"It's like they're whispering to you, and you alone," says the wife about what she calls the Sexy Voice Men, an exclusive group of vocalists capable of seducing with a song.
I, on the other hand, have been stuck with a not-quite-as-sexy voice -- unless one's turn-ons include a nasally alto overlaid with an occasionally impenetrable Boston accent.
Alex Kapranos: Franz Ferdinand - The Dark of the Matinée (from Franz Ferdinand, 2004) - Yesterday's darlings, long on splash and short on ripples as the critics' Eye of Sauron moved onto a succession of other, fresher subjects to overpraise and subequently abandon.
There's supposedly a new album on the horizon, though I have to wonder if the ship hasn't already sailed for FF and the cluster of other acts tagged with the overreaching "postpunk revival" label. I suppose the label did fit, providing you define postpunk as "overproduced Joy Division knockoffs, countless riffs on XTC's back catalogue, and the post-Japanese Whispers version of The Cure." There were some jewels, such as the above track, amidst the dross of wishfully derivative marketing, though.
Casey Spooner: Fischerspooner - Sweetness (from #1, 2001) - Elaborate prank or work of genius? I'm still unsure what to make of the provocative synthesized pageant that was #1, which was equal parts Marcel Duchamp and Marc Almond. I do know I was resoundly disappointed by the band's 2005 follow up album which jettisoned the confrontational quirkiness in favor of a more sedate dance pop template.
Jarvis Cocker: Lush - Ciao! (from Lovelife, 1996) - Goodbye, dreamy shoegaze! Hello, lackluster Britpop! To prove their trendhopping bonafides the band even enlisted the velvet-voiced Prince of the Common People to join vocalist Miki Berenyi on this iteration of the tired-and-true "He said/she said" formula. Works for me.
"I know that some people don't have to worry when they go to the supermarket," she said, staring accusingly at the [GAS TAX HOLIDAY IS BLATANT PANDERING] placard bearers, but "there are people who count their pennies as they walk down the aisle," trying to figure out what they can afford. "Don't they deserve a break every once in a while? They haven't done anything wrong ... The oil companies have had it their way for too long," she said. "I'm tired of being a patsy." (Via)Fuck you, Hillary. Fuck you and your $100 million dollar fortune, your privileged upbringing, your off-the-rack populist posturing, and the toxic sense of entitlement displayed by you and your loathsome little crowd.
The Brain-Emperor has an entire planet under his mental domination.
The Brain-Emperor has a really cool spaceship with an EXTOPLASMIKTM robotic arm attachment.
The Brain-Emperor has a strike force of ultra-villains at his beck and call.
The Brain-Emperor has a well-stocked arsenal chock-full of terrifying and implausible instruments of mass destruction.
Yet all the material wealth and temporal power he has amassed for himself mean nothing without the one thing that the Brain-Emperor requires more than anything else..
...and that thing is external validation of the most pathetic variety. Sad, isn't it?
(From The Mighty Crusaders #1, November 1965)
Echobelly - I Can't Imagine a World Without Me (from Everybody's Got One, 1994) - One thing I've noticed about Echobelly is that they're a band that tends to elicit either strong positive or negative reactions when mentioned in casual conversation. I like their music well enough, and thought their live show was pretty phenomenal, too.
It's been a while since my last visual synergy post. To be honest, I'd pretty much given up on the concept. Compiling the last couple of installments turned out to be kind of a chore, which undermines the intended "lazy themed music video post" rationale.
I was driving down South Border Road this morning and marvelling at the post-snowstorm landscape. The Middlesex Fells Reservation had been recast in stark, dazzling monochrome. The forest of evergreens, the ground, the granite outcrops -- all rendered in the darkest of darks and the brightest of whites set beneath the battleship gray of an overcast sky. It got me thinking, in my usually elliptical manner, of the old school music video aesthetic where performers were plunked down before a plain white (and frequently overlit) backdrop and filmed in high contrast glory.
It's a striking effect and leaves little doubt as to where the viewers focus ought to be...and there's also the fact that it's far easier on the promotional budget than group trips to Sri Lanka or multiple JetSki rentals are. Though it's not as common a practice in these days of overpolished music video productions, the visual style still does crop up here and there every so often. And why not? It's visually compelling, cheap, and serves as a perfect bit of retrological shorthand.
Posts
All Comments
