Getting To Know My Target Demo You
I’m not going to post anything new for another few days, til maybe Monday or Tuesday. Sorry.
In the meantime, out of curiosity, of all of the songs/mp3s that I’ve been posting over the past month or so, which ones have you enjoyed the most? What surprised you? What have you disliked?
Oh, What Can I Do?
The Aislers Set “Emotional Levy” – First off, thank you to my friend Jane who sent me a really ace cd of indie pop which I received in the mail yesterday. This song is taken from that disc, and is part of the reason why I haven’t listened to most of the other songs more than once so far. I keep playing this beautiful song over and over again, and I love it more every time. I’ve never heard an Aislers Set song which I didn’t like previous to hearing this tune, but now – this is love.
I’m not quite sure what it is about this song, but it makes me really wish that it was snowing right now.
Goat’s Head In The Deli Case
I’ve decided to just post the alternate studio versions of the Fiery Furnaces songs that I mentioned yesterday. Why not, right?
The Fiery Furnaces “Tropical Iceland” (acoustic version)
The Fiery Furnaces “Bright Blue Tie” aka “Sweden” (piano version)
It’s interesting how these songs have opposite differences from their album arrangements. This version of “Tropical Iceland” is nothing more than guitar and vocal without the layers of keyboards, sound effects, and light percussion of the finished version, whereas this version of “Bright Blue Tie” is lush and piano-driven while the album version is spare and acoustic.
In other news, the Barbelith Underground is being reopened to new members for a limited time starting today. I encourage anyone reading this blog who is not already a member to sign up. Barbelith can be a really amazing place full of very interesting, intelligent, and creative people, and discussion covers a wide range of topics including critical theory, politics/activism, art, music, pop, comics, film, science, collaborative projects, and um, goofing around. Due to some problems with trolling, we’ve been forced to close things off for a while until we figure out a way to deal with one person in particular who is apparently hell-bent on wrecking things for everyone else, but it’s time for us to get some new blood, and we’d love to have you.
Sometimes The Signs From Heaven Are Vague
The Fiery Furnaces @ Mercury Lounge, 11/22/2003
Up In The North/ Crystal Clear/ I’m Gonna Run/ Tropical Iceland/ Bow Wow/ I Broke My Mind/ Spaniolated -> Single Again/ We Got Back The Plague -> Straight Street/ South Is Only A Home/ Don’t Dance Her Down/ Chris Michaels / Leaky Tunnel / Blueberry Boat -> Asthma Attack/ I Lost My Dog/ Waiting To Know You
(Note: The new/unreleased songs in the set are listed here exactly as they appear on the setlist that I took from the stage after the show was over. The majority of the titles on the setlist were abbreviated, so it is unlikely that these are the proper titles.)
Wow. I really can’t emphasize enough how different The Fiery Furnaces are live than on their album. The songs are still there, and their aesthetic is more or less entirely intact, but the arrangements of nearly every song is either subtly or drastically different from what you hear on the record. For example, “Tropical Iceland” was played as a keyboard-heavy upbeat pop song instead of a mellow art-folk number, and “Bow Wow” was played with a totally different (and far more harsh) keyboard sound. “We Got Back The Plague” was based more around the keyboard than the guitar, and Matt sang the verses, leaving Eleanor to sing the choruses. All of the songs were played much faster, especially “I’m Gonna Run,” which was played nearly triple the speed of the album recording.
I enjoyed hearing the songs differently, and I appreciate that they treat their songs as living, changeable things. I’ve seen way too many artists who treat their studio arrangements with too much reverence and that can lead to rather dull and rote live performances. (I’m thinking specifically about Radiohead right now, who are certainly a great band to see live, but with few exceptions do everything they can to reproduce their album arrangements.) Playing the songs differently live also makes me think that they are more thoughtful and considered about how they make their albums, and that the consistency of quality and feeling on their album is no fluke. Everything about Gallowsbird’s Bark seems much more deliberate now, and I like that.
I wouldn’t say that the live versions were better than the album versions, though they were all quite good in their alternate arrangements. I’d love to get some live recordings of their shows so that I could get to know the songs this way, because when I was watching them last night, I couldn’t stop thinking about the differences between the arrangements, particularly when they were so drastic that the music behind the vocal melodies were almost entirely different, as in “Leaky Tunnel” or “Asthma Attack.” Almost all of the songs lost some of their subtlety and charm in their looser, more rocking live arrangements. I wish that they would slow down and take their time, if just a little bit. I can appreciate that they up the energy for their live performance – that makes perfect sense – but in the case of “I’m Gonna Run,” it seemed like they were just a bit too frantic and shambolic for their own good.
The three opening acts were entertaining, which was a nice surprise for me. Franz Ferdinand were my least favorite of the bands on the bill, but they weren’t bad, just very repetitive. They seemed to exist as if to dare music writers to use the word “angular” to describe them. But that’s what they sound like! They sound like every English post-punk band which has ever been described as angular. Angles, angles, everywhere. The singer even had angular features!
Gary Dream & Gene Sincere were a cute novelty band who played twee, melodic pop songs about girls. Their schtick was that they announced that they had recently come out of the closet when they got out on stage, and that they were stuck with all of these yearning songs about girls and were going to play them anyway, even if they lacked conviction in the lyrics entirely. They made funny deadpan remarks in this vein throughout their set. I liked them.
I Love Lucy were very fun and endearing. They are unsigned band from Glasgow who played fun pop-punk songs which sounded like equal parts Elastica and Life Without Buildings. I’m hoping that they get to put out a record soon, because they sounded very promising.
(Oh, yeah…as far as I know, that song “Lost Dog” has not been officially released. I found that studio recording on soulseek, and I have no idea where it comes from. I found some alternate versions of “Bright Blue Tie” and “Tropical Iceland” too, and I may post them sometime in the near future. The version of “Tropical Iceland” isn’t anything like the live version, by the way. It’s a simple voice-and-acoustic guitar version, which may be a demo or from a radio session. If you know anything about these leaked songs (or have more of them) please let me know.)
I Had Opinions That Didn’t Matter
The White Stripes “The Hardest Button To Button” (Live in Boston, 2003)
The White Stripes @ Roseland Ballroom, NYC 11/20/2003
The Hardest Button To Button/ Hotel Yorba/ Let’s Shake Hands/ Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground/ I Think I Smell A Rat/ I Want To Be The Boy/ Death Letter/ Seven Nation Army/ In The Cold Cold Night/ I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman/ Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me?/ Look Me Over Closely/ We’re Going To Be Friends/ (song my friend and I did not recognize, very rocking)/ Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine/ (song we didn’t know with Jack telling a story over Meg’s drumming, no guitar)/ Wasting My Time/ The Same Boy You’ve Always Known/ Ball And Biscuit // Black Math/ Fell In Love With A Girl (new version, played in a style similar to that of the album version of “Dead Leaves…”)/ I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself/ Boll Weevil
(Note: In addition to the two songs which I didn’t recognize, there is a possibility I may be forgetting a song or two somewhere in there. I’m pretty sure that’s all of it. It is in the proper order, though.)
I don’t have much to say about the White Stripes set – they were great, basically. They bring the rock. They played most everything that I wanted to hear with the notable exception of “Apple Blossom.” I was more impressed with Meg’s voice on “In The Cold Cold Night” last night than her performance on the album. Meg was pretty good on the drums, too. She gets such a bad rap, but she’s at least as good a drummer as half the bands I see. She gets the job done, and she has a wonderful chemistry with Jack. I think there’s a lot of sexism involved in how a lot of people judge her drumming. I was talking to some dude while I was waiting outside before the show, and he was just ripping on her left and right. She’s not Neil Peart, but c’mon. Give her some credit. Jack has the hot riffs, but let’s face it, he’s kind of a messy player too. They suit each other very well.
Whirlwind Heat were just pathetic and tedious. They beat the same song/gimmick/fuzz bass tone into the ground for a half hour, getting worse and more obnoxious as the show went on. Well, they did break things up by pulling out the old GVSB double-bass thing, but that didn’t make things any better. They did their little rock star moves, but there was nothing going on. I’m just sick to death of all of these shaggy haired twig men who think that just because they can jump around and pose, they are rock stars. This is total bullshit. All good rock stars exist on their own terms, and create their own unique persona. They impose themselves on the rock star paradigm rather than submitting to it. Just copping other people’s moves and embracing an image/cliche that people (and especially style magazine photographers/writers/editors) expect is entirely lacking in imagination and power. It’s just dress-up and make believe. It’s not exactly a shock that this band seems to have something to do with the ultimate in brainless, tasteless, shallow lifestyle photography, Terry Richardson. They were introduced as Richardson’s favorite band, all of them wore t-shirts with Richardson’s face, and they played in front of a projected photo of themselves hanging out with him. Maybe they are supposed to the be the shitty, talentless Velvet Underground to Richardson’s shitty, talentless Andy Warhol. Ugh. It all just made me feel bad for them. They seemed so pitiful and sad.
They Won’t Understand, So They Kill It
Liars “There’s Always Room On The Broom” – I’m not sure what to think of the forthcoming Liars album They Were Wrong So We Drowned. On one hand, there’s about three (maybe four) songs like this one here which are pretty good, and sound a lot like the best songs from their previous record. On the other, the rest of the record is by-the-numbers avant/art-indie. I’m just not convinced by tracks like “Broken Witch” – it sounds like they aren’t even trying. They may be having fun, and they may think it sounds cool, but it’s just so boring and uninspiring. Maybe I’m not giving enough respect to the craft of just fucking around and making creepy soundtrack-y noises, but in my experience that stuff is just so easy to toss off. Maybe I’m being totally off base and unfair, but it sounds like half of this record was recorded in one afternoon when they realized that they had to finish the record by a deadline or something. They can do a lot better than most of the songs on this record. “There’s Always Room On The Broom” is proof of that, but even still, I think they have the potential to do better than this too. Maybe next time.
You’re Always Up To No Good
Phantom Planet “Big Brat” – As recommended/requested by Sam in the comments box of this very entry, here is the brand new single from Phantom Planet. It’s really, really good! I hadn’t thought much of them before, but this song just kicks a lot of ass, and I’m impressed that they are making this a single. It always think it’s cool when popular bands do something which has even a passing resemblence to The Fall, and I definitely detect some Mark E Smith influence on the singing on the verses of this song. Nice drums, too – apparently the production was done by Dave Fridmann, so I guess that shouldn’t be a big surprise.
Four Used To Be The Funky Four Corners
Arthur Conley “Funky Street” – Arthur Conley, a 1960s soul singer and protege of Otis Redding, died Monday at his home in the town of Ruurlo, in the eastern Netherlands. He was 57….Conley was born in Atlanta and started his recording career in 1959 as leader of the group Arthur and the Corvets. He was best known for his 1967 hit, Sweet Soul Music, which he co-wrote with Redding based on a number by Sam Cooke, Yeah, Man. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart. R.I.P., Arthur. (See also: Joe’s take on Conley and “Sweet Soul Music” in particular.)
My Boyfriend, He’s My Punk
Ping Pong Bitches “Beat You Up” – Much like Relaxed Muscle’s “Rod Of Iron,” this is an ironic song about domestic violence set to somewhat dated electro/industrial dance music. The PC part of me feels weird about liking both songs, but eh. They are good songs, and I don’t think anything about embracing a host of hip hop songs which feature very questionable lyrics, so maybe it’s for the best that I steer clear of an obvious double-standard. And either way, this song seems more BDSM than anything else.
Forever There’ll Be A Heaven In Your Kiss
Ginger Ale “Happy House (D Funked RMX by Dexter)” – I cannot find any information about this group and this song which is not in French. I can’t tell you much about this, other than that it’s title describes the sound of it perfectly. I’m so glad that I found this song, it feels perfect for me today.
The Droyds “Take Me, I’m Yours” – Yes, it’s a cover of the classic Squeeze single. It’s not as good as the original, but it’s cute and fun, and that’s enough for me.
I Hear You Singing In The Wires
The Meters “Wichita Lineman” – I only heard this version of “Wichita Lineman” for the first time a few weeks ago, and when I did I didn’t know what to make of how the Meters shift into something of a shuffle beat on the second part of each verse. (In case I’m not articulating myself well due to a lack of proper musical terminology, just pay attention to how the bass/drums shift around :45 into the song.) It sounded very awkward to me at first, as though they were suddenly playing the wrong song, but now it sounds smooth and natural to me, and I’m not sure why. I suppose I’m just used to it and expect it, but now I don’t really want to hear the song without that dynamic shift. I listened to a few other versions of the song that I have, and now those are the ones which don’t sound quite right.
They Cannot Eat Because They’re Too Busy Laughing
Banjo-V “Experimental Fashion” – This song is a product of the always entertaining Song Fight website, where scores of lo-fi amateur musicians duke it out to see who can write the best song with a title provided by the administrators of the site. The results vary wildly in terms of quality and generally range from earnest folk pop to noisy indie rock to goofy white rap to the truly bizarre and singular Octothorpe, who unfortunately do not appear to be participating any longer. Banjo-V were the winners of the “Experimental Fashion” contest, and rightfully so – their song is a real lo-fi indie gem, with a bouncy, cheerful melody and charmingly shambolic musicianship. The singer even sounds a lot like Wayne Coyne, making the whole thing sound like a very drunk and silly Clouds Taste Metallic-era Flaming Lips.
I definitely recommend checking out the Song Fight archives, where every song in every contest is available for download, including all of the runners up in the “Experimental Fashion” competition.
Go On…..I Feel Your Pain…..You Are Mentally Challenged……Go On……
Meeting Petey was one of the highlights of my weekend at the WFMU record fair. For those of you who are not regular listeners of The Best Show On WFMU, Petey is a regular caller who has managed to insinuate himself into the fabric of the show itself. He’s a precocious and deeply weird 12 year old boy who often speaks with a cartoonish affectation and is obsessed with the show’s host, Tom Scharpling. Petey is a busy lad – in addition to making short films, video games, animations, and running his own website, he has been recording homemade records at a pace which might humble the likes of Bob Pollard and Acid Mothers Temple.
I bought two cds from Petey at the fair, one being a special bonus compilation of oddities and cover versions called Sub Cuts: Covers And Qui Heads, and the other was his latest full-length, Undermining The Probalities. They are both extremely weird records. Imagine Jandek mixed with the Animal Collective and Spongebob Squarepants. The music is basically the kind of thing you would expect of avant/noise groups who are fueled by psychedelic drugs and whose records are mostly only available at Other Music and are only ever played by the most adventurous freeform DJs. It makes me wonder if Petey is making the music of arty adults, or if his older peers are adults making the music of hyperactive little boys.
Suburbanal Cuts “Tom & Tom Catching Bounties” – This is probably the catchiest song on the entire record, and one of the tunes which makes me wonder how this record would be received by someone who is unaware of the Best Show. This is a song about Tom Scharpling and another regular caller, Officer Tom, and their imaginary adventures as bounty hunters.
Suburbanal Cuts “Hate Is A Strong Word” – I’m not sure what kind of equipment Petey is using, but he frequently uses severe effects on his vocals and loops some sounds, so I’m guessing that he may be doing all of this on Protools or something similar. I wonder what that odd squealing sound that comes and goes in the background of this song is – it could be guitar feedback, or possibly some kind of strangely miked percussion or horn sound.
Suburbanal Cuts “Automated Psychiatrist Service” – This is one of several skits from the record. It sort of speaks for itself, really. I love that Petey plugs his website at the end of this track.
Let The Hi-Hat In, Put The Fairlight On The Track
Kylie Minogue “Sweet Music” – The gist of what I want to say: It’s perfect! Wow! Oh my God! Kylie rules! The new Kylie album has short-circuited almost all of my critical faculties, and all I can do is gush about it. I love it that much. Well, except for “Loving Days,” which is too ballad-y and heavy and doesn’t fit in well with the rest of the record, which is pretty much non-stop electro disco pop bliss. “Sweet Music” is exactly that – a powerful sugar rush of melody, bass, and rhythm. This song needs to be a hit single.
I Took A Sip From From My Devil’s Cup
Britney Spears “Toxic” – This is the kind of music that suits Britney best – sexy but mechanical dance pop which allows her to a) dance in the visual presentation and b) show off the breathy part of her voice which is the best part of her natural range (though she sounds at her absolute best when she seems processed and robotic, like a fembot pop star).
Of course, this being Britney 4.0, all of the shallow subtext that made her earlier hits so confounding/fascinating/obnoxious has been thrown out in favor of much more literal lyrics which openly cop to being sexual and revel in their apparent naughtiness, though she’s hardly being transgressive. Her songs lose something without the good girl/bad girl dynamic. There’s a tension which is missing, and while it doesn’t make this song any less enjoyable than her other great singles, it does make it feel a little less special. Though there’s a certain Britney-ness about the melody of the chorus, this doesn’t really need to be a Britney Spears song, which is something which can’t be said of, say, “Oops…I Did It Again” which musically and lyrically was tailor-made to suit both Britney the singer and Britney the pop icon.
It can be argued that the first single from each of her first three records form a narrative which take her from being the coy young girl of “…Baby One More Time” to the more worldy tease of “Oops…I Did It Again” up to the brazen sexuality of “I’m A Slave 4 U.” “I’m A Slave 4 U” seems to be the logical conclusion, the point where it is obvious that her double entendres are so flimsy that it is clear that they are only there to remind us of her earlier coyness. If she is, as Chris Rock suggested, America’s favorite stripper, then what we get on In The Zone is Britney dancing after the strip-tease is over. If “Toxic” and a few other songs from the record fit into the narrative arc suggested by those previous records, they serve as a postscript, or as episodes in The Continuing Adventures Of Britney Spears. Since the mystique of her sexuality has almost completely disappeared, are we supposed to remain interested in her as a pop cultural persona simply because she’s famous? Is part of the fun of this song meant to be trying to figure out which of her celebrity suitors it may be about – Colin Ferrell? Fred Durst? Is this pop song-as-reality show?
The string sample in this is great, by the way. I’ve been trying to find out who produced this song, but I haven’t had much luck. If you know who did it, please let me know in the comments section.
A Quick Note:
I love the part towards the beginning of Jay-Z’s “Lucifer” when Jay shouts “Kanye, you did it again! You’re a genius!” He sounds so cute and sincere, and genuinely appreciative. It makes me wish that more vocalists would praise their musical collaborators on record.
Like The Little Children
Diana Ross “Have Fun (Again)” – This is the original Chic version, from the recent reissue of the Diana album. The reissue includes the original recordings with Chic as well as the versions of the songs that were officially released on Motown Records. The people at Motown were concerned when they were given the original mixes for the record because they felt (and I think most anyone would agree with this assessment) that it sounded like a Chic record with Diana Ross on vocals rather than what people had come to expect a Diana Ross record to sound like. I prefer the Chic versions to the album cuts, but the differences aren’t that drastic for the most part. It’s a relentlessly happy song, and it’s being posted here today in part to celebrate the beginning of this weekend’s WFMU Record Fair at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. I’ll be working at the fair on both Saturday and Sunday, and I’m sure that it will be just as fun as the last fair back in May.
If you live in the area, you really ought to come to the fair and check out the awe-inspiring selection of rare and obscure records, vintage vinyl, memorabilia, and assorted goodies that will be on sale all weekend. Even if you don’t have much cash, you can probably find some pretty good used cds and lps at the WFMU tables for dirt cheap. There will also be some live music and entertainment events at the fair, including a set from Evolution Control Committee at 2 PM on Sunday afternoon. There will be a number of film screenings at the fair, including compiled selections of rare footage of The Fall, Captain Beefheart, The Butthole Surfers, Can, Kraftwerk, The Monks, and Neu!
Fans of the Best Show On WFMU shouldn’t miss the special Best Show table on Sunday, where you can meet Petey, Officer Tom, and several other regular callers and mainstays of the FOT message boards. Unfortunately, Tom Scharpling won’t be at the fair, but there will be a screening of a movie that he directed on Saturday at noon.
Dead Air (the Seven Second Delay movie) Directed by WFMU’s Tom Scharpling, written by Andy Breckman and starring dozens of WFMU DJ’s, Dead Air was Ken and Andy’s 2001 marathon giveaway for high rollers. Someone is killing WFMU’s DJs, one at a time. Less preposterous than your typical episode of Monk, and twice as funny.
His Heart Will Feel Like Red-Hot Coals
Unknown artist, “I’m Gonna Destroy That Boy” (unreleased TM Music acetate) – This is a product of the early ’60s Brill Building, where songwriters could pitch a song, write up a lead sheet, record a quick demo with the musicians on hand and have an acetate made to shop around to to the dozens of publishing houses and record companies on site all in one day without ever leaving the building. This song was published by Bobby Darin’s TM Music, but has never been officially released aside from appearing on Mr. Fine Wine’s extremely limited edition 2003 WFMU marathon premium, Doing All Kinds Of Things In The Shadows Of Motown – 29 Soul Obscurities On Tiny Detroit Labels. If you get lucky, you can find this compilation on Soulseek (that’s how I found it), but it is very, very scarce since it was only available to people who pledged a substantial amount of money during Mr. Fine Wine’s show last year.
We Get It Krunk Regardless
Ghostface Killah & Method Man “The After Party” – I found this on soulseek, and after doing some research on Ohhla and Google, my best guess is that this is one of those singles released for the purpose of ending up on mixtapes. It’s a pretty amazing song, and one of the most accessable and fun Wu songs in a long time, so it’s a shame for this to end up being stranded in non-album limbo. If you know anything about this record (when it came out, if it will be on either Ghost or Meth’s forthcoming records, who produced it) please let me know.
Shoot At You Actors Like Movie Directors
Jay-Z “Public Service Announcement” – The Black Album has leaked! Maybe I’m just extremely excited right now, but I’m pretty sure this record is even better than The Blueprint. I can understand why he wants to go out on this record, it would be a wise business decision to be forever frozen in the public’s mind like this and to go out on top. But artistically, I think it’s a very questionable decision – who is to say that he couldn’t make a record even better than this next year, or five years from now? The man just keeps improving, it seems like he’s cheating himself and his audience by ducking out so early. I hope that he’s like Michael Jordan and comes out of retirement a few times over before giving it up for good.
Todd Rundgren “I Saw The Light” – This is for Joe. It’s a beautiful song and a radio classic; but for me, (Six Feet Under season 3 spoiler alert!) it will always be associated with the image of an emotionally devastated Nate Fisher sitting in the car, desperately hoping for a sign of his missing wife while listening to this song on the radio.
A Mouthful Of Melody – Fa So La Te Do!
Ludacris w/ Shawnna & Lil Fate “P-Poppin'” – This is from Ludacris’ charmingly titled (and I mean that sincerely!) Chicken N’ Beer LP. I’m pretty happy with the record, and I think it’s a big step foward for the guy. Prior to this record, I’d written him off as a spotty MC with a few singles which annoy me, but either I was just hearing the wrong songs or the guy has really improved a lot. I’m very fond of the production on this song; especially the way that the keyboards don’t sound quite like typical West Coast hip hop keyboards (i.e. like Dr. Dre and his imitators) and are much closer in sound and feeling to old Kraftwerk records. Very impressive.
Dressy Bessy “I Saw Cinnamon” (live at Maida Vale, Peel session) – I simply adore this song. It’s one of those perfect 90s indie pop tunes that may seem simplistic and mundane to indie haters and people hung up on innovation and novelty, but can sound utterly sublime under the right circumstances. I think that this live version from a Peel session blows away the studio recording; mostly because it’s recorded a little better, but also for the extra energy and the more distinctive and confident vocals from Tammy Ealom.
Spend Quality Time, Learn To Cook
Relaxed Muscle “B-Real” – I heart Jarvis Cocker as Darren Spooner. It was seriously difficult to pick a single song to post here, almost all of the new Relaxed Muscle record is fun and ridiculously catchy. And just flat-out ridiculous, too. There’s a song called “Beastmaster” on this album, and it’s really, really good. I’m not kidding, that song totally rules, and so does “Sexualized” and “Tuff It Out” and the one where he says that he rules his woman with a “Rod Of Iron.” I know that a lot of people may be freaked out by Jarvis Cocker fully embracing his goofy, extremely ironic sense of humor, but I think this album was exactly the right thing for him to do after Pulp. Basically, he’s deflating lofty expectations and having a silly good time. That’s pretty joycore to me.
