Joy
Electric, The Art and Craft of Popular Music (1994-2002)Reviewed by f*v
The first and only time I've gotten a speeding ticket was coming home from dropping off my girlfriend (at the time) after a Joy Electric show back in 1999. Not that I blame Martin and Cloud-a tailgating jerk with his brights on who followed me from lane to lane until I sped up a bit and who turned out to be a cop gets my eternal love for that fiasco-but JE is one of those bands whose music has been around long enough to have memories from past eras in our lives attached to it.
The last time I listened to Joy Electric in a car was earlier this evening. I'd just purchased an old used tv for $20 and was on my way home with it. Alongside to the left of me pulled an old white Camaro, in which was a guy with in a wifebeater, his goatee growling and long hair peeking out from under a hat not unlike that of Indiana Jones and his German Shepherd leaning out the passenger side window. We rode side by side for a few miles, the two of them turning and showing unanimous raised eyebrows at "The Cobbler," "Sugar Rush," and "Monosynth." They both clearly just didn't get Joy Electric and as such, symbolize far too many of the listening public. Fortunately, Ronnie Martin remains plugged in (well, other than the "unelectric" album) and plugging along, his seventh full-length in as many years being released in 2001, along with a handful of EPs and singles scattered along the way.
Finally in 2002 comes the release of a long-awaited "greatest hits" sort of record. While a common complaint about electronic music is that "it all sounds the same," a listen to this survey of the finest in the Joy Electric canon will prove otherwise. Disco punk and fugue ballads are all in the mix. JE is not content to sit back and rest, however, adding in a second disc of new material. The variety continues with this new material, and Ronnie's song-naming is never better, giving us titles like "Mistletoe and Molasses" and "Blueberry Boats [and Pink Elephants]." The Faint (Saddle Creek Records), Norway, and Echoing Green all add in remixes of "We Are Rock," as well. This 2disc set comes with a full-color booklet and includes pictures, a great introduction by Chris M. Short, and song-by-song liner notes written by Ronnie Martin. This package is perfect, displaying both the best from 8 years and an album's worth of amazing new material.