Chain Letter Monthly January 2023
Music Writing Exercise (#MWE) Preview + Introducing the Chain Letter New Music Roundup Playlist + RIP Jayme Ralph
Hello and welcome to the Chain Letter Monthly newsletter. After the conclusion of my previous substack, I’m excited to continue writing about music, culture, and occasionally California politics here.
Music Writing Exercise
Since 2015, journalist Gary Suarez has been curating #MWE, Music Writing Exercise, in which a music lover takes the month of February to listen to 28 albums you’ve never heard. This year, Cam from my band Giant Waste of Man suggested that I join him. I’m inviting you, dear reader, to follow along.
Below is a list of 28 albums I’ve never heard along with a brief description of what I think I know about the album, even though my expectations could be completely false. (If I’m wrong about something, please don’t correct me! Having my expectations defied is part of the fun!) There are albums on the list that will most likely shock you. I know I’m always scandalized when I see another person’s list and think, “HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE HEARD (insert obscure but influential album here)!” This is all part of the fun! We all have music blind spots!
This year’s #MWE will address a few of my biggest blind spots: 70s/80s punk, 20th Century classical albums, early work by bands and artists I like but released before I heard of them, and 60s singer-songwriter albums — plus one very famous metal album and a few albums I’ve always assumed I hate but have no objective proof why that should be the case. You can follow along all February on my twitter account (@benjiheywood) where I will be posting daily updates, or you can wait for the post mortem I’ll write for next month’s issue! Without further ado, here’s the 28 albums I’ll be listening to for the first time:
Feb 1 - Joni Mitchell - Blue
What I think I know: This is heralded as one of the great singer-songwriters of the Topanga Canyon/LA late 60 scene. I’m not sure if I’ll recognize any songs from it, really laying bear my blind spot for this celebrated artist.
Feb 2 – Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind
What I think I know: I’m a big fan of early Dylan, but I haven’t spent much time with any album post- Blood on the Tracks. I expect I’ll enjoy it, but I have no idea what Dylan I’m getting. Which mirrors the experience of everyone who’s seen Bob Dylan live in the last 25 years.
Feb 3 - New York Dolls - S/T
What I think I know: The New York Dolls are a 70s glam punk band. I expect it to sound like David Bowie or the fake band from Velvet Goldmine.
Feb 4 - De la Soul - The Magic Number
What I think I know: De la Soul are a seminal hip hop group from New York. I was always a Tribe guy and by the time I was interested in De la Soul, all their albums were out of print and not available to buy or stream digitally. This is the album on the list I’m most excited about hearing for the first time.
Feb 5 - Silver Jews - American Water
What I think I know: My introduction to David Berman, the sole member of Silver Jews, was his album under the Purple Mountains moniker. That album was quite sad yet also joyous. Berman is an incredible wordsmith and not a good singer. This album will probably make me sad, too, but also happy because I’m not a great singer, either.
Feb 6 - Indian Summer - Science 1994
What I think I know: They’re an emo band, right? Midwest? I really have no idea, but I expect it will probably be poorly recorded with great bass playing and pitchy singing.
Feb 7 - Slayer - Reign in Blood
What I think I know: Slayer are a metal band that inspires people to carve pentagrams into their backs at shows.
Feb 8 - Moss Icon - Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly
What I think I know: Supposed to be one of the founders of post-hardcore and emo. DC/Dischord adjacent.
Feb 9 - Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
What I think I know: I own Science Fiction. It’s awesome. How have I never heard this? Shame on me. I wonder if it’s gonna sound like Refused.
Feb 10 - Low - I Could Live in Hope
What I think I know: I’ve heard every Low album since I bought Secret Name after seeing them play at the Glass House. I’ve long held the opinion you should never go through a band’s back catalogue. Start when you first hear of them and only go forward in their discography. Now that I’m old, I recognize this to be an absurd opinion. Plus, my friend BigVis has a side project named after this album. It must be good.
Feb 11 - Wire - Pink Flag
What I think I know: Nothing. Just that they’re British. Aren’t they?
Feb 12 - Black Flag – Damage
What I think I know: The lead guy started SST and Henry Rollins sang for them. The best LA punk album of all time.
Feb 13 - And you will know us by the trail of our dead… - Source Tags & Codes
What I think I know: I imagine this will sound like what I thought Explosions in the Sky would sound like before I heard them. I’m probably going to be wrong twice.
Feb 14 - 12 Rods - gay?
What I think I know: This album came up on a list of great forgotten indie rock albums of the late 90s/early 2000s. Past that, I have no idea what I’m in for.
Feb 15 - D’Angelo – Voodoo
What I think I know: This is one of the best R&B albums of all time. D’Angelo is takes a long time between albums and is a reclusive genius-type.
Feb 16 - The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone
What I think I know: Very little, actually. Cam likes this album. I think.
Feb 17 - Stars of the Lid - the tired sounds of…
What I think I know: I remember seeing this album back when I’d shop for used CDs and always wanting to give it a spin. Then I forgot about it for 20 years.
Feb 18 - Tim Hecker - Harmony in Ultraviolet
What I think I know: I’m a big fan of Hecker’s recent work, but I’ve never checked out his more traditional compositional work of the past.
Feb 19 - Philip Glass - Violin Concerto
What I think I know: This album came up on a list of best 20th Century classical pieces. Philip Glass is an important composer.
Feb 20 - Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
What I think I know: This is another of my favorite composers. He makes good soundtracks. I’m totally unaware of earlier work that made him a go-to in the film industry.
Feb 21 - Can - Tago Mago
What I think I know: A couple of the guys from this band have a rehearsal space near ours. The music that comes out of that room is unbelievable. I’m sure I won’t believe this album, either.
Feb 22 - Love - Forever Changes
What I think I know: They’re another 60s LA band. Hipsters tell me it’s better than Pet Sounds. I’m dubious.
Feb 23 - Susanne Sundfør - Ten Love Songs
What I think I know: I found this on a list of saddest albums of all time. I guess I was sad that day.
Feb 24 - Codeine - Frigid Stars
What I think I know: Codeine is a 90s shoegaze band. This sentence could be completely false.
Feb 25 - Suicide - S/T
What I think I know: How have I never listened to this band? I expect I’m really gonna like it.
Feb 26 – Embrace – S/T
What I think I know: An Ian MacKaye band that lasted for all of nine months. They’re credited as one of the founders of emo even though everyone older than 40 would deny that cuz fuck emo.
Feb 27 – Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
What I think I know: I don’t like Animal Collective. They’re the yacht rock of the 2000s until Tame Impala figured out how Albeton works. Also, when searching for the album name, I got it wrong. Shows you how much I know.
Feb 28 – Ida – I Know About You
What I think I know: I saw them on the bill for an upcoming Numero Group show happening in LA, alongside Karate. I’ll probably like it.
Chain Letter New Music Round Up
A bunch of festivals released their lineups this month and I recognized very few of the artists, even ones on the top lines in large print. I’m either very out of touch or not in the demographic these festivals are targeting — or both. At first this realization made me feel slightly panicked. No one likes aging in real time. But then I thought, it’s okay. Guitar music is today like jazz was in the 80s, or hair metal in the 90s, or pop punk in the 2010s: deeply unhip and largely ignored by the culture at large. It’s no surprise then that Coachella or Primavera would feature very few bands I know and like. Coacheller don’t do jazz.
I take this to be an opportunity. As lovers of “indie” guitar rock — and left-of-center artists of all genres — we get to be in a cool club welcoming of all styles, expressions, and sounds. We’re musical gnostics, roaming the deserts of streaming services, discovering the best and brightest in new music, which we’ll be bringing to you here monthly. You can listen along by following our ongoing playlist: the Chain Letter New Music Round Up
Here’s the January 2023 edition:
Problemas - “emerald”
Is that a young Elon Musk staring back at me on the single art? It sure is. “emerald” is a scathing roast of Musk and his cronies. Billionaires have rightly become popular punching bags - even as we continue to buy Teslas and shop on Amazon - but until Problemas released this catchy tune late last year, there was no unifying anthem. Now there is. Thank you, Problemas.
Truth Club - “It’s Time”
I know Pile has a new album coning out — one we’re very excited for around these parts — but “It’s Time” by Truth Club’s is the guitar tune that we’re listening to on repeat. Catchy, noisy, near-perfect.
Mulva - “Shouldn’t Fear the Seer”
Christina Puerto (Kal Marks, Bethlehem Steel) has a new band. It rips.
Fenne Lily - “Lights Light Up”
Fenne Lily’s new song features that warm analogue, flat-drum, close vocal sound I love. Her captivating delivery and heartbreaking lyrics are a bonus. This song is both breezy and devastating.
Little Simz - “Angel”
Released with little advance notice in December, NO THANK YOU, Little Simz’ follow-up to the Mercury Prize-winning Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, is more immediate than its predecessor without sacrificing any of the London artists’ signature flow. “Angel” is a fitting introduction to the album and the artist.
Wednesday - “Chosen to Deserve”
Wednesday’s third album Rat Saw God comes out in April. The first single, “Bull Believer,” was an epic, fuzzy freakout featuring singer-guitarist Karly Hartzman screaming her vocal chords raw. “Chose to Deserve” shows a different — and equally affecting — side of Hartzman: incisive lyricism. It’s the best Drive By Truckers song they never wrote.
Arbor Labor Union - “Hovering Stone”
The beloved Atlanta “transcendental twang” band return. “Hovering Stone” is a quick uptempo number, immediately accessible, and instantly lovable.
mui zyu - “Sore Bear”
After we named zyu’s other project Dama Scout one of our favs of 2022, the experimental artists returns with “Sore Bear,” a bizarre little tune that’s both charming and sad.
03 Greedo - “No Free Features (feat. Drakeo the Ruler)
Welcome home, Greedo! The LA rap artist celebrates the release of his years-long incarceration with a new mixtape, Free 03. Produced entirely by Mike Free, this album is a wonderful surprise. “No Free Features” — featuring the late Drakeo the Ruler — both pays tribute to a life renewed, and a life tragically cut short.
I Could Live in Hope - “The Open Mic Is Dead”
We’re big fans of Travis Trevisan, whose other band is the criminally underrated shoegaze outfit Tape Deck Mountain. His side projects are numerous and varied, but I Could Live in Hope might be the closest to a “solo” affair. Written in Phil Elverum’s songwriting class, “The Open Mic Is Dead” is reminiscent of 90s slowcore and features Trevisan’s most intimate vocals to date.
WRITER - “Cash for Gold”
RIP James Ralph of San Diego/New York indie band WRITER
James Ralph passed away last week. James — or Jayme, as I always knew him — was a multi-instrumentalist in the band WRITER, a band we played with often in the late 2000s/early 2010s. We got to know Jayme and his brother/bandmate Andy well, whether it was sharing LA stages with them, sleeping on their couch when on tour or day-drinking when visiting New York. Jayme was generous, funny, soft spoken with a mischievous glint in his eye and an attentive listener — all qualities that made him a good barstool companion and even better friend.
His passing to me is both heartbreaking and a mercy. A few years ago, Jayme suffered an accident requiring multiple brain surgeries. In and out of a coma, he’d never returned to anything resembling full cognitive function. While he will be sorely missed, it’s felt like I’ve already been grieving his loss for some time. Rest in peace, brotherface. You made a difference in my life and the lives of so many others. We love you.
See you next month for more of the best new music and the much anticipated results of my #MWE