Previously on Say Anything Syndrome: "Heartbeats is a great song, and by using the foundations of it, it's pretty hard to go wrong."
Heartbeats
The Knife - Heartbeats (Leitworks Rework)[Info]
This cover concurs and reaffirms the previous statement. Leitworks keep it simple and turn Heartbeats into a slow-burning electro lullaby; if that wasn't what it was to begin with.
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[Seven Versions of Heartbeats]
David E. Sugar
Just Like Heaven (The Cure cover)
I was predisposed to like this cover, (I've always liked the song), thus, I'm bound to fall for a restless electronic rendition with earnest, excited vocals. The sense of frantic motion, the urgency and immediacy. The desperation to run, run, run, and tell her, tell her, tell her, that you love her! The pauses between the vocals feel forced - caused by a pair of out-of-breath lungs, a need to think, or something else entirely; the sense of never wanting to stop, to stand still, not even for a second - always wanting to stay in motion. Like lovers in a park, prior to their picnic - walking, running, skipping, laughing, for hours.
Taking Back Sunday
Just Like Heaven (The Cure cover) (56kbps)
Maybe you dislike Taking Back Sunday, but this isn't a full-band playing. It's a guitar and a voice - the way the song feels like it should have been recorded - real, true, cough intact, vocal cracks remaining. A pillow-soft serenade, a kiss with sleep-soft lips - yet not as smooth as the metaphors suggest, still slightly coarse; dreaminess kept in check by reality.
The Cure
Just Like Heaven (.m4a)
So, bearing that in mind, maybe the original is too crowded? Maybe it should be stripped down, with all those drum beats, piano keys, and fiddly bits removed? Or maybe it's perfect?
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Say hello to a weekly installment of covers, each and every Monday, until I run out.
Not to turn this site into a collage of world causes, or anything, but the Guardian informs me that today is World Water Day. I remember in Cubs we were told to think about water, and how we take it for granted, followed by the mandatory slide-show presentation. I think we were told that baths are better than showers, if you like to have a long wash. But worse, if you prefer a short wash? I think that's how it went. Well, today's the day we think about these things, with the topic being "Coping with water scarcity"... and then there's the debate about water-tax... and so it seems there's no better time for a post involving songs and water. And some of these are really really good!
World Water Day 2007
Colour Revolt - Mattresses Underwater
Damien Rice - Cold Water (live)
Sorta - Water Music
Justice - Waters of Nazareth (Erol Alkan's Dur Dur Durrr re-edit)
Richard Hawley - You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til The River Runs Dry)
Leah Abramson - Waterworks
Fionn Regan - Blackwater Child
Rachel's - Water From The Same Source
The Weepies - Rocks & Water (live)
Griffin House - Waterfall
Fionn Regan makes catchy down-tempo folk music, and his live performances are captivating - just as you're about to drift off into your own reverie, he draws you in with poetic one-liners like "pull a diamond from your sleeve", or playful introductions like "this one's for anyone who has been dumped by fax machine, or fountain pen, or been pick-pocketed, or met that guy who steals your eyelashes and then comes back for your eyebrows.... "
To this day I have never seen Damien Rice live, despite being a fan ever since O came out in Ireland. I want to see Justice live. I know little to nothing about the other bands featured on this mix, other than the fact that they have pleasing songs. Smile.
Another thing Fionn Regan said that night:
"this song is for anyone who has been in a kebab shop at 3am and starting drumming their fingers on the counter like it's a grand piano and your friends say "we've had a good evening... but i think we should get a taxi"
--- I well know the feeling.
Normal service shall continue shortly.
So, who enjoyed St. Patrick's day? Ireland didn't win the Six Nations (no!), which was a bit gutting. But, much later on, I ended up in a club full of Scottish people, wearing Guinness hats, dancing to "She is handsome, she is pretty / she is the girl from Belfast city!" So you know, pretty fun, from what I can remember.
Berkeley
Colour Me In
The Redneck Manifesto
The Dillon Family Dancers
Fittingly, these songs are by Irish bands (huni, i'm home! - Glasgow, you are a lot better for live music, but Ireland, you have just as many bands to fall in love with!) These songs loiter, shyly, about the room before they fully get to know everyone. And there's an edge to them. As if, at some moment (The Redneck Manifesto slip out from under the gentle funk dress and into something more aggressive and sexual at 2:10; Berkeley break in with the angst-ridden drums at 3:54), they're just going to throw themselves out a window ("haha, bet you didn't see that coming!"), or else they're waiting for the ideal moment to run around the room dancing, making everyone laugh. Because they're charmers, through and through. Even if they won't admit it at first.
So it's RED NOSE DAY. Which means Comic Relief. Which means comedy, a lazy night in, appeals to the heart and donations of money. So what do I have? Uhm, music. Specifically, music about having a heart. Donate.
Heartbeats
The Knife - Heartbeats (Live OneMusic)
José Gonzalez - Heartbeats (Live KEXP)
The Knife & José Gonzalez - Heartbeats (Remix)
Scala Choir & Kolacny Brothers - Heartbeats (The Knife Cover)
The Knife - Heartbeats (Rex The Dog Remix) [Info]
The Knife - Heartbeats (Rocketboy Remix) [Info]
The Knife - Heartbeats (rndnmbrs remix) [Info]
My particular favourite is the anonymous remix. In fact, that's probably my favourite version of the song when taking into consideration the original, the covers and the many remixes. Just so you know. Who knew that by combining the music of both and the vocals of both you could create such a brilliant, call-and-response style, track? Well, they did obviously. And so did many of the other remixers. I also like the choir rendition, and not just in an ironic fashion. I like all things which hint at innocence, and it doesn't get much more innocent than roughly sixty teenage girls singing "ten days of perfect tunes / the colours red and blue / we had a promise made / we were in love". Of course, like a lot of people, José Gonzalez's cover is how I first heard the song - with the minimal guitar playing and the subtle voice reminiscent of Elliott Smith. Yet the original is equally fantastic. Simply put, this is a great song, and by using the foundations of it, it's pretty hard to go wrong, hence the many remixes.
Donate to Comic Relief: here.
Or ring: 08457 910 910
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Coincidentally, who saw The Apprentice (Comic Relief Special)? Hands down, the best piece of television programming this year so far. I even want to go out and buy an Alastair Campbell book or something ("Need not fear, in the future he plans to release a two-million-word book" - Ed). He just seems crafty, and likable. If this really is his two-years old blog, sweet. It's a fucking laugh-and-a-half. Every time you laugh, laugh heartily, and maybe donate. To Comic Relief you understand. Not a former spin-doctor. As likable as he is.
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Over £34M now. Impressive. But don't let it put you off.
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In the end, just over £40M was raised.
Celebration: Heartbeats (Leitworks Remix) / Post: Addendum
Be Your Own Pet
Adventure
The Grates
19 - 20 - 20
Inside Outside
Pop music with a pleasing bite - like the burn you feel after smoking a well-made self-rolled cigarette with cheap tobacco. Kind of dizzying, and it burns, but it feels nice. For fans of Cansei de Ser Sexy and any girl-fronted punk group reliant on melody. Dance music for the kids who still make rock-signs with their hands and hold their hearts with their fists. The guitar's are jarring as if they just learned to play them recently, hammering down on chords in their bedrooms, watching MTV and saying "that should be me on that screen".
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Be Your Own Pet will be touring with the Arctic Monkey's through the month of May. Dates: here. Buy CD's and so on and so forth: here.
Buy stuff from The Grates: here.
First impressions of BARR/Brendan Fowler: This is different! Kind of crazy, and sometimes it seems too silly to be palette-able, but enjoyable none-the-less. Reminds me a wee bit of Bradley Hathaway.
It's nice that this guy's out there doing his own thing, for his own enjoyment - fuck the boundaries. The album title, Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case, is apt - relishing in the fact that musical foundations are there to be built upon, and trying to push his art as far as it will go. Basically he's doing provocative and aggressive spoken-word tracks over improvisational drumming - and the odd piano. Kind of like Arab Strap on ecstasy, coming up and coming down all at once.
When I listen to the mellower tracks off the album, I'm reminded of JD (Dr Cox: Newbie) in Scrubs. The way the show breaks down twice an episode so that JD can come to terms with what's been happening, transforming the mundane into seemingly profound life-lessons. BARR is a more aggressive JD, basically. But underneath all the posturing he's just confused and trying to make sense of this crazy world; looking for affection and appreciation along the way. He creates a sense of bafflement and befuddledness through the ad-libbed way that the song's come across - the way he will begin a sentence and then go back on it, correcting himself.
BARR
Is All For Updated
Us
My List of Demands
"Is All For Updated" discusses fanzines, people who dislike his music, fashion, aesthetics, destruction of televisions, toning down affection. It also displays his blatant disregard for boundaries, his silly sense of humour: "R is for "They help us", and R is for "No they don't!"
"Us" explores the idea of art as catharsis; does an experience become less intense if you sing about it constantly? Of course, it's well-known that talking helps (British Telecom: "it's good to talk"), yet because of the sincerity, and perhaps the uncertainty, of the spoken-word, the simple discussion of reality does take on a constructive shine of pseudo-philosophy. However, the song also explores the idea of incorrectness: is it right to parade the scars of your life in front of the whole world? To shed your skin in front of an audience? "I saw you play and I liked it 'til I heard what you were saying; your words, about God and your mother dying from cancer. I was so offended. How can he throw that at people?"
Although "My List of Demands" is dark and brooding - at times almost a chore to listen to - it's lightened by the vocal inflections, the careless words "You said a fucked up mean thing to someone and ruined it all everything forever, FOREVER, and that's cool. I mean, you did it, whatever", along with the subtle, bitter, humour, "at your cost! you are being charged twice!" The song explores the topic of performance, audience appreciation, the feeling you get when you defend yourself, your family, your friends, the beauty of righteous indignation. Ideas are thrown up in the air and then a back is turned on them, people are at once bastards and friends, tangents are created and then followed. [Buy]
Sabrepulse
Famicom Connection
Storm Raid Battle
Call it what you will, Nintendo-Core, Str8-Bit, IDM, that-Annoying-Game-Boy-Music... I certainly won't insist upon any genre names. If you want to know what these songs sounds like, think a game of Tetris where instead of rearranging the blocks with your thumbs you do it with your feet, like on those Karaoke-Style Choreography-Dance Machines that you get down at your nearest arcade. Then add in a few samples that wouldn't be out of place of Streetfighter or Mario (think: the Princess scenes), and you've pretty much got it. Stupid, fun, and addictive. Harking back to a more innocent age where the biggest problem in your life was completing that fucking difficult level on Zelda, unlocking all the extra tracks in Diddy Kong Racing, winning the world cup in International Superstar Soccer, or getting beat every! single!! time!!! you played multiplayer Goldeneye with your brother.
Colonopenbracket
Twin Chevron Action Flash
-->->-@ (Cute)
Colonopenbracket or :( take this electronic whiz-kid music and use it to their own ends. Using their own voices instead of samples, they create their own songs full of adolescent worries and a pervading sense of fun. Emo-core? If core means using those bleeps that old computers used to emit when you pressed a key for too long, then yes! because it contains sounds like - and inspired by - those silly noises, and the vocals are so often emo in their nature, yet irresistable. "You're not the cutest guy in here!"
Sabrepulse + Colonopenbracket
Colonopenbracket - Twin Chevron Action Flash (Sabrepulse Remix)
This one seems to have been arranged by a child, fascinated by incomprehensible language, and so instead choosing to rearrange and play with vowel sounds to get the meaning across. And yet, some of it seems so genuinely sincere - too young to know how to lie! The track consists of electronic beeps inspired by too much time playing arcade machines and the sense of wonder reminiscent of spending many a long night down at the bowling alley trying to win a quid on the two-pence machine and then... finally!... just at the end of the night, hitting the jackpot! A whole two pounds and thirty-four pence! Life was so simple once (for the fortunate, anyway), and we should always be reminded of this.
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Colonopenbracket are currently touring the UK, check out dates here.
Sabrepulse will apparently be moving away from 8 bit in the near future.
To buy things, go to their websites.
I love making Mix-Tapes, or more appropriately, Mix-CD's. I made quite a few last year, and feel they are a good way of recapping last year's goings on in the blogs, (since that's how most of the tracks came to my attention). Below you'll see 12 out of the 20 tracks that were on the first one I made. It starts with the voice of Colin Roberts, former editor of Drowned in Sound. The mix-tape is fairly subdued and peaceful, although No Scrubs is great for novelty's sake, and each track stands up on its own two feet.
All The Little Things (You Have The Sweetest Eyes)
Carmichael - Treadmill
Monkey Swallows The Universe - Sheffield Shanty
Minus Story - Open Your Eyes
Au Revoir Simone - Hurricanes
The Rosebuds - Hold Hands And Fight (Live KEXP)
Rocky Volotato - The Light And The Sound
Antje Duvekot - Dandelion
Beat Radio - A Million Miles
Matt Pond PA - Grave's Disease
Architecture In Helsinki - Like A Call
Bravo Silva - I Can't Say Goodbye
TLC - No Scrubs (DJ Copy Remix) [Info]
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Click to download all tracks as a ZIP file.
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Beat Radio's debut album, The Great Big Sea, can be downloaded here.
["Our sleep is like a tape: when it runs out we just turn over"]
It's that time of the year again when the seasons are confused. There is rain for seconds, minutes, that absolutely drenches you, covers you head to toe in water, so that all you want to do is get inside the nearest grocery store and browse the shelves for products with nice packaging that you know you won't buy. But it stops, almost as quick as it started and there's you, left soaking wet, underneath a bus shelter, taking cover. And as the sun comes out, the clouds evaporate, but you're too wet to fully appreciate it.
I'm in Glasgow, and that's just how the weather is at the minute. Butcher Boy are also in Glasgow and they understand the seasons, the way they are so nonsensical, the way all this talk of seasons may just be a metaphor for life - how the good times and the bad times happen all at once, with no rest. Maybe that's why their music is a collage of musical touch-stones: the stripped back nature of early-day Belle & Sebastian, the shimmer and shine of Camera Obscura, the melodious harmonies of Voxtrot, and the oft miserable wordy foreplay of Morrissey.
Butcher Boy - I Know Who You Could Be
If the sweeping introduction of this song continued for a lot longer than it's mere forty-five seconds... I would be content. It could never outstay its welcome for me. The way it seems designed to soundtrack a camera sweeping in and out of valleys, plains of green grass, mundane villages with Post Offices, Telephone Boxes and Bus Shelters, before once again sweeping across and out away from the suburban sprawl, up the mountainside, before looking up to the sky just in time to follow a flock of seagulls on an outward journey.
Yet the introduction is short, never daring to even tread the line of repetition. Butcher Boy's music is one of economy, (ten tracks coming in at a mere thirty minutes), packed full of emotional strokes, charming melodies and pop sensibilities. Little is explicit in the lyrics, intentionally vague so that so much more is said than that which is explicitly stated. This is a glorious album that the listener is meant to embrace, hold tight against their chest like a pillow, like a lover, and make it their own. By causing listeners to read between the languorous lines, it can be at once universal and personal.
Butcher Boy - Keep Your Powder Dry
This song almost makes my cry. The delight, the delight! the delight! oh you don't understand, how could you? - you weren't there. As soon as it starts in with the shuffling, insistent percussion, and then breaks away into that melody! the melody! oh dear, it's lovely! The song shimmies and sways along a fine line between sadness and happiness, full of memories, oh those memories! Maybe the song is about a lover who never loved as fully as he/she was loved, or maybe its something else entirely. The story isn’t important though! It’s the style behind the content: throughout the lyrics, the sense of colour; Kodak images crystal clear upon the iris even in recollection! oh, the wonder! the shimmering of the clouds as the silver lining almost - yes it does, it does! - catches the Sun's light and, oh, how it shines! The melody carries this song - every instrument is at its beck and call, just waiting for the next twist and turn, the next stop sign, the next green-light, "it's ok! go! yea go! smile, darling, smile!" Even from the deepest valley you can see the Sun’s light if you look hard enough.
I've always appreciated music that could, perhaps, be described as twee, and enjoyed it for what it was. But it's never meant more to me than a pleasant soundtrack to a Spring Day. I think it was always the sense of faux-sincerity that, for me, it revolved around - these kids are delightfully rolling gorgeous melodies off the tip of the tongue - how unhappy could they really be? Yet with this album there's such a sense of wonder, and sadness, and a thousand other simple - yet so complex! - human emotions, that I think I begin to understand how a deliciously happy pop song can cause a listener to let a stray tear roll down their cheek. Profit In Your Poetry wears its influences on its sleeve - it's not revolutionary, yet, for me, it is. Maybe now when I look at a shelf with Belle and Sebastian CD's I'll give them a second look, instead of shrugging and thinking I've heard it all before. Maybe I finally understand this folk/pop/twee shtick after all: Even in sadness there will be memories of happier times and the hope for more.
John Blain Hunt, the leader of the band, says that Butcher Boy's music revolves around memories, an appreciation of the little details in life that make it worth living, especially the vivid sense of wonder! experienced as a child... but more than that; the idea that those moments are gone forever: they can't be brought back. For instance, when I was younger I would always ask my dad to make me tea and toast, despite being capable myself. And he always would, without complaint. But as soon as I decided to start making my own supper, the shared moment, the kind gesture, was gone forever. Today, there are only memories of that time when... Rain falls across the window. The sun will be out soon enough. [Buy]
Royksopp
What Else Is There? (Thin White Duke Remix)
Last year, I listened to "What Else Is There?" a lot. I first heard it on Zane Lowe's show, and he would always, always play it and never say the name, so it took me a while to find. But it was worth it. So, completely, worth it. I rarely listen to it: I save it for special occasions, keep it tucked away like a precious postcard. I don't think a dance track has ever moved me so much. Being that it's not my primary field, I know little of it, and I'm not the biggest fan in the first place, maybe (probably) it's my fault that I've never been properly moved before, or since. I mean, this song has brought tears to my eyes that can't be explained. While at work, putting the milk out, and forcing me to turn away, turn back, and smile. There's just something so innocent about it, I guess. The song is repetitive and simple and long. But every note seems so perfectly placed! It's repeated so much so you can grasp this! It's better than having to manually repeat the thing yourself. And you would.
Gui Boratto
Beautiful Life
This Gui Boratto song seems to fulfill a similar purpose for me this year. It's simple, repetitive, and long. But enjoyable! It's a driving song, for those long days when you turned left instead of right, and just kept going. It's a song for sitting outside with your best mate cooking the barbecue while you sit there drinking cider and soaking up the sun. The quiet days before the big nights. Oh it's a beautiful life, it's a beautiful life. [Buy]
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Thin White Duke also goes by the name of Jacques Lu Cont. And a few other monikers. His real name's Stuart Price. He produced Madonna's latest effort. He does other stuff. I think he's great. The new Gui Boratto album is pretty good with the occasional stroke of rare beauty.
Owen Pallett is a violinist, pianist, singer, and lyric writer going under the moniker of Final Fantasy - referencing "The games [which] are ridiculously overwrought and convoluted emotionally," which he believes his music shares a similarity with. With two solo albums under his belt, Has A Good Home, and He Poos Clouds (a tentative concept album based around the spells within Dungeons and Dragons), he has established himself as an interesting and varied songwriter. He also co-wrote the string arrangements on both Arcade Fire albums, subsequently raising his profile among the indie crowd. His live performance also displays his adept skill at creating intelligent compositions, showcasing his talent for the creation and layering of textures. Live, he uses a sampler controlled by foot pedals in order to loop layers over layers, replicating the broad and ambitious strokes of his albums.
Another thing which his live shows are infamous for, are his superb renditions of songs not his own. Many of these are fantastic and show the playful, and admittedly gay, side of his personality, (evidenced by the Mariah Carey cover), and his appreciation of other musical acts, often making the songs more gentle and precious, (see: the Bloc Party and Arcade Fire covers). Some of the songs below have shoddy sound quality, stripped from YouTube videos - marked with an asterisk - but are still worth a listen. Also included is the album version of his Joanna Newsom cover, "Peach, Plum, Pear", featured on ...Has A Good Home.
Final Fantasy
Sweet Fantasy (live Mariah Carey cover)
No Cars Go (live Arcade Fire cover)
This Modern Love (live Bloc Party cover)
Paris 1919 (live John Cale cover)*
An Actor's Revenge (live Destroyer cover)*
Interview (live Simon Bookish cover)*
ABC (live Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark cover)*
Peach, Plum, Pear (Joanna Newsom cover)
Other songs he's known to have covered:
Joni Mitchell - Sex Kills
Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
...and a variety of songs off Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark album Dazzle Ships, including the aforementioned ABC.
Being a former student of composition at the University of Toronto, as well as understanding intrinsically what makes a song great, are two things which lend themselves well to his remixing skills - a talent that he has in abundance, and which will be further showcased on the forthcoming Stars remix album, Do You Trust Your Friends, on which he will be remixing "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead". His remix of Grizzly Bear's "Don't Ask" remains one of my favourite songs. The "Black History Month" remix features on the fantastic Death From Above 1979 remix album, Romance Bloody Romance. On the song he adds an orchestral emotional knife, stripping away some of the immediate dance-ability.
Final Fantasy Remixes
Death From Above 1979 - Black History Month (Girl On Girl Featuring Final Fantasy Revision)
Grizzly Bear - Don't Ask (Final Fantasy Remix)
All this talk of Final Fantasy makes me want to go out, today!, and buy a violin!, and learn to play!, and then sing 'til my little heart's content. It also makes me think of how I saw him at ABC in Glasgow and thought the OMD cover was especially for us. He played his Theme Song for the first time ever also - that was special. Memories are great, aren't they?
Final Fantasy
What Do You Think Will Happen Next? (live WFMU)
This song is one of my favourite recorded live performances. As soon as he starts insisting, "YES I CAN! YES I CAN! YES I CAN!", I was sold. But to then go on and go crazy, ad-lib the whole vocal, draw for breath, mimic a child or a bird or the highest person in the whole world looking down from his plateau and just smiling - there's a smile! in the vocals! and a laugh! - and then to finish off with "it's going to be a bright, bright, sunshiny day" !!!... simply put, it's beautiful.
[Buy]
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With regards to Arcade Fire's new album: I'm still unsure. It's obviously good... but how good?
Arcade Fire
No Cars Go
...for comparative and evaluation purposes. [Buy]
Luke Temple
Someone, Somewhere
This song is a caravan song. Remember? We were there and I'd just made us pizza - this song is the shy-shrug as a piece fell from your fork. After we finished, and before we settled down with a blanket to watch an old comedy on TV, we were washing up - this song is the mischievous grin on your face as you lifted your hand and pressed it against my cheek, soft and warm, leaving a trail of soapy-suds in its wake. This song giggles and charms, holds the door and peeks its head round, just before saying its farewells: "Enjoy your week kids. Hope the film's great! Anyway, see ya later alligators!" [Buy]
James Yorkston
Woozy With Cider
The imagery of the words remains the most evocative element of this song. The reflective voice, and the ambient music add to it all, but it's the words that conjure images, that make it such a pleasing spoken-word lullaby. My ears and my heart are well-acquianted with this song; with its self-deprecation and affection. I've just closed my eyes, rested my head upon the pillow, and my memories all come flooding back to me, passing across my eyes like faded photographs. That time we lay in the park and I gave you my apple; That night we stayed up late talking 'til five a.m.; The only time we ever stayed in a hotel together, and I was restless and couldn't sleep, convinced I was in love with you; When we were in the bar - I'd just come back from getting drinks for the two of us - and all my friends were looking nervous; avoiding eye-contact. Afterwards you told me that they'd let you in on my little secret: I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. This song is all of those memories and more: a life-story condensed into a few words; set to the calming sound of electronic bleeps. [Buy]
Mistakes In Animation
Walking Along Seafronts At Night
This song could also be a caravan song, though not quite as giggly, and a lot more starry-eyed. Imagine: It had been a long day - we were both tired and restless from sitting about, drinking tea and watching ancient repeats of Rising Damp. Neither of us could drive so we walked to the shop, then down to the beach. You took your shoes and socks off and sighed; I zipped my coat and pulled my hood up over my head. We walked along the pier, your voice going against the wind, finding its way into my heart. I stopped at the edge of the pier, and sat down; You worried that I might fall in. I pulled my sleeves down over my hands, turned around and embraced you.
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James Yorkston is set to release a new album, entitled Roaring the Gospel, comprised of rarities on May 14th. Mistakes In Animation is currently touring the UK: for a full list of dates, see here. I recommend you see him on tour; he deletes the line between performer and audience, and it's fun to watch. For more photos, see here. More from Luke Temple:
Luke Temple
Serious
Saturday People
Private Shipwreck
N.B. If the main download links don't work, the alternative one's (all titled "Alt") most likely will. Thanks.
If a song is covered enough, what happens? Does it lose its shine and its sheen? Does it lose an extra bit of sparkle each time? Like an old VHS tape, recorded over and over again, worn down, until the picture isn't crystal clear anymore - where there are intermittent interruptions of static.
Or does a song gain from being covered so much? Does the adding, and stripping away of elements, help to illuminate what you truly loved about the song in the first place?
Or does it not matter in the slightest?
Dntel - "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan"
Dntel - "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan" - Alt
James - "Sick Dream (of Evan and Chan) (Dntel cover)" - Alt
Dntel - "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (Superpitcher Compakt Remix)" - Alt
Dntel - "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (Barbara Morgens Remix)" - Alt
Dntel - "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (Lali Puna Remix)" - Alt
Today, we take a look at Dntel's "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan", and you can decide the answers for yourself. The original Dntel version of this song (featuring Ben Gibbard - who then became Jimmy Tamborello's songwriting partner in The Postal Service) has a lot of static to begin with - intentional, but, some might say, undesirable.
+ The James cover strips away all the static, all the fuzziness, even the drum-beat, and replaces everything with a soft, gentle voice, and smoothly played guitar lines - consequently, more emphasis is placed on the admittedly excellent lyrics.
- The Superpitcher Compakt remix removes the immediacy of the track, extends it by a minute and a half, and creates a fragile atmosphere full of ideas of loss and love.
+ Barbara Morgen's remix lifts the telephone sound and amplifies it, fills it out, makes it a focal point to come back to - emphasising the cyclical nature of the song ("and the telephone was ringing, ringing, ringing off"). The addition of a female vocal to complement Ben Gibbard's melodies also works extremely well.
- Lali Puna's remix removes all vocals entirely - the effect of which is that it becomes a come-down track. There's a definite tinge of sadness but you can make it personal. There are no words to dispute your own.
Figurine
Bonus
A tiny song. It barely starts before it ends. You could hold it in the palm of your hand. You could lift up it and press it against your chest. You could set it on the dashboard of your car, right beside that Post-It note, ("don't cry, we'll be there soon"). This track is also the work of Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello. The new Dntel album, Dumb Luck, is set to be released on April 24th. [Buy]
Sorry for the slow updates - my internet has been having fits for the past few days and completely refusing to work. On a brighter note, we now have hosting! Cue celebratory extra mp3:
Lali Puna
Faking The Books (Dntel/Postal Service Remix)
So there's a few songs that are well-worth sharing for your listening pleasure, which I probably should have got around to earlier. First let's start once again with Los Campesinos! I can't get enough of them. I've come to the conclusion that it's not just the melodies that I've in love with, nor is it the relentlessly catchy instrumentation - the whistles! the reckless guitar! the xylophone bashing! the violin! No, what brings me back to the music perhaps more than anything are the observational lyrics - they're so effortlessly clever! witty! funny! silly! surreal! joyous! ridiculous! I'll throw out some samples from their double A side single and you can decide for yourselves:
"When you play pass the parcel with human body parts, somebody might get head, but someone will get hurt"
"Yea, it's great that you can blow smoke rings, but you won't taste her lips if you do get to kiss her"
"Team Campesinos trick or treating on your driveway in the middle of August, one of us dressed as a zombie, one of us dressed as a pirate, one of us dressed as a ninja, four of us dressed as school girls" [of course, the knowledge that the band contains only three female members adds to the silly, surreal yet true humour]
"So now we're gonna smash this place up, deck it out in fairy-lights until we are content"
"I'm stitching up each one of your pockets so when we are together maybe you'll look a little less bored / I'm sticking your fingers into sockets to kick-start your little heart and maybe stick your tongue in a bit more"
Los Campesinos!
We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives
Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)
Love it. Sincerely do. More info for the curious: We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives is "a whimsical anti-war song". Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s) contains the lyric "if only you could give your life to literature just DON'T READ JANE EYRE!" This lyric was explained by Gareth Campesinos! at the gig where I saw them previously: "this song is actually about my favourite book, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, and if you've read the book you'll understand that this lyric isn't actually about hating Jane Eyre. We hold nothing against that book. *laughs* Though I do think all the Bronte sisters were slags!" If that interests you, then read about how the BronteBlog took offense to the lyric, and Gareth's subsequent explanation, here. [Buy]
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Also on the note of Los Campesinos! : their support band for the five-date tour of the UK, Sky Larkin, are probably worth a listen, as they were highly enjoyable at the time. Quirky, poppy, and sometimes punky, featuring keyboards, as well as the usual guitar, bass and drums.
Sky Larkin
One of Two
Keepsakes
Somesault (notes!)
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Anyway, moving on. As we all know Bloc Party have about ten to fifteen (I'm not sure of the exact number, as I haven't counted) assorted B-Sides from their new album. Depending on what form you bought the album in, and where in the world you bought it, you're likely to get a different B-Side. Some of them are really impressive too. Like this one:
Bloc Party
England
Atmospheric and tragic - but real, honest and sincere. [Buy]
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As far as the Bright Eyes EP, Four Winds, is concerned, I think I agree with the majority in saying that the title track is indeed the best. Enjoy it:
Bright Eyes
Four Winds
Britt Daniel and Conor Oberst
You Get Yours
Of course, as we all wait in hope that the new Bright Eyes album, Cassadaga, will be nothing short of spectacular, Conor Oberst has been collaborating with Jimmy Tamborello for one track off the forthcoming Dntel record. Although, since I don't really like posting leaks, I've given you the slightly older collaboration done with Britt Daniel of Spoon. I love Conor Oberst's voice. Actually. [Buy / Buy]
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Sorry about the lack of anything close to insightful commentary, but I've been awake since four a.m., completed a comparative essay for English Literature, gone grocery shopping, had dinner and now I'm about to relax and watch TV. Je suis fatigué. However, all the songs posted can speak for themselves. Whether it be the sad reality of Bloc Party's vision of England, the surreal and ecstatic songs by Los Campesinos!, the similarly quirky songs of Sky Larkin or the miserable, doomed viewpoint of Conor Oberst, I'm sure you'll enjoy them all. All Los Campesinos! and Sky Larkin photos taken by myself, more here and here.
Bright Eyes
No One Would Riot For Less
Due to the slightly annoying fact that on my University network I can't download MP3's, I can tell you nothing about this song other than: Yes, this is off the forthcoming Cassadaga (which half the world and me are thrilled about). Anyway, it's probably a good thing I can say nothing about this, since I have an essay due for 3 hours time, and I've done 72 words. Enjoy your morning. Maybe you'll let me know if this song's good. Cheers.
Tour
Conor Oberst and (now full-time) crew are also playing two UK dates:
Saturday 16/03 Koko, London
Monday 18/03 Brookes University Student Union, Oxford
Hope you have your tickets sitting on top of your bedside table. Otherwise, I doubt you'll find any.
So, the new Idlewild album, Make Another World, came out on Monday and... well, it's a bit of a pick-and-mix to be honest. Obviously the band are trying to get back to the sonic-texture of their earlier, more youthful albums. And I can't fault them for trying to make another 100 Broken Windows - that album means the world to me. I have three copies!
But, but, but: Roddy Woomble has clearly moved on - the folk album, My Secret Is My Silence - co-written with Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones - was an attempt to get the calmer stuff out of their systems so that the band could present a unified front and become a melody-based rock band again. And songs like "Everything As It Moves" and "If It Takes You Home" do make a fair attempt at regaining much of the old sound, but there's a mildly irritating inconsistency throughout the entire album - most likely caused by the band's desire to revert back to their old ways.
To me, it sounds a bit like a minor mid-life crisis. This is a fantastic band who no longer know what they want to do. As uncool as it is to say so, I liked their last album. And the one before that. Sure, they didn't make me as deliriously happy, or ridiculously ready to go out dancing, as 100 Broken Windows, but I hold nothing against sonic-evolution, and I appreciated the incredible melodies that Roddy Woomble could deliver. This album leaves the impression that their desire to once again be what they once were is stifling their creativity: yes, the album's enjoyable, but they're capable of so much more.
Idlewild
Finished It Remains
Strange then, perhaps, that my favourite song off the new Idlewild record is the final track. If we were to play the genres game - which is old-school and NME-esque - then how could this song be pigeonholed? It doesn't know whether it wants to be a straightforward pop song (the opening "da-da-dun! da-da-dun!" guitar riff; the roll-of-the-tongue delivery of the line, "the three of us, are sittin' up...), soundtrack a film (1:31 - 2:01 where it flirts with all things epic and/or post-rock-esque), be an uptempo folk-lullaby (2:04 - 2:08: those harmonies) or be a reckless rock and roll song (2:07 - 3:20 : those guitar histrionics!). Perhaps the best part of the whole song though, is when it simultaneously side-steps and incorporates all these elements (2:52 - 2:56) and Roddy Woomble delivers such a fragile yet self-assured vocal for the line, "Leave... me... gone...". [Buy]
Roddy Woomble featuring Karine Polwart
If I Could Name Any Name
The aforementioned departure by Roddy Woomble and Rod Jones, is ever-so-slightly more than just a folk record. It incorporates elements of folk, indie, and rock, to make a by turns calm and exuberant album. It isn't groundbreaking or entirely innovative; it isn't going to appear on any "Greatest Albums Of All Time" list's like those that Q is so fond of. Yet, it's one of those albums that I'll always go back to - enduring and charming because of, and not in spite of, its old-new-borrowed-blue nature. [Buy]
Karine Polwart and Edwin Morgan
The Good Years
The previous song featured Karine Polwart, and this one is a collaboration between her and the author Edwin Morgan, once again taken from the Ballads of the Book compilation. An easy-listening folk song, with none of the fiddles or over-the-top bagpipes you might associate with Scottish folk. Focused, succinct, and so soft - like silk - both musically and lyrically. Everything in this song - the arpeggios, the strummed chords, the harmonies - lead up to that final line: "these the good years". It's such a nice, pleasant song, such a simple, idyllic idea, that it's hard not to feel content; warm; happy - soothed by such a swooning lullaby. [Buy]
Feist
My Moon, My Man
This song practically skips along the pavement before throwing itself into your arms. Each line is sang so close to the microphone that with each word's passing, a stray breath is left in its wake; the occasional sigh. The words seem entirely unimportant; the melody could be a string of "la's" and it would still sound the same to me. Like a lazy afternoon; a sigh; a smile with arched eyebrows. [Buy previous albums]
Feist
One Evening (live)
Intuition (live)
Lover's Spit (live Broken Social Scene cover)
Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix)
These live tracks are interesting and lovely: relatively stripped back renditions ensuring that the vocals are the centrepiece. Vocally, Feist comes across like a shy, gifted child. The Postal Service remix is delicate and delightful. Both "My Moon, My Man", and "Intuition" will be on Feist's new album, The Reminder, out 23rd April. Here's the only UK dates of her upcoming tour:
16 April 2007 Komedia, Brighton
17 April 2007 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Bright Eyes
Mushaboom (Feist cover)
Firefox AK
City To City
I wish the first seven seconds of this song would continue into infinity. My feet tap, my head spins. I saw Firefox AK live supporting Junior Boys, and found her to be beguiling. Live, the electro-pop backing tracks and the hammering's of the drum machine are overwhelming; overpowering. I couldn't even begin to construct thoughts in my head because every time coherent fragments were formed, they were silenced by the sheer volume of the electronics. Thoughts would hover, just out of reach; then disintegrate. Perhaps this was the best way. A smile appeared on my face, and it stayed. On record the laptop-handiwork isn't quite as overwhelming or glorious, but it's still there, and often it's very impressive.
Firefox AK
The Draft
The majority of the album is concerned with shamelessly resurrecting 90's electro-pop, taking pride in its grinning femininity. However, the final track on the album brings the male vocal of her husband into the equation and softens the approach. Each and every piece of instrumentation is subtle, yet effective. This is quiet, and contemplative. The dynamics are just right. Shhhh, quiet, then slightly more emphatic... but still hushed. The lyrics as a whole I don't understand, but I relate to the line: "Keep the attack short and fast". It means let the pain sting, then wash over me. Don't make this fight last longer than it has be. I give up the war. I give up. [Buy]
Hello Saferide
The Quiz
Annika Norlin, aka Hello Saferide, only deals in honesty; it's all she knows. She is charming, quirky and curious. The questions asked within this song range from the silly yet sweet: "Can you at all times wear socks 'cause I'm still scared of feet?", to the serious and pivotal: "If I fall would you pick me up?" She asks the every-day questions we all want to know ("Do you still keep pictures from girlfriends? Are they prettier than me?"), yet are often too scared to ask. The honest answers to these questions may not be the pleasing ones, but it's important to ask; it's important to know, because we/she needs "proof or a beer to open this heart". The truth is important.
Hello Saferide
2006
A song for sunny days/winter nights. The heart-warming lyrics are hidden behind a wall of happy pop music; behind quirky instrumentation and an ever-smiling voice. Annika has a talent for constructing sentences that contain dazzling yet simple, true-to-life imagery: "40 flavours on the floor and a half-drunk bottle with popcorn in it / Yesterday's dress in a complete mess and a bruise on my arm / I don't know where I got it".
For the most part the lyrics are alluring, sensitive and sweet, but sometimes her heart is laid bare in its misery. Revolving around her thoughts on a New Year ("it's gonna be another shitty year"), and her unrequited love ("I haven't told you yet, but I'm gonna be with you"), it's easy to forget that amidst the waves of dazzling pop instrumentation, and aesthetically pleasing vocal melodies, the lyrics within this song are an effort to translate genuine sadness into words. Perhaps the cleverest, and most emotive lyric amidst it all is this: "I will learn a new word each day; Today's word is 'dejected'". [Buy]
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Both artists are on the Swedish label Razzia Records. The name "Firefox AK" was derived from an inscription on a fire-extinguisher, and not from the web-browser that we all know and love. The photo which opens this post was taken by myself at the aforementioned Junior Boys performance; see more here.
