Friday, January 04, 2008
Music is my jam*
*Taken from the July '07 France tour.
'07
Albums:
1. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
I read somewhere that the reason this album is so fucking excellent is because it takes the past (samples from the last - I don't know - 50 years of music) and melds it with the future (the act of stripping and treating and bending and editing samples to the point that they no longer are parts taken from songs, but are only parts comprising a brand new song in and of itself). To think about this music in those terms makes this something to behold, but it's not even my favorite thing about the record, which are the glorious vocals shimmering on top of the music. The melodies are so gorgeous that you're glad you can't see music because this would blind you.
2. Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
When Sung Tongs blew my mind in '04 the musical euphoria reminded me of high school, which made me think I was going to get deeper and deeper into "experimental" music, as my high school musical discovery days kept leading me deeper and deeper into (relative) obscurity. It turns out I didn't really delve any deeper than AC; they're pretty much exactly what I want to hear in music: adventurous pop songs. By now they've firmly settled in as my favorite current band (a term that doesn't hold nearly as much significance as it used to - I am old), and I am already foaming at the mouth in anticipation of their NEXT album. While the highs aren't as high as their previous two lps, Strawberry Jam is their most consistent album, with only one song that doesn't really do it for me. This one has a lot more Panda Bear on it than Feels, which is, duh, a good thing. Seriously, I considered putting a live post-Strawberry Jam song as my favorite song of the year. That shit is going to rival Sung Tongs.
3. Vampire Weekend: Blue cdr
The first three songs I heard (Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, A-Punk, and Oxford Comma) threw me into an obsession that ended when I found the rest of their songs from this demo cdr. They were all enjoyable, but I had started with the cream of the crop. Unfortunately the soukous comparisons don't really extend beyond the songs that directly reference it in their titles (i.e. only one song), but the singer sure has a stranglehold on melody, and the rest of the band understands the art of economy in arrangement.
4. Life Without Buildings: Live At The Annandale Hotel
Man alive with this was still a band alive. Hearing them live adds a new layer to my appreciation of them.
5. Bruce Springsteen: Magic
The boss and E Street band covering Magnetic Fields songs!
6. Robert Forster & Grant McLennan: Intermission
This is sort of a best-of compilation of choice cuts from their 90's solo albums. Either they were in a lull or something magical happened when they made music together under the same moniker, and that makes me even sadder that there won't be anymore Go-betweens albums.
7. Je Suis Animal: album demos
Gary and Yoshi requested that this band open for Still Flyin' in Oslo on our last Scandinavian tour. I was really excited to see them just because of their name; then they played and blew me the fuck away. Broadcast meets My Bloody Valentine is sort of the realm of what they're doing. They sent me a bunch of demos for their album and I love it.
8. Night Moves: Up A Crane
Makes me want to start a record label so can I put this out. It's a personal treat to hear Adrian knock it out of the yard fronting his own band. Nite grooves.
9. Various Artists: After Dark/ Chromatics: Night Drive
Satisfies some part of me I didn't know needed satisfaction.
10. Vit Pals: ep #4
Weird Swedish pop songs. Sounds like a dude with a four-track who made up a tune and played it for his friends at the murder mystery dinner party and everyone decided the murder mystery dinner sucked and opted to record some more tunes and just jam or sing in the background. Hang out music with no murder and no mystery, just a vit and some pals.
11. Papercuts: Can't Go Back
12. Ladybug Transistor: Can't Wait Another Day
13. Deerhoof: Friend Opportunity
14. Times New Viking: Present The Paisley Reich
15. Architecture In Helsinki: Places Like This
16. Smallgoods: Down On The Farm
17. Lucksmiths: Spring A Leak
18. Clientele: God Save The Clientele
19. Folklore: The Ghost Of HW Beaverman
20. Panda Bear: Live at ZDB
2006 Album Jammer:
Zebras: Worry A Lot
Albums that I haven't heard that I probably would/will enjoy:
Dungen, Electrelane
Songs:
1. Panda Bear: Bros
2. Animal Collective: Fireworks
3. Je Suis Animal: Secret Place By The Window
4. Panda Bear: Take Pills
5. Vampire Weekend: A-punk
6. UGK: International Player's Ball
7. Chromatics: Running Up That Hill
8. Vit Pals: Enda Stallet
9. Times New Viking: Teenage Lust
10. Animal Collective: Derek
11. Vampire Weekend: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
12. Panda Bear: Carrots
13. Vampire Weekend: Oxford Comma
14. MIA: Paper Planes
15. Vit Pals: Loving You Was Crazy Shit
16. Bruce Springsteen: Livin' In The Future
17. Ladybug Transistor: Three Days From Now
18. Panda Bear: Ponytail
19. Shins: Australia
20. Smallgoods: Traipse Through The Valley
Shows:
1. Konono no.1: April 28th Great American Music Hall SF
2. Je Suis Animal: April 12th Blaa Oslo, Norway
3. Jens Lekman: November 9th Bimbo's SF
4. Rump Posse: July 14th Drunken Unicorn Atlanta
5. Animal Collective: September 17th Fillmore SF
6. Lucksmiths: September 30th DC9 DC (yes it sounded excellent at that place that night)
7. Huey Lewis and the News: June 17th Stern Grove park SF
8. Night Moves: July 21st Caledonia Athens/October 5th 40 Watt Athens
9. Vit Pals: April 14th V-dala Nation Uppsala, Sweden
10. Forever Dudes: December 22nd Caledonia Athens
*Taken from the July '07 France tour.
'07
Albums:
1. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
I read somewhere that the reason this album is so fucking excellent is because it takes the past (samples from the last - I don't know - 50 years of music) and melds it with the future (the act of stripping and treating and bending and editing samples to the point that they no longer are parts taken from songs, but are only parts comprising a brand new song in and of itself). To think about this music in those terms makes this something to behold, but it's not even my favorite thing about the record, which are the glorious vocals shimmering on top of the music. The melodies are so gorgeous that you're glad you can't see music because this would blind you.
2. Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
When Sung Tongs blew my mind in '04 the musical euphoria reminded me of high school, which made me think I was going to get deeper and deeper into "experimental" music, as my high school musical discovery days kept leading me deeper and deeper into (relative) obscurity. It turns out I didn't really delve any deeper than AC; they're pretty much exactly what I want to hear in music: adventurous pop songs. By now they've firmly settled in as my favorite current band (a term that doesn't hold nearly as much significance as it used to - I am old), and I am already foaming at the mouth in anticipation of their NEXT album. While the highs aren't as high as their previous two lps, Strawberry Jam is their most consistent album, with only one song that doesn't really do it for me. This one has a lot more Panda Bear on it than Feels, which is, duh, a good thing. Seriously, I considered putting a live post-Strawberry Jam song as my favorite song of the year. That shit is going to rival Sung Tongs.
3. Vampire Weekend: Blue cdr
The first three songs I heard (Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, A-Punk, and Oxford Comma) threw me into an obsession that ended when I found the rest of their songs from this demo cdr. They were all enjoyable, but I had started with the cream of the crop. Unfortunately the soukous comparisons don't really extend beyond the songs that directly reference it in their titles (i.e. only one song), but the singer sure has a stranglehold on melody, and the rest of the band understands the art of economy in arrangement.
4. Life Without Buildings: Live At The Annandale Hotel
Man alive with this was still a band alive. Hearing them live adds a new layer to my appreciation of them.
5. Bruce Springsteen: Magic
The boss and E Street band covering Magnetic Fields songs!
6. Robert Forster & Grant McLennan: Intermission
This is sort of a best-of compilation of choice cuts from their 90's solo albums. Either they were in a lull or something magical happened when they made music together under the same moniker, and that makes me even sadder that there won't be anymore Go-betweens albums.
7. Je Suis Animal: album demos
Gary and Yoshi requested that this band open for Still Flyin' in Oslo on our last Scandinavian tour. I was really excited to see them just because of their name; then they played and blew me the fuck away. Broadcast meets My Bloody Valentine is sort of the realm of what they're doing. They sent me a bunch of demos for their album and I love it.
8. Night Moves: Up A Crane
Makes me want to start a record label so can I put this out. It's a personal treat to hear Adrian knock it out of the yard fronting his own band. Nite grooves.
9. Various Artists: After Dark/ Chromatics: Night Drive
Satisfies some part of me I didn't know needed satisfaction.
10. Vit Pals: ep #4
Weird Swedish pop songs. Sounds like a dude with a four-track who made up a tune and played it for his friends at the murder mystery dinner party and everyone decided the murder mystery dinner sucked and opted to record some more tunes and just jam or sing in the background. Hang out music with no murder and no mystery, just a vit and some pals.
11. Papercuts: Can't Go Back
12. Ladybug Transistor: Can't Wait Another Day
13. Deerhoof: Friend Opportunity
14. Times New Viking: Present The Paisley Reich
15. Architecture In Helsinki: Places Like This
16. Smallgoods: Down On The Farm
17. Lucksmiths: Spring A Leak
18. Clientele: God Save The Clientele
19. Folklore: The Ghost Of HW Beaverman
20. Panda Bear: Live at ZDB
2006 Album Jammer:
Zebras: Worry A Lot
Albums that I haven't heard that I probably would/will enjoy:
Dungen, Electrelane
Songs:
1. Panda Bear: Bros
2. Animal Collective: Fireworks
3. Je Suis Animal: Secret Place By The Window
4. Panda Bear: Take Pills
5. Vampire Weekend: A-punk
6. UGK: International Player's Ball
7. Chromatics: Running Up That Hill
8. Vit Pals: Enda Stallet
9. Times New Viking: Teenage Lust
10. Animal Collective: Derek
11. Vampire Weekend: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
12. Panda Bear: Carrots
13. Vampire Weekend: Oxford Comma
14. MIA: Paper Planes
15. Vit Pals: Loving You Was Crazy Shit
16. Bruce Springsteen: Livin' In The Future
17. Ladybug Transistor: Three Days From Now
18. Panda Bear: Ponytail
19. Shins: Australia
20. Smallgoods: Traipse Through The Valley
Shows:
1. Konono no.1: April 28th Great American Music Hall SF
2. Je Suis Animal: April 12th Blaa Oslo, Norway
3. Jens Lekman: November 9th Bimbo's SF
4. Rump Posse: July 14th Drunken Unicorn Atlanta
5. Animal Collective: September 17th Fillmore SF
6. Lucksmiths: September 30th DC9 DC (yes it sounded excellent at that place that night)
7. Huey Lewis and the News: June 17th Stern Grove park SF
8. Night Moves: July 21st Caledonia Athens/October 5th 40 Watt Athens
9. Vit Pals: April 14th V-dala Nation Uppsala, Sweden
10. Forever Dudes: December 22nd Caledonia Athens
