Canon Fodder #7: Depression Blues

Loudon Wainwright III - Haven’t Got The Blues (Yet)

I’ve heard more Loudon albums than most people. Certainly most people under 50 years old. Still, I’m sure there’s some real keepers, rated and underrated, that I’ve yet to spend time with. Which means Haven’t Got The Blues (Yet) is my favorite I know of from of the twenty or so records that followed Wainwright’s Columbia Records heyday. As with just about all those LPs, this 2014 release is full of brutal love letters to friends, family, the goddamn planet, his sorry ass, and so on. But it’s a touch more swingin’ in its sardonicism than the norm. “The Morgue” is a giddily acidic kiss-off ironically as contemptuous of an ex as Bob Dylan was the masters of war. “I Knew Your Mother” is the ultimate heartfelt dad joke to a child of divorce. Further ironies include an unhoused person pitying a victim of the rat race, a debate over the best holiday to break up on, a blues about your depression and a blues about only being a little depressed himself.

If you’ve never heard the guy, or only know his talented kids or “Dead Skunk," this might be a good place to check him out. Where my all-time fave Attempted Mustache features a frazzled, doubt-ridden new dad hoping he’s got what adulthood takes, Haven’t Got The Blues (Yet) highlights a smirking new grandpa amused that he apparently did. The self-satisfied sarcasm might feel more earned here.

Donovan - Donovan’s Greatest Hits (1999 CD version)

My kid and I both love the Buddhist bubblegum of Donovan’s “There Is A Mountain,” and he gets big giggles over “Mellow Yellow,” so it was high time for me to pick this platter up. Plus, he’s confused (like most would be) that the only Donovan I had on hand was a used LP copy of Open Road (I love “Riki Tiki Tavi” almost as much as Justin Long does in Barbarian). "Tavi"'s on here as a bonus track, along with the high silliness of “Atlantis” and “Barabajagal," to no complaints from me. Once Donovan shed dubious early dreams of Dylanhood, nobody made more bewitching hippie-pop. The guy had an open ear for neat sounds, a knack for melody, and the money to explore his sonic & psychedelic interests. Producing much of it was Mickie Most, who’d make sure everything was catchy enough to keep the income flowing. Donovan had nothing much to say and a lot of pride in speaking, so the misfires can be both embarrassing and excruciating. But that’s why God makes greatest hits albums.

The Mountain Goats - Goths

This wasn’t even in my top ten Mountain Goats albums, but I had to have it because it might be their funniest. Bandleader John Darnielle was a goth, knows his goth, and still listens to his goth. The album is full of love for goth and detailed recollections of Los Angeles County gothdom. But Goths isn’t a goth album. Musically? It’s jazzy! And I don’t mean A Kiss In The Dreamhouse jazzy. Darnielle could be playing with Rickie Lee Jones’ band when he confesses “I’m hardcore, but I’m not that hardcore” or in Deacon Blues: A Tribute To Steely Dan when harmonizing “Long Beach, can you hear me?” Though I didn’t move to SoCal until well after the era this describes, I still see its influence everywhere, and the mix of pride (“we do it different on the west coast”) and ironic distance (a funky song with woodwinds about your “high unicorn tolerance”? Another one rambling about Gene Loves Jezebel?) really resonates. Actually, Goths totally makes my top ten Mountain Goats albums. I failed to appreciate the faux-Peter Hook bassline under a narrator declining a tour with Trent Reznor, announcing “I can write C++ as good as anyone.”

Rufus Wainwright - Want Two

While I liked songs of his before I’d heard a note from his dad, I didn’t get into Rufus’ albums before I got into Loudon’s. With the elder Wainwright’s music so wound up in my feelings about manhood, adulthood and fatherhood, I’ve grown an odd paternal/fraternal perspective on the younger. I really admire the way Rufus’ biographical transparency emulates Dad’s musical values while his lack of enunciation and operatic pretension defies them. Born into a world of musical craft and invention, Rufus has strived to assert his own identity, audacity and pride, while still subtly giving both Loudon and mother Kate McGarrigle reasons to be proud, if not envious. That I haven’t fully immersed in the music of the McGarrigles, Martha Wainwright, Suzzy Roche or Lucy Wainwright Roche has less to do with quality than that I’m not as neurotic about feminine identity in relation to family.

While I love Want One even more than Want Two, I’m glad the label forced Rufus to release them separately. They’re both longer than a single vinyl disc would allow, and the swoonier, more florid pleasures on Two (guests include the McGarrigles and ANOHNI) would be easy to miss after an hour of the wryer grandeur on Want One. Some critics found it too romantic anyway, but I was surprised to find it gorgeous, with just enough zings and sass popping out from the epic sweep & symphonic swells.

Loudon Wainwright III - I’m Alright

Loudon’s first post-major-label album was ironically named Fame & Wealth. This 1985 follow-up, produced by Richard Thompson, suggested unusual self-acceptance, and earned him his first Grammy nomination. Among the highlights: “One Man Guy,” still a potent anthem of self-involvement even after Rufus Wainwright added layer upon layer with his ironic cover. The title track's been-there-done-that take on heartbreak. “Screaming Issue” and “Daddy Take A Nap” are two very different sequels to 1973’s “Lullaby,” the former considerably more resigned about a baby’s unease, the latter even more jocular about his own. Facing forty, unable to know he'd live to make an album named Older Than My Old Man Now in 2012, there’s plenty of reflections on career and mortality as well. Thompson’s guitar - hard to miss - is a nice novelty.

Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues

The drama I’ve felt over this album! I once broke an LP copy in half to stop myself from tolerating the heavy scratch on side 1. Then decided I didn’t need a new copy. I’ve always loved the singles. David Byrne was green over the rhythm section’s “Genius Of Love” going gold and it rewardingly shows. But I long thought the album tracks suffered from a lack of Enoification, and eventually decided “Swamp” was a cheesy chore. I go back and forth on that last sentiment now, but an increased appreciation for P-Funk has led to an increased appreciation for the Heads’ new wave twist on P-Funkitude. It's easier to appreciate the bass on my little CD boombox than on my computer, too.

Throwing Muses - Hunkpapa

Beyond the Muses’ classic self-titled debut, all raw post-adolescent nerve and mania, I’m never sure whether an album helmed by Kristin Hersh is going to resonate. I don’t know if I can even tell you why this album sticks with me while House Tornado and University roll right by. Maybe it’s how inviting I find the production. Maybe it’s a key track that hooks me into the jangling swirl of snarling and sadness that follows. The rhythm section is pretty alive here - you can actually imagine ‘80s college kids dancing to a lot of it! - which can’t hurt. It’s also a detail I would have likely missed when my sister gave me her copy in the ‘00s. Or was it my ex-wife? Both went to Smith and lost investment in their CD binder afterwards. Not me, though! I’m forever wrestling over evolving opinions about bands I first heard in my teens. The navel is the window to the soul.

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Twice Upon A Time: The Singles

The drama I just went through over this one! Mathematical drama! With 1980’s Kaleidoscope and 1981’s Juju already on the shelf, Twice Upon A Time, a thorough singles summary of the Banshees’ poppier but patchier later years, seemed like a wise addition. Then I realized a lot of the keepers on Twice were also on Best Of Siouxsie & The Banshees, along with “Israel” (my favorite pre-Twice single not on Kaleidoscope or Juju) and “Stargazer” (my favorite post-Twice single). Would the broader, shorter Best ironically be a better purchase? They both have similar ratios of desired songs to undesired, but if I got Best there’d be four songs on Twice I’d miss. And I only miss the already acknowledged two on Best. Plus the choice of a live version of “Last Beat Of My Heart” on Twice isn’t too obnoxious in context. However, if I eventually decide I want to own A Kiss In The Dreamhouse (it's a real jumble, but the highs are so high), the ratio then turns in Best’s favor. Whew! Glad that worked out. Hopefully that should keep me relaxed about my Siouxsie sitch til I’m 45. Though maybe I should double-check Join Hands…