The Golden Age (Bobby Conn album)
Encyclopedia
The Golden Age is a 2001 album by Chicago
-based rocker
Bobby Conn
, released by the Thrill Jockey
label.
Conn said that the album "is really about this depressing realization that I managed to extend the teenage years into my mid-30s—that’s happened to a lot of people. American society is structured to deal with superficial identity questions to keep people from making trouble. If your main issue is how you dress and can you wear nose piercings to work, then you’re probably not going to protest war."
Bonus Tracks
magazine called it "almost magical", while Mojo
admitted that "Self-consciously strange it may be, but [this album] proves Conn is much more than a novelty act." Q Magazine
said that "the music is dazzling, daft and dark as the man himself", while Alternative Press suggested that "the genius of this record is its combination of theatricality and thrift. Conn easily finds art in what more self-consciously hip bands work hard to discard and denigrate". In Music We Trust praised Conn as "a talented songwriter able to craft, mold, and re-invent, Bobby Conn touches a style and turns it into gold."
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based rocker
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
Bobby Conn
Bobby Conn
Bobby Conn is an American musician based in Chicago, Illinois, known for his pop-rock. He often collaborates with other artists such as musicians Colby Starck and Jim O'Rourke, and film-maker Usama Alshaibi. In 2003, Conn produced a session for UK punk band The Cribs, whom he met when they were a...
, released by the Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
label.
Conn said that the album "is really about this depressing realization that I managed to extend the teenage years into my mid-30s—that’s happened to a lot of people. American society is structured to deal with superficial identity questions to keep people from making trouble. If your main issue is how you dress and can you wear nose piercings to work, then you’re probably not going to protest war."
Track listing
- "A Taste of Luxury"
- "Angels"
- "You've Come a Long Way"
- "The Best Years of Our Lives"
- "Winners"
- "The Golden Age"
- "No Revolution"
- "Pumper"
- "Whores"
Bonus Tracks
- "Seiko Shinai"
- "The Whistler"
Critical response
The Golden Age has received the best all-round critical response of any of Bobby Conn's albums to date. UncutUNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
magazine called it "almost magical", while Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
admitted that "Self-consciously strange it may be, but [this album] proves Conn is much more than a novelty act." Q Magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
said that "the music is dazzling, daft and dark as the man himself", while Alternative Press suggested that "the genius of this record is its combination of theatricality and thrift. Conn easily finds art in what more self-consciously hip bands work hard to discard and denigrate". In Music We Trust praised Conn as "a talented songwriter able to craft, mold, and re-invent, Bobby Conn touches a style and turns it into gold."
Personnel
- Bobby Conn – vocalsHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Monica Bou Bou – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, vocals, recorder - Glenn KotcheGlenn KotcheGlenn Kotche is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 41st greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008.Prior to working with Wilco, Kotche released a four-track album...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on tracks 1, 4, 5 & 9 - Colby Stark – drums on tracks 2, 3 & 7
- Pat Samson – drums on track 8
- Josh Abrams – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Jonathon Joe – bass, guitar
- Jeb BishopJeb BishopJeb Bishop is an American jazz trombone player.He grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has studied music at Northwestern University, engineering and philosophy at North Carolina State University, and philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Arizona,...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Thymme JonesThymme JonesThymme ' Jones is the drummer for the Chicago, Illinois-based band Cheer-Accident. Jones frequently appears on the local Public-access television cable TV program Cool Clown Ground...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Ernst Karel – trumpet
- Fred Lonberg-HolmFred Lonberg-HolmFred Lonberg-Holm is an American cellist based in Chicago. He relocated from New York City to Chicago in 1995.Lonberg-Holm is most identified with playing free improvisation and free jazz. He is also a composer of concert works...
– celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is... - Nick Sula – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...