5 posts tagged “matthew good”
What music blog is complete without a yearly wrap-up on the releases of the year that stood out, for positive or negative reasons?
Admittedly, I have not been as in touch with the releases of the year and must preface this entry with stating that there are going to be glaring omissions from this list. Life has kept me from music this year, be it keeping me from concerts I wished to see, keeping me from the time to listen to albums I want to hear, or making it difficult to listen to certain artists without feeling uncomfortable. However, I do have several albums upon which to rave or rant, so here's what you get.
This was a year where my stalwart music artists took the backseat for others, where single songs possessed my devoted attention, while albums were generally shunned. It was a year of nostalgia, as I turned to older favourites for comfort in trying times. But beyond that, I found this year's music lacklustre and not to my liking, perhaps due to the concentration of artists in genres I'm not fond of. For several months, I was “off music”, something that has never happened before to me. It was disorienting, to say the least.
The concerts I saw this year were fewer than I would have liked, but none of them disappointed. All of them delivered beyond my hopes and expectations. It was a year of seeing new artists and old favourites. If I were to rank a top five of shows I saw this year, it would go a little something like this:
5. Rilo Kiley at The Phoenix: Solid set, great energy, tight openers including Thao Nugyen
4. Paramore with Jack's Mannequin at The Kool Haus: Amazing energy, three solid openers, and Jack's Mannequin renewed my love for Andrew McMahon
3. Melissa Etheridge at Massey Hall: Three hours of non-stop, high energy music with powerful and moving banter between songs. A first time for me with Melissa and hopefully not the last.
2. Matthew Good at Massey Hall: This man never disappoints me with his intense delivery on every song, his caustic wit and his genius songwriting. So grateful this became a live album.
1. Amanda Palmer at The Mod Club: It had every element going for it – incredible setlist, stellar performance, fabulous openers, and incredible theatrics and stage presence. Easily one of the best performances I've seen Amanda give (and I have 8 other points of reference).
And now, without further ado, here we go with my personal 'awards' for 2008:
Album That Sends Me Into Fits Of 80's Nostalgia: Saturdays=Youth by M83. This album is utterly fantastic, with tracks like Couleurs, Highway of Endless Dreams and Skin of the Night leading the charge into a soundscape that evoked Erasure meets Conjure One meets Arcade Fire's intelligent layering and music craft. I easily find myself lost within the tracks of this album in a way that lands on par with Explosions In The Sky and Max Richter.
The Album That Lived Up To The Hype: Donkey by CSS. I'm not much of a trend follower, and even the critical darling pieces often leave me cold (see: You Say Party, We Say Die!; most of Radiohead's post-OK Computer output; Coldplay's discography). CSS however live up to the excitement, and Donkey is just so much fun to dance around to, one can't resist it. There's not a single bad track, although some are stronger than others. I'm fond of Believe Achieve, Jager Yoga and Let's Reggae All Night, myself.
Reviving The Now Crowded Male Singer-Songwriter Folkie Genre: Charmed and Strange by Yoav. I first had a taste of Yoav's music as he opened for Tori Amos' American Doll Posse tour in 2007. At first, I took one look at a lone guy and a guitar and immediately wondered how Tori kept finding Howie Day part nauseum. Yoav, however, is far more clever as a lyricist, and his musical palette is more acoustic Red Paintings than Jason Mraz. Adore, Adore, There Is Nobody, and the soulful One By One set Yoav miles ahead of a crowded field.
Bringing The LOLZ To Musicals: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Joss Whedon remains my master after he cleverly proves that you can give a product away for free and then sell it... and make a profit! Neil Patrick Harris singing about freeze rays? An Evil League of Evil run by Bad Horse? Each song is so silly and fun, I can't help myself. Once More With Feeling was one of Joss' finest Buffy hours. Perhaps he should write an actual musical, complete with ridiculous stage sets? I can dream!
The Slightly Guilty Musical Theatre Junkie's Pleasure: I Stand by Idina Menzel. Are some of the lyrics cliched? Sure. Are some of them dripping with the saccharine Celine Dion is famous for? Hell yes. Does Idina kick ass and take names vocally, making the album enjoyable all the same? You bet your (tattooed) ass. Check out Brave, I Stand, I Feel Everything.
Solid But Sorta Overrated: Third by Portishead. This is where gasps of indignant objection begin. I am not, let me stress not implying Third isn't a solid album of quality music, good news for a band that took such an extended hiatus. But on repeated listenings over time, I can't say the album stands out enough as a whole to make me want to listen to it over and over. Some tracks are absolutely stunning (We Carry On; Silence; Nylon Smile), while the others are solid but not worth the prostrating critics gave it. I coin this Radiohead syndrome.
Letdown of the Year: Acid Tongue by Jenny Lewis. When Rilo Kiley's Under The Blacklight came out, my personal theory for the album not being to par with their previous outings was that Jenny and Blake were both 'holding back' for their solo projects. Unfortunately, that may have not been the case with Jenny. It's not a bad album, per se; tracks like Jack Killed Mom and Pretty Bird resonate with me. It's just not memorable; each song blends into the next, lacking the wordplay jabs and sonic shifts throughout Rabbit Fur Coat.
Best Album That's Not Really An Album: No, Virginia by The Dresden Dolls. Consisting of outtakes and old live favourites finally recorded for official release, No,Virginia feels rather all over the place at times. But when viewed as a b-sides/rarities collection, this is acceptable, and the quality of the material is enough to enjoy it. Dear Jenny, Mouse and the Model, The Gardener, Lonesome Organist Rapes Page Turner... All the typical fun and punk cabaret you'd expect from the Dresden Dolls.
Best Return To & Reinvention of Roots: The Slip by Nine Inch Nails. Is Trent in angsty form? Oh yes. Do I detect a strong flavour of the 80's tinged Depeche Mode-ness of Pretty Hate Machine? Yes, yes I do. Does this album deliver both rocking and despairing tracks with a lyrical flavour that feel more self-aware and self-mocking than self-loathing? Damn right it does. I love this album rather passionately, and offer you 1,000,000, Discipline, Demon Seed and Letting You as the places to start your love affair.
Favourite Local Album: Meeting The Future At Full Speed by Karen Kosowski. I've already covered this album in extensive detail in this blog, but it deserves its mention here. Karen remains one of my favourites among the Toronto-area indie artists I've come to know and love, and this album only builds on her previous stellar album, Out Here At Sea. Earnest and hopeful, its electro-pop vibe will leave you humming your way through the day, even at its darkest.
And now, *drum roll* the big awards...
Best Album of the Year (live): Live At Massey Hall by Matthew Good. After such an extensive catalogue, it was long overdue that the raw emotional intensity of Matthew Good be captured for prosperity on CD, and this disc is special in that, other than edits to correct lost audio the night of, it is an uncorrected live album. Having been at the show it was recorded at, it takes me back to one of the best concerts I saw this year. The set strongly slants towards Hospital Music material, which to me is one of his very best albums. In light of the loss of my grandfather to cancer, 99% Of Us Is Failure hits particularly hard and is one of the highlights of the 2 disc set. Many songs are much richer live (She's In It For The Money is painful to listen to because of the raw pain in Matt's delivery; A Single Explosion closes on a haunting powerful note), which makes this album a must have for fans and a fantastic introduction to his genius.
Best Album Of The Year (studio): Who Killed Amanda Palmer by Amanda Palmer. I've been with Amanda since a friend encouraged me to download Girl Anachronism in 2002, and I am with her for the long haul. I dearly love her work within the dynamic of The Dresden Dolls, love the playful cabaret feel of the drums and piano coupled with incisive and something darkly amusing lyrics. This album bring those elements of lyrical finesse and dark humour, but it also brings a more personal, deeper look into the human condition with songs like Strength Through Music and Have To Drive. Coupled with Ben Folds' guiding advice (the usage of a very raw demo vocal for Leeds United was a brilliant move that only adds to the song) and the gorgeous strings created for the album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer is the album Amanda was born to write, and the one album that you must try, no matter what preconceptions you may have of The Dresden Dolls or Amanda herself. Get started with Astronaut, Leeds United, Guitar Hero, Another Year and Have To Drive.
And now, a few older discs worth mentioning...
Rediscovery of the Year: Act I: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies by Neverending White Lights. An album from 2005, it's always been one I have endorsed to fellow music lovers. The ethereal moody feel of Daniel Victor's compositions, complimented by haunting and heartbreaking lyrics performed by a who's who of the Canadian alt rock scene, this album crept up on me and demanded centre stage in 2008. The lyrics weave a set of stories about loss and love that interconnect subtly, adding a delicious cohesion. Sample The Grace, I Hope Your Heart Runs Empty or From What I Once Was.
Better Late To The Party Than Never: Kala by M.I.A. I'm not generally a girl who goes for hip hop, rap or R&B; it's just not my scene. The odd song will catch my ear, but nothing that has me buying a CD, not since Salt N Pepa's Very Necessary. But with Kala, M.I.A. has created something so utterly fun and sassy, one can't help but be drawn in. Paper Planes caught me, hook, line and gunshot sample, and that has led to an affair with $20, Come Around and XR2. Where was I in '92? Wishing for music this ridiculously enjoyable!
Better Late To The Party Than Never, Part Two: The Awakening by Melissa Etheridge. Passed a copy of this by a friend prior to my live experience with Melissa, it's fast become an album dear to my heart and almost a metaphor for my entire year. While some may find the spiritual elements a little off-putting (there is some God mentions, but most of it is general spiritual belief), it's an incredible testament to the journey Melissa went through emotionally as she battled breast cancer. There are scathing political references as well, fitting in light of this election year, and songs of regret and heartbreak. But the end feeling is one of being able to rise above everything, if we believe that all can be possible, and that there is something larger than us. A solid, well-written album that doesn't have a single dud to it.
You crawled from the cancer to land on your feet
Are you crazy to want this, even for a while?...
We're done lying for a living
The strange days are coming and you're
You're gone, you're gone
Either dead or drying
Either dead or trying to go..."
Strange Days - Matthew Good Band
It's the sort of song I turn to when I need to ease out of numbed autopilot existence, when I begin to emotionally shut down. And lately, even music can barely touch my heart. I know that this is the mind's way of coping with overwhelming duress, but for someone so governed by passion and emotion, it's a terrifying existence. I appreciate that it keeps me from buckling to my knees at work and screaming of the injustices I feel are being inflicted upon those I love, but when away from work, I don't sleep, I don't cry.... I don't feel alive.
One of us is dying. That is one too many. I need not join.
I'd write the nails in your hands
But when 99% of us is failure,
There's no going back
And I know it's real slow honey
Painful and real slow
Blackbird come the break of dawn
The TV's on; I turn it off
Walk outside, get in the car
Stare at the wheel and then fall apart..."
Music is my oxygen, even when the world makes it too hard to breathe, when every inhalation feels like Herculean effort. When I'm not allowed to break, the music breaks for me, breaks over as if it were a wave. At times when darkness consumes and devours, when the childhood nightmare of The Nothing from The Never-ending Story becomes a reality sweeping through each precious memory or person, there is a light in the dark, cast from a stereo, from a laptop monitor. And there are songs like these.
"When we were young and hit like hammers
I'd write the nails in our hands
But when 99% of us is failure, there's no going back...
Walk outside, get in the car
Stare at the wheel and then fall apart..."
99% Of Us Is Failure - Matthew Good
I could watch Matthew Good perform on a nightly basis, and never tire of the experience. Band, no band, long set, short set... Hell, I'd be quite fine listening to the man speak for an hour on politics and life. There are few artists with whose work I connect as strong as I do with Matt's words and, as with those other artists, it comes down to the entire package of art+lyrical genius+haunting melodies+intelligence+genuine interaction with fans.
My first taste of Matthew Good's work came with the album Underdogs playing in the background of a tutoring session I was conducting with an 8th grade student named Lianne, whose musical tastes were solid and led to a bonding beyond tutor and pupil. I sort of adopted her for a while as a kid sister, taking her to concerts, including a festival called Edgefest in 1999. While there primarily to see Finger Eleven and Moist, we did take in part of Matthew Good band's set. I wasn't paying much attention, but I nodded along and thought them decent.
Fast forward to 2000, when my father (whose musical tastes range from the blues of Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal to Pink Floyd and Nirvana) forced a copy of Matthew Good Band's Beautiful Midnight into my hands and demanded I take a listen to it. My dad's taste in music is solid enough that we like much of the same stuff; hell, we have the same favourite Pink Floyd song (Comfortably Numb). I take said CD home and spin it.
I don't stop spinning it for a week.
While I'd always loved the song Apparitions (a huge single for the band), Beautiful Midnight is what sold me on Matthew Good's talents and sent me digging through the back catalogues, feasting upon clever metaphors and lyrics that spoke to the darker corners of my mind. Unknown to me at the time, Matthew Good and I share the same mood disorder (Bipolar Disorder), and perhaps that is why in my darkest hours certain songs have hit so incredibly close to home, it feels as if someone had stolen my diary and internal monologues and sold them to the man. When Matthew went solo with the album Avalanche, it felt to me as if he'd hit a comfort zone and stride, and I eagerly followed along for the ride. Due to various life woes getting in the way, it took until 2004 for me to finally see the man live, at which point I quickly realized that I not only enjoyed and cherished the man's music, but I also respected him as a human being. I took to following his online blog, which spans the political and the personal in a way that few artists do in public spaces. Lately, I've begun posting comments as well, interacting with someone whose honesty gives me hope and whose insights into our current world and political state keep my eyes open and my mind informed and critically thinking.
I looked forward to this, my third show, with great enthusiasm; I'd missed the solo acoustic tour in 2007 due to being in Detroit seeing the female complement to Matthew , Tori Amos (another artist whose intellect and opinions are as important to me as the music; another artist whose honesty about her personal life inspires and awes me), and Hospital Music, Matthew's latest release, was my favourite new album of 2007, hands down. 99% Of Us Is Failure has managed to overtake songs of his I've been spinning for years to become the most played Matthew Good track in iTunes by a large margin. And at this show, nestled on the balcony of Massey Hall, Matthew Good did not fail to deliver a strong set with witty banter in healthy doses.
Some of the highlights:
Champions Of Nothing: The set opener, and one of many songs that resonate strongly with me, it left me in tears. There's such a poignancy to the lyrics ("the globe, it starts shaking/was it me not worth knowing?") that always strikes me at my core.
A Single Explosion: This song is short but powerful, and live, Matthew, for lack of a more eloquent phrase, 'went for it' at the end, belting out the final lines and just ripping my heart out.
Hello Time Bomb: This one was a treat if only for Matthew's pre-song banter, commenting on how being a musician means that your mistakes are captured for prosperity on thousands of copies, such as the line, "My devil's on sugar smacks/Down at the Radio Shack" (which I happen to think is one of the more fun lines, especially considering that Radio Shack was bought out and no longer exists).
I'm A Window: Strong vocal delivery coupled with strong band backing makes for a rocking good time.
99% Of Us Is Failure: Everything I could have hoped for and then some. Not every artist has the distinction of being better in a live format, but Matthew is certainly one. I truly hope for a live album soon from the man. I digress. This song plays out even more melancholy live, and reignited the tears from Champions of Nothing. Highly cathartic and therapeutic to listen to live.
Apparitions: I'd never heard this one with a band backing, so it was a treat to finally hear it 'rocked out'.
Giant: One of my favourites from Beautiful Midnight, this was a stellar, strong performance that makes the album cut seem tame or on valium.
Strange Days: Done on acoustic guitar, this is another favourite of mine and one I'd yet to hear live, so I was very glad I helped scream like a madwoman to encourage a second encore.
Matthew Good's one artist I simply cannot encourage enough people to check out; for starters, I'd suggest Hospital Music, Avalanche and In A Coma (greatest hits compilation). Check out his official site including blog below.
SETLIST - Matthew Good @ Massey Hall, Toronto 5/29/08
Champions of Nothing
A Single Explosion
Odette
Weapon
The Devil's In Your Details
Hello Time Bomb
Born Losers
Load Me Up
Put Out Your Lights
Blue Skies Over Bad Lands
Black Helicopter
I'm A Window
99% Of Us Is Failure
Apparitions
Encore 1:
Giant
Avalanche
She's In It For The Money
Everything Is Automatic
Encore 2:
Strange Days (solo acoustic)
True Love Will Find You In The End (solo acoustic)
