Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
O Canada, we stand en garde for thee
O canada month: AVANT GARDE
hockey mouth. yeah, hockey mouth. it happens. yes, and it's glorious. look at him!! so what if that puck or left-hook won the battle? you never again have to answer to any mere mortal. the only way win is with that toothless grin.
but is that gem kept hidden in a bushel? do these smash-mouth gladiators strut that gummy smile or dentures do they wear? is that bite-the-bread-but-leave-the-meat grin a badge of honor? riddle me this: are you truly great if you have all 28?
all the women want them; all the men want to be them.... when the jersey comes off, you're still that guy. all you have to do is smile.
so as advertised last week- looking at spencer krug's side-project. todays tracks come from the second LP: "shut up i am dreaming." (2006, absolutely kosher) back around the initial wolf parade days, krug was recording with a mic hooked up to his desktop PC. the first LP, "snake's got a leg" (2005, global symphonic) is a compilation of these early home recordings. after wolf parade went nuts for a bit, he set to work on phase 2 of this "side project." picking up some other guys to help strum, drum, and hum, "shut up i am dreaming," more fully fleshing out ideas explored in his earlier work. the plan worked and "random spirit lover" was subsequently released in 2007 (jagjaguwar). (so... at what point do you start calling wolf parade the "side project...?)
it's hard to categorize. it's a jumble of sounds, it's schizophrenic. it's a messy orchestra, it's a plodding lullaby. after sunset rubdown, you can go back to wolf parade and much more clearly identify krug's vocal contributions there. like i said last week, he totally sounds like "flight of the conchords" lampooning BOWIE. don't believe me? i was going to save this clip for a future BOWIE post, but there's never any better time than right now.
ok, so not 100% conchords BOWIE, but enough for me to think of jemaine in silver spandex..... oh, bowie's in space! ok, so not that close. but BOWIE would approve. that's what BOWIE would do.
track 1: "they took a vote and said no" kind of pirate rock: the accordian, the sing-along. but then the bells, the chimes, the keyboards!.... and just when you think the song's over, you launch into a minute of instrumental bliss.
(a huge problem with iTunes and with clips of songs at places like barnes and noble.... just clips.... and sometimes you get an album or a song (like in my emails!) and you listen for 10, 20 seconds.... skip.... next song.... 10, 20 seconds.... where's my hook? no hook? nah, the "hook" songs will invariably drive you insane. (pick just about any top-40 track) "commitment" songs worm their way into your brain, but only keep on rewarding. and yes, you have to commit. some of the greatest albums take 5 or 6 (or more) listens before all the textures and insights reveal themselves. and then comes the anticipation!
for example, joanna newsom's songcraft is about as non-traditional as they come. on "Ys" she's got songs that go well beyond 10 minutes.... no real trace of verse, chorus, verse, but it's incredibly beautiful.... rambling at times, but you close your eyes and go somewhere else for an hour. i didn't have the patience for it at first, but given time...)
track 2: "shut up i am dreaming of places where lovers have wings" probably the most traditionally-structured song on the disc and also the longest. but this one goes through a metamorphosis. layers on layers, coupled with 2 amazing instrumental outbursts. it starts much more gentle than the rest of the album, but the intensity builds to a cathartic crescendo and an ultimately satisfying end to the album.
track 3: "o canada" (in french!!). if you want the english version check this link!
(sorry to those of you with wimpy non-Gmail accounts.... you'll just have to download it yourselves...)
(below: lyrics to "o canada" in ukranian. wicked awesome.)
hockey mouth. yeah, hockey mouth. it happens. yes, and it's glorious. look at him!! so what if that puck or left-hook won the battle? you never again have to answer to any mere mortal. the only way win is with that toothless grin.but is that gem kept hidden in a bushel? do these smash-mouth gladiators strut that gummy smile or dentures do they wear? is that bite-the-bread-but-leave-the-meat grin a badge of honor? riddle me this: are you truly great if you have all 28?
all the women want them; all the men want to be them.... when the jersey comes off, you're still that guy. all you have to do is smile.
(below: the song of the black flies in ol' ontario...io...)
week 2: sunset rubdown
so as advertised last week- looking at spencer krug's side-project. todays tracks come from the second LP: "shut up i am dreaming." (2006, absolutely kosher) back around the initial wolf parade days, krug was recording with a mic hooked up to his desktop PC. the first LP, "snake's got a leg" (2005, global symphonic) is a compilation of these early home recordings. after wolf parade went nuts for a bit, he set to work on phase 2 of this "side project." picking up some other guys to help strum, drum, and hum, "shut up i am dreaming," more fully fleshing out ideas explored in his earlier work. the plan worked and "random spirit lover" was subsequently released in 2007 (jagjaguwar). (so... at what point do you start calling wolf parade the "side project...?)
it's hard to categorize. it's a jumble of sounds, it's schizophrenic. it's a messy orchestra, it's a plodding lullaby. after sunset rubdown, you can go back to wolf parade and much more clearly identify krug's vocal contributions there. like i said last week, he totally sounds like "flight of the conchords" lampooning BOWIE. don't believe me? i was going to save this clip for a future BOWIE post, but there's never any better time than right now.
ok, so not 100% conchords BOWIE, but enough for me to think of jemaine in silver spandex..... oh, bowie's in space! ok, so not that close. but BOWIE would approve. that's what BOWIE would do.
track 1: "they took a vote and said no" kind of pirate rock: the accordian, the sing-along. but then the bells, the chimes, the keyboards!.... and just when you think the song's over, you launch into a minute of instrumental bliss.
piano + guitar + thrashing drum = ear candy
(a huge problem with iTunes and with clips of songs at places like barnes and noble.... just clips.... and sometimes you get an album or a song (like in my emails!) and you listen for 10, 20 seconds.... skip.... next song.... 10, 20 seconds.... where's my hook? no hook? nah, the "hook" songs will invariably drive you insane. (pick just about any top-40 track) "commitment" songs worm their way into your brain, but only keep on rewarding. and yes, you have to commit. some of the greatest albums take 5 or 6 (or more) listens before all the textures and insights reveal themselves. and then comes the anticipation!
for example, joanna newsom's songcraft is about as non-traditional as they come. on "Ys" she's got songs that go well beyond 10 minutes.... no real trace of verse, chorus, verse, but it's incredibly beautiful.... rambling at times, but you close your eyes and go somewhere else for an hour. i didn't have the patience for it at first, but given time...)
track 2: "shut up i am dreaming of places where lovers have wings" probably the most traditionally-structured song on the disc and also the longest. but this one goes through a metamorphosis. layers on layers, coupled with 2 amazing instrumental outbursts. it starts much more gentle than the rest of the album, but the intensity builds to a cathartic crescendo and an ultimately satisfying end to the album.
track 3: "o canada" (in french!!). if you want the english version check this link!
(sorry to those of you with wimpy non-Gmail accounts.... you'll just have to download it yourselves...)
(below: lyrics to "o canada" in ukranian. wicked awesome.)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
i love canada and you should too (or else!!)
5 or 6 years ago a long-smoldering canadian music scene split the atom and fireballs of renewable (if somewhat teratogenic) musical energy have been burninating the countryside: wreaking havoc on eardrums, toe-tapping, and the elderly ever since.
the epicenter is MONTREAL (the frenchy-est frenchy-town in all of Royal-Mounted Canadia). home to record labels Alien8 and Constellation (nice post-rock; godspeed! you black emperor)and the Pop Montreal music festival. montreal is a magnet town. yeah, there's plenty of home-grown talent, but just like seattle in the early-mid 90's and chicago of the mid-late 90's, montreal built it and they all came packin'. personally, my favorite "montreal" bands are from British Columbia or elsewhere. ARCADE FIRE, for example: a canadian band? the Butler brothers hail from TEXAS (Win moved to canada to attend mcgill university and the rest is ancient history...) i was born on an air force base in arizona. am i from arizona? heck no. home is where you hang your hat (hi-hat, that is!!)
but i digress... i'd have to say that the montreal and brooklyn, NY "scenes" are probably the most consistently exciting and innovative musical hotbeds right now (although baltimore deserves some attention too).i prefer a "music community" to any "music scene." (besides, a "scene" always sounds like something that's already happened...) a music community is an environment that is so much more than the mere sum of its parts. you see rampant collaborations, side-projects, multiple-personality disorder, and bursts of prolific recording that you seriously have to hustle to keep up with. it's a nuclear reaction. bands bombarding other bands, energy begetting energy. the music that has most consistently burnt my ears off for the last couple years are members of the montreal community. so......
forget Saint Patrick's day- i'm declaring
OH, CANADA! Month
(per the canadian lunar calendar, this extends from right about now to sometime in april)
THIS MONTH IS DEDICATED TO JACOB
so, i'm not approaching this with any systematic plan. i'm gonna hit you with what i'm listening to A LOT lately.
WOLF PARADE
i first read about wolf parade in 2005 with the release of their debut LP: apologies to the queen mary. i listened to a couple clips. no $$. moved on.
some time later romney gave me a disc of tracks "music what spencer burned for bart," that included this album. sometimes you rhino-charge through a heap of new music and not everything gets impaled on the first pass. this aint no old-country buffet... everything deserves a second taste or two...
anyway, we was on a road-trip to california for a PLANK family vacation and i had my iPod on super shuffle and "it's a curse" hijacked my malleus, incus, and stapes all at once and with a vengeance. what the crap is this?? no hint of 60's or 80's pop-nostalgia? where does that voice come from?!? is it human?? emotion without the inherent whining of EMO?? guinea pigs?!?
yeah, i listened to that song over and over and over and over. (you can't always do this in front of loved ones... i recommend headphones: i'm always paranoid about playing something i'm addicted to too many times in front of leslie...) i finally got around to listening to the whole album and as of late have developed a physical dependency... is there musical methadone???
ok, so back in '03 when ARCADE FIRE were still wee babies, they went on tour promoting their first recording, the self-titled EP. (the tour, "us kids know" is a lyric from "no cars go" which was later re-recorded for their 2nd LP, NEON BIBLE) the Fire-lings contacted ex-Frog Eyes (Victoria, B.C.) member Spencer Krug and asked if he'd be interested in opening for them.
without a band, he hastily assembled one (with only a drum-machine for percussion initially). Krug plays keyboards, and co-vocals with lead guitarist Dan Boeckner (Atlas Strategic). WOLF PARADE was born on the road and songs like "it's a curse" embody that. there's a raw power that emanates as much from the compositions as the gripping voice of Boekner. (i think Krug sounds like the Flight of the Conchords lampooning david bowie...and i like it) (Boekner's got some bowie in there too).
a trio of EP's were released (two self-releases, the third following being signed to SUBPOP). "apologies to the queen mary" their debut LP came out in 2005 and the sophomore release, "pardon my blues" is set to be released sometime this summer.
since 2005, Krug has been all over the map (that dang MONTREAL community!) promiscuously lending vocals and tunes to other artists' recordings (Swan Lake, Fifths of Seven), while forming a "side project" SUNSET RUBDOWN (now with more recordings than WOLF PARADE!). (he even got Frog Eyes back together for another album and did a joint tour with WP)
boekner has also embarked on a "side project"- HANDSOME FURS in a QUASI-esque pairing with his wife, alexei perry. they released "plague park" out last year on SUBPOP.
so, i've emailed you "it's a curse" and "this heart's on fire." i was inches away from sending you "modern world" and "you are a runner and i am my father's son," but i've been fighting the urge to send out more than one or two tracks. the entire album, "apologies to the queen mary" is worthy of multiple listens. as always, if you want some more... i'll send you more. otherwise- download it from emusic.com.
FOR SERIOUS. I'm re-sending you all invites to join emusic for a FREE TRIAL. no strings attached. you sign up, you get 50 free mp3's... if you don't likey... you drop out and don't pay a dime, and you keep the music. if you do hang on for a month... i get 50 too! (but hey, no pressure...) presently, i'm on a year-subscription. $10/month for 30 songs. almost everything from independent labels you could wish for (not to mention just about everything else... yes, even creedence clearwater revival...) NOT BAD, SUCKAS!!
next week: Krug's side project,
i first read about wolf parade in 2005 with the release of their debut LP: apologies to the queen mary. i listened to a couple clips. no $$. moved on. some time later romney gave me a disc of tracks "music what spencer burned for bart," that included this album. sometimes you rhino-charge through a heap of new music and not everything gets impaled on the first pass. this aint no old-country buffet... everything deserves a second taste or two...
anyway, we was on a road-trip to california for a PLANK family vacation and i had my iPod on super shuffle and "it's a curse" hijacked my malleus, incus, and stapes all at once and with a vengeance. what the crap is this?? no hint of 60's or 80's pop-nostalgia? where does that voice come from?!? is it human?? emotion without the inherent whining of EMO?? guinea pigs?!?
yeah, i listened to that song over and over and over and over. (you can't always do this in front of loved ones... i recommend headphones: i'm always paranoid about playing something i'm addicted to too many times in front of leslie...) i finally got around to listening to the whole album and as of late have developed a physical dependency... is there musical methadone???
ok, so back in '03 when ARCADE FIRE were still wee babies, they went on tour promoting their first recording, the self-titled EP. (the tour, "us kids know" is a lyric from "no cars go" which was later re-recorded for their 2nd LP, NEON BIBLE) the Fire-lings contacted ex-Frog Eyes (Victoria, B.C.) member Spencer Krug and asked if he'd be interested in opening for them.without a band, he hastily assembled one (with only a drum-machine for percussion initially). Krug plays keyboards, and co-vocals with lead guitarist Dan Boeckner (Atlas Strategic). WOLF PARADE was born on the road and songs like "it's a curse" embody that. there's a raw power that emanates as much from the compositions as the gripping voice of Boekner. (i think Krug sounds like the Flight of the Conchords lampooning david bowie...and i like it) (Boekner's got some bowie in there too).
a trio of EP's were released (two self-releases, the third following being signed to SUBPOP). "apologies to the queen mary" their debut LP came out in 2005 and the sophomore release, "pardon my blues" is set to be released sometime this summer.since 2005, Krug has been all over the map (that dang MONTREAL community!) promiscuously lending vocals and tunes to other artists' recordings (Swan Lake, Fifths of Seven), while forming a "side project" SUNSET RUBDOWN (now with more recordings than WOLF PARADE!). (he even got Frog Eyes back together for another album and did a joint tour with WP)
boekner has also embarked on a "side project"- HANDSOME FURS in a QUASI-esque pairing with his wife, alexei perry. they released "plague park" out last year on SUBPOP.
so, i've emailed you "it's a curse" and "this heart's on fire." i was inches away from sending you "modern world" and "you are a runner and i am my father's son," but i've been fighting the urge to send out more than one or two tracks. the entire album, "apologies to the queen mary" is worthy of multiple listens. as always, if you want some more... i'll send you more. otherwise- download it from emusic.com.
FOR SERIOUS. I'm re-sending you all invites to join emusic for a FREE TRIAL. no strings attached. you sign up, you get 50 free mp3's... if you don't likey... you drop out and don't pay a dime, and you keep the music. if you do hang on for a month... i get 50 too! (but hey, no pressure...) presently, i'm on a year-subscription. $10/month for 30 songs. almost everything from independent labels you could wish for (not to mention just about everything else... yes, even creedence clearwater revival...) NOT BAD, SUCKAS!!
next week: Krug's side project,
SUNSET RUBDOWN
SHINE A LIGHT
LATE LATE LATE LATE SHOW
SHINE A LIGHT
FANCY CLAPS
MODERN WORLD
I'LL BELIEVE IN ANYTHING
LATE LATE LATE LATE SHOW
so, check out "this heart's on fire" as performed live on the LATE LATE SHOW. (Boekner on vocals).
the blog: it is a changin'
ok homeboys and homegirls: i had an epiphany the other day while reading the watchmen. (actually, i don't think it had anything to do with what i was reading...) (maybe something i was eating?):
you'll notice that i've included in my links section one for a place called "Professional Americans" set up by Sterling Ingram XL. check it out. (i just posted for the first time- video called "food fight") it's set up so that any number of a list of different individuals have creative access to publish posts on the site.
i've sent invitations to a chunk of you. mostly people that have shared music with me in the past, so I know the potential is there... anyway- to liven things up, create some diversity of taste and opinion (and add to the entertainment value for me personally), i thought it would be awesome-tastic if we expanded the forum.
(anybody who wasn't given an initial invite to post and would like to- let me know and i'll set you up.)
ok, so groundrules:
- music: email it out, then write about it.
- other content? this is a music-centered blog, but you'll have noticed that other stuff tends to creep in either by association or chemical imbalance.
that's about it. go crazy.
Friday, March 7, 2008
some things.....
ok, so it's been a while. i was in the process of compiling a best-of 2007 list and i kept running into more new music. i told romney and maybe dave that i feel like right about now i should be putting out my top-10 for 2005. too much to digest. some things take a long time.
yeah, well the first two months of the year were pretty dang brutal. this quarter the first year residents had to start presenting cases in the morning seminar (kind of like grand rounds). i had to do about one a week in february. these things take a long time!!! my last case was 130 slides. cry cry cry. i'm not complaining, but i guess i'm looking for some sort of excuse for my non-posting malaise....
so, the top-10-ish list is still gestating. as is a post about wolf parade (been in the oven for nearly 2 months).
for today:
Daniel Johnston's "somethings last a long time" from the welcome to my world LP.
have you all seen "the devil and daniel johnston"? i'd heard some of his stuff and some stories, but never really knew much about this guy till i saw that. kind of tough to watch. you know when somebody says something like- 'man, that guy's crazy!' but they don't really mean to imply that this brosef's got a truly mind-warping psychosis......
when i say daniel johnston is one crazy guy, it's no joke. crazy running-around-in your-underwear-baptizing-squirrels-casting out devils-break-into-your-house-and-jump-out-a-
second-story-window-with-your-hair-on-fire kinda crazy. wesley willis had schizophrenia and drew some cool pictures, but he was a big teddy bear. daniel johnston was (is?) straight-wacky. the kind of guy you were sure would either seriously hurt himself or somebody else (i guess he's pretty mellow these days). i could never understand where his music was coming from until i saw this doc. sort of a hopeless romantic, he lived for a love unrequited (and preferred it that way, i think). and then there were the demons.
included with johnston's track today are two covers- one by Built to Spill (the normal years) and the other is a brand-new rendition by baltimore's own Beach House (devotion). i think i prefer BTS, but please disagree. disagree eloquently.
anybody out there working on a thanksgiving song yet? we need some good thanksgiving music. tough source material, granted, but are you up for the challenge????
ok, so favorite movie i've watched in the last month:
currently reading:
the watchmen (alan moore and dave gibbons)
SOME VIDEO GOODIES TO COMPLEMENT THIS WEEK'S MP3s. BENJOY YOURSELVES:
doug martch (bts) singing "somethings last a long time":
cool new vid for DJ's "true love will find you in the end"
DJ's "the monster inside of me" captain america is a recurring motif in daniel johnston's artwork. whoever made this vid- i thought it was pretty cool to juxtapose johnston's musings on his mental condition with his super-hero crush.
yeah, well the first two months of the year were pretty dang brutal. this quarter the first year residents had to start presenting cases in the morning seminar (kind of like grand rounds). i had to do about one a week in february. these things take a long time!!! my last case was 130 slides. cry cry cry. i'm not complaining, but i guess i'm looking for some sort of excuse for my non-posting malaise....
so, the top-10-ish list is still gestating. as is a post about wolf parade (been in the oven for nearly 2 months).
for today:
Daniel Johnston's "somethings last a long time" from the welcome to my world LP.
have you all seen "the devil and daniel johnston"? i'd heard some of his stuff and some stories, but never really knew much about this guy till i saw that. kind of tough to watch. you know when somebody says something like- 'man, that guy's crazy!' but they don't really mean to imply that this brosef's got a truly mind-warping psychosis......
when i say daniel johnston is one crazy guy, it's no joke. crazy running-around-in your-underwear-baptizing-squirrels-casting out devils-break-into-your-house-and-jump-out-a-
second-story-window-with-your-hair-on-fire kinda crazy. wesley willis had schizophrenia and drew some cool pictures, but he was a big teddy bear. daniel johnston was (is?) straight-wacky. the kind of guy you were sure would either seriously hurt himself or somebody else (i guess he's pretty mellow these days). i could never understand where his music was coming from until i saw this doc. sort of a hopeless romantic, he lived for a love unrequited (and preferred it that way, i think). and then there were the demons.
included with johnston's track today are two covers- one by Built to Spill (the normal years) and the other is a brand-new rendition by baltimore's own Beach House (devotion). i think i prefer BTS, but please disagree. disagree eloquently.
anybody out there working on a thanksgiving song yet? we need some good thanksgiving music. tough source material, granted, but are you up for the challenge????
ok, so favorite movie i've watched in the last month:
KING OF KONG!!!!!
(holy junk, you've got to watch this!)
currently reading:
the watchmen (alan moore and dave gibbons)
SOME VIDEO GOODIES TO COMPLEMENT THIS WEEK'S MP3s. BENJOY YOURSELVES:
doug martch (bts) singing "somethings last a long time":
cool new vid for DJ's "true love will find you in the end"
DJ's "the monster inside of me" captain america is a recurring motif in daniel johnston's artwork. whoever made this vid- i thought it was pretty cool to juxtapose johnston's musings on his mental condition with his super-hero crush.
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