Favourite Records: Girlysound & Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair

In November 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine put out a list of their top 500 greatest albums of all time. Though obviously ridiculous, and predictably centred on the 60s and 70s, a few of the choices in the list were surprising. Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair, one of 61 albums from the 90s mentioned, was one of the ones that hit me as being a bit out of place. It's one of my favourite albums in the world, hence being blogged about here, but is also one I thought would have just produced a quick buzz and slowly faded, disappearing among all the other inferior clones and only being kept going through the occasional mixtape or interview reference. For some reason though, regardless of her recent albums getting some of the worst reviews imaginable, it seems to have stuck in critics' minds and probably continues to sell pretty well.

Not knowing any fans that well myself, I'm not sure how cool or uncool it is to like her right now or how many copies of Exile in Guyville have been bought. Steve Albini called her:

"more talked about than heard, a persona completely unrooted in substance, and a fucking chore to listen to"

here when the record was released, and most have taken her recent fall into (pretty awful) pop produced by The Matrix (Avril Lavigne's songwriters) as further proof that she's not to be considered a good or serious artist.

Despite, in my head at least, being a masterpiece, Exile in Guyville is a pretty normal sounding "good rock pop" album and being a pretty standardly good rock pop album, popularity and a placement in popular magazine best of lists probably isn't completely odd.

It's got sharp and to the point lyrics, a few fun or point-making explicit sex references, catchy traditional chords and melodies and a possibly unique at the time but now hopelessly copied production style by Brad Wood. It's not noisy and, due to the dreamy feel the mixing gives it and some quite comforting vocals, works quite nicely as background music. Though critical, needing and heartbroken it's also pretty uniquely warm, optimistic and calm and unlike many other similarly categorised records released at the time it doesn't alienate those who find too much anti-boy stuff annoying. Teen girls obsess, or at least used to obsess about it but it also makes sense to me and others you'd think would have objected if you only read the press sheets, fan ramblings and descriptions people like Steve Albini hated so much.

I myself was pretty shocked at how soft it was when I first got a copy, having expected something very different after seeing song titles like Fuck and Run, Girls! Girls! Girls! and feeling pretty awkward reading quotes from the lyrics of Flower in a "dirtiest lyrics" message board thread somewhere.

After you get over the attention grabbing lines however you'll find some really beautiful (and clever) ones that stick with you for a lot longer after a few listens and you'll hopefully find you can see it as a pretty innocent record with a lot to say. It's a bit like someone luring you in by flirting heavily just because they want someone to talk to and sit in a park with.

Possibly in part earning it the list position, Phair said the album was a track by track response to Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones. There might by something in such a statement but it's certainly not present in every track or even explicit anywhere. The records sit pretty well together as they both use common chords and structures to somehow jump miles in front of thousands of people doing the same thing but that's probably where it ends aside from some common interpersonal relationship themes. I sense a bit of a fun publicity stunt or some journalists/fans taking things a bit too far.

It's probably not a song cycle, there aren't any deep metaphors or complex song structures and, apart from the half positive thrust of the lyrics, she's not doing anything that unique, but like most great songs, everything snaps perfectly in place making it a great album to listen to in almost every situation. Singing along loudly in the car, sulking about at home, having it on in another room while tidying up or in the kitchen... it's varied, intelligent, simple and very likeable. Unless you're Steve Albini.

After Exile in Guyville, Phair released Whip Smart which most fans will tell you was good but not as good as the debut, Whitechocolatespaceegg which was a further step down according to most and then two pop albums a lot of people seem to hate her for.

She seems to be having a lot of fun releasing mindless pop and shaking off any comments about selling out. She's 40, is selling records and looks pretty terrific. Though fans of Exile in Guyville moan about all this constantly and wish she stopped recording I actually have quite a lot of respect for her attack on snobbery and think she has every right to do whatever she wants after releasing what I think really is a brilliant record.

Whatever stance you take, the "I only like the early material" argument is for once completely justified. So much so that some fans have taken it even further than the debut album itself.

Recorded before getting her record deal, the Girly Sound tapes are home recordings and, despite still obviously being fuel for geeky indie snobs, I almost see the point some fans are making by saying they're better than the studio output. Fortunately someone's attacked all the fools selling the tracks on ebay by uploading them for everyone to download freely so you can make up your mind about them quite easily (or even use them to get your first taste of her style and sound).

As home tape recordings they're obviously hit and miss but within the tracks, many of them not available on other records, are quite a few brilliant songs and performances. Surprisingly, her own production of the tapes (due to clever layering) is very similar to Brad Wood's work and it makes for oddly comfortable, unscratchy and relaxing listening. Her voice even seems clearer and less gritty than on the albums. The songs are also generally longer which leaves her room for quite a few more good lines that sadly didn't make the final cuts (especially on Girls! Girls! Girls! and Shatter).

References to The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss), a total reinterpretation of Wild Thing by The Troggs, a cover of nursery rhyme Miss Mary Mack incorporating both White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) by Grandmaster Flash and Phair's own lyrics, and a really odd song about Elvis pop up unexpectedly between the more conventional and sometimes dazzlingly beautiful songs. The aforementioned Shatter, my personal favourite on Exile in Guyville, has a vocal backing melody that lifts the song into happier pop territory and perhaps even makes it better for some than the droney album version. Money, Love Song and One Less Thing have some of her best lyrics and some of them sound clean enough to almost shed the lo-fi tag completely.

I could go on for a long time. There's a lot of material. Two hours and eleven minutes or so. There's even a rumoured extra third tape out there somewhere. As they're all available for free here you may as well just listen to them and make up your own minds. Unlike most bootlegs this would be pretty essential even if you had to pay for it. When made available like this it's plain silly to ignore it.

They aren't anywhere as listener friendly or accomplished as Exile in Guyville and the length of it is a bit overwhelming, particularly as some individual songs are rather long, but you can find so much evidence in there to prove that Phair was, at least once, one of the best songwriters on the planet that it's almost an overkill.

I recommend:

Miss Mary Mack
One Less Thing
Shatter

to start off.

http://girlysound.com/ (for the songs)

Favourite Records: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

Originating from friendships and scraps of songs made some time between the late 80s and mid 90s, inspired in part by the Diary of Anne Frank, recorded in 1997, released in 1998, re-released in 2005 and now owned, and in most cases loved, by 100,000 or so people around the world, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is my favourite album. Not surprisingly, it's a lot of other people's favourite album as well.

“My favorite album ever recorded without exception.” says Dan Snaith (aka Caribou/Manitoba)

“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is one of the most completely inspiring rock records I’ve ever heard… every time I finish listening to it I feel like I’ve lived through something I’ll never quite understand, something really big.” - says Ben Reed Parry of The Arcade Fire

“When I first started driving, In the Aeroplane Over The Sea was the only cassette I had in my Fiesta for two years. It is amazing. Friendships can be gauged on the mutual love of Neutral Milk Hotel.” - says Bob Hardy of Franz Ferdinand

Music critics love it, giving it full marks all over the place and it frequently appears in top albums of the 90s/all time lists. It has people covering it, recommending it, overanalysing it and writing blog entries about it every day of the week and because of all this, there's enough related material out there to make this posting rather pointless.

Indie-guilt often sets in and I find myself wondering if it really does deserve all the praise but I rediscover it does after each and every listen. It does strange things to my brain, makes me stand in the corner and stare at the CD player or turntable as it plays and makes me infinitely jealous of never possibly being able to make something as good as it. I'm always in the mood for it and it always makes my day when I play it. I come late if I put it on before going out as I have to listen to the whole thing. I could list positive adjectives forever and I doubt I will ever get bored of it. It's simply a masterpiece and my life probably wouldn't be the same without it, as cliched as that sounds.

Every one of the nine musicians plays a key part and still, despite there there being a constant stream of overlapping sounds throughout the record it still remains focussed around an acoustic guitar. For some reason it's earned itself a lo-fi tag even though it seems miles from it. Probably because of all the fuzz.

The stream-of-conciousness lyrics aren't as simple as being only about Anne but aren't nonsensical either as some seem to think. Stories of semen, conjoined twins in jars, mass murder, time travel, memories, family and love all blend in seamlessly with one another and yet it never seems overwhelming or disturbing. Historical accuracy/reference is scattered all over the place as well.

Communist Daughter, my personal favourite for years, seems beautiful and "nice" despite seeming to be about gender swapping masturbation:

"Sweet communist
The communist daughter
Standing on the sea-weed water
Semen stains the mountain tops
Semen stains the mountain tops
With cocoa leaves along the border
Sweetness sings from every corner
Cars careening from the clouds
The bridges burst and twist around
And wanting something warm and moving
Bends towards herself the soothing
Proves that she must still exist
She moves herself about her fist
Sweet communist
The communist daughter
Standing on the sea-weed water
Semen stains the mountain tops"

King of Carrot Flowers Pts Two and Three starts with a repeated cry of "I love you Jesus Christ" yet doesn't turn off the atheists, Holland 1945 deals with death, reincarnation and "faces filled with flies" yet leaves people humming it and playing it in DJ sets and Oh Comely packs so much into its eight minutes (recorded in one take by vocalist Jeff Mangum) that someone in the studio shouts a recorded "Holy Shit!" in amazement when it's over.

The final track sees themes returning and it all ends with Jeff (slightly pretentiously though probably innocently) getting up out of a chair in a "well, that was fun" kind of way.

Mangum, the singer, writer and possibly quirkiest personality takes most of the praise but there's plenty of other musicians on the album, and without them it wouldn't be anywhere as good as it is.

As is often the case, the talent of the drummer goes sinfully unnoticed by many. Now that he plays in A Hawk and a Hacksaw, more people have noticed how talented Jeremy Barnes is, but in case they haven't, here's a lovely video of him playing the drums on his own (for a video of him stealing the show in a Neutral Milk Hotel Live performance scroll further down). It's a drum solo but rather good. I'm sure there's videos of him drumming while playing an accordion as well which is also quite something (search for A Hawk and a Hacksaw or go see them play):



Scott Spilane co-wrote the horn arrangements and contributed the instrumental The Fool (written previously for a film soundtrack), Julian Koster appears to be able to play everything and taking Michelle Anderson's uilleann pipes (an instrument resembling the bagpipes) out of the untitled 10th track would move it from perfect to pointless.

It's simply a perfect record and though finding out about the writing and recording process disappoints people wanting it to be a crazy idea made in a weekend by a group of musicians who went mad after releasing it, knowing the effort, childhood friendships and time involved makes it all seem like even more of an achievement.

For those still thinking Jeff is a mad recluse who had a breakdown, you can read this letter.

Those wanting to find out more who already have the record can get a copy of Kim Cooper's 33 1/3 book on the album.

Those wanting to hear lots of rarities, live songs and bits of songs which became songs on the record go here.

To conclude this mess of a post, here's a video of the band playing Ghost, my favourite song and the untitled track that follows. They don't get everything right (especially the horns) and you can't make out the words but the drums and general fun of it make it well worth watching.

Baker Street to Old Street

Being on holiday and deciding there was no time to fit much in between 3.30pm and a meeting at Old Street Station at 6pm, I got off the Metropolitan Line train at Baker Street station and decided to walk to Old Street station. What follows, is, in hyperlinks, a short account of where I went and what I saw.

The walk took just over two hours. There are no doubt better routes but I didn't have an A-Z with me. No pictures were taken. It's a nice walk. I recommend it.

Start

Baker Street Tube Station

Sherlock Holmes Statue

The London Planetarium (R.I.P)

Madame Tussauds

St Marylebone Parish Church

Marylebone High Street

Oxford Street

Detour through Berwick Street and Soho Square

Tottenham Court Road Station

British Museum

Bloomsbury Square

Lincolns Inn Fields

Chancery Lane Station

The Holborn Bars

(another nu gothic (sorry) building designed by Alfred Waterhouse who also did The Natural History Museum (my favourite building in the city), Reading Town Hall and Foxhill House in Reading)

The Holborn Viaduct

St Paul's Cathedral

Postman's Park

(Filip's favourite meeting point in the city regardless of it being featured in a play and film he hasn't seen)

Many pieces of The London Wall

Finsbury Circus

Liverpool Street Station

Getting A Bit Lost

People working on The Bishopsgate Tower

Tube Carriages being turned into studio space above Great Eastern Street(!)

Back on Track

Old Street Station

Finish

Postscript: On the way to Old Street from Great Eastern Street I saw a fire engine and an ambulance flying down the road with their sirens on. This isn't that unusual on its own, but instead of the usual text one finds on the side of such vehicles, these had "Scientific Support Unit" written on the side. Let us hope it's just someone dropping a thermometer. I worry.

A new song and rediscovered feelings for Catherine and Standard Tuning

After months, perhaps even a year, of ignoring her, I've finally started properly playing my lovely steel string guitar, Catherine, again. Not only that, but I've been playing her in Standard Tuning. Those of you that know me personally may be aware of my rather annoying tendency to tune every guitar I come across to G Major. This afternoon I put Catherine in standard and she sounded amazing once I remembered the chords.

I decided, therefore, that I wouldn't just play for myself but that I would record a nice acoustic folk song for Fiona. The guitar part was recorded (on a dictaphone, my microphone is still broken) and sounded relatively nice but once again, as is usual with Filip, I decided to spend hours taking it apart and adding things so it no longer sounded like a guitar part at all. The result was a new song, coming in at just under two minutes and forty five seconds. It's titled Fiona and Out and can be found by clicking here.

Sources of the samples used in the song are as follows:

• BBC Radio 4
• BBC Radio Cymru
• Resonance 104.4 Fm
• Thrills by The Infamous Hellfire Club (it's a three second crackle but it seems fair to mention it)
• David Randolph Scott's "Hammer and Feather" speech on board Apollo 15 in 1971 courtesy of NASA and Wikimedia Commons
• The french alphabet pronunciation guide from Single-serving.com
• Wikitionary's pronunciation guide
• Analog X's "Say It" Speech Synthesizer (programmed to say "haaaaaaaaaaaaaa" or something along those lines)
• Christopher Pencakowski's recording of his house mates giggling and singing by a noisy sink
• Daniel Cooper of The Infamous Hellfire Club talking about how the bank he works for verifies cheques (recorded onto a telephone while I was helping him mix their demo)
  

I suppose I'm most proud of the song on Resonance Fm (which I didn't get a title of, sorry) working so well under the Radio 4 broadcast. It almost sounds genuine. It's the Indian one.

There are quite a few bits in the recording I'd fix if I had some more time with it but I think as a fun present it'll do. I enjoyed making it and hope Fiona gets some enjoyment from it. It's probably my first proper track of the year since I decided I'd stop recording and concentrate on learning how to play a piano. Amusingly enough, there aren't any keyboards/keyboard synths or such in the track.

Enough waffling. Let me know what you think if you have time and wish to. Other songs can, as usual, be found here.

Happy April.

Watford Observer Cuttings 30th of April 2007

As the majority of you don't pick up The Watford Observer for some reason or other (most probably many reasons), I've decided to scan in my articles and put them up on here each week. Here's the ones from this Friday's paper (30th of April). Nothing too exciting, but people asked to see them so here you have it. Click to enlarge.