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February 22, 2007
Whither "Sealings"?
Around this time last year, we were all excited about the prospect of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Show Your Bones, gobbling any leaked snippets that appeared and panting our way through live show reviews. The subsequent album, while gaining more of a mixed reception than a complete rebuke, felt lifeless in long stretches and (save a few songs) completely fell out of listening rotation within a few weeks. This is by no means the final word on the subject (It wormed its way into the other contributors' year ends, if I remember correctly). The point is that for me there's no longer a tangible excitement there. For the musically (way) over saturated and hyper fickle, this can be the kiss of death.
This sort of thing happens to me all the time, and perhaps the small army of blog readers can relate. Preferences seem to shift on a dime lately, and many things probably don't get the consideration that they rightfully deserve before they are tossed to the curb. I think Show Your Bones definitely got a fair shake though. In retrospect, it seems the main problem was that my expectations were screwed because I was promised something that was never really delivered.
Fittingly, my quest for continuing updates on the band resulted in me taunting myself. First taunting myself with the rumor that ex-Bloody Valentine associate Alan Moulder would be involved in the production, suggesting a sound that would be pretty, odd, and above all heavy. The replacement of Moulder with *cough* Spike Jonze's brother was a tough one to take. A second taunt was the disparity between my imagined tracklist and the actual selections. When this blog was still in its infancy, I offered a lengthy piece about YYY's just released DVD, Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow. Reading it now is a bit like looking at gawky year book pictures (marvel as I lament the inability to link video clips into a post in all my pre You Tube innocence) but the main thrust was that, yeah Show Your Bones is going to be great, because listen to all this great new material they've amassed. New material that, save "Cheated Hearts," was nowhere to be found once the record dropped...
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Sealings"
(from the Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow DVD)
In this inevitably 'Tubed clip, you can see and hear what I was so excited about. Nick Zinner does the heavy lifting, just destroying a monster riff, and then biding his time to do it again. Karen tries to keep up, and although she does get a few coos in, it's mostly tattered throat primal screaming. It moves, it swoops, it hits. Even though I've lost my loving feeling, I'm quick to accept that this still falls on the right side of quality, by a safe margin.
-I'm a little less convinced that the poses and costumes and faux aloofy (aloof + goofy = aloofy) stage banter won't continue to age rapidly. Luckily for us, the cycle of disdain and nostalgia shows no sign of abating either, so it should all come back into style in about six years-
But back to the point, what happened to this song? Why would an epic live staple be excised in favor of something like "Dudley," a half formed idea that lifts its melody from a well known children's song? Was the studio version so terrible? In the face of roughly 10, 000 records to be excited about since then, I forgot to even be curious. It occurred to me yesterday for who knows why, and I did a quick search only to find that the track had indeed been completed, discarded, and filtered meekly into the hype machine wilderness...
In review, I don't think they nailed this, but it's still a good song. The problem, as with the album, is that Zinner's guitar is placed far too far in the mix's background, subservient to the Karen O persona. That act still has some legs, but for me it was always better when the components were on more equal footing. Karen hopping giddily (or drunkly) around the tiger, too oblivious to realize that she was hopelessly overmatched. There was a drama in that dynamic more interesting than a backdrop for a charismatic front person. Her star turns work perfectly well when she shoots for tear jerker or glossy new wave, but we're looking for some balance. With the caveat that I wish Zinner was fully unleashed, this still stands as the best counterweight that they could have offered. Easily in the top five percentage of all possible inclusions, and a terminally boneheaded omission.
Sifting through Bones and its related outtakes and b-sides for stuff that I was still excited about listening to, I had a hard time filling out an alternate album tracklist that wouldn't have been ultimately disappointing. "Cheated Hearts" still sounds great, "Turn Into" is lovely, uhhh, I kind of like "Honeybear?" Sigh. So, I cobbled together a seven track mini playlist;
1. "Cheated Hearts"
2. "Down Boy" (another unloved castoff)
3. "Honeybear"
4. "Sealings"
5. "Gold Lion"
6. "Turn Into"
7. "Diamond Sea" (their non-radical, but pretty rad Sonic Youth cover)
I called this "the Better Bones EP" and called it a day (my schedule is very demanding).
I have no doubt that YYY's will have as long a career as they like, but unless the next album is alot weirder or alot catchier, the fan base demographics are going to shift dramatically. They're probably better off without us neurotics, wringing our hands over previous preoccupations..
// Yeah Yeah Yeahs - MySpace
// Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell buy
Posted by Jeff Klingman at February 22, 2007 02:10 PM
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Comments
For someone who applauded the YYY's at the "dreadful MTV Music Awards" and had nothing but awesomeness to report from a live show, it is surprising and contradictory to read today's post.
Karen O and crew were new to me at the time Show Your Bones was released and I liked it a lot. Enough to become a fan on the spot. Ironically it was a live show that made me that fan. I think Jeff Klingman hit it right that he's probably being over critical but that's just the life of a music blogger.
However, I also believe that if Jeff Klingman had been in a coma during the YYY's first release but was alive and well with perfect hearing for Show Your Bones, it would have been nothing but rave reviews.
So the trials and tribulations of music blogging continue. As the reader, I supposed I never will know what to trust if my supplier can "shift on a dime".
Loyal MS reader,
Kelli A. Douglas
The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all. -Mark Twain
Posted by: Kelli Douglas at February 23, 2007 01:18 AM
Our relationship to music changes, and yeah there are alot of subjective reasons for it. I mention here that I was most definitely a victim of my own expectations, and might have felt different about the album initially if I hadn't been flooded with music that was never included. But, I revisited it recently, completely divorced from any high expectations, and still found it lacking. I think their live dynamic wasn't captured well in this round of production (maybe they should get TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek back as producer?), a quick comparison between the YouTube clip and the "Sealings" mp3, will back that up, as much as I like the song. That would explain the ecstatic live review (that and good old over exuberance).
I'll give any material they put out a fair chance, but if I like it, then cool on it later, expect a similar accounting. Opinions shift, and it's better for "the blog trust covenant" if our posts reflect that, I think...
Posted by: Jeff at February 23, 2007 09:05 AM
"Sealings" will be on the Spiderman 3 soundtrack to be out May 1.
Posted by: Billy at March 29, 2007 11:03 PM
On July 23rd, the YYY's will be releasing a new EP of old songs...maybe Sealings will make it on this release....
Posted by: Kelli Douglas at June 13, 2007 02:47 PM
Nope, they shafted it again. Maybe the Spiderman thing had to be exclusive? Should be a good Ep, though...
Posted by: Jeff K at June 13, 2007 03:02 PM
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