Slang Editorial :: Never Underestimate The Value Of A Holla'

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Grateful Tangentials

A roll through the always spinning brainwheel of Beaumont thought...

So... much to the chagrine of my friends Doorknobs and Cabbie, I have been listening to a ton of reggae lately--namely the Toots albums Funky Kingston and In the Dark; some Lee Perry collections (Super Apes and more); the amazing Horace Andy record Dance Hall Style; and a few great comps including (the aforereferenced) The Best of Studio One Reggae Collection, Life Goes In Circles: Sounds From The Talent Corporation, Get On Up (Joe Gibbs Rocksteady 1967-1968), and many more***. Some of these records are old faves and others are new discoveries (many via acquaintance/reggae-scholar Joe K), but all are good.

Anyway, while listening to In the Dark today, I had an adolescent flashback moment where I suddenly remembered that that record's great song "54-46 Was My Number" was actually once "covered" by Sublime on their first record 40 Oz. To Freedom. Gah!!!! How I "remembered" that, I have no fucking clue, because--I swear to god!!!!!--I was NEVER a fan of Sublime's drunkfrat summer schtick, but remembered it I did. God, and how fucking terrible it was!

As soon as I remembered that though, further memories flooded my brain as I recalled that the same record also features a "butchering" of the classic turning-point$$$$ Grateful Dead song "Scarlet Begonias". I can't stand up for "Scarlet Begonias" like "54-46", but the fact that I want to at all says enough about how atrocious this cover is.

This reminded me though of the fact that at one point I was dead set (ha) on pulling together a compilation of the best "tasteful" collection of Dead covers out there. As a hipster of sorts with past (and somewhat continued) love for the Dead, i've always wanted to find a way to present the band to non-fans in a fashion that didn't include terribly slick studio songs or 19 minute versions of "Dark Star". I haven't put much thought into this comp anytime recently, but at one point it included Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's "Brokedown Palace", Oneida's "Cream Puff War" and Ryan Adams doing "Wharf Rat". Anyone with further thoughts on this matter, please let me know.

Which brings me to Jane's Addiction, who lately have been in the news and on my mind both for their upcoming "NIN/JA" tour with Nine Inch Nails and for releasing a four-disc detritus comp A Cabinet of Curiosities.

For whatever reason, a combination of my recent NIN fetish coupled with my general interests in nostalgia and historical reconsideration led me to imagine a Jane's Addiction that never existed--i.e., a band that made beautiful, timeless music not timestamped with middling marks of its era--and therefore download both of the bands' original '88 and '90 releases, Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual. I was largely disappointed in listening to these records again (surprise!), but the few great moments they hold reminded me what I once loved about the band, and why I once went out of my way to track down the single random item not featured on '97 odds and sods comp Kettle Whistle: their cover of the Grateful Dead's "Ripple".

This cover of the American Beauty standard was featured on the 1989 Dead tribute comp Deadicated ^^^^^ (which, admittedly, tried unsuccessfully to do more or less what I am talking about doing now) and came somewhat out of leftfield, both for the band and for the comp compilers. Most of the bands on Deadicated seem fairly obvious and uninspiring--save Elvis Costello's "Ship of Fools"%%%%%%--but Jane's doing "Ripple" is actually surprisingly adventurous, and, well, successful.

I have gone back and forth on whether I would include this track on my "tasteful Dead covers comp"; I never came to a final decision but I'd definitely lean toward yay over nay. Sure, it's a little "teh ghey", but honestly, it's pretty great and it hits a special sunny, fruity Jane's sweetspot not often enough explored by the band, but one which makes total sense.

And really, as far as I can tell, only one other time did Jane's ever approach this sunfruit "sweetspot": on their penultimate original-incarnation single "Been Caught Stealing", released on Ritual.

...Upon which I bring you to an IM conversation I had today with Jay-Jay:

JeffreyBeaumont: man i still think Been Caught Stealing is the best Jane's song

JeffreyBeaumont: it pretty much doesn't fit in with any other song they did on those two albums

JeffreyBeaumont: but it's a great song

jaychampionvinyl: hahaha, you're totally right, it's such an odd fit

jaychampionvinyl: but it's also the only Jane's song I've wanted to listen to over and over and over again

jaychampionvinyl: the VIDEO, too, RULES

jaychampionvinyl: best Perry Farrell lyrics, too, probably

JeffreyBeaumont: it was their best effort

JeffreyBeaumont: the first and perhaps ONLY moment where they freed themselves from the shackles of both metalisms and mysticisms

jaychampionvinyl: right! the best sense of "scuzzy bohemian dude" that Perry Farrell was always trying to get across

jaychampionvinyl: because, like you just said, it's not pumped full of pseudo-mystical bullshit

JeffreyBeaumont: yes-- just smart music-loving cultural observers

JeffreyBeaumont: not weighed down by some desire to be "neo-metallic"/"neo Zep"

JeffreyBeaumont: god and it's so brief

JeffreyBeaumont: it's hilarious that it's followed by Three Days

JeffreyBeaumont: which is sort of the bad endpoint where the metalisms and mysticisms meet

jaychampionvinyl: hahaha yes

JeffreyBeaumont: on the most maximalist level

jaychampionvinyl: "Sorry for that pop song, now here's a six thousand minute song about a threesome"

jaychampionvinyl: Ok, I think, since you've done a Moby post, an NIN post, and others like it, it's time for a Jane's post on slang

And... SCENE!

----------

Listen:

Toots & The Maytals - "54-46 Was My Number", from In The Dark

Sublime - "Scarlet Begonias" and "54-46" (YouTube links--can't bear to actually post these)

Jane's Addiction - "Ripple", from Deadicated

Jane's Addiction - "Been Caught Stealing", from Ritual de lo Habitual

NOTES:

*** - Many of these records are available from emusic if you're interested!

$$$$ - I say "butchering" and "turning-point" because on some levels "Scarlet Begonias", which I do think actually love, represented the turning point of the Dead from jazzy space-rock band to laid back heroin hippies influenced by reggae and bullshit. Yeah.

^^^^^ - Incidentally "Ripple" makes a re-appearance on A Cabinet of Curiosities

%%%%%% - Also the topic of another long unpublished Slang post.... someday.

Labels: Dead, fucktactics, IMs, loved sounds, memories, mp3, music, reggae

posted by Nihilist Loves Hate, Hates Everything at 4/29/2009 06:25:00 PM 0 comments

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