Thursday, December 26, 2002
A friend just forwarded me a cool site (www.showandtellmusic.com) that features all kinds of old thrift-store vinyl records. Galleries of the cover art plus impressions of the sound from the web site author.
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
I was so saddened today to hear about the death of Mary Hansen of Stereolab, one of my absolute favorite bands. She was 36, riding her bicycle in London, and apparently there was a fatal traffic accident. So tragically premature.
A friend asked me what I thought of the band's albums since Dots and Loops. I'm going to post what I wrote to him, in honor of Mary's achievements:
"Stereolab has been pretty much my favorite band for years. I've found every Stereolab cd to be worth the purchase. It's the blend of pop and serious ambitions, I guess, that separates them from the pack. They never lose sight of the fun.
Dots and Loops is brilliant but it's too perfect and polished, too mechanical. It's perfect for selling cars--too cool. Plus it came after Emperor Tomato Ketchup, everybody's fave Stereolab album.
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night is strong but never delivers as it could have, First of the Microbe Hunters is more awkward (growing pains). The band struggles to take Dots and Loops' perfectionist production and complex arrangements and put them at the service of the Stereolab musical identity. I think that hard work paid off in spades on Sound Dust, which is a triumph. The awkwardness has evaporated, and you have the next phase of Stereolab at its maturest. It's wonderful from begining to end, one of their very best albums. Diverse, far-out, trippy, entertaining, magical, melancholy, beautiful. The musical writing is complex and sophisticated, but their performances carry it off gracefully (unlike a couple of sour tracks on Microbes). Strange combinations of odd time signatures, complex rhythms are incorporated seamlessly. Their influences seem as wide-ranging as Beck's, yet it always sounds like Stereolab. Latetia and Mary sing at their harmonious best. Who would've thought their 60s/la-la approach to melody could be taken to this level of sophistication?
What really excites me about the last three albums (culminating in Sound Dust) is their development beyond typical pop song structures. They'll get the material going for a "typical" Stereolab song/groove and then the piece will mutate into something different, and then mutate again. ("Space Moth", "Captain Easychord" and "The Black Arts" are examples.) These longer forms are exciting. Tim is obviously having a blast with instrumentation and far out ideas. Question is, where do they go from here? More of same would be fine with me."
Thursday, December 05, 2002
It amazes me how easily first judgements can be proven wrong, and it's annoying when you realize that even the semingly smallest matters can turn out to have unexpected complexity. Annoying because it reminds us that literally every opinion demands investigation and consideration--which is impossible. Not enough time in the day. Take the matter of the new Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers trailer: it uses music, it turns out, from Requiem for a Dream. If you were told only that, wouldn't you think it was a clear example of Hollywood recycling? inauthenticity? What's the matter with all that nice LOTR music? But when you read more about it (in Roger Ebert's column), it becomes...reasonable. Drat!
Actually, I think it's interesting how often certain scores get used to soundtrack trailer after trailer. I've actually been disappointed to discover the wonderful music I heard on the preview was nowhere in the film credits (the best reason to stay to the end of any film)--making it difficult if not impossible sometimes to figure out what the piece is and how to get a hold of it. Makes me wish every trailer had its own music credits. Seems only right! (But then we'll hear from the trailer editor who will make an excellent point about needing to keep the ad short and to the point...)
Monday, December 02, 2002
Check out the Songs Inspired by Literature project. The site has an intriguing list of famous songs that were inspired by literature. Tori Amos' "Cornflake Girl" was inspired by Alice Walker? Radiohead's "My Iron Lung" was inspired by a Pynchon book I just read? It didn't surprise me to see so much Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell, or even Sting or The Cure, but Iron Maiden? 10 songs? SIBL sponsors a contest and is selling a cd. Looks like a good cause.
Sunday, December 01, 2002
Tahiti 80 w/ The Children's Hour at The Double Door Nov. 11, 2002
The Children's Hour (is the band name a queer reference to the movie?) was a sweet acoustic act--he plays guitar, she plays guitar (or ukelele) and sings. Her style reminded me of 60s folk.
Tahiti 80 (named after a souvenir t-shirt the singer's father got on vacation in 1980) was very enjoyable live, and keep in mind that I went not knowing any of their music. I was curious about them because they've been compared to some of my favorite artists, like the Cardinals guys and Belle and Sebastian, but they actually sounded like a blend of Jamiroquai and Stereolab to me. There were 5 guys on stage, playing synthesizers, guitars and percussion. Sometimes nearly everyone would be jamming on synthesizers (which is when they sounded most like Stereolab). Their vibe was great. The lead singer, aside from being extremely good-looking, was absolutely likable and unpretentious--actually the whole band was fun and down to earth. They had some slower numbers which were okay, but they were best when they were upbeat--a few times they geared up from their groovy funk and almost rocked, and it was very exciting. They should concentrate on that side of their music. See them in concert if you get the chance--well worth it.
