Slonedog:
>While a handful (and it is just a handful folks) of the songs on
>"Summerteeth" (which I think is brilliant) do owe a debt to "Pet Sounds", I
>don't think either "Sound of Lies" or Joe Henry's new one have much to do
>with Brian Wilson.
Right on. The Jayhawks' pop turn was pretty Beatlesque, to these ears, while
Henry's turn is ... well, follow the bouncing Daniel Lanois. I'm not real
impressed with "Fuse," myself, mostly for the songwriting itself rather than
the sound. But I do find it sort of an unfortunate marriage of, say,
Springsteen and U2. (Altho at times it sounds weirdly like Joe Ely.)
The critical/musicians' rediscovery of Brian Wilson in the mid-90s, while a
wonderful thing, is leading to way too many lazy uses of the Beach Boys as a
metonymy for all things that are pop yet not bubblegum. Weird, weird, weird.
Another instance of the syndrome by the way is the Scud Mtn Boys --->
Pernice Bros. transformation. Of the group, Joe Pernice is also the one, so
far, who seems to me to have the most sophisticated-pop-music chops, with
genuine Brian/vdParks attentions *plus* Beatles, 70s pop, Big Star and, for
that matter, the likes of Burt Bacharach.
Me, I think the pop turn is as much the result of a sudden but sincere,
methinks, rediscovery that shiny happy music is not inherently evil, and is
a way out of rock's dead ends in a similar way that the adoption of twang
influence had been. On the down side, it seems like the late 90s in
rock-related music are the equivalent of the early 60s, a transitional time
where individual songs are mattering more than albums and tho pop is reborn
there are few long-term prospects so far. Which makes me real curious what
will happen once this millennial funnybusiness is over, say in 2002-03.
Carl W.
