Twenty Years Ago Today. . . Steve Winwood

Now my life has changed and now my eyes can see
Now I'm living on the morning side
Now I'm letting all the sunlight into me
Now I'm free

And I know I'll never pass that way again
That dark journey to the morning side
On the morning side I feel my life begin
Let's begin

         -Steve Winwood The Morning Side from Roll With it (1988)

Remember the days when TV was filled with Michelob commercials featuring the likes of Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood? Those were the days when music was ruled by class A musicians, usually associated with the Princes Trust. I first heard Winwood from the 1986 Back in the High Life album (probably with a little help from 21 Jump Street). It was the first complete album I was fascinated with from a musical point of view. So, in the summer of 1988, I was excited by Winwood's next release, Roll With It. I remember being in Chicago the week after the album's release, and Winwood's face was plastered on every block, while the radio constantly played cuts from this masterpiece. I considered going to see his performance at Riverfest on July 15th, while friends suggested I check out Sting on July 11th. I didn't make it to either show - a regret of mine. Only a month later, I would listen to The Police and hear Sting truly for the first time, and my interest in music would not slow down after that.

I often forget about this record, and then I take a listen and I'm always struck by what an awesome work it is. Synth-driven pop, with Winwood's early R&B influence. It's one of those great "night" albums, chronicling a night of celebrating life, with its explicit imagery of night and morning. Holding On and The Morning Side are possibly the best songs of Winwood's career. The album as a whole belongs on any list of classic albums, exemplifying the magic found in what I think was the high point in music history, 1988-1992.

Random Notes

The 4G ipod finally died, so now its been replaced with the 6G 160GB "classic" ipod. Its nice to have color, video and room for my entire music collection, plus DVDs. I'm not completely impressed with what they've done to the screen, its too dark to see when the backlight is off, and they now have this screensavers that puts up the clock instead of the current song playing, which I don't like at all.

The Swiss Army Knife turns 111 today. For the last 25 years, hardly a day has gone by that I don't have one on me. Usually the Huntsman, but I also have the Mechanic and the Cybertool 41.


Gorbachev recently stated that he thinks the US is trying to start a new war with Russia. Perhaps we are not out of the 20th century chaos yet. I was recently watching a History Channel program about the Dark Ages, which theorized that even with our contemporary advancements, the 20th century could one day be seen as a "dark age" in history, given the amount of conflict and violence experienced.

Fear of a Blank Planet

Ok, I finally found time to listen to one of the most anticipated albums of 2007 - Porcupine Tree's Fear of A Blank Planet. Porcupine Tree follows the 20th century progressive lineage from Genesis, Pink Floyd, Marillion, through Dream Theater and they have taken progressive from the late neo-melodic into a 21st century postmodern progressive. The textures of their musical landscape are layers that are chaotic and dynamic, revealing a visceral complexity. Heavy, dark, and ethereal at the same time. Like the other great progressive albums of 2007, Marillion's Somewhere Else and Dream Theater's Systematic Chaos, this album is completely immersive. The music pulls you into a new world, where you want to stay and explore for a while. Like the aforementioned albums, this is one where the "repeat" button is required. The core of the album is Anesthetize, an 18 minute track that really shines as an example of modern progressive rock.

The themes of modern ennui found here are not new, going as far back as Baudelaire, although some of the technological aspects are new. The blankness of Generation X was a realized concept circa 1980, and further popularized by Douglas Coupland in the early 90s. Writing about teen angst is shaky ground for anyone over the age of 22. Peart took a larger third person perspective with the Rush songs Subdivisions and The Pass. But, here Wilson takes a more precarious first person view. The lyrics seem somewhat simplistic - whether this is intentional as appropriate to the narrative character, I don't know. As another reviewer of this album noted, "Steven Wilson's skills as a producer, songwriter, and guitarist far surpass his skills as a lyricist. This album is weighed down by its mediocre lyrics." I have to agree. The imagery is a little too overt, it has no ambiguity to allow for multiple levels of interpretation. While, I get his point, I get hit with it a little too much - some things are best when they are not as explicit. Besides the simplicity, the contemporary references -ipod, xbox, Pearl Jam, etc - might give the album a dated point of view. But, besides these concerns, the album does explore interesting ground, themes that are worth repeatedly exploring in new light. Porcupine Tree provides this light with the "modernity" of their sound, and takes us into a new future as they lead the course of progressive music.