I have casually seen The xx on a few shows and I’m intrigued by them. I’ve never really given their albums any time though, so I can’t say anything much about them.
However, I really enjoy the sound they get live (which is funny since in the article below they talk about how much of a perfectionist Jamie, the studio tech guy, is about the recordings).
This set from KEXP (KEXP always has great audio quality) contains four songs “Fiction” “Reunion” “Sunset” and “Angels.” And I have to say the band sounds amazing. So close, so clean, so intimate. Oliver’s voice is right there, whispering in your ears, and Romy’s guitars sound gorgeous–gentle vibrato, chiming chords; her voice is also beautiful.
The thing that throws me about The xx is how spare their music is. Sometimes it’s almost like there’s no music at all. And I keep thinking of reasons why I wouldn’t enjoy such simple music (it’s usually not my thing). Or that it should only be experienced in a dark room by yourself. But the melodies are so beautiful that I think they’ve made a convert of me. I really adore these songs. And I must have heard “Angels” somewhere because it is completely familiar.
I wonder if they sound this good on record. You can watch the show here:
[READ: July 9, 2013] Grantland #5
Grantland continues to impress me with articles about sports that I don’t care about. They style that the writers have (and the humor they impart) is wonderful. And it goes to show that if you are passionate about something you can make it interesting to anyone. So, even if I don’t know who some of the people who they’re talking about are, I can still enjoy what they say about them. Plus, their entertainment coverage is really fun, too.
BILL SIMMONS-“Battle of the Olympic Heavyweights”
I really enjoyed this article which compares Olympic swimming and gymnastics to see which one “wins” in this battle for TV coverage and the hearts of Olympic fans (hint: it’s gymnastics, but Simmon’s categories are very good).
BRIAN PHILLIPS-“The Death’s Head of Wimbledon”
Phillips tries to cover Wimbledon and finds it very difficult to manage because it is all designed for TV, not in person coverage.
REMBERT BROWNE-“I Feel Like a Free Man”
The amazing decision of Frank Ocean to come out and how little it impacted his career. (more…)
I learned about Trabant from the magazine pictured to the left. It came with McSweeney’s issue #15 and is completely in Icelandic. Trabant are apparently a pretty huge band in Iceland, and they have a lot of songs on YouTube. And many of their songs are very different sounding so I’m not entirely sure what kind of band they actually are.
This song begins with strange clicks and sound effects and then a big throbbing bass. There’s kind of a funky keyboard background and then a slightly off kilter riff.
Then the big guitars kick in and the vocals (which are “if you want a love song”) don’t start until about two minutes in. There’s a break in the middle where the band starts changing Ma Mo Ma Mo Maria and then the singer starts free associating over some wild guitar riffing and more sound effects. It’s a really weird song and I have no idea if this is representative of the band (they did make a video for it so it can’t just be a throwaway, right?).
I’m really intrigued by these guys, and I’m going to have to look for more.
[READ: May 18, 2013] McSweeeny’s bits.
Over the course of my reading the McSweeney’s issues, there were bits and pieces that I missed for one reason or another. I tried to be complete, but sometimes it wasn’t easy. So, with the publication of The Art of McSweeney’s I have now been able to read two things that I missed earlier. And the third is something I didn’t exactly read, although I tried.
Just as issue 1 had a short story by Dave Eggers on its spine! issue #4 (the box of books) had a brief piece by Ben Greenman ringing the contents list of said box. I never noticed it before (indeed I may not have ever read the back of the box before, shame on me). But anyhow, in very tiny print is “More Notes on Revising Last Night’s Dream” by Ben Greenman. And in this brief piece (which is several bullet pointed items–although arranged as a line rather than bullets) there are several ideas about last night’s dream which include “Egg on breakfast plate need not bloom into flowers” and “Cut out part in which Leslie Nielsen meets Trotsky–silly.” And, of course, “More Invisibility.” This is the kind of short silly thing that the first issues published which have more or less been relegated to the McSweeney’s website now. And while I feel the website is a better place for it (and I need to go read the website more), these silly things are certainly missed.
The second missed item is also found thanks to The Art of McSweeney’s. I mentioned in my review of Issue #20 that the story on the cover was completely covered by art. And I wondered why and I wondered if you could find the whole text anywhere. Well, in The Art of McSweeney’s they print the original cover!
I was delighted by this because it did two things–it explained how the cover was made (the 3D art was not “added on,” rather the white section under the art was “Compressed” which is how it came out 3D. Very cool. There’s also a brief breakdown of costs of the issue. But the bulk of the cover story is about how the author (Eggers, I assume) broke up a fight in New York City. A man and his family are walking down the street when a lady bumped into their little girl. The man freaks out because she didn’t apologize and he gets right up in the lady’s face (really, dude?). Eggers is on the phone arranging to meet someone when he says he has to get involved. So he tells the guy to chill out. Things quiet down a bit, but then the woman starts screaming “You got knocked up!” And that’s when Eggers takes a look at her and realizes that she is homeless and crazy and not ever going to apologize. But the screaming gets the mother involved in the fight which starts up again. Things finally settle down with the family acknowledging that the lady doesn’t understand anything. And they all depart. It’s probably the most exciting editor’s note of them all, and yet it was covered up.
My guess is, from what I know about Eggers, that story may have seemed too self-serving to include Or maybe it was just fun to cover up words with a picture.
The final item comes from Issue #15. It is a small magazine called Séð og Heyrt (Seen and Heard). It is a real weekly magazine, although I’m not sure if our version is complete (I assume it’s not since it’s only 16 pages, but who knows how much tabloid you can fill each week in Iceland). It is a pretty typical scandal magazine For some insight into this magazine, check out this post on I love Icelandic Music.
I can’t even begin to guess what half of the articles are about as the pictures are mostly crazy. There seems to be something about an Idol show, there’s a female body builder, something about some wholesome looking people who may be called Icelandic Pearls. And then the centerfold is called Rokkorgia, which should be easily translated. It features half naked pictures of the guys from Trabant. The next page has Love Guru in strange positions with his lady friend and a big headline Bingo I Beinni. The back page has an ad for Krit Paradis Eyjahafsins which appears to be a nice resort. What a fun, odd addition to the Icelandic Issue of McSweeney’s.
Then as I was glancing through I caught something that said That 70s Show. And sure enough, it was a preview of a new episode tonight (is it dubbed into Icelandic??). So even though I played around with translating bits and pieces of the magazine, this was the only one I did fully. So in Icelandic (excluding some accents)
I kvold hefjast syningar a nyrri syrpu um unglingana i Wisconsin. Jackie þarf ad velja a milli Hyde of Kelso. Red er að ba ser eftir hjartaafall og Eric er með samviskubit yfir þvi að vera að fara i burtu i haskola. þokkadísin Estella Warren leikur gestahlutverk i þaettinum
Which Google tells me means:
Tonight begins exhibiting a new series about a teenager in Wisconsin. Jackie has to choose between Hyde of Kelso. Red is ba after a heart function and Eric is guilty not be going away to college. charm diesel Estella Warren plays a role in the show.
Cool huh? What a strange thing to find in a magazine that was not meant for me. But I’m glad I read it because now I know all about Trabant!
For ease of searching, I include, well, I’m only including the magazine, because there’s way too much otherwise: Sed og Heyrt.
I loved that first Sugar album and even bought the single for “Helpless” (back then singles were ways for record labels to get more money out of fans of a band rather than for people to pay for one song). In addition to “Helpless,” the single contains three songs. “Needle Hits E” is a poppy song–very Mould, very Sugar. The song is a bright and vibrant addition and would fit nicely on Copper Blue.
The second track is an acoustic version of “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” which sounds wonderful. Mould really knows how to record a 12 string guitar to make it sound huge. “Try Again” is the final track. It reminds me of The Who, especially the bass line at the end of each verse. It’s a darker song (especially for his single which is so up). But I love the way the acoustic guitar seems to make it build and build. Then, some time around the two and a half minute mark, a feedback squall starts building. It’s way in the background (and actually sounds a bit like squealing balloons). It continues until the last thirty seconds just degenerate into full blown feedback noise–just so you know Sugar aren’t all pop sweetness. All three songs were later released on Sugar’s Besides collection.
[READ: May 10, 2013] The Art of McSweeney’s
Sarah got this book for me for my birthday and I devoured it. It answers every question I’ve had about McSweeney’s and many more that I didn’t. It provides behind the scenes information, previously unseen pieces and all kinds of interviews with the authors and creators of the issues as well as The Believer, Wholphin and some of the novels.
The real treasure troves come from the earliest issues, when there was very little information available about the journal. So there’s some great stories about how those early covers were designed (ostensibly the book is about the artwork, but it talks about a lot more), how the content was acquired and how the books were publicized (book parties where Arthur Bradford smashed his guitar after singing songs!).
The cover of the book has a very elaborate series of very short stories by Eggers (these same stories appeared on the inside cover of McSweeney’s 23). For reasons I’m unclear about, the rings of stories have been rotated somewhat so it is does not look exactly the same–although the stories are the same. The inside photo of the book also gives the origin of the phrase “Impossible, you say? Nothing is impossible when you work for the circus.”
The opening pages show the original letters that Dave Eggers sent out to various writers seeking stories and ideas that were rejected by other publications (and interesting idea for a journal). (more…)
Japndroids are two guys from Vancouver. And man, they make a racket fit for a group double its size. There’s a lo-fi quality to the recording but that’s mostly because the guitar is buzzy and noisy and distorted and the drums are miked very loud (and there’s cymbal splashes everywhere). The vocals (which are mostly screamed/sung) are also pretty relentless (especially when the backing vocals come in). And yet for their simple punk aesthetic their songs aren’t short. “Young Hearts Spark Fire” which opens with some slower guitar (before crashing into a huge verse) runs over 5 minutes. That’s five minutes of thumping drums and super fast guitars. Well, they do take small breathers in the song, but they don’t last long.
But for the most part, the songs are simple, fast rockers and while there is a sameness to the album, there is diversity within their sound. “Rockers East Vancouver” has a bit more treble in the guitar and a slow middle section. It also has what sounds like a bass guitar break–but remember there’s no bass. The thudding guitar and drums that open “Heart Sweats” also sound very different, as do the groovy Ooooohs that punctuates the verses–making it a very distinctive song.
“Crazy/Forever” opens with a nearly 2 minute instrumental before turning into a slow rocker that last for 6 minutes of catchiness. The album closer, “I Quit Girls” has a cool feedbacky sound on the guitar that makes it sound rather different as well. And the song itself is a slow almost ballad (bit not really a ballad, don’t worry) that really stands out on the disc. So this debut is 8 songs in 36 minutes–a great length for a fun rocking album.
[READ: February 19, 2013] This One is Mine
If you named a book Unlikable People Who Do Foolish Things it probably wouldn’t sell. Or maybe it would. Regardless, it’s an apt subtitle for this novel. Semple is extremely daring to write a story in which nobody is likable at all. Luckily for her, though, is that she writes really well and the book itself is very likable, so much so that I stayed up way too late several nights in a row to finish it.
So this book is about a small group of people who run somewhat parallel lives. David Parry is married to Violet. His sister Sally is single. Although David is the sort of fulcrum between the two women, the story is about the women far more than David. But it’s important to start with David to set things up. David Parry is a multimillionaire. He works in the music industry–he’s the asshole that all the bands need on their side. So, he has autographs with everyone (working on getting his daughter a photo op with Paul McCartney, had Def Leppard play his wedding, etc). But he’s cold and distant to his wife.
Or at least he seems to be from Violet’s point of view. Violet is a writer. She wrote a very successful TV show but wanted out of that life. When she met David, they had an amazing first date (and David still swoons when she looks at him that way, but it seems like she hasn’t been looking at him that way very much lately). And when they settled in, she realized she didn’t have to work anymore. But then she felt odd realizing that she wasn’t making any money herself. So she threw her creativity into a new house. Which took forever. Then they finally managed to have a child (Dot), but Violet found being a mother overwhelming as well, so the nanny (called LadyGo) takes Dot much of the time (and yes, David is resentful of this too).
Violet is at loose ends with her life. And then she meets Teddy. Teddy is a loser–a former addict with Hepatitis C, he plays double bass in a Rolling Stones cover band. When she first sees him, he is playing in the park for some kind of function (not as the Stones cover band, but in some other kind of band) and she is entranced by the music they make. Teddy has a double bass and, when Violet runs into him after the show, because she parked near him, he is trying to fit it into his crappy car that breaks down all the time. Indeed, it won’t start now. He can;t afford to fix it which means he wont be able to get to gigs, which means he won’t have money for rent, etc. He’s about as far from Violet’s one can get. Yet, despite the fact that he is an asshole: verbally abusive, cocky and prone to make very bad choices, she falls for him. She offers to pay to have his car fixed. And then imagines when they can meet again. (more…)
Parts & Labor have changed t heir style over the years going from noisemakers who have a melody to being melodious noisemakers. This album is one of their earlier releases when noise dominated. Right from the opening you know the album is going to be a challenge. The first song has pounding drums (electronics that sound like bagpipes) and heavy distorted shouty vocals. By the end of the songs there is squealing feedback, punk speed drums and screaming distorted vocals (complete with space sound effects). It’s an aggressive opening for sure. Song two opens with a long low rumbling and then “Drastic Measures” proves to be another fast-paced song.
“A Pleasant Stay” is 5 minutes long (most of the rest of the album’s songs are about 3 minutes). It continues in this fast framework, although it has a bit more open moments of just drums or just vocals. The way the band plays with feedback in the last minute or so of the song very cool.
“New Buildings” has a hardcore beat with a guitar part that sounds sped up. “Death” is a thumping song (the drums are very loud on this disc), while “Timeline” is two minutes of squealing guitars. “Stay Afraid” has a false start (although who knows why–how do these guys know if the feedback sounds are what they wanted anyhow?). The song ends with 30 seconds of sheer noise). The album ends with the 5 minute “Changing of the Guard” a song not unlike the rest of the album–noisy with loud drumming and more noise.
The album is certainly challenging, it’s abrasive and off putting, but there;s surprising pleasures and melodies amidst the chaos. Indeed, after a listen or two you start to really look forward to the hooks. If you like this sort of thing, this album s a joy. It’s also quite brief, so it never overstays its welcome.
[READ: April 15, 2011] McSweeney’s #13
I have been looking forward to reading this issue for quite some time. Indeed, as soon as I received it I wanted to put aside time for it. It only took eight years. For this is the fabled comics issue. Or as the cover puts it: Included with this paper: a free 264 page hardcover. Because the cover is a fold-out poster–a gorgeous broadside done by Chris Ware called “God.” And as with all Chris Ware stories, this is about life, the universe and everything. On the flip side of the (seriously, really beautiful with gold foil and everything) Ware comic are the contributors’ list and a large drawing that is credited to LHOOQ which is the name of Marcel Duchamp’s art piece in which he put a mustache on the Mona Lisa. It’s a kind of composite of the history of famous faces in art all done in a series of concentric squares. It’s quite cool.
So, yes, this issue is all about comics. There are a couple of essays, a couple of biographical sketches by Ware of artists that I assume many people don’t know and there’s a few unpublished pieces by famous mainstream artists. But the bulk of the book is comprised of underground (and some who are not so underground anymore) artists showing of their goods. It’s amazing how divergent the styles are for subject matter that is (for the most part) pretty similar: woe is me! Angst fills these pages. Whether it is the biographical angst of famous artists by Brunetti or the angst of not getting the girl (most of the others) or the angst of life (the remaining ones), there’s not a lot of joy here. Although there is a lot of humor. A couple of these comics made it into the Best American Comics 2006.
There’s no letters this issue, which makes sense as the whole thing is Chris Ware’s baby. But there are two special tiny books that fit nearly into the fold that the oversized cover makes. There’s also two introductions. One by Ira Glass (and yes I’d rather hear him say it but what can you do). And the other by Ware. Ware has advocated for underground comics forever and it’s cool that he has a forum for his ideas here. I’m not sure I’ve ever read prose from him before. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: PUBLIC IMAGE LTD-“Poptones” and “Careering” on American Bandstand (1980).
The Dick Clark article below alerted me to this bizarre gem–PiL “playing” on American Bandstand. The article talks about John Lydon ignoring the lip synch, climbing into the audience and generally disregarding the show’s script. The video suggests something sightly less sinister (although maybe for 1980 it was outrageous–do you really cross Dick Clark?).
Dick Clark himself announces the band nicely, and then the crazy off-kilter bass and simple guitar of “Poptones” kick in. Lydon runs into the bleachers with the kids (most of whom are dressed in New Wave finery not unlike Lydon). They shriek with glee when he comes nearby (do any of them know who he is? I have no idea). When Lydon’s spoken rambling come in a little later you can’t help but wonder what the hell they are doing on AB.
Then, Lydon starts grabbing people from the audience and pushing them towards the stage–something I believe was unheard of on AB. The fans dance around to the impossible-to-dance-to “Poptones.” The song ends and Dick asks John if he wants the kids out there for song two. Yes, song Two! He does and John faux lip synchs through “Careering,” avoiding cameras at all costs and dancing with the kids–one of the most egalitarian performances I can think of from Lydon.
And listen for Dick asking Jah Wobble his name (reply THE Jah Wobble) and him saying, nice to meet you Wobble. What a surreal moment–wonder what Dick thought of it.
Enjoy it here:
[READ: December 28, 2012] Grantland 4
Grantland continues to impress me with these books (and no, I have not yet visited the website). My subscription ran out with this issue and I have resubscribed–although I take major issue with the $20 shipping and handling fee. I even wrote to them to complain and they wrote back saying that the books are heavy. Which is true, but not $5/bk heavy. The good news is that they sent me a $10 off coupon so the shipping is only half as painful now.
This issue’s endpages were “hypothetical baseball wheel-guides created by JASON OBERG–they were pretty cool and a fun idea. They look very retro, but use contemporary batters, pitchers and catchers. I’d like to see them for real.
Each issue makes me like sports a little bit more, but not enough to actually watch them.
Much like Zadie Smith in the article, I was never much of a Joni Mitchell fan. We may be one of the only houses in America without a copy of Blue somewhere. Much of my ignorance about her comes from simply not being exposed to her. Which also seems absurd and yet it is true.
I know her from covers, which should establish her as a great songwriter, if nothing else. And by now I know a number of her songs, like this one. This is kind of a Christmas song (it has the word Christmas in it), although it’s not very Christmassy. I have a hard time believing that Zadie Smith’s husband never noticed that she is quoting the music from Jingle Bells in the beginning of the song though, as it’s really quite obvious.
It’s a pretty song, and hey maybe it’s time to see what else is on Blue.
[READ: December 20, 2012] “Some Notes on Attunement”
I love hearing about Zadie Smith’s family–her hip black mother and her dorky white father. I love that she embraces both sides of her life. And when she writes about it, she presents it so fully. So growing up her parents listened to Burning Spear and Chaka Khan and Duke Ellington and James Taylor and Bob Dylan and yet somehow never Joni Mitchell. And she wonders how they didn’t know or perhaps why they didn’t like her. [My parents were to old for folk music, so that’s my excuse].
She talks about the first time she heard Joni, at a college party (it was Blue, of course) and frowned at it. Her friends, both black and white said, “You don’t like Joni?” But, she explains, “Aged twenty, I listened to Joni Mitchell–a singer whom millions enjoy, who does not, after all, make an especially unusual or esoteric sound–and found he incomprehensible.”
And then at 33 she had another experience–listening to Joni Mitchell in a car with her husband on the way to Wales. Which is where we hear her saying “And that bit’s just Jingle Bells.” She says she didn’t expect to get much out of that line “and was surprised to see my husband smile, and pause for a moment to listen intently: “Actually that but is Jingle Bells–I never noticed that before. It’s a song about winter…makes sense.” Wait, how could he not hear that before??? (more…)
I had never heard the Johnny Cash version of this song, but since it was mentioned in the article, I wanted to check it out. I’ve never been a huge fan of Cash. I like some of his stuff, but I’m not on board with the whole iconic man in black thing. But I understand his tough guy schtick.
And that’s why I have a problem with Johnny singing this. It s just too angsty for what I know from Cash. Cash is a badass, he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. I just don’t buy “I hurt myself today to see if I still feel” coming from him. And I don’t like the delivery of the verses.
On the other hand I like the chorus a lot. The guitar sounds great here and it is less angsty than the verses: “I will let you down, I will make you hurt.” That I can buy. And I like the way he delivers those lines as well.
So I come away from this with a mixed feeling. And yes, I still prefer the Nine Inch Nails version.
Interestingly, Reznor was really moved by the video, which I have not seen.
[READ: December 20, 2012] “Music from the Machine”
I was a little dismissive of Nine Inch Nails when Pretty Hate Machine came out. I liked “Head Like a Hole” but felt the whole album was a commercialization of the industrial sound. And indeed, it was, but I’m less of a purist now, so I can deal with it.
After Pretty Hate Machine, I fell head over heels for NIN, and I think that “March of the Pigs” and all of The Downward Spiral are amazing. But after The Fragile, I lost interest again. Perhaps NIN was a phase.
This article reintroduced me to Reznor. I never really wanted to know that much about him, and thankfully, this piece only gives a little bit of background (unlike some of the really long New Yorker biographies, this one is nice and tidy with some family history but not too much). It really focuses more on what he has been up to since he put Nine Inch Nails on hiatus (and since he won an Oscar!). (more…)
This song was paired with the Billy Kelly song in OWTKs March podcast. And it, too, is very funny. It is almost aggressively catchy and in your face. I found it a we bit off-putting, but it quickly won me over.
It has a kind of Ralph’s World feel (although they don’t really sound like Ralph’s World or anything). I like the way the chorus actually slows the song down. The “third part” of the song has quite an unexpected sound twist–so there’s more than a simple pop song here.
The lyrics are really quite funny (if a little dark). And the talking dog at the front of the song is awesome.
[READ: 2011] Symphony City
Amy Martin wrote and illustrated this beautiful children’s book. In it, a young girl with nothing to do, hopes to go to the free Symphony in the city today. She gets lost from her parents and experiences the vibrant colors of the music of the city.
While it should be frightening and is a little bit (it gets resolved in a very quick and rather confusing way, but that clearly isn’t the point), the strength of the book is the vibrant colors on every page–bright yellows and reds, dark and moody blues, with different sounds evoking different colors. It actually has a bit of a synesthetic effect, which is all very cool. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: FUJIYA & MIYAGI-Live at Gibson Showroom, New York (2008).
This set is available for Download from KEXP. I don’t know Fujiya & Miyagi all that well, but I really enjoy everything I’ve heard from them. They place a keyboard-heavy, almost-dance music, but they use a lot of guitars to propel their songs further.
The most noteworthy thing about the band is the vocals–they are whispered (and often nonsensical–“Vanilla, strawberry, knickerbocker glory”) but the whisper seems to make the song move faster somehow–adding an almost sinister edge to the tracks (although sometimes it can feel sensual as well–it’s a neat trick).
This show has five songs from the album Lightbulbs–and it’s their first tour with a live drummer, which adds a nice complexity to their set. One of these days I’m going to have to check out their studio releases.
[READ: September 8, 2012] “My Journey to the Outer Limits of Funk”
Here’s another author I admire writing a short piece in Rolling Stone. This one, unlike Lethem’s recent contribution, is about something he himself has done. This article is a kind of music-based background explanation of his new book, Telegraph Avenue.
The premise of one of the plotlines is that two guys work in a record store, Brokeland Records, and are aficionados of jazz. But he felt that was kind of dull, so Chabon delves into how he was able to get his characters to feel more interesting. He didn’t wan them to just be “into jazz”–blah–he needed to add even more details so that they were more than just jazzies. So he talks a bit about what he learned from Wax Poetics a magazine that refracted black popular culture through hip hop. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: The xx–Live at KEXP (July 25, 2012).
have casually seen The xx on a few shows and I’m intrigued by them. I’ve never really given their albums any time though, so I can’t say anything much about them.
My guess is, from what I know about Eggers, that story may have seemed too self-serving to include Or maybe it was just fun to cover up words with a picture.
I Just Read About That... 