This might sound grim, but some musicians just sound better dead. Especially if that artist is Jeff Buckley. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that his material took on a whole new level of spiritual potency following his death.
Don’t get me wrong, I subscribed to the opinion that Buckley was epically important to music before he was prematurely snatched from the mortal coil. It’s just that in death he has taken on something wholly more potent.
His music shifted from being moving to spiritual.
The obvious aesthetics are there. His voice was haunting whichever way you looked at it. Now it’s ghostly.
‘Hallelujah’ has been done to, excuse the pun, death. However, of all the versions, Buckley’s is far and away the best. This is coming from a guy who bloody loves Leonard Cohen.
Everything about it just makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. From the refrained, almost broken guitars to the painful, world weary sigh at the beginning. It’ll take more than The O.C. to ruin a song like that.
There are few artists that can truly cause you to question your own tangibility. When one does, you cherish it.
Whilst I shant be as fickle to suggest his death defined him, it definitely did a great deal to add to the mystique. There are several stories circulating; stories of alcohol, stories of substance abuse, stories of suicide and stories of accidents.
Personally, I think it was an accident. The man had gone to great lengths to protect and nurture the integrity of his music. Lengths too great to waste. Why, when on the verge of releasing his 2nd album, would he simply choose to end it all? I know the mind works in mysterious ways, but so do rivers and their under currents.
The stories though, merely act as coping mechanisms. In the same way the conspiracies about John Lennon’s shooting and the circumstances surrounding Kurt Cobain’s suicide.
Buckley is an artist that inspires passionate, vehement mothering instincts in his fans. From his boyish appearance to his often frail voice, it seems the stories about his death are merely a way for his fans to protect his legacy as much as enhance it.
Songs like ‘Lover You Should’ve Come Over’ become posthumous juggernauts that transport the listener away from their surroundings and take them to a special place. I bet there are a few people that have cried at that one.
The lyric “Looking out the door I see rain fall upon the funeral mourners/Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water” is haunting, and taking everything into account, fucking blows my tiny little mind.
When I think of Buckley, I do think of spiritualism. It’s a strange notion. I find Bob Dylan quite spiritual, but in a different way, simply because he’s still alive. The fact that Buckley is no longer with us means his music is often used as a tool of reflection.
I’m sat listening to him as I type this now, and I’m smiling. There’s something that’s comforting about his material. Despite all the tragedy that surrounds his life, it could have been worse. I shall leave you with this notion.
Jeff Buckley is not dead.
He lives on through those of us who still admire, love and respect his music. For me, that is just a calming train of thought.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Sugar plum pop...
They like it simple, do She & Him. Just look at their band name. Then take a look at the titles of their two albums, Volume One and the imaginatively titled Volume Two. The transparency of the name, the album titles, all of it, is embedded in their songs too.
Zooey Deschanel – the She of the duo – pipes and chimes her way through songs about falling in love, falling out of love and all the accoutrement that comes with liking that boy.
M. Ward, or Him if you prefer, brings to the table trite production skills and a keen sense of what it is that best suits Deschanel’s lyrical content and vocal prowess.
It’s a tag team performance that worked rather well on Volume One and there’s no surprise to see it at work again with Volume Two.
‘Thieves’ is the 1st song and demonstrates Deschanel’s maturing as a song writer. Its bare bones stuff that shuns the hokey delivery she adopted on Volume One. It’s a great way to start things off.
Another instance in which this LP differs from the first is the fact that M. Ward actually sings solo parts on this album. The first time we see this is on ‘Ridin’ In My Car (NRBQ)’. The song is pretty much She & Him to a tee, offering listeners an idealised American folk/pop hybrid. Ward’s guitars are particularly strong on this one.
In fact, Ward may have just about outshined Deschanel on Volume Two. Bold statements indeed. The arrangements and production on the album have been fine tuned and help to make the LP a delightful listen. It’s good music to do the spring cleaning to, if you catch my drift? If not, listen to ‘Lingering Still’ and you will.
It’s actually quite difficult to dislike the album. It’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but most of the naysayers criticisms are actually the albums strengths. Yes, its sugar plum pop and the influence of Deschanel’s Hollywood ties are their in abundance.
Her performance like delivery and picture perfect lyrical content don’t particularly exist in the real world, but since when has there been a problem with escapism? In the grand scheme of things, there are bigger issues to worry about. So let’s just leave She & Him to exist in their own little pocket. They’re not doing any harm.
Zooey Deschanel – the She of the duo – pipes and chimes her way through songs about falling in love, falling out of love and all the accoutrement that comes with liking that boy.
M. Ward, or Him if you prefer, brings to the table trite production skills and a keen sense of what it is that best suits Deschanel’s lyrical content and vocal prowess.
It’s a tag team performance that worked rather well on Volume One and there’s no surprise to see it at work again with Volume Two.
‘Thieves’ is the 1st song and demonstrates Deschanel’s maturing as a song writer. Its bare bones stuff that shuns the hokey delivery she adopted on Volume One. It’s a great way to start things off.
Another instance in which this LP differs from the first is the fact that M. Ward actually sings solo parts on this album. The first time we see this is on ‘Ridin’ In My Car (NRBQ)’. The song is pretty much She & Him to a tee, offering listeners an idealised American folk/pop hybrid. Ward’s guitars are particularly strong on this one.
In fact, Ward may have just about outshined Deschanel on Volume Two. Bold statements indeed. The arrangements and production on the album have been fine tuned and help to make the LP a delightful listen. It’s good music to do the spring cleaning to, if you catch my drift? If not, listen to ‘Lingering Still’ and you will.
It’s actually quite difficult to dislike the album. It’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but most of the naysayers criticisms are actually the albums strengths. Yes, its sugar plum pop and the influence of Deschanel’s Hollywood ties are their in abundance.
Her performance like delivery and picture perfect lyrical content don’t particularly exist in the real world, but since when has there been a problem with escapism? In the grand scheme of things, there are bigger issues to worry about. So let’s just leave She & Him to exist in their own little pocket. They’re not doing any harm.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
If Not For You...
There are many musicians, both male and female, that I’d consider “heroes”, or “heroines”. Artists like Johnny Cash, Patty Smith, Janis Joplin, Pete Townsend and Neil Young to name but a few.
For me however, there is one who stands tall above the rest. That ladies and gents, is Bob Dylan. So it is I am tasked with an attempt to sum up just how and why this man is a hero of music.
Therein lays the problem.
How do I, a person with his own opinions and feelings, hypothesise on what it is that makes Dylan a hero? It’s impossible. His music is so cathartic and personal that each listener takes something different and entirely unique from each of his wonderful songs.
And so I come to the conclusion that Bob Dylan isn’t a hero to a collective group of individuals, he is merely a hero to the individual. It just so happens that literally millions of people the world over feel the same about him.
That is the beauty of Dylan. A song as potently beautiful as ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ is to one person an ode from one man to his drug dealer; whereas to another it can be something as simple and pure as being the quintessential hippy anthem. It is a true gift to be able to write something that can possess a different interpretation each time it is read or heard.
Dylan wasn’t the first musician to take an active role in radicalism and revolution. He won’t be the last either. In fact, he was reluctant at first to even be considered as a figurehead for civil momentum. He did however; use his rapidly rising notoriety to highlight many of the things wrong with the world.
He didn’t just place the proverbial spotlight on activism; he gave it the momentum of a freight train, turned the spotlight into a headlight and sent it careering towards the people’s consciousness.
Songs like ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ weren’t stirring in the conventional sense; they weren’t a call to arms. Dylan was just 21 when he wrote the song, yet its maturity and message resonate so strong you’d be mistaken for thinking he wrote it yesterday.
It was this obvious maturity that caused the hippy movement of the 60’s to place so much faith in Dylan. His wisdom and astuteness instilled confidence in others. The fact that he was a reluctant leader only made him more endearing.
Dylan’s longevity is remarkable and the shelf life of his songs is almost unrivalled. The majority of his most potent material was recorded during a time of monumental unrest in America. The Civil Rights movement was in full force and Anti-Vietnam sentiment raged across the country.
Yet for music that was so blatantly aimed at certain events, the message still translates today. The majority of Dylan’s songs could easily be used to sum up sentiments about Afghanistan or the ridiculousness in which the Bush administration handled the dire situation faced by residents of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
For me personally, Dylan is just special.
His songs are so caustic, so emotive, so personal, so catchy and so brilliant that even the dreaded greatest hits compilations are a joy to listen to as they band together all his obvious classics, sending you on a personal rollercoaster that covers every aspect of the emotional spectrum.
He can make you dance on ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’. He can make you telephone your loved one with ‘If Not For You’. He makes it OK to be a bastard on ‘It Aint Me Babe’. He makes you chuckle with ‘Tombstone Blues’. He makes you want to rebel with ‘Maggies Farm’. He can make you feel like you can do anything, simply by holding himself up as an example.
The man even makes it respectable to do a fucking Christmas album!
They say you should never meet your heroes, but, if I could have an audience with Bob Dylan I’d find it hard to complain. To be able to sit there and listen to all his stories and have him play 'Mr. Tambourine Man' just for me. Ah, I’d die a happy man.
Hunter S. Thompson used to use Dylan’s music as ‘fuel’ when he was writing. That’s exactly what it is; fuel. Fuel for change, fuel for activism, fuel for the brain and most importantly; fuel for the soul.
For me however, there is one who stands tall above the rest. That ladies and gents, is Bob Dylan. So it is I am tasked with an attempt to sum up just how and why this man is a hero of music.
Therein lays the problem.
How do I, a person with his own opinions and feelings, hypothesise on what it is that makes Dylan a hero? It’s impossible. His music is so cathartic and personal that each listener takes something different and entirely unique from each of his wonderful songs.
And so I come to the conclusion that Bob Dylan isn’t a hero to a collective group of individuals, he is merely a hero to the individual. It just so happens that literally millions of people the world over feel the same about him.
That is the beauty of Dylan. A song as potently beautiful as ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ is to one person an ode from one man to his drug dealer; whereas to another it can be something as simple and pure as being the quintessential hippy anthem. It is a true gift to be able to write something that can possess a different interpretation each time it is read or heard.
Dylan wasn’t the first musician to take an active role in radicalism and revolution. He won’t be the last either. In fact, he was reluctant at first to even be considered as a figurehead for civil momentum. He did however; use his rapidly rising notoriety to highlight many of the things wrong with the world.
He didn’t just place the proverbial spotlight on activism; he gave it the momentum of a freight train, turned the spotlight into a headlight and sent it careering towards the people’s consciousness.
Songs like ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ weren’t stirring in the conventional sense; they weren’t a call to arms. Dylan was just 21 when he wrote the song, yet its maturity and message resonate so strong you’d be mistaken for thinking he wrote it yesterday.
It was this obvious maturity that caused the hippy movement of the 60’s to place so much faith in Dylan. His wisdom and astuteness instilled confidence in others. The fact that he was a reluctant leader only made him more endearing.
Dylan’s longevity is remarkable and the shelf life of his songs is almost unrivalled. The majority of his most potent material was recorded during a time of monumental unrest in America. The Civil Rights movement was in full force and Anti-Vietnam sentiment raged across the country.
Yet for music that was so blatantly aimed at certain events, the message still translates today. The majority of Dylan’s songs could easily be used to sum up sentiments about Afghanistan or the ridiculousness in which the Bush administration handled the dire situation faced by residents of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
For me personally, Dylan is just special.
His songs are so caustic, so emotive, so personal, so catchy and so brilliant that even the dreaded greatest hits compilations are a joy to listen to as they band together all his obvious classics, sending you on a personal rollercoaster that covers every aspect of the emotional spectrum.
He can make you dance on ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’. He can make you telephone your loved one with ‘If Not For You’. He makes it OK to be a bastard on ‘It Aint Me Babe’. He makes you chuckle with ‘Tombstone Blues’. He makes you want to rebel with ‘Maggies Farm’. He can make you feel like you can do anything, simply by holding himself up as an example.
The man even makes it respectable to do a fucking Christmas album!
They say you should never meet your heroes, but, if I could have an audience with Bob Dylan I’d find it hard to complain. To be able to sit there and listen to all his stories and have him play 'Mr. Tambourine Man' just for me. Ah, I’d die a happy man.
Hunter S. Thompson used to use Dylan’s music as ‘fuel’ when he was writing. That’s exactly what it is; fuel. Fuel for change, fuel for activism, fuel for the brain and most importantly; fuel for the soul.
Øye Øye!
Whitest Boy Alive
04/12/09 @ La Cigale, Paris
Whitest Boy Alive are one of those rare acts who completely embrace the philosophy “less is more”.
In the past two years they have only performed live 12 times, leaving their growing legions of fans parched of the opportunity to witness them personally.
Hence, the anticipation outside La Cigale is tangible.
Distraught individuals rush to and fro, trying to purchase spare tickets from the opportunistic touts. The lucky chosen few queue with grins and the occasional drone of somebody humming the bass intro to ‘Keep A Secret’ can be heard over the din.
La Cigale is an exquisitely intimate venue. It’s the perfect combination of opulence and chic, with a balcony for seating that overlooks the main floor area and the slightly raised stage. There aren’t any bums on chairs though once the gig commences.
The aforementioned humming strikes up again, this time emanating from the cool as fuck bass of Marcin Oz. A warm applause begins to blanket La Cigale as Erlend Øye questions his gathered admirers.
“Can you keep a secret?”
“Honestly? No,” is the reply.
So great is the affection that Whitest Boy Alive’s fans have for the band that it’s difficult for them to stop chunnering on about just how good they are.
The band proceeded to gracefully swagger through their already cult back-catalogue, causing beautifully adorned Parisians to dance and sway to the likes of ‘Golden Cage’, ‘High On The Heels’ and ‘1517’.
The habitual cover version is included, with Erlend and co this time choosing to give Armand Van Helden’s ‘U Don’t Know Me’ their unique treatment, bringing familial smiles from the crowd.
During ‘Courage’, one lucky attendee manages to make it onto the stage. Unshakeably cool, Whitest Boy Alive continue to play whilst this euphoric individual struts his stuff, probably experiencing the most epic moment of his life. It’s even capped off with a stage dive cum crowd surf.
All the while the rest of the audience, without provocation, claps along in unison to the beat. That’s how cool Parisians are. They don’t just clap along aimlessly to a song like some Stella toting yob would at The Apollo, they keep with the beat; all 1,300 who’re in attendance at the gig. It’s remarkable.
‘Don’t Give Up’ is a touching song on wax but in concert it is given even more acumen and ends up coming off as quite inspirational.
‘Above You’ sounds amazing, with the R2-D2 like synth actually being played live as opposed to being reconstructed by some infernal contraption.
The set closes on ‘Island’, exhibiting the habitual WBA showmanship. During the build up to the song’s crescendo, Øye and them completely freeze where they’re stood, whilst the feedback from his guitar slices through the audience.
The “whoops” and clapping rise fiercely to counter the feedback and after what seems like an age, the band launch right into the shape inducing finish to the song.
The lights go down and the appreciation goes up. Paris and her natives are notoriously difficult to please, yet I think a pasty, humble Norwegian and his friends have left a sweet taste in the mouths of those in attendance. One only hopes that the frantic fans who were pursuing tickets outside managed to get their mitts on one.
04/12/09 @ La Cigale, Paris
Whitest Boy Alive are one of those rare acts who completely embrace the philosophy “less is more”.
In the past two years they have only performed live 12 times, leaving their growing legions of fans parched of the opportunity to witness them personally.
Hence, the anticipation outside La Cigale is tangible.
Distraught individuals rush to and fro, trying to purchase spare tickets from the opportunistic touts. The lucky chosen few queue with grins and the occasional drone of somebody humming the bass intro to ‘Keep A Secret’ can be heard over the din.
La Cigale is an exquisitely intimate venue. It’s the perfect combination of opulence and chic, with a balcony for seating that overlooks the main floor area and the slightly raised stage. There aren’t any bums on chairs though once the gig commences.
The aforementioned humming strikes up again, this time emanating from the cool as fuck bass of Marcin Oz. A warm applause begins to blanket La Cigale as Erlend Øye questions his gathered admirers.
“Can you keep a secret?”
“Honestly? No,” is the reply.
So great is the affection that Whitest Boy Alive’s fans have for the band that it’s difficult for them to stop chunnering on about just how good they are.
The band proceeded to gracefully swagger through their already cult back-catalogue, causing beautifully adorned Parisians to dance and sway to the likes of ‘Golden Cage’, ‘High On The Heels’ and ‘1517’.
The habitual cover version is included, with Erlend and co this time choosing to give Armand Van Helden’s ‘U Don’t Know Me’ their unique treatment, bringing familial smiles from the crowd.
During ‘Courage’, one lucky attendee manages to make it onto the stage. Unshakeably cool, Whitest Boy Alive continue to play whilst this euphoric individual struts his stuff, probably experiencing the most epic moment of his life. It’s even capped off with a stage dive cum crowd surf.
All the while the rest of the audience, without provocation, claps along in unison to the beat. That’s how cool Parisians are. They don’t just clap along aimlessly to a song like some Stella toting yob would at The Apollo, they keep with the beat; all 1,300 who’re in attendance at the gig. It’s remarkable.
‘Don’t Give Up’ is a touching song on wax but in concert it is given even more acumen and ends up coming off as quite inspirational.
‘Above You’ sounds amazing, with the R2-D2 like synth actually being played live as opposed to being reconstructed by some infernal contraption.
The set closes on ‘Island’, exhibiting the habitual WBA showmanship. During the build up to the song’s crescendo, Øye and them completely freeze where they’re stood, whilst the feedback from his guitar slices through the audience.
The “whoops” and clapping rise fiercely to counter the feedback and after what seems like an age, the band launch right into the shape inducing finish to the song.
The lights go down and the appreciation goes up. Paris and her natives are notoriously difficult to please, yet I think a pasty, humble Norwegian and his friends have left a sweet taste in the mouths of those in attendance. One only hopes that the frantic fans who were pursuing tickets outside managed to get their mitts on one.
They've Got It Covered...
The xx @ Manchester Academy 2
06/03/10
The Academy 2 is sold out. That’s not entirely rare. What is rare is that unlike the attention seeking Mumford & Sons, The xx chose to keep it intimate rather than upgrade to the morbidly large Academy 1.
Keeping with the shy vibe, a white sheet shields the stage from prying eyes and as the lights go down it becomes apparent as to why it’s there.
The opening chords from Romy Madley-Croft’s guitar are accompanied by her shadow which is cast onto the sheet as a result of the lights behind it. As the other two members lick off their contributions, so to their shadows appear.
The roar from the crowd is intense and goes completely against the hushed appreciation that blanketed the band during their last Manchester outing at The Deaf Institute.
That performance was never going to be mimicked and it was always going to be a natural progression for a band whose music was always destined for bigger things.
Despite the upgrade in size the songs still bring a gentle, happy sway from those in attendance.
If anything, they are appreciated more as Jamie Smith’s shin shaking rumblings on songs like ‘Fantasy’ drown out the hyena chatter from the habitual bint who “heard them on Radio 1 just this week”.
‘Shelter’ brings a different kind of rumbling to the table, as the gentle murmur from the crowd’s sing-a-long accompanies Oliver Sim’s bass after its brief hiatus during the aforementioned ‘Fantasy’.
The band’s excellent eye for a cover song is in force again with Kyla’s ‘Do You Mind’ and Womack & Womack’s ‘Teardrops’ being given the treatment. The latter’s guitars are more reserved live than the studio version. There’s no need for flair here as Croft’s talent and introspective demeanour shines through.
‘VCR’ brings with it the familial chimes of appreciation that walk in hand in hand with a current single.
The verbal and instrumental sparring on ‘Basic Space’ both retain the distant familiarity that Sims and Croft seem to excel in. Before it gets to “nicey nice” Smith’s contraptions bowl in and wipe the floor with them both; leaving Croft’s guitars to whimper to fade.
A refrained menace lurks throughout ‘Infinity’ and rears it seismic horns as Smith grins demonically in the background.
Not to be outdone, Sims drops his bass and proceeds to smash the bejeezus out of the percussion cymbal. His hulking frame flashes black and white in the epileptic lighting, making for a striking visual.
This display of showmanship and focus on the visual as well as the musical negates the worry that The xx’s sentimental music would be unable to translate to larger venues.
The words “stars” and “shine” in the same hook tend to evoke memories of when Chris Martin wasn’t a dilbert. Fortunately this time round, The xx show us that those words together can still resonate during ‘Stars’.
Smith’s apocalyptic vibrations bring a nervous quiet, with the crowd wondering if the bricks and mortar can withstand the onslaught. In fairness, they make Pompeii seem like a wet fart.
The gathered masses are left to their own devices as the band leave the stage to their remix of Florence & The Machine’s cover of ‘You’ve Got The Love’. The enraptured applause and hollering suggest the irony of the songs title may not be lost on them.
06/03/10
The Academy 2 is sold out. That’s not entirely rare. What is rare is that unlike the attention seeking Mumford & Sons, The xx chose to keep it intimate rather than upgrade to the morbidly large Academy 1.
Keeping with the shy vibe, a white sheet shields the stage from prying eyes and as the lights go down it becomes apparent as to why it’s there.
The opening chords from Romy Madley-Croft’s guitar are accompanied by her shadow which is cast onto the sheet as a result of the lights behind it. As the other two members lick off their contributions, so to their shadows appear.
The roar from the crowd is intense and goes completely against the hushed appreciation that blanketed the band during their last Manchester outing at The Deaf Institute.
That performance was never going to be mimicked and it was always going to be a natural progression for a band whose music was always destined for bigger things.
Despite the upgrade in size the songs still bring a gentle, happy sway from those in attendance.
If anything, they are appreciated more as Jamie Smith’s shin shaking rumblings on songs like ‘Fantasy’ drown out the hyena chatter from the habitual bint who “heard them on Radio 1 just this week”.
‘Shelter’ brings a different kind of rumbling to the table, as the gentle murmur from the crowd’s sing-a-long accompanies Oliver Sim’s bass after its brief hiatus during the aforementioned ‘Fantasy’.
The band’s excellent eye for a cover song is in force again with Kyla’s ‘Do You Mind’ and Womack & Womack’s ‘Teardrops’ being given the treatment. The latter’s guitars are more reserved live than the studio version. There’s no need for flair here as Croft’s talent and introspective demeanour shines through.
‘VCR’ brings with it the familial chimes of appreciation that walk in hand in hand with a current single.
The verbal and instrumental sparring on ‘Basic Space’ both retain the distant familiarity that Sims and Croft seem to excel in. Before it gets to “nicey nice” Smith’s contraptions bowl in and wipe the floor with them both; leaving Croft’s guitars to whimper to fade.
A refrained menace lurks throughout ‘Infinity’ and rears it seismic horns as Smith grins demonically in the background.
Not to be outdone, Sims drops his bass and proceeds to smash the bejeezus out of the percussion cymbal. His hulking frame flashes black and white in the epileptic lighting, making for a striking visual.
This display of showmanship and focus on the visual as well as the musical negates the worry that The xx’s sentimental music would be unable to translate to larger venues.
The words “stars” and “shine” in the same hook tend to evoke memories of when Chris Martin wasn’t a dilbert. Fortunately this time round, The xx show us that those words together can still resonate during ‘Stars’.
Smith’s apocalyptic vibrations bring a nervous quiet, with the crowd wondering if the bricks and mortar can withstand the onslaught. In fairness, they make Pompeii seem like a wet fart.
The gathered masses are left to their own devices as the band leave the stage to their remix of Florence & The Machine’s cover of ‘You’ve Got The Love’. The enraptured applause and hollering suggest the irony of the songs title may not be lost on them.
If It 'Aint Broke, Don't Fix It...
Sophomore albums are always pivotal. You put out a bad 2nd offering and a slippy slope waits, with the cess pit at the bottom filled with acts like The Strokes and The Hives; bands that could have been contenders.
So it is that Vampire Weekend grimace with hope and pray that they avoid the slag heap of promising acts that never breached the cocooned success of their 1st offering.
Contra does not disappoint. It does however, polarize. For those who view Vampire Weekend with disdain, so too shall you dislike this album. It is completely unapologetic with its opener. ‘Horchata’ not only sounds identical to their 1st LP, it walks hand in hand with it, playfully giving the two fingered salute to the non-subscribers.
In fact it would be apt to label the two albums as siblings, with Contra simply wishing to unabashedly emulate its elder. Only, as is often the case, the younger sprog is more adventurous, learning from their kinfolk’s mistakes.
Gone are the nicey nicey guitars on songs like ‘Boston’, having been replaced with more experimental numbers such as the M.I.A. sampled ‘Diplomat’s Son’.
Rostam Batmanglij’s keyboards on ‘White Sky’ are sublimely accompanied by differing, intertwining percussion from Chris Tomson. With his vocals, Ezra Koenig is seen to be embracing a cosy little penchant for Kate Bush.
‘Cousins’ doesn’t mince its nature as it announces itself as the LP’s attempts at recapturing the rip-roaring success of ‘A-Punk’.
Whilst there is nothing necessarily wrong with the song, it’s not really a shade on its predecessor. ‘A-Punk’ was such a behemoth of a club tune that the band may struggle to ever to better a song that, in its own intentions, was near perfection.
That being said, Tomson’s drums piss all over this song and are brilliant.
Koenig’s vocals on ‘Giving Up The Gun’ are softer than on the rest of the album, as he chimes “Your swords grown old and rusty/Burnt beneath the rising sun/It’s locked up like a trophy/Forgetting all the things it’s done.”
Ezra’s lyrics are greatly matured on Contra, with layered references to “Tokugawa smiles” demonstrating it’s not just Batmanglij and the rest of Vampire Weekend that are looking to mature.
The album closes on the delicate ‘I Think UR A Contra’, with Koenig lamenting “Never pick sides/Never choose between the two/But I just wanted you”.
Contra is an incredibly endearing album that serves to show Vampire Weekend as a band with depth and desire. In hindsight, their new found triteness fits them well.
So it is that Vampire Weekend grimace with hope and pray that they avoid the slag heap of promising acts that never breached the cocooned success of their 1st offering.
Contra does not disappoint. It does however, polarize. For those who view Vampire Weekend with disdain, so too shall you dislike this album. It is completely unapologetic with its opener. ‘Horchata’ not only sounds identical to their 1st LP, it walks hand in hand with it, playfully giving the two fingered salute to the non-subscribers.
In fact it would be apt to label the two albums as siblings, with Contra simply wishing to unabashedly emulate its elder. Only, as is often the case, the younger sprog is more adventurous, learning from their kinfolk’s mistakes.
Gone are the nicey nicey guitars on songs like ‘Boston’, having been replaced with more experimental numbers such as the M.I.A. sampled ‘Diplomat’s Son’.
Rostam Batmanglij’s keyboards on ‘White Sky’ are sublimely accompanied by differing, intertwining percussion from Chris Tomson. With his vocals, Ezra Koenig is seen to be embracing a cosy little penchant for Kate Bush.
‘Cousins’ doesn’t mince its nature as it announces itself as the LP’s attempts at recapturing the rip-roaring success of ‘A-Punk’.
Whilst there is nothing necessarily wrong with the song, it’s not really a shade on its predecessor. ‘A-Punk’ was such a behemoth of a club tune that the band may struggle to ever to better a song that, in its own intentions, was near perfection.
That being said, Tomson’s drums piss all over this song and are brilliant.
Koenig’s vocals on ‘Giving Up The Gun’ are softer than on the rest of the album, as he chimes “Your swords grown old and rusty/Burnt beneath the rising sun/It’s locked up like a trophy/Forgetting all the things it’s done.”
Ezra’s lyrics are greatly matured on Contra, with layered references to “Tokugawa smiles” demonstrating it’s not just Batmanglij and the rest of Vampire Weekend that are looking to mature.
The album closes on the delicate ‘I Think UR A Contra’, with Koenig lamenting “Never pick sides/Never choose between the two/But I just wanted you”.
Contra is an incredibly endearing album that serves to show Vampire Weekend as a band with depth and desire. In hindsight, their new found triteness fits them well.
A Familiar Voice In Unfamiliar Surroundings...
“I was moved in with her, temporarily, just until things were patched,
‘Til this was patched and ‘til that was patched,
Until I became at 3,4,5,6,7,8, 9 and 10,
The patch that held Lily Scott,
Who held me and like them 4,
I became one more.”
These are some of the insights offered by the incomparable Gil Scott-Heron during ‘On Coming From A Broken Home (Part 1)’, the opening salvo from his new album I’m New Here.
It seems like a strange album title for a man so well versed as GSH. How can someone who has seen just about everything, be new to anything? Well the man has spent the worst part of the last ten years incarcerated for various drug charges.
During that period he has been virtually forgotten, aside from a brief appearance alongside Blackalicious and a respect laden shout out from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy on ‘Losing My Edge’.
So it is he sets out to address his woes and misdemeanours with I’m New Here.
“Being blessed is just not being able to float on air, I’m saying if you’ve gotta pay for things you’ve done wrong, I got a big bill coming, at the end of the day,” GSH laughs.
Songs like ‘Me and The Devil’ address his spells in prison and his drug addiction. The music is far from friendly as Scott-Heron attempts to tackle the issues head on, shirking nothing and apologizing for even less in his handling of the problems.
His brutal honesty is what makes him endearing, in the same way it did Johnny Cash. He doesn’t run from the issues that plague him, with ‘Running’ being the most direct example.
His mind is still as razor sharp as it was when he released the unfathomable Small Talk at 125th and Lennox in 1970, even if his voice is not. In fact, it’s this croaky, weathered version of his baritone delivery that really makes you believe what he’s saying.
“Turn around, turn around, turn around, and you may come full circle, and be new here, again” he laments, almost as if he is singing to himself in the mirror. The album is so cathartic. The audience is the proverbial priest and he is attending confession.
Further religious implications are evident on “Your Soul and Mine” as our sage host profess lyrical on the battle for a man’s soul. Again, it all appears to cut close to the bone.
‘New York is Killing Me’ sees GSH confess rather frankly that the city that never sleeps has a constrictor like hold on him, a hold that is detrimental to his health. “Bunch of doctors coming round, and New York was killing me, got to go back home and take it slow in Jackson, Tennessee,” stresses Scott-Heron.
The album closes by coming “full circle” with ‘On Coming From A Broken Home (Part 2)’, again with Kanye West’s ‘Flashing Lights’ – an obvious ode to old chipmunk cheeks’ sampling of GSH in the past – providing the backing track.
I’m New Here is obviously a very personal album, as are all GSH LP’s. This one deviates from the norm though in the sense that it addresses his personal problems, not his problem with the world he lives in but the problem with the world he has created for himself.
It’s a return to form for an artist who has been nothing but sorely missed over the years, not just for his output but also the input he has in other artists’ lives and opinions. Let’s face it, there would not really be Hip-Hop without GSH. The king is not dead, long live the king.
“My life has been guided by women,
But because of them,
I am a man,
God Bless you Momma,
And thank you.”
‘Til this was patched and ‘til that was patched,
Until I became at 3,4,5,6,7,8, 9 and 10,
The patch that held Lily Scott,
Who held me and like them 4,
I became one more.”
These are some of the insights offered by the incomparable Gil Scott-Heron during ‘On Coming From A Broken Home (Part 1)’, the opening salvo from his new album I’m New Here.
It seems like a strange album title for a man so well versed as GSH. How can someone who has seen just about everything, be new to anything? Well the man has spent the worst part of the last ten years incarcerated for various drug charges.
During that period he has been virtually forgotten, aside from a brief appearance alongside Blackalicious and a respect laden shout out from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy on ‘Losing My Edge’.
So it is he sets out to address his woes and misdemeanours with I’m New Here.
“Being blessed is just not being able to float on air, I’m saying if you’ve gotta pay for things you’ve done wrong, I got a big bill coming, at the end of the day,” GSH laughs.
Songs like ‘Me and The Devil’ address his spells in prison and his drug addiction. The music is far from friendly as Scott-Heron attempts to tackle the issues head on, shirking nothing and apologizing for even less in his handling of the problems.
His brutal honesty is what makes him endearing, in the same way it did Johnny Cash. He doesn’t run from the issues that plague him, with ‘Running’ being the most direct example.
His mind is still as razor sharp as it was when he released the unfathomable Small Talk at 125th and Lennox in 1970, even if his voice is not. In fact, it’s this croaky, weathered version of his baritone delivery that really makes you believe what he’s saying.
“Turn around, turn around, turn around, and you may come full circle, and be new here, again” he laments, almost as if he is singing to himself in the mirror. The album is so cathartic. The audience is the proverbial priest and he is attending confession.
Further religious implications are evident on “Your Soul and Mine” as our sage host profess lyrical on the battle for a man’s soul. Again, it all appears to cut close to the bone.
‘New York is Killing Me’ sees GSH confess rather frankly that the city that never sleeps has a constrictor like hold on him, a hold that is detrimental to his health. “Bunch of doctors coming round, and New York was killing me, got to go back home and take it slow in Jackson, Tennessee,” stresses Scott-Heron.
The album closes by coming “full circle” with ‘On Coming From A Broken Home (Part 2)’, again with Kanye West’s ‘Flashing Lights’ – an obvious ode to old chipmunk cheeks’ sampling of GSH in the past – providing the backing track.
I’m New Here is obviously a very personal album, as are all GSH LP’s. This one deviates from the norm though in the sense that it addresses his personal problems, not his problem with the world he lives in but the problem with the world he has created for himself.
It’s a return to form for an artist who has been nothing but sorely missed over the years, not just for his output but also the input he has in other artists’ lives and opinions. Let’s face it, there would not really be Hip-Hop without GSH. The king is not dead, long live the king.
“My life has been guided by women,
But because of them,
I am a man,
God Bless you Momma,
And thank you.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)