At Your Service

Quick review of the new Morphine rarities disc that will appear in the November issue of The Noise....

When Morphine bassist /frontman Mark Sandman died in the summer of 1999, the iconoclastic band's promising run was cut fatally short. The past decade has left fans with a lot of questions as to what could have, should have, would have happened to Beantown's low rock heroes with few answers, save for a posthumous greatest hits collection and Dana Colley's recent resurgence in A.K.A.C.O.D. But as Sandman croons on the trio's loaded new rarities retrospective At Your Service, "Have Patience. Everything will be alright."
It's a promise the album delivers on fully. Twelve years since the band's last full length, At Your Service pulls together 35 tracks of b-sides, alternate takes and live cuts in an attempt to fill the void left by the band's breakup. Fortunately the band rolled a lot of tape during its tenure, and much of the two disc set stands alongside the band's best work. Tracks like "Women R Dogs" and "Come Over" will feel achingly familiar, basking in the band's signature molasses-like blues sound, while the live cuts the make up much of the second disc are a cut above the Bootleg: Detroit release. As a rarities set it's not the most consistent listen, but fans who have long been jonesing for a fix will find it pretty refreshing (Ryan Bray).

Jawbox reuniting? On Jimmy Fallon?

Um, yup. According to numerous credible news outlets including the AV Club, Punknews.org and Aversion, DC post-punk heroes Jawbox will be reuniting for a one off performance on Late Night without Conan O'Brien...um, I mean Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The performance, slated for Fallon's Dec. 8 episode, comes on the heels of Dischord's reissue of the band's 1994 disc "For Your Own Special Sweetheart," tentatively set to hit shelves Nov. 24.
But don't get your hopes up too much. Frontman J. Robbins quickly shot down talks of an extended reunion. But hey, at least we have a halfway legitimate excuse for watching Fallon's show.

Bob Mould @ The Paradise (Oct. 7, 2009)

At 49, Bob Mould has a lot to look back on.
2009 marks the shifty rock vet’s 30 year anniversary, beginning with his seminal work fronting alt-punk legends Husker Du and onward to commercial success with Sugar and a solid solo resume. So when he embarked on his current three week jaunt through the states earlier this fall, maybe the hardest thing for Mould in prepping for the tour was figuring out where to start.
The catalogue runs deep, but the newly assembled Bob Mould Band hit a near pitch perfect balance Wednesday night at the Paradise, weaving in and out of songs new and old and leaving no stretch of Mould’s stellar career untouched.
A power trio rounded out nicely by bassist Jason Narducy and Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster, the band blasted through a good 20 songs over the course of its 90-plus minute set, with Mould barely coming up for air save for the occassional nod and “Thanks.” He may be one of modern rock’s most prized elder statesmen, but Mould’s still not keen on resting on his cred, as he slashed and lumbered his way about the stage with vitriolic gusto. The man’s still got it, and a lot of it.
Things kicked off with the early Husker favorite “Something I Learned Today,” providing fans with the first of what would be many Husker bones Mould would throw the crowd. A few Sugar tunes followed, which segued into solo cuts from “Workbook” and his most recent effort “Life and Times,” the title track of which proved that the singer’s angsty alt-pop leanings haven’t staled at all over time.
But the detours toward new material were few and brief, as the band opted instead to dip into the vaults for the crowd favorites. The Huskers were well represented through a slew of cuts off of “New Day Rising” (“Celebrated Summer,” “I Apologize,” “Folklore”), Sugar’s “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” and “A Good Idea” made appearances and Mould’s early solo material was well represented thanks to “See a Little Light.” But maybe the most poignant moment came when the band put out the fire long enough to play some acoustic songs, as “Hardly Getting Over It” may well have been the night’s finest moment.
Balder and greyer he may be, but Wednesday’s show proved that Bob’s still Bob, and for fans young and old that proved easy enough to take.