The Vivz + Timez Nu Viking @ Ballroom

Hit the Bowery Ballroom tonight for an absolutely killer double bill: Times New Viking and the Vivian Girls. There was an opening act too, wonderfully named 'Stupid Party,' but I missed them because I was seeing the new Star Trek movie. Got out of the movie (which was fucking rad) at ~9:46, and ran to the Bowery Ballroom from the Regal Theater at Union Square. Less than 10 minutes later I was there (felt like I was goin sub-7 along the way). Lady at the door assured me TNV hadn't gone on yet, so I hit the bathroom. As I was finishing up, I heard the crowd begin to cheer on the floor above me. Almost perfect timing.

As I made my way up the stairs to the performance area, Adam (the drummer) was saying something about "... our president smokes cigarettes," and then they launched into their first song (which I don't remember). It was a pretty standard TNV show: rapid-fire Ramones-esque pace, with the brief between song interjections by Adam (ex. "This song isn't about drugs"). Unfortunately, something about the band felt limp and bedraggled, unfortunate considering their tour just began. They just didn't seem to be having that much fun on stage, quite a contrast from the last time I saw them play at P4k '08. Beth looked positively haggard: maybe it was the lighting, but the bags beneath her eyes looked like they weighed a ton each. Whatever, I was still hypnotized by her, especially when she ditched the keyboards for a bright red electric guitar when the band played one of the 'new songs.' Actually, the song totally sucked, which highlights another major problem I had with the show: they didn't do my favorite songs. In fact, they hardly touched Ripped Off, playing maybe 3 songs from their breakout LP from last year. And they didn't play 'Teenage Lust!'! Goddamn it, that's all I really wanted! Egregiously, their set lasted approximately ~27 minutes, then they made a swift exit. I mean, I'm all about the Ramones thing, but that's going a little too far. Especially when they missed so many awesome tunes. At least they did 'Call and Respond,' maybe their 2nd best song. And when they were playing, I was definitely going ga ga. But c'mon, 27 minutes? What was the big hurry? I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and just assume drug consumption contributed to the early departure. But honestly, after getting so pumped for this show, I was a little disillusioned afterwards.

Thankfully the Viv Grrlz kicked ass. Their set was even more Ramones like in terms of loud fast songs with few short positives, but unlike TNV, they were excited and full of energy. I'm not as familiar with their stuff, but the passion they brought to their girl-group-surf-punk-lo-fi-garage rock odes to the disorienting highs and lows of love was intoxicating, and the crowd loved every minute of it. I'm a pretty expressive music fan, but even I was embarrassed by how some of the dudes were responding to the music. But honestly, who could blame them? Cassie Ramone and Kickball Katy were positively babelicious (shwing!), and the fun they were having was contagious. I'll even forgive them for skipping over their best song ('Where Do You Run' of course). Especially awesome was when they started to jam out on their last few songs, and let the shoegazey distortion slip into overdrive. The set concluded with the Vivz rotating instruments, which somehow turned out to be awesome. It was so enthralling that I wasn't even that disappointed when the Gurlz left without an encore. Great show.

Stuck around for a moment afterwards, and saw Beth Murphy chatting with some altish looking randos, probably just fans. I hovered for a bit hoping to get in a word with my goddess idol, but these bros would not quit. In the end, I took inspiration from Hutch Harris, and "I let it go." Perhaps the next time. And hopefully TNV will put a little more life into it then.

Songs of the Week (5/3)

Yeah, it's been a while. I'm busy, okay? Anyways, this is an extra special addition of 'songs of the week': the first ever videos of the week. It just so happens that my songs of the week have ill videos. Now, I still haven't figured out how to embed videos into my blog, so you'll just have to follow the damn link. But trust me, it will be worth it.

'I Hate My Job' by Cam'ron

Remember 'I.B.S.' off of Cam'ron's ill-fated Killa Season? Cam had spent most of that album, and it's forerunner Purple Haze, cultivating his image as a complete dick-head. In between his incredible free-associative lyrical wordplay, Cam'ron came off as an arrogant prick. Although this persona was charismatic to a certain point, it ultimately led to his downfall, and contributed to his alienation from virtually the entire rap community. 'I.B.S.' however was the one moment in which Cam let his guard down and spoke from the heart about the crippling gastrointestinal affliction that had had him contemplating suicide. I've sung its praises before on this blog, so I'll say no more, but I wanted to draw the connection to this new joint, the first track released from the long delayed Killa Season follow-up, Crime Pays. 'I Hate My Job' is a return to Cam'ron's vulnerable side, a canny move considering his current position in the eyes of most rap fans. His first verse comes from "the average everyday working woman," quite a departure for this avowed misogynist. The second verse details the struggles of an unemployed dude who gets patronized and rejected at job interviews, then returns home to find his woman is throwing him out of the house. Cam'ron tells the story humorously with his standard lyrical flare, and it would be easy to read this song as a context specific appeal to the common man. However, I see something a little deeper. Check out the chorus:

I put on my pants, put on my shoes 

I pray to god, paid all my dues

I'm tryin' to win, seems like I was born to lose

All I can say (yeah yeah yeah yeah)

I say let me through, but they won't let me through

You wanna quit?

Goddamn I'm ready to

The lifestyle I'm livin', ain't steady boo

All I can say ...

For once, Cam is seeming to acknowledge that he's in dire straights, and that he's dug himself into a hole from which he might not escape. With his career on the skids, it sounds like he's contemplating giving up and moving on. I'd wager that much will be determined by how Crime Pays fares. With this track though, I'd be cautiously optimistic about Cam's future. Of course it helps that the beat is a marvelous, catchy throwback to Kanye's early chipmunk soul days, sort of like 'Let The Beat Build' but much better. The video looks like it cost about $60 to make, which probably works to the song's favor. It's also hilarious. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nA2X4-aCso&feature=related

'Lessons Learned' by Matt and Kim

It feels totally entry level to post about this video, since its already been buzzing around the internet for a few weeks. But what the fuck, its a great video, and I'm hooked on the song. I love how Matt's super upbeat, chirpy vocals contrast with ultra emo lyrics: 'And so I stayed up all night/ Slept in all day/ This is my life/ Thinking 'bout tomorrow won't change how I feel today!' Also, the video really caters to my fascination with public nudity. It's a remarkable feat, even if certain moments seem a bit staged. I love the part where Matt casually tosses his underwear into the sky. See for yrself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJkymylTNU4

 

Presenting the loverly Kate Cooper

Felt bad about putting up a picture of Boeckner instead of Ms. Cooper in my last post, so here's a photo of the awesome aussie. Cute, huh?

Songs of the Week (4/26)

Almost getting this out on time:

'Thy Will Be Done' by Handsome Furs

You know I only put this song on the list just so I could have another excuse to post a picture of Dan Boeckner. Seriously though, this song somehow reminds me of Boeckner's opus, 'This Heart's On Fire.' Although 'Thy Will' doesn't quite reach the same dizzying heights, it's pretty damn awesome. As usual, I have no idea what Dan is singing about, but the words maintain a wonderful impressionistic effect: "White blinds on the kitchen table, white blinds being knocked down one by one," "Late at night when the party's over, we'll swim like fish through the sea until the morning sun." And really, it's all about the power chords, and Boeckner's impassioned caterwauling.

'Horizons' by An Horse

This one kind of crept up on me at the end of the week, and now it won't let me go. I haven't really had the time to parse the lyrics, although they seem to convey something about sea voyages as a metaphor for looking for love. With a power-pop chorus as catchy and relentlessly insistent as this song's, however, good lyrics aren't a necessity. Vocalist Kate Cooper seems to me be kind of like the female Ted Leo: a punk rock guitar hero churning out delectable pop songs about the agonizing subtleties of relationships. I kind of feel like if this band were doing the trendy lo-fi thing, they'd be getting a lot of play from the pretentious music taste-makers. Naturally, I've got a huge crush on Ms. Cooper. Sigh, too bad she's gay.

Best Sound Opinions show. Ever.

Finally got around to listening to last week's podcast from my favorite radio show, Chicago NPR's Sound Opinions. Pretty dull show overall, Jim and Greg spent most of the show talking to some record store owners about, yawn, the struggles of the record store business. There were a few highlights, like the weird (but still awesome) version of New Order's 'Temptation' that Greg plays, and the hosts' conflicting views on Asher Roth (I haven't heard enough from the bro to pick a side, but 'I Love College' is garbage). As is customary, the show ended with recorded messages from folks who call in to comment on the show. So the first guy comes on, and he's blathering on about the Beatles reissuing their catalogue on CD, and my eyes rolling back into their sockets. Then, all of a sudden, I hear a stab of guitar noise, and then a sharp bass line seared into my dura mater begins, and I know its the opening to the Dismemberment Plan masterpiece, 'The Ice of Boston.' And I know that it means they're about to the play the message I phoned in 2 weeks ago about their 'Best Pop Lyricists of All Time' show. Of course, I called in to rep the godly Travis Morrison, and to give a shout out to the aforementioned 'Ice of Boston.'

As one would expect, I kind of cringed a little hearing my voice played back over the radio. Not sure if it was due to my cell phone reception, or I was just really mumbling, but it was pretty hard to hear a lot of the things I said. My pronouncement of "Dismemberment Plan" and "Morrison" in particular were lost in the mix, not a good thing when you're trying to rep your favorite band, like I was. Additionally, it all sounded very scripted to me (which it was). All that considered, I'm really surprised that my call made it on to the show. In final analysis, I think it must have been a testament to the respect that the creators have for the Dismemberment Plan, and possibly their sympathy with my characterization of the group as "one of the great, forgotten bands of my generation." Anyways, hearing myself on the radio, not too thrilling, my life is still the same. Hearing the D-Plan rock out to 'Boston's soaring chorus on my favorite radio show, however, was priceless.

Check it out: http://audio.soundopinions.org/podcasts/sooppodshow177.mp3 (skip to the very end, with the call in segment, and wait until after the guy who talks about the Beatles). 

JANDEK!!!

So I attended a free Jandek show at NYU's Kimmel Center today. I'd never heard his music before, but I was intrigued by his fascinating Wikipedia entry. I've also been known to occasionally dabble in 'weird' music. I was sort of expecting a freak show when I went, and, long story short, I got pretty much that. The show had already begun when I walked in, and Jandek and his band were making some cacophanous noises. Jandek, in all black and a black cowboy hat that mostly covered his face from view, was sitting with his guitar on his lap and playing it like a 13 string steel pedal guitar. In addition, there was a saxophonist, a drummer, a bass player, and beautiful young woman singing (although it was more like she was making ethereal high pitched noises into the microphone). The whole song was basically a freaky, atonal jam, and was pretty awesome. In subsequent songs, the woman (name Biba Belle according to my ticket) did strangely hypnotizing dances across the stage. I was seriously in love with this woman. The set list was basically split between freaky jams, and freaky poetry readings. In the latter, Jandek would recite bizarre free verse narratives related generally to drinking, relationships, and existentialism. Unfortunately, it wasn't terribly compelling stuff. I preferred the jams. The musicians were all fantastic, but my favorite, as usual, was the drummer. He had a way of playing where he'd spastically his the sides of the snare rather than the actual drum part, and he'd occasionally bust out some ridiculous rhythms. Jandek's guitar work was also pretty compelling. Basically, he avoided any real chords, and used his ax to make weird noises that somehow sounded good.

Can't say I really enjoyed the show, in fact, when it ended, I was proud of myself for having sat through the full thing. Not that it was too strange for me. Seeing shows from The Boredoms, and Spires That In The Sunset Rise last year, weird music doesn't really faze me. Occasionally I'd realize how silly everything I was witnessing was, and I'd start chuckling. A few altchicks in the back row were really getting into it, screaming "I LOVE YOU JANDEK" at very inopportune moments. At one point, I looked around the auditorium, and realized that I was probably sitting in a room with the 40 or 50 most pretentious music fans at NYU. Not sure how I felt to be in such rare company.

One more thing. Pitchfork just blew up my spot by touting the new Woods album. Can I just say that I bought it a week ago, and really enjoy it?

We're caught in a landslide

I'm addicted to http://www.songmeanings.net/, a database of song lyrics where people come on and post their interpretations of the meanings of song lyrics. I always feel guilty going on the website because I feel like lyrical interpretation should be something that I 'do on my own.' It's kind of like being stuck on that really impossible puzzle in Zelda, and then finally bowing to the pressure and going online to look at a walkthrough to figure out what to do (not that I've ever done that). So far, I've only gone on to look at song's that I've lived with for a long time, and the effects on my appreciation of the music have been ambiguous. For instance, it's exciting to finally know what Ted Leo is talking about in 'Parallel or Together?', but the apparent meaning of the song doesn't quite click with the meaning I'd assigned to it from dozens of listens. My personal interpretation had more significance to me than the much more likely explanation posted on the website. On the other hand, the posted interpretations of songs like the D-Plan's 'Back and Forth' and Wolf Parade's 'Shine A Light' have increased my appreciation for them even more. At the same time, when some of that lyrical mystery is lost, the songs lose some of their intrigue, some of their raw excitement, to me the listener. 

What's my point here? I don't think that anyone should get too hung up on the 'actual' meaning of a song's lyrics. What is far more important is the listener's own personal interpretation, and how the words make him or her feel. For me, 'Parallel or Together?' will always be about loneliness and longing (although I guess the 'proper' interpretation sort of falls along those lines). As consumers of art, we are free to make of it what we like, and how music affects us and makes us feel is what really matters.