Post 187 On a MF Cop

So, I'm not going to do a 2007 list. Seems kind of pointless at this juncture, I still like a lot of the albums, and lists are kind of goofy in nature, anyhow. Plus my life is getting busier and more complicated by the minute anyways.

So after 187 posts, I'd like for you to turn your attention to Pinko Flamingo where I'll be doing the majority of posting forthwith. Feel free to check in here, but I'll be writing most my stuff there. Thanks!

-B

Down to 60. Tough stuff. Couple of notes:

First, I forgot how damn good this Feist record is. I mean, it's kind of gotten tons of rubbernecking bloggers backlashing the crap out of it. Be aware -- to discount a record because it's available in Starbucks and in an iPod commercial makes no sense. She's got a beautiful voice, writes great songs and has created a great sense of space in her songs. In no way is this record pedestrian.

Second, the Klaxons. For a bunch of young Brit kids riding a mountain of hype, they put together a pretty great little rock record. Yeah, it's got missteps that any underdeveloped young band might have, but "Golden Skans", "Gravity's Rainbow" and "Atlantis to Interzone" still sound good half a year or so later and hit on a fun wordy and jumpy rock sound. (Not on the list anymore.)

Third, Enon's Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds is pretty excellent. I missed this band the last couple of years. John Schmersal is a fantastic songwriter. They've stripped all the fancy yet inconsequential electronics focusing on their core guitar-bass-drums line up. Suits them very well. Also good to see that even though they're getting older they still pick up steam and jitter like hottwired teens.

Finally, No Age. Yes, really great.

So, I've whittled the who-gives-a-shit best album list down to 76. I'm trying to get into the 20 range, but that's some tough stuff. I've already eliminated Freeway, Sloan, Jesu and Pig Destroyer -- all who had some great records this year worth your attention. Not sure why I'm even concerned about this though as there's already been 20+ that I've seen for '07 and every one of them has Arcade Fire, Radiohead and/or LCD in the top spot. Whatever. Hopefully it might be entertaining or worth something when it pops up in this space.

Also, some news to come about more frequent writing. Stay tuned...

Prism of Eternal Now

From a post on Wikipedia referencing Adam Forkner's new White Rainbow album, Prism of Eternal Now:

Prism Of Eternal Now is the most recent album by ambient/soundscape artist White Rainbow. Unlike Sky Drips Drifts, this album is not one continuous track, but rather a collection of shorter works that show the more recent loop-based phase of White Rainbow's music. Also, unlike ZOME, the album has no title tracks, extended songs, or words for vocals. The back cover of the disc is not unlike the label of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap, inasmuch as it is an almost solid block of text on a pink background (or a white block for some variation). A picture of Adam Forkner appears on the back, tucked away in the bottom right hand corner, which again marks a difference from other albums where Forkner's face never appeared. The text itself is all about the supposed healing powers of the music contained on the disc, and includes instructions on how to use the album as a method of self-healing, the benefits of Prism Of Eternal Now, and exhorts the buyer to not rip it into mp3 due to reduced bitrate. A block of text identifies the gear list (":::::ONLY THE FINEST GRADE:::::"), which includes phasers, guitars, delays, synthesizers, breath, jug, tabla, and a mysterious "etc". Another block has the track listing, and the third block of white has an explanation of the album title and "vibrational energy" contained therein.

Whoever wrote the above paragraph takes this album way too seriously, or found the perfect excuse to wave his dick around.

Gotta love the internet.

We Are Floating In Space...

Ladies and gentlemen, I've been trying to decide where to take this whole backlog and move it into the future (like Steve Miller?). Seems a little unsure at the time. I have time, if I choose to use it: just can't seem to figure what to write about and whether that opinion/criticism is worth adding to the constant babble of the internet. After all, it's hard to disagree with Jess Harvell's points -- am I adding to discourse or just making noise by hitting the repeat button? But maybe we can make this worthwhile after all. For a dude that loves black metal so much, John Darnielle sure is an optimist.

And, for the record, I kind of like "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance", in the same way that I liked Yellow Pills -- a record by perfunctory young adults overwhelmed by the need to make disposable, time-capsuled pop music. (I haven't heard the rest, and am apathetic about it to be honest.)

Also: know what's funny? I don't think anyone remembers In Rainbows and that shit was 3 weeks ago.

Foos

I know it's not very indie of me, but the breakdown + exploding background makes the hair stand up on my arms. This song kicks ass.

Foo Fighters - The Pretender (Video Premiere)
Uploaded by Alisvideo

My new best friend...

Just got a pair of these Sennheiser HD 595 cans above. Gotta say, I thought that money headphones were BS and all the things I was reading were all viral marketing. Not so. I can't speak for the other 5000 competitors to these (I'm sure some are better, whatever), but it's literally like someone wiped a layer of grime off of all my music. It's pretty hard to listen to Zep right now and not want to raise a lighter hearing Jimmy Page picking like a madman and every sweetly recorded Bonzo snare and tom.

"Great For College Campuses and Abroad"

I'm having a bit of trouble getting back into this. Every post I start begins "ever since I was young" or some goofball generalization. Sorry. Quality control - at least for the first couple since my last one.

See you soon?

Yeah, it's been a while. Soon I'll be back with something more, but I'm alive.

In the meantime, UGK's new one, Kanye's new one, and Scarface's old one are all amazing. And that's just recent hip-hop discoveries.

G: Goo, by Sonic Youth

Seventh grade for most people is super-awkward. I was no different. While it’s tough to remember perfectly, I do recall it junior high to be a greatly uncomfortable time. And yeah, looking back on it, I was a huge herb. Sixth was cool: I wasn’t sexually aware yet, They Might Be Giants were my favorite band, I had my little brother do somersaults for my “Bring Your Pet to School Day”.

But seventh sticks out. Girls started getting boobs, voices started cracking, unwilling things started happening downstairs. (Sample thought: “Please Mrs. Hall, don’t don’t DON’T call on me to come to the board. Damn my pants are tight.”) Adding insult to injury, one of our gym teachers made a group of us come up with a choreographed dance to a song of our choice. Seriously. You imagine what that can do to a little guy’s self-esteem when he has to get in front of a group of his peers (read: girls) and dance. At the time, I was way into Nirvana and some of the bands that Kurt liked, including Sonic Youth. My friend Kenny started me and my buddies on them and Goo was pretty cool to me with its terrifying feedback squalls and occasional hot-chick vocals. Long story short, Kenny, my future high school bandmate Layton, and I did the hand jive (no shit) to “Mary-Christ”. It’s the first thing I think about every time I hear Goo, something so ingrained and irrepressible, no matter what I could have hoped to do. I just picture myself red-faced with the song blasting over the shitty gymnasium speakers adding another layer of weird grime due to the echo and a crusty tape dub. (I should note that I stopped listening to Goo until senior year in high-school out of sheer embarrassment every time I heard it. Yeah, I’m a wimp, I know.)

Listening back now, it’s not all that hard to see why an inexperienced, Nirvana-loving teenager would like a band like Sonic Youth, particularly Dirty and Goo’s version. The songs here are skewed pop, angry enough to communicate on that level, groovy enough to make the listener feel cool and arranged in a way that made the kid dreamer think this type of thing might be possible even with his untalented self. The songs can be punky (“Titanium Expose”), aggressive (the second half of “Dirty Boots”) and definitely hip (“Kool Thing”), all things that angst-y suburbanites want in music as a replacement for their dull, monotone lives. I guess being honest, it’s kind of what I still want from music every once and a while.

On a grander scale, while it never hit the wide range audience that it was supposed to, SY’s Goo still stands tall as an accessible moment in a sometimes impenetrable and difficult discography. Goo is something of a leaping point for getting into high art-rock and the avant-garde due to its feedback swirls and hardscrabble noise elements tempered by grunge-era melody. And if it isn’t for you, well – just play it for your pimply 13-year old cousin with the Staind t-shirt. Maybe they’ll understand.