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June 05, 2007
Something New, Something Old
June has arrived, bringing longer days of warm weather and unofficially kicking off wedding season. Either through raunchy Judd Apatow romantic comedies, or in real life ceremonies where everyone ends up blasted on the dance floor; disheveled shirts un-tucked and ties spinning over heads, while singing along to the same songs we did when sweet sixteen’s constituted the majority of monkey-suit wearing events. I find it refreshing that after all these years you can still count on Young MC in a pinch.
Due to a recent dearth of MS Picks I needed something to bridge the gap between 2007’s older hits with some of the fresher sounds of late. June’s hosting tradition for ritual hitching allowed for a marriage (sorry) of convenience for my title. Because no matter how sporadic some of us M.S. writers may be, we're always wed to the music. Ugh...how about a few tastes of '07 vintage to go with that cheese?
The National - "Mistaken for Strangers"
Turns out the best new Interpol song is not "Henrich Maneuver" or even by Interpol at all. On "Mistaken for Strangers," the National’s dourly drenched ode about the gradual loss of one man’s soul, the band sounds completely subscribed to the same themes invoked by the current chiefs of modern goth.
A brassy, church bell-y high end dominates and starts things off before the steady jarring rhythm takes over, creating a comfortable nest of plugged holes for Matt Berninger – the perfect sanctuary it seems for the fatty richness of his commanding voice.
The subject of the song is presented as empty-hearted and lost in his unquestioned, unflinching, "uninnocent," and "unmagnified" life. One that replaces joy and spontaneity for a rationalized existence of lame justification: "Make up something to believe in your hearts of hearts." Continued with, "You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends," sung by Berninger as he applies a stabbing motion to the cadence of his vocals for a rare variance on the otherwise monotonous style of this song.
//The National - site
//The National - Boxer - buy
Sounding like a ride on an old rusty locomotive noisily crawling along creaky train tracks, pulling through a polluted dystopia of shrieking sketchiness, Ladyhawk takes a job as message courier from a darkness marred nightmare on this standout track from the vinyl only "Fight for Anarchy" EP. Blood-curdling screams towards the end of the song do little to dispel such thinking. Duffy Driedigers repeated pleas of "If you run will you take me with you?" don’t help either. Vivid, and not very pretty, imagery of a shattered life’s bloody wreckage mustering enough energy to beg for a ride out of town (hell) gets more terrifying the more you listen.
//Ladyhawk - site
//Ladyhawk - Fight for Anarchy - buy
If Rhythm Nation was in search for new digs this year it needs to look no further past Bjorks's Volta for a spot on the couch. Paired here with a selection produced by Timbaland – evidenced by his signature of tweaking electro-yelps, big thick bass drops and videogame inspired grunts, presumably from Timbo beats pouncing on someone's face.
//Bjork - site
//Bjork - Volta - buy
Besnard Lakes - "Because Tonight "
This is the most gorgeous showcase of Besnard Lakes' talent with string composition. Cool on the otherwise prevalent bombast of their excellent, somewhat self-titled album, Besnard Lakes is the Dark Horse. Musically soft and delicate until close listening shatters this apparent loveliness, revealing a voice singing with awareness about the impending suicide of a lover. Heavy. Sharp strokes of early violins seem designed to warn, but not until the lush meander of the bridge around the halfway point does the impending tragedy fully snap into view. Drama rises ever higher as the rolling toms thunder, acting like underwriters to the gloom.
//The Besnard Lakes - site
//The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse - buy
Posted by Merry Swankster at June 5, 2007 03:16 PM
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Comments
Nice back-to-back posts with obscure pictures that punningly relate to the content!
Posted by: Randall Monty at June 6, 2007 11:14 AM
We do that all the time, because we're you know, total hacks. I was a hack first however, and pictures of Carey Mercer are intense...
Posted by: Jeff K at June 6, 2007 12:10 PM
Yes its true....
Jeff was a hack first.
Posted by: Sebastian at June 6, 2007 05:58 PM
