SOUNDTRACK: ST. VINCENT-Actor (2009).
I had seen St Vincent on Austin City Limits, and her juxtaposition of waif-singer with noise mongering guitar player blew me away. So I was a little disappointed when this album opened up with this gentle, practically 1950s sounding vocal and string line in “The Strangers.” It takes two and a half minutes, but the noise eventually comes and it totally changes the texture of the song. Of course now, “make the black hole blacker” is a fun thing to sing along with (and the lyrics in general are pretty great). “Save Me from What I Want” is another quiet song with a catchy chorus. “The Neighbors” has a great melody with interesting strings over the top of it. “Actor Out of Work” brings in some stranger sounds to the album.
There’s something interesting about the songs on this album, like the way “Black Rainbow” has these sweet string sections but for the end half builds a crescendo of tension. I also love that a seemingly delicate song can be called “Laughing with a Mouth of Blood.” Perhaps the strangest song on the disc is “Marrow” which has a strange horn section and the chorus: “H. E. L. P. Help Me Help Me.” “The Bed,” “The Party” and “Just the Same But Brand New” continue in this vein–like a Disney princess song with a horrible threat underneath: “Don’t Mooooove, Don’t Screeeam.” But that sense of princess who are slightly askew really resonates on this record. It’s not as willfully dissonant as her first record, but lyrically it’s a knife covered in cotton candy, it’s still a gem.
[READ: March 20, 2012] McSweeney’s #39
One of the bad things about having a job with actual work is not being able to write complex posts about compilation books. It’s hard to have your book open while bosses walk by. So, its been a while since I read this and I’ll do my best to remember it all. Incidentally, if you’re keeping track I skipped 38, but I’ll get to it.
Issue #39 is a hardcover and a pretty one at that. It has a front cover photo (as well as many interior photos) taken by Tabitha Soren. Yes, forty-somethings, THAT Tabitha Soren, from MTV who has a new career as a photographer.
This issue continues with the recent return of the Letters column (as the magazine and front matter become more serious the return of the Letters adds an air of silliness). (more…)
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LaMacchia is John LaMacchia. John LaMacchia is the guitarist for Candiria, a metal band I don’t know who plays a kind of mathcore/prog something or other.
I Just Read About That... 