Probabilistic Jukebox: "Sugartune" by Sloan

Cover of an Indian book from the University of Chicago's Regenstein Library, c. 1960

I'm so glad that Sloan popped up on the ol' Jukebox today, and I'll explain why in a minute. At first, I wasn't so excited because, like a lot of people, I wouldn't pick a song from the band's first album, Smeared, to showcase what Sloan is all about (and yes, I know that this song was originally on the band's debut EP, but I associate it with the album). Not that "Sugartune" is a terrible song - it's just that the band's early work is commonly and rightly seen as inferior, a band toying with big guitar sounds inspired by Sonic Youth and shoegaze instead of admitting that they are really just power-pop kids. And they turned out to be among the best purveyors of power-pop in the '90s, sadly occupying that weird void that Canadian guitar-pop bands used to sit in.

The thing about "Sugartune" is that it gives a great glimpse of what was to come - to a point. Being a song from a band with four distinct songwriters, this song can only predict the progression of Patrick Pentland, who wrote it. First, it features that double-tracked vocal sound that I think of as being Pentland's "signature" - on the chorus, a harmony vocal is added to the mix. The only real poseurish touch on the song is the wordless cooing after the first chorus - sounds like something from a Lush record. Oh, and the repetitive 1-4-5 guitar outro. But the ingratiating melody and not-quite-conventional structure are elements the would take center stage on all the Sloan records that followed (except for 2001-2003, a dark time that I won't discuss here).

Oh, and the reason that I'm glad this song popped up? I went to the band's website for the first time in ages and found out that they've finally released (digitally) a B-sides collection! Finally, songs like "D Is for Driver", "Same Old Flame", and "Step On It, Jean" are compiled in one place - Sloan is a band that has been sitting on some great non-album tracks, so this is very good news. I wonder why I didn't read about this release anywhere, when I saw plenty of promotion for their new EP.

"Sugartune" by Sloan

It's New to Me: The House of Love [The German Album] by the House of Love

Photo of J.H. Allred from High Point College's Zenith yearbook, 1960

Sorry Prefab Sprout - this is how I like my pre-shoegaze Britpop! In 1985, Guy Chadwick of the band House of Love had a pocketful of songs that would chart the path of late-'80s and early-'90s guitar pop, and Alan McGee of the to-be-legendary Creation Records decided to give the band a chance. In '87 and '88, Creation put out several House of Love singles, as well as a self-titled album. Creation also released a compilation of the band's singles for the German market (also, somewhat confusingly, called The House of Love, although fans call it The German Album). Arena Rock Recording Company recently reissued the two long-out-of-print The House of Love records, and I've been enjoying them immensely.

Armed with wiry post-Television guitar lines, some cool sound ideas, and Chadwick's Bono-esque baritone, the House of Love's early singles make for an especially intriguing collection. I know that their first single, "Shine On", was an NME Single of the Week, but these songs are hardly well-known, which is too bad. Sequenced nicely and with inclusion of the "Destroy the Heart" single, which Arena Rock has added to the original tracklist, The German Album is as good as or better than the band's impressive debut LP.

The blazing "Shine On" and melancholy "Loneliness Is a Gun" are highlights, but the songs from the "Destroy the Heart" 12" are my favorites. The A-side is super-catchy, and the B-sides are just as good. "Blind" is one of the gentlest and most emotive songs from the House of Love's Creation-era period, and "Mr. Jo" is definitely the "shoulda-been-an-A-side" of the collection. With a jangly intro that the band later reworked into their single "Beatles and the Stones", the song has great guitar-work from Terry Bickers, including an out-of-nowhere solo that takes the song to a revved-up second section. The outro is great too, slowly releasing the built-up tension, with Chadwick delivering a startling punchline to cap it all off. I haven't heard much of the House of Love's post-Creation stuff, but the popular opinion is that they never matched the highs of their first singles, and, based on how blown away I am by The German Album, I can believe it.

"Mr. Jo" by the House of Love

It's New to Me: Jordan: The Comeback by Prefab Sprout (1990)

Panel from House of Mystery comic book issue #56, November 1956

Jordan: The Comeback is, in theory, like catnip for a music fan like me. First, it's a sprawling, nineteen song pop album. Second, and even better, it's a concept album about the parallel lives and deaths of Jesse James and Elvis Presley (supposedly). Third, it's by post-new-romantic sophisti-pop group Prefab Sprout, a band that is just outside my comfort zone of zone with its Cole-Porter-esque melodies and keyboard-heavy sound. So I grabbed a used copy I ran across, expecting an album that I could take my time getting to know, gradually getting past the glossy Thomas-Dolby production to enjoy the first-rate songs beneath.

Yeah, I'm still not there yet. I like about half of the songs on Jordan: The Comeback, but, after a dozen-plus listens, I was hoping it would have "clicked" with me better and sooner. I love Paddy McAloon's willingness to experiment with different songwriting traditions (my favorite Prefab Sprout song is the chugging country number "Faron Young"), and there's a lot to be said for the audacity of putting the songs "Jesse James Symphony" and Jesse James Bolero" back to back. But a lot of the experiments don't work well - McAloon should have stayed away from obvious doo-wop and samba pastiches. They don't work well with his smooth crooning and synthesizer-based arrangements.

It's too bad that I don't feel drawn back to Jordan for more listens because I really like the songs that have "clicked". As usual, I find myself fixated on a couple great songs tucked away toward the album's end. The uptempo and more conventionally poppy "Scarlet Nights" is one I loved right away - it may have something to do with the jangly guitar being so prominent in the mix. But I also love the song's soaring chorus with harmonies by Wendy Smith, and it has one of McAloon's characteristically excellent and poetic lyrics. And, with some of the grating circa-1990 elements removed, I can enjoy the melody and lyric without it feeling like a chore.

"Scarlet Nights" by Prefab Sprout

Mark Linkous (1962 - 2010)

Detail of watercolor titled Trained Dogs by Lawrence W. Ladd, c. 1880

I'm really not sure what to say about the passing of Mark Linkous, who committed suicide over the weekend. Like a lot of people my age, vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, the debut record of Linkous' band Sparklehorse, meant a lot to me when I was younger. Released by Capitol Records in '95, at the height of the post-Nirvana alternative-music bubble, the record was promoted extensively by the label. I remember that it seemed like promo copies of vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot were everywhere at the time - the thing that set Sparklehorse apart from the rest of that "next big thing" crowd was that Linkous was a true eccentric and an exceptional talent. Sparklehorse's debut is a fuzzy, downcast, lo-fi set of songs - it's bizarre that Capitol ever thought it would be a hit.

Mark Linkous didn't deal with the major-label push all that well, as evidenced by the fact that, the following year, he was crippled in an overdose incident in the UK. But Linkous carried on, releasing three more major-label LPs, including the amazing Good Morning Spider, written about his overdose, surgeries, and rehabilitation. Linkous' tendency to mess with "the system" showed through in how he sabotaged "Happy Man", the most obvious hit single he ever wrote. He swathed the song in AM-style static and weird carnival-music interludes. Luckily, he didn't feel the need to tear apart "Ghost of His Smile", the best song on that album and one of my all-time favorites.

I'm just as floored by Linkous taking his own life as when his good friend Vic Chesnutt did the same thing a few months ago. It's a shock to the system when people you respect for "hanging in there" decide that they just can't do it anymore.

"Ghost of His Smile" by Sparklehorse

Probabilistic Jukebox: "I Got This Feelin'" by Mates of State

Image from a poster for Riri brand zippers, 1950

I know it's not cool to be into Mates of State - they don't really rock, they're too upbeat, they're a happily married couple, their band doesn't have any guitar, etc. And, even though they are generally seen as critics' darlings, they never really had a record that was an Album of the Year contender. Somehow they went straight from "too annoying" to "not annoying enough". Something to do with the difference between being on Polyvinyl Records (too annoying) to being on Barsuk Records (too boring).

Even though I basically agree with the perceived evolution of the band, I really like most of the Mates of State records. I like how they've always built their songs out of little hook-filled snippets instead of verses and choruses - it's oddly appealing. And I think they made a near-perfect album with 2003's Team Boo. It's an underrated LP, definitely in the sweet spot between "too annoying" and "too boring". Team Boo is full of great songs, and "I Got This Feelin'" is one of my favorites, hidden deep in the album's tracklist. Built out of three choruses (no verses) and a series of bouncy organ interludes, it's most memorable moment is probably the third chorus, where Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel yell, "This couldn't be more ghetto!" repeatedly.

"I Got This Feelin'" by Mates of State