s/d David Axelrod

I’ll always associate Axe with GTA IV

xps Austin thanks for mentioning Pride, I hadn't listened to that album in years. Such a foreboding and haunting, yet groovy vibe throughout. Visions of barren landscapes OTM. "The Death of Juan Diaz" makes me picture a western that takes place in the wasteland on the cover of Earth Rot.

Speaking of which, Pride doesn't bowl me over like Earth Rot--the environmentalist-zombie-cult choirs on that one are some of my favorite vocals on any record, and the arrangements are God-tier--but Pride is a really cool, stripped-down/introspective exploration of his singular aesthetic

yep, earth rot is definitely one of those 'singular' albums that probably would have sounded weird regardless of when it was made. i have warmed up to it a lot over the years. here's a fun fact: all of his capitol albums were supposed to sound like that with the vocals. there's no strings on earth rot because the choir is singing those parts. if you know william blake and axe's first two albums well enough, you can sort of guess how some of the parts may have gone.

unrelated to everything: this song has always seemed mildly axelrod-ish to me. don't know much about the influences at the time, but came out of the exact same scene, so i would imagine there was tons of cross-pollination happening-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew3eG3BJoYA

the association - "the time it is today" (1968)

Yeah, that Association song is pretty Axe-like, uses the same types of chords he was into (major 7ths, various suspended chords, etc.) and the bass and drums have that same Wrecking Crew-adjacent sound. I get the same vibe from "Wichita Lineman"

if you ever wanted to hear axe's two mca albums from the late 70s in full, here ya go.

(also more copyright shenanigans: i got dinged for 2 claims on this video — both of which came from goobers that sampled the axelrod records. if i'm understanding the way this works correctly, those folks will potentially see ad revenue money from this video. kinda sorta definition of bullshit.)

hi i was going to post about axe's 90s albums and something something reassessment and the big country is actually great or whatever. but honestly who cares, here's the "leading citizen"—

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xFEclCEaDA
david axelrod — "the leading citizen" (1972)

badass funk jam calling out bigots and one of the alltime-iest alltimers ever. that breakdown!

here's my initial post re:90s stuff. it's boring.
nothing super important.

recent discussions about "legacy" acts and the consistency therein has got me thinking: dude, david axelrod recorded two albums in the 90s and i hardly ever listen to them!

(tw in this link: holocaust imagery)

requiem is a notoriously difficult experience. it's the complete opposite of most of his 60s work: where that stuff was wholly unrestrained consonance about the wonders and magic of existence (for the most part), requiem is about, well, genocide. it's an album i respect more than i like. it's completely and totally jarring music. the first time i heard it, the most extreme thing i knew was probably like public enemy or something. i had zero knowledge of any sort of experimental music and didn't understand why it was so atonal. seems more like an intentional statement than something meant to be listened to for pleasure. for example: it has more idle moments that i would describe as "shrill" in the first ten minutes than most albums have in their total duration. it's almost frustratingly spare at times; those moments of intermittent silence are just uncomfortable. i still struggle with it and after knowing it casually most of my life, i think i can definitively say: this album is an acquired taste.

the big country otoh is due a huge reassessment imo. not that requiem isn't, but the big country is the next best thing after axe's "golden years." it does have a lot of those sparse dissonant passages that dominated requiem, but a lot of the old band is back around having axe mutate contemporary and classic country songs into his unique vision definitely feels like a "return to form." if i had to compare it to any of his previous albums, i'd say it most comfortably sits in the same space with the messiah album. it has that light r+b/pop sheen on it and there's moments (especially on "standing outside the fire") where it wouldn't be unsurprising to hear lou rawls pop up. not an all-out masterpiece or anything, but some of the vocal versions are very much vintage axe (and yes: there's open drums all over it and oh hey also they completely smash; ndugu!!!). i was too young at the time, but i now look back and realize the early 90s was the beginning of what i've started to refer to as "the reassessment period" — and i know "retro" will always be cool in cycles, but the 90s is where i think this kicked into high gear. examples would be: joe henderson, buena vista social club, swing revival, etc. i don't know how else to put this so i'll just say what's in my heart: polite music that maybe got overlooked initially. david axelrod made two really gimmicky moves in the 90s (presumably with the idea that he was going to see some "retro" love) and neither paid off. he was jewish so it makes sense that he would do something around ww2/holocaust (and that was definitely in the public psyche; schindler's list, national holocaust museum opening, etc.), but the big country is such a blatant attempt to cash in on the "new nashville" that was booming around the time, i have to laugh a little. requiem tanked of course and the big country never made it past promos (a cassette promo purchased from eBay in 1999 was my intro; it was officially released in 2003 but only outside of america about 8 years after it was recorded). both albums fell into obscurity and i have to kind of **smhchuckle** that around the same time axe was getting the news that the big country had been shelved, dj shadow was loading bits of songs of experience into his mpc. we know how the rest goes. definitely recommend the big country. it's cheesy and warm and wholly contains that singular axe vibe.

this is the austin content that makes my ilx subscription worth every penny! great post.

oh you're too kind. genuinely: thank you for reading.

(don't mind me btw, just doing some legacy building. also have i hammered home his arguably militant anti-fascist, feminist worldview enough? oh, not the "feminist" part? no, i guess i haven't really talked about strange ladies yet, have i?)

still waiting for that strange ladies reissue.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Thursday, January 2, 2020 4:25 PM (three years ago)

criminal. youtube link above still active as of now. yes it's ripped from my copy hooray! listen to obscure smooth jazz goddammit. it's good for you.

strange ladies-era axe ephemera: axe + mca label president mike maitland for keyboard player magazine—

https://i.imgur.com/skSq9AJ.jpg

(sorry about the quality. i have no claims to the source of that photo.)

—epilogue for the evening—

update on this:

(also more copyright shenanigans: i got dinged for 2 claims on this video — both of which came from goobers that sampled the axelrod records. if i'm understanding the way this works correctly, those folks will potentially see ad revenue money from this video. kinda sorta definition of bullshit.)

― ミ💙🅟 🅛 🅤 🅡 🅜 🅑💙彡 (Austin), Saturday, July 30, 2022 2:21 PM

i contested tf outta that bullshit and those wankateers stood down. i hold no copyrights, but also fuck your mother fucking copyrights. yeehaw bitches, subvert everything.

sorry forgot the punchline:

VIDEO

STAYS

UNMONETIZED

music should be free.

david axelrod is therapy through music.

Austin!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🥳🧁🎉🎂🎁🎈🎈🎈

possibly belated depending what time zone you're in