PAUL RANTS

Posted by Paul at June 27th, 2007

It’s been a long time since three albums came out that I liked from beginning to end. Occasionally one will come out. On the very rare occasion, two in a row. But early summer ‘07 turns out to be a fruitful period for singer/songwriter guitar-oriented rock, the kind that could have come out in the 70s; well crafted, free of studio gimmickry, expertly played, lyrically evocative, cliche-free but somehow familiar. Prolific alt/country upstart Ryan Adams, legendary British folk rocker Richard Thompson, and edgy alt/country rockers Wilco have released within a few weeks of each other some of the best original music of their careers.

Ryan Adams — Easy Tiger

Ryan Adams has been all over the place on his last several albums. On Easy Tiger he settles in to a groove with a tight band and gets right to the point. I always knew the guy could write a song and sing the hell out of it, but he gets out of his own way and does so consistently here, with a Grateful Dead - like jam band flavor on some songs, straight head rocker/baladeer vibe on others, maybe grasping for the wide acceptance he (rightly) thinks he deserves by now.

Richard Thompson — Sweet Warrior

Sweet Warrior contains the first real Iraq war song, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me,” but that’s just one facet of this one hour-plus collection of inspired storytelling and musicianship. Caustic, wry, wistful, Celtic tinged — all of Thompson’s touchstones are on display. To release something so vital this late in his career, with his enviable turns of phrase and guitar chops intact, proves what I’ve been saying for years — RT is in a class by himself.

Wilco — Sky Blue Sky

After a couple of remarkable but very experimental sounding albums, Wilco go back to a more straight ahead sound on Sky Blue Sky. I dont think they’ve ever sounded this consistent, which isn’t a bad thing when the album as whole is this satisfying. Their new lead guitarist Nels Cline really shines here and front man Jeff Tweedy never sounded more at ease, crafting some introspective early 70s influenced material, both laid back and rocking, sometimes over the course of one track. It may not have the high points of their last two albums, but returning to (or discovering?) a more structured sound has re-invigorated them.

Posted by Paul at June 23rd, 2007

NEWSFLASH: According to Vice President Dick Cheney, the VP is not part of the executive branch. Who knew? Classified national security documents from his office need not be accounted for by Congress. That’s right, he’s above all that pesky democracy stuff. So let’s go back to political science class: you have your judicial branch (Supreme Court), your legislative branch (Congress), and your executive branch (White House and cabinet). Cheney has an office in the White House. He pushes the White House agenda. He appears to direct foreign profiteering policy on behalf of corporations the United States. He makes surprise visits to Iraq to bolster the troops, and works to insure they stay in harms way as long as possible. Hell, the word “president” is in his title. But he’s really a rogue chickenhawk operative, a superhero if you will, except nobody seems to know it but him. True, he made sure the executive branch has more unchecked powers than at any time in our history, and he doesn’t want them challenged or investigated. But make no mistake, those aren’t his powers; as far as the “law” is concerned, he’s really just a legislator, the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. His capacity in the White House is more ephemeral, more… black ops. You see, he doesn’t actually work there, subverting democracy from inside the White House. It’s all just an illusion…

Posted by Paul at June 9th, 2007

If a young guy in a Benz pulls away from the curb on a narrow residential street and hits your Passat as you drive by, be grateful no one got hurt and you both have auto insurance. But like the passenger side of your Passat your day is basically ruined. You replay the collision in your head and ponder the coming hassles. You sigh alot. You tell anyone who will listen about your scratched doors, your dented front fender, how if you had only honked the horn in that split second you realized he didn’t see you coming.

But what you don’t see coming, since the guy was obviously at fault and seems contrite when you exchange info, is that he is in fact a punk ass bitch. He reports to his insurance company an alternate reality, one where your car actually hit his car. This new reality includes a witness (an imaginary friend, apparently), who magically appeared at the scene to corroborate his story without you noticing… Punk ass bitch? I take that back. Anyone so devoid of integrity is actually a hemmorhoid on a punk ass bitch. Be grateful you’re not something so foul, and never will be.

UPDATE: Well here’s something I really didn’t see coming. My soon to be former auto insurance company, Ameriprise (Avoid them at all costs) has sided with the aforementioned punk ass bitch. Nice huh? So now I’m in the process of begging Ameriprise to reconsider (in the form of a barely restrained letter) and send the claim to arbitration by a neutral party, which is the least they can do since supposedly they represent me, oh yeah, and since the accident wasn’t my fault.