December 8th, 2008 4:08am
At Least When She’s Around, The Trouble’s There
Belle & Sebastian “Slow Graffiti” (BBC session version)
Ten years ago, this song could kill me. Nowadays, it just sorta maims. The thing is, I’m not entirely sure why. I have not ever, at any point in my life, directly related to the song’s protagonist, though his plight certainly taps into some of my own worst fears. At the start of the song, he’s imagining a portrait of himself twenty years into the future. The lyric then shifts to a first person account of a man passively slumping through a dull life in which he tends to a girlfriend who comes across as something of a mess. Then the perspective shifts again, this time affectionately chastising the character for being “like a mother to the girl you’ve fallen for, and you’re still falling.” It’s funny that I’m only just now noticing the shift in perspective — which I suppose means that the second section is the imagined future, and the finale has him speaking to his vision of his future self — but had always intuited its conclusion as being this cutting bit of self-criticism that trails off into an abbreviated instrumental digression before returning to the thought once more.
Buy it from Matador Records.
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou “Se Tche We Djo Mon”
The particular guitar tone in this track is among the best I’ve ever heard in all my time listening to music. It’s a rather bright sound that perfectly accentuates the trebly notes of its nimble solos, and brings a clean, lightly metallic clang to its brisk rhythmic hook. That rhythm part is especially hypnotic in combination with the persistent hi-hat clatter of the percussion, which glides along at a quick clip, but leaves the middle range of the composition wide open for the arrangement’s more subtle elements.
Buy it from Analog Africa.
If you only read this site via RSS feed, you should take note of the first part of the 2008 retrospective in this week’s Fluxcast. It’s the closest thing you’re going to get to a year-end thing from me, unless you want to count my Pazz and Jop ballot, which you probably shouldn’t.
12/8/08 10:23 am
What was your opinion of the BBC sessions on the whole?
12/8/08 10:28 am
It’s nice, and a pretty good set of familiar songs. For the most part, the differences between the session version and the studio versions are minimal, so if you like the songs, it’s just a slight variation. I mean, “Lazy Line Painter Jane” isn’t quite as good, but what can you do. The live disc is fun, some nice versions on there. It’s loose and occasionally silly/sloppy, and it kinda captures the band just before the transition into the current incarnation, which is far more slick and professional. A live recording from the Life Pursuit tour would’ve sounded better, and maybe been a better listen, but it wouldn’t have been more interesting.
12/8/08 12:59 pm
apologies for the premature christmas music hype, but this must be said: there is a band out there that takes old Misfits tunes, and through no small degree of northern magic, turns them into yuletide classics that fiends of all ages can enjoy. that band is the Chrisfits.
http://www.myspace.com/chrisfitsband
12/8/08 4:45 pm
I disagree with you about Jonathan Fire*Eater being a better group than the Walkmen. Hamilton Leithauser was the best thing that could have happened to those guys. I think JFE was a American group who wanted to make Brit Pop and had a really derivative sound that was characteristic of a lot of “Alternative” bands of the late 90’s. I remember first hearing the vintage piano, reverb drenched downstroke guitar, and swelling drum style of the Walkmen on Everyone Who Pretended To Like Is Gone and wondered how the Strokes (yeah, I know they liked JFE) were the ones who were considered more sentimental. I know you’re probably saying The Walkmen are derivative at this point but I think they’ve really matured, especially on You & Me. Hearing Hamilton’s evocative and soaring lyrics about relationships and coping with the fact that he isn’t that young anymore are really cathartic. Don’t get me wrong, The Walkmen have missed their mark on more than one occasion, but surely you’ll agree that You & Me is at least a return to form after the forgettable A Hundred Miles Off. At the risk of sounding absurd, You & Me has actually grown to become my favorite Walkmen album. As much as I tryed to enjoy their music, Jonathan Fire*Eater always came off as a third rate Blur, while I think The Walkmen are this decade’s Slint.
12/8/08 5:35 pm
Ha, I prefer A Hundred Miles Off to You & Me, and I agree that record was a dud! I don’t know if Britpop is really quite the thing with JFE — it’s more like Bob Dylan reborn as a mod, thrown into this upscale 90s milieu. It’s, ha, probably closer in appeal to Gossip Girl, in a way. Or, you know, Whit Stillman.
I just think You & Me is tuneless. Stewart is just a better singer, a better lyricist, a better songwriter, and a better star than Hamilton, who has devolved quite a bit since the early days of that band.
12/8/08 6:58 pm
hey,
I always thought “slow graffiti” was directly about the chapter “the soft touch” in irvine welsh’s book “the acid house” . the song was written for the soundtrack of the screen adaption, and the lyrics fit. at least that’s what i’ve always assumed. i maybe wrong.
one of my fave b&s tracks though.
12/8/08 7:16 pm
“slow graffiti” kicks in about the six minute mark of this clip, and things may become a bit more clear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgDXvLbD0tk
12/8/08 7:25 pm
I prefer Hamilton’s lyrics and voice, especially if you want to make Dylan comparisons. Although lately, Hamilton sounds a little TOO much like Dylan. I agree that Stewart is a better singer than Hamilton in the traditional sense. Hamilton’s voice has a damaged yet beautiful quality and cadence to it that lends itself to a sort perfection through imperfection aesthetic. The only thing I didn’t like about You & Me was the mixing. At times it sounds like a demo tape.
12/9/08 12:12 am
Nice interpretation of “Slow Graffiti.” It doesn’t quite rank in my B+S top ten, but it’s easily one of my favorite song titles ever.
12/9/08 10:34 pm
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