Spoon - "Ga Ga Ga Ga"

My last post got me in a rock sort of mood, so I decided to pick up this Spoon cd and bring it with me in the car this weekend. This band got a lot of hype last year, and so I bought the album. It's a'ight. But really, I don't think it's anything to write home about. I wanted to like it more than I do. I imagine that if I had some nostalgic connection to any of these songs, that would make me more attached to them. Or even if I was from Austin, TX and had watched them try to make it for so long and was proud of them for finally hitting it sorta big.

But neither of those things are true for me, so my verdict is that this is just a totally okay rock album. I can't really say that they hit me in any particular way, or that they have defined a sound that is very distinct. The only song that I really get into is "The Underdog," which I think is trying to be kind of political. Maybe it's their anthem against George W. Bush? But maybe I'm reading into it to justify liking it. It's kind of an indie rock take on Billy Joel. There's lots of clapping and stuff, and it's very reminiscent of "Only the Good Die Young." Why that makes me like it, I don't know. It's just a fun song, and makes me want to get up and dance. Which none of their other tunes do.

So there you have it. If you're trying to build your rock collection, or you have some sort of nostalgic or emotional affinity for Spoon, I would be so happy to send you this album. For now, I'm going to copy "The Underdog" and leave it at that.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Show Your Bones"

Alright, alright, I'm back. For real. The Lo Fi Life Project is officially back ON. We have a new President, the Inauguration was an unbelievable experience, and life is moving on. In many confusing ways, but moving on. I've been struggling to regain momentum for the Lo Fi Life Project, and never thought that a day of being grumpy would do the trick. But here I am.

I've been grumpy most of the day because I stayed up too late watching the Duke v. UNC game last night. Totally worth it, excellent game, and the right team one. But I'm paying for it. So this evening when I had to motivate to cook, I grabbed this Yeah Yeah Yeahs cd and literally threw it on. Oh man, chopping vegetables to this album was really perfect for my bad mood. It worked like a charm.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs rock. Literally. This is straight up rock, a full court press from start to finish, the intensity never lets up. It's also complex enough to keep things interesting. There are lots of inferences and straight up borrowings throughout, but they're pared down and spliced together in ways that just work. When I first heard the track "Phenomena," I couldn't quite remember where I knew the mantra "something like a phenomenon baby, something like a phenomenon" from, so I texted my sister, and she wrote back immediately: "De La Soul, duh." They throw all kinds of licks in there. And it works.

I've got a short list of bands I wish I'd already seen live, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are up near the top. I've heard that Karen O, the singer and frontwoman of the band, goes nuts on stage. It's not hard to imagine. The hard driving beats and catchy licks that switch up all over the place, and together come out strong and sexy, would lend themselves to a crazy show.

I'll admit that I have some bias toward this band, given that Karen O and drummer Brian Chase met at Oberlin in the late '90s. But that's not clouding my judgment here. At least I don't think so - tell me if you beg to differ. I'm amazed that they've only put out two full albums so far (the next one is supposed to come out this April), because I think they've already established their sound and presence so well. I'm keepin this whole album for sure, and I have a feeling it'll stand the test of time. It's definitely good for screaming along to while chopping onions in a grumpy mood. Let me know if you need a soundtrack for that kind of a day.

Lush - "Gala"

Yesterday my friend Darryl from back in Div School days posted the video for "Sweetness and Light" on his facebook page, which made me really happy! It was the final push I needed to end my international travel/jetlag/holiday/cold - induced hiatus. So the Lo Fi Life Project is officially back on. Happy new year everyone! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. I had a fantastic trip to South Africa and Botswana. If you want to see some pictures, just let me know.

So on to the topic at hand. "Gala" came out in 1988. That's twenty years ago. This makes me realize that I am not so young anymore! But the fact that the lovely music of this album, and "Sweetness and Light" in particular, has never been far from my heart, cements "Gala" as a classic in my world. I think it's stood the test of time very well.

What I've always loved about Lush is the swirling, ethereal, enveloping wall of sound their guitars create. It's just so beautiful. This music is all about atmosphere. I don't know if I heard the Cocteau Twins or Lush first, but they occupy similar places in my musical life. When I want to be surrounded by gorgeous, contemplative sound, I look to these bands. The big differences are that Lush incorporates much more straight ahead rock rhythms than you'll hear on any Cocteau Twins albums, and their lyrics are all in English. So whereas I listened to the Cocteau Twins constantly while lying on the floor of my bedroom in the dark when I had mono, Lush is better for a solo road trip on a sunny afternoon.

Seeing Lush in the video Darryl posted endeared me to them all the more. I had never seen the video, and sadly never saw them live, so I had no idea that they were so dorky. I kind of figured they'd be all dressed in black, kind of too cool for school, but in fact one of them is wearing this cotton shirt with a floral pattern at the top. Made me wonder if my extremely bad fashion of twenty years ago wasn't so unique....

Figuring I had a few other things to learn, I read their wikipedia page last night. Turns out that one of the Cocteau Twins produced "Gala," which isn't surprising, and that Lush initiated a genre of music that came to be called "shoegazing." I think that genre has already come and gone, and I had no idea, but there you go. Apparently, "Gala" was actually a compilation of the band's first three EPs, which explains the fact that a number of the songs appear more than once on the album. It's a little embarrassing but no surprise that in my college haze when I first fell in love with "Gala," I failed to notice that. But honestly, it really doesn't matter. The music is so hypnotic that it works.

There's a certain amount of nostalgia in my love for Lush, for sure. Last night while listening to "Gala" and playing Take Two (a great game by the way), a visceral memory of those ratty couches in the WOBC office came flooding back. I could feel the scratchy fabric on my leg. But this album really is as enjoyable to listen to in the home I own today as it was back in my college days. If you don't own "Gala," and want to give it a go, let me know. And again, happy new year to all!

Violent Femmes - eponymous

This morning I woke up with "Good Feeling" in my head. I don't really think of the Violent Femmes as music I necessarily want to start my day with, but it was kind of nice to sing those lyrics as I puttered around making breakfast. Since this album was pretty close to the front of my next drawer of cds, I decided it was meant to be. I grabbed the cd and headed for the grocery store. By the time I pulled into the parking lot, I was banging my hands on the steering wheel and singing/screaming along. Really satisfying.

This album is a total classic. I can't imagine too many arguments to the contrary. I'd love to be able to figure out the number of people who know all the words to these songs. I think it would be on the high end of that sort of statistic, especially among 30 - 45 years olds who went to high school in the U.S. I would also guess that most of us have some pretty vivid memories attached to these songs. On this album, the Violent Femmes achieved their own unique (and pretty-near-perfect) expression of teenage longing, anxiety and frustration. Those are emotions that burn images deep into your psyche. For some reason I always visualize my 9th grade World History room when I listen to this album. I also remember sitting on some random drunk guy's shoulders at the Lake Fairfax Festival while we all yelled the lyrics right back at the Violent Femmes. I was sixteen, terrified and excited, and I thought I might have even achieved being pretty cool for that moment.

I hadn't thought too much about who the Violent Femmes actually were before today. Turns out they are still going. This album was released in 1982. For the next twenty years they put out a ton of material, and they're still touring. I do remember them being amazing live. I loved that all three of them stood in a row at the front of the stage. I especially loved that the drummer was standing while he banged on a snare drum and a cymbal. What I didn't know then was that these guys came from Milwaukee. Who comes from Milwaukee??? I think that's cool. Apparently they got discovered by The Pretenders, who heard them playing on the streets.

In terms of the other albums by the Violent Femmes, I've never listened to them, and I don't feel the need. (Though if I should, please let me know!) I feel totally satisfied with this one nearly perfect album. The new cd version adds two extra tracks onto the end, which I think was a bad move. I think that "Good Feelings" is the best closing song you could ask for. But if you ignore that, "Violent Femmes" the album is so good from beginning to end. Most people know the first two tracks, "Blister in the Sun" and "Kiss Off" best. They're definite crowd pleasers. Personally, I've come to love the last two tracks the most. "Gone Daddy Gone" features a marimba, and it rocks. That's impressive.

I don't know how I would describe the Violent Femmes' music to someone who hasn't heard it. (But if you haven't, definitely jump on the chance to get this cd.) The cd sleeve describes it as a combination of "rock, folk, rockabilly, and original lyricism." On their website, they describe themselves in many different ways, starting with "the originators of folk punk." I just like that they have a sound that I've never heard replicated - though they've certainly influenced many bands - and that they made this one classic album that will always be really really fun to sing/scream along to, tapping into that teenage frustration with life.

The Sea and Cake - "Everybody"

I love The Sea and Cake. They're definitely one of my all time favorites, but in a very particular way. I never get super excited about them, can't remember the names of any of their songs, and can't sing along to them (though I can whistle along). And still I love them. My friend Meryl once said that when she doesn't know what else to put on, she always turns to The Sea and Cake. Exactly. They're almost always a really nice soundtrack to my life. They never offend my ears. I don't know what their lyrics mean, they seem almost like random phrases strung together, and whenever I choose to pay attention the phrase of that moment resonates just fine. I don't even know how to describe what genre their music would fall under - pop? indie rock? electronica? ambient? It's a mish mash, but it all works together.

Lucky for me, they're very prolific. All of these guys have other projects going on, yet over the last fifteen years, they've put out eight albums as The Sea and Cake. The album that really got me, when I started paying more attention, is "The Fawn," which came out in 1996. It's definitely on my top ten list. Once I was hooked on that, I made sure I had their previous albums, and have bought each one they've put out since. "Everybody" came out in 2007. I like it as much as I like any of their other albums. I don't often reach for it first, in part because I'm not a huge fan of the first track, so that kind of throws me off. It's more heavily rock influenced than a lot of their work tends to be, as is the third track. But when I let it play beyond those first few songs, I remember that I really like most of the album. There are a couple of singles that stand out - "Coconut" got a lot of airplay on WERS here in Boston, and "Exact to Me" also gets in your head. In a good way. Really, the whole album is good. Which pieces you'll love the most just depend on your personal preferences - and this band gives you a ton of options.

So, in a nutshell, if you don't own any Sea and Cake, you should. They're really impressive musicians, and their music is unlike any other group. At least that I know of. If you don't have "Everybody," I'd be happy to pass it on to you.

Liz Phair - "whitechocolatespaceegg"

People tend to have strong feelings about Liz Phair. When I worked at WOBC in college, we hated her. All of us. We had a picture of her in the station office, and we would throw things at it. Not sure that we had actual darts, but whatever we could find we would throw. I was never totally sure why we hated her, other than that she was interviewed in Rolling Stone and said that Oberlin was totally lame. (I love that all those radical kids were so offended by someone dissing their school.) I was so good at going along with things like that that I honestly never listened to her until I graduated.

It was amazing to finally put on "Exile in Guyville" and realize that it was pretty damn great. I've never been very attracted to female singer songwriters in general. That's sometimes made me feel like a traitor to my gender, but I've just never had much patience, or been moved by, a lot of the sappy, breathy stuff that has gotten produced in that genre over the past couple of decades. I'm sure there are all kinds of sexism involved in what actually ends up getting produced and recorded by women, and the end result is that a lot of it just doesn't appeal to me. That's one of the reasons I was so psyched when I finally listened to Liz Phair, cause there's none of that going on - the sappy, breathy stuff, that is.

When I sat down to write this review of "whitechocolatespaceegg," I kept thinking, "I just like this." I've been thinking about why that is, and realizing that Liz Phair on her first three (widely distributed) albums represents some core aspects of my demographic almost perfectly. She nails the confidence, frustration, confusion, and bravado of white, overly liberally educated single women in the 90s. I love this trio of albums in descending order. "Exile" is amazing, "Whipsmart" is great, and "whitechocolatespaceegg" is real good. Nothing I've heard from or about her since then has made me want to re-engage, and that's okay with me. She captured that 90s era vibe, and somehow she hasn't translated into the 21st century. I'm sure there are all kinds of reasons for that, both personal and political.

The drama of Liz Phair's career has been written about a lot, if you're interested. You can even start with wikipedia. I know I should probably be more focused on all of that, but what's more important to me is that when I played "whitechocolatespaceegg" today, I realized that I still know all the words, even though I haven't listened to it in years. (Sara, I just remembered that the memorization of all these lyrics on "whitechocolatespaceegg" started that really hot summer night when you and I got stuck on the crossbronx for hours and hours!) It's been fun to get these songs stuck in my head again today, and to reconnect with my circa 1998 self. And yes, to struggle a little bit again with what her career has meant in my life and in pop music. I'm happily burning the whole album into my collection. If you want to sing along too, just let me know, I'll mail it off to ya.

Arcade Fire - "Neon Bible"

Oh, the Canadian invasion. What is it that makes them all so damn cool and lovable? I'm too tired tonight to pretend to have an articulate answer, but it is an oddly particular vibe, at least among these early 21st century Canadian superbands. They're intense and earnest, and yet so hip. A few months ago I got dragged to the Middle East to see some bands I'd never heard, and (before falling asleep during the last band - I'm really good at that) I remember turning to my friend after the first band started and saying "They're definitely Canadian." What exactly did I mean? I dunno, but I was right.

I first heard Arcade Fire when my sister put "Rebellion (Lies)" from "Funeral" on a mix for me. I loved it instantly. And when I finally got my hands on the full album, I fell for it just as hard. So I was super excited when "Neon Bible" was released a couple of years later. Sarah and I bought it just before we left on vacation that summer, and were very happy with ourselves that we could accompany our road trip to Prince Edward Island with a new album from our favorite Canadians. But the copy we got didn't agree with our car's stereo for reasons we still don't really understand, so we never listened to it, settling instead for hours upon hours of listening to the Harry Potter books. (Which was actually really wonderful, that guy that reads them is amazing.)

So, today when I moved to the third drawer of my collection and pulled out "Neon Bible," I didn't know quite how to feel. I never really developed a relationship with this album. When we got back from PEI, I sort of forgot to listen to it. Well, today was the day! Really taking in this album is no joke. It makes so much sense to me that it was recorded at "the church" in Quebec. Half the time when I'm listening to these guys, and this album in particular, I picture that intense preacher kid in "There Will Be Blood." (The same actor who was so awesome in "Little Miss Sunshine.") Moving from "Funeral" to "Neon Bible," is like the pastor preaching a strong but still easy to swallow sermon one Sunday, and then coming back the next week to really let it rip, like "actually I wasn't joking about that."

Arcade Fire are full of drama. The kind of drama that back in the 80s was too much for me to deal with. I never got into a Smiths or Cure or Depeche Mode phase. But these folks go at it with a level of confidence and joy that makes it work for me. Plus they're just really damn good musicians, and know how to put an anthem together. In fact, for the first time today I recognized a serious dose of The Boss coming through - on "AntiChrist Television Blues" in particular - not a bad choice for anthemic inspiration. I could almost feel them channeling "Born to Run."

My biggest critique of "Neon Bible," and the reason that I'd pick "Funeral" over it any day, is that this album is full throttle from beginning to end, with much less breathing room or variation than I find in the flow of the tracks on "Funeral." In moments it's also a little more creepy than the vibe on "Funeral," which isn't really my thing. But hey, seems like the preacher wants to be serious this time. And the singles, "Keep the Car Running," "No Car Go," and "Intervention" are all super solid and catchy. Just maybe a bit more fun on their own.

I may not often listen to this entire album from beginning to end in the future, but I'm glad I finally did today. I've definitely burned it into my collection, and I'd be happy to pass it on to yours. Hopefully it'll work in your car.