I’ve been listening to Air over the past few days…the band just popped into my head unbidden, and I’ve been searching for a good, laid-back soundtrack for my extended editing sessions lately, so it was a perfect fit. Their debut Moon Safari was released on this day back in 1998 (which puts it right in the middle of my HMV years), but it’s so retro in its sound that you swear it came out in 1972 on some budget label and got played at K-Mart when you were a kid. It of course ended up on heavy rotation during my writing sessions down in the basement.
In 2000 they released the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides, based on the Jeffrey Eugenides book. That too got heavy rotation for me, with its spooky, dark passages. [Trivia: I didn’t know this until many years later that the singer for “Playground Love” is none other than the singer for Phoenix, going under the name Gordon Tracks.] It kind of fit the mood I was in at the time as well, considering I’d just been shuffled out of the HMV job and wasn’t exactly sure where my next step was going to be.
They may have lost me a bit on album two (three?), 10,000 Hz Legend, but I think that’s because they’d chosen to update their sound a bit, bring the melodies forward a decade or two. It took me a few years to get used to this one, and it’s got some great tracks on it, including a cameo vocal from Beck on “The Vagabond”.
Now the next album, Talkie Walkie, is probably my favorite of theirs, even over Moon Safari. They hit their stride here, balancing their retro-synth sound perfectly with some lovely modern melodies. They also provided an absolutely gorgeous track called “Alone in Kyoto” for Sofia Coppola’s next film Lost in Translation:
I’m still trying to get used to the next couple of albums (2007’s Pocket Symphony and 2009’s Love 2), most likely because my mind was elsewhere at the time, adjusting to our lives here in SF. Eventually they’ll come to me. Their most recent album, Le Voyage Dans la Lune from 2012, is fascinating in that it’s a soundtrack for Georges Méliès’ 1902 film of the same name. And Nicolas Godin (the fair-haired one of the duo) just released a solo album of Bach-inspired songs called Contrepoint, which I’m hoping will eventually see release stateside sometime this year.
As mentioned in my year-end overview, I was particularly enamored of the recent reissue of some early titles from The Comsat Angels. I hadn’t listened to them in ages (I used to have a few of their albums on vinyl oh so long ago) and was surprised at how well they’ve held up. Their first album, Waiting for a Miracle, was released in 1980, and it sounds fantastic. At this point they’re kind of a cross between 154-era Wire, a bit of Unknown Pleasures Joy Division, with a pinch of Chameleons and Abecedarians thrown in.
The above song, “Home Is the Range”, which wasn’t on the first album (it’s on the reissue) but a pre-album EP, has been stuck in my head for the past week and a half, and I can’t seem to get it to leave. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It’s a hell of a great track.
Hey Kids! Check it out: My favorite albums, tracks and other musical whatnot from 2015. This year’s grouping came radio stations in multiple corners of the country, terrestrial and digital, from RadioBDC to Sirius XM to KUSP to KSCU. And one band (Unknown Mortal Orchestra) discovered while in London! In the process, the list is all over the place, from obscure indie to commercial alternative. Enjoy!
2015 Songs
20: The King Khan & BBQ Show, “Alone Again”
19: Mikal Cronin, “Ready”
18: A Silent Film, “Paralysed”
17: Caspian, “Arcs of Command”
16: The Helio Sequence, “Stoic Remembrance”
15: Cayucas, “Hella”
14: Steven Wilson, “Perfect Life”
13: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, “In the Heat of the Moment”
12: Blur, “Go Out”
11: Public Service Broadcasting, “Go!”
10: Foals, “What Went Down”
9: Young Empires, “The Gates”
8: Jamie XX, “Loud Places”
7: Wolf Alice, “Moaning Lisa Smile”
6: Editors, “No Harm”
5: Failure, “Hot Traveler”
4: The Vaccines, “Handsome”
3: Beck, “Dreams”
2: Mark Ronson, “Uptown Funk”
1: Best Coast, “California Nights
2015 Albums
20: Death Cab for Cutie, Kintsugi
19: JR Richards, Honore et Amore
18: The Helio Sequence, The Helio Sequence
17: Foals, What Went Down
16: Public Service Broadcasting, The Race for Space
15: Wire, Wire
14: New Order, Music Complete
13: Veruca Salt, Ghost Notes
12: Dog Party, Vol 4
11: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Chasing Yesterday
10: The Decemberists, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
9: Chvrches, Every Open Eye
8: Sleater-Kinney, No Cities to Love
7: Editors, In Dream
6: Low, Ones and Sixes
5: Best Coast, California Nights
4: Failure, The Heart Is a Monster
3: Wolf Alice, My Love Is Cool
2: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Multi-Love
1: Blur, The Magic Whip
Favorite Earworms: Songs most stuck in my head in 2015
The Vaccines, “Handsome”
The King Khan & BBQ Show, “Alone Again”
Jamie XX, “Loud Places”
The Arcs, “Outta My Mind”
Unexpected Delights: Albums I enjoyed a hell of a lot more than I expected to:
Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
Mark Ronson, Uptown Special
Sleater-Kinney, No Cities to Love
Best Coast, California Nights
Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Multi-Love
Many Welcome Returns: Great releases from bands we haven’t seen in quite some time
Failure, The Heart Is a Monster
Jeff Lynne’s ELO: Alone in the Universe
Swervedriver, I Wasn’t Born to Lose You
New Order, Music Complete
The Chills, Silver Bullets
Best Reissues: I have them already, but did I go and buy them again? Maaaaybe?
The Beatles, 1+
Garbage, Garbage (20th Anniversary Reissue)
The Specials, Specials/More Specials/In the Studio
Catatonia, Way Beyond Blue/International Velvet/Equally Cursed and Blessed/Paper Scissors Stone
The Comsat Angels, Waiting for a Miracle/Sleep No More/Fiction/Chasing Shadows/Fire On the Moon
Jellyfish, Bellybutton/Spilt Milk
Lush, Chorus
Local Color: Favorite 2015 songs about and/or by locals
Best Coast, “California Nights”
Cayucas, “Hella”
Geographer, “Age of Consent”
God’s Favorite, “(Hurry Hurry) Sunday” (not to be confused with God’s Favorite Band…different group entirely!)
Well, this is certainly a surprise! This has been hiding on YouTube for almost a year and I never noticed until just this moment when I was doing a bit of Walk in Silence research. This little gem of a track was the first song I ever taped off a college radio station (WMUA 91.1 at UMass Amherst) — the same taping session on 11 November 1986 that introduced me to The Go Betweens, Felt, and This Mortal Coil.
I listened to that tape so many times I pretty much wore it out, and it wasn’t until about a year ago that I had Jeff Shelton play it on his KSCU show The 80s Underground and finally heard it again after what seemed like decades. I downloaded that particular podcast just so I could finally have the track in my collection again. I was never able to find the vinyl anywhere when it was out, and as I currently do not have a turntable (yes, I am a heretic!), I can’t go on Amazon and buy it.
I remember hearing this track and thinking the vocals were a little too earnest (in that 80s indie way we’ve all come to love in retrospect), but there was that gently sweeping melody that kind of reminded me of early REM, who I was getting into at the time. It also hinted at that pastoral walking-through-the-woods-in-autumn mood that I would get from a lot of the college rock I loved then.
So. Here we are on Black Friday. A. has the day off today and is in the other room listening to podcasts while I’m stuck here in Spare Oom until 4pm. Neither of us are going to be heading out for any shopping any time soon (unless that includes heading to the local corner store for a few groceries). She’s done most of her shopping online, and I’ll be doing that later today myself.
With the many post-college jobs I’ve held over the years, I’m used to working on holidays and busy shopping times. I dealt with the Q4 sales season at HMV for a few years which actually started mid-September but really kicked into high gear on Black Friday; that’s when we’d put out all the Christmas cds and prepare the huge amount of backstock of the big sellers. During the Yankee Candle years my schedule got truly wonky; ten-hour days, six days a week, and quadruple the volume going out. Between those two jobs, it’s a wonder I still found the time to write! [Noted, I did get sick a lot more often at that time, due to exhaustion and unhealthy eating and smoking habits.]
Even when I moved away from the retail and warehouse jobs, I still had to deal with the public: the last snowy commute when I lived in New Jersey, the last-minute calls of businesses holding their banking until the absolute last minute, and so on. I don’t think I’ve ever taken any Christmas-season weeks off in my life, at least not without chalking them up as sick days.
So yeah, I’m well-versed in holiday stress.
That said…I do my best not to let it get to me. Sure, I completely understand the irritation of long lines, clueless shoppers, squealing kids, long work hours, and so on. But I decided early on that these petty grievances are part and parcel of the experience, and chose not to dwell on them. Too often, negativity spawns more negativity. My complaining about the idiot in front of me to the guy behind me is going to make that guy think ‘you know, you’re right’, and he’ll end up in a bad mood. Life’s too short to be irritated by everything under the sun.*
This is the time of year where I choose to embrace everything good that’s happened, on a personal level and otherwise. Time to listen to all the great albums that came out this year. Time to bask in the fact that I self-published a book, with three others coming out in the not-too-distant future. Time to think about how lucky I am to have great friends and family. Time to think about how awesome A. is. And just enjoy the positivity that comes around.
* – Granted…this isn’t about me willfully ignoring truly bad things in the world. I’m just as frustrated and saddened as most people by the events in Paris, the Syrian refugee situation, and at this very moment, the shooting in Colorado Springs, for example. The point to this post is about dealing with petty irritations that really don’t amount to much in the grander scheme of things.
I try not to go into politics all that much online, at least not anymore. I used to debate and growl and soapbox like the rest of them out there, but in the words of John Lennon, I’m “no longer riding on the merry go round / I just had to let it go.” I found that I was taking a lot of things a little too personally and emotionally, and realized that not only was that unhealthy for me, it was also pretty irritating to everyone else. I had to back away and focus on more important things in my life, like family and writing.
I still think about it some, just not as much as I used to. This past week has been kind of a tough one, considering all the white noise I’ve been hearing. [I use the term ‘white noise’ here to describe the heavy volume of Tweets and FB posts on certain political subjects, most of which is usually in the form of shouting matches, name-calling and trolling. Most of it is well-meant but often drowned out by the thousands of others saying the same exact thing and the thousands of others saying the exact opposite. Thus, white noise.]
It’s not that I’m ignoring the injustice and the idiocy out there. I’m still well aware of it. I’m just not offering my opinion on a public platform nearly as much as I used to.
Sure, I may still be a rebel at heart in some respects. If I want my voice to be heard, believe me, I can make it heard. But I realized some years ago that the voice I was using was getting lost in the din of that white noise. Or as I’d said on my LJ, I no longer wanted to contribute to a lot of the hot air that was already out there. I chose to internalize my thoughts about things…think about them, figure them out. Think about why they were bothering me, what I can do about it (if anything), and go from there.
One avenue that hasn’t escaped me when it comes to this sort of thing is music. I’m fascinated by protest songs, especially if they’re in an unexpected format. That is, protest songs that aren’t outright protest songs like the ones we expect from Pete Seeger, or early Dylan, or Billy Bragg. Or even obvious outcries, such as the punk aesthetic of the Sex Pistols or Dead Kennedys. Some of them are oblique, only describing a hectic mise en scene of a stressful time. Others are more poetic, describing the mood or the mindset of those involved.
Still others decide to offer no filter; calling it like it is, for good or ill. Pouring out black bile and anger and never holding back once.
In the past week or so, I’ve been trying to focus on many things in my life, both internal and external. Trying to keep focus on my writing deadlines and near-future writing plans. Trying to avoid overindulgence of social media and social justice. Trying to avoid reading the comments. Trying to keep an even mind and an even heart. It’s tough, especially when it sometimes feels like it’s expected of me to react to whatever injustice is going on. It’s tough, but I have found ways to calm myself.
Music has charms to soothe a savage breast, as Congreve says.
In my recent dollar bin shopping spree at Amoeba, I finally got around to picking up Donald Fagen’s post-Steely Dan solo debut, The Nightfly. It’s very typical Fagen — jazzy, sardonic, nerdy, and wonderfully creative all at the same time. I remember the first single, “IGY (What a Beautiful World)” being played a bit on the radio, but the second single, “New Frontier”, was the one had the video on MTV and became the memorable hit.
I loved the use of animation in this video, multiple styles used to show multiple facets of the song itself: the (then modern) computer graphics to show the futuristic layout of new housing developments; the early Vogue ads and the Picasso paintings come to life; Soviet propaganda hinting at the impending Cold War. And my two favorite bits of animation: the cowboy-hatted, pistol-packing general marching around and shooting at rogue Commie nukes (a distinct nod to the old UPA films), and the bendy, lo-fi-but-cool jazz band.
[That last one had a particular effect on me; a few years later when I went through my jazz phase in the mid-80s, I would often visualize this particular image while listening to it late at night on my headphones.]
[Also, a quick bit of interesting trivia: the directors of this video, Annabel Jenkel and Rocky Morton, also directly my other favorite animated video, Elvis Costello’s “Accidents Will Happen.” Furthermore, they’re the co-creators of the Max Headroom franchise, and also co-directed the Super Mario Bros movie.]
I was listening to this track the other day and thinking about the sounds of the radio, pre-1989, before the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, we all listened to the popular sounds and were aware of the possible political threats out there. Some of us kept it separate, some of us mixed the two Amnesty International-style.
We weren’t oblivious or ignorant of world issues out there; we just chose not to be completely frightened or doom-laden about it (Prince’s “1999” comes to mind, for instance). We’d gotten so used to the elephant in the room that we just treated it as part of the furniture, and felt reasonably sure that in its advanced age and sedentariness, it probably wasn’t going to act up any time soon. Our reaction to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR wasn’t so much a patriotic whoop of victory as a sigh of happy relief that it had finally gone away.
I’m still getting used to that. I’m so used to getting my new release emails from AllMusic and elsewhere on Mondays that it seems strange getting them midweek now.
This month signaled the global change of new music release dates to Fridays. Per Billboard, it’s been Tuesday in the US since April 1989 (coincidentally, my next-to-last month of high school life and right about the time I really started paying closer attention to album releases for my beloved college music). Before that, Mondays were the default release day for years. It was moved in ’89 due to the fact that most retailers were not receiving their product until later in the day, thus losing most of their first-day sales. Moving the release date one day leveled the playing fields.
I’m a bit surprised that this is a global thing; it wasn’t just the US moving the standard drop date, but labels and distributors worldwide, finally aligning. That’s pretty big news, considering the UK has always been Monday (the start of the retail week, natch) and other countries have had similar setups.
I’ll be honest, I loved working Mondays when I was at HMV. That meant that I got to unpack all the new titles and slap security tags, price tags, and sale stickers on them, all while listening to them a day before everyone else. I discovered way too many great albums that way, and it’s part of the reason my music collection is so ridiculously large. But back then it was also perfect for when I was on the sales floor, as I could upsell new titles to customers and back it up with actual listening.
Nowadays, (again per Billboard), in this digital age, more active fans and listeners prefer listening to new titles on Fridays and Saturdays, and would rather not have to wait that extra day or so in their own country for a title to drop. Granted, it’s gotten a mixed reaction from some of the labels and distributors — some feel this will continue to let the majors to oversaturate the stores, leaving the indies in the lurch — and that’s frustrating yet understandable, given that that’s been pretty much the norm for decades anyway.
I imagine this would have come in handy during my years at Yankee Candle, when I’d get paid at the end of the week and would have to wait four or five days before I could do my music shopping. Then again, I most likely would have been in much deeper financial straits in the process. So it’s a toss-up there. Still, I’m curious if we’ll see an uptick in sales, given that some of us still get paid just before the weekend.
How do I feel about this now, though? Well, I’ll admit I didn’t notice the change right away, at least not until I looked at my shopping list and saw all the new stuff this week with the drop date of 7/10. [Yes, I have a shopping list. It’s a spreadsheet, showing prices from multiple purchase sites. I am such a sad and pathetic man.] [On the plus side, said spreadsheet comes in mighty handy because I can access it via Dropbox on my phone while I’m at Amoeba!] [ANYWAY] I suppose this makes things a bit more exciting if I happen to be heading towards a brick and mortar shop, because it’ll be something to look forward to on the weekend, which is when we usually head over to the Haight for anything in particular.
It’s too early for me to say how I feel about it, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be totally fine with it. As a good portion of my purchases are downloads nowadays, I think it’s something I’ll have to get used to. For a good few years there, I had a solid schedule of checking out all the new release streams on Monday so I would know what to expect the next day…now I have more time to do that. I follow a number of music blogs on Twitter, and they’re more than happy to let us all know when something new is streaming.
I’ll just have to learn to start saving up for Fridays then.
Hey, every other blog is posting one of these, so I may as well join in the fun, amirite?
The year in music so far has actually been quite enjoyable, as many of the bands that had come out with great albums in or around 2012 are now releasing new titles that are equally as great, if not better.
In order of release date:
The Decemberists, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (20 January)
Colin Meloy and Co have come up with another wonderful record of alternafolk the way I like it – full, strong vocals, original (and often quirky) song subjects, and wonderful performances. It’s hard not to like this band.
Dutch Uncles, O Shudder (24 February)
My wife came up with the phrase “in a totally different film” to describe a character or person (or in this case, a band) who doesn’t seem to fit anywhere within the context of everything else surrounding them, and yet somehow they fit in just nicely despite that. Dutch Uncles is like that for me–a band who seems to willingly bypass trying to fit into the indie scene by way of odd time signatures, intelligent (and sometimes purposely awkward) lyrics, and a complete lack of irony. This album is about childbirth, for instance.
Public Service Broadcasting, The Race for Space (24 February)
Another band from out of nowhere (and a band that consists of two people playing multiple instruments…that seems that’s a thing now) that popped up on my radar…um, how? I think YouTube suggested I check them out at one point. They kind of remind me of Emergency Broadcast Network from the 90s (remember them?), who melded media soundbites with danceable pop. PSB, on the other hand, mix public domain newsreels with instrumental rock and funk, and the end result is pretty damn fine. This latest release of theirs is, you guessed it, based on the Russian/US race for space in the 50s and 60s.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Chasing Yesterday (3 March)
I’d mentioned earlier that I felt Noel’s first HFB album was kind of hit or miss, and that this second album is miles stronger musically. The more I listen to it, it kind of reminds me of Oasis’ early 2000s work (Heathen Chemistry in particular), dialing back the Britpoppiness and the overt Beatle nods and really showing off his excellent songwriting skills.
Steven Wilson, Hand. Cannot. Erase. (3 March)
Wilson returns for a third solo album, this time a song cycle based on a harrowing story about a missing person who was found dead in her own apartment, having passed away there three years earlier. A haunting subject, but a beautiful album.
Swervedriver, I Wasn’t Born to Lose You (3 March)
Really, why had I not owned any Swervedriver before this? I loved “Rave Down” even when it came out back in the early 90s, but I never got around to buying any of their albums. That changed with their excellent comeback album, in which they haven’t missed a beat. Swirly and crunchy guitars and fantastic writing. Think a more melodic, rocking and understandable MBV.
Big Data, 2.0(24 March)
I’m sure most of you have heard “Dangerous” at some point (that song that kinda sorta steals the slappy bass line from Nine Inch Nails’ “Only”). The rest of this album is a lot of fun, combining both analog guitar melody and bloopy synth work in such a unique way it works perfectly. Bonus points for using overmodulation as a legit sound level on “The Business of Emotion”. More bonus points for getting away with using a broken image icon for an album cover!
Joywave, How Do You Feel Now? (21 April)
I’m convinced Big Data and Joywave are the same band, as they seem to be all over each other’s records. I heard these guys on Radio BDC near the end of last year via the track “Tongues”. It’s one of those songs that’s kinda doofy and not that good, but it gets under your skin to the point that you start to believe that it’s actually better than you thought. Their other single “Somebody New” shows their other side, a stronger rock track that hints at what they actually do sound like.
Wire, Wire (21 April)
WOO YAY NEW WIRE! Always happy to see a release from one of my favorite bands! While their Mark III era (from the Read & Burn EPs forward) has been louder and crunchier, they’ve begun infusing their music with less experimentation and more melody as they go on…in essence, combining the post-punk of the 70s Wire and the melody of 80s Wire to come up with something both hard and soft at the same time. With new a new guitarist in the mix (Bruce Gilbert having left a few years ago), they’ve got a fuller sound and seem much more confident this time out.
Blur, The Magic Whip (28 April)
I’ve admitted to being a shameless Blur fan, and that’s because I’ve always been a big Britpop fan for years. It’s great to see a new platter from this foursome (now a foursome again!), especially after that excellent single “Under the Westway” from a few years ago. They haven’t lost a bit of their quirkiness or their knack for being able to write an extremely fun song. Definitely a welcome return.
Best Coast, California Nights (4 May)
Okay, hands down, the title track from Best Coast’s new platter is totally my summer jam. I never thought I’d say that, but there we are. And the rest of the album is absolutely gorgeous. Possibly my top favorite of the year so far. Here, have a listen:
Dog Party, Vol 4 (16 June)
I was introduced to this band via Santa Clara University’s college station. These two sisters from Sacramento (one of which just graduated high school, I should add) are my favorite local band at the moment. Cute and punky in a style that reminds me of We’ve Got a Fuzzbox and We’re Gonna Use It!! (specifically their Bostin Steve Austin album), the album is perfect punk: chunky riffs, fun melodies, goofy lyrics, and totally jamming econo.
Failure, The Heart Is a Monster (30 June)
WOO YAY NEW FAILURE! Another one of my big favorite bands (Fantastic Planet still gets a shit ton of play here in Spare Oom and at the gym) put this one out via PledgeMusic, so how could I say no? A great band that makes excellent use of unexpected directions in melody, drop tuning and tasty, chunky riffs. Ken, Greg and Kellii came back with one hell of a great album.
So…what does the next half of 2015 have in store for us? A very brief look at my shopping list says new albums by Civil Twilight, Chemical Brothers, MS MR, Oberhofer, P.O.D., Duran Duran, Low, New Order, Veruca Salt, Frank Turner, Beach House, Foals, Ben Folds, Stereophonics, Metric, Robert DeLong…and maybe a new Editors (which I am pumped about, if their new single “No Harm” is any indication of what it’ll sound like).
All in all, an excellent year for music, I’m happy to report!
Warning: May Contain High Amounts of Classic Ska and Britpop.
We have returned home, albeit about six hours later than expected, due to missing our connecting flight, the illogical checking through US Customs while in Toronto, and an incredibly frustrating and nonsensical argument at one of the help desks. But I won’t go into that. I will mention, however, that we finally got back to the apartment at 1am PT this morning (after waking in London at around 7:30am UTC), so that means we’d been up and awake for…um…20 hours? Maybe? Either way, we both decided to stay awake instead of attempting to sleep for six or so hours. So yeah…not quite loopy (yet), but my inner clock has no idea what time or day it is right now.
That said… As you can see above, our London trip was a success on many levels…many sights seen, a few great friends met up with, many beers and pub food had, and way too many pictures taken. The above cd stash is courtesy of Sister Ray in Soho and Rough Trade in Notting Hill, two great music stores well worth searching out. Sister Ray is probably my favorite — it’s not huge, but it’s got an excellent selection, very well kept, and the workers there are quite friendly and knowledgeable.
My main goal for import shopping, as is evident, was cheaply-priced reissues. I believe the average price for the Catatonia and Specials cds were £12, and the Wedding Present cds were slightly more — translating to about $18 and $20 USD each. Not bad, considering they’re all two or three cd sets costing about six dollars more before tax on Amazon. I’m still missing 3 Weddoes titles, but I think I can find those relatively easily on Amazon UK. Still — it added up rather quickly, so I may have to tighten my belt for a little while!
[Noted, London didn’t so much suck the life out of me as it drained me of energy. It’s a very walkable city and OH BOY did we walk all over creation! I shall be posting pictures of our trip eventually over at my Tumblr blog, and may post some music-related pictures here.]
Walk In Silence 