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Dinaw Mengestu–“Addis Ababa, 1977” (Harper’s, February 2007)

May 3, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: KELSEY LU-“Due West” (2019).

I hadn’t intended to listen to so much of the Kelsey Lu album, but the third track was the one produced by Skrillex and I was curious what it would sound like.

I was expecting something very dancey and poppy.  It is nowhere near as over the top as I would have imagined.  Rather, it has a wonderful subtle hook in the bridge just because she sings a few words faster than the other.  Nearly everything else she sings is soft and slow, this little uptick is really cool.

Of the three songs, this is certainly the peppiest. It has some catchy electronic drums and definitive dance quality.  It’s still remarkably understate.

But i can see that the whole album could have sounded very different had she picked different producers.

The song ends with a surprisingly long guitar passage.  It is gentle and sweet with what sounds like crickets playing in the background.

I really don;t know all that much about Skrillex, but I think he’s a wild dancey EDM kinda guy.  The little I know leaves me astonished that he could produce something so subtle and pretty.

[READ: May 1, 2019] “Addis Ababa, 1977”

This is an excerpt from the novel The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears.

It is a horrifying example of what it was like to grow up in Ethiopia in 1977.

The bedroom is a wreck and letters are scattered all over.  He will forever be able to see the room, the house, like this.

Soldiers have arrived. The house guards had already left (begging forgiveness as they fled).  There are three soldiers in the house and at least four waiting in the truck,

The lead solider pushes his father in to the room, considering him weak and vulnerable.  The soldiers can’t be more than a year or two older than the narrator. Continue Reading »

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dinaw Mengestu, Ethiopia, Excerpt, Harper's, Kelsey Lu, Politicians, Skrillex, Violence | Leave a Comment »

Miranda July–“The Swim Team” (Harper’s January 2007)

May 2, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: KELSEY LU-“Pushin Against the Wind” (2019).

The Kelsey Lu album has a song produced by Skrillex, and I was really surpirsed at how gentle the first song on the album was.  I was listening on Spotify and the second song started.

I was astonished how much the song sounded like a 70’s (British) folk song.

“Pushin Against the Wind” opens with a quiet, simple guitar melody.  Kelsey sings softly over the top.  The thing that sets it apart happens about a minute in when the tone changes.  She sings slightly faster and this bridge is punctuated by chunky percussion accents.  But those modern sounds are sparingly used, and this song feels delightfully timeless.

The song never gets all that big, but the end pulls the sound back even further to a simple cello and xylophone melody as she sings over the top.

This song is quite enchanting.

[READ: May 1, 2019] “The Swim Team”

This is a very short story (two pages) about the narrator living in a small town called Belvedere when she was twenty-two. The town was so small it wasn’t even a town–just houses near a gas station.

The citizens of the town thought her name was Maria and she was overwhelmed by the task of correcting people.

She knew three people: Elizabeth, Kelda and Jack Jack. (“I am not completely sure about the name Kelda, but that’s what it sounded like and that’s the sound I made when I called her name”).  They were all in their eighties at least.

There are no bodies of water or pools in Belvedere, but “Maria” gave the three of them swimming lessons.  None of the three of them could swim, and when Maria said she used to swim on her high school team, they asked her to be their coach. Continue Reading »

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, Kelsey Lu, Miranda July, Romance, Short Story, Skrillex, Swimming | Leave a Comment »

The Murlocs (The Black Box at Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 1, 2019)

May 1, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: May 1, 2019] The Murlocs

I was aware of The Murlocs as being the spin-off band from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Ambrose Kenny-Smith.  I’d listened to them a few times but hadn’t really listened intently.

Then I saw that they were playing at Underground Arts (in the Black Box, one of my favorite venues no less).  I thought it would be a great opportunity to see 2/7 of KGATLW (Craig Cook plays in both bands) before seeing KGATLW again later this year (probably from much further away).

I had also seen just the day before the show that two other members of KGATLW (Stu Mackenzie and Eric Moore) were on the East Coast (a picture of them hanging out with Trey Anastasio(!) has surfaced), so I thought there was chance that they might come down and join Ambrose on stage (they didn’t).  Although I learned that Stu and Eric joined the band for the encore cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Every 1’s a Winner” the night before in NYC (always at the wrong show).

I assumed that this show wouldn’t be all that well attended.  The King Gizzard shows are always popular, but I figured it was a side project by the “second singer” so how crowded would it be?  Continue Reading »

Posted in Australia, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, The Murlocs, Trey Anastasio, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Moonwalks (The Black Box at Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 1, 2019) [THE MURLOCS]

May 1, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED, May 1, 2019] Moonwalks

Moonwalks is a three-piece from Detroit comprised of Jake Dean on guitar and vocals, Kate Gutwald on bass and Kerrigan Pearce on drums.

They play deceptively simple garage rock songs.  Their songs are retro and fuzzy, but they have a number of guitar and vocal styles and sounds in their quiver.

And deceptively simple because each song has a twist or turn in it which prevents it from being a simple three-chord, two-minute rocker.

I enjoyed their entire set and have checked out and enjoyed their bandcamp site.

Although as far as I can tell, none of the songs they played are up there (That doesn’t seem right, though).

I also loved the look of the band.  Jake’s glittery lamé shirt, Kate’s moon and stars themed top and Kerrigans’s possibly velvet top (they must have been very hot up there).

I’m not sure why, but Jake reminded me of Thurston Moore–possibly for his look but something about his presence and vocal delivery

I don’t know any of the songs they played, but the first one which seemed to be about “never coming back” set the tone for their set and it was solid right from the start.

They were a perfect band to open for the garage rock Murlocs, but they would work for just about anyone. I hope they go places, because they were really good.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Moonwalks, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, The Murlocs, Underground Arts | Leave a Comment »

Pamela Lu–“Ambient Parking Lot” (Harper’s, January 2007)

May 1, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: KELSEY LU-“Rebel” (2019).

I saw that Kelsey Lu was playing NonCOMM this year.  I had never heard of her, but her record was getting some high praise.  Then as I was going through some older Harper’s things, I saw this story by Pamela Lu.  I quickly thought it might be the same person.  Then I double checked and of course they are different, they just have the same last name.

Kelsey Lu is a classically trained cellist and has become one of many classical performers who have migrated into the pop world.  She is certainly underplaying her chops on the record, going more for melody than virtuosity.

This piece opens with a pizzicato cello (looped I assume).  It is overlaid with a mournful melody before Kelsey sings in her quiet but affecting voice.

The song is just over three and a half minutes and it slowly builds with more and more organic sounds–strings and voices.  By the half way point, there’s echo and by the three minute mark, this quiet, almost chamber pop song has built into a full-sounding piece which just as quickly drops nearly all the music as two cellos fade the song to the end.

It’s an astonishingly pretty and subtle song to start an album that has production credits from Skrillex (on a different song).

[READ: April 24, 2019] “Ambient Parking Lot”

I started reading this excerpt and thought it might have had something to do withe The Flaming Lips’ Parking Lot Experiments:

During 1996 and 1997, The Flaming Lips ran a series of events known as “The Parking Lot Experiments”. The concept was inspired by an incident in Coyne’s youth, where he noticed that car radios in the parking lot at a concert were playing the same songs at the same time, Wayne Coyne created 40 cassette tapes to be played in synchronization. The band invited people to bring their cars to parking lots, where they would be given one of the tapes and then instructed when to start them. The music was “a strange, fluid 20 minute sound composition.”  [from Wikipedia]

I’ll assume there is some kernel of something, maybe, that inspired this, frankly, disappointing piece.

It begins by talking about the recording of “Ambient Parking #25.”

With just a little filtering, the empty landscape managed to express its industrially generated solipsism and came to overshadow even the engine gunning and trunk popping of SUVs.

The seven inch vinyl was released two weeks later on an indie label.

It was a huge success compared to attempts 1-24 and inspired them to make a full album. Continue Reading »

Posted in Excerpt, Harper's, Huh?, Kelsey Lu, Music, Pamela Lu, Skrillex, The Flaming Lips, Theater | Leave a Comment »

Foxing (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 30, 2019)

April 30, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 30, 2019] Foxing

I feel like I should have known more about Foxing.  They have a huge following and have played Philly many times, but I really didn’t know anything about them.

Their new album was getting quite good reviews.  But the more I read about them the more confused I got.  Their music was described as emo, post-rock, math-rock, and even chamber-rock.

So I listened to a few songs, didn’t really grab on to anything, and decided I’d stay for them anyway.

And holy cow were they amazing.

One thing the reviews never really talked about was how heavy and loud they are live.  I have since listened to their albums and they really sound nothing like the explosion of intensity that their live show is.  You can hear the kernels of the songs in their, but live, wow.

Like Now, Now, it was pretty dark on stage, but the lighting was much more interesting and welcoming.  I could actually see most of the band most of the time. Continue Reading »

Posted in Foxing, Philadelphia, PA, TV on the Radio, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Now, Now (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 30, 2019) [FOXING]

April 30, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 30, 2019] Now, Now

The only band on this line up that I actually knew was Now, Now.

I loved their album Threads, a cool poppy shoegazey, guitar based album with chill vocals from Cacie Dalager and great music/beats from Bradley Hale.

Threads was the band’s second album and it features backing vocals and guitars from Jess Abbott.  Abbott left in 2017 to form one of my favorite new bands Tancred.

So, having loved Threads and Jess Abbott, I thought I should check out Now, Now live(a hard band to search online).

Well, something has happened to the band since Jess left.  They went from a shoegazey poppy guitar band to a synthy, very dancey band.

And apparently people love it! Continue Reading »

Posted in Jess Abbott, Rituals of Mine, Sleigh Bells, Tancred | Leave a Comment »

Daddy Issues (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 30, 2019) [FOXING]

April 30, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 30, 2019] Daddy Issues

I love the name of this band, Daddy Issues.  And I loved hearing about how they came up with their name

When singer and guitarist Jenna Moynihan saw the phrase “Daddy Issues” scribbled on the bathroom wall of a now-defunct Nashville DIY venue, she mistakenly assumed it was the name of an all-girl punk outfit sure to become her next favorite band. Upon realizing that no such band existed, Moynihan and friends Emily Maxwell (drums) and Jenna Mitchell (bass) picked up their instruments, taught themselves how to play and started their own band.

I had seen Emily Maxwell play drums with Jessica Lea Mayfield, but I was really quite excited to see the whole band. Continue Reading »

Posted in Daddy Issues, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Nirvana, Philadelphia, PA, RAINN, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

The Vernes (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 30, 2019) [FOXING]

April 30, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: April 30, 2019] The Vernes

I was planning to go to this show in Asbury Park, but we had just gotten back from vacation and I was a bit burnt out, so I decided to stay home.  But then I realized that this tour was playing in Philly as well.  And, even better, there was a fourth band added to the show.  That band was The Vernes.

They are a Philly band whom I was unfamiliar with.  But it seemed like they may have had quite a following because the floor was pretty crowded when I arrived right about on time for their set.  I missed a song or two but I heard the majority of the show and I loved it. Continue Reading »

Posted in Daddy Issues, Foxing, Now, Now, The Vernes | Leave a Comment »

James Ellis Thomas–“The Saturday Morning Car Wash Club” (New Yorker, July 10, 2000)

April 30, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: DARLINGSIDE-XPN Fest (June 29, 2018).

There’s no bad way to see Darlingside, although perhaps the worst way is at an outdoor festival.  The band is all about closeness–harmonies, quiet instruments, with them all gathered around one microphone.

The first time I saw them was at XPN Fest in 2016.  And they were amazing.  When we saw them in a small club later, they were doubly amazing.

 Darlingside opened their set with their song “Singularity.” The song perfectly showcases their harmonies, as they all sing around one shared mic. Their soothing vocals are accompanied by an acoustic guitar, and the addition of other instruments throughout the song creates drama, especially the banjo, which adds a new feeling. No voice is ever hidden when they sing together, and they all sound great singing solo.

These four guys can harmonize like no one I’ve heard before.  The song segues via violin into the synth box device that they added for the Extra Life album.  “Eschaton” features just bass and the synth box until the bridge when the violin comes in.

Harris Paseltiner says Hi in his excited way and tells everyone how they were “things got a little loopy on our way down the New Jersey Turnpike today. We got stuck in line waiting for gas at the Molly Pitcher Plaza.  Which is a lovely plaza, I must say.”  Then turning to the festival: “I was discombobulated when I arrived, but they’re giving away shots of mango jalapeno coconut water over there.  I took a good five of those to the face.  I’m still a but discombobulated but in a better way.

“We were here to the first time two years ago, it was 100 degrees.”  [I was there and it was!] “So today is like a nice brisk autumn day.”

“Go Back” is the first older song and it sounds amazing.  After a violin melody while the mandolin tunes up, they launch into a gorgeous “White Horse.”  This song is so delicate, so lovely, that it’s hard to imagine it at a festival (especially when the truck behind the stage starts honking midway through the song–the band doesn’t flinch).

Then Auyon introduces the band:

  • Dave Senft plays kick drum and bass and guitar and Dave enjoys caffeinated coffee.
  • Don Mitchell plays banjo and guitar enjoyed caffeinated coffee however he enjoyed it too much and is now on decaf.
  • Harris Paseltiner play cello and guitar enjoyed caffeine a lot but he became concerned about his health and switched to decaf but decided to re-prioritize and is now now back on caffeine.
  • Auyon Mukharji plays violin and mandolin and I drink decaf.

Harris: I think we all might have had jalapeno coconut water.
Don: I followed it up with a chocolate coconut milk.
Dave: I didn’t see any of this, I don’t know what’s happening.

They then play the wonderful “My Gal, My Guy” which might just be my favorite Darlingside song.  The melody is just dynamite.  And their harmonies are, of course, outstanding.

 “Extralife” brings the the synthy thing back.  It’s interesting to me that their general music style doesn’t change at all–nice melodies and gorgeous harmonies.  This new instrument simply adds a new, modern sound to their setup.

“Blow the House Down” is an older song (on their first album).  Its’ quite different from the others because it has a loud kick drum, mandolin and is mostly sung only by Dave.  It’s neat that the low notes mostly come from the other guys going “bah bah bah.”  One doesn’t really expect Darlingside to rock out but they certainly do here with a ripping guitar solo that segues into a ripping violin solo.

“The God of Loss” returns to the beautiful slower songs.  With harmonies galore.

They end the set with a song from the new album, “Best of the Best of Times.”  It is not a happy song, despite the melody.  But the melody makes it feel happy as the sing us out.

Darlingside always sound great, but must be seen live to fully appreciate them.

[READ: June 15, 2019] “The Saturday Morning Car Wash Club”

This story is set around a car wash.

When you were sixteen, a July Saturday was the best.  You got up early even though you didn’t have to.  Even the unemployed got up early because the unemployment office was closed so no one could tell you to get your ass to it.

Everyone gathered at the semi-automated car wash in Cedar Heights.  The first car arrived at 8 and the drivers got to work, vacuuming wrappers and french fries.  Then more cars would arrive, some driven by girls (they would allow the boys to clean their cars for them).

But this story is about outsiders of the (unofficial) Saturday Morning Car Wash Club.  Chester had a beat up hooptie.  It was an ugly brown rustmobile that the kids at the car wash called “Doo-Doo Brown.”

Chester is proud of his hooptie and believes that he would score a woman with it because, hell, it beat taking the bus. Continue Reading »

Posted in Car Wash, Cars, Funny (ha ha), James Ellis Thomas, Selfish Cunt, Short Story | Leave a Comment »

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