Tuesday, May 11, 2010

NCATBS vs. BPB

Murder Ballads

I love Nick Cave, but this is not the album I would have picked for the Death Match. I would have chosen Tender Prey or Henry's Dream, and your guess is as good as mine why I didn't nominate either of these albums. As for Murder Ballads, it does contain all the best elements of Mr. Cave's craft- literate lyrics, manic energy and a consistently compelling pathos, a little gallows humor, and the backing of the Bad Seeds. However, I must admit that the subject matter here is a little too relentlessly gruesome and grim, even by Nick Cave standards.

On the other hand, I should point out that the onslaught of blood and guts and homicide on this album do not bother me as much as a lot of "gangsta rap"...Perhaps it is because Mr. Cave's stories often sound legendary or mythical ("Stagger Lee", "Henry Lee", "Where the Wild Roses Grow", "Crow Jane"), cartoonish and ridiculously obscene ("The Curse of Millhaven", "O'Malley's Bar"), or like the plot of a good thriller/ murder mystery movie ("Song of Joy", "The Kindness of Strangers"). Unlike "gangsta" music, they do not sound like stories of his own experience or portraits of the violent environment from which he has emerged. The violence often depicted in rap sounds more "real" and therefore much more disturbing to me. Does that make sense?

My favorite song on the album is definitely "Stagger Lee"...I saw Nick and the boys perform this live in downtown Detroit several years ago...It was showmanship at its finest: Nick sauntering fiendishly about the stage, the Seeds locking into that ominous groove, Blixa Bargeld shrieking in that blood-curdling way only German artists can do appropriately, and an additional verse added in which the devil himself pops up to challenge Stagger only to be shot dead by the annoyed Mr. Lee. Now that, my friends, is rock and roll.

Overall Album Rating: 4.2


Ease Down the Road

I like Will Oldham, enough to own this album even, although I probably would not have nominated it for the Death Match. If I had to choose a favorite of his, I would probably pick BPB Sings Greatest Palace Music because it's good to hear those old lo-fi Palace songs shined up a bit Nashville-style and because I found it on CD for $1.99 at a Media Play going out of business in Connecticut (I love a good music bargain).

That being said, I have a bit of an uneasy relationship with Mr. Oldham. While I really do enjoy most of his music, especially under the BPB moniker, I always feel like I never quite "get" him. (He reminds me of a weird aging hippie cousin, who can be fun at a family reunion and has some great stories to tell, but who also likes to toy with people and has trouble holding down a steady relationship perhaps in part because he has tried sex things I don't want to hear about. )

My favorite song on this album is "A King at Night" and my least favorite is "The Lion Lair". Nothing here offers the chills nor the thrills of Nick Cave. It is far more soft-spoken and pleasant sounding, if not a little bizarre at times. I think it is a perfect album to listen to while falling asleep for an afternoon nap. And that is not necessarily a bad thing to be.

Overall Album Rating: 3.9

Another close one, but Murder Ballads moves on.

5 comments:

  1. i'm glad you picked murder ballads...the world is still round...i agree that it is not maybe ncatbs' best album...i just think it's the one i enjoy the most...

    ReplyDelete
  2. i completely agree with your assessment of BPB/Oldham. i really enjoy him, have a bunch of his music, but yet never feel like i truly get him. i wonder if that's what makes me keep coming back to him, to see if i can finally get him.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What's to get about BPB? He writes great tunes, and he's awesome. Ease Down the Road is kind of like Lambchop's albums. It's kind of quiet and not obvious and it forces you to actually listen to it. I'm beginning to think you people don't understand subtlety. Bah-humbug.

    Having said all that, Nick Cave is pretty awesome and I can't really fault your decision.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm kind of sad to see Bonnie Billy go. I started to listen to Murder Ballads the other day while I was in a traffic jam, having hardly listened to it at all before, and I couldn't handle the darkness. Of course, that makes me think I need to try harder. Maybe with beer.

    Eric - I can't hear/read you say "I never quite 'get' him" without thinking about a certain someone who once claimed to not get you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Me neither, B. Whenever I use that phrase, it is a little homage to the dinner table incident at Knollcrest Dining Hall. That's what that place was called, right? You know, not the Commons, but the other one...

    ReplyDelete