Portland has more life in it yet. Why-haven’t-they-crossed-over-yet Menomena’s Brent Knopf has an album coming out one week from today. It’s called Intuit and represents the debut of his “solo” project, Ramona Falls.
Solo project, except that it hardly sounds like it’s from one dude. You might wonder whether it sounds light without fellow Menomena members Danny Seim and Justin Harris, but, while their essentialness to Menomena’s sound is not to be disputed, Knopf is plenty proficient helming this thing himself. It’s perhaps disappointing that it doesn’t sound more different from Menomena’s distinctive (but varied) sound, but it’s also hard to complain.
What has set Menomena apart has been being one of those rare bands that can craft songs that manage to be not only dense, well-orchestrated and unconventional in structure, but also immediately accessible (so much so that sometimes even Parisian toddlers can’t help but dance). The rhythm section here might not be as burly, but Knopf still has no problem pulling off this rare combination on his own.
In the end if you liked Knopf-heavy Menomena songs like the aforealluded “Wet and Rusting”, and I can’t think of any good reason why you wouldn’t, you should check this out immediately. Now’s when I should probably admit that I’ve only listened to the whole thing through once, but the fact that I liked it on first listen is kind of the point. Debate over Intuit’s merits as compared to those of Friend and Foe can come later; I’m just hitting repeat.
Disclaimer: These songs are up for listening purposes only for a short time. If you’re an artist or label who wants the song taken down, please write me.
San Francisco duo turned trio The Dodos’ third albumTime to Die (out digitally July 28 and physically September 15) is not a departure from the course set by their previous two,and this is mostly a good thing. The crew chooses to keep the guitar and drums largely acoustic, there’s still hardly any (noticeable) bass, and there may be even fewer effects on the vocals and guitars. Still, this is a logical if small step forward from an already great band.
You might wonder how much interesting music a band can make with basically just an acoustic guitar, vocals and some drums, but the songs are nearly always strong and their music is subtly diverse. Song structures are generally unpredictable and each of the two primary members incorporates blues, folk and african polyrhythms into his playing. Even with such limited instrumentation, if you really pay attention, by the time you get to the last strums of the title track you’ll still get that feeling that you went somewhere.
Besides, dudes can play. He may look like a boy, but when I say Meric Long’s a rhythm guitarist I mean Meric Long is a rhythm guitarist, (in this case finger style) and one of the finest in indie rock. Similarly, Logan Kroeber plays drums of all kinds with a pretty uncommon ferocity that you’re not likely to appreciate unless you’ve seen them live. As the band’s newest member Keaton Snyder is, well, just fine. His vibraphone makes a nice-enough ornament.
The dominant lyrical theme seems to be the corporatization of modern society, but, really, don’t focus on the lyrics. I think it was Jeff Tweedy who suggested that the best pop music comes when you write and sing what you feel not what you think (which is also why I think love songs tend to make the best songs, because they get at what our emotions are really obsessing over down there, but ANYWAYS), and certainly with some lyrics here, such as on “This is a Business”, “The Strums” and “Longform”, The Dodos once again fall into a trap of over-intellectualizing (remember “God?”).
Perhaps this is why the best and most accessible songs on here tend to be the ones in which the lyrics don’t seem to make any coherent sense at all: in particular, “Two Medicines” and “Fables.” Still, when the melodies are profound and nicely framed, the lyrics can feel profound too (ever notice how teens like to quote nonsense as long as it’s from a nice Coldplay song?), which is really much more important.
In the end the biggest improvement comes from veteran indie-pop producer Phil Ek (Built to Spill, The Shins, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes), who polishes and balances the mix nicely and adds a few more tracks on the vocal harmonies. I’m still curious to hear if it’d work for them to turn up the drums, but maybe that’s something that only works for them live.
We all know that even when it ain’t broke it’s more exciting to hear something new. That said, this ain’t broke.
Disclaimer: These songs are up for listening purposes only for a short time. If you’re an artist or label who wants the song taken down, please write me.
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”:
Taken by an Attack
Back to the wall since 1893,
My palms fastened against my oblong cheeks,
I watch you stare and question, ponder why.
You question: “hmm, now what’s all this about?
What does this mess of noise and color mean?
Perhaps he is insane, and screams at his
Reality that is distorted by
His own perception, which mirrors his form
In all its bends and swirls of darkened paint?
Or does he represent one’s naked, bald
Humanity, while others hide in shade
Of soothing hats, afraid of the bare truth?
Maybe the answer’s simple, not abstract:
It’s just he has agoraphobia
Or acrophobia and fears of fall-
Ing off the cliff, or fears the vast expanse?
Is it his pondering that drives him mad,
Or does there lurk a real danger, one off
The canvas, one that will tear him apart?”
You ask me whom I’m screaming at and what,
If anything, I’m saying. Well, here goes:
I scream at you, and what I scream is “Stop!”
Yeasayer was one of the most buzzed bands of 2007, and, as with all much-blogged bands these days, critics also wondered whether they’d just end up another footnote, flavor of the month. Well, they almost were in 2008. All Hours Cymbals had a great set of songs, but it wasn’t a great record. Mostly because the mix was muddy, so muddy that they didn’t win me until I saw their Take-Away-Show and became convinced that those tipsy, spoons-on-beers versions of the songs were the best they’d done.
Of course since then we’ve gotten “Tightrope” on the Dark Was the Night comp and an increasingly infectiouslive show that they’ve been touring up with their new lineup through their festival highlights at Bonnaroo and on Pitchfork on Saturday. At these shows they’ve played at least three songs from the album–”Ambling Alp”, “Lovely Girl” and another below–and these new songs’ve already been some of my favorites at each show. They seem to have further centralized the vocals around Chris Keating, brought up the beats and generally recognized that a little less could be a lot more.
So it looks like the next album could represent the realization of that huge potential, but how much do we really know about the release? Not so much. No title, no tracklisting, no release date.* They went to Woodstock to start recording way back in January, but the most we really know comes from an update on their Last.fm two weeks ago: “expect flash bangs in October followed up by a bigger explosion in January 2010.” So singles, leak or EP October, LP January? Mark your calendars.
*Note: Today they announced that the record will be coming out January 19.
Disclaimer: These songs are up for listening purposes only for a short time. If you’re an artist or label who wants the song taken down, please write me.
Wilco’s “Unlikely Japan”, an earlier version of what became Sky Blue Sky’s “Impossible Germany”, is kindabatshit. It starts modestly with just piano, vocal and a steadily-strummed acoustic guitar, and then in a couple minutes ye olde Wilco static invades. And then there’s the synth, electronic beats and vocoder (vocoder?! JEFF NOT YOU TOO!).
My jury’s still out on exactly how much I like this, but even a trainwreck (the last 1:30?) has its appeal. I just can’t look away.
Disclaimer: These songs are up for listening purposes only for a short time. If you’re an artist or label who wants the song taken down, please write me.
There’s really no excuse not to try listening to podcasts. They’re free, update automatically from iTunes and you can listen to them any time from when running errands to when eating to when folding laundry. This is a medium that understands modern, busy life.
Everyone’s got their own interests and you can try any you want–there are thousands–but here are my top five and some great places to start.
1.) This American Life- If you, like all people, like stories, you should probably try listening to this. Entertaining+insightful personalities like David Sedaris, John Hodgman, Mike Birbiglia, Dan Savage and Chuck Klosterman are regular contributors.
2.) Sound Opinions- Their “music news” at the top of the podcast covers the industry better than any popular online magazine (*cough* Pitchfork) and Jim and Greg are especially good at putting acts in a historical context in the reviews. The middle’s double-stuffed with a lot of in-studio performances and interviews and they’ve got the best intro in podcastdom. Get some more diverse critical voices in your ears, people.
3.) Slate’s Culture Gabfest – Real people talk like this?! Discussion is relentlessly intelligent if sometimes breathtakingly snobby (looking at you on both counts, Stephen Metcalf). Always goes the rare extra step of touching on what the latest cultural events mean. About the state of culture, about us. Then at the end of every episode they give their (mostly arbitrary) endorsements. Well I endorse you, Culturefest.
4.) On Point with Tom Ashbrook – Monday through Thursday’s topics can be a little fluffy, but as far as I can tell each Friday’s “Week in the News” episode is the most intelligent, thoughtful round-up out there. Might make you never want to watch cable news again.
5.) Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! – Yes, it can be corny. Get over yourself. It’s still nearly always funny and is definitely the next most fun way to keep up with the headlines if you can’t sit down for The Daily Show and/or The Colbert Report.
Honorable mention: All Songs Considered, Live Concerts from All Songs Considered, A Prairie Home Companion, NPR: Music, NPR: Environment, Planet Money.
If Radiohead Released It, It’d Be Called ‘Amnesiac’
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Modest Mouse’s upcoming EP, No One’s First and You’re Next, comes out August 4, but it leaked this morning. It may be composed mostly of b-sides from the Good News and We Were Dead sessions, but, while there aren’t going to be any “Float On”-style breakouts, the songs aren’t half-assed and aren’t at all bad. Similarly, while they’re calling it an EP, it ain’t so slight: it clocks in at over 30 minutes, which is longer than a lot of LPs these days (Vivian Girls, anyone?). Basically it’s a must for Modest Mouse fans who haven’t already been obsessive enough to collect these songs.
You can pre-order the EP here and check their upcoming US tour dates here
Disclaimer: These songs are up for listening purposes only for a short time. If you’re an artist or label who wants the song taken down, please write me.
Hot on the heels of last week’s Dodos leak (album now streaming, release date in fact changed) is the this morning’s leak of Mew’s next, titled simply:
No more stories
Are told today
I’m sorry
They washed away
No more stories
The world is grey
I’m tired
Let’s wash away
For serious.
It’s due August 25 and is not to be confused with the No More Stories EP, which was a preview of No More Stories… (or NMSATTISTWA NMSTWIGITLWW) and came out on June 30 (still with me?). Anyways, these guys are pretty hot shit in Denmark, their last got an 8.4 from Pitchfork (it didn’t receive a lot of other reviews on this side of the Atlantic) and they’re one of the few bands that could almost pull off calling themselves an “indie stadium band.”* Basically they’re every bit as epically pretentious as you’d expect from a band that would go with that album title. Tracks below.
You can catch them this Sunday at the Pitchfork Music Festival and on tour with the Nine Inch Nails, and you can pre-order their album here.
Disclaimer: These songs are up for listening purposes only for a short time. If you’re an artist or label who wants the song taken down, please write me.
. Contrary to popular belief, there is “good music” nowadays. There is powerful, innovative and important modern pop music, it’s just that the general public usually doesn’t hear it.
This leaves the majority of Americans feeling empty about the music they hear in all these venues. Most find today’s music fun for a spin, but ultimately shallow. You may find yourself saying: “this is not my free radio”, “this is not my ‘Billboard 200’ where experimental albums can debut at number one (Sgt. Peppers, etc) or become a fixture for 741 consecutive weeks (The Dark Side of the Moon)” or “this is not my Bob Dylan, the music that was once a powerful force in inspiring change in this world.”
So, how did we get here? Though many attempting to explain this phenomenon will point to maybe one or two factors, the issue has roots in many more causes than that. Here are what I would identify as the eight factors that have most contributed to the homogeneity, artificiality and meaninglessness of music in the 2000s.
So you may have all his albums. And you may even have the also pretty great New Moon. Is there anything else in his catalog that the hucksters haven’t already compiled and put out? Yeah actually, a poo ton.
In the tradition of the posts about The Shins here and Radiohead here, below you’ll find links to mp3s of what I think are the best of his unreleased material. Songs are ordered roughly according to how much I recommend them.
Also included are some covers, which collectively prove that Elliott Smith had good enough taste in 60s and 70s pop to put him on footing with the likes of Wes Anderson. If nothing else check “Don’t Fear the Reaper”: emo kid can shred.
“You've heard of people calling in sick. You may have called in sick a few times yourself. But have you ever thought about calling in well?
It'd go like this: You'd get the boss on the line and say, ‘Listen, I've been sick ever since I started working here, but today I'm well and I won't be in anymore.’
Call in well.”
(via Tom Robbins)
