Friday, August 31, 2007

Scott Walker: The Old Man's Back Again


Scott Walker, a former teen idol, released his fourth album appropriately title 4 in 1969. The album is full of delicate arrangements and Walker's trademark over-the-top vocals. "The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)" is his finest moment. The song, reportedly about the returned ghost of Stalin, is driven by a propulsive bass line, bursts of strings, and a reverb heavy backing chorus. Admittedly, Walker's thick baritone can be a bit off-putting at first for anyone with an easy listening phobia, but when the music slows, the strings swell and he sings, "His mother called him Ivan/then she died," your heart will break.


Download:

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Update

All broken mp3 links are now fixed. Whoops.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The New Pornographers - Challengers


After a lot of middling rewiews the hype around the latest New Pornographers album has seemingly died down. Why then, if this album is just so-so, does it keep returning to my stereo? Much has been said about the relatively toned down approach the band has taken this time out and it seems to lend itself well to repeated listening. Whereas previous albums were the aural equivelant of standing underneath a piƱata as it breaks, Challengers is dense and layered like a rich desert. Besides Dan Bejar turns out what could be my favorite song lyric of the year: "I walked into the local record store/and asked for an American music anthology/It sounds fun."


If you haven't done so already, check out two tracks from Challengers via Matador.

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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Don't feel so alone, got the radio on...


While browsing through today's CD releases I discovered the reissue of a remastered and expanded edition of the Modern Lovers' self titled album. While I can't speak for the quality of this particular reissue, I can speak for the quality of the album itself. Recorded primarily in 1972 (that's 4 years before the Ramones debut, if anyone is counting) and produced by John Cale, these songs were intended to be demos, but the group disbanded before being able to record a proper album. The songs are raw, but Jonathan Richman's wide eyed worldview lends them an innocent charm. Richman went on to solo "success," but this proto-punk classic is where its at.



Check out the two chord rave-up of "Roadrunner."


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Monday, August 27, 2007

Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990-1997

I've been a long-time fan of the Go-Betweens, often going through extended phases of listening to nothing but the brilliant 80's Australian band. That said, I never checked out solo albums by either of the groups leaders. Luckily for people like me, Beggars Banquet released a 2-CD retrospective earlier this year with a disc dedicated to each Robert Forster and the late Grant McClennan. The Lennon/McCartney comparisons are hard to avoid with Forsters songs tending to be more brooding and edgy while McClennan retains a thick pop sheen.

Sadly, Grant McClennan passed away last year shortly after selecting the tracklist for this compilation.

Download:
Grant McClennan - Haven't I Been A Fool
Robert Forster - I'll Jump

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Buy Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings at Amazon.com

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Saturday, August 25, 2007

Our Band Could Be Your Life

I've been re-reading portions of Michael Azerrad's excellent Book Our Band Could Be Your Life, particularly the Husker Du and Replacements chapters. I first read the book about 5 years ago and was initially drawn to its warts and all account of great, underappreciated rock bands for the simple reason of loving the music. Reading it now, however, I am beginning to gain a new perspective on the era Azerrad describes.

Both the Replacements and Husker Du are from Minneapolis, not a city that most would consider one of the cultural hubs of America (read: not NY or LA) and yet they were both able to organically grow audiences through extensive touring and word of mouth. All of the bands in Azerrad's book forged new ground, creating music that was original and exciting without the traditional means of support. Bands like the Huskers and the Mats opened us up to the idea of creating music on our own terms, outside of the traditional music business.

As I read about SST selling out of the initial pressing of Zen Arcade and their shoestring recording budget (most songs done in one take!), I realized just how much technology has changed independent music. What would it be like for these bands to exist today?

Coversely, are these bands the direct forefathers of the myspace generation? Today's musician is able to circumvent the system completely, finding ways to record and make their music widely available.

If you ask me, that's pretty punk rock.

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