Something Big: Jim O'Rourke

In another addition of knowledge worn thin, Greatest Band of All Time contributor Zac Pennington makes his stumbling way toward one of the world's most respected contemporary avant- musicians--only to completely ignore his sprawling discography excepting that of his three pop albums. Go figure.

So, sure--Jim O'Rourke has been doing his experimental bit for a long ass time over 8 million-zillion weird cassette releases or whatever, used to be in Gastr del Sol and Brice Glase, has played with or produced or mixed just about every one of your favorite bands/musicians (among them Red Krayola, Wilco, U.S. Maple, Tony Conrad, Faust, Smog, Melt Banana, GBV, Scissor Girls, Brainiac, Merzbow, Lake of Dracula, John Fahey, Will Oldham, Jesus Lizard, Stereolab, Superchunk, The Pastels, and Nancy Sinatra), was the musical consultant on School of Rock, and is now an official member of Sonic Youth. GRANTED. But as usual, our story begins and ends with my particular interest in the man's body of work--beginning in 1999 and ending in 2001--the years that bookend the releases of Eureka and insignificance.

Following the release of Camoufleur, O'Rourke ended his tenure with Gastr del Sol to again focus his attentions on solo works--a decision no-doubt influenced by his initial collaboration with Sonic Youth on the third installment of that band's impossible SYR series. the resulting album, the unexpectedly pop explosion of Eureka, is where our hero graduates in my mind from a name constantly thrown about amongst my post-rock-obsessed high school friends to an inspired musical presence. In spite of its lagging bits, Eureka is among the greatest pop statements of the 1990s, dropped just as the decade was waving goodbye. maintaining a good deal of the more ethereal mire of Gastr, Eureka finds O'Rourke heavily mining (and miming) the works of Van Dyke Parks, O'Rourke's oft-touted pop hero. The record's immediate stand outs seem to be its covers--the first an endless version of Ivor Cutler's brief "Women of the World," the second a carefully kitschy take on Bacharach's "Something Big"--but with careful consumption, it's clear that the clever spite of the originals are what make it so special. especially O'Rourke's lyrics. Eureka's words show signs of obvious toil, as in "Ghost Ship in a Storm," which begins Nothing makes me want to disappear/As when someone opens their mouth, followed another couplet of the melody repeated in tight-lipped hum. very smart. or "Movie On the Way Down"'s buried beauty: There's that word again: Pride/Do you pride yourself on being/Polite?/Do you feel pride when you're alone?/Does the mirror say good day, today?/Does your family make you feel pride?/Do the pictures keep you warm?/Is your/smile so easily worn?/Worn away/Do you feel proud?

in short, Eureka is really good. Following Eureka, O'Rourke released yet another pop record--the four song Halfway to a Threeway--which served to further punctuated his sadistic and morose persona. Halfway may rate as perhaps my favorite of O'Rourke's pop records, as its brevity eliminates a good deal of the others' unnecessary wankery.

the Final of the O'Rourke trilogy (so far, anyway), 2001's Insignificance, is perhaps the most straightforward of the three. Due in some degree to Jeff Tweedy's (Wilco) work on the project, the record is a rock record through and through--slathered in its own oddly Southern drawl. The successes therein out weight the faults, though its strongest moments are less about the music, and more of O'Rourke's lyrical maturation.

Then he joined Sonic Youth. and with his new day job, it's difficult to predict if and when he'll finish another pop record of his own (there have been reports of a new record on Drag City's website for forever), but obsessives can take solace in his Loose Fur collaboration with Tweedy from a few years back--or in his subtle additions to the decline of sonic youth. Or maybe--just maybe--you can start listening to the rest of his expansive and respected catalog. As for me, I'm just gonna listen to the records that made him the Greatest Band of All Time.

in footnote: I once met Jim O'Rourke at a convenience store in Seattle the evening after a Sonic Youth performance, but was too high on over-the-counter amphetamine to really remember the transaction. I do remember throwing up in the street some minutes later after I left his company. He seemed sort of freaked out. the end.