"A Taste of Honey"

This next piece was written sort of as a bookend to the personal Hell described in my last blog entry. It's another old review, this time about the record that managed to accompany me back towards the Light at a time when all else seemed like Darkness.

I really do need to write some new stuff, but in the meantime....

The Jesus And Mary Chain:Psychocandy (written for her)

Every now and then a record comes along that is not merely brilliant, it changes your life. For me, one such record was the Jesus & Mary Chain'sPsychocandy. I'll admit that I purchased it because I'd heard the opening track, "A Taste of Honey," on the college radio station and dug the cool Velvet Underground influenced psychedelic vibe. That song did nothing to prepare me for the rest of the album. When "The Living End" kicked in, with its piercing white noise all but devouring the pop song buried underneath which struggled vainly to reach the surface for a breath of air, it hit me like a shovel blade between the eyes, blurring my vision, making me nervous, and hurting my ears. Song after song, the tension built, feedback squalls alternating with soft songs of self-destructive impulses, until I had a pounding headache and an urge to smash windows, furniture, maybe even gnaw off body parts like an animal caught in a trap - anything to bring an end to the pain. When it was over I needed to go for a long walk in the sunshine, to wash the intense feelings from my numbed brain. I found the album annoying, cluttered, messy, it pissed me off. And for some reason, I kept playing it over and over again. Each listen subtly changed my brain chemistry, reconfiguring neurons so that pathways that had once caused pain, now gave pleasure and a sense of unbridled life-force. With each listen, I dug deeper into the layers of sonic gale wind, grabbing at the strands of pure tortured pop genius like a drowning person grabs...

"A Taste of Honey"

This next piece was written sort of as a bookend to the personal Hell described in my last blog entry. It's another old review, this time about the record that managed to accompany me back towards the Light at a time when all else seemed like Darkness.

I really do need to write some new stuff, but in the meantime....

The Jesus And Mary Chain:Psychocandy (written for her)

Every now and then a record comes along that is not merely brilliant, it changes your life. For me, one such record was the Jesus & Mary Chain'sPsychocandy. I'll admit that I purchased it because I'd heard the opening track, "A Taste of Honey," on the college radio station and dug the cool Velvet Underground influenced psychedelic vibe. That song did nothing to prepare me for the rest of the album. When "The Living End" kicked in, with its piercing white noise all but devouring the pop song buried underneath which struggled vainly to reach the surface for a breath of air, it hit me like a shovel blade between the eyes, blurring my vision, making me nervous, and hurting my ears. Song after song, the tension built, feedback squalls alternating with soft songs of self-destructive impulses, until I had a pounding headache and an urge to smash windows, furniture, maybe even gnaw off body parts like an animal caught in a trap - anything to bring an end to the pain. When it was over I needed to go for a long walk in the sunshine, to wash the intense feelings from my numbed brain. I found the album annoying, cluttered, messy, it pissed me off. And for some reason, I kept playing it over and over again. Each listen subtly changed my brain chemistry, reconfiguring neurons so that pathways that had once caused pain, now gave pleasure and a sense of unbridled life-force. With each listen, I dug deeper into the layers of sonic gale wind, grabbing at the strands of pure tortured pop genius like a drowning person grabs for driftwood. And for reasons I couldn't fully understand, it felt good, as if through the pain I had achieved a sense of peace and serenity. Life is confusing, painful, and perhaps ultimately without meaning, but there's an ecstasy that comes from embracing the raw energy of the process of living.

There's beauty in noise.