Joe Dirt Car
This is one of the great live albums of all time.
I was listening to a Kenny Aronoff podcast. I’m not sure of the future of podcasting, not because of the measurement issue, but because so many players are gonna be disillusioned when the great consolidation occurs. That’s the story of new technology, everybody plays, ultimately they find few are paying attention and then the big boys come in and clean up.
Right now I’m hooked on this David Axelrod podcast wherein he interviews all these politicos. I gave it a whirl since Chelsea Handler said she was wowed by S.E. Cupp and had her on her show. I was not, wowed, that is. Anybody who has no idea what party their parents belong to is lying. And when you start saying that Democrats are anti-religion, you lose me. But Cupp is intelligent and the level of discourse is an antidote to the drivel so often posing as entertainment. That’s what’s so great about podcasts, they’re the last bastion of intellectualism, where being smart isn’t stupid, where you can dig down deep believing someone cares until you find out they don’t.
And I was deciding between listening to Michael Steele or Tom Brokaw, I’m not anti-Republican, I found listening to Karl Rove’s story quite illuminating, when I saw that “Rock Solid” podcast someone had hipped me to, with the lengthy interview with Kenny Aronoff:
You should check it out if you remember when. When bands were everything, a hit on MTV was everywhere and knowing how to play was a calling card.
Kenny was hooked by the Beatles.
But then he took lessons.
I believe if we had music in the schools it would revolutionize the business. Because when you’ve got the building blocks you can construct amazing edifices. Education is just a jumping off point. But when you know nothing it’s hard to achieve much, just look at reality TV, tune in to the hit parade, it’s paint by numbers work created by the usual suspects or those who’ve foraged on their own. Max Martin and Adele went to music school, never forget it.
So, after getting his start with John Mellencamp, Kenny ultimately played with a cornucopia of acts, some he’s still dedicated to, like John Fogerty.
And the BoDeans.
They were on Slash. That made them uber-hip. When that still mattered, before getting noticed at all was a challenge and we no longer made delineations between that which had elan and that which did not.
And there were a number of BoDean tracks.
I’m not talking about the overplayed “Closer To Free,” which is good, but…
“Idaho,” “Black, White and Blood Red,” and…
“True Devotion.”
I was lucky for a long, long time
I never felt much pain
Mess of clouds came over me
The night it finally rained
That’s growing up. The loss. Everything’s working out, and then it doesn’t. It’s even worse when you’re out of school, no one cares.
And I played the studio iteration on “Black and White,” the band’s 1991 release, over and over again. But not the whole album, I cherry-picked.
And then I got “Joe Dirt Car.”
Used to be a live album was a cheap shot. A way to bide time, make some quick bucks. For every classic double package there’s a plethora of junk.
There’s “Frampton Comes Alive,” the legendary seller.
“Live At Leeds,” considered to be the best, even though I think it suffers for lack of crowd noise.
And the unheralded “Five Man Acoustical Jam,” if you don’t know this Tesla live set you’re in for a treat, then again, you’re probably best off knowing their material.
And then there’s “Joe Dirt Car,” the BoDeans’ 1995 double CD package.
It came in a box from Warner Brothers, back when being on the mailing list was everything, even though the more that came the less you listened to. But there was certain stuff you spun that became your favorite even though it got so little traction, like “Joe Dirt Car.”
It’s the feel. Like you’re at the gig, inside the club, with a band firing on all cylinders, not faking it whatsoever, not needing hard drives to get their message across.
And for a long time “Joe Dirt Car” was not on Spotify.
But listening to Kenny testify I searched and found out it. I decided to check it out, it’s been years.
It sounded just as special, just as good. It was a sui generis Dead Sea Scroll. There’s no context, “Joe Dirt Car” is part of no continuum. It’s like stumbling into a local gig where a band better than the neighborhood is playing and slaying you, you’re in the groove, you’re hooked, you feel fully alive.
So, if you remember rock and roll. When it was all about guitars and drums. When what you wore was irrelevant. When immediacy was more important than perfection.
You’re gonna love this.
Before you go to sleep tonight
Say a prayer for me, yeah
And all the other wasted souls
Drowning definitely
Those who saw the Beatles on TV, who cast aside our previous desires and took up instruments, like Kenny Aronoff, who got bitten by the sound.
Our lives took a U-turn. And we’ve never recovered. And it wasn’t only about hits, but bands that had that sound.
BoDeans had that sound.
I’m going down with true devotion. I’ve wavered, but when this music fills my ears…
It’s the only thing that makes me feel good.
