HYMNS: Ween - "Roses Are Free"

Ween - "Roses Are Free"
(from Chocolate and Cheese, Elektra, 1994)

"Roses Are Free" is the kind of song, it's so catchy that if you wake up with it in your head in the morning, which you will, you'll start out on your commute to work already singing it, only to find that it didn't sync onto your iPod, so you'll scroll through the hundreds of artists that did successfully sync, and then you'll start to recognize a weird dissatisfied feeling in your stomach as you read the names of your favorite bands, and realize, absurdly, that you would rather give up -- now that it's there, in your head -- and walk the ten minutes to the train, and then ride the train for another thirty-five, all without playing any music at all. Just your headphones in, fogging out the city noise a bit, so that you can better hear the little recordplayer we all have in our brains play this song on repeat. The thought of other music becomes impossible. The bright keys, the dwarfish voices. Tinsel and pumpkins. The way the chorus winds itself up. The guitar solo, the fuzzy, perfect thing. 

That's just it. I think this is a perfect song. Capital-P Perfect. Which is weird, because it sounds like maybe what you'd get if you mixed a chorus of elves singing a Christmas jingle, a Van Halen concert, a trashy amusement park carousel ride and 450milligrams of mescaline sulfate. Ween is one of the most perplexing bands in the history of pop music, and "Roses Are Free" may be their ultimate achievement. 

I do not know what this song is about, but I am convinced that it is pure evil. That it is doing twisted, gloriously debauched things to my brain. 

MP3: Ween - "Roses Are Free"

Retrospective - Otis Redding

Retrospective Guest Review

Otis Redding
The Dock of the Bay

(02.1968, Elektra)
10.0

Otis is KING. Many have a qualified form of royalty, or in some instanced anointed themselves. The King of Pop, the Queen of Soul, king of the hill, etc. But in reference to Otis Redding no qualifier is needed. Although primarily a soul man, Otis’ music is infused with blues, rock and roll, jazz, country, and big band underpinnings. And from his explosive live performances, to his untimely death, Otis’ music is a tutorial in passion, sincerity and playfulness that has been all but lost on the cynicism of today. Most people are undoubtedly familiar with Otis Redding’s biggest hit, (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay, which was released following his death in an airplane crash, but it is important to know a few other things about Otis Redding. Early in his career Otis was really only recognized in the south, but at The Monterey Pop Festival that largely changed. The Saturday lineup at Monterey dictated that he follow Jefferson Airplane, who due to their popularity at the time were effectively headlining the entire weekend. In this un-envious position, Otis emerged on stage and literally stopped people in their tracks. Having just finished watching Jefferson Airplane, most of the crowd began to head for the exits considering the day as good as over, it wasn’t. Otis was on stage, and according to Bob Weir he was “God on stage…shooting lightning and sparks.” Six months later Otis was dead, he was 26. Like many great painters, and writers, Otis’ music wasn’t greatly appreciated until after his death, and if your acquaintance with his music only extends as far as The Dock of the Bay, it still isn’t fully appreciated today. You remember when Aretha sang R-E-S-P-E-C-T? Before that song became an anthem for women’s rights, it was actually written and recorded by Otis’ promising his woman everything she wanted as long as she gave him a little respect when he came home. Otis was also fond of covering great songs of other great artists including The Rolling Stone’s Satisfaction, and a number of Sam Cooke classics. On each of these renditions Otis injected his passionate delivery, often extending his voice beyond its own limits to give it an emotive effect beyond that of any of the soul singers of the time. Now back to the album, The Dock of the Bay begins with the classic song of the same name. I’m not exactly sure what more can be said about a song that contains sounds of the ocean lapping and an incredible whistling outro, but for me it stands nearly alone as one of the few classic songs that despite being overplayed, does not get old. The album veers back and forth from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other without ever losing momentum. From the playful "Don’t Mess With Cupid," to the revival inspired "Glory Of Love," to "Tramp" where Otis and “the Queen” Carla Thomas banter about Otis’ country roots and lack of sophistication. The bantering literally begins:
Carla: “TRAMP!”
Otis: “What’d you call me?”
Carla: “TRAMP!”
Otis: “You Didn’t!”
Could it get any better? Actually yes, this is when you stop reading unfounded reviews, and listen to an incredible album.

-Spruce Lee

Otis Redding live at the Monterey Fesitval