Why The Medium Matters

Some have scratched their heads at the recent vinyl record resurgence. Why would all these “kids” want to spend $20-30 for a record when they can just get it free or cheap online? Isn’t it the same music? Add to this a rediscovery of cassette tapes as a cheap, effective way to release music. Yes, people are buying cassettes again. Even VHS has some diehard fans. Millions of DVDs and CDs are still being made and purchased. Essentially taking digital files and putting them in a box and upping the price. Why not just download the files? There isn’t a real difference in terms of the viewing experience. Why bother with buying the “thing”? Aren’t we trying to de-clutter and get rid of all our stuff?

Here’s the thing, the medium matters. The medium can change the experience, it can make something more “real”. Sure, sometimes the medium is a nostalgic one, it can take you back–listening to cassettes on your Walkman while lying in bed as a teenager. But it isn’t just a nostalgic experience. It is a visceral one. It deepens and expands the experience. I know from years of experience that listening to a vinyl record is altogether a different experience from streaming digital files. Sure, if you blindfolded me I might not be able to tell the difference half the time but that misses the point. My eyes aren’t closed when I listen to a record, I am looking at the jacket or browsing other records to find what’s next. Listening to a record is a tactile, sensory experience. There is no separating the two.

Physical objects can act as bridges, companions and bookmarks. They can bridge our past and present, they can connect our senses, they can bring together people, they travel with us. An effective object demands presence and focus. It whispers in our ears “take care of me and I’ll take care of you.” It is a constant companion as we navigate all the changes in our lives. The object externalizes and bookmarks our journey. Our brains are wired for recognition and struggle with recall. Every object we own has the power to trigger memories that might disappear otherwise. 

Humans have always been fascinated by the flickering of a fire or the song of a bird. We spent millennium finding ways to capture and reproduce those experiences. It wasn’t just to play the experience on repeat but to own it, to touch and feel it. The power of a vinyl record is as much the visual of seeing the sound in those grooves and marveling at how the tiniest diamond in the world could so wonderfully bring a sound back to life! The magic of  “motion pictures” wasn’t just on the screen, it was the film we could hold in our hand, looking at the individual frames, marveling at how they could somehow turn back into motion. We weren’t just looking to capture sound and vision to reproduce it. We had to hold and touch it. We needed to feel it. The medium matters, almost as much as the content it holds. 

In Defense of "Christian" Rock

Sufjan Steven’s new album “Carrie & Lowell” has sparked a good deal of discussion about whether it qualifies as “Christian" Rock.  In some of these essays there is an assumption that any music being categorized as such would be tarnished. 

Meanwhile over in Hip Hop land we have the new Kendrick Lemar record “To Pimp A Butterfly”. Lamar has been pretty outspoken about his Christianity. 

Both records catalog an artist struggling with belief. Both albums have profanity. Both albums are great. But just because the artists profess to be Christian does that make their music “Christian" Rock or Hip Hop? 

Let’s face it, contemporary "Christian" music has a bad rep for a good reason. It’s kinda amazing how bad most of it is. Listening to modern Christian radio is torturous, at least for me (not that I try it that often these days). It’s like every artist took the sound of an existing secular artist, made it worse then added something about Jesus. It just doesn’t work. 

But it didn’t used to be this way. Christian Rock used to be a lot weirder and better than it is now. Since I grew up listening to Christian (or Xian) Rock, I thought I might put the spotlight on a few of the better artists from the 70s and 80s. Back then Christian Rock was often as interesting as its secular counterpart. Here are some artists to check out. 

---

Larry Norman
Larry was the granddaddy of Xian Rock. His 1972 album “Only Visiting The Planet” remains one of my favorite records. He was something of the “Dylan” of Xian Rock, until Dylan took that position for a few years at the end of the 70s. He jumps from symphonic ballads to hard rockers like this track below. “6 O’Clock News”. 

Larry Norman - 6 - I Am The Six O'Clock News - Only Visiting This Planet (1972)

---

Daniel Amos
Possibly the weirdest Xian Rock band ever. An Southern California band that started in the mid-70s doing concept country rock (seriously, check out Shotgun Angel) and then turning into a great new wave then synth pop then rock band. Led by the talented Terry Scott Taylor, Daniel Amos (or DA as they are known) put out an amazing 4 album “Alarma!” series in the early 1980s. Each album was distinct from the other but tied together something of a Pilgrim’s Progress narrative. I still return to these albums regularly. Particularly the third one, Vox Humana, which had this track "William Blake" below. I sometimes find their records filled under the “A” section at record stores. I try to help and move them to “D”. There is no-one in the band named Daniel Amos. 

Vox Humana by Daniel Amos, released 1984. Vox Humana was the 3rd chapter of a four part series of albums by DA entitled The ¡Alarma! Chronicles, which also included the albums ¡Alarma!, Doppelgänger, and Fearful Symmetry. Vox Humana was a much brighter album than its predecessor, Doppelgänger, and included catchy, synthesizer-driven pop songs with lyrics about technology's role in American culture.

---

The 77s (or Seventy Sevens)
The 77s were another California band and probably my favorite Xian Rock band all around. Their lead singer Mike Roe has one of the most versatile voices I’ve heard- he reminds me of Elvis a little in terms of stylistic range (don’t let that scare you away). The musicianship and songwriting is all very strong as well. At one point they were signed to Island and put out a great self-titled record in the late 80s. Unfortunately for them, Island had a hit on their hands with U2 and neglected promoting the record. It’s a shame since it still stands up as a great album. This song is from that album.

---

Want more? Sure thing! I put together a Spotify playlist "Gimme Christian Rock" with some more songs by these artists and other notable Xian Rock artists from the 70s and 80s. If you have any you'd recommend I check out, post a comment and let me know! Thanks, Jeb

ps- curious to know my thoughts on Christianity and all that stuff? Read my post-  
"(re)Building My Religion"

My 2015 Wish List

I've been making a wish list of stuff that would be awesome to have happen in 2015, mostly Indianapolis related. This is an experiment, putting ideas out there to see what happens. Anyway, here are 5 things from my list. What’s on your list for 2015? What would you love to see happen?

Space for Musical Family Tree- MFT is now a 501c3 and needs a space to take its mission (to spread Indiana music) to the next level. We feel strongly that this starts with having a space- to host shows, recording/mixing, after-school programs, a store, meetings, tech for musicians to use, etc. We are currently looking at spaces in the Fountain Square area. We need a larger space with some separate spaces internally (ideally) and some help with funding as well.

20th Anniversary Re-issue of Sardina's "Presents" album- Sardina remains my favorite band to come from Indiana and their 1995 album "Presents" is one of the lost gems of the 90s (local or otherwise). It would be great to see some kind of re-issue for this album with outtakes, etc. I know the band would get behind it.

Cultural/Community Center in Broad Ripple- this is one of the missing ingredients in Broad Ripple and very needed at this time. The library isn't it, the Art Center isn't it (too far from "downtown" Broad Ripple). It's been great to see the BRVA open a retail location on Guilford. I'd love to see a larger community center that brings the community together, holds events, etc.

Co-working Space Downtown- despite the strong technology presence downtown we don't have a good co-working resource. The Hinge is great but in Fletcher Place. The Platform isn't really a co-working space, at least yet. A larger co-working environment (club structure like Speak Easy or Launch Fishers or just traditional day/week/month structure) is very much needed downtown.

Sake Brew House- this is a little out there but I strongly believe in the potential of a Sake brew house here in Indy. We are flooded with micro-brews, and that is awesome. But for those of us that avoid wheat/gluten (since Sake is gluten free, made from rice) along with the fact that people are just getting burned out on beer leads us to Sake. I love Sake and it is a very versatile drink. I went to a Sake brew house in Minneapolis (Moto-i) and it was awesome. They had 5-6 different Sakes on tap, served Asian inspired food and had a great info graphic about how Sake is made on a chalkboard. I think this would work in Indy. 

So what's on your list?

John Lee Hooker's Endless Boogie

I was checking out at Mississippi Records in Portland Oregon. I was holding 4 records when I was informed they only took cash. Ok, I shouldn’t have been too surprised. It was a quirky place, known as much as a label for obscure blues reissues as they were for being a record store. I only had enough money to buy one of the records. The double album “Endless Boogie” at $12 seemed like an obvious buy. But buying John Lee Hooker albums is tricky business and I was hesitating. 

A week earlier I was in San Francisco, part of a 2 week family trip along the West coast, and I was in a record shop off of Haight and Ashbury. It was my first record shop on the trip and I was excited to start digging. I thought 2 weeks on the West coast would turn up some real gems but in the end I was disappointed how picked over most of the stores were. This was my first stop and anticipation was still high. And I was happy when I found a mint copy of Blue’s eponymous first album (a real gem from 1973 if you are into British power-pop from that time) but since I already had a copy I gave that up to my buddy and fellow digger Daniel. On the way out I spotted the "John Lee Hooker Live at the Soledad Prison" on ABC. It was $25. I had never seen it before. This look interesting since I was looking on for his records on ABC from the late 60s/early 70s. Why would that be?

It all goes back to my first John Lee Hooker record- “Serve You Right To Suffer”.  I found it about 4 years ago in a collection I came across. It was on Impulse- a label that was purchased by ABC in the late 60s. The weird thing was that Impulse was a Jazz label but they put out this "Suffer" record and it was awesome. Brutal, raw and soulful. I’d never been a big Blues fan outside of Howling Wolf (who was truly amazing) and now I was captured. It reminded me of when I bought Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”, it was my doorway to Jazz. I then went and bought every record by Coltrane I could find. There are many great Coltrane records but none as good as "Giant Steps”, it transcends. With "Suffer" I had heard a new world. I wanted to find more John Lee Hooker albums. 

This brings us back to the live album, recorded at a prison. Ok, so I bought it and it sucks, really sucks. The recording sounds really bad, the playing is bad. Johnny Cash he is not. I was pretty bummed and it wasn’t the first time that Hooker had burned me. I have spent years trying to find something to match or top “Serve You Right To Suffer” with little luck and the prison album was yet another middle finger in my ear. Maybe it was time to give up the hunt. 

So I’m standing at the counter at Mississippi. Enough money to buy one album- and I had some good ones including some African funk comps I was eager to hear- but hope springs eternal and I went with “Endless Boogie”. 

I'm happy to report that I made the right choice. I was rewarded with 4 sides of 6 minute plus songs. Sonic bliss. Some of the best musicians from the time locked in groove with Hooker. Sometimes it sounds like he is making up the songs on the spot and chord changes rarely happen. In research the album I read a review that chastised it for its simplicity and lack of chord changes, the guy called it boring. Please know- that guy is a COMPLETE IDIOT and doesn’t understand what a great John Lee Hooker album is all about. It’s about the groove, it’s about going deep, exploring the story, the sound, the feel, the moment. Chord changes are a distraction.

I have a record player that will play a side of an album over and over, it just picks up and starts the side over when it is done. I love this feature but it pushes me to think twice about what I put on that record player, I will probably hear it more than once, often many times before I get around to changing it. You start to separate the good from great albums quickly. The ones that make the cut get set aside. They are my “go to” records. I have listened to side three of “Endless Boogie” 3 times (make that 4) while writing this blog. It has officially made the cut. 

Thank you to YouTube for giving us the entire album (not on Spotify from what I could find):

Every Record Tells A Story

It was 1996 and I lived in Bloomington with 3 of my closest friends. It was our last year of college. We were all fans of Big Star, myself especially. I realize not everyone reading this is a music nerd so here's their Wikipedia page.  Big Star was a rock band from the early 1970s that influenced almost every "Alternative/Indie" band that came after them- REM, The Replacements, Teenage Fan Club, etc. They put out three albums, going from pristine power pop to heartbreaking sketches held together by threads. When I first heard Big Star's "Big Black Car" in 1991 it felt like I'd made land. It gave me a new vocabulary, a new world to explore. I was in love.

So me and my friends decided to go on a pilgrimage to Big Star's home town of Memphis. We piled into a 70s Econoline van with no seats in the back. We decided to turn it into a living room on wheels, pulling in every blanket, pillow and bean bag we could find along with our guitars. We didn't have a plan as much as a map. But I knew what success looked like for me. I wanted to find some original Big Star albums, on vinyl, the real stuff. 

I hadn't really started collecting records before then. I switched to CDs around 1984, an early adopter I guess. CDs sounded so amazing back then. No background noise, just bright, crisp and consistent sound. They seemed so much better than records. Now I know that in reality I probably just needed a new needle for my turntable- in fact, I think this was a big driver of the CD revolution, people had gotten lazy and their records all sounded noisy and dull thanks to old needles. 

By the mid-90s I'd started listening to records again and was liking how they sounded, how they felt more "real" than CDs. But finding rare records back then was a real challenge- no internet, no eBay. Original Big Star records were, and still are, pretty rare things, selling for $50+ when you can find them. You almost never see them in the "wild", i.e. record stores. But I figured if any place would have a Big Star record it would be their hometown of Memphis. 

After digging through a number of Memphis record stores and coming up empty I was beginning to give up hope. Then I got lucky at the last store we visited.  I asked the guy behind the counter if he knew how I could track down some Big Star records. He completely shocked me when he said "actually I was just at a garage sale for an old Ardent Records employee (Ardent was Big Star's original label in Memphis) and they had the first two records but without the jackets, I guess they were promos or something. Not sure if you still want them but I can do $8 each". He then went behind the counter and pulled them out. Sure, I would have loved to have the original jackets but I was thrilled to get them for so cheap. That's one of the records (#1 Record, to be specific, what a great title for a first album!) in the picture above. I listened to it while writing this post. I have a much "better" copy now I still like to listen to this one. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to carry some of my personal history in its grooves. 

So here's where I going with all this, I believe that physical objects can attach themselves to our memory in a deeper way than digital objects. Think of your phone, almost no-one saves their old phones. It's the content on that phone that matters, not the vessel that carries it. For most people, losing a phone is simply an inconvenience (buy new phone, hit restore), not an emotional event. We don't feel like we have lost any of ourselves in losing that device. I did a little research on this topic and came across some studies that show we remember content better when reading on paper vs screen. 

I think some of this stems from the fact that reading on paper engages more of our senses. The more senses we engage, the richer the memory. I believe the same goes with records. We have a deeper connection with the sound we are hearing when we know it is coming from a physical object- one with artwork and grooves, something we can physically engage with, one that can travel with us through time and build its own life alongside ours. It is no longer just sound we are hearing, it is our sound, it is our object, we own it and it becomes part of us. When we lose it, we lose part of ourselves.  When we give it away we share part of ourselves with others. I love giving people records for this reason, it feels like I am connecting with them on a deeper level. 

Over time I have come to see my record collection as my memory bank. Every record tells a story. In the past few years I have started hiding little ephemera in-between the records. Little drawings my kids have done, tickets from shows, cards from my wife, letters from my parents. These things matter more and more to me as so much of my life becomes digitized.

I'm not a hater of digital things, they are awesome in their own way, but our digital experiences often feel thinner than their analog counterparts- like going from whole milk to skim. Digital experiences don't engages us as deeply, they don't travel with us through life, they become "outta sight, outta mind" far too often. I expect to see more of us going back to analog objects and experiences as we find digital experiences more and more unfulfilling. I think the opportunity here is to bridge the analog and digital worlds, finding ways to create meaningful experiences that jump between the two. I look at our friends over at BrainTwins as pioneers in this new handicraft digital world. I love how they move seamlessly between analog and digital experiences. 

So I hope we can find the right balance, embracing analog and digital experiences while pursuing the magic that happens when they come together. Oh, and Long Live Vinyl!