Black Lips, Satan’s Graffiti…or Is It God’s Art (2017)

By SoDak

In August, I spent a week hiking in Glacier National Park—fortunately before all the fires started. For road trips, I usually bring along a stack of CDs that I have not heard, in order to have time to really listen to a record. On the third day, we took the Going-to-the-Sun Road from the westside of the park to the Many Glacier area. For the drive, I selected the newest record by the Black Lips, Satan’s Graffiti…or Is It God’s Art. My wife and I drove along Lake McDonald, then followed the river, before starting the climb to Logan’s Pass. Periodically, we stopped to walk through fields of wildflowers, to sit by waterfalls, and to watch mountain goats climb up cliffs. We were excited to see two grizzly bears, swimming across a river. Once we arrived at the trailhead, we hiked in fog and rain to Ptarmigan Tunnel and then to Iceberg Lake. We counted the piles of fresh bear scat that we passed on the trail. Wildflowers abounded in the high meadows. This astonishing day was just one of many in these mountains. Wait, it seems that I forgot to mention anything about the Black Lips record. Well, this is because Satan’s Graffiti…or Is It God’s Art is forgettable. To be fair, someone might contend that the experience and beauty of the national park served as a distraction and did not allow me to appreciate the record. For me, music has the potential to diminish or enhance an experience, just as the place can influence how I feel about music. Throughout the week, we listened to music that complemented our experiences and that is woven into memories of these days. This is not the case with the new record by the Black Lips. It seems uninspired. It sounds like the band just showed up tired and fucked around while making the record. This is unfortunate, as I have very much enjoyed several of their previous records. Fortunately, for us, we had many other great records that satisfied us on this trip.  

Glen Campbell (1946-2017)

Spooner D:

My first exposure to Glen Campbell was on TV; really this was the only media I had access to as a child of the 1980s. Hee Haw wasn’t really a Sunday dinner time ritual as it was a way to pass the time before the table was set. This show was beloved in the South, but both of my parents were from the North. The Lawerence Welk Show, which followed Hee Haw, was much more of a draw. Nevertheless, something about Hee Haw sucked me. I remember Glen Campbell playing “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” I am not sure who he played with, Buck Owens or Roy Clark, but I was mesmerized by it. Maybe it was the song, but this performance has always stuck with me. This was the first song I learned how to plan on guitar in high school on my friend’s Dad’s 12 string. I later learned of Glen’s connection with the Beach Boys thru yet another TV show or special. My dad adored the Beach Boys, and I knew more about them than I did about the Catholicism that was forced down my throat every Wednesday and Sunday. I’m not a Glen Campbell fan or follower but truly connect him with that time of my childhood. He was a great guitarist, which I now know and appreciate. Many of my musical influences are a result of a personal connection with a performance, rather than a studious approach to dissecting an album, and Glen was definitely one of those. RIP Glen Campbell and thank you for the memories.

PaulySure:

I didn’t really grow up listening to Glen Campbell as much as I did all the members that made up The Highwaymen, and other more “outlaw” style country. At that time, I mostly just knew “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Glen Campbell’s more or less someone I got into within the last 3 years, primarily after finding out how important he was to music through way of the most important studio band, The Wrecking Crew. With that said, I think that makes him possibly the second most important member of the Beach Boys.

SoDak:

When I grew up in the 1970s, Glen Campbell was everywhere. His songs were played across the dial on AM radio stations. I fondly remember listening to his versions of “Gentle on My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” and “Galveston” while riding in the backseat of my parents’ car. Glen Campbell’s countrypolitan music was smooth and comfortable. Along with my mother, I would sing the chorus, while staring out across the South Dakota plains. In 1975, his pop song, “Rhinestone Cowboy,” was a massive hit. While I preferred his songs from the 1960s, I would also sing the sweeping chorus of “Rhinestone” every time it was on the radio. In many ways, Glen Campbell was woven into my childhood, as a familiar musical thread. It is only many years later that I learned about The Wrecking Crew, the Los Angeles studio band, which played the music on so many of the hit songs and records throughout the 1960s. Glen Campbell was one of the members of this elite group. During the last decade, I bought his new records as they were released, and was pleased to find many songs that I particularly enjoyed. His contribution to the history of rock and country is undeniable.