Prog backlash?

Before I discovered the 90s neo-prog movement, I discovered another band that are legendary in their Canadian homeland but only have a small cult following in the states - The Tragically Hip.

In my opinion, the Hip really didn't hit their stride until their third album, Fully Completely. In fact, it's so good that it makes a strong case for the title of Best Album You've Never Heard Of. Before that, they were a twangy, roadhouse-style bar band, and although they had some good songs on their first two albums, they don't compare to Fully Completely, or to what they put out afterward.

I only bring this up because lately I've had a peculiar urge to listen to their second album, Road Apples. It's strange because not only is it not my favorite Hip album, it's not even in the top 5. It's not that it's a bad album per se, but it's still from their twang era, even though the writing is much stronger than their first album, Up To Here. Being an analytical guy, I'm intrigued by this puzzle and want to figure out why this sudden urge appeared. The only thing I can think of it that it's some kind of backlash from all the prog I've been listening to lately.

I love progressive rock. It's complex music featuring long-form suites, heady lyrics and dazzling instrumental performances. It's also a lot to take in. Sure there are some shorter, simpler songs - "June" from Spock's Beard comes to mind - but for the most part, listening to prog is as much a mental exercise as it is an enjoyable experience. It's this complexity, though, that I think lead to this sudden urge for cleaner, simpler music.

Not that the Hip are simple. They're definitely a more traditional rock band, but they're also known for singer Gord Downie's rather cryptic lyrics, one reason why I really like them. They also continually evolve their sound with each album, experimenting with new sonic palettes in the context of traditional rock, another reason why I like them. Perhaps that's why I'm drawn to Road Apples now - it represents their early sound, before it evolved past country-tinged, smoky-bar rock. I think my brain is, in its own way, asking for a break from all the complex prog so it can just relax and enjoy the music.

Time to fire up Media Player and cue up Road Apples. Who am I to ignore a request from my brain?

Decreased guitar time = fewer blog posts

This blog will probably be a little thin for the next few weeks. The content of this blog rests largely on my guitar playing, at least at this point in my musical journey, and I'm just not going to have a lot of time in the coming weeks to play.

My wife and I are embarking on a house face lift project as we prepare to sell our old house in preparation for the move to our new house. My guitar time will be seriously compromised. Take this weekend, for instance. All the time I would've spent practicing was used to paint the master bedroom and bathroom. Next weekend, it'll be the upstairs hallway and second bathroom. Then the two back bedrooms the following weekend. And so on until the whole house goes from rental white (the original paint color) to realtor beige (as our agent calls it). Even during the week I won't have much guitar time. After work today, I have to get the master bedroom and bath back to some kind of normal state, which means I'll be spending my time pulling off masking tape, touching up the trim and moving the furniture back to where it belongs.

Am I upset? Not really. Sure I love playing and I'll miss my guitar time, but sometimes life throws you something more important (or at least more timely) and priorities shift. After these next few hectic weeks, I'll have plenty of time to practice again, and I'll be able to do it from my nice new home. Sacrificing some guitar time is a small price to pay for being able to say that.

So for my three or four loyal readers, there may be a noticeable lack of posts for the next few weeks. Don't worry, though. Once I'm back to my regular playing time I'll be boring the Internet with all sorts of blog posts again.

R.I.P. Alex Chilton

Just found out today that Alex Chilton died yesterday of an apparent heart attack at age 59. Many of you probably don't know who he is, and the sad thing is, if it wasn't for a stroke of pure luck, I wouldn't know who he is either, and that would be a shame.

One day I was perusing the Web and stumbled onto AllMusic.com. Their "Album of the Day" was something I've never seen before. The album cover was a neon sign depicting a star with the word "big" inside. Intrigued, I clicked through and found out it was Big Star's first album, #1 Record. After reading the glowing review and researching the band, I realized I had to hear what they sounded like, so I got #1 Record, along with their second album, Radio City. I read that discovering Big Star's music is a life-changing event - you will forever date your musical tastes as being pre-Big Star and post-Big Star - and after hearing both albums, I have to agree.

Big Star is the great lost American rock band. Formed by Chilton and Chris Bell in Memphis, they set out to become the next Lennon-McCartney, recording music that, as AllMusic.com said, was both out of date and ahead of its time. Chilton was already soured on the music industry, having been the lead singer of the Box Tops and seeing how the industry used the band for its own purposes. Unfortunately, nothing in the history of Big Star would change his mind - both Big Star records, while critically acclaimed, were held back due to record industry issues and never reached the audience they deserved. The band broke up after two albums, with a third being issued much later - the songs were recorded but the album never completed. You can do the research on your own, but they're pretty much one of the best bands that almost were.

Chilton's music was paradoxically brilliant. It was sad yet hopeful, simple yet poignant, and it was all wrapped up in a style that was the complete opposite of the type of big, arena-rock sound that was prevalent at the time. Bands like R.E.M. and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cite Big Star as an influence. I implore anyone who's intrigued by Big Star to pick up #1 Record and Radio City. You won't regret it.

Rest in peace, Alex. I'll be blasting #1 Record through my headphones at work today, just for you.

(NOTE: The picture I added on top is one I found somewhere on the Internet. I liked it because he's playing the exact same model of guitar I own, except mine's black. I don't know where I got it. I'm not trying to infringe on copyrights, so I'm going to assume it's OK to use.)