Forget it, this shit is tailored to my interests all across the board.
This is a terrific performance.
And this is what Alison was like when I was 17.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
I Used My Eyes, Not My Hands
(Inca Ore & Grouper)It's nice to have immediate, urgent reactions to music sometimes. The feeling hasn't struck me as feverishly in months, but when I heard the first thirty seconds of the first song on the new Grouper record Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill, my ears perked up and every following note seemed to fit perfectly. With each successive song, I was further convinced that this record was gaining my total devotion. I adore everything Mazzy Star ever released, and Red House Painters have always held a spot in my heart. Grouper sounds like an immediate combination of the two aforementioned bands. If it's possible, the songs sound more haunted than the notion of that pairing of artists. I suppose the ethereal nature is due largely in part to the flooding amounts of reverb drenching the acoustic-guitar strums that lull along with Liz Harris' vocals; but whatever the reason, I am hooked. This is the kind of bedroom music I want to make on my own.
(Grouper live)
(Cover of Grouper's Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill LP out on Type Records)Equally impressive in its own right, Crocodiles just posted some new songs to their MySpace page that will be on their forthcoming LP out sometime in 2009. Fortunately for myself, I am old aquaintences with both members of the band and am hoping to land myself an advance of the album. The track "I Wanna Kill" is such a standout song, and easily the best thing they've done (in my opinion).
(Crocodiles live)Brandon and Chuck are two extremely talented musicians that appreciate so many genres of music. That open-mindedness has put them in a position to create really inventive songs that pay homage to their musical heroes (think Suicide and the Screamers doing covers of the Jesus and Mary Chain and Spectrum), while pushing the envelope further. "I Wanna Kill" caught me off guard, as it shows a different side to their music I wasn't quite expecting. If you live in a town they're passing through, I'd also highly suggest seeing them live. Brandon's always been a very provacitive frontman, and with Chuck syncronizing visual effects to his blistering guitar lines and sequenced rhythms, the whole experience is unlike most bands I've seen (especially as of late).
(Cover of Crocodiles' debut 7" out on Zoo Music)Saturday, December 27, 2008
Swallowed In Their Coats
I've been listening to a lot of Francoise Hardy lately. That, along with Scott Walker's solo records and the Fleet Foxes LP, has me pretty much set for the rest of Winter. To be honest though, I've been spending just as much time staring at Hardy's album covers as I have been listening to 'em. It's no wonder the Beatles and Bob Dylan all begged to meet her back in the day. She takes the cake when it comes to French-pop beauties. Bardot, Birkin, Gall and the rest don't even come close.
And equally on their own calliber, Walker is pretty much the coolest bloke from his era. I know I've already said it, but man, he was such a genuine musician's musician. This interview clip is hilarious, you can see how frustrated he's getting by the absurdity of his own fame.
This is a really great crash course too for any Scott Walker newcomers.
In the above, they mention Walker's brief obsession with Belgian singer, Jacques Brel. He's sort of the male equivalent to Edith Piaf. He was one of the first of his kind during the 50's, singing about all the dark topics most popular singers ignored. His voice was unique and certainly isn't for everybody, but his intensity is unmatched for his time. It took me a while to really dig into Brel's music, but now I'm on the hunt for his elusive LPs. One of his best known songs, which was later covered by Walker, is the seedy tale of "Amsterdam". The lyrics are terrific and this performance really makes a case for anyone curious about Brel. He sings the song in French, but there are subtitles in English on another version of it on YouTube. This is the full version though, which I'd highly recommend giving a gander.
And equally on their own calliber, Walker is pretty much the coolest bloke from his era. I know I've already said it, but man, he was such a genuine musician's musician. This interview clip is hilarious, you can see how frustrated he's getting by the absurdity of his own fame.
This is a really great crash course too for any Scott Walker newcomers.
In the above, they mention Walker's brief obsession with Belgian singer, Jacques Brel. He's sort of the male equivalent to Edith Piaf. He was one of the first of his kind during the 50's, singing about all the dark topics most popular singers ignored. His voice was unique and certainly isn't for everybody, but his intensity is unmatched for his time. It took me a while to really dig into Brel's music, but now I'm on the hunt for his elusive LPs. One of his best known songs, which was later covered by Walker, is the seedy tale of "Amsterdam". The lyrics are terrific and this performance really makes a case for anyone curious about Brel. He sings the song in French, but there are subtitles in English on another version of it on YouTube. This is the full version though, which I'd highly recommend giving a gander.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
The last few months have proved pretty plentiful in terms of record finds. I've been digging through bins of vinyl a couple times a week, pretty consistently, and I've fallen in love with a lot of older records. I think it's safe to say that out of all of them, Scott Walker (and the Walker Brothers back catalog) have been the ones I've really taken too. Perhaps it's Scott Walker's personality, much like Syd Barrett's, that intrigued me at first. However, once I started really listening to his spectrum of music and the influence it's had on the generations to follow, I'd really gained a deep respect for him.
Scott Walker grew up in the States, but gained his major notoriety in Europe. A lot of people mistake that latter fact, and assume he was British, but he cut his teeth right here in Los Angeles as a session musician before ever gaining success as part of the Walker Bros and later as a solo artist. Scott started out doing his thing in the traditional pop vein of the times, but the Walker Brothers began incorporating a lot of orchestration into their ballads and eventually bridged folk and country aspects too. On his own, Scott abandoned the teeny-bop appeal for a more original path and by his fifth album had completely gone 180. His lyrics became these dark, sometimes abstract, stories and the music he accompanied it with became more expansive. Speed up to current-day, and his music has become downright frightening. He channels these devil-possessed operatic voices, and weird noise soundscapes engulf every non-vocalized crevice.
I must admit, some of his more recent albums are a bit difficult to sit all the way through, but I commend him nonetheless. At the height of his popularity, Scott Walker turned away and took an alternate path that some deemed a commercial suicide. I definitely respect that decision despite being a bigger fan of his more pop-oriented past. My favorite Walker Brothers song is actually a cover they'd popularized in the 60's. It's called "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" and, well, it's just undeniably catchy.
Aside from his musical influence on me, Scott Walker's fashion sense is impeccable and one I hope to pick up on. He was part Kerouac, part Dylan, part Lennon and part Reed. It's only a matter of time before some fashion publication does a retrospective piece on Walker's style (if one hasn't been done already). You can find his fashion influence most evident today in Jarvis Cocker, of Pulp fame. Younger bands like The Walkmen and The National seem to have latched onto it as well, perhaps unknowingly. It's the cross between casual corduroys or jeans, working class shirts and bourgeoise sweaters, blazers and scarves that conjur his dapper image.
Along with Scott Walker, I've also started diving into Serge Gainsbourg's back-catalog. I recently came across a few of his LPs he'd scored for films (often one's he starred in). Of all of the one's I've gotten my hands on, his soundtrack to Bonnie & Clyde with Bridgette Bardot is my current favorite! It's French-pop at it's finest and, despite not always understanding what he's singing, I can tell he's always taking the piss out of something/someone. Serge is often referred to as the "dirty old man" of pop music, and it's easy to see why. Never one to be bashful about his appreciation of the female form, Serge has sleazed his way into the lives of countless French beauties; most notoriously Bridgette Bardot (to whom he later confessed to his second wife, Jane Birkin, that he'd feared Bardot's breasts). He also did several records with Birkin, with whom he also fathered the beautiful Charlotte Gainsbourg (whose record from 2006 was amazing in its own right). He's also written dozens of songs with/for France Gall, Francoise Hardy and countless other French-female icons. Gainsbourg, like Walker, had a great sense style. His appearance was heavily informed from the early jazz greats, but it evolved into a more formal and refined statesman variety. His influence on music and fashion is also evident in Cocker, as well as the Last Shadow Puppets and even Pete Doherty.
In my next post, I'll try and showcase images that reflect Walker and Gainsbourg's influence in today's fashion landscape. For now though, feast your eyes and ears on this pop-gem by Gainsbourg and a young France Gall.
Scott Walker grew up in the States, but gained his major notoriety in Europe. A lot of people mistake that latter fact, and assume he was British, but he cut his teeth right here in Los Angeles as a session musician before ever gaining success as part of the Walker Bros and later as a solo artist. Scott started out doing his thing in the traditional pop vein of the times, but the Walker Brothers began incorporating a lot of orchestration into their ballads and eventually bridged folk and country aspects too. On his own, Scott abandoned the teeny-bop appeal for a more original path and by his fifth album had completely gone 180. His lyrics became these dark, sometimes abstract, stories and the music he accompanied it with became more expansive. Speed up to current-day, and his music has become downright frightening. He channels these devil-possessed operatic voices, and weird noise soundscapes engulf every non-vocalized crevice.
I must admit, some of his more recent albums are a bit difficult to sit all the way through, but I commend him nonetheless. At the height of his popularity, Scott Walker turned away and took an alternate path that some deemed a commercial suicide. I definitely respect that decision despite being a bigger fan of his more pop-oriented past. My favorite Walker Brothers song is actually a cover they'd popularized in the 60's. It's called "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" and, well, it's just undeniably catchy.
Aside from his musical influence on me, Scott Walker's fashion sense is impeccable and one I hope to pick up on. He was part Kerouac, part Dylan, part Lennon and part Reed. It's only a matter of time before some fashion publication does a retrospective piece on Walker's style (if one hasn't been done already). You can find his fashion influence most evident today in Jarvis Cocker, of Pulp fame. Younger bands like The Walkmen and The National seem to have latched onto it as well, perhaps unknowingly. It's the cross between casual corduroys or jeans, working class shirts and bourgeoise sweaters, blazers and scarves that conjur his dapper image.
Along with Scott Walker, I've also started diving into Serge Gainsbourg's back-catalog. I recently came across a few of his LPs he'd scored for films (often one's he starred in). Of all of the one's I've gotten my hands on, his soundtrack to Bonnie & Clyde with Bridgette Bardot is my current favorite! It's French-pop at it's finest and, despite not always understanding what he's singing, I can tell he's always taking the piss out of something/someone. Serge is often referred to as the "dirty old man" of pop music, and it's easy to see why. Never one to be bashful about his appreciation of the female form, Serge has sleazed his way into the lives of countless French beauties; most notoriously Bridgette Bardot (to whom he later confessed to his second wife, Jane Birkin, that he'd feared Bardot's breasts). He also did several records with Birkin, with whom he also fathered the beautiful Charlotte Gainsbourg (whose record from 2006 was amazing in its own right). He's also written dozens of songs with/for France Gall, Francoise Hardy and countless other French-female icons. Gainsbourg, like Walker, had a great sense style. His appearance was heavily informed from the early jazz greats, but it evolved into a more formal and refined statesman variety. His influence on music and fashion is also evident in Cocker, as well as the Last Shadow Puppets and even Pete Doherty.
In my next post, I'll try and showcase images that reflect Walker and Gainsbourg's influence in today's fashion landscape. For now though, feast your eyes and ears on this pop-gem by Gainsbourg and a young France Gall.Thursday, December 4, 2008
As We Come To A Close
UPDATE: As of 12/11/08, I've finalized the order and included two others categories. All are listed below in ordered sequence.
This is a list of new records I've most enjoyed this year. In retrospect, it was quite a good year for music. There's a lot of great releases and hopefully 2009 will live up to it (Autolux, Ambulance LTD, and Grizzly Bear are all releasing records, so it's already looking good).
Top 10 Live Shows of 2008
This is a list of new records I've most enjoyed this year. In retrospect, it was quite a good year for music. There's a lot of great releases and hopefully 2009 will live up to it (Autolux, Ambulance LTD, and Grizzly Bear are all releasing records, so it's already looking good).
Top 40 Records of 2008
- Deerhunter "Microcastle/Weird Era Cont'd."
- The Walkmen "You & Me"
- The Kills "Midnight Boom"
- Department of Eagles "In Ear Park"
- Coldplay "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends"
- The Asteroid #4 "These Flowers of Ours: A Treasury of..."
- Death Cab For Cutie "Narrow Stairs"
- French Kicks "Swimming"
- Atlas Sound "Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See..."
- Grouper "Dragging a Dead Dear Up A Hill"
- The Raveonettes "Lust Lust Lust"
- The Henry Clay People "For Cheap Or For Free"
- Moscow Olympics "Cut The World"
- Darker My Love "2"
- M83 "Saturdays = Youth"
- The Airfields "Up All Night"
- Fleet Foxes "Fleet Foxes"
- Ryan Adams "Cardinology"
- R.E.M. "Accelerate"
- The Last Shadow Puppets "The Age of The Understatement"
- Safeashome "Not What Happens"
- Crystal Castles "Crystal Castles"
- Oasis "Dig Out Your Soul"
- Beach House "Devotion"
- Longwave "Secrets Are Sinister"
- Notwist "The Devil, You + Me"
- No Age "Nouns"
- Sigur Rós "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust"
- The Stills "Oceans Will Rise"
- Crystal Stilts "Alight of Night"
- MotoBoy "MotoBoy"
- Santogold "Santogold"
- Cut Copy "In Ghost Colours"
- Beck "Modern Guilt"
- Wolf Parade "Live From Mount Zoomer"
- She & Him "Volume One"
- The Gaslight Anthem " '59 Sound"
- Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago"
- The Verve "Forth"
- The Duke Spirit "Neptune"
Top 10 EPs/7 inches of 2008
(Non-Album Related)
(Non-Album Related)
- Girls "Morning Light" 7"
- The Child Ballads "Cheekbone Hollows" EP
- Magnetic Morning "Magnetic Morning" EP
- The Muslims "The Muslims" 12" EP
- Past Lives "Strange Symmetry" EP
- Pains of Being Pure at Heart "Everything With You" 7"
- Northern Portrait "Fallen Aristocracy" & "Napolean Sweetheart" EPs
- The Jealous Sound "Friends" EP
- Crocodiles "Crocodiles" 7"
- The Organ "Thieves" EP
Top 10 Live Shows of 2008
- My Bloody Valentine at the Santa Monica Civic Center
- The Kills at the El Rey Theater
- Deerhunter at the El Rey Theater
- The Walkmen at the Troubadour
- Pinhead Gunpowder at the Troubadour
- St. Vincent at the Echoplex
- Crocodiles at The Casbah
- The Last Shadow Puppets at the Mayan Theater
- Tegan & Sara at the Henry Fonda Music Box
- The Henry Clay People at Spaceland
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