Like Lana Del Rey, I Also Am in My Leonard Cohen Phase
OPE! No. 4: Falling in love with Grateful Dead live, (sort of) defending the new U2 album, M83 vs Passion Pit, and two more perfect songs.
Well, hello there. This is Brady Gerber, writer and music critic who runs OPE! and Candyfloss. Welcome to the newsletter. It’s Monday, March 27th, 2023.
This week on OPE!
“The Grateful Dead - pretty good. A few great studio albums, a few bad studio albums, and a lot of good-to-great live albums with many moments of transcendence. You can't beat seeing the Dead live, and I say this as someone who's never seen them live but have been told too many times by people I trust. The Dead!
OK, fine. But what if that's not enough to convince you to try out the Dead?“
This week on the blog, I wrote about the Grateful Dead live albums and tracks that converted me from an appreciator to a genuine fan. I spent a lot of time this week listening to various eras of live Dead and the consistency of it all, with different flavors of peaks and valleys throughout the decades, is staggering.
It’s hard to feel sad while listening to good Dead songs. I’m thankful that such music exists. The Beatles also make me happy while listening.
Also, I’ll be traveling throughout this week and the next, so no newsletter next week. Going to add more links and music for this week to make up for the delay.
And now onto the dang links and tunes, you know?
Links
There’s a Cyberpunk bathroom in the middle of the desert
“The United States is conspicuous.”
“A win for Steely & Clevie could have massive implications not just for reggaeton, but for pop music in general, which has increasingly looked to Latin American music for inspiration over the past decade. Thousands of other songs that use a dembow rhythm could be considered in breach of copyright, and this action could also set a precedent for future copyright claims based on foundational pop rhythms.”
And the “We know everything about Beethoven” camp is losing it.
“Within three days of Beethoven’s death, not a single strand of hair was left on his head. Ever since, a cottage industry has aimed to understand Beethoven’s illnesses and the cause of his death.”
Why Ringo is an amazing drummer (according to other drummers)
I poke fun at Ringo later in this newsletter, so I’d like to get this out of the way and show my appreciation for him and the “Ringo Swing.” Ringo’s greatness is like how I feel about Kevin Shields on guitar: not the craziest technical skills, but I have NO idea how to recreate this.
Why Ringo is an amazing drummer (according to Ringo)
Apparently it’s all in the shoulders??
Moviemaking and gamemaking are converging
“As games become more like films, movie people move in. “There’s a lot of crossover now with these various labour markets…the skill set is very interchangeable,” says Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions, which makes films and tv series based on Sony’s games. Neil Druckmann of Naughty Dog, who created “The Last of Us”, a hit PlayStation game, co-wrote a tv adaptation released by hbo in January; hbo’s cinematographer paid a return visit to Naughty Dog to share tv techniques. In Los Angeles actors and writers increasingly divide their time between filmed and interactive entertainment: Keanu Reeves had a role in “Cyberpunk 2077”, and George R.R. Martin, creator of the Game of Thrones series, wrote the backstory for “Elden Ring”, one of last year’s biggest games. The only bit of Hollywood that hasn’t translated to gaming is comedy, which one developer attributes to games’ long gestation periods: “No joke is funny for three years.””
Jelani Cobb on 50 years of Hip-Hop
“From hip-hop’s inception, what has distinguished it from other forms of youth culture was its certain awareness of mortality. Rock music, for instance, mourns a group of heroes who died at twenty-seven: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain. But part of the resonance of those deaths is that they came as a shock, and even acquired an aura of romance that hip-hop could never indulge. Their deaths reflected inner turmoil, most during a time of war and social violence, but the violence was not primarily directed at them. That’s not the case with hip-hop, an art form crafted in places where it was not unheard of for twenty-seven-year-olds to perish.”
Stephen Thomas Erlewine’s Substack is one of my go-to newsletters for music. He’s based in Austin, TX, and in his recent newsletter he describes this year’s SXSW and how the city has changed.
Music
My good friend James recommended that I make a Spotify playlist keeping track of all the songs that I post each week in this newsletter. I love the idea. So now, we have a playlist.
Here’s this week’s Spotify playlist.
I’ll likely make a new playlist for each Monday morning right before I send this out. And of course, not everything I write about is available on Spotify. Should be fun though.
Thank you, James, for the idea.
Spencer Cullum - “Cold Damp Valley”
Great album name (Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection 2), great springtime song. Makes me want to frolic into a field on my way to happier days.
NEW YORK - “night n day”
Like Aphex Twin getting lost in that old H&M on Broadway in Soho.
Bully - “Days Move Slow”
John’s Music Blog, another excellent music Substack, describes “Days Move Slow” as VH1core, which is hilarious and true. You’ve heard this kind of song before, but it rarely sounds bad. I like most Bully songs. I’m glad they’re still around.
Dazy - “Submarine”
Another new-to-me winner from John’s Music Blog this past week. Easy, breezy.
Lana Del Rey - “The Grants”
As the title of this newsletter indicates, and to the surprise of many of you whom I’ve talked to before of my annoyance with LDR, I’m enjoying her new album more than I thought I would. I stand by my consistent nit-pick that all LDR albums are too front-loaded; I’m with her for the first couple of songs before it all just fades away into forgettable mush-mush. But this new one is staying with me. I’m not the first writer to make the Leonard Cohen connection to “The Grants” and her most recent albums. Like Cohen, LDR can now better walk that line between sublime and silly. She’s also at her best when passing the spotlight to her (excellent) backing band. If you didn’t understand all the hype behind Norman Fucking Rockwell! but aren’t necessarily a LDR hater, this album is for you.
Leonard Cohen - “You Want It Darker”
For those not familiar with Mr. Cohen. This is what I’m reminded of when I listen to more recent LDR. Both songs don’t sound exactly alike, but they leave a similar impression. It’s like their both trying to have a conversation with God; there’s little to no interest in modern concerns in lyrics or sound.
U2 - “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (Songs of Surrender remix)”
I’m a big U2 fan, so very few things in life embarrass me. But good lord, U2. Really, I mean good lord, the Edge and Bono, since it seems like Larry and Adam have minimal involvement in this redressing of U2 songs. I’m not crazy about half of U2 rewriting their own history to be a mostly guitar band when part of the Edge’s (worthy) talents and success as a guitarist comes from also having one of rock music’s greatest rhythm sections. U2 are a lot of things, but this compilation proves that they’re not a singer-songwriter band.
With that said, the two redeeming qualities of Songs of Surrender that justify its existence:
Bono is still embarrassing, but overall, he’s greatly underrated as a rock lyricists. These more stripped-down arrangements are a better showcase as Bono the artist instead of Bono the brand, the latter being the thing I think most people don’t like. This new version of “Stuck in a Moment” is one of the examples that caught me off guard in a good way. I learned so much about this song I already liked and listened to a million times. Ironically, this sounds like a great singer-songwriter take on U2.
The Edge is a phenomenal harmony singer. Most harmonies you hear on U2 songs are not Bono double-takes but Bono and the Edge singing together in real-time. My favorite U2 live performance on YouTube is just Bono and the Edge singing my favorite U2 song to each other. Since this is essentially an Edge solo project, I’m glad he’s getting all the good parts. Good for him.
M83 - “Water Deep”
The new M83 album - kind of boring? I’m increasingly convinced that the only people who actively listen to M83 beyond “Midnight City” are music critics. We’re such a susceptible type too, especially to these ‘80s synths that make us misremember an era most of us don’t even remember.
M83 - “Midnight City”
Speaking of that song. Like everyone else, I fell in love with “Midnight City” when it first came out, and I’ve since gone along with the general sentiment that this was (is) probably the defining “indie” song of the 2010s, and that Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming was (is) the millennial Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Now when I listen to it, I think of every bad band trying to recreate this song. This isn’t fair to M83 of course, and I know they’ve released a lot of good-to-great albums. Still. A band I appreciate more than I like.
Passion Pit - “Hideaway”
I think I know why M83 doesn’t sound as good to me now: In the following years, I’ve come to appreciate Passion Pit’s flavor of nostalgic synths and technicolor whirls. I think I remember a Phoebe Bridgers tweet about how Zoomers would have absolutely lost their shit over Passion Pit. I think she’s right. The pioneer of today’s Internet wellness-core.
Modern English - “I Melt With You”
Another perfect song. Now I know where Deerhunter stole their looks.
The Beach Boys - “Don’t Worry Baby”
“Well, it's been building up inside of me for / Oh, I don't know how long.”
Simon & Garfunkel - “April Come She Will”
April comes soon, indeed.
George Harrison - “If Not for You”
I understand why Harrison struggled to get his songs onto Beatles albums. His songs are too wide, with a kind of looseness that would have not been allowed with such strict pop perfectionists as Paul and John. It makes sense that Harrison made the first great solo Beatles album and that it’s so freaking long; an artist finally unrestrained from his collaborators to follow and execute his exact vision. Not my favorite solo Beatles album (I used to be a “I still have something to prove“ John before mellowing into a washed Paul, so I’m still a sucker for McCartney) but the one I most appreciate and admire. As always, poor Ringo.
Taylor Swift - “Anti-Hero (feat. Bleachers)”
I like this remix more than anything off the last Swift album, or any Bleachers albums.
Michelle Branch - “Breathe”
Speaking of Swift. One of my favorite open secrets in the music industry is that most early Taylor Swift songs are just Dashboard Confessional and Michelle Branch melodies on top of the tiniest of glossy banjo and twang. If you told me “Breathe” was an early Swift song, I would have believed you.
GENTLE LOVE - “Dire, Dire Docks (Super Mario 64)”
Video game music as smooth jazz? If you know, you know.
Prefab Sprout - “Bonny”
I think I want to save a future newsletter to do a deep-dive on Prefab Sprout. This and “The King of Rock ‘N’ Roll” are some of the most fascinating indie-pop songs I’ve ever heard. Listening to this song will make you 70% cooler.
The Fray - “Over My Head (Cable Car)”
Fun fact: This album was recorded on my college campus at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington, IN. This song has aged well, too. I think it’s a testament to good songwriting, even if the sound itself (and this music video) screams mid-2000s.
The Strokes - “Hard To Explain”
Another perfect song.
Radiohead - “Let Down (Minidiscs 9.1 Demo)”
A follow up on Radiohead from last week. An imperfect demo of a perfect song. If I was writing this song and got to this point, I’d probably just go “This stinks, pass.” Good thing Thom and co. didn’t do the same.
And that’s it! Until next (next!) Monday.
With love and all the other good things,
-b
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OPE! logo by Claire Kuang. words and cartoons by yours truly. all typos are intentional.