10.13.2005
Great expectations
I have been told that I was probably expecting too much -- or at least the wrong thing -- from the Posies earlier this week. I also have been told that the new Neil Young disc isn't as bad as I made it out to be, that there are a few good songs there. Point taken, though I don't apologize. If it's wrong to expect a lot from people who are more than able to deliver, I don't want to be right. I know the Posies can put on a fantastic show, so I'm disappointed when they instead choose to pretend to be a metal band with no regard for what makes their songs work. I know Neil Young can write poignant, memorable songs, so I'm disappointed when he offers yet another Neil-by-the-numbers batch of tunes.
Masochistic though it may be, I'd rather expect too much and be disappointed than to have my low expectations confirmed. That brings us to the "new" Big Star record. I had no hope that this would be any good and still forked over my cash. For once, I was spot-on: In Space is a fairly terrible record, rescued only by the presence, coincidentally enough, of erstwhile Posies Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, who contribute the disc's best tracks. Jody Stephens, one of two original members, also pens a couple of songs that, while not great, at least seem to have been written by someone who knows what is expected. And then there is Alex Chilton, a man who clearly lost interest in the chiming power pop of the band's first two albums sometime shortly after the issue of the second of those, Radio City. Since then, Chilton has been on a winding career path that has taken him everywhere but two places: success and his past. Or rather, the past Big Star fans care about. He's willing to replicate the garage rock sound of the Box Tops, and always willing to tackle an old R'n'B tune or two.
So why should it be a surprise that his latest disc is just another in a long line of half-finished, tossed-off collections of such work? Knowing full well that a Big Star disc will sell exponentially more than an Alex Chilton record (10,000 is exponentially more than 100, for example), he stuck the more marketable name on the cover and moved on. I'll admit that curiosity more than the hope of actually buying something I liked is what fueled this purchase, but even that isn't enough to merit future spins.
On related notes, I have boxes full of old zines in my basement that I would love to get rid of, and anyone interested in recent posts might want to take a look. My zine, Sticks & Stones, featured a cover feature about Guided by Voices' first Suitcase box set in issue 8, with an exhaustive package reviewing each of its 100 songs, while issue 7 had a long Q&A with Ken Stringfellow, talking about his then-recent new gigs with Big Star and R.E.M., as well as the breakup (before the makeup) of the Posies and his solo career. You can find information about all of that here, and anyone willing to fire up Paypal and send a modest sum will likely end up with the complete collection of in-print issues.
Lastly, to see a band that actually lives up to and at times exceeds its promise, check out My Morning Jacket on Late Night with Conan O'Brien tonight. The band's latest disc, Z, is at times thrilling, other times perplexing, but never a dull listen.
Masochistic though it may be, I'd rather expect too much and be disappointed than to have my low expectations confirmed. That brings us to the "new" Big Star record. I had no hope that this would be any good and still forked over my cash. For once, I was spot-on: In Space is a fairly terrible record, rescued only by the presence, coincidentally enough, of erstwhile Posies Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, who contribute the disc's best tracks. Jody Stephens, one of two original members, also pens a couple of songs that, while not great, at least seem to have been written by someone who knows what is expected. And then there is Alex Chilton, a man who clearly lost interest in the chiming power pop of the band's first two albums sometime shortly after the issue of the second of those, Radio City. Since then, Chilton has been on a winding career path that has taken him everywhere but two places: success and his past. Or rather, the past Big Star fans care about. He's willing to replicate the garage rock sound of the Box Tops, and always willing to tackle an old R'n'B tune or two.
So why should it be a surprise that his latest disc is just another in a long line of half-finished, tossed-off collections of such work? Knowing full well that a Big Star disc will sell exponentially more than an Alex Chilton record (10,000 is exponentially more than 100, for example), he stuck the more marketable name on the cover and moved on. I'll admit that curiosity more than the hope of actually buying something I liked is what fueled this purchase, but even that isn't enough to merit future spins.
On related notes, I have boxes full of old zines in my basement that I would love to get rid of, and anyone interested in recent posts might want to take a look. My zine, Sticks & Stones, featured a cover feature about Guided by Voices' first Suitcase box set in issue 8, with an exhaustive package reviewing each of its 100 songs, while issue 7 had a long Q&A with Ken Stringfellow, talking about his then-recent new gigs with Big Star and R.E.M., as well as the breakup (before the makeup) of the Posies and his solo career. You can find information about all of that here, and anyone willing to fire up Paypal and send a modest sum will likely end up with the complete collection of in-print issues.
Lastly, to see a band that actually lives up to and at times exceeds its promise, check out My Morning Jacket on Late Night with Conan O'Brien tonight. The band's latest disc, Z, is at times thrilling, other times perplexing, but never a dull listen.
