Η δεκαετία τελειώνει και η δισκοθήκη μου απαιτεί νέα ταξινόμηση. Από χρονολογική πρέπει να γίνει αλφαβητική. Όπως και οι προηγούμενες δεκαετίες πριν από αυτήν. Όσο τακτοποιώ λοιπόν, ότι θα θυμάμαι θα χαίρομαι. Σε συνέχειες, εκτός απροόπτου.  Στο Α σήμερα…

all that you give-the cinematic orchestra-every day-2002

a drop in time-mercury rev-all is dream-2001

about today-the national-cherry tree-2004

atlas-battles-2007

agoraphobia-deerhunter-microcastle-2008

a song for ellie greenwich-parenthetical girls-entanglements-2008

absolutely cuckoo- magnetic fields-69 love songs-1999-2000

anthems for a seventeen year old girl-broken social scene-you forgot it in people-2003

all my love-american music club-the golden age-2008

a boy like me -patrick wolf-lycanthropy-2003

a nervous tic motion of the head to the left-andrew bird and the mysterious production of eggs-2005

LES meets UES in matrimony; image courtesy of gossipgirlinsider.com

So, I finally saw last week’s episode of Gossip Girl. For my money, there is nothing surprising about Sonic Youth performing “Starpower” and bassist/guitarist Kim Gordon marrying Rufus Humphrey and Lily van der Woodsen-Bass-etc. The reason, as I will outline chronologically below, is that flirtations with mainstream popular culture is completely in keeping with their career. This cameo isn’t an isolated incident. If anything this network-savvy band pioneered how indie does synergy.

March 1, 1988: Ciccone Youth, a side project formed in 1986 between the band and Minutemen bassist/co-founder Mike Watt releases The Whitey Album. In this configuration, they took part of their name from Madonna’s surname. They also covered some of her songs, including “Into the Groovey” and “Burnin’ Up.” For good measure, they also covered Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.” Were they taking the piss or celebrating 80s blockbuster pop? Maybe both? You decide.

June 26, 1990: Goo is released on DGC, marking their major label debut. 

In 1991, the Goo video album is released, a clip accompanying each song on the album. Among them are “Mildred Pierce” which features Sofia Coppola dressed as Joan Crawford, who starred in the 1945 film noir of same name, “Disappearer,” which was directed by Todd Haynes, and a few clips directed by Tamra Davis, including “Dirty Boots” and “Kool Thing,” which also featured Public Enemy’s Chuck D.

September 17, 1991: Kim Gordon co-produces Pretty on the Inside, Hole’s debut album, released on Caroline, a subsidiary of Virgin.

July 21, 1992: Dirty is released. Two noteworthy music videos come along with it. Actor Jason Lee, then unknown, is featured as a tragic skateboarder in ”100%. The clip was co-directed by Davis and Spike Jonze, who just made some movie about kids and monsters based on a children’s book. Chloë Sevigny, once a Sassy intern, stars in “Sugar Kane,” which also showcases Marc Jacobs’ Perry Ellis grunge collection.

August 9, 1993: “Cannonball” is released as the lead single to The Breeders way-ruling Last Splash. Kim Gordon co-directs the music video with Jonze.

September 14, 1993: Judgment Night is released, along with a successful soundtrack from Epic that pairs alternative/metal acts with rap groups. Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill collaborate on ”I Love You Mary Jane.”

Cover to Judgment Night (Epic, 1993); image courtesy of brianorndorf.com

1994: Kim Gordon creates X-Girl with Daisy von Furth, a sister clothing line to Beastie Boys Mike D’s X-Large collection. I see DJ Tanner wear an X-Girl blue jumper on Full House and want one.

August 25, 1994: Sonic Youth contributes “Genetic” to the My So-Called Life soundtrack. Released on Atlantic, the compilation features other Juliana Hatfield, Afghan Whigs, Daniel Johnston, and (of course) Buffalo Tom, who every fan remembers played a show on Pike Street.

Track list to the My So-Called Life soundtrack (Atlantic, 1994); image courtesy of mscl.com

September 13, 1994: If I Were A Carpenter, a Carpenters tribute album, is released on A&M. An alternafest, acts like American Music Club, Shonen Knife, Babes and Toyland, and Matthew Sweet share time with SY, who cover “Superstar.” In late 2007, the song would make an appearance in the movie Juno.

Cover to If I Were a Carpenter (Rhino, 1994); image courtesy of whizzo.ca

October 27, 1995: CBS airs “The State’s 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special,” marking the MTV sketch comedy troupe’s network television debut. Sonic Youth is the musical guest. Few people watch (I am one of them), and CBS decides to pull the plug. 

May 19, 1996: Fox airs ”Homerpalooza,” The Simpsons‘ penultimate episode of its seventh season. In it, Homer goes on tour with Hullabalooza (re: Lollapalooza), taking canons to the gut to the bemusement of thousands of jaded slackers. Several acts made guests appearances, including Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill, Peter Frampton, and Sonic Youth. The band also provides an “alternative” version to Danny Elfman’s iconic theme song, perhaps getting closer in tone to what creator Matt Groening had originally envisioned when suggesting that avant-jazz composer John Zorn write the show’s theme song. The song is later featured on Rhino’s Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons: Original Music From The Television Series compilation.

"I'm so disillusioned!"; image courtesy of taringa.net

June 5, 1996: James Mangold’s debut feature, Heavy, is released in the states. Moore composes the score.

June 1998: I watch the “Kool Thing” video at a Gadzooks in the Mall of America during a trip to Young Life camp in Minnesota.

July 13, 2001: Larry Clark’s Bully is released in theaters. Moore composes the score.

July 25, 2005: Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, the director’s take on Kurt Cobain’s final days, is released in the states. Gordon appears as a record executive based on Danny Goldberg trying to turn the main character’s life around. Moore also served as a music consultant.

May 2006: Former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold joins the band. This has nothing to do with matters of synergy or cross-promotion; I just happen to think he’s kinda cute. He was also featured in a comic strip, but the name escapes me. His catchphrase is something to the effect of “I’m Mark, the bassist from Pavement” but I’m butchering it. My friend Susan told me about it, so maybe she’ll share in the comments section.

Mark Ibold, perhaps around the time he was dating Oksana Baiul and before the Pavement reunion tour; image courtesy of amazon.com

May 9, 2006: Moore and Gordon appear with daughter Coco in “Partings,” the Gilmore Girls‘ season six finale. 

June 15, 2007: Pitchfork reports that SY will be contributing a track to a Starbucks compilation.

November 21, 2007: Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There is released. Gordon’s makes a cameo as folkie Carla Hendricks, who is based on Judy Collins. The casting furthers my suspicion that SY friend Todd Haynes must have been influenced by the band’s fandom of The Carpenters and preoccupation with Karen Carpenter’s tragic struggle with anorexia. They cover “Superstar.” He makes a biopic about Carpenter called Superstar. Coincidence?

September 8, 2008: Choosing not to renew their contract with Geffen, SY sign with indie stalwart Matador.

November 3, 2008: Moore and former Be Your Own Pet frontwoman Jemina Pearl cover The Ramones’ “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” specifically for “There Might Be Blood,” a season two episode of Gossip Girl. 

February 16, 2009: Gordon debuts a clothing collection called Mirror/Dash for Urban Outfitters.

Is this bad? Hmm, maybe. I suppose it depends on your outlook. I’d say it’s no worse than The Flaming Lips performing on Beverly Hills, 90210 (although, maybe for it to be equal, Wayne Coyne would have to play a short-order cook at the Peach Pit). Beyond paying the bills and circulating their brand, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a fair amount of post-modern, art-school, post-Warholian why-the-hell-not? factoring into all of Sonic Youth’s above-ground forays. Or perhaps they (gasp!) like many of these texts and ventures. 

Perhaps the band knows that dabbling with the mainstream is tricky business. Maybe this explains why Moore (and, to a lesser extent Gordon and guitarist Lee Ranaldo, though not media-shy drummer Steve Shelley) cultivated an authoritative presence in recent music documentaries like Punk: Attitude, Kill Yr Idols, and I Need That Record! It may also have fueled a need for an outlet through which to channel more experimental projects, resulting in the band forming Sonic Youth Recordings in 1996, along with Shelley’s Smells Like label and Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label. In addition, Ranaldo has done a considerable amount of writing, creates installation projects with his wife Leah Singer, has an extensive solo career, and has performed improvisatory film scores as a member of Text of Light.

And, you know. The band is still really good. Even as folks mine their discography or weave them into above-ground mainstream corporate media culture enterprising, they’re still challenging themselves and making great music. Earlier this year, the band released The Eternal, their 16th album. Peaking at #18 on the Billboard charts, it also boasts a consistently great set of songs and a painting by late guitarist John Fahey for its cover. This blurring of art and commerce, for good or for bad, is in keeping with the band and their contributions to music culture.

Llego a casa a media noche tras un duro -aún por suerte, agradable- día de trabajo.
Pongo la lavadora y hago tiempo para tender la colada.

• American Music Club – Gratitude Walks (por si no había insistido lo suficiente)
  Un disco que comienza así, tiene que colarse por las venas y transpirar por todo tu ser necesariamente. Son piezas de tu vida como lo son los amigos o la comida con la que te has criado.
• American Music Club – Apology for an accident
• Patrick Watson – Slip Into your skin (No me digáis que no suena a AMC)
• Patrick Watson – Luscious Life
• Jeff Buckley – Lover, you should’ve come over (Para seguir con el juego de las influencias)
• Radiohead – Weird Fishes / Arpeggi (Todavía, el paradigma de una banda de rock. Gracias por no convertiros en U2)
• Radiohead – Reckoner (Hipnótico. A lo mejor soy un tonto, pero yo aún me los creo)
• The cinematic orchestra – That home (Feat. Patrick Watson)
• The cinematic orchestra – Time & Space (Feat. Lou Rhodes)

Buenas noches y felices sueños

Nick Drake – River Man
Brad Meldhau – River Man

Every August the city I have come to call home witnesses a transformation.  The Festival brings throngs of tourists who congest the pavements and slow the locals down as they try to get from A to B whilst muttering sounds of discontent at the inconvenience.  What do Edinburgh’s residents make of those who pack out the various events on offer?  What do they make of us, our great city and our culture?  What are they looking for as they roam our streets?  Do they find it?

The Festival brings a great buzz with it.  Back in 2003 we took a week off work to simply be tourists on our own streets.  It was great – to slow down, to savour the sights, sounds, smells and tastes…

The Festival is floods our city with streams of creativity because it brings so many people who are seeking to express something or make a connection whether through stand up comedy, theatre, music, performance or literature.  To create something and to share that with an audience is to embark upon an inherently risky venture.  It reveals vulnerability, but, just maybe it will resonate and create a moment of definition.

Today I strolled along to The National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street to see a free exhibition of Scottish artists called Rough Cut Nation.  Amidst the street art, graffiti, scribbles and paintings, a face looked out at me from a wall – huge, unassuming in it’s hooded top and, yet, strangely familiar.  A bunch of adjectives framed the upper border and a selection of ordinary and extraordinary faces and images peered through the streaks of running paint that bled down the walls. 

The figure had huge hands stretched out which were punctured, enabling me to peer right through to the life and movement and bustle and flow of people in the adjoining installations. 

The photo’s snapped on my Blackberry don’t do it justice, so I’d recommend that if you’re in Edinburgh that you take the chance to get along between now and the 30th of August. 

The image reminded me of lyrics penned by one of my favourite singer songwriters.  The last time I saw the original line up of American Music Club play in a sweaty King Tuts in Glasgow, they finished the set with this song.  Mark Eitzel was lost in the music and delivery, rolling his head around, eyes shut, letting the distance he was creating between his vocal chords and the mic add to the intensity and earnestness of this hopeless song…

“Looking for love in all the wrong places -
The sidewalks and the sky.
Looking for something that no one can give me
And no one can help me buy.

Oh brother, oh sister.
Don’t you see a crack form in the dam?
For a loser, no one can touch him,
He’s out slipping through Jesus’ hands”.

From “Jesus’ Hands” by American Music Club.
 

      last night, i saw a famous actress, my ears bled, and i discovered a new band. last night was the 2/3 fabulous Merge xx Festival at memorial hall at unc. ahh, the two thirds…hence the reason for the blood dripping from my ears, but i’ll get to that later.
        my main reason for wanting to go to the concert (and yes, it was a sit down concert, so i was not in a mosh pit disturbing my lumbar disc) was to see She & Him. mainly the She because ”She” is  one of my favorite actresses, zooey deschanel!!  oh how adorable she was! and quirky. even though she only said a handful of words and spent her time singing, because, well, it was a concert, the quirkiness exuded from her body. she could actually sing too, which helped . i also greatly enjoyed her back up singer, heidi. i don’t know if her name was heidi, but she looked like a heidi. more specifically, she looked like a character from Big Love–the uber mormon. oh how happy she was during the entire performance–she just kept twirling around, clapping and smiling and it was contagious! i wish i had had her to look at during the 2nd opening act to remind me of what happiness was like. when your ears are shooting projectile blood, you tend to forget.
           the opening act was wye oak–they were awesome and have made fans for life. mad crazy drum beats and honest vocals–i felt like i was in a cafe listening to the best ever back ground music. so good that i’d not  be able to concentrate on my work and would have to go up to the cafe manager and find out what it was and then rush out to buy it.  they honestly could have just been the main act–the next time they come to chapel hill, i will be there.
         so the show started off fabulously–we were all ramped up from wye oak. and the show ended with me on a high from having been thisclose to zooey and listening to her kick ass band. but the middle…oh, the horrors. oh, the humanity. 
         as i said to my husband last night, i would rather be in pain like i was when i first injured my back (a pain that my physical therapist said he heard from his other patients is worse than labor) than EVER, EVER, EVER listen to american music club again. amc, led by lead singer mark eitzel, was absolutely the worst music, if i may call it music, that i’ve ever heard in my 31 years. i could actally adapt to nails on a chalkboard, teeth scraping a fork, or the sound of my ex coworker valerie’s voice before i’d listen to one second of amc again. i took a look at their website, on mute of course, for fear that when i typed in the url his moaning would slowly crawl out of my speakers. it appears as though amc is a type of music described as sadcore–”characterized by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies and slower tempos” and is music “by and for the depressed”. What the EFF was this band doing placed in between wye oak and she & him??!! whose million dollar idea was that?? people were getting up and walking out. and mr. eitzel even said that while he was on stage. maybe this inspired him to be more depressed?? 
       when he first walked on stage, i thought he was one of the tech guys just testing out the microphones. a drunk, homeless tech guy.  then when he started singing, i thought, okay, he’s doing it to be funny. once the second song began, i knew my next forty minutes would be nothing other than pure torture. what a killjoy.
        anyhow, thank you wye oak and she & him. you made the night so amazing!  and i suppose thank you to american music club as well. even after this excruciating back injury, you showed me what true pain really is.

If you’re in an Ypsilanti establishment that serves beer and you hear a booming laugh blast out of a smoky corner, it’s probably William. Now, if you happen to overhear this tall, thin, graceful Ypsilanti-ite discussing whether the “sadcore“  movement is best represented by Mark Eitzel of American Music Club, it’s William.

No doubt.

Oversaturated with knowledge

I speak of him because of the latter description–he’s an encyclopedia of both obscure and common music. Yiddish vaudeville folk music anyone? Elvis or James Brown songs covered by the Residents, you say?

Before you approach him, keep in mind:

• Everything you think you know about music (bands, artists) is defunct. Sure everyone has an opinion, but you can’t argue with an encyclopedia.
• He does not like Bob Dylan (I know, right!?)

Mock conversation:

Me:    “Ha, that new Barenaked Ladies album is fun…”

William:    “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard The Housemartins. A much better representation of jangle pop. “

Me:    “Ummm, no.”

William:    *lowers and shakes head in disappointment*

There’s no better way for me to start a conversation with you about music than to introduce you to William.

Next: Wilco the song, from Wilco the album, by Wilco the band...

Det finnes hundrevis, sikkert tusenvis, av ufortjent oversette band der ute. Jeg vil slå et slag for noen av dem, og først ut er slowcorepionerene Idaho.

Med låtskriver, gitarist og vokalist Jeff Martin i front, bør Idaho sjekkes ut av alle med interesse for tristesseband som American Music Club og Mark Eitzel, Red House Painters og Mark Kozelek, Low og ikke minst Codeine – det andre store bandet innen scenen som en kort tid ble døpt slowcore (og sadcore).

Idahos sterkeste album er nok Three Sheets to the Wind (1996), og jeg gjenoppdaget nettopp bandet da jeg dumpet over 2005s Lone Gunman på salg – en plate jeg ikke en gang visste eksisterte. Ikke er de på Spotify en gang, men unntak av én låt på en Low-hyllestplate.

Jeg har bare anmeldt Idaho én gang, og her er min mening om Hearts of Palm fra 2000.

Idaho
Hearts of Palm
Idaho Music/Voices of Wonder 2000
5/6

“Happy, happy, happy times” synger Jeff Martin på Idahos femte album siden han stiftet gruppa i 1991. Men glede er ikke det første ordet som slår en i møte med Idahos nådeløst melankolske og lavmælte musikk.

Sammen med Codeine erIdaho eksponenter for det som ble døpt ”slowcore”: Triste sanger som fikk Nick Drake til å framstå som standupkomiker, spilt i et tempo som om det var snegler som dasket trommeskinnene og spilte de harde, seige gitarriffene.  Men plater som Codeines The White Birch og Idahos Three Sheets To The Wind viste at det gikk an å både rocke og røre lytterne med treghet og ømhet.

Besetningen i Idaho har variert sterkt, fra duo, soloprosjekt og fullt band – hele tiden med Martin i front. Etter Three Sheets… gikk bandet i oppløsning på grunn av heftig krangling, men i dag er Idaho befestet som en duo bestående av Martin og gitarist Dan Seta. Kanskje derfor er Hearts of Palm en langt mer nedtonet og pianodominert plate enn tidligere.

Og dette er en sterk utgivelse, der Martins noe ordinære stemme like fullt bærer de såre låtene fram. ”To Be The One” og tittellåta overbeviser med var skjønnhet og et rikt, men samtidig nakent lydbilde. Og i ”Evolution Is Gold” blir det hele så tilbakelent og forsiktig at gutta nesten helt slutter å spille. Tar du med at spor som nettopp ”Happy Times” viser at Martin fortsatt kan rocke på sitt seige, særegne vis, blir konklusjonen en finfin musikkopplevelse – selv om den på langt nær vil revolusjonere noe som helst.

El Indie es una etiqueta musical que designa a todo grupo que tiene un estilo musical distinto al “mainstream” (masivo, comercial) y que no cuenta con el apoyo de una discográfica multinacional, sino “independiente” o “indie” .

Básicamente, son grupos de pop / rock en el que predominan las guitarras y cuyo sonido es asimilable después de la segunda escucha, puesto que en la primera, si no se está acostumbrado, puede ser de difícil comprensión.

Con respecto a la filosofía, destacar la herencia del punk del “hazlo tú mismo” y permanecer fiel al independentismo frente al corporativismo de las multinacionales, el mantenimiento de la eterna juventud en forma de “síndrome de Peter Pan” y cierto fetichismo por lo antiguo, raro y a veces hortera o “kitsch”.

A finales de los 80 el término indie se asoció a bandas de pop y de rock que llevaban más allá todas las influencias recogidas hasta el momento, todavía sin denominación, en el que se mezclaba el rock, el punk, la vanguardia y la experimentación, y otros tipos de músicas para llegar a un pop muy simple o muy elaborado -según el artista- editado en sellos independientes a ambos lados del Atlántico. Tal es el caso de Sonic Youth, Band Of Susans, Hüsker Dü, Violent Femmes, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3, etc. Estos grupos se caracterizaban por hacer una música que en el fondo era pop, pero que podía diferir sobremanera en la forma o estilo.

A partir de Nirvana, esta etiqueta fue adquiriendo fuerza (por ser un cajón de sastre, donde cabía de todo) que a su vez tuvo diversos subgéneros, antes y después del éxito del Nevermind de Nirvana. Como ejemplos anteriores podemos citar el C-86 o Anorak Pop (Primal Scream, Talulah Gosh, My Bloody Valentine) y Shoegazer (My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Ride, Slowdive). Como ejemplos posteriores estarían el Post-Rock (Bitch Magnet, Slint, Tortoise, Rodan, Gastr del Sol), el Slowcore (Codeine, Low, Bedhead) y el Emocore (Lungfish, Sunny Day Real Estate) entre otros.

Otros grupos paradigmáticos en activo “in strictu sensu” son Yo La Tengo, They Might Be Giants, American Music Club, Sun Kil Moon, Avantgarde, Ivy, Stereolab o The Wedding Present, grupos todos ellos que recogen influencias tan variadas como la música de vanguardia (tipo Stockhausen, Gyorgy Ligeti), el minimalismo (Steve Reich, Philip Glass), el folk (John Denver, John Fahey), la canción francesa (Françoise Hardy, Serge Gainsbourg), el easy-listening (Henry Mancini, Les Baxter), las bandas sonoras (Lalo Schifrin) y el surf (The Beach Boys, Dick Dale). En un sentido más amplio, desde rockeros tétricos como Jon Spencer hasta bandas ruidistas como Sonic Youth pueden ser consideradas “indie”.

Actualmente permanece como un término amplio, aunque más definido que en la década de los 90, en el que se incluyen todos aquellos grupos que teniendo este sonido editan sus discos en multinacionales o en sus subsellos (The Strokes, Wilco, Radiohead).

Estos son los videos de algunos de los artistas que se han citado:

The Strokes

Nirvana

Fuente: JACOBS, Marc. (2006, 03 de febrero). Historia de la música independiente. Recuperado el 06/06/09.

http://elcabrondelgallego.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!1392242D45D3E8FA!904.entry

Wusstet ihr überhaupt, dass die diesjährige Preisverleihung des britischen Musikpreises meinen Musikgeschmack für dieses Jahr grundlegend verbesserte? Neben Kings of Leon (die mir zwar bekannt waren, ich aber bisher nichts von ihnen hörte) und MGMT (deren Oracular Spectacular wundergenialst ist, aber dazu wahrscheinlich irgendwann später einmal mehr) war darunter auch eine Band namens Elbow.

Was gibt es über Elbow zu sagen? Fünf Typen aus England machen Musik. Und noch dazu: Was für eine! Die Stimme des Frontsängers, Guy Garvey erinnert mich irgendwie an jene von Mark Eitzel, dem Sänger der überaus genialen Gruppe American Music Club. Entstanden sind sie irgendwann in den 90ern, mehrere Alben sind bisher schon erschienen, sie erhielten mehrfach den Mercury Prize. Und wurden eben dieses Jahr bei den Brit Awards zur besten Band gewählt.

Wie kann man sich diese Musik vorstellen? Vielleicht … ja, vielleicht ist es eine perfekte Symbiose aus The Decemberists und dem American Music Club. Und wer diese beiden Bands kennt, weiß, dass dieser Mix zu einem genüsslichen Allroundpaket wird.

Und irgendwie muss man die Band auch einfach nur lieben, weil sie Ellbogen heißt.

I’m not quite sure what got all the journos in such a froth over American Music Club and none got more frothy than Caitlin Moran. Still, she’s always worth reading and wrote too sparingly for the paper over the years so I’ve scanned this in as much for her writing as the band. Thanks to the marvel that is Spotify you can listen the whole of the San Francisco album and judge for yourself. Although the capsule review on Spotify doesn’t bode well,

“Regrettably, with their final effort, San Francisco, American Music Club went out with a whimper, not a bang. An undeveloped, erratic collection of songs, the record suffers under the weight of overly slick, commercial arrangements, and production which renders tracks like “It’s Your Birthday,” “Wish the World Away,” and “Hello Amsterdam” as bland alterna-rock; only the effervescent “Can You Help Me?” manages to absorb and transcend its glossy pop veneer.”

I was never a huge fan of American Music Club in their first, late-80’s to mid-90’s incarnation.  They seemed to sensitive, too yearning, and frankly the production seemed a bit, well, late-80’s.  For all the hype that they were the next REM, they never seemed to deliver.  Plus, their frontman Mark Eitzel sounded humourless and spiky, and let’s face it, we had Mark E Smith to be spiky and at least he had a sense of humour, odd though it may have been.

So when they reformed in 2003 and released Love Songs For Patriots, I wasn’t really bothered.  Until I came across a couple of songs, and I, quite frankly, was blown away.  Released in the dark days of the second Iraq war, calling your album “Love Songs For Patriots” was a perverse move that I rather liked.  Plus, the third song on the album, Patriot’s Heart, is about a male stripper, which is about as anti-Neo Con as you could get in those days.

Frankly, the album’s a beaut.  From the opening clang of Ladies and Gentlemen, through Another Morning’s reluctant anger, right to the hope of Myopic Books, it’s filled with fantastic songs.  The aforementioned Patriot’s Heart, telling its tale of a male stripper, starts off with “If you wanna see something patriotic, there’s a stripper/He don’t look that good, but he’s got an all-American smile”.  And any man who’s ever wandered into a strip club (either straight or gay, and not that I have, of course *cough*) would surely recognise the line “And after a few tequilas, I become something holy.”  It’s pure, wholesome entertainment.

To me, the highlight of the album is the pair of tracks Home and Myopic Books.  Home was written following a drunken argument in his local bar, when he realised afterward he was a miserable, drunken wretch, picking on some young guy for no reason other than he felt like it.  There’s a nod, presumably intentional, to The Smiths in the line “Why do I waste my time with people who’ll never love anyone?” (“In my life/Why do I give valuable time/To people who don’t care if I live or die ?”).  Mark’s anguished yells of “Home, home, home/I hope I make it home” are heartbreaking, the drunken yelling of a man who has got lost.  And I mean that in a metaphysical sense, of course.

In Myopic Books, Mark sings about getting over the pain of a breakup by visiting a bookstore “I was just hoping/for a bookstore like the one I prayed for/and the music they’d play there would be Dinosaur Jr./and the people who worked there would be super skinny/and super unfriendly – and that would make me happy”.  Now personally I much prefer personal service like you get in Daunt Books or John Sandoe but hey, that’s just me, I’m not a ex-drug addict, middle-aged gay singer-songwriter.  I do dig the Dinosaur Jr bit though.  Anyway, I’m rambling again – it’s a delicate, simple number, and absolutely wonderful.

(Digressing somewhat, but if you ever want to play AMC songs on your guitar, invest in a decent tuner – he’s a big fan of alternative tunings.  I mean DADF#AD?  For pete’s sake)

As for the humour.  Well, me and Mrs L&L went to see them live a couple of years ago.  I warned my wife that it might be a bit of a sullen evening, but we decamped at the front of the stage at Dingwalls anyway.  Out comes Mr Eitzel, dressed in a shabby suit, and I think the worst.  Then he starts telling jokes.  Asks me if it’s too loud for me.  Then a funny story about how, whilst on heroin, he and a friend try selling some drugs back to their dealer. Then a story about how writing a song about an ex can backfire when he turns up to your show and starts camply yelling “This songs about me!” whilst you are pouring your heart out on stage.  He’s one of the funniest front men I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen Teenage Fanclub and the hugely amusing Tony Crow playing with Lambchop).  If you ever get a chance to see them live, do.

Anyway, there are a few less than stellar tracks on there – Song of the Rats Leaving The Sinking Ship brings forth my worries about whining that I mentioned at the start – but I truly love this album. And the production’s pretty good too.

Home.mp3 from Love Songs For Patriots

If I have my own library I would hire Morrissey to be senior librarian.

Erlend Øye, Death Cab or American Music Club would make good librarian I imagine.

Björk could in charge of security.

1) TV On The Radio – Dear Science
2) Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
3) Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
4) Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
5) Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
6) The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
7) Why? – Alopecia
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
9) Cérebro Eletrônico – Pareço Moderno
10) Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
11) Jamie Lidell – Jim
12) The Dodos – Visiter
13) Portishead – Third
14) Beck – Modern Guilt
15) Okkervil River – The Stand Ins
16) Momo – Buscador
17) Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster… / We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
18) Al Green – Lay It Down
19) Conor Oberst – Conor Obesrt
20) The Week That Was – The Week That Was
21) Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
22) Curumin – Japan Pop Show
23) M83 – Saturdays = Youth
24) No Age – Nouns
25) Brian Wilson – That Lucky Old Sun
26) Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
27) Marcelo Camelo – Sou
28) My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
29) British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
30) Beach House – Devotion
31) American Music Club – The Golden Age
32) Destroyer – Trouble In Dreams
33) MGMT – Oracular Spetacular
34) Department Of Eagles – In Ear Park
35) Wado – Terceiro Mundo Festivo
36) The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement
37) Foals – Antidotes
38) The Futureheads – This Is Not The World
39) Neon Neon – Stainless Style
40) The Walkmen – You & Me
41) Guizado – Punx
42) Lykke Li – Youth Novels
43) Mallu Magalhães – Mallu Magalhães
44) Hot Chip – Made In The Dark
45) Elbow – The Seldom Sem Kid
46) Max Tundra – Parallax Error Beheads You
47) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
48) Black Kids – Partie Traumatic
49) Violins – A Redenção dos Corpos
50) Estelle – Shine

70) “Porks & Beans” [vídeo]
Weezer

Longe de ser o loser de 94, Rivers Cuomo pede o direito de ser nerd por mais um dia e faz sua canção-brincadeira sobre o sucesso direto para a era do viral. O clipe já escancara, mas “Porks & Beans” seria hit no YouTube mesmo sem os vários outros hits do vídeo.

69) “Hurricane Jane” [vídeo]
Black Kids

Desilusões amorosas já foram tema de inúmeras canções ao longo das décadas e nessa balada de verniz oitetista ganham ares cinematográficos graças ao refrão. Enquanto a voz de Reegie Youngblood explode em meio a uma cama de teclado e sintetisadores, a câmera acompanha, em slow motion, a protagonista, – que podia ser tanto Molly Ringwald,  como Debbie Harry – dizendo “Não” ao garoto nerd. Mais Sessão da Tarde, impossível.

68) “Balloons” [vídeo]
Foals

Pode ser fácil jogar o jogo do revival post-punk depois que todo mundo já fez sua parte, mas o Foals realmente merece todos os elogios pelo que está fazendo. Enquanto uns apenas seguiram a cartilha e outros acabaram se especificando em reinventar apenas alguma das faces do gênero, o Foals atira em várias direções e acaba assim juntando as pontas que ficaram soltas por essa década. “Balloons” é um bom exemplo disso. As guitarras ainda são angulares como no Gang Of Four, mas há ali o espaço e a atmosfera do Joy Division. O naipe de metais e dinâmica da música lembra a popice cabeçuda e desengoçada dos Talking Heads, enquanto a precisão da bateria chega quase o pós-hardcoredo  Fugazi. E quebrando a música ao meio, um momento épico, cortesia do Echo & the Bunnymen.

67) “My favorite year” [MP3]
Destroyer

Devido a predominância (e, às vezes, a excelência) das composições de Carl Newman no New Pornographers, pouca gente acaba conhecendo Dan Bejar, guitarrista e compositor de timbre estranha, mas que quase sempre crava pérolas nos discos dos Pornos (“Myriad Harbour” é dele, por exemplo). E melhor ainda que suas músicas no supergrupo é seu trabalho a frente do Destroyer, uma mistura de folk eletrificado dylanesco com doses fartas de David Bowie, power pop e Lou Reed. “My favorite year” é a melhor faixa de “Trouble In Dreams”, um dos dois discos que ele lançou em 2008, (o outro foi  ”The Portrait Is Finished…”, com o Hello Blue Roses, projeto dele com a patroa), e uma síntese da extensa obra de Bejar. Faria você beber BASTANTE no Destroyer Drinking Game, por exemplo.

66) “Collapsing at your doorstep” [vídeo]
Air France

A primeira frase de “Collapsing at your doorstep” que já diz o que virá pela frente, “Sort like a dream? No. Better.”, e o resto da música da dupla de produtores de suecos continua na mesma vibe, sonhando um verão tropical através dos beats elegantes do pop europeu (Air e Saint Etienne). Funciona tanto no frio de Goteburgo quanto no sol de Ipanema.

65) “Waves of Rye” [MP3]
Departament Of Eagles

Como o Grizzly Bear, banda da qual Daniel Rossen também faz parte, o Department Of Eagles acaba estabelencendo conexões  interessantes com sua música. “Waves of Rye” soa parte como o momento fugidio nos anos 70 em que o blues encontrou o folk e a psicodelia original (pense em Neil Young e Van Morrison com ambiência expasiva do prog) e parte como o indie rock e guitarras barulhentas e melodicas de grupos como Built To Spill e Dinosaur Jr. 

64) “Melhor” [MP3]
Wado

No meio de sua viagem pelos ritmos periféricos do mundo (xô Regina Casé!), Wado faz uma parada no litoral brasileiro para fazer a canção mais pop de sua carreira. Mesclando beats e percussão com piano e violoncelo, “Melhor” é uma balada ensolarada que desmancha, mesmo que por 3 minutos, a posição defensiva em que costumamos ver o músico. De braços abertos, ele canta “Eu quis mudar para você ver / que nem sempre é tão difícil a gente perceber”. Agora, só falta você chegar junto.

63) “Hit the wall” [vídeo]
Brendan Canning

Como o disco de Kevin Drew já sugeria, a série de lançamentos sob o selo “Broken Social Scene Presents: …”, além de mostrar canções mais pessoais de cada cabeça do coletivo, serve também para deixar claras as dívidas do novo pop canadense com rock americano da virada 80-90. Se Drew trouxe J. Mascis para sua banda, Brendan Canning pede a benção de Gregg Dulli e Thruston Moore enquanto desliza pelo barulho das guitarras e a perdição leve dos metais e dos vocais sussurados.

62) “All my love” [MP3]
American Music Club

Apesar do belo arranjo (arpejo de violão, bateria suave, leve intromissões de guitarra e piano), é o crooning sussurado de Mark Eitzel que transforma “All my love” na maravilha que é. A leveza do timbre toma conta de todo espaço deixado pelos outros instrumentos, enquanto a melodia tira seu coração para dançar uma valsa pelos 5 minutos da faixa.

61) “Keep cooler” [MP3]
Nancy

A bateria começa épica, como se estivesse a espera de um crime passional. A música, então, se quebra em metais e fraseados de guitarras para dizer que todo o drama até ali é fingimento, ironia (“Feel lucky that I never stopped until I know, but I don’t know”). Daí se quebra novamente para te conquistar, sexy, na voz de Camila e cama dream pop que a banda estende para ela. Como esse semi-hit em si, é difícil classificar o Nancy ou situa-lo em alguma cena, ou tradição musical. Já disseram “black metal para namorar”, ficamos com “música foda”. Com ou sem trocadilhos.

Calamateur – Jesus_Hands.mp3

Many years ago I remember hanging out with Craig B – he was a student, while I was just pretending to be one, and we would go to gigs, listen to records and play each other our songs (actually, now I think of it, I only remember playing him one of my songs – what a shy boy I was then).

Craig introduced me to a wealth of new music, much of which has hugely shaped my own musical direction. The most important band he introduced me to at that time was American Music Club, and the solo work of the band’s singer Mark Eitzel. Mercury, San Francisco and Songs of Love Live are still 3 of my favourite ever albums, and the impact they had on me, both musically and personally, was immeasurable.

The song ‘Jesus Hands’, which I’ve done a cover of for my new album,  is from one of American Music Club’s earlier album’s, Everclear, and has some of the saddest lyrics I’ve ever heard.

Proud Simon's "Night of Criminals" will drop on November 11, 2008.

“We tore the books off the shelves.

We can’t keep to ourselves.

Burst like roman candles

Into a night of criminals.”

Love it. Love it. Love it.

It’s delicate, it’s indie, it’s pop. It’s Proud Simon’s album “Night of Criminals.”

If you like Wilco, American Music club, Midlake, Pavement and the Decemberists – I dare say you will love Proud Simon’s third full album – packed with 12 songs of exploration into the highs and lows of life.

Proud Simon’s current lineup is composed of Brian Keenan, Adrian Morgan, Chaim Tolwin, Avi Pavlovich and Bryan Trenis.

“I was watching the sunrise over the condos springing up behind my apartment,” remembered Keenan, “and there was this defining moment where I could clearly see the cyclical nature of my life. No matter what happened, whether it was triumph or heartbreak, I could see the days laid out before me. This record is a year packed into that one single night.”

For more information on Proud Simon:

Proud Simon web site

Proud Simon’s MySpace page

I wish that we were always high
I wish that we could swim in the sky
If we believe then we won’t fall
We’ll leave our lives and rise above it all

You never love when you never trust
It’s hard to love when all you embrace is dust
I’ll be the match that holds your fire
I’ll be the note that sings from your wire
If I can give you all my love

The breath that takes you
from the deep blue to the shore
A wave that holds you
It’s all you’re searching for
It lasts for a blink and it’s everything
Makes all your gowns and your crowns so disappointing

If I can give you all my love
All my love
All my love

The light we use when we get lost
The light we choose, never mind the cost
It’s what we hope to see in each other’s eyes
It’s what we hope to feel on our highest highs

If I could give you all my love
All my love
All my love

“All my love” | American Music Club