Video: Bat for Lashes - "Daniel" Live on Later with Jools Holland (UK)

Here is a fantastic rendition of "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes on the UK show Later with Jools Holland. When it comes to live bands, the production quality for most tv shows is pretty piss poor, so it's nice to hear a perfectly dialed-in version of this great song.

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

@myspace

The Decemberists are not strangers to grandeur. In 2004, they released an 18 minute, 5-part EP called The Tain, even then getting recognition for its classic prog rock vibe. The Melville-amped song "The Mariner's Revenge" appearing on 2005's Picaresque was a fan-gathering success about revenge on the high seas. And 2006's release The Crane Wife contained no more than two separate 3-part songs: a bookending story about a lonely man's brief affair with a she-bird (unsurprisingly titled "The Crane Wife") and the murderous yarn "The Island". Since they have already done it before, it makes perfect sense that The Decemberists would once again weave an epic tale of love, murder, and revenge, dripping with folky sensibility, infused with classic rock panache for good measure. So we have The Hazards of Love, which compared to everything else before is more bloated saga than clever fable.

While "The Crane Wife" was wisely displaced by unrelated songs, The Hazards of Love is just one damn long song. Nothing breaks up the slow, linear progression of the story; each song just casually bleeds into the next. Momentum built up from one song is unceremoniously dashed by the next. Passages from earlier in the album are repeated, and then repeated, and then repeated ad naseum until you realize they have four tracks of the very same song, arranged slightly differently each time. Moreover, no single song really makes sense when plucked out on its own, either. The only track that actually feels like a "song", and is arguably the best moment, is the very last one dubbed "The Hazards of Love 4." (The irony is bludgeoning me). Finally, the band and lead man Colin Meloy forgo all the indulgent theatrics and just lay down a decent song.

Reportedly, Meloy's original vision was to write and perform a full-on Broadway musical containing the whole shebang: costumes, sets, props, and overacting. Instead we get the soundtrack for a musical that doesn't exist. When you think about The Hazards of Love this way, it becomes slightly less confusing (and confounding). On the other hand, maybe we should be thankful that only the soundtrack survived the brainstorming process, and now that they've got it out of their system, these guys can get back to doing what they do much better than this--writing good songs.

Hazards Of Love - The December...

Video: Phoenix - "1901" and "Lisztomania" on Saturday Night Live

There's a great line from an Animal Collective song called "Cuckoo" in which the discombobulated protagonist, before losing it all, cries out, "sometimes all I want is one favorite song/in two or three minutes/don't sing so long." That sentiment pretty much sums up my attraction to the songs of French band Phoenix. Why draw it out when you can hit your audience over the head with a memorable, smacking pop song? The gummier the better really. And therein lies the difference between good pop and bad pop: good pop actually makes you feel good, while bad pop causes brain aneurisms (see: Fergi).

Phoenix is putting out a new album called Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix on May 25th. I thought they did splendidly on SNL the other day performing "1901" and "Lisztomania", which both appear on the new album.

BvtO Album Pick: Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

I quite like Neko Case's new album Middle Cyclone. It's a logical follow up to 2006's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, albeit with less immediacy, but so very rewarding upon repeated listens. Her blend of dark storytelling and angelic vocalizations make for an unique experience indeed. And her loves songs are far from obvious, as this lyric can attest: "Carved your name across three counties/Ground it in with bloody hides/Their broken necks will line the ditch/'til you stop it, stop it/Stop this madness". I'm excited to finally get to see her live in June! 

In any case, I stumbled upon yet another music browsing website, Lala. This one's set-up pretty well for discovering music and buying it cheap if all you want is the MP3, which you can then use any way you want. Personally, I'm still a sucker for the good 'ol cd, but the prices are enticing. Anyway, you get one listen for free, so don't be confused when it don't work twice.

Middle Cyclone - Neko Case

Video: Andrew Bird - "Anonanimal" Live at Guthrie Theatre

Here is a live version of what I think to be the top track from Andrew Bird's most recent LP Noble Beast, "Anonanimal".

Video: Neko Case - "People Got a Lotta of Nerve"

The first single from Neko Case's new album Middle Cyclone. The cover for the album is quite silly, but we'll forgive her because of that stunning voice.



And in case you missed it...

BvtO Album Pick: Air France - No Way Down EP

Air France

No Way Down EP

@myspace

Air France are a duo from Sweden that craft simple, sweet, upbeat electronic music that can be used alternately on a dance floor or waking up in the morning.  I seem to use it more for the latter.  Particularly useful is the track "Collapsing at Your Doorstep" from the short but effective No Way Down EP, which was released in early 2008 (not actually available in the US yet).  I have found myself actually waking up with the "no...better...sorta like a dream" sample looping through my head; an equally soft and confusing way to start another day of consciousness.  So, if dreams often feel as real as life, is life also a dream?  What people do awake they also do in their sleep.  How can we prove that life isn't a dream?  Like I said, the song is effective.

Luckily, "No Excuses" is an antidote to the pedantic arm chair philosophizing caused by the previous song: a sunny beat with an optimistic melody, proposing that we should enjoy life while we've still got one to ponder about.  Fair enough.  Below you can find music videos of the above songs and I'll post others in the Becca Vs. The Octopus Radio side bar soon.

Happy dreaming!

PS: You may not be dreaming, but your brain is in a vat!

No Way Down - Air France

"Collapsing at Your Doorstep"


"No Excuses"

Video: The Walkmen - "Four Provinces"

The Walkmen's You & Me did not exactly elicit a fervor in me, but "Four Provinces" is a stand out track on the album. Directed by Bruno Levy, the video follows a young girl around the apparently gorgeous Kagbeni Mustang region of Nepal. Anybody know someone with a couch to surf on in Nepal?

Video: Fleet Foxes - "Mykonos"

Well, for a music video director, you really can't go wrong with flying shapes. In fact, I see far too many paper cut out shapes in music videos these days! So, it's a bit regretful that the video for Fleet Foxes' song "Mykonos" off their Sun Giant EP includes such stand-by creative tropes. Luckily, the song is anything but typical; quite beautiful really! And in a way, the animation melds nicely with the song. In the meantime, let's hope that bands take a stand against flying shapes in the future.

Video: Animal Collective - "My Girls"

The video for Animal Collective's "My Girls" from their recently released album Merriweather Post Pavilion definitely aims to discredit my belief that the band is more pop than psychedelia. It's a typical band-rocking-out-on-camera video, only the band is blackened out, and their stage appears to be in a hallucinogenic aquarium of some kind. It's certainly fitting. Though the song holds up completely on its own, with or without flying shape bubbles.

The band recently posted a tour schedule on their myspace page. Giggity giggity!