Quarterly Report: First Quarter of 2009 Podcast

Album of the Quarter : Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Runners up: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Antony & the Johnsons - The Crying Light, Dark Was the Night compilation
Two weeks late, yes, but the first quarter podcast is delivered. At this point, with a sneak peek into what's in store for quarter two and beyond, it seems fairly uncontroversial to go ahead and call 2009 a better year for records than 2008. There's just too much inspired work on the racks and in the pipeline, to deny it. Here, a CD-R length sampler of the evidence we've amassed so far. The uptick in high-profile releases has cut down on the ratio of 7" tracks that were common in 08s reports, but there's still a healthy handful represented. I/We hope you enjoy...
* A note: I fully intended to include Lotus Plaza's "Quicksand" in this tracklist, and I somehow plum forgot. Sorry, Lockett. Those who are interested in hearing the objectively good song, which would have provided me with an even number, and a more pleasing rectangular symmetry to the above cover montage, can do so here.
"Merry Swankster First Quarter Podcast 2009"
Tracklisting :
01: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Young Adult Friction" (from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart)
I've seen POPBAH play quite a few times at this point, (a number padded by me booking them for multiple shows in 08-09), and this track has been the highlight of every set I've caught. They are exceptionally good at brainy, week-kneed twee, but this is easily their most convincingly transcendent rock-out moment. It's the continues blurring of the lines between the two that will serve them best in the end. For now, a well-earned victory lap for a few years of hard work, suddenly, wildly paying off.
02: Golden Triangle - "Night Brigade" (from Golden Triangle 12")
These Brooklyn scuzz bombs seem to have a pretty limited skill set at this point, but the post-punk genre has never demanded airtight chops. You just have to rumble and coo in a relatively convincing fashion. And remember: When in doubt, gang shout!
03: The Joy Formidable - "Cradle" (from A Balloon Called Moaning)
Is there enough nostalgia for 90s alt-rock radio present to give these Brits a healthy stateside following? Beats me. On the list of things to be nostalgic about, crunchy guitars and strong, self-possessed female vocals are a bit more substantial than slap bracelets, anyway.
04: Dum Dum Girls - "Baby Don't Go" (Sonny & Cher cover, which I believe was circulated directly to the Internet...)
A haunted house version of an ancient Sonny & Cher standard could easily be too cute by half, but this is all lovely, need to shake my life up resignation. That the whole lyric sheet is sung in the same milkshake-with-bourbon-and-a-quaalude voice makes it awfully conflicted though. Who's begging her to stay? Who's she defending her choice to leave to? It's like a narcissist deciding she's too good for herself.
05: Woods - "The Dark" (b-side to "Sunlit" 7")
I don't know if it's the muppet voices or the nondescript name that's caused Woods to lag behind their Brooklyn DIY peers in terms of attention and acclaim, but the hype ship seems to be righting as I type. It's hard to reckon that this is a natural singing voice, but I do like picturing Fraggles at a folkie open mic night in a coffee shop somewhere. I'm thinking that one with the scarf, specifically.
06: Dirty Projectors & David Byrne - "Knotty Pine" (from Dark Was the Night compilation)
The harbinger for Dirty Projectors' 09 sustained charm offensive. The spindly guitars and pulsing bass line could plausibly be sourced to the head Head, though. Sometimes things make as much sense in the real world as they do on paper.
07: Swan Lake - "Paper Lace" (from Enemy Mine)
Spencer Krug's only real star turn on the latest Swan Lake record is pretty modest by his occasionally bat-shit standards. But it's sweet and pretty and founded on long-standing, traditional values. The nobility of home-ownership is suddenly a big indie rock preoccupation, it seems. Why is that? The standards for luxury eroding quickly in lean times?
08: Neko Case - "People Got a Lotta Nerve" (from Middle Cyclone)
Neko's belting sounds so nicely rounded here, which explains why a string of suitors might be willing to venture past the yard sign that says "Man man man man man eater." The best, and certainly the most graphically violent, killer whale metaphor in recent memory, also.
09: The National - "So Far Around the Bend" (from Dark Was the Night compilation)
There are plenty of standout tracks on the sprawling Dark Was the Night compilation, but it seems at least a little rude not to give its second allotted podcast slot to the gents who put the whole thing together, no? Beyond credit where credit's due, twilight bar-piano odes to reclusive girls who smoke dope out of apples and sit around in exile pining for a Pavement reunion are my type indeed.
10: The Mayfair Set - "Desert Sun" (b-side, "Already Warm" 7")
Dum Dum Girls' "Dee Dee" makes her second appearance on the pod, by opening the curtains on Blank Dogs' musty basement and dragging him to the beach. Or, you know, the middle of the desert. Snow cones and bodysurfing might have been too much to reasonably expect. Gila monsters and cow skulls can be sort of romantic too, I suppose.
11: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Hysteric" (from It's Blitz!)
If I was king of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, this would have been their second SNL number for sure. Karen O has much less to work with lyrically here than she did on "Maps," but she wrings even more emotion out of some pretty forgettable lines. It's one of the year's more impressive performances so far.
12: Animal Collective - "Summertime Clothes" (from Merriweather Post Pavillion)
One more disorienting element in an overly discussed record full of them: Isn't it kind of perverse to put perhaps the definitive song about New York City summer humidity out on a mid-January record?
13: Jeremy Jay - "Gallop" (from Slow Dance)
It's a saunter at most, and the giddyup horseplay lyrics are seriously silly. Neither gripe takes away from some sly and satisfying mid-tempo guitar work in the end.
14: Wavves - "No Hope Kids" (from Wavvves)
I struggled mightily over whether I should include this. I think the praise for the triple-v'ed LP is wishful thinking based on thin evidence, and that quality control is not nearly a big enough consideration on the whole. But, then again, liberating gems from bad albums is at least partly the point here. So, we get one more, "teen suburbia is boring and dreadful, so I'll be saved rock n' roll" moment. There can only be a few drops of juice left in that old-standard rock formula at this point, but shit, I have to admit that in this single-serving, it still sort of works.
15: Handsome Furs - "I'm Confused" (from Face Control)
Bored and horny doesn't necessarily = confused, Dan. Sounds like our man knows what he's after...
16: These Are Powers - "Double Double Yolk" (from All Aboard Future)
It seems very strange to me that Pat Noecker couldn't reconcile his creative vision with the rest of Liars. I mean, rhythmic oddity, designed to unsettle more than entice, but providing footholds for non-sadists to enjoy. You guys were on the same page!
17: Fever Ray - "Now's the Only Time I Know" (from Fever Ray)
In which Karin Dreijer is revealed to be the primary creative force of the Knife. Seriously, what a record. It's hard to extract exact meaning from the gorgeous, lonely "Now's the Only Time I Know," but while listening closely and reading along to the lyric sheet, it sounds like a 21st-century "Eleanor Rigby" sans the slightly condescending omniscient narrator.
18: Bat For Lashes - "Daniel" (single)
I'm close to a personal saturation point for vaguely electronic songs with Kate Bush-inspired vocals, but the sub-genre has such a siren song quality, that I doubt we've even nearly hit bottom. Pop culture has worse problems, of course.
19: Antony & the Johnsons - "Epilepsy is Dancing" (from The Crying Light)
I wouldn't have predicted that 10 percent less vocal hystrionics on an Antony record would make me like it about 75 percent more. There are too many lovely phrases here to recount, but the grace in the song's central seizures=dancing metaphor, is surprising, weird, and beautiful all at once.

Album of the Quarter : Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Runners up: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Antony & the Johnsons - The Crying Light, Dark Was the Night compilation
Two weeks late, yes, but the first quarter podcast is delivered. At this point, with a sneak peek into what's in store for quarter two and beyond, it seems fairly uncontroversial to go ahead and call 2009 a better year for records than 2008. There's just too much inspired work on the racks and in the pipeline, to deny it. Here, a CD-R length sampler of the evidence we've amassed so far. The uptick in high-profile releases has cut down on the ratio of 7" tracks that were common in 08s reports, but there's still a healthy handful represented. I/We hope you enjoy...
* A note: I fully intended to include Lotus Plaza's "Quicksand" in this tracklist, and I somehow plum forgot. Sorry, Lockett. Those who are interested in hearing the objectively good song, which would have provided me with an even number, and a more pleasing rectangular symmetry to the above cover montage, can do so here.
"Merry Swankster First Quarter Podcast 2009"
Tracklisting :
01: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Young Adult Friction" (from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart)
I've seen POPBAH play quite a few times at this point, (a number padded by me booking them for multiple shows in 08-09), and this track has been the highlight of every set I've caught. They are exceptionally good at brainy, week-kneed twee, but this is easily their most convincingly transcendent rock-out moment. It's the continues blurring of the lines between the two that will serve them best in the end. For now, a well-earned victory lap for a few years of hard work, suddenly, wildly paying off.
02: Golden Triangle - "Night Brigade" (from Golden Triangle 12")
These Brooklyn scuzz bombs seem to have a pretty limited skill set at this point, but the post-punk genre has never demanded airtight chops. You just have to rumble and coo in a relatively convincing fashion. And remember: When in doubt, gang shout!
03: The Joy Formidable - "Cradle" (from A Balloon Called Moaning)
Is there enough nostalgia for 90s alt-rock radio present to give these Brits a healthy stateside following? Beats me. On the list of things to be nostalgic about, crunchy guitars and strong, self-possessed female vocals are a bit more substantial than slap bracelets, anyway.
04: Dum Dum Girls - "Baby Don't Go" (Sonny & Cher cover, which I believe was circulated directly to the Internet...)
A haunted house version of an ancient Sonny & Cher standard could easily be too cute by half, but this is all lovely, need to shake my life up resignation. That the whole lyric sheet is sung in the same milkshake-with-bourbon-and-a-quaalude voice makes it awfully conflicted though. Who's begging her to stay? Who's she defending her choice to leave to? It's like a narcissist deciding she's too good for herself.
05: Woods - "The Dark" (b-side to "Sunlit" 7")
I don't know if it's the muppet voices or the nondescript name that's caused Woods to lag behind their Brooklyn DIY peers in terms of attention and acclaim, but the hype ship seems to be righting as I type. It's hard to reckon that this is a natural singing voice, but I do like picturing Fraggles at a folkie open mic night in a coffee shop somewhere. I'm thinking that one with the scarf, specifically.
06: Dirty Projectors & David Byrne - "Knotty Pine" (from Dark Was the Night compilation)
The harbinger for Dirty Projectors' 09 sustained charm offensive. The spindly guitars and pulsing bass line could plausibly be sourced to the head Head, though. Sometimes things make as much sense in the real world as they do on paper.
07: Swan Lake - "Paper Lace" (from Enemy Mine)
Spencer Krug's only real star turn on the latest Swan Lake record is pretty modest by his occasionally bat-shit standards. But it's sweet and pretty and founded on long-standing, traditional values. The nobility of home-ownership is suddenly a big indie rock preoccupation, it seems. Why is that? The standards for luxury eroding quickly in lean times?
08: Neko Case - "People Got a Lotta Nerve" (from Middle Cyclone)
Neko's belting sounds so nicely rounded here, which explains why a string of suitors might be willing to venture past the yard sign that says "Man man man man man eater." The best, and certainly the most graphically violent, killer whale metaphor in recent memory, also.
09: The National - "So Far Around the Bend" (from Dark Was the Night compilation)
There are plenty of standout tracks on the sprawling Dark Was the Night compilation, but it seems at least a little rude not to give its second allotted podcast slot to the gents who put the whole thing together, no? Beyond credit where credit's due, twilight bar-piano odes to reclusive girls who smoke dope out of apples and sit around in exile pining for a Pavement reunion are my type indeed.
10: The Mayfair Set - "Desert Sun" (b-side, "Already Warm" 7")
Dum Dum Girls' "Dee Dee" makes her second appearance on the pod, by opening the curtains on Blank Dogs' musty basement and dragging him to the beach. Or, you know, the middle of the desert. Snow cones and bodysurfing might have been too much to reasonably expect. Gila monsters and cow skulls can be sort of romantic too, I suppose.
11: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Hysteric" (from It's Blitz!)
If I was king of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, this would have been their second SNL number for sure. Karen O has much less to work with lyrically here than she did on "Maps," but she wrings even more emotion out of some pretty forgettable lines. It's one of the year's more impressive performances so far.
12: Animal Collective - "Summertime Clothes" (from Merriweather Post Pavillion)
One more disorienting element in an overly discussed record full of them: Isn't it kind of perverse to put perhaps the definitive song about New York City summer humidity out on a mid-January record?
13: Jeremy Jay - "Gallop" (from Slow Dance)
It's a saunter at most, and the giddyup horseplay lyrics are seriously silly. Neither gripe takes away from some sly and satisfying mid-tempo guitar work in the end.
14: Wavves - "No Hope Kids" (from Wavvves)
I struggled mightily over whether I should include this. I think the praise for the triple-v'ed LP is wishful thinking based on thin evidence, and that quality control is not nearly a big enough consideration on the whole. But, then again, liberating gems from bad albums is at least partly the point here. So, we get one more, "teen suburbia is boring and dreadful, so I'll be saved rock n' roll" moment. There can only be a few drops of juice left in that old-standard rock formula at this point, but shit, I have to admit that in this single-serving, it still sort of works.
15: Handsome Furs - "I'm Confused" (from Face Control)
Bored and horny doesn't necessarily = confused, Dan. Sounds like our man knows what he's after...
16: These Are Powers - "Double Double Yolk" (from All Aboard Future)
It seems very strange to me that Pat Noecker couldn't reconcile his creative vision with the rest of Liars. I mean, rhythmic oddity, designed to unsettle more than entice, but providing footholds for non-sadists to enjoy. You guys were on the same page!
17: Fever Ray - "Now's the Only Time I Know" (from Fever Ray)
In which Karin Dreijer is revealed to be the primary creative force of the Knife. Seriously, what a record. It's hard to extract exact meaning from the gorgeous, lonely "Now's the Only Time I Know," but while listening closely and reading along to the lyric sheet, it sounds like a 21st-century "Eleanor Rigby" sans the slightly condescending omniscient narrator.
18: Bat For Lashes - "Daniel" (single)
I'm close to a personal saturation point for vaguely electronic songs with Kate Bush-inspired vocals, but the sub-genre has such a siren song quality, that I doubt we've even nearly hit bottom. Pop culture has worse problems, of course.
19: Antony & the Johnsons - "Epilepsy is Dancing" (from The Crying Light)
I wouldn't have predicted that 10 percent less vocal hystrionics on an Antony record would make me like it about 75 percent more. There are too many lovely phrases here to recount, but the grace in the song's central seizures=dancing metaphor, is surprising, weird, and beautiful all at once.













![pistolet[1].jpg](http://www.merryswankster.com/images/pistolet%5B1%5D.jpg)