Remembering Roxy Music

Many years ago, when I was in college, a friend introduced me to a band called Roxy Music. I had heard the name, but I had never heard their music. It sounded strange and arty, but I liked it. Still, that was the eighties, and Roxy Music was a seventies band so it seemed old to me. I never bought one of their albums and eventually forgot about them.

Now I have rediscovered Roxy Music, and even though 37 years have passed since the release of the first eponymously-titled album, it all sounds very fresh and modern. How can this be? Am I out of touch with the times?

Brian Eno played on their first two albums so I guess that is why I got back into Roxy Music. I’ve always liked Eno, but Bryan Ferry seemed a little pretentious for my taste. But now I am really impressed by the things he does with his voice and the songwriting. Take “If There Is Something” from their first album. This song starts out with a country twang but half-way through it seamlessly changes into a dark, moody piece in which Ferry, sounding genuinely distraught, begs his love to come back to him. And then it changes again, slowing down, becoming more thoughtful and introspective.

Their second album, “For Your Pleasure”, is probably their best and arguably deserves a spot on my top ten list. Perhaps I could kick out Joy Division who, even though they came along a bit after Roxy Music and sounded fresh at the time, now seem a bit dated. (I’m more likely to listen to Interpol than Joy Division these days). This album features “Do the Strand” which was played on the closing episode of “The L Word’s” most recent season, the only bit of taste that show has ever displayed. (Sorry, but I know bad writing when I see it.) It also has great songs like “Strictly Confidential”, “Editions of You”, “In Every Dreamhome a Heartache”, and my personal favorite “Grey Lagoons”.

But even though I think their second album is strongest overall, the best Roxy Music song ever appears on their third album, Stranded. ‘Mother of Pearl’ is the song I most remember from my college listening experiences. Like the aforementioned ‘If There is Something’, this is a song that starts out one way and then changes into something completely different. It is almost seven minutes long and the first minute and a half are a bit wild, evoking a party atmosphere. A minute and half into the composition, a piano line appears and comes to the forefront. Then Ferry sings “Well, I’ve been up all night, party time wasting is too much fun, then I step back thinking of life’s inner meaning and my latest fling”. The music fits the lyrics perfectly. When I listen to this bit, I, too, get the feeling that I’ve been up all night and now the sun is rising and I wonder what the hell I am doing with my life. What does it all mean? The song gets into a groove and goes on and on with some nonsense lyrics that I won’t bother examining too closely, but they are great to sing along with. But what I have always wondered is what is this “Mother of Pearl” that he wouldn’t trade for another girl. And, of course, the only thing that comes to mind is his guitar. I guess Ferry is trying to tell us that music will always be there for us, even after the party is over. And I guess that’s true because this stuff is still great, even after all this time.

Here Comes My Top Ten

I’ve been listening to Brian Eno’s “Here Come the Warm Jets” lately on my drive to and from work. What a great album! I’m always amazed by the variety of sounds and textures in these ten songs. From the weird buzzing and wild thrumming on “The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch” to the quavering Hawaiianesqe slide guitar on “Some of Them Are Old” or the strident ‘Oh No’s in the background of “Dead Finks Don’t Talk”, it all adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

My favorite song on this CD has always been “On Some Faraway Beach”. The innocuous piano line repeats, a pure and simple melody, as the background builds, the drums becoming more intense, a crescendo of orchestral obbligatos adding depth, building toward a climax that leaves the listener feeling insignificant in a universe that is beyond human comprehension. And then finally the lyrics, which are best not examined too closely, for who among us has ever found the meaning of life in a pop song. Eno, himself, has stated that the lyrics take hardly anytime to write and that he often begins with nonsense syllables.

What makes this music so great is that it is exactly as it should be. There is nothing you could add that would make it better, nor is there anything that needs to be taken away. His later ambient work is, of course, more minimalist and good in its own way, but, while I often find myself in agreement with the philosophy that ‘less is more’, I doubt I will ever like it as much as I like this album.

Realizing for the umpteenth time how much I like this music prompted me to think about my top ten list which heretofore has never existed. Unlike the John Cusack character in the movie “High Fidelitiy”, I am not a list maker by nature nor even, if truth be told, the type to blog. But I’ve decided not to let either of these factors stand in my way.

One problem that has always prevented me from making such a list is the idea of deciding which album deserves the number one spot, so I’ve decided to rank them in chronological order rather than favorites because, after all, different moods deserve different songs. Here it is then:

1. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground (1969)

2. Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets (1973)

3. Patti Smith – Horses (1975)

4. Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977)

5. Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979)

6. Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (1993)

7. Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)

8. Elliott Smith – XO (1998 )

9. Stephen Trask – Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

10. Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (2005)

A quick glance at this list shows that the musical choices span four decades. A more detailed examination reveals a curious phenomenon: not a single work from the 1980’s has made my top ten. Why is this? you ask. In a word, Reaganomics.

I moved to New York City in 1982 and lived there for four years. In 1986 I moved to San Francisco where I remained for three years. These are inarguably two of America’s best cities. But by the end of the decade I’d had enough. I moved to Taiwan, married a local, had a kid, and really had no intention of ever returning here. An unfortunate series of events brought me back to my home town some thirteen years ago and I don’t know if I’ll ever get to leave again.

I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer last May and, except for a little pill that I am to take daily for the next 5-10 years, I have finished treatment. Chemo and radiation have turned my mind to sludge. Maybe the fog will lift soon. Maybe the cancer won’t come back. The important thing is I finished my top ten list. I always wondered what it would like.