8/27/08

There's a couple instances in some modern music where the songwriter complains about having to write songs--the band-bitching-out-their-label song or the it's-so-hard-to-write-these-damn-songs-i-need-those-little-white-pills-everyone-keeps talking about.

What the hell.

8/26/08

I don't wanna write a news story.

This is over when I say it's over.
This is a lesson in procrastination.
I kill myself because I'm so frustrated.
Every single second that I put it off
Means another lonely night I got to race the clock.
I ignore it and it ignores me too.
What say we go and crash your car?
And every time I leave you go and lock the door.
So I walk myself picking at a chip on my shoulder.
I'm another day late and one year older.
It's failure by design.


-Brand New, Failure By Design
Your Favorite Weapon


Loved it when I was 15, and now it's coming back to haunt me, because it's catchy as hell and once I play it once I want to hear it again. It's stupid and simple and shouty and I will rock out in my own little way to this song for as long as I see fit.

Only, I can't write a news story about not wanting to write news stories the way Jesse Lacey could get away with writing a song about not being able to write a song.

This is over when I say it's over...

8/26/08

Okay so, I took a vacation. What are ya gonna do.

But I'm back. Given that I'm at college again, I'll have plenty of time in front of laptop for a blog update each day when I should be doing something else.

This song has been stuck in my head lately. I listened to the record the other day for the first time probably since it came out in 2005. I thought it was great back then, but now it just makes more sense:

"Those boon times went bust
My feet of clay, they dried to dust
The red isn't the red we painted
It's just rust
And the signature thing
That used to bring a following
I have trouble now
Even remembering

So why did I kiss him so hard
Late last Friday night
And keep on letting him change all my plans
I'm either so sick in the head
I need to be bled dry to quit
Or I just really used to love him
I sure hope thats it

I knew that to keep in touch
Would do me deep in dutch
Cuz it isn't the rush of remembering
Its just mush
And the signature thing
Is only growing harrowing
I should have no trouble now
To keep from following

So why did I kiss him so hard
Late last Friday night
And keep on letting him change all my plans
I'm either so sick in the head
I need to be bled dry, to quit
Or I just really used to love him
I sure hope thats it

Those boon times went bust
My feet of clay, they dried to dust
The red isn't the red we painted
Its just rust
And the signature thing
That used to bring a following
I have trouble now
Even remembering

So why did I kiss him so hard
Late last Friday night
And keep on letting him change all my plans
I'm either so sick in the head
I need to be bled dry, to quit
Or I just really used to love him
Or I just really used to love him
Or I just really used to love him
I sure hope that's it"
--Fiona Apple, Tymps (The Sick in The Head Song)
Extraordinary Machine


Maybe I just have a better appreciation for songwriting than I did back then (which may be true), maybe I just have more elaborate tastes (also possible). But Fiona Apple made a really cool album when she wrote "Extraordinary Machine."

There's something theatrical about it. The instrumentation is weird and Radiohead-esuqe at times, her voice is mature and jazzy, and her songwriting is as stream-of-consciousness narrative as ever. Powerful choruses (see "Window" or the above, "Tymps.") and I love a good chorus as much as the next headphone-aholic. She's great at building tension, and resolving it.

"Please Please Please" is a great song, a kind of sociopath anthem that puts you in a good mood. For that alone I respect Fiona Apple, for letting her songwriting say something about people and how they work. I love that line..."But everybody's on the same sad team/and you can hear our sad brains screaming"

Her analysis of emotions in her songwriting is impressive--the metaphors and observations she makes are intimate enough they feel personal, but pretty universal. it's not just like "i'm sad/life sucks/i hope i get hit/by a pick up truck" or whatever other bullshit we're hearing these days. Her ballads feel like 21st century jazz standards (read: awesome). Example:

And it's dangerous work
Trying to get to you too
And I think if I didn't have to
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill myself doing it
Maybe I wouldn't think so much of you
-Red Red Red

Good stuff.

8/13/08

How do i know this?

The chorus of Taylor Swift's "I'd Lie" and that icky "Girl Next Door" song have pretty much exactly the same melody.

Fuck female songwriters and their non-inventive melodies!

My rationalization for why I'm listening to Taylor Swift right now: she did write most an album by herself when she was 16. That's a lot of lyrics, a lots of thoughts. When I first heard that about her I was impressed, but figured it'd be pretty cliche.

Simple in it's song structure & lyrical development, anyone who is or isn't a teenage girl is probably wishing they were and living vicariously through Swift's diary-esque songs. As for her voice, she's no Carrie--she's not powerful, she's breathy and I hear she sucks live, which is not surprising.

Swift deserves credit for getting her career to where it is--she's had a few singles, a few videos, tours. But most of her songs sound EXACTLY the same. Choruses with repeated phrases and simple rhyme, twangy guitar...it's nothing too groundbreaking that she's doing.

So why is she one of country's most popular female artists?

She's fucking honest!

Honesty sells, in all forms. Corporate over-written songs are fake honest, a Hollywood beef-fed lie (whatever that means). And she's so sincere.

Of course her lyrics are simple...you can tell when she wrote this album, she was really talking about all the boys she had crushes on, which I think is cute, and the way it should be.

8/12/08

Sweet Jesus, YouTube is dangerous....
...dangerous enough that i spent about 30 minutes watching footage of---gasp!---an American Idol contestant.

The cheesy staging, the screaming 14 year olds, the fact that you vote, the usually shitty-sounding bands in the early rounds...American Idol displays a lot about what's wrong with music today. For that, I hate it. It feels like fucking high school talent show, dance competition bullshit. So FAKE!!!

But I do love seeing talented singers, and sometimes some of them are.

Carly Smithson, an Irish beauty with a hell of a rock and roll voice, made it to the top 6 in the 7th AI competition. Something about her performances stood out to me--she's got a fabulous depth and edge to her voicethat sounds straight out of the 70s.

I really love what she does with her voice--she has incredible control and does lots of scratchy-in-just-the-right places notes, without sounding too much like she's mimicking the Mariahs and Christinas...she just SINGS! I wish more chick singers did that. Shouted & screamed & went all out.

I like the elements of soul that she can put in seemingly any kind song--think Duffy, Amy Winehouse, that whole shtick that's becoming oh-so-cool.
For example....

(WARNING: Do yourself a favor and fast forward all the fucking bullshit, them talking, blah blah blah....)

Come Toegether
(For some reason, I really like this song when it's done by a female.)

Total Eclipse of the Heart
(I am such a sucker for this song to begin with. As if possessed, I must sing! Can't do it as well as Smithson does, though I wish she was more vulnerable.)

Alone
(The chorus of this song is one of my favorite guilty pleasures while driving. I should be shot for my bad taste, but oh well. It's not hurting anyone.)

Without You
(I like it better than Mariah's--never liked her voice all that much.)

Now I LOVE music with a powerful female singer, but what I hate about most of it is that the band behind her usually sucks or is not doing anything fun. Singers like Smithson, powerful female singers, get thrown into the "hey im hard-and-edgy but still popular" category, which is just a contradiction. You can't be hard rock and be pop--at least, not the way you used to. The 60s, 70s, 80s and some 90s have it but I can't think of anyone whose really struck the right balance in the past few years, what with all the manufactured starlettes we have to play with. Miley Cyrus, anyone? Fuck that shit.

I hate the "hey im hard-and-edgy but still popular" shit with a fervor I cannot find words to express, and something in me fears that's where Smithson's career could wind up (if it winds up anywhere other than YouTube.)

How much better would a voice like hers be in something else? A voice like hers should not be in pop, it should be in stuff that's weird and sexy and harsh. Stuff with lots of sounds that are deep and rich as hers. Let a singer be a vocalist, for something written & crafted, and it'd be a much more respectable outlet than trying to score a top 40 hit (or covering old ones).

It's official. I hate myself for watching this many AI clips, and taking them seriously for even less than 45 minutes of my life. Here's hoping somehow, someday, it proves worthwhile that I watch so much stupid shit.

I just dig powerful chick singers. That's all, I swear!

8/11/08

30 years later and it still sounds awesome...

The other day i saw a live Billy Joel concert from 1978--a year after The Stranger was released. What a fucking good album that is. Billy Joel is the man. A premier songwriter, an honest man, but apparently an alcoholic. That's okay though, it happens.

I've been listening to his Greatest Hits (from 1985) a lot this summer. He did a great job of capturing the time period. Hits off of An Innocent man were a tribute to songs of the 50s and 60s, the songs that probably inspired him when he was starting to play.

Of the many things I love about Billy Joel, near the top of the list is his crystal clear inspiration. Every song he writes is directed to someone, or something, about a very specific topic. It makes for something transcendent, in a sing-along-with-it-in-your-car kind of way. Reliable meter, reliable rhyme, i just love the way he tells stories. Watching him solo in that '78 concert was damn impressive too, but no one needs me to to tell the world Billy Joel is a talented musician whose made tons of contributions to modern pop that can hopefully lift hearts and tell someone a little bit about what went on at one point in time.

This is what Joel said about John Mellancamp during the latter's introduction to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame:

"Don’t let this club membership change you, John. Stay ornery, stay mean. We need you to be pissed off, and restless, because no matter what they tell us - we know, this country is going to hell in a handcart. This country’s been hijacked. You know it and I know it. People are worried. People are scared, and people are angry. People need to hear a voice like yours that’s out there to echo the discontent that’s out there in the heartland. They need to hear stories about it. [Audience applauds] They need to hear stories about frustration, alienation and desperation. They need to know that somewhere out there somebody feels the way that they do, in the small towns and in the big cities. They need to hear it. And it doesn’t matter if they hear it on a jukebox, in the local gin mill, or in a goddamn truck commercial, because they ain’t gonna hear it on the radio anymore. They don’t care how they hear it, as long as they hear it good and loud and clear the way you’ve always been saying it all along. You’re right, John, this is still our country."

i <3 musicians.

8/10/08

Wedding guest dancers to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" be damned, "Time after Time" is Cyndi Lauper's best work. Such a powerful song, and a great addition to the growing collection of American pop standards. 'Cause if you ask me, sometimes girls don't want to have fun, they want to be hopeless romantics. This song says it so well:


lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
and think of you
caught up in circles,
confusion is nothing new
flashback-warm nights-
almost left behind.
suitcases of memories,
time after...

sometimes you picture me,
I'm walking too far ahead.
you're calling to me, I can't hear
what you've said.
Then you say "go slow"
I fall behind,
the second hand unwinds


if you're lost and you will find me
time after time
if you fall I will catch you
I'll be waiting
time after time...
-Cyndi Lauper, "Time After Time"
She's So Unusual (1983)


The original video for the song is weird and adorable and 80s, though Lauper clutching a plastic dog doesn't make too much sense. Usually when I'm lovesick I've got a cigarette in one hand and the other on a non-ringing telephone. Never did find myself a plastic dog to pass the nights with. Makes me sort of sad I missed out on the 80s, I would have thrived.

Lauper is a fantastic musical icon, I hope to see her place in music history sparkle and bounce as much as she does. I love how she managed fun and flair while still delivering honest, artful songwriting. She made a statement she could sell without selling herself, it seems, and I think that's quite an accomplishment.

Today I came across a a stunning rendition by jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. It's her top selling song on iTunes, and it's no wonder because it's a great match up. Wilson's got true jazz pipes--the song gets richer, melodic tones than Lauper performs with. Love you Cyndi, but Wilson is a supreme vocalist, and this song sounds gorgeous in her deep, range. Takes the song from sugary to chcolately, and it's a deeper, more fulfilling taste.

Lauper's acoustic version is equally stunning, a chill-inducing moment of reflection.

Other "Time After Time" covers--pick your flavor.


Rob Thomas
(god i hate Matchbox Twenty. that's all.)

Sarah McLachlan & Cyndi Lauper
(Sarah's fantastic, she's got such quiet control which is so nice on this song. Plus, it's nice to see musicians collaborate like that.)

INOJ
(Totally remember hearing this on the radio when I was in 4th grade)

Miles Davis
(Even if you're not a jazz fan, picking up on the bits you recognize makes this a great interpretation. And check out those pants! Miles, you crazy wonderful musician. He's so cool to watch. And the tension he builds! He really runs with this one, the chorus is hard to find. Really makes it his, almost unrecognizable.)

Novaspace
(This is so unbelievably awful, even as a dance song. i don't want to dance to this! club music can't have this many words! weird ass video, too.)

Saosin
(Doesn't really do much for me, but it does show the span of musicians this song has reached. There isn't really a personal style in this one, though. It's just being sung.)

Eva Cassidy
(Absolutely haunting, she was such an interpreter.)

Cassidy''s version on a Smallville montage. Aww. Love Clark & Lana so much. One of my favorite WB couples from back in the day.

Quietdrive
(This cover hit #25 on the American top 40 charts--not bad for what started, supposedly as a punk band. Although very little of this sounds punk at all to me, which is kind of disappointing. Candy pop punk, I guess.)



...
time after time. Let's see where else this songs goes.

8/8/08

If the only Rufus Wainwright song you have on you iTunes is his or "Across the Universe" cover, you're missing out on one hell of a songwriter.

Theatrical, decadent, explicit and honest, Wainwright consistently manages to bare his soul and pour his heart on top of yours.

His voice is like a stage voice gone flat, and that's okay. Rich and fluid, but pained and just so unique. Varied instrumentation and plenty of string arrangements create a baroque-sounding symphony of a melancholy, homosexual man. (read:awesome, if you like that sort of thing?)

Scores and scores of musicians play on Wainwright's records--a few who are known, most who aren't. It's refreshing to see musicians reach out to others when they're trying to craft their record. There's no isolation, and his records end up being these unfolding panoramas, with all kinds of combinations.

The first record of his that I heard was "Poses," god what a great CD. The opening track, "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk." is a favorite song of mine. So fluid, so simple. And he plays with keys so well! He can change the mood without letting the song freeze, his melodies are always moving. (if that makes any sense...watch that one ^ and you'll see what i mean).

I love how he makes simple, everyday things such tales. Great with metaphor, too. His themes are consistently the same--heartbreak, society, the usual of a songwriter--but his lyrics strike a balance between colloquial and creative. He manages an optimistic desperation--you savor the sadness but you're not saturated by it. And he's got a sense of humor--poking fun at himself with just the right amount of cheek (see "Old Whore's Diet).

The man just drips of style. Videos feature artful decadence, but there's something almost mocking about it. (See April Fools)

I'm dying to see him live.

Listening Rufus when you're kind of bummed out can be uplifting--his melodies sound like they belong on Broadway, so there's an element of theatrics that's ultimately cheerful if you're into that sort of sound. A Rufus Wainwright CD is great if you're spending the night alone and wish you weren't. He just sounds like he's lonely, too.

Wainwright's for a certain kind of taste, that's for sure. If you're not into stuff that's really traditionally orchestrated (or if you can't get over the gay factor) you probably won't find much depth in it. But if you're looking for something that's fashionable and flavored with just the right amount of sass, he's a fantastic, fantastic find.

A modern minstrel if i ever heard one:

Poses
(Beautiful performance, beautiful, honest song.)

And above all, an entertainer:


Oh, What a World
(Although...really? Why witches? I don't really get it, but that's okay. Do your thing, man.)

8/5/08

I'm glad I was there when emo happened. I know "emo" as we've come to define is nearly two decades in the making, but for me, around 2002-2005 is where it all began, where all these artists who seemed to fit me started creeping out of the closet (really, I was just a lonely kid on Limewire)

Jesse Lacey, Adam Lazzarra, John Nolan, Andrew McMahon, Jim Adkins, (and for theatrical measure) Conor Oberst...those guys were writing my fucking soundtrack.

Violence, guns and car crashes from TBS or Brand New, lonely-awkward guy heartbreak from SoCo or Straylight Run, and the madness and drama wrapped up in Bright Eyes' "Fevers and Mirrors"...those kind of songs taught me about love and relationships and people as much as chick flicks marketed toward teenage girls, or Jane Austen or wherever we get all our ideals from.

It was all so bright-sounding, so new to me and so true-to-my-own life. Looking back some of the stories are tragic, some are just plain whiny, and some of the lyrics really fucking suck.

Jimmy Eat World was big, too--the first time I realized SoCo's Konstantine referenced "For Me This is Heaven" I felt like I was discovering a tomb of buried treasure.

Then Elliott Smith's "From a Basement on a Hill" was released when I was 16, and I found out about a whole bunch of other stuff. After lots of classic rock up til high school,combined with lots of Tori Amos from ballet class, trembling songwriting like his was some kind of music for my "still-not-bleeding" ears.

Then there was the first Spill Canvas record, Sunsets and Car Crashes. god such a cheesy title, but I listened to that thing every waking moment. I must've burned 5 copies of that thing because I kept breaking or scratching the ones I'd carry around with me. I preached that record like it was the damn third testament, pawning it off to anyone who would listen to see if it got to them the way it got to me.

I think I had it before it was actually released, too (zomg!!) and I remember hearing different studio versions of the songs and being like "what the fuck happened to my songs!" It's especially noticeable on "Caterpillars" or the backup vocals on the title track.

Made me smile when I heard his single on the XM radio station at work. "All Over You" or whatever. I had to go out and buy that CD when it came out, too. I had to see what he did. It sounds exactly the same to me, the same kind of writing, same kind of phrases all direct and dramatic and frustrated and insistent.

I've made leaps and bounds in my emotional and musical maturity in the past five years, but I hope that fucking CD will always have that same kind of magic to me.


What very well might be on every mix CD i made sophomore year of high school:

Something Vague
(Sing me to death, Conor Oberst! This guy just wails...let's see how his solo album, stripped of the Bright Eyes name, fares with his fans.)

Embers and Envelopes
(I forgot how much I liked Mae. The have a new CD that I really want to hear, but for some reason it would be weird.)

Cute without the "e"
(I never would've admitted loving this song, but you bet I did.)

Punk Rock Princess
(So bright. So bouncy. So cuffed-wrists holding hands. Ah, memories! I still listen to this song, it is so fucking cute, and somehow still sarcastic. And look at McMahon in his sweater. He looks/sounds so young!)


Sweetnesshttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
(Don't ask how I responded when I saw that Paramore was covering that. So many wires in my head got crossed.)

And of course...
The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
I remember watching that video to death. "Your Favorite Weapon" was an instant favorite as soon as I heard it, for whatever reason, I downloaded it, I think, after hearing Seventy Times Seven. When I looked them up and realized they had just released this second record...well, next time I was at the mall with my mom I took my restaurant paycheck and bought "Deja Entendu." Peeled through those liner notes, I couldn't believe what this dude was saying and how it sounded.

Still fucking love that song.

8/4/08

Anyone else click on "The New Facebook?"

I imagine this is what an alternate universe feels like.

8/4/08

And her mom's from Indiana and she
She married an Asian man and they
They brought her from Japan to be
Happily suburban and I
I met her one summer when I was
I was just visiting ten days
Her wrists were island thin but she
She smiled like her Indie kin
And she's half

She's into strictly rich and
Overworked businessmen
She don't remember when
She used to hold my hands
After the Rollerland
After she closed the stand
Now it's supply and demand
And it just comes down to the math
And she's half

And she's half
--The American-Analog Set, "She's Half"
Set Free

When read, these lyrics create a stunning image of a girl.

What really gets me is when you think about the fact that he wrote this about a real person. It's touching and poignant. The detail, the history of where this girl comes from and where she is now, you can picture a well-dressed, shiny-haired thin woman in business chic, a girl who once ran around holding hands with indie guys with guitars. The fact he only met her when he was around for 10 days-- How many times did he see her? How old were they? The fact that holding hands seems so poignant, and yet was that all they did or just what stood out?

Creepy eerie harmonies on the repeated "she's half" line, matched with the soft bells as percussion are magical, which sound somehow exotic and familiar at the same time. (Couldn't find a streaming link of the song anywhere--je suis desole, live YouTube will have to work). Plus, soft male vocals have a great effect on ambiance, i think--like when Thom Yorke gets all creepy-high, or Chris Martin, Sufjan Stevens.

There's a hint of regret in this song,a soft anger at how things ended up. Something a lot more furious than the lightness lets on. It gets in at the end, with the repeated echoes. Somehow it's not as sweet as it seemed.

The rest of their record is okay,I guess I haven't listened to it that much. It has one lone comment on songmeanings.net--one of the best ways to gauge how songwriting touches the Internet masses within all their personalized lenses. (I love thumbing message boards for that reason--people say some weird shit).

Pretty okay as a song, but great, i think, read as poetry.

8/3/08

If you haven't heard of The Hold Steady yet, you're about to. The Brooklyn-based five piece's fourth album "Stay Positive" is yet another well-crafted and emotionally poignant album, with piano and guitar solos galore, and chorus's that you'll want to hear over and over again.


"Stay Positive" deals with more mature themes than previous release--this one is about kids growing up, and how to hang on the passion that got you there so far (hence the album title). Though they've only been together since 2004, they've made it to a great place so far in the industry. With a close following and critical success, The Hold Steady's discography is just beginning.

Their third album, "Boys and Girls in America" (2006), is a fantastic record. It tells a story, one everyone knows so well. It's a story of growing up in America, falling in love with your friends and the stupid, wonderful stuff that happens within all that.At least, I think it is.


Hey citrus, hey liquor
i love it when you touch each other
hey whiskey, hey ginger
i come to you with rigid fingers
i see Judas in the hard eyes
of the boys who worked in the corners
i feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers

hey bar roommate tavern
i find hope in all the souls you gather
hey citrus, hey liquor
i love it when we come together
i feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers
I feel Judas in the long odds of the rackets on the corners
I feel jesus in the tenements of honest, nervous lovers
I feel Judas in the pistols and the pagers that come with all the powders

lost in fog and love and faith was fear
and I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere
lost in fog and love and faith was fear
I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere
-The Hold Steady, Citrus
Boys and Girls in America


"Citrus," an acoustic moment in an otherwise quite boisterous record, is a reflective moment with just the right amount of context. Great metaphor in this song--coming together like citrus and liquor. What a common combination and what a great comparison.

I love the line this record opens on--"There are nights when I think Sal Paradise was right." Right from the get-go you know these guys must have something to say if they're referencing Jack Kerouac. And they're so good at setting scenes, references to dimly lit bars or all-ages matinée hardcore shows.

More tastes of The Hold Shttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifteady, in all their classic rock-inspired deliciousness:


"First Night"


"Sequestered in Memphis"


Craig Finn's gritty vocals, careful meter in every verse and great blues-rock piano are a powerful combination. Though they've only been around for a few years, they've gotten a fair amount of attention from music magazines, with numerous comparisons to Ameriana rock legends like Springsteen and Billy Joel for today's kids (namely the ones that are still growing up).

Curious to see what happens in the wake of "Stay Positive," a success so far with plenty of great reviews. Hopefully, they'll retain their authenticity despite any amounts of success that come their way, because I think that's what makes The Hold Steady such a standout sound in modern indie rock.

They don't try to say anything other than what they seem to already be thinking about, and in their growing fan base, they seem to be creating the "unified scene" they keep singing about. I'm pretty sure they've even made t-shirts with the phrase on it by now. Keep singing about the kids at shows, and pretty soon they'll hear what you're saying.

8/2/08

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't wait to see what Rilo Kiley lead singer Jenny Lewis comes up with next.

Her second solo album comes out this September and I, personally, am stoked. Lewis fronts indie-pop group Rilo Kiley, whose 2007 release "Under the Blacklight" seemed to let down their cult of hipster fans.

The band noticeably strayed from the folk, acoustic sound that made them such a hit.

"Under the Blacklight" was a sex-infused album both lyrically and instrumentally, with everything from Latin to disco to 70s rock to candy-pop sounds.

Add in some serious themes: "Close Call" is about prostitution, "15" is about a way too young girl with a way too old man, "Moneymaker" seems to be as much about stripping as selling yourself for anything.

I thought the album was well titled--with lots of rhythm guitar, upbeat dance-able tracks and Lewis' sultry tones it's easy to envision the songs being performed in a dirty, dive bar somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

But the difference to early fans was clear. Listen to something off of "Take Offs and Landings" (2001) like "Plane Crash in C" then a track like the disco-dance track "Breaking Up" and you might wonder if it's even the same musicians.

It's not a bad record, I don't think, despite the fact it's been called a disappointment. I think it's just a different kind of record, with different kinds of stories, and frankly, I think they're good enough musicians to pull it off.

And, as we saw on her first solo album, "Rabbit Fur Coat," Lewis's voice is so well-suited for bluesy soulful drawls. It's sexy and authentic, and a more powerful sound than the breathy, nearly spoken style she often used in their other albums. The songs seem written to fit that without mimicking the Southern gospel of "Rabbit Fur Coat." Her sound changed and, thus, Rilo Kiley has changed as well.

So needless to say, I am crazy-excited for her next solo record. It's called "Acid Tongue" (!!), and I'm hoping that's exactly how it sounds.

8/1/08

Death Cab for Cutie--love songs for those who don't necessarily want to feel like that's what they're listening to.

I was slightly disappointed by the band's newest release, "Narrow Stairs." They're great musicians, but the album lacks meaning, and songs seem more written-to-get-an-album-finished than composed. The single "I Will Possess Your Heart," seems to be an exception. There's some great instrumentation, in it's full length version but compared to their old stuff,song themes seem much more easy-to-read in terms of what he's singing about. There's a lot packed in there about relationships, but most of it seems pretty regretful, or at least hopeless.

"The Ice is Getting Thinner," the last track, seems to put the nail in the "we're over" coffin. "We buried our love in a wintery grave/a lump in the snow was all that remained/but we stayed by it's side as the days turned to weeks/and the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak."

Despite the powerful moments that there on "Narrow Stairs," they seem few compared to what Death Cab did on other records. I thought their last album, "Plans" had much stronger songs as a whole.

Love of mine some day you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark
No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the Nos on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me
"Son fear is the heart of love"
So I never went back

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the Nos on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about
Cause we'll hold each other soon
The blackest of rooms

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the Nos on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
Then I'll follow you into the dark

--Death Cab For Cutie, I Will Follow You Into The Dark
Plans

This song is like the sensitive modern young guy's "I Will Always Love You," or something equally blatant. It's poetic and simple, honest and touching. Great imagery, too--you can see that neon sign in the distance, with the illuminated no. Points for comparing heaven to a roadside motel.

It's such a loyal, declarative love--i'll follow you wherever. But it's not too idealistic. After all, it is about what happens when you die. Seems to be a reoccurring theme for Gibbard. I think what's so beautiful about this song is the everlasting hope that's intertwined with death. Live a long, satisfying life full of sights and sounds, then, like tired travelers, find somewhere to stay when it's time to rest, or at least have someone to rest with. It's a nice thought. Quietly dressed with acoustic guitar, these lyrics standout like a beacon in what is otherwise a complex (read: awesome) album of interesting sounds and song development.

Now, I don't think they should've made the same record twice, but "Narrow Stairs" feels like a step backward. "Plans" was so good.

But who knows, maybe it's themes will grow on me, when the time is right for those songs to mean something, too.