Rarities
Living in the panhandle of Florida, the radio stations pretty much consist of (a) crap, and (b) classic rock. Considering the drudgery of teeny pop, horrible hip hop, and what somehow passes as country music these days, let's just say that I envy those of you who are able to simply adjust your FM dial to a particular frequency in order to locate decent music. Luckily iTunes offers you a variety of radio stations that you can access from the privacy of your home computer, and one of the better stations you'll find is KEXP in Seattle. Seattle is a hotbed for good music, and it's also the birthplace of the now-commercially popular Death Cab For Cutie. Surely, despite the O.C. jokes and throngs of teenage scene-girl followers, Ben Gibbard's songwriting prowess is uncontested. Back in 2003 right before the release of their breakout album Transatlanticism, Ben visited KEXP and played a great live acoustic set. Here's a version of "I Was A Kaleidoscope" from the band's 2001 release The Photo Album as well as a stripped-down, non-electro rendition of "Recycled Air" which appeared on the Postal Service album Give Up. For more great KEXP live performances, go to Podcasts in the iTunes store, and type in "KEXP live performances podcast." There's a smorgasborg of FREE content there, including material from Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Son Volt, Sparklehorse, M. Ward, and Band Of Horses. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Ben Gibbard - I Was A Kaleidoscope (Live Acoustic)
MP3: Ben Gibbard - Recycled Air (Live Acoustic)
9.30.2007
Ben Gibbard: Live At KEXP (2003)
9.29.2007
September Mixtape
SIDE A
1. Akron Family - Phenomena
2. Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan
3. Iron & Wine - Innocent Bones
4. Maria Taylor - Clean Getaway
5. M. Ward - Poison Cup
6. Wintersleep - Weighty Ghost
7. John Vanderslice - White Dove
8. Thomas Denver Jonsson - The Border
1. Red Collar - Hands Up
2. Sea Wolf - Black Dirt
3. Band Of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You
4. The Weakerthans - Night Windows
5. Wilco - Impossible Germany
6. Patrick Watson - The Great Escape
7. Pete Yorn - Young Folks (Live)(Courtesy of Stereogum.com)
9.28.2007
Beirut: The Flying Club Cup (2007)
New Wax
21-year old Zach Condon is the mastermind behind Beirut. The band combines elements of folk-pop, Eastern European music, and Balkan gypsy music. You may wonder why a youngster from Santa Fe, New Mexico exhibits such European leanings in his music. At the ripe old age of 16, Condon dropped out of Santa Fe High School to travel Europe where he was exposed to this new world of sound. Vocally, Condon sounds like a more operatic version of Andrew Bird, and musically he exhibits the same type of freakish talent. He caused quite the stir in indie circles with his 2006 release Gulag Orkestar, which was an otherworldly debut of Euro-folk-pop. While his newest contribution The Flying Club Cup may not be as immediately provocative, it contains the elements that make Condon's music so interesting. The instrumentation is flawless, with musicians contributing a variety of sounds such as cello, accordion, ukulele, violin, glockenspiel, organ, and trumpet. On "Nantes," Condon's grandiose voice accompanies a steady waltz, with drums and spare organ keys intermingling with trumpets to form one of the album's strongest songs. Condon's lyrics are vague yet delivered with an assured maturity. On "Nantes" he sings, "In a year, a year or so/ This will slip into the sea/ Well it's been a long time, long time now/ Since I've seen you smile." The appeal in Condon's output is the fact that it's so different from anything else, but this is the same reason why it may only cater to a niche audience. Still, there's no denying that at only 21, Condon's talent is mind-blowing, and he's got a long and fruitful career ahead of him.
The album will be released October 9th, but if you don't want to wait that long, it's already available on eMusic and iTunes. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Beirut - Nantes
MP3: Beirut - A Sunday Smile
9.27.2007
The King Of Kong (2007)
Celluloid
Sometimes reality is more wonderfully bizarre than any Charlie Kaufman script. Filmmaker Seth Gordon's new documentary The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters plays on classic archetypal themes, pitting the villain against the likable protagonist, and presenting a suspenseful and triumphant account of the no-holds-barred underworld of.... Donkey Kong? Indeed, there are enough "Are you freaking serious?" moments in this film to rival the great American Movie, and while the theme is undoubtedly absurd, the emotional heft of the story is undeniably tangible. At the center of the film is Steve Wiebe, a Seattle family man who, despite being a former star athlete and a talented musician, has never quite lived up to expectations. After being laid off from his job, he finds a new passion... claiming the new world record score on Donkey Kong. After finally succeeding in surpassing arcade juggernaut Billy Mitchell's longstanding record score, Wiebe finds himself amidst a whirlwind of controversy and accusations of cheating. The villainous Billy Mitchell, who has been at the forefront of classic arcade gaming since its inception, is an iconic figure with an army of cronies who are seemingly oblivious to his grade-A douchebaggery. Mitchell's tactics are lowbrow, and he uses his considerable influence to get Wiebe's new world record wiped from the history books. This sets off a rivalry of Karate Kid vs. Cobra Kai proportions that builds up into a much-anticipated climax. Without giving anything away, I'll say that the film plays masterfully on the "everyman vs. the evil empire" concept, and it's filled with enough memorable characters and one-liners to make it one of the most enjoyable documentaries I've ever seen. -- Capt. Obvious
Verdict:
9.26.2007
Good Will Hunting (1997)
1997 Best Picture Nominees Revisited: Part 3 of 5
Part of the reason—the main part, really—that Good Will Hunting represents a watershed moment in late-1990s American entertainment is that the film catapulted its two young stars, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, onto the A-list and won Robin Williams an Academy Award, thus validating the aspirations of many comic actors bent of transitioning to meatier, more dramatic roles. Because the film so dramatically impacted the careers of Affleck, Damon and Williams, it is tough to view, let alone write, about Good Will Hunting without acknowledging some its surrounding contextual baggage. If you’re having trouble following me, simply try this litmus test: ceteris paribus, if Good Will Hunting were released in 2007 rather than 1997, would it still receive the same reactions and acclaim, both critically and commercially, it received when it first opened?
The easy answer is yes. But think about it for a second—since Oscar night in early 1998, only Matt Damon has (arguably, of course) consistently progressed and grown as an actor. Meanwhile, we’ve seen Affleck make numerous attempts to become the next great action-hero and romantic-lead. And while his roles in Hollywood dreck like Phantoms, Armageddon, Forces of Nature, Pearl Harbor, The Sum of All Fears, Daredevil and Gigli may have endeared him to high school girls and fattened his pockets, these films have also stifled his artistic credibility and overshadowed his truly good performances in smaller flicks like Bounce and Hollywoodland. Similarly, Robin Williams has spent much of the last decade bouncing from one ‘dramatic’ role to the next in films like What Dreams May Come, Patch Adams, Jakob the Liar, Bicentennial Man, One Hour Photo, and Death to Smoochy. These films have ranged from misguided to god-awful. As a result, Williams impressive turns in The Fisher King and GWH look more like aberrations and his recent return to broad comedy in last year’s ill-fated RV looks all the more confused and desperate.
So, again, had Good Will Hunting seen release this year, would the response have been the same? My answer is no. I say this because with films as romantic and sentimental as GWH, timing is everything. Take two fresh-faced, talented young actors (remember, this is 1997—so, for all intents and purposes, pre-internet as we know it today), an original screenplay they penned, a likable comedic mega-star getting serious, and a pre-Lewinsky//pre-9/11//pre-Iraq America, and one has all the ingredients needed to create and satisfy a public demand for and acceptance of romance and romanticism. This is not to downplay GWH’s qualities but, rather, to locate the reasons its reception was so positively skewed. Good Will Hunting is a good movie, yes. But the fact that of the matter remains that if the same film were released today, it would most likely be received as an overly sappy attempt by two downtrodden actors to revive their careers by supporting their successful friend and fellow actor in an audience-friendly south Boston romantic comedy.
As bleak as that above statement sounds, it’s important to remember that our views are shaped, like it or not, by context. And as my goal in this particular retrospective analysis is to try and decide how Good Will Hunting fares today, I cannot lie and say that, when watching the movie recently, I only saw Will and Chucky performing on screen. I cannot lie and say a thought or two that went something like ‘Damn, why don’t Matt and Ben do something like this again’ didn’t cross my mind. For as well written and well structured (to the point of being formulaic) as GWH is, it is still clearly the work of guys in their mid-twenties—young writers still finding their voice. More so than before, I could feel the work of producers while watching the film this time around. As my fiancée likes to put it, GWH is a “minimal-vag” movie. The romantic subplot between Will and Skylar (Minnie Driver), though convincingly acted, seems tacked on to i) appease the women in the audience, ii) make the film viable to the date-movie market, and iii) give Will a proper end goal. The film’s real relationship is between Will and Sean (Robin Williams). Skylar’s presence adds more drama, but her story could have been substituted for, say, a larger subplot between Will and his friends. Like their characters in the film, Matt and Ben the writers clearly had yet to figure out women (and, by extension, how to fit women into their narrative). But with mathematical proof-like precision, the film’s producers and director deftly placed the right variables into the formula. This makes the film good, quite good in fact. It also makes it manipulative.
But Good Will Hunting’s subsequent success and Oscar glory was a sign of the times. Was the film’s screenplay really the best one written in 1997? Hell no. But remember: in 1996, The English Patient won Best Picture. In 1997, it was Titanic. In 1998, Shakespeare in Love. See a pattern here?
So while it is not impossible to watch and evaluate Good Will Hunting as a discrete text today, it’s just not likely. I would go so far as to say it would be wrong to do so. As much as GWH’s critical and commercial success is due to the ‘right place, right time’ dictum, I really believe that the film’s legacy will be the very same romantic/sentimental themes that make it such a nostalgic, wistful film ten years later. 1997 was a time when a lot more was possible from a storytelling standpoint because the public was much more optimistic and less politically driven. Maybe this was due to naivete, I don’t know. Still, it’s nice to know that at one point in recent memory youthful romanticism equaled box office gold. It may not make the films of this era classics, but at least they were hopeful.
Classic, Rewatchable, Lock it in the vault and throw away the key: Rewatchable -- M. Pemulis
9.25.2007
Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972)
Films Revisited
German director Werner Herzog’s 1972 cult-classic Aguirre: The Wrath of God embodies guerilla filmmaking at its finest. Listen to the director commentary and Herzog will admit that he thieved his camera from film school. Scrutinize the opening scene and you can see Herzog’s own hand come into frame to keep his actors from toppling. Filmed on location in the lush jungles of Peru, Herzog’s tour de force relocates Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness—which reads like a handbook for megalomaniacs—and spins it all the way back to the 16th century. Herzog’s film bases its narrative on a fictional history text—the diary of Gaspar de Carvajal, a Christian missionary. The story follows a deluded brigade of Spanish conquistadors led by Gonzalo Pizarro, who’s still a little tuckered out from eradicating the Incans. As the army blunders further downriver in search of
To summarize, tempers flare, backs are stabbed, and Pizarro falls to mutiny. In Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 adaptation of Conrad’s novel, Marlon Brando brings Kurtz to life as a brooding and eccentric madman. Herzog explores a different angle on the Kurtz myth, casting Klaus Kinski as Don Lope de Aguirre, a seeming peon soldier with a hair-trigger temper, a limp, and oodles of ambition. And you thought Brando was an odd-ball? The volatile relationship between Kinski and Herzog is well documented. Tales of standoffs with firearms and marathon Kinski rants have reached mythic proportions. Regardless, Kinski’s chops as the rabid Aguirre are undeniable. If ever an actor was born to play a raving, power-mongering conquistador, Kinski was he. The terror in the eyes of the cast as Aguirre raves and menaces is authentic. During one scene involving the raid of a native village, Kinski actually splits a cast member’s skull with a lunging sword blow.
The presentation itself is as remarkable as it is baffling. Yes, it was shot in the seventies with one stolen camera. However, the detail and clarity of Herzog’s scenes betray the film’s release date and budget. Herzog’s frames still possess a very visceral sensibility; Herzog lets the river rapids splash on the viewer’s face. The sublime splendor of the opening scene, in which the Spanish army winds down through the Andes, juxtaposed with the closing scene, in which Aguirre stands isolated on a raft amidst a throng of monkeys, is truly an achievement. Aguirre: The Wrath of God chronicles the tragic and absurd ruination of gold-lusting Europeans as they drift into oblivion, chasing fables of fame and wealth. And if you don’t think the image of ravenous Westerners imposing their beliefs on “uncivilized” cultures holds any contemporary relevance, you should probably watch the news more often.
Memorable line: “That man is a head taller than me. That may change…”
9.24.2007
Wintersleep: Welcome To The Night Sky (2007)
New Wax
Nova Scotian indie-rockers Wintersleep are going places, and they've cut their teeth touring Canada and Europe. They even had a stint opening for Pearl Jam, which is a considerable feat for a band that started as sort of a side project. The band consists of ex-hardcore kids who got their start in various popular Canadian bands, but Wintersleep is a decidedly different endeavor. The band mixes a plethora of genres to create an expansive sound. There are so many elements at work that an attempt to pinpoint influences will leave your head spinning off its axis. I can hear the workings of early 90's grunge, the sweeping guitar parts of Explosions In The Sky, the atmospheric touch of Sigur Ros, the wonderful disarray of Dismemberment Plan, the angular stop-start structure of Braid, the technical command of Dredg, and the melodic hints of Brit-rock. It's all rather confusing, but there is no point focusing on genre classification. The band's newest release Welcome To The Night Sky is bloody good. The opening track, "Drunk On Aluminum" opens with soaring guitars, dropping out into echoed vocals laid on top of phasing organs, only to explode into distorted loudness. "Archaeologists" is a grooving track built on thick chorus guitars and lead singer Paul Murphy's commanding vocals. "Oblivion" is a straightforward indie-rock song, sounding like that Dinosaur Jr.-influenced garage band down the street that's too obliviously talented to ever make it. There's such a variety of sounds and genres at work on the album that any feeble attempt to describe it would fall insufficient. Just pick up a copy. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Wintersleep - Archaeologists
MP3: Wintersleep - Oblivion
9.23.2007
The Low Anthem: What The Crow Brings (2007)
New Wax
There's been quite a resurgence in folk music as of late and it's encouraging to see it coming from all areas of the country. With What The Crow Brings, Rhode Island natives The Low Anthem combine elements of gospel, country, and folk-rock elegantly. The duo consists of Ben Miller and Jeff Prystowsky, who at the ages of 23 and 22, are in their songwriting infancy. That being said, the pair's youth isn't particularly noticeable considering the nostalgic feel of their songs, which draw from influential songwriters like Tom Waits and Neil Young without being outright impersonations. Vocally, the melodies are soothing and unassuming, providing a fitting soundtrack for a rainy midday drive or a cigarette-and-coffee backporch conversation with friends. While What The Crow Brings may not demand your attention initially, the lyrical content holds up well under careful scrutiny, reading mostly as unpretentious and sincere. The old-timey "A Weary Horse Can Hide The Pain" reads, "Our best laid plans, our patient dreams/ Fell through our hands, between the seams." Other songs such as "Bless Your Tombstone Heart" and the lover's lament of "This God Damn House" extend this feeling of nostalgia. There's even a solid interpretation of the Carter Family's 1928 chart-topper "Keep On The Sunny Side." Instrumentally, the duo relies on acoustic guitar and bluesy slightly-overdriven electric guitar as the backbone for most of the tracks while adding touches of non-conventional instruments as accents. In fact, if you listen closely, you might hear a pump-organ, tube harp, marimba, or even a toy piano. Ultimately, The Low Anthem's brand of folk is melodic and catchy, and multiple listens uncover subtle touches that strengthen an album that was crafted with care. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: The Low Anthem - Bless Your Tombstone Heart
9.22.2007
Eastern Promises (2007)
Celluloid
Director David Cronenberg doesn't shy away from jolting visuals, and the latest installment in his rich repertoire, Eastern Promises, definitely isn't for the squeamish. Cronenberg extends his new fascination with ultra-violent noir which he established with 2005's brutal A History Of Violence. This time around, the story takes place in London and revolves around the secret underbelly of the Russian mob. In Viggo Mortensen, Cronenberg has found a truly commanding presence, and his ability to portray humanity yet also be a cold-blooded killer is astounding. As far as storyline, Eastern Promises isn't breathtakingly original, yet with Cronenberg's stylistic direction and Mortensen's acting chops, the film becomes something more than a by-the-books thriller. The supporting cast is adequate, with French actor Vincent Cassel playing his usual role as a slime-ball criminal. If there is a disappointment in the film, it's Naomi Watts. While she is in a starring role, she isn't particularly memorable. Watts has proven to be a fine actress and has turned in quality performances in a number of films, but Eastern Promises seems to belong wholly to Mortensen, who is downright badass in his role as a multi-dimensional tattooed mob driver. There's a particular scene that takes place in a bathhouse, and let's just say it's a violent mixture of blood and man-nudity. Don't say you weren't warned. -- Capt. Obvious
Verdict:
9.21.2007
Deer Tick: War Elephant (2007)
New Wax
Deer Tick is the pseudonym of Rhode Island singer/songwriter John McCauley, and his debut album War Elephant sounds like a blend of Neil Young, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, although McCauley claims he never listened to Dylan while growing up. McCauley's voice almost has a Kurt Cobain quality to it, and his raspy words accompany musical arrangements that feel well-aged and at home on a shelf of 70's vinyl. The 14 tracks on the album are mostly short unpolished ditties that vary in style from country songs to trippy overdriven rock-outs to the strange 50's-style crooning of "What Kind Of Fool Am I?" While it may be off-putting initially, McCauley has an interesting voice that grows on you, and his lyrics help make his material even more engaging. On the opening track "Ashamed," McCauley sings over a finger-picked riff, "I am the boy your mother wanted you to meet/ but I am broken and torn with heels at my feet/ And with your purest light why don't you shine on me/ I should have been an angel but I'm too dumb to speak." McCauley's vague wordplay fits his unique sound, and while War Elephant probably could have been effectively whittled down to 10-11 songs, it contains enough bright spots to warrant a careful listen. Considering McCauley is only 21 years old, he's got a plenty of time to hone his songwriting skills. He's definitely an artist to keep an eye on. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Deer Tick - Ashamed
9.20.2007
Hem: Home Again, Home Again EP (2007)
New Wax
The story behind the formation of Hem is an interesting one. Vocalist Sally Ellyson got the gig by responding to an advertisement in The Village Voice. She sent in a rough demo-tape of lullabies that were initially recorded for a friend's infant son. Needless to say, her bandmates were impressed, and Ellyson was rushed into the studio to lay down vocals for songs that would become Hem's highly-acclaimed debut album Rabbit Songs. Hem's output is a patchwork of sound, relying on a cast of musicians who contribute an endless assortment of instruments which include accordian, mandolin, pedal-steel, violin, and banjo. It'd be difficult to place a label on the band, but they are often categorized as alt. country or folk rock, though their music has a mainstream appeal. The band has followed up their well-made 2006 release Funnel Cloud with a six-song EP entitled Home Again, Home Again. If you're wrought with a sense of deja vu upon hearing the opening track "The Part Where You Let Go," it's probably because you've already heard it. The song provides a backdrop for that ridiculous cheese-fest of a commercial where one good deed sets off a chain reaction of niceties (lame). It's a strong song, and the rest of the album is as expertly crafted, particularly the re-working of "Half Acre," which originally appeared on the band's debut. There are times when Hem sounds a little too perfect, but it's a harsh bone to pick with such a talented ensemble of musicians. Simply put, Ellyson's voice is consistently effective, the lyrical content is strong, and the music is immaculate. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Hem - Half Acre
Josh Small: Tall (2007)
New Wax
If Curtis Mayfield had been white and gone the bluegrass route, then he'd sound a lot like Josh Small does on the opening track of his debut album Tall. The song is entitled "Come Down," and Small 's blues-inflected voice serenades us, "Come down all you mistresses, come on down" over jangly acoustic guitar and banjo. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Small has spent time playing in support of punk-rocker turned folkie Tim Barry, who you might know as the singer from Avail. Small hails from Richmond, VA and he joins labelmates Barry and Drag The River in contributing quality folk-inspired material to the growingly impressive Suburban Home catalog. Sometimes reminiscent of Ryan Adams vocally, Small's voice adds a tinge of the soulful upbeat dynamic you might here on a Brett Dennen album. Small plays and sings with a comforting sincerity, which makes the occasional missteps on his debut less noticeable and easily forgivable. Besides a questionable instrumental decision (the horns on "Moses" just aren't doing anything for me) or a cliche lyric here and there, there's not a whole lot to complain about. Small is supremely talented, plucking away effortlessly on mandolin, banjo, and guitar like a seasoned pro. He's also very young, so it will be exciting to see how he hones his skills as a songwriter. Tall is a solid debut to build on. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Josh Small - Move Your Hips
9.19.2007
Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog (2007)
New Wax
If there has been an underground resurgence of lyric-based folk music, progressive folk or low key alt. country over the past several years, then a great deal of credit (or blame) must be placed on Sam Beam. Known more widely by his stage name Iron & Wine, Beam has quickly established himself as a fixture on even the most pretentious lists of America’s greatest songwriters. Although Iron & Wine released their first LP The Creek Drank the Cradle in 2002, it was their second full-length effort, 2004’s Our Endless Numbered Days, which opened the eyes of both critics and fans alike to the vivid landscapes and poignant stories that Beam so effortlessly weaves into his music. Since the release of Our Endless Numbered Days, however, fans of Iron & Wine have had slim pickings, having to feign satiety with 2005’s EP Woman King, In the Reigns (a collaboration album with Calexico) and the random candy commercial or indie film backdrop. So music lovers are going on four years since the last Iron & Wine LP, and as Axl Rose knows all too well, the time between a band’s record releases is directly proportional with fan anticipation, and, subsequently, expectation. So, the fall release of Iron & Wine’s third LP The Shepherd’s Dog will undoubtedly be gobbled up by both folk and indie fans with the ravenous ferocity of a starving child. But will the album satisfy our oft voracious appetites?
As exquisite and often flawless as Beam’s music can be, it would take the most naïve listener to deny its formulaic nature: signature acoustic guitar riffs, breathy solemn vocals and the occasional slide guitar. But as most artists are wont to do at some point in their careers, Beam has taken a departure from this formula in The Shepherd’s Dog. Throughout the album, listeners can almost pin-point a different genre, era or geography that influences each track. “White Tooth Man” incorporates the sympathetic strings of the sitar to lend a Middle Eastern/Indian feel to the track, yet pulls off the marriage of East meets West in a far less pompous way then say, Sting’s “Desert Rose." “Lovesong of the Buzzard” has a distinct island feel to it, while “Carousel” is a piano driven tale made haunting by the warbling phaser effect placed over Beam’s vocals. “House by the Sea” sounds like it could fit snugly beneath a John Wayne fist fight, “Innocent Bones” sounds eerily like a song Dave Matthews forgot to write (but, strangely, in a good way) and if I didn’t know better, I could swear that Roger Waters and David Gilmour reunited to write and produce “Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog)." Beam returns to form, however, on “Resurrection Fern," one of the only tracks that feels like it could fit nicely within the previous Iron & Wine catalog. The album closes nicely with another simply produced, acoustic gem “Flightless Bird, American Mouth."
All in all, Iron & Wine took some chances with The Shepherd’s Dog, most of which panned out. I still prefer to hear Beam’s voice in its purest form, without strange effects, echo and reverb and I feel as if the vocal experiments took away from the intimate nature of the music at times. Nevertheless, there are true Sam Beam treasures on this album that are sure to invade mix-tapes well into 2008, and beyond. Rating: 2.5/4 thingies. -- Colonel Ambiguous
Listen:
MP3: Iron & Wine - Boy With A Coin
MP3: Iron & Wine - Resurrection Fern
9.18.2007
Great Lake Swimmers: Live At The Church Of The Redeemer EP (2007)
Rarities
It seems like I've been writing about a lot of Canadian bands lately. "Blame Canada" from South Park is playing in my head right now, although it seems that if we have anything to blame them for, it's good music. Add Great Lake Swimmers to the growing list of great Canadian bands. Headed by Tony Dekker from Ontario, Great Lake Swimmers makes traditional folk music, with songs accompanied by instruments such as banjo and mandolin. If that sounds like your bag and you haven't heard their latest album Ongiara, you should definitely pick up a copy. Dekker's voice is sometimes reminiscent of Mark Kozelek, and Great Lake Swimmers has been fittingly compared to Red House Painters, although they are a little less slow-core and a lot more folksy. In April the band played a sold-out show at the Church Of The Redeemer in Toronto, and an immaculate recording is being offered FREE over at Nettwerk Records. This is easily one of the best live recordings I've ever heard. The band is joined by Blue Rodeo's Bob Egan on pedal steel, Arcade Fire contributor and violin virtuoso Owen Pallet, and backup vocalist Basia Bulat. The five song EP includes "There Is A Light," "I Am Part Of A Large Family," and "Put There By The Land" from Ongiara, "Various Stages" from the band's 2005 release Bodies And Minds, and lastly, a wonderful version of "Moving Pictures, Silent Films" from the band's 2003 self-titled debut. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Great Lake Swimmers - Moving Pictures, Silent Films
FREE DOWNLOAD: Great Lake Swimmers - Live At The Church Of The Redeemer EP
9.17.2007
The Weakerthans: Reunion Tour (2007)
New Wax
Winnipeg band The Weakerthans have been making melodic indie-rock since their inception in 1997, when John K. Samson, the former lead singer of punk heroes Propagandhi, started the band. The Weakerthans' sound is multi-dimensional, sometimes sounding like a hybrid between Death Cab For Cutie and Built To Spill, while adding elements like slide guitar that give their songs a folksy tinge. The band's 2003 album Reconstruction Site was met with rave reviews, as it combined elements of folk, country, and punk brilliantly. Samson's lyrics are always intelligent, and his imagery is uncanny. His command of language caters to the English Major in all of us, offering endless lines of clever wordplay. Luckily, after a 4-year hiatus, the band is back with the release of Reunion Tour, and while the band isn't reinventing the wheel here, Reunion Tour is a worthy addition to the band's discography. It lacks the urgency of the band's 2000 release Left And Leaving, and falls well-short of the brilliant Reconstruction Site, but new material from a band that is incapable of making bad music is always exciting. While there are highlights throughout, the album's most memorable moments are its quietest. "Bigfoot!" is a simple acoustic song, opening with Samson's poetic lyrics, "Change the oils and oil the squeaks/ Patch the holes and fluid leaks/ At dusk beneath the diabetic moon." On the album's somber closer "Utilities," Samson muses "Got more faults than the state of California/ And the heart is a badly built bridge." It's classic Samson, and while Reunion Tour isn't as cohesively dazzling as Reconstruction Site, it's still well worth your while. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: The Weakerthans - Sun In An Empty Room
MP3: The Weakerthans - Bigfoot!
9.16.2007
Wilco: Summerteeth Demos (1998)
Rarities
After lead singer Jay Farrar left influential alt. country band Uncle Tupelo to start Son Volt, Jeff Tweedy formed his own band out of Tupelo's remnants and named it Wilco. Since then, Tweedy's band has undergone a number of lineup changes and weathered a much-publicized battle with major-label foes (an excellent documentary film entitled I Am Trying To Break Your Heart chronicles this battle). Garnering enough critical acclaim to secure a Grammy for 2005's A Ghost Is Born, Wilco has managed to navigate through obstacles triumphantly and has become one of the most celebrated bands of our time. Always adventurous artistically, Wilco has undergone an extensive stylistic evolution. The release of the brilliantly experimental Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the beginning of this metamorphosis, and subsequent releases have delved even deeper into realms of songwriting left previously unexplored. While the band's post-Foxtrot material is responsible for most of Wilco's fanfare, their earlier material is full of country-pop perfection. Wilco's 1999 release Summerteeth most perfectly exemplifies this fusion of alt. country and pop, and it contains an abundance of quality songs. Here are some stripped-down demo versions of a few of my favorites from Summerteeth. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Wilco - How To Fight Loneliness (Demo)
MP3: Wilco - Nothingsevergonnagetinmyway (Demo)
MP3: Wilco - Via Chicago (Demo)
9.15.2007
Interview: A.A. Bondy
Conducted by Capt. Obvious
Obvious: You go by Scott. What does the A.A. in your pseudonym stand for and what's the meaning behind it?
Bondy: My folks are to blame for the Scott situation. My birth name is Auguste Arthur Bondy, that's why the A.A.
Obvious: "American Hearts" is really impressive, and quite an artistic departure from your material with your former band Verbena. When did you start writing the folksy songs that would become the album?
Bondy: I lived in the Catskills for a few years, and didn't write about a whole lot. Then I moved further East and my pen woke up. Most of the record was written in a week of fevers. There were a lot of birds around at the time, I think it had something to do with them.
Obvious: There's a lot of religous imagery on "American Hearts," would you consider yourself a religious person?
Bondy: I don't think i'm religious in any conventional sense. I am interested in symbols and mythology though.
Obvious: I'm really impressed with the production on the album, where was it recorded and who was involved with the recording musically and production-wise?
Bondy: The record was made on an old tape 8 track in an old farmer's barn. I think you can hear the barn more than you can hear me on it. The barn made that record as much as I did. There were some strange things that ended up on those tapes, that I know didn't come from my voice or any instrument that was played. I simply can't explain it. Pretty much anyone that was around played on it. That includes any animals that happened to sound off while
tape was rolling.
Obvious: You told me your brother was a member of The Felice Brothers, did you grow up in a musical family?
Bondy: I didn't meet my brothers until I met my wife. They are my wife's brothers, so now they're mine. We don't let the fact that we have different moms get in the way of us being related. Meeting them, my girl included turned the light on for me.
I once was lost . . .
Obvious: My dream compilation would be all my favorite artists covering Dylan songs. You'd be perfect for "Girl From The North Country." If you could pick any artist to cover any Dylan song, what would your choices be?
Bondy: You would need a time machine, but I could hear Nina Simone doing "Ballad Of A Thin Man." David Bowie (Berlin-era) doing "I Want You."
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/aabondy
Listen:
MP3: AA Bondy - There's A Reason
MP3: AA Bondy - Vice Rag
Tags:
9.14.2007
Damien Jurado: Nick Drake Covers (2006)
Rarities
Within the burgeoning singer/songwriter genre, critics often rely on comparisons to the now-legendary British songwriter Nick Drake. As often is the case, Drake struggled to gain wide acceptance during his short-lived career, but the late musician has since garnered enough critical praise and fan following to anoint him an icon. Drake's dark acoustic fare has influenced many prominent musicians, and it seems one of those musicians is Seattle singer/songwriter Damien Jurado. Jurado's high-quality output has been steady since the mid-90's, as he's churned out lo-fi folk music that lends itself nicely to the Drake comparison. He's even been called the "backwoods Nick Drake," whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. Anyway, Jurado tackled some of Drake's material, recording a handful of covers last year. The re-workings of "Which Will" and "Pink Moon" are absolutely wonderful, and Jurado succeeds magnificently in doing the songs justice while lending his own melancholic stamp to the material. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Damien Jurado - Which Will
MP3: Damien Jurado - Rider On The Wheel
MP3: Damien Jurado - Place To Be
MP3: Damien Jurado - Parasite
MP3: Damien Jurado - Pink Moon
9.13.2007
A.A. Bondy: American Hearts (2007)
New Wax
My genuine (and slightly profane) reaction a mere 52 seconds into the first track of this wonderful album: "Um. Holy Shit." A.A. Bondy is the pseudonym of Scott Bondy, a former member of Alabama rock band Verbena. With his new solo album American Hearts, Bondy delves into straightforward folk music, with beautifully strummed and finger-picked guitars and sparse instrumentation accentuating the tracks. The production on American Hearts is perfect, never over-glossing the authentic feel of the songs, and affording Bondy's lulling voice to shine. While the laid back album plays as the perfect accompaniment to a rainy afternoon with it's low-key southern jangle, there is a brilliance in its subtlety. Bondy's vocals are pleasant and unassuming, but there is a depth of material here, as Bondy effortlessly mixes spot-on imagery with religious undertones. Bondy possesses that uncanny ability to pack a wallop in seemingly simplistic lyrics. On the slow-moving "There's A Reason," Bondy's chorus reads, "The love that's tearing you down, is the love that will turn you around." It's one of those lines that seeps into your mind and lingers long after the song is over. On the spiritual "Rapture," Bondy sings "I don't want to talk about Jesus, just want to see his face/ The trees are swinging like hanging men, and I just want to see his face/ And rapture, sweet rapture, won't you lay your hands on me/ For I am blind." Ultimately, Bondy's album plays like a polished installment in an experienced folkster's catalog rather than someone's first solo album. American Hearts is sublime, and any self-respecting folk-junkie NEEDS to have a copy of the album in their collection. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: AA Bondy - There's A Reason
MP3: AA Bondy - Vice Rag
9.12.2007
The Good Life: Help Wanted Nights (2007)
New Wax
Cursive lead singer and principle songwriter Tim Kasher has always kept himself busy, juggling his time between the aforementioned band and his side project The Good Life. After releasing four albums and an EP under The Good Life moniker, Kasher's side project has become more of a full-time second band. Consisting more of acoustic guitars, brushed drums, and subdued vocals, Kasher's "other band" is a blatant artistic departure from the unbridled energy of Cursive. While The Good Life may be the musical antithesis of Cursive, Kasher's pension for conceptually fueled subject matter is still prevalent in the band's latest installment, Help Wanted Nights. In fact, the album plays as a soundtrack for a screenplay Kasher penned last year. Lyrically, the album is more of what you'd expect from Kasher, revolving mostly around a flawed individual and his failed relationships. Musically, Kasher's brand of folk-pop is as interesting and detail-oriented as ever. "On A Picket Fence" is a simple yet effective finger-picked country song, while the catchy "Heartbroke" blends the melodic sensibilities of Simon & Garfunkel with noisy Pixies-esque guitar parts. "You Don't Feel Like Home To Me" and "So Let Go" are other highlights on an album that you'd be hard pressed to find a bad song on. With Help Wanted Nights, Kasher has penned one of his strongest contributions to the Saddle Creek catalog, and that's saying a lot. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: The Good Life - You Don't Feel Like Home
MP3: The Good Life - Heartbroke
9.11.2007
Two Gallants (2007)
New Wax
Saddle Creek Records, oh how I love thee. With the band Two Gallants, the groundbreaking Omaha-based record label has added yet another gem to their impressive lineup. The duo of longtime friends consists of Adam Stephens on guitar/harmonica and Tyson Vogel on drums, and when they aren't tussling with the Houston police force (read about it here), they are creating stripped down roots-infused folk songs. Vocally, Stephens is vaguely reminiscent of Jack White, while lyrically, the band paints timeless tales of murder, infidelity, and the pre-war South. On the band's 2006 release What The Toll Tells, there's even a song in which Stephens narrates a tale about killing his wife and tossing her into the Frisco Bay (hmmm, roots-folk Eminem anybody?). On the band's latest self-titled release, the old-time storytelling atmosphere is as rich as ever. "Trembling Of The Rose" is a good old-fashioned delta blues song about a broken heart. Stephens' shaky voice pleads, "If you comfort me 'til dawn/ I'd sing your lonesome song/ pack my things and I'll be gone aimlessly." It's the type of material you'd expect from some old guy with a hollow-body guitar and a bright blue suit to sing in some smoky blues bar on the edge of the Mississippi River, but somehow it's pulled off confidently and with a punk-rock edge by a couple of white dudes. I say Bravo. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Two Gallants - Trembling Of The Rose
9.10.2007
Interview: Christopher Crisci of The Appleseed Cast
Conducted by Capt. Obvious
Obvious: The members of the Appleseed Cast aren't all originally from Lawrence, in fact the band started in Los Angeles, how did you end up in Kansas?
Crisci: Aaron and I met in Los Angeles. I had been living there for about 3 years at the time, and I hated it. I grew up in San Diego and I'm not really sure how the hell I ended up in L.A. but I did. Our first bass player, Jason, was living in L.A. too, and he was from Lawrence. So, about 6 months after we formed as a band, we got rid of our apartments, cars, etc... bought a van and hit the road for 9 months. When we had down time we would usually head for Lawrence, and so we spent a lot of time there, and made a lot of friends. After 9 months on the road we all split up, I went to Chicago, the rest of the guys went to L.A. and we didn't do a whole lot of corresponding for a few months... when it was time to get back to playing music we decided we should just move to Lawrence because we all loved it.
Obvious: Your side project Old Canes has a very interesting sound, it's like folk/bluegrass with a punk-rock aesthetic. How did the project come about and are there any plans for a new album?
Crisci: I'm actually in the midst of recording the next album right now. It came about as a serious project through friends' encouragement. I've always played folk songs, and even a lot of my parts in Appleseed have a folk riff, or progression to them. I played some songs, that would become Old Canes, for friends, and they would say that I should record it. Finally, Appleseed was in Europe and the promoter in Germany had booked an in-store accoustic set... which Appleseed doesn't / can't do. We rely on effects for a lot of our sounds... but I said I'd play some folk songs. The promoter was very adamant that I should pursue the folk thing as a side project... and it was then that it kind of clicked in me, that it was something I could really put some effort into.
Obvious: When I spoke to you after your show at the Masquerade in Atlanta shortly after the band released Peregrine, you mentioned an instrumental Appleseed Cast EP, is this still in the plans?
Crisci: Well, the idea is still there, although it has morphed into a mostly instrumental full length. There's songs that have 45 seconds of vocals and 6 minutes of instrumental. There's songs that are entirely instrumental, and there's one song with complete vocals that clocks in at about 2:30.
Obvious: What is No Law Recording?
Crisci: That's a recording endeavor that my friend Jordan and I have been talking about doing for a while. We already have a few things lined up. Jordan and I both come from the school of home recording, and we both have also done a number of albums in the studio. When we record Appleseed Cast, normally we'll track some in the studio, come home, do some recording at home, and then go back into the studio to wrap it up. I like the idea of doing as much out of the studio as possible. And that's what No Law is about. Record production with the idea that we're going to make the energy and spirit of the song the first priority... even over fidelity if need be. Whatever has to be done to make it right. If going into the studio is the answer, and there's enough money... but most musicians don't have enough. We're trying to make it go further, and more importantly to do the songs justice. Don't call us if all you want is a pristine sterile recording.
Obvious: I love your lyrics, are there any particular authors or songwriters that have influenced you?
Crisci: It's gone through phases. It started out with U2 and the Cure, and all those bands in the 80's, then I got into Dylan, and all the 60's bands. I admit that I have read most of Bukowski, and Marquez. I like Cormac. I'm not claiming to be original. I also don't know how much influence I can claim to have taken from most of the people I admire. I wish I could claim more.
Obvious: What are the benefits to having a lustrous beard?
Crisci: Well first off you don't have to shave. I hated shaving. I don't know why I did it for so long. Secondly, I've noticed that if I ask someone to do something, they don't think twice about it. I think it's the beard.
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/theappleseedcast
Listen:
MP3: The Appleseed Cast - Sunlit & Ascending
MP3: Old Canes - Life Is Grand
9.09.2007
Owen: Daytrotter Sessions EP (2007)
Rarities
If you've never been to daytrotter.com you need to bookmark it. It's a treasure trove of free indie music, with a live in-studio EP from a different artist almost every day. The site design is filled with great illustrations as well. Some highlights include Horse Feathers, The Snake The Cross The Crown, The National, Will Johnson, David Bazan, The Long Winters, Sea Wolf, Elvis Perkins, Bonnie Prince Billy, and today's blog installation, Owen. Owen is a pseudonym for Mike Kinsella, a member of the influential Kinsella family, and a former member of Chicago bands Cap'n Jazz, Joan Of Arc, and the short-lived yet influential American Football. With Owen, Kinsella has disregarded the odd time signatures of previous bands and focused on a simpler form of songwriting while maintaining his pension for creative and catchy finger-picked guitar riffs. His lyrics are brutally honest, and his songs are sometimes uncomfortable examinations of relationships and personal shortcomings. Musically, Kinsella's project has evolved from a one-man show recording tracks in a bedroom studio to a more collaborative effort with other musicians and producers in professional studios. While this evolution has made his songs fuller and more produced, he has maintained the intimacy and introspection that makes his music so effective. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Owen - Playing Possum For A Peek
MP3: Owen - I Woke Up Today
MP3: Owen - Bad News
MP3: Owen - A Fever Analog
9.08.2007
Willy Vlautin: The Motel Life (2007)
The Bookshelf
If you're familiar with alt. country band Richmond Fontaine, you'd know that lead singer Willy Vlautin's lyrics are wrought with damaged characters in need of saviors. With The Motel Life, Vlautin shifts formats from musician to first-time novelist, and while the medium may be different, his subject matter remains consistent. The Motel Life follows two down-and-out brothers from Reno named Frank and Jerry Lee Flannigan. Victims of circumstance, the pair lost their mother to cancer when they were teens, and the whereabouts of their gambling-addicted, deadbeat father are unknown. While both brothers are emotionally damaged, it's the older and more sensitive Jerry Lee who is also physically wounded, as a childhood accident has left him with a permanently injured leg. The brothers pass their time living out of motel rooms, barely affording to eat while working dead-end jobs and drowning their sorrows in copious amounts of alcohol. One night while driving home drunk, Jerry Lee kills a young boy on a bicycle, and out of fear of going to prison, he persuades Frank to help him cover up the crime. Convinced that the police will soon figure things out, the loyal Frank and his guilt-stricken brother abruptly flee their hometown. The ensuing story unfolds in gut-wrenching fashion, dealing with these good-hearted, yet truly screwed up individuals with an honest yet sympathetic tone. Vlautin's writing spares any semblance of literary frill, maintaining the voice of Frank, an uneducated yet bright blue-collar youngster barely surviving on the margins of society. While the tone of the book is thoroughly somber, there are redemptive undertones throughout, and the overriding theme is that "Having hope is better than having nothing at all." With The Motel Life, Vlautin has crafted an impressive first novel, and I get the feeling he has a wealth of stories left to tell. -- Capt. Obvious
Buy It:
Amazon: Willy Vlautin - The Motel Life
Listen:
MP3: Richmond Fontaine - Post To Wire
Tags:
9.07.2007
Red Collar: The Hands Up EP (2007)
New Wax
In today's vast expanse of indie music, getting proper exposure can be an impossibly daunting task, and unfortunately, many talented and deserving bands slip through the cracks. While North Carolina's Red Collar seems to be keenly aware of this harsh reality, there is a depth apparent in their music that easily distinguishes them from the rest of the flock. The band's first release The Hands Up EP, is a post-punk triumph, drawing from influential bands like Fugazi and Jawbox, while maintaining a unique and intriguing voice. Lead singer Jason Kutchma is captivating, with a weathered yet melodic every-man quality that is never more apparent than on the album's gem "Used Guitars." The song is a bittersweet requiem for the unfulfilled dreams of youth, with Kutchma disclosing, "There's a boy looking for a great buy/ Just another boy with a dream, he'll be quick to realize/ That we were made, to fail every day/ Maybe what we want is just too much to ask/ I once reached for stars but now I sell these used guitars." The song is about accepting life's failures, a statement that seems ironic coming from a band that seems destined for surefire success. The Durham quintet is set to record their full-length debut this winter with producer Brian Paulson (Wilco, Archers Of Loaf, Superchunk), and if this EP is any sort of indicator, Red Collar will be on the indie-radar for a long time to come. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Red Collar - Used Guitars
MP3: Red Collar - Stay
9.06.2007
Ryan Adams: 48 Hours (2001)
Rarities
Record companies are strange. Why Lost Highway Records never released Ryan Adams' lost album 48 Hours is beyond me. It would have made a perfect follow-up to the successful Gold, but instead it lends a few tracks to the handpicked hodgepodge otherwise known as 2002's Demolition. The record was recorded shortly after Gold and was produced by Ethan Johns, who was at the helm of Adams' amazing debut Heartbreaker. It contains a number of unreleased country/folk gems that easily rank with some of his best material. "Karina" is a Dylanesque folk ditty with a catchy refrain, while "Angelina" and "One For The Rose" are upbeat, harmonica-laced country songs. "Like The Twilight" is vintage Adams, with a chorus that makes the song a perfect drinking companion. Hopefully a number of these songs will find their way onto the box set that Adams has promised to release in the near future. It'd be a travesty to let them collect dust. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Ryan Adams - Angelina
MP3: Ryan Adams - Like The Twilight
MP3: Ryan Adams - One For The Rose
MP3: Ryan Adams - Karina
Cursive: Domestica (2000)
Albums Revisited
I'm partial to Cursive's earlier material, and their 2000 release Domestica is, in my humble opinion, the pinnacle of the band's output. That's not to say that The Ugly Organ didn't deserve whatever praise it received, and with the risk of sounding generic, I'd probably rate "The Recluse" as my favorite Cursive song. Still, when I'm in the mood for Cursive, I find myself relying on the wonderfully unsettling Domestica. The album is the aural equivalent of an indie-rock Arthur Miller play, with the ugliness of human nature festering just beneath the surface waiting to explode. Domestica could have very well been titled Death Of A Marriage, as its bitter content stems from lead singer Tim Kasher's painful divorce. On "The Radiator Hums," Kasher screams, "I threw out the phone to try to get through to you/ The lines are down, drowned by the hum of the radiator/ This house is a hole you could never fill with shattered dinner plates." Kasher is no-holds-barred, shifting from melodic lullabied vocals to growling animosity-filled yells. While it may be uncomfortable at times, it's vicariously cathartic to hear Kasher's frustrated rants. Domestica may very well be Cursive at its most beautiful and unhinged, easily ranking as one of the best break-up albums ever made. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Cursive - The Radiator Hums
9.05.2007
Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature Preview (2007)
Album Previews
Swedish-born Jose Gonzalez (his parents are Argentinian) debuted in 2005 with his acclaimed album Veneer, which was a delicate mixture of classically-influenced acoustic guitar and his uniquely mellow vocals. His reinvention of the Knife's "Heartbeats" was flawless, and made its way onto thousands of indie playlists along with the amazing single "Crosses." Gonzalez' new album In Our Nature will be released September 25th, and its rumored to be a darker affair, dealing less with love and more with human nature. The new release will also feature a backing band for Gonzalez, whose debut consisted mostly of sparse acoustic guitars. The first single from the album is "Down The Line," and it's got that vintage Gonzalez sound with an added edge. There's also a new video for the track, so get your YouTube trigger-finger ready. Be warned, the video is about as disturbing as the dancing midget from Twin Peaks. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Jose Gonzalez - Down The Line
9.04.2007
Josh Rouse: Country Mouse, City House (2007)
New Wax
What do you do with an artist like Josh Rouse? Earlier albums such as Home and Nashville contain alt. country gems such as “100M Backstroke” sprinkled with a few upbeat and downright rocking numbers such as “Directions,” “Streetlights,” and “Winter in the Hamptons”—though even the most rock-oriented tracks maintain Rouse’s characteristic twang, incorporating rich strings and steel guitar arrangements. Part of me is curious about what might happen if Rouse decided to experiment more in the rock direction, but his proclivity seems to be exploring more dulcet aural realms. The phrase “bedroom music” has been used to describe a good deal of the Rouse catalog, but fortunately his latest effort, Country Mouse, City House, contains its share of up-tempo numbers. Listening to just about any Rouse album is comparable to clambering into a time machine and twisting the dial back thirty or forty years [one of the guy’s albums is titled 1972, for goodness sake]. Country Mouse, City House is sprinkled with the obligatory horn swells, muted drums, organ flourishes, tambourine shakes, and soulful backing vocals, although [sadly] it sounds a bit more disco than some of Rouse’s earlier releases. The good news is you won’t be in too much danger of falling asleep at the wheel with frenetic tracks like “Nice to Fit In.” Rouse appeals to our sense of regret in the melancholy “God, Please Let Me Go Back,” a disillusioned appeal for another chance to get life right, while “Domesticated Lovers” takes a bleak and somewhat voyeuristic look at romance gone stale. My stand-out favorite is “Hollywood Bass Player,” with its infectious groove and witty lyrics, including the catchy refrain: “The French didn’t want me around / they didn’t like my groove / so I packed up my bass guitar and moved to Hollywood.”
Verdict: Rouse’s retro vibe isn’t a bad thing, but I find that the horns and claviers feel a bit gimmicky and overbearing on tracks like “Pilgrim.” It’s not bad, but it’s also not Rouse at his finest. You can look forward to a few bonus tracks, including a demo of “It Looks Like Love” if you purchase the iTunes version. -- Kilgore Trout
Listen:
MP3: Josh Rouse - Sweetie
9.02.2007
George Saunders: Pastoralia (2001)
The Bookshelf
Kurt Vonnegut is dead, but if he was still alive, he might request that George Saunders carry on his legacy as America’s greatest living social satirist. Saunders shoulders quite a bit of the Vonnegutian tradition, while simultaneously establishing his own unique voice as an author, engaging us in a way which seems perhaps more relevant and less preachy than predecessors such as Vonnegut and Twayne. Saunders published his most well-known effort, CivilWarLand In Bad Decline, back in 1997 (there’s talk of Ben Stiller starring in a filmic version). Pastoralia picks up where the last collection left off, with Saunders offering a familiar five short stories and a novella formula. Pastoralia, the novella, takes place in a failing historical amusement park similar to CivilWarLand. Janet and the unnamed narrator play historically accurate cave dwellers for gawking tourists, with the narrator in constant danger of being terminated because of Janet’s negligence. Their wages arrive mainly in the form of roasted goat, which arrives daily through a metal slot for the duo to devour before the public. As with his other works, Saunders takes pains to expose human corruption and prejudice—all of it at least somewhat applicable to contemporary political climates. The author’s brilliance lies in his capacity to isolate the more horrifying aspects of our culture and relocate them—even make them seem hilarious to us. Saunders’s work begs important questions regarding authenticity in our culture, and largely the answers are nebulous. His protagonists are uncertain, shaky, and flawed, and they feel strikingly fragile and human, while the more resolved characters are often just posturing in a facade, which Saunders patiently chips away. The author’s bleakly hysterical vision is singular in that it doesn’t quite take place in the present, and if it does take place in the future, then it’s closer to the sort of regressive future Gilliam heralds in Brazil than it is to the apocalyptic landscape of Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.
Memorable moments: in the short story “Winky,” Neil Yaniky attends a motivational seminar headlined by one Tom Rodgers [Saunders’s answer to Tony Robbins]. In his opening monologue, Rodgers asks his timid disciples, “If someone came up and crapped in your nice warm oatmeal, what would you say?” I’m not sure what Saunders would say, but I imagine it would be darkly humorous. -- Kilgore Trout
Buy It:
Amazon: George Saunders - Pastoralia
Band Of Horses: Cease To Begin Preview (2007)
Album Previews
A few years ago I was in Tallahassee for an Iron & Wine show, when a little band called Band Of Horses took the stage as the opening act. This was prior to their 2006 release of Everything All The Time, a critical hit that found itself on many "top ten albums of the year" lists (I wasn't blogging at the time, but it would have made my list as well). I remember glancing over to the stage when they broke into the anthemic single "The Funeral" and proclaiming "this is pretty damn good" to my friends, but I was truly unaware of the greatness unfolding before me. Band Of Horses, which consists of members from the now defunct band Carissa's Weird, has received a burgeoning amount of recognition from critics and fans alike, and from the sound of their newly leaked single "Is There A Ghost" from their upcoming album Cease To Begin, they are poised to become an indie stronghold. The album will be released October 9, on the always-reliable Sub Pop records. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Band Of Horses - Is There A Ghost?
The Full Monty (1997)
1997 Best Picture Nominees Revisited: Part 2 of 5
One of my favorite moments in the 1990 comedy The Freshman involves Arthur Fleeber, a pretentious NYU film professor, pontificating on the extreme symbolic importance of the wedding scene in The Godfather. While lecturing to his class, Fleeber, who we know from earlier scenes as the rare breed of academic who stocks his syllabi only with his own books and essays, catches our narrator, Clark Kellogg, not paying attention and so promptly asks Clark how he, Fleeber, connects the wedding scene with Marx’s Das Kapital in his treatise “Guns and Provolone.” Clark, of course, has not read the material and is clueless; Fleeber is furious; yada yada yada. The comedy in the moment derives not from the situation—teacher embarrassing student—but from the caricatured bad-guy—Fleeber the snobby, self-important scholar. As a movie that relies on film history from a popular perspective, The Freshman aligns itself with the mass-market and pop-culture inasmuch as it utilizes allusion and homage strictly in terms of looks and uncanny resemblances. In the film’s main running joke, Marlon Brando plays Carmine Sabatini, a supposed organized crime boss that appears and speaks in precisely the same way as Vito Corleone from The Godfather, a part made famous by, you guessed it, Marlon Brando. The larger themes addressed in The Godfather, corruption, loyalty, and family to name a few (in other words, themes that interest guys like Fleeber), are dismissed as only the concerns of some old, quack professor. By 1990, according to The Freshman, discussing and producing films with such issues in mind was archaic at worst and comic at best.
What does all this have to do with a 1997 comedy about six unemployed British steel workers forced to strip for cash? As it turns out, quite a lot. A professor of mine once pointed out to me that what makes political novels Coetzee’s Foe and Morrison’s Beloved great is that they are, at heart, apolitical. Like those two books, The Full Monty unfolds in such a balanced manner that its scathing political and social messages only lightly accent what is, honestly, one of the funnier and more heartfelt movies of the 1990s. I did not have the opportunity to see the film in theaters ten years ago, seeing it instead the following spring on HBO. Then, just getting around the rural slang was hard enough. I still thought the film was still wonderful, though, especially in its soundtrack choices and impeccably staged finale.
Watching The Full Monty today, however, is a remarkably deeper experience. This newfound depth, I feel, comes more with age, the accumulation of knowledge and experience (e.g. I had no idea in 1997 what it was like to walk the streets unemployed). From a comedic point-of-view, this makes the film elite. Like the golden age of, say, The Simpsons, great comedy works in concurrent layers. Kids laugh at Bart while their parents laugh and empathize with Marge and Homer. As a comedy of errors and desperation, The Full Monty is sharp and authentic—the hilarity inherent in watching middle-aged men learn to strip will never be captured better. This I could understand a decade ago. The social commentary and the political forces working against these middle-aged men, though, I did not understand until more recently. And like the men’s bodies that the film bares, The Full Monty, much more subtly, strips away the façade and offers a damning critique of the very systems of policy that put these men in such a humiliating predicament in the first place.
I had forgotten that The Full Monty opens not with Gaz (Robert Carlyle) and Dave (Mark Addy) stealing a stray steel girder from a defunct factory but with an actual (i.e. real, not produced for the movie) promotional video for the town of Sheffield, England from the 1970s. The video bespeaks Sheffield limitless potential, as it is a town that produces steel, the backbone of any industrial economy. The grainy, outdated film, upon initial impression, creates a simply comedic irony. Yet, watching today, the choice to open with such a sequence lends a much darker tone to the story the audience is about to watch. Promotional videos are government produced and, therefore, weak (and veiled) forms of propaganda. In a general and simply stated sense, then, the modern town of Sheffield was, in a way, created by the same governmental and economic forces that would, two decades later, put into motion policies that would kill the city’s backbone steel industry. The Full Monty, within its first two minutes, reveals itself not to be a comedy but a tragicomedy.
What’s funny is that this should not come as a surprise. Modern British theater (think Beckett and Stoppard) has been producing tragicomedies since the end of WWII. It’s an art form foreign to American theater and cinema (we’re not what you’d call a “thinking man’s” cinema). The best tragicomedies successfully blend bleakness and humor. The Full Monty does this gracefully. It’s still an easy movie to watch, enjoy and laugh at. At the same time, seeing these men strip away both their clothes and their dignity just so, in Gaz’s case, he can pay his child support and continuing seeing his son is almost gut-wrenching. The capitalistic system that trained and demanded Gaz and the majority of the town of Sheffield to do only one job moved on to another country, leaving only a meager unemployment check in its wake.
But only supposed quacks like Professor Fleeber could and should recognize the inherent capitalist and political critiques inherent in The Full Monty, right? It’s easier to only laugh at the film’s great comedy and admire the actors’ great performances.
This is the type of thinking, much more predominate in America, that frustrated The Clash’s Joe Strummer. Unlike other punk bands of the era, The Clash made very melodic and catchy music. When asked why their music was much more polished than the raw sound of many of their punk counterparts, Strummer remarked that his hope was that if the music sounded good, the kids would be much more apt to listen and think about the lyrics. Strummer got it. The Full Monty gets it. The film doesn’t force an agenda on its audience. It simply lays out the reality. Whether the audience chooses to listen or ignore is up to them. That’s how great art works.
Classic, Rewatchable, Lock it in the vault and throw away the key: Classic. -- M. Pemulis
9.01.2007
Interview: Jimmy Cajoleas of Colour Revolt
Conducted by Capt. Obvious
Obvious: The story of how you guys recorded your EP is great. Because of Hurricane Katrina, you were forced to build a vocal booth out of spare cardboard and record vocals with a makeshift pantyhose windscreen. What was that like?
Jimmy: A terrific amount of fun, actually. We did the best with what we had, and our friend Steven Bevilaqua did an awesome job making it sound good. The pantyhose windscreen did in fact make a later cameo. See, for some reason Jesse kept it in his car, and on one particularly boring night drive between Oxford and Nashville, Jesse and Len decided it would be a good idea to flick the interior lights on just as they passed another car on the highway. They would pretend to be screaming at each other, and Jesse would strike a pretend death blow to Len, the idea being to freak the hell out of the passing car. Well, the first time they did it was hilarious. The second time they did it the car passing happened to be a cop. When he pulled them over, the first thing he asked about was why Jesse had a pantyhose draped over a coathanger in his car. I believe the cop called him a "sicko." It pretty much ruled.
Obvious: You've been able to generate a decent amount of buzz considering you've only released your self-titled EP. Do you have a full-length album in the works?
Jimmy: We start recording our full-length this Saturday. We're pretty stoked.
Obvious: You guys are all students at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Is it tough to balance school with being a touring band?
Jimmy: Yes. But, if you learn how to write papers on Toni Morrison by hand in the back of the van on the forty-hour weekend round trip to New York, you can pretty much make it work.
Obvious: I heard that Johnny Marr owns one of your t-shirts. Is it surreal having a rock legend as a fan?
Jimmy: I've heard that too. Our friend Charlie Mars gave it to him. Yes, it is surreal. It means more than any critical praise ever could. I have listened to Johnny Marr my whole life, and the fact that he even knows about our band completely rules.
Obvious: How has it been touring with a popular band like Brand New, and is it difficult to win over their crowds?
Jimmy: The Brand New guys are a total joy to tour with. They took us to Six Flags and stuff. Being on one of those big tours is just so much easier than hacking away at the American consciousness with your rusty old tour van all on your lonesome. And the crowds have been pretty receptive. Whenever we head back to a spot, there's always someone there who saw us with Brand New. We're very grateful.
Obvious: You guys had your van with all your instruments and personal belongings stolen in Dallas earlier in the year. How did that whole situation turn out, and were you able to get your gear back?
Jimmy: Miraculously, the situation turned out for the best. We had much help from Detective Walker at the Dallas PD, and not to mention all the newspaper and local news coverage we got. People were just overwhelmingly kind to us. We didn't even have to cancel many shows, not even the shows we had booked for two days after. We just bummed rides and borrowed equipment from our friends. Chase Pagan and the New Frontiers and Lovedrug all really helped us out a ton.
Obvious: Back to the makeshift pantyhose windscreen. Was that as kinky as it sounds?
Jimmy: Yes. Absolutely. We make Prince look like Bambi.
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/colourrevolt
Listen:
MP3: Colour Revolt - A New Family
