Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

School of Seven Bells “Wired For Light”

“Wired For Light” imagines sleep as a state in which a person can perform a sort of psychic surgery on their unconscious mind, and actively shape their identity and perceptions by asserting conscious influence over their dreams. As suggested in the opening line, this sort of lucid dreaming requires practice and skill, and so the song is balanced between evoking this surreal, ethereal astral plane, and conveying the focus and discipline necessary to explore the deepest recesses of one’s own psyche. Despite the song’s consistent tone and textural palette, the arrangement is constantly shifting, giving the listener a sense of moving through a dark, unknown place with only a small light to illuminate a path that does not conform to a 3D understanding of space. The song is sung by two women with nearly identical voices, and when they sing in unison, they sound ever so slightly out of phase, making them seem like a slightly alien — or post-human? — guide through an extraordinarily calm adventure.

Buy it from Amazon.

As you can see, Fluxblog has a new look.

I think everyone can agree that it was time. I will always have a fondness for Deric Holloway’s design, but I’ve been wanting to change the site for a long time, and the longer I waited, the more I knew the change had to be fairly radical. Ryan Catbird designed the new site, and I think he did an excellent job of bringing everything together in a way that feels clean, modern, and attractive. I am certain that you’ll find the new version of Fluxblog to be more readable, easier to search and navigate, and with the integration of the Fluxtumblr on the right hand side of the page, richer than ever in terms of content.

Along with the change in layout and design, I will also be experimenting with advertising in the near future. I never wanted to do this, and have resisted the temptation to have advertising on the site for over seven years now, but given my current (dire) economic situation, I need to at least give it a shot. I hope that you understand.

The ads you are currently seeing on the site are for Ryan’s record label, Catbird Records. If you are interested in advertising on this site, please contact me at perpetua @ gmail.com, and maybe we can work something out.

Max Tundra “Number Our Days”

It is difficult to listen to Max Tundra’s music without being acutely aware of its structure, texture, and shape. He makes the listener feel as though they are walking around on the inside of a pop song, observing its inner workings from reverse, and magnified to the point that it all becomes strange and surreal. The songs themselves are reminiscent of Scritti Politti, from the slick style on down to the cheerfully subversive substance, but Tundra’s aesthetic is far more manic and silly. He borrows liberally from video games, to the point that his compositions don’t just superficially resemble video game soundtracks, but the shifting tones and dramatic arc of the songs map on to the landscape and narrative of a video game level. This is particularly interesting in “Number Our Days,” which sounds like a colorful virtual wonderland, but expresses a sober belief that there is no life after death. The lyrics are rather melancholy and seemingly at odds with the tone of the music, but if you think of the rather fatalistic “lives” of the sort of canon fodder inhabitants of most video games, the philosophy makes a certain amount of sense playing out in this context.

Buy it from Domino Records.

Rose Elinor Dougall “Another Version of Pop Song”

This is a song about a tricky emotional situation: You’re in love, or at least something like being in love, but circumstances are forcing you to think too much about the future, and it makes you tense, paranoid, and fearful. Maybe it’s your partner being too clingy, maybe you’re imagining all this pressure because you can’t help but freak out when it comes to commitment. But either way, this bit of negativity subtly taints everything, and even when you’re caught up in this tidal wave of love, you’re anticipating the drag of the undertow. You can feel both in this song, from the dizzying swirl of the drums and Rose’s emphatic “kisskisskisskisskisskiss!” to the low-key melancholy of the keyboard lead melody. (Click here to buy it via Rose Elinor Dougall’s MySpace page.)

Love Is All “A More Uncertain Future”

Josephine Olausson is the rock singer equivalent of a character actress. She’s not long on grace and her voice is not traditionally attractive, but she has a lot of highly specific charm. In most of the band’s songs, she’s kinda yelping in rhythm, but when they slow down, as on this mellow duet from their new sophomore album, her quirks are foregrounded. In some cases, that might be a bit grating, but this song allows her to sing as a character ideally suited to her personality — fragile, awkward, a bit child-like, a bit weary. When she’s forthright, she still seems self-effacing, and it makes perfect sense in the context of the song’s narrative. (Buy it from Amazon.)

The Voluntary Butler Scheme “Tabasco Sole”

Well, this one just gleams, doesn’t it? The Voluntary Butler Scheme aren’t reinventing any wheels here — most every instrumental element and hook in the song triggers a sense of déjà vu — but the tune comes together with such verve and pizzazz that even the most stock ideas seem magical within its two minutes and forty-eight seconds. Some songs aim for this sort of carefree, overwhelmingly cheerful tone and fall short; “Tabasco Sole” nails it and makes life just a little bit better when it’s on. (Click here for the Voluntary Butler Scheme’s MySpace page.)

Lucinda Williams “Real Love”

Lucinda Williams’ voice is bold and forthright, and though she’s got a skill for ballads, her singing is best framed in countrified rockers that emphasize a precise and incredibly appealing mixture of toughness and sweetness. There’s probably a hundred other songs out there that aren’t tremendously different from “Real Love,” but her tune sparks with disciplined hooks and a playful exuberance that sells the lyrics, and gives the listener a contact high from her excitement and attraction. (Buy it from Amazon.)

Q-Tip “Gettin’ Up”

Unlike a majority of rappers, Q-Tip’s character is gentle and his voice is soft and nearly effeminate, which lends itself well to laid back, airy productions like “Gettin’ Up.” The beat is solid and holds his rhymes in place, but the appeal lies mainly in the way the melodic instrumental elements seem to hover around the center of the track, and complements his romantic lyrics with a tone of optimism and swooning nostalgia. (Buy it from Amazon.)

of Montreal @ Roseland Ballroom 10/10/2008Id Engager / So Begins Our Alabee / Triphallus, To Punctuate! / She’s A Rejecter / For Our Elegant Caste / Touched Something’s Hollow / An Eluardian Instance / Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse / Gallery Piece / Wraith Pinned To The Mist and Other Games / Women’s Studies Victims / St. Exquisite’s Confessions / Eros’ Entropic Tundra / Nonpareil of Favor / October Is Eternal / Wicked Wisdom / Disconnect The Dots / Knight Rider / And I’ve Seen A Bloody Shadow / Plastis Wafers / Beware Our Nubile Miscreants / Mingusings / A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger // Smells Like Teen Spirit / Gronlandic Edit

A year ago today, I saw of Montreal perform at the Roseland Ballroom. They debuted three songs that would eventually appear on Skeletal Lamping, and the first of those numbers was “St. Exquisite’s Confessions,” an approximation of an R&B slow jam that begins with the line “I’m so sick of sucking the dick of this cruel, cruel city.” It was very stunning in that moment, but it had nothing on what the band did with the song almost exactly a year later at the same venue: Kevin Barnes came out to sing the song wearing virtually nothing and riding a white horse. Everyone in the audience was stunned. Everyone. I mean, have you ever seen a live horse on stage at a concert? Exactly.

That’s where of Montreal is in 2008. They are a band who can routinely pull off — and then consistently improve upon! — a spectacular stage show that integrates a great deal of high concept performance art, and still be able to do something that can totally blow the minds of everyone in a very large venue. They can do that, and later on in the same show, do something that is arguably even more memorable: Play an intense version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” second only to the version on Nevermind, and have the audience respond as if they were actually at a Nirvana concert. Everyone in the room was going bananas. Everyone.
of Montreal “Women’s Studies Victims” (Live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC 10/9/2008) – The most remarkable thing about the band’s current show is that they have fully integrated the performance art aspects of their concerts, to the point that a majority of the songs go along with some kind of elaborate set piece that correspond to the lyrical themes. It’s very much a production, and a work of art in and of itself. Barnes and his collaborators hit upon an ideal balance of sexuality, intellectualism, humor, raw emotion, and pure fun. It’s not a surprise to me that they’ve attracted so many extraordinarily enthusiastic young fans — I find myself deeply envious of every teenager and college kid who gets to see them and love them at a point where this sort of art can have so much influence on identity.
After the show, I was thinking a lot about how much Kevin Barnes pushes the envelope in terms of eroticizing himself on stage, and how much that shapes the audience’s relationship with his music. It’s rare, especially these days, and perhaps even more unusual given that Kevin is basically a straight guy, but the sexuality he projects is this sort of delicate pansexual masculinity. So much of the audience is in love with him, and it makes perfect sense. I mean, just think of all the girls — he is the perfect archetype of the sensitive, arty, skinny, stylish, effeminate yet somehow straight guy. He’s an unattainable dream for all sorts of people, as either a fantasy partner, or a fantasy version of one’s self. And keep in mind, he does all this while writing about fantasies and emotional turmoil and fluidity of identity in such a way to inspire deep identification within his listeners. He’s an incredibly powerful figure, in some ways that are calculated, but mostly it’s all a side effect of his talent and vision.
of Montreal “Triphallus, To Punctuate!” (Live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC 10/9/2008) – On top of the conceptual and visual elements of the show, the band has been improved greatly by moving away from programmed percussion, and embracing live drumming throughout the concert. This gives the music more power and oomph, particularly when there were two drummers going at once. Contrasted with the performances during the drum machine-centric Hissing Fauna shows from last year, the band seemed far more present and spontaneous, which contrasted nicely with the meticulously choreographed production. The grooves in these songs are too powerful to be held back by canned beats; it’s more effective and inspiring when it all feels fluid and alive. (Click here to buy Skeletal Lamping from Polyvinyl Records, and here to hear the band’s full concert in Washington, DC on the NPR site.)

Marykate O’Neil, “Happy”

What does ‘happy’ even mean? In the context of this song, it’s more or less synonymous with lazy contentment, and hopes and dreams are just things that get in the way of that, and lead to disappointment. The mood is very ambivalent — generally smooth and mellow, with a tinge of tension, regret, and doubt that comes across in the nuances of the arrangement. It feels rather cosmopolitan as well; like a stroll through someone else’s affluent urban fantasy without having the means to join in on the indulgence and frivolity. (Click here to buy it via Marykate O’Neil’s website.)

Sparks “Lighten Up, Morrissey” – The title may give you the impression that Sparks are slagging off Morrissey, but that’s not really the case — if anything, this is more of a tongue-in-cheek celebration of the singer’s outsize persona and ability to inspire intense fandom that often crosses over into unrequited love. The character in the song is dealing with unrequited love himself — he’s crazy for a woman who is obsessed with Morrissey, and he is convinced that he cannot possibly live up to the standard set by the Pope of Mope. He becomes self-conscious about pretty much every aspect of his being, and begins to feel like a straight, steak-chomping, snark-free Anti-Moz. It’s a funny song, in part because the tune becomes more over-the-top and glam as the character becomes more exasperated and insecure. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Shrag “Forty Five 45s” – This song, which is about a stack of singles soured by its connection to a failed relationship, may as well be an entry on the Ruined Music site. I’ll admit that I tend to be rather dubious when people talk about spending time together deliberately sharing records — How many people actually do that? Am I just weird for not doing that? — but this song rings very true, particularly when the singer hints at some resentment for the way her ex’s generosity was mixed with a bit of condescension.  There’s a bit of ego on both sides, but it seems obvious that she’s only just now articulating some bottled-up annoyances.  (Click here to buy it via Shrag’s MySpace page.)

Murs “The Science” – The really amazing thing about this song is that Murs can explain the history of hip hop and the American government’s war on drugs without coming off like a condescending dick, or leave the listener thinking “yeah, I know that, and…?” A lot of this comes down to his personality. He seems lucid, even-tempered, and friendly, and when he raps about the origins of hip hop, he is clearly awed and inspired by the creativity and resourcefulness of his forebears. It’s not about things being better back in the day, it’s about keeping in mind that his genre is borne of will, defiance, intelligence, and inventiveness, and that it is essential to keep that alive well into the future. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
Fluxcast #14 – You know the drill: The song info is in the metadata, and the track listing will appear on the Fluxcast site at the end of the week. This one includes songs from Shudder To Think, Portishead, Herbie Hancock, and Latyrx.

Stereolab @ Irving Plaza 10/3/2008
Percolator / Neon Beanbag / Eye of the Volcano / Mountain / Chemical Chords / Valley Hi! / Ping Pong / Double Rocker / Ecstatic Static / Lo Boob Oscillator / Two-Finger Symphony / Three Women / French Disko / Cybele’s Reverie / John Cage Bubblegum // Silver Sands / The Emergency Kisses / Stomach Worm

Stereolab “Neon Beanbag” – When you think about Stereolab, your first associations are probably “keyboards,” and then probably “vocals sung in French.” If you’re more familiar, maybe you think about Tim Gane’s penchant for vamping on chords. All of those are certainly crucial to the band’s identity, but the aspect of the band that comes most into focus in concert is the drumming. Andy Ramsey, who has been with the band since the Transient Random Noise-Bursts era, is a remarkable player who has not always been well-served by the mixes found on the groop’s studio recordings. Ramsey lays down his beats with impressive power and ease, which allows the band to come off as far more urgent and danceable in concert, but without sacrificing the elegance of Gane’s compositions, or drowning out Laetitia Sadier’s delicate vocal performances. 

Fluxcast #13 – Here’s the new podcast. By now you should know the drill — the playlist will be up on the Fluxcast site in a few days, but you can find that information in the meta data of the mp3.

Here’s the deal for this week: I’m going to be filling in for Lane Brown on New York Magazine’s Vulture blog. This means I’ll be writing the lion’s share of whatever goes up over there this week. If you don’t ordinarily read the site, please do come and check it out.

In the meantime, I’ll be running an interview with Amanda Petrusich, the author of the excellent new book It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music. The interview will be broken up into five segments, each going off in a different tangent. It may be a bit tl;dr for some readers, but I think the rest of you will enjoy it a lot.

TV on the Radio “Golden Age” – This song is a collision of nerves, caution, faith, and optimism. The groove is tensed up, like a jittery version of “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough,” but the chorus hook is nothing but hope, and a true, unwavering confidence that there is some kind of salvation just around the corner. It’s excitement for the paranoid, the cynical, and the idealist. I can’t imagine this song being commercially released in a more appropriate week. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

One-Two “Something In My Mind” – The singer in “Something In My Mind” is totally lost within himself, but he’s doing his best to figure out just what keeps him stuck in his insecurities, and unable to get with the object of his affection. Yes, he’s neurotic and lonely, but he’s also earnest and excited, and he seems right on the verge of a breakthrough as he searches for the exit signs in the back of his mind. (Click here to buy it via One-Two’s MySpace page.)

Weezer @ Madison Square Garden, 9/24/2008
My Name Is Jonas *@ / Pink Triangle / Perfect Situation @/ Say It Ain’t So / Susanne #/ Keep Fishin’ / King @ / Undone – The Sweater Song (with Tom DeLonge from Angels & Airwaves and Blink 182) / Pork and Beans / Dreamin’ / Dope Nose @ / Troublemaker / Automatic */ Hash Pipe / El Scorcho # / Morning Glory (Oasis cover) * / The Greatest Man That Ever Lived // Island In The Sun (with hootenanny players) / Beverly Hills (with hootenanny players) /// (Rivers comes out and dropkicks a turntable that is playing “Heart Songs”) / Sliver (Nirvana cover) / Buddy Holly
lead vocals: * = Pat, # = Brian, @ = Scott, all others Rivers

As you can tell from reading the legend on the above setlist, Rivers Cuomo handed over lead vocals on a number of his songs to other members of his band. This might seem like a terrible thing, but the truth is, you don’t really notice it all that much because a) they are competent singers with voices not tremendously different from the general timbre and range of Cuomo and b) everyone is singing along, so it doesn’t matter all that much who happens to be on mic so long as they didn’t totally screw up. The only time the relative inadequacies of the non-Rivers members became apparent was when they sang their own compositions, and the enthusiasm level in the room flatlined. (Fair enough — Pat Wilson’s “Automatic” may be pleasant yet generally unremarkable, but Scott Shriner’s “King” can be most charitably described as being like a very good Nickelback tune.) 

Golden Silvers “Magic Touch” – As I see it, there are two ways to be old-fashioned: You can either be a slave to tradition, and end up with music that sounds stiff, airtight, and fussy, or you can lean hard on old ideas until they tip over into the present tense. The Golden Silvers are doing the latter. The melodies, harmonies, and beats in “Magic Touch” feel like something I’ve known my entire life, but the band pull it off in such a way that it nevertheless feels flashy, fresh, and firmly rooted in the present. I’m hard-pressed to tell you exactly why — maybe it’s in the details of the production, maybe it’s in the way the band seem so entirely inside of the moment, maybe it’s a spark in the groove that just wouldn’t sit right 20 or 30 years ago. Any which way, this is a minor triumph of craft and style. (Click here for the Golden Silvers’ MySpace page.)

DJ Downfall & Gene Serene “Seven Dials” –  Like all good duos, Gene Serene and DJ Downfall play to each others strengths — Gene sings songs about shaping one’s own identity and summoning personal strength, and Downfall creates tracks that dramatize a burst of confidence and creative energy. “Seven Dials” comes from a place of insecurity and instability, but as it crests, the singer is right on the verge of getting her emotions all sorted out, and moving onwards and hopefully upwards. There’s bitterness and confusion in the song, but more than anything, there’s a lot of optimism. (Click here for the DJ Downfall MySpace page.)

Dressy Bessy “Do You Whisper?” – The great thing about Tammy Ealom’s voice — aside from that she sounds a bit like a shinier, crisper variation on Kim Deal — is the way she invests her peppy, girly pop songs with a gentle authority. She always comes off as being assertive, but in a friendly, supportive Big Sister sort of way. That certainly comes across in this brisk, instantly ingratiating number, in which she plays the part of the bemused observer of a charmingly awkward courtship. (Also, please note the terrific “kiss/her, kiss/her” backing vocals in this track. So simple, but it really makes the song.) (Click here to buy it from Transdreamer.)

Luomo featuring Jake Shears “If I Can’t” – Jake Shears is a fairly versatile singer, but he usually pushes himself to ostentatious extremes — giddy rave-ups, soaring power ballads, Gibb-y disco falsetto. He’s good at taking a song to a logical stylistic conclusion, and that goes for his more understated work just as well as the campiest numbers in the Scissor Sisters repertoire. Shears’ new collaboration with Luomo finds him complementing the Finnish producer’s low-key, nuanced grooves with a hazy, restrained performance that gets across his pleasant vocal melody without distracting from the details in the arrangement. The resulting track is full of restless energy, soothing tones, and a nearly subliminal anxiety. (Click here to buy it via Luomo’s MySpace page.)

Fluxcast #12 – This very special episode of the Fluxcast features nothing but string quartet arrangements of well-known pop and rock songs. Enjoy! The tracklisting will be on the Fluxcast site later in the week, but if you’re feeling impatient, that information can be found in the metadata of the mp3. 

Populous with Short Stories “Porcelain” – “Porcelain” hovers about in a state of indecision, but there’s a bit of pressure within the song to actually go ahead and commit to an emotion, a project, a way of living. It’s a gentle pressure, for sure, but it’s there and it is leaning towards embracing some kind of positive expression and creativity, rather than apathy, cowardice, or emptiness. The music has a slight melancholy tone, but the beat and the sound of the vocals give the piece a cautiously optimistic sound before trailing off into an emotionally ambiguous instrumental coda.  (Click here to buy it from Kompakt MP3.)

Frida Hyvönen “Scandinavian Blonde” – It seems fair to say that this song is a celebration of blonde Scandinavian women, or more specifically, the cultural archetype of the Scandinavian Blonde, and their place in the world’s imagination. However, despite its cheery, deliberately ABBA-esque sound, the lyrics are critical, if not particularly judgmental. In the first verse, Hyvönen describes a broader iconic vision of the Scandinavian Blonde, and in the second, she zeroes in on specifics, such as her “melodic,” “childish,” and “harsh” accent, and her use of “experimental” language. In the final verse, she’s ambivalent — her appreciation of the archetype is apparent, and she clearly understands her appeal, but there’s a sense that she’s somewhat alienated and removed from that experience, and envies the self-assurance that seems to go along with her effortless desirability. (Click here to pre-order it from Secretly Canadian.)