Yorn, reborn

Singer-songwriter is taking a 'completely different approach from what I've done'

By Chris Nixon
For The Union-Tribune
February 15, 2007

Pete Yorn's good looks and seemingly effortless ability to churn out engaging pop songs often lead people to take the young songwriter for granted.

The New Jersey-bred, Southern California-based musician has sold records (his debut “Musicforthemorningafter” went gold) and gained critical acclaim (Rolling Stone picked him as one of the “Ten to Watch in 2001”), but Yorn hasn't become a household name one would expect he deserves.

Paste magazine editor Josh Jackson called Yorn's 2006 release “Nightcrawler” one of the year's most overlooked albums. If you haven't heard him, you should. If you have, take another listen.

The singer-songwriter, and now rising pop star, just completed a trilogy of albums, marking his early years as a musician: morning (“Musicforthemorningafter” in 2001), day (“Day I Forgot” in 2004) and night (“Nightcrawler” in 2006). As shown throughout all three releases, his true gift lies in crafting perfect mainstream rock tunes.

As the sun sets on this period of Yorn's life, Yorn took a moment to reflect on his line of business before moving on to his next phase.

“To me, it's a loose trilogy,” said Yorn, standing outside a recording studio in Mar Vista on Los Angeles' Westside, where he's recording his fourth album. “I think after finishing touring for 'Day I Forgot' and halfway through putting songs together for 'Nightcrawler,' I realized that I was exploring a lot of the same themes. From a technical standpoint, I recorded all three records in a similar fashion. So, I saw parallels there.”

The 32-year-old songwriter-guitarist-drummer emerged into the music marketplace with “Musicforthemorningafter,” a collection of 15 songs (including the hidden track “A Girl Like You”) filled with earnest love songs and bubblegum hooks.

“The 'Morning' was the innocence, and I hear it: I hear it in my voice and I hear it in the production,” recalled a now older and wiser Yorn. “When I hear that record – which is rare – but when I do go back and listen, it takes me back to an innocent time. I didn't have any notion of what anybody thought of me. People hadn't put labels on me. I was in it by myself and just going for it. The whole 'Night' thing is just a metaphor for a later period in my life.”

While he's only been in the business less than a decade, his career has reached modest heights.
Yorn followed “Morning” with “Day I Forgot,” a strong yet formulaic set of songs. The album earned the RIAA gold certification, leading to touring gigs with R.E.M., Coldplay and the Foo Fighters, a promising start to a young career.

Despite sounding similar to his previous outings, last year's “Nightcrawler” showcased Yorn's ability to crank out radio-friendly pop songs with substance. Honing his sound into a pop sheen with help from Dave Grohl and Natalie Maines (of the Dixie Chicks), any of the album's 14 tracks could have been a radio hit if they had gotten any airplay.

“Nightrawler” made a few “Best Of” lists, but, again, Yorn's abilities were overshadowed by the perception that pretty boys can't be serious artists: “You have to fight to balance out (criticism) and stay pure and focused on what's important to you.”

Today, while he doesn't come out and say it, Yorn hints that he's tired of the same sound and the same process. So, for his fourth album, he's coming at the recording from a different angle.

“It's a completely different approach from what I've done,” said an animated Yorn, energized by his latest work. “Everything is beat-driven, taking things off old obscure records and putting them into the computer and manipulating them. Then taking some of my folkier songs and putting them with the beats. It's creating a really fresh sound. What I'm doing is very different from what I've done in the past.”

Yorn seems to have mastered the three-minute pop song. Now, he's headed for greener pastures, more experimental music and a new day in his career.

“As far as where I am right now, I almost feel like it's a rebirth,” said Yorn. “I went through a phase: (my) mid-20s to early 30s. I'm able to look back on that period and realize this is what it is. And now, you change as a person. I feel like I have an opportunity to create something completely new and fresh.”

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

Discography

“Musicforthemorningafter” (2001, Columbia Records): Reached No. 111 in the U.S. charts. Rock-solid debut disc from Yorn established his ability to write sweet pop songs wrapped in rock 'n' roll. The single “Strange Condition” got a leg up from the Farrelly Brothers when they included the song on the “Me, Myself and Irene” soundtrack. Beware: One listen and the single “For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is)” will become a guilty pleasure for even the most jaded hipster. Take my word for it.

“Day I Forgot” (2003, Columbia Records): Reached No. 18 in the U.S. charts. Yorn sidesteps the ubiquitous sophomore slump by sticking to the formula that gave album No. 1 a fan base: short, sharp, shockingly infectious pop songs. But sometimes formulas sound, well, formulaic. The tunes aren't necessarily on par with his first disc, but he manages to assemble a coherent set of ear candies with help from R.E.M.'s Peter Buck.

“Nightcrawler” (2006, Columbia Records): Reached No. 50 in the U.S. charts. The 32-year-old singer-songwriter righted the ship with last year's “Nightcrawler.” Music pundits uttered many “return to form” comments, which are cliché but true in this case. Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire of Dixie Chicks fame lend vocals and fiddles on “The Man.” Like his previous albums, “Nightcrawler” pleasantly slides by without major incident, merging into one long, sweet pop song. The one bump in the road comes in the electronic stomp of “Georgie Boy,” giving fans a glimpse of Yorn's momentum in new directions.

– CHRIS NIXON

Fiasco: Faith healer

Lupe Fiasco's religious background puts backbone in his rhyme schemes

By Chris Nixon
For The Union-Tribune
February 8, 2007

Bismillaah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, chants Lupe Fiasco, his first words on the Chicago native's full-length debut “Food & Liquor.” It's Arabic, and it's the first words in the first chapter (the Al-Fatiha) of the Koran, the holy book of Islam. It means: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”

Recited five times a day by devout Muslims, the Al-Fatiha is simply a prayer. Fiasco's album “Food & Liquor” – nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards – is a modern prayer: asking forgiveness for his sins of adolescent misogyny, praying for the crackheads and the crooked cops, praying for the outcast skater kids and the pedophile Catholic priests, praying for possibilities beyond drug deals and drive-bys.

Born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco to a gourmet chef mother and a musician father in the Southside of Chicago, Lupe's parents raised him – along with his nine siblings – in the Islamic faith. A bright kid prone to skateboarding and daydreaming, Lupe (pronounced “lou-pay”) grew up in a tough neighborhood. He learned life's lessons firsthand, as street kids do, from the characters on his block, as both the righteous and the sinners roamed the cracked sidewalks on his street.

Despite the exterior chaos skulking outside his front door, his parents promoted advancement through education and knowledge. Lupe rhymes in “American Terrorist”: The ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times more than the blood of a martyr.

The 24-year-old MC still holds his religion near but condemns the use of religion to promote violent actions. Also from “American Terrorist”: Camouflaged Torahs, Bibles and glorious Korans / The books that take you to heaven and let you meet the Lord there / Have become misinterpreted, reasons for warfare / We read 'em with blind eyes, I guarantee you there's more there.

While Islam remains part of his guiding principles, Lupe doesn't want to get branded as “the Muslim MC.”

“I was born Muslim, so Islam plays a part in everything I do, to a certain extent,” said Fiasco in a recent interview with AllHipHop.com. “I'm not like the poster boy for Islam; you know what I'm saying? So it's like I still got my flaws and stuff like that, so I don't really wear that on my sleeve.”

Lupe's education on the streets of Chicago led him to his lyrical prowess, which resounds as his strength throughout “Food & Liquor.” Fiasco's appeal doesn't stem from rhyming style and rhythmic flow, but from his lyrical content and his skilled high-profile collaborators.

Whether teaming with this generation's answer to Ella Fitzgerald (Jill Scott in the beautiful “Daydreamin' ”) or the modern equivalent of Phil Spector (Pharrell Williams, who produced the single “I Gotcha”), Fiasco understands the dynamics of creating an infectious tune with intellectual depth (from the AllHipHop.com interview): “Catch their ear, and then at the same time, teach them something, you know?”

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

SAMPLER PLATE

From the early days in the Bronx projects to today's glossy mainstream rap, sampling remains the backbone of hip-hop. Capturing snippets from songs both familiar and obscure, rap's patchwork of assembled clips marks an ingenious recycling of music: using snippets of other songs to create a totally new one.

By teaming with top producers like Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, Craig Kallman, Needlz, Soundtrakk, Prolyfic and Brandon Howard, Lupe Fiasco's “Food & Liquor” uses the talents of these producers to reconstitute old songs into fresh creations.

Here's a list of samples used in “Food & Liquor”:
“Real”: “How Does It Feel,” Harvey Mason
“Just Might Be OK”: “Humphrey's Overture,” Paul Humphrey
“Kick, Push”: “Bolero Medley,” Celeste Legaspi
“The Instrumental”: “Nestle,” Far
“He Say She Say”: “The Last One to Be Loved,” Burt Bacharach
“Daydreamin'”: “Daydream in Blue,” I Monster
“The Cool”: “Life on Mars,” Dexter Wansel
“Hurt Me Soul”: “Stay With Me,” Cecil Holmes
“Pressure”: “Pressure Cooker,” Thelma Houston
“American Terrorist”: “The Romantic Warrior,” Return to Forever
“The Emperor's Soundtrack”: “Between the Walls,” UFO

– CHRIS NIXON