tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post4313082741847399724..comments2024-03-28T07:12:20.028-04:00Comments on Fragments of a Cale Season: WastelandInverarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09838650110847975337noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-78974424732103121242007-06-22T11:41:00.000-04:002007-06-22T11:41:00.000-04:00Re: substance, I'm not going to craft some list of...Re: substance, I'm not going to craft some list of criteria for what defines a Substantial Cale album. By 'substantial' I mean two things-- one, does it stick in the memory, for good or ill? Are there any juicy turns of phrase, or instrumental flourishes that are uniquely "Cale" to be found? Even when I didn't know the names of half the tracks on Fragments of a Rainy Season, random er... fragments would be stuck in my head. And two-- does it emotionally engage the listener? Wasteland engages me, about five or so tracks on VV engage me, and the rest... pff. I don't turn to Cale to be lightly entertained. Any random Cale album is likely to have more than one track that digs into my memory and engages my emotions, so blackAcetate comes up low on the list.Mark of the Asphodelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14559240762068577710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-13082175779046701272007-06-21T23:11:00.000-04:002007-06-21T23:11:00.000-04:00I long to hear when the time is right what makes W...I long to hear when the time is right what makes <I>Walking on Locusts</I> so bad; I dimly remember reading a fairly positive Rolling Stone review of it as a kid. I think.<BR/><BR/>The lyrics to this one sound interesting, though, and RPI's comment on Sabotage makes me very intrigued!Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740401073988507304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-57200936065735007122007-06-21T18:06:00.000-04:002007-06-21T18:06:00.000-04:00I agree that blackAcetate is one of the least subs...I agree that blackAcetate is one of the least substantial albums of his career. But what do you think his most substantial albums are, and what do you think a "typically substantial album" would be?<BR/><BR/>I've always liked this track, but something irks me about it every time I hear it: if the soil is cold and damp and volcanoes are in sight, you're living in one of the most fertile areas on earth. Now, it <B>could</B> be that he's aware of this, and the condition of "wasteland" is a transitive one, one that will pass away as vegetation starts to colonize the lava flows - though if there's soil that's not likely... (I'll stop now! But that actually is an interesting metaphor for the destruction that can result from a failed relationship...)<BR/><BR/>And yet I listen to the song anyway, because I can (barely) resist my science-pedant tendencies and because the song has such a great feeling of mystery and eros. I love the "ha na na na" backing vocals - they enhance the song's feeling of vulnerability.<BR/><BR/>The vocal has a feeling of conscious restraint - he wants to be more expressive, but he shouldn't. I like that a lot.<BR/><BR/>I dunno about equating this with Vintage Violence. You can almost perceive a narrative, albeit a fractured one, in the songs. I think there's a fair chance that blackAcetate is one of his more "confessional" albums. (Then again, Walking on Locusts seems to be, too, and that doesn't help it a bit.)<BR/><BR/>Besides, you don't need a path into "Sabotage," just a finely honed sense of desperation.<BR/><BR/>Finally, <A HREF="http://fragmentsofcale.blogspot.com/2007/06/jumbo-in-tha-modernworld.html" REL="nofollow">he can indeed</A> still do the histrionics, as you should remember :PInverarityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09838650110847975337noreply@blogger.com