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November 13, 2006

Post-Theme Post

This is a list of stuff I've been listening to, and while I suppose you could indentify a few common threads, the bottom line is mainly that they are all Jeff-ceptable. To make up for a lack of introspection into the specific quality that ties them all together in my admiration, I offer a whole bunch. All armchair psychoanalyis from the peanut gallery will be carefully considered...

Pavement - "Type Slowly" (Live at the Tibetan Freedom Concert)

Matador Records is not letting us move on with our lives. This box set installment plan they've got going means that we'll be inundated with b-sides, live material, and alternate versions for years to come. Being a tragically hip, ahead of the curve music blog and all, we give you a cut that'll probably make it to the Brighten the Corners re-issue. What all these varying versions of songs soldify is just how malleable Pavement's compositions were. This live airing of "Type Slowly" completely destroys its recorded counterpart, and was the only real reason to pick up that Tibetan Freedom Concert double disc back in the day (so are things in Tibet cool now, Beastie Boys? Where'd you go?). The crunchy raison d'etre of that show must have brought the boys' inner hippies to the fore, as this is about as jam-tastic as they ever got. But sick, "Marquee Moon" style jamming, not like Widespread Panic or something. The interplay between Malkmus and Spiral Stairs is inspired, and the airplane falling from the sky heaviness that develops is a remarkable. Then, the way they just sort of casually slip back into the song after melting faces, pretty much sums up the continuing appeal of the group. Bad ass, but not all up in your grill about it.

//Pavement - Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition Buy

...and You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - "Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory"

After Source Tags & Codes' infamous Pitchfork 10.0, the knives would have been out for ...Trail of Dead even if Worlds Apart wasn't a prog nightmare. This faithful Guided by Voices cover seems a bit like returning to the indie world, hat in hand, begging for forgiveness. That doesn't mean it isn't good. Robert Pollard's bleeding heart melody is amped up with strings and crystal production. You'd think the hi-fi makeover might dull the original's hissing charm (and it does, slightly), but the songwriting was just really strong to begin with.

//...and You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided Buy

Frog Eyes - "Our Lordship Has Devised a New Billing System"

This one popped up on shuffle while I was distractedly shuffling around Midtown Manhattan myself, and I was suddenly in love with it when I had never given it much extended thought before. This is the entire point of shuffle. This song is gorgeous, which is not an adjective most folks would attribute to Carey Mercer's work. The distant piano waterfalls dribbling in the background, accentuate what is actually a restrained and melancholy reading of moving lyrics lamenting the futile resistance to the passing of time. As CM tends towards the grandiose, he's actually railing against "the Emporer of Time", but that guy's obviously the one making all the key time-passage decisions.

//Frog Eyes - the Bloody Hand Buy

Deerhoof - "+81"

Songs from the forthcoming Friend Opportunity have begun to trickle out, and so far so good. The art rock veterans are still playing in the sand box of relative accessibility that produced the Runner's Four. Never fear, the "chorus" is just Satomi saying "choo choo choo choo", so it's not headed for TRL or anything. Despite the token weirdness, It's so bright and joyful that it never feels wanky or willfully obtuse, which makes all the difference.

//Deerhoof - the Runner's Four Buy

These New Puritans - "Chamber"

In these days of democratic distribution of home production techniques, I like how willfully cheap this sounds. The synth sound is brutal, the guitars tinny, and the vocal effect is something akin to "Post Punk echo version 1.2". These Brit teens have good instincts for song construction, however, and a knack for bringing all their suspect elements together triumphantly at just the right time.

//These New Puritans - Now Pluvial EP Investigate

the Blow - "True Affection"

While this may have also been produced on the cheap, it sounds like a million bucks. Man, that keyboard tone just makes you have to sit down. It's so warm and smooth and rich. Do other people lose their ability to function in the presence of a really nice keyboard tone, or am I minorly autistic at this point?

//the Blow - Paper Television Buy

the Knife - "Heartbeats" (Planningtorock remix)

Hey, sick of "Heartbeats" yet? Me neither. I do wish I could hear it again for the first time though, and this remix sort of makes that happen. This creeping, string laden remix almost equals the dropped jaw awe of the retro-futurist original version. Which I would have deemed all but unthinkable before I heard this. Sooooo good.

//the Knife - Deep Cuts Buy

FIN.

Posted by Jeff Klingman at November 13, 2006 11:50 AM

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Posted by: laurie at November 13, 2006 08:18 PM

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