Sunday, January 14, 2007
chris 35-31
35 "triggering back."
benoit pioulard.
precis.
[kranky].
"turn off the station to multiply the tension."
hushed vocals and acoustic guitar? yawn. multi-tracked vocals, atmospherics, crossfading percussion, and acoustic guitarz? that's more like it. uppity and downity together at last. the cover of this record is forest green and washes of that color swirl through my head whenever i listen to this song.
34 "phantom limb."
the shins.
phantom limb [ep].
[sub pop].
"follow the lines and wonder why / there's no connection."
i have had a "they're pretty good" attitude toward the garden staters ever since i heard "know your onion!" the first week of my freshman year at college, and once the aforementioned zach braff barfatron blinded my eyes for eternity, i never thought i would ever think any more about the shins ever again. damn them to hell. this song is soooo boring if you wait for the good parts. so don't wait and listen to this song. do something else. the good parts will catch you. they're too simple for their own good, but the last 30 seconds in particular will cease your blinking and other activities if you let it enter your ears in just the right way. just give it a shot. i was skeptical too.
33 "the sky is everywhere, part 1."
actual birds.
vive la fantastique avec actual birds and friends. [casanova temptations].
"you can always touch the sky."
do not listen to this song with anyone else in the room/car. i did and it just made the song and the moment too awkward. this is a song so fragile that even the slightest of company will cause its purpose and function to elude you. it's tinier than the dust on your old cassettes, but it wants to be your friend so bad. it's the closest i'll ever get to hippie music/ethic and it almost scares me how grimey and "free" i feel when i listen to the scuzzy organ and gritty drums, but it's worth it when you can forget yourself for just a second to be by yourself and with this song and this song only.
32 "it is the law."
envelopes.
demon.
[brille].
"it is the law."
watch the adorable little guitar line wander around and prance and be harmless! keep watching...keep listening...WACKO SOCKO! here come his entourage of bright buzzy sounds that blast in your face with slop and silly, pitch-bending every which way as long as there's candy involved. wait, where'd it go?!?!?! where did all my smiley friends rush off to?!?! oh, it's the law that you can't be that ecstatic for too long...i understand. that's too bad.
31 "i never lose. never really."
belong.
october language.
[carpark].
moment @ 0:46
i don't know whether thinking of this song as "noise" makes it better or worse than considering it as "music." i've always disliked "noise music," everything from "noise rock" to "noise-core" - i've just never even considered myself pretentious enough to think music should hurt and you're only cool if your music hurts you as a listener because all other music is pleasant and has been done and "noise" is the only thing left to make. well these two guys somehow find a way to balance the two in the most gorgeous way imaginable. make yourself get through the whole song. if you wondered what the most truthful and unapologetic soundtrack to katrina would be (and these guys experienced it and wrote this album as a response to it), look no further. find hope and tragedy encompassed without using only pleasant sounds. it can be done, and still be pleasant.
i'll have #s 30-26 up later this week! check back! ¶ posted by chris at 11:26 AM
35 "triggering back." benoit pioulard.
precis.
[kranky].
"turn off the station to multiply the tension."
hushed vocals and acoustic guitar? yawn. multi-tracked vocals, atmospherics, crossfading percussion, and acoustic guitarz? that's more like it. uppity and downity together at last. the cover of this record is forest green and washes of that color swirl through my head whenever i listen to this song.
34 "phantom limb."
the shins.
phantom limb [ep].
[sub pop].
"follow the lines and wonder why / there's no connection."
i have had a "they're pretty good" attitude toward the garden staters ever since i heard "know your onion!" the first week of my freshman year at college, and once the aforementioned zach braff barfatron blinded my eyes for eternity, i never thought i would ever think any more about the shins ever again. damn them to hell. this song is soooo boring if you wait for the good parts. so don't wait and listen to this song. do something else. the good parts will catch you. they're too simple for their own good, but the last 30 seconds in particular will cease your blinking and other activities if you let it enter your ears in just the right way. just give it a shot. i was skeptical too.
33 "the sky is everywhere, part 1."actual birds.
vive la fantastique avec actual birds and friends. [casanova temptations].
"you can always touch the sky."
do not listen to this song with anyone else in the room/car. i did and it just made the song and the moment too awkward. this is a song so fragile that even the slightest of company will cause its purpose and function to elude you. it's tinier than the dust on your old cassettes, but it wants to be your friend so bad. it's the closest i'll ever get to hippie music/ethic and it almost scares me how grimey and "free" i feel when i listen to the scuzzy organ and gritty drums, but it's worth it when you can forget yourself for just a second to be by yourself and with this song and this song only.
32 "it is the law."
envelopes.
demon.
[brille].
"it is the law."
watch the adorable little guitar line wander around and prance and be harmless! keep watching...keep listening...WACKO SOCKO! here come his entourage of bright buzzy sounds that blast in your face with slop and silly, pitch-bending every which way as long as there's candy involved. wait, where'd it go?!?!?! where did all my smiley friends rush off to?!?! oh, it's the law that you can't be that ecstatic for too long...i understand. that's too bad.
31 "i never lose. never really."belong.
october language.
[carpark].
moment @ 0:46
i don't know whether thinking of this song as "noise" makes it better or worse than considering it as "music." i've always disliked "noise music," everything from "noise rock" to "noise-core" - i've just never even considered myself pretentious enough to think music should hurt and you're only cool if your music hurts you as a listener because all other music is pleasant and has been done and "noise" is the only thing left to make. well these two guys somehow find a way to balance the two in the most gorgeous way imaginable. make yourself get through the whole song. if you wondered what the most truthful and unapologetic soundtrack to katrina would be (and these guys experienced it and wrote this album as a response to it), look no further. find hope and tragedy encompassed without using only pleasant sounds. it can be done, and still be pleasant.
i'll have #s 30-26 up later this week! check back! ¶ posted by chris at 11:26 AM
