Should I move to the Pacific Northwest or Canda?

Cause like 80% of the new music I like comes from there. With my luck as soon as I get there I'll be listening to music from Athens again.

Well the new band is Menomena... they have two albums and I have yet to hear the earlier one. But their new one Friend and Foe is brilliant noisy pop. Smart little buggers put one of the best songs they got first, and while the album strikes me as inconsistent they are definitely worth a
listen.


you can listen to the whole album here.

http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/menomena/

Best New Music this past year

So I would like to take a moment and give you a best of last year in music.... (Mainly cause I've got a headache and right now I am unable to be doing the work I should be doing) but I'm not going to give you the best albums or songs... this is just the best music that I discovered in the last year.

I want to start with Destroyer. This is a fella who works with The New Pornographers (a band I was always no more than lukewarm to) but has been doing the solo thing for quite some time. If you can not deal with a strange singer, and disjointed lyrics, well don't bother. But if you can get past the voice, this is some of the most interesting music out there today. The guy's lyrics if you can follow them are at times shockingly beautiful, "Now come on honey lets go outside, you disrupt the world's disorder just by virtue of your grace." But many times it's just a fluttering of images and emotions he creates for you to waft through. The most important thing is the music. Songs do not run simply from verse to chorus like your standard pop tune. The songs meander, like the lyrics, but not haphazardly. It's like having a good tour guide, moving people through some cavern in Kentucky, they point out everything interesting and don't get you lost.

I saw Chad Van Galen open up for Band of Horses. The guy walked out with a drum, a high hat, a guitar and a keyboard... by himself. No Andrew Bird record and loop tricks, he played everything real time, and it was a set ranging from straight indie rock numbers, to slow wanna kill myself depressive ballads, to dance songs. I hope this guy isn't one of those mad genius fellas who drops off the face of the earth, stops making music, or just flat out offs himself (his music can be on the depressing side... but there is some level of hope in it.) The level of diversity within his two records is astonishing.

Mirah... I don't normally go for girl rock. I don't know, maybe it's simply hard for me to put myself in the shoes of another person. But with Mirah I have no problem with it. It could be the noise added, the thudding base drum, the constant threat of a drum machine, or the fact that she seems like the girl I've been chasing after for my entire life. Independant, strong, emotional, but not out of control. I don't know her personally, obviously, but this is her persona in song often. (Why I'm always attracted to women who are... attracted to women never fails to amuse me.)

I'm from Barcelona is twee perfected. An ungodly number of Swedish people singing about loving one another though they don't know what love is. Singing about tree houses, painters, and other uplifting type shit. I just can't help but like that much positivity running through my headphones. Belle and Sebastian, Polyphonic Spree eat your heart out.

Jens Lekman is from Sweden too. I avoided him a while back because he writes love songs. Imagine Stephen Merritt with sincerity. I mean it sound just like the good ole Magnetic Fields, but there's something about Jens that makes you believe he believes it.

Figurines are from Denmark, and just represent solid indie rock. Another weird singer, I don't know I just like it, but solid slamming straight forward indie rock.

I've talked enough about Frightened Rabbit recently so no more.

Beirut and the Silver Jews are also new finds.

Camera Obscura

To complete my Glasgow week, I went to go see Camera Obscura last night at the Warsaw. It was the second time I had seen them, and I was disappointed with the set list the first time (they played a ton of the new album and it wasn't out yet), and they were... well stiff.

Well... they're still stiff. The show was much better than the knitting factory one a few months back, but I just don't understand how songs that are so packed full of life and emotion sound so flat live. I'm sorry Camera Obscura... but you've lost me. I love your music, but it just doesn't translate to a live venue.

I want to talk for a moment to people who go to shows. If you are seeing a soft rock act, such as Camera Obscura, why on earth would you pay 25 bucks and talk through the whole thing. Ahhhhhh... I mean it's not like they are Motorhead. If they were you could talk all you want... hell scream, I don't care, I wouldn't be able to hear you anyway. Well enough of angry bill.

More Frightened Rabbit

So I went to go see them 2 more times, dragged about 15 people out to various shows with me, and the band did not disappoint, most everyone really enjoyed the show. A few of the people were not exactly indie rockers... so I have a feeling this band, if they can stick with it has a shot over in the states of competing with that bloc party, band of horses crowd.

Met the drummer, asked about a song that wasn't on the album they have. He told me to email the band and they'll burn it for me. Ahhhhh, it's always good to meet a band before they become insufferable assholes due to all the praise we lay at their feet.

The show at Mercury Lounge was the best of the three. The band seemed to be getting the American audience, be they whoopers, or whistlers. Tighter, better sound... no violent outbursts aimed at peddles. And they seemed to be enjoying themselves more. Made for a good show.

Another interesting note, bands who don't mix up their set list piss me off... this band has one release, and they managed to mix it up a little from show to show. Take note rockers (I'm talking to you Modest Mouse) if you're going to charge your fans 30 bucks a show (or more) try to make one show a little different from the next. People like to feel, when they go to a show, they're getting something a little different from the people in Akron, OH or Boise, ID... and vise versa.

Pan's labyrinth

So I went to go see Pan's Labyrinth yesterday. And I was not disappointed.. however, this movie can be viewed as very depressing, or not. It all depends upon the amount of imagination you still have a hold of. I bawled... now this doesn't mean much, I cried both when Spock died in Star Trek 2 ("The needs of the many.... outweigh... the needs... of the one") and when Apollo Creed died in Rocky 4. All be it, I was like 10 when I saw these movies. I don't know I always think of myself as in touch with the more imaginative side, but I took the depressive adult outlook of the movie.

Outside of that, it was more than worth the 11-buck price of admission. It was a beautiful movie, yet had some thoroughly disturbing sequences of violence. It's not often that one combines, hyper realistic violence with their fairy tales, even though the classic fairy tales are often filled with such grotesqueries.

This movie is intense... you love the good guys, hate the bad guys, question the mysterious, smile at the beauty, and cringe at the gore.

Frightened Rabbit

So last night I went to a show thanks to pitchfork.com. A band by the name of frightened rabbit.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40493/Frightened_Rabbit_Hit_the_States.

Well I went to north six... first thing that happened is I went to the bathroom and opened the door... to find what I only have to assume was the opening act's lead singer's mother grunting on the toilet and telling me "I'll..... be right.... out." Shit I wish there was someone there to laugh at that one.

The opening act Overlord sounded like Robert Pollard singing in front of a twee band. This is not a criticism or a praise... but just a statement of fact.

The next act, Batman and the Robins, was made up of a bunch of young boys, and were actually pretty good... think an indie rock version of early Green Day... no similarities in music, just all that youthful energy... to be honest they made me feel old. They did a great cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Sure they were young and probably have no idea the actual beauty of the song, but they pulled it off all smiles.


Then came Frightened Rabbit... they were awesome.... I can't believe they only turned out 30 people. I can't describe them like I would a simple band (ie. they are like Robert Pollard singing for a twee band)... but this is what I emailed all the indie rockers I know.

" if you go see them live and don''t like them.... you are soulless... and an agent of the devil. "

A three piece band, ringing guitars, a harmonica playing drummer. Come on what's not to like.

bill