on be-Half of the Jay Farrar Christian Society, i'd like to welcome you. please accept this fresh batch of cookies from our Welcome Wagon program. see ya in church!
sistah half
Oh 1/2, you've done it again! Er, did it again back in aught 3.
"...his sullen visage hangs over his music like a cloud of doom?"
What a joke! That Hickman guy obviously has some personal vendetta against Mr. Farrar and thus should not be writing reviews of the man. And what a pathetic review in the first place.
Farrar might write downbeat lyrics rather frequently, but they are brilliantly rendered and frankly, don't most of the true greats deal with matters of mortality, heartbreak, poverty, and other so-called "downbeat" issues quite often? After all, Hickman brings up Springsteen in his review; I suppose he's never heard Nebraska or Darkness on the Edge of Town.
My research indicates he recused himself from any further Jay commentary thereafter. A different writer from his outfit Stylus finished his review of OKEMAH with this
"This unabashedly rock centric approach to Okemah And The Melody of Riot is a flat out hoot. It begs a table of empty beer cans, good friends and the volume knob pinned to eleven."
This cats name is Peter Funk! Too bad he didn't start a thread.
All right. So, I was motivated to join this forum just to respond to this review. Unfortunately almost everything that can be said in response to your article has been, I'll go ahead and add my two cents. I've been "on the bandwagon" since '90 when I heard cuts off of "No Depression" on my radio. I also am 32 and at the time I was a classic rock head just starting to get into the punk/alternative scene. I was blown away. I saw the 'Tupe play live at my college that year and was overwhelmed by the energy. They were so drunk and crazy that Tweedy could hardly stand and smashed the head off of his bass at the end of the night. I loved it. At the time that was what I was looking for... high energy and songs about getting drunk. When "Still Feel Gone" came out I couldn't cope, I wasn't into that vein. I thought I had lost one of the greatest bands of all time. However, years later as I started to mature I began to be able to appreciate where Jay and Jeff were heading. They were returning to their roots and exploring the depths of their own souls and the culture that got them where they are. I think it was only to be expected that they go two directions and I think nothing is more obvious that they are two completely different musicians with different goals and styles now. It is understandable that you don't enjoy where Jay has gone, it is a place where maybe fewer people can really relate. However, the energy and vitality that is not readily appearent on the surface is deep in all of his tracks and Jay's emotion is what drives us along on the path he leads us down. I feel that he is probably the greatest singer/songwriter of our time, but I easily recognize that he will not be something that everyone can take a shot of and smile. I think you either love him and feel his groove or you will be bored. Obviously, you are looking for the showmanship/externalized energy that sells pop songs, I am looking for the emotion and intelligence that I find in Jay's stuff. I respect your opinion, but I really think you miss the whole point of who and where Jay Farrar is right now.
Bhickman, You certainly got a rise out of everyone with your review.I think everybody needs a Rodney King moment .I saw Wilco last year,and just saw Jay in Northhampton both great shows.Jay and Jeff have different personalities on stage,no need to compare. They both play great music
Not everyone agrees he is not enthusiastic. I actually would say the Metro show was much more enjoyable for me than the recent Wilco shows. But either way... Farrar went into one direction, Wilco another... yet we still have these postcard-like arguements over who is better.
RGK... not trying to argue with you but success is defined by commercial and critical success. Wilco has a great deal of critical success and their commercial success seems to be improving with each CD. You imply "darlings of the press" as if it is a bad thing. I don't know many artists that wouldn't want the press Wilco is getting. They are the best band in the business (my opinion of course). As far as bigger clubs, it's bound to happen. They have yet to disappoint me with one of their concerts. I've seen them back since their inception and each show has been excellent.
I'll start with what I think is wrong with your review besides just the fact that I disagree with most of your opinions, because a review can be critical of an artist I love and still be well done. But yours isn't so I'll try to explain why.
First off, I'm bored by comparisons of Farrar and Tweedy/Wilco at this point. It made a lot of sense to do that in '95, '96. It doesn't make a lot of sense now. I appreciate when a writer/reviewer resists the impulse to add his two cents to the comparison between the two, as if he invented the topic. Greg Kot - who has been a champion of Wilco over the years - impressed me with his recent review of Terroir Blues by not mentioning Wilco and only mentioning Tweedy as one of the guys in Uncle Tupelo. Your review not only rehashes comparisons but harps on it throughout the whole article. To quote yourself, you're spinning your wheels in over-familiar territory. It's particularly annoying when you call Terroir Blues a pale imitation of aspects of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Tweedy didn't invent strange noises and experimentation. And Farrar has been including odd sounds as a break to his albums since Wide Swing Tremelo - the out of tune harmonica of Jodel, the feedback/noise of Fortissimo Wah. The Space Junk on Terroir Blues is an extension of that and more along the lines of the structure of the Beatles Revolver than YHF. What I like about Space Junk is how it breaks up the acoustic, bare songs on the album, and you can hear in some of it the seeds of the regular songs on the album. What I also like is that if you can't stand any of the Space Junk, you can just skip it. It's not ruining an otherwise beautiful song. Whether you like Terroir Blues or not, I don't see it as anything to do with YHF. You're making a comparison about the "perfect pop songs" of YHF and that has nothing do with what Farrar is doing with his album.
Next, it takes you far too long to talk about the actual concert you are reviewing. You don't actually review it until paragraph seven. As someone else has mentioned, if I wasn't a huge fan of the artist, I'd be long gone by then.
You seem very ill-informed about Farrar. He's legendary for his introspection, his quietness and the fact that onstage, when not singing, he rarely speaks except for the occasional "Thanks a lot." Heidorn's famous line is "If he aint' singin' it, he aint sayin' it." That doesn't mean you have to like that about his concerts and if it killed the show for you fine, but not referring to Farrar's penchant for this or his style etc. makes you look like you just didn't do your homework.
And the way you describe Farrar's music/voice/showmanship - "doom and gloom", "buffer the depression encoded on the CD", "lackluster, near monotone vocal approach", "brink of sleep", "one downbeat, dreadful, wrist-slitting song after another", 'downtrodden, dour demeanor", "sad-sack tales", "dragging on the set for what felt like infinity", "morass of despondency", "elevate the material beyond the doldrums", "a despair and solemnity not even found at wakes." I mean enough is enough already! It became comical to read your thesauraus of terms. It's like a caricature of a negative review. Farrar didn't excite you - ok, we get it.
Also, with all the detail you gave in the set-up to the convert review about your feelings toward Farrar/Son Volt, his voice etc. makes it seem like you didn't exactly enter the show with an open mind about the guy.
You sound condescending to Jay's fans when you say "Is this what his fans want - and if so what does that say about them." It comes across as "Not only does Jay Farrar suck but his fans do too." I don't know if that was your intention. But it's lame.
And your level of angst about Farrar's voice - it borders on ridiculous. You don't have to like it, I know people who don't, but his voice is what most of his fans like the most about him. I like Jeff Tweedy's voice, but Farrar's is beautiful, haunting and I think of all the reviews and all the comparisons and articles about the two men, most, even Tweedy loyalists, say Farrar has the better voice. It's just an opinion either way but you repeat your view on it so often it seems like you're saying it's a fact that Farrar's voice is a turn-off when it's actually a strength - some would say his biggest strength.
Now just for my opinions versus yours:
My attention doesn't wane when Farrar sings too many songs in a row, it's captivated. I never tire of Farrar's voice. I made my wife a CD of 21 Farrar songs and I find myself listening to 21 in a row and the next day I'll want to put the same 21 on again.
I feel the opposite as you about Terroir Blues and headphones. The album was meant for a good set of headphones. Most quiet albums are. There's tons in there and you get more of it if you listen closely on headphones.
I don't find Farrar's music depressing or downbeat. Terroir Blues is a guy going through a difficult time, mostly the loss of his father, and thinking about his life, the world around him and his roots and that's the music that came out of that. It's not a feel good record but it's powerful and I love it. But much of Jay's work sounds upbeat and inspirational, even when the lyrics are about what's wrong with the world.
Those first 3 acoustic songs (the set list at the Metro was almost identical, if not identical, to the show I saw in Brooklyn) excited me. Greenwich Time, a cool acoustic song off Farrar's EP, followed by Punch Drunk, a powerful old Tupelo song redone acoustically, and a new song that grabbed me even though I'd never heard it and has me awaiting it's finished form on an album down the line. It was a perfect way to start the show and then bring out Canyon to rock out with.
Sebastopol is a great, underrated album (as is the EP) and not downbeat or monotonous. And the songs performed live with Canyon (and previously with Mark Spencer and the guys from Varnaline), really came alive and rocked. The songs crackled with life for me. The Terroir Blues songs with the full band came to life - particularly the ones where Jay played electric.
If you think every Farrar song sounds alike and if you thought for a minute that you heard the same song twice at the Metro, that says more about you than about Jay's music. Saying "all his songs sound alike" just sounds like a complaint anyone would make about a band or singer they didn't like or understand. Doesn't mean you didn't really think that but it sounds like a cliche and makes you seem less credibile.
There's one fact that I think everyone agrees with: Jay Farrar is not an energetic or enthusiastic live performer. I won't dispute that and I know of a friend who claims to have been on the fence about Jay until seeing him live and being turned off by his lack of energy. And a case can be made that Farrar will never take his career to the next level (whatever that means), because of that. But I don't think Farrar cares about that. He has his life, his principles and his personality and he doesn't bullshit anyone. I think he just wants to make music and perform and make a living doing it and that's it. And while Jay doesn't perform with a lot of outward energy, I dispute that he lacks passion. There's passion in every note, every lyric, every thought. I, and a legion of others, see that. And I for one see the passion in his live performances as well. I've seen him 4 times this year and I don't need him to be a showman like Springsteen or Stipe or even Tweedy to enjoy the show and be moved by it.
Just for the record (I can't believe anyone is still reading this) I'm a huge fan of Tweedy and Wilco.
Bigb wrote: While Wilco may get more press, they are selling about 3 or 4 times the amount of CDs. They are also playing larger venues, etc. I would definitely say that Wilco is now, very officially, more succesful than Jay.
what I meant was, Wilco was in the same place as Jay, now they get are the darlings of the press and therefore sell more records and get bigger venues. Before YHF I saw Wilco many times in little clubs and if the press thing didn't happen, with all the attention they got from the movie and record label dropping them, I don't think the rest would have happened. And, I don't think bigger clubs and more albums sales means more success.....guess that's just me. I was depressed I had to see Wilco in a larger club a few months ago as it just wasn't the same. Who likes to see Wilco sitting down nicely in a seat?
Bhickman: You must have known you were going to get this sort of response when posting such a bashing on this web page. You didn't enjoy the concert.... great. I agree that Jay can be dried up on stage. He was the same way in Uncle Tupelo. I've seen Jay about 20 times and only once has he really "wowed" me.
RGK - side note: You say that Wilco and Jay are at about the same success level? Wilco just get's more press? While Wilco may get more press, they are selling about 3 or 4 times the amount of CDs. They are also playing larger venues, etc. I would definitely say that Wilco is now, very officially, more succesful than Jay. Jay is a super-talent but hasn't reached his potential with the last few releases - in my very humble opinion. That said, I own everything that he has put out and probably always will. I skip the concerts though!
I understand that the world isn't a grand place to live in, but you have to live, right? Where's the joy anywhere in his music? In his performances? In his lyrics? Is every day just a bummer?
I'm 32, thank you very much. I've lived in Illinois my entire life. When I was just hearing Uncle Tupelo for the first time was near the end of their career. I'm sorry, but just as you do not know of every artist that is out presently or before, I didn't know of Tupelo until 1993 or 1994. Just got passed me. It's not like they were everywhere.
Belleville is near Missouri. You have any idea how far from the Chicago-land area that is? That's a distance. Lots of things happen in this state that I and countless others never hear about.
I love Uncle Tupelo, I love Gram Parsons, I love Johnny Cash. I own nearly 4,000 CDs, 2,500 cassettes and a few albums. I love music. What I don't like is a guy that used to be able to uplift himself and his fans, standing onstage being sullen and making every single song he performs sound like a degenerative copy of the last. That's the show I saw.
Hello, Brett. Unfortunately I can't remember my password etc. to log on
to the Jay Farrar message board. I'd be glad to submit this criticism
of your criticism publicly.
First of all, What kind of music do you listen to and enjoy? I'm afraid
to ask. It certainly isn't country or country rock.
What's with the "depression encoded on the disc" comment? Do you look
around yourself and see a lot to celebrate today? Are you noticing that
we are all witnessing our planet and our selves going to hell in a hand
basket? Why do people insist on living this life in a candy-coated,
rose-tinted way? What is the problem with feeling and expressing
sadness? Nothing is wrong with 'searching for a truer sound' with an
introspective bent. I'm well aware that we can't change the world, but
I know people who want to and the only worthy advice for those people is
to change what is around you first, help your friends, take care of a
friend who needs you, make someone dinner, help someone find a job. You
know, take care of yourself and the people in your immediate
surroundings and you will slowly notice a change in your world. My
point here is that Jay does what he does how he does it because he is an
insular man with his own family, friends, life, and rich musical history
and knowledge (are you aware that his entire family is comprised of
musicians?). He has also changed people's lives with his music (the
extent of which is unbeknownst to him)...yes his voice, his way with
words, his introspection. If you can't appreciate integrity and
individuality then why are you into music in the first place? How can
you criticize one of the greatest, most unique baritone voices of all
time? What are you comparing it to to make such a brazen assessment?
What kind of Illinois resident are you anyway? The boys grew up out
there. You should be more in tune with your local history especially
since you are a self proclaimed rock critic. If you are 16 I might
excuse you and your ill-informed comments, but my guess is you are a 20
something who "missed the boat" on Nirvana too who I'm certain you also
give a bad rap to. The general feeling I have after reading your piece
(of crap) is that you can't see the forest for the trees. Ye have no
respect.
Please don't equate my not liking his voice or his recent output with thinking that anyone who likes him is not intelligent. That's putting words into my mouth that aren't there.
Oh 1/2, you've done it again! Er, did it again back in aught 3.