Archive for December, 2004

It’s Me Against A Wardrobe



Phoenix @ Bowery Ballroom 12/2/2004

Too Young / Victim Of The Crime / Run Run Run / I’m An Actor / (You Can Blame It On) Anybody / Funky Squaredance (part three) / Honeymoon / If It’s Not With You / Everything Is Everything / If I Ever Feel Better / Love For Granted // Everything Is Everything (acoustic version) / Party Time

Phoenix “If It’s Not With You” – I have no way of measuring my listening habits, but I think that it would probably be a good guess that on a purely scientific level, this is my single favorite song from 2004. Repetition has done nothing to diminish my love of this song (or the entire Alphabetical album, for that matter) – in fact, increased familiarity only seems to intensify my enjoyment. Familiarity is a big part of comfort, of course, and it seems as though Phoenix have designed their music for maximum coziness. I mean, listen to those chords! I’m no music theory guy, so I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, but it feels so elegant and smooth, with very clever progressions that evoke exactly the right in-between emotions with remarkable precision and grace. More than any other song that I’ve heard this year, this song feels like my life right now: cautiously optimistic; inching towards emotional maturity; smiling through frustration.

I think that I broke a personal record last night for the longest sustained smile of my life, starting from the intro of “If It’s Not For You” up through the conclusion of “If I Ever Feel Better.” The entire show was a thrill, but that three-song combo was intense, and amped up considerably by an enthusiastic, dance-happy audience. Phoenix are a remarkably tight live band (which shouldn’t come as a surprise given the meticulous sound of the records) with a frontman far more charismatic and hammy than I ever would have expected. They faithfully recreated the sound of the studio recordings on stage, but added little jams and altered the structure of the songs to keep from sounding too sterile. “If I Ever Feel Better” was extended significantly – there wasn’t any instrumental jamming involved, just the repetition of the hooks for an extra three minutes or so. It was like a big disco singalong. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Ana Da Silva “The Lighthouse” – Normally, whenever I post music by an artist who has been involved in some other semi-famous band, I try to avoid mentioning it because I’d prefer that the music exist in its own context rather than in the shadow of another act’s body of work. Invariably, someone in the comments box will say “hey, did you know that ____ was in ________?” or something to that effect. So for today, I surrender. Ana Da Silva was in The Raincoats. This doesn’t sound very much like The Raincoats (it’s more like an incantation set to a minimal, repetitive electronic track), but there you have it. (Click here to buy it from Soul Seduction.)

Also: Over the next two weeks, I plan on posting some Christmas/Holiday themed songs. If you have anything odd, interesting, or obscure that you’d like to pass along for possible inclusion on the site, please send me an email.

Hands Of Steel Make Me Squeal

Gene Serene & John Downfall “I Can Do Anything” – Think of this as being song one, side A for 2005. Everything about this track feels like the beginning of something. Specifically, something quite good and exciting. It’s exactly the kind of reasonable optimism that all of us could use right now, whether it’s in the context of social trends and politics, or in a more personal, love life/career sort of way. I’ve been trying to figure out what I find so attractive about Gene Serene’s persona for a while, but now I think that it just comes down to that one line, “I can do anything.” She doesn’t seem cocky or arrogant, just supremely confident and self-assured. She’s seductive because she never has to resort to hyperbole – it’s all very matter of fact to her. (Click here for the official Gene Serene site, or email John Downfall: djdownfall @ hotmail.com)

Diamond Nights “Girls Attractive” – There is a lot to love about this song, but my favorite thing about it is how the guy starts it off by singing “she looks good / swiss cheese” and then seems to immediately realize that he ought to double back and explain himself. Next line: “Put your head full of holes.” Oh, right. Of course. She’s so hot that she burns little holes in your mind! And if you have little holes in your mind, it’s harder to connect your thoughts in a linear fashion. Pretty girls cause non-sequitors. There’s a lot of truth in this song. (Click here to visit the official Diamond Nights website.)

Elsewhere: “En förträfflig idé!” Max exclaims with joy, “Jag förmå skifta du till en arg sångerska rockmusik!” I heart PopText.

What’s It Look Like When You’re Choking?

The Tease “Ghost White Flowers” – I’d like to set this song up on a date with “Idioteque” by Radiohead. I think that they’d really hit it off. They could trade bunker decoration tips, and bond over conspiracy theories. She could tell him all about her gasmask and antibiotics collections, and he could offer her some evacuation advice. If everything continued to go well, maybe they’d get lucky and cower in a corner together for the rest of the night. It could be a beautiful thing. (The Tease are an unsigned band who do not have a proper website. If you’d like to get in touch with them, send them an email: TheTeaseMusic @ hotmail.com)

The Harvey Girls “The Monk And The Bug” – This song feels a bit too alert to qualify as being “hazy” or “dazed,” but it’s almost there. It’s kind of like being buzzed on caffeine when you’d really rather be sleeping in. This is the best song based around a keyboard harpsichord setting (correct me if I’m wrong…) that I’ve heard in a long time. (Click here to visit the Harvey Girls’ website.)