I like The Decemberists -- when they're doing someone else's songs

I’m not much of a Decemberist fan. They’re good, and I find their music enjoyable enough. But nothing I've bought or heard keeps me coming back for more.

You Ain't No Picasso has dozens of great cover songs from The Decemberists and Colin MeloyBut I do like the sense of adventure from the band and leader Colin Meloy, which shines in a collection of more than 50 Mp3s of live cover songs captured on a site called You Ain’t No Picasso. ((())

There’s a core group of songs from three performers: Morrissey/Smiths, Shirley Collins and Sam Cooke (?!?!). But there also are nuggets from Big Star (“Ballad of El Goodo”), Robyn Hitchcock, Soft Boys, Bad Company, Scud Mountain Boys, Brian Eno, Echo and the Bunnymen, Velvet Underground, Squeeze, ELO, Cheap Trick, Heart and The Outfield. Plus many more.

Song are OK, some good, some are great, some are muddy, some are crisp. But when you’re constantly pushing the edges, it’s all good in my book.

The backstory behind "Eton Rifles"

I just stumbled across an illuminating Sound On Sound magazine piece on the making of The Jam’s “The Eton Rifles” punk anthem from way back in 1979.

The Jam on "Top of the Pops," performing 'The Eton Rifles' in November 1979I recall buying the album “Setting Sons” from which it came the week it was released. I also recall “Eton Rifles” being my second least-favorite song on the album (the “Heatwave" cover never won me over). For me the song was too provincial for a teenager to understand, and this overly long sentence from Richard Buskin's story bears that out:

“Inspired by a news article that Weller read about unemployed demonstrators on a socialist 'Right to Work' march being heckled by what he later described as 'a bunch of tossers' from the prestigious Eton College, 'The Eton Rifles' encapsulated all that was best about The Jam: Foxton's pumping bass, Buckler's powerful drumming, a catchy refrain and Weller's hard-edged vocal delivery of sardonic lyrics — in this case, dealing with class war and opening with the typically colloquial 'Sup up your beer and collect your fags, There's a row going on down near Slough.' ”

The rest of “Setting Sons” is superb, and remains a favorite of mine to this year. Years later, my lack of love for “Eton Rifles” hasn’t changed much, but I enjoyed reading Buskin’s backstory into the making of the song.

Key surprises for me:

• Producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven buying pieces of corrugated steel and bringing them into the studio to draw a harder edge out of the guitar sound.
• Paul Weller’s dad, of all people, championed bassist Bruce Foxton’s song “Smithers-Jones.”
• The album was completed a mere five weeks before its release. These days -- a world of digital freedom -- record companies seem to take ages before letting songs hit market.
• Classic Jam songs like “Down in the Tube Station and Midnight” and “Going Underground” were struggles to complete.

Abbey Road sale worth reflecting upon

News that EMI was considering selling Abbey Road Studios triggered gasps from music afficionados this week. The studio, where The Beatles transformed rock music, is indeed something to rally around.

I don't fault EMI for considering the move; smart businesses can't be beholden to legacies that don't fit their future. As many people wrote, the news was proof that fabled recording studios were living on borrowed time in a world of low-fi Mp3s and earbuds.

Someone, possibly the British government or a historic preservation group, will ensure Abbey Road lives -- not as a studio but as a museum to milk like nobody's business. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Stax Studios, Sun Studios, Motown Studios and other studios turned museums generate big bucks while providing fun history lessons into transformative eras of modern music.

Eric Felten of The Wall Street Journal -- whose previous gig as drinks columnist for the paper had to be the best journalism job ever -- waxes nostalgic in a column that eloquently captures how the great studios transformed how we listen and why that experience may soon be lost forever. I'm a geek about recording history, and I think Felten's short piece is as good as any in quickly capturing the magic and science of studio sound, and why we need to periodically take the time to treasure the art behind it.