SOUNDTRACK: TV ON THE RADIO-Dear Science, (2008).
The problem with TV on the Radio for me is that their first EP is so damned good that anything else they do pales in comparison. Having said that, Dear Science, comes really close to topping that EP. I liked Cookie Mountain (their previous disc) but I felt like they put so many elements into the mix that it detracted from the best part of the band: Tunde Adepimbe & Kyp Malone’s vocals.
And so, on Dear Science, the vocals are back up front where they belong. This disc is a lot less busy, which may seem a little like selling out, but instead, it just heightens the complexity and originality of the band’s work. The disc rocks hard but it also heightens some really cool jazz and dance elements. But it all comes back to the melodies and vocals for me. And on Dear Science, they pretty much outdo themselves.
And you can dance to it!
[READ: September 30, 2009] Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp and Other Essays
After reading David Foster Wallace’s essay in this book, I looked at the other articles here and decided to read the whole thing. And I’m really glad I did. It’s an interesting book full of, funny and often thought-provoking pop culture articles circa 1996. As with some of the other pop culture/political books that I’ve read several years after they were relevant, it’s often weird to look back and see what things fully occupied the popular landscape at the time. And, when a piece is completed dated, it’s pretty obvious, and sometimes unintentionally funny. But there are many pieces here that are timeless (or at least hold up for a decade), and those are still really good reads.
This book also does a good job of summarizing the tenor of the defunct Might magazine. A dose of irony, a splash of humor and a lot of criticism of what’s trendy.
The strange thing to me about this book, though is the targets that they chose to go after sometimes. Rather than critiquing right-wing attitudes or corporate shenanigans (which they do touch on), they really seem to be after pop and rock celebrity. For instance, there are two separate articles which take a potshot at Eddie Vedder (this was around the time of the Ticketmaster fiasco which didn’t put him in the best light but which could hardly be seen as only self-serving). This seems rather unfair, unless his sincerity could really be called into question by a bunch of ironic jokesters. Magazines like Radar and Spy used to do snarky articles like this. I’d always thought that Might was a little better than that. But indeed, there’s one or two pieces here that have a holier- (or perhaps indier)-than-thou attitude. Which may have been fine in the 90s but which seem petulant now.
But aside from those, the irony-free pieces are very enjoyable. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: LAND OF KUSH-Against the Day [CST058] (2008).
Land of Kush is a huge orchestra created by Sam Shalibi. Shalibi is a maniac of independent releases, creating everything from orchestral pieces to solo records all with his unique blend of middle eastern tinged music (featuring his oud playing).
SOUNDTRACK: FLEET FOXES-Sun Giant EP (2008).
My friend Jarrett introduced me to the Fleet Foxes with their self-titled CD. I recently picked up the Sun Giant EP and it is just as good as the main CD. It opens with a beautiful a capella introduction to “Sun Giant” in multipart harmony that melds into a nice folksy song.
SOUNDTRACK: NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998).
I had always put off getting into Neutral Milk Hotel. They were just another one of those Elephant 6 bands, and there were so many bands and splinter-bands and solo bands that I had to draw the line somewhere. And Neutral Milk Hotel were on the other side of it. I hadn’t even heard them, I just decided I couldn’t listen to them.
SOUNDTRACK: REGINA SPEKTOR-Far (2009).
Regina Spektor has reaffirmed my faith in female singers. Back in the 1990s, during the height of Lilith Fair craze, there was an embarrassment of cool, hip, interesting women singers releasing discs. Since then some have sold out (Liz Phair), some have gone away (Shirley Manson), and some have just, well, matured (Tori Amos). Maturation is a fine thing, but when you are known for doing interesting things, by the time you get to doing standard piano ballads, well, yes, we all mature, but we don’t all lose our quirkiness, right?
I’m not sure how I first learned about 
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR8: Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth (2008).
This final (so far) SYR release is another live recording and it sees the bands joined by saxophonist Mats Gustaffson and electronic wunderkind Merzbow. This EP comes from the 2005 Roskilde Festival in Denmark (and the language is all written in Danish). According to the SY website, the day before this, they had performed a set in support of Sonic Nurse. However, this set, “The Other Side of Sonic Youth” is an hour or so improvisation. It is basically broken down into 5 minute intervals:
SOUNDTRACK:TOKYO POLICE CLUB-“Smith” EP (2007).
The Smith EP contains 4 songs. The first two tracks are bouncy energy filled tracks, like on A Lesson in Crime. But the third track “A Lesson in Crime” sounds very distinctly mellow-Death Cab for Cutie-like. And it gives the whole EP a slightly more mellow feel.
It took me going to Seattle to learn about 
ten. For reasons known only to my head, I was convinced that Sasha was a black woman. Little did I realize that he is not. And that he was in a band that I have a CD of called Ui. He is an excellent resource for all things music, whether I like the artist he’s talking about or not. Some entries are 
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Goo (1990).
I’m not sure exactly why this Sonic Youth album was the first one I really got into. I assume it’s because I was working at the radio station and probably got a bit of hype about their switch to DGC records.
I Just Read About That... 