I heard The Smiths’ “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” on Abby’s iPod last week, and it sent me scurrying through her computer (I had long since deleted them from mine) to snag a few albums to listen to at work. I didn’t need more than a few songs to “satiate the need” but I was reminded of Schneider TM’s brilliant cover of “There is a Light that Never Goes Out.”
I first heard The Smiths in my senior year of high school and immediately adopted their music as the soundtrack to my life. I pretty much gained entrance to my fraternity on the strength of my knowledge and collection of The Smiths releases, narrowly escaping disqualification for not knowing about The Stone Roses (more on them soon).
By the time I left Miami University, most of those (now no doubt extremely valuable first edition) releases had disappeared (one of the many prices I paid for living in one of two rooms on the front balcony). Truth be told, I didn’t miss them one bit. I had long since outgrown their sappy sentimentality, and was ready to move on to something decidedly less contrived and much more my own.
As I continue to reconnect (and in some cases have meaningful conversations for the first time) with friends from high school and college on Facebook, it’s both amusing and instructive to look back on the music of that era. I find myself all-too-aware of that same trap of idealism and false hope: wanting to be adored but completely unwilling or unable to return it without strings attached. I suppose that’s part of growing up, learning to give without conditions, love without fear, and be nothing more and nothing less than authentically me.
It’s true that I am a sucker for anything with a vocoder in it, but Dirk Dresselhaus’s much more modern version is an absolute classic (various outfits far more respectable than me have ranked it as one of the finest covers of all time). Most of all, I love the fact that an entirely new generation now has a bit of The Smiths to guide them along their own path of discovery. Truly the circle of life never ends.
Here’s the original:
And the cover:
While your here, have a look at Radiohead’s cover of one of my other all-time favorites, The Smiths’ “The Headmaster Ritual.”
Though brief, this post might be the meatiest of all my song of the day posts, especially since I have three excellent tracks to share, and each more than stands on its own. Nonetheless, they all fit together, albeit in a somewhat circuitous way, so please bear with me.
As I alluded to before when discussing Busdriver, I am frequently bored by hiphop, both lyrically and musically. With so much experimentation and innovation elsewhere in modern electronic music, I am continually surprised to see so little of it crossover. APC, however, not only embraces it, they take it in a completely new direction too. I didn’t immediately get this particular song, and I recall it was the feature track on Warp’s website for a number of weeks to my then dismay, but I quickly warmed up to it. In fact, the only thing I love more than this track itself now is the video for it:
I think seeing the way they move makes the music even more accessible. Here’s the track again:
There is no way I cannot share LFO’s superb remix of “Ghostlawns”:
And no mention of LFO can go without playing his epic remix of “Me and Guiliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story)” — see yesterday’s post on !!! for the original):
APC broke up several years ago shortly after touring with Radiohead in Europe, but have recently begun recording together again. While Beans more than kept it interesting in APC’s absence, I can’t wait to hear all of them on their new album Fluorescent Black when it comes out in 2009.
Shifting gears from last week’s five-day homage to Squarepusher, today’s song is yet another epic Animal Collective track, “Safer.” Once again, I owe my brother Kevin a thank you for this one as well.
I wish I had the bandwidth to keep up with everything new and dive deeper into everything old by Animal Collective. As it is, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface, but what I know I truly love.
Ever since I saw them in concert just over a year ago (again, my pics and video), I have been searching for a small reminder of that same frenetic energy and uninhibited emotion I found in their live show. You can then imagine my delight when Kevin sent me “Safer,” which initially seems to be an afterthought B-side to their Peacebone single, but does in fact stand quite well on its own.
I have just begun to unpack this song, and even after 20+ listens in the last four days, I still can’t get enough. I love Geologist’s little doodads in the background, Avey’s coarse enunciations, and Panda’s emphatic drumming. Add in the most delicate piano line, a ridiculous amount of reverb, and multiple layers of vocals (screaming too) to a meandering song that never seems to end and what you get is pure magic:
This is why I love Animal Collective. With the exception of Radiohead, who truthfully exists on an entirely different plane, I don’t know of another band so consistently pushing the envelope. They just might be the new Beatles.
↓ Download all ten songs Just like last year, though admittedly much less ambitious, I want to mark the passing of another year of with my thoughts on the most distinguished artists and albums of 2007 (according to me), and give you a song from each one to take with you.
If there’s one common theme in this disparate mix, it’s a delicate balance between such lush and abundant instrumentation and a sparse and minimal sound. As I’m fond of saying, it’s the space in between that’s most interesting, and that’s clearly the case in these ten songs, listed below in alphabetical order. Enjoy!
Animal Collective · Strawberry Jam · Unsolved Mysteries
I would have never known about AC if not for my brother Kevin — he was the first to suggest Sung Tongs and Feels and even sent me some pre-release mp3s from Strawberry Jam. While I liked songs from the first two, SJ was so dense (and unbelievably tense) that I found it difficult to listen to in the very beginning. But again, on his recommendation, I bought tickets to see them live and then also began to listen to SJ more intently, often for days on end, as the show approached. It’s safe to say I was absolutely blown away by their show (see my pictures and my videos from it) and now I’m completely hooked on the album in its entirety. Definitely at the top of my list for 2007.
Battles · Mirrored · Tonto
Warp heavily promoted the new BTTLS album for a number of months, but it never really caught me the way it seemed to hook everyone else. My good friend Andrew ‘Japandy’ Tweed insisted I take a second look, and I did to my great delight. I wrote about both of their incredible videos, and was lucky enough to see them live not so long ago in San Francisco (need to upload that video to YouTube, it’s amazing). I have yet to see anyone or anything play with such pace, precision, and passion; the only way I can describe it is to say that I can’t listen to their incredible album anymore: it’s too slow, too lifeless (that’s a preposterous thing to say, btw). I was exhausted at the end of their show and (still) incredibly inspired by the whole thing.
Beans · Thorns · We Rock
I came to follow Beans when Warp signed Anti-Pop Consortium (apparently soon to be reunited, thankfully). Most hip-hop bores me — even though I would listen to nothing but hip-hop if there were more artists like Beans — instead I often find nothing but unimaginative rhythms and even more mindless lyrics. I loved many songs on Tomorrow Right Now and even more on Shock City Maverick, so I eagerly awaited Thorns. After hearing Thundermouth for the first time, I thought it would be near impossible to top that track, but he did it with We Rock. Show me someone, anyone, who rocks it harder than Beans — it can’t be done.
Björk · Volta · I See Who You Are
Abby absolutely loves Björk, and while I do too, it’s not with the same intensity. I was definitely excited to see her show this summer, but after having seen her on the Vespertine tour before, I wasn’t expecting such an intense and high energy show. This song is equally intense, even though it’s much more sedate. I love the delicate instrumentation on this track and her beautiful lyrics, it’s yet another exquisite collaboration with Mark Bell (LFO). Tops.
Burial · Untrue · Archangel
The reviews on Warpmart practically begged me to buy it, but the lo-fi samples on bleep sounded flat and uninspired. I debated it for several weeks, but finally gave in and bought the album just to hear it for myself. I was immediately taken by it, no doubt egged on by my then new Shure SE530 headphones (such a guilty pleasure, but damn worth it — find ‘em new on eBay, they’re way cheaper there). This album is incredible, infinitely complex and yet just right there where it should be. I find new twists and turns every time I play it. If you haven’t heard it, you owe it to yourself to get it. btw, Abby’s first impression: “It sounds like Jamie Lidell meets Boyz II Men meets Autechre”. Yep, classic.
Flying Lotus · Reset EP · Dance Floor Stalker
When the news of his signing to Warp hit, I immediately went searching for his prior release 1983 on Plug Research. It’s an epic instrumental effort, notable for its brief but incredibly thick and dense tracks. I was immediately hooked and kept it in heavy rotation on my peaPod this past summer. Luckily, the Reset EP is all of that and a whole lot more. I played this six-track EP over and over without ever tiring of it. The bass is monstrous, the beats are genius, and the flow is absolutely out of this world. FlyLo deserves his place on Warp’s legendary roster, I can’t wait to hear what comes next.
Matthew Dear · Asa Breed · Don and Sherri
I almost left this one off, as much as I love this album and listened to it non-stop for a month straight. I saw his show in San Francisco this fall, and well, to put it kindly… It sucked. Ass. The crowd was sparse, poor promotion perhaps, but he failed to connect with it, preferring instead to plod along with his pre-canned rockstar shtick. The highlight of the show was the next to last song, the epic Don and Sherri, also known as that sick track on the Hummer commercial. Even with the goofy lyrics, this track makes me want to shake my booty. I still love the album, in spite of the awful show. I do believe he will learn so much from this tour, and I expect to see a better show next time. I still believe!
Radiohead · In Rainbows · Bodysnatchers
Yes, I whined about the 160kbps thing, impugned their motives, and generally disparaged In Rainbows in the very beginning. But the more I listened to it, the more I came to see that the music on this album is as revolutionary as all that surrounds its internet-only release. No one makes music like Radiohead, and Bodysnatchers in particular has my head bouncing from side to side the moment it comes on. But nothing, nothing tops the breakdown shortly after the two minute mark, and the way it builds back into the first part of the song just makes me want to play it all over again. And again. And again. I absolutely love this track.
Sky Observer · Sky Observer’s Guide 070707 · Skyway Drive
“Space, space, space.” It’s true, Stewart Brown and I go way, way back, and I played a small part in getting this release out to the world, but that has so little to do with how strongly I feel about it. At once timeless and yet clearly of this very moment, Brown succeeded in capturing the dichotomy of his youthful, irreverent energy and his measured, masterful touch. With no hesitation whatsoever, I predict that years from now people will love this effort the way they love Boards of Canada’s In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country, as an old friend indeed. Listen to the other four songs for free at FORKLIFT ENTERTAINMENT.
The Tuss · Rushup Edge · Synthacon 9
C’mon, we all know it’s Aphex Twin. And it’s without a doubt the most magnificent track ever created.
Late update: Here’s a pic of Sawyer helping me write this post:
From here on out, if and when something so momentous comes to pass and I haven’t mentioned it on this blog, please send me an email or reach me through the contact page.
Joy Division too?!!
I don’t know that I have ever seen a band have so much fun making music. Amazing. Simply amazing.
As much as I love the new Radiohead release, I have to say I’m still disappointed by their decision to go with 160kbps. The muffled and muddied sound quality of the files feels like a bootleg copy, or something I downloaded illegally because I couldn’t wait for the full and final release…
Admittedly, I have done it before — I downloaded a bootleg copy of Hail to the Thief well before its official release, which is not something I normally do but I really wanted to hear it. I have to wonder if Radiohead didn’t realize that In Rainbows would be leaked soon and quickly p2p’d into the hands of anyone who wanted it. For free. Seen in that light, this is clearly a very shrewd move, and likely very lucrative even if most people pay very little for it. It’s quite likely that a high percentage of those who downloaded this version will buy the cd when it comes out next year.
Just the same, I expected better, and most importantly I paid for it too. Perhaps I’ve been ruined by bleep.com, where I buy almost all of my music these days. It’s DRM free, 320kbps, and reasonably priced. Strange to call that the bare minimum when it seems like the gold standard, but that’s how I rip mp3s from a cd, and have for many years. And since I refuse to buy cds anymore, except in special situations, that’s how I want my mp3s.
I’m a huge Radiohead fan, but this feels like a bit of a bait and switch. The buying experience was lousy, the quality of the files is poor, and there was no embedded artwork (perhaps the most glaring omission of all). Yes, it’s still a new Radiohead album — and I haven’t stopped listening to it since Wednesday morning — but the whole process feels rushed at best, or half-assed at worst. And I have to wonder why.
Am I just being contrarian? Does anyone else see it the same way?