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12 augustus 2006
"Ypsisongs" CD Captures Gritty, Rain-Washed Soul of City
THE NEW "YPSISONGS" CD, taken all together, is like driving past the pawnshops on Michigan Ave. at 2 a.m., glimpsing them through a rainy windshield.
Its 16 mostly guitar-based songs, ranging from a Devoesque ditty to ink-dark bluesy numbers, speak of love, loss, falling leaves, alleyways, broken fences, white guys in dreadlocks, the stubborn persistence of spirit and love of a broken city, and the pride of place of those who've...moved away.
Ypsidixit's favorite? The one that had me singing along? The one I've already half-memorized, that stuck like a fishhook in my brain?
Dirt Road Logic's "Ypsilanti Vigilante." This minor-key song begins with an ominous throaty bass guitar soon joined by metronome-y clicking drumsticks, and then the growled lyrics (my apologies for any transcription errors):
Ypsilanti vigilante walks the streets at night,
the hammer and the 2-dollar bill
Laying in the shadows in a concrete hole
Prayin' somebody gonna save his soul.
A thimbleful of whiskey and a blackened eye,
Judge and jury when you pass by.
The sky goes black and the moon turns away,
no man is righteous, nobody gets away. Nobody gets away. (you better watch out!)
Vigilante don't reap nothin' he can't sow.
He rises when the city is asleep,
Carrying a shovel and a broken crown,
Singin' by the river till the moon come down.
A broken glass rug and a pile of stones,
Hiding in the alley, listen to the wind moan.
Nobody seen him but the faces in the trees,
There's no redemption, you can git up off your knees.
You can git up off your knees.
January sky, oh, brother, thunder and the rain
Nobody knows when you come
Pour cold water on an old bloodstain
The only sound is the song that he [low].
Vigilante ain't got no [horror] to go
He don't want no silver-lined cloud
He got a broke-down engine and a beat-up dog,
Movin' by the depot in the midnight fog.
A thimbleful of whiskey and a blackened eye,
Judge and jury when you pass by.
The sky goes black and the moon turns away,
no man is righteous, nobody gets away. Nobody gets away. (you better watch out!)
There was one other song whose lyrics caught me by the throat. Transcription of those lyrics, and a rundown of the other songs, below, in "Continue Reading."
The other song whose lyrics leapt out as outstandingly poetic and descriptive was the Ups's "I Used To Call You Home":
Value World and barbecue
hey man can you spare a few
to get me on a bus back home today
strip clubs and beauty shops
neighbors must have called the cops
cause her [husband's and cops] and she never had the nerve
Your harrowing exploits
are tough to consider
Some call you a tragedy, some call you a winner
Some call you the end result of free will gone wrong
I used to call you home.
Phone booths and laundromats
someone should feed that cat
'cause it's cold outside and the bones are sticking through.
Club kids and factory men
I went to school here when
Peninsular Paper plant was right outside my window
Your harrowing exploits
are tough to consider
Some call you a tragedy, some call you a winner
Some call you the end result of free will gone wrong
I used to call you home.
Stretches and funeral homes
nobody should be alone
when bad things happen...often times they do.
SYNOPSES OF SONGS
1. Dave Lawson, "YP."
This jingoistic ditty outlines the highlights of living in Ypsi:
you don't have to be hip
you can leave a modest tip
It's less a song than the soundtrack to an upbeat TV commercial for Ypsi, and, as such, is a good intro to the CD. Near the end of this sunny tune, there's an ominous discordant rising siren sound that offers a counterpoint to the upbeat lyrics. The siren seemed to hint, "don't take these lyrics at face value--there's a lot of desperation in Ypsi." I thought it was a thoughtful choice.
2. Annie Palmer, "Ypsilanti Won't You Let Me"
This plaintive banjo ballad accentuated with xylophone tells the tale of lost love.
Ypsilanti, I'll miss you...won't you let me get some sleep?
3. Emily Jane Powers, "Thief"
This rock song with a big guitar sound and echoey vocals describes a move from Chicago in indistinct lyrics that I couldn't catch.
4. Vailcode, "View from an Upstairs Window"
This slow-paced, country-flavored, rain-washed song gives an impressionistic image of someone surveying the city from his window.
houses are lookin' the same to me
leaves that fall down in Ypsi
5. Fred Thomas, "Susceptible to Ghosts"
This paean to a seemingly lost love describes white houses, busted fences, and diners.
I was the flowers you found on the floor
I was the white lines on I-94
I was the reason you never felt sure
6. Ian Loy Saylor, "Ian Saylor's Dream"
This slow, meditative song backed by a whistly, reedy wind-whine, as found on AM radio when you're trying to tune in an elusive station, offers a rueful look back at Ypsi.
Oh, Ypsilanti
you're a shame to me...ypsilanti
you keep me in your pocket...ypsilanti
try to lock it up
try to lock it up...ypsilanti...ypsilanti
7. The Ups, "I Used to Call You Home"
8. Drunken Barn Dance, "Circle the Wagons"
This reflective song offers a mixed view of the city.
here in the bosom I found a community
shelter from weather that's never been kind to me
9. Modernlull, "John Norman Collins"
This was Y's third favorite song. This spooky, dark, minor-key song speaks from the viewpoint of Ypsilanti's most famous murderer. Loneliness and perverted fixation permeate the song. A tinkly xylophone only makes the tune more ominous.
I saw a girl...tonight
she wore a dress of orange and white
her hair done up like a girl who knows the night...
tonight
10. Dirt Road Logic, "The Ypsilanti Vigilante"
11. Scotty Karate, "Snakelady"
This is a punk-inflected, driving song.
12. Charlie Slick & Johnny Ill, "Ypsilanti is a Great Place to Live"
This loopy. Devo-influenced ditty offers dryly ironic couplets about why Ypsi is great.
you can take the river to Ford Lake
it's really big but it's man-made
13. The Eugene Strobe, "Yep Slyly Land Tea On My Tray"
This nervous, adrenaline-y song offers an impressionistic picture of Deja Vu, the train, and an uneasy picture of the city.
14. Leaving Rouge, "Normal Street"
This charming talking song details a crazed road trip to Ypsi, crashing a party with "white guys in dreadlocks," and the unsuccessful commandeering of a drumset. Original, quirky, and hilarious, punctuated with dementedly rabid choruses. Y. enjoyed this song.
15. Gregory Stovetop, "50 Miles of Elbow Room"
Starting with a yelp, this bluegrass-inflected song features mandolin strumming faster than humanly possible. The narrator describes the pleasures of plenty of open space and references a local bar.
50 miles of elbow room to spare
16. Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome, "Ypsilanti Jaxxy"
Wall of sound. Incomprehensible vocals. Ending the CD with a firework of patternless energy.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12 augustus 2006 22:18
Comments
What a coincidence! I was just talking to my neighbor YESTERDAY who told me about the "official" song of Ypsilanti. I don't see it on this list but he let me listen to it. It's pretty groovy! He says he bought the 45 from Puffer Reds about 15 years ago so I was going to try to track it down.
Posted by: Rachel at 12 augustus 2006 23:29
Rachel: The "official" song of Ypsilanti? I vote for "Ypsilanti Vigilante." Though it's not a song the Chamber of Commerce would endorse, it perfectly captures the city's dark shadows. It's crawled under my skin.
Posted by: Laura at 12 augustus 2006 23:33
By the way, where can I get my copy?
Posted by: Rachel at 12 augustus 2006 23:52
Skoolkids Records, under Bivouac, and, allegedly, Encore Recordings, both in AA. I got mine at Skoolkids.
I'd advise that you act fast. There were only 500 copies made. Each one is packaged in a chunk of cardboard slapped with computer-printed cover art stuck on. It's totally charming homebrew packaging.
Brandon Wiard laboriously ball-point-inked on the CD title and edition number on each piece of cardboard.
Ypsidixit has #23 of 500.
I have "Ypsilanti Vigilante" playing on repeat play on my stereo as we speak. And I'm singing along.
Posted by: Laura at 13 augustus 2006 00:06
I wonder if that one by Dave Lawson is the song my friend played for me. I could have sworn they said is name was Dave Olsen. Does that one have a line in the refrain that says something like, "In Ypsilanti there's a big ol' Water Tower, in Ypsilanti, people call at any hour..."?
Posted by: Rachel at 13 augustus 2006 10:25
Rachel, you're thinking of (Washington) Lee Osler's "Going Back To Ypsilanti" which came out in the 80's and was cristened the official song of Ypsilanti by the city council.
Posted by: Old Goat at 13 augustus 2006 10:39
'50 Miles of Elbow Room' is (now) a standard that was published in 1941 by F. W. McGee and can be heard on Iris Dement's 'Infamous Angel' CD. Unless the 'Elbow Room' was named after the song, it would seem to have little connection to Ypsi. The song is more of a testament to a stereotypic interpretation of the afterlife.
Posted by: Old Goat at 13 augustus 2006 10:51
And...in regards to John Norman Collins: Laura's comment using 'perverted' as the operative hits the mark. Some of the horrific 'stuff' he did to those poor women prior to murdering them is not suitable to mention in a Hustler magazine, let alone here.
Posted by: Old Goat at 13 augustus 2006 12:34
Kate: I forgot to mention that if you can't get to those stores you can order it online here. It's $8 if you buy it in the store, $10 online.
Posted by: Laura at 13 augustus 2006 17:04
OG: Those are informative notes about the music; thank you!
Posted by: Laura at 13 augustus 2006 17:07
OG: I should add that the John Norman Collins song does not go into unpleasant details. Rather, it offers the perspective of someone with an unhealthy obsession and lets it go at that. It is a spooky song, but not a graphic one.
Posted by: Laura at 13 augustus 2006 17:10
I had no idea that song was a cover. It still works though in a skewed way... I'll get the lyrics that I have up here shortly.
Old Goat appears to be a music buff...do I know you by chance?
Posted by: Brandon Wiard at 15 augustus 2006 12:50
The OG does indeed seem to know his stuff.
Posted by: Laura at 15 augustus 2006 13:00
I'm listening to a Michigan Radio report on NPR right now about Ypsisongs...
Posted by: Lisa Marshall Bashert at 26 augustus 2006 09:36
Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Posted by: Sten79078 at 07 januari 2007 20:14