Video Nostalgia: Foo Fighters - "Big Me"

I've been listening to the first Foo Fighters record a lot recently and remembered this hilarious video of "Big Me."  Rock in the '90s, those were simpler times.  At least I can always come back to it and get warm, fuzzy feelings inside.  And not just in a goat boy, "hey, remember the '90s"-kind of way.

Video: Menomena - "Evil Bee"

This is my first attempt with this whole embedding process. A great video to a great Menomena song "Evil Bee" from their recently released album Friend And Foe [Barsuk Records].

Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover

Simply put: Canadians do it better.  Well, in the very least, they do weirder better.  Sunset Rubdown are a four-piece from Montreal that creates off-kilter, whimsical guitar rock whose beautifully subtle melodies slowly creep under your skin deeper and deeper the more you listen.  Songwriter and vocalist Spencer Krug (also from Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake) yelps out cryptic metaphors from behind his keyboard in such a way that often forces a "love it" or "can't stand it" division among listeners, but I find myself being captivated both by the uniqueness of the singing style and his adept sense of rhythm with words, placing them just at the right peak or valley of a song to complement the emotional weight of it.

There is also a creepy, horror-movie-soundtrack like quality to the piano arrangements on some songs ("Colt Stands Up, Grows Horns", "Stallion") that I find even myself wishing would end sooner.  Yet, these missteps are always juxtaposed to some brilliant bridge or transition that I can't overlook.  The best songs start and end in completely different worlds as mini-epics, first coming off as mad meanderings, then revealing themselves as scripted compositions with every note in its right place ("The Mending of the Gown", "Magic vs. Midas", "Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days", "The Taming of the Hands that Came Back to Life").  Judging by their song titles, I think it is safe to say that Sunset Rubdown also have a playful sense of humor.

Random Spirit Lover is actually a very apt label for this record.  It is often random, has a ton of spirit, and I would bet these guys are lovers, not fighters.  In any case, they are keeping the album alive and well for me.

Home page: sunsetrubdown.net

Listen: Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days [MP3]

Listen: Winged/Wicked Things [MP3]

Listen: Winged/Wicked Things (Live Daytrotter Session)

Buy: Sunset Rubdown at Jagjaguwar 

Video: M. Ward - "Chinese Translation"

This is the best video I have seen all year. I keep coming back to M. Ward ever since I picked up Post-War earlier this year. Thought this was worth sharing.

Battles - Mirrored

When you ask someone what kind of music they listen to, you usually hear one of two responses: 1) "I like everything" and 2) "I like everything but country and rap."  The former is an outright lie (how can you possibly like Celene Dion!), while the latter is a half-truth--when you look at the country/rap hater's musical library, you find Beck, Wilco, Rage Against the Machine, Toby Kieth...alright, no Toby...but no doubt the guy who claims not to like rap or country actually enjoys portions of, if not all, the musical character that defines the genre. I say, let's bury genre-specific music hunting! Be bold and listen to something you might not seek out. This is leading somewhere, you can tell. It's not "math-rock" or "prog-rock," it's the album Mirrored by Battles and it kicks arse!

The album leads off with a fervent cross-stick drum beat on the aptly titled "Race: In" and pretty much never lets up until reprise and closer "Race: Out."  These songs sound as if a bunch of rock/funk/jazz mutts got together in a warehouse somewhere and allowed whatever to come to come--then meticulously shaped the ideas that came out of the meeting. It's not so much about trying to figure out what they are doing, though it is a fun challenge; it's just enjoying the sheer enthusiasm and passion they clearly have for this style of rock. And, as I experienced a couple weeks ago at a show in Portland, it's actually really fun to dance to too!  They--fucking--slew.

They are all incredibly talented musicians with a keen sense of metre, tempo, and space. The band's make-up: a bassist/guitarist (Dave Konopka), an absolutely monster (!!) drummer (John Stanier, formerly of Helmet), and two keyboardist/guitarists (Ian Williams and Tyondai Braxton, also on "vox"). Each member also has an array of noisemakers and looping machines used to create intricate, interwoven beats and [very] hidden melodies.

With all that said, listening to Mirrored may still be quite a challenge for some not already predisposed to "experimental rock" (dammit, I wasn't supposed to give it a title!). Just give it a shot; check out some songs; watch some videos on their myspace page. If nothing else, you may be able to at least appreciate why I can't stop listening to these guys and can't wait for more!!

Listen: Battles on Mypsace

Watch: "Atlas" video

Watch: "Tonto" video

Buy: Amazon

Jens Lekman - "Night Falls Over Kortedala"

This is an easy one. Jens Lekman is a Swedish singer/songwriter that writes poignant, albeit goofy, songs about love, friendship, and playing bingo. His newest is Night Falls Over Kortedala and it is fantastic. I fell in love with his previous album Oh, You're So Silent Jens over two years ago and have been awaiting this album's arrival for some time. Some people liken him to old-school crooners such as Burt Bacharach; I don't think he needs comparison because his songs speak for themselves. Last week, I was lucky enough to see him perform at the Someday Lounge in Portland with a full band and it was a blast! A lot of his songs have a Brazilian tropicalia quality to them and the crowd was very much digging on it. He also has a comedic sixth-sense which is an often overlooked quality in great band leaders.

Check out the links below to listen to some songs and buy the album (or his previous one). Also, I seriously suggest you go to his show, even if you don't know the music. You will not be disappointed (unless you don't like being happy!). The rest of his current tour is linked below. Happy Jens-ing!

Jens Lekman home page

Jens on Tour

Listen: From Night Falls Over Kortedala - The Opposite of Hallelujah [MP3]

MySpace:

The Songs of Jens

Jens Lekman 1

Jens Lekman 2

Buy:

His label - Secretly Canadian

Amazon - Night Fall Over Kortedala

Amazon - Oh, You're So Silent Jens

Let's send some hot air into the ether...

Well, the world can now relax, I have a blog.  I know how jealous you all really are; and by you all, I mean the two people that I've told about this.  Just sit back and feverishly await my amazingly stupendous posts! Don't worry, I won't steal any more time than you already lose on the perverse wasteland known as the internet.

Chris