Whenever a band uses an unusual instrument like a saw or incorporates a banjo into their usual straightforward-rock lexicon, blogs take notice. They almost always lavish praise on the band for their uniqueness or musicality. But sometimes taking a pre-tuned instrument prone to squeaks and squeals and making it work for you is more of a feat than learning a more strange or complex instrument. Think of how good woodblocks sound in indie dance music. These three artists take a plastic, rudimentary instrument, and elevate it from a third grade music class instrument to a college radio instrument.
Oxford Collapse's "Molasses." They don't reproduce the recorder solo live, unfortunately. They also opened for GbV before. Coincidence?
Swedish expatriate Jens Lekman's "Into Eternity." When I saw him last fall, he found a local cellist, but must not have known I was available to play the recorder intro to this song. I actually did learn it, partly knowing his affinity for female accompaniment, partly because I am that nerdy.
Ranging from an F on the treble staff to a shrill high G four ledger lines above the staff, the recorder is ready tuned, inexpensive, and closer to my heart for making three songs more interesting.
The New York Times asked people to submit one word to describe how they were feeling after Barack Obama won the election. Most of the responses were "hopeful," "relieved," and variants of "ecstatic." A few people wrote "scared." I fall into the "relieved" camp, as I hardly knew anybody who voted for Bush the last two elections, and knew even fewer who were happy with the way things are right now. Knowing I was surrounded by ignorance, but not being able to see it to confront it, was an unsettling feeling.
While I wish the state of our country didn't have to become this terrible for things to get better, I'm extremely happy this change happened. Voters were able to look past rhetoric and residual prejudices still in our country to give Obama what was once a dream - a deserved chance at righting our ship's stern - and give the rest of us jaded Americans some hope.
Now for the less serious, but more relevant (at least to this blog's purposes) part. While watching Obama's rally in Chicago's Grant Park, seeing the city so united reminded me of the Bulls' three-peat so many years ago. I felt like the old Bulls' announcer needed to announce Obama in stretched syllables over the Bulls' theme music. "From Chicago, at 6 feet 1 inch and (~) 180 pounds... Baaarack Obaaaaaaaaama!"
Meanwhile, in reality, after Obama was projected as the President-elect, The National's somber "Fake Empire" played loudly and clearly. The song's lyrics "We're half-awake/ in a fake empire" hardly seemed appropriate in comparison with the magnitude of the event. But, the band's inclusion was not that out of left-field, as they raised $10,000 for the Obama campaign through selling t-shirts. They also and played a free show with The Breeders in the politically contentious city of Cincinnati, replete with buses to take people to vote early. Previously, at the Democratic National Convention, "Fake Empire" played during a film about Obama.
Sort of ridiculous, when you consider that "Mr. November" would have been much more appropriate and inspiring, minus the swearing and the white part. "I'm the new blue blood/ I'm the great white hope/...I won't fuck us over, I'm Mr. November."
Even more ridiculously, this Wesley Willis song implanted itself in my head, because i could see "O-bam-a" easily replaced over "Nir-van-a."
Willis, also a Chicagoan, unfortunately died in 2003, so he (obvs) wasn't able to pull for his song's inclusion at the rally. Maybe someone will cover it in four years. Hopefully.
While mostly comprehensive, some songs and artists are conspicuously absent. Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart"is a huge oversight. Also, how do you make a compilation of songs partially entitled "From Punk to the Present" and not include the Descendents (RIP Frank Navetta [-2008])? As much as I dislike U2, the influence of Joshua Tree was huge, even though Bono singing mostly about America while his country hardly had widespread electricity is a little off putting. Its absence is glaring.
The inclusion of Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" suggests that popularity was a factor in choosing songs, but the exclusion of George Michael's "Faith" negates this idea.
Also perplexing is that the entire lexicon of R&B was purposefully ignored, despite is popularity, radio play on 'pop' radio stations, and genre-shifting. While P4K stated its focus for the book lied on hip-hop, electronic, indie-rock, metal, experimental underground music, and pop, the complete omission of artists like The Fugees, Mary J. Blige, and Erykah Badu- makes the any "best of" list seem incomplete. I'm not saying P4K had to include everything- I wouldn't expect them to have a recording of Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic, for instance- but music with guitar, bass, musical singing, and drums shouldn't be ignored.
And including only one song by The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, and Smashing Pumpkins? No Calexico? All these groups that were around for 10 years- plus- deserve a little more recognition. With the trouble they went to compiling this list (only including one song per album, and no more than four songs per artist), it could have been a little more inclusive.
However, I realize the best 500 songs over 19 years is difficult to determine, and most of the songs deserve their spots on the list. But for some of the artists in the 2003-2006 category, it is difficult to understand their importance: Kelly Clarkson (even though her drummer is the drummer from +/-)? The incredibly angular sounds of Johnny Boy and Fiery Furnaces? The cheesy R. Kelly? Time will judge these artists more harshly than the compilers of this list.
Back in seventh grade, one of my friends loved eating Cheese Whiz on Oreos. I knew she was being sincere because I saw her eat this bastardization of an Oreo on multiple occasions. Eventually I gave in to her persuasions, tried it, and it tasted like… cheese whiz on an Oreo, gross. Lately I’ve been seeing unusual pairings like this, and not only in the political arena. Some of them work and some of them don’t, but hey, you have to try to see if they work for you.
Norah Jones and Wilco’s "Jesus, Etc." Maybe I am biased toward Jones because her soulful voice and authentic lady-like demeanor. She seems to tell crass women like Pink to shut up about being a strong woman without actually saying so, rather, showing them how it is done. I am probably biased because her father is Ravi Shankar, the famed sitar player. I am definitely biased because she bowled a few games a few years back at Landmark Lanes, my favorite dive bar and bowling establishment in Milwaukee. Anyway, I don't usually like artists that have 13 Grammy wins, but Jones is special. She handles “Jesus, Etc.” very well in Mountain View, California, singing more sweetly than Jeff Tweedy.
This is all well and good, but Wilco also played this same concert, and already played this song in their set. So going back to my previous post about covers, I don’t know what she was trying to accomplish with the song. An instance of good idea - even good execution - but poor timing. Built to Spill and M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”
Now this combination works, even though BTS and M.I.A. are much further apart on the musical spectrum than Jones and Wilco. However, by aggregating many musical factors and then averaging them out, both artists rate about the same on a cool scale. M.I.A. is cool for her originality and world music influences, and BTS for their immeasurable contribution to indie rock- being actually musical around all the Pavements of the time. Plus, all the while in the video, BTS looks like they are having fun, a key component of doing covers. They know they will never be a neon-clad pregnant woman, and they aren’t pretending to be- they are more like a cool uncle.
The former guitarist for PGMG, J Clark, is now Jaguar Love’s drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. His influence comes through in that the guitars still sound dance-y, often hitting on the offbeats. However, this isn't enough, as it sounds like he recorded separately from ex-Blood Brothers Johnny Whitney (singer) and Cody Votolato (guitarist). The result sounds more like a mash-up of the two bands than a collaboration. Votolato describes "Jaguar Pirates" as "Almost Beefheart-ish [as in Cap’n] inspired.” That he describes the previous track, “Georgia” as “Baby Huey” inspired - and I’m not sure if he is referring to the ginormous duck or the soul singer- shows how scattered their sound is.
Extra trivia: Rocky Votolato http://www.myspace.com/rockyvotolato, folk singer, is Cody’s older brother, and he subscribes to a completely different sound from his brother. I saw Rocky perform at Mad Planet about two years back with Lucero and the very awesomely old-school William E. Whitmore, and Rocky’s performance was incredibly sedate, almost too much so. It seems like both Votolato’s could learn about a happy medium from each other. Sonny Votolato, also of some relation, is in Slender Means, another indie-rock outfit and, of course, also from Seattle.
To pull off the man-skirt, it has to be simple, which the denim accomplishes. His monochromatic stylings also don't confuse, and make him look so well put-together that i didn't even notice the skirt at first. Also, he looks like he could kick your ass in this skirt; I think that is why I like him in it. I also appreciate that he doesn't try to compensate with 'manly' elements in this outfit either. A female could easily wear this outfit, playing with a few different fittings/proportions and look as equally fashionable.
Korto Korto said she wanted to show some of her ethnicity in her final collection, and she not only did that, but she gave it a Japanese flair with an American sensibility. Her fantastic, very spring-like color choice highlights her heritage as well as her large (but not clunky) bead work. Her collection left me wanting to see more from her, whereas with Leann's I feel like she exhausted the thread of her idea. She is my pick to win, with Leann a close second. Kenley can go home at the beginning of the episode and save us all some drama.
Leann Leann was reportedly the crowd favorite of the show, I think because there would be little translation needed from the runway to retail, making it easy to picture yourself in each piece. Every piece is well-executed and fits in with her collection seamlessly, especially since her color palette is so limited. It really seems like she got everything she could have from her inspiration- waves and the water- and if she made one more piece the look would have been overdone. However, do her clothes give enough of a show? Are they imaginative enough and not simply commercial? The judges usually look for a different look, which she nails here, but is it high-fashion enough? I don't know, but I think Korto has a better chance of winning. Leann works great with cotton in her Etsy store, and a lot of these dresses seem like they could be made with some cotton and interfacing (minus the blue flowing one). We shall find out tonight. Leann's collection @ Bryant Park.
As of two weeks ago, I had Jarell pegged to win. He does his own thing, which is more than Kenley can say, was more consistent than Korto, and was less arts and crafts than Leann. Based on the wedding dress challenge last week he should have gone on to compete for the money at fashion week. But the judges must have seen his and Korto's final collections, and decided that Korto's was better. I think they made the right decision- he has a few beautiful pieces, but he attempts too much. He still has a lot of promise, as soon as he learns not to throw all of your ideas into one dress. Jarell's collection @ Bryant Park
Joe As with Suede's collection, you can tell that a man designed these clothes. And in Joe's case, a straight man. His idea of what women would wear includes lots of midriff showing, zippers going too near to nipples, and very obvious ideas of American fashion. He does have one pretty dress though, earning him billing above Suede. However, he starts the show with denim and a rustic brown leather and ends up with organza and what looks to be pleather, causing his models (one being the very pretty Naima from America's Next Top Model) to look like they are hardly at Fashion Week in the same geographical areas, let alone the same time.
Suede Remember the episode where Suede said: "Suede doesn't do pants?" Apparently Suede doesn't do taste, sleeves, or colors not found at an amusement park either. I hope he didn't get as large of a budget as the other designers, because that is the only excuse. His wedding dress 'finale' piece is just the tacky cherry on a tasteless sundae.
After being out of school for a year, I am still working on unlearning things I was taught. Pluto isn't a planet anymore, the "rocket's red glare" in the anthem wasn't from fireworks but from canons, Christopher Columbus wasn't really a hero but a slave trader, and I never did need to use some of that math later in life.
And no wonder I was filled with all this false information- look at this crap we have kids watch.
Tim Finn of Split Endz wrote "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," a song cool enough for Ted Leo to cover- probably because of its references to a mental breakdown. But when Finn performed it on the Australian kids' show, The Wiggles, the producers threw in some pirate stuff (not even cool pirate stuff) and some Irish dancing at the end and hoped the kiddies didn't ask too many questions.
Finn performing "Six Months..." amidst a foreground of pirate vomit.
Feist's altered performance of "1,2,3,4," on Sesame Street is little better. The single-take is nice and reflects the style of her music videos, but again, dumbing her song down gives it an empty feeling. She also went wrong with her high-waisted pant. They almost fall into Sesame-street style mom-jean territory, until the inseam somehow enhances her, well, camel toe. Not a muppet we need to see on the 'Street. See the video in high quality here. (For the right way on how to do Sesame street- see Ray Charles, Ellen, Patrick Stewart, and others sing the alphabet song. The key is they all stay true to form)
Finn and Leo also share another connection: Leo named his album The Tyranny of Distance after a lyric in Finn's song. However, Leo's choices in educational programming are better attuned to what is actually entertaining and not just sickeningly saccharine. In this clip from the Washington D.C. cable access show Pancake Mountain, he shows Finn and Feist how to play a kids' show - exactly like you would for some adults.
Like the fortune cookie game where each prophecy is easily appended with "in bed," it isn't hard to find sexual subtext in rock music. For some of these songs the references are glaringly obvious while others are open to interpretation, as always. But most have an undeniably danceable backbone- the first step to having fun whether you are "dancing with yourself,*" dancing with a partner, or simply need some party music.
Between the brothers of The Jesus and Mary Chain playing and singing about a blow job from a girl's perspective and Le Tigre asking for "more, more, more" (while still keeping their feminist lenses firmly on their faces), there is a little something for everybody on this mix.
Download the first 10 tracks here. And the last 10 tracks here. Track listing and notes:
MGMT- "Electric Feel"
!!!- "Must Be the Moon" Live, these guys and girl exude sexual energy. I learned some new pelvic thrust dance moves from Nic at his Pitchfork performance this year.
Fischerspooner- "Just Let Go"
Enon- "Disposable Parts" Sung from the voice of a girl who will take what she wants from you but won't give you a piece of her never sounded so dance-y. Toko Yasuda sings like she knows you don't need a partner in order to be lasciviously awesome.
Oxford Collapse- "For the Winter Coats" All the verses speed up just to slow down for the pleading chorus. Favorite verse lyric: "You got so excited for the coming of cold/that you blew your load on your winter coat."
Violent Femmes- "36-24-36" Discovered outside the Oriental Theater in Milwaukee by The Pretenders, the Femmes' Gordon Gano sings about ideally proportioned woman over a suggestive upright bass line.
Spank Rock- "Bump" Rhymes as dirty as blunt weed are layered over a beat and cowbell reminiscent of War's "Lowrider."
The Jesus and Mary Chain- "Just Like Honey" JMC slow it down here with airy vocals and fuzzy guitars that hardly sound like they were produced in 1984.
Interpol- "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down" Is Stella a prostitute? A beautiful woman who can detach sex from emotion, causing much pain to the narrator? Just a pretty name to put in a song?
Daft Punk- "Digital Love" If Johnny 5 and R2D2 ever got down to business, this is what it would sound like.
Le Tigre- "Eau D'Bedroom Dancing" The softer side of Le Tigre.
TV on the Radio- "Wolf like Me" Unabashed and animalistic. Two consenting, one with a powerful lustiness.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah- "Satan Said Dance" As with the Bloc Party's "Halo,"this is also the only song I could stand on CYHSY's latest.
Charlotte Gainsbourg- "The Operation" The musical menage a troisof Gainsbourg, Air and Jarvis Cocker produces a hauntingly beautiful result.
VHS or Beta- "Night on Fire"
Bloc Party- "Halo"
Pretty Girls Make Graves - "This is Our Emergency" Creation and inspiration can be sexy as something outside of yourself, but especially when shared and felt with others.
CSS- "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" For super-duper scene points, look up Spank Rock's remix of this song.
Death From Above 1979- "Sexy Results" Sebastian Grainger's solo project and MSTRKRFT sound nothing like DFA 1979, suggesting the lightning in a bottle that was the chemistry of DFA 1979.
MGMT- "Electric Feel (JUSTICE Remix)"
* Billy Idol is either a complete liar or has a good sense of humor for denying that "Dancing With Myself" isn't about what everybody knows it is.
All images/music/video used are believed to be in the public domain, as they are found on the web. If any media are in violation of copyright laws, please let me know and I will remove them immediately. Thanks, cas2006 at gmail dot com
photo: wikipedia
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