Some CDs Should Come With Warning Labels
…but I don’t mean because of bad words and filth talk.
Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator) album has some day-ruining and potentially life-ruining songs on it. Incalculable amounts of woe and devastation could befall a fella were he to begin the day listening to this album. Thank God it’s payday today. This album is viciously cruel.
Perhaps I better explain…
I don’t mean the album is vicious in a Marilyn Manson sort of way. This is not some metal album filled with punishing riffs and pulverizing lyrics of death, destruction, perversion, and mayhem. I don’t mean vicious in a heavy way in the traditional sense of heavy music.
Gillian Welch’s music, and this album in particular, is the big surprise in the little package. Her acoustic blend of folk-Americana-bluegrass could not be much more unassuming. You don’t expect to get flattened by an album like this. You’re surprised when you find a lightweight with heavyweight power, but mostly your ass is on the canvas because you just took a heavyweight-caliber left hook to the face. That shock of finding your ass on the floor is only a small part of the power. The staggering point of impact comes through her voice, her words, and the fantastic melodies she and partner David Rawlings have created.
Time (The Revelator) and albums like it are why I hate emo. Emo paints fake emotions the way its perpetrators paint mascara on their stupid faces and silly tattoos everywhere else. Gillian Welch sketches portraits of real people with genuine emotions. That’s why these songs knock you on your ass. Emo is fake. The kids don’t know it because they’re fake. When they grow up, they’ll be horrified at how bad that music was. They won’t believe they ever fell for it. Then, they’ll buy a Gillian Welch record or two.
Bookmark this site, EmoKids. When you grow up, you’ll want to be reminded which Gillian Welch album and songs to start with. For those of you who are ready for grownup music, here are a few of my favorite cuts from my favorite Gillian album, Time (The Revelator):
1. “Revelator”
2. “Dear Someone”: Fuckin’ hell, this song has destroyed my life. I thank the stars above that I never heard it until after I was happily married. Had I heard this during my depressing, pathetic, emo-esque single days… there is no telling how much of a puddle I would have been. Heartbreaking and marvelous.
3. “April The 14th (Part 1)”: The day The Titanic sank.
4. “Elivs Presley Blues”: Finally, a song about Elvis worth hearing. If only stations would stop playing “Black Velvet” by Alannah Miles!
5. “Ruination Day (Part 2)”
6. “Everything is Free”
7. “I Dream a Highway”: A nearly 15-minute epic that feels as though it takes no time at all.
I should probably, at this point, tip my cap to Mat Brewster and The Duke for pointing me in the direction of Gillian Welch. Thanks, fellas. I may never recover.
Filed under: Tags: Gillian Welch, Let's Talk About My iPod
i believe it was ME, ME, ME! who pointed you toward Gillian Welch.
dammit.
…and a shoutout to Saleski as well. I believe it was a group effort, if memory serves.
I’ll have to put this on my mental list.
It has near unanimous Mondo approval- you should absolutely check this out. It is a gorgeous record.
I’ve been listening to Gillian all week. That’s a hard thing to do since she pretty much makes me completely unproductive. I sit, jaw dropped, drool dripping, heart lying on floor.
PS why was I not informed this thing was live.
You’re right, Sir Brewster, that it is nearly impossible to do anything productive while listening to Gillian Welch. Something in the space/time continuum and the brainguts get clobbered and the next thing you know you’re drowning in a brew of tears and/or drool. In my case, it’s drool, but then you already knew that.
As for your notification, I started populating this before it was “live.” You pretty well got the word at the same time everyone else did. Some folks found me during the embryonic, pre-layout and design stage.
I guess I’ll forgive that missight since this is pretty danged cool. Good job. And I had to give up Gillian at work. (did I ever tell you guys I got a gig?) The boss was starting to notice my non-productivity.
So I brought Ryan Adams “Gold” instead. It’s not really helping the productivity.
No, Sir Brewster, I was unaware of your new gig. I hope congratulations are in order.
I rarely listen to Gillian at work for the aforementioned reasons.
I can’t listen through Gold from beginning to end. The best songs on there are brilliant, but it doesn’t hang as an album.
[...] Someone”: I’ve written about this song before, and don’t have much to add other than to say it is timeless and will continue to devastate [...]