44. Harvey Danger--King James Version
#44: Harvey Danger--King James Version (2000)
Top-Notch Tracks: "Authenticity" (HJ200 #131), "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo," "(Theme from) Carjack Fever," "Pike St./Park Slope"
Album Depth: "(This Is) The Thrilling Conversation You've Been Waiting For," "You Miss the Point Completely I Get the Point Exactly," "Humility On Parade," "Loyalty Bldg."
Weak Links: "Underground"
Problematic Song: "Meetings With Remarkable Men (Show Me the Hero)"
Stand-Out Lyrics: "When you like something, it's an opinion, but when I like something, it's a manifesto. Pomposity is when you always think you're right; arrogance is when you know."--"Pike St./Park Slope"
"The Marlboro Man died of cancer, aand he wasn't a rocket scientist when he was healthy. Ha, ha, ha."--"Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo"
"You don't need a passport to know what state you're in."--"(Theme from) Carjack Fever"
"I am the subject of your documentary. You have a question? I am the third degree."--"Authenticity"
"I am the mustard on the wedding dress, the weevil in the watercress."--"Humility On Parade"
"I'm yawning like a kid in a carpet store."--"You Miss the Point Completely I Get the Point Exactly"
Album Cover: 2 out of 10. It may seem contradictory, but it has too much busywork and too much blank white space. Plus, just pick a damn font, will you?
Comments: Okay, I'll admit that I'm cheating a little bit. When I started this list, I said that the albums included had to be ones that I would listen to from start to finish. But, for a while, including the time this album came out, I changed how I listened to albums. This was in the years between when I got a computer with the ability to burn my own cds, and the introduction of the iTunes music store in 2003.
During this period of time, the way I would listen to an album followed a certain process. I would 1) buy an album; 2) listen to the entire album once or twice; 3) decide which songs from the album I actually liked; 4) burn those songs onto a compilation cd featuring only the songs I really liked from the albums I bought. (After the introduction of the iTunes store, I continued to listen to music this same way, except I wouldn't buy whole albums, I would just by the individual songs I wanted.)
It wasn't a good period of time for listening to complete albums. (In fact, any album from post-1998 that made this list had to overcome this approach. They worked extra hard for their spot on this list.)
So, when I first purchased and listened to "King James Version," the songs were divided into three tiers, 1) the great songs; 2) the good songs; and C) the other songs. The great songs include uptempo gems "Authenticity," (complete with cowbell), and "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo," plus screeching rocker "(Theme from) Carjack Fever," and Ben Folds-esque piano ballad "Pike St./Park Slope." The good songs tier includes the first three songs listed in "Album Depth" above. (I'd name them all again, but the titles are too damn long for me to type out. I'm lazy.) And then there are the other songs, which I listened to once, deemed uninteresting, and didn't listen to again. (I'm starting to come around on "Loyalty Bldg.")
Oh, and then there's that problematic song. The opening song from the album, "Meetings with Remarkable Men (Show Me the Hero)," would probably be a great song if it weren't for the first verse, which sets off a blaring "Sacrilege Alert" in my mind that I just can't get past.
So, despite its faults and the fact that I have rarely listened to about a third of the album, the strength of the other songs is enough to get the album on my Top 60 list. Why do I like Harvey Danger so much? Is it because of the driving guitar sound? Is it because of the clever lyrics? Is it because the guitarist and founding member of the band is named Jeff Lin? Is it because they use parenthesis in many of their song titles? (I likes me some parenthesis!) Is it because they weren't a big enough deal nationally that I could consider myself cool for really liking this band no one else seemed to care about? It might be any and/or all of those reasons. Or, it might be pomposity and arrogance. (Because, as someone once sang, when you like something, it's an opinion, but when I like something, it's a manifesto.)
Up next: It's a free concert! (Even for stupid people.)
Pomposity and arrogance--the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of personality disorders.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, I'd say you weren't pompous and arrogant enough about your affinity for Harvey Danger. Although this band was around for the late '90s-early '00s explosion of the interwebs, they were a little too early to reap the benefits of independent music distribution tech like YouTubes and Vevo. If the YouTube and Vevo of today had been going in 2000, then Harvey Danger would have been a much bigger deal nationally--especially after the release of King James Version. It's one of the finest rock albums that I've never heard before in my life, although I do think I've heard the Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo song before. And the reason I didn't hear it is because of the stranglehold that the record companies had on the music industry at that time. They were too busy trying to stop Napster to realize that online music distribution was the future of the business. Now 20 years later, a band like Harvey Danger can be the masters of their own destiny by creating music and releasing it online whenever they want, instead of when the record companies decide it is the most profitable for them. Alas, the band broke up in 2009. But I predict the band, and especially the King James Version album, will have a comeback in the next ten years as the late '90s and early '00s becomes the "nostalgic" music that the young'uns listen to. And when that happens you'll be cool again because you liked Harvey Danger 30 years before they became popular.