Hey Suzanne...

[Murdoch]

Hi Suzanne! Hey, I know how much you love Rufus Wainwright and was wondering if you've checked out Pete Yorn's 'Music For The Morning After'? I've noticed a lot of similarities between the two artists and think you'd like him. He's got a wonderful gruffy voice and the jangly guitar work is almost Smithsesque. If you haven't already you should check it out. Here's a review from cdnow:

The crackle of a needle scratching worn vinyl is the first sound heard on Pete Yorn's Music for the Morning After. It's a fitting precursor to an album that's suffering from a bad case of pre-compact disc, mid '80s nostalgia.
With winning hooks and lovelorn sentiments simmering below happy-go-jangly guitars, Music for the Morning After draws from the magna cum laude graduates of heartfelt college rock. The ghosts of old-school alums such as the Replacements rattle around on "Murray" and the album opener "Life On A Chain," while the influence of Big Star hangs heavily over "June" and "Simonize." Yorn's gruff, expressive drawl and emotional lyricism lend heightened poignancy to standout tracks "Strange Condition" and "Just Another Girl."

With the current market's fondess for shallow pop and derivative hard rock for flunkies, Yorn's elegant pop-rock places him at the head of the class.

Michelle Kleinsak
CDNOW Editorial Staff

 

[suzanne]

> Hi Suzanne! Hey, I know how much you love Rufus Wainwright and was
> wondering if you've checked out Pete Yorn's 'Music For The Morning After'?
> I've noticed a lot of similarities between the two artists and think you'd
> like him. He's got a wonderful gruffy voice and the jangly guitar work is
> almost Smithsesque. If you haven't already you should check it out. Here's
> a review from cdnow:

ah.

> The crackle of a needle scratching worn vinyl is the first sound heard on
> Pete Yorn's Music for the Morning After. It's a fitting precursor to an
> album that's suffering from a bad case of pre-compact disc, mid '80s
> nostalgia.
> With winning hooks and lovelorn sentiments simmering below happy-go-jangly
> guitars, Music for the Morning After draws from the magna cum laude
> graduates of heartfelt college rock. The ghosts of old-school alums such
> as the Replacements rattle around on "Murray" and the album
> opener "Life On A Chain," while the influence of Big Star hangs
> heavily over "June" and "Simonize." Yorn's gruff,
> expressive drawl and emotional lyricism lend heightened poignancy to
> standout tracks "Strange Condition" and "Just Another
> Girl."

> With the current market's fondess for shallow pop and derivative hard rock
> for flunkies, Yorn's elegant pop-rock places him at the head of the class.

> Michelle Kleinsak
> CDNOW Editorial Staff

why thank you

however, i remember hearing some of his stuff whilst shopping once and didn't really like it. Pete sounds like yet another indie pop guy with a guitar.

and here is another startling revelation:

for the most part, i don't know half of the word's on Rufus wainwright's albums. even my favorite songs. I like the piano and i like the melodies. i like how it's produced and i think he's got a great voice. I don't give a flying fig about interspection and deep ponderings of the world. I think i started tuning out lyrics sometime about 3 years ago. Not that I have ever listened to them that closely to begin with, but ya know....I have no idea what belle and sebastian have sung on their last few releases. but the music sure is groovy!

not that i think vocals should be absent as that tends to make a lot of music boring. i guess i tend to think of it as yet a necessary instrument rather than a purveyor of words.

so, in the end, i don't know how excited i am about yet another person being influenced by the Replacements. not that your opinions are bad or anything, but i suppose it's personal preference.

 

[Murdoch]

> ah.

> why thank you

> however, i remember hearing some of his stuff whilst shopping once and
> didn't really like it. Pete sounds like yet another indie pop guy with a
> guitar.

I thought the same thing about him at first. I was watching mtv2 one night and caught the video for the 1st track "life on a chain". I was not impressed. But a friend of mine has the cd, and after hearing it a few times it really grew on me. I'm sure there's been a band or two that, at first listen you thought "jesus what crap", but then after hearing it the 3rd, 4th time you thought "damn, this is really good"....enter Pete.

> and here is another startling revelation:

> for the most part, i don't know half of the word's on Rufus wainwright's
> albums. even my favorite songs. I like the piano and i like the melodies.
> i like how it's produced and i think he's got a great voice. I don't give
> a flying fig about interspection and deep ponderings of the world. I think
> i started tuning out lyrics sometime about 3 years ago. Not that I have
> ever listened to them that closely to begin with, but ya know....I have no
> idea what belle and sebastian have sung on their last few releases. but
> the music sure is groovy!

Rufus's voice is like a soft fuzzy bathrobe after an hour soak in the tub, you just can't wait to wrap yourself up in it. And I can appreciate paying more attention to the instrumentation over the lyrics. But every now and then you find a lyric, something that really speaks to you, which makes you appreciate what you are hearing all the more. It seems such a shame to tune out the lyrics and possibly rob yourself of something extraordinarily special. Granted, most lyrics suck shi.t these days. But there are some truly beautiful ones out there which should be given their respect.

I like to listen to a new cd without knowing the song titles or the lyrics until I'm completely familiar with every chord, riff, etc. Then I'll take a night and sit down with the lyrics, read along while listening. The lyrics can sometimes bring a track to life. It's like taking a black and white picture and adding the color.

> not that i think vocals should be absent as that tends to make a lot of
> music boring. i guess i tend to think of it as yet a necessary instrument
> rather than a purveyor of words.

It is another instrument, yet you shouldn't forget that sometimes its words really do have something to say. I know, sifting through most of today's lyrics to find anything meaningful can be daunting, but you can find them if you look, they are out there. If you haven't read your belle&sebastian lyrics, well then you're missing the best lyrics since The Smiths.

> so, in the end, i don't know how excited i am about yet another person
> being influenced by the Replacements. not that your opinions are bad or
> anything, but i suppose it's personal preference.

He does gives thanks to Morrissey on the sleeve, not that that necessarily makes a difference but you can definitely hear the influence. And you're right, it is personal preference. I was just trying to be nice and make a friendly suggestion. I should know better than that by now.

 

[suzanne]

> I thought the same thing about him at first. I was watching mtv2 one night
> and caught the video for the 1st track "life on a chain". I was
> not impressed. But a friend of mine has the cd, and after hearing it a few
> times it really grew on me. I'm sure there's been a band or two that, at
> first listen you thought "jesus what crap", but then after
> hearing it the 3rd, 4th time you thought "damn, this is really
> good"....enter Pete.

um, i don't know. even bands i get to somewhat appreciate, i just can't get too worked up over them. My lasting favorites tend to be those things that just sorta grab ya....even though i admit i wasn't pleased with Rufus' turn with the Leonard Cohen on the Shrek soundtrack. but then again, i was already more than accustomed to the Jeff Buckley version. you can't top it. not even leonard cohen can come close and he wrote the song. but before that, i saw a video from his first album on M2 at work and i was sorta intrigued by it.

but in the end, i might try with some. i'll buy their albums sometimes to make sure, and in the end, i end up shelving them. Travis is a noted exception. i bought the first album, wasn't impressed, tried to avoid the second, heard a song on the radio and instantly knew i had to buy it and it's been one of my favorites of the past couple of years.

> Rufus's voice is like a soft fuzzy bathrobe after an hour soak in the tub,
> you just can't wait to wrap yourself up in it. And I can appreciate paying
> more attention to the instrumentation over the lyrics. But every now and
> then you find a lyric, something that really speaks to you, which makes
> you appreciate what you are hearing all the more. It seems such a shame to
> tune out the lyrics and possibly rob yourself of something extraordinarily
> special. Granted, most lyrics suck shi.t these days. But there are some
> truly beautiful ones out there which should be given their respect.

Enh. It doesn't bother me that much. The truth is that i'm much better able to connect with the music i hear more than most words.

> I like to listen to a new cd without knowing the song titles or the lyrics
> until I'm completely familiar with every chord, riff, etc. Then I'll take
> a night and sit down with the lyrics, read along while listening. The
> lyrics can sometimes bring a track to life. It's like taking a black and
> white picture and adding the color.

i hardly ever crack the book on those things. i do many times to see what's inside, but the only time i really bother finding out the words is if i'm wanting to play it on my guitar. after all, you can't go "blah blah" and it be any good.

> It is another instrument, yet you shouldn't forget that sometimes its
> words really do have something to say. I know, sifting through most of
> today's lyrics to find anything meaningful can be daunting, but you can
> find them if you look, they are out there. If you haven't read your
> belle&sebastian lyrics, well then you're missing the best lyrics since The
> Smiths.

So, you think "Itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini" is higher art than "oops i did it again" just because it's not of "today"?

> He does gives thanks to Morrissey on the sleeve, not that that necessarily
> makes a difference but you can definitely hear the influence. And you're
> right, it is personal preference. I was just trying to be nice and make a
> friendly suggestion. I should know better than that by now.

yes, especially with me! i'm crabby 365 days of the year!!

and believe it or not, i am having a relatively good day.

I'm just tired. I think. All the Pete Yorns of the world. The Steve Malkmus'. The Guided by Voices. The Buellah's.

They all sound alike.

But the thing is that being a jingle jangle guitar doesn't preclude me liking them. For example, i don't like Suede or Gene. They theoretically are influenced by you know who, but i don't care. I wish i could articulate exactly what the appeal is i find in the smiths that i don't find in most of these bands. but it's sort of like being in love. everyone (or most everyone) has hair, eyes, a brain and so forth, but why do we like the certain people that we do? and it boils down to some innate quality that connects with you on a personal level. and i've never really been an incredibly verbal person anyway. i just like the textures of sounds.