NEW MUSIC FOR OLDS #39
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a waste of twenty minutes
Good afternoon, dear reader. It’s a pleasure to be back for this only-slightly-late edition of New Music for Olds. I’m shaking off my vacation sleep dust by jumping right into some heavy intellectual discourse.
On the docket:
The Inigo Montoya of piano balladry
Legit power pop chops
The return of a three-decade fave
Ectoplasmic doubles and their unfortunate color choices
And me, punching down on a guy who’s just trying to make a goddamn living
Let’s jump into things, shall we?
GOOD STUFF
Fear not, here’s your Glossary of Terms.
Jeremy Dutcher, “Take My Hand”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Motewolonuwok
Nutshell: Sophisti-pop
Voltage: 5
Thoughts: Eons ago, I solicited artist suggestions from NMFO’s Paid Subscribers and reader Jill Wilson suggested I check out Canadian singer-songwriter Jeremy Dutcher, whose 2018 album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa focused on contemporary pop arrangements of traditional First Nations folk songs. That may sound a bit dry, but it’s absolutely worth your time and attention. Dutcher’s upcoming album Motewolonuwok seems to feature a few more tracks in this vein, but there's also straightforward pop material, like “Take My Hand”. What it lacks in an NPR-ready narrative, it makes up for by being HOLYSHIT good. Imagine Elton John writing for Jeff Buckley, with a hint of Seal thrown in. This is basically the “I’m not left-handed” scene from The Princess Bride.
Pairing Suggestion: Studying your Agrippa…
Superviolet, “Blue Bower”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Infinite Spring
Nutshell: Power pop
Voltage: 5
Thoughts: Superviolet is Steve Ciolek, formerly of beloved Cleveland indie band The Sidekicks. Full disclosure: they weren’t beloved to me—I wasn't aware they existed. But my friends at the internet tell me there was some weeping in certain corners of The Blogosphere. And while that band seems to have been pretty good, this Superviolet album is, to my ears, much better! Ciolek is a legit power pop songwriter—the hooks are massive and the arrangements are interesting without feeling fussed over. "Blue Bower" is my favorite of the bunch, evoking both Jellyfish and Nonesuch-era XTC1. Mighty praise, in my book. Full disclosure: This album came out way back in April, but time is merely a construct.
Pairing Suggestion: Leisurely bike ride on a perfect day
Ghost of Vroom, “Still Getting it Done”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Ghost of Vroom 3
Nutshell: Avant garde rap(?)
Voltage: 6
Thoughts: Ghost of Vroom is former Soul Coughing frontman/solo artist Mike Doughty and his longtime collaborator Andrew “Scrap” Livingston. I’ve been a Doughty lifer since I heard “Bus to Beezelbub” playing on the Broadway & 4th St. Tower Records loudspeakers in 1992. I won’t bore you with a career retrospective, but I could! After 30 years of making great (and varied) records, Doughty has arrived back at a sound not dissimilar from his original band—that indiosyncratic combination of jazz-rap and what you might call “art weirdo shit”. Mind you, Ghost of Vroom is its own thing—less overtly intellectual, looser and more groove-based than Soul Coughing. But if you lost track of Doughty over the years (it happens!), “Still Getting it Done” is the ideal re-entry point.
Pairing Suggestion: Based on my experience? Vacuuming while high.
Lay it on me.
You never call, you never write…
SOME BULLSHIT
JOHNNY BEYOND: A New Music for Olds Investigation
If you’re like me, that Ghost of Vroom tune left you asking a very specific question: Who the fuck is Johnny Beyond?
(Oh, you weren’t asking that question? Not even a bit? Well then, I guess you’re not like me after all. How fortunate for you!)
Anyway, my initial assumption was that “Johnny Beyond” was a vintage cartoon character—some low-tier bad guy who eats Speed Racer’s dust or whatever. While that appears not to be the case, I may have been in the ballpark. In 1993, a short comic book arc featured a character named Johnny Beyond, whose superpower appears to have been transforming into sentient ejaculate.
This Johnny Beyond fella lasted only three issues, which hardly seems worthy of musical immortalization. Then again, it’s exactly the kind of obscure reference that you might find in a Soul Coughing. Plus, the comics were penned by Alan Moore, whose name I’m aware means a lot to those for whom this stuff means a lot.
So, is this Johnny Beyond, as referenced in the Ghost of Vroom song “Still Getting it Done”? It’s possible. Likely, even. Here’s an extensive breakdown of one of those comic books, if you’re into that sorta thing. Still, I felt compelled to dig deeper. This origin of Johnny Beyond is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a waste of twenty minutes!
My intensive online research, known in the forensics community as “Googling”, brought me to the website of this Nashville-based magician and storyteller.
I know what you’re wondering: does this guy do “ghost tours”? Yer damn right he does!
(Wait, you weren’t wondering that? Not even a bit? Man, I have got to stop projecting my internal monologue onto people…)
To be honest, I spent way too much time yesterday sliding down this dude’s content rabbit hole. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t have the stomach (or gall) to take shots at anyone attempting to carve out a life in entertainment, so I won’t be linking to his site or posting his YouTube vids or annotating any of his rather, um, hyperbolic press releases. They are all easily searchable, should you wish to spend some of your own time in this man’s hole.
I will say that I direct messaged Mike Doughty (BBBRRRRAAAAGGGGG) to ask is this was his muse and he replied “Hahaha!! Uh, yeah, of course that’s the guy”. I have chosen to take this response at face value and will be adjusting Doughty’s Wikipedia page accordingly.
CASE CLOSED.
That’s about all for today. Before we go, here’s today’s let’s-see-if-you-got-this-far reader question.
Reading about that dude’s ghost tour makes me chuckle, given that I can’t imagine a city less spooky than Nashville, TN. I mean…there’s Jack White’s house, I guess? Anyway, I throw it to you: what is America’s least haunted city?
Paid Subscribers, see you next week. Everyone else, a fortnight.
Only hold true for this particular song.
Least haunted city has to be one of them Arizona desert cities where there's nothing for 100 miles. Can't scare me I'm already dead from the heat!
Least haunted city. LA. No dying. Just pickling.