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Well, this is a very vain statement to release a "retrospective," but it's mostly for a laugh. With the release of the "Stellar Lovers" album by TELEGRAPH, I will have 10 full-length albums under my belt. I have to admit, I'm very pleased with that. There was a time when I was dying to get even one album finished. Suddenly, it's 12 years later and there are over 150 songs to choose from. With each release, I thank my lucky stars that I'm inspired enough to write new music, even if the amount of people actually caring has never reached beyond a core of die-hards (thank you!) C'est la vie. "Break Fix Anniversary" is a personally assembled collection of 18 songs that I feel make a good introduction to my material. If you don't want to buy all 10 albums, or you've just discovered the site, or you're a "singles" kind of record buyer, this would be perfect for you. I just want to make one thing clear: by putting my picture on the cover and releasing this under my own name, my intention is not to 'claim' these songs; I had a lot of help. On some songs I'm the only guy, but for most there were many bands, many players, many labels, many writers. These songs in particular would not have even been realized without my involvement. I also think they represent a kind of Darren Callahan "sound," despite my genre hopping. This material is probably my most 'hooky,' or pop-orientated stuff. I tried to choose the songs that were the most succinct and worked together as a whole. (Hey, I love "Burning Witches," but I'm not gonna drag down a retrospective with 12 minutes of that.) If, at times, you've heard a record and thought that I had lost it, this collection may help illustrate that I've had a pop sense going throughout even the thickest noise. Also, these songs were selected because I call them "rewindables." This is my pet name for tunes that I can hear in infinite loop in the 24-hour period right after they were finished. That's how I know they're up to my standards-if they have that high threshold of burnout. I'll do a little track-by-track, if you care…
Don't know why I put this song first, but I do know the reason I wanted it included. This possibly overlooked number from TRAVEL's first album proves that not all of our stuff is noisy. It also contains the kind of sugary string arrangement I like, and is made of the 3 chords I tend to re-use over and over (thank you Todd Rundgren.) This song is really driven by Kelly's brilliant tracking. He suggested putting towels on all his drums and slicing the tracks into independent beats. It inspired me to write this French pop melody. I love Matt's faux-soul tag at the end. PS - hate, hate, hate the out-of-tune guitar in the intro, but whatcha gonna do? That's what happens when you make a whole record in a weekend. My fault entirely.
I'm including the Vortex version of this instead of the original one from "Martian Chronicles." The original is very good and has a bit more complexity to the chords (an alternate tuning), but Vortex did some judicious editing and used a faster tempo. It flies by like a good pop song should. Bravo!
A stolen title from a 1930s standard gave TRAVEL its best groove. Written via improv in two takes. I think I played the bass. Love when the drums kick in on the word 'porch.'
This track is kind of an interloper, because it's not really from one of the 10 albums mentioned a few paragraphs above. It's actually from a little EP. However, it's always been one of my favorites. Music written in the day by me, (brilliant) lyrics that same night by Nick an hour before band practice, then worked up by everyone really fast. Morgan gave me good compliment by keeping my 3 octave guitar noodlings between verses. I think there was a copy of the novel "The Great Train Robbery" next to my 4-track. A lot of atmosphere on this one, and dig the BLUE NILE-esque guitars. The recording of this one song cost $1000, the priciest recording of a single song I have ever done. Sounds great, though-Blaise rocks! Oh, and listen to that Mike Norgren-he's a goddamn clock! About that abrupt ending: on the original demo the tape ran out, and I thought it sounded kinda cool. I know I might be the only one who thinks that anymore. Most listeners feel jarred-but, hey, it was 1994 and I had a long list of jarring to put forth in the future.
This is TELEGRAPH's contribution to a 1999 tribute album for Australia's THE CHURCH, currently only in release to the fan club. Mike Biggers, project coordinator, is still hoping for wider distribution. The whole tribute is actually quite good. This cut is from vocalist Steve Kilbey's 1988 solo record, "Unearthed," by far the weirdest album I've ever heard. It was recorded in his bedroom on a waffle iron. The original song is only 50 seconds long. My idea was to take the 10 instrumental layers of the original's arrangement and break it into 10 parts, singling out the piano here, the guitar here, blah blah blah… Paris Triger sounds fab and Mike Po's production is good n' dirty.
Beautiful little number. I love the child saying "help" at the end-see if you can catch it. Euro-disco with French lyrics. Ah, pretension sometimes does work…
Rounding out a little "TB"
set here is the single from "Berlin Record."
God, that dumb melody just kills me. When I first recorded this one,
I thought it was so cheesy, but then it stuck in my head for two days.
The sample "nothing can slow you down" is some rabid fan screaming
on a TELEVISION bootleg CD from 1978 before they play "The Dream's
Dream." "GODLINESS"
by OO OO WA (1993) The first song I ever wrote that I thought sounded like it could be on the radio. When it was done I went, "wow," that's the sound I was looking for. That's what I wanted OO OO WA to be. Everything from our "Screen Kiss" period is captured in this song… love it or hate it.
Along with "Burning Witches," this is the culmination of my cut n' paste experiments. The recording is really hit & miss, but the intention was captured-a little 7 minute symphony. The tag was recorded by me at 3 in the morning on a cassette, and then lost for a summer. Just when I was thinking the ending wasn't working (with the return of the theme), I found the cassette again and tacked it on. It gave it some sadder colors. I like ending on a down-especially for a song title that reads as either tragedy or bliss (I won't tell you where it came from, sorry… secret.)
The original arrangement was much different. I wish I could find that demo again. But, I still think this is the finest "group effort" by WA. Everyone plays really tastefully, and the girls sound fantastic. The last 30 seconds… brilliant. We never made it into the studio to record this one, so this live recording is the best record of the song's existence.
Theme song for a movie never made. At least that's how it sounds.
When I wrote this compact little pop instrumental, I just knew that Matt Espy had to play drums on it. I'm so glad he did. And he sounds perfect with Danny O'Connor. (I was pleased this was the first recording to feature them together before they went off & formed MINK, a fine act.) Brad Morris, my guitar stalwart, gives the melody some heft. I'm playing the flanged guitar & the synths, basically pretending I'm in LOVE & ROCKETS.
A bit of my GUIDED BY VOICES phase, but that never hurt anyone. Hell, my first gig in a bar was opening up for those guys in 1986 at Canal Street. I was buying "Sandbox" at Armadillos before all you losers ever heard of 'Hot Freaks.' I basically wanted to write a 1-minute song. I think this came in a little over.
Without a doubt, this is my best headphones song. If you have not heard this on phones, cranked to ten, you have no idea. Go! Now! Headphones, get! That 'we rock on the red path to Mars' part actually made my palms sweaty when at a high volume. I adore that there's not actually any chorus, or really any low end (aside from the kick) until the last bit, when the sub-woofer kicks in.
Me and drummer Kelly Morelock- time to kill and a big bank of synthesizers. Eric Appleby thought of the title. I've always loved this number, but it never quite "fit" on any release. I think it was recorded in 1998. Sounds like a 1976 Bowie b-side. The perfect closer to "Screen Kiss." This is actually a rework of the bridge from "Godliness." Great bridge. Spent a lot of time arranging it. When we were completing the final version of "Screen Kiss," I knew the album didn't end very well, so I decided to cull some of the alternate parts together in my sequencer and see what happened. The rest of the band was very skeptical, but I have to give them credit, they let me try it. When the girl's did the fade-out, they were finally sold.
Man, love that bass line…
See you again at album #20 (2009?) |