Stumpclub: Vol. II

Music is not black and white. Some people want to write songs with great melodies that conform to the standards of what a great melody is as represented by every great pop songwriter. Some people have a shit-load of energy that they need to get out who could care less what a melody is. And then there is a whole lot of in-between.

What makes Stumpclub: Vol. 2 a brilliant compilation is that it represents this spectrum of popular music with full force. There are good examples of both extremes with a whole lot of in between. This is everything that makes the Portland scene so amazing is that even though the outside world doesn't recognize these spectrums, PDX does in spades. Not only is the music created, but it's recognized as being great music. It's a known fact that songs based on pure, raw emotion are just as good and listenable as those with amazing melodies and more predictable sounds and structures. I'm not saying Portland is the only scene that recognizes this cause frankley I've never been a part of any other scene, but it's one of the few that advertises it.

On the side of catchy melodies that will linger in your consciousness for days, there is David Evan (myspace.com/davidevanmusic) who is secretly one of the best song craftsmen that the Stump has to offer, not to mention an amazing producer. "Kill no keepers, Kill no thieves" prooves to be his best written and produced song to date.

For pure emotion and what I imagine is an amazing live show from The Penny Jam video I saw on their myspace page (myspace.com/magicjohnsonmusic), the musical group named after former Lakers b-baller, Dream-teamer and advocate for HIV/Aids prevention and safe sex. In the song Kelly the Antichrist the guitar/drum duo either hate Kelley or love her and hate Christ. Honestly, I don't really care to translate. I don't care either way, because that's not what is appealing about MG. They have the kind of caotic energy that starts revolutions and was drained out of most of us by eighteen from over-consumption of Mountain Dew.

In the middle and by far the best track of the compilation is Raggae Bob by The Hand That Bleeds (myspace.com/handthatbleeds). Even though the song doesn't have the kind of melody that you can sing in the shower, the mix of control and emotion that underline this song is commendable. I'm not sure whether she loves or hates his guy, but the ability of the bass, guitar and vocals to stagnate on the edge of creating a catchy melody or something that has no audible appeal is fucking fantastic. As someone who is always inclined to create majory key sounds, it blows my mind how they are able to naturally hug that line. This isn't something that can be faked or learned. It lies somewhere deep in the unconsciousness of THTB.

Other stand-out bands on Stump Club: Vol 2 are Hockey, Copy and Reporter.

stumpclub.org

Y La Bamba: Alida St

I remember a long time ago, in the early 90's, there was a songwriter named Beck Hanson who couldn't play guitar very well. To say that his recordings were lo-fi and that his guitar was either out of tune and had bad tone was a complete understatement. But, for those who are aware of his pre-"one foot in the grave" recordings, in between the bleeps, the bloops and some down-right ear-numbing tracks, there was a hint of a great songwriter whether or not anyone knew it back then.

Y La Bamba is the kind of artist that garners a lot of hate from some of those who spent years becoming great technical musicians, but never learned how to write a great song or how to be creative with little resources. Every great musician when recording wants to make sure that their tone and presentation is perfect, but they still won't be able to release an album as good as Alida St. or play there guitar as effectively as on "Fasting in San Francisco." The fact is that it's the voice, the melody and the emotion that matter more than any kind of technical prowess.

Alida St. is a collection of songs that couldn't have been written by a great musician. As I'm sure all songwriters can attest, a lot of our most creative work came from our own ignorance of our instruments, their chord progressions and the laid-out way of going about things. It's for that reason that a lot of guitarist/songwriters eventually dabble in alternate tunings as a way of freeing up our minds of it's constraints and trying to reaccess the unknown that was the beginning of our musicianship. It's the same reason that Jack White tries to convince meg to never practice the drums and the same reason I suspect why Eddie Van Halen started writing songs on the keys.

This woman has an amazing voice and flow that can only come from pure emotional delivery. There are so many different speeds, changes, inflections and great vocals steps going on here that there couldn't have been any thinking involved, not to mention how unnoticablely she transitionals from English to Spanish. It doesn't even matter what she is saying half the time because I'm so intranced by the rhythm of her voice. Though there is a lack of major instrumentation on this record her two voices that exist as one throughout the record, playing along with each other at just the right times, fill in the empty space. With the mainstream music world aflutter with whispy-voiced songtresses singing simple melodies that go side-by-side with Macontosh tv adverts, Y La Bamba makes their delivery seem held-back and inexperienced.

Every track on the record needs to be listened to with the exception of "Borthwick Magic," though it does make a nice surprise when you think the album is winding down to find that the last track, "knuckles," is one of the best.

According to Y La Bamba's myspace, she plans on recording a new collection of songs with a full band which leads me to believe that this might be her one and only lo-fi record where we are able to witness her songwriting ability through the shere lack of sound.

myspace.com/ylabamba