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September 29, 2006

The guitars of Serena Maneesh

I mentioned guitar changes and expensive looking gear. Here is the pedal board for the violinist and guitarists (left to right, respectively). After the jump a sample of the various guitars cycled through the show.

Tags: Guitar, Larimer Lounge

Posted by Merry Swankster at 03:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday Video Jukebox: Ben Gibbard on Leno

UPDATE: So NBC removed the video below. Listen fuckers, Leno sucks balls so take free publicity when you can. I don't get it, of all the networks you actually use Youtube!

Ben Gibbard - "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" Tonight Show with Jay Leno

This song was featured on the first Merry Swankster post after relaunching the site almost a year ago. What did we have to say back then?

Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark

The nice guys from Portland spin a lovely tale of eternal love in an existential afterlife. Suspending the oxymoronic stance of an existential eternity for a moment; Death Cab use nothing but light acoustic guitar and Gibbard’s disarming voice for this tale.

If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no on their vacancy signs
If there is no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark

Writers of Six Feet Under knockoffs have themselves a ready written opening theme. But the O.C. will most likely get to it first. [Note – obligatory OC reference added under threat from the Josh Schwartz/DCFC Racket.]

Awww.

Tags: Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Gibbard, Leno

Posted by Merry Swankster at 03:40 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

the Ballet, Live @ the Cake Shop, NYC, 09.22.06

photos by Devon Banks

The Ballet's debut album Mattachine! is one of the most instantly likeable discs I've heard all year. Song after song of three minute pop, told from a fresh point of view, and impeccably executed. So assured is the production that it's hard to remember that this is still a very new band on shaky fawn legs working to establish a perfomance presence. Last Friday's show at the Cake Shop (in an opening slot for Mark Robinson's Flin Flon) was a reality check.

The show was put back over an hour from the posted time, subjecting the punctual to an endurance testing hoe down band. When the meek saviours finally emerged, the small room's occupancy had swelled to the breaking point. Given the band's dominant subject matter and probable demographic, man cuddling abounded. They started with "the Start Song", logical in name, but actually one of the less memorable songs in their repetoire. The subsequent "Cheating on Your Boyfriend" was a bit thin as well, Greg Goldberg's voice mousier in person than the confident delivery that anchors the recorded material. The strings and synths sounded fine, but the sound mix was off or something, and the lyrical heart was hard to discern.

Also, the reliance on iPod backing tracks was a problem as well. Listen, I know how hard it is to even get 8 people together to get a drink at the same time in New York, so swelling your line-up past the assembled five must be a chore, and I understand that. But from a purely objective point of view, any time you hear the words, "Can I get some more iPod in the monitor?" then the band you're seeing hasn't figured out how to fully translate their sound to the stage yet. There's an evident talent in the songwriting, so I'm sure the nut can be cracked eventually, it just hasn't yet.

Another problem in the set for me was song selection. I really do like this band, and I feel bad for being so hard on what was in the end an enjoyable set, but this one at least is out of affection. It just seems to me that in the early stages of a career with a new record just out and a full crowd before you, that you're doing yourself a huge disservice by not including 3(!) of your best, most widely posted songs in a 40 minute set. So we were denied "I Hate the War", "Personal", and "the Face of Everything". Which was sad.

One of my favorite numbers that they did squeeze in was "Clay", an ode to Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero protagonist, unless I've completely misinterpreted the lyrics. I really like how it starts with Bernard Herrmann-esque suspense strings (a nod to Ellis's faux horror leanings?), before launching into more friendly pop. I love the killer Ellis-esque final line of "In December you'll be twenty one/ and nobody will remember who you are." This video captures it decently...

the Ballet - "Clay"

The short set ended with a non album track called "Murder at the Discotheque", which you can stream on their MySpace page here. This one featured an amp up in energy from the rest of the set, starting off sleepy and then erupting into a siesta with all band members issued a fanciful shaker and Greg breaking out a banana-monica (pictured below). It might be hard to summon a ton of kinetic energy on the venue's small stage, especially with the space needed for mulitple string players, but this was a nice end. Here's hoping that more dates and a more finalized band line-up will result in a fuller sound for the charming songs that derserve them.

P.S. Sorry to Mark Robinson for bailing before Flin Flon. I love Unrest and like some of his other work, but it just wasn't in the cards that night. I promise a Robinson post in the near future as penance.

Previously: MS Pick - The Ballet [MP3]

Tags: the Ballet, Cake Shop, Flin Flon, concert reviews

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Serena Maneesh played Larimer Lounge with Evangelicals 9.26.06

Faced with either driving to Boulder for Band of Horses or staying local for Norweigan shoegaze playing just up the road I made the obvious choice for my tired self on a school night. Failing in sparking enough energy to even consider getting in a car, let alone driving my straggling ass to the Fox theatre I decided on staying local and taking in Serena Maneesh at Larimer Lounge.

This won't be a typical long-form review as I don't have enough background on the band for a detailed report. I do, however, have plenty of pictures and a few crystallized thoughts for something interesting to hopefully come out of this. From the increasing level of traffic I'm under the impression that you people do exist and for keep returning to read the words displayed on this site. Or someone at urchin stats* hatched an elaborate conspiracy to stroke my digital ego. Sigh.

Serena Maneesh

I cannot even begin this writeup without addressing the wardrobe of lead singer, Emil Nikolaisen. Equal parts Hendrix (puffy shirt and jacket), Tyler (mic stand decor), Rose (bandanna), and Euro-hipster (tight black pants, fashionable shoes). If he wasn't European I'd make a joke about him shopping at the imaginary rockstar frontman store, but for whatever reason musicians from outside the states get a pass on these trivial things. It cannot escape mentioning.

The Serena Maneesh lineup was different from the last trip through America earlier this year. Gone was the blond supermodel via biker gang bassist. The out of place looking fiddle player was still there, though unsure why because you couldn't hear him at all. The singing wasn't audible either for that matter. With the evening agenda of noisy shoegaze, this would not be a negative towards the performance.

So what about the music? For live experimental rock it had more dynamic than I expected, a few melodies even. It wasn't an indecipherable wall of noise. One that schoolkids locked in a garage with maxed out amps could replicate by pushing distorting guitar fuzz through shitty blown speakers. No, it was not that. It was quite better and sonically pleasing, but just weird enough. Multiple guitar changes (sometimes mid-song) aided by a guitar tech - which is strange to see at such a tiny show - and the large array of pedals made it clear that the band invested mightily in gear. From the gigantic tour bus taking up half the block outside it appears the pockets run deep in more ways than one. Spinal Tap moment - Nikolaisen's sparkling glittered scarf got tangled on his guitar strings for a solid minute or so when it perilously crossed paths with the mic stand holding it up. I wondered if this would be a take away for him under lessons learned. Silly.

More pictures after the jump. Stay tuned for Evangelicals coverage.

*Yes. This is a joke about web user statistics. If you laughed/mocked then the answer to your question is yes, you are a bigger nerd.

Tags: Serena Maneesh, Evangelicals, Larimer Lounge

Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:33 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 28, 2006

"Heroes"

At this point you've probably already seen this clip, which was all over the place. Rightly so, because it's unreasonably funny. So watch it again...

David Bowie on Extras

Man, I like that more than anything on Hours.

Alright, now that your memory is refreshed, we reveal a bit of the hidden backstory. Apparently, Ricky Gervais's unrequited love for Bowie stretches back quite a few more years than we previously knew. He was at one point the future comic genius's main influence apparently...

Seona Dancing? Wuh?

Here's another Brit show in the horrible VH1 mode of nobody hacks talking over archival footage. The dominance of these types of programs probably started in England, as that's where out country's TV exec bad ideas are usually poached from. The best part of this is the two sleepy eight year olds in the front row for the live performance footage.

I have nothing wildly insightful to say about all this, except that it's weird. Sadly, Ricky would not get in front of music video cameras for nearly 20 years. When he did, he had clearly not lost any of his previous majesty.

David Brent - "If You Don't Know Me By Now"
(from the Office UK)

(with thanks to Liz for bringing this to my attention)

Tags: David Bowie, Ricky Gervais, Extras, the Office, Seona Dancing

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 10:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 27, 2006

Retrohump - Early 90s

Last week this space covered the landmark Nevermind anniversary and its blurring of the imaginary line between alternative and mainstream rock. The album killed off whatever remnants of 80s hair metal remained at the time. If memory serves Nevermind also dethroned Michael Jackson from the charts. Whatever happened to that guy anyway? Other unintended, and highly regrettable, consequences include: Eddie Vedder clones, and excessive whining.

Here are some relatively recent throwbacks of early ‘90s hits that continue to resonate, or at least make me smile when my iPod unexpectedly shuffles them in.

Nirvana – Lithium MTV VMA 1992

More than the performance itself, the silliness ensuing upon ending the song unofficially made Axl Rose irrelevant. “Hi Axl!”

Elastica – Connection Cork Festival 1995

I was 16 and met a girl at drivers ed over a conversation discussing Elastica. We were supposed to hang out and see them in concert but I wasn’t that into her and never called her back. Boring story, but its what I remember whenever I hear this song. Unintended irony…”Connection,” get it? Bah!

Pearl Jam - Once Unknown location 1991

The song that instantly piqued my interest and thrust me into a life of eternal fandom. I remember the exact moment when I popped this CD and the feeling of “wow” like it was yesterday. Immediately I was floored. For a 20 min+ video of a wet behind the ears Pearl Jam, check out this 1991 Tower Records performance.

Tags: Nirvana, Elastica, Pearl Jam

Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 26, 2006

TV on the Radio - Live @ Fox Theater, Boulder, CO 9.19.06

Shaking loose these songs from their sacred hiding space

With school fully in session for a month now, Boulder's college crowd packed the Fox theater last week for a sold out Tuesday night show by Brooklyn's TV on the Radio. The avant-garde rock outfit played a high-energy blend of soulful doo-wop meets rock-noise in the particularly dense and unmistakeable style TV on the Radio is known for. The songs of TVOTR are disproportionately the ones picked as "the ones I didn't like" by friends receiving my gifted mixed CDs. The responses don't terribly surprise seeing how the deliberately muddled noise of TV on the Radio songs can have harsh, almost industrially discordance that doesn't sit well with everyone. Pouring over the latest (and greatest) release Return to Cookie Mountain, I can't say they stray far from art-rock production. Though in more ways then previous releases, the blend of light and dark jarred existence coalesce with the tuneful harmonies to augment an established rich poetic prose.

From left: Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe

From the get-go both TVOTR vocalists grab attention and their striking demand of audience focus increases from there. The frenetic intensity of Tunde Adebimpe's pained expressions contrasted with the buddha-like serenity of even tempered guitarist Kyp Malone cannot be more polarized. Other than the occasional pogoing and head nods Malone's strapped Gibson hinders most movements . But a second jumping singer is not needed here. Malone recalls a black Jerry Garcia with a bushy beard dominating his face which continues into an afro to go with the hippie-hipster look.

The band has enough talent in the vocalists alone that they could each front their own band, but take one away from the equation and TV on the Radio ceases to exist. The stressed dominance of Adebimpe's pipes paired with Malone's downcast falsetto - as if you could attribute "downcast" to a falsetto - creates a new voice altogether. They both sing almost the entire show at the same time creating a stereo effect showcasing the absurd possibilities of such powerful vocal range. Amidst the many loops and delays, some created on the spot as Adebimpe did by sampling his own beatbox intro to "Dirty Whirl," the 1-2 front men frame a picture of urgency on the stage.

Lurking in the dark corner is producer David Sitek on guitar, noisemaking and the occasional backing vocals. He is the guy at the helms of the really cool instrument station. Kicking off samples and setting up loops with greater efficiency than guitar techs trading axes for the arena rock folks.

When going to shows I try to consciously surrender control of the evening to the artists and make an effort to not allow the constraint of wanting to hear specific songs screw up an otherwise great evening. But the sheer effort of getting out of the house to see a show (exhausting, kidding!) and not wanting to hear particular tunes is a strange dichotomy of theory and practice. That said I really wanted to hear "A Method" and it's gospel oooh oooh oohs over marching drums played with German precision. I thought the goods were coming at one point when Sitek made his way over to the floor toms for collaborative drumming, but turns out I was fooled by the tribal percussion of "Let the Devil In." A scorching tale of divine judgment bookended with bee metaphors.

Beg the bee's forgiveness as it's falling from your sleeve Watch it's guts pump poison into sting Watch it reach completeness, see it fall asleep Legs above fold in eternal dream

The squeezed screams distorted through a megaphone mimick a roaring mob singing possibly the greatest lyrical phrases of the album, one whose virtues can be debated depending on where your faith lies.

So when the chariot arrives,
you'd best enjoy the ride
'cause when we get to heaven's gate
we're not getting inside

Unclear what the position is here, if there is a stance at all. For a Satan referencing title the faithful will find solace in the return of the bee. Possibly in eulogy for over-consuming humans through the analogy of a drunken post-sting insect?

Better beg forgiveness
Better drop to knees
Better find your ticket
Before we join the bees

So it wasn't "A Method" but satisfied nonetheless. The beautiful and haunting qualities of TVOTR's music and lyrics are subjective like all things art, but the chops of the group are unequaled as is their desire to create interesting music. One can say with certainty that TVOTR songs do not get mistakenly identified for a different artist. Not a ho-hum indie rock band by any means.

Additional tour dates after the jump. If you are jonesing for not quite a barbershop quartet meets post-Berlin Liars, check the MP3 below. Then go buy the album.

Download: TV on the Radio - A Method

//TVOTR - Return to Cookie Mountain - buy
//TVOTR - site

Tags: TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain, Boulder,
Fox Theater

TV on the Radio on the Rock Clubs

09.27 Soho Restaurant & Music Club Santa Barbara, CA
09.29 The Library Sacramento, CA
09.30 Shoreline Amphitheater Mountain View, CA
10.02 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
10.03 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC Canada
10.04 Showbox Showroom & Lounge Seattle, WA
10.07 Playmakers Fargo, ND
10.08 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
10.09 Metro Chicago, IL
10.10 St. Andrews Hall Detroit, MI
10.12 Opera House Concert Venue Toronto, ON Canada
10.13 Le National Montreal, Canada
10.14 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
10.17 Irving Plaza New York, NY
10.18 Irving Plaza New York, NY
10.20 Sonar Lounge Baltimore, MD
10.21 Starlight Lounge Philadelphia, PA

Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 25, 2006

Tomorrow

Hey, how's it going out there? Boy, tell me about it. Already need a release valve to hold you over until you can begin destroying yourself in earnest again this weekend? Might I suggest a rock concert? Terrific.

Tomorrow night down at the ol' watering hole known as the Delancey, sees the latest installment of our new old friends Beg Yr Pardon's concert series. Number nine...number nine...number nine...number nine, to be precise...to be precise...to be precise...Sorry.

The line-up is a mixed nuts type display, headlined by the highly regarded Appalachian folk-goth weirdos O'Death, and also featuring the exuburantly named electro act Dracula Zombie USA, the fuzz pop Vandelles, and pre teen grage rock sensations, the Tiny Masters of Today. As always there will eventually be enough free beer to make sense of it all. MP3 links ahoy over at the BYP site. Manning the DJ booth for the early portion of the evening will be Sheila B of Cha Cha Cha Charming. The later portion of the night features my triumphant return to the DJ thunderdome, this time in a "battle" against Rachael from the Underrated. I'll need all MS.com supporters to come out in force to provide extra juice, as I will not fall into the common trap of taking her threat too likely.

The night will have an added air of festivity, doubling as the birthday party for BYP stalwart and Dracula Zombie member, D. So, in addition to free brownies, might we get some hot cake action? Better safe than sorry, chums. I'll see you there.

Tags: Beg Yr Pardon, O'Death, Dracula Zombie USA, the Vandelles, Tiny Masters of Today, the Delancey, Free Beer, Birthday Wishes

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 11:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 23, 2006

Autumn Dance

The weather is dreary here in Greenpoint, the epicenter of the Polish-American meets lower-income hipsters universe, but that doesn't mean we can't shimmy-shimmy, yeah in the Brooklyn Zoo.

Pants off, dance off.

Vitalic - Bells

If My Friend Dario was not an acquaintance in 2006, you have issues. It's time to get on the Vitalic boat. While Friend was more a straight-forward electronic thrash, this is a more meandering and house-rific track - full of chord scales, volume breakdowns, and ethereal phrase repeatance. MMM. Delicious.

Whitest Boy Alive - Done with You

WBA, part of the Royksopp/Kings of Convenience world, drops an assuming, but altogether solid EP of IDM. This is the standout track - which manages to build the tempo during the entirety of the song, while Øye repeats, to no one in particular, that he is done with him or her or them. Ride the baseline as guitars check in and out.

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 02:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 22, 2006

Friday Video Jukebox - What if Cobain didn't die?

Nirvana - "Jesus Don't Want Me for a Sunbeam" Live 02.12.91

A historical conundrum exists with uber-talents that expire tragically young. Compared to their one time contemporaries (who are still living) the dead ones stay forever locked in a time and place where success and popularity was peaking. They don't have the luxury of more time on earth to fuck up and piss off fans and/or band mates.

In this plugged in version of Nirvana's better known acoustic cover of the Vaseline's "Jesus..," Cobain's pre-song banter passes for brilliant satire on the absurdity of crowd responses to rock and rollers.

"Hi. My name is Kurt Cobain. I'm a homosexual. I'm a pig. I'm a drug abuser. (cheers) I want to fuck pot bellied pigs."

Is he really some of those "dirty" things, or does he simply feel like a gay, dirty, junky who dreams of coitus with the living vessel headed to waffle house breakfast plates when he steps on the stage? The woohoo-ers don't care. He said "fuck" and marbled nonsense so the only thing to do is cheer. Going through all this live Nirvana footage I can't help but wonder what could have been had he battled the demons that did him in. Would we be writing about Cobain's fall from grace and awful techno album he put out in 1999?

Tags: Nirvana

Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 21, 2006

Swan Lake's Beast Moans, a Track by Track Preview

We're still exactly two months out from the release date of Swan Lake's Jagjaguwar debut, but given the rabid interest, I'm surprised this record hasn't exploded all over the blog world. Any non-sanctioned leak postings of the Canuck supergroup have been quickly addressed and disabled by their label, leading me to believe that anything I might give you would be treated likewise. I've been listening feverishly since fate saw fit to bring us together, and want to do something for those also quaking with ancipation. Hopefully, this track by track preview will give you a good idea of what you're in for with this sometimes lovely, sometimes befuddling record. Better than nothing, right?

"Widow's Walk"

Murky guitar and synth spiral in place without much forward movement, as Bejar is the first to make his presence known. The second as well, laying a pained wail over top the more prominent "Ba da da da duh da dum" non-lyric. The impressionistic warbling takes the place of Dan's usual enunciated ramblings, only gasping out bursts of proper lyrics occasionally. Nothing in the track feels particularly developed, structurally. Key loops, clacking percussion, and restless guitar poke their head in but never get comfortable. For an opening track, a bit tentative feeling and sometimes bordering on cacaphony. Tough to make heads or tails of what's going on, especially on first listen.

"Nubile Days"

A more propulsive guitar strum and a quickly discarded carnival keyboard intro quickly segue into Spencer's maniacal delivery. The hurried lyrics, surreal as you might expect, give only glimpses of meaning. "Nubile days are the days that cling to a hunter's face," for example could use a crib note. The music again is very fluid, not taking any kind of traditional shape. A tense video game score under the surface, guitar scrapes to the side. For the second song, articulated words aren't featured as prominently as the "la la la la la" and "whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh"ing. Distinctive voices and odd music make for intriguingly alien texture, but so far it's all very intangible. Not much to grab by the shoulders and size up.

"City Calls"

Some more low key noodling, with faded, crashing drums behind. Carey Mercer makes his entrance, but in disguise. A chorus of Carey, treated and screwed, sounding sometimes angelic and mostly deranged. Again, lyrics hardly decipherable. Krug tunes a piano in an adjoining room. A bit short of the two minute mark, Bejar starts echoing the Mercer mass, spotlighting non-sequitar lines about bones (their relationship to milk, the fact that you've got two broken collar bones, etc.). At some point Krug creeps in unnoticed and CM himself disentangles, upping the mob's strength with his own more familar delivery. Basic rhythyms emerge at the end, weirdly just as the track loses some steam. If this all sounds confusing, then I'm getting my point across.

"A Venue Called Rubella"

Another Dan Bejar dominated song, although he begins it in duet with Krug. The contrast between Dan's nasal blue blood and Spencer's unhinged prophet is interesting when pops up occasionally. Despite the cameo, lines about "Union Street ingenues" and the like obviously tie it to the Destroyer catalogue although the lurching backdrop would be conspicous on the more even keel Rubies. The production is still unnecessarily busy at the start, but soon an ancient piano tone heralds the tightening of form. The song's title repeats and marches towards infinity, as close to a sing a long possibility as we've seen in the disc thus far.

"All Fires"

I heard this one was released in advance by the record label, did anyone get around to posting it? Anyway, what seemed like a hype-holding middle of the road choice at first is now revealed as a triumphant album highlight and complete breath of fresh air when put into its proper context. The key is the stripped down clarity. After four tracks of unconventional instrument pile ups and overwhelming vocal production, a little strum and story is a welcome change. Krug's lyrics here are terrific, selling a tragedy with matter of fact reportage.

There was a flood/ a world of water/ the Mason's wife/ swam for her daughter/1000 people/ Did what they could/ They found a steeple/ Tore up the wood/ 500 hundred pieces/ mean 500 float/ 1000 people means/ 500 don't"

Five songs in, and Spence scores the first unqualified success.

"the Partisan But He's Got to Know"

The momentum keeps up with this track, that has to be a Mercer composition. Carey's Frog Eyes dementia is at about three/quarters strength and sweetened by Bejar's echoing. The brutal, flailing guitar that characterizes much of the Eyes output is replaced with sweetly bouncing synth and a subliminal strum, making it sound much more lighthearted. Around the two thirty mark, the tempo slows further and Krug takes over the lead. It's odd that it took this long for the three Bowie devotees to evoke the sound of the Old White Duke, but it sounds cosmically delicious. The album hits its stride here, sounding finally how we all though it might when the project was announced.

"the Freedom"

The song for all the bummed Destroyer fans to clutch grimly to their chests. Dan strums and get teary for "the Freedom to be alone with the freedom." Sounds like he had the freedom to be alone with the mixing board as well, as this could have been a Rubies b-side. Carey's crazy ass backing vocals make it through the soundproof glass, but just barely.

I shouldn't have to tell you, but the rest of the verdict comes beneath the fold...

Tags: Swan Lake, Wolf Parade, Destroyer, Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown, Jagjaguwar

"Petersburg, Liberty Theater, 1914"

Downtempo brooding number sounds like Bejar dueting with Krug, but it could just be Dan double tracked over sustained organ notes. The color downshifts from grey to black when Carey, minus his morning pot of trucker's speed, begins a speak-sung monologue about boyfriends and arch angels and stuff. The creepy vibe is brightened significantly in the last minute by Krug's twinkling synth lines, recalling the role he plays when sitting in as an occasional Frog Eyes member. A step back from the heights they've just climbed, but a worthy breather.

"the Pollenated Girls"

Another moment for Carey Mercer to shine. He sings far slower than his usual full throttle death march, and the tone of his voice is much more overtly pretty than its usual state. If you joined me in advance wishing that collaboration would force the man to use his voice in a more varied and less abrasive manner, then this is the still bleak sound of desire fulfilled. Sort of formless in terms of structure, and a couple thousand miles from traditional verse chorus verse, the song is made more dynamic by a supportive eruption of la's from Danny B towards the end.

"Bluebird"

This Krug-centric offering starts with pounding drums that almost immediately disappear, only popping out form their hiding place with about 40 seconds to go. Like the early tracks, the instruments plot their own course without fully cohering. Here the technique works better. Mini-motifs dropped by one instrument early are picked up by another later on. The flirtations with cacaphony at least follow some pattern of build up and release, most notably falling away to feature a plodding Spencer and Dan duet in the song's center. SK's warbling is still gonna tick some people off, but I'm guessing those folks haven't made it this far into the disc.

"Pleasure Vessels"

Carey and Spence are the ones you can pick out here, but the vocals are so screwed up that it's tricky to say. A recurring guitar riff gives the listener some point of focus, but like the vocals it's buried in white noise. As it continues, the voices gain strength, and in turn give the song some power. Ultimately, though, it sounds more like the sketch of a song than a fully realized one.

"Are You Swimming in Her Pools?"

The only track besides "All Fires" to have made it to the blogdome is, like its brother, a Spencer Krug ditty dripping with melody and relatively unadorned. Again, it is the relative simplicity of this track that make sit stand out amongst the information overload style that dominates the album. One of the brave little posters made the claim that this was akin to Krug singing a Bejar song. The point has some validity in that It is just a man and a guitar, slightly permeating as it goes along. Bejar himself does play an important role, doubling Krug's vocals at a moment early when it seems as if he's lost his strength. The lyrics which (again like "All Fires") can be better appreciated for their production clarity, are pure Spencer. Deep sounding nothings like "The child of the future is the child I am seeing to/ you said your love was fierce, and I agree with you", sound wise and world weary but need a Rosetta Stone to decipher. Another beautiful highlight.

"Shooting Rockets"

The most abrasive track is saved for last. Like a more atonal "Black Angel's Death Song" or Tom Waits dirge, but not as catchy. Bejar thunders in the background while his fellow beasts offer up their moans. Guitars are unmoored from connection with the song's other elements and melody is almost completely absent. The repeated underwater shouting of "Shotting Rock-ETTS" the nearest there is to a memorable refrain. A pitch black closer.

Final Thoughts
Probably not the record most people will be expecting. There are glimpses of all three men's previous bands, but more often than not the individual strengths of the three are forced to collide, and it isn't always pretty. With guys this talented, it would be shocking if there wasn't strong material buried in here somewhere. There is, so don't worry too much. It's not an instantly lovable album though, and specific fans of Destroyer and the New Pornographers who aren't into Mercer and Krug's songwriting as much might not want to follow Dan down the rabbit hole. It's so dense that repeated listens are pretty much demanded, and my opinion of it has improved substantially on revisitation. I'm sure it'll make its way onto more than a few year end lists, but will leave just as many folks out in the cold confused.

Happy hunting...

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 12:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 20, 2006

Retrohump - Nirvana Nevermind

Hard to believe the number of years that passed since alternative (rock) crossed over to the mainstream - the dawn of uhh..grunge or whatever. The music that would form the backdrop for the age of irony (and the soundtrack for movies on the inquisitive slacker species) got its start fifteen years ago this month when seminal single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released in September of 1991.

For help with framing the times: In 1991 the popularization of punctured body parts had not spread beyond niches and body piercing provoked true shock. Before a troubled young man with messy blonde hair from the Pacific Northwest mentioned them at every chance, nobody had ever heard of the Pixies. These days the rebellious vapidity of a pierced ______ is not going to arouse much response. The Pixies have several years of lucrative touring to adoring fans under their belts. Kurt Cobain tried emulating the Pixies style in his own writing. Instead of a Nirvana-ized "Debaser" we got "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the music world was never the same.

Todays retrohump is a special collection of live video recordings of every song from Nevermind. Listed in the same order as the album tracklist.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Early version with alternate lyrics.

In Bloom

Come as you are

Breed

Lithium

Intensely energetic crowd singalongs.

Polly

Special guests on makeup.

Territorial Pissings

Nirvana takes the piss on talk show expectations with the most apropos song title.

Drain You

Lounge Act

Stay Away

On a Plain

Something in the Way


Super raw in-store performance from a Seattle record shop.

Tags: Nirvana, Nevermind

Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

the College Board

The first post by old pal and Texico based MS correspondant Randall Monty caused a big stir and a flurry of comments. His follow up, detailing the virtue of some judiciously used Bowie in his alter ego as scool teacher, is gonna cause more controversy than ever. I mean, there are just as many folks ready to dissect public education standards and techniques as there are dudes ready to drop everything to discuss minor points of contention in the music taste of trivial sportswriters aren't there? (crickets) Sigh. Well, without further ado, I give you Mssr. Monty

Teaching With Bowie
by Randall Monty

The College Board, the, ahem, “non-profit” group behind the SAT and Advance Placement and other standardized forms of acceptance examinations recently released their SpringBoard curriculum for middle and high school math and English classes. From the CB website:

“SpringBoard is the College Board's rigorous and coherent plan for schools and districts in Mathematics and English Language Arts for students in grades 6 to 12. You know that students need essential knowledge and problem-solving skills to succeed in college. But did you know that the College Board offers the premier program that addresses the academic requirements needed for success in the first year of college?”

Claims such as these are almost all self-fellating drivel, and the above quote is no different. Of course, the school districts that wish to use the SpringBoard curriculum have to pay an arm and a leg for its rights, a factor that I think would jeopardize the College Board’s non-profit tax-exempt status. But enough about the politics behind it, thanks to the No Child Left Behind’s GEAR UP program, my campus has been given the 8th grade version of SpringBoard, and it was my job to integrate it into our preexisting English curriculum.

Don’t think of SpringBoard as your every day, run or the mill sort of curriculum. Instead, it is a set of instructional activities that are intentionally designed to help students prepare to do better on standardized tests, specifically the ones created by the College Board. (Funny how that works.) At first perusal, SpringBoard appears really to be a bunch of worksheets with movie clips and sound bites to decorate them up, and for the most part, that’s exactly what it is. But buried beneath the miles and miles of consumables can be found some rather interesting pedagogical techniques, such as the lesson revolving around the David Bowie song, “Heroes” (mp3) . Now I know there is no bigger education cliché than the tale of the teacher that uses music to reach his disenfranchised students, but I’ve got to admit this particular lesson worked roughly a thousand times better than I expected it ever would, and is initiated arguably the single most effective day of teaching of my entire (and relatively short) career.

Tags: David Bowie, Education, Real Jobs

“Heroes”, from the album of the same name, is the second album of Bowie’s (and Brian Eno’s) “Berlin Trilogy” of albums, and the named track is Dave’s most direct address to the history’s most famous piece of vertically aligned concrete. It tells the tale of two young lovers who meet there, if even for just a fractional moment of their lives. After making predictions as to what the song would be about, we (the students and I) read through its lyrics, and then we tried to predict what type of music would accompany the words. Next, as we listened to Bowie’s version, it really started to heat up. There’s a point in the song where Bowie’s voice begins to crack as though his voice is straining, and invariably, a boy from class would start to laugh, which would invariably and immediately be followed by a girl in class who would yell “callate!” or something similar across the room. (In middle school, the girls are roughly 1,000 times more mature than the boys.) No less than eight different students (all female), spread across the course of the day (three classes) picked up on the fact that the reason Bowie’s voice, or more appropriately, the voice of the character that Bowie was assuming, was cracking was because he was practically crying the words to the song, an undeniable show of serious emotional distress.

After completing our listening, I gave the kids some background information about the recording of the track as well as a short historical lesson on the wall itself. Probably following the example of the aforementioned maven girls, the rest of class stared attentively to the board as I described the situation of a country, and the families within, being literally split in two, and I shit you not, some students began to weep during the lesson. I know I tend to speak in overt hyperboles, but this single lesson worked like none before it. What’s better, the reading, listening and then talking about “Heroes” led to some of the best student-written responses I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Students grasped onto the songs themes of loss and guilt, yet that Bowie chose a rather fast paced instrumental backing so that the song would be appealing to more people, maybe so that his story and message would be that much more accessible. They became confused and then enamored by the dimensional movement associated with the dolphin metaphor. Parallels of the songs story were drawn to the proposed U.S. – Mexico boarder fence. Finally, the classes decided that the reason that Bowie chose the title “Heroes” for the song is because the two characters use their remaining time to be in love, and in my classes’ opinions, be the best people they could possibly be, even though they knew that hope was fleeting.

Now, I’m not trying to suggest that a group of 80 or so 13 year-olds are treading on critical ground that has never been covered, just that I was struck with absolute amazement as to how the students took to this song. This, I think, proves one of two things (maybe both): a. David Bowie is just a phenomenal artist that can reach audiences far beyond those he is commonly associated with, or b. any student can and will become interested in class if the material is presented in a manner that is both creative and meaningful.

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 09:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 19, 2006

The Detention of Mickey Mouse

While the written words about his recent offensive with DJ Danger Mouse against 500 Paris Hilton CDs still sat in newspaper recycling bins, the British graffiti artist known as Banksy struck again. This time the target was Disneyland as he somehow placed a life sized replica of a Guantanamo Bay detainee inside the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride.

I imagine that somewhere in the theme park a father struggled to convince his daughter that the figure in the orange jump-suit was detained despite standards required under international humanitarian law in order to thwart an unprovoked attack on the mother of Bambi.

Like a great stand up comedian, Banksy grasps the understanding that humor can shed light on even the most serious of subjects. Over the weekend he hosted an exhibition in a Los Angeles warehouse centered around the expression "not talking about the elephant in the room." In an attempt to outdue Demi Moore's paint on suit on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1992, Banksy painted a live elephant pink and placed it in the middle of a living room.

I still believe the most impressive and creative of all Banksy work remains his 2005 stunt where he was able to sneak his own doctored paintings into the world's top museums. Like much of Banksy's work, the pictures of the spectacle were first published by the website woostercollective.com.

Posted by Yonah Korngold at 01:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 18, 2006

the Grates, Live @ Piano's, New York City, 09.13.06

Photos by Devon Banks

A few months ago, when assorted tracks from Aussie band the Grates began popping up coupled with the customary hyperbolic hosannas, I was fairly non-plussed. Punky pop music, girl fronted, minimal arrangements, I knew the score. Not bad, certainly, but not immediately compelling enough to force themselves into heavy playlist rotation. Another case of bloggers heaping praise to feed the content beast. Now, after attending the group's Wednesday night show at Piano's in Manhattan, I can understand the desire for praise a bit better. So, any sites trumpeting the Grates who were basing it mainly on the live show, you're totally off the hook. They were gr...uh, really good.

Front gal, Patience Hodgson was immediately immensely likeable. The opening numbers, "Trampoline" and "Howl" from their recent Gravity Won't Get You High album featured Patience in perpetual motion, jumping, kicking, and for some reason barking and making dog ear and tail motions in a way that lacked any self-consciousness. It seemed impossible for her to give any more energy into the set, performing for the small room of 60-70 as if it were for hundreds. I know their record label isn't gonna love this, but it was almost enough to make me not want to revisit their recorded work. It's never going to be as winning on disc as it was in person.

More ingratiating still was the fact that while she played for the back of the room while mid-song, she sort of effortlessly took advantage of the intimate venue in creating a bond with the crowd in between spazz out sessions. Rather than take a "Hey, audience" approach she interacted with members of the crowd directly, in a charming faux conversational manner. When a girl up front expressed her love for a particular song, PH responded quickly with, "Really, what would you give it, out of ten?" She made a quick sweep of the crowd before the relationship themed, "Lies are Much More Fun" to find a couple in attendance for dedication purposes. Her gentle teasing and Aussie accent broke more than a few jaded Lower East Side hearts, I'm sure.

My personal favorite moment of crowd interplay (because it involved me) came when Ms. Hodgson's mockery took aim at Joly, Punkcast's lovable hippie. Now, folks who've read this site for a while might know that Joly's been haunting me for quite a while. He's been filming at 90% of the shows I've been to all summer long, and is now one for one going into the fall. It's gotten to the point that I sometimes expect him to be at my apartment listening to my stereo when I get home from work. So it was particularly amusing to me when, after his camera died out for some reason and he was putting it away, Patience took it upon herself to find him a love match. After asking him "Man or Woman" to no response but a blush, she polled around before asking our lovely photographer (and my girlfriend, for transparency) Ms. Banks if she was available. She said no, thankfully, so it was suggested that he come home with the both of us. "That'll work out perfect then," she said. It was the culmination of the summer of Joly, and luckily the moment was perfectly preserved for the ages. We're the subject of the two fingers pointing.

Enough about us, and back to the music, which was strong all night. Simple chords, steady drumming, ADD switch ups occasionally. Not re-inventing the wheel, but always lifted above average by the performance. The punky "19-20-20" saw 1920's jazz hands in effect. Other times it was as if Patience had a "jazz body" her limbs shimmy-ing wildly from their base. When it came to a ballad, "Rock Boys", which wouldn't allow for such a high energy display a more novel approach was taken. PH ventured out into the crowd, herded a huge swath into the middle of the room and put on a rhythmic gymnastics exhibition, twirling a long pink ribbon on the end of a pole while belting out the "Maps"-ish slow burner. If you're having trouble picturing that, fear not, we got some video. The usual disclaimers about less than ideal sound quality apply.

the Grates - "Rock Boys"

Visually, and emotionally, it was probably the high point of what had already been an particularly engaging show. Patience rocked out some more, made us laugh some more, and they called it a night. Again, I probably won't be killing myself to track down their album any time soon, but I certainly wouldn't begrudge those who might. I do, however, strongly recommend catching the band if they pogo through your town. You might be the brunt of some pointed stage banter, but you'll be a better person for it.

More coverage by fellow attendees at:
- Soft Communication
- the Music Snobbery

A few more pics beneath the fold...

Tags: the Grates, Piano's, concert reviews

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 11:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 15, 2006

Austin City Limits (S)mashup

For the record, I am not a fan of mashups. Combining two (or more) perfectly good songs together can sound way too busy and usually the results are awful. But like everything, there are exceptions. When I was in living in LA I used to isten to fantabulous Indie 103.1. Possibily the last good non-public radio station in the country (another exception to the rule). Every Friday they have a drivetime feature called "Mashup of the Day" produced by DJ Paul V. Today's version is made up of artists performing the Austin City Limits festie now underway. (via Stereogum)

The Smash Mix - Austin City Limits Edition
(Tracklist after the jump.)

For all things ACL, GorillavsBear is liveblogging from his hometown festival.

//Austin City Liimits - Festival site
//Indie 103.1 - Listen Live
//DJ Paul V - site

Tags: Austin City Limits, Indie 103.1, DJ Paul V

Tracklist
* Flaming Lips vs. Massive Attack - Unfinished YeahYeahpathy
__(DJ Paul V. mashup)
* Deadboy & The Elephantmen - Stop, I’m Already Dead
* Muse - Starlight
* The Dears - Hate Then Love
* Gnarls Barkley vs. The Raconteurs - Crazy As She Goes
__(The Legion Of Doom mashup)
* Nada Surf - Always Love
* The Stills - Still In Love Song
* Brazilian Girls - Jique’
* Wolf Parade - Shine A Light
* Secret Machines - Lightning Blue Eyes
* The Shins - Kissing The Lipless
* Kings Of Leon - The Bucket
* Gomez - Silence
* Nickel Creek - Toxic (live)
* The New Pornographers -The Electric Version
* Ween - Push Th’ Little Daisies
* TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me

Posted by Merry Swankster at 06:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday Video Jukebox - Lampoon Edition

This type of not-immediately-obvious-to-all satire reminds me of that other cringe worthy artist with a film coming out soon.

Richard Pryor - Black Death

(Link via Mo!)

[So yeah, not much of a jukebox selection. -Ed]

Tags: Richard Pryor

Posted by Merry Swankster at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 14, 2006

Idolator: a quick review

I've given Gawker's new music blog a quick kicking of tires and write up (don't call it a snarkback)

It can be found on my newly-relaunched, wonderful UbiquitousMarketing.com blog. Mmmmm, it's marketing-tastic.

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 04:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Clarification

I touched on the new Xiu Xiu album yesterday, and although Pitchfork disagrees with me, I will stand firm with my reservations. This awesome video is not one of them, however.

Xiu Xiu - "Boy Soprano"

How bad do you want to play this game? "Oh no, Jamie's health bar is fading. Quick, pick up a Smiths album!"

Tags: Xiu Xiu, Nintendo, music videos

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 04:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Rotten Device? I'll Buy it Twice...

This morning, the hearts of many a (not all that) young lad and lass were delighted by Pitchfork's dropping of the tracklist for the commemerative edition of Pavement's 1995 opus Wowee Zowee. 50 tracks over two discs!! Shit!!!

The folks over at Matador have been basically gradually releasing a Pavement box set over the past four years which is both awesome, affordable, and in fitting with the band's faux slacker image. Eh, we'll get the next part of it to you in a few years...

Pavement - "Painted Soldiers"

Included in the rarities plunder (along with "Give it a Day", one of my fave Pavement songs) is this track, originally from the soundtrack of the not classic in any sense Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy. The flat out funniest of the band's videos features megolomaniacal guitarist Spiral Stairs firing the entire band and replacing them with Veruca Salt. A scenario that I'm sure the Volcano Girls sometimes still daydream about.

The 90's nostalgia continues when this treasure hits stores on November 9th. Full mammoth tracklist after the jump...

Tags: Pavement, Matador Records, Veruca Salt

Disc One:

01 We Dance
02 Rattled by the Rush
03 Black Out
04 Brinx Job
05 Grounded
06 Serpentine Pad
07 Motion Suggests Itself
08 Father to a Sister Of Thought
09 Extradition
10 Best Friend's Arm
11 Grave Architecture
12 AT & T
13 Flux = Rad
14 Fight This Generation
15 Kennel District
16 Pueblo
17 Half a Canyon
18 Western Homes
19 Sordid [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]
20 Brink of the Clouds [Rattled by the Rush b-side]
21 False Skorpion [Rattled by the Rush b-side]
22 Easily Fooled [Rattled by the Rush b-side]
23 Kris Kraft [Father to a Sister of Thought b-side]
24 Mussle Rock [Father to a Sister of Thought b-side]
25 Give It a Day [Pacific Trim EP
26 Gangsters & Pranksters [Pacific Trim EP
27 Saganaw [Pacific Trim EP
28 I Love Perth [Pacific Trim EP
29 Sentinel [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]

Disc Two:

01 Sensitive Euro Man [I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack]
02 Stray Fire [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]
03 Fight This Generation [recorded March 3, 1994 at Hilversum, Holland]
04 Easily Fooled [recorded March 3, 1994 at Hilversum, Holland]
05 Soul Food [Wowee Zowee jam session w/Doug Easley on piano]
06 It's a Hectic World [from Homage to Descendents tribute album]
07 Kris Kraft [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
08 Golden Boys/Serpentine Pad [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
09 Painted Soldiers [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
10 I Love Perth [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
11 Dancing With the Elders [from Medusa Cyclone/Pavement split 7"]
12 Half a Canyon [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
13 Best Friend's Arm [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
14 Brink of the Clouds/Candylad [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
15 Unfair [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
16 Eaily Fooled [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
17 Heaven Is a Truck [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
18 Box Elder [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
19 No More Kings [from Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks comp]
20 Painted Soldiers [from Kids in the Hall in Brain Candy soundtrack]
21 We Dance (alternate mix) [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 11:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby

Former pop princess Whitney Houston has filed for divorce from her troubled husband Bobby Brown. No, MS.com isn't turning to the dark side of gossip reporting. I've been waiting for a reason to post this now exceptionally relevant Islands song forever. What better reason than a story not about crack AND involving it's two main protagonists? Crack is whack kids, mmmkay?

Islands - Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby

She either came to her senses or Clive Davis wants a Whitney that doesn't look like a two-dollar hooker promoting her new album. She was recently seen out in Beverly Hills and looked refreshingly healthy. For the record MS.com does not promote heavy drugs or falls from grace. Good luck to Ms. Houston and her soon to be heavily publicized comeback.

Previously: I am a rock, They are the Islands, Islands – Live @ the Knitting Factory, New York City. 12.6.2005

Tags: Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown, Islands

Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 13, 2006

Retrohump: The hunger

Nasty Nas: one of rap's most promising superstars (and, ultimately, most disappointing) to rise out of Queens. His landmark and epic (in scope) Illmatic showed truly how an MC could be a street poet. Unfortunately, he spent the later part of his years trying to out-thug, out-boast, and out-guest-producer-invite Jay-Z; doing so, he fell victim to conflated hubris and poor choices. But before all that, there was Illmatic, a 1994 masterpiece.

It Ain't Hard to Tell

Riding a sax freak-out and the rhythm from Michael Jackson's Human Nature gives backdrop to one of rap's greatest songs dropped.

New York State of Mind

This song seemingly lasts longer and stays bolder and strong than the city it canonizes. If you ever wanted an audio map of the grit of the city, here it is.

Bonus: Illmatic promotional video

Tags: Nas, Illmatic, Retrohump

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 11:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Works in Progress, vol. 3

The new Xiu Xiu album, the Air Force, was released to stores yesterday. The nature of the internet in general (and music blogs specifically) being as it is, I posted something about it way back in June. At the time I was digging a few tracks and hopeful that the rest of it would make sense to me in time. Three months later, and I've given up. Not only given up on the album, which has to be considered a bit of a disappointment, but on the idea that Jamie Stewart's vision will ever really resemble anything close to what I (and many others) want from his music. His excesses probably won't be reigned in anytime soon, and the abrasive / objectionable to lovely / catchy ratio will never be as close to 1:1 as might have seemed possible only a few years ago. In fairness, since the man obviously has alot of creative freedom, he's probably doing exactly what he wants and certainly has no obligation to shape his career towards anyone else's preferences. That said, I'll probably continue to prefer getting worked up about some of his group's earlier material.

Ten in the Swear Jar - "Sad Girl"

Xiu Xiu - "Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl"

The first version of one of Jamie's very best songs was recorded with his old time-y band, Ten in the Swear Jar, and was released in 1999 on the My Very Private Map EP (and later included in last year's Accordian Solo compilation). As performed by Swear Jar, "Sad Girl" is fast, confrontational, and dense. The prevailing mood of the titular lady is more angry than sad, shrieking for a bigger slice of affection from an adulterous family man. When the song was revisited on Xiu Xiu's 2003 album A Promise our "girl", now modified by a childish pony and made a dangerous guerilla, it was almost a completely different and more deeply affecting song than its stomping counterpart. The initial chimes are replaced by a pretty acoustic strum, the rumbling horn part given to a louder, more alien guitar. The tempo is cut probably by a third, and the track is full of brooding potential energy in comparison to its kinetic forebear. With the arrangement less busy and the tempo more deliberate, Jamie's lyrics have more of the unsettling impact for which they were designed. "Say I'm loca because I'm your girl/ say I'm estupida because I'm your girl" he pleads, at the song's start. Stewart's impassioned delivery (some would say over the top, but I'd argue that for the song's specific emotion he's hovering right at the top) and bizarre personal reputation makes the song hard to take as simple gender reversal. The idea that our protagonist is more likely a man who merely identifies as female persists without overt lyrical clues, raising the stakes for this secret love considerably.

The memorable chorus comes next but only after an eruption of percussive synths with a remarkably unusual tone. The intrusion into the tense, quiet proceedings makes the listener shell shocked (like Dirk Diggler trying to keep cool in a room with fireworks exploding at random). Nerves frayed, the lines "I like my neighborhood/ I like my gun/ Driving my little car/ I am your girl and I will protect you" come across like a threat of violence. The forceful delivery in the Swear Jar version makes it sound more like a Women's NRA mantra than a desperate delusion. Here, in the reworking, the gravity of the situation sinks in. Jamie Stewart, lipstick smeared, eyes puffy, is driving to your house with a gun because he LOVES you. Fuck!

At the 2:05 mark, following the increasingly unhinged declaration, "Go home/ Go home to your kids/ I'm NOT going to be quiet/ I'm gonna tell the whole block", the guitar base departs and the song takes a diversion into mumbles, squealing, and a pronounced slapping sound. This turn is a much riskier choice than the deliberate instrumental bridge of "Sad Girl". Initially I viewed this portion as weird for weirdness sake, and I'm sure that's why it's going to lose skeptics that have made it this far. Now, after years of listening, I think it's vitally important. The singer is muffled but vocal sounds escape, as if sneaking between the fingers of a hand. The instrumentation refuses to be as acceptably pretty as it has been, with only strings scraping for escape. The slapping makes it almost unbearable. The hint of violence that has been the most important facet of the song thus far is brought to the fore but turned against our narrator, informing the prevailing unstable mental state. After about twenty seconds of this, when you feel like you're going to have to skip the rest because it's just too much, the reassuringly beautiful guitar strum returns. A sweet breath of air for a blocked mouth.

Defiant, a captive who's just slipped his bonds, Jamie gives us the chorus again. "I like my neighborhood" (it would seem that the neighborhood must be in the love object's community). "I like my gun" (and am well versed in its use). "Driving my little car" (with forward motion towards a destination). "I am YOUR girl..." (no matter what you say), "...and I will protect you".

You do not want to know what he means by "protect".

Works in Progress is an ongoing series of posts focusing on songs in their various states of development. Early installments can now be viewed by clicking on its category sidebar on the right side of the main page.

Tags: Ten in the Swear Jar, Xiu Xiu, Works in Progress

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 12, 2006

Tonight

Our fine friends at Beg Yr Pardon invite you to cum out and feel the noize, with tonight's volume fest. Ears will not be coddled by the bruisers on the bill for the eighth installment, sample mp3's for all can be found over at the gang's website. Free baked goods to lull your twee cardigan wearing pals into a false sense of security before the onslaught begins. Free beer once they've ripped said sweater to shreds durting Hulk-esque energy boost and need to take the edge off. BBQ if you're hungry.

Tags: Beg Yr Pardon, Sonar, Bosola, Paranoid Critical Revolution, Stay Fucked, the Delancey, Free Beer

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 08:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 11, 2006

Merry Swankster hearts New York City

Image taken on March 11, 2002 from Brooklyn, NY.

Tags: September 11

Posted by Merry Swankster at