My Zine Was Called “The Gift”

John Cale “Outta The Bag” – At this point, it’s a bit of a cliche for respected middle-aged actors to go on a talk show and explain that part of their motivation for being in a superhero movie or lending their voice to an animated feature was so that they could be in something that their kids could watch and enjoy rather than the same old grim Oscar bait. I like to think that John Cale made Black Acetate for similar reasons, although he is far less likely to achieve commercial success with this album than if he had, say, composed and performed a score for Pixar. And this is funny, because the album is almost frighteningly commercial, ranging from not-quite-there-but-close homages to The Neptunes, Outkast, and the Scissor Sisters to full-on late period alt-rock tunes that (musically if not vocally) resemble the work of rock radio staples such as Switchfoot and the Foo Fighters. In the context of his career, it seems almost as though Cale has followed a similar arc to that of Scharpling & Wurster’s “The Music Scholar,” pushing at the margins of art rock and the avant garde for decades before finding a new inspiration in contemporary Top 40. In the case of “The Music Scholar,” it’s sort of grotesque, but for Cale, it’s inspiring to see the guy try his hand at modern pop style. Even when the songs are duds, it’s not for a lack of craft and enthusiasm. (Click here to buy John Cale’s Black Acetate from Amazon and here to buy Scharpling & Wurster’s Chain Fights, Beer Blasts, and Service With A Grin from Stereolaffs.)