Dust Off Those Grooves (Chapter Eight)

It would be interesting to take a poll of music lovers and critics and ask the question, 'What was the high water mark lyrically on an album in the rock era?'
There have been a lot of best of lists but I don't recall ever seeing that and yet what specific album would most music lovers point to as being the lyrically, the greatest? Dylan's Blood On The Tracks, how about Tom Waits Blue Valentine? Paul Simon's first album, what about Lou Reed's New York? Wouldn't want to leave the ladies out, Patti Smith's Horses anyone, Rickie Lee Jones Pirates? Springsteen, Townes Van Zant, don't forget Paul Westerberg. Tough question and I don't have the answer but the first one that comes to my mind and the one I would nominate is Under The Big Black Sun by X.
John Doe and Exene's Cervenka's lyrical masterpiece chronically the struggles of a working-class couple going through loss, a broken marriage, alcoholism and boredom is to my eyes and ears one of the great literary achievements in rock history. As good as any novel and the fact that the words are on top of one of the great rock bands in their prime only sweetens the deal.
Under The Big Black Sun should have been a disappointment, and God knows everyone was expecting one. It was the first major label album by X who had just signed with Elektra from the indie label Slash. Major label debuts are notorious for presenting watered down versions of once great acts. Even a great album like The Replacement's Tim suffers from a bit too much production, and the battle between the indie and corporate idea of what constitutes a great album continues to this day.
X were never a typical band though and with Under The Big Black Sun they delivered their finest work. It's a work that synthesises their harder earlier punk origins with their interest in more classic American traditions like country and folk. Americana 15 years before everyone was throwing that word around, it was called Cow-punk at the time and groups like X and Lone Justice would pioneer the sound that a future generation would reap the benefits of. Much like the country-rock sound Rick Nelson, Michael Nesmith and Graham Parson's would revolutinalize in the late 60s. It was a new spin to something very old.
Under The Big Black Sun would, like their first three albums, be produced by former Doors mastermind Ray Manzarek and I'm not totally sure if he has ever gotten enough credit for these recordings. First of all the idea that a musician so associated with L.A. rock from the sixties producing a young punk band in the eighties was incredible, but Ray managed, like John Cale with The Stooges and Patti Smith, to produce X with just enough control. He never compromised their sound, but he roped it in just enough to allow its inherit subtleties to come out. Ray Manzaerk is an uncredited hero to the 2nd wave American punk movement.
X's third album kicks off with the thunderous The Hungry Wolf, and we are immediately presented with something much more complex than the average rock lyric. Recalling Exene's native American ancestory we are presented with a, 'hungry wolf' running 'endlessly with my mate'. The song, ending with the haunting refrain of 'I Roam' is dedicated to The Santee Sioux Indians and JL 'Funny Papers' Smith.
The album continues chronicling the couple's doomed relationship with Motel Room In My Bed, it's lead character going to sleep, "Soggy and forgetful, hopefully not waking up so fitfully". Exene have John have an incredible way of presenting a concrete situation, like alcoholism, in such a subtle way. The music might be in your face but the words rarely are, these are clearly two authentic poets who happen to be part of one of the great American rock bands.
The single Riding With Mary continues and it's one of X's greatest songs and gives us the first clues that Exene is going through much more than just a disintegrating relationship with John. Her beloved sister had been killed just prior to recording this, she would remember her so tenderly in the film The Unheard Music just a year after this album, and it's that death that is sparking many of Exene's most poignant lines. The song, detailing an adulterous affair, ends with this image, "on the dashboard rides a figurine. A powerless, sweet forgotten thing, so the next time you see a statue of Mary, remember my sister was in a car".
Exene's Come Back To Me follows and is dedicated to her sister Mary. If anyone has ever written a more heartbreaking and real description of a funeral and dealing with death I have never heard it. Lines like, "Flies and relations make an annoying sound" and "I built a shrine for you on the kitchen wall with flowers and Florida souvenirs. You were walking through the house last night, I knew it was you from the space in your steps" are so perfectly rendered and detailed. Notice how they aren't just souvenirs, but Florida souvenirs, and it's not just her steps but the space in between them. Anyone who has ever questioned how good rock lyrics can be should listen to this song.
Typically an album will have a very specific break between side A and B. Different sounds or themes will be approached but here X again shows that they were never typical as Under The Big Black Sun and Because I Do both share an alcoholic haze of confusion and regret. The last lign on side one, "Mary's dead, Good morning Midnight" lends intself perfectly to the opening, "I am a black and white ghost in a black and invisible dress", of side 2.
Throughout the album, even though they are exceptional, the lyrics never over shadow the music. This is, after all, a rock record and it's a great one. Bonebrake and Doe were really coming into their own as a rhythm section. Bonebrake is a huge jazz, and specifically Lionel Hampton, fan and his drumming is uncommonly controlled for a punk group. It is also savage and loud, just tribal enough for Hungry Wolf and tender enough for Please Come Back To Me, exceptional work. Billy Zoom was astonishing in all of his work with X, early Rockabilly was and is his biggest influence and he continually gives the band some of the most incendiary fret work imaginable. He makes it seem effortless also, you never feel like he is pushing it or trying to impress. His riffs are deceptively simple and always powerful.
The album's themes of adultery and loss continue with Blue Spark and the only cover on the album, Dancing With Tears In My Eyes. The Leadbelly quote on the inner sleeve is particularly chilling, ending with a thought that will resonate with any music lover filled with something dark, "that's to show how music can bring you back.....if you ain't too far gone".
The album closes with three of X's most legendary songs. Three songs that would take the band to a spiritual place that few have ventured to. These are that Darkness on The Edge of Town that Springsteen sang of and that Badlands that Malick filmed.
First up is Real Child Of Hell, an exhausting rehearsal was filmed for The Unheard Music, and its idea of possession being the cause of a relationship breaking down is an astonishing one for rock. The real child of hell that the song presents is not only inside John Doe and Exene Cervenka but ultimately the fan wanting Exene's dress and much more. It's an indictment not only of themselves but the people they are confessing to, and if you haven't figured it out by now Under The Big Black Sun is a confession.
The ferocious two minute How I Learned My Lesson is what lyric sheets were made for with lines like, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so I never want to see you again", becoming a blur underneath the incredibly fast and frantic music.
The album ends with the finest song John Doe and Exene Cervenka ever wrote, and musically the finest song X ever performed. I don't say that lightly either, The Have Nots is one of the great songs in American music and I would hold it up against anything that Guthrie, Dylan, Springsteen or Reed ever wrote. Our sage ends with the couple separated and they are both at bars, just after work, drinking themselves into a much needed oblivion. It's a sympathetic chronicle and indictment of the American dream gone wrong, The Replacements would later cover similar ground in Here Comes A Regular as well as Th Manic Street Preachers in the astonishing Design For Life. It's a subject many authors and filmmakers have covered but it's not something you see in Rock music a lot. Correlating the life of a rock band with a dead end job with "the game that moves as you play" is one of X's most chilling moments. It's fitting that the original lyric sheet goes on longer than the song with a listing of bars to visit, hide and ultimately fade away completely in.
Under The Big Black Sun was awarded five stars by Rolling Stone and was near the top of nearly every critics poll in 1982. It was a defining moment for X and one which they would never top. They would record one more album with Manzarek, the brilliantly scattered More Fun In The New World. The remainder of their catalogue all suffers from over-production but still feature some of the most sublimely brilliant American music ever recorded. They would never scale the despairing heights of Under The Big Black Sun again but would provide a lovely sequel of sorts in 1987's See How We Are, in which the by now divorced John Doe and Exene Cervenka would lament, "the bars we keep between us".
25 years later Under The Big Black Sun is still relevant, still without peer and I'm pleased to report still available. Rhino had a wonderful re-release of it out, remastered with bonus tracks and in depth notes. Even though that will never sound as good as much worn and loved vinyl copy, I urge anyone who might be reading to get this currently available cd. It might make you re-think those best of lists that are released each year, it might make you remember a lost love or at the very least it will remind you that we all have something inside that needs exorcising.....if we're not too far gone.

Rick Nelson: Rocks Past and Future Prince

Despite selling millions of albums and being well known all over the world, I don't think music lovers in general realize just how good and important the late Eric Hilliard Nelson was.
Many thoughts go through my head when I think of Ricky Nelson these days. I often remember hearing his music for the first time when I was in growing up courtesy of my father's record collection. I had never before, or since, heard a rock voice so brilliantly subtle and relaxed. I remember staring at the covers of those albums at this impossibly beautiful young man, and feeling like I was looking at someone very real. The honesty reflected in the eyes on any photograph of Rick is inherent in his music. As much as his unaffected vocals or scorching James Burton guitar licks, the records of Ricky Nelson are all the products of a very sincere and very serious dreamer.
Ricky was of course known to millions of people before he could have even fully grasped what fame was. First on the legendary OZZIE AND HARRIET radio show as the scene stealing precocious 'Little Ricky' and then later on the even more famous and influential television show. America grew to know and love Ricky Nelson perhaps before he even had a chance to really know who Ricky Nelson was.
The story of how he got into music is often repeated. Like every other teenager in 1956 Ricky was entranced by Elvis Presley and the freedom his records offered. Always the consummate searcher Ricky discovered Elvis' legendary Sun sides, which in turn led him to the searing rockabilly of Carl Perkins. In Elvis and Perkins he found a sanctuary from the fame and the 'Little Ricky' that everyone in the country thought they knew.
I think about the 16 year old Ricky sitting in his bedroom, like a million other teenagers, listening to those astonishing Sun and early RCA sides over and over again. Only Ricky already had the fame that most teenagers dreamed of, for Ricky the thing he must have wanted was the authenticity of those recordings.
So the story goes that Ricky was rejected by a girl who was obsessed by Elvis, and in a moment of rare bravado he said he was going to cut a record. A quick little thought out ploy to get a girl would soon turn into one of the most important careers in rock history.

The moment that Ricky Nelson comes on the screen at the end of the OZZIE AND HARRIET episode RICKY THE DRUMMER and sings Fats Dominoes I'M WALKIN is one of the great and seminal moments in rock history. Ricky looks nervous and self conscious but there is already something in his eye and voice, that authenticity that he so longed for seemed somehow inherent in him. Ricky Nelson singing I'M WALKIN that fateful evening brought rock and roll into a uncountable number of households that would have never let it in otherwise.
The key to Ricky's entire career is rebellion. Long mistaken for being a safe performer, we can see now that Nelson almost immediately went against Ozzie's musical tastes to form his own very distinct sound. Key to this was the band that he put together shortly after the I'M WALKING single. Headed by a teenage guitar player named James Burton, Ricky and his band cut a prolific and astonishingly great number of singles and albums in the next few years that would, for a period, outsell even Elvis.
With tracks like POOR LITTLE FOOL, STOOD UP and especially BELIEVE WHAT YOU SAY the team of Ricky Nelson and James Burton was an unstoppable force. Burton's shimmering and always inventive guitar work matched with Ricky's unmatchable laid back vocal style will still send chills up even the most jaded music fans necks. The albums during this period are also incredible in that even the lesser more dated tracks still stand out due to this pair's inventive and exhaustive work. Add on the uncredited Jordanaires and you have some of the greatest records of the rock era.
BELIEVE WHAT YOU SAY especially sounds like a revolution all on its own, with Burton's amazing solo laying a virtual blueprint for thousands of players to follow.
Ricky Nelson always seems to be a man haunted by some inner fear that he wasn't as authentic as he wanted to be. He wasn't black, he wasn't poor, he wasn't from the South. All of these things seemingly against him only added to a hard work ethic that would run through him till the day he died.
One story that I love, and that I think says a lot about Rick was the first time he met Elvis. He had been invited to a party Elvis was at and spent most of the night alone in a corner, terrified of meeting his idol. When Elvis found out that Rick was at the party he searched him down and immediately started quoting OZZIE AND HARRIET lines to show that he never missed an episode. Rick was said to be almost moved to tears, and he quickly became close to Elvis and the two would play football together throughout the sixties while Elvis was in Hollywood.
After cutting the incredibly moving TRAVELLIN MAN and playing opposite Dean Martin in RIO BRAVO Rick's career hit a down point. With the arrival of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the rest of the British Invasion, Rick's records suddenly began to sound a little too safe and quaint. Ironically, and probably unknown to Rick, he had been one of McCartney and Lennon's biggest influences. McCartney still rhapsodizes about him when the occasion arrives and often covers his haunting LONESOME TOWN.
Throughout the mid sixties Rick tried a lot of things, all with mixed results. A failed film with his wife called LOVE AND KISSES, a tv musical with Burt Bacharach and a somewhat psychedelic album called PERSPECTIVE. Everything seemed to fall slightly short, and then even the long running OZZIE AND HARRIET ran out of steam and was cancelled. The world was changing and it seemed like 'Little Ricky' would fade quietly from view.
The origins of the genre known as country rock have always been a bit confused. Many people seem to put ground zero at The Byrd's incredible SWEETHEARTS OF THE RODEO, but often overlooked is a little selling album from 1966 by Ricky entitled BRIGHT LIGHTS COUNTRY MUSIC.
Ricky Nelson's sudden jump into country music surprised the few people who noticed but it shouldn't have. He was that same teenage boy who had always dreamed of that Southern authenticity he had heard in those Sun sides.


In 1968 Ricky would do a total makeover, no longer called Ricky the new Rick would re-surface with long hair and the the incredible LIVE AT THE TROUBADOUR album, and a powerful single of Bob Dylan's SHE BELONGS TO ME.
The period of 68-73 is my favorite in Rick's career. Along with The Stone Canyon Band he would cut a series of incredible folk-rock albums mixing his own compositions with his current favorites (by the likes of Dylan, Tim Hardin, The Stones and more). The albums RICK SINGS NELSON, RUDY THE FIFTH, GARDEN PARTY and WINDFALL are among the finest in the country rock genre and would influence everyone from Linda Ronstadt to The Eagles. Rick's work in this period stands along with Graham Parson's as one of the purest ever meetings between rock and country.
RUDY THE FIFTH in particular is probably, along with the TROUBADOUR album, the greatest unknown record in Rick's canon. With strong songwriting, including a chillingly prophetic GYPSY PILOT that ends the album with the sound of a plane crash, to some of the best Bob Dylan covers ever, RUDY THE FIFTH is a bold work by Rick at his most confident.

After the famed GARDEN PARTY, perhaps Rick's finest and most well known triumpth, personal and career worries began to take hold. Rick toured constantly for the next few years trying to push his incredible new music onto audiences that were often puzzingly unreceptive.
The death of Elvis Presley in August of 77 shook Rick and reminded him of the music of his youth. After the disappointing failure of the overly slick INTAKES album, as well as the unreleased BACK IN VIENNA unreleased LP, Rick would spend much of 78 devising a record that would combine the early James Burton fueled rockabilly sides of his youth with his more grown up flavored folk rock.
ROCKABILLY RENAISSANCE is one of the great unreleased records in rock history, Rick's winter of 78 masterpiece would foreshadow the emergence of an entirely new genre called cow-punk. You can hear the birth of bands like X, Lone Justice and The Stray Cats in these remarkable sides from that incredibly bitter winter after Elvis had died. Appearing on Saturday Night Live to promote the upcoming album, Rick delivered a haunting DREAM LOVER that should have become a huge hit. What happens next has still never been fully explained.
His record company made the odd decision to hold back the release of DREAM LOVER by several weeks killing the strong SNL word of mouth. Even more damaging then was the news that the company was going to shelve ROCKABILLY RENAISSANCE after Rick refused to make it more commercial. Released in its place was a four track ep that only scratched at the surface of its greatness. The album was finally released in a glossy over produced version entitled THE MEMPHIS SESSIONS after Rick died. It remains the biggest missed opportunity in Rick Nelson's career.

More and more exhausting touring followed, and the beginnings of a messy divorce, until the release of the underrated PLAYING TO WIN album in 1981. This album would show Rick still at the top of his songwriting and performing game but no one seemed to notice.
The final few years of Rick's life have him touring at an impossible rate in order to pay off his mounting legal bills and take care of his sons. Disheartening and re-assuring was having an album back in the charts by 84 ALL MY BEST, which featured re-recordings of some of his biggest hits.
The final days of Rick Nelson are often looked upon as tragic, with him touring in one of those sad oldies package shows. But he still delivered performances every night that were worthy of his fine legacy.
Shortly before his death Rick participated in the MEMPHIS CLASS OF 55 record which reunited Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins back at Sun studios. At one point Carl Perkins came up to Rick and wrapped his arm around him and told him that they were two of the last 'originals' left. Rick would often recount this story to his sons, and it can be looked upon as the moment where "little Ricky" finally realized that he had possessed that authenticity, that he had so yearned for, all along.
Rick Nelson was killed on December 31st, 1985 in a plane crash along with the members of his band and some friends. The media quickly reported that it was drug related, although this was later proven unfounded and a complete falsehood.
Rick's music and life continues to captivate people all over the world, and a recent best of collection surprised everyone by jumping into the top forty in it's first week of sales. I still remember holding my father's albums and hearing Rick's amazing voice for the first time, and each time I play his music that same sincerity still shines through.
Bob Dylan would began to perform LONESOME TOWN in concert after Rick died. He would also write of how much he loved Rick's voice in his CHRONICLES book. Typically he would introduce LONESOME TOWN by saying that Rick had covered many of his songs so he wanted to pay him back and then add, "I had a lot of respect for that guy". It is a respect that I believe will continue to grow as Rick's music becomes more and more available again.

Essential to newcomers is the four cd box set LEGACY that covers Rick's entire career. All of his early albums with James Burton are essential for any serious rock fan and LIVE AT THE TROUBADOUR and RUDY THE FIFTH are still astonishing, although much harder to find.
To go along with the respect that Dylan mentioned, I would just like to add...that I really admire and love this guy. Seek out some of his music if you don't have any in your collection, you might be surprised by how great and transcendent it is.

Maria McKee in After the Triumph of Your Birth

Maria McKee, one of my all-time favorite musicians and writers, has recently turned her attention to the world of film and I wanted to supply some information on the project here. After the Triumph of Your Birth is an upcoming Independent feature from first-time writer and director Jim Akin, a talented artist whom I know via his co-production and co-songwriting duties on some of Maria's greatest albums. Starring Tom Dunne, Tessa Ferrer, Rob Zabrecky, Dean Ogle, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kristina Nekyia, Sari LeSueur and McKee (who also provides the film's soundtrack), After the Triumph of Your Birth has been described as a, "a surreal, dark humored portrait of the outsider", that uses, "a forgotten Los Angeles as a backdrop", for, "four story lines (that) converge in a film that examines the crossover between desperation and tenderness." The just-recently released trailer is extremely intriguing and it promises a film as thought-provoking as it is visually dazzling.



Maria McKee has been a personal hero of mine since I discovered her band Lone Justice in the eighties shortly after their first LP hit the stores. Maria's music and writing has been hugely influential to me both professionally and personally, so I am thrilled to see her working on a film although I am not surprised, as she has always been one of the most cinematic of all of the post-punk American songwriters. After all, this is an artist who kick-started her explosive and uncompromising career singing a song called "East of Eden".

I have no doubt After the Triumph of Your Birth will be among the most fascinating and valuable American films on the horizon and I can't wait to see it. In the meantime, I invite everyone to check out its official page and join along on the journey by liking it over at its Facebook page.

...

Images From My All Time Favorite Films: Dennis Hopper's Out of the Blue (1981)

***This post is dedicated to Linda Manz and Maria McKee***

The White Stripes Take On The Big Bad Modern World With A Surprise Show, Forty Year Old Amps and Five Dollar T-Shirts

Wednesday I got an exciting email from the White Stripes website that they were going to be performing an intimate surprise gig at Nashville's tiny Cannery Club on Friday. It would be the first gig of their ten year anniversary tour and the first show they have played together since December of 2005.
I made sure to be on the Internet at noon on Thursday to get one of the 250 fan tickets that were to be sold. They sold out in less than three minutes but I did manage to secure one. So after a long day at work yesterday I excitedly made the one drive down to Nashville to see one of the last great rock bands on the planet.
Even though I got to the club 90 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open there was already a line of eager fans in place. I ended up behind a couple of girls who had made a near ten hour drive from Detroit and they were boiling over with excitement and exhaustion. Throughout the night I spoke to several people who had driven ten to fifteen hours and it was nice to be reminded of a fan's dedication to their favorite band.

Some people didn't have tickets and were walking around with signs in hand attempting to get them. Most were kids in the early twenties who had driven a long way in the hopes of seeing a special show while others were your typical scalper types looking to score a week's worth of meals at the expense of some poor fan.
The whole night reeked of fan appreciation as the doors were opened up thirty minutes early for us to find a sign that said special gig specific t-shirts for only five dollars! When was the last time you saw a concert t-shirt at a gig under thirty dollars? Oh, and the tickets for the show were only 25 so for around thirty bucks and some gas money I got to see one of the best bands on the planet in the most intimate possible venue.
After purchasing my shirt I managed to make my way to the stage so I ended up being maybe seven or eight feet from the band the whole night. The crowd was incredibly diverse with ages ranging from 18 to 60+ and all were surprisingly well behaved. It was nice to be a club show and not being constantly shoved or kicked in the head by some idiot crowd surfer. Behind the stage were were a group of White Stripes friends and family including Jack's wife, the lovely Karen Elson and I think Brendon from The Raconteurs.
Dan Sartain opened the show with a dynamic 40 minute set. I wasn't familiar with Sartain but his infectious blend of rockabilly and pre-punk was incredible sounding and his band really cooked. One of the best opening acts I have seen in a long time.
After Sartain's fine set The White Stripes Roadies came out all delightfully dressed in matching black suits with matching hats, looking like they were on their way to some thirties gangster meeting. I heard a guy behind me mumble that even their roadies are cooler than other bands.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting the familiar sounds of ACDC's FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK: WE SALUTE YOU started and everyone knew the moment was close. The stage set up was fairly simple, unlike their more elaborate GET BEHIND ME SATAN tour although this might have been due to The Cannery's size.
Jack and Meg walked on stage to a deafening roar and both looked fantastic. Meg was stunning looking wearing a white polka dot top and is obviously very shy as she quickly climbed behind her drum set. Jack White is one of the great rock stars and he radiates charisma and confidence, dressed in a simple black shirt and red pants, the very fit White had every girl around me screaming and shouting through the whole show.

They opened with a searing cover of Hank Williams TENNESSEE BORDER before ripping into their own WHEN I HEAR MY NAME. The Tennessean critic said they were shaky at first but for me they were off and running from the get go. The Cannery had great sound for a club and they were both obviously energised to be playing together again.
Here is the complete set list according to the NME and it looks about right to me:

'Tennessee Border' (Hank Williams)
'When I Hear My Name'
'Black Math'
'Icky Thump'
'Do'
'Cause And Effect'
'Jolene' (Dolly Parton)
'Death Letter/Motherless Children'
'Hotel Yorba'
'I'm A Martyr For My Love For You'
'Cannon/John The Revelator'
'Ball And Biscuit'
'I'm Slowly Turning Into You'
'We're Going To Be Friends'
'Apple Blossom'
'Wasting My Time'
ENCORE:
'Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground'
'Rated X' (Loretta Lynn)
'Seven Nation Army'

Many people were expecting them to play their new album close to it's entirety but I think Jack is aware that doing that before a month before it's release in these days of Internet live show downloading would not be wise. The three songs they did play off of it were stunning, from the propulsive title track ICKY THUMP to the country stomp of CAUSE AND EFFECT and the Jimmy Webb like epic I'M A MARTYR FOR MY LOVE FOR YOU. The new album is going to be a killer cataloguing of different styles and influences that promises to be one of the best of the year.
I was disappointed that they ignored their last album GET BEHIND ME SATAN, it is a personal favorite and I have a feeling that it is going end up being one of rock's most overlooked masterpieces.
Highlights included a scorching BALL AND BISCUIT, and the entire encore was astonishing to witness. DEAD LEAVES is a brutal experience live and even after hearing several live recorded versions of it I still get chills. The Lynn cover RATED X is always a highlight and Jack stepped back tonight to let Meg sing more of it. Her shyness and slight hesitation were charming and the crowd loved it. A slightly extended and bombastic take of SEVEN NATION ARMY closed the show and with a bow, wave and thanks they were gone.
Throughout the show Jack and Meg were both in top form. I get so tired of people criticising Meg White's drumming ability. She is one of my favorite drummers since The Velvet Underground's Maureen Tucker, someone she is often compared to. Thrilling to watch and giving Jack's songs the most minimal and solid beat possible, the Cannery floor last night felt like it was going to collapse in with the entire audiences foot stomping to her beats. Another drummer she reminds me of is Ronnie Tutt, in the way she watches Jack intently. The White Stripes are known for not having a set list and she has to have a certain telepathic connection with Jack, much the same way Ronnie Tutt used to stare at Elvis Presley just waiting and anticipating his next move. Watching Meg and Jack White silently communicating with each other throughout a show is a lesson for any young band.
I don't know what to say about Jack White. Playing a variety of guitars and piano (sometimes at the same time) he's one of our great musicians, singers and writers. A virtual catalogue of American music, he's peerless in the increasingly barren landscape of modern rock and roll.

Last night's show was one of the best I have seen in ten years. It had the same kind of sincerity and intensity of just a handful of shows I have witnessed like Elvis Costello and The Attractions on their BRUTAL YOUTH tour or Maria Mckee in the early 90s. In an increasingly unbelieving world these people practice rock as an exorcism and cleansing. The White Stripes still believe in the undeniable importance and healing power that a guitar, drum kit and three minute song can have. I felt really honored that I was able to witness it.

There were several professional photographers there last night and I will post a better photo of it later if I come across a shot. NME and The Tennessean both have reviews up on their web sites if anyone cares to go check those out.

The White Stripes new album ICKY THUMP comes out on June 19th and then they are heading out on tour. If they come anywhere close don't miss them.

Jim Akin's THE OCEAN OF HELENA LEE at The American Cinematheque on May 8th

The much anticipated second feature film, after the extraordinary After The Triumph of Your Birth, from writer and director Jim Akin is making its big screen premiere on the evening of May 8th at The American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theater. The Ocean of Helena Lee is one of the most brilliant and evocative American films in recent memory and anyone in the Hollywood area on May 8th should do everything in their power to attend The American Cinematheque's screening, which will be followed by a conversation with the film's cast and crew, moderated by Allison Anders and Josh Olson, and a special performance by one of the film's stars, the legendary Maria McKee. A few strong pieces have already been written on The Ocean of Helena Lee, including these by Sheila O'Malley and Dennis Cozzalio and the incredible soundtrack by McKee and Akin is available here. My own look at the film, along with two in depth interviews with Maria, can be read in the third issue of Art Decades, which is now available at Amazon. Even if you can't make the premiere, please follow this stunning piece of American Independent filmmaking at its official Facebook page, at Twitter and its official site. It's a poetic and powerful film and one of my favorites of the decade.

ART DECADES Issue 3 Featuring MARIA MCKEE (Pre-Order Special)

Issue 3 of ART DECADES will be available on Amazon sometime during the week of April 5th. This jam-packed full color issue is well over a 100 pages and features brand new interviews with Maria McKee, Viv Albertine, Serena Sczarnecki, G.B. Jones, Laura Sfez, Edward Bell, Bleeding Skull, Alma Jodorowsky and Burning Peacocks as well as original pieces from Heather Drain, Bryce Wilson, Marcelline Block, Erich Kuersten, Steve Langton, Tara Hanks, Michelle Alexander, Silver Ferox, Claudia Siefen and much more. I am pleased today to offer a special pre-order offer for our upcoming issue at a special discounted rate of just fifteen dollars with free shipping. Folks who take advantage of this pre-order special will get a copy (or copies) mailed to them the instant they become available in April and they will also get a free promo pack from us before then containing a number of goodies and surprises. We've put a lot of hard work and love into this issue and can't wait to share it. I hope a number of readers will take advantage of this special, by following the Paypal BUY NOW link below. Thank you!

ART DECADES (Issue 3 Coming Soon Postcard)

ART DECADES Issue 3 Cover Featuring Maria McKee Photographed by Jim Akin

OUT IN EARLY APRIL!!!

"Sorrow Gets Lonely Without a Little Joy": Jim Akin's After the Triumph of Your Birth (2012)

One of the most ambitious and audacious debut feature-films in recent memory, After the Triumph of Your Birth is an extremely compelling experience quite unlike anything American cinema has seen in some time. Written and directed by musician and photographer Jim Akin, After the Triumph of Your Birth is a fearless debut that recalls such American mavericks as Hal Hartley and European auteur's like Wim Wenders while maintaining an absolutely original feel throughout.




After the Triumph of Your Birth tells the story of Eli Willit, a haunted man who sets out on foot at the beginning of the film on a seven-day journey that will take him from the desert to the ocean. In need of spiritual cleansing, Eli’s walkabout leads him not just to the water, but also through his life’s memories, as we are presented with four separate-story lines dealing with spiritual fragility and the questioning of what constitutes existence and reality.





In his look at the film, Kent Adamson described After the Triumph of Your Birth as “a L.A. road movie on foot” and that perfectly sums up this challenging exploration of crisis and redemption. Guided by a finely crafted cinematic eye and an undeniable literary touch, After the Triumph of Your Birth is the kind of free-form poetic film that American cinema rarely sees anymore. Akin has crafted a challenging and provocative work that questions the ideas of narrative and style in cinema through every dizzying turn. An existential drama with touches of noir and absurdity, not to mention musical numbers, After the Triumph of Your Birth is a breathtaking experience that is both wonderfully perplexing and completely profound.





A truly personal work, After the Triumph of Your Birth finds Akin not only directing and writing but he also shot, photographed, scored, edited and handled the sound. As with any film this uniquely personal, parts of After the Triumph of Your Birth feels almost impenetrable and, at the very least, it is an extremely demanding experience. It’s like an elaborate puzzle box with a beating human heart in the middle. Far from being just another artsy indie film made robotic by a lack of passion, After the Triumph of Your Birth is a strikingly human work that manages to be both intellectually stimulating as well as emotionally rewarding.




While Akin’s presence behind the camera controls After the Triumph of Your Birth his film is blessed with an extraordinary cast, which includes a handful making their debuts in front of the camera. Alongside a powerful Tom Dunne, as the haunted figure Eli, we have the granddaughter of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney, Tessa Ferrer making her feature-length film debut in a beautifully touching performance that is wonderfully subtle and strikingly musical. Seasoned actor and former Possum Dixon member Rob Zabrecky turns in a chilling performance as the ghostly ‘answer’ man and young Dean Ogle gives a touching performance as Jack, a ‘boy who has seen things no boy should see.’ Special mention must also go to burlesque artist Kristina Nekyia, who gives the film its most electrifying jolts in her few scenes. The lovely Nekyia devours the camera in her moments on screen and projects an unforgettable intensity.




The most notable person in the cast is legendary singer and songwriter Maria McKee, Akins major collaborator behind the scenes of the film. My own journey to After the Triumph of Your Birth begins with my discovery of McKee when I was a teenager in the eighties. Among a small group of artists I would call a personal hero, McKee’s inspiring musical career has been marked by a spellbinding fearlessness and I am not at all surprised that she has found her way into film, as her music is among the most cinematic ever recorded. McKee produced After the Triumph of Your Birth, co-wrote the score with Akin, sings on the wonderful soundtrack and has a small but devastating part in the film as music-teacher Millicent. McKee seems completely at home on the screen and she radiates the same kind of energy and urgency that can be heard on all of her recordings.





After the Triumph of Your Birth will have a sneak preview at the Cinefamily on Sunday, August the 5th and will then have its official premiere on the 13th at Santa Monica’s Aero Theater. Both screenings will be followed by a performance by the ferocious McKee (whose live work is the stuff of legend). The film’s soundtrack can be ordered at the official website on the 5th as well. More information on the film, and how you can see it, can be found over at that official site and it's Facebook page. A recent interview with Maria on the film can be read here as well.



After the Triumph of Your Birth is a remarkable work…gutsy, unnerving, lyrical and finally unbelievably moving. While Jim Akin’s film has brushstroke’s reminiscent of such masterful works like Wenders’ Paris, Texas and Hartley’s Henry Fool, After the Triumph of Your Birth is dazzling in just how original it is…it’s a beautiful new creation in the rubbles of a dull recycled culture.

-Jeremy Richey, 2012-