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What's Next to the Moon contains ten gorgeously expressive acoustic songs, inexplicably derived from 1970s AC/DC tracks. On this 2001 recording, singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek proves that his unique brand of musical expression is distinctive enough to make any genre of music his own.
Even AC/DC devotees - such people surely exist - are unlikely to recognize the music on this album. Stripping away the power-chords and arena rock pomp, Kozelek uses only his voice and acoustic guitar to reinvent these songs as something like confessional folk-blues. A standout example of this almost alchemical transformation is the track "Bad Boy Boogie", with it's simple refrain: "they said stop and I said go, they said yes and I said no, they said fast and I said slow." To hear AC/DC front-man Bon Scott sing it, the song is about blind rebellion and how enticingly dangerous that makes the singer. Without altering a single lyric, Kozelek makes the song a moving reminiscence of childhood rebellion and the conflicts of adulthood. He seems to locate the heart of the song in this lyric: "Bein' bad ain't so bad, I've known more pretty women than most men have." Rather than a juvenile boast, which was certainly its initial purpose, Kozelek invests the line with wistful defiance, implying that there may be some solace in the narrator's contrarian lifestyle. Similar themes are explored on "Rock 'N' Roll Singer", in which a seemingly inborn desire for recognition conflicts with parental expectations. "My daddy worked from nine to five, Momma stayed home with me, And from the time that I was half alive, I knew what I wanted to be." (I can't help but be reminded of Keith Richards' immortal lines: "Always took candy from strangers, Didn't wanna get me no trade, Never want to be like papa, Working for the boss ev'ry night and day.") Released just three months prior to Old Ramon, the final album by Kozelek's band Red House Painters, What's Next to the Moon can be seen as a somewhat tentative solo album. While he didn't write the songs, he should be credited for the depth and range of emotion he brought to them.
What's Next to the Moon - Mark Kozelek
Find it in the catalog!
