May
23
2005

Stuck On Stoopid

(Add / View Comments) (0)Monday, May 23, 2005 - 08:47:34 pm
(Posted Under: Music Music, Tempe Music Scene Tempe Music Scene)
Brian Blush is back in town. Town, being Tempe. [wink]

Katie saw him tonight (probably his first appearence in Tempe after retreating to Detriot after the Refreshments breakup), and while talking with her, I broke out Malfunction Junction (Luck & Trouble, Brian's band in Detriot, album). The album I swore I'd never play again, after the first time I listened to. (I may have put it on once or twice after, but it seems like I really never did listen to it after the first time, with none of the songs except for D+F+S sounding at all familar). Inspired largely to hear Change The Station, which Brian said at Sugar Daddies tonight he wrote for Doug Hopkins.

When I first got this album, I fucking hated it. Period. Bad recording, and very little about it did anything for me. To the extent that, Brian, my second favorite Tempe guitarist (second to, of course, Douglas) was 'dead to me'. Relatively speaking anyway, nothing would diminish the brillance of Brian with the Refreshments. But in terms of current day Blush, the album made me loose any sort of interest - and Stevie (Larson) slide from 3rd to 2nd on my list of favorite Tempe guitarists.

So, it's a big suprise listening to Malfunction Junction tonight, and really not being able to see why I hated it so much back when I got it. I don't even remember recognising that Brian was singing on it, though if I didn't, I don't know how.

Not liking it must have been a combination of expecting the trademark Refreshments sounding Blush (and not getting it [wink] ) and not being thrilled with music or life at the time. The only song I can remember being able to listen to was D+F+S (Drinking + Fucking + Sleep), obviously largely to the ripping off of Robin Wilson's Nothing At All ("I believe in nothing at all except drinking and fucking and sleep") and the seeming guitar rip off from Blue Eyes Bleeding (as well as the line "come home for Christmas babe, come on please" ripped from Blue Eyes Bleeding). Listening to it tonight, I'm totally digging it. Very interesting! I can't even really notice the "hardly produced" sound that bugged the hell out of me originally (to the extent of not being able to listen to it)! Now I'm totally feeling like "what I have been depriving myself of?!?". Even listening to Mexico (Refreshments live cover) which the first time made me want to violently throw the CD against a wall - seriously), I can no longer see my issue with it, and dig it. Really bizarre!

I'm totally digging the album now. A few tracks, I don't overly do much for me (Hennesay and Down For The Count - both kinda really Byrds-ish, and The Difference), but Attitude, S.O.S, Change The Station, Worse Case Scenario, D+F+S, and Falling are all favorites.

Definately need to rip MP3's and sent them to work. It's really cool (and bizarre) "discovering" this album, after all this time. It's not the first time - it took me quite a while (3 months) to actually like (and soon love) Dead Hot Workshop; and moreso Satalitte / Stephen Ashbrook, who I really couldn't get into for 7 years, and then really got into after hearing the recording of his American B-Sides CD release party in 2002. But regardless, hating Malfunction Junction so violently and really digging it now, is still bizarre. But way cool. It's interesting to wonder whether being to Tempe has had any impact on this.

On a side note, I find it hilarious, all the Brian Blush and Steve Larson animosity talk and innuendo on the Peacemaker's website with Brian's return to the valley; and that tonight Steve called Brian up to the stage at Sugar Daddies to play. [lol]

I think Stoopid will probably be very happy with this, I know she was never that impressed by my violently negative reactions to Malfunction Junction. Which is pretty sweet, given that I'm truely stuck on her! [wink]

Switch Styles

About Style Switching.

!Weblog Index

Apr May 2005 Jun
SU MO TU WE TH FR SA
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31

Categories

RSS FeedRSS Feed