Death Cab For Cutie: Revival

Death Cab for Cutie has a new album coming out.
In the past, I admit, I've loved Death Cab for Cutie.

I got hooked in high school when Transatlanticism out, only to find out they had been a part of the Indie Scene for quite some time. Transatlanticism, being one of the few well done, emotionally charged pop/indie/alt/rock concept albums, has some really good songs on it.

When Plans came out, most music lovers who consider themselves "indie" immediately separated themselves with having ever liked DCFC.

I also have to admit, the singles they released weren't the best songs on the albums.

"The Sound of Settling" got old way too fast.
"Soul Meets Body" wasn't even that great of a song.

But Transatlanticism really did have some really beautiful moments. As in the song, "Passenger Seat": "With my feet on the dash, the world doesn't matter." Anyone who's ever taken a late night ride with their best friend knows exactly what that is like.

And Plans. "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" was so beautifully crafted. A sad, which to me, is about growing old and out of love. We know it happens and its true, but who writes about things like that.

And, I think most indie fans were detered when Trans was given a 6.4 by Pitchfork, and Plans a 6.5.

So, enough on defending to the past, believe it or not, I think DCFC has a really neat future coming up.

The new album releases May 13th, and features the new single, which I have to say, I am thrown off by. In a good way. It's called "I Will Possess Your Heart." How assertive, Ben Gibbard. The song is new, it's progressive, it shows us a new side of Death Cab For Cutie. It's over 8 minutes long, and the lyrics don't even start until past the 4:30 mark.

However, Gibbard fails to show that he's outdone himself lyrically, by reverting to a simpler, more direct approach to writing.

Chris Walla, the second guitarist/second pianist/back-up vocalist, is who I assume has more control of this album. He's always been the contributor of atmosphere and emotion with his spacey tones and drawn out melodies. When one sees Death Cab for Cutie live, I feel as though he is the one that makes the music real and relatable just with his sounds.

Altogether, I am excited for the new DCFC album, Narrow Stairs, and as long as Gibbard showcases his lyrical craftmanship, to pair with Walla's emotion channeled through music, it can be really great.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/49356-death-cab-for-cutie-i-will-possess-your-heart-stream

Four years later

I apologize immensely. I've been meaning to write for so long.
I wanted to write about Kanye, and St. Vincent, and the National, and maybe even Jon Brion.


But tonight, I HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT RADIOHEAD.

They've accomplished a sweet feat of KNOWINGLY RELEASING THEIR ALBUM ONLINE FOR FREE, AND GIVING A GOOD 1 2 PUNCH TO THE RECORD LABELS.

So as you can tell, I am incredibly excited for this. I am currently still in my first listen.

What has hit me hardest, is the new version of "Nude."

I believe in the past, it has also been known as "Big Ideas."

Notice I said in the past? As far as I know, this song has been around as a live tune since 1996.

Look at the date, 2007? And they just released this track? and it STILL sounds GREAT?

Check it out:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/csbijy

Patriot Day

I think it's funny that 9-11 is referred to on calendars as "Patriot Day."

I'm sure everyone remembers that it took two collapsed buildings, several crashed planes, a dent in the pentagon, and many many deaths to bring out the patriotism in this country.

So let 9-11 be remembered as the day that brought out our filthy, band-wagon spirit.

GO CHICAGO BEAR- I mean, GO AMERICA!

I think this Kronos Quartet version of the "Star-spangled Banner" summarizes this blog entry perfectly:

Kronos Quartet - Star-spangled Banner
http://www.sendspace.com/file/uzeaw7

Market Fresh

Stand by me.



Well, here it is. The first entry to my brand new mp3 blog. This is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time. For some reason, being an avid music listener, and being a critic, are two things that come easy.

Now to discuss the first song, which the mp3 Blog is named after.

Well, where to start? It's Broken Social Scene, who have very quickly become one of my favorite bands. I feel like many people just have strange connections to their music. I'm never sure why I can empthasize with it so much. No, I have not been there.

Broken Social Scene taps a wide variety of moods, yet they always have that sort of...soundtrack sort of appeal. Like any track would compliment some given event in my life.
Kevin Drew's voice, in addition, is always strangely sexual. That whispery, just woke up sort of tone that he manages to sing in.
One could describe them as melancholy, but I'm not sure I would. Many of the tracks are suprisingly optimistic, while others just feel like a sunset.

I might even go as far to call them the Sonic Youth of our time. Yes it's true, our generation doesn't go as far as we used to make great music, however, Broken Social Scene is representative of so much that is alive today. Everything from sampling of sounds (analogous to Vector art), to when we are listening to music on our iPods, complementing our drizzly Sundays with lyric and melody. The words are all careless, and fun, and sarcastic, and sweet and clever. So many different sounds are juxtaposed into one, caused by the great group that is Broken Social Scene.

at this point, all is ramble, so here is the link:

Broken Social Scene - Market Fresh
http://www.sendspace.com/file/tsa39b