13 posts tagged “music”
Recent Arrivals:
Grinderman - Grinderman
Coconut Records - Nighttiming
Feist - The Reminder
Tori Amos - American Doll Posse
Downloading Soon:
The Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running EP
Interpol - Heinrich Maneuver EP
The Dears - You And I Are A Gang of Losers EP
Of Montreal - Icons, Abstract Thee EP
Yeah, EPs are poised to take over my world.
I won't bother to give a "review," mostly due to the massive blog coverage Neon Bible's getting, so you can read it all elsewhere, but I do want to chime in. (Like those bells in "Intervention.") As a contrast to the previous album, Funeral, which explored and unspooled rich inner lives, Neon Bible turns outward and aims for larger themes of life in wartime, pervasive fear, celebrity culture, uncertainty, and the shortcomings of organized religion.
(Current) Favorite Tracks: "Black Mirror," "Neon Bible," "Intervention," "No Cars Go"
I'm not one to give shout-outs (except when I'm pimping the shows I'm in), but I just had to put this up. The music blog, You Ain't No Picasso, today featured Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, the band in which nancy drew, plays percussion; bells, cowbell and tamborine. Way to go, VV&LL!
Idolator has a blog today about the fizzle that was the end of Semisonic's pop career. The case is made that "Chemistry," their final single should have been bigger, and I agree, it's a pretty good pop song. Along with the rest of the free world, I was introduced to Semisonic through their megahit, "Closing Time," but unlike most, I followed them through their career, digging into their back catalog as well as picking up successive albums. The band's sound never seemed to reach into interesting territory, although it did "mature," albeit only as far as one can mature while remaining firmly entrenched in the Adult Alternative vernacular. That said, they did have a few fine tracks, scattered across their albums. I always enjoyed "Secret Smile," "DND," and "FNT." The fact that they regularly covered Prince's "Erotic City" in concert was also a plus.
(Fun Fact: The first time I saw the band live was in 1998, at The Brewery in Raleigh NC, the evening before Easter. Also known as the Easter I Was Outed To My Family. Ahh, memories.)
So far, I've been quite impressed by the growth on display in this album, mostly through the honesty of Kele's lyrics, but also in terms of how the band's sound has developed since Silent Alarm. There are several moments which echo songs and sounds from the first album, but these sounds now find themselves cloudy and muted, like old memories changed through more recent experiences. Notable is the evolution of texture throughout the album; the first few tracks borrow heavily from the mood of Silent Alarm, so they feel like a logical progression from that album. There also exist some clunky lyrics early on (Come on, Kele--Billy Corgan already took the "___ is a vampire" line a decade ago), but taken in context, they provide an excellent foundation from which to grow and mature, which does happen later on.
The album explores the intersection of racism and media frenzy ("Hunting for Witches" and "Where Is Home?"), but finds more interesting creative ground in critique of the idle middle class ("Uniform"). Some of Kele's most developed ideas and writing, however, come in the form of the songs that make up a cycle covering seduction, discovery, exploration, and the eventual end of a gay relationship. These songs, "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)," "Waiting for the 7:18," "The Prayer," "On," and "Sunday," form the emotional center of the album, at least in my opinion. It's clear to me that he has become much more comfortable with the business of dealing with personal demons as an artist, and that makes A Weekend in the Country much stronger than its predecessor, whose themes were obfuscated and at times completely missing.
Just in from seeing Asobi Seksu at Local 506.
Oh, Asobi Seksu, could I love seeing you more? I seriously doubt it.
What albums are in heavy rotation for you right now?
I swear I didn't see this Question of the Day before I wrote my earlier entry about The Loon.
Well, yeah, I am listening to The Loon, by Tapes 'n Tapes constantly. It's been on my iPod since I first downloaded the tracks from emusic and I listen to the entire album at least once daily.
I've also been listening to a couple of tracks off Idlewild, but that doesn't drop until tomorrow.
God, every morning should start off with Tapes 'n Tapes. Even when, no, especially when they begin too early.
Jon Brion's got a hell of a sense for expectation. Granted, you would too, if you worked with the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, Fiona Apple, and Kanye West, but his 2002 record, Meaningless, came before he had much to live up to, in my opinion. Still, opening up a record by saying "I might not have anything to offer you / I might not have anything to say that's new / but you gotta start somewhere," is a damn good way to put those hungry wolves at bay and make some space to just do your thing.
What is your favorite cover song?
Question submitted by Ray.
My favorite cover is still Iron & Wine's cover of "Such Great Heights," by The Postal Service. It's a great example of a cover that trancends its original, although in this case, the original is still pretty damn good. Sam Beam's near-breathless sighs are a perfect conveyance for the song's lyrics, an insistent declaration of twee love; try to sing along with the original and you'll be out of breath, too. The pauses found in this cover aren't there simply to provide a chance to breathe; they serve the same purpose as the hiccuping one does when sobbing uncontrollably. The body needs air, but the feeling rushes by like a river.
Here are some other covers that you need to listen to:
Ben Folds Five "Twin Falls" (Original Artist: Built to Spill)
Gary Jules "Mad World" (Tears for Fears)
Sun Kill Moon "Ocean Breathe Salty" (Modest Mouse)
Nina Simone "Pirate Jenny" (Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill)
Tori Amos "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" (Eminem)
