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.)
2 comments:
You have to express more your opinion to attract more readers, because just a video or plain text without any personal approach is not that valuable. But it is just form my point of view
did you even read the post? it's nothing but observation and personal opinion... thanks for commenting, though. i do this blog for a small group of friends. i don't really care if the random stumbler likes/dislikes. thanks for stopping by!
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