Love Him or Hate Him, but You Can't Ignore Him

He is King at least for a day... 

 

A member of the graduating class of whack-jobs that includes Gary Wilson & Zolar X...

Presenting the man, the myth, the true Con(n)undrum. 

Bobby Conn definitely deserves his time here at NSS.  I had been planning this post for several years or more. I would work on it & then I would put it away for a while. The task of chronicling Bobby Conn's diverse career just seemed daunting.

Then blog-friend MrDave commented on my April Marc Bolan post.

MrDave5/2/22, 9:35 AM...
     "Bolan looks like the illegitimate sex-child of Bobby Conn and (his lovely partner) Julie Pomerleau which I'm sure is exactly what the two of them were going for. Speaking of which, if you have any, I'd love to have it! (I've only got a low bitrate version of "Homeland")."
 

Songs like "Baby Man (refrain)" or "California" from the Rise Up! release are just soooooooooooo Marc Bolan / T Rex as relates to MrDave. Then listen to the BeeGee-esque "Face Blind" or the Bowie-esque "More than You Need" or the Devo-esque "Underground Vktm" from Macaroni. You’ll be scratching your brain in uncertainty. Say what? That's how I felt in the past, but I felt I owed it to MrDave to forward to the goal. (I wasn't going to post Macaroni but now I name-dropped tunes from said pasta, so here[___])

Conn was born Jeffrey Stafford in New York. He spent much of his young life in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles. He started a hardcore punk trio in high school called The Broken Kockamamies. In 1989, Bobby joined the Chicago avant garde rock quartet Conducent: Bobby Conn - guitar; Rex Jenny - bass / vocals; Le Deuce - loops, beats, atmosphere; & DeShawn -drums / vocals. Conn went solo in 1994 after Conducent broke up. His first lineup consisted of ex-Conducent member DJ Le Deuce on turntables, as well as his future wife Julie Pomerleau (aka Monika BouBou) on electric violin. Conn has released seven studio albums (the latest being 2020s Recovery), a live album Live Classics, & several EPs. 

 

 

A few years back I happened upon the widely circulated & very puzzling YouTube clip of Bobby Conn performing "Never Get Ahead" on a local Chicago cable access program. The song was just weird/good enough to make me search out more Mr. Bobby. What did the rest of Bobby Conn's music sound like, I wondered? After all these years & much time invested in listening to his entire output, I'm still wondering. I get it, but I just can't say. You just have to listen for yourselves. I recommend multiple listens. It won't sink in on the first play (or even the third for most). It's complicated, requires paying close attention, because it's music with a lot of tiny moving parts. 

 

 

Since the YouTube video of "Never Get Ahead" was my first exposure to Bobby Conn's music, I've started at the beginning with his self-titled 1997 debut Bobby Conn that features that song. I have seen the album described as no wave or post rock. Not entirely inaccurate, but with the mutant pop/disco/soul of "Never Get Ahead" or the heavy metal bludgeoning of "The Sportsman" or the 13-minute-long musique concrète collage of slowed down layered snatches of Paul McCartney on "Who's The Paul? #16" it becomes apparent there is much more going on here. 

 

Bobby Conn - Bobby Conn, Truckstop TRUCK02CD, 1997.
all decryption codes in comments

Overture
Axis '67 (Part One)
No Kids, No Money
Never Get Ahead
Who's the Paul #16   
Who's the Paul #33
Payback
The Sportsman
Axis '67 (Part Three) 

 

 

 

Conn's next album was 1998s Rise Up!, which is both a parody of mainstream rock & a political message, but an updating of the whole protest music concept for an apathetic generation not much interested in protesting anything. Musically it is a massive step forward from the first release. Produced by Jim O'Rourke & featuring a much deeper musical collaboration with his future wife, violinist Julie Pomerleau, aka Monika BouBou. Bobby's image of a diminutive, falsetto-singing, drug-addled rocker with glitter eyeshadow & chipped painted fingernails gave this outing a "leper messiah" edge.

Bobby Conn - Rise Up!, Atavistic ALP306CD, 1998.

The Twilight of the Empire    1:41
Rise Up!
Axis '67 Pt. 2
United Nations
California
Passover
A Conversation   
Baby Man
Baby Man (refrain)
White Bread
Lullaby
Ominous Drone   
Rise Up, Now!

 

 

 

 

 

If the Bobby Conn project went into full bloom with Rise Up!, 2001s The Golden Age (also produced by Jim O'Rourke) is a huge leap forward once again. The arrangements on this album are next level. Conn & BouBou are now fully in sync. So for anyone not sure where to jump into the Conn pool, this is probably the spot. The Golden Age is one of the most musically sophisticated pop albums around, with some very fine musicianship, bursting with intelligence. 

 

 

Bobby Conn - The Golden Age, Thrill Jockey thrill084, 2001.

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

 

 

 

 

All anyone needs to say is "King for a Day". As good a song as any by Bowie or Bolan. Punch the sky!

 

Bobby Conn - King for a Day, Thrill Jockey thrill 177, 2007.

Vanitas
When the Money's Gone
King for a Day
A Glimpse of Paradise
Love Let Me Down
Sinking Ship
Twenty-One
Punch the Sky!
Anybody
(I'm Through with) My Ego
Mr. Lucky
Things

 

 

 

 

 

So now on to Recovery, the newest Bobby Conn album. It's the soundtrack for the CoVid-19 pandemic nightmare. Alexis, play Disposable Future! 

 

 

 

Bobby Conn - Recovery, Tapete Records TR450CD, 2020.

Recovery   
Disposable Future   
Good Old Days   
No Grownups   
Brother   
On the Nose   
Bijou   
Disaster   
It's a Young Man's Game   
Always Already

Thank you, MrDave,
NØ