Saturday, March 25, 2006

Songs Seventy-Eight to Eighty-Two

I'm still rushing through to catch up on my blog-gap. I forgot to mention that this morning in a fit of cleaning pique I decided to give much of my former grad life away. My current grad life relies nicely on data and electronically-available sources--much less dust. There's great liberation in letting loose a sneering snort whilst saying "Heidegger" or "Glas" or "subaltern" and throwing books into a box. And, as a way-working, grad-student mom of two, I find surprisingly little time to read feminist theory. (Though, I still held onto my Lacan. I'm telling you, that guy was onto something! What, I'm not sure, but something.) Plus, I've netted miles of bookshelf space for the much-lauded return of literature--and the movement of that literature out of my bedroom and living room. Now that theory is dead, I'm totally prepped for neo-new criticism; plus, novels have more beautiful covers, and I can finally lose myself in them again. Here's some music to read by . . .

Song Seventy-Eight: Saturday Looks Good to Me, "Meet Me by the Water." Another 60s-vibe tune. Wall of sound effects with sweet girl-y lead vocals. Lots of odd percussion, an out of nowhere saxomaphone. There's a nice echo effect on the lead vocals at points, as well. The song kind of deconstructs itself a bit preciously toward the end, though. I get it, you can work the studio equipment.

Song Seventy-Nine: Shout Out Louds, "Never Ever." The song has a whirling instrumental start that rolls up and down. Plaintive lead vocals that fit well with the driving guitars and percussion. They sound like a band that would be really good live; lots of random, head-bobbing dancing would ensue. There are lots of instrumental breaks that can get a bit repetitive--very much a musician's band, I think. Good song overall.

Song Eighty: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "By the Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth." Another alterna-critical fave. I remember hearing this song on the All Songs Considered year end review. Lead singer has one of those intentionally bad voices that grow on you. I've seen comparisons to David Byrne, but there's not the same cool distance here. It's more "deal-with-it" bad than "I've-really-been-working-on-this . . . a lot" bad. The music draws you in and sounds comfortingly familiar. I like the big drums! It is a little long. To quote Marianne Moore, concision is a virtue, boys.

Song Eighty-One: Stars, "Ageless Beauty." A wonderfully updated shoegazer type of tune. Lovely lead vocals streaming into a wash of sound that leaves me surprisingly uplifted. I like this very much and would definitely listen to more of the Stars, whom I'd never heard of before. Well done.

Song Eighty-Two: Dead Prez, "Radio Freq." The lasting influence of Dave Chapelle's Block Party. I'd heard of Dead Prez but never listened to them. This is a great song--a bouncing, raucous, clever condemnation of radio. Lots going on, but it never loses control. Short and to the point. I think Dead Prez will be among those sending me to the wall when the revolution comes, but I'll be bobbing my head the whole way.

283 to go.

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