in Pencil Music

Phish is a confusing band. Scratch that. Phish is a confusing……thing? They are one of the most polarizing musical acts to ever come along in pop culture. Everyone seems to have an opinion on them, and even though those opinions differ from one another, they’re usually pretty strong either way. Mine is certainly no different.

Let me start by saying, Phish has never (and probably will never) be my “favorite” band. They might be the band I’ve loved the most the longest, but I assure you, there has always been someone else in that top spot at any given time. (Like today, it’s ‘The Band,’ but I digress). Phish is more like that friend you have that’s willing to hook up with you when neither of you are in a relationship. And to further that analogy, when I first met Phish, I was trying to nail her cousin who happened to be at the same party, while everyone else was buying Phish drinks and vying for her attention. Ok, maybe I’m taking this too far. More specifically, as a preppy/stoner kid in CT in the late nineties, there were a ton of smaller more underground bands that caught my ear. I fell particularly hard for one NYC-based quintet, ‘God Street Wine,’ but there were many other acts that played the Jam Band circuit, who I gravitated towards long before Phish. In fact, now that I think about it, I probably went out of my way to resist the band, because it was so “cool,” to like them at the time. All the boarding school/college kids in their Northface fleeces and corduroys would plaster the band’s name on the backs of their parents’ Grand Cherokees, and tool around the shores of the Long Island Sound. As odd or uncool as that might sound to someone unfamiliar, I assure you this was the epitome of ‘hip’ where I come from.

But of course, the inevitable happened: In the late nineties, Phish became too big to stop. If you had any interest in the Jam Band/concert going culture, resistance was futile. And after being dragged to a show, I soon learned what all the fuss was about. So I let them in. Fast forward 10+ years, and they’ve outlasted or out-performed so many other bands that I’ve loved, that, simply by default, I’m still a “phish-head.” Oh man, do I hate that term, “phish-head.” The mindless wastes of life. Get a job! Take a shower! I hate them almost as much as I loathe the “Phish-head” hater. The people who have no respect for a 35 minute version of “Chalk Dust Torture,” or the perfect execution of “Fluffhead.” (geek alert). The truth is, I’ve had it with this 2 party system. I don’t identify with either camp. Phish lovers and Phish haters piss me off equally. There has to be a middle ground.

Phish, “Joy” came out yesterday. It’s their first new studio album in like 5 years. Do a quick google search for reviews and you’ll probably see the following expressed in some way: “Phish is a band not known for its studio efforts. To really appreciate the band, one has to see them live.” Check out the blogs, and you’ll find that most Phish fanatics actually agree with this statement. WTF? So you’re saying that Trey and the guys spent days (or weeks) in the studio, hired Steve Lilywhite, and generally busted their asses, just to f’ around? No one really cares about the album? They’re just jerking off? That’s such horsesh*t! Two words: “Billy Breathes” ”

“Billy Breathes,” coincidentally the last album Lilywhite produced for Phish, is an amazing record. This gem from 1996, sounds beautiful. There isn’t a bad song on it. It captures both the serious and goofy sides of the band, showcases some of their finest songwriting, and it does something that no other Phish album has ever done before or since: It flows correctly. There sure feels like a deliberate order as song changes to song. From “Free” all the way to “Caspian” you never feel confused or interrupted. The same cannot be said for ‘Rift,’ another great sounding album, which, as I like to put it, “gets a little weird on the back nine.” ‘Rift’ plays more like a studio capture of a great live show, but not a cohesive record. And that’s the thing! I’m willing to say that “Billy Breathes” is such a great recording effort, that I’d rather hear any and all of those album versions than hear them played live. How’d do you like them apples?

So what does this all mean? Probably not a lot. Just because my feelings for the band might be slightly different than your average fanatic or hater, I’m still feeding them money and giving them attention. And in my older age, I’ve grown weary of trying to explain or defend my interest in them, so instead I’ll just buy my tickets and be on my way. And ‘Joy is no ‘Billy Breathes’ The disc sounds good, particularly Trey’s vocals, but much of the material gives me that ‘eh’ feeling. You know, the same one I got from the last three or four U2 records. I’ll probably listen to it off and on until the next show and cheer loudly when they bust out some of the new ones, but then I’ll file it away with ‘Round Room’ and ‘Undermind,’ and that’ll be all. At least until they cut a new record, which I’ll eagerly anticipate along with the rock critics, who will probably just copy and paste their review of ‘Joy,’ substituting the album name with whatever the new one is called.

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Filed under: opinion by Dan in Pencil