July 15, 2008
chickens back from the shore
Everything is better with muppets! For a second, I was scared that Feist would foist her loopy counting from the original song: 1-2-3-4-5-6-9-10. But that would've been silly. I learned how to count up to 10 in Spanish from Sesame Street. And that's the random personal factoid of today.
Posted by janet at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)
July 2, 2008
wha?
The other day at work, we received a promo disc of Gregorian chant sung by Cistercian monks in Austria, innovatively titled: CHANT: Music for the Soul. The product description on Amazon helpfully offers: "Chant has proven to heal, calm and also give strength; its power is timeless and universal. Previous albums of chant have sold in the tens of millions."
And then my favorite: "Further fueling the huge general demand is Chant's use in the smash-hit computer game Halo - this is chant for a new computer-gaming generation."
CHANT FOR A NEW COMPUTER-GAMING GENERATION!!! I can't think of anything more amazing. That utterance will surely grab that segment of consumers!!
Posted by janet at 11:13 AM | Comments (1)
March 13, 2008
Sifting
The Morning News went through all 763 mp3s of the acts appearing at SXSW and wrote six-word reviews and rated them. I can't imagine that it was very fun. I'd rather shell 763 pistachios. (And then eat them.) Or make a chain out of 763 paper clips.
I skimmed and listened to like 10 of them. Only Son Lux stuck. Son Lux is Ryan Lott, who apparently is classically trained. I, too, am classically trained. And yet, here I am with all these pistachio shells and paper clips. That sounds like the name of a Joanna Newsom song.
I don't immediately gravitate toward Lott's voice. There's a bit of a brokenness to it, though that adds to the moodscape of his music. And I haven't listened to the lyrics so closely yet, but so far, I really like how his songs are constructed. I think I've heard other artists use or go for similar effects but they often don't have as nice a contextual integration, if that makes any sense.
Here are some songs!
Break
and a remix of Beirut's A Sunday Smile... more broken-ness. Hm.
Posted by janet at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2007
energy bars go up
My new fav to bop around to. Sometimes I need boppy music like I need coffee.
This morning I passed one of those anorexic trees on the road that dogs usually pee on and there on the ground by this skinny tree festooned with holiday lights (yes, it's that time!) were three or four perfectly fine-looking bok choy. And I exclaimed, "Sad!" Out loud.
What filter?
That has nothing to do with anything. Wakey wakey!
Posted by janet at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2007
Múm at Wordless
Sigh, how do people manage to do everything? This efficiency thing, I shake my head. It's totally been awhile 'round these parts, because I forgot how to log on here, AGAIN. And then also, it's getting to me that this version of movable type is like a dinosaur, and not even a cool menacing (but soft-hearted) dinosaur that lays eggs made of chocolate.
This is a review of the Múm concert I went to a few weeks ago with Robyn (who took that thar picture) and her friend. Why is that picture so small, you may ask? Well, it's a little-known fact (ha!) that this was a concert for lilliputians. Just kiddingggg. You can't be Icelandic AND lilliputian. So I don't know how to use flickr! Give me a dinosaur egg of chocolate!
This was part of the Wordless Music series — it was in a church! Oodles of acoustic-y goodness, for Múm, at least. I kinda dug Torngat, whose cds got held up at the border. Between Canada and the US. Maybe the border guards got mad that their money is the equivalent of ours. And took it out on music with french horn and trumpet. Tra-la-la. Or Trà-là-là. Whatever.
Jihyun Kim played the first Bach cello suite and a Ligeti cello sonata. I was a little apprehensive about the Ligeti because we sang one of his pieces in choir once and it was scary, like fingernails on chalkboards. He is probably most well known for his musical work on some Kubrick films. Scary! But this piece is actually pretty cool, I think. Except it kind of disappeared into the air at the church, barely hit the high ceilings, and came back to my ears as soft mush. Baby food of music. I found a video of her playing the same piece. Kind of awesomely impressive. So I wish her stuff had been clearer at the performance. Oh well.
And then we got Korean food.
That should be the ending for all days. Including life. "I died, and then we got Korean food."
Posted by janet at 2:53 PM | Comments (0)
October 3, 2007
bat for lashes - fur and gold
Review of Bat for Lashes's Fur and Gold.
I started out thinking that this album was just okay. But then it grew on me, but in a weird way. Not like a third head. Or... um, a second. Heads with very little brain, obviously. Anyways, I gave this a very high score, but it's not music that I hold dear to my heart or anything. It's not, like, on my Facebook favorites list, okay? Or I guess a better description of how I feel is, I won't travel to see Bat for Lashes live, though I hear the shows are pretty great. Something about the connection is a little fuzzy. But every time I listened to some of the tracks, I had to admit to myself, this sounds really good. It's too bad the lyrics didn't add up.
You will like this if you like: to be just like Thom Yorke, Halloween, Victorian-gothic type imagery, Cat Power's voice, Tori Amos
Take a listen: Horse and I
Here's the fun video of What's a Girl To Do. Ridiculous and creepy and karaoke-worthy chorus, all at once!
What I didn't include in the review — I hated the piano lick (riff? I dunno what to call it. "Thing that lasts a few bars.") in "Prescilla" which you can hear at the end of this snippet, because it sounds like a bit from Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, which totally doesn't align with the mood of this. I'm assuming she didn't include it with this intention, but it makes me cringe everytime... although otherwise, I like this song a lot. Very Tori. Not very Whig. Hahahahahahaha. Sorry.
Posted by janet at 5:27 PM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2007
Mirah & Spectratone International - Share This Place
Review of Mirah and Spectratone International's Share This Place is up.
Definitely not everybody's cup of tea, but you will enjoy this if you like: accordians, cellos, bugs, big words, and/or Mirah
I liked this track: Love Song of the Fly.
I learned a lot while reviewing this one, like about glowworms and fireflies and the funny, super-dramatic prose of J. Henri Fabre, father of modern entomology. Or père d'entomologie, for you Frenchies. You know, I typed "etymology" at first. That would be a whole different animal.
Posted by janet at 2:55 PM | Comments (0)
August 31, 2007
Twinkly smiles
I heard this song and it made my day. It is magically delicious. Like living in a music box full of parties and hugs and sparkly strawberry sorbetto.
Oh sweet, sweet Sweden. Thanks for the "pling plong tunes" of Detektivbyran and your copious use of K's and accent doodads. You will like these guys if you think the Amelie soundtrack is all sorts of charming.
Posted by janet at 3:04 PM | Comments (2)
July 24, 2007
lavender diamond - imagine our love
Got a review up of Lavender Diamond's Imagine Our Love.
I'm finding that the styles of writing at the workplace are seeping into my reviews here and am not liking that one bit. That ugly tentacley Ursula is going to steal my voice and she's going to marry Prince Charming and I'm gonna be stuck a mermaid for-ev-errrrrrr. I think this is not the first time I've made a reference to Little Mermaid. That's another no-no.
Gosh, I haven't had sushi in a long time. Yum.
This album is not for people who only like dark, broody sounds, so you vampires should stay away. Here is a video for the single that I find fabulous. I like that she's a goofball and is not so smooth on the skates. P.S. Friends, I may have a (legal) extra copy of the album, so let me know if you're interested.
Posted by janet at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2007
charlotte gainsbourg - 5:55
My review of Charlotte Gainsbourg's album, 5:55.
Bluh, I need exercise on my writing muscles. And editing too, apparently: "The delivery is at points maddening, lulling, and seductive, her quiet delivery belying the darker turns and moments of dry humor injected into the songs’ narratives."
I could have used "delivery" about five more times. I mean, what was I thinking?
Posted by janet at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2006
emo mountain
Revisiting the idea of blue notes and what music, if any, you listen to when you're down... just wanted to share John Darnielle's words from an interview:
"I mean, it's a real honor, maybe the highest honor, to write something that might give somebody a moment of comfort on a sad day, even if that comfort amounts to just helping them go even deeper into that sad place, which is how I use music for comfort. This is gonna make me sound like The Man Who Lived On Emo Mountain, but my favorite music is stuff that makes me cry uncontrollably."
Speaking of Emo Mountain, Grey's Anatomy, though it is set in this "Seattle" place, pretty much takes over that magical mountain kingdom. And I'm happy to report that the show still makes me cry when I'm watching it alone, so my friends can continue to make fun of me. And the season premiere didn't suck like I was afraid it would, so let's hope it stays that way. And I hope the writers get it into their heads that their audience doesn't need to be beat over the head with their themes.
And speaking of sad music and Grey's, I noticed they used some Emiliana Torrini music again last night. She's an artist whose latest album, Fisherman's Woman, is definitely on my bluemusic list (there's a really sad story behind that album too). Somebody over there must really like her... but she's a good fit, and that's that.
Posted by janet at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)
September 6, 2006
Blue Notes
I'm curious. What do you listen to, if anything, when you are sad and blue? I'm glad that's not a crayola color. Periwinkle. Navy. Aquamarine. Sad.
Finding or chancing upon just the right thing to listen to, does it color us in, or squeeze us out until there isn't a chord to strike anymore?
I'd be a poorer girl without my metaphors, quality or not.
In any case, if you're all for achey breaky, this is Cinderella's shoe for rainy days and the blues, from sky to midnight.
Posted by janet at 3:23 PM | Comments (2)
June 23, 2006
ok, we get it, i like beirut
I'm so glad Beirut exceeded the expectations I had carved out (with my expectations knife) for their live act. Because while I really enjoyed the album, Gulag Orkestar, I had a sneaking suspicion that it had to be better live. Because of the brass. Because of the Balkan gypsy thing.
When you've got multiple people on stage kinda going nuts on crazy instruments, when it works, it really works (ie. broken social scene, arcade fire, other bands I'm forgetting) and the show is a real show, the music transformed before your ears, with push and pull, different arrangements, the interaction between the members — everything that makes live music so great. And Beirut has a brass section, clarinets, violins, cello (yay!), accordion, keyboards, ukulele and particularly lovely moments when a big burly guy plays the xylophone. And Zach Condon's voice that is another instrument too. We love Zach Condon.
I first encountered the sort of Balkan gypsy musical tradition when I watched Emir Kusturica's movie Underground, where among other crazy, surreal events, there's a brass band running around on screen, following the characters. Kind of like an insane musical Greek chorus plus trombone.
Soon after, I started noticing Balkan brass everywhere (like they were following me! oompah, oompah!) — its roots in other kinds of music and specifically the highly entertaining and talented Brooklyn-based Hungry March Band, the movie Everything is Illuminated (Liev Schreiber counts Kusturica as a big influence), Kusturica's own group the No Smoking Orchestra... Obviously Kusturica and his movies, and the people who work on the music in them like Goran Bregovic, seem to pop up, weirdly, again and again in my life.
I haven't delved too deeply into the style and other groups, but I'm curious to learn more, says the dilettante. The quick affinity that I felt is a bit puzzling, I think, unless you want to go the "music is universal" route, but I always have a tough time pinpointing the reasons why I like music (as do most people). ryspace has some live clips from a show Beirut did not too long ago, with a similar set to the Northsix show I went to. One of the songs is Siki Siki Baba... How fucking awesome is this song???
Aaannd interestingly, here is a more traditional (as far as I know) take by Kocani Orkestar, a big influence on Condon. In fact, Condon is a guest blogger at Said the Gramophone, and he talks about his influences and gives a brief brief trajectory/history of Balkan gypsy music.
Ok, I think I'm done gushing about things I don't really know much about now and linking to five million things.
(Photo by the fabulously up-to-date brooklynvegan)
Posted by janet at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2006
regina spektor - begin to hope
Regina Spektor's new album Begin to Hope is the latest review.
Any longtime reader of this rag and older rags knows I'm a big fan. Perhaps this is why I had such a hard time writing this review. Or I'm just a dunderheaded block of cheese.
In any case, the album's lovely and the most consistent thing she's released. The other ones were perfect for that i-pod single song thing, and this, I feel, is an album.
(Thanks to whc, who likes pretty girls, for the confidence boosting readthrough.)
Posted by janet at 1:14 PM | Comments (0)
May 31, 2006
Ms. John Soda - Notes and the Like
Ms John Soda's - Notes and the Like: Reviewing that indie stuff. Beep Boop Beep.
Posted by janet at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2006
tony kushner!!
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to interview Tony Kushner about a children's opera,Brundibar, which is playing in New York right now. The opera was composed by a Czech composer for an orphanage and there's this whole horrible backstory to it — it was performed a number of times at Terezin, which was a "model" concentration camp that the Nazis showed off to visiting dignitaries. Krasa, the orphans, and most of the children who took part in the operas were eventually sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. Kushner collaborated with Maurice Sendak (of Wild Things fame) to bring this opera back on its own terms and back into opera houses, also creating a children's book. He was extremely nice and speaks practically in paragraphs. If there's one thing I cannot do, it's speak in paragraphs, though that doesn't have much to do with anything at all. And with that, read the Q&A, Found in Translation, if you like.
Posted by janet at 4:46 PM | Comments (1)
April 28, 2006
magneta lane
Sorry I've been away again. I've been sick. There was this confusion between allergies vs cold or whatever. In any case, I'm happier when I'm all drugged up full of over-the-counter medications.
In other news, here's the latest INDIEROCK review:
Magneta Lane - Dancing With Daggers
Posted by janet at 2:39 PM | Comments (1)
April 20, 2006
merits of music
I did a Q&A with Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, and many other groups, a little while ago about the release of "Showtunes," a compilation of his songs from the three musical theater works that he did in collaboration with director Chen Shi-Zheng. He has an interesting theory about climate and instruments. Doesn't that just pique your interest and tickle your fancy? Anyways, that's that.
Some clips from Showtunes.
Posted by janet at 11:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 10, 2006
musicks
For those of you keeping up with my indie-windy reviews, I've had two put up while I was mia. galang galanga galang. (Oh like you haven't heard that joke before.)
House on a Hill - Ladyslipper. Meh.
Young People - All At Once. I wanted to be blown away by this cuz I'd grown to love their last CD War Prayers. But the wind was medium to welldone. Not Rare! MOooo.
And I just wanted to note that I totally called out Devics' suitability as tv music. They were tinkling over some part of Grey's Anatomy a couple weeks ago.
Okay that sounded like a peeing reference. And just how many times can I mention this show? A lot. I have no life.
Posted by janet at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)
February 7, 2006
devics - push the heart
New review over at kevchino of Devics's upcoming release, Push the Heart. Very pretty.
Sorry I've been away. I'm too busy listening to pledge drives on the radio. Back soon.
Posted by janet at 11:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 27, 2006
you know you've made it after you're a google graphic
Don't forget to wish Mozart a happy 250th. Maybe your office is music-nerding out and having cake. That's right. You didn't know the Upper West Side was so hip, so cool. Dakka dakka dakka. Maybe you multiply this classical dweebiness by a million.
Forget the opera costumes and rock out with your boy Mozart with this t-shirt instead. And have some cake. C'mon. It's cake. And then think about how little you've accomplished at your age compared to him. But then think about how you will probably not die real young either. Errrr. Yay Cake!
(Graphic from glarkware)
Posted by janet at 12:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 14, 2005
Broken Social Scene did a really great live session at KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic playing stuff from the new album and it's nice cuz it's acoustic-y, not all fuzzy from production, and you can even make out some of the lyrics!! Plus the Feist song, Intuition, not that one that Jewel does in that razor commercial. Pink! for Women!
Two fans have ripped mp3s of the thing here.
Posted by janet at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)
November 2, 2005
Mountain Goats
The Halloween was well-spent, neither waiting for the Great Pumpkin nor wading amongst costumed revelry, though I did give the best costume award to a girl dressed up as a piece of sushi.
Instead, I accompanied a friend to the Knitting Factory to catch Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, Grizzly Bear aaaannnndndddd the Mountain Goats. I also have found that saying that I am going to see the Mountain Goats, in particular, provokes a strange little response from people who have never heard of them. "What? Mountain goats? Like ba-a-a-a-a? That's so weird." No, those sound more like sheep, but yeah. Like ba--aa-a-a.
Despite it being the big 3-1 of October, by the time the Goats came on, the place was packed, with some people in costume too. I was excited to hear prayers and tears... since I practically tattooed their song "lisa" on my ears and then cried the tattoos out through my eyes. (It doesn't even have to be possible. The Great Pumpkin FORGOT about me.) I had not however listened much to their likewise lengthily-titled album, and though I knew they were relatively peaceful players and I'm glad they rocked out a bit.
Grizzly Bear was interesting and yet not. Because my feet hurt. When they all sang, it was cool. I liked the drummer's sad clown makeup. And that, my friends, is scintillating music criticism.
I wasn't much familiar with the Mountain Goats prior to the concert, also being kind of put off by John Darnielle's voice. But it's probably something that takes a few listenings to get used to. But the set was great! fun and funny and great so that equals grfunneat! Yay! I loved the songs, the story-teller lyrics, the delivery, the fans' exuberance (even their singing along to every word was endearing), Darnielle's in-between-song-darkly-humorous-banter and his friar costume while singing about hailing satan and his so-happy-to-be-musicking-grin and bassist Peter's Death costume. I laughed many-a-time just looking over at Death With No Face, rocking out on the bass. Darnielle thanked the fans after each song and mentioned how much he loved coming to the Knitting Factory to do these shows and that if for some reason they blew up and played MSG, they would keep on doing the KF shows. A-w-w-wwww!
PTADB came back to back the duo, one member having joined the mummy cause and I wouldn't have minded if they just played every show together, as long as they played Lisa too. So now I guess I've been converted or something. Or at least I'll borrow some of my friend's cds.
Some more pictures of mine here (I need camera help.) and over at the dependable brooklynvegan.
Posted by janet at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 24, 2005
Review of Tom Vek's We Have Sound is up. The album comes out tomorrow.
Posted by janet at 5:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 13, 2005
Sisters, Forever!
Come to think of it, I don't know if I'm a rabid fan of any musician/band. Perhaps that's a good thing since I wouldn't quite know what to do with the foaming at the mouth or the random biting because it would totally get in the way of my cosy, basket-sized social life. But I don't think I can super-nerdily rattle off stalkeresque information of anybody with a CD out.
All that intro to say, I had no idea Fiona Apple had a sister! Who sings! and their last names are Maggart! Maude Maggart, the older sister, sings cabaret and old, personality-filled songs from the 20s and 30s. Think flappers and Depression and heyday of Broadway and Irving Berlin and Cole Porter ... you know, American 'standards.' (What are our standards now? Who makes them? Not Moby. Ha-ha. No really. Whose work do you think will/can be considered standards that people will cover? Like the jazz singer who sounds eerily like Billie Holiday, Madeleine Peyroux sings Elliot Smith's "Between the Bars" on her latest album...)
Maude, who has had some light opera training, got into the cabaret scene thanks to some people in the biz, plus her parents are b'way people. Cabaret, I imagine to be small, cosy (truly cosy not basket-cosy), full of tinkling dining ware and wine glasses, gleaming pianos and murmuring voices full of money while Gatsby looks hungrily through the window, his hand reaching towards the green light.
So I have no idea what I'm talking about. I like some of what I hear of hers but others, I'm not so sure. She's got a higher timbre than Fiona but they've got a similar vibrato going, though Maude seems versatile with the kind of sound she gets. This one is fun.
Or listen to this WNYC Soundcheckepisode. Oh, WNYC, you are my textbook! I have no other now.
Fiona, herself, was on Soundcheck as well recently. She performed a couple off of Extraordinary Machine and talked about the whole sony-shelf-jon-brion-free-fiona thing. I love her music but I found her a little disconcerting when she was talking to the host. Like she was really intense and nervous at the same time. But I think it's cool that the album art is a picture of a plant in her garden that she took herself. She liked it cuz a) it's an 'extraordinary machine' and b) the little green buds look like fists. POW POW! That extraordinary and machinistic for ya. On the back of the cd booklet, you see another close-up of the same plant, but in bloom with a multitude of rising little purple buddy flowers. Kind of makes you feel like a bug. CoooooOoOOl.
Well, they're like a mini Von Trapp family except without the corny songs and governess and nazis.... trailing off..
Look how similar Maude looks in this picture. OK Maggart family entry, c'est fini.
Posted by janet at 9:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 11, 2005
Beck, I love your hat
On Friday, I went back to work. I took too much joy in that sick day I took on Thursday even though I was knocked out from the battle of illness cells and over-the-counter cells. It messed up my perspective like a crazy Picasso. I was like, wha? I can't sleep and drink tea the whole day? I gotta do work things? Do I look like I have one eye and a blue cubist face??
Anyways, I joined food and music blogger Robyn for BECKstravaganza at Hammerstein Ballroom. It sure beat waiting in a day-long of pouring rain in a stadium in NJ for Beck to slip and fall and not appear. (Curse you Field Day!! I am shaking my fist!)
Being a part-time fan, unlike the guy next to me who was alternately singing real loud and yelling with arms a-raised and knocking into every which way: "I LOoooOOoooOOoVe you Beck" like he was in teenage girl squad or something, I was taken aback by how many songs I knew. The energy in the crowd was great and Beck had a skizzilled crew on stage including a dancing man-cheerleader hype-guy and multi-instrumentalist Brian and a VJ (DVDJ? I'm not sure) who scratched DVDs and got these cool trippy colorful projections in the background. 
He opened with Loser and went on to perform a very fun, great-sounding show (lots of guero but nice mix of old too), with entertaining props (telephone! banjo duel!) and gimmicks (giant radio!).
In the middleish of the show, he got all quiet and acoustic-y, bringing out the harmonium for Nobody's Fault But My Own. Now I want a harmonium. And I'd sing these stretchy phrases and my lovely instrument would drone peacefully. But I'd probably piss off the cat. Or sound like him yowling.
Meanwhile, the other band members sat down at a set table, ate some cookies and almonds and other small foods and then for Clap Hands, they accompanied with dinnerware! Rims of wineglasses, utensils on plates and cups, hands on the table. It was pretty awesome.
Beck. Fun. Ok good. More pics at this dude Danfun's Flickr. I know a guy named Dan Sun, but I'm guessing it's not the same guy.
Afterwards, I met up with my old friend VJ and his friend Andy and the whole gang went to a diner to rehydrate. And I had waffle and strawberries. MmMMMM!! And I talked to it! Yes. Delirium has its moments.
Posted by janet at 3:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 6, 2005
Sick and links. Not sick links.
My day today: 10 cups of tea with lots of lemon and honey, a half a sheet of cold medication, 1928312 hours of sleep, three buffy episodes, really weird dreams, sore arms from yoga on wednesday, most of a new yorker magazine, soup, half a box of tissues, one grumpy cat.
My latest reviews for kevchino here:
bell orchestre - sort of my kind of music. plus members of arcade fire.
veda - not really my kind of music
If you're interested in reading that article about Leon Kass, former chair of the President's Council on Bioethics, I wrote for Accent Magazine awhile ago, I'll send you a text copy. Cuz frankly my dear, the site is rather irritating. Probably because I have an Apple.
Quick useless mentions of what I've been enjoying lately:
Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine
Zadie Smith's On Beauty
David Rakoff's Fraud
Getting an inordinate amount of sleep.
Posted by janet at 11:11 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 22, 2005
Imaginary Friends
Being an only child is a lonely time.
Sure I missed out on all those sibling rivalries and jealousies and fights and what I imagine to be high drama of painting lines down the wall and the floor to separate Your side and My side, but I think I got that last image from reading Babysitter Club books or something. I never had hand-me-downs, or middle child syndrome, or somebody farting on me as a retaliatory act. Instead, I received the laser-beam attention of a crazed korean mother on the loose and lots of instrument and math lessons. I never had a partner in crime, a sibling shoulder to lean on, and rebelled with silent acts like carving the words "I HATE CELLO" on yes, the bottom of my cello. Real wild. (Well,now cello is one of my favorite sounds. Thanks Ma!)
So I would think that I would be one of those kids who had an imaginary friend or two or three. We'd shoot the shit and then go on adventures and climb trees or something wholesome and naturey like that. But I never really did have any specific imaginary friends. Certainly, I spent a large portion of my childhood in my imagination and I assigned life to many a stuffed animals. Instead, I think I created imaginary worlds, whole scenarios, instead of one special person or animal who was constantly hanging around.
But coming out of that lonely only child time, I can totally see the appeal of having one. And I wouldn't mind having an imaginary friend now and again, while I'm rattling around everyday, a little echo-ey.
I think everybody can identify with having imaginary friends. Esopus Magazine is a bi-yearly artsy magazine that also comes with a CD and for their 4th issue, they asked subscribers to submit descriptions of their childhood imaginary friends. Thirteen of these were used by musicians including Kimya Dawson and Avey Tare (from Animal Collective) to make songs. And when I first heard "Lisa" by a lovely Chapel Hill (yay) band called Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers a couple times on KEXP, it tugged the heartstrings, gave them a thrum.
I found the song again via Central Village. For a few days, here it is: Lisa with lyrics after the break. Lisa is an imaginary friend, who like so many, have been abandoned, and she rattles around the walls and halls. And if I ever meet her, I will ask her, "Hello Lisa. How are you feeling?"
There’s nothing I could call this
No architecture for the order of things
When I sat and watched you sleeping
Before the trucks arrive, boxed up your better life
I wrote you letters for awhile
Left to haunt this sad estate
In hollow walls and empty halls but all I saw was
Some doll that you’d abandoned
So I crawled inside where the stitching held me tight
And hoped that you’d come back to find me some time.
I hope that you’ll forgive me for being so severe
Your proximity was clouding my account of what was real here
You’re eight years old I’m stuck inside the wall
you always talk but never hold me and I wish that you would ask me how I’m feeling
there’s so much I want to tell you about the way I’m disappearing
and so many years have passed since that
I left the house I left the map to my new wall
You must have never found it
And I heard that you got married
And I hope that she helps you fall asleep these days
Cuz I knew the ways
When you were eight
You’re not what I imagined you’d become when we were younger
But I’m still in love with that one
But I’ve since found your parents’ house
And lived inside the wall
But you don’t ask about me when you call
Posted by janet at 12:35 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 23, 2005
ohh.. rainBOW!
You know, all those damn years of learning the piano and shlepping to juilliard on saturdays and not having a childhood (let's not go there. oh wait, we can. it was boring. i could never go to any sweet sixteens. the tragedy!) and I still had to be nudged by a comment here into realizing that that single off of broken social scene's upcoming album - called "7/4 (Shoreline)" - is actually in 7/4 time. I had thought that the 7/4 was the date it was done editing or whatever record industry term that is.
7/4! Genius! It totally makes that fabulous momentum and uneven rockiness of the song, from the last beat of one measure to the first beat of the next, accented by that high-hat drummy cymbal thing (I need some help with these musical instrument vocabulary don't I?).
I heart unconventional time signatures because I'm still a musical dork.
Track still downloadable here, I think.
And I am totally having my own sweet sixteen on my next birthday. Twenty-four... Sixteen. Same thing, whatever. You know you want to be invited.
Posted by janet at 11:45 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 18, 2005
nedelle
For those of you all indie-ly inclined, I have another review over at kevchino of Nedelle's From the Lion's Mouth.
Listen to two tracks here
Oh, welcome back me.
Me: Waves hello. Falls asleep.
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July 26, 2005
blahblahblah
My first CD review for kevchino. I have much to improve. Who's your favorite music reviewer?
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June 24, 2005
sleater-kinney
Yesterday I went to see Sleater-Kinney at Roseland. Despite the venue size upgrade (I'd previously seen them at Southpaw and Irving), it was a pretttttty aweeesssoooome show. The crowd was great and jumpy and real into it, pumping arms in the air and the like, which frankly, I can never really understand... but hey, have a good time; get into it. But please don't hit me while enthusiastically pumping arm. It frightens me. And for some reason, the area around me was populated by really short girls who looked like they were in like middle school but unless they had real good fakes, were sportin' the blue drinky band and cups o' beer. There actually were some young-ish kids in the crowd - like early teens - and they were lovin' it.
S-K fed off the energy of the fandom spread before them to go even beyond what I thought possible. Carrie jumped like a gazillion times and Corin wailed like only she can and Janet - wow - a rhythmic blur. Janet, perhaps because she is a drummer, has incredible coordination because if I had to play harmonica AND drum at the same time, I might spontaneously combust a la spinal tap.
They didn't play a lot of old stuff but I don't think that that was what this concert was for and at least I got my favs off the last and new album. S-K is one of the few bands out there right now who actually try to say something with their music and bring a sense of urgency, context and rock-out. I admire them quite a lot. And part of it, I must admit, is the lack of other females, visible at least, in rock music, just like everything else, which makes me mad.
More pics chez ma flickr
fluxblog weighs in with setlist and thoughts
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June 14, 2005
I don't get it
Why do people come out of concerts and pop in their i-pod buds? These fishes, gasping for musical breath. As I remarked to my dear friend who wants a djembe sent to her, it's like taking out and eating a snack after you've had a lovely meal. Excess.
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June 13, 2005
architecture in helsinki
Went to see Architecture in Helsinki, appropriately summer-y music, at an un-airconditioned Knitting Factory, formerly merely a music venue on the edges of Chinatown, now also sauna (they've also renovated their bathrooms... nice!!). Despite the heat, a good time was had by all, egged on by Aussie humor, joyous energy, jungle animals, really fun music, charming accents and a brass section. I'm convinced that everything is fun and games with a brass band to back you up.
Their latest album, In Case We Die has dozens of instruments in the credits, from cowbell to theremin. Yesterday, I also learned what a melodica is. Here is AIH member playing said instrument, behind the shadow of tour mascot, Julio.
The at least eight members seem just to be a bunch of friends having a good time, banging on cowbells, getting tangled in leaves, dancing with a pinata, and being versed in multiple instruments. They have a livejournal too. They play at Northsix tonight. Well, that's about it.
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June 9, 2005
spoon
I went to see Spoon at Webster Hall on wednesday. Took my customary bad photos, again not noticing that I had put the camera on the blurry setting and not on my saviour "auto". At least I won't be having this trouble any time soon.
No matter. Playing to a sold out, excited, un-air-conditioned, sweating, dancing, bopping crowd - Spoon was just so good. I was very excited to see them live for the first time and came away impressed and dehydrated. They play an unbelievably tight set; there was this one moment (I forget the song) where Britt and drummer Jim (that sounds like brother bear or queen elizabeth, like 'drummer' is a title, bestowed - ) stopped short for this strange rhythmic hiccup mid-phrase. My god, that sort of coordination takes real practice and care, anybody who's even been in any sort of dinky middle school ensemble knows.
The guitar jam robot conversation sounds! The crunchy piano! The trademark Spoon chords! Oh so nice! fluxblog has the setlist and nicely thought-out/written review, labelling the band "classy" which at first sounds huh? but does make sense when you think about it. Careful, elegant while wild, clever and immediate - they are indie debonair darlings.
Lots of great pics at brooklynvegan
Britt Daniel recently appeared on WNYC's Soundcheck and played a couple songs solo.
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May 17, 2005
adventures at sea
British Sea Power have rocking verbal flair. They have spirit. They have crazy eyes. And striped scarves. And singing birds. Where Ted Leo might be the musician whose songs would prove great practice for any SAT Verbal section, BSP can write a hell of a song about an ice shelf, use foliage and pheasants as decoration for sets, and then tell trees to f*ck off.
Their newsletters, which are a joy to read, are named after flora and fauna - Newsboost Gypsywort, Newsboost Beagle, Newsboost Douglas Fir, and maybe other things... (Caravelle? Ruslan? Magister?) They are a band with members who have names not like Tom or Chris but stranger, eerie-er constructions like Yan, Noble, Hamilton, Wood, and Eamon. These fine five lads, who could only hail from the salty seaside cities of Britannia, play the hell out of a show, as this blurb from a Rolling Stones review of a festival crows: "Fuck this puerile drivel, we're going to see British Sea Power... All of them have crazy acid-fried stares, the bass player is wearing tree branches on his head and one deliriously psycho-delic tune concludes with singer Yan beating on the drum-kit with a large stuffed owl. British Sea Power rule."
Examining the crowd at a show is always an interesting venture, as there is never quite the same intersection of interest in musicians between two people (just like if you don't know the band I'm talking about, you will most likely zone out all these extraneous words and glance at my blurry pictures). I know a lot of people were at the Bowery this past weekend to catch a little Feist magic but I hope there were some in the crowd, who like me, were beyond excited when I found out that she had been added on. Though, while I do like Feist and I did think it a bit of strange bill-sharing. Nonetheless, she was her charming self, trying her hardest, in vain, to get ny audiences to sing along, snap, clap along, show any outward signs of life. I liked her at Joe's Pub better though -- smaller venue better for loungier music and playing with a band gave her a different sort of energy.
Anyhoo, local boys, pela open opened, performing a solid set. And BSP, under their majestic bear and deer banners, were just great. There was much craziness with Eamon donning his military hat and beating his drum, crowd surfing upside down, at one point getting into the face of one girl and bellowing "oh-ee-oh-ee-oh-ee-oh-ee" while brandishing a drum stick.
Noble jumped off amps, broke a guitar string from over-rocking and dragged the still-playing-guitar Eamon across the floor of the stage a couple times. Hamilton hit himself on the head while jumping up and down in between mad bass-ing. Wood was just a crazy blur of arms on the drums. And Yan, he talked to this bird.
More pics of the show at Flickr
Posted by janet at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)
May 9, 2005
like a rolling stone
Well, looks like my lunch hour tomorrow might entail maneuvering around hordes of people. The Rolling Stones are hanging out at Juilliard on Tuesday. They're supposed to announce their tour, play a few songs, learn some Bach chorales for Musical Theory 101... who woulda thunk it?
Oh I'm Sorry. Did I let my Nerdy Musical Self out of the bag? Rock oN!
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April 27, 2005
oh my stars
Yesterday, there was a benefit at Northsix for Save Darfur, Doctors Without Borders, and Human Rights Watch, set up by The Fatales and the venue. I went to support a good cause and see Stars. Thankfully, I will make no such pun on stars in that gazing or shooting variety and instead offer you another information portal to world happenings such as Sudan.
Unfortunately, I did not catch The Fatales because I was under the impression of a cheeseburger. It was a messy romance, accompanied with beery glances and parsley-ed french fries, while my friends loved cheese (we ate here). Nor did I catch Jeffrey Lewis. Act III was no such denouement but Kevin Devine and some peoples on stage. They had an enjoyable enough sound, though he unfortunately had that conor oberts bleating quality of the voice. Then, while thanking the audience, he said something to the effect of "it's great to see that we can come together for good things/awareness/etc. while we are privileged, white, somethingsomething, something." I got kinda lost at "white" cuz I was too busy swivelling about to see if my friends and I (nonwhite) still existed and whether there was some strange reflection from a nonexistent strobe light making eeeeverybody's faces all pasty and pale. Despite the fact that this was Williamsburg, there was a smattering of other colors. I folded my arms grimly and forced him and his crew off the stage with the sheer power of my kimchee-american eyes.
Then came Stars, and they were great and fun. grun, with much dancing and jumping and posing – the grun rock-star kind, not the snooty kind. I continued work on my "sucky dark blurry photos from various concerts" photography series, as you can very well see. And I learned that the band had its beginnings in Williamsburg before moving to Montreal (ooh la la, pamplemousse, grenouille, croissant) and vocalist Torquil, yeah that's his name, mentioned how much nicer the neighborhood's gotten but it still has shit all over the ground. This is true. Torquil also reminded me of a cross between this guy I know, Eminem, and Carlton with smaller dance moves. Hee. And it's always nice and rare to see a female doing real! things! in! a! band!
Here's an interview with Amy Millan. Talks a lot about Canada. If that's not incentive to read it, I dunno what is.
Listen to tracks from latest album (Realplayer)
Your Ex-Lover is Dead
Set Yourself On Fire
Live set from KCRW
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March 31, 2005
regina spektor
I donned the photo dunce cap once more. You really would've thought that I would learn how to use the damn camera but no. It was on some sort of strange, slow trippy non-auto setting so that most of my pictures came out in a drunken fuzz. In my loneliness, even my camera goes drinking without me.
Anyways, our lovely Reginka, she done good. Sean Lennon opened. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Tempting to say, 'nuff said, but he is his own person! (Are you yours???
Regina was lovely and charming as well, and in great voice, with her wide range of jazziness and yowls and accents ranging from bronx to ezra pound, words from french to russian and those found in spektor's thesaurus. Thanking the audience repeatedly and looking a bit awed and abashed at this sold out crowd in her home city, she was just very cute and warm. Like mittens! Except maybe with claws. So kittens. She's the queen of dark quirkiness, playing with words, playing with sounds, playing around. I noticed for the first time that she mentions death in a lot of her songs. She also played quiiiite a long set -- over 2 hours -- with lots of new stuff, even one from 11:11, and all in between, taking requests, goin' acappella or on the piano, even the guitar, sometimes accompanied with bass and cello.
I was almost not gonna go, cuz I was feeling like mistress mary, quite contrary. But yay for going to nice concerts. And to regina, for singing what we maybe keep inside and reminding us all about stories and sounds.
One of my favorites from that first album 11:11 called Braille
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March 23, 2005
feisty one, part deux
My picture-taking skills have clearly not improved. Whatever.
Let It Die is her 2nd album, and originally I really enjoyed most of the tracks and found some songs a little hokey, but I think that's mostly an issue of the arrangements. And that I have an icy heart and that I need to learn to relax and breakdance fight. Anyways, live, everything comes off beautifully, more raw and less shiny, more joyful and magical, etc. etc. and her voice is just lovely and ribbony and so flexible. I shall call her.... Chanteuse. She's my choice for a music duel in some sort of Canadian pokémonesque fight.
It was a fun show at Joe's Pub, she bantered naturally and worked some mikeloopin' magic. I could banter unnaturally for a little bit but I'm not gonna waste your time any further so I'm just gonna point you again to tofuhut, who has a thoroughly researched History of Feist, charting her way through Peaches, sock puppets, Broken Social Scene, Canada, and then dun dun dun, the world! With LOTS of audio goodies.
Her site.
Stream of live show from the netherlands.
This one's from brooklynvegan who has some great pictures. She's slow dancing by herself here. If it were anybody else, it would seem sad or contrived or too quirky, too Amelie. But her, no. Chanteuse!
Posted by janet at 11:07 AM | Comments (2)
she's a feisty one
Went to hear Feist yesterday at Joe's Pub. Fantastic. More later. (yay! she's opening for british sea power in may. bsp also added a show. may be hottest show ev-errrrr)
tofuhut has feist w/ jane birkin mp3. clickity click.
Bad updater! Bad bad! I'd like to say it's because I'm busy being fabulous. But let me take off my pink glasses and say, look how gross it is outside.
What do you like on your ice cream? (I am trying to get some new unspammy comments, but not doing so with well-written thought-provoking text. instead, unelegant to the point of brash, ungainly unsightly thinly veiled short questions. Kind of like in chemistry when a solution gets supersaturated and all you need is a speck of something and then crystals form. Or kind of nothing like that. Nobody ever answered my What's your favorite blog? I would think that would be simple enough. Like you don't have enough to waste your time with already...)
Ok back to the blushing, flushing lenses. There's no other way I get through my day unless everybody around me is a peculiar shade of pink. Oh my!
Posted by janet at 10:12 AM | Comments (1)
March 17, 2005
apple juice
The whole extraordinary Fiona (via productshop and grande venti chocolate covered grazie to geekdreams)
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February 18, 2005
dairy substitutions
I had wanted to check out Keren Ann at Tonic yesterday but she'll be back in town at Joe's Pub in March I think. There are always these female singer-songwriters, hanging out, writing their tunes -- so many of them, it seems, though thank cream puffs, cuz dammit, if you want to sing along to bands and stuff, it's always boys boys boyz. Problems of numbers of course is sifting through the flour of these alternately cool-voiced, quirky, folky, mellow, ironic, piano and guitar-backed story-tellin' ways. Many are smart song and lyricsters -- so what stands out? Any recommendations?
Anyhoo, instead I had to check out some claaasssical moosic for workish purposes, so I heard the NY Philharmonic yesterday. And thank goodness. Cuz they rocked my socks off with the 2nd half of the program -- Stravinsky's Firebird. The melodious stuff lingered and oozled around like smoke from the cigarette of an enigmatic, dusky seductress who's lurking in that imaginary bar of yours (not mine though. i'm just nursing a drink in mine) and the bwaamp bwaaamps (those are technical classical terms) thrummed and thrilled and it's really really seldom that I've heard any orchestra get that loud and intense. Rock.
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February 9, 2005
names that shake
Friends, when I come across genius and inspiration with a dash of bunny perspiration, it would be wrong not to share. To that large, never-ending question of: Is classical music dead? Anya would be scared, but here is your answer. BUNNIES!!!!
Not only that, it's Esa-Pekka Salonen up there. He, like CSI's Melina Kanakaredes, has a name that sounds like maracas shaking.
So, while you can get your bunny fix at a flaming lips concert, now you can clap your hands, let some angel-bunny get her wings, and believe. Believe in the maracas.
Thank you, Alex Ross for helping me rekindle my hope.
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February 3, 2005
a fire like whoa
Arcade Fire at Irving yesterday. Crazy awesome. More later... maybe. Took awful pictures with mah shiny new digital camera (like one above; Win has no face.) I have no clue how to use the thing.
brooklynvegan , as always, for goodies - soundz and links. Also resounding yes for why Irving show way outrocked Webster Hall.
daily refill has video clip of david byrne singing "naive melody" with the lovely hypesters of the season. i think it was posted like within an hour of the show. you crazy bloggers you! (toothy grin)
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November 23, 2004
it's only opera!
Coolfer recently had a tid-bit/link from the San Francisco Chronicle to an interview of classical crossover artist, Hayley Westenra. This is interesting because operanews did an interview with her not too long ago. But this interview was way more funny.
It starts like this:
Q: So your official biography comes out this month. Is it, like, three pages long?
A: I know, it does seem a bit crazy. But it's basically my whole childhood story, and how I got where I am. Hopefully, there's more to come.
Q: Can you explain the best part for illiterate people?
A: Well, I haven't read it all yet. That's what I'm going to do on the tour.
Q: You don't need to read it. You lived it.
I read some more stuff by Aidin Vaziri who is SF Chronicle's pop music critic among other things at other places and he makes me laugh and clap my hands at his cheekiness. He also loves u2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
I missed U2 on a flatbed truck travelling down Broadway. I can't decide whether this was a good or bad thing.
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November 22, 2004
which arcade fire member are you?
Cannot stop it. Before I realize I've gone mad, I'll start running a web-ring of Arcade Fire fan sites, making livejournal and AIM icons and quizzes that determine: Which Arcade Fire member are you?
At least that hasn't happened yet. But TTIKTDA has an mp3 of AF covering Talking Heads' "This Must Be the Place" calling it "Naive Melody" along with a link to some more goodies.
Posted by janet at 3:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 19, 2004
it all comes together
Well. I guess I can't stop from talking about Arcade Fire any more than I can help oversleeping and being late for work. Abercrombie might be all racist and stuff but they, too, love the Arcade Fire.
Conversant:
"What's the name of that band that's supposed to be wicked good?"
"Shut up Ken. Just act cool."
"I can't hear what you're saying. My hair deflects any words away from my ears."
Thoughtful:
"Did you starch your polo shirt. God that's sad."
"I've been with hotter girls than this chick. I'm so pretty. My polo shirt is pink."
"Shit, my hair is losing its purposeful waviness. When can I get to a bathroom to put some more hair product in?"
"Shit, my hair feels loose. I can hear what this girl is saying. When can I get to a bathroom to put some more hair product in?"
"I'm hungry. I wonder if Ken will want to stop for some fro yo. Or parfaits. Mmm. Parfaits."
"WTF is Arcade Fire. John Mayer is so awesome. My body is a wonderland."
Okay enough of that.
kevchino.com interviews Win Butler. In response to a question about the whole Neighborhoods deal, Win responds: "Read Plato's republic, then it will all be clear." Is he being his smart-alecky self? Hummmm.
bradleysalmanac has a live arcade fire show from boston's TT the bears - mp3s and pics. He is as eloquent as I was. "Best show Ever." Wheeeeee.
Mmm. Parfaits.
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November 18, 2004
laptops can't give hugs
Everybody, this is my older sister, Grace. Hahahahaha. Oh my god, I'm so tired and delirious. Tirelious!!! That sounds Shakespearean. Man, Asian people ROCK! Oh please forget this entry ever happened.
This girl is actually not my sister, nor is she "Chinatown Dumplings." She is Valerie Trebeljahr of Lali Puna from Munich. According to Epitonic, she is " a Portuguese-educated German national, of part Asian descent, writing in English, sampling Spanish voices."
Now that I feel dull as rocks, here's a song that they do: 603. Lali Puna has laptops and keyboards and things with twisty things and a drummer and stuff. Electro-poprock? I hate genres. Just listen to the mp3.
They played a show at the Mercury Lounge. Missed the first opener but also saw Styrofoam from Brussels, where they say "prima" and they don't say "you stupid bastards." They also play laptop music, but more mellow. New album out soon in the States called Nothing's Lost and here you can listen to clips. Ben Gibbard and Andrew Kenny, among others, appear on the album.
Andrew Kenny, from American Analog Set supported Styrofoam for the show. Is 'supported' the right word? I can't think straight. Along with that soothing-like-aloe-voice, the way he dances, or "moves," reminds me of somebody I knew from my doo-shbop college acappella days, who went by his middle name cuz his name was actually Jon Smith -- he also had these cute "moves" - ie dancing with no hips.
I'm so concert-ed out. Totally vegging out tomorrow.
Posted by janet at 3:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
movable blog-o-vision
Went with YP to Movable Hype on Tuesday night, giving up my usual snarky dosage of Gilmore Girls and Scrubs. Twas a fun night. Met some of the nice Gothamist folks, including Bluejake. It was kind of surreal though, kind of like a house party where everybody pretty much knows each other and you're just one of those people who went because somebody was like, "Yo, I hear there's this cool party at 216 Delaware" and then you go and find that you sort of know everybody because you've been reading their blogs ever since peanut butter and jelly.
Now that I've made no sense whatsoever, I'll move on. Meeting the face behind the words is always kind of interesting. There was just such a preponderance of bloggers that I felt like I was wearing those drunk-vision goggles but they were blog-o-vision goggles. I have to say, just a little weird. "Hi! I know you! But not really!" Creepy in a way. Fandom in another way.
What with the kind of event it was, there was a surprising number of people who didn't want their picture taken. Okay maybe just one girl. YP was doing her picture-thang and this girl was all like, "Don't take my picture bitch." but not as rude as that. And everybody around us was like, you do know that there are currently 38 digital cameras for every one human tonight, don't you ... bitch? And then there was a breakdance fight. Actually, there were a couple camera-offs between Youngna and Bluejake. Frightening indeed.
Anyhoo, brooklynvegan has a linkstastic entry of attendees if you're in that kind of blue clicking mood. I read about 60% of the blogs linked there but thanks to stunning interpersonal skills met very few of them and don't know what they look like. I did spot/recognize catherine's pita, recently of the ipod cozy fame, b/c she posts pictures of herself sometimes. See? This is creepy.
Well, noncreepy was some nice people we met. Tien was one of them.
Oh yeah, the music. Pretty good! We missed the first whoever, thanks to chinatown dumplings. Awwwww, that sounds like a racist term of endearment. Dennis Cahlo of the Sons of Sound (soon to change names) has a wonderful crazy voice, this mix of Bono, Ted Leo, and Jay Clifford of Jump, Little Children (great falsetto). Snowden from Atlanta was arite.
Asobi Seksu was pretty great. Much tighter, wilder, and affecting than when I last heard them in the winter, probably due to touring and the like. Though that makes me sad because their CD really pales in comparison.
Whew. I'm all linked out. How do you people do it?!
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November 16, 2004
you tooo
Listen to new U2 album at NME:
How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
[link via LHB]
Posted by janet at 12:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 14, 2004
paul paul interpol
Saw Interpol @ Hammerstein on Friday. Hail Social, whom I didn't care for, and Calla opened. Calla sounded much more upbeat and loud like Growrrrr! than last time I heard them. Also new members. Aurelio still pretty boy.
Interpol was pretty good but meh, especially after the concert the day before. Lights were pretty cool but backlit the band so much that you could hardly ever see their faces or what the actual color of their clothes were. As usual, Carlos D. cut the sharpest profile and walked around. Dan Kessler still looks like Noah Wyle plays earnestly. Sam looks older but he's cool. I like him. The keyboardist was lost in the smoke machine. And Paul looked hott in a fedora and thanked the audience after every few songs. His voice still can veer into pained sheep. All in all, a solid and cucumber-cool show, as per usual. It was nice hearing the oldies because they actually deviated ever-so-slightly from sounding just like the album.
I don't think I'd pay to see them again in a place bigger than Bowery or Irving. This girl near me kept screaming this very weird scream. It would begin with this splutter of consonants. Like instead of the normal girlie "eeeeee!" or sounds so high-pitched you just have to wonder, it was more like "wblnooooooooooooowwww!" Curious.
[Pic from johnwyles of Texas show.]
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November 13, 2004
better than rum
Alright -- I promise this will be my last arcade fire rave in awhile. Hype pipe mipe. And it's not like I'm going to add anything informative or insightful like I do every single entry. Just some more gushing that is hopefully not so repulsive as to make you not want to check them out. Not like frozen yogurt. I've heard many people rave about the goodness of frozen yogurt. And it repulsed me and in spite of it, I checked the frozen yogurt scene out. Thank god I didn't go as far as bleach my hair or get clothes from Abercrombie and a small purse that curiously can fit little else except all my billz and lip gloss -- cuz it is not so good. If you like the consistency, get some real ice cream, wait for it to melt a little and squish it around. Et voila! Give me haagen daaz and gelato and calories anyday she said, while fretting in the back of her mind about her chubby bunniness.
So, the bowery concert on the 11th, oh that's veterans day, was one of the tippiest toppiest concerts ever. Dirty on Purpose opened and they are one of my fav. local bands (nyc ain't no canada these days) They rocked out more and were tighter than I had seen them last in the spring. I love how the mellow laid-back vocals contrast with the fierceness of their instrumental sound. They still remind me of Explosions but with more poppiness and vocals and a more concentrated, rather than sweeping, sound. I hate how I can't write about music without sounding ridiculous or unhelpfully undescriptive. The drummer reminded me of Karen O. for some strange strange strange reason. I think it was cuz when he was drumming, he would raise his arm real high. Where's the resemblance? Nowhere -- I'm crazy.
DOP - to forget video from the show
2 mp3s here
The second opener, The Hidden Cameras who I've heard was actually supposed to headline before Arcade Fire became the next chai tea latte, was quite entertaining. These kids from Toronto know how to have fun! Yay for fun! Known for the go-go dancers that they like to bring along (they were in ski-masks for our show wheeee!) and their poppiness, they seem like the anti-NY-snooty-hipster band. Smile goddammit! They are another sort of collective, built around the main dude Joel Gibb, and they play like any cool collective these days, an assortment of different instruments. They switch around and decorate the stage. Fun times.
Here is a nice article on them that goes through their music, side projects, plus the history of the band and its association with the church, gay culture, and the Carl Orff method. Now, is there any fun band out there based on the Suzuki school of strings? I think not.
Here's a picture of the Hidden Cameras' cellist, Mike Olsen:
He also appears on the Arcade Fire album and played a couple of songs with them. My really deep and meaningful reasons for falling in love with him? 1. I liked his hat 2. I love cellos 3. I liked his red shirt which said, "Go home and practice." 4. He was very cute while playing. 5. He was good at it too! As a former cellist, I know these things. 6. And I got this little damper on my heart when the female go-go/semi-stripping/ski-masked was all up in his face while dancing and when he was all bonding musically with Arcade Fire's violinist Sara Neufeld.
When I was at the merch table, Win Butler rushed over worriedly cuz his jacket was onstage and he couldn't get it. I just kinda stared at him with a loopy smile on my face and worried about his wardrobe change as well.
He got the jacket just fine. It had bones drawn on the back.
The Davids Bowie and Byrne were in the audience. This, I missed.
And the Arcade Fire. Better than rum! They make me intensely cathartically (word?) happy. This is extremely difficult to do. So there.
Central Village ran into Win loading the U-Haul, who said they'll prolly be back around February. So keep your eyes peeled.
I'm expecting some cool pics of the Hidden Cameras and Arcade Fire from YP, who went up to Cornell this weekend to check 'em out.
[Pics from Brooklyn Vegan]
Posted by janet at 10:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 12, 2004
still best drug ever
back from arcade fire concert at bowery.
BEST.
CONCERT.
EVER.
I want to bottle this feeling and not sell it for millions of dollars on the internet, but keep it all to myself like my thoughts.
K, I'm going to sleep while it's way past my bedtime and I'm the happiest I've been since I was like 5 years old eating chocolate ice cream. How long will it last? Dun Dun Dun. So transient and fleeting cuz life is but a dream.
More on concert later. DOP was awesome too and there were inexplicable ski-masked go-go dancers and I have fallen in love with the cellist from the hidden cameras.
Sleeping is giving in, no matter what the time is...
Posted by janet at 2:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 10, 2004
i'd like to thank the internet
gothamist interviews Win Butler from Arcade Fire. I'm seeing them on Thursday. EEEEEEEEEEEE kind of excitement like whoa.
[photos from stereogum via gothamist]