Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Peter Colclasure – “Cynic”

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Jon Rooney

Peter Colclasure is a former member of the Foghorns whose contribution to Ball of Wax 35 is a surreal kiss-off in waltz time. “Cynic” contrasts Colclasure’s derisive lyrics (“you got yourself seen at all the right places / all the hip parties and happening show”) against a darkly whimsical boardwalk carnival arrangement of strummed guitar, bass and synth strings. The song is marked by odd combinations, like the harsh put-downs sung by Colclasure’s clear, guileless tenor. A creepy monophonic solo (maybe a suitcase organ?) in the middle played atop canned audience laughter and applause sets a bizarre tone of nostalgia and dread. Colclasure scores extra points for having a song that, as an (anti) love song in 3/4 time, works for both volume 34 and volume 35.

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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Werebearcat! – “My Heart”

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Levi Fuller

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since Werebearcat! graced us with one of their minimalist drum-and-voice jams, but indeed it has. They made their first Ball of Wax appearance on our “No Guitars” volume, and unlike some of the artists on that collection, these guys were not trying on the guitarless look for one song. Werebearcat! does a lot with very little, marrying live drum kit and droning synth with Holly Small’s Rihanna-worthy hooks for a delightfully sweet/savory pop confection that will have you singing along by the second chorus. (And OK, there is a little sweet guitar action at the very end of the song, but they obviously do just fine without it.) We have yet to be graced with a live Werebearcat! performance at a Ball of Wax show, but here’s hoping for next time.

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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Bandolier – “Steady Love”

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Jon Rooney

Bandolier gets things off on the right foot with the iconic pum—pum-pum-thwack! of the indestructible “Be My Baby” drum beat. Almost immediately gritty synth organ and a tinny melodic figure (a guitar with tremolo?) emerge below reedy vocals singing “[I] turned to see her leave / I thought she looked at me.” Already we’re eyeballs deep in a classic boy/girl pop predicament, perfect for the love theme of volume 35.  As the song builds steam, the drummer sheds the Spector beat for straight fours and the singer reaches for an octave he can’t totally handle to deliver a chorus hook that’ll be lodged in my skull for days. This is great, amber-tinged power pop for fans of Big Star, Okkervil River and the Left Banke. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I was unaware of Bandolier before hearing “Steady Love,” but this song plus the fact that they cite the Aisler Set in their influences has me totally on board and excited to share the stage with them at the Ball of Wax Volume 35 release show – In Love with Love Valentine’s Day at the Lo Fi. You should totally come.

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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: James Smith – “Every Time I Fall in Love It Turns Out Bad”

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Levi Fuller

Webelos front man James Smith brings us a lo-fi, poppy little sad sack of a tune with a fairly self-explanatory title. It might not be the kind of song that first comes to mind when one thinks of love songs, but the “unlucky in love” genre is certainly a rich lyrical vein to mine, and you can’t say it’s not about love. The upbeat, slapback-reverbed guitar and oohs and ahhs provide the perfect counterpoint to Smith’s cleverly phrased catalog of amorous woes. While on the one hand you feel bad for the guy, you kind of want his hard times to continue so he’ll keep writing gems like this one.


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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Levi Fuller – “5 Year Plan”

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Jon Rooney

Levi‘s contribution to volume 35, “5 Year Plan,” veers away from the rumble and fuzz of his recent work with the Library and returns to the organic folk simplicity of his earlier recordings. Acoustic guitar and voice sit way up in the mix, with Levi singing a simple homage to domestic peace and happiness in the face of the social pressures of planning and ambition. Levi sings sweetly and without guile, “and maybe I am simple / but where I am is where I want to be” and “and here’s my ten year plan / our animals, our friends and you and I.”   It’s a pretty, contemplative song both humble and fully-formed as a love song – if you were to sing this song in earnest to a partner or spouse all heart strings would be appropriately plucked.

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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Kate Noson – “Fly”

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Levi Fuller

Kate Noson‘s voice was first heard by Ball of Wax listeners harmonizing with Sam Russell on Volume 30’s “All These Passing Fields.” Sam, plotting his own love song for Volume 35, recommended Kate’s country ballad”Fly” for this volume, and I’m glad he did. She has proven herself a more than able vocal accompanist, but it’s wonderful to hear her take the lead on one of her own songs. As with a lot of these songs, “Fly” is not just a straightforward declaration of love. She seems to grapple here – as many of us do – with the balance between surrendering to one’s own creative passion and drive and making oneself available, emotionally and physically, to loved ones. “I want it all and I want it now,” starts the first verse, but by the end of the last verse she sings “Where are you my love? I’m ready to come home,” and closes with a humbled variation on the chorus. It’s a beautifully rendered song, relatable and intimate yet devoid of cliche. Welcome to Ball of Wax, Kate!

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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Harbor Island – “If I Needed Someone”

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Levi Fuller

Joshua Schramm is a busy fellow. Outside of his country band Modern Relics, he has at least two other more or less solo projects, both of which submitted lovely love songs for Ball of Wax 35. Jon has already delved into the hi-fi splendor of Joshua’s collaboration with Fairy Robot; Harbor Island (at least in this recording) is a much more lo-fi affair, appearing here with a one-take direct-into-laptop-mic voice and ukulele recording (possibly the second ukulele on this volume, and definitely not the last). But with this simple little tune, beautifully sung and played as it is, you really don’t need much more.

We will be fortunate enough to experiences both sides of the Schramm coin, with performances from Harbor Island and Joshua and Fairy Robot, at this Friday’s release show for Ball of Wax 35.

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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: The Lonely Coast – “Koj će Ti Kupi al Kanariče”

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Levi Fuller

Seattle-based folk vocal duo The Lonely Coast (Valerie Holt and Anne Mathews) bring us this beautiful Balkan wedding song, recorded at Smoke Farm and ably backed by a small stringed instrument (I might assume ukulele, but it could easily be something much more exotic) and some happily tweeting birds. As with “Medicaid Lullaby,” this is perhaps not our usual fare, but I think that’s only because Ball of Wax hasn’t been on the radar of people making this kind of music up to now, not anything to do with my own preferences. I was delighted to receive this submission and I think it fits quite sweetly in between Olie’s tune and what comes next.

As to the song’s meaning, Holt and Mathews provide this bit of background, from the liner notes to the Teofilovići album Dream Keepers:

The future bridegroom addresses his sweetheart, posing two rhetorical questions: “Koj ce ti kupi al kanarice?” and “Koj ce ti kupi taj burnus pojas?” Al kanariče in local Kosovo-Resava dialect means the red scarf tied round the head of a married woman, and burnus pojas, or more correctly burmus pojas, is the belt a married women ties round her waist. So the questions are: “Who will buy you a red scarf?” and “Who will buy you an embroidered belt?” After these rhetorical questions comes the expected single answer: “Ja tebe Magdo, ja tebe džandžigeru—ja tebe.” The compound noun džandžigeru means “dear heart.” Hence the answer is “I, Magda, I will buy them for you, dear heart.”

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Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Olie Eshleman – “Baby, I’m Only 4 Area Codes Away”

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Levi Fuller

Corespondents’ Olie Eshleman made his solo guitar-based debut – I think – on Ball of Wax 33 (though you should really check out his sample-based submission to the naughty-language-ridden Vol. 13), and he returns a couple volumes later with a gem of an instrumental love song. “Baby, I’m Only 4 Area Codes Away” deftly employs sweetly melancholy surf guitar and a mechanically shuffling drum beat to evoke that wistful ache of living just a state away from one’s baby. You’re in a roadhouse, drowning your tears in your beer. The band in the corner with the Silvertone guitars and the cocktail kit might have it worse than you, but they’re channeling those blues into this sweet soundtrack to your misery.

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Love: Thoughts by Jim Gavin

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Jon Rooney

Love-heart[Jim Gavin is a Los Angeles-based writer and the biggest Love fan I know. Back in the silvery gloom of the early ’00’s, he met my general ignorance of the band with utter disgust and set me straight. He also took me to see Broadcast at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco and turned me on to the magic of Kurt Heasley’s Lilys. He’s the best of the good eggs. You should definitely check out his fantastic collection of short stories, Middle Men, and follow him on Twitter at @jimatdeltaco. -ed.]

In 1997, a friend taped the Love box set for me. It was just a tape, no case, no track listings.  For two years, the Love tape played constantly inside my 1986 Chevy Corsica, which had a V-6 and a decent factory stereo but which otherwise was perpetually on the verge of breakdown. I graduated from college and got a job as a cub sports writer for a big daily paper in Southern California. I worked weird hours, arriving at the office around five o’clock, as the sun was setting, and leaving after deadline, usually around midnight. For an entire year, I listened to Love on my way to the office, or on my way to cover a high school basketball game. I’d start with “My Little Red Book,” flip the tape somewhere around “Stephanie Knows Who,” and the next day I would get to the end of “You Set the Scene,” where the tape stopped (the tape didn’t have room for Arthur Lee’s solo stuff). Then I would start over. I never fast-forwarded a single song. For some reason I couldn’t listen to the tape on my way home, when it was completely dark. I associated Love with twilight – deep shadows and brilliant orange. Continue reading →

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