The MG Album Club - #2) Come Clean (The Mysteries of Life)

axolotl

Nunquam non paratus
The Mysteries of Life ~ Come Clean (1998)




Have you ever felt like you won the lottery? Or, as though the abundance of the universe had opened itself up to you in a direct and palpable way? Well, if you have, then, you might have an inkling of what I felt like when I saw Zeeba’s post telling me that the year chosen for my contribution was 1998. 1990freaking8. I thought to myself, “Self, is that not the year that The Mysteries of Life released Come Clean?" And, so it was. So may it ever be. Amen. [I thought something similar about Transactions de Novo by Bedhead, also from 1998, but that was just really serious intestinal gas.]

Anyway, I have hawked this album so many times (four, to be exact; I know it because it’s the number of fingers I have on each hand – no, wait, six, FIVE) that I was somewhat engladdened that earlier incarnations of this site had been shuttered, so that my posts could not be re-read and re-hashed, causing me to endure endless embarrassment for my fawning devotion and slavish attachment to this one album. No, really. Really? No.

But, perhaps I should actually mention the music. It’s good, really. It is melodic. The harmonies are nice. Did I just write an end-of-school yearbook note; i.e., “Have a nice summer, Trudy! U R nice. See you in the Fall!”? The lyrics can be ignored, but they are engaging if you choose to listen to them. “Downhill” is about aging, in case you need a primer. If you listen to the album in-full more than once, you might even generate a tasty earworm or two. Ewww... (Who does that after about second grade?)

So, with that, I introduce to you, Come Clean, by The Mysteries of Life, or as we in the winking cognoscenti know them, Mysteries of Life, or TMoL, or that group from Bloomington, Indiana, who now live in England, that has that drummer from The Blake Babies, that nobody seems to listen to....

It is on Spotify, and I hope and trust that our astute leader will post a hyperlink to allow ease of play.

Disclaimer: Lastly, I will not be around my computer again until at least sometime tomorrow late afternoon, Pacific Time, so I thought I would post tonight when it is close to midnight on the East Coast. I heartily apologize if I have broken any cardinal rules.
 
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^Thank you, Sam. The sequence of songs on Spotify is the same as the order on the CD.

P.S. This is for anybody who might check the page on RYM, and imagine that I meant another version with a few different songs (added or subtracted).

P.P.S. Also, please note that I did not choose Come Clean by Puddle of Mudd. That's a release, not from 1998, that I would not foist upon anyone.
 
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The Mysteries of Life ~ Come Clean (1998)




Have you ever felt like you won the lottery? Or, as though the abundance of the universe had opened itself up to you in a direct and palpable way? Well, if you have, then, you might have an inkling of what I felt like when I saw Zeeba’s post telling me that the year chosen for my contribution was 1998. 1990freaking8. I thought to myself, “Self, is that not the year that The Mysteries of Life released Come Clean?" And, so it was. So may it ever be. Amen. [I thought something similar about Transactions de Novo by Bedhead, also from 1998, but that was just really serious intestinal gas.]

Anyway, I have hawked this album so many times (four, to be exact; I know it because it’s the number of fingers I have on each hand – no, wait, six, FIVE) that I was somewhat engladdened that earlier incarnations of this site had been shuttered, so that my posts could not be re-read and re-hashed, causing me to endure endless embarrassment for my fawning devotion and slavish attachment to this one album. No, really. Really? No.

But, perhaps I should actually mention the music. It’s good, really. It is melodic. The harmonies are nice. Did I just write an end-of-school yearbook note; i.e., “Have a nice summer, Trudy! U R nice. See you in the Fall!”? The lyrics can be ignored, but they are engaging if you choose to listen to them. “Downhill” is about aging, in case you need a primer. If you listen to the album in-full more than once, you might even generate a tasty earworm or two. Ewww... (Who does that after about second grade?)

So, with that, I introduce to you, Come Clean, by The Mysteries of Life, or as we in the winking cognoscenti know them, Mysteries of Life, or TMoL, or that group from Bloomington, Indiana, who now live in England, that has that drummer from The Blake Babies, that nobody seems to listen to....

It is on Spotify, and I hope and trust that our astute leader will post a hyperlink to allow ease of play.

Disclaimer: Lastly, I will not be around my computer again until at least sometime tomorrow late afternoon, Pacific Time, so I thought I would post tonight when it is close to midnight on the East Coast. I heartily apologize if I have broken any cardinal rules.

Enthusiasm!
Surely not just the music
Your life smells of joy
 
I'm with the crowd on this one. Leave it to Axo to find an inspired album that is totally unfamiliar to me. I don't listen to a lot of 21st Century indie rock but Come Clean offers all the best features of the genre with none of the cliches. Tastes great AND less filling! :Matt:

Oh, and here's a master playlist for the Album Club:

 
A wonderful pick Axo, and an album I don't think I would every have found on my own (and isn't that the point of this exercise) . Wonderful, approachable rock -great melodies. Very earthy/"real". One could almost picture hearing the songs sound like this in a club. Will definitely listen again
:4.0:
Not that we're comparing pick size ;), but I do believe you picked a better one than myself (certainly more people enjoy it) - though I will say mine is a grower on subsequent listens. But great pick, Axo - one can see the merits of this album right on first listen.
 
A wonderful pick Axo, and an album I don't think I would every have found on my own (and isn't that the point of this exercise) . Wonderful, approachable rock -great melodies. Very earthy/"real". One could almost picture hearing the songs sound like this in a club. Will definitely listen again
:4.0:
Not that we're comparing pick size ;), but I do believe you picked a better one than myself (certainly more people enjoy it) - though I will say mine is a grower on subsequent listens. But great pick, Axo - one can see the merits of this album right on first listen.

Every pick is sacred.
Every pick is great.
If a pick is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
 
A wonderful pick Axo, and an album I don't think I would every have found on my own (and isn't that the point of this exercise) . Wonderful, approachable rock -great melodies. Very earthy/"real". One could almost picture hearing the songs sound like this in a club. Will definitely listen again
:4.0:
Not that we're comparing pick size ;), but I do believe you picked a better one than myself (certainly more people enjoy it) - though I will say mine is a grower on subsequent listens. But great pick, Axo - one can see the merits of this album right on first listen.
You would have gotten away with it too, Zeeba, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids.

I've got no knock against ...your pick; it is a grower. I developed a like for a couple of the songs almost instantly.

But, enough about you. Let's talk about me The Mysteries of Life.

Come Clean is their second album. Keep a Secret, from 1996, is their first. KaS might be considered a tad amateurish in comparison to CC, but the all-girl component of the early band's backing section was pleasant and added the solo cello of Geraldine Haas. Jake Smith is the main songwriter-singer throughout. He is married to Freda Boner/Love, the drummer for the ex-Blake Babies. Both of them were in the band Antenna. Dale Lawrence of The Gizmos and The Vulgar Boatmen is the primary piano attacker and male harmony vocal.

Follow-up albums are Distant Relative (2001) , which is my next favorite of theirs, and Beginning to Move (2006). Distant Relative incorporates the same solid, economical songwriting with some electronic effects other than the guitar, but all in service to the melody. It has one of the most poignant, beautiful songs the band has ever done: "This Seat is Taken."

I picked up CC from a CD sale at a college radio station garage sale 20 years ago, and it became an instant favorite. Most of their CDs can be picked up for very little dosh on Amazon these days. Beginning to Move is available at cdbaby.

Lastly, I have three two EPs from the band. The best of the lot can be found on Spotify and is called Focus on the Background. You'll note that the last two songs are covers; "Naive Melody" from The Talking Heads, and "I'm Into Something Good," written by Goffin/King and made famous by Herman's Hermits. Here, it's taken at an almost-dirge-like speed, instead of its usual jaunty pace, and it comes across as pensive and surreal in comparison.

In a Sally Field kind of way, I'm glad you like it; you really like it. That is golden to me.
 
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I haven't listened to the whole album yet, but the songs I DID hear so far I like. 3.5/5.0 stars, but that may improve with more listening. :mrgreen:
 
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