Jawbreaker, however, received a thorough rarities collection back in ’02 courtesy of drummer Adam Pfahler. He’s always been protective of Jawbreaker’s legacy, going out of his way to preserve the band’s releases. Etc. is packed with choice cuts, like “Kiss the Bottle,” which is probably one of the most overrated Jawbreaker songs despite being so obscure. Then again, it’s overrated for a reason. “Kiss the Bottle” sums up everything great about JB – being alone even when you’re with someone, drunk as hell, and having only some very dissonant, thundering chords to sum up how that feels. The rest of the collection is great too, delivering a bevy of Dear You outtakes before Pfahler was able to convince Geffin Records to let him re-release that album. “Caroline” is another early gem, as is the cover of R.E.M.’s “Pretty Persuasion.” Fans of the Unfun years are well-fed by this compilation.

My fandom for My Bloody Valentine continuously grows. Loveless is one of my favorite albums of all time, so much so that it’s led me to check out the band’s entire canon. While nothing tops the sheer weight of Loveless, it’s still fun hearing how MBV evolved from a bunch of horror-punks to shoegaze originators. Of the MBV rarities collections available through Lazy Records, Before Loveless is the better overview. It reveals the group’s debt to bands like the Birthday Party and Jesus & Mary Chain in their early years before evolving into a more twee group. By the fourth side, you can hear the waves of Loveless lapping not too far away.

Versus: '24 Hour Revenge Therapy' v. 'Dear You'

[Versus pits two of an artist’s classic albums against each other even if they’re stylistically different, because that “you can’t compare apples and oranges” bullshit is for people without balls, spines, or all those other things that separate us from the villainous jellyfish.]

While their discography consists of only four albums (plus a live record and rarities compilation), Jawbreaker remains influential in the punk community, perhaps even more so now than when they were taking shit for signing to a major label back in the mid-’90s. Their swan song, Dear You, was lambasted by ’90s punks for being too clean-sounding and, well, un-punk. Now, though, those lines have blurred, and Jawbreaker has become part of a small cache of ’90s punk acts, along with Hot Water Music and Discount, that upcoming bands must contend with at all times. A quick glimpse through Alternative Press’ reviews section reveals dozens of comparisons to this holy trinity, though such labels are rarely deserved (although Banner Pilot might deserve the crown in time). Simply put, nobody combined raw emotion with dynamic musicianship, filtered through a punk lens, like Blake Schwarzenbach, Chris Bauermeister, and Adam Pfahler.

The album Jawbreaker is perhaps most universally loved for (within the subculture anyway) is 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. It’s the closest the group ever came to making a straightforward pop punk record. At 11 songs and 37 minutes, it’s a quick, exhilarating listen. It’s much easier to spin than Unfun (too long) or Bivouac (too dark, dense, and dissonant). Ten of the 11 tracks are of comparable peppy quality and could be played in just about any order, although the placement of the midtempo number “Ache” at track seven feels like a deliberate palate cleanser, a seventh inning stretch if you will. Otherwise, it’s a collection of what Schwarzenbach self-mockingly dubbed “stupid, happy songs.” Sure, you can dance to these tunes, so long as you don’t consider the topics: wasted potential (“Boat on a Hill”), ex-flames (“Ache,” “Do You Still Hate Me?”), and small-minded fucks (“Boxcar”). This one’s the crowd pleaser.

But it’s not my favorite Jawbreaker album.

Perhaps my opinion on the group is different because I grew up independently of puritan punk politics. Plus, I got to hear the band’s albums backwards, not chronologically. I don’t care that Jawbreaker A) signed to a major label or B) changed their sound for Dear You. In fact, I’d argue that Dear You is more like a streamlined version of Bivouac. Sure, Rob Cavallo’s production is a lot cleaner, but the music is more complex and the lyrics get way more depressing. Compared to the group’s overall output, Revenge Therapy is an anomaly, where Dear You is the pinnacle of their style. The topics covered on both albums are similar – scene politics, lady problems, and being really, really sad – but Dear You pushes these things further. Some of the guitar tones Schwarzenbach and Cavallo came up with here are just so obliterating, like on “Basilica” or “Lurker II: Son of Night.” Yet I can’t call Dear You a strictly “guitar record” since Bauermeister’s muscular bass lines and Pfahler’s loose, constantly evolving drum parts are so essential to the sound. Some folks might call that a power trio.

24 Hour Revenge Therapy is a fine record and I listen to it often. But I’ve never put individual tracks on repeat for hours at a time like I have with Dear You cuts such as “Accident Prone” or “Unlisted Track.” Oddly enough, it also features some of the group’s catchiest songs as well, like “Save Your Generation,” “Oyster,” and especially “Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault,” all of which better what Revenge Therapy achieved. Revenge Therapy may remain the crowd favorite, as a recent conversation with my co-workers at Punknews.org revealed, but in my heart, Dear You remains the better choice.

That said, I had a blast listening to both albums on repeat this morning, so I guess I’m the real winner.

Vinyl Vednesday 11/25

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it kinda is. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds! Since Thanksgiving is this week, I thought I’d discuss three of my all-time favorite records, not that I don’t love my vinyl collection in general. Gratitude abounds.]

Records: Jawbreaker’s Dear You (1995) on baby blue marble, The Mountain Goats’ Zopilote Machine (1994) on black, and X’s Los Angeles (1980) on black with media kit.

Place of Purchase: Zopilote Machine and Los Angeles were purchased on eBay. Dear You was a present from my girlfriend. She’s awesome.

Thoughts: My copy of Dear You on baby blue marble vinyl is my favorite record. There, now you know that every future installment of Vinyl Vendnesday will be a lie. But dang it all, it was a really cool present, ya dig? And it plays perfectly! The cover’s a little worn, but I’ve always been a sucker for those sort of lived-in qualities. It makes me feel connected to something. Dear You is my favorite Jawbreaker record. I love those dark, swirling chords and depressing lyrics. Yet as down as songs like “Accident Prone” or “Jet Black” get, I get a little giddy about being able to tap into that world whenever I want. This is one of those albums I’ll start singing along to without realizing it.

I’m the sort of music nerd who wants to get every record my favorite artists have ever put out on vinyl. Being a Mountain Goats fan, that’s probably going to be impossible, but every once in a while, I score a big find. I lucked into a copy of Zopilote Machine on vinyl, featuring one of the Goats’ best songs, “Going to Georgia.” The price wasn’t too steep, and it’s easily the oldest TMG release I own on wax. I’m not going to argue that it sounds better in this format – it’s still just a guy with a guitar and a boom box – but it’s still nice to have and pretty to look at.

I made a decent amount of money temping, which I promptly squandered on an eBay addiction. Having been an X fan since high school, I decided to double-up my collection by getting their best albums on vinyl. Los Angeles is one of my favorite X records, channeling old rock ‘n’ roll riffs through a punk perspective. The best punk bands secretly knew how to play their instruments, as Los Angeles shows, and the quartet still puts on a great show. I was particularly excited to get this album on vinyl, as it was a promo version with a lengthy media kit. My copy came with glossy photos, Xeroxed newspaper reviews, and a neat folder to hold it all. It’s pretty cool.

Playlist: Jawbreaker

[In an effort to generate mo' content, I figured I'd share some playlists on my iPod. Whenever I try to make a mix, I opt to keep it short enough to either burn to a CD (> 80 minutes) or commit to a tape (> two hours). The 80 minute rule is good because it A) forces me to stick to the best of the best, B) makes it easier to get multiple plays, and C) can be burned to a disc for friends if they ever ask for a sampling of a given artist.]

Being one of the best punk, emo, and alternative bands of all ding dang time, Jawbreaker has had a profound influence this here life of mine. If you've been keeping up with my top 10 project, you already know I've loved Jawbreaker since I was younger and about 50 pounds lighter. Blake Schwarzenbach remains one of my favorite lyricists of all time, so much so that I bothered to learn how to spell his name. There's plenty of sadness, yes, but his songs with Jawbreaker describe punky youth to me perfectly. The awkward moments between flirting and kissing ("Chesterfield King"), the shitty shows you play with your shitty band ("Tour Song"), medical problems ("Outpatient," "Accident Prone"), the weird posturing we go through to seem cool ("Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault," "Boxcar"), the drinking - my word the drinking - are all covered. Many of the songs are unquestionably about Schwarzenbach and him alone, but his struggle for normalcy is universal. It would get a lot vaguer once he started Jets to Brazil, as well as factor fame into the writing, but that's another playlist altogether now, ain't it?

Each of Jawbreaker's albums exists as its own entity, so I didn't even bother trying to blend eras. This playlist more or less goes chronoligically, with a few exceptions. I go pretty overboard on Dear You material at the end, but that's my favorite album so ya'll can eat me. I know the stated purpose of these playlists is to make a running time that would fit on a CD-R to give to someone, and I actually did make this playlist with the intention of giving it to my girlfriend so she could learn about Jawbreaker. I didn't. But, ya know, I'll get around to it.

1. "Intro," Live 4/30/96 [Well, it had to start somehow...]
2. "Want," Unfun
3. "Caroline," Etc.
4. "Big," Bivouac
5. "Chesterfield King," Bivouac
6. "Face Down," Bivouac
7. "Tour Song," Bivouac
8. "Kiss the Bottle," Etc. [The most overrated underrated Jawbreaker song, and with good reason.]
9. "I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both" For Callum [This alternate mix is killer.]
10. "Indictment," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
11. "Outpatient," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
12. "Ashtray Monument," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
13. "Do You Still Hate Me?", 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
14. "Ache," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
15. "Save Your Generation," Dear You
16. "Accident Prone," Dear You
17. "Jet Black," Dear You
18. "Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault," Dear You
19. "Into You Like a Train," Dear You re-release
20. "Basilica," Dear You
21. "Untitled," Dear You
22. "Boxcar," Dear You re-release [Sweet kiss-off. I've always preferred this cleaner version.]