Colin Meloy – The Replacement’s Let It Be (33 1/3)

this is my first time reviewing a book for this blog, so bear with me.

for a book that was supposed to be about the replacements, this had an awful lot of colin meloy in it.

in a short period of time, the replacements’ let it be has found itself in steady rotation on my computer, and the replacements themselves have quickly become one of my favourite bands. so,  i bought this book expecting to learn a little more about this album and perhaps the work and struggles that led to the finished product. i’ve only read a handful of the titles from the 33 1/3 series, and none of the texts i had read really followed a strict guideline or template, so i didn’t really know what to expect. what i got was a sort of autobiographical account of meloy’s life and how the album fit into it, how it was “always there for him.” i admit, this is a neat idea in theory, because what else does colin meloy know about this album than his own experience of it? if he wants to write something about what makes this album great, should he feign knowledge (or even interest) in the banal minutia of what occurred in the studio, or should he write what he knows?

the problem for me is a very pragmatic one: these suckers cost $12 or more, and i thought i could count on this series as a quick and dirty source for information on the album, which this book is not. if i wanted to hear meloy rag on about something other than the replacements,  i’d just buy one of his albums. i’m deeply conflicted about all of this though, since once i got through the first half of the book, i genuinely enjoyed the narrative. using his own life and experience in rural america to approximate the effect let it be had on him is smart, and easy to identify with. if you happen to read this book, be sure to slog your way through to the end though, it’s well worth it (and he mentions the band!). in all seriousness, meloy’s memoir could easily be expanded into a much longer novel format, and work on its own. the story has the potential to be interesting, especially to music-snobs like myself who have probably shared similar experiences with music while growing up.

still, it takes meloy almost 20 pages of throat-clearing before he mentions the album for a second time, and in a pocket-size book that’s only 100 pages in length, 20 pages is too long. the record really doesn’t become an integral part of meloy’s life until much later in the narrative, once he’s able to expound on other events like how he wrote a song with his uncle once. as well written (not counting pacing) as this book might be, i can’t help but feel that it’s just a way for meloy to project how cultured he is in “college rock,” especially after all name-dropping he does of bands who aren’t the replacements. if you actually want to learn about the replacements, read this instead.

Filed under: Book Review , 1984, 2007, 33 1/3, colin meloy, let it be, the replacements

Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

for whatever reason, i always took franz ferdinand too seriously— that is, until i heard their cover of gwen stefani’s “what you waitin’ for?” and then it all just clicked. i still wouldn’t call myself a huge fan, but it was at that point that i understood what they were about and gained a respect for them and their playfulness; i reached a point where i wanted to like them. tonight: franz ferdinand brings the band closer to my heart, with a set of smart, fun, and dancy songs that measure up to what the band has done in the past without necessarily repeating it. the first half of the record finds FF hitting their stride quite effortlessly with songs like “ulysses” and “bite hard,” and even borrowing from the likes of clinic and soft cell, respectively. i’m also tempted to say that alex kapranos is reminding me more and more of jarvis cocker in his power to be incredibly witty and maintain an ironic distance, but to also be sincere when he has to, without sounding cheesy or ridiculous. in short, you can expect the usual from FF on tonight , but with a stronger electro influence . i doubt this record will do much to convert the uninitiated to the fold, but no one is expecting a radical shift in dynamics from these guys either. perhaps what’s most interesting about this record is where FF actually play with their songwriting, as the latter part of the record, from “lucid dreams”‘ grating synths to “katherine kiss me” ’s acoustic uncertainty and hesitation, boasts a new side to the band and a new list of possibilities for the future. franz ferdinand continue to be a beacon in the world of popular indie rock, and tonight is sure to satisfy those willing to give it a chance.

Filed under: Album Review , 2009, franz ferdinand, tonight: franz ferdinand

First Impressions #4

it’s been awhile since i’ve done one of these. now seems like the time, what with the whack of new tunes that have come out in the past week.

u2 – “get on your boots”

(if the vid link is dead, you can stream the song here)

the release of u2’s single “get on your boots” was well timed to say the least, coinciding with the band’s performance in washington for president barack obama. funky, silly and irreverent, “boots” offers up a side of u2 that we haven’t seen awhile, and really isn’t what i expected from them. the song’s ties to the newly-christened president are also significant because many-a-rock-critic have already begun drawing connections between the more “optimistic” sounds of late 2008 and early 2009, and obama’s rise to power. while i for one am not ready to jump on that boat just yet, i can’t deny that this song sounds much more carefree than the u2 of 2004— especially when bono sings the refrain “i don’t want to talk about wars between nations“…

it’s not just bono’s lyrics that make this song work though— the real stars here are the rhythm section, as the edge bores us with a rubbery, audioslavish riff (wholenote, wholenote, wholenote), leaving larry mullen jr. and adam clayton to take the lead, propelling us along with their supporting baseline and rolling drum beat— making this single an interesting taste of what’s to come from no line on the horizion.

gorillaz – “broken”

sounds like your standard gorillaz track here, but just a bit slower in tempo, which means that the dark and foreboding nature of demon days hasn’t dissipated quite yet. this is just a demo though, and might not be representative of what we’ll be hearing on the next gorillaz album. still, the sustained notes of albarn’s keys remind me of the more sullen moments from that last record, something along the same lines as “el mañana” or “don’t get lost in heaven.” not everybody’s making happy music these days.

handsome furs – “i’m confused”

i’ve always thought that dan boeckner’s voice sounded like beck’s, and this song does little to dispel that notion. although, with the cheesy handclaps and synth lines from his wife and bandmate alexei perry, the music of “i’m confused” sounds a lot less like any beck song i’ve heard and more along the lines of “i’ve got my mind set on you” (thanks alaina). boeckner even goes so far as to sing: “my mind was set on you.” should we be expecting a video for this single that takes place inside a very animated house? i can only hope.

Filed under: First Impressions , 2009, broken, demo, face control, get on your boots, gorillaz, handsome furs, i'm confused, obama, u2

Andrew Bird – Noble Beast

the arrangements on noble beast sound very familiar, as andrew bird’s songs are still anchored by his strengths: his voice, violin and vaudevillian whistling. consequently, this album is not as guitar heavy as armchair apocrypha, nor is it bird’s most inspired release, particularly given his fondness in the past for finding creative ways to mine older styles. instead, noble beast finds bird toying with new and varying instruments, managing to breathe some life into his material while still remaining true to his oh-so-eclectic style. although noble beast isn’t bird’s most adventurous record musically, these subtle shifts in instrumentation tease at new influences and work well with what bird is doing lyrically.

witty wordplay is still the driving force of his lyrics, which revel in ambiguities— in fact, the album is a treatise on ambiguities, allowing bird to exercise and explore his fascination with palindromes once again. as the songs “oh no” and “on ho!” bookend the entire record, bird ponders how subtle transformations make for significant changes and in a similar sense, the power of ambiguities, by exploring both the “oh no’s” with the “on ho’s” and everything that occurs between those seemingly oppositional reactions. even though this album isn’t his strongest musically, or uniform conceptually, i just can’t help but whistle along.

Filed under: Album Review , 2009, andrew bird, noble beast

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion

“omgz, the best record of 2009!!” really?

is this what “indie rock” is going to be sounding like? is this the creative peak of “new weird america?” i’m already worn out with this whole chamber pop/incessant-brian-wilson aping that’s been going on for the past two-three years, i’m not sure if i can really hold out for much longer. sure, animal collective have helped to pioneer this shift in style more than anyone else (this is their ninth album, after all), but they should also help to bring it to new places. in a world of grizzly bears, abe vigodas, deerhunters, and panda bears there’s a great pressure on AC to deliver the goods, and when certain animal collective members are making much more engaging music on their own, how can this record really measure up? for what it’s worth, AC do try to change things up a bit, particularly by crafting colourful, pulsating numbers that draw you into their surrealistic world, and by taking it easy with the meandering psychedelia. here they’ve learned to temper their psychedelic tendencies with really earthy, tribal beats, which i feel are significantly responsible for the massive amount of attention they’ve received for this album. it’s danceable, and people are always drawn to that. i’m concerned though, that people like this record only because it’s safe and familiar, not because they’re actually going to be listening to it more than a month from now, since there’s nothing here that we haven’t seen before. merriweather post pavillion is by no means a terrible album, but it isn’t very impressive either. i may grow to like it more once i can look back on it, but even then i think i’ll fail to see what all the hype is about.

Filed under: Album Review , 2009, animal collective, merriweather post pavillion