CD Review: "Self-Portrait" by Jay-Jay Johanson

As I look back upon the past year, certainly my biggest disappointment was missing out on the chance to see Jay-Jay Johanson perform live in Montreal. My departure and his arrival in la belle province were within days of each other. Although I'm certain there will be other opportunities to see him, I can't help but feel a few pangs of regret in my more self-indulgent moments. The next best thing (I suppose) was that I finally got my hands on his latest album, "Self-Portrait". I realize that I'm a bit late to the party on this one, as the album was released in 2008, but it was incredibly hard to find here in North America. I was grateful to finally receive it as a birthday gift (thanks Christian!)

As I've stated in reviews of his past albums, Johanson is a highly introspective artist. His medium is trip-hop/jazz/electronic characterized by sombre tones and autobiographical lyrics. With each album it seems that Johanson bares a little bit more of his soul to us. His previous effort, "The Long-Term Physical Effects Are Not Yet Known" was, to my mind, pretty much his most perfect album so I had very high expectations for "Self-Portrait". After all, with a title like that I expected more of the same.

Ironically, I found "Self-Portrait" to be a much less personal effort. This is not so much a view of Jay-Jay the man, but rather a look at Jay-Jay through the lens of relationships he's had with women throughout his life. None of which, it seems, were very successful. Not surprisingly, if this is a "Self-Portrait", then the picture is a bleak one. Musically, the album veers away from anything catchy or pop; it falls more under the umbrella of jazz with lots of piano and hints of downbeats. The tone is dark and melancholy, brimming with regret.

The lead single, "Wonder Wonders" opens the album and sets the tone with musings of whatever happened to a past love. "Lightning Strikes" continues with much the same dwelling, marking the passage of time and healing of old wounds, leading to "Autumn Winter Spring". To my untrained ear, there really is very little variation on this album. Most of the songs are similar in tone, tempo, instrumentation. If you were to interpret "Self-Portrait" in visual terms, it would be a canvas of a solid, neutral colour. The difference between songs feels a bit like discerning the spectrum from grey to charcoal, slate, silver, oyster, pearl or taupe... Ok, that's a bit unfair, but there really isn't any "stand out" track on this album for me. "Liar" is short and sweet, like a brief interlude which gives us a bit of a break. "Trauma", definitely the most "jazzy" is probably my favourite track. I've always been drawn to maudlin, angst-filled lyrics and these are some pretty good ones:

"On the borderline of silence,
Trauma setting in
And the loneliness is killing me
So you've got to accept my apology
It'll all become a catastrophe."

Musically, the strongest and most stand-out track would be "Broken Nose"; a story of domestic violence marked by an urgent, pounding staccato piano line. Although I feel I've come to know Jay-Jay fairly well from his songs, I'm not really sure who the abused woman is in this tale of woe or how she fits into his autobiography. The vocal melody in "Medicine" seems inexplicably familiar to me, as though I've heard something similar before but I can't place it. The album ends with "Sore", which feels like a heavy black raincloud rolling closer onto the horizon. So, we're not exactly left on a high note.

"Self-Portrait" is a bit of a disappointment. It's "good" but falls flat for me. I can see this maybe being one of those albums that "grows on me" over time but right now I just don't feel connected to it. Perhaps Jay-Jay felt these songs were an accurate depicition of his life, though not necessarily a flattering one. (Like a passport photo may be a more honest representation than a soft-focus glamour shot?) I find the title of the album puzzling and a bit of a misnomer, since the songs seem to focus on the women more than on Jay-Jay himself. Honestly, I felt "The Long Term Physical Effects..." was more honest, more psychologically revealing, and overall stronger album but then who am I to say?

Lately I've been into...

Currently reading:

"World War Z" - Max Brooks

There's been a bit of hype about "World War Z" (and zombies in general, as discussed here previously), so when I found a used copy for cheap I thought I'd check it out. That was way back in September and I'm still trying to slough through it. I'm having a weird relationship with this book: sometimes I pick it up & have a hard time getting through a chapter. Other times I get really "into" it & dig it. Suffice to say it's not great "literature". My biggest complaint about it is that although it's an interesting concept, it's not great writing. Let me qualify that: "logistically" and "technically" it's really good. It has a great concept and the story is quite ambitious. All the individual "threads" tie together nicely and it seems like the author did a lot of research (scientific, military, political) to make the whole zombie pandemic thing seem plausible. My complaint is largely that although every chapter is supposed to be "spoken" by ethnically and geographically diverse characters, to me, they all have the same literary "voice". Maybe I'm just expecting too much. It is just horror fantasy, and admittedly I'm not even finished it yet. Damn all those undergrad English lit courses I took for inhibiting my enjoyment of pulp fiction! I keep looking for symbolism and meaning instead of just entertainment!



And now having just poo-pooed on "pulp" fiction....


"Concrete" - Paul Chadwick

The editions I'm reading are not the same as pictured here, but I've been devouring volumes of Paul Chadwick's "Concrete" comics. If you're not familiar with the series, here it is in a nutshell: These are the adventures of Concrete, formerly political speech writer Ron Lithgow, whose brain is transplanted by aliens into a massive clay-like and seemingly indestructible body. Concrete is a sensitive, introspective fellow who attempts to "make lemonade" from the lemons he's been handed, and embarks on extraordinary globe-trotting adventures (eg., climbing Mt Everest solo, swimming across the Atlantic ocean, etc.), or sometimes just use his new abilities to help out people in need. Problem is there are always complications. In lesser hands, this premise would invite heavy handed slapstick, but what Chadwick gives us is just the opposite. In the style of what's good about "indie" comics, it's done in a touching, sometimes philosophic, and ever so "human" way. Another thing that appeals to me is that it's just so 1980s America. Get your hands on a copy & see what I mean. My only complaint: I am baffled as to how Concrete's assistant Larry Munro manges to score so much tail...

Currently listening to:

To be honest, I've been kind of "off" music lately.

I'm bored with my old music collection right now (I still love it mind you, just bored) and haven't found anything new that's piqued my interest. The only "current" band that I'm digging these days is Death Cab for Cutie. But as much as I like them, I really need to be a certain mood or frame of mind to listen to them because my gawd they can depress me! And yes, I'm a Morrissey/Smiths fan from way back, so I am fond of melancholy pop!

On a related note: Why do people take their taste in music so personally? Why do people take pop music so seriously? Is it because when they listen to their earphones, the music becomes the voice in their head, in essence "their" voice and it incorporates into their personality? Seriously, let's discuss this! I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Well, anyway, as a result, I've been listening to "talk radio" more and more. And yes, most of it is really bad. Most radio phone-in shows seem to be an open forum for the ignorant and ill-informed to shoot their mouths off. Beyond that, you do occasionally learn some interesting things, mostly from science programs. But again, news and current affairs are depressing too.

My plan for this winter is to become a real homebody. Recently we moved the tv out of the room that was originally earmarked as mine, and I've starting setting it up as my drawing studio/projects room. Hopefully I can get some time & concentration in the coming months & start working on some arts & crafts. I feel better when I'm producing something but sometimes I just seem to lack the inspiration or the focus. There are so many distractions. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a little ADHD...