New idea?
ok so not so new, but i figured if, with the addition of chance’s political newsical updates, we could round out this up-and-coming online newspaper business that is the shambotron. So I’d like to add something I’m interested in, fairly obvious, but let’s talk about current music a little shall we? I’ve been thinking about this all day, having been inspired by the current’s “musicheads” podcast and i want to keep this up as maybe a weekly or bi-weekly thing. this is how its gonna go: I’m gonna talk about something going on in music that I am interested (love, hate, movements,etc.) and you are all welcome to add to the discussion, but i also want to know 3 songs or albums (preferably) that you are diggin right now. lets do this?
So i haven’t prepared for this too much, but i think next time, this is going to be a bit more researched and in-depth. lets start with something small? how about the future of music, for small? Well let’s take on the much discussed angle of The Fiery Furnaces as the face of where fringe music is headed. not that I’m calling it fringe music anymore, what with them dropping their sixth album, Widow City, this month. I’m also sure you all aren’t surprised having accompanied me to their concert on my birthday that this is one of my favorite bands right now. What I find worth discussing here is what they bring to the idea of compostion. The furnaces never settle for anything; stopping, starting, completely changing directions in the middle of songs almost completely at random, Their albums leave you with a since of being off-balance, spastic and ADHD. nothing is allowed to get old or precious and everything is broken.
That isn’t to say that they arent incredibly good at putting out fun poppy and catchy tunes. If that’s what you want, check out EP (not an ep, but an album) but with albums like blueberry boat and dare i say Rehearsing My Choir (in which their grandmother, the source of their lyrics and an amazing storyteller, accompanies most of the vocals) they definitely push the envelope past the breaking point. listen to the lyrics, tales of savage piracy and schoolyard rivalry, the singers often have conversations and sometimes arguments with themselves (not each other). What I ask is “what is this music?” i can’t reall put my finger on it. too loud to be shoegazing or singer-songwriter, too thoughtful to be post-punk, and too rich to be deconstructive, and too scattered to be pop. so yeah, this band rocks. But please, tell me what you think. are there other bands that do something similar, or even better? is this not where music is heading at all? is this even working as an idea?
more things im digging right now:
-band of horses’ new album
-is radiohead still cool (granted, in rainbows is amazing)
-are the yeah yeah yeah’s arty or just pissed for no reason?
-interpol used to be good. period.
and dont forget to tell me what youre digging, give me something to talk about!
Emma wrote:
Um, hellooo!?!? Hannah Montanna is the future of music. Comcast SAYS she is, so obv. she is. Duh. She’s totally dreamy, too.
I’ve actually been on a podcast kick (as I think we all know, since I have been speaking the word of Dan Savage all week), but I think Talking Head’s “A Clean Break” was the last song I was really rocking out full time to.
Posted on 24-Oct-07 at 11:57 pm | Permalink
Bill wrote:
Sam did this for a while, but STOPPED. Anyway…
I find the Fiery Furnaces difficult to listen to. I’m not exactly sure what it is yet, because I haven’t listened to all the albums enough times. One aspect that frustrates me a bit is that the female singer does a lot of sing-talking… or just talking for that matter. Also, they’re weird. And, when we saw them live all the songs sounded… kind of very similar. I think again it’s the female singer. Her voice maybe doesn’t have much range, and the music seems to be quieter and under her voice. I need to listen to them more though. What I do like, is that the music has nice beats and a cool seventies sound.
I haven’t listened to band of horses ever, and radiohead was never really an interest of mine. I thought YYY’s Show Your Bones had some great songs (“sweets” and “warrior” were both soooooo good).
And oh my God, Interpol! They just went from bad to worse with Antics and their new album.
Lastly, I haven’t found anything recently that I’m really into. I think I might need to find something from that past, or just something really kind of lo-fi and bizarre. Check out “snake’s got a leg 2″ by sunset rubdown for example. I really like that song, but I’m kind of scared to commit and buy the whole album (I usually preview on iTunes, then if I like it I buy the CD from a record store).
I’m not anti-downloading music, or iTunes for that matter, but I really like having a material CD. If you get something online, you don’t have any physical matter to unwrap and hold and cherish. I like that about buying CD’s. Plus album/booklet artwork is fun to look at. I also don’t like downloading just one song by an artist. If it’s a really good band, they’re going to be smart and decisive about which songs are on the album and in which order. It’s like a creating a solid composition!
Hmmm, I’m having second thoughts about actually posting this because I don’t know much about good music… or any music for that matter, as you can probably tell from my mini-songs I’ve posted.
I TALK TOO MUCH. BARF.
Posted on 25-Oct-07 at 1:11 am | Permalink
Evan wrote:
bill i think you had a lot of interesting things to say and i would encourage you to keep it up. i think their show was really only good to people who had already listened to them. her voice is not what draws me to the band at all. her brother really makes the band. literally. he does everything but play drums including writing, playing instruments and singing. and its his compostions that i think are masterful.
Posted on 25-Oct-07 at 9:55 am | Permalink
Timmy wrote:
I’m a tool, but here’s what I got:
-The new GO!TEAM album, “Proof of Youth” isn’t as good as last time, but there are gems to be found.
-M.I.A.’s new album has me lured in like GANGBUSTERS.
-I love Beirut, but the new one is kinda hit or miss for me.
“Show your Bones” is < “Fever to Tell”, but I really like “Cheated Hearts”.
WHY AREN’T YOU COMING TO OUR SWEET PARTAY!?
Posted on 25-Oct-07 at 10:10 pm | Permalink