SOUNDTRACK: DO MAKE SAY THINK-Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord Is Dead [CST010] (2000).
After their debut album, Do Make Say Think made this second album which sonically fits together perfectly and really explores instrumental post-rock. Most of the songs were recorded in a barn giving it a very big sound (complete with insects chirping). While there were horns in the debut, they seem to be punched up a bit more on this record, and they really seem to help the record rock more.
“When Day Chokes the Night” song is 6 minutes long and I love the way the opening is a simple guitar melody slowly picked and strummed for 3 or so minutes. Then at 3:30 there’s a noisy “drum solo” that sets you up for the second half of the song which introduces wailing saxophone and it all really rocks out.
“Minmin” is 8 minutes long. It opens slower but adds a steadily propulsive bass and drum pattern. Around 5 minutes the drums become martial and a new rhythm and bass pattern enters as the song gets bigger. The riff is a solid rock riff and there’s some interesting feedback behind it. It’s some of a classic construct of a slow building song that shifts gears midway through.
“The Landlord is Dead” (at a brief 5 and a half minutes). opens with a similar echoing riff, this one is more catchy than the others. Some horns fill out the background. The song builds properly to a screaming guitar soloing wild ending. It’s easily my favorite song on the record.
“The Apartment Song” is slower, with echoing guitars and a more trippy feel. I love the way the really noisy guitars blast out for 8 notes and then recede again. It’s the first of two songs under four minutes
“All of This is True” starts out with a noisy drum beat, open chords and a distant horn. This song slowly builds for about two minutes before pausing entirely and then resuming as something else—more slow horns layering on each other the horns drift away and guitars take over again. There’s something of a dancey beat on the drums all along. The song ends with crowd noises and someone shouting “Merry Christmas Everybody” before seguing into “Bruce E Kinesis.” “Kinesis” opens with a heavy bass line and insistent drum beat before the interesting guitar counterpoint plays over the riff. For the first time, really, a keyboard riff takes over It feels slightly sinister. This song has a kind of claustrophobic feel, but with a kind of funky drum all the way through. At only 3:40 this song feels compact and efficient, and as something of a lead in to the 12 minute album closer “Goodbye Enemy Airship”
The final takes a while to get where it’s going. After some introductory drumming there’s plenty of one-note guitar and horns which keep growing louder and more insistent for the first 4 minutes. It turns into a very bright guitar melody–bouncy and fun. (This is one of the two songs not recorded in the barn). It develops a distinctly jazzy feel. The song gets bigger with some great bass chords alongside the repeating riff on the guitar. At around 9 minutes the song morphs into the third part of this exploration of similar riffs and textures. This one is a bit trippier. The disc ends with some mildly dissonant keyboard notes as the guitar echoes to halt.
While I do enjoy their debut, this album feel like a giant stride forward in terms of composition and cohesion.
[READ: February 3, 2015] Moomin Volume 6
Moomin Book 6 is composed entirely of strips written and drawn by Lars Jansson. Lars was 12 years younger than Tove. He was a writer, translator and gold-miner (!). He wrote his first novel at fifteen and then proceeded to write 8 more. Lars translated the earlier strips into English as Tove wrote them in Swedish. Tove’s contract was to expire in 1959, so he began teaching himself how to draw Moomins (Tove didn’t know). Tove’s creative fatigue set in and so Lars wrote his first comic in 1956 and by 1960, he was ready to take over. The newspaper syndicate approved the switch and so these final strips all belong to him. He created Moomin for fifteen years–twice as long as Tove worked on it. These stories originally ran in the Evening News, London 1960-1975.
I love that they must have agreed that each strip would open with a big Moomin behind as well.
The chapters are “Moomin’s Lamp” “Moomin and the Railway and “Moominpappa and the Spies” “Moomin and the Circus”
“Moomin’s Lamp” is about a genie in a bottle! The genie promises them anything they want. So when Snorkmaiden asks for a diamond diadem, moments later she has one. But it turns out that the gene simply stole it from someone else, and now Moomin and Snorkmaiden are the prime suspects. They flee but are hilariously caught.
They go before the judge and are likely to be convicted (police and judges are rather foolish creatures in these stories). But Moomin and Snork are able to escape before their fate is sealed. They hide out, trying to eat mushrooms and whatnot.
However, when the genie admits what he did, the police are now chasing Moomin to tell him he is free. Of course, Stinky comes in at the end to cause some havoc, but our heroes are free to play another day-genie-free.
“Moomin and the Railway” introduces some laborers. They have a job to do and they are going to do it. Unfortunately, their job is to lay a railroad right through Moominvalley.
And so it is us to Moomin, with the help from Sniff (who is always looking for a scam), to persuade them to move. They try to frighten the men away, but they aren’t easily scared. They try to make some art to make the area an artistic safe ground, but that doesn’t impress the men. They even try to get Mymble to distract them with her beauty. But the men have a job to do and they will do it.
Finally Moomin decides to get political about it–rally the locals to picket the railroad. But at the same time, Sniff learns that there is money to be made if the rail line goes through, so he switches sides. It takes an ingenious plan of Snuffkin’s to distract the men (by incorrectly building model railroad in front of them). But when their foreman comes and sees the wasting time, he insists they get back to work. What will Moominvalley do ? The answer is surprising and fun (as you might guess).
“Moominpappa and the Spies” is a another one of Pappa’s crazy schemes. His friend Wimsy drops by. Wimsy and Pappa used to have adventures together. While Pappa misses the old days, Wimsy is happy to be settled. So when Pappa says they must “go forth in the world to relive our youth,” Wimpsy can only say “Oh…must we?” Their first stop is their old school (with hilarious results). Then they decide to play tricks on people (which all go horribly wrong). Finally a man in a dark hat hands him “the paper, agent 13” and soon, they are caught up with spies.
The rest of the story has them trying to alternately join or thwart the various spies around town (who knew there would be so many). They are caught by the spies, they go to the police they even go aboard a cruise ship. There’s even a secret message! As with every Moomin adventure, the ending is noting like you’d expect, but its super fun to see how they got there.
“Moomin and the Circus” begin with the ladies from the SPCA telling Moomin to stop hurting the poor worms. When Moominpappa agrees with them, she makes him the honorary chairman of the group. At their first meeting (the head lady is wearing a fur stole) Pappa realizes that they mean to protect every animal, even insects. And that they are all too prissy for him. Soon Moominpappa grows tired of the whole thing and he tries to find a way to get out of his responsibilities–but it’s not so easy.
Soon enough the circus comes to town. And the ladies are against it. And so they release all of the animals, but someone has to take them home. It’s up to Moominpappa to bring scads of animals to their house.
By the end of the story, everyone is fed up with the animal visitors and realizes they can’t care for them, so they return them to the circus. And, as you do, the Moomins wind up putting on a (terrible) circus for the audience waiting in the tent. It’s perfect Moominabsurdity.
I Just Read About That... 
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