Jamwise #30

Featuring: Lana del Rey, The Rolling Stones, Eric Church, Bruce Springsteen

Firstly, my apologies for the delay in this issue - I had some posts ready but completely failed to get them scheduled before going on a vacation and then a work trip. But we’re back!

Project BAE - Best Albums Ever

Currently listening my way through the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Progress: 132/500

Norman Fucking Rockwell! - Lana Del Rey

Released in 2019, this album has been on my radar, along with everyone else in the world with a social media account and an algorithm full of music content. I kind of ignored it, truth be told, thanks to my (now reformed) too-cool-for-pop snobbish streak. This, I now realize, was unwise. 

It might be a fun exercise to contrast my “old” reaction, as it might have been in 2019, with the more well-considered reaction that’s a result of Project Don’t Ignore Awesome Music (that’s what Jamwise stands for). 

Old me: this is just Taylor Swift with a more dynamic voice and less caffeine

New me: No, you have to look past the obvious Jack Antonoff production (which isn’t usually my cup of tea) and hear the actual song. They’re deep and complex and mellow-dark. 

Old me: It’s Taylor Swift with black hair and more complex chord progressions 

New me: 

Old me: TAYLOR SW—

New Me: Just shut up. The internet is already full of rabid fans debating the T Swift and Lana similarities and who’s superior. I don’t need to join the fray. This isn’t a zero sum game, and both can be dope. 

This album is another that’s clearly a high quality product; it’s poetic and moody, well written and well performed, and polished until it glows in the dark. But it’s just not for me, not my vibe, and what is life if not one long series of vibes, dude?

Jams

• “Doin’ Time”

• “How To Disappear”

Darkness On The Edge Of Town - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce loves a cinematic sounding album. A lot of critics talk about the noticeable differences between this album and Bruce’s previous release  Born To Run. I actually found more similarities than differences, although that’s possible because I didn’t listen back to back, but rather heard Bruce in contrast with my last (and top played) Spotify track, “White Noise 3 Hour Long” by the great Erik Eriksson. “Badlands” was like a shot of adrenaline after the classic “shhhhhhhshhhhhshhhhh” of my favorite sleeping track. 

Bruce’s voice seems to wander all over the place at times, but this only adds a charming, vulnerable sound to his gruff tone. It’s almost easy to overlook how talented of a singer he is. But I managed to avoid that fallacy - this album is a hit for me. It’s the ultimate in blue collar dad rock; even though Bruce has said he’s never actually set foot in a factory, and even though “Factory” might be the weakest song on this album, this one was manufactured to the highest of quality standards. 

Jams

• “Badlands”

• “Something In The Night”

• “Candy’s Room”

• “Prove It All Night”

Exile On Main Street - The Rolling Stones

As I trudge from E Street to Main Street, I realize to scrub the taste of Aftermath, the last Stones album I’ve listened to, out of my mouth. My dislike of that album surprised me, and I mosey down Main Street with my eyes alert, collar flipped up, hood pulled down low. It’s cold and rainy, in this fiction, the poor weather echoing my mood after finishing the slog of Aftermath - even though the Main Street of the title is probably somewhere in LA where Exile album was finished. But then I realize this album is number 14 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums List, and I start to gain some hope. The sun comes out from behind a skyscraper, and from the first note, the party begins. 

Exile On Main Street was recorded while the Stones were indeed exiles of a sort - they started recording in England, then ran away to France to avoid a massive supertax from the English government. A part of me wants to make a joke about Boomers and taxes, which could probably take all kinds of offensive forms in the name of comedy, but most of me just thinks that’s extremely rock n’ roll, in a white collar crime sort of way. So we’ll stick to that interpretation of things and move along.

There are just so many cool stories about this album. Liz Phair’s Exile In Guyville (a Jamwise approved banger of an album) was intended as a response to Exile. “Happy,” one of my favorite songs on the album, was written and recorded in the studio because Keith Richards had showed up early (against all expectations) and had nothing to do waiting for the rest of the band to arrive. The tax exile thing should be the subject of a movie (or at least a podcast). 

And then, of course, “Tumbling Dice” is one of those effortless all-timers that feels like it came into the world fully formed and perfect from minute 1. This album, likely due to its all-time great status, perfectly encapsulates the view I’ve always had of The Rolling Stones. It’s don’t know if everyone has that perception, or If maybe there are some Aftermath or earlier Stones purists out there, but for me, listening 40+ years into the past, this later album is the perfect definition of the band’s hard-earned greatness. 

Jams

• “Rocks Off”

• “Tumbling Dice” 

• “Happy”

• “Ventilator Blues”

Chief - Eric Church

Oh Lord, this is going to be another extreme test of my maturity and patience. Ever since I heard Eric Church butcher the pronunciation of the word “summer” over and over on his song “Springsteen”, I’ve been totally unable to listen to his music. And lest we forget, I’m from a redneck state with redneck in my bloodstream, and I’m used to hearing some pretty exceptional Southern US accents. But Mr. Church’s mush-mouthed North Carolina slur pushes my ears to their limits. It’s like he’s singing with a mouthful of cornbread and banana pudding.

To make matters worse, Eric Church was insanely popular at my college, and this naturally triggered my “anti popular music” reflex that I’ve discussed previously, making me hate the music even more just to seem like an outlier. Plus my roommate’s girlfriend at the time was my mortal enemy and it ground her gears when I hated on Mr. Church, which was a huge bonus. 

After re-listening, I think I’m ready to admit what I wasn’t mature enough to say back in school. Eric Church is a great songwriter - his voice isn’t pleasant, nor is his accent in my personal opinion, but they’re hallmarks of the genre, and there’s a long history of great songwriters making a name from their writing and not the power of their pipes or ability to pronounce consonants properly. 

Jams:

• “Doing In My Hand”

• “Springsteen”