The Best Record of 1989, Day 58: #59 Blake Babies, Earwig vs. #70 Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mother’s Milk
Good morning!
Today we’re taking a quick look at records from Blake babies and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.
I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.
Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.
KA—
Blake Babies, Earwig
At some point, I think everyone finds a band that they regard almost as a best-kept secret—something that no one else knows about, a sort of sonic archaeology from a dig only you were. Blake Babies was one of those bands for me.
None of this matches reality, of course. The Blake Babies had a respectable following and plenty of solid reviews. Juliana Hatfield got more than her share of the limelight, but things like announcing she was still a virgin and the whole is she/isn’t she? drama with Evan Dando chummed the waters of a predatory press. It was all a distraction, and it was unfair.
Meanwhile, there was the music. And there was Earwig. The short version here is that this is the best kind of jangle. It’s a light (but not dizty) easy-breezy type of vibe. The sort of thing you might listen to on the way to a day on the beach. Depending on your taste, that either means five stars or maybe 1. No need to bury the lede here; it’s the former for me.
If you’re looking for a little more of a descriptor, opener “Cesspool” will shed some light on things. It’s the sort of straightforward, catchy vibe that runs throughout the record.
With its abrupt shift about halfway through, “You Don’t Give Up” might be the exception here. Ditto “Loose” with its chunkier chords. “Lament” is another highlight.
You could argue that most of the songs sound similar, but again, if you like that sort of thing, it’s just a bumper crop of what you love. If you don’t, you should probably just skip this record; Life’s too short.
The record isn’t polished or overproduced, which only adds to its charm. This band never struck me as being quirky just for the sake of doing so.. That sound (both specific to the band and in a larger sense) reminds me of a lot of other records made in that same era. It has always struck me as a very informal affair, like something made in a seaside cottage with the windows all open. You can almost hear the salty air coming through the speakers. And it makes it all the better.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mother’s Milk
Growing up, there was a clear dividing line amongst RHCP fans. That line, drawn in bright red with a fat Sharpie, was right after ’87’s The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, with tribal identity associated with one end of the discography or the other. Music fandom is atavistic as it is, but it seemed particularly so with this band and this specific part of the world. Half the crowd wanted to cling to the early stuff, and the other found their on-ramp with records like Mothers Milk. You can often find some from #teamearlydays by their tattoos. If they have one of the Peppers’ logo, you’ll know.
If those first few records represent a sonic what might have been, Mother’s Milk finally shows what the band can do. It’s more cohesive than the first records. There’s a little more thought and a little less bawdiness. The cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” gets a lot of deserved praise, but for me, this new era is best exemplified by opener “Good Time Boys.” It’s still always a good time for a good time, but it’s more defined, more fleshed out.
The keyword here is “a little.” There’s still some frivolity (“Sexy Mexican maid”), but the band is also wiser, having by now endured some things. I don’t see a world where “Knock Me Down” comes along any earlier in the band’s timeline. More than anything else, it bridges the gap between the sort of frat boy stuff of Mofo & Freakey Styley into the more mainstream sound that would come next with breakout record Blood Sugar Sex Magick. It’s a record that rightfully belongs on either side of that imaginary line.
My vote: I’m happy to see Blake Babies made the cut. Does the relatively high seeding mean others felt the same way as I did? Guess we’ll see. My bracket pick for RHCP rode high on the wave of name recognition, but I owould’t be mad to see Earwig move through to the next round,
Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!
Check out the full bracket here.
Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.
As always, thanks for being here.
KA—
Kevin Sent 