Vinyl Vednesday 8/31/2011

[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. As always, e-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: Rick James’ Street Songs (1981) on black, Ida Maria’s “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked” seven-inch (2008) on clear red, and Mean Jeans’ “Tears in My Beers” seven-inch (2010) on black.

Place of Purchase: eBay for James ‘n’ Maria. Mean Jeans was a promo from the Trouble in Mind label for review.

Thoughts: Music journalist Michelangelo Matos is pretty much my spirit guide when it comes to R&B. In addition to penning a most excellent book about Prince’s Sign O’ the Times, he also wrote an illuminating essay on music from 1981 that introduced me to Rick James. Obviously, James was already in my consciousness, first for “Super Freak,” then for his appearance on Chappelle’s Show. But it was Matos who turned me on to “Give It to Me Baby,” a song so undeniably funky and sexy and funny and awesome that I had to buy the record it appeared on. I used to think James was a bitter beauty queen for hating hip-hop so much. Then I heard Street Songs and realized he really just hated it because rappers couldn’t touch what his songwriting. While I wouldn’t put him on the same level as Prince or Michael Jackson, Street Songs is still essential listening for people who like sexxxy musics. Blasting this record makes me feel so good.

Unlike Rick James, whom I instantly fell in love with upon hearing “Give It to Me Baby,” my courtship with Ida Maria took a few months. She honestly first came into my view when “Oh My God” was used in the trailer for It’s Kind of a Funny Story. I found the song to be addictive, adrenaline-pumping fun, but my fiancée Michelle swore that Maria’s debut album was terrible. But I couldn’t get “Oh My God” out of my head, and soon I picked up the single on eBay. I decided that I would buy a second single and, should it be as good, I’d commit to the record. “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked” is just as catchy and, like James, super fun/sexy jam. The B-sides are mighty fine.

Said it before, said it again: Mean Jeans made a great mini-concept album about dranking back the year 2010. “Tears in My Beers” is a zesty Ramones tribute of a tune, while “Cool 2 Drive” is more somber. That’s relatively speaking, of course. Still, of all the Ramones rip-offs over the years, Mean Jeans are my favorite. They just have a raw yet hooky pop-punk delivery that never gets old for me.

Mean Jeans - 'Tears in My Beers'

Fresh from their super catchy, super fun Ramones tribute Are You Serious, pop-punkers Mean Jeans return with a two-song seven-inch for Trouble in Mind. “Tears in My Beers” and “Cool to Drive” are probably as close to a concept album as the band is ever going to make. When I say the songs show little artistic growth, I really mean the group succeeds in yet again whipping out spitfire surf punk for pogo enthusiasts.

“Tears in My Bears” is exactly what the title suggests: Dude gets bummed, cries into his beer, then drinks his beer. I suppose there are worse bodily fluids to put in your drinks.

“Cool to Drive” is the better song, even if it does kind of endorse drunk driving, but the hook that propels the chorus “I don’t care if it takes a hundred years / I’m gonna drink a million beers” is undeniable. My drankin’ buddies have a slogan: “Beers for years.” I like to think “Cool to Drive” could be our unofficial anthem, but I’m not sure how well sloppy hands and vinyl grooves will work together.

Mean Jeans - 'Are You Serious'

Ramones Ramones Mean Jeans Ramones new album Are You Serious Ramones pop punk Ramones. The trio (Ramones!!!) tears through 13 raucous tunes in 25 minutes (’mones), calling to mind bands like Teenage Bottlerocket and Screeching Weasel (by which I mean, the Ramones). With song titles like “Lets Pogo B4 U Gogo” and “Total Creep,” Mean Jeans are keeping Ramones-core alive.

While the Oregon act clearly goes out of its way to recall Joey’s vocals and Dee Dee’s bass lines (and count-offs), there are subtle differences, like guitar solos. “Slime Time” even segues into a totally random electronic slow jam. Closing track “Lets Pogo B4 U Gogo” clocks in at over four minutes in length, although it’s one of only two songs that exceed the 2:30 mark.

OK, OK, so these are small stretches. Are You Serious is a total Rocket to Russia tribute album. But it’s so got-damned fun. Here’s a band that thrashes through their instruments as quickly as possible while still executing stellar vocals. Give me a fast beat and a couple dozen “whoa-oh”s anytime. Songs like “Space Trash” and opener “Born on a Saturday Night” rip and roar to life; they cannot be denied.

Of course, it’s these same points that I triumph that some might loathe. Frontman Billy Jeans really does try to do a Joey Ramone impersonation, so much so that I wonder if I dig this album because it’s catchy, or because it reminds me of one of my favorite bands. The songs aren’t terribly deep – drinking, drugs, comics, and the occasional lady friend are the dominant topics. And, depending on which side of the fun spectrum you fall under, “Lets Pogo B4 U Gogo” is either pandering or deliciously cheesy.

But darn it all, these songs are glorious. “I’m a no brainer,” the band sings on the appropriately titled “No Brainer.” It’s true. With tunes this blistering, joyous, and awesome, I don’t have to think much about throwing on some Mean Jeans.