The Ordinary Times

The Last 2 Albums I Listened To

Hello,

I like to ride my bike, often times at night, after work. I usually like to try and ride with other people, but usually I’m alone so I listen to my ipod*. Which is nice because it keeps me up to date on the latest tunes.

Tonight I listened to two albums:

First I listened to Morrissey’s new record ‘Years of Refusal’. It is bad-ass and bitchin’. Mr. Moz is basically at the same point in his career as Bob Dylan, his new songs will not be the best songs he’s ever written, but they can still be really really good and his band kicks major ass and fuck everyone else ‘cuz he’s making plenty of change, and his tour is gonna sell out every night and he’s doing just great.

To drive this previous point home, Moz has been using his current residence as a foil for his last few albums. ‘You are the Quarry’ revolved around LA where he hung out on verandas and in foyers and played at the Hollywood Bowl for like ten days straight and was tan and was surrounded by Latinos, who love Morrissey (there should be a book written on how that happened, I think it’s very cool, but for the life of me I cannot connect the dots as to why Latinos love Morrissey).

‘Ringleader of the Tormenters’ was basically about Rome. Everyone went nuts cuz Moz basically copped to bangin’ (with a dude) which there was some question if he was into that since like the Smiths days, where he would just say random shit in interviews and watch everyone freak the fuck out. In Rome he also hung out with Ennio Morricone who makes scores for really dramatic Italian movies and the album sounded like being in Rome and being really dramatic.

Fast forward to YoR. He’s now hanging in Paris. Yes, PARIS. LA then Rome then Paris, fuck you he’s doing just fine. The album starts off with a REALLY good rockin’ song. The whole album is good and rockin’, there’s a couple slower songs, but they aren’t quite his best ballads. The relationship he sang about in ringleaders has apparently ended (and he’s fine with that cuz FUCK YOU HE HANGS OUT IN PARIS!). The lyrics are still great, the band sounds great. Good album.

Oh and guess what? You know Johnny Marr? Well Morrissey does still hate his fuckin’ guts. Or someone else who crossed him 19 years ago, which would be 1988 or so, which means it’s Marr. “Sorry’s not good enough” is the gist of the song. And you kind of feel bad for old Johnny because Morrissey is kickin’ back in gay Paris while Mr. Marr tags along with a bunch of meth heads who live in Creswell or something.

I listened to this album twice.

Then I listened to Andrew WK’s album ‘The Wolf’, which I know, Andrew WK isn’t really even ironically cool anymore, but the guy kills it. He’s a great producer, he writes really good songs and gives spoken word tours about how reaching your maximum potential as an individual is the best way to party.

As far as production of rock and roll albums go, the Sun Studio recordings of Elvis and Perkins and Cash and Orbison are like the Plymouth Rock, the beginning the foundation etc. ‘Exile on Main’ St. is the White House, the one everyone sees and knows and sees on TV and kids learn about in grade school. Andrew WK’s are like the Washington Monument. They’re fucking huge, right in the middle of everything, nobody quite knows what to make of it, but you’d be a sucker not to go to the top. His million tracks of guitars, ten vocal tracks and plinking piano ripped straight out of ‘Funhouse’ are basically the best rock and roll songs of the past ten years.

The best thing about AWK though is the sense of joy that permeates his records. He believes in his stuff, and that it’s his way of maximizing his potential and having the greatest party. The WK brings it like a fuckin brick to the head with the kind of sincerity that has you riding along on your bike having one of those rare moments of clarity where a guy’s song kind of transcends entertainment or distraction and becomes fuel. Fuel to get to the NEXT FUCKING PARTY!!!!!!!Oooooooooowww!

*Long story short: Even though it was under warranty, it cost $45 bucks to send it back to the repair facility. I called a man in India to verify that the Mac store by Lloyd wasn’t taking me for a ride. The guy at the mac store was kind of a db and kept saying he had programs that would let him “talk” to my ipod to find out what was wrong. I had to show him how shit inside was rattling around when I shook it, I thought he might have checked for that when it wasn’t working and wouldn’t respond to his stupid computer program. Then I told him my headphones were blown and he said that it was probably the jack in the ipod, which is total bullhsit, and that it would be fixed when I got it back. So they sent me a brand new ipod, same as the last one and my headphones are still fucked.