weller songteller

As an angsty adolescent, I dabbled in the world of metal. The pure energy of the scene appealed to my restless soul. I kept my exposure to a minimum only feeding my addiction in the confines of my school’s showers or weight room. Here’s what I was into:

• American Love by Haste the Day –  I enjoy the low-fi quality of this song. The fact that it sounded like they laid this down in someone’s garage appealed to me. The huge ballad sandwiched between breakdowns is pretty incredible as well.
• Chop Suey by System of a Down – The harmonies in this song are so rugged and beautiful. SOAD is hitting on a pretty important truth on our tendency to try to cover up our imperfections.
• Not Ready to Die by Demon Hunter – Demon Hunter had a lot of appeal to me. Fierce screaming, good pace, and an unforgettable hook made this song one of my favorites.
• The Unforgiven by Metallica - This is probably my favorite Metallica song.
• The Forces of Radio Have Dropped A Viper Into The Rhythm by Project 86 – Playful name…serious stuff. I hear strains of Beastie Boys in this retro number.

I realize that with this post I may lose what little reputation I may have. But I will unapologetically love these songs forever.

I am delighted to report to you WellerNation that I have completed the concert hat trick on Chad Urmston! For those of you wondering, a concert hat trick is seeing an artist three times in one year (everyone should have been wondering what that meant because I made it up). I must admit this is an impressive feat, but what escalates my achievement even more is that I have seen Chad in three different manifestations. I saw him perform with his heavy-reggae rock band  State Radio last spring, reunited with his college/alt rock band Dispatch this summer, and last night as the solo artist Chadwick Stokes playing more indie flavored music off his latest album Simmerkane II (forgive the obnoxious genre labels).

Chad is a pretty amazing dude. He is definitely one of my favorite songwriters. Each one of these shows has been a unique experience. There is a certain freshness to each of his projects, yet each one distinctly bears his fingerprint. The terms unity and variety are mostly used in the world of visual arts, but I think they apply to Chad’s body of work quite well. He left the stage last night with the simple words, “peace and love”, and over the last 15 years he has used an array of musical styles to convey this universal message.

You are marooned on a desert island with Britain’s biggest bands (technically Ireland is not part of Britain, but humor me). You can choose only one band to serve as your ally and  personal entertainment. The other two bands will join forces as your collective enemy.

The vast majority of music production and consumption is done by the young. Something about the creativity and optimism of youth makes for great musical advancement. I have often wondered what it would be like to have grown up in a different time, my mind molded by a different kind of music…

• 1950s – The 50s saw sweeping changes to the musical landscape of America. Innovations by African-American artists like Ray Charles, Little Richard, Chuck Berry,  and Bo Diddley brought jazz, blues, and rock ‘n roll to mainstream America. To have seen Elvis or Cash in their early days would have been an incredible experience.
• 1960s – Bob Dylan said it best, ”the times they are a-changin.” The ’60s did indeed see a lot of changes. Things like materialism and war brought America’s youth to reevaluate beliefs, attitudes, and values. Of course, music was central to this revolution. The 60s saw the rise of Dylan, Hendrix, and of course the British Invasion.
• 1970s – The ’70s saw a drop in the optimism and idealism of the prior decade. However, great music continued to emerge. My favorites of the ’70s include Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, and Elton John.
• 1980s – Artists like Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and Springsteen rose to prominence in the rock world. The 80s really saw the evolution of pop music. With the advent of the synthesizer, Madonna and Michael Jackson created popular music truly distinct from rock. The likes of the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and Run DMC introduced white America to hip-hop.
• 1990s – Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains fed the angst of America’s youth (what or whom they were mad at is still anyone’s guess). Under the influence of Biggie Smalls and Tupac, hip-hop continued to grow. The ’90s saw the emergence of the boy band as well (I’m not sure if I want to re-live that).

Now, imagine you come across a conspicuous looking lamp, and you get the uncontrollable urge to rub this lamp. Out from the lamp appears a genie who offers you your wish of growing up in a different decade.

Feel free to share your time traveling fantasies.

It was difficult sitting at my house last night knowing Bon Iver was playing the second of his sold out Minneapolis shows… alright, not only was it difficult, it was altogether impossible. So I hopped on my trusty bike and headed down to the Orpheum to sniff around for a ticket. I was going to play it cool and try to bargain a good deal. Upon seeing the first tantalizing ticket for sale I lost my cool and quickly snatched it up. There was no remorse in this transaction though. Seeing Justin Vernon and company in their element made for a truly great concert.

Last night was my first experience at the Orpheum, a Minneapolis entertainment hub. It was also my first seated concert which I enjoyed tremendously. I always feel somewhat awkward when standing at a show. I’m not an overly self-conscious person but concerts somehow seem to heighten my self-awareness… is it cool if I bob my head? will I upset someone behind me if I fist pump? is it offensive to fart and act like it was someone else? These are rhetorical questions of course (largely the answer to them is “no”). I digress, the seated format was perfect for taking in this show. The complex textures and beautiful melodies put me in a sort of hypnotic contemplation. When Bon Iver came out I read a review that was critical of the eclectic nature of the album. The critique did in fact sway my own thoughts as well. Perhaps, it was a little too ambitious. Perhaps, so quickly forsaking the minimalism of For Emma was a misstep. And, even coming into last night, I was somewhat skeptical of how the complexities of Bon Iver would sound in real life and real-time. The performance really exceeded my expectations. Vernon is touring with an eight piece band that skillfully play an innumerable set of strings, horns, and percussive implements. For me, the Bon Iver album was music that had to be seen to be believed. The band faithfully played the sounds of the new LP while breathing new life into old tracks like “Creature Fear” and “Blood Bank”. The crowd was held rapt as the band performed in almost orchestral form; hitting complex cues with surgeon-like precision, following the motions of some transcendent conductor. My favorite moment of the night was when Vernon was left alone on stage to perform “Stacks”. The sweet melancholy of this song really hit me.

Vernon is a trailblazer. With a mere two albums, he has definitely set the benchmark in the neo-folk genre. All other artists in his strain will be judged by his work. I appreciate that he has set the bar high…that will give me some good music to listen to.

Thanks for following the What Could Have Been series. Like I mentioned previously, writing it has been a bittersweet experience. Sweet to remember the legacies left by these amazing artists. Bitter to imagine the wonderful years of life that were foregone. My mind inevitably questioned why didn’t he seek help? why did she give into man’s devices? why did he pull the trigger? etc. And so, it is in the spirit of these questions that I conclude the series with the crude but irresistible feature of Don’t Fear the Reaper.

On a bone chilling night in a graveyard surrounded by weathered tombstones, you are approached by the Grim Reaper. After some small talk, Mr. Reaper poses an ultimatum. He will grant life to one who has passed… but, only in exchange for life.

This post will no doubt spark controversy. Please keep your comments clean.

This is the seventh and final post of What Could Have Been; a series looking at what could have happened in the lives of musical artists that left this earth before their time. I will be combining fact with fiction to try to paint a picture of their un-lived years.

Kurt Cobain wrote music that defined a generation. He convinced people of emotions they never knew they had. Often feeling confounded and misunderstood, would Cobain ever have gotten to a place where he felt unconstricted by the media’s mold? What was in store for America’s last rock icon? Join me as we take a look at What Could Have Been:

The spring of 1994 was an ever-turbulent time for Nirvana and their frontman Kurt Cobain. After a short stint in a detox program in L.A., Cobain unexpectedly found an armed John Nathanson at his Lake Washington home. An electrician, Nathanson was given keys to the estate during Cobain’s stay in California. The startled Cobain managed to knock Nathanson’s 12-gauge shotgun from his grasp. The gun discharged lodging a number of pellets in the left side of Cobain’s face. A short struggle ensued before a nearby neighbor who had heard the blast was able to break the two men up. Nathanson took off running and was found three days later stowed away on a crabbing boat docked in Seattle. During the trial, shocking evidence surfaced linking Nathanson with Cobain’s wife Courtney Love. The story monopolized the news in the summer of ’94. Phone records showed a suspicious number of calls between the two individuals, and over $20,000 cash was found in Nathanson’s apartment, believed to be a pay-off for Cobain’s murder. The case finally turned against Love, when calligrapher Stacy Collins testified that she was offered $8,000 to write a suicide note in Cobain’s handwriting. In September of 1994, Love was found guilty of attempted first degree murder. She is currently halfway through serving her 34-year sentence at Washington Corrections Center for Women. She and Cobain divorced in 1995.

Doctors were able to restore Cobain’s sight in his left eye; however, he sustained permanent scars and hearing loss in his left ear from the gun wound. Prior to the shooting, investigation, and trial, Nirvana had canceled their summer shows including a headlining slot at Chicago’s Lollapalooza. Nirvana dissolved as band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic started bands during the legal issues and press storm surrounding Cobain after the time of his shooting.

Cobain did not return to music until the 1998 release of his triple album Come. It consisted of 3 separate 10-song EPs released 4 months apart. In a 1993 interview, Cobain vented his frustrations as an artist saying, “Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second-rate Freudian evaluation of my lyrics, when 90 percent of the time they’ve transcribed them incorrectly?” Cobain used the substance of this quote as a sort of structure for Come; each of the three albums was named after a respective stage in Sigmund Freud’s hierarchy of the self to structure the three-part album. Id, the first release, was based on the frustrations and misgivings surrounding his parents’ divorce; an event that greatly shaped his childhood. The second release Ego, consisted of Cobain’s experiences with religion and relationships. Finally, Super-Ego was more philosophical in nature. The triptych album was enormously successful. More and more anticipation grew between each release. Cobain received nine Grammy Awards for Come making it one of the most critically and commercially successful albums ever. This September 24 marks the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind album. The trio is planning a three-day outdoor festival in Seattle, Washington.

In 2000, Cobain spread his acting wings taking part in Morrison and Tarantino’s film Good & Early, a prequel to The Late Great (1993). Cobain played wild and excentric drummer Phil Astor in the film; the character was the direct opposite of the haunted and brooding rock star persona that Cobain had built over the years. Cobain received high praise for his performance taking home Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2001 Academy Awards.

Though he is not currently singing or acting, Cobain remains a staple in the headlines. His longtime relationship with actress Jennifer Anniston and his sarcastic and satirical posts on Twitter are ample material for the tabloids. Cobain is set to be a judge in the next season of American Idol. Of the opportunity he says, “Will I lose credibility? Probably. Do I care? Not really. Music has been huge in my life… I just hope I can help somebody get the opportunity that I was given.”

Thanks for your readership. Tune in this week for a concluding post.