Music

So the final season of Lost is well underway! I’m so excited to be part of a cultural phenomenon in the only way I can be now that I’m a parent: sitting on my own couch, after bedtime.

But enough about that. An issue far more important to all parents of small children, is what to watch/listen to while the kid’s awake. Such listening material must adhere to the following criteria: 1) it must not give the child nightmares (no Smoke Monster during the daylight hours); 2) it must not make it preferable for you to sever your own optical nerve/ reach into your ears to crush your own eardrums rather than experience that again. Here’s what we’ve tried so far:

The Wiggles: When young Fussypants became old enough to become a consumer of popular culture, I had to draw upon my very limited knowledge of current childrens’ shows to find something for her, and recalled a weird video I once happened to catch. Since Netflix had some instant-view Wiggles videos available, I tried Sing a Song of Wiggles first. It was…excruciating. Adults can’t watch this, at least this one can’t. But, anything for Fussypants, so I persevered. I don’t know if You Make Me Feel Like Dancing and Wiggle Bay are actually entertaining or if I’m just desensitized, but either way, I don’t mind sitting through them.

Barney & Friends: No. No. Just…no. (But she loves it of course.)

Thomas the Tank Engine: Oh, to be an anthropomorphic piece of machinery on an imaginary island, what a blissful life it would be! It creeps me out when George Carlin is the narrator, and I’m not sure why a small island needs such an overdeveloped infrastructure, but otherwise this is good stuff. It also reminds me of my trip to England in the year 11 BF.

Clifford, the Big Red Dog: You might recognize the voice of Clifford as John Ritter, of Three’s Company. You might also recognize the voice of Cleo as Freddiefrom A Different World. Or, alternatively, you might not be as old as I am. Regardless, I like that big red freak of nature.

Speaking of being old, now seems like a good time for an Old Lady Rant: I had exactly one children’s album growing up, an 8-track of Sesame Street Fever (and wish I still had it), and VCRs hadn’t even been invented yet. I watched whatever show happened to be on PBS when I got leave to watch television, and that’s the way we liked it! I’m a Grumpy Old Woman!

And now, turning to music:

They Might Be Giants goes without saying of course. You don’t even need the kids’ albums, if I can ever find Flood, I expect that to become Fussy’s new favorite.

Mr. Froggy’s Friends’ ABCs: The title pretty much says it all really. But I am impressed by their not onlygetting the apostrophe in the right place for both possessives, but also didn’t put an apostrophe between ABC and s. Now that’s genius.

Byz found this album more sinister. He wondered why the singer purported to converse with Mr. Froggy, although Mr. Froggy himself never speaks. Who is this Mr. Froggy, he wondered?

Well, I can’t think of any other kid media we’ve experienced around here right now, but that’s because a two-year-old is about to collapse into tears because I’m not making a plush bear give a check-up to a plush monkey. So I can’t really think at all.

“Is that Alice in Chains?” I asked myself. I was in the car listening to the terrible local rock station when, sandwiched between Generic Angst-Rockers #231 and #635 I heard what could only be a new Alice in Chains song. It was immediately recognizable for at least two reasons:

1) the gratuitous use of the word “yeah.” (Seriously. Lazy Friday afternoon activity: count the number of times “yeah” occurs in, say, this song.)
2) Nobody else can make their guitars sound like they’re… slouching from riff to riff like that.

And sure enough, it’s Alice in Chains, sans the late Layne Staley. Give it a listen:

I’ll let the critics decide whether they’re jumping the shark or making a killer comeback. As for me, I’ll just kick back and pretend it’s 1992 and I’m hiding my Dirt cassette tape behind my AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide. (I was never sure exactly what was being depicted on that album cover, but it seemed like something my parents didn’t need to see.) Sing it with me: aww yeah.

So I watched this and for the first half I was like “yeah, this is pretty amusing.” Then the pipe wrench fight happened.

As it turns out, I didn’t remember much from the original video, which made the re-interpretation of it all the better.

Via kottke, mefi

So I’ve been meaning to post some reviews of CDs I’ve recently purchased, but there’s enough of them now that I figured I’d just combine them all into one big post.  I’ll go from worst rating to best.

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid - 3 1/2 stars

Elbow to me always sounded like if Peter Gabriel started an indie rock band, and their latest album continues to reflect that.  While it’s not an astounding album (I still like Leaders of the Free World better), it is still well worth a purchase.  The opening track has the most jarring/fun brass part I think I’ve ever heard in a song.

Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - 4 stars

Had I written this review a week ago, I would have probably given this album 3 or 3 1/2 stars at best, but the more I listen to this, the more I like it.  The thing that jumps out at me the most is the rhythmic work throughout this whole album.  It is just fascinating.  There are African sounding beats at times, electronica at others, and several steps in between.  If you’re a fan of interesting rhythms, this album is certainly worth a listen.  The highlights of the album for me are “Violet Hill” and “Death and All His Friends.”

This World Fair - This World Fair - 4 stars

This CD may have been the one I personally anticipated more than any other for the last year.  I randomly saw these guys without having ever heard them at Schuba’s in Chicago, and fell in love with them immediately.  They were slated to come out with this self-titled album about a year ago, but due to label difficulties, the album fell through, and was left to toil in obscurity.  The band suffered even more turmoil later, as everyone but the lead singer left the band, and I thought for sure this album was lost forever, which would have been a real shame.  Luckily they decided to self-release this album anyhow, and the world is a little better for it.  While the songwriting may not be life changing, the melodies and hooks in the songs never quit with their poppy-rocky wonderfulness.  If they ever come to your town, check them out and pick up this CD.  It is well worth it.  I also feel very privileged to not only be a fan of this band, but a friend as well.

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight - 5 stars
Saw these guys completely randomly at the Empty Bottle in Chicago, and I cannot express how glad I am that I saw them.  This album is not only hands down my favorite album of this year so far, it might be my favorite of the last two or three years.  It is just that solid.  There is not a bad track on the album, and the poetic emotion in all the lyrics is rivaled by very few out there.  Most reading this I’m assuming have never heard of them (I had not either), but if you are a fan of almost anything, you should buy this album.  I’ve owned it for all of three weeks, and already it’s a desert island disc for me.

I also purchased Narrow Stairs, and while I shared Two Yutes’ opinion on the first and even the second listen through, like some of the best albums out there, it grew on me, and the third listen was what solidified it for me.

I do find it an odd if not altogether annoying choice to have the first single on the album be eight and a half minutes, with the “actual” song not kicking in until four and a half minutes. The song is great, and even the repetition of the intro is listenable, however, I do often skip the track when it comes up, as I don’t really feel like waiting for four and a half minutes.

Also, while I love the lyrics to No Sunshine, the music is relatively uninteresting, and my only other complaint is that I feel the metaphor of “The Ice is Getting Thinner” is a pretty obvious metaphor, and if it wasn’t Ben Gibbard, I would probably let him get away with it, but he’s just such a better songwriter than that. That said, I still love the song.

Apart from those three complaints, I feel the rest of the album is not only incredibly solid, but shows a real maturity to not only their sound but their songwriting as well. When I read the lyrics to most of the songs on the album (much like every other Death Cab album I’ve purchased), my response was almost always “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a song written about that.” “You Can Do Better than Me” has a Beach Boys-y sound, and has a tongue in cheek attitude, while at the same time being something we can all relate too. “Grapevine Fires” definitely falls into the typical Death Cab category of “heartbreakingly beautiful” and “Your New Twin Sized Bed” and “Long Division” both reflect Gibbard’s amazing way of lyrically encapsulating the often futile and hopeless feeling of being human.

However, the two true gems of the album are definitely Cath and Bixby Canyon Bridge. Cath is a song about a girl who marries someone without truly being in love, and it is both heartbreaking, beautiful, and very unique. Also the guitar riff can get stuck in your head for days.

Moving on, though, to my favorite song on the album is Bixby Canyon Bridge, and while at first seeming to be a pretty decent song from a Death Cab perspective, it grows with such significance when knowing the circumstances in the lyrics. I’m somewhat speculating here, as I’ve not given Gibbard a call to verify this, but from what I’ve read, the Bixby Canyon Bridge is a rather scenic bridge in California, where supposedly several different infamous artists went for inspiration (most notably Langston Hughes and Jack Kerouac). Knowing that, the song takes on an incredibly deep meaning, as the lyrics describe Ben himself going to the bridge for inspiration, and not receiving it. I find it so interesting and refreshing to hear a band at this point in their careers (basically transitioning from being a “big” band, to being a “huge” band) to still have this kind of honesty in their songwriting. I think of lines in particular like:

“And I want to know my fate if I keep up this way”

which seems like Ben himself is wondering what his musical legacy will eventually be, which makes fans of his (like myself) feel part of his journey.

And he ends the song in a somewhat pessimistic yet empathetic way:

“And then it started getting dark
I trudged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
As I must assume was the case with you”

I really want to know who the “you” is in that statement. I’m filling in the blanks that it’s Langston Hughes, but who knows.

It’s heartbreaking, it’s beautiful, it’s delicately and enjoyably human. It’s another Death Cab for Cutie album.

Anyone else get this one yet? (I’m looking at you, exoder) It debuted at #1 on Billboard, got glowing reviews across the board (except from Pitchfork, but you know … they’re Pitchfork), but after having listened to it straight through yesterday in one sitting, I was decidedly underwhelmed. It’s not a terrible album by any means, but for about 75% of the album, the melodies and many of the lyrics seem, well, phoned in. And while they’re certainly not known for being happy, this release finds them growing even more hopeless and pessimistic about finding happiness.

The first single, “I Will Possess Your Heart,” clocks in at a studly 8.26, but that’s mostly due to its four-and-a-half minute instrumental intro. The meat of the song is the final 3+ minutes, which includes my favorite moment on the album: a bridge-that-seems-like-it-should-be-a-chorus that contains the melodies and lush orchestration Death Cab has hung their hat on for much of the the past decade.

“Cath…” is a pleasant song as well, and I also like “Pity and Fear” despite its shockingly abrupt gimmick ending.

Other than those three songs … meh. I’ll definitely listen to it again, especially if they decide to announce a GR gig.

Angry Teti shared this with me this morning. This is the sort of thing that makes the internet worthwhile. Uh, spoilers for Predator. ‘Cause you wouldn’t want its intricate plot twists wrecked for you.

If I weren’t already married to the beautiful, deadly Angry Teti, I think I would want to marry this band:

It’s Abney Park rehearsing their song “Airship Pirates.” Full mp3 here. A taste of the lyrics:

Flying Jib is filled with air
East India ships filled with despair,
we even up, her broadsides bare
…our cannons flair but it’s just a show of muscle.

Expendable crew starts to reel her in.
Our swords are sharpened and we’re ready to sin.
I’m 3 miles up, we’re about to swing aboard.
My tether’s made of leather so I’m not about to fall here.

A swish of air and my boots hit deck.
No cash, no fuel, no – not a speck!
Grape shots made this bird a wreck.
And a glance below deck shows a crew of nuns and orphans!

Chorus:
With a crew of drunken pilots, We’re the only Airship Pirates!
We’re full of hot air and we’re starting to rise
We’re the Terror of the skies, but a danger to ourselves now.

They totally get points for namechecking the East India Company. Everybody now, sing along! And now I’m going to have to go re-install Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura….

So Be Kind Rewind is coming out in a few short days, and I’m really looking forward to it. I think this the first movie of ‘08 that I’m excited about, in fact.

The premise (two dudes accidentally erase all their VHS tapes, and decide to re-shoot them all by themselves) might seem either far-fetched or hokey to you, or maybe you’re not a Jack Black fan. Even if both of those hold true (and I can understand being annoyed by Black at times, though I really think he’s good in quite a few things), I still think you should approach the movie with an open mind.

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I’d seen the trailer for this movie enough that I had a pretty good idea what it was about. I also knew that I should see the movie soon, because the repeated viewings of the trailer before other movies was souring me on it before I’d even seen it.

So Mrs. Vendar & I made our way to the wonderful cheap theater to check it out.

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