At first blush 2008 seemed like a, well, sucky year for new music. As I listened more it turned out to be less sucky, if still not a high water mark. Here are my top 40 favorite albums of the year - with a special shout out to my top 10. You can also see my best archival music of the year here.
1. Deerhunter – Microcastle
Deerhunter's Cryptograms, released last year, along with their debut album suggested a band in thrall to art punks like Swell Maps complete with song fragments and experimental interludes. Some of that spirit shows up on the bonus disc of Microcastle entitled Weird Era but the album proper is stuffed with amazingly tuneful songs bracketed by the occasional introspective short instrumental. The songwriting and arranging is spot-on and the chugging guitars seem to meld Velvets drone with bratty Pavement melodies.
2. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Here's a band that by all rights should have been a novelty act. Craig Finn, former vocalist with Lifter Puller, made his mark on Hold Steady's 2004 debut Almost Killed Me as more of a ranter than a singer. His sing-songy cadences and clever clever lyrics were fun over one album of standard issue bar band tunes but this is album number four - how'd they get to be my 2nd favorite of the year? Mainly by growing in leaps in bounds from each release. The band is tighter with better, more complex arrangements and killer choruses. Finn actually carries tunes here and his stories have the weight, economy and sadness of prime Raymond Chandler. Harpsichords are bought in, reggae beats are toyed with and I'll be damned but it all works as the sing-along record of the year.
3. TV on the Radio – Dear, Science
Their last album had some great songs but the production was stultifying and it wasn't a rewarding experience to revisit. Like Radiohead's In Rainbows though the latest from TV on the Radio opens up their sound to let the songs breathe, leading to the first album to reward the promise of their debut ep. For a change their sense of humor and their sexiness is allowed free reign and at times there are hints of vintage Talking Heads - a pop art musical touchstone.
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig Lazarus Dig!!!
Nick Cave ought to be off writing his goth novels and screenplays for his Australian cowboy films but he keeps coming back to making music. Last year's Grinderman side project showed him moving from balladeering back to raw guitar noise and this one splits the difference a bit with the Stooges quoting "Today's Lesson" jostling with the beat poetry of "Moonland." It's Cave's most vital album in years, and one of the best in his catalog.
5. Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
A sequel of sorts to last year's artistic breakthrough, Skeletal Lamping finds Kevin Barnes giving his hedonistic impulses full flower. Beyonce may have Sasha Fierce but Barnes has Georgie Fruit, a bisexual soul singer who gives this album the sound of Beck circa Midnight Vultures crossed with the ADD songwriting of The Fiery Furnaces. As awful as that might sound, it's a paradise of hooks, pumping rhythm, weird falsettos, and sleazoid lyrics.
6. Neon Neon – Stainless Style
Super Furry Animals guy Gruff Rhys has seen his band abandon the earlier electronica flourishes that made them one of the best britpop bands and embrace increasingly uninteresting beardy psychedelia. For his Neon Neon side project he fully embraces that which has been rejected with the help of producer/collaborator Boom Bip. The album's unlikely subject is disgraced swinging car entrepreneur and would-be coke dealer John DeLorean. Somehow it works, with great songwriting and beats underscoring the need for a chin implant in "Michael Douglas" and even room for a side trip to Star Wars love in "I Told her on Alderaan."
7. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
If you don't like a song on this Brooklyn band's audacious debut wait, the next one is likely to sound completely different. Though this does little for coherence, the songs themselves range from good to amazing. The comparisons have been to The Flaming Lips, and they share a producer in David Fridmann, but that fails to embrace their LCD Soundsystem -worthy "Let's Pretend" in which they imagine themselves as rock stars with model wives who eventually choke on their own vomit or "Electric Feel" where they channel classic late 70s disco sounds.
8. The Knux – Remind Me in 3 Days
The long sad decline of hip-hop continued this year but The Knux suggested a jury rigged hybrid where indie punk and indie rap meet halfway. Dressing like throwbacks to the fat gold rope days, playing their own instruments and laying down rhymes, The Knux suggests a way forward for an ossifying genre. And you could shake your ass to it too.
9. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
There was some good electronica in '08, and then there was Crystal Castles which melded an Atari 5200 sound chip into mind bending melodies and hypnotic beats. They get a surprising amount of variety from what could have been a limited palette. Named after an arcade game but anything but toylike.
10. Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Modern Life
What could be wrong with a band who's name so threatened the New York Times that Ben Ratliff's review referenced a band named ------ --. Aside from being the funniest music review in the paper since, well, ever, it was obvious what band he was talking about. Taking the shouty vocal chord shredding vocals and pummeling beat of hardcore punk, Fucked Up spikes it with guitar washes and subtle melodies that entice and draw the listener in.
And the rest...
11. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
12. Lambchop – OH(Ohio)
13. Nas – Untitled
14. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
15. Apes – Ghost Games
16. Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
17. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
18. No Age – Nouns
19. Flying Lotus – Los Angeles
20. Joan as Police Woman – To Survive
21. Chandeliers – The Thrush
22. Dr. Dog – Fate
23. Martha Wainwright – I Know You’re Married but I’ve Got Feelings Too
24. The Breeders – Mountain Battles
25. Murs – Murs For President
26. The Fall – Imperial Wax Solvent
27. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Lie Down in the Light
28. Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward (UK Version -avoid the censored American release)
29. Alias – Resurgam
30. Blitzen Trapper – Furr
31. Okkervil River – The Stand-ins
32. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue
33. Portishead – Third
34. Randy Newman – Harps and Angels
35. RZA as Bobby Digital – Digi Snacks
36. Santogold and Diplo – Top Ranking
37. Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash
38. Truckasaurus – Tea Parties, Guns and Valor
39. Atlas Sound – Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
40. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Music: The Best Albums of 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Music: Best of 2008 From the Archives
This year showed that the box set - due to price and lack of material - is on it's way to becoming a rarity. Where New Order or The Replacements could have boxed up their notable songs with a bunch of rarities and called it a day, they instead went with the catalog re-issue route - fleshing out their original releases with bonus tracks and discs. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and it's probably more lucrative for the artist and labels.
I've listed my favorite archival releases of 2008 below, in no particular order. Enjoy!
1. Big Dipper – Supercluster
Underknown and underappreciated during their late 80s heyday Supercluster collects their first two albums and ep, plus abonus disc of an unrecorded esarly 90s record - leaving out only their major label misfire on Epic Records. It's not missed, as their indie material was far superior and presciently hinted at the sound of later bands like Pavement and Wolf Parade.
2. Mission of Burma – reissues
The core of Big Dipper were refuges from ex-Mission man Peter Prescott's follow-up band, Volcano Suns. Though the Suns were pretty good Mission of Burma is essential listening for anyone who is serious about post punk or indie rock. The key records here are Vs. and Signals Calls and Marches - an EP expanded here to album length with the crucial addition of the band's first single and bonus tracks. Pristine production helps define the band's gargantuan sound and effortless dynmics, with tunes that span the gamut from hardcore to power punk with a touch of progressive rock styled time-signature trickery.
3. Willie Nelson – One Hell of a Ride
Willie Nelson is the perfect artist for a box set and One Hell of a Ride shows why. 4 Discs of prime Willie from demos of songs he wrote and were made famous by others to 70s outlaw classics to his standards period to his sometimes cheesy star duets this has it all.
4. The Replacements – reissues
The catalog of Minneapolis' finest rock band finally resides under one roof at Rhino, which has done a fantastic job of reissuing their Twin/Tone and Sire albums with lots of juicy bonus tracks, including sessions produced by Alex Chilton. If you're not sure where to start, the trio of Let it Be, Tim, and Pleased to Meet Me are the band at their most consistent. A huge influence on bands like Wilco, The Hold Steady, and the usual punk emo crowd who could learn a few tricks about songwriting from Mr. Westerberg.
5. Steinski – What Does it All Mean?
The first track I ever searched for back in the days of an unfettered Napster was Double-Dee and Steinski's Lesson 1 - the grandaddy of all sampling. Only it was done before there was such a thing as a sampler. Every song snippet and line of movie dialogue had to be done by hand with a razorblade and audio tape. Steinski went on to make many more incredible tracks and most of the great ones are here. Even better is the second disc which is an extending radio show that shows the depth and breadth of his style. Essential for fans of Girl Talk.
6. Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue
Tragic Beach Boy Dennis Wilson is often overshadowed by equally tragic but still living brother Brian. Dennis started coming into his own a as a sonwriter as both Brian and the Beach Boys entered their long period of decline. Frustrated with the band's conservatism he struck out on his own with this brillianst slice of 70s gritty singer songwriter rock.
7. The Jesus and Mary Chain – The Power of Negative Thinking
Mining their b-sides for gold, the Jesus and Mary Chain give fans and newbies a treat. The quality of these outtakes are uniformly high and essential tracks like single "Sidewalking" make this a must have for any JAMC lover.
8. Roy Orbison – The Soul of Rock and Roll
This is why box sets were invented - a stunning career overview with all te highlights that puts an extraordinary talent in perspective. From fascinating early recordings alone and with the Teen Kings to his last album and cuts with supergroup The Traveling Wilburys this is a revelation.
9. The Clash – Live at Shea Stadium
Their opening gig for The Who at cavernous Shea Stadium isn't the concert gig I've been dying to hear from this legendary band but it's pretty great nonetheless, right down to Joe Strummer scolding the typically New York audience for yammering. I'll always prefer Topper Headon as a drummer but Terry (Tory Crimes) Chimes acquits himself well, even with the newer material. The recording quality is superb. Now how about those Bond's Casino shows?
10. Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs
Dylan's Bootleg Series jumps around as much as his autobiography did, this time taking in recent outtakes and stragglers. Luckily he's been in a purple patch of late and his alternate versions of tunes always fascinate as he never plays the same way twice. Boo on the ultra-expensive 3-disc version though.
11. New Order – Reissues
Fascinating re-glimpse into one of the 80s best and most innovative bands. Out of the ashes of Joy Division came a band that at first hewed to the mopey rock of their earlier incarnation but soon fell in thrall to club beats and synthesizers. The albums have been smartly packaged with their contemporaneous singles which were often more poppy and innovative.
12. Various Artists – Love Train – The Sound of Philadelphia
A fine collection of 70s soul that finds room for some late 60s and early 80s tracks and doesn't hew overly closely to its theme. The meat is some great moments from the Spinners among others that showed those MFSBs what the TSOP was all about.
13. Belle and Sebastian – The BBC Sessions
Alternate radio versions of some great B & S classics plus a later live show. Not the place for non-fans to start but for those who already know what's in store, pleasure awaits.
14. R.E.M. – Murmur
One of the greatest debut albums ever is finally remastered, showing anew the deep strangeness and great songwriting and playing of what many still consider to be this band's finest album. Disc two adds an amazing period live club show. It's hard to remeber how much R.E.M. owed to Wire and P.I.L. until yougo back to this early stuff.
15. Pavement – Brighten The Corners –Nicene Creedence Ed.
Matador continues their superlative Pavement re-issue series with this underrrated gem. as is the costume, the value of my rare singles is droppe dby appending them as well as previously unheard bonus tracks and obscurities.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Music: Marnie Stern is Awesome
Marnie Stern continues to shred on the guitar like nobody's business and unlike, say, Joe Satriani she can write songs too. See the adorableness that is her new video "Ruler" here:
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Music: Flashback -- The Best Albums of 1968 Continued - Part 2 of 2
By Noah Mallin
Here's the last installment of our survey featuring 1968's best albums.
11) The Kinks – Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks were one of The Beatles most serious rivals in 1964, with singer Ray Davies capable of writing more and better songs than the Stones still nascent Jagger-Richards combo. By 1968 a dispute with the musicians union in the United States was preventing them from touring and a whole spate of other bands and sounds had eclipsed Ray Davies' still formidable writing prowess and his brother Dave's guitar skills. Village Green was The Kinks turning their backs on the United States and centering their songs on particularly British subjects emerging with a record that was a commercial flop but has become the most beloved in their venerable catalog.
12) Sly and The Family Stone – Life
Life was Sly and The Family Stone's third album, and their second of 1968. Where their first two albums had a great deal of filler this one showed the depth of Sly Stone's vision while it's optimism was as yet undimmed. The lack of big hits actually contributes to the unified feel of the record. The punchy drums and fuzztoned guitars point the way to funk while still retaining the immediacy of great pop.
13) Family - Music in a Doll's House
Family were a sadly underrated band who made several solid albums in the late 60s and early 70s including this, their debut. Their blues based background was typical of the British scene that spawned Fleetwood Mac, The Yardbirds, and others, as was their fondness for blending it with jazz and folk flourishes. What set them apart was the sharpness of their playing and arranging and their intricate band composed songs. It doesn't hurt that Traffic's Dave Mason and Stones producer Jimmy Miller were on hand to deliver an atmospheric and rich sound. At times they rock as hard as Led Zeppelin would barely a year later.
14) The Doors – Waiting For The Sun
This is not the Doors' best album but even a middling effort from them was pretty damn cool. "Hello I Love You" is sleazy stuff delivered with a knowing leer, "The Unknown Soldier" is as harsh an indictment of Vietnam as the band would deliver, that is until you get to "Five to One", the records hard rocking highlight. Some of the ballads undoubtedly bring out the worst in Morrison's pretentious writing and delivery but fail to sink the album.
15) Velvet Underground – White Light/ White Heat
Lou Reed and John Cale jettisoned Nico and her sponsor/band Svengali Andy Warhol by the time their second album White Light/White Heat came out. Even more polarizing than the first album it goes from mellow drones like "Here She Comes Now" to the skronk of "I Heard Her Call my Name" to the head ripping fierceness of the 17 minutes plus "Sister Ray." This is not to mention Cale's two showcases, the hilariously twisted shaggy-dog story of "The Gift" and the mesmerizing "Lady Godiva's Operation." This album laid down a gauntlet that the Stooges and Modern Lovers would later pass down to the first punk rockers. It would also be Cale's last studio album with the band.
16) Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – We’re Only In It For The Money
Like the Velvets, Frank Zappa found the whole peace and love hippy vibe of 1967 to be totally alien and even repugnant. We're Only in it For The Money was his dystopian masterpiece, swinging a bat at the head of the counterculture and the establishment. Even better was his re-purposing of 50s and 60s doo-wop and R & B to underpin songs like "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" (your brain, natch.)
17) Cream – Wheels of Fire
Cream were a far from perfect band and the overlong 2 LP set Wheels of Fire is a far from perfect album. The high points do represent some of the band's best work including "White Room" and "As You Said." The live stuff on the second record is often over indulgent but "Crossroads" shows off guitarist Eric Clapton's legendary playing to great effect.
18) Gilberto Gil – Gilberto Gil
Gil was one of the leading lights of the "tropicalia" movement that was taking Brazil by storm in 1968. This, his second album was a strong driving work with a particular rock bent. The sound of the record sometimes feels akin to coming across a band like The Animals playing carnival music. In fact Brazil's military junta felt that his openness to new sounds was such a threat that he and Caetono Veloso (see Part One) were both jailed at the end of the decade. Gil would flee to the UK in the early 70s before returning.
19) Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Controversial both at the time of its release and today, Sweetheart of The Rodeo found Gram Parson's joining the Byrds and taking over the direction of the band. The sound not surprisingly veered to traditional country, seen as a bastion of the establishment in 1968 music circles. In addition Parsons was a wealthy high-living trust-fund kid which still leads to charges of cultural slumming for daring to tackle the Louvin Brothers "The Christian Life" and Merle Haggard's "Life in Prison". Bushwah says I. Sweethearts is a landmark of country rock and Parsons comes to the music with love and appreciation.In addition the countryfied cover of soul classic "You Don't Miss Your Water" is flat out genius.
20) Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
Unlike the Byrds, no-one ever questioned Johnny Cash's legitimacy or right to sing songs of prison life. Cash feeds off the energy of his literally captive audience and they feed of the dark despair at the heart of so many of his best songs. An indelibly great performance.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Music: Flashback - The Best Albums of 1968 Part One of Two
By Noah Mallin
Continuing on our trip 40 years back into the tumultuous past, here is part one of the best albums of 1968 in no order whatsoever.
1) Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
Most soul albums at this time were collections of big hit singles with lesser tracks sprinkled in as filler. A few performers were so good that even their minor tracks made for a great album experience and Aretha was one of them. 1967 was the year she burst onto the scene on Atlantic records after an unhappy stint at Columbia. Lady Soul includes a few of that previous year's hits like the impassioned "Chain of Fools." It also includes the groundbreaking "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman" a song described by critic Dave Marsh as an ode to the female orgasm. Even her cover of The Rascal's "Groovin" finds her in peak form with a suitably clever re-arrangement that brings out the soulfulness in the song.
2) Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet
The Rolling Stones made the first flop of their carrier with 1967's Sgt. Pepper's aping LP Their Satanic Majesties Request. They also found themselves at odds with founding member Brian Jones who seemed to still think himself as the band's leader despite Jagger and Richards writing the vast bulk of their original material. Beggar's Banquet was repped as their return to roots, a popular notion in 1968 (rivals The Beatles would begin recording their own back to basics album by the end of the year, the aborted Get Back which would see the light of day in 1970 as Let it Be.) It's hard to describe this as a return to the blues of their early albums because the band had utterly transcended imitation to discover their own gritty supercharged sound. Beggar's would be the first of four classic albums that represent the peak of the band's achievements. Beggar's features almost no playing by Jones, with the guitars overdubbed brilliantly by Keith Richards. The highlight of the album is arguably "Sympathy For The Devil" but "Street Fighting Man", "No Expectations" and "Jigsaw Puzzle" are just a few of the major tracks here.
3) Dr. John - Gris-Gris
Dr. John was just one of the many incredible performers who learned their trade in the music clubs of New Orleans. Starting in the late 50s he plied his barrelhouse piano skills from clubs to bars across the city. For his first album Gris-Gris he had already dubbed himself "The Night Tripper" and fused elements of psychedelia, traditional New Orleans R & B , voodoo nuttiness, and whatever else popped into his head. After 40 years as a recording artist this is still the most compelling and far-out record in his catalog with the 7-minute plus "I walk on Guilded Splinters" a particular treat.
4) Caetano Veloso – Tropicalia
5) Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Van Morrison cut the cord from his garage band Them with his first record for Warner Bros, Astral Weeks. The lush, long songs take folk into jazz and classical directions, expertly arranged and played. In many ways the current "freak folk" of Devendra Banhart and Sufjan Stevens can find it's roots in the expositional meanderings of Astral Weeks.
6) The Band – Music From Big Pink
The blandly named The Band earned their chops as The Hawks playing backup for rocker Ronnie Hawkins in the early 60s. When Bob Dylan wiped out in a motorcycle accident he joined them in their house in Woodstock New York, Big Pink, and laid down reels of music that later found release legit and otherwise as The Basement Tapes. Their first album as a unit defined the back to basics aesthetic that inspired many musicians in 1968, the timeless melodies and straightforward approach of songs like "The Weight" and "In a Station" suggesting tunes going back a century or more. This was heightened by the Levon Helms and Rick Danko's timeworn voices and the inventively simple instrumentation.
7) The Outsiders - CQ
The Dutch are well-known for all kinds of hedonism but rocking out (Golden Earring notwithstanding) is not one of them. The Outsiders are one of the great unsung bands of the 60s, a garage band that found their own way to integrate psychedelia and even pensive folk elements into their albums without losing site of great hooks and crunchy guitars. CQ was sadly their last album and also their best.
8) The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland
Hendrix had exploded onto London's music scene in 1967 with a series of mindbending live shows and two stellar albums. By 1968 he was a superstar and looked to push his bandmates to their limits and beyond for what would prove to be their last album together, the double LP Electric Ladyland. The record is famed for the "underwater" sound Hendrix pushed for, with radical studio tricks matching his wildly fierce guitar playing. His cover of Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" was so revelatory that Dylan himself essentially covers Hendix's version when he plays it live.
9) The Beatles – The Beatles
Like the Stones, the Beatles had also received their first setback in 1967.After the huge success of Sgt. Pepper's they conceived the television film Magical Mystery Tour, released at the end of the year to a critical savaging. An ill-fated retreat with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi did have a salutary effect on the band's songwriting with each member coming back with a clutch of songs (even Ringo had two!). The Beatles a double LP popularly known as The White Album after the stark white sleeve, showed the unwillingness to whittle down what each songwriter had. In fact the band had become backing musicians to whoever's song was being recorded on a particular day. This led to their most varied and for some most fascinating record yet. A young Jann Wenner described it as encompassing the whole of popular music up to that time and with heavy proto metal like "Helter Skelter" jostling with the gorgeous psych-folk of "Dear Prudence", the Beach Boys pastiche of "Back in The U.S.S.R." and the 30s style "Honey Pie" the band's reach seemed limitless.
10) Silver Apples – Silver Apples
Every electronic music artist from Kraftwerk through Suicide on down to Daft Punk and Aphex Twin owe a huge debt to this pioneering new York duo who first fused pop music sensibilities with the electronic experimentalism of the musical avant-garde. Though far from popular the droning shifting oscillations and pulsing beats of their debut album held enormous influence and still sounds contemporary and riveting today.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Music Review: Breeders Spawn Another Keeper With Mountain Battles
Review by Noah Mallin
Kim Deal has had a helluva life away from The Pixies, the band in which she first found fame. The Breeders was originally a side project with Tanya Donnely of Throwing Muses (and later Belly). Their 1990 debut Pod is an indie classic, mixing rubbery rhythms and spiky songforms on songs like "Oh" and "Metal Man" and a phenomenal cover of the Beatles "Happiness is a Warm Gun".
By 1992 the Pixies had died and The Breeders had shed Donnely and added Kim's twin sister Kelley for the wonderful Safari EP, but it was Last Splash and the hit single "Cannonball" the following year that brought Kim-mania to its full public flowering.
Deal responded to her first platinum-selling album by recording and scrapping a follow-up, then re-recording the songs under the band name The Amps. Ironically she and Kelley played locally in Ohio as teenagers as Tammy and The Amps, but Kelley had been sidelined thanks to a growing drug problem (never Fed-Ex your dope kids). The Amps lone album was quite charming, lo-fi in a way that reflected Deal's love for fellow Ohioans Guided By Voices.
Finally The Breeders returned scuffed and scruffy for Title TK in 2002 -- beloved by some fans but hardly the poppy crowd-pleaser that Last Splash was.
Which brings us to Mountain Battles. Deal has toured with her old band and both sisters have cleaned up the drugs and boozing since last we heard from them but it makes not a whit of difference to their sound. They take a long time to make albums that feel gloriously tossed off, like eavesdropping on a basement rehearsal at times.
Battles has those glorious breathy-woozy-sassy Deal sister harmonies in full force and a generally strong set of songs that touch on most of Deal's various sounds without sounding like a retread. The songs sung in Spanish (a trick better left to erstwhile Pixies-mate Black Francis) and German don't go anywhere good but the first five tracks are a welcome beginning.
"Overglazed" is just some rapturous instrument bashing with Kim announcing sunnily "I can feel it..oooo" and yes, so can we. "Bang On" is just as simple, a repetitive beat pounding away with a sweet little guitar filigree and the Deal sisters musing "I want no-one, no-one wants me..." and words to that effect which put me in mind of Ben Gazzara's bitter character in Todd Solondz's pitch-black comedy Happiness. His wife is convinced that he's ending the marriage because he must be in love with someone else. "I love no-one!" he repeatedly shouts.
Then the achingly gorgeous "Night of Joy" floats in, one of several deliciously mellow songs on Mountain Battles that allow the listener to wallow in Deal's tip-toeing chord changes and the sister's indelible harmonies. "We're Gonna Rise" is another such track.
There are a few moments like "Spark" that get bogged down in the willful twistiness that marked Title TK but all is forgiven when "Walk it Off" comes strutting through the speakers with the kind of descending bassline bop that made Last Splash a dorm room must-have.
Overall a welcome return indeed.
Here's a fan vid of "It's The Love" with footage from Cinema Paradiso:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Concert Review: Malkmus, Jicks all About the Chick with the Sticks at Bowery Ballroom
Review by Noah Mallin
Standing at the t-shirt booth and checking out the road wares at the Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks show at the Bowery ballroom in New York last night, a swaying gentleman in a blazer and t-shirt breaks away from an intense negotiation with the fellow behind the table to swivel his head in my direction.
"Hey..." he says to me as his eyes focus behind his glasses, "I'll buy you two shots of tequila at the bar if you buy me a t-shirt. All I have is a credit card." I look at the placid guy working the shirt stand -- he's seen it all before. He shrugs his shoulders," Cash only..." So it's going to be that kind of a show.
Upstairs the band is clearly having monitor issues. Bassist Joanna Bolme keeps gesturing to the mixer to turn up her bass. Every time she waves her arms the guy behind me intones, "Gawd she's hot."
To be fair, the whole band is hot in every sense of the word: Sweaty in the humid funk of the sold out club, attractive sure, and blazing musically. Bolme has always been a sharp bass player, anchoring Malkmus' twisty-turny songs. Malkmus himself is an ace guitarist changing tones from Allman-like lilting runs to heavy distorto sheets within a single tune, his voice squawking and cooing like dyspeptic songbird. Mike Clark hops around from guitar to keyboards seamlessly, his silver lame flashing.
The real deal last night was the newest member of The Jicks, drummer Janet Weiss. Weiss was the powerhouse behind the late Sleater-Kinney's crunch and the whomping swing of the band Quasi which she formed with her ex-husband. Her unerring timing, Bonham-like attack, and turn-on-a-dime tempo shifts have freed Malkmus into even wilder guitar runs -- The Jicks are finally the jam band of his dreams.
There's a cry from the crowd for "Box Elder," a song by Malkmus' original band Pavement. Malkmus murmurs a succinct "No." into the mic. Though Pavement began to take a more expansive view of 60's rock archetypes as they soldiered on before splitting at the end of the 90s, it would have been hard to imagine them as the liquidy groovesters the Jicks were last night. A whole room full of achingly hip indie kidults were doing the deadhead shuffle-sway dance thing as jazzy riffs rang out from the guitar and the rhythm section locked in while Clark did a Ray Manzarek impression behind the keys. Yet, just when you think you have the band pegged as hippie revivalists they switch it up with a cover of hardcore band Fear's "I Don't Care About You."
Most of the set was made up of new songs from Real Emotional Trash with nary a peep from Malkmus' poppy first solo record. Highlights included a sweaty workout on "Baltimore", a plaintive version of "Baby C'Mon" from the last album and a wrung out full-on Woodstock take on "Hopscotch Willie."
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Music: The Myth of The Sophmore Slump
The new issue of beardie-loving music mag Magnet has a column by Corey DuBrowa on the sophmore slump -- second albums that fail to live up to the promise of the first. This is a fairly common trope in rock criticism and has some basis in truth. One theory holds that most artists spend years stockpiling their "good stuff" for album one and then have a much shorter time period to whip up number two.
As I perused the list of albums Magnet came up with I was struck by how many of them I liked, Give 'Em Enough Rope by The Clash, Pretenders II, Room on Fire by The Strokes. With that in mind I thought I'd lay down a list of great second albums, which includes one from Magnet's list of stinkers because uh, they don't know what they're talkin' bout.
1) Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
Dylan's debut album announced the arrival of a new star on the folk scene but it was 1963's Freewheelin' that catapoulted him into the ranks of pop genius. "Blowin' in The Wind" alone cemented his songwriter status but add to that "Don't Think Twice, it's Alright" "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Girl From The North Country" and you get a classic album and a touchstone for where one of the greatest American artists in any field would go for the rest of his career.
Here's Bobby doing "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall":
2) Weezer - Pinkerton (1996)
Weezer's self-titled first album was a phenomenon in 1994, selling several million copies and spawning quirky power pop angst hits with "Undone (The Sweater Song)", "Buddy Holly" and "Say it Ain't So". Their second album landed with a thud, shunned by radio, MTV and casual music buyers. Pinkerton was a more obviously dark and aggressive record, dealing with frontman / headcase Rivers Cuomo's wierd fan and groupie relationships, self-loathing, a leg operation and oh yeah, The Mikado. Weezer went on an extended hiatus in the wake of the album's failure but during that time it picked up a devoted cult and is now a favorite among the hardcore Weezerati who welcomed the band back to hitdom in the early 00s.
3) R.E.M. - Reckoning (1984)
R.E.M.'s debut album Murmur hit the nascent alterna-rock scene like a bomb. It was an hermetic, quirky, tuneful yet weird album unlike anything that came before. R.E.M. would have a hard time following it up but as it turns out, they'd never make another record that sounded like it again. If Murmur sounded like the experimental album of a seasoned band, Reckoning was more akin to a typical debut. Accessable and rocking, it's a strong set of songs stripped down to their base elements and helped cement R.E.M. as part of the revival of American "roots" sounds while still keeping their alternative audience intcat and growing: Check out Stipe's hair in the video for "So. Central Rain":
4) Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)
The Beastie Boy's debut was the biggest selling rap-album ever by the time they got around to prepping the follow-up and the knives were out. There was bad blood because they were white, seen as a novelty act, tagged as misogynist, and behaved in a generally frat boy way on tour. Sure enough Paul's Boutique struggled to sell upon it's release, yet began to gain status from music lovers for it's innovatively groundbreaking and creative use of samples and song structure thanks to producers The Dust Brothers and clever funny and sometimes cerebral rhymes from The Beasties. As with Weezer, what appeared to be a setback at first set the stage for a surprise comeback third album that cemented the band's star status. Here' s the video for "Shake Your Rump":
5) Blondie - Plastic Letters (1977)
Blondie wasn't coming off of a hit when they did Plastic Letters, one of the most underrated albums of 1977. Though their debut had garnered some attention in the UK, they were still considered an also-ran to the other more "serious" bands on the New York scene -- Television, Talking Heads, The Ramones. Plastic Letters had a slar trajectory, doing even better than the debut in Europe but still failing to find favor in their home country. As a record though the band had moved beyond the girl-group aping of the first album and stretched out into evocations of Stax soul on "Rifle Range" (a dead ringer for "In The Twilight Zone" by The Astors) , mid 60's Stonesy cool in "Youth Nabbed as Sniper" and baroque pop-prog with "No Imagination." Here they are doing "Detroit 442":
6) Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (1991)
Tribe hit the scene in 1990 as part of a wave of positive rap that included De La Soul, Brand Nubian and The Jungle Brothers. As good as their debut was it was The Low End Theory that commenced to mind-blowing, both lyrically and musically. Rappers Q-Tip and Phife Dog effortlessly trade quips and wisdom over exquisiyely tense, stripped down jazz beats. The album is aptly named as the bass lines on songs like "Buggin' Out" seem to exist on another plane entirely, big and goopy and full of portent. Though the sound is spare, it's also detailed, with every song building and moving on an insistent bed of rhythm. Here's the very future looking vid for "Scenario" featuring a pre-stardom Busta Rhymes:
7) The Velvet Underground - White Light/ White Heat (1967)
The Velvets brilliant first album was compromised by their Andy Warhol arranged shotgun marraige with German chanteuse Nico. Compromise is not the word that comes to mind with album number 2 which comes out of the gate blazing and never looks back. There is the occaisional foray into brain scrambling as on the John Cale narrated macabre joke of "The Gift" and the guitar shards of "I Heard Her Call My Name." "Sister Ray" closed out the album, 17 minutes plus of squalling feedback drenched madness that pushed the Stooges, punk rock, and Yo La Tengo out of its womb before expiring in a pool of blood. Or something that sounds like that. Here's "White Light / White Heat "
Thursday, January 24, 2008
New Music: Cat Power's Jukebox Stocked With Curious Covers
Cat Power gets creamy
Cat Power has done this before. In 2000 Chan Marshall (for Cat Power is she for all intents and purposes) released The Covers Record, a set of radically re-interpreted songs both classic and obscure that dramatically raised her profile in the music world. Jukebox is a similar undertaking but Cat Power is in a different musical place than she was on the earlier album.
In 2000, she was still tentative as a performer, not so much freak folk as freaked-out folk. She was known for stage shows that devolved into abject terror and whispered vocals. The arrangements -- spare, exploratory, searching -- reflect this and add to the revelatory feel of her interpretations.
Today Cat Power has become something of a classicist, her last album The Greatest having embraced classic country soul moves with the help of a group of well-versed sessioners. She has also developed a more confident stage presence and quit drinking. As a result some have found Jukebox to be disappointingly straightforward -- her confident arrangements leading to more standardized interpretations.
This is a more conventional record than The Covers Record for Cat Power but she has reconfigured these songs for the most part, many radically, to fit her bold new style. Hank William's "Travellin' Man" becomes "Travelin' (Wo)Man", and the gender shift is more than just titular. The melancholy she found in her earlier stripped down alt folk rock is still here but it's fully limbed -- fixed to her distinctive voice which is deployed with much more precision.
There are two originals here -- a reworking of her "Metal Heart" and a tribute to Bob Dylan called "Song to Bobby" that plays out as a fans mash note. My favorite track though is her opening-- a cover of the Sinatra standard "New York, New York" that shows off her newly minted swagger.
Jukebox gets 4 out 5 Fonzies:
Here's Cat Power in the studio doing "Dark End of The Street" which, despite my earlier post previewing the album, didn't make the cut. Too bad!
Music: Jesus and Mary Chain -- They have Risen! So Sayeth Magnetic Fields
Magnetic Fields ride a freight elevator together
Magnetic Fields' mastermind Stephen Merritt is a man constantly in search of a gimmick to hang his new albums on. 69 Love Songs, the band's brilliant box set that contained exactly what the title promised, is still the most successful of these, but their last album i (all songs started with the letter "i") and their new one Distortion all strive to take their titles literally.
Hmmm Distortion, what's that gonna sound like? It sounds like The Magnetic Fields, only distorted. Duh. What that means are clever knowing pop songs which stay (mostly) on the right side of twee. The joke here is that Merritt has acknowledged The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut classic Psychocandy as a model, but rather than repeat their formula of Phil Spector pop dipped in an acid bath he substitutes himself for Spector. This leads to some funny moments of distorted accordions and such, though it's a jest meant for the music geek.
Distortion also marks the degree that the Reid brothers of JAMC fame have become a major indie-rock touchstone, influencing some of last year's best records by The Liars, Ponys, and by the brothers themselves backing up and producing their younger sister Linda on her delightful Sister Vanilla album. Sister Vanilla has proven to be a dry run for this year's Major Reunion, the JAMC themselves.
Back to Magnetic Fields though -- is Distortion any good? Some fans will undoubtedly rebel at the conceit of Merritt's songs slathered in distortion and feedback (though it rarely reaches JAMC style squalling). the underlying songs are solid though, noticeably more consistent than the ones on i. "Too Drunk to Dream" is a typically wry highlight, starting as it does like a demented sea shanty"Sober, life is a prison, Shitfaced, it is a blessing". "Drive On, Driver", "California Girls", and the wonderfully misanthropic "Mr. Mistletoe" all make for a most enjoyable set. Also, though the production apes the Reids, Merritt's songwriting is distinctly his own, his deep baritone is as baritone-y as ever, and the lovely lead vocals of Shirley Simms on several tracks keep this away from bald-faced imitation.
Distortion gets 4 out of 5 Psychcandys:
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Music: The Best EP's of 2007
Here's my list of best EP's of the year. Do Extended Play releases even mean anything in the age of download-able music? Whether the idea is outmoded, there were at least five that were worth the time to find on iTunes or your local record store this year.
1) Yeah Yeah Yeah’s - Is Is
The meaning of Is Is depended on the listener. Recorded between last year's Show Your Bones and their debut LP Is Is splits the diff between the rawness of latter and the polished songcraft of the former. The blazing "Rockers to Swallow", the moody, driving "10 X 10" and the Banshees like "Down Boy" all rank among the band's best.
Here they are doing “Rockers to Swallow”:
2) Black Kids – Wizard of Ahhhs
Ah the free Internet download debut EP -- so much more convenient than Radiohead's "pay as you go" deal. The cringingly named Wizard of Ahhhs is delightfully tuneful and arch, an evocation of the glory days of early 80's britpop delivered with today's low-fi production that the kids like so much.
Here's a fan video for “I’ve Underestimated my Charm Again”:
3) Grizzly Bear – Friend
Grizzly Bear's "It Band" status lasted into this year with some freaky cool videos and this EP featuring heavily reworked versions of old songs and covers by the likes of CSS and Band of Horses. Here's a lamely static photo with “Little Brother (Electric)” playing over it:
4) Of Montreal – Icons, Abstract Thee
Everyone's favorite oft-nude marriage-challenged troubadour Kevin Barnes had enough tracks left over from his stunningly awesome opus Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? to create a companion EP of equal depth and arguably even more tunefulness. Angst you can hum to. Here's another dumb static image synced to “Miss Blonde Your Papa is Failing”:
5)Wire – Read & Burn 03
Wire is simply one of the most pioneering bands in rock, setting their own post punk course in 1977 that would reverberate through electronica, brit-pop, alternative, indie, and even math rock. Since the original band reformed earlier in the decade they have issued two other Read and Burn EPs (collected on Send) of hard edged churning guitar songs. This EP leavens the mix with electronic soundscapes more reminiscent of their mid -80's work while still keeping the spiky songwriting intact.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Music: The 40 Best Albums of 2007 4-1 !
Here it is-- The final four!
1) Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are you The Destroyer?
This is the best concept album ever about moving to Norway with your new wife only to find your marriage falling apart. Lest you think that's faint praise, this is a disgustingly good album, fun to listen to with it's mash up of Beck circa Midnight Vultures white electro-funk and Neutral Milk Hotel crunchy goodness.
Here’s the video from “Gronlandic Edit”:
2) The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
No album has suffered from more backlash-itis this year than Neon Bible. Yes it's achingly sincere, almost to the point of square. Yes it's overstuffed with church organs, violins, choirs, and god knows what else. Its also one of the year's best albums. When people are talking about it that much -- you know they have done something.
Here’s the footage that caused thousands of Arcade Fire fans to weep like little babies – Springsteen live with Win and Regine doing “Keep the Car Running”:
3) Radiohead – In Rainbows
Another great record that is already receiving backlash. Even beyond their innovative pay what you choose Internet release, this is some of the band's best music -- Yorke's voice is given a crystalline setting and the complex arrangements of guitars and strings are expertly handled.
Here’s a video that sets “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” to footage from Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver:
4) Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
Les Savy Fav returned from a long layoff with their best album yet, bursting with ideas and inventive songs.
Here’s the video for “Patty Lee”:
Music: 40 Best Albums of 2007 9-5
5) LCD Soundsytem – Sound of Silver
What sounds like a mish-mash initially gels into a fantastically varied collection of songs. Rock dynamics married to electronic beats and all of it married to great choruses.
Here’s the video for “All My Friends”:
6) Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
One of America's best bands does it again. There's nothing radically new here for Spoon, just meaty songs with lots of space.
Here’s the video for “The Underdog” by Spoon:
7) Black Francis – Bluefinger
Pixies frontman and formerly monikered Frank Black, Black Francis puts all he knows about rocking, tight tunes, and crazed singing into this killer concept album.
Here’s a fan video for “Tight Black Rubber”:
8) Electrelane – No Shouts, No Calls
Electrelane goes out on top with what looks like their last release. Throbbing pulsing guitars and stacked vocals means they come on like a more warm and organic Stereolab.
Here’s a fan video for “Tram 21”:
9) Caribou – Andorra
Sounding like The Hollies if the Hollies grew up wanting to be The Chemical Brothers, Caribou uses electronics to evoke echoes of British invasion sounds. A stunningly beautiful album.
Here’s the video for “Melody Day”:
Music: Top 40 Best Albums of 2007 14-10
10) M.I.A. – Kala
M.I.A. brings it on with an incredible array of beats and a heady stew of third world power anthems and clever references.
Here’s the video for “Jimmy”:
11) Battles – Mirrored
Prog rock was never this much fun. Battles puts the groove and beat into the genre, making for a giddy stew of tempo changes and twisty-turny songs.
Here’s the video for “Atlas”:
12) Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity
Deerhoof moves further away from their hard guitar sound and into the world of exotic rhythms and springy arrangements.
Here’s the video for “The Perfect Me”:
13) Feist – The Reminder
Feist does the cool iPod commercial chick thing well, becoming this year's Regina Spektor. But her album is full of curveballs like the blazing jazzy "Sea Lion Woman".
Here’s the video for “My Moon, My Man”:
14) Jay-Z – American Gangster
Jay-Z took a few moments out of his busy day job as atop music exec to lay down his best rhymes since the Black Album.
Jizza chats with David Letterman and then favors us with a performance of “Roc Boys”:
Music: Top 40 Best Albums of 2007 19-15
15) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band– Magic
Springsteen returns with his most vital and enjoyable disc since the mid-80s.
Here’s the Boss doing “Living in the Future” live in Madrid:
16) Low – Drums and Guns
Low found tempos in the midrange on their last album and continue to poke at their old slowcore sound on Drums and Guns. Drum machines and spare construction give the songs a skeletal beauty that's new for this band.
Here’s the video for “Breaker”:
17) The National – Boxer
Less immediate than its predecessor, Boxer is a grower that unfolds its knotty lyrics and subtle songs on repeated listening.
Here’s the video for “Mistaken for Strangers”:
18) The New Pornographers – Challengers
This may not be their best album but there are some great songs and performances here, augmented by bigger arrangements and half an orchestra.
Here’s the video for “Challengers”:
19) The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
This was a whipping boy for plenty of critics but the strong melodies and the variety of approaches kept me coming back to it's Kinks-y goodness.
Here’s the video for “Australia”:
Music: Top 40 Albums of 2007 24-20
20) The White Stripes – Icky Thump
Jack and Meg return with a classic rocker that brings the songcraft.
Here’s the video for “Conquest”:
21) Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
What felt like a retreat at first opens up to reveal intricacies that deepen with each listen.
Here’s the video for “What Light”:
22) Various Artists – David Shrigley’s Worried Noodles
A sampler of great indie rock featuring artists from Franz Ferdinand to Grizzly Bear to David Byrne to Final Fantasy marrying Shrigley's clever lyrics to great songs.
Here’s a video promo for the album featuring Shrigley’s artwork and the band YACHT:
23) Future of the Left – Curses
Mclusky fans look no further. Ex Mclusky members team up with the bassist from Jarcrew. Driving anger fueled rock with snarky lyrics follows.
Here’s the video for “adeadenemyalswayssmellsgood”:
24) Blitzen Trapper – Wild Mountain Nation
The Pavement aping album cover and a few of the songs on this debut album suggested a cover band called Debris Slide trying to write originals for the first time. In reality there is more than meets the ear with pastoral folk, and freaky-deaky indie that hews its own course.
Here’s the video for “Devil’s A-Go-Go”:
Music: Top 40 Albums of 2007 29-25
25) Ween – La Cucaracha
Ween are method musicians... doing blissed out techno pop for "friends", haunting balladry for the truly screwed up "Object", sneery post punk for "Shamemaker". Like DeNiro in his prime, they believe it, so we believe it. Oh yeah and David Sanborn guests. That's commitment.
Here’s the video for “Friends”:
26) Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Raisin’ Sand
Mummified Led Zep wailer Plant and beloved bluegrass warbler Krauss seem like an odd couple setup. But when those voices start a-twining and a-pining on these great songs the proverbial magic happens.
Here’s the video for “Gone Gone Gone”:
27) Nellie McKay – Obligatory Villagers
McKay has always been on the right side of the Crazy/Hot graph for me. She surprises here with a relatively compact set of songs but the arrangements and delivery shout out "Broadway!"
Here’s the delectable Nellie McKay doing “Zombie” :
28) The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes are The Dark Horse
Where Arcade Fire uses it's broad expanse of sound and musicians to create a communal vibe, Besnard Lakes is insular and brooding. Gripping and engrossing.
Here’s the video for “For Agent 13”:
29) Mark Ronson – Version
Ronson is the uberproducer responsible for last years great album by human trainwreck Amy Winehouse. Here he imagines britpop gold (and Britney Spear's "Toxic") as products of the Motown era.
Here’s a 40 sec. pop of Mark Ronson and Lily Allen’s cover of Kaiser Chief’s “Oh My God” (Columbia records, like a number of major labels, are too stupid to realize that videos are PROMO and not PRODUCT – so no full version to embed. Dumb wankers.)
Music: Top 40 Albums of 2007 34-30
30) The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
Musical chill pill - hypnotic repetition builds Philip Glass like patterns -- some of which you can dance to.
Here’s “The Little Heart Beats so Fast” live at Monterrey
31) Kings of Leon – Because of the Times
The Kings get complex -- Lynyrd Skynyrd force fed Pixies dynamics with lyrics that lead you down the garden path.
Here’s Kings of Leon doing “On Call” on Letterman:
32) Mark Olson – The Salvation Blues
Welcome to 1970. Superior country rock from ex-Jayhawk with sparkling melancholic tunes.
Here’s Mark Olson doing “Carol” live in Toronto:
33) Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
Sam Beam broadens his folky palette taking in elements of afro-pop, Deadhead jams, and tempo variations. His best yet.
Here is Iron & Wine on Letterman doing “The Devil Never Sleeps”:
34) Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
Contempo freak jammers continue to add songcraft to their Beta Band on acid crazy quilt:
Here’s the video for “Peacebone”
Music: Top 40 Albums of 2007 -- 40-35
35) Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter does nothing fancy -- just straight ahead well-written rock songs, an expansive success where so many other artists (like Ben Harper) have come up short.
Here’s Josh Ritter performing “Mind’s Eye” live:
36) The Cribs – Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
Famous friend Alex (Franz Ferdinand) Kaparos produces and tuneful spike britpop follows. What's not predictable are the sheer excellence of the songs or a collaboration with Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth doing his beat poet word association thing.
Here’s the “Men’s Needs” video:
37) Deerhunter – Cryptograms
Tangent happy experimentalists recall Swell Maps in disregard for song structure and fascination with off-putting textures. Moodily mesmerizing.
Here’s the video for “Strange Lights”:
38) Mary Weiss – Dangerous Game
Hot cougar Mary Weiss was lead singer for 60s girl group legends The Shangri-La's. Her voice is a little huskier but no less alluring on this fine collection of new songs. Here's the video for “Don’t Come Back”…cougar-licious!
39) Devin Tha Dude – Waitin’ To Inhale
Marijuana enthusiast Devin gets with some slinky low down tracks on his latest album. Surprising and hilarious rhymes combine with killer grooves.
Here’s the Video for “I Can’t Wait” preceded by a silly crank call :
40) El –P - I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
EL-P is pissed at the dystopian universe -- so he raps about it. The music is twisty and complex and so are the tales he tells.
Here’s the video for “Flyentology”
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