The Hermeneutics of Juxtaposition, A Case Study

Two albums that have totally captivated me of late are Grinderman's "Grinderman" and Mavis Staples's "We'll Never Turn Back."

There really couldn't be two more different records. Mavis Staples is a polished jewel of a record, deeply groovy grooves with Ry Cooder's guitar and production laying the foundation, the Freedom Singers doing these transcendant BVs and Mavis Staples on top of it all, channelling something powerful. Listening to this record is truly a special experience, almost religious. Somehow through the music and through her voice, Mavis makes you feel like she is singing just to you, just for you. She's a shaman bringing something holy from the 'other world' to make you better when you didn't even know you were ill. This record makes me want to dance, and to cry, to protest, and to praise.

Grinderman is raw and rude, dripping with the dirty sex of middle-aged men thinking lascivious thoughts about your 16-year old daughter. Nick Cave leads this raucous orgy of distortion into the filthy depths of your darkest secret feelings and pulls them into the sunlight where they ride shotgun in a '68 Dodge Charger speeding down the highway with you behind the wheel, crazed and dangerous, your whole body throbbing with the maxed out volume on your stero blasting Grinderman.

Driving home the other night I wanted to hear "99 1/2" from the Mavis record, and when it was done, something clicked in me, and I immediately put on "Go Tell The Women" by Grinderman. I think it was the little single note guitar hook featured in each song that led me to the connection, but the more I listen to these songs together, the more they seem made to be played together. The yin and the yang, or, two sides of the same coin. Have a listen and pick your own cliche.

Mavis Staples, "99 1/2"

Grinderman, "Go Tell The Women"