Sufjan Stevens and punk rock.
There. I said it.
Are there, maybe, some similarities between some of the British punk, around, you know, 1977, and ol' Suf, both especially and starting in the "Michigan"-era stuff? I mean, they're both coming out of economically depressed areas. Isn't "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head" as much of a call to arms as, say, "Guns of Brixton?" They're both attempts to forge some sort of identity, to take control of national or regional identity, i.e, "God Save The Queen," "London Calling," naming two albums after States. Economic depression and the class system in Britain (I'm over simplifying, of course), and economic depression and a war with much of it's currency based on one idea of what America is.
Besides, aren't the Stooges from Detroit?

Callooh! Callay!

If your not listening to Callooh! Callay!'s album Sassprilluh Champagne, you're really missing out. It's not that it haunts you. That's not quite it. It just... follows you. Sticks with you. You find yourself singing it at odd moments, and puzzling over it in the middle of the night.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass is on USA, a great movie, very unfairly boycotted by Christians of all stripes. Philip Pullman, the author of the trilogy the movie is based upon does, indeed, say that the books are "non-Christian," and inversion of Paradise Lost. Be that as it may, the movies remove the theology from the books. It's not a vast liberal theology to attack religion; Hollywood isn't stupid, it's one vast open conspiracy to make money. They're not going to alienate a vast portion of their audience, unless there's money in it. And there's probably not (remember, this isn't an Oscar-bait movie). Especially after these midterm elections.
But, as I was saying, the movie is great. It's such a shame it failed financially. I'd love to see the take on the later books in the series.
The books, on the other hand, have always been morally problematic for me. Not the over-arching message. People can say whatever they want, and there's some good stuff in the books. No, the big problem for me is the death of Lyra's friend Roger. Lord Azrael kills him to get the other world, infuriating Lyra. Yet, in later books, the issue seems completely paved over. Azrael is one of the good guys, and Lyra decides to do all she can to help him. In order to achieve what he achieves, which, in the context of the novels is "good", Lord Azrael murders a child, tearing away his soul. This seems monstrous to me, far more than the end justifies the means. Yes, one may argue, Lyra and Roger are the true heroes of the story. And, indeed, fair enough. But Azrael is one of the heroes. Azrael's battle sets Lyra on her path. And Azrael is a monstrous murderer. Even after meeting her friend in Hades, or Sheol, or whatever miserable afterlife the books provide, Lyta seems to forget that Azrael is a killer.
It's always troubled me

Next time: Sufjan Stevens and punk rock!

just kidding in that last CrAppy post nothing is wrong Life is Lovely everyTHing is Excellent i love my Pleasant Only girLfrIend so much CostErnation would fall upon me if I didn't

I've been coughing up phlegm for the last couple of days. It's pretty cool, I guess, because it's coming from the dark, scary recesses of my lungs and I don't usually see anything from in there. It's also a little dangerous because sometimes one is not in an area conducive to spitting out a wad of phlegm. I suspect that if I swallow enough phlegm, it will cause me to throw up. So I let it sit in my mouth until it dissolves. Or I show my girlfriend. She says she needs a break. Usually I laugh but last time she got up, went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and plunged into the couch about three inches from my leg.

I've finally figured out what's holding me back from becoming a hipster. It's these damn glasses.

Has anyone else noticed the gay subtext in "Brokeback Mountain?"

Bottletree, June 9, 2010

Last Wednesday, I went up to the Bottletree in Birmingham to see the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Surfer Blood, and, whether I wanted to or not, Hooray For Earth (they were opening). Despite my general unenthusiasm for an opening act I don't really know (I've been burned before), Hooray For Earth turned out to be pretty good. I recommend giving them at least a listen (then again, it's a big difference going from crowded live room to recording so they might suffer from translation). I regret to say I don't really remember much about them other than a general impression of not terrible. That's all I really have to go on.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart played next, and they were very good. They opened up with my favorite song, "This Love Is F***ing Right," so, props to them. Very good fuzzed out fast indie pop. You don't have to notice the lyrics if you don't want to, you can just go ahead and bop your head, but if you do choose to listen to the lyrics they're not bad. 80's revival-ish, but in a really good way. Like they got into some shoegazey Vaseline-ish stuff. It's fun.

A few songs before their set ended they announced that Surfer Blood's van had broken down and, consequently, Surfer Blood was not yet there. Therefore, they were going to stall as long as they could. (Sidenote: Because Surfer Blood was not yet there, I missed out on all three bands playing a Lit song. That could have been the show I was at featured on Pitchfork. Thanks a lot crappy van bus).

So TPOBPAH finished their set at about 11:35 and Surfer Blood still isn't there. My friend and I decide we'll wait, oh, until 12, and if they're not here by then we'll go home. 5 min to 12 rather tired and slightly pissed off looking young men entered Bottletree carrying guitar cases. "Hey," one of them said. "Which way to the stage?" So they made it after all.

I'm really glad they did. I like Surfer Blood's recording work, but something about their live show really pushed it over the top. We already knew "Floating Vibes," "Swim," "Catholic Pagans," and "Twin Peaks" were good songs, but live they take on a whole other elements. They benefit from the noise and power of live guitars. And the singer's voice takes on extra emotion, an extra edge. "Swim" drips with real desperation. Yeah, it's sunny fun loud music, but their album cover featuring the shark is well chosen. This is music with teeth in it and if you're not careful it'll eat you up. I got lucky enough (to mix my metaphors) to dance on the edge of the abyss.

There's a cat sitting on my lap, and she's sticking her claws through my shirt to reach my soft (apparently) exposed underbelly. This is... nice?

(Pictured: Pain)

...

My review of Lady Gaga's new music video "Alejandro:"

She's been mainlining H.R. Giger.

I don't feel emotionally prepared to handle the gang-bang.

Both of them, of course, with pretty cool debuts. Only one of them has a good name, though. Sorry, TPOBPAT. Your name is stupid.

I'm going to see The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Surfer Blood this Wednesday, up at Bottletree in Birmingham. I'm pretty excited. I like both bands, and I would go to see either of them individually, so having them together like that is pretty cool. There's just that one thing about Bottletree... I really don't dress well enough to get in. I'm afraid the hipsters will sniff me out and that'll be the end of it. Oh, well. Nature of the beast.

Finished reading Gene Wolfe's new novel The Sorcerer's House about a week ago. It wasn't his best work, but it was by no means awful. In fact, it was quite a ways away from awful, it was quite good. Kept me enraptured. As with an An Evil Guest I felt a little unsatisfied by how quickly it wrapped up. I felt like there were some questions raised not entirely answered, or perhaps wrapped up a little too nicely. I didn't feel the transcendent joy I felt at the end of The Book of the New Sun, or The Wizard Knight. But the haunted house meets magical realism (or fantasy, or whatever you want to call it) really really worked for me. And Wolfe's style is just so darn interesting. It sucks you in, and you don't notice just how tricky it is.

Then it was June.

Then it happened.

America

My roommate just walked out his room with no pants on. "This is happening," he said.

Just woke up from a nap. During that nap, I had a dream that my girlfriend might have been replaced by an exact double. I was trying to figure out if she was actually my girlfriend, or someone else.
Woke up, called my girlfriend. She said there was really no way to tell.

I actually really like the long song from The Crane Wife, "The Island," that is, whenever I actually listen to it. Usually when I'm in the car, I just skip over it. Long songs are hard to listen to, especially when you get bad song ADD. Sorry, Bob Dylan. At least I always feel bad.

Come and join the Youth and Beauty Brigade

It's raining here. I mean really raining. What are good songs for rainy days?
Well, any Andrew Bird, of course. But those rainy day songs (or at least today's rainy music)?

1. The Decemberists- "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade"
2. Sonic Youth- "Teenage Riot."
3. Wilco- "Jesus, Etc."
4. "The Decemberists- The One-Two punch that is "The Engine Driver" and "On The Bus Mall."
5. The Antlers - "Kettering."
6. Beach House - "Tokyo Witch."
7. The National "Fake Empire."
8. Belle And Sebastian- "Judy And The Dream Of Horses."
9. Blaine Duncan & The Lookers - "Virginia (State Park)"
10. Callooh! Callay! - "Quentin"
11. Sufjan Stevens - "To Be Alone With You"

Sleigh Bells

So, you've heard of Sleigh Bells, right? I mean, of course you have. We're all cool kids here.
Describe them? Hmmm, okay. They're noisy pop mixed with what I think of as M.I.A. style hip-hop (although I don't really know, I mean, I've only heard the one M.I.A. song. Yeah, "Paper Planes." At least I heard it before it was used in the Pineapple Express trailer).
Anyways...
It's pretty cool. I really like their song "Crown On The Ground." Listen. It pretty much sums them up. Love 'em, hate 'em, you can tell by that song.
(Yeah, I know, all the other blogs have been going nuts for ages over these guys. Shut up about it; the Commissioner took away my license for this one).

What's the point of having lyrics when I can barely hear them?
I say this listening to My Bloody Valentine's "When You Sleep," a song I absolutely adore. A song, I should point out, whose lyrics I can hear. It took me a while, but I can pick it out. On the other hand, some My Bloody Valentine songs I'm lucky if I get one or two words out of the whole thing. I love My Bloody Valentine. But still. What's the point?
For me, I suppose, it makes me really pay attention. The songs leave the pop sphere, where it kind of sinks in subconsciously and I wander around singing it for the next three days or so. I have to put in work to make sense of the lyrics and music. Or, I have to accept the music for what it is, whether I can understand the lyrics or not. The words become another instrument, taken less for their meaning and more for poetry on a basic level, the way the words sound.

That can't be normal

Do you think I should see a doctor?

Prayers to Summon the Destroying Angel

I love the Mountain Goats. I really do. Their albums, with a few exceptions, like The Life of the World to Come, and Tallahassee, are, for me, uneven affairs. There's always at least one song that I just love, a song that is life changingly good. There are a few okay songs, where the overall song is good with a few odd phrases, something that turns me off, or maybe I never latch onto anything. Then there are few (sorry, "Tianchi Lake") that I don't particularly care to listen to.
It's so worth it, though, for that one song. "Against Pollution." "Love Love Love." "Lovecraft in Brooklyn." "Heretic Pride."
Those one or two.

Summer Albums

My first three, for the start of summer:

1. The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts

2. Laura Veirs - July Flame

3. Horse Feathers - Thistled Spring

The first two are also a good mid-summer albums, and Horse Feathers works for both spring, fall, and winter, but they all seem appropriate for the start of summer, when Midsummer's stretches before us, when evenings still lengthen. Before we pant for summer's end. The beginning, when the world seems largest.

A good read for those wishing to escape to cooler climes? Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight. I promise.

You know, James Murphy kind of looks like he could be someone's dad. And not the cool kind of dad who works at a tattoo parlor until he can save up enough money for that chop shop he's always wanted to open, the cool kind of dad who buys beer for you and then tells the cops that "he's sixteen years old, he can bail himself out of jail." No, he looks like the kind of dad who votes in every civic election and works at something stable and boring. Like IT. Or management.

Black Prairie

Hey. You know those people in the Decemberists who aren't Colin Meloy? And the drummer (I think. I don't know. I'm not getting on Wikipedia to check). Well, they made a band with some other guys. It's called Black Prairie. It's big and sweeping and mostly instrumentals. Just like the prairie, I guess? The instrumentals are great, although I wish they had a few more songs with purty words because their rendition of "Red Rocking Chair" is a standout moment on the album. Regardless, it's bluegrass, it's fun, it'll hold you over until the Decemberists come.

I just read the phrase "it made my uterus tingle" in regards to the film "Babies."

Pretentious Summer Reading Project Update

I just finished Animal Farm. Please don't make fun of me, I know you all read it when you were five. I had a bad feeling about Boxer from the start. It only got worse once someone told me what a knacker is.

Josh Folmar and the Motions were at the Mellow Mushroom Sunday night. Josh, I salute you for the line "The devil dragged her down to be his bride," which gave me chills, and a salute to the Motions for working Animal Collective into one of your songs.
Your move, Hackberry Social Aid and Pleasure Club (which, may I add, everyone should listen to if they're in Tuscaloosa Sundays at 10. 90.7 is the station. You'll learn something).

So there's an airshow here in town this weekend. It's a lot of fun watching the city collectively lose its mind. With the airplanes roaring overhead I'm alternately cowering and sympathizing with the Afghan tribesmen living with U.S. air superiority.

In a world where my iTunes library bleeds my Grizzly Bear right into Guns 'N Roses (I don't have to justify myself to you) with no line of demarcation, is the album dead?

America

My other roommate walks around the apartment and forces himself to belch. It's got this really wet sound to it. I'm thinking of taking him to the vet soon.

Beach House

Went to see Beach House at Bottletree up in Birmingham a week ago Tuesday. As my roommate put it, "Yeah, I'm wearing flannel, but I'm wearing it sincerely." Yeah. It was that kind of place. Roommate again: "Hipsters. White people who are really into dance music, but won't actually dance." For the tattoo I hope you will one day get I have boiled it down to this: Hipsters. White people not dancing to dance music.
In Russia, they are happy if they are even allowed to dance, much less have music to dance to. You ought to be ashamed.
Three people stepped out on that stage: Two men, and a woman. One man held a guitar. One man held a tiny drum kit. The woman held a keyboard, and her voice. They played songs, and she sang.
You know what? Her voice was pitch perfect. The songs were pitch perfect. And when everything is turned up that loud, those dreamy songs really rock.
Their vocalist's name is Victoria Legrand. You know that Grizzly Bear song we all really like? "Two Weeks?" Yeah, she's on that, too.
If you listen to the record, it's easy to see why Beach House is labeled dream pop. I was expecting something sedate, and stately. I was honestly expecting to be a little bored. I wasn't. And it wasn't. It was anything but. Here's the thing: Dreams have emotion, too. They can be light, or dark, happy, or roar, and scare you. It's dream pop, in the truest sense of the term. It envelops you, completely. Shoegazey like shoegaze can only dream of. Then, when you're in there, they can do whatever they want with you.

Summer is almost here, and you know what that means, right? The Annual Pretentious Summer Reading Project! I'm thinking Ulysses, because after I give up on the second page I can always use it to stun a burglar.

4/22/10

If you weren't at the Bama Theatre Thursday night then 1., you're a bad person (like, morally abhorrent), and, 2. all the cool people are going to laugh at you. It was one of the best shows I've been to, and it showcased all the good stuff about local music.
Josh Sawyer opened, C!C! played, and Josh Folmar played three songs with C!C! backing him as a special guest. C!C! also backed one of Josh Sawyer's songs, "The Warden" (a favorite of mine), turning it into a Dylan-ish rocker, and dueting with Sawyer playing a cover of "Long Black Veil." I'll get back to that in a minute.
Josh opened with his three originals, like I said, and then C!C! stepped up. Since it was acoustic night they opened with some of their more acoustic guitar driven songs from the EP. They're still good songs, and reward repeated listening (standout tracks from the EP are "Dying Doves," "Kiter," and "Breeze Like an Antelope." Good songs, and also (if one knows the chronology of their writing), interesting for the lyrical evolution display) (if you want the musical leap then you should listen to the The Bird's Run side by side with Sasprilluh Champange). Sawyer got back up on the stage to play "The Warden." C!C! backed him and upped the tempo, turning it from reflective to rocker (still reflective though). The song has always sounded Dylanish to me, and C!C!'s backing made it all the more so. Kinda like it could be a B-side from Highway 69. (It's not Dylan, obviously, more straightforward, for one thing). Then Josh joined Adam (C!C!'s singer) for a rendition of long black veil. They duetted, back and forth, which was great. Josh's voice is a little nasally, in a good Colin Meloy way, and when Adam needs to be a powerful singer he sings from the back of his throat (I think), and the contrast was really fun.
C!C! played some newer, unrecorded stuff, and stuff from the album. Once I got over trying to find the electric guitar I was able to enjoy their acoustic versions. It's nice, because they vary the songs up enough that it's never boring.
Josh Folmar arrived on stage. He played his song "Devil's Highway," first, by himself, quiet, the kind of singing you do all by yourself in room, half praying someone will hear you and hoping no one ever does. Then, C!C! kicked in backing him up and "Devil's Highway" exploded, a yell, a resigned help me going down with a fight. And it's one hell of a fight. If the narrator's life is falling apart at least the song remains, too real to quit.
And then he played Tuscaloosa Blues and that was pretty great, too.
So what made the show so great was all these different artists working together so seamlessly. C!C! became a great backing band not once but twice, both times graciously ceding the spotlight. It wasn't a night of egos on parade. It was just a couple of musicians who thought working together might produce something really cool to show anyone who cared to show up.
That's what's great about local music. When it works it works like it did Thursday, all these insanely talented artists working together to produce something amazing. When it fails it's a big fish in a little pond pissing contest. But when it works, it's brilliant.

There's something really, truly chilling about the ending of "A Good Man is Hard to Find," isn't there? Almost like that moment, at the beginning of "Nebraska" where Springsteen sings "Mister, I guess there's just a meanness in this world." The criminal, the misfit who is seems almost uncomprehendingly amoral. "Nome," says the Misfit, "I ain't a good man." He isn't. But neither, as he says, is he the worst in the world, either. Those, surely, must be his companions, the ones who take joy in murder. There is no joy in murder for the Misfit.
I think he may be amoral as opposed to actually evil because he is the Misfit. He doesn't fit in. He doesn't quite seem to know what he's done. When he does evil he seems confused by it. I think his companions are evil. No benefit comes from their killings. When the Misfit kills, he is an instrument of grace - that is, he affords the woman to extend grace. If the old woman becomes truly good, truly Christian, by imitating Christ by extending grace, saying that the Misfit is one of her children, then the Misfit is the sin of the world, the opportunity for grace, the Fortunate Fall, the Fall that leads to redemption. The Misfit seems to somehow know his part, too. The murder gives him no pleasure. His companions enjoy the killing; the instrument of grace does not.

Anyway, Sufjan Stevens has a song called "A Good Man is Hard to Find." It gives me chills every time.

Iggy Pop madlibs

"Yeah, so it was (insert year) and I was doing (insert drug) and I was with (famous person) and I called (insert other famous person) and I told them (insert something obscene) and then I pooped in the bushes and passed out and (insert famous person or band mate) carried me to (insert location, probably sandbox in playground)."

ALL HIS INTERVIEWS ARE LIKE THIS

I was listening to Tarkio the other day. I haven't done that for a while. They're not bad; not great, either, but a solid country/folk effort. I listen to it for the same reason I (unashamedly) watch "Mean Girls" every time it's on TV: it contains the seeds of the later project. Tarkio contains the seeds of Meloy's future preoccupations as leader of the Decemberists. We get the lit references - Camus, Tristan and Iseult - and the interest in folk balladry. Tarkio isn't quite as lyrically courageous, to borrow a phrase from some reviewer, I forget who (sorry unknown soldier). Meloy's lyrics aren't quite as strong in Tarkio, and so tend to sink below the music - but then, the music isn't quite strong or unique enough to stand on its own. Nothing terribly special. Most are over-long, and after a while tend to blend together. There are flashes of brilliance (and I mean that in the shining, sparkly visual sense). My personal favorite is "Neapolitan Bridesmaid." It's definitely not required listening for any who's not a Decemberists nut. Since I have the misfortune to part of that strange sub-species of human, well...

There's a joy in rediscovering music, gaining enough space that the familiarity is lost and the possibility of newness is regained. That's how it felt to listen to Tarkio. It had been long enough that I had forgotten. The violins thrilled again. The nuisance felt was minimized, not maximized through over familiarity.

I felt that way about a few things lately. Sufjan Stevens, seeing a snatch of his lyrics quoted out of context. The Mountain Goats, hearing one of their songs on "Weeds." I love it.

So, what is it about revisionist history? Historical characters acting very un-historical tickles my funny bone. History seems so serious when you learn about it. To imagine historical figures acting kinda like your slacker cousin (you know, the one who huffs Elmer's) flips it around - gives you that sudden realization that is humor, I guess.
Also, it's a comic about history, so you can feel superior to people who don't get it. Philistines!
http://harkavagrant.com/

Listening to a Drive By Truckers album is like looking at a faded, time tarnished photograph - a photo of your grandparent's wedding, perhaps.

You guys are gonna do the right thing and buy a copy of Sasprilluh Champagne, right? It's on iTunes, but Oz music probably would like the support, too.

That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once.
How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if't were Cain's
jawbone, that did the first murther! This might be the pate of
a politician which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would cir-
cumvent God, might it not?

Sometimes things are summed up so nicely I really don't have to say anything.

http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=140

I'm so proud

USA! USA! USA! USA!

etc etc

The Monitor

Titus Andronicus' new album, the Monitor, a concept album loosely based on the Civil War is, ahem, the kind of undertaking that gets my English major, ahem, juices flowing. I mean, they have someone credited for playing Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman. It's the kind of, to paraphrase Pitchfork, dubious enterprise usually thought up by the Decemberists (only with more shape-shifting fawns). It's also incredibly, joyously fun, if it can be fun to celebrate how much it can suck to be from New Jersey. It's fun in that Hold Steady kind of way: fun, then sad, because you listened to the lyrics, then fun again.
It's a big chunk of an album. I'm really just getting into it. The ideas being thrown around are great. Gotta love the geeky intertextuality of it all. It's fun without it, but it's even more fun if you know your Civil War, your Lincoln quotes, your Walt Whitman, and if you know who Bruce Springsteen is. Standout moment of the first song? All the Civil War songs, shouted at the top of their lungs.
Also, bagpipes (Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus? It truly is a glorious new age).

Callooh! Callay! is the Hold Steady of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and quite probably, the South.

(Remember- Sasprilluh Champagne digitally released via iTunes, Rhapsody, and Lala April 5, physical copy on sale in Oz Music in Tuscaloosa on April 6.)

http://freecalloohcallay.com/

1 2 3 4

"1234" is the symbol of all that I should loathe: A hit after being placed in an iPod commercial it is the ultimate example of indie (whatever that is)=aesthetic=sales, or, SALES!!! Much as I love my iPod, and much as I loved 500 Days of Summer, it is definetiley pitched towards a certain demographic (what my roommate once referred to as the Being John Malkovich demographic, or, perhaps, in this day and age, the Where the Wild Things Are/Arcade Fire demographic (yes, I'm pointing out all you people who sang along to "Wake Up" in the movie theater, Josh Sawyer) ). As if "indie" was a lifestyle choice, to be bottled and sold (instead of a loose non-definition for more or less not top 40 music). And not sold by the artist either, but sold in an "Animal Collective advertising washing machines" kind of way (hey, those summertime clothes are going to get dirty). (Or, "Are you also frightened? JOIN THE MARINES).
But, darn it, I love that song. I feel so cheerful listening to it.
Is it normal to feel this dirty?

No one likes Limbaugh

When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say—but what is equally true—is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed—if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office—Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.
So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.
-David Frum

And Hertzberg's take on the whole thing
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/hendrikhertzberg/2010/03/waterlosers.html#ixzz0jDmev9bt

WHY

Billy Corgan + Jessica Simpson = Terrible

http://admin.mymojodemo.com/newsletter-mp3.php?hash=9fac0f994e07c30d187822e75fbe80f4

The Book of the New Sun?

I think I read this book...

...but it may have been this one...


I'm conflicted.

TV On The Radio's "Halfway Home" is just "Beat On The Brat" reworked, right? (man, I hope that's actually the name of that song)

I think Titus Andronicus sounds like Bright Eyes, if Bright Eyes pulled out all the stops. Also, if Bright Eyes made more Camus references.

Whoever you are, I sincerely hope you're fine, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart, but whatever happened to you today that sent a firetruck with blaring sirens to check on you was really nice timing, as I had just begun listening to LCD Soundsytem's "North American Scum."

Gene Wolfe!

If you are not wholly good and totally pure yourself, and you're not, an angel may be a very dangerous person for you to deal with, because he is.

It's absolutely criminal

that I haven't mentioned these guys yet. The Classic Flame:
http://www.myspace.com/theclassicflame

Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of stuff up on their myspace page. It's a shame, because I'm listening to their song "Broken Brain." It's great. The lyrics, the music... (the song that completely sums up Tuscaloosa...) Sounds kind of like the Antlers, but that's just a rough approximation of their sound. They're hanging around the same crowd. They're not the same people. Really, it's hard to exactly describe. It's completely deliberate. These guys know exactly what they're doing.

Seriously. Broken Brain is about, in part, Tuscaloosa. These guys get it. Sad happy beautiful ugly Tuscaloosa is just another chunk of the sad happy beautiful ugly stupid lovely South which is just another chunk of sad happy beautiful ugly stupid lovely America which is just another chunk of sad happy beautiful stupid ugly wonderful humanity. And, unless you are a self-aware machine (in which case I salute our new robot overlords), that should mean something.

Callooh! Callay!

Yeah, I'm talking about C!C! again. They have that album coming out:
http://freecalloohcallay.com/
...and...

They're working on new songs. Have you ever wondered, like me, what would happen if Sonic Youth and 16 Horsepower hooked up and formed a group bent on the utter domination of small pockets of the Southeast? Really? Weird.
Yeah. It sounds like that.

Well, SXSW is upon us once more. And I'm not there. I'm at work. I would much rather be seeing the xx.

They pay me and I'm ashamed

http://freecalloohcallay.com/

Like Godzilla coming to fight King Kong, this, too, is coming. To spank your mind into submission.

Should have read the terms of use

I guess I'm going to have to move. The Alabama State legislature is about to make human trafficking a crime.

(That's not objectionable content, right? Man, I can't afford to be on another watch list).

This picture has nothing to do with anything. I just couldn't get it to work as my Facebook profile pic.

Shame on you, Margret and H.A. Rey

Someone should really alert the Moral Majority about Curious George. Much like Mario, this makes drug use look AWESOME.

Squirrelhouse! Are they still, technically, a Tuscaloosa band? I don't know, but they're making some darn good music. Quibbles, quibbles my friends. Click, click, and listen to the beat.


http://www.myspace.com/iheartsquirrelhouse

The Decemberists - Yes, the Decemberists

In "The Hazards of Love," the forest that William, Margaret, the Rake, and that evil queen interact in is referenced as the taiga. That means that the story is more than likely centered in the place depicted in this photo - Siberia. (Yes, it could be Canada, too - both the setting and the picture). It makes a difference for me, for some reason. Feels wilder, untamed (sorry Russian stereotypes). Also if the queen is the queen of the forest and that forest is the taiga and her body is composed of the forest HOLY CRAP SHE IS POWERFUL.

Alice

I saw "Alice In Wonderland," the new Tim Burton one, last night. Being a Tim Burton movie, the visuals were excellent. The story was... interesting. Why, exactly, does Alice need to take up a sword and kill something? Why does a story which is a struggle involving three females have to end in a battle? Why does Alice have to settle for being your typical male fantasy world protagonist, instead of something much curioser? Why does she have to settle for being a man in a man's world?
Also, the White Queen seemed... troublesome. She yanks Alice in to do the dirty work (killing) and then reaps the benefits. You see, it's against the Queen's values to kill. So the next time something like this happens, she yanks in another champion, and another, and another... The moral consequences of war are farmed off to a warrior class. If Alice had to slay a person in order to save Wonderland instead of a dragon I think this issue would have become much more apparent.
I think, maybe, it has some real world relevance. Then again, maybe not.

Oh, Girls. Why can't I play any of your songs on the radio?

The other day I saw what was in all probability a member of some fraternity riding his bike in the middle of heavy traffic, waiting for a light to turn green, a 24 case of beer in the basket of his bicycle.


America.

Bella Fleck Chides Hippies!

That's really all I have to say about that.

(Oh yeah. I saw Bela Fleck tonight.)

(He didn't look anything like I imagined. I kept trying to figure out in what language his name is a pun.)

Pavement's "Spit On A Stranger" makes me a happy camper for a rainy night. How 'bout you?

I know this is old news, and I haven't watched Smallville for years (I didn't watch the episode I am referencing), but I am enough of a comics geek to "dig" the JSA in Smallville, especially weirder and more obscure characters like Dr. Fate and the Wesley Dodds Sandman (and, as Topless Robot pointed out, it was Ozymandias who did it, Clark).

Whatcha doin' on my roof, creeping cross the shingles

Like the Jesus and Mary Chain (and, if Rock Band memory (I sang) serves me right, Garbage), I'm happy when it rains. When it rains like this, it's time to pull out the country music.
WHAAATTT? Country? That's right, country. And I don't mean Brookes & Dunn (whoever they are). I mean...
16 Horsepower. That's right, Sinner Man. Country, if country can be influenced by Nick Cave and Joy Division. The kind of folk/blues/country/gospel that makes you wet your pants in fear of the Day of Judgment. The kind that would never have a lyric quite as asinine as (I paraphrase) "I like mustard on my hotdog, and mustard on my fries." (I think the singer may have liked America? Presumably one cannot find these condiments in other countries? I'm not sure, I lost the narrative thread when blood began spurting from my ears). It just feels right for this kind of weather.
(I suppose I should mention that Ryan Adams' "Heartbreaker" feels right too, but a different sort of right).
I love rediscovering music. I haven't listened to 16 Horsepower in a while and today, everything clicked. I love that feeling because it reminds me why I fell in love with the band in the first place. See them with fresh eyes, blah blah blah, yah yah yah. (Hey, did you know that Firefox is just fine with three blahs, no comma, but not three yahs, no comma. Discrimination.)

BEN GIBBARD YOU LUCKY BASTARD

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/musicvideo/4113-she-him-in-the-sun-merge

(M. Ward, nice guitar strummin')

Wherein words pretty much fail me

Callooh! Callay! has thrown up some new songs on their myspace page. "Benjy" is one of those new songs.
I'm listening to it right now and I can't think of anything to say except:
It's really good.
The narrator throws together a barrage of sensory imagery, trying to make sense of his world, everything revolving around the mysterious "her." She, perhaps, breaks into the song, offering another perspective. There's something tragic and vibrant and brilliant happening, something that gives me chills every time I listen.

http://www.myspace.com/calloohcallaytunes

Sasprilluh Champagne is going to be out via the Internets on April 4, people. Just a little bit under a month away.

Glenn Beck Hates Teddy Roosevelt

HE HAS DECLARED WAR ON AMERICA!

Hey, Mr. D.J., won't you hear my last prayer, hey, ho, rock and roll, deliver me from nowhere

Currently stuck in radio hell, and by that I mean the best station to listen to during the daytime hours broadcasts from Birmingham and plays classic rock. And by best station I mean if you're really, really lucky, you might hear "Another Brick in the Wall," instead of "Carry On My Wayward Son" for the umpteenth time (if 106.9 the Eagle is correct, "Carry On My Wayward Son" was the "Bad Romance" of 1976).
Thank you, classic rock radio. You were the last nail in prog's coffin.
Hey. If you are playing "classic" rock, I would like to hear some David Bowie. I know, I know, he wears makeup and stuff, he's not manly enough to play on a ROCK station. Gotta spin some Queen a few more times.
Oh, and while I'm making requests? Would you play the Stooges? They're kind of sort of like AC/DC, only, relevant.

Hi, Internet, how's it going? How are your tubes? Mine? They remain well maintained, with a minimum of leakage, thanks.
Have you heard? Callooh! Callay! has put two new songs up on their myspace page, suspiciously close to the theatrical release of "Alice and Wonderland." I suspect, but can not prove, that the ghost of Walt Disney paid them off.
Anyway:
http://www.myspace.com/calloohcallaytunes

(Hmmm... Benjy...)

Violins, cryptic lyrics, lady singing... These songs really do have it all, unlike the designer knockoffs currently bandied about via the airwaves.

(Benjy... seems so familiar...)

Boys and Girls in America Have Such a Sad Time Together

So, yes, the rumors are true. In accordance with the prophecy I saw the incomparable Callooh! Callay! at the Mellow Mushroom! Muy bien, they debuted a new song. By the way, loyal readers (all three of you), One Big Owl, all the way from TN, was rather good as well. Internet! Follow them faithfully! They are going places! (Yes, one of those place is Tuscaloosa, AL, but Neil Gaiman was here, damn it),
And yes, the rumors, are true. The incomparable (yeah, I know, I already used that word) Josh Folmar was there. Props to Josh.

Was it the most pretentious lunchtime conversation ever?

Interesting thoughts about William Faulkner today, regarding him discussing writing in general, and his own writing. It makes sense that Faulkner would revisit the act of writing in his writing. First off, he's a writer, and what do writers do? They write. So what ends up being rather imporant (I suspect) to authors? Yeah, probably writing.
Second, as a man (so I've been told) who was sometimes plagued by the problem of justifying his choice of lifestyle (that is, to write, instead of get a real job, he worried about whether he was Doing Something Worthwhile With His Life. At my lunchtime discussion of Faulkner a passage from Absalom, Absalom was pointed out. The act of writing becomes something permanent, something that will last, something that means something, even if it only means something because it happened, because it existed, for one moment, the product of a human being. Writing is powerful, a primal power, and I wouldn't be surprised if Faulkner wanted to stake out a bit of that power for himself.
Third, Faulkner was a modernist. And, like it or not, we're affected by the ideas of our time. For a lot of the modernists, art was the supreme calling and the artist a sort of priesthood. So Faulkner, creating art, and writing about writing, was in one sense creating sacred scriptures. Those ideas the artist felt important should be poured into art. Art is the manual by which we steer our lives.
I could be completely wrong, of course.
Anyway, compare my ideas with Faulkner's Nobel acceptance speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxM0C7zjoAc

This is real. This is happening.

I was lucky enough yesterday to get the chance to hear some of the stuff Josh Folmar is working on. If you're wondering why I'm excited about that, may I remind you once more to look here:

http://www.myspace.com/joshuamorganfolmar

That's some good stuff, isn't it? I think my favorite may be "Devil's Highway," but they're all pretty darn good.
Well, I lucked out and got to hear what was mostly a brainstorming session for Josh's forthcoming LP, which I believe is tentatively titled "Joy In The Mourning." Adam Morrow from Callooh! Callay! is going to involved... and I think possibly some other C!C! members may end up involved.
And people, it is going to be good.
I like Josh Folmar's style. I love how he can tell a little story with every song, and I love his voice. It's low and husky and sincere. I sincerely hope he hasn't had half the experiences he sings about, but I truly believe he knows how it feels. Whatever it is. Nothing's faked. It's all real; that is, nothing's real but the song.
If you're in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (where else) then you need to take note. I mean, you don't want to jump on this bandwagon like you did with the Arcade Fire, do you?

Pretty much how I remember it, too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZfRaWAtBVg

Do Velvet Underground songs sound like (good) Godard movies to anyone else?

It certainly is

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/post/394752911/garfield-minus-garfield-the-book

I think it's kind of a Bonnie and Clyde situation.

Well, yes, Beach House, I suppose a zebra is kind of like a black and white horse.

Hey! Have you heard? Shoegaze is back! It's true! So pull out the No Age, track down that copy of "Loveless" you lent to a friend, and figure out what happened to your Jesus and Mary Chain record after your mom threw it away (have you noticed that the Jesus and Mary Chain is easily misspelled as the Jesus and Marty Chain, which is another concept entirely?) This is real. This is happening.

Also, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart? I don't care what Pitchfork says, your name is kind of stupid.

It doesn't work for Cleveland

I was listening to Interpol's "Turn On The Bright Lights" today and I was struck by its similarities to Bright Eye's "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning." Both albums explore New York, and I believe both albums explore New York as America in microcosm.
Makes a lot of sense to me. New York, at least for me, has always been America in miniature. I mean, it has the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, for heaven's sake. If that doesn't sum up America then I don't know what does. New York is the quintessential American city in a way that no other city really approaches. Every other city is too regional: Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Seattle... None of them come close to matching New York.
I wonder at the drive behind both bands, to explore and city and so, intentionally or otherwise, explore a country. Did they both think to themselves, a city, yeah, I can sum up a city, and then end up taking on the nation? I don't know.
It's an interesting comparison - the self-consciously Dylanesque leanings of Conor Oberst against the Joy Division sound of Interpol (was Interpol part of a secret government program to create Joy Division doubles, much like Saddam Hussein and his doubles, in case of emergency? The world may never know), both of them capturing and encountering a city, an era, and a nation.

Glenn Beck Proves Round Earth Liberal Plot

Beachfront property for sale in Arizona.
$500,000 or best offer.

He's absolutely right, you know

My roommate pointed out that everything becomes more interesting when you preface it with "in accordance with the prophecy." It becomes that much more interesting if you preface it with "in accordance with my court order."

I like cartoons, okay?

Is my favorite part of the "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" their use of maple syrup as an obvious stand-in for alcohol?

No.
(My favorite part is when Flapjack asks Bubbie where babies come from and Bubbie says, "Let's ask Bubbie another question, ok?" Kids these days are spoiled rotten.)
But I still think it's funny.

Quite Generous

Hey.

I just bit the inside of my cheek.

I think it might be bleeding.

If I die, you can have my comic books.

Joshua Folmar

Hey, Josh Folmar.

You remind me of the Mountain Goats, if the Mountain Goats were kidnapped by Johnny Cash's voice and preoccupations. (I'm not going to defend that statement. It makes sense in my own head. Trust me, it's a compliment).
I love the Mountain Goats.
Keep up the good work.

Now, Internet! Notice me! I command you to listen to "Devil's Highway" at the link I have so helpfully provided. If you feel the need to unplug your laptop, throw it in the car, and drive until you find a dusty road with a little peeling shack next to a swamp improbably chock full of cypress trees, well, by all means. Gotta get in the mood somehow.
http://www.myspace.com/joshuamorganfolmar
Then, perhaps, if you would like to step outside and look at the pure blue sky and, perhaps, think about the intersection of the infinite and the finite, well, I think that'd be okay, too.

I love Josh Folmar's music and I think Tuscaloosa is lucky to have him.

It's Detroit's parking lot

I'm boycotting the Olympics this year because I don't believe that Canada is real. It's just the parts of Michigan no one wants to see.

National Identity

Two foundational punk bands: The Clash and the Sex Pistols (yeah, yeah, I know we can make a thousand arguments about how The Clash weren't really punk and so on and so forth but cut me some slack, they were part of a moment or something like that). Right? Right. Both bands my mother would shake her head and tut at me for listening to. Possibly it would lead to some concern for my future. (The Clash? very possibly says my mother? Didn't they sing "Rock the Casbah?" Well, okay, yes, but that was about the Islamic Revolution in Iran and I think Jimmy Jazz cut someone's head off, so, you know, tut. I'm a rebel).
Well, okay. We've established that they both existed. Both, really, kind of on opposite ends of the punk spectrum, with the Sex Pistols being, well, a touch nihilistic and the Clash full of righteous, world changing rage (among other things).
Yes. So, listening to both "Never Mind the Bollocks" (and so on and so forth) and "London Calling" I was struck by both album's shared undercurrent of interest with national identity. Consider: "She was a girl from Birmingham, She just had an abortion." And, of course, "Anarchy in the U.K." with its self identified anarchist, claiming anarchy will come to the U.K. "God Save the Queen" salutes the singers ruffled feathers over the monarchy. Songs that (for Bodies) ground the music solidly in England and then pose a question: Who are we? Is this us? Are we fascists or are we anarchists? What's the truth and what's a lie? (And some songs are just concerned with, well, one's self). The songs seem very concerned with who we are and why we are so angry about that.
And the Clash, well, "London Calling," "Guns of Brixton," "Lost in the Supermarket"... Songs that concerned with who we are - "Lost in the Supermarket" lower middle class life and alienation. "London Calling" portrays London as a center for moral and spirtual corruption. "Guns of Brixton" questions middle class complacency (man, this song is like the Tea Partiers anthem... Good thing Tea Partiers don't listen to a bunch of pinko-commies!). Very, very concerned with who we are, where we came from, what are we doing, what is our effect and impact on the world, centering that debate in national with their constant reference to English cities, landmarks, and life.
So yeah. Very different albums, both very influential, both mightily concerned (well, okay. One of their concerns) with national identity. I thought it was interesting, anyway.

And then, in a slightly more serious vein...

"And I've seen my wife at the K-Mart. In strange ideas we live apart."

Living in strange ideas. Is there any better way to describe these United States?

Why I'm proud to be an American

My next door neighbor was having trouble falling asleep last night so, directed by my roommate, me, his girlfriend, and a strange drummer stood as close as we could to the shared wall and sang excerpts from "The Sound of Music."

America.

It is, actually, good machinery

Hey! You! Why aren't you reading Scary Go Round's lovechild, Bad Machinery? Why why why?
http://www.scarygoround.com/
You totally should. And I'm going to go to bed. And tomorrow, I think I'm going to talk about music.
Oh, right. Click on archives, click around until you find the Captain Beefheart story. It will tell you everything.

So, yes, the Neil Gaiman reading was an unequivocal success. Many thanks to the no doubt very tired author to putting up with being ambushed and forced, at threat-of-tears-point, to sign a book. Thank you, Neil Gaiman. Too bad you deftly eluded my handcuffs.

Neil Gaiman will speak to me in, oh, say, about two to two and a half hours. I'm so excited I'm about to have one of these.

Neil Gaiman

Hey. Neil Gaiman is coming to my town tomorrow. I'm painting myself blue to celebrate.

We'll be best friends after I handcuff myself to him.

Just watched my roommate climb up on his loft and blow dust off the ceiling fan.

America.

Callooh! Callay!

Hey! They've got a new album coming out! (And by new I mean their first, because apparently an oversized EP does not an album make) They claim it drops in April. We'll see. But their first single "Noskeemos" is up on Myspace (it's not really my space). You should listen and prove to your loved ones that you are, contrary to appearances, good deep down inside.
http://www.myspace.com/calloohcallaytunes

I've been given (*ahem*) advance listening privileges for this album. And you know what? I love it. It's a real leap from their previous effort, the aforementioned The Bird's Run EP, which can be found here, totally for free: http://freecalloohcallay.com/music.html
The Bird's Run was by no means a shoddy effort. There's some great stuff on there, and they really packed in the instrumentation. Listen to, oh, pretty much any track and you'll hear mandolin, guitar, drums, bass, glockenspiel, melodica...
It's a folk album. It feels very pastoral, which is fine (yes. I know my use of that word to define this EP is an offense against the actual definition of the word "pastoral."), evoking a quasi-Wordsworthian feel. You know, nature, hanging out in nature, losing the light, can't see what I used to. That sort of thing. Look up Ode: Intimation of Immortality if you need any further description. And all this is fine, and fun, and it's good. It's definitely good.

Did you listen to "Noskeemos?" Did it sound pastoral? Or did it sound like Radiohead got lost somewhere in the bayou and hooked up with an imagistic Modernist puzzled by the inability of humans to effectively communicate with each other? Really? I thought so, too! Man, it's awesome when we synch up like that.

Trust me, ladies and gentlemen, it just gets better from there. Dare I say... Southern Gothic? In Faulkner-Tennessee Williams- Flannery O'Connor kinda way? I dare!
Did I mention that they pulled out the electrics and decided to rock?
It's all in here. A dirty blues song, a post-rock intro, the most fun you've had with "Come Thou Fount" since church. Seriously. This is the real deal. Callooh! Callay! has figured out who they are. And it sounds great.
(Who are they, you ask? Why, I think they're three people dedicated to an immersive sonic experience and a deep seated interest in the complexities of the human condition. Also, if you go to a show you can dance to their music).
So yeah. The album is Sassprilluh Champagne. April. Be there.

A Quickie

Hey! Jarvis Cocker was in Harry Potter! And The Fantastic Mr. Fox! We should celebrate reverse independence day and make this man our king!

You know. Just a suggestion.

The xx

I haven't hit a band like this in a world. I fell for you, xx, and I fell hard.
I mean, just listen.

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/2117-the-xx/1


Woah.
I'm seduced by them.

I strongly suggest a quick pop over to Grooveshark for a listen if one is not yet familiar with the xx.
http://listen.grooveshark.com/
Ok. Now open the shades and put your pants back on. I understand, you're confused. It's okay. It happens.
I have xx and I love it. Just love it. It's intimate. Two things really make it for me: The bassist's playing, and the female vocalist, Romy Madley Croft (she also plays guitar, I think).
The bassist, first. I don't know why, but this is the instrument that creates such a wonderful feeling of intimacy. It's small, closed in, without being claustrophobic. It's a whisper, the cue that we're going to be quiet now. (Oddly enough, for an album that feels so muted, quiet, subdued the louder you listen to the album, the more you appreciate it. Oh, and when I said it was subdued I also meant that it bristles with emotion. Yeah. It's both at the same time.)
Then. Croft's voice. Again. It's throaty, not the most beautiful in the world, but the kind that invites you to lean in a little closer for a listen. There's a great moment in "Heart Skipped a Beat" that says, really, everything I want to say about her voice. When she sings, "Heart skipped a beat, and when I caught it you were out of reach," her voice nearly cracks, like she's singing out of her range, like she's saying something that's so close to her heart she can't quite get it out - but tries, anyway. Love it.

Sufjan Stevens

So, yes. Much has been made of Sufjan Steven's attack on the album, the wondrous format that allowed "Illinois" to no longer, in my mind, be solely associated with a place to avoid at all costs (I have a severe allergy to cornfields and log cabins) and allowed "Chicago" to be a sing-a-long, not just, yes, another place to avoid at all costs (I have a severe allergy to stabbings and wind). If I may quote Sufjan from memory, "I hate the album, it sucks, I think I'm going to dedicate my life to interstate piracy." (I don't know, I guess he raises the Jolly Rodger from a van?)
Or something to that effect.
Honestly, though, I see his point.
I got an iPod for Christmas. A nifty new Nano. It's blowing my mind because the last iPod I had was a Shuffle back in the days where they kinda looked like a sad Popsicle. It has a screen! And a radio! And a robot voice! (And it's going to break as soon as the warranty is up, I just know it). So, yeah. I'm finally one of those kids with the headphones in their ears.
And now I understand why Sufjan said what he did.
Yeah, what I'm about to say isn't terribly original. But I just got it.
The iPod destroys the album. It really does. At least for me. It's way to easy to jump around. Now for the first time I understand why we're back in the era of the single. I had this problem with music on my computer and the iPod has only exacerbated it. So, yeah. I understand what 'ol Sufjan is saying. Why bother making an album? It's songs we're listening to, no matter what the format. What is the album? It's a fairly recent way to think about a collection of music.
I don't think the album is dead. But I see the reason for artists like Sufjan to question the utility of the format. I think artists definitely have the right to question the basic assumptions of their art. The artist is not held hostage by the audience. If we like what Sufjan's doing, great. If we don't, also great.