Songs of the Week (4/20)

I know, I'm even later on this than I was last week, but I had some epic posting to do last night (god, I hope no one reads that entry, I say some pretty embarrassing things). So here's my top songs from last week, only 2 of 'em this time:

'I'm Confused' by Handsome Furs

Damn, this song just sounds like confusion. After Wolf Parade's second, Mount Zoomer, I feared that Dan Boeckner had already passed the pinnacle of his song writing powers. To be fair, the 4 jams he authored for that album were all quite good, and far outweighed the contributions of Mr. Krug. However, the album had nothing to rival the power of "Shine A Light" or "This Heart's On Fire", the emotional centerpiece and conclusion, respectively, of the Parade's Apologies. I never listened to all of the first Handsome Furs, release, but what I did hear was similarly below Boeckner's Apologies standard. However, 'I'm Confused', the lead single off the new Furs joint, demonstrates that Boeckner is back at the top of his furious garage-onslaught game. Unlike most of the Furs stuff, Alexei's synths and drum program don't sound cold and alienating here. In fact, they create the perfect backdrop to Dan's heroic, workman riffs and characteristically impassioned vocals. The lyrics fall into the Boeckner tradition of being difficult to interpret precisely, but transmitting general sentiments quite readily: "And if you're feeling destructive/ There's something to do/ Sometimes we all get confused."  I know I've posted this already, but if you haven't seen the video yet, watch it post-haste because it's so damn good.

'Ashamed' by Deer Tick

Thank you, Rob Holowka, for introducing me to this wonderful band. At first it sounds like some backwards looking, Dylan worshipping, World Cafe baiting run-off. But after a couple listens, John McCauley's larynx shredding growl gets under your skin, and then you start to listen to the lyrics, and holy shit: "I am the boy your mother wanted you to meet/ But I am, broken and torn, with halos at my feet/ And with your purest light, darling, shine on me/ I should have been an angel, but I'm too dumb to speak." McCauley chronicles the overwhelming shame that has crippled his character. Like a good storyteller, McCauley doesn't go into the details of the incriminating act, but invokes biblical imagery of heaven and hell in depicting the story of this individual's fall from grace, and the resulting collapse of his relationship with his partner. McCauley does manage to steal some of Dylan's gift for pop melody in conveying his tale. I've been digging on the version from the Daytrotter Session, but I'm sure the original is just as good. 

Da Drought Iz Over

For a while there, it seemed like going to shows was a non-essential part of my life. Since Passion Pit way back in February or whatever, I managed to avoid concert attendance for a solid 2+ months (save a brief set by Menya at the Blender Theater in March). However, last saturday was shaping up like a Sam Cooke song for me, so ventured out to the Mercury Lounge for the first time ever to accompany my friend to a show by the Aussie power-punk duo An Horse (just say it like an Aussie and it will make sense). I knew relatively little about this act other than what I'd heard on my beloved 'Sound Opinions' radio show, but I was wonderfully surprised. The group consisted of one chick shredding the electric guitar and singing, and one dude pounding at the drums. Despite the simplicity of their set-up, it was a powerful set, full of raw, confessional emotion delivered through the magic of hooky punk riffs. The highlight was certainly the final song when the headlining act, emo post-rockers The Appleseed Cast spontaneously invaded the stage playing all manner of outlanding percussion instruments. I'm almost ashamed to admit how hilarious I found the dude rocking the cow bell to be. My friend and I stuck around for the first 4 songs by the aforementioned Cast, but when she wanted leave, I lamely acquiesced due to my dread of the 90+ minute journey home awaiting me. Nonetheless, An Horse rocked my socks off, and fired up long hibernating feelings within me without my having even been familiar with their music prior to the performance. All this, however, was a warm-up to the show I witnessed earlier this evening.

I traveled back to Ithaca and skipped my Monday class solely for the chance to see the beautiful Neko Case and her boyfriends do a show in the wonderfully gothic but intimate State Theater. I was that guy, the awkward 20 something going to the concert with my unhip parents in my old hometown. We rolled up right at the start of the set by the openers Crooked Fingers. I found it highly enjoyable, probably due to a combination of their laid back music, the 3 beers in my system, and being able to sit while watching them. Their set was followed by 20-30 minute lull, which consisted mainly of my awkward interactions with my parents and Ithaca folk I hadn't seen for a few years. I was starting to lost my buzz, which contributed to the slight sense of anxiety I felt as I waited for Neko to take the stage. These feeling reached a climax as the lights finally dimmed, and the woman of my dreams took the stage.

Dressed in tight jeans, a black tank top, and looking slightly haggard thanks to a fiery bloom of tussled greasy red hair, Neko's appearance didn't disappoint. Wildly strumming an acoustic guitar, her band kicked off with a storming version of 'Maybe Sparrow,' followed by one of my current song-of-the-year candidates, 'People Got A Lotta Nerve.' This was all well and good, but something happened during their next song. Neko and her back-up singer Kelly mentioned something about 'the cheesecake factory' that I didn't follow, then launched into 'The Pharoahs' off Middle Cyclone. I like this song, but it isn't quite one of my albums favorites. However, something about watching Neko perform her songs, and witnessing her create the unearthly sounds of which she is known, caused the emotional undercurrent of her writing took hold of my conciousness. Singing along to the song, I suddenly felt a weight on my chest as she hit chorus, and my pipes started choking up. Additionally, my vision started blurring, and I realized tears were coming to my eyes as she sang "I want the pharoahs, but there's only men!" If she had gone to the chorus a second time, I'm sure the waterworks would have breached my eyelids, but mercifully the song ended before this could happen. Keep in mind, this has never happened to me at a concert before, and before last week, I had only "cried" once in maybe the last 8 years. But this emotion occurred 3 more times over the course of the performance, during 'The Red Tide,' 'Margaret Vs. Pauline,' and 'That Teenage Feeling.' The latter was probably the highlight of the show, not surprising given it's status as the centerpiece of Neko's masterpiece Fox Confessor LP. What's amazing is that the band probably didn't do even half of the songs I'd hoped for, but I was riveted throughout their entire set. I don't think I've ever felt as intensely the sense that I wanted a show to go on forever. And it's not like the band or Neko did anything that radical. There was some great stage banter, with Neko keeping it real by flipping off the audience, dropping multiple F-bombs, and talking about watching porn. What really moved me about the show, I think, was how personal I realized the songs were to this woman, and how acutely emotional were the feelings that prompted them. Maybe my love of Neko derives from my envy of her unbelievable, god-given vocal chops (my undying fantasy is to be a great soul singer). However, unlike so many others, she maximizes her talents by making moving and (relatively) challenging music. The fact that she's a babe doesn't hurt either.

In sum, great show, possibly a 'transformative experience,' and a sign that it's high time I got back to hitting the concert scene.

$15,000 and three Playstation 3s!

My roommate Nate just forwarded me this article about Snoop Dogg from 2006, and I must say that it is, without question, one of the greatest pieces of journalism in the history of the printed word. Even if you're not down with Snoop, or loathe RS as much as I do, you must read this. I laughed, I cried. You will too.

Alt radio, I missed you.

Finally I've got something to listen to while I'm making dinner. 'The Alternate Side' plays on Fordham radio (90.7 FM) from 10 to midnight Mondays through Fridays, and it's solid listenin'. I was spoiled last year by Chicago public radio, which delivered good news radio every evening (as opposed to NYC public radio which plays boring-ass jazz or classical after 7). 'The Alternate Side' plays 'popular' indie jams, so as one might predict, their selection tends to be pretty tame. However, they've come through in the clutch many times over the last week since I started listening: 'Polar Opposites' Modest Mouse, 'Oh My God' Ida Maria, 'I Feel Better (live)' and 'Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms' Frightened Rabbit, 'Knotty Pine' Dirty Projectors, 'In the New Year' The Walkmen, assorted songs by Fleet Foxes and Arcade Fire, etc. Unfortunately, its not all good: they've given me two songs by the Raconteurs plus another one by Jack White's new band over the last couple days. However, when upcoming song-of-the-week 'I'm Confused' by Handsome Furs came on the other night, it was damn near transcendent. It definitely beat 1010 Wins, listening to the Knicks get blown out, or 'Funk Master Flex Night' on Hot 97.

If interested, check out their website, where they apparently broadcast around the clock. 

Songs of the Week (4/12)

These are actually the songs of last week, but whatever, here goes:

1. 'Beautiful Girls' by Deer Tick

I certainly didn't appreciate the original version of this song when Sean Kingston dropped it in 2007 and it blew up on urban radio. I was probably turned off by Jamaican accent tinged, auto-tuned crooning and slick, schlocky r&b radio production values. However, the John McCauley's rendition with his band Deer Tick exposes it for what it is: a great bit of r&b song writing in the tradition of Smokey Robinson. "You're far too beautiful girl, that's why this will never work/ You'll have me suicidal, suicidal when you say that its over." Simple, honest lyrics about the agony of love wrapped up in an upbeat, catchy melody (that borrows heavily from Ben E. King's 'Stand By Me'). Far from being the cliched white indie group doing an ironic cover of a hit urban song, Deer Tick approach the material with passionate reverence and innovation. They throw in some countryish harmonies and play up the 50's r&b roots of the song by adding in an organ and smooth guitar licks. The result is invigorating, especially as the song reaches its climax and McCauley transitions into the lyrics of 'Stand By Me' without flinching. Check it out now, it won't be up on myspace forever.

2. 'Lady Pilot' by Neko Case

In the runup to the Neko concert I'll be attending a week from today, I've been listening to her 3rd full length, Blacklisted. I don't know if I've listened to the album enough to get a handle on it, but at least one track so far shines out as easily one of Neko's best: 'Lady Pilot.' Haven't fully deciphered the lyrics yet, but I think the song has something to do with a lady flying a plane at night and maybe there's a crash. The one line that won't get out my head is Neko's full-throated declaration midway through that 'We've got a lady pilot, and she's not afraid to die!' Its probably all some dark metaphor for something, but what really makes this song is Neko's powerful pipes over catchy acoustic strumming. I really hope she reaches back into her catalogue and does this one ...

3. 'Cherry Chapstick' by Yo La Tengo

Rarely can I tolerate songs over 6 minutes long, but when one comes along that can rock me from start to finish, I know its great. I also have a hard time falling in love with songs whose lyrics don't 'move' me. However, 'Cherry Chapstick' is a rare breed: a long, heavily instrumental jam that just kills me. All that shoegazy goodness packed into tight hooky riffs that repeat over and over again but mutate spontaneously throughout the song into new wonderous sounds, but all the way keeping locked in step to a constant, driving groove. The more Yo La Tengo I here, the more I recognize their undeniable musical brilliance.

emo shit

I really liked the girl,

Had dreams about her,

Thinking to myself sometimes, it got louder

 - Ghost

Givin' your all again, until you

Run yourself dry again, until you

Feel like you could die or this might end

- Ted Leo

I love you more than I did when you were mine.

- Prince

Remember the 90's alt radio?

I was chillin in the NYU weight room today, and they were blasting some radio station playing 90's modern rock hits. When I walked in there was a rock cover version 'Sexual Healing' playing. I don't even think I need to say anything else. Next up came 'I Will Buy You A Garden' by Everclear, I song that I admittedly dug as a middle schooler. Hearing it again after all these years, I realize how wimpy the song actually was, and how terrible were its lyrics. However, there's no denying that it had a very hooky melody, although the melody was virtually the same as that of the vastly superior Everclear hit 'Santa Monica' (an incontestably awesome song). Everclear was followed by another nauseating cover, this time of 'Ring of Fire.' Man, that was bad. The radio started blinking in and out during the song, and at first I assumed someone had just shut it off because the song was so terrible. Unfortunately not, and I had to withstand the remainder of that atrocity. Bad 90's covers, ugh. Remember 'I'm A Believer'? Ah, that was painful. I had pretty much given up hope, but then 'Everlong' by the Foo Fighters came on and saved the day. Listening to that one again, it almost made sense how a group like Nickelback could continue to make music, straining for the great heights of grunge-pop awesomeness. Improbably, it got even better, as Pulp's 'Common People' came up next. I think I actually started mouthing the lyrics, which must have looked pretty ridiculous to all the bros who were broing out in the weight room. I finished about midway through the song, but stuck around long enough to hear Jarvis sing "Because you think that poor is cool!" on the chorus at least once.

NYU gym playlist 4/6/09:

1. 'Sexual Healing' - i don't know who, but i hate this band

2. 'I Will Buy You A Garden' - Everclear

3. 'Ring of Fire' - see track 1

4. 'Everlong' - Foo Fighters

5. 'Common People' - Pulp