Bob Mould - Black Sheets Of Rain
Suggested by: MH
MH: Mould. Yet ANOTHER connection musically that QM and I share. I have been a Mould fan for a while. Whatever. I'm not as big of a fan of his electronica stuff, but his new album is better. More rock, less techno. I bet I would like it if I had Robot ears.
Which is why I chose 'Black Sheets of Rain' as AOTW. His second solo album after the classic album Workbook. (One of the greatest albums I have.) I liked the acoustic nature of the album comapred to his punk Du days. I always found him fascinating. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew I had a connection to him somehow. His songs were so obsessive and longing and I just kind of related with them hardcore. Then the day I found out that he was indeed gay, I thanked the gods. I love the fact that a gay guy can rock the BEJESUS out of a guitar, and no one cared if he was a gay or not. I was going through some crap with this guy named Charlie, and the song "If I Can't Change Your mind" when he was in Sugar, fit perfectly around my poor little heart. Only a guy could have written that song for another guy. It was clear to me that he was kin, you know? My brother maintains that seeing him on this (Black Sheets of Rain) tour was the loudest concert he had ever seen. And he's seen a lot.
Okay, to the album. I LOVE how dark it is. Just the title track alone which opens the album is perfect. "Is there an upside to every downside?" I remember I listened to this album along with alot of Counting Crows and The Original Cast Recording of RENT as I was driving out to Colorado to see my Tiffy. I quit my job, shaved my head and drove west to see what was up, you know? And this album just felt good to me. I was in love with Charlie, and he was not in love with me even though he would let me rub his naked ass. Whatever, man.
What I like about him is his darkness, and his troubled heart. I think it makes for the best songs, you know? Who wants happy artists? But then he partners the darkness with really optimistic melodies and pop lines, ie "Out of your Life." I wish I could have seen this tour myself. Who knows what I was doing at the time. Probably rubbing "not"-gay Charlie's naked ass then going home to jerk off like a mad man. Wow! There's a picture, huh? I would have loved to see his face (Mould's, not Charlie's) when he ripped through "Stop Your Crying", and the last track which just sounds cathartic to me. I love his screaming songs. Must be the metal and Punk fan in me. Good way to end an album.
MJ: Well, here’s another one of the musicians Hanner and I realized we had in common the first time we met. Right on to that…
Bob Mould is one of those guys that I liked right away. I just love his sound so much – I’m pretty much in for whatever he throws at me. However, I do tend to focus on one of his albums over others – the one that got me into him. The album is “Workbook” and it is likely in my top 20 albums of all time. For this reason, Mark’s selection this week was a fantastic call. This one in particular got lost in the shuffle for me. I just didn’t listen to it much.
Upon listening to it this week, I have no good reason why this one is not on a more regular rotation. While maybe not as complete as “Workbook”, many of the songs stand up nicely to that previous release. I totally dig the title track and for some reason “Stop Your Crying” really jumped out at me this time around.
All in all, this proves out one of the reasons for this webpage: to be reminded of things that for whatever reason did not get your full attention the first time around. I’m sure there are many more out there. Stay tuned…
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