Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
scott@scottlongonline.com
It's never the good old days in the present tense. Just like baby boomers pining for the golden days of Beatles, Stones, Hendrix and Dylan, my generation dreams of vintage Prince, remembers discovering R.E.M. and U2 before the arenas, and the rest of the greats of that generation. Over the past few years, music has seemed to lose itself as the business dropped off, causing some solid music to fall between the cracks and leaving artistry behind for artiface.
That's changing. The artists are beginning to grasp the medium. Without CD lengths to fill, R.E.M. was willing to put out an album at under 40 minutes, recharging themselves in a way we haven't seen in a decade. With no need for lead time and knowing that a record company would only fail them in marketing and leak it ahead of sales, the Raconteurs and Elvis Costello went from studio to iTunes in weeks, not years.
It's not just the Juice favorites that are here either. Sure, it's great to see Costello, Stipe, and White continuing their careers, but there's new bands like Helio Sequence that are making exciting music and Roots continuing to challenge the edges of hip-hop. With new albums on the way from Old 97's, Coldplay, and Death Cab for Cutie, the year seems to be shaping up as a really solid year. I'm sure there are things I haven't heard yet (Duffy's getting amazing reviews) and things I've missed (which I'm sure you'll fill in down in comments), but while there isn't the one defining album or song, there's plenty that are on their way to the year-end Top Ten.
Hammock - Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow
Elvis Costello - Momofuku
Nick Cave - Dig Lazarus Dig
The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
The Roots - Rising Down
The Raconteurs - Consolers of The Lonely
R.E.M. - Accelerate
Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
The Black Keys - Attack and Release
Check 'em out.
I missed U2 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1984. It is a big nightclub with a few thousand capacity. It was during the Unforgettable Fire tour, and they had not yet blown up, which would happen in the ensuing months. I didn't go, because it was a "school night."
Oh, yeah. Prince was the opening act. And tickets were $15.
The Breeders - Mountain Battles (4AD)
No Age - Nouns (Sub Pop)
http://www.u2tours.com/detail.src?ID=19841211
Best opening act ever: Blue Oyster Cult in 1986 at the Illinois State Fair for Cheap Trick...Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll, Mother F*!!!!
Missed Modest Mouse in Amsterdam last August. Tickets were there at 9 am, but I decided to go get breakfast first. Worst. Mistake. Ever.
It still blows be away that I missed what would have been my last and only chance to see U2 in a nightclub. When they came back a mere four months later, they had already made the leap to indoor arenas (i.e., UIC Pavillion, a much larger venue).
-The Blasters, for X, 1980 UCLA Ackerman Ballroom
-AC/DC, for Cheap Trick, 1979 Des Moines Veteran's Auditorium
-Nick Lowe, for Elvis Costello, 1984 Universal Amphitheatre
-Squeeze, for Elvis Costello, 1981 L.A. Sports Arena
This summer, Indy has Death Cab, John Mayer, and Radiohead coming, so maybe things are looking up.
Blasters and X? That's like peanut butter and jelly, baby.
What Made Milwuakee Famous - What Doesn't Kill Us
and the reissue:
The Microphones - The Glow, pt. 2
which I'm trying to decide if it will be eligible for my own top albums of the year. It's so good I'm leaning yes.
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