Have you ever gone looking for something that you really, really want, but don't seriously expect to find? That was my situation this morning. I had just been released from learning about the Vatican in my Speech class. (It's like, um, really large there and stuff.) I made my way to the student lounge and immediately ran up against a rather tough question. Stay in the lounge and correct my physics test from yesterday, thereby securing a healthy extra credit bonus in the class? Or abandon college, hop into the Simon-mobile and cruise through the lively burg of Yakima in search of an album by one of those Mostly be Giants guys?
I of course chose the latter. What is a grade compared to musical salvation?
The first stop on the trip was the largest local "independant" music store, Off The Record. Cute, no? Unfortunately, the store doesn't quite back up their street cred by providing large amounts of decent music by smaller labels. Or, in plainer words, they don't cater to my tastes. So, no State Songs there. They must be commended for keeping a copy of the Why Does The Sun Shine? single in stock, though.
My hopes at this point are pretty much gone. Surely, if the sole bastion of anti-establishment music in the area didn't have it, what other hope was there? Not a chain store...certainly not THE chain store around these parts. Not Sam Goody.
But it was to Sam Goody that I aimed at next. Not entirely for musical reasons, I must confess. Sam Goody happens to be the employer of a young lady who is quite pleasing to the eye. Not that she was there that morning, of course. She never is. Doesn't stop me from checking, though. But back to the music.
Sam Goody, like any good Industrial Giant, is located at a strategic point in the Yakima Mall. It being a schoolday, and the hour being what it was, (Around 10:30 this morning.) I found myself the sole youth among a sea of elderly power walkers. Those people scare me, because I think they could probably take me in a fight. Maybe if I stuck to a strict mall-walking regiment...
But I digress! The point is, I went to Sam Goody, and did not find my album in any of the new release sections. Spirits at an all time low, I decided to rifle through the "L" section. Cindy Lauper...Limp Bizkit...joy. Wait, what is this? Green...with outlines of a map on the cover. And a sticker bearing news of "John Linnell from They Might Be Giants". I had found my grail.
The rest of the trip is a blur. I managed to walk out of the mall and most of the way to my car before breaking into a run. I had already removed most of the packaging. But once inside, I spent five minutes trying to remove the last of that maddening sticker thing they put on CD's. Madness! But no sticker thing could have kept me from my goal.
And then the fun truly began. I drove around most of Yakima, just listening. Almost left the road in a few places where I became particularily entranced. I couldn't even listen to one whole song. I skipped from here to there and back, trying to take it all in at once.
Luckily, I made it back to the college in one piece, and proceeded to listen to the whole thing through before having to go back to class, though I had to cut Nevada short, for reasons I will explain shortly.
Now then, if anyone has bothered to actually read through all this, I'm going to attempt to do a bit of reviewing. Don't expect objectivity.
First of all, the album is utterly dissimilar to anything I have ever heard, which is high praise in my opinion. The closest I can come to a general description is calliope-driven surf rock sung in a classical style. I swear, that really does sum up the feel. The tracks go thusly:
Illinois: An instrumental, and a strong taste of what's to come. This is sheer circus music, light and boyant. It's a bit hard to describe an instrumental played on a band organ, but suffice it to say this one probably won't see much radio play. Lovely and utterly bizarre.
The Songs of the Fifty States: This is the real starter track. While the rest of the album is essentially an experiment in abstract surrealism, this song simply describes what you're listening to. Though even this isn't quite what it seems. The songs are about a place "where everything is in the control/of people who are under the ground".
West Virginia: This hasn't been released as the album's single, but it deserves to be. For those few of you who have heard Montana, you realize this is quite a statement. This one has the closest collection to the actual state it's about, as the song describes how West Virginia is "constantly a part of you/and every part of you will be/the party who is partial to you".
South Carolina: This song feels...big. The arrangement is loud and boisterous, and so is the voice Linnell uses for the chorus. Larger than life, especially taking the lyrics into account. "And I won some damages and they were punitive/by which I mean the punishment was damaging/It crushed my head"
Idaho: Have you ever driven somewhere late at night, while everyone else in the car is asleep? That's this song, essentially. Based on a story allegedly about John Lennon where the former Beatle, whilst on an LSD trip, labored under the assumption that he had to drive his house. A sleepy song, good for listening to at night. Or while driving to Idaho, I suppose. "Nightlong vigil by the picture window/sleepy eyes never leave the road/passed my bedtime miles ago/still haven't entered Idaho"
Montana: This is the single, so if by some miracle you live near a radio station that actually plays this sort of thing, listen for it. Simply a great song. I'm having trouble coming up with unique descriptions for each one, so I'm just going to give you a lyric and skip ahead. "'cause it hit me that Montana was really just a leg/then just like that it all fell into place"
Pennsylvania: Almost an instrumental. It's essentially a violin solo with some interesting synth backgrounds. That is, until Linnell replaces the violin with "la la's".
Utah: This one starts out very ominously. It's another band organ song. The lyrics keep up the dark feel. "I forget you/I forget you/I forget Utah"
Arkansas: Slower, with a nice french horn part. Melancholy. And, if I haven't used this word enough yet, absolutely lovely. This is the story of a ship called the Arkansas. Not the real USS Arkansas, of course. Not the real Arkansas itself, really, seeing as how the state doesn't have a sea coast. "I'm the ship that's shaped like Arkansas/and my hull was formed without a flaw/every detail has been reproduced/on a scale of one to one"
Iowa: Did I say calliope-based surf rock? I meant to say calliope-based surf funk. That's this one, anyway. Not exactly George Clinton level funk, but definately cool. "And if that broom don't fly/I'm gonna buy you a dust buster"
Mississippi: Another instrumental. This one is more traditional then Illinois, featuring strong sax and bass clarinet lines. If you're in the right frame of mind, it might conjure up images of the mighty river from whence the state gets its name. (Or is that the other way around?)
Maine: I'm not sure if these means anything to most of you, but this song strikes me as having the most "TMBG-esque" feel. It's hard to describe. Also, this song features "Brian Doherty on cannon". They mean that. "Glazed with color for a screen/glazed with excitement and dread/exhausted from oversleep/awake but still in bed"
Oregon: I mentioned earlier that South Carolina has a feeling of being larger then life, but that description fits Oregon quite well, in a different way. This sounds like some bizarre religion's benediction music. "Oregon is bad/stop it if you can/run away/run away"
Michigan: Totally rockin'! Well, perhaps totally polka'in would be a better word. Fast and short. "Don't hold us back, don't hold us back/we must eat Michigan's brain/Now grow back Michigan, we miss you again"
New Hampshire: Another very dark song. Linnell has said he tried for a very powerful feel here, but felt the song feel short. Which is sort of the point of the song. The music is just like the man described within the song. "Brokenhearted old man of New Hampshire/Flower sniffing poet of New Hampshire/charming little drunk/gate-crashing parasite"
Nevada: It's a parade. No, literally. This song is eight minutes or so of the sounds of a parade, with the lyrics lightly interspersed in the beginning. I'm not sure about the history of this one, so I don't know if the parade was a natural object or something Linnell constructed. Very interesting to listen to. I suppose one might grow weary of the parade sounds after awhile, but they have a way of pulling you in. "Nevada, Nevada/the dream of every gal/Nevada, Nevada/it's every boy's pal"
And that's State Songs. I didn't mention the equally hilarious and informative liner notes. Er...I guess I just did. Anyway, that's the story of my day. Go buy it!
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"Like I told you, you are concentric in your form. When it's cold you've got yourself to keep you warm."
--
John Linnell
[This message has been edited by Sol System (edited October 27, 1999).]
Would you believe that I ACTUALLY read all of that? *grin* Well, I did!
Glad to hear how happy you are, Sol.... enjoy the album... I'm sure I'll hear it someday when Dustin forces me to listen to it *smile*
~LOA
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Can't we all just get along????
And I'm not speculating on Simon's Fireman. @)
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"One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor". George Carlin
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Frank's Home Page
Noah Adams: "Well, some of them are really quite understandable. 'Montana is a leg.' is..."
John Linnell: "...it's grammatical. It's not true, and it doesn't strictly make sense, and..."
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Frank's Home Page
Noah Adams: "Well, some of them are really quite understandable. 'Montana is a leg.' is..."
John Linnell: "...it's grammatical. It's not true, and it doesn't strictly make sense, and..."
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Frank's Home Page
Noah Adams: "Well, some of them are really quite understandable. 'Montana is a leg.' is..."
John Linnell: "...it's grammatical. It's not true, and it doesn't strictly make sense, and..."
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"I think you people have proven something to the world: that a half a million kids can get together and have three days of fun and music� and have nothing but fun and music."
-Max Yasgur; Woodstock, NY; August, 1969
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Frank's Home Page
Noah Adams: "Well, some of them are really quite understandable. 'Montana is a leg.' is..."
John Linnell: "...it's grammatical. It's not true, and it doesn't strictly make sense, and..."
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Elim Garak: "Oh, it's just Garak. Plain, simple Garak. Now, good day to you, Doctor. I'm so glad to have made such an... interesting new friend today." (DS9: "Past Prologue")
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Welcome, come in. Ah, fresh victims for my ever-growing army of the undead....
~C. Mongomery Burns
Nevada: "Human beings have lived in the area now known as the Silver State for at least 20 millennia. During that time they have painted on cave walls, herded cattle, toiled in mines, worked as prostitutes and blackjack dealers, tested atomic weapons, and worn elaborate, glamorous costumes in some of the most stunning musical productions ever staged."
New Hampshire: "The Granite State is the only state with an Official State State. The State State of New Hampshire is New Hampshire. If you want to take that away from them you'll have to pry it from their cold, dead fingers."
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Frank's Home Page
Noah Adams: "Well, some of them are really quite understandable. 'Montana is a leg.' is..."
John Linnell: "...it's grammatical. It's not true, and it doesn't strictly make sense, and..."
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"Like I told you, you are concentric in your form. When it's cold you've got yourself to keep you warm."
--
John Linnell
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Welcome, come in. Ah, fresh victims for my ever-growing army of the undead....
~C. Mongomery Burns
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Welcome, come in. Ah, fresh victims for my ever-growing army of the undead....
~C. Mongomery Burns
S-E-X-X-Y
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Welcome, come in. Ah, fresh victims for my ever-growing army of the undead....
~C. Mongomery Burns
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Frank's Home Page
Noah Adams: "Well, some of them are really quite understandable. 'Montana is a leg.' is..."
John Linnell: "...it's grammatical. It's not true, and it doesn't strictly make sense, and..."