Almanac Music: ’33 1/3 Reasons Why’ – Christmas Bounty

 

I don’t tend to buy much these days. It’s mainly just records and books, and more records, and more books. Although I did buy a few pairs of sneakers a couple of end of financial years ago (same style in different colours).

 

Christmas gifts tend to be music-related these days.  Record store vouchers, cash that can be used to purchase records, a set of cool Beatles/Bowie/Nick Cave couch cushions, even a set of Beatles socks a few years back.

 

I have no use for Bunnings or Super Cheap Auto vouchers.

 

 

 

 

Santa was very generous this year and left a copy of The Dandy Warhols’ Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia under the tree (or more accurately, on the shelf in the cabinet, as we aren’t fans of Christmas decorations, and the cats would only trash them anyway.)  He must have remembered that I gave the CD a fair workout back in 2000.

 

Back then I favoured the hooky pop-rock of Get Off, Horse Pills, and Bohemian Like You.  At a distance of twenty four years I now lean towards the opening psychedelic-laced triptych of Godless, Mohammed, and Nietzsche. (You can ease your way into the album for the full experience. Forget the Spotify algorithm.)

 

Incredibly cool, and they knew it, out of Portland Oregon (with a dash of 69-74 era Rolling Stones for good measure), The Dandy Warhols should have been every bit as big as the other like-minded bands that exploded out of the New York Scene the following year, but it just wasn’t to be.

 

Anyway, Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia still holds up as a good album nearly a quarter of a century on.

 

Turn it up and adopt a disaffected air about you that lets everyone know that you are way too cool to deal with their shit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to stocking fillers you can’t go wrong with The Last Will and Testament by Opeth.

 

 

 

 

The fourteenth album by the Swedish prog-metal behemoths is a 2-LP concept album set around the reading of a dead patriarch’s will in the 1920’s, so it ticks a lot of boxes from the outset!

 

Mikael Akerfeldt breaks out his old death-metal growl for the first time since 2008, and Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson guests with a smattering of spoken word and flute offerings.

 

What more could you want?

 

Apart from Joey Tempest of Europe (The Final Countdown) providing some backing vocals?

 

On top of that, the musicianship is first rate, and the arrangements suitably complex.

 

Prog-metal may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you want to make it to the top you have to be able to play.

 

These guys are as good as any going around.

 

Play it LOUD!

(If the neighbours don’t like it, get new neighbours.)

 

 

 

 

In closing I’ll head into the new year with a quote from Henry Rollins:

 

“Just my opinion, but I don’t think there’s ever been a time when music wasn’t essential to getting through the challenges life throws at us, seemingly at every turn. That being said, I think music becomes more of an asset in certain times. It keeps us inspired, curious and encouraged. I have no crystal ball for this kind of thing but it very well could be that we will be leaning on music pretty hard next year (2025). Good thing for us, there’s a lot of good music to be heard and we’re going to listen to a lot of it.”

(Radio Broadcast #821 12-28-24)

 

 

More from Greg A can be read Here

 

 

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