I've been all over the place lately - from retro funk to poppy post-hardcore, bluegrass songwriters to rediscovered old favorites from mix CDs of days gone by. There's a few newer releases I'm incredibly stoked on and replaying continuously while driving aimlessly, getting lost in a new city. Not to mention the stage full of banjos strumming standards I've caught live the last two Wednesdays.
But this night calls for something vaguely haunting and free of association, something to get lost in. The delicate harmonies of The Staves glide over suitability scenic lyrics like they're on ice, the subtle dynamics are absolutely stunning. The studio version of this song, "Winter Trees," has drums and strings and all sorts of build-up towards the end of song when it speeds up some - the kind very much in keeping with modern folk - but I love the tension in the live acoustic version. Sometimes all that studio stuff can take away from the songwriting, like a pretty girl dressed in so many scarves and jewels you don't even notice her face.
"White winter trees
Covered in snow
I don’t mind
I don’t mind
I think of you now
Here in the cold
You won’t mind
You won’t know
But I never meant to say
Any of those things
Oh I never meant to tell you how
To be or how to think
Oh I was wrong
Heavy of heart
Weary of soul
You won’t mind
You won’t mind
I think of him now
Fathoms below
You won’t mind
You won’t know
But I never meant to say
Any of those things
Words can sound so cruel
When you speak before you think
Oh I was wrong
But you didn’t understand
That my heart was in your hands
You were so blind
Blind
I promised you that I’d never let you down
Oh but I couldn’t love you any less than now
And I promised you that I’d never let you down
Oh but I couldn’t love you any less than I do now
And I lost myself on that November night
White winter trees
Covered in snow
I don’t mind"~Winter Trees
The Staves, Dead and Born and Gone
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
11/16/13
The prospect of new Brand New material getting release sometime in the relatively near future has me knee-deep in their discography. We're talking front-to-back Deja listens, in-depth attention to Daisy's themes, outright speaker-blasting of The Devil and God, and wistful rewinds with Your Favorite Weapon.
What a catalog. What a band.They never get old, no matter how many times I listen. Any time I think I *might* be growing out of the music of my past, that I might not need to re-hear these songs, they come by and interrupt, reset me back to where I was. I remember how clearly I first heard those parts, I remember hearing angst in Jesse Lacey's voice unlike any singer I'd ever heard and feeling so drawn to it, so in sync.
Hard to believe it was 10 years ago I first heard this particular song, strange to understand how much I've grown since then, and a little disconcerting to recognize how much can feel the same after so much time.
Brand New For Life.
"Up the stairs,
What a catalog. What a band.They never get old, no matter how many times I listen. Any time I think I *might* be growing out of the music of my past, that I might not need to re-hear these songs, they come by and interrupt, reset me back to where I was. I remember how clearly I first heard those parts, I remember hearing angst in Jesse Lacey's voice unlike any singer I'd ever heard and feeling so drawn to it, so in sync.
Hard to believe it was 10 years ago I first heard this particular song, strange to understand how much I've grown since then, and a little disconcerting to recognize how much can feel the same after so much time.
"Up the stairs,
the station where
the act becomes
the art of growing up."
~Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fade
Brand New, Deja Entendu
~Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fade
Brand New, Deja Entendu
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
11/5/13
Change is a wonderful thing. So are new experiences. And still the shadow of the past follows you around, creeps up around you, pops in front of you in a certain light. No reason to stop treading the path you're on, but it elicits enough memory to give you perspective.
When the world looks new, it's almost like living in a dream - every corner, every street, holds the unfamiliar and potentially life-changing. Living in the moment becomes easier than ever when there's little common ground between you and your surroundings. So, your eyes see clear than ever, your perspective renewed.
When the world looks new, it's almost like living in a dream - every corner, every street, holds the unfamiliar and potentially life-changing. Living in the moment becomes easier than ever when there's little common ground between you and your surroundings. So, your eyes see clear than ever, your perspective renewed.
What I love about Death Cab for Cutie, especially "Plans," is the perspective, the way the narrative is a few steps removed from the present. This album has been with me for a long time - the band was an early high school favorite, and this album saw me through so many life transitions. Once again I find myself spinning Plans, playing and singing along, aging along with the album. It's a wonderful accompaniment for the moments you want to spend living in your head, a safe harbor to find yourself when your surroundings are entirely brand new.
"Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground
And start new when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue
Home's face: how it ages when you're away
Spring blooms and you find the love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
Cause the chase is all you know
And she stopped running months ago
And all you see
Is where else you could be
When you're at home
Out on the street
Are so many possibilities
To not be alone
The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free
'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
Out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
And all you see is where else you could be
When you're at home
There on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone"
"Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground
And start new when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue
Home's face: how it ages when you're away
Spring blooms and you find the love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
Cause the chase is all you know
And she stopped running months ago
And all you see
Is where else you could be
When you're at home
Out on the street
Are so many possibilities
To not be alone
The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free
'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
Out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
And all you see is where else you could be
When you're at home
There on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone"
~Your Heart is an Empty Room
Death Cab for Cutie, Plans
Monday, October 14, 2013
10/14/13
It's probably not healthy to sit in your bedroom and listen to the same songs on repeat all evening, not when they're ones you've already heard a million times, and know all the words intimately, repeating them as as you could recite your first address and phone number.
The loneliness that comes with your favorite songs is a comforting one, albeit an arrogant one. No one can come between you and your favorite songs, no lover past, present or future, no songwriter yet-to-be-heard can interrupt. If anything, your experiences and influences make you grow closer to that you know, allowing you to value the familiarity and comfort this one song can give you the other new finds and sounds fail to deliver.
What a classic this song is. What a sad kiss-off, what a despondent, defeated narrative. It's the kind of song I don't always play, because it's so sad, but when I want to listen to "The '59 Sound" over and over again, you can bet I'll be stilled for this three minutes and 42 seconds, replaying all the failures and faults and regrets. Anyone who doesn't when they hear this song has never had their heart broken.
"You can tell Gail, if she calls
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs
And even if that's a lie
She shoulda given me a try
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school
I would've been her fool
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls
You tell that to Gail, if she calls
And you can tell Jane, if she writes
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights
And that's total deceit
But she shoulda married me
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor
Bleeding out from all these wounds
I would've gotten her right out of that town she despised
You tell that to Janie, if she writes
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That'll cut you to ribbons sometimes
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do
You remind Anna, if she asks why
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool
And goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue
But I used to wait at the diner a million nights without her
Praying she won't cancel again tonight
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh
You remind Anna, if she asks why
Tell her it's alright
You know it's hard to tell you this
The loneliness that comes with your favorite songs is a comforting one, albeit an arrogant one. No one can come between you and your favorite songs, no lover past, present or future, no songwriter yet-to-be-heard can interrupt. If anything, your experiences and influences make you grow closer to that you know, allowing you to value the familiarity and comfort this one song can give you the other new finds and sounds fail to deliver.
What a classic this song is. What a sad kiss-off, what a despondent, defeated narrative. It's the kind of song I don't always play, because it's so sad, but when I want to listen to "The '59 Sound" over and over again, you can bet I'll be stilled for this three minutes and 42 seconds, replaying all the failures and faults and regrets. Anyone who doesn't when they hear this song has never had their heart broken.
"You can tell Gail, if she calls
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs
And even if that's a lie
She shoulda given me a try
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school
I would've been her fool
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls
You tell that to Gail, if she calls
And you can tell Jane, if she writes
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights
And that's total deceit
But she shoulda married me
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor
Bleeding out from all these wounds
I would've gotten her right out of that town she despised
You tell that to Janie, if she writes
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That'll cut you to ribbons sometimes
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do
You remind Anna, if she asks why
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool
And goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue
But I used to wait at the diner a million nights without her
Praying she won't cancel again tonight
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh
You remind Anna, if she asks why
Tell her it's alright
You know it's hard to tell you this
Oh it's hard to tell you this
Here's looking at you, kid"
Here's looking at you, kid"
~Here's Looking at You, Kid
The Gaslight Anthem, The '59 Sound
Saturday, October 5, 2013
10/5/13
Few bands release albums as consistently poignant as The National. It took me a few weeks after its release to stumble across "Trouble Will Find Me," but once I did, it immediately became my go-to album in their catalog. The trademarks of their sound, like the subtle weight in rhythm and Matt Berninger's instantly identifiable baritone, are all developed in masterful levels, along with some harmonies and auxiliary here and there that make for a layered, updated sound. I love how this band isn't afraid to branch out with instrumentation while never allowing a new sound to become a crutch or a gimmick - this is crafting an overall sound by paying very close attention to what each little piece gives.
Lyrically, this might be their most depressed yet, which is saying something. Start to finish the album seems, to me, to catalog an acceptance of despair, a plateau of hopelessness ("I don't need any help to be breakable, believe me"), and a complex relationship with regret. On "Demons," the past and regret are comfort zones, on "This Is The Last Time," they are burdens. I love the references to scenes and places, objects like flowers and fainting chairs are as much scene-setting as they are metaphorical. The word "melodrama" comes to mind, but in a self-aware way - past National records are a little more aggressive, angry and destructive in their sadness and "Trouble" is far more measured, like a heavy sigh.
Despite the subject matter being as introspective and melancholy as it is, I find listening to the album incredibly fulfilling, in the way that a good record in solitude makes you feel less alone, makes you feel connected. This is an Album of the Year contender as far as I can tell, in part for its ability to rise above any labels or trends that previously dogged The National to prove their place as a serious, deserving player in modern music. They don't have a bad album. But "Trouble Will Find Me" stands out among their catalog and among 2013 releases as one of the best, in my opinion, for expertly showing how powerful songwriting doesn't need fireworks and gimmicks or formulas, it just needs an artistic patience, and an expressive heart, however busted it up it might be.
"Graceless
Is there a powder to erase this?
Is it dissolvable and tasteless?
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm graceless
Don't have the sunny side to face this
I am invisible and weightless
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine when I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
Lyrically, this might be their most depressed yet, which is saying something. Start to finish the album seems, to me, to catalog an acceptance of despair, a plateau of hopelessness ("I don't need any help to be breakable, believe me"), and a complex relationship with regret. On "Demons," the past and regret are comfort zones, on "This Is The Last Time," they are burdens. I love the references to scenes and places, objects like flowers and fainting chairs are as much scene-setting as they are metaphorical. The word "melodrama" comes to mind, but in a self-aware way - past National records are a little more aggressive, angry and destructive in their sadness and "Trouble" is far more measured, like a heavy sigh.
Despite the subject matter being as introspective and melancholy as it is, I find listening to the album incredibly fulfilling, in the way that a good record in solitude makes you feel less alone, makes you feel connected. This is an Album of the Year contender as far as I can tell, in part for its ability to rise above any labels or trends that previously dogged The National to prove their place as a serious, deserving player in modern music. They don't have a bad album. But "Trouble Will Find Me" stands out among their catalog and among 2013 releases as one of the best, in my opinion, for expertly showing how powerful songwriting doesn't need fireworks and gimmicks or formulas, it just needs an artistic patience, and an expressive heart, however busted it up it might be.
"Graceless
Is there a powder to erase this?
Is it dissolvable and tasteless?
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm graceless
Don't have the sunny side to face this
I am invisible and weightless
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine when I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
Graceless, I figured out how to be faithless
But it will be a sheme to waste this
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless...
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rock and through
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it will brighten the place
Don't let them die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows,
There's a science to walking through windows without you."
But it will be a sheme to waste this
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless...
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rock and through
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it will brighten the place
Don't let them die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows,
There's a science to walking through windows without you."
~Graceless
The National, Trouble Will Find Me
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