At the beginning of the year I posted about Clear Tigers, a solid Brooklyn-based band that in my mind falls outside the mold, save, maybe, the Alec Ounsworth-like vocals. But the use of the synthesizer, the main source of melody on many of the tracks, is what has me coming back like pop stars to the crazy. I mean, the Philip Glass effect at the beginning of “Deathray” is calming enough that could fit the mood of a DeBeers commercial (certainly better than Cat Power did). I think Glass is actually a far better comparison than any indie act one might imagine… I would label the music ‘classical,’ in the sparing use of drums for songs like “Igloo.”
There have been so many covers of Joy Division’s posthumous hit that I could probably post one cover each Valentine’s Day and be sure that I run out before the covers do. I stumbled upon Honeyroot’s version recently, and wanted to share it with all you lovebirds and happy-to-your-self lonebirds. Have a good one, and lay off the chocolate… it’ll make you sick.
In light of this year’s presidential campaign, I wanted to make a point about what has been labeled “the least original buzzword in campaign history.” Before the ‘Super Tuesday’ primaries, I had a interesting conversation with a friend, who derided Barack Obama’s use of “Change” as a campaign slogan, noting that, “you can’t own change.” It seemed like after the Iowa caucuses, “change” became the Zeitgeist, repeated time and time again by the media, as well as within each candidate’s speeches, even those running to continue along the country’s current track. Some have duly noted that one cannot expect to get real change through any of the candidates; that none of the campaigns, operating within the status quo of political parties and political financing can truly offer anything significantly different. But parsing Obama’s phrasing of, “Our time for change has come,” I believe the reference to Sam Cooke’s Civil Rights-era classic is what actually does give him ownership of the slogan.
An archeological love of music seems to drive The Numero Group, a record label out of Chicago that is best known for their Eccentric Soul series. I was introduced to the set by Marion Black’s “Who Knows,” a record that I had sought out after recognizing the Rjd2-used vocal sample. It was among one of the standouts from The Capsoul Label, a collection of would-be hits from an obscure Columbus, Ohio soul label from 1970-1974, and was the first of the Eccentric Soul releases back in 2004. Each release seems to somehow mirror the same end-to-end quality, and comes with their own unique story behind their history and how the vintage gems of soul were uncovered. Last year saw two of the best releases from the series, my #8 album of the year, Twinight’s Lunar Hour, as well as The Outskirts Of Deep City, a follow up to their 2006 release by the Miami-based soul label.
Holy shit, indeed. Not to let getting canceled in 2006 hold them back, a new episode of Yacht Rock surfaced over the weekend. With many of the Michael McDonald tales already told, the focus is on Loggins, although the blue-eyed soul singer and ‘regular soul singer’ James Ingram join him in an epic battle against the “mellow, but not smooth”-ness of Jimmy Buffet. And if that still isn’t enough to sell you, there’s Jason Lee as Kevin Bacon eating bacon. We can only hope that a trip on the highway is to follow.
There’s no denying the way that The Arcade Fire are push interaction through the internet releases of their music videos. The new video for “Black Mirror,” directed by Oliver Groulx & Tracy Maurice, isn’t as interactive as the one Vincent Morisset did for “Neon Bible,” but is is just as artful. After the witty loading page, you can re-mix the track live, while the video plays. On my beat-up computer this causes a slight lag between the drums & vocals, but not so much that it takes away from the awesomeness of the idea, or of the odd plot and vintage art direction of the video (although a volume control would have been nice). Check it out here.
I guess I’ve just about resigned myself to the fact that this is a one-post-a-month site, at least for the time being, as well as the reality that freed isn’t posting anything, ever. But I’m gonna keep doing the monthly mixes, and every now and then I’ll feel inspired enough to do a quick posting. Right now, it’s The Dodos, a 2-piece that I saw open for Les Savy Fav in December. They immediately made me think of a mix between Two Gallants and Rogue Wave, so when I found out that they were from San Francisco (just as the aforementioned), I felt like a wine snob who guessed Alsace correctly in a blind tasting. At the time, I honestly wasn’t that impressed… they weren’t bad, but they didn’t catch me. And between drinks and conversation, they really needed to wow me. But I went home with the sound of them in my head (and a lipstick heart drawn by Tim of Les Savy Fav on my cheek)… and when I realized I had already downloaded “Fools” randomly from a blog at some point, it started to creep up on me until it was getting played almost daily.
I can’t wait. The last time I saw them I hadn’t let their stuff soak in yet. They were good, but as much as I went on to love that album, it was so melodramatic that I don’t think it let them kick out the jams the way I’m expecting the new songs will. The video for “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe” is really cool on a number of levels. I like the dichotomy between the set of the shoot and watching and how they are uncomfortably squeezed the performance into that motel room. Is it just me, or does Will look like he hasn’t adjusted to not wearing glasses? They pulled off the same song relatively well on Late Night, which is worth it just to see Conan give them the full seal of approval.
Deer Tick is the folksy music project of John McCauley, a guy from Providence, Rhode Island. Deer Tick is also a pretty difficult band to search for on the internets, and one that usually results in pictures of little spider looking things that want nothing more than to nibble on you. I have thrice mistakenly referred to Deer Tick as ‘Deerhoof,’ and only twice corrected myself. I’m not an especially big Deerhoof fan. I am a Deer Tick fan. But I still don’t like deer ticks.
I’m generally really happy to be living in L.A., and then Les Savy Fav plays an amazing show in New York and I kick myself for not being there. It worked out well for the first couple years; my move pretty much coincided with their hiatus, but seeing their upcoming schedule (2 shows in NYC, zero in L.A.) is painful. I’ll spare trying to rehash the scene secondhand when there are better sources, but it sounds like Tim was at his best, working through at least 3 costume changes (Bohemian Art Rocker, Flower Power Safari, Tim Gone Wild: Oaxaca, and whatever this is) and the band introduced it’s newest member; which is either a second guitarist or Lyla Butler - strapped on to what must be the coolest dad/bassist (rather than bassist/dad) around.