Highway Companion as a whole reminds me of older Petty, and that is just fine with me. The instrumentation is so warm and rich, a stark contrast to his last record with The Hearbreakers - which makes this album all the more enjoyable.
"Saving Grace" may be the hook to bring you into this album, but one of the slower songs, "The Golden Rose," really brings back that slow-burning, mellow Petty vibe. It is such a relaxing tune to listen to, and a great way to end the album.
Even if you don't own Playback (wait a minute, you dont?) and are not a die-hard Petty fan, you can still get a lot out of this album. Sadly there are far too few albums released these days you can listen to from beginning to end, but this is one of them.
Michael Jones: "Teenagers" from The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
When you begin this paragraph with the knowledge that 1) My sister is eighteen and still (technically) a teenager; 2) said sister's favorite band is My Chemical Romance, and thus their music is blared throughout the house at all hours of the day; 3) I've given up ignoring it and have actually (gasp!) begun to like their new album... you find yourself arriving at the moment when you can put on your headphones, stare at your sister, and giggle uncontrollably at a song that has as its main chorus the phrase "teenagers scare the living shit out of me!"
It's a wonderfully witty song about the typical fears of how any teenager that chooses to dress differently or act differently or do anything differently, is viewed as something inherently scary. In reality, Gerard and the rest of the guys view these "scary" teenagers as the reason they were put here on the planet. The teenagers (and any other fans of the band) give them a reason to keep playing music and surviving their own life... and the band, likewise, has become a focus point for disenfranchised teenagers who were looking for someone to speak for/to them.
Funny, witty, poignant, and downright full of kick-ass rock'n'roll, "Teenagers" is just a great song.
Article comments
1 - DJRadiohead
Great work, everybody. Mr. Ken, I appreciate the dig and the contribution. Highway Companion is one of the truly fine albums of recent memory; one of the best of last year.
Tom, I might have to check out the GBV song on iTunes. I've never listened to any GBV. I have certainly heard of them, but never investigated them at all.
2 - Tom Johnson
Be careful, DJR - Guided By Voices and Robert Pollard is a deep well to dive into, and once you get past his weird, lo-fi recording techniques and enjoy the songs, there is no turning back. You too will soon own a full shelf of his music like I do and will be forced to dedicate 5gb of your Ipod to the 50 some-odd albums/EPs/singles that I have by the guy (not to mention all the great bootlegs that are floating around out there!) Crazy, I know, but the guy churns out so much great stuff, especially in the mid- to late-90s. But a good place to start is Under the Bushes - just like I did. I actually had about four different GBV songs in mind for this piece this week, and all of them came from this album!
(And don't forget to grab the live version of this song off my site - it'll convert you right away!)
3 - DJRadiohead
The prolific nature of the band is one of the things I actually knew about them despite not having listened to them previously.
I will tread carefully. Just know TWTWIM will be after you if you have sent me off on another billion-dollar quest.
4 - Tom Johnson
I'm hoping it's worth the risk to help turn someone on to great music. My wife's still coming to terms with why I had to buy vinyl copies of a couple of their release when I don't have a turntable. I just had to have them because they were that cool. And, as I tell her repeatedly, they're investments for our daughter's college tuition in 17 years. Don't ever forget that angle.
5 - Mark Saleski
(**** mark whispers into the internet ether: "someday, you will both own turntables...." ****)
6 - DJRadiohead
She is actually a very good sport about it all. She knew about my CD addiction soon after we started dating.
7 - Tom Johnson
DJR: My wife's incredibly understanding, she's known about this habit of mine since we met. It is, however, my only big expense, so it's not like I'm into other expensive hobbies on top of it. Still, she's a trooper for simply smiling when she sees yet another puffy package in the mail . . .
Mark: That's silliness - they don't make turntables for cars!
8 - Mat Brewster
I tried to start a GBV period in my life, but very shortly after I bought a couple of disks, some bastard stole most of my music collection. I never did have the chance to give them much of a listen. No time like the present, I guess.
I also used to own a good turntable, but after a lot of abuse and a few too many cross country moves it died a horrible death. Now my mom holds all my vinyl, cursing my name and threatening to throw them all in the bin every time she moves.
I never dug "The Wheel" until I saw Phil play a very hot (literally it was like a hundred degrees) show in Oklahoma City a few summers back. Covered in sweat and dirt I finally saw the light and now it's one of my favorite Dead tunes.