David Grubbs - The Coxcomb/Avocado Orange EP
(Blue Chopsticks)
Welcome to your freshman English seminar with Professor Grubbs.
This term we will be studying short stories by different
American authors.
"The Coxcomb" is an adaptation of the short story
"The
Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane (The Red Badge of Courage)
and was originally released on an import-only 12" picture disc. Written
at the latter part of the 19th Century, "The Blue Hotel" revolves
around the stereotypes of the Old West--cowboys, gambling, and
fighting--that have long been fascinations for Grubbs. Even
at 17 minutes, much of the beautiful language of Crane's story
was pruned. However, Grubbs has done a masterful job of turning
the story into verse, making the most out of the natural rhythm
of the language but never forcing or terribly altering the prose
to fit the song.
Grubbs finds the most poetic lines in the story and makes them
the focal point of the song. "Think I'm a tenderfoot? Think I
been to nowheres?" becomes a chorus in the song, the very
Grubbs-like words emphasizing the paranoid fear of the Swede
that is the catalyst to the story. At the song's epilogue,
the narrator sums the story up beautifully, not
offering the full explanation the Easterner does in the
original text but rather leaving it simply as "the
Gambler wasn't even a noun but only a kind of adverb,
only an apex." Without Crane's other words, the
meaning here is heavily veiled. It clouds the story, prompting
the listener to investigate further, giving the apt prose
more beauty once it is deciphered.
As a song, the centerpiece is the singing of the characters.
Grubbs provides the voice of the Swede along with Stephen
Prina as the Narrator and Sasha Andrè as the Cowboy.
The music that accompanies the singing is standard Grubbs
guitarwork, repetitive but intricate, with cello, trombones,
and saxophone added to help create mood. The contribution
of the instruments to the story is minimal though; it helps
break up the story into sections, but it is clear Grubbs'
intent is to make a song here and not a play or opera.
The music does not explode with each punch in the fight
or willow at the death of a character.
Also on this release is "Avocado Orange," a new, previously unreleased
full band recording of "Onion Orange" off Grubbs' Table of the
Elements release Banana Cabbage, Potato Lettuce, Onion Orange.
Fans of that album and Grubbs' more droning material will no
doubt enjoy this piece. The song uses two guitars (one electric
and one sounding much like a harpsichord), saxophone, two
drummers, and a synthesizer tone to gradually blossom over the
song's 10 minutes as each instrument is added, one-by-one.
The song starts with just guitar and synth, then rolling,
firecracker drums start to jump around, then the alto sax
lets out a few bellows, before finally an electric guitar plays
a slow, somber melody.
If you don't have "The Coxcomb" 12", this EP is essential Grubbs.
It's a shame, though, that Grubbs did not also include the B-side
of that EP on this release as it had already been re-released on
an import-only one song 3" CD single. Three songs span three
releases, and Grubbs completists still need to buy at least two
of them (at least one an import) in order to get all three songs.
If you already have "The Coxcomb" 12", find the audio file for
the extra song on this EP; it's not worth the money on its own.
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