tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58671402622118407722024-02-20T08:01:03.328-08:00Hypocrite Listener"Investing boldly in the face of diminishing returns" or,
"Views and reviews, rants and raves"
or,
"Caring too much and making hasty half-formed judgments so you don't have to"nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-9134863893171218382011-11-06T08:59:00.000-08:002011-11-06T08:59:25.261-08:00That Sounds Like... issue 1Is it possible that some melodies are so infectious--so right on the zeitgeist--that they aren't written, but rather, captured? <br />
Today in <b>"That Sounds Like</b>," the "TSL" team submits that Bowie's <i>Rebel Rebel</i> <b>Sounds Like<b></b></b> Pharoah Sanders's <i>The Gathering</i> . These songs were written an ocean apart, and in different musical solar systems in the early 1970s. In spite of their relative popularity, it strikes me as much more likely that Bowie would be listening to Sanders than vice versa. Bowie notoriously casts a wide net of listening and he plays the saxophone; even so, I don't think I've ever heard about Bowie rolling into all the downtown free jazz clubs. <br />
<br />
Synchronicity? Plagiarism? Coincidence?<br />
You be the judge:<br />
<br />
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Sa6bI_95G9I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<i>Don't be too distracted by the eyepatch. Note the earring as well. This was released in 1974, but was potentially written back in 1973. For a number of reasons it's unlikely that Bowie had ever heard Sanders's The Gathering.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jnhWKYcyENU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<i>This was released in 1973 on Impulse! Records. If Bowie had written Rebel Rebel in 1973, but didn't release it until 1974, it seems unlikely that this free jazz piece borrows anything from the Thin White Duke. But right around that 10 minute mark... </i><br />
<br />
So we leave it to you loyal listener. One melody that rose up in different places in the early '70s, just like calculus in the 17th Century.Benjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10129959453890005479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-20477409287811419582011-05-31T17:51:00.000-07:002011-05-31T18:07:06.288-07:00Melodica Watch May 2011<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6G9xnoI0eMJqcLC-tu91dJi2qMbMgwAlqFbpLiI1t3Z42qPDv73wycGlmbWOWbmKWLi739BaD_jpIu6EUHmNtX6yVUHCsroE0oZ5k2NTIjlK0Llpsm1ukrsN-eGb7DO7sz32FAcPDk_09/s1600/melodica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6G9xnoI0eMJqcLC-tu91dJi2qMbMgwAlqFbpLiI1t3Z42qPDv73wycGlmbWOWbmKWLi739BaD_jpIu6EUHmNtX6yVUHCsroE0oZ5k2NTIjlK0Llpsm1ukrsN-eGb7DO7sz32FAcPDk_09/s320/melodica.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annoying, unfairly discounted (man, instrument, respectively)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>During my brief period of melodica-ownership, I noticed most people reacted to it as kind of a joke. Fair enough, I suppose; it’s got these silly little keys, and sounds kind of honky and funny. And given the way I played the melodica, it kind of <i>was</i> a joke. <br />
But the melodica in the right hands is a wonderful, dynamic little instrument. Sure you can’t tune it, but to banish it to “quirky for the sake of quirky” along with instruments like the moonshine jug or the timpani is only doing yourself a great disservice. I’m going to stop short of saying that a mutual love of the melodica brought reggae musicans and post-punk musicians together, resulting in the white-hot dubstep of today-- but that’s probably true if you’re willing to overlook things like chronology. <br />
<br />
Four songs I’ve been listening to lately that prominently feature the melodica: <br />
<br />
1. New Order—Love Vigilantes. from <i>Low-Life</i><br />
2. Bob Marley- Sun Is Shining. from <i>African Herbsman</i>.<br />
3. Television Personalities—A Day in Heaven. from <i>Mummy You’re Not Watching Me</i><br />
4. Gang of Four- 5.45. from <i>Entertainment!</i><br />
<br />
<i>NOTE: GANG OF FOUR WAS CAUGHT BY SOUNDCLOUD AS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. AS SUCH IT DOES NOT APPEAR ON THIS MIX. MY BAD. SORRY, GANG OF FOUR </i><br />
<object height="145" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F829275"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="145" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F829275" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/zilben/sets/melodica-watch-5-31">Melodica Watch 5/31</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/zilben">benj</a></span>Benjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10129959453890005479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-41387700433004801272011-05-03T11:51:00.000-07:002011-05-03T12:23:14.334-07:00Love at 33 1/3 RPM: A 25 year old’s love letter to an archaic medium<div style="background-color: transparent;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0s-85rd6vrY/TcBVaPIchsI/AAAAAAAAANg/sku5DufPnaQ/s1600/needle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 50;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0s-85rd6vrY/TcBVaPIchsI/AAAAAAAAANg/sku5DufPnaQ/s320/needle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">At the risk of confirming everyone’s suspicions that millennial are all waxing nostalgic for a time we didn’t know—we’re getting used to baby boomers projecting all of their self-loathing on us—I’d like to explain why we millennials pretty much only pay for music when it comes on vinyl—a format that arguably was surpassed before we were born.</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For those who don’t know, the LP is still marching along, the musical format that refuses to die. In 2010, vinyl sales were up 26 percent. Contrast that to CDs, which fell 21 percent, and the music industry saving-digital download sales that crept up just 2.1 percent. Records are becoming so mainstream that the counter-culture has revived cassettes. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some of this can probably be attributed to retro-pastiche. Vintage turntables and dusty LPs, like books on a shelf, have looked natural and attractive in the American home since the ‘40s.</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">But surely there’s more to it than that. People are fanatics about their records. There’s an entire “Record Store Day,” that—in Chicago anyway—saw droves of young dudes (of every age and gender) flipping through crates. Stores with names like “The Dusty Groove” were packed. People were squeezing through aisles, even as outside the freezing rain made a compelling case for downloading. Why? </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">There’s an obvious and less-obvious appeal. Let’s start with the obvious: Records just sound better than mp3s. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">For all the popping and crackling, records can be cleaned. The mp3’s damage is inherent in the design. I’ll admit there’s a really complex way of explaining how an mp3 is made, and then there’s this one. It’s reductive and without nuance, but as you’ll see, this is how mp3s are made. It’s appropriate to the format. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The mp3 caught on because unlike older digital music formats (.wav’s for example), the mp3 takes up very little hard drive space. The nature of creating an mp3, or AAC or any other “lossy” format causes certain sound frequencies to be eliminated. The AAC, Apple’s default format, is especially sharp at eliminating frequencies that are outside of the hearable spectrum, or being covered by another instrument like a heavy bass, anyway. In theory, everything you </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">would</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> hear should be there. It’s not as wide of a spectrum of sound, but if you’re listening to music via earbuds on the subway, the difference is probably negligible. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Additionally, as the audio is encoded, a decision has to be made as to how detailed the digital representation of the audio wave will be; this is where “kbps” is introduced. Think of it visually if it helps: How many pictures of this horse running do you want to take per second, to recreate the visual experience of seeing it run? Think of the choppiness of not having enough frames per second. If you’re a really visual person, draw a sound wave rising and falling (go ahead, I’ll wait). Now draw a staircase going up (and down) the wave. This is the digital version of the sound wave. Note the corners. Note how right angles are just so much less.... organic. To be fair, good mp3s should have around 320 bits per second (contrasted with the typical Hollywood which has only 24 frames per second). It’s a clever way to get a lot of music on a small hard drive. So what are we missing? </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To test just what differences these compressions and eliminations might make, I devoted an entire afternoon to comparing the sound quality of an album. I opted for Blood Sweat & Tears’s 1968 debut album </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Child Is Father to the Man</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because I thought its diverse musical styling—orchestral overtures, ‘60s pop, folk, R&B, jazz—would provide a broader scope for comparing formats. Also I had found a cheap copy at the record store, and hadn’t really had a chance to sit down and listen to it. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The experiment, which took place on a cold drizzling Sunday, was so indulgent and enjoyable that I’d recommend everyone buy a turntable just for conducting it. I sat down and listened to each track twice through the same stereo—once off my laptop at 256 kbps, and once off my turntable—alternating which format played first. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>From a sound standpoint the difference is definitely noticeable. The organ especially, here played by Al Kooper of “Like a Rolling Stone” fame, has a full, thick, angelic quality on vinyl. On the computer the same organ parts are present but sound much smaller and airier. Via LP, the bass parts are much more textured, almost purring on the record. The cymbal splashes from the drum kit sound light, never shrill. Overall everything sounded much more </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">realistic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Instruments were easier to distinguish on vinyl: I could hear the long decay of hits on the vibraphone, which on the digital recording I thought was a Rhodes piano; for the first time in my life I thought “What a fine lute part this song has!” Your ear may not hear the frequencies that are present, but they still make a difference in how everything sounds. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In a direct comparison, the mp3 sounds fine but not as good. Audiophiles will argue that I stacked the deck by using a “lossy” format. Yeah, I could’ve found some FLAC files, which preserve CD quality, but are thus </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">immense</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. And perhaps in technology’s forward march, they will figure out how to preserve the highest quality recording but find a manageable way for you to listen to it portably and conveniently. It seems for the time being, “cloud streaming” is two steps back, but if consumers decide they want higher quality, I’m sure someone will figure out how to sell it to them. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Apart from my slight audiophile tendencies (okay, full-blown epidemic audiophilia) there’s something else about vinyl records. The less-than-obvious advantage. </span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Child Is Father to the Man</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has some of the most amazing production I’ve ever heard—really exciting horn parts, big apocalyptic choirs, lead vocals oscillating through a spinning Leslie speaker, just a whole album of interesting and cool choices. I don’t usually evaluate albums based off of these merits, and this brings me to perhaps vinyl’s most enduring strength. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I sat listening with my notebook in hand and the record jacket next to me. In between notes (usually on the second consecutive listen of a song) I read the back of the jacket. The cover of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Child Is Father to the Man</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is silly and kind of disturbing (each band member is next to a child with said band member’s head imposed on the little shoulders. Each one is creepy in a unique way). At one point in the fourth track, “My Days Are Numbered,” a big </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Revolver</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-style backwards guitar solo just </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rips</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in. It’s a great moment, which the jacket credits it to Ztak Evets. Immediately I wanted to figure out what else this Dutch guitar master had done, but my computer was of course in use, so I contented myself with noting to look it up later. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the past that moment—that whoa—would’ve been the jumping off point, and I wouldn’t have finished the album. I would’ve been off on a wild Google, YouTube, iTunes hunt, trying to consume another musician or style I didn’t know, rather than actually listening to music at all. In this case I probably would’ve gone back to Blood Sweat & Tears after realizing that Ztak Evets doesn’t exist, it’s just the BS&T guitarist Steve Katz, spelled and played backwards. Nevertheless, an mp3 is easily turned on, and easily turned off. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The limitations of vinyl—its lack of portability, its dependence on the user to flip it every 25 minutes or so, the fact that record players can’t go online—all serve to create a space </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">music. </span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">The mp3 player and the computerized music library allow you to have music going all the time; this is their strength. You can come home with your earbuds in, slam the iPod onto the iPod dock and hear only the slightest interruption. Everything we do can be soundtracked, and that’s cool! Rather than walking up the street to the sound of cars and traffic, I can walk up the street listening to The Cars and Traffic. With the slightest movement of my fingertips I can get more, put more on, play it in any order I want, even repeat one song infinitely (That “Play One Song Forever” button has been on every version of iTunes since the beginning, and I can’t for the life of me imagine why). </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">But vinyl won’t go for a walk. It sits in my living room, in a specific place, sort of set apart. When shopping for records, I can curate to a specific room. There’s a whole ritual of taking the jacket out of the dust cover, the sleeve out of the jacket, and the LP—carefully!—from the sleeve, lining up the hole, and moving the needle in place. Calling these actions holy or liturgical in some way is overstating it, but it is an act of reverence. It takes away the everydayness (or every-momentness?) of now-ubiquitous recorded music and reminds you that it’s a privilege, a treat. Creating a space for music, giving it attention. It is (a lesser form of) the difference between a poster of a Van Goghon your wall—novel at first, and eventually peripheral—and going to see “The Old Guitarist” in a museum. You prepare yourself to let the art in. It sounds over the top, and yeah, it kind of is. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Think of it like the slow-food movement: vinyl lovers are enjoying music’s ritual, and quality—all served up on a platter. All of this is possible with digital music, sure. Of course, airplanes could just be driven around on the highway. Just as the merits of paintings, aside from being just “a permanent record,” became clear with the birth of photography, the merits of vinyl in an mp3 world are only now coming in clear. Warm, punchy, and clear. </span></span></div></div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-2042639949972728152011-04-23T18:22:00.000-07:002011-04-25T17:53:22.738-07:00Record Store Day 2011<div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #eeeeee; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #eeeeee; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #eeeeee; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>NB: Nigel's notes will begin with N: and Ben's will begin with B:</i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> </i><i>N:</i> It was a miserably rainy day in Chicago this Record Store Day, the kind of day I would have liked to spend inside sipping tea and listening to records, not walking in rainy headwinds to spend all of my money in a manic frenzy. But there we were, a gang of dourly dressed men trudging down Milwaukee Avenue acting like teenagers on the first day of summer break, stopping only for more beer or to accost the random unsuspecting stranger. Here are some highlights from the days finds:</span><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXjNx4erJs4/TbN4pfwk0-I/AAAAAAAAAM4/5n_ABDFmbXo/s1600/faust+iv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXjNx4erJs4/TbN4pfwk0-I/AAAAAAAAAM4/5n_ABDFmbXo/s200/faust+iv.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faust, IV </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not the only record I picked up that I was more than familiar with, I was more or less guilted into buying this because, alas, I don’t actually own this on any format. Lucky I did, Faust IV is an undisputed classic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sounds like the Sgt. Pepper from beyond the Berlin Wall (though they’re from the West). I imagine many interesting production choices had to be made; making the vinyl well-worth the price of admission. </span><br />
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</div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZCty4h4frsE/TbN5AO_ubOI/AAAAAAAAANY/gu6QvsDCoMs/s1600/tomboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZCty4h4frsE/TbN5AO_ubOI/AAAAAAAAANY/gu6QvsDCoMs/s200/tomboy.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Panda Bear, Tomboy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: In the spirit of Record Store Day, Tomboy is very much a two-sided record. Side A is reminiscent of MPP’s quick pacing, and almost-maybe-even choruses. Indeed a live show, included with the download, features a few MPP tracks sounding perfectly at home--relaxed even--in a Panda Bear set. Side B’s tracks are less focused, wander a bit more. Maybe it’s because we have a well-loved predecessor in Person Pitch, but the sonic environment on Tomboy generally feels less interesting, and more like a vehicle for the (undeniably beautiful) melodies. Nevertheless, the whole thing is a stunner, perhaps never more than on the amazing track “Afterburner” which would sound at home in the wistful wabi-sabi discotheque right along side....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Slow Motion” still knocks me flat. It’s also worth mentioning that the B side has a looping runoff groove, meaning the record will continue to play and never end until you lift the needle, which is as cool as it is sort of annoying.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</div><div color="transparent" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YtHcqKWPOtU/TbN45SRe8FI/AAAAAAAAAM8/XmllIxN-zzo/s1600/arthur+russell+calling+out+of+context.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YtHcqKWPOtU/TbN45SRe8FI/AAAAAAAAAM8/XmllIxN-zzo/s200/arthur+russell+calling+out+of+context.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arthur Russell, Calling Out of Context</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Russell is so cool as to be a little on the nose: New York, Retro-Dance, Avant-garde composer. Even if you feel “over” the elements, the result is both undeniably cool, and pretty fun and welcoming. Very minimal environments--drum machine, couple synth lines, supplemental percussion and usually Russell’s cello--permeated with a voice that meanders between Bill Callahan and Aaron Neville. Like an animated corpse of disco music stalking the streets of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daydream Nation</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s New York. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><div color="transparent" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</div><div color="transparent" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9OWU1Zg2cg/TbN46mDh8mI/AAAAAAAAANE/-akl5vnAA74/s1600/box+tops+i+see+only+sunshine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9OWU1Zg2cg/TbN46mDh8mI/AAAAAAAAANE/-akl5vnAA74/s200/box+tops+i+see+only+sunshine.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Box Tops I See Only Sunshine b/w Sweet Cream Ladies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of a couple Box Tops singles I found at the Numero pop-up store, this one features the Alex Chilton original, I See Only Sunshine. The track features Chilton’s amazing knack for melody, you can almost hear him trying to shrug off the gruff soul singer affectation and just open up on this one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><div color="transparent" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-51xY2WAhMkc/TbN45xwCb-I/AAAAAAAAANA/9S37U6Xu6VA/s1600/Big+Star+3rd+Sister+Lovers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-51xY2WAhMkc/TbN45xwCb-I/AAAAAAAAANA/9S37U6Xu6VA/s200/Big+Star+3rd+Sister+Lovers.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Big Star, 3rd</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had to round out the Chilton collection with Big Star’s 3rd. Living up to its reputation, the album is incredibly sad, even desperate at times, filled with beautiful string arrangements and some of Chilton’s best vocal takes. His voice sounds alternately tender and ragged. This is an incredibly ambitious album, even when held next to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">#1 </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Radio City</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I wonder if that ambition comes from the desperation of being at the end of the rope as a band, or if Alex Chilton was just ready to move far away from the sound he’d already perfected over the last two releases. This might be my favorite Chilton record I’ve heard so far. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: A power-pop apple, far from the tree. On par with Lou Reed’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Berlin</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for overall bleakness. Nevertheless, has some real gems both on the happily sad and the extremely forlorn ends of the spectrum. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ECwjRtt8tU/TbN497CyvBI/AAAAAAAAANQ/nLB_UHSyhm4/s1600/MOB+signals+calls+and+marches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ECwjRtt8tU/TbN497CyvBI/AAAAAAAAANQ/nLB_UHSyhm4/s200/MOB+signals+calls+and+marches.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Signals, Calls and Marches: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my favorite EPs of all time, this is by far my favorite Mission of Burma release, especially for the fist-pumping Academy Fight Song.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EHLMrrQ573Q/TbN4-p1r_8I/AAAAAAAAANU/YpT5BYzPvbI/s1600/numbero+eccentric+breaks+and+beats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EHLMrrQ573Q/TbN4-p1r_8I/AAAAAAAAANU/YpT5BYzPvbI/s200/numbero+eccentric+breaks+and+beats.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eccentric Breaks and Beats </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">N: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only Numero release I picked up at their pop-up shop, the story behind this 12” is that the label discovered a bootleg 12” floating around filled with samples pulled from their releases. Instead of issuing a cease and desist, Numero decided to distribute it themselves. What starts off as a fairly engaging mix ends up being pretty brilliant by side 2. This isn’t really a party starter, unless the party is a small BBQ, but it is a fantastic headphones album. Also, another album with a looping runoff groove on the B side, for whatever reason. Ugly cover though.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ol4TnT2M18/TbN48mHFFaI/AAAAAAAAANM/Tg8c6DUvnjI/s1600/holy+fuzz.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ol4TnT2M18/TbN48mHFFaI/AAAAAAAAANM/Tg8c6DUvnjI/s200/holy+fuzz.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Strangest Impulse Buy Award:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">V/A- Holy Fuzz Christian Psychedelic Music (1967-1975)</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Curiosity got the better of my judgement, and now I own this. Oddly enough this early artifact of “Christian Rock” is dogged by the very same things that dog the Christian Rock of Today. The songwriting is written in a self-assured second person, one who has all the answers knows exactly what you should do. The songwriting generally lacks specificity, which as we’re told in Strunk & White’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Elements of Style</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is crucial to good writing. “If those who have studied the art of writing are in accord on any one point it is this: the surest way to arouse and keep the reader’s interest is by being specific, definite and concrete,” states S&W, going on to cite the book of Ecclesiastes as an example of strong writing. Contrast this with </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Holy Fuzz</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s ninth track “Dry Ground” by the Exkursions: “Don’t lie to yourself. Take things as they are. That’s the first step in becoming a much better person by far.” Bush league stuff, Exkursions.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span">But then psychedelic music—Christian or otherwise—isn’t known for its lyrical acumen. You want to know how the jams am, how the grooves do, how face-melters smelter. They’re... fine, I guess. Within the psychedelic music world I’ll admit I like a bit more subtly and nuance (okay, melodious and fey) over early/harsh/heavy. This compilation is the latter for sure. I guess I was hoping for some sort of psychedelic spirituality; it’s odd that something so concerned for your soul would seem so soulless. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-78090466034585870032011-03-05T16:48:00.000-08:002011-03-05T16:49:17.131-08:00Music for watching snow fall in March<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ua9-clROpcI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Soon and very soon.Benjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10129959453890005479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-23789529101480348442011-02-14T13:44:00.001-08:002011-05-03T11:56:29.594-07:00Happy VD<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F10561952"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F10561952" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nigelharsch/i-only-have-eyes-for-you">I Only Have Eyes for You</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nigelharsch">nigelharsch</a>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-12079686125854264522010-12-24T10:52:00.000-08:002010-12-24T10:56:25.321-08:00Merry ChristmasWas putting together an uber depressing xmas mix, but thought better of it. So instead, here's this:<br />
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<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qs1bG6BIYlo?fs=1&hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="193" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qs1bG6BIYlo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="320"></embed><br />
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God bless us, everyone.nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-48802734347332834112010-11-28T19:12:00.000-08:002010-11-28T19:14:04.653-08:00Hypocrite Listener 2010 Music Honors<div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carlos D. Memorial Award for Sickest Bass Playing on a Rock Album: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tame Impala, Innerspeaker</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YTlwmDAW7BwU68CqjQue-C6Cbg0S_hpj300VG2eWYystMrpG6JB_ATwnQ0o0WGdDrwnue1NVH_ioxwbd72TH9Hc0HLdJL0Znpoq2JHnUTwq-sjldIQ" width="200" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">Runner Up: Ariel Pink, Before Today</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sickest Bass Playing on a Non Rock Album: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cosmogramma</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><img height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iox3WmVUrQsdDSsZQY-iVqcfs5mtaeDgd1uPUNWrh3VChYM5j8o_EuJ_w-fdYBZkMmDxcnUW4ZrtWJCnVkdg-Vd8WgQKNtDIG0Ce3FX2vF6OPU6w6g" width="200" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">The Steven Ellison Genius Grant for Releasing Not One but Two Mindblowing Next Level Releases in One Year Because He’s Just Like Th</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at: </span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flying Lotus</span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/U6hC-DYjGPH5Tr89MgFSyFMbRlZUWBS4YsIFf_nJPOfyxkJ37pfKv6G6mW-yray0S_dpY5j1BLwn3lzVqgvL8dRF2GqRAD9MuE9_5ww9ONDWndDLKg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ice Cold</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Award for Good Album Intractably Marred by Questionable Vocal Affectations: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Baths, Cerulean</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="151" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7Vy-5k2rH9-wph4Ii23R1ftdHJD7ZPY6zcFZUbn9ycRBtW4yWl2rtQn98QSPAfOgKFsKKHH2K1z3LfNiQAd9Hw_PRawinQLPtTgwdu5ZkBIIk5QQHw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Post-Dilla Postal Service</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Runner up: Salem, King Knight</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most Rewarding Questionable Vocal Affectati</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam Herring, Future Islands</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><img height="132" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7uh4eNrFg0N6NlP464MtKNePKiA9vItPdNZs7F5fIFxtnqMDnMqy7sajodmYVyd0upozYTrBZqmZ4rvm5C9jgB7zZCbwPMZprCb_wd75X5Vs9HhkOg" width="200" /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ryan Adams Award for Free Download That Is Somehow Still a Waste of Money and Space: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Girl Talk, All Day</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/r4FLOpDn46rmvJ2FsgPlfqR5iZFXWo_CkEgQwAZ3Md12B-1hW0OqpFvT9tLZYF66y1d51YkdiUjDXc-N89fQa837KCT9y9gkPTRFkfGNCcaVEiEdFw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="133" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This Asshole...</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; color: #999999; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Apotheosis of Self Via Disjointed Paranoid Confessional Ramblings From an Artist Emerging from Self-Imposed Exile After a Previous Full Length’s Lukewarm Critical Reception and Amidst Talk of Said Artist Becoming a Parody of Himself: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Destroyer, Archer on the Beach</b></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/2XvM-6Z9rccSSDSjupQ6d_UUfkdSjMiofsyY0GQAJ-TfL95moxs-pT-jxkBKAjfW9lrotc3Moynzyb1bn0zFMVJDwyYG-rVYNUTbwC1fc5ZQhl-MVA" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/2XvM-6Z9rccSSDSjupQ6d_UUfkdSjMiofsyY0GQAJ-TfL95moxs-pT-jxkBKAjfW9lrotc3Moynzyb1bn0zFMVJDwyYG-rVYNUTbwC1fc5ZQhl-MVA" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A cosmonaut in a breadline, etc.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Runner Up: Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Jump to Relative Hifi: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beach House, Teen Dream</span></span></span></span></div></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://musosguide.com/public_html/musos.wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/beach_house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://musosguide.com/public_html/musos.wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/beach_house.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Deep blue pools of sexy </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>melancholy</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worst Jump Back to Relative Lofi: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spoon, Transference</span></span></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/GM9ol5Km8KGvLJ0BFvU6Awsf-t1dvip4iFgqtd7GydMOp5PuV3PbGk1Nop7_4-itoldCpdZaowqffwNwKFQ1HR5myePEUqiZNqFJacCP_lTC7Fo5lA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The less said the better</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Production on a Lofi Release: Tie, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Women, Public Strain and Ariel Pink, Before Today</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/pt3xBoMQ9dUhQValxPU5K5yTKSWuojt455rsf4lg75BAkesF_wI7-veIzuRxIu7Ehy7tQgKu2XXQDworb25H-FAmI1bXRm4kGTfTBvkqFwz3gg5ZYA" width="200" /></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/e3XF87d96ZGuwE_NclPBicxGLooXSyz24suYgs7wvO9GKRS4pnCK5T4X8y9SRxPrP5n-FWdBI-3lhWyweMjn6uAlCaNSRpEjlLes-xwDCCX-9H5hQg" width="200" /></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Wayne Coyne “If I was going to do shrooms, I’d want to do it with this guy” Award: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dustin Wong</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Z_vD35lfSRrfiOukTBLigCf62qGSZcRNzY0GCTsxZV7t9RAeKfkA96jp5obgZfCvl3baX7Tgmq7FzuxTdunakZ9XTq7dYGlNp4eynoxPQumRp3Efcw" width="200" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Chillwave Album Not Classified As or Affiliated With Chillwave: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Javelin, No Mas</span></span></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/JUabwVErqbcWKsNCSzuk2Z5qRcpHhMLyjInZvPr5lxWUBWQU39aIwyBw9jx9q-rgXEZkDNxY6Vy68sXOkvWAjDh4sKBY64tFZjv7TxhECBa8RDIpKw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Slept on</span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephen Malkmus Award for Best Song Imbued With a Humble Tossed-Off Perfection That’s Almost Infuriating Because You’re Pretty Sure It Was Written on the Spot: </span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #999999; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kurt Vile, I Got Religion</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/lseXlm0xJ8lokbR9J2T2fWqUgRAgkwSDfeeYcU-Uz2N3CoUvNFBjoUIaWFPhJPMaQYFbUx517GQDwIV8yI4bgH5uN1QmHd0sPC5heMRpYh7bxgdyVw" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/lseXlm0xJ8lokbR9J2T2fWqUgRAgkwSDfeeYcU-Uz2N3CoUvNFBjoUIaWFPhJPMaQYFbUx517GQDwIV8yI4bgH5uN1QmHd0sPC5heMRpYh7bxgdyVw" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: normal;">Best Moment to Be Justin Vernon, Or It Would Be if This Was All Recorded at Once: <b>Monster</b></span></span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theurbanian.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/justin-vernon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://theurbanian.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/justin-vernon.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nobody knew I was a muthafuckn monstah, nobody but Ye</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-75714469518140339382010-11-18T20:17:00.000-08:002011-05-03T11:57:04.313-07:00Late Fall MixThis cold weather and early evenings have gotten the best of me and I fear that cabin fever setting in way too soon. Here's a technicolor mix for these grayscale days. Sorry for the sloppy mixing.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F7171198&secret_url=false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F7171198&secret_url=false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nigelharsch/hypo-fall-mix-w-mujuice">Hypocrite Listener Fall Mix</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nigelharsch">nigelharsch</a>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-45639092782600468612010-11-14T08:20:00.000-08:002011-05-03T11:57:22.461-07:00Women (Again)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">I haven't been able to write anything better than this on <i>Public Strain: </i></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></i></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Post-indie rock indie rock is copies of copies of collages of copies; in the hands of Women, however, it’s not that cut ‘n dry. They work the degradation of the process, blow-up the resulting scuzz to canvas their gallery walls, splay melodies into abstractions into new melodies as they zoom in more and more. These aren’t Brooklyn hipsters dancing, it’s their dancing pixels. The subversion of staid indie rock becomes the subversion of a hundred different things, a hundred different roles, and</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Public Strain</span></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">envelops all that, highlights all the contrasts and contradictions that are built into indie rock’s origins but have been lost over time through the genre’s maturation into a broad and often dull establishment, into Death Cab and shirt dresses and well-made music called</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Suburbs</span></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. With gumption</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Public Strain</span></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">breaks through the static of a moving yet flat image in order to bare the quaking microcosmos beneath. Its tracklist is a unified yet eclectic collection; “Bells” is dark ambient and “China Steps” is motorik with Sonic Youth guitars and “Venice Lockjaw” is aching balladry and “Eyesore” is perfection fucking chaos on top the whole indie canon and much of the rest is, at once,</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nuggets</span></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(1972) and not</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nuggets</span></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Women have no use for indie rock as a market, a lifestyle, or even as a genre—it is merely the substance they break apart and unfurl into a letting of noise, of unseemly chords, of momentary transcendence, of their own</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">identity</span></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">." <a href="http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/5678/women-publicstrain-2010">more</a></span></span></span>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-12451076856009186312010-11-09T16:30:00.000-08:002010-11-09T16:30:21.071-08:00Bejar on BejarThe impossible weight of his mythos is imploding on top of him. I am so fucking excited.<br />
<div class="entry" style="padding-bottom: 0;"><img alt="loscil" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2089" src="http://www.catbirdseat.org/beta/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/loscil.jpg" title="loscil" width="548" /><br />
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<object height="25" width="548"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gW5_9aABXIw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gW5_9aABXIw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="548" height="25"></embed></object><br />
<div style="margin-top: -10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div></div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-55074236621350486862010-10-12T16:07:00.000-07:002011-05-03T11:58:16.275-07:00Late thoughts on The Suburbs<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="249px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/wjVp7xEqciIBj5aAlftqJUasShWor7R4U-ydJwcIQTqAc3ZIvTkOFKysAPPhLIuG7XMG2ilJhiX3_NsQ7jL27PTh2St2joo_rfjmxjHhcHbvpDK8Iw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="252px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AF's new Jonathan Franzen Novel</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My pal Win Butler. I’ll hand it to him, he likes to raise the stakes on himself. He bemoans our fragmented modern condition in big, bold rock-star gestures so convincingly that it almost serves as a perfunctory answer to the perennial boomer question “what happened to music that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">meant something?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” And he’s mostly successful at it. Whereas Neon Bible had some cringe worthy over the top pontifications, The Suburbs is just balanced enough not be an embarrassment, and it certainly had every possibility to be. This is a capital A Album, it is about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">us, the kids, the suburbs, downtown</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This is about getting old and shedding off the optimism of youth in a terrifying world. This is an album about punching the clock by one of the few indie bands that doesn’t have to.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The songwriting is much more mature and nuanced, but like on Neon Bible, Win is still always onstage. Even his more intimate offerings are still backed up by mile long reverb trails and a full string section. And he’s never really talking to anyone specific, he’s witnessing to the masses, shouting to the mountaintops, standing self aware in a specific moment of history. I don’t think the Arcade Fire are ever gonna get away from that, that is what they do after all. It’s just that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Funeral </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sounded like a shout to the sky, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Suburbs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sounds like a polemic.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to their website, “each of the 16 tracks is mastered to a 12 inch lacquer and then transferred back to digital format so that the CD and digital version of the record sound just like the vinyl.” Like I said, it’s an “Album” motherfuckers, one that has all the hallmarks of an album of the year if not an album for a generation (or at least a sequel to one depending how you feel). But those hallmarks may be </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">exactly</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> what hinders it from being either. At 16 tracks, you’re not really left wanting more. As bleak as Win’s outlook gets, his lack of brevity steals all the punch of his warnings. What’s put forth as a grand statement ends up being 16 variations on a single theme, sequenced as if they add up to a coherent narrative. It doesn’t really come together. The trick would be to cut redundant exercises like “Month of May” or “City With No Children,” because they really just kill time and add heft to what could be a surprisingly elegant and restrained album with a little editing.</span></span></span></div></div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-2101844893544139652010-10-08T14:59:00.001-07:002010-10-08T15:02:42.599-07:00Counterpoint- Women- Public Strain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mbvmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/women-public-strain-cover-art.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 600px;" src="http://www.mbvmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/women-public-strain-cover-art.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Nigel's totally right about this. Plus, if you don't have the Bonus 7 inch, I will personally bring it over and we'll listen to it. Because it's pretty fun too.Benjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10129959453890005479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-75073640290965184312010-09-30T16:10:00.000-07:002010-11-14T08:25:26.526-08:00Women: Public Strain<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://betterpropaganda.com/images/artwork/Public_Strain-Women_480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="10" height="320" src="http://betterpropaganda.com/images/artwork/Public_Strain-Women_480.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like they knew this would dominate my winter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Public Strain is brilliant. Really really brilliant. Don't believe me? <br />
<br />
Buy it. But a turntable and buy it again. Tell everyone you know about it. Send nasty hate mail to Pitchfork for not BNM'ing that shit to 10.nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-70633222091078007042010-09-13T15:04:00.000-07:002011-05-03T11:58:39.965-07:00Hot New Trax from Steve Reich<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Not too long a ago I got <i>really </i>into Steve Reich. I listened to all ten discs of the NPU library's copy of <i>Works </i>while working in the basement in the media department. I have the Deutsche Gramophone 3LP set of <i>Drumming</i>, I briefly had a portrait of the man as my profile pic, etc. He was, for a short time in my life, the grand master of all things sonic, a position previously held by The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Brian Eno, and more recently, J Dilla.</span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Reich's got a new piece out "Double Sextet/2x5" and it's streaming right <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129177316">here</a>. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Check out the 2x5 tracks, especially the first one. It's absolutely amazing, which is no particular surprise considering the man is a bona fide genius. Nor is the "rock instrumentation" surprising, Reich has done this before. The biggest surprise was the sound of mix, especially the drums. Those dry, tight drums that cut left and right, the decay of each note seeming to die down unnaturally, almost like they're sampled and triggered. This doesn't sound like rock instrumentation, it sounds like experimental hip hop.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">What's incredible about this is that the Steve Reich is one of the pioneers of sample based music, his innovations are part of the DNA of so much of the music we listen to. Madlib even <a href="http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/11007/Madvillain-America's%20Most%20Blunted_Steve%20Reich-Come%20Out/">gave him a nod</a>. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">2x5 sounds like Reich remixed, like Reich chopped and screwed, like a much younger artist. Good to hear.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-12139789649506536452010-08-31T14:08:00.000-07:002010-08-31T14:27:03.234-07:00Self Truth on the Play Count<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.enovine.net/muzika/i28/08iv06/08iv0606muz/slike/beatles-studio.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 528px; height: 383px;" src="http://www.enovine.net/muzika/i28/08iv06/08iv0606muz/slike/beatles-studio.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ben's Favorite Beatles Songs Based on iPod Play Count</span><br /><br />1. Here Comes the Sun (George)<br />2. Across the Universe (John)<br />3. Carry That Weight (Paul)<br />4. Sun King (John?)<br />5. Why Don't We Do it in the Road (Paul)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Why:</span> My iPod is full and I was trying to decide what I could live without so I could get this Serge Gainsbourg psychedelic anthology on there. But also, I never know what my favorite anything is. Here's a way of finding my favorites over 3 or 4 years or however long I've had this iPod.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Method:</span> Organizing songs based off play count, and typing in various artists, or just scrolling and seeing which albums are all up in 20s, which artists I don't think of myself as liking that much but go to pretty frequently (I guess I like Simon and Garfunkel), which are only on there for sentimental but not listening reasons (Radiohead, especially Hail to the Thief to the present.), etc. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Critique of Method:</span> Obviously a million different factors play into what songs you play on your iPod (I own the White Album on vinyl, but not Abbey Road or Let it Be, making my affection for Why Don't We.. all the more puzzling and suspicious), but it's an interesting test of which songs you're drawn to, even unconsciously, as you listen to music around town. My affection for Paul, while often difficult to defend, comes through pretty earnestly in a scan of the top 10. The highest Ringo song is "Don't Pass Me By" at 16th most played.Benjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10129959453890005479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-6334399236350148642010-07-20T14:28:00.000-07:002011-05-03T11:59:06.136-07:00Pavement - Things Get Old I love Pavement, I grew up with their records, I idolized them. My friend once said it best, “What I like about Pavement is that they seem to know me better than I know myself.” As silly as that seems given SM’s obtuse lyrics, that ambiguous Pavement energy, a mixture of cocksmanship, pranksterism, nostalgia, and even a bit of darkness, seemed to resonate with my youth more than most of the bands out at the time. Whereas the Strokes and the White Stripes served straight up retro revival for us too young to remember their forebearers, Pavement was smarter, more nuanced. I felt like they were actually like us, full of anarchic energy as well as a smart-ass knowing. They were too cool to be cool, too smart to be hip, but in the margins they could be incredibly affecting. <br />
I first heard heard Slanted and Enchanted around 2001, only months after they’d broken up. They were my first introduction to the concept of indie rock and remain my ideal of the form, so much so that I internalized their failures as successes. I even had the notion that me and my smart-ass rock friends could make it just by being our smart ass selves, even while living in the middle of nowhere Indiana, hanging on the idea that someone out there (possibly Thurston Moore) would inexplicably find us and launch us into semi-stardom. A decade of fandom later I’ve become older and wiser. I’ve read Perfect Sound forever, watched the Slow Century, watched my contemporaries rise and fall, played in bands of my own and been thoroughly demystified of the glamour of independent music, or hell, the glamour of music in general. No love lost really, in fact in the place of my youthful idealism is a real love (I hope) for the music that sountracked my maturation and a more nuanced perspective on how bands and the music industry in general work. And after all these year, I still love SM, Spiral Stairs, Nast, Ibold, Westy and Young. But at the ripe old age of 24, and even though I never saw them the first time around, I am getting my first dose of reunion tour blues. <br />
Malkmus has been openly ambivalent about this reunion. First there was the GQ piece with Chuck Klosterman who, like Malkmus, cares more about sports than music these days and is about just as uninterested in Pavement. Then there was a more exploitative piece in Mojo featuring the whole band, another non plussed SM, and some sad moments when Kannenberg lets on how much more the band means to him than Malkmus. Put together with Perfect Sound Foerever and you can pretty much get the picture: Malkmus is kinda a dick and kinda aware of that, the rest of the band are kinda not dicks but maybe kinda not as talented and no one in the band really wants to talk about it. So my expectations for this Pitchfork performance were kinda secretly not so high, despite my really wanting them to be.<br />
I only went to one day of the festival this year, for money reasons and due to my work schedule. So many of my old pitchfork pals didn’t go at all, having either moved away, moved on, or completely lost interest. Whereas in the past the fest had always seemed like a sort of like a homecoming or gathering of a disparate community, this year everyone looked unfamiliar. I tried to summon the spirit, but it was hot, the sound was often shitty, there was no 312, and everyone looked if not young than childish, as if some shift into real adulthood had occurred unnoticed in my life this past year and I was just now realizing it. I wasn’t hating on anyone, my worst criticism of the day was launched Washed Out, saying they were a little boring. Beach House put on a great set, Major Lazer made me dance, Big Boi sounded good while I waited for Pavement in the setting sun. I was having a reasonably good time. And then the sun went down and Pavement sauntered on.<br />
And the set was, well actually quite good. The sound was awful for half the songs (the lighter half), the guys were so completely unenthused to be there it hurt, there were about 5 false starts, and the crowd was exhausted as fuck and pretty sick of standing face to armpit in the hot sun waiting for them to play. And yet, somehow, it was worth it. When the band was on, they delivered. There were several moments were I thought they’d fall apart but they’d swing back into cohesion, making the high points matter so much more. They played the songs faithfully but changed them up enough to make them sound if not new, then at least like living songs. It wasn’t slike the Slint show, where they played note for note but with no energy or spontaneity. It was by all metrics a real Pavement show. Compared to the footage from their last show before their breakup, maybe even a really good Pavement show. And since this will probably be the only Pavement show I ever see, I’m glad for that much.<br />
Perhaps it was disappointing for some. To be honest, I didn’t walk away in a blissful haze, and I don’t think Pitchfork fest has ever had such an anticlimactic end: no encore, no announcement, everyone just slowly walked out a little puzzled. And maybe I am so prematurely old, so jaded, expectations so low and so willing to forgive that I couldn't actually be disappointed. But Silence Kit killed, and it killed in that sad longing way it did when I first heard it. And when Malkmus replaced “shitty-life” for city-life the second time, instead of feeling sapped or slighted I kinda felt on the same page with him. It was unexpected and cathartic, and it revealed something I love about Pavement that no one talks about that much, that they’re a kinda dark, depressing little act when you get down to it. So many of their best songs are colored with loneliness, misanthropy, loss, anger, bitterness. It’s by far not what this band is about, but it’s all there. There were definitely more uplifting highlights of the show: Conduit for Sale, Trigger Cut, Frontwards, Spiral Stairs’ songs actually sounding really good to me for the first time maybe ever. But for all their attempts and all their thank-yous and all their practice (really, they sounded pretty tight), they couldn’t put on a convincing face of gratitude, they couldn't fool any of us into thinking that they were at all as excited to be there as we were to see them. Whatever wasn’t working for them before is still not working. But they were themselves, they played well together, and there were enough moments where they looked like they might actually be really enjoying the music they were playing, if not the people they were playing it with.<br />
And I think it was all very fitting. The era that birthed Pavement is clearly over, Pavement as a living entity is clearly over. They sounded out of context, out of place, and out of style at the fest. They aren’t some returning heroes getting their long lost due from a generation that finally “get’s them.” Although, I would have loved for them to say “hey kids, you Pavement fans are alright, I’m glad you still exist” But they did their job and they tried hard for us, for the kids who weren’t there the first time around, or maybe it was for our money. Who cares? I got to see Pavement, the real deal, in all their hapless glory. They gave me an unrepeatable performance, they surprised me, and I still feel like those songs I’d heard a million times meant as much to me now as they did ten years ago.nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-9968090135539325332010-05-28T18:53:00.000-07:002011-05-03T11:59:28.783-07:00An Album Like This:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/Schizo5170/Global%20Noises/FlyingLotus-Cosmogramma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/Schizo5170/Global%20Noises/FlyingLotus-Cosmogramma.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"> I was initially confused and borderline disappointed with Cosmogramma when I first put it on. After pouring into his back catalog and remixes I came to expect a certain feeling from Flylo tracks, something dark and simmering with a sinister sense of humor, music made by the dude grinning ear to ear in his promo shots ala Richard D James or the Joker. His earlier more hip hop inflected work lumbered along in a narco haze, an already textured and gritty sound that would end up going into hyperspeed and endless grooves on Los Angeles. With Los Angeles, there are beats on top of beats fighting other beats through thick smoky static, like so many bass bombed cadillacs passing each other on L.A.'s smoggy highway night. <br />
On Cosmogramma, Flying Lotus is equally comfortable delivering what listeners have come to expect from him (sick beats, tactile textures, an ADD predilection for 8 bit blips and beeps) and blowing those expectations wide open. You hear it right away on Clockcatcher, first unleashing an unholy manic onslaught of space invaders artillery that has you thinking "too much too soon" right before it spins out in all directions leaving behind a field of sonic debris. Much of the album's first half has an equally disorienting soundscape. Sounds and melodies collide and fracture only to coalesce moments later into a cohesive groove. It's disorienting but more than worth it. This is how you know an album is going to be a grower, when you get halfway in and you already want to back track to get a closer listen. It delivers the goods, but in such idiosyncratic and surprising ways that you're not sure how to take it at first. You let in unravel and open up and discover a new way of listening until your more or less hooked. Like, I really wasn't down with all the bit crunched bass solos at first, now I can't imagine the songs with out them.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Although this wasn't the album I was expecting, it's actually the kind of album I've been waiting for all year. Don't get me wrong, Teen Dream still makes my heart do swan dives into a sea of dark blue melancholy, but there's only so much of that I can take in my life. Teen Dream is something to be careful with, to dole out with care or save for a rainy day. Cosmogramma is an album to get lost in, to dwell upon and discover as well as (at times) something to play at a BBQ or a midsummer's dance party. It's daring and inventive as well as warm and inviting, much like the man himself was when I saw him rocking a packed Double Door crowd, the wizard himself tearing it apart and grinning for days in sheer enthusiasm.</div></span></span></span>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-76552653016187375192010-05-26T01:48:00.000-07:002010-05-28T18:09:09.892-07:00Skip All the Lou's: Part II, The Mask of Blue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfPWfxZvz2smETm2DQHtS8novEI9StF5OZDMOFwYgs8dXmcJGb0xGIFQVsj19Kv5nbZE3zenVWqvjX9SjqNyUcAjJfSatwSu7iGxHJ1e5Ts8uoXhN0IXIh8VMfYWLDlo8L0scc_Jzp5Q/s400/REED+Lou+1982+THE+BLUE+MASK.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfPWfxZvz2smETm2DQHtS8novEI9StF5OZDMOFwYgs8dXmcJGb0xGIFQVsj19Kv5nbZE3zenVWqvjX9SjqNyUcAjJfSatwSu7iGxHJ1e5Ts8uoXhN0IXIh8VMfYWLDlo8L0scc_Jzp5Q/s400/REED+Lou+1982+THE+BLUE+MASK.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
Which is what brought me to The Blue Mask- often regarded as one of Lou Reed’s best solo albums, what he should have made in 1972, instead of Transformer (which isn’t terrible). It seems like taking Lou Reed solo albums as whole entities is a disappointing and embarrassing endeavor, so let’s go song by song and see if we can find more Lou Reed Greatness.<br />
<br />
The Blue Mask: A quest for Greatness<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;">1. My House-</span> <br />
a. Arrangement: Bass is a little cheesy, but the build at the end is cool.<br />
b. Worst Lyric: “I've really got a lucky life<br />
my writing, my motorcycle and my wife<br />
And to top it all off a spirit of pure poetry<br />
is living in this stone and wood house with me” Ugh. Wow. That first part of the verse sounds like someone’s overly earnest dad, which would be bad, but becomes unforgivable with his spirit of pure poetry shit.<br />
c. Overall: Well, the build and repetition of “Our house is very beautiful at night” is pretty good. Can it overlook Lou Reed getting out the ouiji board and letting a spirit soar across the room? Maybe. And maybe this album isn’t so bad...<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />
2. Women</span><br />
a. Arrangement: These guitars are dripping in some lame effect, but their minimalism and chiming conversation is nice. The bass moans like it belongs in the background of the Little Mermaid’s Kiss the Girl though.<br />
b. Worst Lyric: “A woman's love can lift you up, <br />
and women can inspire <br />
I feel like buying flowers and <br />
hiring a celestial choir”<br />
c. Overall: That worst lyric only won by a hair. The whole thing is embarrassing and terrible. A stanza about how Lou Reed used to look at women in magazines when he was in his teens. Maybe the worst Lou Reed song. Maybe the world’s worst song. My opitimisim takes a hit.<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />
3. Under the Bottle </span><br />
a. Arrangement: Kind of a bar band-lite. Does he need to borrow a distortion pedal?<br />
b. Worst Lyric: Ooh woo weee son of a b. <br />
c. Overall: Something about the concise quality of this song (and being next to the black hole of “Women”) make it seem okay. It’s forgettable, like bad radio rock. And it’s neatly composed if a little lazy. Not about to join “Heroin” in the substance abuse pantheon of rock and roll.<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />
4. The Gun</span><br />
a. Arrangement: Cool. The guitars are reminiscent of Galaxie 500, the bass is out of the way. Good groove all the way through.<br />
b. Worst Lyric: This one’s got some of Lou’s good economical writing. I won’t pick out a lyric. I love when he says “I wouldn’t want you to miss a second.” <br />
c. Overall: Yeah, alright. It doesn’t really go anywhere, but hey, neither do debates about the right to bear arms. Let’s keep going, with hope.<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />
5. The Blue Mask</span><br />
a. Arrangement: Sweet! It’s a little cheesy, but there’s a whole minute and a half of guitars squealing and stuff at beginning.<br />
b. Worst Lyric: I’m not going to nit-pick. The delivery of muscle-rock isn’t the cool I go to Lou for, but this song is sweet and at this point I’m not complaining. <br />
c. Overall: Yes! Yes! This has a sick ending. I’m on board, taking from the Station to Station playbook never paid off so well. <br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />
6. Average Guy</span><br />
a. Arrangement: The distortion pedals are glowing, and even though this progression is nothing new (most of Coney Island Baby comes to mind), it’s still got a Bowie sheen that keeps it from veering into forgetablitly. <br />
b. Worst Lyric: Um. So the whole thing is a little... inconsequential. Let’s go with “I worry about my health and bowels” <br />
c. Overall: Things are taking a turn. This is about on par with Under the Bottle, in that it’s traditional grounding keeps it from being too hateful or likeable. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;">7. The Heroine</span><br />
a. Arrangement: Just a great sounding electric guitar and vocals. <br />
b. Interpretation: Um, so the love of a good woman will keep you together? <br />
c. Overall: Another in the catalog of forgettable attempts at love songs I think. Something about the plaintive melody gets undercut by the repetition and overt self-seriousness. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;">8. Waves of Fear</span><br />
a. Arrangement: Awesome. The ending is sweet. Two stallions trading leads and rhythm. Thundering along. Well done everyone. The bass is given something constructive to do as opposed to just ruining everything like it did for the first half of the album.<br />
b. Best Lyric: “I curse at my tremors I jump at my own step!” The mic is maxing out and stuff. The whole part is awesome. And bizarre. Also “What’s that on the floor?” <br />
c. Overall: This song is the most triumphant tribute to freaking out I’ve ever heard. I love it, and it makes no sense. Why is this song about being afraid of everything around you? Drugs, I would assume. Anyway, for what it is, with a skidding shuddering left channel guitar making the case, it’s more than passable. It’s funny though. <br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />
9. The Day John Kennedy Died</span><br />
a. Arrangement: Ugh, the world’s most annoying bass sound is back to rule the middle of your mind. And who’s the lady back-up singer in here. Like these little cymbals clipping along though.<br />
b. Baby Boomer Unbearablitiy: Big Time. I understand this was a monumental event, but this song is more insult than homage. <br />
c. Overall: If we’re to believe this moment meant that much to LR, then we’re allowed to wonder if there’s a better way to phrase it than “I dreamed that I could somehow comprehend that someone<br />
shot him in the face.”<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />
10. Heavenly Arms</span><br />
a. Arrangement: Big and broad. Great melody. Perhaps the only Lou Reed song that could use more instrumentation. <br />
b. Does the delivery live up to its ambition: Well, he says “Heavenly Arms” a lot. But the melody holds up where the writing’s weak. It’s a really pretty song. <br />
c. Overall: A fitting send off to an album of songs with narrow and specific concepts, that, if broadened, could’ve been a lot better. <br />
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So, it’s not Loaded Part II, but it was unfair to expect that. Safe to say Mr. Reed doesn’t really know what he does best, and at this point thought furrow-brow seriousness and earnesty was the way to go. And for... like 3, maybe 4 songs the instruments do what his writing does erratically at best, and we’re with him. For the rest, it kind of feels like someone’s cleaned up former biker-dad bashing it out on a Friday in Rockford. And I guess that has a place.Benjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10129959453890005479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-61484822675752629422010-05-25T08:13:00.000-07:002010-05-28T18:08:35.207-07:00Skip All the Lou's: A Quest for a Decent Solo Album pt. 1<link href="file://localhost/Users/Ben/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Lou Reed to our musical landscape, and larger culture. Those Velvet Underground albums are the bedrock upon which the ideals of avant-garde rock were lovingly placed, and it would be hard to think of a worthwhile band (from, say, 1970 onward) that isn’t largely indebted to them. Just as Jonathan Richman predicted in 1970, in a way the Velvets have become as important as The Beatles. I have a simple test to prove this to be true: Name a year both bands released an album: Go ahead. 1967? Okay The Beatles- <span style="font-style: italic;">Sgt. Pepper’s</span>. Whoa, hard to top right? Bam! <span style="font-style: italic;">Velvet Underground and Nico</span>! How do you like them bananas? To even argue their importance seems redundant. Let’s move on.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The only real problem is that there are only those 4 VU albums (let’s disregard the Lou-Reedless and unavailable fifth album, as I haven’t heard it, and this is mostly about Lou Reed). Where does one go after she or he has shredded with the Black Angel, eagerly waited with Waldo in the box, closed the door, and watched that train go ‘round the bend? I, myself, will still have periods where I’ll listen to one of these albums, and even though I’ve heard it many times, I’m still impressed, I still enjoy it. But there’s less than 40 songs. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Here is the interesting thing about both the VU and The Beatles. After you’ve really listened to their canons, and really made them something you know, you should probably switch to listening to Bowie. He’ll safely get you through to the 80’s and then it’s time for American Indie to come and save your bloated soul. I know there are solo albums from all of these songwriters (hell, both Moe Tucker and Ringo Starr have albums. God help us all), but I’m increasingly convinced that try as you may, the solo albums merely tarnish the image of the songwriter, especially the further you get from their seminal band. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">And for no one is this more true than Lou Reed (well maybe George, certainly Paul, and of course John...well Lou Reed for now). Listening to his solo work turns him from brilliant writer, to likely idiot savant, who merely was around an era we now think is awesome, and happened to write shit down, probably on accident. The arrangements, which seemed so sweet as dark and shrill, all turn into Las Vegas schmaltz with such a swiftness and consistency you can’t help but wonder if maybe Sterling Morrison doesn’t get enough credit (this suspicion is confirmed if you ever hear John Cale’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Paris 1919</span>). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">But there are still green shoots. One gives up on Lou Reed only to hear “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Street Hassle” and “Berlin” and wonder if maybe there’s still more Reed-brilliance out there. And you want to believe! You want your mind blown again! You want a brilliant beat-poet-avant-garde-leather-rock-hero! Of course you do! We all do!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Coming Soon! A track by track break down of The Blue Mask, an album that is known as the heir to the Velvet's sound!</span> </div>Benjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10129959453890005479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-56536577484206637312010-04-08T10:40:00.001-07:002011-05-03T12:00:19.895-07:00Hello Internet, long time...Jobs right? Either you can't get one, you hate the one you have and can't get anything else, or maybe you like your job but it isn't paying you shit. Or maybe it's just a control thing, the work's not that bad, they pay is more than enough but damn, will I ever have a say in how shit get's done around here? <br />
So, I have several 'jobs.' I have my day job at the MCA. It's great, really can't complain. I love the museum, I really like my coworkers, the day to day responsibilities aren't very taxing, and I usually feel pretty good about life at work. The rub: it's three days a week and I make let's just call it not-a-whole-lot an hour. Then there's a paid gig with my alma matter doing sound design work for theatrical shows. Again, wow, what a great gig. I can work mostly off my laptop using some of my more technical and creative skills, I get paid, get to help put together a piece of collaborative art every semester. The rub: it's emotionally draining, and I don't know why. I get throw-shit-against-a-wall temperamental during the last two weeks of rehearsal no matter the show (usually not at rehearsal, although I'm afraid that one day I will just snap). And a career in sound design would probably mean a career in theatre, which is for better or worse, a world that still feels foreign to me. Long story. <br />
Then there are two internships, one with Gallery 400 and one with Thrill Jockey. Again, wow, what the fuck right? Both are fantastic. At the Gallery, I'm learning and developing a skill set, I'm meeting so many incredibly talented people, I get to be intellectually engaged with work. Fucking fantastic, not getting paid. And Thrill Jockey, let's put it this way, if I was independently wealthy and never had to work again I would still come in on Monday to put records together at the office. The rub: neither pays, and at this point anything resembling a personal life has been obliterated. This has lead to some awkward over sharing, TMI, and just dicking around at my jobs because, well, I barely have any personal time.<br />
Now, don't get me wrong, the last six months of my life have been incredible. I took on more than I could handle and I've handled it. Maybe not A+ handled it, but much better than my usual average. I feel much more capable than before, much more aware of myself and my limitations. But my schizophrenic schedule has left me with the same question, what do I actually want to do with my life. And my answer is still, well, everything.<br />
Or be a musician. That's always the real answer, be a musician. I'm not going to get into the bloody details of why I am one but don't really consider myself one although I've always kinda been one no matter how hard I try to be one or not. It's really like saying to myself, I want to be a Christian. I am one, but I'm not really one you know, don't go to church enough, am too critical of the church at large, feel uneasy with how it makes others feel, etc. But like, I am one, sorta kinda. I just really don't feel good about calling myself one and then having to take on all the responsibilities of being one. With music, it's more like, I don't thing I'll ever be able to pull it off, like I'm staring down a series of failures and panic attacks and puzzled looks and yeah, not a whole lotta bread.<br />
You know that slow moaning thing some people can do with their voice where it almost sounds like they're purring. Like a square wave slowed down so much that all you hear is clicks. I've caught myself making that sound a lot without realizing how long I've been at it. It's like the sound of an old hard drive when it was processing too fast. But I'm processing nothing, just making sound to soothe my own brain. I've started dancing and head bobbing a little too emphatically when listening to music in public lately. I'm doing that half assed literary speak thing where I pick up little idioms and poetic expressions that don't fit me at all and carelessly toss them around until they lose their intended effect. I wonder how far off I am from catching myself singing "Turtle Island" in a broken falsetto at work while staring blankly off into space. It's then when I think, man, I'm never gonna make it. Adults with responsibilities don't do that shit. Who am I trying to fool?<br />
<br />
Songs:<br />
Beach House-Gila<br />
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Gives me the shivers, that little two note guitar line just kills me. My Beach House obsession is not waning.<br />
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Round and Round-Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti<br />
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So, I never was really into Ariel Pink. I saw a disastrous set at U of C years ago where we dubbed his band Tears for Suck. But hey, he's still going isn't he, and apparently improving. I guess it's a sin to diss his earlier material now that his aesthetic has taken off in certain circles, but fuck that aesthetic. I like the self assured production values Arthur Russel cribbing way more. <br />
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Flying Lotus-Robo Tussin/A Milli Remix<br />
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This has been around for a while, but I felt like posting after seeing Flylo at the Double Door, which was absolutely amazing. He's a consumate performer who knows how to get a crowd moving with sheer enthusiasm. He dropped this one and everyone went crazy.<br />
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Sorry for the mixed up embed formats, the internet is being a pain in my ass, and I'm too lazy to find a solution.nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-29481151337696620912010-03-26T14:17:00.000-07:002011-05-03T12:00:44.458-07:00Your Sound Design Questions Answered I haven't been writing much lately as I've been busy with sound design, band, day jobs, etc. However, I did write a little something during some rehearsal downtime. It started out as something like "letters to a young sound designer" but I thought it might be interesting to those who don't really know what I mean when I say sound designer.<br />
A sound designer finds, creates, or otherwise wrangles sound effects and music together for a performance, and makes sure those sounds are played at the right time for the right length of time and at the right volume. Beyond that, the definition get's sticky. In a larger theater you might have a music director, a composer, a sound designer, a sound technician, and a sound board operator. In smaller "store front" theaters, a sound designer might (frequently) have to do all the above jobs. Sound Design doesn't require a standardized technical knowledge, just enough proficiency to justify getting paid for it. The vague job requirements and varying job description will lead to a lot of ass busting to learn to do something you have no previous experience doing or (more likely) lead to a lot of embarrassing moments where you have to tell a director that either his expectations are unreasonable or totally reasonable but he hired the wrong guy, so, sorry about that.<br />
What the job always requires is the ability to think and learn quickly, to be articulate and specific about a very abstract and temporal phenomenon in more or less plain language, and of course, the ability to be creative in a collaborative setting, all of which require trial and error.<br />
If I could offer some on the job advice to anyone starting out in Sound Design, it would go something like this:<br />
<br />
<div>Equipment matters more than you ever want it to. This pretty much runs against every bit of punk ethos left in me but it's unavoidable. The purpose of a sound design is to help transport the audience into the world of the play, either the physical (diegetic) world or the emotional/psychological (non-diegetic) world, and to do that, you don't want a shitty lofi system coloring and distorting that sound unless the play is in a shitty lofi world. Those plays sadly don't exist. Learn what equipment is <i>meant</i> to do, what it <i>can</i> do, and what it will <i>never</i> do. </div><br />
<div>Yes you can do it, but do you have time? The quicker you learn this lesson, the better. It's always tempting to say yes to complex and time consuming design choices during the beginning stages of a production when you have weeks to get everything done. But when you run out of time and fall short of your grand promises, you're going to look like a lazy flake. On that note, be organized, save everything twice and create more than one draft for each big moment.</div><br />
<div>You can say no to the director, and you definitely should learn when and how, which is never in front of actors and extremely delicately. Also, never use the word "no."</div><br />
<div>Music is universal, musical tastes aren't. This is without a doubt the most frustrating aspect of the job. </div><br />
<div>Listen to hip hop. Reason 1, hip hop producers largely use the same tools as you. Reason 2, hip hop producers (and sample based musicians in general) tend to think of what a sound as a mutable material, they listen for what it can be rather than what it is. Being able to make completely new music out of say, two or three records requires a clever ear and deft technical proficiency, both of which are paramount to sound design. Reason 3, nothing sounds better after being stuck inside a theater all fucking day.<br />
<br />
Be a geek, or at least be comfortable being called a geek. You're working in theater after all. <br />
If you think you're too cool for the job, you're right, so don't do it.</div><br />
Have a personal creative outlet, realize that this job is not that. Remember that scene in Charlie Brown Christmas where Lucy asks Schroeder to play Jingle Bells over and over again until he frustrated plunks it out note by note? It's gonna be like that sometimes.<br />
<br />
<div>Think about how the sound <i>feels</i>. If the design is good, no one will be paying attention to it but they'll be subtly affected by it. One director said it best, "With gunshots, it's not about how real they sound, it's about the emotional impact of the shot."</div><br />
<div>Unlike other design elements (staging, scenic, lighting), when you make a mistake it will be big and obvious and it will piss people off. Don't take it personally.</div><br />
<div>Always shroud your techniques in secrecy. So you spent a whole week figuring out how to power a remote speaker in the back of the house so that marching band effect can sound like it's slowly coming closer and filling the space? No one fucking cares. Not to say it wasn't a good choice, but no one is going to pat you on the back for an effect that could have been adequately accomplished by clever fading and panning. But when a director wants something to sound like it's underwater and all you do is put a tremolo and reverb on it (which takes 15 seconds) and she looks at you like your a wizard, just let her be mystified. </div><br />
<div>Have a huge collection of music, listen to it all the time. Always good to have jazz, classical, and ambient on hand (anything "moody" or textural and or rhythmic, without words). </div><br />
<div>Have the cast send you their favorite party jams and play them during preshow warmups. You will be their hero forever.<br />
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Pitch in to help someone else when you have some downtime. Again, everyone will love you.</div><br />
<div>Avoid Tom Waits, run, fly, flee. Delete it from your hard drive. When directors mention his name (trust me, this happens with staggering frequency) feign ignorance and change the subject.<br />
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At the end of the day, realize that you're working behind the scenes and there's not a lot of credit or awards being handed out. Sometimes the only way to tell you've done a good job is when no one complains and you get asked to do it again.</div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-16038377352214463482010-03-16T10:52:00.000-07:002011-05-03T12:01:17.179-07:00White/Light @ MCA=Totally SickEverywhere that I work is cooler than everywhere that you work. Don't believe me?<br />
<a href="http://www.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/exh_detail.php?id=242">Do you wanna see John McEntire, Steve Shelley or Lucky Dragons play at the MCA?</a> Of course you do. I could not be more chuffed.nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-3909465095188401822010-03-12T12:46:00.000-08:002011-05-03T12:03:49.221-07:00Take off those clothes, you're one of them. I'm excited to see that the Nitsuh Abebe has his <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/why-we-fight/7773-why-we-fight-1/" id="dhaf" title="own column">own column</a> over at p4k. I've been following his excellent and always thoughtful blog, <a href="http://agrammar.tumblr.com/" id="eoxb" title="A Grammar">A Grammar</a> for a couple weeks now so I'm excited to see his missives in a more well trafficked site. (Although, are p4k columns really read that often?) On his first outing he compares Lady Gaga and Joanna Newsome while taking on the neurotic self conscious politics of cool in the indiesphere. Definitely worth a read if you even remotely care about any of the above topics. I'm still very interested in this debate about the politics of who we find clever or innovative and who we find trite or escapist, but it's personally losing it's relevancy in my day to day life. Maybe my circles have changed but it's not often I find myself in a place where I'm actually embarassed to admit my fondness for something because of hip politics. Interning at Thrill Jockey certainly presents those moments, but the mocking tone there is more like dudes at a bar talking about basketball players than some deleted scene from High Fidelity. <br />
<div> It's hard to really spot a time or place in my life where I ever really felt threatened by other people's tastes. High School had it's moments, but the cool-indie-rock-kid crowd was small and pretty self consciously <i>not</i> very hip and most of them were my friends and bandmates. I felt the war for what's cool was always being fought online or in New York or some other place where I had no voice. Even if I really cared (and I did) about the micro trends of New York, it was so beyond my control or influence, a world that only meant something because I decided it did. And in small ways it still does, but the ground level arguments about what's hot and what's not never seemed to be as crucial or as mean spirited as they did online. Actually watching people get riled up and pissy with each other over personal tastes is not usually all that fun or productive. As much as I like a good spirited debate, once someone get's smug or self important or just plain condescending, I'm usually out. And living in a place as fractured and contentious as Chicago, I feel like it's more beneficial to be open minded and curious than to have an entrenched viewpoint. If there's something dilettantish about that, I don't see why that's a particular problem, what's a scene without enough people who are willing or naive enough to try to walk in as many circles as they can? As long as your interest is genuine, what do you have to worry about?<br />
I'm not saying this just because I want everyone to be friendly and pat each other on the back. No, if anything we need to expect more from performers than to just pick a sound and stick to it. If bands want to narrow their focus and dig deep into a sound (The Walkmen) that's totally credible, enjoyable and rewarding. But bands who tap into more material, who are taking more risks and seeking out different ways of making music are essential to "the fringe" or whatever you want to call it. This is why very good bands who make very enjoyable and impressive albums (Surfer Blood, Real Estate, Smith Westerns) can ultimately be a letdown when compared to their influences. They don't seem to mean much? I'm on the fence here. Not every band should straddle themselves with the expectations of <i>recreating</i> music or being utter visionaries and I'm willing to look for originality and fresh ideas from bands who don't tout themselves as THE NEXT THING. But I agree with Abebe, if you're going to wear your tastes as a merit badge of adventurousness, then I don't see the point in mocking bands for their misadventures. <br />
If that makes a lick of sense. There's also a refreshing Liars interview up and it's good to hear these guys in in top form once again. A HL review is in the pipeline.<br />
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</div>nigelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02286790502027302673noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5867140262211840772.post-15158617432202173232010-03-04T14:12:00.000-08:002010-03-04T14:19:59.459-08:00Perfecting Sound Forever<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> So I just finished reading a fantastic little piece of nonfiction called <u>Perfecting Sound Forever</u> and I highly recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in recorded sound. Greg Milner follows the history of recorded sound and the contentious debates that continue to surround it. On the way he touches on critical theory, psychoacoustics, war profiteering, music criticism, media theory, a little bit of Adorno, and some old fashioned fanboy gushing (Pavement get's mentioned a couple times). I think this book is actually every one of my geeky interests rolled up into one single serving. Milner is not so secretly an analog enthusiast but he's quick to point out the wild eyed doomsdaying and magical thinking endemic to certain analog purists. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> One of the most important things I've taken away from the book is the idea that the trajectory of musical technology was not preordained. There has always been a push towards high fidelity, having the purest representation of a sonic event, as well as a push for innovation, for creating new sounds with new technology. It's a classic example of a tool built for observation having irrevocable effects on what it observes. It's also always been a contentious subject, every new technology having it's utopian boosters and dystopian naysayers. This ongoing battle hit a fever pitch with the advent of CDs. What's most depressing about the CD chapter of the book isn't that so many people thought digital audio sounded terrible (a lot of people still feel this way) but that it was spurred by an industry desire for a format change. Neither artists/producers nor consumers were clamoring for a better format, and many of them thought it was a useless ploy. I always assumed that analog purism was something that came later, an old guy nostalgia but also a punk rock fuck you to a once very expensive medium. I didn't realize that digital audio was a contentious subject from day one. Also, the technical standards of CDs (bit depth, sampling rate) were sort of rushed into use. That is, CDs could have been more hi-def given a couple more months in development. And of course the greatest irony of all, that digitizing music would eventually be the industry's undoing.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> This got me thinking about the current Tape/Vinyl revivalism. I'll admit that the most annoying trait about format fetishism is the built in nostalgia. You kinda wanna shake these people and scream "Get with it, things change, stop trying to escape into the past. The future is..." you get the point. But, there's actually a foward looking element in all this nostalgia. Becuase you don't have to listen to records and you don't have to put them out, doing either is a conscious act, a rebellion against the norm. It can seem like a pointless rebellion but it's not just empty posturing. It's also not an anti-social behavior. It creates spaces of cultural exchange where there are alternatives to the convenient and disposable (or just fickle) nature of pop culture. Although it smacks of a fad, I think it really stems from a desire for community, the very same same desire that fuels webforums and blogs. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> The debate for me isn't just about sound quality. Yes, I think records sound more musical and therefore better. But it's also about having the artifact, the fetish object. Yes, it's conspicuous consumption, no it's not very "green," it's more expensive/not free (This debate could go in circles though. How much energy does it take to make an Ipod? How much did that Ipod cost? Who get's that money?). But I buy a record, the band makes some money, the label that put out their album makes some money, the record store makes some money, I get something permanent and usually desirable in exchange. It seems so quaint doesn't it? Consumerism that doesn't feel like consumerism.</div> Far be it from me to say this is the only way to listen or to be actively engaged with music. But it is effective and actually quite rewarding. And it's thriving, which is something the industry as a whole is certainly not doing. Polemics aside, it's a continually interesting phenomenon, especially as it consistently confounds so many people who try to shrug it off. <br />
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