SEEKING SOME SEMBLANCE OF SOLACE

I’m not sure if listening to something so harrowing as Mess Esque’s Jay Marie, Comfort Me is a smart idea right now, but it fills the void between listening to comedy podcasts and non-stop mulling. Comprised of former Sick Things guitarist Mick Turner and ex-vocalist for Redbreast Helen Franzmann, the third album from the duo holds a lot of woe in its grooves, weaving together brittle guitar and shiver-inducing vocals to make the perfect soundtrack to sit and yearn Kramer style. After a few listens, the track that had the most effect on me was the slowly-lurching “That Chair”, which is an ode to Helen’s late sister. What can I say? I can spot and absorb melancholy from thirty feet! As much as I like to wallow in a set of morose tunes, I currently feel the need to listen to “Walking On Sunshine” on repeat until my ears bleed.

Since the 90s are now the 60s and I need a place to retreat from the overall unpleasantness of today, there’s been a revistation of many artists adored up in the hot-as-balls room I occupied in my parents’ house. One such person is Mary Lou Lord whose Some Jingle Jangle Morning EP from 1993 is timeless perfection to my sappy, sappy ears. “Some Jingle Jangle Morning”, a paean reflecting on friends both lost and spread out far among the country, hits me hard in the emotional bread basket while asking, “Thank you sir, may I have another?” The flip side of “Western Union Desperate” is the other side of the proverbial coin where Lord sings about the joys of couch surfing among friends while cribbing a line from Dinosaur Jr’s “Freak Scene”. Where is Mary Lou Lord these days? Where is my copy of this single? And most importantly, where’s that half of a Wawa turkey sub I hid in the couch cushions last week?

Photo courtesy of Trust Records Facebook page. If you want credit, please get in touch.

The bright spot of this week was watching the conversation between Kevin Seconds and Ian MacKaye sponsored by Trust Records that occurred in LA on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it is not on Trust’s YouTube channel anymore for some reason. Hopefully they are cleaning up or enhancing it to throw it back up there at a later date, because it was a hoot to watch. Stories of how they connected via the US post, Kevin jogging down a hill in combat boots to meet Minor Threat at a Denny’s on their first tour, and the recording of 7 Seconds ‘departure’ record New Wind were all covered and it was highly informative and entertaining. Again, here’s to hoping Trust puts it back up to view or I am just an idiot who can’t find the video among all the trash clogging my feed.

On a final note, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the newsletter because there will be content soon that only be available to those lucky few. My aim is by providing more content, I will work my way out of this funk and into some semblance of solace. So please heed the call presented both here and below. Thank you.