2009 : 04-05 Aught Music Roundtable: These Four Walls by We Were Promised Jetpacks

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"Conductor" When I came across We Were Promised Jetpacks' debut CD These Four Walls in my local record shop I bought it solely based on the name of the band and the cover design. And, as it turns out, that was absolutely the right decision. Their songs have shades of Explosions In The Sky but with lyrics (sung in a lovely Scottish accent). There's something about the songs that just clicked with me right away and I found myself listening to the album on repeat for two days straight. "Conductor" is my current favorite off the album. The use of the word conductor as both a conductor of an orchestra and a simple conductor of electricity really tickles me. —April Walker "It's Thunder and It's Lightning" It makes me happy that a band with the name "We Were Promised Jetpacks" is enjoyable. I like the post-Indie-Rock sound they have put together: a straight-ahead rock sound that is unassuming. I like the way I can choose to dig into the song or enjoy it just for what is on the surface. Yes, I bought this album for the band's name. Sometimes you get luck with something like that. —Rich Thomas Listen: We Were Promised Jetpacks >> "Conductor" | "It's Thunder and It's Lightning"

2009 : 03 "Luscious Voluptuous Pregnant" by Jason Crumer

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Jason Crumer's Walk With Me is my favorite noise album of the year: it's an almost perfect hybrid of scouring intensity and measured restraint. (The first five or so minutes of this track—an irregularly looping set of piano motifs—sounds like it could have been an early Terry Riley piece or something from an academic conservatory.) Fineness notwithstanding, it still feels wrong to publicly admire a track with a title like "Luscious Voluptuous Pregnant," sort of like discussing one's own fetish(es) in mixed company. But, uh, I actually think it's a great title—sexy in a sort of upside-down way—and a good sign that noise music (even measured, restrained noise music) hasn't lost its sense of the taboo. —Jeremy Bushnell Listen: Jason Crumer >> "Luscious Voluptuous Pregnant"

2009 : 02 "In These Arms" by The Swell Season

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I want to tell Jeremy to postpone the write up for 2009. I want to ask him for another three months or so. After writing about all these other songs, I want a few more months to live with the ones from this year. They are still too light and unattached. They lack the emotional weight and attachment the other songs have gained. I want him to wait because I will understand 2009 a lot better in two or three years. I know the world will not wait for that understanding. I can tell you I love "In These Arms." The second Swell Season album is good in a different way than the first one. I hear some things here that remind me of my wife. Yes, my wife. I am married now, which I was not when 2009 started. In another year or two I will have a better understanding of what 2009 means. —Rich Thomas Listen: Swell Season >> "In These Arms"

About the delay

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Whoops, sorry. End-of-semester workload + holiday shopping + travel = slightly longer hiatus between 2008 posts and 2009 posts than I had really intended. Everything's OK. We will still complete our review of the decade before the end of the year! New 2009 posts commence today.

2009 : 01 "Summertime Clothes" by Animal Collective

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Upon reflection, it's staggering to remember the varied albums that came out, of all the months, in January. Andrew Bird, A.C. Newman, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand...but, no album set the tone quite like Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion. I was working in Seattle before this disc dropped and had the fortune to work with and become good friends with Terrance Terich, co-founder of Treblezine.com. After long discussions about music, he burned me a copy of this album, among others. I immediately agreed with him (and everyone else) that this was already one of the best albums of the year. "Summertime Clothes" is an addicting single, with a varied mix of sounds and influences. The emphasis here is on the notion of "collective"--this is a true group effort. I love how the group blends sampling and small sounds (listen carefully--it almost sounds like there are sound effects mixed in) with vocals and guitar that could have come from the 1970s. I played the crap out of this during the dreary winter, and it helped alleviate the depression of Lynnwood, Washington. —Jamie Yates Listen: Animal Collective >> "Summertime Clothes"

2008 : 23 "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" by Sia

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There is something about a well-crafted pop song that is hard to describe. It is easy to make fun of pop music and look down upon it as making money in the world of the least common denominator. It is easy to think that pop music is all about fluff and nothing else. Everyone has a pop song they cannot stand for good reason. I think that is what makes good pop songs so rewarding. I love "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" because it has a dark nature that most pop songs do not have. On first listen you might not hear those dark undertones, but after a few listens those undertones are so sweet. It is like you discovered something not everyone will find. —Rich Thomas Listen: Sia >> "The Girl You Lost To Cocaine"

2008 : 22 "L'effaçage" (excerpt) by Radu Malfatti

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Literally, the erasure, the deletion, the suppression, the annulation, the invalidation, effaçage, effacement, etc. Radu Malfatti L'effaçage (b-boim, 2008) What happens when you erase not just lyrics, melody, solos, harmony, rhythm, but also pitch, notes, technique, tone, touch, and dynamics? Is a piece "music" that is constructed entirely out of a series of bass drum tympani rumbles that arise from and melt into large stretches of silence? Does boredom and extended repetition have a place in music? Can sounds be bland? What happens to the listener and the music between (the) sounds? "In a roomful of shouting people, the one who whispers becomes interesting." - Peter Schmidt Radu Malfatti has been working with these questions for the better part of two decades, releasing most on his in-house CD-R label, available primarily by emailing him directly. And yet despite this extremely limited niche he works with (visually, think Barrett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, and Robert Rauschenberg at their most ultra-minimal), he has produced work of some range: works for bass drum (L'effaçage), piano, string quartets, sine waves, saxophones, and string orchestra. "Innovations be damned, it's a boring century." – Morton Feldman Malfatti's possibly dogmatic dedication to an intensely precise and austere soundworld, will strike many as cold, sterile, and moreover, a conceptual dead-end, musical entropy. But for others, it may seem like a needed antidote to the practically overwhelming busyness ("gabbiness" to quote Malfatti himself) of almost all forms of contemporary music. "If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all." – John Cage See also: Taku Sugimoto– Italia (A Bruit Secret, 2001) —Darren DeMonsi Listen: Radu Malfatti >> " L'effaçage (excerpt) "

2008 : 21 "Snakes of Hawaii" by Army Navy

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Jeff jumped around the room and danced when "Snakes of Hawaii" came on. He got on the bed and started to air guitar and sing along with the track. Jeff knew if his wife or kids came home right now they would think it was funny. Jeff was not the type of man to jump around to a song. In his late 30s, this was the type of thing he could get away with in his teens. A video of this moment, if the universe was unkind enough to allow it to be recorded, would be one of those instant YouTube hits. Jeff was not ashamed to be dancing around to this song. Every once in a while a song should make you feel young. There is no reason at 37 a song can't make you feel 17. That is "Snakes of Hawaii." "Maybe there's no Snakes In Hawaii, Maybe there's not snakes at all," came out of Jeff's mouth at full volume. He felt the energy that the song was supposed to make him feel. After the song was over he heard clapping behind him. He turned around to see his four-year-old daughter, Donna. "Daddy, can I dance with you this time?" "Sure, darling, let's play that one again." —Rich Thomas Listen: Army Navy >> "Snakes of Hawaii"

2008 : 20 "The Healer" by Erykah Badu

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I wasn't actually a huge fan of Erykah Badu's 2008 album New Amerykah—but this track, "The Healer," was, to my mind, the single most invigorating piece of music the year had to offer. Badu's decision to marry the concepts of healing and pop music isn't in and of itself very interesting: any number of lesser talents could take those two ideas and emerge with a garden-variety homily about the enduring power of music. The greatness of this track comes from Badu's decision to use this framework as a structure into which to jam all sorts of left-field weirdness, ending up with a salvo that's a deeply compelling mish-mash of metaphysics, resistance politics, science fiction, and what may or may not be pure nonsense: "We ain't dead," said the children Don't believe it We just made ourselves invisible Underwater stove top blue flame Scientists Come out with your scales up The lyrical content is a great fit with Madlib's stoned-sounding production, last appreciated on this blog here. —Jeremy Bushnell Listen: Erykah Badu >> "The Healer"

2008 : 19 "Love Is" by Ringo Starr

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This is 100% what I want out of Ringo Starr. It is soft and sweet, heartfelt and loving. I have always felt like Ringo understands love. Liverpool 8. was supposed to be about his whole life. It was him looking back over the decades and sharing wisdom with me. That is what I want out of a Ringo Starr song —Rich Thomas Listen: Ringo Starr >> "Love Is"

2008 : 18 "red light" by Rod Modell

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If Jacaszek's "Lament," which I wrote about not long ago, is like what house music would sound like if it emerged from a Transylvanian castle, then Rod Modell's blurred, smeary track "red light" is what house music would sound like if someone were playing it to you in an attempt to bring you out of a very deep drug-induced coma. —Jeremy Bushnell Listen: Rod Modell >> "red light"

2008 : 17 "Don't Haunt this Place" by The Rural Alberta Advantage

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The Rural Alberta Advantage is 100% of what I want out of an Indie Rock band. They have it all. Lo-fi production — check. Slightly sad vocal — check. Driving beat — check. Extra female vocals — check. Sad lyrics — check. This is an album that came out of nowhere for me in 2008. I felt like I was the only person who knew about it. That is an amazingly satisfying feeling. —Rich Thomas Listen: Rural Alberta Advantage >> "Don't Haunt This Place"

2008 : 16 "Librarian" by My Morning Jacket

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Finding beauty and sexiness in a quiet, alluring librarian? No, this isn't a Whitesnake song. This is a beautiful evocation of the kind of connection that all of us have every now and then, admiring someone from a distance and letting daydreams run wild. My favorite line is one that is only a part of the set-up: Ramble up the stairwell, into the hall of books... Since we got the interweb these hardly get used This almost makes the song a sort of rambling inner dialogue, but it builds into a beautiful love story. The lyrics are a bit more direct than Jim James and company usually go for, but the difference works amazingly well, combined with their atmospheric music. —Jamie Yates Listen: My Morning Jacket >> "Librarian"

2008 : 15 "This Will Never Be Our Town" by Jason Anderson

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Vince was driving around Portland when "This Will Never Be Our Town" came up in the shuffle. Somehow he knew this song was about him and here. He knew that Portland was a temporary home for him. He would never be able to stick here. He can't find the thing that connects a person to a place. His friends tell him his is being silly when he feels this way. One verse in the song hits him hard: Six months ago almost to the day It's weird to think how much is different and how much is exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly, the same On the trip back I remember saying to myself our town looks cute and then instantly thinking this will never be our town Six months in the future, Vince is loading the U-haul for his move to Reno. He thought about how true some moments are. —Rich Thomas Listen: Jason Alexander >> "This Will Never Be Our Twon"

2008 : 13-14 Two tracks by Jenny Lewis

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"Acid Tongue" As I've written about Lewis before, I'm utterly convinced she would have been just as relevant and emotional had she been singing in the 1940s or 50s. This song is no exception. The combination of sadness and hope are perfect, with neither one dominating, but blending into an atmospheric haze. It's the soundtrack of sitting in a bar after a bad week and feeling a little sorry for yourself. To be lonely is a habit Like smoking or taking drugs And I've quit them both But man, was it rough. "Carpetbaggers" I'm sure that most of my co-workers have wished bodily harm against me, since I've played this song dozens of times. It's unbelievably catchy and a piece of alluring storytelling. I can easily imagine the Decemberists covering this one: They come to town when the war is over Dirty boots in the middle of the night Trolling the bars, hitting on the soldiers Boys give it up without a fight They say, "Hey, boy, how about your place? I know you really want to take me home" Drop the bags off on the bedroom floor They make love with the lights on It's also a testament to Lewis's prowess as a vocalist that she can duet with a legend like Elvis Costello and completely overshadow him. That's not to say that he doesn't fit in on this track; but there's no denying that this is a Jenny Lewis song, despite the amazing collaborations on the entire disc. —Jamie Yates Listen: Jenny Lewis >> "Acid Tongue" | "Carpetbaggers"

2008 : 12 "Arms Like Boulders" by The War On Drugs

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There is a song you hear on the radio It's a funeral march so you change the channel But it's all you hear as you're driving up the 101 from Mexico to California There's no snow when you're looking for your sweethearts Yeah there's no snow when you're looking for your answers There is something about this song that makes me think the singer is singing to someone who is lost. Like he is holding out his hand, but the person cannot quite reach it. There is a fog the singer is trying to cut through, but the person cannot make him out. I like this song because it reminds me of Bob Dylan. I can imagine Bob Dylan singing these lyrics. I think it says a lot of about the lyrics. And you're, you're the kind to hide your eyes from the sun And in your world the strong survive But won't you lay your body down Yes and now, now's the time to wrap your ears around the sound Of your train coming round You'll have to lay everything down —Rich Thomas Listen: The War On Drugs >> "Arms Like Boulders"

2008 : 11 "Lament" by Jacaszek

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Treny, the 2008 album by Jacaszek, can perhaps best be described by saying that it's what house music would sound like if house music emerged from a pre-industrial Eastern European castle instead of from the dance floors of post-industrial Detroit. (Or you can say it's like that band Enigma, only good.) Gloomy, crepuscular, capital-R Romantic, and pretentious: this is the kind of music that puts me in touch with my sexiest inner Goth. Envision blood and candlelight. —Jeremy Bushnell Listen: Jacaszek >> "Lament"

2008 : 10 "Long Division" by Death Cab For Cutie

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As much as I love Ben Gibbard and company, as much as I appreciate their evocative, poetic lyrics and soft accompaniments, it's refreshing to see that they can rock out now and them. Long Division doesn't sacrifice any of the lyrics that Death Cab has been known for since Day One: The television was snowing softly As she hunted for her keys She said she never envisioned him The type of person capable of such deceit The atmosphere is still the same as you'd find in their slower numbers. Perhaps this is a case of 'don't fix it if it's not broken,' but a little energy can go a long way, as this song proves. —Jamie Yates Listen: Death Cab For Cutie >> "Long Division"

2008 : 09 "Stephen Stephen" by Apples in Stereo

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I cannot tell you how much I geeked out when I saw Robert Schneider on the Stephen Colbert show. This is one of those moments where one of my favorite bands is on one of my favorite shows. He even wrote a song about Stephen Colbert. Yes it is those little things that are really important, in a silly, silly way. On top of that, it is a great song. What more can I ask for? —Rich Thomas Listen: Apples In Stereo >> "Stephen Stephen"

2008 : 08 "Bedroom Costume" by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

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For as much as pop music ostensibly concerns itself with physicality and sexuality, it's surprisingly rare to find songs that really evoke the particulars of erotic exchange with any degree of specificity. So when I find one, I end up appreciating it with special zeal. Remember 2001, when I posted "Love With The Three of Us," to my knowledge the world's only great song about menage-a-trois? Anyway, now we're in 2008, and here's "Bedroom Costume," which is likely the world's only great song about the mutually beneficial relationship between a voyeur and an exhibitionist. Note especially the moment when the exhibitionist finally delivers her version of events, around 1:30—it's a moment that's equal parts heartbreaking sweetness and unbearable erotic ferment. —Jeremy Bushnell Listen: Natalie Portman's Shaved Head >> "Bedroom Costume"