BARRY MAUER: Paris Museum

Barry Mauer

Paris Museum

© 2003 Barry Mauer (634479731327)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

SPECIAL: 20% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

Meta-ironic and sincere, like the best of the Beatles, Velvets, Femmes, Jayhawks, and Wilco.

notes

Things that are NOT on this album:

Drum solos
Songs by the drummer
Synth drums
Spandex
Slow jams
Fake British accents
Songs about being in a band
Songs about horses when there are no metaphors involved
Songs about being a daddy
Songs about your daddy
Grunting and moaning (like Puff Daddy) on top of someone else's song  

Barry Mauer grew up in the vibrant Minneapolis music scene of the 1980s, lapping up the music of the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks, and scores of other terrific bands.

In the 1990s, Mauer moved to Gainesville, Florida and formed Look Here Sister, an all-girl country band, except he wasn't a girl. The band grew from a four piece to a seven piece over time, and became stylistically diverse, branching out into rock, punk, folk, pop, bluegrass, and rockabilly. The band attracted a small but devoted following in Gainesville.

In the late 1990s, Mauer moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he formed a band called The Miltons. The Miltons did 1950s-60s roots rock in a raunchy poppy style.

Mauer ended up in Orlando, Florida, where he has reconnected with his old bandmates from Look Here Sister (aka The Rails), albeit with a few personnel changes. In 2003, he recorded two albums of original music, Fantasy Life and Paris Museum at Goldentone Records in Gainesville, Florida. He is in the process of recording his third CD, entitled Alaska.

Mauer composes his own songs, and does the vocal, guitar, violin, bass, keyboard, and lap dulcimer work on the albums. He is accompanied by some seasoned players from the Gainesville and Atlanta scenes.

Mauer is now a university professor and teaches in the English Department, The Film and Digital Media Department, and the Texts and Technology PhD program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

___

Review of Paris Museum in Eclectica, January/February 2004: http://www.eclectica.org/v8n1/mcgowin_noted.html

Briefly Noted

reviews by Kevin McGowin

Barry Mauer. Paris Museum. Fantasy Life.
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~bmauer/
Goldentone Records, 2003

In a period in which fewer and fewer original music CDs are produced and/or purchased, those with such merit that they might be discussed as poetry have become even rarer. So when I returned home from a short vacation to find two of the most vital Indie discs I've heard in years waiting for me in my overflowing mailbox, I rejoiced: first that I had them in my possession, and second (related to the first) that these projects had been brought to fruition at all. And when people ask the inevitable question, "What kind of music do you like to listen to," from now on, I'll just tell them that it's that of Barry Mauer.

You probably haven't heard of his music, unless you're in Minneapolis or Orlando or otherwise just especially hip. Yet Mauer has finally gotten 'round to recording and putting out two collections of songs he's been playing for several or more years-and the recordings are excellently produced (by Rob McGregor) and executed, whether it's just Barry and his guitar or with his band, Look Here Sister, with kudos to David Gehler's excellent lead guitar in both places.

When you hear a Barry Mauer record, you'll hear something that feels familiar, like an old friend's homosexual caress. I mean YOU, of course, not me-what *I* hear is a gift package of clever quotes and parodies from everybody and everything from early Rockabilly to punk, coupled with expert and original instrumentation and a friendly voice.

What that voice is saying, however, is not necessarily friendly, although it MIGHT be. Mauer's lyrics could and probably have been called "meta-ironic": he achieves real poignance by obvertly subversive means. This is not easy. The late Beatles did it, the Velvets did it, the Femmes tried it and Wilco sometimes succeeds at it.

Barry Mauer almost ALWAYS succeeds at it. It's funny, sad, joyous and absurd all at once. It's catchy and it's the soundtrack to a movie you see all around you, every day. Oh, you wanted me to quote some lyrics? See-part of the reason this poetry is as effective as it is, is that like the very EARLIEST poetry, it's sung, which adds dimension and texture to its overall intention. Plus, I have the flu, I'm tired, this is Briefly Noted, and I think you should hear it yourself.

Or at least have the chance to. Eclectica is, as a magazine, what its name implies-and as Reviews Editor, the most credible thing I can do is turn you on to some really eclectic stuff you might not have otherwise heard of. And I'm doing it. There's a URL up there, folks, and I strongly encourage you to look into it.

But I've heard the discs and the words on them, and I give them the All-Around-Thumbs-Up. Not that Barry Mauer needs MY help-he's, y'know, BARRY MAUER! Okay?

So visit him online, drop him one, and ask him for a listen. He too hopes you have a Happy New Year.

Or at least he might.

___

A few quotes from John Thomason of the UCF Independent Journal about Mauer's first CD, Fantasy Life :

"lovely melodies and sincere storytelling"

"The songs on Fantasy Life are as fresh as they are nostalgic, as addictive as they are simple. More polished than Paul Westerberg's rustic solo work and more overtly relatable than Wilco's curious wordplay, Mauer's songwriting is delivered with genuine aplomb. Standout track 'Still Familiar Juice' is as accurate a song about sinking into the deceptive comfort of alcohol as anything Tom Waits has penned."

"his music taps into a melancholic timelessness"

"a true auteur"

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • Barry Mauer
    author: Dana Fouchi

    I met him and he is an awesome guy and his music is great to listen to.

  • The Dress Falls
    author: Lee Armstrong

    Barry Mauer's solo disc is a melodic charmer with indy rock appeal. Six of the 14 songs clock in under 2 minutes and fly by like classic rock format. As a vocalist, Maurer has a high wispy voice that coaxes the melody rather than overwhelms it. On the title track, the guitars chime like mid-period Byrds, "Why did the painters paint like that? The light comes through the clouds like that, and the dress falls from the chest to please some king like you please me." "No Love Won" starts like a classic Neil Diamond track and then breezes by, "Other boys treat you so unkind, but you don't pay them any mind." "Sunlight Through an Open Window" is an acoustic guitar instrumental that flows like a gentle beam of light. "Provisional Love" is a clunky little tune about love given for the moment with harmonies that'd make Harpers Bizarre smile. "Claire's Song" is another acoustic instrumental dedicated to Mauer's girlfriend. "Don't Touch Me" rocks with a tongue-in-cheek lyric about a guy who gets too aroused when his girlfriend shows affection. The set concludes with homage to the band in "Velvet Underground." Mauer's solo set may not be earth-shattering in sound; but it is a very sweet set for anyone who looks back fondly on 60s rock. Enjoy!

  • Heart and Craft
    author: Weekly Planet

    BARRY MAUER Paris Museum Orlando's Barry Mauer is a full-time college professor and part-time singer-songwriter who's got a way with brief, sweetly countrified pop tunes. Paris Museum is his second collection of songs, and what it lacks in originality (the shadow of early Wilco looms large -- the track "Sinking" is "adapted" from that band's "It's Just That Simple") and visceral compulsion, it makes up for in heart and craft. Everything here is carefully realized; strummy acoustics, Mauer's breathy delivery and a bevy of contributors on various instruments create a breezy-but-substantial vibe. The cheesy "No Love Won" is redeemed by an extremely tasteful guitar solo. Elsewhere, the title track, the Eagles-on-helium "Tough Girl" and sunny '60s "Provisional Love" provide standouts. Some might find his lyrics and wholly guileless sound overwhelmingly sweet, but there's no denying Mauer's talent at putting great little ditties together. (4 Stars)

  • Review by Elizabeth Palik, February 5, 2004
    author: The Indie

    When you hear this CD, you will never look at your professors the same again. For the uninitiated, Barry Mauer teaches in the English Department, the Film and Digital Media Department, and the Texts and Technology PhD program at UCF. Just as you thought your professors are nothing more than boring old fogies who sit around and don't have a single ounce of coolness in them, along comes Dr. Mauer with his third CD, Paris Museum. Scary thought, isn't it? The best part is, the CD is great! Mauer's country beginnings in Gainesville can still be heard in his collection of eclectic styles and sounds in his latest album. The music goes beyond the usual combination of instrumentsm with unique use of violins, keyboard, and lap dulcimer work on the albums. Watch out for his next album Alaska. You can buy his CD online at his Web site (http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~bmauer/) or in the Student Union. Listen to his single "Learn About Her" there as well.

email

Please log in to email this artist.