Music – Page 5 – Lost in the Cloud

Top 20 Bands: 12 & 11

Rounding out 20-11:

12. The Beatles [UPDATE: moved to number 11.]

Where would the world be without The Beatles? But then again, where would The Beatles have been without Elvis? And where would Elvis have been without Big Boy Crudup? And Crudup without Lead Belly and Blind Lemon Jefferson? And Blind Lemon Jefferson without Hobart Smith? STOP! INFINITE REGRESSION! So basically Hobart Smith founded The Beatles, who would become the single most influential musical group in history. I know what some of you are thinking: ‘Beatles not in the Top 5, let alone the Top 10! Blasphemy!’ They are phenomenal, and if George Harrison had written more of their songs (I’m in love with George) and they didn’t write all of their cute pop music that preceded Rubber Soul (and even Rubber Soul isn’t entirely free of it) they’d probably be higher on my list. While The Beatles will find their way into what seems to be every other Top 10 list, their lack of longevity also plays a factor here. Still, two of their records are found on my Top 50 Albums list: The Beatles [The White Album] (1968) and Abbey Road (1969).

‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ from their 1967 album Magical Mystery Tour:

‘Let it Be’ from their 1970 album of the same name:

+++++

11. Neil Young [UPDATE: moved to number 14.]

The legendary Neil Young has often been noted for his sincerity – noticing a pattern in my preferences? It’s true that I’m a sucker for artists that I can truly believe, and among them Neil Young is the Godfather. This personal touch plus his unique vocal style (oftentimes accompanied by driving guitars) have made him an incredibly distinct artist in a music world full of clones over the last five decades. His album Harvest (1972) is featured on my Top 50 Albums list and 1970’s After the Gold Rush should probably in there as well.

‘Needle and the Damage Done’ from the album Harvest, performed on The Johnny Cash Show in 1971:

‘After the Gold Rush’, from the album of the same name, live in 1978:

+++++

Top 20 Bands: 20 & 19, 18 & 17, 16 & 15, 14 & 13

Top 20 Bands: 14 & 13

¡Dos más!

14. Tom Waits [UPDATE: moved to number 15.]

Tom Waits is an acquired taste for some, but regardless of his more abrasive presentation since the late seventies, he has been a source of inspiration for countless artists and has been covered by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins to the unfortunate thing that was Scarlett Johansson’s debut record. His unique style of storytelling and experimental production make him an intriguing and always reinvigorating voice in the music world. His persona is commanding in every sense. Not only this, but the man’s longevity makes him an enduring legend. One is not compelled to say, ‘I loved his stuff from ’79-’81, then from ’99-’01.’ He just doesn’t stop making high quality records. Waits’ album Swordfishtrombones (1983) can be found on my Top 50 Albums list.

‘Heartattack And Vine’ live from his amazing 1980 album of the same name:

‘Chocolate Jesus’ from his 1999 album Mule Variations, live on Late Night with David Letterman:

+++++

13. The Beach Boys [UPDATE: moved to number 12.]

The Beach Boys seem to have always been second best to The Beatles (‘What’s wrong with second best?‘). It was always a back and forth between the two. Part of me is tempted to switch the two, but I do love The Beatles just that wee bit more (hinting at a Beatles placement in the very near future) and that’s probably primarily due to the presence of the late great George Harrison. Still, it must be said that The Beach Boys are nothing short of a phenomenal group. Where I criticise The Beach Boys’ earlier material I do the same for The Beatles’, but I must hand it to The Beach Boys that they were better pop writers than even The Beatles. The bigger Brian Wilson’s ambitions were the more I fall in love with The Beach Boys and that ambition is owed, in part, to The Beatles’ Rubber Soul. Two of The Beach Boys’ records can be found on my Top 50 Albums list: Pet Sounds (1968) and Surf’s Up (1971).

‘Good Vibrations’ from Smiley Smile (1967), live on The Midnight Special in 1979 (it could certainly do without this audience, but look at Dennis owning on the drums):

‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice‘ from Pet Sounds.

Brian Wilson performs ‘Surf’s Up‘ from the album of the same name.

+++++

Top 20 Bands: 20 & 19, 18 & 17, 16 & 15

Top 20 Bands: 16 & 15

Today’s installment of my Top 20 Bands:

16. Descendents [UPDATE: moved to number 20.]

Descendents are amazing and have been greatly overlooked for their role in the historical progression from punk rock to hardcore. Their lyrics aren’t often phenomenal (and sometimes downright explicit!), but their material has a mysterious attraction and drive behind it for me. I listen to gems like ‘My Dad Sucks’ and ‘I Like Food’ and think, ‘This was 1981?!’ They probably aren’t a band for everyone (though they should be!), but I encourage everyone to give them a shot (or five – it has taken some friends several listens before they ‘see’ the light…some never see it). Their record Milo Goes to College (1982) is one of my absolute favourites and is featured on my Top 50 Albums list.

‘Suburban Home’ from Milo Goes to College:

‘Descendents’ from their 1985 album I Don’t Want to Grow Up:

+++++

15. The Velvet Underground [UPDATE: moved to number 16.]

The Velvet Underground are an incredibly influential group. Mixing exceptional songwriting and uncommon and difficult subject matter (such as prostitution and drug use), they influenced the subsequent generation of both popular and independent music. Their record The Velvet Underground (1969) is found among my Top 50 Albums (and it’s cover features and incredibly Andrew-looking Lou Reed, though Lou is certainly less handsome).

‘I’m Waiting for the Man’ from their 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico:

‘Sunday Morning’, also from The Velvet Underground & Nico (as it is so difficult to find a good track off of their other records on Youtube):

+++++

Top 20 Bands: 20 & 19, 18 & 17

Top 20 Bands: 18 & 17

In continuing my Top 20 Bands countdown, I present you with two more amazing musical acts:

18. The Kinks [UPDATE: moved to number 13.]

The Kinks were an unstoppable force during the British Invasion of America in the mid-60s, popping out hits like ‘You Really Got Me‘, ‘All Day and All of the Night‘, ‘Tired of Waiting for You‘, etc. While these are surely classic tunes, their excessive familiarity to me (through being forced to listen to oldies radio stations as a child) gave me a great aversion to The Kinks. But like my aversion to The Beatles and The Beach Boys, I have grown out of this distaste for The Kinks (thanks to initial interest years ago via Rushmore and the watering of the seed by the Greg, the Band Evangelist) – and I even love their hits now too! It’s probably a shame to some people that The Kinks are down here at number 18 in my top 20, but I’m not especially familiar with their work after 1970’s Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One and I’ve only been really listening them for some four years now. Give me more time to wise up. Their album The Village Green Preservation Society (1968) can be found among my Top 50 Albums.

‘Sunny Afternoon’ single promo, later included 1966’s Face to Face:

‘Apeman’, featuring a creepy and massive-haired Ray Davies, from 1970’s Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround:

+++++

17. Danielson/Daniel Smith

Whether it is through a band consisting primarily of his siblings (Danielson Famile), through a solo project consisting of the man in a gigantic tree costume (Brother Danielson) or his most recent incarnation as just plain Danielson, Daniel Smith has been consistently producing honest, unusual and compelling art over the last two decades. Danielson appeared on my radar soon after my conversion to Christianity in the beginning of high school and I have grown more in love with them/him ever since. Interesting note: Through his association with Danielson I first gave Sufjan Stevens a shot. Read more about Daniel in this post. His/their second record, Tell Another Joke at the Ol’ Choppin’ Block (1997), is featured on my Top 50 Albums list.

I wanted to post ‘Headz in the Cloudz’ from the debut Danielson Famile album, 1996’s A Prayer for Every Hour, but embedding is disabled. View it here.

‘Things Against Stuff’, live from 2004’s Brother Is to Son from Brother Danielson:

‘Did I Step on Your Trumpet?’ from 2006’s Ships by Danielson (one of the best music videos of all time):

+++++

Top 20 Bands: 20 & 19

In typical LITC obsessive list-making fashion I’ve decided to compile a list of my Top 20 Bands of all time. I must admit that this list is prone to change, whether it be in order or in composition (perhaps in the coming years more recent groups like Frightened Rabbit, Grizzly Bear and Deerhunter might make their way on or classics that have been in my rotation for most if not all of my life will sneak in like Starflyer 59, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones and The Smashing Pumpkins). I’ll probably modify this list with my ever-changing taste and an ever-growing musical collection, but I will say that the bulk of this list has remained rather consistent over the last few years. I’ve decided instead of one massive post to split it up into groups of two. Perhaps you’ve not really given some of these groups a fair listen, or perhaps this will encourage you to give them another shot. So without further ado, I give you 20 and 19.

20. Spiritualized

This group, borne from the ashes of Spacemen 3 in 1990-1, consists primarily of Jason Pierce (J. Spaceman) and his inability to stop creating good music. From space rock to gospel, Spiritualized have been a mainstay of English music for two decades, while their commercial success has yet to match their commercial success. Annette first turned me onto this band in 2006 (very late in the game) and I can’t get enough. Their 2008 record Songs in A & E can found among my Top 50 Albums. Might I also suggest 1997’s Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space, which was narrowly edged out of my Top 50 Albums in a move I’m not entirely confident in.

‘Broken Heart’ from Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space, live in 1998 on Later… with Jools Holland:

‘You Lie You Cheat’ from Songs in A & E, live on The Late Show with David Letterman, 2008:

+++++

19. Sebadoh/Lou Barlow

Lou Barlow is an amazing songwriter and over the last 20+ years he has certainly spread his influence through Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Sentridoh, The Folk Implosion and his recent solo career. As mentioned before, Greg first turned me on to Lou Barlow. Read more about him (and take a look at list of Greg and my ‘Top 30 Lou Barlow Songs‘) in this post. His amazing record with Sebadoh III (1991) is featured among my Top 50 Albums.

‘Rebound’ from Sebadoh’s 1994 album Bakesale:

‘Too Much Freedom’ from Lou Barlow’s 2009 album Goodnight Unknown:

Band Evangelist, ch. 2

A while back, I came out as a self-proclaimed prophet of musically anointed ones…only to go into a period of silence worthy of the inter-testamental era (part of which was due to school and the other part due to a slightly incapacitating disability in my left hand which keeps me from typing with ease). In any case, I have come back out of the wilderness, having exhausted ways to prepare locust with honey, and am here to declare some praise-worthy tunes for those with ears to hear.

To begin by updating you from my last post:

Lightspeed Champion: middling effort, almost a bit too melodramatic/fussy

Sleeping States: downloaded a few songs (on par with lo-fi homemade genius of former recordings), but still don’t own the whole album
The XYZ Affair: unknown what will happen to the album they had in the works

What about the album from Frightened Rabbit? Well, that brings me to the shortlist of albums that WILL LIKELY BE on my best of 2010 list. FR’s album is INCREDIBLY GREAT–on par with their unbelievably brilliant last album & a sign of their lasting power. So, the short list? In no order other than as they come to me:

Frightened Rabbit/The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Titus Andronicus/The Monitor (these guys are like a mix of Joe Strummer/Shane MacGowan, early Dinosaur Jr., the high points of Rancid, and some kind of American conspiratorialism welded together–it’s kind of a marriage of classic rock n’ roll and alternative/indie via a variety of road stops…the only problem is that they have an occasional tendency to repeat some lyrics ad infinitum, which is a pet peeve of mine, and the punk ethos requires that some of the singing is off key, which is hard to listen to when you have perfect pitch)–I have to give a shout out to Rob Kirkendall for hooking me up with these guys
Tame Impala/InnerSpeaker: first off: their name is lame impala. But their sound, the tones and eras and magic and youth and coolness they emit, is so GORGEOUSLY CLASSIC (if you love the Beatles, the vocalist channels John & George’s best qualities; if you love classic rock, they have instrumentation that brings to mind the Who, Jimi Hendrix [but not the guitar], The Edgar Winter Group, etc.; definite psychedelia [though I can’t cite any particular groups), but yet in spite of all this, it doesn’t feel derivative but somehow distinctively of this time–as if all that had never existed and they just invented it…
The National/High Violet: you already have this
The New Pornographers/Together: you SHOULD already have this. Half of it is my favorite album of the year…Neko Case IS the Midas touch, but everyone in this supergroup is talented beyond measure
Owen Pallett/Heartland: now this guy is a true discovery. I’ve heard he did some orchestration for indie bands (Arcade Fire, etc.), but all I really know about him is from this album. He is a musical brother to Andrew Bird, a cousin of Sufjan, from the genus of chamber-pop…lovely, fascinating, highly original. Often, a song intentionally veers toward the brink of dissonance, but it never goes over
Josh Ritter/So Runs the World Away: I need a few more listens to definitively place this album on the list, but it has potential

Some varying levels of disappointment: Band of Horses, Broken Bells, Jonsi (is that ok to admit? I love him still…), Teenage Fanclub (embarrassingly weak), She & Him. Disagree? Feel free to prove me wrong in the comments!

I don’t really have any prophecies at the moment…maybe The Walkmen, Cloud Cult, Interpol in September/October? I could use YOUR recommendations if you have any. Until later…

Happy 41st, Elliott

Today marks what would have been Elliott Smith’s 41^st birthday and I’d like to share a brief thought.

Think about some of the most influential popular musicians from the last 50 years. Perhaps Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Creed [followed by an audible laugh] and so on. Perhaps we could come to a consensus and say that these names (with the exception of one) are legendary. Dylan, McCartney, Lennon, Gilmour, Waters, Jackson, Cobain. We could continue the list for ages, but what I want to point out is that I’ve listed surnames and readers who are familiar with popular music in America and Britain probably knew exactly whom I was referring to. When I write ‘Paul and John’ you probably realise that I am referring to the principle songwriters (though George is clearly the best) of one of the most influential bands in history and in the proper context we will often call Michael by his forename without too much confusion. This is probably due to the fact that Michael Jackson and The Beatles are very much household names. Still, taken on their own we’ll more typically employ the surname.

Now, I am not suggesting that somehow Elliott Smith might someday be recognised among these greats. He’s been grossly underrated and ignored in the public, but such is the lot of a shy and reclusive indie songwriter who killed himself at 34. Regardless, I find it quite interesting that when I write about Elliott Smith I cannot write, ‘Smith recorded his debut record while still fronting Heatmiser.’ It feels unnatural and impersonal. Elliott wouldn’t want to be talked about that way (although he probably wouldn’t want to be talked about at all). (This is all apart from the fact that ‘Smith’ is one of the most common surnames in the English language.) Perhaps the same can be said of Sufjan Stevens, but we all know that writing/saying ‘Sufjan’ is a billion times more pleasing than writing/saying ‘Stevens’. When we write or talk about Elliott it is as if we are talking about an old friend. I never knew Elliott. I never met him and I never saw him in concert, but his music reaches out to listeners like me and each listen becomes a very personal encounter. Elliott shares his soul with us and—as I’ve written about before—he shares our souls for us.

I’ve been compiling a list of my ‘Top 50 Elliott Smith Songs’ for several months now. As Greg so conscientiously shared his ‘Top 50 Sufjan Stevens Songs’ in order based upon his preference, I had hoped to do the same for Elliott. But Elliott’s work is quite different from Sufjan’s and I found that after arranging the first few songs on the list in preferential order it became very arbitrary – I am in love with different tracks for different reasons. So, like my ‘Top 50 Albums’, I am going to organise these songs by title. These tracks (as well as many many others) are all gems and if you don’t own any of the official releases I suggest you look into making some purchases immediately. Enjoy.

Top 50 Elliott Smith Songs

‘2:45 A.M.’/Either/Or, 1997
‘Angeles’/Either/Or, 1997
‘Baby Britain’/XO, 1998
‘Between the Bars’/Either/Or, 1997
‘The Biggest Lie’/Elliott Smith, 1995
‘Can’t Make a Sound’/Figure 8, 2000
‘Christian Brothers’/Elliott Smith, 1995
‘Coast to Coast’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘Dancing on the Highway’/Basement era sessions, circa 2003
‘A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘The Enemy Is You’/Either/Or era, circa 1997
‘Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands’/XO, 1998
‘Everything Means Nothing to Me’/Figure 8, 2000
‘Going Nowhere’/Either/Or era, circa 1997, officially released on New Moon in 2007
‘Good to Go’/Elliott Smith, 1995
‘Happiness’/Figure 8, 2000
‘High Times’/Either/Or era, circa 1997, officially released on New Moon in 2007
‘How to Take a Fall’/Either/Or era, circa 1997
‘I Better Be Quiet Now’/Figure 8, 2000
‘I Can’t Answer You Anymore’/3 Titres Inedits (French promo), 2000
‘I Didn’t Understand’/XO, 1998
‘In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)’/Figure 8, 2000
‘King’s Crossing’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘L.A.’/Figure 8, 2000
‘Last Call’/Roman Candle, 1995
‘Let’s Get Lost’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘Miss Misery’/Good Will Hunting (soundtrack), 1997
‘Needle In the Hay’/Elliott Smith, 1995
‘No Name #2’/Roman Candle, 1995
‘O So Slow’/Basement era sessions, circa 2003
‘Oh Well, Okay’/XO, 1998
‘A Passing Feeling’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘Pictures of Me’/Either/Or, 1997
‘Pitseleh’/XO, 1998
‘Pretty Mary K’/Figure 8, 2000
‘Roman Candle’/Roman Candle, 1995
‘Rose Parade’/Either/Or, 1997
‘Say Yes’/Either/Or, 1997
‘Shooting Star’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘Son of Sam’/Figure 8, 2000
‘Southern Belle’/Elliott Smith, 1995
‘Splitsville’/Southlander (soundtrack), 2001
‘Strung Out Again’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘Stupidity Tries’/Figure 8, 2000
‘Sweet Adeline’/XO, 1998
‘True Love’/Basement era sessions, circa 2003
‘Twilight’/From a Basement on the Hill, 2003
‘Waltz #2 (Xo)’/XO, 1998
‘The White Lady Loves You More’/Elliott Smith, 1995
‘You Make it Seem Like Nothing’/Either/Or era live recording, circa 1996

(For the sake of space I’ve omitted anything Elliott did with other musical acts, otherwise I’d certainly include ‘Plainclothes Man’ and ‘Half Right’ from Heatmiser’s 1996 album Mic City Sons and the rare recording from a French radio broadcast of ‘The Machine’ from Elliott’s high school band Stranger Than Fiction.)

Happy birthday, Elliott.

1969 – 2003

A modest proposal for Sufjan Stevens regarding the completion of his 50 States Project

Dear Sufjan,

The other day my friend Erin Hennessy saw you on the F train in NYC, but she couldn’t get up the nerve to say anything to you. That got me thinking of what I would say to you if I ran into you (even though I never would, as I live on the other side of the country). The first thing that came to mind was to talk to you about your 50 states project, which you began so beautifully with Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State and Illinois/The Avalanche.

Now back in the day (the early two thousands or so), I took your proclamation to make an album (or EP, maybe?) for each one of the 50 states seriously, even though some of my more cynical friends would mock me saying it was impossible for you to do in your lifetime (they would start with some calculations, ask your age, etc. PS We share the same birthday!). The reason I believed you was because I saw this limitless sort of creative genius in you, and even beyond that, it was as if you were the Emersonian “Poet” for this generation of Americans–seeing and showing us the beauty and agony and the divine in the everyday, transforming the mundane into the sublime, telling us stories full of wonder and longing and brilliant details from towns like Ypsilanti and Holland and Romulus.

You made me suddenly attentive to the people and places of America: you imbued them with a magical luster simply by naming them in the midst of your deeply moving, melancholic, and rich melodies and arrangements, or by inserting them amongst such evocative mystical lines of verse:

When the revenant came down
We couldn’t imagine what it was
In the spirit of three stars
The alien thing that took its form
Then to Lebanon, oh God!
The flashing at night, the sirens grow and grow
(Oh, history involved itself)
Mysterious shade that took its form
(Or what it was!), incarnation, three stars
Delivering signs and dusting from their eyes

-“Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois”

All that to say that I really, really wish the 50 states project would continue–I think it could become one of the national treasures of our country for centuries to come, a Leaves of Grass for the 21st century that American kids would listen to to understand where they’ve come from and what kind of people we are. I heard at one point that you said the 50 states project was “such a joke,” but I would challenge you in earnest, if only for the sake of those future little kids, to reconsider abandoning this momentous endeavor.

Realizing that it might very well be impossible for you to write and record all of the albums yourself, what if you instead became the director of the project–you have set the standard quite high with your first two albums–and with the profound respect you have from your artistic peers, I honestly believe you could rally together the best artists from each state to collaborate with to make this happen, creating a kind of ark of American culture.

Here are some suggestions to begin with (I admit some may be wishful thinking) & I call on any reader to add to/better the selection of songwriters for any state (I have put brackets around bands with whom I have only a cursory familiarity & some states I have absolutely no idea about):

Alabama = The Snake the Cross the Crown
Alaska = Portugal The Man
Arizona = Calexico
Arkansas = ???
California = Elijah Wade Smith, Beck, Stephen Malkmus
Colorado = DeVotchKa, The Apples in Stereo
Connecticut = Rivers Cuomo?
Delaware = The Spinto Band
Florida = Iron & Wine, Aaron Marsh
Georgia = Deerhunter, Of Montreal, Bill Mallonee
Hawaii = Mason Jennings
Idaho = Built to Spill, Finn Riggins
Illinois = Sufjan Stevens
Indiana = Mock Orange
Iowa = Caleb Engstrom
Kansas = Drakkar Sauna, Mates of State, The New Amsterdams, The Appleseed Cast
Kentucky = Bonnie “Prince” Billy, My Morning Jacket
Louisiana = Jeff Mangum, Mutemath
Maine = [Phantom Buffalo]
Maryland = John Vanderslice, Wye Oak
Massachusetts = Lou Barlow, Winterpills
Michigan = Sufjan Stevens
Minnesota = Low, Cloud Cult, Lucky Wilbur
Mississippi = ???
Missouri = [Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin]
Montana = Colin Meloy
Nebraska = Cursive, Bright Eyes
Nevada = The Killers?
New Hampshire = [Wild Light]
New Jersey = Sufjan Stevens (?), Danielson, Yo La Tango
New Mexico = The Shins, Beirut
New York = The Magnetic Fields, Sonic Youth, Interpol, The Walkmen
North Carolina = The Mountain Goats
North Dakota = [The White Foliage]
Ohio = Robert Pollard, Over the Rhine, The National, Mark Kozelek
Oklahoma = The Flaming Lips, Kings of Leon
Oregon = Laura Veirs, M. Ward, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, The Decemberists
Pennsylvania = The Innocence Mission, Denison Witmer, Matt Pond PA
Rhode Island = The Low Anthem, Death Vessel
South Carolina = Band of Horses
South Dakota = Haley Bonar
Tennessee = Derek Webb
Texas = Josh T. Pearson, Ramesh Srivastava (formerly of Voxtrot), The Polyphonic Spree, Okkervil River, Devendra Banhart
Utah = [Joshua James]
Vermont = Anais Mitchell
Virginia = Thao Nguyen, Hush Arbors
Washington = David Bazan, Damien Jurado, Jeremy Enigk, Fleet Foxes
West Virginia = ???
Wisconsin = Bon Iver, Marla Hansen
Wyoming = ???

With the deepest respect & admiration,

Greg Stump

John Stump, composer of Faerie’s Aire and Death Waltz

My uncle, John Arthur Stump, who was my father’s youngest brother, died on January 20, 2006. His memorial service was held at a Vedanta monastery in Hollywood, where my other uncle (known there as “Jnana Chaitanya,” but to me as Uncle Dave) serves as a monk. I was not at the ceremony, but my family brought back some memorabilia from the service and from Uncle John’s “estate,” including a large piece of paper densely printed with musical notation.

It was a sheet of music for a work entitled “Faerie’s Aire and Death Waltz (from ‘A Tribute to Zdenko G. Fibich’)” that John had put together, obviously as an unplayable and satirical parody. The notations on the score included absurd directions such as “release the penguins” and “Like a Dirigible” and “Gong duet.” It was an incredibly creative, erudite and rigorous act of nonsense, which felt completely consistent with other creations I had seen from my uncle. He was famous in our family for his non-sequiturs (sending a sympathy card from a fictitious professor to me on Christmas), stippling artwork, and his fascination with music. He had worked in the field of “music engraving” for most of his life, beginning in 1967, and I remember looking with fascination at his “music typewriter” in his office in my grandmother’s garage, so it didn’t surprise me that Uncle John would have created something like this fake musical piece.

What surprised me was the fact that this piece was actually something of a musical legend, but to my knowledge, Uncle John had never mentioned it to anyone in my family before. When I received the copy of “Faerie’s Aire,” I showed it to one of the college students I worked with who was a music major (who has become a talented composer in his own right!) and he told me he remembered seeing this piece posted on the band room wall when he was a high school student…in Washington! I asked some other musician friends and they all told me they had seen it as well. When I searched the internet, I found it rife with references, accolades, imitations, and questions about the mysterious composer, John Stump. It saddened me to think there was nothing that revealed anything about my Uncle John’s life in the public sphere, so I thought I would provide some facts & anecdotes here that could serve as a source on this brilliant, hilarious, and reclusive man.

John was born to Homer & Mildred Stump on March 24, 1944 in Kansas City, Missouri.
He grew up in Lakewood, California, studying composition and orchestration at Long Beach City College.
John also attended Cal State University Long Beach, where he played French Horn in an orchestra led by Aaron Copeland.
He was an obsessive fan of many musical groups (Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, The Go-Go’s), but none more than The Beatles. He actually sent corrections to the early 1980’s published Beatles song collection “The Compleat Beatles” because he knew the minute details of the songs and scores so well (Uncle John would also test me when I was a kid on who wrote which Beatles song, as well as on which songs Paul played instruments other than the bass, etc.). Though John loved all the Beatles, the one who shared his name was obviously his favorite…

Paul letter — A letter from Paul McCartney's personal assistant to John

The only known composition of John’s to be publicly performed was a three-part work for men’s choir based on the Dylan Thomas poem “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” (of which I have a cassette recording somewhere) which was put on by a choral group at the Vedanta Society in Hollywood. He also wrote “A Suite for Four Trombones and Four Trumpets” and he mentioned to me that he had written a pop song for Karen Carpenter (he knew a friend of her’s through CSULB) but nothing ever came of it.
Finally, John was a large man…by that, I mean profoundly obese, which may have contributed to his public shyness. I often felt like he actually had something of a disdain for society and didn’t care what people thought about him, but to those who knew him, he was a thoughtful, funny, and brilliant man. It’s sad that he was never able to see his talents and creativity celebrated while he was alive…perhaps he would have preferred a mysterious posthumous legend to any kind of recognition in his life. Whatever the case, I applaud you Uncle John and happy 66th birthday on the 24th!

UPDATE: I have posted more material and images regarding John here. Enjoy!

Sources: some background information taken from John’s obituary in “Vedanta Voices” Vol. 8, No. 3, March 2006, along with John’s “A Family History”.

: The Stump family circa 1976. John is in the lower left hand corner…

UPDATE:

-Here is a copy of an obituary from page 3 of the Glendale Focus newspaper, Vol. 3, No. 2 (February 13, 2006) written by the publisher, Gary Kemper.

Other compositions by John:

: String Quartet No. 556(b) for Strings In A Minor (Motoring Accident) COVER

: String Quartet No. 556(b) for Strings In A Minor (Motoring Accident) page 1

: String Quartet No. 556(b) for Strings In A Minor (Motoring Accident) page 2

: String Quartet No. 556(b) for Strings In A Minor (Motoring Accident) BACK

: Prelude and the Last Hope in C and C# minor

Band Evangelist

In one’s life, there are certain callings that one sometimes experiences…some feel called to serve as missionaries, philanthropists, or teachers of underprivileged youth. While those examples are great and all, I have heard a different call to serve humanity, and perhaps even the divine essence, through the ministry of ‘band evangelist’. Now I can anticipate our comments section here already: “Greg, THANK YOU for answering the call to an underheeded & much needed prophetic role in the music-listening community!” and “How can I support you, even enable you to be financially independent so that you may devote yourself full-time to this endeavor?”, but nae, my friends, I am not fishing for spiritual confirmation nor cash donations (though if you want to see MP3’s posted on LITC, it would help to see a little brass in pocket, nudge nudge wink wink).

All I ask is that you listen to me…a voice in the sonic wilderness. And for those CYNICS out there, who would say, “Oh pish-posh, why do I need to find out about new music? My tastes became ossified during my junior year in college…The Foo Fighters rocked then and they still do to this day!” or “Doesn’t the radio give us all the new music that’s fit to be heard?”, I say this: WOE TO YOU! You are the deaf leading the deaf!! Woe to you, DJ’s of Clear Channel and purveyors of codified ‘classics’, you hypocrites! You broadcast over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Dear reader, a day will come when our tastes in music will be tested by fire and let me tell you brothers and sisters, on that day, you are either humming true gold, or it’s chaff.

So, to those who have ears to hear, check this ish out. I will only give a few recommendations for upcoming releases based on my confidence that these albums will be wholly worthwhile:

UPCOMING ALBUMS OF NOTE

–Lightspeed Champion/Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You: this should come out on February 16, 2010. The singer/substance of the band has such a lovely toned voice and his lyrics are shiveringly honest (he’s got a pretty unique look as well). The melodies and arrangements are accessible but subversive (going next where you wouldn’t expect) and his band is as tight as a librarian’s arse.

–Frightened Rabbit/The Winter of Mixed Drinks: due out on March 1, 2010. Their last album was magnificent & under-appreciated in astronomical proportions (#4 record of the 2000’s for me). I will say it now, that there is SOME trepidation in hearing this album…expectations are ionospherically high. Lead scared bunny Scott Hutchison says that this new album is less confessional than their records in the past and “doesn’t really describe my life because if I did that it wouldn’t make for an interesting album this time around as I’ve been quite solid and content, thankfully.” Solid & content sounds like a recipe for mediocrity, but I (and by extension, you) should give this new record a chance based on past brilliance & the strength of the two singles released so far.

–Sleeping States/In the Gardens of the North: this album was released internationally last year…we can only hope for some kind of distribution in these United States soon. Or I may just have to break down and order an import. This is more for the melancholiasts among you.

–The XYZ Affair/???: I was so looking forward to posting about a new album to be released by The XYZ Affair (one of the greatest bands I’ve heard on the super DIY tip), only to find that they have broken up. However, it does seem like the recording will see the light of day under some new moniker before too long. Believe me, I will keep you posted…

If you are interested in checking out any of these bands, but don’t want to drop some coin yet, you may go to The Hype Machine and type the group’s name in the search engine. There you may find links to their music on other blogs which have money to buy space, width, whatever it is you have to pay for on the interweb to post MP3’s.

Well, I’m done steering the conversation toward all of my foregone conclusions. I think I hear the voice of the Spirit telling me something…until my next proclamation: RELENT & BUY LP’S!!!