Total Rip-off

A couple of years ago, I went looking for Time Out of Mind to pop in the CD player, but it wasn't anywhere to be found. I figured one of you hosers (I'm looking at you Karl) probably stole it from me, so I went to the library, got a copy and ripped it to my hard-drive. A couple of days ago, I realized I had to actually listen to Air for my assignment, so I went to the library, got a copy, and ripped it to my hard-drive. Ripping stuff off is kind of my thing.

Anyway, here's what I thought of Air:

This is an album and a band I know and like, although I must admit it had been some time since I had listened to Moon Safari in its entirety. However, after just finishing it again a few minutes ago, I was not disappointed. I think this probably remains Air's most cohesive, consistent album to date. They are able to sustain a delicate balance throughout: The music is heavily electronic yet also feels organic; it is futuristic but with a retro vibe; lounge-y but never lapsing into mere "background music". A few of the songs go on a bit longer than I would prefer, I don't know what the hell "Sexy Boy" is about, and occasionally I long for a more invigorating beat, but I also know that's not what Air or this album is all about. That's just me being too American and not French enough.

So, all in all, not too shabby. Let's see what I thought of Dylan:

As many of you know, Bob Dylan is easily my favorite artist of all time, even though I don't listen to him nearly as often as I used to (Christmas in the Heart definitely grew on me, BTW). There's just so much there to listen to (and for) and so much variety. With "Time Out of Mind" I just love the blunt lyrical style and how Bob uses his "broken" voice to convey the brokenness around him. This really resonated with me - the feeling of being out of place with the world. I started listening to Dylan in 1989 and back then the focus was always on what he did in the 60's. I obviously love a lot of that stuff, but with "Time Out of Mind," there was finally new music to sink my teeth into. I remember where I was standing in my bedroom when I first listened to this album (I was standing by the left side of my dresser).

Hmmmm. Both sound good. I should take another listen to each and reevaluate.

Here goes:

If it were all based on album covers, Moon Safari would surely win. Sure, there's something a little too 70's going on the fronts of both these CDs. But at least the guy up front on Air's CD art could easily be modeled on those action figures that I know Jeff and me lost in our house's shag carpet when we were little and not on that menacing looking Bob Dylan.

It's supposed to be about the music, though. So: each of these albums has some lovely instrumentation. Air know how to deploy trumpet music at precisely the right instants, and that Dylan can pull in the most countrified blues riff at the beginning of "Dirt Road" proves, I think, that at his best, the guy has a knack for the finest kind of incongruity.

That said, there's a few songs that strike me as tired on each of these albums.

Dylan's,"Can't Wait" for instance, takes a critical stance that should be wry or incredulous or pointed but isn't; it's just conventional judgment gussied up in hip clothing. For my money, "'Til I fell in love with you," too, lacks invention, as do a number of the weird biblical resonances on this album, which stop short of iconoclasm, it seems, not out of reverence but because they don't know any better and lack verve. Then again, "Standing In the Doorway" and "Not Dark Yet" have enough groove that they could almost reconcile me to the Time Out of Mind album art.

As for Air, let's admit that "Sexy Boy" is easy fodder for high school movies for a reason. By and large, though, where Moon Safari sounds overplayed, it's mostly because it is played often, which speaks more to the album's quality than to any weakness for cliche on its part. And I can imagine myself overindulging in "Kelly Watch" and "You Make it Easy" especially.

Man, I still feel stuck. I should probably just interview myself to decide:

1. Which album would you prefer to see performed live, from beginning to end?

1. Air - Moon Safari
2. Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind

2. Which album made a bigger imprint on you in your naval-gazing college years?

1. Air - Moon Safari
2. Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind

3. Which album is not produced by Daniel Lanois, whose trademark tricks have begun to wear on you?

a. Air - Moon Safari

b. Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind

4. Which lyric do you prefer?

1. "Sexy Boy Sexy Boy
   Dollars in their eyes
   Diamonds in their smiles
   One day I too will be beautiful like a god
   Sexy Boy Sexy Boy
   Apollo, perfect x 2000, 21 years old
   The ideal man, masculine charm
   Sexy Boy Sexy Boy"
2. “When the rain is blowing in your face
 / and the whole world is on your case / 
I could offer a warm embrace / 
to make you feel my love” (Dylan) = BAAAARRRRFFFF.

5. On the other hand, which lyric do you prefer?

1. "Kelly watch the stars / Kelly watch the stars/ Kelly watch the stars / Kelly watch the stars / Watch the stars / Watch the stars (repeat)"
2. “I'm crossin' the street to get away from a mangy dog
 / talkin' to myself in a monologue
 / I think what I need might be a full length leather coat
 / just asked me if I'm registered to vote” (Dylan)

6. Which track is more annoying?

a. “Make You Feel My Love” from Time Out of Mind (point for Air)

b. "Ce Matin La" and "New Star in the Sky" (two points for Dylan)

c. All three make me wish a car with exhaust issues would stall in front of my house playing this.

7. Which of these artists/albums riffs on the blues and make them seem more relevant than most contemporary blues musicians?

1. Air
2. Dylan

8. Which pick would yield the smallest chance of jabs regarding “token feminists”?

1. Air
2. Dylan

9. On the other hand, which artist has probably had more sex with Lou Reed?

1. Air
2. Bob Dylan

10. Which album do you most want more Music Death Matchers to experience because it would mix things up and whittle the remaining Dylan down to your own favorites?

1. Air - Moon Safari
2. BD – Time Out of Mind

11. Which album can be indisputably described as music, not performance art?

1. Air - Moon Safari
2. BD – Time Out of Mind

There you have it--as those of you who closely read through the list of remaining albums know: Dylan wins.