Top 10 Albums of 2007

10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible


2007 began with an onslaught of highly anticipated "follow-up" albums. Arcade Fire, The Shins, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah saw great commercial success from their youthful and energetic fan bases, but were slammed by critics for not following through on their supposed potential. The way I feel about Neon Bible now is the same as I felt about it when I first heard it: Funeral is an album for indie rock fans, Neon Bible is an album for Arcade Fire fans. No band can please all of the people all the time, but Arcade Fire can sure please those who still consider themselves fans after the wave of popularity.

Neon Bible is an album more reserved and mature. The manic street preacher has turned into a wise hermit, and those who seek him out will reap the benefits.


09. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder


Success can be defined as being prepared when opportunity arrives. CYHSY certainly were prepared to handle the surrealness of 2005's indie-boom, which propelled them into indie-stardom, without anyone ever realizing exactly how or why. CYHSY are not a fluke though. Equipped with a flavored songwriter with an extremely unique voice, and a band full of self-conscious utility players, CYHSY are prepared to make awesome abstract pop music, regardless if the masses or critics like it or not.

Some Loud Thunder starts off with it's title track, one of the best, most complete pop songs in years. The track's production, created by Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann, crackles and pops with an off-kilter distortion, brilliant both sonically and conceptually. The track servers as a filter, separating those who are aware of CYHSY's brilliant vision from those confused fools riding the band's flash of popularity. Some will say this track is worth skipping. Ignore these people, for they have a skewed perception of what this album should be, (not to mention how absurd it is to have any type of perception of what any art should be). The album has an extremely strong beginning and end, not to mention the VU-influenced dance gem in the middle, Satan Said Dance. Seriously, can you imagine how many indie kids threw a dance party this year, just so they could play that song?


08. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga


This is actually the first spoon album I've ever heard, and I'm a bit scared to work my way backwards. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is one of those classic breakthrough albums. Diehard fans won't admit its their best, favoring nostalgia and familiarity, but they realize it deep in their subconscious. The song craft is as strong as ever, and the production is clear and beautiful without over doing it. Theres a touch of reservation and abundance often at the same time. I believe it will be a while before I feel the need to venture backwards.


07. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity


I've read it plenty of times, and every time I listen to Friend Opportunity it becomes clearer and clearer: Deerhoof really are the best band on the planet. Another band that I've shown up to the show a bit late on, I'm coming to realize, its much better late than never. Deerhoof have existed for quite awhile, slowly proving their technicality while honing their song crafting abilities. You can't help but listen to this album and dream that you were there to bear witness to it's inspired creation. Equally amazing is the thought that this album was created by only three people. Banging drums and roaring guitars are present throughout, but the range of extra sounds and synths and horns is truly incredible. Something about this album is magic. Or better yet, everything about this album is magic.


06. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver


Sound of Silver is a bit like chasing the dragon, I'll never be able to recreate how I felt the first time I heard it. Nothing sparked my interest more than curiosity, and my expectations were relatively low. Get Innocuous, the opening track, is 7 minutes of everything that you think this album should be. Flashing lights, tripping on E, getting loose to some white boy techno-funk, 7 minutes of what LCD Soundsystem should sound like, is now out of your system. What follows is 8 near perfect pieces of art, each complete in their own, but with a sum so much greater than their parts. The transition between tracks 4 and 5 is nothing short of genius. The former builds on a beat of what sounds like alarm clocks, resonating blips and beeps that are great for intense headphone listening or intense system-bumping-ass-shaking. The latter is more organic in every sense of the word, choppy piano hits complimented with rising bass and guitar. The song eventually turns into a 7 and a half minute freak out, reminding us that you can still sound like a rock band, but unfold like a disco tune.


05. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam


Ever get that feeling that someone close to you is doing sketchy things behind your back? Not answering your phone calls, not returning your emails. Acting like their hiding something from you, and coming home late from work. Then, when you're about to assume the worst, you realize they've really just been organizing you a surprise birthday party. Thats kinda what this album is like.

Animal Collective scared me for a bit with Feels. Not that Feels was bad (it was quite good), it was just... I felt like they were up to something. Its easy to get angry with your favorite bands becoming popular, especially because people start to like them for the wrong reasons. Thats what Feels was kind of like.

Then, Strawberry Jam comes along, and all worries are vanquished. Strawberry Jam is something entirely novel, yet contains everything that made Animal Collective great in the first place. The two standout features on this album are the abstract collection of noises blanketing each song, and Avey Tare's voice. Avey is possible the most interesting voice in music these days, strong and piercing like a laser beam, controllable high to low, whisper to scream. The album flows brilliantly too, each song improved by the flow of its predecessor.


04. Bullion - Pet Sounds In The Key of Dee


Its enough to say that Bullion chose one of the best pop albums of all time for his source material. Of course people are going to recognize Brian Wilson's distinguishable "ooos" and "aaahhs" and enjoy it on an easy level. But Bullion is trying to get you to think and listen harder. He teases you, cutting in tiny snippets of pleasure that you have to wait 4 more bars to hear again. The craft is certainly intentional and makes this album so much more than "just another mash up".

Whats truly amazing is the way Bullion fucks with the emotion of the song. Using only samples from "Wouldn't It Be Nice", a cheery pop song of innocence and longing, Bullion creates a bonified ass shaking anthem. "I'm Waiting For the Day" is another example. The original sobg is a an upbeat, optimistic track, sung by a tongue in cheek smirking Wilson. Bullion's version feels different though. Bullion works primarily off of one line: "I gave you love". When its played over the melancholy, eerie background that Bullion creates from the original tracks, the line's meanings and conveyed emotions are absolutely different. Instead of smiling and looking to the future, you feel heartache and longing. Such a change in mood and dynamic is nothing short of genius.


03. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime


From Here We Go Sublime is an album that wraps you its entirety, hypnotizing your mind and soul in its simultaneously chilling and warm atmosphere. This album has been such a part of me this year, from falling asleep in a manic depressive state in Philadelphia, to looking outside the van window to fields of early morning fog somewhere in Iowa, to waiting underground for my trolley on campus. Each texture and sampled voice holds unnumbered feelings from the times I've obsessed over this album, and for that I'm eternally grateful.


02. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer?


Who could have ever imagined that this album would have been this good? The first time I listened to it I was disappointed. The second time I listened to it I was confused. The third time I listened to it I was in love. Theres too much good stuff in this album to even begin talking about, but the overall themes are whats really impressive. The transition from first half of the album to second half is smooth and clear. The album pinpoints certain emotions (heartbreak, depression, lust, jealousy, denial) with unbelievable precision, to the point that I feel myself relating to a character in Sweden who's taken to Black Metal to ease his sadness. The sorrowful glee of A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger is what gets me. We've heard it before from Bradley: "saying I'm happy when I'm not". This song is the sonic representation of smiling, when deep down you feel like jumping off of a bridge.


1. Panda Bear - Person Pitch


Sometimes you'll be riding your bike, and as you pass a playground the sun just begins to creep out from behind the clouds. It's warmth erases the chill of the wind, and you see children playing on the swings, and maybe for just a moment, you feel a touch of bliss, and feel the age of your soul. Person Pitch is like that glimpse of sun, awakening real unabashed happiness from the pits of your day to day week to week paycheck to paycheck heart.

Its easy to become so personally attached to this record, primarily because of the way it was constructed. Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) chose to use snippets of his favorite songs as the building blocks for the album, giving it an extremely personal touch. This album can be considered a sonic representation of Noah Lennox at this point in his life, sharing a part of himself with the world.

The best minute and a half of music to come out this year comes three quarters of the way through the epic Good Girls/Carrots. The craziness stops for a brief moment and all thats left is a simple 1-2 beat drenched in reverb. A music box begins to play, and numerious memories are awaken. I think of standing in my second story room, sweating from the Philadelphia summer humidity, and hearing the icecream truck drive by. I think about being 8 and waiting everyday afterschool for the icecream truck. I think about being 4, and walking with my parents in the park. Suddenly Lennox's doubled voice comes in, unintelligible but unmistakably beautiful. I then relate to Lennox in the last song when he sings, "When my soul starts growing, I hope that it never stops".

Brilliant!

I just had a great idea for some sort of paper. It would be comparing Myspace and Facebook to the religious revolutions of the 16th century. Myspace would be the Catholic Church. At their peak, they both had a complete monopoly on their subjects, each indulging in abuses for capital gain. Myspace, content with its #1 status, saw no need to innovate features, and instead subjected its users to an onslaught of ugly advertisements. Then came another choice. Facebook / protestantism. Once word began to spread about an alternative, the people jumped ship. Facebook was social networking without the bullshit. Relatively no adds, lots of features, and a return to what social networking "should" be like. Same with the protestant revolution. Luther wanted a return to how religion "should" be, getting rid of the bullshit and focusing on the immaterial aspects.

Realizing their mistake, both original institutions attempted to save face, hence the counter reformation. The Catholic Church and Myspace would both steal aspects of the revolutions, holding onto their loyal while trying to win back the patrons they lost. Neither would be wiped out of existence, but they will never be able to regain their monopolized status of the past.

Brilliant?

Playlist - #01

As another year comes to an end, we all gear ourselves up to prepare TONS AND TONS OF LISTS. Be it Christmas, or best / worst of's, everyone loves assigning quantitative values to art!

I just made my top 10 albums of the year list. Luckily before Pitchfork did so no one can cry about it being biased :P

Heres a few selections from my favorite stuff this year, some appearing on my list, some not. Check it out, and if you dig, its not too late to add it to your list(s).


Of Montreal - Grolandic Edit

Some of Kevin's best lyrics to date, over a slinky bass line, embellished with gorgeous multi-layered harmonies.


LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum (on Letterman)

Great late night TV performance. Makes good use of the house band!


Spoon - The Underdog

Spoon songs are like a game of Jenga. They start out full and layered, and they gradually remove as many pieces as possible while still keeping the structure intact. This video recreates what may be the innovative studio techniques behind Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Either way its fun to watch.


The Field - Over The Ice

Abstract video over the lead off track from The Field's From Here We Go Sublime. Chilling and beautiful, just like the song.


Animal Collective - Peacebone

Fucked up pop. Amazing song, rad video.


More in the days to follow. Enjoy!

Ben Stein is a douchebag

Here is the trailer for Ben Stein's upcoming film titled, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.



Have you ever witnessed something or someone so stupid, that your emotions surpass anger, and you instead feel pity? Thats how I feel about this bullshit. Honestly, theres just something about Ben Stein posing as some sort of gladiator, with the bad to the bone music... I just feel bad. Seriously.

The idea that Ben Stein thinks he is fighting some kind of oppressive status quo makes me sick. 98% of the world's population shares the belief that some sort of super natural being exists. You are not in the minority here Ben Stein. Lets stop trying to alter the scientific method, and instead maybe focus on spreading the word about the world being round.



People need to get over this whole creationism thing. Its not that religion doesn't belong in schools. Its that religion doesn't belong in science. Why do people continue to assume that religion and science are mutually exclusive?

The denial of evolution in this day and age is logistic suicide. The missing link argument is dead. In response, people have adopted the whole cry for "since we can't be sure 100% either way, we should teach both sides". They may be right about knowing FOR SURE (can you know anything 100% in the first place?), but its the logic behind that school of thought that is flawed.

For instance, I've been working on this theory here on campus. Its called the Theory of Ryanlution. Basically my hypothesis is that I am god, and all of existence is merely a projection of the musings of my omnipotent brain. I haven't proved it 100% yet, but to be fair we should teach it along the other theories so that students can make up their own minds, right?

Give me a break.

p.s. Ben Stein has recently tried to push the idea that we should start taxing the rich more so that the U.S. government can have more money for the military. Off topic I know, just wanted to remind you how big of a douche bag Ben Stein is.

Relgion, and bullshit as a political issue

Half of my google headlines the past three days have been dominated by the same story. Mitt Romney is going to talk about his Mormonism. My question is: who gives a shit? Or maybe a better question is: why would they give a shit?

Mike Huckabee is a Protestant because he was born in the South. Mitt Romney is a Mormon because he was born in Utah. Both probably believe that a God exists, and both probably think Jesus was a pretty good guy. End of story. No further explanation needed.

Now lets talk about something else, like maybe health care. Or I don't know, that war I think we're still in?

p.s. The Onion is so funny!!

Sleep and Snoop

Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Put some clothes on. Put my contacts in. Realized I didn't quite feel like going to school and climbed back into bed.

Now I leave you with Snoop's latest video for your viewing pleasure.

Snoop Dogg - Sensual Seduction [EXCLU]
Uploaded by PeteRock

Dion McGregor: Famous Sleep-Talker

Today I happened to stumbled upon a little treasure of hilarity that truly makes life worth living.

I was on Wikipedia at campus, trying to kill time before my next class. I stumbled upon a page about sleep-walking, and continued to browse related links until I ended up on sleep-talking. At the end of the article, I found what I thought was a hilarious little blurb.

"One famous sleep talker is Dion McGregor, a man who became something of an underground celebrity when his roommate Michael Barr recorded his nightly soliloquies (which were often hilariously detailed), which were then released as a series of albums in the 60's."

"McGregor talked in his sleep. Not in quiet, barely-comprehensible mumbles: while he slept, McGregor would essentially narrate his dreams at conversational volume. As a narrator of his (often terrifying) dreams, Dion adopted various personas but frequently established a fey, argumentative, insolent approach to the subject at hand – be it a hot air balloon trip to the moon with a group of multi-ethnic children, a frantic journey around New York, or a tattooing job on a woman's tongue."

Wow. I honestly could not wait to get home so I could download this. As soon as I got home I did, and on first listen was blown away at how absurdly hilarious this guy was. I listened to the first track and realized I should wait to listen to the rest until I was in some good, full company (laughing is so much better with others). I dabbled in a bit more a while later, and it only made me much more certain how hilarious this guy really was. I'm currently saving the rest of the album until I'm nice and stoned, in the company of some good friends, but I highly encourage you to download and listen for yourself. Prepare for some seriously funny shit.

Of Montreal, Reactionism, and Status Quo

To the delight of some, and disgust of others, Of Montreal have appeared in yet another TV spot, this time physically appearing to play themselves. Its similar to the way I feel about most commercials (doesn't create interest in the product), but it's still cute and admirable that they're able to poke fun at themselves.



In response to the inevitable claims that he's "selling out", Kevin Barnes wrote a quick little entry on his feelings on the subject. Its great because instead of staying on the defense, he instead attacks the impossible standards of those who love to toss around the "s" word.

I've been discovering lately a new group of shitty people. They exist in all shapes and forms and hold all kinds of different ideals, but they all have one trait in common. They romanticize and dream for an unlikely idea to come to become reality, but as soon as it does come to fruitation, they abandon it adopt a new idea that is 180 DEGREES FROM THEIR ORIGINAL DREAM. These are the people who don't want the world to be perfect because then there will be nothing to revolt against. These are the people who despise "lesser of two evils" politics, but as soon as they discover a grassroots type candidate, such as Ron Paul, they attack him because he could "never win". In this case, its these type of people who are quick to call someone a sell out, yet complain about modern popular music being bullshit. Which one do you want? Good music to stay an underground phenomenon, or for the masses to respect and listen to good music? Popular music isn't going to become good, good music needs to become popular. This is why its not bad for artists to sell themselves to the man (while of course holding a shred of dignity, mind you). Shit, no one accused the Beatles of selling out right? Status quo FTL.

http://www.stereogum.com/archives/commercial-appeal/of-montreal-art-brut-do-tmobile.html

Good Taste, History, and Space Ghost

Despite being an extremely abstract concept, I think there are some objective qualities to "good taste". One of them, is time. If The Used and Thrice are still your favorite bands to the day, may God help you, but I honestly would respect your taste more than I would have if you told me that five years ago. Why? Because clearly there is some quality about these bands that you like that have stood the test of time. Whatever it may be, it hasn't faded away like the band's popularity, creativity, and careers have. Its a history lesson and the lesson is trying to say something about taste!!!

Recently I decided that Broken Social Scene wasn't my favorite band anymore. Although they have the potential to be the best band in the world, they aren't able / don't know how to harness it. Their latest offer was unfortunately a let down, and their self titled album always had my focus shifted elsewhere; to the bootlegs of the past, and the recordings of the future. But You Forgot It In People is still perfect right? Thats when I'm beginning to doubt myself.

So where do I go from here? The clear heir to the throne is Pavement, but I don't listen to them nearly as much as I do the runner-up, Of Montreal. I decided however that Of Montreal (or BSS for that matter) will not stand the test of time nearly as well as Pavement. And heres why. The best bands exist outside of their albums. Pavement left us with five full lengths to judge them by. But more importantly, they had a personality that will live on forever. Why is it so hard to pick the best Beatles album? Because their albums don't mean shit, its the sum of their legacy and personality that lives on forever.

While its hard for people born in the 80s to get a feel for Pavement's (a band that existed solely in the 90s, the majority of the time under the radar) personality, the avid fan finds little clues everywhere. For example, take a look at exhibit A. These minute and a half videos encapsulate everything Pavement.

The Big Wait

Going to sleep and waking up are the hardest things in my life right now. I can't turn my brain off at night, and rolling out of bed after ten hours of sleep feels like waking up from three months of hibernation. I'm kind of in "the big wait" phase. I feel useless and powerless and everythinggoodless right now. To say I have no friends here is way fucked up to the few killer ones I do have, but I feel like I've burned too many bridges with the other ones. I'd say I can't wait for my friends to come back, but the truth is, they're not really coming back. I'll see most for Thanksgiving, but it'll be only for a few days. You can't live in anticipation for a few days. I can't wait to go back to Philly, but again, you can't live in anticipation for a few weeks. I can't wait to leave town again this summer, but again, you can't live in anticipation for a few months.

This week has been hell. I thought the time off would be good to catch up on school work, but of course I didn't. I play video games all day because its the only thing that makes me feel not miserable. But I'm not miserable. I'm just waiting I guess. Waiting to record that keyboard part. Waiting to stencil that shirt. Waiting to write those lyrics. Waiting for a girlfriend to fall from the sky.

I need routine in my life. I can't wait to start school again tomorrow so I can look at babes and eat Panda Express. I can't wait for work tomorrow so I can look at babes and eat Domino's pizza. Then once I turn in all my midterms Tuesday I can finally get around to things I've been meaning to do. Or stay up all night watching political videos on youtube. Probably that.

Mommy, what is a push poll?

" It is a way of slandering a political opponent in the guise of a poll. The so-called pollster calls thousands of people (instead of the normal 600-1000) and asks questions including things like "Did you know that Sen. John McCain has a black child? (used by the Bush campaign in South Carolina in the 2000 primaries). The implication was that McCain had an affair with a black woman. In reality, he and Mrs. McCain adopted a handicapped child from Mother Theresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. So this act of kindness was spun as a way of insinuating that he cheated on his wife, but in such a way that the Bush campaign didn't formally lie and if caught could say, "Oh, we were just curious about racial attitudes." "

Pete and Pete, Pet Sounds, and the golden age of Google

You remember that Pete and Pete episode right? A Hard Days Pete? In case you don't have the privilege of being a Pete and Pete fan, I'll summarize it for you quickly. Pete hears what he believes is destined to be his favorite song, but he doesn't know who preforms it. Pete spends the episode trying to track down this mysterious song, his foe being the leaky bucket that is human memory.

I've been in this situation in the past. Sometime around 8th grade I heard a song on 91x that blew my mind. I heard the song, had no idea who it was, but made it my mission from that point on to camp out 91x until I heard it again. About a month went by, and eventually I heard it. Luckily the DJ announced who the band was, but unfortunately I wasn't around a pen and a paper, and had to rely on my short term memory to remember the band name. Well, as I'm sure you can guess, the band name was forgotten, and I never heard the song again.

A sad story thats frustrating for a number of reasons. First and least important, I was disappointed in myself for forgetting. More frustrating however, is the idea that there exists a gold pot of good music out there, most of which I will never even have the CHANCE to hear. In a nihilistic kind of way, you will never hear your true, favorite song. And on top of that, if by star crossed luck you do, theres a solid chance you'll never be able to find it again in the infinitely saturated world of music today.

So. I'm at work the other day, listening to the fantastic satellite radio station we perpetually have on. I'm used to being surprised and impressed by the obscure music they play, but then I heard something that really knocked me off my feet. What started as what I thought was a more standard lo-fi sample based hip hop track, I immediately realized was something so much more. The bulk of this track was made up of samples from The Beach Boy's "Wouldn't It Be Nice", beautifully capturing snippets of vocal harmonies and ethereal guitars, creating something wholly unique and extremely enjoyable. I reveled in the pure bliss of this track for its two minutes, and immediately felt the doom of the thought that I might not ever hear it again.

But then I realized what had changed since the last "one that got away": the emergence of information culture. I set aside a good hour and made it my mission to find this song. Knowing nothing about it other than the fact that it sampled Wouldn't It Be Nice, I knew it wouldn't be an easy task. I searched page upon page of failed search queries, including "Wouldn't it be nice sample", "Beach Boys mash up", and "Wouldn't it be nice sample Beach Boys mash up". I learned that you can sample Beach Boys tracks on Amazon, and that there exists a mash up of Kanye West and Pet Sounds, but still hadn't found what I was looking for. Finally after searching for "hip hop Beach Boys", on the third page I struck oil. I found Bullion's album available for free download, "Pet Sounds: In The Key of Dee".

Besides being extremely proud of myself, I was eternally happy for finding this hidden treasure. I relived the magic of Wouldn't It Be Nice, and enjoyed 12 other fantastic tracks on this collection. It also relieved me that it IS possible to navigate the seemingly endless plethora of music, and truly find your favorite song if you so desire.

And if you're curious, visit and download 8-)
http://www.myspace.com/bullionness

The Darjeeling Limited

Gorgeous movie, lived up to my high expectations and more. Comments for those who have and have not seen it.

Have nots
Don't expect any radical gear shifts in Wes's delivery. His knack for style and visuals are there in full force. Where it differs from his other films is in theme. Bottle Rocket focuses on dreams, Life Aquatic focuses on eternal youth, Darjeeling has its own unique set of themes. The worst thing you can do going into this movie is expect how the plot will play out. I value movies that have a sense of "realness", a low "that would never happen in real life" quality. Good movies should feel like the crew is just documenting whats going on, not that the cast are puppets of the writer's demands. Darjeeling nails that.

Haves (SPOILERS!)
Here are some of my favorite lines and themes:

Hilariousness:
Peter laughs at Jack's short story
Jack: Oh what part are you on?
Peter: Oh nothing it just reminded me of something totally unrelated

Jack: I think those kids are laughing at us
Francis: I really love this country, the people are all so beautiful!

Jack: Wouldn't it be great to hear a train rolling by in the distance right now?
Pete: Not really
Francis: Yea that would probably just be annoying...

Francis: Look at these assholes

It was also great each time Francis came up with a new role, so well acted.

Touchingness:
When Peter is reading Jack's story and starts to tear up, speaks volumes about Jack's writing (non-fictional characters) and Peter's attachment to their dad.

The entire flashback sequence as perfect, probably my favorite part of the film. Obviously cool to see Jack without the mustache, and Francis without headgear. Lots of good subtleties, he never read Jack's book, Francis's frustration about their mom, and Peter's irrational insistence on getting the car. Peter really starts to stand out as the most interesting character, obviously with the most baggage over his father. The shot back to the Indian funeral with them in the same positions was brilliant, gear shift for the rest of the movie.

The "I drove my motorcycle off a ditch on purpose" line sums up everything I love about Wes Anderson. The line in itself carries more character development than most movies have in an entire hour and a half. Along with the "I think he might be my friend" line, you learn that Francis is a lonely, miserable soul. You also learn by induction that at the start of the film he felt uncomfortable and untrustworthy around the brothers, and now he feels at ease. Makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

The train montage seemed odd at first, and I'm still a bit confused by it. I'm guessing that each brother was sending their thoughts and troubles to their mom, Jack with Natalie Portman, Peter with his wife, Francis with Brenden, and lastly the mom with the man-eating tiger. That wouldn't account for Bill Murray and the snake dude though. I'll have to see it again.

The whole symbolic baggage thing was also great. It took me a while after the movie to figure that out (durrr), but I'll have to watch it again to see if its too "smacking you over the head".

Infatuation, determinism, existentialism, and the Fiery Furnaces

Let me start this blog entry with a statement. Matthew Friedberger's solo work, Winter Woman in particular, is nothing short of genius. Rewind three days ago. I'm in the middle of an extended surfing period (also known as, my life), when I come across an exciting fact. "Tomorrow the new Fiery Furnaces album Widow City is coming out" is the thought that followed the reading of this fact. In whatever desire I have to understand my favorite band's progression in some sort of chronological order, I figured before I give Widow City it's first listen, I should dig up those Friedberger solo albums and give them a second shot. You know, those albums that have a "1" play count. Or I mean, the first 6 songs have a "1" play count, at which point during the middle of the 7th song on 3/2/2007 (last played) I decided that it was too awful to continue, and switched back over to Blueberry Boat. THOSE albums!

Anyway, before diving in, I of course pull up the Pitchfork review, because I'm a tasteless zombie who can't think for myself. Quick scan, I see a blurb along the lines of "Winter Woman is the popppp album". I see some other shit about blah blah, Blueberry Boat is better, and at this point am ready to agree. I throw on Winter Woman and start up Warcraft 3, my favorite game to play while grudgingly listening to music.

A flutter of discombobulated drums kicks in, the sound of someone balancing a basket full of drum machines on his head, and slipping on a banana peel. The harmonic minor scale kicks in and I realize I'm in for a rough ride. Then, around the third song something happens. Friedberger hooks me right through the cheek with a gorgeous harmonica line: I'm infatuated. My mindset is now completely different. There is something I enjoy between this unnecessary garbage.

Now comes the interesting part. How do I justify this to myself? When chatting about this album am I supposed to say, "Yea, its pretty terrible, besides that harmonica line on Up The River"? Am I the kind of person who latches to music based on aesthetic pleasure, giving no merit to complete or conceptual vision? No way. I do something just as illogical: I force myself to like the rest.

Question time. How much control do we have over ourselves as humans? Who is more true to themselves? The ear candy simpleton who bases their taste around pleasurable aesthetics (I just like what I like man!)? Or the calculated chameleon who adheres strongly to certain "values" in music? I can't answer these questions. But what I can tell you about myself is that bit by bit, for the past three days, Winter Woman has consumed my life.

In this mindset, the seemingly tasteless gear-shifts now reek of artistic genius. I find myself tapping to these beats when thinking about them, in rhythms I don't understand or imagine even existed. Suddenly I'm a fan of something I thought I hated, prog-rock (or this album even for christ's sake!?)!!! Was this my stubborn doing or the inevitable fate of my tastes and values? A little from A and B I believe. Power to the self-determinists!

Tour Wrap-up

Last night I finally got around to finishing my tour log, whipping out the previously unfinished last two weeks. You can check out the log by clicking the link below. I basically documented what we did EVERY DAY while on the road. Theres some thoughts on each show, and an entire entry devoted to ranking the shows. Check it!

http://powmia-neverforget.blogspot.com/

New T-Shirt Design

I crack myself up sometimes. Except to see this in stores soon.



Click to see fullsize.

Introduction

Yay! The blog is real! I'm going to publish varies things here, including but not limited to writings, rants, lists, pictures, songs, etc. Come back, and shit.
-Ryan