Ball of Wax 42 Songs: Robb Benson – The Meaning of Life

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Levi Fuller

Robb Benson is nothing if not prolific. He has started more bands (more good bands) than I can count, and early on in our acquaintance it became clear to me that songwriting for him is just one more essential function of life, like eating, sleeping, and breathing. The guy can’t not write songs. You could even say a big part of the meaning of life, for Robb, is making music; so how could he resist my call for songs about the meaning of life? He could not, and I’m very glad he didn’t. Like Holly Small, Robb went irony-free for this one; his take on the theme is earnest, and perhaps a bit dark, but ultimately (to my ears) sweet and redemptive. It starts with the question “What’s the meaning of life?” and ends with the refrain “I’m just so glad to be here with you all right now.” Community, friends, collaboration, singing and playing and listening together – that sounds like a pretty great dose of meaning to me.

Speaking of which, I hope you will join me and Robb (and many other fine artists) at the Ball of Wax 42 release show on December 3rd! It will truly be a meaningful occasion.

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Ball of Wax 42 Songs: Holly Small – The Meaning of Life

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Jon Rooney

Holly Small was last heard from on Ball of Wax Volume 40, as part of the instant, ephemeral band I Am the Deciders. Small returns to volume 42 to offer her take on the meaning of life as effusive bedroom synth pop. Subtitled “Unconditional,” the retro drum machine pattern and relentless synth arp in the first handful of measures suggests the kind of nervy soundtrack you might have found on The Terminator or a Death Wish movie from the eighties. Once the vocals come in, however, you can tell that something more period R&B is going on, with lyrics like “connection everlasting is heaven sent / we just don’t see clearly, that’s our predicament.” The chorus is carefully double-tracked, the lyrics continue on as guileless relationship advice, the song does not waver in tone or intention – Small isn’t messing around with sarcasm or irony. This song appears to be a loving re-imagining of a Jody Watley song or an early En Vogue demo. I thought that the self-harmonizing toward the end of the song momentarily evoked tUnE-yArDs or something from the Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca, but I was reaching because I’m a pretentious music jerk. Small’s “The Meaning of Life (Unconditional)” is apparently all about love and the music I remember most from middle-school dances in the years before e-mail, chill wave and everything being terrible. Now, if you’ll excuse me.

Holly Small will be performing at the Ball of Wax 42 release show on December 3rd at Conor Byrne. Don’t miss it!

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Ball of Wax 42: The Meaning of Life! 12/3 at Conor Byrne

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Levi Fuller

Ball of Wax 42 poster by Jon RooneyBall of Wax Volume 42 Release Show
Day Laborers & Petty Intellectuals / Seth Howard / KAPtN AtAK  (Strong Like Woman) / Holly Small / Robb Benson
Thursday, December 3rd, 8pm
Conor Byrne Pub
21+ / $8 (Ball of Wax 42 CD included with entry)

As you should be aware by now, for Ball of Wax Volume 42 I tasked the songwriters of the world with submitting songs titled “The Meaning of Life,” and boy did they deliver! On December 3rd we will release into the world over an hour of songs by that title by artists spanning from Ballard to Madrid, and that evening we celebrate the release with a diverse and kickass lineup of life-meaning-investigating artists.

The disc includes the above five fine artists and groups, as well as BoW mainstays such as The Foghorns and Virgin of the Birds, among many others (including me, of course) and even a couple brave newbies! As always, we’ll be rolling the tracks out between now and the release date (it has already begun). I don’t know if you will know more about the meaning of life after listening, but you will certainly have heard more songs titled “The Meaning of Life” than you ever thought possible, and that’s gotta count for something, right?

Right. See you on December 3rd at Conor Byrne!

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Ball of Wax 42 Songs: Visceral Candy – The Meaning of Life

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Jon Rooney

Seattle locals Visceral Candy return to Ball of Wax for the second straight volume with their take on “The Meaning of Life.” Like “Catastrophe” from volume 42 and Visceral Candy’s Seth Swift’s other band, Soft Blows (see volume 39), the music is kind of dark and a little bit funky (I immediately fall back on the Afghan Whigs as a reference, please suggest other RIYL bands in the comments, people of the internet). Subtitled “The Red Wheelbarrow,” the song is propelled by a sparse drums and electric bass groove, with Swift’s slinky, semi-R&B voice pleading “so much depends on / a red wheelbarrow.” So, according to Visceral Candy, the meaning of life can be found in the great William Carlos Williams poem “The Red Wheelbarrow,” with commentary from the band in the bridge, with the refrain “it ain’t what you think.” Nicely done, Visceral Candy – there’s lots to chew on there.

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Ball of Wax 42 Songs: Christopher Kelley – The Meaning of Life

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Levi Fuller

As you might have heard, Volume 42 of Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly will be composed entirely of songs titled “The Meaning of Life.” I was delighted by how many submissions I received, and I think you all will be as well. As per usual, we’ll be posting the tracks one by one between now and the release date. (December 3rd! Mark your calendar!)

We begin with a fine new song from our Providence pal Christopher Kelley of Invisible Hours* His take on the theme has this wonderful feeling of build and anticipation that I find makes for a great opening to this 19-track exploration of the meaning of life. An acoustic guitar chugs along with a steady 1/8 note rhythm, backed with synth and simple percussion, while Christopher delivers the most succinct story of the Earth and humanity I think I’ve heard. There’s no chorus here, no repeating hooks, and no big epic conclusion. Kind of like life, now that I think about it – if life ended with a guitar solo, that is.

*I must mention here that I’ve been occasionally confused as to whether they are “The Invisible Hours,” as their Facebook and Bandcamp pages suggest, or just “Invisible Hours,” as they have always referred to themselves in communications with me. A similar issue has come up with some of our BoW 42 artists, who have attempted to title their songs “Meaning of Life,” rather than “The Meaning of Life,” as instructed. I’ve come to the conclusion that some people just don’t care as much about articles as I do.
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Submit to Ball of Wax 42: The Meaning of Life!

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Levi Fuller
Photo courtesy Flickr user Yaili

Photo courtesy Flickr user Yaili

Ball of Wax 42 is coming! If you are a nerd like me, that means one thing and one thing only: the answer, per Douglas Adams, to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. So I figured why not create a compilation completely consisting of songs called “The Meaning of Life”? (With a little nod to Monty Python in there, too.) Songs can be instrumental, they can be dead serious, they can be tongue-in-cheek or satirical or whatever. They just have to all be titled “The Meaning of Life” (or the equivalent in another language).

Please have all submissions in by October 23rd (or if you totally plan on doing it but just need a little more time, please drop me a line by then). Submission guidelines right here.

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Ball of Wax 41 Songs: Golden Eels – Human Heart Attack

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Levi Fuller

I don’t know how Athens, Georgia’s Golden Eels first found Ball of Wax – and lead Eel Neil Golden couldn’t remember either – but I’m very happy they did. Their album Periscopes in the Air, from which”Human Heart Attack” was taken, is a fantastic collection of songs in the finest tradition of ’90s college and indie rock (as seems appropriate, based on their location in one of ’90s indie rock’s meccas). The songs seem to have been written, performed, and produced in such a way as to get things just right without being overly fussy; projecting perhaps a bit of a slacker vibe (I mean, just check out the album cover) while creating enormously enjoyable and sonically interesting music.

I happened to listen to Beck’s “Sexxx Laws” for the first time in a long time the other day, and it occurred to me that “Human Heart Attack” is almost like a slowed-down, stretched-out version of that tune – which allows you to really steep yourself in the surrealistic wordplay and the layered instrumental hooks, especially the delightful interplay of electric and steel guitar. Golden has a great knack, not unlike Beck, for creating phrases that make no sense whatsoever, but flow together with a sense of inevitability and easily stick in your brain. It usually takes forever for me to remember or notice song lyrics, but within a few listens I couldn’t stop my self from singing along: “And I’ve got no more to say / I was evicted by the human race today / They shoved a knife in my back / and made it look just like a human heart attack.” It was tough to pick one track from Periscopes in the Air to feature on BoW, but something about the strange warmth of this one makes it the perfect closer to volume 41. More please!

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Ball of Wax 41 Songs: Invisible Hours – Wake the Ghosts of Night

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Jon Rooney

Invisible Hours‘ “Wake the Ghosts of Night” is moody, dark guitar rock with a few interesting twists. “Wake the Ghosts of Night” has the woozy, fuzzy feel of much of the modern psych revival, but elements like a quasi-prog breakdown around the 0:53 mark and an efficient 3:07 run times suggest there’s some pop sensibility to go along with the Big Muff-powered stoner sprawl. The vocals sit pretty deeply in the mix, but there are more dynamics than in most shoegaze tracks. In summation, Invisible Hours, based on the strength of  “Wake the Ghosts of Night” and some other digging I did online, are an ambitious, genre-bending guitar band worth checking out.

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Ball of Wax 41 Songs: Puget Power – SF Bust

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Levi Fuller

I’m always a sucker for a good, solid baritone voice, and Puget Power‘s Barry O’Hara is the owner of a pretty exemplary one – rich and textured in the quiet bits, with just the right amount of heart-wrenching yowl when it’s needed. Combine that with a barroom ballad about the trials and tribulations of living in San Francisco with not enough income and a broken heart, and you’ve got a surefire hit in my books. I can only hope that the economic climate in Seattle doesn’t force him to write a sequel to this song called “Seattle Bust” from his roomy new Tacoma apartment in the near future.

Come see Puget Power in Seattle while musicians can still (sort of) afford to live here! The band is headlining the Ball of Wax 41 Release Show TOMORROW NIGHT at Conor Byrne!

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Ball of Wax 41 Songs: Darryl Blood – What This Means

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Levi Fuller

Longtime Ball of Wax friend Darryl Blood (first heard all the way back on Volume 1, most recently heard getting feisty on Volume 38) has brought us “What This Means,” a sneak preview of his forthcoming album Arden Eevin Vol. 1, and an exercise in languid, understated beauty. I’m a fan of Darryl’s work whether he’s bringing the power-pop energy (as on Vol. 38’s “Gimme Some Soul”) or exploring subtler textures and muted melodies, as on this track. Either way, you know you can count on him to deliver a perfectly-formed, heartfelt musical statement in 3 minutes or less, bless him. Arden Eevin Vol. 1 should be out toward the end of the month; keep your eye on Darryl’s Bandcamp page!

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