Friday, April 30, 2004
Stopped by Virgin and did some CD listening:
- A disappointing comp. called Pop a Paris / VA (some version of the first disc of this), which includes late 60s French rock song, some of which are too-similar remakes of American classics like "These Boots Were Made for Walking"
- Architecture in Helsinki's album Fingers Crossed, which is pleasant, delicate, sweet and light, but not to my taste--a little dull
- and a new CD by the Gipsy Kings (nice!), and A Boot and A Shoe by a singer named Sam Phillips, both on Nonesuch, which, by the way, just does the classiest looking packaging. But I rather dislike the cardboard boxes their CDs come in. Usually they don't give you any unique artwork, so I suppose they can be thrown away, but they're nice enough that I don't want to, and keeping them makes it harder to get your hands on the actual disc. (Gee, I'll complain about anything, won't I?) The songs I heard were beautiful, stripped down singer-songwriter fare, but the melodies were difficult for me to grasp right away, or maybe it was the chord progressions--something about the musical compositions of the pieces. I wonder if they'd become easier to listen to over time or remain difficult?
I was tempted to pick up (and probably will soon):
- the new Modest Mouse album (Good News for People Who Like Bad News), which I didn't like the first time I heard it but is growing on me quickly
- and the new Tahiti 80, A Piece of Sunshine, a fat EP/mini-album which sounds a lot like the last album, and includes a DVD of videos
Monday, April 26, 2004
Some recent disappointments--and a winner!
Most albums have 2-4 tracks that stand out. With Manitoba's Up In Flames, it's as if 4 tracks worth of great material have been dissolved for stock and permeate the whole album, a moment here, a moment there. As a result, no single track impresses me as being a standout. What you get is a collage of textures, many of which aren't very interesting. As an LP, it's a solid achievement, indicating a lot of potential. But I couldn't generally recommend it to anyone.
It reminds me a bit of The Violet Hour by the Clientele, another acclaimed 2003 indie album, both in that the album features pretty, sleepy male vocals, and also because The Violet Hour bleeds together into one long, solid but ultimately uninspired album. Luna's Dean Wareham, a master of the sleepy vocal, can thrill me with his romantic songs and amuse me with his silly lyrics, but The Clientele's sleepy voice just lulls me.
While, I'm at it, I'll just mention Iron & Wine's The Creek Drank The Cradle, an album I rushed to buy after hearing his cover of the Flaming Lips' "Waitin' for a Superman," an incredible performance. What a disappointment to find that when it came to performing his own material, the songs all sounded the same, lacking any crispness of definition. I felt stupid for even wanting to take a chance on his latest album, Endless Numbered Days, but such was my faith in the talent displayed on the aforementioned cover song. And I was finally vindicated. I've listened to it only twice, but the songs are of a much better quality--melodically more memorable--and the production takes what had been basic and simple and gives it just the slightest extra decoration needed to make things interesting while staying minimalist. "Naked As We Came" is a gorgeous song, the standout so far, but I'm confident there are other gems to be mined from this one.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Connected two pairs of songs in the last couple days:
- I heard the song "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick on the radio, and it reminded me a lot of the New Pornographers' work, esp. songs like "Electric Version." I don't know much by Cheap Trick, but it sure sounds like they're a major influence on NP.
- Recently was given the new Steve Miller greatest hits collection (I love it! "Abracadabra" has always been one of my favorite songs.) The first song, "Take the Money and Run" has the background vocalists singing a great "whoo hoo!", and it struck me that it's where Sheryl Crow got the touch for her excellent single, "Steve McQueen," (which is on her fantastic greatest hits collection).
I love all four songs! I'm always tracing things backwards because there's so much pop/rock I don't know, esp. pre-1985 or so. I'm not at all criticizing the latter songs for "ripping off" the earlier elements. Artists always borrow (or steal), and I think that's fine as long as they use those borrowed elements to do something good. In the case of the New Pornographers, I've started branching out into the solo work of the various band members, so I hope to write more about that soon. Looking forward to the new Destroyer album--my first impression, from listening booths, is that it's very strange.
Friday, April 09, 2004
Kurt Cobain died 10 years ago. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth writes about him in a NYTimes editorial:
Rage and aggression were elements for Kurt [Cobain] to play with as an artist, but he was profoundly gentle and intelligent. He was sincere in his distaste for bullyboy music -- always pronouncing his love for queer culture, feminism and the punk rock do-it-yourself ideal. Most people who adapt punk as a lifestyle represent these ideals, but with one of the finest rock voices ever heard, Kurt got to represent them to an attentive world.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Music and Caffeine
So Starbucks is planning to install stations where people can find music they like and burn them into CDs! On-the-spot customizable CDs?--it's just what I've been wanting record stores to do for, oh, I don't know, the last 15-20 years. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I have to admit, I'd check out a service like that. I still prefer CDs to downloads.
Then there's the company that's making mini-CDs and DVDs (containing music, movies, video games) to sell in soda lids at movie theaters, NASCAR races and the like. This is already happening. You pay a buck or two more and get the mini disc. This is certainly a good idea from the big companies' point of view, but it obviously encourages kids to supersize their sodas which, duh, isn't good for them. I know they're doing it already, but seriously, not good. Come on, we're fat enough. Maybe they'll sell them with popcorn, too.
