moodmat

Do you remember those frosted miniwheats commercials where the adult would turn into a kid when the shredded wheat biscuit flipped over to reveal a whole pound of glazed sugar icing on the other side? That’s approximately what is going to be happening for the remainder of this post. I will be freeing myself from the shackles of formal music criticism and analysis and I’m going to time warp myself back to 1994 when I was a doe eyed teenager waiting in line at Dearborn Music for midnight release, hopped up on coca cola and burger king.

So it’s official: most modern rock sucks. Sucks hard. Jawbox got back together for the first time in 12 years and with four…maybe five songs at best…reminded everyone what it meant to rock. Not to whine or drone or get faux philosophical about shit. They just went out there and these old geezers just gave bearded sensitive fellow who’s ever been adored by Pitchfork a right ass whooping of the most excellent order.

Jawbox is one of those bands that — for most people — aged and appreciated over time like wine. Not me. No way. The first time I heard their tunes on Matt Wilson’s shift at WSDP I fell in love. I went out and purchased every CD I could find at Repeat The Beat and Dearborn Music. I bought a brick of Memorex cassettes with the clear case with blue and pink triangles and made copies for all of my closest friends. I didn’t care when they left Dischord and I loved them even more when For Your Own Special Sweetheart — one of THE best albums of the 90s — came out.

So when I heard about the reunion, I (like most people) felt this was the absolute BEST thing Jimmy Fallon has ever done for his career. For the first time I would have to sit through his program and his ill timed delivery and his criminally bad monologue. (I didn’t. I switched over to the best of the late night talk show hosts for that)

After interviews with Maddow and Ford (such wonderful guests with such a flaccid interviewer), the moment came down from Mt. DeSoto. And holy shit did it not disappoint. Yeah it was the most predictable song they could have played, but they played it and played it wonderfully.

Right at the 3/4 breakdown of the song when my wife woke up to remind me that a) we both had work in less than 5 hours b) i need to stop singing so loud because it was making the pugs bark and c) the bass was making the floor shake in the bedroom.

Whatever. I was in the mode and not really focused on those things. I’m paying the price this morning as I type this ingesting cup #2 of black coffee, but it was well worth it. I can sleep later.

And apparently I wasn’t alone in my assessment:

this would be like watching the OG members of Slum Village perform just one mo gin
about 15 hours ago from web
haaaaaaaaaaaaaa! the entire Trenchmouth band is in the bandstand behind the drums. Jawbox is way too powerful to pack it up. MORE!!!
about 15 hours ago from web

Without question this was my music moment of the year. In a year full of unmeasurable and tragic loss, this gave me massive gains. Here’s hoping this isn’t it. With all of the crap rock music being ingested and blindly consumed as “quality” , it would be a shame to have to wait another 12 years.

Oh! And one other thing! If you have no idea what the hell I’ve been talking about, check out the remastered version of their masterpiece For Your Own Special Sweetheart. Worth your hard earned coin, sez I.