Brains and Buckets

Ty Segall Band share song...The Offspring release new track...Bob Dylan receives high honor...Thoughts on "Blunderbuss"...

I mentioned last week that garage-rock musician Ty Segall is set to release an album this summer under "The Ty Segall Band" moniker, and he's unveiled their first single, a heavy-handed track titled "Wave Goodbye." Listening to Ty Segall has been sparse for me within the past few months, only because there is constantly new music coming out, so it's hard to keep track, especially when this fool is releasing three albums in one year. Ambitious much? Let's just say that this track is a nice tune, full of heavy guitars, and a fairly lo-fi sound. Could you expect anything less? You can listen to the track on Stereogum.

The Offspring...hmm...well, I guess my introduction to them came around the time when they released their album, Americana in 1998. And like most kids my age, "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" and "Why Don't You Get A Job?" were constant replays. But that's about as far as my "liking" The Offspring goes. As I got older, their sound just didn't click with me, and I thought Dexter Holland's vocals were extremely annoying. But, I know this band has had a growing fan-base since they first started writing/recording in the early 80s, so I'm sure there are going to be a few upside-down frowns at the release of their new track, "Days Go By" off of their upcoming album, also titled Days Go By. The album comes out on June 25th, but until then, you can hear the track below:



In some pretty exciting news, well exciting for Bob Dylan, he's receiving the Medal of Freedom, which is America's highest civilian honor. He's not only being recognized for his loooong musical career, but more for his activism and self-penned anthems, which include one of my personal favorites "The Times They Are A'Changin," which was written at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. You can view a video of Dylan playing the track live below. Also, Toni Morrison is receiving the award. Morrison is one of the greatest living writers, and if you don't believe me, try reading Jazz or Beloved. Both are excellent novels that fuse poetic ambiance with controversial and dark stories that speak of the plight of African Americans haunted by literal and figurative ghosts. Read them.

The Times They Are A'Changin (1965):



LISTENING: I set aside this morning to finally listen to Blunderbuss, the long-awaited and much-talked about album by Jack White. I've listened to the album in full (twice), while going about my normal work routine. And my first impression of the album is to say that it's cute. Now, I know most "manly" Jack White fans will ask, "WHAT? CUTE?" Well, take into consideration that White has had a long and eventful career. He started off in the mid to late 90s, and has...10?...albums under his belt. Well, 11, if you want to count this one. But, saying that it's "cute" isn't a bad thing at all. I think that in terms of what White is bringing forth, it's a fairly accurate word of what I perceive to be a more mature artist combining elements of his past musical projects and fusing them onto one record. In a sense, I feel like this is his "love letter" to the work that he's done in the past, the people he's met along the way, and to whatever the future is going to bring, which might come pretty soon considering he's been quoted as saying that he already has enough material for a second solo album.

"Sixteen Saltines" harks back to the more free-flow, thrashy side of The White Stripes, while songs like "Hypocritical Kiss" kind of remind me of soft moments of The White Stripes, as seen on "I Wanna Be The Boy to Warm Your Mother's Heart" on Elephant. And then there are a couple of tracks that remind me of The Raconteurs, and maybe one that reminds me of The Dead Weather ("Missing Pieces"). Now, I hate to go into this record, and compare it to his other projects, but it's kind of hard not to. It may be a little presumptuous of me, but I feel like when it comes to Jack White, you kind of know what to expect from his records, no matter what musical project he's in. It's not to say they all sound the same, but they all contain the same basic elements, which in effect, makes them similar. I think the album is good...there's no question about that. The album is more full of whimsical, playful moments rather than relying solely on White's heavy riffs, which I like. So far, my favorite tracks include "Blunderbuss," "Weep Themselves to Sleep," "Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy," (Which you can hear below) and "Take Me With You When You Go."



That's all. PEACE.