Lifter Puller- Let’s Get Incredible

So Stylus has been pushing a lot of pixels towards the Hold Steady. Which is as it should be. And it’s a trip to trace the age in Craig Finn’s voice from Lifter Puller to now. He’s singing more, sure; it’s not just that, although there’s a weariness now that the singing points up. When he tells me (I’m the addressee cos it’s my post) that he hasn’t been with my little hoodrat friend, he comes across as cagy, defensive. If he’d said the same thing on Fiestas and Fiascos, he’d be saying it dismissively, like she’s just not down enough to be with. I’m simplifying, sure, but listen to the grumpy grandeur of “Let’s Get Incredible”. It’s myth and mockery, tribute and detachment. And it rocks. Hard.

[buy stuff here]

The Gaynotes- Bye-Bye Blues

The Gaynotes came from a barbershop scene that sprang up as a reaction to the grim verity of 1930s Oklahoma. Partly as an inexpensive diversion, partly as a reconnection to simpler times, a fleet of quartets sprung up in the Southwest, of which the Gaynotes were one of the best, winning the 1958 International contest in Columbus, Ohio (which they drove to in order to save the $76 train fare). I chose this track for the first half and its bag of tricks: the languid pacing & the way the four vocal lines create something aching, especially the way they wring out “tell my blues good-bye-eye-eye”. The second half is standard malt-shop fare, but it’s still fun. There’s two discs full of snapshots like this I’m still working through.

[buy stuff here]

The Mekons- Take His Name in Vain

Great vocals. Backing, lead, male, female, lyrical, wordless. All-around great. Lead singers are a dime a decillion, but the Mekons have a pubfull of evocative, emotional folks. God save the Mekons.

[buy stuff here]