You wanna bruise your skin on my teeth, but you just bite me instead

I have had a cursory listen to the first album recorded together in 31 years from Graham Parker and the Rumour, and I must say I am slightly disappointed. I've written about my Parker preference before, but here there is not enough noise from The Rumor and not enough punch. The songs are mostly solid, but never really take off, opting for simmering rather than boiling.

"Three Chords Good" is simply too polite to my ears.

I prefer the angry Parker as seen and heard below, and even though it's not his song, he makes it his own in this blistering performance:

You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay

There are many things to love about the song below: the passion, the way The Rumour wraps themselves ever-so-tightly around Parker's verses, Bob Andrew's swirling B-3, the glorious fade-in intro that lends the idea that these emotions are part of a continuum and that Parker has gone through this nonsense before.

No, this isn't as good as "Positively 4th Street."

But it's still pretty damn great.

Goin' down to the well tonight

Had a recent disagreement with a friend over the relative value of Nick Lowe. I happen to think Lowe is a superb pop craftsman, former elite pub rocker and the aptly named (by Lowe himself) "Jesus of Cool." My friend, on the other hand, hates "Cruel to be Kind," which to him apparently ruins everything that Lowe has ever done.

So, I spent some time recently looking back revisiting Lowe's career, especially his early days with Brinsley Schwarz, to see if my memories hold up.

They do.

But an added benefit was that while watching old Brinsley videos on YouTube, I found other clips by other long-lost pub rockers: Ducks Deluxe, Dr. Feelgood and Graham Parker and the Rumor (pictured above), one of the best bands of the 70s. Pub rock was the stripped-down, back-to-basics reaction to glam rock, and the predecessor to punk in Britain, The pubbers were derided as old farts by the punks, but listen to and watch the great Wilko Johnson and Lee Brilleaux of Dr. Feelgood and tell me the punks weren't paying attention.

And this stuff was especially epic in the era of "Feelings," "You're Having My Baby" and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon." To me, it was also a most welcome change from bloated and overbearing prog rock and 20-minute drum solos.

The crowning achievement of the era, to my ears, is Parker's "Howlin' Wind," which hit my turntable like a hurricane in 1976. Yes, Parker arrived at the tail end of pub rock, but his band consisted of several of the era's stalwarts, Packed with tight, take-no-prisoners, three-minute masterpieces, "Howlin Wind" is relentless and unforgiving. Parker was pissed and could write hooks, one after the other, something most of the punks could only dream about.

Lowe's contributions duing the pub years, while not as angry (or angry at all) are still top notch; "Surrender to the Rhythm" still sounds fresh with Bob Andrews' swirling Hammond, while ("What's so Funny 'Bout ) Peace, Love and Understanding" stands as one of the best songs of the decade.

Graham Parker and the Rumour -- Back to Schooldays
Brinsley Schwarz -- Surrender to the Rhythm
Brinsley Schwarz -- "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding"
Ducks Deluxe -- Fireball

Strictly 100: Number 20 -- Pub rock

Growin' Up

Top 5 reasons "High Fidelity" is essential:

1. Voluminous and spot-on pop-culture references.
2. The knowing that record obsessiveness can overwhelm one’s world and influence lives; i.e., how the relationship between men and music can be special, complicated, inspirational, and at times, self-defeating.
3. A prescient view of how the innocence and promise of youth can never quite be fulfilled, but that it can all turn out OK.
4. Yes, “Thunder Road” is the best opening track in rock and roll history.
5. Rob = Dennis, or the written soundtrack of my life. Up to a point..

High Fidelity is not great literature. It won’t go down as one of the most important books of the century, decade or perhaps even of 1996.

It is, however, funny, touching, and like holding a mirror up to my face and seeing my silhouette covered with words. Words that are not just recognizable, but defining: mix tape, obsessed, records, confusion, women, failure, redemption….

I spent countless hours with friends and colleagues at Wee Three Records in the Lycoming Mall, discussing or arguing:
* Who was better, Tom Petty or Graham Parker?
* If “Get it On (Bang a Gong)” has the greatest fade-out in all of rock music
* Whether “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)” was the best rock and roll song of the ‘70s
* Fred Sanford or Archie Bunker?
* If “Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads” is the best record ever made
* Ways the New York Giants will embarrass themselves next
* Whether Badfinger was the second coming of the Beatles (really)
* Shemp was no Curly, but still pretty good and way ahead of Curly Joe and Joe Besser
* Why Rush are great musicians but not a great – or even good – band
* That Willie Nelson never wrote a decent song after the early ‘70s
* Lemmon and Matthau or Randall and Klugman?
* Stax or Motown?
* Which will ruin baseball first, Astroturf or George Steinbrenner
* That the Police, the Doors and the Grateful Dead are the most overrated bands in history
* How and why our hometown resembled Mayberry and/or Hooterville of “Green Acres” fame
* That 1966 was the greatest year in music history
* If the songwriting team of Difford and Tilbrook (Squeeze) were the new Lennon and McCartney
* The greatest soul singers, the greatest debut albums, the greatest George Jones songs
* Why the girls we knew didn’t care about any of these things, and what this said about our relationships (or lack thereof)
The movie version of "High Fidelity," while good, does not quite hold up to the Hornby's novel. The British setting offers a great deal more truth, and there is no cartoonish Jack Black to muddle things up.

The novel touches all the bases; it nearly overwhelmed me with the shock of recognition.

And gave me the hope that despite all of my missteps, if I keep trying, maybe I could someday get it right.
Strictly 100 – Number 9: High Fidelity (the novel)