SOUNDTRACK: FOXYGEN-We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (2013).
I had no idea this was Foxygen’s third album (they have a new album out this week as well). I had only heard of this because of NPR. And I was delighted with the band’s utterly retro feel and sound–so much retro that it is almost too much. But they do it with such flair that it works. Indeed, the whole feeling of this album is one of sampling all of recent music history–with elements thrown in haphazardly (but effectively) and really celebrating a whole 60s/70s vibe with a sprinkling of modern technology.
“In the Darkness” is a 2 minute piano heavy track with horns, big swelling vocals chorals and all kinds of joy. “No Destruction” though is where the retro sound really shines. Sounding like a Velvet Underground track with a sweeter singer (who is no less blase). Except that the chorus rises into a glorious hippie happiness. It also features funny lines like the deadpan, “There’s no need to be an assshole you’re not in Brooklyn anymore.”
“On Blue Mountain” opens with a kind of Flaming Lips vibe (deep morphing voices counting down), but Sam France has a much higher pitched voice as he sings the slow intro. Once the song kicks in faster, the real hippy vibe (combined with some Rolling Stones and some girlie backing vocals) kick in. There’s even a big friendly chorus (that reminds me of “Suspicious Minds”). After almost 4 minutes, the song shifts gears entirely into a raucous sing along (with what sounds like a children’s choir).
After the manic intensity of “Mountain,” “San Francisco” emerges as a sweet delicate flute filled hippie song. This was the first song I heard by them and I loved it immediately–the simple melody, the delicate (funny) female responses, the swelling strings. it was delightful. “Bowling Trophies” is a weird little less than two-minute instrumental that leads to the glorious “Shuggie.” “Shuggie” is the least hippie song on the album and screams more of a kind of French disco pop, with some wonderful lyrics. The chorus is just a rollicking good time and the wah wah synth solo is terrific. At three and a half minutes the song is just way too short, although it seems that anything that last longer than 4 minutes will shift gears into something else eventually anyway.
“Oh Yeah” brings in a staggered kind of sound, with some interesting breaks and stops. It also inserts some doo-wop into it. I love how the end once again shifts gears into a “freak out” with a wild guitar solo and fast drums. The title song is fuzzy and distorted (the vocals are nearly inaudible). It’s fast paced but still very retro sounding (Jefferson Airplane?) except for the modern electronic and guitar breaks. And of course, the last minute is entirely different from the rest of the song, as well.
The album ends with “Oh No 2,” a five-minute track that begins as a slow swelling almost soundtrack song. Indeed, when the spoken word part (“I was standing on the bed, birds were landing on my head”) emerges later on, it comes close to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (which is not a bad thing), including the piano outro (with slightly out of tune voice).
This whole album could just be an obnoxious rip off of old timey sounds, but instead it’s more like a fun reference point for those who know the music and just a fun good time for those who don’t. And at something like 35 minutes, it never overstays its welcome.
[READ: September 17, 2014] “The Bad Graft”
This year’s Summer Fiction issue of the New Yorker was subtitled Love Stories. In addition to all of the shorter pieces that were included in this issue, there were also four fiction contributions.
This was the final story in this issue and, sadly for me, it was the one I liked least. It has three sections: I. Germination; II. Emergence; III. Establishment. And while I enjoyed (mostly) section I., I really didn’t enjoy the turn the story took once it entered section II and the “plot” emerged.
The story opens with two young (actually not that young) lovers traveling towards Joshua Tree. This couple is madly in love and are basically eloping. Except, of course, that they don’t want to ever get married, so it is a symbolic elopement. On their first date they had decided to run away together. They left their homes in Pennsylvania more or less unannounced, took all their money and drove to the desert.
Andy and Angie, for that is what their names are, prepared well with Andy having, among other things a large knife (note to Chekovians). After a few days they are startled to discover how expensive this road trip is. But they are undaunted because they are in love. Of course, they are also exhausted and perhaps a little on edge.
When they arrive at Joshua Tree, it is 106 degrees. The park ranger informs them that they have arrived in time to see the yucca moths do their magic with the trees. he calls it, the ‘pulse event.” The entire range of Joshuas is in bloom and the moths are smitten. This sounds exciting but it is also sad, as the Joshua Teees may be on the brink of extinction and this massive blossoming is like a distress call.
With all of this set up, it is a total surprise when half way through the section, the story informs is that “This is where the bad graft occurs.” (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: JACK BLACK-The Goodbye Song (2009).
I Just Read About That... 