Best of 2001 Day 11: Ted Leo vs. Converge
Cover art courtesy of Lookout! Records.
Good morning!
Today we’re taking a quick look at Ted Leo’s The Tyranny of Distance as it takes on Jane Doe by Converge.
Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.
The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post 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 a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!
Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.
KA—
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists- The Tyranny of Distance
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ The Tyranny of Distance was finally his time to shine. Released on Lookout!, the appeal kicks in quick—right around track two or three for me—when you can hear the melodies really lock in. This is a band that plays best when it plays tight. Lyrically, Leo’s lyrics are full of sharp, evocative turns of phrase. It’s music for English majors, made by one of their own (complimentary).
In an era lousy with formulaic pop and vapid vocals, Leo injected a much-needed dose of humanity (humanities?) into the landscape. Ironic, given lines like “So I gather around me all the pieces of a song / And fit them where they belong” on “Parallel or Together.”
“Dial Up” comes across as a direct antecedent of “Me & Mia” in all the best ways. The first run of tracks is up there with any batch of indie songs out there. To my ear, “Under the Hedge” is as good as anything he’s done, with “Timorous Me” not too far behind. The first half of the record is sui generis indie pop, and I’d say a must-listen for any fan of the genre.
If there’s a knock here, it’s that the first half far outweighs the second, in part due to some odd sequencing choices. “Stove by a Whale” isn’t bad, but it’s 8 minutes long and right in the middle of the record. If the goal was to put in a sort of intermission or breakwall, then mission accomplished. Mostly, though, it just seems out of place.
The mix is typical of the era, which is to say it overindexes on treble. Not the only record that this was done to, but a remaster would go a long way.
The faster speeds and more political records would come in time, starting with Shake the Streets. Released months before 9/11, The Tyranny of Distance stands out as a sort of last ray of sunshine before the world went dark.
Converge- Jane Doe
I made the mistake of listening to this at work (strike 1), at 4 AM (strike 2), and on Easter (strike 3). Somewhere in the universe is a timeline where this sort of music appeals to me, but this isn’t it. Even in my younger years, when my tolerance for louder! faster! stronger! music was much higher, I still needed some semblance of understandable vocals. A guy just screaming into the mike had no appeal then, and it doesn’t today. Maybe this is just a “me problem?” The record was heaped with lavish praise in multiple reviews I read, including terms like “skill,” “masterpiece,” and “intense.” I’ll give ‘em the last one; it’s intense af, but that =/= an enjoyable listening experience.
Is this something people are listening to at work? While working out? driving recklessly? I dunno. I tried imagining it in all of those scenarios and more, and just couldn’t get there. To those who see it as a masterpiece and a legacy record, I say, more power to you. It was all I could do to finish it.
Bottom Line:
Ted Leo all day. No question, no second guessing, no nothing.
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!
Kevin Sent 
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