I'm always looking for new stuff, and luckily, you know more than I do. Have something to recommend? email me. Have a show coming up? Let me know: topomodesto[at]gmail[dot]com
OK, so I alluded to it, but Sunset and Grouper, two freed picks, are heading up this mix, along with his other favorite, N.Lannon, side project of Nyles Lannon of Film School fame. I’m just going crazy for this War On Drugs album, and “Pushing Corn,” the one b-side they left off the album is just as good as anything they included. If you haven’t picked yet picked up Wagonwheel Blues, I don’t know what I can do for you. The whole album is full of quotables – and I like what I read from “Pushing Corn,” speaking on getting by within a small town, but with ‘underground’ values. “Show me this town from the underground.” The Helio Sequence album has also really grown on me, and I don’t know how I originally missed “Hallelujah” as a standout. Awesome production. Shannon Wright’s album is another one that crept up on me. “St. Pete” starts innocent enough, before kicking you in the ass like its 1997 again. And then there is this Dodos track. Is it just me? The original version on Beware Of The Maniacs was kind of shitty, no? But then this more subtle version that they recorded for Daytrotter last year is just fantastic. It pops into my head at the strangest of times, but usually in the middle of the day when I’m wishing that I had a portable music player that was synced into my subconscious.
October 2008 Mix
01 Sunset – The World Is Awaiting
02 The Helio Sequence – Hallelujah
03 Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping
04 Portastatic – Codes Runes Dunes
05 Mississippi John Hurt – Nobody’s Dirty Business
06 The Donkeys – Traverse Wine
07 N.Lannon – Demons
08 Shannon Wright – St. Pete
09 The Dodos – The Ball (Daytrotter Session)
10 The War On Drugs – Pushing Corn
Last week MGMT played a great set on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic in preparation for their show at The Hollywood Bowl the following evening. Much as with their performance at the Bowl, opening for Spoon and Beck, the songs translate very well live. I have to think this is because the majority of the instrumentation is pre-recorded synthesized, but there is a whole lot of guitar-solo-ness going on here too. And even if the glam rock wanna-be solo on “Weekend Wars” had my fingers on the digital radio dial, it is worth sticking it out to hear “Electric Feel” and “The Handshake.” This is pretty much the selection of songs I remember from the Bowl, with the exception of the goof ball Laid Back cover in place of the crowd favorite, “Kids.” But then, nobody every accused them of being too prolific for their own good.
Update: files removed by request.
: 01 Of Moons, Birds And Monsters :
: 02 Weekend Wars :
: 03 Pieces Of What :
: 04 Roger (Laid Back cover) :
: 05 Electric Feel :
: 06 The Handshake :
Freed has come through with a whole bunch of good recommendations in the past few weeks… namely The War On Drugs and Sunset, though I take full credit for The Lord Dog Bird – even if I’m generally embarrassed to claim it because the name is so ridiculous. He also pointed out Grouper, which may be sort of mellow/slowcore for me, but is still pretty smurfing good. I think I already covered The War On Drugs in this months mix, but let me reiterate by saying that the line:
Chasing squirrels around your property
Making sure that they know that this is your kingdom
And nothing will stop it
is pretty much my m.o. these days. That’s what I get for living in L.A. and having a back yard. What kind of city is this?
But Sunset, who also typographically go as ‘{{{ Sunset }}}’, are a great band from Austin that self-releases albums with impeccable production. I don’t really know how they do it. But the bells, drums and pianos have pretty much guaranteed that they’ll make my Christmas mix this year, if I make one. I definitely recommend their new album, The Glowing City. And my friend, Bill, who lives in Austin was brilliant enough to point me to their “Pink Clouds” tour-only cassette, which they are temporarily making available online HERE. I think that these two tracks show some of their range, as well as some of their awesomeness. “Loveshines” definitely has a Jon Brion feel for me, while “The World Is Awaiting” might be equal parts Arcade Fire (I know… it’s lazy comparison) and Page France. Now, if you don’t mind I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and I’m going to set out and find that shark that ate my friend and destroy it.
For a while now, I’ve been aware that the sister labels of Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar, were a goldmine of good music. I keep noticing their logos on the back of albums that I enjoy, but it wasn’t until this past month when picking up The War On Drugs and The Lord Dog Bird, that I really had to take a moment to wonder how they put out so many good bands. Two labels with attitude coming straight out of Bloomington, Indiana, they seem to pick up on bands from all over rather than being an insular “scene” of music. My only guess is that they have great taste and are good at weeding through demos. So I’m kicking this month of with those two bands. The Lord Dog Bird (despite having my least favorite band name since Sparklehorse) are awesome. And it wasn’t until I picked up the album that I dumbly realized it is a side project of Wilderness guitarist, Colin McCann. The War On Drugs‘ Wagonwheel Blues is easily one of my favorite debuts of the year. They are from Philadelphia and have a throwback feel to them in an upbeat tempo akin to Arcade Fire, but with some wandering tracks in the vein of Hearsay favorites, Hudson Bell. I took a while trying to figure out exactly who it reminded me of; Freed noted the guitars having Velvet Underground-like harmonies… and “Arms Like Boulders” sounds just like a Bob Seger track. But it mostly seemed like a cross between Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, before that I realized that Dylan + Springsteen = Tom Petty. Final answer.
There’s a bunch of throwbacks rounding out the mix. Toni Basil’s (of “Oh Mickey” fame) “Breakaway” is a classic Motown-era soul track, and then there is Ska/Rocksteady grandfather, Prince Buster, doing the first version I’ve heard of “A Change Is Gonna Come” that I love so much that I don’t feel the need to compare it to Sam Cooke’s version. Oh, and The Fendermen’s classic “Muleskinner Blues” is the best version of a song that The Cramps and Cat Power would go on to cover.
September 2008 Mix
01 The Lord Dog Bird – Song For Woodthrush
02 The War On Drugs – Arms Like Boulders
03 Toni Basil – Breakaway
04 The Fendermen – Muleskinner Blues
05 Alsace Lorraine – If This Were the Past
06 Prince Buster – A Change Is Gonna Come
07 The Meeting Places – Turned Over
08 The Duke Spirit – The Step And The Walk
09 Mice Parade – Tales of Las Negras
10 Brian Eno & John Cale – Spinning Away
Are you kidding me? Out of nowhere, a duet of “Lost Coastlines” by Will Sheff with Carl Newman The New Pornographers. Will has performed a couple acoustic versions of this song recently, first on WOXY and then on NRK P3 (live from Norway), but I really think that having the second vocalist is half of what makes the song. I’m still a bit partial for their Motown-style bass and drums from the album version, but I dig the back and forth, and that Will switched places this time around. The original is below… How amazing is Jonathan Meiburg’s voice when he chimes in with that baritone “sit down?” The Stand-Ins, the appendix to last year’s The Stage Names, is out on September 9th.
I came really close to leading off this mix with Saloon’s cover of Pavement’s “Shoot The Singer” before I realized that I had rocked that track exactly a year ago. Man, I used to get away with barely a description back then. Well in honor of that (and my hectic workload), I’ll sign off and let this month speak for itself. Enjoy.
August 2008 Mix
01 Oxford Collapse – The Birthday Wars
02 Havergal – Drowned Men
03 Zykos – Race Rabbit
04 Superstar Quamallah – Love Has Madeus
05 Ed Laurie – Albert
06 Bill Fay – Pictures Of Adolf Again
07 Nathan Wilkes – Now That I’m Wise
08 Invincible (feat. Buff 1, SUN & PL) – Deuce/Ypsi
09 Shannon Wright – Everybody’s Got Their Own Part To Play
10 The Helio Sequence – Shed Your Love
Mark Abraham of Cokemachineglow has very quickly become my new favorite music reviewer. After first blindsiding me with his thoughtful and engaging (and 2,359-word) review of an album that I otherwise wasn’t too interested in, and then the ‘No Big Hair’-awarded review of Shapeshifters by Detroit-by-way-of-Ann Arbor rapper, Invincible. Being a longtime lover of Detroit (I don’t want to give up to much personal information, but about 6 years ago I did a lengthy study on the exact issues that the above video for “Locusts” touches upon), I have long had an affinity for all things Detroit and, in particular, Detroit hip-hop. I never ended up moving there, but as guest rapper Finale explains towards the beginning of the track, “D speaks to me.”
It is my assumption that most of the country understands there is something odd about Detroit. I recall that the 2006 Superbowl offered a brief glimpse to the rest of what had become of the city that had had the collective back of the entire country turned on it. I would argue that, at least before Katrina, it most clearly exemplified problems of urban decay and suburbanism in the United States – particularly in how they relate to class and race. But at the same time, I always saw something there unique and beautiful – not only the city itself – but also in the community that remained after the suburban ‘white flight‘ as a matter of pride in the face of a intended and racist attack on its culture. And it is this attack upon the city, both in the historical sense and again today as the city seeks to rebuild and redevelop Detroit. Finale kicks the track off on this note, saying:
Condos remodel my gold turf
For what it’s worth soul got left in the earth
On the search I stood in front of Compu
Where the Hudson builders spoke first
And said, “I was here”
For the most part the song speaks to the specific issues of Detroit. But within the greater context of Invincible’s album, it continues a thematic criticism of disenfranchisement and attention to the processes of change. What I am most impressed by in the way she addresses such a complex topic is that she avoids a typical preservationist argument – that cities need to be protected from change, like plastic wrap over your living room couch. Cities are not stagnant and within them change is not only necessary but inevitable. But finding a means of enacting a conscious and positive change is what is important for preserving culture and communities. Repeating elements of her track on Palestinian displacement, “People Not Places,” she is focused on the culture of Detroit rather than its buildings. She is concerned by demolition within the city, but specific to how it affects residents:
It’s serve and removal
Of residents, with urban renewal
The reverend is the realtor
Here to save and heal you
Invincible and Finale weave together historical fact with reports on the current state of Detroit seamlessly, but if I had one criticism of the track it would be the ’stay focused’/'never let the locusts approach us’ suggestion of the chorus to simply avoid development and real estate developers. This shortcoming picked up on by the documentary/music video though, both in providing additional historical background, as well as in answers and solutions to the problem.
The interviewees note that development has to come from within in order to maintain the character of the city. And in this regard, yes, Detroit’s developers are to blame. But development in America is simply an equation of profit margins and – with the exception of a few that put their interest in communities ahead of the bottom line – developers will always do the minimum amount that will provide the highest return. In this regard city government needs to set the bar for maintaining cultural heritage as well as to promote a positive change. Thus far in Detroit, the only solutions have been ‘get rich quick‘ schemes that Invincible & Finale reference: the aforementioned Compuware World Headquarters, the People Mover monorail, and a multitude of casinos – all foreign to the character of Detroit.
I don’t know that I could give the album – which is as much an exercise in cultural theory as it is a creative display of musical talent – enough of a plug. I haven’t even touched upon her flow, demeanor, or multisyllabic rhymes. Her voice really reminds me of someone but I can’t quite place it. Maybe Qwel? And you have to admit that House Shoes‘ beat is fantastic, vol. 3. The packaging comes with anecdotes about each track, and can be picked up from any good retailer and most of the online sources. Really, an astounding debut.
I love the video for The New Year’s “The End’s Not Near” probably even more than I liked the song in the first place. I know I’m sort of breaking my promise not to flood the site with Pitchfork.tv videos, but this one is worth it. I like the playfulness of the moving camera and bicyclist, but I think what really makes it is the color of the dawn sky over – what is it – an overgrown parking lot next to an out of use airport? Their website says they have a new album coming out in September. Happy 4th, kids.
I forget who was originally responsible for discovering them between us, but I’m willing to give Freed credit for turning me on to Blue States. This was probably in 2002, right around the time that a song of their found its way into the soundtrack for 28 Days Later. At the time they were recording pretty downtempo/electroinca-type stuff, so it hit me by total surprise when, after an apparent breakup and regrouping, their 2004 album, The Soundings, turned out to be a sort of M83-like take at guitar driven indie rock. It wasn’t well received (I don’t think it ever got a U.S. release…), but I loved it [And by the way, David - Oasis? Really?]. I wondered if the sound would stick, only to discover the band – apparently operating like a phoenix – had broken up and started over again. Scaled back to the solo act of Andy Dragazis, First Steps Into… sounds more like the cinematic electronica act that I had first encountered, with a bit of the pop sensibility from their previous incarnation. You can’t tell me that “Allies” wouldn’t fit perfectly into a movie soundtrack.
There are a couple of remixes on here, most notably this HEALTH track from the remix album, DISCO, that they put out after apparently realizing that the average listener prefers the dancey stuff to the mass of noise that they usually record. There’s another Under Electric Light track on here, this one from their earlier Blue EP, and a TV On The Radio cover from Ned Collette that I stole from a Cokemachineglow podcast a couple years ago. Ned sounds like an Australian Nick Drake or Bill Fay, and his songs have a sweet Bon Iver-ness to them that works well both on lazy summer weekends, as well as late-night driving. I think there’s something special about music that can do that.
PS – This Joan Of Arc track is a three and a half minute masterpiece.
July 2008 Mix
01 Blue States – Allies
02 HEALTH – Tabloid Sores (Nosaj Thing Remix)
03 The Coast – Tightrope (Tokyo Police Club Remix)
04 Kevin Drew – Frightening Lives
05 Blind Willie McTell – Little Delia
06 Under Electric Light – Sitting Here
07 Ned Collette – Hours (TV On The Radio cover)
08 Close Lobsters – Just Too Bloody Stupid
09 Nina Simone – Do What You Gotta Do
10 Joan Of Arc – Ne Mosquitos Pass
I only just listened to one track so far, but it sounded like the Girl Talk that I wanted to hear. If you really need arm twisting (you can always just pay $0 for it if you really want to), Pitchfork has a sample.
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