As a straight man I'll be the first to point out that I appreciated him for his looks as much as his music. I chose to see him at the Hot House in summer '94 based purely on the fact that I'm a Tim Buckley fan. I took a date and while I wasn't sure about his originals, his singing was transcendent, as were his covers of Van Morrison, Big Star and Nusrat. My date was practically drooling, and I probably had the best sex of my life at that point after the show. Thanks Jeff!
I think he suffered from writer's block, partly because of being under the suffocating shadow of his father, trying to do his own thing but having a similar voice and looks. He was definitely more of an interpreter than songwriter. I saw him two more times, and probably would not have tired of him had he lived. He definitely didn't complete his artistic arc like his father seemed to have before his death.
Coincidentally I'm reading the Dream Brother book right now.
― Fastnbulbous, Thursday, 22 May 2008 12:54 (sixteen years ago) link
He definitely didn't complete his artistic arc like his father seemed to have before his death.
exactly
― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 22 May 2008 13:05 (sixteen years ago) link
If everyone who says how much they love Grace had actually bought Grace at the time it would have gone quadruple platinum instead of one week at #50 due to titans like Tony di Bart, Doop and Wet Wet Wet.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Thursday, 22 May 2008 13:12 (sixteen years ago) link
I bought it about a week after he drowned.
― Scik Mouthy, Thursday, 22 May 2008 13:43 (sixteen years ago) link
I chose to see him at the Hot House in summer '94
the Hot House in Chicago?
― Stormy Davis, Thursday, 22 May 2008 13:51 (sixteen years ago) link
I bought it shortly after it came out as i heard it at my mates and loved it. Already had some Tim Buckley cds.
― Herman G. Neuname, Thursday, 22 May 2008 13:52 (sixteen years ago) link
there comes a point in music that no matter how well written, well executed, or amazing talent with an instrument; the musician's songs are still for the most part boring. Thats why talent only means so much.
Another factor that must be heavily considered is the singer's voice. Does it make you sleepy (jeff buckley), does it sound whiney or bright eyesy (elliot smith), is it nasaly (neutral milk hotel). No matter how much talent is present, the singer's voice can destroy any hope of ever liking their music.
― CaptainLorax, Thursday, 22 May 2008 19:29 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeah, Hot House in Chicago when it was still on Milwaukee Ave. I also saw him at Green Mill, Uncommon Ground, and Metro (documented on DVD). So it was three more, not two more times, oops. He was extremely drunk at the Green Mill, but still performed well.
― Fastnbulbous, Thursday, 22 May 2008 19:39 (sixteen years ago) link
xp: how does well written and well executed = boring?
surely boring songs are by definition badly written and performed? in other words, not all poor songs are boring, but all boring songs are poor.
― m the g, Thursday, 22 May 2008 19:44 (sixteen years ago) link
amend: badly written and/or performed
― m the g, Thursday, 22 May 2008 19:45 (sixteen years ago) link
You're right, Mouthy. It didn't make much sense. It just seemed to in my drunken brain at the time.
― Bimble, Thursday, 22 May 2008 19:53 (sixteen years ago) link
no. take king crimson for example. extremely talented, well executed, and lots of well written songs. but that doesn't stop me from thinking that lots of these songs are crappy anyways. hence, there is something more than just talent, execution and writing. There is the overall song and whether or not it is appeasing or not.
yngwie malmsteen songs, as a whole, suck balls.
― CaptainLorax, Friday, 23 May 2008 21:24 (sixteen years ago) link
Jeff Buckley was the Zach Braff of his era.
― Eppy, Friday, 23 May 2008 21:43 (sixteen years ago) link
Ouch. Now THAT'S an insult.
― Scik Mouthy, Saturday, 24 May 2008 07:47 (sixteen years ago) link
I remember quite liking his music at the time, but I can't remember any instance in the last several years wherein I felt like hearing any of it.
― Alex in NYC, Saturday, 24 May 2008 15:20 (sixteen years ago) link
suit yourself. my contention would be that if the overall song is 'crappy' or 'sucks balls', that there is something lacking in its writing and/or execution, or at least something about its writing and/or execution that doesn't appeal to you.
there's no objective standard for judging a song's writing or execution - it's only measurable in your response to it.
― m the g, Monday, 26 May 2008 09:17 (sixteen years ago) link
With Liz Fraser anyone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ0QSpdnHJE
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Friday, 4 July 2008 11:03 (sixteen years ago) link
Let's face it.... his dad was both more talented AND made much greater use of that talent.
JB's music is pretty lazy really I think- sure, he's got a nice voice, but there's not much there beyond that.
― linea, Friday, 4 July 2008 11:10 (sixteen years ago) link
VHAHAHAAHAH
so typical!
hahahahhha
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Friday, 4 July 2008 11:12 (sixteen years ago) link
Lol. Perhaps instead he's the Mark Paul Gosselaar of his era. Though I suppose they kind of shared an era.
I agree with those upthread who praised "Jewel Box". I think that might be his best self-penned toon, wishy-washy lyrics notwithstanding. At least that's what I thought when I drunkenly extolled its virtues to a friend on a summer night in 2003 while eating raspberries.
― Freedom, Friday, 4 July 2008 18:39 (sixteen years ago) link
some jock did "Last Goodbye" at karaoke night this week, it was LOL worthy
― stephen, Friday, 4 July 2008 18:54 (sixteen years ago) link
I never got this guy. He's fine when he covers a good ballad, but when he does a rock song, to me it doesn't sound that far from David Cook. Maybe it's b/c I never listened to him back in the day, when the 90s alt-rockness of it all wouldn't have bothered me.
― Mark Rich@rdson, Sunday, 3 August 2008 04:11 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm with you Mark, i can tolerate the ballads but the "rock" songs are just grating. Best thing he did was the Leonard Cohen cover, which is sublime. The rest i can pretty much take or leave.
― stephen, Sunday, 3 August 2008 04:16 (sixteen years ago) link
a lot of unexpected people seem to like Jeff Buckley... but I listened to Grace for the first time a couple months ago, and thought it was pretty middle-of-the-road.
― res, Tuesday, 2 September 2008 20:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeah, that's what I thought the first time I heard it, too. ;)
― Bimble, Tuesday, 2 September 2008 22:38 (sixteen years ago) link
see, i thought it was average on first listen. then it got worse.
― stephen, Wednesday, 3 September 2008 01:55 (sixteen years ago) link
Tried and tried. And tried again.
Didn't get it.
Prefer pops
― Fer Ark, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 20:12 (sixteen years ago) link
I opened up Mojo Pin on the big hi-fi yesterday afternoon and pretty much loved every second.
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 15 September 2008 14:23 (sixteen years ago) link
To be fair to that song, the lyric "I'm blind and tortured" is a good summation of my feelings upon hearing Jeff Buckley at any time. Mark Richardson had it correct upthread: Jeff Buckley is like David Cook in disguise.
― ilxor, Tuesday, 16 September 2008 01:44 (sixteen years ago) link
chix diggit
― give me some peppermint freddo (electricsound), Tuesday, 16 September 2008 01:53 (sixteen years ago) link
Sick Mouthy was right
"BLACK BEAUTY/I LOVE YOU SO..." I haven't heard Mojo Pin in over ten years, this is wild.
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Wednesday, 17 September 2008 04:01 (sixteen years ago) link
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v336/157/40/710515316/n710515316_4235041_452.jpg
http://hartree.raunvis.hi.is/~jensba/thoughts/images/grace.jpg
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 19 September 2008 13:30 (sixteen years ago) link
There once was a man called Jeff BuckleyHe could sing but had very bad luckleyOne day at the vicar'sHe took off his tickersAnd said "Do you fancy a fuckley?"
Yes I know but HE WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED IT
― Marcello Carlin, Friday, 19 September 2008 13:34 (sixteen years ago) link
"Tonight, Matthew, Henry K Miller IS Jeff Buckley."
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 19 September 2008 13:40 (sixteen years ago) link
*tumbling tumbleweeds from audience*
― Marcello Carlin, Friday, 19 September 2008 13:46 (sixteen years ago) link
*interspersed with who he when's Jim Reeves coming on murmurs*
― Marcello Carlin, Friday, 19 September 2008 13:47 (sixteen years ago) link
http://www.popjustice.com/images/stories/j/jeffbuckleyalbumsleeve.jpg
http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3334&Itemid=9
― James Mitchell, Tuesday, 13 January 2009 04:55 (fifteen years ago) link
Yes, but does it have "Hallelujah" on it?
― Mark G, Tuesday, 13 January 2009 09:18 (fifteen years ago) link
so i just downloaded this lil live ep thing of jeff covering his dad's songs
fuck
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 4 June 2009 19:03 (fifteen years ago) link
wait, what songs are they? i've heard his versions of "i never asked to be your mountain" and "once i was" from a tim tribute concert in the early 90's, but did he do others? there's so much drama in those songs, it's great. the chorus of "once i was" -- "sometimes i wonder just for a while, do you ever think of me?" -- is suddenly about an abandoned son addressing his dead father, instead of a man addressing an ex-lover. and when he breaks a string at the end and has to sing a capella he's got nowhere to hide, and you can hear it in his voice.
― brian krakow has a posse (bug), Thursday, 4 June 2009 19:13 (fifteen years ago) link
is this that tribute? just went up today -- http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=220
― tylerw, Thursday, 4 June 2009 19:14 (fifteen years ago) link
yup!
― brian krakow has a posse (bug), Thursday, 4 June 2009 19:15 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah that's the one, there's also Sefronia/The King's Chain and Phantasmagoria in Two
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 4 June 2009 19:17 (fifteen years ago) link
So Lonely [arr. Mazzacane/Langille]
― Plunge Protection Team, Thursday, 4 June 2009 19:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Am I missing something? The Jeff songs are the ones I can't download
― Ismael Klata, Thursday, 4 June 2009 20:08 (fifteen years ago) link
i never asked to be your mountain fucking SLAYS
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 24 June 2009 11:05 (fifteen years ago) link
just fucking kills me
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 24 June 2009 11:06 (fifteen years ago) link
i've literally listened to it like 12 times in a row and i'm watching the sun come up right now what a fuckin life this is
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 24 June 2009 11:07 (fifteen years ago) link
Sadly I don't think I've even heard that one, but hey, I'm feelin' ya.
― A Breath of Fresh Culture (Bimble), Wednesday, 24 June 2009 18:12 (fifteen years ago) link
weird, I was just listening to mystery white boy yesterday
― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Wednesday, 24 June 2009 18:38 (fifteen years ago) link