Samuel Locke Ward On Nirvana

If you're like me, you wonder why on Earth Samuel Locke Ward kicked off 2014 with a complete reinterpretation of Nirvana's final studio record, In Utero. Even more curious was why this decision was made after busting ass to release a new album every month in 2013.

Was it the work of a hyper-accelerated work ethic?

Was it an off-the-cuff goof, meant to be heard as nothing more than a underhanded attack of the entire revisiting of Nirvana's brief cannon, setting to culminate with the 20th anniversary of Cobain's suicide in 2014?

Was it the product of Ward's own Cobain worship?

With interest in these questions, I gave S.L.W. a half-dozen questions and got the following response. The answer provided little in terms of the actual questions posed, but in relation to the question "Why?" it is more than generous.

"I recorded In Utero just for fun late at night over a couple evenings in September. I hadn't planned on releasing the record or even recording it. I just kinda started it and kept going while I should have been working on something else.

I'm too busy acting like I'm not naive.

I hadn't listened to the record for a long time and just kinda did it all from memory from learning those songs as teenager. After it was finished I decided to throw it online for free because, why not?  I am proud of how it turned out because it still is generally considered pretty lame to cover Nirvana songs - And I do assume some people thought it was lame.

But I also got some nice feedback from people who said they enjoyed the record. And I feel like its a fun and interesting record to listen to. I really enjoyed all 5 Nirvana records while growing up. But, like a lot of people, I've been burnt out on them for quite awhile just from over exposure and hadn't heard them in a long time. But they are all really great. This was the first time it really occurred to me how messed up all the lyrics on it are."

Samuel Locke Ward - In Utero

We've just passed the weird 20th anniversary of the release of In Utero, weird in the sense that a.) has it really been two decades? and b.) am I really 20 years older?

I don't know how I feel about either one, but I know for certain that I'm not going to enjoy the bundles of articles written about the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide, filled with tons of remberance stories, just in time for Nirvana's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Here we are now, entertain us!

What will be lost in all of this is the same thing that was lost when In Utero was originally released: it's a remarkable record, the album we wanted Cobain to make and the record he needed to make. The suicide messed all of that analysis up in the end, and it will again when we start jerking off to the picture of Kurt's rotting corpse lying stiff on the hardwood floor of his home this coming April.

I have no idea why Samuel Locke Ward decided to release a track-by-track cover of Nirvana's third record. It runs the risk of being viewed as a joke because the songs are complete re-workings of that album, left in a fashion that is easily dismissed while being eerily appropriate.

Keep in mind, the release of this cover comes after SLW released a fucking album a month in 2013, making this the 13th full-length that the Iowa City native has made in as many months, further adding to the notion that all of this may very well be a rush job of inside humor, an ironic statement on the celebrity of our dead rocker.

Personally, I don't believe it. The songs are noticeable only because of the track listing and the jokes are only prevalent if you're coming into the record in the same manner that mouth-breathers did when In Utero was released.

An example of this was when a former girlfriend told me a story of a guy she began dating after we broke up. She told me that he was trying to impress her somewhat advanced music background by telling her that he had just purchased the new Nirvana album, pronoucing it "In-Ute-Tair-Oh."

They didn't have many more dates after that conversation.

To be honest, I haven't heard In Utero in many years. I really don't need to as it's been committed to memory, just like Led Zeppelin IV or Born In The U.S.A. I did toy with obtaining the vinyl version of Steve Albini's 2013 mix of the record before laughing at the idea that Steve Albini even agreed to such a thing.

If anything, Samuel Locke Ward's version has made me want to hear it again, which I suppose is praise.

Another bit of praise: I wanted to hear S.L.W.'s version again too. Out of pleasure, not obligation for this review of it.

The vocals are treated in many cases, turned into goofy Chipmunks range here, distorted megaphone tactics there. There is no percussion and several songs are nothing more than guitar-vocal offerings. It sounds like it was recorded on the cheap, in a bedroom with little sonic opportunities, which is one way of saying that it was recorded using a fucking computer.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, because by changing the entire delivery method of this record, SLW has unwhittingly changed the entire intent of In Utero. If you'll recall, Nirvana's controversary with this record came in the manner in which it sounded. It was rough around the edges, defiantly un-commercial and intentionally alienating. It was made to ween off the more fairweather fans and assure the rest of us that the band understood: There were a lot of meatheads tagging along for the ride that weren't welcome.

So maybe SLW's take is intended to alienate people like me, folks who unfortunately heard In Utero in much more personal terms, thereby making Cobain's suicide in April more devistating. This reinterpretation-whatever the intention behind it-forces listeners to consider In Utero for all that it essentially is: a collection of songs no longer tied to a specific group or generation.

Samuel Locke Ward Released 12 Albums This Year. What Did Your Band Do?

If you've ever had a child, you know that sleep deprivation and a substantial loss of income are also part of the package.

For Samuel Locke Ward, a newborn wasn't able to discourage the Iowa City artists from releasing a new album every month for the past year.

And what did your band do, again?

What's almost as remarkable was how each one had at least two or three really good tracks on them, which means S.L.W. can probably pull a good comp album out of the project which is what he seems to be doing according to his email announcing the finish line of the project:


Hey everybody, I finished the Lame Years. The final album of the 12 album series is called Back From Heaven. It is a slightly Cthulhu themed arena rock album. 

It ended up as 177 original songs and 2 covers over 12 albums. Thanks to everybody who listened all year long. I really appreciate all of the encouragement I got.

I am currently working on compiling a "Best Of The Lame Years" album that I will be pressing in early 2014.

For those of you who have been listening each month please feel free to write in and let me know if there are any tracks that absolutely MUST go on the album. I am proud of how everything turned out and I know a lot of real good stuff is gonna not go on the record. Thanks again everybody and have a great holiday!

best wishes,

Sam

Samuel Locke Ward - Panther Puss: The Lame Years Vol. 2

In case you missed it, Iowa City’s resident aural weirdo and bottomless pit of creativity, Samuel Locke Ward, has deemed 2013 to be “The Lame Years” and made a half-hearted vow to release a new album every month for the entire year.

The “half-hearted” jibe is the result of his clarification that he can pull out of his mock contract with fans at any time during the 12-month period, Ward could back out of the schedule and miss a month or so. From what I understand, SLW and his wife just had their first baby, so experience should indicate that this goal is probably going to be a tough one to complete.

Experience also shows that the more you try to throw against the wall to see what sticks, the more shit you’ll have to clean up when it’s all over. But S.L.W. has been running at a break-neck release schedule for some time now, and while it’s proven to include some filler, the ratio is surprisingly low.

For The Lame Years second release, Panther Puss, the ratio dips even lower. The February release is a more acoustic affair where as Volume 1 took a more electronic approach, which was good if not a bit harder to appreciate.

Samuel Locke Ward thrives in the acoustic setting as it forces him to rely on his keen sense of song structure instead of the plethora of distracting audio and instrument gadgets that always seem to be close by.

The strongest of the lot-“Swastika Eyes”-may be his best song to date, sung in a desperate register while his vocal dubbed companion tackles a higher one on the right channel. “The master race spiel has me yawning every time” he admits, “And your new hate-do has me rolling my eyes.”

The politics are an exaggeration (hopefully), but the song’s overall message-coming to terms with the pink elephant of a relationship, and having that colorful pachyderm the reason for splitting-is something that lots of couples have had to endure. While the decision may be easy, the love that is lost in the process still hurts, even when it’s morally necessary.

S.L.W. cleverly follows the track with one entitled “A Terrible Man Will Lead Us,” and whoever that leader is-Bush, Obama, Hitler-is a matter of your own perception, as Sam isn’t one to offer many hints.

Otherwise, Panther Puss is more of the same low-fi zaniness complete with strange vocal takes against a backdrop of surprisingly straightforward arrangements. Think Sun City Girls without the world-view instrumentation and with more personal politics as the primary motivator.

Ward isn’t one to specify who’s responsible for his discontent, he merely reports. And from the front line, it’s an existence of finding canned bargains in the damaged item rack (“Gimmie Canned Food”), dealing with people who lack any semblance of empathy for the human race (“Why Should I Care?”), and how his college town world is suddenly filled with bad people instead of the far-fetched notion that Iowa City’s free-spirit liberals have kept it clear of the same bullshit that impacts everyone else (“Shitty Streets”).

It’s one thing to document your everyday trial and tribulations, but to do it in such a fascinating manner is something that’s only reserved for those with the talent to make it so compulsory. Samuel Locke Ward possesses that talent, and Panther Puss suggests that his “Lame Years” project is neither lame or suffering from its assembly-line release schedule.

Samuel Locke Ward - Where The Sick Go To Die

“Running with scissors/Put shit in the food” begins Samuel Locke Ward’s Where The Sick Go To Die, his 18 song collection from 2009. The song is nothing more than a list of fuck-ups, an anthem of apathy that SLW seemingly subscribes to, setting the tone for another release of low expectations and even lower self-esteem.

“Put water in the gas/And fire to the woods” he continues before imploring listeners with a chorus of screaming “Do it wrong,” three words that could serve as his mantra in a world were SLW releases “records” at an alarming rate and with even more alarming consistency.

Think of this Iowa City artist’s prodigious output as a defense mechanism, something that’s less a result of some manic urge (like Daniel Johnston) or satisfying some insatiable muse. Instead, it’s a distraction, attempting to hide the fact that Samuel Lock Ward desperately wants you to like him, and chances are if he throws enough shit at you, something will stick and you’ll either smile, laugh, or hum the chorus along with him.

It’s frustrating at times, because within his low-fi chaos are some very good tunes and untapped potential, something that I’m sure S.L.W. cares very little about or has little interest in pursuing. Instead, the assembly line release schedule makes it difficult to keep up to speed and hard to appreciate every bit of available material completely.

And while it’s not my place to advise an artist to slow down or consider a much needed editor, I can only remind myself and others that Samuel Locke Ward is doing it while I’m doing little more than reporting on what he’s doing.

Where The Sick Go To Die is a gem in the same sense that a BeDazzler will turn your clothing into a jewel filled piece of clothing that gets less impressive the closer you examine it. The aforementioned “Do It Wrong” is unquestionably awesome, while “18 Candles” is a remarkable character study of unchecked entitlement, more than SLW probably even realizes.

“Just blew out 18 candles” Ward deadpans, before admitting “18 more than I can handle” in mock admission. It sucks getting old, but it is pretty awesome to be able to figure out how utterly ridiculous the youth can be with their incessant need for instant gratification and narcissistic attitudes.

The same can probably be said for SLW at times, like the lazy couplet “Let me bake you a cake/by the lake/With a rake/Oh what a lovely day” (“May I Lead You Astray”) or any of the frequent inside jokes that line the track listings of Where The Sick Go To Die. They cheapen its effectiveness, albeit slightly as Locke Ward’s uncanny pop sensibility and unwavering need to document every musical ejaculate that leaves his body can make for some strangely enjoyable moments.

Like the five-song closer, beginning with “The Stupid King” and ending with what ends up being the record’s highlight. With a decidedly primitive electronic rhythm and repetitive three-chord verses, “Pomp + Unfortunate Living” provides Where The Sick Go To Die with some of SLW’s most emotive moments with lines like “Wasted youth on bitter rainclouds.” It’s an earnest attempt at making Where The Sick Go To Die more than just another self-indulgent mess that could probably be found in any city that counts a public university as its primary employer. It hints that, beyond the liberal arts support group that coddles him, lies a musician that could actually breathe life into the a community that has a history of lo-fi jokers with more time on their hands than actual talent.

Samuel Locke Ward demonstrates that his talent is quite abundant, but his time would be better served in making sure his music is considered beyond his primary caregivers.