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Adam Green

Started by alan nagsworth, October 19, 2015, 08:13:05 PM

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alan nagsworth

The solo work of one half of Moldy Peaches. Moldy Peaches were shit, weren't they? I can't remember, I just get that stupid "Who's Got The Crack" song stuck in my head and it reminds me of that fucking "Juno" film so I can't be arsed with it. Jeffrey Lewis is the boss of whatever the fuck anti-folk is, as a genunely brilliant songwriter and not just some hip turkey thinking songs about bad drugs sung in a chirpy upbeat fashion is super cool. I dunno, maybe I'm wrong about all this, MAYBE I DON'T CARE

Anyway, Adam Green. His first album "Garfield" was well in the vein of that scene and was largely a scratchy messy folk record with completely absurdist lyrics. The main difference was that I found the lyrics, through the grotesque imagery and largely incomprehensible jibberish, to be oddly affecting and beautiful. In particular, Mozzarella Swastikas - with its sudden dark turn at the end: "Gonna go to the graveyard and get some begging done / Gonna dig up Megan and cut out my son" - and Her Father & Her are both very sombre and somewhat haunting tracks, especially the latter. Amongst that, there's a bunch of squeaky, ugly electronics poking through the tracks that I'm certain must have inspired CocoRosie, as well as the ill-fitting so-boring-it's-wonderful anti-pop single Dance With Me.

For a while, up until a few days ago in fact, "Garfield" was the only one I had time for. Everything that came after that record was extremely polished and immaculate, and it completely went against the brown sound that I loved so much about "Garfield". It turns out I've been a fucking dickhead all these years, and that a lot of this stuff is actually BRILLIANT. I picked up "Gemstones" in a charity shop this week - with its glorious, shimmering sleeve - came home and cooked a big fuck off lasagne whilst dancing my sweet candy ass off to these fantastic tunes. It feels like he underwent some magical transformation, proper frog-to-prince stuff, and suddenly he emerged as this miraculous songwriter, taking the blueprint of "Dance With Me" and cooking it up into a fully-realised vision, effortlessly riding the divide between the ugly, ridiculous subject nature of his lyrics and this pristine musicianship that slots in somewhere between phase two-era Scott Walker and Richard Cheese. He's an excellent singer when he puts the effort in, too.

Here's a few from that album:

Crackhouse Blues

He's the Brat

I've been ploughing through his other stuff this evening, and his lyrics have certainly become a lot less deranged and more mature as the years have gone by, but overall it's still really enjoyable. He put out an album not so long ago with a lass called Binki Shapiro which is pretty great.

Who likes Adam Green then? I do.

DukeDeMondo

I adore Gemstones. "Choke on a Cock," "Emily," the title track... just fantastic, unpredictable, puerile as fuck one minute, properly affecting the next. Friends of Mine has loads of great stuff on too, and I like Garfield a lot, but the record after Gemstones, Jacket Full of Danger, was a load of lazy old fuckin shit. Really obvious lyrics, nothing especially memorable in the arrangements. That was the last one I actually bought, and even though Sixes and Sevens was a huge improvement (if I mind right, anyway), I've not bothered listenin to anythin he's put out since.

Maybe I'll catch up with the more recent stuff this week.

In the meantime, Gemstones. What a record.

doppelkorn

Was really into him between about 2005 and 2007, then I lent someone my CDs and forgot about him completely.

Went to see him last year and it was fantastic. Really incredible gig. If you get the chance, go and see him.

alan nagsworth

Quote from: DukeDeMondo on October 19, 2015, 08:22:54 PM
Jacket Full of Danger, was a load of lazy old fuckin shit. Really obvious lyrics, nothing especially memorable in the arrangements. That was the last one I actually bought, and even though Sixes and Sevens was a huge improvement (if I mind right, anyway), I've not bothered listenin to anythin he's put out since.

Yeah, "Jacket..." was the one I've not listened to yet, funnily enough. "Minor Love" is good though! Boss Inside is particularly great, really reminded me of the "Garfield" days. The album with Shapiro definitely sounds very mature in comparison but it's lush.

Quote from: doppelkorn on October 19, 2015, 09:39:51 PM
Went to see him last year and it was fantastic. Really incredible gig. If you get the chance, go and see him.

I was gonna! Shame I was still in the throes of hating the polished stuff to be honest, as in the back of my mind I knew I should have gone, and looking back now I know I would have loved it!

He's currently making a film too, so ... well, fuck knows how that'll pan out. My guess is it'll be awful, like his music videos.

buntyman

Adam Green's announced a UK tour to coincide with his Aladdin adaptation film:

https://twitter.com/AverageCabbage/status/692344723500040192

On the strength of the film trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P5TSZDy0F0) it looks absolutely shite but the song's quite nice. I'll definitely be going to the Glasgow show although unfortunately it looks like the only date on the tour that's combined with a screening of the probably bad film rather than just a straightforward gig. I've seen him once before about 10 years ago and enjoyed it despite being a bit put off by how cocky he is. Great voice though.

SteveDave

His LPs are about 4 or 5 song too long. Acts these days don't understand about structure.