Crain For Mayor 2007, Various
CD Review
23.January.2007

When Zac Crain announced his run for Dallas mayor last April, the music was already standing by his side. The former Dallas Observer music editor, famous for his over-the-top “Sack of Kittens” bash column, has run a campaign synonymous with local indie-rock, from the campaign’s start at a Sons of Hermann Hall concert to the musicians who play his fundraisers and round out his campaign staff.

To get the word out, the man is relying on what he knows best, which makes the quality of his latest fundraising project a no-brainer. Crain For Mayor 2007 is a 2-disc, 32-song compilation that encapsulates much of Crain’s Observer era, along with some great up-and-coming bands to boot.

Surely, this is the best Dallas-area compilation of various acts since Idol Records’ Electric Ornaments--even the biggest cynic could pare down nearly two hours of music into his ideal CD-R mix. But because it’s difficult to talk about Crain’s campaign without mentioning the music, the reverse is true as well.

 

At that Sons of Hermann Hall fundraising debut, the bands on hand drew a very limited crowd of a few dozen white, thirty-something indie-rock fans. While listening to Crain’s CD, I can’t help but think of that limited crowd again. Certainly, the album spreads the crowd out--with 32 bands, spillover is inevitable--but in spite of a few acts that dance on the potential crowd’s outskirts, this compilation bears the mark of a picky, particular music critic.

Hip-hop’s limited to two songs, one of which is an instrumental. No jazz--Shanghai 5’s solid track comes close but is more of a subdued pop song, really. Latin, Reggaeton, R&B, blues and screamo are nonexistent. Truly hard, abrasive rock is only heard in three tracks--all highlights, in fact, by the pAper chAse, The Dutch Treats and Saboteur, but only the latter’s song sounds like it would nab airplay on the Edge.

From the perspective of my stereo, this pickiness is (for the most part) just fine. The usual bane of the compilation is the occasional track that requires skipping, and Crain’s comp saves your index finger by serving up a ridiculously solid tracklist, hopping from new acts like The Crash That Took Me and Smile Smile to established groups like Pleasant Grove and Centro-matic with nary a distraction or awkward break in the flow.

Established acts are represented mostly in terms of B-sides, but the quality of the acts in question makes these far from throwaways. Centro-matic’s “Atlanta,” in particular, is proof that lead singer Will Johnson can put just about any song on tape these days and have a winner, while demo recordings by Rhett Miller, Tim DeLaughter (Polyphonic Spree) and Ben Kweller will be coveted gems for their national fanbases.

And then there are the exclusives--the pAper chAse, Philip E. Karnats and American Werewolf Academy each step to the plate with their best in recent memory. Robert Schneider (Apples in Stereo) does a dandy with his cover of John Dufilho’s “I’m Jinxed,” and Red Monroe continues its sonic evolution with the banjo-filled hoot ‘n holler-ama of “Our Love.” The list goes on; songs from upcoming albums by Dove Hunter, Rose County Fair and--sweet Jesus--The Crash That Took Me should instill pride in local rock fans as well (though, admittedly, all three of those acts’ great songs have been collecting dust on MySpace for some time now).

 

The list could keep going, both in listing stand-outs and relative disappointments, but that list buries an essential question: Is a solid local indie-rock comp a great promotional tool for the Crain For Mayor campaign? We think not. Crain includes a confrontational, call-to-arms essay in the liner notes, and one line sticks out:

...Once you get away from the 214/972 area codes, no one cares if you live in East Dallas or South Dallas or wherever. We are judged as a whole, and we need to understand that if one part of the city gets stronger, it makes the entire city stronger.

However, this compilation says otherwise, sticking largely to the limited musical palette that Crain championed for most of his Observer tenure--namely, college-friendly indie-rock. Some of it’s quirky, country-tinged or harder, but its songs represent the minority of Dallas City Limits. A compilation with the likes of the Burden Brothers, Black Tie Dynasty, Fair to Midland, The Hourly Radio, Comrade, Erykah Badu, Play ‘N Skillz, Dirty South Rydaz, Money Waters, etc. etc. etc. would have gotten a much different review from this site (not necessarily bad, mind you), but it also would have reached many more of the potential, atypical voters that a CD compilation might very well draw.

Let’s not get carried away, of course. The disc in its current state is impressive--whipped up in an incredibly short span of time, featuring some serious national names and done on what must’ve been a shoestring budget (according to the low donation numbers we’ve seen out of the Crain camp so far, anyway). It sounds great, looks professional, has only a few lulls in its lonnnng tracklist and came out in time to build steam before the May election. When things like record labels and money come into play, a compilation of this magnitude is hard enough behind the scenes as it is.

But if Crain For Mayor 2007 is destined for a limited audience, then why pour campaign time and money into something that promises little in voter or publicity returns? The same could be--er, has been--said for Crain’s candidacy, as the man is an unproven politician, a less-than-stellar public speaker who has yet to significantly reach out to Dallas’ black and Latino populations in CD form or otherwise. Perhaps the disc is Crain’s way of doing quality work that may very well prove unpopular, which might be exactly what Dallas needs in a mayor (unless, of course, Crain eventually decides that “quality work” runs along the lines of an overpriced, unnecessary Calatrava bridge project). In the end, the disc is entirely apolitical, much like Crain’s campaign, and perhaps that’s the point.

Our political mumbo-jumbo aside, this disc is pretty much a must-have for the uninitiated Dallas music fan--buy two (one for you, one for a friend) at Good Records or Crain's Web site.