Dec 09 2008

Moby – Last Night: Remixed

Category: Music In My Ears — dryvetyme @ 12:00

Moby
Last Night: Remixed
Mute; 2008

Remix albums are a notoriously iffy musical proposition. Starting from the DJ’s and producers chosen to do the remixing, continuing on through the songs selected, and ending with the track arrangement, the whole scenario is a dubious one, laden with a host of unwanted expectations. In this reviewer’s mind, the real concern is whether or not an album needed to remixed in the first place – oh sure, you can take a track and pass it around to a few DJ friends and let them rework the song in question, but remixing an entire album is just inviting severe overkill into the equation. If the original artist is happy with his/her creation, why run the risk of poisoning those songs in the ears of your fans?

Well, Moby obviously possesses none of those fears, as he recently handpicked some hot DJ’s free range to toy with the standout tracks from his Spring 2008 release Last Night. The project was originally designed as a concept album chronicling a hypothetical night out on the town with his friends, but since Moby is no stranger to remixing the works of iconic acts himself, it seems that he concocted a follow-up record with those same club-going friends in mind. The result is Last Night: Remixed, which subjects the following songs to a wide variety of upbeat house-heavy treatments: “I Love To Move In Here,” “Ooh Yeah,” “Live For Tomorrow,” “I’m In Love,” “Disco Lies,” “Alice,” and “The Stars.”

The truly great cuts here include The Holy Ghost!’s version of “I Love To Move In Here,” Spencer & Hill’s take on “Disco Lies,” the Heavy Bass remix of “Alice” by Drop The Lime, and D.Ramirez’s Haunted Playground Remix of “Ooh Yeah,” because these DJ’s are able to take the source material and call it their own, while still honoring Moby’s intentions for the original. Also included as notable moments are “Live For Tomorrow” from Tocadisco and Mason’s Glowsticks Remix of “I’m In Love,” because, while they might be slightly formulaic, they are still fun and engaging. What threatens to sink the entire ship is the three-song selection that drops right in the middle of the album: Seamus Haji, General Midi, and AC Slater’s remixes of “I Love To Move In Here,” “Alice,” and “The Stars” (respectively) are rather boring, derivative, and much too safe. Sure, they might be bouncy, bubbly, and engaging for the non-discerning club-goer, but they do a grave disservice compared to the better remixes and to the original version.

In the end, the verdict for Last Night: Remixed is a hung jury; half the album is far superior to the other, creating a fractured listening experience. Each solid-to-excellent song has a bland-to-sad counterpart, leaving this reviewer to wonder whether an EP of the best material would have been preferable to an entire LP that comes across as merely average. Moreover, since the record was dubbed a “remix” album, would it not have been correct and/or proper to remix every song from Last Night in its original order? Maybe there’s a gap in this reviewer’s knowledge regarding DJ/club culture, but having purchased more than a few remix tracks of his favorite songs, quality is always preferable to quantity.

Dec 09 2008

Two Cow Garage – Speaking In Cursive

Category: Music In My Ears — dryvetyme @ 12:00

Two Cow Garage
Speaking in Cursive
Shelterhouse/Suburban Home; 2008

In a music world dominated by big egos, cry-me-a-river lyrics, and fashion over function, it’s nice to know that earthy rock swagger exists in this world. I’m not talking about those bands that prance about the stage, preening before the crowd, expecting the assembled throng to shower the band with love because they’re supposed to do so. What I’m referring to are those acts whose lives are apparently so filled with healthy quantities of grit of day-to-day life that their songs ring out in splendid proletarian glory.

Granted, these groups are proletarian not in the “Down with the bourgeois management!” sense, but their constant touring and working-class, by-the-sweat-of-their-brow ethos often creates an atmosphere akin to a union meeting. Voices are raised in unison to sing, fists are pumped when the antagonist takes the advantage, and spirits are lifted in harmony when the protagonist emerges as the victor. Some bands aspire to effect these reactions, but their attempts come across as too clean and too polished, as if the boss’s son rolled up his sleeves and came down to the factory floor to mingle with the workers.

Luckily, the gentlemen in Two Cow Garage are most assuredly a truly hard-working band (having played over 200 shows a year for the past six years) and their souls are on full display in their particularly catchy strain of bar-rock. Their new record, Speaking In Cursive, calls to mind the best of The Boss and The Hold Steady (with a sprinkling of Tom Waits), complete with rousing choruses and bottom-of-the-barrel gut-check scenarios. The band pulls off this remarkable feat by eschewing the trappings of the genre (formulaic chord progressions and drinking-song lyrics written just for the sake of drinking) by penning heart-felt lines from their lowest and highest points in life.

Led by “Glass City” (complete with the stirring song-ending vamp “Being afraid of living is just the same as dying.”), the record swims in tear-jerkingly honest recollections from all stages of life’s journey. “Folksinger’s Heart” finds the band reminiscing about a long-ago friend with Bob Dylan aspirations, while “Bastards and Bridesmaids” is a driving rock tune about nearly drowning under the influence of the lame people who have invaded one’s life. Rounding out the album’s top tracks is “Swingset Assassin,” a touching story about growing up under the influence of The Beatles (as dictated by Mom & Older Brother), rebelling into Punk, and then returning to the Pop/Rock fold when the angst of Punk proved to be too lonely.

Thus, even with a rather silly moniker (Two Cows = Two Cars? Hilarious!), the band finds a way, again and again, throughout the whole of Speaking In Cursive to sing their guts out and compel their fans to do the same. Huge hooks, chugging guitars, driving drums, and whiskey-and-cigarette soaked vocals will do it every time.

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