The Severed Cortex

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Delicious-Mike-Doughty/dp/B0012IWK3O/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1215183198&sr=8-1

I really, really, really like Mike Doughty. I really sort of kick myself for not getting into Soul Coughing back in the day, but I guess musically it just wasn't there for me at the time. I'll have to revisit that thought in the near future. Right now I'm still digging all the Mike Doughty solo stuff, of which I own all except the 2005 EP, mainly due to my stance against EP's. That EP does have a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's King of Carrot Flowers, so I might have to bend my no EP rule. Doing a NMH cover is, in my book, just another way of validating Mike Doughty's low key coolness. It also validates me since I love that NMH release (10 years ago) along with about a thousand other people. Not much more than that though. Well, probably more than that since it's mentioned by about every indie artist ever. Still, it remains amazingly unknown despite the fact that it has inspired a generation of artists and therefore has left a lasting imprint on indie pop. Mike Doughty knows though.

I liked Mike Doughty long before I became aware of his penchant for odd, inspiring music from the late nineties. I'm not sure exactly why, but I think it's because Mike Doughty has the persona of your everyday nice guy who just happens to be very creative. Extremely creative. Normally I'd be envious of his talent, as I am with say Hugh Laurie, but for some reason in this case I stand in reverence. Hugh Laurie on the other hand is soaking up too much of the talent water and he's flaunting it about in our faces. Save some for the rest of us poor non creative souls Hugh, you greedy bastard. But, creative as Mr. Doughty might be, the funny thing is that it's not like he's doing anything that's even remotely groundbreaking. He writes simple pop songs using simple chords and simple lyrics. Well, scratch that last part. They may seem like simple lyrics but a closer inspection shows that they are in fact significantly deeper than they appear. Even a song like 27 Jennifers with its up tempo beat and slightly comic title draws you in quickly, and it's only after a couple of verses that you realize that the topic at hand is about how one can stand out in a crowd of sameness. Yes, it's a cover from his Skittish release, but with the increased production values ten years later, you really get a better feel for the disparity between song rhythm and lyrical meaning in the updated version. I usually never get that deep into the lyrics, unless they are over the top campy or irritably catchy, so on top of the solid music, Mike Doughty has made me study his music. Simple, but complex music. I've always found the art that I like the most is the stuff that looks so simple, but somehow it is able to work on more than that superficial simple level. The ability to reuse an art form and still produce something of quality baffles me and Mike Doughty music is another example of fine quality recycled art form.

I think when it is all said and done, I like Doughty's previous release Haughty Melodic better than I like Golden Delicious. But then again, I really like Golden Delicious a heck of a lot too. On the 2005 release there are a lot of songs about women and that always gave me the feeling that Mike Doughty is a bit of a player. Maybe not a player in the traditional sense. Maybe he just loves women. Hey, he's a rock and roll musician. Last I checked it is sort of the point of being a rock and roll musician. Whether he's the love 'em leave town type I don't care, but it's clear that he draws a lot of inspiration from meeting women. I guess if I were more eloquent, I would have phrased it in a way that makes it seem as if women are his muse. I'm more of a cretin though and besides, meeting women and/or having them become your muse seems like a normal thing to do. I find women to be inspirational to the creative spirit too, and since there are about a bazillion songs about love or women or loving women or women loving too many women, obviously someone else me does too. And then other times I think they are put here to just torment me personally. Mike totally understands that, but he doesn't just understand that it's great material for great songs. At least he didn't mine that vein on this new release. There are a couple of the 'girl' tracks on here, but nothing like Haughty Melodic and that's what made that release so good.

If you want just one song on here that exemplifies Mike Doughty, buy Book Of Love. Yes, it's kind of sappy, but the simple lyrics and simple piano and guitar accompaniment provide a much deeper total song package. There really are no bad songs on here, but there aren't any real standouts either. Fort Hood is a very nice tune, as is Like A Luminous Girl and Wednesday (Contra la Puerta). I'm hoping the latter one is not an indication that Mike's back on the smack. I don't know the Soul Coughing material (when he was on the junk), but I can't fathom that it's more creative than what he's doing now. Keep up the good work Mike.

Check out the Mike Doughty site here and definitely check out the pictures on his blog.