Author: JOPLIN, JOSH

Brand: ARTEMIS

PartNumber: 7.00E+11

Release Date: 11-03-2003

Details: Amazon.ca Perhaps Josh Joplin's greatest gift is his self-awareness. On "Happy at Last," one of the tracks from the Atlanta native's second album, he admits, "I sound like Michael Stipe / I dream like Carl Jung," beating to the punch those detractors who complain that his idiosyncratic adenoidal singing sounds astonishingly like those of the R.E.M. frontman. Whether the startling similarity is an accident of geography or design is immaterial, since it's Joplin's wry self-deprecating lyrics, clever wordplay, and brainy illusions that make you take notice. "I'm not the only cowboy in this one-horse metaphor," he sings in the anxious "I Am Not the Only Cowboy," adding, "I am not the only Caufield catching more than kids." In the space of a single song, Joplin's canny self-awareness curdles into self-absorption; in fact, it would be safe to say he identifies rather closely with J.D. Salinger's most famous character. Like Holden, Joplin not only has a fascination with death--references to the great equalizer are threaded through most of the 13 songs--but he also has quite a problem with growing up. "Time just hates me, that's why it made me an adult," he whines on "Must Be You," returning to a similar theme in "Siddharthas of Suburbia," when he decries, "The future is a stereo that eats your favorite tapes / The soundtrack to your youth cannot be replaced." But despite his raging neuroses, Joplin is a zany storyteller, whether he's writing a love song to his trampoline (where he admits he comes up with some of his best ideas for songs) or reinterpreting the Bible on "The Future That Was." Josh Joplin is a talent to watch. --Jaan Uhelszki Product Description JOPLIN, JOSH

UPC: 699675114329

EAN: 0699675114329

Model: 7.00E+11

Languages: English

Binding: Audio CD

Item Condition: New