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January 30, 2006
MS Daily Picks - Williamsburg forever!
It would be a real shame if all anybody remembers about the Brooklyn music scene in the 00's is hype and questionable haircuts. It seems like you can't read an article about any band in Brooklyn without constant hand wringing over whether or not we should actually be enjoying this music we're currently enjoying. I mean it sort of sounds like..., and they seem like they're having a good time, but are they really? Am I really? Are they faking it? Is faking it the new meaning it? Are they too basic? Too pretentious?
I guess it was inevitable that the first decade to occur entirely post-internet explosion would be cripplingly self-conscious, but really this misbeggoten borough has produced some great music so far. I understand how annoying it is for people who don't live here (and do, for that matter) when Spin magazine declares B-burg the "Rockest City in America!" despite not actually being a city. But before you had to read about it 8,000 times there were homemade t-shirts and gigs with ten people in the audience and kids who really loved music. Just like anyplace else.
Of course this is all a long winded way of me hand wringing over the fact that I don't want my young adult memories to be diminished by the fickle whims of the hip. I don't want my kids laughing at me for the generational equivalent of being really into Bananarama. I have some faith that the music that was springing up in the 'hood after I moved here in the hipster gold rush of '02 will hold up, justifying my premature nostalgia.
And really even though they'll always be associated with Brooklyn, I think both these bands have moved away by now. If that helps you enjoy it any more. Plus this stuff is good.
I think...
Taken from a Japan/Australia only split 7" single with the Liars, this song's status as a throw away gives me even more hope for the impending Show Your Bones. This track is all tension and release with Karen's delicate vocal floating above sustained keyboard notes and a brittle programmed beat. Pretty on its own, this interplay is occasionally broken by eruptions of Nick Zinner's strutting guitar. That guy is good at guitar.
Not their best song ever, but one would hope those are saved for the album, right?
Note: The fuzziness of this track could very well be intentional (an attempt to out murk the Liars?) but I think at least some of it has to do with somebody converting their vinyl single to mp3. If somebody out there in TV Land has a clearer copy, I'd love to hear it.
Liars - The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack
Then we have the Liars themselves, whose forthcoming album Drum's Not Dead is arguably more obtuse than the almost universally declared unlistenable They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. I really liked parts of that album, but they weren't the dance-y winners that got them famous and alot of people weren't willing to give them room to breathe. I suspect the critical mass on the new record will be a bit better, but still stranded firmly in the "cult artist" bin.
Amazingly though, for one track at least, the band plays it straight. It's beautiful and downright sweet. I listened to it at least three times before I was willing to admit that it was indeed a Liars song and not a cruel hoax.
A bare bones guitar line is joined after a minute by Angus' multi-tracked falsetto. Usually used as a counterpoint to intense drumming, it's startling to hear how pretty his voice is on its own. Amping up the beauty are cascading background sighs and a healthy dose of sleighbells (!).
Also surprising is the direct simplicity of the lyrics coming from a guy who mainly shouts about horse-men and Witch Mountains.
"If you need me/ if you need me / I can always be found."
"I will stand by your side/ I will stand by your side"
A belated response from the man whom "Maps" was famously written about? That's my take, but it could also be about a German goblin, I guess.
Tags: Yeah Yeah Yeahs , Liars, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Posted by Jeff Klingman at January 30, 2006 09:20 AM
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