search for something...

search for something you might like...

Everybody! Punch the Sky! Bobby Conn dredges up a bat out of hell from the costume closet and comes up with a glorious balm for the temporary death of satire upon us. RIP Kurt Vonnegut.

Everybody! Punch the Sky!

Bobby Conn dredges up a bat out of hell from the costume closet and comes up with a glorious balm for the temporary death of satire upon us. RIP Kurt Vonnegut.

by Alex V. Cook, Music Editor
first published: April, 2007

approximate reading time: minutes

I'm not sure where the line between honest revelry and deconstruction lies, and that's why it works for me

Bobby Conn
King for a Day
(Thrill Jockey)

When it comes to matters of mass humanity and their motivations for what they do, I consistently vote Newtonian - our excesses can largely be chalked up to pressures behind us, resulting in the final burst when the flimsy seal is broken. Its how volcanoes work, how wars work and toothpaste as well. I'm sure old Kurt Vonnegut could offer a much deeper and wittier variant/correction to this, but he is gone now, so it goes. We must now muddle along now that our last Mark Twain has sunk in the murky ether, with no help from the grand scale avoidants Eggers, Pynchon and Wallace. For a quiet cold moment, satire is dead along with Vonnegut, and with out that blanket on us, we are quivering under life's chill. We are helpless to succumb to its pressures. This is a momentary condition, just as pressures build up, they recede in reflexive frequency. And we can shiver in our beds, or rise up and act and as raconteur-cm-motivational speaker Bobby Conn puts it, "to raise your fist and PUNCH THE SKY."

bobby conn -  king for a dayOur music is as much a product of the big pressures as our politics, and Bobby Conn's CD conveniently wedges in as a balm on this dark hour. Bobby Conn is a tough nut to crack. As with all drag-theatre-oriented art, I'm not sure where the line between honest revelry and deconstruction lies, and that's why it works for me. It certainly isn't the show tunes aspect of it. The Hindenburg of Conn's stage ego gets hyper-inflated on King of a Day, and elaborate rock opera of vanity and hubris that is as much Ziggy Stardust as it is Meat Loaf, as much King Crimson as it is Cheap Trick. And all of these things wrap up in the conundrum of Queen, who lights this candle. "Vanitas" opens with a gong and bongos, ascending up through a snaky wisteria of violin and smoky Steve Miller band atmospherics to a choir, then on to an avalanche of a power riff, all in Latin for dramatic effect. It works rather flawlessly. Conn, the self proclaimed Antichrist, becomes Jesus Christ Superstar in a breathtaking 8-minute transformation.

It's a glorious start for our revolution. But like any march, we have a couple missteps at first, namely "When the Money's Gone" which is one of those corny retro AM cabaret tracks that similarly mar Destroyer's otherwise flawless records. A friend was recently trying to sell me on the contemporary saliency of Supertamp's Breakfast in America, particularly in reference to me throwing The Shins under the bus, and I hold his child up as evidence of the crimes of the parent. But this tableau is a variety show, and the title track that follows rights things directly. Conn has a velvet swagger and an innate sense of soft rock orchestration that is perfect in its sheen. "A Glimpse of Paradise" is the kind of mock exotica that might accompany the footage of our airplane traversing the map to the insouciant shores of "Love Let Me Down," maybe the real showcase song of the album. He has prince falsetto and sense of the baroque that builds up into a confectionary hypnotic prog ending, segueing perfectly into the intricate Crimson red guitar and violin workout "Sinking Ship." Delicious stuff.

"Twenty-One" has that mock jazz thing these soft rock guys can't seem to shake, but his refactored Steve Miller groove is what saves this and many of the tracks on this records. "Punch the Sky" is a theatrical aside, his voice delivering his semi-ironic motivational speech a "Born in the USA" bombast coming to a head when he yells "PUNCH THE SKY!" and leaps full-frock into The Big Number "Anybody." I picture sequins, ice-skaters, fireworks, and lots of hats when I hear this overblown extravaganza of a song.

"(I'm Through With) My Ego" is a slinky Le Jazz Hot vamp, "Mr. Lucky" an autumnal keyboard figure with female vocals pitting life as details of the stage, and the final track "Things" is a fabulous piano confessional - one of those i-ain't-done-yet things that usually make me throw up in my mouth a little when I see Liza Minnelli do it during pledge week on my PBS affiliate , but it works when Conn applies his painterly touch and slight post-rock analytical distance to it. That's how this record strikes me - I almost want to deplore it but his delivery, his drive, his revolutionary sprit bleeds through it like bleach spilt on the flag. Part of me wants to say I can't recommend it, but the rest of me proclaims that Bobby Conn cannot be denied. Either way, the pressure is on.

Alex V. Cook
Music Editor

Alex V. Cook listens to everything and writes about most of it. His latest book, the snappily titled Louisiana Saturday Night: Looking for a Good Time in South Louisiana's Juke Joints, Honky-Tonks, and Dance Halls is an odyssey from the backwoods bars and small-town dives to the swampside dance halls and converted clapboard barns of a Louisiana Saturday Night. Don't leave Heathrow without it. His first book Darkness Racket and Twang is available from SideCartel. The full effect can be had at alex v cook.com
about Alex V. Cook »»

Pete Williams web banner

RECENT STORIES

RANDOM READS

All About and Contributors

HELP OUTSIDELEFT

Outsideleft exists on a precarious no budget budget. We are interested in hearing from deep and deeper pocket types willing to underwrite our cultural vulture activity. We're not so interested in plastering your product all over our stories, but something more subtle and dignified for all parties concerned. Contact us and let's talk. [HELP OUTSIDELEFT]

WRITE FOR OUTSIDELEFT

If Outsideleft had arms they would always be wide open and welcoming to new writers and new ideas. If you've got something to say, something a small dank corner of the world needs to know about, a poem to publish, a book review, a short story, if you love music or the arts or anything else, write something about it and send it along. Of course we don't have anything as conformist as a budget here. But we'd love to see what you can do. Write for Outsideleft, do. [SUBMISSIONS FORM HERE]

WRITERS thru' the Years

Agata Makiela, Alan Devey, Alan Rider, Alex V. Cook, Ancient Champion, Andy Allison, Annemiek, Becca Kelly, Belle Plankton, Bruce Bailey, Caiomhin Millar, Chantal, Cheiron Coelho, Chris Connolly, Christian Present, Damon Hayhurst, Dan Breen, Danny Rose, David Hackney, David O'Byrne, Denni Boyd, Dirty Lillie, DJ Fuzzyfelt, Dr. Rich, Dr. Richard Bennett, Duncan Jones, Erin, Erin Pipes, Erin Scott, Gracey Babs, Graham Baker, Guilaine Arts, H.xx, Hamilton High, Henderson Downing, Holly Martins, J. Charreaux, J.Lee, Jay Lewis, Jaycentee, Jennifer Lynn, Jenny McCann, Jeremy Gluck, Jez Collins, Joe Ambrose, John Robinson, Jonathan Thornton, Julie O, Karl Morgan, Katherine Pargeter, Kelsey Osgood, Kevin McHugh, Kiah Cranston, Kleo Kay, Lake, Lee Paul, Luke Skinner, Malcolm, Marek Pytel, Mark Piggott, Martin Devenney, Meave Haughey, Michelle Williams, Mike Fox, mindy strouse, Neil Campbell, Neil Scott, Ogglypoogly, OL House Writer, Pam, Paul Burns, Paul Hawkins, Paul Mortimer, Paul Quigley, Peter Williams, Pixie McMowat, Pixievic, Rene Williams, Richard John Walker, Rick Casson, Rikki Stein, Ronan Crinion, Rowena Murphy, Ruby Lake, Ryan 'RJO' Stewart, Samantha Charles, Seth Sherwood, Shane O'Reilly, Sheridan Coyle, Sofia Ribeiro Willcox, Sophia Satchell-Baeza, Spanish Pantalones, Speedie John, Spencer Kansa, Steve McCarthy, The Conversation, Tim London, Tim Sparks, Tony Fletcher, Toon Traveller, Trevi, Urs Lerch, Wayne Dean-Richards, and founders, Alarcon & Lamontpaul

OUTSIDELEFT UNIVERSE

Pete Williams, outsideleft night out
OUTSIDELEFT Night Out
weekend

outsideleft content is not for everyone