What I'm Listening To #2
Right now I'm digging on this great gem from the late 1980's, Sebadoh's The Freed Man. This is one of the greatest albums of all time. No shit. Listen up and I'll tell you about it.
For those of you who may not know (or care), Sebadoh started out as a fuzzy, fucked-up, lo-fi and proud 4-track musical project by Dinosaur Jr.'s then-bassist, Lou Barlow, and his zany bud Eric Gaffney. From the start the two wove a complex (and dank) web of mutated sound that fused folk, rock, country, punk, avant-garde noise, and psychotherapy into one big ball of awesomeness that didn't sound as jumbled as it looks on paper (or screen).
The history of their first two releases, Weed Forestin' and The Freed Man, is kinda convoluted, so I won't even try to make any definitive statements. That said, I think Weed Forestin' came first, and while it contains many great songs and ideas, it doesn't compare to the extreme genius and balls-out brilliance of The Freed Man.
Yeah, it's a fuckin' masterpiece. From the opening bit that sounds like fifty insane cats having an orgy to the speed-manipulated Sesame Street record that closes the album forty minutes later, Sebadoh give you an incredibly unique vision of the world that seems to incorporate everything that these two gentlemen had experienced thus far in their lives.
Who couldn't love songs with lyrics like these?: "My soulmate is a special girl, a girl that's just like me/ She'll share tremendous oral sex and try everything she sees" ("Soulmate"); "I love me, I love me, I love me, 1-2-3!" ("I Love Me"); "This is a complete ripoff of every other song I've ever done" and "I'm still a selfish asshole" ("True Hardcore"); "Thought God was love/ this may be right/ But now is the time/ to kill the light" ("Made Real"); "I can't fuckin' stand this confusing shit" ("Crumbs"); "You're my best friend/ That means I should be your best friend/ Someone to tell your most twisted secrets to/ But don't ask me to see you naked/ I'm not gay, my friend/ That's a problem that I can't share with you/ Sorry" ("Growin' Up With You"). And that's just side one!
Songs come in and out like a fuzzy radio station. Songs come from out of nowhere and suddenly end, erupting into punk fury, inexplicable sound effects, or bits of unintelligable conversation. But don't think that this album is by any means just a bunch of noise; among the sonic experimentation and musical fragments are some truly great melodies and songs. And seriously, the ending of this album is so creepy and awesome that it makes my skin crawl.
Unfortunately, not too many people seem to know about or give a shit about this incredible album because it's only been released once on LP and cassette back in '89 and has been out of print for quite a while. Sure, they made that Freed Weed CD in the mid 90's that has all of Weed Forestin' and not even half of The Freed Man, but who needs that shit? None of the between-song sound bites are there and most of the truly insane songs have been excised ("Land of the Lords"). This needs to be reissued because my LP was pressed crappily in the first place and has all sorts of terrible pops and skips on the first side.
A plea: Lou! Wake up! I need my Freed Man! Give it to me, stat!
There. I feel better.
To cap this thing off, I want to give you my transcription of what I feel are some of the finest lyrics on The Freed Man. They're for the song "Moldy Bread" and they go a little something like this:
A troubled baby raised on moldy bread
Abusing mind-fuck drugs, softening my head
Out of control energy on the ground
Christ slips on ice, off falls the crown
Digging ourselves deeper into holes
Becoming blood to our dirty souls
Careless mind hands...
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
For those of you who may not know (or care), Sebadoh started out as a fuzzy, fucked-up, lo-fi and proud 4-track musical project by Dinosaur Jr.'s then-bassist, Lou Barlow, and his zany bud Eric Gaffney. From the start the two wove a complex (and dank) web of mutated sound that fused folk, rock, country, punk, avant-garde noise, and psychotherapy into one big ball of awesomeness that didn't sound as jumbled as it looks on paper (or screen).
The history of their first two releases, Weed Forestin' and The Freed Man, is kinda convoluted, so I won't even try to make any definitive statements. That said, I think Weed Forestin' came first, and while it contains many great songs and ideas, it doesn't compare to the extreme genius and balls-out brilliance of The Freed Man.
Yeah, it's a fuckin' masterpiece. From the opening bit that sounds like fifty insane cats having an orgy to the speed-manipulated Sesame Street record that closes the album forty minutes later, Sebadoh give you an incredibly unique vision of the world that seems to incorporate everything that these two gentlemen had experienced thus far in their lives.
Who couldn't love songs with lyrics like these?: "My soulmate is a special girl, a girl that's just like me/ She'll share tremendous oral sex and try everything she sees" ("Soulmate"); "I love me, I love me, I love me, 1-2-3!" ("I Love Me"); "This is a complete ripoff of every other song I've ever done" and "I'm still a selfish asshole" ("True Hardcore"); "Thought God was love/ this may be right/ But now is the time/ to kill the light" ("Made Real"); "I can't fuckin' stand this confusing shit" ("Crumbs"); "You're my best friend/ That means I should be your best friend/ Someone to tell your most twisted secrets to/ But don't ask me to see you naked/ I'm not gay, my friend/ That's a problem that I can't share with you/ Sorry" ("Growin' Up With You"). And that's just side one!
Songs come in and out like a fuzzy radio station. Songs come from out of nowhere and suddenly end, erupting into punk fury, inexplicable sound effects, or bits of unintelligable conversation. But don't think that this album is by any means just a bunch of noise; among the sonic experimentation and musical fragments are some truly great melodies and songs. And seriously, the ending of this album is so creepy and awesome that it makes my skin crawl.
Unfortunately, not too many people seem to know about or give a shit about this incredible album because it's only been released once on LP and cassette back in '89 and has been out of print for quite a while. Sure, they made that Freed Weed CD in the mid 90's that has all of Weed Forestin' and not even half of The Freed Man, but who needs that shit? None of the between-song sound bites are there and most of the truly insane songs have been excised ("Land of the Lords"). This needs to be reissued because my LP was pressed crappily in the first place and has all sorts of terrible pops and skips on the first side.
A plea: Lou! Wake up! I need my Freed Man! Give it to me, stat!
There. I feel better.
To cap this thing off, I want to give you my transcription of what I feel are some of the finest lyrics on The Freed Man. They're for the song "Moldy Bread" and they go a little something like this:
A troubled baby raised on moldy bread
Abusing mind-fuck drugs, softening my head
Out of control energy on the ground
Christ slips on ice, off falls the crown
Digging ourselves deeper into holes
Becoming blood to our dirty souls
Careless mind hands...
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
posted by Drumtron 2001 at 1:39 AM
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