I guess I'll just start by going all the way back to December of last year. Vic Chesnutt quickly became one of my favorite songwriters over the past few years, so it was disheartening if not all that surprising to learn of his passing, which occurred only days before my own grandfather passed as well. He died on Christmas day after having slipped into a coma from an overdose of muscle relaxants. His songwriting was all accomplished and varied, ranging from personal ruminations on life and death, vivid, sometimes macabre narratives and clever usage of idioms, often skillfully strung together and ultimately turned on their heads. Having been mostly paralyzed from the neck down as a result of a car accident when he was 18, his guitar playing remained minimal, mostly making use of simple chords and he mostly relied on collaborating with other musicians to fill out the songs on his records. Most recently, he worked with members of Theeeee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Mountain Chamber Gamelan Anarchist Collective Orchestra to record the albums "North Star Deserter" and "At the Cut." The song posted below appears on the former and is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful recordings he's ever released.
Vic Chesnutt - Glossolalia
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Most casual music listeners wouldn't know the name Mark Linkous, but many are at least aware of Sparklehorse. Much like Nine Inch Nails, Sparklehorse was a band in name only, essentially being Linkous' method of delivery for a handful of fantastic albums. His first album "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot" didn't shy away from up-tempo fun 90s rock in the vein of Oasis, but as time went on, his work tended more toward expansive, surreal, dreamscape-esque works, collaborating with everyone from Danger Mouse on "A Dark Night of the Soul" to Christian Fennesz on an "In the Fishtank" session. One of my favorite songs off of his first album appears below, because I like to remember the good times, but all of his stuff is more than worth checking out.
Sparklehorse - Someday I Will Treat You Good
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If you've ever seen "That 70s Show," then you've heard Big Star's song, "In the Street" which serves as the show's theme song. Alex Chilton, who died only days after Mark Linkous, fronted Big Star as well as The Box Tops earlier on, and was the driving force for both groups. When it comes to power-pop, it doesn't get much better than Big Star. The group influenced everyone from Gin Blossoms to The New Pornographers and even one my own personal favorites, Longwave (you're going to learn from reading this blog that, for me, all roads eventually lead back to Longwave). "September Gurls" from their 2nd album "Radio City" is considered by some music critics to be a touchstone in the power-pop genre and I can't say I disagree.
Big Star - September Gurls
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And last but not least, we have Peter Steele of Type O Negative who died last week. Again, I wasn't really a fan, but their cover of "Summer Breeze" originally by Seals and Crofts is very amusing at least, so you get to hear it here. I'm more partial to the original album mix of this song, but unfortunately, it elides with the next track on the record, so you get this version mixed by Rick Rubin simply because it has an actual ending. It's on the 2-Disc "Top Shelf Edition" of their album "Bloody Kisses" if you're interested.
Type O Negative - Summer Breeze (Rick Rubin Mix)
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Okay, I know I said that was last, but as I'm writing this, the titular song of this blog post came up and I felt I should share it too. It's from "At the Cut." I really miss Vic...
Vic Chesnutt - Flirted With You All My Life
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So... that was a downer. Have a great week everybody!
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