2.18.21

On February 18th I listened to Lauryn Hill The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, R.E.M. Reckoning, and Spiritualized Sweet Heart Sweet Light.

You know that scene in Animal House when some of the guys from Delta house walk into the bar where Otis Day And The Knights are playing? “Otis?! He loves us!” exclaims Boon and they run into the place. The band stops playing and everyone in the joint stares at them for a second.

That’s kind of how I felt listening to The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. I had walked into a place filled with women that didn't want me there and I should have left. But, I ordered a round of Carlsberg’s and hung out anyway.

“Lost One” and “Ex-Factor,” got my attention pretty quick. I didn’t like “To Zion” at first, but then somewhere in the middle I saw the beauty of it. Does Lauryn sound like she recorded that track with a cold? She sounds a little stuffy, but it works.

“Doo Wop (That Thing)” is a smash that I wish I cared about when it was hot. “Every Ghetto, Every City” has a sweet Stevie Wonder vibe running through it and I love her version of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.”

I like when she raps, I like when she sings, this record is a remarkable accomplishment. What the hell happened to her? Why is she just doing random appearances?

The opening track of Reckoning, “Harborcoat,” is like a dream to me. I remember it, but I don’t. Maybe I was asleep the last time I heard it, some 25 years ago. I’m taking it back!

I definitely remember “7 Chinese Bros.” and am pissed I forgot all about it.

Thank you again IRS records for screwing this band by putting out Eponymous! That compilation boiled four albums down too much! And I’m the jackass for letting it.

With all the shit we have today to listen to pretty much whatever we want when we want it, it’s hard to remember a time when you had to go somewhere and pay for everything! Even if you taped it from a friend, you still had to buy the blank cassette. I was broke in the 80’s and I had an appetite for stuff that was out of the mainstream, so I could blow $50 on four R.E.M. albums or $12 on their Greatest Hits. Gimme the hits, at least! Then as the years rolled along, old albums became less of a priority to listen to. I’m so far off on a tangent here I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.

Reckoning is a great album and I should be more familiar with all of it and now I will! “Pretty Persuasion” is another one I remember, but I don’t know from where! Blah! I’m all worked up.

Speaking of getting worked up! How the fuck did this Spiritualized album just fly under everybody’s radar last year?! I didn’t hear a peep about it. But, all the little asshole bands get raved about up and down. Fuck you Sleigh Bells! You too Grizzly Bear!

The first half of this record is drop dead gorgeous! The second half has some issues, it could use some editing, but a pretty fucking nice collection of work! Thank you J. Spaceman!